It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

The months of November and December incorporate my two favorite holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Of course the food is reason enough to love these two months because for some reason, I have the overwhelming urge to make Banana Bread, Pumpkin Pie (made one of those yesterday), German Chocolate Pecan Pie, and lots of other tasty treats.

Jason knows it's coming too, "Oh Great!  It's that time of the year where you start baking crap everyday.  Before I get one thing eaten, you're already making something else."

You'd think he'd be HAPPY about getting homemade goodies, instead he insists that I am trying to make him morbidly obese, but he could eat an entire Thanksgiving feast all by himself and never gain and inch or a pound... it's depressing, really.

Besides all of the great eating the holidays bring, more importantly is the time spent with family and dear friends and traditions - old and new.  As Elise grows up, I want to instill the importance of spending the holidays with her family and create some memorable traditions with her.  Jason and I have a tree decorating tradition.  It doesn't always happen every year, but it's still something to look forward to.

Last night, Jason worked on our Christmas tree's lights.  One section was out, and bless his heart, he replaced every single little bulb until the strand was fixed!  I was busy with Elise, so I wasn't a ton of help but I made us a couple of festive drinks.

It was pretty late after Jason got the lights fixed, so ornament hanging wasn't in the cards.  Since we have a busy week planned, I went ahead and hung the ornaments myself today. 

All of the other decorations are out and Jason is planning on hanging the lights on the house this weekend.  Last night was the first night Elise and I rocked out to some Christmas carols, and hopefully Jason and I will get to settle in one night, share some wine, and watch our favorite Christmas movie, Love Actually.  My favorite part is when the Prime Minister says:

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around."

 

I love the fact that the movie is all about telling the ones you love that you love them, especially around the holidays.  That's what it's all about after all. I'm looking forward to posting more pictures and blogs throughout the next month detailing our holiday festivities. 

Why I Need To Be Pregnant

and it's not what you think so calm down!

See, something happened to me when I became pregnant with Elise.  This internal concoction of hormones overtook everything in my being.  Nothing else in the world was important to me besides growing a tiny human in my belly.  Laundry? Eh.  Dishes? *sigh* Dishes, smishes.  Jason: "I'm going out of town for a couple of days." Me: *sigh* "See you next week.."

All I had to be concerned with was rubbing Cocoa Butter on my belly, what I was going to eat next, and making sure I was tucked in bed at 8pm.  Unlike many women who find themselves expecting, I didn't have the typical mood swings.  Lucky for Jason I just hit a plateau of sunshine, rainbows, and puppies.  I was pretty much even keeled for 9 months.  That's not to say I didn't have a moment or two where I transformed into a psychotic biotch because I was certain I was starving to death and hadn't put anything into my stomach for a whole 40 minutes.

Like this one time (at band camp... sorry I couldn't resist) that I had to work until 6 O'clock and Jason got off at 5pm.  I warned him that I was hungry and it would be nice if he could be thinking about eating when I got home from work.  He informed me he was going to mow the yard but would be done before I got home and we could indeed eat.  You can imagine the psychosis that ensued when I pulled into the driveway to find he was just getting started.  I waddled inside, changed out of my sweat drench clothes and then headed back outside.  I then proceeded to scream from the driveway that I was going to Taco Bell because I was freaking starving and not waiting for him to finish mowing the freaking yard!  As I was carrying on I asked him if he wanted something and all I managed to get from him was a "yes." Well, he'll get what I order him... I don't have the time or patience for him to indecisively rattle off what HE wants.  I then proceeded up to the TB drive through where I ordered a number one, an extra taco, a mexi melt, a double decker,with a Dr. Pepper and whatever Jason ended up with.  Once I had a taco in me I was immediately back to my la la land of rainbows and unicorns.  Anyway, I digress.

What I wouldn't give now for that cocktail of hormones so that I could be carefree and whimsical again....

My Not So Little Girl

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Last night was the first night I put Elise down for bed without nursing her.  I made the conscience decision not to.  I have been weaning her successfully with the exception of her bedtime nursing session.  First, we dropped her afternoon session (which she really dropped on her own), followed by her early morning session. 

When discussing the weaning process with her pediatrician, she asked me a couple of times "are you planning on nursing past 12 months?"  I wavered back and forth about my decision.  I didn't want to be one of those mothers with a 3 year old yelling "Boooooby!" in public when she wanted to nurse. 

When I was pregnant I set a personal goal to breastfeed.  I wanted to make it 6 months without supplementing formula.  Well, those 6 months came and passed.  Then 12 months came and passed with Elise never having any formula.  I thought it would be easy to give up breastfeeding.  After all, I wasn't doing it for anything other than the nutritional benefits.  But, now that the time is actually here I understand what her pediatrician was saying when she said some mothers become very emotionally attached to breastfeeding.  While I'm not sobbing and boohooing my eyes out over the process, I can't help but feel sad about it. 

