There are some pretty big splurge items on sale in the kids/baby section of the Anniversary sale so i thought I would share 9 of them that I love and/or would recommend.
1. Nuna Mixx stroller - We did not get this stroller but looking back think we should have because we bought all of our car seats from Nuna. Having the matching stroller that allowed for the infant car seat to attach would have been great. I have heard great things about this stroller from a few friends of mine who have it.
2. Hooded towel - I buy Miles so many hooded towels because we use one every night after the bath and have since he was an infant. I just grabbed this one during the sale.
3. Sweatshirt and sweatpants set - The boys clothing selection wasn't as great as I would have hoped, but this set was one of my favorites. I like buying Miles full outfits because it makes getting him dressed so much easier.
4. High top sneakers - These leather high top converse sneakers are the coolest things ever!
5. Adidas set - Miles has a cute Nike sweatsuit that I bought him and he wears it a ton especially in the cooler months. This Adidas set is just as adorable.
6. Faux leather diaper backpack - I bought a backpack from Zara last year and it's the only thing I really ever use when I go out with Miles. This diaper bag backpack looks like a great option to carry all the things and be hands free.
7. Nuna Pipa car seat - We used this car seat when Miles was an infant and loved it. It's very lightweight and easy to carry.
8. Converse sneakers - I have these for Miles and they are perfect to wear with casual outfits or when we are going somewhere a smidge nicer and I want him to look put together.
9. Nuna Rava car seat - We graduated from the Pipa car seat to this Rava after much research. It came highly recommended to us and I bought this exact one from the Anniversary sale. We needed a second car seat for my mom's car and this was a great deal!
I laugh so much looking at these pictures because it is a miracle we got any good ones with how fast Miles moves these days. I even contemplated not taking any pictures to celebrate Mother's Day simply because Miles is at the age where he never wants to stand still, but I cherish all the photos we have already and knew it would be worth it. Stan has become quite the master at capturing Miles in the moment and we all ended up having so much fun together.
This is my second Mother's Day with Miles and I feel so grateful to be his mom. I look back over the past 18 months and am amazed at how much he has grown and turned into his own little person. I've shared before how hard my c-section recovery was and how I really struggled with postpartum mood swings for nearly a year after so I'm happy things are finally beginning to balance out and I feel more like myself again. Finding a routine gets easier each day and I'm much more confident now as a mom. I knew I always wanted to have children but wasn't really a "kid person" if I'm being honest. I didn't spend a lot of time around kids and had only changed one diaper before having Miles. While I do believe that maternal instincts kick in after having a child, I was still so nervous when he first arrived. I was scared to take him out by myself and do things alone. I started slow and would take him to a store, put his car seat in the shopping cart, walk around the store for 10 minutes and then leave. Believe it or not, these sorts of trips really helped me gain confidence. I learned how to handle him in public, how to get him in and out of the car/stroller easily and what to do if he started to get upset.
Fast forward to today and I regularly take him everywhere by myself. My favorite thing to do is take him to dinner on the weekends - just the two of us (Stan is normally working) and it's such a delight. Spending time with him is my absolute favorite thing to do and I can hardly remember what it was like before I had him. Don't get my wrong, I really enjoyed my single life, then my married with no kids life to the fullest, and this is a new chapter that I love just as much. I was always a bit worried that after I had a child, I wouldn't feel like myself anymore or would feel pressure to be a certain type of mom. Thankfully that has not been the case and in some ways, I still feel like that vivacious gal from NYC who now has a fun little sidekick. I'm confident in my role as a mother and love that I have found other women with kids who accept me as I am. Miles has already taught me so much about myself and continues to do so each day. I'm grateful for those lessons (no matter how difficult they may be at times), and that he came into our lives because it has brought more joy then I could have ever imagined.
