Wordless Wednesday - Godson Snuggles

Secret Code : Snuggles Pin It

CandiCheeks Baby Socks Review & Giveaway

You know what my favorite part of a baby is? Toeses. I loves toeses. CJ has the cutest toeses. I may be biased but it is true. The best thing about a baby boy is that he gets to wear the cutest socks and shoes on his toeses. (Ok I promise I won't say toeses again.) Before CJ was born, I went into a baby consignment store and they had a giant box of socks. I asked the lady how much for each pair of socks and she said $5 for the box. It was awesome. Unfortunately, CJ quickly outgrew almost all of those socks.

So I get to go shopping for new socks. The best place I've found for the cutest socks is a company called CandiCheeks. CandiCheeks' socks come in different characters. Here are some of my favorite sets.

Sea Character Sock Bundle 4 pack

Outdoor Character Sock 4-pack

Creature Character 5 pack

Winter Character 5 pack

The packs range from $16.99 to $21.99 and single pairs are $4.99. There are adorable girl socks too, but since I don't have a girl yet, I only got boy socks. The socks range in size from from newborn all the way up to 4 years.

Here are CJ's favorites, the polar bear socks. He of course refused to let me take a picture of him actually wearing them. These socks are thick and stretchy, so perfect for growing baby feet. The colors are extremely vivid and bright. These have been worn as slippers so all day long all over the house, and they didn't rip or get faded on the bottoms like some socks do. They've been washed and the colors didn't run into the white part which can sometimes happen. These are very sturdy and well-made socks. More importantly, they are freaking adorable. Just look at CJ's toeses! (Uh oh. I sad toeses again.) I'll definitely be adding these to my Christmas gift list for everyone I know with babies. If you have a few babies in your family, you could buy a 5 pack and divide it into stockings. That'd be awesome and save you some money.

If you would like to win your choice of a cutesie pair of CandiCheeks socks, just fill out the rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

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Can I recover from the fear?

Two weeks ago was my sons 2nd birthday. My plan here on the blog was to finally write his birth story. And I couldn't do it. I've tried many times over the course of the last two years to write down what happened before I forgot. I am realizing now that I am never going to forget. The parts I was lucid for are forever ingrained into my memory.

Over the last two years, different people have asked me about CJ's birth. That is one of the first things a new mom asks you at a playdate when you have a young baby. “How was your birth?” It seems like such a simple question. I would always shrug it off and say, “Well, it was kind of tough.” and leave it at that. Even with my OB/GYN at my yearly physical (she wasn't my doctor when I gave birth) I would abbreviate everything. My description of my birth would sound something like this “Uhmmm... well I was induced but it didn't go very well and uhmmm I eventually had an emergency C-section and... there were some complications...”. I'd always end it with, “But CJ and I are both fine now” and add a smile. I will never tell a pregnant woman my birth story. Those who have asked I've told, “Well, what happened to me isn't the norm and I don't want to scare you, so I'll tell you when you are done giving birth”.

So for two years, I've kept silent. I've pretended that anytime I think about my son's birth I don't immediately get chills. I've pretended that I can't vividly remember what it felt like when the doctor cut into my stomach. I've pretended that I don't remember feeling completely violated by doctors and nurses and midwives. I've pretended that I didn't almost die. I've pretended that I can't remember the horrified look on the doctor's face when I casually mentioned that I felt a crackle in my chest every time I took a breath. I've pretended not to remember the nights spent away from my newborn son. I've pretended not to remember the nurse telling me I wouldn't be able to breastfeed because I'd been separated for to long. I've pretended that I don't have nightmares at least once a week.

And I just can't pretend anymore.

When I was in the Army, I was a Mental Health Specialist. My main job was to treat soldiers with Post-traumatic stress disorder. I could recognize the signs right away - nightmares, shaking, flashbacks, denial. Yet I kept trying to lie to myself about what I was feeling and I just can't anymore. I am shaking right this second, covered in goosebumps, trying very hard not to cry as I write this out. I hope that finally getting all of this out of my head might help in some way.

Part of me feels ashamed. How could I be traumatized by the act that gave me the most perfect creature I've ever known? How can I not just be thankful that I'm still alive? I remind myself how lucky I am, since childbirth used to be the number one killer of women.

I am thankful. I am thankful for my son, my life, and my family.

