My last post of 2010. And it will be about....teething!
In one word,this sucks. This totally brings me back to the newborn days....the crying (Maddie is not a big crier, so this is an obvious change in our household), the early morning wake ups (today it was at 4:50am...did not go back to bed till 6m), and the insecurities of not knowing what to do. Why so many uncertainties?
1. While it could be teething, it could also not.... I know we are expecting a tooth but a tooth sometimes doesn't cut for weeks, sometimes months! I'm pretty sure it is, but I can't say with positivity... therefore, I am always unsure about medicating her. I hate to medicate to begin with, but if she is really uncomfortable and cant sleep, i dont mind giving her something to take the edge off. However, if she is not teething or in pain, then why give her a dropper full of tylenol every 4 hours?
2. Starting bad habits - For the past 5 nights, when she cries, I go in and pick her up and soothe her. Last night I actually nursed her back to sleep. Babies pick up bad habits QUICK. She will soon learn to just cry out even though shes not in pain because she has learned I will come in and get her. I try to let her cry for a bit, but since she has been such a great night sleeper in the past, I have been going in to help her. I figure it has to be something wrong if shes crying. However, if i keep this up, I can't be sure anymore. So what to do... i dont know if i can wait till the tooth cuts to stop. It might take weeks.
On a sidenote, excessive drooling and putting their hands in their mouth are not signs of teething (something babies will do starting at 3 months). These are natural occurances for any baby, and part of the maturing process. But when they are teething, there becomes an obvious difference. When they cry, they make the "im in pain cry". Not only is she putting her hands in her mouth but she is chomping down on them. She will chomp down on anything, and when she does her whole body sort of shakes, as if shes trying to bite harder to get relief. She rubs her tongue on her gums or makes sucking noises. And if you thought the drooling was bad before, its like a faucet now. We go through at least 8-10 bibs a day and thats sort of reusing them after they've dried.
Anyway, last night, she woke up at 4:50 am. crying. if she does wake up, she puts herself back to sleep but she was crying and didnt seem like she was going back. So i went in. I really didnt want to medicate (we already gave her tylenol and orajel when she went to bed), so i nursed her. She didnt fall asleep but she was calm, so I put her back in the crib. She cried for like 5 minutes and then fell asleep. By the time she fell asleep, it was 6am. I was so tired....she woke up 40 minutes later.
As i was nursing her, I couldnt help but to think - OMG this is why i would not want anymore children. I was never one who was good on no sleep. Sleep deprivation is my kyptonite. As I was sitting in the rocker, half asleep, I was thinking "I really hate this. I hate the changes babies make. She was such a great night sleeper...and I think I'm ruining it by nursing her right now. I can't imagine going through this again". I really felt like she was a newborn again. I remember I would nurse her at night...and she would fall asleep at the boob. And this is what would go through my brain over and over again - "should i move her to the crib? What if i wake her? I think I'll just let her sleep here and ill just sleep sitting up in the rocker. No but then, this is bad, she needs to sleep on her own without me. But she also needs her sleep and if shes sleeping now, let her sleep. But wait, my back will be killing me when i wake up. God, im too old for this, and shes too old to be sleeping on me at night. But if I wake her, she might start crying and I know jae needs to go to work soon...should i just let her sleep?"... so eventually I would have to make a decision. I was back to that time last night. Eventually, I did move her.... I dont think I could sleep on the rocking chair again - I had done that many times when she was a baby and it wasnt fun. I thought to myself "i wish i had kids when i was younger... I think im getting too old for this".
I'm sure one day I will look back and not even remember last night but these are thoughts that go through my head when I'm having a rough day. I have a hard time with one.... how will i go through all this again? But of course, I go to get her this morning and she is soooo cute in her pink snowman pjs looking all soft and cuddly and squealing when she sees me that I just cant help but to dismiss what happened last night.
So, we will push on and take it day by day. Eventually I am pretty sure I will have to sleep train her all over again. But for now, I just want to make sure shes alright. We are semi-patiently waiting for these teeth to cut. And when it does, perhaps the photo of her smiling with little bunny teeth will make up for it. Speaking of teeth, I realized I forgot to brush my teeth yesterday. Gross.
So Happy New Year folks! Hoping 2011 is a great year for all. Including my little Maddie Moo.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
My cousin recently asked me how I get anything done around the house with the baby and work. I started thinking about it... so i wanted to jot down what a normal day is like for me.
A day in the life of a mommy:
6:30-7am - wake up...feed her.
After this, I put her in the boppy in my room and let her watch TV =( shes watching sesame street soon to be replaced by My Baby Can Read lol... I start to open the computer and check work emails and see what i have to do for the day.
After about 20-30 minutes, I put her on the playmat and we play together. Occasionally, I will fold laundry or do laundry during this time.
about 40 minutes later, I take her into her room, change diaper, put down for a nap.
During her naps, I go downstairs and make something to eat and make coffee. While its cooking/microwaving I wipe down all the counters and put away some dishes. I put together my pump parts and the babys food gear. I go back upstairs, eat, pump and work/email.
When she wakes up, i feed her and this is when i catch up on my DVR. LOL. it gives me about half an hour to watch a show or two.
I put her back in the boppy to see if she will poop. I check email/work. After about 15 minutes, I change her diaper and change her into her clothes for the day. We go downstairs and I put her in the saucer or jumparoo and make her lunch. (BTW, whoever said to not buy these big ticket items was an idiot!).
I feed her and then let her play in the highchair while I do the dishes. When she starts to whine, I put her in the jumparoo and let her play while I either finish cleaning up, or this is also the time when i would steam/puree some food for her.
I go back to her and play with her before we go upstairs and play some more on the playmat. When its nap time, I put her down.
I make lunch for myself, finish cleaning up downstairs if needed, eat, pump, work, email.
When she wakes up, I feed her and again catch up on DVR.
We can run errands at this time, or we just play some more. Right about the time that she will go down for a nap, Jae will come home. This gives me some more time to work.
I put her down for a nap and keep working. This is a short nap so Jae, if hes home, usually goes to get her when she wakes and gives her a bottle, giving me time to work/email or time for myself. Sometimes I will clean the house, vacuum, or make some more baby food, or sometimes run errands on my own.
About 5:00, i feed her more solids. When shes done we occupy her till bathtime. I take this opportunity to cook dinner (if im cooking) or make some baby food, or do a good clean of some part of the house.
6:30 bathtime.
6:45-7:00 i nurse her to sleep. Jae goes out to get dinner while im doing this if i didnt cook. While hes still out, I usually take this opportunity to shower. If not, I sometimes shower during her 9am nap.
We eat, and watch a few shows together. Then i go upstairs and either finish working or surf the computer. Lights out is pretty early in our household.
Next morning, repeat.
What I have concluded is, Maddie spends a lot of time alone =(
On a typical day, i am juggling many things as shes awake... for example, just yesterday, I was texting jae, chatting on gmail, answering an email and also trying to buy maddie new pjs, and trying to watch DVR at the same time. But I am sort of teeter tottering on all of them. My text to jae is about an hour late, my chats (to porky brewster..hello!) are often delayed, I had been needing to buy new PJS for weeks now (she is wearing 6 months and needs bigger!), I am constantly rewinding the show to watch parts over and over again since I wasnt paying attention, all while the baby is up and im trying to play with her.
Its something im just used to, i guess. i am used to multitasking anyway. Having the ipad now helps a lot. I can be accessible so much easier now that i can bring it up and down the stairs. I can still do all my communicating with friends and work right while i sit next to maddie, whether im upstairs or down. I can even do all this while holding her, bc i can prop the ipad anyway, like on the bed or whatever, whereas i cant do that with my laptop.
what also helps is having jae come home before 5 most days...and also in general just being an anal butt who is used to doing a million things at one time. And also having been at this job for 5-6 years and so the work is relatively easy and i can do things really fast. And also, a slow economy so im not SUPER SUPER busy.
on my slower work days, i use the time that she naps to clean, pay bills, work on any outstanding projects at home (christmas cards for example), clean her toys, put away clothes she doesnt fit anymore, shop online etc etc.
There is always something to do!
A day in the life of a mommy:
6:30-7am - wake up...feed her.
After this, I put her in the boppy in my room and let her watch TV =( shes watching sesame street soon to be replaced by My Baby Can Read lol... I start to open the computer and check work emails and see what i have to do for the day.
After about 20-30 minutes, I put her on the playmat and we play together. Occasionally, I will fold laundry or do laundry during this time.
about 40 minutes later, I take her into her room, change diaper, put down for a nap.
