Five Mom-tastic Products for the Week

Itzbeen Timer

Such a handy little contraption. We use it much less now than we did when Bryleigh was first born, but I still like to use it every time I feed her. The Itzbeen timer is a little timer that keeps four time periods. So when the baby falls asleep, you press the button, and it count the minutes/hours she’s been asleep (you just have to remember to look at it when she wakes up). One button counts how long it’s been since she’s had a fresh diaper, one button is a free button to count whatever you like, and the last one is to count how much time has passed since she last ate, which is the one that I use most often. There’s also a little button on the bottom that you can click from Left to Right to tell you which breast you last fed from. So handy!

Breastmilk Storage BagsMuch more convenient than trying to travel or store hard plastic bottles, these bags are safe and handy! I carried a box of them when we travelled for Christmas, and it made it so much easier than in the past when I tried keeping all my milk in bottles. I was able to fit them all much more easily into a cooler, and it’s easier to keep the milk cold since there’s thin, pliable plastic rather than a thick, hard bottle material between the milk and ice packs.

Clorox Wipes
I cannot get over how handy these things are. I keep them in my pump bag, and use them as a quick clean-up when I don’t have a sink readily available. I keep a baggie full of them in the diaper bag for wiping down public changing tables (though I still use a changing pad, as well). They are just so very handy!

Phil & Ted’s Sport Buggy

I love my Sport Buggy. It fits with the Chicco Keyfit 30 carseat that we use for Bryleigh to make a total travel system, but it can also hold one toddler when she grows out of the carseat. Then it also can convert to a double stroller and hold an infant and a toddler or two toddlers! We should never have to buy another stroller!

Bumbo seats

My cousin Beth gave me a Bumbo seat for Bryleigh that her twins had outgrown, and we sit her in it occasionally at home. She also has one at daycare. It was especially good, though, for Christmas. I was able to sit her in it and put her stocking on the removable tray, and we actually got pictures of her sitting up and pulling her toys out of her stocking, thanks to the Bumbo seat!

Bryleigh sits up by herself!

...and I missed it.

Sorry for the hiatus. I have been swamped at work, and my lunch hours are filled with visiting Bryleigh at the daycare and/or running Christmas shopping errands. My evenings are filled with playing with Bryleigh during the short time I have with her, and then cleaning, feeding and putting her to bed, and then wrapping Christmas presents! Christmastime is such a fun time, but so stressful and busy!

So Bryleigh sat up for the first time today, and I missed it because she’s a daycare. Her teacher, Miss I___, sent me a picture of her sitting up all by herself and playing with blocks! I hate that I’m missing her firsts, though. What happens if she takes her first steps or says her first words at daycare? How sad is that?


It got me thinking of Bryleigh’s baby book(s—she has two) and how I need to fill in that special moment. I also need to add the day that she rolled over for the first time (November 14th) and her first belly laugh (October 16th—although I’m pretty sure that one is already there). I need to print the photos of her and put those in, as well. I haven’t been as good about keeping that thing up to date as I’d hoped I would be! I really should carry it in my pump bag so that I can look through it when I’m pumping, as that’s a time when I can guarantee that I’m by myself and have time to do it… I’m going to make that a new year’s resolution!

Speaking of new years, we have no plans. Parenthood kind of put a damper on our New Years Eve celebration this year. We don’t feel as though we could call my parents to babysit since they’ll probably have plans of their own, and we don’t feel comfortable (or rich) enough to hire a babysitter for such a crazy night! So this morning I texted a friend of ours who has a baby just barely older than Bryleigh to see if they want to come over, but I haven’t heard back from her, yet. That’s frustrating. When is it acceptable to text a follow up?

Merry Christmas!

Changing tables should be mandatory

So this weekend my cousin Kim came in town from Tampa. She was in town for a friend’s birthday party, and so she and her friends and her friend’s little one-year-old boy came over to our house for mimosas and then we all walked up the street to this little restaurant to have lunch. The restaurant is a nice place, though I must say it thinks it’s nicer than it is. For instance, they put white table cloths on all the tables, but the clientele is mostly made up of families from what I’ve seen, and the dress code is quite casual.

