Life With Karma

Cinderella

2012-02-20T06:02:00.000-05:00

Start 'em young, is what I say....

(Thanks to Aunt Debbe for this adorable dress)

Advice for New Moms: Part II

2012-02-17T05:10:00.004-05:00

On dealing with a newborn

1) Next time I will try as hard as I can to just embrace and accept the fact that nothing will get done for the first 6-8 weeks and possibly all of maternity leave. It was hard for me as a goal-oriented person to not get anything else done all day long for weeks and weeks. For some reason I had this vision in my head of me taking Nora and going shopping, cooking dinners, cleaning the house, even painting rooms that I have wanted to paint for a long time (I know, I had no idea what I was thinking). Next time, I'm going to try hard not to think of maternity leave as a time when I can try to finally get some stuff done (hah- the only reason I even had time to shower and eat was because of all the help from family we had- thanks guys!) and instead accept and cherish the fact that for that time, my only job is to nurse and snuggle that little baby. For me I actually did get to that point after about 6 weeks, and I really came to love those long nursing sessions, but if I had accepted it earlier, it might not have been such a rough transition. If your baby nurses for 45 minutes at a time like mine did, get your smartphone, a good movie, and a comfy chair, and soak up those quiet moments with just you and her/him. Even reading this I know this is going to be something I struggle with again next time. It's very hard in practice to turn off the "got to get stuff done" part of my brain. Especially when you can't even find time to do the most basic of tasks, like doing a load of laundry.

2) If you're breastfeeding, it's going to be all you for every night waking. For some reason, I never really thought about what this meant before giving birth. Kevin was more than willing to help, but practically speaking, he couldn't- the baby was hungry in the middle of the night, and I was the only one who could provide. This was a hard thing to come to terms with- it really is exhausting. It doesn't even work to have your husband give a bottle in the middle of the night really, because if your baby drinks from a bottle and you don't pump at the same time, your supply can go down (again, if you have stellar supply, this might not be as big of an issue).

3) Along these lines, if you're doing all the night wakings, prepare to have some degree of resentment towards your loving partner who is snoring away while you get up 4-5 times a night (particularly when the next day they say "Man, I am so tired!". Not that Kevin ever did this....). It's best in these cases to talk about it, and find other ways he can help- perhaps giving you more time during the day to have for yourself, or taking some time with the baby so you can grab a nap.

4) If you have a fussy, colicky baby who mostly cries unless they're (a) sleeping or (b) nursing, I understand. Though it seems like little comfort at the time, it will pass. Most babies magically (or seemingly so) grow out of it around months 3-4 and then they are all smiles. But I know when you're 6 weeks into screaming baby territory and someone says "Don't worry, by 3 months it will be fine!" and you're still about 6 weeks away from that point, it is not much comfort. If you need to, put the baby down somewhere safe and step aside for a breather. Go on lots of walks and try "wearing" the baby in a sling or carrier. Try gripe water and gas drops. Become intimately familiar with "Happiest Baby on the Block" techniques (watch the DVD- this I advise for all parents. Dads in my experience are great at the 5 S's). And soak up all those cute baby smiles that happen in the 10 minutes before they start crying again. :)

5) Be prepared to be emotional. I don't feel like I was overly emotional during pregnancy, but my hormones were all out of whack those first few weeks/months after birth. I was crying all the time, for any number of things (mostly good things- there is nothing in the world like studying your new baby's face as she drifts off to sleep). But it did make me feel a little unhinged because my emotions were like a rollercoaster ride- and I'm usually very even-keeled.

On Being a Working Mom

1) It's going to be harder than you ever anticipated to go back to work that first day, even if you love your job. After being all baby literally 24/7 for 2-3 months, and knowing how dependent that little being is on you, it is HARD to leave them in the care of someone else, even if you trust the care provider completely. But don't worry, things will get easier. Once you get into a new routine, it won't feel so heart-wrenching to leave your little one every day. In fact, you may even feel pretty happy about it on those days when the baby is acting cranky. :)

2) Don't worry about missing the "new" stuff. I was really worried about this. I kept thinking, "Someone else is going to see my baby roll over first! Crawl first! Walk first! I'll miss everything!" But you know what? I missed the first time Nora rolled over one way, and I was at home. Kevin saw her do it first while I was downstairs. Even if you're at home, you can miss what is technically their first success at something. Heck, you're likely to miss it if they practice in the middle of the night like Nora has been doing with pulling herself to her feet. But you know, the first time you see it, it will be new to you. And you will lavish them with praises and they will still act so proud, as if it's their very first attempt. And then you will see them do it again and again and again and you'll wonder why you ever worried about "missing" it.

3) Don't feel guilty about liking your job. It's hard to avoid the mommy guilt that comes not only from having to go to work, but... actually enjoying it! At least at this point in my life, I'm happy that I have a job I love. Yes, sometimes after a long busy day of work, a bad commute, and then not getting much time with Nora in the evening, I think how much easier it would be if I were at home all the time. But, I worked hard to get here, and I enjoy what I do. I don't think I'd be happy staying at home and doing the full-time mom thing right now.

4) Talk to your employers and work with them on getting the best work-life balance possible. If you're entitled to FMLA (which most people should be), take the full 12 weeks if financially feasible (I chose to only take 10, half of which was unpaid). 10 weeks felt like the bare minimum to me- I don't think I would have been ready any earlier. Ask your employers what options you might have on returning to work- starting part-time, telecommuting, etc. The telework days I've been given since Nora was born are really life-savers for me, since it saves me 2 hours of commuting time on those days.

On Sleep Issues

1) When you first bring the baby home from the hospital, it's common to have the baby in a sleeper next to your bed (we used the Rock 'n Play- loved it!). However, I would advise not getting too entrained into any sleep situation that's going to be hard to break in the weeks/months down the road (and usually, it's harder for you than the baby). We moved Nora to her own room after the first 3 weeks, and I'm glad we did it then because I think it was just going to get harder and harder for me to have her in her own room. Other sleep crutches might include: sleeping in your room, sleeping on top of you, sleeping in the swing, sleeping swaddled, sleeping anywhere not in the crib, sleeping with a pacifier, nursing to sleep, only sleeping in the stroller/car, etc.

2) That being said, you're almost 100% likely to need and rely on at least one of those things above, especially in the first 3 months (we relied heavily on the swaddle and Rock n'Play, and stroller naps). And really, in the first 3 months? Do whatever you need to do to get some sleep, as long as you are maintaining safe sleep conditions for the baby. Try not to worry too much about creating bad habits, though limit sleep crutches where possible. Bad habits can be broken later. And if there's something you enjoy doing, like rocking the baby to sleep, and it doesn't interfere with the baby's ability to sleep on their own? Just keep on enjoying it. :)

3) My personal opinion is that "sleep training" should not be attempted until the baby is 5-6 months old. Before then, I think the baby is expressing some inherent "need"; whereas once he/she becomes more aware of the world 5-6 months down the road, they start to cry out of "want" instead of "need". This is the point where sleep training becomes possible. It seems like 80% of people on my online moms group needed sleep training of some kind between 5-8 months of age (even good sleepers like Nora who previously were sleeping through the night started waking up all the time). I highly recommend the Ferber method but there are other ways of doing it too (Good Night Sleep Tight, No Cry Sleep Solution, etc). If you don't need to sleep train or simply don't want to, then keep doing what you're doing- it's a personal decision!

4) In terms of sleep training- no one likes hearing their baby cry. It must be linked to a mother's hormones, because Nora's crying gets to me in a way I was not anticipating- like I just want to crawl into a deep pit. But, when sleep (or lack thereof) gets bad enough, it's not healthy for anyone, and then some regulated "crying it out" might be necessary. Follow the sleep training method and be consistent. If you are, it will probably only take a few nights of crying before you see drastic improvement. Otherwise, if you give in, the crying will be for nothing. Keep in mind that you're helping your baby in the long run by teaching them how to self-soothe and sleep on their own. Nora is so much happier when she gets a good night's sleep, and so are we!

