Just when I thought it was hard for me to get out of the house these days, here's a little bit of inspiration!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
My New Blog
Guess what...I began a new blog a few days back...here is a link to the first entry.
This new blog is dedicated to my quest to getting fit again after the baby and will essentially be my fitness journal. I found myself making excuse after excuse as to why it was just impossible for me to do anything other than taking care of the baby.
To be fair, those first 6 weeks of having a newborn at home are tough!!! Getting used to an entirely new sleep pattern and the lack of sleep is enough to throw anyone for a loop. Since I really really want to get into some sort of shape, I thought it might help to keep it real with all my peeps and post my progress. That way I can't back out in a week and say "I don't have the time". By the way, if I do that, everyone has my permission to kick my ass back into line!
I'm doing a workout at home DVD program called Slim in 6...yep, it's the program that you've seen on infomercials. If you want to order the DVDs and start working out at home with me, check out Beachbody.com! And no, I'm not paid to endorse this product!
This new blog is dedicated to my quest to getting fit again after the baby and will essentially be my fitness journal. I found myself making excuse after excuse as to why it was just impossible for me to do anything other than taking care of the baby.
To be fair, those first 6 weeks of having a newborn at home are tough!!! Getting used to an entirely new sleep pattern and the lack of sleep is enough to throw anyone for a loop. Since I really really want to get into some sort of shape, I thought it might help to keep it real with all my peeps and post my progress. That way I can't back out in a week and say "I don't have the time". By the way, if I do that, everyone has my permission to kick my ass back into line!
I'm doing a workout at home DVD program called Slim in 6...yep, it's the program that you've seen on infomercials. If you want to order the DVDs and start working out at home with me, check out Beachbody.com! And no, I'm not paid to endorse this product!
Finally!
It only took me like, 6 weeks to finally get around to ordering prints from Alia's 3 week photo shoot...and can I just say that they turned out pretty adorable?
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Baby steps...rather...Mommy steps
Okay, alright, I've admitted it before, I'll admit it again...I am a big fat baby lovin' co-sleeper. Since Alia was born, I haven't slept apart from her. In the beginning, we used the little co-sleeper thing that keeps her safe from being smooshed when Mommy and Daddy drink cocktails and go to sleep with the baby. And before you call social services on us, that was a joke...we spent way too much money making Alia to treat our investment carelessly! Actually we carry her around on pillows sometimes...that is no joke.
The co-sleeper contraption? It didn't last long. In fact, once Ajay went back to work after his "paternity leave" (I use quotes because he basically took unpaid time off work...didn't you know? Doctors have the worst benefits in the world...but that's not what we're talking about today), I just slept with her in a spare bed in her room so we wouldn't wake him...until this week.
After a week spent re-reading Babywise, as well as asking my Pediatrician 100 questions about sleep patterns and what can be expected of my baby at this age, I resolved that it was time for Alia to sleep in her expensive toy box (read: crib). So earlier this week, I boasted and bragged that she made it through one night, on her own, and so did Mommy...and the sky didn't fall. Well, I'm happy to say that things progressed nicely this week; Alia slept in her expensive toy box for 3 consecutive nights, and that's when I decided it was time for me to return to my chambers...that's right...my bed. In my room. Yep, that's right...last night, Mommy moved back to the big bed. With Daddy. And a baby monitor 2.5 centimeters from my ear.
So I'm here to report that while putting Alia in her crib and letting her sleep there at night (and now for her daily naps) and moving myself back in where I belong was the furthest thing from my mind just 6 days ago, we've accomplished a major milestone in a very short time! As I type, my little cutie is sleeping away in her expensive toy box, and Mommy is coming to terms with that!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Made for kids, Loved by adults!
I'm a Gryffindor, married to a Ravenclaw. I'm pretty sure we spawned a Hufflepuff, judging from her little sounds of distress when her binky falls out.
Are you with me? I'm an adult fan of the Harry Potter series...I have read all the books at least once, have cried and cried when certain of my favorite wizards have been killed off in the interest of making for very dramatic and life like situations...okay, well, not life like in the sense that wizards kill one another with nothing more than their wand and a forbidden curse, but in the sense that even our favorite people have to go sometimes. I've seen all the movies, and am so happy to look forward to the Half Blood Prince as well as the final book the Deathly Hallows being made into a movie. That's right...I'm a bigtime fan.
