So Proud.

I'm so proud of Beanie. Really, she is such a good big sister. One of the last things she has to do before heading to bed is give Bubby a "gentle kiss." She's always concerned when he's crying -- one time even running into the bathroom to tell me that he wanted to nurse. When he's upset in the mornings she grabs his hand and tells him that it's okay and to calm down in a super sweet voice. She wants to share her toys with him. She loves getting me diapers for him when I need to change him (almost to the point of getting upset if she doesn't get the chance to grab the diaper). She snuggles him, loves on him (sometimes needing to be reminded to give him some space) and wants to hold him.

Beanie talks about how she can't wait till Bubby gets bigger and he can play with her. I hope that's actually the case when he's crawling around trying to play with her toys!

Elimination Diets.

Here I am. I will apologize yet again for neglecting this blog. I've had a lot going on lately & a lot I think to blog about, but I just never get around to it. Also, Glenn got me a super cool HTC Incredible for Mother's Day so I've mostly been quickly checking things online on my phone rather than sitting down and actually writing. Which also means my articles have gone by the wayside. Poo. Hoping to jump back on that bandwagon because I FINALLY got my first payment from Examiner. Woot! Woot!

Bubby's colic seems to have slowed down. But, at his 2month appt (where he was a whopping 13lbs 1oz and 24" long -- about the same size as Beanie was at 4months old) the pediatrician said she thought he may have a dairy sensitivity. She also said that most babies with a dairy intolerance are also intolerant to soy. I went a couple days without having any soy or dairy (and, holy cow, do you even know that soy is in absolutely everything). After pretty much wanting to pull my hair out, we decided I would go dairy free for 2 weeks, see if that was helping, and then tackle the soy. See, we're not even sure that an intolerance is the problem. Bubby's poos (yes, I'm going to talk about poop here so feel free to skim if you like) were watery, but nothing too bad. For what it's worth, Beanie never had textbook breastmilk poops. He was over the top colicky.  The pediatrician said watery poos could lead to mucousy poos could lead to bloody poos. Well, we don't want any of that so here we go. But, I've been completely dairy free for a week and, if anything, his poos are more mucousy. Or maybe I'm paying more attention? I don't know, but what I do know is that this all is extremely frustrating to me. I just want to be able to help poor Bubby. I wish there was some magic sign that would just tell me what was wrong. Is he just a fussy baby that hasn't completely outgrown his colic yet? Does he just have funny poos like his sister always did? I just have the Mommy gut feeling that there is something else going on.

So, at a time when we're trying to drastically cut our food budget, we are looking at having to go out and buy more specialty type foods. I was really surprised how soy (or soy lechitin or soybean oil or what-have-you) is in everything we eat. One day I thought I was doing all great for lunch with turkey & veggies come to find out the cooking spray had soy lechitin in it. I still haven't found something I care for in my coffee so I've started drinking mango black tea (from Trader Joes -- delicious) in the morning. If anything, I'm sure eating this way is healthier, but it is going to be hard. I'll do it for Bubby though. The pediatrician said that most kids outgrow the intolerance by one year old (I had asked if I'd have to cut it all out for our entire nursing relationship) so I guess I'm looking at 9 1/2 months of it.

Any of you out there dairy & soy free? I'd love some menu tips or just some inspiration. I'm starting to think more & more it's going to come down to at least temporarily eliminating both and seeing how Bubby does and it does seem like a hard task.

2 is the new 1

Since I recently posted about how to share info I think is really important without overstepping the bounds of respecting others parenting choices I thought I would share this link that a friend posted on facebook. Because, you know, this is my blog so I can share all the unsolicited advice I want ;)

2 is the new 1: Rear-facing Car Seats Until At Least Age 2

Beanie rode rear facing until she was 2 1/2. Sometimes I wish we would've waited a bit longer, but I think the timing worked well.  When we went to Georgia last summer (Beanie had just turned 2) there was a huge to-do about the fact that she was still rear-facing in her seat while her cousin (who is five months younger) had been forward-facing for awhile. Whatever, I tried not to "share" too much about all the research pointing to the fact that kids are much safer RF until at least two because my sister-in-law in insanely competitive about everything (yes, even car seat positions if that's even possible).

