The Not-So-Divine Secrets of -Motherhood-

Take THAT BabyWise!

You may recall several months ago that I felt like a total failure because I could not seem to get "BabyWise". It wasn't that I couldn't stick to a two and a half to three hour feeding schedule, it was that I would rock my baby to sleep instead of lay her down wide awake and "teach" her to put herself to sleep by crying. I had heard such wondrous things about this program and how awesome it was, how babies were sleeping through the night as early as six weeks, yada yada.

Well I will admit, my baby does still have rough nights- although not every night. She (knock on wood) usually sleeps through the night, sometimes waking but we give her a tootie and she goes back to sleep. Soon she will be able to find the tootie in the crib on her own and stick it back in her mouth and then we won't have to get up.

Anyway, I want to say that when she was around three months old we started laying her in the crib sleepy and she taught herself how to go to sleep on her own- she doesn't have to cry it out to fall asleep. So where am I going with this? I just wanted to tell other people that may be struggling with the Babywise method that it isn't so much about regimenting your infant's schedule as it is about your parenting style. If you want to rock your baby for that extra snuggle time then by all means just do it. Heaven knows they grow up way too fast anyway and one day will not want to snuggle.

If you are looking to get your baby on a regular feeding schedule- don't worry- that will come with time too. Again, right around that three month mark Hayley had already established definitive feeding times every three and a half to four hours during the day and could go a seven hour stretch at night. Around four months we cut out the middle of the night feeding and now she goes about eleven hours.

And speaking of feeding- you know that rash and the rough night we had with Hayley awake all night? The pediatrician recommended that we use an antibacterial cream for the rash to help it cure but also suggested that we switch formulas. We didn't see our regular doctor but this is the second time a doctor that we don't regularly see has suggested that she may have a milk allergy. Soy formula didn't work any better than the regular stuff so for the last few months we have had her on Gentlease. Just tonight we started her on Nutramigen so we'll see how that works out.

Honestly, if you had told me a year ago that I would be blogging about brands of formula, parenting styles, or any of the other random infant related things that I blog about I would have laughed. I was too paranoid to believe that I was really going to make it to full term with my baby. I will tell my newly pregnant fellow IF'ers - you probably won't truly believe the pregnancy is going to last until you are holding that baby in your arms. But once you are holding it (them!) you will probably laugh at all the crazy paranoid thoughts and precautions. Who cares if you stopped eating certain foods out of fear of miscarriage, it is all worth it! And yes, I will do it all over again for the next one, God permitting there is a next one.

Baby rash-

We had to take Hayley to the dr in a rush tonight because she has this angry looking rash that has cropped up on her forehead and tummy. She has had it before- once when I used J&J baby shampoo instead of Gerber and once when I washed her burp cloths in bleach and Tide instead of Dreft. And it kind of comes & goes although usually not that bad. But wow I felt so bad for her- and she was such a good sport about it. Turns out she just has super sensitive skin and there isn't much we can do about it. So I snuggled her extra long tonight before putting her to bed, as if the extra snuggle time will make up for the fact that my poor baby has a terrible rash.

I was thinking it may have been from us introducing bananas to her diet but really, she has had bananas for the last three days and only today the rash started so I'm thinking the gagging that she does when I feed her the bananas is a preferential thing and not really an allergic reaction thing.

I will have to post soon about my struggle as a working mom. I'm having a really tough time finding a good balance and I just need to vent about it. However, Hayley had a super rough night last night- awake all night from midnight until four am so I'm going to head to bed for now and save the venting post for another night.

Dear Hayley,

March 22, 2007

Dear Hayley,

You are five months old now and I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday you were four months old.

You are such a sweet, happy baby that complete strangers come up to you and touch you (which makes Mommy a little nervous, you will understand one day). You make everyone around you smile and you have such a sunny personality that I know you will be well loved in your life, even by people that are not your family.

We took you to Hawaii because I could not imagine spending a week, or even a night without you. I was so excited to take you on this trip, to watch as you experienced new things. I know you were learning new things while we were there even if you won't remember the trip specifically.

We took you to the beach where you sat in the ocean with your Daddy. He held you in his lap and let the waves wash up over the two of you. You loved it! You were so cute in your cute little red bathing suit with your floppy brim hat. We took some amazing pictures that day. There is one in particular where you and Daddy are looking directly at each other, smiling. It is absolutely my favorite photo and my heart swells with joy as I look at it. They say pictures say a thousand words and it is true. That picture shouts volumes about unconditional love and happiness. I will keep a copy of it for you.

