A Special Note on Sleep Training

This is a process that will take several nights to really get into the stride, but be strong and commit to it, and you will have your mommy trained in no time.

Please remember that it's very unnecessary for mommies to get too much sleep or for them to eat hot meals at normal times.  Mommies need our help, as babies, to make sure that these two critical things never happen consistently.

Like I said, this will take several nights.

On the first night, you should act sleepy at a normal time.  Allow your mommy to nurse you for about twenty minutes, and gracefully fall asleep.  Allow her to lay you down, eat her dinner at a normal dinner time, and then sleep for about eight hours.  A good night to start would be a night when daddy is home, so that he thinks she's crazy when she says you have a hard time getting to sleep.

You can repeat this step for several nights to get mommy into a false sense of security.  However, you don't want to exceed three nights in a row.  You may develop a habit yourself of sleeping through the night and going to bed without fuss, and then the whole process is ruined!

The next part of the process is where it gets interesting.  I will lay it out for you step by step.

Step One:
Get cranky at an odd time.  5:45 seems to work well.  It's too early to go to bed, but also too late for a nap.  Your mommy will be really confused and have to try to figure out how to appease you.  She will inevitably take her time getting you ready for bed, attempt to read a book (don't fall for this!), and finally just begin to nurse you in hopes that you will fall asleep and stay asleep.

Step Two:
Nurse for three hours.  Seriously. No less than three hours.  If the milk is taken away, it is your absolute right to completely lose your mind.  There is no excuse for the milk being taken away.

Step Three:
After the three hours, act like you are asleep.

Step Four:
Give your mommy about ten minutes.  Then, roll over onto your belly and scream your head off.  Make sure to flail around.  Bonus points if you also stick an arm or leg through the bars on your crib.  This really freaks mommies out.

Step Five: 
Allow mommy to nurse you for another ten to twenty minutes.  Act like you are asleep.  Again.  You may repeat this step as many times as you deem necessary.

Step Six:  
After twenty minutes, your mommy will surely think that she can eat something.  Make sure that it is late enough that she has resorted to microwaving something that was prepared earlier or something like a Hungry Man meal that she will shamefully eat in about four bites.  As soon as you hear the beeping of the microwave, start the screaming process again.

Step Seven:
This is very important.  When your mommy comes to check on you (because you've already proven that you are absolutely "helpless" and could possibly be on your belly with half of your body dangling out of the crib), smile and laugh.  Bonus points for a happy squeal.  They like that. A lot.

Step Eight:
When your mommy FINALLY allows you to come back out of the bedroom so she can eat, make sure you give her this face:

She can't resist that face.

I hope that sleep training your mommy (or daddy) goes just as well for you as it has for me.

Love always,
Ella Kate

ThanksLiving Thursday: My Little Work Out Buddy

I was all set to write about something entirely different that I was thankful for today, BUT then something funny happened, and I thought I'd need to blog about it while I was still in the moment.

I'll set up the scene:

It was bright and sunny outside.  A few fluffy white clouds dotted the sky.  The weather was wonderful.  The news was playing on the TV, and I recall hearing something in the background about some storms, but I was sure the warnings did not apply to me.  I said the weather was wonderful, right?

(This is where, if we were reading this story in my ELA class, I would hope the students would recognize the foreshadowing that something ironic is about to happen... hit ya with two literary terms there!)

So anyway, I decide that I really want to go ALL the way around the neighborhood, instead of just around the block a couple of times.  After all, the weather was wonderful. (<--alliteration.)

And, as I'm putting on my running shoes, I realize I really should take the dogs.  Both of them.  I never take both of them.  But I was going to take both of them.  And the baby.  Easy peasy.

So to give you a hint about what happened on our walk (because I'm sure I haven't totally given it away yet), I'll first show you the pictures of us when we got back to the house.


This is Ella Kate.  Happy.  Warm.  Comfortable.

This is me.  Soaked.  Breathless.  Sore in multiple places.

As it turned out, I got to the point in our walk where, if I continued the walk, it would take me the exact same amount of time to get back to the house as it would if I just turned around and went the way I came.  The point in our walk that is the absolute farthest away from our house as any other point in the walk. The point where, of course, it started to rain.

I look at the perfectly blue sky in confusion.

I turn around to return home, and see the ominous sky behind me, completely black, with lightening striking and the wind blowing fiercely... hold on... no I got carried away.  But it was overcast and ominous.

It was sprinkling, so I pulled the stroller covers over Ella, at least she would stay dry.  As I walked at a faster than normal pace back towards the house, I scanned houses that we passed.  I was trying to decide if there was a house that, just in case it started monsooning, I could knock on the door and ask to sit out the storm on their covered porch since, for whatever reason, I also had two dogs with me.  As I got closer to the house, I realized we were going to make it.  I also realized that it was now pouring. The dogs were not interested in running, but I was determined.  As I'm pushing the stroller, I'm literally dragging the dogs behind me.  It was getting close to the time that I needed to feed Ella, so certain parts of my anatomy were not happy with being jostled about, especially since they had already been squeezed into a size medium sports bra.  My legs, which had not experienced running in many moons, were aching.


