National Infertility Awareness Week

It's National Infertility Awareness Week. Please take the time to become more aware of infertility and the pain it causes many couples.


While I may be considered a recovering or "cured" infertile, I'm not. Infertility still affects my life and will affect us again as soon as we're ready to try to bring another life into this world. "Relaxing" will not cure infertility. Taking a vacation will not cure infertility. Adoption will not cure infertility. All we ask for is compassion, sensitivity, and common sense. If you've had lots of success becoming pregnant or you sister's neighbor's brother's wife did such and such, good for them but we've likely already tried it.

And with the latest splash of Infertility Specialists making the news thanks to Octomom just know we're NOT trying to be her. We just want to experience the love and joy ONE child could bring us.

A New Sign?

We're working on sign language with Little Miss S but this one isn't in our repertoire.
I think she was trying to tell me she was fed up with all the photos!

Happy 5 months!

Happy 5-month Birthday to the best thing to happen to my life in a long time!

I love your smiles and it warms my heart when you give me a big grin the minute you see me walk into a room.
I love you Sophie Grace!

-XOXO Momma

Hello, Blog World!

This is me, coming up for air, after what seems like weeks of endless time-sucking activities. I'll fill you in and, hopefully, along the way I'll share some pictures.

First up: Our trip:
We had a good time. There were numerous battles over whose turn it was to hold Sophie. Between Grandma, two sets of Aunts and Uncles, four cousins, numerous "honorary Aunts" and the multitude of friends, Y and I stood no chance of spending any time with our daughter. Little Miss S was spoiled rotten, not only with gifts, but the onslaught of attention. She was held, daily, for her naps, entertained constantly by her cousins who were head over heels for her, and the center of everyone's attention. No one cared that Y and I were there, S was the star of the show. And, really, who can blame them? But then again, I'm biased.

Sophie and her Aunt Amanda and Uncle Dave

The Grandkids all together. L to R: Justin (16), Kiana (11), Sophie, Danielle (16) and Mariah (12).

Sophie with Aunt Angie, Uncle Jonathan and cousins Justin, Mariah, and Kiana

Grandma and Sophie.

A note about my Mom. She was released from the hospital just 3 days prior to our arrival. She had pneumonia and was on the mend - she was definitely worn down!


Grumpy, Sleepy, Dopey and Sneezy:
Turns out, not spending much time with my daughter ended up being a good thing. On the second day in Missouri I ended up sick. Sore throat, ear ache, stuffy nose, sneezy...you name it, I had it. I was worried it was turning into strep or something similar so I did my best to not infect everyone. I thought I was doing a good job of this until the Friday before our flight back. Sophie was getting a snotty nose and by Saturday it was full-blown. We didn't have our super snot sucker nasal aspirator with us so I had to rely on whatever was handy to clean out her nose a bit. This included burp cloths, napkins, my shirt, my fingers, etc. The poor bug looked miserable but remained in decent spirits. A few days later, just in time for Y to head back to work, he got it. Just when I thought I was done, I got the sore throat and ear aches a second time. I swear it was the Land of the Germed around here!

Don't let this picture fool you. This was day 2 of Super Cold. I felt miserable!


See Kai Run!

Prior to leaving for Missouri, I had entered a contest on Babble for a pair of Smaller Shoes from See Kai Run. I was SO excited when I found out I'd won! Just a few days after we'd returned home, the shoes had arrived. Sophie is now the proud owner of the Lisa shoe.

Aren't these the cutest shoes?! And the best part is they were FREE! Many thanks to Babble and See Kai Run for this fabulous prize!

The Rest of the Story:

We also had Sophie's 4-month check-up when we returned. All was well. I'll actually do a seperate 4-month update...now that she's days from being 5 months old! We've also been dealing with sleep and more constipation issues. I'll detail those in the 4-month post. In addition to all of this I've had a huge work deadline (have I mentioned I only work when Little Miss naps? Sleep issues = no work time for Momma), I was summoned for jury duty (was excused, thank goodness) and Y got a flat tire while out running errands last week. Ahhh, gotta love those unexpected expenses!

