Self-Portrait with Baby in Sling Wearing Earmuffs

This was Lex's idea.

Okay, fine. The self-portrait was my idea. But after nap, he really wanted to be in the sling. And he really wanted to wear ear muffs. For like 45 minutes I carried him around thus.

The Family that Slings Together Stays Together

Uncle Kevin is Home for Spring Break

And Lex's new favorite way to ride around in the sling is called the "Super Hero Hold."

5 Months with Baby Lex!

It's good to be 5 months old!

Lex gets to sleep in a comfy crib, swaddled nice and tight every night. He gets a 3:00 AM snack just about every night. Connor can't wait to play with him when he wakes up in the morning, and generally adores him.

Mommy keeps bringing out new toys for Lex to play with. You know, all the stuff Connor used to play with when he was a little baby.

Mommy wears him in the sling just about every day, and he always falls asleep.

The last two times we've gone to the pool, Lex has really enjoyed splashing the water around.

He has even tried rice cereal a few times now.

And, according to my at-home measurements, Lex is 26.5 inches tall and weighs 20 lbs 3 oz.

Lex + Sling = zzzzz

Doesn't he look so peaceful?

Pool Friday, Take Two

What a difference one week makes!

We returned to the pool for our second Friday morning Parent & Tot time, and Connor was a completely different kid.

He was excited to go all morning.

When we were leaving the locker room he said, "There's the pool door. This is going to be so much fun!"

This is a kid who is happy to be at the pool.

He walked right into the water up to his knees. We started playing with his new ball. He walked in up to his waist. He was all smiles. He kept saying, "This is so much fun."

I asked him if he wanted to kick his feet and swim. He handed me the ball and walked in up to his armpits, and started paddling his arms. He kept saying, "I'm swimming, I'm swimming."

We stayed in the pool the entire time, and he never asked to get out once. In fact, we were next to last in getting out of the water.

He even got splashed in the face a few times, but it didn't bother him. I was totally amazed!

He had a blast. I was so happy and proud that I almost cried. And Lex fell asleep about 10 minutes after we got in the water, warm and snuggled in our pool sling.

Matching sharks!

Not Bad for a First Try

Our New Sling

My baby used to be a Slingling, but that sling was purchased after I was done nursing Connor, and it doesn't really fit me at the moment. I had been using it for Lex anyways, because he was small enough that it didn't matter. But, since he has gotten bigger, he has been getting more and more smooshed in it. It was time for a new sling.

I was going to go out and buy a Moby wrap yesterday. I got online and found a local store that sold them, Sprout Soup. But, as I was looking at their website, I noticed that they had a babywearing playgroup scheduled for today! I put off the sling purchase for one more day, and left the house this morning with high hopes for babywearing fun!

Sprout Soup is a cute little store, and more than half of it is dedicated to play space and meeting space and a lounge for nursing and changing babies. They have playgroups and La Leche League meetings and craft mornings. There is even a "Dad's Coffee" scheduled for certain Saturday mornings.

I was the first to arrive for the babywearing thing, even though we were a half-hour late, probably due to the weather. The sales lady talked to me about what I wanted in a sling, and what experience I had in babywearing. After our conversation, she let me try on a few different slings with Lex. I liked the ease of the mei tai carriers, but I wanted something with a bit more versatility. I wanted a sling that I could tie different ways, carry on the front or back, and use with either Connor or Lex.

I decided to buy a gauze sling, a bali breeze. That's what is pictured above. It cost me just under $75, but it should be usable for years to come.

I might also want to buy a heavier weight sling in the future, depending on how I like this one. I've got my eye on a Storchenwiege (the blue one), but they are out of stock right now.

Playgroup notes that I want to remember:

Scheduled: 10-11 AM, Reality: 10:30 AM - Noon

Connor played with Gus, Henry and Sophia