Prepping the Condo for Baby

It's been a productive week starting to prepare our place for baby. With no nursery to decorate (tear) the projects are fairly small and I can handle most of them with Brian helping me lift the heavy stuff.

Making Space for Baby Gear:
The first step was to clear some space so we can start bringing baby items over from Burnsville. Boxed up all of our China (sadly haven't used it since the wedding anyway) and baby now gets the China Hutch all to himself. Should be great for storing all his bathroom & feeding essentials, books, toys, & gadgets etc.


Next came the closet. With just maternity clothes left standing it was fairly easy for me to sacrifice 2 shelves and a hanging rack for baby clothes & blankets, but this fall we'll have to negotiate a Plan B with Brian when I start bringing my regular clothes back in. Luckily we have quite a bit of top shelf space in the closet so I'm thinking we can put the bouncer, bumbo, play gym, baby bathtub, and extra diapers up there.





Shopping for Baby:
Again with no nursery there isn't much to get, but we did want to pick out a glider so I have a comfy spot to nurse and for Brian to rock baby to sleep. Have a feeling I'll have to fight the boys for it as I'm imagining many evenings spent with Brian watching a game and baby sleeping on his chest - makes me smile just thinking about it! We ran around the city testing out pretty much every model that exists. I wanted one that looked modern and that would be comfortable for both Brian & I which proved challenging to find. This is the closest Brian will get to a La-Z-Boy until he has a man cave someday so he was very picky ;) It came down to a "cheap" traditional glider from Babies R Us or splurging/investing in a top of the line piece of furniture that will hopefully last through future Woods Babies and could be used for seating outside of a nursery. Only the best for baby of course, so we're really excited about the glider we picked out at Babies on Grand (adorable store) in Hopkins. Behold the Dutailier Intermezzo - isn't she beautiful?


We went with microfiber instead of leather and got the glider + reclining option and matching glider ottoman but the color is similar to this picture and Brian talked his way into free shipping, delivery, and assembly. It should be here in two weeks but if not the store will provide a loaner glider until it arrives. It will replace the small striped chair in the picture below by the window and will awkwardly stick out to the middle of the living room but life will go on.


Next purchase was a small combo unit for the bedroom that will double as a dresser and changing table. Black is definitely not my ideal nursery color but is our bedroom furniture color so options were pretty limited. Storage was the main priority with this since we'll only need it until the condo sells, so we went with a cheap option from Target.com. Some complaints on the product reviews about the quality and time it took to put together, but I suppose you have to expect that for the price and I'm hoping it will work out nicely for baby clothes and diaper stuff. Maybe Uncle Trent will come over and help Brian put it together in exchange for beer...


Was really excited to get our Restoration Hardware Baby & Child Moses Basket - thanks so much Glasrud Family! Now I still get a tiny piece of the nursery I wanted since the fabric is the theme I was going to decorate around. I ordered the matching stand which essentially makes it a cozy bassinet/cradle so this will be where Prince W will get to sleep for the first couple months right next to mommy. Will replace with the Pack N Play when he outgrows it and then the basket will work perfectly for storing baby items.


So how will this all fit into one bedroom you might ask? Very carefully - it will be very um... cozy. I measured it out and and marked off with masking tape and we're talking only inches to spare to get the dresser and "crib" to fit on the open wall. Here is a before picture to reference. My night stand on the left will get the boot and we'll flip Brian's all the way against the wall and shove the bed over as far as it goes. Should leave enough room for me to scoot in between the bed and the "nursery." It's not going to look pretty but it'll work. Cheers to slumber parties ahead (minus sleep) with Brian, Bella, and Baby :)




Strollin
Brian assembled the stroller and infant carseat and we had lots of fun test driving it around the condo with Bella. It rolls really smooth and corners great. Brian will get the car bases installed and inspected this week so we can be cleared to take baby home from the hospital!





Apologies for the super long post. Couldn't sleep per usual so got up early. Brian will be sleeping off his beverages from the wedding last night for hours to come so lots of time to blog, thus the rambling. Heading to Burnsville this afternoon while Brian goes golfing to organize all of baby's gear and am excited to take a load back to the condo tonight! 17 days to go...

37 Week Pic

21 days to go! Dealing with swollen feet and bathroom trips every hour, but hanging in there. At 37 weeks baby is considered full term if he decides to make an early appearance. I still need a couple more weeks to feel mentally prepared and to get the condo ready, but I'm definitely ready to be done working. After July 1st I'm going to start working from home several days a week which should make the last couple weeks bearable.

