When I was registering for a baby, I was definitely sweating the small stuff.  I was looking for someone to tell me how many pacifiers I needed to buy and which brand and how many spit rags and so on.  I got lots of good advice, but now I have my own trial and error wisdom to pass on to others.  Since I knew several pregnant ladies who were coming up right behind me, I started emailing them with tips that I thought would be helpful.  I thought I'd consolidate all that info here.

I know, remember when I said that everyone recommended under-the-belly maternity pants to me and I hated them?  I know this advice might not work for everyone, but I consider it a starting place.  Sometimes when you're looking at a wall of bibs in the store, you just want some sort of recommendation of where to begin so you don't waste money reinventing the wheel.  I came to find that I personally like terrycloth bibs the best, so it was frustrating for me to later have a friend see me putting a bib on my baby and say, "Oh yeah, those are the only way to go."  I wish she'd shared her knowledge with me before I spent lots of money buying other types of bibs.

So here are my tips:

** I LOVE my Itzbeen.  I like being fastidious, and it's been great.  Also, you will lose your mind when the baby is first born.  I couldn't remember when she last ate to save my life.  I also constantly forgot to take my own meds.  So keeping track on "the clicker" (as we call it here) was priceless.  This actually warrants its own post.

** I love the Swaddle Me blanket that R1 got us.  We went out and bought a second because we used it so often, and when she outgrew those, we bought the bigger size.  It's great, and she still likes to be wrapped in it.  In fact, we're now having trouble weaning her from being swaddled.

** And here's a tip: All the shampoo and the thermometer and stuff...go ahead and open it all ahead of time.  We gave our daughter her first bath and she's sitting in the water and I'm struggling to open the damned seals on all the liquids.  Shoulda done that ahead of time.  Also, with the pacifiers, get some and open them and boil them ahead of time.  There's nothing more annoying than sanitizing a pacifier while baby screams.  The Avent and Mam brands are our kid's favorite.  Everyone talks about Nuk, so that's what I had, and she doesn't like the shape.  Your baby may or may not like the shape of whichever one you buy, but I'd spend the money to boil a couple and get them ready ahead of time.

**  Burp cloths.  A lot of them.  And different styles.  In the beginning when my milk supply was ridiculously too much, we made a huge mess every time.  Whenever I sat down to nurse, I made sure my baby had a bib on.  And I ALWAYS had two burp cloths nearby: a thick absorbent one (like a cloth diaper) for over my shoulder and a thin one to wipe her mouth and my breast, as milk gets everywhere.  I recommend ones like these because they don't have an edge to them.  They can wipe right at her lips and mouth without being awkward.  So I'd get several of these; I keep them all around the house so I don't have to go looking for them.  One thick one and one thin one in every room I might possibly feed in.  Once I got my milk supply under control, we dribble and spray a lot less.  But I still have spit cloths everywhere, because she went through a vomiting phase and now she just spits up and burps like every baby.

** Also receiving blankets.  I have used both the Boppy and the Brest Friend to nurse and I put a blanket over the pillow and under her to catch errant milk...or vomit.  So blankets are everywhere and they can double as burp cloths in a pinch.

** So yeah, we had a major vomiting issue.  I hear it's not uncommon.  A crucial thing is waterproof pads, like these.  We have these everywhere too.  I had a crib-size one under my fitted sheet to protect my mattress (I put this there at the end of my pregnancy in case my water broke in bed.)  I nursed in bed at night when our girl was still in our room and she barfed several times in my bed.  But even if it's not barf, I leak and she leaks.  In fact, I have the big one under my bedsheet and then a smaller bassinet-sized one that I lay on top of the sheet when we nurse.  I have many of that size and use them everywhere: lay one down to change her diaper (because the first time I didn't, she peed on my comforter), one in the bassinet, one in the Pack and Play, one on the sofa where I nurse (because there's been barfing there too).  And then I have the little tiny ones too that I use to protect her sleeping wedge from barf.  So yeah, waterproofing is essential.  In fact, I gave up and went straight to a full-sized fitted rubber sheet that I put over the sofa after she barfed on it the third time...  And I eventually bought an inexpensive waterproof mattress pad for my bed after her diaper leaked on my husband's side where the crib-size pad didn't reach.

**  I use waterproof pads, which are essential, but they need to be laundered.  I have them all over the house, and unless you want to buy so many of them that you can replace them frequently without doing laundry every day...here's another tip.  I bought disposable waterproof pads too, like the "chucks" that you get in the hospital.  They are the Assurance brand and can be found in the store near the Depends section.  The pads are big, like 2 ft x 3 ft, so I cut them down into four equal rectangles.  Then I put one of them under baby's bottom while changing her diaper.  Thus her whole body is lying on a cloth waterproof pad, but her behind is on a disposable pad too.  That way if you get an explosive poop or if your baby manages to pee while you are switching from the yucky diaper to the clean one -- which amazingly happens quite frequently -- then you can just throw away the disposable pad instead of having to wash the whole cloth pad.  And if baby doesn't mess on the disposable pad, I keep it and re-use it for the next time.  I've only used one box of Assurance pads so far in her entire life, so I consider it money well spent to avoid extra laundry and to avoid having to buy a boatload of cloth pads.

** In lieu of a baby book, one idea that my mom did on her third kid was just get a blank calendar and then write the milestones in.  Like just write in the box for the day "first smile", "slept through night", etc.  That way you can go back and see the timeline, but it doesn't take as much effort as an elaborate baby book.  I do this and write lots of notes, because you will easily forget when your kid slept through the night, etc.  I write down her sleep habits most days because after three bad days, it can easily feel like weeks since she's slept well and I have to go back and look longingly at when it was that I last got four consecutive hours of precious sleep...

** CVS drugstore makes a generic version of clear Desitin that I like.  At my Walmart all I could find was the white stuff in a generic version, which works fine but it gets everywhere.  The clear stuff is better, especially during the summer when they are wearing shorts.  It's also less thick and pasty.  Anyway, it's a little money saver if you normally buy generics.  It's $6.49 vs $7.99 for Desitin.  And I've already used three bottles of the stuff in two months (though I am a fanatic about preventing diaper rash; the doctor even complimented me at her appointment that she has no signs whatsoever of any rash.  But I change her diaper constantly and put ointment on every time...probably a little overkill, but oh well.)

