Saying Bye to 2010

This was a crazy year- my first pregnancy, our first son born and growing to 4 months.  Other things happened- like work, home, life, but everything revolved around L.  We didn't do too much work on the house, but we had our first successful garden that yielded many HUGE zucchinis, corn, sweet and juicy tomatoes, herbs, and peppers.  We built our deck in my 3rd trimester, with the help of my cousin.  

I have to say 2010 was a heck of a lot better then 2009...that was the year my grandfather passed away, as well as our dear kitten- it was an emotional year.  I am looking forward to 2011, watching my son grow, growing myself as a mother.  I am not however looking forward to ending my maternity leave.  I am never one to make or keep resolutions- on the rare occasion I have made them.  Yet this year I just have to make some commitments with myself.  I really need to begin exercising again.  I am ashamed to admit but I haven't exercised since about 6 weeks in to the pregnancy- when my morning sickness started.  I feel weak and out of shape, which is not fun!  I am not sure how I will manage working out, returning to my job, taking care of L, keeping the house clean, etc...I am still brainstorming a way to balance everything.  Besides exercise my only other resolutions will be to continue to be devoted to L, nurture him and be present with him, and to make time/plans for D and I to have "date nights".

We aren't doing any major celebrating tonight for NYE- just staying in, making dinner, possibly watching a movie.  Tomorrow is a service for D's uncle who last monday passed away due to cancer (I really hate cancer BTW).  It will be sad to start out the new year with such a loss, but it reminds me that life is short, to enjoy it now, and spend it with those I love.  

Belated 4 Months

Another month has gone by (you're officially 4 months and 5 days) and you're growing so fast!  This month has been a big one- literally!  I think you have put on more weight and length then any other month- you are bursting out of many clothes and have almost doubled your birth weight.  You smile so much now, just noticing me across the room gets you all giddy and excited!  Oh and the giggling, it's absolutely heaven!  

I have to watch you so much more carefully since you have begun to move.  Taking your photos this month was fun but we could hardly get you to take your hands out of your mouth- you adore those hands (yay for teething!) and have also just discovered your feet (thank you for holding them up and helping during diaper changes).  Bear, L Bear, Misters, Monster...so many nick names that I imagine will confuse you when you start to learn/understand your name.  Daddy and I are starting to show up in your features/expressions- your hair is still a little red.  In a few short months you will begin solids, sitting up on your own, crawling...I am so excited to see your personality develop, although it's beaming through in these last two photos.  

Happy 4 months bear!

Click here to see the rest of the photo shoot.

Dinner

Countdowns

4 days till the new year...

14 days till I return to work...

I think I will make some new years resolutions for 2011. 

Here is Pax napping in front of the fireplace on the awesome blanket from Brandon & Brittany.

Mom Shoes

So we all hear about pregnancy changing our bodies, and yes, my body is different then before L- just not in the way I expected.  Fortunately I lost all the "baby weight"... though my shape feels a little different, but I can fit into all my old clothes.  My shoes however are a different story, I can no longer wear many of them.  I blame this in part on my feet growing (yes, feet grow and remain larger after pregnancy for many women), getting used to wearing only flip flops (its all I could wear at the end with the heat and the swelling), and some changes in my posture.  I have so many cute heals and it's just too uncomfortable to walk around in heals- add carrying a baby and it's just not doable.  So enter what I deem "mom shoes".  I got a pair of "as cute as possible" danskos with great arch support.  They are growing on me because they are red (love red shoes), and they are very comfy.

Xmas in Review

It was wonderful spending the holidays with family.  We couldn't have asked for better food, gifts, and company.  Christmas eve was spent at Babkas, then Christmas day we returned home to spend time with D's parents.  Having L means I get double (or maybe triple since L was showered with wonderful gifts) the presents because it is absolutely a gift for me to see him wear his new hat, amber teething necklace, bounce in his jumper, and play with his sofie.  Here are a few pictures, we didn't take many as we were just living in the moment....and we need a memory card for the nice camera.

Morning

First cup of coffee in a REALLY long time.



Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. We're getting ready to head to San Jose. I'm thrilled to hear a friend had her daughter yesterday (well past her due date and a LONG labor- you go Sara!).

Liam is officially 4 months today...his photo shoot may be a little late. Can't wait to celebrate his first Xmas with him.

The Destruction Continues...

All Clean

Went to the dentist yesterday (finally found one I like). The hygienist, upon learning I do therapy with addicts, spent an hour telling me her whole family's experience with addiction...



I really do love that clean feeling afterwards though...My laptop is still dead so I'm posting from the iPhone- takes much longer.

Blurg!

Yes, blurg! As said by Liz Lemon.  This may be my last post for a while...

In about 15 min my lap top will be in a coma :(

Bad Dog!

