Kicks and Giggles

Some of you may know and some of you may not know, but I have an Early Childhood Education Diploma.  Thus, when I got pregnant, I figured I knew what I was doing and would totally have everything under control.  How wrong I was.  Chloe was about two weeks old, when I looked at Brian and told him that I had to go buy a book.  (I am a big book person.  When in doubt, look it up.)  Anyway here is a list, although by no means comprehensive, of some of the things I have learned in the last six months.

1. Sleeping in past 7 is a thing of the past.
2. How little sleep a person can function on.
3. The doctor doesn’t know everything and the books aren’t always right.
4. Baby Oxi-Clean is wonderful for getting stains out.
5. How fast time goes.
6. When the diaper leaks three times in a row it is time to move up a size.
7. Consignment stores are wonderful, especially for hardly used baby clothes.
8. How something so small needs so much stuff, a lot of it very big.
9. Doing only 10-20 minutes of housecleaning a day, if you do it every day can keep your house pretty clean.
10. How quickly diapers, formula, and baby food add up.
11. A high chair is wonderful for sitting your baby in while you get things done in the kitchen.
12. Just because it is the brand you like, doesn’t mean it is the brand your baby will like.
13. If you want a nap, lay down as soon as the baby goes to sleep.  You can’t be guarenteed how long they will sleep.  Everything else can be done later, when the baby is awake and playing on the floor.
14. A good nap/sleep can fix most anything.
15. Tylenol is great for teething, as are wet facecloths.
16. You may have to try dozens of things before you find something that works.
17. What worked for someone else may not necessarily work for you.  Each baby is different and you have to find something that works for you and your baby.
18. Things that would gross you out when your husband did them (burping, pooping) make you happy when your baby does them.
19. An entire months grocery shopping can be done in half an hour if you have to.
20. 5 minutes of cuddling can make you forget just how rough your day really was.

And here are some pictures of the one who taught me all this stuff

It seems that life is starting to settle down.  Slowly but surely we are getting into a routine and Chloe is glad to be back home.  Fortunately, we will not be going anywhere until Christmas, although Brian’s parents and sister and her husband will be coming out sometime in October, which will mess her up a little bit, but I will try my darndest not to let her get too screwed up.

Anyway, with our life settling down, Chloe seems to be develping somewhat of a schedule which is nice.  She has about 3 one hour naps a day, goes to bed at 7, and usually sleeps until the next morning between 6 and 7 (I am so lucky).  She has three bottles a day and nurses onces and she is eating breakfast and supper of solids.  (Why are they called solids when they are mush?)

I am loving staying at home.  I get to spend the day with my girl.  My house is cleaner than it has ever been.  I actually have supper ready at 5.  Laundry is done on a regular basis instead of having to lose a Saturday to laundry.  Chloe can stay comfortable in her pajamas all day if she wants.  I can do baking more regularly and my scrapbook is almost completely caught up.  Chloe’s album is completely caught up but my main scrapbook is not.  Grocery shopping no longer takes an evening away, but an hour or so during the day.  I am able to go for walks with Chloe when the weather is decent and I have more time to get a workout in, so it actually gets done.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

Recently, I told my boss that I will not be coming back to work.  It just doesn’t make sense for us.  Because Chloe will be too young to go to the daycare where I worked, I would have to find childcare for her, which for an infant is really expensive, not to mention impossible to find.  Because childcare workers are not paid very well (and as a level three I am in the top pay bracket) what I would make on top of the Chloe’s childcare fees is just not worth it.  Also, I want my kids close, so by the time my mat leave runs out (end of Jan, beginning of Feb) I am hoping to be pregnant again so it doesn’t seem worth my time.  I will be staying home at least until the youngest of my children (not quite sure how many there will be) is in all day school.  Then I am hoping to teach preschool so I can have the same hours as my children and the same days off.  I love being a SAHM and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

About a month ago, I started Chloe on cereal.  She loved it, but it blocked her up, so when I was in Regina, I stopped giving it to her.  I decided that I would try to make my own.  I went to buy regular oatmeal  (not quick) and long grain white rice.  I blended them up in my blender, but they got pretty fine, but not at fine as the commercial baby cereal.  I didn’t want to blend them for too long because the grains were getting heated up and all I could think of was grain elevator fires.  (For some unknown reason I am overly paranoid about fire).  Anyway, I followed the instructions that I had found at wholesomebabyfood.com and made some cereal.  I then put it in the freezer.  This morning, I thawed some out for Chloe, and even with water added it was clumpy and gross.  So I will abandon that.  I did read though, that rice cereal is the one that is constipating, so I will see how she reacts to just oatmeal cereal.  The doctor also told me to try vegetables and fruit, which should help with the issue, especially the fruit.  She loves her sweet potatoes and today we started pears, which she also enjoyed, although she does make quite the mess.  She likes to help by digging her hands into the bowl and grabbing the spoon.

