Grab on to this!

In the spirit of loving our little one...and my return to work tomorrow.

Enjoy this video of Asher before bath time!

He was in quite a talkative mood and we even got a tiny smile out of him.

Right after the video ended he looked right at the camera and smiled...of course not on film.

As you notice he is now grabbing on to things and pulling them towards him!

He has quite a grip.

Tomorrow he is 3 months old....slow down little one, slow down!

Struggling...

September first feels like dooms day in my head.

I have attempted to avoid and at the same time visualize this day millions of times over and over in my head. While pregnant I used to think about this day so much it gave me anxiety.

When I was in the hospital September first seemed really really far away...yet so soon.

This days is...

The day I return to work full time. Twelve weeks came and went. Fast. Way too fast.

I spent 2 months recovering from my delivery and all of the infections that followed it, thanks to a few "medical accidents".

Only a few weeks ago did I start to feel better and was truly able to enjoy my time off with Asher without any distractions medically.

But as of September first it will all be in the past.

I never thought I would be the type that wanted to be a full time mom.

I have been known to prove myself wrong many times and this is one of those times.

When I think about what this all means to me and how I got to where I am now I am baffled.

Staying at home full time as a mom is not an option...financially...at this point in our lives.

Do I regret some decisions we made before getting pregnant to put us in this position? Possibly...

But this is the life we live. Still a great life indeed.

Aside from all of my whining about going back to work I must confess that I have the second best arrangement for my little love. Since I am obviously not going to be a full time mom and full time daycare before the age of one was not an option we were willing to entertain, I tried to figure out a way that my little love bug could have nothing but the second best option.

Both of our mom's arranged their work schedules so that they could care for Asher for one full day each week. (I hope I can do this for my children one day!) Asher LOVES both Softa and Nana so I am thrilled that he will be with them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will be able to visit Asher during lunch since our moms both live under 3 miles from our house (which is where I work).

After a lot of stress and patience we found a fantastic nanny, Debby (well she starts Monday, but we know she will be fantastic). She will watch Asher in our home on Monday, Wednesday and Friday which will allow me to still breast feed him at lunch. Debby is a wife, mother of two daughters (who also both nanny) and a grandmother of 3. Her younger daughter just had a baby boy 2 weeks after me! Debby lives 10 minutes away over the border in South Carolina.

Asher will be in the best hands. We are blessed.

As I watch myself type and hear myself gripe as I am still torn with leaving my son in someone else's care for those 7 hours each day (probably less because he sleeps so much!) I continue to tell myself it is going to be OK. So many other mom's do it too and their children turn out OK. But it is still unsettling to say the least.

Although I do not cry when I leave him (yes, he goes to his Nana and Softa's A LOT already!) I am struggling with the idea of not being with him to comfort him when he cries or when he wakes up in the morning from his mid morning nap to see that big smile on his face or to watch him discover new things in life.

I will be OK. He will be great. Pray for us (me, cough cough!) come September first.

Love the Struggling soon to be Successful Mommy

Ten Things You May Not Know About Me

Ten things you may not know about me!

1. I am dyslexic.
2. I obsess over locked doors at night and typically check them at least twice before going upstairs (when home alone at night I even lock our actual garage, garage door)
3. I regret not going back to school to get my BSN (Bachelors of Nursing) when I seriously looked into it 2 times after I graduated from college!
4. Sometimes I wish we would downsize our house and mortgage
5. I used to do Tae Kwon Do in middle school and qualified for the Jr Olympics
6. I do not drink carbonated drinks...NEVER EVER.
7. I hate my hairy arms and always have...
8. I have lived in Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and North Carolina
9. I wore a women's size 10 shoe when I was 10 years old!
10. I never met either of my grandmother's (they both passed away before I was born)

Your turn!! Comment or blog about something I might not know about YOU!

All boys!

This past fall we found out that between us and Philip's two cousins (Emily and Stephanie) we were all having BOYS within TWO MONTHS of each other!!

