The Big Lug

Though I’m sure baby products are a million dollar industry, I’m always surprised at how a newborn really needs surprisingly few things to get by. Here are a few things that I’ve found essential this time around:

Big receiving blankets. Some receiving blankets are too small to effectively use for a tight swaddle. The ones put out by Carter’s are 30″x40″ which is plenty wide for a tight wrap. Of course there are a lot of specialty swaddling blankets out there but I haven’t tried any of them. Also for babies born in the summer I’ve started to see these great muslin baby blankets. I think they’d make a great gift for a summer baby. I also think they’d be an easy craft project to make for a baby – if I try it, I’ll post a tutorial.

Our Baby Papasan chair. This has served us well with both boys who spent time sleeping in it. The angle seemed to soothe both of our little guys (perhaps it helped minimize any reflux). Of course, since we bought this 4 years ago there are new variations on the theme of an angled bouncer. This rock and play sleeper looks awesome and if I was going to buy another baby item, this would be it!

Lanisoh. The first few weeks of breast feeding were rough.

This formula container. So simple. It eliminates the need to buy more expensive single use packets and is reusable, cutting down on waste.

What were your go-to baby items?

Wyatt's tiny toes

Well this is old news in some ways but I had another baby! Wyatt Christopher was born via c-section on June 30 at a whopping 9lbs!

Ah the human body is an amazing thing. It makes us forget so many facts about newborns so that we keep procreating and populating the planet with little versions of ourselves. Here are some things I had forgotten about having a newborn.

• Breastfeeding sucks. Seriously. I know some people are very Mother Earth about the whole thing and it’s as natural to them as any other bodily function. For me not so much. I think it’s the best for my baby to get my breastmilk for as long as possible but the first few weeks of breastfeeding are a real trial. It’s amazing to me that so many women stick with it. We’re 6 weeks in and still going strong. Of course this far along, things have gotten easier so hopefully we’ll make it a few more months.
• You never see your spouse. I forgot about how little interaction you get to have with your spouse when you’re apart all day and then going to bed at 9pm so that you can get up for a 2am feeding. We’ll just have to keep up with each other via Facebook.
• Having a c-section hurts. I was going around telling everyone how easy my recovery was from my first c-section. Well I think I just blocked out how uncomfortable it was for the first few weeks. Luckily all is healing well.

All in all we’ve been very lucky with Wyatt. He’s an easy baby that likes to (so far) sleep through the day. Now that we’re over the hump with breast feeding this newborn thing feels much easier this time around. I’m already starting to forget what the first few weeks were like!

Buzzbee 3

Originally uploaded by biglug

There seems to be a baby boom around me, with lots of friends expecting around the same time I am. This is a quick knit for my friend J who is due about 5 weeks before me.

This pattern is from the Wee Woolly Toppers collection available on Ravelry. It’s knit with Lion Brand Cotton Ease.

The hat knit up really quick and I’m looking forward to knitting more from this collection.