Back in the land of walkers! YEAH!

So it has been over 6 weeks since my knee surgery and I am back in business (somewhat)!! I am walking again. I'm not running laps around the park, or even walking around the block yet, but I am walking!!! I can easily get around the house and my office, and best yet, I'm also allowed to drive! This may sound like nothing big, but I have been on crutches since the end of November when I tore the meniscus in my right knee, followed by surgery on December 16. I am now doing physical therapy twice a week and regaining strength and flexibility. I have 103 degrees of motion in the leg, and need to get back to 135 degrees. I am now allowed full weight bearing as tolerated, as long as my knee doesn't buckle.

So....what have I been doing with my new found liberation from crutches? I have been cleaning, grocery shopping, and taking care of Mimi and LOVING it. Today I went grocery shopping by myself without my husband wining about me putting in graham crackers saying "what do you need those for?", he seriously second guesses every item I throw in the basket unless it is on our magical list--sometimes there are exceptions to the magical list!

I can now get up and get Mimi our her crib in the morni

ng, so I get the first morning smiles I've been missing. Life gets better everyday. In 10 more weeks I should be back to normal. I did however venture to the gym tonite and swam a few laps and did some stretches in the warm therapy pool.

Mimi and I went to a barnyard animal feeding at a local nature center today. Having grown up in a rural community, this was not that exciting to me, and Mimi enjoyed just getting out I think, but my friend from Miami and her daughter came too--it was actually her that suggested it. My friend from Miami says that something like that is really neat when you grew up in Miami. Plus it was FREE, so that's cool.

One more AWESOME thing, I put on a pair of jean yesterday that I bought from Jcrew on sale 5 years ago and just fit in now!!! How frickin' cool is that?

PS---I want you comments on using baby sign language--- I think I will do a post on my opinons soon.

Mimi is 6 Months

Hey guys
So yesterday Mimi turned 6 months old. Holy cow, these 6 months have gone by so fast. She had her 6 month well baby visit yesterday. My husband came with me because I am stil on crutches and could not drive. It was really nice to have him there for several reasons. One reason is, I knew that the Dr. was going to pressure me a little about the flu shot now that Mim is 6 months. I know that vaccinations are important, and I used to get the flu shot for myself every year for the past few years, but I just thought, with her limited exposure to other children I would rather risk the flu then add another shot to the three shots she already was due to receive that day. I love my pediatrician, but you can tell she is pro pro pro all vaccinations possible. She definitely put the pressure on, but my husband and I just said that we didn't wish for her to have it now. At her age it is two shots for the normal flu as well--not just one. She did receive three other vaccines as well that day. I was happy my husband had to see what it is like too--it is really hard to watch them do this to your kid and hear the shrill screams. The nurses are pretty quick and they do multiple shots at the same moment so the child doesn't have to anticipate another stick in the leg.
Now you may or may not like this part--we also got her ears pierced at the apt. I got my ears pierced when I as 5 and I still remember how painful it was and how easily they can get infected with little child hands touching them all the time. My husband's sisters both had there's done as babies and he said they never got infected and they barely cried after the initial piercing. I didn't want her to have the pain, but I knew that we would eventually want them pierced and that at this point she doesn't have the ability to purposely grab her lobes and play with them or get them infected. So now they are pierced. Two nurses did it at the same time so both ears were done in one click, then they quickly gave her her shots. I nursed her for a few minutes to calm her and she was asleep in the car within 10 minutes. She was her happy self the rest of the day, I did give her some tylenol when we got home and she took a 2 1/2 hour nap. I have to clean them and turn them twice a day--which is a battle because I know it's uncomfortable for her--atleast for the next few days.

Other notes from her apt....She was 75th percentile for height, 85th for head circumference and 95th for weight. I asked if I was feeding her too much and she reassured me I was not, and actually told me to start giving her 3 solid meals a day and not just 2, and keep nursing (she has about 20-25 oz breastmilk daily, usually 5 feedings). She said now that she is getting more mobile, her weight will even out a bit. She (pediatrician) also said I can stop sterilizing the bottles and just put them on the top rack of the dishwasher---which saves so much time, and she can have more veggies and start some plain yogurt--but no meats until 9 months. She said to try to up her water intake a bit because she is having really hard stools, so right now I offer a cup of water with solid meals, she said offer water in between meals as well. Developmentally she is right on track and doing great. She goes back at 9 months.

