Mungee, Little Brother and Me

13 Months Ago (or that time when I gave birth to Little Brother)

2013-05-06T20:33:00.002-04:00

The Birth Story of Little Brother
Born: Monday, 3-19-2012, 10:59 a.m.
9 lb, 21.5 inches

Sunday 3/18/12:

We ate breakfast at Mimi’s Café at the Town Center. I think I made the comment “This could be our last meal out together as a family of three”. I was feeling lots of pressure and it was very hard to walk. We went to Dick’s Sporting Goods where it was getting increasingly more difficult for me to walk. That evening, we had dinner at my father-in-law’s house. I decided to soak my feet in the jet tub and Baby Daddy suggested I take a full soak. I wish we had a jet tub …

Monday 3/19/12:
At approximately 2 am, I woke up with a cramping pain in my lower abdomen/sides of my uterus. I was able to “relieve” the pain by rubbing the area in a circular motion with my hands. I dosed off between the “contractions” (wasn’t sure that’s what they were at that point and don’t know how often they were coming).

At 5 am, the contractions were getting closer together. I was sure they were contractions at that point. I timed a few and they were about 8 minutes apart. At 5:30, I woke up Baby Daddy to let him know it was the day we would meet our baby – it just happened to be the day he had guessed!

At 5:56, we texted our doula to let her know I was having contractions. She wanted to know if the contractions were regular. I let her know that they were becoming more regular at around 4 minutes apart and lasting about 30-45 seconds. I said I wasn’t sure if my water had broken. She asked how I was feeling and if there was any trickling with the contractions, as that usually happens after water breaks. Baby Daddy wrote back to let her know I was hungry and wasn’t trickling that I could describe but that I was peeing frequently with each contraction. Our doula said she guessed that my bag of waters was still intact.

Big Sister woke up around 6 am. I was hungry at this point, so Baby Daddy warmed up a muffin (from Mimi’s) and got me Superfood juice. Big Sister and Baby Daddy sat in the bed, where she proceeded to eat most of the muffin. I think I was taking bites in between swaying side to side by the bed during the contractions.

At about 6:30, Baby Daddy texted our doula again to let her know the contractions were getting closer together and that I was feeling pressure in my butt. Our doula said that it sounded like the real thing and asked if I had eaten. Baby Daddy let her know that I had and our doula asked us to time a few contractions and let her know the numbers.

At 7 am, I spoke with our doula (while laboring in bed on my hands and knees). She said she didn’t think it was time to go yet, that I would sound more “glum” if it was. She asked me to call her back at 7:30.

I took a shower at some point and the contractions were very intense. I was holding onto the towel bar, swaying back and forth and was pushing with each contraction to ease the pain.

After getting out of the shower (without combing my hair, I’m sure), I labored in my bed, pushing with every contraction and eventually feeling a warm gush with each one. At that point I figured that my water had broken, but I’m not sure when. Baby Daddy had laid out several towels on the bed. It’s a good thing he did, because I was bleeding with the gushing.

I wait as long as I can and then I asked Baby Daddy if it was 7:30 yet because I thought we needed to go ahead and go to the hospital. It was 7:25. We called our doula at 7:30. Baby Daddy spoke to her and apparently she heard me scream while they were on the phone. She told Baby Daddy that she would head over to our house.

I’m not sure what time we called my mom to come over so she could take Big Sister to school. I was on the bed and was trying to keep Big Sister out of my room since I was vocalizing my pain during the contractions. For some reason, my mom came into my room and I screamed “GET OUT!” She saw that I was bleeding and was worried that I was tearing. I was just worried that I was pooping each time I pushed, because it sure felt like it.

I was so ready to go at this point. I remember laboring on the bed and watching Baby Daddy getting his things together to go. It seemed like he was moving in slow motion. I didn’t understand why our doula wasn’t at our house yet, she only lives about 10 minutes away. I was getting more and more impatient and I’m pretty sure my contractions were about two minutes apart. I was pushing hard with each one, even though I knew I shouldn’t. I was really worried I was going to wind up having the baby at home. Baby Daddy kept telling me to wait and that our doula was almost at our house. I kept telling him that I did not want to wait. I finally got up, got ready enough to leave the house and went and sat in his car. I told him it was time and I was not waiting any longer. He told me our doula was pulling into the neighborhood. I sat in the car and waited and at about 8:15-20 (?), our doula popped her head into the car and I looked at her and very matter of factly said “It’s time to go”. She looked at me seriously and said “Okay”.

