Hetta Hoo

One question

2012-02-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

Why is maternity wear so ugly?? Seriously POLKA DOTS are a NO GO. Why would I want to look like a blimp with bad taste? Now to be fair there are some cuter things out there nowadays but I don't normally spend 70 euros on a skirt and I am not going to start now just because I need an extra meter of fabric.

I haven't really mentioned that we are pregnant on here yet. We are. yay! Due at the end of August. It was planned. It happened fast. We are *lucky*. I felt super terrible pretty much right away because it started out as 2. Then 1 stopped developing and we let out a sigh of relief. I still felt sick all the time though. I've been taking B6 and unisom. Lifesaver! Looking forward to having more energy when I start the 2nd trimester next week.

So I haven't mentioned it, 1 because I have felt terrible but also because this time around I am just not that interested. Oh sure I am interested in adding another member to the family, but the pregnancy and birth? A bit meh right now. I'm sure I will get there but right now I am trying to get some good deals on winter sales of maternity wear and all I can think is how much better some of this stuff would look if the woman didn't have a huge baby in there, and that I am going to get so ridiculously big. Again. And honestly I'm so glad I lost all the weight after Teddy because at least I am not scared about losing it again after this one.Vain and shallow but that is how I feel right now.I'm also missing a nice beer and a good cocktail. Of course it goes without saying that it is nothing in comparison to getting to have another baby but since that is how I feel right now, I figure better not to write about it.

Also I don't know if I have mentioned on here but Teddy has actually gotten sweeter and more fun to be around which we didn't even know was possible. We really lucked out with this one :)

Life in Germany: You won't get that for free

2012-02-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

This is so banal and random that I often forget about it completely but it comes down to what we as Americans are used to getting for free; condiments at a fast food restaurant, tap water everywhere, use of bathroom facilities, a refill on our soda or coffee. And what Germans are used to getting for free: nothing.

I'm exaggerating a little but the whole idea of the customer being king is most definitely not German, and in general customer service is something which while improving is just not particularly good.

Things like condiments at a place like Mickey D's normally cost 30 cents. That's right 30 cents for one of those small packets of ketchup that people take by the fistful in the U.S.. You might get one for free if you ordered some type of "meal" but want anymore and you get to pay up.

Free refills don't exist. You also won't ever get a glass of water for free when you sit down for a meal at a restaurant. If you are thirsty you get to order a glass of mineral water. Of course you are allowed to ask for tap water but the chances are 50/50 that they will actually give you one for free. A nice bottomless cup of coffee? Dream on my friend.

The bathroom issue is another pain. Now in any establishment like a restaurant you of course aren't paying a cent but at a mall, gas station, zoo, etc there will normally be someone who cleans the bathrooms with a plate set out for expected tips of about 50 cents. Now in some cases you can choose not to pay and just get a dirty glare, but in other places it is all automated and you won't be able to get to the bathroom without paying. The problem with these tips are that in some cases- often at malls, there is a person standing at the table for tips who has nothing to do with cleaning the bathrooms, the money is going straight to mall management.Or a place like the zoo, I pay a large sum of money for a yearly membership, there is no way I am going to pay to use the restroom. I won't pay these ones, but for the ones where I see them cleaning the bathrooms I don't mind paying the tip, although it drove me crazy when I first moved here.

The nice thing about this is it forces us to be a bit more aware of how much we are eating and drinking, and we often have small change with us. The bad thing, sometimes it would just be nice to have that bottomless beverage!

Motherhood, friendships, and a ramble

2012-02-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

I'm a young mother for Germany. I was 24 when Teddy was born and I will be 26 when baby number 2 arrives. Now for the USA that is on the earlyish side but for most towns still totally normal. For Germany, especially a big city, it is weird. Weirder still is that I am married and have been since I was 22. The average age for a German to get married is 30 and the average age to have a first child is 30. But of course averages are funny things so in an affluent area you see many, many moms with young children in their early to mid 40s. Nothing wrong with that of course. But when it comes to trying to make friends it can be hard.

I've lived here for 7 1/2 years and I still don't have a "best friend" here. I'm thankful that in my time here I have managed to make some good friends. Friends that I enjoy hanging out with and chatting with. But I'll be honest and say I'm still on the search for a friend that would compare to the friendships I had back home in the States. Now there are quite a few reasons for this; different cultures, ex-pats often only here for short periods of time, twenties are a period of transition for lots of people, etc. This is also something I am alright with and I really have made some awesome friends here both German and not who I really enjoy. However I'm not letting go of my goal of trying to find a female best friend who I really love, can relate to, and who has just as much fun with me as I with her. Honestly reading this it sounds sort of like I am searching for the perfect partner and since I already hit the jackpot once in that regard, I totally accept that this time around it will probably be a little more difficult and take a bit longer. However I think some things are slowly starting to turn in my favor, for example...

The average German female I meet in my age range (lets say within 6 years of me) has normally been in a completely different spot in life, and can't really relate to me already being married and having a kid. Now don't get me wrong I still really like to go out, go drinking, go dancing, and in general do all the things I enjoyed doing before having Teddy but I can't really relate to someone with absolutely no responsibility in their life. Not that I can't enjoy hanging out with them, but in general I have always tended to be closest with people who could at least in many ways relate to me. But the situation is changing because I am getting older! Yep that's right I'm now closer to 30 then 20, which for most people wouldn't necessarily be a positive thing but for me I do think it absolutely increases my chances of meeting someone my age, with kids, with a long term partner, who shares similar interests, and who isn't 15 years my senior.

I have to interject here that I do have a lot of friends that are 10-15 years older then me, and I really enjoy them, and hopefully they me. However there are some things in which we just can't really relate to each other and which sometimes makes things harder. I mean who really wants to go out dancing with a girl 15 years your junior? Not me LOL. I get it. Of course they would never say it but in certain things you feel it.

So I have a plan for this year. One is to start being a bit more friendly at activities for Teddy and when we are out and about. Now normally I have my friends at things like children's gym, and I don't really interact with anyone else but I am going to try and be a bit more "Minnesotan nice" and start chit chatting with others when opportunities arise. Same thing goes for when I am at the park ,etc. I'm also going to try and start going to a few classes at the gym more regularly so I have a chance to get to know people better by showing up to the same course multiple times, instead of always switching around.

I'm also just going to chill because through the hubby and my own exploits I have managed to make quite a few friends and have exciting things like a girl's spa weekend, and a 3 family 4 day long weekend trip planned which is pretty impressive considering I came to Germany knowing all of 4 people. I also accept that my standards are kind of high for what I want in a good friend... although I have to say it is partially a culture thing too. I have a friend I met on an online message board from my home state. We met in real life and she was awesome! Honestly if I lived back home I am sure we would see each other often, and it was so easy. Reminding me that friendship doesn't have to be this thing that you constantly need to work at and which is difficult. I have another woman I met here from the US who unfortunately is only here for a year but once again hanging out with her and her son is just fun and easy and enjoyable. In some ways Americans are just more open then Germans so it is much easier to reach that level where you are just sitting around chatting about your life, or a TV show, or whatever. But that is no excuse for me.

So that was a ramble. Sorry! I'm going out to dinner with the hubby tonight and I am sure he is thrilled he isn't hearing it....again.

I'm in love

2012-02-01T13:13:00.001-08:00

and with someone other then my husband.... That's right you heard me. I'm in love with..... WAIT FOR IT.....
I'm in love with an inanimate object called a heated mattress pad.

No joke.

Every night I get excited just thinking about going to bed and laying on my warm and snuggly mattress before falling asleep. You see somehow I am naturally cold blooded and growing up in the cold winters of Minnesota didn't toughen me up at all. I still hate the cold, feel cold all the time if it is below 50 degrees outside, and generally am miserable for the winter months. Even though I sleep with a super thick winter comforter it isn't enough and I actually used to also sleep with a light sleeping blanket under the comforter in the winter. As you can imagine my husband thought this was awesome!

So about a week ago I was shopping at one of Germany's best supermarkets, Aldi, and I saw a heated mattress pad for 19,99 Euros. Now looking back I can't believe I even considered it for more then 5 seconds but in fact I thought about the purchase for a good 2 minutes before deciding to just try it out and see if I liked it. It was one of the best decisions I have made so far this year. And I'm honestly only slightly exaggerating.

Now I go to bed not dressed in 4 layers and freezing from my head to my toes, but instead in light PJs and all blissed out lounging on a warm mattress. Plus I turn it off before I fall asleep so that I don't wake in the middle of the night sweating and gross. Seriously this has changed my life, and made this first trimester a little more bearable-yay!

Life in Germany: The Movies

2012-01-29T12:34:00.002-08:00

Going to the movies is a special treat especially once you have children but what many of you might not know is that it is totally different in Germany. First off, you get assigned seats! Yep that is right, no showing up to the movie an hour early to get your favorite seat, as you will be assigned one when you buy your ticket. There are normally two cost levels. The cheaper seats are located closer to the screen and the more expensive seats are higher up. Then they are simply labeled with an A-Z for rows and numbers for the individual seats. At first I hated this system and found it stressful and annoying but then the online reservation systems became popular and now I love it. I buy my tickets online, pick the perfect seat, and then show up to the movie just a minute or two before starting time, knowing that I will be sitting just where I want....knowing that my seat neighbors won't be obnoxious is another story however.

So after you deal with the whole seat issue you go to the concession stand and find out that Germans have totally different movie snacking habits. First off they eat their popcorn sweet, not salty. In fact most Germans find salty popcorn disgusting and my husband almost barfed when he watched me add sweet fake buttery oil goodness to my popcorn in the States followed by some cheese powder which probably contained 0.1% actual cheese.

They also love sweets and often have bins full of different types of gummy bears, sweet and sours candies, and licorice (real salty black licorice not the crazy strawberry twizzler stuff- this is probably another post in its own actually) which you can then mix yourself and which is then weighed at the register and you pay based on grams. Finally they have nachos, now I know we also have nachos in the States but I can't remember ever ordering them at the movies nor do I ever remember seeing anyone I know order them but here they are a big thing. And I have to admit that is one thing they have gotten right. Now I won't mention that most of the movie theaters here import their nacho cheese sauce from an American company, although they do. I will just say that even though I haven't gotten into the sweet popcorn, I have completely gotten on the nacho train.

It has also been one pregnancy craving which I can actually make happen without flying back to the States, and that I can even make at home so win/win for me!

Expensive ticket prices, obnoxious teens/adults, sometimes 30+ minutes of previews/ads, and concession prices which you make you wonder why you even decided to go to the movies are the same as in the States though.

Bad Mommy Confession #3

2012-01-26T04:08:00.000-08:00

I'm on the TV train. Yep that's right, I got off my high horse, got pregnant, got tired, got really really tired, and succumbed to letting the little guy watch TV daily.
The best part about all of this is that I had to really work hard to get the hyper little boy to sit down and watch it. First I tried kids shows that I used to enjoy as a youngster; Flinstones, Rugrats, Muppet Babies....-Teddy was having none of it and would often even go and turn the TV off. Fail! Then I tried shows with little to no violence and lots of talking that I liked to watch like Murder She Wrote, cooking shows, or Masterpiece Theater, these sometimes worked for about 5 minutes but then the gig was up and Teddy was back to turning the TV off- and of course I was really into it and all pissed that he was turning the TV off right at a super exciting point in Jessica Fletcher's investigation. Great parenting for the win! Finally I left a channel on which I had previously always skipped over for being too inane- BABYTV. It was like little Teddy crack (I recently found out that suckers are too, who knew?). His eyes quickly glazed over and he sat down on the couch to watch 20 minutes of little 3-4 minute clips of baby geared entertainment. Supposedly all the clips are created by child development specialists and have specific themes in mind; creativity, numbers, etc. Honestly I could care less and can't imagine that he is really learning anything besides a few annoying theme songs but oh my gosh on those mornings where he wakes up at 6 and the hubby and I want to pretend that the weekend is still something special and different then a weekday, we grab Teddy a snack, position him between us, turn on the TV , and both fall back asleep for another half hour while our son watches the giggling shapes and children on Babytv.

Now this would be the time for me to throw out that we still limit the TV to about 20-30 minutes a day, and some days not at all, and, and, and. But honestly I don't feel bad. We do lots of fun awesome things with Teddy every day. Watching TV is clearly not one of them, but I also don't think it is hurting him either. Is he learning anything at the time? Probably not. But is he climbing on my dresser, throwing jewelry on the ground, taking clothes out of drawers, sometimes jumping onto my head, and otherwise getting into trouble? Nope and considering this is what he used to do when we would try to sleep in just a teensy bit longer I am totally cool with the TV alternative. I've also started using it on those days where I just want 10 minutes alone in the kitchen to get dinner started without the kind of "help" that Teddy provides and it has been a great way to keep my stress and annoyance from rising to overwhelmed levels.

So I'm admitting it here and now. My not even two year old son gets to watch some TV and I think it is OK.

I'm Back

2012-01-26T03:52:00.000-08:00

I'm back and with a new found love for blogging. I'm going to try and stay on top of things and post weekly posts about parenting, living in Germany, cooking, and life at home. I'm giving myself a month to try things out and see what works for me and then hopefully I will have this blog at a place where I enjoy posting to it, and you all enjoy reading- we'll see!

This Blog

2012-01-17T02:57:00.001-08:00

I just don't know what to do about this blog. I can't decide if I want to start updating regularly, give it a theme, focus more on the humorous or something specific. I'm going to give it some thought and hopefully have some good ideas and a new layout for February. If you have any ideas let me know!

Thanksgiving and being thankful

2011-11-24T00:56:00.000-08:00

It is Thanksgiving today and this year we are doing absolutely nothing. So far I have always made a traditional Thanksgiving dinner every year here in Germany because the tradition was important to me. We have done it with different people but we have always done it but this year we are all sick and I just though ehh. Teddy is still too little to "get it" so we will skip just this one teeny weensy year and come back next year with a vengeance.

What I have been thinking a lot about however is gratitude, thankfulness, and being appreciative for what we have. I am so thankful that I grew up in a really loving family and had a spectacular childhood. However I know at the time I was not very thankful at all. I wanted lots of presents for Christmas and my birthday. I loved getting things and having things and I rarely knew their worth. It wasn't until I started working summers and part time during the school year when I turned 16 that I started to sort of "get it" but really it wasn't until much later when I had moved to Germany and was living on my own that I could ever begin to comprehend all the sacrifices my mother made for me and all the ways she made my childhood and life (even now!) so easy and wonderful.

Now some of this was due to being a kid and then a teen and having a brain which just wasn't mature and having lots of crazy hormones coursing through me. However I also tended to get things easily- my mom just wanted me to have a nicer childhood then she had had so she perhaps tended to swing in the other direction making sure I knew I was loved unconditionally not only through words and gestures but also by buying me things even when perhaps the money wasn't really all there.

Right now I am in a position to buy Teddy lots of stuff. Right now Teddy does not need or want lots of stuff but the day is coming in which this will change and he will start asking for things and I am sure I will have trouble saying no. My husband not so much :)

So we have been putting some traditions in place which hopefully will help us start on a path in which Teddy can be grateful for what he has. For his birthday he gets one gift from us, that is it. He also gets a party and all that but we think one gift is enough. For Christmas we will be doing one gift from us and a few (1-3) gifts from Santa, one of which will be a book! I should add that advents calenders are a big deal here. They are personalized, often small cloth bags, with little special gifts for each day, so he will be getting that as well.

It is hard because who doesn't love seeing their child smile or laugh in delight at receiving something but at the same time I know in the end it means much more when you have to wait a bit for it, when it isn't a done deal just by asking. I still remember not receiving a present one year for Christmas which I really wanted, Mall Madness, an amazing board game which I believe is still sold today for anyone looking for a great gift for their spouse or partner LOL. I was shocked and angry and couldn't believe it. I know my mom felt terrible but when I got it the next year you can bet I was more then thrilled and also thankful.

Besides limiting gift giving, I am planning on doing thank you cards with him,encouraging volunteering (something my mother also encouraged with me and which was such a wonderful experience throughout my school years), trying to be a good role model, focusing on reusing the things we have instead of always buying new things, getting him really involved in the home so he can more easily understand the work involved, and we will be doing an allowance once he hits 3.

What are some things you are doing to encourage thankfulness in your children? Or what were some ways your parents helped you to be grateful?

Family

2011-10-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

My mom is coming to visit and I am so excited. It got me to thinking about some of the things I miss, having my mom and extended family on another continent. My mom comes from a big family and I always felt pretty close to my aunts and uncles but living here in Germany makes it hard to stay caught up and connected. Plus I miss out on a lot of fun interactions because when we do come to visit we are trying desperately to pack tons of things into just a few weeks of time.

I recently bought a sewing machine for a great price. I had one before in my teens but I only used it a few times until the needle broke and then I never touched it again. So now I have one again and don't even know how to thread it. This is the perfect example of one of those times where I wish I lived closer to my side of the family. One of my aunts is great at sewing and lots of different crafty type things and I would love to just bring my sewing machine with and have her show me the basics, and just hang out with her- she could probably even help move on from the sewing a pillow stage to actually doing something elaborate like a table runner ;) but since it will be about 4 months until I am back in my home state and there is no way I would ever bring a sewing machine in my luggage I will probably end up watching youtube help videos and hoping I don't break the thing.

Or a few weeks ago went to an awesome jewelry store with friends here. It has tons of beads, leather, stones, etc and lots of pieces already made for inspiration or purchase but the cool part is that you can pick out everything and they lend you the supplies so that you can make a bracelet or a necklace or earrings. It was such a cool store and I know one of my aunts would have loved it. It would be great to go there with her and my mom and make a day of it but that just isn't possible.

These are the little things that all add up. It is hard sometimes to not be able to have more time to spend with people that you care so much about and it is definitely one of the biggest drawbacks of living abroad. However enjoying visits from family you love is a wonderful cure for homesickness and I am looking forward to a great visit from my mom.

18 months

2011-10-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

Teddy is 18 months and a few ...weeks, and I never update this blog. I love the idea of it, and I would love to streamline it, give it more of a focus, update regularly, etc. But it just isn't going to happen anytime soon. I'm not going to take it down because I think a time will come where I will be able to use this how I want to and really get an interesting dialogue going about parenting topics, life, and all of that but it probably won't be for a few months or years and until then the updates will be sparse.

But as I mentioned before Teddy is 18 months and we absolutely love him to pieces. He rocks. He is all things amazing. He also drives me crazy, and is much too big for his own good. Can a certain someone now open every single door in our flat including the front door? Oh yes he can, and does! He loves to climb and bang and stomp and hit his head against things- seriously he cracks up if he can make a loud noise hitting his head against an object.

He is a little demolition man. He seems to have little to no feeling when it comes to pain. People comment often on the fact that he barely cries when he falls down, hits his head, etc. I mean right now he has both a toe nail and a finger nail which are bit brown and bruised and I have absolutely no idea how he got them because he never made a peep about it. This might have a little to do with our, "you're fine" mentality but it is mainly just him. We of course always offer a hug if he wants one- we aren't cold robots or something but for the most part hugs/kisses/cuddles are reserved for when he is sick or tired- and this is because he wants it that way or at least that is how we have interpreted the shaking of the head and the shoves when we have gone in for an unasked for cuddle.

