I am Mommy, age 29, of one amazing little nine month old girl. She loves to climb and never sits still, so we'll call her Monkey. I have been married to Monkey's Daddy for 4 years. I am a teacher turned stay-at-home Mom. I traded report cards, conferences, lesson plans, field trips, and early mornings for diapers, breastfeeding, first words, first steps, and even earlier mornings. Join me for the highs, lows, and humor of being a new Mom.
So I have made good on my New Year’s Resolutions, even if it is only the 3rd day.
Each day I have..
1. eaten 1700 calories or less
2. done high cardio for 90 minutes (running, biking, jump roping, boxing, etc.)
3. done strength training for 30 minutes (lifting weights, pushups, situps, etc.).
I am unbelievably sore but I feel so good about what I am doing. I can only hope that I start to see results if I stick with it. Not sure yet if I am going to do a rest day or not. I have read that it is good to rest your muscles, but I also want to see results. Hmmm… Guess I’ll have to think about that one.
Here’s hoping I can continue my 2 hour workouts and diet while juggling being a stay at home Mom! If anyone is out there, in cyber-land, reading this…I would love to hear your story.
When Monkey was about 6 months old, we started thinking about introducing cups. There are so many kinds and so many opinions! Lots of Moms and Dads swear by the sippy cup; others opt for the straw. Some people bypass the baby cups entirely and head straight for the regular cup. We knew we wanted something in between…if only for the sake of our carpets!
After talking to Dr. Wonderful (the pediatrician) and asking other parents, we decided to use a sippy cup that uses a straw instead of a spout. We tried the sippy cup early on and she just wasn’t getting anything out of it. I tried it myself, and it wasn’t easy. They make them so spillproof now that it’s harder to suck the liquid out. I figure if Monkey is going to have to suck that hard, that can’t be good for her teeth. After doing a little research, I found that straw cups are better for a baby’s dental health and cause much less cavities.
When she started walking, she started carrying her cups around the house and drinking “on the go.” I was worried at first that if she fell, she would hurt herself or the straw might get jammed far into her mouth. But they make these cups so that there is very little straw that sticks out past the lid, so they can’t stick it too far in their mouths. Also, the straw is very bendy and soft.
The cup featured with Monkey in the picture above is the Nuby Straw Sippy Cup. I chose it because it was in my local grocery store, BPA free, dishwashable, and easy for Monkey to hold. She throws this around… A LOT…and I can guarantee that it really is spillproof.
When Monkey reached 11 months old, we decided to get rid of all her bottles. We had no complaints from her at all. She actually prefers these cups. So we can say we were bottle free and pacifier free (that’s another story…) before her first birthday!
When I was pregnant with Monkey, I gained a lot of weight. After she was born, I thought the weight would naturally come off. It didn’t. It has been really hard trying to fit in weight loss while being a good wife and mother, especially now that Monkey is walking. Let’s face it, losing weight takes a lot of time. Time to work out, time to plan/prepare healthy meals, time to track your calories consumed/burned. Time is a precious commodity for any Mom. But it is so important to make the time.
I am turning 30 in June and I have resolved to lose 30 pounds before then. I call it “30 by 30″. Somehow I think I would not feel as old if I can feel really fit. Honestly, I would love to lose 50 pounds, but let’s just be realistic. If I want to lose this weight the right way and keep it off for good (or until the next pregnancy!) then I should really lose about 1-2 pounds per week at the most. There are 21 weeks until my birthday and I think 30 is a very reasonable weight to lose in that amount of time. I’m not on the Biggest Loser so I don’t expect to lose 10 pounds every week. I know it’s going to be difficult. I will be tired, sore, cranky, and hungry. But I also know that when I set my mind to do something, nothing can stand in my way.
Monkey has been learning lots of new words. She doesn’t say much yet, but she knows so many of the words that we say to her. It amazes me every day. Yesterday, I couldn’t find her other sock and I said, “where is that sock?” She immediately looked for it, found it, and brought it to me. I was floored. She responds well to simple commands (give Mommy a kiss, hand me the ball, give that to Daddy, etc.) and is learning parts of the body.
