Nursing Cover

So along the same lines as the baby sling post, I signed up to make a nursing cover at the class offered at the Super Saturday activity at church. I decided that I wanted a nursing cover that was a little more gender neutral. :o)


However, after actually making the baby sling and realizing how much time it took to do I realized I wouldn't be able to teach the sling class and then take the nursing cover one. So I decided that I would go ahead and make it anyway at one the the craft nights that my Gilroy friends and I do once a month. Suprisingly I was able to finish it and didn't even use a pattern. This is one of those sewing projects I was really excited about when I was done with it.

There are a couple of things I would recommend when making a nursing cover.

1) Always make it bigger than what the pattern says. Mine is 26 inches by 38 inches. The nursing cover I bought from Target when I had Payton was way too small I felt like my back was always hanging out because it wasn't wide enough or that Payton was always throwing it around because it was just too short. I think this was the size I did Jennifer's nursing cover when I made hers and she loved the bigger size.

2) Don't be talking to anyone when you are cutting the material. You know that saying, "measure twice and cut once". Well I measured a bunch of times but when it came time to cut I looked at the numbers going down the side of the cutting mat instead of the bottom. I ended up cutting the material about 6 - 8 inches too short. Fortunately, I was doing this project with a few of my friends that are great at sewing and they suggested making the backside of the cover the reverse of the front side. See I was planning on doubling the material on the cover anyway. A print on the front and a solid on the back. Now I have a print with a strip of solid on the front and a solid with a strip of print on the back. I think it looks better than it would have if I wouldn't have messed up. LOL

Anyway, hope you like it as much as I do.

Baby Sling

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have the best intentions when it comes to sewing projects but am not a seamstress. I have made a few things and have actually been very pround of myself when I was done, probably because of the struggle I had in making it. LOL

Well, when Dave and I moved to San Jose with his parents we also moved into the church ward he grew up in. It so happened that the Relief Society was getting ready to hold a Super Saturday activity. During the activity they hold a bunch of classes and you can pick and choose the one or ones you would like to attend. Well, with the number of ladies in the ward having babies they had a nursing cover class already planned and wanted to hold a baby sling class as well but couldn't find anyone to teach the class. When the organizer of the activity talked to my mother in law she was excited to hear that I had made a sling before and was anxious to ask if I would be willing to teach the class.

I said "sure" then set about scrambling to try and figure out how I was supposed to teach this class since the sling I had made before was just something I tried to do on my own and didn't have a pattern for.

In the ward that Dave and I had just moved from in Gilroy they held a Fabulous Friday (Same idea as the Super Saturday) and had both the nursing cover and baby sling class. So I called the insructor of the baby sling class and got all of the information she used.

She used the Maya Sling tutorial that you can view and print from online. It was super easy to do, unless you like to make things hard like I do. Let's just say I spent many an hour picking out a seam I had put in because I didn't think it was straight enough. I also decided to use two pieces of fabric because I couldn't find any double sided fabric. :o) In the end, I love the way it turned out. Oh, and I also order the rings from this sling rings website.

Nursing Cover Clips

I made these Nursing Cover Clips as gifts for a group baby shower that I went to. I was surprised at how big of a hit they were. They are super easy to make, I even made one for myself. :o)

You will need the following:

1 - 3/4 inch vest buckle
2 - 1 inch suspender/mitten clips
1 - 30 inch long piece of 7/8 inch ribbon of your choice (I used 100% Polyester, ribbed ribbon)
1 - 1 inch pieces of 1/2 inch thick Velcro

Step 1 - Cut about 30 inches of ribbon

Step 2 - Loop the ribbon (right side out) through the center of the vest buckle and sew in place. I used a zig zag stitch on my machine.

Step 3 - Thread ribbon through one of the suspender/mitten clips. (Thread material right side out from back to front of the clip)

Step 4 - Thread ribbon back through the vest buckle.

Step 5 - Pin Velcro pieces about 6 - 7 inches apart on the back side of the ribbon.

Step 6 - Sew around edges of Velcro pieces and then at least one stitch cross ways across the Velcro (I used a zig zag stitch)

Step 7 - Thread ribbon through the second suspender/mitten clip (ribbon right side up, thread from front to back of clip) and connect Velcro pieces together.

Step 8 - Secure second suspender/mitten clip by stitching it in place.

Step 9 - Pat yourself on the back, you are done!

You can use the Nursing Cover Clips for the following and more:

• Turn any blanket into a nursing cover.
• Turn any napkin or burp cloth into a bib.
• Tether blankets, toys, etc. to the stroller or car seat.

Ball Pit

So in my effort to keep Payton entertained all day, I stumbled accross an email from Baby Center with a list of summer boredom busters. To take a look at the list for yourself look here. It is really cool, you can enter your child's age and it will give you age appropriate activities.

I plan on trying a few of these but the first one I started with was the ball pit. I decided to use balloons instead of trying to find little balls to fill the inflatable pool. However, if I do it again I would use water balloon sized ballons instead, the bigger ones just seemed a little too big. Payton still had fun.

Pampers - Love It

I am sure that my husband and I were not the only ones that went through several brands of diapers before finding the perfect one for us. With Huggies Payton woke up each morning in a puddle, with Luvs poop came out the back and legs of the diaper, with the Costco brand the same type of thing, I could go on and on. The only diaper we have consistantly liked is the Pampers brand.

Great things about Pampers Swaddlers...
1) They smell great! Baby powder fresh.
2) They are soft.
3) The inner mesh lining that pulls the poop away from the baby.
4) I have never had a leak (pee) with Pampers.

