Friday Favorites: Best Apps For Mom

One of my favorite things to help me get through some of the first-year parenting woes has to be some of the baby apps that you can download for your phone. I've tried a lot of them, but ultimately stuck to four that I still use on the daily!

1. Sprout Baby

This one is my favorite out of the four. I think it costs $1.99, but it's well worth it. There are daily factoids that are based off your child's age, and a monthly low-down one what to expect for that particular month. There is a section to make your own "digital memory book" of baby's firsts, which is perfect for me because I can always reference it when I finally find the time to drag out Baylee's baby book. There is a medical section with a M.D. visit planner, a growth tracker, an immunization record, and a medication tracker. I always make sure I load what immunizations Baylee has received, incase I ever lose her paper immunization record. It's also fun to look back at the growth tracker to see how much baby has grown. The app also has trackers for sleep, feedings, pumping, diaper changes, and activities. I don't really use those trackers anymore, but in the beginning they were very helpful, especially for pumping and feedings. I'm not sure what age the app goes to, but as far as I can tell based on the "memory" choices, it goes well through toddlerhood. There is also a way to add other children, which I think is pretty neat! If you only get one parenting app, this one has got to be it. I definitely has it  all!

2. The Bump Baby

This one was fairly difficult to navigate in the beginning for me, but they have since changed their look and it it so much better! There are daily and weekly facts based on baby's age, and a checklist for things to do with your baby each month. There is also a section where you can take a weekly picture of your baby, which is totally adorable. I love to look at all the little thumbnails and see how Baylee changed week to week. (only 3 more pictures left! what?!) There is also a "guide" section where you can reference common parenting issues, and all the advice has been very helpful. This app stops at baby's first birthday, so it's kind of a bummer, but other than that it's been a very useful app.

3. Baby Center

If you're pregnant or have a LO ("little one" in message board lingo) you probably know all about the Baby Center message boards. They're notorious for being full of catty "know-it-all" moms who have a tendency to shoot each other down and be very judgmental. This being said, however, I have had a mostly great experience with the boards. I joined them when I was just 5 weeks pregnant and most of the ladies on there have been very helpful with my questions. It's kind of nice to be able to talk to someone who is due the same month and then has a baby the same age. There are some moms out there who are just plain rude, but if you ignore them, you can make the baby center boards a pleasant experience and useful tool. Along with the boards, this app has the most insightful and useful daily facts out there. It also stops at a year, which I am really sad about, but I will continue to keep the app to use for my birth club board. It's a good place to ask a simple question or to see who else is awake during a 2:30 am feeding. :)

4. The Wonder Weeks

So, it turns out that this amazing doctor, named Dr. Frans Plooij, did a bunch of research with child development regarding "leaps" and "transitions" and how that affects the child's behaviors and habits. He put all his studies into a book called "The Wonder Weeks", and now that book has been turned into a super informative app. There is a chart that tells you exactly when you're baby is in a "leap" and what is going on with their brains and bodies during that time. So far, every single leap has been spot on with Baylee. It really helps to understand why she is being so moody or not sleeping and eating well. It also gives you a light at the end of the tunnel showing you when to expect their sunny dispositions to return until the next leap rolls around. You have to pay for this one as well (I feel like it was expensive...maybe $2.99) but for someone like me who is very interested in my child's brain development it has been super worth it. It also gives you ideas for ways to help your child ease through each transition, and that has been extremely useful for me!

If you're a new mom (or dad!) go download these four apps...I promise you'll love them! 

(P.S. These are my own opinions...I was not compensated in any way)

Until next time! XoXoXo

Brian's First Father's Day!

Today was hubby's first Father's Day, and we had such a blast! We started off the morning having breakfast with his parents and my Dad, Papa, and sisters at the Lodge. It's one of our favorite restaurants and it was so nice to spend some time with all of the best dads ever! :)

Watching how much Baylee loves her Daddy is one of my favorite things ever. They have a very special bond, and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful man to help me raise our baby girl. There's no one else in the world that I would rather tackle parenting with!

After breakfast, we spent the day just hanging out. We watched a few Disney movies and played on the living room floor with Baylee. It was very relaxing, and some much needed down time with our girl. Dinner time rolled around and I had every intention of making some bomb tacos, but it's been about 104 degrees up here and cooking in a hot kitchen just did not sound like any fun. So, I convinced Brian to go to Steak'N'Shake instead. We got burgers and shakes and are both currently regretting it, but at the time they were oh, so delicious! ;)

I'm one lucky wifey!

Thank you, babe, for everything...I know I don't tell you enough! You are an outstanding father, and watching you fall more in love with Baylee everyday has been one of the highlights of my life! I love you forever, and ever...amen! 

XoXoXo

11 Months With Baylee!

Sorry that the blog has been crazy quiet for the past three weeks! We have been busy little bees over here, and then I left my phone with all my pictures on it on a plane and it flew to Sacramento without me! So not cool.... We are back in business now, though and even though this post is a few days late I am officially the Mama of an 11 month old! How is this possible?!

