I would like to say a big eff you to...

...my apartment complex.  Since M and I will be moving to Connecticut in the fall, we were planning on extending our lease (that currently ends on 3/30/11) through the end of September.  When we told our apartment office that we would like to do that, they told us that they don't allow leases to end in the fall.  Ummm...WTF?  They gave us two options.  We could either extend our lease through April, which doesn't help us at all, or extend through next January and find a subletter.  Thanks a lot, apartment office.

Since we can't afford to pay double rent if we aren't able to find a subletter, we are going to have to move out.  Yep, that means we'll be moving twice in 6 months...with an infant.  Luckily, we found a decent apartment complex in town that will let us do a short term lease, but still, this really sucks.  I'm going to have to start packing us up in the near future, which is not going to be easy since Carina doesn't really like to nap anywhere other than on my shoulder.

Ugggh...please wish us luck.

1 Month

Little Miss spit up all over her lovely Ralph Lauren dress right before I took these pictures :)

Decoding baby cries?

Someone on the Babies board mentioned the Dunstan Baby Language DVDs the other day.  These videos supposedly explain how to decode your baby's cries.  I didn't want to spend money to buy it, but I was able to find some info on You Tube. I watched the video a few days ago and I've been trying to decode Carina's cries since.  I'm sort of amazed at how well it works for some of the "words".

There are 5 baby "words" described in the video:

"neh" which means "I'm hungry".

"owh" which means "I'm tired".

"eh" which means "Burp me".

"eairh" which means "I have gas".

"heh" which means "I'm uncomfortable".

I can easily identify the "neh" and "heh" words when Carina says them, but the rest elude me.  DH is completely skeptical and is currently making fun of me as I type this :)

Has anyone else heard of this?  Have you tried it with your baby?

4 weeks old!

I can't believe that four weeks ago today I was snuggling my newborn baby.  Here she is, week by week.

Birth day - napping on Dad




 

 






1 week - time for bed
 

 

2 Weeks - just woke up from a nap

 

 

3 Weeks - in a milk coma

 

4 Weeks - napping on Daddy again









Words cannot describe how amazing it is to watch her grow before our eyes.

Carina's new fascination...

Yep, that's right...she LOVES Daddy's chest hair. Poor Daddy.

These are a few of my favorite things - 1 Month

Now that we've been home with Carina for a bit, I'd like to share some of the items that we have found to be really helpful so far.

1. Itzbeen Baby Care Timer

The Itzbeen has been a life saver.  Every time you feed baby or change her diaper, you press the button and a timer starts counting.  This means at any given time you can see how long it has been since you fed or changed her.  I cannot tell you how helpful this has been!  Not having to try to remember when I last fed or changed her is amazing.  There is also a nap timer, which we sometimes use, and a miscellaneous timer that can be used for medication or something else.  Did I mention that it has a button to turn on a backlight?

2. My Brest Friend Pillow

Yes, I know that this pillow has the most ridiculous name.  M is constantly making fun of it and hey, I can't blame him.  I have to say, though, this pillow literally has become my best friend.  It is thick and supportive (not mushy like the boppy) and even has a back rest.  You don't have to hold the baby in position; your arms are free!  It is adjustable and can fit snugly enough that you can actually stand up and walk around while baby is feeding.  It also has a pocket that you can put your cell phone, lanolin, Itzbeen etc., in.  Most importantly, Carina loves it!  I think she finds it more comfortable than our Pack n Play because she would much prefer to sleep on it.

3. Munchkin Disposable Changing Pads

Never thought we would need these, but we got a box as a gift and figured we'd give them a try.  They are awesome.  We put one over the changing table cover and leave it there until she pees or poos on it.  I think each one has lasted us a few days.  Pee or poo on the disposable pad is so much better than getting it on the changing table cover!  We also plan on putting a couple in our diaper bag so we can use them on the yucky changing tables in public restrooms.

4. Fisher Price Seahorse

Carina loves this.  If she is fussy, we turn this on and she quiets down to listen to it and watch it.  It doesn't always end up soothing her to sleep, but it certainly helps.  It is really cute, too.

5. Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets

I would normally scoff at this kind of price tag for a set of 4 blankets, but these swaddle blankets are truly the best.  We probably have close to 20 different receiving blankets and these are the only ones that we use to swaddle anymore.  They are large and a little bit stretchy; perfect for swaddling!  We actually bought another set after it became clear that these were the be-all end-all of swaddle blankets.  Cute prints, too.

6. Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads

I was using reusable nursing pads at first, but after I leaked through one, my bra, my shirt, and the blanket that was covering me, I knew it was time to try something else.  These are great; they have an adhesive backing and will stick to your nursing bra or tank really well, and I haven't leaked through one of them yet (yay!)

