Life of a M-O-M

When I found out I was going to have a baby, I had some many "ideas" and "convictions" about how I thought a good mom had to act, say or do. In fact, I had many things that I swore I would NEVER do.

February 3 all that changed.

I found that I would take any sleep I could get....even if it meant Baby J would sleep in his swing for 3 months.
I found that TV (usually Disney) although not a frequent babysitter, paired with an exersaucer is a welcome break when I am trying to cook, get dressed or clean.
I found that working fulltime is not really what I want. The "job" means very little compared to this extraordinary little boy.
I also found that, although not ideal, working fulltime is necessary. Damn bills :-)
I never thought I would feel guilty for giving my child formula. But I do...and let's face it, sometimes I need a break.
Speaking of breaks, I did not know how guilty I would feel when sneaking "me time"
I would NEVER call a babysitter several times- while my sweet slept- to make sure he was breathing....or have a panic attack that he would be missing me (again, in his sleep) and ending date night a bit early. Anyone related- ha!
I never anticipated falling more in love with my husband than I ever thought possible, each and every time I see him with our son.

I saw a quote somewhere (can't for the life of me remember- but I think it was Heidi Klum?) that said that their (meaning her and her husband's) love was so great, that it burst out of them in the form of their children. What a great way to think of kids- that you loved someone so much, that they are a product of love combustion. Something about that (I am sure I horribly butchered what she said, but still) makes me smile.

I have many wonderful, life enriching friends, but the fact is, I am the ONLY one with a child at the moment (Ok, one of my bf's had a sweet Baby Mac last week, but she lives 3 hours away...so I don't get to see her). I didn't know that I would need an outlet for these things. So I decided...that in addition to blogging, I am joining an evening MOPS group in Lex. Super excited about this! We will meet once a month, from 7-9 p. I think that this will make me a better mom and I hope I get to know others with wee ones too! I will post after my first meeting this Thursday.

Also- I decided to do a one month fitness boot camp for my birthday next month. Something about turning 28 calls for a ripped (albeit stretch marked) body, don't you think? More to come....

In all my days...

In all my days on this Earth....10,190 to be exact (27 years, 10 months and 25 days) I never thought I could love something so much!

Baby J will be 7 months old tomorrow.

- You can sit up all by yourself...and proceed to topple shortly thereafter- a work in progress! :-)

- You cut your first tooth! I was so excited and sad about this at the same time

- You are so pleasant. You rarely cry unless you need something.

- You LOVE your dad and smile whenever you see him.

- You are the BEST sleeper. You go down around 6:30 pm and I wake you up at 6:30 am to eat

- You are still nursing, but curiousity is getting to you and I am sure are days are numbered.

- You LOVE bottles and solid foods. You grunt and kick when you see a bottle or spoon.

- You hate peaches. You grimace each bite- ha!

- You are the light of our lives and make us soooo happy! We love you so.

I cannot believe my baby is 7 months old. Less than 1/2 a year and he will be one. This is going too fast- people say it, but its soooo true. I am so blessed to have a healthly, happy boy in my life! JM and I love him so much- we are totally nuts for this child!

I will leave you with a recent pic, taken by my sweet friend. His brown eyes are killer- don't you agree?

Teeth are...waaaay overrated.

I officially hate teeth.

Yup, we are teething in the K household and let me tell you, it is like baby boot camp ALL over again.

Didn't J sleep through the night since almost 6 weeks? Didn't he sleep for 12 hours both Friday AND Saturday night?

Why, please tell me, did he sleep for a total of 1 hour last night? I did not mistype. You got it. One. Hour. I am exhausted, frustrated and would LOVE someone to point me in the way of advice.

I gave tylenol every 4 hours. I rubbed ora-jel on his gums. I rocked, sang, kissed, cuddled until I literally could not keep my eyes opened. I nursed every 3-4 hours THROUGH THE NIGHT. I swear, teeth may actually kill me.

Any advice? I read all sorts of tips googling and I know every baby is different but PLEASE tell me that my adorable sleep through the night sweetie will return to me. Soon.

And yeah- I am hoping the next time he decides to sleep for 1 hour its not on a night when I have to get up for work at 5. Thanks for the help on that one.

Weighty Issues

A quick commentary on the post preggo body (because if you can't be honest in cyberspace...what are you doing here?):

1. I gained 40 pounds while pregnant-seriously! Started slow (only up 17 pounds at 24 weeks!) then PACKED IT ON (or "gave up" as my hubby said) at the end.

2. As I was not underweight prior to getting knocked up, this is a significant amount of weight. I think they recommend 25-35 lbs.

3. I swear that at least 5 lbs was swelling at the end- no joke. I had ham hocks. :-)

4. I swear that at least 20 lbs was Dairy Queen Blizzards and Culver's sundaes at the end :-)

5. Once I had J, I quickly dropped 25 lbs. Woo Hoo! The rest will fall off, right?

But the other 15 remained. On my hips. On my butt. On my thighs. Hanging off where my stomach used to be.

So, what's a mom to do? Joined weight watchers online and proudly, 3.5 months after J was born I was back to my pre-preggers weight. Awesome, right?

Well...here is my weighty issue:

Why is it that I WEIGH the SAME amount, but look COMPLETELY different? My hips are bigger (alright- I get the child bearing hips comments) and the weight is shifted into different areas. Troubled areas are no longer so troubled and areas I thought were ok (my legs?) now look like someone else's. Veins showing up in random spots, gasp- STRETCH MARKS, and cellulite...oh my! I was in a swimsuit last weekend and realized I am my own worst nightmare.