Just looking at these pictures of Miles, I can't believe how big he has gotten in the past 6 months. He looks like a little boy to me now instead of a baby. *insert crying emoji* I don't want him to grow up but at the same time, I love watching him reach new milestones. His energy and joy for life is infectious and I adore seeing him explore the world. My last update for him was when he had just turned a year and I shared my top 20 first year baby essentials. He is now 17 months and while some things have definitely changed, his schedule for the most part has stayed the same. We started sleep training when he was 2 months old (this was the book we used which was truly amazing) and keep him on a schedule every day.
The best part about having him on a schedule is that when we deviate from it, it's not a big deal and he easily falls back into his routine the next day. Miles for the most part is a happy little guy but is definitely entering toddlerhood. He is more stubborn and will cry if he doesn't get his way, but thankfully can be redirected almost immediately so it doesn't last long. A majority of his teeth have come in at this point, with only a few remaining. We can always tell if he is teething because he doesn't act like himself, is hard to entertain and fusses almost all day long.
When it comes to sleeping, he is still going strong from 7pm to 7/7:30 a.m. which he has been doing since he was 3 months old (that book really worked for us). We began putting him down awake as an infant so he could put himself to sleep and that habit has really paid off. He will sometimes play and babble in his crib for a full 30-45 minutes after putting him down before he finally falls asleep. We started letting him have a few stuffed animals in the crib when he was a year old so he will play with those until he falls asleep.
His favorite thing in the world is to go out anywhere. Grocery stores, restaurants, malls, parks - you name it, he loves it. He is quite social and loves to people watch. He will be in the worst mood at home fussing non-stop, but as soon as I take him out he immediately calms down and has a good time. When I was a new mom I was so nervous to take him places because I was afraid he would cry or fuss and it can be overwhelming when you aren't used to dealing with it. But my friend told me to take him places for 10-15 minutes at a time just to get comfortable with the whole process. I would often take him to Target and do nothing else besides walk the aisles for 10 minutes. I didn't need to buy anything, I simply wanted to work on not being afraid. Slowly but surely I became more confident and now I love taking him with me because he enjoys it so much.
Eating has been an up and down process because he will like something one day and the next not want it. #toddlers For now, some of his favorites are banana pancakes (they are only 3 ingredients: oats, egg and banana), avocados (he will eat an entire one in a day!), cheese sticks, Dr. Praeger's spinach littles, raspberries and cheerios. He eats more than that but those are things that he very rarely will turn down. He's finally able to use a fork and spoon (I bought him this set) quite well and it's so cute to watch him eat with them. He's babbling up a storm and says a few words like bird, bath, dada, mama and juice (well he makes a juice-like sound LOL) to name a few.
Here's a look at his current schedule - it will change occasionally but for the most part he thrives on structure so we stick to this daily:
7:30 a.m. - Wake up, change diaper, have 8 oz. bottle of milk
8:15/8:30 a.m. - Breakfast - Here are a few things we tend to feed him: banana pancakes, french toast with ezekiel bread, mini pancakes, cheerios, Kodiak protein pancakess and turkey sausage
10:00 a.m. - Nap (anytime he is not napping or eating, he is playing or out with us)
11:30/12 p.m. - Wake up from nap, change diaper, 8 oz. bottle of milk
12:45/1 p.m. - Lunch
3:00 p.m. - Nap (some days he skips this nap if he just won't settle down or isn't that tired)
4:30 p.m. - Wake up from nap
5:30 p.m. - Dinner
6:30 p.m. - Bath and storytime
7:00 p.m. - Bedtime
You can find all my past posts on Miles and my favorites for his clothes, toys, newborn essentials, etc here. I also thought I would put some of my daily essentials for him in the widget below.
We are in full toddler mode now with Miles and I thought I would share some of his favorite toys and ones that we will continue to use as he gets older. Some are educational or help with motor skills and others are simply fun for him.
1. Aqua drawing mat - This is the most recent toy that I got him and it's a no-mess coloring mat! It comes with pens and brushes that you fill with water and then when they write on the mat, the color shows up underneath.
