Hungry Girl!!

She eats about 35 oz formula each day...sometimes a bit more
She eats 2 cubes veggies in am
She eats 4 tsps rice cereal in pm

And..if I let her, I'm sure she would eat more solids!

How does a petite little girl eat so much.
She surely has packed on the pounds...but I just don't see it. Here clothes aren't getting any smaller yet.
I'm not complaining, cause I'm sure this is what allows her to sleep through the night....I'm just amazed how much she eats!

My little munchin!

My little OHH, up and ready to crawl. It won't be too long now! Right now she can only go backwards. She gets so mad when she's trying to get something in front of her, and she ends up getting further and further away!
She also likes to sleep with her bum up in the air...so cute!

Learned my lesson

Don't mess with Ohh's routine!
Friday was a fairly busy day which resulted in OHH and me being out for all of it. It was fun taking her to he fire station for a tour of the trucks with a moms group. Although she was really more interested in the other babies and me then she was the trucks. We'll have to try again when she's older.
Then her and I went to several shops looking around. But the highlight had to be petsmart. I took her in too look around, and boy did she love it! Maybe she's taking after her momma!? She was mesmerized many tanks of fish, couldn't get enough of the goldfinches flying around. And seemed to be in love with one particular kitten. They didn't have any dogs. I'd really like her to see some dogs so she isn't frightened of them. Maybe going to the humane society would be a good idea, as long as it doesn't mean she'll be fighting to get one. 2 cats is enough for us right now.

I think we might make this trip to petsmart again, since she loved it so much!

Oh, so back to the problem of the routine. So because we were in and out of so many different stores and stuff, her feeding was all messed up. Just eating bits of a bottle here and there, and napping just about everytime we got back into the car. So basically it ended up that I didn't fill her up enough during the day - so we had a feeding at 2am. It's been a while since I've had to get up to feed her at that time (normally it is just rolling her over, and/or rocking her back to sleep), so it was a bit rough the next day.

So lesson learned - always make sure to feed her lots during the day, if I want her to sleep all night! I think the next month might be tough will all the stuff going on.

ONLY 25 DAYS til CHRISTMAS!

The happy pukey baby!

So my precious little girl is a spitter upper. She has been from the time she was born.
In the beginning I was so worried, even though my Dr. told me it was normal. I, along with the help of others, didn't think he could possibly be right. So I ended up switching formulas in search of a magic cure, but of course nothing really helped. I was told by many people that she had reflux, and needed to be on medication. I was even told my one person that she needed to have a barium series and x-rays!

Thankfully, my googling, and visits to the Dr's paid off, and reassured me that this was totally normal for her, and she would be just fine. It's just a pain for mommy and daddy.
Now, granted, some spitter uppers do have serious reflux problems (GERD - Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), but I know, that because she is a happy and healthy baby who could care less each and every time she pukes, that this isn't her problem.
Here are some experpts from The Mayo Clinic to help explain.

Normally, a valve (lower esophageal sphincter) between the esophagus and the stomach keeps stomach contents where they belong. Until this valve has time to mature, spitting up may be an issue — especially if your baby eats too much or too quickly.

Minimal spitting up doesn't hurt. It isn't likely to cause coughing, choking or discomfort — even during sleep. Chances are your baby won't even notice the fluid dripping out of his or her mouth.

Spitting up tends to peak at age 4 months, and most babies stop spitting up by age 12 months.

Here are some suggestions that can be used to help reduce spitting up. Again from the mayoclinic, but the suggestions are pretty standard from everywhere I looked. I have tried almost all of them, and in the beginning they may have worked a little, but I've given up on most now, cause it didn't really seem to make a real noticable difference.


1. Keep it calm. Make each feeding peaceful and relaxed. Feed your baby before he or she becomes frantic.

2. Sit up. Feed your baby in an upright position. Follow each feeding with 15 to 30 minutes in a sitting position. Hold your baby in your arms, or try a front pack, backpack or infant seat. Avoid active play and infant swings while the food is settling.

