- Waking up to hear W yelling "Maaaa! Maaaa! Mum Mum Mum Mum!" I'm sure in twenty years the "Maaaa!" will be followed by "The meatloaf?!" (yes that is a Wedding Crashers reference)
- This may sound cruel, but when I drop W off at daycare and he still wants me, not to go play with his friends (this doesn't happen often anymore, but it's good to know they miss you).
- One of the coolest things to watch is when my little man discovers something new. The wonder and sense of accomplishment in his eyes makes me so happy and proud of him.
- W has taught me to slow down and enjoy things. When I think back on my childhood, I think of all the fun things my mom did with us. Before W, I quit enjoying things like carving pumpkins or dying Easter eggs. Doing these things again with him makes me remember my childhood as well as build lasting memories for him.
- My son's smile will brighten up my day any day of the week. I know it sounds cheesy, but when my little guy smiles (and laughs) it makes my day so much better no matter how rough it may have been. It is the best sight and sound EVER.
- Random cuddles have to be one of the best parts about being W's mom. I love when he randomly climbs up on my lap and just snuggles. As much as he loves running around and getting into things slowing down with snuggles is one of my favorite perks of being a mom.
- I LOVE bath time. For us bath time is just an extension of play time. W now thinks he can actually swim in the tub. He blows bubbles and kicks his feet and everything! He also goes nuts when I turn the shower on. I love watching him have fun and splash around.
- Sneaking into my little man's room when he is peaceful and asleep to make sure he is all covered up and comfortable. This absolutely melts my heart.
Showing posts with label Mom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mom. Show all posts
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Best things about being a mom
Blame the pregnancy hormones if you want, but I've been getting teary-eyed when I think of some of the best parts of being a mom. Yes I actually will sit in the rocking chair and actually cry tears of joy when I think about how happy my wonderful son makes me. Here's a list of the things that I love most.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Working Mom Problems
Is it me or do weekends just fly by? As much as I try to spend as much quality time with W as possible I feel like some weekends I don't get quite enough in. On Saturday mornings we go to My Gym (which we missed this week), but other than that I feel like we are stuck in the playroom the rest of the weekend and even then I'm working on stuff to get ready for the following week.
Our Sundays usually consist of us waking up, going to brunch then heading to the grocery store. By the time we get back from the grocery store it's W's nap time. After he wakes up from his nap it's lunch time and by then it is usually close to 2 o'clock already and he goes down for another nap by 3:30 and he won't wake up from that nap until 4:30 at the earliest then it's nearly dinner time. After dinner time we get a few hours of play in before it's time for a bath and bed. I'm exhausted just reading that. I have come to the point where I dread Sundays because it feels like we go non-stop.
Why do weekends have to be so short? Better yet, why do I feel so limited on the time I have to spend with my son? Don't get me wrong, he is with me all weekend, but the uninterrupted time I get with him never seems like much. For example, he will be playing with pots in the kitchen while I am making meals I can freeze for the week. Sure, we will play in the playroom while everything cooks, but it's all interrupted. Then I will have this great idea to take him swimming or something like that on the weekend, but without fail, something always comes up that makes it impossible to go to the pool. Like on Saturday we both took a nap together but didn't wake up until 6pm and by the time I fed him dinner it was even later and I didn't want to take him to the Y that late at night.
Am I totally wrong in thinking that when spring / summer come and it stays lighter longer we will some how get more time? Maybe that's what I am looking for is more time outside and we are in a winter funk? I just don't know! I mean we make it home around 6pm and that gives us a solid two hours to play, eat dinner, take a bath and wind down before bedtime, but it really isn't that much time.
Our Sundays usually consist of us waking up, going to brunch then heading to the grocery store. By the time we get back from the grocery store it's W's nap time. After he wakes up from his nap it's lunch time and by then it is usually close to 2 o'clock already and he goes down for another nap by 3:30 and he won't wake up from that nap until 4:30 at the earliest then it's nearly dinner time. After dinner time we get a few hours of play in before it's time for a bath and bed. I'm exhausted just reading that. I have come to the point where I dread Sundays because it feels like we go non-stop.
Why do weekends have to be so short? Better yet, why do I feel so limited on the time I have to spend with my son? Don't get me wrong, he is with me all weekend, but the uninterrupted time I get with him never seems like much. For example, he will be playing with pots in the kitchen while I am making meals I can freeze for the week. Sure, we will play in the playroom while everything cooks, but it's all interrupted. Then I will have this great idea to take him swimming or something like that on the weekend, but without fail, something always comes up that makes it impossible to go to the pool. Like on Saturday we both took a nap together but didn't wake up until 6pm and by the time I fed him dinner it was even later and I didn't want to take him to the Y that late at night.
Am I totally wrong in thinking that when spring / summer come and it stays lighter longer we will some how get more time? Maybe that's what I am looking for is more time outside and we are in a winter funk? I just don't know! I mean we make it home around 6pm and that gives us a solid two hours to play, eat dinner, take a bath and wind down before bedtime, but it really isn't that much time.
Monday, January 7, 2013
My Nursing Journey with W
This weekend I was working on putting things away and organizing our freezer when I found a few of my last frozen bags of pumped milk that needed moved to the deep freezer with the rest of my milk. While I am super happy to be done pumping I am bummed that at some point very soon W will be done nursing. I seriously LOVE nursing. It has been such an awesome bonding experience and to know that I am doing everything in my power to give my little man the best possible start makes me feel awesome.
Nursing wasn't always easy for me. When I brought W home from the hospital he at lost a pound and a half and for the first month I had the most difficult time ensuring he kept weight on him. I felt like I was nursing constantly, but he wasn't gaining. Not only was he not gaining weight, but my nipples were so sore that my toes curled every time he went to nurse. Thankfully, my hospital has an awesome nursing support group that meets once a week that was a huge help along with a mommy board I belong to.
