Making Your Own Baby Food

A few weeks ago we introduced Baby M to the spoon. He had no problems eating and loved his cereal. Now that he's five months old it's time for me to start making and freezing baby food. When I had Savannah a friend of mine told me about making baby food. Not only does making your own food save money but it also gives you peace of mind. You know exactly what your baby is eating. 

I decided to make Baby M some sweet peas for his first food experience. You can find baby food puree   recipes all over the web so I'm going to share my quick and easy process for making and storing food. Of course, you have to start by cooking your food. 

Once the peas were done I put them in my blender. I never bought one of those baby food making gadgets because I already had a blender with a puree button. Call me cheap but I prefer low maintenance. I just don't see the point in buying an additional appliance when you already have something that does that same job. See how close we've become. I didn't even try to clean off this counter for y'all. Notice my little sous chef. I let her push the puree button on the blender and she thought she was cooking for real!  Here is my finished pea puree. Isn't it so pretty. It taste pretty good too. 
I took a spoon and filled all of the cubes in my two trays. I reserved a little of the puree for dinner. From 14oz of peas I got 24 servings of food. 



I use the Fresh Baby trays. (I'm not getting paid for this.) I like them because they come with a lid. I was only able to find them online. The best deal I found was ordering them though WalMart online and picking them up in the store to save on shipping. I got two trays with lids for eight bucks. What I love about these is that I can also use them to freeze breast milk. That way, when I make his cereal I won't have to defrost whole bags of milk. I'm crazy about my breast milk and do not like wasting it.
After the puree freezes I pop the cubes out and place them in a labeled ziploc bag. Overall, I think I really like these Fresh Baby trays. It took me some time to get one of the lids on but other than that they performed right up to where my expectations were. I'd recommend them.

Baby Prep: Styling my Natural Hair

So I admit that I am not the most vocal "team natural"Naturalista. I hardly ever blog about my hair. If you follow me on Instagram then you know I normally wear my hair in a wash and go, afro or twist out. These are all styles I love but because they require some for of maintenance I'm looking for a new do for when baby arrives.

Since I'll be spending a couple days in the hospital I want to make sure that I protect my hair during my stay. And as you know I'll be having a C-Section so it will be nice to not have to think about my hair while I'm recovering. After doing lots of pinning and YouTubing I think I have narrowed my choices down to two options. A high bun using marley hair or marley twists. I'm torn between the two. I've read that marley twists only lasts a couple weeks. In my mind that really doesn't help me much. Has anyone else heard this? Does it depend on what technique is used to install them? I plan to DIY the marley twists and would love to hear about someone else experience.

Here a couple of the YouTube videos I found on marley twists that I found helpful...

This looks easy enough. I never learned how to braid (down to your scalp) or flat twist so this DIY is right up my alley. My plan is to attempt these twists and if for some reason I'm unable to achieve the style then I'l do a bun. I'm looking forward to trying something new with my hair. Have any of you tried these styles? Got any tips for me?

Baby Prep: Big Sister Day

Remember when I talked about preparing baby number one for baby number two? Well as the weeks roll on I am slowly but surely gathering things for Savannah's Big Sister gift. I haven't quite decided on how we're going to celebrate her becoming a Big Sister. I'm thinking I may do a small play date here at home or maybe I'll treat her and a close friend to Chuck E. Cheese one morning. We shall see.

I've been trying to think of fun things to do with her leading up to the baby's birth. We'll be making a Big Sister necklace or a bracelet with noodles and a free printable I found on Pinterest. 

I also found her a super cute Carter's tee on eBay. I initially wanted to get her a different shirt but when I placed my order for clothes for the baby I forgot to add her shirt. Luckily, I was able to find another shirt that I really loved. She is going to be so cute at the hospital!

Another thing I've been working on is building her Big Sister bag. She had been asking me for a backpack (Thanks to Dora) for a while and I figured now would be a good time to get her one. We sat down at the computer together and designed one on the Pottery Barn Kids website. Once she was done picking out what she wanted I ordered the bag and it was here in a few days. Super easy!!! I plan to fill her backpack with fun things and snacks that will keep her occupied while at the hospital. Some of the ideas I had were DVDs (there are DVD players in the Labor and Delivery rooms), disposable camera, play dough, activity book with crayons, candy, Goldfish and maybe a couple other items. My plan is to give her the bag when she comes in to meet her brother for the first time. We will tell her it's a Big Sister gift from her baby brother. 

