Love it or Leave it: Baby Items Months 4-6

Reaghan continues to grow and learn and develop more of her own silly, loving, and curious personality. There is so much joy in watching her make new discoveries! Here are some of the baby items that we loved the last couple of months that helped Reaghan grow or just made life easier. {Some are age specific and some are things we had the chance to use because Reaghan just happened to experience things like a cold and diaper rash for the first time...}

Love It:

Banana Teether

Reaghan is teething like crazy (although an actual tooth has yet to make an appearance!) she chews on anything she can get her hands on. But one of her favorites is this banana rubber toothbrush! She will grab for it first in a pile of toys.

Kiki Elephant

Another beloved teething toy? Kiki the Elephant! (Cousin to Sophie the Giraffe!)

Carters Fleece Sleep Bag

Once she was in her crib and weaned from her swaddle, we were right in the dead of winter. January always proves to be the coldest here in Virginia so I really felt like Reaghan needed an extra layer while she slept but obviously I didn't feel comfortable putting a blanket over her. This fleece sleep bag from Carters was perfect for this! Now that spring is around the corner, I need to get her a sleeveless cotton one!

Honest Diaper Balm

Reaghan had her first bad diaper rash around 5 1/2 months. I was using bordeaux's butt paste product but that just wasn't helping much. I switched to a more natural based product - The Honest Co.'s Healing Balm, because I already had it on hand, and that definitely helped to clear things up. 

Carseat Toys

Reaghan doesn't always fall asleep in the car like she used to, so she seems to enjoy having something to entertain her. It also kept her busy while shopping! These are some of the ones that we have.

Books

We've started incorporating a book or 2 at bedtime if she's not quite ready to eat right after bath time. Touch and Feel books are perfect! (It's nice to have a collection so you're not reading the same book every night - for mama's sake!)

Humidifier

We experienced our first "baby with a cold" days around the 5 months mark. It wasn't super fun but the humidifier actually helped baby girl breathe easier and sleep for longer stretches!

Snot Sucker

This goes right along with the humidifier. I'm not a fan of the whole sucking my babies snot out with my mouth, so the old fashioned bulbs worked fine for us. I like this one from Safety first because it can come apart to be easily cleaned out.

Bath Toys

Bath time is so much fun now that Reaghan is sitting up, grabbing at toys and splashing!

Bath Toy Net

A toy holder is essential for staying organized in the bathroom! This is the one that we have.

Carseat Canopy

This one isn't really age specific, but since our cold months fell right in between the 4-6 month mark, we loved having this canopy! It protected Reaghan from freezing temps, biting winds and snow! My mom actually bought us the whole set, so I have the minky carseat cover and hood that matches this canopy. It must be nice to be transported in a warm, cozy pod during the winter months. ; )

Pack n Play

Reaghan went on her first overnight trip to Ikea and we had the chance to use our pack n play for the first time! We'll be taking quite a few trips this spring/summer so we'll get a lot more use out of it as well. I am a little bummed that we never really used the changing pad part on it, but we just didn't have a reason to pull it out until she was really too big to use that feature.

Leave it:

Bottle Warmer

We were given this from my sister-in-law to try out since she didn't really find it helpful for their family and we pretty much had the same conclusion. So much easier to just heat some water in a bowl in the microwave! haha and one less item to store.

We are also still putting to use all of the items I listed in the 2 - 4 months baby list! The highchair, play mat, bumbo, and exersaucer get used EVERY day. The swing is on the, um, downswing, though. We rarely use it anymore and actually just talked the other day about packing it up soon to get back a little more space.

Now that we are a couple weeks past Reaghan's 1/2 birthday, we are already using more gear as she gains more control sitting on her own and have begun eating! I can't wait to update in a month or two with a whole new list of baby items!

ShamrockOn 2015 - My first post-baby Half!

I finished my first race of 2015 and my first half marathon since having Reaghan!

It was freezing waiting at the starting line at 6am until the race started at 7! But man I love the energy in the air at the starting line of a race!

I finished this half in 2:21... blah... a far cry from my fastest time but not quite my slowest time either! Can I pull the baby card and say it's a win for only being 6 months post partum???

I started off strong at a 10 minute pace with a friend, but since this wasn't what I had been running on my own, I started to feel it at about mile 6. I tried to keep up with Missy, but between miles 7-9 I slowly started drifting behind her and felt like if I tried to keep up I wouldn't be able to finish. (Maybe this was a cop out... Maybe I should've pushed a little harder?!? I should always push a little harder.) Missy tried to stay with me but I told her to go on and run whatever felt good for her and I would just do my own thing. I dropped to like an 11 minute mile and just finished the race at that pace. Not my proudest moment, but again... baby card?

At Mile 12, I grabbed some water as I ran through a water station and choked a little as I tried to drink and run at the same time. (My coordination astounds even myself sometimes.) Why am I telling you this? Because when I choked a bit, I coughed... and when I coughed, my lower abs felt like they were going to rip apart! OUCH! It really took me by surprise. Apparently my abs still need a lot of strengthening from being pregnant! They were really fatigued trying to keep everything (pelvis) stable during the run and I think by the end of it they couldn't handle to force of the cough. Yikes.

As always I was super happy to see the finish line and even more so today because my 3 sisters surprised me by being there at the finish to see me cross!

We went and got breakfast afterwards and then I headed home to my sweet husband and baby girl who were waiting for me there. (It was too cold to bring Reaghan out that morning to wait 2 hours for her mommy!)

