Baby Must Haves!

The other day I was thinking about when Henry was first born. Before he was born I read every blog about every possible thing that you could have as a parent for when your baby got to the world! Some of the suggestions were great and some of them were downright stupid. SOOOOO I decided to put my own list together. haha! Hopefully my suggestions dont end up to be just plain stupid so I'll do my best!

1. a wubbanub-
No one tells you this but babies WILL NOT keep a paci in their mouth. They fall asleep what seems like every 10 minutes and spit it out or it falls out and they will inevitably wake up screaming... lovely. A wubbanub is a miracle. A literal miracle. Its a little stuffed animal that sits on the end of a paci and it has weighted feet to keep the paci in perfect reach of your little babes mouth so when they wake up they can just suck that paci back in and fall back to sleep. Hallelujah!! Get one, get one please! For the love of sleep get one!

2. Nose Frida

Now I'm not saying this snot sucker will change your life, but i'm going to be honest, this snot sucker may change your life! I hate hate hate those bulb sucker things. They dont work! They are so awful and how the heck are you supposed to clean it?! The nose frida is amazing! It may look a little gross and you may cry the first time you use it. (I was sure that I was going to get snot in my mouth!) Trust me when I say that you will not. No snot in your mouth only out of babies nose. No worries your mouth is safe!

3. Leggings

Dont be crazy. A baby does not need jeans! A baby does not need dresses and skirts! A baby needs leggings and one peice pajamas. Your newborn wants to warm and comfy and thats about it! My absolute favorite leggings are from baby gap. They fit so well and are so comfy and cozy! Please wait until your baby can fit into 9 month clothes to go crazy with their clothes. My faves! P.S. go up a size if you plan to use cloth diapers because those things are FLUFFY!!

4. Nursing pads

This may seem unnecessary if you are not nursing... honestly I dont know. If you are nursing however, stock UP! Henry is 6 months old and I'm STILL wearing these darn things. You are going to leak and leak and then leak some more. It honestly feels like it never ends. These are the best ones. Hands down.

5. Sponge bath

Ok so everyone said that washing you baby in the sink was super easy or that a baby bath was such a good idea. LIES. Worst idea ever. Henry fit in our sink for... one bath. Our baby bath was horrible because shockingly our newborn could not hold his head straight to sit in it. UGH!!! We were at our wits end and bath time was pretty miserable. Then my mom said, "you should just get a bath sponge." Ugh mom! This is the 21st century! (I think anyway) A bath sponge is so lame. If I dont spend $600 on every baby item that I buy then I'm a bad mom! Ok lies again amiright! So we caved and got a bath sponge. Best 5 dollars I've ever spent! Please get one people. Your baby wont drown and your wrists and forearms will thank you!

6. A bouncy seat

Now this isnt one of must haves but it definitely helped us! We would put him in it all the time. When we ate, when I cleaned, when I watched TV and didnt want to hold him, when I wanted to sleep in but he didnt want me to, basically all the time. A swing is another great option but Henry wasn't super into the swing so the bouncy chair it was! It saved our lives for months!

7. Swaddle Blankets

Swaddle swaddle swaddle. Every day, every day! These blankets are perfect for swaddling and now we use them for everything including a sun shade! Plus they have so many cute styles now.

8. Baby Carrier

There are so many carriers all of a sudden! I have the baby k'tan which was beyond perfect for my little tiny bub and now I use it for travel etc. I can't imagine going without a baby carrier and I would tell you to get at least one. It could save your arms in the process!

My last suggestions for all those new mommys out there are:

Get a pack and play or basinet and let you baby sleep in your room for the first few months. I was so anti baby in my room but dang did it help in the sleep realm. I would not have slept if he was in another room, straight up.

Please get a stroller/carseat combo. This is a no brainer so just do it. 

My rocking chair saved my life (and continues to). A sleep deprived mommy + stuff on the floor + new baby=danger. When I knew where that chair was and I could just plop myself down, I was a happy (and safe) mommy! 

Dont worry about fancy bedding. I'm glad I have mine for when this babe can actually use bedding (mostly because I'm poor now) but if you can, wait it out! All you need is three fitted crib sheets which you can get at target for like 7 bucks. Poop, pee, butt paste and spit up will cover your sheets in the end so dont go crazy with high end yuck! Its all going in the trash in a few months anyway!

