Emmalee update!

This has been an incredible week for my precious baby!

Earlier this week, I stopped in Target and they were having a sale on baby toys! Of course I couldn't pass it up, even though Em had not yet begun playing with toys. I grabbed a couple of crinkly noise (she LOVES crinkly noises) and an O Ball like this one:

I stuck it in her car seat and was talking with my mom when we looked over and she had the ball in her hands and was trying to get it to her mouth!! It was a very proud mommy moment. Now whenever something is in her reach she grabs it and puts it in her mouth. She's not mastered the skill yet, but she's becoming so much more coordinated. I love watching her grow!

Only a couple days later, she discovered her feet! We were sitting at the kitchen table and I had her sitting on the table, facing away from me. I noticed she was staring so intently at her toes and trying to reach them! She hasn't figured out how to move her leg to her hand just yet, but if she's positioned so she can reach those toes, she grabs on!

Next big milestone we reached this week: laugh! I've only gotten two little laughs out of her, but they were definite laughs. She's trying to get those giggles out more, and I'm trying to pry them out of her.

Three times now this week, she's put herself to sleep and one of those times was bedtime and she wasn't in my bed!

My little baby is growing up. *tear*

"Attachment Parenting"

The term "Attachment Parenting" is one that seems to be thrown around a lot these days. Where did this term even come from? What other kind of parenting is there, truly? When did it become the normal thing to detach yourself from your child?

I've found these areas are most often talked about when discussing "Attachment Parenting":

1. Breastfeeding and extended breastfeeding

2. Co-sleeping/bed sharing

3. Baby wearing

4. Crying it out (CIO)

5. Spanking

I'm only going to touch on a few of these, because I haven't been a parent long enough to know any different.

Breastfeeding: I am breastfeeding. Breast is best. I can't say anything about the benefits of extended breastfeeding because Em is only 2 1/2 months, and I'll be ecstatic if we make it to 6.

Co-sleeping: I sleep with my daughter. It was never my intention to share my bed with her, but it's the only way she'll sleep most nights. So for both our sanity, I bed share. I would really like her to be in her own bed by 6 months, but along with her nighttime separation anxiety, I know I'll have my own to work through. I love baby snuggles. Now, it's not like I have anyone else to share my bed with right now, but I am not keen on the idea of a "family bed" at all.

Baby wearing: She wants to be held constantly. Solution: I wear her.

CIO: When she cries and I can't fix it, I want to curl up and die. Never.

Because of the way I do the things above, I've been accused of "Attachment Parenting". I've been told all kinds of things by veteran parents:
-Spoiling her by holding her
-Allowing her to become the boss forever by feeding on demand
-Need to let her exercise her lungs by crying
and so many more...

But everything I've been told goes directly against my instinct as a mother.
I'm not a helicopter, hippie dippie, attachment parent. I'm doing what comes feels right--what works for me and my baby. I'm just a mom, following her instincts.

Clothes shopping

Yeah, that happened today.

It was awful. I have nothing to wear. I need a whole new wardrobe.

I came home with scarves and sneakers.

Ugh. I did try tons of stuff on, though, so now I have a better grasp on my post pregnancy sizes and I'll be doing some online shopping. Most of the crap I saw was neon pink and green, or for grandmas. Who wears this stuff?

So frustrated with today.

Anybody have any good places for online shopping? I seriously don't even know how to clothes shop anymore.

Beauty Essentials (Part One)

Happy Valentine's Day!
I had some time during nap time today to play with my makeup, which I haven't gotten to do in a long time (2 months, 7 days to be exact). I've had to change my daily face routine up a bit, but there are must haves I don't go a day without using.
These are the things I use every single day, and the things I consider to be essential.

Moisturizer: a good moisturizer is key to having pretty skin! It should be something light, non comedigenic (won't cause pimples) and have SPF. If your moisturizer doesn't contain SPF, put some sunscreen on before you moisturize, no matter what season. Sun spots aren't cute. I like Neutrogena Oil Free with SPF 15 (or the Up&Up version of that) or Mary Kay Timewise.

Coconut oil: If you don't have this stashed around your house already, go buy some, now. This stuff is incredible. I use it daily for my poor dry cracked hands (lots of diaper changes=lots of hand washing), but the uses are really endless. Cooking, diaper rash cream, yeast infection (vaginal and nipple thrush!), tanning oil, energy, an all natural SPF 4, coat your hair before bleaching and it'll help reduce damage, I've even been told it helps boost milk supply. Seriously. Stock up.
Oil-free eye makeup remover: You wanna stay cute? Get a good eye makeup remover, one that takes your makeup off with ease. Oil free, always! I use Mary Kay.

