Could I *Be* Wearing Any More Clothes?

I should have known what my day was going to be like the second I woke up...

Eric came in to our room lay Evie back down for her early morning nap and to kiss me good-bye, it was then that I realized my left breast had leaked significantly during the night.  It soaked through the nursing pad, my bra, and my shirt.  So I change my shirt and bra and immediately head to the living room to pump.

I am sitting there pumping away, reading blogs and before my usual 15 minutes is up I feel a wet spot on my leg.

In just a few short minutes the bottle over filled and was flowing out on to my pajama pants.

Naturally, I changed my pants.

I proceed about my morning, cleaning the kitchen and getting some chores done.

Evie woke up and is ready for a bottle.  We snuggled in to eat and catch up on last night's television.  She was a little fussy, but not more so than she'd been the last few days with this growth spurt.

She finished the bottle so I pick her up to burp her.  No more than ten seconds go by and...

She violently projectile vomits.

All. Over.

Imagine a mucus-y cottage cheese-y liquid covering your child's face, hair, eye, arm, leg, and body.

Then imagine it running down your arm and soaking into your shirt.

Then imagine what your pants look like after getting caught in the rain.  Then imagine that same about of liquid is baby vomit soaking through the thigh of your pants.

Then imagine what it would look like if you peed your pants while sitting on your couch and the puddle it would leave. Then imagine it was actually a liquid that came out of your small child's mouth.

Then imagine that puddle on the couch was now dripping into a new puddle on the carpet.

Then imagine you stepped in it.

At this point I didn't know what to do first:  change me, change the baby, throw the blanket covering the couch in the washer, or pause the episode of Gossip Girl.

It went like this.  I changed my clothes. Again.  Threw the clothes and the blanket in the washer. Turned off the television. And then stripped down the baby - in the middle of the living room.

The stripping down the baby seemed like a good idea until....

I realized in that short amount of time it took me to change my clothes and start the washing machine she had now POOPED in her cloth diaper.

At this point I had a naked puke-y poop-y baby on my living room floor.  GAH!

To the bath tub!

Too bad I didn't think it through (but was there really time to think?) and prepare the tub and warm up the water before I brought the naked puke-y poop-y baby in the bathroom.

Thankfully, I managed to get her situated without getting any more than a few splashes of bath water on me.  Victory!

While I did have to change my pants three times, my shirt twice, and my bra once... at least she didn't pee on me while getting out of the tub, am I right?

And as for Evie?  She's sleeping happy as a clam, as if nothing ever happened.

It's not even noon and I need a drink.

Miscellany Monday {5}

1.

Eric and I had a good laugh over blogger friend Bethany's post about her husband and skinny jeans.  Eric and Bethany's husband would be two peas in a pod (if we all ever met!).  Engineers who hate well fitting skinny jeans, unite!

2.

Evie was Baptized this weekend along side our nephew and now Godson, Zachary.  Post coming soon!  Eric and I were so filled with joy all day on Saturday.  We equated it with our wedding day, minus the nerves.  God is good!

3.

You hear on sitcoms or in pop culture that marriage is the end of romance.  I disagree, the romance just has a different face.  Today, for instance, Eric emptied the dishwasher before he left for work.  He didn't have to (okay, maybe he did...it is his chore), but it was nice that it was done in the morning so I could fill it during the day instead of waiting to do all the dishes at night.

4.

Evie and I had our first playgroup with a group of women and children from church last week.  It was so great to meet some new faith-filled mamas.  I am looking forward to our future together.

5.

I finished our 2011 photo book in iPhoto a few weeks ago but finally got around to ordering it yesterday.  I can't wait to see it.  I've also started working on a blog2print book of my old blog.  I want to preserve it before it disappears from the Internet like my two college ones did.

6.

We're taking advantage of this easy stage with Evie.  I take her to bible study and occasionally to work. Eric stays home with her on Mondays so I can go to a photography class with my dad, and on Thursdays so I can go to a yoga class.  Eric goes out occasionally after work or on a weekend afternoon.  Our super-busy lives have certainly slowed down a bit with a baby, but they haven't come to a screeching halt.  It's a good transition to having more children (God willing) when sneaking out for fun classes on week nights will become less likely.

