Feeding Little Bit.

Alice.com is having a Gerber Baby Food Giveaway. Alice.com is a Mother's dream. They are a non-perishable online grocery store.....With FREE Shipping. Their prices are about the same as a normal grocery store and it has this awesome instant coupon feature.

For the giveaway, Alice has asked us to blog about the question:

What’s your best baby mealtime advice or feeding tip?

My best tip is keep distractions away during feeding.

Easier said than done, I know. At 8 months, Little Bit is far more interested in everything around her than in eating. The dogs, Daddy, even the ceiling fan is more compelling than Momma and the spoon....unless she gets to hold the spoon, of course. She's really good at getting the spoon into her mouth, but getting it there with food on it, not so good. I like to give her a couple of banana puffs to work on while I'm heating up her baby food. It keeps her busy and works on her fine motor skills. The puffs are great because they dissolve fast. She is still toothless, but she is oh-so-eager for real food.

I don't have a current picture of her eating, so this one a 5 months will have to do!

Uh Oh, We're in trouble now!

It all started with this:

The bouncy chair. We introduced her to it at the end of August. Liv loves to bounce. She will try to bounce when you are holding her, loves to bounce on mama's squishy belly.

The Wiggle came next:

I love that wiggle. She still gives me that happy wiggle first thing every morning when I get her up.

Here is where she figured out how to get up on her hands and knees, she's so proud of herself. Rightly so! (September 9th)

I recorded this Wednesday 23:

She had it down pat by the weekend. I spent the whole weekend chasing her around the house. It was so much fun, but, Oh Boy, do I need to baby proof!

Zalebaby sent me this one Monday morning:

She is doing her best to get to a sitting position. It's been so exciting to see her learn and grow. She'll be 8 months on the 4th, I wonder how long it will be before she starts walking? Zalebaby thinks it will be by Halloween. I doubt it, but I'll let him dream. Me, I'm still looking for her first tooth.

6 months

Dear Olivia,

I can't believe you are 6 months old already. I still find it hard to believe you are ours. It is so wonderful to have you in our lives. Mummy and Daddy love you to pieces. You can roll from you back to your belly. Most nights you sleep on your belly, Marty McFly style, with your butt in the air.

You can hold your bottle and feed yourself, mostly. You've been eating baby food for a month and the only thing you don't seem to like is Peaches. You love sweet potatoes, carrots and heaven help me, peas (you take after your dad that way) Applesauce gets a thumbs up, bananas are ok.You can almost sit by yourself. You tend to lean forward and prop yourself up on your hands, rather than sitting up, you are almost there. You sleep though the night now, mostly, and you can put yourself back to sleep. That is so wonderful.

We took you to your cousin Sascha's 1st birthday party: Daddy gave you a pretzel.This is what you thought of it:I can't wait to see what is next.

I missed it.....

Zalebaby just called. Liv rolled over, all on her own today. Yay Liv! The only thing that makes me feel better about missing it, is that Zalebaby missed it too. ;-) He left her on her back on the floor, playing with her gym. When he came back, she was fussing because she was laying on her belly. She hates belly time. Not only had she rolled over, she had wiggled herself around 180 degrees. It's time to start baby proofing......

It's so hard to believe she's 5 months old. Where did the months go?

Olivia's Birth Story

I woke up like normal on the morning of the 4th, tired and grumpy. I went to the bathroom and found that I lost my mucus plug. Yes, it was as disgusting as it sound. I pee'd, wiped and went "eww....that must be my mucus plug". I didn't think much of it, as the plug can fall out anytime in the last month, it is just suppose to be an indication that things are getting ready to go. I did have a just-in-case thought, so, since I hadn't packed my hospital bag yet, (hey, I still had 3 1/2 weeks to go) I gathered all the stuff I wanted to take with me that was upstairs and put it in a duffel bag in the closet. The I got ready and went to work. I didn't even wake Zalebaby up to tell him about the mucus plug. At work, someone asked me when my last day was going to be. I told them I was going to work until I went into labor. Ha-ha!

All day I had been feeling cramp-y and back achy. I never thought I was in labor, nothing was rhythmical, just a general low level cramp/ache at the end/bottom of my uterus. Around 3:00 I decided I was tired, grumpy and achy enough that I was going to go home early. I was getting kinda worried, because I was still oozing jelly-fluid and it had gone from being mostly clear to bloody and it was freaking me out. So, before going home, I thought I'd better call the Dr's office. (Where I work is between home and the Dr.'s office and I didn't want to drive all the way home to turn around and drive back to see the Dr.)

