Whoops!

So I've neglected my blog for about a week now... oops! Things get busy and time flies..... Reagan will be 2 months old tomorrow!!!

Seems like she's been here forever, and like it was just yesterday we came home from the hospital, all at the same time. I seriously lucked out having such a laid back baby, she has settled so well into our schedule and our lives! I feel incredibly blessed to have her every day.

Lately she's taken to being much more vocal than previously. She yells (not cries) when she wants our attention (or when we block the tv, no joke), and squeals and coos with delight when we talk to her or tickle her. :) It's too precious for words! I have a feeling she's going to be an early talker, she likes to communicate vocally with us.

Reagan also seems to have come to love her hands! When she can get them to cooperate, she'll suck or chew on her fists endlessly... or until they are out of her reach and then she yells with frustration.

Right now she's lounging in my lap watching me type, and going to work on her fists! She's got slobber all over her face now! SMH. Alright, play time!

There is nothing like family

Spending time right now with all of the people I love and care about the MOST. After a loooong drive we made it to "the farm" where my grandparents live yesterday afternoon.. I'll have to put a picture or two up once we get home.

Charles and Reagan are a hit! I think they have been the most popular people at our family gathering (there about 25 of us here). My grandma is still pretty old fashion and she had Charles sleep in his own bedroom and put me and Reagan with my mom haha!

Really appreciating the people in my life! Sometimes I don't really know how I got so lucky with everything... seems like even when I screw up somehow it turns out to be something wonderful.

Time to get back to all the wonderful peoples here :) Leaving at 6:30am tomorrow, stopping in Springfield to see Maria, and then should be back home in Chicago by tomorrow night! Hope our place is intact, been hearing about the extreme weather the city got this weekend!!!

Well I'll be darned.

Just read an article that says I need to be cleaning Reagan's gums already to prevent tooth decay!!! Not only that, but I need to do it after EVERY feeding... oh my... Babies really should come with a COMPLETE instruction manual.

Tickled Pink

Spending most of the day with Reagan, Daddy is out bringing home the bacon right now!

Getting excited about seeing my family this weekend!!! It's been too long already, haven't seen anyone but my mom since Christmas. I miss them so much! Plus I know they're all going to go crazy over Reagan, I doubt I'll even get to hold her much unless it's time for her to eat haha!

I know Charles is probably a little anxious about meeting my entire family at the same time and spending the whole weekend with them, but if you're reading this right now baby, you shouldn't be!!! I have a feeling him and Reagan might replace me as the family favorite. :P

Need to clean things up around here, there's still coffee cups, pajamas and cereal bowls laying around. Might need one more cup of coffee anyway to keep me going...

Reagan is a Lakers Fan

When the Celtics beat the Lakers in game5 she was fussy the whole night. Right now they're up by 20 points and she's hanging out propped up on her boppy watching the game and smiling!

On a NBA related side-note: in my dream last night I totally met LeBron James at a funeral, and told him he should come play for the Chicago Bulls. Of course, he wouldn't say either way where he was planning on signing next season...

Back to reality: Thinking about subleasing our condo and moving out early so we can get a nice place sooner, Charles put the thought in my head earlier and I am starting to think it's not a bad idea! I should be getting a big check in the next week or two as a payout from my 401K I had with Nordstrom now that I'm not an employee, and that would be a great to have for a security deposit! I've been apartment searching and there are so many great places available now that would be perfect for us..

More on all that later. I need to pay more attention to this game while the Celtics get crushed.

A few things I've learned so far....

First: Nothing's lovelier than you.. My baby is prettier, cuter, smarter, and ultimately better than any other baby on the planet. Just face it, I'm right.

Second: I've officially stretched my capacity to love someone to it's limit. Being a parent makes your heart hurt. Imagining them sad, in pain, or even uncomfortable squeezes your heart strings worse than you've ever felt. I can't even watch sad stories on tv anymore than involve children without risking tearing up.

Third: Good Dad's are sexy. Okay so I sort of already knew this (it's the same concept as the guy who walks a puppy in the park to get chicks, it works!). But seriously I love seeing my man being a good dad and bonding with my baby. Makes me love him even more!

Fourth: Babies know when you're busy. She seems to have a sixth sense about when dinner is done, when I want to take a nap (or sleep in), or when we would just like to have time to ourselves. Always que for her to wake up and fuss a little!

Fifth: My own parents must've been cool at some point. I've looked back at how my parents dressed us, and themselves, the music they listened to, etc, and thought about how

"uncool" they were about everything. Now I realize that the clothes I dress Reagan in, the music we listen to around her, and how we dress is going to be out of date by the time she's conscious of these things.