Finally, I pulled into the house, when it promptly stopped raining.  It was okay, though, because we made it.  Ella was dry and happy.  She thought the run was pretty hysterical.  She was even cool enough to sit in her bouncer while I took a super duper quick shower.


And THAT'S what I'm thankful for tonight.

I have the coolest work out buddy, who loves to do things with me.  Our other new work out experience involves yoga.  I have been a little down about how much weight I'm still holding on to, so I decided to try to find a work out I could do while still bonding with Ella Kate.  Waiting for her to go to bed does NOT work.  I'm usually exhausted by then (yes, 8 pm) and bed is the only thing on my mind.  So, I found a mommy/baby yoga video.  I was slightly skeptical at first, mostly because I was worried that she would not be content through the entire work out, but she totally was.  Because she's so cool.  Even the parts where I was not literally in her face, she enjoyed!  If you're wondering what mommy/baby yoga is, it involves yoga routines that include the baby.  So, instead of push ups, you do kiss ups, where you kiss your baby on the nose each time you do a push up.  I didn't even realize my arms were getting a work out, because I got sweet Ella kisses and giggles every time.  Or doing a warrior pose, you're holding the baby above your head, just like she loves to be held! And that's a fifteen pound weight I'm lifting!

Anyway, I'm thankful for a sweet baby who can roll with whatever craziness I throw at her, even if it means being stuck on the opposite side of the neighborhood in the rain with two dogs.

ThanksLiving Thursday: 8 Weeks

I have so many people to thank for making my maternity leave possible!  Instead of taking the traditional six weeks, I opted for eight weeks.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I was determined to take eight weeks.  I hadn't thought through the logistics of it and just how difficult it might be for a first year teacher to take eight weeks off.  I hadn't thought about the fact that I would need to save every single sick day, and I'd still be terribly short!  I didn't think about the fact that disability would not help any because I was already pregnant when I took the job (although I did not know it when I took the job, I was only a few days pregnant at that time)!

The newness of the excitement of pregnancy certainly had fogged my brain!

As soon as the fog began to clear (the newness and excitement stuck around for a while), I began to realize how unrealistic eight basically unpaid weeks was going to be.  I was still a graduate student who had not had a job in over a year due to the demands of graduate school.  I had no money in savings, and had not even received a paycheck at the time.  I would have seven days of sick day saved up if I did not have to take any sick time.  Um? A pregnant woman not get sick? Not likely!

So my first note of thanks is to my mom.  She knew that she could donate some of her saved up sick time to me, and donated an entire month.  We definitely could not have survived without her generosity!  So, I say thanks!

My second note of thanks is to my incredible co-workers who had to fill in while I was gone.  I did have a long term substitute (who also received many many thanks!), but as a Special Education teacher, there are much more responsibilities than just teaching!  Many meetings had to be covered including IEP meetings, behavior Manifestation meetings, and meetings to discuss the meetings beforehand (yes, really).  My students and I definitely could not have survived without my tireless co-workers! So, I say thanks, thanks, thanks!

Because of the generosity and understanding of so many people, I was able to really relax and enjoy my break and get in some good bonding time with my sweet Ella Kate.  As most new mommies are, I was ordered out by a doctor for six weeks.  Although I only took two more weeks, those two weeks gave me just enough time to start to get her on a routine (seriously, she started sleeping through the night at six weeks!) and prepare my new-baby-brain for going back to work.

This ThanksLiving Thursday goes out to everyone who made my eight weeks happen.  You are all amazing!

Life, Love, and Loss

The other day, I was putting away Ella's clean laundry and diapers.  While doing so, I had laid her down in her crib to watch her butterfly mobile, something that always keeps her content long enough for me to get a few chores done (as long as I wind it back up immediately after it stops playing, that is).  She was having a great time, laughing and squealing as the butterflies circled around her precious little head. I even enjoyed the third chorus of "Lullaby," her sweet sounds making it more bearable than it would have been otherwise.

And then there was no more giggling.

The butterflies continued to swirl and the music continued to play, but Ella was oddly quiet.

Still being an overprotective momma bear, I promptly investigated.

Apparently, the butterflies had lost Ella's interest.  She was now laying with her head turned to the side, gazing at a quilt that was draped over the side of her crib.  She had her right arm outstretched and the edge of the quilt was in her grasp.  She repeatedly opened and closed her hand on the quilt, studying it closely, with a slight smile on her face.  But this was not any quilt.  This quilt was made by her great grandmother, Kyle's Grandma Bobbi.  A quilt painstakingly put together, each fabric square purposefully deliberated on, specifically for Ella Kate.

It's funny how my mind starts to wander sometimes.  Ella's fascination with the quilt made me think about how blessed she is to have the people in her life that she has.  It made me think back to some of the family members that I have had the pleasure of knowing, and the ones who I have known, but lost.