He babbles a lot in his baby language and has recently started saying "Nein" German for no and "Nee" German colloquial for no, both are said with a rough clear shaking of the head. These words are also now said constantly even when he means yes. 2 weeks later and it is still at the point where it is cute... how long this will last however is questionable. He understands both German and English but still chooses to selectively listen as he pleases.

He loves to help me and it is crazy how much he understands in terms of the steps taken to get to a certain final product. For example he will go to the kitchen, go underneath the sink, grab a dishwasher tab, open the dishwasher, try to put it in the spot (still wrapped of course) perhaps successfully close the little drawer for the tab, then slam the dishwasher shut and try to start it. All because he has seen me do it and understands that this is how the dishes get clean. I also have been trying to include him as much as I can. We made cupcakes and he put the cupcake foils in the tray, handed me ingredients, then made a muck of the the silverware drawer- for example.

He loves going to the Tagesmutter and the daycare at my gym. They all love him as well. Of course for them he is a little angel who almost always listens which makes me happy. I was always much better for the babysitter as well.

He eats quite OK. We've stopped offering him so many snacks and choices after seeing how much better he ate for the Tagesmutter who doesn't really offer any snacks and who keeps meals very simple but wholesome.This seems to be working much better although I am still guilty of offering a bit too much if I think he hasn't had "enough" which I know is silly but I am the first to admit that I am not perfect.

He weighs about 30 pounds and we checked how tall he was but I have already forgotten- he is tall for his age but it is proportional. I don't notice it but I don't think you really do when it is your own.

I absolutely love this age and I love him and I am really enjoying life right now. I'm thankful for Teddy and my husband and my family and everything else. Since I don't want to get too sappy I will end it there.

Fall!

2011-09-30T05:01:00.001-07:00

We had a terrible summer here in northern Germany full of lots and lots of rain and cold weather. However we now have been graced with beautiful weather in the 70s with not a cloud in sight and Teddy and I have been enjoying it completely. However I have also managed to stay caught up with the new fall season of TV and like most years I have been pretty underwhelmed. I don't enjoy most of the medical procedural type shows, nor do I like most sitcoms. The shows I gave a chance were;

2 Broke Girls: meh, I was already walking away doing things in other rooms by episode 2.
The New Girl: I like Zoey but do not think they have enough of a concept for a show. I didn't really enjoy the first episode much and won't be turning in for the second.
Ringer: I wanted to love this, it has Sarah Michelle Gellar and an interesting fun mix of drama/soap/intrigue but it is SO incredibly bland that I can't imagine that it will even last out the season.
Person of Interest: Another one I really wanted to like but after 2 episodes it just still isn't working for me. I don't think the partnership between the 2 main guys really works, although I find the action scenes pretty good.
Charlie's Angels: Turned it off after 2 minutes, enough said.
Revenge: I wasn't even going to give this one a try but it is turning out to be everything Ringer should be and a great guilty pleasure.
Up All Night: Fun, sometimes almost too embarrassing to watch but a great addition to Modern Family.
Terra Nova: I loved this, a nice fun family show with some great action, interesting plot lines, and a little bonus for me a bi-racial couple which I always love to see.
Hart of Dixie: I'm a sucker for shows like this, the first episode was a little hokey but I will watch a few more times before deciding whether I really like it or not.
I'm still looking forward to Grimm and Once Upon A Time more so Grimm because it looks a bit darker but it seems cable will stay my home for my favorite shows; Justified, Psych, Suits, Portlandia.
Although my ultimate guilty pleasure isn't found on cable- I will admit here that I love Supernatural. I used to make jokes about it until I watched a few episodes and fell in love with Sam and Dean. It has everything I love; sci- fi, action, humor, it doesn't take itself too seriously, and the actors are pretty cute too.
So what is your TV guilty pleasure? What new shows are you watching this season?

Wordless Wednesday: Medieval Festival + Fever = cuddles

2011-09-07T00:27:00.000-07:00

Toddlerhood

2011-09-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

I've said it before, and I guess I am going to say it again. Toddlerhood is awesome. Seriously.

The changes that are happening every week are mind blowing to me. Things like trying to jump, doing stairs without holding onto things, or trying to pull on his own socks, may not sound like much but when you compare that to just a few months ago when he couldn't even walk it is huge.

Verbally he is still only talking in his magical baby Teddy language. But you can see the little gears in his head turning as he "converses" with us. Plus he now is able to follow short instructions... if he feels like it ;)

The baby months weren't exactly my thing, although I am excited to do it all again. But now I feel like I only see oppurtunities. He can do so much now and the list of things we can do together just keeps expanding.

We're having a lot of fun and life is good. I hope to soon start posting more once a few things become more settled.

How staying at home works for me

2011-08-06T04:01:00.000-07:00

I like staying at home with Teddy and even though I am sometimes very happy when bedtime rolls around, I thought I would share how I make staying at home with a very active one year old work for me…

*With the disclaimer that some of these things probably won’t work for you. We live in a big European city and have access to certain things which are hard to get in the States- I mean how many of you could really get by without a car? I know in Minnesota it is next to impossible. However some of these things can also be modified to meet your lifestyle. No gyms close by, or not in the budget? What about having the hubby watch the baby while you do an exercise video/garden intensively/do yoga/do Wii fit, a few times a week?

So without further ado, here are the things I do which allow me to truthfully say that I absolutely love being a stay at home mom!

In no particular order:

I spend a lot of time outside.

We live in a big city where everything is in walking or bus/subway distance. The only time I use the car is pretty much to do one big grocery trip a week (with visits to closer smaller markets, and the local farmers markets throughout the week), and to visit friends who live a bit farther out. Being outside so often and walking so often feels good and energizes me. Even on the days where I just feel like lazing around at home getting out makes the day go faster and Teddy loves it. I live in a super rainy gray climate so for you lucky ducks with nicer weather it has even more of an effect!

I have an awesome rechargeable cordless sweeper/vac.

Teddy is super messy and cleaning up after him after every meal or after he came in from outside used to involve using the broom and dustpan and crawling around on my hands and knees- not fun, and then often after that also pulling out the vacuum. Now that I have the sweeper I just do a quick sweep with it after every meal or whenever I see some stuff on the floor and it is so quick and easy. It is also especially great for sand after he comes in from playing in his sandbox. I wasn’t sure if it would really be worth it since we have a great vacuum but it does make a difference to have something without a cord which can be used on the little messes plus it is a normal height so I am not getting on my hands and knees all the time. The only problem is that it only works with hard floor surfaces but that is what we have in most of the flat so it works for us.

I work out, often!

There is a fitness center and spa 10 minutes walking distance from our house. The fitness center offers free childcare- which is run by great women and is also in an awesome space. The fitness center is also a spa so membership includes access to lots of different saunas, whirlpools, a swimming pool, tons of courses etc. Now we super lucked out having this so close to us because going there is great in so many ways. 1. I get a short break which can turn what started out as a rough day into a much better one. 2. I can relax and sweat it out in the sauna, work out, or take a course- no matter what I leave feeling rejuvenated and refreshed. 3. It helps me stay in shape which makes me feel better about myself. The going often part is important because once it becomes part of my routine I am much more likely to just go and feel good. Whereas after a few days of not going the excuses start piling up and I get a lot lazier about it- forgetting how good it feels!

I meet up with lots of other moms!

We go to friends houses, to the playground, to the zoo (we are members because it is only one train station away), to the lake, and we meet up with other moms and their kids. It is great to see other little ones and enjoy them while moms do the same with Teddy. Plus it helps keep things in perspective; sure their little one might be a great eater but he also does some crazy high pitched shrieking thing which would drive me crazy. Plus moms “get it”, they get how rough and how awesome parenting can be and how some days you are just trying to make it through while others you keep tearing up because you can’t believe how lucky you are. Or at least the moms I like to spend time with do. I try to make sure to hang out with people who while they enjoy parenting also enjoy going out, spending time with their partner and friends, spending time on hobbies, as I find the talk that is focused solely on children gets old pretty fast.

I do my nails!

During nap time or right after Teddy goes to bed I do my nails 1-2 times a week. Nothing special I just throw on a bright happy pink or red and that is that. I do it because having painted nails helps me feel polished, and when I pick up one of Teddy’s toys for what feels like the thousandth time during the day, I see my nails and think- those look good!

I do my make-up!

In the morning, Teddy causes havoc in the bathroom while I do my make-up. It doesn’t take me more then 5-10 minutes but it makes me feel better about myself to think that I look halfway polished when I see my reflection throughout the day. When I look put together I think that I naturally tend to act that way too…. Sometimes ;)

I pick up things constantly.

I don’t let Teddy play with too many toys at once, and I only keep a smallish amount stored in boxes in his room and the living room. He can pull out the boxes himself and does but we always put things away after he is done. This involves just throwing everything back into a box so it takes under 30 seconds. I also am constantly moving things back to their rightful spot since Teddy likes to “help” by moving things to fun new locations. In some ways it can be frustrating to constantly be picking up, but I love that at pretty much any given moment you could enter our flat and it would look decent. Not perfect by any means but I try to keep clutter to a bare minimum- papers and plastic gets recycled right away and I don’t like knick knacks. Tables are always clear of everything besides fruit on the dining table. This is mainly because Teddy would just throw or break it but it also makes me feel less stressed to see our flat this way. Somehow everything seems more manageable when I see a lot of empty surfaces and minimal clutter. I have really had to work on this though as my natural attitude is to kind of ignore messes so picking something up right away has been an adjustment, but a good one!

I get my sleep.

Sleep is “my thing”. I think we all have something that we need to get, that we aren’t really willing to compromise on, and that is important to us. For my husband and I, it is sleep. So we get it. Teddy sleeps through the night and goes to bed between 7 and 8 depending on how the day went. Then we expect him to sleep till 7- haha expect, we would love for him to sleep till 7 and he sometimes does but other days he gets up earlier at 6 or 6:30. I’m not willing to get up that early so I give him a bottle, and bring him into our room. He then proceeds to play with blocks and books which we have in our room, but also crawls over us, crawls on top of nightstands, turns on and off our reading lamps, and causes a bit of mayhem. But the key thing is I am lying in bed half asleep and he is safe and I stay in bed till 7. It works for all of us and I feel pretty refreshed most days.

I keep music on throughout the day

I finally found a radio station I love and so I keep it on all day long. Teddy loves to dance to it, and I enjoy hearing music which also makes me want to dance or puts a smile on my face. I think time goes faster when I have music on during the day.

Use part of nap time for me time.

I try not to spend nap times cleaning although I do sometimes use part of the time to prepare a meal, even then I try to make sure that I leave at least 30-45 minutes for me. I read a book or the newspaper, eat something, surf the net, whatever I feel like doing. I think it helps me recharge and prepare for the coming 4-7 hours of Teddy time. Plus since Teddy is not cool with me doing these things while he is awake (well the eating is OK if I plan on doing lots of sharing J) it is nice to do them without stress or rushing.

I do stuff with my husband.

Once Teddy goes to bed and my husband and I have finished everything we need to get done we like to do something together. We play strategy board games, or the PS3, or sometimes we watch a show together but in general we tend to do stuff that allows us to talk and laugh with each other. We also go on dates pretty much at least once a week. Sometimes we go for dinner or meet up with friends and go dancing but sometimes we also just go for a walk. Either way it is nice to have nights to look forward to, and to spend time with my husband as just a wife.

I do stuff without my husband and without my son.

I do girl’s nights where I meet up with friends for drinks and chatting. I also go to a bi-weekly stitch and bitch group, and other hobby related activities. All of those things happen at night so they don’t actually cut into my parenting time but I am also trying to get a new thing started where my husband watches our son for a weekend afternoon and I do some stuff which I would love to do on my own… like shopping! Or going to the library without having someone whining after 2 ½ minutes!

I don’t hold myself to unattainable standards.

Although I do have an “ideal parenting style” which I try to be aware of, I also know that I’m still a young, new mom who is going to make plenty of mistakes. We’re all human and mistakes help us grow. Every day there are countless things I do which I could have done better when it comes to parenting but I try to focus on the good stuff and work on changing the other stuff as it comes. Laughing things off normally feels so much better than getting angry and frustrated; even when I feel about ready to explode because seriously why does changing a diaper need to take over 10 minutes of struggling and chasing, and oh gosh he just peed on the carpet again, and, and, and. But then I think about this cute chubby little boy running around, stopping to pee somewhere and me chasing him with a diaper and I realize it really isn’t that bad, and then he smiles at me and looking at that gorgeous chubby little face I can’t help but smile back, thinking the whole time I have it pretty darn good.

Time Passes

2011-07-31T00:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if things can possibly keep getting better because they are already so good right now. I think Teddy’s personality right now is just so crazy awesome. He loves dancing whenever he hears music, this involves shaking and waving his hands, flinging his head forward and back, doing squats, and a recent addition is spinning in circles. He does this to 85% of music, and all the time in his car seat when we have music on. It is the funniest thing to watch, especially since he is pretty serious while he does it. He also loves to play chase now and laughs and when I say laughs I mean the type of laugh that is infectious and loud and sometimes even causes him to throw himself on the ground laughter, and will initiate chase all the time. Since this means just running away from me it isn’t always amusing for me but thankfully I’ve still got the longer legs and tend to fall over a lot less.

For me taking care of Teddy has really become more and more enjoyable as he has gotten older and I just wonder how it could possibly keep going on this way. I guess I will just have to wait and see. One thing I really love about having children is how they make you really enjoy the moment because there are so many fabulous… and less fabulous ones that you just have to soak them all up and laugh about the ones that make you want to scream.

Wordless Wednesday: Couldn't pick just one

2011-07-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

Mad, Madder, and Helping Mom ;)

Ladies Night

2011-07-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

I went out with three mom friends last night for Flammkuchen and drinks. We were out for about 3 hours and the little ones were barely mentioned. It was an awesome night! We all agreed that we have to start doing it more often. It is so nice living in the city and being within walking and biking distance of friends, dining, and entertainment. It goes such a long way in feeling like a whole person and not just a mom.

Wordless Wednesday: Good Weather

2011-07-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

Enjoying time as it passes

2011-07-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

Teddy is currently taking everything out of the pasta drawer, trying to turn on and open the oven, and in general driving me absolutely up the wall- he has a cold so he is extra clingy and whiny. So I thought what a perfect time to post something on my blog.

We are planning on having more then one child but this time around I am not stressing one bit about when we actually start to try for the next. I LOVE having a toddler while not currently breastfeeding or being pregnant. There are so many lovely things which I can indulge in whenever I feel like it without a single ounce of guilt or thought.

In the morning I love to drink a huge cup of coffee. Then sometimes later in the day I'll drink a few more. It goes without saying that I have some diet coke as well and the best part is that there is absolutely no reason for me to care.

My husband and I go out for late nights and I am not exhausted, or having to worry about getting home to nurse, or pump. We just go out and have a great time and look forward to seeing our son in the morning.

I can drink whatever I feel like whenever I want. If I want a nice German beer on a beautiful evening with friends, then I drink one. If I want a cocktail afterwards or another beer, or a shot of Ouzo at our favorite local Greek restaurant, then I have one and enjoy it! No thoughts on the baby or child I might be affecting with my drinking, just enjoyment!

And my absolute personal favorite, I can take all the medicine I want!! I suffer from bad headaches and it is absolute bliss being able to take ibuprofen and aspirin again. I love it.

Of course the time will come when I am once again ready to give all that up for the feel of kicks in my stomach and the excitement of adding another wonderful child to our family but for right now I have to say that I wouldn't change a thing.

The cost of writing this post:

Wordless Wednesday: He would have tried it again if I hadn't stopped him

2011-07-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

Deutsch Donnerstag aka German Thursday

2011-06-30T03:59:00.000-07:00

I thought it might be interesting to talk about some of the ways life in Germany is different then in the States especially as it pertains to motherhood. Since we just went through the process of finding a "Tagesmutter"= "day mother"= "Childcare". I thought I could start with that.

*Here in Germany everyone is encouraged to send their child to a Kindegarten at the age of 3. This is paid for partially by the government (how much the government pays depends on how much you earn but by the age of three everyone gets at least some money towards it) and you can choose any kindergarten you like. As you can probably tell Kindergarten here means something similar to pre-school in the U.S.. There are long waiting lists so most people start looking for a kindergarten 1-2 years before they actually need to send their child to one. Of course you can wait but then your chances of getting into the one you want are much lower.

Before the age of three there is a mixture of what you can do. In the first year most parents have either the mother or father stay home. The government pays for 1 year of "Elternzeit"= parent time, so that all parents have this option. There is a formula for how much money you get a month which is basically 67% of what you earned in the last 12 months before the baby was born however not less then 300 a month and not more then 1,800 Euros a month.

Everyone here also receives "Kindergeld"= Children's Money every month until the child is 18 which is just a monthly amount of money from the government to help pay for things for the child. For the first and second child you get 184 Euros, the 3rd you get 190 Euros a month, and for every child after that 215 Euros a month- but the birth rate here is very low so the chances of seeing a family with even more then 2 kids is pretty low. However all this support means that almost no one has to give their child to a daycare or child minder until the child is 9-15 months old. This also means that if you do want to start working sooner and have your child go to daycare before they are a year old that it can be quite hard to find a daycare which accepts younger babies.

So after the first year many families go back to having both parents work, although often one person only works half time. Between the ages of 0-3 parents can choose between a Tagesmutter=One person watching no more then 4 children in their home or a KiTA (Kindertageseinrichtung)= Daycare (most are owned by the government but there are also private ones and ones organized by parent initiatives).

We decided that we thought having Teddy go to a Tagesmutter would be great. They are more flexible with hours- we only wanted him to go for 2-3 days a week, which probably wouldn't have been possible at a KiTA, and we wanted him to be at first only with a few children in a home environment.

But then came the hard part- actually finding one. I'll explain how that went in my next post on Germany.

*Obviously there are exceptions and lots of rules and guidelines and forms to be filled out for all of the different government funded programs, so everything I am saying is true in most cases but there are of course exceptions for how this all works.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T03:55:00.000-07:00

Mom Pet Peeve

2011-06-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

When they say a product is washable, for example the upholstery on the stroller, and then it is so incredibly difficult to get the stupid thing off and back on that it completely negates the fact that it is washable.

Kind of Wordless Wednesday: Yes it's a slide, and yes he made it to the top.

2011-06-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

Decisions, decisions

2011-05-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not really a baby person. Seriously. I think they are cute and I love to snuggle with them, but then I hear that whiny wailing cry that newborns have and my back stiffens and I instinctively rush to give baby back to mom or dad. Then I think to myself, "I'm so glad that's over", and look over at Teddy pulling a picture frame off the shelf, or banging a hard object against another hard object, and smile at my toddler.

This lack of love for the baby stage is affecting my plan for ideal baby spacing. I kind of want them closer together just so I can get the whole baby baby stage over. While I know I will really enjoy breastfeeding again, and the cute tiny everything- for me it all pales in comparison to the awesomeness of a little person who is figuring stuff out and soon will even recognize himself in the mirror.Plus the whole having my body back just for me allows me to feel quite independent again which I love.

But of course it isn't all up to me anyway. Someone else has just as much involvement in the decision making process as I do, and who knows how long it will take this time. All I know is I am glad the first year goes by so quickly as I seem to love every new stage just a bit more then the last.