During her naps, I go downstairs and make something to eat and make coffee. While its cooking/microwaving I wipe down all the counters and put away some dishes. I put together my pump parts and the babys food gear. I go back upstairs, eat, pump and work/email.
When she wakes up, i feed her and this is when i catch up on my DVR. LOL. it gives me about half an hour to watch a show or two.
I put her back in the boppy to see if she will poop. I check email/work. After about 15 minutes, I change her diaper and change her into her clothes for the day. We go downstairs and I put her in the saucer or jumparoo and make her lunch. (BTW, whoever said to not buy these big ticket items was an idiot!).
I feed her and then let her play in the highchair while I do the dishes. When she starts to whine, I put her in the jumparoo and let her play while I either finish cleaning up, or this is also the time when i would steam/puree some food for her.
I go back to her and play with her before we go upstairs and play some more on the playmat. When its nap time, I put her down.
I make lunch for myself, finish cleaning up downstairs if needed, eat, pump, work, email.
When she wakes up, I feed her and again catch up on DVR.
We can run errands at this time, or we just play some more. Right about the time that she will go down for a nap, Jae will come home. This gives me some more time to work.
I put her down for a nap and keep working. This is a short nap so Jae, if hes home, usually goes to get her when she wakes and gives her a bottle, giving me time to work/email or time for myself. Sometimes I will clean the house, vacuum, or make some more baby food, or sometimes run errands on my own.
About 5:00, i feed her more solids. When shes done we occupy her till bathtime. I take this opportunity to cook dinner (if im cooking) or make some baby food, or do a good clean of some part of the house.
6:30 bathtime.
6:45-7:00 i nurse her to sleep. Jae goes out to get dinner while im doing this if i didnt cook. While hes still out, I usually take this opportunity to shower. If not, I sometimes shower during her 9am nap.
We eat, and watch a few shows together. Then i go upstairs and either finish working or surf the computer. Lights out is pretty early in our household.
Next morning, repeat.
What I have concluded is, Maddie spends a lot of time alone =(
On a typical day, i am juggling many things as shes awake... for example, just yesterday, I was texting jae, chatting on gmail, answering an email and also trying to buy maddie new pjs, and trying to watch DVR at the same time. But I am sort of teeter tottering on all of them. My text to jae is about an hour late, my chats (to porky brewster..hello!) are often delayed, I had been needing to buy new PJS for weeks now (she is wearing 6 months and needs bigger!), I am constantly rewinding the show to watch parts over and over again since I wasnt paying attention, all while the baby is up and im trying to play with her.
Its something im just used to, i guess. i am used to multitasking anyway. Having the ipad now helps a lot. I can be accessible so much easier now that i can bring it up and down the stairs. I can still do all my communicating with friends and work right while i sit next to maddie, whether im upstairs or down. I can even do all this while holding her, bc i can prop the ipad anyway, like on the bed or whatever, whereas i cant do that with my laptop.
what also helps is having jae come home before 5 most days...and also in general just being an anal butt who is used to doing a million things at one time. And also having been at this job for 5-6 years and so the work is relatively easy and i can do things really fast. And also, a slow economy so im not SUPER SUPER busy.
on my slower work days, i use the time that she naps to clean, pay bills, work on any outstanding projects at home (christmas cards for example), clean her toys, put away clothes she doesnt fit anymore, shop online etc etc.
There is always something to do!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Almost 26 weeks (just shy of 6 months)...
Today is day 6 after her fall and her eye is not swollen anymore and has returned to regular size. her eye is all sorts of colors of the rainbow though. but it'll go away. =)
for some reason maddie has stopped rolling over. =(
her teeth are really pushing through now. she is chomping on her fingers like mad. the drool comes out like a water faucet. she has been waking up multiple times after going down for bed. we gave her some orajel 2 nights and she went right to sleep after that, but i watched her very closely. she woke up once last night and i rocked her back without any medication and she went back to bed for the night, so we'll see what happens tonight. just waiting for this tooth to cut!
we tried peas for the first time last night. i think she liked them! i got this great book from MAB for christmas which i like (M - i think its actually better than the book your sister recommended which i also like). I have a whole list of things I cant wait to try with Maddie. I was surprised to learn she can have meats very soon. She seems to be growing up so fast! some things i do want her to try - mashed potatoes, pureed chicken vegetable soup, and yogurt.
Someone suggested it was time for her to start to learn how to eat with her hands. They said puffs were ok... so i gave maddie some but she didnt really know what to do with them when they were in her mouth. i might try to give her some ripe avacado today, just cut up in small pieces that she can grab. I gave her a barley teething biscuit yesterday which she loved. and of course her favorite mum mums which i am still not sure about since they are made in china.
my goal at the end of january is to teach her how to drink out of a sippy. she mostly plays with it. i give her some water out of a regular cup which she can drink out of but she loses interest once she finds out theres only water in the cup. i refuse to give her anything else but water and/or diluted prune juice though so she'll just have to suck it up. can one learn to like water?
oh i forgot to jot down that we moved her to size 3 diapers a week or two ago.
she loves her jumparoo. when she finally learned how to jump in it (earlier this month), it was so cute!
Today is day 6 after her fall and her eye is not swollen anymore and has returned to regular size. her eye is all sorts of colors of the rainbow though. but it'll go away. =)
for some reason maddie has stopped rolling over. =(
her teeth are really pushing through now. she is chomping on her fingers like mad. the drool comes out like a water faucet. she has been waking up multiple times after going down for bed. we gave her some orajel 2 nights and she went right to sleep after that, but i watched her very closely. she woke up once last night and i rocked her back without any medication and she went back to bed for the night, so we'll see what happens tonight. just waiting for this tooth to cut!
we tried peas for the first time last night. i think she liked them! i got this great book from MAB for christmas which i like (M - i think its actually better than the book your sister recommended which i also like). I have a whole list of things I cant wait to try with Maddie. I was surprised to learn she can have meats very soon. She seems to be growing up so fast! some things i do want her to try - mashed potatoes, pureed chicken vegetable soup, and yogurt.
Someone suggested it was time for her to start to learn how to eat with her hands. They said puffs were ok... so i gave maddie some but she didnt really know what to do with them when they were in her mouth. i might try to give her some ripe avacado today, just cut up in small pieces that she can grab. I gave her a barley teething biscuit yesterday which she loved. and of course her favorite mum mums which i am still not sure about since they are made in china.
my goal at the end of january is to teach her how to drink out of a sippy. she mostly plays with it. i give her some water out of a regular cup which she can drink out of but she loses interest once she finds out theres only water in the cup. i refuse to give her anything else but water and/or diluted prune juice though so she'll just have to suck it up. can one learn to like water?
oh i forgot to jot down that we moved her to size 3 diapers a week or two ago.
she loves her jumparoo. when she finally learned how to jump in it (earlier this month), it was so cute!
Monday, December 27, 2010
So in my last post, I blogged about how I wanted my baby to be safe. Well, ironic how she wasnt this past weekend =( Le sigh. let me start.
Friday - its christmas eve! My favorite time of the year. Maddie just had pears and oatmeal for breakfast and we played christmas music as she ate. On a normal day, I change her clothes upstairs before I bring her down for her lunch. But on this day, since we were going to my inlaws, I didnt want to dirty her clothes for that night, so I fed maddie in her PJs and then I took her upstairs to change her and came back down. She was wearing her new "Cutie Pie" t-shirt. Why oh why did i change my normal routine?
On the way back down, I have no idea how I slipped, but as I approached the bottom floor (thank God I was so close to the end), my foot slipped out from under me, my back fell straight back onto the steps and so did Maddie's face. I wont get into the gross details bc I have repeated this story many times this past weekend. The bottom line is, I was frantic, ran upstairs to call Jae. He didnt even know what I was sayig, I Was talking so fast and hysterically that he ran out of the store. Before I got off the phone with him, he was already in his truck coming home. I took a look at maddies face and saw her eye swelling, called the Ped, who directed me to emergency room.
Long story short, ER was great, and Maddie was fine. All i could think about were the "what ifs". What if I had hit my head, passed out and she was awake alone? What if she had hit her eye and had permanent eye damage? What if I tumbled down the entire flight? What if I dropped her as I fell? I know I can't concentrate on the what ifs, but I couldnt help but to think about these things. In fact, that night i woke up at 5 am tossing and turning and thinking about these things. Every time I think about her head hitting the step, I close my eyes and cringe.
