Parenting & Baby Truths

The harder you try to be quiet and not wake a sleeping baby, the more likely you are to knock something off a shelf or trip over a chair. Or anything really. 

The less she naps, the more tired you are.

Bibs should be full body length. The baby will always find an uncovered area of clothing to spit the food on.

It would make more sense if babies absorbed food through their chin. Or nose. Or cheeks. Because really, more of it ends up there than in their mouth anyway. 

The more annoying the toy, the more the baby will like it.

Picking baby boogers out will turn into a game.

Catching a bunch of spit up in your hand is no big deal.

You're probably going to think almost every little thing your kid does is adorable and want to gush about him/her all the time. This will eventually annoy others. They may think your kid is cute, but probably not to the extent that you do. 

Throwing toys on the floor, out of their reach, and whining until you get that toy for them is a game that all babies learn. The most annoying game, but still a game to them. 

So many babies eventually only want to cuddle when their sick. Soak up those newborn cuddles as much as you can. 

Babies also eventually stop falling asleep in your arms so often. Soak up those moments too. 

Add your own in the comments!

The Change

It happens so quick, that you don't even notice for days or even weeks. 

One day you have this adorable, helpless little newborn. You forget what it's like to eat and sleep, because you're too busy making sure your baby does. You almost miss doing the dishes, because it's been so long since you've had time to do them. You don't remember what it's like to shower and put on decent clothes. You forget you ever had favorite tv shows. 

It starts slowly. All of a sudden you don't have to rush through making baby bottles while the baby cries. 

You watch a little tv before bed. 

Soon you're struggling through the day without any kind of nap. 

You take the baby out shopping by yourself, and no tears are shed by either of you the entire time. 

Then one day you wake up and she's 5 months old and you finally remember what it feels like to have time to be bored. 

You watch your favorite shows again. You have your breakfasts together. She plays happily in her high chair while you do the dishes. More of the day is spent smiling and playing instead of whining and crying. You sometimes feel a little disappointed when it's already her bedtime. 

Suddenly you can't believe how amazing life is. 

Silent Sunday: Mommy and Baby

January 25, 2011

Life, or something like it

I totally messed up in yesterday's post. Because Ryan Reynolds was not there, and he totally should've been. And Gerard Butler. Such a mess up, but at least I won't make that mistake next time. 

It's Friday. 

Once upon a time, Friday brought on a rush of happiness. Saturday? Even more so. Those days were a long, long time ago - back in my school days. I felt that same 'weekend rush' a few times also in my partying with friends days, but as I've worked most weekends of my life, it never had the same excitement as it did when I was completely free on the weekends. 

Now for the next 8 months I am kind of free again on weekends. Free, as in I have no plans, no job, nothing. But only kind of free as I am now a mom so I can never make carefree weekend plans again without first finding a sitter. 

So with that being said, it's the weekend and it holds no excitement for me whatsoever anymore. It's almost the opposite. Sometimes the weekends make me sad because it's just a reminder of how I can't make big crazy plans anymore. I can't even make fun, simple plans anymore as my only nearest friend lives an hour away and has as much responsibility with her job as I do with my daughter. 

I'm in no way complaining about being a mom and how it took away my freedom, even though it sounds like it. I'm more so complaining about my lack of life in general. 

I want to feel excited over stuff again. And by stuff, I don't mean baby smiles and kicks. That stuff makes my day, but I wish there was a little more to my day every once in awhile. 

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Lalala. Those are my words of wisdom for the day. 

My baby-free time

As I write this, my apartment is baby-free. I've been baby-free before, but that was when I was out with friends, travelling somewhere, or off to the store - always doing something. This is the first time I'm baby-free and I'm just sitting on the couch relaxing. It's pretty amazing. My munchkin is usually asleep by this time anyway (it's almost 12am as I write this), but then I'd have to be rushing to bed so I could get my 7-8 hours in. (Yeah, don't hate - my baby let's me get about that much sleep at once lately.) 

I don't have to worry about getting to bed. I know I can sleep until I'm ready to wake up tomorrow morning. I don't have to worry that she might start crying. I don't need to have the monitor on. It's pretty great, although I do miss her already. It was a bit easier to let her go than I expected. I blame that on the fact that she cried on and off for about three hours before she left. By the time she was ready to leave I needed the break. But I do miss that cute little face.

I was also able to get out and shop baby-free for the first time in a long time, which is a million times easier. Have I mentioned that she cries almost the entire time we're in the car, every time unless it's a long trip of straight driving. And she cries almost the entire time we're in the stores unless I take her out of the car seat and hold her. Have I mentioned how hard it is to shop alone with a baby in your arms? She isn't the biggest fan of her carrier so I stopped dragging that out with me. 

As much as I'd love to relax tomorrow while she's still gone, there's just so much I'd like to get done. My biggest goal is to have my room completely unpacked and semi-organized. Not being able to find things is making me crazy. I have a few other things on the top of my to-do list for tomorrow so wish me luck. I'll never have time for it all but it'll be nice to get started. 

PS:  Head over to my Facebook page and tell me what's the biggest thing on your Christmas list? The crazier, the better. 

They weren't lying - it does get better

The whole new mom thing. You know the drill - sleepwalking through the days, very limited warm meals and showers. It starts to seem like that's all your life will be. You don't even notice the change, since it happens slowly. But all of a sudden the baby is taking 3 hour naps and you're able to nap too, or eat, or tidy up. All of a sudden she's not crying every waking minute of the day. She starts smiling and playing by herself. You can complete actual tasks without her crying once. 