3.Try smaller, more frequent feedings. Feed your baby an ounce (about 30 milliliters) less than usual or limit nursing sessions to just one breast.

4.Take time to burp. Frequent burps during each feeding — when your switch breasts or after every 2 to 3 ounces (about 60 to 90 milliliters) — can keep air from building up in your baby's stomach. Also burp your baby at the end of each feeding. Sit your baby upright, supporting his or her head with one hand while patting his or her back with your other hand.

5. Check the nipple. If you're using a bottle, make sure the hole in the nipple is the right size. If it's too large, the milk will flow too fast. If it's too small, your baby may get frustrated and gulp air. A nipple that's the right size will allow a few drops of milk to fall out when you hold the bottle upside down.

6. Thicken the formula or breast milk. If your baby's doctor approves, add a small amount of rice cereal to your baby's formula or expressed breast milk. You may need to enlarge the hole in the nipple to make sure your baby can drink the thickened liquid. **I do not agree with this one! Definetly check with Dr. first. IT can be a choke Hazard**

7. Raise the head of the crib. To reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, it's important to place your baby to sleep on his or her back. This position can aggravate reflux, however. It may help to slightly elevate the head of your baby's crib. Never prop your baby with pillows. **we seriously considered trying this because we we were afraid of her chocking on the spit up, but in the ended decided it was safer to not play around with the crib**


Here is also a link to the Doctors show, that explains it all really well too in a video clip from their show!


So in the meantime while we wait for her GI track to really mature, my DH and I can do nothing but laugh about it.
I always have a recieving blanket, or as we call it, our "puke blanket". Her toys, her blankets, our furniture, our clothes are always covered in spitup. I am so immune to the smell now, but I wish I could have a nice smelling baby. It's just not possible. As soon she she's bathed (or more often while she's having a bath) and smelling on clean and fresh, she pukes again. Hence the OHHHH that we now call her!

I think I need to get a picture of her with spitup on her face...maybe not so cute, but I am hoping that soon it will stop, and will be a distant memory! :)

Storkcraft Crib Recall

FYI - Storkcraft crib recall.
We have this brand of crib. When we first got it, we had to order a replacement part because it broke when we were putting it together. So I'm not sure if this replacement part is still on the recall list, but I am going to look into it. But I can't get onto their site yet. Too many people trying to access it right now I think.

Here is an article about it: (hmm, not sure how to post a link yet)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_crib_recall

Toe hair tourniquet

Who knew there was such a thing! Well I sure didn't until tonight.

I had just finished cutting Ohh's finger nails, and was having a look at her toes. Not something I do every day, but for some reason I was today. Mothers instinct maybe?

I noticed that her middle toe of her right foot was bright bright purple, and all the others were pink. Odd, cause she does normally have this purple appendage issue, but this time it was just one.
Well upon closer inspection there was a hair wrapped around it! I freaked a little, thinking about animals I have seen like this, and how they got gangrene and lost their tails.
So got my husband to quickly hold her, and worked at getting it off. Not so easy on a screaming, wiggling baby. I had to just ignore that, and finally got it off. Then I noticed that the second toe also had a hair around it, but not as tight.

Whew! Her toes are nice and pink now, but I can still see a line on the middle toe where it was. OUCH! I wonder how long it was like that?

Then I thought I would google it to see if this had happened to anyone else. And to my great surprise it's actually a syndrome.

Google the pictures...it can be pretty bad!

Apparently its common around this age, because of mothers losing their hair around this time. Which is so true for me, I find my hair everywhere, and it doesn't help that she pulls it out all the time.

I wonder how long this was like this? I cringe to think what would have happened if I hadn't found it. She didn't seem bothered by it until I found it. But thinking back now, she has been kinda fussy for a couple days. I wonder if that could be the reason? My husband gave her the last couple of baths, so I'm not sure how closely he examined her feet. It wouldn't have been on my mind, that is for sure!

