Things I have learned since having a baby

1. Breast fed babies may only poop once a week (after the 8^th week).
2. Baby bibs will save you changing the baby even before they eat solids. Lots of drool and spit up.
3. Bouncer chairs will let you shower.
4. You won’t care how often you shower.
5. During the first 6 weeks after giving birth, wearing something other than pjs will be dressed up. Sweats are fancy. I still think they are fancy and Davey is 10 months old.
   
6. Babies don’t do much during the first weeks. You will move them from station to station (ie bouncy chair to swing to playmat). It seems like it is mostly for your entertainment at this point but the baby is learning new stuff all the time.
7. When you get the ok to exercise from your doctor, don’t do 150 crunches during your first exercise session even if they seem easy. Trust me. The next day it hurt to cough or laugh.
8. Post partum hormones are brutal. You probably will have days where you want to cry all day for no apparent reason or due to the fact having a baby can be overwhelming. This is normal. Make your husband hug you and then watch the baby for a while. Talk to your doctor if it is not getting better after a couple weeks.
9. It is important to get out for a little time each day by yourself. Before I could exercise I would walk the dog in the fenced in backyard for 15 minutes. Fresh air can make you feel a million times better.
10. Breastfeeding hurts! Even when you do it right. It hurts for a while. Talk to a lactation consultant or go to a class. Besides it hurting you will worry that you are doing something wrong or that the baby isn’t getting enough food. Diaper counts can be very reassuring. It is also very satisfying. When you see the content look on your baby you feel great.
11. Breastfed babies have poop like nothing you have ever seen before. It can not be contained to just the diaper. Your baby will be covered from toe to neck at times. Just hope it doesn’t happen when you are out. You just have to laugh at the absurdity of it.
12. Breastfeeding steals moisture needed for your bodily functions. Sometimes lube is not enough to make things pleasant. Oral sex may be the only sex that you are having. (When you are not too tired.)
13. 13. No one can explain how much you will love your baby. People try but you can’t understand until you hold your little one in your arms. You just know that you would do anything for your baby and want only the best for them.
    There are some things a girlfriend will only tell you about having kids, like your baby can spit up in your hair and you won't care. Check out this blog blast in conjunction with Discovery Channel's new show "Deliver Me," write your own post about what you wish your girlfriends had told you about having babies, and win some prizes!

The D word

I know I haven't written about the diet in a while. That usually means the diet failed. That is the case again. I did Weight Watchers for 2 months and lost 2 pounds. I followed the program and that was all I lost. I pretty much said eff that. It is so not worth tracking everything I eat and only lose a pound a month. Then I saw a rather unflattering photo of myself. So I'm back on the diet starting today. Time to get rid of all the Peeps and Girl Scout cookies. (If there is a God, there will be calorie free Samoas in heaven.) Fortunately I have eaten almost all of the cookies already. Even if the weight lose is painfully slow while breastfeeding it is better than the scale creeping up in the other direction. My body just doesn't want to lose weight (after the first 6 weeks) while breastfeeding.

I'm trying to figure out how to amp up my workouts too. I have an elliptical machine I use regularly. I am starting intervals next workout. I jogged/walked in our fenced in yard today while the kids slept. I listen to the monitor snap, crackle, and pop as I move out of range. I feel a little crazy running in circles but it is the only way to fit a jogging workout in. I've thought about getting a double jog stroller and taking the kids for a jog once the weather is warm enough. But the strollers are pretty expensive and I'm not sure if the kids will tolerate sitting still side by side for 30+ minutes. I've thought about joining a gym but I totally don't have time to go. I feel guilty if I leave to workout while Dave is home. Neither one of us gets a lot of child free time.

So this is my struggle. It is tough but I need to make changes to how I eat. I always gained weight over my summer breaks. Being home there is more temptation than what I would bring to work. It has been almost 3 years staying at home. You would think I figured it out by now. But I still need to figure out how to avoid that emotional eating and that plain old this tastes good eating. I see lots of baby carrots in my future.

They reproduced...

Remember these?

Howard Stern toddler?

