Being a new mommy

One of the things that you learn quickly once you become pregnant is that everyone has an opinion....about your pregnancy, about your body, breast or bottle, cloth or disposable...All advice can be taken or left.  You don't need to explain your decisions as a parent and lets be honest, most people who are already parents or have a few years of experience should remember what it was like to have unsolicited advice shoved at them every 5 minutes....but that is neither here nor there.

A friend of mine (who's advice I take 99.9% of the time) sent me a great article on things your crying baby wants you to know.  It's a good read and worth the time. I can guarantee you won't spoil a new baby by picking them up when they cry, or by loving on them!

Difficult Decisions

Our dogs are like family.  When I rescued Hammond from some bad owners he fit right in to our family. I thought I would find  someone to take him, but time passed and he stayed with us.

I don't know his full history, and honestly I don't want to know.  I do know he was very mistreated so when he got here he loved running around the backyard and playing with Fergus.

And he loved snuggling and loving.

Even when we brought Baby Fish home, he seemed to adjust without a problem.

Unfortunately a few months afterwords he started obsessively chewing his paws.  And when we would get on the floor to play he would push Baby Fish out of the way and get between us.  Not exactly the best behavior around a baby.  He liked her petting him when it was on his terms, otherwise he would snarl at her.  Once that happened I became even more vigilant at not allowing them to be alone together, and started talking to friends about re-homing him.  I was not about to risk my daughter getting bit.  Tonight there was an incident that was too close for my liking.  So with a heavy heart I started calling rescues to figure out where he can go, because I don't trust him anymore.  One local rescue I contacted wanted $1000 to take him immediately and it was a $300 "donation" for them to help find a home while he stayed with us.  Others couldn't take him because I didn't live in their area, or couldn't take him till the end of the month.  I had one last option.  Megan's Paws and Claws.  Although they do not take owner surrender anymore they were kind enough to post on their page that we needed a new home for him ASAP. There, of course, were the standard "did she try ____" it was so hard to not respond myself and say, hey, I'm NOT risking my daughter getting bit period. If you aren't commenting that you are interested then move along.  I had two potential adopters for him, and chose a wonderful lady that lives very close by so I can keep in touch.

Love you buddy.

You tart!

She loves raw apple

Fall is finally here! Even though it's technically been here for a few weeks the weather is finally cooperating so that I can bake! I have been wanting to do a rustic tart for quite some time, so today I put Baby Fish on the counter and got out everything I needed to make a apple tart from scratch.

To feed or not to feed....

Holiday season is upon us! Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.  Time to start planning the menus from the food you want to serve to deciding between coctails, or mocktails.

Photo from www.myvmc.com/

I want to eat everything

Wow, I thought I had a hearty appetite when I was pregnant!  Now 3 plus months into breastfeeding I want to eat all the time!!!  And facebook doesn't help matters any.  There are a ton of tasty videos floating around the interwebs with some awesome recipes...mostly desserts...like this one:

Oh cloth diapers...

When we I decided to use cloth diapers there were a lot of naysayers.  It's gonna cost us in water/detergent/time etc.  Well yeah stuffing pockets is a time suck, as is the actual laundering of said fluff.  But after a few months in cloth I noticed that our water bill has only gone up  an average of $4 for a month.

I get to do a project!

Hello my readers!  I know it's been a while, but that's how it goes when you have a baby!  She's growing like crazy and changing every day!

If you have followed my blog at all over the last few years you are familiar with my pup Fergus, and his penchant for barking at EVERYTHING.  So much to the point that I've had to put in a window covering to block his view, and unfortunately mine.

Life after baby

Wow, time has flown by!  It seems like yesterday that I was posting about being pregnant, and then she was here!  It's hard to believe my little baby is almost 2 months old already!

My Sleeping Beauty

Looking back I can see how much my life has changed...for the better...or worse!

It's not always pretty

Parenting isn't always pretty. It's changing a diaper only to have to change it again before you even have it fastened. But you smile because your little one is giving you that gummy smile. 

It's stacks of clean laundry that never get put away because your baby doesn't want you to put them down. But you are proud you at least got it clean.

It's holding a screaming infant, not knowing why they are screaming or how to fix it other than whispering over and over "it's okay" and "Mama loves you" and kissing the top of their head when they finally tire out and fall asleep on your chest.

No, parenting isn't always pretty, but it's worth it!

Nobody told me...

Nobody told me that labor would be so hard. 

