Time will tell... But so far I am loving this little dream machine!!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Merry Early Christmas to Me!!
Santa delivered a MacBook Pro a month early!! YAY!! I'm hoping that both a computer that doesn't freeze up and the change to a laptop will make the internet more accessible to me!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Socially disabled
I understand now...
My mom always use to tell me that when she was raising us she would have moments when she would crave adult interaction... lots of them in fact. Which made sense, I had a taste of what being around kids a lot was like... But its different but not... and its only the beginning, I don't think I do truely understand just what she meant just yet... in fact I dont think I am making any sense writing this blog.
Thus far I feel like I have become inept in holding a conversation. I guess for me I feel like I don't have much to bring to the conversation. My life is taking care of Maggie, and I have found I love what I do, and Seana loves what I do so talking to her comes with ease. However, there isn't a whole lot to share about my day to my friends or visitors.
Maggie does like 5 things in a day: sleeps, eats, poops, cries and looks around. These 5 things... well 4 things... the sleeping doesn't really count... it takes up the majority of my day. (Which by the way, I love watching her when she is looking around and learning). When talking to someone these items can be covered in less than a minute... I don't think the majority of my pals want a run down of how Maggie poos so for most Maggie topics less is more.... well that and I also don't want to become one of those moms that can't talk about anything but her baby.
So Im feeling a little out of touch with adults... like my Mom I crave adult interaction but once I am in it's presence... I have almost nothing to say. I don't really have an outlet or rather an inlet of other topics to converse about... unless it's on netflix instant download Im at a loss.
Some of this I think has been compounded by our public restrictions, I do have a bit of cabin fever. It's not too out of control, Im content most days watching a movie with my favorite little lady napping on my chest. I just wish I had more to say when I am graced with another person who can say more than just vowels.
My mom always use to tell me that when she was raising us she would have moments when she would crave adult interaction... lots of them in fact. Which made sense, I had a taste of what being around kids a lot was like... But its different but not... and its only the beginning, I don't think I do truely understand just what she meant just yet... in fact I dont think I am making any sense writing this blog.
Thus far I feel like I have become inept in holding a conversation. I guess for me I feel like I don't have much to bring to the conversation. My life is taking care of Maggie, and I have found I love what I do, and Seana loves what I do so talking to her comes with ease. However, there isn't a whole lot to share about my day to my friends or visitors.
Maggie does like 5 things in a day: sleeps, eats, poops, cries and looks around. These 5 things... well 4 things... the sleeping doesn't really count... it takes up the majority of my day. (Which by the way, I love watching her when she is looking around and learning). When talking to someone these items can be covered in less than a minute... I don't think the majority of my pals want a run down of how Maggie poos so for most Maggie topics less is more.... well that and I also don't want to become one of those moms that can't talk about anything but her baby.
So Im feeling a little out of touch with adults... like my Mom I crave adult interaction but once I am in it's presence... I have almost nothing to say. I don't really have an outlet or rather an inlet of other topics to converse about... unless it's on netflix instant download Im at a loss.
Some of this I think has been compounded by our public restrictions, I do have a bit of cabin fever. It's not too out of control, Im content most days watching a movie with my favorite little lady napping on my chest. I just wish I had more to say when I am graced with another person who can say more than just vowels.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Cloth Diapers
If you recall back in July... I took the leap and bought cloth diapers that were going to last us up to 5 months...
Well....
The size I purchased are for babies up to 15 lbs, and the covers are for newborns up to 11 lbs. I knew I was going to have to go up a size and buy more covers as she got older.
Here is the wrench... By the time we left the hospital she was 11 lbs. So the diaper fits... just barely... the covers however... well they don't fit. Our baby girl is just bigger than we anticipated.
The contemplation begins... should we just get the next size covers for the next 4 lbs of her life... or should we start from scratch.
Since she seems to be growing pretty fast we bit the bullet and are starting from scratch. We bought FLIPS which are a product by Bumgenius. These diapers are a one size diaper... which means the diaper grows with the baby. It covers babies from 8 lbs to 35 lbs. I don't know what the average age of a baby is that weighs 35 lbs but I do know our infant car seat only goes up to 30 lbs so I think we have some time before she outgrows these cuties!
Well....
The size I purchased are for babies up to 15 lbs, and the covers are for newborns up to 11 lbs. I knew I was going to have to go up a size and buy more covers as she got older.