Can anyone else relate? I mean, I knew my life would change because of baby- but was not prepared for the radical body changes. I am trying to embrace a "new" normal (you know, the way I did when I packed on the Freshman 20, Sophomore 10, Junior "Skinny" and inevitable Senior "sorority" house gain). But, when all you want to do is have a smoking hot bod while toting the most adorable creature on Earth (I know I am biased) around- this is frustrating stuff.

Any ideas for a tone up? I understand it involves cutting the krispy kreme that I just devoured- damn work kitchen.

To end on a positive note, here is a picture of the most wonderful reason for weight gain EVER:

He turns 5 months today...more to follow on that later!

WTF: What the French Toast!

As I rarely seem to be anywhere but Mommyland and work- I have found it a struggle to blog as much as I want. Who knew a child could take up so much time- ha!


I thought I would get a few things off my chest that have made me say "WTF: What the french (toast!?)" lately:


1. Heidi and Spencer = Divorced? Publicity stunt? Does anyone really care? With all his crystal craziness and all of her plastic, this is one couple that seems truly. crazy. I mean it.

2. Al and Tipper = Divorced? Now, I know this is no publicity stunt, but if people who have been married for 40 years are getting divorced, I am starting to feel a little less high and mighty for the whole 3 I have under my belt. Just saying.

3. SATC 2 Reviews. I understand its not going to win an Oscar, but I mean are people surprised this movie is not the most amazing blockbuster of the year? Really? I saw the show- it was awesome because (gasp!) it was about sex and nyc. In SATC 2, the girls are settled in the city. Who really wants to watch people raise their children, sit on a couch and eat take out? At least they had a random trip to the middle east to show off crazy outfits and overtly sexual puns. I will say that about 2 hours in, I was checking my watch and hoping I didn't leak before I had to make it home.

4. Speaking of leaking- I had a sinus infection last week that totally affected my milk supply. Yep- still on the bf train, going on 4 months now! Can you believe it? Anyways, $20 at a health food store later, I am fenugreek-ing and blessed thistle-ing my way to more milk. Not really working. $20 still gone.

5. My son is not what you would call "regular," so yesterday when he finally "went" for lack of better term, my hubby and I cheered. I never thought I would actually cheer for that- but honestly we were so excited we high fived.


6. Joran van der Sloot. Kills again. Wow. Is anyone surprised? I really wasn't. But I am so sad for everyone involved. Why do people do what the do?


7. I am hosting a baby shower in a couple weeks. Do you know how expensive it is? Any ideas for cute/CHEAP favors? I want to make it so special with my grand ideas- but my slimmed down post baby budget is taking a major hit.


8. Speaking of SLIMMED DOWN- I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. (Insert shout, dance and clap a la #5).


9. How many episodes can Maury Povich do involving DNA tests and Lie Detectors. Train Wrecks? Yes! Can I stop watching? No.


10. How cute is my boy?? We just got pics taken last week. I will leave you with the WTF: How did I produce such an adorable creature???







P.S. I would like to wish my ssfl, Sarah, good luck with her new job! She is in Nashville now and I know she will love, love, love it!

Baby Mama Drama

So...why do babies not come with instructions? That would sure make my life 100% easier.

In lieu of a "baby" instruction manual (as I do actually understand that this is impossible as every baby is different) , I must resort to something else on a daily basis. You know what I am talking about. Gulp....I will just come out with it:

GOOGLE

I am googling baby stuff every day. From, "excessive drooling" to "what should bowels look like" to "baby schedules" and so on and so forth, ETC. I have petrified myself beyond belief that a small rash (attributed to a sensitivity to the lotion) was actually chicken pox. When my mother in law's dog got worms, I called my pediatritian, vet, sister, mother AND google before I would accept that there was no threat. Don't worry- even with no threat I STILL sent my dog home to the in laws for a few days until he finished antibiotics and it was clear that he didn't have and had never caught the worms.

Sigh. I guess this is what first time parents go through. I feel like I used to be this laid back person. Now that I have this little man in my life, I feel like I will rattle every cage until I know for sure that he is safe.

Speaking of Baby J, he is now a whopping 3 months old. Holy cow! How did that happen??? Major updates to speak of:

1. J is no longer sleeping in the swing. He has successfully slept (all night) in his crib for almost a week. As sad as it was for him to leave our room, I feel like a better parent now that he is in the crib. Talk about societal pressure.

2. We are hanging in there on the breastfeeding. The pumping 3x daily at work is a bit wearing, BUT, all in all I am still trying and he is still eating :-)

3. J is starting to babble. Mornings are his favorite time of the day. Nighttime brings meltdowns and tears. He is definitely his mother's son. We are so synced scheduly (not even a word I am sure).

4. J's favorite nursery rhyme is "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater" I say this approx. 678 times per day. He smiles every time. As soon as the word "peter" gets out, he knows what's coming. So. stinking. cute.

5. For our 3 year anniversary last week, we had our first real (i.e. not related to us) babysitter. She was fabulous and I was so happy to get a couple hours out of the house to be the "couple" again.

Having a child is the most difficult thing I have ever done- but also the most fun. I feel out of control, like an idiot most days and am never sure what each day is going to bring. The planner in me wants to scream, but the type A cleaner in me has relaxed. I just wonder how people KNOW certain things. How do you KNOW your child is ready for solids? How do you KNOW what activity your child should be doing at this age? How do you KNOW just what to do to make them stop crying?

I may not have all the answers, but I do know that for winging it, we have a happy, healthy, bouncing baby boy. And right now, it seems that's good enough. Drama and all.

Don't Blink

Don't blink...just like that your 6 years old and you take a nap

Wake up and you're 25 and your college sweetheart becomes your wife

Don't blink...you just might miss your babies growing like mine did

Trust me friend, 100 years goes faster than you think

Don't blink

Life goes faster than you think

J can't believe its been 2 months since my last post- don't blink...more to come!