Advice for New Moms: Part I

2012-02-15T05:59:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to write this for awhile- so that next time we have a baby (note: this will not be for a long time) I might remember things that I learned the first time. While I'm just a first time mom, and my views are based on my experiences with just my own child, I have been on an online baby message board for over a year now, and I feel like I've learned a lot from reading all the different experiences from different mothers, so I feel like I can give some good advice on some of these issues.

I also feel like I have so many friends right now who are pregnant and due this spring and summer. It's crazy, I think I've gotten at least 6 pregnancy announcements in the last 2 weeks! I am so excited for them all. I thought a post like this might help them, too, though I'm fully aware that I got plenty of advice before Nora came and while I listened to it, I don't think I really "got it" until I experienced it for myself.

I should note that these are all based on my own experiences and personal beliefs, so people might disagree- but the joy of this being my blog is that I get to post what I want. :) But, I'm hoping other moms will share their advice in the comments!

So here we go...

On Pregnancy and Labor

1) Get a doppler/fetal monitor. Okay, I'm not sure why they don't sell it on Amazon anymore, but I loved this purchase. I listened to Nora's heartbeat almost every day (for just a minute or two) from about 10 weeks on. I even got a recording here. It's really hard to go weeks and weeks without being able to tell whether your baby is okay, and this gave me so much reassurance.

2) Document your pregnancy. Take tons of photos of that baby bump. And when the kicking gets into full force, take a video of those kicks- because how crazy is it that you can see it from the outside!?! (I just found this video below that I took last March of my stomach. I mean, whoa!). Because even though you're uncomfortable now, and probably feeling like a whale, you don't actually look like one. You look radiant, beautiful, and you will (most likely) miss the feeling of one-ness with your little one.

3) I recommend the book Baby Bargains to help you figure out what to register for. They give ratings to tons of products, give recommendations for what is "must have" and what you can pass on, and also detail cost. It was a great help! I would also suggest my two lists of items I've made before: for newborns, and for babies 2-6 months old (I'll be writing up a 6-9 month old list soon!).

4) Yes, you should take a childbirth class and develop a birth plan. A birth plan is good so that you know what choices you will have for different situations and be prepared to make informed decisions. BUT- be ready and open for the birth plan to change. I hardly know anyone who gave birth exactly according to their plans. And the people who were disappointed with their labor and delivery experience were usually the people who were so set on having birth go a certain way that even the slightest change left them feeling disappointed. The most important thing is to end up with a healthy baby and a healthy you- no matter how the baby arrives.

5) Try to remember to take lots of pictures/videos during/after delivery. I regret not having more of Nora in the first few days after she was born. You won't likely feel up to it yourself so appoint someone to do it. Months later it will amaze you how tiny they were at first.

On Breastfeeding (note: if you don't want to read about breastfeeding and all it entails, please skip this section now)

1) Study up before the baby arrives. I read some books and online forums, and Kevin and I took a one-day class, though we personally didn't find the class that useful because most of it I had already heard/read about. I do think this was useful in terms of what to expect, and what to watch out for (in terms of clogged ducts, mastitis, etc). However, I did find it tricky to fully grasp things like what a good latch looks like without an actual baby to practice with- haha.

2) Though books will tell you this, and I knew this ahead of time, it never really sunk in with me until it happened- your milk takes 3-5 days to come in. Yes, there is a tiny (*tiny!!!*) amount of colostrum that has tons of good nutrients which is supposed to keep the little baby happy for those 3-5 days while you're waiting, but as I found out and it seems like many people I talked to found out, this often really doesn't satisfy the baby that whole time, especially if you're closer to the 5 day mark on milk arrival (which was me). Nora was screaming with hunger by day 3. I'm sure I could get reamed by breastfeeding advocates for saying this, but my main point is that if your baby isn't getting enough and starts to get jaundiced like Nora did, it's okay if you need to supplement a little with formula for the first few days (in many cases if it gets to this point, you won't have a choice, the hospital is likely to insist). Don't feel like a failure. Breastfeeding will still work out fine. Just pump like crazy (they have great pumps at the hospital) even if hardly anything comes out (the important thing is telling your body to make more), and try to avoid bottle nipples (use a syringe or finger-feeding method).

3) I know they always say that if breastfeeding hurts, you're not doing it right or the latch is wrong, but I honestly believe that the first week, it hurts everyone. To be blunt, I just don't think nipples can go to being sucked on almost 24 hours a day and not have some trauma. For me it hurt A LOT for the first two weeks (like taking a shower was like nails being driven into my chest) and while I'm sure we did have some latch problems, I think it really just hurts most people for at least the first few days. Now, I think if it's hurting longer than a week or two, then you probably need to speak to a lactation consultant and get advice. Actually, though, I'd say in general the first 6 weeks of breastfeeding SUCKS. Your nipples hurt, you're not sleeping, you do nothing but feed this baby for hours and hours. But if you can push through it, it becomes a really wonderful thing. Try to stick with it for at least 6 weeks! If for no other reason than formula is crazy expensive. And because those moments nursing your baby become so precious.

4) The first 6 weeks are critical to establishing your supply. I wish I had been less worried about feeding every 2-3 hours and instead let Nora nurse as much as she wanted (I mostly tried to limit it because it already felt like I was nursing 24/7 and I was exhausted). Also, pump early and pump often, in addition to nursing, especially if you're a working mom. I'm sure for some (lucky) women who have great supplies that this isn't really necessary, but I wish I had started almost immediately with pumping and building a freezer stash of milk. The main reason I didn't was because I was already breastfeeding every 2-3 hours for 45 minutes at a time, so I couldn't figure out when to fit a pump session in there, and still have time to sleep and eat, but I kind of wish I had started pumping on one side and feeding on the other, to trick my body into thinking my baby was super hungry. I think it definitely would have helped me in the long run! As it was, I started pumping once or twice a day around 8 weeks post-partum (in addition to nursing 8-10 times per day) and my freezer stash allowed me to continue giving breastmilk a full month after I stopped breastfeeding, so if I started earlier, I might have been able to extend it even longer.

5) Watch your weight and water intake. I've never been good about drinking lots of water, though I did try for the sake of breastfeeding to drink as much as I could. I'm sure I could have been better about this though. Also, I realized that I probably dropped my pregnancy weight much too fast- not a bad problem to have but if you lose too much it can tank your supply. I think once I got to within 5 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight I should have started eating protein shakes/bars to keep my weight up (I certainly wasn't trying to lose weight- for whatever reason it was just coming off). My big supply drop was right around this time.

6) If you decide to switch to formula, it's okay. I wish I hadn't been so hard on myself when breastfeeding ended. I felt like a bad mother, like I could have tried harder, done something else, and that formula was practically poison (a subliminal message you pick up from all the pro-breastfeeding books, articles, and other breastfeeding moms; not something intentional I don't think but the message is there nonetheless). Honestly Nora was a much happier baby on formula. I'm not sure if that has to do with her getting more food, and she was actually just hungry for the first 3 months because my supply was too low, or if she was just finally outgrowing colic right when we switched to formula, but the important thing in the end is to feed your baby. Breastmilk may be ideal, but formula is a pretty darn good alternative. Next time I'll try to be nicer to myself if/when breastfeeding ends.

Ready, Aim, Birthday!!

2012-02-12T13:31:00.005-05:00

Kevin totally came up with the title of this blog. But he wants me to tell you that he thinks it's lame. Haha.

For Kevin's birthday this year, I surprised him with a romantic afternoon of.... shooting! Yep, we went to Freestate Gun Range (Nora was home with a babysitter). If you know me, I am not at all a fan of guns, but Kevin is a Marine veteran, and I think he misses shooting on occasion (especially because he's really good at it).

Here he is in action:

I let him do most of the shooting- he shot a 9mm and a .22mm gun. But then I tried the .22 gun as well. I thought it was pretty easy to handle (but what do I know?). I was very glad they had some ear protection- it gets very loud in there! I found it a little unnerving to be in a room with many other people and firearms, but it definitely was an interesting experience.

Then we went to go get buffalo wings. It was a very manly date.

