Hellobee

Here are the posts that got the most comments, hearts, pins and views this week!

- My Non-Uniform Uniform by Mrs. Cowgirl
- A Day in the Life with 8 Week Old Twins by Mrs. Blue
- Goo Sensory Bags by Amy Christie
- How Long Did It Take You to Conceive? by Swarm
- Taking it Ounce by Ounce by Mrs. Sketchbook
- Traveling with an Infant – Helpful Tips by Mrs. Markers
- Raising a Child with Autism – Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 by mamapink
- Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies by Mrs. Twine
- Finding Time When There’s No Time by Mrs. High Heels

For as long as I can remember, Drake has had a love affair with the alphabet which still continues to this day.  I don’t remember when it was that he really started to pay attention to them, but a quick check back on my Facebook posts shows that a few months before 2 years of age he was able to recognize a little more than half the alphabet letters.  Nowadays he has started to move past just saying letters, but also trying to learn to put them together; he can spell a small handful of 3-4 letter words as well as write all 26 letters.  Though I never formally encouraged any of this, I did realize that because of his great love of letters we seem to have quite a lot of toys and books all dealing with the alphabet, so I thought I’d share Drake’s favorite letter toys and books with all of you.

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During R + M’s first year, we didn’t venture out of the house very often. I struggled with getting two kids in the car, assembling the bulky double stroller and schlepping around countless bottles/burp clothes/baby gear/etc. It was easier to stay at home and utilize the endless array of toys/contraptions/tv to keep the kids entertained. I feel guilty even admitting that to you. My family used to joke that taking the kids outside of our neighborhood probably felt like an international trip for them. But then again, none of them have twins.

I never took them to the grocery store. They never went to Target with me. Trips to the park were fewer and farther in between than friends with one baby. We stayed close to home because that made life easier. And I would have done anything to make life easier. We did take a mommy and me class and a music class. But I rarely went to them by myself, and someone always came to help.

One of the rare dual shopping trips we took in the first year

I kept track of 90% of baby-related expenses for the first year of J’s life. I remember reading some similar posts on this and found it so intriguing to see costs among different families who live in different regions, work in different industries, etc. I would deem us as a fairly frugal family and I think what we spent on our son for his first year is probably a little less than the average American family; however I was a stay-at-home-mom until he turned a year old so we had no childcare costs and that helped tremendously. We also had very generous friends and family who gifted us about 60% of our baby registry and were blessed to only spend less than $500 for remaining baby gear and necessities. In addition I was able to nurse exclusively, so there were no formula costs and we didn’t take a hit to our food budget until he was about 9 months old and eating a considerable amount of solids.

I think sometimes the numbers that are out there seem daunting, but in my experience you spend what you have to and there are a lot of frills added into those numbers that may not be necessary. I know I definitely bought J a lot of clothes that were “unnecessary” because he technically had enough clothes, but I couldn’t help but buy stylish duds and pad his wardrobe especially during clearance sales.

Here is my baby budget breakdown for the first year:

Cloth Diaper Stash: $500, then an additional $280 when the first two systems didn’t work for J. Then we sold all the diapers and recouped $500 and put that toward J’s birthday party.

Disposable diapers: $350

Arms Reach Co-Sleeper:$160 + $15 organic sheet

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Burt’s Bees Baby has a sale on Gilt starting at noon EST today featuring their gift baskets at greatly reduced prices!

We also have a great giveaway today from Burt’s Bees Baby! You’re probably already familiar with their famous lip balm and their all natural line of bath products. As a lip balm addict, I’ve personally been using their lip balm for at least a decade… maybe two! Recently they also launched a luxurious 100% organic clothing line with the sweetest clothes and accessories for your little one. And today we’re giving away a big gift basket filled with their bath products, towels, clothes and more valued at over $150!

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The more wiggly this boy becomes, the more challenging the photos are to snap.  I can’t believe I only have a few more of these to take before Little C is one, and the weekly mamarazzi shots come to an end!

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When I was young, my activity of choice was dance. I took dance lessons each year from the time I was three until I graduated high school, and loved that I could exercise while using my creativity. I played softball for one or two seasons when I was around 10, but I wasn’t very good and didn’t have that competitive streak in me to make me want to get better and win.

As I’ve gotten older, though, I notice my competitiveness come out in certain situations: playing games with friends at a party, getting the best grade on a project in graduate school, and now that I’m a mother, my child’s milestones. I know it’s not a competition and I know every child develops at his or her own pace, but it is impossible for me to not think about what other kids are doing who are close in age to Liam, and to compare him to them. For example, when my friend’s baby girl, who is one month older than Liam, started rolling over, I was anxious for my son to reach the milestone at the same age. When he took a little longer to master the skill, part of me worried that he was behind and of course, that I wasn’t doing the best job as a parent to help him reach his milestones “on time,” whatever that means.

Liam with his friend Olivia, who is now 11 months old and walking independently!

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