So to all you moms...please check your babies toes, fingers, and yes I even read Penis's (ouch!) of your babies often. Especially if they are being fussy! I know I will from now on!

Weight loss - bad start

Blah - I was really bad this weekend. No excuses, just no will power. Sometimes I hate how my super skinny husband can eat all the junk he want and not gain a pound. I need to learn to be able to have it in the house, and not touch it.

Feeding Part 2

I feel much better now with my plan for starting solids. I had another friend go through with me what she did for her kids. She even wrote down for me what a typical day was like at 6 months of age.

So this is my plan as of right now.

Today:
Start feeding cereal twice a day (once at 7am ish feeding, once at 4pm ish feeding - still feed 6 1/2 oz bottle.)
I may need to decrease the amount in the bottles if I start feeding more cereal, but I will play that by ear.
Sunday:
Start Oat cereal.
Stay on oat for 1 week, unless there is a reaction.
Next Sunday:
Start on wheat cereal
Stay on wheat for 1 week
The next week:
I will look into if there are any other cereals I should try...but if not will start veggies.
Will feed veggies in am, keep cereal in PM (will give me time to see if she has a reaction to new food) Will try each new food for 4 days to 1 week.
Will start with sweet potato, then carrots, peas, green beans. ( these are the foods I already have made)
During this time I will get a sense if she likes the homemade stuff, and how she reacts to new foods, and will then reevaluate which other foods to continue with.
When I am ready to start proteins, I will likely start with chick peas at it may be easier to digest then meat. I will not rush starting the meat, as I was previously planning.

I figure she will be almost 5 1/2 months by the time I start the real food, so that is good timing in my mind.

So in summary once we start real food, this will be what the day will look like.

7am ish New food, and bottle
10 ish bottle
1 ish bottle
4 ish cereal and bottle
7 ish bottle

I feel so much better now with a solid plan. I will still need to take it as it comes, but at least I understand the process a better.

Now my next worry...what if

opinions

I love hearing stories from other moms, about how they have handled different situations. I also love to know their opinions about specific issues I am currently dealing with.

Now that I feel a bit more confident in my mommy abilities, I so get that there are a million different ways to do things, and as a mom you will hear them all. None of them are usually "wrong", in fact most of them are the best thing for that persons particular situation, or that persons baby. But that doesn't mean you have to do the same thing.

So with the information I hear, I try and make the best informed decision for me and little OHHH. I'll try it out, and see if it works for us, if not I'll move onto the next. For example...at a Halloween party, I learned from another mom a trick for getting her baby to sleep longer. (Basically feed as much as they want in the evening hours). Well I tried it, and wouldn't you know, I now have a baby that sleeps 12 hours a night!!! Thankyou so much Steph! Now in this conversation, it was explained to me, that is is what they do, and it works for them, not that it was the only way to do things. That's the kind of advice I love. They aren't telling me I HAVE to do something. That is the kind I hate.

Other times opinions can just make me mad. I know they mean well, but it sometimes comes across as very negative, and like they are putting me down. Oh well, I just have to learn to nod my head and walk away. I won't be able to change their minds, and they will always think they know more then me.

Feeding baby

Who knew this was going to be one of the biggest challenges of taking care of a little baby. It seems there are so many different opinions out there, and knowing what is the right things isn't always so easy. It's just that I want to do what is right, and I don't know exactly what is right.

I had a heck of a time in the beginning, with breastfeeding not working, and trying to find the right formula. We had that figured out since about 6 weeks old, that is until now when I need to start solids.

It sounds straight forward enough, but it's the logistics that have me confused. Some people say one thing, others say something else. There are so many opinions/experiences out there.

It's a matter of finding out what works for us.

The things I figure you need to decide when starting is.