So we’re all sitting at the table and have just finished eating; Kim’s friend is telling a story. I have Bryleigh in my lap, and all of a sudden I feel it. Wetness. All over me. Without even thinking I blurt out something along the lines, “Oh my goodness!” When asked by my tablemates what the problem is, I reply, “Bryleigh’s had an accident. I don’t know if it’s pee or poop, but it’s all over both of us! Kim hands me a (cloth) napkin, which I shove under Bryleighboo’s bootie, then I grab the diaper bag and rush to the bathroom.

No changing table. It should be a law for all restaurants to have them! I have to pull out my little pad, which thankfully is very thick and cushioned, and balance Bryleigh on the counter, halfway in one sink. Thankfully, the wetness I felt was just pee. She’d pooped her diaper, and then peed in it, but because of the poop, the pee ran out. It still required an entire outfit change. My cousin came in as I was changing her and helped balance the baby while apologizing to the (thankfully sympathetic) other patrons who were trying to wash their hands after using the facilities.

Luckily the crisis was averted. We got Bryleighboo changed and happy again in no time! It was just the first time that I’d ever had one of those incidents in public. I’m sure it won’t be last either.

On a side note, I left the soiled napkin on the counter in the bathroom. Does that make me a bad person? It seemed wrong to throw it away or take it with me, but it seemed gross to take it back to the table, too. Yet I didn’t want to give it to the wait staff and tell them that I’d use it to stop pee and poop! I really think the best thing would have been to throw it away… Oh well. Next time I eat there, I will be eying the napkins suspiciously.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

So I had no idea that a four-month-old could require a parent/teacher conference, but apparently she does! A and I went to Bryleigh's school today at lunch. We're sharing a car right now because A's car is in the shop, so he's been picking me up and taking me to the school at lunch so I can feed Boo. He usually just sits in the car in the parking lot and waits for me to finish (because that's not creepy or anything---a man sitting alone in a car in the daycare parking lot for 45 minutes).

Anway, they were planning the conferences for next week, but because of our car situation and A starting his new job next week and being off work this week, we asked to do it today at lunch when it was insanely convenient for us.

Bryleigh is apparently progressing normally, and her teachers have no worries about her social or developmental... uh... well---development? Progress? I've used both already, but you get the picture. She gave us a form in which she had filled in various boxes attesting to Bryleigh's strengths, and where some boxes described skills Bryleigh hasn't yet obtained, she wrote in that Bryleigh will master these skills when she gets a little older.

Is it wrong that I was a little upset that Bryleigh didn't master all the skills, yet? Oh, dear. I'm not going to be one of Those Mothers, am I?!

Five Mom-tastic Things…

Here are my top five favourite things this week.

1. The stationary exersaucer

We have two, one is Fisher Price and one is Baby Einstein, and we love them. Bryleigh can go into one of those and keep herself occupied as long as she can see us. If I walk into the next room to put away some clothes or check on dinner, she gets upset, but as long as she can see either me or A in the room with her, she’ll sit and play by herself for quite some time!

Don’t get me wrong, I love holding my daughter and interacting with her one on one, but sometimes my arms need a break, or I have other things that need to be done around the house! For instance, yesterday we were decorating the Christmas tree, and Bryleigh sat and played in her Baby Einstein excersaucer (wearing a Christmas onesie and a Santa hat, I might add) until we finished. It was a life-saver!

2. The snot-sucker

This thing is truly amazing. It’s a small tube that you can stick into your baby’s nose, and the other end goes into your mouth so that you can literally suck the snot our of her nose. I know it sounds disgusting, but there is a hygienic filter to keep anything from going up into your mouth. We use Little Noses Saline Drops, four drops in each nostril, then massage her nose a little as we wait 10 seconds and then we use the snot sucker. You wouldn’t believe how much comes out and much better Bryleigh breathes. I’ll be glad when she gets over this daycare crud, but until then, I’m so glad I have the snot-sucker!

3. Lansinoh breast pads

These are just the best. I’ve tried other brands (read: cheaper brands), but nothing compares to the Lansinoh. Never, never buy the Johnson’s brand unless you want to look like you have three-foot nipples. They are very thick and have a “nipple pocket” built in, but you can actually see that through your clothes! Lansinoh are thin, breathable, and comfortable. Hands down, the best disposables on the market.

