Last minute - let's talk parties

We already have Aurelia's baptism scheduled for the weekend after Christmas when we'll be visiting family in Philadelphia. We planned to have a reception afterwards. We also planned on throwing Carina a birthday party towards the end of January (her 2nd birthday is December 28th - HOLD ME).

But this morning I had a thought. If we throw a party for Carina in Philadelphia, most of our friends and family will be able to come. If we wait and have one here in Connecticut as planned, only a handful will make it. I think throwing two separate events in one weekend would be too much, but what if we combined them? We could have cake and decorations for Carina's birthday at the reception after the baptism.

Part of me feels a little bad because Carina didn't have a birthday party last year, but she's still too young {I think} to realize that she would be sharing her special day. In addition to family and friends being able to come if we do it this way (which is obviously the most important thing) it will also save us a lot of money, as we'll be throwing one event as opposed to two. And because I know someone will ask, we'll be putting "no gifts please" or something along those lines on the invitations.

I felt like this post needed a dose of super cute baby. Don't you agree?

What do you think? Have you ever combined events like this, and how did it go?

If we for sure decide to do this, invitations will have to be sent, like, yesterday ;)

This too shall pass, right?

Aurelia has changed from the baby who sleeps all the time and never cries into the baby who never sleeps and cries quite often. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. In general, she drifts off to sleep quite easily but wakes up {very upset} as soon as I put her down. What about your trusty Moby wrap, you might ask? Now she screams bloody murder and makes her annoyance known by promptly pooping through her diaper, the Moby, and my clothes underneath - this has happened not one, not two, but THREE times in the last couple weeks.

This all wouldn't be so hard if it weren't for the fact that Carina has gone from happily playing independently to grabbing my hand whenever I'm nursing the baby, saying, "get up Mommy! Get up!" and/or climbing on everything precariously. Mommy is only so fast while she's busy with the baby...

Dividing my time between the two of them has become increasingly difficult. What threw me over the edge yesterday was Carina pretending to cry while exclaiming, "Carina crying!" My guess is that she sees me running to comfort Aurelia every time she cries and is fake crying with the hope that I'll come running to her? HEART. BREAK.

And then today, I had to give Carina 3 time-outs because she wouldn't stop trying to bounce the baby in the bouncer or push her in the swing way too hard no matter how many times I told her to be gentle. She would bounce the bouncer violently, look at me, and say "gentle!" No, Carina, not quite. Then she poked Aurelia in the eye which of course resulted in an epic scream, and then she did it again. A toddler tornado ensued; I'm pretty sure that within an hour every single toy we own was on the floor, strewn about our entire apartment. It was only 3 PM but I seriously needed a drink.

TODDLER RAMPAGE!

I wish we could afford a babysitter even once a week so I could get some errands done, prepare dinner without a toddler pulling at my leg and/or baby spitting up all over me, or even nap. OMG a nap. With Mike's crazy work schedule (read: weekdays 10-11 hours and weekends 4+ hours), being home all day every day with my two little ladies and maintaining my sanity at the same time seems almost impossible.


How do you do it?

Momma's got a new wardrobe!

This summer has just flown by. I can't believe that BlogHer is only a week away! I've been dying to share with you the outfits I'll be wearing to the conference from Séraphine Maternity, my favorite maternity and nursing designer, and wardrobe sponsor!

Seraphine’s collection evokes the best of European style with our designs being inspired by our French heritage. Our focus is on sourcing the highest quality fabrics with the perfect fit, meaning that you don’t have to relinquish your style just because you’re pregnant. Our maternity clothes are inspired by the latest fashion trends but also practical for both pregnancy and the post-partum phase. A great emphasis is also put on offering stylish breastfeeding clothes and our patented popper system has won many awards for it's ingenious way to enable discreet feeding. 

But before you look, please, I need your help! My friend Staci Intriligator will be taking maternity photos of me while I'm in New York City, and I have no idea which outfit I should wear for the shoot. Oh and? Imagine my hair is straightened like it is in this photo, because I am promising myself I'll make time to do it before the shoot. Please comment and let me know which you think would be best!