Here is the wrench... By the time we left the hospital she was 11 lbs. So the diaper fits... just barely... the covers however... well they don't fit. Our baby girl is just bigger than we anticipated.
The contemplation begins... should we just get the next size covers for the next 4 lbs of her life... or should we start from scratch.
Since she seems to be growing pretty fast we bit the bullet and are starting from scratch. We bought FLIPS which are a product by Bumgenius. These diapers are a one size diaper... which means the diaper grows with the baby. It covers babies from 8 lbs to 35 lbs. I don't know what the average age of a baby is that weighs 35 lbs but I do know our infant car seat only goes up to 30 lbs so I think we have some time before she outgrows these cuties!
our Growing Girl
Since getting Maggie home she has had two visits to our pediatrician.
Her first visit was on October 27th a day shy of 6 weeks... She weighed 11 lbs 5 oz, Her length 23 1/4". Which puts her in the 96th percentile for her age. Hard to believe that out of 100 babies statistically there were only 4 babies bigger than our Maggie.
On her second visit which was November 10th a day shy of 8 weeks... She weighed 12 lbs 1 oz, her length 23 1/2". Which puts her in the 84th percentile for her age. So her time at home has slowed down her growth rate, which is good, we want her to be gaining weight but she doesn't have to be the biggest baby in town! Although the competitive part of me wants her to stay in the 96th percentile... in my head that is an "A" right!? But in reality where she ranks doesn't matter as long as she is healthy.
Which brings me to clothes...
We are transitioning already from the 0 to 3 month size to the 3 to 6 month size. I have attempted to put on many outfits with no luck she has already outgrown almost all of them! Although our Maggie is turning 2 months this week she just doesn't fit the clothes for that age. This makes me wonder why outfits are by age....they should be by weight. In my eyes she is just physically advanced!
Here are some photos of her in some of the outfits we received as gifts that don't fit already or are on there way out:
Her first visit was on October 27th a day shy of 6 weeks... She weighed 11 lbs 5 oz, Her length 23 1/4". Which puts her in the 96th percentile for her age. Hard to believe that out of 100 babies statistically there were only 4 babies bigger than our Maggie.
On her second visit which was November 10th a day shy of 8 weeks... She weighed 12 lbs 1 oz, her length 23 1/2". Which puts her in the 84th percentile for her age. So her time at home has slowed down her growth rate, which is good, we want her to be gaining weight but she doesn't have to be the biggest baby in town! Although the competitive part of me wants her to stay in the 96th percentile... in my head that is an "A" right!? But in reality where she ranks doesn't matter as long as she is healthy.
Which brings me to clothes...
We are transitioning already from the 0 to 3 month size to the 3 to 6 month size. I have attempted to put on many outfits with no luck she has already outgrown almost all of them! Although our Maggie is turning 2 months this week she just doesn't fit the clothes for that age. This makes me wonder why outfits are by age....they should be by weight. In my eyes she is just physically advanced!
Here are some photos of her in some of the outfits we received as gifts that don't fit already or are on there way out:
Trick or Treat!
Growing up my family didn't celebrate Halloween. I always felt like I missed out.... on what? Well CANDY of course.
My parents were quite religious when I was younger and since Halloween is a pagan holiday we weren't allowed to take part of any part of it... if it was on a weekday... we didn't go to school that day. Once I reached adulthood, I dabbled in celebrating, but I always felt guilty for it. Yep guilty for dressing up and going to a party.
So when raising our daughter I have of course pondered whether to take part in this holiday or not. And I say "Bring on the Candy and leave the guilt behind". To Americans this holiday is no longer about it's pagan roots it is about dressing up and getting or giving candy... or maybe a good scare. There really is nothing to feel guilty about.
Here are some photos of our little chili pepper celebrating her first Halloween!
We had to test her costume on our unsuspecting pets first!
Ready to hit the streets!
Getting used to being a chili pepper
My parents were quite religious when I was younger and since Halloween is a pagan holiday we weren't allowed to take part of any part of it... if it was on a weekday... we didn't go to school that day. Once I reached adulthood, I dabbled in celebrating, but I always felt guilty for it. Yep guilty for dressing up and going to a party.
So when raising our daughter I have of course pondered whether to take part in this holiday or not. And I say "Bring on the Candy and leave the guilt behind". To Americans this holiday is no longer about it's pagan roots it is about dressing up and getting or giving candy... or maybe a good scare. There really is nothing to feel guilty about.
Here are some photos of our little chili pepper celebrating her first Halloween!
