Tuesday, January 31, 2012

I'm alive!

Just a warning, the following post might be TMI for you. If you're grossed out easily, don't read this...

Remember I told you that I had caught Sienna's cold... boy was I wrong! I don't know where or who I got my horrible flu from, but it was bad, baaaaad! It started off as a regular cold, I had that for three days, then all of a sudden (actually, almost immediately after I blogged on Friday) I went down hill, quick! Chills, body aches. high fever, vomiting... and I'll stop there, you get the picture. I had the stomach flu for four days and let me tell you, it was so much worse than any flu I've had before, for one reason; I nursed my munchkin the whole time. It was so hard, but my kid has to eat right? One time after I finished nursing her, I got up to puke and I almost passed out on the way to the bathroom. Somehow I made it to the toilet, thank goodness because that would have been messy! I'm not sure how high my fever was because I never took my temperature, but I think it  was pretty high. The first night, Isaac woke me up around 2am because when he touched me, he thought I wet the bed in my sleep! But when he felt my upper body and head he noticed that my entire body was drenched in sweat, my hair was soaked, literally dripping, it was gross. He asked me if I wanted to change my clothes but I mumbled- no. I know that sounds disgusting but I couldn't move, my body was so sore, my bones ached... my goosebumps hurt! After a couple days the fever went down and I slowly started to get better. Finally, I think I'm completely better today :)

Shout out to any sick Mamas, you are superwomen!
Also, shout out to great husbands, who help with EVERYTHING while we're feeling so horrible.

Next year, I'm getting my flu shot!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Happy Friday!

TGIF! The Hub is getting off a little early today and he has tomorrow off, thank goodness! He's been working his butt off lately, 6-7 day work weeks and extra long work days, we miss him! This week has been a little tough, Sienna is still teething like crazy and on top of that she got her first real cold. Everyday she's been sitting in the bathroom while Mama takes a hot steamy shower, sleeping with a humidifier every night and getting her nose suctioned around the clock. It's amazing how much snot one little nose can produce! My poor baby, she's finally starting to feel a little better, but of course now Mom and Dad are sick, better us than her tho!

I'm hoping to get out into the sun this weekend, hopefully that makes us all feel better. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Amazing Mama moment

Since Sienna was about two months old, I have been trying to teach her the ASL sign for "eat". I figured that out of all of the different signs, "eat" would be the most helpful for her to know first. Right before I nurse her I ask, "Do you want to eat?" or "Are you ready to eat" or I simply say "Eat", while doing the sign.



I have to admit, sometimes I forget to sign to her before letting her latch on, or if she's being really fussy I'll skip the sign. But for the most part I've tried really hard to be consistent with the sign before feeding her. It has been a couple months now and I started to wonder, is she catching on? When will she finally learn the sign? Am I doing the sign correctly? Am I wasting my time with this?

Well, just a couple days ago the most amazing thing happened! It was about 8:00am and I heard Sienna talking from the other room, so I went to check on her. There she was, laying in her bassinet with a big smile on her face, she had just woken up for the day. I stood above her telling her good morning and giving her kisses. She babbled to me for a minute or so, then she began to fuss. I knew it was time for her to eat so I asked her, "Are you hungry, do you want to eat?", signing "eat" to her when I said the word. The moment I said "eat" and she saw the sign, she immediately stopped crying, her eyes got SO wide and she started to do a sucking motion with her mouth all at the same time. It was clear to me, she knew exactly what I said! She knew exactly what that sign meant! She didn't sign it back to me, but her reaction showed me that she knew, that means EAT! Right away I picked her up and nursed her, repeating the word and sign while she ate. I don't know how many times I told her "You are such a smart girl" :) I was so proud, so happy! To be able to communicate with your child, even before they are able to talk is amazing! I can only imagine how excited I'll be the day she actually signs "eat" to me. I've decided that I'm going to teach her more signs. I'll keep you posted on how things go, I hope well!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Rainy day

