The Minority

I realize I'm probably in the minority when saying this, but I don't mind that my daughter watches TV and DVDs...

Is that a collective *GASP* I heard?? :)

Let me explain. I don't think it's cool to put your child in front of a TV all day. Yes, I do think playing outside or reading is a much better option. However, I'm not gonna get all crazy over the fact that my (infant) daughter already loves watching TV. We have the TV on all the time when we are home. Bad habit, I know. But it's just a fact of life for us. We noticed that when we would have Sam over our shoulder she would actually crane her neck around to get a look at the TV. Now, at her age obviously she has no clue what the show is about. All she knows (and loves!) is the bright colors and well, if it has music to go along with it, then she is a pig in shit. Excuse, the analogy. But she is. She loves it.

And I don't really have a problem with it. Of course, I don't use it as a babysitter. The only time I am guilty of throwing a DVD in for her as a "babysitter" is when I really need just a few minutes to do one of the three: Wash/prepare bottles, go to the bathroom or to check FB quick. Ha. Just kidding about that last one. I only check FB when she catnaps :)

I bought her this animated sing-a-long DVD that she is in love with. I mean seriously, I should record her watching it because she is all smiles and starts kicking her legs like crazy! We also got her a Sesame Street sing-a-long DVD. But she's scared of Snuffleupagus. She is not a fan of Snuffy boy. I kind of don't blame her, he is a bit shocking to look at. I do always sit with her and sing along. She thinks I'm a genius when I do the hand motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider." I truly believe that even at her young age seeing all the bright colors and hearing all those songs is beneficial to her.

Plus, I basically grew up watching every Disney movie out there. And by "every" Disney movie I mean the classics. You know, Little Mermaid...Snow White....Bambi....Beauty and the Beast...Cinderella...the oldies! And LOVED them. Still do. And I think I turned out okay! For the most part :)

I think having a nice balance of outside play, reading and some TV/DVD time is okay for a kid! And these days there are so many educational DVD's out there...

But I know everyone has their own opinion on this topic. So if you are not a fan of your kid watching DVD's you can mail any they get as gifts to us at......ha ha.....kidding....

Showin' off

Today, our sweet Sam had her appointment with the pediatric development doctor. Every preemie (well at at the hospital she was at) requires each baby to see a developmental doctor a few months after they are discharged. Just to see where they are at developmentally. I was a little nervous. I am a Googler. So when I am worried about something Sam is or isn't doing I Google it and that is such a bad thing to do! I'm so great at telling other Mom's to stay the heck away from Google and can't seem to take my own advice. Months ago I was a little more worried when Sam didn't really seem to be smiling. But of course she is smiling all the time now. It's awesome.

I was just interested in hearing what they had to say. Turns out, my little girl is a show off!! She did great with all the little activities they did with her. Throughout most of it she was smiling and being social, although in true Sam style she did have a few bouts of fussiness. But in her defense, it was time to eat so we had to take a little snack break. The doctor held her under her arms to see if she would stand and she stood right up with her strong little legs and gave the doc a huge smile as if saying" What's up now, Doc! Check it outtt!" The doctor said to her " Oh now, you are just showing off!" :)

She got mostly a great report, with the only concern being that she doesn't seem to turn her head completely to the left. They think this might be a mild case of Torticollis. So she showed me a few stretching exercises I can do with her to help it. Also, we had a talk about her fussiness (I was concerned) but the doctor didn't seem to be. She said that because she was a preemie her nervous system is still developing and what she needs is just time. Which makes sense because she has gotten SO much better than the all day and night crying episodes in the beginning. She also believes the reflux is a big factor in the fussiness. She explained this more and I guess I didn't realize how much reflux can impact a baby's behavior. I thought it was just like the heartburn us adults feel. But for babies, it effects everything. Their body movements, eating habits, mood, etc. Overall, Sam is right on track with her adjusted age. The doctor told me not to be discouraged if she's hanging out with other babies her age and the other babies are doing this or that. Which I've been good about not feeling discouraged about things like that. My girl came two months early. TWO MONTHS she should have still been growing in my womb. That's a pretty big deal. I think our Sam is doing great. My mom came with me to the appointment today (Thank goodness!) because my husband couldn't get out of work. But she and I were just beaming at Sam showing off to the doctors. A proud Mom and a proud Nana :)

Samantha has to go back in December for a follow up. Oh my God, December?? She'll be like 14 then! Time is truly flying by. She will be half a year old next week!!! Yeah, you read that right, HALF A YEAR OLD...:( I'm sad because I look into her beautiful little baby face and just want time to stand still. Yet, another part of me can't wait to see her grow up too!!

