Dress-up w/Mommy

Sunday, January 31st, 2009 - Day 44

I have soooo many outfits I can't wait to put Tia in, but I have been good and haven't played much dress up with Tia unless we are going out and she needs a cute outfit. But today, I decided to put her in a couple cute pink outfits she has and take some photos. I didn't go overboard by any means, but isn't she cute!

Schnucks Loves New and Expectant Mommies

Saturday, January 30th, 2009 - Day 43

I have to give a lot of kudos to Schnucks Grocery Stores. They know how to treat new and expectant mothers well. I decided to go to store the other day with Tia and as I was driving down the aisles in the parking lot, I noticed a big sign that said 'Parking for New & Expectant Mothers' - boy was I excited. During my pregnancy, I only noticed Parking spots for Expectant Mothers, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a parking spot for me! Woo Hoo

Another thing that makes them great - they are providing free prenatal vitamins. I'm excited because I got enough free samples from my doctor to last my entire pregnancy, but now I want some to keep taking. Since we'll be most likely trying to have baby #2 this fall, I want to keep my body ready for when that happens.

Beginning Jan. 18, all 103 Schnucks Pharmacies will offer 13 of the most often prescribed vitamins absolutely free. Folic acid is the most important vitamin women can take to help prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine, and it’s most important that they start taking it before they get pregnant and continue to take it after. Another key ingredient in prenatal vitamins - it helps build both mother and baby’s muscles while preventing anemia and lowering the risk of preterm birth and low birthrate. Customers must present a valid prescription for selected prenatal vitamins. The targeted prenatal vitamins are free regardless of insurance provider; however, the list of covered drugs is subject to change based on availability. These will be limited to a 30-day supply per visit but all refills are free as well. FREE Prenatal Vitamin Prescription Program includes the following vitamins: Prenavite Tablet, Cintranatal RX Tablet, Prenatal Tablet, Prenatal Plus Iron Tablet, Prenatal Plus Tablet, Prenatabs FA Tablet, Prenatabs RX Tablet, Prenatal-U Capsule, Trinatal RX 1 Tablet, Stuart Prenatal Tablet, Prenatal 19 Tablet, Prenatal 19 Chewable Tablet, Duet DHA Stuart Natal Vitamins.

How to Know When It's Okay to Start Exercising

Friday, January 29th, 2009 - Day 42

Some have asked me how do I know I am able to start exercising. Of course, your doctor would be the #1 choice, but since I don't see mine until next week, I wanted to find out for myself. Most people are ready to exercise somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks depending on your body before pregnancy, during and what kind of labor you had. Lie on your back with your head on the floor or bed. Place your hands behind your neck and slowly lift your head toward the ceiling. Holding that position, place a finger just above the belly button and press down gently. You will feel a gap in between the muscles; now see how many fingers (if any) you can get into the space between the abdominal muscles. This is your gap - if it is one finger then you may do all the exercises - if it is two or more you need to be really careful. With a two or more finger gap you can try the exercise above while holding on to your abdomen with your hands. Place your right hand on the left side of your tummy area and your left hand on the right side with your arms crossed over one another, slowly do the above exercise whilst holding your abdominal muscles as you lift your head.

Luckily for me, the week before last I could only fit one finger in my gap in my abs which meant they were okay to start exercising. Of course, I took it super easy last week just to give them a bit more time. I only did my workout video once to 'wake up' my abs and give them a chance to 'activate'. This week, I've done the video every day except one and I'm very proud of myself to make myself do whenever I had a chance with Tia napping or in her swing. I really love the video and think it is a great one for anyone wanting to tone up. It is a post pregnancy workout video, but really you don't have to have had a baby in order for it to work effectively.

Since the 19th of January,I've lost about 6 pounds. I think drinking more water, eating healthier foods, staying away from junk food and exercising has helped greatly. I plan to continue. The only thing I'm allowing myself to do is have a glass of wine here or there. Although, this weekend I'll be having a few cocktails - mmm.

Nothing on Daytime TV

Thursday, January 28th, 2009 - Day 41

In my life, I have never been a big TV watcher. Besides liking to watch TV while I'm eating, I really have never been tied to any particular shows that I HAVE to watch or that I want taped. When I was growing up, we lived in the country and didn't have cable. I think we had 4 clear channels and 3 fuzzy ones and when my dad had his computers running, they were all fuzzy. We only had a 13 inch TV that we all watched and it was generally whatever my dad was watching; Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and any Sci-Fi shows that were on. When I got into college, I watched whatever my roommates were watching which was a Thursday night ritual of Friends and sometimes Days of Our Lives. After college, I watched The Bachelor with my cousin and that was it, Friends, and Seinfeld. The past few years, I was into Snapped and CSI, but I got tired of those the past few months.

Now that I'm home every day, I've scanned all the channels for what to watch and there really isn't anything that peaks my interest. The first few weeks, I watched all the movies available but they tend to have the same movies on for months. So my routine has become this: News from 5 to 10 (usually get an hour in between feedings, burping, changing and playtime). Then I watch Rachel Ray mainly because it follows the news and it starts before I even realize it. Then because that channel goes back to the news (which I've seen already for the day), I switch to the Price is Right - I do like Drew Carey hosting - I saw him at Mardi Gras one time. Once that is over, I switch over to Wife Swap - seriously just like seeing how 'strange' people are out there. Then after that is over, Desperate Housewives comes on and I watch a few episodes of that. Then it is Grey's Anatomy. None of these shows I really love but it is what is on. Unless I want to watch Court TV, Soaps or infomercials, this has become my routine. I wish some of the shows from the evening were on during the day, but they aren't. Or if Seinfeld or Friends were on, I'd watch re-runs of that. I only have 5 full weeks left, so I guess I should enjoy daytime television while I can.

