Three Schneiders: Dec 7, 2007

Friday, December 7, 2007

One year ago this week...

This week in Josie history/from my online pregnancy journal that I started last November...

12/5/2006 : We're PREGNANT! This morning we took two more HPTs. I took one and had Lou read it and then took another to confirm it after he went to work (and then took about 20 photos of the results to show him later). Then we had our appt with Dr. Firestein (for my follow-up PAP) at 11am. I told the nurse I thought I was pregnant & she confirmed it within a minute. Scott rushed in to congratulate us again & to ease our worries. We are SO excited. He set my due date to August 10th, 2007. And says I am 4 weeks & 5 days pregnant today! I'm going in for my first ultrasound on the Dec. 19th, because Scott knew it would make us feel better. I am elated!!!!!

Random Thoughts

Even though I'm quickly approaching four months of motherhood, it's painfully clear sometimes that I still have no idea what I'm doing. At least that's how most of this week has felt. My "parental confidence" was so low on Tuesday that I just about skipped my weekly hypno-mamas group, because I was almost embarrassed to admit how much trouble I was having. Thank goodness I sucked it up & went because I found out that every single one of them is also going through the same thing. Lou did an internet search & found it's a documented thing - "four month regression" - when babies sort of revert back to the chaos that was the first couple of weeks of their lives. Call it what you will; it's been quite a challenge - up every couple of hours again at night, refusing to nap during the day, general fussiness, etc. It's just been one heck of week. Add to this the fact that I am desperately trying to get Josie into a routine so that I can start back to work after the holidays, and I'll admit I was ready to trade Josie for four kittens and a plasma tv to Grandma Schneider afterall - what an offer - :) ! In all the madness, I've just tried to remain calm and grateful and remember how lucky we are to have Josie (even wide-awake at 3am Josie) in our lives. Here are some photos from this wacko week.

Venus has decided that the crib is so comfortable that the Boppy must be, too. Here she is completely stretched out in one Josie's favorite spots. (I should also mention that my Boppy cover got recalled due to lead paint on the massive zipper that goes across the whole back of the thing. Unbelievable!)

Here's a photo of our little Penguin. Lou got bored when I was talking to my mom on the phone the other night & decided to play dress-up with Josie by revisiting the Halloween outfit. She was much happier in it this time. Isn't she cute?

And here is what happens when it's going on 4pm & you haven't taken a nap because you just want to party like a rockstar all day. Eventually you can't take it anymore & pass out head first into your toys. Too funny!

Speaking of sleep, Josie just woke up from a much-needed (but short) nap. We went this morning to tour the day care center that is around the corner from our house (one of only two in the city) & that threw off Josie's schedule a little bit. More on the day care thing later. Gotta go rescue the little one from her Pack & Play.