I wanted to run away and call it quits. 

But I didn't.

Nobody told me that being responsible for a newborn would be so hard. 

Where's my white flag? I can't do this! 

But I can.

Nobody told me that hearing your baby cry would rip your heart out. 

Why can't I make it stop? Why can't I fix it? 

But I try.

Nobody told me I would look at my husband, and fall for him all over again when he is saying silly things to our baby. 

But I did.

Nobody told me I would love that little human more than life itself.

But I do.

Nobody told me I would question myself every day. 

Am I a good mother? Am I doing this right? 

But I AM.

I will never...

When we discovered we were pregnant I had a list of things I was never going to do. Baby fish was never going to sleep in our room...

The first several days home guess where she was...Yup, our room, she now sleeps in her own room across the hall, in a swing because she's still refusing to sleep in her crib.

I was also never going to give her a pacifier...

Yeah, this week all she wants to do is stay attached to me...which isn't bad, but she chokes on booby juice and/or ends up completely emptying her stomach all over herself and me...so a paci on occasion is better than the alternative!

There were several other things I said I was NOT going to do.  Like leaving the house during the first two weeks, or allowing anyone other than family to hold her. Two days after we left the hospital I was in public, and went shopping after our first Dr's Appointment.  I was out and about visiting people and allowing them to hold her...and go figure at 1 month old she is perfectly fine, nothing bad happened by doing the things I never thought I would!

1 month old and still so tiny!

Team no sleep...

It's no joke when a new mom refers to herself as a "Mombie"...after the first three and a half weeks of mom-life my little Baby Fish has started having a witching hour, or two or three...it starts around 4:30 or 5:00 pm.  She fights sleep, and does not want to be put down, and there are very few things that will calm her. The boob always helps, but after our exorcist moment the other evening I am hesitant to offer it to her for comfort.  Another of the things that may help is "the hold" although that doesn't always work...

Breastfeeding

Guppy is doing such a good job breastfeeding!!!  And now that we are out and about more and more I have fed her in public several times.  Fortunately I have not had to deal with people that think I should go to the bathroom....even so, consider this a PSA...(with some foul language...)

Breast feeding ..... people piss me off
Posted by Ashley Osman on Thursday, January 28, 2016

Where has the time gone?!?

I meant to write my birth story out.  Well from the moment my daughter came into this world the internet and social media (with the exception on Instagram) just faded to the background!  My mom did a blog post about my labor on her blog, and you can find it HERE!  But, I want to say a few things about it from my perspective.  I woke up at 4:30 am having contractions, and went back to sleep for a little longer.  When I got up I sent my mom a message via Facebook Messenger so I didn't wake my dad up.

Introducing...

She's here!  Our darling daughter made her appearance on April 18 at 2:19pm!  She is 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long.  Both mama and baby are doing great! We will let everyone know when we are ready for visitors!

Week 41!

I never in a million years thought I would be posting a week 41 update...But the average first pregnancy lasts to 41+5...so I may be pregnant for another 5 days!  YIKES!  Today however I will be visiting the doctor's office for a non stress test (NST) and an ultrasound to make sure everything is still looking good and blood flow is as it should be.  If all goes well my doctors will probably let me continue to carry Guppy until next Friday which would be 42 weeks...and if I hit that point, then I fear it could be the Devil's juice (pitocin) for me!

Nooooo Devil's Juice!!!!!!

The letdown of a due date gone by...

Well April 8th has come and gone, and Guppy is still firmly ensconced within my body...It's hard to not be disappointed.  I knew going in that my "due date" was just an estimate, and has a 2 week buffer on each side...so I could technically not have her till late April.  Oy.  It feels like...

Week 40...my Estimated Due Date!

They say good things come to those who wait.  I'm still waiting!!!  Guppy has yet to make an appearance, but that is completely normal for a first time mom!!  By now Baby Fish is between 6-9 lbs, and is between 19-22 inches long.  Half of all pregnancies go past the 40 week mark.

Photo from babycenter.com

Just walk it out!

There is a time during pregnancy when time seems to creep by soooo slowly.  When it seems like you are trapped in the movie "Groundhog Day" and the day will just never end.

Let's be real for a minute

So, for those that have been following me for a while now, bear with me...for those that are just seeing my blog, maybe for the first time let me give a bit of backstory...

Since Mr. Fish and I got married we have been trying to start our family....this May will be 4 years happily married!