Day at the Park

My little diva!!

"Kick Back" Weekend!

Big day today...Sydney's first tooth broke through. I noticed after she chomped down on my finger and I felt something sharp! And then I noticed again when I was feeding her before bed...can we say "OUCH"!!!!

Yesterday during our open house, we took Sydney to the park for the first time. Daddy took her on the swings and on the slide. I will try and post pictures later this week as my battery is dead and I cannot load them to the computer yet.

Lastly, Greg and I got a real laugh yesterday at Nana and Paps. Sydney was laying on her back on the floor and wanted to get to the big screen TV so, using her legs, she scooted all the way across the floor, on her back, to the TV. It looked so funny! That little stinker...she is a Leo which means she will do what she wants to do and will do it her own way! Gives new meaning to "kicking back"!

Updates

I know I will regret saying this someday; however, I am so happy now that Sydney has gained some independence and can entertain her self some. I feel like some of my sanity has been regained. I realize this is only short term! She is so active that I know I am in trouble once she can crawl and walk!

I always thought that I would be one of those parents that wouldn't let my kid watch TV for awhile...YA RIGHT!! Sydney's favorite thing to do right now is to be in her Jumper watching Baby Einsteins Baby's First Moves! She goes crazy and is able to be active and learn at the same time. You should see how she focuses on the babies crawling and walking! And when the puppets come on the screen she gets this huge smile on her face and jumps and jumps!! I get tired just watching her. Of course, I cannot leave her in the Jumper for too long or she gets way over stimulated.

The last couple of days I have been trying to work on her rolling more. She does great rolling from side to side but just doesn't seem too interested in rolling from front to back. We have also been working on nap times. She still does her morning nap with me but her afternoon nap has been in her swing listening to music. She takes awhile to go to sleep but will usually sleep for an hour once she is out.

Last night was a tough one. She went to bed at 7:30pm but was up at 10 and again a couple more times until around 12pm. Each of those times, Greg rocked her back to sleep - no feeding. She was then up again at 2am, I think! I fed her and rocked her but once I put her in her crib, she decided she was wide awake and wasn't going back to sleep. I don't want her to get in the habit of thinking we are going to rock her to sleep all night long, so I left her crying in her crib. Greg checked in on her a few minutes later and she was still crying so he rocked her for a few minutes and put her back in her crib. I lose track of time at this point but lets just say that we really didn't sleep last night. At 3am we just let her cry herself to sleep. It was soooo hard to do but there was nothing wrong with her and we all needed sleep! I feel like I am a good Mommy and have the hang of most things but I am horrible with this night stuff! I need my sleep!

We will definitely be focusing on naps today!!

Another Special Moment

Yes, yes, yes...last night Sydney only got up one time! This is huge! I cannot remember the last time she has done this. She went to bed at 7:30pm, woke up at 1:30am and went back to sleep until 7am. That's not to say I didn't wake up in between those times, as my body clock is used to, but at least I didn't have to get up and feed and rock her all night long!!! It will be even better when she does this again tonight, and the night after that, and the night after that...!!

Remember in my blog last week, before my Grandmother came, I stated how special it will be to see my Grandmother holding our daughter because I will never get to see my Mother do this. Well, it was very special. In fact, I had a very special moment that I wanted to share with you all.

My Grandmother arrived on Thursday and although it was a little chilly for Arizona, it was a very sunny day. My Grandmother is a very good golfer. At 83 years old, she still golfs once a week in Minnesota during the summer. Any ways, Thursday afternoon we were all standing out in our backyard on our putting green. Grandma was trying to practice putting but our dog Zoey kept scooping up the balls before they could get to the hole. Grandma thought this was so funny! As I watched Grandma laughing and putting, I took a quiet moment to just take everything in. I looked over at my Uncle Paul and my Great Aunt Donna and saw how happy they looked as they bathed in the warm sun. I looked at Sydney staring intently at Zoey, waiting for her to scoop up another golf ball. I then felt a sudden warmth go through my body. I could see my Mother looking down at us with a joyful smile, knowing we were all just where she wanted us to be, enjoying life and being with each other. I know you were with us at that moment Mom, I felt you!

I haven't shared that moment with anyone yet, you are the first to hear about it. I wanted to keep it to myself for awhile. I am sharing now because I realize it's just to beautiful to keep all to myself.

Momma!!

Yesterday morning when Greg went to get Sydney out of her crib, she said, "Momma." I chalked it up to her just babbling. Again yesterday as we were running errands she said, "Momma!" Then, this morning, after a long night, we again woke up to Sydney saying, "Momma," over and over in her crib until Greg went and got her. Could it be, does she really know that I am Momma? How cool is that!!!!

