Kaiya- 2 Months!

It's crazy how fast time is going. My baby is two months old already! A part of me is sad that she's growing up so fast, but the other part of me is so happy to watch her grow! She has pretty good neck control at this point, though she's still a little bobbly. The stronger she gets, the easier it is to pick her up and multi-task since you don't have to support her neck as much. She's getting better and better about sleeping through the night too! The night before last she slept until 6am, fed, and then slept until 9am. Essentially, I was up before she was. There are still some nights when she refuses to go back in her bassinet, but the past couple nights she's been fine in there.

My favorite time of the day with Kaiya is when she first wakes up. I call it "Smiley Time" because she's always so HAPPY! She starts to stir, I peek over her bassinet and say good morning and she melts my heart because I'm always greeted with this:

Morning smiles

An uber adorbable tidbit is that in the past couple days she's suddenly discovered all the mobiles that are hanging over everything. She entertained herself for a full 20 minutes yesterday by smiling and cooing away at the little bears above her swing. It's so awesome watching her discover the world around her!

Kaiya is also officially in 0-3 month clothes. I had to put away all the newborn stuff, which was a little sad. The following picture memorialized the moment I made that decision. Note that this sleeper is not a short-sleeve sleeper ;)

Last morning in newborn clothes

In other news, Grandma Brenda sent John a photo the other day of him as a baby and I was stunned. Every time I say Kaiya looks just like her daddy people always say "She looks a little like you too" or "I don't know who she looks like more." Well people, if pictures like this don't prove it to you:

Twins!

Than maybe this one will:

How crazy is that?! If the quality of the picture on the right didn't LOOK like it was taken in 1987, I'd have thought it was of Kaiya.

And while I Kaiya may not look like me, we do share one thing:

Yes, ladies and gentleman, I've been saving my baby blanket for the past 30 years. It's still my favorite blanket for her because it's so so soft and the perfect weight for using in an air conditioned apartment:)

Finally, I'll leave you with a little collage of my favorite pics from the past couple of weeks:

Cloth Diapering in the Murphy Household

These is NOT my stash, but can I be honest and say I'm jealous?!

I decided to write this post for a couple of reasons. One, I realized that I'm the only person I know who cloth diapers and think it might be because there is SO much information and misinformation that it scares off potential cloth diapering mamas. Two, I've noticed that despite all the reading and research I did prior to actually diapering there were still things I discovered that weren't covered in blogs and books that I read. Yes, I actually purchased a book on cloth diapering. I don't intend for this post to replace that research, because there are a lot of important things that it'll teach you, but I'm hoping to simplify it for at least one person to help make all MY research more worth while and because I think the literature out there misses some of the smaller things.

Laundry Routine
The laundry is by far the most daunting hurdle for people I think. They're worried about the quantity of laundry and the poop. First let me begin by saying that Kaiya is exclusively breastfed so I can't weigh in on formula poop, but breastfed poop is the most innocuous stuff on earth. It doesn't smell, and it literally just rinses off the diaper, even after a day or so in the wet pail. So, at least for the first 6 months while she's being exclusively breastfed, the poop is not a deterrent, even for John who some of you know has almost a phobia-level fear of poop. ;)

My laundry routine is as follows:

Step 1) Remove dirty diaper from baby and throw in wet pail.

Step 2) Every 24-36 hours rinse poop off diapers. They sell toilet sprayers for this, but I just use the kitchen sink and then clean it out real well, though like I said before, breastfed poop has pretty much nothing in it to be afraid of. I'll probably get a toilet sprayer when she starts eating solids. Note: you can go up to 48 hours if you have enough diapers, but you shouldn't go longer than 48 hours without rinsing.

Step 3) Throw diapers (and cloth wipes if you're using them) into the wash for a soak cycle on cold. No detergent necessary.

Step 4) Run load again on a wash cycle on hot wash/cold rise with detergent and no fabric softener. I currently use Nellie's because it had great cloth diaper reviews and I could get it on Amazon, but after checking it's safety rating here, I decided that we'd switch to Planet as soon as the Nellie's runs out.

Step 5) Tumble dry low, again no fabric softener. If they are still a bit damp when they come out, I throw them over a chair for a bit before folding them and putting them away. Note: The type of diaper you choose will also determine dry time. AIO's (All-in-ones, meaning one piece, nothing to stuff) take longer to dry than any of the other types. I used newborn diapers until she started peeing through them (meaning she had developed a bladder too big for newborn absorbency capabilities), then I transferred over to pocket diapers.

