new year, new us

2010. Well, here's hoping this year brings us better things on the financial front then 2009 did. We just seem to be taking hit after hit financially and because of this I have started looking for a job again. I don't want anyone to say, "oh you can find areas to cut costs... but you are the most important person in your child's life... they are only young once." Believe me, I know all this and it pulls (more like YANKS) on my heart strings and I've cried my eyes out about it but there is only so much that one income can do for you and when it can barely pay all your bills there is a problem. We need to eat. We have a mortgage. We have medical bills. We have student loans. We have credit card debt - which is scheduled to be paid off in Dec 2012... then we will be debt free... what a feeling! We have propane, cable/internet, cell phones, electric, water/garbage, a 2nd mortgage, car insurance, life insurance, 2 car payments, gas, groceries and I'm sad to add... we'll soon probably have daycare costs. We do the minimum on everything... we don't have fancy cable where you can watch movies on demand or tivo your favorite shows. We don't have internet or anything fancy on our cell phones... just the basics. But yet even with the basic everything we cannot seem to get ahead. It is so frustrating. So please pray that I can find a job that I somewhat enjoy. That my children are happy and thriving in whatever environment they are put in (home or daycare). That a little weight is lifted off my husbands shoulders. The last thing I want him to feel like is a failure because he can't support his family. We simply have to many bills.

My New Years Resolution is to become more stable financially (and to post more entries here!). To have savings. To be able to go to a movie or out to dinner once in a while with my husband... which never happens now because we wouldn't be able to afford this bill or that bill.

I dislike money. The end.

On to more happy things... my kids are cute. I know.

Cooper - 3 months - in his baptism outfit and Santa hat!
Ellie - 3 years - in her pretty dress from Great Grandma R.Santa came to Grandma Judi and Papa's house! I just think their mantle is so pretty and festive!
This morning we were up and dressed. Cleaning up the house... getting ready for the Vikings game... happy as can be.
Then he did this... while breastfeeding. So you can imagine what I also looked like. :)
I cleaned up Coop and took a shower. Then we got all ready for the Vikings game! Go Vikes!!
Now it's been hours since I started this post (funny how that works, huh!) and the Vikings game is over and we WON! 44-7! Woot woot!! They are gonna go ALL THE WAY!! (hoping anyways :))

Hmmm... what else has been going on?

Greg is having surgery in a week and a half. Our health insurance is SO AWESOME ((sarcasm)) that the hospital wants $1700 down in order to do it... they told us this LAST WEEK! So in other words... no, they are not getting that much money from us... $500 if they are lucky... but that will put a dent in our already barely there $$ for bills, so starts the falling behind... see what I mean now when I say we keep getting hit with odd ball things financially!

The weather here is TERRIBLE. Cold. Why do I live here? Today's high was supposed to be 4. Not 40, no. 4! Brrrr. I'm ready to move somewhere warm.

We bought a for sale sign for our house... it is still sitting in the kitchen.

We watched the Hangover the other night. Hilarious.

Ellie went to her first movie yesterday with my parents. They went to the Princess and the Frog. We were wondering how she'd do with the dark and the loudness of it all. But she loved it!

Ellie funny: today she asked me if my boobs also made juice!! haha! Those little kids and what they think up. Cracks me up. I love her to pieces. :)

Happy New Year!

my weight

Yesterday I lifted Ellie to give her a hug and she seemed SO heavy so I thought I'd weigh her to see if she's gained any weight. We have been stuck at the 28 lb mark for her forever and she never goes above that... even at 3 1/2 years old! Well, she was still there. I never ever weigh myself but since I had the scale out I thought I'd see how much I'd lost since having Cooper. Now I know I'm not a small girl and being that this is my journal I am going to just put it all out there... since I plan to continue losing with the 30 Day Shred and want to blog about it you will all know my weight then anyways. So... dun dun dun... I weighed 220 lbs 3 days before delivering Cooper. I weighed 210 when I got pregnant in December. Now holy hannah banana yesterday I weighed 194! Down 26 lbs!! I don't think I've been that low since I graduated from college 8 years ago! I am in shock. I feel like I've been eating crappy. Grabbing a bowl of whatever I've made Ellie for lunch... like mac n cheese. Drinking to much pop and coffee. Eating cookies and chips. Must be the breastfeeding. And if this is the case... I think I'm going to breastfeed Coop until he's 27.

my life with 2 kids... lord help me!