I hope you all are having a nice weekend. Us girls stayed inside and played all day while Daddy went riding in the sand dunes. The munchkin just fell asleep, so I thought I'd jump on the laptop for a bit before Isaac gets home, then it's Mama and Papa time :) Popcorn, wine, a movie and my hubby... I couldn't ask for a better Saturday night.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Teething troubles

Recently I've seen a few babies wearing amber necklaces and I figured it was just a new baby trend or something. Then just yesterday, I was talking with my Aunt Kathy and she informed me that those amber necklaces are actually teething necklaces. Huh? What's an amber teething necklace, you ask? Well, I googled my butt off when I got the chance and I found a ton of interesting info about them and how they work...


A Baltic amber teething necklace is made for wearing (not chewing) when a baby is teething. The warmth from the skin releases the active ingredient in the Baltic amber, succinic acid. Recent scientific research has proved that succinic acid has a very positive influence on the human body. It improves immunity and the balance of acids when absorbed into the bloodstream; it stimulates the thyroid glands to help reduce drooling and soothes red inflamed cheeks. Amber's anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are recognized by allopathic medicine as a natural analgesic, which will help to relieve teething pain and calm a baby without resorting to drugs. The skin's warmth releases healing oils from the amber, a resin, which is absorbed into the bloodstream. source

Amber is not a stone and therefore warm to the touch, as well as very comfortable and light to wear. Children wearing amber is a very old traditional custom in Europe and the Far East. Amber is known to reduce inflammation of the throat, ear and stomach and to fight inflammation, infections and respiratory disease. Traditional beaded amber necklaces are a less intrusive remedy for the pain and side effects of teething, such as lack of appetite, upset tummies, ear ache, fevers and colds. A natural analgesic, amber will help calm a baby without resorting to drugs. Amber's anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are also recognized by allopathic medicine. These necklaces are long known for the healing properties of amber which include calmative, analgesic, antispasmodic, expectorant, and febrifuge (anti-fever) functions. source

Mama's, do any of your babies wear an amber necklace? How do you like it? Does it work?

I am having a hell of a time with Sienna's teething right now, so I'm thinking of getting one for her. I would LOVE any feedback from you guys!

My little booty scooter

Sienna has always done so well at diaper changing time... until now! Lately she has been the biggest wiggle worm on the changing table. She does this crazy frog kick then she'll do something like a back bend, it's pretty hilarious but almost impossible to get her diaper on. I thought that giving her a toy might distract her long enough to change her, but that didn't work. I tried singing to her, that didn't work. I made funny sounds and faces, nope, that didn't work either. Finally, I gave her a book... magic! She "reads" the whole time and doesn't wiggle one bit. Now I keep a few books on her changing table so she can read every diaper change. I'm so glad she's starting to take an interest in books!


Bye-bye wiggle worm! Hellooo book worm :)

The books that she's reading in the pictures are twenty five years old, they belonged to my little sister, Sienna's Auntie Phoenix, when she was a baby. I love that!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Mama Memories

When I look back at my childhood, I know that it was very far from perfect, not even close to normal. But I'm not complaining, I am so grateful for everything I went through, as it has molded me into the woman I am today. My mother had me when she was twenty years old and she had her ups and downs as she struggled as a single parent. Through all of the hard times and the not-so-great decisions she made, it didn't matter, still she was the center of my world, the one and only person I looked up to.

Now that I am a mother, I often find myself reflecting on my childhood and the relationship I had with my mom. I think of the wonderful things that she taught me and did with me that have stuck with me all of these years.

Yesterday, as I pushed Sienna in her stroller, I realized that I was doing the exact same thing that my mom use to do with me twenty-something years ago... For most of my childhood we were poor, really poor. Needless to say, we shopped at thrift stores a lot, actually that's the only place we shopped because that's all she could afford. I fondly remember all of the fun times I had thrifting with her. As she would shop, I'd run thru the aisles putting on the most ridiculous outfits and wigs I could find to surprise her and see how hard I could make her laugh. Other times I would head over to the toy section and I'd sit in the aisle playing with all of the neat toys, begging her to buy them all for me.

