This momma is stressed. My baby girl has been sicky for about 3-4 days. Nothing serious - head cold, teething. Just means a LOT of bodily fluids for me to deal with. A lot. She has literally been leaking from every hole in her face since Sunday. She takes her elderberry syrup like a little champ, munches down her teething tablets and carries on as if nothing is wrong...until I piss her off.
Pissing her off these days is quite easy, actually. Changing her diaper. Taking a choking hazard out of her mouth. Putting her in her bouncy seat when she wants to be on the rug. When I commit any of these sins, I have a little Diana Ross on my hands - DIVA. She is quite adept at going from zero to DIVA in no time flat. Her little fists ball up and she throws her head backwards (one of these days, she's going to learn right-quick that this is not a good idea). She tenses her entire body up and has mini seizures. I swear - that is what it looks like. Simultaneously, of course, she is screaming. Like someone-is-stabbing-her screaming. The moment I correct my behavior, she is all forgiving and all smiles. But holy cow. Diana Ross.
This morning:
5:15 a.m. Call for the boob. I nurse her side-lying (wherein she sounds like a gremlin because she can't breathe through her nose) and we both fall back to sleep.
7:15 a.m. The first hair pull. This is her new (very efficient) way of waking me up. She smiles at me. I forget the hair pull and remember I love her.
7:18 a.m. I have taken as much hair-pulling as I possibly can.
7:19 a.m. I prop her up on the pillow next to my head and put on "her show" (Nick Jr. - the only time I typically let her watch television). I roll back over.
7:45 a.m. Hair pull. I smell her. This is not her typical overnight-soaked diaper. She crapped. God damn it, I can't ignore crap and let her sit in it.
7:50 a.m. Put her on her changing table, cue Diana Ross. Open her sleeper to realize this is not a quick diaper change - she literally has shit ALL over her. Covering her leg. Her foot. Up her stomach. Awesome. Zip her back up into the shit and carry her downstairs to run her tub.
8:00 a.m. (Have not yet peed, brushed my teeth or found my glasses) Diana Ross disappears and my daughter returns in her very nice tub. We play, I wash the crap off of her and she gives me kiss after kiss after kiss.
8:15 a.m. Lay her on the changing table to get her dressed. Diana is back. Great. I can't lie - I get a little mad at Diana. It's way too early and I should be the unhappy one with morning breath and blurry eyes.
8:20 a.m. She goes in her crib to play while I shower.
8:21 a.m. She thinks I have had enough alone time. Let the screaming commence. Forgive me, God, but I turn the shower water on and hop in where I can't hear her.
8:30 a.m. I am showered (if you can call it that in under 5 minutes), half-dressed and my teeth are brushed. I mean, I wouldn't chew one of those tablets that light up your mouth wherever it's disgusting, but they are brushed people. Be happy I am clean.
8:45 Take her downstairs to feed her breakfast because we usually do this BEFORE her tub but the crap got in the way. She eats bananas and then dried organic fruit. There are apples and blueberries. They are both completely dry and taste - eh. (I eat everything I give her - one of the rules I set for myself as a momma). The bag has about 99% apples and 1% blueberries. Guess what little Juliette Grace wants to eat? JUST the blueberries. I feed her bananas and pick out the dried blueberries and give her water, all while dancing to the song playing on my iPhone (she LOVES dancing).
9:00 a.m. Dance party in the kitchen. I play music, we dance, and I act as if there is nothing else I am supposed to do.
9:05 a.m. Sallie Mae calls. Reality check. Shit - that's right. Momma can't pay ALL her student loans every month and she needs to end this dance party and start working so she can at least continue to pay SOME of them.
The next hour and forty-five minutes is quite boring here. I log into work and try to get as much done while entertaining her on the floor next to me with about three gazillion toys (some are wooden and organic and are supposed to help her use her imagination, others light up and beep and make more noise than a damn jazz band). But she only likes to play with my foot. So I sit on the couch and work with my hands and entertain her with my feet. I wish I was kidding.
10:45 a.m. Diaper change. Diana Ross to the EXTREME because now she's tired and hungry. (Sallie Mae calls AGAIN. They are becoming more insistent. Guess I should log on and see how much money I canNOT pay them and then call and explain that to them. Again.)