I love the Weasleys. I despise the Slytherins in a strange love/hate way...they make for a great conflict with my beloved characters! I love Hogwarts, and Dumbledore and McGonagall. I love Lupin and Tonks, I love Mad-Eye and Sirius Black. I hate the Malfoys, Snape, and most pattionately Delores Umbridge (whos carte blanche ban on the teaching of things she deems unuseful remind me of a certain book-banning VP candidate, but we're not talking about that right now...I digress). I could go on for days about my love of this series...
But that's not what I'm writing about either. Today I'd like to write about my latest addiction, the Twilight series. That's right, the latest made-for-teens-but consumed-by-adults series of novels sweeping 30 and 40-somethings across the nation. Since Ajay and I traveled a lot in our earlier, pre-baby, pre-infertiilty, pre-pregnancy stage of our relationship, we spent a considerable amount of time observing slices of life in international airports...and I would always marvel at how many adults were carrying with them or deeply engrossed in the Harry Potter series. Now it seems that the Twilight series hopes to follow in those footsteps...at least among women readers.
Are you with me? I'm an adult fan of the Harry Potter series...I have read all the books at least once, have cried and cried when certain of my favorite wizards have been killed off in the interest of making for very dramatic and life like situations...okay, well, not life like in the sense that wizards kill one another with nothing more than their wand and a forbidden curse, but in the sense that even our favorite people have to go sometimes. I've seen all the movies, and am so happy to look forward to the Half Blood Prince as well as the final book the Deathly Hallows being made into a movie. That's right...I'm a bigtime fan.
I love the Weasleys. I despise the Slytherins in a strange love/hate way...they make for a great conflict with my beloved characters! I love Hogwarts, and Dumbledore and McGonagall. I love Lupin and Tonks, I love Mad-Eye and Sirius Black. I hate the Malfoys, Snape, and most pattionately Delores Umbridge (whos carte blanche ban on the teaching of things she deems unuseful remind me of a certain book-banning VP candidate, but we're not talking about that right now...I digress). I could go on for days about my love of this series...
But that's not what I'm writing about either. Today I'd like to write about my latest addiction, the Twilight series. That's right, the latest made-for-teens-but consumed-by-adults series of novels sweeping 30 and 40-somethings across the nation. Since Ajay and I traveled a lot in our earlier, pre-baby, pre-infertiilty, pre-pregnancy stage of our relationship, we spent a considerable amount of time observing slices of life in international airports...and I would always marvel at how many adults were carrying with them or deeply engrossed in the Harry Potter series. Now it seems that the Twilight series hopes to follow in those footsteps...at least among women readers.
I recently heard from a high school friend on Facebook that she too is addicted to the series, and was feeling a little bit apprehensive about being so far out of the target audience. Well, I'm here to tell you all that it doesn't matter! Does true love have age limitations? No. So read on, all you 30 somethings and 40 somethings out there.
10 Week Check Up
On Wednesday, Alia had her 10 week check up. First the details for my family readers...Alia's doing great! Still quite long at 23.75 inches, in the 80th percentile for her age. And her weight...drum roll, please...she weighted 12.8 pounds! That's a 3 pound weight gain in 4 weeks! Can we say growth spirt? Can we say Mama's little girl loves to eat? That said, Alia has progressed from her former, waif-like statistic in the 25th percentile all the way up to the 75th percentile for weight. So she has perfect proportions!
Now the ugly part. Four...count them...four shots!!! My pooooooooooor baby. Seriously...I almost snatched her off the table and ran for it when the nurse came in with a tray of four shots and four itty bitty Tweety Bird band aids. And Ajay? He didn't do much better than I did, although I never saw the raw panic in his eyes that I felt in my own, I did see him well up with tears as our little perfect baby wailed and wailed. They say it was definitely more traumatic for us than her, but I doubt that in the moment...the only advantage Alia has over us is she has a lousy memory at this point! hee hee.
What else...after the doctor's appointment, Alia was totally worn out and asleep in her car seat before we got to the car. So, we took the opportunity to join the other families with infants and elderly early bird specialers and dined at Islands for dinner...at 4:00 p.m.
Yep, that's right...dinner....at 4 p.m. Gone are the days where Ajay gets ready and busts out the John Varvatos suit for a special night out at our favorite dining spot...wearing hair product and cologne, and even shining his glasses. Gone are the days that I shove my uncooperative feet into high heels and a fancy outfit to join my handsome man for that special dinner.
Now, we eat at Islands. At 4 o'clock!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Ewwww! Termites!