Sydney's sleeping has taken a turn for the worse the last couple of weeks. Just when we got to a point where she didn't need the swaddle and she was only waking one time, she now wants the swaddle again and is waking up 2-3 or 4 times per night. It's sooo frustrating, especially when Momma has a cold! I believe a lot of this has to do with her teething. Greg helps out with the first time she wakes up and rocks her to sleep. I don't want to go in with her at this time or she smells my breasts and wants food! She really doesn't need to be fed all of these times when she wakes up!

So, today, I am going to add an additional feeding of solids so she is getting three solid meals a day on top of her normal breast milk. This morning she ate a whole container of applesauce and a tablespoon full of oatmeal cereal!!! So far her favorites are sweet potatoes, prunes and apple sauce. She doesn't like her cereal unless I mix a little something in it! We tried the bottle thing again yesterday also...didn't go well at all! It even had breast milk in it. She just won't latch on to the nipple!!!

A Look Back...

So I was taking a look down memory lane and came across these pictures...Oh my Gosh, I was HUGE!!! Look at my face!

39 Weeks...WOW!!

Every day I look at my belly and see the hanging skin and get upset...then I look at my little girl and realize, it was all worth it!!My Little Diva!

A Great Time

We had a wonderful visit with Grandma, GUP, and great aunt Donna (my Grandmother's sister). Although it was a very short visit, we were still able to cram in many laughs, story telling, strolls down memory lane, and of course lots of playing with Sydney.
Out little Sydney is becoming more precious each day. Watching her discover the world around her along with her own body and it's capabilities is priceless. She loves to watch her Baby Einstein movie and roll around on her back playing with her feet, blowing bubbles and gabbing away.
Today she did three things that made me laugh out loud. First, I was trying to get her to take a much needed afternoon nap. I fed her and then had her laying on my chest. She was really trying to fight the sleep and pulling out all of her usual tricks, but I was not going to give in. Then, she pulled a new one on me...out of the corner of my eyes I could see her looking up and staring at my face, just waiting for me to look down at her. I was determined to stay strong and not look down but temptation gave in and I took a peak. The moment she saw my eyes look down she let out a huge giggle and gave me one of those cheek to cheek gum smiles!! I, of course, couldn't help it and laughed with her. I did finally get her to calm down and we both took a much needed nap!

The other two funny things she did happened tonight during bath time. Out of all the baths she has taken, tonight was the first time she noticed the bath suds. She was amazed by these suds and how they seemed to bunch up on her belly. I had to keep repositioning her in the tub because she was determined to get her head down by her belly to get a really good look at the strange suds...very cute. Also in the tub, she discovered that she could make really big splashes by kicking her feet. She has kicked her feet in the tub before but not to this extreme. There was hardly any water left in the tub by the time we were finished. She did manage to tire herself out however; and fell asleep very quickly.

As I sit here and write this post, I feel excited (and tired)! In one day, Sydney discovered so much...and so many more discoveries await!

Exciting Day

Something very exciting is going to happen today...my grandmother (my mother's mom) is coming to meet Sydney for the first time!!!! To see my grandma hold Sydney for the first time will be very emotional for us. I will never get to see my mother hold my daughter, a thought that often brings me sadness. To see my grandma hold our daughter may possibly fill some of that void. I know she is very excited also and I imagine she didn't get much sleep last night either due to the anticipation. My uncle Paul is driving over also so Sydney will get to see GUP again!

Sydney is full throttle in her teething stage. She was up twice again last night so I gave her some Tylenol. She is constantly pulling at her ears, drooling and biting. I think I can even see where the teeth may be coming in (bottom middle teeth). I feel so bad for her so I just try to keep her busy to occupy her mind. We have reintroduced solids again as she seems hungry a lot. Hopefully, her tummy will settle down some and she'll have an easy transition.

I think I mentioned that I bought her a Rainforest Jumperoo over the weekend. She absolutely loves it. We took it to Nana's the other day and Sydney was going nuts in it jumping around. Nana and me were laughing so hard it brought tears to our eyes! I brought it upstairs yesterday while I was taking a shower. I put Sydney in it in front of the mirror so she could watch herself. I can see her while I shower. I was laughing hysterically in the shower watching her watch herself jumping. She was smiling and making the funniest faces! What a treat to see her have so much fun. Watching her brought me so much joy that I had goosebumps! I have learned that I cannot leave her in it too long because it gets her way too excited!

I will try to get pictures up after grandma's visit.

Hit a Cord

It's always interesting to see what posts I will actually get a response from as it seems no one really responds anymore. I sometimes even think of ending my blog because I am not sure if anyone is really reading it anymore and it's extra work that I really don't seem to have time for right now.

