Top Ten Things I Have Learned to Like Better with #2

I am continually amazed at how my perception of things has changed with Baby James. Things that Joel Andrew loved, or that I found convenient to use while dealing with him in all his baby-ness, have become completely useless with Baby James. Similarly, things that we totally ignored when Joel was a baby, have become totally useful with Baby James. Difference of baby personality? Of Mom's outlook? Convenience now that there is two? Who knows, but either way, I thought I would share some of these helpful wonders with you.

#10 - Burp Cloths. Someone made us a beautiful crab one for Joel Andrew, and I was perplexed. What is this small piece of cloth for? I put it to the side, and then the other side, and then in the "for the next kid" box. Glad I did because boy did it get mileage for Baby James. We use burp cloths for everything. They lined the stroller, our shoulder, they accompany him on car rides and he sucks on the ends. Now that he is taking the bottle they assist in dribble. We received some as a gift for Baby James, and I fell in love with this company (a Mompany, a woman who makes them by hand out of her house during nap time) and now buy them for all my friends (who I hope have come to understand their great usage!).

#9 - Books, the chewy kind. Baby James loves books! He loves toys. He loves playing with anything. Which is quite a marvel because besides the excersaucer and bouncer, Joel Andrew was not really a fan of anything except for you. So, it is nice to have a baby this time around that is fascinated with a ball, or could spend 5 minutes turning the pages of a book. A big thanks to my local Mom friends, they gave Baby James an Indestructible which he LOVES. I have to say though, he has pretty close to destroyed it he loves it so much... We may need to get another!
#8 - Jarred food. With Joel Andrew I was fanatical about making his baby food from scratch. I drove all over the place looking for organic fruits and vegetables and meticulously steamed and mushed tons of baby food, freezing some for later but mostly giving him fresh, delicious homemade food. I would not have it any other way, only the occasional packaged food when we travelled - but still even then found a transportation system for the fresh stuff. I drove my mother in law crazy when we went to Hilton Head for the week, so I could make fresh batches down there. Then came Baby James and I had the same intention. And a friend, who works for Earth's Best sent us a welcome package of baby food. What, I thought? Hmm, I guess we will have them on hand for travel..

Oh no, Baby James LOVES the food. I made him batches upon batches of fresh stuff, and he just wants the jars. I was offended and worried, but actually - depending upon the flavor here - the jars are better. The freezer burned baby food I made has inconsistent textures that throw Baby James off. He likes the smooth jar food, that actually tastes pretty good! It is organic, there are no additives, and it was made in (what we hope) was a very sanitary place - as opposed to my kitchen... So, we are jar people now with the occasional throwing in of a homemade item. Joel husband bought enough jars to last us four more children... And, I will save those frozen sweet potatoes for some Jessica Seinfeld recipes.

#7 - Powder Formula. With Joel, when we were forced onto formula - we went with the easiest thing possible. I was not going to be mixing and measuring. And, our insurance covered it so we got ready-made Alimentum in the can. Boy did that stuff stink. Really smelled. I hated it, I bought some for Baby James when we decided to start weaning him from the boob and just the look of the cans brought back bad memories. Since Baby James does not have any skin issues, he doesn't need the special formula - so we thought to try the basic stuff. Why not try powder? Oh boy - so much better! We even found single serve packets so that you can throw those in your diaper bag instead of heavy cans. Just add water! Revolutionary, I tell you.

#6 - This isn't so much I didn't want to label things before... But more so a friend recommended this cool product and we have found it to be awesome, so I thought I would share. Name Bubbles. I got the starter kit with "J.Williams" so it would apply to both kids... And now I am kind of like the crazy man from the Brother P-Touch commercials and I want to label everything. The labels do not come off, and are great for the water bottles Joel Andrew takes to daycare, his clothes, all sorts of things. I still have a Paula Abdul towel (can you imagine how much it is worth on eBay - from her Straight Up days), from when I went to sleep away camp years ago - that still has my name ironed into it. I have a feeling the boys might have the same in a few years, a little monster with "J. Williams" identifying things are theirs forever.

#5 - Boogie Wipes. For the first few colds of Joel Andrew's life, I would use a regular tissue, damp paper towel or sometimes a regular baby wipe to wipe his nose. He would scream in pain, as all this violent constant wiping (violent because he moved so much) led to a chapped nose, which led to more resistance, which led to more violent wiping. It was a vicious cycle. But, I would not fall prey to marketing schemes of buy this wipe for this use and that wipe for this use. Wipes are wipes I would say. But, oh no - they are not. One cold later someone lent me a boogie wipe. Joel Andrew would want another one and want to wipe his own nose. Soothing, boogies gone. Now we have a huge canister of it and I have them in my purse, car, kitchen drawer, everywhere. Never say never Moms.
#4 - Diapers.com. People have told me about this for ages, but we just did BJs for our diapers, and I would go to Babies R' Us or do free shipping through my Amazon account for other items. But - I finally went on, and Diapers.com was cheaper than BJs for diapers and wipes! And was certainly cheaper on MANY items (like boogie wipes) than Babies R us. Free shipping, I ordered it and it was here in two days. No need to go to the store, not getting sucked into buying other things I do not need, no lugging big heavy cases of diapers, wipes, formula, etc. in and out of the car, it was a great plan. Not sure if it is good for the environment though...

#3 - DVR and On Demand. With Joel Andrew I watched all seasons of Lost, again, on DVD. All of them. I thought I would do the same with James, but not so much. Since this booger keeps me in bed at a very early hour every night, our new big thing is to watch primetime shows, during the day. Our new favs include Pan Am (though I am getting a little sick of one of the main plots) and Once Upon a Time. Even Dancing with the Stars is just as good the next day. Nighttime is for reading and sleeping now!

#2 - Car DVD Player. I know, gasp! How could you let your children watch movies in the car? But, I am famous for my outings with my children. And, we do not live in a convenient place. So, when we are on a trip longer than an hour - a movie is on. And, a toddler is quiet. Which also means, a baby can nap. And, Mom can drink coffee and zone out (except for the driving of course). I am now planning lots of trips into Boston - the zoo, Aquarium, etc - just so I can have those two hours of strapped in quiet time. Is that bad?

And the #1 thing that has been an awesome help and addition since having two kids:

My iPhone. Enough said.