I am thankful for ... (2009 Recap)

** my wonderful husband, Jaimie **

** my beautiful son, Jaiden **

** my funny step-son, Miah **

** my wonderful family **

** a car that runs **

** snow **

** my fantastic neighbors **

** Elmo, for putting a smile on my son's face **

** filtered water **

** my local library **

** popcorn made on the stove **

** playdates **

** the thrift store **

** holding hands **

** sleepy-time music **

** hot baths **

** the dollar menu **

** snuggling on the couch (heck, snuggling anywhere!) **

** socks to keep my toesies warm **

** cheese-ball smiles **

** laughter **

** naptime **

** alone time **

** friends all over the country **

** homemade mashed potatoes **

** distractions **

** my rock **

** sleep **

** hard working Americans **

** love **

What's a Blog?

So I've totally blown off my blog ... and I feel bad 'cause I love my blog!! I just get so wrapped up in a million other things -- Baby Ohz, Facebook, WoW, crocheting, spending time with Jaimie, going for walks, etc -- that there's no time for blogging!

My little man is just getting bigger and smarter every day! He is an utter joy to be around ... yes, even in his "bad" moments when he's not feeling good or just pissed in general. But those moments are so few and far between.


Jaiden can do so many things now, it's hard to imagine that only nine months ago he was just a tiny little human that only cried, pooped, and slept! He's crawling *everywhere* and, I swear, he can find everything he's not supposed to play with. As Jaimie says, "Pour a whole bunch of toys and candy on the floor, and the kid will go straight for the razor blade in the middle." Baby-proofing is no joking matter! Mostly, I just make sure his play areas are free of things he shouldn't touch so I'm not saying "No!" every five seconds! =D And Jaiden is able to explore (and oh! does he love to explore!) and play without worry that he'll get hurt or stick something in his mouth that he shouldn't!

Jaiden goes for his nine month well visit this month. I'm excited to see how he's growing and to show him off to our wonderful nurse who absolutely adores him! =D I'm such a mom ... I love taking Jaiden with me wherever I go to "show him off". He is my pride and joy!! =D

As for me, I'm trying to walk more, especially with the weather getting *much* nicer. Granted, today it had to go and rain and now the cats are meowing at me incessantly and it's driving me nuts. I have fun strapping Jaiden in his carrier and walking around the neighborhood or down to the store. Yesterday, I put him in his carriage and we went to Goodwill to find a Halloween costume. We had some luck and I found an adorable costume for him. =D I have yet to dress him up in it entirely, but I'll probably do it sometime today and take a couple pictures. I thought about playing a guessing game on Facebook to see if anyone can figure out what he's gonna be. =D I know, I'm mean! =D

Anyway, there's a baby who needs a boobie banshee-screeching at my side. So, until next time...

It's My Problem

I've recently realized that I'm the one with the problem when it comes to transitioning Jaiden to formula. I know he'd take formula and a bottle perfectly fine, but I just can't let go of breastfeeding. Even in those moments when his little teeth chomp down on me and I say to myself, "That's it! He's done!" ... I still find myself not wanting to give it up.

Last month I told myself that by my birthday I would have him weaned from the boobie. Now, nearing the end of July, two weeks *after* my birthday, he is still a boobie baby. LOL. So much for that plan.

When we took Jaiden for his 6 month appointment, I told the doctor that he was getting about 4-8 ounces of formula a day. I explained that I wanted to switch him, but that *I* was having difficulties with breaking the "habit." She said that if I don't want to, don't. She fully supports me breastfeeding as long as I want, so that was nice to hear. =D

My biggest worry is that I'm not producing enough. I see my friend giving her baby an 8+ ounce bottle of formula very frequently, and I worry that Jaiden's not getting enough from me (I still only produce about 4-5 ounces total). But he seems satisfied ... so I don't know. I guess we'll just have to see how he keeps doing. His weight was low at his appointment (well, not *low*, but in the 45th percentile), which the nurse said could be because he started solid foods.

Overall, I *don't* want to give up that special bond that I feel I have with Jaiden when I'm breastfeeding. It's something only I can do for him and I want to hold on to that as long as he'll let me!

Losing Weight

After I had Jaiden, I lost pretty much all the weight I had gained during the pregnancy. But afterwards, I seemed to have lost sight of how to eat well. Finally, after six months of more weight gain instead of loss, I opted to go to Babyfit's site and follow their meal plan for breastfeeding (and pregnant) women. Their main site is Sparkpeople.com, but since I'm breastfeeding, they sent me to their sister site (Babyfit).

So far, I've been doing good! [This is only day 4, so it's not like I've been at this for long.] I swear, I feel like I'm eating just as much as I was before ... but I know I'm eating a lot better food instead of snacking on stuff that's not that nutritious. I'm totally looking forward to lunch today (Salmon sammich with lettuce and tomato, a pear, and some cottage cheese!), and so far there's not much on the menu I dislike ... with the exception of grapefruit, V8, and OJ (bleh!!). I've also discovered a few things I wasn't sure I'd like ... for example, hummus. That's some good stuff!! Especially the garlic hummus! Mmmmmm!!

Even if I'm not rapidly losing weight, I feel better about eating right. It's not just for me either ... I want to show Jaiden how to eat well, even if he's too young to understand that right now. I can do this!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a fantastic day! Jaimie got Miah and I the internet back for our birthdays (Miah's b'day is today ... so Happy Birthday Miah!!). It's great to finally be able to hop on the computer and email pictures to my mom or look up an address on Google maps or read articles about baby stuff. I missed it!!