4. Dymo label maker

I use this to label all Bryleigh’s bottles for daycare. Each bottle has to have four labels on it:

• Bryleigh B Breastmilk
• The date I expressed the milk
• The current day’s date
• And another with her last name for the lid.

So I have each one formatted and stored, and each night as I’m preparing her bottles for the next day, I just skim through and print what I need. Only use the plastic label tape, though. The paper of course leaves a sticky, messy papery residue on the bottles.

5. Robeez baby shoes

These are the only ones that stay on the little tyke’s feet! Bryleigh has one pair that her grandparents bought her. They’re brown with some pink very unfortunate-looking bunnies on them. Not what I would have chose for her, but with it being so cold now, she wears them every day. This is going to my new go-to baby gift to people from now on. You can cuter ones on their website.

Pumptastic

Have I told you lately how much I hate pumping? I really, really, really hate it. It is the downpoint of my day, every day, four times a day. Yes, working full time, I have to pump four to five times every day, twice at home, and two to three times at work, depending on whether I go feed Bryleigh at the daycare during my lunch hour, which I do practically every day.

In the mornings I get up, shower, wrap my hair in a towel and put on my robe, then I wake Bryleigh up to change her diaper and feed her. While I’m sitting there feeding, enjoying that special time with my daughter, I can’t help but feel dread at knowing that as soon as I’m done, I’m going to have to go pump.

Once B has been fed, I rock her back to sleep and put her back in her crib. If she won’t go back to sleep, then I give her to her daddy, who is always still in bed and who I’ve nick-named “Baby Ambien”—when he lays her on his chest, she falls straight to sleep within a matter of seconds! Once she’s in her crib or wrapped in her daddy’s arms, I then gather up my pump stuff and take it into the bathroom, where I get myself all hooked up and then blow dry my hair and put on my makeup while I pump. Usually I finish with my hair and makeup before I’m done pumping (it only takes me about six minutes to dry my hair, and about five to put on makeup every morning), so I sit and read a book for the remaining three to four minutes.

I pump at work again at 10am sharp and then head to the daycare to feed her at 12pm, and then I wait and pump again at work around 4pm. Then after work I pick her up, and we play until 7:30pm (she’s usually had a daycare bottle between 5pm and 5:30pm), and then we start her bedtime routine (bath, lotion, diaper, jammies, food and a story, and then a song), and she goes to bed between 8pm and 8:30pm.

Then I end my day by pumping again around 10pm. I hate pumping.

Santa and the Pink Pig

So last night we took Bryleigh to meet Santa and have her picture made and to ride the famous Pink Pig. Apparently, going to Macy’s and riding Priscilla the Pink Pig is an Atlanta Christmas tradition. We really weren’t sure what would be involved in that, but were pleasantly surprised. It’s a little pink train with a pig’s head they have set up in a tent in the parking deck. When you go around, Priscilla, a decidedly southern cartoon pig, tells a story about her holidays. It’s quite sweet. Despite being only four months old, Bryleigh really loved the Pink Pig ride. The conductor strapped her carseat into the train so that she would be facing me, and she just looked around and smiled so big the whole way! She loved all the bright colours and lights and sounds!

Now, as for Santa, she didn’t really have any kind of opinion. She was all smiles when we handed her over to him, and she smiled so much sitting in his lap, until they took the picture. Because there was literally not one person in line, they took about eight pictures for us, and the poor photographer, despite his best efforts, wasn’t able to catch one single smile! She never cried, but every time the photographer snapped the picture, she’d just be looking at something else or staring at the camera head on with a really blank look on her face. We ended up choosing one in which Santa looked down at her and she’s looking up at Santa in a kind of awe. It’s quite sweet actually, though I would have preferred she smiled and showed off those adorable dimples!