This doesn't change the facts. I desperately want to have another baby. Hubby and I planned from day one on a huge family. Yet the idea of actually giving birth makes my stomach get all tied up in knots, goosebumps appear, and my hands start to shake. I pray daily that I will be blessed with another child. I pray daily for the courage to endure another labor. I pray that if I am blessed with another pregnancy, I will have the courage and the strength to be in charge of my own body and not allow things to escalate out of hand again. What else can I do? 

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Why You Should Do a 3D Ultrasound

When I was pregnant, my absolute favorite moments were the ultrasounds. I loved seeing my little schmoops and hearing his heartbeat. I was paranoid for a lot of my pregnancy (for absolutely no reason) so for those few minutes, I felt completely calm. In the Army, they tell you around 20 weeks what you are having. Well, the week prior to that, I was home visiting my hubby in Massachusetts. He wasn't going to be back in Kentucky with me while I had the gender ultrasound. We (ok, I) decided we were going to go get a 3D ultrasound. I found a place in Boston and we went in.

It was awesome and so much fun. CJ was lounging, leaning back with his hands behind his head (how he still sleeps) with his legs spread wide open. As soon as she zoomed in we knew. There was no denying that he was all boy.

Look at my schmoops, can't believe he is going to be two!

If you are around 20 months, you can go in and find out what you are having. It is a ton of fun when it is in 3D. I got an awesome DVD with a video and music

If you are in the Austin area, check out Miracle Insight.  They have 2D, 3D, and even 4D ultrasounds. I don't even know what a 4D ultrasound is. I can't wait to get pregnant again! I want another baby to grow! Pin It

Wrestling, Babies, and Ticks

So who watched Wrestlemania last night? We did. Craig even went out and got CJ a new shirt just for the occasion. What did you guys think of the fights? I honestly wasn't that impressed. They all felt very anti-climactic. I did love how the Undertaker lifted up Triple H and helped him out of the ring after Undertaker won the match. I will also admit that the fight between Chris Jericho and CM Punk was pretty awesome. And I don't even like either one of them.

Before Wrestlemania, I had a little girl's date with our friend Theresa. She is 13 weeks pregnant and I am soooo jealous, although not of the nausea she's had for the last few months. We went to Target so I could get stuff to make CJ's Easter basket and then to Barnes and Noble because we both have an addiction. I wanted to return a Nook cover that my mom bought me but they wouldn't take it since it was past 60 days. I could've made a stink about it, but whatevs, I'll just use it. Here's CJ's Easter basket. It isn't completely done. I have to make him his own because he can't have chocolate. Plus my grandmother always made ours and I thought that was more fun.

 

My cousin Amanda and her fiance came over for Wrestlemania. Of course that means my little 5 week old nephew Caleb was here too. What a little snugglebug! He's only 8 lbs since he was a few weeks early. CJ tried very hard to be gentle with him, even though it was hard for him. He played peek-a-boo while Caleb was nursing and then brought him all his loveys and blankies to use. It was cute. When I put CJ to bed last night he put his mouth on my chest and made smacking noises with his lips. It was funny. 

Peek-a-boo!

So all in all, it was a good weekend. I've got some great books to read and review this week. Plus some awesome picture books that I received and I'm going to be part of a blog tour. So stay tuned!  

Oh, I almost forgot about the tick thing. We came home from seeing the Easter bunny today, and I was petting the dog. She had a bump on her head so I started to rub it thinking she scratched herself or something. Then it started moving. IT WAS A TICK!! Gaaaaah. I had to call my mother-in-law to see what I was supposed to do. I'm from the ghetto, so I can handle cockroaches and rats, but I almost threw up trying to get that tick out. It was so fat and bloody and disgusting. When Craig gets home from work we are going to have to do a thorough check on her. Plus I'm going to have to take her to the vet tomorrow because I'm a bad mommy and she isn't caught up on her shots. Argh. So yea, gross. Just thinking about it makes me nauseous. 

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Breastfeeding & Weaning

Let's talk about breastfeeding for just a bit. If you can't or choose not to breastfeed, more power to you. I do not judge. If you are or were breastfeeding, more power to you. I do not judge.

There, now that I got that out of the way, I can talk about my breast-feeding journey.

I knew as soon as I got pregnant that I wanted to breastfeed. I figured, why the heck would I have been carrying around 38DD's for the last 12 years of my life if they weren't met to feed my baby. I thought it'd be easy. Pop a boobie in the mouth and boom, milk. If you have started breastfeeding, you know that it isn't always that easy.

Right after I had CJ, I was sent to the ICU for a few days. CJ was able to come visit but I was for the most part, upstairs with Craig in the maternity ward. No one mentioned to me that I should try to pump and CJ was upstairs being fed from a bottle at all times. So when I finally got back to the maternity ward and back to my baby, he was already taking all of his milk from a bottle. And lots of them. He was a formula fiend.

