Oh Canada!

On Canada Day we made it out to some of the festivities around town. We saw singers, dancers, the petting zoo, clowns and after Brea went down for her nap we made it out to Whee Bikes to purchase her birthday present from Nana and Grumpa. They had seen a friend's grandson use a push bike and thought it would be perfect for Brea. Craig did a bunch of online research and we decided that the Strider Running Bike was the one for our little girl. The premise behind the balance bikes is to have the little ones learn to balance so that they can go to a two-wheeler easier. Typical bikes with training wheels or trikes do not teach balance as the child simply leans on the training wheels. This way they gain confidence to transition to a pedal bike with the skills of balancing in place.

We were going to save it to give to her later but she was just so excited after seeing a little boy ride the bike that she just HAD to try it; luckily my helmet sized down enough to fit her head. So far Brea is straddling the bike and walking with it. We are going through how to turn but she insists on grabbing the fork and turning the whole bike. It's only been a few days and she's excited to go out every night after dinner with Daddy to ride more so I'm sure she'll be moving around in no time.

 Making sure her head stays safe.

 Waving her Canada Flag.

 Showing off her new wheels.

Top 10 Baby Essentials

I know a few up and coming new Mommas and thought this might be useful. I am by no means an expert but these are things that I've tried over the past 16 months and it has worked for us. Hope it gives you some ideas on where to start looking :o) Happy researching!

1) Baby Carrier: Moby wrap, Ergo - helpful website for baby wearing TheBabyWearer.com
I attended a Babywearing Fair before Brea was born and was taken aback by all the variety of carriers out there. In the end, our decision was to get a wrap style for me and a more structured one for Craig. I've been through a variety including: the Bjorn and the mei tai, but these two are my favourite for comfort and ease of use. All in all, it was so helpful to have a carrier and it really worked well for Brea, especially being a baby who loved being in motion to sleep :o)

2) Bouncy chair/Baby swing
As I mentioned, I have a baby who loved being in motion - no doubt from all the water aerobics I did while pregnant. This is not really a necessity but I loved being able to but her into a seat that she loved and was safe in while I got things done. The swing helped me get much needed rest as well as she would often fall asleep in it.

3) Sleep sacks: Halo SleepSack Swaddle, Sleep Huggers
My baby loves sleep sacks. When she was little, the tighter you wrapped her, the better she slept. The Halo Swaddle sack was great since the swaddle part could be removed and baby would stay warm. Now that we are into winter, the Sleep Hugger sleep sacks are the highest rated TOG (3.0) that I have found, very well made and suits our climate well. I am happy knowing my baby is safe and warm.

4) Detergent: Country Save
As everyone knows, baby's skin is sensitive and some detergents can be quite harsh. I found Country Save to be great for Brea's clothes but especially good for cloth diapers. It does not create residue in the diapers that can ruin their efficiency.

5) Knowledge: Books - The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two by William Sears, M.D., Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, M.D.
I read and read and read for a long time while waiting for my baby to arrive. I felt, the more I knew, the better prepared I would be. These two books were the ones I found to be most helpful in those early stages and even now when Brea is over 16 months. I still consult Dr. Sears' book whenever I have some questions.

6) Breastfeeding gear: Bravado bras, Medela pump, Bamboobino breast pads
I had a very painful beginning to breasfeeding but thanks to these products, it made it much easier. I had an unfortunate incident one morning when I neglected to moisten my disposable breast pad and nearly ripped my nipple off (I know, I'm being quite graphic here, but it might help you!). My loving husband, quickly tore out of the house to purchase a pump, which until that time I had put off buying because I wasn't sure I needed it. In the end, I found the reusable and luxuriously soft bamboo pads to be the saviour to my sore boobs, Medela's Harmony pump to be the best value for what I needed - an occasional pumping when too full or for storage, and Bravado's bras and tanks to be the most comfortable and versatile clothing piece.

7) Washclothes: Bamboobino, IKEA
You can never have enough washclothes - you'll be burped up on, puked on, peed on...
Bathtime was a hit and miss with Brea when she was little but when I discovered soft bamboo washclothes, it was like night and day. She didn't mind when I washed her face and body at all.