2. Shopping cart - This was one of the main toys that helped Miles learn to walk, and is still a toy he plays with daily. He loves to push it around the kitchen and family room, and will put things in and out of it all day long. I also bought him this box of fruits and vegetables to go with it, but he tends to play with those separately right now. I think over time he will find it fun if I set up a little store that he can "shop" at.
3. Slide - I pulled the wrong image for this slide as this is the one for older kids. However, I linked the correct slide that I just bought for Miles. It's much smaller and suitable for kids as young as 18 months. I think this slide will be a good way for him to be physical and exert some energy.
4. Push car - Best toy I've bought yet! We push him in this car around the neighborhood daily and he loves it. It's nosy as heck but he doesn't seem to mind. LOL
5. Hedgehog toy - I recently purchased this hedgehog for him after my girlfriend recommended it to me. It helps with fine motor skills and as he gets older will be great for teaching him sorting and colors.
6. Lawn mower - Ok to be honest, I wanted a toy that was simply an "outside" toy. We would bring things outside to play with and then I hated having them come back inside so I thought this lawn mower would solve that issue. And it did! He pushes it around, fills it up with sticks and mulch and then we can leave it in the garage. Yay!
7. Toy workbench - Miles loves to bang on things and make as much noise as possible. So I thought this workbench would be perfect. He loves putting the shapes in their respective holes and then opening the drawer to find them. It also makes a ton of different sounds which is fun for him (and super annoying for us LOL).
8. Magnetic tiles - When we recently visited a local children's museum, these were the only toys all the little boys wanted to play with. Miles enjoys picking them up and carrying them around, but he is a bit too young to build anything yet. However, I know these will be fun for him in the next few years.
9. Foam bath toys - I struggle to find things to keep Miles entertained in the bath because he is over it after a few days. #toddlers But I bought these foam toys because they will be great to use for the next few years. They are in the shapes of different animals and have letters cut out of the middle. I don't give him the small letters yet but he loves to put the animals up on the bath wall. I don't find that he wants to chew on them (though we never leave him unsupervised), but if your toddler likes to chew, this may not be a good toy yet.
10. Turtle sandbox - Stan bought this for Miles but it was winter and we couldn't put sand in it and use it outside. So I filled it with plastic balls to make it a mini ball pit and Miles is crazy for it! And if we have any other kids come over the house, they immediately go to it. I decided to get a sand table instead for him this summer so he could still make a mess in the sand but not be sitting in it.
11. Inflatable duck - I bought this when he was an infant to use as a bath for him at night, but soon found that he slipped around in it too much so I brought it downstairs for him to play with during the day. Well that was the best idea I've ever had! I don't think there is a single day that has gone by that he isn't rolling around in this duck. He puts his toys in it, he "reads" his books in it and he wrestles with it. I will warn you that this is our third one because somehow it always gets a hole. Very annoying but he loves it so I keep buying it. #sucker
What are your child's favorite toys? Any good suggestions? Let me know!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving if you celebrated! Things were very relaxed and low key around here today. Stan cooked, my mom, Miles and I played (and helped occasionally) and then we all sat down to eat until we were stuffed. Yay! I couldn't help but take a picture in our holiday pjs - how cute does Miles look?!! Truth be told, we had just got him up from his nap so he wasn't full of energy yet which is why he was calmly sitting in my arms. Towards the end of taking these pics, he was pulling at the tree, squirming to get out of my arms and then took off running into the kitchen. #typical If you plan to wear as much holiday themed clothing as you can, I have you covered when it comes to pjs in this post! I found some very festive options and then some subtle options that aren't as over the top. Of course I had to add a bunch of options for baby pjs because there is nothing cuter than little ones in holiday pajamas! Most of my picks are better for baby boys (I have made it my mission since having Miles to seek out the cutest stuff for boys because it can be hard to find!), but some of the pjs would work for boys or girls.
Anyone waking up early to go shopping in-store on Black Friday?!! I prefer to do it online but if the mood strikes me, I may venture in-store (for 5 minutes to get coffee and then run out!).