What's on your mind today?
 

Resolutions: One step at a time...

I know I am a little behind on the New Year's Resolution bandwagon, 24 days behind to be exact. But, it's taken me this long to decide what my resolution would be.

My life has changed considerably in the last three months.  I went from full-time ministry to part-time seasonal ministry.  I went from being super pregnant to being a mostly stay-at-home-mom.

The day to day picture of my life has changed dramatically.  Every day was an adventure, full of work, prayer, meetings, coffee dates, hormonal teenagers, and happy hour with friends.  The weekends were for sleeping in and getting a weeks worth of chores and TV crammed into a weekend, that is, if I was even home for the weekend.  Most weekends were spent on retreats, celebrating weddings or baptisms, or running races.

Now, my days are filled with laundry, diapers, spit up, pediatrician visits, pumping, washing bottles, pushing a stroller, and if I am lucky, a shower.

I used to save all my laundry for a week or ten days.  I used to save all my cleaning for once every six weeks.  I used to save all my shopping for a day I felt like playing hooky from work.  I used to put the dishes away once every few days.  I used to pile up papers to file once a month, or two.  I used to crash diet instead of lifestyle change.  I used to splurge all my money and panic when there wasn't any left for bills.  I used to procrastinate big projects until I could complete them in one sitting, get bored and never finish them.

When I look back on 2011 one of our biggest accomplishments was paying off our debt and saving 6 months of living expenses incase of emergency. The most important lesson for me in all of that was to take things one step at a time.  One day at a time.  One decision at a time.

So, 2012, I resolve to take you One Step At A Time.

This means...

...putting away the dishes when they're dry
...doing a load of laundry as soon as one is ready
...cleaning a toilet or a sink when I have a quick minute
...running an errand when Evie is sleeping in her carseat and won't know the difference
...filing and dealing with paperwork when it comes in the house (or preventing it from doing so!)
...donating that ill fitting shirt I find in the back of my closet when I put my hands on it
...making healthy food choices at each meal or snack
...sneaking in a long walk or a few sit ups when I think about it
...putting my shoes away when I walk in the house
...keeping a place for everything, and everything in it's place...every time!
...tackling big projects in little steps so I don't get bored

My theme song for this year is obviously Jordin Sparks "One Step at a Time" (you know you secretly love it, too)



Here's to a new me!

Miscellany Monday {4}

1.

A weekend ago we went to our third Ma-ma-ma Monster Jam!  

Thank you Katie for capturing this awesome photo of my husband's moustache on your iPhone :)

2.

Raise your hand if you're cute

Oh good, Evie's got this down!

3.

My Alma Mater played Xavier in basketball on Saturday.  We got ready to head to Taco Mac Prado for the Alumni game watch, but Evie was being fussy and we would have missed almost the entire first half.  Instead, Eric and I went to the new Taco Mac just down the street from us (win!) and had lunch with our crabby girl. At least she's cute, right? We had the lead the entire game, and our rivals didn't throw punches.  It was nice to go out just the three of us. Eric and I needed a good chat, and during half time we got just that.

4.

Mom, will you please stop taking pictures of me? 

(Let's all take a moment to reflect on the fact that I have a child {apparently a blurry one}...what the what?!?! I am still not used to the idea)

5.

My Dad and I are taking a photography class through a community arts center.  We had taken one back in May and learned a lot, but after practicing (and failing, a lot) we wanted to take a longer course that separated the skills into week long lessons.  This week we're learning about Shutter Priority and Aperture Priority.

6.

Evie is starting to drink a full 4-5 oz per sitting these days.  In anticipation of her drinking more than that, I bought these 9oz glass bottles from Life Factory.  They also convert into sippy cups and water bottles as she gets older. Yay!  I might have been a little quick on the purchase, but we had an Amazon credit burning a hole in my pocket. (And we wanted to give them a try before we order the 22oz ones for us! Forget BPA-free, we're going plastic free.)

7.

