Monday, February 9, 2015

17 months

Our Maverick turns 17 months old this week. Where did the last 17 months go? It rushed past me like a gust of wind and was gone before I realized what hit me!

I tried to be one of those moms who was so put together and took a picture every month with a sign or a sticker on his onesie that told what month it was... but it just didn't work out. I have a girlfriend who does themed photo shoots for practically every holiday and I am so impressed with her. I don't know how she does it! I can barely make sure that each kid has a clean pair of pants to wear the next day, let alone plan themed photo shoots for Valentine's Day, Easter, and St. Patty's Day! (Just a note: I am working on being this organized, but this is serious work people... serious work.)

Maverick is 17 months old and quite the character. He is running circles around us (and climbing them around us too!) and says a few words, like Mama, Daddy, puppy, blues (blueberries), night night, bye bye, hot, more, and down. He can also sign the word more in sign language. Maverick will eat pretty much whatever I give him, especially if he sees it come right off of my plate. He likes to dump his water out of his sippy cup onto his high chair tray and swirl it around with whatever food bits are on there to make a big mess. He also likes to throw food on the floor and will look us directly in the eyes as we tell him no and still throw it on the floor. He can now go up AND down the stairs, and can even go under the baby gate to get up the stairs.

Paxton and Maverick love playing with one another and they are such sweet brothers. They also love to wrestle one another... or I should say that Paxton loves to wrestle Maverick to the ground and Maverick will go along with it until he's had enough. Maverick thinks its funny to take Paxton's toys when he isn't looking and then watch as Paxton throws a fit or freaks out that Maverick is sitting there calmly with all of Paxton's Star Wars figurines, or both of his light sabers. This kid is a trip! He's also about 5 times as stubborn as Paxton. Lord, HELP US. #butseriously There are days when I don't think I can tell my child any more "don't hit mommy" and then that chubby little hand comes flying through the air and connects with my forehead. I've tried acting like I'm crying and sad, I've tried popping his hand, I've tried fussing, and now I've moved on to grabbing his hand and giving it kisses and shushing him and saying "no no, don't hit Mavvy"... any help here, people??

If we can come to an agreement that I'm the mommy and he's the baby, and he will give up just paaaart of that stubborn streak, I know we'll go far. But, its not like I don't know where he got that from... oops!

But, stubbornness aside, I knew this month would hold special meaning for me with Maverick because I nursed Paxton until he was 17 months old and I wanted to nurse Maverick at least that long. I'm not one to make a huge fuss about whether women breastfeed or formula feed their kids, because quite frankly it isn't any of my business, nor do I have a say, and plus, I breastfed and formula fed Paxton. Maverick was exclusively breastfed and I was so glad I was able to do that this time. I felt a lot more knowledgable about breastfeeding this time around and I was very determined to save us money by not having to buy formula. Plus, I very selfishly relished every moment that I got to be with Maverick while I nursed him and felt like that time was such a gift. Not every woman can breastfeed and I could have been one of those women.

You're probably thinking that 17 months is a long time to breastfeed a baby, and you're right. It is a very long time. But don't worry, I'm not laying him across my lap at the dinner table and nursing him at every meal. I nurse him just before bed each night and I'm already sad because I can tell that we are weaning more and more each day. I honestly don't know what I'll do when the day comes that I'm not producing any more milk or he doesn't have an interest. It is such an intimate time I share with my baby, and even though he's getting older and bigger, he's still my baby and I don't plan to let him nurse until he's 5, just until it naturally fades into the background. I've been holding my breath these last few months because I was afraid he would naturally wean himself before he was 17 months old and I had that silly number in my mind just because it was what I did with Paxton.

Paxton naturally weaned himself at 17 months because he got a cold and couldn't breathe through his nose, so by the time he could nurse again, he wasn't interested, and I had stopped producing milk. It was days after we stopped nursing that I became sad and the realization that we had stopped hit me. I was mentally prepared, but I've been mentally preparing myself with Maverick for months now. If Maverick is my last baby, then this will be my last time experiencing this special bond with a child. If you're a nursing mom, or ever have been, then you probably know just how wonderful it can be. Sure, there were times when I had blistered and bleeding nipples (TMI?! maybe... but fact of life, yes.) and I cried before he even began to eat, but I stuck with it, was proud of myself, and came to love and even crave that time with my baby. It's like the ultimate in feeling needed. And, babies are awesome, so putting the 2 together, you come up with a pretty amazing feeling :)

I can't believe I wrote this much about nursing my baby, and I'm sure some people will think that 17 months is entirely too long, but I've cherished every moment of it and I know I'll cry when this part of his life is over.

Here's to a wonderful 17 months with my sweet Maverick, and a lifetime of joy with you to come!

Monday, February 2, 2015

DIY Iron On Baby Onesies

DIY Iron On Baby Onesies


DIY-iron-on-baby-onesies


I knew when I decided to throw a baby shower for one of my close girlfriends, that I wanted to do a little something different since this was her second baby. I didn't want to play all the usual baby shower games, like guessing how big around her belly was by cutting lengths of ribbon or guessing which candy bar was melted in each diaper (this game is just so wrong! haha!) since those seemed more like first time mom baby shower games. I also knew I wanted all of the guests to be able to create something for the mom-to-be to take home and keep. I talked with a friend of mine and we decided to go with making onesies for the baby. I thought iron-ons would be easiest, but the iron-on appliques are so expensive! When you're throwing a baby shower and thinking about buying a onesie for each guest to decorate, plus an iron-on applique for each guest, the cost per person really adds up! SO, my friend suggested that we create our own designs and iron them on with iron-on transfer paper.

Have you ever used iron-on transfer paper?! It will change your life.

You will want to take every plain article of clothing, every blank cloth object you own, and every scrap of undecorated fabric in your home, and iron on cute designs. #butseriously 
DIY-Iron-On-Baby-Onesies-template

How to DIY Iron On Onesies:

My friend printed off several cute designs from her computer on plain computer paper (like the cute little birdie above), and we cut them out and picked out fabric from the scraps she brought - you don't need much fabric at all to do this kind of a project. Then we ironed the transfer paper on to the fabric and pinned the cut out pattern to the fabric so we could cut the fabric out in the shape of the pattern. After the fabric shapes were cut out, they were ready to iron on to the onesies (transfer paper side down of course!). Voila! You're done and have a super cute iron-on onesie done with contact paper and your favorite fabric!

how-to-DIY-iron-on-baby-onesies



This was such an easy and fun project to do at a baby shower! We all had such a fun time while we were picking out patterns and fabrics for our iron on projects and then creating adorable keepsakes for our littlest love on the way.

Have you ever used iron on transfer paper? The ideas for craft projects with transfer paper are endless... onesies, bibs, lovies, blankets, burp cloths, diaper bags, washcloths, etc! Eeek!