Here we are back at home with our targets:

Our Love Story

2012-02-08T20:44:00.004-05:00

First of all, thank you all for your kind comments that you left for Kevin about his grandmother- it meant a lot to both of us.

Second of all, I'm linking up with From Mrs. to Mama in honor of the month of love. :) Many of my readers know all about me and Kevin but for my new readers I thought it might be interesting!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

We started dating in February of 2000, so 12 years now. So over 1/3rd of our lives so far we spent together!

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

There are several ways to answer this question. I technically met Kevin at a sorority dance through one of my roommates, but we were with different people. In my mind, I first "noticed" Kevin at my roommates' holiday party, and then it turned out we both had Differential Equations that semester (at different times) so we would see each other on test days (haha, geek-love). After our first big test, we decided to go get coffee afterwards, and then Kevin walked me home and kissed me on the doorstep of the sorority. I always teased him for kissing me before we had actually been on a real date together. We went on our first "real" date on Feb 16th, 2000 (not the picture shown below- we'd already been dating 1.5 years in that picture!).

This was my 21st birthday. Holy crap we look young here!

3. How long have you been married?

We got married in the fall of 2006, so we have been married for about 5 and half years.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?

We had a fairly large wedding (~120 people) at a beautiful location near Evergreen, CO called Dunafon Castle. It really was a fairy tale!

Photos by Greg Harring

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another?

Sweetie. I think that's the only one. I mean, I call him Kev and he calls me Ames on occasion.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

Kevin can make me laugh like no one else, is deeply caring, and is a great listener.

7. Tell us how he proposed?

He had convinced me he wasn't going to propose for awhile, so I had no idea it was coming. We had gone on a hike near the cabin his family owns. We climbed up on this big, boulder-y rock- it was a beautiful morning, and you could see for miles all the snowcapped peaks and blue Colorado sky. Then he started telling me all these sweet things (I just thought he was being incredibly romantic), and then suddenly he was down on one knee. I was seriously in shock, but so so happy! It was a perfect proposal in a perfect location.

Our proposal rock. Yep, we actually managed to get to the top!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He's more of a backrub, make-you-dinner, bring-home-my-favorite-ice-cream kind of guy. Or a, I'll-get-up-early-with-the-baby-so-you-can-sleep-in kind of guy. Though he does buy me flowers every once in awhile!

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Hmm, both of those things sound good to me, but "pop in a movie" at home happens much much more often.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

Well I hope someday we'll get to travel a lot more together. We'd both like to go to New Zealand, among other destinations. I'd also like to be lifelong learners on Semester at Sea when we're old and retired. :)

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

We're actually not big into celebrating Valentine's Day. We usually give each other cards though with a mushy message inside. :)

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

We don't usually exchange gifts on Valentine's day, just cards.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Doing little things every day that make the other person happy and show you care is important. I think Kevin is actually better at this than I am, so I'm trying to remember this more often.

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

Photo by Greg Harring

Grandmother Dear

2012-02-04T10:26:00.002-05:00

My grandmother was an amazing lady. All of her grandchildren would greet her as 'Grandmother Dear', and she loved the reaction when she would introduce me to her friends as 'her favorite grandson'. Never mind the fact that she had 4 grandchildren, 3 of them girls. Grandma and I were kindred spirits. She was a morning person, just like me. Some of my earliest memories are summer vacations at my grandparents' house in Ohio, waking before dawn and knowing that I wasn't the only person up in the house. I would listen to her footsteps downstairs and the sound of sizzling bacon, and then join her in the kitchen to drink OJ and discuss our adventures for the day. She would take me to the nearby creek where we would search for fossils of brachiopods and trilobites, the only person who's enthusiasm for rocks and dinosaurs could rival a 6 year old boy's. Years later, after they had moved to Denver, we continued this adventure with a trip to Dinosaur National Monument. In all her years of globetrotting, it was one spot she had always wanted to visit.

The summer after my grandfather passed away, I would visit once a week for an early morning breakfast before work. No matter how early, grandma was always dressed for the day with a full spread out, usually freshly baked popovers with honey, jam, and peanut butter. Each condiment in its own dish, of course. There were never jars on the table at grandma's house.

Grandma was tough, all 61 inches of her. She was a Sergeant in the Marines during WWII, raised cattle on her farm in Ohio, and hiked 3 miles to a mountain lake with me when she was 76 years old on what is lovingly referred to as 'the death march'. Despite the name, there was no complaining on the trek. She just put her head down and put one foot in front of the other, like she always had.

Just a few years ago, we were discussing the movie, 'The Queen'. She recommended I see it because, as she said, it was an example of what people from her generation do. Face a difficult situation and deal with it. I saw grandma deal with a lot of difficult situations, and I've heard of many more from before my time. I will strive in my life to face challenges with some measure of the strength and dignity I saw in her.

Grandma was opinionated without being stubborn. She was proud of the values and accomplishments of her generation, but she was nowhere near being stuck in the past. A modern lady her whole life, she had an email account before many of my friends. More importantly, she was not afraid to adjust her own long held beliefs after new experiences. As the times changed, she gracefully adapted without losing any of the important values that made her who she was.

On the day I was married, I placed a ring on Amy's finger that my grandmother had worn many years before. I asked her if there had once been an inscription, before the inner surface had been worn smooth. She said, 'I don't remember if there was an inscription, but honestly it doesn't really matter. Now it's your ring, and it's your life together, and that means far more than any words that may have been written on it years ago.'

A few days ago we joined my family from across the country, and saw the image of my grandmother surrounded by family on our computer screen. We told stories and laughed, and celebrated her life knowing that she would take some comfort in our voices. And only hours later, there was a phone call telling me that she was gone. I miss her terribly, but I am also grateful. I'm grateful that she lived such an amazing life, and that she lived it on her own terms to the very end. I'm grateful that we all had a chance to say goodbye. I'm grateful to have had such a kind and inspiring person in my life for 32 years. And although she won't remember it, I'm grateful that we will be able to show Nora pictures of the time her great grandmother held her in her arms, and we can tell her just how wonderful she was.

I miss you, Grandmother dear, but I know that I will feel your presence for the rest of my life. Every time I wake up early in the morning, before everyone else, or press my hands into a batch of fresh dough like you taught me, or marvel at the natural world around me. I'm proud to have been your sidekick, your fellow Marine, and most of all, your favorite grandson.

Nora: Month Eight

2012-02-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

Dear Nora-

Oh baby, you are a delight! Your personality is budding- you are sweet, mischievous, creative, and you can be a bit of a drama queen. You have a smile and giggle to light up the room, but you've just started figuring out how to throw a good tantrum too when something doesn't quite go your way.

*Check out those beautiful baby blues!

You had another virus this month but luckily it was short-lived, though you had to stay home for a couple of days. Let's hope you can stay healthy for the entire month of February! (fingers crossed).

Sleeping: Yay for feeling better, because your sleeping was great this month! You are sleeping from 8pm to somewhere in the range of ~6:30-8am. You no longer do the early morning 5:30am feeding (I still get up early to start doing some work from home). Sometimes you do wake up in the middle of the night to practice your new sitting trick discussed below (seemingly reluctantly- crying, as if to say "why am I awake right now and sitting up? I'm so tired!!") but within a minute or two you usually lie back down and fall asleep again.

Naps are still short, but there was some improvement this month. For one, we did start working on getting you to sleep without rocking, with some success. And you even had a few really good naps this month, though they were still few and far between. Once you slept for 2 hours straight, which is like an epic nap for you! You are generally down to 2 naps per day now, occasionally a third one if the first two have been very short.

*I think you look kind of like me here!

Eating: You discovered how to eat with your fingers this month! We started giving you "puffs", these little baby snack treats (I mentioned this last month). But whereas in the beginning of the month you probably could only get about 20% of the puffs I gave you into your mouth by yourself, by the end of the month you are getting about 90% of them in! Your pincer grasp is definitely getting very good.