10:50 a.m. I give her the boob until she is literally boob drunk.
11:00 a.m. Carry her to bed (I am super, super, ridiculously jealous).
11:02 a.m. Make tea that I will never drink (until it's ice cold and disgusting) and get to WORK.
That has been my morning. I am stressed today. I don't know why some days of this don't get to me but other days make me really, really tired. I should be contemplating all of this while working and not blogging though. Hopefully she sleeps for her typical 2 - 3 hour nap so I can regain my sanity and make some money :)
Love,
Momeo and Juliette (aka Diana Ross, Queen DIVA)
XOXO
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Christmas....Gifts....I Am Now One of "Those" Parents
Oh the times I chastised my sister: "Why are you buying SO much?!" "They're so LITTLE." "It's such a waste." "We're all so spoiled." And here it is, November 14th and I MUST cut myself off from shopping for her. It's crazy! FedEx and UPS keep coming and I stare at the boxes, thinking, "What ELSE did I order?!"
I am torn about it. One part of me thinks it is so unnecessary: she is only going to be 11 months old. She doesn't need anything. I could save the money for her. Hell, I could use the money for things that I need to pay for. I don't want to spoil her, I don't want to create this system where every year, I out-do myself and then she turns ten and I literally have to buy her a real life elephant or something.
But the other part of me makes excuses for why I should be buying these things: the toy kitchen promotes independent learning, the wooden toys I bought are safe and educational, the sensory toys will promote her imagination, they'll all last a really long time. She doesn't have many toys - it's not like she's the fourth child in the family and has buckets and bins of toys to choose from.
Am I crazy? What is typical, what is appropriate, for an 11 month old on their first Christmas? I fully intend on teaching her the value of money and the value of things. I will show her how to give back and pay things forward. But how do I handle this as a "good" parent?
I'm scared to see the result when I really go look at the pile that has been forming in the basement. I just keep carrying the boxes down there and figure I will open them when it's time to wrap. I'm scared. Is this just me?
Love,
Momeo and Juliette
XOXO
I am torn about it. One part of me thinks it is so unnecessary: she is only going to be 11 months old. She doesn't need anything. I could save the money for her. Hell, I could use the money for things that I need to pay for. I don't want to spoil her, I don't want to create this system where every year, I out-do myself and then she turns ten and I literally have to buy her a real life elephant or something.
But the other part of me makes excuses for why I should be buying these things: the toy kitchen promotes independent learning, the wooden toys I bought are safe and educational, the sensory toys will promote her imagination, they'll all last a really long time. She doesn't have many toys - it's not like she's the fourth child in the family and has buckets and bins of toys to choose from.
Am I crazy? What is typical, what is appropriate, for an 11 month old on their first Christmas? I fully intend on teaching her the value of money and the value of things. I will show her how to give back and pay things forward. But how do I handle this as a "good" parent?
I'm scared to see the result when I really go look at the pile that has been forming in the basement. I just keep carrying the boxes down there and figure I will open them when it's time to wrap. I'm scared. Is this just me?
Love,
Momeo and Juliette
XOXO
Saturday, November 9, 2013
RAKs - They Are Addicting - Try It!!!
So I only have a few moments because I have to leave to go pick up my daughter from F - yay!!! I am getting her back half hour earlier today which I am, of course, thrilled about!!! Every minute away from her is a very long minute wherein I feel a limb is missing....
But wanted to share with you some RAKs I have been doing in the hopes that it will motivate others to do the same. (RAK = random act of kindness) :) I have been very blessed in my life - very -and especially recently so (I still have not had time to post about my specific story but promise, promise, promise I will very soon). One of my vows was to never take it for granted and to try my best to pay it forward.