Well bad cat too!  It seems my cat Incubus and dog Pax have teamed up to destroy the memory card for our camera!  Yeah it only has a ton of pictures and some video on it!  Incubus knocked it off the table, and then Pax devoured it before I arrived on the scene to photo graph the remains.  Hopefully there wasn't anything on there D needed....like footage.

December 2010 Etsy Finds

1. The Fearless Hare print- with this Slovak proverb  "Fear is worse than misfortune itself" .  My mother is from Slovakia, last year I got her the fox print, and wanted to get this one this year, but time got in the way- there's always birthdays/mothers day.

2. Hand Knit Baby Duffle Coat- custom orders wool or cotton, can choose color and size.  Knitted baby clothing is just about my favorite thing, too bad I only know how to crochet...may be time to learn knitting.

3. Colorful Balls Locket- Nice coloring with a glass bead.  I have a thing for lockets, as seen in a previous post.

4. Red Iconic Camera Small Backpack- not necessarily a backpack for your camera, but could be.  I like the looks of the soft grey canvas with he brown leather looking zipper flaps.  I wanted to get this for D for Xmas, I guess there's always a belated gift.

5. Take Me For A Walk print- Absolutely adorable, vintage inspired, and perfect for a nursery as seen here.

6. Angel Wings Baby Wrap- GORGEOUS!  Nothing else needs to be said.

7. Wet Bags- made by Monkey Foot Designs, nice fabric selection in varying sizes.

8. Hand Knitted Red Pom Pom Hat- Again with the knitted baby products.  I ADORE this hat.  I actually first saw it here (great blog).  I wanted a hat at least like it, but I was so thrilled to find that it was available on Etsy. Babka purchased it for L- he will get it for Xmas.

9. Wool Baby Slippers- Cute!  Even though L can't walk yet, these would keep his toes nice and toasty.

10. Rainbow Felt Pillow- Would add a nice pop of color to any room.  Might be an easy DIY too...

Wrapped

Going with the theme of feeling rushed, D and I are almost all done with Xmas shopping/prep.  Last year 90% of our gifts were handmade/from Etsy.  This year we were not at all that prepared- meaning we didn't make orders in time.

We did however craft up some of the gifts, I will post them on here after the holidays.  But for now, here are the gifts, wrapped.

We used our old stendig calender paper (like Anna did here), and added left over yarn to tie bows or felt triangles (also left over from a project) strung on ribbon.

Feeling Rushed

The holidays are upon us- time has been flying and I just feel rushed.  This morning we had to wake up early to drive D to the train station for work.  This was the first time I had woken L up that early and left the house (good practice for when I return to work).  He actually did great- stirred a little when I first picked up him out of our warm bed, but then fell right asleep once I buckled him in and started driving.  

After dropping D off we came home and I showered while L played in his bouncer- he can now pull the frog that plays music and it's been a great distraction for when I need to shower.  L also decided to poop (for reference we also call the bouncer his poop chair since that always seems to happen when we set him in it).  He had a "blow out" so I was scrambling to rinse/wash the wool cover, and bring in the diapers that were washed last night.  We made it out the door in once piece and headed to a lactation consultant appt.  Although breastfeeding has been going well I am still having some nipple pain and wanted to see if there was something we could do differently.

The LC helped a lot.  She suggested we change a few things and I immediately noticed a difference in the way his latch felt- less pinching.  Then we headed over to the post office to buy stamps (we still hadn't mailed out those beautiful holiday cards).  Now I know going to the post office the monday before Christmas isn't the smartest thing to do, but I wasn't sure where else to go.  We tried to get stamps at stores over the weekend but they were out.  I figured with this rain, it would be better to make one trip then multiple.  The post office was packed, but the line moved quickly.   L flirted with people in line- he has started to make eye contact, smile, and then turn his head into me as if he is bashful.  

After getting the stamps we stopped to make a return and then finally headed home.  L was famished, so once home we nursed in bed and he fell right asleep.  I think I will take a nap too...

All Smiles

When we go out...L just loves a party. Here he is at D's work holiday party from last night.

Baby Hands

Beautiful chubby fingers...so in love with him.

Tonight is D's work holiday party, L and I need to get ready soon- but he's sleeping on the boob and I don't have the heart to wake him.

Somewhat at Peace

I went to visit L's future daycare again today- dropped off some paperwork, got some a LOT of questions answered.  It was a great visit.  I felt very comfortable with the way the staff spoke with me and interacted with the kids- many of the staff parent like me (breastfeeding, cosleeping, babywearing, attachment parenting, cloth diapering etc).  We chose this daycare because it aligns with our values, no bouncers, swings, jumpers- all hands on.  