Other Stuff You (May) Need to Cloth Diaper
- Wet Pail & Wet Bag. A wet pail is like you're diaper genie for cloth diapers. There are a lot of cute ones. In an effort to reduce the amount of stuff that we needed to buy, I decided to just use a blue bucket that we already had. When they get stinky, I'll probably need one with a lid, if for no other reason than because I want this wet pail liner:

A wet bag is what you throw in the diaper bag so you have someplace to put the dirty diapers when you change them. It's waterproof (and smell proof) and they come in all sorts of cute patterns:)

- Cloth Wipes. You obviously don't need cloth wipes, but I read something while I was researching that broke it down easy. "If you're using disposable, use disposable wipes. If you're using cloth, use cloth wipes." This truly is the easiest way to do it. If you're already doing laundry and have the wet pail handy, just through the cloth wipe in there too. Plus, if you use disposable wipes, then you need a wet pail and a garbage pail where you're changing. That, or you have to fish through the wet pail later and throw out the disposable wipes.

You can buy cloth wipes from amazon, or there are a bunch of sellers making cute ones on Etsy. I just made my own (of course). I made 10 from flannel (double fabric) and 10 from terry cloth and flannel. I like the ones from flannel and terry cloth better because they're more absorbent. I'll probably need another 10 more since I tend to run out when I'm pushing the 36 hour mark on laundry.

How cute are these wipes??

- Flannel liners or Cloth Diaper friendly diaper rash cream. You can not use most diaper rash creams with cloth diapers because it reduces their absorbency. If you don't want to void out your warranty you can't use ANY diaper creams in a cloth diaper without using a liner. I personally don't care about the warranties, mainly because I got half of my diapers second hand (more on that below) but also because there wouldn't be any way for them to know if I used a diaper friendly cream or not because it washes away.

If you wanted to use something like Desetin you can buy liners, which you place on top of the diaper before putting it on baby's butt, or you can use strips of flannel. Cutting up an old receiving blanket is an easy way to make a few inserts.

As for diaper-friendly creams. I use the California Baby diaper rash cream for sensitive skin. It washes away nicely and it's better at preventing and treating than the Angel Baby Butt Balm that I had been using before (which is also diaper friendly). Note: The review of the California Baby diaper rash cream are horrible on Amazon. I bought it from drugstore.com and didn't see the reviews. I will say, we have not had a problem with it, but we don't really use it to treat her, only to prevent her from getting a rash, so we haven't had any issues with her screaming in pain. That being said, the reviews for California Baby's Calendula Cream are much better.

- Wipe Solution. You are more than welcome to just use water, I use a little homemade solution with tea tree oil and lavender oil that helps prevent and treat diaper rash (recipe below) but you can get as creative with it as you want.

To get the solution on the wipe you can pre-soak your wipes in an old wipes container if you want and just ring them out prior to use, or you can use a spray bottle and spray the wipes. I personally use the little squirt bottle the hospital gave me (moms, you know the one I'm talking about).

My wipe solution recipe:
3 cups warm water
10 drops tea tree oil
5 drops lavender oil
2 tablespoons soap (I use the Burts Bee's wash because it's what I was given so I had it on hand but I would also recommend Dr. Bonners Baby Mild Soap.)
1/4 cup olive oil

Preferred TYPE of Cloth Diaper
I'm not going to go through all the types myself because there are other sites that do this better than I could. I personally liked this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64os5I4_Z9Q

I will tell you that I have a couple types. I was gifted a couple AIO's, which are lovingly referred to as the "grandparent diapers" because they're super easy for anyone that might be babysitting or watching the baby as they have almost no learning curve. They function just like disposable diapers and are great to stick in the diaper bag. Her newborn diapers were AIOs, and I think most newborn diapers are.

I also have a couple hybrids, which I like because you can keep the cover and just change the inserts, which ideally mean less laundry. My favorite though are the pocket diapers because they can be pre-stuffed so that they function like an AIO if you stick them in the diaper bag or hand off a bunch to grandma, but they are two pieces and come apart in the wash. This means that they dry faster.

