Handsome Like Daddy

Babies are the best.

Middleblue Baby Blankets {Giveaway!}

Look at this lovely and perfect package! I LOVE unwrapping such happy mail!

I cannot even begin to gush enough about these beautiful, beautiful blankets from MiddleBlue.
Even if they were just soft, bright, gorgeous blankets, I would love them. They are the perfect size, the perfect colors, the perfect durableness to put up with my children, while staying soft and supple.

But they're not just blankets. They're a movement. I love them. I am a teeny bit obsessed with them.
And to prove it, and also convince you to go buy some, here are 20 pictures of the blankets that I got in the mail.

These blankets (and they sell scarves, bags, and saris as well) are made by women in West Bengal India, handstitched together out of vintage saris. Each blanket takes over a day to make, and each is marked by it's maker, so you can look it up online and see the woman, wife, and mother that made this gorgeous product for you.



These women are able to support themselves and their families by selling these products. Buying these blankets for your babies is such a perfect and powerful way to do good, and support your fellow mothers! You can wrap your newborn up, knowing that the blanket that she is in, might have made it possible for another baby to eat that day.

Okay, okay. I know that every time you buy anything, the money goes to support someone else, maybe another family, maybe another baby. BUT these blankets, you know exactly who is getting the reward, and it's not a corporation. It's another mama, like you.

Having a husband who makes documentary films, often about NGOS, non-profits, social-entrepreneurs and endeavors has given me a lot of perspective on "doing good."
Doing good is hard. Because people don't just need money. Money feeds them for a day or a week.

Teach a man to fish, right? The most successful, useful, long-term, and powerful ways to do good, are to help someone find a way to support their family.
Whether it's through a micro-loan that allows a woman to rent a shop and sell a product, maybe it's buying someone a cow that provides them with milk and cheese to sell, maybe you help them buy trees to plant - so that they can reap benefits for years to come.
Or maybe, you buy a lovely sari baby blanket and help support these women, by giving them a chance to make a living.

So, today you can enter to win one of these beautiful blankets! And more than one of you can win!
There are three types of blankets available.
A sari, a dyed cotton blanket, and a silk blanket and we're giving away one of each!

How to Enter:
First, be sure that you are following Baby Making.
Go to MiddleBlue.com and check out the blankets {Here.}
Then go "like" MiddleBlue on Facebook {Here.}
Leave a comment on this post telling me which kind of blanket you would prefer to win.

For extra entries, use your own social media (Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Etc) to post a link to this giveaway, and leave a comment linking to your post.

And help spread the word! These blankets are amazing, so tell your friends!

This Giveaway will run for one week (Until Thursday October 18 at midnight) and I will announce our winners on the following Friday!

"Lest I sin with my tongue, I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle" (Psalms 39:1)

Micah has reached a new creepy state of oral fixation. Like his brother (and all babies) he puts everything he finds into his mouth.
"Could this be food? No, it's a small baby sock? Well, let me carry it around in my cheek pocket for a few hours just in case."

Licking a basketball. No biggie.

But Micah has moved on. Merely tasting, chewing on, and sliming up small handheld objects was not enough.
Turns out, that baby teething ring was just a gateway drug to bigger, harder chew-toys.
Micah has turned into a serious licker.
Like "Hum, hum minding my own business, crawling along... What's this? I'm moving from carpet to tile? Let me just looooower myself down on to my belly and lie face down against the floor and lick it, to be sure that it is safe. *lick lick lick* Why, it tastes safe! Moving on!"

Or, "Hello new person holding me, *lick lick lick* What an interesting shoulder taste. Let me try a bit of your neck. *lick lick lick* Let me chew on some of your hair."

"What's wrong Grey? *lick lick lick* Are those tears I taste on your cheek? Are you crying? Whatever could you be crying about? Let me keep on trying to lick your face while you cry and try to escape me!"

"What's this? *lick lick lick* Oh, it's dad's computer! What's this? *lick lick lick* Oh, the bathtub, of course! What's this?*lick lick lick* The front door hinges! The floor just under the lip of the fridge! Our VCR! My bedroom wall! The quilt on Mom and Dad's bed! A banjo! The shoe basket by the door! Dog food at Lauren's house! All of these things are delicious! I want to lick them all day long!"

Don't mind me, just lying facedown on your legs, licking your pants. Ignore it.

It's grossing me out.
I don't know how to stop it.
The other day, we were sitting in their room and I was scrolling through Pinterest on my phone instead of being a watchful mother and I looked down to see Micah unplug his fan, and stick the cord in his mouth.
"No biggie," I thought. "It's not plugged in, and it's better than that lint ball I pulled out of there earlier."
THEN I watched him try to plug the cord back in, but he was highly unsuccessful and nowhere near the actual outlet, so I didn't try to stop him - I just paused my scrolling and paid more attention to him.
THEN I saw him scoot as close as possible to the wall, and with his tongue outstretched, leeeeean on in to taste that outlet.
Which is when I snatched him up of the ground.
And decided that maybe we need to buy those little outlet covers that I thought were oh, so unnecessary, and try to plug the fan into an outlet behind the dresser or something.