Zachary was born 1 week before Asher and Benjamin was born 2 months after Asher!

We made a trip down to Atlanta to attend Benjamin's Bris and to celebrate with his daddy (Billy) who recently converted to Judaism! Benjamin was only 8 days old so we didn't get many photos with him but we had a great time checking out Zachary, meeting our relatives and cousins and napping with Zachary!

Emily, Billy and the Moile who performed the Bris and delivered Benjamin

All of the cousins, the babies and their Grandma/Great Grandma Pearl!

Asher's Great Grandma Pearl

Zachary and his Great Aunt Janice

M&M's celebrating Billy's Conversion!

Cookies with Benjamin's Initials and 

the beautiful spread in honor of Benjamin's Baby Naming and Bris

 Mommy and Daddy playing with me...

 Of course Mommy always wants a serious pose

Finally just me and mommy

 And of course Great Aunt Janice...

after all that the Boys were tuckered out!

What a great visit with all of our cousins!

We must do it again very very soon...before the little guys turn into big guys!

p.s. after 5 boys between Philip and I and our cousins my cousin Robin is finally adding a girl to our extended family due in January!!!

Good Morning!

We have developed quite a morning routine...

It begins with this...

BIG BIG SMILES which is exactly how any parent wants to start their day. With Asher we get them EVERYDAY! He has managed to kick one leg out of the miracle blanket which might be a sign that his swaddling days are slowly coming to an end.

We are still getting the hang of the video camera thing so its kind of dark...(plus his nursery is dark to keep the heat out because gosh darnit its ridiculously hot here).

After big smiles in the crib we move to the changing station to unwrap our burrito (aka Asher)

He loves it when his arms are "released" from his miracle blanket. You can see him stretching towards the end as he stares at daddy recording his every move.

We think this is ridiculously cute...you judge for yourself!

More videos to come...

Coupons

I am hooked. I have several friends that clip coupons and bargain shop the grocery store each week and I figured it was time to at least give it a try. My thought process was that only junk food or things we didnt need were in the coupon section.

When I see that I have saved more than I spent in any given shopping trip I feel SUCCESS!

I have realized that I dont need the "grocery game" or any shopping "tell all" to succeed at this.

I clip coupons each Sunday and sometimes even clip things I don't "really need".

I match up sales at Harris Teeter and CVS with the coupons and end up getting things at 50% off or more. The goal is to stock up when things are super cheap or even FREE. Yup I get a lot of things for free during Triple Coupon weeks.

I didnt think I would like this whole coupon clipping, bargain shopping for food and house supply items, but it has proven to be rewarding and challenging over the past 4 weeks.

Just this past week I spent $44 and saved $63. The week before I spent $20 and saved $41.

Who does not think this is great!?

I still buy a few items each week that are must have's like Lactaid and Soy Milk. My dairy free diet has made this a lot more challenging, but we are still succeeding in saving LOTS of money!

How do you save money each week?

Cricket

When we returned from our overnight in Atlanta this past weekend we came home to a cricket in our house?! We have no clue how it got in our house, but we could hear it. Oh could we hear it....

We could NOT see it or find it.

It was annoying the crap out of us.

We were too tired to deal with it so we went to bed.

I woke up at 2 am for my usual pumping session (Asher was sound asleep as always).

After I pump I usually make my way downstairs to the fridge for a late night snack (Breast feeding makes me SO hungry ALL of the time). When I am downstairs I eat and filll up Bella's dog bowls with food and water for the next day. I waked over to her bowls to find...

The dumb cricket had jumped into her water bowl and drowned!!!

Although I felt badly that it died ... I was jumping for joy on the inside that I didn't have to listen to it anymore! Things happen for a reason...

Yummy Baby

Mommy has been busy taking lots of photos of me these days...

When we were at Sissy's Make up Trial for her wedding there was a photography studio in the same space so mommy had at it with the camera, some of the sofa's and me.