Every night Dave and I tuck Caitlin into bed. We snuggle. She hugs our necks. Very sweet. Then she speaks gibberish. She sounds like a Howard Stern show although she doesn't seem to know her gibberish is forming a string of obscenities. It is hard not to laugh.

Time to go shopping...

You know it is time to go shopping when you are packing up your maternity clothes for a friend and think damn I had some cute clothes and more choices than I do now. I haven't brought very many new clothes because I keep thinking I'm going to lose weight and soon fit into my old clothes. My baby is 10 months old, the weight is not exactly flying off. I think it is time to buy a few items so I feel better about myself when I get dressed. I'm still trying to lose the weight. I've just become a little more realistic that it is not coming off very quickly at least until I wean Davey. And I'm not quite ready to do that yet.

Thougths that kept me up last night...

• Planning Caitlin (3) and Richie's (1) birthday party
• Who to invite?
• Do people feel obligated to come or do they really want to come?
• Keep it real small or big ole BBQ?
• I should exercise tomorrow. I'll run in the yard with the monitor on. Yeah I should go running now! Maybe I'll get the exercise mat out of the basement and do some handstands. That would be fun and good for my arms. I'm so motivated!
• I really need to dust. Gosh I hate dusty.
• Should I do a Mickey Mouse theme for the party? Will she hate Mickey by that time?
  
• When should we have the party? (The kids are 19 days apart.)
• Maybe I should get up and blog now.
• I'll write about the birthday party prep, story time disappointment, and other things I can't remember anymore.
• What should I cook for dinner tomorrow?
• I forgot to get the laundry out of the washer. Must remember in the morning.
• I'm so jealous that Maximus can get to sleep so fast while laying on my feet.
• Must get to sleep.

I felt like I had speed at dinner rather than one diet Coke with caffeine. Can you tell I usually avoid it?

Cool mom or plain bad mom?

Edited to correct the spelling of the Beastie Boys. D'oh!

We were driving along listening to a CD when I hear Caitlin singing along to the Beasty Boys' Fight for your Right (to Party). Does that make me a cool mom or just plain bad? I guess she really is listening to the music since she knew most of the words. The song is pretty clean for the Beastie Boys. The only really bad line is "Your mom threw out your best porno mag." I felt really proud as Caitlin sang it. If it redeems me at all she also sang along to the Leap Frog kiddie songs and the Beatles' Strawberry Fields.

Remember these?

Remember these? Caitlin thought they should be displayed.

Cookies anyone?

So Caitlin went to the in laws for a sleep over this weekend. She had a great time. I'm glad she has grandparents around to spend time with. They are great but...enough with the frosted animal crackers. Everytime she goes to their house she comes back with a completely full bag of them. Does she eat them? Not at our home. She only seems to eats them at their house. I offer them but she always says no. So who ends up eating the entire bag of yummy frosted animal crackers? You guessed it, me.

PS They know I'm trying to lose the baby weight. This is so not helping.

Blog Party

I'm inviting everyone to join me for the blog party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. It is a way of finding lots of cool blogs to read. There are prizes too. Be sure to check it out.

Here's my intro:
My name is Vicky. I'm a happily married stay at home mom to Caitlin (2 years 9 months) and Davey (9 months). My husband Dave is a wonderful husband and dad. He still drives me crazy in the good (and every so often the bad) way. This is my "secret" blog. It is a place where I can write about whatever I want without worrying about offending the in-laws or hurting my mom's feelings. I feel like my other blog is just so the family can get photos of the kids more often. Sometimes I think they don't read the writing and just look at the pics. So here is a place I can write/vent and talk about whatever I want.

Maximus, the yellow wonder pup, is ready for the party

I mostly write about adjusting to life with two sweet and spirited kids, one loving husband, and one mischievous yellow labrador. I also write about dieting (who doesn't?), exercise, and making friends with other moms.

There are so many cool prizes to be won at this year’s Ultimate Blog Party, but my top three picks would be: 50 Nights of Family Fun offered by Essential Family Living, the rocking horse offered by A rocking Horse to Love, and the Klean Kanteen sippy cup from Non Toxic Tots.

