little feet

mom-jeans*

here is my favorite snl skit with the funniest of all, tina fey



the song is genius. and accurate. the jingle captures perfectly mom-jeans* and all-things related. applique vests? you're killing me.

because it's my favorite and hysterical and i'm testing out the waters of how to stay cool while being a mom, i like to transfer the sentiment to other subjects by singing its tune when i think i'm being particularly nerdy. try it out. sing the 'mom-jeans' tagline refrain with the following: mom-brain, mom-blog, mom-dreams, mom-whatever-i'm-doing-that's-dorky. it's kinda fun, isn't it?

so, whenever you read 'mom + dash + a word + an asterisk,' {por ejemplo, 'mom-bras*'} you now know to sing it to the mom-jeans* melody and to bring all the meaning along with it. capice? it'll add to your reading enjoyment, i promise. and help you better understand the supernatural forces causing me to become so mom-lame*.

there's more

my goodness, there are even more! check out these websites with awesome deals and discounts geared towards mammas {and people who like to buy things for babies}. there are multiple deals to browse and each last a few days. deals usually are for a brand, and then that brand offers a bunch of items super discounted. strollers, clothes for baby, clothes for mamma, toys, your first or next born son, wall art, etc.

zulily

the mini social

i wish it wasn't true

but my new obsession is a starbucks decaf tall nonfat latte and a blueberry scone. there, i said it. i love starbucks. and i have a complicated order. who am i?

i wish it wasn't true! it wasn't always this way! i'm anti-chains! am i going to stain my teeth? i live in san francisco, home to amazing locally owned, locally brewed, eclectic-hipster-artsy-i'm-too-cool-for-school coffee shops. why am i going to starbucks?

i tried, i promise you, i tried and taste tested the nearby places in my hood. but starbucks has the only perfect latte-scone combination. i tell myself that the good outweighs the bad. starbucks pays fair prices to farmers, gives employees health insurance, and it gets us out of the house every morning for a walk.

thanks for the hat, kate!

Scarlett likes it, can't you tell? now you all know my daily vice. please don't judge!

what would you say?

this is kind of cheeseball, but, ya know, sometimes cheeseball is nice. nummies, a maternity brand, asked veteran moms what they would have told themselves right before having their first baby. here are the answers. {I may have just cried at this video. hormones much?}



i know i'm totally a new mamma in the scheme of things, but these would be a few of my answers:

• take naps with your baby. you'll both sleep better (and longer).
• the laundry can wait.
• you and your spouse/partner are both trying to figure it out. 
• you will figure it out. together.
• you will be overwhelmed with love.
• coffee and your daughter are your new best friends. 

What would you say??

lion king babe

while pregnant i thought, perhaps, i didn't want to put any pictures of the baby on the internet. i wasn't going to exploit my baby through the evils of social networking or compromise a lifetime of privacy by posting her every moment since birth on the interwebs.

shaaa, riiight! that ideal lasted a hot minute. there is some kind of innate desire to lion king your baby for all of the world to ooh and aah.  

naaaaaants ingonyama bagithi, baba......(sing along now)...ba da da - ba da - da ba da ba...(you know the tune)

yes! i wanted one of these!

i've seen these large flower headbands everywhere on baby girls, but haven't been able to find one in an actual store. i guess they don't sell them at babygap or target, my two standbys, or the overly priced all organic store. i feared i was out of luck and poor Scarlett would miss the latest baby fashion trend (sarcasm). but, still, i really wanted one. luckily, Scarlett has plenty of fashionista women in her life to make sure she doesn't go without.

thank you elaine!! 

check out elaine's blog, MyFirstBabyBump, to follow her adventures of being a new mamma and her cute cute cute baby Paul.

sweetest sounds

Scarlett talks to gramma mo-mo and mamma mags after her bath. seriously, i've never heard sweeter sounds.

little hands

my. heart. melts.

cowboy boots

whatever could be wrong baby Scarlett? it's your first time in texas and you're wearing your first pair of cowboy boots! fyi scarletta, this is the first of many pairs. in fact...

look at these from your auntie mary-o that you get to wear in a couple years!

red light district

why is it that i hit every single red light, without fail, when Scarlett is screaming in the car?!?!

i want a siren and a megaphone that blares this warning to other drivers: 

get out of my way! 

i have a screaming baby in the car!

