Sunday, December 14, 2008
2 Months Old!?
I can't believe 2 months has passed already! Baby A will be 2 months old on the 8th of this month.
What's Going On With Me
Except for about 20 extra pounds and a stretched out belly (still have that preggy line and my stretch marks), I'm pretty much back to normal. I ordered some jeans 2 sizes bigger than my pre-pregnancy size and they're just right as far as my legs and belly go, but there's a big gap in the back so I'm constantly having to pull them up. This bugs me because the main reason I ordered them was that my pregnancy jeans are no longer being held up by my belly, so I constantly have to pull THEM up. Obviously, I haven't eliminated the problem. I'm enjoying the baby too much to really concentrate on the extra weight. I originally wanted to be back to pre-pregnancy weight by my birthday (6 months from delivery). For now I'm not too concerned though.
I had my 6 week post-delivery OB check-up. I didn't have a physical exam (no fun gown and speculum). The check-up consisted of questions about how I'm feeling and whether or not I feel things are back to normal and what I want to do for birth control. I decided to go with the Mirena IUD. So, for now I'm waiting on my doctor's office to get prior authorization with my insurance. Once that is done I'll make an appointment to have it inserted. After reading about Mirena, my main concern for the OB was whether or not it would affect my milk production. He said no.
I'm still breastfeeding exclusively. It seems like Baby A will lapse into lazy just-want-the-tip mode some days. That's the only time I have any discomfort. Even that is minor compared to the first month of nursing. I prefer breastfeeding to feeding breastmilk in a bottle. I just feel closer to my baby with the skin-to-skin contact. I like the way she'll stare at me and grab onto my shirt or rub my arm with her little feet while she eats.
Speaking of skin-to-skin, I ordered a new sling yesterday. I ordered a Moby-wrap. I can't use my Beco Obi yet and Baby A doesn't like the Hotsling. We'll try both once she has full head and neck control. The Moby looks like a better option until then though; Very supportive and versatile. I like that you don't have to pick a certain size and that the price is so reasonable.
As the baby gets more and more into what kind of resembles a schedule, I find time during the day to take care of business and do little things (like update this site...).
What's Going On With Baby
Baby A is growing and growing. She's already getting ready to move into 3-6 month sized clothing. She just about too big inthe thigh for her Kissaluvs diapers too and has moved up into a bigger size diaper cover. She fits great into her Happy Heinys and BumGenius 3.0's though (both the One-Size). The only problem with those is that they don't hold her BF poo very well. I think it's the microfleece inside. It whicks away moisture, but isn't textured enough to grab onto the mustardy stuff (like the Kissaluvs). I'm going to try to remedy this by getting some kind cotton terry insert or somethig similar to grab onto the messy stuff. Since she fits into the One-Size pocket diapers well now I went ahead and ordered some more. I orderes 3 Blueberry pockets with snaps in Pink and 1 Minky version with snaps in Leopard. :) I'll let you know how they work out and if the inserts help with the poo. If not I might just have to order some bigger Kissaluvs or maybe even buy some Snappis and see if they'll help me use my fitteds more like a contour diaper for a while. We'll see.
On a funner note, my baby is getting a bit more social. She's smiling at me a bit more. She smiles a lot more at the mobile over her crib! I'll put her in her crib while I'm putting away her laundry and catch her smiling and making noises as she stares at the mobile or gurgle gurgling at the baby in her crib mirror. She's not a big fan of tummy time. She uses my shoulder in a similar way though; always lifting her head or pushing herself with her little arms.
There is a lot more time during the day when the baby is awake. So, I have more time to interact with her with toys and stuff. This is most likely the reason why she's sleeping most of the night now. She gets up twice for diaper change and feeding and goes right back to sleep. So, it's not as hard as it used to be to get up with her in the middle of the night and SO much easier getting up with her in the morning. Usually she'll go down between 7:30-9pm until around 2 or 3am. Then she'll wake up again at 6am and we'll come downstairs and take a little nap together on the couch until 8am. After that she's up until the afternoon when she'll crash from around 1-3 pm. Then, she's up again until 7. She'll take little cat naps (15-45 minutes) in between these longer sleep periods; usually after eating. They're very light though. That's pretty much our schedule for now.
The pediatrician thinks Baby A is suffering from some reflux because she scruntching up during feedings sometimes and projectile vomitting sometimes. She gave me an RX for Zantac, but told me to elevate her crib mattress, add a little rice cereal to pumped milk, and just let the gas come up easily after feedings instead of vigorously patting after meals and see how things go from there. I like that she gives me non-medicating options along with an RX. So, I can chose a more natural route to things first.