I can count on one hand the number of funerals I have been to in my lifetime.  That means that I have experienced very little loss.  I remember the loss of my great grandfather Warner (or G-daddy, as I called him).  But before that, I remember going to his house, playing with his prosthetic leg, the way my sister loved to sit in his lap, peeling potatoes on his front porch, watching the horses in the field by his house, and playing down by the creek.  I remember visiting him in the nursing home when his health began to decline.

I remember his wife, Ella Mae Warner, whom Ella Kate is named after.  I remember visiting her and asking her millions of questions (I couldn't believe she knew people who were born in the 1800's!).  I was obsessed with making a family tree.  I wanted to know everything.  I was so interested in how she did things when she was younger.  I was fascinated by her artistic abilities.  I also, of course, wanted to know what my mom was like when she was a little girl.  What kinds of things did she get in trouble for??

I remember my great grandmother Tomlinson, my Granny T.  I remember being excited as she made her way across the yard from her house to my grandparents' house when we visited for Thanksgiving.  I remember silly things that she did, always with a smile on her face. I remember the way she used to always win when playing cards, and the joy she got from pulling one over on someone.  I remember after she passed, the feeling that she was still there, playing little tricks on people.

Ella has already experienced her first loss, but she will not remember it.  It is the kind of loss that I haven't been able to put words to yet.  It's my first big loss, my first adult loss.  When my dad called me to talk about my Grandpa Bass's fading health, I couldn't talk about it.  I listened, and understood what was happening, but I had a hard time talking.  I just said cliche things about how he will be in a better place and he was a great man (both true, but but cliche).

I thought back to when I first found out he was sick.  I remember my dad telling me that he had some heart problems, and that he was on medicine that made him confused.  The medicine also made him lose a lot of weight quickly, and he was very cold all of the time.  Maybe it was because I was pregnant at the time and my brain did not work right, but I did not understand how serious it was then.  When I went to Florida for Thanksgiving, I had no idea it would be the last time I would see my Grandpa Bass.  I still thought his lethargic, confused behavior was because of the medicine he was on, not because his heart condition was so severe.  I wish more than anything that I could go back and really enjoy my time with him, make an effort to really remember everything he said, tell him I love him, skip Black Friday to spend time with him.

When Daddy called me to tell me that he wouldn't be around much longer, I was stunned.  I didn't say much at all.  The minute I got off the phone, I started sobbing, which feels especially odd when you are holding a newborn.  I handed Ella off to Kyle and was only able to choke out the basics that he was not going to make it much longer.  We would have to make the decision if we could make it down to Florida to see him one more time.  I knew we wouldn't be able to.

A few weeks later, I was able to talk to him one last time on the phone.  I was nursing Ella, and she was making sweet little sounds the whole time.  Grandpa was in exceptionally good spirits.  I tried to push the fact that he was dying out of my mind so I could really focus on just talking to him.  I could tell that, although he was happy, he was on a lot of medication. I had a hard time understanding him, so I just tried to tell him about Ella.  He said he could hear her and that she was the most beautiful baby he'd ever seen.  We talked for, maybe, five minutes.  And at the end of the conversation, he said the thing that breaks my heart still to think about.  He told me "We'll get this thing figured out and I'll see you again soon.  I love you."  I told him okay, and that I loved him too.

The thing is, I know I'll see him again someday, it just hurts that I won't see him again on Earth.  It doesn't make sense to me that he just won't be there in Florida.  We won't get to go fishing, or shuck oysters on the back porch together.  But I'll always have my memories, and he'll always be there in spirit.  He'll be there in my Uncle Mike's stories, in my Uncle Danny's laugh, in my Uncle Chris's smile, and in my daddy's sense of humor.

Ella will know about all of these people, I'm too sentimental and love to tell old stories too much to let any of them truly die.  Ella will someday experience a loss that will hurt her, that she will remember.  But, I hope that we are able to raise her in a way that she will know that no loss is permanent.  We will all be together again someday, and that's what makes life, love, and loss a beautiful thing.

ThanksLiving Thursday: So Much Love!

As daylight fades, I rock Ella Kate to sleep and look around her room.  I admire all of the amazing things that she has and am pleased that she has so much stuff to comfort, calm, nourish, and protect her.  From the diaper on her cute little tush to the crib she sleeps in nightly, I love it all.

And then it hits me.

With the exception of a few small things, Kyle and I paid for none of it.  From the diaper on her cute little tush to the crib she sleeps in nightly, we have been blessed with so many gifts from so many people who have loved Ella Kate even before she was born!

As I'm thinking about all of the generosity, I'm reminded of the showers given for us.  We were quadruple blessed!  We received a shower from some of my dearest friends that I have known for a very long time; we received a shower from Kyle's family for our Winston-Salem family and friends; we received a shower from my family; and we received a shower from my school!  Four showers!  And I can't forget about all of the gifts we were given outside of the showers from people who could not attend, or as Christmas gifts, or from people, like my mom and Kyle's aunt Alison, who just can't STOP buying things for our sweet little princess!