As a result, I've started letting you try more finger foods- frozen avocado slices (I'd give you fresh if we remembered to buy some), shredded chicken (very thin pieces), shredded cheese, spaghetti, yogurt melts, and ground turkey. I'm a little terrified of you choking, though. I think in the next month you'll definitely be trying more and more foods this way, because you seem to prefer it to purees (though you're still getting most pureed foods). You've liked pretty much every food we've given you. You have 3 meals per day now.

You can also successfully use the sippy cup! You just have water with your meals but you can now even hold the cup yourself and tilt it back a little bit to drink.

Just this last week you finally started having five bottles (6oz each) instead of six per day. I'm thinking as your food amount seems to be increasing that you might start drinking less formula, but so far it hasn't happened.

Weight: At about 7.5 months, you were 18lbs 3oz. I can definitely tell- I'm switching to a convertible carseat in my car in a couple weeks because carrying the infant car seat makes me almost fall over. :) Your dad already got his convertible carseat set up this month! I'm not sure about your height right now.

Diaper Size: Size 3 pampers. They claim to work for babies up to 28lbs- there is no way that this size is going to last you another 10lbs. No way.

Clothes Size: 6-9 months, with some 6 month tops, and some 12 month tops (they seem to vary a lot in fit).

Milestones/Firsts: First New Year (you actually slept through the very loud fireworks).

This month you became a fairly efficient army crawler. You've started to use your legs more and you spend more time with your tummy off the ground on your hands and knees, but when you want to move forward it's back to army crawling. The big milestone you reached this month though was going from your tummy into a sitting position- pretty huge because now you don't have to stay lying down if you don't want to! You were very proud of yourself for figuring out this move (and we were proud of you too).

You can also pull up to your knees by yourself, and you have just started to be able to pull to your feet, but things are still pretty wobbly up there. :) You like trying to pull up and crawl into my lap to snuggle (aww). You can stand for very short periods of time by yourself holding onto something, but I think it will be awhile before you're secure enough to cruise around.

Babbling has been slow going (I think you've been working more on gross and fine motor skills), but you did start to use consonants this month- mostly "bah" and finally some "babas" in the last week or so. You also go "mmmm" and I even heard a "mum" or two yesterday so I'm hoping some "mama's" might not be too far off.

I think you're on the verge of figuring out some hand movements (i.e. clapping, signing "milk", bye bye, etc) so I'm really looking forward to this in the next month or two! And I'm pretty sure you've started giving kisses (I think you actually gave your first to your grandpa in Colorado, but I hadn't seen you do it since)- though it's hard to tell because they are usually big open-mouth ones so you might just be trying to suck on our cheeks.

Likes/Dislikes: You suddenly hate the changing table, which used to be one of your favorite spots- I think because you just want to be moving and not lying down now. And whenever I buckle you into the carseat I still get some whimpering and crying.

You still love the stroller and the cats. Now that you can army crawl, your first target is usually the cats' water bowl- though you liked it better when we still kept water in it. :) You love shaking sound-makers- our rattles at home, or the tamborine at daycare. You love the cats' feather toy, which has a wand with a long felt ribbon and feathers attached at the end. You can flip it back and forth pretty good too- Bixby definitely enjoys that activity!

You like patty cake, peekaboo, and Wheels on the Bus right now. I think you're a little sick of I'm a Little Teapot and I've been Working on the Railroad because they haven't been getting the smiles that they used to. You like when we make raspberries on your tummy, and you still love grabbing hair, eyeglasses, and touching faces. You like dancing and listening to music.

Daddy and I adore you so much! We hope you know how much you are loved.

Inner Conflicts

2012-01-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

There are some inner conflicts that come with being a mother.

For example, I already miss traveling, both for work and for fun. I never did it all that often, but in the last ten years it was pretty typical for me to travel to at least one international location per year- and cool places, too, like Norway, Australia, and Italy; or if not work, then for fun, usually with my sister (you can read about our adventures in Peru, but we also traveled all over Europe) or with Kevin. Traveling is one of my favorite things to do- I especially love planning trips and then seeing all my hard work pay off. I'd much rather save up my money to spend on travel than pretty much anything else. Of course it helped for work travel to have an advisor with some grant money and to have conferences at neat locations- it's a lot harder to get funding to travel abroad now that I'm not a student and not in academia.

But, for several reasons, it's harder to travel now that Nora is here. There have been (and will probably be, coming up in the next year) a couple opportunities at work to go abroad, but the issue is that (a) I have no local family to watch her while I'm gone and (b) Kevin's schedule is too unknown and too packed full to be able to plan for such a trip in advance (on certain rotations, he might leave before she wakes up and come home after she's asleep on a bad day). And (c), I'm not sure I want to be away from her for more than a day or two at this point anyway! I could take her with me, but traveling on a long flight with an infant by myself and then having to deal with her jet lag and finding childcare at the destination just does not sound worthwhile to me.

Another source of inner conflict comes from how to entertain and spend time with Nora at this age. When I go to work, I miss Nora, and I'm sad to leave her at daycare; and when it's the weekend, I'm happy that I'll get to spend two whole days with her. But.... on the other hand, when I actually have a whole day to spend with her, I often find myself wondering: "what in the heck are you supposed to do with a baby all day long?"

Usually I can find stuff to entertain her in our small house up until about 3pm (and it's a lot easier on nice days when we can go for a stroller ride)- but at that point, we've gone to all the parts of the house, played with all her toys multiple times, and sometimes, I have no clue what to do next. It's made a little more difficult by the fact that she doesn't take very long naps so she's awake almost the entire day. It does reinforce the feeling that at this point in my life I wouldn't be cut out to be a stay-at-home parent. I often feel like she probably gets more stimulation and activity at daycare than with me (I mean, look at all the creativity she's using there!). I'm hoping once she is a toddler I'll feel like I can take her out to more places like children's museums and playgrounds and there will be more for her to do.

Anyway, this post isn't too say that I'm sad or upset about these sources of inner conflict, but merely to state that they are there, in case other new parents are going through the same thing. In the end, it's all worth it for this little face:

She's a Mover

2012-01-25T22:19:00.002-05:00

Nora has been working on getting around this month- she is quite the army crawler. Here is a video showing her skills, plus her new maneuver as of this last weekend: getting from her tummy up into a sitting position. She is so proud of herself, she has been doing this non-stop since she figured it out- tummy, sitting, tummy, sitting- even in the middle of the night- I'll wake up and see her sitting up in her crib! Then back down to her tummy for more sleeping.

A few comments: yes, I'm aware that she's headed straight for a staircase with nary a baby gate in sight. We need to buy one soon, but as you can see, army crawling is quite slow. However, she's started spending more time on her knees, so regular crawling might not be too far away.

Also, she is missing a sock. Whoops. And she is crawling for both the actual cat and the cats' water bowl, which is her absolute favorite thing to go after, so there is conveniently no longer water in there because it was just getting too messy (sorry cats- they have another bowl downstairs). You can also tell that she doesn't listen to her name if distracted by something, i.e., the cat.

I still think she is the cutest baby ever.

Friday Fragments

2012-01-20T06:52:00.001-05:00

1. Poor Nora got sick again this week. This time I'm not sure what it is- the only symptom is a somewhat high, persistent fever (the highest was 102.7F). I took her to the pediatrician yesterday and her ears look fine. No cough or congestion. The pediatrician (not our normal one) said her throat looked a little red and it was probably just a virus that we had to wait out. Easy enough to say, but I really don't have much sick leave, so "waiting it out" isn't a great option for me! Sigh. Hopefully only the next few months will be bad for colds/viruses and then she'll be perfectly healthy all summer- fingers crossed, right?

2. Kevin has started his surgery rotation. It kind of sucks so far and we're only on week 2 (out of 8)! Surgeons are crazy and I have to say I'm happy that he has stated he is never choosing a surgery specialty. For example, Tuesday he was at the hospital for 17 hours (from like 5am to 10pm). Today he woke up at 3am to get to his morning rounds on time (I mean, really, what patient wants visitors at that ungodly hour?). He also only gets one day off this week, which is actually probably good compared to whatever the residents are getting (one of which, he tells me, was getting very grumpy after his 36 hour shift- yeah- 36 hours!!! Who wouldn't be grumpy?). Maybe this isn't too shocking out there for others who have already gone through this, but I am not a fan. At this stage in our lives, I think lifestyle is just too important to pick a specialty like this. Though perhaps this gives me insight into what residency is going to be like...

