September 2011

Thank you all for our comments on yesterday’s post. It seems like no matter if we have all girls or all boys a lot of us can relate to each other. This is why I love blogging.

Since going to the beach a few weeks ago, I have gotten a few emails asking for tips on what to pack for the beach. So I’m going to go through our packing list, which will no doubt seem excessive. But we did need and use everything we packed.

Thank goodness we now have a very large SUV. One child requires a lot of gear. Two kids require a whole lot of gear. For airplane trips to visit family, we aren’t able to bring quite as much, obviously. We have flown approximately 25 times since Hudson was born, so we are seasoned travelers with babies.

My parents have a pack n play at their house along with an activity gym and a bouncy seat. The hardest part, to me, about traveling with an infant is what to do with them when they aren’t sleeping and you aren’t holding them. You need a blanket to lie them down on the floor. Or bring your bouncy seat if you can.

But this time we were staying in a condo- just our little family of four. We had no idea what the condo already had there for us.

I made a list in my “Vacation Planning” section of my home organization notebook. So many of you gave excellent recommendations on what to bring to the beach and they were all so helpful! I used all the comments when packing my packing list.

So this is the packing list (not including items for TC and me):

Clothes for both boys (pajamas and one outfit per day)

A pack of diapers for each boy- regular diapers and swim diapers- (you just never know how many you’ll need. You can always buy them when you get there if there’s a good store where you’re going.)

Swimsuits for both boys

Swim shirts for both boys- I love those SPF protectant shirts. We’re a fair-skinned bunch and it would absolutely terrify me if my boys got sunburned.

Beach towels

Hayes’s bath seat- for him to sit in while on the beach

Baby pool- for filling up on the beach for Hudson to play in

Tailgate tent- we ended up using our tailgate tent because it was big and provided lots of shade. It was easy for all of us to sit under it.

Baby pop up tent- this is the tent that Hayes slept under. We kept it under the big tent and we could close the flap to keep sand and wind off of Hayes.

Activity gym- we were able to lay Hayes down on the floor to play while we were in the condo

Hudson’s favorite movies- we brought Finding Nemo and The Lion king

Portable DVD player- for the drive and in case the condo didn’t have a DVD player

Beach cart for transporting the tents, towels, shovels, chairs, etc. – this made our lives so much easier! I love this thing and will not take a beach trip without it!

Pail and shovel for the beach- Hudson loved shoveling the sand and collecting shells

Small folding chair for Hudson

Large folding chairs for TC and me

Battery operated stroller fan- this clipped on to Hayes’s bath seat and gave him a little bit of relief from the heat

Sunscreen- duh.

Pack n Play- Hudson had his own room and slept in a twin bed there, but Hayes slept in his Pack n Play so we didn’t have to rent a crib

Bottles- I brought enough bottles for a day so I didn’t feel pressure to wash them as we used them.

Bottle Warmer- My baby likes his bottles the way he likes his bottles– warm!

Formula- There was a very small grocery store that didn’t sell our formula, so I’m glad we brought a full case.

Toys- We brought a couple of Hudson’s favorite puzzles and his Schleich animals for him to play with at night and in case of rain.

White noise machines for both boys

A small fan for Hayes’s room

Stroller

Baby Bjorn

Water wings for Hudson

Baby floatie for Hayes

This was everything we brought. For a normal trip (where we could get to a Walmart or Target), I wouldn’t bring so much formula or as many diapers. We also wouldn’t need the tents. If I’m flying, I don’t bring the pack n play or the activity gym. We just get a crib from the hotel if we’re going to a hotel and use a hotel blanket for Hayes on the floor for him to roll around.

Small babies need a lot of stuff and traveling can be very overwhelming just because of everything you need to pack.

I’ve tried to do a “flying with babies” and “road trip with babies” post a few times, but even writing the post overwhelms me! Ha! It’s really not that bad, but you just don’t want to forget anything, if possible. And the good news is that if you do forget something, you can pick it up on the way or when you get there!

Do you have any tips to share?

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Boy mom.

