Practice makes perfect...right??!

I'm "practicing" today. For my new job. That starts next Tuesday. That I'm dreading.

I have to be at my new job at 7am. That in itself sucks. But beyond that, I have to get myself up, get my child up, fed, and ready to go by 6:15 am so that I can drop him off at child care (where ever that is, more on that in a minute) at 6:30 and be at work by 7am. What am I thinking??

So, today, I practiced. I set my alarm for 5am, which I didn't need because I'd pretty much been up since 2:30am, got up, got myself ready, and then I had to wake up the poor munchkin at 5:45am to change and feed him. He was hungry, but he wasn't ready to wake up. Since mom came over to help, I didn't have to dress him or put him in his car seat. I just let him go back to bed. See, I've been wishing for him to sleep more at night...and now he finally is (11-12 hours with a feeding or 2 thrown in), and he doesn't get up until 7 or 8am...and NOW, I'm forcing him to wake up early. Poor guy.

Anyway, I was ready on time, I even had time to pump, and I walked out the door yawning at 6:30am. I drove the 10+ miles to my new company, witnessed umpteen million stupid drivers doing idiotic things in this fluke fog we're having (I have NOT missed the Wichita drivers these last 4 months), and arrived at the new place at 6:50am. I guess that will work. But, I wanted to cry the whole way, and today was only practice!! How am I going to leave Lil Major for 3 days a week? And HOW am I going to drag my butt out of bed at 5 am 3 days a week?? I know, I know, a lot of other people have it worse, but I'm still dreading it.

So, now on to the child care situation. I don't remember if I've blogged about my dilemma before, and I'm too tired to go look and link back to it...I haven't exactly figured out child care yet. Yeah, it's a little late in the game. See, my mom has recently decided that she might not mind helping me out with the kiddo while I work (it's not full time, after all). The problem is that a big reason why mom and dad retired and moved out here is so that they can travel...for extended periods...like weeks at a time. Well, that doesn't work so well for me since I work EVERY week. I have a couple friends that have volunteered to help, but their situations have changed lately, so that's not going to work either. So, I called a couple of home-based day cares that were recommended by friends. One of them is full, one of them decided not to do day care anymore, and the 3rd one hasn't called me back yet.

This is where the panic started to kick in, as well as the thoughts of, "God, are you trying to tell me NOT to work?" I called my MIL to see if she could help me out for a few days where I have gaps in the next few weeks (my mom is taking him the rest of the time). Well, she lives a ways away, and she's got a lot going on, so she told me about a lady in their church who does care out of her home. Within about an hour, MIL and I had both talked to her, and it sounds like she has an opening. I'm set to go meet her and see her house later this morning.

But, I'm still freaked out. Even if MIL knows and trusts this lady, I don't. And I will have to drop off my precious son and leave him with her while I'm gone ALL DAY. My chest is tightening up. Ok, I'm panicking a little prematurely. I need to wait and meet her. And all this is coming from the woman who used to swear that she could NEVER be a SAHM, and thought what was the big deal about day care? Yeah, yeah, add this to my list of things to eat.

And now I'm sitting in a coffee shop, all by myself, blogging to you, drinking my yummy caramel latte...and missing my son. Boy oh boy...has life changed. I dont' know how The Colonel is going to let me leave for 10 days with his son...I wouldn't let him do it! =)

Ok, I'm done with my rant, or whatever it was...so, to reward you for reading this far, I'll leave you with some recent pictures of Lil Major.

Here he is in one of my favorite outfits, getting ready to go to church. This was the last time he'll wear this shirt as it is now a midriff-baring shirt...how is he growing so fast??


Yesterday, Lil Major, Papa and I hung out on their deck for a little while, enjoying the cool overcast morning...


But, while we were relaxing, poor Mema was doing this...


And then Papa got distracted by this weird sound, so he and Lil Major went to investigate. The sound was a dying cicada (Angel, remember those??), and Papa and Lil Major decided to torture ME with it. If you look really closely, you might be able to see my Dad holding the dying creature in his hand. Notice that my son doesn't seem the least bit fazed...I, on the other hand, was running towards the house screaming. I'm SO in trouble with having a little boy.

