life with a new baby
Musings
It’s hot. Really, really hot.
Jul 24th
You know what really helps when your house feels like a stifling sauna (besides wishing you were an ice cube)? I’ll tell ya what helps. Sitting outside, where it is even hotter, where the humidity is so thick you could almost choke on it, and sitting for a good ten minutes. Then when you come back inside, it feels like a freakin’ ice-skating rink. For the next five minutes, anyway.
What I’ve learned from having a toddler
Jul 23rd
1. Sometimes it’s easier to just push toys around with a vacuum instead of picking them up. I am guilty of doing this quite often.
2. Toddler poo stinks. Oh yeah. And let’s not forget that poo will sometimes explode out of the diaper. When this happens, your toddler will more than likely roll around in it.
3. It takes you 50 minutes to do what people without kids can do in 15.
4. Everything in your house will be destroyed at one time or another.
5. Water gets everywhere when you bathe them.
6. Love hurts. I can’t even think about what life would be like if something happened to Nathan without turning myself into a blubbering, snot-dripping crybaby.
7. Choose your battles, and choose them wisely. Sometimes you have to lose a few battles to win the war and keep the peace.
8. When your toddler is unhappy, EVERYONE IS UNHAPPY.
9. Always keep a handful of toys out of circulation. That way, when your toddler has a meltdown, you can surprise him and keep him entertained for a while with a “new” toy.
10. You lose any and all privacy. Have to poo? Too bad. You have three options: hold it until nap time, poo with the door closed while your little one has a complete meltdown on the other side of the door, or let him in the bathroom and try to keep him from unraveling the toilet paper, emptying the trashcan, licking the floor, shredding the magazines, and going back in the “no kid zone” behind the toilet. All while trying to do your business.
11. You will be inundated with unsolicited advice. And the kicker? Most of this advice will be useless for you and your child.
12. You might lose some of your friends. Many people without kids just don’t get it. They don’t understand how you’re so busy, or why you can’t take 10 minutes out of your tantrum-evading, poo wiping, constantly-teaching-your-kid-how-to-behave, feeding, disciplining, emotionally and physically exhausting day to call or email them. They don’t understand that when you get a small break, you want to be alone with your thoughts so you can recharge, because these people are too busy being self-absorbed to notice that it’s not about them. However, there are other people without kids who DO understand, either because they have the power of empathy, they have been around many other parents with kids for long periods of time, or they have younger siblings. Hold these people close, for they are few and far between.
13. When all else fails, turn on Blue’s Clues, Sesame Street, or Dora.
14. Never underestimate the power of Mommy or Daddy’s kiss on a boo boo.
15. Your back will hurt. A lot. And then! Then, when your back doesn’t hurt, you will start to CREAK.
16. When eating, most of your toddler’s food may end up on his face, bib, lap, or on the floors. Or walls. Or your hair. Or the back of your neck.
17. You will find little bits of food squirreled away in the most random places.
18. There is nothing in the world comparable to your child kissing your cheek or wrapping his arms around your neck in a huge hug. It’s addictive.
19. Don’t be surprised if you try to breathe in your child while he sleeps.
20. Toddler toes are delicious. So are their fingers and hands.
21. Peas and corn do not digest completely. Neither do blueberries.
22. Feeding him too many carrots will turn him orange.
23. Do not smell sippy cups that have been left out. Or even open it up and look at it, for that matter. Just close your eyes really tightly, cover your nose, and dump that crap down the sink with hot water.
24. Prepare for WWIII if you have to skip or delay nap time, change his diaper, or tell him “no” for any reason whatsoever.
25. Smooth legs? Ain’t gonna happen. Just like you won’t win the lottery nor will you quickly and effortlessly lose that 60 lbs you packed on while you were pregnant. Also? YOU WILL NOT SLEEP.
Flashback
Jul 12th
Nathan, right after he turned a year old, playing with his spoon. It makes me sad that he will never be 12 months old again! (Wait. Is that whining I hear coming from my own mouth? Why yes, IT IS!)
