the greatest blessing

Last night was a long night with our little guy. He has a third tooth coming in up top and the pain has made him quite miserable. He awoke at 3am and wanted to be held and cuddled. Finally after about two hours of holding him, he fell back asleep. As I sat with him for those two hours in the rocker in his nursery, with the dim light from his nightlight barely illuminating the room, I found myself welling up. The tears were not those of frustration or exhaustion, but rather those of pure joy. With him snuggled closely into me, I reflected on what a true blessing he is in my life and the magnitude of the love that I feel for him. Before becoming a mom myself, I never fully understood the depths to which a mother’s love for her child goes. It is a feeling unlike any other. Our children are our greatest blessing and gift from God. As you hold your little ones close, cherish all that they are and all that they have brought into your life. Make the hug last a little longer and enjoy the quiet closeness.

best is what's best for you

In the months leading up to our little guy’s birth, the question “are you going to breast feed?” came up quite frequently. Surprisingly, it wasn’t just docs or my mom who did the asking… but rather what seemed like anyone and everyone. I had read all the baby books, so I knew “breast is best”, that you “should” nurse until a year, that you should not supplement with formula, that bottles and pacifiers could cause “nipple confusion”, etc, etc. Choosing to breast feed was not really a decision for me… I just kind of always knew I would do it. As with most mothers, the thought of it before baby was completely bizarre, but regardless I planned on giving it a go. Andrew latched right on after birth and my milk came in just fine. I was one of the lucky ones, for whom breast feeding came really easy. The first few weeks went great. I enjoyed the extra quiet time we got to spend together and secretly loved knowing that only I could nourish him.

As the weeks passed, I started to feel trapped… I needed to be able to get out and get a little time for myself. I needed to be able to get out for dinner with my husband. So, I did what all good breast feeding mamas are supposed to do… I got a pump. From day one, I hated pumping… actually, I despised pumping. It is hard not to feel like a cow when you have a machine extracting milk from you… ugh. I could not stand it. While breast feeding had gone really well for me, pumping did not. I could barely get any milk and the whole process of freezing it in baggies was just too much for me. Also, because I obviously had to be pumping in between feedings, I could not help but feel like I was either nursing or pumping around the clock. I just could not do it. So I made the difficult decision to… gasp… supplement with formula. It was the best decision I ever made. It allowed my husband to be involved in feedings, and gave me the opportunity for a little “me time” when I needed it.

All said and done, I breast fed exclusively for about 2-months, then slowly began supplementing with formula, and completely switched from breast to bottle by 4-months. In the eyes of the La Leche League or the other hard core breast feeding coalitions out there, I guess maybe I was a failure. I could care less. I feel like a success. I gave it a shot, and it was a great for a while. I then made a change that was great for baby and me.

In a recent issue of BabyTalk, author Paul Spencer shares her take on breast feeding in, The New Breast Feeding Rules. Her piece is light-hearted and realistic. I think it is a great read for any new mommies out there.

animoto

Like most first-time parents out there, we have documented nearly every stage of our little guy’s 9-months. By this point I am sure we have bored all of our family and friends with the endless stream of e-mails announcing a new album on our photo sharing site. Today I came across Animoto (http://www.animoto.com), a fantastic site that allows you to create free (yes, FREE!) 30-second video montages, complete with music, from your favorite pics. The process is as simple as uploading your photos and choosing your music (from either your own personal collections or their library of 100’s of songs). Animoto then works their magic in putting the video together and sends the link to your personal email. The video can be shared via email or posted on Facebook. At least now our family members and friends will be bombarded with actual videos, as opposed to just our static photos.

the must haves and the completely unnecessary: some tips for expectant mothers

As a first-time expectant mother the idea of registering is exciting... yay stuff! Cute little baby stuff! Then you actually get to Babies R' Us and you quickly go from excited and enthusiastic, to overwhelmed and confused. Your more experienced friend, who has agreed to show you the ropes and tell you what you “really really” need, drags you from aisle to aisle talking about bouncers, diaper pails, breast pumps and wipe warmers. What you thought would be a fun hour spent zapping away with the scan gun, turns into a three hour ordeal and leaves you feeling even more unprepared for your coming bundle of joy. If I don’t even know what I need for this baby, how am I going to know what to do for it? You survive the registering adventure only to make daily changes to the registry online after reading countless reviews and customer ratings.

