Piercing Baby's Ears

I have gotten a lot of questions about piercing Emma's ears ever since people started noticing her earrings in her pictures, so I figured I would write about my experience and share it with y'all!

I also figured I would write a little guide for things to consider before/after you pierce baby's ears.

Make sure both parents agree.

So first, you should talk to your significant other. I feel like every decision, not just baby's body "modification" (haha) should be made with baby's mommy and daddy together. Usually dad will agree and be ok with mom about piercing baby's ear (unless you are MY dad) but definitely make sure that it's a mutual decision.

Two conversations I knew I was going to have with hubby before baby was born were:

Boy- Circumcision & Girl- Piercing Ears.

When I found out we were having a girl, I brought it up to him:

Me- "I think I want to pierce Emma's ears as soon as I can, what to you think?"

Jaime- "I agree! I think it's cute and will make her look girly!"

That was easy! :) The only time he acted like it was my decision was in front of my dad, haha!

Decide on when you want to do it.

We got Emma's ears pierced on her 3 month check up appointment at the doctor's office.

I was all about doing it and so excited, but once the nurse brought in the kit and started marking Emma's ears I freaked out a little bit. I was like "oh my gosh I don't know, my poor baby", plus I didn't like the way the nurse was making the markings, so I guess I annoyed her and she just asked me if I wanted to mark them myself, to which I replied SURE! And I did. I must have erased and re-marked her ears like 6 times before I was happy with it haha. Also, her pediatrician advised that we do it as early as possible because the older baby gets, the squirmier and harder to hold down. So keeping that in mind, helped me decide to do it at 3 months.

Decide on where you want to do it.

Like I said, Emma got her ears pierced at the doctor's office. I'm pretty sure her doctor said that they don't do it past 4 months there. So, if your baby is older than 4 months and the pediatrician won't do it in the office, there are other places who will pierce baby ears. I have seen places at the mall that do it, and one of my friends even took her kid to a tattoo/piercing parlor haha!

But, wherever you decide to take your baby, if not the doctors office, make sure that the place is clean and safe, and of course make sure that they have trained and experienced people to do the piercing.

Be prepared!

Baby is going to cry. But I promise you she will be ok. Emma cried, she wiggled and screamed, and hubby had to hold her down with the nurse to get the second ear pierced. Make sure it's quick so you can soothe baby ASAP. After she was done, I picked her up right away, gave her a pacifier and cuddled her, and she stopped crying almost instantly. After that she didn't even seem to notice her ears at all.

Taking care of baby's new earrings.

I would say taking care of baby's new piercing is pretty much low maintenance. I was told to leave it alone for 2 days, and then clean it with alcohol swabs and turn them every day for 2 weeks.

Nowadays I just make sure to turn it every now and then, and dry it after it gets wet in the bath.

I can honestly say that I think I made a good decision by choosing to pierce Emma's ears when I did.

I was going to pierce her ears eventually anyway, so why not do it early when it would be easier for both of us? So that's what I did. And she looks even cuter than before!

If you have any questions please leave them in the comments and I'll reply!

Happy Ear Piercing!

Yup! I Co-Sleep!

So this is something that I've been wanting to write about for a little while, because apparently co-sleeping is frowned upon, and I don't understand why people can't also look at the benefits instead of just judging!

First of all, parents can do whatever they want with/to their kids. It's their choice!

No, sometimes parents don't do the "right" thing, but it's nobody's business but theirs!

It's sad, and I don't understand why some people think that they are entitled to say whatever they want and always put in their 2 cents, especially when nobody asked them.

But, those are things every parent probably has to deal with. Just smile and nod, lol, smile and nod.

So! We co-sleep in our house.

Not just with our baby...

But with the dogs too haha!

This is basically our life! Every night.
Except I'm on the left, Jaime is on the right, Zoey is on my head, Cooper is on Jaime's head and Emma is in between us.

Let me tell you a little story about the dogs.

We got Zoey and Cooper when Zoey was 3 months and Cooper was 2 months.

Right away I wanted them to sleep with us and right away hubby said NO WAY!

Super long story short, they ended up going from their crate, to our room, and eventually on our bed!

A couple of months later, I decided that I wanted them to sleep on the floor on THEIR bed, and guess who said no? YUP! My husband ladies and gentlemen!
So they stayed in bed with us.

Fast forward to having Emma.

Emma started sleeping in her bassinet in our room. She did so for weeks!

But... Because I was, and still am nursing, it ended up being that it was just easier to keep her in the bed with me, because every time she cried to eat, I could just feed her, and then we would both fall right back to sleep.
Also because I not-so-secretly loved cuddling with her all night.

Sometimes I wake up to find Emma like this...

And she loves to kick too, but not Jaime's face... My boobs!!! WHY?! I don't know.

But besides the back ache and sweaty baby head on my arm, you know what, I LOVE IT!
I love holding my baby all night!
I feel so much better knowing that she's right next to me the whole time.
I sleep much more peacefully (when I actually sleep), because if there's anything Emma needs,
I'm right there and she's right here.

Do I plan on co-sleeping forever? No.
Do I know exactly when I'll move Emma to her crib? No.

But as of right now I'm happy with the way things are going, and I'm happy to love on my 5 month old baby all night long.

So here's to all the moms and dads who co-sleep with their babies and/or pets!
Don't let mean people make you feel bad about it!

Emma - 5 Months

Sweet Girl! This month has been my favorite so far!

You have grown/matured so much, I can't believe you're only turning 5 months.

You have become extra silly, you laugh and smile so much, it melts my heart.

You found your feet and now every time Mommy is changing your diaper you stick it in your mouth.

You scream and laugh out loud and love to make raspberries!

