Sleeping Babies

It's really no wonder that I don't have any energy around here...

Yup, that's Ripley, curled up on the Boppy. Nothing is sacred.
Fletcher has taken over my sister's butterfly chair. There is no telling the kind of fit he will throw when that chair finally makes its way back to her place. The funny thing is, it rocks, so the fact that Mr. Chickenshit is brave enough to put up with the wobbles each time is a testament to how much he loves it.

Baby girl is growing like a weed. She gets more beautiful every day! We see her pediatrician on Tuesday for ... shots. The first immunization visit. I can't wait to see how much she weighs. :)

And also...

I know it looks like she's smiling, but really, she was getting ready to belt out a wail because her mean, mean Mommy stuck her in an easter basket...

awwwww

Me in the Mirror

Aaaaaaand it's back...

Guess I'll invest in a lifetime supply of bleach so I can pretend it's not there...

I Feel...Dumb

The bleach worked like a charm. No scrubbing required.

Bath Tub Woes

***NOT a baby post***

:)

When Cory & I looked at houses, I always pulled back the shower curtain or door, if there was one, to look at the tub. Being a fan of older houses, I know how tubs can get and nasty ones just gross me out. I love taking baths. It's one of my lifelong joys, my means of relaxation. I like them super hot and bubbly. I couldn't do superhot when I was pregnant and that made me sad.

When we got back from our many trips to Mercy, I finally settled in to take a bath. I noticed a strange discoloration in the tub, it looked like someone had poured brown hair dye in it. I thought, "Dammit, Paula, what did you pour in here??"

I emailed my Mom and sister, and asked if they had done anything to the tub. Neither had. I did some checking on labels of cleaners, and one that I had sprayed said "May cause discoloration in old porcelain." Great. I did it to my own tub. So I've been experimenting with different things, trying to get it clean. Yesterday, I bought a magic eraser and some soft scrub. Tried the soft scrub first, but of course, it didn't do much. Comet didn't do anything at all. If I got in the tub and scooted the scratchy side of a sponge with my foot it got a little bit lighter. (At least all this extra body weight is good for something)

We took Kaia to Tulsa today. I'm exhausted and my back hurts, so I came home wanting desperately to soak in some hot bubblies. I pull back the shower curtain and it the entire bottom of the tub is discolored, and the places where I had managed to get clean(er) were back. Back and brown. It's so disgusting. It looks like I've never cleaned this tub, when in reality, I've cleaned it almost daily to no avail.

So, my point. Does anyone have a suggestion? Solution? Miracle cure? Does anyone know the cost of refinishing a tub, if I can't get it clean? Even though I know it's been scrubbed to death, it grosses me out and I am once again, bathless.

(On a side note that C and M will appreciate, Marie asked Cory if he wanted her to go clean our bathtub. I'm sure there was more but he has not elaborated, for good reason!)

So In Love

She melts our hearts just a little bit more every day.

Grrrr...

Damn girl scout cookies are thwarting my weight loss efforts! Why oh why did I agree to let those boxes come into my house?

Was going to go to the gym today - it being Monday and all. Woke up with a huge headache and it hasn't left all day. Kaia threw up all over my robe this morning and sadly, I fell asleep wearing it anyway. Good thing she's not on formula or that would be even more gross than it already is.

Thanks for the easter basket aunt candice!

Weekend Gallery

What Candice Wants...

Have I mentioned lately how cute she is??

Last night was much better. I told Cory to put Little Honk back in her bassinet with me when I went to bed and for him not to stay up until her early morning feeding (usually 1 or 2). So he came to bed around midnight, much closer to his normal bedtime, and she woke up at 2 and 6. But in between that, she went right back to sleep. I think maybe the other night, she was high on my cold medicine. I can't think of any other reason for her to be so wide-awake. Of course, it's "breast-feeding approved" meds, but you just never know. Everyone reacts to things differently. The important thing is that Cory got some sleep.

I don't know if I've mentioned it here before or not, but since Kaia is a preemie, developmentally we follow her age and milestones as if she had been born "on time." I keep forgetting this and stressing out. Well, not stressing out really but worrying some. Anyway, things that babies are usually doing by the end of month one, we can expect her to do around the end of month two. She'd be 9 days old today had she stayed inside as long as she was supposed to. Isn't that wild?

Also, back to the tongue thing... I think Kelly was right in suggesting a different nipple. We have an assortment of bottles and we mostly use Dr. Brown but I have a couple of Avent ones that I had been trying on her... I think the nipple on that one is both too short and too flexible. It's harder to get into her mouth in the first place, much less when her tongue is there. So I'm going to get some more Dr. Brown bottles and only use those. Thanks to everyone for their input on everything. It really helps so keep the comments coming.

On an unrelated to baby note (what??), I'd love to hear what you guys have for dinners during the week that is easy and healthy. What are some of the things are in regular rotation in your household?

Boooored Bored Bored

OK, six weeks in, and I'm suffering from cabin fever. It's not that I can't take Kaia anywhere, it's that I don't really have anywhere to go. I mean, I can't spend any money and I don't really want to visit places crawling with flu bugs right now so... here I sit.

Today, I got up at 4 and went to bed a little after 5. I woke up again around 9 and went back to bed around 11. Got up at 12 and have been up since. Bottles washed? Check. Laundry put away? Check. Pumping on schedule? Until now, Check. I even cleaned out the guest room a little so that Cory could come home and take a nap in an ice cold, darkened room.

OH yeah, and I'm sick, so this is not a joyous household. Cory is sleep deprived, and when he gets sleep deprived, it just ain't good. Thus the Serenity Guest Room/Nap House.

The Little One has her days and nights mixed up I guess. One more day of weirdness and I'm calling the doctor. She was awake, give or take according to Daddy, 7.5 hours last night. He was letting me sleep (drug-induced, thank goodness for Bendaryl) since I'm sick. Anyway, she was wide awake through two feedings, til 5 a.m. She's also doing this weird thing now when we try to feed her where her tongue gets in the way of the nipple so feeding her has become a battle once again. If any of you moms have input on that, it would be great. She eventually gets it out of the way, so I don't think she's "tongue tied" but it's really tiring and frustrating. I'm afraid she is going to get too tired to eat again like she did in the beginning.

I had my six week post-partum check up yesterday. 17 pounds from my starting weight. Sigh. But everything is good and everything I'm feeling and experiencing is "normal" for this point of recovery. Including utter disgust about how I look right now. (I said "utter" not "udder" but either way...)

People keep asking me when I'm going back to work. I don't really want to. I don't really think I'd be good staying at home full-time, but I just really don't want to put her in daycare. :( Even though we know three different couples with new babies there, I still hate the thought of it. It's hard when neither one of us were daycare kids ourselves.

I feel horribly uninspired about this election. This could be, or already is, a monumental moment in history and I just am not into it. Last presidential election, we were all about it, even went to the democratic debates when the candidates were here. I haven't even logged on to Clinton or Obama's websites to see where they stand on things. I'm uneducated. Shame on me. Did anyone happen to see Dubyah dancing an idiot jig while he was waiting for McCain to show up at the white house?

I'm being long-winded because I'm bored. And don't want to go pump. OK, I'll stop now. Sorry C, no new pictures today.

Tummy Time