Leslie Loves...{3.06}

I had planned for my next "Leslie Loves..." post {i.e. this one} to be non-baby-related...but, once again, time got away from me, and I've got to get these items written down before I forget! #MomBrain  As a side note, if you think #PregnancyBrain goes away after you have the baby, think again, my friend! It's simply replaced by #MomBrain, a condition that significantly {negatively} affects the memory! Anyway, back to the subject at hand...

These are our "MUST HAVES" for months 9-12...

1. Mirror Shapes Bath Toys: these bright-colored shapes with mirrors are H's favorite bath toys! They stick to the side of the tub/tile wall just like the foam letters {which he also loves}.
2. Shape Sorter: of the 2,468 toys we have strung out across our living room, this is one that he plays with every.single.day! At first he just liked to take off the lid and dump out the blocks, then he started putting them back in the bucket {without the lid}, and recently he's actually been making an effort to get the shapes through the right slot in the lid. {It's so fun to watch him learn!} 
3. Little Tikes Snug 'n Secure Swing: as long as it's not raining, I can pretty much guarantee we will be outside swinging at some point during the day. H is very secure in the swing now with the shoulder straps that hook to the T-bar, and he still has plenty of room to grow.
4. Bowls with Lids: now that he's a full-on solid food eater, we've got to take snacks with us anywhere and everywhere we go. We love these bowls because the lids are easy for us to pop on and off, but they're secure enough that we can hand a bowl full of Cheerios to H to play with {bang around and make lots of noise} and not worry about the lid coming off and spilling Cheerios everywhere. I will tell you that my 2.5-year-old nephew is capable of removing the lids though...just FYI! The size of these bowls is also great for warming up a baby-size serving of food or for storing leftovers in the fridge.
5. KidCo Foam Edge and Corner Protector Kit: the majority of H's toys reside in our living room surrounding the fireplace, which has a granite slab that is about 18 inches high and extends out about two feet...you know, the perfect height for a babe to fall into and cut his head open/knock himself out. Thus, we found this sticky foam edging to soften the sharp edges. It comes in several colors to blend with whatever surface you're trying to prevent from causing bumps and bruises.
6. Baby's First Photo Album: H received this soft-cover photo album for Christmas, but he's just now started to really enjoy/interact with it. It's full of bright-colored pages and shapes made of different fabrics and even includes some crinkly sound pages. It's filled with photos of family and friends...but H's favorite page is the one with Lily. When he gets to that page, he YELLS "Dog! Dog! Dog!" over and over and over again.
7. Disposable Place Mats: these are perfect for restaurants, and I've found that they serve two purposes for us: 1) keeps the babe's food off of the {possibly} germy table, and 2) makes it easy to clean up the {possible} mess when H is done eating. 
8. Sippy Cups: we've tried multiple sippy cups, and these three are the ones that work best for us. We introduced several cups when he was about six months old, and these were the only ones he liked for several months {our "starter cup"}. This is more of a transition cup, and it's worked like a charm for us for milk. It's tall and skinny similar to the shape of his bottles {and he uses it without the handles}. H has tried {and continues to try} everything possible to make this cup spill/leak, but so far he's been unsuccessful in those attempts {knock on wood!}. Now THAT is a selling point for a sippy cup if I've ever heard one! Lastly, it took H a little time to figure this one out, but it's by far his favorite now that he's got the hang of it. For the most part it doesn't leak...but some liquid will escape upon impact when it is launched across the room or thrown from the high chair {not that my child would ever do such a thing!}.

Be sure to check out our 0-3 month "loves" here,
 3-6 month "loves" here,
and our 6-9 month "loves" here.

What am I missing?

Please share with me your favorite baby products!

Leslie Loves...{3.05}

Here we go...another edition of baby must-haves, so feel free to just click the "X" in the top right corner of your screen if you're not at an age/stage of your life to have an interest in these necessities.  However, I know hope there are people out there like me searching the world wide web high and low to find opinions from other mommas who have been there/done that and found products their babes can't live without {or at least make life a little easier!}.

