friday favorites: newborn ed.

I feel like there's an actual link-up somewhere called 'friday favorites'...but I'm too lazy to go find it, so I'll just steal the name and take it from there.

Since Camilla is only 17 days old, I don't think I can quite consider myself an expert on all things baby just yet...but there are a few things that I can safely consider my favorite(s) already. Let's see if I can get to them all before homegirl wakes up from her nap, shall we?

1. SimplyNoise

Not sponsored, not anything...just amazing white, pink, and brown noise. I know- who knew there were other colors of white noise? Not me. But the brown noise has saved our lives nights. Millie doesn't cry at night, but she does make tons of weird baby (and barnyard) noises that are incredibly distracting for people who want to sleep. Since we started turning on the brown noise, we all three get a lot more peaceful sleep. I'm not sure if it somehow discourages her from making all her sounds, or if it just drowns them out...whatever it is, I'm not messing with it. Brown noise for the win!!! (And this brown noise is not to be confused with the brown note episode of South Park, which was basically the funniest thing on earth to me in high school. We definitely do not want to be playing the brown note in our house...)

2. Bath time

Millie LOVES her bath at night. You already saw the picture of her in her Blooming Bath...it has the same effect on her every single night. Instant baby relaxation. I swear she purrs when she's laying in the sink, enjoying the warm water pouring over her. And after the bath is over, you get to have a cuddly baby in a hooded towel!!! Everybody wins!!

3. Generosity.

I'm sure everyone loves being the recipient of generosity, regardless of whether you have a newborn or not, but I have been blown away this week.

See that? That's the spare fridge/freezer in my in-laws' basement. See what's completely filling the entire freezer? Donated breast milk. Not pictured is my freezer, which is also filled. We received over 1,400 ounces of donated breast milk this week. (And there are another 340 ounces that we just couldn't store, but can go get later once we free up space.) I'm a big believer that 'breast is best,' but it wasn't a super viable option for us this time. (Yes, I'm aware of adoptive breastfeeding, but for a variety of reasons, it wasn't in the cards for us this go-round.) J was willing and able to breastfeed Camilla twice right after she was born- we were all incredibly thankful for this gift for her health and immunity. And since then, she's been doing super well on formula. But I'd been hoping to find some donated breast milk to supplement her formula with, and...well, sometimes God provides beyond your wildest dreams. This isn't just a few bottles worth. This is months of liquid gold. Millie is a big fan so far, and I oscillate between being most excited about the health benefits for Millie and the dollar bill benefits to me as we can cut WAY down on how much formula we have to buy!

If the idea of using donated breast milk skeeves you out-- don't worry. It's actually safe (the way we're doing it- not to say that there aren't sketchy stories and Craigslist situations that should be avoided) and probably more common than you'd think. This is something we discussed with our pediatrician (who supported the idea) and that we're incredibly thankful for and in favor of for our baby. Yay! 

4. Generosity, Part II.

Hand-me-downs. Probably 90% of Camilla's wardrobe is either a hand-me-down or something from a yard sale or consignment shop. And she looks TOTALLY STINKING CUTE ALL THE TIME.

I mean...look at her!! There are plenty of expenses that come with babies (and let's not forget the adoption itself!!), so I'm really grateful that we haven't had to spend a lot (or any, really...besides a few things I just couldn't help myself about) of money on her fabulous wardrobe. Also, now that I am experiencing first-hand how quickly she grows out of stuff- I feel even gladder I've not given in to more temptation at BabyGap and Target. She's already outgrown things!! She's not even three weeks old!! This is madness!!

And the clothes are one thing, but wanna know what I'm even more thankful to have received (FOR FREE) secondhand? Her entire stash of cloth diapers.

ENTIRE. STASH.

Most of my cloth diapering friends say that if you have 18-21 cloth diapers, you'll be set until they potty train. That gives you enough to get through with doing diaper laundry every 2-3 days, which is apparently the prime amount of time to a) not go crazy doing laundry, and b) not have your house get stinky with dirty diapers. But at $20+ bucks a pop, getting your initial diaper stash can be a pricey undertaking (although- take into account, once you GET your stash...you spend basically $0 on diapers for the rest of their days, unless you choose to use disposables for trips or special occasions or babysitters or whatever).

So please try to imagine how thrilled I am to have been given (FOR FREEEEEE) 36 cloth diapers. Try to imagine my happiness. I guess there are certain advantages to having taken SO LONG to have your first baby that the rest of your friends are DONE having babies and ready to get rid of all their baby stuff, including cloth diapers! 

We haven't actually started using the cloth diapers yet (we were gifted tons of disposables, too, and since she goes through about 80 diapers a day these days...yeah, gonna keep using up those disposables), but I regularly just sit and stare at them and think about how thankful I am that I won't be throwing money away every week buying Pampers. Thankful thankful thankful. 

So...those are my favorite things for newborns so far. Sorry that some of the things aren't so easily obtainable (just run to the store and pick up some generous friends!)...but they're the things that are my favorites right now. Maybe next time I'll pick things that are actually purchase-able items. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. We are looking forward to Matt's family all coming in to town to meet Millie for the first time! And I have my first shower on Sunday!