My sweet girl turned 11 months on Monday, and my goodness is she growing up! 

Age: 11 months

Weight: 21 lbs

Height: 27 inches

Clothing size: 12 months

Teeth: Two on the bottom and two on the top! She also has two more top ones about to pop through any day so we are going to be a six-toother by her first birthday! So cute!

Favorite foods: wheat toast with peanut butter, blueberries, frozen peas, grapes (sliced), broccoli, and chicken

Words: dada, mama, baba, dog, duck, turtle, thank you (tank-oo), grandpa (gampa) , auntie (a-ti-ti), and papa

Favorite activities: swimming in the pool, playing inside her toybox (literally inside lol), dancing, and climbing on eeeeeverything

Least favorite activites: getting cleaned up or strapped into anything 

Favorite toys: books and stuffed animals

Signature moves: she just learned how to clap so dancing and clapping are her favorite thing ever! She also can put her arms in the air and yell "blast off!" like they do on Little Einsteins...although it sounds more like "da daaaaa!"

We have had a lot of fun this month watching Baylee develop and experience new things. Still no walking, but as I mentioned above she is climbing on everything like a jungle woman. This kid is fearless and going to give me a heart attack!

She has no desire to take those first steps though! LoL

We finished off May continuing our annual tradition of going to Disneyland on Memorial Day for the Flag Retreat Ceremony. It's very patriotic, and we love to go and support our Red, White, and Blue and keep the memory alive of the brave men and women who passed on defending our wonderful country. Baylee was, of course, a big hit and all decked out...our little patriotic princess! :)

We also took my niece, Adalyn to Disneyland for her first time at 6 weeks old! She wore the same Minnie Mouse onesie that Baylee wore for her first time there at around the same age...so adorable! These kiddos are going to be running around the park like crazies before we know it. It's so special to get to share one of our favorite places with them.

My "girl-mom" heart went pitter patter the day that I realized I could finally put pig-tails in Baylee's hair! It's one of the cutest things I've ever seen, and I love it because her hair is forever in her face and looking very cave woman. I just can't get over her little curls that are coming in!

Oh, and the most exciting part about pig-tails? Best. Bed-head. Ever.

We have been practicing eating with bowls and spoons. She hasn't completely gotten the hang of it yet, but she's getting there. It really makes for some great pictures that will surely be submitted to her yearbook Senior year! :)

After spending the last 8 months trying to arrange it, we finally had Baylee baptized in the Catholic Church on June 11th. It was a beautiful, private ceremony, and I could not have been happier with the way the day turned out. She is so blessed to have my sister, Nicole, and my cousin, Joseph, as her amazing Godparents. I know they are going to love and lead her in Christ her whole life. My heart was absolutely swelling with pride and joy for her! It was a very special day for sure!

Last weekend, we took Baylee on her first airplane! We flew to San Francisco for my cousins wedding. Although it was chaotic and kind of intense for Baylee to be off her schedule, we all had fun and got to spend some much needed time with family who we never get to see. 

Our first flight was amazing, and kiddo slept the whole time. I was so excited, and definitely not complaining about the hour of cuddles!

It turns out that Baylee adores hotel beds just like her Mama. In fact, she slept in the bed with us the whole weekend. Nothing like a baby foot to the eye at 2:00am when you're sound asleep! ;) She was a very good girl during the times we were in the hotel, though, and mostly just flopped around the comfy bed and watched cartoons...and apparently played with Gatorade bottles.

We got to enjoy the city on Friday, and then on Saturday we took a drive out to Napa to pick up some wine that my Dad really likes. It was a nice calm drive and Baylee slept both ways! Yes!!! The winery we stopped at was absolutely gorgeous, and we let Baylee crawl around in the grass for a while. She loved every minute of it.

That night was the wedding on a boat in San Francisco Bay. My cousin looked completely beautiful and sooo happy! They are going to have a great life together, I can tell! :) We had a fun night eating great food, dancing, and of course taking a few shots! Baylee enjoyed showing everyone her newly acquired spoon skills by putting her cereal puff on the spoon and then feeding herself with it! It was hilarious!

I could tell she was so tired, but the girl trooped out until we made it back to the car at around 10:30 that night. She knocked out until the next morning. We didn't have a flight until that evening, so we spent some time in the city having clam chowder and brownie sundaes at Ghiradelli. I always forget how much I love San Fran until I'm there again! 

The flight home was not as peachy as the flight there. We were delayed an hour and it was already past Baylee's bedtime, so she was getting cranky and crazy. I tried to keep her busy however I could. You want to unpack the diaper bag and crawl around the dirty airport floor? Go for it! lol And then she flailed on my lap and screamed the whole flight. So not fun. That, accompanied with me leaving my phone on the plane, made me never want to travel with her again. In hindsight, though, I think she did great for her age, and it really wasn't that bad. 

This week we have been catching up on sleep, and getting ready for Baylee's first birthday next month. It's so surreal that I will have a toddler in just a few weeks!  

I leave you with a picture of my girl looking, oh, so grown up! :)

Until next time! XoXoXo