So anyway, I didnt end up going to my inlaws that night. They understood. They were concerned for Maddie. I sent a few pics of my poor babys face to family and friends. Everyone said "it doesnt look as bad as I thought it would". Of course my sister in law says "OMG Jess, its looks soooo bad! Keep putting ice on". Geez...even if it was true, no need to say it. Tacky!!! Sometimes honesty is not the best policy! you cannot hide behind "oh im just honest" all the time. Sometimes you have to have a little sympathy and empathy. She could have just said "Oh gosh...just keep icing it, hopefully the swelling will go down". to be fair, we did speak on the phone and she kept saying it was not my fault, these things happen, she was glad we were both okay etc etc... shes not trying to be mean, she just doesnt have common sense sometimes. moving on...
that day my grandma, brother and MAB came over to keep me company and I was sort of glad they did. I Sent jae back to work during his busiest day of the year.... even though he didnt want to leave. But it also made me feel uneasy being home alone with her on 24 hour watch. I was to watch her for any signs of her acting abnormal. I aint gonna lie when i say that everytime she cried, whined, or fussed, i didnt know if it was just her being a normal baby, or any trauma caused by the fall. That night, Jae came home relatively early. We gave Maddie and bath and all was well. She slept her usual 11 hours and life went back to normal.
Christmas Day - Merry Christmas!!! Maddie woke up and I was just so glad to see her alive and well and smiling, I was in such a good mood. I made bacon and eggs for breakfast, Maddie had apples and oatmeal. Jae and I exchanged gifts and I took pics of Maddie on her first christmas day.
Around 12:30, we headed to jersey to go to my cousins house. This 3-5 million dollar house that i love so much. Its beautiful. Maddie slept about 30 minutes in the car and i had to feed her mum mums the rest of the way so she wouldnt cry. hehe.
We had a great time with our family. Maddie was a good girl and being passed around like crazy. Everyone commented on her eye but everyone was very supportive and everyone said i didnt look bad.
We left around 8ish and maddie slept the whole way home. As we approached our street, there were MAD fire trucks all parked outside our house. I swear they were there for our house, but thank god they werent. Scared the shit out of me. I took maddie out of the car and put her right to bed. she knocked right out. And thus, her xmas was over.
The day after christmas - I'm a nutjob. I went to Target at 7:30 am to buy wrapping paper at the 50% off sale. LOL. I love the day after christmas sale at Target.
i then went to the market where it was packed!
came home, put maddie down for a nap and started preparing for my familys arrival.
this was a day i was looking forward to for some time. This is the day that really screams christmas for me. we cook, listen to christmas music, exchange gifts and just enjoy. i had a fun time and glad maddie could be a part of this yearly tradition. the gathering was cut short by the snow storm....
today its monday and we got about 20" out here. i really wanted to take maddie out in the snow but the windchill is horrendous. i dont know if its all the weekend commotion or not but she only slept 30 mins this morning (trhis is usually her long nap), an hour in the afternoon and 20 mins just now. wayyyy too little. last night she was up about 5 or 6 times from 7pm-11pm. she woke up a few times in the middle of the night as well. overstimulation? teething? growth spurt? who knows!
i leave you with a pic of my chunksters wrist, overflowing with fatty goodness.
Friday - its christmas eve! My favorite time of the year. Maddie just had pears and oatmeal for breakfast and we played christmas music as she ate. On a normal day, I change her clothes upstairs before I bring her down for her lunch. But on this day, since we were going to my inlaws, I didnt want to dirty her clothes for that night, so I fed maddie in her PJs and then I took her upstairs to change her and came back down. She was wearing her new "Cutie Pie" t-shirt. Why oh why did i change my normal routine?
On the way back down, I have no idea how I slipped, but as I approached the bottom floor (thank God I was so close to the end), my foot slipped out from under me, my back fell straight back onto the steps and so did Maddie's face. I wont get into the gross details bc I have repeated this story many times this past weekend. The bottom line is, I was frantic, ran upstairs to call Jae. He didnt even know what I was sayig, I Was talking so fast and hysterically that he ran out of the store. Before I got off the phone with him, he was already in his truck coming home. I took a look at maddies face and saw her eye swelling, called the Ped, who directed me to emergency room.
Long story short, ER was great, and Maddie was fine. All i could think about were the "what ifs". What if I had hit my head, passed out and she was awake alone? What if she had hit her eye and had permanent eye damage? What if I tumbled down the entire flight? What if I dropped her as I fell? I know I can't concentrate on the what ifs, but I couldnt help but to think about these things. In fact, that night i woke up at 5 am tossing and turning and thinking about these things. Every time I think about her head hitting the step, I close my eyes and cringe.
So anyway, I didnt end up going to my inlaws that night. They understood. They were concerned for Maddie. I sent a few pics of my poor babys face to family and friends. Everyone said "it doesnt look as bad as I thought it would". Of course my sister in law says "OMG Jess, its looks soooo bad! Keep putting ice on". Geez...even if it was true, no need to say it. Tacky!!! Sometimes honesty is not the best policy! you cannot hide behind "oh im just honest" all the time. Sometimes you have to have a little sympathy and empathy. She could have just said "Oh gosh...just keep icing it, hopefully the swelling will go down". to be fair, we did speak on the phone and she kept saying it was not my fault, these things happen, she was glad we were both okay etc etc... shes not trying to be mean, she just doesnt have common sense sometimes. moving on...
that day my grandma, brother and MAB came over to keep me company and I was sort of glad they did. I Sent jae back to work during his busiest day of the year.... even though he didnt want to leave. But it also made me feel uneasy being home alone with her on 24 hour watch. I was to watch her for any signs of her acting abnormal. I aint gonna lie when i say that everytime she cried, whined, or fussed, i didnt know if it was just her being a normal baby, or any trauma caused by the fall. That night, Jae came home relatively early. We gave Maddie and bath and all was well. She slept her usual 11 hours and life went back to normal.
Christmas Day - Merry Christmas!!! Maddie woke up and I was just so glad to see her alive and well and smiling, I was in such a good mood. I made bacon and eggs for breakfast, Maddie had apples and oatmeal. Jae and I exchanged gifts and I took pics of Maddie on her first christmas day.
Around 12:30, we headed to jersey to go to my cousins house. This 3-5 million dollar house that i love so much. Its beautiful. Maddie slept about 30 minutes in the car and i had to feed her mum mums the rest of the way so she wouldnt cry. hehe.
We had a great time with our family. Maddie was a good girl and being passed around like crazy. Everyone commented on her eye but everyone was very supportive and everyone said i didnt look bad.
We left around 8ish and maddie slept the whole way home. As we approached our street, there were MAD fire trucks all parked outside our house. I swear they were there for our house, but thank god they werent. Scared the shit out of me. I took maddie out of the car and put her right to bed. she knocked right out. And thus, her xmas was over.
The day after christmas - I'm a nutjob. I went to Target at 7:30 am to buy wrapping paper at the 50% off sale. LOL. I love the day after christmas sale at Target.
i then went to the market where it was packed!
came home, put maddie down for a nap and started preparing for my familys arrival.
this was a day i was looking forward to for some time. This is the day that really screams christmas for me. we cook, listen to christmas music, exchange gifts and just enjoy. i had a fun time and glad maddie could be a part of this yearly tradition. the gathering was cut short by the snow storm....
today its monday and we got about 20" out here. i really wanted to take maddie out in the snow but the windchill is horrendous. i dont know if its all the weekend commotion or not but she only slept 30 mins this morning (trhis is usually her long nap), an hour in the afternoon and 20 mins just now. wayyyy too little. last night she was up about 5 or 6 times from 7pm-11pm. she woke up a few times in the middle of the night as well. overstimulation? teething? growth spurt? who knows!
i leave you with a pic of my chunksters wrist, overflowing with fatty goodness.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
the holidays are here...and i just want to take a moment to be grateful for all that i have had this year. i lost a lot, but gained a lot as well. i know we should be grateful everyday, but sometimes its hard. so when i get the chance, i try to remember.
no matter how much of a pain a baby can be, i am so thankful for my little girl. i wish and pray for her to be happy and most importantly healthy. i dont care what happens to me, i just want her to be safe.
this holiday season, my goal is to enjoy the time spent with my family...make every day count. make it special. because you never know what can happen tomorrow.
my heart belongs to my daughter...and within it, my mother lives. i am thinking about both this holiday season.
no matter how much of a pain a baby can be, i am so thankful for my little girl. i wish and pray for her to be happy and most importantly healthy. i dont care what happens to me, i just want her to be safe.
this holiday season, my goal is to enjoy the time spent with my family...make every day count. make it special. because you never know what can happen tomorrow.
my heart belongs to my daughter...and within it, my mother lives. i am thinking about both this holiday season.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
I have no idea if i already talked about this...but I really believe Maddie is trying to go from 3 naps to 2. She is fighting nap #3 as it is, is fully awake at bedtime, and is waking up at 5:30AM (but i dont go get her till 7).