Wow, hi! It has been so long since I've updated here! Everything is going ok. Life has definitely changed. I am crazy tired. Getting very little sleep sure can do some crazy things to your body/mind! I have so much on my mind to talk about and my mind is just a cluster of thoughts right now. So this post may be a bit choppy!

Cooper is getting so big already! He eats like a horse. He is just completely the opposite of Ellie. He took to a bottle the very first time. He doesn't sleep much during the night and always wants to be held (even when he sleeps) so that is a tad challenging. He'll sleep 3 hours straight in my arms or 1 hour in his bed... hmm... which do you think I prefer? I am pumping and we are feeding him a bottle during the day so I can get a bit of a break. At night I breastfeed. Last Monday at discharge class he already weighed 10 lbs 5 oz! He will be 5 weeks old on Friday. Cloth diapering is going good. I usually wash a load of them every day but it seems so much easier then spending $50+ a month on disposables. The pictures below show one of the brands we were using... they are called Kushies... but I was not happy with their inability to hold in blowouts... in other words... we had to many leaks and so these are going on ebay. I much prefer the Bummis... will do a post on those later.

Ellie is adjusting. She is being naughtier than usual and her mouth has gotten her in trouble a few times. I am not able to give her as much of my time (obviously!) which has been breaking my heart a bit also. She is saying some weird things... like telling us she is sad (ugh, breaks my heart!). So we are now trying to give her more attention and positive attention. We want to have an Ellie and Mommy day and an Ellie and Daddy day once a month so we are hoping that'll help when we start that. We will do things like go to the park, have lunch, go have a coffee, etc. Just to make her feel more special. Yesterday we got a much needed break when my sister offered to take Ellie for the day. She took her out to lunch and shopping. Greg and I were able to run errands in peace! With just Cooper. We even had a quiet lunch alone. It was marvelous!!

Greg is also adjusting. This has been real hard for him. He was never certain he wanted children and now he has 2! He has a short fuse with all of us at times... he isn't a fan of the newborn stage of sleeping, eating, changing and crying. He was just perfectly content with Ellie and the nice routine we had with her. Cooper has thrown that routine WAY out of order!! :) Like I said... still adjusting! :)

I am also adjusting. My body is pretty much back to normal minus the jelly belly with terribly ugly squiggly lines running every direction over it! I healed well and fast this time. My mind on the other hand has not healed so much... I am tired and emotional. I am overloaded with emotions. I feel sad one moment content the next. I feel lonely. I feel overwhelmed. I feel scared because Greg is going back to work next week and I am going to be alone with 2 little bodies who need SO MUCH FROM ME! He is going back to nights also so I am going to have to be up all nigh (alone) with Cooper and then get up bright and early (usually 7) with Ellie. How the hell am I going to function? Plus I am looking at cleaning 2 family members homes once a week and my old boss is asking me when I'm ready to come work for her once a week or so and I have jewelry parties on my calendar. OMG. Can we say OVERWHELMED?!?! I am so overwhelmed. Ugh. I have my 6 week appointment in a week and a half so until then I am just not going to commit to any work schedule. I need to get my head and my hormones back in line... but am really feeling the pressure because we need the $$ so bad!

Greg has been out of work for over a month... not by our choice. So we have been hit hard financially and that has also caused a lot of my overwhelming feelings. He is our only income at this time and going from that to NOTHING is a bit of a challenge when one has a mortgage, utilities, student loans, etc... this last month has been nothing short of a miracle that we are still hanging on here, still married, still in love actually! We have been blessed with Greg's dad and my family being able to help us financially. We have been given so many wonderful gifts from friends/family... clothes for Cooper, formula, money, toys, gifts for Ellie and even paint for 2 rooms in our house (from Melissa - click here)!! Wow. It really has been unbelievable.

