{Working} Mom Problem #1927 Don’t Wear White

This is probably the biggest no brainer in the whole world, right?

I wouldn’t wear white if I was going to be home all day with the kids, but I figured what could it hurt to wear my new white shirt to work? 

I figured wrong.

By the time I sat down at my desk I noticed an unidentified red something on the bottom of my shirt.

A little later I noticed snot on my shoulder.

And I splashed breast milk on myself after I was done pumping.

All of that before noon.

Miss Aleesia also spit up all over me promptly as I walked in the door.

White shirt fail.

Thankfully I didn’t have a white shirt on the day I spilled an entire travel mug of coffee on myself in the car. On the way to work.

Or the day I shook the bottle of coffee creamer up and didn’t realize the cap wasn’t on all the way.

My life is so glamorous at all times, clearly.

Boys Need Lovies Too #babyblankets

It is no secret that we have a major love of the lovie in our house.

Both of my girls have one – Gianna has three, actually – and Aleesia is just starting to get the hang of hers.

But it has occurred to me, just the other day actually, that boys need lovies too!  There are some really cute baby boy blankets out there!  Aden and Anais make some of the BEST swaddling blankets ever but they also make some really cute security blankets (or, in my world, lovies!)

See:

Seriously so cute.  And they are really soft and breathable too.  If you are in the market for a cute baby blanket for a little boy – I highly recommend these ones (but there are a lot of other cute options out there too!). Because boys need lovies too, ya know!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Mommy Hot Spot and Babyblankets.com.  The opinions are my own.

Feed the baby

We have had about a million issues with breast feeding in the past three and a half months.

Between the tongue & lip tie, the dairy issues, the reflux, minimal pumping output etc. it has been quite the journey so far.

I have not been able to pump enough for Aleesia to have while I am at work.

Which is sort of stressful for me. And discouraging.  But I just keep trying.  And we breastfeed when I am home.

I feed her in the morning and when I am home at night/on the weekends. So that is fine and seems to be working okay.

We put her on Alimentum as a supplement and try to give her 1/2 and 1/2 bottles.  Which generally makes her reflux & spitting up worse and if she has to have a full formula bottle, it’s worse than that.

My problem is I feel like I have no handle on how much she is eating, when she is eating, how she is doing etc.  Mike gives me the 10,000 foot overview during the day which is fine and I know he is doing a great job taking care of her. 

I just feel like I need to be more in control of things for some reason.   I don’t know if it’s because I am so tuned in to her slow weight gain (even though it’s okay, she’s allowed to be tiny!) and the other issues she has had or if I  am just being all mama bear for no real reason.

But not being the one at home, I am feeling a little lost at how to stay in “control” and make sure Aleesia is getting all she needs.  The most important thing is that we feed the baby, however we have to do that.

I am working on increasing my supply, but at this point it feels like I am spinning my wheels.  I do everything that “they” suggest and still I can’t pump more than 2.5-3 oz at a time max (that’s double pumping too!)  - but typical for me is just about 2 ounces. 

I would love to hear how others navigated a breastfed/formula fed relationship because that is where we are at right now. 

The Do It All

Every day is a crazy whirlwind of Do It All

• Feed the baby.
• Get ready for work.
• Switch the laundry.
• Make sure Gianna has everything she needs for school.
• Do the dishes.
• Make coffee.
• Get lunch together for work.
• Remember pump, cooler, pump parts, etc.
• Find keys.
• Make sure Mike knows who needs to be where during the day and when.
• Work. work. work. Pump.
• Make doctors appointments.
• Remember to write down doctors appointments.
• Answer questions from Mike on where things are at home.
• Work. Work. Work. Pump.
• Remember to eat lunch.
• Work.
• Head home. Make sure I know who has the kids and where I am picking them up from.
• Feed the baby.
• Make dinner.
• Get the baby to bed.
• Get Gianna to bed.
• Pick up the house.
• Wash bottles/pump parts etc.
• Pay bills/respond to emails/catch up on the next days schedule.
• Pass out.
• Wake up a few times to feed the baby. Repeat.

That is just a wee bit of the chaos that is going on in my life right now. Except school is over for Gianna now and Mike is done with lacrosse, so thankfully a few pieces to our crazy schedule are lifted for a few months.

I can’t help but laugh during the day when Mike calls and asks me where something is, and I know even though I spend very few waking hours at home. Or a friend asks about a preschool event, and I know the answer even though I don’t do preschool drop off/pick-up.  It’s comical when I have to squeeze a last minute doctors appointment in for Aleesia and rearrange our whole day in the process. 

It’s amazing what goes on in my life every day, even to me sometimes.  I know I’m not alone in this – probably the majority of women (mom or not!) are the “do it all” in their family.  And I learned from the best one (thanks, mom)!

What do you do in a day? I bet it’s more than you think!

Giannaisms

It has been a while since I have bragged on Gianna’s silly personality.  She is still silly, with a side of sass and a lot of seriousness.