Last week, I saw a bunch of dead termites on the floor near our antique Indian hutch. Great. Last year we spot-treated an interior antique window that separates our library and our formal living area...silly me, I thought all the termites were dead.
I suppose there's really no real escaping termites living in a beach side community. Yesterday's termite inspection revealed that there were active swarms coming in on the south winds and smacking right into the front of our house. Seriously...there were like, 50 termites that landed right on our house, dropped their wings, and looked for entry into our structure right before our eyes.
So, with the termites on the inside, and the termites on the outside, there's only one real solution...yep, we're tenting the house. Oh well, maybe we make a nice little holiday out of it since we have to be out of the house for 3 days anyway...not a bad plan, right?
I suppose there's really no real escaping termites living in a beach side community. Yesterday's termite inspection revealed that there were active swarms coming in on the south winds and smacking right into the front of our house. Seriously...there were like, 50 termites that landed right on our house, dropped their wings, and looked for entry into our structure right before our eyes.
So, with the termites on the inside, and the termites on the outside, there's only one real solution...yep, we're tenting the house. Oh well, maybe we make a nice little holiday out of it since we have to be out of the house for 3 days anyway...not a bad plan, right?
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
A light at the end of the sleepy tunnel?
Today I woke up feeling pretty good. Yesterday's increase in nap time actually did prove to make for a better night...forget what everybody says and what logic and your own intuition says...fewer naps and less sleep during the day does not mean longer sleep at night...in fact, not enough sleep during the day is pretty much a guarantee that babies have extended bouts of crying in the late afternoon, become overstimulated, frantic, and find drifting off to sleep nearly impossible.
No, I'm not the authority...at all. In fact, Alia has still only slept more than 5 hours at a stretch one time. But we're making progress...last night rather than waking up every 2.5 to 3 hours, she slept in 4 hour stretches, and had no, that's right, NO afternoon meltdown! This after allowing her to sleep almost 3 hours in the late afternoon...which I was very nervous about, but decided to just follow what the Babywise book said and see what happened...after all, it couldn't get much worse, right? The book said basically what my first paragraph details about the need for enough sleep throughout the day. And to my surprise, Alia went off to sleep with minimal reassuring...in her crib/expensive toy box...and remained there all night, except for getting up for her late night feedings. Which, by the way, the author of Babywise says should not be necessary anymore...sure, try telling Alia that!
No, I'm not the authority...at all. In fact, Alia has still only slept more than 5 hours at a stretch one time. But we're making progress...last night rather than waking up every 2.5 to 3 hours, she slept in 4 hour stretches, and had no, that's right, NO afternoon meltdown! This after allowing her to sleep almost 3 hours in the late afternoon...which I was very nervous about, but decided to just follow what the Babywise book said and see what happened...after all, it couldn't get much worse, right? The book said basically what my first paragraph details about the need for enough sleep throughout the day. And to my surprise, Alia went off to sleep with minimal reassuring...in her crib/expensive toy box...and remained there all night, except for getting up for her late night feedings. Which, by the way, the author of Babywise says should not be necessary anymore...sure, try telling Alia that!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
She can do it!
Yesterday I wrote about how I need to get back on track and really give these baby rearin' strategies that I've been reading about a chance to work. So since I found yesterday that every single little thing I do to get Alia to sleep is a big fat No-No, I thought I'd try things the right way.
First of all, there's a reason Alia has been sleeping with me...she would not, could not sleep alone in her crib. In fact, in the early days, if you wanted to make Alia cry, you put her in the crib. But yesterday I was all about challenging myself...I don't want to be one of "those Moms" that unbeknownst to them, helps to create situations with their kids by automatically assuming that they know things that may not be the case anymore...example..."no, Suzy won't eat carrots, don't even try it"...you get what I'm saying...I want to keep an open mind and try my best not to fall into that. On the other hand, since Alia turned purple with tears and tantrums the last time I tried to put her in the crib, I suppose I did make a note to self that Alia won't be sleeping in the crib anytime soon. But Alia's preferences are moving targets these days.
Anyway, I am proud to say that yesterday, Alia took a 45 minute nap in her crib. I put her down, rubbed her belly, stroked her hair, said nice things to her, and as she began to drift off, I stepped away. When I came back to check on her 15 minutes later, here's what I found...can you believe it? The crib actually does function as a place to sleep!
Fueled by this success, I challenged both of us to try sleeping apart last night, and to my mixed emotions, I can report that Alia did in fact sleep in her crib last night. And after feeding every 3 hours? She went right back to her crib!