Preferred BRAND of Cloth Diaper
I'll start with the newborn diaper. There aren't too many brands that I've found with a specific newborn diaper, mainly because most claim they are OS (one size). Don't be fooled. I haven't found one OS diaper yet that fit our 8lb baby well. I decided after trying the various OS diapers on her to get a specific newborn diaper. The one I choose to go with was Bum Genius. I liked this diaper and thought it worked well. One thing I will say is that it said it would fit newborns form 5 to 12 lbs, but as soon as Kaiya hit about 10 lbs, she started leaking through it. Reviews on the diaper tell a similar story, but by that point, she was able to transition into the OS diapers without looking too ridiculous. They're still a bit big, but not ridiculously so.

I have a number of brands of cloth diapers, mainly because I researched the hell out of which were the best, and everybody gave a different answer, so I just bought a couple of a bunch. Some were larger brands like bum genius, others were smaller like Sprout Change. In the end, I fell in LOVE with GoGreen diapers.

The GoGreen diapers are made in the USA (Colorado), made with really high quality materials and are SO soft. I also really like the colored snaps so that it's easy to tell which snaps you need to use to size it appropriately. They're also one of the cheaper diapers at only $15 full price (compared to $18-$20 each for other brands). They come in lots of cute colors and patterns too. My personal favorite is this cow print:)

Where to Buy
You can get cloth diapers from any number of sites. I like www.cottonbabies.com, but my favorite place to get them is from the second hand sites like www.diaperswappers.com. They have great rules and regulations that protect the seller and buyer, and the 15 diapers I've gotten from them were in great shape and shipped quickly. Think it's yucky to buy second hand diapers? You are welcome (and encouraged) to sanitize them once you get them :) The ones I got were completely stain free and in excellent condition, and I paid 50% of what they would have been new. You can't beat that!

Ok folks, I realize by the length of this post that it really isn't possible to talk about the process of cloth diapering in an abbreviated manner, but I hope I at least "cut to the chase" enough to only provide the necessary and most useful information.

Should anyone have additional questions, or need further information, feel free to comment or email me. I'd love to see a couple more cloth diaper converts. For every baby that uses cloth it saves 1 TON of diaper waste from hitting landfills! Plus, it makes for cuter baby butts:)

Kaiya- 6 Weeks

Little Miss is growing like a weed! At her 1 month appointment she had broken the 10lb mark, and everyone (including both her Dr and mine!) is shocked that she's only a month old. Her doctor specifically said her motor and communication skills are closer to a 2 month old than a one month old. (Really? A daughter of mine talks a lot?) She commented on her incredible neck strength, though she's pretty much had that since she was born. Overall, she's super healthy, which is the best thing in the world to hear.

It's fun to see her becoming more and more alert, vocal and engaged. Yesterday I put her in her little floor gym for the first time and she LOVED it! It look her a while to kinda figure out what she was supposed to be doing in there, but after 5 minutes or so she was smiling and cooing and kicking the little pieces. In case you're interested, I took a 6 minute video of the event. (crazy mom shit, I know). You can skip to around the 1 minute mark to see her start to really pick up if you want ;)

Other cute things about Kaiya? She smiles with her eyes first. I think this in an adaptation of wanting to smile but not wanting to give up the paci:) She plays with her right ear when she's tired and gets frustrated if I try and pull her hand away, even when she's groping and pulling so hard I think it has GOT to hurt. She growls. Seriously! When she's feeding, if she's frustrated that the let down was too strong, or if her paci falls out and it's just close enough to where she can shake her head like a little bird trying to get it back in her mouth, or if she's just playing and making noise. It's SO cute.  She also LOVES it when you get really close to her face. I'm guessing it's because her eye sight still isn't good enough to make out details farther away, but get up in her grill and she's all smiles. <3

Here are some pics from the past two weeks:

A May Murphy Update

I thought it might be nice to give a casual update for each of the Murphy family members.

