Must Be Nice

This weekend, Victoria's Secret model, wife of Quarterback Tom Brady, and new mom Giselle Bunchen said she got her pre-baby body back thanks to "muscle memory". I've decided my muscles must have alzheimer's. And that's all I have to say about that : )

Carter's Now Available Online!

This morning while I was folding laundry I realized that 99% of Paige's clothes are Carter's. Unbelievable! But every time I'm out, I can't resist scooping up the adorableness that is ALL of Carter's clothes. So as I was searching around for new patterns online, I came across Carters.com - where they now sell clothes!! At first I was thinking that the clothes would probably be expensive, or at least not discounted the same ways as Babies R Us or Macy's. But surprise - they are priced the SAME as Babies R Us, if not better! Woo hoo! Not that Paige needs any more clothes : )... I think her closet has more in it than mine. But I've included a few new patterns that I am in love with (especially the new cupcake design! too cute!)  www.carters.com

Deep Breathing

Yesterday was a rough day. I'm not sure why, but it felt like Paige was crying aaaaallllll day long. I know she wasn't, but it seemed like every time I tried to do anything - the dishes, laundry, go to the bathroom - she would start screaming. You know the kind - red faced, mouth wide-open, 100% pure wailing. To say I had a headache was an understatement. But, then, just when I thought she would never stop, I walk into the living room and there she is, in her bouncy chair - grinning from ear to ear. And that's when it hit me - even on the worst days when I can't seem to do anything right... when the crying makes my brain rattle around in my head... when I have to change my outfit 5 times thanks to baby puke or poop... when I look in the mirror and see my jeans STILL don't fit right... when the dirty laundry is piled up to my knees and dirty dishes are piled up to my elbows... when The View is my only source of "news" because it happens to coincide with nap time... when I start singing "Old McDonald Had a Farm" in the shower... I am still the luckiest woman in the whole world. That smile makes it all worth while... and I wouldn't change a thing!

Check Out Care.com for FREE this Weekend

The nice folks over at Care.com wanted me to tell you all that this weekend only, you can check out the site for FREE! What is Care.com you ask? It's like a cross between Google and Facebook that us mamas can use to search for babysitters. You can search for babysitters in your area by zip code, and then narrow the results by age, experience, fee, etc. Each babysitter has a profile which also contains reviews from other mamas. I haven't used any of the babysitters I've found on Care.com so far, but it's reassuring to know a resource like this exists. Thanks for the head's up, Care.com!!

Ummm. Thanks?

While I was prego, I didn't really mind people asking me when I was due, touching my belly, or offering advice. The exception would be the horrendous people who commented on my wedding photos (My Body Is Not My Own: Reality Setting In   AND let's not forget this gem - De Ja Vu of the Worst Kind)

So now as I travel around town with a 12-week old baby, I've been encountering a new situation - the nosey stranger. And sometimes not even just nosey, but know-it-alls, too! Here are my top 5 "best" comments (and yes, people REALLY said these things to me... no exaggeration required!)

 5. "Did you velcro that to her head?"
Scene of the Crime: J. Christopher's restaurant
While I was enjoying breakfast with my besties, a women popped her head over the booth to take a peek at Paige. Yes, I had a bow in her hair. But she has A LOT of hair! The woman obviously didn't appreciate my baby-style very much...

4. "Excuse me, but you can't use boiling water in a bottle."
Scene of the Crime: Starbucks
Maybe I look stupid or something? I was out running errands and was only halfway through when Paige needed a bottle. In these circumstances, instead of running home, I usually pop by a Starbucks and order a cup of hot water along with my Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte. I mix the hot water with the cold water bottle I brought along to make Paige's bottle. The barista was very concerned, obviously. I went ahead and explained my methods to her (to her relief), but I SHOULD have said: "Oh really? I think the tequila and margarita mix I'm mixing it with should dilute it enough, don't ya think?"

3. "What a big head she has! You must have had fun pushing her out!"
Scene of the Crime: Hallmark
All I was doing was looking for a new 2010 calendar. And what did I get? An assessment of my post-baby va-jay-jay. Thanks.

2. "Are you going to leave her in the trunk?"
Scene of the Crime: Target parking lot
I live in the South. It's pretty warm here. So when I need to change Paige's diaper while I'm out running errands, I do it in the trunk of my Jeep. What can I say - I just get realllllllly sceeved out by the changing stations in women's bathrooms. So while I was doing a quick diaper change, a woman walking by asked that ridiculous question. And she was dead serious. The look of fear/concern in her eyes was priceless. My response? "Yup! Just loading up for the trip home!"

And now, the best one of all...