These are our "MUST HAVES" for months six through nine...

1. Baltic Amber Necklace: although I wasn't sure about it at first, I will now admit I'm a true believer in the amber necklace for teething. After talking with our pediatrician about it, H wears his amber necklace all the time except for when he's sleeping. The reduced level of drooling is visibly noticeable when he's wearing his amber necklace. Most babies need a 10-11 inch necklace. You don't want it to be too loose because the babe could get his/her hand stuck in it, making it a choking hazard.  You can also get bracelet/anklet size. The key is to make sure it is worn against the skin because the warmth of the skin releases the oils from the amber.
2. Freshly Picked Moccasins: these are the only shoes we can keep on our little man's feet. H hates shoes and socks, but he doesn't seem to mind wearing these moccasins. We've had both the suede and the leather and love both. I know these are pricey for baby shoes, but the quality is exceptional. These are shoes that can most definitely be hand-me-downs to younger siblings! They're available at Nordstrom {free shipping!}, but if you pay attention {or sign up for email notifications}, you can catch them on sale for $45 at freshlypicked.com on occasion.
3. VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker: "Ring-a-ling...the animals sing!" I hear it over and over and over and over again...but it's ok because this thing keeps our babe entertained! H started playing with the front side of the walker {which is removable, so he could play with it flat on the floor} when he was 4-5 months old. He began pulling up to it around 7 months, and then he really started to push it between 8-9 months. The back wheels have two settings to control the speed.
4. JJ Cole Bibs: when H first started eating solid foods, we were using cloth bibs and constantly having a laundry basket full of dirty bibs...and then I finally found these tucked away in his closet. Game changer! These bibs are made of laminated canvas, so they wipe clean with a wet cloth {or a little scrubbing with a dish brush for sticky or dried foods}. They have a solid snap closure {3 options for adjustable size}, so H can't pull it off himself. Another big plus is that they're wide enough to provide full coverage from shoulder to shoulder.
5. Happy Knees Kneepads: the main level of our home is pretty much covered in hard wood floors or tile, so these kneepads were a necessity to protect Baby H's little knees when he started crawling.
6. Itzy Ritzy Sitzy Shopping Cart & High Chair Cover: we started out with one of these, but now we have two so we can keep one in each car. Yes, I am a little bit of that crazy germ-a-phobe mom who doesn't want her baby touching the icky high chair covered in caked-on, sticky food from the 7,000 other babies who previously used it...but even more than that, I love that this soft, fluffy cover gives my little guy some comfort {especially from those thin shopping cart bars}.
7. Wooden Blocks: a classic! While H doesn't use these to spell out words just yet {although he does love to mess up the words that Momma tries to spell!}, he loves to make lots of noise by banging them together {or on the floor}. These blocks are the perfect size for his little hands to hold {and throw}.
8. Banana Toothbrush: this is the toothbrush our pediatrician recommended {no toothpaste needed yet}, and it's been a success! H wasn't too interested in it at first, but now he actually likes to "brush his teeth" {i.e. chew on the toothbrush}.
9. Boon Bathtub Mat: the perfectly-sized mat to keep a slippery baby from sliding all over the bathtub. You can hang it from the shower head when you're not using it to prevent mildew.
10. Bath Spout Cover: I used to think this was one of those temperature-regulating products, and I swore I'd never have one because surely I'm capable of detecting the appropriate temperature for my babe's bath water...shows how much I knew about baby bath products! Ha. Bathtub injuries from falling into/head hitting the tub spout are all too common, so this is a necessity in preventing those accidents!
11. Stacking Rings: hands down, this has been H's favorite toy to-date. He's played with the rings since he could grasp them in his little hands. For the longest time, he'd just throw them and chase them. Now he's figured out how to stack them on the cone, and he is SO.PROUD when he gets them all in place...and then he dumps them off and starts all over again..and again...and again!
12. Poly-Vi-Sol Vitamin Supplement: when H started transitioning to solid {pureéd} food, we switched to this vitamin supplement to ensure he gets enough vitamin D and all the other nutrients he needs.
13. Board Books: our little guy is obsessed with books...especially pulling them all off the shelf and spreading them across the entire room! We love the board books at this stage because he can be as rough as he wants with them {including chewing on the pages}, and no damage is done!