Tips for avoiding the Santa lines:

1. Go early in the year but not during opening week. We went on November 30th. They’ve already been open for a week.

2. Go on a random weeknight. We went on a Tuesday.

3. And here’s the kicker; go on a night when it’s really crappy weather! The night we chose had vicious thunderstorms all day long and threats of tornados that evening, but we went on ahead anyway because I just figured it would ensure fewer people. I parked in the Neiman Marcus parking deck so that I wouldn’t have to try and unload the stroller and Bryleigh in the pouring rain, and we were able to park immediately outside the doors and walk straight into the mall. When I was on my way out it occurred to me that I should be nervous about hooligans hanging the parking deck, but the only person I saw was a security guard in an SUV patrolling, and the guard slowed when he or she saw me and made sure I made it into my car and that my car started before driving off. Kudos to mall security!

Pumperstar (continued)

Flanges


So, I found out the hard way that the flanges (the piece of the pump that looks like a funnel or horn) that come with the breast pumps do not fit most women! Most women need a size large flange, but the pumps come with a medium. I used the mediums for a month with no problem, but then they started feeling like they were pinching me! They hurt so badly; I really couldn’t stand it! It was killing me, so I asked my lactation consultant about it, and she informed me about the sizing issues. I went out and bought the larges, and they fit SO much better. Now I’m normally a B cup, and have gone up to a C cup since the pregnancy, so take that into consideration when you decide on your size. If you were a pre-pregnancy C cup, you may need extra large flanges.

Pumperstar

I feel I really need to post a few blog entries about pumping because I have so many suggestions and tips for people, but no one ever really talks about pumping out loud!

First of all, for those of you getting ready to pump, I recommend the Medela products. They're the only ones I considered. I bought and use the Medela Pump In Style Metro with the shoulder bag. The motor, instead of being built into the bag, actually comes out, so you can take it out and carry it around with you if using the battery pack, rather than having to carry the whole bag.

The bag itself is spacious enough to carry the little cooler (which fits up to six bottles and an ice pack),

the motor box,

the loose pieces (flanges, membranes, valves, etc.), and a tube of Clorox wipes (we'll get to that in a minute). I complain that the bag is too big, but I'm afraid that if it were smaller, I would complain that I couldn't fit everything into it that I need, so that complaint is kind of a washout.

Which pump to buy?

When I was pregnant, my husband's company set me up with a lactation consultant, and I asked her recommendation about what pump to buy. She recommended the Metro to me. She said that the only advantage of the Freestyle was that it was hands-free, but she said that wasn't really a plus considering you can buy bras that make the Metro hands-free, as well. She also told me that the Freestyle is a lot louder than the Metro.

Now I have not heard the Freestyle, so I can't vouch for how loud it is, but I can tell you that the Metro isn't quiet. If I'm pumping in bed watching television with my husband, I have to place a pillow over the motor because it's so loud. I'm guessing that the Freestyle is only slightly louder.

My main complaint with the Metro is that it's not hands-free! Yes, I bought the hands-free bra, and it works great for me, but I would much prefer not to have to wear it. It gets dirty quickly because despite all efforts I usually tend to leak a bit onto it, then washing it is a pain the ass because no matter when I do it, I usually always need it again before it's finished drying.

Another advantage of the Freestyle is that it uses rechargeable batteries (I think). I can tell you that the Metro sucks up the energy from eight AA batteries quite quickly, and rather then use up my paychecks buying batteries, I use the plug option whenever possible, which means that I’m bound to one spot while pumping.

All in all, if I were to do it again, I would hands-down (pun intended) buy the Medela Pump In Style Freestyle, and honestly, I would probably go with the backpack option. I would imagine that would be pretty convenient to walk around while pumping using the rechargeable battery pack.

Hands-free bras

If you go with the Metro, I recommend you buy two hands-free bras so that you can wash one while using the other. I also recommend that you buy a larger size than you need. This is a tip I came across by accident! Bryleigh was crying in the baby store when I bought mine, so I grabbed the first one I saw and never even thought to look at the size. When I got home, I realised I had bought a large when I needed a small. Unfortunately I bought it when I was out of town and couldn’t exchange it in the near future, so I just started using it. However, I tend to put it on over my clothing, so the large really works well for that! The room in which I pump at work is freezing, so if I'm wearing a sweater, I can lift up the front of the sweater and pull the large hands-free bra down over it, and because it's too big, it works, and I get to stay relatively warm!