I cant drop the nap yet though until after the holidays bc i need her to nap in order to get to the bronx and to new jersey. lol.
Pros to her dropping a nap? Longer awake times. this will make it much easier to go out and stay out for longer. Cons? Less break time for me. I look forward to her naps bc thats when i get a break.
Anyhoo, I still can't believe Christmas is this week. Its a time I look forward to every year but this year it seems to have snuck up on me!
Friday I am headed to the Bronx to Jae's family. I have been with his family without him before, thats not a problem. But during a major holiday? Just weird. anyway, im planning to make this a short trip.... go when she naps. come home when its bedtime. Hopefully she will sleep both ways.
THe gifts seemed to be so big this year:
It took me so much wrapping to get the gifts all wrapped. I needed the larger paper so I didnt even get to use cute wrapping. Kristen's gift, I didnt even have enough wrapping for, so theres a big hole in the back. Oh wells.
Saturday we are headed to New Jersey to my cousins house. She lives in a gorgeous house with a huge finished basement/playroom so i am excited for Maddie to be able to play with all their toys (they have 4 boys). I am excited to see the cousins and babies again. Always a good time.
Sunday I am excited for bc I am celebrating with my immediate family. They are coming over. I have Christmas tunes ready to be played. My brother makes fantabulous hordourves and we open gifts. I am excited for Maddie to be a part of this tradition.
This week has been rough...Jae was gone since hes busy at the store. Just me and Maddie Moo by ourselves. I guess I'm getting used to being a single mom because the days have passed by and I am doing fine. Just a little tired. Its tough not having someone to hand the baby off to.... I dont get a full break until shes sound asleep.
excited the for weekend to end so life can resume back to normal.
I cant drop the nap yet though until after the holidays bc i need her to nap in order to get to the bronx and to new jersey. lol.
Pros to her dropping a nap? Longer awake times. this will make it much easier to go out and stay out for longer. Cons? Less break time for me. I look forward to her naps bc thats when i get a break.
Anyhoo, I still can't believe Christmas is this week. Its a time I look forward to every year but this year it seems to have snuck up on me!
Friday I am headed to the Bronx to Jae's family. I have been with his family without him before, thats not a problem. But during a major holiday? Just weird. anyway, im planning to make this a short trip.... go when she naps. come home when its bedtime. Hopefully she will sleep both ways.
THe gifts seemed to be so big this year:
It took me so much wrapping to get the gifts all wrapped. I needed the larger paper so I didnt even get to use cute wrapping. Kristen's gift, I didnt even have enough wrapping for, so theres a big hole in the back. Oh wells.
Saturday we are headed to New Jersey to my cousins house. She lives in a gorgeous house with a huge finished basement/playroom so i am excited for Maddie to be able to play with all their toys (they have 4 boys). I am excited to see the cousins and babies again. Always a good time.
Sunday I am excited for bc I am celebrating with my immediate family. They are coming over. I have Christmas tunes ready to be played. My brother makes fantabulous hordourves and we open gifts. I am excited for Maddie to be a part of this tradition.
This week has been rough...Jae was gone since hes busy at the store. Just me and Maddie Moo by ourselves. I guess I'm getting used to being a single mom because the days have passed by and I am doing fine. Just a little tired. Its tough not having someone to hand the baby off to.... I dont get a full break until shes sound asleep.
excited the for weekend to end so life can resume back to normal.
Monday, December 20, 2010
been trying to write this forever but wow, its been super busy lately.
since starting solids, maddies poops have been harder, as i mentioned below lol. well the other day, i had the grossest experience to date. Maddie was playing and suddenly she just started whimpering. I picked her up and smelled poop so i took her upstairs to change her. She was still whimpering as I undressed her and in her diaper was this tiny triangle of poop. really small. so i figured she just wasnt used to harder poop coming out. im wiping her butt (she is still whimpering which she never does) and i feel pressure on my hand, as if she lifted her butt a little. but it wasnt her butt. i suddenly saw a stream of poop coming out her a-hole. as a newborn, poop is very liquidy and if she were to poop with her diaper open, it would spray/explode. now since her poop is harder, it comes out like frozen yogurt from a self serve machine. it came out in a long log, continuously and circled around, like putting froyo on a cone! it was soooo gross. she kept whimpering...so i wiped her butt. suddenly, another log started coming out. i wanted to gag, but i had to keep looking at her and smiling and saying "its ok". eventually it stopped but boy was i grossed out. baby poop, no problem. human poop is sooooo much grosser!
ok and last night, i was feeding maddie. between sucks, i sort of felt this pressure. i was thinking "did she just bite me?"... then suddenly, she paused and i felt it again! It wasnt a quick bite. it was a slow, deliberate chomp. as if she was experimenting. i gasped and my mouth was agape. i looked down and i swear she was smiling (it was dark since it was nighttime). i took her off my boob and put her on my other boob but i couldnt believe she did that. and i definitely felt teeth! omg.... so scary. luckily she didnt do it again on boob #2.
Gave Maddie bananas these past few days and she does not like it! i hate bananas too but i did force myself to put them into my morning shakes during pregnancy so its not like shes never "tasted" them before. maybe i thinned it out too much and theres not enough taste? dunno, but ill try apples tomorrow instead.
just went to BRU with maddie and she freaked. sigh. i just dont understand why she cant sit still in the cry without crying. so upsetting.
on the upside, this past weekend, i purposely took her out when it was naptime and she slept! I took her during naptime into queens and took her home during naptime coming home. she slept both times. thankfully, i can use this technique whenever i have a further distance to go. errands though, continue to be a great great challenge.
since starting solids, maddies poops have been harder, as i mentioned below lol. well the other day, i had the grossest experience to date. Maddie was playing and suddenly she just started whimpering. I picked her up and smelled poop so i took her upstairs to change her. She was still whimpering as I undressed her and in her diaper was this tiny triangle of poop. really small. so i figured she just wasnt used to harder poop coming out. im wiping her butt (she is still whimpering which she never does) and i feel pressure on my hand, as if she lifted her butt a little. but it wasnt her butt. i suddenly saw a stream of poop coming out her a-hole. as a newborn, poop is very liquidy and if she were to poop with her diaper open, it would spray/explode. now since her poop is harder, it comes out like frozen yogurt from a self serve machine. it came out in a long log, continuously and circled around, like putting froyo on a cone! it was soooo gross. she kept whimpering...so i wiped her butt. suddenly, another log started coming out. i wanted to gag, but i had to keep looking at her and smiling and saying "its ok". eventually it stopped but boy was i grossed out. baby poop, no problem. human poop is sooooo much grosser!
ok and last night, i was feeding maddie. between sucks, i sort of felt this pressure. i was thinking "did she just bite me?"... then suddenly, she paused and i felt it again! It wasnt a quick bite. it was a slow, deliberate chomp. as if she was experimenting. i gasped and my mouth was agape. i looked down and i swear she was smiling (it was dark since it was nighttime). i took her off my boob and put her on my other boob but i couldnt believe she did that. and i definitely felt teeth! omg.... so scary. luckily she didnt do it again on boob #2.
Gave Maddie bananas these past few days and she does not like it! i hate bananas too but i did force myself to put them into my morning shakes during pregnancy so its not like shes never "tasted" them before. maybe i thinned it out too much and theres not enough taste? dunno, but ill try apples tomorrow instead.
just went to BRU with maddie and she freaked. sigh. i just dont understand why she cant sit still in the cry without crying. so upsetting.
on the upside, this past weekend, i purposely took her out when it was naptime and she slept! I took her during naptime into queens and took her home during naptime coming home. she slept both times. thankfully, i can use this technique whenever i have a further distance to go. errands though, continue to be a great great challenge.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Wow I'm so filled with posts these days!
WARNING - TMI PHOTO TO FOLLOW - SCROLL AT YOUR OWN RISK
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Maddies first solid poop! lol. Its in the shape of a triangle cause her ass cheeks molded it. So gross, right? So gross, I had to document.
We had a bad night in the car tonight on the way home from babies r us. BAD. one of her "i cant breathe, im choking on my spit" sort of tantrums. Well, she had to be consoled for like 15 minutes when we got home, it took her that long to catch her breath.
So she finally calmed down and I wanted her to have something to eat before bath so I handed her to Jae. She started to cry and then when I walked in front of her, she reached her arms out to me! I sort of suspected shes been doing this as sometimes she would lean towards me, but this time, it was obvious. So cool!
