Personalized Baby Blankets Video

We just created a new video to showcase our personalized baby blankets.  Check it out on Youtube or on our home page.  In the video, we show some of our personalized blankets from My Blankee, Angel Dear and Swaddle Designs.  We also show some of our personalized baby pillows.   Let us know what you think of the music.  Too cheesy?  Either way, we hope it helps your shopping experience be even better!

Swaddling Video Tutorial

If you are a new mom or dad, you may have heard the word “swaddling”, but you have no idea what that means.  If you are anything like me, you may have absolutely 0 baby experience on the day your baby is born.  I had never changed a baby’s diaper in my life!  But fear not, through the magic of the internet, anyone can become an expert!

Swaddling takes a little bit of practice, but it is well worth it.  The whole idea is placing a baby inside of a blanket that makes them feel like they are snug, as if they were in their mother’s womb.  While they are still little, this helps them sleep, which every mom and dad could use a little help in.  Below, is a swaddling tutorial from one of our friends.  It’s a wonderful job with a secret, two blankets.  It adds the extra support for your little baby burrito.  Enjoy the how to swaddle a baby tutorial.

Gatlinburg Vacation Videos

We recently took a long weekend to Gatlinburg with my wife’s family.  What a crazy fun town it is.  Their family has had a condo/timeshare there for years.  My wife went their as a little girl and this year, she got to take her own baby to the resort, something she never thought would happen.

Emil has been growing up fast already.  He is crawling and tough to keep an eye on, but man is he a joy.  I love being a father!  This first year has been amazing, from wrapping him in his first swaddling blankets, to seeing him grow into a sleep sack and beyond.  He is precious, and I am so proud of him as my son.  What is amazing to me is how much joy he brings into ours and others’ lives.  Often times when he sees a stranger now, he’ll say “Hi”.  It’s hilarious.  He is a lot of work, but what a joy!

Here’s a look at our recent trip to Gatlinburg.

Our Trip To Nashville

Little Emil has been making the rounds in his short time here on the earth.  After our trip to Michigan, we geared up for a trip to Nashville to visit some friends and family.  Hey, when your wife is on maternity leave, you have to take advantage of ever opportunity you have.

In the video below, you’ll see us visiting with the Whites.  Ryan was a great friend and roommate from college.  If you’ve followed this blog in the past, you’ll know that their son, Reed, had to have a heart transplant.  Well, on the week we visited, Reed and Braden (his twin brother) had just celebrated their 2 year old birthday!  It was so good to see them up and running around.  Reed is still not quite as strong, but the kid is smart, and he’s making up ground fast!  What a blessing to see them all and to meet their little girl for the first time, Kylee, named after Keely’s brother who passed away.  We brought some gifts from our store, Angel Dear blankets.  Reed and Braden got the large napping blankets, and Kylee got a zebra lovie.  It was great to visit with them.

We also spent time with Witni’s family, the Tharpes, in Franklin, KY.  They all had a blast with little Emil.  Grandma Dailey sure was glad to show him off.  Both daddy and baby got adjusted by cousin Jason, a great chiropractor.  You’ll see Emil get his adjustment in the video.  Enjoy the video of our visit.

Cute Little Baby In The Nursery Video

Here is our little buddy at home in his bouncer for the first time.  He’s so little here!  Emil is closing in on 3 months old.  So, he doesn’t look like this any more.  Now, he has some chunky legs and arms.  Witni keeps saying it is healthy.  I wish the same definition of healthy carried over to adulthood.

It really is true that they grow up fast.  People say it over and over again, but I’m starting to understand why moms say this all the time.  When you hold a little baby in your arms, there is nothing else like it.  They are so cute, so innocent, so soft, so vulnerable, so tiny!  Your heart melts when you hear those little cooing noises they make.  Part of you wants them to stay small.  But for me, it’s bittersweet because I cannot wait for Emil to begin his training.

Hold the line.  Hold.

Meeting The Great Grandparents

Back in October, we took Emil on his first road trip.  It was about an 8.5 (normally 7) hour journey up I-75 to meet his great grandparents.  Emil will be too young to remember this trip, but fortunately, we took some video to capture the trip.  My parents grew up about 15 minutes from each others’ houses.  They were high school sweethearts, and as a family, it’s been so nice to go “up North” and be able to visit both sets of grandparents.

One of the true joys of having Emil born into our lives is the increased connectivity between your family.  For the older generations, I believe a baby brings memories, smiles, joy and hope for the future.  Plus, they get to do all the fun stuff with the baby, knowing that it’s not their turn for the 2am feedings.  Ha!  But Witni and I have both experienced a new depth of understanding and intimacy with both our parents and grandparents.  There is a sense of empathy for one another because you are now experiencing something in having children that is simply inexplainable until it happens.  The same goes for being married, but this is just another deeper level.  I love it.

While we were on the trip, we were able to talk to my grandparents about their parenting experiences and ask for tips and advice.  The result was priceless, and I’m happy to say I was able to video some of those interviews as well.  The following passage has been deep on the hearts and minds of my wife and I.

Deut. 6:1-9

¹ These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. ³ Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I am so excited to be able to pass down the love of our Lord to our son.  I cannot wait to tell him how much God loves him.  I cannot wait to impress upon him the love of the Father – that the heart of the Father is that we “may enjoy long life”.  What a blessing to be a parent.  What a great responsibility.  The Lord chose one family to bless the nations.  His plan has always been to use the family as a way to bless the earth.

In the video below, you’ll see clips from the Sztanyo grandparents and being at the Britt farm (my mom’s side), with her mom and sister.  We also got to take a stroll on the Britt farm through their exquisite tree grove.  Our dog Legend, got to come as well.