Luckily, Tia keeps me nice and busy, so I don't have to watch TV the entire time. I do catch her sometimes staring off and I'll realize she is watching TV. I'll tell her, 'you are too young to watch TV young lady' at which time, she'll look at me. She's so adorable!

Mommy & Tia's Daily Routine

Wednesday, January 27th, 2009 - Day 40

I feed Tia about 5am and then put her back to bed. If she stays down, then I'll go back to bed for a while too, but if she is wide awake and is just not wanting to go back to bed, then it's 'Morning'. And I'll talk to Tia telling her 'good morning' and we chat for a while about things. I'll let her have floor time, which she loves. She just smiles, screams, hoots, hollers, stares, stretches, and has a blast. I'll change her, then she'll either go in her swing for a bit, I'll hold her, or put her in her vibrating bouncer. Then I'll hold her until she looks drowsy and lay her down on her boppy for a snooze or I'll swaddle her and put her back in her crib. From 5am, the day goes pretty similar every 3.5 to 4 hours. While she is in her swing about 9am or 10am, I'll do my workout video and if I can't do the entire 50 minutes, then I'd finish it next time she is in her swing. In the morning, she is the most awake and just enjoys her floor time after eating. Daddy usually calls around lunchtime or texts throughout the day. Sometimes I can get some good video or photos that I send to Daddy so he can see Tia. Tia and I have a great time together! Chris gets home anywhere from 5:30pm to 7:00pm depending on what he has going on and he immediately plays with Tia. I go to bed from 8pm to midnight to get a block of sleep in, just in case she is up all night. I do the graveyard shift feedings - although lately she has been sleeping longer, so I might be able to adjust that a bit. As she sleeps longer - Chris and I both will get more sleep. But I have to say, that she is a great baby and although she has a fussy time here or there - she awesome.

Tia Updates

Tuesday, January 26th, 2009 - Day 39

Tia is doing great! Her baby acne has gone down considerably and is almost gone - yay! Her skin isn't smooth yet, but I can tell it will be soon, back to that smooth baby skin. She has been having regular bowel movements now that she is on Enfamil Fussiness & Gas formula. We were on Soy for a bit, but doc recommended one that would be good for her needs. We have a pretty good schedule down where she'll feed, then have play time for a bit, then nap. When she gets good sleep during the day, she sleeps very well at night. We have started the drops for her clogged tear duct and it is starting to be a bit better...and hope to see better results soon. Her personality is starting to really come out and she is responding with smiles and screams when you talk to her. Every now and then, she'll be fussy, but it is much better than a few weeks ago. I think we are starting to get into a good groove and I only have 5 1/2 weeks left with her and then I'll be back to work. I know I'm going to miss her dearly during the day.

Tia's First Bank Account

Monday, January 25th, 2009 - Day 38

We've had the idea to instill a cuss jar for any swear words that we say, especially when Tia is present. I don't have many occasions where I need to cuss, unless I just threw a bad throw in bowling. However, I can't say that for Chris. Truth be told, there are a few occasions where Chris feels the need to say a few swear words to express his anger. Mainly when a gadget doesn't work, while driving or playing video games...but since Tia's arrival - we both agree we need to curb these habits. So I've created Tia's First Bank Account which is essentially a cuss jar and yes it says 'Tia's First Bank Account - First Bank of Daddy'. We have a jar of quarters all ready to go for Chris and a jar of nickels/dimes for me. This is so we can see who has deposited more into Tia's first account. Each of us will have to put $0.25 into the jar if we swear. Rules will be more defined as time progresses, possibly having to pay more if Tia is present, etc. We'll see, but I love the idea; it goes to a good cause and possibly can rid a bad habit. Tia quite possibly could be rich before she even knows it!

She Can See

Sunday, January 24th, 2009 - Day 37

For a while, we could tell that she couldn't really see that far, but this week she proved to us that she can definitely see. Chris got her to smile by looking at her and playing with her - it was evident she was looking right at him. Usually, she'll look right past him or stare off in space. She was in her swing and for the first time, she noticed the flowers that hang just above. She was staring at them and Chris and I were amazed she could see that far. Then, Chris had her in her crib the other night with the ceiling lighted up with the cow jumping over the moon. Tia was just staring at it, wide awake in her crib...Chris came back 45 minutes later and she was still staring up at the ceiling in awe. The doctor even confirmed that she was seeing perfectly well. So now when you meet or see her, she'll recognize your faces!

Full Out Cry

Saturday, January 23rd, 2009 - Day 36

First of all, I hate when Tia is fussy and we don't know what is wrong - I thought that it was the worst feeling in the world. However, this week, we discovered that it can get worse and that is when she has a full out cry. One day I drove out to Chris's work to show Tia off and when I left, it was about feeding time. I was thinking once we started moving in the car, she'd fall asleep and we'd be home before she realized it. Nope...I got onto the highway and traffic was completely stopped - when the car is stopped, Tia starts to cry. But this cry wasn't her normal whines, this cry was a full out someone tore my arm off cry. I got off at the next exit and took my own detour home and eventually had her back to sleep in no time. The very next day, I took her to my work to show her off and by the time I left, it was feeding time again. I was hoping she'd fall fast asleep since it was almost an hour drive home, but I was wrong. She cried for almost the entire trip home. I HATED hearing her cry because it sounded like she was in so much pain and there was nothing I could do about it. I had some formula mix in her diaper bag and I almost got off and stopped into McDonalds for some water but decided I would just bear the cries until I got home. Luckily just before, she fell asleep and I fed her immediately when we walked in.

The next night, she seemed perfectly fine and had a great day with seeing her doctor and playing with us after her feeding, but about 8 o'clock, out of the blue, she started her full out cry again and this time nothing we did could stop her. She just ate, so we knew it wasn't that. We changed her diaper and I was trying to rock her to soothe her but nothing. Chris and I were almost in tears ourselves. We caved and gave her some Gripe Water and she seemed to be soothed for a bit, but for the next few hours she was off and on - fussy, then fine, fussy, then fine...I felt bad for Chris because that was his shift as I was asleep preparing for the graveyard shift. When I fed her in the middle of the night, she started that fussiness again, but I just kept rocking her until she fell back asleep. The next day she had patches of fussiness, but I did my best to never let her get to the point where she was going to have that full out cry again. That just breaks my heart.

