2010 January

NO. I refuse to believe my child needs this much stuff.

January 16, 2010 by Diana Leave a Comment

    Who came up with all this crap to “soothe” and “entertain” and “pacify” my child? Because half of this stuff requires me to constantly be on call looking for it, washing it, fixing it, putting batteries in it, and in general being a complete mess over items that Bella has learned she simply can not live without.

    I am packing for our trip to see our friends and their new son, and this is only the second time we have taken Bella out for an overnight trip. The first was to see the in-laws at Christmas and we stayed with them so it was fairly easy. This one has us staying in a hotel (2 babies in their home screaming at night? I think not.) and so I must carefully plan and pack each item she will need.

    My list is a mile long. It’s 5x bigger than my personal list. This is insane. And yet I have the “what if’s” as I go to cross things off. What if we get there and she doesn’t want to be in the sling/carseat/pack n play? What then? What if we run out of diapers? What if we run out of clothes? Burp cloths? Lose the paci?

    So I pack more of each item. Then I think, “What if she doesn’t want to nurse on time and I get a plugged duct?” In goes the massive Medela Pump in Style. What if she barfs on me? Extra clothes on my end. And for Sam. What if we are somewhere I just can’t nurse her and she has to be fed? Cooler, ice packs, and a bottle of milk. Toys, nail clippers, washcloths, nose suctioner thing, lotion…

    Although in my mind I realize I can buy something if we truly needed it while we were there, and my friend is bound to have items we can use as well, it just seems like unless I know we have packed most of her nursery, I can’t relax.

    Curse you Babies R Us. I long for the days when kids got a dresser drawer and a flannel nightie and by golly, they liked it.

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Friends, Paranoia

2 months old.

January 16, 2010 by Diana Leave a Comment

Wow. Who would have thought that in 2 months my life would be this different? I am tired, poofy, still eating like there’s 2 of me, my house is a mess, I haven’t gotten more than 3 hours of sleep at a time, and I smell like breastmilk every night and morning. And I am happy and content. I love my little girl, love her noises and the way she lights up when I call out her name. I never thought I would be happy as a SAHM (that’s another blog post) but I am.

So tonight my post is simply to say Happy Birthday. I love you Bella, more than you will ever know. I can’t imagine my life without you. You are so perfect and have made me a better person, just by being born. I can’t wait to see what you will become, what the future holds for you, and who you will be. Know with complete certainty that no matter what you decide in your life, what path you take, I stand behind you 100% as your mother. And I will love you unwaveringly.

Even if at 16 you run into the house from school in tears, scream at me to leave you alone, and slam the door in your room with your music blaring (that I would have never listened to at your age – we had morals when I was a child

) I will still love you.

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: It won't be like this for long, Motherhood, Things that make me smile

I get why Britney drove with the kid on her lap.

January 14, 2010 by Diana Leave a Comment

Because right now, at 6:45 pm, Bella has finally fallen asleep. For the first time ALL DAY LONG. I’m kid you not, this child has taken a 20 minute nap from 9:00 this morning. I am fried, she is fried, her eyes are beaming red when she wakes up, the house is covered in vomit burp cloths.

So why don’t I take advantage of this moment?
    Because I have to go get Sam from work in 15 minutes. We chose to sell a car to make this easier financially, but I have to tell you – I’m almost tempted to tell him to hoof it home tonight. ”Bundle up honey, it’s 14 degrees out. Walk fast, she needs a bath.”
    But I can see how easy it would be to take her and put her in my lap and drive down the road. No car seat, no seat belts that she hates to bend her little arms to get in, no snapping in and head bouncing, no spitting her paci out as I drive down the road with one hand fully behind me attempting to find her mouth with the paci and bang her repeatedly in the eye with it. No sobbing, cranky, overtired infant.
    And as much as Britney’s situation was just a tad different (I have no paparazzi as much as I would like to think people care that much about me) I have that same feeling of just getting it over with.
    But I won’t. Safety first. *sigh*

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Uncategorized

2 months PP – a few things I can’t live without

January 13, 2010 by Diana Leave a Comment

I thought I’d post this here for you ladies who haven’t had babies yet, as I was always curious what everyone with babies ended up loving and using constantly. So here’s my list:

- Itzbeen Timer. Hands down this is the most used item I got. I love it, I have no idea what I would do without it. I can’t remember what breast I last fed her on, especially in the middle of the night, and this tells me. It tracks when I changed her, how long she (or I) have been asleep. You think, “How can I forget I changed them at 4pm?” You will. You will have no idea when you changed their diaper last.