Kaiya

Kaiya's doing great and growing like a weed. She's too tall for her newborn clothes already, though she's still slender enough to fit into the newborn onesies and her newborn cloth diapers. She's still a great eater and we continue to feed "on-demand" for the time being. She also still sleeps awesome, when we can get her to sleep. Yesterday and last night were a struggle for some reason, she just refused to GO to sleep. Once I was able to get her to sleep at nearly 2am she slept for a good 5 hours, which is her typical pattern. She sleeps for 5 hours, feeds, then sleeps for another 3ish hours before feeding again. I think there has only been one night her whole life wherein I had to get up more than once in a night (not counting the hospital nights when the nurses made me try and wake her, which was never successful). I'm pretty sure that's not the typical pattern for a newborn, but I won't argue. I'll also share a little secret with you but I have no way of knowing it's validity. Since before I got pregnant, I've been taking a high-quality magnesium supplement daily. There is lots of evidence that it helps promote better sleep in the person taking it, but I'm inclined to think it might aid her sleep as well. (Pregnant ladies, it also prevents muscle cramping and pre-term labor). If you're interested, the supplement I take is from jigsawhealth (also available on Amazon).

And when I saw she sleeps awesome, I mean she sleeps awesome IF she's next to me. We decided early on not to co-sleep. John is petrified of SIDS (and checks every few minutes if she's breathing ANYTIME she's sleeping) and I didn't want to give up our bed again just as we trained Cooper out of it. Kaiya had plans of her own. She'll sleep soundly but as soon as I put her in the bassinet, she's awake again. I've tried warm blankets, adding an item that smells like me, swaddling her, playing white noise and heartbeat sounds. None of it worked. She liked to sleep on our chests, or next to me near the boob. Well, a few days ago I came up with an idea that would allow me to sleep at night without worrying that one of us would roll over on her, or that a blanket would fall over on her face. I stuck the changing pad in bed. She now has her own space and is protected from us. Unfortunately, it means less space for John and me. I guess we'll try again when she can sleep longer in the night. Maybe I'll just stick the whole changing pad in the crib when I transition her over. :/

Kaiya's makeshift co-sleeper

Me (Sarah)

I am doing pretty well overall. I love being home with Kaiya every day, and it'll be hard to transition back. Some days, when Kaiya decides that she can be a bit self sufficient and just chill in her bouncy chair or swing for a little while, I am pretty productive. Other days she's a bit more needy and I end up getting very little done. There are a number of things on my to-do list that are hanging over my head, such as sending out the last few thank you cards, mailing out the birth announcements, completing coursework for my current nutrition class, returning a couple phone calls from good friends that have kindly remained my friends even though I haven't called them back. And then there is the obligatory housework that gets ignored, like the laundry, and finer points of cleaning like dusting and organizing the areas that became dumping grounds for things I just didn't have time to deal with. The upside is that I've been very efficient in catching up on the many shows I had neglected. It's much easier to watch TV with a baby on the boob than do nearly anything else, including reading a book as I have yet to find a great place to hold it that isn't uncomfortable or digging into her somewhere. 

As soon as the weather clears up a bit here in DC I'll start a nice little routine to help get back in shape. In a week or so I'll go in and get cleared by my doctor to go back to my normal routine, which I'm pretty excited about (not that I've restricted myself a whole lot anyways). In the meantime, I've been introduced to a little addictive sensation called Candy Crush:)

John

John is FINALLY slowing down a bit. He is the master of taking on too much, and on top of working full time and being a new dad he's also been taking 3 college classes, working out when he has a free moment so he didn't die doing the triathlon last week, and prepping for the years biggest fund raiser at work. Thankfully his last final was last Wednesday, the fundraiser was Thursday and the Triathlon was Sunday. That means that for the first time since Kaiya was born we're only competing with his regular work schedule for attention. I assure you, it's a lovely change in pace. He's also looking forward to his paternity leave come mid-June. I am too:)

Cooper

Cooper is such a good boy. He's amazing with Kaiya, always coming up and gently licking her ear just to say hi. The only "jealousy" he demonstrates is with John in the evenings when he comes home. Cooper has always had this ritual of laying on his lap at night when John's relaxing on the couch. Now Kaiya's in his lap/on his chest. Cooper will act like he's willing to share 50/50, but then slowly tries to nudge Kaiya further and further off his chest. He's never aggressive though, he's more of a "passive aggressive" dog I guess. When she's on her own though, Coop loves to lay next to her chair or bassinet.

