Gel Cling Storage

You know those gel window clings that have become so popular in the last few years?

I like them and think they're cute, but they're a pain to store. I came up with a quick and easy solution!

You will need:

• Wax Paper
• Gallon Plastic Bag
• Marker
• Scissors

Rip off 2 sheets, roughly the size of your plastic bag, of wax paper.

Trace the outline of the bag with the marker & cut. I cut in about 1/4" from the line so it would be easier to get into the bag.

Stick your clings to one of the wax paper sheets, then cover it with the second wax paper sheet to sandwich the clings between the two.

Slide into the bag, you're done!

Bonus is that you can store multiple sheets of clings in one bag. I have three in a bag right now, but I'd say that I could fit maybe 3 or 4 more on top of that.

One Month

I can't believe a month has passed already. Time flies when you're learning to be a parent!

Charlie is one whole month old and in that month, he has changed SO much. I swear he gets bigger by the day; I'm pretty sure his hair even gets longer by the day, especially in the back. It's crazy.

One Month Stats:

Weight: about 8.5 lbs (based on our bathroom scale)

Height: about 23''

Clothing: NB size pants (because he's so darn skinny!), 0-3 & 3 month in everything else

Diapers: Pampers Swaddlers Newborn, but we'll switch to Size 1 by the end of the week since we're almost out of NB

We're still working on getting each other figured out.. well, I should say I'm trying to figure HIM out, he has me (and Daddy!) trained already! Everyday is getting better and we're finally starting to get into a little groove. He likes to throw curve balls at me though and change things up, mainly at night.

During the day, he's pretty much like clockwork this past week. It's nice, but I'm trying not to get to used to it since it could change at any time. At night is where things are always a little different. Some nights he's up every few hours, but then once in a while he'll throw a 4 or 5 hour stretch in there - which is AWESOME when it happens.

Before Charlie was born, I never understood why parents wanted to keep their baby in the bedroom with them. I had originally planned to put him in his room right off the bat. Well, that went out the window! The first 2 weeks he slept in the rock 'n play next to our bed, now he's in the pack 'n play next to our bed.

This weekend is going to be the big night. We're going to try to transition him to the crib. I won't lie, the idea makes me nervous! I have a feeling I won't get much sleep the first night he goes in his room, I'll be too anxious. He'll probably do great, I'll be the one having a rough time.

For the first few weeks I could not for the life of me get this kid to nap during the day. We're definitely getting better with that, but still working on it. He wants to be held while he sleeps during the day, so I'm trying to break him out of that habit.

I took all of his newborn size sleepers and onsies and put them aside to be packed away last week. The newborn size pants still fit him, but the one piece things are too short for him. It made me a little sad to know that he'll never fit into those clothes again, he's just growing so fast!

He's breastfeeding like a champ and things are going really well with that. I'm extremely happy that we made it this far, especially after the first week was so difficult. We introduced a bottle when he was about 2 weeks old. That has been going well from the beginning. Right now he's getting two 3oz. bottles of pumped milk per day.

Charlie has some funny facial expressions - I'm hoping for a real smile any day now, I can't wait for that! He has a pout that's bound to be trouble in years to come.

Everyday we've been doing tummy time, playing with his play mat and his seahorse. I read him several books everyday while we rock in his room. One of these days we'll make it all the way through "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" without him screaming by page 27 - I'm starting to think he doesn't like that a Nook that can't read is trying to cook ;)

His head control gets better everyday. He'll have control of that big noggin in no time!

Charlie had his first real bath when he was about 9 days old. He really seems to enjoy the warm water! I'm grateful for that, because it breaks my heart when he screams. Right now we're doing bath time every three days. That way we don't dry out his sensitive baby skin in this dry winter air. I can't wait until he's big enough to start playing with bath toys, that should be interesting!

We've been blessed with a good, healthy baby. I'm doing my best to soak up every second of time with him that I can before I have to return to work. I'm already dreading his first day at daycare - I don't think I'm going to handle the separation well. Luckily we have until March before I have to worry about that.

Everyday is a learning experience with this little guy and I'm loving it. It's been a big adjustment going from having too much spare time and sleeping whenever I felt like it to having none of that.. although we're getting better on the sleep. Either that or I'm just adjusting to the lack of sleep.

