I'm a Heffer!

So - it was only a matter of time before I posted about my post-pregnancy bod. Man - the whole bed rest/cesarean section thing has really put a crimp in my style. I have tried to start exercising only to have myself stopped due to some breakthrough bleeding. They told me the process to recovery would be long and drawn out due to the bed rest but you gotta be kidding me.

I have a closet full of clothes- actually a room full because a closet cannot house the amount of clothes/shoes I own. They are beautiful and fashionable and I can't wear any of them. I have had to buy a few pieces here and there (which is not in the new budget). The problem is that I'm in sizes that force me to wear "mom clothes". Yes, I am a mother, but no I'm not prepared for mom clothes - you all know what I mean. Those jean's your mom wears that have little or no pockets that make their rear ends look huge and have waists that travel up to your boobs. It is a tragic fashion phenomenon that I may have to conquer one day, but that is for another post.

I just started pilates, but in order to fit that into my busy schedule I must do it at 730AM on Saturday mornings. Gone are the days of sleeping in and relaxing, but then again so are the days of my insane metabolism.

I have several problems with a workout routine and most of it can be attributed to two friends that I have now made. Please let me introduce you to Mr. Lack of Time and Mrs. Extreme Exhaustion.

Moms can you please explain to me how you clean your house, cook meals, go grocery shopping, do laundry, take care of your children (that number includes your husband because let's face it they are helpless) and find time to tone your physique!?!

Looks like I'll have to pass on the cookies and try my luck at crunches. Hopefully that removes the "I'm 5 months preggo" look that I have going on right now :)

Phew...It's Been A While

It's been a couple weeks since my last post. I've been busy keeping up with Chase Man - we are now up to eating cereal and sweet potatoes, work and extracurricular activities. I definitely feel like the month of September has been packed full of events. We've had weddings, bridal showers, surprise birthday parties, wine tours, work functions and kickball games.

Thank goodness I have wonderful parents who are willing to watch Chase for a couple of hours here and there, although this month the visits seem more frequent! It has been a tough road with Hubbie coaching soccer. I definitely feel like a single parent sometimes, but I know the role will reverse when bball season comes around. I am actually looking forward to February when we both have time to spend together with Chase!

Food is going well, although my son seems to think sneezing sweet potatoes all over mommy in the morning is the most HILARIOUS thing ever. Never does it with cereal, only colored food :) I had an ingenious idea to introduce new foods on Fridays when my mom watches him. That way she gets all the new poop flavors. P.S. I started sweet potatoes last Friday and have yet to have a poopy diaper - daycare, my mom and husband have had that pleasure though!

I'm thinking sweet peas for this Friday. I know, I'm evil.

A Weekend of Firsts

Mommy and Chase Man are ready to go!

This was a very exciting weekend for Chase Man. He had his first overnight visit with Gigi & Pee Paw while Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding, he watched his first steelers game and ate his first cereal. Yea for the big boy!!!

Gooey Face, but he likes it

Here We Go!

It's Mom's Job

So I have fully embraced the thought that I was meant to live a generation of Women's Lib. No, I'm not a feminist although some may view it that way, but I do believe in some instances a woman and a man should share responsibilities.

For instance, I work. Yes although it may still be taboo - I say it aloud, "I am a working (gulp) mom!" My mom was a working mom and her mom before that. I come from a long line of strong, independent women, something I'm tremendously proud of. That said, I do still believe in some antiquated traditions that make me an oxymoron of sort.

I believe the man should pay - at least on the first date - and I believe that a man should ask a woman for her hand in marriage not the other way around.

But the new phenomenon that has me all befuddled is "It's mom's job". The first question I want answered is who in the H-E-double hockey sticks decided what jobs were only suited for the mom. I'm assuming it was a man because all those jobs seem to be the ones no one wants to do.

For all you moms out there, you know what I'm talking about. For those moms-to-be, you soon will, and for any man brave enough to read my blog, you have probably been clueless until now so let me educate you on my personal favorites:

1. Moms are the sole caretakers of kids' cracks and crevices: this includes boogie picking, earwax collecting, toe jam retracting...gee how wonderful

2. Only moms are equipped with "midnight" feeding parts - I think 9 months of carrying children should be enough and the man should have had the pleasure of feeding his children.

