The Geeky Mommy

When a pregnancy doesn't have a happy ending

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:40:00 +0000

If I said I knew I was pregnant from day 1, would anyone believe me? I knew. I simply knew. I didn't tell my husband nor anyone because I felt no one would believe me, and why would I spoil the fun of having this little secret all for myself? But I felt it. I knew it. So I waited patiently a few weeks to miss my period. A few days before that, I told my husband I thought I was pregnant and he was all expectations. The D day finally came, I peed on the stick and - here you go: pregnant! We were so happy!

We told our parents and brothers and no one else. After our 1st kid, I got pregnant without knowing when I stopped breastfeeding, and had a spontaneous abortion at about 14 weeks - which was quite a surprise and a disappointment at the same time since I had no idea I was pregnant. None of the times I got pregnant I had all the nausea and vomiting. I only was dizzy sometimes and extremely hormonal, and both these symptoms are common after giving birth as well, so I didn't thought of it as a sign that I might be pregnant. Anyway, I had this abortion at about 14 weeks and I wanted to wait until after this point to start telling people that we were expecting again.
The pregnancy developed normally. Since I've had pregnancy diabetes on my 1st pregnancy, I had to be cautious with it on this pregnancy as well, making a special diet, cutting all the sugar in my life, counting carbohydrates, eating every 2 hours, checking my sugar 6 times a day,... besides of that, everything went normal and although this diet is quite a pain, it made me loose 3kg on the 1st 2 months so it was already worth it.
The nuchal translucency was fine and we appointed a new ultrasound for the 15th week. It was exactly my birthday. We were specially excited about this exam because we knew we were about to find out the sex of the baby. We went inside the room holding our breath until the doctor announced: it's a girl. We were so happy! I wanted a girl from the beginning, and my husband was contagiated by the idea. For me it was the perfect birthday gift!
Everyone we told about it was very happy, but my father got the prize for the winning reaction; he called me on that day - not to say congratulations for my birthday - but to hear what we had. When I said it's a girl he started to scream as I never heard him scream before. Just to make a comparison, he screamed as if he was at a soccer game and his team just scored the winning goal. I am NOT exaggerating, seriously. Needless to say, he was extremely happy.
So after that, Passover came and we had a few weeks until we went for another routine check-up at my ob-gyn. It was the 1st day of the 18th week. I was a bit worried because I wasn't feeling anything. I know that by the book, you should start feeling the kicks only from about week 21, but on my 1st pregnancy I felt this water-like movement inside my belly from week 12. I was kinda expecting to feel it again this time, but I didn't. I told that to the doctor and she said - don't worry, we'll check her out now, it's gonna be fine.
We went in the ultrasound room and she started the exam. The doctor was too quiet. The baby too. I started to get more and more anxious. I asked - why isn't she moving??? and my eyes filled out with tears. I already knew what was happening. My doctor asked for my permission to bring another doctor in. The other doctor examined me and said: - I'm really sorry, but I see no heartbeat.
I let out a cry and burst into tears. I can't remember with details what happened next. I remember myself on my doctor's office, tears rolling on my face, trying to listen what she was telling me, what I was supposed to do now. My husband was holding my hand. We left the clinic to go home. My legs were trembling. I felt like he practically had to carry me to the car.
I felt weak and awful and fragile and hopeless. Maybe a bit guilty. I simply laid down in bed and cried. My husband didn't know what to do with me but luckily he was rational and arranged everything for me to go have an abortion in the hospital. Since I was on week 18, the normal procedure in most hospitals in Israel would be to give birth, but we had a friend who's an obstetrician doctor at a hospital in Jerusalem and managed to find us a doctor in there who was willing to do a D&C, which according to him is much less traumatic (although it sounds really awful, specially in Hebrew - the word for it is "grida", which means scratching).
