Battle of wills.

Mommy and baby had a epic war last night. What it was about was bedtime. It was a battle of wills. A battle of patience. A battle of mom vs baby. Who would outlast the other? Well it was me, but he didn't go without a massive fight.

It began like any normal night. He has been sleeping throughout the night and refuses to sleep in the morning anymore. There goes my morning exercise sesh with Jillian and Xbox. But, he ate his cereal and it was time for zzzz's. I thought he would sleep all night and I thought he would go to bed easily.bah!  We were watching Peppa pig and little man out of no where started screaming. What?! I was struck with worry of course and rushed him to his room for Oragel and hope it would work. Now remember we just got over bronculitis and ear infections. The gel did nothing, so I had to use Tylenol. He still was screaming. After walking him around the room, I sat down and gave him a bottle. He took a few sips and threw it. We went from a pain cry to a full on temper tantrum that would make any two year old envious. He wouldn't stop, and I tried to comfort and while I am not a "cry it out" parent; I had to put him in his crib and walk away. I was lost. And he wouldn't stop. 

I went into my room and watch tv while he cried, checking on him every 10 mins. He wouldn't stop and it was out of control. I went into his room again and picked him up. I tried to soothe him,but he was just so upset for being upset; I don't even think he realized I was holding him. 

I walked around the room and finally he fell asleep. After flailing around like a fish out of water, throwing himself, scratching mama, and screaming he fell asleep in my arms. I felt horrible. 

And hope tonight will be better. Wish us luck. We need it.

Sunday the lazy day and Monday the full of regret day.

Yesterday, was a great day. Although I got nothing done around the house. Really I didn't and have realized that my dryer is getting worse.  I have to dry it 3 to 4 times to get things dry,which is horrible for clothes. I hate this, and right now I can not afford to get a new one. I may have to start drying laundry or doing my laundry at my mother and father's house again. Joy. Why do things have to be so darn expensive? I did get my walk/jog in and hubby went with me! The boy wasn't too happy yesterday and gave himself a nice black eye. He tried to pull up on something and didn't judge distance well. 

Poor little guy. He also did not want to nap. So last night's bed time was not an epic battle but rather a quick and painless adventure. He went right to bed. THANK GOD! We needed an easy night and we got it!

Today he didn't fight me over breakfast and has been on heck of a happy boy! We are watching Peppa Pig, again! I wouldn't have it any other way. What do I plan on doing today? Vaccuming and cleaning. Basically everything I meant to do yesterday. JOY!

As I started to clean things I started thinking about black Friday and if the Samsung tablets or iPads will be on sale. Why? BECAUSE I HATE MY ASUS! It is the most god aweful piece of baby poop ever! It is glitchy and buggy. It freezes when something updates and is slower than molasses in winter. I had to turn auto-updates off because it is horrible. When I contacted Asus, they said at YOUR cost send in YOUR machine and we will look at it. But, do not send in the box and they couldn't even register the serial number. 

I got this amazing tablet(sarcasm) from Best Buy and really after having it for 2 months it decided to take a dump. I didn't take it back because someone told me that Best Buy wouldn't take it back.Someone who shall be nameless is wrong, they would have. ARGH! I found that out after I bought Ghosts. YAY and 1 year too late. All I can say is never again! Not only do their laptops die after 2 years their tablets only last 3 months I guess. At least Apple has a genius bar to take the thing too and Microsoft will send a box for you to ship the thing to them. Oh and Asus tech support is never around! I am going to look at the Black Friday deals and see if it is worth it to venture out and get one. I hate going out on black Friday, I either get injured by other evil shoppers or thrown out of a car. It seems to bring out the worst in people around here. I end up being abused. I got cussed out by a little old lady because I was "in her way", this was when she hit me with her cart at Target and I got a sprained ankle. WOW.  That is one of the reasons I stay home an decorate for Christmas. It is safer, my roof is safer. My Christmas tree is safer and in no way will Bing Crosby jump out of my radio and strangle me over an ELMO doll. 

Only 43 days and 13 hours until Christmas. Get ready people. Rant over.