Back from the dead

So I'm back and plan to make a conscious effort to update this! My little Bryleigh Boo was born and started sleeping through the night at one month old. Now she's four months and was up all night last night! Luckily, A wasn't working today, so he go up with her most of the night. She's started rolling over, though I have yet to see her do it, and she's intrigued by her feet, but I don't quite think she's figured out that they're hers, yet...

The classes

One of the women in my neighbourhood actually said that she was thinking of hiring a nanny and asked me if I would want to go in with her and split the cost. Her baby is due in March, but her mom is moving in with them until September, so we'd need care at the same time. She was saying we could split the cost, and the nanny could rotate weekly between our houses. I thought it was a good idea, but because we're only going to be in this house until December, we said no.
We've begun our pre-natal classes; we've only had one so far, and we both felt like it was pretty pointless! Both Andrew and I have been reading the books, and the teacher didn't really go over anything that we didn't already know. We're hoping the later classes will be more helpful, though.

Prenatal Series Classes – A series of four prenatal classes titled "A Special Time" will help make your pregnancy, labor and delivery joyful and healthy, while preparing you to care for your new baby. We recommend taking prenatal courses as early in your pregnancy as possible, since much of the information impacts the entire nine months of your pregnancy.

Classes are held every Monday night at 8 p.m. in the Richard H. Rich Auditorium in the 77 Building at Piedmont Hospital. (Classes are not held during the month of December, on any major holiday falling on Monday, or on the fifth Monday of any month.)

Each series includes four sessions on the following topics:

Session 1: A Time for Changes

• Your emotional changes
• Changes in your body
• Sexuality during pregnancy
• How the baby develops

Session 2: A Time for Care

• Information on maintaining a healthy diet
• Considerations for a safe pregnancy (including exercise, drugs, environmental exposures, etc.)

Session 3: A Time for Birth

• The signs of labor
• Anesthesia options and the hows and whys of medication
• The delivery: A film on childbirth and Cesarean delivery

Session 4: A Time for Baby

• The healthy baby
• Nursing your baby
• Deciding about circumcision
• Caring for your newborn

So I think that Classes 3 and 4 will be very helpful, but Class 1 was useless, and Class 2 probably will be, too. Also, I've signed up to take a Prenatal Toning, Fitness and Yoga class from March through May.

We’ve also signed up to take the breastfeeding class in June, which I now hear is useless. That really stinks, because ours is supposed to be a full Saturday (9am-5pm!!!!).

The congestion feels like the worst cold I’ve ever had -- I can't breathe through my nose at all. It's really just in the nose and head. Last night, I got in bed at 8:30 and made myself stay awake until 9:30, when I could take it no more. I woke up at 6:30 and was so glad to have actually slept through the night this time. This morning, some of the girls here at work told me to stop drinking milk until I clear up. I have never heard this before, but they said that milk and dairy products create mucous; well, I drink a gallon of skim milk every TWO days!!! I'm going to lay off it for the next week and see if that helps.

I keep hearing that not having morning sickness or nausea means I'm having a boy.

The unbearable congestion

I feel absolutely clueless! I'm almost right at 16 weeks right now. He or she is the size of avocado!

The daycare situation is still coming along. At least we have plenty of options, some close to home and others closer to work. Our commute from home to work is only 10-15 minutes, though, so neither option will be bad at all. My firm partners with a daycare in Midtown and not only pays half the tuition, but also keeps a space reserved for us. So we already know, if all else fails, we have a space there. We just liked the one by our house better. I'm actually going to view one more, today, too. When A started looking into it, he found out that PwC will pay for part of it, too, no matter where we go. These are things they don't normally tell you about unless you specifically ask!

On another note, the pregnancy congestion is KILLING me. Apparently the mucous membranes of the nose start to swell from all the pregnancy hormones circulating in the body, and the stuffiness may only get worse as the pregnancy progresses! I swear to heaven if mine gets any worse my nose might actually fall off. I was up at 4am holding my head over a steamy sink to see if that helped (it didn't). I tried sleeping with a steamy rag over my face (no help there, either). The only decongestant we pregnant ladies are allowed to take is Pseudoephedrine, but I tried that, and it didn't work for me. I'm drinking hot water with lemon, honey and ginger, doing the saline nasal sinus cavity rinse (which really grosses me out), eating chicken noodle soup (for dinner last night and I have more for lunch today) and plenty fruits for extra vitamin C. I even tried sleeping propped up and ended up sleeping with a box of Kleenex last night, literally had my arm around the darn thing! It's a good think A is traveling this week, because I'd have kept him up all night (I think the dogs were annoyed with me)!