7. Fisher-Price Precious Planet Mobile

This mobile is adorable, and I can only imagine that Carina will love it more and more as she grows and is actually able to see the cute animals and the lights it projects.  For now, she is really loving the heartbeat sound that it makes.  I'm guessing it reminds her of being in the womb?  The sound has helped settle her down when she is fussy.

8. Sheet Savers

Babies pee a lot and unfortunately, sometimes they pee through their diaper.  Put one of these across the crib and lay baby's butt on it, and then you only have to worry about changing the sheet saver when she pees.  No need to change the whole sheet in the middle of the night.  We actually have two in our crib, one for the bum and one under her head in case she spits up.

9. JJ Cole Car Seat Cover

Because they go between baby and the car seat, JJ Cole Bundle Mes are not safe and use of them will actually void your car seat's warranty. JJ Cole recently made a new product, a shower cap style cover, that does not interfere with the car seat and is perfectly safe. We have two of them and they are wonderful! They keep baby warm and cozy, and don't void the car seat's warranty. A no brainer.

10. Fisher-Price Precious Planet Tub

We tried a sponge bath at first, but she did nothing but kick and scream.  She still doesn't particularly like baths, but putting her in the tub with a couple inches of water gets the job done a lot faster.  The one thing she does really like at this point is when we take the little orange fishy cup and rinse her off.

Please feel free to share any of your favorite newborn products if I haven't listed them here. I'd love to hear what is working well for you.

Blog award!

Anonomity over at All You Knew Was Love has just given me the Stylish blogger Award.  Thanks, Anonomity!

Now on to the rules that come with receiving this award....
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!


Seven things about myself:

1. The only thing I have always wanted to do with my life is be a Mom.  My career plans and aspirations have changed a hundred times, to the point where I'm still not sure what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I have always known I wanted to have a family.
2. I currently live in Wisconsin (and have for 3.5 years), but I am a New Englander born and raised.  I was born in suburb of Boston and lived there until I was 23.  In September, we'll be returning to the East coast!  M has accepted a post-doc offer in Connecticut.  I can't wait to be back in New Engalnd.
3. I got an 800 in Math on the SATs.
4. I love the Red Sox.  Need I say more?
5. I am ridiculously type A.  I am always early for everything, I plan things months in advance, and I can't stand disorganization.  Spontaneity scares me.  And I married a ridiculously type B person!  Haha, love you babe.
6. My Mom is my best friend.  She has this uncanny ability to always know exactly what I want and need at any given time.  She was here for a whole week to help with Carina.  I can't ever thank her enough for all she has done for me.
7. I couldn't care less about being fashionable, but for some reason I just can't stop buying designer clothes for Carina (on clearance, of course) :)

Award fifteen great bloggers:

1. Papps at Our Arduous Journey
2. Mrs G. at Our Growing Garden
3. Amber at TTC isn't as easy as 1-2-3
4. Shannon at Waiting for Baby Shmizz
5. Caroline at Amor Meae Vitae
6. Em at Em & M, plain or peanut?
7. Amber at Born in a Barn
8. PFF at The many thoughts of a reader
9. Mrs. B at Life with the Bruneaus
10. MSC at What's left? There's life.
11. Sbux at Love and Lattes
12. Jenn at A Day in the Life of Jenn
13. Krista at ArmyWife-Style
14. Kelly at Our Silly Rodriguez Family
15. Mrs. W at Nothing Easy

Please check out these awesome blogs!

Carina's newborn photos

Money is a bit tight right now, so we decided not to get professional pictures of Carina taken. Luckily, a friend of mine from work is a photographer and he was happy to take a few pictures of Carina when she was about a week old. I love how they came out.

Part-time plan: check!

In addition to my 12 weeks of FMLA, my company allows you to work part-time for another 12 weeks. I just spoke with my boss this afternoon to finalize my part-time hours.

I will be working 20 hours a week from the end of March through the middle of June: Monday through Wednesday and Friday from 6:30 AM to 10 AM, and Thursday from 7 AM to 12 PM and then an hour or so working from home whenever.

These are strange hours, I know, but they will allow us to not have to worry about day care! When I am at work, M will stay home with Carina. I will take him to work when I get home, and then he will work for a few hours later than he normally does.

It will likely be exhausting for both of us, but I think we can do it for 12 weeks. We will save so much money! I am really fortunate that my company is being so flexible in allowing me to do this.

What I wish I had known

The last two weeks since giving birth have been very tiring and a lot of fun at the same time. There are a few things that I wish I had known, that might have made things a little easier on us. I'd like to share them with you.

1. Unless there is a concern about baby losing too much weight, you don't have to wake baby up every 2-3 hours at night to feed. The first couple nights we drove ourselves crazy trying to wake her up (and failing) and it made me feel like a bad Mom.