My response yesterday hit a cord with someone, and I imagine it will hit a cord with many more. I guess I should remind everyone that in my post, I was comparing myself only. I didn't say in the post that all stay home moms work harder than out of the home working moms. In the post I was simply saying that I work harder right now and have less time right now than I did when I worked out of the home. My daughter is sooooo active and requires sooo much attention that I don't seem to get anything done. I don't get laundry done or any other house cleaning for that matter during the day. I do get some of it done in the morning before Greg leaves for work. Again, I need to remind you that Greg works 12 hour days Monday-Friday. I don't have extra help at night. I do it all by myself every night of the week. No one to help free me up to make dinner or help with feedings or help with baths or bedtime. I do it every night by myself. When she is in bed, then I clean, finish laundry, make dinner, clean up, and maybe, if I am lucky, I have time to read an article in a magazine.

Now, maybe I could do things differently with Sydney's nap times and I might be able to free up an hour or two during my day. But, when I lay Sydney down by herself for naps, she only sleeps 15-30 minutes if she even sleeps at all! And, since we are already going thru so much transition with the taking of the swaddle, teething, and stomach issues from solids, the change in naps have to wait. So, I just spent along time trying to explain that I don't have free time during my day either!

And weekends, what a pain they are! We spend all of our free time rushing trying to get our house immaculate because we have open houses almost every weekend. We need to sell our house ASAP since I am now a working mom who doesn't get a paycheck. Imagine that stress! On top of weekend open houses, we also have them during the week and the house needs to be ready to show at anytime. That's a lot of stress to place on one person. All of you know that babies are messy and require a lot of equipment which tends to mess a house quickly!

Everyone experiences a situation differently. What I might consider very difficult, the next person may think is easy, vice versa. So, while I understand why this hit a cord with some people, remember, this is my blog and I write about myself and my experiences freely. I would not intentially try to offend or upset anyone by writing down my thoughts.

Sydney Updates - 5 Months Old!!!

It's been a long time, again, since I have written. Time just gets away from me and I forget to blog. I have been thinking a lot about why I feel like I never get phone calls and writing done. You would think that since I am a stay home mom, I should have more time than moms who work out of the home. But if you carry that thought just a bit further, it makes more sense as to why I may actually have less time...

Mom's who work out of the home of course have the rush factor in the morning of getting everyone ready, but I also have the rush factor. I have 1 hour to get anything done that I cannot do when I am alone with Sydney. Remember, Greg works 12 hour days Monday-Friday so I am basically a single mom during the week.

Working moms come home from work, make dinner, clean up, bath the kids, get them to bed, etc. Well, I do all of that also. I feed Sydney her solids, then we play for a bit, then it's bath time, then we do the bedtime routine and I brestfeed her and rock her and then put her to bed. I then clean up the house and put toys away, prepare dinner for Greg and I for when he gets home from work, clean up dinner, and then it's bedtime.

Working moms drop their kids off at day care and then go to work. At work, they have breaks and lunch times. I, on the other hand, do not have daycare or breaks or lunch. Now, I am not complaining because I made the choice not to utilize daycare and I am happy with that decision. And, I get to see all of Sydney's firsts. I do, however, feel like I work harder now than I ever did at any of my paying jobs!! I know I am definitely more exhausted at the end of the day!! Sydney gets bored very easy and I feel like I never sit down!

On a lighter note, Sydney is doing awesome! I looked at her again today and got tears in my eyes. This look she gives me is just priceless. Greg says she looks at me so differently than she looks at anyone else. It's like she reads me and read her. The weather has cleared up nicely the last week which has allowed us to utilize the jogging stroller. It's more difficult running with a stroller but we are starting to get the hang of it. The last two times we have been out with it, Sydney has fallen asleep. So, I put my Ipod in one ear and listen to some good rock music as I run.

We have started to introduce other solids. We started with cereal for 2 weeks. We then tried bananas but that caused way too much gas for Sydney so we then tried sweet potatoes. She loves sweet potatoes!! We then tried peas, which took some getting used to but then we realized they were also giving her more gas. We also tried prunes, which she absolutely loved, however, they too caused terrible gas!! To top off all of this gas, she was then constipated and didn't poop for three days! She also started teething and was up all night on Sat. So, I decided to stop all solids for the last two days. She finally pooped last night and again today. I also had to use the swaddle (only wrapping one arm) so she could get some sleep last night since we all only got about 2-3 hours the night before. I also gave her some Tylenol. She slept almost all night, only getting up once. Today, she tugged at her ears a lot and didn't really take a good nap. She is drooling like crazy and wanted to bite on everything! It does feel like the bottom teeth are getting close. Wish us luck tonight!


Sydney is not fond of floor time, back or tummy; therefore, she slowed down some on rolling over. The last couple days I have let her cry it out some, forcing her to do some floor time. She rolls from side to side but not front to back yet. She loves to be standing and sitting and in her baby Bjorn. Yesterday we got her a Jumperoo which she loves!! I actually got to eat lunch with both hands today as she jumped in the Jumperoo and watched a Baby Einstein movie!


Well, I have completely rushed through this and know I have probably demonstrated horrible grammar...please forgive me. I just wanted to get something posted quick before Greg gets home and we eat. I will try and get pictures up soon.