I had Jaimie take a picture of Jaiden and I that morning. We "matched"! ^.^ Not only was it my birthday, but it was Jaiden's six month birthday too!


The rest of the day was relaxing and fun. Jaimie did one of the sweetest things ... albeit, in other peoples' eyes this might be considered "dorky." He went on World of Warcraft and asked in the trade channel if people would mind sending my character some "Happy Birthday" greetings thru the in-game mail system. When I logged on, my mailbox had three pages worth of cards and presents. =D Here's a few that were sent:

So, we may be dorky, but it totally made my day! I knew how cool it was to get mail from nice strangers, so this morning I went on and asked that people do the same for Miah. So we'll see how that turns out! =D

The only small downer to the day was the realization that I didn't get a card from my grandmother. It's still strange to think that she is no longer with us ... sometimes on Wednesdays when I call up my Mom, I expect her to be over at Gma's house after taking her out shopping. I really miss her a lot, and yesterday even more so.

It's good to be back in the world of the internet. Until next time ... and thank heavens that doesn't mean a few months from now!

Updates Updates

It really stinks not having the internet in my home. It's really hard to get out of the house for long periods of time with Jaiden ... he usually ends up getting fussy when I come to the library with him and I never get anything done. I hope we can get our internet back soon, but I really doubt it.

Jaimie, Jaiden, and I have been sick ... again. It completely stinks!! Poor little J-bird is on more meds. This time Dr. Pease gave him a steroid to knock all the gook out of his lungs ... but it makes him pretty fussy and angry. I can't wait till he's done with it (which will be by Friday). Otherwise it's really helping ... his cough doesn't sound as yucky and he doesn't cough as much.

Last weekend was our March of Dimes walk. But with us being sick -- not to mention the day-long thunderstorms -- we didn't go. I was really looking forward to it too. But I want *all* of us to start feeling better before we undertake anything big.

Which brings me to our trip to Florida. In May we're heading to Jax to visit family and friends and introduce Jaiden and Miah to the family. I'm *SO* super excited about it! I got an Infantino baby carrier and a Moby Wrap from two wonderful ladies on Freecycle, so I can't wait to use them on our little vacation.

Anyway, I need to finish uploading some pictures to Photobucket! Hopefully it won't be another long time before I get to post again ... I so miss blogging. ; ;

Goodbye BSG

Last night Jaimie and I watched the series finale of Battlestar Galactica. It was a bittersweet moment because since we started watching this show last year, it's been our "Friday Date Night" show.

We were hoping and praying that the finale would tie up everything with a nice little bow, and we were not disappointed. There were things done by certain characters that really made Jaimie cheer ... the writer in him hates that the majority of stories nowadays contain too much "mercy". Obviously not everyone is like that, so when characters in stories act against the 'norm' of most shows and books, it really makes him smile. =D

As the show ended, Jaimie and I held hands as tears of joy and sorrow welled in our eyes. We've watched some video blogs that one of the executive producers made, and the cast and crew of BSG cried as well. Over the past five years, they had become a family, and they had let so many people into it. BSG will be greatly missed, but I am so thankful for the wonderful story we got to be a part of!

ToD Thursday?!

Okay, so I know that this usually goes on Tuesdays ... but I had to make an exception today.

Truth: I am jealous of my step-son's best friend.

Just some quick background ... when I was four or five months pregnant, our son told us that his best friend found out she was pregnant. I was incensed at the time because 1. I found out she had smoked pot after finding out, and 2. she did not know who the father was because she slept with two different guys during a time when she'd had a falling out with her then-boyfriend. Pregnancy hormones probably increased my anger, but I eventually simmered down and was okay with it.

In the past week or so, she's come over a few times. I found myself horribly jealous that she was pregnant and I was not. I won't deny that I completely miss being pregnant. It was so wonderful, even with all the aches and pains and worries associated with it.

One thing I've found myself thinking is that she's got it a lot easier than most moms. I know this isn't completely true ... but when I think about how I have to not only take care of Jaiden, but the rest of my family, I know she won't have to do the same. She has her mom and dad to take care of her still while she learns to care for her daughter. She doesn't have to worry about the house getting messy and doing dishes and making dinner. But, on the other hand, she's had to deal with the stigma of being a teenage mother, and she'll have to figure out how to do that and finish her schooling. So, I give her a lot of credit for that.

This morning, Jaimie came in and told me that she had called saying she had her baby and Miah was going to be heading up to the hospital to visit. Again, I found myself feeling tinges of jealousy ... no one came to visit us in the hospital when Jaiden was born. Granted, I did enjoy just spending time with just Jaimie and our new little guy ... but it still would have been nice to know we had people busting our door down to see us at the hospital.

So, Miah came home and I quizzed him on his visit. And, yet again, I feel so jealous of his friend. She went into the hospital at midnight ... had 6 hours of labor and pushed her baby out in 10 minutes. Really?! Son of a ... I attribute some of the 'ease' of her labor to the fact she pushed out a 6 lb baby and Jaiden was over 9 lbs ... not to mention he had quite the pumpkinhead. *And* she went into labor before she was due ... I had to force Jaiden out. Ugh ... I hate feeling so jealous of other people ... it's such a nasty way to feel!! But, to my credit, yesterday ended on a pretty crappy note, so I've already been rather emotional.

Now ... my dare ...

Dare: Remember that every one is different and has different experiences when it comes to pregnancy. There is no step-by-step pattern. And, also, keep in mind that pregnancy will come again for me and I'll get to revel in all those aches and pains again.