Uplifting Photos! New Camera!

Gee, the blog takes a depressing turn when there is no camera to play with!!

We have a camera again, and OMG, I am going to have so much fun with it. It has image stabilization built into it, so it's practically fool-proof, even in manual mode. I l.o.v.e it! I only got to play with it for an hour this morning while Corbin was awake, but I am certain many more photos are to come from this fun new toy.


"Yo, what's up?"


"What am I looking at, you ask?"


"My Wittle Feets!"


"I'm Sorta Standin'!"

Having a Child is Chemical Warfare

First of all, sorry for the lack of updates. We don't have our camera right now (although a brand new one is on its way in the mail & probably arriving today!), and the blog is just so much more interesting with pictures. Maybe it's a blessing I don't have the camera, because Corbin has a huge chemical burn on his face from the "baby-safe" sunblock I used on him Friday. He's 5 months old, and apparently, if you use sunblock on babies under 6 months old, the chemical ratio is too high. Poor little guy has burn marks up and down his cheeks and everywhere else I applied the sunblock. He absorbed too many chemicals.

Ever since he was born, I have been bombarded with so much information about chemicals in this and that. Too much information! The first thing I was alerted to was all of our baby bath products. Too many chemicals, and one of the key ones being phlatates. This is also found in infant sunscreen! Phlatates can cause reproductive problems. I think I read about it possibly causing neurological problems as well.

Next, I heard about BPA in the baby bottles (and in many of our day-to-day plastics). BPA can cause schizophrenia, infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, cancer, diabetes, hyperactivty and obesity to name a few. Canada has already banned it from baby bottles, and Nalgene has decided to can all of their bpa-containing water bottles for safety reasons. Seems that some states (Minnesota & California) already are working on legislation to ban the bpa-containing baby bottles, too, so I wonder if the US is soon to follow Canada's lead?

Then I heard about dioxin and sodium polyacrylate in disposable diapers. Dioxin can ALSO cause cancer, liver damaage and birth defects. Sodium polyacrylate was banned from tampons in 1985 for being a leading cause of toxic shock syndrome. The chemicals in disposables have been suspected of causing asthma, which I have & wouldn't wish on anyone. I don't want to chance it.

We all have to die of something. And I realize that I can't live in a paranoid state. But sometimes it is just so scary that we have become so dependent on chemicals in our industrialized, convenience-craving society. Some knowledge is both a blessing and a curse. I feel like there is nothing I can do to reduce chemical exposure sometimes, and I feel like giving up on worrying about it. Then other times, like when I look at the chemical burns on my son's cheeks, I feel like I am not doing enough.

Corbin Sings For His Supper

He must think that the bottle is a microphone!

Collage, Months 1 through 5

 

Five Whole Months!

Corbin turned 5 months old yesterday! He has almost reached his half birthday & I can't believe how the time is flying. I could wrap my brain around 4 months, but 5 months suddenly seems like such a long time!

Cousins

We babysat the other night & tried to get the cousins in a good shot together, Corbin was insistent on looking at Daddy mostly, and when he actually looked at the camera, Ethan got fussy. We took about a dozen shots, and this is what we got. Maybe we could photoshop them together where they are both looking happy?

We Got Our First Fluffy Mail!!

Yesterday, Corbin got a gift of 2 new Blue.berry Minky Dipes in the mail & we have already peed on both of them. Here he is in his cow one. Isn't it cuuuuute?

In other news, his new trick is playing with his feet. It's very convenient, actually, because he entertains himself this way. The only downside is that socks last half as long (which isn't long at all).

Modeling a New Dipe

I like the one with his chest all puffed out! LOL

Dad's Sort of On Board

Sort of. He let me get a few and try it out.

I am not really very crafty at making things. But I decided to tie dye some prefolds today until I can build up a nice cloth diaper stash. Here is my first attempt:



Corbin is sleeping, so I can't try them out. Hopefully, tomorrow I will add an action shot.

Trying to Convince Dad to Cloth Diaper

Jon doesn't want to. He thinks it is an expensive habit for me. He won't put out any money for them. There are many reasons to cloth diaper, including earlier potty training, no chemicals on baby's bum (the gels in the diapers can cause asthma!), better for the environment, but most of all, VERY STINKING CUTE!
I am hoping he comes around soon. I really want Blueberry Minkys. I will add a link on the sidebar- you must see these!

First Owie

We had our first owie yesterday. Thankfully, Daddy was home, so Mommy didn't totally freak out!

I was cleaning with Corbin facing out in the Moby. I opened the back door to throw out a couple of pebbles that had been tracked in. I shut the sliding glass door, and thankfully, I didn't pull it shut, just let the momentum close it. Corbin had grabbed the doorframe, and I got his middle finger!

He started to scream, and we got out an icepack and the Tylenol & spent a lot time consoling him. It didn't swell, and he was able to bend and grab, so we didn't go to the ER. It did bruise, though.

He's fine now. He chomps on his fingers like nothing is wrong. Mommy guilt is the worst!

Pulling Self to Standing Position

Here is a quick video of Corbin's favorite trick. He loves to do this, and most of our waking hours are spent doing it.

Jogging Stroller Debut!

It looks like the winning girl name is Katherine Elizabeth, and the boys' names are Carter & Bennett (too close to call!) Of course, we will add a new poll when we actually are preggers. It's very insightful to get everyone's opinion. Thanks for voting!

The weather has been so nice the past couple of days that when Corbin woke up from his nap today, we took out the jogging stroller. It is fantastic! It allows me to hook up our MP3 player & listen to music while it records my mph, the time and the milage for me.

Corbin loved it, too. I put some vaseline on his face because of the wind, but forgot to add sunscreen & his cheeks are a little toasty now (so is my forehead!) I'm just not used to that sun! We were out for an hour and a half, and he slept most of the time we were out.

Here is a pic of him in his jogging stroller. Looks comfy, doesn't he?

JUST FOR FUN!

To premise this, I have always been obsessed with baby names. We ARE NOT pregnant, so don't get too excited! Ever since I gave birth, I have been stewing over what we will name our next child.

I just thought it would be fun if you would vote on my favorite baby names. There aren't too many girl choices on the list, because we are pretty set on our girl's name, if we ever have one. But we will probably have a boy, and there are a lot of good boy's names out there. I don't like names that are too popular, usually. I'm not posting our last name, but to get the idea, it is one syllable, and it starts with a "K".

Just for fun, please vote on my favorite baby names. You too, Jon- I know you will veto a couple of them! LOL

New Perspective

We experimented today with a different hold in the wrap. We are now also doing the hip hold. Corbin likes it- he can look at me while he's carried around, and eating in this position is easier for him, too. And with a quick change in position, he is sitting upright to burp, too. Easy.