she's the only baby i know that vehemently hates driving in the car. i thought babies loved car rides? any suggestions? besides the obvious one of not driving. we walk everywhere we can and walking is always our first option, but in some sitches we gotta take the car. ugh, i dread it.

sweet slumber

finalmente, its off to sleep. i obsessed over this wicker bassinet for weeks, months, maybe even a year before Scarlett was born {yes, math geniuses, that means i spotted it and was hooked even before i was pregnant}. when i saw that it was still for sale at harrington's in the mission when i was six months pregnant, i took it as a sign that i was meant to buy it. i dressed it up with some ribbon and the antique bassinet sat beautifully in the corner of our room as we awaited the baby's arrival and daydreamed of sweet slumber there. then she slept in our bed for the first three months and never so much as winked an eye in the thing.

starting at 12 weeks, though, we put her and the bassinet in the other room and we began sleep training {read: nice way of putting cry it out}. don't think i'm a terrible mom, dr. weissbluth in healthy sleep habits, happy child told me to do it! i was so scared to start. terrified, nerve-wrecked, crying longer myself than she did, convinced i was going to ruin her life forever. but, like the book said, it took about 4 days, and ever since then she's asleep perfectly by 7pm and sleeps soundly! {she gets one night feed around 3 until she gains a couple more pounds, but falls right back to sleep until 7am}. it's so nice to have a routine and a schedule for her. plus, it's great to have the evening back for david and i to hang. and though she cries a little sometimes, she wakes up bright eyed and full of smiles, so hopefully i haven't ruined her life {yet}.

now, unfortch, she's too big for the bassinet already, so after one month of use, its time to get the big crib together. worth the purchase? what do you think?

night-night Scarlett

next in line for our night time routine is putting on some pajams and the comfy-coziest sleep sack {thanks mrs. stepan for this amazing baby gift!}. Scarlett nurses and then its story time. it's amazing how she loves books and is so engaged at 4 months! she can be fussing, but when i open a book, she's immediately happy. i swear she's even trying to help turn the pages already - what a genius!

our current faves are 

 

thanks patti!

thanks margy!

 

thanks whoever gave us this one! i can't remember because you didn't write your name inside!

pampered baby

after bath time, Scarlett gets pampered with a little infant massage and fantastic smelling calendula baby cream, by weleda. seriously, it smells so good. it's amazing, organic, all natural, delicious-i-want-it-for-myself-totally-worth-it lotion. check the weleda website for a video on infant massage. Scarlett loves it and it's a nice bonding time before bed.

bath time

bath toys

rinse!

all smiles

like most babies, Scarlett loves bath time. i love it too. besides the fact that it is a cure all for preventing/stopping an evening meltdown before bedtime, she can actually play now! {as opposed to at 2 months when she'd just stare blankly at me with an occasional smile that i couldn't discern as being intentional or intestinal} she's starting to become so interactive - kicking, splashing, trying to drink the bath water, etc. getting a big smile from making the squeaky turtle squeak is so gratifying. and sometimes there is even a small giggle along with it. oh! it's all too much. i love it!

mamma saves

y'all've heard of groupon, right?

well, did you know there are similar sites geared towards mammas and babies?


Plum District

         babySTEALS

                            MamaBargains

                       mamapedia

do you know of others? let me know! i heart bargains and deals of all sorts.

margy's marathon

we cheered on margy during the nike women's marathon on sunday. she's looking strong and fantastic at mile 16, running on the great highway along ocean beach in san francisco. awesome.

we camped out at this spot primarily because i knew we'd see margy twice; at mile 16 running out and at mile 24 looping back towards the finish. unbeknownst, it was a powersong spot with megaspeakers playing beyonce's survivor. on repeat. awesome.

unfortch, Scarlett wasn't too happy with the cold rainy weather. but, ya know, she survived.

so inspiring to watch margy and the thousands of other runners! did i get the itch myself? well, margy has convinced me to run a 10k trail race with her in december. gotta start small though. i haven't really raised my heart rate above 75 in the past year. except maybe during my own marathon of 30+ hours of labor with Scarlett. does that count as working out?

judgy-judgy

i'd seen the pacifier clip before on other babes and def thought it was a horrible thing only used by those moms who had complete disregard for safety and didn't care for or love their babies at all and were just plain lazy. you might as well just wrap a string around the baby's neck! well, either i was being completely judgy-judgy or i'm now becoming one of those moms {hopefully just the former} because the pacie clip is the greatest five dollars i've ever spent. ever. i bought it at target when she was six weeks old, and this simple product has literally changed my life as a mamma.