So...read up.

The budget.

I've talked time and again about saving money. As I posted earlier, we decided that I would quit my gig as a milk-slinger and once again stay at home full time with the kiddos. I also stated that I was kinda nervous about this whole transition. Not that I was raking in the dough, but it was additional income and now we don't have that.

We got our tax return and paid off two credit cards. I think the remainder will go towards medical bills for the birth & some things we need to get taken care of around the house.

We're going to cancel our cable as soon as the promotion runs out. I've been making grocery lists, planning out our weekly meals and sticking to them. Although I swear I am not going to tell Glenn what I'm planning -- every week he doesn't have dinner ideas when I ask and then doesn't like the ones I come up with. This week I told him he needs to come up with some ideas!!! Hopefully it will stay warm and we can keep the heat off (although I did have to turn it on for a bit this morning). We've really been working at turning lights off when we leave the room -- Alexa is getting really good at it! We have no credit cards in our wallets so if we want to make a big purchase we have to think about it beforehand.

So, how do you save money & stick to a family budget?

2.0 shall now be known as...

...Bubby.

As in Chubby Bubby.

Because, seriously, have you ever seen cuter chubby cheeks than his?

And a funny thing about Bubby's real name (oh, yea, you thought it was Bubby???) is that his first name is my maternal gradfather's middle name and his middle name is Glenn's maternal grandfather's middle name. When the crazy lady who gave birth to Glenn my mother-in-law was in town last week she said, "I didn't realize you picked *middle name*. Grandpa would be so proud!" and Glenn replied, "Why?" She replied, "*Middle name* was Grandpa's mdidle name," and Glenn said, "Oh, it was?" And, believe it or not, it was. See this is so crazy because when Beanie was born we had a boy's name picked out first. When the crazy lady who gave birth to me my mom heard it she said, "Oh for grandpa!!" because, without even thinking about it, we had chosen my grandfather's middle name for our boy's name. And when we did finally have a boy it took Glenn and I forever to agree on a middle name. I think we literally ran through just about every boy's name known to man. And then the one that Glenn liked all along started to grow on me. And now it turns out Bubby's middle name is also a family name (I swore I would never use a family name for my kiddos!). When I told this all to my mom she said we should just say that Bubby was named after both his maternal grandfathers. Nice story, except it's not true. Now I feel like I need to make sure and let him know he wasn't named after both his maternal grandfathers.

Funny how names come about. I think Bubby is more than approrpriate though.

And since I never post pictures on here I better not leave without one of Beanie as well. Enjoy it when you can ;)

It's a fine line

I'm pretty opinionated about many things related to mommyhood. It's always a fine line I walk when trying to give information or advice because I do feel pretty strongly about certain things. But, the thing I feel most strongly about is allowing moms to make their own choices for their children and respecting the choices they make. Except for cases of neglect and abuse (obviously) I'm all for you making your choices and me making mine. Just because x, y, and z work for me doesn't mean they necessarily will work for you. But they might and if you're having a problem with something and come to me for advice I'll probably give you an earful.

But what about instances where your advice isn't necessarily asked for? For instance, a status update on facebook? Do you point out that research shows that the risks of induction are not something to take lightly? Do you not say anything at all? What about someone who says their 6mth old is forward facing in their carseat because they're 25lbs?

I guess sometimes it's hard for me because I do love to read and research so much & I wish everyone would do their own research before making decisions. Like, besides the fact that it's unsafe for that 6mth old to ride forward facing do they also know it's illegal?

I don't know. I only bit on the facebook status after someone else pointed out the same fact. I agreed and added my two cents. It's really not my place to be the did-you-know-this police, but sometimes there are things I wish I'd known sooner too and I guess I'll just keep walking that fine line. I mean, I like when people give me information even if it's something I know wouldn't work for our family. I listen, take what I will and leave the rest.

Just wondering what other mamas think about this. Obviously we all have our own opinions o & way of doing things....

