Mom’s blog

Alright.  For months and months I had been buying cute new little baby things.  Bouncers.  Sings  Cribs.  Strollers. Finally, Jenna got out of me and I could begin to use these items.  Heres a quick run-down on what I think.

The SweetPeace swing-thing is Ok.  The hype around it was much better than the swing itself.  I like that I can choose how Jenna swings, I like the volume control on the music.  I even don't mind the music itself.  But Jenna isn't much of a swinger.  She prefers the "bounce and pat" method to keep her calm.  So when I put Jenna in her swing she will either fall asleep (if she was close to do so in my arms anyways) or she will scream.  Or she will track me with her eyes and beg to be picked up.  The SweetPeace also vibrates, but I find that the vibration is too mild for her.  I love the fact that it plugs into the wall though.  And I love that I can take her swing seat off and attach her (Graco) car seat to the swing - that is a great help when you have a kinda-sleepy baby and a crap load of groceries to be put away before you are free to nurse.  I am sure that I would love this swing more if Jenna loved it - if she was a swinger like Alix was, I am sure it would be irreplaceable.

The Graco Quattro Duo Stroller is pretty good.  I haven't exactly taken it 4X4ing, but on the sidewalks it is a really smooth ride.  I like that my Graco car seat fits it well (my car seat is older and is not part of the travel system) and that the seat locks in tight enough for me to feel confident going down curbs.  The fold down basket is kinda a pain in the ass - sometimes the folding motion is nice and smooth and sometimes you are trying to pull the basket down while bouncing the stroller and cursing (Jennas first word will "Shit").   But even with the unpredictability of the basket, it is a nice feature.  I love that the foot of the stroller locks into a sort-of-bassinet feature.  I don't have to worry about  Jenna sliding out of the stroller while I go down curbs (if she is in the stroller and not the car seat).  The bassinet feature is also really nice since I can quickly undo the bassinet feature to put a wiggly 4 year old in the stroller.  The kid bar in the front is nice for when I have Alix in there.  She loves to have her own cup holders and she can open and close the tray herself ~ she has even taught Daddy how to use it.  The sun shade protection is really good, I like that I can move the entire shade in order give her more protection or to protect her from the wind.  This stroller comes equipped with a clock and a temperature gauge.  While both are handy (the clock more so than the temperature gauge) I would have really preferred if the stroller came with a pedometer as well - or instead - of the temp gauge.  'Cause really, I can tell whether or not its friggin' cold or really friggin' hot without the aid of the gauge.

The Papasan seat is a waste of money.  Sure its cute and it looks super cozy, but really all it does is vibrates and plays music.  It doesn't bounce.  I wish it would move when Jenna moved and wiggled in it.  The batteries (3 C's) wear out quite quickly since the seat doesn't turn off automatically.  And with little fingers (Alix) constantly turning the seat on without my knowledge, we go through batteries like mad.  The music it plays isn't irritating, but it is quite quiet ~ maybe too quiet.  Like I said, a waste of money ~ if you're going to spend $70 bucks on something you should excpet more from a seat.

The Diaper Champ is awesome.  No matter what the reviews are (some Moms love it; Others hate it).  It is easy to use (diaper in, turn the handle, diaper gone) and the only time I smell anything from the Champ is either when I am changing the bag or when I turn the handle to get rid of another diaper.  And really, it is such a little whiff that it doesn't bother me at all (besides, its my kids poop.  I can deal with a quick whiff of it).  I like how I can use my own garbage bags and that the Champ does hold a lot of diapers.  I only have to change the bag once a week, on Thursdays, since garbage day is Friday around here.  I haven't found a con to this item at all.

The Ardiri bottles are great for a breastfeeding baby.  Because, well, they look and feel like a boob.  Jenna kinda likes them, I say kinda because she will not take a bottle of any kind anymore, but I love them.  I bet if I had been consistently giving her a bottle/day she would take to this bottle fine...but Mommy messed up and stopped.  The idea behind the bottle is a great one.  It has a vent to prevent gas.  It is BPA free (not that it matters to me, my older 2 kids had BPA all the time and they are "just fine"!) and the nipple area squishes with the sucks like a real boob.  I am still working on getting her to take this bottle.  The only downside is that these bottles are expensive.  ($15.99/bottle here in Canada at Toys R Us) and if you don't put the lid on while you are filling the bottle with milk, it will leak.  Just remember to put the lid on.