Baby and I had a productive evening running all over town exchanging duplicate gifts and picking up some necessities. Starting to clean up a few essentials from our registries, although there really isn't too much left to get because everyone was so generous! Really excited to find a hospital picture/going home outfit - finally! Note to self - stay away from the Southdale Macy's as they carry Ralph Lauren Layette in store - oops again!


We have a fun wedding Saturday evening and this weekend kicks off getting the condo ready for baby. Time to get creative and efficient with space. Brian's big project will be installing the carseat - he even found a fire station to bring it by for inspection next week! Need to test drive a few more gliders and get that ordered along with finding a small dresser to double as a changing table in the bedroom. Lots to do - he's almost here!!!

Girls Just Want to have Fun!

Such a fabulous weekend! My best friend Amy lives in DC and flew in Friday morning. We had a relaxing day running errands, shopping, hanging out with my mom and sister, and hours of chatting. We had a good old fashion slumber party in Burnsville - oh the memories!




Saturday was my MN baby shower hosted by Amy, Katie, and Deb - it was absolutely perfect! I was in heaven because they had so much "Kyle Food" on hand - it was paradise :) 19 very special ladies came from near and far to help celebrate Baby Woods and it meant the world to me. It was the coolest feeling to be surrounded by a room full of ladies from all different places in my life. Had a lovely Kappa crew, the DCrew ladies represented, and my MN girls came over in full force! I just feel like the luckiest girl in the world and am so blessed to have made so many wonderful friendships over the years.





I have to give a special shoutout to my friend Natalie for surprising me with a beautiful baby shower cake. She owns Sweets by Natalie Kay and is so talented. MN peeps if you every need a cake for a special occasion keep Natalie in mind. She even made me plain vanilla cupcakes - my favorite!




Baby Woods sure is one spoiled little guy - all his "aunties" were so generous and hooked him up with so many awesome gifts. Thanks so much everyone!






I have a feeling the swing will be a favorite of mom and dad's, and baby will love the ExerSaucer. So excited to open the infant carseat and stroller from my parents - it was hard to hold back tears as this was a much needed essential. My godmother kept the tradition alive with a super fun red wagon - have a feeling this will provide wonderful memories for years to come. Restoration Hardware Baby & Child boxes make me smile - love it! I'm going to feel like such a fashionable mommy carrying around a Kate Spade Diaper Bag - wohoo!

A big thank you shoutout to my hostesses! It was fun to pick out their thank you gifts - Tiffany's makes beautiful barware gift sets that wouldn't be complete without their favorite beverage to go inside...



The fun didn't stop when the shower was over. We headed downtown for "Mama's Last Night Out" which was a blast. Think bachelorette party but G rated :) We had a delicious dinner at the trendy D'Amico Kitchen in the Chambers Hotel. They even had non alcoholic champagne on the drink list! We topped off the evening by enjoying a round of drinks on Brit's rooftop patio. The girls kept the party going in baby's honor and a very tired mama headed back to the Hyatt around midnight with a couple ladies to watch chick flicks and kick of slumber party #2. High School Musical might just be my favorite new movie ;) Baby and I sure were entertained as the girls trickled in from the bar. Sadly I didn't have a camera with me so there is no documentation of the evening, but it might just go down as the funnest baby shower ever.

Dr. Appt (37 weeks)

Our appointment this morning went well - such a great start to the week!

-My blood pressure was normal
-Measuring 37cm which is right on for 37 weeks
-Baby's heart rate was 130
-Cervix is still closed but is now 50% effaced
-Head down, facing right
-Did GBS Screen

Dr. Berven did a bedside ultrasound on a machine that looked like a portable DVD player. It was so fun to see our little man again - it's been almost 4 months since our last ultrasound. It confirmed he is definitely head down and amniotic fluid levels look good - yay! We could make out his nose and mouth and he was waving one arm at us while sucking his thumb - so sweet!

I go back in for appointments every Friday now and the doctor had me schedule appointments the week of my due date and the week after just in case we need them (hopefully not!) 23 days to go...

Oops! Lunch Break Shopping Trip

I ventured into the skyways over lunch in search of something to wear for my baby shower on Saturday. I'm so sick of wearing the same outfits over and over again and am feeling big and not cute so was happy to find something that will pass as festive for the weekend.

Baby has gotten so many cute outfits as gifts - such a lucky guy. I've been able to hold off buying him anything for the most part, but do want to pick out a going home/hospital picture outfit (snugly, soft, and free of cartoons/animals/patterns/big logos etc). This is proving to be surprisingly difficult to find and didn't see what I was looking for today. But I did find 3 outfits I loved - couldn't help myself!