Thank goodness Miles was in the stroller for the first half of these pictures because once we take him out of it, BYEEEEEEE! Ha! He is off running anywhere and everywhere. Now that Miles is almost a year old (only a few days away), I thought I would round up all of my essentials from the first year. I have a good idea now of what was an absolute necessity and truly worked for us and him. I'm happy that almost every single thing I received or purchased ended up getting used. I tried to see what he was liking or what suited our lifestyle before buying things so I wouldn't end up drowning in baby stuff all around the house. Most things worked for him at various stages so while something may not have been a hit at first, I would often revisit it months later and find it very useful! So I encourage you to not give up on something that may not be your baby's favorite at the moment, and try it again at a later date.
1. Boppy - Goodness, this was THE single most useful contraption we used in those first few months. We could rest him in it, use it while feeding him, have him nap in it - I get one now for any of my pregnant girlfriends. I want everyone to have a Boppy!
2. Dockatot - In addition to the Boppy, the Dockatot was a product we used from the day we brought him home. He would sleep in it, nap in it, rest in it and hang out in it when we needed him to be near any of us if we were doing something else.
3. Solly baby wrap/Ergo baby carrier - I used both carriers and found them essential for me at different times. When he was a newborn, I would use the Solly wrap when we went out and to carry him around the house. The Ergo has been more useful now that he is older and he still loves to be carried in it.
4. Blooming Bath Lotus - I preferred using this bath cushion out of any other ones I came across because it is so soft and bendable making it easy to fit into any bath tub or sink. Once he was old enough to begin sitting in the tub, I transitioned to this one and really liked it. It helped encourage him to sit up by himself and engage with me during bath time. Now that he is standing/walking, he plays in our regular tub and I added this mat to prevent him from slipping and this over the water spout.
5. Skip Hop Activity Table - I don't know what we would have done without this table! We began putting him in this around 4 months old and he would spend a good portion of the day in and out of it. He loved playing with all the attached toys and because the seat could pivot 360 degrees, he could turn himself to look around the room.
6. Boon High Chair - I really love this high chair. It's very sturdy, easy to raise up and down and locks so it won't move around on the floor while I am feeding Miles.
7. Wubbanub - I can't mention essentials without including these. These ended up being his favorite pacifiers and the soft animal at the end did help to ensure they didn't fall. There isn't a main toy that he can't live without these days but he does (and did when he was younger) enjoy Sophie la Girafe, this teething banana and this teething ball which was wonderful for helping develop his eye/hand coordination.
8. Copper Pearl bandanas - I won't tell you how many of these I currently own but it is A LOT! LOL These are the best looking drool bibs and really do help to catch drool easier than a regular ol' bib. In fact, my mom even said to me that she wished these were around when I was a baby because they are so much more effective (a bandana style) at catching drool than a regular bib. The prints are cute, they hold up well in the wash and they look adorable on him.
9. Mustela face wipes - I am not loyal to any particular diaper wipes and enjoy a few different brands, but for face wipes I love Mustela. The scent is amazing, they clean his hands/face so well and they are softer than most others I have tried.
10. Silver Cross Jet Stroller - This stroller has made outings with Miles SO much easier because it is incredibly lightweight and compact. When completely folded, it is only 17.5 inches tall! When it first arrived, I actually thought they sent me the wrong product because the box was so small. Ha!
11. Halo Sleepsack/Merlin Sleepsuit - These were the two most successful sleep wraps/suits that we used and liked. Miles slept in the Merlin from 3 months - 6 months and it really helped to weigh his arms down so he wouldn't wake himself with the little movements they would make. I used the Halo on and off in the first few months, but now it is exclusively what Miles uses every single night.
12. Aden and Anais swaddle cloths - Before I had Miles, I didn't even know what a swaddle cloth was let alone what made one so great. Boy did I learn fast after bringing him home from the hospital. I couldn't swaddle with those hospital blankets and but could do it effortlessly with the ones from Aden and Anais. In addition to the Boppy, I like to get these for all my pregnant girlfriends.