I was reminded again of all of the generosity as I cleaned out Ella's drawers.  Can I possibly be ready to put clothing in storage?? Is it possible that she has outgrown so many outfits??  Is it possible that she's even worn so many outfits??

And that's where I'm reminded of the generosity.  Ella Kate almost has more clothes than she was able to wear in each stage.  Every last piece of clothing is adorable and, for the most part, I am reminded of the exact person who gave her each outfit when she wears it.  Seeing her getting use out of something that was given to us out of the kindness of someone's heart makes me so happy and makes me feel a connection to that person.

So this week, my thanks goes out to all of you who have helped make our home appropriate for a tiny person through the gifts you have passed along to us.  We are thankful for everything, from the diaper on her cute little tush to the crib she sleeps in nightly.

What Having a Baby Does to a Woman's Body

Pregnancy drastically changes a woman's body. This is no secret. It's obvious when a woman is pregnant, but what is not as obvious is how much her body changes after the baby arrives.

I'll break down the changes for you.

Arms:
After the baby is born, a woman's arms are immediately different. She is no longer able to do ordinary things, like eat a meal or fold laundry. She has to compensate for the sudden added bulk of her bundle of joy that is constantly residing in the crook of her arm or propped on her chest, supported by her arm. Gone are the days when she even has two arms. She may even experience the phenomena of becoming ambidextrous as her non dominant hand suddenly finds itself less submissive! The change in her arms closely correlates with the change in her...

Feet:
When a woman loses the use of at least one arm, her feet simultaneously gain new duties. Just as the new mother obsessively watches for her new baby to develop the pincer grip in its fingers, the new mother develops the same grip, only with her toes! Blankets on the floor, dropped items, coffee tables with a coveted magazine on top: nothing is out of reach of a Mommy holding a peacefully sleeping cherub! Not as long as her legs can reach it!

Breasts:
Perhaps this is the greatest change. These two items may have once been a source of a small amount of pride from the moment the mother, as a preteen, first perceived a minute change in size. The first training bra, though totally embarrassing to buy, in a public place, with her mother (of all people!) in tow, was a private trophy! Yes, these two items are no longer the same. They are now an even bigger (figuratively and literally) source of pride! They now sustain life. They are a source of nutrients, and comfort.  Once the baby is born, the change that the breasts go through is one of the most important and wonderful changes in the mother's body.

Fingers:
Mommy's fingers start to look different shortly after pregnancy.  Her fingernails are dull, colorless, and vary in length; strangely, she doesn't seem to mind because she suddenly finds herself with a new accessory on her fingers: a tiny fist! One of the sweetest moments I have experienced was the first moment that my tiny person wrapped her fingers around my finger and held on.  Sure, it's a reflex.  Baby is born with this ability.  But there is bonding in that touch, and that tiny hand will continue to hold mommy's hand forever.

Heart:
A new mother's heart goes through a very strange transformation. Suddenly, mommy's heart somehow exists in two (or more when multiples are involved!) different places: inside of mommy's chest, and outside of her body in the form of her child(ren).  She also experiences odd palpitations as she watches her precious angel do new things and learn new things.  Her heart stops as baby teeters on her side in the midst of her first attempt at rolling over.  It beats faster as baby begins to stand for the first time.  It leaps into her throat when she hears a sudden piercing cry when baby is hurt, be it because of shots, teething, or gas.  It doesn't even seem possible, but the piece of her heart that still remains in her chest feels even larger than it was before baby came along, as she swells with love and pride for her baby.  And, in my case, mine swells with pride when I see her daddy love on her in the same way I do.

Brain:
Oh, mommy brain!  No matter how well-educated the brain, it has the ability to turn to mush and go on auto pilot at the same time when the baby arrives!  Lack of sleep can do crazy things to a mommy!  She finds the car keys in the refrigerator, she calls the dog by the baby's name, she switches words in sentences without meaning to ("Can you diaper her change?"), and she finds herself at baby's first doctor's appointment without the diaper bag (but with the baby!).  Somehow, she still gains a wealth of new knowledge without having to dedicate hours to study!  New information that is vital to baby's survival takes the place of silly useless information that she used to know (seriously, where are the car keys again??) because baby is the number one thing on her mind.  Conversations revolve around how long breast milk can remain in the refrigerator before going bad and the tooth that her three month old is cutting.  Date nights wind up involving a trip to Babies R Us after dinner and before frozen yogurt.  Baby takes over the brain.  And somehow, mommy doesn't mind!

Face:
If you were unaware that a woman was a new mother, you might think that her face contradicts itself.  Her smile radiates and lights up a room, while her eyes reflect the exhaustion of sleepless nights.  She is miserable and exuberant at the exact same moment.  Just mention the baby's name, and whatever her face had conveyed disappears and is replaced by a wide smile.  Her face may not be as primed and painted as it once was, but it is the most beautiful face!

*It should be noted that most of these body changes are also seen in new daddies!

