What a difference a year makes

It’s old, cliche and true – what a difference a year makes. This time last year I was a sleep-deprived new mother wondering just how many outfits a newborn could go through in 1 day. I mean, seriously, have you seen how often an infant blows out a diaper – it’s beyond ridiculous. I was really wondering if I was ever going to get the hang of being a Mom. Changing a diaper is easy – its everything else that’s a problem.

Well, I’m happy to say that those long sleepless nights and wide eyed, deer-in-the-headlights look are gone. At least for the moment. This year has been a whirlwind of baby, baby and more baby. The milestones my little family has marked every month astonish me, and I couldn’t be happier to call the hubby and Baby R my own. Not everday is a fun day, but even the worst of days leave us smiling. There’s usually nothing a smile from Baby R or a squeeze from the hubby won’t fix.

My little girl is a toddler now – hard to imagine that just 13 months ago she was a little lump who cried, pooped and nursed a million times a day. Now she is a stubborn, independent, smiling little blondie with a knack for wrapping Daddy her around her finger and saying uh oh whenever she drops something over her highchair – on purpose.

Sippy Cups and Transitioning

Like most parents out there, hubby and I have struggled with when and how to wean Baby R to a cup. Not necessarily the time period, but rather what cup to use. While that sounds weird, its true! I knew I’d breastfeed until she was a year old, but at about 7 months I started giving her a cup so she would drop the bottle at a year old. Genius right? The literature/doctors tell me it will take some time to get her to a cup, and that she should not have a bottle once she hits a year old. So here I am thinking “what a good, ahead of the curve Mom I am, she’s a pro at drinking from a sippy cup” Not exactly.

My darling little daughter wants absolutely nothing to do with drinking milk out of a sippy cup. She’s a pro at the actual physical ability, but when she finds out its milk and not water or juice coming out she opens her mouth and lets it run all over. Awesome.

Now, in fairness, we did try on multiple occasions before the last few weeks to give her milk out of a sippy cup, but she refused so I though she just needed time. Cue “bonehead” sign above my head.

A friend of mine told me it was hell on earth getting her son from the bottle to the cup, so I’m cringing thinking about Baby R still being bottle obsessed in six months. Weaning her from nursing hasn’t been a problem, in fact, just yesterday she finally took a bottle from me. The first time ever. If I was around she wanted the boob, not the bottle. So it seems my stubborn little babe is very particular.

I’m on the 4th type of sippy cup this week, and my nanny wants me to get the kind of cup  the other little girl has because sometimes Baby R will drink from that one. Great. Another $5 bucks to shell out for a STUPID CUP.

I’m sure there will be lots of tears (on my part?!) in this process, and so much for my “smart” thinking on getting this process started early.

Hard to Believe

It’s hard to believe its already the middle, getting to be  the end of September. I feel like I just posted a few days ago, but it turns out its been a few weeks! I know time flies when you’re having fun, but lately I feel like I need a time machine just to go back and get things done! Somewhere between the beginning of the month and now , a million little things have happened, and a million more were forgotten. Last week I headed to TJ Maxx to get something I knew I needed. They didn’t have it, and when I went back yesterday, I couldn’t for the life of me remember what had been SO important only 8 days ago.

I think a lot of people feel this way, and if I could find a way to add an extra hour or two to each day, I could be a very rich woman. Think of what we could do with an extra hour – and I don’t mean an extra hour to work – I mean an extra hour to spend with the family, get some groceries, make a Halloween costume (it is that time of year!) do some yoga or veg out on the couch. Personally, I would pay a great deal of money to have an extra hour or two in my day. Which means,  theoretically of course, if I had an extra hour in my day it would take longer to get older and I would get to be younger for longer. Now that is something I can really get behind! Not that becoming an adult hasn’t had its advantages, but I hate to think I’m getting older. Considering I’m having friends for dinner, and they have kids, and I’ve actually had to prepare more than noodle ramen, I think getting older has already started. Now for that extra hour….

7 months

It’s hard to believe that 7 months ago – at this very minute – I was bargaining with the anesthesiologist to please please give me another epidural. Alas, she said no, that two was my limit, and unfortunately I was going to have to push the baby out without more pain meds. And I (screaming the whole way) did. At 5:41 on February 2nd, Baby R arrived as a fat, healthy baby. It was hard to believe that within in 24 hours (ok, 9 months) I had become a mother. A few pushes and life changed forever.

And changed it has. No longer is everything about me or my husband or my job or anything else I deemed important at the time, but it’s centered around Baby R and the little family she created when she entered this world. It’s not up to my husband and I to figure out what to do anymore, it’s up to us to figure out how to help Baby R become the best person she can be. The changes, I find, are the most wonderful changes in the world. Not at all scary (ok, sometimes they are!) like people make them out to be when they speak to you in that dark, deep tone and say “nothing will ever be the same”. Well, duh!! That was the point! We were ready to leave behind our childhood, and create someone elses. We were grateful for the change, and looking back its hard to believe its only been 7 months. Certain days it feels like a minute, other days I can barely remember what it was like to not have a child.