8) Mobility: Car seat - Graco Snugride, Britax Boulevard; Strollers - Bob Revolution, Maclaren Quest Sport
I did a lot of research when it came to travel safety. These ended up being my ultimate choices. This is a very personal choice since it relies so much on your lifestyle. Our BOB served as our primary stroller until Brea was no longer in her infant carseat, then, I found that having an umbrella stroller stowed in the car to be much more practical, especially when you need to dash into the mall or grocery store.

9) Diapering: Cloth diapers - Bummis; Salves - Dimpleskins Naturals
This combination of cloth diapers and salves has been gold for my daughter, she's never suffered from diaper rash.

10) Music: Bobs and Lolo
In the car when toys and gadgets can be tossed aside and flung under seats, music has served as our best source of entertainment. I love listening to these ladies! Their songs are upbeat and carry positive messages. Brea loves bopping her head along to the beat!

Craft Fairs

The thing I like most as Christmas approaches is the Craft Fairs that start popping up everywhere. I have plenty of crafty friends and family members but with Brea, it's hard to find time for me to be creative. So I like to live vicariously through others and see the amazing talent that's out there. I was SO lucky this past weekend to be able to stop at a fair at a nearby high school and had the chance to discover Stacey Firth, creator of Zoolets. Her website isn't quite up yet but she has an Etsy page in the meanwhile. She makes the cutest door plaques, growth charts and prints! I've been searching for something like this for a while now to adorn Brea's room and she was so great to accomodate the creation of a personalized sign for Brea. As many of you know, Brea LOVES dogs or as she calls them "woofs". I talked to Stacey and she designed this super cute plaque just for Brea!


I can't wait to get it and hang it on her door! Brea was excited too, she let out quite a few appreciative "woofs!" when I showed her the preview :o) It's always so great to be able to support local artists.

Cold, cold, go away!

My oh my, it's been such a lovely weekend for Thanksgiving but alas, mommy and baby have nasty, yucky colds! I had my fingers crossed that the cold Craig had been harbouring would pass us by but no such luck. Brea's had the brunt of it and has been drippy and coughing for the last few days. I managed to hold off a bit longer but it was inevitable. I think the cold has sapped my brain as well. I went to the drug store today to get a vaporizer. We do have a cool mist humidifier (Crane's Frog Cool Mist) but I thought the steam might help a stuffy nose and cough better.

I settled on the Vicks Steam Guard Vaporizer. There are so many to choose from but this hearkened back to my childhood days and I figured, if it made me feel better then, I'm sure it will work for Brea now. As an added bonus, both the humidifier and vaporizer have plastic that is BPA-free!

But as I said, the cold leached my brain and when I got the box home I couldn't get it to work. I actually took it back and exchanged it for a second one that I ALSO couldn't get to work! Finally, Craig took a look... he's been pretty busy the last two days with his new toy, the iphone, but he managed to drag himself away when my cries of frustration got too loud to be ignored.

Apparently, I can't read instructions! The vaporizer works differently if you have soft vs hard water. In our case, with soft water, salt needs to be added to get it to work. I neglected to read that part even though it was not only in the instruction booklet but also on the box tabs when you open them - very obvious, just not for me. Sigh...

Happy Earth Day!

I love that I live in such a beautiful country and especially in such a beautiful province on this planet.

When Brea was born, I researched many things in order to find what would work best for us and to make sure we had some green alternative. One such thing was cloth diapers. It really looked daunting at first but there was plenty of information to weed through and eventually after talking to friends and family... I decided it was the way to go. We chose to go with Bummis (a nice Canadian company) and it is one of the BEST decisions that we have made and I am so thrilled with the results. I am a huge advocate now and am so happy to share my new knowledge with any new parents.

We started off with Bummis "Cloth Diapering Kit" which consists of prefolds and covers. For about $150, it was more than enough for us to use and only do washing every 3 days. I have friends who use diaper services - a good alternative - but I found it wasn't any harder to do it myself at home. I checked out some detergents that works well with cloth and decided on "Country Save", Brea's never had any problems with bum rash. I do a short wash in cold and then a hot wash with detergent, the diapers come out clean (even with poop on it). Now that Brea is on solids I supplement the diaper with a bio-liner which is flushable.