First Steps

2011-05-10T04:26:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a very good and quite depressing book right now, Little Bee by Chris Cleave, and it has caused me to want to make some changes in my life. I often reflect on how lucky I am and how blessed I have been while at the same time being really lazy about working on myself and making positive changes in my life.

Procrastination is a big stumbling block for me, as is self-discipline. I've decided to stop making plans and start trying to do more and be more everyday. I realize that in all of this I really am my own worst enemy and that if I just start doing instead of worrying that I am going to see positive results almost immediately.

One of the first positive changes I have made has been the commitment to work out more so that I can stop being frustrated when I look in the mirror and start being happy about everything, including my stomach.

A second change has been the commitment to get our house cleaner and more organized. One part of this has been me putting more time into cleaning every day but another step has been buying a new washing machine and vacuum cleaner so that I feel more motivated to clean because I know my time is being used effectively and efficiently. This wasn't the case with my old vacuum- as I constantly had to take apart and clean the brush, or with our washing machine which was so small that it took 4 loads to empty our medium sized laundry hamper. No one wants to deal with a task when they know deep down it is incredibly inefficient.

Getting our flat more organized is a big task and I am trying to break it down into manageable pieces. I already have a feeling of success after tackling Teddy's room, and now I am on to one of our hallways. Hopefully I will be able to update later this week with another success story.

Getting my body back

2011-05-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

I've lost the pregnancy weight and a few pounds more. I'm happy about that. Since it was the first baby I found it pretty easy to switch back to old eating habits and simply take in less calories then I use up. Especially since I spend most of my day lugging an almost 30 pound baby around, and we bike and walk most of the places we go.

More difficult has been getting back some muscle tone and definition. I want to look in the mirror and be completely happy with what I see. Right now my eyes glaze over when I get to the stomach area. I don't mind the stretch marks....too much... but I do mind the flabby soft skin instead of a nice flat stomach. I know with hard work and determination I can get it back to at least 90% of what it once was. Key words being hard work, determination, and discipline. Definitely not my strengths.

I'm putting it in writing here which will hopefully give strength to my thoughts. I'm going to work out, and train at least 2-3 times a week with NO exceptions. I can do this. I know I can do this. It isn't enough to want to change I have to just start doing it. I've been pretty good about working out and now I am just going to get a bit more serious about it.

I'm excited to start seeing some changes. Hopefully I will be able to update here in a few months with some great results. I'll definitely post about things that seem to make the most impact for those of you who are also trying to tone up a bit.

Room change

2011-05-05T00:07:00.000-07:00

When we got back from vacation, I really wanted a spotless house and all the wash done. Since I knew that was clearly not going to happen, I settled on reorganizing Teddy's room. I'm really happy with the end result!

Here is how Teddy's room looked a year ago.

And here is his new "big 1 year old boy" room. It is amazing what a difference just moving the furniture around can make.

Bad Mommy Confession #2

2011-04-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

There are a ton of posts which I have started and need to finish- like the book review for Positive Discipline the First Three Years, but I never seem to have more then a few minutes on the computer lately and those posts need more time then that.

I want to update my blog more regularly though so I thought I would add a nice new Bad Mommy Confession.

You know that kid at the playground? The one with snot hanging from his nose, an untied shoe, dirt everywhere, and just a general look of uncleanliness.
That is totally my kid.

Which is awesome because before I had a child....(you know nothing good is coming when you hear the phrase "before I had kids") I was totally that person who was really grossed out by snot and very dirty children.

This is why I of course had a child who zones in on anything which can get him dirty in a new place, who constantly throws all of his food on the floor (seriously this is driving me batty, does anyone have any tips? We let him do some snacks on the floor but the floor can't handle much more of his abuse), and who has some sort of allergy which causes him to constantly have a runny, snotty nose which can't possibly be wiped clean.

I do try and wipe his face off but the kid hates it and I already have to do enough wrestling with him during diaper changes. So normally there is a nice layer of dried food (peanut butter is one of his favs), sand- thanks good weather!, and snot all over most of his face and clothes. I mean today he was pouring sand over himself like a shower, how am I supposed to combat that??

So instead of fighting it, I have accepted it. I enjoy the twenty minutes before breakfast where he looks clean and adorable and then the rest of the day I just look on in sweet acceptance as he gets incredibly dirty. Sometimes I even wipe his snotty face with my bare hands... I know in my head that that must be incredibly disgusting but for some reason it doesn't bother me at all. It also doesn't bother me when he wipes his dirty little face all over my clothes- because for some reason my clothes are much much better then any tissue. I love my son for the cute little man he is and have now become that parent who doesn't care that her child looks slovenly.

So sorry to everyone who has to look at my snotty, dirty child. I'm hoping he'll grow out of it in the next 10 years.

Teddy is one! .... for like 2 weeks now LOL

2011-04-08T01:32:00.000-07:00

Teddy is one!

It's glorious the way he has started to stand on two feet holding on to nothing- well actually normally holding on to something he wants, I don't think he realizes standing while not holding a toy would probably be easier. He also has begun taking steps, well actually in typical Teddy fashion he started running. He ran from my husband to me at bedtime (a few steps away), and since that first time takes a few moments of every day to try it out again. He normally falls down after the first step or two but he is thisclose!!! to really walking.

He is into everything, everyone always comments on the fact that he has no fear and will try to get to anything. Even if that means climbing up a chair to get there! Unfortunately this trait is less amusing at other people's houses but we are working on it.

He is clingy! The same thing happened before he learned to crawl so I at least know the why and that it will be over soon but sometimes I just can't lug all 26 pounds of him and the groceries and the diaper bag up the stairs. Thankfully he has started enjoying climbing up the stairs. He reminds me of a little mountain climber, holding onto the railing and pulling himself up to the next step. Even though he is 2.6 feet tall he still has to put his foot to basically waist height to pull himself up to the next step.

He is not eating much, but open to lots of new tastes. His favorites are always changing but right now they are goat cheese and pesto pasta salad. He can chew anything but we are happy that his 2nd set of teeth are coming in on top. He is completely weaned from mama- at the end I don't think I could have forced him to nurse even if he had been dying of thirst so it was very easy for us. He now drinks about 400-600mL of whole milk everyday which I will probably keep up for at least the coming year.

He LOVES the playground. He gets this crazy smile on his face going down the slide, or swinging with me, the sandbox is also cool although the sand is mainly just thrown out in a very serious manner. Storytime on the other hand is apparently the lamest thing ever, he can't be bothered to sit with me for more then 2 seconds in which time he slams the book shut. As an avid reader I haven't given up I just read to him while he crawls around and sometimes away.

He literally never stops moving. Sitting and playing with a toy for more then 30 seconds happens once in a blue moon, although it is most likely to happen in front of a box of blocks or du.plos as throwing things out and then putting some back in is apparently very intense serious stuff which can't be hurried.

Diaper changes are probably the hardest part of our day now which I never ever would have believed four months ago. But alas the baby who once loved to chillax on the changing table now thinks laying on his back for even a millisecond is the worst thing ever. We've adapted and do lots of things while he stands or moves around but sometimes, like now when he has a bad case of diarrhea, this just isn't possible and then it is a battle of strength. A battle which I just barely manage to win.

Sleep is still going great. He still needs two naps and is doing a 3ish hour wake time in the morning before the first one and a 3-4 hour wake time before the second depending on how long the nap goes. Naps normally last between 1-2 hours for him although never less then 45 minutes and never more then about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Bedtime is 6:30 although we have been trying out 7pm to see if we can get his morning wake time pushed up to 7 am but so far it hasn't worked and he has continued to get up at 6 or 6:30 every day. He doesn't wake up in the night unless he is sick and even then he rarely does, which we love!

Theodor has left babyhood behind and now is becoming his own person with his own will. Exciting!!!! but also overwhelming especially as I just wasn't sure how to parent this age. I knew there was a LOT that I couldn't expect of a one year old but I also knew that just letting him do everything was not the answer. I purchased and read the book "Positive Discipline, The First Three Years" and could not be happier!!! I feel so empowered and now instead of being a bit nervous about parenting a strong willed toddler in the coming years I am excited. There is way too much good stuff to talk about from the book so I will save that for another post.

It hasn't only been Theodor's first year of life, it has also been my first year of motherhood. What an amazing experience to go through and one that I feel so blessed to be able to experience. The beginning was SO much more difficult then I ever could have imagined. I don't even know how I got through it to be honest but as things settled down I really came to enjoy taking care of Teddy full time. Every night I go to bed filling fulfilled and happy and every morning I wake up excited to spend time with Teddy and of course a little tired- I don't think I will ever get used to waking up before 7am!! Even though our days aren't exciting I find doing the little things like grocery shopping with him or folding the laundry can be a lot of fun or in some cases drive me up the wall as he throws a stack of folded laundry to the ground but I still enjoy it. I also love watching him learn new things as we go to more exciting places as he gets older like the zoo and the playground. Right now watching him full time is such a perfect fit for both of us and I feel so lucky that I am able to do it.

The Fun of Travel, part II

2011-03-15T03:02:00.000-07:00

So lets start with before we even get on the plane or enter the airport terminal.

-Packing-
Unless you really won't need much at your destination you will probably need a diaper bag and a carry-on for yourself. I prefer a backpack for my personal carry-on because it doesn't need a free hand. You can also do a small trolley.

In your personal carry-on you can put things like an extra set of clothes for baby, and other items that you hopefully won't need. This is going to go in the overhead compartment so it won't be easy to get at it. Especially if baby is sleeping- so don't put in a book or something else you want to look at, unless you have a partner with who can access it for you.

In your diaper bag you want everything that you could possibly use for you and baby during the flight. Lots of snacks (if baby is on solids), milk powder for at least 2-3 bottles (if baby takes bottles), a few small toys (keyword: small), a book or magazine for you, snack for you, water,etc. The normal things you would take on an outing with baby. While it is important to have extra milk and extra snacks you definitely don't want to over pack. The fuller your diaper bag is the harder it is to get at the things you need. This is especially true if you are going on a short flight (2 1/2 hours or less). My diaper bag has a little changing pad included- if yours doesn't you might want to take one or if you don't have a portable changing mat, there are disposable ones which don't take up much space.

A word on snacks:
I like to do things which ideally don't crumble all over, and which can be portioned out well. For us that is food like fruit twists (fruit haha), cheerios, teeny sandwiches (already cut into quarters), dried fruit, etc. You know what foods your baby likes best and that is what you should go with. This is not the time to rigidly stick to any sort of nutritional guidelines.

What should baby wear?
The plane will be cold so make sure baby has socks or tights on. I normally have Teddy in a sweatsuit or PJs because our flights are so long and that is more conducive to trying to get him to sleep- when he was younger I always brought a sleep-sack as well. For a shorter flight and now that he is older I just stick to comfortable layered pieces. On our last flight he wore a long sleeve onesie, tights (soft cotton ones), fleece pants, a long sleeve shirt, fleece vest, and fleece hoodie. In the airport I took the hoodie and vest off, on the plane he wore everything and was at a comfortable temperature.

-The Airport-
Unless baby is just a wee little thing and you solely use a baby carrier. I strongly suggest bringing a stroller with to the airport. There are a few reasons for this.
1) There are times where baby needs to be not moving around or better said not running away from you at top speed. These are the times you strap baby in.
2) If you have any layovers the chances are good that a lot of walking will be involved and that you will need to be going at a quick pace.
3) If you arrive at the airport early and baby gets tired before the flight you can also do a short nap in the stroller.
4)Oftentimes people with strollers receive special treatment. I have skipped over at least a 100 people in a customs line due to my stroller (and Teddy being in the stroller). The security line is sometimes much shorter for people with a stroller. Airport and airline workers tend to have more sympathy for you and often offer to help in some way.
5) Storage! Depending on your stroller you can fit your carry-on in the bottom. Or at the very least hang your diaper bag from the handles. This can make a big difference in your overall airport experience!!
Plus it can also be used as a toy for baby. Depending on the age of course but currently Teddy loves pushing that thing around.
The most important thing is check it at the gate!! And make sure you request at the gate to have the stroller given back to you where you disembark instead of at the baggage area. Sometimes if it is a short connection that won't be possible but 99% of the time it is.
Also you should never have to pay to check a stroller or a car-seat.

Speaking of car-seats... we don't use them. On the plane. Honestly sitting in the seats is uncomfortable enough I can't imagine forcing Teddy to spend a whole flight not only stuck on an airplane but also constrained by his car-seat.Plus this sounds a bit morbid but I think if something happens on a plane the chances are pretty high that we will all die car-seat or not, so I choose not.So I don't have any advice on that but I do know there are car-seats which are made specifically to follow airplane guidelines.

-Checking In-
This part is easy especially if you are not alone with baby. The only important things I can think of are that babies almost always need a separate paper ticket and if you don't have one you'll have to buy a new one. This has happened to us before (the ticket was taken on the first flight and when we went to do our return flight they said that even though everything was in the computer without an actual return paper ticket for our son he wouldn't be able to fly.)Since we are almost always flying internationally Theodor has a passport which proves age and who he is. I am guessing that you should bring a copy of a birth certificate if you are flying somewhere where a passport isn't necessary but I would check the airlines website to be sure.

-Security-
Actually isn't that bad. If you have followed my advice and have a stroller with you ideally don't have to do anything besides push the stroller a few inches forward every few minutes until you get to the conveyor belts. Sometimes you will even be allowed to go to a special lane for families and people with strollers.
Once you get to the actual security area block out everyone around you and just focus on taking off your shoes, unpacking the stroller- keep baby in until last possible minute!, and don't feel rushed. Security probably won't help you but they really don't care if it takes you a few minutes. If anything just let the person behind you jump ahead.
You will have to fold your stroller and put it through the security belt but you will be able to carry baby through the scanner with you. If you have baby in a carrier they normally will make you take the baby out, but not always.

If you have a bottle already full with milk they will normally test it separately but don't worry it is allowed. As is any baby food and whatever else you have brought for baby. I normally just ask for warm water in the plane to mix the formula there but I have brought a full bottle with before with no problems.

-The Gate-
This is the place to let your child go crazy. Let them run, scream (within reason), jump up and down, walk all around the airport 10 times (with you! LOL), etc. Don't worry if your child is bothering anyone at this point- well I mean as long as they aren't harassing someone obviously then you should probably step in. Don't worry about the dirty floor if you have a crawler the chances are high that your child will get sick from the air in the plane anyway and this is there last chance to really move around for at least an hour or two, so let them do it. Of course if there is a Children's area that is even better, but not all airports have that. Try to do a diaper change a few minutes before boarding so that you ideally don't have to do one on the plane or at least not for a few hours.

-Boarding-
Now sometimes families with children under two will be allowed to board first, I prefer to board last. Boarding first just means more time trying to keep baby from moving around or disturbing anyone in a small space. Boarding last means no long line and that the flight will start soon.

-Seating-
If you have a small baby younger then about 6 months you might be offered a seat with a bassinet. The ones I flew on had a safety net which would be pulled over the top. Teddy thought this was awful and immediately started screaming and kicking to try to get out so for us it was a real bust, but I know babies who have slept wonderfully in them. It doesn't hurt to try one out once and see what your child thinks. However if you don't use a bassinet you don't want to go in one of these rows as you will not be able to put your diaper bag behind the seat in front of you since there is a wall.

Speaking of seating I prefer to sit as far back as possible and there are a few reasons for this.
1) Chances are highest of getting an empty seat next to me, which makes things a whole lot easier.
2) The plane is louder near the back which means baby makes less noise in comparison.
3) People care less that baby is crying. The closer you sit to business and first the more likely you are to be sitting near someone who hates children. This is my completely unscientific opinion based on my personal observations. Take it with a grain of salt. However I do know that I was most stressed when we were sitting one row behind business and the closed curtain, while we listened to the clang clang of real silverware. Sitting next to the bathrooms and listening to the flight attendants gossip? Not stressful at all.
4) Sitting near the back you are close to at least 2 bathrooms and hopefully a small space where baby can crawl or toddle a bit.

-The Flight-
If you are flying alone I like to introduce myself to the person sitting next to me and mention that my child is X months old and we are hoping this will be a great flight. I do this so that there is a bit of a connection between us and hopefully a bit of understanding in case the flight doesn't always go smoothly. If you are with a partner then you don't have to do anything because you have a buffer zone between your child and any stranger. Personally I like to sit at the window with baby because then they are less likely to touch any people walking down the aisle or try to pull something off the carts.

You should have a bottle ready or be ready to nurse during take-off. Wait to do this until the safety presentation is finished as otherwise baby might be done before you are even in the air.

Depending on the length of your flight after you have dealt with take-off you will want to do one of two things. Try to get baby to eat, or try to get baby to sleep. I normally now ring the bell to ask for warm water for one of my bottles at this time. If you have food which needs to be heated up for baby (I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it) then you can also ask for that to be heated at this time. Try to do this right away after you are in the air since they haven't yet started passing out food so they will be able to do it quickly for you.

If your flight is short 2 1/2 hours or less,
and your baby normally wouldn't take a nap during this time then just give them the first of many snacks, open up a book or take out one of the magazines for them to look at and get ready to do that whole parenting thing to the max for the next 2 1/2 hours. They will probably be coming with drinks soon and that will be a good distraction. Plus if baby is old enough to make choices you can let them make the big decision of water or milk or apple juice or whatever choices would be acceptable.
If your baby normally would take a nap during this time then try to get them to fall asleep while you are giving them the bottle or nursing during takeoff. I hold Teddy in my arms with my elbow resting on an armrest when he sleeps. The position is comfortable enough that I can also sleep or read a book.
If your flight is longer then a meal option will probably be offered or at the very least drinks at the beginning of the flight. Don't try to put your baby to sleep before this unless they are absolutely exhausted as the passing out of food and drinks will be relatively loud and probably wake baby back up.
Try to keep baby distracted with toys and snacks until the meal clean up has happened. Now the plane will start to quiet down. About an hour will have passed by this point and your baby will probably have been awake since setting out to the airport so this is a great time to try to get that first nap. I offer more milk and put baby into a sleep-sack and sort of rock him close to my chest. He is normally pretty tired by this point so I just do the things which sometimes help to get him to sleep. When he was younger I often got up and walked with him a little bit in the back of the plane rocking him and shushing until he fell asleep. Now I normally just look at a book with him, hold him in a curled up position, sing twinkle twinkle, and sort of rock him in the seat until he falls asleep. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

-Dealing with sleep-
This will probably be one of the most frustrating parts of the plane ride. I don't know why but Theodor is very good at fighting sleep on planes. He can be completely exhausted, closing his eyes, his breathing slows, and then bam bam he is shaking his head and talking trying to keep himself awake. Basically this is the point where if it is a short flight I decide to skip it and just try to keep him entertained and awake, and if it is a long flight I settle in for the long haul and precede to try to help him fall asleep over and over again until it takes. Sometimes this goes great and on other flights it has taken over 3 hours but that is when the mantra of "This is just X amount of hours of my life, we will get through this." comes into play.

-The Entertainment Systems-
If you are on a longer flight the chances are good that the seat has an entertainment system. We don't let Teddy watch TV at home but on the plane all rules are out. He is welcome to watch anything on the entertainment system or play with the remote (watch out that they don't hit the flight attendant call button), so far he still hasn't been interested but as he gets older I am hoping he will be able to spend some time on flights watching a movie or show. Although once he is really at a point where he finds that stuff interesting we will probably bring a portable DVD player or have videos on the laptop which are baby/toddler/kid friendly. Anything which helps pass the time on the flight without disturbing other passengers and while even allowing me to get a few bites of food in, or perhaps relax a bit is a plus for me.