The latest and greatest body part is of course…the belly! I hope you enjoy this video of Monkey proudly showing off her baby belly.
Monkey’s new skill of the week is…kissing! Now she can’t pucker up or smack her lips just yet, but if Mommy or Daddy says, “give me a kiss” and puckers up, she will bring her mouth to ours. So adorable!!
Is it just me or does it seem like just when you’ve almost reached your breaking point, they do something new and amazing to bring you out of your funk? For the past few days, Monkey has been teething like crazy (crying, drooling, biting, and super clingy!!). At the same time, she is walking all around the house, showing me that I did not in fact babyproof every room as well as I thought I had. (I swear she is either taller or her reach is longer–maybe both!) It has been very tiring. Then, out of the blue, she started giving me kisses, and it just melted my heart! What a sweetheart.
This morning I woke up to kisses from my little Monkey (who let me sleep until 8am!!) and a beautiful blanket of snow covering everything in sight. Does it get any better than that?
So Monkey and I were at Wegmans, our local grocery store, and this very old man was sort of following us with his cart. I started to speed up a little and he called out, “Ma’am! Ma’am!” so I turned around and he said, “I’ve been looking all over the store for that item (pointing to my cart); can you tell me where to find it?” I look back to my cart to see what he’s pointing at, and realize it’s Monkey. So I smile at him, not sure what to say in this sorta cute but mostly awkward situation.
My husband thought it was creepy, but I thought it was cute. This guy really reminded me of my Poppa (my favorite grandfather). I get a little sad when I think of my grandparents because I know if they were still alive, they would get such a kick out of Monkey. She would be the light of their lives. And she would have loved them. So when I see people that remind me of my grandparents, I try to stop and say hi. I have her wave and smile to them. I don’t know what their lives might be like. Maybe they live far away from their grandchildren, or maybe they don’t have any at all. I think they should be allowed to share in the blessing that is my beautiful little ten month old girl who just wants to smile and giggle at everyone she meets.
Yes, I plan on teaching Monkey all about the danger of strangers, but I also hope she never loses her joy at meeting new people, her happiness at showing off her new teeth, and her pride in showing off her “hello” wave. Someday I will tell her about how she made many strangers’ days a little brighter, just by being herself.
So I am wondering when babies are supposed to start saying “no” to their parents. Somehow I did not expect that it would be this early! We have been teaching our little monkey “No” now for about two months and she is really getting it well. But lately, her favorite thing is to tell us no. It sounds more like “Na! Na!” but always said with a stern, serious face and usually yelled.
Example: Every morning, Monkey wakes up, Daddy goes in to change her, Mommy grabs a bottle, and we all meet back in bed for about half an hour before the day really starts. During precious family time, Daddy usually tries to sneak a few more winks while Mommy gives Monkey the bottle. Well, not anymore. The minute he shuts his eyes, she crawls right up to his face and shouts, “Na, na, na!” (to the tune of “oh, no you don’t!) usually accompanied by a few good smacks to the head. Cracks Mommy up every time!
So even though Monkey is almost a year old, this will be her first Christmas since she was born in January. We are so excited that she will be big and mobile enough to really enjoy her Christmas and not just sit there like a lump. I would love to incorporate some great traditions with her starting this year. If you have any ideas let me know. Right now we have a beautiful advent calendar that Grandma made. Every day of December we put another ornament on the tree until the tree is filled up to the top on the night before Christmas. We plan on doing a big Christmas morning with stockings by the fireplace and presents under the tree. I am toying with the idea of building a gingerbread house or some other activity like that. Again, I would love your ideas!!
And then there’s the tree… We will go and pick out a tree later this week, but I am a little nervous. Not sure if she’s going to ignore the tree or obsess over it and try to climb it, pull on it, eat it, etc. Some of my friends gate their trees off from their toddlers, but I don’t want to go buy another gate–besides, I think that would look tacky. So Moms and Dads out there in internet land…what do you do about your Christmas trees and your toddlers? And do you have something special that you do with your family every year? I would love to hear about it!