Mascara: A little mascara does a lot for your face (and your self esteem). I've tried many high-end brands and spent ridiculous amount of cheddar on a tube of messy black crap, but I still always make my way back to good ol' Maybelline. Falsies is my current favorite.

Those little cotton circle thingys: these need no explanation

Tweezers: Okay, I don't use these everyday (or near as often as I should) but they are still essential! Between waxes, I pluck underneath my arch (never anywhere else!! Leave that to a professional). And please, for the love of baby Jesus, TWEEZE your mustache. Shaving it is a big BIG no no. Why don't more people understand that?

Face wipes: These may not be an essential for you, but they are for me. On nights when the baby doesn't allow me to wash my face before bed (pretty much every night) I just use one of these. Going to bed with the day's makeup, dirt, and oil still on your skin is a recipe for acne disaster and WRINKLES. No thank you. I use Neutrogena (or, again, Up&Up's version).

Preparation H: I know, gross. But since this baby, I've developed some serious circles under my eyes. Preparation H shrinks the bags. Don't knock it before you try it!
Beauty Essentials Part Deux: Makeup Edition coming soon...

It's tax return time!

My return was deposited this morning! Wooo I'm rich. Okay, not really. But it is exciting to have some extra padding in my bank account! Now to decide what I'm going to spend it on.

Here's my desicion to make:

Bills
Emergency fund savings
New home savings
Fun stuff

-or-

Bills
Emergency fund savings
New car
Fun stuff

I have a reliable car now, but it's a sports car and a serious pain in the ass to get the car seat in and out. With the amount of time Em will be in a car seat, I need something different to save my sanity (and my back).

I am looking forward to getting pampered! Getting my hair done--the last time I got it done was before I had the baby, getting my nails done, and going to buy myself some new clothes. I am not looking forward to clothes shopping, though. I'm not crazy (that's an understatement) about my new mom body. I am nervous about trying to find clothes I'm comfortable in (which I pretty much know I won't be able to do). It has to be done, though! I've been wearing the same outfit-or a slight variation of the same outfit-since a few months before I had the baby. Not cute.

Two month checkup

Took my sweet angel for her two month checkup today!

EmmaLee at birth:
7 lbs 13 oz
21.5 in long
13.5cm (head circumference)

Today:
12 lbs 9 oz
24.5 in long
15cm (or so, I don't remember exactly)

Now that is a healthy baby. I exclusively breastfed until Em was 3 weeks old, then my supply took a dive and I had to start supplementing. At 9 weeks old, she is almost exclusively breastfed (we are so close!) I supplement between 4-6 ounces a day. It's more than I'd like, but I'm coming to terms with the fact that I may have to continue supplementing. I'm sad about it, but the important thing is that she is fed, right? Currently I take fenugreek (3 pills, 3 times a day) and drink four cups of Mother's Milk Tea a day. I stopped the fenugreek for a few days and noticed a huge drop. So I've really stepped it up.

Her first round of vaccinations was today as well. After a ton of research and internal debate, I decided to go with the traditional vaccination schedule. She had three injections and one oral. She screamed for about a minute and has been fine ever since (knock on wood).

Her next appointment isn't until 4 months! It feels so far from now. These past two months have gone so quickly, I know the next two will fly by as well.

Ello.

I had this brilliant idea to start a blog. Evidently I've had this idea more than once, because I found and logged into this blog. I don't remember starting it, and I never posted anything. But anyhoo, here goes.

I've been meaning to start writing this for some time now. However, using the laptop with my little bundle of refuses-to-nap-must-constantly-be-on-the-boob, joy is proving to be rather difficult. So I've resorted to the Android app to at least get the ball rolling.

My daughter, EmmaLee, is sleeping beside my bed. She's down for the night, at 7:30 pm. This sleep routine has been driving me CRAZY. She won't nap during the day, and she wants to go to bed at 6 pm! If I don't go to sleep with her, I hardly get sleep. What small social life I COULD have is nonexistent because by 7pm, I'm dead on my feet. Shit is whack. I'll be charting my attempts to somehow get this girl in a sleep routine. She's not getting anywhere near the amount of sleep a baby needs during the day. I've started to establish a bedtime routine, been consistent with it every night for a week now. I'm hoping I can start working it back in the night, to get her down a little later. Right now, if I wait I just get a super cranky baby.

Bedtime routine is as follows:
Bath (every three days)
Bedtime diaper (I use Desitin at night, in the event of a long sleep stretch-ha)
Massage
Story
Nighttime bottle (She's got crazy gas, so at night she gets a two oz bottle with gripe water or gas drops in it, two oz is just enough to get the other stuff down)
Nurse till full and asleep

Pretty solid. She loves every second of it. I figure I'll keep on keepin on with her night schedule for another week before I start to change the time. Baby steps. Baby steps.