So even though she was in a bad mood, I fed her some squash for the first time. She Looooooooved it. she gobbled gobbled it up. yummy!
BTW, I love my Beaba! I steamed and pureed the butternut squash really quickly. Me lub it.
And of course, bc Im gross like that, I will put a food pic in the same post as my poop pic. For my friends holiday gathering, we had turkey. I saved the carcass and made some mean turkey noodle soup. Damn that soup was good.
I also had some leftover meat, so I made a turkey shephards pie. So easyyyyy, just dice up celery onion and carrots and add the turkey meat, plus some chicken stock and herbs. let it reduce down a bit.
then i whipped up some mashed potatoes and put in on top.
then you bake till bubbly. It was good....and one of those easy meal in 20 minutes (minus baking time).
WARNING - TMI PHOTO TO FOLLOW - SCROLL AT YOUR OWN RISK
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Maddies first solid poop! lol. Its in the shape of a triangle cause her ass cheeks molded it. So gross, right? So gross, I had to document.
We had a bad night in the car tonight on the way home from babies r us. BAD. one of her "i cant breathe, im choking on my spit" sort of tantrums. Well, she had to be consoled for like 15 minutes when we got home, it took her that long to catch her breath.
So she finally calmed down and I wanted her to have something to eat before bath so I handed her to Jae. She started to cry and then when I walked in front of her, she reached her arms out to me! I sort of suspected shes been doing this as sometimes she would lean towards me, but this time, it was obvious. So cool!
So even though she was in a bad mood, I fed her some squash for the first time. She Looooooooved it. she gobbled gobbled it up. yummy!
BTW, I love my Beaba! I steamed and pureed the butternut squash really quickly. Me lub it.
And of course, bc Im gross like that, I will put a food pic in the same post as my poop pic. For my friends holiday gathering, we had turkey. I saved the carcass and made some mean turkey noodle soup. Damn that soup was good.
I also had some leftover meat, so I made a turkey shephards pie. So easyyyyy, just dice up celery onion and carrots and add the turkey meat, plus some chicken stock and herbs. let it reduce down a bit.
then i whipped up some mashed potatoes and put in on top.
then you bake till bubbly. It was good....and one of those easy meal in 20 minutes (minus baking time).
Ready for the holidays yet?
For the past 2-3 weeks, my front stoop has looked like this.
My entryway has looked like this:
My doorbell rings everyday.
I love Amazon Prime!
I did all my xmas shopping online....but i still want to make a trip to the mall one day next week. After that, I'll be done!
With all the impending sales, I bought Maddie a lot of things too. A lot of clothes - shes wearing 12 months already! and some toys. Amazon had this awesome $5 and under toy sale, so i got a bunch of things. My favorite purchase was the ring stacker. I had one of these as a kid. I love these...i think its great for development.
I've also been buying her a lot of feeding items. sippys, cups, bowls, and stuff to help me freeze her baby food. So many choices out there and half the time parenting is about trial and error, so I am constantly buying new things (if the baby or I dont like the first choices).
For the past 2-3 weeks, my front stoop has looked like this.
My entryway has looked like this:
My doorbell rings everyday.
I love Amazon Prime!
I did all my xmas shopping online....but i still want to make a trip to the mall one day next week. After that, I'll be done!
With all the impending sales, I bought Maddie a lot of things too. A lot of clothes - shes wearing 12 months already! and some toys. Amazon had this awesome $5 and under toy sale, so i got a bunch of things. My favorite purchase was the ring stacker. I had one of these as a kid. I love these...i think its great for development.
I've also been buying her a lot of feeding items. sippys, cups, bowls, and stuff to help me freeze her baby food. So many choices out there and half the time parenting is about trial and error, so I am constantly buying new things (if the baby or I dont like the first choices).
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Maddie's 5 month well visit yesterday:
Weight: 16 lbs 10 oz(80%)
height: 26.5"(90%)
head: 16" (50%)
The doctor took a look inside Maddies mouth and said "oh wow, look at that. theres something trying to pop through. looks like she'll have a tooth by christmas". I was shocked. Maddie hasn't really shown any signs of teething. well, she drools and gnaws on her fingers and teethers but she hasnt been out of the ordinary fussy. every so often she does wake up in the middle of the night but these are really rare and she goes right back to sleep. so I was just telling my cousin today how i didnt believe it and that i could never see or feel anything in her mouth.
So, that brings me to today. Maddie was on a whole other level of fussy. It was a different fussy....she would be completely still and then all of a sudden cry out. Or she would have a distinct kind of whine. poor thing. I felt her gums again and this time, i did notice 2 distinct bumps. I gave her some orajel and she passed out in my arms within 10 minutes.... she ended up sleeping on my for 2 hours.
When shes awake, shes extremely clingy, cant be put down, whiny, crabby and nothing amuses her. Poor thing. hope the tooth cuts through soon so she can go back to being her normal happy self.
Of course this all happens on a bad day...a day where i needed to get things done for work and for home. I couldnt put her down, which means i didnt eat, didnt pee, didnt work, didnt make her food...etc etc and etc. I finally got her down her a nap on her own at 4....
tonight is my company holiday dinner. oooh, all 3 of us. wack! but i was sort of excited to get out of the house and have some wine and steak. But now Maddie is acting up so im scared she will wake up when i leave and jae wont be able to deal. but i guess thats his problem now. my poor baby....she seemed so uncomfortable all day.
Yesterday was another crazy day. Another busy day at work, but had to stop to go to maddies appointment. we leave the office, only to be called back again. we were supose to stay for her shots. oops! lol. so we run back inside, unbundle maddie, she gets shots and then we bundle her up again to go home. poor thing.
we get home and i leave her with jae so i can go grocery shopping. come home, prepare dinner, then get maddies dinner ready, let jae feed her while i cook. bathe her, put her to bed, work till 9ish or so while eating....finally hit the sack around 11. so tired!
Weight: 16 lbs 10 oz(80%)
height: 26.5"(90%)
head: 16" (50%)
The doctor took a look inside Maddies mouth and said "oh wow, look at that. theres something trying to pop through. looks like she'll have a tooth by christmas". I was shocked. Maddie hasn't really shown any signs of teething. well, she drools and gnaws on her fingers and teethers but she hasnt been out of the ordinary fussy. every so often she does wake up in the middle of the night but these are really rare and she goes right back to sleep. so I was just telling my cousin today how i didnt believe it and that i could never see or feel anything in her mouth.
So, that brings me to today. Maddie was on a whole other level of fussy. It was a different fussy....she would be completely still and then all of a sudden cry out. Or she would have a distinct kind of whine. poor thing. I felt her gums again and this time, i did notice 2 distinct bumps. I gave her some orajel and she passed out in my arms within 10 minutes.... she ended up sleeping on my for 2 hours.
When shes awake, shes extremely clingy, cant be put down, whiny, crabby and nothing amuses her. Poor thing. hope the tooth cuts through soon so she can go back to being her normal happy self.
Of course this all happens on a bad day...a day where i needed to get things done for work and for home. I couldnt put her down, which means i didnt eat, didnt pee, didnt work, didnt make her food...etc etc and etc. I finally got her down her a nap on her own at 4....
tonight is my company holiday dinner. oooh, all 3 of us. wack! but i was sort of excited to get out of the house and have some wine and steak. But now Maddie is acting up so im scared she will wake up when i leave and jae wont be able to deal. but i guess thats his problem now. my poor baby....she seemed so uncomfortable all day.
Yesterday was another crazy day. Another busy day at work, but had to stop to go to maddies appointment. we leave the office, only to be called back again. we were supose to stay for her shots. oops! lol. so we run back inside, unbundle maddie, she gets shots and then we bundle her up again to go home. poor thing.
we get home and i leave her with jae so i can go grocery shopping. come home, prepare dinner, then get maddies dinner ready, let jae feed her while i cook. bathe her, put her to bed, work till 9ish or so while eating....finally hit the sack around 11. so tired!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
poop poop poop.
im not afraid of changing a poopy diaper. i clean a butt like no other. however, i am skeeved by poop on clothes. i have no idea why, it just really grosses me out. i always want to just throw out the damn onesie but jae insists on cleaning it. so ever since maddie was a baby, it has always been his job to clean the poopy clothes.
whenever maddie has a big blow out, i leave the contaminated good in front of the guest bathroom. when jae gets home he gets his surprise. he cleans it well with laundry detergent, leaves it wet in the laundry room and i pop it in during the next load.
its a great partnership cuz i really do not like cleaning poopy clothes. the poop gets all up into the fibers and the big brown stain under water just makes me gag.
this particular poop in the picture happened in her jumparoo. it doesnt look so bad now that i see it, but trust me, it was on everything she touched. i sort of knew based on her position in the jumparoo that the poop would travel up her butt. I heard her poop but i checked her shirt and saw nothing. by the time i brought her upstairs and laid her down on the changing pad, she was covered. her undershirt, her top shirt, her pants...it was up to her neck. then try taking these clothes off over her head. they get on her arms, chest, collarbone. and also my arms and hands. not to mention she has already gotten the changing pad dirty, so even if you clean her up, theres nothing to lay her back down on. so with one hand holding her, and the other hand getting another pad, you have to juggle the dirty vs the clean.
i have to wipe her down with a million wipes, and make sure during this time her flailing hands do not touch poop cuz her hands are always in her mouth. i can wipe poop off her back, ears, hands etc. but i just cannot bring myself to scrub poop out from her clothes.