I didn't train as much as I should've for this race, which was really disappointing. When I signed up for the race this past fall I thought for sure it would motivate me to get out and run and get back in shape - dropping $100 on an event usually motivates me to make it worth it! Unfortunately it didn't happen as I had hoped.  It is hard to find time to exercise with a baby! But let's just call that for what it is - an excuse! And really, there wasn't an excuse not to run or exercise. I had plenty of opportunities on the weekends when Mark was home and even during the week when Reaghan and I were hanging out with my siblings and mom - they would've been happy to watch her so I could go on a 30-45 minute run... Or even when she was taking a nap to do some strength training. I just wasn't really motivated to find the time. If I had, my time would have been a lot faster! But I'm happy with completing my first post baby half! I love getting back out there and running even if its slow. : )

Since the race did reignite some love for running, I am looking forward to warm spring days to take Reaghan and Piper out with the jogging stroller! I'm always working to get a little more in shape - a bit more healthy. And I'll also be beefing up my ab work outs. ; )

See Reaghan Grow! {6 Months}

My little Reaghan Roo had her 1/2 birthday this past Tuesday! She's been on this earth for 6 whole months. Crazy! Unfortunately this is how her 1/2 birthday started off...

She was also getting her 6 month pictures done by her aunties that day so thankfully I was able to turn her frown upside down with a few cuddles and a secret weapon ;) She also shared her 1/2 birthday with St. Patricks day, so we thought it was appropriate to wear her "Lucky" shirt. :)

Here's what Reaghan has accomplished during her 6 month of life:

• At her Dr.'s appointment she weighed in at 15 lbs and 11 oz and is 26 inches long! She is 50th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. The Dr. said she was perfectly proportioned. :)
• She had her first diaper rash! I'm glad it took this long to happen, but it actually ended up being a yeast rash and we now have a prescription ointment for her. So she also got her first prescription filled! We also got eye ointment for her blocked tear duct that she's had since birth. 
• She is still in size 2 diapers, but we plan to go into 3's after we run out of our box of 2's, and she fits into 3-6 or 6 month outfits.
• She started eating foods! Our goal was to get to 6 months before starting solids, but you know what??... nothing magical happens to her stomach on her 6 month birthday that says "ready for veggies now!" She was getting really interested in what we were eating and we felt she was ready so at 5 1/2 months we started her on rice and oatmeal cereals. She did so well with it! She's caught on to the whole eating off a spoon thing within a couple of days! This past week we started on orange colored veggies and she's loved them all! Sweet potatoes, carrots and squash! Next we'll move to the green veggies! (We are having so much fun with this new milestone!)
• She is sitting up on her own! She needs someone within arms reach of her because she will lose  her balance when she gets tired or she'll get a little too ambitious with her reaching! 
• She still hasn't figured out rolling from her back to her belly yet.
• She is the QUEEN of blowing raspberries! First thing in the morning? Raspberries. Changing diapers? Raspberries. Bath time? Raspberries. Crying? Don't worry, she'll break up her wails with a few raspberries. 
• She loves to give kisses. Or eat your face. I'm not sure what she's thinking, but she'll open her mouth real wide and try to pull your face towards her. I'm going to pretend she's giving us love. :) She loves to reach out and touch faces! It's incredibly endearing, but we have to begin teaching her not to grab faces.
• She took first overnight trip when we took a girls weekend to Ikea for Aunt Erin's birthday. She did so well falling asleep in her pack n play even when everyone was still up watching tv and talking in the hotel. But she did wake up at 5am, so we got a pretty early start to our shopping day. ;)
• She definitely recognizes familiar faces and loves to flash her daddy and her Aunt Erin her dimply grin. 
• She was sleeping a good 8-10 hours and even doing better with going to bed a little sooner, but this past week has been a challenge. For no apparent reason, she has been waking up around 2am and not wanting to go back to sleep for 2-3 hours. The only conclusion we've come to is that she is going through some physical and mental developments and is just having a rough time. Hopefully it won't last long! Last night she was only up for 1 hour before falling back asleep so fingers crossed we are heading back to sleeping through the night!
• She took her first visit to the aquarium. I wasn't sure is she would be interested, but she was captivated by the fish tanks! This also came with her first time using her big girl seat in her stroller and sitting up in a high chair at a restaurant! When I saw she could do this well, I started putting her in the seat of a cart instead of bringing her whole carseat into the grocery store or wearing her in the carrier. It's a whole new world folks! She loves sitting up and looking around and interacting more with me while we are shopping. We love it!

Wow! I didn't realize how much she had grown this past month and all of the new things that we did!! What a great month of watching her grow and learn. We don't know how, but we truly love her more every month.

 Here she still wasn't sure if she wants to cooperate with taking pictures.

Showing off her sitting up skills!

She can be a bit goofy and silly at times. 

We love seeing her personality emerge more and more every day.

Are you ready to see my secret weapon??

Thats right. She wasn't smiling for her mommy. She was smiling at her Pipe Jo. Who knew a golden lab made such a good photographer's assistant?!?

Reaghan Eats Rice Cereal!

We introduced some semi solid food to this girl a couple of nights ago. 5 1/2 months and eating her first bites off of a spoon! Mark captured the sequence of events pretty well in the following photos:

Haha. She wasn't too sure about it. We mixed rice cereal with breast milk and I think she was a little confused that what she was tasting wasn't coming out of her mommy or out of a bottle. She did do a good job of opening her mouth for the spoon though! She even started pulling the spoon towards her mouth, but I think she was more interested in chewing on the rubber end of the spoon then she was eating the food that was on the spoon!

So proud of our tiny human! It feels like we are reaching new milestones every week!