Jungle Baby Shower

A good friend of mine had a baby a few weeks ago. Amongst all the wedding chaos, I didn't have a chance to post the shower that I threw for her in April.

She had a boy, and her nursery theme is jungle animals. I liked the idea of carrying it over into her shower theme, but just focused on animals in general. I also thought it would be fun to use things as decorations that were actually useful to care for little Kaleb instead of things that would be thrown away.

There were a few others who were helping with the shower, and they contributed to a group gift with me. That was how we "funded" the decorations. I got busy looking on the internet for jungle themed items. Most things were toys (which she had a lot of already), or nursery decorating items. Then I remembered a fun idea from family cruises. Towel animals!

I got to work looking for towel origami instructions online, and using new baby blankets, bath towels and wash cloths I came up with these cuties. 

Dog

Pair of monkeys

Elephant

Turtle (which didn't look as turtlish as I had hoped) and a mini Seal complete with a juggling ball

I also made this snail out of diapers combining the diaper cake idea and a towel snail idea. I think he turned out pretty cute!

Then I added in some animal friends that could be played with

And to go with her jungle nursery- a lion laundry basket

and an elephant storage box, which we used to house the rest of our group gift- addressed animal thank you cards, bath items, etc.

I made banners from new clothing. Boy- with sleepers

Kaleb spelled on onesies (both were animal print fabrics)

and a laundry line of socks and newborn hats

These hard to resist pom poms (Martha Stewart) were the only decorations that weren't reusable. But seeing as though the ones I made for my little one's first birthday were then used at two additional events...maybe they are reusable)

The shower was a brunch. I had help making the food. I made these cute signs out of folded cardstock and wooden animals from Michaels- already painted.

We also seved yogurt, Dole fruit juices, and raspberry spritzer lemonade.

The tables had towel animals as centerpieces, and an animal board book.

The monkeys hung over the buffet table.

Each of the guests received a bag with a little book of recipes of the dishes served, and could also put their treat to take home in it.

At first, a few guests passed on the cute little cupcakes. Then someone who knew they were cakepop cupcakes (Bakerella) volunteered to take home whatever didn't get eaten. Someone decided to try one out, and after that, I don't think many made it in the bags....I heard that there was one guest who did well getting them in the bag, but they were gone before they reached home. I just LOVE these cupcakes.

I'm not a fan of most shower games, so we kept it to a minimum. I provided each table with several cards with questions to answer that the mom-to-be would benefit from. They were to be answered on the back. Then for our game, we sat in a circle before the gift opening. Each person in turn read a question out loud, and the person to their right read their answer. Most answers were quite humorous advice-since they didn't relate to the question asked. I collected the cards and put them together in a book tied with ribbon while the gifts were opened.

I bought a pad of cute boy print 4x6 cardstock and glued the questions to the printed side of the paper (it wsa cute rough or embossed paper, so printing onto them wasn't an option). Then I punched two holes in each card to pull the ribbon through. This was done ahead of time, so it was easy to bind and give to the mom-to-be as part of her gift.

I think it turned out really cute, and everyone loved it- especially the recipes they got to take home! Who doesn't love a good brunch recipe?

Getting baby to sleep in their own room

Getting baby to sleep in their own room at night is an occasion celebrated in most homes! Making it happen is often another story.

In our home, getting from point A to point B is several months in the making, but can be shortened if there is a need. We start with the end in mind from the time baby is born.

Point A: The cradle in our room

Point B: The crib in her room

My "Plan" is to have the baby out of her cradle completely by the time she is 5 months, or is too mobile for such a small place. If you want the baby out sooner, just do everything on a faster plan than I do. I like to keep her close until she outgrows the early morning feeding, which is about that time.

Love Bug has slept in our room since we brought her home. I like having her close at night so I don't have to go far to get her and can hear her well. I have a "lovey" for her that we tuck in next to her face when she sleeps. She likes to have something touching her cheek and covering one eye. (btw I bought 4 of them, so that when she loses it as she gets older, we have others to replace it) I also have a CD player in our room that plays lullaby's 24/7. I turn the music up louder during the day and have it at an almost inaudible level at night. If you've spent any time in a house with 4 other kids, you know the importance of teaching a baby to sleep through noise.

I put her in her cradle when she is sleepy but not asleep so she can learn to fall asleep on her own without rocking etc.

After the first month, I start taking her into her room for "visits" a few times a week. We don't use a changing table (rather not run up and down stairs all day long just to change her) so if you have one in the baby's room you won't need to make a special visit (you will want to put baby in the crib for a bit though). While we are visiting her room, I put her in her crib. She just lays in her crib looking at the mobile and talking to the bumper. I usually fold her laundry and straighten up the room while I'm there.

