review: method, squeaky green baby hair and body wash

overview and what i love about the product:

i recently purchased this hair and body wash because i read about a law suit brought upon johnson and johnson because a very dangerous chemical was found to be in some of their baby shampoos(not surprising-i know stuff like this happens often). it really got me thinking about what products we use that can be switched out for more natural ones. we were using the lavender bedtime bath, but when i read about that, i went out looking for something natural. i was looking at the california baby products, but they were VERY expensive. i think about $11 for a small container of shampoo. the method line of products were much more reasonable so i gave the hair and body wash a quick sniff test.... I WANT TO EAT IT! the scent is rice milk and mallow, it smells soooo good! the bottle states that its 99% natural, tear free, pediatrician tested and hypoallergenic. there is also a bubble bath, baby lotion (next on my list!), and diaper cream in this scent.

what i really found that i like about this wash is not only the smell, but its very light and easy to rinse away. the water doesnt get sudsey or bubbly which i liked for some reason. i guess i felt like devin wasnt just marinating away in soap! it also has a pump nozzle which makes bathing a wee wiggly one so much easier. the cap is actually a cup to rinse baby with and it might seem like a small thing, and you night just think "i'll use my own cup, thats no big deal!" but it IS a big deal! the cup is so cool! it has a hole near the rim and water comes out of there at just the right speed and angle and it holds a good amount of water.

cons:

no cons in my opinion (or devin's)!

price/where to find it cheap:

method squeaky green baby hair and body wash runs around $5.50 for 8 fl. oz. at babies r us and target. not bad at all in my opinion!

rating (0-5 stars):

5 stars!

review: sophie the giraffe

so i decided that im going to start posting some reiews of my favorite and not so favorite baby things. i hope they can be helpful for someone, im not sure who actually reads my blog, but hopefully i can help someone out in their baby buying adventures!

i LOVE getting devin new stuff and now that hes getting older he actually appreciates certain things instead of just ignoring them. i completley acknowledge the fact that he would be just as happy a baby without most of the "things" i see and think "devin needs that! NOW! life will not go on until that plastic item is in my babys chubby little fingers!" but, reality doesnt really apply when devin is involved! im also a huge sucker for any recommended item. if someone's baby has it and loves it, or it makes that moms life just a little easier, well i must have it. many times its hard to live like this especially when you dont have much money-we DO NOT have much money. it really helps to search high and low for used items, frequent the local thrift store or log onto craigslist daily. also, ALWAYS google or search the internet for promotional/coupon codes before you buy ANYTHING online. theres usually at least a 10% code somewhere.

the first thing im going to review is sophie the giaffe.

overview and things i love about the product:

sophie is great! shes made out of natural rubber and colored with food grade paint, so very safe for baby. this toy is just perfect for babies to hold onto before they have mastered the whole grasp and bring to mouth thing. devin was about 2.5 months adjusted when we gave him sophie and he had really just started to hold onto things if we placed them into his hand. i think sophie really helped him with his grasping because he was able to bring her to his mouth very quickly and not drop her every two seconds. shes just the right shape for it to be very easy to get some part of her into a mouth longing to chew on something. she squeaks and is much like a glorified dog toy, but safe for baby! devin smiles everytime he sees her, she has not gotten old yet and hes had her for about 3 months. there is just something about this toy that babies love! sophie is the best teether we have come across so far and when devin is chewing on her it makes the funniest squeaky sneaker noise, its very cute!

                            cons:

there is a rubber smell to sophie that does not go away after washing. i thought devin would'nt like it, but he doesnt mind it at all. the smell has faded but its still there a bit. not a BAD smell, just a smell :) also the food grade paint does wear off a bit over time. some of the coloring on her head is fading because of constant chewing, but still very worth it overall!

                          price/where to find it cheap:

the average price for sophie is around $20, which is a little high for a small rubber toy, but i guarentee your baby will love it and its totally worth it. right now sophie the giraffe is $15 on amazon.

                          rating (0-5 stars)
ok, so i'll do ratings by stars i guess! sophie the giraffe gets 5 stars!

nice day

the last couple days here have been so beautiful! the sun has been out and its been around 70 degrees so we took devin to the park today and he got to see those weird things that look kind of like me, fabian and grandma... other people! (from a distance of course). he also paid close attention to the geese. i hope the weather stays this way for the rest of the winter because it almost felt like spring and i just want spring to be here NOW!

we got devin baby sunglasses and even though i pretty much knew i was watsing my money i still had to have them. it turns out he doesnt mind wearing them at all.

best stroller in the world!

i usually wear devin in a wrap for trips to the dr. (which is all we do as you know), but i do use the stroller everday for a nice long afternoon walk. i HATE my current stroller (chicco cortina discovery). its big but barely big enough for devin to sit in comfortably and it wont go over the most itsy bitsy bump in the road or little lip of a curb! its so annoying! i bought it on craigslist for $40 and the folding mechanism was broken, so i kind of white lied to the company about how my newly purchased stroller was broken and they sent me a brand new one! it was awesome and we actually ended up selling the broken one again on craigslist for $30! (i made sure to eduacate the buyer on the deal waiting around the corner for him after a couple emails!) im so glad it was so cheap for us because i cant wait to get rid of it now.

