To Mommies

First off, a few cool things that I have encountered in relation to dealing with businesses. For those of you who have recently given birth and were hardly sent away with any hospital goodies, here is a treat for you. If you call Similac (1-800-232-7677), they will give you a free backpack/diaper bag just for giving birth, cool right? Well you won't be able to pick out whether you get a backpack or diaper bag, you will receive one or the other in just 7-10 business days. All you need to do is call, let them know when you gave birth and at what hospital, simple as that. I received mine very shortly after I called, it was a small black backpack (convenient if you don't want to bring a your full diaper bag).
     Secondly, I recently had my motor give out in our baby swing (something in which I heavily relied on to get a few extra hours of sleep) and I was told by a friend of mine to give the company, Fisher Price, a call and see what they could do about it. In his situation they sent him a check for a new swing, but in my case, I called and received a brand new swing motor in just 4 days for free! Not bad I say.

So, Judah has had some pretty bad gas issues as of late and I was at my wits end about it because the poor guy wasn't getting any sleep with all his gas pains. I was told Mylicon drops, Gripe Water, and plain old warm water would help. So out of those I picked Gripe Water (I was going to try warm water but Judah refuses to take a bottle). It did seem to work for a while but like all things it lost its effectiveness rather quickly. I liked the fact that at first it worked, but there are definitely more cons about GW than pros. For instance, its very sticky on the skin, it goes bad within 4 weeks, and you often need to keep it in the refrigerator, which is not very accessible when you need to be in the nursery and you are stumbling around the house because its 2 A.M. Before I tried any of the other options I had done some researching online and I did come upon something called Colic Calm, which is all natural and does not contain Sodium Bicarbonate or any other unnecessary additives. It is 100% money back guaranteed and is supposed to work instantly.  In my opinion, it does have a pretty quick effect. The only odd thing about it is that it has a very dark color and can temporarily darken the color of their stools. If you can get past that I say go for it, it works.

Since Judah's birth, on top of the gas issues, I have dealt with thrush, heat rash, a fever of 103, pretty bad sleeping habits, and an apparent milk allergy, which has me off all milk products until further notice.  His thrush, which I have no clue where it came from since he was born cesarean, was evident in his mouth because he had the classic white patches.  Although we've been dealing with that for months its under control because we got a prescription for that right away.  I did read that a mixture of 1 tbspn vinegar with 1 cup water could kill the fungus when rubbed on surfaces the mouth touches (good for breastfeeding moms, although I can't imagine that would taste very good to baby). Although harmless, thrush is a big pain in the rear.  I have sanitized, medicated, washed, and sterilized everything that has touched his lips up to my ears and I'm not sure its going to go away until he's done breastfeeding. At least I haven't contracted it myself  because I hear it hurts awfully bad.
     Now the heat rash Judah got was a result of a domino effect.  He has a milk allergy (an allergy to protein in dairy products), which caused blood in his stools.  A side effect of a milk allergy is eczema and the only way to treat eczema is with topical lotions.  I had used various lotions such as Eucerin and Aveeno and both made him very red (he inherited his parents super sensitive skin I guess).  So, of course it being Summer time when this all started, his skin got sweaty and he had a reaction that made his skin seem to literally peel off, gross I know.  We ended up getting a prescription for an eczema cream and his skin is 1000 x's better.
     I think the worst of all his ailments and allergies was when he got sick and had a fever of 103 out of the blue!  One night he had a terrible time sleeping and was breathing rather heavily.  He also had projectile thrown up on me just before bed.  I didn't think anything of any of it until I went to nurse him and felt his skin was on fire.  It was scary needless to say.  The next day we spent 2 hours at the doctor's office as they ran different tests.  Judah was so inconsolable I actually started crying in the room he was being examined in, it was heart breaking.  When we had gotten home we needed to take a nap desperately and the poor guy who that day could only sleep while on me was sweating through his blanket and we were both soaked.  It was a true picture of being a mother. Finally, when all was said and done he had two viles of blood drawn, a shot of antibiotics, and a set of x-rays done at the hospital along with a follow-up appointment the very next day.  Luckily his fever went down within just a few days with a little Tylenol and love.


On a lighter note I just wanted to share a few baby related websites I often like to enjoy: kids.woot.com, babysteals.com, kidsteals.com. These sites are the type of deal when you can buy the item advertised on that day only. I must say the deals go fast, especially on babysteals.com, but let me tell you, they have such cool stuff! Kidsteals.com is great too but obviously for those with older kiddies, although sometimes they sell full sized minky blankets for adults and well who wouldn't want that on their bed? Check those out, it might be worth it!

