Erin Akin Carroll

update: Erin with a 9 month old

Mar112010

While Hudson has been learning and growing and becoming a pretty much amazing little human being, I have been doing some learning and growing of my own. This post is about me.

I have spent the last eighteen months of my life preparing to love and then loving a little person. My flesh and blood. These are the things that stand out about me (some important and heavy and some not at all):

1. I never knew I could love someone so much. Hudson is the joy of my life.

2. I sleep with one eye and one ear completely focused on him. I’m awake after the slightest peep– even when we’re away from him.

3. I miss a lot of the things we used to do before he arrived. Spontaneous trips to the movies or sleeping until 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday stand out the most.

4. I still love pop culture, reality TV, scripted TV, books, music, and clothes.

5. Lately, I’ve tried to watch less and less reality TV. Because I just become obsessed and stressed about it. Why should I let other people’s lives stress me out?

6. I’m constantly thinking about what is best for Hudson and what we can do to make his life better.

huge belly– the day before induction

7. I love my husband more than I ever have. It is such an incredible feeling to go through this process with your best friend.

8. I cannot imagine loving another child as much as I love Hudson.

9. I won’t have to know what that’s like for a while!

10. I want Hudson to be at least 2 years old before there’s another baby. And I want to lose 20 pounds and enjoy being 20 pounds lighter before I even think about gaining 40 pounds of pregnancy weight.

11. I’ve tried to stay the “same old Erin” with a baby as I was before I had a baby. I think this is completely impossible. I can’t go for a night out and just let loose and relax. I’m thinking about my child.

12. But I like to think that I’m still fun.

13. Pregnancy and breast feeding make your hair grow a mile a minute!

0089

14. I appreciate my girlfriends more than ever. There are so many opportunities to make this statement in your life, but when you have kids, your life is about someone else and much less about you. Your girlfriends will always make it about you when so many others make it about the baby. I realize I may sound selfish by saying this, but it’s true. It is so nice to have girls to talk with– and you talk the same way you did with them with a baby as you did when you were 20 years old and staying up until 2 a.m.

15. I can do anything! Your parents always tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to, but it’s true. I am a wimp and I birthed a 9 lb 6 oz baby. I take care of him all day long. I experienced 2.5 months of sleepless nights. I did all of that! I can do anything!

16. “You can fight a bear for a little while.” This is something my grandfather always said to my mom and then she said it to me. It’s so true. You can go through some hard stuff as long as you know it won’t last forever. Sleepless nights don’t last forever. Pain from a tough delivery doesn’t last forever. Feelings of “what am I doing” fade and you become the most knowledgeable person about your child. Mothers know exactly what I’m talking about.

17. This motherhood road that I’m walking down and feeling my way through, is the most exciting, most challenging, and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

4-8 months baby product review

Filed Under: Favorite Products

Mar112010

A few months ago, I did a product review of the baby items we’d used up until Hudson was 4 months old. This is the link to the other post if you need to see it.

I get a lot of emails asking what I think about certain baby products and asking what we used for bottles, baby spoons, or strollers. Here are the answers to all of your baby product questions! I’m also going to do another post about the nursery and where we got a lot of those items and a post about baby clothes, for everyone that has asked.

(Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote any of these products and haven’t received any free baby items in exchange for this post.)

And for those that aren’t interested in baby gear, here’s a picture of my beautiful boy! He was dedicated to the Lord at church on Sunday in a very sweet baby dedication service. There were 42 babies dedicated!

Necessities

Boogie Wipes– These things are amazing. I first found them at Nordstrom, but they also sell them in the first aid section at Babies ‘R Us. I like to buy the ones with saline in them. They are so soft on little runny noses, but they don’t just wipe the nose. They also help stop the runny nose problem with the saline.

Halo Sleep Sack– We stopped swaddling Hudson when he was 4 months old and grew out of the blankets, then grew out of the Woombie. We switched to a Halo Sleep Sack so he could be covered and warm, but still have his arms free. The blanket is like a little sleeping bag and it can’t get tangled up around his face. It’s safe and it helps me to rest easier at night.

