Ahhhhhh ... to live by the sea shore!

   Sometimes, in life, the cards that life dealt you is not the cards you want. Sometimes you have to take charge of your own destiny. The question you have to ask yourself is how much do you want it?

    I was born in Poland in a place that was very much inland. Except for few trips to the lakeside and one trip with my mother to the seaside, I was never around the water much. I didn't even know how to swim until I was 9. As a matter of fact I taught myself to swim at a summer camp to Czechoslovakia. I begged my parents to let me go, even though I was much younger than most kids going. As part of that camp activities we went to a swimming pool every other day, and in order to keep up to all the other kids I was driven to learn to swim. I tried hard, "drank" a lot of pool water through my nose, went under few times, and persevered in learning to swim that year.

Sunday Snapshots - Finally, cupcake time.

   This weekend, we finally got a chance to have some family over for Funky Monkey's cupcakes. I felt so bad that it took so long. First, we had troubles getting everyone together, then, twice we were sick with stomach bugs. Funky Monkey was very understanding about it, but since it was his 10th birthday I thought that it should be more special. But we got a chance to have some family over for cupcakes. He wanted them to be Angry Birds cupcakes, so I got them done. In the process, I got a chance to unload all my baby girl clothes, And kids got a chance to spend time with Grandparents and Aunty. Yey!!!!

The good, the bad, and the ugly - part 3 ... "change time"

   I finally got some time to continue my "Baby needs" series. I already mentioned Bathtime and clothing in my previous posts, so now is the time to talk about change time. Why is change time so significant? Because you'll be changing your baby's diapers for the next 2 to 3+ years. That's right, you better get used to it. 

   First, let's talk about how baby's toilet routines change from birth to potty training. At birth most babies will wet their diapers very little. The way that a nurse explained it to me is that on the first day they will have one wet diaper, on the second day -two, third day -three, up to fourth day (or the day your milk comes in) when they will start having significantly more wet diapers. At first, the baby will not pee a large amount, but by three months you can expect a very wet diaper, especially after nap time or night-time sleep. As to poop (yes, when you have a baby you can use the word "poop" in casual manner ...)

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...