Yesterday I took Sienna to a thrift store and we spent a good hour or so just browsing around. When she got fussy, I took her out of the stroller and walked her around the store. She had so much fun looking at everything, we even found an adorable onesie for her! Our trip got me thinking, I hope that Sienna has as much fun thrifting with me as I did with my mom. I hope she looks forward to it as she gets older. I hope she gets excited to search for the unique treasures we'll find together. We won't have to shop at thrift stores but I hope she'll want to. I can't wait to search for pretty vintage dresses or old doll houses with her.

Here she is in her cute new onesie...


I think she likes it :)

Click here to see a few of my thrift store finds that I used to decorate Sienna's room.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

My tips & tricks

Now that we have a child, we have a whole lot more stuff! That means more work for me since I'm kind of a neat freak, or maybe I'm a organization freak, maybe a little of both? To make my life a little easier, I've tried to come up with ways to keep Sienna's stuff neat and organized. One thing I've found that helps keep things in order are... baskets!

I have them in every room in our house, I'm sure we have at least fifteen, maybe more?! Here are a few I use in the baby's room...

This is Sienna's diaper drawer.
Two small baskets help keep things neat and organized, one for bibs, one for burp cloths.
Instead of having a large hamper I have a medium sized basket for her dirty clothes. It fits on a shelf in her closet, out of site, which I like. It only holds about one load, so it forces me to keep up with her laundry. Plus this way, it only takes me a few minutes to fold and put away her clean clothes.
Baskets for toys in her closet
This basket is under the sink in her bathroom, it holds all of her bath towels, rags and soaps.

Are you as basket crazy as I am? What are some of your tips & tricks?

Monday, January 16, 2012

Happy MLK Day


Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wedding day memories

Last week I was going through my closet trying to find something to wear and I came across a shirt that I hadn't worn in a while. It was a pretty purple shirt that I had only worn once before, on our honeymoon. The day I wore it we were in Florence, Italy, it was an amazing day!




I'm not sure why I never wore the shirt after that day, but I figured, why not today? I put it on and when Isaac saw me he knew, that was my "honeymoon shirt" and it got us talking about our honeymoon and wedding day. After reminiscing for a while we decided to visit our wedding venue to show Sienna where Mama and Papa got married. It was a a beautiful day, so sunny with a cool ocean breeze. We walked around the grounds showing our girl where we had our first dance, said "I do" and we told her all about our special day. I know she won't remember our trip, so we are going to make the visit once a year until she doesn't forget the story of her parents wedding day. Who knows, maybe she'll decide to get married there too? How cool would that be?!






Thursday, January 12, 2012

Living in the sun









This baby officially loves being outdoors! It makes me so happy when I see her get excited when she feels grass or sand, or when she sees someone walking a dog. She is a quiet little observer, she stares at everything and everyone, she's interested in absolutely everything.

Isn't that last picture cute?! Take a look at her left hand... Dad thought it was hilarious :)

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

A day at the park

It was a gorgeous day for Sienna's first swing ride. For the first few minutes she didn't seem very impressed and was more interested with munching on her hand (she's teething like crazy, three teeth are coming in!) After a while, she realized how much fun it was and she was all smiles! When she got really excited she would kick her little feet back and forth, it looked like she was trying to swing herself, it was adorable! She and her BFF, Mckenzie had a blast swinging together!


"Hey Sienna, you doin' okay over there?"


"I'm good. I don't see what all the fuss is about!"


"What? This is great! Wheeeeeeee!"


"Alright, I guess this is pretty fun! Push me higher Mama!"


"Mom! No more pictures, you're embarrassing me!"




Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Playtime









Watching her play with a new toy for the first time is so fun!