I hear this title used a lot. It’s not a title I ever thought I’d have. I always imagined myself having two girls and then having a baby boy. You know, when I’d play M*A*S*H in school and plan out my life with a mansion, a Ferrari (just like the one in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and my two girls and one boy.

I’ve been writing this post in my head for so long and I’ve just been afraid to put it all down. But I do want to talk about it.

When I first got pregnant with Hudson, I was convinced I was having a baby girl. I only browsed the girl aisles in stores and was looking at bows and sweet shoes. I would talk with my mom for an hour on the phone every day and imagine my life someday having the same conversations with my daughter.

And then we found out that we were having a baby boy. My first thought, if I’m being honest, was, “I don’t know anything about little boys. What do they like?”

But I figured it out. I figured out that he is mine and he is a perfect little person who has crazy wild moments and super sweet tender moments. After a day of letting it set in that I was not having a girl, I finally understood that the gender just did not matter at all. I mean, duh. This should be obvious, right?

With Hayes, I just always knew that he was going to be a boy. It was just a feeling I had. I knew that Hudson was going to have a brother and they would (hopefully) become best buddies. Hayes is so different than Hudson was because he, too, is his own little person. But I wanted him to be a boy. I knew that if another little boy was anything like Hudson, it would just be the best thing in the world.

I was talking with a friend the other day. She’s a boy mom, too. And we discussed the part of being a boy mom that is “hard.” It’s the pressure from other people. And there’s the “loss” and mourning of that future mother/daughter relationship when I’m 50 and I’m an empty-nester.

Because I’m in the social media world a lot, I get to eavesdrop on conversations. I have seen so many sweet friends announce their pregnancies and then announce the sex of their baby. And, I honestly don’t think I’m making this up, I see a lot of people say, “oh! I hope it’s a girl!” And that really hurts this boy mom’s feelings. Why would someone else hope that the pregnant gal would be having a girl? Why wouldn’t someone want a boy? What happened to just wanting a healthy baby?

And what about these statements from a pregnant celebrity/girl mom?

When I got pregnant with Hayes, I felt this strange, unspoken pressure/hope/rooting from other people for him to be a girl. A lot of people said, “I know this is a girl” and when I did announce that he was a boy, people even said, “don’t worry, baby number three will be a girl.”

My friends aren’t saying this to be rude. And there may always be a place in my heart that I have reserved for a daughter. But if I have four boys someday, I will be happy. And maybe I will even be spoiled by them someday?

I know that if I don’t ever have a daughter, my life will still be complete and wonderful and full of happiness.

I read this article and felt like someone finally got my thoughts out there.

I adore my family and I adore my boys. The sweetness mixed with the hilarity can’t be matched and that has nothing to do with them being boys. It’s just because of who they are and who they’re growing up to become.

I’ve said before that I want what my own mom and I have with a daughter someday. And I may always want that if I don’t have a daughter. And if I never get to use my girl name that’s on reserve, I’ll just buy a fish and give it the name!

Kidding.

Maybe.

I often feel the need to shout from the rooftops about how wonderful boys are. I know that prom planning, wedding planning and grandbaby planning won’t be as much fun without a daughter to keep me in the loop and gab with on the phone for hours, but believe me. I am counting my blessings. My precious guys are everything I have prayed for my whole life and never knew it.

Tonight, we were playing hide and seek in the house with my mom and Hudson. My wild boy was having the absolute best time. The smile on his face as he ran through the house just made my heart explode. And later in the evening, when he had calmed down some, he was sitting in my lap and we were singing songs. He accidentally hit me in the face and I pretended to cry. (I know, that’s kind of mean.) But he immediately said, “What’s the matter, Mommy? I’m sorry, Mommy.” Gah. My heart.

Are there any other boy moms who have felt this way? Has anyone ever looked at you and laughed because you have all boys? (If not, consider yourself lucky) We can even discuss the annoying boy clothes that mostly look like teenage boy clothes or a costume. What’s with all the writing on everything?

I was talking to my friend, Molly, the other day and I have decided that if there is a baby number three, I’d really like to not find out the sex before he or she is born. It’s truly the last real surprise! I think it would be so much fun.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

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