The first time I tried to nurse, the nurse who was there "helping" was the exact opposite. She was sighing and telling me I was doing it wrong and then she said "He's gone with formula too long, it is going to be impossible to get him to nurse." I started crying, so obviously CJ started crying too. I felt like such a failure. First I almost die giving birth, then I am separated from him for days, and now I can't even nurse him?! What kind of mother was I?!

I continued to try to nurse him along with giving him formula from the bottle for the next day or two that I was in the hospital. He would nurse for a bit then scream for more because I only had the colostrum which wasn't as filling as the bottle with 3 ounces of formula. Then, on the day we left, it happened. Craig was bringing the car to the front door and he had taken everything from the hospital room. It was just CJ and I waiting to be picked up. CJ started crying hysterically. I had no idea what to do. So I just lifted up my shirt and put him near my breast. He latched on like a champ and that was it. From then on, he was a strictly nursing baby. We nursed for a long time he and I. I thought it was going to last forever.

I didn't have a time limit in mind for how long I would nurse. I figured I would keep nursing until he decided that he was done. I thought I'd be nursing until he was at least 2 years old, maybe 3. But CJ had other plans.

When he was a newborn, he nursed whenever he felt like it. Eventually, that settled into a routine of nursing when he woke up, nursing at naptime, and nursing to sleep. He did that until about 14-15 months. Then he decided he only needed to nurse at night. He kept that up for about 4-5 months.

Then one night just a few weeks ago, we settled down to nurse to sleep like usual. I had him on his boppy, blankies all snuggled around him, lovey in his arms. He latched in like usual, and then stopped. He took his head off and just let it rest on my breast like it was a pillow. I said "Do you want milk?" and he signed back "milk". I put my breast in front of his face and he looked at it and then turned away. I was baffled. I signed milk, he signed it back. He wouldn't even look at it! So I got up and got him a cup with some of his soy milk and gave it to him. He put it in the crook of his arm, lay his head on my shoulder, and fell asleep. I was so confused. I figured it was just a fluke and the next day he'd be back to nursing.

Nope. Since that day, he has refused to nurse. It has been over a month now. No more nursing my baby to sleep. No more nursing snuggles when he is having a bad day. I'm not going to lie, I cried. I told my husband "Waaaah, CJ doesn't love me anymore."

I realize that this is a natural thing, and that I was right to listen to CJ's cues and not force the issue. But did anyone else feel sad when their baby weaned on their own? Tell me about your breastfeeding journey. How long did you nurse for?

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An Ode to Cheese

Ode to Cheese

by Lindsey Aylward

O! You have been delicious

From the stinkiest gouda

To the sharpest cheddar

And the crumbliest feta

You were melty on my grilled cheese sandwich

And softened the kick of buffalo chicken

But alas!

While your scrumptiousness has been heaven to my lips

It is poison to my child

So banned from the household You are

Until a time when the babe can partake

Without trips to the doctor

And the constant company

Of an epi-pen.

O! Cheese. You shall be missed

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So why am I writing odes lamenting the loss of cheese? While like I've mentioned before, the baby has a severe milk allergy. So we've decided once and for all to get rid of the cheese in the house and go full-on soy. I'll still have cheese on special occasions when we go out, but I won't have it in the house. No more grilled cheese. No more feta on my hummus and tabouleh. I'm not quitting cold turkey. Oh no. Once all the cheese in the house is gone though, that is it. No more cheese enters the house. The babe can now open the refrigerator and it is just an accident waiting to happen. 

So if you know and good dairy-free cheese substitutes, let me know. How did you like my poem? It's pretty sweet eh? I didn't pay $40,000 a year for a BA in English for nothing....

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Welcome to the World!

It is a good thing that I had the last few posts already scheduled. I don't know what it was, but I was dead to the world for 24 hours. I didn't have the strength to pull my body out of bed. I was freezing cold and the only thing that would keep me warm for 5 minutes was to sit in a scalding hot shower. Then I didn't have the energy to pull myself out of the bathtub. I had a moment where I actually thought to myself, "It's ok to just sleep in the bathtub right?" But anywho, I'm better now. Still not 100%, but definitely a lot better than I was. The bambino is also sick. He's had bad cough for over a week now, so tomorrow we're going to take him in to the pediatrician to see what's what.

Well, in less depressing and COMPLETELY AWESOME NEWS....