What else do you think would be fun items for her backpack? I feel like I'm missing something!

Pregnancy Update & Chic Bump Watch: 31 Weeks

weight gain so far ~ 14 pounds

Savannah and I just got home from another visit at the hospital. I went in for my Non-Stress Test and a growth scan. I also had to give blood and pick up the jug for another twenty four hour urine test. The twenty four hour urine test tests for pre eclampsia. We were at the hospital for a total of three hours so we were both very excited and happy when we left.

My blood pressure has spiked up a little again. It had been normal until this week. During my NST the monitor has been picking up very light contractions. I can't feel them and apparently they are normal. I never had them with Sav so it's a little weird knowing you're having contractions and not being able to feel them. During my growth scan baby boy and all my fluids looked great and there are no concerns from my Doctor. Can I just say that technology is so amazing? Ultrasounds machines and all the different machines and computers that are out there to help with pre-natal care is crazy. 

Before leaving the hospital I was finally given a tour of labor and delivery. I had to ask several times before I was given one and I'm glad I was persistent. I learned so much. I mainly wanted a tour so that I could better plan for Savannah's time at the hospital. I wanted to see how much space we'd be working with and what all the amenities were for families. To my surprise there were lots of things to help with having a little one at the hospital. The rooms are extremely spacious for one and they all come with cable TV and DVD players. The DVD will come in very handy while Savannah is visiting. The Mother and Baby wing also offers a kitchenette area that comes fully stocked with all kinds of child friendly goodies. They had everything you could think of that a young big brother or sister would want or need. There was milk, juice, applesauce, pudding cups, ice cream bars, popsicles...you name it! It's all free too. That's going to help out so much. Of course I will have packed her own snacks but there's nothing better than a free plan B.

I'll continue to go in for my NSTs two times a week in addition to my regular Doctor's appointments. We are getting close! We set up our baby boy's crib a couple weeks ago. My husband pulled all the baby gear out of storage and it's clean and ready to go. All I need to do now is wash all of his clothes and install his car seat. 

Second Baby Syndrome

Have y'all heard of second baby syndrome? Supposedly it's when you're more carefree about your second baby than you were with your first. It's like you've been there and done that so you don't stress as much. Well. By now you have probably figured out that I am a crazy planner. Let me tell you there is nothing more crazy than a planner that has nothing to plan, haha!!

I keep having this feeling that I should be doing something to prepare for the baby. Don't get me wrong there is some work to be done but it's nothing huge. There's no shower to get ready for, no extensive baby gear research to be done and no books to read. I mean. I guess I could read a book about siblings or having baby number two but honestly I don't have time for that. Google is quicker and cheaper. Not to mention Pinterest probably has every tip and trick known to parents by now.

I just have the weirdest feeling that I'm not doing enough to prepare for my baby boy. I know it's all in my head but I can't help it, haha! The only thing that I still need to do is buy his crib and mattress. Other than that I literally have nothing to do but wait for him. I guess it's a good thing though. Between all my check-ups and appointments (and dance rehearsal and play dates) I don't have time to do much of anything. I'm surprised I even find time to still write this blog. 

Am I crazy? I know I sound crazy! Did anyone else have second baby syndrome or go through this crazy feeling when they were pregnant with number two?

Baby Update & Breastfeeding

This past weekend flew by. I can't even remember what we did. I remember going to church and that's about it. I went in to see the doctor today and I am happy to share that everything is going well with the baby. My blood pressure is still high (it stayed high through out my entire pregnancy with Savannah), but I passed all the screenings for pre eclampsia so no worries there. :-) 

I have reached that point in my pregnancy where they start administering the "non-stress" tests. The "non-stress" test is a test they give to monitor the baby's heart rate and movement. I'll be going in twice a week for my tests until I deliver. They'll plug me up to a machine and I'll just lye there for about thirty minutes to an hour. I did the same thing with Savannah. This let's me know that the end is near. I can not believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by. So crazy.

Which brings me back to thinking about breastfeeding preparation. I've been pulling out all of my old books and resources to give myself a refresher on how things go and best practices. Since I really want to try to increase my milk supply this time I've been focusing on learning more about how to achieve that. If it doesn't happen that's okay too. Savannah never had a supply of milk in the freezer but I would love to try to have a few bottles this time around so that my husband can help more. I was able to find a good one sheeter on increasing your milk supply on pinterest. 