There you have it, I am happier to know that the landfills are a little less cluttered and that my baby has a happy bum.

Passport!

Last week we went to get Brea's passport photo taken. We are thinking of perhaps traveling a little bit this summer, maybe into the States and thought it would be prudent to get a passport for Brea. At the very least it will be a good ID for her. It is the cutest picture ever! The photographer at Regal Photography did an awesome job. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to scan it before submitting the application so you'll just have to wait until I get the passport in the mail. Passport Canada is so quick now that the crazy deadlines from before have calmed down. We were in and out in a half an hour! Yay!

We had Brea's 7 month check-up last week - she's happy and healthy and her new stats are as follows:
Height: 72.5 cm/28.5 in
Weight: 8.6 kg/19 lbs

She is really starting to lengthen out and is now into her 12 month clothes!

Things are getting back to normal... Brea misses spending the whole day with Daddy but we are getting back into visiting friends and keeping busy with baby activities. I've been super happy with how things are going with solids and have been making plenty of food stuff to freeze for Brea. She is still focused on two meals a day with a lunch time snack but is slowly starting to eat more. She much prefers Craig to feed her, maybe he makes better yummy faces :o) Last night, Craig made a beef stew for Brea which I am pureeing today. We got the recipe out of "The Baby's Table" - recommended by the wonderful Mama Lynda.


It has some really great stuff. Craig looked through it too and remarked on how tasty many of the recipes sounded until the directions say to "put into blender/food processor and puree".

Sunday

It's Super Bowl Sunday! Craig will be in front of the telly at 3:30 for the game but we managed to make it out in the morning for some shopping. My brother, Eugene, is staying with us for a little while so Brea has been having fun with her uncle. It also means a trip to Costco to bulk up our fridge. I don't know if Uncle Eugene had a teething baby in mind when he decided to stay with us. Brea has been sleeping very oddly these last few nights. Last night, she thought 4-6:30 am was a great time to play with Mommy. We hope things will settle down soon.

We got an invite from Dawn and Malaya to go swimming next weekend. We're very excited about it and I went out today to get a pair of Swimmis for Brea. It's from the same company that makes the cloth diaper covers I use. I chose a super cute fishy pattern, she'll be stylin' at the pool. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!

We'll be going out tonight to celebrate with Po-Po and Uncles Ambrose and Eugene, hopefully the snow will have stopped by then :o) My cousin, Ange, gave Brea a beautiful chinese outfit which is still a little big but I'm hoping to see if I can get her into it later today for a picture.

We've been having a lot of fun these past few days. The sun made a rare appearance and we were able to make it out for a little bit of sunshine. My little babe is stylin' in her shades! I had been investigating Baby Banz based in Australia but I couldn't find where to buy them in Canada until recently. Brea was a little wary of them but once she got into the sun and understood what they were for, she was great.


This past weekend we went to celebrate Great Nana's birthday. Brea got all dressed up and had a chance to see her cousins: Jack, Tate and Max. The boys were a boisterous lot and since Brea is not mobile yet, she spent a lot of time watching them. It was a nice gathering and the ice cream cake was super yummy!

I'm so pretty!

Watching Great Nana open prezzies!


Max, the cutie patootie!

A happy Tate!

I finally managed to get Jack to look up from his DS.

A James Dean pose? No, it's just Max getting ready for some cake!

The boys helping Great Nana blow out the candles.

5 Months!

Brea is five months today. I've been told by virtually every parent out there to enjoy my time with Brea because it will fly by, I never really thought about it until we went to visit the new addition to the Hunter family.

Andrea, Chris and Brett welcomed Scott Robert John Hunter to the world on Wednesday January 21, 2009! He was two weeks early and so weighed 5 lbs 2 oz. He is such a cutie! Mama Andrea is such a trooper getting milk for the wee one - he's going to gain weight fast with the amount he's eating!

Being back at the hospital got me thinking about how it was just like yesterday that I was there, totally freaked out about what we had gotten ourselves into and in awe of everything that had happened. Today, seeing how much Brea has grown and seeing how much she's changed from that newborn in the hospital basket, it is amazing what I have learned and experienced in such a short time. I'm so lucky to have wonderful people around with knowledge much more vast that me to draw on.

