If I only knew then what I know now...

When shopping for baby items there is no shortage of gear to choose from. I researched just about every baby item I could before we purchased or registered for anything. However, as I looked around Dominic's room I realized there is a plethora of baby things we have hardly used and a few we could not live without. This post isn't about all the things we never use, but rather about the things that make our lives a little easier.

Swaddle Me - I don't think Dominic would sleep on his back for longer than 5 minutes without this brillant alternative to the traditional blanket swaddle (that no normal person could EVER master).



Noise Machine - I forgot to turn this on ONCE....never happened again. I truly believe this is what keeps him sleeping for 10 hours



Footed, Snap-up Pajamas - He loves to sleep in these, but the snaps are so much easier than the zippers



Singing Frog Car Seat Toy - He LOVES this!  It makes him stop crying every time




Aden and Anais Burp Cloths - These amazing creations are designed to stay on your shoulder and contour around your neck.  They are also very soft and absorbent.



Playtex VentAire Bottles - The curve at the bottom make gas virtually nonexistent


Fisher Price Rock 'n Play Sleeper - Dominic loves to lay in this thing.  He plays in it, naps in it....just loves it.



So there it is.....my list of baby must haves.  I am sure there are many more, but as for the 3 month mark I can not live without any of these products.

30 Things that Change When You Have a Baby

I read this list on one of my favorite baby websites.  It is all soooo true.......

1. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.

2. Where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. (When it comes to protecting your child)

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.

14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

16. You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth.

17. You'd rather buy a plastic toy or a cute baby outfit than those shoes that you've been dying for.

18. You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers.

19. You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night

20. You realize that the 5-10 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having.

21. You discover an inner strength you never thought you had.

22. You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule.

23. You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one.

24. You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late.

25. You learn that taking a shower and brushing your teeth are luxuries.

26. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart.

27. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect.

28. You want to take better care of yourself for your child.

29. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo."

30. You love your husband so much more because you know he is the only other person who loves this little person just a much as you do.

Life....at full speed

So we are officially into the swing of things around here and life is picking up speed.  I have been back to work for a full three weeks and I think I am adjusting well.  It makes the transition so much easier to know that my mother in law is here to take care of Dominic and that I don't need to be worried about him.

Mother Nature threw us another punch late last week with heavy rain that flooded our basement.  It was a big mess all weekend and made the house smell horrible.  Luckily, my amazing husband ripped all of the carpet out yesterday.  We are not looking forward to the price tag that comes with replacing the flooring but......when life throws you lemons - right? :)

I started teaching an additional class yesterday, which is great because of the 20% pay increase for the year, but exhausting because it is a new prep for a class I have never taught.  I was beyond busy yesterday preparing for it.  Last night was also my school's Back to School night - which means a 16 hour day for me.  As you can imagine, I was very tired when I got home at almost 10pm.  The bright spot was that my husband was on baby duty the whole night.  We did a dry run of  the bath time and bed time routine the night before and Dominic surprised us by pooping in the bath tub.  It was a first....but not the last time it would happen.  He repeated the offense last night while Daddy was flying solo.  I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to see Daddy handle that one alone :).  The report was that the rest of the night was a breeze and Dominic went down right on schedule.  However, he must have missed his Mommy terribly, because (after almost 2 months of sleeping 10 hour stretches through the night) he woke up at 3:30.  What a great way to cap off the LONGEST DAY OF MY LIFE!  In all seriousness, I was happy to get up with him and see that smiling face after such a long day.

He is getting so big!  I can't wait to go to his 4 month check up in October and see how much he has grown.  He smiles all the time now and we have even caught a couple of giggles, which might be the sweetest sound I have ever heard.  He can hold him head up for the most part, but we are not quite ready for the Bumbo seat just yet.  I would say that is right around the corner though.  He also made the jump from slow to medium flow nipples which cuts feeding time in half.  I am happy about that for sure! 

Here are some of the most recent pictures of our precious little man.

Mother Nature has a funny sense of humor

We survived both the earthquake and Hurricane Irene this past week.  Only minimal damage to the house (thanks to the earthquake).  Neither Phil or I felt the earthquake and we were mildly disappointed.  Everyone we have talked to says it is a feeling they hope they never feel again, but we feel slightly cheated that we didn't get to experience it.  I was at the gym on the elliptical machine and he was driving.  Oma did a great job of getting Dominic to a safe place, something we are overwhelmingly thankful for.  She even straightened up the pictures in the house.

The hurricane brought back fond childhood memories of growing up at the beach, but now that we have a little one to care for, I was thankful we only got rain and a few wind gusts.

In other news, the little man is growing so fast!!  Here is a collage I put together of him at roughly 11 weeks. 

2 Month Check Up

It is official...Dominic is 2 months old!! 