Speaking of poop, today her poop looked and smelled like avacado.
such is the life of a mommy.
onto happier topics...
maddie sort of did something cool today. usually when i put her down for a nap, our routine ends with me holding her over my shoulder, patting her back and gently swaying while shushing or singing to her. usually she will look around until she gets drowsy and calm and starts staring off into space.
when she gets tired, she starts to bury her head into your neck or shirt. so today she started to put her head on my shoulder but my chin got in the way. so her mouth was sort of stuck on my chin. its so cute seeing her little face so close to mine so i started to move my mouth up and down on her face. she started to giggle and squeal, so i did it again. she laughed and then kept putting her mouth on my chin for me to do over again.
it was the first instance where she actually played with me. usually i will entertain her, she will laugh and such but this was the first time she interacted back. we played back and forth rather than me just entertaining her. pretty cool.
she is also starting to eat more. today, after her avacado lunch, she seemed to want more so i gave her some cereal on top of it. In the evening time, I was eating some homemade turkey noodle soup and she was watching me like crazy. She was drooling and moving her mouth too, so i decided to give her a tablespoon of cereal. well after there was no more, she started to cry! wow! tomorrow i will up the amount of solids ive been giving her.
speaking of her crying, she didnt just cry, she SCREECHED. in like one of those mad bitchy screeches, like "bitch, you better get me more food!" kind of sounds. jae and i looked at each other like WHOAH. she's mean, man! i was shocked. The same thing sort of happened today too when i was sitting her in my lap and i was doing something on the laptop. She was playing with a post-it...happy as can be. Well I finished what i was doing and I picked her up and moved away and she started to do a bitchy cry. Like I had moved her away from something she was doing. So shes starting to have opinions and notice where she is. In the past if she was doing something, I could move her or distract her and she wouldnt care. I could take something out of her hand and she couldn't care less. Her personality is definitely coming through.
Also today, I put her down for her 3rd nap at 3:30 and it took her till 4:10 to fall asleep. During this time she was fussing (she usually goes down right away), i started to think maybe she was sleep transitioning again...so i looked up when babies start to move from 3 naps to 2 and i discovered its at 6 months. Thats next month! What the.... this came WAY faster than i ever expected. 2 naps a day? Thats MAD hours for me to keep her occupied. I'm scared. and its wintertime too so its not like i can even take her outdoors.
So many changes going on lately..... I can't keep up with this kid.
Monday, December 13, 2010
so yesterday maddie was on her tummy and jae noticed that her butt popped up and she was sort of pushing off. so i told him to get the camera and start filming. before we knew it, maddie rolled over! about 2 months ago she rolled over as well but it must have been a fluke cuz she hadn't done it since.
we put her on her tummy again and she did it again! so twice in a row. cant be a fluke right? well, she hasnt done it again yet...so i dunno. but we did capture her first roll over on film. jaes reactions always crack me up...
we put her on her tummy again and she did it again! so twice in a row. cant be a fluke right? well, she hasnt done it again yet...so i dunno. but we did capture her first roll over on film. jaes reactions always crack me up...
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
so I gave Maddie her "lunch" yesterday and she did not use any fingers or thumb to suck! woo hoo! on her first bite, she actually chomped down on the spoon. she finally gets it! it could also be that i made the cereal slightly thicker than normal, but it could also be that shes learned how to do it. I heard it does take a week or so for younger babies.
She ate a tablespoon of barley/oatmeal mix mixed with a tablespoon of breastmilk. finished the whole thing although I could tell she was getting bored right at the tail end. it was SO much less messier since there was hardly any coming out and it wasn't all over her clothes hands and face. What a proud moment...im so glad i didnt give up (i thought maybe she wasnt ready and was going to take a break for a week or so).
So last night i ran out to buy a sweet potato and an avocado. I gave her sweet potato for "lunch" today. During her first nap, I baked it for an hour, scooped out the flesh and pureed it a bit to get it smoother.
I then put tablespoons full into an ice cube tray to freeze, while leaving a tablespoon full out to feed her right then. I added breastmilk to thin it out. I was surprised at how much liquid I needed to thin this out.
I'm still not sure if she liked it. She certainly noticed it was different than her normal cereal. At first, I left it a bit thicker, cuz I didnt know how much to thin it out. I kept added and mixing more breastmilk in, until it became soupy again. By this point she was done...and had only eaten half. So not sure if she didnt like the taste, or texture, or what. Will try again for "dinner".
Forgot to mention also that we gave her mum mums for the first time this week. They are basically long rice crackers which dissolve in your mouth. They taste pretty good, and of course Maddie loved them. She sucked the crap out of them. I started doing some reading online and realized babies were starting to eat this when they were at least 6 months, more like 8 or 9 months. ooops! But yesterday jae came home and we all sat at the kitchen table to eat and i gave maddie another one and she really loved this. She would cry when i took it away or when she couldnt get it in her mouth. My friend Nina was right when she said this was like crack for babies. I think I'll probably continue to give this to her....
As far as her sleeping, she has been doing pretty good. I wanted to get her on a schedule by the clock. I used to get her down for naps based on her sleepy cues, but now I want to get her down at specific nap times instead. This way, I can plan my day better and we have a bit more of a schedule. Her first nap is always at 9am. The second nap is 12 or 12:30 and we are still working out her 3rd nap.
Yesteday was pretty perfect in terms of napping. She went down at 9, woke up but then went back to sleep till 10:30. 2nd nap she went down at 12:30, woke up but then went back to sleep again (hooray! didnt need to rock her) and woke up at 2. Went down for another nap at 4:10 and bed time at 7:20.
Today she is pretty much on the same schedule. It's 2:15 and shes still sleeping...amazing. I think she will probably give up her 3rd nap sooner than later. We always have a bit of struggle with that one. And right now, shes still asleep so I dont actually know if she'll go down for a 3rd nap (too close to bedtime).
REally dreading xmas time when her schedule is gonna get screwed 2 days in a row.
She ate a tablespoon of barley/oatmeal mix mixed with a tablespoon of breastmilk. finished the whole thing although I could tell she was getting bored right at the tail end. it was SO much less messier since there was hardly any coming out and it wasn't all over her clothes hands and face. What a proud moment...im so glad i didnt give up (i thought maybe she wasnt ready and was going to take a break for a week or so).
So last night i ran out to buy a sweet potato and an avocado. I gave her sweet potato for "lunch" today. During her first nap, I baked it for an hour, scooped out the flesh and pureed it a bit to get it smoother.
I then put tablespoons full into an ice cube tray to freeze, while leaving a tablespoon full out to feed her right then. I added breastmilk to thin it out. I was surprised at how much liquid I needed to thin this out.
I'm still not sure if she liked it. She certainly noticed it was different than her normal cereal. At first, I left it a bit thicker, cuz I didnt know how much to thin it out. I kept added and mixing more breastmilk in, until it became soupy again. By this point she was done...and had only eaten half. So not sure if she didnt like the taste, or texture, or what. Will try again for "dinner".
Forgot to mention also that we gave her mum mums for the first time this week. They are basically long rice crackers which dissolve in your mouth. They taste pretty good, and of course Maddie loved them. She sucked the crap out of them. I started doing some reading online and realized babies were starting to eat this when they were at least 6 months, more like 8 or 9 months. ooops! But yesterday jae came home and we all sat at the kitchen table to eat and i gave maddie another one and she really loved this. She would cry when i took it away or when she couldnt get it in her mouth. My friend Nina was right when she said this was like crack for babies. I think I'll probably continue to give this to her....
As far as her sleeping, she has been doing pretty good. I wanted to get her on a schedule by the clock. I used to get her down for naps based on her sleepy cues, but now I want to get her down at specific nap times instead. This way, I can plan my day better and we have a bit more of a schedule. Her first nap is always at 9am. The second nap is 12 or 12:30 and we are still working out her 3rd nap.