3. When the kids are bad, they suddenly belong to you "Do you know what your son/daughter did today.", but in times of joy and elation Dad screams, "That's my boy!" or "My little girl made me proud"

4. Women care for their children where as the men "babysit" them - Yo, you produced this child too, so when I need to go out, I shouldn't have to see if you are busy and can make time to "watch" the kids! Nor should you assume that I'm never busy and continue on with your life as it used to be with little communication

5. My personal favorite - mom's never get a hot meal. For the foodie in me and anyone who knows me can attest to my insane obsession with food, I hate that someone decided that mom's eat last, after feeding everyone else, after everything is cold and doesn't taste the way its intended.

Yes, we have the wonderful pleasure of carrying and bonding with our child for 9 months (really 10) before their birth, but that doesn't mean we should be punished for those many years thereafter.  But, the feminist in me says bring it on. Mom can do any job!

Happy 4 month Bday!

Four months ago, my angel came into the world. Happy 4 months Chase Man! Love you!!!

This Pix Message Came from Daycare today too - 1st time in the Bouncy Exer-Saucer

Uh oh - The First Call from Daycare

Just 1 day shy of a month of being at daycare, I get the first phone call. I am just getting over a cold, so I thought for sure that's what they were calling me about yesterday, but it was not. I got a call around 4pm - I was at work - telling me that EVERYTHING is fine. (If everything is fine, I'm sure you wouldn't have taken the time to look up my number and then dial it, but ok). Chase Man was inconsolable all day and they just wanted to let me know. I didn't need to come get him but they just wanted to make me aware that they thought he had gas and it was causing him to be very fussy.

Soo, what to do....what to do...what to do...Of course, I immediately packed up my belongings and did a b-line to my car to go pick up my kid. Clearly, something needs to be done. 

So I walk off the elevator to the floor daycare is on and I immediately hear my kid screaming. I'm not talking that little fussy fussy cry, I'm talking purple-faced, no breathing, screaming at the top of his little lungs. I was like uh-oh, we are in for an interesting evening. 

The poor daycare lady was in there with 2 other babies. She is always the one that rounds out the day and always seems to have some type of craziness going on. She was leaning over Chase in his bouncy chair, trying everything in her power to calm him down, but it wasn't working. The other two children were milling around Chase looking at her wondering what in the world was going on. This kid is NUTS! 

Not only was he bawling, but he had a different outfit on than the one we put him in. I looked at his bunny gram - the daily report on dirty/wet diapers, naps and feedings - and all it said at 9:25 was BM - BLOWOUT! Yes, B-L-O-W-O-U-T was reported. Obviously, things were moving ok in the intestinal region, but that wasn't stopping the horrific wailing! 

I quickly scooped him up which pacified him at least until we were able to get over to my parents house. There we sat for an hour while he descended back into crazy baby - my husband has so aptly named our son's alter ego, "Reginald, Reg, Randy or Randall" it all depends on how bad the tantrum is. Randy is the worst of them all and we were in full RANDY mode. Nothing calmed him, not me, not Gigi, not PeePaw (who usually is the saving grace to us all), no bottle, no bink, no totally awesome water world bouncy chair - this chair resides at Gigi and Peepaw's house and is way better than the other two I bought him...go figure! 

So I proceeded to dump my child on my mom (Gigi) and jump into my car and race for CVS for those gas relief drops for babies. To this point, I had yet to buy them although my other mommy friends warned me that they were the one thing you couldn't live without. Don't ask me why, but I'm not a big medication person and am not really into giving things to my kid, but I was desperate now. So, I bought them, raced back home and gave them to him. 

What do you know? He calmed down, fell asleep and we never heard a peep from him until 2am - why did i not get these things sooner!! 

So mom's who are skeptical about these things - BUY THEM! They WILL save your sanity!!!! And hopefully prevent another call from daycare :)

First Day Back to Work

I started my first day back to work on Monday, August 9 - but this is not the beginning of the story. No the beginning would be about a week prior to this date when I started to hold onto my kid for dear life because I knew that someone else would be "taking care" of him soon and I was not prepared to let go.

I started the hyperventilating, and extreme crying on the previous Thursday and proceeded to continue until Chase Man had completed his first week there. Jeff, in his panic due to inability to comfort me, offered to let me be a stay at home mom. We both knew that one of us (meaning him) would not make it if I did that because I would probably become violent sooner or later! (not really, well....maybe)

First Day of School Picture

Monday morning, I woke up at 6am and took a long walk to my coffee shop in hopes of getting all the tears out before my husband and child saw them - that did not work. All it did was attract attention from those commuters on their way to work that morning. They probably thought a crazy woman was on the loose!

When I got home, Chase began to stir (yes he was sleeping the whole night) and I got him up, changed, dressed and ready for his first day of school. I carried him and his bouncy chair with me to every room while I got ready, not wanting to be away from him for 1 second!