MY stance on CIO (crying it out)

Last night when I was getting little man aka baby bear ready for bed, things were going great. I was getting him relaxed for bed. You know the routine; brush his two teethies, change him into night night gear, and give him his bottle. We usually watch a children's movie, during Halloween time it was Charlie Brown Halloween. Last night we watched the original movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory" with Gene Wilder.It was great to watch and soon he was sleeping soundly. Normally transitioning him into his bed is not a problem. But, here lately it has been a nightmare. This is partly due to his separation anxiety and his teething. Put all of that with his getting a shot and you get fun times.

He was sleeping until he hit the mattress in his crib then it was scream city. It became a Roman collusium battle, he was the lion and I was the gladiator. I was loosing. He wanted me to stand with him, I didn't want to stand with him. I would try to get him to calm down in my arms and he would force himself into a pretzel. I would tell him, "OK,I am putting you down. You are being mean to mommy and pulling my hair and I do not want to drop my little man." I would gently place his screaming and wiggly body into his crib. This would make it worse. I tried to let him self soothe and left the room.

I went into my bedroom and heard the screaming. It was loud and horrible and I felt like a horrible mom. I felt like I was being short with him but I wasn't. I just didn't know what to do. I was lost. He was throwing a temper tantrum that would put toddlers to shame. Or so I thought. I thought maybe he wants the rest of his bottle after all, this was something he kept refusing in his room during the epic battle. I couldn't do it, I couldn't just let him cry it out. I felt wrong about it. And after an hour of this battle going on, I had to do something.
I went into the baby's nursery where he was screaming and not knowing what to do. I picked my baby up and held him close. He was trying to breath at this point and he still has issues with breathing now and then since his birth. This is something the pediatrician said will continue to get better, and it has.I took him back into our bedroom, turned Willy Wonka back on and finally he took his bottle. The tears were still running down baby bear's face. But a smile broke out and a relaxed breath after. He was happy and falling back asleep, only this time it was a sleep that lasted all night. He was able to be put in his crib, and he slept all night.
I am not sure if I am cut out for CIO, right now I do not feel it is good. For either of us, right now it isn't for me. Some women would say I am enabling the behavior, but I know plenty of  mamas that do not CIO and their children are happy and healthy. I do not think it is healthy to let a baby scream like that. At least for me and for him. It breaks my heart and it hurts him. Crying a bit before sleep is one thing but this, is another. I do not discredit those who do CIO, if you do and it works that is awesome.
I do not feel I am CIO mom, I can not do it. Or at least can not for right now.

What are your thoughts on CIO(crying it out)?How long do you let them cry or scream? Do you only do CIO for naps and not bedtime?  I can understand why so many moms do it, and I can totally understand those who don't.

Oh no,a clingy baby and you.

The other night, Halloween night to be exact was fun of fun and mayhem. It was also full of one baby who was as my sister put it needed baby xanax. He is going through the clingy faze. It was really aparent when I try to put him down for a nap and wakes up. Wakes up because he is done sleeping is one thing, waking up because mommy is not there is another. Believe me, I love him and when he needs me I feel all melty. But, when he doesn't; like when his aunt is holding him, he is a gremlin. A feisty gremlin. He is not hurting and he certainly is not in danger, but he wants his mommy. Flattering and annoying at the same time. It is also embarrassing, because he is crying at everyone. If I am not around he is OK, but, the minute I walk into view or he hears me, WATCH OUT!

He is going through a phase, I know. He will grow out of it and then not want me at all. So, I kind of take advantage of this not so interesting phase. Soon he wont want mommy. This whole needing mommy clingy phase makes it hard to put him down to play. Mainly you can not tell if he is genuinely wanting to play and just be or he wants to play but mommy better be there in reach.  He can be playing and forget I am there and thusly I get some eBay stuff done, but heavens help me if I cough or sneeze. Then it is waaaaaaahhhhhhsville. I love this little boy but, come on toys are more exciting than me. Even if our "where is baby" games are of legend, his neat noisy toys are fun! So what am I going to do about this? Let him grow out of it and let people I trust watch him. Even if it is only for an hour, at least I will get mommy time.