Ok. "my life with 2 kids" will continue another day. I have a heater of a little body sleeping on my chest and another one requesting something to drink... so I best be on my way.

Ta~ta for now :)

I'm paranoid... are you?

Ok, call me crazy but I am seriously afraid of his H1N1 flu. I am paranoid that my baby is going to get it and not be able to survive it. Like I said, call me crazy, but this seriously gives me huge amounts of anxiety and fear. If I think about it to much I start bawling like a baby because I feel like I can't protect him, like it's out of my control. Not a cool feeling.

So today I Googled "What happens if my newborn gets H1N1?" I found this website where Claire McCarthy, a Harvard Pediatrician, answers moms questions regarding the flu. Here's her answer.

How can I protect my newborn? Should I avoid going out in public places with her?

Newborns are vulnerable to all sorts of germs, not just flu viruses, so keeping them protected is a good idea all the time, not just now. Here are some ideas for keeping your newborn (actually, any baby less than six months old) healthy:
• Be careful about who holds and touches her. Everybody wants to hold and touch babies, because they are so cute--but anybody who is even slightly sick should keep their distance. If you present it as a "rule", people will be less likely to take offense (not that you should care if they do).
• Even if people seem healthy, insist that they wash their hands (or use hand sanitizer) before holding or touching the baby.
• Avoid crowded public places if possible. If you need to go out, consider using a sling or other baby carrier that keeps her close to you.
• Breastfeed! Breast milk contains antibodies that can help keep her healthy. Don't stop breastfeeding if you get sick--the antibodies your body makes to fight your infection will pass through the milk and give her a head start on fighting the same infection. If she gets sick, breast milk is absolutely the best thing for her.

So, I am going to try to remain calm. That's a BIG "try". We went to church on Sunday and I did wear him in my baby bjorn... but I just think I'll be less worried if I don't go to church for a few weeks or so (avoiding a very public place) and I might even have Greg do most of the grocery shopping since he's off for another month. We will continue to let Ellie go to Sunday School as I feel she obviously has a stronger immune system.

We have Coop's 2 week appointment on Friday afternoon and you better believe it that I'll be asking our pediatrician about a thousand questions about all this. Ugh. Parenting brings on all sorts of new worries to an already hormonal, emotional worry-wart mommy like me! :)

Cooper's Birth Story

~ Thursday September 10th 2009 ~

I woke up this day with contractions from the get-go. They were sporadic. Mild. They didn't seem a ton different than all the braxton hicks I'd had in the prior 2 months. We went about our day. Had company over for a little play date. Then had a meeting in Hudson that evening for lia sophia. Hudson is almost an hour away for us so we weren't sure if we should go or not... but I figured why not, this is probably nothing anyways. So off we went. The meeting started at 7 and I was still feeling pretty good at that point. As the meeting went on though we were in small group discussion and I kept having more painful contractions. I tried my hardest not to let on that they were happening. But I was getting SO hot that I thought my face and neck must be beat red. As it was time to switch groups I asked my sister if I was red and she said I wasn't. We finished up the small groups and got back together as one large group. Awards were handed out for the month of August. Greg and I got King and Queen of sales again for our unit! Woot woot!! :) My manager also mentioned what a dedicated team we were to be there in the midst of possibly going into labor! Little did we all know how right she was! :)

During the drive home I was having more steady consistent and painful contractions. We got to my parents to pick up Ellie around 10:15 and were home by about 10:45. I got the feeling that my parents wanted us to stay in town for the night due to the contractions but I just really wanted to get home and sleep in my own bed. (We live about 30 minutes from town out in farm country... so it would take us that long to get to the hospital.)

