Good Madness

Well hello internet! We are back and I can honestly say I missed the internet; I didn’t realize how much I relied on thebump.com to talk to fellow moms like me, going thru the same things. I know I could talk to people around me who have had babies, so they know the drill. But (I’m ashamed to say this) I really want people to think I know what I’m doing and that I have an angelic baby girl to show for it. Truth is babies aren’t cut and dry and although it seems like everyone else’s babies are perfect I know that they have projectile pooped, had sleep troubles, cried when they were put down so mom could use the restroom. I know they created a scene in public and they went thru growth spurts that brought mom and dad to their wits end. My Brianna is beautiful and wonderful but she isn’t easy – and sometimes I really don’t know what to do but I try everything that I know, then I go onto thebump.com and I ask these other moms for help. Its nice that we can all be candid with each other and ask for help – its nice that none of us are pretending to have perfect little angel babies. I’m looking at the list of discussion topics right now and here is an idea of what we’re all dealing with:

-cradle cap (baby dandruff)

-diaper troubles (babies pee coming out of the diaper

-heat rash

-silent acid reflux

-exorcist baby (projectile vomiting)

-constipated baby (and using a thermometer in the butt to help it all out)

-NOT constipated baby (enough said)

-growth spurts (constantly hungry/fussy babies)

-Post partum depression and having a short fuse

-having worse b.o. after baby is born (apparently you stink worse for about 9 months so your baby can smell you. Weird!)

-feeling helpless/tired/cranky/clueless

So I guess this post is just a confession. I’m not perfect and I’m learning as I go. My baby is beautiful but sometimes she wears a stained outfit and some times we both go a few days without actually changing outfits. The dishes in the sink are dirty, the clothes on the floor are dirty, the boxes that need to be unpacked are… not unpacked. But I don’t care. We’re a big ole happy pile of imperfections. 

BUT, now that THAT is out of the way, how about I update you?

Brianna is 1 month and 2 weeks old (7 weeks total)! I think she’s about 12 lbs. now and I swear I can tell that she grows more and more every day. We’ve switched to 1 diapers, instead of newborn (which sucks because I still have  TON of newborn size diapers). We’ve also rotated thru some clothes; a few things don’t fit anymore! I don’t know why I am so psyched about the simple act of watching her grow but I am. I can’t wait until she’s into size 2 diapers and wearing 3 month old clothes (mostly because she has some majorly cute clothes waiting to be worn).

According to my doctor I am 11 lbs. away from my beginning weight. And now that I have been given the o.k. to exercise I’m hoping those 11 lbs. will melt off FAST. Michael, my mom, and I have created a schedule – 3 times a week grandma will come babysit Brianna for an hour after work so that M and I can workout at the apartment gym. I’d love to be able to run the Susan B Komen 5k this October, but we’ll see how everything goes.

We’re in our new apartment and little by little (very little, some days) its becoming home. My mom and friend Heather helped me paint the living room recently. It’s a great gray-green slateish color and it really warms the place up. Next is B’s room – which will be a soft milky green and finally we’ll paint the master a deep, intense blue. We had an issue with roaches the first week or so but the place has been sprayed (thank God) and we haven’t seen a roach since (THANK GOD). Our neighbor upstairs thinks he’s fat; we’ve seen him and know that he’s a pretty small dude but the way he walks sounds more like an angry rhino stomping on a roach, than a small guy walking calmly. His loud walking got so bad we switched rooms with Brianna – they’re about the same size. Other than these things I guess we should be appreciative of our home; I’m just glad we have a place and like I said, I’m trying to make it feel like home.

Michael is applying for school so we’re very excited about the possibility of him starting this winter. Everyone cross your fingers that he gets accepted and we receive more financial aid!

We’ve also been discussing marriage a lot more lately. J The prospect of spending the rest of my life with Michael and Brianna makes me the happiest woman alive. You may be hearing about an impromptu wedding at the courthouse in the near future! Our reception is still planned for a yearish from now, however.

More about Brianna: she smiles sometimes but I haven’t found a foolproof way to get her to grin. She “talks” sometimes too! Her eyes are still blue, her hair is still brown (although seems like its getting lighter) and she is as adorable as ever. For a while we had issues with her skin; she started having baby acne but that quickly turned into an all-body rash. Luckily changing detergents has solved the problem. Her skin is baby to being baby smooth. 

Things that we’re looking forward to:

Sleep training! Now that we have Brianna’s room relatively set up I’m excited about getting her to sleep in her crib. We begin “training” this Monday – which means I will be a very tired, and possibly very cranky mama.

Brianna turning 2 months old! I love watching her grow! From the articles I’ve read at 2 months we may start getting a sense of her personality; what makes her tick. She may be able to hold toys, or at least swat at them if they’re held in front of her.

Visits from family! We’re expecting to have my cousins Jordann and Mindy here at the beginning of October. I’m SOO excited to see them, and I know they’re excited about Bria. Now it’s just a matter of getting her crib trained, bottle trained, and people trained… that way she’s not so cranky when she sleeps in her crib/someone holds her/someone feeds her… that’s a lot of prep! I better get busy. 

Michael’s birthday is this month! I can’t wait to celebrate my Number One’s birthday with a date night. Although I see him every day I can honestly say I miss him. Going out without Brianna will be nice (although nerve-wracking, I’m sure). We love our baby girl but we believe that keeping each other #1 is IMPORTANT. After all Brianna will grow up and we’ll be left alone, the two of us, all old and wrinkled. Making my husband-to-be my #1 is key.

B at 1 month