** Charmin Sensitive with Aloe is the only way to go at the end of pregnancy and beyond.  When you're wiping as frequently as you have to at the end, and especially if you have an episiotomy, that is the only toilet paper for your sore lady bits!

** Don't buy too much of one size diaper.  I took advantage of a good sale and got 360 size 1 diapers, and I didn't make it through them before she grew out of them.  Just be mindful that bulk isn't always economical...and I change her diapers pretty frequently.

** For what it's worth, I like this nursing bra.  It has lots of support for being so inexpensive.  And don't buy too many bras while you're pregnant.  My ribcage got enormous while pregnant and I went from a 36 to a 42!  But I shrunk back to normal once the baby came out.  I have also dropped a cup size since the end of pregnancy.  I just took nursing tank tops to the hospital and wore those so that I could learn to nurse without lifting a shirt.  I thought that worked really well.

**  I got tired of sitting cross-legged on the floor with the baby and having a sore back, so I recently bought one of these Back Jack chairs.  I am hoping I like it for sitting on the floor playing with her.  So far I think it will help with my back pain.

** And finally, my bib tip.  At this age, I have discovered that I prefer terrycloth bibs.  My gal is a drooler, and she goes through at least four bibs a day.  She soaks them!  The plastic-backed ones or the "waterproof" ones that Carters makes are OK for keeping her clothes dry underneath, but they don't soak up much slobber and they are pretty stiff.  Cotton ones that generally come with outfits are acceptable, but they don't soak much either.  The terrycloth ones soak up a good deal of slobber, and they are soft enough to wipe her face with too while she's dribbling.  But the waterproof ones are the way to go for longer car rides, when she's just sitting in one positon, drooling and soaking her front.

Good luck!

Posted by: Sarah at 10:28 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Did you really just give all that advice without including a drooly, bibbed baby pic?

Posted by: Tracy at July 23, 2010 07:56 PM (vFImS)

2 Something else to keep track of milestones would be a 5-year diary (Amazon has 'em).  Each page has a few lines for the day, 5 times.  So as you write down today's brief note, you can see what happened a year ago, two years ago and so on.

Posted by: Ted at July 28, 2010 10:25 AM (blNMI)

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If there's one baby accessory I can't live without, it's my Itzbeen.  So much do I love this item that I will do an unpaid awesome review of it.  And I've gotten two other moms to buy them as well.

I have heard this product referred to as anal or controlling, but I think that's a misunderstanding of how I use the timer.

I love this paragraph at ThinkGeek:

It is sometime in the middle of the night; you and your new wee one are awake. Once again, it’s feeding time! But you can't keep your eyes open without toothpicks, and the only thing which will keep you awake is watching The Lord of the Rings (extended version, cast commentary on, naturally). Even as Aragorn is defending the Hobbits from the Ring Wraiths, you are fighting a battle of your own called deprived sleep infant stage. Eventually, your significant other will have the next set of duties and will ask what time the last feeding was. Unfortunately, "Right about the time Aragorn set that one dude on fire" will not work as an answer. Enter the ItzBeen Baby Care Timer.

After I had the baby, I couldn't think straight.  At all.  I was in so much pain and in such a daze of sleeplessness that I couldn't tell you my baby's name, much less when she last ate.  But all I had to do was click the button each time and we were tracking.  No need for guessing.  No need to use my brain.

The obvious reason I love this timer is that it prevents me from having to think, or do math against the clock.  I don't have to remember when she ate or when we started the feeding or which side to nurse on next or when I changed that gross diaper or how long she's been napping, or all of these things in tandem.  I just click click click all day long.

The less obvious reason I love this timer is because it really helps me troubleshoot.  If baby is crying, I can see she just ate two hours ago, so it's not likely she's hungry yet.  So I can try something different.  Or I see that it's been an hour and a half since she woke from her nap, and I'm pretty sure the crying is because she's getting sleepy again.  It has really helped me take note of her quirks and patterns.  I love it most for that reason.

And we have had the funny conversation in our house where my husband is holding the crying baby and asks me what's wrong with her.  I look at the Itzbeen and say, "According to my calculations...nothing.  Nothing should be wrong with her."  Heh.  In that case, she's probably just bored.

I love this item.  Seriously.  The only thing I would love more is if it could be made into a wristwatch so that I would always have it on me.  I get my exercise trekking back and forth across the house to fetch my Itzbeen.

Oh, and the company is great too.  My original Itzbeen went on the fritz when baby was 3 1/2 months old.  Some of the digital numbers weren't showing all their lines.  I shot an email to the address on Itzbeen.com to ask about a warranty, and they quickly mailed me a brand new one as a replacement.  So I recommend this product even more because of their fantastic customer service!

And right now I can see that my daughter is 58 minutes into her morning nap, so I probably don't have time to start watching LOTR, as I now have a funny hankerin' to do.

UPDATE:  Amy pointed out something in the comments that I ought to have mentioned.  The Itzbeen is only around $20, so it's an affordable gadget.  It's been worth every penny for me!

Posted by: Sarah at 09:01 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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A link via Amritas:  Winner’s curse in the 2010 elections

Posted by: Sarah at 11:46 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I set out our daughter's clothes today and my husband dressed her.  Later I noticed something...

Posted by: Sarah at 12:25 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 She's so new that she's still under warranty. So..he doesn't know how to to work all the bells and whistles on the 2010 Infante3000...as long as she is not going to suffer from hypothermia,I say he did a fine job. : )

Posted by: MaryIndiana at June 20, 2010 07:04 PM (Qq3LS)

2 He got them on her feet, so that's a plus itself.  He'll get better.  Promise.  But the whole matching thing, well, that's not a guarantee. 

Posted by: Susan at June 20, 2010 08:49 PM (URuXw)

3 ha!  I'm with Susan, at least he got them on her feet!  Just wait until he starts doing hair

Posted by: Ellen at June 20, 2010 08:55 PM (Yg8bq)

4 Looking at the piccy, I'd say he also got them on the wrong feet, but, what the heck, at least he tried.

Posted by: bx19 at June 26, 2010 03:49 PM (uGODA)

5 And, they aren't attached with duct tape!!!

Posted by: Trudy at July 09, 2010 05:55 AM (Sh2R9)

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Do I correctly understand that the government missed out on collecting over $2 billion in taxes from this man because of the 2010 lapse in the estate tax?

That is just the most fantastic story I've heard in a long time.  I have the stupidest grin on my face.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:11 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Today was our baby's three month birthday.
Which means we made her a year ago, tee hee.
This year I made socks instead of a baby...