Pampers Newborn Sensitive Diapers are the best!  In the first early days of Jennas life, when my milk was just coming in and the LLL people tell you to count her wet diapers, the Pampers make it really easy.  There is a yellow line on the diaper that turns green when the diaper is wet.  There is no guessing as to whether the baby peed AND pooped or whether she just pooped.  Plus, the mesh liner lets the poop (except the early tarry poop) seep through and it keeps the liner (against babys skin) dry.  I have always been a Huggie Mom, but these Pampers diapers have converted me.

Huggies baby wipes.  I like the fact that the wipes have 'gripes' on them.  I can just wipe and the poop comes off.  With the Pampers newborn wipes I find that they are just too soft.  I wipe but the poop just stays there.  I end up having to use a lot of pressure to get a little poop off Jennas' butt.  More pressure = more chance of me getting poop on my hand...

I am still waiting for my hotsling to come by mail - I ordered it on the 3rd and there was a problem (theirs) with my address, so it was sent back out on the 16th.  It's been a week, so it should be here anyday.  This is the one item I really want to try.

Okay, enough about baby stuff.  I have to go supervise Cory and his hyper friend destroy my backyard.  No, they are not allowed in the house ~ and I better not get a puck through my kitchen window.

Here is Jennas' 5 and 6 week old teddy bear pictures...She sure is growing huh!?  I didn't get her weighed this Monday (like I have been every other Monday) but I am assuming that she is about 10.5 pounds by now.  Her car seat, with her in it, is definelty getting too heavy to carry with just one hand.

The last week has been pretty crazy around here.  My older 2 kids haven't stopped fighting.  In fact I have locked myself in a room, cranked up the music and let them have at each other.  The fighting seems to stop as soon as one of the kids gets truly hurt (Cory pushes Carly into a wall, Carly bites Cory, etc.)  I am thinking that perhaps I should start supplying them with weapons ~ at least they will get to the 'hurting each other' part faster and the fighting will stop.
Alix has also been trying my patience more than usual.  I think that my kids are bored.  I am bored, so they gotta be bored.  A month into summer vacation and I feel like I haven't done anything fun with them.  But really, I can't take 7 kids and myself in my mini-van, so until the day home kids leave each day (5:30pm) I am stuck within walking distance of my house. 
Jenna is still sleeping through the night.  It's been a week and a half (with one bad night when she woke up for a quick snack at 4am) and I am loving it!  She is cooing alot now, and her smiles are incredibly infectious!  It's hard to be grumpy when you see the biggest smile in the world.

I am still working on losing my baby weight.  I started at the gym 2 weeks ago, but since I was busy with other stuff last week, I really have only been to the gym twice.  It will be a lot easier for me to keep to my routine (3X a week) once I have the kids back in school...

I can't believe that the day I have been planning for for so long finally is here and is now over! 

Jenna, again, was a perfect abaay. She ate,  She slept.  That's it.  She is a GREAT baby.  Oh.  And she slept throught the night!  From 11pm - 7am (when I woke her up!).  It was Saturday night - Sunday morning...so she would have been nearly 5 weeks and 1 day!  Five weeks old and sleeping all night long?  I am a lucky Mommy!

It was so awesome seeing all of our family. My side was there (well, some of them), Jasons Moms and Dads side was there as well!  I have to say that this is, by FAR, the best party we have given (even though I hardly found any moment to sit..) 

The Jumpy Castle was a huge success.  Renting that was one of my proudest Mommy moments...ever.  I only wish that I could have done the same for Carly and Cory when they were younger.   But I was a very happy Mommy when I saw my Alixs' face. She was thrilled!
The party ended late (ish) and only after Jaons and I both had had a few beers ( I had 3 throught the day) It was such an easy and relaxed party. 

And my Lil girls got so many wonderful gifts!  I can't even begin to tell you how happy they were.  Especially when Alix saw her Barbie Cadillac Escalade that Mommy and Daddy bought for her!

