Mar 27, 2010

What I love(d) about being pregnant/being a Mom.

On my message board the other day someone posted about all the trials of pregnancy. That served as a good reminder that I could wait awhile before attempting baby #2! :) But then some people also posted spin offs about what was great about pregnancy and having a new baby (these made me ache to be pregnant and have a new baby again!) Here are some of mine:

Best parts of pregnancy:
  • How (mostly) everyone is so nice to you!
  • Feeling the baby move!
  • Having such an intimate connection with the baby. You get to have a relationship with someone who isn't yet born...it's pretty awesome... I wonder if God sort of feels this way about us before we are born also?!
  • Eating Ice Cream. (Though I've resolved, repeatedly, to not do this as much next time!)
  • Being infinitely interesting. People (including strangers) always want to know about you, how you're doing, when you're due, what you're having... I think it's probably because they know how awesome what you're about to do is!
  • Getting to park in "expectant mother parking".
Best Parts of Mommyhood, so far:
  • feeling the weight of her little body rest against mine.
  • getting to experience all those "firsts!"
  • her smiling at me just because I'm me.
  • seeing her try to peek over the crib rail to see if I'm there.
  • breastfeeding, for me, has almost always been a very positive experience.
  • watching her learn and explore "simple" things has made me appreciate them more.
  • feeling pretty darn productive even if "all" i did that day was keep her safe & fed.
  • teaching & playing Peekaboo.
  • a sense of pride that is so inexplicable
  • understanding, a sliver, a tiny bit more, the love that God must have for us. :)
There are many many more, but that's all i got for now. ;)

Mar 23, 2010

8 Months (and change...)




I was so excited about my weight loss that I forgot to first post this post on C turning 8 months old! She is just SO much fun right now. I definitely think 8 Months is my favorite age so far. She already had her two bottom teeth so aside from a FEW wake ups from teething, she's been sleeping well at night and that makes mama happy. She can sit unassisted for a long time and seems to know how to "fall" without hurting her self if she is done with sitting. She is so interactive now. She imitates us and does things she knows we will imitate. Her favorite is to fake cough or clear her throat. She gets such a kick out of that! On 8 months, one day, she finally started making consonant sounds. B swears she says "Hi Daddy" but I think it's wishful thinking, since she also says "haaa dadadada" to her exersaucer. :)

She continues to really take in the world. She is a pensive baby. She can sit and play independently for quite awhile usually. She will pick up a toy and really inspect it, like she wants to know how it works. (Maybe she will be an engineer like daddy!) Although, in the last few days, we have had a case of "the Mommies". She seems to be fine with Daddy or a stranger even, if I'm not within sight. But if Daddy is feeding and Mum is in the kitchen... Look out, there is sure to be some hollering. It's cute, but also tough sometimes! Yesterday I was trying to make her food, but she wouldnt even play in the kitchen in her exersaucer and I was RIGHT THERE. Fortunately I can put her on my back now in my babyhawk (highly recommend these!) and get some stuff done when the Mommies hit.

Yesterday she took two awesome naps- but naps are still inconsistent for me, and TWO awesome naps is very rare. B was pleasantly surprised at how productive i was- it helps so much when she sleeps! My best guess is that every other day she will take better naps. So I'm gearing up for a not so good nap day and will be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong!
She still loves to eat, and of course prefers the sweet food, but usually I can get her to eat mostly anything, just certain things take longer! Her dexterity seemed to have progressed overnight, suddenly she is REALLY into feeding her self. (you have to have some puffs for her to hold while she's eating or she gets mad!) She also gets EXTREMELY excited when you go to the fridge, I think because she thinks she MIGHT get a piece of cheese. She loves cheese! So cute!

We also "celebrated" St. Patrick's Day by dressing C up in the appropriate attire. Of course, we aren't Irish, but we'll just skip over that bit. :) I love the way all of these came out! I'm SO glad to be married to such a wonderful photographer. There's more pictures from our "shoot" on our photo website. Email me if you need the link.
Speaking of links to photos, I also took C to get some photos done with a real live bunny. SO freaking cute. It's password protected, so just shoot me an email if you'd like to see them!! B was a bit miffed that he got passed over for his photography, but really, it was just about the bunny...if he lets me adopt a bunny then he can take her pictures with it next year!! :)

I'll try to add some video later, but here's some pictures of recent adventures!

Mar 21, 2010

I did it, I did it!

Yeah!! I reached my pre-pregnancy weight! While it's not a great weight for me, certainly not where I'd like to be, I'm very excited to have reached my mini goal. "Nine months on, 8.5 months off!" Wahoo!

I've also dropped 4 sizes (in the Gap) since October, which means since 2007 I have been 10 different sizes at the Gap! (Not including Maternity!) LOL. I'm excited to get closer to those lower sizes before I jump into pregnancy pants again. I'm so glad to have lost the 5oish lbs (yes, I'm coming clean that I gained about 50lbs while pregnant). And though I birthed an 8lb 11oz child, I only lost about 10 pounds post delivery and lost another 5 in the first few weeks home. I was not fortunate enough to have the weight melt off me while breastfeeding. The weight I've lost has mostly to do with my eating habits (thank you weight watchers!) and the rest is from just trying to increase my workouts/exercise. I've been off the exercise wagon the last month or so due to traveling and C's (and therefor mine!) sleep issues. But I cannot WAIT to get our jogging stroller so that C and I can start hitting the road despite her lack of naps. :)

So, I still have about 20-25 to lose to be where I'd LOVE to be, but I'm aiming to just keep losing and being healthy until we decide to have baby #2. The lighter I am before becoming pregnant again, the healthier I'll be.

And I'm vowing not to eat nearly as much ice cream this time!

Mar 2, 2010

Princess and the Pea...or the hardwood floor, as it were.

C is doing well! Not too much to report. We still have trouble with naps, though we think the culprit may be vibrations... I think because her crib is on a hardwood floor, when we walk by it must creak or something, and the vibration gets her up (if she is at the "light" stage of sleep). At night it is no trouble, but in the wee am hours when B gets up or during naps, she ALWAYS wakes up if we walk by. (I know it isn't sounds, because we have a white noise machine AND a humidifier in there!)

So I'm in the market for carpet, since I can't be banished from the upstairs for a few hours a day! (And I NEED it to be a few hours a day, LOL!)

Otherwise, she's doing great. She's eating lots of foods, she loves to gnaw on a bagel or a piece of toast- helps me get the dishes done! She's still not quite crawling, but anytime now!

We're off to meet my new nephew this week, so excited about that!

and I'll leave you with this picture, which I've named "It's hard to hit a moving target!"