Meltdown Free

We’re chugging along through week 4 of working motherhood and I think we’re getting the hang of it. My sweet girl has decided to sleep through the night…well, mostly. She likes to wake up at 2:30 with a fuss so I’ll go in and check on her. Usually she just wants to smile and chat, but if I roll her back on her side she’s instantly unconscious. I can successfully navigate through the apartment with my eyes closed so the total wake time for the interruption is approximately 30 seconds. NBD. Good sleep = minimal meltdowns for Mommy. And a meltdown free Mommy = a happy (and relieved) Daddy.

P is closing in on his last week of school EVER. I’m beyond ecstatic. Whenever I announce this little tid bit of information (because I tell EVERYONE…I’m a proud wife and, let’s face it, I’m pretty stoked to be a double income family) they always say “well it’s not his last time in school EVER if he decides to go get his masters, PhD, etc.”. Ha. Haha. Hahahahahahahaha. (Do you detect a small hint of sarcasm with a dash of hysteria?) Now I am all for higher education. I sometimes wish I had a couple more degrees under my belt. And we are definitely forcing encouraging Peanut to attend my alma mater when the time comes. But right now? NO MORE SCHOOL! We have been married almost 4 years now, and P has been in school the entire time. I am ready for the payback on our investment. And you can only imagine how P feels about it. Take my excitement and multiply it by a gazillion. He is ready and willing to take on the manly bread-winner role. And I am thrilled to let him! Now if we could just figure out how I can get paid the big bucks to stay at home and snuggle my baby…


Speaking of my baby – she is such a big girl!! Her eye hand coordination is so good (and yes, probably better than mine…I’m definitely not an athlete)! She reaches up to grab me when I’m making faces at her on the changing table. She can shriek with delight now, and it’s pretty much the best sound heard ‘round the world. She knows when you’re going in for a kiss and does the typical baby wide-open-mouth kiss right back. She’s my little daily miracle and she makes me smile the big smiles that make my cheeks hurt.

Introducing Chatty Cathy

So, I'm thinking she's going to be a quiet little girl...right??

Dear Little Peanut,

You are THREE MONTHS OLD!!  You are such a big girl now!  You are less and less an infant and more and more your own little person.  We have had a roller coaster of a month.  Things are quite different from our lazy days together while I was on maternity leave.  But, when I get home from work you always give me a big smile and as many kisses as I want, and that makes Mommy feel better every time.  I'm trying to cherish every minute of you at this stage, which is hard when you grow so fast!  Daddy and I love you so much and hope you know that we will always be here for you.

Facts about YOU:

- You are in size 1-2 diapers.  I have a feeling the next time we buy a box you'll be in 2s.

- You can still fit in your 0-3 onesies, but 3 months fit a bit better.  You can fit into some of your 3-6 stuff too, depending on what brand it is.

- You still spit up, and now you drool like crazy.  There is a white spot on your bottom gum that looks very much like a tooth wanting to break through.

- You still talk a LOT.  Every time I come home to feed you at lunch you have to take small breaks to "chat" at me.  I like to think you're telling me about your day.

- You can roll from your back to your side, but not all the way over yet.  You prefer to sleep on your side with your thumb in your mouth.

- You love books and Daddy reads to you every night before bed.

- Your Nana watches you during the day and you LOVE her.  She's always making you giggle.

- You don't like to nap right now.  I'm not sure what changed, but I'm hoping you start to like it again soon.

- Your play mat is still your favorite toy.  You could spend hours laughing at all the animals.

- Everything you grab now goes straight to your mouth.  And you grab everything you can get your little hands on.  Especially Mommy's hair.

- You can see really far now.  When we walk across the room you follow us with your eyes.