~Friday September 11th 2009 ~

I finally crawled into bed around midnight. The contractions continued... I was woken up at 2 a.m. by much more painful contractions. I kept track of them until 2:40 (they were every 5 minutes apart) then I woke up Greg and said I think it's time to go. We called the hospital first and the OB nurse told me to take a bath and drink some water first... this is what they always say because if they are false contractions doing both those things will tend to ease the contractions and/or take them away completely. I was thinking... you take a bath and drink a couple glasses of water lady! I'm coming in!! But instead I said, the pain is so bad during the contractions that all I want to do is swear. She said, come on in! :)

We met my parents at the hospital. I was at about 3 minutes apart by then and oh did I have to pee. BAD. We made our way up to OB where they proceeded to hook me up to monitors and all that junk. IV was in. They checked me and I was 4 cm dilated. By this time it was 3:30 a.m.

Now is where all the timing goes awry in my brain. It was a blur between 3:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. when I was finally dilated to 10 cm. During this time I was given an IV drug that I thought would be able to get me thru labor so I wouldn't need the epidural. Shaaa right. It worked for a bit in the beginning... maybe 30 minutes or so. I felt totally loopy and at ease... but then it wore off. By the time I was dilated to 6 cm I asked for the epi. It was given to me and I was comfortable... but then something happened and it only was working on the left side of my body. I was having this very direct pain in one particular spot in my abdomen area on the right side that hurt more and more with each contraction.

During all this the monitors were picking up a heartbeat for Cooper at about 60-70 some beats per minute. This was WAY to low as it should be around 120-140 ish... but soon they realized they were picking up MY heartbeat. Thank God.

The contractions continued and that spot in my abdomen continued to hurt like hell. The nurse offered to have anesthesia come up and give me something else to help take the edge off and I was so nervous to take MORE drugs but I finally just said YES PLEASE! So they gave me to more injections in my IV and oh as quick as that the pain was gone. Gone in between contractions anyway. It was just so weird, I had the epidural but I could still feel every single contraction. Just in a lessor form.

Finally it was 9:45 and I was dilated to 10 cm. I knew Ellie and my parents had just gotten to the hospital as we all thought it would take longer to get to 10... and the nurse said pushing now wasn't imminent so if I wanted to spend a few minutes with Ellie before starting to push I could. So in came my beautiful little girl with my parents. They spent about 15 minutes with us and took one last family picture before leaving. It was such an emotional time for me. I was sad that our family of 3 was changing (here I go, crying again right now), it was time to push (the hardest part was still ahead of me and I knew it), my parents, Greg and Katie were emotional and I was so scared to start pushing. SO SCARED. I was bawling. I knew what the result was 3 years ago when I pushed and I just was dreading the entire thing again. Dr. S came up to me many times during laboring just to comfort me and assure me that the second time around was usually very different than the first. He was such a great doctor. I was blessed to have him AND my pediatrician for Ellie on staff that day/weekend.

Time to push. I was pissed. I thought everyone was lying to me. I was tired of hearing the, "good job Kris's", the "you're doing greats", the "keep it ups"... I just wanted to say shut the eff up and tell me the truth... I didn't feel like the pushing was doing anything. I wanted to give up many times and the thought that ran thru my head most often was... can I just have a C-section please? But as time went on I do have to say this labor was SO very different than Ellie's. I was able to move around. Push on my back, pull on the overhead bar, get up and lean on the overhead bar and push in a squatting position and then finally found the position that worked... I lay on my right side with my left leg being held up to my chest by Katie or Greg and pushed. This is how I was the entire remainder of the delivery.

This time around I was so much more aware of my surroundings. I felt like I was involved in this delivery. I could feel every contraction. Every bit of pressure. But yet it was so peaceful (after all the drugs set in ;)). I was so aware of everything that at one point it was SO damn quiet in the room I asked that they turn on CMT so I could at least hear some music during all this!

Cooper's head was finally making it down the canal and with each push Dr. S would tell me, ok - we are at the knuckle in the middle of my finger, ok- we are at the knuckle nearest my fingernail... this helped SO much because I was able to understand just how close Coopers head was to the outside world! I felt with each push that I just had to push a little harder and it would all be over!