3. One of my baby's favorite toys is a giant plastic camping spoon. With a long handle that could probably poke out her eye. I know, I shouldn't let her play with it, but it entertains her for like 10 minutes, which can't be said of most toys. I do try to carefully supervise...

4. Nora sleeps with her butt in the air. It's so cute, it makes me laugh. Exhibit A:

5. I got a new computer. I haven't had any time really to get it working yet though, which is sad. I started it up, but now I'm having wireless connectivity issues that I can't figure out. Sad! I want it to work ASAP.

6. This video is like a month old but it makes me laugh- Nora is a fan of peekaboo but I guess it works better with a smaller cloth!

Baby Food Makin'

2012-01-14T20:13:00.002-05:00

I actually meant to write this post like a month ago- whoops! I wanted to go over my baby food making technique. I've been mostly following wholesomebabyfood.com. In the end I mostly make Nora's food because it's fun, and it probably has saved some money. The food is also really easy to make for the most part. I thought I would quickly type up how I cook some of Nora's favorite foods by level of difficulty.

Bananas (Easier)

Bananas are the easiest thing. All I do is slice them up, put them on a saran-wrap covered plate or cookie tray (not touching), put another piece of saran wrap on top, and then stick them in the freezer. 24 hours later, I move the frozen pieces to a freezer bag. There is some slight browning but it's really not too bad. To serve, I heat up 2-3 pieces for 30 seconds in the microwave- they are super easy to mash with a fork after that.

Avocado (Easier)

Cut in half, scoop out pit, then scoop out each half. Slice, then either serve freshly mashed or to store: follow the saran-wrap/freezer procedure for the bananas. You can use a little squirt of lemon to keep from browning, but I haven't because citrus can be troublesome for a young baby's tummy. The pieces get very little brown on them if you make sure the saran wrap is touching all the sides of each piece. I serve the same way I described in the banana section- though lately, Nora is enjoying finger foods more and she likes to suck on the frozen slice of avocado.

Green Beans or Peas (Easier)

These are easy because I can get frozen bags of them- just make sure there's no added ingredients (like salt). Then I just cook them according to the directions on the bag, throw them in the food processor, and make sure they really get pureed. I put the puree into my ice cube tray, freeze for 24 hours, then move to a freezer bag. Nora will currently eat 2-3 cubes at a time (mixed with carrots is a favorite).

Pears (easier)

If the pear is ripe and soft, you can just peel the pear, cut into chucks (discard core), and puree in the food processor (no cooking necessary); then freeze in cubes. If the pear isn't quite ripe, you can quickly steam them in about an inch of water in a saucepan on the stove, then follow the same instructions.

Pumpkin (easier)

Buy canned pumpkin (make sure it's plain pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling). Serve fresh from can, or freeze in ice cube trays.

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Apples (Harder)

These involve slightly more time because you first have cut them into chunks (discarding the core) and then cook. Then there are two ways I have cooked them. (1) Remove peel first, then cut into chunks. Put in a saucepan over medium heat with about an inch of water until the water boils, then reduce heat and steam until soft. Put in food processor and blend. Freeze in ice cube trays as noted above.

OR (2) Bake apple chunks (with peel ON) at 400F for about 30 minutes, with about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan. If your baby is older than 7-8 months with no known allergies to dairy or other tummy problems, you can add a little butter and cinnamon to the top. When soft, you can put them into the food processor (I actually left the peels on, but you can discard the peel at this time if you want), then freeze in cubes. Or you can cut the apple up into very small pieces to serve as finger food.

Butternut or Acorn Squash (Harder)

Cut the squash in half (I like acorn the best because I hate trying to cut through butternut squash). Scoop out the seeds and discard. Put the halfs face/flesh down in a baking pan with about an inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Bake at 400F for 40 minutes until squash is very soft. Scoop out of rind into food processor and puree (though not much pureeing will be necessary). Freeze in cubes, save in freezer bag.

Sweet potatoes (Harder)

These actually aren't that much harder than the squash, but the peel is kind of annoying and they take longer to bake. Basically, you just bake them in the oven with peels on (stab with a fork a couple of times before hand, wrap in tinfoil, place in oven) at 400F for 45-60 minutes. Once they are very soft, the peels should easily come off after cooling (I've found that some peels are easier than others). You can also boil or steam the potatoes, but I've never tried it.

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I should mention- I buy pureed carrots, because there are some issues with nitrates from carrots that I don't want to deal with.

Also, while I've had fun making these basic purees, as Nora is now graduating to chunkier (and meatier) foods, I don't have it in me to create fancy combinations of purees (like apple chicken rice or something like that), so I'll probably start buying more Stage 3 baby foods to go with her favorite purees that I still make. Plus we've been using dinner time to give her finger foods- puffs, plain spaghetti, chicken or ground turkey (in very tiny pieces), baked apple chunks, steamed green beans, etc. Still, I found it pretty easy and fun to make these purees for the last 2 months, so I hope I can help someone else out there enjoy it too!

Christmas Photos

2012-01-08T19:08:00.007-05:00

We celebrated Christmas Eve with my family, then split Christmas Day between Kevin's and my families, and then the following evening with Kevin's family. Sharing holidays can be kind of tricky! But we were happy to get the chance to see almost everyone.

The best part was finally getting some time for Nora to spend with all her family members (she met them all at points in the last six months, but I feel like now she's a little more interactive and fun than as a colicky newborn).

* Just a note: These photos are taken by me, my sister, Sara, or my mom. I didn't do any photo editing here, mostly due to lack of time.

Nora and her BFF (as per her pajamas, which state "Me + My Aunt=BFF):

Nora's grandparents were super happy to see her. Here's 3 generations on my side of the family (plus Dante the dog):

Nora and Dante hung out a lot. Nora was fascinated by Dante, but wasn't a fan of doggy mouth kisses! Here are the floor buddies:

The Christmas tree. My parents did a great job decorating it!

Christmas Eve, we drank homemade eggnog that Kevin made, had a delicious dinner, and lit Chinese lanterns. And took pictures in front of the tree!

Me and my siblings:

Me and Kevin:

Our little family's first Christmas together:

On Christmas morning, Nora got to open her very first stocking from Santa and Christmas presents from her aunts and uncles:

She got her very first cell phone from her Uncle Andrew and Aunt Sara (eek!):

(Her onesie has cookies and milk and says "For Santa. Not Daddy" on it). She thought this Christmas thing was pretty fun:

Then late morning and that night we went to celebrate with Kevin's family. Unfortunately I was a terrible picture taker (Nora tends to be clingy at night, making it hard to focus on photo-taking). I apologize, Kevin's family! I know there must be pictures out there from other people who were there- I need to hunt some down.

The rest of the week was packed full of visiting friends and family, including my two college roomies:

... and taking care of sick baby Nora (who had been feeling okay Christmas eve and day, thank goodness, but started feeling worse the day after Christmas), getting family pedicures (ah, so relaxing) and going on some nice snowy walks:

It was seriously so good to see my family. We haven't all been together in a really really long time!

And Nora was so happy to have all the attention. I'm sure she thinks it's really boring back home now. It made me really wish we all lived closer together. (How cute is this picture of my little brother and Nora? Thanks Sara!).

Lighting up the Holidays

2012-01-05T17:55:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite memories from this Christmas will be the Chinese sky lanterns that my sister Erin and her husband Myron brought us from Taiwan.

Christmas eve night, we wrote our wishes and dreams for the new year on the red paper balloons.

We bundled up and headed across the street to the park, our feet crunching on the icy snow.

We laughed nervously, expecting the cops to maybe show up, for lighting things on fire. :)

Myron lit the first lantern with his lighter- holding the flame to a small paper disk on the bottom of the balloon. It took awhile to get going, and slowly, magically, the paper lantern began to fill, and then float.

