Oh, Teething

If only you could hear the beautiful music in my apartment right now:

• Baby hysterically screaming at the top of her lungs until she starts coughing.

• Parents' fan turned up loud to drown out said screaming.

• The Big Bang Theory Season 4 reruns playing in a desperate attempt to distract said parents.

Ugggghhh.

Don't assume we're horrible, negligent parents, please. Our daughter has been sleeping peacefully through the night for some time, and only recently decided to scream about it due to even more teeth (HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE SHE ALREADY HAS SO MANY?!)  Besides loudly vocalizing how much she hates sleep, these new teeth have also given her the equally great idea of chewing on all parts of her crib. Bah, why did I not see that coming BEFORE it happened? #momfail

So, last week, I brainstormed a solution.  Thank you, Pinterest, for inspiration and multiple detailed tutorials. I especially found these two helpful as I tried to create my own:

Tutorial found here: http://craftgawker.com/post/2011/11/14/26292/

Tutorial found here: http://augustjoystudios.com/crib-teething-rail-guard-tutorial/

But, mine turned out a bit differently.  I basically took the terrycloth/flannel design from the first one and the 100% cotton ties from the second one and used leftover fabric from never-completed burp cloths.

First, I cut both fabrics (one flannel, one terrycloth) to match the dimensions of the crib front and sides, leaving a small extra margin for seams. I also cut and measured strips from a fat quarter (100% cotton) that were 1.75" wide and 10" long.  For the front of the crib, I chose how far apart I wanted the ties to be and decided on 5 places (10 ties).  For both sides I decided 3 places would be sufficient (6 ties). 

After the strips are cut for your ties, fold them with your fingers to form a crease (right sides together).

Then. press the ties to secure the crease.

Sew each of ties on the raw edges side and one of the short ends, leaving the other short end open so you can turn them right-side-out.

Next, trim the raw edges close to the seam with scissors.  I also rounded the edges of the stitched shorter end.

A thin paint brush made turning the ties right-side-out MUCH faster!

Be sure to press the ties again once they are finished to get a nice, clean look!

To put everything together, I pinned the right sides of the fabrics together, inserting the ties at the intervals I had measured.  It was a little tricky for my brain to figure out how to pin the ties so that they would be in the right spot when I flipped the fabric right-side-out.  I think the best way I found was to roll the ties up a little bit and stuff them into the center of the fabric, with only allowing the unfinished tips of the ties to peak out.

Next, carefully stitch all the way around the fabric, careful to include the ties, stopping short to leave enough room to turn the fabric right-side-out.

Once again, turn the completed crib-pad right-side-out.  Trust me, this will be WAYYY easier than the tiny paint brush and the cotton ties earlier :)

For the finishing touch, I pressed the end product again and stitched around the outside closing up the spot where I turned it.  Good to note that, especially in the corners, I had to decrease the tension in my machine as it was a very thick piece of fabric to get through.

When I tied it on the crib I used the first and last ties to anchor the fabric to the sides of the crib and then the remaining 3 ties just normally.  It is also worth noting that, since I know my sneaky, curious little daughter, I decided to tie them below and above the crib rail, so there weren't huge strings hanging down for her to play with.  Also, double knots are my friends.

Anchored to the sides of the crib.

Ties tied first on bottom (double knot) then again on top (double knot).

Since it has been completed, I have continued to notice my daughter chewing, slobbering and playing with her crib...but at least this time she isn't creating divots in the wood!  If I could do it all over again, I would add additional batting or a thicker towel on the back, just to be safe.

Ta-dahh!  Take that, teething.

This is how I'm greeted every time I get her out of her crib.

*Baby Girl approved!*

Also...a hush just fell over the living room.  #success

Baby Food Pouches

Yes, it has been dangerously close to a year since my last blog post.  I know, #worstbloggerever.

Let's just say Miss Naya has kept us all quite busy these past months.  I promise I will update you on all of her milestones, our international separation for nine days and everything in between...#bestsummerever

So, I'm back because I just tried something new and I wanted to tell you all about it! I don't know what to call them so I'm going to just say...Baby Food Pouches!

Naya has been getting a little feisty when it comes to being spoon fed.  So, we started buying the Meijer brand pouches of baby food that she can (sort of) do herself.  I found lots of ideas on Pinterest about making my own at home, and I wanted to try them out.

First, I bought these Tiny Peeps brand reusable pouches off Amazon. They are freezer and dishwasher safe and they came in packs of 8 for $9.99.

Second, I bought lots of fruits and veggies on sale.  I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to include, but I knew I wanted a variety.

Third, I experimented!  I ended up with four veggie blend pouches and four fruit smoothie pouches.  Here I will walk you through the fruit ones I did this afternoon:

1. Wash all your pouches and lay them out so they are easily accessible.
   
2. Add 1 banana, 1/2 mango, 2 cups blueberries, 1/2 cup raspberries, and 1 diced apple (skin on) to the blender.
   
3. Blend the fruit & periodically use a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients to ensure all chunks get blended well.
4. Carefully hold one pouch open (from the bottom) to make it easier to pour in. I suggest using a large spoon to slowly fill it.
   
5. These pouches appear to hold a LOT of liquid, but when you zip them close, you push some out, so be careful not to fill them too full!
6. Once sealed, these pouches must be frozen or consumed within 24 hours.  I stacked all mine in the freezer.
   
   
   
7. If frozen, these pouches cannot be microwaved, so treat them like breastmilk (if you did that like we did) and warm them in a cup of hot water.
   

I will admit, my baby girl did NOT like them at first.  I think the pouches were (1) much bigger to hold than the ones I had introduced to her from the store and (2) recipes that had textures she wasn't used to.  After trying/wasting the first veggie and first fruit pouch, she has really loved them the second and third time around. 

My veggie recipe included 1 ripe avocado, 1 ripe banana, 1 handful organic baby spinach leaves, 1/2 baked butternut squash, 1 jar carrot puree, & a few squeezes of lemon juice.  I have used these in the car, at the ball field, or any other time we need a snack or lunch on the go.  Enjoy!  Please share YOUR recipes, too.  

And, p.s., I read many reviews about how horrible these can be to clean.  All I have to say is spray them with your kitchen hose and they are SO EASY.  Love them already!