Chief Safety Officer Briefing

Before Hazel was born, Esther and I knew that life was going to change. We knew we would have baby-proof the house, but until this weekend we never knew how that would work.

As Chief Security Officer, it was my duty to take a look at the first two rooms that need to be baby-proofed: The living room and Hazel’s room. The results of my quick survey were horrifying! We live in a death-trap! Well, if you are a baby, just learning to crawl, scoot or in some other way locomote.

The first point of danger in our living room is the fireplace. Our fireplace is not a traditional style, built into the wall with a step in front, but is open on two-sides, essentially part of an island. With it being winter and our house having some but not enough insulation, we have been running our fireplace to keep away the creeping cold.

Hazel + Fire ≠ Good.

We bought the equivalent of the Baby Super Max Prison, not that we are “those” parents, but local “R Us” store did not have a large selection of gates, enclosures or other barriers.

Now our fireplace Hazel is protected by metal bars that can be formed into a small playpen (or large playpen, an option, I am now referring to as “The Yard”).

The item that really motivated this flurry of safety related acquisitions was the lowering of Hazel’s crib. She isn’t sitting up yet, but she has managed to put herself into an uncomfortable faceplant that will eventually lead to her sitting up by herself. The upper setting on the crib was great when she wasn’t as active (it was also a back saver), but now with her ability to wiggle/faceplant/sit, lowering the crib was necessary.

Lowering the crib exposed on small problem: The power unit for the baby monitor/spy camera. Our little girl is on her way to being a pickpocket a la Oliver Twist, so her attention was immediately drawn to the power supply. Luckily, manufacturers have kept up with the rise in child pickpockets and we installed a secure cover over the power supply, meaning that Hazel will have to become far more dexterous to complete her master plan without our supervision.

Esther and I are very “wired” people. That means not only do use a lot of technology, we also have a lot of power cables. This has become Hazel’s current obsession (besides the cats), as evidence below.

More scootin’ from esther benoit on Vimeo.

Her love of power cords means that we have to employ some power strip locks and other “hardened” technologies to keep her away, as well as be more vigilant about what we leave lying around. Really, we all know, the latter part is going to be near impossible.

The last thing that was critical to buy was table bumpers. Our coffee table, while nice looking and very functional, is the equivalent of razor blades and broken glass for a baby learning to walk.

While walking is a while a way, it was is the same way for a baby crawling, so we have not enrobed our coffee table with spongy goodness.

This concludes the Cheif Safety Officer’s first briefing. We will keep you up to date with all of the security systems implemented at Alcatraz the Benoit house.

A follow-up to the Cloth Diaper post- Part I

So we’ve had quite a bit of chatter related to the cloth diaper post I wrote a few days ago, so I thought I would post some pictures and explain a bit more about the different types of diapers we have over the next couple of days. I am going to start with the Bum Genius 3.0 One-size pocket diapers that we have. These are probably the most like disposable diapers in that they are super easy to use- no folding, no pinning or snapping, just put the diaper on the baby just like a disposable. The other fantastic thing about these is that they are one-size, they have adjustable snaps that grow with Hazel so we don’t have to keep buying diapers every time she grows, making the initial investment well worth it! Here is a shot of 7 of our 8 BumGenius diapers, the 8th is currently on Hazel’s bum.

One of the perks of these diapers is that they are really cute- not as trim as a disposable but quite fashionable as they come in a variety of colors. Aside from aesthetics, the BumGenius 3.0’s are great because they are really easy to use. The diaper itself is stuffed with a microfiber insert (it comes with two inserts, one regular and one newborn and you can double stuff them at night for extra absorbancy). Here are a few pictures of a half-stuffed diaper and a diaper that has been stuffed and is ready to go.

This is a photo of the microfiber insert next to a diaper that is in the process of being stuffed.

This is a ready-to-go diaper, all stuffed and ready for diapering.

So how do these diapers work? Are they a giant mess? The diapers are super easy to use, once they’re stuffed (which we do as soon as they come off the drying line) they are put in the diaper caddy so that they are ready to go whenever it’s time for a diaper change. All you do is put it on like a regular diaper. Simple. Now to the second question- this is where I was the most anxious about cloth diapering, the poop factor. These diapers work like regular disposable diapers in that they go straight onto the bottom there is nothing between the diaper and the baby so if the diaper is soiled it gets soiled. This was scary to me until I washed the first load of dirty diapers. The washing process is a little bit involved, but once you get the hang of it and set up your system it’s really very simple. The dirty diapers go into a dry pail (no soaking beforehand) lined with a washable laundry bag and get washed every 2-3 days. The odor is contained in the pail pretty easily because the bag gets washed every couple of days and I have little baking soda fresheners in the bottom of the pail. When it’s time to wash the diapers are first put through a cold wash with half the recommended amount of detergent for one load of wash. It is very important for the detergent to be free of dyes, perfumes and enzymes (All Free and Clear works great!)- perfumes and dyes can deposit residue on the diapers decreasing their absorbency which can lead to leaks.
After the first cold wash you wash the diapers again with half the amount of detergent for one load of regular laundry in Hot water with a warm rinse. Then the diapers are dried- we are line drying to try and make the diapers last through a couple of kids!

There you have it! That’s pretty much it for the BumGenius 3.0’s. If you are interested, check out their website for even more info. We use these mainly as our nighttime diapers as they are very absorbent and keep Hazel dry through the night (she is now sleeping 7-9 hour stretches most nights!!). During the day we mostly use prefolds with covers- I will post about these another day as they are just a *bit* more involved. All in all we are loving cloth diapering so far!