After arranging everything, my husband, who was doing his best to be "the strong one", sat down next to me in the bed and asked me - what can I do? How can I help? What do you want?
The only thing I could tell him between tears was:
- I want my belly back. I want the little girl they promised me!
We both started crying and hugged, and stayed like that for a while simply because there was nothing else we could do.
We arranged for my MIL to come to our house and look after our kid who was 17mo at the time. We didn't know yet how long it would take or if hubby was even going home that day (Jerusalem is a 2-hour trip without traffic from Hadera, where we live).
I was so sad, so terribly sad. I called my brother to tell him, first of anyone, because he's my brother and the closest family I have in Israel, and also because I wasn't afraid of calling him. My brother is such a cool and rational guy, so although he cares about me I didn't expect him to make a fuss about it. I told him and then suddenly he was crying. That made me feel worse. I found myself trying to make him feel better, when I was actually hoping for the opposite. I don't blame him at all. The exact same thing happened with every other person I called, so after a few phone calls I stopped calling my close friends because it was too damn hard.
After we took care of a few work-related issues, we got on the road to Jerusalem. We were quiet most of the trip. I was trying to think what was i gonna tell my parents (who live in Brazil)...
Once we were in the hospital, I don't remember why but Mariano had to leave me alone for a few moments. I used that time to call my mom. She was sad but mostly was worried about my health. We didn't talk too much. I promised to call once I had news.
I was led into a room where I was supposed to stay and wait for my turn to do this procedure, which I was told would gonna take place the next day around noon. Because I needed a general anesthesia, I should feast for 12 hours before that.
My brother and a dear friend came to the hospital to see me, and they brought something for us to eat. I was glad to see them, but specially my brother. It was nice to talk a bit about something else, although I really was aching with sadness.
I didn't have the heart to tell my father yet. I simply couldn't. After the way he reacted when I told him we were having a girl, I was afraid that telling him would give him a heart attack or something. Plus, I couldn't bear having to comfort anyone else. Plus - and that was the worth - it was his birthday!!!.... How could I tell him that on his birthday?? I just couldn't, so I asked my brother to do it, and he agreed (although he wasn't too fond of the idea. BTW, it was HIS birthday the very next day [my father on May 2nd, my brother on May 3rd]).
The night came and they all had to leave the hospital - my friend, my brother and my husband. Mariano (my husband) went to spend the night at the house of our doctor friend.
I stayed there on my own. There was another woman in my room but I didn't talk to her. I don't really remember that night. It's been nearly a year already. I remember my hubs left me his iphone so i could entertain myself a bit.
The procedure was supposed to take place in the morning but for some reason it was delayed. I entered the surgery room at 5pm (and I had been feasting from 9pm the day before, ugh). They took me in laying down in a bed and I remember being so nervous, so afraid and breathing very heavily. Then they gave me the anesthesia. The next thing I know, I woke up in the recovery room. I was in a lot of pain. There were other beds in the room, and a few staff people walking around. I tried to scream, tried to tell them I was in pain, but my voice didn't come out. I was still quite knocked down so this moment is quite blurred in my mind. I remember being very relieved when they let Mariano in, and of crying of pain, sadness and relief altogether.
I don't remember exactly when I talked to my father. I think it was already after the procedure. I only remember him telling me he was very very sad. And I couldn't even wish him happy birthday.
I stayed in the hospital 2 more days and then we went home. I considered detailing those 2 days of recovery but it was mostly pain, weakness and lots of blood. Who wants to read about that? Anyway, when we went home I was desperate to see our little boy. He was still too small to really notice our absence. Luckily he really loves his abuela so he stayed very well with her the few days we were not home.