I’ll never forget the definitive moment of “I’m having a baby, and I’m no longer a child” that to me, set a clear line of leaving my childhood behind, becoming responsible for someone else’s. I had progressed enough during the night that the Doctor had me wheeled into Labor and Delivery at about 9am (I was induced so my last night of Freedom was spent hanging out in the OB ward – fun!) and as I was saying goodbye to my family (hubby and my Mom would follow me in a bit) my Dad looked at me, gave me a hug and a kiss, said I love you and good luck. Right there, at that moment, I became I full-fledged adult. My “Daddy” was sending me off to become a Mom, and emotionally, sent me off into the great big world (bawling my eyes out I might add, damn hormones).

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve lived on my own since I graduated college, paid my own way (mostly!), got married and settled into life as a couple. But I always felt that kid-like exuberance and having Baby R, my kid-like exuberance turned into something much more concrete, fulfilling and satisfying. I’m not sure what it is, but I like it. Sure, some days I want to take off and not have a care in the world. But most days, I’m happy as can be focusing on my little family, and the wonderful changes Baby R has brought to it. Not only am I more complete, but my marriage is, my life is and I’m pretty sure that its only going to get better – so Happy Birthday Baby R!

Shoes, Spitup and what it means to be a Mom

I just looked at my shoes, and realized there is baby puke all over the left one. Lovely. Thinking back, I now remember not wiping it off after Baby R projectile vomited all over me last week. I took it off, cleaned up myself, her, the kitchen and anything else in the path and called it a day. Never thinking I should clean up the shoe that took the brunt of spitup fest. Oh well. And now, its been there for so long, I’m just leaving it there because – well, its old, its dry and lets face it – not as disgusting as would have been before I had a kid.

Not to say that I’m not still a clean freak (I am, much to my husbands glee and dismay) but little things don’t matter as much – nor do I have time to worry about such a little thing as my own shoes(!). I suppose that’s kind of what its like to be a Mom. The worrying and fretting I did before has now been placed elsewhere and I end up wearing a spitup covered shoe days later.

More suffering for small businesses with the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010

So, it’s not every day that I hear Congress and makeup in the same phrase. And, by phrase, I mean legislation. Other than thinking some Congresswomen need more or need less of the stuff I don’t really think of it – at all. But something came across my desk the other day that I find rather absurd. The “Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010″—sponsored by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) –the bill claims to regulate personal care products – makeup, soap, shampoo, deodorant, shaving cream, baby shampoo – really anything you use to keep yourself looking, feeling and smelling fresh.

My first thought was – huh? Why is Congress worried about my makeup? My second thought was stay away from my stuff as well as didn’t the industry ask for regulations way back when and the government said no? Hey – I know these things – I LOVE makeup, and in full disclosure, have worked in the industry. And, the simple answer is yes; the personal care industry asked for FDA regulations in the 70’s but was turned down because the government didn’t have the time or money to waste testing lipstick. So the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel was setup by the industry (in conjunction with the FDA and Consumer Federation of America) to assess the safety of cosmetic ingredients and then publish its findings in peer-reviewed journals and discuss its findings publicly. Not bad for an industry the government told to take a hike.

One thing to note, though, while CIR itself doesn’t test cosmetics/products, all companies – large and small – are required (by law) to test their products and have studies that show they are safe before said product is put in front of the consumer. Now, if the law already requires testing and positive proof that something is safe, why should the government waste it’s time requiring re-testing of everything? Don’t they have better things to do? Like fix the economy? Or education? Just a thought.

Another thing to note – this applies to new products as well as products we’ve used for years. I mean, do you think I would REALLY use baby shampoo that I thought was unsafe? The baby shampoo I have for Baby R has been around since my Grandma was a baby and she’s fine, my Dad’s fine and I’m fine. And I have no reservation whatsoever that the products I use, and my family use, are safe. I think we all deserve a little more credit when it comes to protecting our family and ourselves. The products targeted in the legislation have long been trusted by their customers, and I’m no different. I don’t appreciate Congress telling me what I should and should not be trusting. That’s my decision, not theirs.

After reading through some of the legislation, one thing that stuck out even more than the makeup testing bit was how much small businesses would suffer. The fact of the matter is this bill would place an undue burden on a small business by mandating that they provide a bunch of information that doesn’t do anything. If one tiny little thing changed for a company – say, the lavender shipper changes to another lavender shipper, that business would have to notify the government and have everything re-verified before that lavender product could go back on the market. What small business (or big business for that matter) has the ability to do that? With the time it takes the government to do things these days (healthcare anyone?), who knows when the small business would hear back from them.

So what does that mean for us as customers? Your favorite soap maker at the local market? Gone. The lady with the yummy smelling hand lotion at that cute shop you love? Gone. All because Congress decided to get involved with our daily “get ready for the day, shampoo the hair, put some makeup on (if the kids aren’t pulling you in another direction), and rub some lotion on your hands” routine that, up until the other day, I took for granted. I have a specific routine with certain products that I rarely deviate from, and if Congress gets involved and I can’t do that because my product isn’t available, or has become too expensive or I can’t even find a new lipstick to wear this Christmas season I will be beyond pissed. Not to mention extremely disappointed that my Aunt won’t be able to find her favorite soap from Casco Soap Company and I won’t see my favorite organic table at Eastern Market.