We had to test her costume on our unsuspecting pets first!
Ready to hit the streets!
Getting used to being a chili pepper
Since Maggie's lungs are still healing and we are on public restrictions, we picked 4 houses to visit in our neighborhood, all neighbors we know. So trick or treating this year was short but sweet. And her Mommies got some candy!
Giggles and Coos
What I have learned so far...
1. All hats and hoods should come with little bear ears on them.
2. Pooping in a fresh clean diaper is a baby's favorite.
3. Positioning yourself and a new diaper are crucial... even the smallest toot can project poo right onto your shirt.
4. Bath time is a great time to pee on Mommy either on your way in or on your way out of the water.
5. Timing is everything, as soon as I start doing something productive, Maggie needs something... but ironically if I feel like being unproductive she sleeps for hours.
6. Any topic can be turned into a song.
7. Abba and Neil Diamond are awesome for dancing with a baby!
8. Eating and typing are quite challenging when holding a baby.
9. Eating ribs while holding a baby is close to impossible.
10. Spit up and Poo can happen at the same time... and getting them on myself doesn't gross me out.
11. Nothing beats waking up to giggles and coos, Maggie's smile makes my heart overflow with happiness.
Holy Crap we are parents
Like Seana said, nothing prepares you for when you bring a baby home. I have to say that having a baby in the NICU makes the parenthood transition become two steps instead of one.
While Maggie was in the hospital, we were parents during the day tending to her, sitting at her bedside, working with her "goals"; but at night it was just the two of us with no parental responsibilities. I kept a pumping schedule through out the night so I got up twice a night to pump but that only took half an hour in hindsight this was a drop in the bucket compared to tending to a baby in the middle of the night. Our nights were like we never had a baby, but at the same time all of our conversations were about Maggie our baby. We were parents in waiting if you will.
Bringing Maggie home was an exciting and quite chaotic day. I thought we were prepared but we were far from it. Before her birth I had done all this prepping and organizing... well 6 weeks later we just weren't organized anymore... some of it was due to the time lapse but a lot of it was when I organized I didnt know how our days would be spent so things were set up in an inefficient manner. As you can imagine this disorganization mixed with our insecurities of having her on our own made it for an intense first couple hours!
You will be happy to know we survived! And like all parents, we have started to figure it all out. Tomorrow we will be 3 weeks in to having her home and everyday she teaches us something new. With all that said, I still can't believe we are parents! It's a title that will take some getting used to. I just can't believe we are grown up enough to raise another human being... heck I still can't believe my body created another person... I can't tell you how many times Seana and I have looked at her and said " wow she is a person". Some how stating the obvious doesn't seem to capture our awe at this feat and it doesn't make it more real... because for now it all feels surreal. I wonder when it will all finally sink in.
While Maggie was in the hospital, we were parents during the day tending to her, sitting at her bedside, working with her "goals"; but at night it was just the two of us with no parental responsibilities. I kept a pumping schedule through out the night so I got up twice a night to pump but that only took half an hour in hindsight this was a drop in the bucket compared to tending to a baby in the middle of the night. Our nights were like we never had a baby, but at the same time all of our conversations were about Maggie our baby. We were parents in waiting if you will.
Bringing Maggie home was an exciting and quite chaotic day. I thought we were prepared but we were far from it. Before her birth I had done all this prepping and organizing... well 6 weeks later we just weren't organized anymore... some of it was due to the time lapse but a lot of it was when I organized I didnt know how our days would be spent so things were set up in an inefficient manner. As you can imagine this disorganization mixed with our insecurities of having her on our own made it for an intense first couple hours!
You will be happy to know we survived! And like all parents, we have started to figure it all out. Tomorrow we will be 3 weeks in to having her home and everyday she teaches us something new. With all that said, I still can't believe we are parents! It's a title that will take some getting used to. I just can't believe we are grown up enough to raise another human being... heck I still can't believe my body created another person... I can't tell you how many times Seana and I have looked at her and said " wow she is a person". Some how stating the obvious doesn't seem to capture our awe at this feat and it doesn't make it more real... because for now it all feels surreal. I wonder when it will all finally sink in.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
At 7 weeks, she wants what she wants
So I thought I would just jot a few things about Maggie so far. I have a feeling this maybe a small sample of her personality
1. She has thrown all our plans out the window. Including using all the cloth diapers we bought. She was so big when she was born and now she is 11 pounds 6 ounces that she never fit in her cloth diapers or a huge stack of new born clothes
2. She already eats 3-4 ounces a feeding
3. She is independent and cries if she wants to be put down so she can watch her "animals" which is a mobile above her crib.