-Diaper Changes-
Diaper changes happen just like at home, the space is cramped but I have never flown in a plane that didn't have a changing table. If the flight is long I normally do one before or after the first nap (depending on the timing). If the flight is short I normally don't do one.

-OH NO Baby is cranky!-
First off try to stay calm, you getting stressed will only make the situation worse. Second, if possible get up and go towards the back of the plane. If baby is crawling let him crawl a bit, or sit him down if baby is sitting. If baby is doing none of those things just walk around talking to baby, singing, doing whatever you can think of to distract and calm baby down.Maybe a diaper change (even if clean) if baby is still at an age which diaper changes are something positive. Do this for longer then you think is necessary at least 10-15 minutes and then go back to your seat and take out a new toy or snack. Hopefully things will have calmed down and you will have at least 30 minutes of calm now. If you nurse this is a great time to try nursing baby. Teddy never wanted to nurse on the plane but hopefully you will all be luckier then I in that respect.
If standing up isn't possible then try to take out a toy that is normally a good distraction. Jingling keys, favorite book, etc. If your partner is there make sure they get in the act- start a game of peek-a-boo, sing a fun song together, etc. Try to offer a snack, bottle or nurse as well. Anything to help baby calm down. Letting baby pull the window shade down and up a few times can also work as a good distraction.
Please don't let baby kick the chair in front of them or bang on the tray table in their frustration. There are other ways to keep baby distracted which don't so directly disturb the people sitting with you on the plane.
Repeat the mantra "There are only X more hours/minutes, we will get through this. Everything will be fine."

-Arrival-
Eventually you will arrive. No matter how bad the flight goes eventually you will get to your destination and it will have been worth it! You will be seeing friends or family, going on a holiday, or doing something else which is enjoyable or pleasent. Chances are very high that baby will have a blast and that you will forgot this flight within a few hours. Allow yourself a moment to bask in the fact that you just flew succesfully with a baby. Yay! Now allow all the other passengers to get off the plane first. They will be stressed and hectic while you will be basking in the pleasure of what is waiting for you. No reason to join the fray. Slowly gather all your bags making sure nothing has dropped under the seat and walk to the exit making sure to thank the flight attendants who were hopefully friendly and a help to you on the flight. Grab your stroller and/or car-seat which are waiting for you as you exit the aircraft. Get ready to enjoy yourself and head to whoeever is waiting for you at the baggage area.

Oh wait one thing, did you just deal with a time change? Of more then an hour? Well I didn't want to tell you this but time changes are actually the worst part of flying. Sorry.Get ready for a terrible night, how terrible will depend on how many hours time difference. 5+ time difference= probably waking up every hour, newborn style.

-How to deal with Jet-Lag and/or a Time Change-
When you get to your destination try to jump into that time immediately. If it is 1pm and baby normally takes a nap at 1 then let them take a nap. If it is 4 and baby is normally awake, then try to keep them awake. Try to do something outside to make this easier. Spend as much time in the sun as possible as that helps baby's natural clock adjust. If baby sleeps a bit longer then normal during a nap that is fine but try to keep it to no longer then an additional hour to help the night sleep.
Put baby down for the night at the normal bedtime- adjusted to the new time zone if you are in one. If baby wakes in the night, which baby probably will, deal with the nightwaking exactly as you would at home. If that means nursing and bringing baby in to your bed with you then do that, if that means letting baby fuss a bit then do that- although I highly suggest checking on baby to reassure them that you are there and that everything is fine. It can be very discombobulating for adults to deal with jet-lag and new places, obviously for a baby who doesn't really even understand what is going in this can be even worse.

Don't worry if you have a terrible night. The days will probably go smoothly as there will be so much action happening. It has always only taken 1-3 nights for Teddy to adjust and start sleeping through when we have been dealing with a 7 hour time change. It has taken less time when the time change has been an hour or less. Just try to stick to your normal routine. If naps in a bed aren't possible at least try for naps in a stroller. This isn't the time to allow your child to become over-tired.

Then get ready to do the whole travel thing all over again in a few days or weeks!

The fun of Travel, part I

2011-03-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

I live about 4274.7 Miles from my hometown, my mother, and the only place I have ever lived in the United States.

It is a given that our son, who is half American, will spend time with his Grandma in my hometown. Even if that means 10 hour flights in cramped airplanes, countless security checks, dealing with jet-lag and time changes over and over and over again, and sometimes doing it without the help of my husband. It is worth it and we feel so lucky that we are able to visit a few times a year. Teddy LOVES his Grandma so much and any cold he gets or never ending flight is more then worth it. But that doesn't mean it is easy, in fact the days leading up to a long haul flight are always tempered with a slight feeling of dread.

Before we flew for the first time I had this little idea in my head that maybe, just maybe, he would be so in awe of the plane that he would look around silently for a bit before conking out and sleeping for the whole flight. I know babies who have done that and isn't it fun to hope? Well now I know exactly what to expect and a small amount of dread is definitely a realistic feeling of acceptance of what is to come.

Honestly my motto for any flight is always ,"It is only (insert how many hours trip will be) of our lives we will quickly forget this day in the long run. We will get through it." This motto has gotten me through hours of him fighting sleep, wanting to crawl from seat to seat, and long delays.

So first off- flying itself isn't that bad. We have never had problems with his ears popping, although I am sure this is different from child to child. The first flights I made sure to nurse him during take-off, although be sure to wait until the plane actually begins heading into the air, as you can spend 20 minutes or more just slowing getting into position on the runway and depending on your child's age they may not be interested in nursing or drinking from a bottle that long.

But Theo was never scared or in pain, he seemed to enjoy looking out the window a bit as he got older, and he loved the people watching. Which is the crux of the problem with flying... the other people.

Now when you go on a long car ride with your child, you have some toys and some snacks with, maybe even one of you sits in the back to more actively entertain the baby. You might worry a bit about how things will go but you probably won't worry too much. If baby screams, maybe you sing loudly, or turn the radio up, or stop and take a break. Either way while it might be annoying it isn't really that bad. You've probably been living with the kid for a few months and you love them by now and hey this is what parenting is all about.

That same situation in a plane sucks. You can't help but feel bad for all the people crammed in around you being forced to listen to your child whine/scream/cry/loudly sing/whatever else they decide to do, and your options for dealing with the situation are limited. You can't just turn on your headphones and tune out the baby (or you could but then you are officially one of those parents I hate), you can't ask the pilot to just stop the plane for a bit so you and baby can take a breather, and getting loud with your baby is also pretty annoying for everyone else around you.

Basically you are sitting in a space the size of a middle seat in a tiny car with baby on your lap and you are trying to pretend there is a force field all around you which baby should respect and stay inside. The chances are good that baby thinks this imaginary force field is a real joke. The chances are even better that baby loves the stranger sitting next to you who rolled their eyes and could barely hide their annoyance when they found out they were stuck sitting next to the mom with the baby... and the huge diaper bag that looks to be overflowing and can't possibly be regulation carry-on size. In fact baby will probably ignore the sweet little Grandma who instantly fell in love with him to instead try to pull on the grumpy baby hater's shirt over and over and over again. You will probably sweat in exertion trying to keep baby distracted by anything but the baby hater, and then you will look at your watch and realize that only 8 minutes have passed and you still have 9 hours and 52 minutes to go.

So my goal on the plane is always to keep baby as quiet (within reason of course), and as distracted as possible- the easiest way to do this is to have baby eating or sleeping. The way I do this will be in part II :D

I'm back!

2011-03-10T01:27:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile. I've been on vacation visiting my lovely mother and before that was ill with a sick baby. Just in case you didn't know, being sick with a sick child is the absolute worst combination ever. Well scratch that, I'm sure having more then one child and being sick with them sick is even worse. But this was still pretty awful. Especially if your husband absolutely has to work and you have no childcare options.

Now we are back and a first birthday is coming up. Which is exciting and strange. I can't believe I have been a mother for almost a year or that Teddy will soon really be a TODDLER.

He recently started shrieking in displeasure when something doesn't go his way just to, ya know, remind me that the second year of life is all about him starting to assert his independence and figure things out for HIMSELF thank you very much. I'm guessing he is going to be quite good at the whole independence thing. Which is cool as long as he keeps laughing all the time and sharing his adorable smile with the world, we will be content to follow in his little path of destruction.

Speaking of destruction we bought a baby gate to cut off one half of our living room and the kitchen. Words cannot express how happy I am about this, especially considering it takes no more then 30 seconds for Teddy to literally destroy a whole section of room. I mean things broken, packages open and spilled, books torn, etc. Of course this type of chaos isn't even interesting to him for more then about 2 minutes as he quickly moves on to the next target.

He literally never stops moving. All day. At all. Sometimes he amuses himself so much that he starts to laugh hysterically while spinning himself around on hands and knees. I have no idea who he gets this from.

Since Teddy has now flown internationally three times before his first birthday I thought I would do a travel post next. I'll post lots of tips and warnings, it should be fun. More fun then flying with a baby, that's for sure:)

Getting the itch.

2011-01-26T00:41:00.000-08:00

Tired, frustrated, exhausted, depressed, at times miserable, overwhelmed, anxious.

These are a few words which describe how I felt for the first months of Teddy's life. "I'm looking forward to a break between being pregnant, nursing, and having a second. I'm excited to just focus on Teddy for awhile, and hope to space my children about 3 years apart." Was my general sentiment when it came to spacing.
Keyword: was

That's right, I the person who thought she was immune from baby fever for at least another year, am excited to try for another.
Even knowing that I could spend 4 months with the hangover from hell
(babyhangover= 1st trimester= all day and all night terrible nausea, upset stomach, and the occasional case of vomiting) and then 3 months with a ginormous stomach which causes terrible back pain and makes strangers ask if I'm having twins and when they are due, "Not for 7 weeks... thanks for the reminder." And then if I really get lucky 4 months of a colicky baby who screams, and screams, and screams, and then cries to mix it up a bit. And still I look at pregnant friends and think, "Ooh I want that!"
DH has banned all baby talk for the next 6 months.Which is A-OK. I didn't want to start trying until the end of summer anyway. This was clearly implied when I agreed to the baby talk ban.

Teddy is doing his part to ensure the speedy arrival of a new sibling by consistently sleeping through the night, and being the most awesome little boy around during the day- "Keep it up buddy!"

Mom rivals

2011-01-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

Theodor and I were at an open baby meet up today and one of my favorite mommy pet peeves happened...
"MOM RIVALS"

Basically this involves moms sizing each other up, treating their child like some sort of product and comparing them to show how their skillzz are in fact the best. It goes without saying that I find it ridiculous and try not to play but I will admit it is sometimes hard not to get sucked in.

I imagine some of the moms come from corporate jobs and have a strong urge to feel like they are succeeding and doing this parenting thing "the right way", whereas others were probably incredibly obnoxious before they had children and nothing much has changed. Either way it gets so tiring constantly hearing the same crap.

Oh so how is your child sleeping? Oh really? My child is sleeping through the night. Or if your child is also sleeping through the night then their child sleeps till 9 in the morning AND takes 2 two hour naps- there is always a way to be better.

Ooh are you giving your child that? My doctor said/I heard you should actually do such and such, which is of course what we are doing.

Must be said in horrified tone- oh my gosh is it OK for your child to do that/play with something plastic/stick random crap off the floor in their mouth/insert other normal child behavior here? Hmm well we are holding off on that until XYZ because we heard that is best but that is neat that you are just putting caution to the wind and letting your child do it- insert condescending smile here-

Today one mom looked at Teddy and said, "Oh gosh what happened to you little man? Look at those bruises, did you fall down? Or how did you get hurt? That looks so painful. What happened? ... (this went on for like a minute and a half and I didn't say anything he is 9 1/2 months and can't talk if she was really wondering she could address me) All said in a fake sing song voice to him as he tried to crawl away. Now of course someone could ask what happened because they were genuinely interested (which has happened and doesn't bother me in the least) but that clearly wasn't the case today. This is what I was thinking in my head but didn't say.
First off, clearly he fell, I didn't punch him in the forehead with one finger if that is what you are implying. Second off, I can't help it that your almost one year old is a lump that just learned how to sit up, and doesn't move at all. Mine does, and since we let him explore he sometimes falls down and gets bumps but doesn't seem to be bothered in the least. This does not make me a bad mother or a good one since I cannot change the person who my son is. Speaking of which your child is cute and I would never really think they were a lump but you my friend are very annoying.

Thankfully there is normally at least one other mom who seems to be on a similar wavelength but for every 1 normal, relaxed mom I feel like there are 3 uptight, condescending, annoying ones who always show up at these things.

I know this post is sort of negative and to be honest it doesn't really bother me that much but the hubby hates hearing me vent about this type of stuff since he has heard it all before so I thought I would let it out here. Don't get me wrong I know how blessed I am to stay at home and for one of my biggest pet peeves to be annoying moms at baby meet ups and not something that is serious and an actual problem!

How things change.

2011-01-18T01:59:00.000-08:00

You know when people, mainly parents, say they love newborns? How they miss that newborn stage? How they can't wait to have another and just really enjoy every moment of the first months?

That is SO NOT ME.

Honestly I thought the first few months pretty much sucked. When I look back I think of them as a sort of hazing/training period to make sure you have what it takes to enjoy the good stuff which is coming.

Don't get me wrong the feelings of love and bonding that happened in those first months were incredible. But were my days fun, often enjoyable, incredibly fulfilling? Not really.

Now on the other hand, every day literally flies by... even the hard ones. I'm constantly in awe watching Theodor interact with the world around him. He is a little scientist, intensely investigating everything around him. He is so joyous! He laughs constantly at so many things- yesterday just standing holding onto a chair with me sitting besides him was enjoyable enough for him to laugh loudly for 10 minutes.

Even the new challenges are fun in their way, or at least cute to watch if I don't think about the clean up afterward. Like his recent refusal to be spoon fed and wanting to do it himself. All I can think is that my little baby is growing up and how cool is that? He is able to show me his likes by shoving a banana in his mouth, and dislikes by for example grabbing a spoon out of my hand and flinging it on the ground.

He can play by himself and I can actually get things done around the house. He can "help" me. Which may in all actuality be creating more work but looking at his proud little face when he achieves something new or his sneaky little smiles when he does something he knows he shouldn't more then make up for a few more minutes of clean up time at the end of the day.

Teddy "helping" in the kitchen.

These are the moments which make me thrilled and excited to one day try to have another, and which make me love being able to stay at home with Theodor. This is what I was looking forward to when I was waiting for my husband to feel ready to try to have a child. These recent months are what makes it easy for me to say, I love being a mother.

Fabulous!

2011-01-16T01:01:00.000-08:00

Since I know everyone is dying of excitement to know how it went, I'll tell you. FABULOUS!!!
My birthday was so much fun.

Teddy went down within 30 seconds, and proceeded to sleep through until 7. Whereas I in the meantime was able to dance, drink, and enjoy myself with lots of good friends until three in the morning. Then I got to sleep in until... 9!!! am and get up feeling well rested and not a teensy bit hungover, woo hoo!

We actually could have slept in longer because Teddy also took a wonderful nap in the morning so when we went to pick him up he wasn't even awake yet.

All in all a fabulous start to my new life year!

Birthday!

2011-01-13T06:12:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday on Saturday and I am super excited! Moreso then I have been in recent years past because this year we are dropping Theodor off with family for the night! A whole night and morning with absolutely no little person needing anything from me, I can't wait!!

Of course to celebrate I decided to throw a party on Friday and then head out to the party district of Hamburg and dance away the sweet hours where I could be catching up on uninterrupted sleep. But honestly Teddy sleeps so well most nights now and the hubby and I so rarely have a chance to both really party together without one person having to head home early or not imbibe so as to be on their A-game to watch our son, that I think I made the right choice. We'll see how I feel on Saturday though...I'm guessing a headache will be involved in the aftermath but it will be worth it I'm sure.

Plus there will be an adorable little boy waiting for me. Ready to put a big smile on my face and help me forget all about it:)

Christmas Jams

2011-01-05T01:07:00.000-08:00

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was attempting homemade Christmas presents this year. More specifically homemade jams and marmelades and macaroons.

Now according to Wiki: A macaroon (/mɑːˈkæ rʊŋ/ mah-kæ-rʊŋ ) is a type of light, baked confections, described as either small cakes or meringue-like cookies depending on their consistency. The original macaroon was a "small sweet cake consisting largely of ground almonds"^[1] similar to Italian or Moroccan amaretti.

My first macaroons were awful, they consisted almost solely of almonds and sunk into themselves if you touched them. My second go at them was a big improvement. I made them lemon and they really tasted like what I imagine lemon clouds would taste like- sugary lemon fluff, in case you are wondering.

The 2nd go at macaroons

The jams were also hit or miss. My first jam: Grapefruit Sesame was a breeze, my second: Fig berry a complete and utter failure, my third: Carrot Spice cake was quite good, and my fourth: Ashley's winter mix was something that I created myself and ended up being one of my favorites. It was mainly blackberry, red currants, a bit of apple, and gingerbread spice.

My winter jelly tasted the most "Christmasy" to me.

Here is a picture of the finished product. I was really pleased, and the hubby already finished a jar of each off so I know they did in fact taste good. I think I will do something similar next year and hopefully will have a bit more time to do the labels and packaging, as I feel like I could have done something much nicer- but I only had so much I could get done during nap times before Christmas!

Everyone got 3 jars of jam and 2 macaroons. They were supposed to get more of the cookies but after messing up once I didn't enough time to do more then one batch.

9 months!

2011-01-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

Theodor has now been gracing our fair earth with his presence for a longer period of time then he was inside of me, growing and stretching out my once fab stomach.He has completely enmeshed himself in our lives and we are all happier for it.

So much is happening now and at a whirlwind pace. He pulls himself up on EVERYTHING. The first week of this new skill he was unsteady, fell often, and seemed to need everything just so to make it up on his feet. Now a good week later he is pulling himself up on anything, even if it is moving, and although he still falls he rolls right out of it and keeps on going. He now "cruises" (I didn't come up with this term- it just means walking with the aid of your hands being supported by objects in a room like a chair or table) from table to sofa to dishwasher and back again with a huge grin on his face.

When I see how much he has accomplished in a week I can't imagine what I will be writing about at the end of this month.

We all had a great Christmas and New Year and I am looking forward to all the wonderful things this year will bring us.

We got Theodor one Christmas present, A Duplo Lego set. He likes it! Right now he mainly likes banging the blocks and putting things in and out of the container which is so cute to watch. You can also see where our couch table normally is in this picture....

And where he recently pushed it to! He pushed it all the way to our TV and then walked it back:D

This metal storage locker from Ikea is one of his favorite things to "play" with. There are 2 keys in keyholes which he is constantly taking out so that he can then slam the doors open and close.

Trying to climb up on to his walker, surprisingly he didn't fall.

Deciding that perhaps walking around the walker makes more sense.

Where has the time gone?

2010-12-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Theodor is almost 9 months. Time is really just flying by now. He has been sick the past weeks with 2 different viruses and an infection, which basically hasn't affected him at all. He had a really high fever for a day and now has little red spots on his hands and feet but his behavior this whole time has been classic Teddy. In a good mood, enjoying life and practicing his new skills- standing and trying to "cruise".

