New Baby Must-Haves

Hi.  It's me, Jess.  Shouting from across the void.

A void filled with piles of unfolded baby clothes, dirty diapers, and those little disposable plastic cap things that go on the ear thermometer.

Also 7 trillion breast pump parts that have to be washed and sterilized all of the goddamn time.

You guys, I'm so tired.  Everyone tells you how tired you'll be, but you just have no way of really understanding just how tired you will be.

And breastfeeding is just a treat, she said sarcastically.

But finding yourself in survival mode for 3 months can really put into perspective what really matters in life... like having a top notch baby swing and baby pajamas that zip from the bottom so you don't have to strip your baby every time you change his diaper.

And, you know, loving something with every fiber of your being.  That shines through the darkness too.

Here are some of the things that have been absolute lifesavers for us... many were gifted to us, but many we discovered on our own as rookie parents with an Amazon Prime account.

First of all, AMAZON PRIME, you guys.  This would be my #1 gift for any new parent.  My god how we have taken advantage of that free shipping.

WASH CLOTHS - I remember after my baby showers thinking 'I have way too many tiny wash cloths'.  I was wrong.  These are handy for everything. Wiping noses. Wiping barfs. Cleaning babies. Cleaning yourself.

BURP CLOTHS - My mom made me tons of flannel burp cloths and I go through about 20 of them a day.  I love them so much. I keep them everywhere and I usually end up with about 5 of them next to his bassinet every morning from carrying them with me from night time feedings. If you don't have a cool mom to make these for you, I've been super impressed with a free one we got from Burt's Bees, but they are a little pricy.  Cloth diapers also work great. Get yourself about 30. Seriously.

WEARABLE BLANKETS - We use Halo SleepSacks.  It's part of our night time routine to put him in one of these, and I think it has helped him understand the transition from awake time to sleep time. We have a warm, sweaty little baby, but these things are light enough that they keep him cozy without making him too hot. We have two of these, plus a fleece one for colder nights.

MUSLIN BLANKETS - Anyone in the business of procreation has heard of the ubiquitous Aden & Anais muslin blankets.  I don't own a single one.  I'm sure they're great, but they seem pretty expensive for a very simply hemmed square of muslin.  My mom made me one that I absolutely love out of a fun piece of muslin she bought online.  Wade also got a great deal on a fantastic 4 layer muslin blanket on Amazon that we love.  It's plain white and just about the coziest thing you can wrap a baby in... SO SOFT.  It's also great for creating a nice backdrop for a photo.

PAJAMAS - Quentin basically lived in pajamas for the first month of his life.  Now I make an effort to put him in some kind of outfit every day (mostly because we got so many cute ones as gifts and I feel guilty not using them), but I would be 100% okay with him just living in soft pajamas.  The two standouts for us have been from Cat & Jack and Burt's Bees.  The Cat & Jack pajamas are from Target and they have a reverse zip which is SO AWESOME.  You unzip the pajamas from the bottom so that you can change a diaper without completely undressing the baby.  They are lightweight, soft and pretty decently made.  They come in a pack of 3 for about $13.  The Burt's Bees pajamas are the Cadillac of pajamas.  They don't have the reverse zip, but they are the softest and most well-made pajamas we have.  We got one as a gift and went out and bought more.  They cost around $12 each... so definitely pricier but also definitely worth every penny.

BOPPY INFANT LOUNGER - I put this infant lounger pillow on my registry impulsively and received it from a friend at my shower.  I had no idea how much I would use this thing.  Quentin has basically lived in this pillow for the past 3 months and he is sadly about to outgrow it.  We use it on the couch so that he can chill with us in the evening.  It's nice having him with us on the couch instead of in his rock n' play or swing.  We can watch TV or eat dinner and still interact with him.  It was also awesome for tummy time early on when he wasn't loving laying on his tummy.  I think it helped position him more comfortably.  It's also great for positioning for impromptu photo shoots!

Please note the ever-present pile of baby laundry in the background

BABYCONNECT APP - This app was recommended to us by my sister in law Kristine.  We use it to keep track of diaper changes and breastfeeding.  There are lots of other ways to use this app, but this is mainly what we have used it for and it has been 100% indispensable.  Every time you go to the pediatrician or lactation clinic they will ask you about the number of wet diapers and nursing sessions or bottles in the past 24 hours.  This makes figuring that out super simple.  I also keep track of his weight for no other purpose than my own entertainment.

WEESCHOOL APP - I heard about this app through Baby Rabies.  There are so many baby development milestone charts on Pinterest, but I think they were making me anxious.  This app displays just the milestones to watch for during the current month you are in age-wise.  It also gives you simple activities to do with your baby to help hit these milestones and other developments down the road.  It's super straightforward and simple.  I love it.