The drive to the hospital (as I sat on top of garbage bags that were protecting the leather seats) seemed to take forever.

We arrived at the hospital around 9-9:25 am. I walked in and proceeded toward the elevator to go to the 3^rd floor L&D unit. The people at the front desk stopped me and told me I needed to check in down the hall (which seemed miles away). I told them I couldn’t walk all the way down there, that I was pushing. They repeated that I needed to check in and I repeated that I couldn’t. Someone got me a wheelchair and they took me up to L&D. At first they wheeled me past the ante-partum door and Baby Daddy had to tell them which door to go in. We went through the initial ante-partum room with the three curtained beds to a private ante-partum room where a nurse told me to disrobe so she could check me. I was having contractions at this time so trying to get my shorts off was difficult. She kept telling me “you can’t push with your shorts on” or “I can’t check you with your shorts on”, I don’t remember. She also tried to prevent our doula from coming into the room. Our doula had to ask me “Is it okay for me to be here?” At some point the first nurse disappeared and the nurse I know, S, came in to check me. I don’t recall how I got into the bed. S checked me and I waited in anticipation for her to announce how far dilated I was. I’m pretty sure I was holding my breath and exhaled when she said “7-8 centimeters!” It was time to go to a room. They asked me if I could walk to the room and I could not, so they wheeled the whole bed down the hall to room 327. The ride to the room felt so weird, I think I had my eyes closed and it made me dizzy. Next I had to haul myself up and into the L&D bed. That was difficult. I don’t think it was long before S checked me again and announced that I was 9-10 centimeters. It was pretty quick after we arrived in the room that the nurses were converting the bed so I could start pushing.

Dr. R arrived, decked out in “street clothes”. I don’t know if he was on call or just the closest doctor to the hospital. He checked me and said that I was about 9 centimeters and still had a lip of cervix that he needed to move out of the way. I think that was more painful than the actual contractions. I screamed at him to basically leave me the f*** alone. He sat down on the stool in the corner of the room. I pushed a bit and a few times was offered the epidural which I wanted but didn’t want. There’s no way I would have been able to hold still for them to put in an epidural anyway. The contractions were too close together. Dr. R said that my pushing wasn’t productive and that every time I pushed, the head would come down but then go back up. He wanted to use a mini-vacuum to help the baby come down. He used the vacuum with a few contractions and then stopped. He checked the baby’s position and I heard him say quietly to the nurses that it was OP, which meant the back of the baby’s head was facing my spine and the face was sunny side up. Not the ideal position. Baby Daddy suggested that I turn over and push on my hands and knees. I turned over and grasped Baby Daddy’s and our doula’s hands with such force that I broke a couple blood vessels under my fingernails! I felt intense pressure and pain between my legs and I yelled at Dr. R to leave me alone. He said “That’s not me, that’s the baby”. After about 2-3 sets of pushing on my hands and knees, I turned back over. A mirror was rolled to the end of the bed so I could see the baby’s head as it descended with each set of pushes. They thought it would help motivate me. Seeing a baby’s wet wrinkled head at the “exit point” is quite … gross. I’m pretty sure I gasped “Is that it’s brain?!?” Does not look like a cute round baby head at all. So I watched the head come down with each push and it was motivating but at the same time, I was in so much pain. The pain really wasn’t from the contractions anymore; it was from the burning sensation in my lady bits (read: searing ring of fire). I could tell that the pain was holding me back from making progress. I even skipped pushing during one set of contractions. I needed the break. For some reason, they started rolling the mirror away and I had to twist my head around to see into it. I guess it was so Dr. R could come back to catch the baby. I thought to myself that I just had to push past the pain to get it over with so I bore down with everything I had during the next sets of pushing and felt an amazing sense of relief when the baby’s head came out. It was 10:59 am, about two hours or less from the time we arrived at the hospital. I don’t even remember the body coming out, just how the pain disappeared with the emergence of the head. At some point before the baby emerged, a nurse placed a plastic sheet on me and I was worried about why they did that. I asked what was going on and they said it was so they could place the baby on me. They put the baby on my chest and Baby Daddy looked at its bits and then announced “It’s a boy!” We wanted to wait until his umbilical cord had stopped pulsating to cut it. Baby Daddy cut the cord. We named our baby boy. The name came to me one day while I was on a walk with Big Sister, before I was even pregnant. Baby Daddy suggested his middle name, within a week or so before he was born. It really took us until the week before he arrived to settle on a name. Since we didn’t know if we were having a girl or boy, we had names picked out for either gender.