I've been writing this post for months now, trying to remember every detail of it. Although it's really been nearly a whole year, it still makes me sad when I think about it. We didn't try again yet for many different reasons. I hope it will happen sometime soon as we both really want it. My doctor gave me a bunch of exams to check why did I have 2 abortions on my 2nd trimester, but nothing came up on the exams, so... Well, for the next time, I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best. Wish me luck!

DailyBuzz Moms

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 22 May 2011 18:22:00 +0000

Cute site for moms. Worth checking out :)

DailyBuzz Moms > Curating the best of the independent web for moms.

Another pregnancy/parenting website

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:28:00 +0000

The Bump

Cute name, isn't it?? :)

7 ways to make your playroom more fun

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:20:00 +0000

Shanna Coady, publisher of My Favorite Everything and mom of 3 under 3, shows us a thing or two about creating a playroom any kid (and mom) will love.

We love our playroom! It’s not huge, just the size of a small bedroom, but it’s a wonderful little escape for our girls.
Although there are a bazillion different ways to spice up your playroom based on the ages of your kiddos, the important thing to remember is to keep it fun for the kids and pleasant for the adults. Here are a few ideas…

Chalkboard paint

Boxes of fun

Peek-a-boo curtain

Accessible dress up

Pint Size Furniture

Comfy chair & pillows

Hang a swing

Read the whole article here.

Calculate your kid's lunch nutrition values

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:09:00 +0000

Cute application at Parenting Magazine :)

9 words that make moms feel like failures

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 07:50:00 +0000

Words have power. They can boost us up or deflate us. So it’s annoying that aspects of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood are described in such negative terms. Here are my least favorites, in no particular order:

1. Stay-at-home-mom (SAHM). This makes me think of being literally stuck at home (lying on the couch, watching TV, and eating bon bons). We know how far this is from the reality of being a mom. But the other options aren’t great, either. Full-time mom? (Does that mean moms who work outside the home are “part-time” moms? No, thanks.)
2. Working mom. Aren’t all moms working moms? Raising kids is work, even though we don’t get paid for it. I’ve heard variations like “work-outside-the-home mom,” but can we come up with something shorter and catchier? Please don’t say WOTHM.
3. Contractions. The word itself makes me wince. Contraction. Ouch. No wonder labor seems so scary. Hypnobirthers call contractions “surges,” which I think more accurately describes it.
4. Water breaking. You’re stressed out about labor and those scary-sounding contractions, and to make things worse, you’ve just “broken” something. Again, I like the hypnobirthers’ term better: water “releasing.”
5. Failure to progress. Women who don’t progress through labor within a specific time frame often get tagged “FTP” and encouraged to have a c-section. But as author Rita Rubin points out, “failure to progress” might simply be failure to wait for a mom-to-be to give birth at her own pace.
Meanwhile, blaming the woman giving birth for this “failure” makes her feel like she’s flunked the first test of motherhood.
6. Mommy brain/pregnancy brain. Okay, I get this one – and for me, it was real. Hormones and sleep deprivation made me so slow and forgetful, I’d laugh at a joke ten seconds after the punchline. But I dislike terms that make moms sound dumb, because we’re not. Check out this article about how the brains of new moms actually get bigger.
7. Advanced maternal age. When a 72-year-old woman can give birth to twins, it’s laughable that a 35-year-old pregnant woman is defined as being of “advanced age.” As one AMA mom-to-be in Babycenter’s Community pointed out, “I’m not ready for the nursing home … I’m 37.”
8. Incompetent cervix. Your cervix is softer, shorter, or weaker than usual … but is it “incompetent”? This harsh characterization just adds insult to injury. The powers that be must agree with me, since this term is being phased out and replaced by “cervical insufficiency.”
9. Failure to thrive. Another new-mom “failure,” though this refers to the baby not gaining enough weight. Of course, this is super-serious and not to be diminished. But the word “thrive” is so all-encompassing, this diagnosis makes it sound like your child is doomed to never be okay. The good news is this term is also on its way out, replaced by the more neutral “failure to gain weight.”

Do these terms bug you too? Have I missed any?

by Marcella Gates, found here.

I'm TOTALLY baking this to Lior's 1st birthday! :D

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:13:00 +0000

Sunny Day Rainbow Cake
2 boxes white cake mix
24 oz of clear diet soda (2 cans, ginger ale and sprite work well)
gel food colouring
16 oz whipped topping
2 oz instant fat-free sugar-free pudding mix (2 smallish boxes)

The Rainbowing
Measure the total volume (by my estimate, 64 oz), then divide by 6 and measure into separate bowls. There are 8 oz in a cup, so 64/6 = 10 to 11 oz, or 1 cup + 2 tbsp.
Stir colour into each bowl with its own spoon. For the first colour into the pan, measure out 2/3 to 3/4 of your mix (in this case about 1 c) as close to the middle as you can. Drop in your first three colours, then work on the other pan with the last three colours. So if you’re doing rainbow order, the first pan should have red, then orange, then yellow, and now the purple, blue and green go into the second pan. As a recap, this is so both layers are roughly the same size.
Bake the cake for however long the box tells you to bake it. Check it when the box says to, but usually it’ll need an extra 5 or 10 minutes or maybe more because of the density of the soda method. Just keep baking, checking back every 5 minutes or so until a toothpick to the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before moving to a wire rack.