It is so exciting to realize that soon our little guy will be walking. He is 24 pounds now so my arms will really enjoy a bit of a break, plus he is so proud of himself when he pulls himself up to standing that I can't imagine how he will feel when he takes his first step. I am pretty sure it will be happening in the next month or two- as he is SO determined. Practicing standing and "walking" is all he wants to do, all day everyday. Thankfully he has been in such a good mood that I have even managed to get some wash done, as you can see here:D

I've also managed to get one Christmas jelly done to give as gifts (grapefruit sesame seed) and just have one more to go (carrot cake) and then I am making little macaroons to go with them. I found these great little glass jam jars and I think the finished product of 2 jellies and a few macaroons wrapped up in clear paper will look really nice. Once I am done I will share a picture of the finished product, as I am pretty psyched to be giving homemade gifts this year. Unfortunately there was one victim- a fig currant jelly that tasted so so bad that I had to pour out 7 jars of it. Sometimes it makes sense to test a recipe out before doubling it and making it a gift LOL.

4 days to go!

6 to 6

2010-12-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

Yes that is right you read that correctly, SIX TO SIX! Our amazing son slept from 6pm to 6am last night. F Yeah! Sorry but seriously, F YEAH! I then nursed him and he slept another hour and then we got up at 7. This was with taking two naps of about an hour and a half each. SO AMAZING.

I was honestly a bit shocked when he woke up for me to feed him, "Woah, it isn't 12 or 3 or 4?" "What?, seriously??"
I mean Teddy was never one of those natural good sleepers. His longest stretch the first 4 months was 3 hours because he had a fever, and even after we sleep trained he still woke up 1-3 times in the night to nurse which I was fine with.

He also had weeks where he woke up 5+ times in the night and sometimes refused to go back to sleep for hours due to being sick, or learning to crawl, or having a bad night, or being 7 months, or whatever else he could think of;)

Throughout it all we stuck with it and him of course. When he woke up, if I hadn't just been in then I nursed him and put him back down, and if I had just nursed him then I picked him up held him for a little bit and then put him back down and left his room. Then he either went to sleep or I came back 5-10 minutes later and we repeated this until he fell asleep. This system works well for us and for naps and the initial bedtime put down he almost never cries but of course after a few weeks of him waking often in the night I started to wonder if I needed to change something. Was he sleeping too much during the day or too little? Did I need to just leave him be and stop nursing during the night? Was his room too warm or too cold? Too light or too dark? You get the picture.

Well it looks like it was just a phase must likely due to learning to crawl and being sick. This phase lasted quite a few weeks but I think it might be over. Even if he doesn't sleep as well tonight I know he can do it and I know that the future holds me getting 8 hour stretches on a continual basis. Which is pretty darn cool.

Yay for sleep!

We were away on holidays,

2010-12-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

it was great. Baby is sick which doesn't seem to bother him much. He constantly had streams of snot on his face which was one of those things where I used to say I WOULD NEVER LET HAPPEN TO MY CHILD. You know before I actually had one and was all idealistic about all the things I would and wouldn't do.

But then I did have one and apparently wiping his nose is the absolute worst thing that I or my husband can do to him. He first twists his head back as far as humanly possible and then just starts pitifully crying like he is seriously the absolute saddest little boy ever. So finally we just decided whatever. It doesn't seem to bother him, and just made sure to wipe him off with a warm washcloth a few times a day.

He also has a nice hacking little cough which of course only shows up at night and makes me fear for his life but also drives me a bit crazy because he is waking up a zillion times again. Well OK 3 times on a good night 5+ on a bad. But seriously I want an 8 hour stretch of sleep soon. It seems like it has been months since we have had a really good night and even though there always seems to be a legitimate reason: illness, learning to crawl, trying to stand, etc. it still doesn't make me want a full night of sleep any less.

It was so much fun to introduce him to sand, and water, and fish, and just hang out with him and my husband. I am so blessed that we were able to take a break from daily life and just enjoy each other. Now we are back and life is hitting me in full force. Teddy is super clingy which means the mountain of wash is barely diminishing, the Christmas decorations are spread out on a table but not put up, the Christmas letter isn't written, the Christmas jams aren't made, and the house is a mess. But life is good and I am just taking it a day at a time.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the season:)

Dennis

2010-11-25T02:06:00.000-08:00

I loved watching Dennis the Menace when I was a kid. There was a movie that came out with Walter Matthau as Mr. Wilson and even though I was a bit old for it, I loved that too. I thought Dennis was great. So much fun and so lively... I think you can tell where this is heading. Yep I wished if I had a son he would be like Dennis. Now clearly I wasn't putting much thought into this as I do believe that our thoughts have power and strength, which is why I should have put a bit more time into picturing the weeks after the birth as calm and beautiful with a baby who barely cried instead of thinking how adorable it was how Dennis always seemed to be getting into goodhearted scrapes and trouble.

I think that day by day Teddy's true personality is really starting to show through, and lets just say that at this moment it looks like I got my wish. If he is awake he is looking around, moving around, trying to get at something just out of reach, something with which he most probably should not be playing. He doesn't like to be held or cuddled unless you are at that moment allowing him to touch something which he isn't big enough to reach on his own. My PEKiP instructor once commented that Teddy nursed not only for food or comfort but also clearly for pleasure. That used to be true but it is like at about 6 months a switch went off in his head and he realized that everything he was seeing could be interacted with, and every moment he spent nursing was a moment he could spend trying to pull something off a shelf, or rip something in half. Now nursing occurs only directly after naps and bedtime and once in the night when he is still a bit too tired to realize that he could be squirming away.

He loves to play with things that he shouldn't and it isn't due to lack of his own wonderful toys either. I am super relaxed when it comes to play so although he is allowed to roam free, I also have a great area set up with lots of different toys. Wood toys, toys I have made, toys that aren't toys but which he likes, plastic noisemakers, etc.

Here is a picture to give you an example- the most time he has spent on that play mat? 2 minutes. The amount of time he has spent trying to get under my computer desk? Way, way, too much. Thankfully we ascribe a bit to the whole European/modern /minimalistic aesthetic and there aren't very many things which he can pull down, take apart, etc but what there is, has been.

I won't lie. While it does drive me a bit crazy at moments, like when I was trying to bake these Schlesische Lebkuchen (Silesian German Gingerbread cookies) yesterday (ending up just doing it after bedtime).

For the most part I love it. I think it is adorable, and I love that he is robust and doesn't cry due to pain basically ever, that for some reason he isn't much interested in other kids or babies unless he can gnaw on their feet, or grip their faces with his pudgy little claw hands(I constantly cut his nails and still they somehow manage to dig in), that he loves to bang on the keyboard, pull cords, and thinks the word no is delightfully amusing. I love that so far he is turning out to be my own little Dennis. He may push us away when we try to give us kisses and not seem to care much for us when there are things to see and explore but that just shows me we did something right as he clearly feels more then secure in our love.

He is wonderful. Really truly wonderful. I love that I get to spend my days taking care of him. I honestly at this moment can't imagine doing anything else. Life is good.

Considering it is also Thanksgiving I thought I would throw out a few quick things I am thankful for.
-I am thankful for my mother. She is supremely awesome. Honestly you may think your mother is cool, and wonderful, and great but she probably does not even come close to mine. OK well she might but probably not :D
-All of my online and real life friends who have gone through many struggles but who have managed to get pregnant and in some cases have babies. I am SO thrilled for you all.
-My family. My husband. My son. Perfection.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Busy, busy, busy

2010-11-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

I've been busy these past few weeks. Thankfully I have little moments like this to help make every day a good one.

Ooh lemons

2010-11-08T01:55:00.000-08:00

In some ways Teddy is a very relaxed, stress free baby.
Like when it comes to eating.

Keeping in line with many parents before us, Thomas and I did the "give your baby a lemon test" this weekend. The results were not surprising.

We have movement!

2010-11-07T01:25:00.000-07:00

As is probably apparent by now, I love my son. I love spending time with him, and I love that I get to stay at home with him.

However.

The past weeks I have been ready for bedtime.... oh about 10 minutes after he has woken up. Why you ask?

Because for the past few weeks Teddy has been trying to move. Trying to crawl. Trying to get to all the enticing outlets, sharp edges, and whatever other inappropriate "toys" have sparked his interest. Unfortunately Teddy is a bit chunky. And not that clever when it comes to gross motor skills apparently.

He has spent the past weeks pushing as hard as he can with his arms, and kicking his legs, but absolutely refusing to try to put his knees on the ground to help push himself forward. This led to a lot of backwards movement. This also led to one very frustrated baby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbyXkrP0BUo

Some babies joyfully learn new skills, trying over and over until it works with a smile on their face.
Not Teddy. After a 10 second try, Teddy was loudly protesting, and then when that didn't work, crying.

I tried to distract him, but he didn't want to do something else, he wanted to crawl. Now. Well actually he wants to walk but that is a different post.

After lots of naked time, time with other babies,and sheer frustration and determination, Teddy finally managed to move forward. He did a sort of caterpillar/army crawl and the first time was actually crying the whole time because he didn't realize he was moving forward.This was 2 days ago and things have greatly improved.

He is still fussy because he realizes that this caterpillar crawl isn't efficient and I don't think he has yet realized that he can use it to just move forward as so far he always uses it to get something out of his reach. But it is a first step.

I'm so so proud!!! I mean I can't even imagine the frustration of knowing you can somehow move but not being able to figure it out. And then to top it off being surrounded by all these idiots who for some reason won't just pick you up and walk you wherever you obviously need to go. It is just so exciting for me to watch him slowly learn these new skills. It is really amazing all the things that babies have to learn and it does make me very proud of him...

.....and really pleased that the whining has been reduced by about 50 percent.As I won't lie, he was starting to drive me a little crazy :D

7 Months!

2010-10-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

I’ve been a mom for 7 months now and lately it has really hit me how much I love this. How much I love my son. How much I love my husband. How lucky I am to have this amazing family. That all sounds so trite when I put it down to “paper” and I don’t know if it is even possible to explain the feelings of awe, fulfillment and pleasure I get from watching my baby grow and become his own little person.

He is becoming so aware of everything going on around him and he has such a personality. He giggles because he finds something amusing which is just so cool. He has his own little sense of humor and he is constantly making my husband and I laugh. I mean who doesn’t let out at least a little guffaw when watching a fat little baby play with a plastic bag like it is the coolest most worthwhile thing ever.

He loves the time I spent on decorating his room. I know this because he can spend 20 minutes (which for him is a looong time) just hanging out in there and taking it all in. Every time he sees the window curtains his eyes go all big and round and he delights in touching them. He also delights in trying to pull the overhead changing table heater down which seems to be a bit of a safety concern but thankfully dad installed that and not me, increasing the safety by a 1000%.

He loves to eat and tries to use the spoon himself. He isn’t very good at it yet. (Mom speak for he sucks. Seriously that kid has poked his eye and gagged himself multiple times with his baby spoon). But he absolutely delights in “doing it himself” and I don’t mind at all. I’m just thankful dishwashers and washing machines exist.

I see in little ways that slowly but surely my little baby is turning into a toddler. In some ways this is sad as this really is all so wonderful. I mean wonderful in a, I break out in tears often just thinking about him, and how much I love him, and how happy he makes me, wonderful- and it is scary to think about those feelings just expanding as he continues to grow. I mean everyone says it just keeps getting better and I wonder how is that even possible? It is already so, so good. However I also am excited for what is to come.

I'm especially excited for him to figure out crawling as right now he just does this weird push up movement that pushes himself backwards which really pisses him off. So he spends a lot of the day pushing himself back into a corner/under a table/ against a wall,and crying. This was really getting to me so I ended up buying him a walker which he loves. If he could he would spend the whole day standing (with help obviously) so the walker is pure bliss for him. After two day he has already figured it out enough to get into lots of trouble- keys pulled out of drawers, chairs knocked over, books pulled out of shelves LOL. He only gets about 20 minutes twice a day in the walker so that he doesn't get too lazy about crawling but it is a nice change of pace to hear squeals of amusement instead of cries of frustration.

Feeding habits

2010-10-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased the book Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter. It seems to be sort of a feeding bible for many and since it had gotten really good reviews from a lot of different people I thought I would check it out. It was written by a nutritionist and psychotherapist, and has been revised a few times. It is dense but I am really enjoying it so far.

The main idea of it is that we as the parents are responsible for the when, where, and what of feeding whereas Teddy is responsible for how much and whether.

I love this idea as I have never understood food battles and I really want all of my children growing up with healthy food habits.

She goes very in depth with how the transition from breast/formula to table food should go and for the most part we are on the right track. She suggests transitioning over to table foods relatively quickly once purees have been introduced and not getting stuck with purees for too long- she also encourages letting the child feed himself if they show interest, which Teddy definitely has.

So I have started letting Teddy feed himself more for at least one meal a day. It is such a disgusting mess. Thankfully I am not at all sensitive about stuff like that but my husband is definitely not feeding him when he does it himself anytime soon. She also says how important it is for him to eat what we are eating so I have started giving him things like strips of soft bread and anything else I think can easily dissolve in his mouth with a little gum chewing.

On the one hand it is fun to watch Teddy in an area where he seems to be progressing quite quickly but it is also bittersweet to realize he most definitely isn't a little baby anymore. Especially after he drinks a little from his cup, swipes the adult spoon I am holding and shoves it into his mouth with relish. By following his lead he just naturally transitioned to 3 meals a day with snacks so quickly that the days of long breastfeeding sessions are definitively over.

I just hope he holds off on the toddler-hood trait of rejecting different foods to assert independence a little bit longer!

Baby Showers

2010-10-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

I'm throwing a baby shower and considering the only baby shower I have ever been to was my own, I'm looking for some tips.

What are your favorite activities at baby showers?

What do you secretly hate?

What is a good order to do things?

Any tips are most welcome.

To keep this post from being the absolute opposite of fun, I've thrown in a nice little nonsensical picture story.

Teddy enjoys a healthy meal of dirty printed paper, which is probably full of cancer causing inks. Mom is just happy to take a break from his other favorite- dirty plastic bags.

Haha just try and take this from my moist chunky little fingers.

Oh no the random take-out menu has been ruined. Someone is in big trouble.

That is right buddy, you're going in the box.

Clearly your sitting skills still leave a lot to be desired :D

We'll stick with standing.

We're back ....

2010-10-11T00:40:00.000-07:00

and we have hit some awesome milestones like....
wait for it....

Our first cold!!! Yeah! We all got sick in the U.S. and although Teddy is barely sick with the cold that we all had, his is lasting FOREVER. He is now going on week 3 of being sick. During the day we notice basically nothing but then at night he has a stuffy nose and sleeps terribly, and by terribly I mean up every 1-2 hours the whole darn night, terribly. Needless to say we are all hoping he gets better soon. The doctor checked him out and he doesn't have anything which would need treating like bronchitis, so I will just continue to give him homeopathic medicines (which I honestly believe do absolutely nothing) and hope that someday soon I can have a 5 hour stretch of sleep again.

The States were AWESOME though. We got to see grandma, who Teddy remembered and loved, meet my friends from school time, and spend time with my relatives.

Teddy also got to make some new friends in the form of my mom's cats. He loved them, maybe too much....

Teddy did not start crawling or rolling or anything else of that nature while we were there but he has now become insatiable when it comes to food. I mean the kid is close to getting tears in his eyes when we are eating if he can't have some too, or doesn't have his own food to eat. He was eating Gerbers natural babyfoods like it was some sort of baby crack- and everything else which we let him try; pickles, sno-cone, rolls, etc too bad the kid still doesn't have any teeth as it really limits what I can offer him.

But how could I forget his favorite treat, paper! If there is any sort of paper near him, he is on top of it, quickly shoving it into his mouth. I'm surprised by how quickly he can cause things to dissolve, newspaper is the worst but books, cards, restaurant menus, customs forms (they loved that!) have all been on his meal plan.

We all had a lovely time and the flights were OK. The flight coming in was rough just because some people near us never dimmed their lights so even though Teddy should have been sleeping for at least 4 of the 8 1/2 hours to Minnesota he slept 1 hour which was in 2 30 minute increments. The rest of the time he was wide awake and needed to be entertained. On the way back he slept 6 hours though and it was solely due to the fact that the plane was dark. It was bliss! He was a great traveler though and quite a few people commented on it. Almost no tears were shed and we, the parents, were able to get through it with such aplomb that the next flight is already booked. Although I will be traveling alone with him for that one and I am dreading it just a teeny bit.

Shopping was a big part of our America trip. Teddy is in 18 months, 24 months, or 2T depending on the brand and the clothing article. Unfortunately these clothes are made for older children who are moving of their own accord so they are often much too tight in the waist. Until he slims down a bit he is going to be wearing a lot of fleece pants and overalls. Sigh.

Now we are happy to be back in rainy, cold Germany and looking forward to the next 6 months of Teddy's first year of life.

I'll be back

2010-09-08T03:28:00.000-07:00

We are leaving for our first trip to the States with little Teddy next Friday. I have been very busy getting everything ready, preparing (mentally LOL), and trying to enjoy the last days here in Germany as well. I only get to see my mother 1-3 times a year so as you can imagine, I am very, very excited. She was here when Theo was 6 weeks and I know she is going to be so amazed by how much he has grown and by the fact that he does in fact do more things then cry now :D

Considering that this trip is relatively short (2 1/2 weeks) I am going to really try and enjoy every minute and that for me means taking a break from Hetta Hoo.

So I will "see" you all when I get back in October. Hopefully with some fun new updates and pictures.

Theodor and Chairs

2010-09-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

A photo montage consisting of two priceless pictures. Behold, the oldest little boy in the world. No, he does not smile. Ever.

I feel the need to add that this first picture is not taken in our house. If you think that chair looks like it belongs to a person harking from a different generation, you would be right.

He is a little over 3 months in the first picture and 5 months in the second. I love that besides increasing in body mass absolutely nothing has changed.

Will this be his photo expression forever? I can only hope so.

Bad Mommy Confession, Number 1

2010-08-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

My first bad mommy confession here on Hetta Hoo.

Pacifiers. No not that I use them, honestly if you think that is enough for a bad mommy confession, you probably shouldn't be reading this blog.

No, my confession is that I rarely ever sterilize them. In fact I have even take a pacifier out of the packaging and inserted it directly into the squealing little guy's mouth. No 5 minutes of boiling, nothing. At the time it seemed like an emergency but I know for some women there is no excuse.

Besides barely ever remembering to throw them in the dishwasher or sterilizer, I also carry them in whatever I have handy; a pocket, my (probably dirty) hand, diaper bag (and not in its own special hygenic container), you get the idea.

When they fall on the ground do you know what I do?
Blow on it, brush it with my hand, and then plop it back in his mouth. In extreme cases I might even suck on it once in place of water. But as a friend pointed out, my mouth is one of the most germy places of all, so clearly more harm then good.

And you know what makes this a real bad mommy confession? I don't feel bad, not one little bit.

5 Months

2010-08-27T01:40:00.000-07:00

Theodor is 5 months today and he can do... uhm wait for it...something big is coming.... OK fine, Theodor is 5 months today and he can do... not much.

