Archive for the ‘baby business’ Category

It would only figure.

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Posted 30 Jan 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, not so much

It’s 9pm. We already put Abby down for the night because she seemed extra tired today and a little sniffley. She was fast asleep, and now she’s awake, and crying hysterically. She has a cold. Sleep training night three? FOILED.

(For the record, last night after she fell asleep, she slept for almost 12 hours.)

**Update**
Abby did eventually fall back asleep thanks to the excellent rocking & soothing skills of her dada. And she slept through the night. Turns out she not only is sick with a cold (and the runniest nose on the planet) but she’s also got at least one tooth coming in as well. Poor girl.

Paging Dr. Ferber. (Nights 1 & 2)

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Posted 29 Jan 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category baby business, other people are awesome, paparazzi, RAD, The Hubs

Last night was the dreaded first night of sleep training. I’m not going to lie, I had butterflies in my stomach the minute I walked in the door after work.

Day One.

At 8:15, we got Abby ready for her bath where she played with her Yo Gabba Gabba bath toys, and got in her jammies. We sat on the couch, I read her Goodnight Moon, fed her a bottle and she was close to snoozing. I quickly got up and put her in her crib. (I admit, at this point I panicked because I just wanted it over with. In hindsight I would have read a book or two to her in her room in the rocking chair.) The minute I lowered her into her crib, it was hysterics turned up to 11. I said “Night night, I love you, time to sleep” and left the room with the door nearly closed.

I sat on the couch and looked at the clock. It was 9:03. I couldn’t go back in until 9:06. She was screaming “MAMMA! MAMMA!!” and crying harder than I’ve ever heard. I waited a bit and looked at the clock again. It was still 9:03. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME. Tears started welling up in my eyes and I started posting on Twitter to distract myself. FINALLY it was 9:06. I went in, she got more hysterical for a moment, kept reaching for me and saying “DOWN! DOWN!” so I leaned into the crib, hugged her and laid her down again (which was a joke cause she was back up again in 2 nanoseconds), told her I loved her and left the room again. That’s when the gag-crying started. I knew it was going to happen. (She didn’t barf, THANK GOD.)

The hubs announced he wanted to take the next one, which was good since she’d given up on asking for MAMMMMAAAAAAAAA and had moved on to DAAAAAADDDAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! It was 9:08…he had to wait 5 minutes this time. It was still horrible, but then she started getting quiet. We’d peek on her video monitor and she’d be down. We’d look at each other in anticipation, and just like that she’d stand up and start screaming again. Then down & quiet. Then up and screaming. It got to be 9:13 and she was still crying sort of but not really. The hubs went in and it started up all over again, except when he left, she was quiet and asleep within 5 minutes. It was 9:20.

Abbers after a good night's sleep

She stayed asleep all night and didn’t wake up until 7:30 this morning.

Day Two.

"you have no idea I'm not going to get a good nap today."

Abby did not nap much today as we were out running errands during her prime nap times, resulting in a couple cat naps totaling maybe 25 minutes. It got to be about 5:30 and she was passing out, so we reluctantly let her catch a couple z’s WAY later than normal.

getting ready for bathtime

I made dinner, the hubs gave Abbers her bath around 8:30, she had her bottle in the living room and instead of getting sleepy like she did last night, she asked to be put down. NOT GOOD. I picked her up and brought her into her room, where I had a stack of books waiting, along with dimmed lights and a glass of coping medicine for mamma (read: wine).

The setup.

I read books to her for 25 minutes until she FINALLY seemed tired, kissed her, said goodnight and laid her in her crib. She immediately stood up and started screaming, but before I could even get the monitor from our room to ready myself in the living room, it was quiet. SHE WAS ASLEEP. WITHIN 15 SECONDS.

It’s 11:21 and she’s still asleep.

Now, I fully expect a relapse night or something because (and by saying this I’m sealing our fate) this was WAY too easy. And/plus/also WHY DIDN’T WE DO THIS SOONER? It went a lot like people said. The first night was the hardest and also why didn’t we do this sooner? I mean, I know we didn’t because of holidays and being away…but we really should have done this MONTHS ago.

I’m so glad we did it. Even if the next few nights are hard…I’m so very glad.

Thank you everyone for words of encouragement and advice over the past few weeks.

Sleeeeeep, my pretty.

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Posted 26 Jan 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, motherhood, not so much, other people are awesome, The Hubs

Just to get it out of the way – my insides are much better, thank you for asking. I’ve managed 3 meals without any, eh…distress, so that’s awesome. And I came into work this morning! Well, maybe more like this afternoon since I got all purdied up and came to work only to realize my laptop was still at home. (This SO isn’t the first time I’ve done this.) So I had to walk back to my car and go home and get it. BUT I WAS AT WORK TODAY, DAMMIT! And it felt REALLY good to be there. Mostly to be out of the house.