And finally, after pushing for just a little over 2.5 hours it was over. His head was out... then his little body. He was on me in an instant and stayed there for quite some time. Greg cut the cord. They told me that I should let them know when I was ready to have him weighed, etc. They didn't whisk him off for tests, etc. With Ellie it was so different because she had her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice and they had to use the vacuum to get her out. It was such chaos and confusion. I didn't know what was happening, Greg didn't get to cut her cord, there were so many distractions and fears of the unknown that I just didn't get to enjoy the moment.

With Ellie I had 3rd degree tears up and down my perineum and deep into the area. This time around I had only 5 stitches and probably would have had less but Dr. S found a cyst inside my perineum that he removed. (Dr. S just called today and said it was benign.) I am definitely sore and will need a good couple weeks to heal... I think my tail bone area took the brunt of the delivery... it is very, very sore... but I just feel so good. I can sit for periods, walk, play with Ellie and pretty much go on as usual. With Ellie I was unable to sit in a car without a donut pillow for weeks!

And if you can believe it, while it hurt like hell, I enjoyed Coopers labor and delivery. It was so beautiful. So, so beautiful. Greg will kill me for saying this when he reads this... but while the day after delivery I said, WE ARE DONE! Now, 6 days later I'm like... hmm... I'm loving this baby thing... I would SO do it again!! :)

Another difference this time around is that I'm so peaceful at home. I was very sad to leave the nurses as they are such a crutch for a new mom. Always there with the push of a button for help, with answers to your questions, with drugs :), with food, etc... I really still do miss them. But with Ellie I was in such a new place. I didn't know what I was doing. I was breast feeding and couldn't believe how much time I had to spend feeding her. I was angry and frustrated a lot of the time. This time I just am at ease. I am happy to go have 20 quiet minutes with Cooper 15,000 times a day so he can eat. He is just this beautiful little being who needs me to feed him and kiss him and love him with patience and I am able to do it so much easier this time around and I'm not sure why? Maybe I'm no longer scared that I'm not doing something right. Or maybe just knowing that I've done this before and knowing that Ellie has grown into a beautiful smart as a whip little girl, that I can do it again, no problem.

Oh I love being a mom. Love it.

time to get on with it

I want to have this baby now. I am tired of heartburn. Tired of being tired, uncomfortable and tired of having joint and back pain. Tired of worrying.

Can this happen at week 36? (I'll be there Wednesday)

Reality has set in. I'm scared. Scared of the pain of labor. Scared of the possibility of being home alone with Ellie (Greg works weird night shift work right now) when labor starts. Scared of severe tearing like I had with Ellie. (My perineal area must know what is coming and is preparing itself... because it is so swollen, sore and tender... it feels raw. This totally freaks me out). Scared of not getting there in time for an epidural and having to do it all on my own. Scared of pushing. Scared that I won't have the energy to push and get thru the labor... because I am so exhausted with trying to clean/prepare my house and baby stuff and chasing Ellie around every day. I think I'm more scared this time than last because I know what to expect... and although I did heal last time... it was a long road of bottom pain, sore nipples from breast feeding... etc, etc. I am just so scared of so many things. I want this to all be over!

I slept terrible last night. This must be affecting my emotional state today because I am just kinda weepy and want this baby out now. I want to get past all my worries and the pain and be home with my baby.

I have an appointment tomorrow... I am praying that I'm dilated to at least 3, 4 would be nice because I would feel like I'm more on my way to delivery... I have had on and off contractions throughout the last few days... nothing real steady. We will have an ultrasound tomorrow to check on the baby's position. Will also be tested for strep B.

Hope everything is good tomorrow... I'm ready to get on with it!

breast feeding

Can anyone help me explain breast feeding in 3 year old terms. Ellie mentioned the baby eating baby food when he comes out. I told her that babies sometimes eat from their mommies and she looked at me and said, "can I too?" Umm. No. She is infatuated with boobs. I'm afraid when I tell her the baby will eat from mine she'll be even more interested in boobs. This is hard. How did you explain this to your first child when the 2nd or subsequent child came along?