I can't believe my little baby is 6 months old.

New from the mommy front--I am still on these dang crutches!!!!! This wednesday marks 6 weeks post-surgery and I am allowed to start weaning myself off the crutches. Basically you allow gradual weight to the leg while walking with crutches, then eventually you stop using the crutches. I can begin to drive again and am allowed to swim or walk laps in the pool and do only walking as necessary--meaning no exercise type walking yet. I will start doing physical therapy twice weekly for ten more weeks, then I should be back to my normal self. I have lost 3 lbs since the surgery, which is pretty impressive for not doing anything! i think it is all breastfeeding. I need to be very careful over the next month or so--as Mimi eats more solids I need to reduce my calorie intake due to less milk being needed from her. Hopefully this will happen when I'm able to get the gym to help too. The 3 lbs weight loss may also be from muscle loss :-( fron not using my right leg at all. The PT will help with this though. I've also been applying for jobs. I had my first ever phone interview last week. They had 73 applicants, 23 of which got phone interviews, then they are only bringing in TWO people for real one on one interviews---so I'm not optimistic but I have nothing to lose. I don't HAVE to have a job until July. If I did get the job, Mimi would transition from parttime to fulltime daycare at the daycare she is already at. I also am looking for a job that does flex hours--meaning I could work 4 ten hour days and have one day a week with Mimi.

No other real news to report. Sorry this was long--I know how pediatricians suggest/do thing differently, so I'm always interested in what others say about there baby's appointments as well.

Quick Blog Entry :-)

So I finally got my ass out of bed before 6:30 am today. This was something I've been trying to make myself do so we can get to daycare/work ontime. On Tue and Wed Mimi goes to my friends daycare. We can drop her off as early as 7:30am, but we never make it anywhere close to that!!! lol. We usually roll out of the house between 8:30 and 9am, but we keep meaning to leave by 8am. Does anyone else feel that trying to get out of the house for the day with the baby is crazy? You have to pack the daycare bag (which I do the night before), pack our stuff, pack the pump, pack our lunches, get ready, nurse the baby (twice, once at 6, once at 8), feed the dog, blah blah blah. I think we failed at this timely departure thing the last two weeks because it was freezing cold in the mornings and we couldn't make ourselves crawl out of her warm down comforter bed. So today is a new day! I WILL be ready and put together today.

In other news. I'm STILL ON F'ING crutches for 1 1/2 more weeks. This is getting really F'ing old. I have not been able to drive or function by myself for so long. I have totally taken the ability to walk for granted! I'm looking forward to being able just to walk around the house and function. I won't be able to exercise walk for awhile (probably a few more weeks), but I'm excited all the same. I had lost 4 lbs between the surgery and now but gained back 2 :-( So I'm still under the surgery weight, and 8lbs below pre-preggo weight but depressing to me all the same. I watch Court's vlogs and think, wow in another month I can take the baby for a walk. I have been trying to be really good on the food side of things to avoid weight gain in my time of non-walking. It's hard though because I still need about 2000 calories a day to adequately produce food for little Mimi.

Speaking of the breastfeeding--My pump is going nuts on me. It's stopping off and on when I pump. What to do? I NEED my pump, When I'm at work all day I pump 4 or 5 times, when I'm home I use my pump once or twice a day as well. My husband understands that if I need a new pump it would be hefty investment (279$$$), but that we've already saved that much not buying formula. We plan to have more kids, so I think it's good investment. The pump I have now I bought used and replaced all the parts (tubing, bottels, etc) with new ones. Which I got this one (pump in style original) for 20 dollars, so I'm not dissappointed at all. I use my pump multiple times daily since Mimi was born. I know I know, you think I'm weird because I bought a used pump. Well I don't think I'm weird. I think that it's a vaccuum pump, and the parts that matter are the tubing and the ones that touch my body, and those were all new. I think though this time around I will be purchasing a brand new one so I will have a warranty. If the new breaks, i get a new one as a replacement. I think I'm going to stick with medela and get the pump in style advanced pump. The Freestyle is way too expensive (over 300).