SO. Where do I begin this story? Hmmm. Hokay. So, since the dawn of Abbers we had ONE way of getting her to sleep, and that was in our arms.  Sitting on the couch, walking her in circles around the dining room table, rocking her in her room, you name it – it happened in our arms. This wasn’t too big of a deal. When she got to be about 9 months, I asked her doctor about it. Her response? “She won’t need to fall asleep in your arms when she’s going off to college, so I wouldn’t worry about it.” She also referred me to a few books, including Ferber and others. So, we let it slide some more. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? (See also: I’m scurred of sleep training.)

Fast forward to a few months ago,  suddenly Abbers has her nighttime bottle (shut up about her having a bottle, we’ll deal with that eventually) and instead of passing out in our arms, she’s a little ball of energy. And BOOK! READ ME THIS BOOK! I DON’T WANT TO BE HELD! And I’ll scream if you suggest sleeping! This was usually lasting us until 10, even 11pm sometimes. We resorted to laying her in our bed while one of us lays with her in the dark. (Probably a bad idea.) She’ll pull out every trick in the book, laughing at nothing, pulling her socks off, testing gravity, but eventually will quiet down and fall asleep (pseudo on her own). AND NOW, she will wake up in the middle of the night, will not fall asleep or allow you to put her back down in her crib, so she ends up back in our bed because WE NEED SLEEP SOMETIMES TOO, little girl.

We’ve been battling this for a while. And with the holidays, vacations, random nights out – it’s never been a good time to attempt sleep training.

Until this weekend.

I’ve been asking interweb friends, twitpeeps – you name it, I feel like I’ve gotten advice and encouragement from every last one of you. For some reason, it wasn’t until I read this blog post by Melissa at Dear Baby that I felt like I might actually be able to do it.

Abby is not going to do well. She will cry until she gags and maybe even barfs. She does that a lot if she gets hysterical. I’m preparing myself for that. I’m also preparing for having my own little meltdown since I’ll be extra hormonal by this weekend, likely crying at Disney World commercials I’ve seen a fafillion times.

Abby WILL do this though. I know she knows how to fall asleep on her own, I watch it nearly every night in our bed. She’s a smart girl. And she knows we are here. So, please, if you have any extra good juju to pass our way, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD pass it our way. It’s going to be a long weekend.

I’ll report as I can after Friday night, aka DOOMSDAY FOR ABBERS.

Abbers, aka Evel Knievel

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Posted 03 Dec 2010 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, motherhood, not so much

So, my dear, sweet Abigail pulled a stunt the other day that made me nearly cry out in fear/sorrow and also made me want to high five the little shit.

She climbed out of her crib.

Mind you, it was of course unsuccessful. Papa (the hubs’ dad) had just put her in her crib in an attempt to get her to sleep. She apparently said “eff that noise, papa!” and then launched herself over the side, landing on the one side of the crib without carpeting. With a thud. And not on her feet. And then an hour of crying. She also nearly gave Papa a heart attack. Nurse Papa kicked in and checked her out and she was without bumps, bruises or concussions.

First – WTF Abbers? Since when do you climb? While that is awesome that you’ve learned how to do that, LET’S NOT. MMMKAY?

Second – I thought I lowered the crib already? How in the hell did you get out of it? Then I remember that I made the mistake of putting the crib on the middle setting. Not the lowest. No. I thought – “She won’t be able to climb over! This will be easier for us to get her in and out!” Low and behold, she did…like, 6 months later.

So, I lowered it. And then continued to panic because OMGWHATIFSHEDOESITAGAIN?

I briefly thought about this:

And then decided that having it on it’s lowest setting is just fine. If she pulls another Evel stunt again? She gets the toddler bed.

Just a taste of the birthday fun…

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Posted 28 Oct 2010 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, motherhood, paparazzi

One year.

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Posted 27 Oct 2010 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, motherhood, paparazzi

I simply cannot accept the fact that an entire year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday my bed-ridden ass was firmly planted on the couch, pelvis about to split in two, stranded in a sea of bottled water and low-fat foods (thanks gallbladder!). And then, it only seems a few months ago we were sleeping in shifts with your bassinet making the round trip from the living room to our bedroom.

Today is a day of mixed emotions. I am both happy and sad that you’re one year old. I am thankful I don’t have to deal with the days of feeling like I might break you, or when you’d cry and I’d have absolutely no clue what to do to soothe you. But I also miss when you were just so tiny that you’d fit on my chest like a little teddy bear, fast asleep and cooing softly. Now, you’re like an animal struggling to get comfy while you take up my entire torso AND shoulder. (But I love that too.) You’re just such a little lady now. In only one year.