Packin Smart– These little goodies are containers that hold your baby’s snacks when you’re on the go. Your baby won’t be eating little puffs or yogurt melts until they’re 7-9 months old, but the Packin Smart is a great way to bring snacks in the diaper bag.

Burp Cloths– I love 3 Marthas and Swaddle Designs burp cloths. I also bought a big pack of cloth diapers and my mom sewed borders onto them for us to use as burp cloths.’

Bottles– Dr. Browns

Baby Spoons– Gerber

Saline Spray– Little Noses misting spray. It clears my baby boy right up when his nose is stopped up.

Toys

Fisher Price Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage– This toy lights up, sings, plays music so you can sing along, and it has a mirror. Hudson really loves it.

Fisher Price Little Superstar 2-in-1 Singing Band Walker– This is a lot like the Sing-Along Stage, but it’s a walker. Hudson can either sit and play or he can stand and walk behind it.

Evenflo Jump and Go(until 7 months)- He loved this thing until he was just too big to use it anymore. We started using it around 4 months and then he really learned to jump around 6 months. It was so much fun to just sit there and watch him bounce for half an hour!

Evenflo Exercauser (until 7 months)- We started using this at 4 months and he loved it immediately. He always liked being in it, but when he started sitting up he stopped tolerating being confined.

Vullie Sophie la Girafe– We still love Sophie. Hudson has four teeth now and he’s working on two more, so Sophie gets a lot of use!

Entertainment

Baby Einstein DVDs– These people are genius. The creators of Baby Einstein need a medal from mommies everywhere. Hudson sees the little Baby Einstein caterpillar and he goes nuts! Then he is mesmerized. I have videos for 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months. And each one just gets a little more advanced. Love them.

Praise Baby CDs– I don’t love the Praise Baby DVDs. They just don’t hold his attention. I love the music, but Hudson doesn’t stop to watch the DVD. But he will calm down in the car as soon as he hears Praise Baby playing.

Travel and Gear

Graco Pack ‘n Play– Now we use the Pack ‘n Play as a play pen and it is great. When I need to get dressed in the morning, Hudson hangs out in the pack ‘n play in my room and entertains himself so I can get myself together. We also travel with it and use it as a crib when we’re on the road. Such a great investment.

Stroller– We are still loving our BOB Stroller Strides stroller so much. You hardly have to push the thing. It is such a smooth ride and we absolutely love taking it with us. Even though it has been recalled, we like using our MacLaren Triumph stroller for quick trips or when we fly. So far, we haven’t chopped our fingers off.

I think the biggest concern is always whether your baby will like a certain toy or not or if you’ll spend tons of money on something that never gets used. We have had things that have bombed out at our house, but the items listed above are our favorites.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Hudson is 9 months old!

Filed Under: Hudson, Uncategorized

Mar102010

On March 5, my sweet baby boy turned 9 months old. I cannot get over how time flies. He has been here, with us, for as long as I carried him in my tummy.

I’m amazed every day by his new little activities and milestones. He masters something and moves on to the next thing. He is constantly into everything and pushes the boundaries as only a little boy can when his mommy is wrapped around his finger. He is crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, and successfully transferring from piece of furniture to another piece of furniture. Holding him back is no longer an option!

I am not wishing for him to walk at all. I know he’ll do it in his own time and we encourage him all the time. But I know that once he starts walking, it’s over. He’s off and I can’t stop him! He’s already so adventurous and constantly toppling over or bonking his head on something. He got his first shiner yesterday on the chair leg. We keep asking if there’s any way he can wear a helmet. But he rarely cries when he falls and when he does cry, we know that it must have hurt really bad.