Outfit #1: Fuchsia Knot Front Cap Sleeved Dress

Outfit #2: Slate Blue Breastfeeding Sundress

Outfit #3: Raspberry Bump Wrap Top & Cropped Zipped Denim Trousers

Outfit #4: Black Pleated Jersey Breastfeeding Dress

Oops forgot the shoes!

Outfit #5: Knitted Breastfeeding Top & Cotton Poplin Shorts. Why a sweater in August? I've heard it can get cold in the conference sessions! I'd like to be prepared for that. I can easily pair the top with the pants above if it's super chilly.

Outfit #6: Ivory Pleated Cardigan worn over the Nautical Stripe Dress here (you might recognize it from earlier this summer!) Again, since I've heard that the conference sessions and expo can be rather cold, I figured a light cardigan would be a great addition to any of the above outfits.

With a {likely} September arrival for our little girl, I love that I'll be able to continue to wear many of these styles even after the baby comes. Each and every one of the outfits I chose is breastfeeding friendly, and oh-so-comfortable.

For a limited time, get 25% off of your Séraphine order with promo code GGU25!

A big thank you to Séraphine Maternity for providing me with my beautiful new clothes for the BlogHer conference. I seriously have never felt so pretty or stylish. Ha, and I should probably learn some new poses before the maternity shoot, shouldn't I? Please weigh in, which outfit is your favorite?

I received the item(s) free of charge for reviewing purposes. All opinions are honest, and my own.

Side effect of weaning: I'm in binky hell

Prior to weaning Carina, for the most part we restricted binky usage to naps, nighttime, and long car rides. We never had an issue with taking it out of her mouth when it was time for her to be done with it. Until now, of course.

Since she decided she no longer wanted to nurse, she has deemed binky her new best friend and wants it in her mouth round the clock. Try to take it out? Cue hysterical screaming fit. Hide it? She won't stop looking for that bad boy until she finds it herself - or you break down and give it back to her.

While she is only 18 Months and it certainly wouldn't be a big issue if we let her keep it for part of the day under normal circumstances, she WON'T FREAKING EAT when it's in. Failure to thrive + binky in mouth 24/7 = big, frustrating problem.

So today, we began day #1 of operation "binky stays in crib" because our tiny toddler needs to gain weight. So far? Lots of this:

And this:

Sidenote: No, these photos weren't taken today. I would be a cruel, cruel Mommy if I had taken pictures of her while in such utter distress. And? Those Cadbury Mini-Eggs in the back right corner of that bottom photo would definitely not have lasted this long past Easter ;)

So anyway, back to Binkygate: 2012. Needless to say, she has spent a lot of time in her crib today. Mike had some luck distracting her with dancing, and then her Super Why obsession paid off long enough for us to get dinner ready. Maybe we need to invest in a few new and exciting toys that will keep her mind off of her beloved binky's absence.

Did anyone experience something similar while weaning your little one from the binky? And/or what SUPER FUN toys can your toddler not get enough of lately? Momma needs all the help she can get, here. I almost gave in a few times today because I just couldn't handle the tears. And screaming. But mostly the screaming...I have quite the headache in its wake.

Finally time to do something for myself?

I have never spent a night away from Carina. In her 14 months of life, I don't think we have been apart for longer than a few hours, aside from when I worked full time (from mid-June through August). I think it's about time for Mommy to have some me-time, don't you think?

I really really really want to go to BlogHer in New York City in August ::stomps feet:: BlogHer is a huge blogging conference where thousands of bloggers come together to connect, learn, and inspire (and let's be honest: party). I have made so many wonderful friends in the blogging community, and would absolutely love to meet some of them in person!

Reasons I especially would like to go this year:
1. New York City is only an hour and a half train ride away from me! Who knows if it will ever be so close again.
2. Many of my fantastic bloggy buddies are going and I am dying to meet them.
3. It will be harder to get away next year (and beyond) after adding another baby to the family.
4. The possibility of wearing some super cute maternity party dresses! Yep, I will be 32 weeks pregnant at the time.