I experienced some tearing, but it was minimal compared to Big Sister’s birth. I am not sure how many stitches I received. I think Dr. R repaired my tear before the placenta was born, probably to allow the cord to continue pulsating. Before baby brother was born, when we were emphasizing the most important points of our birth plan, Dr. R had offered to “milk the cord”, which I declined, but our doula said she saw him do it anyway.

We kept baby brother’s placenta to have encapsulated. When we told Dr. R we were going to do this, he was kind of dumbfounded. Our doula shared this story with her doula group:

Me - (while the baby's head was on the perineum) - We will be taking our placenta home with us.
R - I saw that in your birth plan. Are you going to plant it or what?
Me - Um... no. We're doing encapsulation.
R - Oh... like placenta art? I've seen some of those.
Me - (pushing through another ctx and rolling my eyes)
Doula - No... encapsulation. The placenta will be dehydrated, ground and encapsulated.
R - Like in a time capsule kinda thing?
Doula - No, so the mom can take the capsules.
R - What? Like carry them around with her? Like a good luck charm?
Doula - (seriously having trouble stifling an outburst of guffawing) - No... the mom takes the capsules... like vitamins...
Me - I will INGEST them.
R (after a very long pause while he stood with a blank look on his face) - Well... it's certainly full of a lot of nutrients, I bet.
Doula - Yes, and lots of good hormones. It helps with postpartum depression.
Me - And milk production!
R - So... you're going to do this yourself?
Doula - Some women do, but there are also trained specialists who provide that service. A friend of mine will be picking up this placenta tonight or tomorrow to encapsulate it.

SO FUNNY... I'm really surprised Dr. R's head didn't explode with all that enlightenment. LMAO. He really was trying to show us that he was all up on all this crazy stuff people are doing with placentas these days, but he really looked completely perplexed when we finally got him to understand what exactly was going to happen to that placenta.

I am so proud of myself for having the unmedicated, natural birth that I had hoped for. The labor and delivery was 9 hours from the time I felt the first contraction to the time Little Brother was born.

Happy Birthday, Little Bubba!

2013-03-19T11:59:00.001-04:00

My baby boy is one today. I'm still in denial a bit, but I am so happy and proud to have created such a sweet little guy!

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

1 Year!

Stranger Danger

2012-04-23T11:52:00.000-04:00

While I'm late with a birth story and one month post for Little Brother, I wanted to get this out while it's still fresh in my mind.

Yesterday, we attended the birthday party of my best friend's children at a local park. The party festivities took place in the pavilion, adjacent to the playground. When the party wrapped up and all the other guests had left, I asked DH to move the car closer since it had started sprinkling. While I was getting Little Brother situated in his carseat, I was also keeping an eye on Mungee. She was by the swings where a family had just started to play. The next thing I saw was a man lifting Mungee into one of the swings. I walked over and he said to me "She wanted help getting in the swing". I know his intentions were innocent, though I typically think it's inappropriate to make that kind of contact with another person's child without permission. My bigger concern at this point is the fact that Mungee had absolutely zero fear, reservation or apprehension about this complete stranger.

Mungee and I have discussed strangers, mainly when she sees people walking or riding their bike outside while we're driving somewhere and says "Can I hug them?" This prompted me to begin to explain the concept of strangers. To her, a stranger is "a person we don't know", but she doesn't get the deeper meaning. She's approaching three years old.

At what age did you begin to talk about stranger danger? When did it sink in, when did your child(ren) get it? What did you find to be the best resources to facilitate the discussion?

I appreciate your input!

9 days to go ...

2012-03-15T10:39:00.002-04:00

I am absolutely miserable. I thought I would have this baby early, but I am afraid I'm going to be eating my words. I've had a terrible hacking cough for a week now and I'm convinced that I've cracked a rib on my right side. I can't sleep - everything feels smushed when I lay on either side and sleeping on the back is definitely impossible. The other night I tried to sleep upright in our chair in the den and that didn't even work out. I've been up the last two nights for hours, just watching tv in the den while Mungee and DH sleep peacefully. I know I shouldn't complain, but it's hard not to when I'm feeling this bad.

Here are some cute pictures to compensate for my misery.