Baby now has two summer "going out" options - Ralph Lauren of course - they were two delicious to pass up and he'll look like one cool dude when he is meeting lady friends at Mommy and Me baby classes ;) Also found a Twins Tracksuit on clearance size 3-6 months which should be perfect for cheering the boys on in the pennant race this fall!

Bella Prep

We're trying to prepare Miss Bella for her brother's arrival, which will pretty much rock her world. After 2 weeks I think we can officially call Phase I a success. She sleeps in bed with us as it makes her a happy camper and we'll admit we like it too. The problem is she loves to get up in the middle of the night and roam around the condo which sometimes left us with unpleasant surprises in the morning. Hard to break a 4 year habit, but now we put a leash on her at night so she can't jump down, and the result has been wonderful. Wohoo!

Phase II might prove to be more difficult. She gets so excited around kids and wants to give their toes/fingers/face kisses and play. She wouldn't hurt a fly, but we want to start working on "gentle" as a command to calm her down and teach her boundaries with baby etc. As we bring baby's gear downtown will start showing her his things and working on it. Tried this afternoon with an adorable cuddle blanket my friend Meghan sent over from Milwaukee (thanks Megs!). It didn't go well but it was pretty darn cute. Long ways to go on this one...

36 Week Pic

My coworkers threw me a baby shower this afternoon - so sweet of them! A while back they asked what I'd like to do for it. I pictured a typical office shindig (sitting around a big table in a conference room eating cake over awkward conversation) and thought a happy hour would be much more fun for everyone and more my style. We had a beautiful sunny day for sitting out on the patio at The Black Bamboo and baby got some really cute gifts. Thanks guys!

Looking forward to actually being able to partake in happy hours again this fall, but my lemonade sure was tasty!

Newton's Newest Teacher!!!

We wanted to send a huge congratulations shout out to Brian's sister Amy! We're so proud of her - she was officially voted in today by the Newton, Iowa school board! She'll have her own classroom starting in August teaching 3 and 4 year old Special Ed Preschool. Amy has her undergrad and is finishing up her masters this summer from Iowa State in Early Childhood Education & Special Education and is extremely talented with little ones. Baby is so lucky to have such a fabulous auntie and mommy will have Amy on speed dial this summer ;) Congrats Miss Woods!

Daycare Dilema Solved!

Another huge item to check off the to-do list - this one was a biggie, so such a relief to have a place figured out.

While the books and checklists tell you to start looking at childcare options pretty much right after conception, we didn't know if we'd be downtown or out in the suburbs so had to hold off. Once June came around figured we'd just find a place downtown so I started contacting centers for pricing and availability. We knew it would be expensive, but oh my gosh the sticker shock was still unpleasant! The going rate downtown is $300/$350 per WEEK. Yikes! Not much we can do about the price, but the real panic set it when every place was full and didn't have availability until Spring 2011-eek! I go back to work in October, so that 6 month gap would be a huge issue.

Luckily we had expert consultation on what to look for in a daycare visit. A big thank you to my sister-in-laws for their help! Jamie is the director of a daycare in Omaha and Amy has worked at the Iowa State campus daycare and will be teaching pre-school this fall. These ladies are pros!


God must have known we needed a pick-me-up with all of the condo drama - such a blessing to get an email late last week about an infant opening in October at the New Horizon Academy on Marquette. Brian and I met with the director this afternoon and toured the facility. I was pleasantly surprised with how big the space was for being downtown, and the rooms were nice and bright and clean. It's NAEYC accredited and I really liked the director and assistant director. The kids were adorable and looked like they were having a blast, and the teachers were friendly. Not that we had other options, but left feeling comfortable that baby would be well taken care of and safe, so we're going to move forward with paying the deposit to reserve our spot. If baby arrives around July 14th I'll be heading back to work the week of October 11th.

Condo (sigh)

Well unfortunately all the talk of an offer over these past two weeks was for not - it sounded too good to be true and it was :( Finally got the official news from the Realtor last night. While our place is still the top of the potential buyer's list, it turns out his legal issue isn't going away quickly. He is in the process of cancelling his prior purchase agreement on the flood plain property since it wasn't disclosed, but the seller of the house has now filed a lawsuit against him for breech of contract so they could be battling this out in court for the next 60 days or more.