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Fenugreek never worked for me while I was pregnant with Sav. This time I am going to try the infamous Mother's Milk tea and Raspberry Leaf tea. Raspberry Leaf tea was actually recommended to me by a lady at church. I am hoping that the teas and a healthy diet will be the key for me. Anyone have suggestions for me that really worked for you? Anything that I can start doing now (other than drinking lots of water)?

Chic Obsessions: Pregnancy Survival Kit

It's a thunderstorm rainy day here in San Antonio. I for one am glad to see some rain and cooler temps. We went to dance this morning and then out to run a couple errands before coming home. Savannah's dance class will be dancing to a song from the Winnie the Pooh soundtrack. They will be dressed as little Piglets. That should be cute. Once we were home I tossed some chicken breasts, beer and BBQ sauce in the crock pot for dinner. Super easy and fast. We'll have pulled chicken sandwiches with roasted mustard potatoes. I saw the recipe on Mimi's blog,  Lipgloss and Binky, and thought I would try it. 

Anyway. I digress. Last night I was thinking about how fast this pregnancy has seemed to fly by. I have exactly twelve weeks left. So exciting. I thought this would be a nice time to share some of the products that I have used during this pregnancy to help with some of the common pregnancy issues. This post is not sponsored and I have not been compensated to share these products. I just wanted to share what works for me in the hope that it would work for you as well. We're girls, right? If I'd recommend it to my bestie I'd recommend it to you too! Here we go... 

Lemon Heads. A morning sickness lifesaver.

Remember how bad my morning sickness was? It lasted forever it seems.

Everyone's body responds to pregnancy differently. I know stretch marks are said to be hereditary and that there's nothing you can do about them. When I was pregnant with Savannah I thought I would try to beat my odds and lather up twice a day. I read somewhere that keeping your skin moisturized helps. I used the the Palmer's Cocoa Butter line during both pregnancies and loved it. So far no stretch marks, but I do notice that I'm getting cellulite so trust me I'm not getting off that easy. :-)

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Love this lotion by Neutrogena too.

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My skin went through a lot of different changes during this pregnancy. It went from being extremely dry to acne prone. My acne is finally starting to clear up again. I found two different skin care lines to treat my issues. During the dry stages I used the Burt's Bees Intense Hydration line and Mary Kay's Velocity line for my acne. They both have worked wonders. 

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This BB cream has an SPF and it provides a slight bit of coverage. It makes getting ready to go so much easier. A little BB cream, mascara and blush or bronzer and I am done!

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 I discovered the Be Band during my first pregnancy when my pants no longer buttoned. This was a great way to still wear some of my jeans before investing in maternity clothes. 

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Those are all of the items I could think of for now. I also thought it would be fun to share some of the meals I've eaten recently. I live for grits, eggs and bacon for breakfast. A yummy "kitchen sink" salad covered in Thousand Island dressing is always good and the last pic is of our Easter dinner, delicious!!

Mac n Cheese, Mustard Greens, Rice and Ribs

What"s in your pregnancy survival kit? 

Sleepless with Savannah

I shouldn't be calling this Sleepless with Savannah anymore. She's actually sleeping great now. But since I couldn't come up with a better name for this post I decided to stick with what I knew. So. As you might remember I was originally thinking about doing a shared nursery. I thought it would make it easier for me and I still believe that it will to some degree.

I'm starting to feel a little anxious about them sharing a room. Mainly because I don't want her waking up every time the baby does. She's pretty good about going back to sleep if she does wake up in the middle of the night but still...I just don't want to have to deal with that. I'll be nursing, changing diapers and doing too much for it to not bother her sleep. I think she'll sleep better in her own room. I think we'll all sleep better if she's in her own room.

Lately, I've been tossing around the idea of changing the guest room into her big girl room. The room isn't really that big. All of her toys and books would have to stay in the nursery. Which I like because it keeps all the toys in books in one place. She'll have plenty to keep her busy when I'm nursing. My plan is to decorate the guest room with her current room decor and decorate the current nursery for our baby boy. I could just be creating more work for myself but I'll do whatever it takes to keep getting some sleep. 

We'll see how things go. Right now I'm still in the brainstorming stage. If your toddler and newborn shared a room please share how that worked out for your family. I would love to hear about some of your experiences!

