Farewell 2009

Christmas has come and gone and now it's New Year's Eve. What are we doing tonight? Hehehe...Probably nothing out of the norm for a family with a new baby. Make dinner, feed Baby #1 her last bottle of the night and tuck her in. Eat dinner, watch TV with my hubby and probably fall asleep on the couch. I will set the alarm so we can be up in time to watch the countdown!

It has been a big year for me. I think I will call 2009 "The year I was pregnant". I can only remember being pregnant and then having the baby. It was a HUGE event in my life and I will never forget what a year it has been.

It has not been a very good year to some. 2009 was also the year that a sibling of mine's life changed forever and although he is still struggling with what he faces, I hope the New Year brings some closure. It's also the year that my parents' relationship took on more stress and hardship. It's also the year that I've supported a dear friend through her separation from her husband.

So...What will my New Year's resolution be? It will be to make the most of the time I have off while I'm on maternity leave. I want to be able to take good care of the family (myself, hubby and the baby). This means getting back into routine and looking forward to fitting in a little vacation in there somewhere...Since I am a teacher I NEVER get to travel outside of peak vacation time when flights are super expensive. That's it.

Have a wonderful New Year to everyone who is following my blog! Thanks for your support. I plan to keep up with my blog and learn more about Twitter and blogging in the New Year. Suggestions and comments are always welcome.

Sofie the Giraffe

Tip of the day: Try to re introduce some of your baby toys to the baby after he/she gets a little older. Don't be too quick to put them away!

Now that my baby is almost 5 mo. old, she loves to play with Sofie the giraffe! It fits in her hands and she loves to chew on the different parts. Another toy that Baby #1 loves is her rattle. She played with it since she was able to grab things. Something as simple as a blanket is also great fun for Baby #1. She loves to hold and lick the corners of her favourite blanket.

I was so worried that all the toys we got her wouldn't be used, but she is learning to grab and shake and these new toys are coming in handy.

Christmas Dinner

So...Did everyone survive Christmas with the family? I wanted to leave a quick blog updating what I thought would be a horrible Christmas dinner with the family. Well, I'm glad to say that it turned out quite alright. My family came, hubby's friend and aunt's family came and there were no last minute surprises from the in laws (which I really am grateful for since we got notice that they would not be able to come and had they changed their mind, we would not have had enough food, space, etc.).

Highlights: Everyone talked/played games, ate, opened presents and had a good time. Baby #1 had the most fun and the most presents! Everyone loves her so much and I was so glad they could be a part of her very first Christmas. Baby #1 was soooo good! Very little crying and a lot of smiling. There was no awkwardness between my family and hubby's family. It was nice to have them together again, although I would have liked to have the in laws there.

Awkward moments: The gifts that were dropped off by my sister in law the night before and she didn't even stick around to see us, Baby #1 or to pick up the gifts we had for her and her family! And then to open ALL the gifts she got us (about $400) which made our gift to her seem cheap...It 's not about how much you spend, I would have loved to have her join us...That would have been the best present for us all.

Thoughts: Family is family...They may have their problems, they may not agree with you and there might be tensions within each family member and another, but there's nothing like the holidays to get over those humps at least one time a year and celebrate. This year I am so happy to have a wonderful husband, beautiful baby and yes...I not so perfect family that loves me and I love back.

Tired today, I hope Baby #1 will nap well so Mommy can get some sleep during the day.

Hope you all had a nice Christmas, let's enjoy the rest of the holidays!

Preparing For Christmas Dinner

Oh my gosh, my mom can really stress me out! I can't believe she has issues about the upcoming Christmas dinner at my house. She's not even hosting it and she's complaining about the guests we plan on having. I guess it's true, you can't ever please your mother. Is it just me or do any of you have parents that make you stress out this much? I'm so afraid that she will ruin Christmas for me.

Initially, we planned on having the in laws and sister in law and my parents and brothers over for dinner on Christmas. This all changed and the in laws and sister in law were unable to attend...Okay, no biggy. We will just have to meet up with them next week to do a special belated get together.

So, my husband invited his aunt's family and one of his friends over. I tell this to my mother today and she flips out...Saying there's too many people coming, she has to get the little cousins a gift and because she doesn't drive, she'll have to ask my dad to go out and that she can decline on the invitation to come...Oh my gosh! All this after I told her it's just five people and they don't need gifts as they are just coming for the dinner portion of the evening.

I am thinking it will be nice to have some family from my husband's side over instead of just my family...And besides, isn't the holidays all about spending time with family AND friends?

My parents (especially my mom) are so traditional in their thinking. She doesn't know how to interact in a social event...Taking her out to see a movie is an orchestrated event!

I am at the point where I can care less. My husband and I are hosting and all she has to do is drag her a** to our house and enjoy an evening with her grandchild and family on Christmas.

Ugh...Sorry, but I had to vent.