What We're Looking Forward To
Although I'm not looking forward to her shots here in a few days, I am looking forward to getting her ears pierced. I'm going to cry for causing her baby tears for something so frivolous and more for my benefit than hers. I'm still excited for it. I'm also looking forward to more smiles and interaction from her and head and neck control.
Overall, I'm very happy and excited for each new day with my baby girl. She teaches me so much about myself and how I can be a better mommy to her everyday. It's amazing what a difference such a tiny person can make in a mother's life.
~Jessy
What's Going On With Me
Except for about 20 extra pounds and a stretched out belly (still have that preggy line and my stretch marks), I'm pretty much back to normal. I ordered some jeans 2 sizes bigger than my pre-pregnancy size and they're just right as far as my legs and belly go, but there's a big gap in the back so I'm constantly having to pull them up. This bugs me because the main reason I ordered them was that my pregnancy jeans are no longer being held up by my belly, so I constantly have to pull THEM up. Obviously, I haven't eliminated the problem. I'm enjoying the baby too much to really concentrate on the extra weight. I originally wanted to be back to pre-pregnancy weight by my birthday (6 months from delivery). For now I'm not too concerned though.
I had my 6 week post-delivery OB check-up. I didn't have a physical exam (no fun gown and speculum). The check-up consisted of questions about how I'm feeling and whether or not I feel things are back to normal and what I want to do for birth control. I decided to go with the Mirena IUD. So, for now I'm waiting on my doctor's office to get prior authorization with my insurance. Once that is done I'll make an appointment to have it inserted. After reading about Mirena, my main concern for the OB was whether or not it would affect my milk production. He said no.
I'm still breastfeeding exclusively. It seems like Baby A will lapse into lazy just-want-the-tip mode some days. That's the only time I have any discomfort. Even that is minor compared to the first month of nursing. I prefer breastfeeding to feeding breastmilk in a bottle. I just feel closer to my baby with the skin-to-skin contact. I like the way she'll stare at me and grab onto my shirt or rub my arm with her little feet while she eats.
Speaking of skin-to-skin, I ordered a new sling yesterday. I ordered a Moby-wrap. I can't use my Beco Obi yet and Baby A doesn't like the Hotsling. We'll try both once she has full head and neck control. The Moby looks like a better option until then though; Very supportive and versatile. I like that you don't have to pick a certain size and that the price is so reasonable.
As the baby gets more and more into what kind of resembles a schedule, I find time during the day to take care of business and do little things (like update this site...).
What's Going On With Baby
Baby A is growing and growing. She's already getting ready to move into 3-6 month sized clothing. She just about too big inthe thigh for her Kissaluvs diapers too and has moved up into a bigger size diaper cover. She fits great into her Happy Heinys and BumGenius 3.0's though (both the One-Size). The only problem with those is that they don't hold her BF poo very well. I think it's the microfleece inside. It whicks away moisture, but isn't textured enough to grab onto the mustardy stuff (like the Kissaluvs). I'm going to try to remedy this by getting some kind cotton terry insert or somethig similar to grab onto the messy stuff. Since she fits into the One-Size pocket diapers well now I went ahead and ordered some more. I orderes 3 Blueberry pockets with snaps in Pink and 1 Minky version with snaps in Leopard. :) I'll let you know how they work out and if the inserts help with the poo. If not I might just have to order some bigger Kissaluvs or maybe even buy some Snappis and see if they'll help me use my fitteds more like a contour diaper for a while. We'll see.
On a funner note, my baby is getting a bit more social. She's smiling at me a bit more. She smiles a lot more at the mobile over her crib! I'll put her in her crib while I'm putting away her laundry and catch her smiling and making noises as she stares at the mobile or gurgle gurgling at the baby in her crib mirror. She's not a big fan of tummy time. She uses my shoulder in a similar way though; always lifting her head or pushing herself with her little arms.
There is a lot more time during the day when the baby is awake. So, I have more time to interact with her with toys and stuff. This is most likely the reason why she's sleeping most of the night now. She gets up twice for diaper change and feeding and goes right back to sleep. So, it's not as hard as it used to be to get up with her in the middle of the night and SO much easier getting up with her in the morning. Usually she'll go down between 7:30-9pm until around 2 or 3am. Then she'll wake up again at 6am and we'll come downstairs and take a little nap together on the couch until 8am. After that she's up until the afternoon when she'll crash from around 1-3 pm. Then, she's up again until 7. She'll take little cat naps (15-45 minutes) in between these longer sleep periods; usually after eating. They're very light though. That's pretty much our schedule for now.