Do any of you have lickers? I mean, really. He licks our walls and floor all day long. That's not normal, right?

 I followed him around for 15 minutes, trying to get a picture. But most didn't turn out because he would get distracted mid-tongue-flick by my phone.
And when he was licking the back of Grey's head, I had to intervene to stop tears, so no pics. Sorry.
:)

Bedtime Routine

I got a comment a few days (or was it weeks? I lose track...) ago, asking about our bedtime routine.
And so I thought I would share what we do in the Pitcher casa in the evening-times. THIS IS REALLY LONG, and I apologize.
Near the end, it sort of morphed into "And here are my thoughts on bedtime in general."

Okay, so there are several stages and levels of evening / bedtime routine, including some things which are unnecessary and inexact, but which we do a couple times a week - all the way down to the last part of the bedtime routine which I insist on following with Camazotz-ball-bouncing exactness, because it leads to a sans-tears bedtime.

So. it begins:

Usually the boys take three good naps a day. Which I know is pretty much unbelievable to any mother of eight-month olds that I've spoken to. But my boys take after their mama, and they love to sleep.
Our bedtime routine is preceded by our evening routine, and the evening routine begins when the boys wake up from their third nap of the day, usually around 4:30 or 5:00pm.

They each get a small bottle (like 4 or 5 ounces) and then we play for a while.  That's when Travis gets home, so he plays with the boys, chasing them around the house and trying to teach them to walk.
Around 5:30 or 6:00 (depending on how tired the boys are) we usually put the boys in their "high chairs" (aka Bumbos) and feed them dinner, perhaps half an orange each, a roll, and a bowl of cottage cheese and applesauce.
Then they take their bath together, which -also, depending on crabbiness- is long or short, fun or tear-filled, just daddy and boys, or daddy and boys and mama dancing around the bathroom waving a towel.
If at any point during the evening the boys have shown that they are ready for bed IMMEDIATELY then we skip ahead past the playtime, food, and bath to this point:
(The previous things are the evening routine, and we usually follow this routine four or five times a week. However, since it is the only time that Travis is home, sometimes we just give them normal sized bottles and then run errands instead of playing with them, and feeding them solids. )
Okay.
Bedtime routine: After the boys are bathed (or, again, are just otherwise ready for bed) we move into their room and complete their entire bedtime routine in their room, in exact order. 
We put them into fresh diapers and pajamas, and I spend a while making their hair into mohawks with baby lotion while Travis goes and makes bottles. (Seriously, we fill  these babies with as many calories as possible before bed).
He then sneaks the bottles into the bedroom, because if the boys see the bottles, all hell breaks loose.
When he returns, we all politely sit down, with no hair pulling, screaming, back-arching, or page ripping (by the babies) and zero shouting over the babies to be heard (by the adults) and read a story.
And by that, of course, I mean the complete opposite.
Besides not having the patience to look at one entire story during the day,  the boys are now additionally very tired, and -having realized that it's bedtime - suddenly know that 1. there are bottles hidden somewhere in the room and 2. THEY AREN'T IN THEIR MOUTHS.
That second part is the most upsetting for them.

So we struggle through Hop on Pop, or the board-book version of Go, Dog! Go! because they're the shortest books we own, and then we lie the boys down on the big chaise in their room and they get their bedtime bottles.
We dim the lights (or turn them off completely - with just a hall light on) and while they eat, Travis and I sing some quiet songs and we say family prayers. We try not to let them fall asleep at the bottle, but sometimes they do, and it's not a huge deal.
But assuming they don't, they finish their bottles and we give them a pacifier, and hold and rock them, sing one more short song, and then we lie them in their beds and leave.
They usually lie down for the night around 7:00, give or take a half-hour.