When the lantern is ready to fly, you can feel it on your fingertips, pulling up to the sky. You see the words you wrote, glowing with fire; you feel the weight of those hopes and dreams lift into the dark abyss.

And then you watch the other lanterns, those of your loved ones, lighting and rising into the night, growing smaller and smaller but still visible miles and miles away.

The cops never did show up. Actually, what happened was that cars driving by the park started stopping- many, many cars, wanting to watch the beauty of the lanterns in their ascent on this most holiest of nights.

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I do have some video of this event (a very brief one below). It was really an awesome thing to do. These are the same lanterns used in the Yi Peng festival in Thailand, something I've always wanted to see. You apparently can buy the balloons online. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this takes off in the United States, as it's a truly magical experience.

Nora: Month Seven

2012-01-02T07:53:00.001-05:00

Dear Nora-

This month was both a ton of fun and completely exhausting. Though everything makes you giggle and laugh these days, and you just love playing and exploring- for at least half of the month, you were sick, and just not yourself.

First it was a little common cold and congestion, which turned into a bad cough and some vomiting, and a low grade fever for ~10 days, which led to two different antibiotics and your first trip to the ER (we would have just gone to our normal pediatrician, but we were in Colorado for the holidays). Even though you were diagnosed with an ear infection and bronchiolitis, you still were giggling away and charming the doctors in the cutest baby hospital gown I've ever seen:

Still, you were very clingy and fussy, and waking up very frequently. One night I think you woke up more than once per hour the entire night! But we knew it was because you didn't feel good, so we rocked you and did everything we could to try to make you more comfortable.

Sickness aside, when you're feeling good you are generally a happy baby, and you made our families completely gaga for you when we visited over the holidays with your big laugh and your goofy tongue-out smiles (sometimes while eating carrots):

(thanks to my sister for this photo)

Sleeping: As I mentioned last month, we were doing some Ferber sleep training and it was going really well. At the beginning of the month, you were only waking about once per night (compared to 5-6 times last month), and sleeping from ~8pm to ~5am, waking for a bottle, then sleeping until 8am.

But... then you got sick. So half the month was spent with some of the worst sleep nights you've ever had (newborn days included). We were sooo tired, and we knew you must be too! Luckily after we got the correct antibiotic and as you are starting to feel better, your better sleep appears to have returned, though we might have to revert to some sleep training because we created a few bad habits while you were sick.

In good news- I think we now have you napping in the crib, so I'm packing up the Rock n'Play. I love you, RnP! The nap story is the same- 2-3 naps of 30 minutes each. I'm not too worried about that- I think you're just not a great napper. You get a lot of sleep at night, so to me it makes sense you wouldn't sleep as much during the day.

Eating: You tried some new foods this month- like pears (don't like unless mixed with something else), peas (like), peaches (dislike), and squash (love). I think your favorite right now may be carrots. We didn't try quite as many things as I would have liked because when you got sick you completely lost your appetite and it was hard even getting you to drink your formula.

I did let you try some baby "puffs"- little snack treats that are flavored like banana that help you work on your "pincer grasp". So far you feel so-so about them but you like picking them up! It's the getting-them-in-your-mouth that's the tricky part. I also let you sample a few things by chewing them- a whole green bean, for example, and a slice of pear. You seem to enjoy that a lot, so I'll continue letting you try some foods this way (I also have this mesh feeder that we're going to try out). This month, you're also going to try yogurt and meat- though I'm not sure I want to puree meat so I might just grind some turkey or chicken into very fine pieces. You've been working on your sippy cup skills- you figured out how to drink/suck from it, but you can't quite tip it back far enough to do it completely by yourself.

You are still on two meals a day and 6 bottles, but I think we might go to three meals soon, plus 5 bottles per day (same total amount of formula, though you haven't been drinking quite as much lately).

Weight: No official weight check this month, but when we were at the ER last week, they weighed you at 17 lbs (with clothes on). I would expect your weight gain to be much less this month, because you really weren't eating your normal amounts for the last two weeks.

Diaper Size: Size 3 pampers. We really pushed the size 2 to try to get through the box I had! Size 3 fits much better.

Clothes Size: 6-9 months. You can still fit into a few 3-6 month outfits though.

Milestones/Firsts: First Christmas and first presents! (posts to come soon on our trip home). First trip to the ER (see above) and first ear infection (ugh).

You are a total pro at sitting and can turn and reach for things far away and still come back to the sitting position. If I'm sitting next to you, you will try to pull up onto my lap from the sitting position- you can't quite do it yet though, but you can get on your knees. Also, you can go from a sitting position onto your tummy- sometimes you can stay at the hand-knee position for a minute but you can't hold yourself up like that for very long yet. But, you have gotten really good at army crawling- today you inched across your entire room! And you can turn on your tummy and roll so you can get anywhere you want to go (albeit very slowly). We haven't needed baby gates yet but I've been researching which ones would work best because I think I might need to order them either this month or next.

You reach for people (especially mommy and daddy) very frequently to be picked up. You love to touch people's faces (and pull off glasses or tug on hair).

Likes/Dislikes: Ugh, the hatred for the car came back with a vengeance, perhaps because we spent more time than usual in the car this month with all our traveling. You actually seem okay with the carseat but as soon as we put the carseat in the car, the waterworks begin (even if one of us is back there with you).

Towards the end of the month, you've become a real mommy's girl- when you get tired or cranky, you just want me to hold you and no one else will do (Daddy for some reason seems much funnier from my arms). I'll try to sit you right next to me on the floor and you'll try to climb up into my lap almost immediately. It's certainly flattering and I love the extra snuggles but I don't want you to have separation anxiety so I'm hoping it's a relatively short phase!

You love music, singing, and dancing. As soon as someone sings to you or starts dancing, you just get the biggest smiles. I hope your love of music continues!

(thanks to my sister for this photo)

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T13:28:00.007-05:00

We had a fully-packed and fun visit back home for Christmas and I have a lot of photos to process from the visit, and stories to share.

In thinking about the past year- 2011 was all about the baby. I apologize for anyone reading my blog who is bored by all the constant baby-talk, but having Nora has been a life-altering experience and has been quite consuming, both in heart and mind. My life has gravitated around this tiny being for the last year.

*photo by Shey Detterline

I'm hoping that 2012 is a year of balance. While I certainly will still be largely posting about baby stuff (as family and friends read this blog for updates), I'm hoping to find more balance in my life overall between the baby, Kevin, my friends, my family, my job, and myself. And no, I have no idea how I'm going to accomplish that- ha! Wish me luck. :)

Wishing You Joy

2011-12-21T20:21:00.003-05:00

We are getting ready to spend some time with family and I may not be around next week. I wanted to send out my wishes for you, dear readers: May the holiday season fill you with wonder, and may you find joy all around you.

Happy holidays!

Stroller Riding

2011-12-18T12:50:00.003-05:00

Nora started riding in the "big girl" part of her stroller (ie, not in her infant carseat attachment). Speaking of the infant carseat, Nora is still using hers, but it's started to really kill my back to carry that seat around! I can't wait to transition soon to the convertible carseat, though it won't be as convenient in some cases (like when she falls asleep in the car and I can just keep her in the infant seat).

Anyway, the stroller- Nora loves it! We've been bundling her up and going on lots of walks:

It's been getting pretty cold though, so on blustery days we put her into a full-blown fleece suit. She looks so cute. I'm not sure how she feels about it though.

New Bathroom Tile

2011-12-12T08:21:00.000-05:00

Ever since we moved in, we have hated our bathroom tile. It's like this awful brown color... with brown grout. Ugh! I don't know who made that decision, but terrible fail. It always looked dirty and no matter how much you scrubbed it, it looked gross.

Exhibit A:

The marble threshold I actually liked but it didn't match the brown tile/grout combo at all. So last week we hired a handyman to replace the tile. He actually was able to put the new tile right on top of the old tile- which saved a lot of work/expense! We picked a light gray color (with white grout) to go with the marble threshold. I think it looks a ton better... so happy we got that done!