Or did I...

I do find myself often thinking that I'd like to just go ahead and aim for the second one now, to get all the infant years done at once.  If life starts to get too cushy, I am not sure I'll want to go back to the beginning.

But I'm also not sure I want to take care of a baby while I'm pregnant.

I'm definitely sure that I don't have much say in the matter though, and we'll flip another heads whenever a heads comes along...

In the meantime, making us matching socks keeps me happy.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:30 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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1 That is the sweetest picture! Hope it's framed, on her wall. You do beautiful work.

Posted by: Amber at June 01, 2010 04:38 PM (TLzuh)

2 Those are so cute. You have a lucky baby for the mommy she has.

Posted by: Ruth H at June 01, 2010 06:14 PM (YpblU)

3 I agree with Amber.  That would make a darling picture framed.  That's so cute!  Gramma loves both of you!

Posted by: Nancy at June 01, 2010 06:35 PM (FGlzU)

4 What a wonderful post!

Posted by: Connie at June 01, 2010 07:59 PM (L6nIP)

5 I love your socks! I'm still all thumbs at knitting ... and the baby making. lol. And I am very happy for you!

Posted by: Darla at June 02, 2010 12:02 AM (noiAA)

6 Ohhhh, that is DARLIN!

Posted by: Lissa at June 02, 2010 08:41 AM (eSfKC)

7 Ooh! I love the picture!

My sweet little one was born 05/19. He's two weeks today. :-)

Posted by: Heather at June 02, 2010 12:01 PM (3XczE)

8 Happy first first birthday, Baby! Hope you like your mother's handmade present. Sorry I'm a day late. I won't miss your second first birthday. It's only another nine months away.

Posted by: Amritas at June 02, 2010 12:50 PM (5a7nS)

9 Very sweet picture.

Posted by: Lucy at June 02, 2010 09:20 PM (YNvUz)

10 Adorable picture, Sarah. I hope you are doing well

Posted by: Keri at June 03, 2010 07:48 AM (CqCBn)

11 Adorable.  I hope everyone is doing well.

Posted by: Eowyn at June 03, 2010 09:18 AM (c76Sz)

12

Awesome picture!  And good luck on flipping heads again..once you start flipping! : )

Posted by: sharona at June 03, 2010 10:16 AM (ANfYv)

13 Happy 1/4 birthday, baby Grok!

I love those socks...so cute!  I crocheted a pair of booties for my little guy that never did fit him correctly, and I haven't made time to really crochet anything in the last few months, though he had a few cute hats over the wintertime.

Beowulf and I have already talked about starting to try for #2 when he comes home.  Aerost will be 10 months at that point, but I'm not expecting to get pregnant right away.  If it doesn't take too long this time, I expect that it will be difficult caring for a toddler while pregnant, but still well worth it.  Hopefully I'll at least have Beowulf's help, though.

Posted by: Leofwende at June 10, 2010 12:37 AM (28CBm)

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I haven't followed the Texas textbook controversy very closely, but I find it interestingly absurd that people are debating whether we should include American exceptionalism in the curriculum.  What makes me snicker is the thought of Asian countries; to my knowledge, there is no debate in Japan over whether Japan is the greatest country to exist.  Nor in Korea, nor in China.  The idea that we are fighting over whether we should teach our children that the USA is #1 strikes me as funny, in a sad way.

If the debate in Texas were over the divine origins of American exceptionalism, that is whether the Founding Fathers were divinely inspired to embark on this American experiment or not, it would make more sense to me.  But I find it depressing that we're arguing over whether we should teach our children that the origins of our country were special, that unlike other countries around the world the US is not based on ethnicity or culture but on a unique idea that anyone can ascribe to.

The US is exceptional in that regard.  And no, Pres Obama, not in the same way that Greeks are.

Posted by: Sarah at 12:12 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I know it's awful, but that's not the point.  The point is that it's a generic depiction of Muhammad and I'm participating in today because I think it's important.  Let us not be cowed.

Posted by: Sarah at 07:58 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 I didn't even get that creative -- I Snapshot'd the Mohammed from the Supreme Court building

Posted by: Lissa at May 20, 2010 08:05 AM (eSfKC)

2 Gasp! We are shocked, shocked by such insensitive idolatry! As Allah, Most High said:

"And who is more unjust than those who try to create the likeness of My creation? Let them create an atom, or let them create a wheat grain, or let them create a barley grain."

- Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 648

Even if the Prophet (pbuh) were never depicted again, one depiction of any object is too many. Homer Simpson, Stan Marsh, and Peter Griffin must go!

Posted by: kevin at May 20, 2010 10:14 AM (5a7nS)

3 Did anyone notice the translation of that hadith included the word "atom"? I wonder what the original word meant.

Wikipedia has a gallery of Muslim visual depictions of Muhammad.

It's fitting that kevin refers to cartoon characters as "objects" since he believes in a dehumanizing ideology.

Posted by: Amritas at May 20, 2010 10:23 AM (5a7nS)

4 damn, I all expected a stick figure with typical garb! No matter, I see you're point and I like it. Good work, Sarah

Posted by: Sara at May 20, 2010 02:53 PM (675FB)

5 Brad Thor drew him!

Posted by: Amritas at May 20, 2010 07:17 PM (hBtE2)

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I admit, I kinda got a tingle up my leg to see Rand Paul had won...

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CVG sent me a link about the banning of raw milk.  Personally, I've never even given raw milk a thought, but I do care deeply about the Constitution.  And the umbrella of "interstate commerce" is really out of hand these days.

I love how all these little issues are cropping up to test the 10th Amendment lately, and they range from rightwing nutjob issues like the made-in-Montana guns to flaming lefty causes like medicinal marijuana or raw milk.

We're all being encroached on by the federal government, left and right.  Let the hippies drink their raw milk, for pete's sake.

Posted by: Sarah at 07:50 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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A great blog post via Amritas: The Smart People Crowd

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My present for my first Mother's Day was that my husband would take over feeding our daughter during the night while I sleep.  In the guest bedroom, with earplugs in, to guarantee that I sleep through the whole night.  I have been looking forward to this for two weeks, and there have been times recently that I would've done anything to not have to get up during the night to take care of a crying baby.  I have been exhausted again of late and have been getting really excited about my first night free from responsibility.

