The little flaky skin on his fingers.
The way lint would become little clumps in the creases of his tiny palms.
The fuzzy sideburns and the creased ears that look just like mine.
There are so many things that I hope to remember about his newborn stage.
He really was just the sweetest newborn. Loved to snuggle and be warmly tucked up against your chest. He would rub his soft cheek against your chest to show just how very content he was in your arms and then his baby fuzz hair would tickle your chin.
He absolutely loved to hold your hand and smiled from that very first week.
He loved being bundled but as much as he liked his swaddle, as soon as he was out, he would pull his toes up into his mouth…just to play.
Now that he is crawling, cruising, and has THREE teeth, I feel like his sweet newborn stage is over. He has officially graduated just to the label of baby. Caught in that middle ground…not quite a toddler but moving quickly out of infant. It’s so sad and equally exciting and smile inducing.
I say all that because I feel like I didn’t share as much as I should about my littlest guy. I showed that he was present but he wasn’t really the subject of the blog like Will was at his age. I am just so honored that I was given two of the best little guys in this whole world. Different and special in their own ways…each with strengths and weaknesses…both with their own little personalities and gifts…and even now I can see how they will be such a great balance to each other and our family.
Now that I am crying over how sweet these boys are…let’s talk something not-so-sweet….baby acne.
You didn’t know it but Weston had a terrible case of it as a newborn. That photo above is heavily doctored. I know it’s really common and didn’t bother me at all but our pediatrician recommended that we treat his skin. I told her at the first appointment (I believe that he was a week old) that I thought nothing of it and she said ok. Then at the two week appointment it had gotten a lot worse. Jeremy at one point asked me “what is wrong with him?!” and of course, I got offended because I took it as I wasn’t taking care of him like I should. Jeremy had no idea it was common. I say all this to say…if you are a mom out there with a sweet little babe of your own…it really helped us to treat the acne with hydrocortisone cream.
Let me explain what our doctor told us. At the newborn stage, one of the most important things is the personal connection through skin to skin contact. When a baby has acne, adults tend to not snuggle as much…not want to touch them because they fear they will irritate the skin or cause more acne…but it’s so important to hold them, stroke them and love on them.
I photoshopped his photos with this blemish removal technique but in real life, the cortisone was just as effective. I think it only took one thin layer of cream once each day for a couple days to see it really work. By day four, it was MUCH better.
Of course, we will show all future girlfriends the acne photo. Don’t want them to think of that sweet little baby and want to cuddle 
This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape for Bower Power’s Frog Tape Fridays. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
Ho’s gotta go.
You heard me.
I got these three hanging wooden “boxes” at a discount store in PA for $5 way back in 2010. I blogged about it here. I think they were considered ‘Christmas decor’….but I think they were just calling people dirty names.
So they sat in our basement waiting for a transformation. You might say that I sat on them ho’s. Quote me on that.
Finally it came time to get rid of the ho’s (can you tell I like saying ho’s?!) and transform the boxes into something more useful than three pieces of basement clutter contributor. All I did was use my sander to remove the existing paint job. First I started off with high grit paint stripping sandpaper and moved to 110 grit and then 220 grit.
After they were smooth and wiped down, I taped them up with stripes. My trick with the Frog Tape on the wood was to apply the tape and then use a damp paper towel to rub it all down and make it’s special PaintBlock stuff work perfectly. The water makes it activate and combined with pressure, it makes it foolproof.
The stain and paint I already had on hand. I just used foam brushes for little projects like this. I get them for REALLY cheap when they have them on sale at Michaels. Every once in a while they do a ten for a buck sale or even less and then I get a bunch.
okay…back to my boxes…I just did a couple thin coats of the gray paint on the exposed areas and then peeled the tape off.
They were already so much cuter than before, right?!
Then came time for stain. I just wiped it on and then used a few paper towels to remove the excess. I also stained the bottom and the lip…but not the inside.
I hung them up to dry for a few days before using some spray sealant to put a thin coat of poly on it.
When they were finally dry, I hung them with some chunky nails in the reading room. I thought since they were in here, that it was only appropriate to have a few books tucked in each one.
I like that they are different than just another set of framed art. It makes it different and unique.
I still need curtains in there so ignore that…instead just think about how a few stripes can spruce up an entire space.
Have y’all been hanging anything weird on your walls lately? I wanna hear what the new hot item is to adorn your walls! Just tell me it doesn’t have dirty names all over it…or does it!?
If I created a list of must-haves for a new baby, it would definitely include a swing. It would be THE splurge item for the new bundle of joy. I figure that having a swing means that you can sit, shower, and maybe squeeze in a meal or two. Babies love them. And let’s face it, sitting & eating & personal hygiene are pretty cool too.
When we got the space-age-lookin’ MamaRoo, I was doubtful that it would be much better than our standard battery operated swing. I was wrong. Oh so wrong. It is not just better….it’s in a completely different league. It plays my iphone, it has tons of different ways to swing and you can adjust the recline of the hammock part for little newborns or bigger babies. PLUS (and this is my absolute favorite feature) it only weighs 14 pounds. I can literally pick the entire thing up with one hand….which makes moving it easy for vacuuming or switching it to another room. Oh and one other thing I love…the bed part completely unzips for washing. Weston’s blow-outs had no power here! And did I mention no more battery buying? I probably saved mega money in not buying those D’s every other week.
If our MamaRoo broke, I would have no problem shelling out money for a new one. I am actually really hoping that 4Moms creates an adult version. That’s not a joke. At all.
So now that you know all the reasons we love our MamaRoo….here’s your chance to get your hands on one. Wahoo!
Here’s what is up for grabs….
- PRIZE : 4Moms MamaRoo
- NUMBER OF WINNERS : (1) One
- TO ENTER : Enter by commenting on this post with “Wahoo MamaRoo!”, and tell me what baby products you splurge on.
- PRIZE SHIPS : Continental US
- NITTY GRITTY : This giveaway closes on Friday, June 21st at 8pm EDT. Only one contest entry per email address. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced in an update to this post the following Monday morning. We will email the winner directly, so please make sure you use your regular everyday email address.
And if you want more info on 4Moms, you can check them out on their Facebook page. They also have an origami® stroller giveaway going on as well in honor of Father’s Day…so it’s worth it to hit the ‘like’ button!
GOOD LUCK!
DISCLAIMER: 4Moms is giving us the MamaRoo to give away to one of our readers. We weren’t perked or compensated for it. We’re just doing it because we love you.