Creating a Baby Registry for Baby Two

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! I had the pleasure of speaking at an event over the weekend. My topic covered shopping for your family on a budget. It was my first time speaking as a blogger and I really enjoyed it. Another activity I had the pleasure of doing was creating a baby registry for our baby boy. Initially I wasn't going to create a registry. Then after getting a couple calls from friends and family wanting to know about a registry I figured I should go ahead and do one.

I always thought that you weren't "suppose" to have a baby shower for your second baby. Especially if your two children are close in age. Then I realized that if people wanted to send some love to my baby who was I to keep him from being showered like his sister was. Even though I am not having a baby shower this time around I figured that a registry was still a good way to give our friends and family a guide to what we need if they wanted to send something.

We still have all of our baby gear from Sav so really the only thing that I registered for was diapers and wipes. You can never have too many of those in any size, right? I made it really simple and put all types of brands and sizes on there. Since some of you may need baby gear items for baby two here are the items we received at Savannah's shower that worked great. I would recommend these to my closest girl friend....

All three of these items are part of the Fisher Price Zen Collection. The high chair has some incredible features. It reclines, the tray is dishwasher safe and the soft cushion is machine washable. Loved this high chair!

 This swing was amazing. It plugs into the wall so you don't need batteries. The seat is removable so if baby falls asleep and you need to go to another room you can just pop the seat off and take the baby with you without touching the baby. Perfect.

 I have to be honest. Sav didn't care too much for this chair. I kept it because it was another seat that she could rest in while I was in the shower. It worked great for that. Hopefully her brother will like it a bit better than she did. I think there's only so much vibrations one can take. Whenever I get a pedicure I'm always trying to turn my chair off before they're finished, haha!

The travel system we went with was the Chicco Cortina Chic (which is a big coincidence. i wasn't even blogging back then.) I liked it okay. It performed its job fine. Sometimes I found it to be a bit large. Navigating through some tight spaces and aisles was a challenge. I did love the big storage basket and the cup holders on the handle. The snack tray on the front is removable so as your kid grows you can take the tray off if you'd like. Since my carseat hasn't expired we'll be using it again. Yes I know it has pink in it but it's pretty light. I honestly don't feel the need to purchase another travel system for such a temporary stage in his life. My husband doesn't care about me using it so I'm not going to worry about it either. Besides, he'll be getting worn in a carrier more than he'll be strolling. Sav will still be getting pushed in her "lite" stroller, and I am not even about that double stroller life so...

What were some of your favorite baby gear items? What was on your registry for baby two? For some reason I feel the need to state that this was not a sponsored post. These are actual items that we were gifted or purchased on our own. 

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Prepping Baby One for Baby Two

Whew! That weekend flew by. It was a little too short for me. This weekend I was thinking a lot about Sav's reaction to her baby brother and what it's going to be like. She normally likes babies when we see them out but I'm not quite sure how she'll feel about one living here. I know that it's my job (along with my husband) to set the tone for how their relationship will be. 

I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my tips for preparing baby number one for baby number two today on the blog. Here we go.

We talk about the baby daily and call him by his name.

Soon after we decided on a name I made sure that we started using it. Kids love learning new things and it's been fun "teaching" her the baby's name. I just slide it into the name game we already play. "What's Mommy's name?" "What's Daddy's name?" "What's your brother's name?" "What's your name?" She gets a kick out of getting the names right everyday. I add new names daily too, like grandparents, uncles, aunts etc. 

Let them be "Big Helpers".

I'm all about teaching some responsibility. When I'm organizing the baby's things I let her help me. We fold his clothes together and talk about his little outfits. I tell her she's a great big sister for helping with her brother's things. She enjoys that feeling of accomplishment. I also think it get's her use to the idea that there really is a baby coming. Which brings me to my next tip....

Count baby kicks with baby number one.

If this doesn't freak you out let your toddler feel the baby moving. Savannah and I count kicks together. Sometimes it gives her the extreme giggles so we don't get that far, but at least she knows that there really is a baby in Mommy's growing belly. She knows it's not a game and I'm not making this baby up.

Celebrate becoming a sibling. 