So baby will get to live in our little home in the sky after all. We'll spend the first week in July getting our chic little condo baby ready. We've been keeping all of his gear at my parents house and have lots of our stuff in storage over there as well, so have lots of rearranging to do. Might rent another storage locker at the condo to try and control the chaos somewhat but I have a feeling it will be slightly out of control. The thought of having mismatched decor is making me cringe, but baby won't care if there is a glider awkwardly sitting in the middle of the living room and I suppose I won't either the second I get to meet the little guy.

We decided to "lower" our listing price by essentially throwing in our 2nd parking spot. Just a $15K freebie - no big deal :/ Our original plan was to take the condo off the market July 1, but now we're considering leaving it on through fall. While it will be royal pain to do this with a new baby, it realistically would only be 2-3 showings a month and we'd require at least 24 hours notice. We have gotten decent traffic through thus far and if we take it off now, it would most likely be Spring 2011 before it would go back on. Thinking this might be more challenging with a crawler/walker who has lots more gear and toys to hide than with a newborn.

So... cheers to city living!

30 Days Left!

Craziness - it's June 14th - 30 days till our due date!

After some fun research I got to cross another item off the to-do list. Find a Newborn Photographer... done! I love pictures, so I have a feeling that this will be the first of many photo shoots for Baby W. Decided to splurge on this first session -really hope they turn out well! I found a couple rave reviews for Angela Kalthoff and after seeing her website and emailing back and forth I'm sold! She specializes in newborns and prefers to capture them between days 5-10. Thinking of going with the mini digital session so we get the rights to the photos and the digital files. This way we can use for the birth announcements and send/print for family etc.

So if you're looking for a fun distraction from your Monday at work, follow the below instructions to check out Angela's beautiful work :)

-Go to Angela Kalthoff.com
-Click on "Website"
-Click on "Portfolio"
-Click on "Fresh" to view the newborn pics

Weekend Roundup

It was a nice relaxing weekend - nothing all that exciting to report but we figured we should enjoy a lazy quiet weekend since we don't have many left!

We had a good trip down to Rochester Friday night. Great to hang out with Brian's family and we had the most amazing dinner. Congratulations to the graduate - Brian's cousin Kevin will be heading out to Oregon State this fall. If you ever find yourself in Rochester you should check out Pescara!


It was a rainy Saturday so we slept in, layed around, cheered on Team USA and watched the Twins till the rain stopped. We walked down to Peavy Plaza in the evening to check out the Famous Dave's Blues Festival. Brian was a happy camper to get some BBQ and the people watching was phenomenal. Bella came with us and lots of "interesting" people stopped to pet her. It was nice to venture out downtown and besides getting really wet we had a good time.


It was another productive Sunday for us. Church + Groceries before lunch - wow! We checked out Evergreen Community Church this morning. We really enjoyed the music and the message was very interesting. It was a tad too casual for our liking and while we saw lots of junior high/highschool/college age kids and lots of middle age adults we didn't see a lot of young professionals or young families around. So probably not "the one" again, but definetly closer to what we're looking for. The Upper Room in St. Louis Park is next on the list and will go back to Grace in Eden Prairie to try it out again. Hopefully we'll find a couple more to add to the list.

Had a yummy dinner in Burnsville with the fam tonight and just finished watching the Tony Awards - it might surprise some of you but Brian is a big Broadway fan. So fun to watch all the performances.

No condo updates so it's not looking good. Frusterating since we had pretty much gotten use to the idea of baby starting out downtown and then got our hopes up with all this talk of an offer on its way. (sigh) On a positive note found a promising daycare option downtown that we're checking out this Tuesday.

Have a great week everyone!
xoxo Brian, Kyle, Bella & Baby

35 Weeks

34 days to go! My hips are starting to get achy so the waddle is in full force now. I thought these tank tops would be plenty long enough but now they are dangerously close to not covering my belly anymore.


Tomorrow evening we're heading to Rochester for Brian's cousin's high school graduation celebration. It'll be nice to catch up with the Woods Clan! I'm so ready for the weekend - exhausted. Hoping to get some condo news by Sunday...

Baby Class #3

We had our last baby class tonight on Baby Care Basics. They covered procedures done at the hospital, diapering, swaddling, bathing etc. Each couple was given a baby doll and we had to take turns holding him all evening like a real newborn. Then we had time to practice so Brian tackled his first diaper ever and I attempted to swaddle - it was pretty entertaining. I'm thinking most of our practice is going to be by trial and error those first couple weeks - hopefully we can keep our sense of humor while sleep deprived. Brian looked like a natural with our baby...