Sixth: Coffee is the gas that fuels my engine. Pretty simple, I don't know if I could exist without it sometimes. It's definitely a must-have for me, I need to have the energy to accomplish everything I want to get done in a day AND care for the baby simultaneously.

Seventh: Children improve your multitasking skills. I've successfully learned to hold a baby, drink coffee, and fold laundry at the same time. I used to just tackle one task at a time, but now I tackle at least 2 tasks at a time before moving on to the next 2 or 3. I can even nurse and send emails at the same time now. It's a real talent.

Eighth: People are nicer to pregos than moms. This is one negative thing I've learned since the birth of my daughter. When I was pregnant people opened doors for me, gave up their seats on the bus/train, let me ahead in line, etc. Now that I'm pushing a stroller around (and look like I'm 14), people don't move out of the way, block the sidewalk, look annoyed that I'm taking up so much space in the isle at the grocery store, and give me dirty looks for appearing to be a very young single mom when I'm out. I have noticed that I primarily get this treatment when I'm not with Charles, maybe people have subconscious grudges against young single mothers?

Ninth: Babies bring people together. Both of our families have united around wanting to be apart of Reagan's life. Even my co-workers and friends have all come together to help us with our parenting success. The only thing we've bought ourselves for her has been diapers!!! All of her clothes, crib, stroller, and everything in between was given to us by the people in our lives!

Tenth: There is life after parenthood. Even though I didn't plan on becoming lame after the baby was born, I have always had a subconscious misconception that once you become a parent, your life is really over. No more friends, social life, originality, fun, or me time. This is not at all true, I'm enjoying being a parent so much more than I could have ever imagined. Makes everything I do feel like it's meaningful, because bettering myself or surroundings benefits my baby too. I have more purpose than I ever have before.

I need...

COFFEE!!!

Charles left at 6:30 this morning for a video shoot, and I've been struggling to get in some more Z's ever since then! Seeing that Daddy was up, Reagan decided she should be up too! She kept making faces, laughing, and babbling to get my attention.. it definitely worked.

So here I am awake! We bought new bottles/nipples for Reagan at BabiesRUs after talking to lots of other mommies about which brand their babies liked best. We got 2 Playtex bottles, hopefully this helps! I offered her one a little earlier, she didn't cry but she didn't drink it either. I think I need to get Charles to offer it to her instead of me when he's home.

Job Update: I quit!!!! I have been wanting to be on my way out of there for awhile anyway, I wasn't enjoying it the same way I used to. So when they tried to give me an ultimatum like do whats best for Reagan or work at Nordstrom, it didn't seem like a hard decision. She is my number one priority! Don't these people have children?? Maybe they thought I was bluffing about this, but I'm definitely not. My super awesome manager, CJ, called me the next day when she heard about it and told me she'd fight for me to keep my job if I wanted, but I think it's for the best! I'm going to miss my Nordy family, they were all I had consistently the first few years I lived on my own in Chicago. I appreciate them so much!

On the suggestion of a friend I submitted a profile on Nannies4Hire.com yesterday. It would be perfect because I could a) bring Reagan to work with me b) have fun playing with kids! and c) make money!

I also got a job selling subscriptions for the Chicago Tribune at summer events and festivals, which pays verrryyy well. On top of that I am going to create the newsletter for a women's comedy group called MessyWorks, meeting with the guy tomorrow to talk about ideas! So even though I quit Nordstrom, I have other options.

Upcoming: Excited to see my family this coming weekend!!!! We're supposed to leave on Friday and come back Sunday. My Grandma is sooo over the top excited to see us and meet Reagan and Charles! I know they are both gonna be a hit with the whole fam, we love new people :) I miss them all too, I wish they could all see Reagan more often. This will be a much needed "vaca" for me; I've always felt like going to my Grandparent's ranch is like a vacation ever since I was little. Everything is so laid back and relaxed, the food is amazing, there are always activities, and the company is pleasant! All the mixings of a good vacation in my opinion.

Well time to reheat my coffee, just sipped it again and it's a little chilly.

I'll choose my baby over my job ANY day

Originally, my job told me after my first 6 weeks of maternity leave, I could apply for additional "bonding time" for up to 6 weeks. They also told me my time off would be paid.

Well turns out that's not true. I didn't get a dime because I didn't have 1200 hours put in from the beginning of the year to when I took my leave at the end of April (not 1200 hours in the last 12 months, literally from the start of 2010 in January - so mother's who have babies early in the year are SCREWED).

Then when I called to ask for a few more weeks of bonding time so I could teach her to bottle feed and see my family in Missouri, they tell me I don't qualify for that because of the same stupid hours deal!!!!!

