God is faithful!

Meet my friend Sara:This girl is amazing! The best friend a girl could ask for. She's great at keeping me up to date on life by calling or emailing, she's the best pray-er around, she's the most amazing cook, and well, she's just fabulous. I thank her husband a lot for getting married to her since I knew him first.

Ok, so the story. I won't tell details, because well, it's not my story. But through the course of trying to be a mommy, Sara has had several losses. And then lots of time in between when it seemed like her body would never get pregnant again. We prayed and prayed, but still nothing.

This past Christmas, my family was sitting around the fire listening to my dad read the Christmas story. This is yearly tradition for us, but this year a part in the story stuck out more than it ever had before:
Luke 1:39-45
"A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

I instantly felt like I heard God tell me that this would be the story of Sara and me - that sometime during my pregnancy with Owen, she would call to tell me that she was pregnant and Owen would "jump for joy." It's the kind of word you don't share right away, but I wrote it down and prayed it over Sara every time I laid hands on my belly to pray for Owen.

So fast forward a few months. Sara and Phil finally got an appointment for In Vitro in St. Louis for this summer. It was her last cycle before venturing into this scary In Vitro stuff. I was nearing the end of my pregnancy and thinking I was crazy and didn't hear God at all on that one. But not 2 weeks before Owen made his entrance into the world, Sara called me with the best news I've ever had (save my own positive pregnancy test). She is going to be a mommy in February, with no In Vitro needed! While Owen didn't exactly "jump for joy," I sure did!!

She had a few more scares, but is now well into her 2nd trimester and is on her way to being the most wonderful momma. God is SO good and even though it's almost always not the timing we want, he is always faithful!! Meet Baby Habel:
**This post has been sitting in my queue, waiting for the go-ahead from Sara. I'm SO EXCITED that I can scream it from the rooftops now!**

top 10 baby items

So now that we're almost two months into this whole motherhood thing, I thought I'd make a top 10 list of the items that I use the most often and love along with the top 4 things I don't use or am glad I didn't spend money on. These aren't the "fun" items like cute clothes and diaper bags, more some of the big ticket items. These are in no particular order. Just my top 10.

1. After reading The Happiest Baby on the Block, we've been big swaddlers. Owen gets swaddled for (almost) every nap and bedtime. It instantly calms him and keeps him from jerking himself awake. One of my absolutely favorite gifts was also one of my first gifts I got. Kimberly said she loved them and had to pass on the gift. I will also be passing along these blankets to other pregnant friends. They are Aden and Anais swaddle blankets (a little cheaper if you don't buy from their actual boutique Aden and Anais for Target). For a summer baby, these blankets are so universally perfect. They're lightweight and great for swaddling, using in the stroller, well, anywhere! I also love the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe. He has a hard time breaking out of this one because of the velcro. I just got the next bigger size because we use it a lot!

 

2. I love my Boppy pilllow! It really helped with those frustrating first few days of breastfeeding. While I don't need to use it every time, it's definitely more comfortable to use it than not.

3. I had several people tell me that if I was staying home I didn't need a pump. Liers. I think that everyone who is breastfeeding NEEDS a good pump. There are times when my boobs just don't get the schedule right and I need to use this thing. And it's been great for starting to build up my stash of "liquid gold." I scoured Craigslist for a long time an scored an awesome, barely used Medela Pump in Style Advanced for a fraction of the cost!