Don't get me wrong I'm as proud a mama as the best of them but even I have my limits. Eating isn't a skill, looking around a lot -observantly- while an improvement from staring at white walls is probably not going to show up on any of the "Your baby can now do this" email updates, and having the world's best pout and not being afraid to show it off anytime, anywhere, while highly amusing for the parents is probably also not something which will be asked about at the next doctors appointment.

I was hoping to have a tooth to brag about because A) He has been teething for over 5 weeks and it would be great if a tooth would decide to show up B) A certain unnamed person is constantly commenting that babies don't get teeth before 6 months. Even though I have explained over and over again that there is a range of time when babies first teeth pop, for some as early as 4 months and some as late as 9 months and it is all normal and the doctor did in fact confirm that Theodor is teething and it could happen anytime, this person refuses to believe it and continues to harp on the 6 month thing. So of course me in all my maturity was really hoping to proudly open up Theo's mouth to show off a gigantic baby tooth in all its glory before 6 months.But alas it is not to be.

So instead of the "my 5 month old can" checklist I thought I would just throw out a few things which have amused me in the last weeks.

- While waiting for a bus on a busy industrial type street- you know the kind: almost a highway, ugly, loud, honking often; Theodor was mesmerized! He kept throwing out his little baby words, cooing, and smiling. We had to wait 15 minutes and he was happy to just stare at all the cars passing by the whole time. I was kind of shocked, especially since my midwives probably would have died at the thought of my baby being accosted by such extreme stimuli.

- We do a lot of baby classes and even though loud noises still don't bother him, now when other babies cry Theodor gets a sad look on his face, a big lip quiver, then pouts and also starts to cry. It's adorable.

-Theodor has started not falling right back asleep after a nursing session in the middle of the night. Since his room is right next to ours I can hear him talking to himself and if I peek through the crack I can sometimes see him rolling from side to side or taking his baby blanket and spreading it over his head (he can breathe through it and he doesn't leave it there) or grabbing at the bars with his hand. We have a darkening shade in his room so he can barely see anything. I'm quite impressed by his ability to stay awake even with the lack of anything interesting going on. He has managed 45 minutes of "night playtime" although thankfully 10-15 seems to be the norm. I'm not always sure how long it lasts because if he is not crying and seems fine I normally just fall back asleep.

-He loves "reading" the warning signs on each side of his car-seat. He sees those things every few days but apparently they hold amazing baby secrets which adults can not understand because he finds the small black and white text fascinating.

-He is so vocal. He probably gets this from me as my mom used to say that once I came out I never stopped Haha mom, good one. But I must admit that I am not one of those moms who can do a play by play of what she is doing the whole day, I try but often end up just putting music on and then saying the occasional sentence every few minutes. If we are out or the husband is home he mainly is forced to just listen to me talk to other adults. I know terrible right?

I've added a little video clip I made this morning, and even though he can't read this I do want to thank Theodor for making each month better then the last:)

The nightshirt

2010-08-26T04:16:00.000-07:00

I was too lazy to grab a bib before feeding Theodor his awesome lunch of mixed pureed veggies so I grabbed an old nightshirt of mine.

Clearly Theodor had been waiting for this moment. His expression is awe inspiring. I love the juxtaposition of baby Mickey Mouse Characters and Teddy's grim expression. He looks like he is going into battle. This picture is just all kinds of awesome and I wanted to share.

Deception

2010-08-25T00:04:00.000-07:00

I lied. I deceived you all. For that I am sorry.
You see I said that my son was all smiles. Pure giggles and laughter, now that he was four months (almost 5 sniff sniff) and well rested.

Well that wasn't the complete truth.

You see according to a nameless figure in our life who shall remain nameless he is also serious... and still a bit fussy.
One of this persons favorite comments is, "Was hat er denn?"
Which directly translated means- What does he have? but in context means, "Why is he fussing again?? What is wrong with him? Why isn't he content to lay on a blanket with no human interaction while we eat coffee and cake?"

I don't think Theodor is serious. He is observant and loves looking around but just about anyone with a high pitched sing-songy voice can immediately get him to laugh or smile so no I don't think he is serious. But fussy, just a bit high-maintenance.... perhaps.

You see he has it all figured out. Sure laying on his stomach and pushing himself up with his arms will eventually give him the strength to crawl forward and see the whole world in all its glory (which I am guessing for him involves a lot of opening of drawers) but you know what works at this very moment which requires no strength whatsoever?

Whimpering, sticking out his bottom lip and starting to cry like a little baby who has never in all his life received a hug or a kiss, it has to be very very pitiful or it doesn't work as well- as the parents may just change the position he is in. Thinking (wrongfully of course) that he just wants to lay a bit differently or wants to go from stomach to back. However crying like he is the saddest little boy on this planet enables him to immediately be picked up and get an awesome first class view of everything going on around him.
To which he says to the other little babies laying on their stomachs, working towards a goal.
Suckers!

I'm an Idiot!

2010-08-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

So how do like the new design? The last few posts? Any comments?? Seriously couldn't one person at least say, looks good? Sigh.

Oh wait, What is that you say? You can't comment. Really?

Well let me just fix that for you. Comments now work, just click and type away. Thanks so much for cluing me in to this Alyssa- I was clueless!

All over.

2010-08-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

It's over. The nursing strike is over and has been since Saturday. It is like it never happened. The little stinker. Freaking mommy out for 5 days and then acting like there is nothing better then mama's milk. A few good things did come from this;

1. I met an awesome new midwife who gave me great advice that fit so well with my sort of crunchy lifestyle. Instead of going for either extreme (another lactation consultant and my pediatrician took care of those viewpoints for me) she told me she thinks it is great that Teddy is eating solids, and sometimes gets a bottle, and that he is fine. She said it might happen a few more times in his life but to not worry about it, continue doing what I have been doing and he'll come back to the breast. She was right, and SO sweet. She is going freelance and I liked her so much that I want her to be my midwife whenever baby number 2 happens. Which is pretty cool as all the midwives who had anything to do with Teddy's birth and my aftercare are women who I most definitely do not want having any part in my next pregnancy.

2. I am enjoying breastfeeding even more then I was before, which was quite a bit! I just love it. Especially when he is a bit tired so he closes his eyes and makes these contented little noises and smiles, and ooh I could keep going but I won't.

3. I now have crazy oversupply. These things are on the ready all the time. This has been fun for me as apparently spraying my husband in the face repeatedly from long range just doesn't get old for me. It also has allowed me to relax and realize that when Teddy isn't into it, it is because he isn't hungry not because he isn't getting enough, quickly enough.

Thanks for the encouragement last week everyone, it meant a lot!

White Bread

2010-08-20T00:04:00.000-07:00

Germany is a land known for its breads, rolls, and bakeries. Dinner here is even called Abendbrot = Evening Bread, and traditional families do in fact eat bread with meats and cheeses for dinner.

I think this picture sums up what I think about that. Try to ignore the delightful boy who for once isn't frowning for the camera and zoom in on the bread.

That is crustless white bread. I think I am the only person who buys it. I mean most people here don't even buy bread at the grocery store.

I love the stuff. I love that is has absolutely no nutritional value, is soft and squishy, it is Germany so it doesn't have preservatives but you can't have everything in life. I love that as an adult I no longer have to pretend to like crusts just because they are good for me.

Of course I know I could buy normal bread and cut the crusts off but then I feel like I am wasting. While I am sure the company does exactly the same thing, maybe they feed the excess crusts to unicorns, or use them to create cheap building materials- clearly the sky is the limit when it comes to crust possibilities.

Teddy of course will never be allowed this bread. He'll have to suffer through grainy bread with nuts and oat flakes and icky crusts, just like I did.Only then can you truly appreciate the white bread goodness. Besides growing bones need healthy nutrient full food,which you only get in whole grain bread ... and most especially the crusts. Well that is what I'll say at least.

Who knew a dark room could be so interesting?

2010-08-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, I think I might be a bit hungry,ooh there is mom and I don't think she has a shirt on, ooh wait, what is that?
I think some shadows just moved near the window, ugh what is this thing in my face?- I think she just tried to squirt milk in my mouth. What a wierdo- doesn't she see that I'm concentrating on this awesome- ooh there is my mobile, man I love that thing, I think if I really strain my eyes I can just see the outline of it, oh wait, what was that? Speaking of straining why in the world is it so dark in here, it makes it so much harder to see everything although I think right up there is some sort of uhmm hmm, what is that?
Oh wait I am pretty sure I heard something in the opposite direction, what is going on over there... What is up with this woman shoving her boob in my face,doesn't she see that I am busy here??
Oh wait there is her face, quick smile to let her know I still think she is great, or should I scream and arch my back instead as I really need some more space to look around, what was she even doing in here anyway...
Ow, ow,my mouth hurts, I am just going to bite the next thing in my mouth, ugh it is so soft no fun for biting on,get it out! cooh grghh, hey what was that? Oh my gosh, I think that was me! Cool! Coooh, gghg, cooh, wow I could do this all night. I'm glad she is laying me back down as I am on a roll...

So we are on day 3 of the nursing strike and seem to have found a way to at least get through this thing. I no longer think supply is an issue, I still have a fast letdown and I can hear him getting lots of milk when he feels so inclined to try. Although I will continue to pump 2 or 3 times a day just to make sure my supply stays up for as long as this lasts.

He is still having lots of wet diapers and I haven't increased his solids but I haven't cut them out either as I don't think either of those possibilities is the solution here. Before this strike he wasn't even receiving solids every day, and never more then half a jar and always after a nursing session, but he really likes to eat so it seems mean to me to cut it out. I also don't feel comfortable with the thought of him hungry and in pain due to teething so I have still been giving him his pacifier when he wants it (although he often spits it out or just chews on it).

So far I am having the most success with nursing him half asleep, so I have been waking him from naps a few minutes early. At night cradling him in my arms while standing and swaying has worked well enough to get him to nurse for 10 to 20 minutes although I have had to do quite a few side changes, which is fine. I also was able to get a great 20 minute session in after PEKiP yesterday which helped to reaffirm to me that this is just a phase. So I did manage to get about 4 to 5 good nursing sessions in in a 24 hour period and I am comfortable with that. He is sleeping 5 hour stretches at night and I am not willing to wake him up any earlier then that as he needs his sleep and I know he will let me know if he is hungry, as I go in right away and always try to nurse him whenever he wakes up in the middle of the night.

I sort of freaked out yesterday and started sobbing as it is quite an emotional thing to have your baby reject the breast, especially when it has never happened before, but reading all of your comments and tips (Thanks so much everyone!) and reading at other sources online has helped me realize this is just a little phase most likely due to a combination of teething and more awareness of the world around him, and that it will pass. I also need to remember that before this strike he was not nursing every hour nor did he want to and I shouldn't be surprised when he gets a bit annoyed with my trying to get him to nurse constantly. So I have eased back and am trying not to offer more frequently then every 2 hours, as I really want him to feel like everything is normal and not make a big deal out of it.

I was already doing many of the things before which encourage a positive nursing relationship. We take a bath together almost every day, I try to nurse him in his room with the darkening shades down a few times a day, I sing or speak to him in a low calming voice (this has recently also become a distraction -sigh-), I almost never have a shirt on in the middle of the night, TMI??, Well too late now LOL, and I have no problems nursing in public or offering it in public. I am just going to keep on doing what I have been doing and hope this is over before the hubby goes away for a week starting this Sunday night.

Nursing Strike???

2010-08-16T05:49:00.000-07:00

Teddy is teething and has not been too interested in nursing the past few days. I didn't pay much attention to that fact as he just has not been interested in nursing that much since hitting 4 months. He was still having lots of wet diapers and I thought he was nursing enough but now I am not sure.

As he now has twice refused to go on the breast at all. I just tried pumping and got basically nothing and now I am freaking out. My supply must really have dropped in the past days as I couldn't even get an ounce. I gave him half a jar of plum and pear just because I don't want him to feel too hungry but I have been trying to get him to latch on every two hours and he just won't.

Does anyone have any tips? I'm drinking nursing tea again and ate oatmeal for lunch.I'm also pumping on each side for 10 minutes every hour but nothing is coming out which is making me depressed and of course worried about supply.I'm committed to making this work as I know babies don't naturally wean before a year,and if I give him his homeopathic teething tablets right before nursing he will sometimes latch on for about 30 seconds, making me think it is really related to teething.

Sleep and Teddy = Oil and Water part III

2010-08-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

You can read part I here and part II here.

I went through all the books again, talked about it at length with Thomas and my doctor, and we decided we would try to let him cry for short periods of time and see where it took us. The first night was awful. He shrieked like a banshee and I was pretty sure if it was possible to destroy a mother child bond in a night I had just done it. We checked on him every five to ten minutes and after about an hour he was out. However he woke up again quite often that night and although he did sleep some longer stretches I still wasn’t sure if this was the right path for us. We had decided to give it 5 days so we plowed ahead.

Each day got better and the change happened so fast. We never had another night like the first. We also were able to customize our plan to suit our son. Both my husband and I came up with soothing strategies that only took a minute or two but calmed him right down. We also started doing checks more often, every 3-5 minutes if he sounded angry. We found that by doing this he never really got too angry and often was asleep within fifteen minutes. I still nursed him on demand up until 10pm and then would just soothe him if he had nursed within the past 3 hours.

Now a few weeks later we almost never have any crying whatsoever. We do our bedtime ritual and put him in his bed. He grabs at his blanket looks around and within five minutes he is asleep. He only wakes when he is hungry and would like to eat. Although recently I do think a bit of teething got in the way but that still just led to two extra wakings in which we snuggled him nice and tight for a minute put him back down and then he was out.

He has now managed a 10 hour stretch (although I am perfectly happy with a 3-5 hour stretch- I let him lead the way, if he wakes, he gets fed/comforted, and if not, well then I enjoy the extra winks) and he is so well rested. The best part is how much happier he is. Most mornings I get a cooing little guy from his crib and then get to enjoy a smiley happy baby with energy until he goes down for bed at 6 or 7. I love it. I love how much this has made a difference in all of our lives.

I know that in those first hard days I did not ruin our bond or teach him not to trust me or call out for me. I know he just needed that little push to figure out how to fall back asleep without any help. It was like he had been begging me all that time to just help him get some more sleep and now that he was finally able to, all was right with the world.

I also know that this path isn’t right for everyone or every baby and I do wish that we had never even had to consider it. But I don’t regret or feel ashamed for one minute that we took this route. It was the right one for us and I truly believe that it was one which involved much less tears then if we had continued on as we did.

In my circles here in “the real world” this is something that almost no one talks about and I wanted to share my experience. I hope I haven’t alienated some of the mummies too much who I know took a very different path.

Sleep and Teddy = oil and water? part II

2010-08-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

You can read part I here.

When you look at a sleeping baby there is pretty much no way not to go all gooey inside and get a big goofy grin on your face.

When you look at a baby screaming in your face who you have spent the last three hours bouncing on a ball and singing and talking to, it is pretty impossible to feel nice feelings at all.

I used to get so incredibly angry at this little person in our lives. I was doing everything in my human power to appease him and it still wasn’t enough. Didn’t he know how hard I was trying, what did he want from me? I get tears just thinking about it now because it was so so hard. I don’t think words can express how helpless I felt and how hard every day was to just barely eke through. We were surviving. That is it. Survival.

I read books, we met with our pediatrician multiple times, we even went to a sleep therapist. We were doing everything “right”. Trying to limit wake times, lots of fresh air in the sling, nice relaxing massages and baths, he slept in my arms, and still he would spend the better part of every night crying hysterically. Nursing no longer appeased him so I would sit in the dark in the living room and walk and bounce until eventually exhaustion would set in and he would sleep for at least an hour or two. I wasn’t asking for much, maybe just three hour stretches and a baby who would fall asleep in less than an hour and not cry all the time.

I had heard about cry it out and knew all the different opinions. Babies need attachment and their needs to be responded to, babies need closeness, babies can’t be spoiled- and I believed and still do, all of it.

At about 16 weeks Theodor reached a point where he started to kick me and scream every hour, this was a low point even for us and I decided that nothing could be worse then what we were doing.

So we took a big step and never looked back...

More coming in part III of Sleep and Teddy = oil and water?

Sleep and Teddy = oil and water?

2010-08-12T03:22:00.000-07:00

Sleep is such a huge issue when it comes to parenting. I honestly, and naively never really thought about it before Theodor graced the world with his presence. Then I spent about 3 1/2 months thinking about nothing else, because surprise surprise, I wasn't getting any.

Now I still think about sleep but normally these thoughts are accompanied by feelings of pride, happiness, and enjoyment that can only occur when getting chunks of sleep that are longer then an hour or two.

I love that my son actually has a bedtime and nap times now. Sure they are flexible based on how much sleep he has gotten so far in the day but before these were terms which just had no place in our lives.
Every day was a big fat question mark that quite honestly filled me with fear.
Would he sleep at all? How long would it take him to fall asleep at night? Would he cry for hours in my arms? Would he be happy when he was awake or miserable? Would I be able to get him to sleep even an hour not in my arms? Would he ever sleep more then an hour or two?
Would I make it through the day???

I now wake up every morning more or less refreshed and these questions don't even go through my head. Everything is so much better in ways I didn't even let myself imagine before because I just never ever thought we would get to this place.

Next Post: How I got to this place.

I just have to say...

2010-08-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

I just have to say...
that I love this.

I love being a mom. I love my son. I love my family of three.

It is so, so much more then I could have imagined or planned for and it is perfect that way.

My heart often feels like it is bursting at the seams it is so full. I am so thankful that I have been blessed with all of this. I try to cherish every moment.

The b word :)

2010-08-04T23:10:00.001-07:00

Honestly I never really got why people get so passionate about breastfeeding. Sure it is a great thing to do for your baby but
A) Doesn't everyone already know this
and
B) Doesn't everyone at least try to breastfeed

That is what I thought until I read how few Americans actually breastfeed. I live in a country where 91% of the women breastfeed so I really believe it is a non-issue here. Everyone knows that it is healthy and the people who don't breastfeed have a good reason for not doing so. Nursing in public is commonplace and no one bats an eye.

I never thought too much about breastfeeding before the baby came. I read a short book on it but knew I would just need people to show me if the latch was correct, etc.

I think the time involved came as a shock to me, as I just wasn't used to spending 45 minutes or even longer every hour or two feeding a baby. I didn't really have any pain, and Theodor latched on amazingly from the start. I basically just had to put him anywhere in the vicinity of my boob and he went down to business.But the first weeks it was really hard for me to always need to be the one feeding him and I had a permanent spot on the couch where I would read books and watch movies and TV series as Teddy nursed away.

Now of course 4 months later I miss that time!! I can't get Teddy to nurse for much more then 10 minutes now and he isn't interested even half as often as he used to be. He is still gaining tons but he clearly has figured out how to expedite the process. Which is a normal occurrence for babies as they get older.

I love the time spent breastfeeding him now and plan to breastfeed at least 1-2 years, although at a year I don't think I would do more then a morning and good night feed. I love breastfeeding and I think if more women had good help in the beginning and stuck with it for the hard initial first few weeks that the breastfeeding rates would go much higher. But I don't think that is the main issue which keeps American women from breastfeeding to 3/6/9/12+ months.

I think the biggest issue keeping women from breastfeeding in the States is the lack of paid maternity leave. Here in Germany we receive 1-2 years paid leave and have all the time in the world to get the hang of breastfeeding. We also never have to deal with pumping if we don't want to. Personally I hate to pump and I imagine that if I had needed to go back to work I would have switched to formula during the day because pumping is so time consuming, and I completely understand when other women make that choice. Our time is precious.