Can I just tell you how excited I am that my BFF is due in about TWO WEEKS!!!! Sheeeee on the other hand is getting a little nervous :) But I know she is going to do great!! This girl was born to be a Mommy and in two weeks (give or take) everything will be as it should be :) Ohhhh great. I'm getting teary eyed. You would think I am preggo again with the way my emotions have been lately....

NOOOO, I am not pregnant....:) I couldn't even do Tori Spelling style if I tried.

Ahh, shit. Just saw my husband on the video monitor in Sam's room giving her a kiss in the head while she's sleeping (three to be exact) and put his hand on her chest to make sure she was breathing. Teary eyed...again :)

Storytime?

I saw this on FB today. At first, it made me laugh. I thought to myself, "Hmmm I wonder if it has illustrated pictures of the Mom actin' a fool with all the hormones she's jacked up on. And I wonder if it has a chapter about how Daddy jizzed  ejaculated into a cup. Or how Mommy and Daddy had to take out an extra mortgage on their house and pick up some night shifts at Arby's to pay for the IVF." That last part isn't true, luckily for us anyways. Although, I know that is a true story for some. I'm sure it doesn't contain all that, it's a children's story for goodness sake :) But wouldn't it be funny to have someone write the real version??

I actually might purchase this for Sam someday. I think it's cute and probably a good way to explain things if she ever wants to know what really went down :)

http://www.explainingconception.com/

Little "Bow" Peep

I have a new little  obsession  hobby. Making headbands for Sam! Because let's face it, she's probably going to be bald until she's two like I was. And they are super cute. Well, I think so anyways. Nothing like a big obnoxious bow atop a baby's bald head to make me melt.

I love Etsy. Love, love, love. However, it can get expensive to keep ordering headbands. You have to pay for the headband and shipping. Some of them I have ordered, after inspecting how it was put together, I thought I could give it a try! And it's super easy. Well, the way I do it anyways. I know some Etsy peeps actually hand make the flower or bow for the headband, but I'm not that cool. Here's what I do:

What you'll need:
-Go to craft store (love me a craft store, btw)
-Purchase pack of stretchy lace or headband material
-Purchase big flower or bow (I usually search for ones on clearance first)
-Purchase some felt (I buy felt that matched the headband, so since I used white lace I used white felt)
-And I like to add a little somethin' somethin' to the middle of the flower (so I search the store for fun things like buttons, jewels, little painted wooden letters and such)
-You will need a glue gun also

How to:

-If you can, roughly measure the child's head. As in just wrap the lace around the little noggin to see where you need to cut it.
-Use glue gun to glue embellishment (button, jewel, etc) onto the middle of the flower.
-Cut two small square pieces of felt that will fit the width of the lace at the end. Hot glue the end of lace to a felt square. Then loop around the other end of the lace and press that into the end you just glued. Then take the other felt square and put a little hot glue on it and place it on top of the lace ends. This way the soft felt side will be on baby's head and the other side of felt will be the base to glue the flower on.
-Next, put some hot glue on back of flower or bow and press it onto the "base" piece of felt.

And that's it, you have a "homemade" headband!

I made one for Samantha and her buddy Kaya :)

ps- Thanks to everyone who commented on my "Paging Dr. Blogger" post. I think I am going to slow it down with the solids. I really think it is giving her gas pains. So, I'm just going to do one a day and see how that goes...

Paging Dr. Blogger...

I decided to ask for some advice from you all because honestly our Pediatrician's office is pissing us off lately. Takes days to get a call back, they forget to call stuff in, and a bunch of other things that are getting annoying. Which is too bad because we've heard great things about them and we did really like them in the beginning. Hopefully things will get better there or we are gonna have to be on the search for a new doctor for our Sam...

Do you guys think it's okay for Samantha to have rice cereal in every bottle, plus oatmeal and applesauce once a day?? It kind of seems like a lot to me. But the doc said it was okay if she was tolerating it. Tolerating it? Like not throwing it up??? Today was the first time she had all three. Cereal in every bottle, some oatmeal  at noon and some applesauce at 5. Although, she still is not getting much of the oatmeal and applesauce. Sucks on the spoon and spits out a lot, so she still is getting a bottle every time too. But tonight when I went to give her the bottle after the applesauce and a bath she was screaming like crazy! I'm afraid her belly hurts or something :( Do you think I should try gas drops again? Or alternate each day with oatmeal/applesauce? All three of those foods, the rice, oatmeal and applesauce are binding (I think?) so I'm worried her poor little belly is all in knots. She did poop earlier today.

