This Week In Pics

Milk coma

First time sleeping in the crib

Not impressed with Mom taking so many pics

St. Lawrence market on Saturday

Chillin in the music gardens

First go in the Bumbo

The excitement of the market was too much to handle

Three Months

Hello three months, where did you come from? It has been an amazing three months, seeing how quickly Owen has been growing and becoming a small person, not just a sweet little infant any more.
In the past month he has grown almost 4 cm in length, now about 63 cm tall and weighs around 14 lbs based on our weigh scale at home. His head control is getting better every day and he really loves to sit up (with some assistance) and check everything out, a new perspective on everything.

Owen has been working really hard at getting the elusive thumb, starting off by punching himself in the head repeatedly to now being able to aim for his mouth and occasionally be able to stick out his thumb and catch it. It's pretty cute to watch him spend 20 minutes just chewing away at his fist trying to find it.

He is also sleeping longer during the nights, knock on wood. Asleep between 9 and 10 pm for five or six hours, up for a quick feed then asleep again for three or four hours. I am starting to feel a bit more like myself with this extra sleep and it's great. Also in the sleep department, we have been putting him to bed while he is still somewhat awake, some nights more than others, and just let him nod off on his own. So far it has been working out so I hope that we can keep it up, making transition to a crib in his own room that much easier.

As for me, I have miraculously dropped back down to pre prego weight but am sooo out of shape. We are trying to get Owen to feed from a bottle as I have been pumping and freezing a stash and Rob has been trying to feed him. That way Rob and I can go out some nights as well as me being able to go for a run when he gets home from work. It's not easy but we are trying, any suggestions would be very welcome.

This Week In Pics

Fist Bump

Fire Department spraying everyone down :)

Piano time in the Music Garden

Hangin' by the pool with Valery

Toes

Napping on Uncle Andrew

Chilling in the new swing...good times

I Love This City

In preparation for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, a street piano project has been set up throughout the city. "Play Me I'm Yours" consists of 41 pianos, designed by 41 different artists, representing the 41 countries participating in the games. Here is a link to the website streetpianos.ca for more information.

Owen and I were walking through the park as usual and came across one so I started to take pictures of him by the piano, cuz' that's what I do.

Well, Owen started crying so I walked over to soothe him just as someone was walking towards the piano. He sat down and started to play very quickly soothing Owen! We sat there for a while and enjoyed. Unfortunately I did not catch the whole thing on video but did get a small clip once Owen was settled. Check it out.

This Week in Pics

Keeping up to date on the blog has become more difficult than I imagined, funny that! I am going to try to do a weekly recap of the week with a few pics that I have taken along with some more in depth posts on life as I know it, lets see how it goes.

Perfecting the lower lip quiver

Nap time in Mom and Dad's bed

Swans in the park

First ride in the stroller as he is busting out of the bassinet

Airplane rides just like my Oma used to give me

Hot and toasty at the beach

Sunday morning in the Music Garden

Family

The other weekend we had a family bbq so everyone could meet Owen as well as a surprise birthday party for my Aunt Connie. This was the first time we have hosted anything like this and it worked out pretty well! As with all our family get togethers, everyone brought fantastic food so we were well fed, my cousin Valerie made a special lamb cake that was so cute and of course I did not get a picture of it and Leanne did a fantastic job of decorating the space. Turns out that her and my cousin Rebecca walked all the way from Union station with those two massive red balloons as they were not going to fit in the streetcar, too awesome!

Owen was happy to be passed around to who ever wanted to hang out with him only fussing when he needed his diaper changed or feeding, so glad to see that he is good with the big social events!

It was really great to see everyone and I'm sure that we will be hosting again soon. It's so exciting that our little guy has such a close extended family that he will be able to grow up with.

Thank you to my wonderful family.

Hot Days

Its been stinkin hot these past few days so our walks are at a minimum and just hanging out together indoors are the best option.
Now if I could only get some house cleaning done!

Two Months

Wow, can't believe that it's two months today that Owen decided to come join us! Time has gone by so fast yet feels like it has been forever at the same time. We are so in love with our little boy and get so much joy from him.

 He is interacting more, smiling and even laughing. There are also baby tears which just kill me.

I have a feeling that he will be mobile sooner rather than later as he loves standing (while we hold him obviously) and is so active during the day.

He is still eating very regularly and breastfeeding has become second nature for the both of us thank goodness. It was a challenge in the beginning but with perseverance and great support we figured it all out. Recently he has been sleeping between four and five hours during the night which has been totally amazing, but still has his fussy times, usually around seven in the evening.