We aren't sure why she was crying. She hasn't had a bowel movement in two days and she looks like she struggles trying to. OR we had changed her outfit right when we gave her the gripe water and thought possibly her toe was caught. But whatever the reason, that is one cry that I hate to hear from Tia. It is piercing to the ear and it just sounds like she is in so much pain. We changed her formula to what our Pediatrician recommended and hope that helps. Wouldn't it be great if we could read newborns' minds so we knew what was wrong?!?

Getting My Body Back

Friday, January 22nd, 2009 - Day 35

Because I'm tall, I do wear any extra weight pretty well. But, I know that I'm not my ideal weight and I really haven't been for several years. In the picture attached, I was 10 years younger than I am now and doing lots of modeling. I was a 2-4 and pretty in shape. I hit 28 and things started to gravatate to other areas of my body. I wasn't working out as much and my social drinking didn't help. Once I hit 30, I was 15 pounds heavier than I was in the photo, I couldn't see any abs anymore, and I wore a size 6-8 in clothes. Although, I know I won't get back to the size I am in the picture, the picture gives me hope that I do have some abs down there that can still be uncovered.

I will admit, I've been pretty lazy when it comes to working out. I tend to sign up at gyms and really go hard for a few weeks and then life gets in the way and I start to make excuses to why I don't go as much and eventually - I'm paying a monthly fee, but am not taking advantage. I have been a member of Bally, RiverChase, South City YMCA and Curves and pretty much had the same result. I used to be into working out regularly and I started relying on soccer once or twice a week to fulfill my workouts. I haven't played soccer since I tore my PCL a few years ago and now that I'm going to be 33 later this year, it isn't going to get any easier.

With having a baby, I expected to gain weight but I wasn't sure how quickly I'd be able to lose it after she was born. Pre-pregnancy I weighed 140 give or take (which was still over what I wanted to be) and I weighed almost 180 when I had Tia. I thought I'd get a chance to workout daily with Tia, but that hasn't been the case. She has needed my divided attention and all I've been able to do thus far was to pump my milk makers and check my email. It has been a month and I weighed myself to see where I weighed and I weigh about 160 right now - ouch! I know, I know, it takes time BUT seriously, I really thought I would have been a lot closer to my original weight after a month. No, I haven't done much activity and I know my milk makers weigh a bit BUT I really didn't think I'd weigh 160. I still can't fit into any of my jeans - I've been wearing my maternity pants because they are comfortable and tend to hide my belly.

Sooo, starting this week, I've decided to start a diet and workout regiment. I'm determined to get back to 140 or hopefully 135 and maybe 130 - we'll see ;) My diet started on Monday and I've been drinking lots of water (they say you should drink half your body weight in ounzies daily), so I've been drinking at least 80 ozs of water, which has been pretty easy. No more junk food, fast food, etc. I have been eating a healthy breakfast, healthy lunch and for dinner I can eat a bit more. I snack three times a day at 10:30am, 2:30pm and before bed. The snacks I've approved myself to eat are the following: almonds, hardboiled eggs, string cheese, oatmeal, pickles, yogurt, and other items along those lines. I weighed myself today and I am down to 153, so I'm making some progress. I think most people know I have the worst diet in the world and I've been lucky to have a metabolism that let me eat fatty foods but since I hit 30, my metabolism is just not the same.

Yesterday, I started my workout portion. I've been forcing Tia to like her swing a little bit more each day. She really doesn't like it, but she'll tolerate it for at least 30 minutes at a time. If I'm lucky, she'll fall asleep and I'll have a bit more time as well. I bought The Tracy Anderson Method presents Post-Pregnancy Workout DVD and I really like it. It isn't the hard core aerobic, sweat your balls off video which I typically will drop after one try. It is not easier in any way, but it eases you into each workout technique and although you aren't jumping around the room, you break a sweat. When I was done that first time, my shoulders, triceps, abs and other body parts were already aching - definitely results oriented. If I'm able to get this workout in each morning while Tia is either entertained or taking a nap, I'm going to try. I truly believe that it will get me back in shape if I'm diligent enough to stick with it along with my new diet (by the way, I've never been on a diet before). I'll keep you all posted on how it is going. I appreciate everyone complimenting how I look after having a baby a month ago, but until I get back to at least my original weight - I won't be happy with my body. Especially since we'll be trying to have more kids sooner than later, I want to beat the bulge between!

Doc Says She's Perfect

Thursday, January 21st, 2009 - Day 34

Tia had her one month appointment today and it went very well. She weights 8 lbs 4 ozs and is 21.5 inches long. She is at the 25% on weight and 65% on height. She diagnosed her rash as being baby acne which is normal and will go away on its own. She prescribed her a drop for her clogged tear duct. Doc said that besides the clogged tear duct and baby acne, she is absolutely perfect.