While you await the 4-month update (you're on the edge of your seats..I can tell!), I'll leave you with some of the activities Sophie enjoyed while we visited family and friends:

There were walks with the cousins:

Storytime. Lots of storytime:

And her favorite activity of the week? The Wii, of course!

More updates to come! Have a great weekend!

1 Year Ago this week....

I found out I was pregnant! And now I have a precious daughter who's now 4 months old!

March 24, 2008 was one of the best days of my life. At the time I was on cloud 9. Sure, we had some rough patches but I truly enjoyed being pregnant. It was completely nerve wracking with some of the issues we had but I felt a real calm and peace while Little Miss S was growing inside me. I don't think I realized it at the time but my moods were pretty even keel, I never really had some of those crazy hormone times. I was truly happy, not terribly moody and didn't seem to stress out over little things.

I often joke with Y that I want to be pregnant again (and I do just not right now) because I was never really bitchy. Now? Well those PMS moods and bitchiness make an appearance every month.

In other news, we're back from visiting family and friends. It was a great trip and Sophie was a superstar on all four plane rides. We had a near meltdown on the last leg of the trip due to some delays but we made it through. She melted hearts left and right!

I'll have lots of pictures to post and stories to tell but for now I have to catch up with work and all those mundane household chores!

Oh, okay. One picture to tide you over. This was taken just a few days before our trip:

What's in a name?

A lot apparently. Our daughter is going to have an identity crisis when she gets older. She rarely gets called by her legal name. Here are just a few of her oft-used nicknames:

• Farty Bear - Miss S is the Queen of Gas and we often wake to her farting every morning. Very lady like, no?
• Farty Pooper - Not that this needs much explanation but it refers to when she farts and a little poo comes out.
• Droolie Andrews - Drooling is constant now. A little spin on Julie Andrews.
  
• Droolia Roberts - Julia Roberts
• Grumpy Wumpus - This one is interchangeable with....
• Sophie Grace Crankypants
• Squirmy Wormy
• Piggly Wiggly - These are usually used when trying to change her diaper.
  
• Goober
• Squirt

She's going to think her parents are such dorks when she's older.

And now here's a shot of the Princess herself. If you look closely you can see evidence of Droolie Andrews and Droolia Roberts making an appearance.

Random New Mom Insights

I've had this post brewing in my mind for months and I can't seem to stay on top of blogging so it gets pushed to the back burner. The following are a few insights I've had since giving birth:

The "Baby Blues":
Ha! Baby blues my ass! I, like most women out there, read all the pregnancy books, researched information online and talked with friends and family about what to expect those first few days. Sure the books say you'll have hormone fluctuations, that you might cry and feel blue. No one warned me just how severe a drop in hormones there'd be! I swear those first two days home with Sophie I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. It didn't help that she was having weight gain issues and my milk wasn't coming in fast enough but I was so on edge it was scary. Just having our high-anxiety greyhound pacing and staring at me as I breastfed sent me over the edge. I cried for no reason for two days straight. I had headaches, constant nothing-would-make-them-go-away headaches. I was so in love with Little Miss S yet I felt miserable. Thankfully, after about a week and a half, things settled down and I was feeling more like myself.

Sleep when the baby sleeps:
This was likely my biggest mistake. I didn't rest or sleep when Sophie slept during the day. Because she came early and Y had no baby experience I didn't feel like I could rest. There was laundry to do, Christmas to prepare for and cleaning to stay on top of. I think I felt like because I had no control over my body with hormones awry and milk not coming in that I had to control something. So, moms-to-be, it may be hard but SLEEP when your baby sleeps. You need it. Your body needs it!

Epidurals and other labor meds:
I'm not going to debate natural labor versus labor with pain relief. Everyone's different. Each labor is different. Your body, your choice. But remember to be flexible in your plans. I was frustrated that I had to be given Pitocin to move labor along but since my membranes ruptured at home we couldn't risk infection. I wasn't given a choice. It had to be done. I knew I wanted an epi. I'm a wuss, I admit it. No where did I read I'd have entire body shakes while under the epi. That was the freakiest thing - I felt I was going to shake right off the bed. I had no control and immediately wondered if that was how a person with Parkinson's felt. Oh and the itching! As your body numbs, your belly or wherever the border is for numbness vs full feeling will itch like crazy! For about 10 minutes I thought I was going to go insane!