• When to start (Canada pediatrics say wait til 6 months. The states say 4-6 months. Most moms seem to be starting around 4 months). I had planned on waiting until 6 months, but ended up starting at about 4 1/2 months (about 2 weeks ago)
• What to start with (Rice cereal seems to be the most common)
• How much to start with (about 1-2 teaspoons)
• When to increase the amount you feed. ( still haven't figured this out yet)
• Homemade vs Jarred (I had started making homemade, but have recently learned that not all babies like it...so I'm stopping till I find out what works for us)
• Which foods to feed first after cereal. (Canada says meats then fruit/veg, which is a new recommendation, States says vegetables/fruit, then meat; most moms say veg first, then fruit, then meat)
• When you do you try different types of cereal (ie oats) (I still haven't figured this one out yet either, but I think I am going to try it after the rice cereal before I try the other foods)

My original plan was to follow the guidelines set out by Canada's pediatric society. That is start at about 6 months, start with meats, and go from there.
But I already started earlier then that, and now, hearing from other moms that the meats are really tough on their digestive systems, I'm not so sure. This is the last thing I want for little OHH, so I've been rethinking, and might try veggies first.

The reason they say to start with the meat is their iron levels start to drop off around now, and they need more of it. But really. I'm feeding formula that has iron in it, and most moms haven't started with meat, but with veggies, so it can't be that wrong of a thing to do.

I think I need to make a decision this weekend, and just go with it.

Even with my confusion, it sure is fun feeding her the cereal. Right now at least she absolutely loves it!

Struggle with Weight

I figure the best way to get myself motivated is to write it down. I've fallen off the wagon lately, and need to get back on.

I've always struggled with my weight. But just before we did IVF, it was recommended that I lose some weight to make our chances better. They said, to lose 30 pounds...I lost 40. This was great! I am so proud of myself for being able to do it, and do it relatively quickly. And obviously it worked!

The problem then was, I stopped the diet the day we could potientially have been pregnant. This was not the smartest move. I know I couldn't keep dieting, but I should have kept eating healthy. Instead I didn't, and not only did I gain babyfat, but I also rebounded from the diet and gained...well more then I would like to admit.

Then I thought, when the baby is born, I will be breastfeeding, I'll be eating healthy, and it will come off so easily. Boy I was wrong. Breastfeeding didn't work, and the healthy eating didn't come back so easily.

I have tried weight watchers, and I have lost some pounds since starting it, but I have so much further I want to go. And like I said, I have not been doing so good with it lately. I need some more motivation. My short term goal is get down to where I was prepregnancy. I would like to do that sooner rather then later, but I defiently want to be there by the time I go back to work in June. I will need to get new scrubs for work, and I want to be able to get smaller ones! Once I get to the goal, then I hope to be able to continue on and lose more...but for the timebeing, I am just focusing on this.

So, I have 35 pounds I want to lose right now!. Yikes! I'm right back where I was before the IVF journey.

Other then just to feel better, the reason I'm on a tiny mission right now, is my mom was just diagnosed with Diabetes. Her mom had it too. So, since I also have PCOS, and am overweight, I know that I too am at a big risk. It's such an awful disease. My uncle has it, and he is bound to lose one or both of his legs very soon....so sad!

So, to start me out I joined Diaper fit classes this week. I know it's a weird name, but basically its aquafit where you can bring your baby, and use them as some resistance in the pool! Then I went to a mall, and walked around a bunch. It may not sound like much, but right now it's better then nothing.you can't expect miracles can you?

I don't think I will start weight watchers exactly, but I will watch what I eat.
If I can figure it out on here, I am going to put a ticker on my blog to show my progress. So feel free to give me a kick in the butt if I'm not doing what I should be!
My weigh ins will be on Monday AM's.

Wish me luck!

Where is Santa?

This weekend, my husband, Ohhh, and I went to our very first Santa Claus parade together. I hope that it will become one of our family traditions each year!
It really was a lovely day for a parade! We couldn't ask for a better day in the middle of November!

We ended up finding the perfect spot (away from any kids coughing, and parents smoking). And when the parade started I put her into her sling/carrier so she could better watch the parade. She was pretty fussy, and we soon discovered why.

As an aside....

