2011 definitely had its ups and downs. Our biggest blessing was the arrival of our baby girl and every day with her seems even better than the last. As with every year I make resolutions but this year I have decided to make goals for 2012, rather than resolutions. Much like every year, my first goal is lose weight and get in shape, this year however I have a goal weight in mind, am making myself work out 5 days a week and plan on keeping track of what I eat everyday... I weighed myself this morning, ugh, and don't plan on stepping back on the scale until January 31st!
My second goal, learn how to use my sewing machine. My mom bought me a sewing machine for my birthday a few years back, yes years, and I have yet to make anything except a very lopsided apron that I am not proud of! I also hope this gives me the creative outlet I have been looking for!
Lastly I need to learn to not compare myself to others and be happy with what i have. How easily I forget about how blessed I am. Instead of being thankful that I am able to only part time, I get angry that I cant stay home full time. This year I plan to count my blessing every night, show my husband how much I love and appreciate him and enjoy all the good times rather than dwell on the hard times.
Did you make goals/resolutions for 2012? Do you have a game plan to stick to them this year? Here is to a fun fabulous new year and meeting every goal we made!!
(PS, like the look of the blog?! Thanks Nikki!!)
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Monday, December 5, 2011
Let her cry
Bellamie used to cry... a lot! Some called it colic, others chalked it up to her casts, and surgery, the reason didn't seem to matter much at the time, there just seemed to be a lot of crying. We are past what we donned as "fussy time". That time between 5 and 8 when she would just cry no matter we did. There were endless evenings spent bouncing, dancing, rocking, and walking, to try and sooth her. After her surgery we went through a stage where she would only allow me to her hold, or she would cry, so hold I did... All the time. Slowly but surely we also got past this and now it seems like an eternity ago. Now Bell only fusses when she gets tired and while she still may cry a little more than the average baby, I wouldn't change a thing about her. She is sleeping through the night for the most part, but every now and then, fusses here and there. Now, I have read about the "cry methods" and call her spoiled, but at the slightest peep, I am up and in her room to soothe her, which is usually just giving her the binkie and rearranging blankies and I am back to bed in under a minute. No biggie. But some nights I am up multiple times and eventually have a hard time falling back asleep... That said I still can not just let her cry it out no matter how tired I am.
Do you believe in the cry it out method? Did it work for you? Or do you rush to your little one at the first peep? Do you believe you can "spoil" a baby, or is soothing necessary to grow trust?
Do you believe in the cry it out method? Did it work for you? Or do you rush to your little one at the first peep? Do you believe you can "spoil" a baby, or is soothing necessary to grow trust?
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
11/22/2011
“A hundred men may make an encampment, but it takes a woman to make a home.”
-Chinese proverb
-Chinese proverb
When I Grow Up
Some kids want to be astronauts others want to be movie stars, and while exploring space seemed pretty cool and who doesn't want to be rich and famous, I always just wanted to be my mom. My mom wasn't the "cool" mom who let us stay up all night, she wasn't the mom who spoiled her kids her rotten and she definitely wasn't the mom who let us do whatever we wanted, she was so much better than that.
My mom was the mom who picked us up from school everyday, asked how our day was and was genuinely interested to find out. My mom was the mom who made every birthday extremely special. From carnivals to tea party's, each one was special in its own way. My mom was the mom who went all out for each and every Holiday. To this day Christmas is my favorite time of year, not for the gifts, but for time spent with family and looking at my mother's beautiful Christmas decorations. Her home is truly enchanted this time of year. My mom was the mom who made us lunches until we graduated high school, even when we told her we no longer at a school. My mom was the mom who came to every sporting event, sat on the booster club, kept the score at baseball games and worked at the snack shack. My mom was the mom who was apart of every aspect of our lives, from our first skinned knee to our first crush, she knew everything about us.
My mom was the mom who kissed boo boos, wiped snotty noses, held cold rags to warm foreheads, wiped tears, play boardgames, made crafts, sang to us, danced with us, encouraged us to reach for the stars, made us feel safe, pushed us to get outside our comfort zone, worked hard, played harder, and loved us for who we are.
Oh how blessed I am to have a mother like mine and how blessed Bell is to have her as a grandmother. If I can be half the mom for Bellamie that my mom was for me, she will be one lucky girl. I can only hope I become the mom that Bellamie hopes to be one day when she grows up.
My mom was the mom who picked us up from school everyday, asked how our day was and was genuinely interested to find out. My mom was the mom who made every birthday extremely special. From carnivals to tea party's, each one was special in its own way. My mom was the mom who went all out for each and every Holiday. To this day Christmas is my favorite time of year, not for the gifts, but for time spent with family and looking at my mother's beautiful Christmas decorations. Her home is truly enchanted this time of year. My mom was the mom who made us lunches until we graduated high school, even when we told her we no longer at a school. My mom was the mom who came to every sporting event, sat on the booster club, kept the score at baseball games and worked at the snack shack. My mom was the mom who was apart of every aspect of our lives, from our first skinned knee to our first crush, she knew everything about us.