Finally, it was time for Jeff and I to take him to "school" as we were calling it. We loaded him and all his gear - yes we had sheets, blankets, diapers, bink, joey the giraffe, swaddle, pre-filled bottles, clothes, bibs, bouncy chair and boppy in hand. If you have a preemie baby, they highly suggest bringing your own bouncy chair/boppy to prevent spread of germies!

We arrived and settled him in. He was smiling and loving the kids crawling every where. We put away all his belongings and kissed him 1000 times and finally left. My husband, who up to this point made fun of me for my weepy disposition because "he'll be fine", started to cry as well. It was the hardest thing either of us had to do to that point.

I only made it until 11:30 before I made my way back to give him hugs/kisses and feed him his lunch time bottle. Each day following was easier - although I made Jeff do drop off for the rest of the week!

Now - 4 weeks later, we love daycare. We wish daycare was open on weekends some times! Just kidding...almost :)

Preparing to go back to work - The Daycare Nightmare

As I was nearing the end of my 3 month maternity leave (which I highly recommend), I had to force myself to think about daycare. We almost avoided that "scary" task as my dad contemplated retirement and the thought of being my son's "au pair". Sadly, it was not time for PeePaw to retire, so we had the task of selecting the "right" daycare from the hundreds of options in the area. 

I searched for various locations in the immediate area, researched the Keystone Starts Program, and called the Department of Public Welfare to get the skinny on the violations (if any) my final choices had. A friend of mine who works in the Department gave me great advice, "It may look good on paper, but if it doesn't feel right, it isn't."

I narrowed my choices to 3 locations. My first visit was horrific. The infant room was small, dirty and reminded me of baby prison. It was an accredited daycare and participated in the Keystone Stars Program, but it was NOT even an option for me. I left that place bawling, grasping my child for dear life and vowing that I would never, EVER send him to daycare!

Luckily, my next visit was the complete opposite. I got nothing but positive vibes from the atmosphere, the director and the staff and I'm happy to report that my little Chase Man is enrolled there. Moms - definitely trust your instincts. They are always right! 

So hear is my advice to you moms who are looking for daycare:

1. Research all the places in your area (DPW can give you a list)

2. Narrow your choices

3. Call DPW for the history/violations

4. Ask if they are verified violations - meaning not just some whiny parent who wanted to make a stink out of nothing

5. Take tours of your selections

6. Show up early so you can see how things "really" are and not just prepared for your visit

7. Do a follow up visit

8. Look for a part-time daycare if you have grandparents/great grandparents who are willing to watch kids 1-2 days a week (we are saving a boat load of $ with this)

9. No question is dumb - ask whatever comes to your mind

10. Look at the other kids there - if they are happy, your did will be too

Things No One Tells You - Pt II

So in having quite a few convos with my "child ready" friends, I'd like to offer you the things no one tells you  after pregnancy.

1. During pregnancy your hair gets THICK and luscious, 3 - 7 months after birth it all falls out, in clumps, all the time!
2. A Milk Fever - when your milk comes in you get severe chills and your breathe is like ice, don't panic if you don't have a "real fever", its called a milk fever - thanks for the heads up people
3. Acne - thought your teen years were bad, they have nothing on the pregnancy/post pregnancy time. Good news is you can play connect the dot on your face :)
4. Baby weight doesn't miraculously disappear - don't be ashamed if you can't wear you own jeans home, hell 4 months later I still eye up those maternity pants
5. Swelling - 2-7 days after birth you look like you have elephantitis of the legs/feet. All that fluid has no where to go but pool in your lower extremeties. Drink lots of water, you lose the fluid in your pee
6. Post Baby Bladder - welcome to the world of incontinence, where if you sneeze or laugh you pee (and yes you will still pee more often than before baby, that bladder don't shrink either)
7. People will ask if you if you are pregnant post baby because you do look like it for a while. Resist the urge to club them over the head with a baseball bat. Those dumb morons are always men and they don't know any better!
8. Scary belly button - it will never look the same again. Sorry, but it won't
9. Stretch marks - you are better off to be a little squishy before giving birth otherwise stretch marks find their way right at the end of your pregnancy and never leave. those unwelcomed inhabitors of your body will remind you of their presence every time you look in the mirror. Mederma just fades them...sorry about your luck
10. Hormones - tell your husband/boyfriend/significant other to mind their Ps and Qs because your raging hormones do not "automatically regulate" themselves post birth. In fact, they get WORSE...better off they stay out of your way and only speak to say, "Honey, do you need anything?", "What can I do for you?", "Don't worry I'll get up with the baby this time."