Of course, Chris and I were prepared with a list of concerns to ask the doc.
(1) Rash - we thought it was heat rash because when she got hot, the bumps grew in number. Doc said that the rash is baby acne and will get worse when she is hot or fussy, which makes sense. She said it is caused by the hormones that come from me in my breast milk. I do hope it goes away soon.
(2) Constipation/Bloating - she said it is normal for bloating and although her belly looks so full and hard, it really is nothing to worry about. She said Tia does not have constipation from what I described and that it is normal for babies to get the red faced, frustrated look on their face as well as going a day or two without a bowel movement.
(3) Thrush - Doc wasn't sure if she had thrush or not but when she scraped on Tia's tongue there was movement so she just has a serious milk stain which is fine.
(4) Feeding Amount - Now that Tia is over 8 lbs, we can move up her dose of milk to 4 ozs. She said to use the formula Body Weight/2=# of ozs because that is how big their stomachs are.
(5) Seems Constipated, but stool is runny - Doc says that means she is not constipated and that a runny stool is what we want to see.
(6) Nasal Congestion - Doc says that it is a normal sound to hear when babies spit up because a bit gets trapped in the throat and makes that sound.-
(7) Belly Button - Her belly button has some 'goo' that we weren't sure if we should clean out or not. Doc says to leave it be and let it work itself out. If you want, you can put alcohol on there, but it is not necessary.
(8) Spitting up/Projectile Vomiting - Doc says these are both very normal for babies and not to worry unless she looks like she is in serious pain after either one.
(9) Pacifier - I was concerned because the pacifier is so big and often she'll sleep with it and I was worried about her rebreathing/SIDS. But Doc said that it is actually great that she sleeps with a pacifier because it is proven that it helps prevent SIDS because they learn to break out of their noses.
(10) Swaddle - We were wondering if we over swaddled her with her nightie, blanket and then the cheater swaddler. Doc said that it is great to over swaddle them because it makes them feel they are warm and they sleep better. She said don't be concerned if she has a bit of sweat around the back of the head or if she seems warm when you unswaddle her - all is normal.

So the conclusion is that everything is normal and that we have the same worries as all parents do. She said that it is great that we have our list of concerns and questions. She said that Tia is beautiful and she looks great! Tia was great too, she didn't even cry - she was alert and intrigued by the whole thing.

Tia's Big Hands

Wednesday, January 20th, 2009 - Day 33

Tia's hands are identical to my hands so it is very obvious she got her hands from me. Her fingers are super long and her hands are unusually large for her body. Pretty much every person who has held her or seen her makes comments about her big hands. Yesterday, we visited Chris's work and many of the ladies were commenting on how she will be a great athlete or musician one day. My friend Lisa made the comment 'I think her hands are as big as mine'.

I find it cute because she'll grow into them just as I have, but if there is one feature on Tia's body that screams 'I got that from mommy', it is her hands. So I guess, you can say, I'm proud. She does have a pretty great grip too and when she holds onto your finger, she won't let go until she is ready. Now her finger nails are another story because she gets those from me too. Mine grow lightening speed and I have to cut them all the time. I will admit they are pretty nails, but I like to keep mine short because they are so hard and tough that when they get too long, it hurts when they bend or break. So although we have cut her nails several times, they are so tough that she has caused a few scratches on her face. I guess we'll have to cut them every day!

One Month Old

Tuesday, January 19th, 2009 - Day 32

It feels like it is hard to believe it has been a month already since Tia arrived. Today is her one month old birthday. I really haven't felt like she has changed much until yesterday when I looked at her pictures from the hospital and I really realized how much she has grown in just a month. She definitely has more meat on her bones, a cute little double chin, some hams for thighs and her face has changed a bit. She is still my beautiful little girl and I'm loving every minute of her. I'm sure the next few months will go super fast as well.

I want to take more pictures of her, but she has a bit of a rash right now so I want to wait until that heals before I give her another photo shoot. Everyone says babies get a lot of rashes so that is nice to know that it isn't just Tia. It is a heat rash for sure because when she gets hot, she gets more of the rash and as she cools down, the rash goes away a bit. But I just feel sorry for her because it is all over her neck, chest and face. If someone is hot while holding her, it makes her hot as well and you can see the bumps start to grow. We are trying our best to keep her cool and pray it goes away soon.

I'll probably plan a photo shoot with a professional photographer at her 3 month mark - that will give her time to heal her poor little rash! She's beautiful regardless!

A Car Ride Does Her Good

Monday, January 18th, 2009 - Day 31

It is amazing how car rides are like Prozac for babies...it soothes them and puts them right to sleep. My debit card was making some fraudulent activity buying cell phones to Istanbul, etc. Luckily, my bank notified me and cancelled the card. I ran up to Bank of America to get a new credit card and had to take Tia with me. My Aunt called right when I left the house which was perfect because we could chat for a bit, but when you get two Gulledge's on the phone - often it turns into a very long conversation. I got to the bank, but wasn't done talking to Kina, so I drove past it and got on the highway. A cop was sitting in the parking lot as I passed and I know he saw me drive by. I got off at the next exit and did a loop around all the shopping centers and then got back on the highway again, got off at my home exit and went towards the bank again. The cop saw me again and was probably wondering what I was doing. I didn't want to just park in the lot because I was afraid Tia would wake up, so I just kept driving. I wasn't about to get off the phone yet, because we were getting into some juicy conversation. I realized that I didn't have Tia's pacifier and how if she woke up while I was in the bank, she that would be key, so I drove back home. As I was pulling onto the road that leads to my house, that same cop saw me drive by. Then once I got the pacifier and was driving towards the bank again, Kina and I ended our conversation and this time I would finally end up at the bank. I completed my duties at the bank (the girl that helped me was 8 months pregnant, so we had some good baby talk). I was on my way home and pulling back to my house, that same cop drove by me yet again. This time, the look on his face was like 'what on earth is that girl doing'. I really thought he was going to pull me over and ask what I was up to which would have been fine. But he didn't. But I do believe that the end all to soothing a baby is a little ride in the car!

Still Reaping the Benefits

Sunday, January 17th, 2009 - Day 30

When I was pregnant, it seemed that everybody was opening the door for me, trying to help me carry my things, worried about me, etc. And I knew that once Tia was born, it would all stop and everything would be about Tia. So I definitely milked it for what it was worth and took advantage if I could. I even used being pregnant as my excuse if I did an airhead thing or tickled Chris and then I'd say 'it was Tia'.