On an exciting note - my recovery went much faster than I expected. I feel great, aside from the tiredness :) AND I'm down all of my baby weight and then some. I can't wait to get the go ahead to work out so I can tone everything back up!

A few random photos from the last month...

Newborn Photos!

Warning: Photo heavy post!!

All photos taken by me!

They say pictures speak louder than words, so here you go...

K'Tan in Action

I received a few emails asking me about the Baby K'Tan Carrier. More specifically about how it works for a newborn.

I figured it would be easiest to just show it in action.

(Please excuse my generally unkempt appearance, makeup and actual clothing don't happen often these days)

The K'Tan consists of two loops and an adjustment band. There is no wrapping or tying involved, so it goes on quickly and easily.

It's comfortable and I feel confident that Charlie is secure when he's in it.

There are several ways to wear it depending on the age and size of the baby. I've only tried the newborn "Kangaroo Carry" (pictured above) so far, but the others look great too.

The only downside I've seen so far is that it doesn't fit well over bulky clothing, like sweatshitrts, hoodies.. etc. I've just been putting it on over my nursing tanks then putting a zip up hoodie over that.

Another question I received was in regards to sizing. They base their sizing on height and weight, which can make choosing a size difficult because everyone is a little different. For reference, the one I have is a Small and I'm roughly 5'8'' and 135lbs.

Hopefully this answers some of your questions about the Baby K'Tan!

Baby Must Haves

A month into this parenting thing, I'm finding out about products that I love. I figured I'd share a few of those things with you here.

#1: Fisher Price Rock 'N Play Sleeper

I love this thing, Charlie loves this thing. For the first two weeks we had him home this is where he slept at night. Now we use it for naps during the day. It's light and easily portable. It cradles him in there nice and snug, so I know he's safe.

The only downside is that it doesn't rock itself, you have to do it - which isn't that fun at 1AM! I see that as a minor hindrance though.

#2: Boppy Pillow

We have the Bare Naked Boppy Pillow and two slip covers. I use the Boppy for so many things. We use it for nursing sessions (it totally saves my arms), tummy time and just to let him sit propped up to hang out. This is a handy thing! I know some people say they're pointless, but I love it.

#3: Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Kick & Crawl Gym

Charlie got this as a gift for Christmas. I like that he can use it from the newborn stage all the way up to when he's crawling, so he'll get a lot of use out of it. Right now I put it on him it so he can stretch out and kick his legs and I also use it for tummy time. When he gets older, we can convert it into a crawl through tunnel.

I know he doesn't get the full benefit of the toys yet, but he will soon enough. For now it's a change of scenery!

#4: Medela Contact Nippleshield

If it wasn't for this shield, I would have given up on breastfeeding in the first week. It literally saved me. While yes, it's a pain in the ass sometimes, it saves me from so much discomfort and makes nursing a million times easier for Charlie.

I've tried weaning him off of it a few times, but it causes him trouble swallowing. I will continue to try weaning, but for now I won't mess with what works.

#5: Sony Baby Call Monitors

We've only used these a few times, but I really like them so far. I put Charlie down for naps in his crib occasionally and use these monitors. They transmit clearly with very little interference.

#6: Baby K'Tan

I went back and forth on ordering this carrier, but I'm glad I did. It's similar to the popular Moby wrap, but you don't have to mess with wrapping and tying. The carrier consists of two loops, so all you need to do it put it on, stick baby in there and you're good to go! It's easy to use, comfortable and Charlie seems to like it. Better yet, it allows me to carry him with me while having both hands free to get things done around the house.

#7: Stick 'N Click Light

I know this isn't really a "baby" item, but it's been a great thing to have! I have one sitting on my night stand and it's been really great for the night time feedings. The overhead light and the lamp were too bright and harsh, but this lets of just enough light to allow me to see what the heck I'm doing. Very handy little "As Seen On TV" gadget!

On a more random note: "Things I Wish I Would've Bought Stock In Before Having a Baby"

* Diapers

* Wipes

* Paper Towel

* Toilet Paper

* Hand Sanitizer

* Laundry Detergent

Charlies Story

Charles James Birth Story

The cliff notes version:

Charles (Charlie) James – he’s named after his Grandpa and his Daddy. We kept the name a surprise and told family when they came to visit us at the hospital.