Yet when I put her down to sleep tonight, I cried.  I will miss her during the night.

Such is the mother's burden.

Posted by: Sarah at 07:41 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Here's what I said yesterday only better: Jon Stewart Flunks His Spartacus Test
(And I don't think Stewart's bit was that bad...but the article has good parts.)

-- I'm back.  I feel like I should elaborate.  Stewart is right that Comedy Central pays the bills and has the right to censor whatever they like.  He's also right that the radical Muslims are the true enemy and can bleep themselves.  But...shouldn't we hold a bit of contempt for Comedy Central for caving?  Paying the bills or not, they took the cowardly route, and he kinda excused them.  He made the bigger point, but I can see where Jeffrey Lord thinks that the bigger I-am-Sparticus would have been for Jon Stewart to berate Comedy Central for not standing with Parker and Stone.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:12 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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After so many years, it's not surprising that South Park would have some hit or miss episodes, but the previous two episodes were fantastic.  Good for Parker and Stone for pushing the Islam envelope, and shame on Comedy Central for once again caving to pressure.  You have to beep Muhammad's name and black him out when he's wearing a bear costume?  Thanks for showing how deep the hypocrisy goes.  Buddha can do coke, and Jesus watches porn and poops on George Bush...but we can't even say the name Muhammad on TV anymore.

So a cartoonist declared May 20th "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day"...and then backed out when the idea went viral.

What a bunch of wimps we've become.

Free speech is easy to defend when it's uncontroversial.  All this hullabaloo about freedom of speech to criticize Bush's war or Obama's health care plan.  No one is threatening our freedom to do any of that.  We throw around "freedom of speech" for the frivolous things and like to pretend we're being brave by "speaking truth to power."  Oooh, your "free speech" might get some mean comments on your blog or make your co-worker ticked off.  But there is a real and growing threat from radical Islam that we've been childishly ignoring for far too long.  It is times like this that it's most important to stand up and defend the right of cartoonists to draw whatever satire they wish.  It's crucial to make a stand and say that we refuse to be cowed by ignorant barbarians who seek to threaten and murder others for holding different beliefs.  Or just for making a joke they don't like.

I'm drawing Muhammad here on May 20th.  The lady who came up with the idea for the day may have decided she's too scared to stand up for her values, but I think it's of the utmost importance for many people to band together and say that we're not going to accept this pandering to Muslims anymore.

And if I were Parker and Stone, I'd put Muhammad in every single episode from now on.

Man, I love those guys.

Posted by: Sarah at 09:45 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1  AGREED!  I saw a tweet from someone I follow the other day.  It was awesome, so I'll just copy and paste it here:

"Derka derka. RT @ExJon: If your religion is endangered by a crudely drawn cartoon, it's time to re-evaluate your belief system. #teamsouthpark"

I think I will participate in Everybody Draw Muhammed day, too.  Sounds like fun.

Posted by: Deltasierra at April 26, 2010 06:47 PM (/Mv9b)

2 The South Park incident reminded me of a passage from Sebastian Haffner's memoir about growing up in Germany in the 1930s. Haffner was a refendar, something like a law clerk, at the Kammergericht, the Prussian high court. That morning, the court had bowed to the Nazis demands and all Jewish judges and other employees had been expelled. In the evening, Haffner went to a comedy club, the Katakombe, with his girlfriend. The performer was a man named Werner Fink:

His act remained full of harmless amiability in a country where these qualities were on the liquidation list. This harmless amiability hid a kernel of real, indomitable courage. He dared to speak openly about the reality of the Nazis, and that in the middle of Germany. His patter contained references to concentration camps, the raids on people’s homes, the general fear and general lies. He spoke of these things with infinitely quiet mockery, melancholy, and sadness. Listening to him was extraordinarily comforting.

In the morning, the Prussian Kammergericht, with its tradition of hundreds of years, had ignobly capitulated before the Nazis. In the same evening, a small troop of artistes, with no tradition to back them up, demonstrated the courage to speak forbidden thoughts. "The Kammergericht had fallen but the Katakombe stood upright."

(my review of Haffner's book is here)

Posted by: david foster at April 27, 2010 09:16 AM (Gis4X)

3

Great idea but why limit it to one day and just a picture? We should name our dogs Mohammed, our pork dishes should have the name Mohammed in them (Mohammed ribs anyone?) and lastly we should call our more unpleasant tasks/experiences after the war mongering, pedophile - “Man, I just took a big ole Mohammed”., “Dude, you just stepped in Mohammed.” The possibilities are endless!

Posted by: tim at April 27, 2010 11:46 AM (vb4Ci)

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I'm learning the ropes of taking care of a baby, but I still don't get on the internet that often.  (Example: my friend said, "So how about that volcano business?" and I said, "What volcano?")  However, today I did read something that got my goat.

Via Mark Steyn, who says, "No matter how fast Obama Europeanizes America, you can't out-Euro the Euros": Vacationing a human right, EU chief says

The European Union has declared travelling a human right, and is launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers' dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips.

Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, proposed a strategy that could cost European taxpayers hundreds of millions of euros a year, The Times of London reports.

"Travelling for tourism today is a right. The way we spend our holidays is a formidable indicator of our quality of life," Mr. Tajani told a group of ministers at The European Tourism Stakeholders Conference in Madrid on April 15.

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In addition to the octopus photo, there was one other thing I was itching to do when my daughter arrived.



After too many times of flipping tails, we finally flipped heads.
She's our John Elway baby, our non-mutant child, our lucky head's up penny.

She's 100% here and 100% ours.



(Heh, I love the photo of us.  She's looking at me like, OMG no one told me my mom was a mutant...)

Posted by: Sarah at 02:06 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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1 She just read your t-shirt! How did you make her shirt? It's a shame she'll soon outgrow it. But I assume you'll keep it and someday explain to her what it means.

Posted by: Amritas at April 10, 2010 01:21 PM (hBtE2)

2 You can buy printer-compatible iron-on transfers.  So I could print in mirror image and then iron on to a onesie.

Posted by: Sarah at April 10, 2010 02:41 PM (OwYFI)

3 In the books I used to (still?) read, the mutants were usually the heroes with special powers. 

Posted by: David Boxenhorn at April 10, 2010 02:57 PM (fcRFv)

4 What a cutie!  Love the shirts.  We can't wait to put Noah in a wifebeater with a cigar :-)

Posted by: Beth at April 10, 2010 05:42 PM (6gU1+)

5 She's so adorable! You look radiant. Motherhood suits you. :-)

Posted by: Heather at April 10, 2010 06:22 PM (V8+gP)

6 Great pictures. Thank you for sharing.

Posted by: Lucy at April 10, 2010 09:41 PM (YNvUz)

7 She's so adorable!  Love the t-shirts!

Posted by: awiv at April 10, 2010 10:09 PM (4McD6)

8

That is such a special picture! I'm sure she will treasure it when she is older. Your daughter is a miracle, in the truest sense of the word.