13. 12 Hours of Sleep by 12 Weeks Old - This was the sleep training book that I decided to use and it changed our life. Miles began sleeping through the night (12 hours) around 7 weeks old and still does. Of course he has his off nights here and there, but for the most part he is a wonderful sleeper and napper. I owe all of that to this book and the techniques we implemented. It's not for everyone but it worked for us and I am so grateful I found it.
14. Little Tikes Walker - This really encouraged Miles to begin walking and was steady and easy for him to balance against. And he still uses it and plays with it to this day!
15. Bumbo Multi Seat - There are a few different Bumbo seats, but this is the one that we preferred. We would take this with us to restaurants and use it around the house to encourage him to sit up on his own.
16. Skip Hop Activity Gym - He was on this ALL the time as a newborn and loved looking at all the lights and hanging toys. As he grew older, we used it for tummy time and he really engaged with all the toys that hung from it. When he started crawling, I put these foam mats down which worked perfectly (and aren't an eye sore!).
17. Fisher-Price Piano Gym - In addition to the Skip Hop Activity Mat, he loved this one as well. He would tap on the piano constantly and loved the sound it made. Both were used every single day for months. The piano can be detached and played with separately and Miles still plays with it to this day.
18. Fisher-Price Frog Seat - As soon as Miles was able to sit up, I bought him this seat and he absolutely loved it. And the fact that it is so inexpensive is a bonus!
19. Ubbi Diaper Pail - This was an expensive diaper pail, but it sure was worth it. I made the mistake of buying a second much less expensive diaper pail for another room and it was awful. It didn't mask the smell and was awful to use. This was worth every penny.
20. Crane Humidifier - To be honest, I have not tried any other humidifiers so I can't compare but we use this every single day for him and it has done wonders with helping his skin not get so dry. I also have not had any issues with Miles getting the sniffles in his first year (that could be due to a number of factors), but I do believe this humidifier has really helped.
It's been a few months since I have done a Miles update, so I thought I would share info on all his favorite toys as well as his current schedule. I bought many of these toys a few months ago but it is only recently that Miles has really begun to engage with them. Around 8 months, he began pulling himself up to standing so I immediately purchased a few of them after that because he has been itching to walk! Eek! We keep all of his toys in the sun room which we have gated off (this is the gate I purchased) so the area is all his. It helps him have some freedom to roam around and play, and since there is no furniture or anything else in the space, we can do things in the kitchen and watch him while he plays by himself. Here are his favorite toys to play with and the ones he spends the most time interacting with during the day:
1. Turtle sandbox - Stan bought this with the hopes of actually making a sandbox in the backyard for Miles that he could play in. But he is still too young for that so I improvised and filled it with plastic balls to make a ball pit. He crawls in and out of this all day long.
2. Plastic balls - I first purchased these for his blow up pool to make it more fun and it was my best decision yet! He adores these things and throws them all around.
3. Learning table - When he started pulling himself up to standing, I knew a table like this would be perfect so he could work on his balance while standing and interacting with all the different gadgets on the table.
4. Walker - Hands down, best toy of the bunch! Miles is on the go, go, go! As soon as Stan put this together, Miles pulled himself up and began pushing it across the room. He squealed with delight and still does. It can be made into a sitting toy or locked so he can play with it kneeling on the ground, but his favorite way to engage with it is by pushing it. It makes noise and has so many buttons which he plays with when he gets tired of walking.
5. Inflatable pool - I grabbed this on a random Target run when he was 6 months old and we were going to put it out in the backyard as a pool for him. But he is so mobile and always moving around that I thought he would get more use out of it inside. And boy does he ever. Since it is all inflated, it cushions him whenever he tries to stand up or crawl in and out of it. But being the rambunctious dude he is, he actually pushed the canopy onto the ground and now rolls around in that. He ended up putting a hole in it so we are currently trying to find the hole and patch it up. LOL
6. Bean bag chair - Once Miles began pulling himself up onto things, I thought a bean bag chair would be great for him to crawl around and fall into without hurting himself. And it has been perfect! We removed almost half of the beans to make it very squishy and easier for him to lean into, but the funniest thing about this is when he isn't using it, my mom, Stan or I normally sit on it when we watch him play. It's been a big hit with the whole family! :)
7. Bathtime toys - We give Miles a bath every night (this is the tub we use) and these are the toys he loves to play with. Normally he just chews on them for a bit and plays with them in the water.