Are you SERIOUS???

That is what goes through my head when I can NOT believe what someone does. When I'm in the car and I get cut off (or, what usually happens when driving around Wichita - someone just stinkin' STOPS in front of me for NO reason), when the cashier opens a new line and takes the person BEHIND me, when the only produce I need is cilantro - and they're all out, or when someone doesn't honor gym etiquette.

Yes, I said GYM ETIQUETTE. You all know what that is, right? Don't stay on the cardio equipment for longer than 20 minutes when someone is waiting, wipe down your machine when you're done, don't take multiple bars in Body Design (so, only Wichita people might get that one), and for heaven's sake, DON'T PUT YOUR STEP RIGHT IN FRONT OF SOMEONE ELSE!!

This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, and it only ever seems to happen to me. I set up my bench, making sure I'm not directly in front of the person behind me. Because, you know, when you're lifting weights, you're supposed to be able to see yourself in the mirror to check your form. AND THEN, someone comes in, LATE, and sets up RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! Not even a couple inches offset, RIGHT smack in front of me. All I can see when I look up during squats is her sweaty butt. Lovely! And then all I can do is stew all through the class. And as I look around the rest of the studio, I see that no one else has done this...it's only happening to me. Why, oh why??

C'mon people, use your tiny brains! I mean, I don't even play golf and I know the etiquette on the golf course - don't walk between someone's ball and the hole on the green, person farthest from the hole shoots first, don't make a bunch of noise as they tee off, don't drive your cart on the green...the least a gym rat can do it practice gym etiquette!

Ok, I'm done for now. I have my glass of red wine, and I'll stop ranting and go read some more blogs. Goodnight!

You didn't know becoming a parent meant...

I got this in my email from babycenter.com today...it's RIGHT ON!

You didn't know becoming a parent meant...

• Stacking today's unread newspaper on top of yesterday's unread newspaper.
• Eating dinner like we're trying to break a world record for the most pasta swallowed in the shortest amount of time. Standing up.
• Letting your partner choose between poop and laundry as a topic of conversation.
• Figuring out how to pee without putting the baby down.
• Wearing a bra that looks like something from a 1930s catalog.
• Spending three hours getting the baby to sleep and then waking her up two minutes later to make sure she's still breathing.
• Forgetting what you were...

Bako Bloggers

My trip west is coming up...I'm so excited!! Of course, I have to make it through 2 weeks at a new job first...and find child care for Lil Major for one of those weeks...but whatever...I'm coming west!

SO, I've been thinking about our Bako Bloggers get-together, and I'm looking for some input.

We'd talked about going to a nice restaurant, but it's always so hard to talk to the person at the very end of the table, and then you go home at the end out the night and realize you never talked to a few people...and you're sad.

What about meeting up at the NW Dewars or at Rusty's or Me N Ed's (I'm choosing all my favorite places, so don't mind me!). That way we can mingle a little better, and all those places are kid friendly in case you want/need to bring little ones (I'll have mine!). It could also be more of a come-and-go in case we can't pin down an exact time.

As far as what date - I was thinking Wednesday, August 20, or Thursday, August 21.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments what date, what place, and idea of what time...can't wait to see you all!

Oh, and I know there are WAY more Bako Bloggers out there who you guys read and who read your stuff...so, invite them all if you want. If I was cool with HTML, I'd make us a cute little button, but I don't get that stuff, so we'll have to spread the word without the button. =)

WARNING - May be controversial!

Are you scared? Are you thinking, "what is this right-wing psycho going to talk about now?" Don't worry - I won't drag out my views that Obama is the anti-christ, nor will I lecture you on the astronomical taxes we pay...I'm going to blog about breastfeeding.

It's one of those topics that I never thought much about before Lil Major came on the scene. I'd thought enough about it to know that I wanted to nurse my kids, but I was known to discreetly sneak out of the room to watch football with the guys when the women started talking about sore nipples and pumping.