These body changes are only a few of the things that I have experienced as a new mommy.  Of course, there are the negatives, such as the fact that maternity pants are too big now, and my regular pants are too small.  I don't always feel glamorous, or even vaguely put together.  But just remembering WHY my body has gone through these changes and the ways the changes benefit my sweet Ella Kate -- remembering that makes me feel beautiful.  The way Ella looks at me when she wakes up in the morning -- that makes me feel beautiful.  The way her daddy, my wonderful husband, looks at me when I'm holding her -- I know I'm beautiful to him.


(Yes, even with spit up running down my shirt that I may be wearing for the third day in a row because it's easy to nurse in!)

The Top Five Things I Didn't Know I Needed

There were many things I knew I would need for when Ella Kate was born: a crib, some cute clothes, a car seat, a stroller, and soft blankets to wrap her in.  These things went immediately onto the registry.  But the lists we got from the places we were registering were overwhelming.  Would we really need every single thing on those lists?? Some things seemed repetitive and some seemed unnecessary.  However, there are many things that we received that I didn't know we would need, and things that I had registered for that I didn't realize how MUCH we would need them!  Here's my list of the top five things I found out we needed:

5. Gas Drops

Holy cow.  I had no idea gas would be such an issue.  You just feed the baby, then burp her, right?  Wrong.  Gas can happen at any time and, apparently, it's extremely painful!  Especially when they are teeny tiny, they don't have the muscles to push it out! It's heart breaking!  Her first real tears came because of gas.  But the gas drops work miracles.  I learned to give her a little bit each time just before she ate to help the gas bubbles collect into one big bubble and pass more easily.  The results were also a little humorous if, like me, you have the sense of humor of a prepubescent boy when you are sleep deprived.  The gas sounds that come from such a tiny body after the drops are given are epic.  Epic, I tell ya.

4. The Wubbanub (or the similar brand, which we got, but I don't know the brand name)

We have just purchased this recently.  I'd heard a lot about the Wubbanub, but we found this similar product that was a dollar cheaper at Babies R Us and came with two detachable pacifiers and a cover.  The reason it's so great is that it stays in one spot, which is useful since Ella Kate is not able to pick up her paci and put it back in her mouth on her own yet.  When she's in the car, it's extremely helpful because the paci doesn't fall out and roll all around, making it impossible for me to find and put back in her mouth.  Plus, she's having fun holding onto the stuffed animal part and playing with it when she's not using the paci.  It also works really well at night when combined with...

3. The SwaddleMe

I don't think we registered for these, and if we did, I had no clue how useful they would be!  Ella Kate is a master at breaking out of a swaddle, but the super strong velcro on these makes them almost impossible for her to break out of if she is swaddled correctly.  It also helps keep her warm at night, providing an extra layer of fabric without the suffocation risk that blankets and sheets cause.  Especially now that our little wiggle worm finds herself almost upside down from the position we laid her in every morning.  She even naps better when swaddled since she still startles herself awake or smacks herself in the face with her little arms when she's sleeping.


2. The Sound and Movement Monitor

We didn't register for this, but bought it just before she was born.  I heard and read so much about SIDS and how some babies just stop breathing in their sleep.  New mothers drive themselves crazy checking to make sure their baby is still breathing while asleep.  It's nerve wrecking and terrifying.  This monitor has a mat that goes under the crib mattress and monitors to make sure the baby is still breathing.  If it senses that baby is not breathing, an alarm goes off and the parent can spring into action.  We have had several false alarms from instances when Ella wiggled her way off of the mat while she was sleeping, or when her breathing was very shallow (as tends to happen with newborns).  We also had one night when I was still up getting things done before bed and the alarm kept going off.  When I'd go to check, it seemed like she was still breathing, until I finally re-positioned her and realized her chin had been really close against her chest and she had not been breathing as well as she needed to.  After re-positioning her, the alarm stopped going off.  It made me feel so much more secure that she was safely sleeping.

1. The Sound Machine/Light Show

This is number one for a reason.  My two darling dogs love to protect their new baby and tend  to bark a lot at night.  Every little sound they hear outside is surely someone breaking into the house to take their baby, and they let every little sound know that they are there to protect her.  So the sound part of this definitely helps drown out the crazy dogs.  Then there's just the comfort that Ella feels hearing white noise while she falls asleep.  There have been quite a few 8 pm meltdowns that have been resolved by turning up the ocean waves and rocking Ella right next to the machine.  It quickly calms her and helps her fall asleep.  I love to listen to it through the monitor at night and fall asleep to the sounds, too!  Kyle always turns the sound off before he comes to bed, he doesn't like to listen to it when he's falling asleep.  Which is funny considering he sleeps through his alarm some mornings!  The light show on this machine is also awesome.  I have recently started using it to help calm her down now that her teeth are starting to come in. It helps distract her and keep her occupied while the teething tablets are going to work.