8. Steering wheel toy - This toy has been around since he was a few months old and it was what encouraged him to crawl. For some reason, he loves it and would always move towards the noise and sounds it makes. He still loves to play with it every day!
9. Peek & play book - He has had this book since he was a newborn and still loves to chew on it all the time. Now he can turn the pages and play with all the animals inside which keeps him entertained much more.
My last post about his schedule was when he was a itty bitty infant, so it's definitely time for an updated run down of his daily routine. Some days we may deviate from this because of appointments or taking him places, but for the most part we try to keep him on this routine. We have found that he loves a routine since he was a newborn and always responded well to keeping things regular most days. Here is what a typical day looks like for him now:
6:30 -7:00 am - Wake up, change diaper, put outfit on for the day
7:15 am - 8 oz bottle of formula
7:30 - 8:15 am - Play time
8:15 - 8:45 am - Breakfast
8:45 -9:30 am - Play time
9:30 -11:30 am - Nap
11:30 -11:45 am - 8 oz bottle of formula
11:45 -12:30 pm - Play time
12:30 -1:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 -1:30 pm - Play time
1:30 - 3:30 pm - Nap
3:45 pm - 8 oz bottle of formula
3:45 - 4:30 pm - Play time
4:30 - 4:45 pm - Afternoon snack
4:45 - 5:30 pm - Play time (sometimes we take him on a walk, put him in the playpen or this chair to get him to take a 20 minute cat nap)
5:30 - 6:00 pm - Dinner
6:00 - 6:30 pm - Play time
6:30 - 6:45 pm - Bath time, lotion, get dressed for bed
I just look at these photos and can hear Miles giggling. It's so amazing to be able to celebrate this Mother's Day in a different way - as a mother for the first time. Stan, Miles and I went to lunch this weekend and as I was leaving a group of ladies went out of their way to wish me a happy first Mother's Day and it was the sweetest thing ever.
The most enjoyable thing about having Miles has truly been getting to experience raising him with my own mom who lives with us. She does so much for us and is such a vital part of Miles' life and I love that. She never misses a single moment since she is with him daily and it's been wonderful having her help, being able to get her advice and seeing how much joy he brings to her. I hear her laughing hysterically at him when I'm up in my office working, and I always have to run down and see what ridiculously silly thing he is doing to crack her up. It's a team effort in our house and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I thought I would share some of my favorite things about Miles because his personality is already beginning to emerge!
His big cheesy smile that he gives whenever he sees any of us.
The raspberries that he has started blowing whenever he eats (and covers us with food).
How much he loves the car - he instantly falls asleep as soon as we start driving.
His little independent spirit - he can keep himself entertained in his little activity table for quite a long time now! We call it his "office". LOL
The hysterical giggles that he has whenever you change his clothes. As soon as you put something over his head, he begins laughing non-stop. In fact the first time I heard him laugh was when I was changing his clothes and it hasn't stopped.
How much he loves to eat. (Stan says he inherited this from him).
His easy going nature. He has his fussy moments and went through a few rough weeks around his 4 month regression, but for the most part he is a happy little dude.
The way he looks at Elmo. He is fascinated by him and will just stare at him for the longest time. Just the other week, Elmo was walking towards him and Miles got the biggest smile and put out his arms. It was the cutest thing.
I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. We all adore this little man, and I'm so happy to be his mom.
I know this day can be a happy one for so many, but also bring about some challenging and/or sad emotions for a number of reasons. I'm wishing everyone happiness if you are celebrating today, as well as love and peace to those that may have a hard time with today.
