Desert Island, Baby-style

I've been thinking bout this post for awhile, knocking around my brain. And I have a few minutes today (ahhh) so let's get it out there and out of my head.

These are the things I'd pack if I were to be stuck on a desert island...with a newborn.

And no, I'm not worried about sand or rescue or air conditioning or any of that practical stuff. And yes, Amazon Mom does deliver to my island. Just go with it...

Amazon Mom. I loved Amazon before the Critter, and we became besties when I was on bedrest from 33-36 weeks and in a serious nesting mood. But it truly shows its value as a new mom. Diapers delivered to your door? Value packs of the wipes that your local store never seems to have in stock? A new toy to amuse a bored baby who is surrounded by toys? Check, check, and check. And all with free 2-day shipping. Love.

These bibs. They get quite the workout in our house, and have since the Critter was about 4 months old and the drooling began. They have a waterproof membrane inside, so absorbent terry on both sides, but magically waterproof. As in all the wet mess, be it drool, or baby food, or any liquid, do not soak through and get the baby wet. Now my sweet baby that likes to dribble her water out of her mouth after drinking from her sippy cup does not soak her shirt every 5 minutes. They are inexpensive, they wash well and are by far the best bibs I've found.

This drying rack. I had some other practical-looking rack before this, where bottles and pacis and teethers would hang precariously and eventually fall off. I bought this when I was going to travel, thinking it would be more flat than my pain-in-the-ass hanger rack. I was a convert the first time I used it. I holds a ton. Stuff stays on it. Bottles don't touch they yucky water drainage part. It is easy to clean. And it looks cute on my counter. A life changer.

Pretty much anything Nuk. Like these pacis. And this starter sippy cup. And these hard spouts. Everything they make that I've tried has been a hit.

This noise machine. We have 2 - one for Mommy and one for the Critter. We live in the city (yes, even on my desert island it is the city. roll with it) and there is a lot of traffic/dumb people/dumpster unloading noise. And my husband snores. This helps everyone sleep better. I travel with mine. Love.

This aquarium soother. A friend with 2 kids bought this for us when the Critter was just born. WE had no idea what it was or what it did or why we needed it, but when a parent of two tells you that you need it, you don't argue. So we put it on the Critter's crib, and it just sat there for a few months. Untouched. Then the Critter began to move, and that thing became Mommy's best friend. It had gotten me countless hours of extra sleep. The Critter loves to kick, bat, swat, chew and otherwise entertain herself with it when she wakes up in the morning or after naps. Extra 20 minutes of sleep for me! We also use it to transition her into her crib after a tough time settling down for sleep. The music and lights settle her quickly and she falls asleep in minutes.

I'm sure there are other things, like this , or this, or these, or these, but who has the time?

What are your favorite baby things you couldn't live without?

hired

OK, babysitter hired and starting on Thursday! Hooray!

The Critter and I liked both girls (women? they seem so young, in their early to mid 20s!!) and it came down to logistics in the end. The girl I hired had access to a car, which beats having to pay cab fare home if we use her at night. But it is good to have a back-up person too, and left it on good terms with the girl I didn't hire for the weekly gig.

So this week, her first week, I get to go to the DMV! Whoohoo! Isn't that so fun, my first week with a real babysitter, and I have to go get my drivers license renewed. Oh well, it needs to be done so I can fly to the far-away clinic in a few weeks. Like 2 weeks.

Wow, so soon.

Babysitter

Up until now, the only babysitter the Critter has known has been family. Specifically, my MIL and SIL. Which in some ways has been great - I mean, free babysitting? Who can complain?

Umm, I guess I can. I'm gonna complain right now, because yes, I am that ungrateful person.

I love my MIL, but we are very different people. We come from very different backgrounds, and have led very different lives. She cannot be on time if her life depended on it, while I am a 5-minutes-early-IS-on-time kind of girl. This does not go well with a babysitter. She doesn't ever really give a straight answer, preferring talk around things and ends up off topic in the end. While I am direct, perhaps too much so. Again, not a good babysitter match.

So I am looking for a new, regularly scheduled babysitter. I haven't told my MIL, she'd be heartbroken. But once a week, on a regularly scheduled day and time (something my MIL could never seem to commit to), I am getting someone to come in for a few hours. So I can shop, run errands, have lunch by myself (ahhh! that sounds sooo nice), whatever. Heck, even blog!!

I posted a listing on a popular sitter website, and got a ton of responses - like 23 people in 24 hours. I culled those down to 3, of which 2 are coming for in-person meeting today. They are both grad students at local schools, and are looking for a little extra income themselves.

Fingers crossed one of them works out!!

And shhhh, don't tell my MIL.

Going back

With the Critter successfully surviving her first year, and me surviving it too, Mr. P and I have had the talk. You know the talk. The number 2 talk. And we ain't talking poo.

As I'm sure you all recall with perfect clarity, because my reproductive health is always the first thought on your mind ("I wonder if Pie is ovulating today" you say as you roll out of bed. No? Not really? Huh.), we have 3 frozen euploid blasts chillaxing in the deep freeze at the far away clinic. We did our family planning on the front end, cycling extra times when I was younger so we could bank some pretty blasts. I age, they don't.

So when dear old Auntie Flo came to visit this week, I made the call. I had been in touch with my nurse at the far away clinic a month or so ago, just to reconnect and ask what I needed to do to get the ball rolling again. Noncommittal, just info gathering. But this call was real. I set up an appointment to go back to the far away clinic.