The Frostinging
Meanwhile, make your frosting. Just mix the pudding mix in with the whipped topping for a few minutes. Dye if you’re into that.
Frost your fat-free cake with your fat-free whipped frosting. Eat.

Read original article here.

Preggos' Flashmob

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:16:00 +0000

This flashmob is supposedly pregnant women breakdancing in London. YEAH RIGHT. :)
Anyway, the idea is cute and promotes a consciousness campaign about women who die during pregnancy and birth due to the lack of health care. More info on their site.

Don't Forget to Laugh! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 06:25:00 +0000

Your baby can learn sign language! Here's how to say:

• "Please change my diaper": Turn beet red and make straining expression, then smile.
• "I'd like something to eat, please": Cram fist in mouth and suck wildly.
• "I'm tired": Make a series of weeping gestures before closing eyes and lolling head backward.
• "Please pass me that thing up there that I can't reach": Point and grunt, then continue pointing and open mouth into screaming position.
• "No thank you. I think I've had enough": Throw food or object to floor with exaggerated grin.

From BabyCenter's newsletter

New moms' brain may grow after childbirth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 11:16:00 +0000

Fri, Oct 22, 2010 (HealthDay News)

The brains of new mothers actually get bigger within months of giving birth, according to new research.
The researchers, most from the Yale University School of Medicine, said that the growth was likely fueled by changes in levels of certain hormones just after birth. They reported finding expansion in areas of the brain associated with behavior and motivation.
The researchers also found that mothers who were most enthusiastic about their babies had more growth in key parts of the mid-brain -- areas linked to maternal motivation, rewards and emotion processing -- than did mothers who were more reserved about their infants.
The findings, from a small study reported in the October issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, suggest that a new mother's desire to look after her baby may be driven less by instinct and more by active brain building, according to two neuroscientists whose commentary on the study was also published in the journal.
Led by neuroscientist Pilyoung Kim, the study compared MRI images of 19 women taken two to three weeks and three to four months after they gave birth at Yale-New Haven Hospital, in Connecticut. The women averaged about 33 years old, all were breastfeeding, nearly half had other children and none had postpartum depression.
The brain scans revealed small but significant increases in gray matter volume in various parts of the brain, including areas associated with maternal motivation (hypothalamus), reward and emotion processing (substantia nigra and amygdala), sensory integration (parietal lobe) and reasoning and judgment (prefrontal cortex).
In adults, gray matter generally does not change size over a few months without significant learning, brain injury or illness, or a major shift in the environment, according to background information in a news release from the American Psychological Association.
Hormonal changes that occur immediately after birth, including increases in estrogen, oxytocin and prolactin, may make new mothers' brains more susceptible to reshaping in response to their infant, according to the researchers.
Mothers who suffer postpartum depression may experience reductions, instead of growth, in these same brain areas, the researchers suggested. They added that further research into what occurs in the brains of at-risk mothers could lead to new treatments.

-- Robert Preidt

Found this in here.

Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 07:24:00 +0000

For the 1st time, my dear baby Lior (10 and a half months old) slept through the whole night - from 7:30pm to 5:30am, a total of 10h straight!! Oooo-hoooo! :D
I only need to get him to sleep 'till 6:30 in the morning, and we're done!.....