Well, now I'm part of the club!

One of the (few) classes that The Colonel and I took in preparation for the arrival of Lil Major was breastfeeding. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to learn all that much in it. I'd read a lot about breastfeeding, my mom and sis had had no issues with it, so I thought I'd follow suit.

Boy, was I wrong! But, before I get into that, let me tell you WHY I am so intent on breastfeeding (and NO, La Leche League is not sponsoring this post).

Here are my reasons for breastfeeding, in order of importance to me:

1. COST (yes, this is my first reason). Do you know how much formula costs??? And my body makes milk FOR FREE!
2. NUTRITION - it's well known that breast milk is the best thing, nutrition wise, for our kids -- we've all heard all the reasons why
3. It seems to be how God intended us to feed our babies
4. It burns 500 calories/day (which made me THINK it would help me lose baby weight...but now I find out that that only works for some people...some people HANG ON TO THAT EXTRA WEIGHT while they're nursing and lose the last 10 pounds once they stop - this appears to be happening to me...STINK!)

Others say they want to nurse to help them bond with their child. This wasn't one of my reasons, and I didn't really understand how that worked anyway...but I do now. And I definitely think it's helped us bond. I LOVE the time I spend with Lil Major, just him and I.

Ok, so that's why I wanted to do it. And I really never even considered I would have a hard time doing it. I was a little nervous about what it would feel like, and if I would experience the soreness that a lot of women talk about, but overall? I thought I would be a pro in no time...I definitely knew that I'd have NO problem producing enough milk.

And then the babe was born, and then I tried to nurse, and then...NOTHING! I knew we were going to have issues when I saw that my b00b was 3 times the size of his little head! He wouldn't latch on. He'd latch on for 3 sucks and that was it...or he wouldn't latch on at all. I stayed calm. I asked for the lactation consultant to visit us. I insisted that we WAIT to supplement.

The consultant came by, and she commended me for staying so patient. She worked with me (all the while holding my b00b in her hand - that was weird at first) for the 3 days we were in the hospital, and we weren't really getting anywhere. I was starting to freak out a bit. The pediatrician insisted that we supplement because my milk hadn't come in yet, so pumping wouldn't help, and Lil Major had jaundice and a low temperature.

We started out by cup feeding him formula. We didn't want to introduce a bottle yet. At the same time, the Lactation Consultant gave me a nipple shield to try. I'd never seen or heard of one before, but it basically puts a layer of silicone over your nipple. In my case, it helped the kiddo latch on...for others, it puts a barrier between you and the baby and helps with the soreness.

We tried the shield in the hospital, and even that wasn't working, so we were sent home with the shield, the cup, and formula. And I talked on the phone to the consultant several times. The first night we were home, we gave him formula. I was starting to get frustrated now. The formula stunk (literally!), I was starting to see dollar signs, and I was afraid the kiddo was starving. Then The Colonel remembered the shield...and he told me to try it again. What do you know?? It worked!! I gave a full feeding to my son...from my own body!! From then on, and to this day, he's had nothing but breast milk.

And guess what?? I STILL have to use that silly shield. It's awkward and difficult to use in public (I need at least one more hand), but I don't care. I'm feeding my son the way I wanted to from the beginning. The consultant told me that eventually Lil Major would not want the shield anymore...well, that hasn't happened, and although I occasionally work with him to try to get him to nurse without it, I have to admit I don't push it.

SO, the reason for my post, and the potentially controversial statement I'm about to make is this:

Almost ANYONE can nurse their baby if they choose to.

I know there are a few exceptions, and that's why I say ALMOST ANYONE. If you don't get your milk or you have medical issues, then it probably won't work for you. BUT, pretty much any other reason? Try it, don't give up, ask for help, don't be scared!

My girlfriend just had her third baby, and while I was visiting her in the hospital she mentioned that her nipples were shredded. I asked her if she'd seen the lactation consultant (she was at the same hospital I had been at), and she said no. I don't know why the nurses don't push that more...they're there to help and they're FREE! Yes, FREE!

