General Baby Thoughts
It’s official. Our girl has gone from baby to toddler. A little over a month ago, Sally started walking, and nothing’s been the same since. I feel like we have a miniature adult in our home. She walks around with a cell phone in one hand and our car keys in the other. If I open the fridge to grab something out, she stands directly under me and also grabs something out. Yesterday, she toddled into the kitchen carrying a plant from the living room in her hands, with the biggest grin on her face. She was so very proud of herself for carrying around a plant. Put simply, Sally is an extremely busy but irresistible little 14-month-old.
With the start of toddler-hood, I feel like we’ve finally hit our stride as parents. Now I can actually see newborns and think “How cute!” instead of “Those poor, sleep-deprived parents.” We are really enjoying playing (it’s just pretend, right?) mom and dad to Sally.
Financial Baby Thoughts
Okay, the most amazing thing ever happened last month. We didn’t spend any money on baby food. I don’t know when exactly it happened, but Sally now eats whatever we eat, which has really helped our grocery budget. And on nights Johnny and I eat a salad, I steam frozen broccoli florets (in the microwave) for Sally to have with whatever meat we’re eating. Thank goodness for her blessed molars coming in. Our grocery budget loves them.
We continue to spend about $40 on diapers each month, and we also spent $200 on a car seat. Sally got her first legit cold just a week ago, so we bought some generic brand Tylenol for $6. Lastly, the incredible disappearing sippy cup routine is a favorite in our home. We’ve lost four now. FOUR. So we bought three more last month and spent $10. But that’s it for our toddler expenses over the past month. So the grand total comes to $256. It’s a bit more than usual, but her new car seat should fit her until she’s in high school.
And now for some pictures of our girl.
at the zoo on a free admission day… I never want to see that many strollers ever again
For the been-there-done-that crowd, does this sound pretty typical? How do we relate and differ? How long will Sally have a baby mullet?
19 Comments
Long live the baby mullet!
She just keeps getting cuter!
Thanks! Johnny and I are amazed by the baby mullet, and we will support it for as long as it lasts!
Our daughter is a toddler as well, and man, I’m right with you on the whole “eating all adult food will change your life.” We can actually GO to a restaurant (on those rare occasions we spring for it) without feeling like it’s more hassle than it’s worth. Although now we have to think about the time delay between ordering and eating…pro tip: ask for a small plate of fruit and a couple packs of crackers when you sit down. It provides the peace needed to enjoy the meal you’re paying for.
Great idea, Valerie! That’s definitely the hardest part — waiting for the food to come out with a very impatient one-year-old! I’m just so happy to not be spoon-feeding her messy purees anymore. Hallelujah!
Our son started walking two months ago and it has been a whirlwind. He gets into everything, but it is more fun to play with him now. I do like not having to buy food. He eats anything and everything these days. My son eats those same applesauce pouches, if that is what they are. They at least look similar!
Agreed. It’s harder now that she’s walking, but also a lot more fun! And, yes, Sally’s holding an applesauce pouch. She’s obsessed with those things!
Sounds like you guys are doing great. When we bought a convertible car seat we spent $200 on Britax Marathon (wish we would have just started with that) and you are right it will last a long time! We still buy applesauce pouches (which are much cheaper) juice and prune pouches for digestive issues so that adds up! and As for the baby mullet, my daughter is almost 2 and still has it:) cute pics!
We almost got the Britax Marathon! It sounded like an awesome car seat. Getting a good car seat is totally worth every penny!
And Johnny LOVES Sally’s baby mullet, so he’ll be happy to hear that she might have it for another year! 🙂
Those car seat weight limits are insane, aren’t they? Ours goes up to 100 lbs! I mean, I was 16 before I weighed 100lbs. And sippy cups- I HATE sippie cups. I really wanted to just skip to regular cups, but while our son can drink from an open cup easily, he has different priorities than I do, so he dumps them out unpredictably. So we use sippie cups so that he won’t have to spend his whole life in time-out. And then they have all of those fiddly little parts and then none of them are universal and so the straw from one won’t fit the other and you lose the one little stupid part that makes the whole thing work- I just really hate them. I can’t wait to be done with them.
I’m very familiar with the dumping-things-out-unpredictably thing! They’re behaving normally, and then it’s like they become possessed and suddenly everything’s been poured out or thrown off the tray.
And your hatred of sippy cups and their inner workings had me laughing. We can relate. When Sally wakes up at 6 a.m. and wants milk and I can’t find that one little part for her cup? Grrr!
I feel your pain. I spent several months engaged in the early morning sippy cup battle and then one day it dawned on me- I could fill a sippy cup with milk and put it in the fridge the night before! I don’t know about you, but I am much better at assembling the !?$&@ little valve parts at times that are not 6am. This does not make sippy cups any less culpable, but it does make the morning slightly less horrible.
You’re a genius! This has become a new part of my nighttime routine!
I cannot believe how big she is getting! I didn’t realize how much of a difference baby food made to a a budget! I bet you can’t wait for the diapers to go away.
For several reasons I can’t wait for those diapers to go away! We will have a momentous celebration when that day comes!!
She’s sooo cute!!! I just love her little cheeks and pretty blue eyes! And the baby mullet, which goes without saying 😉
Thanks, Melanie!! That mullet is starting to become her signature look these days, so I’m learning to love it, too :).
Dwaaaw, I didn’t think she could get any cuter! Turns out I was so wrong! 😀
Congrats on becoming a toddler Sally, and well done on the budget Mum and Dad 🙂
Thanks, Linda! We’re all (mostly) loveing toddlerhood in this house!
Free day at the zoo? Oh can I relate to that! You deserve an award!
You are very fortunate to have such a healthy baby! Enjoy!