I'll end this with my number one tip for breastfeeding.
In the first weeks breastfeed your baby as long as (s)he wants and as often as (s)he wants.
That's it. It sounds easy but you would be surprised how many people will try to tell you that anything more then 15/20/insert random number here minutes isn't necessary and isn't helping that baby or you- you're just giving yourself sore breasts, and how hard it can be in the first weeks to completely give all your time over to the baby. But it really works.

Due to Theodor's jaundice, being in the hospital and my milk not coming in until day 5 Teddy lost over 10% of his starting birth weight. It was probably closer to 15%. He had been receiving an infusion so he was lazy at the breast and it just didn't look good. But he loved to nurse so I let him nurse all day and all night and within a week he had regained his birth weight and has been steadily gaining ever since, now he is at close to 18 pounds and it is crazy to me that my small (barely Bs!) have done that. That is all me.

Finally a little photo walk through my breastfeeding journey. Birth-->First Weeks-->Now

If you can do it in a gondola, you can do it anywhere ;) So for any mamas just starting out, it gets easier!

4 months

2010-07-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

Theodor is now 4 months and the feelings of love I have for him are immense. I am so happy that he is part of our family and that I get to be his mother. He is absolutely amazing and I am still in awe that he has only been with us for 17 weeks. I can no longer imagine my life without him.

In some ways I am happy that he was fussy and difficult and sometimes still is. He forced me to put all of my energy into him and that brought us together in a way which might not have happened if I had been able to put him down during the first months of his life.

Now things have changed. He is getting bigger and loves to interact with the world around him. He is rolling constantly from back to stomach and then kicking his little legs as hard as he can in the hope that it will get him somewhere.

He also giggles. His giggle is the most wonderful thing to listen to. He is just so happy when he does it that you can't help but feel the same. He loves to giggle when we fly him over our stomachs as an airplane. He also loves to giggle when we make certain noises. It is too too cute.

Solids are a big hit.Pumpkin is his favorite and yesterday he ate almost a whole jar of pumpkin and potato. I didn't think he would get the hang of it so soon. I've already picked out an awesome highchair to order as it looks like it is time.

Theodor also makes me honor and appreciate my mother even more then I did before. I am alone with Theodor for 12-14 hours a day most days and I so look forward to the break I get when I can hand him off for a little bit to my husband. My mom is a single parent and never had that. I honestly can't imagine dealing with all of the frustration, tiredness, elation, excitement, fear and the myriad of other emotions that come with parenting alone. She is truly my role model in all of this. I just love my family so much and feel so lucky to have them. My life is truly wonderful right now.

Classes

2010-07-21T01:47:00.000-07:00

I am one of those moms who loves baby classes. I often find myself at a loss for ideas after an hour alone with Teddy and the classes give me great ideas and a good reason to leave the house.

We do,
Baby massage- Teddy thinks it is boring, as admittedly do I- although I am pleased he doesn't cry the whole time like some of the babies.

Pekip- (prager eltern kind program) A parent and baby class where the babies are naked! It follows the baby through their first year and is really wonderful. We both love it.
Mother and baby fitness for after birth- This is helping me get back in shape after the baby, but it focuses on exercises to help the pelvic floor, not my saggy stomach. Teddy likes being with the other babies, and it is fun to watch them become more and more aware of each other. I like spending time with other moms and slowly getting back into shape.

Baby Swim- This starts in August and since Theo seems to love water I think he will really like it. We also will be doing some music and movement classes in the fall as well.

One of my favorite parts of the classes is getting to spend time with so many other babies as well. They are all so unique and it is fun to compare (in a nice good way!), commiserate, and see what I have to look forward to. Also fun to find out that Teddy is very vocal for his age. He coos and makes lots and lots of adorable little noises like he is talking with us. None of the other babies at my classes are that vocal yet which just shows me that I have the most special unique snowflake of all. LOL :D :D

Food!

2010-07-15T02:03:00.000-07:00

We started with parsnips... man do those things taste terrible. Teddy wasn't impressed. I think I will do pumpkin next as that at least has some flavor.

But the goal right now is just for him to get familiar with the spoon and all that jazz so it doesn't matter that he ate less then a baby spoonful. In Germany they recommend starting with veggies at 4 months. They used to encourage waiting until 6 months but the allergy rates didn't decrease so now they are back at 4 months. Teddy is 17 and a half pounds now and clearly wants to be eating with us so I am happy to start slowly introducing purees and porridges.

He also loves to drink water from a little cup. He sticks his tongue in and laps at it like a dog LOL. I'm hoping that he will be able to really eat purees for one meal a day in about a months time. I'll let you all know how it goes:)

Stinky feet

2010-07-03T03:06:00.000-07:00

Teddy has them.

Once Thomas and I were standing by the bed wondering what in the world could smell so strong. Turns out someone was sock free.

Not only are they stinky they are also cold, clammy and moist most of the time. Apparently this is a genetic thing and some babies luck out so to speak when it comes to the feet lottery.

Of course they are still the most adorable things ever.

Man boobs

2010-06-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

Teddy has them:)

He also has the most adorable chubby kissable thighs and legs ever.

You may notice the sposie diaper- all his cloth diapers are too small and I can't buy new ones till we are in the States in September.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a brand that does a good fit for plump babies? I had a mix of newborn diapers but never really had enough time to figure out a favorite brand/type. Although I do know I would prefer AIOs.

My mom

2010-06-02T03:34:00.000-07:00

My mom was here for 18 days and Teddy loved her from the start.

She got a whole lot of these from him.

And was also patient enough to bounce him on the exercise ball for an hour just to get him to fall asleep.

She also didn't mind listening to him scream in the car, since he, like a few other little babies I know, HATES HIS CARSEAT. We've done two 3 hour trips and at least 50% of those trips have been him crying. Someone is comforting him the whole time, he is fed on the hour, etc- but he just doesn't like the thing and if he isn't asleep he is pissed! And my mom never complained once even though his screaming can be more then a little tiring to listen too.

My mom's visit was amazing and really helped me get through Teddy's peak fussy weeks.

I feel like I have a new baby now. He is smiling all the time and even giggling. He loves looking around and today for the very first time ever he fell asleep not in someones arms!!!

Thank you mom for being an amazing role model and mother to me. I wish we lived closer to one another but I appreciate that you support me so completely in my life here in Germany. Theodor is so lucky to have you for a grandmother. I love you.

The hospital

2010-05-31T02:10:00.000-07:00

My mom is leaving tomorrow and I am so, so sad. I know it is going to be very hard without her and I wish that we didn't live on different continents. She has been such a support for me during these past 18 days and I feel so much better about everything.

I finally feel good enough to write just a little bit about how hard it was to go back to the hospital with Theo when he had the high bilirubin levels and jaundice.

We hear so much about attachment parenting nowadays, and how it is vital for your child and baby to feel close to you and loved and supported by you. Even if you don't follow attachment parenting, chances are good that in the first weeks the baby is being carried and held by you most of the time.You know these first days are important.

So you can maybe imagine what it is like to see your 5 day old child like this.

He is screaming at the top of his lungs, clawing at the eye mask on his face, hitting his hand with the infusion against the plastic, and all you can do is stick your arms in little slots trying to calm him by touching his hot and sweaty body. You do get to take him out every two hours to breastfeed him, change his diaper, and take his temperature; but then you have to put him back the whole time never seeing his eyes.

Every day different doctors come and ask questions which have already been asked by others. Different nurses come to take blood and you hear your baby really cry every morning. Every day you hope will be the day that he will be released so that you can at least spend Easter weekend at home, but even though his levels go down they also go back up and the breastfeeding doesn't seem to be working as his weight keeps dropping.

You spend Easter weekend in the hospital with your son no longer under the lights but still not allowed to go home.

Finally on the Monday after Easter you get to go home with the knowledge that his levels will be tested again and if they have gone up he will have to be readmitted.
You're terrified, and exhausted, but just so thankful to go home.

Thankfully 8 weeks later you are looking at a 9 week old boy who is starting to smile more and more often and the time is almost forgotten. But not quite.

Weight

2010-05-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

I gained about 40 pounds with my pregnancy with Teddy. This is how I looked at the end...

Now 8 weeks postpartum I only have about 6 pounds left to lose! :D However I have a whole lot of toning to do in the stomach area, as that is where I pretty much gained everything.

Carrying around a heavy baby all day (he is about 14 pounds now!) and doing lots and lots of walking (a minimum of at least 2-3 miles almost every day) is definitely helping my arms and legs to get toned but not really doing much for the belly.

I'm going to start working out again for real in June but I was wondering if any moms had some good exercises for the stomach that I can do at home, and ideally with baby?

P.S. I am only able to write this because my amazing, amazing mom is still here visiting. She is so great at cuddling up with her grandson and I am finally getting some minutes to myself- it is really lovely. Especially since Teddy still can't sleep by himself for more then 4ish minutes so he is pretty much on me 24 hours a day.

Here a picture of my lovely mom and I.

Say Cheese!

2010-05-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

Colic is hard. Fussy babies are hard. I know I have said that a lot over the past seven weeks but it has been a huge part of my life. Listening to a baby cry, especially yours, really pulls at the emotions and then when you pick the child up and they scream even louder it can make sleep deprived days and nights that much longer.

But we all know that there is supposedly a light at the end of the tunnel, Smiles!

You won't be out of the dark completely until 12-18 weeks if your child is more then averagely fussy or has colic but you will have smiles to keep you going once you hit 6-7 weeks.

We still have a fussy baby who likes to make faces like this.

But you know what? The crying isn't half bad when you get one of these at least once or twice a day:D

7 weeks!

2010-05-15T02:11:00.000-07:00

Theodor is 7 weeks today and it is amazing to watch his personality slowly emerge. It is also fun to hear from other mothers who spend time with him as it clues me in to things I never would have known.

Like who knew that many 7 week olds can't hold their heads up, and don't spend most of their awake time pushing as hard as they can with their legs and stomachs basically willing themselves to stand or sit (I honestly have no clue what is going through his head,perhaps he just hates being held and wants to assert his independence LOL)? He is also is in mainly 6 month clothes now which is honestly crazy. But no problem since my awesome mom just brought us so, so, so many wonderful 6+ clothes!

Apparently Teddy is very strong for his age, which is fine with me although it does hurt when he kicks me in the gut while breastfeeding or when he bucks against me as hard as possible because he doesn't feel like going in his carrier. Speaking of which we recently purchased a Beco Butterfly and I love it! Theo is already way too big for the infant insert even though he isn't over the weight limit for it but it works fine without it and is safe either way.

He is awake and alert so often now and it is really fun to watch him finally start to "see" things. He also now has the dreaded cradle cap which actually doesn't bother me much especially in comparison to the baby acne which I was always very tempted to pick at and pop,although I didn't.

He still cries for a few hours everyday and isn't comforted by being held by mom or dad but I am hoping and thinking that he will be one of the babies whose colic ends at 3 months so we are already over the halfway point!

My mom is visiting and she loves her grandson SO much. He also loves her if his smiles are anything to go by. Her visiting also means that I have now spent an hour away from Teddy. It was strange and hard but I am very excited that DH and I can go on a date now!

Lets just hope I can manage to talk about something other then Theodor on our first date:)

Here are 2 pictures. One of Teddy right after a smile (those things are hard to get on camera!) and a picture of "the giant" in all his glory.

5 weeks

2010-05-06T02:28:00.000-07:00

Teddy had his 5 week check up yesterday and everything looked wonderful. He is in the 97th percentile for height and weight which is fun for me- except for when I am carrying him up the four flights of stairs to our flat :D But carrying him around all the time is helping me get back in shape so I really don't mind.

Things are going so much better. We are getting out of the house often and going for walks, shopping, and meeting up with other mommy friends. Teddy is always on his best behavior for others so it is nice to watch him quietly lay next to another little one, especially since I know he won't do the same for us at home. yet.

Even though I am so excited for him to start interacting with us, I know I am going to miss this. The way he looks so angelic when he sleeps in the wrap.

The little smiles that he is starting to make and the strange little noises that can occur anytime whether he is awake or asleep.

How excited he gets before breastfeeding. He will get a bit hysterical and then instantly calm down when his head gets near my chest. He then gets an impish little smile on his face and takes a few seconds before ravenously digging in with abandon. It is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

I love him so much and feel so blessed to have Theo in our life. I knew mommyhood would be awesome but I was not prepared for how high the highs would be and how low the lows. I am so happy that my husband and I took this step and that we were lucky enough to have a baby like Theodor. Even though I sometimes wish he would stay my little baby forever, I know watching him grow and mature and become the amazing man that he is going to be, is going to be such a wonderful journey for my husband and I. The first weeks definitely have been.

Teddy as I see him when he falls asleep in the wrap- in this position I can get lots of kisses in while he sleeps :D

Rock Star

2010-04-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

I met up with a friend of mine whose baby is a week older then Theodor today. Her daughter is lovely and sweet and a completely normal baby. I was in shock. I honestly couldn't believe how "easy" she was. Not to say that taking care of a newborn is ever easy because it isn't but she was no comparison to Theodor. Before today I always sort of thought in the back of my head that all babies were like Theodor even though I knew from the statistics in my current favorite book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" that 80% weren't like him. Seeing it made it much more "real".

Her daughter was perfectly content to be awake and looking around and even could be awake in her pram without crying. She also cried very quietly and calmly when she was hungry not going from 0 to 100 like a certain someone I know who has no quiet/calm cry. My friend also mentioned that they can put her down and sometimes she will just coo and look around and sometimes she will even fall asleep. Of course her daughter also got fussy and cried a bit but it was honestly not even close to how Theodor is almost all.the.time.

and you know what? I don't mind. I'm not jealous, I just feel like a rock star:D

Because even though I have this baby who SCREAMS as LOUD as he can most of the time when he is awake, or cries for an hour or two in the middle of the night, I'm still getting a marginal amount of things done. I'm getting out of the house with him every day for at least an hour.I am still doing the majority of everything around the house since my husband works so much and I don't feel like I am drowning. Although it needs to be said I could not be doing any of this without my husband, who is a huge help and support. I'm getting a shower or a bath in every day. I'm still madly in love with my husband and can't wait to go on our first baby free date. I mean I even went grocery shopping with the baby and didn't freak out when he cried hysterically for the last twenty minutes spent checking out and walking home... although I did have to take a 5 minute break once we got home;)

So yeah I'm a rock star with an awesome "lively" baby and I am totally OK with it. Although I don't want to sugarcoat that I will be thrilled! when this whole colic thing is over:)

P.S. Chiropractor- he has gone 3 times and it has definitely helped. He sleeps for longer stretches now especially in the wrap- he has slept for 3 hour stretches a few times which is a BIG deal in our house.

The Osteopath

2010-04-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

Visiting an Osteopath was recommended by our pediatrician to help deal with our baby's colic/fussiness/ screaming. I read a bit about osteopathy online and we went ahead and made an appointment.

I went in with an open mind and we left 85 Euros poorer and with the impression that we had been conned :D The osteopath put her hand on Theodor's head and butt for about 20 minutes and explained that she was feeling energies that no one but a trained osteopath can see and encouraging Theodor's muscles/bones to go into the right position as they had moved during the birth and the process of getting into the right position takes time and can be painful for the baby hence the crying.

However she also said that even with "her treatment" we should just give the baby time-3 months was her suggestion, which surprise surprise just happens to be the time when colic ends naturally anyway, and make sure to give the baby lots of love and closeness. She also suggested 3 more appointments every 3 weeks.

So we left thinking she hadn't done anything, and now 4 days later I can honestly say I have noticed absolutely no change in Theodor, and that we definitely will not be going back.

We will however be trying out a chiropractor as hope never dies :D

Good Moments

2010-04-15T04:20:00.000-07:00

We have been home now for over a week and every day has some really wonderful moments. I feel like the moments also keep increasing and my love and awe for this baby is ever expanding.

I love Theodor's little toes and his hammy little sausage fingers which he got from my husband.
I love the way his bottom lip quivers when he is about to cry, and that the face we see from him most often is a big theatrical frown.
I love holding him when he is sleeping and even sometimes when he is screaming.
I love that he likes being in his stroller, car seat, and sling... most of the time;)
I love that when he takes a bath with papa it reminds me of my beautiful birth with him and the moment they put him on my stomach.
I love that he is a champion breast-feeder, able to latch on perfectly from the beginning and eating with voraciousness now.
I love that I get to give him kisses all over his soft cuddly body whenever I want.
Overall I guess I just love that I get the privilege of being Theo's mom.

Hope for us?

2010-04-14T03:53:00.001-07:00

I hope I didn't scare any of you with my last post-especially those of you who are pregnant with your firsts. Being a mother is lovely especially after the hormones calm down after the first two weeks. It is wonderful to gaze at your child and see you and your husband and a completely new life with its own preferences and looks and ideas, and it is especially amazing as they become slowly more and more aware of the world around them.

However after the first two weeks is also when colic,acid reflux, etc show up and for the about 20% of parents whose children have these problems the next weeks are hard. There is no blissed out laying with baby as the chances are high that baby is screaming while you pace the floors trying any and everything to calm baby down.

You don't feel much in the mood to do anything besides count down the days to 12 weeks when these problems are supposed to improve by themselves and you might finally get more then an hour or two of sleep in one go.

Don't feel bad if you are one of the "lucky" ones and sometimes feel resentful ... no one can possibly think listening to a baby scream for two hours is enjoyable or what they had always dreamed of when becoming a parent.

We were at the pediatrician today and he said that studies have shown that basically all the current medicines which people try with colic and acid reflux don't work and the only thing that does is seeing an Osteopath. Which we are doing on Friday. I will let you all know if it helps or if my days and nights are still spent mainly like this.

2 week update

2010-04-11T04:11:00.001-07:00

So the first two weeks have passed and I can honestly say they have been the hardest two weeks of my entire life. They have also been full of joy and happiness. I don't have time to write much since my baby is currently having acid-reflux problems and never sleeping more then 90 minutes and last night slept for all of 3 hours between 6pm and 6am but I wanted to update with a few points.

1. Theodor is gorgeous and watching him sleep makes me want to eat him up.

2. Going back to the hospital with your child is one of the hardest things you will ever ever do as a parent. Theodor had high jaundice levels and we had to go back for 5 days. It was so so awful, and I wouldn't wish an experience like that on anyone.

3. Lack of sleep can make you crazy, depressed, and wondering why in the world you wanted this thing. People who have easy babies will pretend like they understand but really there is a world of difference between 2-3 hour stretches of sleep and 0-90 minutes. Trust me.

4. It is OK to not love every moment of taking care of a newborn. It can be incredibly hard and thankless work, especially if your baby is "spirited". Don't take it personally, and don't feel bad for not loving every moment. You can be completely enamored with your child and love him more then anything and still not feel complete joy breastfeeding, especially if you are on hour 3 of a cluster feed;)

5. My husband is amazing, and I am so so happy to have him.

6. Teddy sometimes smiles in his sleep and it is the most beautiful thing to see. I can not wait until he starts doing it when he is awake.