By the way did you know books are for eating? My son thinks so. #Lesson learned.

Oh great pumpkin I burnt the cookies!

Ever do something that you just feel you shouldn't? Either because of "mom brain" or over exhaustion, you say;put something in the oven when you shouldn't. And before you all think baby wait a second. It is a batch of cookies. My quick cooking "PMS" cookies to be exact. I went to foolishly take a shower. You can imagine what happened, my hubby found some really crispy cookies.

Why was I so dense? No sleep. My little man caught his daddy's cold. He was up and down all night. Now while my husband and I do not co sleep with him;we do make exceptions. For instance when he is not doing well. And with my heart condition it is worse with no sleep. So for circumstances like a bad cold, he can sleep with us. He slept well and we could snuggle him when he needed it. Around 5:30am we just stayed up.

It was a great time trying to use that torturous sucker. You know the one. That bulbous sucker you shove up his little nose. Suck out the snot and done. Easy, right? Hell no!!! He hates that thing! It is like we are trying to take his brains. Which we aren't, but he doesn't act like he knows that.
I mean he is only 7 months.

My little Great Pumpkin watching, Peppa Pig loving, and  my baby bear is now 7 months. How amazing. He made a milestone today too, he is now officially a crawler!!! Cats beware, he is even more mobile. I love it and can't wait for more!

Being a mom means.....

I find myself loosing track of things. Like if I emptied the trash or if I ate that morning.  I have little time. Who would have thought having a baby would have so much impact on time. Between him and trying to get my ebay store up and running, I am lucky to get a hot cup of  coffee. Tia and Tamara say it all "I'm lucky if I get a bath or take a shower. I'm lucky to have on clean underwear".

Yeah. You know you have no time when you're washing your hair in the bathroom sink and haven't shaved in days! I tried to read while my baby boy watched Peppa pig. Nope. He is trying to crawl and is rolling all over the living room. He is mobile. Oh my God he is mobile. His naps are sporadic and not long. Being a mom means chasing baby and juggling the world.

I spend my afternoon lost in a game of peek a boo and get da baby.  But that is ok, I wouldn't change it for the world.  There is so much love for this little man.
Even when he "fits".

I try to keep the house clean as I am ocd about it. I see how women just stop caring about themselves and focus on everyone else. They feel there is no time even to get dressed, let alone do hair and makeup.  I find my hair is up all the time. A. Because of mr grabbyhands and B. I just am too spastic to flat iron it.
I do put makeup on or try to at least. Obe day I had only one eye done. It's ok no one saw. I do get dressed right when I wake up so at least I got that done. But, I do totally get why so women just give up and why so many get defensive.  I would be defensive too.
So what am I going to do? I am going to try to make more time. Hence the word TRY.  Wish me luck!

Pandora and the rockabye baby station.

Tired of the little lullabies that have to listen to? You know what it is, that cutsey stuff that is bearable for a short while? I have found a GREAT Pandora radio station! It is Rockabye baby, and it plays rock and other non-traditional music for babies. Like Aerosmith and Metalica. Yes, you read it right,Metalica. Only they use strings, piano, and cutesy versions of the songs. It also plays Journey and Katy Perry as lullabies. Don't believe me? Get on Pandora and check it out! 

This station makes the baby music more appealing for those of us who get tired of "It's a small world" and other songs. And yes, I know it is for the baby and not me or my husband, but we need to be able to sit through it too. This station provides a balance between mommy and daddy's music with baby's music. It isn't a bad thing, balance is good. 

With this I must say my little guy loves it, he falls right asleep. Or, he just listens to it while we play. Check it out. 

Finally a crib bumper

I finally got the crib bumper for the crib. I feel like a slacker.
I swear every other mom probably had their child's crib all set up with crib bumper in place. Me on the other hand had to wait. My son's nursery is just about done and I am so proud of myself!  This Lion king theme is just awesome!

He was asleep, and now he isn't, is he?