What a great guy.

Just Because

Are we going outside? 

For a walk?

Seriously?

I'm so excited

Yup...so excited.

Just Hanging Out

A perfect day to hang out in the park.

Diaper Review Pt. 2

As mentioned earlier, after some testing, I have found cloth diapers that I am happy with and am surprised on the results. Here are some pics and more descriptions of the two styles of diapers that I have been trying out. 

The first diaper is the Fuzzibunz One Size Elite that is pocket style and the second is a fitted cloth diaper combined with a diaper cover that I have made. The Fuzzibunz is designed to fit from newborn until potty trained with the leg and back elastics being adjustable while the fitted diaper is designed to fit from 7 until 15 lbs then you need to move up to the next size. Depending on the brand and style there are usually two or three sizes to grow into.

Both are simple to use and wash. Once soiled everything gets tossed into the wash for a pre soak and rinse in cold water then regular wash in hot, during the wash the Fuzzibunz insert comes out on it's own. Once finished I toss the inserts and cloth diapers into the dryer and hang the outer shells for both styles to dry, this will prolong the life of the breathable waterproof cover. The only prep work needed is stuffing the soaker inserts back into the pocket diapers but this only takes a couple of minutes and is no big deal.

A big difference between the two is their over all size. The Fuzzibunz are considerably trimmer than the fitted diapers which makes dressing Owen easier. 

My biggest complaint with the fitted diapers is comfort for Owen, once wet there is no comfort barrier between the skin and wet diaper, it just continues to collect moisture and it can hold a lot. The pocket style diapers have a moisture wicking layer that sits between the skin and the absorbent soaker pad making the baby feel much more comfortable. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like he sits around for hours in a wet diaper, I do around 10 to 12 diaper changes a day on average, if not more. I did notice that once the fitted diaper was wet he became fussy quite quickly and when the diaper was removed he instantly calmed down.

One of the great things about cloth diapers is I have not had any diaper rash issues where I have with the disposables once and a while. 

What sealed the deal for me in using the Fuzzibunz was their customer service, the diapers come with a one year warranty on sewing and a lifetime warranty on the snaps and waterproof layer defects. After a couple of washes one of the diapers stitching came apart around the leg so I filled out their claim form (very easy) and within two hours I had received an email back stating that my claim was approved and that they will be sending out my replacement shortly. In about one week the replacement diaper, inserts and elastic arrived via priority USPS mail and that was it! I was so impressed that they stood up behind their product as well as their warranty and there were no hassles because lets be serious, it's not like I have any extra time on my hands any more ;)

Hanging Out

What a wonderful day to go hang out in the park. I'm looking forward to a summer full of these.

Kindness Of Strangers

Earlier this week I met up with my sister along Queen St for some lunch and a visit. We met up at a little coffee shop we had been to before. While there  Owen got hungry, as he does.

With the coffee shop being very small and quite busy I did not feel comfortable to feed him there so Leanne asked the guys behind the counter where the closest park was so we could feed him. They were not much help but a woman in line overheard Leanne and said that we could come across the street wth her to her office and feed him there.

We followed her there and she kindly set us up in the boardroom and let us do our thing. How fantastic was that!

Diaper Review

Now that Owen has grown big enough to fit into the diapers I made we have been using them on a regular basis. I had also purchased a few pairs of pocket style diapers from Fuzzi Bunz as they would fit his tiny waist and they were a very different style of diaper to try.

Finally fitting into the covers I made

I am quite surprised by how everything has turned out so far. I am not happy with using the prefolds at all, they are tricky to put on, especially during the night time changes which I tend to be asleep through, and I have no confidence that they will survive a big poo. The fitted cloth diaper inside the cover works better, easier to put on and can withstand some abuse but does not do a great job at wicking away moisture resulting in more frequent diaper changes and they are quite bulky. I think these will be great for potty training time.

Fitted diaper and cover in action

The third and surprising option are the pocket style diaper. Initially I did not think to use these as they are more expensive and I guessed more laundry as you need an entirely new diaper for each change, not just the insert like the prefold style. They are easy to use just like a disposable diaper, size adjustable from newborn up to toddler which means one set of diapers and so far have been great for containing messes and are nice and trim. When changing you toss the entire diaper into the wet bag and the whole thing gets tossed into the laundry when full. Once dry all that needs to be done is restuff the absorbent insert and you are good to go.

Pocket style diaper in action

I am going to attempt to make a few pairs of diapers in this style as well as ordering more online but it looks like we have a surprise winner!