Thursday, January 29, 2009

Ya, Baby Stuff...

Yup... I imagine in the next 8.5 weeks that I have left to carry lil Josephine, you will be seeing lots of baby things...


First... my sweet friend, Amy Tan had a custom onsie made for lil Josie!


Fromamytan 


I rock out Amy Tangerine attire whenever I can so of course lil Josie will have to too!


And the belly shot from this week...


31weekstext 


I honestly really love my baby belly. Still feeling pretty great. Just noticing my energy is decreasing, but other than that, I feel great! 8.5 more weeks! It's so wild how fast this has flown by!


And a few photos from our Maternity Session w/our friends at Landon Jacob that were taken the last week of December.


IMG_0474-4x6 


IMG_0490-4x6 


And Here is her nursery paint color...


Antique Fresco


Paint 


Pretty, soothing, natural.


So Im probably going to open up a can of worms here... but I have heard so many things about the Baby Wise Book.


About 1/2 great and 1/2 horrible...


So Id love your opinion from experience about this book and method.


 


We have a great weekend planned... Painting Josie's room, organizing, and a Cupid's Arrow Photo Session Sunday! Mommy and lil girl... a present for Daddy who is deployed at the moment.  Im really excited about it!


I have been on a HUGE homemade Rice Crispy Treat kick the past 2 weeks... It's bad... real bad.


Oh well... Life's simple pleasures right?


xo

19 comments:

  1. i think some of the ideas in baby wise are a bit extreme. but there are definitely parts of it that are helpful. i think alot of it is common sense though...

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  2. michelle.woods7:35 AM

    I have never read the book. But my experience is newborns can not be spoiled...snuggle, cuddle and feed as much as you can. After that make a routine that works for you and Josie and try to stick to it. I do think babies thrieve on routine, but it is just that a routine and not a written in stone law. My two cents.

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  3. oh ambs. i have been all about the chocolate crispy treats the last couple of days! now i will think of you as i eat :)
    xxxxx
    p.s. your most gorgeous blog banner yet. fo'sho.

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  4. P.S. Amber, I love your new maternity shots. So.Cute. Your belly is looking so very adorable. It makes me miss my preggo belly.

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  5. i didn't do baby-wise but i did the next step and it has been great. just be a consistent parent and you'll be one step ahead of many people!

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  6. Babywise: Of the 4 people that I know tried it, all 4 loved it. I don't think all of them followed the book step by step but I do know all did the "eat, play, sleep" and tried to follow a schedule. I think it is worth a shot learning about it and seeing if you can adapt it to fit your needs and Josie's needs. Good Luck!

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  7. Amber, read the reviews on goodreads.com, lots of positive feedback specifically about the routine being great but there were complaints about not giving your child enough attention and them not wanting to be held anymore...
    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/300650.On_Becoming_Baby_Wise_Giving_Your_Infant_the_Gift_of_Nighttime_Sleep

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  8. I am just too happy for you .. the pics are beautiful and love that lil onesie .. see you guys soon .. .

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  9. lovely color!! Soo cool to follow your pregnancy since I'm only a few weeks behind you on mine..

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  10. mmm...rice crispy treats sound DELICIOUS! i think that is on my list to do this weekend now. ;)
    we bought the babywise book and I've read only the first chapter...so far we really like it! it was referred to us by many friends who said it worked wonderfully for them. the only people i hear put it down are those who haven't read it...and they usually have issues with their baby's sleeping patterns. may be worth reading just so you can form your own opinion or take bits and pieces that will work for you and your family. i just ordered the contreversial book by dr. sears "the vaccine book" so i'm looking forward to reading and forming my own ideas about that one too. :)

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  11. gabbe4:57 AM

    i have friends who used the babywise system successfully (they adapted it somewhat too) but i couldn't stand to let my dd cry it out, etc.. and i'm so glad we didn't use that system. My daughter is 4 now & doing great.
    i too love Dr. Sears and his style of parenting. you'll find the right way as a family and will be wonderful parents!

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  12. Amy Wilson3:37 PM

    Amber, I did Baby Wise with George. I read it on the recommendation of some Green Hill Church moms who swore by it. It worked very well with George. Also, go borrow from a friend, check out from the library or rent "The Happiest Baby on the Block." I have used the techniques I learned on that video many times and have impressed a lot of people :)