Posted by: Allison at April 11, 2010 12:11 AM (HroE/)

9   LOVE it!   How adorable!

Posted by: Deltasierra at April 11, 2010 01:20 AM (/Mv9b)

10 You both look wonderful, and she looks absolutely adorable.

Thank you for sharing, all along.

Posted by: Eowyn at April 11, 2010 05:28 AM (Henzy)

11 Your husband must be very proud to have two beautiful females in the house

Posted by: Laura, A Military Mom at April 12, 2010 01:25 PM (oLHZ3)

12 Why didn't you tell her that her mommy was a mutant? And that penny shirt ... adorable and appropriate all at once!! Love it!

Posted by: Darla at April 13, 2010 11:35 PM (RAPsl)

13 That's awesome! Congrats on your beautiful baby. I'm so happy for you guys.

Posted by: Tiffany at April 14, 2010 12:57 PM (zXoai)

14

Congratulations Sarah.

Posted by: tim at April 15, 2010 03:03 PM (vb4Ci)

15 What a beautiful little girl! And what a happy momma! Love the shirts, they're awesome.

Posted by: sharona at April 15, 2010 09:03 PM (BeRta)

16 You crack me up!  This is perfect.    This year for Halloween maybe instead of a spooky skeletal system, you can "dress up" as a mutant and she can dress up as a lucky penny. 

Thanks for posting these.  So cute!

Posted by: Guard Wife at April 16, 2010 01:35 PM (joIc3)

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My husband is in DC for the funeral service for the soldier in his company who was killed on deployment.

We had an FRG meeting last week, and the unit provided details for the families who would be heading to Arlington for the service.  As I sat there holding my new baby, the baby who looks just like my husband, all I could think about was this soldier's wife.  His pregnant wife.  Pregnant with a little girl...

When I thought I'd go into labor before my husband came home, I had a meltdown.  I couldn't make myself go to the hospital.  I was packing my suitcase while weeping, in agony that things had not gone as I'd wanted them to go, that it wasn't supposed to be this way, that he was supposed to be here with me and for me.  I wanted to stay in complete denial and refuse to go to the hospital.  I felt deep in my bones that I just couldn't have that baby without him, that despite how capable I am, this was the one thing I couldn't handle on my own.

And I think of this woman whose husband won't be there at all when her baby is born, and I can't stand it.  I am sick for her.  Just sick.

I'm so thankful for my husband and child.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:16 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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I am knitting and watching Krauthammer.
I just wanted to document it because two weeks ago, I really and truly thought that part of my life was over.  I thought "me time" was a thing of the past.
I am figuring this out.  And baby is a napper, which is great.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:32 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 Oh fantastic! That's really good news. Will be calling you today.

Posted by: Sara at April 05, 2010 12:06 PM (Z8H9d)

2

So you are at the one month point and BabyGrok has gained enough mass to take longer naps. Congratualtions.

Those naps will be longer after you add solids (such as rice cereal) to the diet.

Get your rest while you can. In another 14 months, she will be mobile and you will have to chase her.

Posted by: The Thomas at April 05, 2010 12:42 PM (pe9DT)

3 I'm glad you're doing better, the me time was the hardest part to recover when mine was that small. Naptimes are the bomb.

Posted by: dutchgirl at April 05, 2010 10:08 PM (Yg8bq)

4 Go naptime! Hooray for knitting time again!

Posted by: Darla at April 06, 2010 11:06 PM (RAPsl)

5 Anything that involves "watching Krauthammer" is EXCELLENT by my estimation. 

Posted by: Guard Wife at April 09, 2010 10:49 PM (UI/tE)

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P.S.  I must be doing something wrong, because we've been using Mylicon and gripe water, and it doesn't seem to help.  Or her gas would be phenomenally worse without the two products...

Posted by: Sarah at 07:31 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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1 You aren't doing anything "wrong," it's trial and error with almost all babies.  Might take a look at what you are eating...sometimes that can cause gas...at least from what I remember, my boys are 27 & 25.  Big hugs!  Things will get better as they get different

Posted by: Connie at March 31, 2010 08:08 AM (L6nIP)

2 My first son had awful gas depending on what I ate.  My second son, I could eat whatever I wanted and it didn't effect him at all. So, food may or may not be her problem, but it's worth a shot!

What bothered my first son was anything that can cause mild gas in adults~it really bothered him. I had to avoid broccoli, onions, beans and cucumbers with him.

When she seems to be in a lot of pain, think about what you ate before she ate. Like Connie said, it's trial and error. 

My son also got  better after he hit the 6 week mark.

Posted by: Tracy S at March 31, 2010 08:55 AM (3N/bf)

3

Our big problem with our littlest guy was that I eat a lot of dairy and was breastfeeding. He just couldn't handle the dairy. At one point he was on 3 different prescriptions and was still having problems. The pediatrician agreed with me that we needed to start from scratch instead of adding more meds. He suggested I cut dairy out of my diet. Within 12 hours of me stopping dairy he started feeling better. It made ALL the difference. He didn't even need the prescriptions after that.

He's 19 months old now, and handles dairy just fine. He eats pretty much everything. Just back then his delicate little tummy couldn't handle it.

I thought I'd mention this because dairy can be a common culprit among babies who are breastfed and having tummy problems. Good luck finding something that works for you. It's terrible to see our babies uncomfortable.

Posted by: Amber at March 31, 2010 11:35 AM (DRxYU)

4 I would ask the doc about possible reflux.  I think the vomiting and gas can be symptoms of that.  If it is reflux, propping her at night (towel or something under the top of her mattress, or a sleeping wedge) can sometimes help.