I started small: paid for the person behind me at Starbucks. It cost me about $4 and I am hoping put a smile on someone's face. (It out one on mine!) I then knew of a newly-single mom who had to move out of her home and needed supplies: I gave her all of the moving boxes I had and helped her load them in her car; it saved her a lot of money and hopefully reminded her that as a single momma, she is not alone! Today, I gave away my dryer. It works perfectly but I have a new one and this one had been sitting in my basement "in case" I needed it. I saw a fellow momma post in one of my Facebook groups that she needed a dryer. When I asked her why, she explained that she has three kiddos and her dryer takes three hours to dry five shirts! Imagine the frustration?! She's been hanging all of their clothes out to dry - probably not so much fun in the winter. I messaged her and told her I had a dryer here with her name on it - my father helped me get it upstairs and I cleaned it up so that it looked like new. Her husband came and picked it up this afternoon. I attached a card to it for her and her family challenging them to pay it forward with a RAK as well - she just reached out to me and promised to do so!
It's addicting - I swear!! I feel like my eyes are always on the lookout for someone that I can help, even with something very small. It made my day today, knowing that a momma somewhere out there tonight will be able to throw a load of wash into the dryer and hopefully breathe a sigh of relief. She can then go spend ten extra minutes with her kiddies that she has been spending hanging clothes! That makes me happy :)
As does going to get my baby girl right now....have a great, long weekend and go commit a RAK! You'll see what all the fuss is about!
Love,
Momeo and Juliette
XOXO
But wanted to share with you some RAKs I have been doing in the hopes that it will motivate others to do the same. (RAK = random act of kindness) :) I have been very blessed in my life - very -and especially recently so (I still have not had time to post about my specific story but promise, promise, promise I will very soon). One of my vows was to never take it for granted and to try my best to pay it forward.
I started small: paid for the person behind me at Starbucks. It cost me about $4 and I am hoping put a smile on someone's face. (It out one on mine!) I then knew of a newly-single mom who had to move out of her home and needed supplies: I gave her all of the moving boxes I had and helped her load them in her car; it saved her a lot of money and hopefully reminded her that as a single momma, she is not alone! Today, I gave away my dryer. It works perfectly but I have a new one and this one had been sitting in my basement "in case" I needed it. I saw a fellow momma post in one of my Facebook groups that she needed a dryer. When I asked her why, she explained that she has three kiddos and her dryer takes three hours to dry five shirts! Imagine the frustration?! She's been hanging all of their clothes out to dry - probably not so much fun in the winter. I messaged her and told her I had a dryer here with her name on it - my father helped me get it upstairs and I cleaned it up so that it looked like new. Her husband came and picked it up this afternoon. I attached a card to it for her and her family challenging them to pay it forward with a RAK as well - she just reached out to me and promised to do so!
It's addicting - I swear!! I feel like my eyes are always on the lookout for someone that I can help, even with something very small. It made my day today, knowing that a momma somewhere out there tonight will be able to throw a load of wash into the dryer and hopefully breathe a sigh of relief. She can then go spend ten extra minutes with her kiddies that she has been spending hanging clothes! That makes me happy :)
As does going to get my baby girl right now....have a great, long weekend and go commit a RAK! You'll see what all the fuss is about!
Love,
Momeo and Juliette
XOXO
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
My Lil Co-"Sleeper" and Eater
Ey yi yi. That is what I say at approximately 12:45 a.m. each night. And then again at 2:30 a.m. And then, sometime around 5:00 a.m. These are the times my lil co-sleeper has been awakening and demanding a boob in her mouth!
From about 8 weeks old until about 5 months old, Juliette was "sleeping through the night." It is in quotation marks because I have come to learn that means something different for different mommas. When I say it, it means that once I nursed her and put her down for the night (anywhere from 8 pm until 11 pm) she didn't wake up and require anything from me until at least 6 or 7 a.m. the next morning. Well, I'm glad I enjoyed it while it lasted.
Once she hit 5 months, she started going to bed earlier than she had been (closer to 7 p.m. a lot of nights) and so she would wake up for a feeding whenever I got into bed (around 10:30 - 11:30 p.m.). This was fairly convenient and so I didn't think twice or try to dissuade her. Sometime over the past four months, she has snuck in additional feedings throughout my sleeping hours!
Last night was as follows:
(1) Nursed both sides and in bed by 7:30 p.m.
(2) Woke and nursed one side (momma sitting up) at 10:15 p.m.
(3) Woke and nursed one side (momma lying down) at 12:30 a.m.
(4) Woke and nursed one side (momma lying down) at 3:20 a.m.