It seemed that you were so happy to be in Hawaii- always alert and looking around. We had a difficult time getting you to eat and to sleep! You woke in the middle of the night happy and wanting to play! The breeze would blow on your face and you would smile. The light rain would land on you and you would look around in wonder. The waves washed up on you and you sighed in content. I absolutely loved every minute of this trip.

While we were busy having fun you also learned how to express your frustration. Temper tantrums are new on the list of things learned. Five months old and already telling us how it is going to work. We are going to have a long learning curve!

I was so proud to carry you around in the Snugli, or to walk with you in the stroller. You are so beautiful and happy that you got attention everywhere we went. I keep thanking God every day that he brought you into my life. The wait was well worth it and I would do it all over again.

I love you Hayley!

Mommy

Traveling with an Infant- part 2

Real quick (yeah right)- I will say this- traveling with an infant wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Thanks everyone for the tips! What actually wound up happening is that we fed Hayley on take off from Las Vegas but she didn't eat much. I was worried that she would scream and cry throughout the flight. She did have a few moments but really, all told, she probably only cried about twenty minutes of the entire five hour flight- and not all in a row- so we were ok there.

The biggest deal is all the crap you have to haul in order to make life comfy away from home. I mean, keep in mind, I brought bottles and a bottle brush, microwave sterilizing bags, the Snugli, travel system stroller/carseat, Bumbo Chair (yes! I packed this in our biggest suitcase and I am sooo glad I did- will explain later), play mat, small toys, a few books, enough clothes for a week, and then a few extra in case I couldn't find anywhere to do laundry, diapers, formula, the list keeps going. Really we brought a full sized suitcase plus a carry on suitcase as well as her diaper bag, all with things just for her. I hear that it gets easier as they get older though, so I'll just have to hope.

Ok, more on the Bumbo chair. Seriously, if you don't have one of these, GET ONE. They are awesome and Hayley just loves sitting in it. I packed it because I knew that there would be times we would be in the hotel and we would not want to hold her, lay her on the bed, or put her in the carseat. It fit nicely into my largest suitcase and I packed the clothes around it. I am so glad I brought it! I used it when she needed to eat cereal and veggies and I also used it at the hotel that didn't have a bathtub- she sat in it in the shower so that I didn't accidentally drop her after soaping her up.

I also brought our play mat. You can see it in the hockey picture under Hayley's photo album. The play mat disassembles quite easily and folded right up into our largest suitcase. Again, it also came in handy. It was a little reminder of home as well as provided her that little outlet of play time that she needed.

Snugli- brought it and used it several times. Hayley loves the Snugli- although now she is over fifteen pounds and it is getting harder to carry her around for extended periods of time.

Ok, so as far as feeding her during takeoff and landing for her ears to pop- she didn't eat during landing and she didn't eat during takeoff or landing on the way home and it didn't appear to bother her. I allowed her to take her regular naps instead of keeping her up because I was more afraid that an over-tired baby wouldn't sleep at all. We seemed to do just fine. The only major issue was sitting five hours in one stretch in the middle seat with her, it wasn't very comfortable and I would think twice about doing it again for that long. However the flights were both booked full- actually overbooked- so carrying on her carseat and hoping for an empty seat wasn't an option.

Alright, this wasn't all that quick. I'm out. I really, REALLY need to get to bed.

Our Trip to Hawaii

All I can keep saying is "WOW". It really was an awesome place to visit, even if it did rain four out of the six days we were there. We stepped off the plane into full sunshine and lots of humidity, and was it ever hot. Now I totally get what people say when they talk about the desert being a "dry heat".

We rented a real Mommy-Wagon while we were there- a Chevy Trailblazer. I loved the height and being able to get the stroller in and out of the trunk with ease. Plus it was super handy to use the trunk/cargo area as a changing station for Hayley. I really, really want a new car but I'm struggling with the idea of taking on another car payment. My car has been paid off for a year and a half and I love that. But I digress.

Back to the Hawaii trip. We went for business and the company paid for the last three nights, which meant we were on our own for the first three. No biggie, I'm a budget traveler. I don't have to stay at the Grand Wailea in order to have a good time so I booked us a room at the Roach Motel. Actually, it wasn't all that bad. I will be going on Travelocity and will write them a nice review. For a budget hotel it really was pretty nice. The staff was great and they even let me use the microwave in the gift shop to sterilize baby bottles. What more could I ask for?

The first three days we were staying in Kahului, which is right near the airport. It is more the "locals" area and not the trendy resort area that Wailea is. (which we didn't know for the first two days that we were there, what we didn't know didn't hurt us). Of course, Hawaii was two hours behind Vegas so the first night (actually, every night) Hayley woke at her usual six am Vegas time, which meant four am Hawaii time. Sorry neighbors! The first night we tried to keep her quiet but when she wakes she is just so happy and ready to play that she was "talking"- quite loudly I might add- so we decided to take her to the one place we knew was open that early in the morning- Krispy Kreme!