There are so many tools and resources out there if you really want to breastfeed. That's one of the things I learned in the class that we took, and now I've learned it from experience, too.

If you decide to try it, don't give up after the first day or week or even month. I'm SO glad that I didn't...and I'm already dreading the day when Lil Major doesn't want to nurse anymore...it's our special time together, and I love it!


I'm kinda scared to see who ends up at this post from a google search...what with all the choice words that I use!

Baby Phase

I have a few friends who have said they don't love the baby phase. They love their kids, but they enjoy them more once they're bigger and can do more.

I was starting to think I fell into this category myself. When Lil Major was fussy all the time and waking up at all hours of the night, I was tired and frustrated and I thought I'd enjoy him more if he was bigger.



I CHANGED MY MIND!

I can not believe how much I love this little boy. I can't stop kissing and hugging and loving and ABSORBING him. (Again, more things I never thought I'd get into). Granted, he's sleeping through the night better, I can usually tell why he's fussing and do something to fix it, and he just gets cuter every day. All that helps.





But, I'm LOVING the baby phase. He's more fun now than a couple months ago...he laughs and smiles and reaches and makes the cutest slurping noises as he sucks on his fist or fingers or whatever is close by. He's getting that baby pudgy look to him, and even though it's beginning to be a daily occurrence of him pooping all over me, him and the couch...I still love him more and more every minute of every day.




His daddy told him the other night, "Lil Major - we love you more than you love us." Oh, how sweet to hear my macho hubby tell our son that he loves him.

I'm SO dreading starting my job in 2 weeks. How will I ever survive 8 hours away from him???

14 weeks!

Little Major is 14 weeks old already! And he's growing so fast. He started a wonderful habit not too long ago -- SLEEPING! He sleeps about 10-12 hours at night now. He may wake up a couple times because he flipped over to his back from his tummy and he can't get back. And I usually wake him up before I go to bed to feed him, and then he returns the favor by waking me up between 5 and 6am to eat again. But, the total is about 11 hours. Woo-eee! I'm loving it. But, he also insists on napping after every feeding. I know I've complained about not getting anything done around the house before, and now that he's sleeping so much, I can get stuff done...but I miss him while he's sleeping. Am I a freak or what?? This little boy has totally wormed his way into my heart, and I go through withdrawls after only an hour...how am I ever going to go back to work??

He's obviously found his way into his Daddy's heart because The Colonel is already working on Lil Major's first train set...



I realized I hadn't taken any pictures in a few days, so while the kiddo was playing on his mat this afternoon, I started snapping away...


Hi Lucy...


Ok, Mom, enough pictures already.


I told you, Mom, enough!!


Here he is watching the all too enthralling Baby Einstein in his bumbo seat.

Job Update

I prayed for clear direction on what job to take, if any. And wouldn't you know it? God answered!

I did NOT get the university job (the one that was my dream job), but I was offered part time contract work at the company that had offered me full time back in February.

And my work, who said I was supposed to have returned to work last Monday, said they would consider part time ontract work for me, too.

So, I QUIT my full time job at the place that I loathed so much anyway. Man, did that feel good!! I went in on Friday to clean out my desk (I was surprised that 2 years only netted me 1 1/2 boxes of junk -- but then I remembered I cleaned it all out back in January with the layoff scare) and to have lunch with some of the awesome people I worked with (my co-workers weren't the problem). My boss pulled me aside and said that part time probably wouldn't work out after all. I wasn't exactly disappointed, I just wanted to have a back up plan in place.

I'm not thrilled about working at all, but I am excited about a new opportunity with a company that actually has room for growth. I'll only be working 3 days a week, so I'll have 4 day weekends every weekend (who can complain about that??) and hopefully lots of time to spend with my precious boy.

Supporting our Troops

Several months ago, a good friend of mine sent me the link to a blog that she thought I'd enjoy. She was right! It's written by a woman who is deployed in Iraq. She is a public affairs officer, and she tells the most amazing stories. She shows what is REALLY happening in Iraq, things that our liberal media often tries to ignore (just a little bit of a political statement, and then we'll go back to pics of Lil Major, I promise). She shows the POSTIVE effect that the military is having on business, families, the safety of the Iraqis...things that our media wants us to believe are false are really happening, and it's this woman's job to document it.