I will not claim to be the all-knowing expert on everything required to be “ready” for baby. However, in the 9-months since my little man arrived, I have found that there are some baby products that you absolutely cannot live without when you first bring baby home and others that are completely unnecessary:

The Must Haves…
· Plenty of onesies and sleepers – both newborn and one size up, because some babies come out a little bigger than others
· Diapers and wipes to get you started when you come home from the hospital – so your husband avoids a frantic rush to an all-night pharmacy
· Receiving blankets and burp cloths – lots of them
· A comprehensive newborn / infant resource book – you will need something to turn to with middle of the night questions
· A soothing sound machine for baby to sleep to – aaahhh… the comforting sounds of the womb
· An odor minimizing diaper pail – either the Genie or the Champ works, just have something
· A dual-motion swing – the side-to-side and back-and-forth option has helped soothe many a fussy baby (and saved the sanity of their parents)
· A bouncer, ideally with vibration and music – you cannot possibly hold baby all the time in those first months
· A stroller that really is easy to open and close – be sure to practice before bringing baby home and trying to open it with one hand, while holding baby in the other
· An infant car seat with easily adjustable straps – again, practice before baby
· Formula if you plan on bottle feeding
· Bottles and pacifiers (if you plan to use them)
· A first-aid / grooming kit complete with nasal aspirator, thermometer and baby nail-clippers
· Pack n’ Play with changing table that ideally can be set up in whatever room you will be spending the most time in
· An exersaucer or jumper – once baby has good head control they will love being able to be upright to play (plus, it can give mom a few minutes to get something done)

The Unnecessary…
· A wipe warmer – many a baby’s behinds have been wiped with un-warmed wipes, and they are just fine
· Shoes – if you do not yet walk, you do not need shoes
· Fancy outfits – honestly, the simpler the better
· An overabundance of toys – for the first few months, you will be your baby’s favorite entertainment

And for the breast feeding mamas…
· Lansinoh nipple cream – trust me… if you are breastfeeding, you will need it
· Nursing bras at least one size larger than either you or the lady at the bra shop thinks you should get
· A couple of bottles and a small can of formula, just in case

shake it baby, shake it!

Andrew has no shortage of toys. He is the first grandchild on both sides, so you could easily say that he might be a bit spoiled. He has quite a collection of stuffed animals, books, soft blocks, stacking rings, driving things, etc. You name it, he has some form of it. They all manage to hold his attention to some degree, but nothing entertains him nearly as much as his beloved maracas... yes, maracas. Put on some of his favorite music and he shakes his maracas like the best of them. If you try to use of them to play along to the music as well, he will grab it right of your hand. Shake shake shake... shake shake shake. For only 9-months he's got some rhythm!

When he was just 6-months, we enrolled in a 10-week class through the Music Together program (http://www.musictogether.com/). I thought he might be a little young for it at the time, but he loved it. As part of the class, there was always a "free jam" period during which the babies all got to bang, shake, rattle and roll a collection of different musical instruments. It was here that his love of the maraca first came to be. To continue his musical interest at home, we bought an instrument set from Melissa & Doug (http://www.melissaanddoug.com/dyn_prod.php?p=488&k=88552&name=Band-in-a-Box). The set is fantastic... some pieces he is not quite ready for yet, but we will get there.

From me to we to three..

From me to we to three… that defines my last few years. From single twenty-something to happy newlywed to mom. While each period was fantastic in its own right, nothing beats being mom to Andrew, my amazingly awesome 8-month old son. I have learned more in the last eight months than I ever dreamed possible… like how to calm a colicky baby, how precious an infant’s first smile is, how to exist on little to no sleep, or the fact that no toy is as interesting in a simple game of peek-a-boo, the phone you are trying to have a conversation on or the remote control.