We loaded up on donuts and coffee and decided to take a drive, just to see where the road would take us. We started driving up the coast and the ocean view got more and more beautiful. Several times we pulled off and gazed out at the wonder of it all- it's pretty awesome when you look at it. We kept driving and the road got narrower and narrower. Chickens and roosters were running wild and I kept thinking we would run into a town sooner or later. Nope. By the time I finally looked at the map I realized we were in the area clearly marked "DRIVING RENTAL CARS IN BETWEEN THESE POINTS VOIDS WARRANTIES". Oops. We did an eighteen point turn on the narrow road and headed back to the hotel. It rained the entire day so we spent the day walking around the local mall. Not all that exciting.

Sunday we got up with the intention of going to the aquarium. Since we couldn't go snorkeling with Hayley (at least not easily) I thought it would be fun to go check out the turtles and fish at the aquarium. We got in the car and started to head over to the other side of the island when we realized the sun was shining and we better take advantage. We ran back to the budget hotel, grabbed our suits and sunscreen and were back on our way. We wandered around the island until we came across the cutest little town- Kihei. Next time we go to Maui we are sure to stay there. Anyway, we hit the beach.

I cannot even tell you how stinkin' cute Hayley was at the beach. First of all, she had on the cutest little red swimsuit (red is totally her color) with this floppy brim hat. She just LOVED the ocean. At first we just dipped her feet in but she really wanted the whole nine yards, so my husband sat right in the surf with her for over half an hour. She loved when the waves washed up on her and was totally content as they faded and then came back again. I think I took over fifty pictures of her sitting in her daddy's lap on the beach.

After we spent all day at the beach we met up with some friends who were also on the same business trip. We went to Wailea and then we realized what we were missing by staying at the budget hotel on the other side of the island. I will say this, if I wasn't so cheap I wouldn't have minded spending four hundred dollars a night on a hotel room. However, I work way too hard for my money, and I could not justify spending twelve hundred dollars for a room when we had a room across the island for a grand total of three hundred dollars for three nights. You do the math. My entire trip cost less than the three nights stay at the Grand Wailea so I don't regret it at all.

That being said, someday when I do hit the lottery I am most definitely going back to the Grand Wailea. What an amazing, beautiful, stunning hotel with awesome views and a fantastic swimming pool. We had an ocean view room when we did check in there- we could see the whales from our room on occasion.

Anyway, I'm losing track of where I was going with this but I will tell you that Hayley started rolling from her stomach to her back on this trip. The first time it happened I had her laying on the bed and I was sitting next to her talking on the phone to my branch manager- getting the dish on what was going on at work. Get that, even on my vacation I'm worrying about what is happening at work. Sheesh. Anyway, she rolled and I assumed it was because the bed was so nice and fluffy she just kind of accidentally tipped over. I put her back on her tummy and she did it again right away. I grabbed her, put her on the play mat on the floor, and she did it again. I realized that history was in the making, begged off the phone, and grabbed the video camera so daddy could see when he got back from golf. Of course, then she did nothing. I went through almost thirty minutes of video and still nothing. I went to use the bathroom, came back, and there she was on her back. Little stinker. I am just so excited to see her roll- she turned twenty weeks last Friday and she was rolling the Tuesday just before.

I'm bad because I really don't give her tummy time- she doesn't have the patience for it and I usually put her in the Bumbo chair anyway so I'm not really doing her any favors. Speaking of Bumbo chair- I'll have to post the picture of Hayley watching hockey. I don't allow her to watch TV usually so when I sit her in the family room in the Bumbo chair the TV is usually at her back. However, she has since discovered that the TV is still on even though she isn't facing it, and she will contort to get a view. I snapped a cute picture of her watching hockey the other day. She loves hockey and that is good- something she has in common with her daddy.

Anyway, she also learned how to throw tantrums while we were on vacation. I can totally see now why parents just cave. Seriously, as if the ear piercing screams aren't enough, we don't want to subject everyone else surrounding us to the torture as well. I'm going to have to get better about not caving. Although at five months old it is pretty tough to reason with her.

There are probably two million more things I could write about but I really need to get to bed. I will be back on-line again soon!

Quick Post

Just wanted to say we are back from Hawaii and we had an amazing time. Hayley traveled like a champ- we had no complaints (other than the two hundred pounds of luggage that we had to haul through the airport). The pediatrician is right- traveling with an infant is like traveling with a rockstar- everyone loves them. Seriously, people walked up and touched Hayley all the time. I didn't quite know how to stop that. Sorry kid, you are so cute that complete strangers are drawn to you.