The pediatrician thinks Baby A is suffering from some reflux because she scruntching up during feedings sometimes and projectile vomitting sometimes. She gave me an RX for Zantac, but told me to elevate her crib mattress, add a little rice cereal to pumped milk, and just let the gas come up easily after feedings instead of vigorously patting after meals and see how things go from there. I like that she gives me non-medicating options along with an RX. So, I can chose a more natural route to things first.
What We're Looking Forward To
Although I'm not looking forward to her shots here in a few days, I am looking forward to getting her ears pierced. I'm going to cry for causing her baby tears for something so frivolous and more for my benefit than hers. I'm still excited for it. I'm also looking forward to more smiles and interaction from her and head and neck control.
Overall, I'm very happy and excited for each new day with my baby girl. She teaches me so much about myself and how I can be a better mommy to her everyday. It's amazing what a difference such a tiny person can make in a mother's life.
~Jessy
Saturday, December 13, 2008
364 Days To Go
29. That's how old I am as of today. So, I only have about 364 days to be "in my twenties." Then comes the big 3 0. Part of me thinks 'meh, what's the big deal? I'm married. I have a baby. I'm a stay at home mom now. Who cares how old I am?' There's this little voice in the back of my mind though that keeps telling me 30 is a bad thing. Instead of not being able to have a baby because I'm getting older, the voice now says I probably won't be able to have ANOTHER baby. And if I do, it won't be as perfect or healthy next time. The voice tells me it's time to cast aside the converse and T's and start thinking about jeans with heels (heels... cringe. Don't get me wrong I love fashion and think all kinds of shoes are beautiful. I just don't see any of that as being "me."). The voice tells me I better get this baby weight off immediately and aim not just for my pre-pregnancy size, but (better yet) my pre 20's size. If I don't, my husband is going to leave me, and my daughter will be embarrassed by me (or think of me as just her frumpy old mom who she can't relate to at all) when she's old enough to notice. I need to cast off the geeky glasses and start using the contacts I have hanging out for special occasions. I need to stop playing video games and join a mommy and me class with A. I need to get some makeup onto this eye baggage and some polish onto these nails. Like I don't have enough to worry about with the new baby. She's just cutting her first tooth and getting ready to crawl. In addition to those craptacular thoughts, I found out the gift card I sent someone is not useable in her country and exposed a regifter accidentally by posting a picture of what she got me online. Besides all that ugliness though, I've had a great day.
Beauty and Tea Hagglers
Right now Smashingmagazine.com is my homepage. They have so many neat tools, freebies and sources of inspiration for artists. Recently they posted "50 Beautiful Winter Wonderful Photos." Left is an example. Perfect if you're looking for a new desktop wallpaper or trying to get into the holiday spirit among other things.Speaking of holidays, there are some real swindlers out there trying to get your cash as the shopping season approaches it's pinnacle. SNEAKERS! I was at a tea store with my mom the other day and couldn't believe it. The tea they sold was loose tea in these huge tins with big prices on the front. Then, really small next to the price, it says 2oz. The sales ladies quickly explain that you can either buy a 1/2lb or 1lb tin for $6 (for the container) and show the two tins. All this info comes at you at lightning speed and is followed by the question: "how many pounds can I get you?" OK, which means, if you see the price of $12.50 on the big tin, they are trying to actually sell you 4 or 8 times that price; 1/2 and 1 pound respectively. In addition to this trickery, they have all sorts of yummy teas out and presweetened for you to test. Delicious stuff, but they are often actually mixtures of teas they sell. So, when you try to buy this or that tea that you tried, the salesperson explains that it's actually a mixture of soandso and soandso tea. "So," they add, "you can either buy it mixed like that OR (in a more excited tone, like of course this next option is the only one that really makes ANY sense) you can buy a pound of each of the teas used in the mixture. So you have a variety when you get home." The pressure doesn't end there. After asking whether the price on a particular tea set included the cups, the girl answered my question, but directed me to the other side of the store where the cast iron pots were. She explained that they are really the best way to brew tea and add many beneficial properties to the tea the more you use them. Could she "put a set together for me?" So, I went from a $60 tea set to looking at $100 just for a cast iron pot. I had previously bought my mom a whole gorgeous cast iron tea set from a little Japanese store close to my house for only $50. Ah! All I wanted was some yummy tea and maybe a cute tea set. Not car salesman-like heckling.
The teas at Teavena are delicious though. You just have to be wary of all the words thrown at you and avoid the pressure to spend more than you intend. Although they weren't shown to us, they do sell very cute 2oz sized containers. If you have an airtight dark container at home, you can also have them package the tea you pick into a little paper bag to avoid the extra charge for their tin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)