1. "I guess you aren't breastfeeding. It really would have helped with losing the baby weight."
Scene of the Crime: Location to remain nameless to protect the innocent
I don't think this one requires any more explanation.... : )

Oh, Mr. Sandman...

Let me start by saying - HALLELUIA!!!! It is official. Paige is sleeping through the night. Which really means, MAMA is sleeping through the night! I've waited until a full week passed with successful full-night sleeps to determine that this isn't a fluke. And as we approach the 9th night in a row, I think I'm ready to acknowledge that this is our new reality. YAHOOOOOOOOOOO! I'm back, Mr. Sandman.

I wish I could take credit for getting Paige to sleep through the night, but I'm pretty convinced she did it on her own. Yes, I loosely followed the "Baby Wise" methodology of "eat, awake time, sleep time", but ultimately - I fed Paige on demand, which she decided early on was every 2-3 hours. I did try and keep her awake after feedings, but that was successful about 60% of the time. I think it's true what they say in all the books and magazine articles - babies will sleep through the night when THEY are ready. And each baby is different.

So here's the play-by-play on how it happened on Monday, March 1 - the fateful night I will celebrate annually as "Mama's Day of Rest." My husband had to wake up early the next morning for work, so he asked if I would mind staying up with the Peanut so he could go to bed early. Up until that night, she wouldn't go down until around 11:30 p.m., and sleep 3-4 hours, then wake up around 3:00-ish to eat, and again at 6:30-ish, and finally wake up for the day around 9:00-ish. So I agreed to stay up. Keep in mind, this conversation happened at 9:15 p.m. After Daniel went up to bed, I made Paige a bottle, fed her, and before I knew it she was fast asleep. I thought maybe it was one of her cat-naps, but figured I would try and put her in her crib anyway. I put her down, turned on her "Sleep Sheep" and with fingers crossed, tip-toed out of the room. At around 9:45 p.m., I bee-bopped into the bedroom where Daniel was still awake reading. He said, "Where's the baby?" And with an ear-to-ear grin, I said, "Sleeping!!!" And that was basically it. She slept that night (any every night since) until about 5 a.m. Then she eats, and takes a nap a little while later until around 8:30 a.m. For the past 8 nights, we give the Peanut a bath around 8:30 p.m., put on her PJs, feed her, and she falls asleep at 9:30 pm on the dot. Every night. Not a minute before.

So what do we do now with this new found freedom in the evenings? SLEEP! As soon as she goes down, so do we. And it is ahhhh-mazing. 

Mama Bear Moment

On Sunday I was chatting with a good friend about how we can keep our babies safe from all the bad things in the world. When do you start telling your children about strangers without scaring them? And how do you tell them what constitutes a "bad person" or "bad situation"? Growing up, I remember watching Winnie the Pooh: Don't Talk to Strangers. That seemed to do the job for me! Oprah recently aired two shows about child molesters, and an expert discussed two things you can start telling your children early on. Now, the shows were pretty nauseating to watch (actual child molesters discussed how they first manipulated and then molested their victims), but the two nuggets of info have stuck with me:

1. Adults don't ask children for help (i.e. "Can you help me find my lost puppy?")
2. Adults don't keep secrets with children (i.e. "This is our secret. Don't tell your mommy or daddy.")

I thought these were very interesting points, and something that children can comprehend early on. The expert - who I believe was with the FBI - said this helps children recognize a potentially bad situation. He said the truth of the matter is, the majority of crimes against children aren't carried out by a "stranger hiding in the bushes". It's by someone they may know or are familiar with. The adage "Don't talk to Strangers" doesn't really work anymore. There needs to be more to the conversation.

Just thought I would share for all the Mama Bears out there : )

Keeping Mama's Mind Sharp

Goo goo, ga ah ah ah oooooo, poopy, poopy poo! Translation: This Mama talks a lot of baby talk! : )

One of my besties introduced me to a new iPhone app that is helping me keep my mind from turning into steamed squash. It's called "Words With Friends". Basically, its like Scrabble. And I LOVE it! You can play multiple games at the same time with multiple people. Very fun and totally addicting. I don't know if non-iPhone users can also download it and play, but if you happen to have an iPhone, search my username (which of course is sweetleighmama) and let's start up a game!

Just a word of warning - In 2001 I was officially banned from playing a similar-type of game, Catch Phrase, after one fateful night in college when in trying to get my friends to say the word "Pine Tree", I used the descriptor "coniferous". Ummm.. how else do you describe a PINE TREE without saying the words TREE or PINECONE? I thought it was genius (and by genius I really mean that I must have just learned the word in my biology class earlier that day). My friends did not agree. So if we are playing "Words with Friends" and I throw out a strange word - just go with it. If you read this blog, then you've probably figured out by now that I can be pretty random. : )