Summer Mornings

Jack wakes up with the energy of 10 little boys. My goal each day is to wake up before he does because I have to try and get ahead of him. When I go in his room he is always jumping up and down and running from one end to the other. I do love how happy he is when he wakes up. 

After I get him out of his bed and change his diaper, it is time for breakfast. He loves sausage so I bought a package of pre-cooked and all I have to do is heat it up. With that I add toast, a biscuit, French toast sticks, pancakes, or muffins. Of course, he has to have his milk and sometimes I make that chocolate. 

After he makes a huge mess (he does with every single meal), I clean him up and set him loose. If Charlie is on the couch he always heads right towards him. He loves Charlie but Charlie is scared to death of him. Jack loves to try lay his head on Charlie. I love that he does that because that is something he got from me. I will lay my head in Jack's lap sometimes while he plays with my hair and watches tv. I can't seem to keep Jack from pulling Charlie's tail. 

Next, we do some type of educational activity. His favorite right now is letter magnets on a cookie sheet. I usually can keep his attention for about 20 minutes before he is ready to destroy his bedroom. I let him play on his own while I clean up his breakfast mess and eat something myself. 

Jack will usually stay in his room and play. I join him for some free play after I get a few things done. He is really into blocks right now. We will then watch some Super Why which I believe is a great cartoon that teaches children. 

Around 11 am it is nap time! 

I am enjoying these slow summer mornings of baby hugs, kisses, and messes.

Mrs. Mama Has a Biter

Jack attends daycare while I'm at work. About two months ago he went on a biting rampage all in one day where he bit 3 times (2 of those times was one baby). As the mother I was so ashamed at what he had done. It was serious mommy guilt at its worst. At that time he was only 16 months old so it wasn't like I could have a talk with him to get him to understand that it was wrong. At daycare they put him in timeout in a playpen.

I thought the issue was over but today when I picked him up I learned that he had bitten again (the girl he had bit the 2 times before). Two months ago the mother of the baby he had bitten was not happy at all. I know that told her today that she was bitten again by my sweet biting monster Jack. So I know she isn't happy and I don't blame her at all. The other mother of the child he bit was a lot nicer and said "well next time it could be my child who bites". I appreciated her positive attitude. 

My stomach is in knots knowing that the mother is all mad again. I don't blame her but I still don't like it. I hate someone having negative feelings about my sweet baby. 

Here are some pieces of advice for dealing with parents whose kids have been bitten by your child.

1. Talk to the daycare provider and get all the information about what happened. You want to know the facts.

2. Talk to your daycare provider and discuss discipline when the biting happens.  Our specific daycare can only do separating by putting him in the playpen. You don't want them to be too harsh nor too lax. Discuss with your partner what form of discipline you are most comfortable with and if he bites at home then do your own discipline. I can't help but wish one of those kids would just bite him back.  

3. Reach out to the parents in some way. I chose to call them. You could see a note if calling them is not an option. You could mail a note to their house or take it to the daycare for them to give to the parent.

4. When speak or writing to the bitten kids parent make sure to let them know that you are not okay. I explained to them that unfortunately we haven't been able to discipline the biting ourselves because he hasn't bitten around us. I did explain that it is not okay and that I felt mortified by what he had done. I apologized a million times. After talking to the mad mother she said "I really appreciate you reaching out to me because you have me feel much better". She started out angry and that phone call calmed her phone. The other mother was crazy nice but she also said she loved that I had called her. 

5. When Easter rolled around I made sure to bring really nice gifts to all the kids. I kinda thought of it as a "I'm really not a bad mom who lets their kids get by with stuff" so here is a nice gift to make you have positive thoughts about my sweet bitter. 

Any suggestions from mamas whose babies were biters? 

Mrs. Mama Has a Bad Child

Don't let this smile fool you-this child is B. A. D. He is 18 months old and is starting to get vocal. He can say three things:

1. Stop

2. No no

3. Get down

He loves to test me on a daily basis. He'll do something he isn't suppose to do and while he is doing it he looks right at you with a devilish grin on his face. At only a year old there is only so much you can do when it comes to discipline. 

Jack is a daredevil. I enjoy taking him to the park but it is so nerve wracking. He is extremely brave which causes this mama to be overworked but he adores outside.

One little boy who is not a daredevil is my nephew Bennett. In this picture he is pointing to the slide and saying "that is a fall". He threw a fit but I pushed him down the slide anyways. He loved it so LaLa was super cool Aunt LaLa after that and he made me push him down the slide over and over again.

    

Another park outing. It really is so nice having a park within walking distance. He looks too cute but he is so bad. My mom said I acted just like him so maybe there is hope because I turned out okay if I say so myself. 

Right by our front door a baby squirrel has made his home. When I first noticed it I expected it to run away quickly but nope it stayed right there. He started following me around as I took out the trash. He then tried to follow me inside the house. We are now using the backdoor. I can't have a squirrel inside my house even if it is super cute. 