Yesteday was pretty perfect in terms of napping. She went down at 9, woke up but then went back to sleep till 10:30. 2nd nap she went down at 12:30, woke up but then went back to sleep again (hooray! didnt need to rock her) and woke up at 2. Went down for another nap at 4:10 and bed time at 7:20.
Today she is pretty much on the same schedule. It's 2:15 and shes still sleeping...amazing. I think she will probably give up her 3rd nap sooner than later. We always have a bit of struggle with that one. And right now, shes still asleep so I dont actually know if she'll go down for a 3rd nap (too close to bedtime).
REally dreading xmas time when her schedule is gonna get screwed 2 days in a row.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Time to Vent ... again!
Ok so i know around the holidays a lot of families have to deal with the "fight" between who gets to see who on what day etc. I know I have had my share of this. I have had to sacrifice certain times, days etc with my family to spend time with his.
However, for Christmas, it actually works out bc I spend Xmas day with my family and his family does not meet on xmas day so it actually works out. I do usually have to give up my families tradition of xmas eve hordourves and gift opening, but thats my sacrifice.
This year, I have a baby and I really wanted Jae to be there for her on her first christmas. As we all know, he runs a business that is very holiday-centric. the holidays are NUTS and you cannot imagine unless you have been to his store on a holiday. Anyway, the day before any holiday is always the worst. He usually doesnt even come home and just sleeps at the store. The day of the holiday, he is always beat since he broke night but he always manages to be awake and enjoy anyway.
Last year for xmas eve, he was busy and i was preggers and i had to drive to the bronx myself. he ended up meeting up at the house much later on. he stayed for a short while and then it was time to leave. he was lucky last year to even have gotten out when he did but he rushed to get to the bronx in time for presents.
So this year, since xmas fell on a saturday, i was thinking of maybe meeting up with his family on sunday. this way, jae could actually enjoy the day without having to worry about work, or be tired. So I wrote my SILs an email. here is what i wrote:
hey sisters:
was wondering if you guys had anything planned for this xmas.... i was wondering if maybe we could celebrate on sunday? jae is busy friday and saturday and id like him to be able to enjoy the holidays for once with his family without having to think about work...and its also the babys first christmas so id like the whole Oh/Cho/Moon family to be together at the same time for once (without him coming in late, tired, cranky etc)....
i dont mind hosting...i will make some food and we can also cater in some. we can do lunch into dinner or whatever you guys want. or if you want to go to the bronx again, i dont mind but the only thing i ask is can we make it an early night? id still like to preserve the babys sleep as much as possible cuz my job is 10x harder when she doesnt get her sleep. sorry, im a bit anal about her sleep. hehe. if i host, you guys can comes as early or stay as late as you'd like... i dont know how you guys feel about this, or how your parents feel, but this is only a suggestion.... let me know what you guys think...
Here is the response I get back. My notes are in bold
Hey sisters
I know everyone has different schedules but I was at the Bronx yesterday and I spoke with our mom that we were all going over on the 24 for dinner cause that is really our tradition. I know its really hard jess but like you have in laws we do as well. That's why me and my sis usually go to the Bronx first cause we can't celebrate Christmas on Christmas day with them. I have to go to mass with Pauls mom on Christmas day and kathie unni goes to her in law as well. (What this have to do with anything? I know I have in laws. and I am not talking about spending time with you on xmas) I know its hard not being with our own families but being married we have to work around it I guess. (whats she talking about? I am not talking about not being with my family. I assume she things I am trying to maneuver their day to accomodate my family?) Lol. I already told mother that we were going over and she decided to make dinner for us. She knows that we all work that day and she offered to cook. I really don't want to disappoint her. (I guess shes not disappointed that her SON WONT BE THERE?) What do you think?
So now im super annoyed. Her email has nothing to do with my email. All I am asking is for one day for jae to enjoy the holidays with his OWN FAMILY. Not talking about me and maddie, but even his mom, dad and sisters. Is that too much to ask? I love how they do not even take JAe's schedule into account. They are meeting up with or without him. Isnt that fucked up? When he came home, i bitched to him about this. I told him it seems like he doesnt even matter in the family...and that no on cares what his plans are.
These are memories we cant get back. He will miss everything...and he will continue to miss it every year if something is not changed. If one of the sisters couldnt make it, you bet your ass it would have gotten rescheduled. Why is jae such a black sheep? I wish I was one of those wives who would stand by their man and not show up to show some solidarity, but alas, i'll be making this trip by myself to the effin bronx with a baby who hates the car seat. joy.
im just so annoyed...they totally missed the point. i never seen a holiday gathering like this where an immediate family member is missing like this and no one cares to reschedule. Whats the holidays about? Family and being together...and yet he wont even get to see them this year. WHAT THE FUCK? im so annoyed...im angry....and resentful. Why should Maddie be the only kid without her dad there? Why should he have to miss any of this when its not even necessary? We can all meet 2 days later and be TOGETHER. Am i being selfish? Or are they?
UGH!
Ok so i know around the holidays a lot of families have to deal with the "fight" between who gets to see who on what day etc. I know I have had my share of this. I have had to sacrifice certain times, days etc with my family to spend time with his.
However, for Christmas, it actually works out bc I spend Xmas day with my family and his family does not meet on xmas day so it actually works out. I do usually have to give up my families tradition of xmas eve hordourves and gift opening, but thats my sacrifice.
This year, I have a baby and I really wanted Jae to be there for her on her first christmas. As we all know, he runs a business that is very holiday-centric. the holidays are NUTS and you cannot imagine unless you have been to his store on a holiday. Anyway, the day before any holiday is always the worst. He usually doesnt even come home and just sleeps at the store. The day of the holiday, he is always beat since he broke night but he always manages to be awake and enjoy anyway.
Last year for xmas eve, he was busy and i was preggers and i had to drive to the bronx myself. he ended up meeting up at the house much later on. he stayed for a short while and then it was time to leave. he was lucky last year to even have gotten out when he did but he rushed to get to the bronx in time for presents.
So this year, since xmas fell on a saturday, i was thinking of maybe meeting up with his family on sunday. this way, jae could actually enjoy the day without having to worry about work, or be tired. So I wrote my SILs an email. here is what i wrote:
hey sisters:
was wondering if you guys had anything planned for this xmas.... i was wondering if maybe we could celebrate on sunday? jae is busy friday and saturday and id like him to be able to enjoy the holidays for once with his family without having to think about work...and its also the babys first christmas so id like the whole Oh/Cho/Moon family to be together at the same time for once (without him coming in late, tired, cranky etc)....
i dont mind hosting...i will make some food and we can also cater in some. we can do lunch into dinner or whatever you guys want. or if you want to go to the bronx again, i dont mind but the only thing i ask is can we make it an early night? id still like to preserve the babys sleep as much as possible cuz my job is 10x harder when she doesnt get her sleep. sorry, im a bit anal about her sleep. hehe. if i host, you guys can comes as early or stay as late as you'd like... i dont know how you guys feel about this, or how your parents feel, but this is only a suggestion.... let me know what you guys think...
Here is the response I get back. My notes are in bold
Hey sisters
I know everyone has different schedules but I was at the Bronx yesterday and I spoke with our mom that we were all going over on the 24 for dinner cause that is really our tradition. I know its really hard jess but like you have in laws we do as well. That's why me and my sis usually go to the Bronx first cause we can't celebrate Christmas on Christmas day with them. I have to go to mass with Pauls mom on Christmas day and kathie unni goes to her in law as well. (What this have to do with anything? I know I have in laws. and I am not talking about spending time with you on xmas) I know its hard not being with our own families but being married we have to work around it I guess. (whats she talking about? I am not talking about not being with my family. I assume she things I am trying to maneuver their day to accomodate my family?) Lol. I already told mother that we were going over and she decided to make dinner for us. She knows that we all work that day and she offered to cook. I really don't want to disappoint her. (I guess shes not disappointed that her SON WONT BE THERE?) What do you think?
So now im super annoyed. Her email has nothing to do with my email. All I am asking is for one day for jae to enjoy the holidays with his OWN FAMILY. Not talking about me and maddie, but even his mom, dad and sisters. Is that too much to ask? I love how they do not even take JAe's schedule into account. They are meeting up with or without him. Isnt that fucked up? When he came home, i bitched to him about this. I told him it seems like he doesnt even matter in the family...and that no on cares what his plans are.