Of course, in the hospital I was treated like royalty and they even had room service, which was nice - the food was great. I knew once we got home, it would be Chris and I fending for ourselves! I do have to say we've had several people bring food when they come visit which is not expected but we definitely enjoy it. Mainly, it has been our moms and who better can cook than your mom. My mom brings her beef noodle soup which is my favorite thing in the world! One of our friends sent us a lovely breakfast basket from Annie Gunns and even brought over pizzas from one of my favorite places. I have a friend coming over today and bringing lasagna - mmmm.

It is crazy how I forget to eat sometimes and I have to fit it in where I can. With Tia, I feed her and then set her down for her floor time. Most of the time, she loves it for at least 15 minutes which gives me time to pump. Around the 5am or 8am feeding, I'll try to get a bowl of cereal in there, then around lunchtime I'll try to eat something quick - but she usually is over floor time by the time I'm done pumping. For dinner, I wait until Chris gets home and then he'll watch her while I cook us a meal. It works and I get to eat at least 3 meals a day. You would think I would have lost more weight though!?!

I went to Walgreens the other day to get her some constipation drops. It was the only item I had in one hand and I had Tia in her pumpkin seat in the other arm. A couple was in front of me who only had a couple items were adamant about letting me go in front of them. I kept saying, no thanks, but the guy was persistant saying I had a baby and one item only. So I went in front of the couple. He said that they have had a baby before and thus know what it is like, etc. He asked how old she was and when I said 3.5 weeks, he said 'wow, you are getting around real good with only having a baby 3 or so weeks ago'. I was a bit shocked by the comment, since I felt like I had been getting around really good since the day of Tia's birth. I guess it made me think about some other ladies who didn't have labor or C-section as easy as I did. I am thankful that I was getting around well! But one thing is for sure, it is still nice to get the royal treatment when baby is here!

I'm Not Going to Lie

Saturday, January 16th, 2009 - Day 29

I'm not going to lie and say it has been a piece of cake since Tia's arrival. I knew we would have some challenges and adjustments, but words can't begin to describe how much harder it is to be new parents than we expected. I have a great appreciation for every mother out there, especially those with multiple children. Don't get me wrong, I love every minute and I know it goes quickly when they are newborns - there is no greater satisfaction than becoming a mother. We've worked out a great schedule for sleeping so I get a block of 4 to 6 hours from 8pm until 1am/2am, and Chris goes to bed after he feeds her at 11 and sleeps until he gets up for work or if it is the weekend, he'll sleep in later. We do know it gets easier as time goes on and she'll start sleeping more at night as she gets bigger.

I get to spend every day with Tia and she usually has a fussy time for an hour or so a day about the same time - usually some time between 10am and 2pm. We get through it and I know it is either gas or her rash that she has, etc. She's getting better with her swing and not being held every second...and she really enjoys her floor time after feeding. I don't get much done around the house or on the computer during the day as I would like, but I know she needs my attention and care.

The one thing I can say about Tia that makes me melt is when she smiles - it is the sweetest and cutest thing I have ever seen and makes it all worthwhile. She's beautiful and Chris and I call her our little Masterpiece because that is exactly what she is. It is hard to believe that we are parents and she is our creation. I just keep telling myself to cherish every moment right now because every person I've ever talked to about having children say the same thing about their newborn period going super fast. I believe it because 4 weeks ago, I gave her the first real breath of life and the past month has gone by super fast. Some days seemed so long at the time, but went so quickly - if that is possible.

We all have so much control over our every actions and lives, but when you have a newborn often I feel I don't have much control over her needs because I am getting to know her different cries for what she needs. I wish I could read her mind at times, but as I learn what each cry means, I know I become a better mom. Therefore, I truely believe being a parent is one of the hardest and most fulfilling jobs there is and I truely appreciate all the parents out there!

Our Cute Family

Friday, January 15th, 2009 - Day 28

My Mom went to Thailand and got back this week. It was the trip that Chris and I had originally planned to go on until we found out we were expecting. We were supposed to leave for Thailand on December 18th. Funny that Tia arrived a day later - and of course there would have been no possible way to go with her on the way. We were disappointed as we had been looking forward to the trip. But what a great reason not to go - our beautiful little girl.

My mom, little sister and one of my older sisters all went. They had a great time and were gone for a couple weeks. My mom always brings back these cute elephants as good luck charms that she gives out. I love them because they are classy looking and cute at the same time. My mom ran out of small ones last time she went to Thailand so she gave Chris the big elephant (in this picture) - it is very heavy and the size of a cantaloupe. When she got back this time, she gave us the middle sized one (for me) and the baby one for Tia. Aren't they cute. She also had some cute Thai clothes for Tia...can't wait until she is big enough to wear some of them.

What an Explosion

Thursday, January 14th, 2009 - Day 27

So we've been worrying about constipation and she went about 40 hours without having a bowel movement, but then when we least expected it, she had an explosion in her diaper. Of course, we were relieved! Then today, I changed her wet diaper about 9:30am and by 11:30am when I went to change her, I noticed some of her poopie seeping through her pjs. I opened her pjs to find that she had a huge explosion in her diaper. It was all over her belly, her back, all over her pjs and the diaper was sooo full. It was cute, but I had to give her a bath because she was had it all over and when changing her, it was hard not to get it in other places too. We did buy some constipation drops, but we didn't use them yet because we wanted to talk to our doc first. She's our little poop machine!

Heat Rash

Wednesday, January 13th, 2009 - Day 26

I think we know what her little rash is - heat rash. We have been keeping her in these cute full body pjs, but she has been getting these rashes on her face and chest. They come and go and move around from different times of day. After looking up some types of rashes, I am pretty sure that is what it is. They say parents make the mistake of overdressing their babies and they should be dressed the way we would dress ourselves. The thing is, I wear my pjs all day long so I guess I thought she was dressed perfectly. I know at night, we swaddle her and perhaps she is a bit warm, but during the day I wouldn't think so. But we are going to dress her in some onzies, give her some baths, lotion her up and make sure she's nice and cool until the heat rash goes away completely. My poor little girl!