4. I cannot say enough how happy I am with my Chicco travel system! I did a LOT of research on this item and absolutely love it! I know some people don't love travel systems because they're big and bulky. To that I say *stick out my tongue.* I love that I can easily take him from the car to his stroller. And oh that stroller. It easily turns with one hand and is a very smooth ride for the little guy. I'll be sad when Owen isn't a bucket baby any more. Definitely money well spent. Well, other people's money well spent. :)
5. I think most new parents register for this item, so I'll just say that I'm glad we did too! Our Graco Pack 'n Play has really gotten some good use. For Owen's first 7 weeks, he did all his sleeping in this in our room. It was nice to be able to hear his every noise and to be able to pick him up and feed him quickly. It got taken with us on vacation when he was 2 weeks old and has also already been used by friends who came to visit this weekend. A great purchase. I will say that we never really used the changing station and we never used the newborn napper. Oh well.
6. Ok, for this entry, I have to say God bless you cloth diapering momma's. There is a special place for you in heaven for how you are saving the landfills. But it's not me. I did a ton of research about cloth diapering and could never get over the overwhelmed feeling I felt about it, along with my deep hatred for the chore of doing laundry. So I'm fine now with saying that I'm a disposable diapering momma and am totally ok with that. We've loved Pampers, although I can't honestly say that we've tried many other kinds.
7. Speaking of cloth diapers, I do really think that every momma needs them, but for burp cloths! These suckers are super absorbent and I use at least 2 a day. See #3 below for more on burp cloths.

8. I have to admit (and repent) that I made fun of the Summer Video Monitor and the mommies that needed them. I'm eating my words. I use this thing EVERY day now that my little man is in his crib far away from me (ok, a few feet isn't far). I love being able to see if he's crying becuase he just spit out his passy or if he's just fighting sleep and will be out soon.
9. I have many friends who didn't get a swing, so I wasn't sure it was a smart investment. But when Grandma Pool bought and sent it, I was really excited. I really love my Bright Starts Ingenuity Swing. It's a great place to set him when I need to free up my hands for something. It usually doesn't put him to sleep, but he seems to really like it!

10. This was one thing that I debated on while pregnant. WHY? I love that my guy likes his pacifier. It has been a lifesaver when he's crabby!

Things that almost made the cut:
Other things that I love and use a lot are sheet protectors. Much easier than changing the sheets! I also love my reusable breast pads. While they're not the best for going out in public because the circles they create, but they're perfect for the night and much more conforatble! I also love the gas drops. We haven't had to use them often, but they work super fast when we need them. Another small thing is diaper bag clips for the stroller. It makes it super easy to clip my bag onto the back and not take up my storage under the stroller.

*ETA - had to add pictures for Holly of the stroller clips. They clip onto my stroller and then hold the sides of my bag up high enough so it doesn't drag down by the wheels.

 

So, now the other end of the spectrum. I tried to make this a top 10 too, but could only come up with 4. These are a few things that I'm either glad I didn't buy or unfortunately, don't use a ton. I don't mean to offend anyone if you like these products, they just haven't been good for me!

1. A wipes warmer. Not needed. My little guy is just fine with his room temperature wipes, especially since I can't make the wipes warm when we're out and about, which is often!

 

2. I bought a barely used Snap N Go Stroller from Craigslist. I thought it would be a good thing to throw in my trunk since it was smaller than my stroller that came with travel system. I took it with me to Michigan so I wouldn't get my new stroller dirty, but I haven't used it since. I love my real stroller so much more that this one is probably headed back to Craigslist.

3. I thought that cloth diapers were pretty boring for use as burp cloths. So I bought a few "fancy ones" that were blue, cute, and had sports themes on them. Terrible. While cute, they don't soak up anything. So much for cuteness.

4. I bought and got lots of small receiving blankets. While adorable, they've become pretty useless. They're too small for swaddling and even playing on the ground. I do use them for small stroller/car seat blankets, but overall I didn't need the TONS that I now have in his drawer.

What are some of your favorite items or things you wish you wouldn't have spent money on? I know they'll be different from mine as I'm quickly learning. . .every mom is SO different for what works for them!

recipes

**I have no idea why the fonts are crazy and won't fix in this post. Sorry!**
In my venture back into the kitchen, I've come across some simple, good recipes thanks to some friends (Val's and Anne's are always really yummy.) I love getting recipes from other blogger friends, so I thought I'd share a few that I've stolen from friends.