My mom was the mom who kissed boo boos, wiped snotty noses, held cold rags to warm foreheads, wiped tears, play boardgames, made crafts, sang to us, danced with us, encouraged us to reach for the stars, made us feel safe, pushed us to get outside our comfort zone, worked hard, played harder, and loved us for who we are.
Oh how blessed I am to have a mother like mine and how blessed Bell is to have her as a grandmother. If I can be half the mom for Bellamie that my mom was for me, she will be one lucky girl. I can only hope I become the mom that Bellamie hopes to be one day when she grows up.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
11/16/11
"A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary"
Dorothy Canfield
Dorothy Canfield
Mommy needs her beauty rest....
The first weeks we didn't get any sleep. Bellamie liked to be held, thus we took turns holding her on our chest, while we sat in the lazy boy. Then a good friend came over one night to give us a bit of a break and while we slept she tried propping Bell on her side and she actually slept!! Between casts on her legs and her surgery we still had many sleepless nights, but at least she was sleeping on her own! We were finally in a good routine, when she got her last cast off and was put in corrective shoes. Now, while the shoes were a huge improvement from the cast, she could only sleep on her back and we were back to square one!!! Then one night, desperate to get her to sleep longer than a few hours at a time, we tried her in her infant swing and she slept through the entire night!! Between the calming motion and the support for her feet it was just what she needed. At the time I worried that she would want to sleep in her swing forever, but once again she surprised me and not only did she not want to even be rocked to sleep, she was falling asleep totally on her own in the crib!! Total success!
Once again she was sleeping through the night until a few days ago. After putting her down at 8 she is up, fussy and very ready for a bottle between 11 and 12. Now you see, Bellamie spits up a lot... like a lot!! So we only do 4 ounces of formula at a time, which was fine until recently. I can actually hear her little tummy growling when she wakes in the night and she always goes right back down after the midnight snack but mommy can't always fall back so easily! And trust me I need my beauty rest!!
So my question today is this... When did you start solids? Did it help with spitting up? Did they sleep better at night? Did they seem more full?
Once again she was sleeping through the night until a few days ago. After putting her down at 8 she is up, fussy and very ready for a bottle between 11 and 12. Now you see, Bellamie spits up a lot... like a lot!! So we only do 4 ounces of formula at a time, which was fine until recently. I can actually hear her little tummy growling when she wakes in the night and she always goes right back down after the midnight snack but mommy can't always fall back so easily! And trust me I need my beauty rest!!
So my question today is this... When did you start solids? Did it help with spitting up? Did they sleep better at night? Did they seem more full?
Monday, November 14, 2011
Breast or Formula
Bell was only a few weeks when I got my first blocked breast duct. By day two I was desperate. Everyone told me just to keep feeding her and eventually it would go away, but eventually wasn't soon enough. So I took to the Internet for advice. First I tried a warm bath, which was quite relaxing but didn't help the block. Next I tried warm cabbage leaves, which did nothing but make my breast stink! As the desperation grew, I was just about willing to try anything... Including "dangling your breast over the baby to have them suck from a different angle", sound crazy? Like I said I was desperate!! So I took little Bell into our bedroom, laid her on the bed, closed the bedroom and dangled. Of course not two seconds later my husband walked into the room and said, "What the hell are you doing?"
Needless to say, breastfeeding was never easy for me. Because Bellamie was on iv's, fluid, oxygen and antibiotics, I wasn't able to feed her right away in the hospital, which lead to my milk taking longer to come in. And several blocked ducts and sore nipples later, a good friend finally convinced me to try nipple shields, which definitely helped. But not long after, Bellamie had her surgery which was just too much stress on both of us, and she lost a significant amount of weight, which lead to supplementing with formula. It didn't take long until Bellamie was no longer interested in breastfeeding and we were solely on formula.
While I had always liked the concept of breastfeeding, being the life source for your baby and the connection between mom and her little one, I have to admit, I wasn't sad to see it end and even somewhat relieved. I guess not all women are cut out for breastfeeding.
Did you breastfeed your babies? Did you love it or struggle with it?
Needless to say, breastfeeding was never easy for me. Because Bellamie was on iv's, fluid, oxygen and antibiotics, I wasn't able to feed her right away in the hospital, which lead to my milk taking longer to come in. And several blocked ducts and sore nipples later, a good friend finally convinced me to try nipple shields, which definitely helped. But not long after, Bellamie had her surgery which was just too much stress on both of us, and she lost a significant amount of weight, which lead to supplementing with formula. It didn't take long until Bellamie was no longer interested in breastfeeding and we were solely on formula.
While I had always liked the concept of breastfeeding, being the life source for your baby and the connection between mom and her little one, I have to admit, I wasn't sad to see it end and even somewhat relieved. I guess not all women are cut out for breastfeeding.
Did you breastfeed your babies? Did you love it or struggle with it?
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