Brea is starting to teeth now so our nights are a bit longer with more frequent awakenings and she's pretty grumpy at night when the teething pains hit. I've been searching for a teether that she is willing to use. Kari gave us a Kammi doll at my shower and Brea quite likes it - she's really into gnawing on fabrics and the soft terry cloth is great. The hands and feet can also be made wet and frozen for baby to chew on.

I've also gotten the RaZ-Berry Teether for her which she is starting to use more but it's still not quite the thing that she is looking for.


Today, when we visited Dawn and Malaya, she discovered a teether that she was totally into but I can't find it anywhere and Dawn can't remember who gave it to her. Oh well, I'm sure things will work out.

I also had some ladies over this week for a movie at my crib! It was super fun to have all the babies playing around while we watched "Mama Mia". Good times!

Three cuties!

The White Stuff!

It has been a fabulous holiday for us. Brea and I were so excited to have Daddy home EVERY day to play with.

It's nice to have time with Daddy!

It was also nice for me to be able to sneak a few snoozes in the wee early hours while Craig had morning stretch time and pillow talk with Brea. But now it's back to school and we've put Christmas away for another year, here are some highlights of the past two weeks, I'll probably have to make several entries as I've just reviewed the pictures I've taken and there is so much to share!

The snow was one thing that could not be ignored. It's been a long while since I've seen so much snow in such a short period of time.

Getting ready for a hand dip.

Brea is too little to enjoy snowman making but we did go out for a walk and she had the chance to dip her little hands in. She wasn't too impressed with the hand-dip but she was smiling the whole walk as the snowflakes drifted around her. I had her bundled in the Moby wrap under my coat but her cheeks did get a little rosy.


Good thing I had her Sweet Cheeks balm from Dimpleskins Naturals to keep her skin from getting chapped. It's great stuff and works on big people too :o)

On Christmas Day, we woke up early (because Mommy was excited) and opened our stockings before having our blueberry muffin and grape juice (Daddy's Christmas tradition).

Is Brea eyeing the muffins?

Who needs toys when there's all this great paper and bows?

Brea loved the special book that Santa brought for her - "Puff the Magic Dragon". He must of heard all the hours of Mommy singing Brea to sleep with it.


There were also special presents from Uncle Kent, Auntie Signe, Madison, Kai and Caylie. Brea especially liked the Christmas Teddy that she sucked on for quite a while.


In the evening, Uncles Ambrose and Eugene came over for dinner and Brea had more presents (such a lucky little girl). She now has plenty of toys and a lovely party dress, fancier than even anything Mommy has.

Brea's fancy, sparkly dress!

Since Daddy was with us, we even ventured out to the mall to check out some of the Boxing Day madness. I am so excited that we found an awesome deal on a new camera. I am now the proud owner of a Canon XS! There is so much to learn on the workings of the SLR but it's been so fun snapping away, it had the chance to make its debut on New Year's Eve when we went to celebrate with the Scharfs (which I will post separately). While mozying through the mall, we ran into Kaitlyn and her mommy. The two girls shared a nice babble time, Brea was especially vocal and Kaitlyn really liked showing off her new dress and headband that her mommy had her in for a party that evening.


We also took time to visit Great Nana and ventured out to Crescent Beach to see the Gustafson's new home.


It's a lovely house and Brea thoroughly enjoyed her visit. Kate and Ben were so great to play with her so that Mommy and Daddy could sit by the crackly fire.

Grauntie Gloria grabs a snuggle and Kate and Ben pose for a picture.

Jump around, jump up, jump up...

We tried Brea in the Jolly Jumper for the first time. She's super cute in it and having a grande olde time - hiccups and all :o)

Here's a video to see her in action!

The Crib! The Crib! and Picture Updates

Brea has spent nearly every night this week in her crib!!!

