Daddy's Little Girl

Here's what the "new" thing is over here in Jenna-land...she LOOOOVES her daddy.  And when I say loves, I mean "get out of the way mommy, cause I see daddy!"

Now, on one hand, I think this is awesome.  I mean my husband is an amazing, hands-on dad who deserves all this love from his daughter.  I love that she reaches for him, that she goes to him when she gets upset, that she likes to cuddle in his arms when she just gets up. 

But lately, it's been a bit excessive.  The other night I literally could not get her to calm down for bed.  It was 'my turn' to put her in and Jenna would not have it.  She was literally screaming bloody murder until I gave in and gave her over to daddy and you know what she did?!? She calmed right down and cuddled in his arms with a big ass grin on her face.  I could almost hear her saying "ahh so much better." I know my feelings shouldn't be hurt, but c'mon!! I know it's just a phase. And quite honestly, the other night when she got up at 3 am for no reason and only wanted daddy, I was happy to oblige. But I'm her mommy, I pushed her out of a too-small hole and put my career on hold for almost 18 months to give her all of me...and all she wants now is daddy?!!?!

After that 3 am wake up, we brought her into bed with us and Mike (feeling a little guilty about the #1 daddy role lately) took a picture of us in the morning and said, "Look honey, she ended up cuddling with her mommy." Umm...I think he was just trying to make me feel better - it worked - aren't we cute?!?

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My Birth Story

Two of my friends just had babies...and both had very different birth stories and I love hearing the details of theirs (and anyone else's) story...so here's mine.

My due date was April 2nd.  We moved into our apartment on Tuesday, March 17th.  Wednesday I had a routine Dr. appointment where she so kindly told me "the baby's head is practically coming out your vagina - please stop working" Went to work on Thursday - it was open school night which meant a very late and exhausting night for me and I told my principal that tomorrow would be my last day. My plan was to take the two weeks and set up our new apartment, get unpacked and just relax before the baby's arrival...Oh, plans! Why do we even make them?!!? Worked on Friday and said my goodbyes.

Saturday the cable guy came while my parents and my friend Tara were over to help us unpack (she's a good friend).  Everyone leaves so Mike and I make a shopping list (we have literally NOTHING in the house) and planned to go do a food shopping.  Oh did little baby have other plans for us!
We get in the elevator and I feel wet...very very wet down there.  I look at Mike and I say - something's not normal - I think I just peed on myself only it's not stopping.  My pants were soaked through - went back to our apartment - I head to the toilet and chaos insues. 
Mike makes necessary phone calls: Dr. (who says go to hospital), mom and dad (who head back to us to drive us to hospital), his mom (who gets in her car to come up to NY).  He had to unpack a bag to pack our hospital bag (umm I was supposed to have two more weeks!).  I have him print the Hospital list off the computer and he throws some crap in a bag (does anyone even use the stuff they pack??).

Check into the hospital at 7 pm.  They confirm that my water broke (thank you Captain Obvious!) and they say they're going to induce me - Let me tell you - that was my fear during pregnancy - I was not afraid of natural childnirth or even a C-section - I did not want to be induced.  Well I guess my body agreed.  By the time the meds came up to my room, I was contracting every 5 minutes.  I progressed pretty nicely the next couple of hours.  I was actually impressed with my pain tolerance and then...it got BAD.  I asked for the eipdural and I don't know who was giving it to me but here I was in ACTIVE labor and the med student (I assume) can't find the right spot in my back.  It took 45 minutes to get the damn thing into my back!! That was the most difficult part for me.  From that point on, things went really well, I pushed when they told me to (I couldn't feel much) and I kept telling my hubby that I was a great pusher! And he kept agreeing with me - he's a smart hubby!

And at 5:00 am they put Jenna in our arms.  Am I the only one who still cries when I think back to that moment??  We didn't knw the sex of the baby and we were sure we were having a boy - so when they put this perfect little girl in our arms, it was seriously unbelievable....

This was her 1st photo (with my cell phone, of course)

People say you forget...I hope I never do. It was pretty amazing.

