Not Me Monday!

If I had music on my blog, it would now be playing circus music. The fun continues, and I continue to do ridiculous thing after ridiculous thing. So check out all the things I certainly didn't do, and head here for more Not Me! fun.

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I'm on a grandaddy of an elimination diet. And, please, I'm handling it fine. Which is why I do not have repeated dreams about food, and certainly not one about a fried pie from the grocery store. I also would never stoop to taking a big giant whiff of Drew's Sunny D. Not me! I don't mind eating five foods for days on end.

I got out for a little bit on Sunday and ran to the used bookstore (one of my favorite places on Earth). I'm totally cool and collected when I venture out in public and I definitely did not have a complete moment of panic at the register thinking I had left the baby in the car.

Last but not least, we are the epitome of hygiene around here, which is why I would NEVER repeatedly forget to bathe my new baby. She's squeaky clean, for sure!!

Adventures in Lactation

Here's the thing. I kept trying to avoid mentioning breast feeding on my blog, because, well, my dad reads the blog. And my father-in-law. And if you're one of those two guys do you really want to read about my breast feeding? What about my brother? Yeah, him either. But, it's the main focus of my life right now and I need some things documented. As I have demonstrated numerous times over the past months, my brain is full, so my blog it is!

Drew and I did not have a successful go at breast feeding. There were lots of reasons for that, and by the time I quit at near 8 weeks, I was not sad at all-only relieved. I have been thrilled at what a great nurser little Emily is. Things started out great in the hospital-she latched right on and nursed like there was no tomorrow. And then the hurdles started coming.

Our first hurdle was the pediatric version of Nurse Ratched who tried to convince me that my baby would starve to death if she didn't get some formula. In the middle of the night. When I had a two day old. Thanks, lady. Sheesh.

Second, Emily would periodically forget how to latch on. Like from one feeding to the other.

Third, she decided one side was just fine with her and the other side was clearly from the devil. This presents all sorts of issues. I'll spare you the details.

Fourth, we tackled our first growth spurt. For those of you who don't know, these growth spurts are also known as "marathon feedings". Sounds fun, huh?

In the midst of all of this, Emily started having some major stomach issues. We believed her issues to be reflux-like Drew-and started her on reflux medicine. As her discomfort continued, we moved her up to taking a PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitor) that was the saving grace when Drew was a baby. Turns out this medicine only made her issues worse. She cried and screamed each evening and was very fussy during the day. We were all stressed out and I decided I needed to work harder to help her.

Which leads to our fifth hurdle. I am now on a super strict elimination diet, trying to give Em's intestines time to heal up and then determine what the offenders are that make her stomach hurt. Here are the five foods I am currently eating: rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pears, and organic turkey. Sounds yummy, huh?? Thankfully, I love rice and sweet potatoes, and I am learning to really love pears! The good news is that the evening scream fests have ceased and hopefully soon her belly will be all better.

And, just in case things were calm for too long, we're having ANOTHER growth spurt.

As long as she keeps eating, I'll keep feeding her. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes that some peace is on it's way!!!

They're coming to take me away, ha ha! They're coming to take me away!! It's crazy town around here, so I thought I'd purge my soul of all the psycho things I've done lately. For more Not Me fun, head on over to MckMama's site (and if you have a few extra minutes, browse her posts from the last week or so. Her baby boy is a miracle!!)

For starters, I definitely have not forgotten to buckle Drew's car seat on NUMEROUS occasions over the past two weeks. Not me! I'm a total safety mom. Thankfully, my child is a major rule follower and screams from the back seat, "Mom! You forgot to buckle me...again!"

My night time crazies are definitely NOT still hanging around. That's why I definitely did not sit straight up in bed and yell at Daniel, "Where is the baby?" when he came to bed the other night. And it was definitely not literally minutes after I had laid her down to sleep in her pack and play.

I have not spent the last week completely obsessed with the state of both of my children's poop. I'm much too fancy to spend so much time thinking about poop. And I definitely did not just discuss poop on my blog...

Finally, my pets are definitely not getting all of my pent up aggression poured out on them. I would never be hateful to my pets. Which is why my son definitely does not say, "Is Barney on your last nerve again, mommy?"

One Month

Emily is a month old!!  And I am only 2 days late in putting up this post, which, frankly, feels pretty amazing!!  

Today while brother was at school and daddy was at work, the girls had a little dress-up time.  She did not fuss at all, which leads me to believe she is a big fan of the dress, tights, and hair bow.  I have seen other moms who put their kids in the same spot each month to show how they've grown, and I think that is such a fun idea.  Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it up.  

  

Emily, at one month you:

*Weigh 8 lbs 12 oz. You have gained almost two pounds!!

*You eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours (much to your brother's chagrin)

*Sadly, you have reflux just like Drew. This time mommy was much more aware of what to do, so you are already on medicine and seem to be feeling better.

*In the early evening you are not happy unless you are riding in the sling with mom. It puts you right to sleep and she can still get stuff done!

*You are a good sleeper at night. You are sleeping for one long stretch each night and after you eat, you go right back to sleep.

*You are having more and more awake time. You especially like for Drew to lay next to you and talk. He likes it, too.

*You cannot have any dairy at all (via Mom). It makes you puke and have yucky dipes. You are also not a big fan of tomato or onions.

You still seem so small-you weigh just a tad more than Drew did when he was born. I know that time will fly-you will not be tiny for long! I'm so happy that you are feeling better! We love you!!

Works for Me Wednesday-Mini Caramel Apples

While my sister was here taking care of business at my house while I birthed a baby, she did tons of fun stuff with the kids. When I got home, we had the brainstorm to do caramel apples one night. Then I had the brainstorm to make them a little more kid-friendly.

So, here's your tip for the day. Don't forget to head over to We Are That Family for more tips.

I took my melon baller and scooped out tiny round balls of apple. Then we had the kids spear them with popsicle sticks and dip them in caramel. You know how a preschooler loves to dip! Next time I do this, I will go ahead and put the apples on the sticks-it was kind of tricky for the kids to do. We used the Kraft caramel bits and they melted super fast and easy in the microwave.

Here's the gang getting instructions



Wearing a shirt is TOTALLY optional during this activity!



A little help from dad...


Have mini caramel apple will travel. Great for a little t.v. viewing snack...


And, if for some reason your kid doesn't like caramel (what???!!!) they can always have a granola bar.


This has nothing to do with caramel apples, but is one of my very favorite ever cousin pictures. So I posted it.



Happy dipping!

Boo!

Here's a little peek at our Halloween fun!