Doesn't this look delish?  2 scoops of vanilla ice cream drizzled with butterscotch carmel topping and sprinkled with 2 samoas (girl scout cookies). Delish.  
This is the extent of my cooking today.  I keep thinking everyday that "today is the day" that I am going to be done with all this queasy belly business... then I go and throw up this morning and have felt like ish for most of the day.  I have been doing pretty good lately.  Friday night I was able to stay at a friends house until almost 7... which is pretty good being that I'm usually in bed by 7!  

I'm starting to get spring fever.  I cannot wait to open my windows and let the fresh (sometimes cow manure smelling) air come in.  Next weekend we are planning to move Ellie to her new room.  My parents are going to come out and help us move furniture and my mom and I will be getting the rubbermaid bins out and going through all of Ellie's clothes and packing up old/too small things.  I cannot wait to declutter and clean!  I have literally done nothing in the last 8 weeks since feeling like crap... besides a little bit of laundry.  This house needs a major deep cleaning.  I will for sure post before and after pics of her new room.  

We plan to turn her old room into a guest room for the time being and within a year from now we'll move baby up there. I figure, like with Ellie, baby will be in a bassinet next to my side of the bed (most convenient for breast feeding at night) for the first 6 months or so... unless he/she grows out of the bassinet.  

More whining about work... if you don't wanna hear it don't read on...

I fell on Friday morning in the driveway of Ellie's daycare.  There was this thin layer of ice covering the cement and I had no idea since it was almost 40 out! Which to us here in MN is like a breath of warm spring air!  It's 45?  No coat needed today!  Anyways... I had my left hand on the inside handle of the car, pushed the door open and stepped out with my left foot and slide right on forward on my ass and my legs went under my the open car door, all the while I was still holding onto the door!  I was soaking wet through to my underwear and also a bit muddy.  I decided I didn't want to drive all the way home so instead went to my parents to put my pants and underwear in the dryer.  Called bosslady and told her I'd be about 15-30 min late.  Then called my coworker to cover the front desk until I got there.  No big deal, right?  It was an accident and they happen.  

So I get to work and my coworker says to me that bosslady came in and asked why I wasn't there yet... coworker told bosslady I'd fallen and was at my parents house drying my clothes. (She would soon find this out when she listens to her voice mail)  What does bosslady say?  Not, oh, is she ok?  Did she hurt herself?  Oh no.  She asked my coworker if I fell at work.  Nothing more.  WTF, huh?  Real nice. Her concern was the company not having to pay out money for my dr bills if I had to go in.  I am ok.  A bit bruised up and some sore, sore muscles in my left arm and back... I also hit my left knee on the bottom of the car door which is probably the thing that hurts the worst... but I'm fine otherwise.

Then the entire day went by as I sat at the front desk and she walked by me numerous times and never once asked me if I was ok.  #(%^&^#&^(&#$*&$. Seriously.  This irritates me to no end.  Heartless.  Ugh.  Sickening.  I pray to God I never ever treat anyone the way she treats her staff.  Some days I pray for a layoff.  So, so bad of me to think like that.  Especially at a time like this when so many people are getting laid off.  But seriously.  It is terrible.  I know I should be thankful for my job and I try to remind myself of that daily... although it is not easy!

So what's up with all you?  I have slowly been getting a chance to read your blogs and catch up on what's going on in your life... but it seems that a few people I've loved reading in the past have taken a blogging sabbatical.  What's up?  No time?  Bored with blogging?  Well I miss you and your updates!  Chas I wanna hear about what's going on with the girls... Teach what's up with you?!  I know you have a baby on the go now... which completely changes things... but I miss you!  You always made me laugh!  Well, maybe you'll be making me laugh in real life if we do actually meet on the 22nd!!  Can't wait :)  Oh and my hubby... I think he's been on the longest dry run of blogging of anyone.  I miss his posts too... I'll have to talk to him about that!  

New Me, Day 2

My day in food...