When I called the office, my doctor had just left to go to the hospital and the office told me to go and meet her there. I really didn't want to go to the hospital, I truly didn't think I was in labor and I didn't want to be the pregnant lady that cries wolf--especially since I had a scheduled Dr's appointment the next day. The nurse convinced me to go to the hospital anyway, so off I went. I called Zalebaby and gave him a heads up that I was going, but not to worry, it was just for a quick check up.

I was totally clueless.

I went in where I was told to on the hospital tour (that I went on the week before). I was checked in and sent to a maternity check-up room. It was freezing in there and deserted. It really creeped me out that there was no-one there. 4 or 5 examining rooms and a big nurse's station, no-one there but me. I waited about 10 minutes in the room they put me in until the midwife nurse showed up. She nicely explained that my office's midwife nurse was in another delivery and my doctor would be by in a little bit. Would I mind if she did an exam? She strapped me up with a fetal heart monitor and a contraction monitor, put my feet in the stirrups and did the exam.

She told me that I was 2 cm dilated and having regular contractions.

HUH?

She flabbergasted me. The little cramps that I was feeling were honest-to-goodness labor pains. The little sheet with the jagged lines doesn't lie. Even knowing that, they still didn't feel like what contractions were suppose to feel like. About 1/2 hour later the doctor came by and did an exam. She told me I was 4 cm dilated and that she was going to give me fluids with an IV and see if the contractions stop. If they stop, I can go home, if they don't, she wasn't going to do anything else to stop them, I'm far enough along to have the baby. She left and the midwife came back in with the IV and stabbed me 4 times before getting the vein (!$!@#$@!!). I hadn't been hooked up for more than 10 minutes when my water broke. While I was all alone.....on the phone with my sister. It was the weirdest feeling. I felt it pop, just like it feels when a water balloon pops in your hand....but it was inside of me. I nearly freaked out when it popped--over the sensation, the fact that the fluid was greenish black and knowing that I was going to have a baby soon. Katie freaked out over the phone and told me to call the nurse. After my water broke, I could really feel the contractions. I could feel the water pulse out of me in time with the contractions. Shudder. Such an odd feeling.

I no sooner hung up the phone on Katie then the midwife came to check on me. I told her my water broke, she looked under the sheet and got still. The scary type of still that nurses do when they don't want you to know there is a problem. (Olivia had been poo-ing in there, she wasn't supposed to be doing that) She told me she was going to get my doctor and left me there, sopping wet and in increasing pain. I'm not sure what was more distressing at the time, being wet or how much the contraction hurt. The contractions went from being irritating to holy shit that hurts as soon a my water broke. They also never seemed to stop. Long painful squeeze that stopped for a second to start all over again. The pain offended me. I was not prepared for it.

I called Zalebaby, told him it was time to come to the hospital and what else to put in my hospital bag and what else to bring. I neglected to tell him he could leave most of it in the car until after the baby was born.....when he finally got to me, he looked like we were going on vacation for a week.

After I called Zalebaby, my phone rang and it was Marian, the CFO of the company, calling me to ask where her keys were (on her desk where I told her they were...4 hours ago) I told her I what was going on and she asked if Zalebaby was there, when I told her not yet, she promptly got in the car and came to sit with me. She was so sweet. I had no idea she was coming and she got to me the same time as Zalebaby. Since he hadn't eaten all day, she went and got him a sandwich. By the time she got back, the nurses had moved me to a birthing suite and I was fully dilated and ready to push, we were just waiting on the doctor to come to the room.

Funny thing about that sandwich. Zalebaby and I had been left alone in the birthing room and he decided to eat it. He brings it over to me, a simple ham sub, and the smell of it had me hollering at him to find me a trash can, in which I proceeded to toss my cookies. Over the smell of a ham sub---while I was starving. I wanted something to eat in the worst way. I had lunch at 12 and it was now 8 pm. I was soo hungry. For future reference, birthing tables have a shelf on the side with a kidney shaped bowl, for just such an occasion. Just so you know.

Fast forward to 9:30. I had been pushing for about an hour or so. I had been given an epidural, which didn't work completely. I had two "hot spots" where I could feel the labor pains. They hurt like hell, but at least I knew when to push. When I first started pushing, the Dr did her exam and told me that Olivia was "sunny side up" which meant she was facing outward rather than inward like she was supposed to be. So the nurses had me laying on my side to push, to try to get her to turn over. We tried both sides and she wasn't budging. When the Doctor check me at 9:30, she hadn't changed position and she was getting a severe cone head from all the pushing. The Doctor suggested getting a C-section, she opened her mouth to give me the reasons to do it and I was already saying yes, ok, lets go. I was tired, hungry and hurting, I didn't care what way she was coming out, I just wanted to meet Olivia.