He loves meeting new people and he especially loves seeing friends that he recognizes. He is so enthusiastic and gets his little legs moving when he sees something he’s excited about. He screams with excitement when I start a Baby Einstein video. He starts hollering if I fix him a bottle. Hudson is still a little sad when I drop him off at the nursery, but not because he doesn’t love the nursery. He just doesn’t want his mommy to leave.

He loves music. He absolutely loves to bounce and dance. He hears music and immediately bobs up and down. It’s all that jamming I did when I was pregnant with him.

The doctor wanted him to have 32 ounces of formula every day until he turned 9 months old. She told us to hold off on three meals per day until his 9 month birthday, too. So now that he’s 9 months, we’ll be starting the stage 3 foods and gradually introducing table food. We’ve been having breakfast and supper at the high chair and now we’ll add lunch to it. He is such a great eater and I’m so thankful for that.

He has completely mastered the challenging task of picking up little Gerber Puffs and Yogurt Melts and putting them in his mouth. It’s his new favorite thing to do. I know he’ll love adding table food to his diet.

I’m sure you’ve all seen that he has 4 teeth now, but his 5th has already popped through. He is working on one more bottom teeth, and the next two top teeth are right there. I’m so excited because this means he’ll be able to cut his meat with his teeth and I won’t be as worried about giving him chunky food.

He says “da-da-da-da” but we can’t tell that he’s saying “da-da” in response to seeing his Daddy. He does, however, say “ba-ba” when he sees his bottle. Pretty sure he knows exactly what he’s saying there. The boy clearly doesn’t miss a meal.

At 9 months old, Hudson weighs 25 lbs and measures 30 inches long. He’s no longer above the 98th percentile. Now he’s in the 95th and 96th percentiles. I guess that crawling is causing him to plateau a little bit. He’s just burning calories left and right!

He’s still such an amazing sleeper, and for that we are so blessed. He goes to bed at 7 p.m. and wakes up at 7 a.m. He takes two naps (sometimes three) every day for about an hour a piece.

He recognizes the word “no” and isn’t sure he likes it. Sometimes he’ll hear it and stop whatever he’s doing, but then goes back to it a couple of seconds later. I’ll say “no” again and he’ll stop. He’s just seeing how far he can go. Then we’ve had the tantrums. I’ll say no and he won’t touch anymore. And he never touches, but I keep saying no, and then he just falls apart. It’s so hard being a baby.

He’s such a happy, funny, little boy and we’re just so excited about each new day and each new milestone. I cannot believe how quickly time flies. I know I said that already, but during those early days when I just cried and cried because I was overwhelmed, tired, and just full of love? Those days will be over so quickly and the really fun days of playing with your crawling, jumping, wiggle worm are just around the corner.

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

and the oscar goes to…

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Mar82010

I love to watch the red carpet coverage. I love to see what the stars are wearing. Who’s taking a risk? Who’s playing it safe? Who always looks stunning?

My picks for best dressed:

Rachel McAdams in Elie Saab

Love the silhouette and the print in muted colors. Her hair color is fantastic (though she can pull off every hair color) and it is the perfect cool blonde for the cool blues in the dress. Bravo!

Elizabeth Banks in Versace

I’m not a huge fan of hers, but I love this color, again, and think it looks amazing with her hair and eye colors. The fit is impeccable and so flattering on her.

Vera Farmiga in Marchesa

The color. The ruffles. The lines moving in all the right places.

Cameron Diaz in Oscar de la Renta

So I love this gown. As in I want to wear it now. I love her hair, makeup, and nails. But? I don’t think it looks very “Cameron Diaz.” But I love it.

I need to get to work on my Netflix queue and add some of these films. I’ve seen a handful of the nominees, but with a baby, it’s hard to just spend an entire Saturday at the movies.

The John Hughes tribute was wonderful. I grew up on these movies (as most kids did) and I’m so happy that he got a proper tribute from so many of the youngsters that he made famous. Those are the movies that you sit around and watch over and over again with your friends.

Who topped your best dressed list? What were the highlights of last night’s show for you?

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