Category Archives: Baby Stuff
Clipping Little Freybaby’s Nails
You already know we’re into gadgets, so I don’t have to go through all that again. What you might NOT know is that some of the gadgets that you’ve actually bought us really do work! I introduce to you the ZoLi Buzz B: http://www.zolibaby.com/products/baby-care/buzz-b
They call it a “battery-operated nail trimmer,” but it’s really a nail file. Much like a palm sander (if you’ve ever used one of those), it’s basically really fine grit sand papers (four different roughness attachments), like emery boards, that attach to a battery operated unit and vibrate back and forth in a circular motion. You touch it to your baby’s nails, and no more scratches to the face… at least not for a few days anyway.
It’s easy, he doesn’t mind it at all, and I think he likes the noise it makes. I tried clipping my dogs nails once and that didn’t go so well. The instructions say it’s for babies zero to two years old, but I’m already thinking of switching to the 6 month coarseness and he’s only two months old… so Wesley may have harder nails than this can handle in the long term… but it’s doing the job. 2 speeds, carrying case, AA battery, and even if you touch it to his skin, it’s not going to do any damage. Fun times.
Owl Hat #1
Our neighbors in the room beside us at Martel got Wesley some cool clothes… here’s one of the hats he got:
My Skype Baby Shower
Me, at home in Houston, attending my shower in Ohio
Since my mom wanted to throw me a baby shower for the family and friends in Ohio, and I wasn’t able to travel, my mom had a “Skype Baby Shower” for me instead.
Essentially, what my mom did was plan the shower as usual — but instead of me being there in the flesh, I was there via a laptop throughout the event. I was first in the kitchen as my mom was preparing and people were arriving. My family and friends came over to me one-by-one and congratulated me — and I talked to each one for a while. I was also able to see what was going on as they positioned me in key areas throughout the shower. Although I couldn’t be there in person, this was truly the next best thing.
It was really good to see everyone — and I also got to show the folks in Ohio the nursery first hand — and the baby gifts we had already received from others here in Houston; something I couldn’t have done if I had gone there. My close friend, Christy Weiss, who is a mother of two, opened all my gifts, held them up to the camera so I could see them, and described them beautifully. I just received the boxes of them that were shipped here yesterday. The only major negative about the skype shower was that I didn’t get to eat any of the food (it looked delicious!), especially the cupcakes.
I’d like to thank all the family and friends who helped make the event so memorable for me. I especially want to thank my mothers who spent countless hours planning the perfect shower. Love ya mom!
For anyone thinking about doing this sort of thing in the future, I have some tips at the bottom of this post below the pictures.
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- me and my laptop
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- it worked out really well
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- samson didn’t know what to do
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- fairly clear picture and great sound
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- mmmmm… homemade goodies
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- baby cookies
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- presents
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- iced babies — the first one to get their baby out wins a prize — because their “water broke” — get it?
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- mmmmmmm
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- car seat / infant carrier, gifted by some special folks
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- the mamma roo — yeah!
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- a playset that jeff and samson have already been entertained by
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- very RICE — a squirrel and owl
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- everyone at the shower gave us their favorite baby book
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- awesome toy
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- more books
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- odd ducks — LOVE them
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- thank goodness for lots of gift cards
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- christy opened and read the cards
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- the best carrier — thanks!
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- homemade blanket in the shape of a texas star
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- baby monitor
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- oh, how cute
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- brand new
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- another book
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- the great grandmas
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- paternal family
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- maternal family
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- thanks for coming everyone
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- you too, thanks for coming
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- thanks for all you did christy
For a Skype Shower, Do:
- make sure that you get a set of headphones for people at the shower and put the showeree laptop in a corner for a while so each person can come up to the screen and chat for a while in “private”
- warn family members ahead that this is going to be happening and help them through the process of being in the camera shot and talking
- place the computer in a location where the showeree can see the entire room, and when opening gifts, make a circle or something to people at the shower can see the presents as well as the camera
For a Skype Shower, Don’t:
- try to do this with a slow laptop or internet connection, it’s doomed to failure
- worry about a slight delay in video or sound, make the best of it
- sit the computer in a corner and forget about it, like while people are eating, maybe place it at the head of the table for a while so the showeree and be “in” on the conversation?
All in all, a great experience.
Car Seat is IN!
Steph practicing
We were blessed to receive the car seat as a gift from a very special purchaser (you know who you are… thank you very much) as an EARLY gift so that we’d have time to learn how to put the baby in and install the bases in our vehicles.
So, this past weekend we went back to Baby’s and Kid’s 1st Furniture to meet with Mari. She gave us the run through again. Three step safety… can’t pinch any strap, the bar is at armpit level, and the shoulder straps are at the right level on the shoulders… see Mari, I was listening. There’s not a whole lot of space for a baby in that seat… I guess that’s good because little Freybaby is going to have to be strapped in tight.
Jeff installing the base
It didn’t take long to figure everything out and get it installed, but I’m sure we’ll have some hesitation when we have to do it for real. Freybaby won’t be able to say “That’s too tight.” or anything.
We also learned something a bit more about our friend Mari… she’s not only a specialist certified in all kinds of things surrounding safety… but an author.
A New Day Another Chance, by Mari Hodges, is a book full of daily inspirational messages, with room to journal. It focuses on how with every tragedy, a triumph is waiting to be revealed. From the book’s summary: “Things happen in our daily lives and we are often left feeling overwhelmed in our experiences. Taking the time to realize that something good can come from even the most difficult circumstances will help us see how all these situations are wonderful opportunities for us to grow into the person God created us to be. It is all in how you look at things. So take an up-above perspective on your life and you will see the beauty that lies all around you.”
You can order a book here: http://www.amazon.com/New-Day-Another-Chance/dp/1432773364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316037237&sr=8-1
Steph being instructed by Mari on the proper way to secure the baby
Steph’s 6 Month Update
Just 3 months to go… can you believe it? Jeff promised you a picture of me in his last post, so here it is. Sorry, no bare belly pictures of me or anything; though I do have a pretty good linea-nigra going on. (Here’s an explanation if you don’t know what it is: http://www.babylifetime.com/pregnancy/linea-nigra/.)
this is what 6 months looks like
Jeff ALSO mentioned in the last post that we went to our baby planner’s house for show and tell a couple nights ago. She was kind enough to take us through her baby’s closet, drawers, bedroom, bathroom, and diaper bags. We were going to meet at Baby’s-R-Us and go isle by isle… but as a baby planner, she pretty much had everything at her house that the store would have, and then some. Sharing our affinity for all-natural products, she showed us some alternatives to the popular brands you might see in stores.
I know people say that babies don’t need a lot of stuff but frankly, BABIES NEED A LOT OF STUFF. Jeff and I realized what a simplified life we live after seeing all the stuff a baby needs. Of course, with Jeff and I living at Martel college at Rice, we have OUR things slimmed down to essentials — the trick is to do this with baby stuff (but they need a lot of essentials).
It was great having Sheneq, our baby planner explain the various types of carriers/slings, soaps, lotions, bottles, diapers, bath time products, etc. versus Jeff and I going into a Baby Megastore and trying to discern what everything is. Since we are getting a lot of people asking us: we are registered on myregistry.com. The link and explanation is here: http://freybaby.com/registry. We found most of the items we love on-line versus local stores, so you can simply see everything in one place. We are still having a lot of fun with freybaby and hope to settle in on a name sometime in the next month or so!