(5) Woke and nursed one side (momma lying down) at 6:00 a.m.
(6) Woke and nursed one side (momma sitting up) at 7:45 a.m.
Then, she is up for the day. She eats her breakfast of solids (a puree I make, typically a fruit or a fruit combo) at around 8:30/9:00 a.m. and then she nurses again before her morning nap (both sides for a full feeding) at around 10:45 a.m.
She will nurse whenever she wakes from her nap (typically around 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.) and will have her lunch of purees about an hour afterwards (3:30'ish) . She will then nurse again about an hour later before her second nap for the day. That nap usually lasts about an hour (4:30 - 5:30 p.m.). I then wait a bit to nurse her until closer to 6:30 (so that it has been at least two hours since the last feeding) and then I "top her off" before she goes to bed for the night around 7:30/8:00 p.m. (depending on whether F has her - she gets home at 7:45 p.m. on those two weeknights).
So - I am still a full-time dairy cow, 24/7. My goodness. I love nursing her, I am so glad that she has been exclusively breastfed. I know it is what is best for her. I just need to remind myself of that in the wee hours of the morning ;) But how can I deny her? She is a smart cookie: she knows what she wants and what she needs. The one night I attempted to 'talk her out of" a midnight feeding, it nearly broke my heart. The next day, she woke up with her first tooth and I felt awful that she may have been uncomfortable and looking to soothe herself. So she showed me - never again!
Speaking of which, I hear a lil babbling from the foodie right now...off I go to offer up my milk one more time. Nurse on, mommas! We got this! :)
Love,
Momeo and Juliette
XOXO
From about 8 weeks old until about 5 months old, Juliette was "sleeping through the night." It is in quotation marks because I have come to learn that means something different for different mommas. When I say it, it means that once I nursed her and put her down for the night (anywhere from 8 pm until 11 pm) she didn't wake up and require anything from me until at least 6 or 7 a.m. the next morning. Well, I'm glad I enjoyed it while it lasted.
Once she hit 5 months, she started going to bed earlier than she had been (closer to 7 p.m. a lot of nights) and so she would wake up for a feeding whenever I got into bed (around 10:30 - 11:30 p.m.). This was fairly convenient and so I didn't think twice or try to dissuade her. Sometime over the past four months, she has snuck in additional feedings throughout my sleeping hours!
Last night was as follows:
(1) Nursed both sides and in bed by 7:30 p.m.
(2) Woke and nursed one side (momma sitting up) at 10:15 p.m.
(3) Woke and nursed one side (momma lying down) at 12:30 a.m.
(4) Woke and nursed one side (momma lying down) at 3:20 a.m.
(5) Woke and nursed one side (momma lying down) at 6:00 a.m.
(6) Woke and nursed one side (momma sitting up) at 7:45 a.m.
Then, she is up for the day. She eats her breakfast of solids (a puree I make, typically a fruit or a fruit combo) at around 8:30/9:00 a.m. and then she nurses again before her morning nap (both sides for a full feeding) at around 10:45 a.m.
She will nurse whenever she wakes from her nap (typically around 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.) and will have her lunch of purees about an hour afterwards (3:30'ish) . She will then nurse again about an hour later before her second nap for the day. That nap usually lasts about an hour (4:30 - 5:30 p.m.). I then wait a bit to nurse her until closer to 6:30 (so that it has been at least two hours since the last feeding) and then I "top her off" before she goes to bed for the night around 7:30/8:00 p.m. (depending on whether F has her - she gets home at 7:45 p.m. on those two weeknights).
So - I am still a full-time dairy cow, 24/7. My goodness. I love nursing her, I am so glad that she has been exclusively breastfed. I know it is what is best for her. I just need to remind myself of that in the wee hours of the morning ;) But how can I deny her? She is a smart cookie: she knows what she wants and what she needs. The one night I attempted to 'talk her out of" a midnight feeding, it nearly broke my heart. The next day, she woke up with her first tooth and I felt awful that she may have been uncomfortable and looking to soothe herself. So she showed me - never again!
Speaking of which, I hear a lil babbling from the foodie right now...off I go to offer up my milk one more time. Nurse on, mommas! We got this! :)
Love,
Momeo and Juliette
XOXO
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