Well I'm off to make some soft-boiled eggs and toast and espressos for the husband and me. What? I'm an evil mom because I breastfeed AND drink coffee!? No, I have one espresso and drink water the rest of the day, evil would be how I would act if I didn't have some coffee.

Review of the bottles i've used

Baby Fever Delusions

Is it crazy that probably once every other day or so I think of wanting another baby/being pregnant again? This is nuts.....Mimi isn't even 6 months. I think mother nature plays this cruel trick on you making you think not only how nice it would, but that you can just go right ahead and have another. I have been watching pregnancy vlog's and reading others blogs in my spare time while Mimi naps on the weekends thinking, awwww I want another baby. I even made the mistake of telling my husband that I feel this way sometimes, and even though he wants more kids eventually, he gets this scared look in his eyes. I know that I can't have another baby right now--for several reason, first and foremost still haven't had my period since before Mimi was born, second, another baby would not bode so well for our finances! With me still in grad school, we makes ends meet with doing parttime daycare and budgeting well, but throwing another set of copays and diapers in the budget would break it!

Does anyone else have crazy-want-another-baby hormone surges?

Yikes.

In other news--Mimi is sitting up by herself so well these days. Today I was too lazy to do the whole bathtub bath thing so I gave her a bath in the kitchen sink--she loved it! I filled it up really full and just let her sit and play. Now that she can sit up, I think it is more fun for her in the sink. When she takes a bath in the tub we fill it with about 2--3 inches of water and she lays on her back and kicks and splashes. I just love this kiddo so much. She had bananas and crackers in her hair. I tell you--this kid loves to eat solid foods. She cries when her food is gone, not out of hunger, but because I think she has so much fun eating and interacting and sucking food off of her fingers.

Our daycare provider called us Friday to congratulate us on such an easy baby-she said Mimi didn't even cry the two days she was there. She said how great is was that we weren't smothering first-time parents as well---however I think it helps that I've know this women for 6 years--so I have built in trust in her. Plus everyday we picked Mimi up she was rested and happy. She did ask me to send more clothes over though---my daughter the puker! Out babysitter didn't have the same luck of a day of no crying from what I could gather, our babysitter, bless her heart totally lets Mimi manipulate her into getting held all day. Poor Jenna (the sitter), Mimi can't help it, she just loves when Jenna walks around holding her and catering to her all day.

I hope everyone is well--and warm--In FL and it's 22F here! Yikes--good thing we installed a new furnace 2 years ago!

Working Three Days a Week and Pumping

So it's my first week "back to work." This means, I'm actually at my office 9 hours a day while Mimi is not with me. Sad. It's been two full days and boy do I miss that little fat-faced baby. We were lucky enough that my friend had a parttime opening in her home-run daycare. This is a friend i've known for six years. She converted part of her house into an in-home licensed daycare when her kids were little and gave up teaching.

I have some likes and dislikes about my current working situation. I'm going to start with the likes because I have resolved to have a more positive attitude and outlook on life lately.

Positives/Like
-Mimi is with a person I have known for more than 6 years, in a controlled environment that is clean, warm, and full of love. My friend is so flexible with how parents want things from sleeping habits, to how often/what she eats etc. A lot of daycares I looked at had some policies that I didn't like (such as foods available and sleeping arrangements), but April (my friend owns/runs the daycare) will accomodate your kids schedule and eating preferences. Mimi sleeps in a pack and play in a separate room in April's house, she always gets the same crib with the sheets being washed daily (better than her sheets at home! lol), she always gets the same room (for consistency), but she sleeps when she's tired, she doesn't have to conform to some strange pre-determined schedule. She can be dropped off whenever and picked up whenever I want. I can stop by to nurse her if I wanted, I can come eat lunch with her or play on my lunch break etc. She gets fed the organic babyfood that I make and bring and my breastmilk. She gets to interact with 5 other kids ranging in age from 10 months to 3 years. April has more toys and books and play equipment than my budget could ever allow. I have productive time away from Mimi to finish my disseratation-this will allow me to find a good paying job to support my family.