Or it could be teething? She did have her entire fist in her mouth as she was falling asleep in her crib. Ugh, I just hate not knowing what to do for her and if we are doing this whole solids thing right! I wish she could talk to me :(

Any advice from all you  doctors  bloggers out there would be great!! :) I really don't feel like googling this and having my head spin in twelve different directions....

Rockin' and Rollin'

How could I have forgotten in my last post to mention that....


Samantha rolled over yesterday!!! From belly to back...

What a way to celebrate her "Beta Birthday," eh? <----(That's for you Amanda and Kelly) :)

ps-I changed my blog background last night? Can you see it? Somehow I always manage to mess this up.

Happy Beta Birthday!

On this day last year we got the best news of our lives. It was beta day! And we were blessed to find out that our IVF was successful...

I remember calling my Mom and Step-dad with the news last year. My Nana and Aunt Janie were up visiting and they were all anxiously awaiting my call as they sat out on the back deck. When I finally called I could hear them all screaming and crying (happy tears!) in the background. It was such a wonderful moment.

Funny enough, on our "Beta Birthday" my Aunt and Nana happened to be up visiting tonight. We went over and had dinner with them to celebrate my Step-dad's birthday (which is tomorrow) and the beta birthday! It was so amazing to be sitting there with all of them (plus Samantha!) on such a special day for us...

Birthday cake I made for my Step-Dad! Rory (Samantha's cousin) is going to be a big sis come November!

My beautiful beta baby!

Beta birthday cupcake!

She's highchair happy...

Little Miss Oatmeal Face loves her highchair!  

And ummmmm I thought they were supposed to be sleeping better after starting solids????!!! Last night she was up A LOT! Hmmm. I hope tonight goes better :)

Poop

This ad was in the latest issue of Parents magazine. Made me laugh a little. Give poop a chance? And if you look closely the little girl is is wearing a "Give poop a chance" button. This poor girl. This ad will probably come back to haunt her in the 8th grade.

Speaking of poop, my daughter hasn't pooped in two days. Yes, I am a little obsessed with how my daughter's bowels are working. Maybe it's the oatmeal?

Oatmeal Shmoatmeal....

Today was a big day for our girl! She tried some Oatmeal for the first time :) A meal that required a big bib, a bowl and a spoon!!! And tomorrow she will be asking to borrow the car....

For the past few weeks, Samantha has been getting some cereal in her bottles. The doc recommended it for her reflux. And lately it just seems like she is not satisfied with her bottle. So we called the doctor and he said to go ahead and try oatmeal. If she tolerates that, we can soon move on to applesauce and sweet potatoes! The plan was to start her on "solids" at her 6 month appt. But that's not until September 28th and I didn't want to wait that long, especially if she didn't seem satisfied. Plus, the doc had mentioned at her last appt that  he might want to start solids a little earlier anyways to help with the reflux. So off we went into "solids" land!!!

We first started her out in the Bumbo with a tray. Yes, I know the Bumbos are being recalled and I am ordering a repair kit :) However, I never leave her unattended anyways in it, so it's all good. But this wasn't the best idea for two reasons....

She doesn't like sitting in the Bumbo for a long time AND she was super hungry. I should have offered her the bottle first and then tried the oatmeal. After a few spoonfuls of oatmeal, she started screaming in the Bumbo. So that was the end of that. I then gave her a bottle which she sucked down pretty quickly and then we attempted the oatmeal again. This time I sat her on my lap and my husband fed her. She took some this way but still wasn't too happy about it. So we decided my husband would put her up over his shoulder (her favorite spot!) and we tried again that way. This seemed to work much better. However, I can't get into that routine of her only eating on his shoulder. The next thing you know she'll be 6 and I'll be feeding her a grilled cheese up on his shoulder! I want to break out our pretty high chair but she's not quite sitting up unassisted yet. I think she would flop over in the high chair. So what if I registered for a black and white print high chair that matches our kitchen :)

"Ummm this isn't my bottle! What the hell is this??"

Overall, I think the first oatmeal experience was a good one! I'm kind of excited to introduce her to other things!! Here are a few pictures. We did take some video but I was using my squeaky baby talk voice in it and I refuse for the entire blogging public to be exposed to that :)

"Ok, fine. Let me try this again. It's not so bad I guess..."

"This is the face of acceptance. Can't we get some bananas up in here?"

