Word of the Day: Adjust

Now that my attempts to keep the munchkin asleep all night are finally paying off, it's time for me to adjust to more normal sleeping patterns. I'm an insomniac anyway, so I have always kept late hours (even when I would go to work at 4 AM, I'd be up until 12 or 1 AM.) However, with the baby, I was staying up until 8 AM sometimes, only to sleep off and on during the day. Now it's time for me to start sleeping at night again. I don't know how I'll like it: I've gotten a great nighttime TV show routine mapped out LOL! Once I'm sleeping through the night again, I will have to learn what's good on TV during the daytime :)

Seriously though, I'm spending many waking hours trying to find a way to stay close to my baby once my maternity leave is over. I used to have a daily 4 hour round-trip commute to work. Now that I'm a mommy, I can't imagine wasting 4 hours a day in traffic (instead of spending time with her.) I also can't bear to think about the fact that if she gets sick while I'm working, it'll take me 2 hours to get back to her :( It's time to make some changes ...

My Trick for Getting the Baby to Sleep All Night ...

The munchkin has been sleeping on a crazy schedule since I brought her home. But now that she's 6 weeks old, I figured I'd try tinkering with her routine, to see if I can get her to sleep all night. I certainly don't have anything to lose: I'm up all kinds of crazy hours, anyway LOL!

As it turns out, my mother told me that she had a trick for getting me to sleep soundly as an infant. I was born in the summer, and it was HOT when I was born. My mother told me what it took to get me to sleepyland: a very cool room, a warm sleeper outfit, and a full belly. I tried the same thing with my munchkin, and it's been working for the past couple of nights! So excited :) I'm hoping that I will be able to get her to sleep beyond 5 hours, though getting her to this point makes me very happy :D

Postpartum Checkup

I went to my obstetrician for my postpartum checkup. She checked my c-section incision and gave me the go-ahead to resume normal activity :) This is the day I've been waiting for! I will be starting my new diet and workout routine on June 1st. I'll be blogging it about it :) I can't wait to get back to my pre-pregnancy, pre-marriage body.

My body goals are as follows:

-overall size 4
-24 inch waist
-weigh less than 130 lbs


Stay tuned for updates!

Word of the Day: Constipation

My poor little munchkin was so constipated over the past day. She was extra fussy and could not sleep more than an hour or two at a time. I perused a few forums, looking for something to give my baby relief. I found my answer here, at BabyCenter. I decided against doing a suppository (the gross factor was just a bit much for me LOL!) I didn't have any dark Karo syrup, but my mother had purchased some baby juice-apple-prune juice- just in case the munchkin needed it. So I did a half juice/half water bottle. I used one ounce of each. After a few hours, the little one filled her diaper, and she slept soundly after that.

I will be giving her juice/water bottles for another couple of days, just to keep her regular, along with cutting back on baby formula and breastfeeding her more. In the meantime, here is another picture of my little pooper-star :)

Twitter Thoughts on Motherhood ...

"No one should demonize motherhood. No one should romanticize motherhood. It can liberate. It can enslave. Both are possible." @Anti_Intellect

"Happy Mother's Day!  #Motherhood is the most sacred profession. #HappyMothersDay" @DeepakChopra

"Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind.” - Howard W. Hunter" @GreatestQuotes

" ... Motherhood isn't biology it's 'Love-ology' " @CoryBooker

"Happy mothers day 2 all u wonderful mommies! Hope u get lots of wet kisses & funky art work & back yard peed-on flowers. #motherhood" @kimwilliamspais

"A disorganized, individualistic selfish "community," makes motherhood a burden." @SouljahBooks

Word of the Day: Shots

Once upon a time, when I heard the word "shots", I thought of small glasses filled with all kinds of libational goodness. Now, "shots" mean those almost-every-month baby torture sessions. I had a supply of baby Tylenol on hand, just to help the munchkin get through it. Fortunately, she was pretty tough: she squealed for less than 5 minutes, and has been relaxed and comfortable ever since we left the doctor's office. She looked absolutely adorable today:

She's had a hard day. Every nap was well deserved :)

Word of the Day: Breastfeeding

Psst, guess what? I'm doing it, my sister-in-love is doing it, and even Beyonce is doing it. What are we all doing? Breast feeding, of course! It's free, helps promote the bonding process, gives baby the best nutrition, helps your stay busty longer, and helps you lose the baby weight super-fast. So many bonuses to it, why would anyone opt out of breastfeeding?