Sleep is a beautiful thing. It is magical and awe inspiring, at least for parents of a baby that was sleeping and now isn't. Oh little guy why wont you sleep? I thought I had him on a schedule of some sort. I followed the guidelines my pediatrician gave me. And one day it worked the next not so much!

He would go whole night of sleep for several days in a row, then all of a sudden no sleep or very little. But, last night I may have discovered a link to him being up. A. When I got home from work I would cuddle with my boy and he would sleep. B. I would give him his bottle of the evening too early. C. He was gassy and finally D. He is starting to teeth.

Cuddling for me is a stress reliever when I get home. I miss that little giggly baby boy and all I want to do is hug,kiss, and never let go of him. Well, that is all fine and dandy, but, he would ultimately fall asleep. Big problem there, because that is a factor in my no sleep and my not sleeping kid. So, while I do hug and love on him I do not let him sleep when it is 6:30pm. It helps. Especially when he had a nap 2 hours prior. So, we play more sure,tummy time and him with his gym.

Bottle time. My goodness, who would have thought this would be a factor? But it is. I would get home and see he is making some sign of hunger and try to shove a bottle at him.I started to wonder why he would only eat 2 to 3 ounces. Still being on breast feeding 2 hour regiment I got myself used to it and the boy. But formula fed babies can actually go longer in between feedings. It takes more time for the formula to digest, and my son has gone 3 to 4 hours in between feedings on formula. So, I make sure of his last bottle and wait. Sure enough he went through the night by letting him go a few hours between eating. He didn't wake up wanting a bottle at 2 am. Of course ask your pediatrician about feeding, mine said formula fed babies can actually go 4 to 5 hours before a bottle. And of course there are exceptions, thanks growth spurts.

Gas! Oh my God, the gas!!!! My little man had trouble at night due to gas. We found out part of the issue was the formula. He was on Similac Advance which is a great formula, however, we had to switch him to the Similac for gas and fussiness. It is the orange container, and is a soy based formula. He loves that stuff and never pushes a bottle away anymore. I'll touch more on the formula woes later.

Teething. I'll be honest that part scares me. My nieces were just fabulous when teething. I recall the drool, everything is chewable, and the beautiful tube of ora gel. I know teething well, but I didn't realize it would start now. The things I learn, and teething can start at 2 months! And little guy has the beginning of teething, I know, I have the puddles of drool to prove it. As well as my little guy has his hands in his mouth a lot! Nom nom nom, hands, nom nom.

Last night we got a whole night of sleep by sticking to our schedule. It was glorious. My husband got up on time, I had energy as did he, and baby was in a great mood(yesterday he was Oscar the Grouch). We were not the zombie parents today,nope! We were well functioning parents who had coffee, coffee we could enjoy, and not for fuel consumption. This whole sleep thing, I could get used to. How are you dealing with sleep now?

Nothing beats a mama's love.

Today was my little guy's 2 month follow up. It was the usual appointment, weight the baby, measure the baby,measure the baby's noggin, and go over the necessary stuff. All was good in the land of baby, until the baby's day was ruined. Ruined by a series of needle pricks for vaccines. Something necessary and yet, it is still heart breaking to watch the baby go from oblivious giggles and cooing to gut retching squeals. I was at work when this happened, so I didn't see him squeal or bleed.

It still breaks my heart and I wish I was there. My husband does a great job, well he is an amazing dad, but there is just something about a mom's presence that makes it all better. From a simple touch to a soft spoken it's alright, moms just can make an upset child alright again. I truly believe we have 6th sense or ability for nurturing. Still, I was not there today, and it is ok I am making up for it now. But, I wish I had been there to hold him and say those magic words, "mama's here,it's ok".
Right now I have my little guy in my arms, he has been attached since we picked him up. He started to fuss so I kissed his little tennis ball head, put a blanket on, and am now holding him humming the Lord of The Rings theme. And, right now, besides baby Tylenol, it is exactly what my little guy needs.

Me vs cradle cap!

