Eczema tips from Parker :)

So since Parker was a month or two old Parker has had horrible eczema! Just a few things that I have found that works for us if you have a baby with Eczema and are looking for some products to work. So as far as bathing goes Aveeno Baby fragrance free wash is what we use to give him baths, I didn't even know babies could be allergic to Johnson's baby wash but Parker was! As soon as we switched to Aveeno he seemed to do much better. We also use Aveeno sunscreen as well (and just from personal experience we learned the hard way) but you can use sunscreen on babies before 6 months Parker got sunburnt and ended up at unc burn center at about 1 month old and a skin doctor told us we could use Aveeno sunscreen just test it on a small patch of skin first and it worked fine. Cetaphil cream, not lotion, lotion wasn't strong enough but the cream really helped we put it all over him when he gets out of the bath at night and first thing in the morning and it keeps it under control. I don't recommend lubiderm lotion, doctor recommended it I bought fragrance free and it still broke him out all over. When it got really bad we had to get medicated steroid cream but we only have to use it if it gets bad. We use dreft baby detergent on his clothes and tide free and clear on our clothes we can't use any softener or anything with any type of fragrance at all! But I do use store brand free and clear dryer sheets and they work fine as well. Otherwise we try to keep the heat down in winter time and we've got him pretty under control with the Ezcema! Thank goodness it was a lot of trial and error so maybe this will help :)

Parker's favorite teeter.....

So of course like anyone else we have tried many different solutions to help Parker with teething the funny thing is we spend all this money on toys and other things and I freeze a wash cloth and it ends up being his favorite teething toy haha. Simple, I wet a wash cloth, put it in the freezer and then wet it a little before giving it to him so his tongue doesn't get stuck on it (not sure if it really would but just incase haha) but voila he loves it and I'm sure it feels good to him. But I make him sit in his high chair with it because it can be a bit messy :)

trying out my baking skills....

So I'm not the best at baking, I'm a little better cook then baker for sure.  But every now and then I try to make a dessert, simple ones are always the best.  So last night we had "reese cookie brownies"
they were pretty amazing if I don't say so myself.


here is the link that I used

It's pretty simple all you need is a box of brownie mix, cookie dough, and the mini reese cups and a cupcake baking pan.

Put one and a half break off cookie dough on the bottom, then put reese cup on top of the cookie dough and then make the brownie mix like the box calls for and then pour the brownie batter on top of the cookie dough and reese cup, fill then about 3/4 of the way full.  Then put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 18 minutes and viola that's it!  Personally I loved everything but the reese cup in them the reese cup seemed to be a little too much on top of all the other sweet so next time I think I will just make the cookie dough and brownie batter and leave the reese cup out but it's all up to your own taste!

Enjoy and happy Friday! :)

Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes

The night before last I made cheese nip baked chicken, peas, and ranch red potatoes.  My friend asked me to put the recipe up for the ranch potatoes so as I promised her, here it is!  They turned out very good and were pretty simple to make, a little messy, but they were worth it!

I found the recipe on LaaLoosh webpage they are a weight watchers recipe sight and according to their page this recipe is only 2 points for weight watchers!  :)

Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes Recipe

This easy Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes recipe not only tastes amazing, but it’s a great accompaniment to a variety of meals. The pre-made Ranch Seasoning makes preparation a snap and adds fantastic flavor.

Ingredients

• 12 oz red potatoes, washed and quartered
• 1 packet Ranch Dressing Dry Mix
• Non fat, olive oil cooking spray
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large bowl add potatoes and spray lightly with the cooking spray. Then, add in the Ranch mix and salt, and toss well to coat each potato piece evenly.
3. Spray a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and spread out potatoes evenly on sheet.
4. Bake in oven until potatoes are cooked through, and edges start to turn very dark brown, approximately 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)

Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Read more: http://www.laaloosh.com

Clean house shouldn't always be a priority

As I was reading "365 Things Every New Mom should Know" book by Linda Davis, which I would highly recommend to any moms of new babies as I love reading day to day in this book and it's got great scriptures mom's can relate to at the end of each week.  I came across this day and it def. made me think twice about the important things not always being how clean my house is although that seems to be my main goal everyday at this point in life... haha

28 weeks old

Weeks 27 and 28 since I missed one again it's been a crazy two weeks!

Week 27 we stayed at our friends house for the week and kept their 2 kids for them so Adam, Parker and I packed up and moved in to apex for about 5 days we had an awesome time and I learned what it would be like to have 3 kids! Parker ha fun going on trips to the park with Alyssa and Sean! He got to play in a walker at their house which he really enjoyed!

Week 28- Parker had fun flirting with all the nurses at unc hospital this week poor mema was in the hospital again but we enjoyed getting to spend lots of time with her this week :) we had a play date w buddy kale today and our Friday Lunch date w daddy outside at cook out because the weather has been amazing today! He has two teeth very close to cutting through so he's been a little fussy with those. He's been taking steps with daddy while he holds onto his hands of course! We celebrated our first valentines day w Parker last night at Logan's and then got Ice cream at cold stone having two valentines is even better ;). Hes still working on crawling but he just hates being on his stomach so we aren't getting anywhere... We are starting to eliminate his middle of the night bottle and its going pretty well I must say. Other than that just getting huge weighing in at 20 lbs on the dot yesterday!! Here are some photos to enjoy:

Back to Breastfeeding update

Last time I posted I was in the process of trying to breastfeed again.  After 48 hours of waking up every 2 hours and taking 4 fenugreek three times a day I did in fact start producing milk again after 4/12-5 months of being dried up, so anyone else trying it is DEF. possible to do.  I was unable to get him to latch because he was so used to bottle feeding so I decided pumping every two hours and feeding him every four wasn't very practical for my life style and after letting it tie me down for two weeks I decided to switch and pump only twice a day;  once in the morning, and once before going to bed and realized I was making the same amount that way as I was pumping 5 or 6 times a day so that's what I have been doing.  Pumping twice a day and Parker gets a 7 oz. bottle a day of breastmilk now.  It is def. a rewarding feeling to know that after all that he is getting something.  And like they say, every little bit you can give them is healthy for you, and healthy for them!  So that's my story for now.

ALONE ?!?

Sitting in Starbucks ALONE......probably for the first time in MONTHS.  I came to meet a client without Parker thanks to my awesome friend Kayla.  My appointment went pretty quickly so I stayed for a minute to try and get a little work done and I realized I was listening to the radio, and kind of RELAXING (even if it was only 5 or 10 minutes) it is kind of unheard of in my daily schedule.  I love my little man, don't get me wrong, and am sad if I'm away from him for more than an hour or two but sometimes a mom def. needs a minute by herself to get yourself re-centered and ready to start back at it again.

Fun experiment for kids....

I was babysitting my 3 year old twin sisters and wanted to find something simple but entertaining for them to do. So i found something online you take water bottles and fill them 2/3s water put some food coloring in the bottle then add 1/3s veg. Oil shake them up then let them sit for a little while they look really cool and are very entertaining to shake and look at. We made four, one red, one blue, one yellow, and one green. Then you can mix the primary colors and make secondary colors, it's a great learning game as well Ava added red to her yellow water bottle to make orange!

26 weeks

26 weeks today

This is how Parker likes to sit in his car seat lol.... This was him today at our Weekly Friday lunch with daddy sitting backwards in his car seat but sitting up very good by himself. Then after lunch we hung out with Ava, Clara, sawyer and ken! This week he's babbling a little more than normal, we got another ear infection!! We watched state beat carolina, went to tw park and enjoyed 70 degree weather, he's starting to work on crawling but we still have a long ways to go!