By the end of the second month, the visits are every day. I plan them so they are after she's fed and before she's tired. I want her to be awake and see that this place is just as cool as mom and dad's room.

At three to three and a half months I put her in her room for naps. She has her lovey with her and the CD player goes in her room with her too, making it all more familiar. I like to stay in her room for a while until she's dozed off, so I plan things to do while I'm there for 5-10 minutes. Laundry folding, moving clothes she's outgrown out of her drawers, reading, etc. I don't let her know I'm there and if she fusses too much, I help her calm down for a minute then "disappear" again. At this age, baby is usually too young to pull themselves up and see you there.

It only takes a few weeks to get her napping in her room without any problems. When the time comes for her to sleep in her room overnight, she's already so used to it that there are no problems with it being a strange place.

Baby stains

Stains are a fact of life when you have a baby. I know some folks who have given up completely on having stain-free baby clothes. Here are some tips to get the stain out and keep baby's clothes looking new.

1. Use a good stain remover. I LOVE Dreft Stain remover. If I could find it around here, I'd still be using Totally Toddler.

2. Wash protein stains in cold water. That's milk/formula, meat products, (blood-hopefully not an issue with baby), etc.

3. Wash veggie based stains in hot water. Vegetables, fruits, grains, etc.

4. Don't dry stained clothing in a dryer until you are satisfied with the results of stain removal. The heat from the dryer will set the stain. If you need finish trying to remove the stain at another time, line dry.

5. Spot bleach what you can't get out in the washer. **** I take no responsibility for what happens to your baby's clothes using this method. I use it when it comes down to having a stain or possibly having a bleach mark.****
Use a q-tip dipped in bleach to apply to stain directly on color safe fabrics. Rinse generously taking care to ONLY expose the stained area to the bleach, not allowing water to run down garment. Wash again without other clothing.

6. Wash clothes that have a "permanent" smell to them with vinegar. Pour it into the compartment for bleach. This also is a great way to remove smells from dish cloths and dish towels.

Feeding baby family food

My little girl is 8 1/2 months old now and I'm feeding her homemade baby food. While I have batches of food cubes made for her in the freezer, for the most part I try to feed her what we are eating. I think most moms (and dads, for that matter) start incorporating their meals into baby's diet about the same time.

Introducing spaghetti, warm cereals like oatmeal, and rice are things that are an easy transition. Eventually you'll want baby to eat everything that you do and exposing them to a variety of flavors that are familiar in your family's diet is the best way to do that. Of course, as with anything you are feeding your baby, you should be sure that they have not had a reaction to any foods that you are feeding them. Don't introduce several new things at the same time, and wait two to three days before giving them something else new.

The phase were in right now, I use my food mill the most. (http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/186-3129217-6448065?ASIN=B00006G9LI&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B00006G9LIFood_Mill_with_Carrying_Case&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B00006G9LI&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001)
These are some things our family has had in the past few weeks that we've adjusted for her little palate. Hopefully it will get you thinking about what your own family eats that you could be sharing with your little one.

Chicken, rice, and veggie soup (broth omitted until the end, then used for thinning)
Chicken taco salad (chicken, cheese, black beans, corn, olives, avocado, sour cream, chips smashed and softened with a little water)
London broil with baked potatoes and sauteed mushrooms (each kept separate)
Pumpkin bread (smashed with a fork, then water added to make a "mush")
Lasagna
Tilapia with rice
Buttercup squash (looks like a flat dark green pumpkin and is so sweet)
Mango and banana
Avocado and banana (I use banana as a sweetener)
Fried rice (we don't really fry it. It has very little oil added and I feed it to her pre-soy sauce because of the salt content)

Don't skip on the spices. While bland foods are easier on a tummy and a palate when trying things for the first time, as baby gets used to new tastes, begin expanding even more. (do leave out the salt- its hard on baby kidneys)

Right now my little girl's favorite thing to eat is a bowl of old fashioned oatmeal (the kind that you cook for 5 minutes) with fruit like apple, peach, or berries stirred in and pumpkin pie spices. It's getting chilly in the mornings, and her tummy gets filled up quick with oatmeal. She takes the longest nap after breakfast.

I use what's in the freezer pre-made for days when we are having something difficult to separate and share with her, or when we are in a hurry.

If you have some things that you've shared with baby that they just loved, I love to hear about it. I'm always interested in finding new things to feed her, and us for that matter!