At the zoo

New Year's Eve

Gymnastics

35 Week Belly

I'm linking up with Shell at Things I Can't Say to Pour My Heart Out

29-30 Week Update

2012-01-13T13:51:00.000-05:00

How far along: 29 weeks, 6 days

Total weight gain: 22.9 pounds. I weigh more numerically than I did at this point with Mungee, but I started this pregnancy about 15 pounds heavier than I was when I got pregnant the first time. By this time in my pregnancy with Mungee, I had gained 30 pounds. I gained 45+ with her. I hope to stay below a 35 pound gain with this one ... 10 more weeks to go, gaining an "average" of a pound a week would keep me on track. (But who am I kidding, I gained 5 pounds in two weeks as of my appointment yesterday!)

Sleep habits: I don't feel like I'm getting restful sleep at all. I can't lay on my back and I'm not that comfortable on either side. I have a maternity pillow, but it's all smushed and usually falls off the bed in the middle of the night.

Maternity clothes: I have plenty of cute tops, but I'm limited with the pants right now. This past Monday, I was positively uncomfortable at work in the pants I was wearing. So much to the point that I was getting hot flashes and couldn't concentrate. When I did laundry yesterday I realized why they were so uncomfortable - they're a size small ...

Best moment of the week: Yesterday I found out that I passed the three hour glucose tolerance test. Now I don't have to overload on carbohydrates since I won't be restricted in eating them. I blame my 5 pound weight gain on anticipatory carbohydrate overcompensation.

Food cravings: KitKats. I bought one at work on Monday and Wednesday. Today I took one from my dad's sandwich shop.

Symptoms: I've had Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks. They usually occur after I do something strenuous, like laundry or any chores or picking up Mungee, which she insists I still do despite the large round globe on the front of my body.

Movement: Constant. I can feel elbows and knees and shoulders rolling around. The OB felt for baby's position yesterday and said she thinks it is head down. Sometimes I feel like it's sideways based on the painful rib expansion.

The Nursery: We moved the crib into the nursery when Mungee switched to her toddler bed. Right now the crib is a catchall for the Boppy pillows, swaddles, extra blankets, as well as some totally non-baby related stuff. I've got big plans to add a larger closet to the room. We also need to get rid of a desk, miscellaneous junk, paint, decorate, pretty much everything to make the room look like it will house a baby and not a rummage sale.

Still to do: See above

What I'm looking forward to: Attempting to have a natural birth. I tried and was unsuccessful with Mungee, but we are taking childbirth classes this time around so I *think* I'll be more prepared.

What I miss: Sleeping on my back, physical capability to do things without getting winded.

Next appointment: 31 weeks, 5 days.

Wordless Wednesday: Meeting Santa before Hanukkah!

2011-12-21T09:29:00.001-05:00

This is my new bear (no it's not, it's being donated to the local children's hospital).

You showed interest in my bear, oh bearded one. I shall smile.

Goings on of the Family Mungee

2011-11-29T09:38:00.002-05:00

Things Mungee says ...

Points to her belly button: "That's my butt hole". I correct her and tell her it's her belly button. She says "It's my belly butt hole".

Shabbat at Preschool

Pudding Face

Belly Shots

21 weeks, 6 days

Being the best sweet potatoes ever in the preschool Thanksgiving program

Thanksgiving

1st Jaguars Game


Can I have a beer?

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T07:00:00.002-04:00

We hope you and yours had a safe, happy and candy-filled Halloween!

Choices and Ice Cream

2011-10-27T18:41:00.001-04:00

Earlier today, I asked Mungee if she thought the baby in mommy's belly is a boy or a girl. She said "We have choices!"

As I was getting her into her pajamas this evening, she exclaimed "I want some ice cream". I told her we didn't have any ice cream and she explained to me that "we have to order the food".

So, what's that about a baby in my belly? Well, I'm almost halfway through my pregnancy with our second child. This Saturday, I will be 19 weeks. I am due March 24, 2012. Mungee was born six days past her due date and if this baby is just as "late" we could be meeting him or her on our 4th wedding anniversary!

I had an anatomy scan last Friday and Mungee's Pa and I held out on finding out if this baby is a boy or a girl. I began the pregnancy with the thought in mind that I wanted to be surprised, but Mungee's Pa wasn't always on board. A couple weeks before the ultrasound, he decided he was okay with not finding out. It was definitely difficult during the ultrasound not to peek when the wand was potentially passing over identifying parts, but we managed. I almost gave in and blurted out "Okay, tell us!" I did feel weird leaving the office not knowing, but I am getting used to it. I definitely don't think it's necessary to know the baby's sex in order to get things ready for his/her arrival. It would make things easier for figuring out a name - for instance, if I knew it was a boy, I could stop trying to think of girl names - I'm having the most difficult time coming up with a name that I love. We kind of think Mungee already has the best girl name ever.