All kids love a party. They all love cake so why not make up a reason to give them some. I plan to have a "Big Sister Party" for  Savannah. We'll have cake, ice cream and one gift from her baby brother. I also plan to give her one of the "Big Sister" certificates I've found on Pinterest. We'll have this party a day or two before I deliver so that she hasn't forgotten about her new role by the time the baby is here. Her Grandmother will be in town to watch her and I'll make sure she reminds Savannah after I've left for the hospital that she's a "Big Sister" now and that's a fun thing to be.

At the hospital...

Those moments in the hospital are so precious, but for a two year old I can imagine it will be a little overwhelming. It will be her first time seeing me in a hospital around all those machines. It will also be her first time meeting her brother. I plan to have my arms free and open for her when I see her. The baby can either lay in his bassinet or someone else can hold him while I greet her. I think it's important that when she sees me again after being apart that we can catch up a bit before introducing her to the baby. Slow and steady wins the race, right? 

At home...

This is where being a Big Sister is going to come in handy. Now the baby is on Savannah's turf. I'll be keeping her on her regular schedule with all her activities. He'll be along for the ride as we begin to get him adapted to his new routine. Sav can help with tummy time, baths and whatever else peaks her interest. If she's not feeling it one day I won't press her about it. The way I see it it takes nine (ten) months to get ready for a baby and it probably takes that long for a toddler to realize the baby is here to stay. Pretty soon she won't even remember what life was like before him. 

What are some of your tips for getting baby one ready for baby two?

Military Momma Baby Shower

Hi everyone. Sorry I've been slacking this week. We've been busy with gymnastics (which was a disaster), dance and play dates. I've also been busy with eBay and the neighborhood yard sale page. It's not as easy as I thought it would be to sell my daughter's super cute wardrobe. Anyway. I did have the opportunity to attend a baby shower yesterday along with forty nine other expecting ladies. It was great!

I didn't take pictures during the shower, but I wish I had. This was an event for military members and their spouses so I left my blogger hat at home, kind of.  There were guest speakers who spoke briefly about finances, breastfeeding and resources available to military families. We played some pretty fun games and we had lunch. I really enjoyed myself. Operation Homefront did an amazing job with this event. If you are a military service member or spouse in your second or third trimester in Texas please check out the Operation Homefront site to find out about events and resources in your area.

All of the Moms went home with a thirty-one bag filled with spa goodies. Here is my bag and all of it's contents.

I can not wait to try out the mani and pedi set. I am long overdue for a little pampering session. The candle in the bag smells amazing too. I was very happy with what we received.

Of course if it's a baby shower you have to be showered with items for your baby too. So all of the Moms went home with a huge tote bag filled with everything from outfits and onesies to diapers and wipes. There was even an Aveeno bath kit in the bag. I was especially happy about that. 

Before we left they pulled names for door prizes. They gave away baby gear mainly. I was one of the six winners and I received a walker. I was beyond excited!

I was so lucky to be chosen as one of the fifty expecting Moms. I had a great time and am so thankful for everything we received. It's so weird being away from family and friends during a pregnancy. This was a great way to celebrate baby number two. Thanks again to Operation Homefront for giving all of us a little piece of home.

Baby Preparation: It Begins

First I want to sincerely thank everyone for all of their advice and motivation over these past couple weeks. It has really meant a lot to me. I finally cracked the lid on her bins this morning. I decided to take it one bin at a time. My plan for selling her things is to group like items, brands or sizes together. This will allow me to do "lot" listings as opposed to selling individual outfits. 

This was the first "lot" that I put together. It was a carter's sleepwear listing. I use eBay as a pricing reference. I listed this "lot" on the yard sale page for my neighborhood and it was sold within thirty minutes. Great, right? I still have a long way to go but at least the ball is rolling. 

I'm gathering all of her shoes before selling any of them. These are all of the shoes I've found so far and I still haven't gone through all of her bins yet. I'm not sure how I'm going to approach selling her shoes. I think I might do a mix of individual listings and "lot" sales.

I will be saving these along with her white "walking" shoes for our baby boy. I had completely forgotten that she even had these. I also found bibs and a couple other things that her brother will be able to use. Yay, for hand me downs!!! Her clothes are in such great condition that I really hate to see them go but I can't keep everything. Our military nomadic lifestyle doesn't really allow you to be a sentimental hoarder. I'll keep some of her things but the majority of it has to go. Tear.

Wish me luck! So far my collective sales total is twenty five dollars. I sold one of my dresses on the yard sale page too. "A dolla makes me holla honey boo boo chile!"