I will be posting picture tomorrow - they are still uploading!!  And I would like to go to bed!!

Today is Jenna's One Month Old Birthday!  Auntie Julie came over this morning to drop off her youngest two kids celebrate by taking Jenna to the Health Centre to get weighed!  Miss Jenna is now 9 pounds 3 ounces and is 22.5" long.

Jenna, at her lowest known weight, was 6'13 at 2 days old.  Which means that in only one month my piggy has gained over 2 pounds!  And she has grown 3.5" in length.  Jenna is doing really great!  She has been 'upgraded' to size one diapers this morning (8-14lbs).  Except for Saturday night, we have had a really easy time with Jenna.  She sleeps well.  Eats like a champ.  And hardly ever cries, except when poopy.  We have been very fortunate that she is such an easy-going kiddo!  As you have seen on her video - Jenna smiles already and this morning (at 6am!!) she was cooing at me.  She can even roll from side to side (not all the way over, but she is way to close to leave her unattended even for a second!).  Starting this week she will be having her naps in her crib to get her ready for next week when she will be going to bed at night in her crib ~ not all night, but for the first stretch (12-3am).

Also, sorry for the photo overload at the last post ~ hey, I am a proud new Momma!

Carly had her 12th birthday yesterday, and while normally I would have taken hundreds of pictures of her, I didn't.  I will do it tomorrow.  Yesterday was crazy ~ Jenna, for the first time, had a really horrible night, so I was tired.   And then I had to un-pack and re-pack Cory's camp bag.  I had to take Cory to camp (we got SO lost on the way there ~ and I hit a bird), I had to grab Carly's cake.  Cory's pills.  On top of all that...I was REALLY tired.  And when I left Jason with Carly, Cory and Alix while I ran out to do my errands he decided to "take" Alix for a nap with him.  Alix is smart.  She waited until Daddy was sleeping and then she snuck out and destroyed my house.  Thanks Jay!

Anyways, I bought Carly a cell phone.  Some people may think that 12 is too young, but she will be taking the public bus for the first time ever next year.  She will be in jr. high.  And I can't think of a better reason for her to get a phone.  We have gone over the rules.  No texting at school.  No using the phone before 5pm (when it is free) except to call me in emergencies.  No downloading...anything.  And she has to WORK to pay the bill.  She has to help me out around the house.  With the day home kids.  Pretty much she is my slave.  Oh.  And that phone?  It's mine!  I can take it away at any point if I feel that she is abusing her privileges.  I made it very clear.  So what do you think?  Any other rules the kiddo needs?

I have other things I want to blog about ~ especially since my preggo-brain is starting to go away!  But right now I am all about the Jenna-Bear!

These were all taken on June 28 and 29th

And the video I am posting is from today! 