This pregnancy has been much harder on me physically than my first. With the first pregnancy, I could take it easy whenever I needed to - rest, climb into bed, take a nice bath, etc. This time around, I don't have the luxury of sitting down to relax at will - I have a very busy, needy, curious 2-year-old to keep up with! Emotionally it has been a bit trying as well since this pregnancy follows my miscarriage earlier this year. I've been much more nervous and was using a home doppler to check the baby's heartbeat nearly every day until I started to feel consistent movement. As the baby continues to move around more and more, my mind is eased a little, but there are days when I don't feel much movement, so the doppler comes in handy.

I've been working part-time, inside and outside the home. I go into my office two days a week and I am able to work at home sporadically - when Mungee is at school in the morning and during her short afternoon nap. It's a temporary short-term position, which should end in January. Once the new baby arrives, I will be staying home again. I'm not going to lie, I'm quite nervous about how I will be able to handle having a toddler and a newborn at home. I have a great support system available, so I just need to be sure that I call on them if I think I'm getting in over my head.

If you have more than one child, how far apart are they? What was the easiest thing about going from one to two? The hardest? I'd love some advice for staying sane!

Review: Easy Canvas Prints

2011-10-14T13:54:00.003-04:00

I recently had a chance to review the company Easy Canvas Prints and order a "Photo to Canvas" print. The site is very clean and easy to navigate. It actually “walks” you through the ordering process. First you choose your canvas size. For this review, I ordered an 11x14x.75” standard wrapped canvas. Next, you are directed to upload your image. The site includes an image quality indicator, which will let you know whether or not your image has the right resolution for a canvas print. You can even adjust the image size in order to crop out any unwanted space or fluff in your photo. In the next step, you select from three border options, which include a mirror image, an image wrap or a simple border color. I chose the image wrap. Next you have the option for Color Finishing and Image Retouching. No need for those, so I went on to the next step, which was Checkout. One thing that kept making me nervous throughout the ordering process was that every time I got the image just the way I wanted it in the preview screen, it would shift and go way off center.

It only took about 10-15 minutes to complete the transaction, and I think the most time consuming part of the entire process was just choosing which photo to use.

I received the finished product just 7 days after ordering it. I was very pleased with the turnaround time. The canvas was decently packaged within a plastic sheath, wrapped with “butcher paper” and contained in a cardboard box. There was nothing within the box to prevent the canvas from sliding around and bumping against the sides of the package, but no damage was apparent due to this.

The finished product was off in color from the online order proof. The photo I uploaded was a professional quality high-resolution black and white image and reflected as such in the order proof. The canvas we received had very yellow tones. There was also a blemish on my forehead which was not present in the photo. I was able to rub/scratch off most of the blemish with my fingernail. Although an exchange could have been made, I decided not to bother with it, since the canvas took on a more black and white appearance in different lighting.

This is the photo I ordered. Don't I have an adorable family?

All in all, I thought the ordering experience was quite easy, the shipping turnaround time was extremely fast and the quality of the canvas was good. I would definitely order from the company again.

Disclosure: I was contacted by a representative of EasyCanvasPrints.com and offered a promotion code that covered the cost of the canvas I ordered as well as the cost of shipping. I am writing this review of the ordering experience and the finished product, and providing the company with a link on my sidebar in exchange for the promotion code. All stated opinions are my own.

Bottoms up!

2011-09-18T16:08:00.000-04:00

Baby bottoms that is.

Mungee and I recently had the chance to try the newly relaunched Seventh Generation Free & Clear Diapers. These diapers are free of chlorine processing, fragrances, latex and petroleum based lotions. The packaging size was also reduced, so there are no bulky cardboard boxes to deal with (to my slight disappointment since I typically use the boxes to store clothes that Mungee has outgrown). I opted to try the Stage 5 diapers, which are meant for babies/toddlers 27+ pounds. Mungee had been wearing the size 5 diapers in our everyday brand, so I assumed these would fit them same. They actually ran smaller.

While I was pleased with the environmentally-friendly aspects of the diapers, I found that they did not fit as well, nor did they hold as much liquid waste as the other brand diaper that we had been using. Not that I keep my child in the same diaper for hours at a time, but they did not hold up well overnight and Mungee typically woke up with damp pajamas, as well as a damp sleep sack (wearable sleep blanket). For our family, these diapers were better for daytime use, when they could be changed every 2-3 hours.

Have you tried Seventh Generation Free & Clear Diapers? What do you think?