Beginning the process of weaning led to mixed emotions.  At first, I was sad when Elise didn't want to nurse in the afternoon and dropped that session.  Then I was feeling hopeful, because Elise wouldn't be sooo dependent on me after she was fully weaned.  Then when I made the decision to drop her morning session I felt guilty - like I was taking away something important from her.  Something she found comfort in.  It's not that she cried or made it difficult, it was just me.  She adjusted just fine.  I thought I would let her keep her night time session until she decided on her own she was done.  We were at the point where she would nurse for a few minutes and then decided she was a big girl and didn't want to do it anymore.  So, last night I didn't even offer to let her nurse, and she didn't seem affected by it.

I don't feel guilty about weaning her anymore and I'm trying not to feel sad about it.  I achieved my goals and did what I thought was best for Elise.  She is drinking whole milk wonderfully from her sippy cup.  If everything keeps moving in this direction without regressing I will have breastfed for 12 months, 2 weeks, and 5 day.  In all that time, I never had a decent nursing bra that fit or any nursing clothes.  I should have definitely invested in a nursing bra!  It would have made my life a lot easier!

I put away all of the bottles a long time ago, since Elise quit taking a bottle around 5 months.  So, I have a lot of brand new Dr. Brown's bottles.  It's also time to pack up the Medela Pump and give it back to my cousin.  I was so thankful to get it from her after months of using a manual pump.  The one thing I know I will have trouble parting with is my freezer stash of milk.

That's 56 ounces of hard earned liquid gold.  I know I can't give it to Elise because it's almost a year old.  I guess I've just been holding on to it as a reminder of how hard I worked at this!  It's all so bittersweet.  My baby is growing up into a toddler, and this is a sure sign that she doesn't need to depend solely on me for her nourishment.  I am proud of myself and all the hard work, blood (literally), tears, and time I dedicated to achieving something that was so important to me.

The Puking Queens

Jason was out of town last Thursday and Friday, so us girls were on our own until late Friday night when he returned from Dallas.  I have finally learned my lesson that it's best not to attempt to cook dinner while it's just me and Elise.  It only leads to frustration for the both of us.  So, if you'll remember back to Friday evening when I inhaled that Taco Bell, and then sipped a Cosmopolitan once Elise was down for bed.  Well, little did I know that I would get to experience Taco Bell twice in a matter of hours.

While we could blame my upchucking episodes on the alcohol, which could be partly to blame, it too could be from a stomach bug.  I had 3 Cosmos in a matter of about 3 hours.  That's about 1 per hour.  I don't think that's excessive.  It's not like I had 8 of them!  Mind you, the only thing I had eaten that day was the Taco Bell, so an empty stomach probably didn't help the matter.  Jason made it home around 10:30pm.  We sat in the living room and talked until almost midnight.  About that time, the Cosmos and Taco Bell went rounds in my stomach.  The Cosmos kicked TB's ass as indicated by the evidence in the toilet bowl.  And the garbage can.  Twice.  Turns out Jason made it home just in time for all the puking escapades.

I wasn't feeling in tip top shape on Saturday, but that evening we headed up to a local restaurant for a birthday party for Elise's friend, Scout.  Elise ate pretty good... broccoli, mashed potatoes, mandarin oranges, and a little cake and ice cream.  After her bath she was in bed sleeping, and Jason and I were soon to follow. 

I heard her crying at 2:30am and Jason went to check on her....

"Steph, you need to come in here.  She's not ok."

So, I scrounged around for my glasses and went to see what the problem was.  I went in to her room, turned on the lamp and saw that the poor thing was covered in vomit as well as her sheets, blankets, and Seahorse.

I got a warm wash cloth and started to clean her up while Jason stripped down her bed.  Once she was changed, I started the washing machine and got all the pukey stuff loaded in there.  We grabbed some towels and put her in our bed.  Little did we know we were going to be in for a loooooong morning.

She continued to throw up every 20-30 minutes for the next 4 hours.  She was so exhausted that she would puke and then just lay her face in it.  We went through 3 pairs of pj's, every hand towel in our house, and 3 bath towels.  The only chance we had to sleep was in between puking sessions.  The last time she puked was at 6:30am.  About 45 minutes had passed and she was completely passed out in our bed.  Jason moved her PNP into our room and laid her down so we could all try to get some amount of sleep.  She woke up again about 10:30 heaving.  Nothing came out, but I called her doctor's answering service anyway.  The nurse told me what to do for her and what to look for in case she became dehydrated.