My water broke at 39 weeks 6 days December 11^th, 2011 at 11:10am. We made it to the hospital at 12:20pm. Charlie was born at 1:38pm! He was in a hurry to arrive apparently! No time for meds so delivery was pain med free.

He was 6lbs 12oz and 20 inches long with gorgeous blue eyes and blonde peach fuzz.

We came home on the 13^th and things are going pretty well. It’s a big adjustment.

The long version:

Jamie and I went to church at 9am on December 11^th. I had been having irregular contractions for days, but after two sweeps at 38 and 39 weeks, nothing was happening.

We had been home for about 45 minutes and Jamie stepped out to work on putting together his parents Christmas gift in the garage. I was about to have a snack, when all of a sudden I felt what I thought was my water breaking, but I wasn't 100% sure. Just like that, a switch was flipped and the more painful contractions started - although they weren't anything like I expected.


Funny side note: my water broke in the same spot in the living room where Jamie proposed :)

Never in a million years would I have imagined that things would go so quickly after my water broke. I called the hospital, and after being put on and off hold for what seemed like FOREVER, the nurse said we should head into Labor & Delivery.

We made it to the hospital at about 12:20pm and I was admitted right away at a 4 and 100%. The contractions seemed like they were right on top of each other. Things were moving pretty quickly!


I think if we would have chosen to deliver at one of the other hospitals in town, we wouldn't have made it there in time. Those hospitals would have put us through Packer game day traffic. I don't even want to think about that... yikes!


With each contraction the baby's heart rate was dropping, so I was put on oxygen and they had me lay on my side. I was still progressing really fast, and the nurse said that if his heart rate didn't pick back up that we would need to discuss alternate delivery methods - although we never made it to that.

At this point I was asking for an epidural, the nurse put in the request but warned me that I was progressing so quickly that I likely wouldn’t get one in time. She checked me again then and I was at 6, then maybe 10 minutes later I was at 8! I opted for Nubain in my IV at that time, but it didn’t do anything at all. She checked me again and I was ready to push!


The anesthesiologist actually made it there, poked his head in and said "guess you don't need me?"... yeah, we were already wrapping things up at that point! 

After 28 minutes and about 6ish rounds of pushing at 1:38pm, Charlie was born at 6lbs 12oz 20 inches long.

There was a bit of meconium in the fluid and the cord was wrapped around his neck once, so NICU was called in. He had a bit of respiratory distress due to his fast delivery, but after a few hours he was doing just great.

I didn’t get to hold him right off the bat because of his breathing issue, but after about 30 minutes or so, I held him for the first time and I was amazed at how beautiful he is. I couldn't believe he was really there.


I had a little bit of a rough time with recovery at first because of his fast appearance, but everything got better quickly. Looking back, I'm glad that I didn't have the epidural.


Charlie was a bit jaundiced, but after a few blood draws to check his levels, everything corrected itself without the help of the bili lights or any additional action.

We came home after 2 days in the hospital and we're working everyday at figuring things out. Things get a little easier everyday, but everyday is also so different.


The first two weeks were really rough on my emotional & mental state. I would cry at the drop of a hat and I felt so defeated when it came to figuring out what Charlie needed. Add being exhausted on top of that, and I was basically crying ALL THE TIME. I'm so thankful for Jamie for being a super supportive husband. I kept thinking he would tell me to get it together, but he never did. He offered hugs, love and support - and that's all I really needed. I don't think I could have made it through those first weeks without him.


I chose to exclusively breastfeed Charlie. It was a rough road at first, but things are getting better. Two days after we went home, we went back to the hospital and met with a wonderful lactation consultant. If not for her, I honestly think I would have quit and switched to formula. Her help and advice really helped tremendously. We're entering week four now and I'm feeling much more optimistic about breastfeeding and providing what he needs.

My labor experience was nothing like I expected, but I wouldn’t change anything for the world. I have a beautiful son and I have never loved him or my husband more. This has been such a life altering experience for me.


Being a mother is a huge adjustment. Going from having way too much free time, to being consumed by this tiny life is a bit overwhelming, but we're slowly working on a routine. We're figuring this out a day at a time and I'm looking forward to all that motherhood throws at me.