"where is the pacie?!" was too frequently and loudly yelled from one room to another in our three room apartment because it obviously was the other spouse's fault for this spouse not being able to find it. previously, precious minutes {feeling like never ending hours} were wasted in vain searching for the pacie while poor little Scarlett screamed. multiple times, i reached in the backseat while driving {completely unsafe and probably illegal} and blindly dug in the bowels of the carseat desperately hoping to find the pacie while my heart rate raced from her goat cries and neighboring drivers avoided near crashes. plus, we had bought and lost more pacies than she was days old. and worst of all, the pacie was constantly falling on the floor forcing me to face the dirtiness of my life.

i guess i'll work on being a little less judgy-judgy of seemingly terrible, useless and dangerous baby-buys. like a gift from heaven, all was ameliorated immedes with this perfect product. calm and peace restored. the pacie is never out of reach and all is good in the world. exhale.

{never put a baby in a crib or leave unattended with the pacie clip because of safety and strangulation concerns!}

fave organic toys

Scarlett's new fave toy (as if she had a previous, more like first fave toy). look how she's hugging it! i melt. reaching for things and bringing them to her mouth is her new trick this week. sounds like nothing, but an important developmental milestone. oh, so proud!

green sprouts teether bear for sale here. super soft organic terry cotton, made in usa, bpa-pvc-phthalate-etc-free, everything-bad-that's-in-other-plastic-toys-free. i pretty much love everything from this brand. so happy that she does too!

how is this thing moving, she wonders. holding a green sprouts rattle. this toy is even biodegradable, made from cornstarch - how cool is that?

for our SF friends

we showed up to the 4th annual ugly christmas sweater party wearing these homemade creations

 

honesty corner, online mom dating

i sent an email to another new mom who had a craigslist ad (not that kind of craigslist ad! she was looking for a nanny. but still very ballsy of me, i think). then we went on a new mom date for coffee. then she emailed me two days later and asked me to go for a walk with the babes. does this mean we are new mom friends? I think so. this is all very exciting to me. since david and i have been together since college, i've never experienced the thrills/disappointments and inevitable humorous encounters of online dating. maybe i'll start match.com for new moms. does something like that exist already? i need to find it. i need some more new mom friends in SF. this doesn't mean i'm cheating on you shelley!

for my family

I wrapped up the ultrasound pic and gave it to my mom and grandpa at our large extended family christmas eve celebration

uncle ryan captured the scene on video, wait for sister kerry's priceless reaction halfway through





please excuse the terrible hair in the video. i was in a bad phase of growing out a pixie cut and didn't give a damn what i looked like because i had the worst possible hangover feeling disguised as morning all day every day sickness.

here's the blog

i had been urged by a few bloggers during my pregnancy to start a blog myself. i even registered the name, but was too scared of computers, self-conscious, halted by other meaningless anxieties to actually do it. plus, i was extremely sick during the majority of my pregnancy and the idea of staring at a computer and getting frustrated with page alignments and picking the right color scheme was just about going to make my already on the verge of exploding achy head actually explode.

but, i was always thinking about what i would write if i was to start a blog, and felt like i had some good stories to share. i even started a list of things to blog about so i could remember them as they happened. i'm gonna see if i can find it now...wow, it's quite a list so i think i'll just share it here to get you up to speed.

here is what happened the first three months of pregnancy:

• 10/18
• third times a charm - taking the test for the third time
• first reactions: shock, tears, doubt, it was supposed to be february!
• immediate mommy/baby mode: whole foods for vitamins, babysafe products, books, etc