Baby Advice from 1969

Front

Back

Someone gave my Mom this baby book a longggg time ago. The book is dated 1969 (the original date it was published) but the printing of this one is 1977. I was born in 1979. This thing is an antique! haha It looks like it just step out of 1969 and it smells like it. You know that old book smell? Which I kind of like for some weird reason. Anyways, my mom gave it to me. Not to actually follow any advice in it but just to have as a keepsake sort of thing. She and I got a good laugh reading through some of it. Because of course SO much has changed since the 60's!!! We especially got a kick out of the parts referring to the Dads. Read on for a laugh....

Chapter 6

Title: Your Part Before and After Delivery: The Father's Waiting Period

"After your arrival at the hospital, your husband may be told that it will be many hours before delivery. Your doctor may advise him to go back to the office or home and keep in touch with the hospital. Some hospitals permit the husband to stay with his wife during labor. Others do not. 

However it isn't necessary for your husband to be there. You will be sleeping some of the time and many doctors feel you will relax more and rest better if your husband is not present. But find out the hospital's policy regarding this beforehand. Always avoid last minute decisions. Hastily made decisions have a tendency to leave you upset." 

Chapter 8

Title: Baby's First 6 Weeks: A Helping Hand

"You might find it reassuring and helpful to have someone help you with the housework for a week or so after you leave the hospital. Make sure she understands that she's to do the housework  while you take care of the baby. Otherwise, you might find yourself peeling the potatoes  and your mother in law or hired help are looking after the baby. Grandmother's are especially handy  when there's a new baby in the house, although their older ideas on infant care may conflict with the instructions your doctor has given you. Be tactful but frank in telling Grandma that the doctor prefers you do it this way, and that's how you are going to do it." 

Title: Baby's First 6 Weeks: The New Father

"Your household may seem rather strange at first. It may have doubled in size with the new baby and Grandmother. If this is true, give special thought and consideration to your husband, the new father. Make certain that he doesn't feel left out of the excitement. You must remember this is all new for him also. Occasionally, a new father may feel a little resentful over all the attention the mother must pay to the baby. Part of this feeling could be jealousy, but part of it may be because he would actually like to help you with caring for the baby. If Father's willing, he might take care of Baby while you're busy fixing dinner or doing some of the household chores. Don't be alarmed if father doesn't seem excited about caring for the baby.  At first, the new father may be reluctant to do any more than look at the new baby.  Don't be pushy; just give them time to get acquainted.  Don't forget, the husband hasn't been as close to the baby as you have all these months. He generally hasn't had as much experience with babies as you've had. Naturally, anything as tiny, fragile, and precious as your child is bound to frighten him a little. Most of a new father's education in child care comes from watching you.  So, be careful not to lose your patience when he seems to get underfoot while you're trying to change or bathe the baby.  Remember, with a bit of instruction, any father can give Baby a bottle, or a bath, or learn to change a diaper. However don't be surprised if he objects to changing when there's a stool in the diaper." 

Are you laughing? :) There are so many other funny things in this book. Basically, what I took away from it is:

-Give birth alone.

-The day after the baby is born be prepared to put on an apron and make that meatloaf, dammit!

-Do all the dirty work. Because Dad may not want to. 

This book is a dinosaur. But in a way I think it's kind of cool to see the difference between "advice and expectations" then and now. Funny, a lot has changed but also a lot has not :) 

ps-Happy Birthday to my Aunt Janie! :) Here's a photo of Sam while we were celebrating my Aunt's birthday. Did you really think I was gonna have a post go by without a picture of my girl??? :)

Twins for a day and a future Canadian "Sock-er Mom"

Today, Sam and I headed over to Elizabeth's house for a play date with Amelia. Yes, we purposely dressed them the same. Cheesy, I know. But we just couldn't help ourselves. Twins for a day.

Sam: "I love your play mat Amelia! This thing is cool. And spacious." Amelia: "Thanks! The rents  picked it up for me. I come here to clear my head and get some 'me' time in."

I'm sure if they could talk they would be saying "Really guys?? Matchy match outfits??!  We'll let it slide this one time."
(They were probably also not impressed with the paparazzi that was hovering over them with cameras. AKA Me, Elizabeth, her husband and Amanda)

Samantha was very "hands on" today! She kept grabbing Amelia's dress and her hair! Amelia was very tolerant  of it though :)

                                    

                                     See, I told ya. Hands on.... :) I guess she just loves her little friend so much!

The cherry on top to this play date sundae? Sam and I got to meet another  blog friend in person today!  Amanda had driven down from Canada to visit with some family and then she spent some time at Elizabeth's house! She was so nice (and pregnant...woo-hoo!!!) :) I gave her a little baby gift. A box with a pair of baby boy socks and a pair of baby girl socks (for whichever gender the baby is!) and on top of the box I did the best I could at drawing a Canadian maple leaf. And I wrote something about her becoming a "sock-er mom" soon. :) I am just so happy for her!