I'm an auntie!! Well, I'm already an auntie, but I'm an auntie even more now!!

Welcome to the world, Caleb!!

Caleb Clay

Isn't he just precious? I am so freaking proud of my cousin, Caleb's mommy, Amanda. She was induced because Caleb wasn't growing (he was 4lbs, 11oz) at birth and she was calm as a cucumber the whole time. She went from 1 cm to 10 so fast that she couldn't get an epidural, and she rocked that labor. I am so freaking proud of her. I am also a little bit in awe. They had him on the tube for a little bit so he could gain weight. He is already (less than 24 hours later) off the tube and nursing like a champ. Woot wooot! So congratulations to Ken and Amanda, the new mommy and daddy. I can't wait until CJ and I are both better and we can come visit the little schmoops!! Pin It

Wordless Wednesday

You can probably guess how good of a mood the hubby was in Sunday night...

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Cloth Diaper Reviewers Needed

I've been using cloth diapers with the bambino since he came home from the hospital. Cloth diapering can seem really expensive at first, but is actually cheaper in the long run. To help you get started, would you like the chance to receive and review cloth diapers for free? I know I would. If you are interested in testing some of Kebbie's Diapers, please go to Midnight Mommy to see more information. You must be a cloth diapering mommy blogger. Good luck!

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Christmas Decorations & Baby Bites

We've got all the decorations up. CJ has no idea what they are for, he just knows he wants to pull them all down. I thought I'd share some pictures of our Christmas decorations and what has been going on lately.

Mantel place.

I love the way the mantel looks. The flash kind of ruined it in this picture, but it looks really pretty. Last year we got those nutcrackers for Christmas. One is Sherlock Holmes and one is a female soldier. CJ loves the two piggies on the end. He points up at them and starts signing pig and making snorting noises. Such a goof. We currently don't have an elf on the shelf, we have a Jack on the shelf.

We apparently have a lot of Christmas themed stuffed animals. Next year I plan on decorating CJ's room with these. I also plan on making a Christmas tree forest every year. There is the start of it on the left side. Don't you just love the three wise men? I love them. We got them at the Christmas Tree Shops. 

I love this tree! Craig and I got married two days after Christmas. We asked our guests not to bring any presents except for a small ornament to start our Christmas decoration collection. So that is what on this tree. They're mostly white so I thought they'd look nice on the all-white tree. 

At CJ's age, the house can get a mess. It is really hard to keep up with it. The only cleaning secret I have is that I pick up as I go. If I'm going in a room, I grab something from the room I am currently in that has to go into the room. Once the baby goes to bed, I do a thorough clean sweep. Well, relatively thorough. I like a lived-in home. 

In other, un-holiday-related news, CJ is teething like whoa. He woke up for 3 nights in a row and we couldn't figure out why. Finally, I poked my finger along and his gums and found bumps bumps bumps. The poor thing. I've been giving him a little Tylenol before bed and he seems to be sleeping much better. He got one more tooth along the bottom right, but I expect by the end of the week he'll have 3 or 4 more. Poor guy. He doesn't look too upset here though, because he has "sgettis". 

Here's my new favorite picture of the stinkybutt. Giving mama kisses. He loves to give kisses. For some reason he puckers just his bottom lip. Adorable. I make good babies. 

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Review: Baby Shower Fun Book

My cousin Amanda, who is like a sister to me, is 20 weeks pregnant with her first baby. I couldn't be more excited. So when I saw that Baby Shower Fun Book by Darecki Daniels-Youman was a choice for a book to review, I definitely had to get it to see if it would work for her. I'm hosting her baby shower. This book is perfect. 

Each of the first 50 pages has questions on it for each guest to fill in. The guest makes their best guess on the baby's birthdate, height, weight, hair and eye color. They even guess how long the mom will be in labor! 

After that are the pages for the guests to fill in their motherly advice. Since my cousin has no clue when it comes to babies, this will be really helpful. I'm trying to come up with the perfect advice for her. Any ideas? 

Then finally there are pages to put pictures from the baby shower. Pictures of the mom-to-be, tables, groups, and the hostess. There's also blank pages for the shower invitation and registry cards. 

I only found a few negatives with this book. First, the book is huge in itself. Second, the pages to be filled in by the guest take up a whole page with really big font. It looks like the font size used with books for people who have a hard time reading. That's it though. Otherwise an awesome book.

This will be a great keepsake for my cousin and her baby. I highly recommend it. Go here to purchase this book from Dorrance Publishing.

