Pass the Lysol

I promised myself I would never write an apology post for being a bad blogger. But guys? I’m sorry. This whole week has been a blur. First of all, snow. It was just 5 inches but it has screwed this whole week up. My coworker’s kids are out of school so work is a little out of sorts. Mike’s daycare is closed and S. spent 2 days home because of the feds closing and having a wicked cold. As for Charlie, it’s too cold to take him for a good walk, and too cold to venture to Day Camp. Needless to say I am climbing the walls. But mainly, I have been doing laundry because everything Mike touches has snot or throw up on it. Poor guy has an icky cold which is more time consuming than I could have imagined 8 months ago.

Yesterday was the worst. All Mike wanted to do was be held. Not worn, not laying next to me – held. Which is difficult when I work from home and have a million other things to do. I really depend on his naps which is the obvious problem. I would rock and rock him to sleep, then rock until he was REALLY asleep, then put him in the crib and he would instantly become hysterical. I even let him cry it out for 15 minutes only to go in there and he had spit up over everything – blanket, sheets, himself, everything. Cue the momma meltdown which sent us both to a warm bubble bath to try to relax. By the time S. got home, Mike was a happy baby again as if to prove I am a total drama queen and liar.

Then came bedtime. Mike fell asleep at a decent hour and slept until 9P when he woke up suddenly hysterical. I brought him to S. in bed so I could finish some work, but he had yet to calm down by the time I finished, so I brought him to the couch with me. He calmed down a bit, we wiped his nose and then I heard it. The tummy grumble. By the time I registered what was about to happen, he had spit up all over my shirt. S. came to the rescue so I could get cleaned up, but then it happened again. But much worse.

All. Over. S.

Then again. All over his playmat which you think would be great because we could easily wipe it down, but we didn’t have that kind of luck. One of the star pieces was missing and when we lifted it up there was a perfectly shaped star puddle of throw up.  At the risk of sounding gross, the beagle was very excited. Back to the bathtub we go!

 

vomit-olympics

After a bath with a fussy baby and new jammies, which we are quickly running out of with all the washing, Mike snuggled with me on the couch while S. cleaned up the mess (he scored major major daddy points considering he is sick himself). Around midnight I went to put a very asleep Mike into his crib and he INSTANTLY woke up. Back to the couch where we both dozed off and when I woke up around 3AM he went into his crib without waking up. He must have felt some sort of remorse because he let me sleep until 8:30AM.

We seem to be on an uptick today, but still very clingy and spit-uppy making any sort of productivity impossible.

If this has bought with the cold has taught me anything, it’s sometimes you just have to do what’s best for your kid and if that means sitting on the couch snuggling watching Doc McStuffins, then so be it. I’ll sleep when I’m dead. And even then I will be waiting for him to wake up in the middle of the night.

 

Footloose and Fancy Free

So remember last week when I was convinced I was screwing Mike up because I wasn’t letting him cry it out when he was waking up hysterical in the middle of the night?

And remember all the things we tried to solve the random problem? Like buying a space heater and flannel sheets? Turning on white noise, turning off white noise, turning on talk radio, turning OFF talk radio, tushie pats, back rubs, formula, water, begging, pleading? None of those worked by the way.

So why was Mike waking up hysterical all of a sudden? Here is the conversation that went at our house on Friday morning.

Jackie (6AM): Holy crap! Mike slept all night! God is good!

S.: So what was different?

Jackie: I have no idea. None whatsoever.

(later in the day)

Jackie: His jammies didn’t have feet (to S. and his momma who was visiting)

S: What?

Jackie: Last night. His jammies didn’t have feet. His feet are always covered in the footed jammies. They weren’t last night.

S: There we go!

Jackie: If we do the footless jammies and he sleeps all night again, I am going to be pissed.

(the next morning)

Jackie: Mike slept through the night. I am cutting the feet out of his damn jammies.

So my dear friends … 3 weeks of sleepless nights, a doctor’s visit, countless hours researching night terrors and sleep training and he just didn’t like his feet covered. Duh.

If I don’t laugh, I cry.

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Five For Friday

It’s Friday! I am linking up with Joy over at Sowell Life for my Friday Five. I was cleaning out my bathroom this week and had to decide what products stay and which were donated (to other product whores). Here are my top 5 beauty products I couldn’t part with.

beauty

1. {Rimmel London – ScandalEyes Retro Glam Mascara} You might remember, I reviewed this mascara a few weeks ago and it continues to be my favorite. It’s long lasting, stays in place AND it makes my lashes look pretty thick for a drug store mascara.