Anyway, I posted a few pictures of Hayley, I will try to get online and post some scenery pictures soon. And I need to tell you all about the trip. I'll be back online in a day or two, as for now I am still trying to adjust to getting back to work. I'm pooped so I'm off to bed.

Eating Baby Food!

You got it, Hayley went to her four month check up this week and I forgot to post about it! So anyway, she is fourteen pounds ten ounces- in the 75th percentile for weight. She is twenty four inches long- in the 50th percentile for height but no surprise there- both her dad and myself are short.

She also got another round of shots- four- and I am glad I didn't take her to this appointment. If I posted about the last appointment I told you how I cried harder than she did. However, my husband said she was a real trooper- she got two shots before she cried, and even when she did cry it was just a "Hayley Roar" as we have affectionately termed her little outbursts.

So a few things to note- we were already giving her rice cereal from a spoon. We started doing that about two or three weeks ago. The pediatrician gave us the go-ahead to start her on baby food, I was so excited! He said that we should start with yellow veggies first, then move to green ones, and introduce fruit last. Makes sense, you don't want them to develop a taste for sweet before anything else or you'll never get them to eat veggies.

Wednesday night was the first time we gave her baby veggies and we started with squash. I was so excited that I fed her the whole container- which isn't unusual in itself- she eats at least that much rice cereal. However, I am thinking that due to having shots that day and the fact that maybe the squash was a little too rich to be eaten an entire container at a time- she threw the whole thing up. Not just spit up, throw up. She did have her regular bottle and didn't throw any of that up so I figured we were ok.

So Thursday night it was back to squash- although I filled her up with rice cereal first and only gave her a few small spoonfuls of squash. It seemed to stay down but you would laugh at the face she was making. Her eyelids would flutter like the wind was blowing in her face every time I would spoon in the squash- I wish I could have caught the picture just right. Friday night (tonight) we gave her another round of it and although she doesn't eat it as readily as she eats the rice cereal I guess she didn't spit it out so that is a good thing.

Starting tomorrow I think we will try carrots. And three days after that we will try sweet potatoes. Yum. I'm just hoping she doesn't develop tastebuds like her dad- he is such a picky eater and I am so not picky. Maybe she will fall somewhere in the middle. And that wouldn't be all that bad either.

Traveling with an infant

So we have taken Hayley on one road trip so far and she traveled like an angel. But our true test is coming next Friday when we fly to Hawaii for a week. I know, you are asking yourself why we are taking an infant to Hawaii for a week.

The story goes like this: my husband won an award for being a top producer and the result was a trip to Hawaii for three nights and four days. Since we know that we aren't likely to make that trip back anytime soon we went ahead and booked for an extended stay. Originally we were only going for an extra day or two but somehow it turned into a week. No biggie. Except that then we were scrambling to figure out what to do with the baby.

My sister said she would watch her, but she wanted to watch her at her house. She works full time (at the same place we do) and she also lives across town. So essentially they would be in the car for at least an hour every morning to get Hayley to the babysitter and an hour every night after work. I had issues with my sister driving all over creation with Hayley during rush hour as it was- not that my sister isn't responsible, because she is- it is the other idiot drivers on the road. So my second issue was that I don't know why but I really had this thing about Hayley sleeping in her own bed every night. I mean, we are going to be gone for a week, I don't want her to think we abandoned her and sent her off to live in a strange place. I know, I know, infants are pretty hardy and she may not have even cared, but still. I love my kid too much. And who is to say that there aren't some parents out there paying for their kids therapy over incidents like that?

Well then I figured that my sister in law could come from out of town to spend a week at our house. We would pay for her plane ticket and all. It was a great idea- and it almost worked- but she had just committed to a curling tournament (are they tournaments or matches or what?). So that was out.

So anyway, my last thing was that maybe we could have our babysitter keep her for the week. I mean, after all, she does spend eight hours a day there already- she knows the place and the people. But then I figured that I am not yet at the point where I need a vacation from my kid. I mean, if I have a week off work I want to spend it with my family- my whole family.

So that is how we came to this point. We are super excited about taking this trip, and half dreading how we are going to manage to bring all the baby paraphernalia that we will need. I already called the airline- hoping the flight would he half full so that we could maybe bring her carseat on board instead of holding her the whole time and no such luck. Both the flight to and from Hawaii are booked full. Great. It is a six and a half hour flight too.

So, any tips for traveling with an infant? Anyone? Oh yeah, and don't bother suggesting Benadryl. We already asked the pediatrician and he doesn't want us giving it to her yet. Any other tips?