Cradle cap or seborrheic dermatitis appears as scaly patches on the scalp. And my little booger has that as do many other babies.
It looks like little off colored dried up patches of skin. Let me be the one to say what a pain for me and the little sir to go through this. Not that he minds having his little tennis ball head brushed. He loves that part. But the daily washing he hates! He hates it too when those flakes of skin land on his cute little face. It's a pain for me because I feel like my efforts are falling short.
To get rid of the cradle cap you have to wash the baby's hair daily with baby shampoo and then brush out the flakes. I have also been using baby oil to help. Some parents gave been known to use petroleum jelly. This fun little  part of being a baby usually goes away on its own within a few months. But if not you may have to get special shampoo.  Fun times right?
Oh and did you know cradle cap can be found on the face and diaper area? When it gets to other areas that is when it is just know as seborrheic dermatitis.  Mainly because it occurs where the greatest number of oil glands. Fun, fun. 

It isn't contagious and baby doesn't itch. I guess just got to give it time and treatment.  Oh to be 1month old.

Wahm, a dream

It's 6:30am I just finished a cup of coffee while, feeding the pets, making lunches, getting a bottle ready, and fixing the diaper bag. All this to hurry up and get the little guy ready for his day at grandma's house and my day at work. All this rushing so I can spend a collective 40 mins with him before work. I should tell you it breaks my heart and I feel bad that it isn't me with him all day. I am told it gets easier and yeah while it is getting a bit easier there is that pit in my stomach and feeling of guilt.
So what to do? I am trying to find a way to be a work at home mom or WAHM. I want to be able to keep an eye little guy while still bringing in an income. While I try to find something it is also hard to tell what's a scam and what's not. I found a great site www.wahm.com that has some opportunitiesand maybe there will be something there.  I will keep looking for something.  I can have it all right?

A battle royale, the fight for sleep.

I have the most epic nights, sleepless, filled with chatter in the baby monitor. Partly my fault, the other his.This battle for a sleep schedule is driving me slowly to the brink of sleep deprived insanity.  My son slept for a few days all night, several days in a row! It was great! I got much needed sleep and so did my hubby. All was good in the house, but I was still home. I could still make his schedule and even if he was up all night it was ok. I could be with him and attempt to slept during his nap. But, I am back at work, trying to get him to bed at the times I had was not and is not easy. I can no longer just tough it out, I need some sleep. And I should be trying to keep him up but all I want is too hold him. No matter what time of day, thanks baby withdrawal.

Now, he did sleep one night all night, but I was still up. I would zombie my way into his room at the smallest peep. I would see he is asleep and go back to bed, but alas I would be back up and out of bed. That is my fault.

And here I sit baby in lap, trying to keep him up so I can get him on a schedule. Is it working? NO. He is sleeping and not wanting to be up. Truly a great fight and I am loosing it.

I typed that up last night, after a bath(which he peed in) and bottle i got him down. But it was a small victory he didn't sleep long. I'm sure it will even out but right now it is tough.

Impitgo ick

It started one day out of no where, my son's ear was full of weird crusty fun and wet ooze. I kept it clean but still it was bad. I didn't know what it was and took him to his pediatrician.  It was impetigo a nasty infection. Nasty to look at and annoying for my little guy. It is a infection common for children who are of preschool age and older. Not really common for an infant. But leave it to my boy to get it.
It started with a scratch and the infection got in and went nuts. A week of augmenton and lots of washing the ear, clothes, and anything my little guy touched.  When I thought it was gone BAM! It came back with a vengeance and in both ears.
My poor little guy was stuck in gloves for weeks and I never thought this would happen. As a new parent I felt lost, helpless,  and like the worst mama ever.  The pediatrician ordered a culture to see if it was staph which it was.  He ordered more augmenton and topical drops,it is finally gone.
Impetigo has 2 forms, small little bumps and oozy weeping funk that looks like brown sugar or Non bollous. The second is bigger welts that may not and ooz ,bollous impetigo. Sorry for the description. My boy had the first and the infection is a form of strep or staph. Both need medications and the severity will affect the treatment.  Topical or oral meds, or both. And it is INFECTIOUS, so keep other kids away from baby.

Lotus bags and Elimination Communication

Lotus birth movement.