Life as a 1 Year Old

Jack has been one for a whole week now. It was weird not taking his usual weekly picture so I went ahead and did it anyways. Maybe it takes a year to make a habit :)

This outfit was purchased by NaNa. I think it is adorable but my sister said it looked dorky. My take on dorky clothes is as a boy he has his whole life to wear jeans and t-shirts so for now if I want to put him in these dorky sweaters I will. Plus my husband says I dress as an old lady so dressing my son in the same way just makes sense. 

We haven't dropped the formula all together. He gets whole milk during the day and one bottle of formula before bed. I get worried that he isn't getting enough vitamins so I want him to have at least some formula each day. Once the formula we already have runs out I am going to buy some vitamin drops. He just isn't a big eater. He is too busy getting into everything.

He is getting better at walking. He wants to run and will fall down. Sometimes he'll take his time and will get half way across the room before he decides he isn't going fast enough. 

I had to include this picture. This was Monday morning. Isn't this the perfect Monday face? He just cracks me up with his expressions. 

Y'all have a good weekend!

Ready for Summer

15 more days of school until summer! This summer is different than any other because I have little buddy to occupy my time.

Every morning that I have to drop him off at daycare my heart breaks a little. He spends more time with Ms. Jen in a day then his own mama. It's hard missing him so much during the day and knowing I can't go get him. We are going to do so many fun things. He will start summer 6 months old and when school starts back he will be 9 months old. These next few months he will really grow and mature. Knowing that I'll be with him every day during this critical time just makes my heart so happy. 

Not only will Jack and I get to spend some great time together but I have several things I want to get accomplished. Hopefully soon we will have the vinyl down in the playroom/office so I can start some pinterest crafts to get it decorated and organized. One craft I am looking forward to is making him a lego table. I know it will be a little while before he will actually care about it but it will probably take me that long to get it done. I don't really have a "theme" picked out yet but I have a few ideas swirling around in my head. What did I do for ideas before pinterest? 

Back Home

Although I'm all grown up with a house and family of my own, it's nice to go back to your mama's house from time to time. I spent Saturday and most of Sunday at my parents. They watched Jack Friday night while me and the girlfriends got together for a long over due night out. My husband was busy this weekend so it was a great one to see friends and go back home.
Since my mom broke her leg (7 weeks ago now) she can't cook her amazing food that I usually get when I'm there so instead I made salads and baked potatoes. We sat around talking and watching tv. We even sat on the front porch for awhile because it was so nice outside.
Here is a picture of Jack wearing his cousin's Arkansas Razorback cap:

Here is another picture of Jack chillin' on the front porch:

A picture that shows his first teeth:

Going back home is nice but it is sure nice to be back home.

I'm gonna go ahead and say I may not do a great job at blogging this week. The book fair at the school is all next week and as the librarian I'm in charge. I'll be exhausted every day when I get home and will still have to do my house business like that stupid cooking and cleaning crap. I'm gonna do my best though. I'm going to try and not spend the paycheck I got on Friday at the book fair. Now that I have a child I can't help but buy books for that cute face. I'll be sure to do a post on the ones I buy. 

My Horrible Birth Story Part 2

For Part 1 Click Here

So there I was stuck 2 hours away from my baby who was having trouble breathing. I wasn't in my right mind. Frozen was how I felt. It became all business. I have learned that during trying times I become all business. It was all about answers. How do I get in touch with doctors to tell me how my baby is doing? When can I leave? Who will be there with him since I can't? How will I get there when I am released? What needs to happen for him to get released?

I disconnected. For me it felt like I was living outside of my body. I wanted to sleep and wake up with everything fixed.

Baptist Hospital did an amazing job with keeping me informed. I could call at any time and get information. My parents were wonderful also. They would send me pictures and video letting me be able to see my baby. I was scared that I wouldn't get to hold him first but also scared that  he wasn't getting held. I told the hospital to let my mom hold him but they said they would wait for me. I was so worried that he didn't feel loved. 

Honestly I'm not sure how I survived those 2 1/2 days until I was finally freed. My parents stayed at a nearby hotel in case they needed to get to the hospital quickly. They were there so much. They were able to take our place. 

During this time my husband was ill. He was at the doctor most of the day after Jack was born. We were worried he wouldn't be able to go into the NICU the next day when I would be released. I had an amazing friend who stayed at the hospital with me during this time. She literally stayed up all night with me that first night. 

Finally got released that Friday mid-morning and we high tailed it the 2 hours to Little Rock. I was so sore and swollen but I didn't care. As soon as I saw him I started crying. I couldn't stop. The nurse was worried about handing him over to me because I couldn't stop crying. She kept asking me if I was okay. My husband snapped pictures like crazy. 

