DrBrown's Bottles and Food Pods!

Joseph was just as excited as I was to open our box from DrBrown's! He even helped me rip off the tape! 

Inside we found 

-2 DrBrown's Training cups 

    One 6 Oz and One 10oz

- DrBrown's food pods 

- DrBrown's Natural Flow 8oz bottle.

The Natural Flow Bottle

I honestly love this bottle! I was given our first one as part of a gift bag while in the hospital with Joseph. As a breastfeeding momma and formula feeding momma, this bottle has been wonderful since day one! 

 Pros- So gentle on little tummies! Reduces colic and helps air flow through the bottle for less spit ups! It's help made either the breast milk that I pumped or the formula we used sit easily in Joseph's tummy! The top of the bottle also screws in perfectly to my breast pump! Easy to clean, hand wash or top rack dishwasher safe! 

Cons- There are a lot of parts to this bottle, storage & cleaning may seem a little weird. You'll get the hang of it in no time! 

Left-10oz hard spout : Right-6oz soft spout

DrBrown's training Training cups

   If you are in search of a great training and sippy cup for your little one, these are the way to go people! I can't begin to tell you how many training we have tried and have failed. Joseph likes to throw them, crawl around with them, shake them and will try to share with you. Yep, they take a beating from my 9 month old.  Other training cups make me nervous when in my diaper bag, and I have watched a few fall from the high chair and crack! 

DrBrown's training and Sippy cups are so durable! They DO NOT LEAK! Even when Joseph is shaking his juice around. 

Pros- Besides being durable and Joseph proof (lol) these bottles keep my mind at ease when I have them in my diaper bag. The handles are removable as your kiddo learns to hold the bottle. The curves of the bottle are great for little hands to hold when you take the handles off. They have a unique design inside that keeps the liquid in unless the kiddo is drinking away. You can hear the bottle working! It's not a loud and annoying thing, I personally like it because I know the bottle is working! Easy to clean, hand wash or top rack dishwasher safe! 

Cons- There are a couple of parts to these bottles. And I honestly don't mind it, but make sure daddies know how these bottles work.. Haha! Also, make sure not to screw on the top too tight or your kiddo won't be able to get anything through. It only took one time for me to realize it was on too tight. 

 6oz bottle 

10oz Bottle 

DrBrown's food pods.

 I am big on making my own baby food. It's seriously SO easy and so inexpensive! I started out putting my purrees in ice cube trays and then in freezer bags. Getting the baby food out of the ice cube trays wasn't always easy. 

I adore this system! And as a bonus, you get a wonderful recipe book to help you create some delicious purrees or simple meals for your kiddo!

Pros- So simple! The flexible shell makes it easy to get the frozen food out of the pod. If you don't freeze all of the pods and just put them in the fridge, the flexible pod makes it easy to hold while feeding!  The tray makes it easy to stack in the freezer. Easy to clean, hand wash or top rack dishwasher safe!  

Cons- I didn't get these earlier! Haha. 

I hope this helps!

 I highly recommend DrBrown's products for your little one! 

* This post is all of my own personal opinions and my own personal pictures. DrBrown's has not compensated me in any form other than complimentary products to review for this post. Thank You.* 

Hello!!  

J decided this mornings oatmeal needed to be worn.. And this is the cheesy face he gave me as he stole an apple slice from my plate. 

My husband has been off of work this week for a Plant shut down. I have picked up more hours at work and yes, it's rough.. I seriously miss my guys when I'm at work. 

This week off for my husband has been nice, he doesn't get a lot of one on one time with J.. So they have had lots of catching up. And this way, he can kinda see what I do and go through during the day. (Not saying he isn't a hard worker or that I'm better..) 

This morning J has figured out that he can take his clothes off as I'm putting them on him.. ANOTHER battle we will have during diaper changes. 

My husband has started his bowling leagues again. I'm not sure how often we will be at the Alley with him.. But it's always nice to get around different groups of people. The guys he bowls with are pretty funny, and they all just Love J! 

We played a bit and shared some Cheerios.. And to my surprise with all the noise and yelling.. J straight up fell asleep mid Cheerio.. And he slept.. And he slept.. For over an hour! 

I figure maybe he almost finds it soothing because when I was pregnant wth him I was always at the alley with Adam. Hmm 

::Excuse the messy play area/Living room.:: 

I finally found a baby gate system that will work for us! 

We currently rent a split level home. Stairs to the front door.. Stairs to the basement.. 

It makes for carrying groceries in seem like a work out! 

This is a 9 piece Play yard that also mounts to the wall and is able to split into two pieces or move.. 

I figured it would have been either just right or a little short.. NOPE! This thing is HUGE! And we have made it work. 

My poor Pup, she has figured out how to escape from under the couch. She can squeeze through the smallest spaces! 

J is loving it though, he now has more room to stretch out and he uses the sides to help him walk! 

Yes, we're getting close to walking! 

We're still not sleeping more than 3-4 hrs at a time at night.. J has so many teeth pushing through at once! Poor little man. 

Tonight starts the first of many nights that I have lost my husband... To Football. 

Oy. 

Maybe ill just whip out my sewing machine and listen to him yell at the TV! 

Off to prep dinner. 

-Nicole 

7 Months

7 Months old!

Boy has it been a whirlwind just since last month! 