What are some of your favorite environmentally-friendly baby products?

Disclaimer: Seventh Generation provided me with a free package of diapers and information about their product through MyBlogSpark. I received no additional compensation for this review. All opinions are my own.

First Days of Preschool!

2011-09-08T10:50:00.000-04:00

Mungee started a 3-day a week preschool program at the beginning of last week. It's been an adjustment ... one we're all still trying to get used to. On Mondays and Wednesdays, she has Hebrew for resource and on Friday the children celebrate Shabbat! I am a bit disappointed that she misses cooking and P.E. on Tuesdays and music on Thursdays, so we're trying to work it out (financially) for her to attend 5 days a week. It's important this child learns early on how to cook, since Mama isn't a whiz in the kitchen.

Not too thrilled about attending the Meet 'n Greet

1st day of school pep talk with Baby in the Mirror


Part of the 2-year-old curriculum is learning about personal hygiene. Potty training may or may not also be included!

I survived the first day!

Unfortunately Mungee picked up some sort of super bug (most likely before school even started) and missed the second day of school. She was back in full swing on Friday, however, and it looks like she had a pretty good time at the Shabbat celebration!

2nd week jitters

Okay, I will humor you and go to school again today

How many pictures do you have from your child(ren)'s first days of school?

2nd Birthday Party - Gabba style!

2011-08-29T17:17:00.002-04:00

We hosted Mungee's 2nd birthday party last weekend (or was it the weekend before last? Time is moving too fast these days!)

Mungee's absolute favorite ~~babysitter~~ TV show is Yo Gabba Gabba. I thought it was only fitting to have a Gabba themed party.

The biggest expenses were the bounce house rental and pizza. I downloaded most of the paper decorations from the NickJr. website and Mungee's Pa printed them at his office.


Brobee watermelon (carved and decorated by my talented mother)

The cake (baked and decorated by my talented mother-yes, she reads this)

Plex lantern

I tried to make this look like the Yo Gabba Gabba! sign. I said "tried".

Birthday banner

Foofa lantern

The leaning tower of pizza

4 kiddos looking at the camera. Not even Photoshopped!

Happy Birthday to you!

Inspecting presents

Conversations with a Toddler (Part Two)

2011-08-19T19:03:00.001-04:00

I was about to nurse Mungee and she said "Don't bite the milks". I said, "That's right, don't bite". She said "It hurts mommy". I confirmed. Then she said "It hurts mommy's nipples". She's very thorough, this one.

Oh, did I mention I'm still nursing her? She's two now, and will be starting school in less than two weeks. Weaning is inevitable. Any tips on how to get my milk to dry up? (natural remedies only, please and thank you).

2 year stats:

26 pounds ~ 50th percentile

35 1/2 inches ~ 90th percentile

She's tall and skinny like me (HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!)

Happy Birthday Mungee!

2011-08-17T07:00:00.010-04:00

Wishing my ~~little baby~~ toddler a very Happy 2nd Birthday!

We're ~~nowhere near ready~~ all set for the big Yo Gabba Gabba birthday party this Sunday. There will be a bounce house. And cake. And pizza. And about 20 children between the ages of 9 months and 4 years old. Somebody tell me all will go well ...

Conversations with a Toddler

2011-08-15T18:26:00.000-04:00

Scene: Preparing lunch. I asked Mungee if she wanted soup for lunch. She said "hot!" I said "I'll make it hot for you, but not too hot". She replied "warm".

Scene: Mungee needs to get dressed. Me or DH: "What do you want to wear today?" Mungee: "Something cute!"

Scene: Me or DH: "Mungee, go show the baby in the mirror how cute you look". Mungee, as she runs to the mirror, "I gonna say 'Awww'"

Scene: Mungee is by the bookshelf in her "number 2" pose. She finishes and exclaims "Oh my goodness! Biiiiiiig doo doo!"

Scene: The cat is trying to get through the cat door to the laundry room. Mungee sits down next to her and says "How ya doin, Luna?" (I've also heard her say "What's up, Luna?)

Scene: Mungee is having one of her daily conversations with the baby in the mirror. "Dat my arm. Dat my bawoon. Dat my toys. Dat my Violet. Dat my ABCD. Dat my dirt. I see you later, I gotta go to work. Bye bye."

Scene: Mungee is playing while I'm working. I hear her say "I givin a ride to the bawoon! ... Hold on tight!"

Scene: Mungee's Pa and I are listening to her over the monitor. She sneezes. Then says "Ewwwwww! Booger!"