Well, it isn't exactly a "natural" sensation, especially for first time mothers. It actually hurts when you're figuring it out (and forget all those folks who say that it doesn't hurt once the latch is correct: it hurts until you get used to it.) It means that you have to feed frequently (baby's bodies process breast milk far faster than formula.) You also have to keep up your healthy pregnancy eating habits (along with eating an additional 350-500 calories a day), which can be time consuming for a new mom. You will have a wet shirt or two, until you get baby on a good schedule or until you start buying those breast milk pads for your bra. Oh yeah, only you can produce your breast milk so, unless you pump, you can't hand off the baby for feedings: you will have to do all of the feedings yourself.

I weighed the option and decided to primarily breast feed, while giving the baby no more than 4 ounces of formula per day, to start. Now that she's eating 4 ounces per feeding, I do 8 ounces of formula per day (2 small bottles) and breastfeed for the rest of the day. So far it's been working well. I'm glad that she hasn't had any issues with nipple confusion or problems with digesting formula. I use Enfamil's Newborn formula, but I'll be giving Similac a try, as well. I registered with both the Enfamil and Similac websites. I received lots of formula to try (nice sized cans: no wimpy sample sizes LOL!) I'm making mental notes of how her stools look when using Enfamil (per Similac, their formula creates stools that are far more similar to the bowel movements of breastfed babies, since their formula is supposed to be closer to mother's milk.) I'll then compare her stools to how they look with Similac. I'll be monitoring for general gassiness, vomit, fussiness, etc., to see which formula she favors, then I'll make my final decision.

Like I mentioned earlier, breastfeeding can be uncomfortable. It doesn't help when you have dry, sore, cracked nipples. I tried Medela's nipple cream while I was in the hospital, and it worked well. However, I had a sample sized bottle so I either had to buy more or find an alternative. Also, I still use soap on my breasts (which is generally discouraged while breastfeeding, since it removes your skin's natural protective oils.) Here's a little tip that I have for breastfeeding moms: olive oil, post shower, is great for applying to sore, dry breasts and nipples. It absorbs into skin easily, it's all natural, and it's a food product, so you don't have to worry about it making your baby sick, should you have to breastfeed soon after applying it. Any olive oil works, though heavier versions (extra virgin olive oil, as opposed to extra light olive oil) tend to be a little better for me.

That's my words on breastfeeding. For more breastfeeding information, I go to this site: http://breastfedblog.blogspot.com/ Yeah, you can Google your answers, but I find this blog more informative and fun :) The information on co-sleeping was very useful, as I had a c-section and found that hopping out of the bed every couple of hours to get a hungry infant was just too much. I have been co-sleeping-though slowly weaning her off of it-since the baby came home (she's napping in her bassinet more, now that my incision has healed considerably.)

For the moms who want to supplement breastfeeding with formula feedings, check out the websites for Enfamil and Similac. Those freebies are a big help!

Changes on the Horizon ...

Today was my first Mother's Day-and the day that my husband moved back to his home state. No worries: we're still together. However, he was offered a job back in Louisiana, and the job is far better than what he could find in the DC/MD/VA area, so he took it. He went back today and will start his job this week. The new job means that I will be able to become a stay-at-home mom, which was what I wanted. However, with the majority of my family located within the DMV area, if I went back with him now, I would be so lonely, not to mention overwhelmed: my mother is helping me (BIG TIME) right now. With that being said, I am staying here for a while longer. I'm not sure when we'll be back under the same roof, but I know I don't want to relocate for at least a year. It'll be tough, but we'll be okay.