All of a sudden she's sleeping 5 hours at a time, then 7, then rarely 9. 

That's what I found, anyway. I few days ago I even made cookies. No-bake cookies, but it's all about baby steps. I sometimes find myself with free time in the evenings if she goes to bed early enough. I also still have nights where she cries until the clock switches to the early AM hours, but you survive it. Sometimes you cry with her, but in the morning it feels like it was ages ago. 

Just this week I manage to take a long shower while home alone with Chloe. Only because I had her in the swing and the combination of the swinging with the noise of the shower must've knocked her out. When I saw she was asleep I took my time. The swing just barely fits in the bathroom, so lucky me. 

Chloe got her first needles done on December 1st. I had to take her by myself. 

When they talk about babies getting their needles, I always hear people say 'oh she did so good!'. What qualifies as 'good'? Is it the loudness of the screaming? Because let's face it, they almost all scream. And why wouldn't they? They (or at least mine) get poked with three needles. One right after the other.

Break. My. Heart.

And they make me hold her leg still while they do it. The first two were bad enough. When we turned her and gave her the third needle in her other leg, the loud crying went to screaming. She cried and whimpered for awhile after, until she fell asleep on my shoulder about 20 minutes later with the saddest, reddest eyes I've ever seen. She probably doesn't even remember it now, but I'll never forget it. And I have to do it again in two months.

Luckily for the both of us she seemed to have missed out on any of the side effects. No fussiness at all, no fever the whole day, just my regular girl. She was pretty fussy the day after, but I think her lack of napping played a part in that. We're still not used to the noise of the neighbors. 

But that's some of what we've been up to lately. 

I finally got my camera battery charged and took her two month photos. Now if I ever find my cord I'll do her two month update.. hopefully before it's time for the three month update. 

Breastfeeding to Formula: The good, the bad and the ugly

We recently did the switch. We suspected C's constant crankiness may have been because dairy wasn't agreeing with her, or maybe she was missing out on some nutrients, but whatever the case it worked. C is now on a soy formula and is a lot less cranky than before. 

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The Good

The boobs finally get a break

The Bad

Sometimes switching them over can make them stop pooping for a few days

The Ugly

Once the poop comes, there's a chance it could be a very dark green, and be the worst smelling poop you've ever encountered

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The Good

You can prepare the milk in advance, and not have to worry about milk for an entire day

The Bad

You now need to wash bottles daily

The Ugly

Formula is not cheap, boys and girls!

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The Good

You can ship your little one off to stay with someone else, without needing you present to feed them

The Bad

You now (probably) need to let your milk dry up

The Ugly

At best it is uncomfortable. At worst it is some very intense pain

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Has anyone else started out breastfeeding and done the switch in the first few months? Share your story! 

I'm drowning.

My little girl turned 6 weeks old yesterday. 

In the past week, she started smiling and cooing like crazy. 

She's outgrown most of her newborn pjs - she's just too long for them. 

On November 1st I switched her to formula. I do see a small change in her ever since, where she cries a bit less. (You know what's hard, painful work? Drying up breast milk. Just sayin'.)

I always just want to hold her and kiss her. 

But some days I feel like I'm drowning. 

My entire life consists of Chloe, tv, and the couch. It's quite sad and lonely, but these are the easy days compared to the ones where we have to leave the house. 

Almost every minute of every day is spent looking forward to the next time I can squeeze in any amount of sleep. 

I find myself wondering when I'll feel anything more than stress and exhaustion. If I'll ever feel any kind of real happiness anytime soon. I wonder if I'll ever get to do anything I enjoy for more than a few minutes at a time. 

I feel like I don't exist. I wonder if I'll ever be 'me' again, or if I'm just always going to be nothing but Chloe's mother. I'm sure it's possible to be both, but right now there just isn't any time for me. 

Chloe is always going to wake up to my face and my voice. I'm going to witness most, if not all of her firsts. I'm always going to be here to play with her, to teach her. I wouldn't have it any other way. Even now as I type, I stop every few seconds and just stare at her. She's amazing. 

Still, it would be nice sometimes to be the one who gets to just relax at home without worrying about diapers or bottles or crying. To feel like a person again. Just for a couple of hours. 

A Halloween Confession

Although the confession has nada to do with Halloween. 

They tell you motherhood is so hard yet rewarding. So stressful, yet worth it. What 'they' don't prepare you for is the extra stress you throw upon yourself. There's the stress of less sleep and the stress of worrying about your baby. Then there's the pointless stress.

Example: They say sleep when she sleeps. I do that as much as I can .Then there's times she sleeps, and I'm not tired. Instead of doing things I enjoy and relaxing, I stress. I stress that I should be sleeping because if not I'll pay for it later.

I don't let myself relax when I can. I barely do the things I enjoy. I manage to sneak in a good amount of blogging time while I pump of while she's content in her swing or chair. The second she falls asleep, my mind goes into overdrive worrying.

About sleep. She's been with us for 5 weeks now, and I've managed so far, which should be proof enough that I'm doing okay. I can relax a little. But still I stress. Pointlessly. I need something to help me relax before I make myself crazy. 

If you have any tips, please share. In the meantime, I'm trying my hardest to get past this. 

[ Trying on my new, too big hat ]