These are memories we cant get back. He will miss everything...and he will continue to miss it every year if something is not changed. If one of the sisters couldnt make it, you bet your ass it would have gotten rescheduled. Why is jae such a black sheep? I wish I was one of those wives who would stand by their man and not show up to show some solidarity, but alas, i'll be making this trip by myself to the effin bronx with a baby who hates the car seat. joy.
im just so annoyed...they totally missed the point. i never seen a holiday gathering like this where an immediate family member is missing like this and no one cares to reschedule. Whats the holidays about? Family and being together...and yet he wont even get to see them this year. WHAT THE FUCK? im so annoyed...im angry....and resentful. Why should Maddie be the only kid without her dad there? Why should he have to miss any of this when its not even necessary? We can all meet 2 days later and be TOGETHER. Am i being selfish? Or are they?
UGH!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
mmm coffee. i just recently got back into coffee now that maddie's eating and gas problems are slowing down. also started introducing dairy back into my diet, but thats another story for another day.
so i purchased a keurig coffee maker from newegg. btw, it shipped to me in like 1 or 2 days for free! they had a good deal. $79.95 shipped. no tax. its the basic model, but good enough for our family.
i went to bjs in search of some k-cups but they were too expensive, so i did a search online. and voila...keurig.com was having a sale with free ship. 10% off plus $2 off each box. not only that but if you register your keurig machine, you can get 2 free boxes with purchase of 2 boxes. wow! i got like 92 cups for $23 bucks shipped!
so what did i get? i chose 2 variety boxes, a chai green tea and of course a kona blend cuz who doesn't like kona coffee. mmm....
I was disappointed in their choices of hot chocolate. If you have any recommendations, please send my way. I have tried the Donut Shop coffee in our office and it was pretty good, and plus I like the packaging. It just makes me want to drink it hehe.
One day maybe ill splurge and get the cool swivel holder for the kcups...but i think i've spent enough money...on myself! sheesh. i always do this around the holidays...shop for someone else, see a good deal on something for myself and buy it. SMH!
who knew coffee could make me so happy? i do have an awesome full blown espresso/coffee maker that i got as a shower gift from MAB. I love it...and it has come in so handy for all these friend and family parties i throw. But there are times when im home alone and I just want a small cup....most importantly, there are times when I have someone over and I just want to make a small serving. Namely, Judy and MAB cuz I know they sometimes like to have coffee after a meal. Instead of me brewing a pot, adding water, grinding beans etc, I can just Keurig them!
so i purchased a keurig coffee maker from newegg. btw, it shipped to me in like 1 or 2 days for free! they had a good deal. $79.95 shipped. no tax. its the basic model, but good enough for our family.
i went to bjs in search of some k-cups but they were too expensive, so i did a search online. and voila...keurig.com was having a sale with free ship. 10% off plus $2 off each box. not only that but if you register your keurig machine, you can get 2 free boxes with purchase of 2 boxes. wow! i got like 92 cups for $23 bucks shipped!
so what did i get? i chose 2 variety boxes, a chai green tea and of course a kona blend cuz who doesn't like kona coffee. mmm....
I was disappointed in their choices of hot chocolate. If you have any recommendations, please send my way. I have tried the Donut Shop coffee in our office and it was pretty good, and plus I like the packaging. It just makes me want to drink it hehe.
One day maybe ill splurge and get the cool swivel holder for the kcups...but i think i've spent enough money...on myself! sheesh. i always do this around the holidays...shop for someone else, see a good deal on something for myself and buy it. SMH!
who knew coffee could make me so happy? i do have an awesome full blown espresso/coffee maker that i got as a shower gift from MAB. I love it...and it has come in so handy for all these friend and family parties i throw. But there are times when im home alone and I just want a small cup....most importantly, there are times when I have someone over and I just want to make a small serving. Namely, Judy and MAB cuz I know they sometimes like to have coffee after a meal. Instead of me brewing a pot, adding water, grinding beans etc, I can just Keurig them!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Starting Solids...
So just shy of 5 months old (11/28), we gave Maddie her first taste of cereal. We have a ped appointment in a few weeks and at the last appointment, the doctor said that before we see her next, we should try out solids.
Its recommended to give a new food in the daytime, and not night in case there are allegies, you would be dealing with it in the daytime instead of while they are sleeping. I also wanted Jae to be there for her first time...so, of course I had to start on a Sunday since he works 6 days of the week. On this particular Sunday, I planned to stay home but jae wanted to take Maddie out to my grandmas. So, we lugged all the feeding stuff into Queens. I wouldn't recommend this...I really wanted her to be home, but it was nice that my grandma could witness it.
We started with oatmeal and as soon as I put the spoon to her face, she opened her mouth. Good start. We were feeding her in her Bumbo, which she actually doesn't like, so I knew the time she would be stting would be limited. I thought maybe the food would distract her though but after a few more bites, she started crying. I ended the session right there.
LAter that night, we went home and I tried again before bedtime. The highchair was set up and we used that. She loves this seat! The feeding session was again, shortlived, since it was close to her bedtime and she was a bit cranky.
The next day, I tried again and she would stick her thumb in after each bite to help her swallow. I read that when they are young, this is what they do since sucking is the only way they know how to eat.
It's been 5 days so far and she still puts her fingers or thumb in her mouth. They are in there constantly, actually. Any bit of food on her fingers, she tries to suck off. Its kind of hard to get a spoon in her mouth at all. I am torn between being worried and understanding that she is still a bit young and will learn eventually.
She knows to open her mouth, but doesnt quite know to close it over the spoon. She also deosnt know how to slurp the food off the spoon. (all normal). I only give her about a teaspoon or so of food but she will finish it. I am only doing once a day right now. Before I started this, I consulted my cousin who told me not to be too eager to start this cuz its a lot more work. She was right... theres a lot more prep and cleaning involved now. and right before she eats, I have pump like 3 teaspoons worth of milk to mix with her cereal. so annoying. and its VERY messy. but I really do enjoy watching her hit this milestone. She also really likes the highchair, so its great. After shes done eating, she will sit there and play while I wash dishes or clean up.
I think she is still a bit young, but I think with enough practice she will really like eating.
Next week I will be feeding her a barley/oatmeal mix (twice a day) and the week after, I will start with carrots. I do want to try a veggie before I see the ped in case I have any questions.
Shes growing up so fast!
So just shy of 5 months old (11/28), we gave Maddie her first taste of cereal. We have a ped appointment in a few weeks and at the last appointment, the doctor said that before we see her next, we should try out solids.
Its recommended to give a new food in the daytime, and not night in case there are allegies, you would be dealing with it in the daytime instead of while they are sleeping. I also wanted Jae to be there for her first time...so, of course I had to start on a Sunday since he works 6 days of the week. On this particular Sunday, I planned to stay home but jae wanted to take Maddie out to my grandmas. So, we lugged all the feeding stuff into Queens. I wouldn't recommend this...I really wanted her to be home, but it was nice that my grandma could witness it.
We started with oatmeal and as soon as I put the spoon to her face, she opened her mouth. Good start. We were feeding her in her Bumbo, which she actually doesn't like, so I knew the time she would be stting would be limited. I thought maybe the food would distract her though but after a few more bites, she started crying. I ended the session right there.
LAter that night, we went home and I tried again before bedtime. The highchair was set up and we used that. She loves this seat! The feeding session was again, shortlived, since it was close to her bedtime and she was a bit cranky.
The next day, I tried again and she would stick her thumb in after each bite to help her swallow. I read that when they are young, this is what they do since sucking is the only way they know how to eat.
It's been 5 days so far and she still puts her fingers or thumb in her mouth. They are in there constantly, actually. Any bit of food on her fingers, she tries to suck off. Its kind of hard to get a spoon in her mouth at all. I am torn between being worried and understanding that she is still a bit young and will learn eventually.
She knows to open her mouth, but doesnt quite know to close it over the spoon. She also deosnt know how to slurp the food off the spoon. (all normal). I only give her about a teaspoon or so of food but she will finish it. I am only doing once a day right now. Before I started this, I consulted my cousin who told me not to be too eager to start this cuz its a lot more work. She was right... theres a lot more prep and cleaning involved now. and right before she eats, I have pump like 3 teaspoons worth of milk to mix with her cereal. so annoying. and its VERY messy. but I really do enjoy watching her hit this milestone. She also really likes the highchair, so its great. After shes done eating, she will sit there and play while I wash dishes or clean up.
I think she is still a bit young, but I think with enough practice she will really like eating.
Next week I will be feeding her a barley/oatmeal mix (twice a day) and the week after, I will start with carrots. I do want to try a veggie before I see the ped in case I have any questions.
Shes growing up so fast!
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