baby Archives - Page 10 of 15 - Bare Feet on the Dashboard

As a dapper southern gentleman, Fisher rocks a bow tie on occasion. Being only 8 months old, said bow tie is best worn painted on a onesie. I’ve seen some really cute bowtie onesies on Pinterest and Etsy, and decided to try to make one for my little man. It was so super easy that I had to show you.

Here’s what you need:

cardstock or magazine

disappearing ink pen

onesie

fabric paint & brush

or fabric paint pen

1) Stick your card stock or magazine inside your onesie to prevent bleed through.

2) Use your disappearing ink pen to draw a basic bow tie outline on your onesie, just below the collar. Keep redrawing until you are satisfied with your design.

3) Trace the outline of your bow tie with your paint and brush or paint pen.
I used a paint pen, so I had to dot it on to really fill it in. I will definitely use fabric paint and a brush in the future as it goes on much smoother.

4) Fill in the outline of your bow tie.

5) Let your little man rock that bow tie onesie.

So cute.

So easy.

So frugal.

This is his Zoolander Blue Steel Baby Model Pose.

This is his “Mama, how many pictures are you going to take?” pose.

I’m sharing this tutorial at some lovely link parties.

Check out their buttons on my right sidebar and join in the fun.

Did you pay attention to the Superbowl or were you crafting and blogging like me?

23
Jan
2012

Discovery

categories: baby, family

We have been outside as much as possible because the temps have been in the 60-75 range. I am happiest when outside, and my son is the same. He recently discovered the wonders of grass. Touching it, ripping it out, trying to eat it, a world of possibilities.

11
Jan
2012

Babywise Works for Us.

categories: baby, breastfeeding

Some parents love it, some hate it, but almost everyone who has heard of Babywise has an opinion. I’ve had a lot of people throw judgemental negativity at me when I say that I’m a fan. I think most of them probably haven’t actually read the book. After a Twitter exchange that left me feeling judged I decided to take to the blog to defend our parenting choices, not that I have to.

I read about 18 parenting books before Fisher was born, among them “On Becoming Babywise”, “Secrets of the Babywhisperer”, and “The Baby Whisperer Solves all Your Problems.” All three recommend parent led routines for babies. Babywise in particular is a little controversial, but I think a lot of folks judge the book by the misinformation that is out there. I was wary of it going in, but had noticed that many of my friends whose children seemed particularly content and well rested used the methods. I don’t agree with 100% of any of the parenting books I read, Babywise included. We did not use the methods at first, but were pulling our hair out after 3 weeks of winging it with a baby who was having serious nursing issues and had his days and nights reversed. We decided it couldn’t hurt to try, and it was like a miracle.

The nursing issues were resolved after his tongue tie was fixed, which you can read all about here. We used Babywise and The Baby Whisperer’s advice to get Fisher’s days and nights straightened out, and he almost immediately started doing a 5-6 hour stretch of sleep at night. We never forced anything, but guided him into a routine. He occasionally fusses as he winds down to sleep, but we don’t let him “cry it out”. As he grew he eventually dropped night feedings completely on his own. At about 7 weeks he stopped waking up for the 1 am feeding, then dropped the 4 am around 12 weeks. The first night he dropped each feeding I woke up freaking out that he hadn’t woken up, but he slept right on through. Since then he has been sleeping from about 7 pm to 7 am with one feeding between 9-10 pm.

He is exclusively breastfed and has been since our nursing issues resolved. He is in the 95 percentile for weight and head size, and 75 for height. People often comment on how happy and content he seems. Are we really blessed with a sweet, easy baby? Yes, and we fully realize that. However, did we make choices that helped him become the sweet, growing boy that he is? Yes. We do not let him cry it out, but instead listen when he cries and try to meet whatever he needs. We do not keep him on a rigid schedule, but do use a flexible routine. It works for us, and for our child. We also babywear and cloth diaper and make our own baby food, but I’ll talk more about those parenting choices at another time.