Anyway, I don't think it's any secret that we support our troops who are serving, selflessly, overseas. But, this blog gives EVERYONE reason to at least support our fellow citizens, if not the war itself. So, click over and check out
Journey to Iraq.

More Lil Major Love

Something amazing arrived in the mail this week. Terri sent Lil Major this gorgeous quilt. She claims that it's only the second baby quilt she's made, but I think it's perfect. I LOVE it! And so does the bambino. And to think that I wouldn't even have "met" Terri if it wasn't for blogging.

Friend - thank you so much for loving my son!

Favor?

I'm a planner. Big time. I even TRIED to plan when a little one would arrive in our house -- but God took care of that one.

Anyway, I've already started planning out my trip west in a few weeks. There are lists in my head of all the things I need to take, and I've already started plotting how to navigate the airport. And luckily, my parents are driving out, so I can send some things on with them ahead of time (since the stinkin' airline will charge me for my second bag now!).

BUT, I still need to figure out the car seat thing. So, I'm asking...does anyone out there in Bako land have an extra Chicco car seat base that they won't be needing for a few days in mid-August? I'll only need it for the week I'm in Bako (mom and dad are taking one for me while we're together in L.A.).

Thanks for your help! =)

4th of July Highlights

I'm a bit late with this, but oh well...so goes the days of a new mother.

We spent the weekend of the 4th in Dewey, OK, at The Colonel's family reunion. Once we finally got there on Friday afternoon (just in time for lunch, thank goodness!), we had a great time. The drive down was a little frustrating with a screaming 3 month old, and NO towns to stop at to rest of grab a snack. We ended up on some farmer's dirt road so that I could feed the boy. Luckily things only got better.

Here are my highlights:

1. The first injury of the weekend belonged to NOT one of the bazillion kids running around, but to The Colonel. After only 3 hours at the reunion, my hubby was crouched down on the ground with a dislocated shoulder! It's an old injury that crops up every few years...or every time the almost 39-year old goes up for a lay-up. He yelled for his EMT dad instead of me, but I saw the commotion and ran over there. MIL said I was almost as white and pale as he was. The good news is that once he stood up, it went back into place, and we took that time to go check into the motel and rest for a bit.

2. There were many many more injuries over the weekend, and we are only lucky that The Colonel wasn't injured again because it wasn't long before he was playing BBall again (with his right arm, he told me). Many of the kids left with more bumps and bruises than they came with, too. You KNOW Ellie is hurt when she actually cries, and I think that happened 4 times! Crazy kids.

3. Before all the injuries happened, The Colonel got his first introduction to Wii...and I'm proud to say that I kicked his butt at golf until I had to stop to feed the baby.




4. Jayme, Crystal and I worked on a video slideshow of Gary and Kim for their funeral. Unfortunately, most of the family didn't get to see it because they showed it before we all got in there. We took time to watch the video as a family and to pray for continued healing for all of us.

5. We also had a rowdy game of Catchphrase. There are a few new family jokes from that game! It was a lot of fun.

6. After some family singing on Friday night, a lot of people headed off to watch the town's fireworks shows. But, the old fogies/new parents (that would be The Colonel and I) headed back to the motel instead. And we were rewarded with a boy who slept through the ENTIRE night without waking up. 8.5 hours! Woo hoo!! (Too bad we haven't been able to replicate that - but, we're still working on it)

7. The next morning, after a yummy pancake breakfast, we had the all-popular auction. Unfortunately, Uncle John, our pro auctioneer (for real!) and Laura's dad, couldn't be there, but we had a great time anyway. The Colonel's art project sold for high dollar, as usual, and I stocked up on some gifts and some fun items.



8. After the auction was the kids' pinata. Another annual tradition. The kids line up from smallest to biggest (Lil Major included) and take whacks at the pinata until candy and toys fall from the sky.