We're trying to tackle our to-do list while I still have some energy left - such a good feeling to get things checked off! Finally got around to the birth plan and started daycare research which has been eye opening and frusterating. (separate post coming soon)

No condo updates/offers yet - all we can do is wait and hope!

Church Shopping

The Woods Family had one of our most productive Sunday mornings ever - made it to 10:15 church, and went out for a lovely brunch (Redstone -yummy!) and went grocery shopping all before 1:30pm. Impressive for us!


Both of us grew up in strong Christian homes and faith was/is very important to us. In college we made it to a service or two on the rare occasion and these past 5 years finding a church in the twin cities has always been something we've been meaning to do, but sadly never quite got around to it. Several New Years Resolutions ago we checked out Grace in Eden Prairie and really liked it, but the 45 minute drive turned into a convenient excuse not to go.

So while we've hit up the major Holidays with our families and have definitely held on to our beliefs - it's about time we find a church to call home. Funny how being 34 weeks pregnant gives you motivation to focus on the important things...

The trick is going to be finding a place that both of us enjoy and are comfortable with. Brian grew up in a Evangelical Free Church and I was raised Catholic. We both lean toward contemporary services now, and are thinking something along the lines of "non-denominational" might be a good blend for us. We'd like to find a growing church with lots of young couples/families and a great children's ministry. Twin Cities peeps - any suggestions?

We checked out Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie this morning. The building was nice, people were friendly, saw lots of kids and the music was pretty. It was a lovely service and I'm sure it would be a great place to join, but I didn't walk away thinking it was "the one."

The message was interesting though - along the lines of not criticizing how others worship. Amen to that - the bickering that goes on between denominations drives me crazy. The attitude that one is better than another, or the mis perceptions that exist about denominations are ridiculous. We're all on Team Jesus right?

We're hoping to test out a few more churches before Baby arrives - we'll let you know how the "shopping" goes ;)

Condo Update

This past week had led to some interesting/promising condo developments, but we're trying not to get our hopes up as so many things have to fall in place still. We had a showing Tuesday evening from 8-9, and got a call at 9 saying the couple was hoping to have an extra 15 minutes in our unit. Figured this was a good sign. Our Realtor said they really liked our place and were hoping to make a decision in the next week and need two parking spaces which definitely works to our advantage since we're the only 1 bedroom for sale at Grant Park with 2 spots.


Thursday they called to schedule a 2nd showing for Sunday morning - plenty of notice right? We headed off to baby class yesterday with the plan of spending last night and this morning cleaning for the showing. About 10am in the middle of a video showing a birth in detail (lovely) Brian got a call from the Realtor. The couple wanted to move up the showing to 4pm Saturday as it would give them more time to write up an offer. Yay for talk about an offer, boo that our class went until 4pm and the condo was a disaster - eek!

In came my mom to the rescue - bless her heart she absolutely saved the day. She dropped everything and swung by Edina to grab the keys from us and headed downtown to pull off a miracle. Brian and I can get the condo in "showing shape" in about an hour and a half - hide any clutter, wipe down surfaces, and clean the floors and it looks pretty decent. We were thinking my mom could just hide things under the bed, do a quick wipe down, and take Bella home with her which would be such a big help and the condo would be presentable. Well 5 hours later she had given it a deep dive clean, baked cookies, put flowers out, and had it absolutely sparkling - I don't think it's ever been so clean! My brother and sister came over and helped for several hours as well - I heart Team Davis! So thank you isn't nearly enough, but thank you thank you thank you! I think a nice steak dinner on us is in order for our helpers...


Our Realtor called around 7pm with what could be good news, but time will tell. The couple loves our place and intends to make an offer - hopefully we'll see something in writing by Tuesday. However, the catch is that they have a legal issue to deal with first. They had placed and offer that was accepted on a house, only to find out before closing that it was in a flood plain. They want nothing to do with this property for good reason, and are attempting to get out of the contract. This rather important detail was not disclosed in any way prior to contract signing, so their lawyer is saying the contract is null and void and that it should be cleared up in a day or two. The home owner is saying too bad, they signed the contract, buy flood insurance and they'll be just fine. I'd love to think its an easy Monday morning fix with their attorney like they're telling us, but I'm not sure anything legal happens that quickly so we'll just have to hang out and see what happens. From there the offer needs to be something we can afford to swallow, which is unlikely in such a buyer's market, so we have to be prepared for a lowball offer. Good thing I married an exceptional negotiator ;)

So lots of IFs... we'll keep you posted. Prayers would be much appreciated!