Ok my baby is screaming like a vulture so I guess I'll go pick him up. ha! 

What I know about my 6 month old

Today was not a great day. Henry has been teething the past couple of weeks which sucks and today we had 6 month shots. He was not thrilled. Lots of crying and carrying on. He has officially learned the art of carrying on. haha. But regardless we got some good smiles and lots of loves today and I still like him! One point for the mama!

Henry has the sweetest personality and loves to gaze into anyone and everyones eyes. Haha he is the biggest flirt!

Cousins!

Henry is very curious and wants to be a part of the conversation whenever possible.

He LOVES big kid food! He loves practicing chewing and trying all sorts of different foods. He particularly likes onions, peppers, bananas, and basically anything else we give him!

"Oh please! I've heard that joke before"

Henry loves singing songs. He will sing songs with me for hours if I let him. Sadly I get tired of the songs haha. He is definitely a music loving baby.

He takes two pretty good naps a day. Going on vacation was tough but Hes getting back on schedule. Right now he is only waking up once in the night around 3 and up at 7:30 for the day. I'm hoping we can wean him off that 3 oclock wake up call because its killing me!

Henry will NOT do anything that he doesnt feel like doing. He is very stubborn and he will get his way (hmm sounds familiar!!)

Fat and Happy

He loves going on walks and looking at all the exciting things outside.

If he had the choice between laying down, sitting or standing, standing would win every time hands down! He loves to stand up and dance around with the music. Its probably the cutest thing in my whole life.

He said his first word/non word yesterday and it was baba!! Stephen and I couldn't believe it but it was so fun to hear him start to form real letter sounds.

"What the heck is this supposed to be"

Sorry for the weird formatting, I'm not very computer savvy. Regardless My baby is the best and I love him! I can't believe its been 6 months!!! Time flies when you're falling in love!

Whats on your plate?!

So today I made a DIVINE soup for dinner. Stephen and I are trying to cut out meat in our diet to make room for veggies and better than meat, proteins.

TOdays recipe was SOSO good! Stephen served his mission in Texas right near the Mexican border. He love spicy food but I have a tough time with it. I made this recipe super spicy by accident but I am not complaining! I may go a little less on the chipotle next time but overall i'm not mad.

Chipotle Corn Soup Recipe

By Christine Gallary

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INGREDIENTS

• 8 ears white or yellow corn, shucked
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced chipotles in adobo sauce
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Remove the corn kernels from the cobs: Place a large container on a damp towel. Fold a paper towel into fourths and place it inside the container. Stand one ear of corn on the paper towel, using the stem as a handle. Using a paring knife, slice downward, letting the kernels fall into the container.Rotate the cob and continue until all the kernels have been removed; discard the cob. Repeat with the remaining corn (you should have about 6 cups of kernels). Discard the paper towel. Set aside 1/2 cup of the kernels.

We skipped this step and used frozen corn. Just as good but a lot easier!

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add the chipotles, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, a pinch of black pepper, and about two-thirds of the scallions. (Set aside the remaining scallions to use as a garnish.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened, about 3 minutes.

I used way more chipotles then they recommended. I would suggest using one or two tsp. but dont go overboard because it gets a little crazy!

1. Add the corn kernels, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, milk, and water and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the flavors have melded and the corn kernels are crisp yet tender (not mushy), about 15 minutes.
2. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large, heatproof bowl. Using a blender, purée the soup in batches until smooth, removing the small cap from the blender lid (the pour lid) and covering the space with a kitchen towel (this allows steam from the hot soup to escape and prevents the blender lid from popping off). Pour the blended soup through the strainer, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula; discard the solids.

We didn't strain and I kind of liked the texture. It was very hearty and reminded me of fall!

1. Stir in the reserved 1/2 cup corn kernels. Season with salt and pepper as needed. If serving chilled, refrigerate the soup until cold, at least 3 hours. Garnish with the remaining scallions and serve.

I hope someone will make this because I'm serious when I say SO GOOD! and so easy too! My favorite things. Good luck!