You reach for Zoey and Cooper now, and you pay attention to them and get excited when they're running around being crazy.

Mommy let you try a lollipop (for like ONE second!), you just licked it a little bit and let out a YUM! and I also put a big, fat pretzel stick by your lips and you licked the salt haha.

You smile big when Minnie Mouse comes on TV, and when Mommy tries to make Minnie's voice you stop and listen and look for Minnie.

You had your First Valentine's Day! Last year you were only 9 weeks old and a secret in Mommy's belly! Daddy made fondue and you sat in your big girl high chair and joined us.

Daddy got you a little Minnie Mouse rattle toy, and a cool music projector.

Mommy got you clothes! Heart leggings, new leggings, a shirt and a onesie.

I can't get over how fast you are growing and how much you are learning every single day.

I love you more and more and more every second of every day.

Mommy

Weight: 13.3 lbs

Height: ? in.

Eye Color: Still Blue! They look green sometimes though!

Hair Color: Brown, it's getting a little lighter!

Diaper Size: Size 2

Clothes Size: 3-6 Months for the most part.

Sleep: Sometimes you sleep more than other nights... You've been weird about sleeping lately.

Eating: 4oz every 3 hours when Mommy is at work, then Mommy feeds you on demand when we're together.

Likes: Your Minnie Mouse with the glow bow, your little Sophie teether, the Jumperoo and the MamaRoo. When Mommy "sneezes", smells your "stinky feet", and kisses your neck, bites your thighs, and makes silly noises!
Dislikes: Sleeping by yourself, being put down when you want to be held, when the dogs bark while you're napping.
Milestones: You are almost sitting up, you laugh now, and you roll over. You scream, and when Mommy copies you, you do it back.
Firsts: First giggle, then eventually first laugh, first time at the beach but only for pizza, First Valentine's Day!
Personality: You are cute and friendly and such a funny and happy girl. You really only cry when you need something. Everyone that meets you falls in love.

10 "Silly" Baby Products That Are Actually Awesome!

So I'm going to start this post out by saying that nobody NEEDS any of the items in this list.

But, I put it together because I actually got these products and I do find them useful!

I always have to hear it from older moms saying "I didn't have any of this back in the day when I had my kids, and they survived!" and while I don't NEED any of these, I'm sure that if they were available back in the day, they would have at least considered getting them, don't lie, haha!

So for all those old school moms who love to make fun of me for having them, let me explain why I like them, and why I find them useful!

1- Bright Starts Sweet Song Birds Baby's Play Place Activity Gym- This mat is so cute and colorful! I put it on my baby registry and sadly didn't get it, so I finally bought it and I am so glad I did! The walls go up, so when Emma is playing my crazy dogs don't bother her because they can't just walk on it. Emma loves looking all around it because the colors are so bright, and they have adorable little birds and owls on the print, plus, the toys that hang are cute too! "Why spend so much money on a mat? Lay down a thick blanket, it works the same?!" Well, a simple thick blanket can't hold up cutesy toys for baby to reach for!

2- Carseat Canopy Baby Infant Car Seat Cover- "You know, you can just cover the car seat with a blanket, and it does the same thing!" Actually!!!! A blanket can fall off (or fly off if it's windy) when moving the carseat, this special car seat canopy has velcro straps that attach to the handle of the car seat, so it can't fall off!

3- Baby Bum Brush Diaper Cream Applicator Tool- "Are you kidding me?! You can't just use your fingers?"Yes, I can use my fingers, but I promise you this tool is GREAT! Not only does it do the obvious, which is keep your fingers clean from baby butt cream, but it spreads it out so nicely on baby's butt. I'm telling you, this is so worth it!!!

4- WubbaNub- The WubbaNub Plush Toy Pacifier is designed to give your baby comfort with a soft, bean-filled animal friend that not only provides stimulation for little fingers, but positioning support for the pacifier. I love that this "weighs" down on Emma a little bit, so she can always just grab it and stick her pacifier right back in her mouth!

5- oogiebear Ear & Nose Cleaner- Oogiebear has two sides, a loop-end for sticky mucus and a scoop end for removing dried mucus. I love this because you all know how teeny tiny baby's nostrils are! And it's so hard to get boogies out of there! Not with this cute little tool though!

6- NoseFrida The Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator- Ok, I was that mom that said I would NEVER use this because it's disgusting... Flash forward to your crying baby miserable because she can't breathe with a super stuffy nose, and the dumb bulb isn't helping at all.. Bring in the Nose Frida. Works wonders! And it has a filter so nothing goes in your mouth.

7- Baby Shusher- Basically a portable noise machine, it does exactly what it's called.. It shushes! It works wonders calming baby down, for real.

8- Aden & Anais Easy Swaddle- I loveeeeeeee these! Emma only sleeps for a long period of time if she's tightly swaddled with her arms in and these blanket bags are amazing! They're light enough for her to wear on top of her PJs, and they have such adorable prints too! "Why not just use a regular swaddle blanket?" Well, think of these as "Swaddle Blanket Bags for Dummies", it saves a ton of time, and you know as baby gets older he or she can totally get themselves out of a swaddle!

9- Dr. Brown's Bottles- A lot of people complain about the amount of parts each bottle has, but honestly, I think they are worth it! Emma has never had colic, and when I used to teach at a preschool, I remember a lot of babies in the baby room had these and their moms also loved them!

10- Hatch Baby Smart Changing Pad- Click here to see my post on the The Hatch Baby Smart Changing Pad. If you are interested in buying your own Smart Changing Pad use code 'LAURAPLUS20" to get $20 off!

So, what are some "silly" baby products you have purchased and love?

Let me know in the comments!