There is certainly more to the story of Judah's sleeping habits, but for those of you who were wondering how they are, he would get "Most Improved" in a classroom of babies.  I am very proud (and rested).

Full time mothering...

On this latest hiatus, I have basically perfected...well...managed to develop...well no...ok, let's be honest...TRIED to begin a routine with my son. Not to say that I haven't gotten better or that the newness of being a parent has fully worn off, but I do feel a little more confident in my everyday tasks and duties. The house isn't a mess, the dishes get done (most days), I get to get out of the house and enjoy time with friends, I am able to attend most chapel meetings, and even get to spend some special time with my husband watching Disney movies and Nickelodeon cartoons. My weeks are filled with feedings, diapering, nap giving, errands, playing with Judah, seeing/entertaining grandparents, meeting up with friends whether it be walking at Buttonwood Park, the breastfeeding support group, or visiting them at their homes. So, I guess you could say that's been what's up in a snapshot.

Speaking of snapshot, I just received my uber early Christmas gift, a Canon T1i camera. The main purpose of having it at all would be to capture, in sweet quality, all the important and cute moments of Judah growing up and if I waited until Christmas, I'd miss 3 good growing months! Even though in my preference I like ALL gifts given on the day of Christmas and prefer them wrapped in wrapping paper (so I can slowly uncover the gift inside) and not a bag (not that I don't appreciate gifts in all forms), I made this exception seeing as though besides the Lord and my husband, Judah takes some pretty high precedence. But, I digress...

..Okay, can I just say that I LOVE MY JOB?! Yes, the job of being a stay at home mother. I love being a mother and especially being one to my little bunny Judah. He is wonderful and words can't begin to describe how much love he makes me feel. He has really started to develop a personality that includes big smiles, loud laughter, kicking with excitement when he sees his parents (Me and Timm, yay!), and he actually plays little games with us. He not only plays games but definitely likes playing them over playing with toys. I know this because his reactions reveal it all. He laughs and smiles so immensely at us its heart melting. One thing Judah loves to do is have "conversations" with us. For example, he will coo at me, I will imitate his coo, he will then laugh and coo, I will imitate his coo again, and this will go on for like a good 5 minutes. It is so amazing to see him respond to me while making eye contact. Another one of Judah's sweet skills is he is a pro at grabbing things that are hanging above him and putting them straight in his mouth. His hand eye coordination is really developing strong. Another thing getting strong are his legs. It seems as though all he wants to do is stand. He loves to stand especially when looking at his favorite Mickey picture. Judah stretches up so high its like he wants to just reach out and grab it or fly right up to it. Judah really is an amazing boy and is the second biggest blessing my life.

Now, as for me personally I am ALMOST back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 125 lbs. I am hanging in there in the mid 130's right now. Seems like the weight just melted off then as I got to the last 15 or so lbs the weight loss slowed. But I don't think that's bad at all considering I gained 45+! Who knows how much more weight I would have gained if I actually delivered close to my real due date. Since I lost most of my weight, I was able to go shopping with my dad to get some new clothes. I have noticed I have gone up a pants size, but I believe its due to my hips and body changing shape after carrying around a baby for nearly 9 full months. While I was shopping I have found that the Gap Outlet at Wrentham Village rocks! Wrentham has highly improved since I have been there 3 years ago. They now have stores such as Coach, Ugg, and Burberry. I don't shop at any of the previous listed stores but its neat to see some higher end shops to bring in a more diverse crowd and trust me there is lots of diversity at the Wrentham Outlets; its actually something I kind of miss, almost like being back at college again. Anyway, Wrentham now has an Ann Taylor Loft Outlet too, which I love ATL! WV is definitely worth the ride, check it out on a nice weather day, except Saturday, its a madhouse!

One thing I am really looking forward to is watching the third installment of the Twilight Series: Eclipse. It came out in theaters just 10 days after I delivered so I missed it and now must wait patiently for its DVD release on December 4th, which I bet I will receive as gift at Christmas time. I am also really looking forward to Christmas this year because there are SO many people who haven't met Judah and this is going to be our first year with him and it is going to be so special. He will be 6 months and 5 days on Christmas and I am sure he will look much different and will have some new skills to show off. He truly is changing everyday.

Last but not least, I have been reading Proverbs lately and am in love with them. Now that I'm a mother I see everything with a new perspective and I see the Proverbs as a great teaching that Judah will someday learn because it demonstrates how to obtain understanding, wisdom, and honor among God and man, which is pretty supreme living. For now its through my demonstration that he'll learn because I know he's always watching and so is the Lord. I am just excited to one day teach my son these wise words. Well, I think that's all for now. I'll try to keep it up more often, maybe once I get that routine down ;)