And if my top three picks are already chosen, I’d love any of the following (in order of preference):

9,10, 11, 12, 23 or anything else related to babies and young children since I have a 9 month old and a 2 year 9 month old.

Pre-School Decisions

I just started calling around to check out pre-schools last week for the fall. I didn't realize that some are already booked or almost booked full for the fall. I thought it was still early. I checked out 3 pre-schools in one day. Here is a summary of the 3:

Pre-School A: This is the one run by the town's park and rec department. Caitlin attends a parent and me pre-school class there now. The facilities are clean and bright. The room is a little small but they do use the huge gym for playing too. The day consists of free play, calendar/circle time, arts and crafts, snack, physical activity in the gym, story time, and dismissal. I asked about studying numbers and letters. The teacher stated that they don't really do that until the 4 year old program. Red flags started to fly. But I didn't really know what pre-schools for 3 year old usually cover. I decided I should really see what other schools cover. The ratio to students to teacher is 8:1. This program is by far the least expensive.

Pre-School B: This school is run by a church but you don't need to be a member to attend. The classroom has two huge rooms. It is colorfully decorated and clean. The day consists of free play, circle time in which they incorporate reading skills, stations with various activities they freely rotate thorough (Caitlin could paint everyday. There is always painting, play dough, puzzles, reading materials, cars, trains, sand/rice table, etc. set up.), outdoor play in fenced in area weather permitting, snack, and story time. The student to teacher ratio is 6:1. They make sure each child does the arts and crafts. I liked that they incorporated counting in the arts and craft lesson. This program is in the middle for expense. I immediately like this school better than school A.

Pre-School C: This school is an independent school. The classroom is very large and open. They use dividers to section the room into sections. I wonder about the noise levels when the classroom is full. It is full of natural light, nicely decorated and clean. The day consists of free play, circle time, 3 or 4 teacher lead activities including arts and crafts, outdoor play in the fenced in area weather permitting, snack, and story time. It is very similar to school B. The difference is the class of 25 is divided into sub sections. So the student to teacher ratio is 6:1 and those 6 students stay with only one teacher all day. I liked that even though there was as many total students it seemed like less because they were in small groups. It seemed a little more nurturing especially for Caitlin because she is a little shy. She would get more one on one time here. The director gave me the tour and really had her schpeal down. She really sold the school. The teachers had higher levels of education and certification. She gave me a copy of curriculum goals which focused on socialization and academics. As you can guess this is the most expensive pre-school.

So I went home from our whirl wind tour and discussed the pre-schools with Dave that night. He wanted me to decided since he wasn't there. I made him help. I really would be happy with either school B or C. If cost wasn't an issue, I wouldn't hesitate to send her to C. So the decision was is it worth spending more money to send her to C? I felt more comfortable with C. I liked their philosophy. School B was fine and I know she would do well there too. We decided to send in our deposit for school C. If there is just one area I don't mind spending money on it is my kids. We can afford school C and I want Caitlin to have a good experience. So that is the choice we made. I was up at 3 am the other night second guessing myself but I feel confident now that it was the right choice for us.

Is that a nipple?

Caitlin lifts her shirt and says, "These are my nipples Mommy."

Me: Yup

Caitlin: You have nipples, too?

Me: Yup

Caitlin: Is that a nipple? (Pointing to the huge mountain on my cheek. It is a pimple that won't seem to heal.)

Me: No, Caitlin that is not a nipple but thanks for noticing.

Blurb review part 2

I forgot to update my review on Blurb, the site that will help you make your blog into a book. I got my book. It looks great. It is way better than a baby book because my family site I actually keep up to date unlike the kids' babies' books. I liked the finished product so much that I immediately started the book on the next year. I uploaded new software and actually read the tutorial. The second book has taken far less time to create. I was able to fix the format on the book in about a week. I only work on it during nap times and the second book is twice as long as the first.

Only complaints were the cover of the book does not have the photo and title on it. They are on the book jacket. I would like them on the cover like Shutterfly allows.

So overall it is a good site and a very worthwhile project. I will continue to use them.