Mom Stuff

Over the last seven months I've really had to reevaluate some of my pre-mommy opinions.  I used to say, "I'm not a mom yet.....but I'm pretty sure I'll _____."  The first one that comes to mind is wanting to travel and have weekends away with Gordon and/or girlfriends.  I guess this comes to mind first because when William was only 2 weeks old I remember telling my mom "leaving William for a weekend sounds like the most terrible time ever!"  YEP, I sure did.  Maybe it sounded so horrible because I was already having to leave my baby at the hospital and had never had him home.  Since having that conversation I think I'm getting closer to being able to leave him over night.  But, at the end of the day being home with W and G is my favorite place on this planet!  There's nothing better. 


I mean who wouldn't want to see this sweet boy EVERYDAY?!?

I also always thought putting our baby in his own room would be a piece of cake.  I've always believed that you can teach your baby to be comfortable with certain situations.  I'm not saying you can make them like something...more like train them to not know the difference.  I've tried to let others help me with William....feed him, bath him, play with him, change his diaper....so that he wouldn't only want me.  So far I think it's worked well.  He will go to anyone and rarely cries.  I know most of that has to do with his easy going personality (we are truly blessed).  BUT, one thing that hasn't gone so well.....moving William to his crib.  It's my fault.  I've been struggling with separation anxiety.  haha.  Having him in his crib means he is growing up and it's just happening so fast!  I figured we'd move him from his bassinet to the crib when he was 3 months old.  But, he was only 9 lbs and waking up a couple times a night to eat (we really still had a newborn baby on our hands).  So, I told myself when he was bigger and sleeping through the night we'd make the move.  Well, he's still not sleeping through the night and he's 7.5 months old and only weighs 14 pounds.  To tell you the truth I've loved having him in our room.  When I wake up his sweet little face is right there, it's easier for me to pop his paci back in his mouth or pick him up for his 2am feeding.  But, it's time.  We are getting to the point where habits are forming.  I feel like the longer we wait to move him to his crib the harder it will be.  I have two days off work this week so I figured this is the best time to be exhausted.  :)  So, last night was the night.  I almost didn't do it because baby boy has been sick (more on that later....he had his first fever on Monday!).  But after his 8pm bottle he seemed to be breathing easily and not coughing so in the crib he went.  He woke up at 10 so I fed him.  This was followed by a coughing fit and William vomiting on me.  Lovely.  I didn't let this discourage me......he fell back asleep right away so back in the crib he went.  He did some coughing and fussing until 11:30 or so but did okay.  He woke at 2:30.  I went in and Bfed him in the glider and then back to bed he went.  I didn't hear a peep from him until 6:45 this morning.  YIPPEEE!  Way to go baby boy.  Night #1 in the crib was a breeze!  I have a funny feeling it won't always be like last night but that's life as a mommy. 

His last night in our room!

There he is sleeping in his crib like a big boy!  Yes, I did take the bumpers out.  I was also able to see his other monitor flash everytime he moved/breathed.  That made me feel better too (yes, I worry a little).  Gordon's brothers and our sister in laws gave us this Summer Baby Monitor.  So far I've really liked it.  It's easy to set up, has great sound, you can scan the room and you can see everything clearly.  If you don't have one get one!

I did a post a while back about things that make our life easier....I thought I'd add a couple things to that list!

First up is the Baby Breeza.  I can't say enough good things about this thing.  It is so easy to use and doesn't take up much space in our cabinets.  Last night I made apples, pears, apples w/bananas, pears w/bananas and squash.

My mom just got me the Cooking for Baby cookbook.  I can't wait to read through it and get some ideas.  The storage containers on the bottom are Babies R Us brand.  I like the size but I have to tape them shut.  They were cheap so I guess it's to be expected.  The Baby Breeza storage containers are nice but they don't have measurements on them like the others.  I know you can put the BB containers into the BB to defrost them.  I've just been heating up a little water in a bowl and putting the containers in there to defrost (it only takes 10 minutes or so).  Our favorite spoons are by NUK and Dr. Brown.  I bought some others that were too wide for William's little mouth...maybe we can use them when he's older.

 
Here's William's school stuff!  The "diaper bag" is from ThirtyOne (gift from a friend).  It's perfect because it's light weight and has the two side pockets.  I keep a couple changes of clothes in it, a nose suction thing, pedialyte, a swaddle blanket and a burp cloth.  The bag on top is for his bottles and is from Pottery Barn Kids.  It's easy to clean out when the bottles leak and fits 4-5 four ounce bottles easily. 

I originally didn't think we needed one of these cover things for the carseat handle but after rubbing my arm raw one day I decided it was a must.  It has two hooks on either side that you can hang toys on.  Perfect!  William loves playing with them.  If you take the cover off it unrolls to a big circle that can be used as a changing pad or tummy time mat (it even has a "mirror" on one side).  It's also been  really helpful to have 2 carseats (Gordon and I each have one in our car).  This way we don't have to lug the carseat into and out of daycare everyday! 

So, besides the BOB stroller we have this Peg SI lightweight stroller that we got from W's Mimi and Grandad.  You can put the carseat in it or just the baby.  William is just now getting big enough to sit in it without being in the carseat.  It's easy to open and close, doesn't take up much room, has a good amount of storage space on the bottom, has two hooks for your purse/diaper bag on the handles, is easy to push and turn and is light!  I highly recommend getting one.

Behind the stroller is my first shipment to Texas Children's milk bank (oh and a nosy doggie).  I was only able to fit 25 of the 50 bags I have for them....looks like I'll be calling them today for another box!  If you are a new mom and making extra milk I encourage you to donate!  Those tiny babies need some good mommy milk.  Once I had collected 50 bags I emailed TCH and they sent this package to our house.  It included two huge freezer packs that I had to freeze for 48 hours.  This morning I called the FedEx company and arranged for a pick up time, put a freezer pack on the bottom of the cooler, followed by 25 bags of milk, another freezer pack and then the lid.  I taped it up and put the already included shipping label on the top.  DONE and so easy!  The box will be overnighted to California where testing is done on all the milk.  They will do testing on each bag of milk before it is sent to Houston to be given to the babies.  Included in the testing is a DNA match.  To become a donor you have blood work done as well as a DNA test (you swab the inside of your mouth with a Q-tip).  The DNA testing is done so they can make sure the milk is really from me, the donor.  William only had to get one day of donor milk before my milk started coming in.  Thankfully, I have been able to provide William with all the milk that's he's needed...but had I not it's nice to know there are moms out there that could have helped our baby out during those critical days.  Unfortunately, some women just aren't able to produce milk for whatever reason.  I know I'm very blessed and so glad to be able to help out!

I better run....looks like I have a book to read to someone!  Happy Wednesday!!!