Exersaucer, I will miss you
Jun 14th
This is probably one of the last times I’ll have Nathan in his exersaucer, which is yet another bittersweet time for me. He’s been playing in it since he was about five months old, and it has been like a life savor so many times. Whenever Nathan was grumpy, the exersaucer would cheer him up. Whenever I needed a shower, I could just plop him into the exersaucer and he would be content. He loved spinning around in the seat, exploring all the toys, and studying all the colors and textures. But now? Now, my little boy is growing up and is almost too big for it anymore. He can still enjoy it for a bit longer, but he’s starting to get too tall for it.
I can’t believe I got attached to it myself. There are so many memories… I look at it, and I think of all the times Nathan played in it. I remember him being so little that even when the exersaucer was on the shortest setting, his toes barely touched the ground. At first, I could only have him in the exersaucer when I was sitting right beside him because he would just flop forward and backward. But it gave him great exercise, and he was soon strong enough to play without me hovering.
Ah, it’s always a bit sad when your child finally outgrows something that he used for so long!
Another chapter has come to a close
May 17th
Breastfeeding. It’s been hard from the beginning. We dealt with latching problems, nursing strikes, and even weight-gain issues. Then, supplementing with formula brought its own set of problems, and Nathan developed an allergy to the cow’s milk protein found in all brands of infant formula, so we had to switch to soy. It’s been such a long, and at times tedious but all-in-all rewarding process, but that process has finally come to a close.
Paul and I are both avid supporters of child-led weaning, which is what it sounds like; the child pretty much lets the mom know when he or she is ready to quit nursing, and Nathan has decided he was ready to stop nursing. We lasted 14 months! That is a heck of a lot longer than I anticipated. I had always said I would try to make it for at least a year, which is what the American Academy of Pediatrics urges. Even though I was determined to go at least the minimum recommended time, there were many times where I thought we wouldn’t be able to hold out.
But I refused to just give up. And Paul was such a stong, loving supporter who wouldn’t let me just quit. Breastfeeding was too important, too vital to Nathan’s development for me to just give up at the first sign of hardship.
It was a struggle to work through some of the problems we had, and I think the worst of all was when Nathan wasn’t gaining enough weight. We switched pediatricians to one who was more knowledgeable about breastfeeding, and I even met with two different lactation consultants. Fortunately, the last lactation consultant I met with was able to help me tremendously, resolving most of the problems we were having.
Nathan was not an easy baby to nurse, but patience and perseverance saw us through, and I am so glad and even grateful to have had to opportunity to provide him with the best possible nourishment he could have. I have given him a jump-start in life with the building blocks for a healthy and strong immune system, given him proteins and antibodies not found in formula, reduced his risk of developing childhood obesity, and it also helped his eye and brain development, to name just a few of the many benefits.
We cut our nursing sessions down gradually. When Nathan started showing a lack of interest during the afternoon feeding, for instance, I stopped that particular nursing session. This went on until we were down to just once a day, and when he started losing interest in that last feeding, that was it. That was the end of our breastfeeding relationship.
Weaning is very bittersweet. On the one hand, I will really miss the bond that we shared and having that time together. But on the other hand, it feels great to not be on-demand anymore.
I am so glad to have had this experience.
For more information on breastfeeding, visit:
Kelly Mom which was my go-to site when I had questions
La Leche League
Breastfeeding.com
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Feb 14th
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!
This time last year, I was 39 weeks pregnant and ready to meet my little guy! Little did I know that he would actually arrive SIX DAYS after his estimated due date. (Exactly why it’s ESTIMATED, right?) An extra six days may seem like a walk in the park to some of you Mega Moms… but me? Me, I was in agony. That was six extra days of bloating, back pain, insomnia, waddling, swollen ankles, and achy bones. Even my TOENAILS were in pain.
Valentine’s Day ‘09
Seriously, I don’t see how some of you do it. You make pregnancy look so easy and… fun! But for me, during the first four months, I was so weak that it put even a bad case of the flu to shame. I didn’t have the energy to WIPE OFF THE COUNTERS.
That’s some serious fatigue.
But hey. It takes a lot of energy to GROW A LUNG, right?
