Updates

Dear Chanhassen - 26 January 2010

I love you.

First Beach Trip 26 January 2010

Jacksonville Beach, FL. Chanhassen is one month & two days old.

3 weeks old! 13 January 2010

Chanhassen is three weeks old today!  It's hard to believe that I've 
been a mom for 21 days now.  What's even crazier is that all this time 
I've had with her is completely "extra" in a way since I wasn't 
expecting her until January 20th!

Floating Baby 13 January 2010

Yesterday, in celebration of her umbilical cord coming off the day 
before, Chanhassen began "swim time" - which is water introduction & 
floating practice.

Surprisingly, she actually doesn't mind being on her back in the water 
(provided it's not too cold or too hot).  I hold her head in place & 
she holds up the rest of her body & kicks around.  We also spend alot 
of time cuddling.  It's all super sweet.

Pictures are from this morning's swim time.  The concepts are from the 
book "How to Teach Your Baby to Swim" by Douglas Doman.

With Mommie 05 January 2010

With Daddy 05 January 2010

All wrapped up! 05 January 2010

Top Ten Baby Items 02 January 2010

Ok, so I've been a mom for about 10 days and I've discovered several
"must haves" when it comes to caring for sweet Chanhassen. In no
particlular order these are the top ten products/things I recommend
for all new parents:

1. Moby Wrap or some other baby wearing sling - great for venturing out of the house.
2. Lots of LONG SLEEVE onesies with mittens to keep hands from being
chapped & face from getting scratched and pants with footies that cover the feet.
3. Pre-fold cloth diapers with snappis and thirsties covers

4.Baby scale - awesome for monitoring weight gain with out having to go to the doctor.

5. Bassinet or mini-crib or co-sleeper beside the bed. We use a bassinet/mini-crib that we borrowed from a neighbor and it's awesome. We also keep all diaper supplies in our room, too. It's just easier to have everything in one place.

6. Flannel receiving/wrapping blankets that are larger than your average receiving blanket. The best ones are at least 30 inches x 30 inches. I use the "dwell studio" from Target that cost about $12 for a 3 pack.

7. Baby potty for peeing whenever we do a diaper change. Basically, Chanhassen pees every time we change her diaper anyway so she might as well start learning to do it on a potty.

8. Lots of newborn caps/hats.

9. The "notes" application on my phone for tracking all feedings & diaper changes. If you don't have a phone where you can track these things use a tiny/pocket-size notebook.

10. The Jesus Story Book Bible - the most God exhaulting children's bible on the planet. It's incredible and makes me cry every morning when I read Chanhassen a chapter from it.

Let the adventures in Cloth Diapering begin! 31 December 2009

Baby Scale! 30 December 2009

For Christmas, Josh had bought be a candle making kit thinking that I had a month to use it before the baby came.  Well, since Chanhassen surprised us and arrived FOUR WEEKS before her due date, I won't have much time to make candles after all.  We decided to send the kit back (to Amazon) and use the $$ to buy a BABY SCALE (that measures to the 1/2 ounce) instead!  You can even take the top part off and weigh a toddler that stands on it, which means it'll help us keep track of our kinds weight progress for the first several years of life. Yes, we are geek parents.