- Hot Sling. A lifesaver. She hated everything else. And the swing worked for a few weeks and then she just wanted me. It was really awful to hold her all day long – everything on me hurt and my house was a mess. Thanks to this, I get things done and she’s happy.
- Bravado Bra. Worth the outrageous price. I have 3 other kinds and nothing compares to the comfort of this bra. My breasts thank me daily as I put it on.
- Lily Padz. I love these. I wear them at night with a pair of cotton nursing pads for leaks and they are wonderful. I can wear them during the day when all my bras are drying, and around the house under a tank top.
- Miracle Blanket. A true miracle swaddler. This little piece of heaven took us from 1 1/2 hours of sleep at a time to 3/4 hours. We use it at night. She fights it at first but then sleeps so good.
- Bella Bands. Yes, they are getting more use now than they ever did while I was pregnant. I wear them all the time. I can fit into my jeans, but only 1 pair will button. Thanks to these it looks like I just have a tank top on under my shirt.

- Crib Tent. Our cats would not stay out of the crib until we bought one of these. Ours was from WalMart. It’s cute, easy to put up, and they’ve never been in it since. I feel much better knowing I can leave her nursery and zip it up without worrying about the cats being curious.

- Wubbanub. Like I posted on below, this thing saved my sanity. I was SO tired of putting that paci back in her mouth 24-7. We even ordered a second one the other day. Google them, only certain places carry them.

Wishes:

I wish I had another Bravado Bra. I can’t justify the price for 2, but if you can then by all means buy them. I also would have liked a Britax convertible car seat – but Bella was too small when she was born to safely and comfortably fit in one. If you know you’re having a 9+ pound baby, think about getting one of these.

Another wish – a white noise maker. We have construction going on outside our home and it would be great to have something to block it out. We have a CD that does white noise, but it’s like going to sleep under a waterfall. A fan noise would be better.

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Daily Life, Motherhood, Peace, Things that make me smile, Worth every penny

Paranoid Much?

January 12, 2010 by Diana 1 Comment

Yesterday our Dr. suggested putting Bella down in her crib for naps during the daytime, to get used to being in there. See, I don’t know how this happened, but for the past 2 months of her life, my child has never been in her crib. I spend HOURS in her nursery, planning and dreaming, painting and decorating. Then she was born and decided she would sleep on me or her bouncy chair. We even had her in our bed for a while (something I swore I would never do with my child) until her acid reflux became so bad that we were tired of sleeping in vomit and she was tired of vomiting. The bouncy props her enough that it helps tremendously with that.

So we’ve used her perfect little room for diaper changing. And that is all. But today I decided she was going to nap in there. She naps in the swing usually, out in the living room where every little noise has me jumping over to see what’s wrong, where her paci never stays in her mouth and she fusses for an hour before passing out. I was excited to have her in her crib, with the monitor on, and to be able to get things done around the house while she slept. I was going to have the house cleaned and maybe take a shower. In peace.

I placed her in, and somehow she didn’t need a soothie (phew), and I waited a few minutes while she fought sleeping (when she’s about 2, I think nap times will bring many tears to both of us) and then she passed out. I mean, gone. No noises, no grunting, nothing. Just totally out.

Naturally, when I realized how asleep she was, and that this usually means that she will be asleep for at least 2 hours, what did I do? Laundry? Cleaning? Enjoy a cup of tea in silence?

Nope. I was so nervous about not being able to see her, I brought my laptop into her nursery and am now sitting in my Lazy Boy anxiously peering into her crib to make sure she is still alive. I’ll probably be here until she wakes up. Every few minutes I give her a soft poke to see if everything is ok.

I might as well just set up a bed in here too. Because her sleeping in her at night eventually will really make me a mess. Nice.

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Motherhood, Paranoia, Peace

If I eat 2 Lean Cuisines, is it still considered Lean?

January 11, 2010 by Diana Leave a Comment

I’m on Weight Watchers – the online version. I have only 10 lbs to lose before I’m back to my pre-baby weight, but lets face it – it doesn’t mean I’m going to be sliding in my skinny jeans at that point. In fact, many of my jeans I can now wear. I spray them down with our sink hose, put them in the dryer until they are just damp, and heave them over my thighs. I then bend and squat to stretch them out even more, and I zip them half way, use a Bella Band to cover up the fact they can’t button and BINGO! Jeans that semi fit.

So unless I’d like to keep doing this for the next year, I need to lose a few pounds and work on my middle. I’m following along with McFatty Monday, which is something that is the creation of another mom, the website owner of The Heir to Blair.

I have a hard time sticking to this while Sam is home cooking. Weight Watchers requires you to monitor and record your food intake, which is great unless you aren’t really sure what someone put in their food. Cooking fish with 6 tablespoons of butter is quite a point difference from cooking it with a shot of Pam. I buy a lot of Lean Cuisines, they have the point value right on them and I really like them a lot. Throw them on top of steamed veggies and there you go – a whole meal. It’s tempting to eat 2, especially when it’s their Mac ‘n Cheese. I could eat 10 of those in one sitting. I really try not to.

I hope if you’re reading this and trying to lose weight – New Years resolution, baby weight, whatever, that you will leave a comment about what way you are trying and how you plan on keeping on track. In doing that, you’ll not only be leaving one of the first posts on this blog (I mean, come on! No one has anything to say? ) and you’ll be motivating me and others about losing. I plan on posting once a week how much I am down, or up as the case may be, and I’ll be accountable to someone besides myself that way.