Sick kids.  I am surrounded by them!  Friday night, after Jason left with the older kids to go camping, Alix began crying in her sleep.  Now, as her Mommy, I know that is not a good sign ~ especially if you take that fact and the fact that on Wednesday she began to break out in a weird, rough feeling rash on her cheeks.  So after she cried out, she crawled into bed with Jenna and I.  I did not get much sleep since the girls were both squishing me.  By Saturday afternoon Alix was coughing.  Late late Saturday night?  Alix was losing her voice, crying out in her sleep and coughing.  Oh.  And she has snot.  Lots of it.  Ugh.  Alix, Jenna and I all fell asleep on the couch that night ~ I brought both lil' girls to bed with me at 3am.  On Sunday we kinda hung low and I watched Jenna for any signs of sickness.  Alix was still playing, but instead of running she was a bit slower, and really clumsy.  Monday I had the day home kids.  And, guess what?  All 3 of them have colds.  They all have the same thing as Alix, including the snot.  :(  Even yesterday Alix was still feeling out-of-sorts.  Well, she has tons of energy, but her nose will not stop running, and her strange rash has spread to her torso and now it's creeping down her legs.  The rash doesn't seem to be itching her, or bugging her at all, but I am just going to keep an eye on it for a few more days.  I just hope that Jenn adoesn't catch whats going through the other kids...having a sick newborn is no fun.  Hand-washing in this house is top priority right now!
Since I wasn't able to get away on Monday, my sister took Jenna to get weighed for me.  Jenna now is 8'10 and 22" long!  Her growth rate is as perfect as it could be!  And those 3 inches she has grown are very noticeable!  She has outgrown the preemie outfits and she now fits the newborn and 0-3 month outfits really well.  Jenna nurses like a champ and, to date, has had nothing but breast milk.  Her hair seems to be growing, and it is coming in blonde and she has a bit of curl.  Her eyes are blue.  Even brighter blue than any of my other kids at this age. 
But the thing about Jenna that amazes me the most has to be...her!  She is the perfect baby!  She hardly cries at all.  She sleeps whenever I need her to, or want her to.  She'll sleep in her crib.  She'll sleep in one of her bassinets.  She'll sleep wonderfully, as long as she is lying on her tummy.  She doesn't like to sleep on her back at all. Another amazing Jenna fact?  She has begun holding her head up (on Friday; she was 20 days old) but, even mopre amazing?  Jenna can smile!  Not just the gassy newborn smiles, but REAL smiles.  She loves to be talked to.  I talk to her all the time and she was just stare into my eyes and give these huge dimply toothless grins!  Sometimes she looks as though she is about to laugh!  I just love the smiles  :)  She started doing this on Sunday (22 days old).  And now, on Wednesday, she is an old pro at the smiling thing.  I just can't wait to see her reach the next milestore.  And the next.  And the next...
I will post pictures a little later tonight, I am going to try and herd all these (SEVEN) children outside so that I can save my living room from being destroyed any further...

Does anyone know of an easy way to post pictures on here?  I have been using both the 'upload' options or the option to upload from photobucket but both are very time consuming.  Were you able to see the pictures of Jenna/kids from my facebook account?  Or is there an easier/faster way to post more than a few pics at one time?

Oh, my family member is out of the hospital now.  She was released today and seems to be doing well.  Now, that is not to say that she 'better', just that she is, umm, better than before. She has been accepted to a behavioral treatment program, and she seems happy to have been accepted.  At least she is recognizing that there is a problem and that she can't deal with it all by herself.  This is a step in the right direction.  A step that I am happy to support her in (I will give her money for gas, but not for drugs/alcohol).  I feel crappy that I did not get the time to visit her in the hospital (from Sunday - Thursday), but I am sure she gets the fact that I am busy with my Monsters...

Speaking of Monsters...Brianna, Carly and Cory are awy with Jason for the long weekend!  Just me and my lil' girls are home.  I miss the kids and Jay, but I am glad to have this one on two time with my little ones.  I need this break.  My older kids need to have fun and Jason...well, he needs to hang out with his friends.  I guess.  *I am not bitter/resentful ~ I just wish that Jasons life would change too when we have a baby together*

Both Carly and Cory passed their grades (Carly is going to grade 7, Cory to grade 6).  However I can't see how Carly managed to pass.  Her provincial exam marks (the tests that the gov't gives every 3 years) were failing (42 and 51%) however he REPORT card grades were all A's and B's!?  How can a kid not know the 'stuff' but still get a passing mark!???  Now I have the hard decision of keeping her behind a year (so that she can hopefully catch up to where she should be) or sending her on to jr. high school to get even farther behind.  I am really really struggling with this one.  Plus, if I hold her back she will be the oldest kid in her class AND she will hate me forever.  This Mom thing is tough - why can't they stay little like Jenna forever??

I am going to try and post these pics through Picassa - but let me know what the BEST way to post pics on here is, Okay!?

I might be angry...

Someone in my family is having problems.  Drug.  Alcohol.  Relationship.  Financial.  Big problems separately, but together they just compound each other.  So, she has turned to suicide attempts.  Again.