All is well now, but it was a long couple of days of puking around here.  Good thing Jason made it home in time to take part in all the fun! 

He said to me and Elise yesterday, "You were puking Friday night, and you were puking Saturday night.  SO I DON'T WANT ANYBODY DOING ANYTHING TONIGHT!"

I ain't drinking anymore, but I ain't drinking any less

Quite some time ago I watched an episode of 20/20 or Dateline about stay at home moms who drink while taking care of their kids.  I was horrified at the thought of it!  Of course, they were drinking most of the day, all night, while at soccer games, etc.  I can't say I've reached that point, nor do I intend to, but it's nights like tonight and last night that would drive someone to drinking!

While I sit here enjoying my Cosmopolitan I wonder "why didn't I have one of these BEFORE dinner?!"  Since Jason has been out of town yesterday and today, it has been absolutely nonstop with Elise.  The worst time is dinner time.  Tonight I opted NOT to cook since last night was a freaking NIGHTMARE!  I grabbed some Taco Bell for myself, inhaled it as fast as I could, and got busy making Elise some dinner.  Since she's been so picky lately, I'm trying anything I can think of to get food in the child.  She loves refried beans so I made her some bean and cheese quesadillas. 

I was cooking the beans on the stove, which boiled over and made a mess on my stove, grated up some cheese, killed a spider, and tried to calm my child who was sitting her highchair having a royal tantrum.  I got her dinner made, which she took 3 bites and immediately fed to the dogs and proceeded to scream while I attempted to clean the kitchen.  Next time that happens, I'm just going to reach for my trusty Cosmo.  I got the kitchen cleaned and her bath ran while she had her fit in the highchair.  After her bath, I got her ready for bed and she was still pissed.

BOY!  I can see why these women would be driven to drinking all day long.  Except, their kids were in school half of the day so I'm not sure what exactly they were complaining about... bunch of sissies!

Adult Teething?

True Story:

Last night my friend Meghan and I enjoyed some fine Mexican cuisine.  My favorite!  Chips, salsa, enchiladas, margaritas, the whole shebang!  On the way home I kept rubbing my tongue against something foreign and uncomfortable on the top left-hand side of my mouth, by the very back teeth.  I stuck my finger in and tried to scrape out the particle... no luck.  I got home, immediately brushed my teeth, and felt no relief.  I rubbed my toothbrush some more back there and it wasn't budging.  I think I pushed it further into the gums.  I continued to climb onto the kitchen counter and sit in the sink so I could examine the situation.  Given the unfavorable location I grabbed my powder compact and tried to stick it in my mouth to see what was going on....  I don't know why I didn't just LOOK at the powder compact and KNOW that it wouldn't fit, but I turned it as many different ways as I could and it wasn't going in.  So, next I tried flossing.  Nothing came out.  I rinsed with mouthwash..... twice.  NOTHING! 

After Elise was in bed, I grabbed my toothbrush and went and sat on the couch so I could watch TV and try to dislodge it while I watched TV.  I was certain it was a chip or the outer casing of a refried bean that had wrapped itself around my entire tooth.  The toothbrush was useless and I was starting to screw up the bristles.  Next tool of choice?  A toothpick.  I then proceeded to make my gums bleed.  Back to the bathroom I went.  More flossing and then I tried one of those gum pokers I got from the dentist last time.  That piece of food was not budging.  I finally gave up and decided to go to bed.

I called my dentist's office at 8:02am.  I talked to the fire chief's wife and told her what the situation was.  I asked her if Julie, my dental hygienist could just look at it and get it out with one of her instruments.  She said the dentist would look at in case it was swollen or something.  So, fine a dentist appointment it was.  I showed up, they took me back, and I told my dentist where it was bothering me and that I thought I had some leftover Mexican food stuck in my tooth.  He took a look and said "oh, I see it."  So I'm thinking, "well, is it a chip?  A bean?  I bet it's HUGE!"  Then he said "that's a tooth coming in..."  Seriously?!  A tooth?  He had his assistant take an x-ray, and he showed me where my one and only wisdom tooth is coming in.  He said it would need to be taken out, but in the meantime to take Ibuprofen and swish around salt water for the inflammation.

Talk about feeling like an idiot!!!  So, I guess Elise and I are going to be teething together!

Bounce With Me

My Favorite Time of The Day

Breakfast time is my favorite part of the day.  I'm not much of a morning person, so this is the perfect way to ease into my day... slowly and quietly.  