*The links above are to the online site where I found the product for the cheapest price as of July 6, 2016.



Be sure to check out our 0-3 month "loves" here.
And our 3-6 month "loves" here.

What is your very favorite baby product?   

Please share with me your baby "loves"...all ages and stages!

Leslie Loves...{3.03}

Wayyyyy back in January {although it actually feels like just a few weeks ago}, I said I would "definitely work on increasing the number of 'Leslie Loves...' posts." #TotalFail.  It's not because I haven't wanted to share my current loves and obsessions, but I haven't felt like I've had anything really "cool" to write about. Most of my "new finds" revolve around the little man that rules my world, so of course this edition of "Leslie's Loves..." is baby-related.

With all that being said, I give you our "MUST HAVES" for months three through six... 

1. Boppy Noggin Nest Head Support:  we used this when he was lying on the floor or in his crib to prevent him from getting a flat spot on the back of his head.  Now that I’m doing a little research on this, it says it’s not recommended for use in a crib. However, we did use it in his crib up until he could roll over. 
2. Fisher Price Kick & Play Piano Mat: this was by far his favorite toy for several months. Before he could roll over he was content to bat around at the toys and kick the piano keys for 30-45 minutes.  Even after he started rolling he was still happy playing on this mat, but he preferred to “play the piano” with his hands rather than his feet.
3. HoMedics Humidifier with Sound Machine:  this was the cure-all when Baby H was congested!  We use the sound machine part even when we don’t need the humidifier because our child does not sleep well without white noise. 
4. Infantino Spiral Car Seat Toy: H got to where he could actually reach the dangling toys between three and four months, and he plays with them more than we expected. The best thing about this toy: he can’t “lose” it because it’s attached and stays in place!
5. Crinkle Books: these soft books that make the crinkle noise when touched are guaranteed to capture a baby’s attention…for at least a little while. The "Puppy Tails" book is a favorite around our house.
6. Fisher Price Sit-Me-Up Floor Seat: we used this in place of a Bumbo chair. We loved it because it is useful for a much longer period of time than the Bumbo seat.  It has more back support than a Bumbo, so we were comfortable putting him in it around 3.5 months old.  Plus, it’s got plenty of room for babes to grow.  We’re still using it at 9.5 months to contain our very mobile baby when we need to get something done.  It comes with two toys attached to it, and these can easily be interchanged with other toys.  The only drawback is that it takes up more space than the Bumbo seat…but I’d say the pros far outweigh that one con.
7. WubbaNub Pacifier: this was a game-changer for us because it allowed H to put his paci back in his mouth by himself at night! The attached stuffed animal gives the babe so much more to grasp, so they’re capable of locating it in the crib and maneuvering it back into their mouth.  We found that H doesn’t really care if he gets the actual paci in his mouth…the legs/ears/tail of the giraffe seem to be equally sufficient.
8. On-the-Go Sound Machine: we keep this attached to H’s car seat.  He can press the buttons, which he LOVES to do…but it also has the white noise sound that helps him sleep.  It has four sound options: heartbeat, white noise, ocean and lullaby.  You can set a timer for it to automatically turn off or you can allow it to play until you manually turn it off.
9. D-Vi-Sol Vitamin D Supplement: breast milk doesn’t provide enough Vitamin D for optimal nutrition, so we used this to supplement. We mixed this in H’s early morning bottle to cover up the icky taste.

*The links above are to the online site where I found the product for the cheapest price as of June 2, 2016.



You can check out our 0-3 month "loves" here.



What did I miss?   