The answer to that misterious question

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:19:00 +0000

Sadly True

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:07:00 +0000

Don't forget to laugh!.... :)

Mila's Daydreams is closing up

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 08:32:00 +0000

So, no more Mila's Daydream pictures in the blog. I wanted to keep that first one there, because it means everything to me. The flowers she is picking are from that bouquet I got in hospital after giving birth. Well, I knew this was going to end some day anyway. I will continue taking photos every now and then, while Mila is still a baby, but this time I won't publish them at my blog, just to avoid misusage and violation. But this ain't the end of this blog either. I still want to be in touch with you people and share something from my maternity leave with you. So maybe this blog is going to be more like "While my baby is taking her nap, I try to blog about something." And sure there's going to be some creative things in the future too, let's see what we can come up. Maybe Mila is going to take pictures of me, or maybe I'll write some haiku's about her first words, or maybe there's going to be some other creative outbursts from my not-so-desperate housewife life. Mila is a great muse for sure.

Read the whole story here.

In defense of my messy house

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 09:48:00 +0000

by Carolyn Robertson

A friend of mine whose kids are just about grown recently passed down to me a memento of motherhood that she’d had for years. It’s a magnet that is now proudly attached to my own fingerprint-smeared fridge that reads, in black and neon pink: “Good mothers have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.” Here’s hoping.

Reading Kristina Sauerwein’s post on dirty houses last week I was glad to learn that I’m not the only one with a home that doesn’t quite sparkle. Things here tend to be smudgy and cluttered and no matter how often I vacuum there are still clumps of dog hair that roll across the floor like tiny tumbleweed. A toy storage center in bright primary colors stretches across one wall of the living room. The liquor cabinet is now home (well, in part) to craft supplies, there’s a preschool-sized table and chair set next to the couch and the floor is usually strewn with dropped teether toys and an ambitious Thomas the Train track. Add the usual baby paraphernalia – swing, bouncy chair, Jumperoo – and there’s not much room to move around here.

But you know what? I’ve stopped worrying about it. I’m not saying we live in filth – I wipe away, sop up and tidy as best I can. But after too much time and frustration spent trying to keep on top of it all I had an epiphany of sorts. There will be plenty of time down the road for spotless floors and a gleaming bath tub. Hell, it’ll be something to keep me busy as I wait for my teenage daughters to come home from their first dates. But right now is the time for toys, for clutter, for watercolor paint splattered on the side table and greasy little fingerprints on the faucets.

My house may not make the pages of any magazine, but I’m okay with that. It’s lived in. More specifically, it’s lived in by kids.

Read original article here at Momformation blog

Dads changing diapers :)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 11:14:00 +0000

Pretty funny.... But having a helpful husband like mine it's hard to believe people actually act like that. I hope your husband change diapers better! :)

2bMommy - Blog for parents

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:28:00 +0000

Blog for parents (in Hebrew): http://www.2bmommy.com/

Out the Door, On Time! 12 Strategies for Speeding Up Your Mornings

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:34:00 +0000

No one ever told you that motherhood was synonymous with chronic lateness. But from packing the depleted diaper bag to getting your dawdlers motivated, there are plenty of reasons you probably feel like you haven’t gotten anywhere on time since your babe was born. Let’s face it: Kids dilly-dally, moms nag -- and no one gets out the door any faster. To the rescue: solid strategies from organization experts and real moms like you for getting your kids (and yourself) out the door.

Read the whole article here.