Breakfast - ff vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries and a tbs of grape nuts, 12 oz grapefruit juice
Snack - Luna bar... (these are soooooo good! I got the carmel nut brownie ones and I heart them!)
Lunch - 12 reduced fat (rf) club crackers with tuna fish spread on top... then I splurged and had a toaster strudel... (head hung in shame) and I had a 12 oz bottle of coke and didn't finish about 3 oz of it.
Snack - raw carrots and dill dip - I am looking for a low fat homemade dill dip recipe if anyone has a good one!
Dinner - steamed broccoli, 1 slice wheat bread with rf peanut butter, 1 piece of string cheese and a glass of milk.

I'm 16 oz shy of my 64 oz water goal. I'll get there before bed time.

I don't feel like I'm totally following along with the recommended amounts of fruits, veggies, proteins, starches and dairy but what I do know is that I am eating a TON healthier and a TON less. So even though every day I may not get in each of the required items... I feel like this just might work. I am feeling great about what I'm eating and I haven't felt the urge to eat chips... which I thought would be the hardest thing. It is interesting cause about the time I am feeling hungry, it is time for another meal. I love the 5 meals a day idea... that really helps curbs any hunger driven cheating.

So... onto another first. I worked out today. Yes, I said worked out. You better sit down. Not only did I walk on the treadmill for 14 minutes I ran for 1. Don't laugh please. Until I have the proper attire to hold in the girls I cannot run on the treadmill. Breastfeeding has not been good to them and they no longer stay in one place. Anywho, I am starting with 15 min this week and will up it 5 min each week until I feel enough is enough... probably somewhere between 45-60 min's. After the treadmill I did 8 push-ups, used my 5 lb weights worked on arms then finished with sit-ups. Wow. I'm so impressed with myself. Not to sound like a snot... but I am! :)

Unrelated topics...

Do 22 month olds have pms? Cause I think E is suffering from it right now. She will suddenly be so po'd about something I've done that she has a mini tantrum right in front of me... crying, throwing herself on the floor, sometimes she doesn't even cry... just acts like she is and adds the howling in... what is up with this? Is this what I have to look forward to for the next year? Urghhh!

Does your body get used to all this water? Cause I am peeing 2387749098434 times a day and have been having to convince everyone at work that I am not pg... I am just drinking more water.

I think I am going to be sore tomorrow. I'm heading to my nice warm cozy bed to cuddle up with my book. The further away from the chip cupboard I am the better! Night :)

Good morning everyone... well the day has finally come, I have to go back to work tomorrow! I am kinda sad about it, I wish I could stay home everyday with E. I know I'll get used to it but it will be a bit of a challenge and there will definitely be a few tears.

E had her 2 month check up on Friday. She got 3 shots in her thigh (2 on one side one on the other) all immunizations. They definitely made her SUPER cranky on Friday evening. She had a bit of a temp but that's gone away now. She weighs 12 lbs 1 oz and is healthy.

G and I along with our dr decided to start E on some formula. I am not pumping enough milk to keep up w/ E's needs. So we are now mixing equal parts formula and breast milk. She took it right away and doesn't seem to be having any problems with it. I was a bit concerned that the iron in the formula would give her a tummy ache or make her constipated, but it's done neither. Boy is that formula EXPENSIVE!!! Almost $12 bucks for a small container of powder! We are thanking god that I am able to pump some milk and that she isn't fully on formula... I can't imagine the monthly expense! I'm heading to Sam's Club this morning to see if formula is any cheaper there. Lets keep our fingers crossed!

I thought we were on the way to consistent full nights of sleep... on Wednesday and Thursday night she slept from 10:30 p.m. to 4 a.m. without waking up! Then Friday night and last night she was up constantly! 1 a.m., 2:30 a.m., 4, 6:15 and we finally got out of bed at 7:20. I'm hoping it just has to do w/ not feeling 100% due to the shots and maybe getting used to the switch with formula. I can't imagine how tired I'll be now that I'm starting work, if she does this every night! I have been breast feeding at night still, but if she continues to do this, we'll have to switch to the bottle at night so G is able to get up w/ her and I can get some sleep.

Ok, well that's it for now. If any of you are interested in reading another fun blog, G and I love sugarandice.blogspot.com. It is written by a 20 something girl who also just had a baby in April. She has a great writing style and it always keeps us laughing. Enjoy!

K