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My Fear in Real Life

You know how every mom has their "thing" - The one thing that they're super nervous about...for one friend it's the sun and the damage it can do, for another it's changing the diaper very often, others are crazy about germs and where they fester...well my thing  is choking.  This is my fear...this is what makes me crazy...this is what gives me grey hairs!  When Jenna was a couple of months old I took Baby CPR for friends and family - it was great - I did it in a friend's house and she went through the steps for choking and not breathing and even talked about other safety things (burns, baby-proofing, etc).  So I not only acknowledge my fear, but I feel as though I prepared myself.  When we had J's 9 month appointment, I spoke to her pediatrician about it and she went through the basic steps of what to do and told me "do not make your issues her issues...she needs to eat lots of different textures and not just tiny pieces."

And I have been great about it - I am fortunate to have a great eater - this is a kid who will eat a whole banana or munch on a strawberry (holding them herself) for an afternoon snack.  Tonight for dinnner, I gave her a string cheese to hold and eat (she's done this successfully before).  She took a pretty big bite and I told her calmly to chew and then I realized that she was choking...like wasn't talking choking...seriously THIS IS MY FEAR. 

I quickly grabbed her out of the high chair  (I do not strap her in but more on that in a minute) folded her over my arm and whacked her back...out flew the cheese and the I've never been happier to hear her cry and cry she did.  I guess it scared her as much as it scared me but I kept saying to her "look honey you're okay and mommy did such a good job!" I was so proud of the way I handled it - calmly and efficiently.  I did not freak out like I thought I would, but really just jumped into action. 

So now the strap thing...We have the Fisher Price high chair.  I love it, but in order to take the tray off, you need two hands. So we've been reclining the chair, slipping Jenna in and putting it back into an upright position.  I do not strap her in because in an emergency (like today) I want to be able to pull her out quickly (which I was able to do). I know lots of people will say it's not safe and she can climb out - but understand that choking is my thing and trust me when I say that my child is never left unattended in that high chair with food EVER. 

So with all this being said, I am happy that I 1. took baby CPR and 2. I handled myself well.

*Here's is the link to the American Red Cross - you can search for classes in your area!

Trip vs. Vacation

My husband and I love to travel...in the years before J arrived we went to lots of places - some just a few hours drive from home (Boston, Newport, Philly) others further away (Pacific Northwest, Mexico, San Fran, Barcelona, Dominican Republic, Prague) just to name some.

Let me begin by saying that I will go anywhere anytime and not think about how much it costs - I think vacations are necessary, wonderful, and priceless! My husband, as much as he loves going and the feeling of being away, will always think about the dollar signs attached to traveling - this is our ongoing discussion...

Now that we have a baby - things are different (I'll post about all the things that are different another time) - but in this regard, we are down an income - although thankfully this hasn't affected our new lives that much, it does affect our traveling budget.

With that being said, we have taken J on a few trips (notice- I DO NOT call them vacations). We've been to Boston (by train), Philly a couple of times (by car & train) , and Colorado (by plane). We have upcoming trips planned to Florida as well. Trips with our daughter are great - I love seeing her in different places, taking in different sights, meeting different friends and family. But a vacation it is NOT. Let me note some reasons why these were not vacations:

Boston - J fell asleep in hotel-provided crib at 7:00 - what are we to do in a small hotel room with a sleeping baby at 7:00?!?!? Exactly...nothing - TV was on so low we could barely hear it...we were speaking in whispers and...well the things we used to do in hotel rooms were out of the question with our daughter sleeping 2 feet away from us....

Philly - stayed with my mother-in-law - took us over an hour to rock J to sleep - finally got her to fall asleep - moved her gently into the pack and play and realized it was too late to really enjoy the evening...good thing I didn't because she woke up at 5:30 ready to rock.

Colorado - J never got into the time change....it's a 3 hour difference - need I say more?!?

After Colorado - my husband actually agreed with me when I said "we need a real vacation." Surprisingly, we didn't even discuss money - I think he needs the rest and relaxation that a real vacation will provide for us even more than I do. My parents have offered to watch J so we know she'll be in great hands - They are firm believers in taking time to keep your marriage in tact. So with that hubby and I are off to Vegas in a few weeks...we're going to see a show, eat at good restaurants, get some spa treatments, win some money, and hopefully do those things that we used to do in hotel rooms...now if only I could stop worrying about leaving her for 4 days...