J is one wild child! 

Since my last update, we have taken a road trip to IL for a family reunion, where J got more than enough attention and love from Family! 

 

J and I ventured out for a TWO hour drive to the airport. yeaahh.. 

We picked up my Mom and Sister and loaded up the car for our 8 hr drive! 

It was wonderful having those two drive with me and spoil J! Made the trip a lot faster and less stressful on me for sure. 

 My Grandma made this cute hat, with intentions of it to be a little bigger than it was.. Oops! We all got a chuckle out of J wearing it though! 

July 5th- (6 months old)The day J started crawling. I'm talking little wobbly and kinda scooting crawling. 

By the end of July he had his crawl Down. And was he on the move! 

By the time August 5th came around, J decided to pull up on EVERYTHING! 

And a few times would give me a slight heart attack! 

Yes, he is standing on top of his piano and is very pleased with himself! 

Food- we've moved on to more finger foods and things that J can chew/Gum. 

Little cubes of cheese and Gerber easy pick up foods. 

I am still making a lot of his food for him, now we just have a little more variety. 

7 month stats- 20lbs! Whoa!  6 teeth have surfaced 3 on bottom and 3 on top.  However it looks like there may be more coming through. He is still a month ahead of schedule and of course loves the nurses at the Dr Office. After his Shots they gave him a big red shiny sticker. It helped his tears a bit.. But he wouldn't let go of me. 

We have retired J's baby bath and moved to the tub. It was a bitter sweet moment for us. J loves to stand in the tub though. Seriously, I think I'm going to have a runner on my hands. 

We're pretty sure he's going to be walking soon.. He has started to stand a bit on his own and all he wants to do is pull right up. 

We have had many spills and a few tears from them, but he realizes he's ok and starts playing again. 

 Our Hotel stay before my Mom and Sis went back to Tx. We took J for his first Big Pool experience. (Indoor pool) it was a little chilly so we sat in the hot tub and let him splash.. J loved watching the older boys jump in the pool and horse play. 

His eyes are still BLUE!  We're really hoping they stay, however I'm sure they will change to brown. 

I have found that when the batteries in Js toys get low.. The toys will start randomly playing their tunes.. Or moving. This is the CREEPIEST thing ever! Especially when J is down for a nap and I'm in the other room.. And hear "let's go for a drive! Push me!" 

Yeaahhhh.. 

I would turn it off.. But J decided to throw it and broke the handle.. I suppose ill break out the screw driver and change the batteries hahah! 

Sleep- we have been trying to keep J on a routine. With these teeth ALL coming through at once it's been rough nights. My husband and I decided on a routine and it's been helping with sleep. 

-Bath time for 10-15 mins in a warm bath with night time soap. 

-PJs and night time diaper and lotion. 

-Bottle mixed with some Baby cereal. 

And if he's not already asleep by the time he finishes his bottle we play a little till he starts rubbing his eyes and then rock him to sleep in his nursery. 

 I like to keep pandora on low with the Nursery station on. It's so soothing sometimes I almost fall asleep while rocking him! Ha! 

This routine has started to work. And J has been sleeping almost through the night! I always forget to think about his Teeth and maybe that's why he wasn't sleeping.. When I saw during his bath how many had come through, I felt kinda bad. Poor guy had so many at one time! 

I am trying to wean J off of BFing. I wanted to make it to a year, but these teeth are not helping things. Almost 8 months is good for me though. And trust me, this boy is HEALTHY! 

Alright, nap time for my little man. 

Later Y'all! 

-Nicole 

Six Months!

That's HALF A YEAR, PEOPLE!

I can't even believe it. The first few months home felt like every day dragged on.
I'm pretty sure it was because I had NO clue what I was doing, I learned day-by-day. Maybe it was also because I wasn't working.  But now, every single day flies!

J is learning new things every day. When we wake up, I'm excited to see what the day will bring..and yes, most days I'm still groggy. (Thank goodness for coffee!)-Free Coffee perks might I add!)



Food-
We've been doing solids since month 4, Our Doctor let us know that J is a month ahead of schedule on all of his stats! He is loving the foods too!
I'm making J's food, I wouldn't have it any other way! Its time consuming for sure but it is so great and I feel much better about what we are giving him!
I am also BF'ing J along with Formula for when I'm at work.

How awesome is this Ciao! Baby High Chair? Seriously? I found it on sale and snatched it after drooling over this sucker for Months!  

 

Mmmm Blueberries! 

Sleep-

 Yeah, not so much. J will get in a few naps or none during the day. He will sleep for an hour when we first put him in his crib at night and then wake up. I normally am able to rock him back to sleep and he will wake up at about 4-5am for a feeding. *Sigh* I still don't know how I'm kicking it with low sleep. But, It's worth it every time I see him smile! 

We went to a Farmers Market, Joseph had too much fun.. Luckily the weather was really nice and we all sat around the cars and enjoyed some delicious food! 

Bragging Rights- As of 7-5-13, J is a crawling machine! He is a laughing, bubble blowing, noise making machine! J also has TWO sharp little bottom teeth, with a third starting to poke through! He is sitting up on his own and grabbing for foods! 

Keeping this post short this time, I'm getting a nice little migraine.   

Night Y'all!

-Nicole