Did you see this? Gulp. 

 Supposedly the average in February is 29. That's a little more do-able.  Anyway, we're going to Minneapolis for a wedding next month, so I bought some new boots (my feet are still too big for my shoes, I am beginning to fear they are officially a half size bigger. Waaah!), a dress for the wedding (holy flabby belly batman), and lots of snuggly clothes for Evie. As always, a special thank you to my in-laws Macy's discount :)

8.
Saving the best for last....{drum roll}
After a horribly fussy week, Miss Evie slept from 10:30-6:45 this morning, had a bottle and went back to sleep until 10:30 am.  And when she woke up, she pooped TWICE (first time in 5 days, praise Jesus!) and fell back to sleep.  I got so much done today...including this randomly long post!

Five Question Friday {1}

It's been a long time since I've done one of these, in fact, I am not sure I have ever posted one on this blog.  After doing so many Evie posts I thought it would be fun to have a little change of pace...

1. Where do you hide the reeeally good snacks?

Since my child is not of the walking, or even eating solids age, I don't have to hide them.  Eric and I don't keep many snacks in the house anyway.  I do, however, keep a stash at work.  They are on my overhead cabinet.  Unless you're sitting at my desk chair they're hard to reach.  This way any raiding co-workers won't find them if they're perusing for a pen or stapler.

2. Do you keep your vehicle clean or am I the only one who has things falling out of their van?

Yes, my CRV is usually a site to behold.  It's stayed a little cleaner now that I don't do drive-thru very often, but stuff still seems to accumulate in there.  It's hard enough getting a baby and diaper bag out of the car (half the time I forget my phone in the cup holder!), let alone all the crap that seems to multiply in the back.

On more than one occasion I've needed an emergency change of clothes and was able to pull an outfit together out of my trunk. Woof!

I am fairly certain that my parents and in-laws would be appalled if they ever needed a ride with me.  eek!

3. Have you ever been to Vegas?

A family that gambles together stays together, right?  haha.  I have yet to go to Vegas, though it's not for lack of invitation.  My father-in-law had a pretty serious gambling hobby (he's very responsible, don't worry!) that affords him free hotel stays, buffets, drinks, etc.  However, I have just never been able to make it on any of the trips.  I don't have much desire to gamble, but since it has been such a big part of Eric's life, I'd like to go just to have a premise for so many family stories.  Besides, my mother-in-law says the pools and shopping are great! :)

4. Warm room light blankets or cold room warm snuggly blanket?

Oh man.  I like a chilly room with medium blankets?  I would say a cold room with lots of blankets, but I don't like getting out of that warm bed into a cold room.  For-get-it.  I also need to sleep with something heavy on me, so if the room is too warm then I get all hot and nasty. Bleh.

5. What is the worst airplane/flying experience you've ever had?

Can I list three?  They are all for very different reasons.

#3 The time I sat in coffee. And had to air dry my panties in the bathroom.

#2 I was flying to Atlanta to Chicago and just as the plane was about to touchdown, we took off again.  There was still a plane sitting on the landing strip and we almost crashed in to it.  Pretty sure someone in air traffic control lost their job that day.  I have never been more panic stricken in my life.  Holy. Cow.

#1 Flying from London-Heathrow to Minneapolis/St. Paul (layover) I had forgotten to take a second dose Dramamine and we hit some horrible turbulence as I was eating dinner and enjoying my glass of wine.  The food, wine and motion sickness were too much for my tummy to handle.  


I ran to the bathroom, didn't even close the door, and started barfing...for like an hour.  The flight attendant held my hair and brought me cool rags.  They let me stand in the back for a while and someone found me a dose of Dramamine.  Needless to say I was beyond thrilled when the second leg of my flight I was bumped up to First Class and had a fluffy pillow and blanket to sleep with.  


I now take Zofran when I fly (it's what they give cancer patients to combat nausea).




I hope you have a fantastic Friday and a lovely weekend!

Two Month Check Up

On Monday we took Miss Evie for her two month check up.  Our regular pediatrician was out, so we met with the other one.  She wasn't quite as great, but was still helpful with answering our handful of questions.