What people think Babywise is about:

rigidity

strict schedules

crying it out

not listening to your baby’s needs

What Babywise is ACTUALLY about:

flexibility

routines – eat, play, sleep

interpreting your baby’s cries

listening to your baby’s needs and fulfilling them

If a particular parenting choice doesn’t appeal to you, it is easy to judge that parent and think that they are wrong and you are right. I do it, you do it, and I did it a heck of a lot more before I had a baby. I think the key to getting rid of the judgement is realizing that there is no one right way. There are parenting choices that most can agree are universally bad, but after that we all have the freedom to choose to parent our children the way we see fit. I hope that your choices are working for you and I respect them, and hope that you can respect mine. If you want to learn more about Babywise and the Baby Whisperer, definitely read the books. You can also learn more at Babywise Mom and the Baby Whisperer Forums.

Have you read Babywise?

Do you love it/hate it?

Do you use it?

If not, what parenting books/methods do you prefer?

09
Jan
2012

A Vintage Highchair Makeover with Tutorial

categories: baby, crafts, decorating, tutorial

Fisher is now 7 months old, and was in desperate need of a high chair. We looked all over to find one that we liked, but had no luck. We wanted a vintage wooden one, but all that we found were ridiculously expensive. Big plastic models were looming in our future when our friend Betsy spotted this metal gem at a vintage store for $20. She grabbed it for us. Jed was horrified.

The poor chair was all kinds of ugly, and Jed though there was no hope. As eternal optimists, Betsy and I saw lots of potential. I took the ugly duckling home and it sat in the garage for a while until we had time to get the project completed.

The tray has already been sanded in the above pic. It was originally the same color as the back below. Ick.

Ugly, oh yes she’s ugly. On the other hand, she is very well made and easily folds to store flat against the wall. The tray also removes completely so that it can be easily cleaned. Awesome.

The tan seat and seat back had to go, immediately. My mama and I went to visit City Craft, a great Dallas fabric store. I wanted to find some oil cloth to recover the chair so that it would be durable and easily cleaned. City Craft has a great selection, and had a sale going on. I choose an oil cloth design in black and white that looks like Mexican papel picado decorated with birds, flowers, and calaveras (happy dancing skulls a la El Dia de Los Muertos).

We removed the cushions and Jed sanded the ugly bronze paint off of the seat, tray, and back. The legs and arms were already in pretty good shape.

I removed the vinyl covers off of the seat and back, and then laid them out on my oil cloth.

I cut a big square for each one.

Then I trimmed it down to size. I had to trim it even more so that it would fit well.

Meanwhile, Jed painted the tray, seat, and back with a lovely light turquoise. He had to do 3 coats to get it to look right.

To recover the seats, I had to carefully stuff the oil cloth behind and under the seat and the back. Then we hammered the seat and back in. This was the trickiest part of the whole project. I got a little frustrated, but persevered so that we could have this lovely creation.

What do you think?

I love it.

I love the black and white, the papel picado design, the paint color, everything. I’m a little obsessed with it, quite frankly.

Fisher loves it too.

The metal makes a great sound when he bangs his little hands on it, and an even better noise when he bangs his sippie cup.

I love using vintage pieces because they are often so much higher quality than plastic crap from Target. We love Target and have our share of plastic baby stuff, but are happy when we can have something a little more stylish and sturdy to go with the rest of our house.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for putting up with the insane amount of pictures in this post. Like I said, I’m obsessed.

How have you used or repurposed vintage furniture or baby gear?

I’m sharing this project at some great blog parties. They are listed on my right sidebar. Be sure to check them out to see tons of awesome crafty ideas. Thanks for reading.

I also linked up at the PAINT IT Party at Design, Dining, & Diapers.

06
Jan
2012

Baby Laughter is Magical

categories: baby, family

If you need a laugh today, enjoy this video of Fisher laughing like crazy at our dog Jackson. He did this for about ten minutes before I started filming. What was Jackson doing that was so funny? Most of the time he was just laying in his bed. I wish I could be so easily entertained.

02
Jan
2012

New Year Blessings

categories: baby, family, love

May your 2012 be filled with joy, love, laughter, and family.