 I received a complimentary copy of (Book Title) as a member of the    

    Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team.  Visit dorrancebookstore.com

    to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

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Blast from the Past Saturday

I'm setting this up in advance since I'm in Vermont. I just wanted y'all to see this because it is uncanny.

Everyone thinks that CJ is a clone of his dada, but I have photographic evidence that he looks just like mama. That is my baby pic on the right and CJ on the left. Same nose, lips, eyebrows and hairdo. Plus CJ totally gets his facial expressions from me. Love this boy!!

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Free Coupons

I have two coupons for free items from Beech-Nut. The first is a free box of Beech-nut cereal and the second is for two free jars of Beech-Nut baby food. They don't expire until March 2012. If you'd like them, just send me an e-mail at LindseyAylward@yahoo.com. Thanks! Pin It

Blast from the Past Saturday

Who is that gorgeous baby? Why, that's me! I was such a cute baby. I always stuck my tongue out like that so they called me "Lindsey the lizard". It's so crazy how much CJ looks like me while also being a tiny clone of Craig. Pin It

What a day...

How was my day you ask?

Well the hubby got selected for a 3-week long trial at jury duty. So that's fun. In addition to the jury duty, he still has to work his 8-hour evening shift. So I have no hubby from 6am until midnight. Awesome.

And then there's this...

I have been dealing with that face all day long. I'm guessing that some of his molars are coming in because he is just not a happy camper. You can see even the dog is trying to ignore his unhappiness. (Please excuse my pink heart pajamas. At least the baby is dressed.)

All he's wanted to do all day is eat and nurse and sleep. I wouldn't mind him wanting to sleep if he didn't want to nurse the entire time he was napping. (Overshare alert!) My nipples are hurting, let me tell you. He finally went to bed about 9:30, an hour and a half after we went in his bedroom to rock to sleep. He just screamed and screamed until finally he rested his poor little head on my shoulder and passed out.

I literally accomplished nothing today. It was one of those days where I just had to give up trying to clean or do dishes or eat. I just had to snuggle with my bambino. So we did. Poor schmoopy. I hope he feels better soon. For both of our sakes. Pin It

Fishy signs!

I apologize that I haven't been keeping up with the "signs" part of the blog name. We are still signing with CJ and he is loving it. He has two new things that he's doing with signs.

Whenever we've heard the ABC song on something, I've signed along with it. Well now CJ does too. Obviously, he has no idea what he is doing, and isn't actually signing the correct letter signs. The fact that he knows that there are signs that go along with the letters is still good. He thinks he's hilarious when he's doing it. If I don't see, he comes over to make sure I see. If I don't hear the song, he comes over to make sure that I do so I'll sign along.

He has been doing the same thing when we sing "There was a dog and Bingo was his name-o". He loves that he gets to clap and sign with that one.

Finally, CJ has made up his own sign! Since he was a baby, he has made a really funny face. I'll try to find a picture of it. There's a picture to the right. We called it his fishy face, so we made a fishy face back at him. So now whenever we say fish, he tries to make a fishy face at us. It's so funny. I'll try to get a video of it too.

As far as teaching the baby sign language, I haven't had much luck. Everyone is interested in taking the classes, but no one is interested in hosting them. I will be doing some "read and sign" and "sing and sign" classes at the local library to try to drum up some business. I'll post about those when I get a little more information. Pin It

Silent Sunday

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"Man Bits"

Having never had a son before, I wasn't exactly prepared for the moment when my son would notice his "man bits" as I've taken to calling them. The first time was probably three months ago. I had him on the changing table, mid-change, when he put his hand down there. He felt his bits, and promptly started screaming bloody murder. "Where did that come from?!" he asked.

A few nights later, I was changing him on the living room floor into his pajamas. I usually let him run around naked for a few minutes. Well, this time, he stood up, touched his bits again, and then ran around the house screaming like they were chasing him. I was trying so hard not to laugh. I just put his diaper on him and he seemed to forget about them.

Now it seems a daily thing. He doesn't scream anymore. Now he's just fascinated. Anytime he's naked, his hands are on his bits. In the tub, on the changing table, at the doctor's office. No harm done, I say. Just like with everything else, he's exploring. Far be it for me to keep him from it.

I just wondered what everyone else's baby body part explorations were like. Let me know if your baby did anything similar.

Ps. I am aware that it is extremely childish to say "man bits" instead of penis. Well that's too bad, I don't like the word penis. I also don't like the word vagina. Blame my Catholic upbringing. Pin It

Silent Sunday

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