Video Memories

I’ve spent the last 8 hours uploading video to YouTube.  Uhh…I’m tired of it, but I know that I will be grateful for these videos down the road.  Shoot, Witni and I were looking at how small Emil was in this video compared to his size now, and our hearts were already breaking.  He’s so little here!  Hopefully, YouTube will be around for the long haul, because my Macbook can’t handle the disk space and everything is going to the trash once uploaded.

I’ll try to get some more videos up here soon.  Here is a fun minute and a half of Emil just being playful on his blanket from Aunt Heather.  It was only a few weeks ago when he could barely fill his diaper.  Now, he’s filling it and has some skin rolls to spare.  Witni keeps saying he’s healthy.  I guess the chubby roles as a baby are the only time in life it can be called “healthy.”

So fun having this little guy around.  Sons are truly a blessing.

His little feet and hands are so small and cute in this video!

How To Swaddle A Baby – Video

I think my wife is the Swaddle Queen.  We knew going into our pregnancy that these aden + anais blankets were great.  Our customers tell us all the time, and the swaddle blankets are our top sellers.  Well, there is good reason why.  The blankets are perfect for swaddling.

In this video, you’ll see why they are so good for swaddling.

1. They are large, 47 x 47 (these blankets are larger than the aden and anais at Target or Babies ‘R Us)
2. They are stretchy – you can wrap the blanket around the baby and give it a good tug to secure your swaddle.  When you have a fussy baby or an escape artist, like we have, a tight swaddle is a must.  You don’t want the baby waking himself up i the middle of the night by an arm out and scratching his face.
3. They are soft – just one touch, and you’ll know exactly what I mean
4. They are breathable – your baby will stay warm, but he won’t overheat.  We’ve had hot 90+ degree weather here in September.  Wrapping our baby in these blankets is still fine because they breath so well.

There are certainly a lot of great baby blankets out there, and each serve their purpose.  But when it comes to swaddling, you can’t go wrong with aden & anais.

We Have A Son!

I have a son!  My wife, Witni, gave birth to our son at 2:13pm on September 8, 2010.  The total delivery time from when her water broke at 5am on September 7th to when he was born was 33 hours.  33 hours of labor!  My wife is a superwoman.  And not only did she go through 33 hours of labor, but she delivered vaginally.  Unbelievable.  I was right there coaching her the whole way, and it must have been the hardest night of our life, but we were rewarded with our little boy!  Emil Regan Sztanyo was 6 lbs and 13 oz when he was born.  Emil (pronounced like Emmit) is after his great grandfather, a WWII veteran, Christian patriarch and humble man.  He is almost 89 years old, and he played a round of golf with my brother last week.  Regan means born into a royal family, which we believe he is born into THE Royal Family, those adopted by our Father.

Emil & Mom Seconds After Birth

What a joy and a blessing this little baby is to us.  We had been praying for him to come for a long, long time.  A few years ago, we were called out of a high school ministry, Young Life, and knew God was telling us to start this business and have a family.  A year and a half after trying, we were pregnant with little Emil.  And now, we know we are completely blessed by his arrival.  God gave us this blessing, and helped us through the delivery.  In fact, in those final hours of the night, as my wife was suffering through the pain and exhaustion, we prayed like we had never prayed before.  We prayed for this baby to come, for the pain to cease, for the desire to push (we never got to 10 cms), for mercy and for deliverance.  He heard or prayers.  There were so many scriptures going through our minds, but none more prevalent than this one:

¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.² In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

³ Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one’s youth.

⁵ Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Psalms 127

The sex of our baby was a surprise to us, and when he finally did come, they asked me if I wanted to announced what he was.  I was so overwhelmed with relief that it was over for Witni that I had completely forgotten we didn’t know what it was!  So, I looked down at our baby, as he was laying on Witni’s chest, and emotionally blurted out, “it’s a boy!”.  What a blessing!

I have so much to write that I think I could write a book.  Emil is 4 days old today, and he is doing better each day.  We are breast feeding, and after some help from a lactation expert at the hospital, little Emil has acquired the “taste”.  He is eating better and better each day.  He was a bit jaundiced, and we had to take him in for tests the past few days, but he didn’t have to go on the “billy” blanket.  He got a little sun today, which I think he rather enjoyed.  He has so many people who love him already that he doesn’t know how good he has it.

Ok, enough for now, I’ll be sure to write much more later.  If you want to watch a bit more of the delivery (PG rated), here’s a video.

A Night At The Ballpark

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a baseball fanatic.  I love the game.  I was born in Kalamazoo Michigan with Tiger baseball and the voice of Ernie Harwell (best broadcaster ever) on the radio.  Once we moved to Cincinnati, it took me a while to adopt the Reds as my favorite team, but I have crossed over.

This last Saturday night, Witni and I went to the Reds game for the 2010 MLB Civil Rights game.  It was quite a showing with Harry Belafonte, Billy Jean King and Willie Mays all being honored.  On top of that, the Reds played amazing and took it to the Cardinals.  It was one of the most exciting games I have ever been to because there was a sold out crowd (which is rare in Cincinnati), and the Reds won by tagging out the tying run in the top of the 9th with a play at the plate.

During the game, I realized that this was technically our baby’s (23 weeks) first baseball game ever.  I won’t lie.  I got a little emotional.    What a game to go to!

I’ve attached a video that I made on Youtube to capture the great night.  For cell phone pics, I was pretty pleased with the quality.

Can’t wait to have our little one born!  He or she is fated to be a baseball fan!