Mama

Baby R said Mama last night!! I know at 6 1/2 months she’s a little young to be talking per se, but she looked right at me, smiled and said Mama. I have to believe that my little darling knew exactly who she was talking to and what she was saying when those two little syllables popped out of her mouth.

Now, as most new parents – or even older ones – know waiting for your kid to speak is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. You’re not sure when they’re going to talk, how much or how often, you just know that at some point their mouth will open and words will come out. Obviously, Baby R won’t be talking talking for a while, but for now that little “Mama” she’s making is music to my ears.

One of those days

This is one of those days where it kills me to be away from Baby R. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with her or me or anything serious, but after spending three whole days with her this weekend, going back to work this week was not easy.

Overall, as a working Mom, I’ve been fine leaving her with the nanny each day. Her nanny is a wonderful woman who loves her and she gets lots of hugs and kisses and playtime with her little friends. But there are some days – like today – when I just want to be a Mom. I don’t want to have to worry about client affairs, reports getting done or what strategy works best for this campaign. I just want to be home with my daughter. I want to be that Mom you see walking to the park, running errands and standing on the front porch waiting for Daddy to come home.

Obviously this little idyllic world I’ve just described is much more complicated. There are diaper changes, screaming fits, teeth announcing themselves, and other lovelies that come with being a parent on a day-to-day basis. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job (really I do) and I love being a working Mom – to me I get to have adult interaction and intelligent interactions, but I am still a Mom. I can provide for my child, support her, nurture her and watch her grow (she’s not a plant, I promise) all while being my professional self, and my Mom self. It’s a pretty neat thing that I have chosen to do – and am lucky enough to do – not only because I have a great husband, but because I work for a great company. It’s just that every once in a while, I want to be selfish and have Baby R all to myself for the day, and worry about nothing else other then what will the two of us do today?!

Right now, however, I’m going to settle for looking forward to the best part of my day. And, that is getting home and seeing that huge toothless grin and those fat little legs start to kick in excitement because Mommy is home. And that is why, right now, I really really want to be home.

Biohazard!! Everyone out of the water

So here I am sitting at the pool this past Saturday, enjoying a few hours (and by hours I mean maybe 1 hour and 15 minutes) away from the baby, and all of a sudden I hear the pool manager yell “Biohazard in the water, everybody out! Biohazard in the water, everybody out!”

Now, you want to clear out a pool with 30 people in it that is the way to go. So of course everyone is now staring at the pool manager and lifeguards wondering what is going on, and why are they staring so intently where some kids where swimming just a few moments before. Turns out, the biohazard was…you guessed it – poop! At least I’m pretty sure it was poop, they fished it out and tied it up in a plastic bag – just like when people curb their dogs, so I’m assuming it was poop.

As I was watching all of this go down, I couldn’t help but do 2 things – 1. laugh hysterically – hey it was funny! and 2. wonder if they were going to follow CDC guidelines for cleaning up such an incident. In full disclosure, I’m a bit more tuned in to this stuff because I’ve written for the American Chemistry Council’s Healthy Pools blog, so of course I HAD to observe what the lifeguards were doing to get the water back in shape. I mean, here was my job, literally coming to life in front of me.

So not only was everyone out of the water, lickity split, the lifeguards actually seemed to follow the guidelines for treating the water, keeping everyone out for a specific period of time (for this “biohazard” it was 1 hour) and luckily, for the kiddies, didn’t go around asking people who had done it. Whether or not the pool people would go around trying to figure it out I’m not sure, but if I was the offender (I wasn’t) I would be off somewhere, tail between my legs, contemplating never showing my face at the pool again.

Impressively enough, I used my test strips to check the water afterwards, and the pH and CH levels were right in line with where they should be. Didn’t mean I was going to go swimming (I did have to get back to Baby R), but the moral of the story is … “Don’t poop in the pool!” 

I’ll tell you this – as much as I COULD NOT stop laughing – I seriously had tears running down my face – apparently even at my age bathroom humor is funny – I hope that I never see or hear a person yell “Biohazard in the water, Everybody out!” Because when I do – it will be too soon.

Cover Up?!

I already feel enough like Bessie the Cow with this whole nursing thing, so I don’t cover up unless I know I’ll make someone uncomfortable (besides –  its H-O-T-T in DC), but if you DO cover up – you’ll want to check out UdderCovers because in celebration of World BreastFeeding Week (this week!) they are offering any of their nursing covers for free (regularly $32) you just need to pay shipping costs. So head on over, and check it out!

In case some of you were wondering, I have seen the posts about the unreliability, shall we say, about this offer, but I found this post from Wonder Mom Envy, and I think it addresses the concerns pretty well.

Happy Shopping!