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I still get uncomfortable/worried when we are out in public and she starts to cry or isn't the quiet little baby I am hoping for. I wasn't too bad here since there were kids everywhere, and it's not like we were in a quiet environment. I know all babies cry/fuss, but maybe its because I always remember before having a baby, people around me complaining about crying babies, and I just don't want anyone looking at us, or talking about us in that way. I know, I know, it's just paranoia, and it shouldn't bother me, but it does. I really need to get over it.

Ok, so the reason she was so fussy, was just as we suspected. She was tired. And wouldn't you know, as soon as the parade was starting, she fell asleep in her sling/carrier. She slept through almost the entire thing. Through the horns honking, the sirens, the loud music, marching bands and even the drums!



Near the end (about an hour and a half later!) she started to wake up. And thats when the wind started to pick up and get pretty cold. So we decided to make our way inside the building. We ended up missing the man of the hour, but she still saw him through the glass doors. All that, and we missed what we went there for. We laughed about this all the way home.

Today was spent putting up the tree, and starting to put up some decorations, while listening Christmas music. I'm NEVER this into Christmas, but I guess that's what having a little one does to you!
Only 39 days til Christmas!

Poll # 1 - Infertility

This poll asked: "If you are a mom, did you have difficulty conceiving, and did you need medical interventions to help you (like IUI, IVF)"

90% needed medical intervention to have a child
10% had difficulty conceiving, but didn't need any medical help
0% didn't have problems conceiving

The point I wanted to get across with this poll was that there are probably more people affected by infertility then you might think. Most people suffer in silence, and will not be telling you what they are going through. If nothing else, please just be aware of this, and try be sensitive to topics of pregnancy and babies, and be supportive and nonjudgmental if anyone confides in you about this issue.

**This poll was only from a small number of people, and it is likely biased because it was probably all women that visited from my favourite IVF website. **

What I know...

This is what I know about my Little OHHH at this moment!







She...
Is almost 5 months old.
Is a tiny baby.
Has lots of hair.
Is a very happy baby!
Is so damn cute!
Is so adorable when she laughs and smiles.
Has the most heart wrenching hyperventilating cry when she is scared or unfamiliar with things.
Has surprisingly turned into a great sleeper! (11/12 hours each night!)
Screams when she gets frustrated.
Gets purple hands and feet a lot (dr said its ok)
Used to have a blocked tear duct..recently it cleared up
Is very ticklish on her belly

What she loves:
Her Mama and Dada!
To put things into her mouth.
Toys that make sounds/music.
To have things (like a recieving blanket) put over her face, and play peek-a-boo.
To roll over and lay on her belly.
Watching football with DaDa.
Coming into MaMa and DaDa's bed at 4 or 5am each day.
Being fed some rice cereal!
To babble a lot.
Used to love her swing, now loves her exersaucer.
Her sleeping "bag" at night.
Having a bath.
Her snuggli carrier
Pulling on Mama's hair
Staring at Mama

What she hates:
Being held by anyone other then MaMa, Dada and NaNa (my mom)
People wearing glasses.
Rolling onto her back.
Being put into the carseat, but then always falls asleep in it.
When she can't reach something.

And what I know most of all is:

She has MaMa and DaDa wrapped around her little little finger already!

H1N1

H1N1 is obviously a hot topic right now. And in all honesty, some days it has my head spinning. I've been trying not to freak too much about it, and if I didn't have a young baby I probably wouldn't be. But now there is someone in our lives who is especially vulnerable, and I feel like I need to protect her. But at the same time I don't want to be obsessive.

Vaccines:
I am not one of those people who are overly concerned with vaccines, and I really don't think vaccines are the main cause of things like autism. Although there is risk with anything you do, I don't think there is this HUGE risk of getting the vaccine. A small risk yes, but in my opinion, the pros for getting it, outweigh the cons.

So, because my little girl is less then 6 months old and can't get it, my husband and I decided to get the vaccine. For us, in the end it was the right thing to do. It's helping, we feel, in some small way.