Words of wisdom for Pampers users. Make sure to use the right size. Say a Size 2 diaper fits a baby from 12 - 18 pounds and the size 2 - 3 diapers fits a baby 14 - 22 pounds, move your baby to the next size up when they hit 14 or 15 pounds. As a first time mom I thought that Payton would wear a size 2 until she was 18 pounds because that is what the diaper said. WRONG!!! If you move them up sooner you will not have the blow outs.

Diaper Champ - Love It

I just love the Diaper Champ! I have had to use the Diaper Genie at my sister's and I don't like that I have to stick my arm up to my elbow down into the thing to push the diaper far enough in so that it will get twisted into the bag. With the Diaper Champ all you have to do is throw the diaper in the top, grab the handle, and flip the top.

You can use whatever bags you want! I have seen the bags for the Diaper Genie. I don't know how long one of those packages last but I would imagine it could be expensive. We buy the 10 Gallon Wastebasket Bags from Costco. The box contains 500 bags. We haven't run out yet and Payton is almost a year old!

The other apsect we really appreciate is that it keeps the smell contained well.

I give it two thumbs up! And would recommend it to anyone.

A Daily Routine

As a new mom I find myself with a lot of questions. I want to make sure that I am doing everything I need to do to help Payton live an enriched life. I want her to be happy, smart, nice to others, etc. If there is anything I can do to help her be all those things I want to do them.

I remember talking to a friend of mine that I used to work with. She made the comment that she thought it was good for her daughter to be in day care because the care givers were trained in early childhood development and she wasn’t. That made me a little nervous when thinking about raising Payton; after all I am not trained in early childhood development. Thus came the thought “What do I do with my baby?” You can only sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star so many times and she can only look at the same toy for so long, right?

Then I remembered the Supernanny. Have you ever watched Supernanny? One of the things Jo Frost suggested many families to do was to make a daily routine for their kids. She says that children do much better when they have structure. I think parents also do better with some structure. :o) I am the kind of person that can’t seem to make dinner if I haven’t planned a menu for the month. Anyway, I decided to make a daily routine for Payton. Payton’s schedule goes like this:

7:30 – 8:00 Nursing
8:00 – 9:00 Bath/Play
9:00 – 10:00 Breakfast
10:00 – 12:00 Nurse/Nap
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 3:00 Play
3:00 – 5:00 Nurse/Nap
5:00 – 6:00 Play
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner
7:00 – 8:00 Play
8:00 Nurse/Bed

If you are like me, you may try and follow the schedule to the “T”. However, from what I have read the times aren’t meant to be restrictive or set in stone. For instance Payton may sleep until 8:30 or she may only nap for 1 hour, I don’t worry about it. I just keep going with whatever is next on the schedule.

Payton and I have both done a lot better since I have put together a schedule for her. I get to have a plan for the day and she, for the most part, has an idea of what to expect next.

Now the schedule doesn’t totally help my thought of “What do I do with my baby?” So in addition to the schedule, I have been trying to come up with a list of games/activities to use with Payton during the “play times” in the schedule. My goal is to have different types of games/activities to use at each play time. For instance, during the morning play time we usually spend time in her room reading books, singing songs, or playing with toys. During the afternoon play time we may go to a play date, for a walk, etc.. I signed up for the weekly emails from BabyCenter.com and in those emails they suggest game/activity ideas that you can do with your baby. They are great! I have been trying to keep a list of the suggestions I like so that I can easily reference them when I think “What do I do now?” I also have a couple of books with game/activity ideas that I can pull ideas from.

I will have to share my favorites in a future post.

Does anyone have any fun game/activity ideas that they really enjoy doing with their wee one? Or does anyone have any good or bad experiences with using a daily routine?

Traveling with an infant.

I am a planner. I like to be prepared for any situation. I am the person that will pack a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and a jacket for a trip in the middle of summer because it may get cold. Now that I have a baby…

I remember the first time my husband and I traveled with Payton; we drove two hours away to visit my grandmother for the 4th of July. You’d have thought we were moving. Everything came with us; the baby bath tub, bouncy seat, entertainment mat, and port-a-crib…need I say more. I honestly thought I needed it all to take care of my baby.

More recently we went on another trip, this trip involved flying from California to Iowa. I mentioned before that I was a planner; well I am also a thrifty person and could not bring myself to pay extra to check suitcases through. I worked and worked until I packed everything for my husband, Payton, and I in two carry on suitcases. My husband thought I was crazy. Although I did better about packing what we realistically needed, I know I can still improve.

Things I learned on this past trip.

• When purchasing plane tickets for you, your husband, and baby (if traveling as a lap child) book the isle and window seat. The middle seats are usually the last to be taken, giving you a better chance at having a seat for the baby too. Even if someone does book the seat between you and your travel partner the chances are they will swap you for either the isle or the window seat.
• Take advantage of the local Walmart or Target. Only take as many diapers, baby food, etc. as you need to get you through until you can get to the store. I packed diapers, wipes, and food for the whole trip. I regretted as soon as I had to take all the baby food out at the airport to be checked. Save yourself the trouble.
• Did you know most hotels have play yards or portable cribs? Nice! Make sure they give you a sheet to cover the pad.
• Bathing a baby in a hotel. You surprisingly don’t need a baby bath tub! Lay them on a hand towel, fill tub with water only until it barely touches your baby’s ear and wash away. You can also do this in a shower with no tub by stopping the drain with a wash cloth or hand towel. Who knew?
• You don’t need to take a lot of toys. With the new environment Payton hardly played with the toys I brought, she was more interested in the new people and surroundings. I would say that whatever toys you normally carry in your diaper back is plenty. Maybe bring a baby book.
  I am sure that I will continue to learn what we “really” need while traveling as Payton gets older and as we have more kids.

I would love to hear things that others have learned while traveling with infants, make a comment. :o)