SAH Mom for a day

On Saturday M went on an art tour with her mom and sister. I was the stay-at-home mom all day. It almost killed me. The house was a wreck, EG pooped all over, and I was exhausted. Now, by the time M got home the house was in better shape and EG was napping, but for a few crazy hours there it was touch and go. I would need a lot more practice to be a full time SAH mom. I will just continue to go to work and bring home the bacon.

Being the working mom is a hard job too. I start my day at 5:30 a.m. and I feel like I am done when EG goes to sleep around 6:30 p.m. Then I get to relax and see my wife. However, this past week I had to go back to work three nights. So, I would work all day, come home play with EG, put her bed, and then go back to work. It was exhausting. M let me sleep in Saturday morning which helped. I hope to not have too many more weeks like that.

My mom was here last weekend and we had a great time. EG didn't know what to think of Ninna the first day, but she came around by that evening and then she was all about Ninna for days. We enjoyed the built in babysitter and some quiet nights to ourselves. We all went to get our fall decorations.......EG liked the pumpkins.

Life as a Stay-At-Home Mom

I had no idea what to expect when E and I decided that I would be the Stay-At-Home (SAH) Mom for a year. I knew it would be hard. I hoped it would be fun. I prayed I wouldn't have to call E at work in tears too many times. Much to my joy, it is wonderful to be a SAH Mom. More than anything else, I love knowing that EG is safe and cared for all day. She gets a ton of kisses and snuggles. She gets all the attention she wants. Next year she's off to daycare, so I am happy to indulge her.

I also love being a "housewife." I love the rhythm of picking up, cleaning, laundry, meals, errands, etc. E will be the first to tell you that I am picking up before she's out the door. I cannot tolerate nor get anything done when the house is littered with stuff. I love the peace of the house when EG naps and I love her sounds when she's awake. EG and I have figured each other out. I know when she's hungry and tired. I know when she needs to get some fresh air. We have gotten very good at running errands together. I have the smaller car of E and me, but EG actually prefers it because she gets such a good view and she rarely cries on car rides around town. I like having the time to do things for E or buy things for her that I know she likes.

This year is a total gift. People keep asking me if I like being at home. I wish I could make it a full-time job. I cannot fathom taking EG to daycare and going back to work next year. I hope that by then I can see how much she needs to be around other kids instead of me all day.

Here is a picture from an outing this week. We visited my workplace for a couple hours. This was EG in her carseat when we got home. I love the colors. I love that she is not letting go of that teether.

m

1st week

I worked all week. It was a very busy week at school. I had to work late one day, but the other days I was out of there ASAP.

M did an amazing job with EG during her first week as SAH- (StayatHome) Mom. I think M is getting more and more comfortable with being home with EG and finding things to fill their time.

There were moments that were hard. We had our babysitter Thursday night, and I was exhausted. I managed to make it through dinner and some driving, but then we headed home. It was still nice to sit down and eat with my girl at the same time and have a drink with her. Ninna comes the weekend of the 10th and we are SUPER excited. Built in babysitter for DAYS! We have a list of things we want to do in the yard and out in the real world. We know that Ninna and EG will have a blast all by themselves.

EG is improving on the sleeping front. She is still eating some at night, but everything we read said that eating at night was still okay for her. She should stop it in about 4-6 weeks. Since she has NO interest in solid food we will continue to give up the formula as needed. She is learning to sleep on her belly which scares the crap out of me. All I see when she is face down on the mattress is all of those SIDS boxes that are located in every babybook about every other page. Luckily, most of them say that once the baby rolls over themselves, they have passed the SIDS danger window.

We have a big week coming up --- dentist visit, M's cast might come off, G-ma and G-pa are coming to babysit, and it is HOMECOMIG! That means it's EG's first parade on Thursday night. She will skip the game and dance. I will be at both!!!! ARGHHHHHH

E-

Obsessed

Everytime EG learns a new skill she becomes obsessed with it. It is very common. The funniest one was when she learned how to move her neck. She looked back and forth like a sprinkler for about 24 hours. She was amazed at her new found fun. Her latest trick is keeping us up at night.....

EG can roll from her back to her belly. However, she cannot roll from her belly to her back. Therefore, we spend a lot of time at night getting up to roll her back over. In the beginning of this new skill it was great. She was sleeping better, eating better, and generally much happier. But, now she is obsessed with it and wakes up even more! We are hoping she figures it out soon.

I went back to work last week. I did 2 half days and 2 full days. Work is very busy right now so it hasn't been too bad. I did want to vomit most of my first full day. I just missed EG and M so much. It was great knowing that EG was perfectly cared for at home. I also get tons of updates throughout the day. I was very happy to be back with my two main collegues. They are my friends and co-workers and I have missed them both -- I think they missed me too.

M is doing a great job at home. We talked about "expectations" of a stay-at-home-mom and we decided that the only expectation she has it to take care of our babygirl. Anything else is bonus -- like a clean house or dinner. Her job is taking care of herself and EG. I am sure we will continue to figure out how to live our lives with a new baby around.

Here is a cute pic of our girl. It was cool here for a few days so we broke out the sweater....it was made by her AuntG.

4 months old

I am home alone with EG while M spends some time with her friends on this dreary Saturday.  We have posted a few videos lately...we love the one where she is learning to "talk", but we haven't said very much.  So here goes...

She is 4 months old.  She no longer sleeps through the night because she is too hungry.  She eats at least twice a night taking 3-4 ozs at each nighttime feeding.  She is 26 inches long (off the charts) and 16 lbs 4ozs (95%).  Doctor says it is time for cereal.  We have tried it three times.  Each time she gets a tiny bit better.  She really doesn't eat it yet -- she just moves it around her mouth and then spits it back out.  I think I got her to swallow about 1/16th of a teaspoon this morning.  We are open to any advice about helping her learn how to eat.

Because her nighttime sleep is interrupted her daytime naps are less then great.  You never know what you are going to get.  She was very predictable when she was sleeping through the night.  We know this will pass when she can get enough food in during the day.  

Even though she doesn't nap very well she is still very happy.  She smiles, "talks", and yesterday started giggling.  Those moments make it all worth it.  My favorite moment with her is when I am rocking her to sleep and I put her on my shoulder to burp her and she falls asleep there.  I can hear her breath in my ear and feel her breath on my neck.  It is pure heaven and there is no better feeling in the world.  It is a great mix of her being full, tired, and ready to snuggle.  

I have gone to work for 2 half days and they almost killed me -- not because I missed EG, but the work load is unreal.  I have two more half days and then full time on Thursday.  I have about month of hardcore work in front of me.  Leaving EG is currently okay because she is with M and M does great with EG.  She is very patient and tough as nails.  I know that it will be hard for her to be home with her all day long, but we know it is best for EG.

We will see how this week goes...a huge transition week.

E-

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Trying to Sit Up