For the past year this person has been in and out of the hospital, the longest "in" was for about 2.5 months around Christmas.  And things seemed better.  And then worse.  And then better.  The yo-yo effect.  And then she screwed up and released herself from her program before her time and since then (just after Xmas) she has been "out".  Things were just OK for awhile.  She was still attempting suicide; taking too many pills; calling us in the middle of the night incoherent; and then things got worse.  She began doing drugs.  Drinking large, dangerously large, amounts of alcohol.  Spending all of her money (she receives long term disability) on drugs and alcohol and supporting her boyfriend who "works" for his Mom.  And then this person receives another large blow when her biggest support person (I have to word this right...) moves quite far away and leaves her in a town 20kms away from the rest of the family.  *I'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone else but me...*

I get a call Sat night.  Another suicide attempt.  More pills.  Drugs.  Alcohol.  *I should mention that 1) it was her 16 year old daughter that called me and 2) I had just lent her $100 for, I am assuming, drugs, the week before (I add this because now she has the strain of paying me back).  I told her daughter to call 9-1-1.  Back in the hospital.  This one is at least close to my house...

Now what am I suppose to do!?  The Dr that saw her on Sat said that this pattern she has been in for the past year is becoming her way of coping with stress, and that it is becoming her ONLY way of dealing with stress.  And that the more we rush to her side and try and take care of her, the more we are re-enforcing the behavior.  However, if I don't rush to her side and DO something, she may actually succeed one day and kill herself.  But I realized the other night, as I sat in the empty and dark waiting room at 3am with my NEWBORN daughter, that this running to and from her hospital bed isn't good for me OR my kids.  Alix has been to the hospital EVERY single time that this person has tried to kill herself.  I just tell Alix that "she has an owie in her head that the Drs are trying to fix".  Well that HAS worked in the past, but now that Alix has a better understanding of the world around her, I know that the questions would be harder to answer.  And I am not sure how I feel about a 2 week old baby visiting a psych ward.

So, thats why i am angry.  depressed.  and completely frustrated.

*****Now on to a happier note!*****

Jenna is growing beautifully!  She is 16 days old now and, as of today, weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces.  Which means she has surpassed her birth weight by 8 ounces.  She is still a great baby ~ she sleeps most of the day and night with about 2 two hour periods of awakeness (is that a word!?) throughout the day.  At night she sleeps from 9-12 in her crib (yup IN her crib!) then from 12:30-3am in her bassinet (beside my side of the bed) and then from 3-6 in bed with Jay and I.  Usually she is up for the day by 8am.  We are still having a few issues with getting her to latch on to the right breast, but today it seems better than even yesterday ~ she has not had to have a bottle since 2 days old and she has only ever received breast milk.
I thik that Jenna may have her Mommy's curly hair!  Finally, one of my girls will have curly/wavy hair.  And by the looks of it, Jennas hair seems to be getting more blonde by the day.  And her eyes!  Her eyes, i doubt will will change colors.  I think that she will have her blue eyes forever.
Today I laid Jenna in her crib @ noon and she napped until 3:30pm.  Did I mention that she is a great sleeper!?

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Weight loss.  Ugh.  I went from 141 lbs (thats what i was at my 13 week prenatal appointment) to 181 at 40 weeks 4days.  A total of 40 pounds.  When Jenna was about 1 hr old I weighed myself and I was 176 (a loss of 5 pounds after delivering a 7.5 baby, placenta, amniotic fluid!?)  I am now down to 156.  Only a 25 pound loss.  With all of my other kids I was already in my pre-pregnancy clothes.  But not with Jenna.  I was a size 4-6 beforehand, now I need a size 10 to be able to sit in my clothes.  But really, if I don't sit I will lose more wight...hmmm!  :)   I need to lose 15 more pounds before I am back to my 13 week pregnant weight and I WANT to lose 30 more to be happy.  Crap.  I have never had an issue with weight before, but I feel one coming on.  I am already beginning to obsess over the numbers...not how I feel (which is GREAT btw).  So, instead of NOT eating (which I have caught myself doing), I am going to concentrate on working out.  I will wait until Jenna is 3 weeks old before I begin going to the gym.  And once I start going I will go at least 3 times a week, hopefully 5 or 6.  I would like to be in size 4's again by the time she is 2 months old (family wedding...lots of pictures)  Does anyone know of any floor exercises that would help me tone the tummy, butt and hips?  Any good websites out there?

I am going to try and post a link of Jennas newest pictures, but if you can't see them let me know...I have the pics on facebook and its a private album.  If you have facebook you could either add me as a friend or just leave a comment saying that you can't see the pics and I will upload them to vox tomorrow.  Try this!  And try this one too (they are different pics)