A couple things that we've done to try to ensure happier bedtime, though, are these: we repeat key-words everytime they go to sleep, even at naptime.  So I always say "It's night-night time. Are you ready to go night-night?" and things like that (using the word "night-night") and when I lie them in their beds I say some variation of "Night-night, I love you."
They also each have a really snuggly blanket that is always in their bed with them, and an animal that they sleep with.
For Micah it's a stuffed monster, because he would pull the crib bumper out and hold it against his chest - so I made a pillow-shaped monster that he holds instead. I usually hand it to him and say "Here's your monster, Micah," and he grabs it and holds it while he sleeps.
And for Grey it's a little puppy named Little Eddie (it's from Eddie Bauer, so it's named Eddie, obviously), and I usually give it to him and say "Here's your puppy. Woof woof!" and then I pretend that the puppy is kissing his face and he lies there and smiles and opens his mouth wide (to kiss Little Eddie back) and then he takes his puppy, and rolls over and sleeps.
Having those specific bedtime objects has been really helpful, too, because then even when we're somewhere else -like traveling in the car- the objects help them know that it's bedtime, and they snuggle them and love them.
And I think it helps comfort them, like if their blankets are out of their bed and they're tired - they'll crawl over and start rubbing the blanket against their face.
It's pretty much the cutest thing ever.
And it also makes me feel guilty, because I'm like "Oops, you're exhausted. How did I miss that?"

Anyway, I'd be really interested to hear what you have to say in the comments about YOUR bedtime routines; what you do differently, and what works (or doesn't work) in your household.


And if you wouldn't mind... I'd love a vote! Thanks!

Micah joins "The Tough Brets"

Okay, first of all, if you understood that title, Kudos. It's the name of Bret's gang in Flight of the Concords.
Second of all, Travis and I have always wanted to join The Tough Brets.
Third of all, (are you getting sick of the "of alls"?) I don't really have free time and should not have been spending my time this way... but those pictures of Micah yesterday needed to be more fully utilized.

So...

This baby runs with a pretty rough crowd.

Also, updates about breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and sleep are all on their way next week.
Today is the first day in almost 7 months that I haven't felt engorged with milk. It's weird.

Fight for Ruby

Today's post is not very bright.
Not terribly happy.

Have you seen this blog? {Just for the Record}
Matt and Ani's seven month-old daughter Ruby is dying, waiting for a liver.
Yesterday scary things started happening and she's doing really, really poorly.

Anyway, I just wanted to direct today's traffic to their blog instead, and encourage you to pray for this baby and this family, and sign up to donate life.

Also, I definitely thought today was Friday, but it's apparently not. So don't worry. I will post about my babies tomorrow.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - DIY Newborn Pictures

I'm not even going to pretend this is a wordless thing today. BUT I am posting pictures (but not of my own babies), because I have lots of emails asking about how I take such cute pictures.
So I will tell you.

Taking a newborn's picture is easier than taking almost anyone else's, because for the most part a newborn is still-life photography.
Here are the things you need:


Sunshine. Real sunshine, not a flash, not an overhead light. Get yourself to a window or a shady yard.  In my humble opinion, the best light to photograph a newborn in is bright sunshine, coming in through a white curtain. That makes everything bright, and clear and soft.


a Camera. I know that you have a digital camera. It doesn't have to have interchangeable lens. It doesn't even have to be a real camera, lots of phones have perfectly acceptable cameras built in. In fact, if you're awesome you can use a real camera with real film. I bet you have one of those stashed away in a closet somewhere.



a White Sheet.  Babies are pretty freaking cute. They are perfect. They are plenty to look at. You don't need cute clothes, or a colorful blanket or a big bow. (Although those do make for some cute pictures), but the easiest way to photograph a baby is to place her on your bed with fresh white sheets.
Or in a basket with fresh white sheets.



Newborn. If you're in the market, try to find a cute one.

So, I'm also going to eat crow (a bit) because I definitely took this baby's picture in the nudie, which I have previously said I dislike, but um... this baby is freaking adorable.
I didn't need some diaper all up in my way. (Plus she was wearing a diaper for most of the pictures, but didn't just for the few of her whole body.)

So when you take a baby's picture, and you have her on a white sheet, in a room full of sunshine your work is already almost done for you.
(It's easy to take cute pictures of a cute baby)

Just get three shots: Far away / whole baby, medium / baby face, and close-up / baby-parts.
If you have a nice sleepy baby, all you have to do is lie her down and then move around her to get all the shots you want.
Get her whole body, so you can see how little and wrinkly and flexible she is.


Then get her face, so you can see how little and pretty and perfect she is.


Then get her fingers, toes, ears, profile, tufts of hair, etc - because babies are made up of several unbelievably small and adorable parts and the close-ups are important.




I spent less than twenty minutes at our friend Jessica's house yesterday photographing their new baby.
Oh, and by the way, you don't need to get "newborn pictures" in the hospital (where the lighting is always horrible, and your baby's face is probably still bruised) but within the first two or three weeks is a perfect time - because babies are still little and sleepy and sweet.

And a few more little tips:
* If you're photographing a face, and can adjust your focus manually ALWAYS focus on the eyes! even if eyes are closed.
* The best way to take pictures of a babies hands or feet is to have someone hold them. Hold their feet, or have the baby hold on to mom's finger.