I remember now, after reading your last post, how tough that first month was.  I think I had a little bit of mommy amnesia... now that he's 6 months, I'd almost forgotten how hard it was in the beginning.  I think I called my mom every day or so asking for advice, and if this or that was normal, and if I was doing this right.  I second-guessed myself so much, and yes...I was definitely still hurting from labor (I too had a nasty episiotomy), plus I was under the impression that breastfeeding wasn't supposed to hurt if you were doing it right, and yet here I was with cracked and bleeding nipples - I ended up doing a lot of pumping and bottle feeding the first couple of weeks until we both got the hang of it.

Yeah, it's hard, but like I said...it's one of those things that you just kind of forget as your baby gets older and you move on to new & different challenges, until someone reminds you.  If we didn't have mommy amnesia, I think fewer people would have multiple children

Best of luck to you.

Posted by: Leofwende at March 31, 2010 01:14 PM (28CBm)

5 NONE of those worked for us.  There were these gas drops we had to buy at our pharmacy that finally helped.  I will try to remember what they were called...you might be able to get them.  Not sure since we are in Canada.  They were the ONLY thing that finally worked.  They had to be kept refrigerated.  One dose a day...it was heaven to finally have SOMETHING that worked.  

Posted by: Stacy at March 31, 2010 02:15 PM (qlReK)

6 We had scads of other stuff going on, so not sure if any of this is relevant--but keeping him upright, even to sleep (like in a bouncer chair?) and cutting out dairy *completely* (even reading labels and avoiding things like natural flavorings, which can be dairy-based) were important for us. And waiting for growth. I know hearing you have to wait can be horrible--I'm sorry. I hope things smooth out quickly for you. 

Posted by: Lucy at March 31, 2010 04:49 PM (YNvUz)

7 The drops didn't work for us either...just made him spit-up more...

Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at March 31, 2010 06:05 PM (yMqzQ)

8 If Mycolon and Gripe water aren't working then it might be time to see the pedi.  Our daughter could not handle a single drop of milk and it wasn't until I stopped breastfeeding and went to an amino based formula combined with Prevacid that she stopped projectile vomiting and slept through the night.  She was almost a year at the time.  No one told me that what I was eating was affecting her and it took a GI specialist to recognize she was having food issues.  There are a few products designed to help them sleep in the upright position, one is the Tucker Sling; it is to be used in their crib to keep them from sliding down the mattress when you elevate one end.  The other is the Nap Nanny, which is a "chair" for newborns and you can even put them on their tummies to help press the stomach sphincter closed.  The first 2 months are the hardest!!  It does get better or at least you get better at meeting their needs before they realize what is needed so the fussyness is shortened in duration. Ditto to everything posted above!

Posted by: Tracey at March 31, 2010 06:58 PM (x+F0t)

9 Mutant babies likely need mutant baby milk.
Our son got gassy if The Mrs. ate broccoli, the daughter just liked to vomit until we started giving her zantac.  We didn't have to give her the zantac very long, eventually she grew out of the projectile vomiting.

Posted by: Chuck at March 31, 2010 08:57 PM (bMH2g)

10 Also, now is the time to throw out all of you dijon or other brown mustards.  Eventually, you'll change a runny diaper, and then be making lunch, and notice the small spot of mustard on your wrist, and lick it off, only to realize THAT. WAS. NOT. MUSTARD.

It's been French's yellow for me ever since.

Posted by: Chuck at March 31, 2010 09:02 PM (bMH2g)

11 Just a thought....if you continue to have cracked and bleeding nipples have baby grok looked at for thrush.  It would show up as a white fuss or film in her mouth.  I nursed two and had no problems untill number three.  I sympathize.

Posted by: cindy h at April 01, 2010 08:21 AM (gcBP7)

12 Sarah, ditto to what the other said - I really had to watch what I was eating when nursing - anything spicy, broccoli or any alcohol (not that I was boozing it up, but even a glass of wine would set them off) If she keeps projectile vomiting, I'd ask the ped if she has reflux. keep us posted!

Posted by: Keri at April 01, 2010 08:27 AM (6/M22)

13 Caffeine  irritated my older daughter's reflux. Even just a cup of coffee or a glass of Diet Dr. Pepper would cause hours of crying and  projectile vomiting.  Of course, it took about two months before I realized what was causing her "colic", but once I eliminated caffeine from my diet, it was like having a new infant. I hope you figure out what works for you. Motherhood is an exhausting, but ultimately rewarding enterprise :-)

Posted by: Val L. at April 01, 2010 10:25 AM (qNYP5)

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Reader TK told me a long time ago that my post on lasik was an "honest account of the procedure."  I thought I'd try to do that for the first month of having a baby too.

Oh, and as an aside, I can't tell you how happy I am that I got lasik now.  I can see my baby in the middle of the night to nurse.  That is worth any money I had to spend and any disappointment I previously felt with my imperfect results.

A year ago, my husband was at SERE school.  We decided that having a baby is my version of SERE: you don't grok it until you've done it.  No matter how much you think you mentally understand what it's like to be starved and beaten, until you go to SERE and experience it, you really can't grok.  That's how I feel about having a baby.  Sure I knew that labor would hurt.  I knew that babies cry and don't sleep through the night.  I knew that my life would get difficult.

I knew it.  But I didn't grok it.

The first days home from the hospital were rough.  And that's an understatement.  I remember weeping frequently.  Wandering around the house in a daze because I had had no sleep at all.  Topless, because my breasts were leaking both milk and blood.  Unable to sit, because my episiotomy hurt so bad that I couldn't sit upright without severe pain.

No one fully explains that to you when they say "being a mother is hard."  Or "childbirth hurts."

My husband remarked that a woman goes through the most pain she will ever experience in her life and simultaneously gets slapped with the biggest responsibility she's ever had.

No one could possibly have helped me grok the sense of frustration and failure I would feel when my baby is in pain, when she gets severe gas, when she projectile vomits several times a day.  How manic I would get, googling over and over to figure out how to breastfeed better so my scabbed and bleeding nipples would heal.  How to prevent and cure her gas.  How to help her calm herself when she's obviously tired but simply won't listen to me when I beg her to just close her eyes and sleep.

I have done this for one month, in a fog of pain and exhaustion.  I cannot believe how hard it is.  I can't believe that most of the women in my life have done this before me and survived.  Without constantly complaining about it.  Because that's what I want to do.

It's getting easier.  Or at least more predictable.  I am starting to distinguish her hungry cry from her tired cry.  I am slowly learning how to fix both.  I no longer panic when she barfs all over me at 1 AM; in fact, I have learned to burp her while standing in the bathtub for an easy clean-up.  And when I jolt awake in serious pain because of a blocked milk duct, I know what to do.  And I push through the pain and feed her because that's what mothers do.

