Archives for April 2012

another milestone

April 27, 2012

Why sleep when you can sit up in your crib instead?

This week Levi mastered a new skill: Pushing himself from his tummy into a seated position. I think he was motivated to get himself onto his bum after seeing a friend do it at a play date last week. Now, this friend can also pull himself to standing, but if we’re being honest… I’m okay with Levi not doing that yet. I fear he’ll no longer feel like my little baby once he’s vertical, and I’m not ready to give that up yet.

Of course, I know the choice is not mine, and I obviously don’t want to hold back his development. But maybe we don’t have to rush that milestone. I have no worries that Levi will eventually be up on two feet and then will be walking, so why not stay on on all fours for just a little bit longer?

Can anybody tell that I’m starting to get anxious at the thought of my baby guy turning one in just a few short months? I’ve really been trying to not think about it, although I do have to start planning his first birthday party. My parents and in-laws have been nagging –erm, asking — me about it since February! Perhaps I’ll begin brainstorming this weekend…

I also write for Lifetime Moms:

Gender-Reveal Parties: Touching or Tacky?

And a big thanks to Courtney for including me in a round-up of posts about working moms.

hamsters holding hands

April 26, 2012

Before my family got our first dog, my parents let me and my sister have pet hamsters. Now I cringe at the thought of keeping rodents as pets, but they were all the rage in the mid-80s. I chose two of my favorite names for my pair of hamsters, Ricki and Renee. (I went to day camp with a girl named Ricki, and Renee was the name of my first babysitter.) My sister probably called hers Hammy or Fluffy, names more appropriate for a pet hamster.

I may have outgrown my affection for those little critters, but I think we can all agree that cartoon hamsters (and even squirrels, for that matter) are pretty darn adorable. That’s why I have the board book Hamsters Holding Hands on my wish list for Levi’s ever-growing library. Little ones can count to ten with playful hamsters rendered in cheery citrus hues:

One hamster wants to play
Two hamsters shout hurray
Three hamsters with a pear
Four hamsters in the air

{Hamsters Holding Hands by Kass Reich}

PS: Join the bumper vs no bumper debate over on our Facebook page!

crib bedding options

April 25, 2012

I had my heart set on this DwellStudio pattern when I was decorating Levi’s nursery. All I wanted were the crib bumper and sheets, but at the time, the pattern was only available as a full crib set that included a sheet, a bumper, a crib skirt and a play blanket. Wouldn’t you know that now you can buy DwellStudio’s modern Skyline crib bedding and accessories individually? Go figure!

(Truth be told, I’m not sure I would still by the bumper…or any bumper, for that matter. I’m beginning to fully realize what a pain in the ass it is to have to remove it from the crib every time I want to change Levi’s sheet. Having a bumper may prevent Levi from throwing his pacifiers overboard, but is it really worth the hassle? I don’t know…)

However, had this product had been on the market last year, I might have taken Levi’s nursery design in a different direction. Skip Hop’s Complete Sheet features two complementary patterns – one on top and one around the sides – to give the illusion of a bumper. How genius is that? For parents who follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’s guidelines to not use a crib bumper but still like the look of one, this double-duty sheet would make a fantastic decorative alternative. Best of all, at $24 each, the Complete Sheet is not that expensive!

Tell me: Do you use a crib bumper or go bumper-less?

going bumperless

April 24, 2012

On a whim last week I took out the mesh bumper in Levi’s crib. It always looked sloppy to me, and I wanted to see if Levi could manage without it.

The short answer? No.

While Levi didn’t bang his head or get his limbs stuck in the bars (phew), he repeatedly lost his pacifiers through the slats of the crib. I’m not quite sure whether he purposefully threw them onto the floor or if he accidentally knocked them to the ground (my guess is that it was a combination of both), but not having his usual three or four pacifiers at hand definitely affected his quality of sleep – especially during naps.

When Levi is transitioning through sleep cycles, he often reaches out his arm to grab a pacifier and replace the one that fell out when he started to snooze. With all of them on the floor and out of reach, he had to pick up his head and open his eyes to search for one. He would start to cry when he couldn’t find any, resulting in several shorter naps and a few 4am outbursts.

So I replaced the mesh bumper with the padded, patterned one that came with his crib set and his sleep returned to normal. Of course, now I have to deal with crib bumper when I’m changing his sheet. I suppose I could’ve kept the bumper out and waited for him to learn to not need the pacifier, but I’m ok with him using it as a coping mechanism for now.

What about you? Crib bumper or no crib bumper? Pacifiers or no pacifiers?

survey says…

April 23, 2012

A big thank you to everybody who responded to my blog survey. Your answers were really informative! For those of you who are curious, I thought I’d share some of the results here.

So, the majority of Bunny & Dolly readers:

are in their 30s and have 1 child
hear about new posts via Facebook
read the blog primarily for updates on my life (I’m flattered!)
would like to see more personal musings and links to other blogs/websites
would like to see less product recommendations for moms

Do you agree or disagree with these findings? Is there anything you want to add? Please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email with your thoughts on Bunny & Dolly. As I prepare for a redesign (!) I would love to know what you like or don’t like about my current content and ways you think I could improve the blog to make it a more worthwhile read.

Thanks! xoxo

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