*If a baby is awake then face her towards a window. Babies love to look out windows, and their eyes will really sparkle!

*Try to photograph a baby right after she's been fed and is good and sleepy. Those little guys are like rag dolls you can toss around when they're tired.

*Don't push it! You're probably not going to get anything new after a half-hour, except a few pictures of a baby crying. Just have your photoshoot be short and sweet.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Grey

Last week for Wordless Wednesday I posted pictures of my baby Micah (you can see that post {here}) and so to even things out, here is a little Grey time.
Grey actually sleeps more than Micah, so it's easier to take pictures of Micah by himself. Often I am playing with him while his brother sleeps.
But almost whenever Grey is awake, so is his brother. And Micah doesn't like to be ignored - especially if he can see you and he knows you're not playing with him.
So these pictures of Grey aren't completely coherent. In some he is naked, in some he is dressed.
That's because it took several different mini photoshoots.
So, things I love about these pictures of Grey?
I love his heavy, deep set, baggy eyes that I think make him look like a basset hound.

I love the rings in his neck when he stretches it out to look around.

I love the fuzzy halo of hair around his head.

I love his jowls.

I love that little smile that I just barely managed to capture in a few pictures.

I love Grey. My baby.

The picture on the left here might be my favorite out of all of these pictures. It just so perfectly captures all that is Grey. 

Dear Babies

Grey and Micah,
I love you. I love you. I love you.


And my favorite thing in the entire world is when you show me that you love me back.
I love when you see me across the room and smile.
I love when you hear my voice and look around excitedly, trying to find where your mom is.
I love when I talk in a silly voice and you laugh until you gasp and cough, because you think I'm just so funny.
I love when you are nursing, but you can't latch properly because you are trying to look at my face and smile while you eat.

I always swell a bit with pride when someone else holds you, and you cry. But when I take you into my arms - you're instantly happy.  You throw your sweet baby arm over my shoulder. You cling to my neck. You nestle your head under my chin.
You are mine, I am yours.
And you know it.

Sometimes people say "I do not miss those days," and they look at me with pity, imagining sleepless nights, and afternoons determined by naptime and nursing schedules.
And I want you to know, that I will miss these days. I will never have you again, when you are so small and you are learning so much, and you need me for so many things.
Every day you get bigger, and learn more, and are a bit more independent.
You don't need me to stick the pacifier in your mouth, you can suck on your fingers.
You don't need me to help you position yourself, you can wiggle and roll.
You often don't need me to entertain you, you already have your imagination and your brother.
Soon you won't need me to help you sit, or stand, crawl or eat.

I cherish these days, when you are my baby. I plan to cherish every day.
Every day is different, and every day you are different.
Some days are hard, but most days are not.
Most days are good, and you are good and happy.

People say, "let me take him, and give you a rest."
And I think, I don't need a rest. I don't want a rest. I want to keep holding him. All day, every day - until he is too big to hold. 
(You're already getting too big! Man, 14 pounds is heavy - almost 3 times bigger than when you were born.)
But sometimes when you cry, or I haven't slept - then I let someone hold you. But usually I use my free hands to look at pictures and video of you on my phone.

I know you can put yourself to sleep. I've seen you do it many times.
So I don't mind too much when you cry, because I know it's just because you want me to check on you.
You want me to say, Don't worry. I'm here. I love you.


So, baby. Don't worry.
I'm here.
I love you.

Love, Mom

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Micah

A little favoritism never hurt anybody.

Actually... it probably has.

Anyway, Micah isn't my favorite, but sometimes I feel like twins are always "the twins." They're never "Micah and Grey, separate individuals," although Travis and I try really, really hard not to call them "the twins," and to always treat them as unique and different babies and spend as much one on one time with them as we can.

And so here is some Micah time. (Grey time is coming soon.)

After editing the number of these photos down with an iron fist and cutting out all unnecessary photos, I found myself with a whopping 67 photos I wanted to post.

So I edited down again.

And it was like pulling teeth.

Because seriously, less is not more here. More is more.

And dang! Tell me you don't want more of this baby! (Impossible!)

This picture is Travis' favorite.  Every time he sees it he starts laughing...

This is my favorite picture and I'm thinking of getting it printed and framed. Seriously? ADORABLE. 

  

This is my other favorite picture. Look at those chubby, round little toes. I just want to nibble on them.

Yesterday the boys had their 4 month check-up, and Micah weighed 13lbs 1oz, and is 25.25 inches long.

Which means he's in the 11th percentile for weight, and the 64th percentile for height.

Talk about tall and skinny!

And please note the super fun quilt that Micah is on. It was handmade for him by my cousin Nichole.

The quilts that she made the boys are our favorite for tummy time.

Give us a vote for the cutest baby you've seen all day?