Scene: Mungee is laying on the changing table as I'm changing her diaper. She says "What happened?" I reply, "I'm changing your stinky doo doo." She says "P-U! P-U! Ewwwwww!"

What's the funniest thing you've heard come out of your toddler's mouth?

Rockin' the Baby

2011-07-17T11:35:00.000-04:00

As Mungee's 2nd birthday draws near, I thought it would be ~~sob-inducing~~ fun to reflect on how she's gone from this ...

5 days old

... to this

2 months old

... to this


6 months old

Then this ...

1 year old!

... to this


18 months

... to this big girl who walks, and runs, and talks, and talks back, and throws tantrums, and sings, and dances and is going to start preschool next month!

21 months

These last 23 months have gone by in a blur! Slow down, Mungee, you've got all the time in the world to grow up!

This post is linked to Rockin' the Baby with
Shell at Things I Can't Say.

Review: NOVICA

2011-06-24T16:46:00.000-04:00

Because we lack space in our house, I don't get the chance to collect treasured knickknacks during our travels. When I think of souvenirs, I think tacky refrigerator magnets and shot glasses. Face it though, I'm ~~11 years post college~~ not in college anymore. I'm an adult with a husband and a toddler and a mortgage and my taste in memoirs and collectibles needs a touch of sophistication. Enter NOVICA.

From their website:

Our Mission

We want to give artists and artisans around the world a global platform to express their true artistic talents and to spur their creativity. And, we want to provide you with access to unique, hard-to-find items at great values that only the Internet infrastructure can allow.

At the deepest essence of our philosophy, we want to create a bridge between you and the many talented artisans across the globe.

We want you to know about who you're buying from. We want you to feel that attachment to the product and to the hands that created it.

In the spirit of the Internet, let us bring you together.
NOVICA. The World is Your Market.

Basically, from ~~wherever my laptop is currently residing in my house~~ the comfort of my tidy and orderly home office, I can browse the globe for unique gifts, home decor, jewelry and more by artisans worldwide.

The NOVICA website is fairly easy to navigate - I am able to browse by category, and further break down my choices by style, material, color and even price. I especially appreciate that last option - it allows me to avoid even looking at anything too expensive for our budget. I have a feeling it's going to be difficult to choose just what to order from among my favorites.

If I wasn't a Florida girl (where it's perpetually 1,000 degrees) and it didn't make me so itchy, I might purchase one of these gorgeous wool scarves. I certainly wouldn't be able to make one on my own with the Knifty Knitter. Okay, I might be able to make one, but it wouldn't look like this.

Hand knit Alpaca wool scarf - Andes

I typically don't wear any jewelry other than my wedding ring, however the simplicity of this sterling silver charm bracelet really caught my eye.


Sterling silver charm bracelet 'Angel Heart' - Mexico

I do have a bad habit of collecting handbags, but sticking with the same one for daily use. This one inspires me to switch things up.


Cotton batik shoulder bag - Chocolate Bouquet - Bali & Java

NOVICA has recently launched a new home-based selling company, NOVICA Live. Just like me, I'm sure you find it difficult to press the "confirm order" button during online shopping when you don't have a product in front of you to see with your own eyes or ~~fondle~~ handle to get a feel for the quality and craftsmanship. NOVICA Live solves that problem by "bringing handcrafted items into homes across the nation, creating a unique, interactive shopping experience through fun, lively home parties". Consider becoming a NOVICA Live consultant if you're looking for an innovative way to earn or supplement your income. Starter kits are only $199 and include more than $400 worth of samples and $150 of business and presentation materials. If you choose to apply, please be sure to indicate that you heard about NOVICA Live through this blog - http://mungeeandme.blogspot.com - in the 'additional comments' section (Thank you in advance!)

To keep up with NOVICA, “like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Disclosure: I received an online gift code to shop at NOVICA and share my experience. No further compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Rockin' the Bump

2011-06-20T18:42:00.001-04:00

It's been nearly two years since I had ~~little~~ Mungee. I thought it would be fun to look back on the belly pictures that I insisted be taken weekly. Don't worry, I won't post them all.


4 weeks, the day of my positive pregnancy test


Already rocking maternity jeans at 12 weeks

16 weeks - I think the belly popped

21 weeks and a new haircut

33 weeks and my ankles have started to merge with my calves

40 weeks - last belly shot before Mungee was born at 40 weeks, 6 days

I hope that by this time next year, I've got a new set of bump pictures to show off ... just need to get hubby on board with this plan!