Last night I was visiting with a dear friend when out of no where and a glass of wine, we got onto the subject of the lotus. Not the flower but the movement, yup. Some how I just blurted out have you heard of it, to which I got the head nod of yes.

I came to know of it when I was browsing around on etsy for baby gear. I saw this bag called a Lotus placenta bag. It had a brief description and thus curiosity struck my at the time 4 month pregger self. So I did what anyone would do, I Googled it. A patheon of info came along and I was knee deep in reading what it was and why. There was also a heated discussion about it on babycenter's birthboards.

What it is is where the baby stays connected to the placenta and umbylical cord. The baby stays attatched until it shrivels, dries up, and falls off. It is kept in a bowl with some special stuff and you take it with baby by ways of the Lotus bag or Lotus birth bag.
It is said to be the more natural way of doing things.
My question is why? How is it to have a baby with all that still attached? Mamas who are doing the lotus or have ,please chime in!

Hipster parents and Elimination Communication.

Yes people you heard right, rather read right.It means No diapers. There is a new hipster movement going on and no it isn't from the teens. It is from hipster parents, they basically are wanting a more green way of life, by means of no diapers. That means baby goes on him or herself or they get them to a toilet. To read more about check it out here huffingtonpost

Not sure why it such a big trend in SoHo but there you have it, me personally, I will put my little guy in a Pamper every day of the week. What are your thoughts?

Bumper guards: Mesh or padded?

We just got little guy into his crib not too long ago, and are getting his room done. One thing on my mind is the crib liner,bumper guard, padding, whatever. Should I get the mesh or go ahead with the cute plush one in a print?

Many mom's are switching to the mesh liners I know, and with good reason. As the mesh there is less likely a chance of suffication and may offer more piece of mind. But, will it really make that much difference? Is it really better and is it going to help soften the blow of a head bonk to the crib rails? The literature on the mesh liner says will reduce the chance of entanglement and suffocation, and colapses when baby climbs on it. It looks like just a netting and it isn't very appealing to the eye like traditional bumper guards.

The traditional padded bumper guards, yes this what our parents used and many moms still use. They swear by these cute decorations of functionality. And why not?! The bumpers protect baby much in the same way as mesh but are not as breathable. They are more decorative and fun. So, why, if they cause suffocation are they still around? I remember my sister using these on my nieces' cribs and they are all fine.

So, right now I am battling the which one game in my online cart at babys r us. Wondering which one I should get. Oh the choices, mamas what are your opinions?

Paint all the walls

Readers, it is another entry into the saga. How many of you ladies and gents out there have a nursery? How many of you have a theme? How did it turn out and when did you start? Well, start decorating it anyways? Normal people star in the second trimester or most do. Me,on the other hand, just got to decorating my son’s nursery 3 weeks ago. He is 1 month and 10 days old. The thing is I just got into my house 3 weeks ago, and didn’t want to waste time decorating his room in the other place only to take it all down and do over. I wanted it done right. I wanted it to be pinterest worthy, something people would repin. Yes, I am a pin addict, so? I want to be proud of that nursery and all my hard work.

The paint

unintentional gators colorso

We chose some non traditional nursery colors for little guy's room. It goes great with my Lion King Nursery stuff. It is something he can grow with. 

Lion king

The theme is cute and who doesn't love that? The blanket is so soft and I keep trying to steal it. The nursery theme gives me and excuse to use signed lithographs of the characters. We didn't want a traditional theme, but truth is I really wanted that nursery.

The room is still a work in progress, and I am waiting on my breathable bumper guards. Going with brown I think, although the orange was cute. more pictures will come.

hello all!

This is a new start for me, new baby, new house, new lease on life....etc etc.I normally am blogging away at my www.gofashiondeals.com, but when I started to write about baby and pregnancy stuff it had no place. So, I made this blog, to share my experiences, my life lessons lol, baby and kid stuff, and all other mommy related stuff. It doesn't matter if you are a FTM*, a SAHM*, BTDT MOM*, dad, or goldfish, pull up a chair,grab some coffee and join in the fun!!

*ftm-first time mom sahm-stay at home mom btdt-been there done that mom*