2. Your cats are not going to jump in the crib and smother the baby. I'm not kidding; our first night at home M and I slept in shifts because we thought the cats were acting a little weird and were worried about what they were going to do.

3. Stock up on pads! GIANT diaper-like pads! I took as many as I could from the hospital and it was not enough. I was not prepared for how much bleeding there would be and my stockpile of pantiliners just did not cut it. Sure, you can go out and buy them right after you get home, but trust me, you are not going to feel up to anything other than sitting on your butt your first few days at home.

4. You're not going to break the baby. I swear it took me 15 minutes to change her diaper or her clothes the first couple days because I was so worried about dislocating one of her little arms or cutting off circulation to her legs. Babies are pretty resilient; acting as if they are akin to porcelain dolls causes anxiety and stress and is just not necessary.

5. Baby poop can be explosive, and this is normal. Poor M has been sprayed with poop a number of times now. Our carpet is another casualty. Invest in disposable or washable pads that go over your changing pad cover and something (like extra wipes or pads) that you can use to try to cover the poop fountain. You're welcome.

Video nursery tour

Since we will be moving in September, we decided not to turn our second bedroom into Carina's nursery.  It's just easier for her to stay with us in our loft bedroom for now.  There isn't too much extra space, so we only have a glider, crib, and changing table.  When we move we'll probably pick up a few more pieces of furniture for her 'official' nursery.

We filmed this video the night before we ended up in L&D!

Reflection
















I look at this funny little person in awe.

M and I created her.

I grew her for almost 9 months.

And now, she is here. Amazing.

Our first week with peanut

After Carina was born, we spent about 48 hours in the hospital.  We were super lucky; the hospital had just completed a renovation of the Postpartum unit less than a week before our stay and the rooms were gorgeous!  We had a double bed, flat screen TV, and spa-like shower.  It felt more like a hotel room than a hospital room!  On baby's birthday, we got a special 'celebration dinner' from the hospital.  We had sparkling grape juice (LOL), steak and salmon, a few other courses, and chocolate cake.

Napping with Daddy at the hospital

We arrived home on Thursday, 12/30, and were a bit overwhelmed. Our apartment was a bit messy, we had so much to unpack, and had to worry about introducing Carina to the cats. Fortunately, meeting the cats went well. They are very curious when she is quiet and like to watch her, but they run away in fear when she cries! Layla actually hides in M's underwear drawer when she starts crying.

On our way home from the hospital

Since coming home we've been adjusting to this new little person and her schedule (or lack there-of).  The first night, we woke her up every 2-3 hours to nurse because that is what they told us to do at the hospital.  We drove ourselves crazy trying to wake her and trying to get her back to sleep.  The next day, my wonderful sister told me that there is no need to wake her that often.  She will wake when she is hungry, and so long as she isn't sleeping through the night there is nothing to worry about.  The last few nights have been a lot better.

Sleeping princess

Our first doctor's appointment was yesterday afternoon, and little miss is looking great. She gained 6 oz since she was discharged, and is on track to pass her birth weight soon.  Our doctor confirmed that there is no need to wake her up every 2-3 hours at night, woot!  Getting her dressed and ready to head the to the doctor took a lot longer than we planned...we were almost late!

Off to the doctor

Feeding has been going really well...no soreness, engorgement, or latch issues yet.  M has taken the initiative to become our diaper expert.  I would estimate that he changes about 90% of them!  He is loving the Rumparooz Lil Joeys so far.  They are the only cloth diapers that fit her at this point; the others are just too big!  While she is awake she has been enjoying time snuggling with us (she loves to tug at Daddy's chest hair haha) and playing in her bouncer.

Play time with Mommy

I believe in love at first sight now :)

(What would have been) 39 weeks

Since baby has arrived, I will never reach 39 weeks. So here is a post-partum update!

How far along? 4 days after baby's birth
Weight gain/loss: 142 lbs, loss of 10 lbs. already!
Maternity clothes? I think I will be wearing maternity colthes for the next couple weeks just because they are so comfy
Stretch marks? No, I can't believe it! My belly is looking pretty crazy, though. It feels like a bag of saggy Jello and the linea nigra is super dark.
Sleep? As often as peanut will let us.
Best moment this week? Having our daughter, of course!
Food cravings: I had Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza last night :)
Gender: Girl
Belly button in or out? It never stuck out. It does, however, look all weird and stretched out now
Movement? Well, she is moving on the outside now
What I miss? I don't think I miss anything about pregnancy, honestly
What I'm looking forward to: Every day with baby!
Milestones: I think her birth at 38w3d counts as a milestone, what do you think?