What is standing in my way?
1. Child care - it will be hard for M to take the two days off of work to watch Carina, since the week after we were already planning on going on vacation with his family. We might have to consider some other options.
2. Money - it's a bit tight right now. My amazingly generous friend Tottums has offered to share her free hotel room with me, and the train ride is quite inexpensive, but the cost of the ticket, meals, materials, clothes - as I don't currently own any nice summer clothes that will fit me when I am blimp-sized, etc. will easily exceed $500. I don't know if I can justify that right now.
3. Mommy guilt - can I really be away from my family and all responsibilities for 3 whole days?

Sound off! Should I go? Are you going? Any advice/ideas/thoughts/dirty jokes for me? ;)

Eat this please, or I'm going to cry again

I took Carina for her 12 month well visit two weeks ago. She is almost 14 months old...oops. In my defense I called our health system right after New Years' but their first available appointment wasn't until mid-February. Lovely. Guess I should have called them the day we moved to town. But that's besides the point.

Carina weighed in at 18 lbs. 4 oz. which is the 3rd percentile for her age. I showed the doctor her previous growth charts and explained that while she was in the 70th percentile for weight from 2-4 months old, her weight plateaued after I went back to work full time and it hasn't rebounded. She is still gaining, but very slowly. M and I were both underweight and at the bottom of the growth charts as kids. So maybe Carina is just going to be small like us?

She really doesn't like to eat. She would much prefer to throw her food around the dining room and/or smush it into her hair. She will eat a few bites of just about anything, but then it turns into playtime. She paints with tomato sauce, fixes her hair with peanut butter, gives herself a yogurt facial, and enjoys dropping pasta on the floor and then pointing at it while exclaiming, "da!".

Do I have something on my face?

Eat it? I thought I was supposed to paint my face with it.

It looks good in my hair, too, doesn't it?

I win. You lose.

I wasn't too worried until the receptionist at the Pediatrician's office called last week. She said that the doctor reviewed Carina's chart and is concerned about her weight. They want to see her again in a month. ::sigh::

Since the high chair has always been a battle, I started putting breakfast, lunch, and snacks on a plate and setting it on the coffee table. She toddles over, eats a bite or two, and then starts playing. So, I bring the plate over to her and offer here more. Over and over again. I feel like I am chasing her around trying to shove food down her throat. I cried a couple days ago when she picked up each and every morsel of food off the plate and and threw it. Clearly, she was as frustrated as I was.

I don't want to feel like I'm spending my whole day trying to get her to eat. She'll eat if she's hungry, right? Like I said before, maybe she is just going to be small? I would so appreciate any advice, tips, and/or words of encouragement. Any parents of tiny kids out there?

Holy freaking tantrum

Carina has started hysterically screaming multiple times a day. Not just when she falls and bumps her head, not only when she experiences the travesty of a diaper change, but also when she...

• gets something that she wants taken away from her (e.g. my iPhone, some piece of lint she picked up off the floor and is trying to eat, cat food)
• drops a toy
• becomes startled

I'm talking hysterical full-blown tantrum. And usually, no amount of hugging, bouncing, distracting with shiny objects and toys, or even comfort nursing {my last resort} works to calm her down.

How DARE you steal this clump of dirt I found

I hope our upstairs neighbors don't try to get us kicked out...unfortunately our walls and ceiling are paper thin :(

Any advice on how to squash these epic fits right in their tracks? I try to ignore them when it's clear that there is no legitimate reason for her screaming, but my ears literally cannot take it. Maybe leave her be in her crib until she calms down?

What ridiculous things render your baby inconsolable? {Hopefully it's not just me...}

Budget freakout & my NOOO face

Due to a series of unfortunate miscalculations and misunderstandings, and the fact that everything here in Connecticut costs a hell of a lot more than it did back in Wisconsin, things are rather tight financially right now. And by tight I mean we're probably going to end up depleting our savings each month that I continue to not work.

I'd love to find something part-time, but because the price of day care is so high, none of the job listings I'm seeing would pay enough to make it worth our while. And my non-compete agreement with my old job runs through the end of August. So in other words, I basically can't do anything with my skillset, knowledge, and experience until then. Lovely.