Luna

Luna is a nut and has zero regard for the baby. I woke up this morning to find Luna laying over Kaiya's legs. Not okay. Luna also likes to climb up and lay on people's chests and often she's attempted to lay on my chest by laying ON TOP of Kaiya. It's like she's coping with the addition of the baby by pretending Kaiya doesn't exist altogether. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do about her disregard for Kaiya, but I'm guessing once Kaiya's able to defend herself (ie: pull Luna's tail and other appendages) the issue will take care of itself.

A Weekend in Charlottesville

As some of you may know, Charlotesville, VA holds a very special place in our hearts. We first visited when Els (now affectionately refered to as "Auntie Els") was going to law school there, but continue to come up with excuses to visit. Well, "Uncle Jonathan" has been training for months to compete in the Monticello Man Triathlon with Team in Training in an effort to raise money for Lymphoma. We decided early on that we wanted to be there to support him, which for John, meant actually participating in the race.

Coincidentally, Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Russ were also planning on traveling north that weekend, so we arranged it so that they could meet us in C-ville and stay the weekend with us. When you pair best friends, with loved family in a city you adore, it's bound to be an awesome weekend:) We went to the "Mall" and enjoyed Mudhouse coffee, some awesome cupcakes and the characters that are the residents of Charlottesville. We also had a wonderful dinner out (the first time John and I ate out since Kaiya was born) at a converted garage called Zinc. Sunday we spent the day supporting our men at the Triathlon and concluded the trip with a lovely lunch in the sun at Beer Run, home of the best sandwiches in C-ville.

Some highlights of the trip:

Kaiya got to meet Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Russ for the first time:

John and Jon completed the triathlon. Jon finished in under 3 hours and John finished (which is AMAZING considering he didn't even train for it. Crazy man.) And yes, Uncle Jonathan did perform his run wearing a cowboy hat, a tradition I hope he continues in future events as it makes it much easier to pick him out from a crowd.

And finally, Beer Run sun:)

Kaiya- 4 Weeks!!

I can hardly believe that's it's been four weeks (2 days short of a month). I've heard that babies "grow up quick" and it's no joke. She's grown so much in just 28 short days. She's smiling and cooing, following mommy and daddy's voices around the room with her eyes, can make and hold eye contact, and is too tall for her newborn outfits.

Kaiya is an incredibly good baby with a sweet personality. She rarely ever cries, sleeps 4-5 hour stretches in the night (sometimes 6!) and eats like a champ. I love our days together and am sad just thinking about the day that I'll have to return to work :(

In celebration of her 4 week milestone, I thought I'd post some of my favorite shots from her newborn shoot. They all turned out awesome, but I refrained from posting all 90+ of them:) Isn't she such an angel?!

Baby Gear All New Moms Should Have For The First Two Weeks of Life (Including some they tell you you shouldn't)

For someone who reads a ton of blogs, I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to read a couple of baby blogs, or new mom blogs. Maybe I was just a little too scared of what was coming and thought I'd deal with it a bit better if I didn't know what was headed my way. Or maybe I was just so busy focusing on the impending arrival of our little bundle of joy that it didn't cross my mind to read about what was going to happen once she arrived. Either way, I wasn't really sure what items I would need the most during my first couple of weeks with Kaiya so I just organized all the goodies we got from our showers and prayed it included everything we needed. Reflecting back on the past two weeks I thought it might be helpful to list for other new moms the items I have found essential in successfully navigating the first couple of weeks of motherhood.

Aden & Anais Swaddle Blankets

I'm pretty sure every new mom with a set of these would concur with the inclusion of these on this list. They are huge, and they have just enough give to allow a really tight and secure swaddle, and they  have about 100 uses. I throw one in the diaper bag to use to cover the car seat, use as a nursing cover, or as a light blanket on warmer days. These things are money, and let me tell you, as someone who tries to make anything I think can be easily duplicated, gauze like this isn't easy to find. They're a bit pricey, but stick them on your registry because they're worth every penny.

SwaddleMe Infant Swaddlers

Kaiya LOVES to be swaddled. I recognize that not all babies do, but if your little one does, you'll have to either learn the art of swaddling or get yourself a couple of these things. While we've become pretty competent at swaddling with receiving blankets and the Aden & Anais swaddlers, she inevitably manages to free her little hands from our swaddle, thus losing the security she enjoyed while being swaddled. These little things are super easy to stick her in (even at 4am), and she's never freed her hands from them.