Baby Class #2

We survived our 8 hours of "Preparation for Childbirth" class yesterday at Amma Maternity. It was a rainy day which was perfect for spending a Saturday in class. Our instructor Cari was a sweetheart and kept things moving along and interesting. It was a good blend of her talking, videos, and participation and prepped us well for July. We covered the ins and outs of labor. What happens at each stage, birthing positions, relaxation, massage and breathing techniques, medication options, complications, c-sections, post-partum care etc. Then we got to practice for a while. Brian's comments kept me laughing and I giggled my way through the breathing exercises - so strange to be on the floor with 15 other pregnant couples he he he hooing it. Brian did great and will be an excellent "birth partner" - I think the massage practice was my favorite part :)

While I know it will be the most painful thing I've ever experience, I'm not so much worried about the pain - more so just really want everything to go smoothly and baby to be born healthy. Plus we're planning on going the epidural route so hopefully it works its magic for me.

What's Up Doc? (34 weeks)

Baby and I had a good morning of appointments! My 34 week checkup was easy breezy:

-Normal Blood Pressure
-Measuring 34cm
-Head Down
-Heartbeat is 130
-No Early Labor Signs

I've started to get the occasional Braxton Hicks contractions but they haven't been painful and go away if I shift positions so it's a-ok. At my 36 week appt she'll do a bedside ultrasound and a few tests - haven't seen little man since 22 weeks so really looking forward to it!


Meet our new pediatrician - Doctor Mary Bloomberg. The prenatal consultation with her went wonderfully - I loved her! She had a very calming presence and was extremely friendly. She scored major brownie points by starting out talking about how important it is that her new moms feel comfortable asking questions and that there is no such thing as a silly question. She said since babies don't come with instruction manuals it's normal to be overwhelmed and she is here to help and that one of her favorite parts of her job is watching new parents gain confidence over time. Got the lowdown on how scheduling and well baby appointments work and the 24/7 nurse line etc. Walked away comfortable and relieved to have found someone I liked so well by chance. Embarrassing to admit, but I picked her from the list on the website because she looked friendly and motherly in her picture ;) Baby will get to meet her 1 week after he is born for his first checkup.

34 weeks

6 more weeks to go! This past week has been a busy growing week for Baby W as proof by 1) itchy itchy tummy skin 2) new stretch marks (boo!) and 3) how much I cringed when I saw this belly picture:


Hoping for a healthy report at the doctors tomorrow morning. After my 34 wk appointment I have an appointment with a pediatrician in Saint Louis Park - essentially a meet and greet type interview to make sure I like her before entrusting her with my baby's health. Just want to make sure I'd feel comfortable asking her ridiculous new mom questions without feeling rushed or judged.

I'm feeling pretty decent still and am very thankful for that. My walk is turning into a slow waddle and energy is decreasing, probably because I'm not sleeping well. I'm a light sleeper anyway but between bathroom runs and flopping around like a fish trying to get comfortable it's pretty sad. They say it's nature's way of preparing you for a newborn so I should be somewhat ready for the sleepless nights ahead this summer.

The Happiest Baby on the Block

Finished baby book #2: Harvey Karp's "The Happiest Baby on the Block." Another good read and seemed to make a lot of sense. Summary:

His theory is that the first 3 months are actually the 4th trimester - that baby is essentially still a fetus. Thus the best way to sooth baby is to recreate a womb like atmosphere by following the "5 S's" or what he calls the cuddle cure. When baby is fussy:

1) Swaddle
2) Side/Stomach
3) Shhhh
4) Swinging
5) Sucking


With a little practice I think we can definitely handle this - hope it works as well as he says it will! His philosophy falls towards the "On Demand" end of the spectrum in terms of anti schedule for the first 3 months and feeding as needed to comfort. This directly contradicts the last book I read, so I totally get why new moms get overwhelmed when even the "experts" disagree. So we'll try and have the mindset that there isn't a right or wrong way and just figure out what works for us and ask that everyone respect our decisions even if it's not how they personally would go about it.

On deck: "On Becoming Baby Wise - Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep."

Bella's Boyfriend...

Meet Coach - a spunky fun loving 7 month old yorkie who is quite smitten with Miss B. His mom and dad live at Grant Park and are super fun. We went out for dinner and drinks with them last week and then Bella and Coach had their 3rd date at Coach's condo and they decided to go steady. No overnight dates until Mr C gets fixed - he makes frequent attempts to mount Miss B, but she is quick to whip around and snarl at him.


That's my girl - keepin it classy!