I thought of maybe babysitting one or two kids in addition to Carina, but in Connecticut that would mean I would have to get licensed or else they can throw me in the Long Island Sound {practically}. It would take way past August to get licensed.

So do we just wait it out, as we deplete our savings month after month? We have enough to cover us until then, but we were also hoping to be able to buy a house before 2035. With my previous calculations I thought we would be saving a little bit of every paycheck. I feel so dumb for having made such an egregious mistake (after reading a couple sources online I thought that M's salary was FICA and Medicare tax exempt, but that's not the case...boo hiss). The fact that it costs twice as much for car insurance here and was $250 (!!!!) to get two CT licenses certainly doesn't help, either.

For such an organized control freak who doesn't ever usually make mistakes, finding this out literally made me go like this...

My off-center no makeup NOOO-face

Please, lay your money saving ideas on me. I coupon and always shop sales, anything else you can think of that might help? Or ways to earn a little extra money?

On One Year of Breastfeeding (and Beyond?)

I grew Carina on the inside for 9 months, and have continued to help her grow on the outside now for 1 year. I breastfed her exclusively for her first 6 months of life, but didn't start to decrease the amount I nursed her until just recently, as she never really took to table food until now.

Taking a snoozy break from nursing at 2 days old

I don't know when I'll wean her. For now, the only thing I am sure of is that I'm not ready yet, and she doesn't seem to be either. She has, however, been getting whole milk in a sippy cup with her meals for the last two weeks and is doing great! She seems to like it. But still, first thing after she wakes up in the morning, before each of her two naps, prior to bed, and usually 1-2 additional times, she nurses.

To be honest, the time she spends snuggled up against me nursing is my favorite part of the day. I will miss it so much after I wean her. My task right now is to somehow bring myself to a place where I'll be emotionally ready as soon as she is. Yikes. I can't believe I already have to think about this; time has gone by way too fast.

Can I confess that as excited as I am at the prospect of more independence (after I wean her, anyone can feed her at any time - this would have been true a long time ago had she ever been okay with bottles), I will be sad that she no longer needs me the way she does now. I won't have this claim to her anymore; at any time, anywhere, I can scoop her up and retreat to a quiet place for our snuggly nursing time. After I wean her, it won't be the same. Not going to cry... ::gets it together::

It's funny to look back on how I was feeling during every step of the way...

• At 2 months I felt like a milk factory
• At 6 months I talked about my love of nursing
• At 9 months I tried to give my left boob a pep talk due to it's decision to slack off

Now, at 1 year, my supply is slowing even further. Carina usually has to nurse for a couple minutes before I let down; it isn't ready and waiting all the time like it used to be. I'm not sure whether or not this is normal at this point, or if I should pump a little or return to my Mother's Milk tea. Any 1 year plus nursers out there? What is(was) your supply like at 1 year?

Opinions, please!

It's about time to pick out our Christmas cards, again! I've really been looking forward to perusing various designs and finding the perfect one. In the past I haven't really cared that much, but since we live so far from friends and family there are still a number of people who have not yet met Carina. So, I think it's only fitting to completely plaster her face all over our Christmas cards.

So without further ado, here are the ones I put together on Tiny Prints. All of them have lots of photos because I just know think that our relatives and friends won't be able to get enough of her adorable face :)






Which one do you like best?

A Little Nervous - Need Some Advice

I'm flying home with Carina this weekend to visit family and check out some apartments in Connecticut. M will be staying home to work on his thesis.

We've flown with Carina a couple times before: the first time was a nightmare, the second was better (if you don't count our oversleeping and missing our flight). My fingers are crossed it goes smoothly this time...third time's a charm right? But alas, no M to help this go round.

This is going to be fun, Mom...I promise!

What sort of things have you brought or done to keep your baby happy on flights? Should I bring her brand new umbrella stroller? Or the carrier? I would love to hear what worked or didn't work for you when you traveled by air.