The Doctor wanted to do a C-section for a couple of reasons.

1) Olivia's poo was a hazard to her lungs

2) She was facing the wrong way

3) My hip bones were not opening wide enough to let her pass through in the direction she was facing, causing the big cone head

4) Didn't want me to push for 4 hours or so before having to do an emergency c-section

5) This is just speculation---she didn't want to be in the hospital for another 5 hours (I was her only patient that night)

Like I said, I happily agreed. The hospital staff got the OR ready and I was wheeled in. I was moved to the operating table and the anaestheologist put my arms in padded blocks so I was in a T position and strapped me down. I needed it because the medicine for the c-section was giving me the shakes. It also made me feel like I had a pillow under my knees. I didn't, but it felt so weird I asked the anaestheologist about it. I could feel them open me up and pulling/tugging on me. Zalebaby, who was sitting by my head, stood up in time to see them pull Olivia out. She immediately starting crying and they whisked her over to the triage cart to vacuum out her lungs and do all the other things they do to newborns. The cart was behind me to my left and I kept craning my head around to try and see her. I wanted to see her in the worst way. Zalebaby was over there, watching her. I was so tired and all I wanted to do was hold her. They brought her to me for a moment while the Doctor and mid-wife were sewing me up, but I couldn't touch her, as I was still strapped down. Then they took her away to do more tests. I fell asleep on the table.

I finally got to hold Olivia about 12ish while I was in recovery. She was born at 10:30. It seemed like forever until I got her, but hold her I did and welcomed her to the world with a boob. Not that I had any milk yet, but hold her and love on her I did.

1st Week Back

They say the first week back is the hardest. I hope they are right, because this week has been the worst. I so want to be home with Liv and not at work. Sigh.

Liv at 1 week with Aunt Sandra:

3 weeks

4 weeks

5 weeks

6 weeks

7 weeks

8 weeks
I am sooo in love!

Olivia J came to see us early, 2/04/09

Olivia surprised us by coming a little early.....I'll write up her birth story soon. Zalebaby took this photo when she was a day old.

4 weeks to go!

I'm counting down.....4 weeks to go and I'm not sure I can stand it. Not that I'm impatience or anything........

My girlfriends threw me a lovely baby shower last Saturday. a bunch of them went in together and got me the glider and ottoman I wanted. I was shocked and tickled pink! Dodie and her man Ewan got my the high chair I wanted. I'm so over the moon about it all.

The diaper cake was made by Shelby, who helped Lyra express her wild side (for all that she is 20 days old)Megan got her share of cuddling in......Not that I blame her!

And here is Mommy with the baby!
Chele came and she made the yummiest artichoke dip as well as bringing me the cutiest outfit.
The Sweater didn't come from the shower, one of my blogger friends, Maggie Grace Creates made it for Olivia, as well as that receiving blanket and a beautiful scarf (that I'm wearing today and didn't make it in the picture...Sorry!)

Week 34--Who needs sleep?

Star-Gazer Lilies, my favorite flower. I kinda like the above picture as I don't look as big as I am. In the below picture, I'm much more true to size. My belly measures at 46 inches. Considering my waist is usually a 29.......

I'm waddling all the time now and I only have one pair of shoes that fit. Thank you, water retention.

I still can't sleep. I'm starting to dread bedtime. I doesn't bother me on the weekends when I can just take a nap when I need to, but trying to get enough sleep to function at work, that just makes bedtime suck. I'm sleepy, but I can't get comfortable in the bed, rolling my big belly over is a big production number and it hurts. It's an endless cycle, I roll over because the hip I'm laying on hurts, which hurts my belly while rolling over (and wakes the bean) and I lay on the other side until that hip hurts, or I need a drink or I have to go to the bathroom (which usually happens after I roll over and Bean starts kicking) Arrgh! I am cranky and oh-so-tired.

Who needs sleep?