The other issue I have is how much we should be avoiding public places with her. I had been taking her to Mother goose play times, and swimming lessons. I've stopped that for the last few weeks. But now I'm wondering if more good then bad would come out of me venturing back into the world.
I've been thinking of the Pros and Cons of joining up in baby groups again.

Cons

• potentially come in contact with kids/adults/objects that are contaminated with H1N1 or other nasty bugs
• OHH potentially contracts a bad virus and gets really sick....or worse.
  

Pros

• Social interaction for OHHH
• Gets OHHH used to other people.
  
• Social interaction for MaMa (which might help to prevent again Seasonal affective Disorder)
• Gets both OHHH and MaMa out of the house!

So on one hand it could POTENTIALLY be really bad, but on the other it's a guarantee to be beneficial. This makes me think I should take the risk and get both of us out there again.

I am happy though that I'm not completely obsessed. I have found a network of wonderful ladies through some prenatal aquafit classes with whom we are still occasionally getting together with our babies. For some reason this doesn't freak me out. Maybe it's because I know them, and am pretty confident that they wouldn't be getting together if they knew they were sick.

I'm finding that being a mom puts so much much more weight on my shoulders when making these decisions. If it was just me, I wouldn't care as much, but now with my little girl, it's my job to protect her, and I'm just so afraid of making the wrong decisions!

In my mind I know it's probably better to take her out, but I just keep getting those "what IF" thoughts.

What I've learned:
Do what YOU think it best. Don't worry about what others are doing for their children. And don't judge other moms for their decisions. Everyone has their own comfort level and there is nothing wrong or right as long as your baby is happy and safe.

How it all began

Our OHHH, is really such a miracle girl.

In a nutshell, here is the journey we have experienced to be able to get where we are today. I plan on expanding more on this later, and share the feelings associated with these steps, but to give you some background I will start here.

• DaDa had a Vasectomy over 10 years ago now. (he has 2 children from a previous marriage)
• He had surgery to attempt to reverse this surgery in Feb 2007
• DaDa and I were married in September 2007.
• December 2007 - we found out the surgery didn't work.
• Moved on to a fertility clinic in March 2008. (lots of testing went on here)
• In September 2008 went through IVF, and became pregnant!!
• June 2009, my little OHHH was born!

All of this was such a roller coaster ride and has really consumed much of my life until little Ohhh was born. I have really tried to move on now with my new life of being a mom, but it will always be a part of me and her so I don't ever want to forget of our struggles. Maybe it will help her one day to realize how much she was truly wanted, and how much she is loved.

First step

Introduction:
I've been told not to use my real name, nor that of my family members. With that, I will start by introducing my immediate family.

Me - MaMa

Husband - DaDa

It seems this is all my husband and I seem to be calling each other lately, as we fight to get our 4 1/2 month old to say our "name" first.

Daughter - Ohhh

Calling our daughter Ohhh might seem strange, but there is a story behind it. You see, she is a "spitter upper". So every time she does it, anyone who is holding her says " OHHH, and then her name". It has become quite funny. We never noticed how much we say Ohh, until recently, and it is amusing to us now how often we say it.

About this blog

I have attempted blogging in the past related to a specific issue in my life, but I have since given that up, and have decied that now I woul like to start writing about my life as a mom.
I am far from the most creative writer. I am jelous of other bloggers out there who seem to have a knack for this kind of thing. I am more into researching, and documenting things about my life.

My goal of this blog is to talk about things I am learning about, since becomming a mom.

You see at first, before I got pregnant, (which will be a big story all on it's own) I thought all these moms I knew were such naturals, and somehow just new exactly what to do with babies. I was nervous because I had never really even held a baby, and wasn't quite sure how I would be taking care of my own.
But I have since come to realize, that most moms must have been in the same boat as me, and had to learn things just the same. Most are likely just learning on the fly like I am.

So this was my first entry. My little OHH is waking from her nap....so until next time!


MaMa