I can't quite put my feelings into words: if I didn't have the baby, I would miss my husband sorely, but the little one fills me with so much joy that I find it hard to be happy and sad at the same time. So, I choose happiness: I'm enjoying the baby without dwelling on Hubby's relocation. When we first got married, we were apart for 1.5 months before he moved to my hometown. It seemed like eternity. This time, I think we're both mature enough and focused enough to put our emotions aside and put our energy into making a great life for our family. Building our future will take time, and yes, it means that we won't be in the same home for a while. But while we're apart, we still remember what's important: our love and our family. I stay happy by thinking of our love for each other and for our munchkin. So this Mother's Day, I focus on what matters: the loves of my life, my husband and our daughter.

Gassy Giggles?

I love my baby's smile ... Here's a picture of what brings me joy :D

I get so excited when she flashes me a smile, but everyone keeps taking the fun out of it by telling me, "It's just gas." Well, now here's my proof that, while her smiles aren't intentional, they aren't gas related, either! This article at JustTheFacts explains that the smiles aren't related to gas at all. 

You learn something new every day :D

Insta-Bonding?

I write this post with a snoozing infant in my arms (actually, just my left arm: the right arm is free for me to type.) Yes, this entire post will be typed using just one hand, via the modified hunt-and-peck method LOL!

I wanted to talk about that magical, natural yet supernatural thing called bonding. Since I only have one hand free, I'll keep this brief. Lots of women feel guilty for not being absolutely enamored with their babies immediately. The women who do have that insta-bond feeling are notorious for being "horrified" at the thought of other mothers who don't bond immediately with their children. These smug women make some mothers feel less-than, simply because their bondng experience is different. I'm here to say, don't beat yourself up. Not every mother feels a super strong bond with their baby immediately. I know that it took several nursing sessions as well as plenty of face-to-face time for me to get that bonded feeling. I went from being my own woman to being a mommy; the 9 months preceding my daughter's birth did little to prep me for the emotional and mental transitions.

Yes, I'll say it. For me, it took TIME. That doesn't mean I didn't love my baby, or that I loved her less than those insta-bond moms. Just means that my bonding journey was different from other moms. All that time together means that my baby already knows my voice and smell: she is immediately calmed when she hears me or I hold her. So I feel that our bonding journey was perfect for us. Honestly, I wouldn't change one thing.

Baby Visions Dancing In My Head ...

Pre-baby, I did a WHOLE lot of daydreaming. She was such a mystery to me, and I couldn't quite wrap my mind around this little person who would look like either me, my husband, some other relative, or some random mixture of features. Based on my and Hubby's features, I imagined that my baby would look something like the little ones pictured below ...

She, of course, has her own unique look, which I love a thousand times more than I could have ever imagined :) The real deal is pictured below:

Pretty cute, don't you agree?

The Birth Story (Also Known As How I Confirmed the Friday the 13th Jinx)

My anniversary was April 8th. Hubby and I celebrated our first full year of marriage. Our little one was due on April 26th, so we figured that we may have just about a week or so before we could go on the official baby watch. So, on Friday, April 13th, we decided to go out and enjoy ourselves. Around 5 PM, Hubby, my mom, and I went to a Chinese buffet. I ate lots of crawfish, stir fried green beans, and a huge plate of fresh fruit. After we ate, we dropped my mom off at her home and went home to get ready for our night out.

I did my makeup, wrapped my hair with a cute headwrap, and got dressed to go out. Hubby wore a nice dress shirt, slacks and slicked his hair back (one of my favorite looks on him :) We went to a local martini lounge, where one of my favorite live bands was scheduled to perform. Unfortunately, the lounge's website is outdated, so there was another band performing this night. The band at the lounge on this particular night was mediocre, so we ended up watching pro basketball and sipping drinks (he had a gin and tonic, I enjoyed a club soda.) Around halftime, we decided to head back to the house and chill out. I went to the bathroom then came back to the bar while I waited to see a couple of basketball clips before we left. I felt like I needed to check myself again, so I went to the bathroom again, where my water promptly broke LOL!

I washed my hands, tied my jacket around my waist, and left the bathroom, then told my husband that my water broke. The video below picks up after we went back to the house to gather just a couple of things before heading to the hospital.

She's Here!

The baby was born on April 15th. I "enjoyed" 24 hours of labor before I ended up needing a c-section. Here are a few exclusive pictures of the munchkin :) By the way, the birth story will be up very soon.

Hope you enjoy the pics of the little one! More posts coming soon :)