Spicy Orecchette with Broccoli (from Jill R.)
Ingredients:

• 1 box (16 oz) Oricchete pasta - or basically any pasta will do
• 4 cups of broccoli, in bite-size pieces
• 1 T. minced garlic
• 2 T. red pepper flakes (or to taste if you don't like things to spicy)
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 c. shredded parmesan
• 3 T. olive oil for sauteing
  

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta as directed on the box
2. While the pasta is cooking, saute the red pepper flakes and garlic together in the olive oil over medium heat until garlic starts to brown.
3. Put the broccoli into the pan with the pepper and garlic, and add ~ 3/4 c. of the pasta water. Cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes, then uncover and continue simmering until the water evaporates out.
4. Drain the pasta, leaving approximately 1 c. of the water in the pot.
5. Add the broccoli, garlic, and pepper mix to the pasta pot, with the milk, a dash of olive oil, salt, pepper, and 3/4 c. of the Parmesan cheese. Stir it all up, and turn the heat on low for a few minutes to get the cheese to melt into the liquid
6. Serve topped with the last bit of cheese

Blueberry Coffee Cake (from Julie Y.)
She made this for my baby shower and it was amazing! I tried it this week and it was super easy and absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 cans Crescent Rolls (large)
• 2 (8) oz. cream cheese
• ¼ c. brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. melted butter
• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup blueberries

Directions:

Grease a 9 X 13 dish. Place one can of crescent rolls on the bottom. Mix together powdered sugar, cream cheese and vanilla. Spread on top of crescents. Sprinkle one cup of fresh blueberries on top. Place the second can of crescent rolls on top of blueberries. Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle butter on top of crescents and cover with brown sugar topping.

Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Easy Enchiladas (from Charlee H.)

Ingredients:

• 6 frozen chicken breasts
• 2 cans enchilada sauce
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup cheese (I used the Mexican mix)
• 6-8 tortillas
  

from Charlee - "I just place frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot and covered with 1 can of enchilada sauce. You can cook for 8 hours on low (might not even take that long) or 4 on high. To thicken it up and make it extra tasty...I added a block of cream cheese at the end and let it melt in for about half an hour. Then just mix it all up so that the chicken is shredded. Then take a baking dish (9x13 is usually good) and I like to take another can of enchilada sauce and pour a little into the bottom of the dish. Then spoon the mixture into tortillas, fold and place seam side down in dish. Cover with more sauce and cheese. Place in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes."

old roomies

Yesterday we had an old roomie reunion! I lived with Anne and Melanie at 303 N. University Avenue during my junior, and their senior years at Illinois State. I had not yet met Melanie's little girl, Genevieve! It was so fun to see all our little ones together (although we FAILED to get a picture of all of them together). Thanks for hosting Anne and thank you Melanie for being so much better at staying in touch with me than I am with you! :)
Anne reading to Grace and Evie:
Checking out the dog:

"1 month" check up

So I guess our pediatrician is a little hard to get into, so we just now had our one month appointment, even though he's almost 7 weeks. But we'll get back on track by having our next appointment in just 2 weeks. It's always reassuring to hear that he's doing great! He's 23 1/4 inches long (84th percentile) and 12lb 10oz (87th percentile). The boy has a smaller than normal head with 38.7 cm putting him in the 36th percentile.

We asked about cradle cap as his head's been super dry and scaly this week. We'll just continue with our baby oil and soft brush routine as that's been helping a ton. We also double checked about what we can do about gas. Monday all day and evening was really rough. He had a new kind of cry and when I did the bicycle legs, he produced copious amounts of farts. The gripe water didn't seem to help so we tried Mylicon (the Target brand) which helped almost immediately. Dr. Tripathy assured us that we could use it generously if need be. Although he seems to be back to his old self, thankfully! Keep up the growing buddy. Love those little rolls that are starting to form everywhere!
Oh and we're definitely getting some real smiles! They are so sweet. And don't you just love the faces babies make while sleeping. Here's a video for the grandmas (ie might be kinda boring for anyone else!)