A Chapter Is Closed

DD is completely done nursing as of this last week. Six months ago I was just longing for this day when I could finally have my body back all to myself. No small child pawing at my chest in public, no retreating to a quiet place to nurse or struggling with a nursing cover and a wriggly baby, no more pain from being 30 minutes late to my pumping break. No more leaking, no more planning a wardrobe around which tops would be the quickest and easiest to remove (poor DH - I think he liked that part HAHA!). But now that it is here I am kind of sad. She's 14 months this week and growing up so fast. We still have 60 oz or so in the freezer that she will get over the next couple of weeks, but then its all whole milk and grown-up food from here on out.

I am so thankful that I was able to nurse DD for this long. Other than a little bit of trouble in the first three weeks, we both figured out what to do and I was able to supply all she needed (and then some). I am thankful my employer allowed me plenty of time to pump and provided a private place for me (before they technically had to). I am thankful our daycare providers had no issues handling the frozen milk and preparing bottles for DD.

These days her milk comes in a sippy cup. More often than not its whole milk. And she no longer wakes up in the middle of the night to nurse and cuddle with me. If she does happen to wake, its because she launched her binky out of the crib and screams for a replacement - once it arrives she happily cuddles with her baby dolls and drifts back off to sleep. My sweet, little, independent girl.

On the plus side, I am getting more done at work with an extra hour added back into my day. I do miss the breaks though ;)

Amusement Park Fun!

We took DD to the local amusement park this weekend. She's too little for most rides but we did find a few she could enjoy. The ride operators kept making us put her down to see if she could walk first (I guess to show she had enough balance?). Poor peanut - I have a feeling those height restrictions will keep her from riding all of the cool rides until she's almost a teen!

She did get to ride the carousel and we even got to move up to a horse once we proved she could walk (too bad we couldn't get a pic of that). Here's mommy & A getting ready to ride:

 She was way too happy to be on the ride with all the big kids :)

Adventures in Couponing

Today I headed out to CVS to cash in on a few deals. For $30.76 total out of pocket I was able to score some great deals! Here's what I did:

Transaction #1:
Pampers Diapers - $25.00
Used $2 CVS coupon, $3 manufacturer coupon, and a $4/20 purchase coupon
Total was $17.25

Transaction #2:
CVS wipes 3-pk - $6.79
6 Degree men's deodorants - $15.00
Used $1 CVS wipes coupon, $4/20 purchase coupon, and $10.75 in Extra Bucks from previous deals
Total was 6.57

From this transaction I earned $10 Extra Bucks for buying $30 worth of baby items, and $5 Extra Bucks for buying $15 in Degree products.

Transaction #3:
8 Suave Naturals family sized shampoos - $12.00
Gillette disposable razors - $7.99
Chips Ahoy - $3.49
Used $3 Gillette manufacturer coupon, $10 in Extra Bucks from previous deals and $4/20 purchase coupon
Total was $6.94

From this transaction I earned $4 Extra Bucks from Suave and $3 Extra Bucks from Gillette.


Fun fact: We actually use the shampoo as body wash and to refill our hand soap dispensers. For some reason there are usually great deals on shampoo but not always on the other items. I figure soap is soap, right?

Family Fun Day!

Saturdays are our Family Fun Days. Its usually the only day of the week that we can all be together and just do whatever we want :)

This morning DD slept in until 8 and woke up in a great mood! We had a mommy-daughter date for breakfast while daddy went to work out. We joined some ladies at church for a nice breakfast at IHOP. Note to mommy - bring more toys and snacks next time! The restaurant knew we were coming but they were not really prepared for us. By the time the food came out DD was not happy. Thankfully some pancakes and melon made everything better.

After DD's morning nap we headed out to the pumpkin patch to play and explore. I got a Groupon deal yesterday for a family season pass - $5 cheaper than single-admissions would have been for our family. DD loved the petting zoo (especially the baby goats) and had a blast running around following the other kids. She lasted about an hour before it was time to pack up and head home for nap time. Can't wait to go back in a few weeks and take a hayride out to the fields to pick out some pumpkins :)

I can't wait for next Saturday! We are taking DD on her first trip to the zoo :)

Redemption

Just when I feel like I am failing at this mom thing, DD goes and does something just to make me smile :) She learned to give kisses this week, or rather, she willingly gives out kisses to us now (before she would only kiss & hug her stuffed animals, not people). She woke up in the middle of the night and I definitely took the opportunity to snuggle up with her for a bit. She kept leaning in and giving me kisses and giggling :) And then she snuggled in next to me and fell back asleep for awhile (she never does this!).