7. Overall I love being a family of three now and I am so excited to see where the next two weeks take us.

Theodor Gustav has come:)

2010-03-30T01:44:00.000-07:00

Theodor entered the world at 10:14pm on March 27th after over 25 hours of birth. I was able to use hypnobabies to almost have the completely natural birth that I wanted. Active labor started in the evening on March 26th, at around 9:00/10 pm we started timing contractions and we went to the birth center at 2am by the time they checked me at 3am (a birth had just ended so Thomas and I went on a walk for an hour) I was already at 5 cm, and at around 10am I was at 10 cm dilated!! I used hypnobabies throughout this time to keep myself in a hypnotic state which helped me breathe and relax through each contraction- they were sometimes VERY uncomfortable but never impossible and I knew I could do it. My midwife was super impressed as was I LOL. Unfortunately though my water wasn't breaking and since I was now completely dilated that needed to happen for the birth to continue. We tried for 4 hours to get the water to break naturally but nothing was working. They didn't feel comfortable breaking the water themselves at the birth center because it was possible to push Theodor up away from my birth canal and the danger was there that the cord would go before his head when they broke my water, so it was decided that I would transfer to a local hospital to have my water manually broken.

Once we got to the hospital the doctor did an ultrasound and commented that not only did I have a lot of amniotic fluid, he said that the baby was also probably a bit big- maybe between 8 and 9 pounds. I didn't take much stock in this but I was happy that he was willing to break my water because his second suggestion had been a c-section. At this point it was now about 3 in the afternoon and I had been in labor for over 17 hours so when they told me they were going to give me something to increase my contractions I had them give me a short working pain reliever instead of an epidural.

The doctor broke my water and there was so so so much- it was crazy. I was having strong contractions and the baby moved right down just like he should. At this point it was about 7pm and I had been in labor for almost 24 hours and I started to feel the need to push. My midwife said I was doing everything perfectly and that many women liked pushing more then the first part of labor since you were actively doing something. Well after about half an hour of excruciating pain I asked how much longer- hoping for something like 5 minutes LOL when she said not more then 2-3 hours I freaked out. I was able to get an epidural but in Germany they don't keep you from feeling the pain and pressure of your lower half so that you can actively help with pushing although they do keep you from feeling contractions. I can honestly say that the worst contraction med-free was nothing like the pain of the pressure I was feeling with the epidural while pushing.

I pushed for over 2 hours with the epidural and in the end was able to deliver Theodor vaginally with the help of a vacuum and the doctor and midwife pushing on my stomach and Thomas by my side as I screamed and pushed it was so intense my nose started gushing blood at one point and after each push I swore that I couldn't do it anymore (I should add that DH was SO SO amazing for the whole birth he could not have done a better job helping me). I also later found out that I was very lucky to not have a C-section forced on me-I will be sending a card to the doctor and midwife on duty as only later did I realize what a supportive team they were.

It turns out there was a reason why pushing was incredibly difficult and why it almost wasn't possible for my body to get him out- Theodor was a little over 10 pounds!!!!!! His head and body were also over the averages at 21.65 inches long and his head had a circumference of 14.96 inches.

When they put him on my stomach the first thing I said was Oh my gosh he is SO big. I couldn't believe someone that size had come out of me. I was completely exhausted and in shock but SO SO happy! Theo then started nursing like a champ right from the beginning!

I am super pleased with my birth. I was able to go natural for almost the whole way and I honestly don't know if I could have delivered him vaginally without the help of the vacuum which wouldn't have been possible at the birth center. I also think there was a reason my water wasn't breaking on its own, as the way everything happened was so calm. Driving on our own to the hospital from the birth center, being able to make informed decisions about the next step without pressure, and delivering without an emergency C! For this I really have Teddy to thank as his heart rate was perfect throughout- he also had perfect Apgars:D The one downside for me is that I both tore and was cut although this is a case in which I think the cut was necessary. I won't lie though it is quite painful and the healing will probably take a good long while. I still wouldn't change anything though!

Here are 2 pictures of our "little" prince :)

41 Weeks

2010-03-25T02:15:00.000-07:00

Everything still looks great with the baby so the waiting game continues:)

4 Things

2010-03-20T02:10:00.000-07:00

So first off I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant, to have made it this far, and to have a wonderful supportive husband and family. I am truly blessed and thankful.

However I am very pregnant and hormonal and there are a few things I would like to get off my chest. Please know that I am not referring to anyone reading my blog- so don't take any of these comments personally!

1. I know how I look. Honestly. Telling me you feel sorry for me, or that I look "HUGE" so it can't be long now, surprisingly does not make me feel better about myself. You know what does.. Saying I look great even if you can't do it with a straight face. The hubby can however which has given him points with me for life. Also I should add that I only dress up to take the weekly photos. I normally have a T-shirt of my hubby's on with PJ pants- and the chances that I have showered that day are only 50% so him saying I look great with a straight face is impressive:D

2. I'm going for a natural birth which means that I don't get to decide when the baby comes. Obviously if I could I would not still be waiting. So please don't ask me for my due date and then look at me in surprise that he isn't here yet- What do you want me to do? Pull him out with my bare hands?! Or better yet please don't email me or write me a message on Facebook asking if he is here. Honestly, I update Facebook regularly so you can bet that when he does come there will be at least a freaking update with his stats. And if you are family- we will call you! Seriously.

3. Please do not tell me that babies decide their birthdays. I am guilty of this and for that I am forever sorry to all the women I said this to. Honestly I GET IT. But you know what? I am averaging about 4-5 hours of sleep a night- half of which are on the couch, I'm not able to partake in almost all activities which I enjoy or which could take my mind off things and I'm just going to come out and say that yes I would be happier at this point with this guy outside of me. I get it will be stressful, tiring, difficult- but this pregnancy is already all of those things with no freaking rewards. I'm not falling asleep with a little one curled up next to me, I'm falling asleep with 7 pillows situated all around my body to help relieve back and leg pain (little secret: doesn't work!).

4. Please let me remember these things when I am not pregnant. I have a feeling that like the morning sickness of the first trimester these feelings are quickly forgotten (although I still remember being truly miserable during the first trimester and am honestly not sure how I got through it) and I would hate to say or do any of these things to other pregnant women when the time comes.

I've been limiting my contact with people so that I don't bite their heads off, after reading this post I think it has been the right decision:)

40 Weeks

2010-03-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

I got a pregnancy massage yesterday and it helped so much with the pain and discomfort I am feeling! I have a lot of back pain which is partially due to carrying almost all of the 40 pounds I have gained right in my stomach. The massage really made me feel human again and it was great. I am still uncomfortable but I have another one booked for next Wednesday as it is so worth the money.

I feel completely at peace with hitting 40 weeks. Now that Teddy can't come early there isn't really anything for me to hope for LOL. So I am just going to enjoy these next few days or weeks until he comes. I am allowed to deliver at the birth center until 42 weeks= April 1st and I am sure he will play along and come before then so now it is just a trying to stay as comfortable as possible until the time comes game :D

39 Weeks

2010-03-11T02:08:00.001-08:00

39 Weeks and still pregnant. I'm not sure how I feel about it all. On the one hand I am so happy that Teddy is doing well and is comfy in my stomach, on the other hand I am not so comfy and would really, really like to meet him. Ahh the confusing last weeks of pregnancy.

37 Weeks!

2010-03-01T00:53:00.000-08:00

So here is a picture of me at 37 weeks. I am going to be honest and just say that baby is welcome to come any time! Preferably sooner rather then later:)

Infertility

2010-02-16T12:03:00.000-08:00

I spend quite a bit of time on various message boards, unfortunately a bit too much in both my hubby and my opinions- something that I am working on, and I have learned a whole lot about infertility. In fact before we even started TTC I had already found an infertility clinic near us with good reviews, and had tons of supplements and ideas ready to help things alone. Then it turned out that I was one of the lucky ones, who had a crazy cycle but still got pregnant easily. Unfortunately a close family member of mine wasn't so lucky.

They were trying well before we started, around Feb/March of 2009, and are still trying now. They went in for testing and it turns out that a pregnancy without medical help pretty much isn't in the cards for them. Now they are doing their first IUI before moving on to bigger things. I am really praying that this is it for them. The chances are very good that they will get pregnant in 2010 with a bit of medical assistance but I want their journey to pregnancy to end this cycle. I can only imagine how hard it has been for them to be trying all this time and I really want them to get to experience the joy of seeing two lines on a pregnancy test this month. It also hurts my heart that so many people deal with infertility and often can't share their pain and struggles openly with their friends and families.

So if you have any baby dust to share send it their way,and if you are dealing with something similar you are in my thoughts and I want a BFP for you!

Busy, busy, busy

2010-02-16T07:27:00.001-08:00

We have renovations going on and have spent the last two weeks away from home. Thankfully we are back in our flat since Saturday and I feel so much more relaxed. We also have everything we need for the baby so hopefully things will really calm down soon so that I can start just looking forward to this exciting time we have ahead of us. Until that point though I thought I could at least update with a little picture collage:)

33 weeks

2010-01-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

and still feeling great :)

Confession

2010-01-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

I'm sick with a cold and feeling a bit miserable- thankfully the hubby comes home tomorrow so that I can complain to someone LOL but instead of writing about that I thought I would bring up something that is probably a whole lot more interesting to everyone.

When I said I didn't care if it was a boy or girl....

I totally lied.

I really, really, really wanted a boy this time around. I just felt that I am supposed to be the mom to at least one son and really wanted a boy not only for me but also for my husband. I was secretly nervous at our big reveal appointment and when she said it was a girl I was a bit disappointed. Then our little guy changed positions and it was clear he was a boy, as further ultrasounds showed us in even more detail, and I will admit I was completely psyched.

Now I should mention that we would like three or four children and if one of them isn't a girl we will be adopting a girl because I absolutely can not imagine not having the experience of having a daughter. I need a daughter. My mom is a single parent and our bond means so much to me. Sure she drives me crazy half the time but she is also the most amazing person I know and a complete role model to me. So it isn't as though I can't imagine myself as a parent to a girl or that I don't want a girl.

It is just that this go around I really wanted a boy for some reason, and I have to admit I am not completely sure why. I think partially because I think it will be good for me. I am a girly girl who grew up with little male influence as I had no father figure in my life and no siblings. I get along great with guys and have a lot of male friends but I think having and trying to relate to a son will be a really wonderful experience for me. Not in a stereotypical way mind you- I never subscribed to the girls play with dolls/ boys play with trucks mentality but more in a getting to be a part of raising a little boy to adulthood and watching him turn into a young man with the help of my amazing husband.

So now it is out. I probably wouldn't share this tidbit at a family gathering but I don't think I am too ashamed. In fact I will even let it be known now that next time I will probably be doing everything in my power (which is admittedly and thankfully not much) to have a girl. I mean really who doesn't want at least one of each ? :D

32 Weeks

2010-01-21T11:54:00.000-08:00

I had a bit of a scare yesterday and today. I had very little brown spotting both mornings when I woke up. Now normally this wouldn't give me pause but the hubby is out of town this week so I wasn't really sure what could have caused it. The first day I ignored it, and the second day I called my doctor.

I went in today and Theodor looked great- everyone at the office always comments on how active he is, he basically never stops moving there. Which is always a really nice reassurance. They did a CTG (monitor the heart rate of the baby and if I have contractions for 20 minutes) which is something they started doing at 30 weeks so nothing special, and then she did a transvaginal and a normal ultrasound. Everything looked really good. My cervix is still completely closed and Teddy was absolutely fine. So she prescribed magnesium for me and told me to take it easy. It wasn't my normal doctor though so I have to go back tomorrow. I'm not worried but it is a bit stressful when you think how easily labor can start at this point.

I look totally tired in this picture but I promise I still feel really good! This was just taken at the end of a long day:)

Two Months

2010-01-17T03:38:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow we hit the two months left mark. Wow. It is still completely unreal to think that I will soon have a son. This whole time I have felt like we still have so much time and now it is really starting to hit that, hey we really don't. However I am happy to have a lot going on as that keeps me from getting too focused on any one thing.

I think one thing that has really helped me stay calm and relaxed through all of this is having wonderful midwives and a great OB.Never once have I heard you shouldn't do this, or any negative comments. It is great, especially when I read some of the silly warnings that places like baby.center and the like send out in the weekly emails. I've actually stopped reading all of them, as they just aren't worth my time.

I feel good, and the baby is doing great and that is all that matters.

In other news, I feel so so sad for all the people in Haiti. I hate not being able to do anything besides donate money. I simply can't imagine the pain that the whole country is going through right now. My thoughts are with everyone there.

30 Weeks!

2010-01-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

I have hit 30 weeks and couldn't be happier. This pregnancy has been so wonderful so far (well excluding the first trimester;) and I have to say that I barely "notice" that I am pregnant anymore. Although my hubby sure does! LOL I am so happy that he thinks my belly is gorgeous and still finds me incredibly attractive. I know not all women are so lucky and I can't imagine going through this without his support.

We have major renovations going on right now so our focus is more on that then the coming baby which I think is great, otherwise time can tend to draaaaag. I also recently made a clothing inventory on Excel after already making a baby product inventory, what stills needs to be bought inventory, and a cloth diaper inventory LOL, and I feel really good about what we all have. We still need to pick up a few items ... like socks! as of now Theodor has no socks:D and we also don't have that many newborn clothing items as I think 0-3 is more practical. Although to be fair me saying not many is probably not the same as other people's definition of not many. As of now our washing machine could break and we would be fine for at least two weeks haha. But since I have a feeling that this guy will be a little chunky- I'm not running out to buy too much more just yet. We'll see what happens! In terms of nesting it is just nice to know that for the most part this little guy could come tomorrow and it would be fine. Well except for the whole tons of renovations going on and mommy and daddy wanting a big healthy 40 weeker:)

Cloth Diapers!

2009-12-31T04:39:00.000-08:00

So I am sure many of you have heard that cloth diapering is a WHOLE different ballgame that what our mothers are used to and know. There are tons and tons of options out there and for anyone planning on staying at home the time needed to wash them really isn't anything over the top. Although I am not sure if I would use them if I was working outside of the home I know many women do and love them and their daycare providers will use them as well.

I finally have my "starting stash" completed and I thought I would share it here. These things are just SO darn cute. I am so excited to use them, and the hubby is also totally on board with using them, which is of course great!If anyone wants more information on cloth diapering I highly recommend the sites, www.diaperpin.com and www.diaperswappers.com.

The difference a few weeks make

2009-12-30T14:08:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T01:37:00.000-08:00

Missy over at Scarlet Baby posted this and I thought I would join in on the fun.

If you want to join in just copy this entire post. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then post this on your blog.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both! For kids definitely wrapping paper as part of the fun is ripping the paper off. Or when my grandma was alive slowly using a scissors to cut the tape,and then slowly unwrapping the gift so that you could fold the paper and use it again:) For adults and awkward shaped things like bottles of wine, definitely gift bags.

2. Real tree or Artificial? REAL!!! Absolutely nothing beats a real tree. I can't stand fake. I think especially since it is so cold in MN and surprisingly this year in Germany real just fits much better as well.

3. When do you put up the tree? The last weekend in November or the first weekend in December. A little tidbit for everyone: Did you know most Germans put their tree up on Christmas Eve? I hate that tradition, and we don't and won't follow it. They also don't celebrate that Santa comes over night, they celebrate mainly on the 24th and open presents then. Another tradition which we won't be passing on.

4. When do you take the tree down? Normally right around New Years.

5. Do you like eggnog? Not really but I love Glühwein- mulled wine, which you get at all the Christmas Markets here in Germany.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Mall Madness. It was a board game and I wanted it for 2 consecutive years. The first year I didn't get it for Christmas I was SHOCKED. How could Santa do this to me? When I got it the year after I was thrilled and made my mom play it with me for hours on end. It was actually much more difficult then it sounds it was sort of like a time management board game.

7. Hardest person to buy for? The hubby! He buys everything he really wants for himself just so, so it is always difficult to figure out what to get him.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Myself LOL. Most family.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope I'm agnostic and the hubby is atheist, it would be a bit weird ;)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail- and it was expensive to send them to the States but worth it. If you are reading this mom I forgot to send you one!!!! I sent one to all your siblings and forgot you, I'm super sorry it wasn't on purpose. I'll try to send one out soon for you:)

11. Worst Christmas ever? I don't know Christmas is almost always wonderful:)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie(s)? White Christmas, Christmas in Connecticut, cheesy Hallmark, ABC family and lifetime Christmas movies.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Normally December but if I see something that I know someone will like, then earlier.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yep- all the time. The hubby hates it because I recycle all gifts that I don't think we can use BUT I don't like clutter and I don't believe in storing something that another person could actually use and appreciate. I also normally don't have a reason to recycle Christmas presents- most people know us well enough:)

15 .Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sweets!

16. Lights on the tree? Yep- colored and white are my favorite. The hubby prefers plain white.

17. Favorite Christmas song? hmmm not sure I have a favorite.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home.BUT we are going to start doing one year here, next year in the States with my mom.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? No I bet I would miss one.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? 1 present from family Christmas Eve, the rest and all the presents from Santa on Christmas morning!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Certain relatives ;)

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? We have such a crazy mix and that is just how I like it. Handmade, wood, stuffed, glass, etc.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We never really did Christmas dinner, the in-laws do meat fondue which I think is boring. I am making whole trout for us this year and next year I will do carp.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Nothing:) Really I have everything I want or need this year. Although I do sincerely hope that all the ladies I know here on the Web and in real life who have been trying and praying for a successful pregnancy have this wish fulfilled in 2010.

If you play, please leave me the link so I can read your answers.

Hetta Hoo

One question

Life in Germany: You won't get that for free

Motherhood, friendships, and a ramble

I'm in love

Life in Germany: The Movies

Bad Mommy Confession #3

I'm Back

This Blog

Thanksgiving and being thankful

Family

18 months

Fall!

Wordless Wednesday: Medieval Festival + Fever = cuddles

Toddlerhood

How staying at home works for me

Time Passes

Wordless Wednesday: Couldn't pick just one

Ladies Night

Wordless Wednesday: Good Weather

Enjoying time as it passes

Wordless Wednesday: He would have tried it again if I hadn't stopped him

Deutsch Donnerstag aka German Thursday

Wordless Wednesday

Mom Pet Peeve

Kind of Wordless Wednesday: Yes it's a slide, and yes he made it to the top.

Decisions, decisions

First Steps

Getting my body back

Room change

Bad Mommy Confession #2

Teddy is one! .... for like 2 weeks now LOL

The Fun of Travel, part II

The fun of Travel, part I

I'm back!

Getting the itch.

Mom rivals

How things change.

Fabulous!

Birthday!

Christmas Jams

9 months!

Where has the time gone?

6 to 6

We were away on holidays,

Dennis

Busy, busy, busy

Ooh lemons

We have movement!

7 Months!

Feeding habits

Baby Showers

We're back ....

I'll be back

Theodor and Chairs

Bad Mommy Confession, Number 1

5 Months

The nightshirt

Deception

I'm an Idiot!

All over.

White Bread

Who knew a dark room could be so interesting?

Nursing Strike???

Sleep and Teddy = Oil and Water part III

Sleep and Teddy = oil and water? part II

Sleep and Teddy = oil and water?

I just have to say...

The *b* word :)

4 months

Classes

Food!

Stinky feet

Man boobs

My mom

The hospital

Weight

Say Cheese!

7 weeks!

5 weeks

The b word :)