now that you're one

Those of you who know me personally know that my son recently turned one. You can read his birth story here, and check out my fifteen step plan to organizing the perfect birthday party here. I wrote his birth story as much for me, you readers, and him, but while I was rocking him to sleep the other night I “wrote” him this. I hope he appreciates it one day.

Now that you’re one:

Now that you’re one, I find you don’t need me as much as you used to. Maybe that’s not true; you need me, but not in the same ways. Now that you’re one, I don’t have to rock you to sleep, and you don’t really fall asleep on me anymore. But tonight, tonight you fell asleep on me within a few minutes of finishing your milk. Tonight, you snuggled in and draped your arm over my shoulder and drifted off to sleep. I contemplated sleeping all night with you in our rocking chair. This time I didn’t drift off to sleep with you because I didn’t want to miss a moment of our time together. I used to fall asleep rocking you and daddy would come in and wake me so I could put you into your crib. I didn’t want daddy to come in and break our spell. I’m not sure how long I sat there with you rocking back and forth, back and forth. All of a sudden, I realized I had a few tears running down my face. I wasn’t sad. I wasn’t really happy either. Just content. Content to be sitting there with you and having you need me again in this way.

Now that you’re one, you can do all sorts of things. You walk. You run. You try to talk. You are so interested in all that there is around you. Now that you’re one, you like to explore. You don’t need me to take you everywhere. You can get there by yourself now. Just the other day at the park you walked all around, looking and playing. You were content to do things your own way and in your own time.

Now that you’re one, you seem like such a big boy. You’re getting taller (and bigger around). You take up so much more space. When you were born it was almost like you weighed nothing and took up no space at all; I could have squeezed you in my pocket if I wanted. Now that you’re one, you tell me what you want (kind of). You’re a little easier to figure out. You like to eat too. Now that you’re one, our battle with breastfeeding is over. You’ve mastered how to feed yourself (and I can buy your milk at the store).

Now that you’re one, I miss my baby boy (although much to your future dismay, you will always be my baby boy). I miss the little coos and goos. I miss you sleeping on me. This year went by way too fast for me. I hope it wasn’t too fast for you. I can’t wait to see how you are when you are two.

top ten new baby must haves

Let’s dive into this whole blog thing with a list. Since my life has revolved around a new baby for the last year, I present to you my top ten must have items for your new baby. Don’t have a new baby you say. Fear not, this list also can double as a list of items to buy those new parents in your life now, or in the future. You are welcome.

1. medelabreast pump

I loved my Medela pump. Since I chose to exclusively pump for Miles I was attached to this damn thing for up to eight times a day. This is the pump that I was able to get for free through our health insurance.  It’s not pretty...at all; however it has some awesome features. The one side is a cooler and was great for keeping bottles during the night when Miles was still waking up to eat every few hours. This made it so we didn’t have to go all the way downstairs for a bottle. Maybe that's not a big deal, but moms are told to limit stairs postpartum and then, you know, general laziness and tiredness at 2am. 

2. avent natural bottles

I registered for these bottles following advice from my sister. She really liked them and so did we. The small four ounce bottles were a perfect size for Miles to try and hold. We also used the nine ounce bottles. The only down side was trying to find all the sizes of nipples in stores. For some reason Target didn’t sell the size two nipples in the store. Weird.

3. pampers swaddlers

Again, following advice from my sister we decided to use Pampers Swaddlers diapers up until we switched to the Cruisers line. We had the chance to use some Luvs and Huggies diapers and I was NOT a fan of either. I never bought any store brand diapers but heard that the Target ones weren’t that great.

4. huggies wipes

I believe we initially bought Huggies wipes at Costco (because that was the only brand they had). I liked these much better than the Pampers brand. For some reason the Pampers wipes seemed very greasy and just didn’t seem to work as well. We’ve used these wipes for EVERYTHING. Diaper messes, food messes, quick clean of the dining room table, and as wet wipes after mommy and daddy eat some hot wings. Very versatile.

5. boppy pillow

Although our breastfeeding adventures were very short lived this pillow made our attempts much easier. It also is great for a sitting prop for pictures or just a place to set your little one where they can feel supported before they learn to sit on their own. Snag a cover or two because chances are it will get wet or dirty. 

6. diaper genie

MUST HAVE. There are different versions; I recommend the one with the foot pedal. I’ve used both and it’s must easier to open that lid and get the diaper in fast with the foot pedal when you have a squirmy little one. Also Target sells their own brand of refills and I recommend those as well. You also may want to throw in a baking soda air freshener and you will be all set to go. Don't forget to empty often!

7. swaddle me blankets

These blankets were instrumental in transitioning Miles from our room and his Rock ‘n Play sleeper to his own room and crib. They made swaddling idiot proof, and unless your are a labor and delivery nurse, sometimes you need idiot proof. (especially at 3:12 am in the dark). 

8. snuza

My sister bought us our Snuza monitor because she used one with her daughter. We used it consistently for a few weeks when Miles was still sleeping in our room. Once we transitioned him to his own room we stopped using it, I’m not really sure why. It didn’t completely ease my unreasonable fears at first but it helped me get some sleep and not sleep with one eye open all night.

9. rock ‘n play sleeper

I bought this item without doing much research. I wanted an option for Miles to sleep in our room that was under $100. I knew he wasn’t going to be in our room for more than three to four months and wasn’t about to drop a lot of money on something he would only use for a few weeks. Luckily for me (and Miles) this sleeper worked out great. We did have some difficulties transitioning him to his crib, which may be attributed to this sleeper, but all in all we made a fairly smooth transition once it was time for him to sleep in his own room.

10. cloth diapers

We did not use cloth diapers in the traditional sense. We used the old-fashioned cloth diapers for burp cloths. They are awesome. They take a lot of abuse and can be bleached. Depending on the kind you get they can even double as a small blanket for your little one. I prefer the flat folds over the tri-folds, but that's just me.

What did I miss? What item couldn’t you live without in the first three months? Let me know in the comments.