Whirligig Bug

On my recent trip to the doctor's office with Rachel, I had to use the bathroom. I was thinking to myself, I've never had to use the restroom when I was alone with Rachel. Where do I leave her? Is it wrong to take my purse into the stall and leave my child outside of the stall? All of these things popped into my head and as I found the restroom and went inside, I realized - after seeing a dim yellow glow come from the top of the stall and hearing angels sing - that I could use the handicapped stall.

Genius I thought! I could take my baby AND my purse into the stall with me! And once I got inside, I realized it is quite roomy in there, even with a baby carrier and stroller.

Posted by Kari at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I never knew I would use any of these things until after I had a baby and my good friend Sara helped me out! Here's what I suggest you have in your infant's medicine cabinet.

Saline Spray/Drops
To clean out your baby's nose. The blue sucker thing the hospital gave to me, is very big and it's hard to get it into her nostril, so a few drops in her nose help to clear out the boogers.

Gas Drops
Mylicon Gas Relief Drops or the equivalent generic work nicely when your baby has gas pains. And I'm sure you will know by your baby's screaching cry when he/she has gas.

Gripe Water
Gripe water helps with hiccups, gas and colic.

Orajel for teething, Motrin and Tylenol for colds and fever and Desitin for diaper rash are all in my baby medicine cabinet and I haven't had to use any of them yet. I'm sure the time is coming!

Also, my pediatrician recommended Vitamin D since my baby is breastfed. It's available at the pharmacy, in a box, near the kids vitamins under the name Tri-Vi-Sol. Of course you should talk to your pediatrician first.

I have found that Target has a very nice children's medicine area in the pharmacy, but most other stores have a similar area in their pharmacy department as well.

Lastly, I think the easiest way to give my baby these items is to put them in a bottle nipple and have her suck it out. It's much easier than using the dropper that comes with most of the products. Some of the items can be added to the baby's bottle which makes administering them much easier.

If my veteran moms know of any other items, don't hesitate to leave me a comment!

Posted by Kari at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that I'm a mom, I notice a few things...

Burp/Spit Up cloths are all over my house. I have 2 in the diaper bag, one that sits on the car seat, one next to my bed, a few in the living room, on the ottoman, or side table, and a few floating around in Rachel's room.

If I cannot locate a burp/spit up cloth, I simply use a dish towel, paper towel, napkin, baby wipe or my shirt sleeve.

I smell weird. I not only have my own smell, I smell like breast milk and nipple butter. I can't get the smell to go away. It's everywhere, on my clothes, in my hair, on my pillow case. Thankfully no one else seems to smell it.

I always know where a pacifier can be found. In her bedroom, in the kitchen just after being washed, in her car seat, in my nursing pillow pocket. I'm always on top of where the soothing plastic pieces are.

Strangers notice me and talk to me. No matter where I am or what I am doing, a baby carrier with a pink princess cover brings lots of attention to me. I don't enjoy it, especially on days I am trying to "fly under the radar" and zip to the store without showering or without getting out of my lounge pants, I am all of the sudden drawing all sorts of attention from people!

Posted by Kari at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I went to the doctor for my six week check up and the lucky number was seven. I've lost seven pounds since my first pre-natal appointment in May 2009. This is all with very minimal effort - just staying in shape during my pregnancy (I was at the gym, doing classes, Tuesday and Wednesday before delivering on Saturday) and trying to eat healthy while pregnant.

I gained 15 pounds while pregnant and haven't done too much to get rid of it. I'm nursing and trying to eat right and have recently returned to the gym. Let's hope I can keep off the weight and in 33 weeks my stretched stomach is back to "normal" or as normal as it can be after having a baby. I'm giving myself about 33 weeks because it took 39 weeks to stretch my belly, so I have 39 to get it back to normal and right now Rachel is six weeks old!

I've been wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes for about 3 weeks so the only thing I have to look forward to is getting back in shape after being away from the gym for 6 weeks.

Posted by Kari at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rachel has smiled in her sleep and when she eats, but lately she's been smiling a little here and there. We can't seem to get her to smile on cue, but when she does smile, Dan likes to say, "I know the books say her smile is involuntary, but I think they are wrong because she's way ahead of the curve."

Of course we rarely can capture this on camera because it is so quick and involuntary, but today I managed to nab a photo with my cell phone. Not the best quality but you can see the smile. She is starting to smile when we say certain things to her and at certain times, such as just after she eats, although we can't get it to happen every time. I look forward to capturing her smile on a real camera very soon!

Posted by Kari at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I received a matted print of the following poem from Rachel's Great Aunt Margot and Great Uncle Dave... 

To a First Time Mother

Relax, my dear, your little elf,
is just an amateur herself.
So if your hands, so newly filled with tasks,
seem somewhat less than skilled-
Relax, I say...this little pinkling
doesn't have the slightest inkling
that you are new to baby lore -
She's never had a mom before!

Posted by Kari at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After waiting what seemed like F O R E V E R for her cord to fall off (and after going to the doctor to have it looked at) Rachel's cord fell off on Sunday and I was able to give her a real bath! At first she was a little freaked out but she seemed to like it, she didn't fuss too much. I quickly washed her because I was worried she would slip in the tub. I'm new at this and wanted to be sure I had a good grip on her before getting too daring. She does love to have her hair washed. She loves it when we pour water over her head to rinse off the shampoo.  

Posted by Kari at 07:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rachel turned one month old on Tuesday, January 19th!

Posted by Kari at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)