• 10/19
• at work, cant think, secretly looking up prego websites
• 10/20
• doc's test, blood test
• therapist meeting
• yoga class: love, gratitude
• 10/22
• the biscuit
• spooning, david's hand on belly, love
• 10/23
• pos preg blood test
• calling possible OBs, CNM, etc
• only preg friend calls crying about her ultrasound, breech posish baby, needs csection.
• 10/23
• going out with friends/fake drinking
• 10/25
• gorgeous day
• walk to dolores park
• late afternoon lunch at cool resty with large open windows
• VIRGIN bloody mary - first ever
• scheming creative announcement ideas
• 10/26
• worked over time.
• kids are expensivo!
• my pee is bright neon yellow/green from the vitamins
• 10/27
• called in sick to clinic volunteering
• researched more OBs, extremely frustrating
• cried at therapist office
• davids out of town
• missed yoga because lost wallet at grocery store
• prego brain?
• made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
• 10/28
• work, really sick kid
• david comes home, hes got the flu
• make chicken and veg soup for sick hubs
• 10/29
• work, same really sick kid. care conference. sad.
• trivioke party planning committee
• 10/30
• got up early for clinic volunteering
• left to return in afternoon for vaccine shots
• slept alllll day
• gave out vaccines to a mil prego women, kids and homeless peeps
• got a vaccine myself and told Sr. Kathleen i'm preggers bc she had to give me the 'correct' vaccine
• 10/31
• more vaccinations in the morn
• football watching/halloween celebration = more fake drinking with friends
• 11/1
• enjoyed the extra hour of sleep
• took first belly pic
• bestie sent an email that she thinks shes preggers. oh my! what if?
• slept alllll day
• felt dizzy, horrible nausea, forced down a banana
• made easy mac, ate chick fingers from wholfies
• watched bye bye birdie, sang along
• 11/3
• is this what they mean by morning sickness
• something is wrong with me
• total disbelief
• looking up prozac withdrawal symptoms
• worst headache ever
• do i have the flu david had last week?
• 11/4
• gun shot wound patient
• worst smell of my life changing C-collar
• emergency ginger snaps delivered by hubs
• only thing i can eat

• 11/6
• first doc appointment
• possible delayed ovulation bc of neg tests
• scheduled a dating ultra sound for next week
• np was kind of annoying, disappointing
• 11/9
• purposefully turned phone off because didnt want a 5am wake up call for overtime
• turns out i was supposed to work today! whoops!
• people have been calling me frantic since 7am
• i wake up casually at 930
• end up working from 11-7
• dont go to book club bc exhausted and worried about fake drinking wine
• 11/10
• this must be morning sickness
• feel awful
• cant eat
• worst never-ending hangover feeling
• looking up home remedies online, none work
• 11/11
• call in sick, cant get out of bed
• shelley, 39 weeks pregs, comes over
• cry to her that im pregnant and feel awful
• call doc, get otc med unisom
• sleeeeeeepppp
• 11/13
• ultrasound
• wasnt prepared for the intravaginal ultrasound, thought it was over the tummy!
• forgot everything when that little peanut showed up
• couldnt breathe when i heard the heartbeat. tears.
• baby is 7 weeks, 6 days. due date is june 26.
• 11/15
• sick sick sick sick sick
• 11/17
• shelley and chris welcome joseph liam, healthy baby boy
• 11/18
• call doc again for something else, nothing is helping
• get rx for reglan
• 11/20
• at work
• projectile vomitting all day
• cant keep anything down
• awful!!!
• doc says to go to ER
• get iv zofran and fluids
• 11/21
• call in sick
• fake thanksgiving
• fake drinking
• wear pajamas/sweats all day. nothing new!
• 11/24
• dentist appt
• no cavitites!
• need to floss more
• 11/25
• doubling my zofran dose
• not really helping
• never felt worse in my life
• people at work are wondering what is wrong with me
• 11/26
• real thanksgiving
• work
• red-eye flight to boston, then montreal
• david and i fight at airport. high anxiety.
• david's put up with a lot of my bullshit these past few weeks
• 11/27
• arrive in montreal
• haven't pooed in 7 days.
• not feeling well
• announce news to yeagers - picture contest
• 11/28
• poo status is reaching emergency levels
• haven't pooed in 8 days
• feel extremely bloated and cant move
• talk to french pharmacist, in french
• prune juice, epsolm salt, suppositories, enema, HOrRibLE!
• hide out in room/bathroom for most of day
• can barely eat thanksgiving meal
• 12/3
• more poo issues
• crying on bathroom floor
• how am i going to deliver a baby if i cant even get this shit out??
• 12/11
• dr appointment
• hear heart beat on doppler
• get miralax for constipation
• talk about restarting prozac
• 12/11
• karen and jesse's holiday party
• big reveal to friends
• 12/12
• craft time with david
• baby daddy and pregs sweatshirts
• threw chicken sandwich at husband, not on accident.
• there was mustard on the sandwich
• i hate mustard
• cry in bedroom
• seriously consider restarting prozac. yikes!
• 12/12
• big reveal again to more friends at christmas parties
• stayed out til 2am
• haven't been out that late in months, seems like years
• 12/16
• 12 week ultrasound
• baby is constantly moving and doing somersaults in my belly!
• 12/19
• christmas activity in sf
• symphony choral christmas spectacular!
• barf during intermission in extremely crowded bathroom
• feel need to explain to everyone that i'm pregnant and not bulimic
• 12/20
• sick sick sick sick sick
• convinced i will never feel normal again
• how can one feel this tired?
• slow slow at work
• charge let me rest for an hour. angel!
• 12/23
• christmas with david
• exchange presents
• listening to christmas music nonstop
• 12/24
• christmas eve
• travel to chicago
• so nervous to tell family
• announcement video
• 12/25
• tell dad. he cries.
• great christmas day with family
• cooking
• singing and dancing
• trivial pursuit, girls win!
• 12/26
• visit friends to tell the news
• laura and meghann are pregnant too! knew it!
• crazy all day snowing in chicago. gorge.
• 12/28
• lunch with mom
• 'be prepared for a big baby'
• 12/30
• knitting store
• anxiety over color
• get pink and will make two if needed
• 12/31
• new years eve
• work!
• come home, make pasta, start knitting blanket
• asleep by 930pm
• 1/1
• happy new year!
• cancelled from work
• new years resolution: have a baby!
• and start blog