I quit,

Not blogging, don't worry LOL.

Today I resumed my stint in full-time stay-at-home mommyhood. I went back to work one day a week when Beanie was 17months old. It was something that just needed to be done due to some life circumstances. My bosses were great -- I basically wrote my own schedule and I actually enjoyed working most of the time. Glenn stayed at home with Beanie while I worked.

But that one day a week is one of our family days. With Glenn working farther from home the time we get to spend together as a family is hard to come by. And now there's another kiddo in the equation.

I applied for FMLA only to find out that I didn't work enough in the last 12 months to qualify (should've done a little more research I guess, but it wouldn't have changed things because I never would've been able to work enough to qualify anyways). So the only leave I got was 8 weeks of medical leave. They wanted me back to work when 2.0 (still trying to find that nickname that sticks!!) was not even two months old. I was heartbroken at the thought of going back when he was three months old, but not even two?!?!?

After a lot of talking and number crunching and more number crunching we decided I would quit work. No surprise but I wasn't bringing home the bacon working only one day a week. It was nice additional income and when Glenn got his permanent route it became nice needed income. So we're going to pinch the pennies like there's no tomorrow so I can stay home full time once again. Truth be told, I'm a bit nervous. I know we can cut our expenses by a lot (I am amazed at how little some of my friends spend on groceries and etc) but our financial mindset has to completely change. No more I-just-don't-feel-like-cooking-let's-go-out-to-eat (but let's face it, with a toddler and a newborn that isn't exactly an easy option either). No more driving through the espresso stand. No more impulse buying at Costco. Or Trader Joes (which will really kill me!). We'll be doing lots of free events with our playgroups.

But let's face it. Everyone sacrifices whether they work or not. If you stay-at-home you sacrifice having a dual income and a different lifestyle. If you work you sacrifice being with your child all day. To be honest, I have no idea how working moms do it since I feel like I have more than enough work as a stay-at-home mom.

I'm so glad I do have this opportunity. My kiddos are only going to be this small once. I'm excited. And a little bit scared. Mostly excited.

Reflections.

Sorry about the blog neglection. I really have come to loathe typing one-handed this time around and 2.0 is pretty colicky making quiet time hard to come by. But right now he's soundly sleeping (of course, he was up most of the night!) but Beanie is awake and cleaning her playroom (at least she's supposed to be) so I thought I'd try to blog really quickly.

Before my reflections, 2.0 is doing great (besides the whole colic matter). He gained almost 4lbs between being discharged from the hospital and his 1mth appointment. Score: 1 for Mommy's Milk. He usually sleeps pretty well once he winds down from the all-out screaming. Last night we passed up the screaming (yay!) but he was up at 1:30 until about 4 or so (upset the last hour) and then again at 5. Ah, this too will pass. Beanie is doing great being a big sister. I love seeing how she interacts with her little brother and can't wait till he's a bit older and they can giggle and play together.

So, okay, on to my original idea for this post...

I really am so glad that I switched my prenatal care. I've thought about this A LOT, but I wholeheartedly believe that my birth experience would've been far different if I would've been in the care of my OB and not the MW practice. I think about all the times during my prenatal care that I had a funny feeling leaving my appointments (starting at the first appt!) and wish I would've done something about it sooner. That's my only regret. I kept thinking that maybe we should switch and it wasn't until I was 33 weeks pregnant and I REALLY got a bad feeling that I took the leap. And I just had this feeling -- that's what I told Glenn. I told him it was a sign that we needed to switch. He laughed and commented that I wasn't the superstitious type (and I'm not) but I just knew what we had to do. And when I met with the midwife the feeling turned into a strong conviction. WE HAD TO SWITCH. I walked out of the midwife's office with a lighter step, a smile, and a weight lifted from my shoulders.

Little did I know that I would have non-progressing contractions for almost 18 hours and a high leak in my water bag. Add those two things together and, in my OB practice, I'm sure I would've been hooked up to some pitocin to "help" me along. Since I absolutely hated lying down for even the shortest bit of time I'm sure I would've ended up with more interventions. I wouldn't have been able to labor at home when I thought my water bag had broken, they would've wanted me to come in right away. And I needed those 6-7 hours between my water leaking and being admitted for my body to be ready.