Constipation

Tuesday, January 12th, 2009 - Day 25

Tia's face will get red like she is trying to make a poopie, but then when we check her diaper - it is only wet. Then we notice that several diapers are either not needing to be changed or just wet. But it is scary when she goes over 24 hours without a poopie diaper because her tummy gets all bloated. You can tell she really tries hard to go but just can't. She is fed breast milk more than half the time but we give her some formula here and there as well. The formula we have is Enformil with iron and I read that we should try soy so we bought soy formula but it has only been a day. We got the constipation drops for babies and will try that next. I just hate seeing her struggle plus it makes her a bit more fussy too. I know it is very common for babies to be constipated and go a few days before having a bowel movement. I have that problem and I'm 32, I hope she didn't inherit that from me!

Top Ten for Bedtime

Monday, January 11th, 2009 - Day 24

Tia has been sleeping pretty well at night. She does get up to feed around 1am and then again about 5am. I came up with my top ten things that make it for a perfect night sleep for Tia.

1) Tia's Room - Of course we started out having her sleep in our room because she had jaundice and she had her days and nights mixed up. But now that she is sleeping at night, we have put her to bed in her room for the past couple weeks.

2) Crib- Her crib is an espresso color and is beautiful with her chocolate and pink bedding.

3) Mini-Crib - Since she is so small, they say newborns have a harder time in a big crib with so much space, so we got a mini-crib from Target that is perfect. It fits inside the big Crib and is the perfect size for her.

4) Positioner - We always have the fear of SIDS on our minds, so we heard that a positioner was perfect for newborns to keep them more in place while they sleep. I had no idea what this was but a friend gave me one and it works perfect. It fits nicely inside the mini-crib and is soft. It keeps Tia from rolling.

5) Swaddler - The best thing for night/nap time is to keep Tia swaddled nice and tight. When she isn't swaddled, her hands will wake her up. If she isn't swaddled tightly enough, she finds ways to get her arms out and then she wakes herself up and can't go back to sleep. But keeping her swaddled is great. We bought what we call a 'cheater swaddler' which is something that wraps around her and has velcro to keep her snug.

6) Monitor - I love our monitors because I can listen for Tia when she wakes up or just to hear her and know that she is alright.

7) Pacifier - Ultimately we try not to put her to bed with a pacifier because if she loses it, she wakes up. OR if she has the pacifier in, she doesn't go to sleep as fast either. It looks like she is sleeping, but you can see she is doing her Maggie Simpson and sucking away on it. But sometimes a pacifier in her mouth causes her to instantly close her eyes.

8) Sound Machine - We have a great sound machine that has rain, heartbeat, ocean, lullabies and a timer, so we can put on a sound and have it automatically shut off in 15 or 30 minutes. We don't use it every time, but it is nice to keep a little bit of sound in the room so she doesn't get scared if she wakes up to dead silence.

9) Nightlight - The mini-crib came with a small nightlight that is perfect. It is bright enough that if I need to check in on her, I can see her face, but it sits on the top of the mini-crib so when Tia is laying in it, she can't see it, so it doesn't bother her. Before we had that, I would put the hall light on so I wouldn't wake her up but could somewhat see her.

10) Glider Rocker - I LOVE the glider rocker. It is awesome! I don't use it every day, but if I want to rock her a bit or if she wakes up in the middle of the night and is wide awake, I can rock her a bit to make her drowsy again. It is also perfect for breastfeeding. The ottoman also rocks so it is very comfortable. I use the boppy pillow to raise her up a bit and make it comfortable for both of us if I do breastfeed.

Power Outage

Sunday, January 10th, 2009 - Day 23

We had an unexpected trip out of the house today due to our subdivision being out of power. Around 8ish, I heard a ton of beeps and a sound like things were shutting down including the fan going off. I woke Chris up and he said the entire house was out of power. We gave Ameren a call and yep, 104 houses were out of power and it would be on until 3pm. With our 3 week old little girl and the weather being 4 degrees outside, we decided that we needed to get out of the house to stay warm. In only about 10 minutes, I could already feel the house getting colder. We loaded up the car and headed over to Lisa's house, since she only lives 10 minutes away and we wanted to stay close to the house. We are praying that the power will be on sooner than later!

Our First Night Out

Saturday, January 9th, 2009 - Day 22

Tonight was our first night out since Tia was born. One of Chris's best friends was turning 30 and his fiance had a surprise birthday party planned. I thought it was a great opportunity for us to get out of the house for a few hours and see how we do with leaving Tia at home. Chris's mom, as I call Katma, was coming over to watch Tia and be our first babysitter. What was nice was that Katma was going to come over to our house so that made it very nice for us. She came over around 6ish and we left shortly after and headed to Kirkwood for the party. I was able to have a couple glasses of wine and we got to mingle with all of Chris's friends. It was a really nice time with great drinks, great food, great music and of course great people. We left a bit after 9 and swung by to see our friend Lisa for a bit and we were home around 10ish.

While we were out everyone kept asking us if we were calling to check in every 5 minutes or having feelings of sadness that we left her at home. But to be honest, Chris and I were both fine being out with out Tia. Of course, we missed her, BUT we knew it was only for a few hours and she was in good hands. It was a great first night out! Of course, we kissed our peanut when we got home.

Movie Night

Friday, January 8th, 2009 - Day 21

We had our first movie night. I had Chris get The Proposal from Redbox so we could watch it tonight. It is so funny how watching a 2 hour movie turns into a 3 or 4 hour ordeal. We had to feed Tia, change her a couple times, get her out of a fussy stage and put her to bed. It was fun though to be together and just realize that not only has life changed but now we are this cute little family.

