Girl Time!!!!

Sometimes it's nice to have a Girl Time. Girly Monkey used her money after Christmas to buy this fancy nail stamper (you've probably seen the infomecials for it) and we finally got some time to try it. We started with foot bath and then painted our toes. It was lots of fun.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Funky Monkey!

   I really can't believe that Funky Monkey turned 10! Where has the time gone? I can still remember being a new mom holding this squirmy little baby in my arms and wondering how he was going to turn out in the future. I remember sitting in the hospital room, holding my new baby, and wondering if they really were letting me take him home. After all, I was really worried that I would break him.

   It was a big adjustment going from living only for me (and my husband) to being responsible for this little creature that depended on me for everything. There were many nights that I cried with him. He was nothing like the calm, content babies in commercial ads and movies. Funky Monkey made a statement wherever he was. He arrived with a surprising amount of pain and a vacuum extraction. The first few months he cried and nursed constantly, the only constants in his little life. It took me a while to get to know his needs and act accordingly. Once I did, our lives went much more smoothly, He still nursed all the time, but I could now recognize his cries and what they meant. When he started crawling he eagerly explored everything, although he was very cautious. He always needed his mommy within the arm's reach. I didn't mind. My presence build his confidence and before I knew it he was out exploring everything, although he never leaped before he looked.

What has been happening lately?

   Life has been very busy lately. More busy than I expected when I was pregnant. Four kids are a lot of work, but four kids that are all of different ages are even more. I am getting used to the constant demand of my time and attention. With Funky Monkey and Girly Monkey in dance and soccer, and Little Monkey in dance and homeschooling them all, and Baby Monkey still in the infant stage I find that most days test my patience and endurance. 

   Recently, we have noticed hat Baby Monkey has started to spit up a lot after nursing and in between nursing. Since Little Monkey had reflux when he was a baby we recognized that as such. On top of having to change mine and Baby Monkey's clothes on constantly he developed a bad rash on his face from putting his fingers to mouth full of stomach-acid filled spit up and then smearing it on his cheeks. Little Monkey was a victim of that side effect too. Little Monkey lived with that for a whole year before it got better! I just didn't want to deal with it for so long with Baby Monkey Luckily, when Little Monkey was 2 years old we took him to a chiropractor (for his elbow, not reflux) and the wonderful doctor informed us that we should have brought him in when he was a baby as a chiropractic treatment would have helped with reflux. I have ever heard of babies being treated at a chiropractor, but supposedly it is done very frequently. So as soon as we suspected reflux in Baby Monkey I booked an appointment with the wonderful doctor. The treatment itself is very un-invasive. I lie down on the bed and lay my son on my chest. The doctor then uses a little clicking tool to gently click and adjust babies' spine and joints. Baby M smiled and cooed the whole time. Apparently, it felt good. 

Day in the life of a mom.

   Baby Monkey is 2 months old now and I am busier than ever!!! I am not sure what he weighs now, but it's over 12 lbs. His daily schedule is still all over the place, but there are some consistencies. It also looks like he is following in his older brother's footsteps and has developed baby reflux. It surely throws a twist into the mix. This has increased the amount of laundry that I do and number of times that I have to change Baby M and myself (and sometimes Daddy has to change too!). Since life is so busy, I thought that it would be fun to write about my typical day of being a mom. Let's try a minute by minute account of one day:

7:05 am

Baby M is starting to stir next to me. I am so very tired. It was close to 3 am when I finally got a chance to sleep and 4 hours is just not enough. Maybe if I nurse him lying next to him he will fall back to sleep and we can get some more rest. I start to nurse him...

Cabin fever ...

   Have I mentioned that I feel very cooped up in the house lately. With the weather being cold and a newborn in the house I haven't ventured out very often. And that makes for a very grumpy, nature deprived person. I really think that it's a nature of having a winter baby. Days are short, nights are long, it's very cold outside, and baby takes so much of my time and energy that it just happens that I never really wind up outside except for getting to the car to run errands.

Saying goodbye!

Baby Monkey with our midwife Jennie!

   Last Wednesday, I went to see the midwives for my last visit. At 6 weeks postpartum, my pregnancy and birthing journey is done. At this point Baby Monkey and myself will transfer to our GP. It's a milestone for us. But with each milestone comes a bit of sadness. This is the point when my relationship with my midwives  has come to an end. It's the last time that I will book appointments and go for a check-up. Of course, I will probably pop by their office one in a while and say hello (I would guess that's the perk of working as a midwife - you get to see the babies you delivered grow up), but this was the last time that I was scheduled to come in. Why is this so sad? Well, these ladies provide so much support for the whole family during a very special time in peoples' lives. By nature of the profession, to be a midwife you must be a caring and compassionate person . So it's only natural that women came to like our midwives very much. And it's only natural that we will miss them very much.

The postpartum mom

As I am nearing my 6 week postpartum check-up, I would like to write about what postpartum life is like. First of all, if you have recently given birth to your child (doesn't matter if it was vaginal birth or c-section) give yourself a pat on your back. You did it! Welcome to being a mommy! Whether this is your first child or you just added to your brood, becoming a mom (or a mom again) is such a beautiful thing. Hopefully you have had some time to rest and recover and things are starting to normalize for you. If you have not had your baby yet (and you're feeling like this pregnancy is bound to last forever) let's see what you can expect after you deliver your baby.