Add to that a new shower curtain and I'm pretty happy! :) (I didn't have time to iron out the creases in the shower curtain, so please pretend it's nice and smooth).

Favorite 2-6 month Baby Items

2011-12-10T14:18:00.000-05:00

I blogged about my favorite items for a newborn baby, but now that I'm six months into motherhood, what would I recommend?

Well, first I'd like to say that pretty much everything on my first list I still love. The only thing I'd take off the list is the Sleep Giraffe/Sheep. While adorable, the 45-minute timer kept waking Nora up when it turned off- argh! So instead I'd go with this Homedics Sound Machine, which is reasonably priced, plugs in so no batteries are necessary, and can go all night long. :)

I'd also love to reassert my love for the Rock n' Play. Mostly because even though we transitioned out of the RnP about 3 months ago, when Nora has a little cold she can sleep in the RnP so much better than in her crib because it's elevated. We also still use it for naps. I wish they made one of these for toddlers! (photo below is from my phone about a month ago. She's cuddling with suck monkey).

Okay, new items:

1) Changing table from Ikea. I know, I know, I still have never shared pictures of the nursery. But our changing table (the Hemnes Chest) is great. It's just the right height and the right price. It has nice drawer space. I found those cute bins at Target and they fit just perfectly in there. I love how it looks!

2) Large playmat. Nora still loves her activity gym but is getting too big for it. Once babies can roll, I would recommend this Tiny Love Super Mat. My parents had one for our visit in October and it is super soft and padded, with lots of space for rolling. There is also a mirror and places to attach toys.

3) Munchkin Spoons. These do what they're designed to- they're easy to use, long enough, not too deep or too shallow, and they're bright and cute.

4) Highchair. Or rather, the lack of a highchair? These things take up so much space and they aren't cute. For our tiny house, we just wanted something that didn't take up space, and this Fisher Price chair/booster seat fits the bill. It's super easy to clean, fits on any chair you already own, and will work through toddlerhood. It's not particularly cushy, so baby will need to be able to sit up straight at least mostly unassisted to sit in here- which they should be doing anyway before eating most foods. It has five stars and over 1000 reviews on Amazon!
5) Crib sheets. One of my top pieces of advice for those preparing for baby's arrival: do NOT buy a "crib set". These are sets that include sheets, then usually a crib bumper and crib skirt, and maybe a blanket. Except... you can't use the blanket in the crib, and you really shouldn't be using a crib bumper either. So basically you've only used half of the set. Instead, I recommend buying sheets individually. We also have a breathable bumper which works pretty well. Anyway we got our sheets from Carousel Designs and they are so cute. You can individually buy sheets, crib skirts, curtains, and yes even crib bumpers and pick the material you want for them ("design your own"). They are maybe a little pricey but I got three different sheets and it was still cheaper than a crib set.

6) Glider. I have to preface this by saying I never would have been able to afford this on my own, but we got the Carter glider from Room and Board as a gift from Kevin's grandmother, in charcoal. I wasn't sure at first how much we would use a glider, but I can testify- I have used it every day since Nora arrived. Heck, the first 3 months I spent the majority of the day there nursing! It is such a great chair. Classy-looking, soft, comfortable- I love it. I plan to own it for a long time! The nice thing about it is it could easily be used in another room after we are done using it for the nursery.

7) Hands-free pump bra. Pumping is not fun at all but this item is essential for your sanity- at least it allows you to read a magazine or check your email! I love the pictures amazon has for it, too....

8) Board Books- Goodnight Moon, The Night You were Born, That's Not my Monkey, Moo Baa La la la, Time for Bed, The Little Hoot/Pea/Oink books, and many others. I'm always surprised how much Nora already likes books. She likes holding the pages and flipping them. I'm sure she's not paying attention to the storyline yet but she loves the pictures.

9) Snap n' Go Stroller. We bought this specifically for traveling and it's been great. Works with our Chicco carseat, folds super easily, light-weight, has lots of space beneath the stroller. You can just put your carseat in it, go through security and right up to the gate where you can check the stroller and the carseat separately. It's also great for car trips or quick outings where you want a stroller but wouldn't want to pack up the Bob (which we love but it's pretty heavy). Unfortunately once your baby is out of the infant carseat it's no longer useful.

10) If you're making your own baby food, you'll probably want an ice cube tray or two to freeze the puree into individual portions (Nora eats 2 cubes per meal right now). I like this one because it's easy to get the cubes out after freezing and it has a sliding cover. I usually move the cubes to a freezer bag after 24 hours but sometimes I don't take them out right away so the lid is a nice feature.

11) A Jumperoo. I debated between this and an exersaucer. I think she would have liked the exersaucer but in the end I'm glad I got the jumperoo because she just started jumping in it and it's so funny to watch- she gets super excited about it. She started using it at about 4 months old and still likes it, though I have a feeling once she starts crawling it's not going to be fun for her to be stuck in the jumperoo. Still, I'm definitely glad to have another place where she can entertain herself for awhile!

12) Teething toys. She didn't like Sophie the Giraffe at first (a glorified doggie chew toy), but now she definitely enjoys sticking Sophie's legs in her mouth and making her squeak. She also loves this Ring of Links and has enjoyed them for months. This Winkel Toy I like because it looks like an atom- and she likes because it's easy to grab and it rattles. We have a number of other toys but actually one of her favorite things is just plastic measuring spoons and cups. She's totally fascinated by the 1/2 tablespoon right now- ha!

13) Halo sleepsack/Carters sleepsack. Now that we're finally done with swaddling, we've entered the world of the sleepsack- aka how you keep the kid warm at night without blankets in the crib. I like the Carters fleece sleepsacks, but the 0-9 month ones only fit Nora up to 6 months, and they don't have any larger ones. Halo makes some super soft fleece ones too but they don't have sleeves. That's what we're using now and I like them.

So there you have it! I'm probably forgetting some things, but these are all things I would definitely recommend!

*Some of these links are Amazon associate links, but I have earned nothing for recommending these items in my blog, and the recommendations are my own.

Nora: Month Six

2011-12-04T18:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Nora-

A line from one of our bedtime stories "On The Night You Were Born" reads, "On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you, and the night wind whispered, 'Life will never be the same.'"

Six months we have now been blessed with you in our lives. It hasn't always been easy, or fun, and I've never felt so tired or so constantly worried. We discuss poop on a more descriptive level than I ever thought possible. I haven't watched television or read a non-baby book since you were born. But... I've also never felt so happy or so fulfilled. I love your dad even more now. I could stare at you for hours. I love watching you learn and grow. Sometimes looking at you makes my heart feel like it will burst. No, life will never be the same, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Sleeping: Sleep difficulties continued this month. We finally started getting you out of the swaddle habit. It worked pretty good the first few nights and then you realized you could roll in your crib. So you'd roll over and then start crying because you didn't know how to sleep on your tummy, and in your upset state you also couldn't remember how to roll back the other way. So we'd revert back to swaddling for a few nights so we could get some sleep, then try unswaddling again.

Eventually you were waking up 5-6 times per night even swaddled, so we decided to do a little sleep training (using the Ferber method). With both of us working/schooling, we were just getting too tired and you were getting cranky during the day too, so something needed to be done. With this method, we basically put you in your crib and leave and then you scream for 3 minutes, we go in a check on you, then you scream for 5 minutes, then 7, then 10, etc until basically you're so tired you fall asleep. :) The first night was rough- it took about 45 minutes of crying. But that night you slept through the night for the first time in weeks! Since then your sleeping has been a ton better. There has been some more crying when we first put you down, but usually only ~10 minutes at the most. Occasionally you still wake up once in the middle of the night and it can be hard to get you to fall asleep again so we're still working on it. But you now sleep on your tummy and you seem to be quickly learning how to fall asleep by yourself again when you wake up in between sleep cycles. You usually sleep from 8pm-6am, then eat and go back to sleep until 8am.