It was blazing hot in this place hence why I am in only a diaper.
I was still sweating like a beast even in just my diaper!

(this is mom's favorite photo...Im posing for her!)

Nana was holding me in front of the fan...

I love to play "So Big" as you can tell here...

But sometimes I am just plain worn out!

A few days later I was in a great mood so we snapped some more memorable photos.

My mommy thinks I'm yummy...what do you think?

Asher's Friends...

This past week we visited with several friends...

Since Asher was born we have been trying to get together with Sherry and Mia. Sherry and her husband Todd were in our Bradley Birthing class. Mia is almost 2 months older than Asher but she weighs the same as him. Go figure!

Sherry surprised us at lunch with Carmine and Eddie!

Carmine and her husband Ed were also in our Bradley class.

Sherry & Mia

Carmine & Eddie

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at Charlotte Cafe with the kiddos.

We shared stories about breast feeding, baby poop, life as a mommy, pumping etc.

It is so nice to know that you are not alone and that we are all going through and experiencing the same things!

It was so  fun to get them all together and put them side by side. 

All three of the baby's look just like their daddy's!

Of course Asher is significantly younger...yet larger than all of them.

-----------------

Earlier in the week Marisa and Austin (now the Karp's!) came to visit, eat dinner and meet Asher. We had been holding their wedding present hostage (not really, but we kept telling them that!) until they came to see Asher. They brought over Chinese and we all had a great time catching up. They gave Asher a PRECIOUS polo outfit (brown collared shirt and plaid shorts!) and we can't wait to put them on him. 

Austin was a complete natural with Asher. He didnt hesitate at all and just picked him up and put him in his lap. I swear it brought tears to Marisa's eyes watching Austin with Asher. They are going to be great parents one day!

We had a great time visiting with friends!

2 months came and went...

So today marks Asher's 10 week old birthday.

I am just now posting his 8 week update...PATHETIC!

His 2 month check up was over a week late because of scheduling...it's daddy's busy season at work.

Shots - Complete with no crazy reactions (I was allergic to pertusis back in the day), just a litte fussy and lethargic.

Photo right before his shots (love the bottom lip!)

Mommy you lied...you said it wouldnt hurt! 

(Nana and Softa came to hold his hands!)

Weight - 13 lbs, 14 oz.....pretty much 14 lbs (90th percentile)

Height - 22 1/2 inches (25th percentile)

Head Circumference 15 1/2 inches (it was wrong the first time we found out) - 50th percentile.

Although you can't tell in ANY photos his eyes are still dark blue on the outside with green and light brown on the inside...we are praying they stay hazel!

He was a chunky trooper.

This explains why he is wearing 6-9 months in most of his clothes. Some brands fit, most don't!

Gymboree is the only thing that he can wear to actual size/age.

We have received many family comments (out of love) that our child's clothes are too tight even without the cloth diaper's... oy vey! I will be running to Babies R Us for some more 6-9 month under shirts and kimono's for bed time to get us through this HOT and STICK weather. We have lots of 6-9 months cold weather clothes!

We have finally gotten his stomach/reflux issues under control with Axid x2 a day and no diary or salad for mommy (brutal!) The pediatrician was very impressed with his head and neck control at 2 months as well as several milestones he has surpassed at such an early age. He also was quite impressed that he has been sleeping through the night (as in 7-9 hours) since 6/7 weeks. We realize he spoils us with sleep! He just recently got up to 10 hours straight!

Nana was secretly hoping our baby was as bad as I was hahah....karma momma!

On a side note it is fitting to update you all on my progress at 2 months!

I should post a photo but this idea came to me at the last minute so I will save that for when my abs are back in tip top shape. hahahah!

Momma Update:

I lost all of my pregnancy weight by 3 weeks postpartum. My hips have finally shrunk back and I am back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. My next goal is to get into my preconception weight and clothes.  I put on almost 13 lbs trying to GET pregnant with all of my fertility issues.