Medela Hand Pump

I wouldn't have purchased this myself since my insurance company covered a pump, but my sister included it in her little kit of "things you need" and thank goodness she did. It was super helpful during the "engorgement" stage before my pump arrived, but it's also proven to be an essential part of my packed diaper bag. Kaiya tends to be a sound sleeper, and when she doesn't want to wake up, it doesn't matter what I do to try and wake her, she's not going to wake up. So when "the ladies" need attention, and Kaiya isn't volunteering, this little hand pump is a godsend, and it's leagues more convenient to pull out of my diaper bag than worrying about hooking up to a pump.

Mam newborn pacifiers

Before Kaiya arrived, I had attended a breastfeeding class and read a couple books on breastfeeding. I had been warned about "nipple confusion" and the importance of waiting about 4 weeks before sticking one of these in Kaiya's mouth. Then real life happened and I found that Kaiya was using my boob as a pacifier. Why? Because babies like to suck, and sometimes it has nothing to do with being hungry. So, I caved one day and let my mother stick one of these things in her mouth (which I had lying around because my sister had also stuck these in her "things you need" kit). I should also mention that Kaiya hasn't had any real issues feeding (other than the below mentioned couple of days when my milk came in) and these may not be great for babies who are struggling with latching or feeding.

A Nipple Shield

I hesitated to include these because they're controversial in the lactation world, but ultimately I decided to because I wanted women to know it's okay to use them if needed. The day my milk came in was a breastfeeding disaster day. "The Ladies" were just too big, and too hard for her to recognize. I mean, she was a great feeder from the very first feed but we were learning together, and just when she started to get the hang of it, mother nature threw her a curve ball and changed it all up. For the 48 hours of engorgement, she just could not get a good latch, and both her and I got frustrated with her inability to get a good feed. In a moment of defeat I asked John to go out and get a nipple shield from the store. When he returned I prayed it would work, and wouldn't you know it, as soon as I stuck it on, she was able to latch. I nearly cried with relief (emotional AND physical). I know they aren't recommended (nipple confusion again) and even Kaiya's doctor seemed to hem and haw when I told her we were using one to get through the engorgement days, but we only needed it for three days and she actually preferred not to use it after the engorgement passed so we didn't have any of the weening problems they warned me about, thankfully.

The one thing I heard from every lactation consultant and nursing mom is how vital regular use of Lanolin is to successful breastfeeding, and they were right. Those first few days are pretty painful. But I'm not sure how many people know what Lanolin actually is. It's an animal derived product (sheep actually), and while I have no problems with animal products, what I do have a problem with is how animals are treated as a result of our wanting products from them. Lanolin is derived from wool after it has been sheered from the sheep through a process that includes hot water and some chemicals. I've heard that the wool industry is a pretty cruel industry but being allergic to wool I've never had good reason to think much about it until now. As an awesome alternative to lanolin, I found Angel Baby's Natural Nipple Butter. Made with olive oil, cocoa butter and soothing calendula, it's perfectly safe for baby (and smells yummy!)

Honest Company Diapers

Those of you who know me, know that I'm a bit of a crunchy environmentalist. As such, I have every intention of cloth diapering, and can't wait to share my super cute cloth diaper collection with you. That being said, I have exactly 1 newborn cloth diaper, and have seen recommended that you wait until their umbilical cord falls off before using cloth (because it's easier to fold the disposable diapers under than doing so on the cloth diapers). That being said, I still couldn't reconcile putting chemical filled diapers on my baby, or putting toxic diapers into landfills that would remain there longer than Kaiya, or her children's children, would be alive. Enter Honest diapers (which my mom bought and used to make Kaiya's diaper cake). They are biodegradable, non-toxic, come in cute prints, and (best of all), they cost about the same as other premium diapers (like Pampers). I love these as a temporary solution until we kick cloth into full gear!

The "Hooter Hider"

I'm not exaggerating when I say that this thing is awesome. I literally walked around the National Portrait Museum nursing Kaiya under this thing. It provides tons of coverage, folds up easily into it's little case, and has boning in the top that allows you to easily look down on baby. It's a must for the breastfeeding mom's diaper bag.

I'm sure there are a number of other items that we wouldn't have survived the past two weeks without, but these are my favorite. It's hard to believe two weeks have passed already! I'm interested to hear from other moms though, what would you add to this list??