What a momentous event! I have been working really hard to set a routine for her to help her sleep in her own bed and it seems to have finally paid off. We discovered that from sleeping in her bouncy chair and the swing, sleeping flat on her back distressed her. So we bought a Jolly Jumper crib wedge to help elevate her slightly. It has worked wonders. The very first night we put it in, she slept a three hour stretch! Now, she's good to go back into her crib after nighttime nursings. I'm so proud of her!

Here's some random pictures taken over the last little while to keep you all updated on our little girl:

Ready for a LOOONG walk with Auntie Kathy and Max
(Seriously, Mommy nearly died - it wasn't the 10km, it was pushing the stroller up the hills!)

Sitting pretty in her Bumbo.

She loves being carried now that she can see out!

The Three Musketeers!

What happens when Daddy decides to play hair stylist.

Into the 'Couve

Brea had her first adventure on Skytrain last week! Not just once but twice, we were very brave!

Relaxing in sun in November?!

DAY 1
Instead of our usual meet and hang playgroup date, Malaya, Kaitlyn, Brea and Max decided to go with their mommies into the 'Couve for an adventure... actually, the Circle Craft Fair was running at the Convention Centre and we mommies wanted to see all the goodies. It's one of the most extravagant and largest craft fairs in the lower mainland. We met here and headed out at 11:45am.

Kathy and Max

The Skytrain was nice and empty for our trip down and it was no problem at all to get four strollers on a train. But as things go, babies have no schedule. By the time we arrived in Vancouver, Max was hungry, Dawn and Reg were hungry and Brea was grumpy. Our first sense that things might not come easy was at Waterfront Station where the elevator was out of service. Kathy, the impulsive and aggressive stroller mama, popped a wheelie and went up the escalator. After a bit of humming and hawing, I followed suite. Dawn and Reg, were the better, safer mommies and took apart their strollers and made two trips up. We then split up and tried to get things done. It wasn't until 2pm that we were able to head into the Fair for a look. I managed to control myself and not go crazy with all the beautiful things but I did get Brea a pair of Stonz booties because they are so cute!


They can fit over other shoes or on bare feet and keep baby toes toasty warm and waterproof.

At 3:30pm it was time to go home. We didn't get to see the whole fair but Kathy and I were coming back the next day to visit Lindsay and Matteo and we didn't want to be caught in rush hour traffic. Again, babies have no schedule - one had to be changed, another had to be fed... we got caught in rush hour. Business people in Vancouver who take Skytrain are crazy! That's all I can say. There was no way we could stay together and get onto a train so we split up to try to squish on. We literally had to ram our strollers into the train before other people pushed us out of the way. They were leaning over the stroller and Brea and still trying to mash on when there was no room. Needless to say, it was a LOOOONG ride home. But we survived :o) We all had lots of fun despite it all and I was eager to make our next trip.

DAY 2
Kathy and I decided it would be more prudent to start the day earlier due to the rush hour fiasco of the previous day. All was well and we made it with no problem to Lindsay's place. Matteo is adorable and Brea had lots of fun hanging with the boys (don't tell Daddy).

A glowing Mama Lindsay with Matteo

Brea is none too please to have to pose with a boy!

A merry bunch!

Since Kathy had an appointment for Max, we separated at the Skytrain station and I headed for the Craft Fair to pick up a bracelet I had left for repairs. From the moment we set foot into the Fair, Brea started crying. I fed her, she was still crying, I raced to the bracelet booth and thought that if I jiggled her a bit it might help her get to sleep. No such luck. She was a tired baby. By this time it was nearing 3pm and I thought I might as well head home. We had no problem getting onto the train but once it hit the business districts, people started piling on. That's when Brea decided to bring her whimpering into a loud wail. Suddenly, I heard "What's the matter with the baby?" and soon there was a woman elbowing her way through the train. She reached us in a matter of minutes and proceeded to peer at Brea and asking "what's the matter? It's okay baby!" Then she started singing and grabbing Brea's hands. She responded by crying louder and all I could think was, "oh my god, some crazy woman is grabbing at my baby - Brea, please don't put your hand in your mouth until I've disinfected it!" Between the lady's horrible lullaby and Brea's cries and all the people on the train I finally made it off, two stops AFTER where I should have gotten off. It was a long trip home is all I can say.

Going downtown on public transit is not for the weak of heart.