Love you Peanut!  xoxo  

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well."  Psalm 139:14

There are Only 24 Hours in a Day

This is a realization I have had a hard time coming to. Remember my schedule last week? The one where I accomplish EVERYTHING on my to-do list after a full day of work? That would totally work out if I had about 5 more hours in my day. However I do not. So I made sacrifices. First off the list? Working out. Now I know that sounds like a really important one, but not as important as feeding baby, playing with baby, eating dinner (which in the past I would have given up, but now my body has to have fuel to make baby food), and sleeping. (Ha! Who am I kidding? I don't sleep any more!) BUT, on the flip side, if I let these extra 11 pounds hang around too long I will spiral into a deep loathing for my body and that's not healthy for my daughter to see either. (Did you see that? 11 pounds. Would seem like a lot if not for the 49 I had to lose in the past 3 months - please refer to the picture taken right before we headed off to the hospital...I WAS HUGE)

My solution? The 30 Day Shred. And it is EXACTLY what I need. A workout that includes weights, cardio, and ab work packaged in a neat little 20 minutes. Even I can find 20 minutes in my day to get sweatin. Now is it like running 5 miles? No. But I actually need the toning due to the post pregnancy deflated balloon effect. And I can do it at home, so I don't have to rely on P to babysit. And I can do it at night. (I have strict rules about running at night alone. No woman should EVER do it.) So May 7th will be 30 days. We'll see if I can lose those last 11 pounds. And if I do? I might just work on 10 more. That would put me at my happy weight. Which just so happens to be wedding day weight. Hmmm, why is that always the benchmark?

So wish me luck! I might make it to bathing suit season without succumbing to the "mom" suit...you know the kind. Wide strapped one piece in a dark color with a skirt...aaaahhhh!!! My colorful bikinis are crying out in protest. Don't worry Peanut, we'll both be rockin cute suits if Jillian Michaels has anything to say about it!

I Have Been Blessed

with a WONDERFUL family. Easter Sunday was even more special this year with our little peanut addition. God is good. And Peanut is spoiled. No candy this year due to my dairy allergy and her lack of teeth. Just adorable outfits. And...wait for it...baby bathing suits!!!! (you know how I feel about baby sized bathing suits)

Look at that angel face.

Pure bliss. Please disregard the fact that it was noon exactly when this picture was taken so the shadows are horrible and we all have the squinty eyes.

Back to Work I Go

I know why caffeine was invented. I thought I knew before baby because if I didn’t have my morning coffee I wouldn’t be as productive at work as I wanted to be. It helped me focus and work reallyreallyfast. Now, it is the key to my survival. It is the one thing that assures me I will not die of exhaustion if I go ahead and get ready for work after Peanut’s morning feeding instead of bringing her back into bed with me for a snugly morning nap. So, here’s to you freshly brewed french vanilla with almond milk and hazelnut flavored splenda! I owe you my life paycheck.

I’m on day two of wearing my “working mom” hat. My emotional status is surprisingly stable. But I think that is due to a) I get to leave my teeny baby with her Nana who has mad mothering skills and b) I am too tired/busy to really think about being devastated. Until P sends a cute morning pic of the peanut having a blast during tummy time while I’m locked in a supply closet, topless, hooked up to a milking machine. Then my eyes fill with tears and the Woe Is Me comes back. But it lasts for a total of a minute because then I have to get it together and rush back upstairs to my desk because oh my gosh pumping takes WAAAY longer than I thought it would and I hope no one is looking for me!!!!

Work itself isn’t that stressful and everyone has been really nice and understanding so far. I HAVE gotten the “so, did it take long to lose the weight???...how much did you gain???” comments. But if pregnancy prepared me for one thing, it’s people asking inappropriate/private questions with wild abandon. And I have developed the ability to answer right back with zero very little insecurity. Yes, I gained 60 pounds. Yes 60. YES 60. No, I did not have twins. (This was actually a question asked. By a man. I deserve a pat on the back for not throat punching him for the benefit of all womankind)