well, its october 14th, almost exactly one year from getting the positive pee test, and almost 4 months since my baby was born, and i'm finally starting the blog! better late than never, eh? I'll fill ya in on other stand-out stories from the pregnancy, the birthing and the first three months as I go along, but I also just want to jump right into life with Scarlett and what it's like being a new mamma.  it'll be a work in progress. cools?

thanks for reading and sharing!

honesty corner, sushi

i ate sushi while i was pregnant. a few times.

Live Sushi, SF

it's so close and so good. 

and i read in my pregnancy book that as long as its from a reputable and fresh place, you should be fine. just don't eat the stuff in the cold case from the grocery store.

weigh in

Scarlett is still a skinny mini baby. she'll be four months next week and had a doc appt today. she's 24 inches long, 50th percentile, but weighs 11lbs 2oz, 12th percentile. my little long and lean string bean

photos by my new mom friend, Brooke, who happens to be an amazing profesh photog. more on her later for sure.

for david's family

i created an elaborate "photo contest" for our thanksgiving gathering. each family member could submit two photos from the past year. everyone would have two minutes to describe and present their photos and then there would be a family vote on the best photo of the year.

there was a long email chain agreeing on the rules. there were paper ballots. there was a lot of hype. this family is no stranger to competition. obvs, i blasted the competition away with this photo

we rigged it so mine was the last photo presented. I didn't even have to say anything for my pic, cheering ensued, and there wasn't even a vote, we all knew who won.

the test

i was late. i had just gone off the bc the month before so figured my body was just adjusting. took a test, it was negative. its too soon, thought we wouldn't get pregnant for at least 4/5 months. waited a few days, took another test, still negative. fast forward another week and a half and lots of anxiety with thoughts of am i, am i not, couldn't be, but maybe, i'm just going to have this glass of wine anyway because of course not. i made the hubs go out at midnight to buy more tests so i could take it the next morning, a sunday, when he'd be home. i had a feeling. didn't sleep that night.

the waiting...

with the first two tests, i looked at it right away (sidenote: you really don't need to wait the two minutes, it shows up immedes). but with this one, i didn't look and ran to david in the other room giggling with mixed emotion and excitement. i made him return to the bathroom with me to check the stick. we walked in holding hands, me squeezing his.

the fine print...

look at the stick, look at each other, look at the stick, look at each other. is this a positive? but one line is lighter than the other. does that count as two lines? david fumbling to open up the instructions. in teeny tiny print next to an asterisk in a hidden spot reads "one line may be fainter than the other. this is a positive test." sidenote: that should be on the top of the pamphlet and in LARGE print!

O!   M!   Gee!   two lines!

shock. prolonged staring at each other with half smiles. is this real? do we jump up and down? do we hug? are we really pregnant? do we cry? is this a movie scene? what is going on? 

 

 time to clean up and make some room, the adventures in being a new mamma begin.