Naps are still short. Usually you take three 30 minute naps a day- or two 45 minute naps. Sometimes we get a little more, sometimes less. And I usually rock you to sleep for those... but I don't usually mind as long as it works. :)

Eating: You started solids this month! We started with oatmeal, and you seemed to like eating but were kind of "meh" about the oatmeal itself. So next we tried sweet potatoes, and you loved those! Then we moved to avocado- major dislike. You'd make the cutest "gross" face and then spit it back out. Since then we've tried banana (love- especially mixed with oatmeal, less so by itself), pumpkin (really love), green beans (love), apples (dislike by themselves- too tart maybe? okay in oatmeal), and carrots (like). You're up to eating twice a day- breakfast (oatmeal + 1-2oz fruit) and lunch (2oz veggies).

In terms of bottles, though I weaned you once you turned five months, I actually had enough frozen breastmilk saved up to give you a bottle a day for the last month. Woohoo! That means I technically made my goal of at least some breastmilk for 6 months. Otherwise, you've been on Goodstart Gentle formula and drink 30 oz a day (six bottles, 5 oz each).

Weight: All the good eating you've been doing means that you gained 4 lbs in the last 2 months. You now weigh 16lbs 10oz, and are 26.25" long. I love all your little rolls and buddha belly!

Diaper size: Size 2 pampers swaddlers. Eek, I have a new huge box of these and they're only good up to 18 lbs! Hopefully we'll get through most of them....

Clothes size: Perfectly fitting 3-6 months. You're growing so fast though I'm not sure you'll be in them much longer- maybe another 2-4 weeks? I feel like you hardly got to wear some of them....

Milestones/Firsts: First foods. Your first Thanksgiving. First time sleeping unswaddled at night. :) First time riding in the "big kid" part of the stroller instead of the infant car seat.

First time sitting unassisted! (see the youtube video here). From the time you were tripoding/gorilla sitting to the time you could sit for longer than a minute or two was about 3 weeks. Now you've been sitting up like a pro for at least a week and a half! You also learned how to blow raspberries- it's lost a little of its appeal now but when you first figured it out you spent the next 48 hours blowing raspberries. You also figured out how to jump in the jumperoo. You're quite the little jumping bean. You have perfected the "reach and grab"- nothing is safe :). You were sitting on my lap the other night during dinner and I almost lost my plate when you grabbed onto the placemat and pulled! And you are completely enamored with Mommy's hair. You can turn yourself in a circle on your tummy and have started to reach and wiggle towards objects placed far away from you. And you've started to cry if I try to take away an object you're interested in!

Likes/Dislikes: You love music and when people sing to you. You especially love "I've been working on the railroad" and "I'm a little teapot". You also love our family dance parties. You finally tolerate the carseat without crying, hurray! You love our stroller rides- though you get very serious, I think you're trying to take everything in. Daddy can really get you laughing. You still love the cats (especially Bixby because she doesn't mind too much when you pet her).

How has it already been six months? I can't believe all the wonderful things we have to look forward to in the next six before we have a one-year old on our hands. :)

Six Months Post-partum

2011-11-29T22:14:00.001-05:00

Six months post-partum and I finally feel like my body is my own again.

Which, in many ways is bittersweet. I *loved* being pregnant. Especially after 20 weeks. I loved the baby bump, the baby kicks and rolls (the most amazing feeling in the world), the ultrasounds, the ba-da-boom sound of the heartbeat in my doppler. It feels now like one of the shortest, sweetest moments of my life.

There were things about pregnancy that weren't so great. The constant nausea of the first trimester; the not-knowing if things were really okay; the pitting edema I got in the third trimester (I think Kevin thought that was cool though- he could seriously push down on my ankle and leave a finger indent that would last like 5 minutes. Eww. That might have been my least favorite thing). The difficulty sleeping in the third trimester (though honestly looking back I was sleeping 100x better than those first few weeks after we brought Nora home).

And then you think, oh, it will be nice to have "myself" back after the birth. But you don't, at least if you're breastfeeding- you still can't take certain medications, go on a drinking binge (not like I really wanted to, but the option wasn't there...), have too much coffee, etc. And then about 3 months post-partum, you start losing handfuls- and I mean HANDFULS- of hair. I guess because your hormones are all giving you beautiful hair, skin, and nails while pregnant, and then that plug is pulled.

But now-- I feel like me again. I'm no longer breastfeeding. I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight (actually a few pounds under). The hair loss has finally tapered off to pre-pregnancy levels. The water retention lasted a few weeks after birth and I have never been so appreciative of my ankle bones. My c-section scar is still apparent, but it has softened to the touch and you would never see it in a bathing suit. After months of belly bloat and waiting for the organs to re-settle into the space previously filled by 7 lbs of baby, my stomach seems mostly back to normal. Though my belly button might never look the same again.

I didn't get many stretch marks, but I did get a little circle of them right around my belly button. I was so worried about stretch marks but I don't mind these. They have faded and are very light and silvery already. They spiral around my belly button like a galaxy, a reminder of the world I shared with Nora for a short time and the world I once shared with my own mother. For sure, my body is my own again- but I will never be the same.

Our Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T10:46:00.006-05:00

We decided not to travel home for Thanksgiving this year, as it just seemed like too much work and money with little Nora, and we're traveling home for Christmas. We definitely missed seeing family and spending time at the cabin, though! It's funny to see pictures of my nephew from last year and to think he was about the same age as Nora is now.

Anyway, we had numerous kind offers of friends here to join them for Thanksgiving, but Kevin and I thought it would be kind of fun to have our own little Thanksgiving, just the three of us.

First, I wanted to enjoy the nice weather and get some family photos. Warning- lots of pictures ahead!

"Poke the tummy" usually gets a smile:

We even brought our tripod to get one of all three of us. This is my favorite (it was tricky to get Nora looking in the right direction):

We went home- Kevin cooked up an absolutely fabulous dinner of roasted chicken, garlic smashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry relish. What an amazing husband I have!

He also made homemade pumpkin pie for dessert with homemade whipped cream, and I made a cranberry pear crumble. So good!

Then after Nora was in bed, the Ravens were playing so Kevin got some good football/cat cuddling time.

All in all, a successful Thanksgiving!

Thankful

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year.

Our health, our families, the roof over our heads (let's ignore the leak from our shower onto our first floor ceiling that is a bit worrisome, because honestly? I'm just grateful to have a warm, dry, safe place to call home).

The food in our bellies (Kevin and I are cooking quite the feast for the three of us, even though technically only two of us will be eating. Well, Nora might have some sweet potatoes).

My job, and Kevin's opportunity to go to medical school. Our freedom to pursue our dreams.

Our marriage. Our friendships.

But most of all, this year I'm grateful for this face looking up at me every morning:

I hope you find joy in your heart this Thanksgiving!

Daddy is so funny

2011-11-19T12:02:00.001-05:00

First Solids

2011-11-13T15:11:00.002-05:00

Last week we introduced Nora to the world of "solid" food- or in this case, not-so-solid baby oatmeal (and I apologize for the quality of photos in this post- the lighting is terrible at our table! I also apologize if you're one of those people that, like me, hate seeing pictures of babies with food all over their faces. It's somewhat different when it's my own baby for some reason...).

First I just have to show this picture because she reminds of like the Godfather here:

"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse..."

Daddy giving her her first bite:

First reaction? "What the heck is this stuff?"

"Well, maybe I'll give it another try...."

"Not too bad!"

She actually mostly likes chewing it a bit and then spitting it back out. I don't think she actually eats much of it- I imagine it's pretty bland. After trying it for the last week, we tried sweet potatoes today- those were a real hit! Apparently they were my favorite food as a baby too. She actually did eat almost all that we offered to her. I'm looking forward to trying all kinds of new foods in the coming weeks!

Oh, and I'm making the baby food right now- it's pretty easy and you can freeze a lot of it in ice cube trays, so it ends up being slightly more cost effective than buying it. I've been using the website www.wholesomebabyfood.com. Though we might still buy things like carrot baby food because apparently if you make it yourself you can have some nitrate issues. I think I might try bananas next so that she can have that with her cereal and it will make the cereal taste a little better.