When we first arrived a lot of the kids were crying- it was "lunch" time (they feed on demand but said many of the kids get in-sync with their schedule).  The older infants were sitting at their table (all the chairs are booster seats on the floor with a child height table- no highchairs), while the younger infants were awaiting their bottles (they are held and fed in rocking chairs or gliders).  Even though there was crying, I could tell it was just the "I'm hungry feed me" cry, and as soon as each child was situated they turned into peaceful, playful, kiddos.  I instantly felt like L will learn to love being there with all the other children.

While there L started to get fussy and hungry so I sat down and nursed.  I love how when I nurse around other kids/babies they become extremely interested in me and L- maybe they remember being nursed themselves. The daycare is very pro nursing and I plan/hope I can come on my lunches to nurse L.

It's getting closer to D Day...the day I return to work.  Jan 11 2011-the end of maternity leave.  So there will probably be a lot of posts about that process- both the planning/logistical part and the emotional journey part.

My View...

This morning...

Mess

I need to go through all the bills/mail/paperwork sitting on top of my desk.

Cloth Diaper Update

 So I must admit that I have not been a devout cloth diaper loving mother.  I thought I would be but having a bunch of disposables on hand (gifted to us before L came) made it extremely easy to resort to sposies (cute name for disposables, ha!).  But we have finally started to increase the types of cloth in our stash which has made me appreciate cloth much more.  Prefolds are great and affordable, but the covers we have aren't very soft and I hated seeing red marks on L during changes.

I have however LOVED cloth wipes.  I don't know why anyone wouldn't use cloth wipes at home.  They make so much sense, clean better, and are easier on the skin.  We simply have a peri bottle of water with a little grapefruitseed extract in it to put on the wipes as needed.  We also just bought cheap gerber wash cloths and use them as wipes.  With many washes, they haven't started to tater yet.  And if you cloth diaper you wash at the same time, no extra work but a lot of less trash/spending!

Back to diapers- maybe I'm lazy, but all in ones/all in twos rock my world.  They are basically like a sposie but you wash them and reuse.  They are just a one piece diaper (or with a simple liner), so really easy and fast to use- plus the ones I have are super soft.  L has worn only cloth, for the last two days, and just one leak (probably due to me not putting a cover on very well- L was being incredible squirmy)!  We haven't actually had any leak issues with cloth yet (we did with huggies for a bit).  Yesterday D's mom took me and my SIL (a veteran cloth diaperer) to an awesome store that sells cloth diapers and other great baby products you rarely see off the internet.  I was able to pick up a couple fitted for night time, a wool cover (my first wool product!), and another grovia- they were perfect christmas presents.  So I now have a pretty good set going and hope to never have to buy a sposie again.

More Milk!

Breastfeeding has been going well, I think we finally got through the hurdles.  I still get sore when L uses me as a human pacifier, but it's nothing like when we had thrush.  Pumping my stash has been going well also.  I only pump 1 time per day in the morning and after a month and a half I have over 70 oz in my freezer!  I have also made numerous bottles that were used up instead of frozen when D and I have gone out without L.

I also ordered a mini fridge to take with me to work for pumping in my office.  We don't have a close by fridge that isn't open to the clients in our program- plus it's always extremely full.  I had a gift card for amazon so the fridge cost me $8.  I hope my supply doesn't tank when I return to work.  I already bought some mothers milk tea just in case.

Visiting Babka

Went down to San Jose to visit L's grandma.

Headache

Today I have a horrid headache...possibly due to no caffeinated tea this morning.  Also last night was a difficult night for sleep again.  L nursed to sleep, but I found myself in an uncomfortable position so I gently moved him to the cosleeper.  Fortunately he slept for 2 hours in there before I woke to see him smooshing his face against the side closest to me.  It's breathable material, but still worrisome, so I brought him back in the bed with me.

L's napping during the day is becoming the most difficult task of them all.  L fights sleep, to the point of being over tired, then gets pretty cranky.  Things that help him nap are babywearing and nursing in bed.  Today only the latter worked- stupid me didn't think to sleep myself while in bed with L.  But there were adorable and fun moments, and L looked incredibly cute in his star outfit.

Holiday Card

I really wanted to have a picture of D, L, and I for the card, but we never seemed to have the time or energy.  It would have required us getting dressed up, setting up the tripod, and hopefully capturing at least one good shot of all of us.  We have nice camera equipment so I couldn't justify paying a photographer to take our photos.  We settled on just shooting L in a Xmas outfit grandma got him with the tree/lights in the background.  We then went over to Tiny Prints to choose a template- I think they have the best designs (Minted also had really nice designs but they were slightly more expensive, the shipping would take longer and we go coupon codes for Tiny Prints).

Here is the photo we decided to use

Here is what the card will look like