The nurse came in and asked all the milestone questions, like how is she eating, pooping, sleeping, etc? Does she smile? Hold her head up? Respond to your voice?

And then we measured and weighed her.  She is growing like a champ!

Evie is now 23 inches tall (65%) and weighs 12 lbs 13 oz (86%).  She flip flopped her stats from her one month check up.  Her ratio was more long and lean before.

Then we waited for the doctor.

Once she arrived she checked Evie's eyes, ears, nose, mouth, legs and belly. Everything looked great!  The doctor even commented that Evie looks like a girl.  Apparently it can take a year for a baby to look like their gender.  Who knew?

It was nice to talk to her about how to ween to formula, but then she challenged me to continue pumping, or even trying breast feeding again.  She told me how hard it was for her, too, especially as a full time doctor and mom!

We also went over a few tips for flying (we're going to Minnesota next month), like to have a bottle or pacifier ready for take off and landing to help keep Evie's ears from getting plugged.

Lastly, she prepared us for Evie's shots.  We went over the list and signed our permission for her to be vaccinated.

The doctor left and the nurse returned with the tray full of shots.  Yikes!

Eric held Evie still while the nurse administered the oral vaccine and the three shots.  Evie screamed like I've never heard before upon receiving each shot, but quickly calmed down.  Thank goodness!  We had a bottle ready and fed her until she was sound asleep and tucked in her car seat.

I have had several friends say it's so hard to watch your child receive a shot, but maybe since I don't get weirded out by them (don't get me wrong, I don't like it) it wasn't too hard for me to watch.  It wasn't a blast either.

Over all Evie had a great check up.  We are so thankful for such a healthy baby!

Evie: Two Months

Measurements

Weighs: we find out on Monday

Height: we find out on Monday

Eats: 750ml-950ml a day, about 8-10 feedings total

Diapers: almost graduated from Tiny Fit to regular fit cloth, we use both now. Size 1 in disposables.

Clothes: almost grown out of 0-3 month, and fits perfectly in size 3 month. (she's wearing the same shirt in both of these photos)

Firsts for Evie

Dec 20 - Overnight at Nana and Grandpa's house 

Dec 21 - Social smile, but is still very selective with them!

Dec 25 - Christmas

Dec 29 - Successful nursing

Jan 9-12 - Stuffy nose / watery eyes

Milestones

Dec 16 - Packed up Evie's Newborn clothes. Mommy got a little teary eyed.

Evie and I are slowly getting the hang of nursing and do so probably once or twice every other day.

Sleeps two 4-6 hour stretches at night, and is staying asleep or very relaxed when she eats during the night.

Staying awake for about two hours in the morning, an hour in the afternoon, and then three to five hours in the evening.

Focuses her eyes on people and will follow them.

Can bring her hand to her mouth to suck on it, but only as a hunger sign, not to be soothed.

Cries when she has a wet diaper.

Discovered she has a tongue! She sticks it out and rolls it.  This has replaced rooting as a hunger sign.

Likes/Dislikes

Likes looking at lights and mirrors.

Likes walks in the Ergo Baby.

Likes blowing bubbles with her mouth

Likes snuggling and taking chest naps.

Likes being soothed with the pacifier.

Laying on her playmat and smiling at the little dangling critters.

Dislikes being cold when sleeping.

Dislikes having hats put on, but doesn't mind wearing them.

Dislikes getting in the car seat, but likes riding in the car or stroller.

Dislikes anything over her face.

Other

Evie is still sleeping in the cradle in our room.  She usually wiggles her way to the side and sleeps snuggled up against it. 

She's started to snort when she cries.  It's funny, but it sounds painful.

Evie almost always has her hands in a fist with her thumb tucked in. When she's hungry she'll suck on her hand.  I think she's trying to suck her thumb, but doesn't realize it's tucked in a fist.

She only sucks on the pacifier long enough to be soothed and then she spits it out.  If she spits it often we know she's probably hungry.

Her nails are getting sharp, but aren't ready to be cut yet. This results in lots of scratches on my chest, though thankfully she doesn't scratch her face.