She says everything with such authority – she could convince you the sky was pink if you let her.

A few gems from the past few months:

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Me: Why do you look so big all of a sudden, Gianna?

G: (hands on hips, head cocked to the side) because I grown-ed, duh.

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Me: Gianna, did you just drop something?

G: Nope.  That was just Aleesia’s toy.

Me: okay….

G: You said I shouldn’t play with the baby toys. So I can’t pick them up eee-der.

(also, touché my little friend)

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G: Look mommy, I am givin’ my horse a mo-hog.

Me: A mo-hog? are you sure?

G: Ya mommy.  I’m a professional hair girl, I do mo-hogs the best.

(noted.)

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G: Girl eyes are pretty because they are blue. And girls have eye lashes because eye lashes are fancy

Mike: Gianna, where do you think you got your blue eyes from? (fully expecting her to say mommy and/or daddy)

G: God!

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my mom refers to me and my sister as “the girls” and our birthday is coming up.

G: So, maybe my daddy can just drop me off at the Girls’ birthday party

Krissy: Where will daddy go, G?

G: I guess to just play ‘crosse or sumpin.

later….

G: Grama, when is the girls’ birthday party? Is it today? We should get them a present.

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and a few glimpses into her imagination:

I hope she always stays so silly, it’s one of her best traits.

Don’t Blink

I can’t really believe that this little girl started her first year of preschool in September.

She has grown SO MUCH since then.

Her biggest accomplishments are being able to draw all of her shapes, being able to draw a detailed self-portrait (OMG you guys, it is so cute! her most recent one includes nail polish, bracelets, a necklace and a bow!), cutting with scissors and probably a hundred other things I can’t even think of right now because it is late.

She has made new friends. Read a lot of new books. Learned a lot of new songs.  She can even say the pledge of allegiance! My little chatter box is even MORE chattery and social than she was when she started.  We are really proud of her and all she has learned.  Her most memorable lesson is probably that you don’t run at school “or else you fall and bust your eye open”.

I think she is really going to miss her teacher and her school friends, but she will tell you that she is VERY excited for summer be-cation to start!  (and we are slightly glad to have a break from the “clothes fight” for a few months!)

I am just not sure how they grow up so quickly and you don’t even realize it.  Before I know it she will be graduating from high school. And THAT is totally unbelievable at this point.

Right now, I am trying not to blink too fast so that I can soak up all of her.  I don’t want to miss a thing.

Happy first-last day of school, my little bug.  (or, happy first-first day of summer break!)

Today

Today I woke up early with miss Aleesia, fed her, snuggled her and held her close.

Like I do every day.

We added in some Gianna snuggles once she rolled out of bed with a side of Disney Jr.

Like we usually enjoy doing on the weekends.

Mike made me coffee and breakfast.

He is awesome at taking care of that kind of stuff almost every morning.

Gianna gave me some special preschool crafts she made and explained them each to me.  And she told me which ones were for Aleesia.

She does this every day, weekend or not.  She is so proud of her special crafts!

We went to church.

something I do with the girls almost every sunday, but today mike came too which was wonderful.

There was a lot of laughing and family time as we all prepared dinner, caught up on anything that may have changed since we had dinner together last night, played with kids and enjoyed each other’s company at my sister’s house.

We are blessed that this is our normal interaction, and not saved for special occasions only.

Aleesia cried and didn’t nap much.

Typical!

Gianna was hilarious, occasionally mouthy and overtired by 3pm.

Typical!

The laundry got folded. The dishes got washed. The toys got picked up.

Just another day around here. Although Gianna did take a few minutes to “clean” my room for me while I put her clothes away.

There were kisses, tears, hugs and more kisses.

Can’t get enough kisses around here. Ever.

I attempted to get some pictures of and with the kids.

Which went how it always goes – I bribed Gianna with chocolate and the baby had her hands in her mouth most of the time!

Mike and I sat down together at 8pm. I got some work done. He watched something on ESPN.

Typical!

It was just a "regular” day in our house today.  We actually got to spend the whole day together, which is so rare I can’t remember the last time the 4 of us were all together for 24 hours. 

It was just the day I wanted – one with my little loves & my true love – one with all of the important people in my life.  It really was just another day in {my} paradise.

Wordless Wednesday

so fresh

so clean

The Hap

Back to work full time.

Mike is in the heat of lacrosse season.

Gianna has a social schedule that I am slightly jealous of.

Aleesia is finally a smiley, talkative baby who remains quite petite.

Trying to maintain my milk supply (pumping is not going so well).

And of course the usual life stuff like trying to keep the laundry done (which I suck at), dishes done and the house is some sort of order.

It is sucking up all of my time, you guys. That is what is happening right now.

A lot of treading water, figuring out of new routines, making small people happy, making the husband happy,  trying to minimize the post-baby fluff etc.

What’s the hap in your neck of the woods?