A dog may help guard against childhood eczema

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:36:00 +0000

Thu, Sep 30, 2010 (HealthDay News) -- Man's best friend protects against eczema in young children, but his nemesis, the cat, does not, new research shows.
Children with a dog in the home at age 1 had a significantly reduced risk of eczema at age 4, but children who had a cat were more likely to have the ailment at the same age, the study found. Dog ownership also conferred protection against becoming allergic to cats.
"It's speculative, but possible that the protective effect is due to a sort of natural immunotherapy where children who are exposed to dogs become tolerant over time in the same way that people on allergy shots develop tolerance to allergens," said study author Dr. Tolly Epstein, an assistant professor in the division of immunology, allergy and rheumatology at the University of Cincinnati Medical School.
Or, dog allergens may have other effects on the immune system that are not yet understood, she added.
The study was done using newborns in the Cincinnati area whose parents had allergies or eczema, making the children more likely to develop the condition. Skin tests were done to see which infants were allergic to dogs and cats, regardless of whether their families had either.
Eczema is an itchy skin inflammation and may be associated with allergies (atopic eczema) or not (non-atopic eczema), Epstein explained. Between 15 percent and 30 percent of children have had eczema, which can come and go, or disappear by a certain age. Both genetics and environment are thought to play key roles in the development of the condition.
Epstein said eczema rates have risen dramatically in the past 30 years, and researchers want to understand the causes.
The study found that children who tested positive for a dog allergy and did not live with a dog had four times the risk of getting eczema than those who tested positive and did own a dog by age 4. People can test positive for an allergy but not have any symptoms, according to experts.
The higher the dog allergen levels were in the homes, the lower the risk was for the child developing eczema by age 4, according to the study.
Most of the 636 children in the study were white. Among the 131 black children, few had dogs as pets, but those whose families got a cat by the time they were age 1 were 12 times more likely to have eczema at age 4. However, due to the small numbers, the results were not significant.
The study also looked at the association between eczema and eggs, milk and nuts, some of the most common food allergies in infants. Some experts recommend delaying common allergic foods as a strategy to protect children against allergies but the study findings did not support that.
"We tend to be so focused on food allergies with young children, but the study showed aeroallergens [airborne allergens such as pet dander or auto emissions] may be more important than has been previously understood," Epstein said.
The study found that delaying the introduction of eggs into infants' diets may have no impact on their risk for getting eczema in later years, with some indication that it benefited babies when introduced early. However, those findings were not statistically significant. Findings relating to nuts also were inconclusive.
Diet guidelines for infants recommend no solid foods until 6 months, with cereal introduction after that to monitor the effect, said Dr. Wanda Phipatanakul, an associate physician at Children's Hospital in Boston.
Phipatanakul said the study, published in an upcoming print issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, was carefully done, but was not definitive. Other research had shown conflicting results on the impact of cats and dogs, she said.
"The jury is still out," said Phipatanakul, who is also an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. "I don't think anyone, including the authors, is saying to go get a few dogs, or don't get a cat to reduce your risk."
People with allergies should avoid what causes their allergies, "or you will keep getting symptoms," she said.
"They did a lot of advanced analyses and looked at it [the data] in detail," Phipatanakul said, adding that she encourages more research to help doctors "learn more and employ better interventions or strategies."

-- Ellin Holohan

How to Raise the Men We'd Want to Marry

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 07:54:00 +0000

Attention mothers of sons: Women of the future are counting on you. Valerie Monroe tells how to bring up a good, kind, happy, mindful, nongrunting husband-to-be.

Read the whole article here.

Mila's Daydreams

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:29:00 +0000

Adele is a young mommy who decided to use her maternity leave to do something very creative - to imagine her newborn Mila's dreams and stage them around her whenever she takes a nap.

Beautiful and creative images that can't be missed! :)

See it at: http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com/

13 Things No One Told You About Having a Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:15:00 +0000

You’re pregnant. You’re totally excited—and totally freaked out. Vague images of pushing strollers and changing diapers fill your mind, but what will it really be like to be a mom?
Here are 13 things that your friends and all the other parents you know (including your own!) haven’t told you about having a baby.

1. Everything Around You Will Suddenly Seem Ridiculously Dangerous
2. After Being Star of the Show for Nine Months, You Will Be Upstaged
3. You Will Never Look the Same in a Bathing Suit. (Sorry)
4. You Will Have Moments—Particularly at Night—When You Feel Insane
5. Perfect Moms Will Be an Enigma To You
6. Breastfeeding is the Most Stressful Skill You Will Ever Have to Acquire, and You May Never Acquire It
7. Maternity Leave Is Harder Than a Full-Time Job
8. Despite What You Think, You Will Make Mountains Out of Molehills
9. The Littlest Things Will Sometimes Exasperate and Enrage You
10. You Will Never Get Out of the House at the Time You Expected
11. People Will Ask if You Need Help—Say Yes Every Time
12. Even If You’re Not the Competitive Type, You’ll Be Drawn Into One-Up Conversations
13. Being Alone Will Suddenly Become The Most Wonderful Thing Ever