31
Dec
2011

On the Move

categories: baby, family

I guess it is time to baby proof. He is 7 months old today and scooting backwards all over the place. I’m sure he will get the forward motion figured out soon and then we will really be in trouble.

09
Dec
2011

Austin, TX with a Baby

categories: baby, dining out, frugal, restaurant review, texas, travel

For your viewing enjoyment, I present a photo collage via Instagram of our trip to Austin this week.

It was in the 30s and 40s, with a hazy shade of winter cast over the city. We stayed downtown at the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel, because we were in town for a state teacher testing conference representing Jed’s school. Fisher and I did a lot of lounging around in our room because of the cold both weather and illness affecting us. We shopped and ate and enjoyed ourselves, and would love to go back when the weather is nice. Downtown is very walkable, and the city has so much to explore. I would choose a different hotel next time. The Intercontinental was nice and had lots of architectural interest, but our room was tiny and expensive (paid for by the school) and the mandatory valet parking was very pricey.

Where did we eat?

The Mellow Mushroom near the University of Texas campus was our first dinner stop. We were headed out to Hula Hut at the lake, but traffic was horrendous so we decided to stay close. We love Mellow Mushroom in Asheville, so we went for what we know. We had the Funky Chicken pizza and the soft pretzels. The key at MM is to order a side of the Esperanza house dressing. That junk is so good.

The next day Jed had a long lunch break so we went to Mellow Johnny’s, Lance Armstrong’s bike shop. My husband is a cyclist and could entertain himself in a bike shop for hours. He showed Fisher all the cool bike stuff while I shopped for Christmas presents for him. If you are into bikes, the shop is a must see. Many of Lance’s bikes are on display along with a well thought out selection of cycling gear and accessories. It also has a cafe called Juan Pelota’s that serves breakfast burritos and coffee.

For lunch we headed to the Taco Shack. I had a chicken torta with bread that melted in my mouth. Delicioso.

At the Taco Shack, Fisher had a big first. He sat up in a high chair throughout the meal. Yay!! He loved playing with his toys and sitting up like a big boy while we ate.

Fisher and I did a little more exploring, driving around the state capitol and South Congress shops. We picked up a few cupcakes from Hey Cupcake, one of the famous food trucks on South Congress. I surprised Jed with them when he got back to the hotel.

Fisher and I did lots of snuggling on the big king sized bed in our room. A sniffly baby makes exploring in the cold not so much of an option.

Our last night in town we went to Magnolia Cafe on South Congress. It rocked my world. It was cheap and delicious with a laid back atmosphere and creative menu. I had baked acorn squash with the chef’s special pecan pesto on top, with a side of curried shrimp and veggies. Oh my. I was in broccoli heaven.

We came back to Dallas and were greeted by gridlock. We loved the feel of Austin and hope to go back and explore more when the weather is nicer. Where would you like to explore?

09
Dec
2011

Fisher at Five Months

categories: baby

Here is our boy at five months.

His favorite activities right now:

bath time with Daddy

airplane

Mommy & Daddy serenading him

playing in his Johnny Jump Up and Exersaucer

walks around the neighborhood

being outside

He is so curious and aware of his surroundings. He tries to touch and grab everything, then stick it in his mouth. We’ve had a few messes caused by curious little fingers.

His eyes are still a gorgeous blue grey.

He smiles and laughs so many things.

A few examples:

me hiccuping

tickles

Jackson (our dog)

rubbing his belly with my face

when we smile or laugh

silly songs

This look may be a preview of the teenage years.

He does push ups like a champ, but still isn’t rolling over.

I blame the giant noggin.

He babbles constantly, especially when wanting attention. His little voice is so sweet, but he can get LOUD.

He sits up pretty well, but can come crashing down at any time without warning. Most of the time the crashes don’t bother him at all. I wish I could have posture like his.

He is super easy going, and sleeps really well most of the time. He sleeps from 7 pm to 7 am with only one feeding at 10 pm in between. We are still exclusively breastfeeding, but are excited to start solid food soon.

We fall more in love with him every day.

Category: baby