Honorable Mention:  A back-up plan

Many parents keep their new baby in the room with them and transition to the crib later.  That didn't seem practical to us.  The pack n play would take up too much space in our bedroom, Ella's rocker and changing table are in her room, and I was going to have to trek across the house every time she woke up anyway, so there was no point in trying to keep her in our room.  Plus, the monitor helped me feel secure with her being in her own room.  I could hear her and get to her in plenty of time.  However, sleeping in a great big crib was too much for such a tiny baby.  She needed to feel more secure.  So, I took the bassinet attachment for the crib, which had sides that propped up around, and put it in the crib so she could get used to being in the crib.  It worked wonderfully, and she slept in her own room by the third night we came home.  She's also been sleeping through the night since she was six weeks old.

Weekend Projects: The Home Made Moby Wrap

If you know me, you can assume that I am usually working on at least one project.  Now with a little one at home, I'm trying even more new projects at home.  So far, Kyle has made his own laundry and dish detergent, and I have started making cloth diaper covers and training pants, in addition to my crochet projects.  We will be making even more things from home as Ella Kate gets older and has new needs.

We have a carrier for Ella that I love.  We registered for it and received it as a shower gift.  It works great, and Ella loves being "worn" while we are out and about.  The only problem with it, is that Ella and I are both very hot natured, so if we are going to be outside, I needed something a little more lightweight to keep us a little cooler.

So I saw a post on a BabyCenter Birth Club message board where someone had made a Moby-style wrap. She said it was super easy and it was nice and lightweight.  Two things I look for when I'm attempting to make something.

I tried it out, and it was perfect.  I was even able to complete the entire thing while Ella was in one of her occupied phases when she could entertain herself.  Those usually last about thirty minutes before she needs a little attention.  (Of course, she usually doesn't go that long without attention, she's just way too cute to not pour attention on her!)



While writing this, I took a short break, for no other reason than to stick my face uncomfortably close to Ella Kate's and make noises. Someday that will be annoying.



Anyway, here's what I did to make the wrap:

I went to Joann's fabric and asked where the jersey material was.  The secret to finding the right type of material is to find something, like jersey fabric, that doesn't fray where it's cut.

I found something I loved:

Kyle was with me, so I made sure he never intended to use this wrap.  That gave me free reign to buy something sparkly!


The original idea said to get five yards of the fabric you choose.  With five yards, you can cut the five yard length into three sections and you will suddenly have three wraps!  Just measure the width of the fabric and mark it at 20 and 40 inches all the way down. You don't have to worry about cutting it perfectly, it won't show once you are wearing the wrap.  This is a very good idea if you want to give the extra two for gifts, or if you want to have two stand-by wraps while one is in the wash, or have one to leave in your car in case you forget the other. That's it.  You now have three wraps!

I did it a little differently, and my version does require some minor sewing.  I picked some "fancy" fabric, so it was more expensive than what I'd planned on buying.  I knew I didn't necessarily need three wraps, so I bout two yards and cut the fabric into three sections.  I then sewed the three sections end-to-end using my sewing machine.  It took very little time, I just made sure to reinforce the edges of the stitches so they wouldn't come undone when stretched a little after the baby was inside. I did have a little extra length, so I cut the ends off.


In order to figure out how to actually wear the wrap by googling "how to moby wrap" and found the moby website.  They give directions on different types of holds and include video examples.  It's really simple, and Ella loves being so close to me while being able to look around at everything when we go places.  The wrap is also useful because you can easily adjust it to fit your baby and yourself. I have a long torso, so I have to wear it a little higher than others might, or Ella starts to slump a little, but with simple adjustments, I can wear it tighter and higher, and she is in the perfect position.

My last note on using it:  I put it on myself before I left the house and drove to the store wearing it.  When we got there, I simply took Ella Kate out of her car seat and dropped her into the carrier.  Very quick and easy!

I love my weekend projects and making things, and it's even more fun now that Ella is here to make my projects even cuter!

If you decide to make one of these, share your experience with me! I'd love to hear about it!

Milestones

 


Today we celebrate that Ella Katherine Mason was born three months ago!  She was not quite as excited about it as the rest of us were...

No, but seriously, she has grown SO MUCH!

 

Newborn                                                  One Month

 

Two Months                                               Three Months

 It's crazy to think of how MUCH has been crammed into three very short months of life:

Ella Kate has...

  



 had her first bath...














started holding her head up...

started smiling...

discovered her tongue...
















smiled in response to people (social smiles)...











 





giggled...
















discovered her hands...















 

held onto and shook toys (and put them directly into her mouth!)...




perfected head and neck control! (We are still waiting on the whole rolling over thing, but, as I told Kyle, I've never met an adult who couldn't roll over, so I'm not too worried about it!)...



 

and batted at and grasped hanging toys.

Of course, there are other milestones that have not been easy to capture in pictures, like her large vocabulary of goo's and gah's, her ability to track objects, her extreme wiggle worm qualities, the way she pushes her weight on her legs when there's something near her feet to kick off of, responding to sounds, and the rather large grins and squeals she produces when Kyle or myself suddenly appear before her. She has come so far and her little personality is really starting to shine through.  I can't wait to see what will happen next!

I never thought I'd be so obsessed with silly things like the absolute hilarity of drool, or the excitement of seeing a person hold onto an object... and then there was Ella.