Our drive home was painful again, but we chose another route that took us through more towns. I just pray that this kiddo starts liking his car seat better VERY SOON!

Hope you all had a great 4th. We sure did (injuries excluded!)!

In Honor of Kim

You all know that Kim was bringing Lil Major some very special gifts...and they didn't quite make it. We found a lot of the things that she had made and was bringing, but they weren't in very good condition. Her mom went shopping and replaced some of the store bought items, but the hand made things were another story.

The Colonel thought that the trek through the wheat field made the onesies look kinda cool, but I'd rather save them and not have the kiddo wear them.



But, we loved Kim's idea. She took some of the most important parts of The Colonel's history -- things are STILL so important to him -- and she made some clothes so that we could introduce Lil Major to the same things. So, I asked my super creative and amazingly talented friend Davi to recreate them in her style. And they turned out SOOOOOO AWESOME!!




Davi is working on this as a new business venture, and I know that it will be wildly successful. Check out some of her other work.

Davi - these shirts mean so much to me, and my little guy looks SO cute in them. Thank you thank you thank you for honoring Kim this way.

Tagged!

Rach tagged me for this meme a while back, so I thought I should pay up...here ya go!

What were you doing 10 years ago?
1 Living in NorCal, wishing I was back in Bako
2 Renting a house with my best friend
3 Cruising around in my ultra-cool, brand new T-Top Camaro

What is on your to-do list today?
1 Finish unpacking from our weekend in OK
2 Get the boy in bed around 9pm
3 Work out at the Y
4 Read the Sunday paper

What are some snacks you enjoy?
1 Um, what snacks DON'T I enjoy??
2 Cheese
3 Fruit

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Pay off all my debt, all our parent's debt, all our siblings debt, get a cool house, cool car, set up college funds for all our nieces/nephews, give to our favorite organizations, and travel the world.

Your bad habits?
1 Eating when I'm bored
2 Driving too fast
3 Nitpicking at my hubby

5 Jobs you've had?
1 Law firm clerk
2 Student supervisor in university bookstore
3 Project Engineer
4 Production Supervisor
5 Albertson's courtesy clerk

What is currently playing on your iPod?
Nothing...it's just sitting on the counter...I rarely use it - yes, I know that's bad.

What are the last 5 books you've read or have been reading?
1 What to Expect the First Year
2 Baby Wise
3 Gatecrasher by Sophie Kinsella (but she uses her real name and i can't remember it right now)
4 San Francisco by Kristin Billerbeck
5 That's it for now--the boy has really slowed down my reading!!

Calling all Bako bloggers!

Hey, all you Bako bloggers (and commenters) out there!

How about a Bako Bloggers Bash the week of August 18? I'll be out your way for a whole week (I'm SO excited), and I think it would be so fun to meet up and see each other face to face instead of through keyboards and pictures. Anyone up for that?

We could meet at one of the famous Bako spots (that I dearly miss) and just hang out for a bit. See if we can chat as well in person as we can over the computer.

Domestic Goddess?

Not quite. But, maybe some domestication is creeping into my blood. As I sit here writing this post, there's a roast in the crock pot, patriotic cupcakes cooling on the counter, fresh cut watermelon in the fridge, and the boy should wake up anytime for his next feeding.

Whew! What happened to me??

I'm pretty sure (99.9% sure) that this will not happen every day, but it feels good to know that occasionally I can pull it all together. I've even been to the gym and had a shower this morning.

Part of it has to be that Lil Major is sleeping better now. The last 2 nights have been much better. I finally gave in and let him sleep on his tummy (another thing I swore I'd never do before I had a kid of my own). The kiddo is so strong and can hold his head up like nothing else, AND he sleeps great on his tummy. He woke up a couple times last night crying because he'd scooted himself into the corner of his crib and couldn't back up. He only wanted to eat once during the night, and all of us slept MUCH BETTER. Woo hoo! A breakthrough!

He's also started this super cute habit of chewing on his thumb...not sure yet if it will turn into sucking his thumb, but it sure it CUTE!