On top of him not gaining weight I was terrified of what would happen when I went back to work. I had a few ounces frozen in the freezer, but what if that wasn't enough? And how much exactly would he eat in a day? I cannot tell you how much milk I gave my nanny the first day back to work, but it was enough (thank goodness).
When I went to pump at work I was fortunate that I do have a private office and could pump at my desk while I worked. The problem for me came when I went to pump. I set my pump up (complete with my sports bra with holes in it so I could pump hands-free) and turned it on. I had a few pictures of W on my desk to look at as well as one of his blankets I could smell to help with the let-down. I figured I would sit there for 15 minutes and I would be done. WRONG. It took me nearly an hour to get 3 ounces! At that point W was almost 2 months old and eating about 12 ounces a day plus what he nursed when I went to visit him at lunch. In order to keep up with how much he was eating I was going to need to figure something out quick. My pumping schedule from January until July while working was as follows:
Pump 2-3AM = 4oz - 8oz
Pump 7:20-7:30AM (while nursing on the other side) = 1 - 2 oz
Pump 10-11AM = 3-6oz
Pump 2:30-4PM = 3-5oz
Pump 5:30-6PM = 1-2 oz
Pump 8:30-9:30PM = 1-2oz
At my height (and this only happened a few times) I was pumping close to 27 ounces a day.
(the numbers above reflect when he was eating between 12 and 27 ounces a day while with his nanny).
I quickly came to the realization that I was married to my pump.
When he started eating more than I could pump I would freak out that I would run out of my freezer stash. Thankfully that never happened and I still have a sizable stash in my deep freezer that I plan on donating to a milk bank.
I think the thing that drove me nuts was when I was on the road for work. I took W with me on every overnight business trip I took and thankfully my wonderful mother made those trips with us. My first one was when he was about 8 or 9 weeks old. We had to drive 5 1/2 hours to the opposite end of the state. I learned to pump when I drove. This would save time, prevent engorgement and give W a fresh snack during the ride.
I always traveled with a big cooler (as well as my nursing cooler that came with my pump) to ensure my milk stayed cold and would only stay at a hotel that had a mini refrigerator. I brought all my bottle cleaning and sterilizing supplies with me to the hotel and would wash bottles there. As far as pumping while working on the road I still remember the first time I told my candidate I needed a 'break'. Thankfully she was a woman and very understanding.
I really wanted to share this story with any other nursing moms out there especially the working ones who may be struggling to continue nursing their babies or may be struggling with returning to work. YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Looking back on all the milk sweat and tears the last 13 months I am so glad I continued to nurse. There are so many memories that I will cherish and look back on and laugh throughout my entire experience.
Nursing wasn't always easy for me. When I brought W home from the hospital he at lost a pound and a half and for the first month I had the most difficult time ensuring he kept weight on him. I felt like I was nursing constantly, but he wasn't gaining. Not only was he not gaining weight, but my nipples were so sore that my toes curled every time he went to nurse. Thankfully, my hospital has an awesome nursing support group that meets once a week that was a huge help along with a mommy board I belong to.
On top of him not gaining weight I was terrified of what would happen when I went back to work. I had a few ounces frozen in the freezer, but what if that wasn't enough? And how much exactly would he eat in a day? I cannot tell you how much milk I gave my nanny the first day back to work, but it was enough (thank goodness).
When I went to pump at work I was fortunate that I do have a private office and could pump at my desk while I worked. The problem for me came when I went to pump. I set my pump up (complete with my sports bra with holes in it so I could pump hands-free) and turned it on. I had a few pictures of W on my desk to look at as well as one of his blankets I could smell to help with the let-down. I figured I would sit there for 15 minutes and I would be done. WRONG. It took me nearly an hour to get 3 ounces! At that point W was almost 2 months old and eating about 12 ounces a day plus what he nursed when I went to visit him at lunch. In order to keep up with how much he was eating I was going to need to figure something out quick. My pumping schedule from January until July while working was as follows:
Pump 2-3AM = 4oz - 8oz
Pump 7:20-7:30AM (while nursing on the other side) = 1 - 2 oz
Pump 10-11AM = 3-6oz
Pump 2:30-4PM = 3-5oz
Pump 5:30-6PM = 1-2 oz
Pump 8:30-9:30PM = 1-2oz
At my height (and this only happened a few times) I was pumping close to 27 ounces a day.
(the numbers above reflect when he was eating between 12 and 27 ounces a day while with his nanny).
I quickly came to the realization that I was married to my pump.
When he started eating more than I could pump I would freak out that I would run out of my freezer stash. Thankfully that never happened and I still have a sizable stash in my deep freezer that I plan on donating to a milk bank.
I think the thing that drove me nuts was when I was on the road for work. I took W with me on every overnight business trip I took and thankfully my wonderful mother made those trips with us. My first one was when he was about 8 or 9 weeks old. We had to drive 5 1/2 hours to the opposite end of the state. I learned to pump when I drove. This would save time, prevent engorgement and give W a fresh snack during the ride.
I always traveled with a big cooler (as well as my nursing cooler that came with my pump) to ensure my milk stayed cold and would only stay at a hotel that had a mini refrigerator. I brought all my bottle cleaning and sterilizing supplies with me to the hotel and would wash bottles there. As far as pumping while working on the road I still remember the first time I told my candidate I needed a 'break'. Thankfully she was a woman and very understanding.
I really wanted to share this story with any other nursing moms out there especially the working ones who may be struggling to continue nursing their babies or may be struggling with returning to work. YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Looking back on all the milk sweat and tears the last 13 months I am so glad I continued to nurse. There are so many memories that I will cherish and look back on and laugh throughout my entire experience.
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