And this is just too cute. Sam holding her Daddy's finger at my MIL's birthday dinner this evening. She loves her Dad! My two loves....

A Very Special Day

On August 11th of last year...

We were excited.

We were nervous.

We transferred three embryos.

We won't ever forget we put back triplets.

We became pregnant with twins.

We now hold one baby girl in our arms.

We will never take for granted what a precious gift she is.

Our beautiful little Samantha Roselyn.

Our miracle.

The bubble says (in case it's too small!) "Which one do you think was me?" 

"That's a story that deserves to be told..."

In  the September issue of Parents magazine, Nancy O'Dell interviews Jennifer Garner on her new movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green...

N.O. : The couple in The Odd Life of Timothy Green is dealing with infertility issues. Do you hope that the movie brings attention to infertility and adoption?

J.G. : I do love that the movie is so positive about adoption and has something to say about how a child can come into your life in so many ways. Once they're yours, they're yours, and you never look back. I think that this is a very important message to have out there, and it's important to recognize what struggles women have. I have several friends who are going through, or have gone through, incredible issues trying to have a child. That's a story that deserves to be told, and these women need to be hugged because that's heartbreak right there.

I love Jennifer Garner. No, really, I do. Yes, she is a fertile (3 kids!!) playing an infertile. But she's so good at it. I don't think I could have picked anyone else to play this role. I haven't seen this movie yet, but in Juno I think she really portrayed the emotions us women dealing with infertility feel.

Within the first ten seconds of the trailer for The Odd Life of Timothy Green I was in tears. It starts off with   them sitting in the (what I imagine to be an RE's office) and the doctor is telling them that they have tried everything medically to help them. And still no baby. That look on their faces of shock, sadness, is this really the end of the road??? And then they show the couple writing down on scraps of paper what they would want for their "dream child" and it's so touching and a bit sad in a way...

I can't wait to see the movie. I should probably pack a box some tissues...

Strawberry Shortcake

5 Months! Make it stop.

To my Ballerina Princess,

Today you are 5 months old! I cannot believe it. Please slow down on the growing up thing, will ya? You weren't all that thrilled with my attempt at a photo shoot this morning. But they still came out cute! Thanks for putting up with my  paparazzi-ness, baby girl.

Love you always,
Mommy

And on this day last year...

My doctor called me with this news...

And a few days later I learned there were two more!

On this day one year ago....

this happened.... :)

Got Meds?

My blog friend, Liz, is searching for some Ganilrex or Cetrotide. Can anybody help a girl out?? :)  Thanks!!

Hi.

Peace, Love, Diapers??

My friend Sarah made this onesie for Samantha! :) I think Sam is loving it.

Baby Talk

Baby Talk....

Not just the title of my blog anymore. Baby talk is something that I seem to use all the time now. You know the weird change-your-voice-to-unusually-high-pitch-because- that's- the- only-way-I-think- this -baby- will -understand- me tone? Baby talk used to make me gag a little before I had Samantha. I used to think "Ummm why is that person talking to that baby in a completely different voice?! Just talk normal, dude." However, now I find myself on a daily basis being guilty of baby talk...

And that's okay. Because you know what? I find that Samantha smiles and coo's more when I talk in a silly voice. And I am willing to work hard for those smiles and coo's! Sometimes I catch myself though, after saying something ridiculous in a completely ridiculous way...

Example 1:  (Me talking to Samantha) "You got go poops?" I mean really....REALLY??!! What is that? 

Example 2: (Me putting Samantha in the bathtub and soaping up her belly and trying to hype up bath time for her) "Ah  thass zo nosssssss!" Translation..."Oh, that's so nice!" For some reason, I'm from another country and have a strange accent when I give her a bath.

Example 3: When I'm talking to her most things get an "e" added to the end of it. Diap-e (diaper). Tub-e (tub). Swing-e (swing). Crib-e (crib). Kiss-e (kiss). Hug-e (hug). I could go on and on....

She's been quite chatty lately. Making lots of sounds and I love it! Everyday I say to her with a big smile "Sayyyy Hiiii Mommy!" and I swear she makes this sound back that sounds like "Hiii!." I'll take it. 

Watch, when she really starts talking someday she'll end up with my "bath time accent" for the rest of her life. Yikes. 

"Hey Sarah, why does your daughter have an accent?!" 

Blame it on the baby talk. 

Beep Beep...

Who got the keys to the Jeep Edge?

(Remember that song?) :)

We got a new car and we LOVE it.