She's taken to pulling on guys chest hair when she's snuggling.

She doesn't sleep on her side much anymore, unless we don't swaddle her.  She also is (finally) turning her head both left and right when she sleeps.  She was strongly favoring her right side until this week.

I am down to 5 pumping sessions a day, producing the same amount of milk as I was pumping 6-8 times a day. This has dramatically increased my free time.

 I am able to freeze 200-400 mL a day. I keep telling myself that every day that I pump means an extra feeding to half a day more of breast milk that Evie will get later.

Eric typically puts Evie to bed. I get up with her at night to feed and pump.  Eric gets up with her while he's getting ready for work.  I get up with her when he leaves or when she wakes up again.

What they say....

She looks just like her daddy!

Such a good baby!

Is she sleeping through the night?

You know the next one is going to be a terror, right?

...that'll all change when you have two.

We are...

Slowly getting into a routine on the days we stay home, with a different one when we're out and about.

Able to sleep a little better even though Evie still squeaks and grunts all night.

Loving that Evie is only up once or twice a night instead of three or four times.

Feeling more like normal humans and less like zombies with each passing day.

New Year's Eve

We'd gone to my parents house for dinner and cards, but around 10pm I hit The Wall.  The mustgotobednow Wall.  We packed little Evie up and headed home.  I literally walked in the door and climbed in bed.  Okay. That's a lie. I took these pictures first.  Eric and Evie stayed up to ring in the new year together.  Eric kissed his tiny sweet heart at midnight and tucked her in bed.  I have a feeling this will be the face of New Year's Eve for a few years to come.  You know what?  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy New Year!

Love,
 

Christmas Day

We had a lovely Christmas morning at my parent's house.  Eric and I some how managed to oversleep...until 11am! thus missing cinnamon rolls and my grandfather dressed up as Santa.  I am so sad (but I loved the extra sleep!).  As tradition has it, we gathered at my parents house in our PJs, had brunch with my grandparents, and then proceeded to open gifts from Santa, my parents and grandparents.  It was great to savor what was probably our last Christmas morning with my parents and siblings.  We'll see what next year holds with all the little ones.

Another lovely table. Don't you love the ornaments from the chandelier? 

The calm before the storm 

 My dad's picture of Connor hugging Santa

Zach and Connor. Precious.

Oh Spike. Lost in the action, huh, buddy? 

Evie had a little too much excitement and spent most of the day snuggled up with me.

Christmas Eve

Sorry this post is so late...It's taken a while to get my new computer set up just right :)

Normally I am the one bursting at the seams to give and open gifts.  I am terrible with secrets.  However, this year, Eric was the one too excited for words to exchange gifts.  Rightfully so.  He gave me a really awesome and generous gift.  It it's 21.5 inches with a pretty little Apple logo.  Puts the barefoot shoes and Notre Dame pullover I gave him to shame.

Anyway...because he was so excited we opened our family gifts on Christmas Eve morning.  We bought Evie two little gifts, a Notre Dame polo and a University of Dayton dress.

Isn't that Erin Condren paper super adorable? (Especially since it was 50% off with free shipping!)

That evening we went to my parents house for our annual Appetizers and Dessert party with all my extended family, including Eric's family.

My cousin Rebecca feeding Evie.

Connor sneaking a cookie. 

My mom's sister, Kim, Mom, Me, my sister, Katie

The reason for the season!

Baby Zachary!  Our soon to be Godson :)

We opened our cousin gifts and then my immediate family exchanged our sibling gifts. 

 Eric got a torpedo keg for putting homebrew in our kegerator.  I got a gift card to Charming Charlies.

After gifts were exchanged, my in-laws stayed at my parents house to watch Evie and Zach while the rest of us went to 9pm Mass.  No more midnight Mass for all these baby mamas.  It was so nice of my in-laws to attend the 4:30 family Mass (without any kids!) so we could go later without our babies.

Did I mention Sam held a baby? Evie was adorable?  Or Spike was mesmerized by the train (or paralyzed by his Santa costume)?