Maybe she will like me afterall ;)

So not Supermom

Sometimes I look at my daughter, and think to myself that I am failing her miserably as a parent. There are times when I feel like I am just going through the motions, just faking my way through the day. I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing with her - and I feel like I am failing miserably.

• She's fed, and she loves to eat, but the child is not gaining as much weight as her Dr. wants. AK eats everything we put in front of her (except for avocados and mac & cheese). Yet she's only gained 3 lbs since she was 6 months old!!! She currently weighs 18 lbs and she's still in 6-9 month clothes (but the 12m outfits are getting closer to fitting).
  
• I still have not scheduled her appointment to have her blood drawn. I was supposed to do that 6 weeks ago.....
  
• I have been putting her to bed in a clean outfit and skipping the PJs since it means fewer clothes to buy and less laundry to do. I am sure this will be mentioned in her future therapy sessions.
  
• She's finally outgrown the MOTN feedings. But instead of enjoying my uninterrupted sleep, I find myself missing those middle-of-the-night snuggles. I clearly remember being pissed one of the last times she woke me up, and as I went into her room when she was crying (holding out her hands and saying "mama!!!") I very sternly said "A K, CUT IT OUT!".  Seriously, who gets mad at a baby for waking up hungry? :(
  
• We don't read 20 books together every day. In fact, my toddler watches a LOT of Nick Jr every day. I always swore before she was born that she wouldn't watch TV until she was 2. I think we made it to 6 months. It captures her attention long enough for me to sneak off to get ready every morning.

 And I could go on. But when I go to pick her up at the end of the day and she comes running to me saying "MAMA!!" and gives me a big smile and a hug, I have hope that maybe she does like me after all.

Confession: How I Actually Do Laundry

Laundry isn't my favorite chore (really - who actually likes to do laundry?). We have come up with a system that works for us even if it is a bit unconventional:

1. A laundry basket is kept in the hall outside the bathroom. As clothes come off, they go straight into the basket. Dirty towels get thrown straight into the basket. Its even close enough for me to launch dirty washcloths and towels from the kitchen into the basket :)

2. When the basket is full, it gets dumped into the washer - no sorting. I drop in a detergent pod and let the washer fill with cold water. Once it has agitated for a couple minutes, I open the lid and let it sit for a few hours (usually I start this process before I leave for work). This lets the stains soak and also prevents wet clothes from just sitting in the washer after the cycle. The clothes don't sour this way.

3. At lunch, or when I get home from work, I shut the washer and let it finish cycling.

4. Clothes are hung to dry on the clothesline I strung up on the deck if the weather allows, or just tossed into the washer if its rainy/cold. (Clothes on the line do get a 5 minute tumble when they come in just to make sure no spiders or leaves are hanging out).

5. The clean clothes sit in a basket at the foot of our bed. We pick out of the clean clothes each day until the dirty basket is full again and the clean basket is close to being empty.

6. As the clean baskets stack up, I keep consolidating them down. I will fold the easy things like the big towels, making more room in the clean baskets :)

7. When I run out of laundry baskets or get sick of tripping over the piles at the end of my bed, I fold the clothes and put them away. Usually this happens once a month or so.

We wash 2-3 loads of laundry per week for three people. And I will also confess - I let DD go to sleep in whatever clothes she was wearing that day (if they are not too dirty), or I will change her into a clean outfit to wear to bed. No jammies :) Less to wash, and it makes our mornings easier.

The end of diapering is in sight!!

DD is only 13 months old. But in about 6 months we will go through potty training. I can't believe its almost here! This is the "method" we will be using with her, which apparently is a pretty common method everywhere except the US.

I found some great training pants at TJ Maxx awhile back for $.99/pack. The old-school Gerber trainers (anyone else remember those??). I remember my mom using those with us! They have a protective outer layer to help contain messes so they will help with those first few outings and any accidents that may happen. And we already have a couple of the Baby Bjorn potty chairs ready to go. Now I just have to hope that she's big enough to wear 18m pants by the time we do this since I can't find any underwear smaller than that. Oh well, they recommend the kids going commando for at least a month anyway :)