Read more at the original article in iVillage

A mommy's night odissey

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:03:00 +0000

3am. 7-month-old Lior wakes up crying. I give a minute or two to see if he'll go back to sleep on his own. He doesn't. I drag myself to his room and give him the pacifier. He calms down for a few seconds, drops the pacifier and starts complaining again. I try that 2 or 3 times, and then I say: I get it I get it, you're hungry. Not to worry, your bottle is on the way.
Knowing that he almost always wakes up hungry in the middle of the night, I leave a bottle with water prepared in his room and a can of formula, so I prepare it very quickly.
But then I remember - he's got a rash, so maybe I should change him before I give him the bottle, this way he'll be dry and clean, he'll eat and fall asleep in a second.
I take him to the changing table. As I open up his diaper, he starts screaming and jumping making it impossible for me to change him. Of course, he's hungry, the poor thing. I make a deal with him: if you can hold your bottle still on your own, you can have it as I change you... - I say to him while I put the bottle on his mouth and his tiny hands to hold it on the sides. He holds it quite well, so I start changing him. Since he only had some pee I just dry him a bit and put on tons of cream for the rash. When I finish, I lift him and put him on my lap so that he can finish the bottle. He starts screaming again.
What now? - I think to myself - Maybe he'd rather lay down?
So I put him back on his crib and he keeps screaming until I put the bottle back on his mouth. He drinks a few sips and starts screaming again. - What's the problem honey? How can mommy help you? - I ask, a bit hopeless.
He looks up at me and goes: prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraf pfffff prrrrr.
- Ok, so that's what's been bothering you. Why didn't you tell me so before I changed you?
I take him back to the changing table, with the bottle he didn't finish yet. He keeps drinking from the bottle as I wipe him a bit with his own diaper. Then I remember an article I read earlier about baby rash saying "Some parents keep cotton balls and a squirt bottle or an insulated container of warm water at the changing table for easy, gentle cleanups." So I thought, maybe it's better to wipe him with cotton and warm water. Since he finished his bottle already, I put it aside and took him naked and diaperless on my arms to go for some warm water in the kitchen. After a few steps, he goes "blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrgh!" so that me, my hair, my pajamas and the whole corridor were filled with the formula that couldn't possibly stay in his stomach after all the moving from one place to the other while he was eating.
It took me a moment to figure that I should just ignore what just happened and worry about Lior. 6 more steps towards the kettle and I start feeling this warmth in my body. Yes. He peed on what was left of a dry pajama, and the whole kitchen floor.
Long long long story short, I take the damn water, clean him up, get him to sleep, wash the floors with pee and vomit, wash his bottles and put on the sterilizer. When I turn the microwave on and move towards the shower, I look at the time: 4:15. I search desperately for a clean pajamas, enter the shower, wash my hair and clean myself from all those nice fluids. I get to bed at almost 5am. At 5:45am he decided it's time to get up... I turned to my dear husband full of tenderness and threatened his life so that he'd stay up with our beautiful, smiling, good-humored and way too awake baby....

iVillage Introduces New Pregnancy + Parenting Site!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 May 2010 09:57:00 +0000

Check Out the New Pregnancy + Parenting Site on iVillage.com!
iVillage has got a big announcement: the "birth" of their new and improved Pregnancy & Parenting site, with what-to-buy gear guides, a baby-namer tool, week-by-week detailed sonogram slide shows and more for every step of your pregnancy, from trying to conceive to bringing your baby home. Check it out at http://www.ivillage.com/pregnancy-parenting.

The Safe Kids/Safe Dogs Project

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:59:00 +0000

Through education of child, parent, dog owner and the public in general, dog-related accidents can be lessened greatly. The Project is always being adapted and expanded. Presently, we cover children, dog owners, expectant/pre-adoptive families, field/delivery workers, and adults. The Project can be adapted for various professions as well.

http://safekidssafedogs.com/