To date, you can say (in your own way): ball, baby, quack, hot, hi, bye-bye, belly button, doggie, woof-woof and of course, mama and dada. You sniff when you see flowers…anywhere. On TV, in a book, on my shirt; you wrinkle your nose and sniff. It might be the cutest thing ever. You also (even though you acted as if you had no interest in learning how) blew your dada a kiss on Monday without being prompted. You aren’t walking yet, but I would guess that by Christmas you’ll be on your feet.

You are, without a doubt, the most important thing in our lives. We love you more than even we understand. This has been one of the most educational, emotionally trying, beautiful and completely awesome years of my life. I can only expect to say that again and again for the years to come.

To think, my idea of having a baby was initially sparked by my nerdy curiosity – what would happen to me if I became pregnant?

And a year later, I can answer with this:

I will not make her room a pink nightmare…

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Posted 20 Oct 2010 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category baby business, house stuffs, RAD, retail therapy

…but DAMMIT. I want ALL OF THIS FOR HER.

The new Zinnia collection from Dwell Studio. Is it not presh? I love all of it.

It’s coming…

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Posted 19 Oct 2010 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, RAD

Careful, now.

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Posted 13 Oct 2010 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category baby business, marriage, motherhood, The Hubs

Let me start this post by saying this:

I’m about to talk about stuff that people such as co-workers, men in general and my family probably don’t want to read. So, if you’re any of these people, kindly exit stage right. I’ll wait patiently with my Minnesota Twins Homer Hanky on my head. And a mustache.

Alright, if you’re still here and you’re one of those people, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Yesterday, I had a visit with John the Midwife. Don’t get ahead of yourself, I’m not pregnant like the rest of the blogosphere seems to be. However, the time had come. The IUD had to come out.

AGAIN – let me reiterate – I DON’T WANT TO GET PREGNANT.

Although Mirena is supposed to do a plethora of wonderful things, the only positive I’ve had from it is not getting pregnant. (cheers and applause) The 2 weeks of bleeding a month, random cramping and possible emotional side effects? It’s been 10 months. I’ve had enough.

Honestly, I’m really bummed this didn’t work out. Not getting pregnant and never having to think about it? AWESOME. Like, TOTALLY AWESOME. The side effects were just outweighing the positive.  But then the question arose – what do I do now?!

After a good long talk with the hubs, and then with John the Midwife…I came to a conclusion. I’m back to NFP/charting/temping/TTA and ::ehem:: other barriers.

I did this for a full year before we tried to have a baby, and it worked quite well. More importantly, I was hormone free and felt really good. Granted, now that I know what pregnancy and childbirth are like, I am deathly afraid of becoming pregnant again, which is making me doubt this method…but I think it’ll be okay. I’m about to renew my subscription to a certain website, and already feel better. My brain feels clearer. Who knows, maybe this will help me with my anxiety? Only time will tell.

So, here’s to not getting knocked up, eh?

Abby’s party will not be perfect.

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Posted 09 Oct 2010 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, motherhood

To say that I have a lot going on right now would be an understatement. Basement & bathroom remodel, the hubs belated birthday celebration, stomach flu recovery, planning & prepping for out of town guests, working 32 hours a week….all culminating with Abby’s birthday.

Oh…that’s right. I have a birthday party to plan.

Lately, amongst other things, extravagant first birthday parties are all the rage. Specifically in the (deep breath) mommy blogger sect. Everything coordinated, fancy favor bags, personalized water bottles, expensive cakes, decorations up the wazooo…the list goes on and on.

So, of course…I got caught up in it. Started scouring Etsy for the perfect handmade “Happy Birthday” banner. Brainstormed theme ideas.  Ordered invitations from Tiny Prints. Imagined our dining table transformed into a favor/cake altar worthy of gracing the pages of Martha Stewart magazine.

Then life happened.

This week I entered a panic mode because not only have I not invited anyone save a few family members…I haven’t planned anything. ANYTHING.

Tonight, I decided that’s okay. Tonight I decided – that’s just not us. This is hardly going to be a party full of kids. We just don’t know that many people with children. And as much as I think a photo collage of a thousand dollar birthday party would look awesome in my blog…that’s just not how we are.

We WILL have  a beautiful party. There’ll be balloons, food, a cake and a bunch of people who love Abby. (I’m sure there’ll be a few gifts too.) She’ll probably freak the eff out because WHO ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE AND WHY IS IT SO LOUD AND PRESENTS AND SUGAR AND SENSORY OVERLOAD.

So that’s that. When she’s older and wants a freaking princess birthday party, a princess party she will have. Until then, we’ll keep it simple.

*The obvious disclaimer: Big fancy parties are cool. In fact, some of my friends have thrown them. I’m not hatin’. They’re just not for us.

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