i did a bunch of research and decided on the mia moda atmosferra stroller. its $209.00 at babies r us and many other online stores. i ordered it from babies r us and about a week later received an email saying the item was currently unavailable and my order had been cancelled. this was AFTER they had confirmed my order and taken my credit card information! they didnt charge me, but uggghhh, how annoying! so then i ordered it from babycatalog.com, it was $209.00 after tax. i orderd it thursday, there was free shipping and it got here today (saturday)!

this stroller is quite possibly the best thing EVER! so im kind of obsessed with it right now and feel the need to create an extensive review for anyone who cares! the first really cool thing about it is that it has a removeable seat that can be faced so the child is looking out at the world or in at you! devin loves his stroller ride but if i go over "his limit" there is a price to pay because he gets super fussy and i know being able to change his view would cure that problem. i have had to carry him and push the stroller for quite a ways a few times-that SUCKS!

it doesnt have jogging stroller wheels which i kind of wanted, but its a very smooth ride and goes over grass, curbs and bumps really easily (im so excited about that!) the handle is adjustable and slides up and down to very low and very high.  the foot rest is adjustable and looks really comfortable and the seat reclines from completley upright to completley flat. the basket is huge and theres a parent cup holder and a little pouch thing when the seat is facing forward.

and I LOVE THE FABRIC! i think its so pretty and still gender neutral. the other very nice feature (especially for preemies or newborns) is the ability to turn it into a completly enclosed bassinet like environment. there's a little pouch of fabric under the foot rest that you just bring over the tray to cover the bottom, then just put the visor down all the way and face the baby in toward you. that makes a very safe, quiet spot for your little one while you're in public! besides being able to face him towards me, this is my other favorite thing about this stroller.

well, thats all i can say i love about it so far and i cant wait to use it to actually do things in the srping!

devin wears many hats...

really he does! here are just a few.

                                   devin's sneaky little elf/bell boy hat:

devin's "dont make me get my six shooter" hat:

devin's little house on the prairie/"where's my corn husk doll?" hat:

devin's "damn that's a tiny hat" hat: 

in other news... devin's early intervention therapsit came yesterday and worked with devin to asses where he is developmentally and she was very impressed! for some reason every time she comes he doesnt really show off all of his very impressive skills and just kind of halfway does what she asks of him. its so funny! even with not seeing what he does on a daily basis she still thought he was doing wonderfully. she "grades" him to have the developmental skills of about a 7 month old. an ACTUAL 7 month old!

my first pony ride!

happy valentines day!

it been a while since ive updated! i guess its mostly because ive been having so much trouble with uploading pictures onto the computer! so annoying!!!
devin's doing great on his first valentines day, hes the best valentine ever!

we had an appointment last tuesday for his synagis vaccine and he weighed 17 lbs. 6 oz. and is 26 inches long!!!! he gained almost 2 lbs. this last month which is pretty impressive. because he gained so much he needed a greater volume of the synagis shot and had to have two injections instead of one :( he did well with that but has been pretty fussy this week as a result. he may be teething too. hes had a few rough days where he didnt want to eat as much as usual and has been quite a handful, but each day he gets a little happier and hes pretty much back to himself now. i was actually very concerned for about 2 days after he recieved his vaccine and decided that would be his last dose even though hes eligible for one more next month. i dont want to take any chances with things like that. for those who dont know about synagis, its a vaccine given to preemies or other at risk babies/toddlers through rsv season (respiratory syncytial  virus). devin was supposed to have 5 from october through febuary, and his last was his fourth and final one. its very beneficial and in my understanding doesnt prevent babies from getting the virus, but greatly reduces the severity if they do come down with it. we remain in "preemie quarantine" until april 1st and statistics from the CDC show last years rsv season ended in febuary here in georgia, so i feel confident he will be safe without the last dose.

anyway!.... on to the fun stuff! devin had his first big kid swing ride the other day and even though i thought he would love it, he actually didnt enjoy it at all! theres a small park close to our house with a few swings and a play thing, that is usually totally empty (perfect for us!) so i brought him one afternoon and put him in the swing and he didnt smile once! he didnt seem to HATE it but he didnt LIKE it either. i did get some cute pictures of him in there though.

oh! he also found his feet the other day and they are definetly his new favorite toy! it was cute because thats actually one of his "firsts" that fabian got to witness by himself. im usually the one that sees him discover something new and it was really nice to have fabian be able to experience that for once! he even got pictures of his first foot discovery. he looks very serious about it.

we are so proud of him its ridiculous! he sits BY HIMSELF all the time now and loves to stand on his own while we hold his hands. hes getting so big and strong. his favorite thing is to be read to and he wants book after book after book! he trys to turn the pages himself. his other favorite passtime is his jumperoo. i think he feels very independent in there. he still wants to be held, but loves to stand in there too. sometimes its the only thing that will calm him down if hes fussy.

i know im going a little overboard with the pictures, but its been so long! trust me i have way to many to make this an easy choosing process!

we had some luck with solid food the other night! we offered him applesauce and he actually ate some of it. this was the first feeding trial that he smiled through too. he was sooooo cute! he was feeling the spoon go into his mouth and we let him "feed himself" for a little while! he looks like such a big boy in these pictures.

i promise i'll start to update more often! hes doing so much now , i really want to document it all as it happens, but it can be hard to get around to it.  heres one more picture!