We could only hold him for short increments because he needed to be monitored. My parents got us a room to stay in so we would be close by. Two days later they moved us to a transition room. If all went well there then we could go home. We would be on our own to take care of him. The nurses still would come in every 2 hours and he still had to be hooked up. Oh those damn machines. They beeped so much and would freak me out. I quickly learned that every little thing made them go off. So annoying! 

Well that is part 2! There is so much more to come. It took me a long time to write part 1 and longer to write part 2 because this was all very traumatic for me and my family. It was not a happy time for us but more a constant state of fear. 

How to Keep Your Job with No Sleep

Jack slept maybe a total of 3 hours last night. At 5:18 am when I heard him crying again I pushed the husband on the arm and said in my most desperate voice "will you please go get him, I can't". I was on baby duty last night and it was hell. Poor baby is cutting teeth and it has rocked our world. Just as we were getting into a nice routine. BAM! Sad thing is I wasn't even the one to notice. The daycare worker (shout out to Ms. Jennifer) sent me a text. Seriously! I didn't even notice my own baby got some teeth.
Daycare 1 Mommy 0
I know it happens but still. Shitty moment for me. That's the life of a working mom.

So today I thought I would share with you some ways to keep your job while you work with no sleep.

1. Post throughout the night on every social media out there about how miserable you are, how you are so sleepy, and how your baby is keeping you up. Your co-workers will read it and spread the word (especially the moms that have been there before) so they already expect less from you and even feel sorry for you.

2. Come in just right before you are suppose to be there holding a large coffee.

3. Dress for work but don't cover the bags. The bags keep the "I've been up all night" in the spotlight so they will not forget and will continue to feel sorry for you.

4. Randomly yawn (which probably doesn't have to be faked) when people are looking.

5. Ask your co-workers how they survived a newborn. People love telling their own stories. They will relate to you. Their own memories will be resurfaced and they will have empathy for you.

I seriously dragged at work today which makes me feel like The. Worst. Worker. ever but hey I made it there and that shows commitment or at least my need to pay my bills.

I saw this while I was up in the middle of the night. It describes me perfectly so I had to share.

LYLAS (love you like a sis) Remember this....oh how nice to be that age again. 

Okay seriously I have reached a new level of delirium. 

Laters!

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Jack at 5 Months

Most mom's would be upset that their little baby is 5 months old but not this mama. I love it! Not upset at all that he isn't a little baby anymore. I'm loving this new phase. I get more sleep. He is so much fun. He is developing a little personality. I'm more at ease. It's just an overall better situation. Newborns are fun and all but I am loving where we are heading.

What's up with Jack?
-Celebrated his first Easter

-Found his toes

-Held his bottle (doesn't happen all the time)
-Loves "The Wheels on the Bus"
-Got his 4 month shots (we were late getting them due to antibiotics)
-Had his first fever and rash (thank you shots)

-Loves daddy and son time

-Finds Lexi infatuating

-Will grab toys and put them in his mouth
-Wakes up once in the night, eats, and goes back to sleep (most nights)
-Puts himself to sleep
-Enjoying the taste of carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes (we just let him have a few bites for practice)
-Loves when mom tries to sing and really likes "you are my sunshine"
-Still hates tummy time

There are 34 more days of school until summer and this mama is counting down because I can not wait for this summer. No daycare. Just mom and son during the day. I can't wait to spend that time with him. I'll get to spend 3 months being a stay at home mom!

Friday's Letters

Dear Spring,

 Welcome! Glad to see your face around these parts. You have been missed.

Dear Jack,

You are growing more of a personality every day. I love the way you are starting to hit your toys so they will rattle. You Dad and I love hearing you laugh. Every time we change your clothes you giggle because your neck is so ticklish. So darn cute! Mommy loves singing you “The Wheels on the Bus”. Your favorite part is the wipers going swish, swish, swish.

Dear Work,

As happy as I am to have a job, I am ready for summer vacation. Having to go to you everyday while I really want to be at home playing with Jack is getting old. Waking up at 6 am does not make me happy when I have to rush out the door to get myself to you and Jack to daycare.

Dear Yard,

Can you please clean yourself? I’m not one for working in the yard and I can’t afford to pay anyone to do it. I know you see your neighbor with its grass all cut and yard decorated and you want to be like her but I just don’t see it happening. Sorry! I’ll try-that’s all I can give you.

Dear Husband,

I’m sorry you have clinicals all weekend. Last weekend was so much fun and I’m sorry you don’t get to spend your weekend with us. I promise we will not have too much fun without you.

Dear Weekend,

I wish we had plans that consisted of a mini vacation or at least plans where we could do something together. Instead nothing is planned. I’m sure productiveness will occur but that just isn’t nearly as fun as a road trip.

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Easter Cuteness

Our first Easter as a little family! I dreamed of dyeing eggs with my child and now it is here. Now of course he had zero idea what was going on but luckily mom was there to capture the memories for him. 

And of course my baby had to have an Easter basket.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!