Baby Carrier

Thursday, January 7, 2010 - Day 20

Tia usually has at least one fussy period per day usually lasting 15 to 45 minutes at a time. During these periods, I have to carry her around the room bouncing her so she won't cry. She'll be fed, clean but just is fussy and all of her usual things I have her do just won't work. I was reading Jen's blog about trying the Baby Bjorn with her newborn and I remembered we got a Jeep carrier from our registry so I looked it up to see if newborns could be used in it. Tia was having a fussy period and so I'd hold her and bounce her around the room (I call it our dance time), and eventually she'd stop whimpering and I'd put her in a cradle hold and she'd start to doze off. BUT the minute I would move her to the swing, the floor, her boppy pillow, her crib or anything else - she would wake up and be fussy again - which meant I had to start dancing with her again to get her to stop her fussiness.

I went and grabbed the Jeep carrier, read the instructions and I put Tia on her boppy pillow while I was getting it ready and she woke up and started to fuss. I put her in the Jeep carrier that was now on me and at first she gave me this look like 'are you kidding me', but once I started to walk around, she started to doze off. Wfew, it worked! Now, she was already pretty drowsy, so that helped and the true test is when I want to be handsfree and she is wide awake.

But so far, the Jeep carrier is pretty nice. I got her bottle ready, am writing this blog, and was able to put her dirty diapers in the diaper genie - stuff I could not do if she was in a cradle hold sleeping. Thanks Jen for giving me the idea.

Mommy & Daddy are Learning A Lot

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - Day 19

We started doing our research on what makes a baby fussy. Our poor baby Tia seems to have a lot of what makes a baby fussy:

Colic/Constipation/Gas - She shows pretty much all the signs of being colic. Fusses after being fed and diaper change, hasn't pooped all day, bloated tummy, face gets red, looks like she is trying to force out some gas but is unsuccessful, spits up, hard to burp, etc. So we got some Mylicon to help with her gas and hopefully that will help her.

Nasal Congestion (partially) - She is constantly making snoring sounds or breaths like her nose is stuffy. In winter months, the air is dry and can cause her nose to dry out her nasal secretions. This can be confused with nasal congestion which is a more serious problem. So we got her some Saline Drops and are going to add the dehumidifier to our house to get the air a bit better for Tia.

Clogged Tear Duct - I have heard this is very common, but poor Tia will often have some build up in her right eye. Sometimes it is right on her eyeball and we take moist towels and do our best to clean it up 3 to 4 times per day. We hope by massaging her tear duct/nose, we can rid this problem.

Thrush - Tia has a majorly thick white substance on her tongue that is possibly called Thrush. It can also be on her cheeks and gums, but we don't see much there. It very well could be just milk build-up, but it seems pretty thick so we are thinking it is Thrush. We tried to pick up some ointment for this at Walgreens and Wal-Mart and neither place carried what was recommended. Thrush can turn painful if not taken care of. It is basically a build up of yeast from milk.

Hiccups - After feeding about 3 out of 5 times, she'll sneeze twice and then get the hiccups and she HATES the hiccups. She makes these sounds like she is super annoyed every time a hiccup happens. We just feel so bad for her because she'll have them for 30 to 40 minutes and she hates every minute.


She has still been sleeping very well at night, at least 3 hours, sometimes 4, at a time. I've been putting her down for naps after feeding and waketime, but if she is super fussy - she only stays down for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. It is obvious she is trying to poop, but can't. I have always had a hard time in that area and I hope she doesn't get that from me. We did start adding formula to her feeding a few times a day to supplement breastmilk and the formula we use has iron in it which could also be a factor in constipation/gas. Let's hope we can get these taken care of so Tia won't be fussy any more. She is still perfect and every time she falls asleep, she has the cutest smile and chuckle that just warms our hearts and makes all the fussiness worthwhile.

McKenzie

Tuesday, January 5, 2010 - Day 18

A lot of people are wondering how we came up with McKenzie as Tia's middle name. We had a few middle names we were tossing around for 9 months, but just could not decide on any one of them. Harley was our biggest front runner and we were about 99% sure her name would be Tia Harley Norris. I came up with Harley about 5 months into pregnancy...I wanted it to be somewhat sentimental by using a family name, but none of the first names in either family really stuck out for us. We wanted her middle name to be unique, mainly for me, because our last name is Norris which is pretty common. I was thinking of merging family names and I came up with Harley, which was a composition of (Harp, Merli, Lee) and Chris really liked it too. BUT there was just something that was keeping me from pulling the trigger on it. I think because Tia was already a unique name and to throw a unique middle name with it - I wasn't sure I wanted to do. But for the remaining 5 months of pregnancy, it was what we were thinking we'd end up with if we didn't come up with anything. Since she was going to be born around Christmas, we also decided that if she was born on Christmas, her middle name would be Noel.

Since I came up with Tia, I was wanting Chris to come up with some middle names to choose from, so the week Tia was born, he had a task of doing some research and giving me some options. He came up with several and we went through them together. He had mentioned McKenna and I just wasn't going for it, but then he just said McKenzie and we both really liked it. And it was perfect and we decided it would definitley be her middle name unless she was born on Christmas and then it would be Noel. So there we picked it and I was super happy that Chris came up with her middle name and boy did he do a great job. I just love her name. We decided since it was only a matter of days before she was born that we'd keep it a secret from everyone and hence why so many people were shocked to hear that her name wasn't Tia Harley or Tia Corinne. But we've heard nothing but positive comments about her name 'Tia McKenzie Norris.'

All I Can Say is Ah!