I am learning to be a mother.  It's far harder than I imagined it would be.

And I am now smart enough to grok that it won't get easier, just different.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:56 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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1   You DO grok!

Posted by: Stacy at March 30, 2010 05:31 PM (bVL/L)

2 By the way, keep it up...you're doing a GREAT job...learning those survival things like burping in the bathtub...it shows you were made for this!

Posted by: Stacy at March 30, 2010 05:32 PM (bVL/L)

3 Insane, isn't it?   Motherhood is forever a full-mind-and-body experience--and you often don't get full use of your mind and/or body in the duration!  It's a good thing those little babies are cute (and remain cute as toddlers, for the most part), or the human race would never have survived.

By the way, if you haven't already, try out some Lansinoh lanolin cream.  It's stickier than honey, but it's extremely soothing AND you don't have to wash it off before nursing.  Beware of using gel pads, especially sticky nursing pads, because they can block the natural flow of milk and cause clogged ducts, and the adhesive tears the tender skin, making bleeding worse. 

You might also consult a lactation consultant to make sure your baby's latching on properly.  Supposedly, "nursing isn't supposed to hurt."  I beg to differ sometimes, but on the whole, it's not.  I had to fix Ian's latch from birth till I weaned him, because he kept getting that upper lip in the way and just wouldn't open his mouth wide enough on the first try.  As much as I would have loved it to be, nursing just wasn't a natural, easy process for us.

But I'm sure you've had enough unsolicited advice.  I have a hard time shutting up when I get going.

Posted by: Deltasierra at March 30, 2010 07:38 PM (/Mv9b)

4 Tired cry is easy--close the door and go downstairs.  It'll play itself out in under 15 minutes (an hour at the longest.)
Hungry cry is easy too--just give the baby to mama! --Oh, wait...

I agree with Russ, you go through the most painful experience in your life, and simultaneously get life's greatest responsibility.  But then, you also get a baby shower, and bigger juggs, so it's totally worth it. 

The bad thing about the crying is that as they get older, it only increases in duration, volume, and frequency, until they turn 22 or so. Then they stop crying long enough to ask if they can move back in after college.

My 10 year old son threw an hour-long fit yesterday because I grounded him for a single day.  A full-on, wailing, screaming, sobbing, hyperventilating fit.  And my 7 year old pitched one tonight, because she thought she was in trouble for something she did, even after her mother and I assured her she wasn't in any trouble.

If the honkers are bleeding from being chapped, Udderbalm or Lansinoh (or even chapstick) but the thicker the cream, the better.  To keep my nipples tender (okay, to help my skin grafts heal faster,) I wholeheartedly recommend gold-bond hand lotion or Nivea. Whatever you choose, ensure it does not contain any of the alcohols, or it will make the problem worse.

 The Mrs. says to try alternating ta-ta's between days, to allow recovery time.  If blood is coming with the milk, don't nurse.  Otherwise your baby will become a goth kid.

I know you get advice from everywhere, and you aren't asking for it--just telling you what worked for me, because I really can't imagine what an episiotomy feels like, although I imagine it's something like having having a testicle explosively amputated.  Nobody gave me a baby to care for afterward, however, just lots and lots of narcotics;  so, YMMV.  I'm not giving advice to tell you what to do, just to let you know that what you are going through is normal, that you are not alone, and that gin and Zoloft will cure postpartum depression just fine. 

One last tip:  sometimes babies won't stop crying until you take them for a drive.  Just remember to take them out of the car when you get home.

Posted by: Chuck at March 30, 2010 09:40 PM (bMH2g)

5 because that's what mothers do.

That is the wisdom of the ages. I understand that breastfeeding is very important to some mothers.  We bottle fed our kids though.  As a dad, the middle of the night feeding was a VERY special time for me as I was the one to do it.  Holding my children close as I fed them is a fond memory. As crazy as it sounds now, you will miss these days. 

A helpful hint about the gas.  Look into a product called  Mylicon (simethicone drops).  It was a tremendous help with my son when he was colicky.  

Posted by: SciFiJim at March 30, 2010 09:53 PM (kJF1e)

6 If you haven't already, I totally second getting Mylicon (I think Gripe Water does the same thing).  We gave it to the Captain whenever she was uncomfortable and it works like a charm.

Just keep on keepin' on.  Keep doing the things that work for you and let go of anything that doesn't. She'll change the game on you frequently but you are a smart woman and you roll with it with the best of 'em.   I know you know this already but it gets better/easier/you get more used to it every day.   

Posted by: Ann M. at March 30, 2010 11:15 PM (+GQ3g)

7 LOL, Chuck

Hang in there, Sarah -- I've no doubt you are becoming an awesomer mommy by the moment!

Posted by: Lissa at March 31, 2010 04:59 AM (mgjM7)

8 Sometimes I comment to my husband now "I can't remember when they were little" maybe its the sleep deprived fog - -or maybe I just dont want to remember all those nights of standing/rocking in front of the exhaust fan from the stove (the only thing that worked to calm the cries!) but in a few weeks, she will sleep more, you will sleep more, the stitches of your epis will be a distant memory (ok maybe not... ) but you will settle into a routine and be able to more fully enjoy your new bundle of joy. Oh and I totally agree the people that say "nursing doesnt/shouldnt hurt" must've never nursed b/c I beg to differ - at least in the beginning....

Posted by: Keri at March 31, 2010 07:33 AM (6/M22)

9 Great post, Sarah.

I remember, after having my firstborn, looking around at other mothers I knew and feeling bonded in a way I never knew existed. We had all gone through this experience that could never be fully explained to someone who hasn't been through it.

Just remember, the first three months are survival mode. (At least that's how I view it.) As long as you and your baby make it through the day, it's a good day. LOL. Seriously, anything else is secondary and optional.

I triple the recommendation for Lanisoh. Slather it generously before and after feedings. And, I found the best nursing pads were Johnson & Johnson. Many other pads have plastic backs or lining, which don't allow nipples to breathe properly & can lead to further problems. Nursing, honestly, sucks the first month. (Ba-dum-pah.)  But, it gets better! Hang in there! When it gets towards weaning time, you'll weep because that stage is ending.