Added Note: The water filter worked!!  Almost no spit-up since.

Last night as Brian and I were sitting in the living room reading, I decided to do something that I had not done in over a year.  I put my hair in a ponytail, grabbed my MP3 player, earphones, keys, and ID.  Last of all I grabbed my sadly neglected rollerblades.  I love rollerblading.  I used to do it every day and then I got pregnant and was so scared of something happening to her that I stopped exercising altogether.  I realize that I could have just kept going and would likely not have had any problems, but unless you have been in the same situation, you can’t understand. 

Anyway, I drove to the bike path that is nearby and went around a small manmade lake numerous times while the sun set.  It was beautiful and exhilarating and wonderful.  Usually when I go rollerblading I have pretty upbeat songs on my MP3 player.  This time, however, I had not touched my MP3 player since I loaded it up for the hospital, so it was all slow relaxing songs.  Good for labour, not so much for rollerblading.  When I got home, I ripped some new CD’s on to the computer and then reloaded my MP3 player.  Now it is ready to go for the next time, which will hopefully be tonight.  One way or another I am going to get rid of these last 15 pounds.

Added Note: My baby girl is six months old today.  Where did the time go??

Of all the jobs to do in the house, the one I hate the most is deciding what to make for supper.  In the hope of easing that burden, I made a list of all the things that I make, and what ingredients are needed for all these items.  Then I will use this list to make a grocery list.  I will go shopping only once a month, and then Chloe and I will walk to the close grocery store to pick up bread, milk and produce as needed.  Hopefully this will also help with my budget and grocery shopping.  I am continually going to the store and spending 20 bucks here, 30 bucks there.  It adds up quickly.  Because we were going to be buying a lot of groceries, we decided that we would go to Costco.  What a horrible decision.  Because it is in Calgary, it takes at least 30 minutes to get there and another 30 to get back.  Once we got there we did our grocery shopping.  We spent around 200 bucks and still didn’t get half the stuff we needed, although we do have some stuff that will last us until Easter.  We decided that it just wasn’t worth it.  Any money we saved we lost in gas and the membership fees.  We also lost 2 1/2 hours of our day, driving and shopping, and I still have to go get some more groceries on Monday after Chloe’s appointment.  We are going to let our memberships expire and shop at one of the 5 (soon to be 6) grocery stores that we have here in our city.

I have been slowly weaning Chloe.  We are down to one nursing first thing in the morning.  She was taking formula well, but has been spitting up a lot.  I thought this was just a normal adjustment that babies make when switching to formula.  Last week, I was at my parents house, and the spitting up was greatly reduced.  I thought this was just her finally adjusting to the formula.  She was also sleeping better at my parents.  I came home, and three days later, she is spitting up, back to having napping issues and has to lay on her stomach to sleep comfortably.  The only thing that has changed is the water that I use to make the formula.  I think my mom even has the same kettle that I use to boil it.  My mom, however, has a filter on her tap so I was using filtered water to make her formula.  I am not sure if this is the difference, but I am going to give it a try.  I bought the same one my mom has, but it doesn’t work, so I have to go back and exchange it after Chloe wakes up from her nap.  Hopefully it works and the filter solves the problems.

We are finally home.  It has been a busy summer.  We went home three times in five weeks.  It is a seven hour drive for us to go home.  I am glad we will not be doing it again any time soon.  Anyway, Christy is officially married now.  The wedding was wonderful and the reception was a lot of fun.  Everything went well and Christy looked gorgeous, like she has just stepped out of a magazine.  The drive and stay screwed Chloe up a bit, but I think we are slowly getting things back to normal.  I don’t have wedding pictures yet.  Christy is going to give me a copy of the CD, so it will be a while, but here are some pictures from the week.

Christy and I at her stagette

My girl with super cute pigtails in a kid-sized rocking chair

Chloe doing her newest trick.  She puffs out her cheeks and blows/spits everywhere.  She figured it out this week.  She is also very close to moving and is able to sit up by herself now for short periods.