Labor and pushing:
If you don't want to be grossed out, stop reading here and skip to the next heading. Still reading? I warned you. Now's your last chance.... You know you need to start pushing when it feels like you need to poop. Ladies, accept it, you're likely going to poop while pushing. All the muscles you use to poop are the same ones you use to push. It's gross, yes, but just a fact of life. That being said, pushing is exhausting. I reached a point, and my labor/pushing time was very short, that I couldn't push any longer. I wanted to throw up and felt I actually was going to vomit and then your child's head crowns. Holy mother of all that is sacred....my epi had worn off at this point (beacause of my reaction my dosage was turned down) and IT HURT. There is no experience to which to compare your child's head that's stretching and tearing your cervix. I recall my labor nurse telling me "Her head is right there. You're going to feel some stretching." Ha! Trust me, you'll know why some women scream.

Baby Clothes:
Just like adult clothing, each manufacturer makes their baby clothes slightly different. It seems Sophie has a slightly longer than normal torsoe. Here's what we've found works for us:

• Carter's (aka Child of Mine and The First Years): These onesies are longer through the torsoe and will fit a few pounds beyond their suggested weights on the tags.
• Gerber: All gerber onesies and one-piece sleepers are short through the torsoe. For Sophie, she can wear Gerber products early in the size range. For example the 3-6 month sizes say for 12/12.5-16/16.5lbs. I was able to put her in the 3-6month sizes from Gerber before she had outgrown the Carter's 0-3 month sizes. She's now to the point she can barely wear the 3-6 month size - they're just too short.
• Osh Kosh B'Gosh: Their clothing, especially one-pieces are shorter in overall length than most other brands. If you have a long baby be aware!
  
• Circo (Target): I love shopping at Target and can often find great bargains but we've found the Circo brand clothing tends to be wider. If you have a long and skinny child, these pieces will be flowing around the middle. The onesies and one-pieces tend to be a bit shorter through the torsoe but not as short as Gerber products.
• Gymboree: Their clothing is pretty true to size, if not running a little small.
• Carter's: Back to Carter's for a moment. They size their clothing in NB, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, etc. This means the sizes are UP TO that size. So a 6 month outfit will actually be a 3-6 month size range.

My best tip for buying baby clothes: check the weight range. When I was initially buying clothes I always thought a 6 month tag meant it fit a 6-month old. Not the case. A large baby could be in 6 month clothing long before that age. Maybe I was just clueless but this was a big Aha! moment (teachers you know what I mean) when I figured this out!

3 Months Old!

Little Miss S turned 3 months old on Sunday. She's definitely growing like a weed! Here are her unofficial stats for 3 months:

Weight: ~12.5 lbs
Length: 24.3 inches

Sophie got to meet her Great Gram on Sunday. Great Gram is 97 years old and in failing health. Miss S did well for about 10 minutes then began to have a meltdown as we were trying to get pictures with Great Gram. Isn't that the way things always go???

She's continued to sleep through the night and is now in a fairly regular schedule. She'll go to sleep, for the night, between 9 and 10pm and sleep until 8am!

Sitting up is now one of her favorite activities. She enjoys spending time in her Bumbo seat as well as her new high chair. While she's not eating solids yet, she enjoys being at the table with Mom & Dad and playing with her toys while we eat. We purchased the Fisher Price Space Saver high chair and I have to say I love it so far! She currently sits in the partially reclined position. I love that it will grow with her as she grows. It does use up one of our chairs, but it takes much less room than an actual high chair....definitely needed in our house!

We're preparing for our first big plane trip in a couple of weeks. Her Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, cousins and many, many family friends are VERY anxious to meet little Miss S. I, on the other hand, am already wondering if I'm going to need a few valiums to not spaz out while packing and getting to the airport. I have no doubt we'll be fine once we're on the plane...it's just everything leading up to it. Moms out there: any suggestions on what is absolutely necessary or an item you couldn't have done without on your trip?

Have a great week!

Milestones Abound!

Let's see if we can catch you up since the last post. I really do need to get better about posting!