2. {E.l.f. Waterproof Eyeliner Pen When it comes to makeup I try to at least wear mascara and eyeliner, so I am always looking for new products. I picked this eyeliner up at Target for a whole $1 and I have not been disappointed. It is easy to apply and stayed put, plus it’s so damn cheap I can buy 5 and keep them stashed around the house, purse, work, etc. Since the tip is flat, you can go with a thick or thin line, but beware – it’s a hard tip, so use a gentle touch.

3. {Blissoma Solutions Peace Evening Facial Creme When HeadOn discontinued their headache stick, S. and I were panicking. We picked a few similar products from Amazon and I discovered Blissoma. The headache stick worked wonders and they always send us a sample of their Peace Evening Facial Creme which I am in love with. It’s a bit on the pricey side, so I use the samples sparingly on my sensitive Rosecea prone face. It smells amazing, is light and all natural.

4. {Aveeno Active Naturals BodyI can’t let go of a good body scrub, especially in the winter when I have icky skin. Aveeno is the recent scrub of choice but trust me, I have about 4 half used bottles of other scrubs. Aveeno is a great price, great smell and a gentle scrub.

5. {Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Multipurpose Ointment I think this is the magic potion that solves everything. I got this as a baby shower gift and realized it was an alternative to Vaseline (which I loathe). I used it a few times on Mike and I really like the smell. Plus a little goes a long way! Now I use it on my chapped winter nose, dry lips and scaly skin.

There you have it – my top 5 beauty products. What products can you not live without?

Sleep Training Or Lack There Of

screwing my kid up

 

 

I really feel like I need someone smarter and more experienced than me to tell me what to do next with this kid. Honestly, things just don’t occur to me – like when to give solids or when to start weening him off the night bottle. I just never really gave it much thought. If it wasn’t for the BabyCenter emails Mike would still be in a swaddler eating 2 ounces of formula like he did in the hospital. Not because I don’t want him to grow up, but because it doesn’t dawn on me that things need to change. And my little bug is just so go with the flow he doesn’t usually make me think otherwise.

I joke with my Momma friends that each day is a day I wonder how I am going to screw him up. Today I’m pretty sure not starting sleep training earlier has screwed him up.

If you have been following me on Facebook, it isn’t a secret that Mikey isn’t sleeping. Well. He sleeps, just not like he should be (apparently) at this age. He goes down at 8P, wakes up HYSTERICAL at 11P and after we rock him back to sleep, he is up every hour or two after that. Some nights. Other nights it’s different, but this foolishness has been going on for 3 weeks. We’ve tried EVERYTHING – temperature, sheets, music, no music, white noise, no white noise, gas drops, Ibuprofen ….

Guys. I’m tired.

So. Tired. 

Yesterday we finally went to the doctor, who was very nice, but confirmed nothing was medically wrong with our boy. He was probably having a night terror and when we pick him up, he wakes up and for the rest of the night he cries because he knows we will pick him up and snuggle. Doc asked if we were sleeping training. Um. No. Don’t we start that when he is 10 or 15 or something?

It never dawned on me, or us for that matter, to sleep train. Don’t babies cry at night? It wasn’t a huge inconvenience to my schedule so I never gave it much thought. Until now.

Doc told us to let him ‘cry it out’ with the night terror since it will pass and he won’t remember it and you shouldn’t wake him up. For just the run of the mill waking up, he recommended the Ferber method. S. and I both have mixed reactions to that, but decided last night to give it a try.

Mike went down around 8P and he fussed a bit since he wasn’t totally asleep. 5 minutes later, I went in, patted his tush and he was out. See? Not that hard. Around 2A (!!!!) he woke up hysterical and S. and I decided to give it 15 minutes. I patiently watched the video monitor and rushed in at the 15 minute mark when he was still going strong.

But wait.

What was I suppose to do at the 15 minute mark? Pick him up? Pat his butt? Shit. I didn’t think that far ahead. So I picked him up and rocked him. Probably not the right thing, but I wasn’t sure what I was suppose to do. S. and I agreed to start researching other sleep training methods to start on Saturday night. Mike’s Bubbe is in town Friday night and it is just too much to try to get him on a schedule until it calms down in the house.