We went for his 2 month check up on Wednesday and he is right on track with his growth and development.  We saw a new doctor this time around.  He was one of the doctors that came to see Dominic in the hospital and I thought I was really going to like him.  When he came into the room I was even more convinced when I saw his flamingo socks.  However, I was disappointed with his "baby-side" manor and don't think I will be making any appointments with him in the future.  He was nice enough and was gentle with Dominic, but he didn't ask me if I had questions and when I asked them anyway he made me feel like they were dumb questions.  The appointment really made me morn the loss of the amazing doctor who we saw in the beginning.  Long story short, I am happy there are 11 doctors in the practice and we will keep hunting for the best one.  We have seen one other doctor, but she just had a baby herself and has been out on maternity leave.  I like her, but my husband raised a good point that as Dominic gets older he may not be completely comfortable with a female doctor, so we might try one more male doctor before we settle on her.

Back to his appointment - he is now 11lbs 11 oz and 24 inches long.  He is holding his head up pretty well and starting to put weight on his legs.  Smiling is his new favorite past time, and I melt every time he does it. Here are some great pictures of his adorable grin.

Another big milestone for Dominic is that he is sleeping through the night.  For a couple of weeks now he has been going down between 9 and 10pm and sleeping until 6 or 6:30am.  This is fantastic news for Mom because I start going back to work next week.  It is so nice to feel rested in the morning.

Speaking of work, I am anxious to get back.  I have talked to my co-workers and there is so much to look forward to this year.  I am so excited to get back and start a new year.....as a teacher and mom.  The last three months have given me a whole new respect for stay at home moms.  That job is just not for me.  I love my little man, but can't wait to have a few minutes to feel human again....and not hear a fussy baby or smell a poopy diaper. 

Here's to getting back to real life - and praying we survive the transition.

Life is beginning to feel normal again

Now that Dominic has reached 7 weeks things are starting to feel a bit more normal. We have fallen into a routine (albeit flexible) and we are getting a reasonable amount of sleep at night. He has been sleeping for close to 6 hours his first stretch of the night, which is amazing at his age and weight. With this normalcy kicking in I have started to shift more focus on to getting myself back into shape.

I have been trying to fit in the Jillian Michael's 30 day shred video (only a 20 minute workout) while he is napping in the mornings and I have signed up for Weight Watchers online. I have used Weight Watchers in the past and have had luck with it, so we will see if it pays off. It has been 2 weeks and I have lost 1 lb. I hope I can pick up some steam in the next few weeks. I am only looking to lose 10 pounds or so, but I was not expecting for my body to look so different - even though I am only 3 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight. I feel like I am a totally different shape now and things definitely need to be tightened up :).

I also signed up for Gold's Gym membership and am hoping to get back into running. That has been the only exercise that really makes me feel good and it is a great way to melt off the inches. I am starting to stress a little about finding time to get to the gym though. I am afraid I will feel guilty not rushing home to see the little guy after work. But I know that a happy, healthy mom is a better mom, so I will have to tough it out.

I am feeling very optimistic and I think this is the most committed I have ever been to weight loss and improving my body image. Wish my luck over the next few weeks - both with my weight loss plan and fitting into my work clothes before I go back to work ;)

Another issue on the forefront is post baby contraception. My doctor and I discussed it at my 6 week checkup and she suggested a 5 year IUD. Apparently the hormones are more localized to the uterus and don't run through your blood stream like the pill. It is inserted at the doctor's office and can prevent pregnancy for up to five years without the risk of human error......and I don't have to remember to take a pill. She said there would be some mild crapping at the beginning but that it would be safe and would lighten my period significantly. She said a lot of women don't get a period at all. SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!!

Top 10 things I've learned so far

1. No one says bottles have to be warm....room temperature works just fine and saves loads of time

2. We (women) were created to raise children....trust your gut over all else (Even if it goes against every book or article you read during pregnancy)

3. Trust your doctor, but remember that you know your baby best, so refer back to #2

4. Take all the help you can get.  No one is handing out medals for the mom who can do it all on her own.  Let friends and family chip in any way they can.  Remember....it takes a village.

5. Try to take time for yourself everyday.  Even if it is a 10 minute nap.

6. While we are talking about naps.....it is totally unrealistic to "sleep when the baby sleeps".  But remember this - Don't stand when you can sit, don't sit when you can lay down and don't stay awake when you can sleep. 

7. Try to keep your life in order as best as you can.....you will be amazed at how folding a load of laundry can make you feel human again.  But don't feel guilty if a day (or two) goes by without any chores being done.

8. Ask your husband for help!  He wants to help - but likely doesn't know what to do.  Try not to get frustrated when he hasn't completed the long list of chores running through your head....just ask him to do EXACTLY what you want him to do.  Men aren't good at reading between the lines.

9. Spend time every day gazing at the little life you created.  The days go so fast and I have to remind myself that HE is the reason I am not at work.....not the loads and loads of laundry or the pile of dirty dishes.

10. Enjoy the calm moments you share with the little one in your arms.  Soon enough you won't be able to keep him that close for longer than a few seconds.  Relish the fact that you are the center of his universe....even if it is only for a few months :)