And oh, the morning sickness. I couldn’t keep anything down. Nothing. I remember before I could even get out of bed in the mornings, Paul had to bring me a glass of apple juice and some saltines. And he was not allowed to jostle the bed. And yes, that included NO WIGGLING HIS TOES.
The morning sickness was so over-the-top vicious that just the SOUND of someone farting made me throw up. Seriously. Whenever I heard someone fart, even if they were in the other room, I would puke. And everything, I mean EVERY. THING. made me gag. But not just a regular old gag. No, I would gag like I was about to projectile-puke up a massive hairball. WHO DOES THAT?? Well, folks. Apparently I do when I am pregnant.
And get this. I would throw up and the very sight of it would make me throw up even more… so before you knew it, I was on this vicious cycle of throwing up, which made me throw up, which made me throw up… so yeah, I was in the bathroom constantly. It was becoming my second home.
Then there was the second trimester. It was easier than the first for me because the extreme fatigue and nausea finally subsided when I was about 18 weeks pregnant… but then the body aches started. And I had this uncontrollable urge to thoroughly clean and reorganize the entire house.
Only I had this intense back pain that only abated when I wore HEELS.
As in, HIGH HEELS.
So here I was, in my second trimester with a bulging belly and sweat pants (because you know how important comfort is to pregnant women) and high heels, cleaning the kitchen.
The third trimester?
IT FELT LIKE DEATH.
Oh, the pain. Pain, pain, pain. Every single step I took was agony. My feet were swollen. My toes cramped a lot. And my back? It felt like someone had jammed a hot poker into my lower back and left it there, jostling it every couple of minutes for some extra oomph. And constant peeing. The most sleepless night I ever had, I got up to pee nine times..
NINE TIMES. IN ONE NIGHT.
But you know what? Even though I had a painful pregnancy that was nothing like the giddyness that I had imagined, I wouldn’t give any of that up for anything, though. My little guy is so worth it! And I would go through all of that and worse just to have him here with me. And I know there are so, so many women out there who would give anything to be able to get pregnant. I am very fortunate… and all the “negatives” about pregnancy just give me something to joke about later.
The Laughing Baby
Dec 7th
Babies are great. They are so precious and sweet, and not to mention, hilarious. Not only because they cause mini-catastrophes such as mega poops and fountains of pee, and not even just because they have hilarious facial expressions when they taste new foods, but also because they will find humor in the slightest things.
Last night was one such night. I was getting Nathan ready for bed, following his nightly routine of a bedtime story and a song. I was singing “You Are My Sunshine,” and every time I said the word happy, he would start laughing. Especially when I said the word happy with a long, breathy “H.”
So I couldn’t help myself. I sat him down in the glider and started saying the word happy, just to hear him laugh.
As I watched him smiling and laughing, I felt simultaneously euphoric and sad at the same time. Euphoric because my son is such a happy, carefree child. But sad because he is growing so fast and is turning into a little boy right in front of my eyes.
I can’t believe he’s nine months old already!
It seems like just yesterday Paul and I brought our screaming bundle of joy home from the hospital. The hospital we went to and the experience they provided me, however, was horrible (click here to read about it.) It doesn’t seem like nine months ago, I thought I was on the brink of losing my sanity due to sheer exhaustion.
Sometimes the colic seemed like it would never end.
But, eventually, it did end. The sun came out. Butterflies started dancing again. That ominous black cloud hanging over my head dissipated.
Now? Now, Nathan hardly ever just cries for no reason. Now, it’s usually because his diaper is dirty, he’s hungry, uncomfortable, tired, not feeling well, etc. It’s become a process of elimination, which is SO MUCH more manageable than having no idea why your infant is screaming as if he’s in the worst pain of his life.
I’ll take days like last night ANY DAY. I love those laughs and smiles. I enjoy interacting with him, teaching him new things, and watching him learn and grow. Even if he is growing up so quickly.
Recent Comments
Yes! A personal maid would be perfect! Oh, that would free up SO much of my time!!
I'll take a double-layer chocolate one!!
He is SO not happy about it. I feel so bad for him... if only he would groom himself then ...
Don't you just love it? sometimes, I used to think my kids should have come equipped with their own maids ...