Look, it’s not that I don’t like to hear my baby cry. I hate it, but I have it in perspective. Short term pain for long term gain, as long as he is safe. I am just not sure the Ferber Method is the right one for us. Co-sleeping isn’t right for us either. There has to be something in the middle right? What has worked for your little?

 

Mike – 7 Months

Hello my little boy!

Happy 7 month birthday. I am getting smart and starting these posts early since you are keeping us very busy. I was talking to a friend yesterday and said that even though I see you every day, it doesn’t often occur to me that you are getting older. I look at pictures of you as a newborn and it strikes me how TINY you were and how SKINNY your legs were. We’ve chunked you up real good!

june vs dec

The end of 2013 has been quite a whirlwind. Where should we start?

{Your First Christmas Eve} This was the first year Momma hasn’t spend Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and I was VERY excited to start our own traditions. We opened our jammies and you looked very festive in your red and white stripes and you didn’t even try to take off the matching hat! We went to church and even though it was the adult service, you hung out in your wrap and enjoyed bouncing to the music and making faces at the people behind us. Your friend Sarah was there also and you both were AMAZINGLY good! Next year we will try for the children’s service.

christmas eve

{Your First Christmas Day} For only being 6 months old, you were pretty into the presents. You would sit on our lap and we would start to open the gift and you would get this intense, thoughtful look on your face and ‘help’ us open. You were really lucky to get some awesome gifts from everyone. The highlights? Daddy and I got you some Melissa and Doug toys, a light up remote and a bunch of books. Grandma and Grandpa got you an activity table, Bubbe got you some stuff to make eating solids more fun and Pop-Pop got you some cool clothes. And that was just scratching the top of how lucky you were this year!

christmas day

{Crawling} I don’t think you are ‘officially’ crawling yet, but darned if you aren’t trying your hardest. You get up on all fours, rock back and forth, pull your knees forward and propel yourself forward. You just aren’t ready to make the connection that moving your hands and legs together will get you around much faster. Or perhaps you have your Momma’s coordination!

crawl

{Sitting} You are sitting like a champ, which is a fun milestone for Daddy and I because we can plop you on the floor sitting up, but some toys in front of you and you are entertained for a bit. And then for a kid who isn’t officially crawling, you sure do manage to get around. We are starting to keep a closer watch on you!

{Rough and Tumble} I was telling your Daddy this morning that you are going to be a rough and tumble boy. You are already pulling up and trying to standing and climb over me to get what you want (usually a tablet or cell phone). The higher we toss you, the fast we ‘drop’ you the more you laugh. As much as I want you to crawl, I can see our future is going to be busy chasing you around. Just be safe little guy.

Sweetie Pie, as rough and tumble as you are you are equally as sweet. As we rock endlessly on those nights when you are having trouble sleeping, it’s impossible to get TOO frustrated with you when you reach up and gently touch my face, or grab my cheeks and throw yourself into my neck. I hope this is a glimpse of the future – budding independence, but a calm sweetness.  I could eat you up I love you so Mike-Mike.

6

Though you always fill my heart, this month I thought it would explode. When I imagined having kids, I thought of all the things that I loved, like Christmas and inserted a baby there. It was so much more fun than I could have imagined. Until next month …

A thousand kisses,

Momma

P.S. – Please sleep tonight. Please.

Five for Friday

Today I’m going to link up with ChristinaDarciApril, and Natasha for 5 on Friday to fill you in on my …

2014 resolutions

{Health} I’ve always been the big girl who struggled with food and such, and every year I make the same goal to get healthy. Now with a kiddo I am feeling more motivated than ever. I am dragging S. with me (but it is a bit of the other way around) and we are doing Atkins. I did it in high school (2000) to fit into a prom dress. It worked like a charm and now I am more focused and seeing how this lifestyle can work for us in the long run. Sugar is my drug, that’s been hard to break. I am not going to turn this blog into a weight loss journal, but don’t be surprised if I share my small victories.

{Focus} Speaking of focus, I have a pretty full plate and it wasn’t until recently I was really feeling pulled in different directions – work, kiddo, husband, etc, etc. So this year I am vowing to stop being my own worse enemy and focus on what I am doing when I am doing it. When Mike needs my attention during the day, work will stop. No more carrying to the laptop into the room while I am trying to put him down for a nap. I’m not curing cancer, work can wait 15 minutes. And when I am working (especially on days when Mike is at daycare) I am there. Personal email is closed, Facebook is not pinging with updates … this is a real challenge, but it’s time.