I am 8 lbs away from that 2nd goal and am losing more and more each day thanks to work outs when I can get them in and breast feeding. It's definitely not from my diet seeing that I cant eat any diary or salad (which is what I usually eat to lose weight!) 

I return to work September 1st... and that is another blog in its entirety...

While Daddy was away

We have been quite busy lately now that mommy is finally feeling better.

Daddy was out of town most of last week in California for work so we tried to stay busy...

First Aunt Janice and Uncle Craig came for the night on Friday. Theywere on their way to move Cousin Paige into USC. We ate dinner at Softa and Papu's and boy was it tasty and the best part was we didnt have to cook! It's always nice to get to eat a meal while other's hold Asher!

Janice stole lots of kisses and cuddles with Asher.

She didnt even recognize him since she saw him last when he was 8 days old!

The next day we went to lunch with Jen, Jason, Naomi, Ella and Debbie for lunch at 131 Main

Debbie is Jason's mom and she was visiting from NY. She brought Asher a precious knitted navy blue and tan sweater with football clasps and a matching hat. Its so cute! 

Debbie with Asher

Ella, Naomi's daughter

Ella had a great time checking out Asher...she loves to growl at him (which is her way of professing her love for him at the mere age of 10 months!)...

too bad we can't do this as adults right?!

Naomi wasn't feeling the growling...and from the looks of it, neither was Asher! ha!

Sunday we went out to brunch with Nana at Delancey Street. This was our first morning early morning outing since Asher was born. Typically he sleeps and eats most of the morning. It worked out great and we really enjoyed getting up and getting out of the house.

Mommy has the magic touch

We had a great time and stayed super busy...but we missed Daddy SO SO SO MUCH!

Tight Pants at Two!

Last week Asher turned 2 months old!

He got dressed up for a little photo shoot with crazy mommy.

This is definitely the first and last time he will wear those pants...TIGHT!

As you can see he is quite a happy baby. 

We don't have any new statistics on his growth/weight etc because daddy was out of town all of last week and we postponed his pediatrician appointment to this Thursday.

At this appointment he will also get his first round of shots! Ouch! Details to follow....

In the meantime we can tell you all of the great things he has been up to:

• Almost can hold his head up on his own
  
• Starting to hold himself up better in a sitting position
  
• Standing with assistance when he throws out his legs (which are ridiculously strong)
• Grunting, Groaning and Cooing
  
• Completely aware of his hands and feet
• Grasping Objects with his hands (especially my hair and Philip's chest hair)
  
• Swatting at objects intentionally
  
• He can lift his legs up almost 90 degrees off the ground when laying on his back
  
• Blowing raspberries and bubbles
  
• Smiling and Laughing (not just when he farts or is falling asleep
  
• He can lift up off his chest and fully extended his arms
  
• Sleeping 7-9 hours straight a night...and then going back down for 2-4 additional hours in the morning ALL in his crib and has been since day one
  
• Rolling over from stomach to back from both sides
  
• Fluttering his eye lashes
  
• Almost daily poopies (big deal for us!)
  
• Finally loves the car and usually falls asleep or into a relaxation mode
  
• Loves to be kissed on his big fat cheeks
  
• Loves his swing (he hated it the first 4 weeks of life)
  
• He loves to laugh at Nana's and talk at Softa's (more so than anywhere else)
• Spits minimally (once or twice a day)
• Burps like a champion
• Weaing 3-6 months or 6-12 months pants and 3-6 month tops or larger 
• He has stolen our hearts and all we do is talk about him or admire him!

Funny stuff

Asher has been smiling and laughing constantly lately...

We can't get enough of it!

We had just gone on a walk outside at 3:30 PM in the Ergo carrier, hence the silly hat (to protect from the sun) and the lack of normal clothes (he sweats like a beast and it was HOT)! He wouldn't nap so we decided to get our fitness on!