First of all, there's a reason Alia has been sleeping with me...she would not, could not sleep alone in her crib. In fact, in the early days, if you wanted to make Alia cry, you put her in the crib. But yesterday I was all about challenging myself...I don't want to be one of "those Moms" that unbeknownst to them, helps to create situations with their kids by automatically assuming that they know things that may not be the case anymore...example..."no, Suzy won't eat carrots, don't even try it"...you get what I'm saying...I want to keep an open mind and try my best not to fall into that. On the other hand, since Alia turned purple with tears and tantrums the last time I tried to put her in the crib, I suppose I did make a note to self that Alia won't be sleeping in the crib anytime soon. But Alia's preferences are moving targets these days.
Anyway, I am proud to say that yesterday, Alia took a 45 minute nap in her crib. I put her down, rubbed her belly, stroked her hair, said nice things to her, and as she began to drift off, I stepped away. When I came back to check on her 15 minutes later, here's what I found...can you believe it? The crib actually does function as a place to sleep!
Fueled by this success, I challenged both of us to try sleeping apart last night, and to my mixed emotions, I can report that Alia did in fact sleep in her crib last night. And after feeding every 3 hours? She went right back to her crib!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Duh!!!!
Alright, alright, maybe my last blog was a bit too over the top. Books aren't evil...the people who write them are. No, no, no...I don't mean that either. I'm just a frustrated Mom getting a truckload of differing opinions from different authors...from pediatrician authors to nurse authors to Mom authors to child behaviorist authors...all of them say different things and it's hard to know what to believe.
Take Babywise, for example. I've been following this strategy since Alia was born. I try to maintain a 3 hour cycle throughout the day with Eat-Play-Sleep being the order of things. I read this book while I was pregnant, and know that my sister in law Lena followed this strategy with her first born. So I gave it a shot...in my head I thought I was doing it right. But this darn baby of mine just wasn't cooperating. She'd Eat, then we'd Play, and then she'd Sleep...the goal being that her nap would take her through to the beginning of the next cycle...Eat. Only she won't sleep that long...and when she wakes up unexpectedly after 25 minutes, you guessed it! She knows the cycle and she's ready to eat! Forget that she just ate an hour and a half ago. So then Mommy (me) gets to bring her in off the ledge and soothe her and calm her and try my best to convince her that it isn't time to eat and to just get the baby back to sleep. Then the bargaining begins. Then I start pulling out the stops...rocking her...lying down with her...putting her in the vibrating pod chair...that's right...using all the "crutches" that Babywise warns against. See, the author of this book thinks babies sleep magically by themselves. Ooops, sorry, my bitterness leaked out. Or maybe it was my exhaustion that leaked out. Regardless...
I decided this morning to re-read this book in hopes of finding what I'm doing wrong. After all, if the author touts that you don't need sleep aids or "crutches", he must offer a solution...right? Not just "cry it out", right? Because that's out of vogue, right? Right????? Well, I made it to page 110 this morning before Little Miss interrupted by waking up 25 minutes into her nap, and the alternate cycle detailed above began again...no, not the Eat Play Sleep cycle...the cycle that includes bargaining and talking out loud to Baby Jesus...begging him for some Baby insight to make it stop...to make it work...to make it easier like the book says! So now that she's back to sleep (yes, in her new sing that rocks from side to side, not front to back...genius by the way) I've decided to reflect on what I've done wrong.
For starters, it says that your day should begin at the same time every day...ie., if you set your wakey wakey time at 6:15, and Alia wants to sleep til 8, and Mommy wants to sleep til 8, that's not okay...the day should begin at 6:15 regardless if the girls are tired from being up every 2.5 hours all night long. Okay, guilty. If I can get Missy back to sleep in the morning, I'm all about that. Bad Mommy.
I also found that it's not just Eat, Play, Sleep uniformly all day long...the activity and activity level should change throughout the day. The early morning feeding should be followed by awake time just lying in her crib (up until now, her expensive toy box that has yet to house her for a single nap), looking at the mobile or other low-key, ease-into-it type things. Then the next feeding should step up the activity just a bit...she can be nearby on a blanket while I read or sew (Babywise's example, not mine since sewing has never occurred to me). Then from there, maybe an outing follows the next feeding, etc., etc. See, I haven't been doing that at all...I've been killing myself to give her lots of stimulation throughout the day (with no time for myself, to say, read a book, or stretch my body). My Play-time with Alia begins with the activity jungle mat, with me singing along with the songs it plays and shaking the mobile to engage her...she loves it. From there we go to Tummy Time...then we go to the other mobile, where I shake it and sing her songs...then we go outside for a walk...then we do a fashion show where I put on the cutest outfit I can find and take lots of pictures of her. By then, an hour has passed and she's yawning and exhausted...no wonder I can't keep her up for a whole two hours...I've just packed a whole day's activity into one freaking hour! Duh! Spread it out, for God's sake! A little down time is a good thing!
