Don, this is for you!

My brother-in-law and I were at Walmart one day looking for something to put in their diaper pail to mask the smell of poopy diapers. Well, we couldn't find baking soda packets so we tried moth balls (haha) and some tide hanging things. Don, you can get the actual diaper pail deodorizers at amazon :)

              

Multitasking at its best

Shopping for baby-safe play mats and teether bibs online

while
folding laundry

while

another load is in the washer

while 
preparing dinner


while
watching the hockey game (why did it have to go to overtime? *edit: yey! we won!*)


while
updating my blog...

The Crib Issue

So this post is actually a continuation of the crib ramblings in the previous post. It's taking me such a long time to decide because I'm still not sure what kind of crib I want to buy -- full size crib vs. mini crib. Here is the side by side comparison:

Full-size Crib - converts to toddler bed, we were planning on buying a toddler bed anyway - 4-5 mattress height positions, baby can probably be on 2nd highest for now - have to buy mattress ~$100 - more choices for beddings - huge! will fit in condo but with some space compromise

Mini-Crib - converts to twin bed but additional cost for kit, not sure if we're gonna convert it - 2-3 mattress height positions, baby might have to be in really low position (just like in playard) - these usually include very thin mattresses - hard to find beddings - space efficient, perfect for our condo

So I'm leaning towards the full crib, we just have to deal with the space issue.

Curling and Spending some time with the in-laws

I haven't really been watching the Olympics but the past two nights, we were at the in-laws and they're big sports fans, so we were able to watch the men's and women's curling finals. It's actually fun to watch (after I wikipedia'd the rules and I somewhat understood it). It was so sad about the women's loss but the Swedish team really deserved that gold. It's a good thing Canada won the men's curling though.. curling is a Canadian sport after all.

Anyway, baby has been miserable those 2 nights. Every time we cheer and scream, he would cry his pouty cry. It would take a few minutes to console him. The first night, he was almost inconsolable towards the end, it was an intense game against Sweden after all. (They tried NOT to scream but they just couldn't, curling is that intense haha). I tried to calm him down in the basement away from the noise. He was also probably sleepy, it was past his bedtime and we didn't bring his pack n play. Ever since we set him on a sleep schedule, we haven't gone out at night, but we had to make an exception this time because it was my brother-in-law's birthday. There was a time when he would just sleep every time we go out, that was so easy for us because we can go out whenever, but now that he's older, it's so hard to make him sleep/nap anywhere but at home.

Things to buy to help baby sleep at the in-laws so we can spend some evenings there:

1. a crib -- In addition to obsessing about the jumperoo (which we've already gotten by the way), I've also been super obsessing about buying a crib. Right now, he sleeps in his pack n play at home. When I was pregnant, we never even considered buying a crib because space in our condo is limited. But now that he's outgrown the bassinet part of the pack n play and we have to make him sleep in the playpen area, I'm seriously reconsidering, especially since I saw how well he slept the 2 weeks in the US when he did sleep in a crib (borrowed from his cousin). So if we got a crib, we can just keep the pack n play folded up, ready to bring anywhere, like at the in-laws'. I've found the crib I wanted online, but I'm not sure if I really want to order it without having seen it + without ANY reviews from anywhere. I'm just basing my decision on the website ranking of cribs. Cribs are terribly expensive in Canada compared to the US, it sucks. This website is in the US and I just have to pay a surcharge of $50+ for international duties and such. With that surcharge, I think it's still a good deal.

2. baby monitor -- I got a baby monitor as a hand me down but since I can hear baby from anywhere in our condo, I gave it to my sister instead. The in-laws' house is super huge, so I need a baby monitor if I'm to leave baby in one of the rooms. I'll probably look at Craigslist and Kijiji for that.

We've been using my ipod as his white noise machine. Maybe I should get something like this for when we travel (and get some mini speakers). It's cheaper than the apple version plus it includes a car charger too.

Turbo Broiler

My uncle from Guam sent me an Aeromatic Convection Oven (a.k.a. as turbo broiler) like the one in the pic. He found out that we couldn't find any here in Canada. Ironically, the day after I got the turbo, we saw one in Walmart selling for $120 (steep price compared to USD$60, as was written in the customs declaration form).