Man Crush Monday... On Tuesday

Well since my internet decided to stop working last night, and I was too obsessed with every move Ella made, I didn't have time to worry about trying to fix it.  So, you're getting yesterday's post today.

This post is all about my favorite man.  And since he doesn't like a lot of attention on him, I'll try to keep it brief!

I loved him when I said I'd marry him, I loved him more when I married him, and I love him a little more every single time I see him with our little girl!  As I've said before, we don't have a lot of time to spend together right now (but summer will be much better!), but when I do see him, I feel like a little kid with a crush all over again.  I found myself gushing over how "cool" he was the other day.  He was installing a new light fixture in his man cave, and had crawled up into the attic to wire the light to an existing light switch.  I suddenly realized, he just somehow knew how to do this.  It might not seem like a big deal, but I started thinking of all of the things that he does around the house: electrical, plumbing, maintenance, whatever.  He's just really cool.  And I'm like the weird nerdy girl that likes to read and dance awkwardly singing into a hairbrush that he likes but doesn't exactly know why!

Anyway, when it comes to being a daddy, his cool factor goes up even more.  We have had many, many visitors since Ella Kate has come along.  People comment to me all the time about things that Kyle just does without being asked.  He anticipates needs: my needs, Ella's needs, housework needs, and sometimes his own needs.  He does what needs to be done quietly, doesn't complain, doesn't ask for help.  I get comments like "He just put a load of diapers in the wash!" and "He just put dinner in the crock pot!" or "He just changed her diaper!"  I know that we share these responsibilities, we should.  But people are so impressed by the things he does on his own, and without saying a word.  I am impressed, but I am even more so grateful.

Of course, she's his daughter.  There's no reason for him NOT to do the things that he does, but I read so many message boards about significant others that refuse to help, or complain about helping, or just leave.  So I am grateful.  I can't thank him enough, and I'm pretty sure that if I tried to thank him enough, he'd get annoyed and tell me to stop thanking him and leave him alone so he could put away the diapers (or whatever task he has taken upon himself to do)!

So here's to my man.  Ella and I couldn't do it without him, and I know he will be her first love!

First Mother's Day

Mother's Day is about celebrating the role of a mother, and today was my very first Mother's Day as a mother!  Of course, I received a sweet gift "from Ella" (Kyle refused to take credit for it) and got to spend the whole day with my sweet baby girl.  So I'll start with the "good" things!

I got a ring with Ella's birthstone on it to add to the rings with mine and Kyle's birthstones that I got two Christmases ago.  I'm thrilled to add her ring to the collection, but a little sad that the rings don't fit on my fingers again quite yet.  I have a few more pounds to lose before they'll slide on and off easily, but the gift was absolutely perfect!

And, of course, I spent the day with Ella Kate, my heart!  I love her so much and love spending my time with her as much as I can!

But my day was not particularly what everyone would consider "perfect."  Being a mother means playing that role in all situations and at all times.  It means doing what's best for your children.  So what's best for Ella Kate?  Right now what's best for her is for Kyle and I to both work full time, but on different shifts so that one of us is always home with her, neither of us has to take a pay cut, and we don't have to pay for child care right now.  It means that we see very little of each other, but Ella can be at home with two people who know and love her perfectly, she's not exposed to other children's germs, and she gets to bond with both of us.  It means that Kyle had to work all day today, and I was at home alone with Ella.  I also didn't go to visit with family in Rockingham, because I didn't want to drive there alone with Ella, and I didn't want to come home exhausted tonight, making Monday morning even more difficult than Monday mornings usually are. To add to this, Ella is going through her third Wonder Week mental leap (see wonder weeks), making her extremely fussy and difficult to feed.

And my Mother's Day was perfect!

I got to stay at home with my perfect baby, comforting her when she was upset, drinking in her sweet giggles when she was happy, feeding her from a bottle when she was too distracted to nurse, snuggling with her while she napped, and playing the role of mommy, knowing that she was getting the very best of all the things that she needed.  I love being a mommy, especially being HER mommy!

 So, Happy Mother's Day to all the mommy's (especially MY mommy), from Ella Kate and me!

Lessons from Ella Kate: Boring is Not Boring

This one will be short.  I have a lot of laundry to put away and I'm sleepy, despite napping three hours (!!!!) while Ella took a nap for once.  Oh, the life of a mommy!


For anyone who doesn't know, I work as a Special Education teacher, and am currently teaching seventh grade.  Even if I wasn't teaching Special Ed, I would still be dealing with many children who have something in common: ADHD.  It seems to be such a huge epidemic which, I believe, is severely over diagnosed.  But that's a topic for another time.


At 12 weeks, Ella has become very much more aware of EVERYTHING around her.  She is constantly looking around, twisting her head one way then the other.  Kyle and I have both noticed that she even does this while eating, no matter how hungry she is or how long it's been since she last ate!  While it is a little annoying (especially for a nursing mommy, ouch!), I am amazed at how quickly she is developing, and I love the look on her face when she zeros in on something new and interesting. 