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  13. sherrivonl4:46 PM

    amber, i already gave you my 2 cents before, but i will throw this out there.
    a baby is going to be a life changing event. you are not going to be sleeping thru the night the first week you get home. it just ain't gonna happen. you probably aren't sleeping thru the night now. surely you are getting up to go to the bathroom a couple of times a night. i think that is God's way of preparing you for what is to come.
    what seems to be the recurring theme with the "babywise" side is how quickly their kids slept thru the night and how well they sleep now.
    you know i have 4 kids. they all learned to self soothe themselves to sleep, they all reached for their cribs at nap and bedtime and they all can sleep for 10 hours or longer if they didn't have to get up for school, and this includes the 12 year old. ;o) and babywise had nothing to do with it. me and my mommy skills did.
    take cues from your baby, you will know when she is hungry and when she is tired. a schedule will automatically develop and it will be natural not forced.
    do you need to pick up your baby the second she cries? no but i don't think you need a book to tell you that.
    a baby needs to be cuddled and loved. she needs to feel secure and to know that when she needs you; you will be there.
    i shudder at the idea of feeding on a schedule, especially with a breastfed baby. absolutely shudder. babies go thru growth spurts. how will you know when this happens? well, when she wants to nurse more often, that is how. if you feed on a schedule, how do you plan for these growth spurts? how do you know when they are occurring?
    dylan had pyloric stenosis. i don't have time to explain how it all went down on here. he was a formula fed baby. it required surgery to fix. he was only 5 weeks old. i don't even want to think of the guilt i would have felt if i had been feeding only on a schedule during that time.
    i am not sure what aspect of the babywise approach is appealing to you but if it is sleep, the best advice is to nurse. no bottles, no mixing and no need to get up to heat things in the night. 2 of my boys were bottle fed, 2 breastfed. my sleep with breastfed babies was a million times better. after a month (or less) you should be able to start to nurse and go right back to sleep. no problemo.
    as others have said, it goes by way too fast, i can't tell you how true that statement is. when you are in the middle of all that is the newborn stage - it seems that it will never end and you will never go back to the way it used to be.
    it will end, but you are having a baby, nothing is going back to the way it used to be. and why would you want it to? if you wanted things to stay status quo, you wouldn't be bringing a baby into the mix.
    when i was pregnant people would say to me "oh your life is never going to be the same", to which i replied "i know, i can hardly wait." they always said it like it was a bad thing.
    parents these days seem to be in such a hurry to (fill in the blank) get the baby to sleep thru the night, get the baby to stop taking a paci, get the baby to sit, crawl, walk, drink from a cup, potty train....i still haven't figured out why, what is the hurry really?
    what i wouldn't give to go back in time to those newborn days, even if just for a moment to snuggle up to one of my boys and take it all in again.
    if you are determined to try it, at least just let it be a guide, be flexible, not rigid and set in stone.
    ::stepping down off of soapbox::

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  14. amanda2:11 AM

    Ooops, I meant to say you can have them...I clearly don't need them anymore. :)

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  15. This book, which I have read, is a sore spot with people that advocate attachment parenting... infants can be influenced to a routine, but trying to schedule a breastfeed baby can be energy lost and stress created for a "schedule" that is causing you more harm than good...
    If an infant gets to a point they are all out crying because "it isn't time yet"-you'll find then it is HARDER for them to nurse, because they are so upset.
    Try the Dr. Sear's books. Their great!
    There are documented cases of babies with "failure to thrive" because the parents work so hard on a routine, and don't really tune into their babies needs.
    The Baby Wise Toddler book-it suggests smacking their hands as soon as 6-8 months I think it was. I do think a squirming baby during a diaper change (i.e.), could use a bit of discipline, and should start learning boundaries, but the way it was written, made me uncomfortable.
    Breastfeed on demand-encourage a large feeding at bedtime (and keep them close to you at night, either co-cleeping or a co-sleeper next to the bed), wear your baby in a sling, and it will work out. Following a book that DOESN'T fit each baby-bad idea.
    Listen to their needs, and influence their routine over time. It will work out. :)

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  16. Hi Amber, I have not read the book. I looked up some reviews. Read some stuff about the author: http://www.ezzo.info/Articles/bw2001review.htm
    Please, don't do this with your child. Read about Erik Erikson's developmental theory. here: http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm
    Think about what you are doing with you kid. Children need the parent and the nurture. We grew up fine...you can start rules later on.

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  17. Sarah Merritt11:26 AM

    Amber - I read all of the comments when they were posted and just got around to saying something. I am pregnant with my 1st and we plan on using a system similar to Babywise (in fact I am going to buy that book too). We read the 12 Weeks to 12 Hours Sleep book and it basically says to follow their cues for the first 6 weeks and then work on putting the baby on more of a schedule. They do say not to start any bad habits in the beginning (rocking, sleeping on chest ...) and that you do not have to let them "cry it out" but just let them try to soothe themselves for a few minutes before you come in and help. I think that all people are on schedules of some kind and it is strange to think that babies do not need one too. Good luck and pick an option that you feel comfortable with.

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  18. that onesie is the bestttt omg.

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  19. Hi there- You look adorable and I wish you a great rest of your pregnancy.
    My baby is just about 10 months now and so the last year I've been reading all the books too. One of the people mentioned that Babywise will point out a lot of things to you that are very intuitive. I think you've got to take what will work for you and make that work/leave what doesn't work for you.
    The book I found most helpful was Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It does a good job at breaking down what your child will need at each of the stages. As a first time mom, I didn't know and it was good to know that he'd need 3 naps a day and he sure did! http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0449004023
    I agree that breastfeeding is amazing and you don't mind getting up to do it in the middle of the night. It wasn't until baby was 7 months when we got to where he was only getting up once a night for the late night feeding at 11pm. (he would get up 2-3 times for the months before and since it goes by so fast I didn't mind it either-such a special time) Then he sleeps until 7-8am. He goes to bed at 7pm. Do what feels natural to you and your baby will let you know when she's hungry. Marc's book is great because it taught me the sleep cues to look for and helped me learn to have him sleep in his crib for naps from the begining. Our little guy is a great sleeper now and I thank that book for helping us learn. The other thing we used was the swaddle until he was 7 months old. there are some great swaddle wraps out there and they are so awesome. He would fall asleep in minutes because he loved the swaddle so much.
    Have fun! (so excited for you!)

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