Posted by: Heather at March 31, 2010 08:29 AM (k6tVi)

10 It is hard work, but we do it anyway.
Maybe some words of advice, maybe not:
My mother nursed 6 of her seven children, including me and my twin.  On the seventh for some reason, I was 12 and remember this, she had projectile vomiting because of blood in the milk.  She had to bottle feed her seventh child.
On the other hand, my first child was bottle fed and had projectile vomiting, till we tried about 4 different soy milks.
She had it until she was about 12 when I started making her clean up the mess!  
I know it was not her fault as a baby and young child but after about three it came after tantrums.;D
Thanks for giving us the grokking update, its cool.

Posted by: Ruth H at March 31, 2010 09:04 AM (19vzx)

11

Welcome to the sisterhood!   My babies are 23 and 28 now, but I vividly remember the sleepless nights and the overwhelming feeling of navigating a place I'd never been. 

I was engaged in a nursing marathon (constantly smelled like a dairy cow) for a year and a half with each of them.  BEST investment I've ever made.  Each daughter was a little different, as is every mother/baby team, but here are things that remained constants for me:  for the first three or four months, I eliminated onion, brocolli, asparagus, cabbage, caffeine, chocolate, milk, and cheese from my diet.  These things made them gassy and/or made the milk taste funny.  Gradually, their stomachs became less sensitive and my diet didn't matter much.  Neither of them had fruit or juice or cereal until they were six months old.  Another thing I had to do early on was  burp them gently every few minutes during feedings.  This mostly eliminated trapped air bubbles which caused tummy ache and spitting up.

The pay off for all this effort?  Some day soon, you'll be nursing, and you two will make eye contact, and she will smile and pat you.  I wouldn't trade five minutes of my experience for anything in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by: char at March 31, 2010 09:08 AM (5q8VK)

12 You've already had lots of personally tested ideas and advice given above. I'll add a few. Advice gives you starting points, since each baby is different, some advice may resonate while other stuff is already being used or is not relevant or doesn't work. My kids were prone to the projectile vomiting, not after every feeding, but enough to take two or three outfits in a diaper bag with me. When they were infants, you were told to have them sleep on their tummies. I worried about the vomiting and them choking, so we raised the head of the mattress. Each baby slept on a slant in the crib. We raised the head of the mattress a notch or two above the foot end. I think it helped. My son also did this with his infant after he got home from 10 days in the NICU. He put packages of diapers that the baby hadn't grown into under one end of the bassinet type crib's mattress to create the slant. That seemed to really help his son as well. He is turning 4 this week, and slept on his back per the current advice. I also recommend making an inexpensive album of the first month of baby pix. Relatives cherish it, especially if they aren't local, and your baby changes so fast, it's nice to look back and see what and how they were doing when you were so exhausted. Kids like looking back at themselves as well... especially if and when younger siblings arrive. First meaningful smile is magic and has a wonderful way of softening any pain and worry memories. It still is amazing to me how a baby, so small, can so change a house and the people in it.

Posted by: HChambers at March 31, 2010 10:03 AM (m6pqD)

13

You're doing great, Mama!  It is so hard.  And no one can really explain that to you, and it's something we don't talk about which makes it that much lonelier.  But you are doing it and doing it well.

I just want to say, because of course, it's my thing...  You don't say much about how you're feeling here, and I'm not assuming anything.  I say this because I wish someone would have said it to me--if how you're feeling doesn't start getting easier...  If it continues to feel too hard...  If you just feel off and not yourself...  It is so ok to get help.  It's ok to explore the idea that maybe you're dealing with PPD.  Because you CAN feel better.  And motherhood CAN feel better than bleeding nipples and exhaustion.  And again, I'm not assuming anything.  I'm just giving my little PSA because I wish I had known that before I went through it.

But let me say again, you are doing SO GREAT. 

Posted by: Val at March 31, 2010 03:54 PM (JPt9E)

14 With neither of my kids was I ever able to distinguish the cries...it was always going through a list of possible solutions. I would laugh, because for my husband, it was always: they need to be changed....my first thought was: they're hungry...lols.

Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at March 31, 2010 06:10 PM (yMqzQ)

15 I grok'd your grok. Give your husband a hug for me. I love his quote about responsibility and pain. Many of my friends will firmly believe that I'm sure. I love your raw honesty and thoughts how "childbirth will be hard" doesn't describe the pain, the bleeding nippples, the inability to sitdown or the survival techniques like burping in the bathtub. Hang in there! My twin used to say ... how many years to go? That 11 years has flown by.

Posted by: Darla at April 01, 2010 08:39 AM (RAPsl)

16 "The pay off for all this effort?  Some day soon, you'll be nursing, and you two will make eye contact, and she will smile and pat you.  I wouldn't trade five minutes of my experience for anything in the world."

My wife would second this.  And the advice to see a lactation consultant - a regular nurse (even the L&D nurses) just won't do. 

The mushy feelings might not be there (my wife didn't have them, especially that first month) - it's the actions that show you love your baby (and you really do if you are doing all of that).

That first meaningful smile wipes away a lot of the troubles.  And we just weaned our fourth (and last), and it was hard for my wife, despite the pain from the teeth and other abuse nipples get.

Parenthood is the hardest, bestest thing I've done (am doing - the oldest is 6, the youngest 1).

Posted by: Phil at April 01, 2010 01:30 PM (ldQys)

17

I love that even the "Dad's" are weighing in...says that they were a great support to their wives.

 

Momma you are doing a great job and before you know it she will be old enough to date and then you and Dad can fight off the "evil little boys!" (I say that because I had three boys and always used to tell the boys that "girls are evil" I knew because I was one.)  Enjoy these moments they do fly by quickly

Posted by: Laura, A Military Mom at April 01, 2010 03:33 PM (oLHZ3)

18

Though I've never been a mother (and never can be, sadly) a friend has sworn that her usage of the offerings from LeLeche http://www.llli.org/nb.html helped her immensely. Particularly in re: nipple issues and thrush...

I am confident you are smart enough to have already been there, done that, so I offer it as a just in case your exhausted brain hadn't reviewed yet.

I have to tell you - I came home all mad because we had to rush to a dinner tonight and the kitchen was left a mess that I returned to...a dog that had to be let out...a garden to water...a stack of laundry...but after reading your words I can put all those things in their proper level of importance. As in not very damned. Thanks for giving me some real perspective tonight...

It WILL be better.

Posted by: LauraB at April 04, 2010 08:47 PM (2uqvG)

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