We have limited counter space so I had to stow away my toaster oven and give its space to my new 'turbo'. It's super convenient, I can get the effect of frying without the oily mess. (My husband loves fried food, I guess using the turbo is a great compromise since the fatty oils can just drip down from the grill.) I've used it to cook chicken, sausages, and pork. It's easy to clean too - I just put foil at the bottom to collect the oil drippings, and after cooking, I just take it out and wipe clean the glass, all I really need to wash is the grill.  Best of all, I can just leave it as it cooks, great for a new mom!

Yesterday, I needed to heat up left-over pizza. I usually use my toaster oven for this to make the crust crispy, but my toaster oven is in a cabinet and I have nowhere to put it. I considered heating it up in the microwave but I hate soggy pizza. I thought what the heck, I'll just use my turbo. What do you know, it had the same effect as the toaster oven!

I love my new turbo <3

Project: Curtain

We live in a one bedroom condo where the bedroom doesn't have windows. To let in some natural light, the bedroom has sliding frosted glass doors. It's a great idea - except when you have a baby. Baby sleeps at 7:30pm. After that, we have really low lighting in our living/dining area. So it's always a romantic low-lit dinner for me and my husband. Plus, we can't watch TV.

I got this great idea of putting up some sort of panel curtains to block the light from the living room. I was all ready to go buy my materials from IKEA, but reality set in -- no one in our house is handy. We stay away from anything that involves drilling or putting permanent things in our walls. After some research, I decided to just use basic fabric and VELCRO!

I went to Walmart, got cheap fabric and bought some uber cool velcro, the hook side is Sticky Back and the loop side is Fabric Fusion (iron on fabric). Originally, I planned to get velcro with one side sticky back and other side sew-on but I saw that they sell velcro in the particular combination suitable for my needs. As I'm not really a sewing person, the less sewing I need to do, the better.

Two weeks after that (which was today), I finally got the energy to do the sewing of the actual curtain using my mother-in-law's sewing machine. No one knows how to use it really, but I figured, as an engineering graduate (yes I am) and a mom, I can probably figure it out. A lot of messy stitches later, I was done with one panel (I had to sew my original fabric to black fabric to make it more opaque plus I had to sew the sides). I decided I was done for the day.

When we got home, I installed the curtain (with velcro and all). It did remarkably reduce the light coming in the bedroom even with just one panel. But we'll forego the TV for now, I have to sew and install the other panel first. I dare not post pictures because it looks so ugly, hubby and I laughed for a long time after we saw it set up. Anyway, the beauty of velcro is, when we have guests, we can easily take it out =D

So there you go, that's my attempt at sewing and DIY-ing.

Rough Night for Teething

It was a rough night for us. I think my baby's teething. He cried a lot yesterday and woke up A LOT last night. I thought his sleeping would actually get better because the past 2 nights, I've been able to put him down awake. It's something short of a miracle actually. I was trying out a new thing the past 2 nights. I do the normal bedtime routine: bath, book, bottle.. Previously I would give him the bottle when he was propped up in his crib (I use the word crib loosely, more on this at another post) so after finishing the bottle and he's all drowsy, I just pop his pacifier in, lay him on his side and he goes to sleep. The past 2 nights, I give him his bottle while he's in my arms. I burp him and then put him down and I turn on his projection mobile (Fisher-Price Precious Planet 2-in-1 Projection Mobile) without the mobile part (he's too old for that). The images are projected onto our ceiling. It's a pretty cool light show. Within 20 minutes (that's the auto turn-off time of the mobile), he's asleep. Sounds so easy, right? But the past 2 nights, he has been waking up a lot. He doesn't sleep through the night yet, normally I put him down at 7:30pm, then he wakes up at 1am, 3:30am, and 7-8am. But last night, he woke up at 11:30pm and every 1-2 hours after that, and he wouldn't sleep from 2-4am. There goes the theory: put them down awake and they learn to self-soothe. But I guess it's because something is wrong, his cries sound like he's in pain so I really think he's teething.

I tried to give him teething gel last night and I guess it stopped his crying for a bit. I tried it on myself too and the thing feels exactly like what they give you at the dentist's office to numb you before a big injection. The numbness didn't last for long though. I also gave him a pacifier cooled in the ref. That seemed to work too, but really, no cure lasts forever. All I can do is hold my baby and tell him everything's gonna be all right.

When we woke up at 9:45am (we needed our sleep haha), everything seems better. He didn't wake up crying and he played by himself. I hope for all our sakes that he feels better today.