I use the word "interesting" loosely.  Normally, the thing she finds new and interesting would be considered quite boring to me!   But for Ella, boring is not boring.


So what is it that keeps her entirely focused for long periods of time, no matter how she is feeling?  Oh, her best of friends, of course:

It never fails.  No matter where we are, if there's a fan, she's entranced!  And that brings us back to my earlier comments about ADHD.  When do kids start to lose their focus and their delight in simple things?  I know that, like now, she will continue to get distracted by things around her as she grows and learns.  That's what she's supposed to do.  But her focus on some things is simply amazing. 


The lesson I'm learning is that, sometimes, we all need to be satisfied in the simple things in life.  I sometimes find myself watching TV, on the computer, and flipping through something on my phone all at the same time, and still feeling bored. 



So I take a lesson from Ella: take time to look around and take everything in.  Find that one thing that entertains me, and focus in on it.  Really focus in.  Be satisfied with one thing at a time.  Learn that sometimes I just need to be still and at peace with the world around me.  It is so amazing how she smiles and coos at things that don't respond to her.  Her hanging toys, the ceiling fan, the framed picture behind the couch, sometimes even the wall.  It's all new and exciting to her.  My new daily goal will be to find something simple to entertain myself with, and really enjoy just being in that moment.


Thank you, Ella.  I can't wait for our next lesson!

Flashback Friday: Playing Catch Up!

Since I'm just starting the blog almost three months into Ella's life, I am going to use this post to bombard the world with some of Ella's videos so far!  We will start with her video from this week and a few early videos.  Then, I'll be uploading a current video along with an older video once a week until I'm caught up! (Some of the videos were being pains, so they're YouTube links instead of imbedded videos, so, sorry about that!)

This week, Ella is excited to be holding her head up, is starting to enjoy tummy time, and trying really hard to roll over.  Not evident in the video is her new ability to grab the play mat in front of her and attempt to pull herself forward, even though crawling is (hopefully?) still a ways off!  Other recent developments include holding onto things when placed into her hands, putting said things directly into her mouth, and focusing on watching her hands and feet move all around!

12 Weeks! 

This video is from my Mom's birthday party.  We got the family together to announce my pregnancy, but if you know me and my Mom at all, you know that we had to do it in our own unique way.  The family's reaction was priceless!

Hollie's Gonna Have a Baby!

Looking back through my camera, I found this very early video of Ella Kate, at one week, and thought: "What a boring video!"  Until I remembered that, at the time, every tiny thing she did was special and new!  So here's her one week video, showing her focusing on the blinds and making some small movements:

 One of my favorites is the first time I caught her giggling on camera.  She thinks I'm hilarious now, but I'm sure everything I do will be considered totally embarrassing someday.  It just comes with the mommy territory!

And another first: Ella's first social smile that I was able to catch on camera.  We had a lot of smiles in her sleep, followed by tiny smiles here and there.  It took a while, but I finally got one on tape when she was four weeks old.

2 Week Smiles!

So, there you go!  Just a few videos to keep you entertained until my next blog entry!  Hope you enjoy my sweet girl as much as I do!

Totally Biased Introduction

I'm going to go ahead and admit that I've started several blogs in the past that haven't lasted very long.

With that being said, I have a new, tiny, totally dependent interest in my life that will be glued to my side for at least 18 years, so maybe blogging will be easier and I'll be able to commit to it better this time.  It's a girl; it's name is Ella Kate; and it's absolutely the most adorable ball-and-chain-energy-sucking-time-consuming-life-changing-extraordinarily-painful thing I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.  "Bundle of joy" doesn't begin to describe this tiny human!

See what I mean? Even when she cries, it's adorable.  Even at 4 am, it's adorable.  Even when I'm sore in places that I'd rather not mention, it's adorable.  Even with drool leaking from her mouth, it's adorable.  Heck, even with spit up spewing from her mouth, it's adorable.  I'll take it one step further: the first time she projectile pooped in my sister-in-law's face (sorry Valerie), it was first hilarious, then adorable. Then she did it to me. Guess what? Still adorable.

She makes things better.  Just look at that picture.  The worst day is automatically made perfect just remembering she's at home and I get to see her soon.

So, I'm starting (*another*) blog in hopes of updating my family and friends who are interested in what goes on in our daily lives as we battle cloth diapers, breastfeeding, pumping, relationships, wonder weeks, growth spurts, staying healthy, baby proofing, sewing, crocheting, jobs, and finding ways to make things that would be much simpler to buy (but cheaper and healthier to make).  Plus, some people may be tired of my constantly changing Facebook statuses and picture/video updates.  Coming to the blog is strictly voluntary, so you only have to see it if you WANT to! (And who wouldn't??) And there are, of course, the select few people that I still associate with who do not have Facebook. Mind boggling, I know!

So join me, and Kyle, and Ella Kate as we take this crazy journey together.  Leave us some comments of encouragement, ooh and ahh over Ella's pictures, give me some ideas if you have tried something I may not have thought of, or just enjoy life through the eyes of a new mommy!