I'm just glad I switched. All along I never imagined I'd have such a different labor experience than I had with Beanie. I just had this feeling that I should switch because I was so unhappy with the care received at the OB's office (and the whole bleeding-to-death comment by the OB sort of sealed the deal). Come to find out it was likely the best decision I ever made for 2.0 and myself. I thought about this A LOT after having 2.0. I just know things would not have turned out the same. I guess what I want to say the most, because maybe it will help someone somewhere) is that if, for any reason, you are uncomfortable with your care you should make the switch. You just never know how things will turn out and it's better to be in the care of someone you're comfortable with than someone you're not.

Bleh -- a change of plans.

Glenn got a call from one of his stores this afternoon and had to head out there this afternoon. On his day off. The day that I thought I just might actually get a bit of time to myself (besides a shwower). The day that it's nice out and I thought we could all go for a walk. The day I'm feeling blah and tired and down. Poo.

I did get a chance to write an article this morning (check out the Examiner linky in the sidebar) while Beanie was outside playing and Glenn was working on the shed.

Maybe it'll just be an extra-long shower kind of day!

Adventures in Nursing in Public

Sorry for my absence from the blog-o-sphere. I'm sure all you mommies understand. Glenn went back to work on Monday and I am sort of getting the hang of having two kiddos & being on my own from 6pm one evening until 1pm the next day. I promise to post a proper update on all things 2.0 soon, but for now I just need to toot my own horn a little.

I nursed in public with 2.0 for the first time the other day. We had headed up to the Tulip Festival on what was supposed to be the nicest day (weather-wise) of the week. We ended up getting there right around lunchtime so the plan was to stop and get something to eat and have Beanie pee on the potty. We ended up stopping at the only place in town that was open for lunch and had quite a long wait. I was secretly hoping 2.0 would wake up and be hungry while we were waiting for our food, but, no, he had his mommy radar on and woke up right after my food arrived.

But I didn't even give it a second thought. I pulled him up out of the carseat and nursed him in the restaurant. I did have an Udder Cover to help me feel more comfortable. I *never* would've felt comfortable doing that with Beanie, especially not at 3 weeks old. Okay, I NIP with her when I needed to but I always sort of felt like I would rather not. I don't know why, that was just how I felt, especially early on. When she was older I always was more comfortable nursing in the car or somewhere quiet because she was so curious and would pop off and want to know what was going on. But here I was in a packed restaurant nursing my 3 week old baby. Hooray for me. And I didn't even worry if anyone noticed. I mean, even with Beanie I was always sure I was more convinced people were noticing more than they actually were. I'm sure people have better things to do and look at than worry if I'm feeding my child. And, really, why should I care anyways? I'm not really comfortable (and wonder if I'd ever be) with whipping the boob out and nursing. I mean, if I'm at my house and have people over or whatever then more power to me. And if someone else is comfortable with whipping it out then more power to them. I'm glad I got the Udder Cover though because it really does make ME feel more comfortable nursing out and about. And, FSM knows, I'm not going to be able to just sit around the house and nurse the baby. Especially not with a three year old. Beanie and I need to get out of the house for sure. Otherwise we'll go insane. So, yay for me. I was super proud of my "accomplishment."

And, on a side note. The weather SUCKED the day we went to the Tulip Festival. Cold and biting winds. Poor Beanie's eyes were watering because it was so windy. We didn't stay long. I think 2.0 was the only warm one, all cozy in the Moby. Which is another thing I'm glad I've tried out this time around. How on earth did I live without it with Beanie who constantly wanted to be in my arms and held? Love, love, LOVE the Moby. And 2.0 does most of the time too.

Okay, that's all for now. We've been attempting to get out of the house all morning, but with a gassy baby, a tired mama and a silly toddler it's taken quite awhile. So long that I realized Beanie needed lunch before we could head out.