Need your help - I'm a virgin (of sorts)

I had never thought about going to a consignment sale until my friend Tottums over at the Froggy & the Mouse got me all excited about it with a few of her recent posts. She scored a ton of great stuff for her boys for super cheap.

Well, I recently heard that one was coming to my town and {even better} they allow first time Moms with babies under a year old to shop early. So, I signed up and am all set to go! I can either go this evening or tomorrow morning, before the general public is allowed in around Noon.

Here's where I need help: I have NO IDEA what I am doing.

• Do I need a game plan? 
• Are there certain types of gear/toys/clothes that tend to go faster than others? 
• I'm assuming I need to bring cash? 
• Should I take Carina, or would it be easier to leave her at home?
• Do you think tonight or tomorrow would be better?
• Am I going to have to dodge and/or get mowed over by crazy ladies wielding giant strollers full of baby gear?

These photos (of a sale that Tottums went to) are giving me a panic attack

Maybe I'm just way overthinking this? Why am I nervous about it?

Issues? I haz them, clearly. Please share your tips with me.

Pep talk to Lefty

My supply has been decreasing the last couple weeks. I've started drinking my nursing tea again, but so far it hasn't helped. It is particularly noticeable in my left boob; it just feels floppy all the time. If I could have a conversation with lefty, it would go something like this...

Dear Lefty,
I notice that you've been feeling down lately. Please don't dwell on the fact that you've always lagged behind righty - rather focus on how we need you. You can't give up on us now. Chin up, fill up, and I won't have to dip into my freezer stash to feed Carina.

I know you're depressed because you haven't seen fancy lingerie since before the baby was born. Day in and day out you're squished up against a scratchy breast pad surrounded by a nursing bra or tank. Certainly not at the height of fashion, I agree. If you step it up, I promise to buy you the most extravagant unmentionables that I can find once we are no longer breastfeeding.

I assume you're bitter that you didn't grow at all during or after my pregnancy. I felt that twinge of jealousy you had when pregnant friend after pregnant friend bragged about their burgeoning bosoms. You were hoping for some additional boobage, I know. I'm so sorry that you are the same size today that you were before. Truly. I wish there was something I could do to help you out there, but sadly I cannot.  Just know that I commiserate.

Lovingly,
Mama G

Anyone else have this problem around 8-9 months?  Did anything work to increase your supply?

Quick, before I have to resort to sticking something in there...

Do you have any uncommon cures for baby constipation?  Carina's last 'movement of the bowels' was LAST Saturday.

We've tried:

• Water
• Pears
• Prune juice
• Massage
• Warm baths
• Jumperoo

Next up on our list is putting a thermometer in her pooper. We would like to avoid this if at all possible.

We called the doctor last night and they told us to keep doing the things we have tried, and to call back tonight if the eagle still has not yet landed.

Still happy, yay!

She doesn't really seem to be in any pain, thank goodness, which is almost unbelievable considering how backed up she must be.  I am going to be SO happy when this is all over.  I'm afraid it is going to be Poopocalypse Strikes Again...

I guess another question would be, how do you keep your baby regular?  I can't believe I'm asking this.  Uggh.  The joys of being a Mommy.

Steppin' Out Saturday!

When it comes to fashion, lately I have been uninspired.  Embarrassing confession time: I haven't bought any new clothes since before I was pregnant. ::hides::

It's not that I'm not feeling good about myself; I just haven't had the time to go shopping.  I am linking up to Steppin' Out Saturday for the first time in hopes that I can find some new fashion inspiration!

Tonight we are going out for a casual dinner to celebrate my new job as a Full Time Mom.  My last day of work at my company of 4+ years was yesterday.

I am only now realizing there is a spot of baby spittle on my boob.  I am too lazy to retake this photo; I hope you forgive me :)

Cuter close up of Carina

Mama G:
Dress - Ann Taylor Loft
Tank - La Leche League Nursing Tank (lol)
Sandals - Kohl's
Necklace - M bought it for me on the cruise ship during our honeymoon

Carina:
Dress & Headband - Chaos & Love shop



Help a Momma out, please tell me where your favorite places to shop are!