I tried calling my doctor about it, but the nurse just told me to call my regular doctor and offered no more help when I told her that I didn't have one, yet, because we just moved here. I asked Miriam about it, and some people here at work, but everything they suggest is stuff I've already tried. It didn't start until this week, right around the exact same time I got the email update from the What to Expect website with the subject line "Feeling Stuffy? Nasal Congestion at 16 Weeks Pregnant". Lovely.

At least I never had morning sickness.

The hot summer

Our due date is July 24th, and though I am so happy about the pregnancy, being pregnant during a steamy Southern summer is not something I ever wanted to do! I keep telling myself that at least the pregnancy's not interfering with football season at all! Plus, summer clothes are much more flattering to a big ole tummy than bulky winter things! I'm thinking of making Andrew buy a kiddy pool and putting it on the back deck so that I can lounge in that on the weekends!

Andrew doesn't want to know the sex of the baby, but I do. Since we're in a rental house right now and won't be doing a nursery until we buy our own house, I told him that if we're EVER not going to find out, it needs to be for this one. Plus, it makes sense to not find out for the first because then it forces you (and everyone else who buys you stuff) to get all gender-neutral stuff at first, which can then be used for later children. The suspense is just killing me, though!

Unfortunately, I discovered that I have no maternity leave! I haven't been here long enough to qualify for the Family Act, so I'm just praying that when the time comes, I won't get fired! My boss is super nice and seems willing to work with me on it, and Andrew gets three weeks paternity leave that he'll take when I have to go back to work. I just keep thinking that if we hadn't had to move back, I'd have had three to six months paid leave in London and job security for a full year if I didn't wanted to take extra unpaid leave!

We’ve had to start looking into daycares now, and apparently we’re on the slow side! Some of Andrew’s coworkers told us they started calling daycares before they called to schedule their first doctor appointment! Here in Atlanta, the waiting lists are mega-long. We have one place secured through my work, but we weren’t blown away by it, so we're desperately trying to get in with one at a Methodist Church that's less than a block away from our house, and in the mean time I'm interviewing and touring others every week. It's crazy competitive!

A good book I found is Getting ready for baby: The ultimate organizer for the mom-to-be. It's full of checklists covering everything from trimester to trimester to baby proofing the house to healthcare, shopping, etc, etc, etc. It's been a lifesaver for me so far. It even has a checklist of questions to ask when going on tours of daycare centers and forms to keep track of what you're borrowing from whom and who gave you what at baby showers. Apparently, you're supposed to buy all the big purchases, like furniture, strollers, car seats, now in the second trimester. It's all so overwhelming!

The nuchal-fold screening

Baby Brock is doing well! My last ultrasound showed him (or her) just jumping around and doing somersaults like crazy! It was really funny, and the more I laughed, the more she (or he) jumped! Andrew wasn’t able to make it to that appointment, though.

I’m really tired all the time, but I found that eating a piece of fruit, especially bananas, and drinking a glass of ice water around (what my body thought was) nap-time really helps perk me up!

I'm just starting to show, which feels a little weird. Feeling very fat rather than pregnant! I had to go through my closet last weekend and box up everything that no longer fit, and now my closet is depressingly empty, and getting emptier, as I grow out of more stuff. My cousin Beth loaned me all her maternity clothes, but I'm not quite big enough to fit into them, yet. My best friend Miriam is supposed to loan me hers, too, when I can find some time to get to Birmingham! I went to Forever 21 over Christmas and bought several suits in a size large to get me through work for a while. Just simple black/gray things. I'm heading to Target this week, too, to check out their maternity department because I've heard it's really good, and I need some tops! I just can't fathom spending a lot on stuff I'll only wear for a few months! I can't wait until summer when the dress code at work relaxes, and I can start wearing sundresses instead of suits.