Remind me to blog about how we were able to put him down for the night easier. That's a whole other story.

Starting Solids - The Gear

My baby is starting solids soon so I'm trying to buy stuff that will be useful for this momentous occasion.

1. High chair - I was spared of having to buy a high chair since a relative gave us their old Peg-Perego Prima Pappa Best High Chair. I saw this chair through my research and learned that it was one of the more high-end chairs. My husband said it was like a spaceship with its recline features and seven height positions. Although it had good reviews, it had quite a few negative reviews, mainly about how the tray was too high (indeed it was) and the seat cover was hard to clean. Since this was given to me used, I had to clean it well before letting my baby sit on it. I found out just how hard to clean it was. And food wounded up in the weirdest places. But after the major cleaning, I put baby in it and he was happy. He can sit with us while we eat lunch/dinner and he was high enough to see me do things around the house so I'm also very happy :)

2. Seat Cushion - I was told to buy a new seat cushion for the high chair since the cushion is falling apart. Researching online, I saw like to 2 people that sell these cushions that they sew themselves. Cool business since Peg Perego probably charges an arm and a leg for replacement cushions (I think about $70, didn't bother calling them since the fake ones were expensive enough $30-$50). Anyway, I found this: Messeez High Chair Cover. This solves the problem of the cushion falling apart (i just duct taped it! LOL) and it being hard to clean. It's a seat cover you put on top of the existing cushioned cover. It's also cheaper :) Anyway, I already ordered it online but I haven't gotten it yet.

3. Utensils - Someone gave me Meal Mates Colored Soft Bite Spoons as a gift. And I bought The First Years Meal Mates Toddler Suction Bowl With Lid. Will review how good these products are once we use them.

4. Splat Mat - I need something like this: Mommy's Helper No Mess Splat Mat to protect our hardwood floors but I'm thinking of just buying something similar from the dollar store.

5. Rice Cereal - The pediatrician told me to start with Rice Cereal but to wait until he's 6 months old. I'm so excited, I'll probably buy the cereal right after our 6-month appointment.

6. Bibs - I'm not yet sure what kind of bib to get. I'm looking at the waterproof ones. Is it also time for the bib with crumb-catcher? or is that later on?

7. High Chair Toy - Since baby's hanging out in the high chair but he's still not eating, I make him play with the Sassy Illumination Station. He loves it!

Jumperoo for the Baby

So for the past couple of weeks, I've been obsessing about getting a Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo for my baby. He has been jumping like crazy when you hold him up, but he still can't support himself (at 5 months) so I usually get tired before he does. I did a lot of research, and found that the Rainforest Jumperoo would be the best for him (great reviews on Amazon!).

As I just got back from a vacation to the States and know that I can order the jumperoo for ~USD$75 from Amazon, it seems unfair to me that I should pay $130 + tax to get it here in Toronto. (If only we brought a bigger car, I really would have bought the jumperoo from Amazon in the US.) Anyway, I've been monitoring Craigslist and Kijiji for about a week now. I've contacted close to 6 people and every time, I'm too late and the item is already sold, especially if they price it at $50, which was my price point. I've even contacted someone within an hour of posting and still, I was too late. I had to make the hard decision of raising my price point to $75, a hard decision for me since I can get it brand new for the same price in the US! But my arms are protesting, my baby's crying.. what's a mom to do?

I finally contacted this poster selling it at $75 half expecting that it was a futile effort; after all, the ad was placed 3 days ago. To my surprise, he emailed me back saying that the jumperoo was still available! Aha! I guess people don't buy used jumperoos at $75. I asked him if he would consider selling it at $65 and he agreed. I'm going to his place on Saturday to pick the item up. I'm hoping someone doesn't offer to buy the jumperoo for $75 before then.

As an aside, I contacted one person selling the jumperoo at $50, he emailed me back saying there was a lot of interest in it and that he upped the price to $75! I didn't bother emailing him back.

Anyway, baby's pooping on my lap, gotta go!

Welcome to my blog!

With all the things I'm doing as a mom, I thought I'd start a blog to share my experiences, online finds, and basically anything I encounter as a new mom in Toronto. I'll try to post entries often so come back from time to time. I have a huge backlog of blog ideas so bear with me as I update my blog.

In the meantime, baby's crying so bye for now!