Week 31 picture

I get bigger and bigger every day. I'm in week 32 now, and the picture above was from last week. I went to the Dr. yesterday and everything is going well. I am happy I haven't gained any weight this month. Total weight gain.....21 lbs so far with 8 weeks to go. Go Bean, eat the extra fat I've been carrying. Let me tell you, I have not been starving myself by any means. I've been appalled by how much I have eaten over the holidays, it just I can't eat a lot at one sitting, so I've been grazing on fruit and chocolate....evidently the small (but many) portions have kicked my metabolism into gear. (yes, I do work the protein and veggies in, but I crave chocolate and fruit)

My girlfriend A had her baby shortly before 8pm last night. Those are the only details I have....I haven't heard back from either of them yet. Her hubby called me at 5:30 to come sit with E until her Uncle got there. Unfortunately, I was at the wall-mart by my work, so I called Zalebaby and he ran over to watch E. He pulled up, the hubby (on the porch) hugged E, jumped in the car (A was waiting in the car) and they left. At 7:57 we got a text picture of Lyra. I can't wait to see her!

Week 28

Here I am in all my after yoga splendor. Boy am I getting big. I'm so ready to be done with the pregnancy part. I'm starting to get awkward and I'm having weird stretchy pains around my belly. Kinda like cramps but they are very light and take place just under my boobs and slide down the sides of my belly. They are nowhere near where normal cramps would be. I'll have to ask the Dr. about it when I see him on Friday.

I've got 2 more Christmas presents to make, then I'm done. Yay. Not that I've taken pictures of anything I've done so far.....

November's update

Ok, so I've been procrastinating on writing about the latest events in my life. Mostly due to depression and Christmas present rush. Now that I am done with most of the presents that need to be finished by Saturday and I've caught up with my blog role (yes, I'd rather read about everyone else than post my own stuff) I'm going to sit here and write.

Lets start off in the middle of November. One of my best friends from college flew down from Ohio for a long weekend. She came to see me and to help me organize Bean's room, which is currently the guest bedroom. It was so great to see her, J is a mother of 2 boys that she home schools. I have the utmost respect for her and for all that she and I are the same age, I want to be her when I grow up. I've always thought of her as my "Anne of Green Gables" kindred spirit. She helped me move my bookshelves out of Bean's room and into the formal living room (they actually match the dining room table) where they look great. The she lugged all the baby crap that was in the formal living room upstairs to Bean's room and hid it in the closet that we emptied of all the camping gear and sporting crap (moved to shelves in the garage-Zalebaby wasn't happy about having his golfing stuff in the garage)

We also went shopping. I registered for baby stuff at Target (Target gave me a $20 gift card for registering, thank you Target) She steered me thru the stuff you must have and the stuff that is a waste of money. It was soo much fun and much too short of a visit.

For the Thanksgiving Holiday, Zalebaby and I went to my Mother's house. We left Wednesday morning after dropping the pooches off with Zalebaby's cousin Chel. Thank you so much for watching them, it made the drive so much easier. The drive up went really well. It took us about 10 hours, even with all the pee-breaks. The ride home was so bad Zalebaby is refusing to go north for the Holidays ever again. It took us 13 hours on Sunday to get back and we even left my Mom's a 4 am. We'll go north for the Holidays again, but we're going to a extra day off of work rather than try to travel on peak days.

We went up to my Uncle Ron's for Thanksgiving day. That's been a family tradition for as long as I can remember. Not that I've made it there for Thanksgiving in years....the last time I made that trip was in 2003 I believe. My sister Jill was preggers with Ty, who is the first grandbaby.

That's the only problem with living in Georgia. Pennsylvania is so far away.

Ty and Ronald's new baby Sophia.

Anyway, Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. I got to see the new baby (my cousin Ronald's first) and see how much the other kids have grown since last Christmas, eat more food that I should (Jill made these awesome pumpkin chocolate chip cookies) and visit with everyone. Uncle Ron introduced Dale to Skype (we talked to my sister Katie in Germany) I'd been trying to get him on it since Katie moved to Germany in August, but he couldn't be persuaded to try it. Well, it got him all fired up about it. On black Friday, Mom and I went to Babies-R-Us and we picked out a crib and dresser for Bean and she bought it for me (thanks Mom!) They just called me today and let me know I can pick them up, here in Atlanta. Yay! Now to find a friend with a truck.

Brady, Mom and Ty

After we picked out the nursery furniture, mom and I wandered down to Circuit City to see if they still had any of the web cams that were on sale. We lucked out and found the last 1. It was a HD web cam on sale for $9.95. Woot! Mom paid $59.95 for it and got a $50.00 mail-in-rebate. Thanks Mom! I was planing on getting it for myself, but she wouldn't let me, so as soon as we got home, I went on line and submitted the rebate for her, so she should be getting her rebate check any day now. Friday night was spent at Jill's eating Stromboli and playing with the kids.