It is really happening again. I'm on the books for February 10 to go back for a FET one-day workup.

WOW.

I'm not looking forward to injecting myself with all sorts of crazy-making hormones again (ugh, including 2 months of depot loopyron, ugh ugh ugh) but a girl does what she has to do I guess, right? It seems like eons ago that I had needles in the house. It was such a non-event for so long, I was so used to injecting myself - but now I'm feeling apprehensive about it. It's like I'm a newbie all over again.

Well, fasten your seatbelts, because here we go again. The roller coaster is leaving the platform.

One Amazing Year

My dearest, most sweet of all sweets, darling little Critter Girl. You are one year old today.

And let me tell you, it has been one amazing year. Truly. The best year of my life.

One year ago today, at about half past three in the afternoon, I met you. And my life changed forever. You came out tush first, peeing all over the doctor, with huge chubby cheeks and a hearty wail. I couldn't believe how perfect you looked. I still think you are the most beautiful baby.

Now, you are on the verge of toddler-hood. Not quite walking yet, but you are becoming more confident, trying to stand without holding on and cruising all over the place. How did you go from newborn-baby-blob to this? In just a year? It has been truly amazing to see the changes in you.

You are communicating with us more and more, using your versions of words which Mama and Dada fully understand. You are "So Big!" and love to clap-clap-clap and shake-shake-shake along to songs we sing.

You now have 9, maybe 10, teeth! You are working on your first molar, and I suspect another one on top, but you are very secretive with your teeth. There is no overt looking, so I much sneak peeks when you laugh or screech. Molars are no fun to cut, that is for sure. Not the birthday present you were hoping for, I'm sure.

You are the bright light of Dada's and my life. You are fun, sweet and loving. We are so lucky to know you, and privileged to parent you. I knew my life would change one year ago today, but I could never have predicted how happy you make me every day. You amaze me on a daily basis.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Critter Girl. Mama loves you so very very much.

Cupcakes

I hadn't planned to share my recipe for the cupcakes I made for the Critter's birthday party, but Cassie asked, so here ya go.

So it is not a specialized cupcake really. It is a basic yellow cake recipe, with all the good stuff in it - sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla. The Critter has eaten all of these things before, well maybe not pure sugar, but she's had sweetened yogurt and some graham crackers, so she's had sugar in some form. And I used a very easy buttercream, again, just butter, sugar, vanilla and a touch of milk to thin. She's had all of these things before. Just not in this combo. My brother called them "old-fashioned tasting" which I took as a compliment.

Vanilla Cupcakes (adapted from Nick Malgeiri)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp (I leave it out overnight)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure its fresh!)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
3 whole eggs plus one extra egg yolk, lightly beaten (at room temp - I leave them out for at least 4 hours)
3/4 cup whole milk (also at room temp)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Penzeys double-strength, which is awesome!!)
1 tablespoon canola oil

Preheat oven to 350* Line 18 cupcake cups with paper liners.

Cream butter and sugar in a stand-mixer for 5 minutes, until very light and fluffy.

Meanwhile, combine flour. baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and oil in a large, spouted measuring cup.

Once butter and sugar is creamed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture on low speed and mix until just combines. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add 1/2 of the liquid mixture on med-low speed until just mixed. (It might look scary and curdled at this point. That's ok, keep going!) Scrape down the sides again. Add the next 1/3 of the dry, scrape, rest of the liquid, scrape, and then end with the last 1/3 of the dry. Give the bowl a good scrape and hand-mix to completely combine.

Scoop batter into the lined cupcake cups, filling about 3/4 full (I use a 20 scoop).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through if your oven it uneven like mine. Check for doneness using a toothpick - it should come out clean with a few crumbs.

Remove to a cooling rack as soon as you can (they'll be hot!). Let cool completely before frosting.

I used this easy buttercream recipe - subbing whole milk for the cream. Gale Gand don't lie. The key is to have room temperature butter - this will make all the difference. And I added 4 drops of food coloring to make them pink. :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/quick-vanilla-buttercream-frosting-recipe/reviews/index.html

Happy baking!

Stuffs

Boy, have I been a slacker! Well, not in real-life, which is maybe why I have been one here. I have been sort of keeping up with everyone, but not as great as I should be, I know.

The holidays were good - it was just what I had hoped for. Some quiet family time, with just me and Mr. P and the Critter and the cat. And some busier larger family time too, but not so much that it got overwhelming.

The Critter Girl got way too many presents - but not from me! I didn't buy her anything, figuring that she wouldn't know any better anyway, and other people would buy her a ton of stuff. Both of which are true. So she made out well, even though her Mommy Scrooged her.

And this weekend is the first of two birthday parties for the Critter Girl. Can you believe it - she will be one on Tuesday. Hard to believe. I'm hosting a party this weekend, where she will have her playmate T come play with her, and my family will be here. Then next weekend my MIL is hosting a party with some other people coming. Lots of cake for that Critter Girl to mash in her hair!

I'm making her vanilla cupcakes, I've been tinkering with the recipe for a few weeks now. Last weekend I think I got it right - and my neighbors, who got all the leftover cupcakes - seemed to like them too. I will bake the official batch tomorrow morning. Hope they come out good!

Have a good weekend!