Also beginning now, I'm challenging myself to think more about US (baby and me) and less about BABY (singular). I know this, and I knew this before reading this...I knew this before having the baby, even. It just reminded me that an out of balance Mommy is not the best Mommy. So I need to read on to see what else they suggest and figure out how I can apply some of these things to help me get back on track...
Take Babywise, for example. I've been following this strategy since Alia was born. I try to maintain a 3 hour cycle throughout the day with Eat-Play-Sleep being the order of things. I read this book while I was pregnant, and know that my sister in law Lena followed this strategy with her first born. So I gave it a shot...in my head I thought I was doing it right. But this darn baby of mine just wasn't cooperating. She'd Eat, then we'd Play, and then she'd Sleep...the goal being that her nap would take her through to the beginning of the next cycle...Eat. Only she won't sleep that long...and when she wakes up unexpectedly after 25 minutes, you guessed it! She knows the cycle and she's ready to eat! Forget that she just ate an hour and a half ago. So then Mommy (me) gets to bring her in off the ledge and soothe her and calm her and try my best to convince her that it isn't time to eat and to just get the baby back to sleep. Then the bargaining begins. Then I start pulling out the stops...rocking her...lying down with her...putting her in the vibrating pod chair...that's right...using all the "crutches" that Babywise warns against. See, the author of this book thinks babies sleep magically by themselves. Ooops, sorry, my bitterness leaked out. Or maybe it was my exhaustion that leaked out. Regardless...
I decided this morning to re-read this book in hopes of finding what I'm doing wrong. After all, if the author touts that you don't need sleep aids or "crutches", he must offer a solution...right? Not just "cry it out", right? Because that's out of vogue, right? Right????? Well, I made it to page 110 this morning before Little Miss interrupted by waking up 25 minutes into her nap, and the alternate cycle detailed above began again...no, not the Eat Play Sleep cycle...the cycle that includes bargaining and talking out loud to Baby Jesus...begging him for some Baby insight to make it stop...to make it work...to make it easier like the book says! So now that she's back to sleep (yes, in her new sing that rocks from side to side, not front to back...genius by the way) I've decided to reflect on what I've done wrong.
For starters, it says that your day should begin at the same time every day...ie., if you set your wakey wakey time at 6:15, and Alia wants to sleep til 8, and Mommy wants to sleep til 8, that's not okay...the day should begin at 6:15 regardless if the girls are tired from being up every 2.5 hours all night long. Okay, guilty. If I can get Missy back to sleep in the morning, I'm all about that. Bad Mommy.
I also found that it's not just Eat, Play, Sleep uniformly all day long...the activity and activity level should change throughout the day. The early morning feeding should be followed by awake time just lying in her crib (up until now, her expensive toy box that has yet to house her for a single nap), looking at the mobile or other low-key, ease-into-it type things. Then the next feeding should step up the activity just a bit...she can be nearby on a blanket while I read or sew (Babywise's example, not mine since sewing has never occurred to me). Then from there, maybe an outing follows the next feeding, etc., etc. See, I haven't been doing that at all...I've been killing myself to give her lots of stimulation throughout the day (with no time for myself, to say, read a book, or stretch my body). My Play-time with Alia begins with the activity jungle mat, with me singing along with the songs it plays and shaking the mobile to engage her...she loves it. From there we go to Tummy Time...then we go to the other mobile, where I shake it and sing her songs...then we go outside for a walk...then we do a fashion show where I put on the cutest outfit I can find and take lots of pictures of her. By then, an hour has passed and she's yawning and exhausted...no wonder I can't keep her up for a whole two hours...I've just packed a whole day's activity into one freaking hour! Duh! Spread it out, for God's sake! A little down time is a good thing!
Also beginning now, I'm challenging myself to think more about US (baby and me) and less about BABY (singular). I know this, and I knew this before reading this...I knew this before having the baby, even. It just reminded me that an out of balance Mommy is not the best Mommy. So I need to read on to see what else they suggest and figure out how I can apply some of these things to help me get back on track...
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