Elise and I both sit down at the table together and share waffles and milk... 2% for me, whole milk for her.  She loves waffles!  It usually takes her a bit longer to eat her's than it does me, so while she's finishing up I check my emails, blog, work on my grocery list or look up new recipes.

It's time well spent together....

Words of Encouragement

Nov. 1st was Elise's 12 month check up.  It was the usual weighing, measuring, blah blah blah, the doctor will be in a minute.  The pediatrician came in and asked how it was going.

I took a deep breath, sighed, and said "it's going..................ok." 

She looked at me with the raised eyebrow and said "oh that doesn't sound good." 

I told her how awful Elise had been acting the last several days and it had been wearing me down.  Dr. Walsh checked her over and found her to be healthy... meaning no other reason (besides teething) we could blame her psychotic behavior on.  I found this to be comforting, but annoying... like "are you sure she doesn't have an ear infection?"  I mean, really there's got to be something wrong for her to scream and carry on like she has been.  But, nothing.

I ran through my list of questions.  An important one I had been eager to ask was about what I should be feeding her.  She has 2 bottom teeth, 1 top one half way in, and the one next to it breaking ground.  She still wants to eat purees.  Well, as I had expected Dr. Walsh said she needs to be eating what we eat and she just has a case of "L-A-Z-Y" meaning, she doesn't want to have to chew anything up.  So, she is to eat 6 times a day.  Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and snack.  She's given 6 opportunities a day to eat and get satisfied.  When she decides to throw her food on the floor or have a tantrum, that meal is over.  I am now down to nursing once a day... before bedtime.  I dropped her morning feeding last week and she hasn't had any problems. 

Another important topic I wanted to discuss with the doctor was her little "fits" that she throws.  Some kind of switch must have flipped on the moment she turned 1 because she throws a fit when it's time for bed, now.  Bedtime used to never be a problem.  I always laid her down, turned on the seahorse and she was out.  Now it's screaming, crying, throwing things out of the crib for like 20-30 minutes.  She immediately has a tantrum if I take something away from her or pick her up while she's playing or set her down when she wants me to hold her.  I told the pediatrician all of this.  She said that Elise is pretty "strong willed and expressing her independence."  Ummmm, excuse me?!  She's 12 months old.  If she's soooo independent, she can wipe her own butt!  I thought I was going to have another 12 months before I would be dealing with any of this!  I think I'm going to have my hands full.

After I was done asking all of my questions, Dr. Walsh was on her way to get the nurse to give Elise her shots and she said "You're doing a good job.  Keep it up.  I don't think she's your boss, yet."

Another deep breath.  Ahhh....Words of encouragement and a sigh of relief.  Sometimes it's nice to hear someone say you are doing a good job when there are days that you doubt yourself, your decisions, your abilities, and otherwise just want to bang your head against the wall.  After she said that to me, I felt a new sense of calm and reminded myself that I am doing the hardest job there is, and I can give her Tylenol every 4 hours until those rotten little teeth come in.

I think the worst is over for this round of teething.  We are now battling with getting her schedule back on track from the time change and transitioning to table foods.  There have been a lot of changes over the last couple of weeks and it's not just the weather and trees.  I'm trying to get through them one at a time and am looking forward to having a pleasant, happy, little girl again!

Twelve Month Report

Stats

18lbs. 14 oz. (Just below 25th percentile)

30'' long (75th percentile)

Head: 18 3/4'' (75th percentile)

Development

dancing to music

standing assisted

give kisses

puts hand out to wave

drinks milk from sippy cup 
eating table food
Big Girl Attitude!

Trick or Treat

The Terrible Twelve Month Tanrums

My recent blog posts have been mostly pictures and a lack of "content."  You see, my child has just been awful for the last week!  Between the spastic tantrums over having the remote, computer, cell phone, and digital camera taken out of her hands and the demonic teeth breaking through her gums, I have been trying to find my sanity.

The first few times she would stick her bottom lip out and let out one of those fake cries when I took the above mentioned items away from her, I thought it was just a temporary upset.  OHHHH No.  Every.Single.Time she has stuff taken away, it's a full blown tantrum.  Her new favorite game is to throw her paci and toys out of her PNP or crib repeatedly and then scream until Jason or I pick them up and put them back in there for her to throw out and on to the floor again.  The same goes with her sippy cup and snacks on the high chair tray.  It drives me crazy.

We are also working on tooth #3 and #4 (the top two front teeth).  Her gums are sore, red, and swollen.  She doesn't want to eat much because it hurts, so then she's hungry AND in pain.  Last night she was climbing the walls!  She was crying and screaming like I've never heard from her before.  I was almost in tears myself.

Luckily there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Elise has her 12 month check up this afternoon, so hopefully Dr. Walsh can give her me some Prozac.