Please share with me your baby "loves"...all ages and stages!

Leslie Loves...{3.01}

I'll go ahead and admit that the "Leslie Loves..." posts were lacking in 2015 {ok, ok...blog posts in general were somewhat lacking in 2015}, but the new  year is here and I'm going to TRY to post on a more consistent basis...and definitely work on increasing the number of "Leslie Loves..." posts.

I promise that not all of my posts will be baby-related...but given the season of my life that I'm currently living, some of my "loves" are gonna revolve around caring for the little midget. {Hey...anything to make life a little easier/increase sleep is worth some love in my book!}  I realize that I now have a 4.5-month-old babe, but I'm going to have to backtrack a bit and share a few items that we LOVED when we first brought him home.

1. Rock 'n Play Sleeper: we used this in place of a bassinet while he slept in our bedroom for the first three months of his life. The "auto" rocking feature includes two speeds that can be set to run for 30 minutes or six hours. It's very mobile, as it folds up easily...plus, you can power it with batteries if you aren't near an outlet to plug it in. It says it can support a baby up to 25 pounds, but our little guy really started wiggling and graduated to his crib around 12 weeks.
2. Hands-Free Pumping Bra: I've been pumping since the very beginning because my little midget wasn't good at the whole nursing game, so this was an ESSENTIAL tool for me from the get-go. This actually allows you to multi-task while pumping {even more useful later on when you go back to work!}. There's nothing easy about pumping {breastfeeding in general}, but this helps a bit by freeing your hands for the 20+ minutes you're feeling like a dairy cow attached to a machine.
3. Swaddle Sleepsack: we were BIG fans of swaddling and truly believe it's the reason behind our little guy sleeping through the night at four weeks old. Ryan happens to be a great swaddler using the Aden & Anais muslin blankets {another must have that I just now remembered}...me, not so much. Sooooo...the swaddle sleepsacks were a necessity for me to get/KEEP the babe wrapped up like a burrito.  They're foolproof when it comes to wrapping the baby, and they're baby-proof when it comes to busting out of the swaddle.
4. Lansinoh Gel Soothies: I tried every brand of soothing nursing pads, and I found these to be the very best at providing pain relief during the early {painful!} days of nursing.
5. What to Expect the First Year: this book has all the answers as to what to do/what to expect when you get home with a tiny human and have no clue what you're supposed to do. I've found this book much more helpful/useful than the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" that I read while I was pregnant.
6. Dr. Brown's Bottle Warmer: as I mentioned above, I've been pumping since Day 1 {ok, maybe Day 3, but still...}, so having this to quickly warm a bottle was crucial for a momma with a very impatient baby when he decides he's hungry. And let me tell you, my babe goes from content to starving in about a millisecond. If I had to heat water and then wait for that water to then warm the bottle, I think my little guy might combust from anger while waiting for his food. 
7. Sleep Sheep: this sound machine is a life-saver! Period.Dot.Done! It has four different soothing sound options, and an automatic timer than can be set for 23 or 45 minutes.
8. Baby Connect App: this is the app we use to track feeding {bottle & nursing}, diaper changes and pumping. We definitely don't use it to its full advantage because there are many more variables that can be tracked {sleep, mood, activity, medical, etc.}. You can log into your account from several different devices {mom, dad, grandparents, nanny} and they'll all sync together. I know there are free apps out there that do similar things, but I honestly believe this is worth the money. 
9. Paper Plates: it's likely that you're going to have lots of company and people will bring meals {btw, thank you, thank you, thank you for the fabulous meals!!!} as you adjust to life with a newborn, but let's face it...ain't nobody got time for dishes!




*The links above are to the online site where I found the product for the cheapest price as of January 5, 2016.



These are just a few of the items I deemed ESSENTIALS as we blindly navigated our way through the early days of parenthood. There are so many baby products out there {some incredibly useful, some beyond ridiculous}...are there any fabulous products that I missed? Please share with me your baby "loves"...all ages and stages!