Magpie Heart

In the mood for something new and shiny?  Always.


Baublebar Lightening Rod Drops

I bought these earrings to wear to the Wichita Art Museum Color Party.  It was the tenth anniversary of the party so they asked people to dress in any of the colors from the past ten parties.

I bought a cheap but awesome tonal sequin dress from Forever 34, but when it arrived I realized that I looked like 10 lbs of potatoes in a 5 lbs sack.  Nope nope nope.

I ended up wearing a black goddess-y maxi dress with neon embroidery from last summer.  I still wore the earrings, and I copied this hairstyle.

You guys, I looked like some kind of Electric Kool-Aid Earth Goddess from the Moon.  I felt awesome. Totally worth the $34.

Drunk. Terrible Lighting. Very Happy.

Klimt Tarot - Pocket Golden Edition

Use them. Frame them.  Keep them in a pretty silk pouch and just enjoy the knowledge that you possess them.  Whatevs.

Here is a good Tarot reference guide for getting started!


Real Techniques Brushes - this set, this set, and THIS BRUSH for starters

 

You guys.  You GUYS.  The expert face brush alone is worth its weight in gold.  These brushes are so ding dang cheap and so well-made... plus they are synthetic which means precious baby animals are not being harmed for your vain ass self.

I was a MAC/Sigma/Zoeva/Morphe brush-aholic.  These are better.  Plus they are so cheap that you can buy multiple sets... and you will want multiple sets.  The base shadow brush from the eyes starter set (purple brushes) is a more wonderful MAC 217.  Which anyone who spends any amount of time doing make knows is the end all be all of eye shadows brushes.  It's your base shadow brush, your crease brush, your blending brush, your concealer brush, your nose contour brush.  You can't have enough of them.

And that expert face brush will change your foundation/blush/bronzer/contour game.  So so good.

OH!  And the deluxe crease brush from the eyes starter set is my new go-to concealer blending brush!

I Went To a Bridal Fair and Only Had One Panic Attack

Way way back in January, when the cold and snow still seemed like a quaint opportunity to indulge in coziness, I coerced my mom and Aunt Rho into accompanying me to the local bridal fair.

I prepared. I read blog posts with tips about how to negotiate the shit storm of information and solicitation one would encounter. I put together a BINDER with TABS and POUCHES.

I brought a pen, you guys.

I had a super brief shopping list of vendors to check out because, lo and behold, I had actually broken my lifelong tradition of procrastinating everything to the last effing day/week/month, and found myself ahead of my planning schedule.

What I needed:

- A DJ

- A Florist

- To sample all of the caterers even though I already had a caterer


What I left with:

- A string quartet for the ceremony that I never even knew I needed/wanted/could afford

- A lot of business cards

- A desperate and irrational need for one of these dumb but awesome shirts.

I KNOW.  So basic, but GIMMEGIMMEGIMME.

I made it about 1/3 of the way through the vendors before I had my meltdown. It was one I had needed to have for weeks… one that for many people would have been preempted by simply asking their loved ones for help.

Being an unintentionally dramatic sort… I decided to go with my tried and true technique of bottling things up until I explode.

As I always say "If it ain’t broke… don’t try to resolve it without causing a scene!"

My aunt and my mom were great. They pulled me aside, listened to my barrage of “But WHOs? But HOWs? But WHENNNs?” and calmly reassured me that all of these things would be figured out and taken care of and that I had plenty of help. I would not spend my wedding away running around the reception space setting up elaborate centerpieces and trying to paint my dog’s toenails. (Note to self: Add ‘Ask father to paint dog’s toenails’ to to-do list).


Because, you know, it is all going to get done. And it’s going to be awesome and now that things are coming together and I can anticipate what it’s going to look/be/feel like to have my friends and family surrounding me when I marry my favorite being in the entire universe… well… I seriously can’t wait, you guys!

Asking Believing Receiving

I've decided to ask the Universe for something very important.

Love?

Money?

Power?

Those would all be great too, but what I really want are Björk tickets.

You guys, in February and March Björk is doing 4 shows in Paris, on an island in the Seine, IN A FUCKING CIRCUS TENT.

I just love her so much and I want to see her perform live before I'm dead and buried.

So this is me lighting a million sticks of strawberry incense in front of the statue of the Patron Saint of Icelandic Pixie Gnome Electro-Folk-Pop-Whatever She Feels Like Singers, imploring her to hear my prayer and send me concert tickets and a few plane tickets and maybe accommodations at a 3 to 4 star boutique hotel.

Pretty please?