The hardest part of my day is AFTER work. I’m trying to pack in a whole day’s worth of activities into a few hours, so I schedule to the minute. Work out while baby is still sleeping, feed baby, make dinner, eat dinner, get things ready for the next day, feed baby, bathe baby, snuggle baby, book, prayers, put to bed, me time, shower, and bed. Of course all of you experienced moms out there have a smirk on your face because you know the key to this schedule is BABY doing what you plan on them doing. So, needless to say, my night did in no way resemble my cute little schedule. Here is what actually happened: work out while baby is still sleeping…for fifteen minutes and then waaaa I don’t want to nap mom!!! so then feed baby, try to put baby back down because she is sooo overtired because she didn’t nap for Nana at all, pick baby back up in response to loud protests, hand baby off to P who just walked in the door, start dinner, feed baby again because there is NO consoling her, give baby back to P, finish dinner, take inconsolable baby back and shush and rock to sleep, eat with one hand while taking care not to disturb unconscious baby on shoulder, ahhhh relax on couch with sleeping baby for 5 min until baby wakes up, feed baby, bathe baby, book, prayers, put to bed, then OH MY WORD I’M SO TIRED I CAN’T SEE STRAIGHT, fall in bed, no me time, no shower. Lesson learned. Babies scoff at attempted scheduling.

In the world of Peanut, she is fabulous and fantastic, despite the lapse in sleeping skills yesterday. Her newest development…loving bath time even more than before. She’s always smiled and giggled during bath time, and it seemed to relax her because she would just chill in her little seat. Now she has discovered how much MORE fun it is to splash and wiggle and basically cause a ruckus. She is thisclose to flinging herself out of her seat and I’m sure if I turned my back for a second she would succeed and I would have a heart attack. Note to self – work on catlike reflexes.

She is also now a drooler. Like whoa. Like dripping down my arm when I’m holding her. Delicious. I’m not entirely convinced it’s not due to the early signs of teething. Yes, I know it’s seriously early. But I teethed at 3 months, and my mom teethed earlier than that, so it is a definite possibility. Wouldn’t that be fun for all of us in the Peanut household?

In summary…I heart coffee, boys say dumb things, and Peanut runs the show.

Ten Weeks with the Peanut

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted an update on the peanut! She celebrated her 10 week birthday on Saturday while in sunny south Florida. My mom and I made the trip for the weekend, and she did great! She is a wonderful traveler, although she gets sick of the car seat after too long and tries to rip herself out of it.

This is my last week of maternity leave and I am DREADING going back to work. I don't care if I sound like a whiny baby. I want to cross my arms, stomp my feet and wail "IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!". Yes, I am fortunate to have a job. Yes, I am so lucky my mom is going to watch her for my first month back. Yes, I know millions of moms do it every day. But, at the end of the day, I still don't want to leave my teeny tiny baby who STILL NEEDS HER MOMMY! I'm just being honest. Humor me and let me complain because no matter what they say...yes, it kinda does make me feel better.

Peanut is growing up soooo fast! She is currently 11 pounds and 3 ounces. She has infinite amounts of personality. She likes to stare at her hands, and then taste them. She is still on the same sleep schedule, waking only once at night and then taking her first morning nap in bed with me. She still spits up like a champ. I love to squeeze her chubby baby thighs and nibble her teeny toes. What is it about cute babies that makes you want to chew on them? She also LOVES to talk. We have conversations about everything. And she has STRONG opinions. I'm sure this is a sign of things to come...she'll take after her mommy with an affinity for sharing her thoughts...possibly over sharing.

In other news, did you know oreos are dairy free?? I do. I know several packages worth. Did you also know that you can order Papa Johns without cheese and it's dairy free? And that the garlic butter dipping sauce is too (which is kinda scary...what is it then?)? I do. Several times over. So my weight loss plan is going FANTASTIC (yes, that was sarcasm...possibly another trait peanut will receive from her mother). The plan is to reign it all in when I go back to work. We will be on a tight schedule anyway, so I might as well start back grocery shopping and...gasp...making dinner. Because I need to be ok with my bod in a bathing suit. I have a long standing love affair with the beach and needless to say, I must indoctrinate my child ASAP. And just as I was getting the hang of surfing, I got pregnant and the belly wouldn't allow paddling out on a hard board. So...it's t minus one month until it's officially warm enough to hit the sand. Here's hoping I can control myself!