{Professional Comfort Zone} I’ve had more than one boss and coworker tell me over the years that I lack confidence in my professional abilities and I need to just trust my gut on things. I tend to put off tasks I am not sure about and  make me uncomfortable (calling people? Ugh!) as well as down playing my skill set. I need to work on that this year by drawing the line in the sand and promptly jumping over it.

{Blog Twice a Week} That should be easy enough, right?

{Learn a New Technology Skill} I work in the tech industry on the business development side and it’s an industry I am pretty clueless on (wait, and I downplaying my skill set?). I would love to do some research, take a class or read a book that will help me grow my technology experience. Any suggestions on which way to go? There seems to be so many options!

THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

The ADHD Momma

adhd quote

When I got pregnant, an ex-coworker invited me to join a new mom’s group on Facebook she created when she moved and had trouble connecting with other mommas. I invited a few more friends, who invited a few more and now it’s a busy group with a huge variety of women and parenting styles. But one thing has always been a constant.  When one of us posts a ‘venting’ message, everyone responds with encouragement.

Today, someone brought up the fact that she doesn’t multitask well and having two kiddos doesn’t help matters. She reached out today for tips on getting organized and being productive without totally going bat crap crazy. When I started thinking about some things that work for me to share with her, I realized I had a ton of tip and it made me sound like I had my life together and I was Super Momma when in reality I am always one task away from bat crap crazy. The reason I have to be so organized is because of my ADHD, which lately has been a curse.

I know a lot of people say they are ADHD, but according to my doctor, I am off the chart ADHD. I was diagnosed at the age of 21 when I started my first ‘big girl’ job that required sitting and deadlines and multitasking and I would end my day in tears because I wanted to do all those things SO BADLY but something was holding me back.  My mom brought up some things she noticed when I was growing up and after a trip to the doctor and multiple medication tests, I found that a high dose of Concerta and behavior modification work well for me. It’s been a struggle to stay on top of my ADHD since Mike has arrived, but S. and I have worked out a few strategies to keep us all sane (and me married!).

The main idea in keeping my ADHD under control (aside from medication) is to simplify. Here’s a few things we’ve done:

Amazon Prime: For less than $100 a year, we get free two day shipping on just about everything. This keeps me from having multiple shopping lists and I since we aren’t paying shipping, I can order one or ten things at a time when it is top of mind. Since Mike is out of the carrier car-seat, getting him in and out of the car is a PITA, so the less stops I have to make the better. Sure, we might pay a few bucks more for 120 rolls of toilet paper, but it comes to our door! I don’t have to carry it up stairs while juggling a baby or stop at Target during peak hours. Here are a few things we’ve gotten from Amazon: flea and tick medicine, bottle nipples, Clorox wipes, two fire extinguishers, infant ibuprofen, bath towels and baby wipes.

A daily family to-do list: We use a small dry erase board on our fridge. Every day we add to it what needs to be done. Some things stay on there day after day (put out S’s clothes, pack lunch, put out trash) and some are weekly (pack day care bag, empty trashcans) and some are more random (cut Mike’s nails, change light bulb, thaw chicken). During the day if I find free time I am not wandering aimlessly through the house looking for something productive to do and when S. comes home he isn’t asking me what needs to be done. I feel like this keeps our evenings and mornings less stressful.

Work task planner: I searched high and low for the exact planner I needed for work. I finally found something that I am hoping works for the new year. It’s a full size, spiral bound, dated, lined notebook from Franklin Covey. So each morning I jot down my daily to dos and if something comes up that needs to be done in the future, like a follow up call, I make a note on that day’s page.  I have tried multiple apps and organizers, but there is something about writing things down with a pen that just works for me.

Google Calendars: S. is the keeper of our calendar because I can never ever remember to put stuff on there. And when I do, it is the wrong date or time. I tell him as soon as I know something and he puts it on the calendar and we review it either nightly or weekly. Which leads me to ….

Family meeting: It sounds way more official than it really is. Typically it’s S. and I in bed on Sunday evening with our laptops looking at the calendar. This way we can make changes on who is doing what and also plan our meals and money for the week. It is a blessing that I fell in love and married someone so organized who is so understanding and forgiving of my scatterbrain.  I know it’s hard on him sometimes when I keep saying I will do something when it is clearly never going to happen.

I have said many times to many people that my ADHD is sometimes a blessing and some times a curse. It’s something I have to keep on top of and be flexible enough to make adjustments to our lifestyle to make it all flow. What tips and tools do you have to stay organized?