Sophie had her 2-month check-up where everything was great. Below are her stats from 1/26:
Weight: 9lbs 10oz
Length: 22.3 inches
Head Circumference: 37.4cm

She had her first round of vaccinations at the appointment. Aside from some screaming during the shots themselves, she was a real trooper. She never really ran a fever or was too terribly fussy. Later that afternoon she did have some leg pain which required one dose of Tylenol to get her to calm down.

Y and I finally had an evening out to ourselves the first of the month. Y's parents watched Miss S for a couple of hours while we enjoyed dinner. She did pretty well with them and believe it or not, I wasn't too worried. No phone calls to confirm all was okay.

We recently weighed Miss S and she's now up to 11.5lbs! Since the last post, she now has her BMs under control. The Prevacid has helped all around and we no longer have to get things moving with Karo syrup. Yay for progress!

In milestones, Sophie can now roll from tummy to back frequently. She's putting everything from her hands, her sleeves, her toys, Mommy's clothes and hands in her mouth. Sophie is now also sleeping through the night! She had been doing really well and waking only once at night, usually around 3am for a feeding. Last week she began sleeping until 6am! She's had a couple of nights where she's slept until 7 and 8am! Talk about heaven for Mommy and Daddy! While she's still trying hard to roll from back to tummy, she can now twist and squirm in such a way that she'll turn herself sideways in the crib with her feet against the side rails.

I bet you didn't know life was this exciting at 2-months old!

Probably one of the biggest developments of all is she's wanting to sit up ALL. THE. TIME. I was playing with her in bed one morning and had her partially propped up on my pillow. Next thing I know, she's using her stomach muscles and pulling herself into a sitting position! She is by no means steady at all but she much prefers sitting up to lying down. We pulled out her Bumbo seat and she LOVES sitting in her seat and watching the world.

We had a great Valentine's Day with our little love bug. She was VERY spoiled by friends and family. We had a pretty relaxed day at home and just enjoyed being together as a family. I can vividly remember last year's Valentine's Day. Y went all out, making a special dinner at home. I was on, what would be, my last round of Clomid. I was sad and depressed that we had been trying to conceive for 18 months. Y did everything he could to make me forget. Later that night, I was in the bathroom losing my entire Valentine dinner from the Clomid pukes. Of course, later that week we saw Dr. H and I told him no more Clomid...we had to try something else. Oh how I miss Dr. H. He was such a great Dr!

Coming this Sunday, Little Miss S will be 3 MONTHS old! Seriously, where did my tiny little baby go?! Why is time moving so quickly?! She'll have her first big trip in March when we head to visit my family in Missouri. Everyone there is VERY anxious to see her.

Where does the time go!?!

So much for staying on top of blogging.

We've had our ups and downs in the past month. While Sophie is growing more adorable and more fun each day, she's still struggling with tummy issues. We returned, once again, to the pediatrician on January 13th. Sophie had become really constipated and the prescribed teaspoon of dark Karo syrup twice a day in her bottles didn't seem to be doing much to help her. She was crying in pain any time she had to go. The Zantac, even at full dosage, wasn't helping her reflux either.

She's now on Prevacid once a day and it really seems to be controlling the reflux. Her poop issues - well, those are still there. She now has a BM about every two to three days with the aid of Karo syrup. Not my favorite solution but we're trying to solve one thing at a time so as not to really mess her up.

Sophie's mastered several milestones lately:
- she smiles, reactionary smiles all the time now.
- she squeals
- she coos
- she can hold her head up and steady for several minutes now
- she can do her mini push-ups
- she recognizes my voice and face as well as Daddy's
- she'll track her toys as we move them in and out of her line of vision.
- she's found her hands and will now suck on them and try to suck her thumb.

Other skills we're working on:
- laughing
- she's rolled from tummy to back. Once.
- she tries to roll from back to tummy. She'll get her bottom half going but can't get the top half to cooperate
- she tries to grab at her toys every now and then

My Mom was out for a three-week visit and just left on Monday. Sophie became quite spoiled with Grandma loving on her and holding her all the time. Now, of course, she prefers to be sleeping on someone rather than in her crib or bassinet. Thanks Mom.

Sophie will be 2 months old tomorrow and will have her 2-month check-up on the 26th. I look forward to seeing how much she's grown considering she was at 8lbs 8oz on the 13th!