Things I've Learned So Far

When on bedrest, cravings are satisfied in bulk. A chai tea latte is not out of reach. It will arrive as a case of six 32-oz cartons courtesy of Amazon prime in two business days.
Fall/Winter maternity clothes are infinitely more expensive, uncomfortable, and ugly than Spring/Summer maternity clothes! (And I miss my flip-flops already!)
BELIEVE in miracles!
If your two-year old tells you that you need to be more patient, she's probably right.
Moving is hard. Moving with a toddler is even harder.
There are no guarantees.
Don't let your two-year old pick out the kind of Valentine's Day cards she wants to make. There's a good chance she's overly-ambitious.
Take nothing for granted.
If you pay close enough attention, your little one will totally show you the right path in most situations. They're wise little souls. We should give them more credit. And we should follow their lead.
If your child is doing some well/good/desirable/etc, people attritbute that to chance. But, if your child is doing something wrong/incorrect/undesirable/etc, that gets chalked-up to your parenting.
There is no sense in trying to make children grow up any faster than they already do.
There is no better compliment than someone whose opinion you value saying that you are good parents - and meaning it.
Parenting is deeply personal.
Use the words "I promise" sparingly. There are very few things you can actually guarantee your child and broken promises really hurt.
As a parent, there are some things you do because you think you're supposed to...And then there are the things you do because you know you have to.
There's nothing quite like a conversation with a two-year old.
The development of language is mind-boggling! And so much fun to watch develop!
Everything happens for a reason. Everything. Even though it's sometimes hard to figure out why.
Traveling with a toddler might be a trip, but it definitely is not a vacation.
"Wean" doesn't have to be a four-letter word.
It is true what the say - the days are long, but the years are short. Happy first birthday Josephine!
The baby's needs always come first. (Case in point: her dinner was a well-balanced, all-organic meal of turkey, cheddar cheese cubes, vegetable hummus & raisins for dessert. Mine was a bowl of Coco Crispies.)
I thought that first smile was a good as it got...until the day she first reached out for me. I knew that was the best feeling in the world...Until she looked at me and said "Mama!" :)
There are two kinds of people in the world - those who wave back to a baby in stroller & those who don't.
Mother's Day & Father's Day are definitely more than "Hallmark Holidays."
The people who designed the Sesame Street characters knew what they were doing!
Babies do not understand time zones!
There is no shame in buying a one-piece bathing suit. ;)
Time spent just sitting and staring at Josephine is time well spent! The fact that we created her and the fact that she is ours still amazes me every single day. We are totally in awe of our beautiful daugther!
Pureed beets and babies don't mix.
One of "those nights" is usually followed by one of "those days."
Blowing bubbles is fun for the whole family.
Seven month olds definitely know how to dance!
Baby monitors are also useful for identifying when you've accidentally locked a cat in the baby's room.
With a little practice, it is possible to update the blog, talk on the phone, eat lunch, and pump breastmilk all at the same time. (Now that's what I call multi-tasking.)
A five month old baby does not know how to "pet" a cat. However, a five month baby is very good at making a cat really angry!
Diaper rash cream has lots of different uses!
There's no doubt in my mind that you would find a nasal aspirator / nose suction bulb in a museum of torture devices.
A cat's meow and a baby's cry sound oddly similar at 4am.
The hospital should keep all the samples of free formula and pass out white noise and Elizabeth Mitchell CDs instead!
The day Josie no longer wants to hold my hand will definitely be a sad day. In the meantime, I'm content to stay in her room a couple extra minutes in the middle of the night with her little hand wrapped tightly around my finger.
The holidays really are more special once you've started your own family.
When all else fails - just breathe & remain grateful! Even the worst days are the best days of our lives.
It's okay to do at least half of the things you swore you would never do as a parent.
Parenting means you must always be up for a change of plans - even if that means giving up dinner at your favorite restaurant for White Castle in the back seat while nursing your baby.
Never take an over-tired baby to the mall in a bassinet!
Those damn baby nail clippers are lethal weapons - I hope Josie won't miss the top half of her pointer finger!
Two sets of sheets are not enough.
It's okay to cry when you put away baby clothes that no longer fit anymore.
Strangers almost always hold the door open for a pregnant woman, but almost never do so for a woman with a stroller.
There is nothing like that first toothless smile!
You haven't lived until you've had to handle a diaper blowout SO BIG that the only way out of it is to cut your baby's clothes off of her to avoid covering her head with poo.
There is absolutely, positively nothing worse in the entire world that seeing your child in pain and not being able to help her.
Never leave home without an extra set of clothes for yourself & at least two extra sets of clothes for the baby.
Baby pee dries quickly and doesn't require a change of clothes (no one will ever know...)
Picking little baby boogers is more fun than it should be.
If Josie is totally relaxed and smiling, she probably just pooped.
Thank goodness the baby doesn't realize I usually don't know what the heck I'm doing.
Lou has missed his calling as a performer of children's songs & should definitely look into recording his smash hit "Mama's Milk".
Nipples stretch like rubberbands.

Three Schneiders

Friday, December 7, 2007

One year ago this week...

Random Thoughts

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