Mom, Mom's sister-Aunt Gerry and me (Week 26)

On Saturday, I thought I was going to brunch with one of my cousins, it turned out that Mom and Jill threw me a surprise baby shower. I was truly surprised. It was so great to see my aunts and older cousin (and some of the younger ones!) I usually see them and their families Christmas day at our family Church dinner, but its so chaotic and I don't get to spend anytime with them. The shower was great, I got to visit with everyone, play some games (which I lost, badly) and I enjoyed myself to no end. The shower had a great theme. Instead of giving a card with their name on it to identify the gift giver, they were asked to give a favorite children's book and write a note to Bean. I came back with a large stack of fun baby books and a lot of gift cards, since everyone wanted to make sure they didn't over pack my car.

2008 Chomp and Stomp

The Cabbage Town Chili Festival was huge this year. Lots of chili was consumed, as well as Sweetwater Beer (yes, over the course of the day I consumed 2/3 a glass of beer......you've got to wash all those chili samples down with beer)

The kids had fun dancing to the bluegrass music and the must have been 50 different craft vendors. If I would have had any extra money, I would have come home with the best onesies for the bean.

Zalebaby is in the blue and he is incapable of letting anyone get a nice picture of him.

Bonus Pictures: 24 Weeks......Please notice the chili stains around my belly-button. The shirt was a present from my friend Heat.

22 weeks

22 Weeks and counting. I'm getting bigger and bigger. That blur at the bottom of the picture is Tata, or Mr. Potato Head, Zalebaby is responsible for that name. Not me.

Must learn photoshop

Here I am at 21 weeks, 2 days. I really must learn how to photo shop.....I've never seen that under-arm waddle before. Bean is moving all the time now and I'm starting to pinch when I reach for something below me while I'm sitting. I usually feel a movement after I do that, so I'm sure she giving a kick for squishing her.

Zalebaby is being so cute, he's started blowing raspberries on my belly every chance he gets. Makes me teary-eyed. He's also starting making plans for her, like teaching her to play golf, so he has a golf partner.

I got a present this weekend!

Too Cute! Thank you so much Mary Ann! Not only did I get these pretty washcloths, I felt the baby move. It felt like a goldfish bumping on the glass of the bowl looking for food. weird image, I know, but thats the best way I can describe it. So very weird and exciting.

growing...

Boy do I need to clean that mirror!...... but I'm growing, I had to take out my belly ring! I can still wear a few of my normal clothes, but I'm finding maternity wear much more comfortable, even if I have to roll all the waistbands. I've been assured I'll grow into into them.

At the doc's yesterday and I weighed in at 153lbs. Last month I was 145. I need to cut back on the Reese's peanut butter cups.

Mom Came to Visit

Mom came to visit on Friday, she flew in around 4:30 and I dropped her off at the airport at 8am Monday morning. It was a quick but lovely visit.

When she came, she checked a bag and brought a carry on. She filled her suitcase with 48lbs of maternity clothes for me from my sisters. She's got more winter clothes waiting for me when I go up to see her for Thanksgiving. She was too funny with the weighing of the suitcase to make sure she didn't go over the 50 lbs limit.

I've settled on what we are going to do for the baby's room while she was here. I've been racking my brains, trying to figure out how to combine my sewing room and the guest room to free up the sewing room for the baby. Mom talked me into putting the baby into the guest room and leaving my sewing room as-is. She assured me that I'll want to have a bed in the room with the baby. Then we went to a daycare consignment sale with my friend A, who is a month ahead of me with her 2nd child. I found a comforter, bumper, diaper hanger and lamp shade that complement the bedspread on the guest bed, for $15. Sold! I have some wonderful fabric that goes with the set to make a dust ruffle for the crib. Here is the set:

I've also decided to go with a "Once Upon A Time" theme for Bean, leaning more toward Mother Goose than Disney.

Pink it is!

Woot! I'm having a little girl baby. Now I get to make all kinds of fun girly clothes. At least while she's small enough to let me dress her. She'll probably turn out to be a tomboy and never want to wear dresses. Still, I'm going to have fun while she'll let me.

The first shot of Bean at the Dr's was bottom up. The teck no sooner put the wand on my belly then we got to see she's a girl. I saw butt cheeks and 2 thighs, the teck said look, it's a girl! and she highlighted the in-between parts to show us her girly bits. The exam was the coolest. We got to see all of her, all the bones, her heart beating-all four chambers of it, her kidneys and stomach. She even looked at the wand, which made her look like an alien. It was the neatest thing.

Pink or Blue?

I've got my 2nd trimester genetic screening today....which means they will do another sonogram. The doc told me at the last appointment that we'll be able to see the gender, if the bean cooperates. I'm so fricken excited. I hope Bean will pose for us.