I had given Reagan a bottle a few times before and she didn't seem to mind, and so for the last few days I started working with her to make sure she was comfortable with me being actually gone. I left for an interview yesterday and was gone a total of about 3 hours, and I returned home to her being absolutely hysterical and refusing to eat out of a bottle... Haven't had much luck since then.

I called my job to tell them my dilema, and guess what? Turns out if I don't return to work this weekend I'm forfeiting my job. Awesome. So I'm being forced to choose between doing what's best for my baby and caring for her, or keeping my job.

Guess I'm not working there anymore. I love my baby much more than my job.

Blabbing about my baby :)

Feeling a little like Snow White lately (not because I have seven brothers.. lol!), but because I'm PALE!!!!! Charles came back from Vegas super dark (he finally looks like he's black ;-p ) and Reagan is starting to develop some color as well the last few days! She's going to have the prettiest skin I'm so jealous. She's already getting that gorgeous golden complexion thanks to her being 1/4th black and 1/4th Filipino, not my fair German complexion! I might need to go get a tan (or at least a fo-tan) so I look like I'm part of the family!


[Drastic topic change:] I've read about how infants can imitate basic facial expressions very early, and we've been testing that the last few days with Reagan. Last night we got her to stick her tongue out whenever we did! And she opens her mouth and lifts her head now trying to "kiss" us back when we kiss her face... absolutely adorable.

She's definitely getting quite the personality already, she was fussing a few minutes ago and since she'd just ate and her diaper was clean, I suggested maybe she was bored. Charles turned on the tv and set her where she could see it, and wah-la! She was happy! All the moving colors, shapes and faces keep her pretty entertained, it's pretty hilarious.

Time for her to eat, more later!

That's what "they" say!

Just about had a heart attack this morning when I woke up at 7am and realized my daughter had slept the entire night without waking up... I jumped out of bed like a jackrabbit and raced to her crib and put my hand on her chest to make sure she was okay. Sleeping peacefully of course!

Her health and safety is never far from my mind... seems like parents today are constantly bombarded and reminded about the gazillions of dangers, diseases, and risks your baby faces daily. It's not that I doubt there are dangers, but sometimes I wish I could get it out of my head so I can just enjoy my baby, worry-free!

When Reagan started being fussy one day and nursing much more frequently, I googled "sudden increase in newborn breastfeeding" to find out what might be causing the change (turns out its signs of a growth spurt), and my google search generated link after link about SIDS! All because I included the word "sudden" in my search terms. Let me tell you that freaked me out a tiny bit. "Experts" have countless suggestions for how to prevent SIDS, although "they" have no idea what causes it (anybody else confused by that notion?). "They" tell you babies need to sleep on their backs, never sleep in bed with you, never leave them on a water bed or bean bag, and a bunch of other common sense that really just comes down to logic when caring for your child.

Yesterday I saw an ad on tv about whooping cough in babies; it starts out by saying "you might think the safest place for your baby is wrapped in your arms, but it could be deadly." After scaring the crap out of parents in the first 10 seconds of the commercial, it goes on to say 80% of babies that have contracted whooping cough got it from a parent or relative, and urges parents to get a vaccine for themselves to prevent the virus. Talk about some serious scare tactics.

The doctor gave me a shot schedule for Reagan to complete her first year. I shudder thinking of my baby getting needles poked in her every few months! I expressed this to a nurse after delivery, and received a somewhat chiding speech about the risks of not getting your child vaccinated and how any parent irresponsible enough to not get their child vaccinated should be examined.

Ironically, I was not a vaccinated baby. I'm the second child of 8, and the only one of us to receive any vaccines was my older brother. My mother told me when she was at the doctor with me they gave her forms to sign before I got my vaccines that freed them from liability if I became mentally retarded, had an allergic reaction, or had a fatal reaction to the shot. She said she couldn't agree to those terms, and researched the risks associated with child vaccines. My mother was "appalled" by what she learned, and none of us ever received a single shot since then. Myself and my 6 younger brothers are as healthy as they come, and I definitely cannot judge my mother for the parenting decision she made for us.

With so many new healthy and safety standards, and toys and items constantly recalled, does this mean our parents were bad parents? How did we all turn out healthy and okay? I don't want to go as far to say that I don't believe what the "experts" recommend these days, but I do wonder sometimes if all the things I'm doing because it's what the "experts" say is slightly overkill. I think the key is having peace about your parenting skills, you know your baby better than anybody else. The experts might be out to scare the living daylights out of me to care for my child properly, but it doesn't mean they're wrong about it either. My opinion? It's better safe than sorry.