Negative/Dislikes
-On the days she goes to daycare I barely get to spend time with her. SUCKY We take her to daycare at 8:30 am and she is picked up at 5:30 pm. In the morning, we are so busy trying to get around, I only really feed her then she plays on her own until we leave. By the time we pick her up, get home and make/eat dinner, it's time for her bath and bed, so I only get to spend an hour or two with her. That is a stark contrast to the last 5.5. months of her life when I had never been away from her for more than 5 hours!! I hate this aspect.

-Pumping every 3 hours in a shared office space (with both men and women) is sometimes awkward, difficult and annoying. Add to this the fact that i'm on crutches, so getting up to wash and resterilize stuff if quite the task too. This whole pumping process means Mimi gets more bottles during the day=more cleaning and sterilizing at night--doesn't seem like a lot, but 4 bottles plus all my pump stuff takes awhile to take apart, wash and sterile. Not to mention the pump is not as effective as actual nursing and can lead to a dip in supply if I'm not diligent.

-Someone else is experiencing her "firsts" and developmental milestones. If I miss her first crawling and first word or steps It will break my heart.

Overall I feel blessed that it worked out for me to stay home with her as long as I did. It was the best use of my time and a great gift to give Mimi. I feel sad to think that depending on my future job and finances, I may not be able to stay home the same amount of time as I did with Mimi. I also think this parttime situation is a healthy transition for when I start work fulltime in the next 6 months.

Now don't go feeling bad for me--I still get to stay with her all day Friday-Mon, and she's only at the daycare two days a week--the other day she is home with our babysitter-whom I love.

I am really proud that Courtney (http://www.kyleandcourt.com/) has started a weightloss initiate with the youtube mom community. I wish I could say I've worked out, but alas, I stare down at my knee brace and crutches knowing I will not even be able to walk for 3 more weeks. I did make one change in my lifestyle that I think will help me lose more weight--I've decided to be vegetarian for awhile. I had an idea to stop eating meat after christmas and haven't had meat since. I have been eating a lot of legumes and such though to keep up my protein and I resumed taking my iron supplements. I weigh 3 lbs less than the day I had my knee surgery (8 labs less than pre-preggo) but I still have a lot more to go!!!!!!

Happy Epiphany! Now I can take down my tree and Christmas things.

Ah.....a New Year :-)

So it's 2010. Wow. What a year. This year I:
Celebrated my first wedding anniversary
Gave birth to a beautiful baby girl
Had 2 surgeries (C section + Knee)
Travelled to Portland
Celebrated my 28th birthday and my husband's
.........sure there's more

So it's been a busy year of non-stop stress, visitors, excitement and fun. Do I have New Year's resolutions? I can muster up a few.

I resolve to go to church more now that I found a Catholic church I like in Gainesville.
I resolve to spend more quality time with Franco and Mimi--and less time stressing over how clean the house is etc.

I think that should do it for now. I'm not going to resolve to lose more weight this year, because this is a goal I've had for awhile. I am 7 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight and still exclusively nursing at 5 1/2 months post partum. I am feeling awesome about that. Every week I lose a pound it seems, my milk supply has recovered from two days of bottle feeding and pump and dumping due to surgery medications. I see changes in my body every week. My Acne is improving and I'm feeling positive about the way I look. My clothes fit better than they did before the baby and I'm a size smaller than I was pre-pregnancy.

Mimi is growing and developing perfectly. I love my fat little baby. The fat rolls on her legs are so big you could hide pennies in them! She starts partime daycare next week at my friend's home-run daycare. She loves eating solid foods, still sleeps through the night and takes two naps a day. I couldn't have wished for a better baby. We love her more than we thought we ever could. She truly was the best thing that happened to me this year---or any year--she's the best thing I've ever done in my entire life and I look forward to doing it all over again someday! (hopefully not soon though!)

I'm still feeling down about the long recovery from my knee surgery. I got my surgery stitches out on the 30th and physical therapy is going great. My husband is helping out so much around the house. I have 4 more weeks on crutches before I can walk again, so I just keep trucking!

Today I got to sleep in and eat pancakes for breafast, so the new year is starting off well! We have a few errands to run, but for the most part, we're just hanging out as a family enjoying the time off we have together before we all start back at work next week.

Congrats to Rach on her baby Cameron! Happy birthday to Courtney soon, and good luck to Laura on her last few week of being pregnant!

Happy New Year! I wish you all the best in 2010