Thoughts On Being On Maternity Leave

I wonder if all mothers on maternity leave feel this way at one point of their leave. Baby #1 is almost 6 mo. old and I'm finding that it is getting easier to care for her. When she was 2 mo. old I remember thinking to myself, "What did I get myself into?" Then, everyone who had kids said, "It get's easier, wait until she hits 3 mo." I couldn't believe them at that time, but now that I'm there myself, it really does get easier. Which makes staying at home and caring for her fun and do-able.

I'm not in the situation where I can hire a nanny, or have my in-laws look after her once I have to return to work. So, my husband and I have already started to put Baby #1 on waiting lists to attend daycare (at 1 yr.) and preschool (at 18 mo.). I know it's what many parents do and some parents don't even have the option to be away from work a year and have to put their children in daycare a lot sooner. I guess I am feeling a little worried about sending her off for care. I know she will have to adjust and there are wonderful benefits to daycare, but I can't help but feel a little sad to not be the one to care for her.

Do other mothers who need to rely on daycare feel the same? If so, how did it all work out for you and baby at the end?

For all the Stay At Home Moms (SAHM) out there, I have all the respect for you and you are lucky to be able to continue to be the one to care and raise your little one until they are school aged. What is it like to be home with them? Are there cons that go with the obvious pros?

I guess all babies go through these changes and they indicated how quickly they are growing up!

Thoughts On Friends Before Baby

Hmmm...Baby #1 is napping and it's got me thinking about things. It's such a shame to see old friends change once you have had a baby. Don't get me wrong, I have wonderful, supportive friends who were and are with me through the good and bad times.

I have a great friend who is a mom to two children, married and she still takes the time to call me if she feels that I am sad, or overwhelmed with taking care of the baby. I am really lucky to have her in my corner. I have another friend who is currently going through problems in her marriage, yet she still makes an effort to spend time with me and talk. I really do feel lucky to have such nice friends in my life, I just hope I am returning the same friendship that they have given to me.

Then, there are the few who change after you have had a baby. I don't know if it's because they are jealous or not, but they just don't care to be considerate anymore. I mention this because it's the start of the Christmas holidays now and it's surprising to see who can't even make an effort to send a hello, or Christmas greeting. In this day in age where e-mails and text messages are read and sent in a second, there really is no excuse. I'm not perfect and yes I'm sure I have changed after having a baby, but I don't think I've changed for the worse.

I guess I'm just a little disappointed to find that people I thought were good friends, really aren't. Oh well, I guess it takes events like this to realize who's who.

Christmas, Just One Week Away!

So, with Christmas one week away, I was really happy to see that the alphabet book I ordered from Shutterfly arrive! It looks amazing. I worked hard to make this photo book and it looks like a real book. A little costly ($45.00 Can.Dollars), but I figure it will be the only gift from me to Baby #1 and we can all treasure it forever. Even my husband said it looked amazing.

This year, we are hosting Christmas dinner at our place again (3yrs. in a row). With the baby this year, I was really hoping that my family would step up and be the host, but due to some family issues my parents are not in a festive mood. Do we all have family issues? A black sheep in the family?

Anyway, I just have to buy one more present for the in-laws and then I am done! The malls are pretty but scary to walk around in with a stroller these days. I can't wait until the crowds are gone and the hype is over. Although, it is exciting to celebrate with the new baby this year.

I will have to give you the update on how dinner unfolds.

Bleeding, But From Where?

Today after feeding Baby#1, I noticed a little blood in her spit. It was not bright red in colour, rather it was brownish-red diluted in her spit. It was coloured enough to stain her spit up cloth. Where could it be from? I checked her lip and mouth, but I see nothing bleeding. Have any of you experienced this?

Back To 3am Feeding?!

I don't want to sound like I am complaining here, and I know there are many of you who are still waking up at odd hours of the night and early mornings to feed...But, I am finding myself up at 3am to feed Baby#1 again. Baby#1 is great, she was sleeping 12-13 hrs. a night for us, until just after she hit 4 months. Is this normal? I heard of the 4 month regression and could this be it? When will it pass-if ever?

White Noise

Who would have thought that noise for us is soothing for a baby. I was told by a friend that white noise can sooth a baby to sleep. Basically, it's tuning your radio to a static channel and turning up the volume as loud as the baby is crying. It works! For all you new Moms who need a little relief from a crying baby, give it a try. You can turn it down or off once the little one is off to sleep. Baby #1 naps for about a half an hour. Just thought I'd share.

Welcome To The Wonderful World of Blogging

This is huge! I'm a new Mommy to a wonderful baby girl born on July 31, 2009. I am starting this journey of parenthood and it's tough, scary and at times very rewarding. I think there are a lot of other moms out there in the same position. Why not share our experiences and opinions through the world of blogging. This is my first attempt at blogging.

Baby #1 is now 4 months old. She was breastfeeding for the first 3 months, but prefers the bottle and is now fully bottle fed. How much should a baby at this age be eating? Right now, she feeds every 3 hrs. about 150ml.