4. She already smiles, coos, interacts with you and tries to grab things. She can also hold her head up.
5. She lights up when Melissa talks to her - which melts my heart
6. She seems to have bad dreams once in awhile and wakes up crying from them. I think she remembers bad stuff from the hospital
7. She loves to lounge on the changing table and smiles off into space.
8. She "huffs and puffs" almost pants when she is about to throw a fit over something. It is like an early warning system.
9. She is wearing 3-6 month clothes already.
10. Her hair seems to be changing from brown to redish blonde. But it still naturally makes a mohawk. Which I love.
1. She has thrown all our plans out the window. Including using all the cloth diapers we bought. She was so big when she was born and now she is 11 pounds 6 ounces that she never fit in her cloth diapers or a huge stack of new born clothes
2. She already eats 3-4 ounces a feeding
3. She is independent and cries if she wants to be put down so she can watch her "animals" which is a mobile above her crib.
4. She already smiles, coos, interacts with you and tries to grab things. She can also hold her head up.
5. She lights up when Melissa talks to her - which melts my heart
6. She seems to have bad dreams once in awhile and wakes up crying from them. I think she remembers bad stuff from the hospital
7. She loves to lounge on the changing table and smiles off into space.
8. She "huffs and puffs" almost pants when she is about to throw a fit over something. It is like an early warning system.
9. She is wearing 3-6 month clothes already.
10. Her hair seems to be changing from brown to redish blonde. But it still naturally makes a mohawk. Which I love.
Hitchhike to the hospital
So as you all know, Maggie is home. I have been wanting to catch up the story but having a baby really cuts into your blog time. There are a few things I wanted to share.
One. The day you say to yourself "Surely they won't release her today:" is the day they will in fact release her. And you will be stuck at work begging an ex employee for a ride to the hospital. I considered hitch hiking, but I figured that was not the best solution.
Two. Regardless of how many hours you have spent tending to your child in a hospital, nothing can prepare you for the chaos of having them at home. First there was the dogs incessant whining because they wanted us to put the new "puppy" on the ground for inspection. Then there was the fact you have no nurses to pawn the baby off to when you are tired and want to sleep. And lastly there is the wonderful truth that the baby is yours to keep.
What I have learned so far
1. Maggie likes the changing table. When she is cranky, I can change her diaper and she is happy. Even if the diaper is clean.
2. Three hours of nonstop crying can be erased by 1 minute of her smiling.
3. Having her on home restrictions for 8 weeks makes us both a little stir crazy
4. I find myself wanting to make more money at work so I can save for her school, buy her baby supplies and yes ... get a baby sitter now and then.
5. I have no idea how to put a baby on a schedule,. But I do know Maggie knows how to throw any schedule I have made out the window.
6. Without Melissa, I have no idea how I would survive this transition. She has been amazing and it just makes me love her more that she gave us the gift of a family. I am truly blessed.
Now pray for us as tomorrow is Maggie's first set of shots. Oh boy.
One. The day you say to yourself "Surely they won't release her today:" is the day they will in fact release her. And you will be stuck at work begging an ex employee for a ride to the hospital. I considered hitch hiking, but I figured that was not the best solution.
Two. Regardless of how many hours you have spent tending to your child in a hospital, nothing can prepare you for the chaos of having them at home. First there was the dogs incessant whining because they wanted us to put the new "puppy" on the ground for inspection. Then there was the fact you have no nurses to pawn the baby off to when you are tired and want to sleep. And lastly there is the wonderful truth that the baby is yours to keep.
What I have learned so far
1. Maggie likes the changing table. When she is cranky, I can change her diaper and she is happy. Even if the diaper is clean.
2. Three hours of nonstop crying can be erased by 1 minute of her smiling.
3. Having her on home restrictions for 8 weeks makes us both a little stir crazy
4. I find myself wanting to make more money at work so I can save for her school, buy her baby supplies and yes ... get a baby sitter now and then.
5. I have no idea how to put a baby on a schedule,. But I do know Maggie knows how to throw any schedule I have made out the window.
6. Without Melissa, I have no idea how I would survive this transition. She has been amazing and it just makes me love her more that she gave us the gift of a family. I am truly blessed.
Now pray for us as tomorrow is Maggie's first set of shots. Oh boy.
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