This post is linked to Rockin' the Bump

with Shell at Things I Can't Say

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T07:00:00.038-04:00

To Mungee's Pa, my dad, my father-in-law and all the dads out there, Happy Father's Day!

Trying New Things

2011-05-10T18:54:00.001-04:00

Tonight we tried to get Mungee to eat some tilapia. We told her it was fish - she refused it and remained tight-lipped. We told her it was chicken - she refused it and remained tight-lipped.

We told her it was cat food. She opened her mouth.

Shopaholic

2011-05-05T15:28:00.000-04:00

I just found out about this site today - Heartsy ... It's like Groupon or LivingSocial, but it's for Etsy. Hide your wallets, friends, this could be dangerous!

How cute is the little Heartsy monster?!

Release

2011-04-14T17:08:00.000-04:00

I can practically feel my ovaries releasing eggs right now and I can't do anything about it since our new (not even in effect yet) insurance has a rule that the maternity endorsement must be in effect for 30 days prior to conception.

June cannot get here fast enough. Tomorrow I would have been 11 weeks pregnant.

Slacker Mom

2011-04-12T15:03:00.000-04:00

Things around the Mungee household have been pretty busy and I've severely neglected this blog. Mungee is quite an active ~~baby~~ toddler, and she's hard to keep up with! She speaks in full (2-3 word) sentences, like "Hold it, water!" Or "Milk, kay?" Or, "Like that cookie!" Or "Lick the door .... that's silly!"

Being coy

We're still going to MyGym, we attend Shalom Baby and we joined a playgroup. The most drastic change that will be here before we know it is that we enrolled Mungee in preschool. Right now, we have her signed up for 3 days a week from 8:30 am - 12 pm, but that may change if I go back to work. I'm currently working on changing her nap schedule to one early afternoon nap, since a requirement for preschool is that she can stay awake until noon.

On a sad note, we recently experienced a heartbreaking loss. I found out I was pregnant on February 25, one day after my period was late (I'm very regular like that). From the time I found out, I almost immediately felt a sense of dread that something was not right. We did not plan this pregnancy. We were not actively trying, but not doing anything to prevent either. Despite the sense of uneasiness, I still told my entire family and many close friends that Mungee was going to be a big sister.

On Friday, March 25, I went in for a sonogram when I was supposed to be 8 weeks pregnant. Looking at the screen, I didn't see anything flickering. I thought maybe the technician just hadn't gotten to where the heartbeat should be showing. She asked me if I was sure of the date of my last period - that's when I really knew. She took a measurement that showed the baby had only developed to 6.5 weeks. There was no heartbeat. My midwife recommended a D&C for that day because she didn't want me to end up in the ER over the weekend. The OB who would perform the surgery was not in, so we were asked to wait in his office. It seems like we waited an eternity, only to be told to go home and come back later that afternoon. During this time, I asked DH to change Mungee's shirt since she was wearing her "Big Sister" shirt, it hurt too much to look at it.

DH's dad came over to babysit Mungee and DH took me back to the OB's office. Where the first thing the receptionist said to us was "It's going to be $400". Thank you for your compassion! I was taken back to a room (without DH) and I waited and waited and waited, and eventually I was told that the OB still wasn't in. Once he finally arrived, we exchanged pleasantries. By that I mean he casually said "Oh, uh, sorry about what you're going through". Then he decided that since I am still nursing he did not want to put me into a twilight state, so he performed the procedure while I was completely awake, only numbing me with a local that I am quite convinced Did.Not.Work. I felt everything. G-d forbid I ever go through this again, I am going to the hospital and they are going to knock me out.

I never had any physical pain after the procedure, which was surprising. I did break out in hives about 3 days afterward, and I thought it might be because of the antibiotic I was taking, but the OB said, at my followup appointment, that if the antibiotics caused the hives, then while I was still taking them, they would not have gone away, which they did. He told me that there was no medical reason to wait to try and get pregnant again, which gave me a lot of hope. That hope had been carrying me through the time in between the D&C and the followup appointment. However, I've now come to find out that the health insurance company we've applied with has a waiting period to get pregnant. This is what DH tells me anyway. It makes me totally *fist shaking*ANGRY! And I think it's from the date the policy becomes effective, not from the date we applied. Which means I cannot try to get pregnant until July and of course there is no guarantee that I will get pregnant on the first try.

So that's what has been going on around here.

Did you miss us?

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Purim!

2011-03-23T07:00:00.000-04:00