Monday, January 4th, 2010 - Day 17

I'll admit, the past two weeks have been a definite change of pace for our schedules, especially the lack of sleep. We got off to a rough start because of a few things, in my opinion, that made it hard for us to get on a routine off the bat. The first was the jaundice and having Tia sleeping 24-7, except for feeding, in the billy bed for 4 days when we got home from the hospital. Since it was the week of Christmas, we invited anyone who wanted to come by our house for Christmas to stop by since we didn't go anywhere. Because of this, Tia was super spoiled and was held by several family members pretty much every day for several days after she was out of the billy-bed. Of course, this was very special and I loved that she was being held by everyone, but she would fall asleep in their arms and hence becoming accustomed to being held in order to fall asleep. The other big thing was her having her days and nights switched - sleeping all day and up all night.

We resolved the days and nights very quickly, to our amazement. She was back on track this entire week and it was really nice to know we'd get a few hours of sleep at a time during the night. As mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted Tia to become a BabyWise baby and to follow the principles in the book that was recommended to me. I believe in all that the say, but of course getting her on track due to the three things listed above was turning out to be harder than expected. They encourage an every 3 hour feeding schedule which we implemented from day 1. They also encourage you to have wake time for baby after feeding and then a naptime. We had certainly gotten her on the feeding and then waketime portion, but were a little off on the naptime. She would be in my arms and fall asleep into naptime but the book says you need to put the baby down while she is awake so she can get used to being dependent in naps/sleeptime. This was going to be a hard task, but I know the earlier we start this, the better.

So today, I decided to start putting this routine into motion. I have to admit, it went pretty smooth today and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it goes smooth the rest of the night and the rest of the week. I'm doing the 3 hour feeding times and once she is done feeding, I play with her for a good half an hour, change her diaper, then play with her for another half an hour. At that point, I start to rock her or hold her like I would normally when she was falling asleep, BUT instead of waiting until she was out, I would put her in her crib before she was asleep to see if she would fall asleep on her own. To my surprise, she has! Of course, sometimes she needs me to be near, but she still went to sleep on her own without being held which is huge. I have the sound of the ocean on in her room, have her swaddled tightly and she does have a pacifier - all things that have helped! I want to continue this routine the rest of the week and then starting next week, put her down for a nap before she starts getting tired. I know that it is some work on my part and patience, but eventually she will know the routine and when she gets put in her crib, she'll know it is naptime.

So I am excited about today's developments because the past several days, she's had a few hours of fussiness about the same time every day. Today - no fussiness at all. No, the day is not over yet, BUT I'm pretty confident she won't bring out Miss Fussy today. I'll keep you posted - but say a little prayer that we will be settling into this new routine for good!

Welcome to the World Message

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 - Day 16

For anyone who wants to leave a welcome message to baby Tia, we are inviting anyone who would like to leave a message for her by calling 877-628-2995 and entering PIN 1884096 followed by #. We will burn the cd of messages and place it in her baby book for when she is older and can listen to all of the loved ones who were excited about her arrival.

My friend Beth gave us this service as a gift and it is really a neat service to use because we were able send an announcement message to a bulk amount of people when she was born. I had a notebook and had people write their numbers down and then a few days before she was born, I put the list into the online service. Chris and I came up with a script and the day she arrived, I had Chris call the service, implement the message announcing Tia and then the service automatically sent the recording to everyone. There were many people's numbers I missed or wish I had, so I'm welcoming anyone reading this who wants to leave a message to do so. Beth gave us a big chunk of time and I also bought more time so people can leave long messages if they'd like.

For anyone who wants to buy this service for an expecting friend - you can go to www.sharemybabynews.com and read up on the details. It is a very special service and it was super sweet to hear all of the messages when she was born!

She's Sleeping More at Night

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 - Day 15

We are keeping our fingers crossed that this is a positive sign that Tia is sleeping more at night and less during the day. She has had her days and nights switched since before birth which is typical for most babies. But our sleep has been deprived and it was on the top of our list to get her switched. Of course, we did our research and took in all the tips to try to get this switched. We started making it bright and noisier during the day and keeping her feeding every 3 hours, sleeping or not. At night, we dim the lights, make no eye contact and really try to make her realize when it is night versus day. The past few nights, she has gone to bed right after feeding and slept for 3 to 4 hours at a time which is a big improvement. We are going to continue this and see if it will stay this way. I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Another big development today was Tia getting her nails clipped. She has my hands which means she has very long fingers and big hands - it is so strange to see my hands but mini on her. My nails have always grown very fast and since hers are like mine, hers have grown very long the past two weeks and she is just now starting to scratch her face a bit and so we have been wanting to get them clipped. We bought the nail clippers with the magnifying glass and have the emery boards as well. Chris was so eager to clip her nails that I let him take the bull by the horns. He did great. Of course she was sleeping during the first hand, but after her nails were clipped Chris was taking the emery board to the edges and she woke up. We waited a bit for the second hand and then tackled that one as soon as she dozed off. Not as bad as we were thinking but still so scary since her nails are sooo tiny!

A Very Nice Invention

Friday, January 1st, 2010 - Day 14

Last night was New Year's eve and I'm laughing at myself because as the ball dropped in Times Square, I was in a dead sleep in bed. Lisa came over and brought me some treats..mmm. We had a dirty martini - my first one in 10 months. Then I had two glasses of wine. We hung out and watched a movie then Lisa left to head over to a party. Tia and Chris were napping and my eyes were starting to feel super heavy. It has been quite a long time since I had more than 1 drink and my tolerance has gone way down. It was 10pm and I knew I wasn't going to make it until midnight. I caved and went to bed. I did set an alarm to get up just in time but Chris said it kept going off and I'd hit snooze but let it buzz for several minutes at a time which was so unlike me. He just laughed he said. I'm a light weight now! But it was nice to have two of my favorite cocktails. Thanks Lisa.

I got up to feed Tia around 6ish and my boobs were telling me they needed to be pumped soon since it had been 12 or so hours since my last pump. Of course I wanted to make sure my milk was alcohol free so I used a product called Milkscreen. It said I was negative, which meant I was alcohol free and the milk is good for Tia. What a great product...thanks to the person who invented it!