Dad’s Baby Purchases

This is my first video post. You may be asking yourself, but who was the voice of Lamb Chop in the first two episodes of The Lamb Chop Show? Not me.

I’m not sure how video is going to work if you are subscribed by email, so please visit the website: http://baby.b3noit.com/pregnancy/dads-baby-purchases/

Basically, Esther and I have been making purchases to get ready for the baby. First it was some baby clothes, with much thanks to Esther’s Aunt Pat. We also ordered the super snazzy Flip Video, it is a super simple to use video camera, and how we are going to share moving pictures of the baby with everyone.

The DadGear bag was the best buy of the lot, in my opinion. Now I feel like I can take the baby out by myself. That combined with the DadGear Vest, I’m a dad ready for when the little one gets here.

Nursery Progress Pictures

Jered and I have been quite busy this weekend. We went out on Saturday and bought the mattress for the crib as well as some other baby items including a baby first aid kit and some baby bathing supplies. After a day of yard work yesterday (Jered did quite the nice job on our yard, it is now perfectly cut, pruned and mulched) we worked on the nursery today. This involved hanging the pictures Jered painted for Uni, installing the storage cones we painted a while ago and washing, folding and organizing the baby clothes, blankets and towels we got at our baby shower last week. Halfway through the process of getting the room done, Jered and I were both feeling a bit punchy and were both craving pizza- here are our pizza craving faces (be afraid)


We kept working through the hunger and did not give in to our craving for pizza. Instead we played around with the night light we got for Uni- putting it into the now completely assembled (with a mattress) crib.

I still have at least one more load of laundry to wash before all of our clothes and blankets are done- but we made a lot of progress today! We are slowly but surely getting the baby’s room ready to go. Our upstairs bathroom and guest room have also been cleaned out and worked on- we are definitely in nesting mode! Here is a picture of our changing table now that we’ve hung the pictures and the storage cones- we’ve decided to fill the cones with blankets, diapers and toys.

All in all, I’d say we had a very productive day- let us know what you think of our progress on the nursery by leaving a comment!

Photos and drum beats

Esther and I have finally downloaded the photos we have been taking, so let me walk you through what we have:

1.  Our new Passat. Still smells fresh and looks like when we drove it off the lot.
2. In other modes of transportation that require wheels, Esther and I drove the new car down to the Baby’s R Us to buy the baby-mobile.

   Esther posing with the baby carrierThe baby carrier/stroller/tank has a very cool system where the car safety seat locks on to the stroller and to a car seat base that stays in the car. It can be unlocked by a single hand motion, which will make getting baby in and out of the car super easy. The other nice thing about the “transport system” is that the stroller will work until the baby is a toddler and can be folded up with one hand (super easy as shown by the fact that both Esther and my Mom can do it).

So drum beats… Esther and I went to the doctors just after Christmas. She was supposed to have blood drawn, but it was for a series of test that we didn’t want to have. So after explaining it to the doctor, nurse and a second nurse, we were finally treated to hearing the baby’s heart beat again.I thought Esther’s iPod was dead, so no sound this time. The thing that was amazing about this time as compared to the first time, the heart beat was easy for the doctor to find and it was loud and steady. The first heartbeat was kind of a whoosh, but this one was a thumping sound. Take a second and tap your finger on your desk. That is what it sounded like. Crazy. 

New car

Sixteen years from next June, when our baby is old enough to drive I am sure he or she will want a car. Well- we already have that taken care of. Our child can never complain that we didn’t buy him or her a car! This week Jered and I took the plunge and bought our first car together. We traded in my Beetle (which I’ve had since I was 17!) and got a used 2004 Passat. It is such a nice car- it has four doors which was the main reason we decided to get a new car, so that we could get in and out of the car with the baby and car seat more easily. The car is a great green-gray color with a grey interior. It is really spacious and drives like a dream. We have a car payment now which is a new thing, but we are both so proud of our “new” car!Here’s a stock photo- I’ll post an actual photo soon! 2004 Passat

It won’t suck…right?

Today, Esther and I bought a Dyson vacuum. While not directly baby related, it will make for a nicer home that baby will come home to. Let me tell you, that thing has some major suction, our floors are cleaner than they have been in years.

Monday, October 29th, tomorrow, Esther and I have our first appointment with the OB. We should get a full work-up and an ultrasound. I guess we will get to hear the baby’s heart beat. Esther showed me some fuzzy, blurry photos of 8-week ultrasounds tonight. Between you and me, they look like blips on the radar and not much else.

If we get any pictures of the radar blip, I’ll post them here. Wish us luck!

Designing Baby-space

While the baby currently has some pre-designed digs, Esther and I have been thinking about the environment that our child will inhabit sans womb.

We have already painted the baby’s room (pre-pregnancy of course), a nice hue of orange and powder blue.

Now I am thinking that it might be nice to add some art to the walls. Rather than pounding some nails into the sheetrock, I am thinking that vinyl clings might be the best way for us to add some flair to the room.

Wee Gallery Jungle Re-stick

Wee Gallery Elephant Re-Stik

Wee Gallery Farm Re-Stik

Two nice things about these wall-clings. They are cheap, relatively. I have seen some that go for a whole lot more. They are removable. So when little baby grows out of them and wants to put up a Metallica poster, a beautiful mural will not be destroyed.

What do you think?