Mom Achievement Unlocked

Dear God, Today might be the day my son learns the f word; my sincere apologies. Also, please send reinforcements. Amen

Mom Achievement Unlocked: overwhelmed by every.single.thing. Today has not been great. My tiny human is still not sleeping well through the night so we are always exhausted. I spent 40 minutes trying to get a very cranky boy to nap for what ended up being only 30 min nap. I tried to sleep in that time but my sleep deprived husband made some not so considerate choices while getting himself dressed and ready for work so but the time he was actually out the door and not disturbing me the tiny human woke up.  In other news our washing machine broke LAST week, and isn't coming until the end of NEXT week. You don't need a PhD in MomMath™️ to know that equation just doesn't work. The tiny human is not usually an overly messy kid, but since the washing machine has been broken I've been going through his clothes like crazy. We are on his 3rd shirt this morning (it's only 10am) and the baby gate is full of strawberry smoothie. Guess whose floor needs...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: miss an entire sermon because the tiny human wouldn't settle when the tiny human is overtired or has just been too still for too long he starts getting really fidgety and loud. fair enough, I do too- I just have a longer threshold. Also, I think he's an extrovert because he 100% gets energized by being around other people, even when (especially when?) he's due for a nap. So, 2 Sunday's ago in church, after break time when we resumed our seats for prayer and the sermon, tiny human was simply not having it. He wasn't bad, he's just not quite 10 months old and there's only so much that can be expected of him. No one in church seems to mind when he gets fussy, except me, because I really don't want him distracting other people. So, getting up and taking a little walk is helpful and being outside always seems to calm the tiny human. To the great outdoors we went. The thing with outside the church is, it's a cemete...

i should start a weekly tally between myself and NTH to see who causes more laundry due to pee... ...but i won't because i'm quite sure the results would depress me 

Mom Achievement Unlocked: 1st mother's day thoughts via GIPHY maybe it's because i got pregnant comparatively later in life than most others (at 33, gave birth at 34), maybe it's because i'm an enneagram 9, maybe it's because i'm secure in who i am, or maybe it's because i saw other mom's self-critical failure mentality and didn't want that nor think it was necessary, but i have no interest in doing the "right" thing or feeling like if i don't "do this" i'm a mess or my child will be. not to say i don't have self-doubt and stress and want to do right by my child and spouse and family as a whole, but i believe those feelings can co-exist with figuring things out and having grace for myself. to me this isn't a pass/fail, win/lose scenario. to be perfectly honest, early in my pregnancy i was reading articles on how to cope with change and one thing that really spoke to me was treat it like an experiment. ever...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: coffee in the shower Usually when NTH naps I either nap too or get stuff done.  Today was a get stuff done day & a shower was a top priority but coffee ...so coffee in the shower it was! I regret nothing.

Mom Achievement Unlocked: surviving air travel in my last post i mentioned bringing our mini potty insert on the airplane to avert any EC disasters. but, we didn't end up needing it.  NTH slept well on the planes, we were able to take him to the bathroom before and after each flight.  of course when i took him to the bathroom right before they were boarding our very first flight he peed all over his pants! he had to go thru security pants-less during his next potty-tunity he peed on his socks 😆  i did take him to the airplane bathroom, therefore ruining my claim of never being in an airplane bathroom, but i've still never actually used one myself so i feel like that streak still stands. on what was supposed to be our last flight after over 12 hours of traveling, about 45 minutes away from landing the propellers revved into high gear and we were told we had to be diverted to Ottawa.  peeps, Ottawa is in a different province than where we were supposed to la...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: lame things become awesome I'm preparing to travel again with NTH. This time my husband is joining us! I'm so happy he's coming (and for the extra hands)! via GIPHY It takes two plane rides to get to our destination on the other end of the country and since NTH's last flight we've started EC (elimination communication, or early potty training) & to be honest I'm a little nervous about it on the plane. NTH definitely doesn't like a wet diaper & we are all getting better at using either his potty or the toilet when he signals. So, even though he's got a diaper backup he will "fuss" before he goes. Normally this is great because that's my signal to potty him. On a plane however, that seatbelt sign doesn't really care about him fussing. Also, the last time we flew I ended up changing him on the seat beside me because the lines to the bathroom were always so long.  Hubby & I hummed and...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: survived a full day at work via GIPHY NTH is 5 1/2 months old and i got offered a day of work on a commercial.  i do makeup and one of my contacts asked if i was available, but it was a full day - 7am to 7pm on the call sheet. I hummed and hawed...do i really want to do this? can i afford not to do this? i called my husband and he said 'go for it, we can make it work.' so i asked mum to watch him, i am so lucky to have my mum around, and she was able to so all was settled. i had to have my phone on silent on set (full disclosure: my phone is always on silent anyway) so mum would message me if she needed anything or had a question.  the nice thing was i would check my phone when i could, but i wasn't always thinking about it.  i had told a group of friends i wanted to be able to focus on the task at hand and not be constantly wondering/worrying about how NTH was doing and they said they'd pray for me.  and i actually had a wonderful da...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: getting organized Organization is not my strong suit. I'm a very go with the flow kinda person. But, as a new mom I'm seeing the need for, and even liking(!), having more structure in my life. For instance, when a friend told me it's normal for NTHs to nap every two hours it was a revelation. I could plan around that 2 hour window. I suddenly started noticing sleep cues! NTH went from random 20-40minute naps to on average 1.5 - 2 hour naps every 2ish hours. Life changing. Because I'm bad at remembering on my own I have fallen in love with my dry erase marker. It has restored hope and balance in my life. You see, I simply put an empty picture frame on my kitchen counter and use the dry erase marker to keep track of naps/feedings/poops so I can notice trends and plan more efficiently in my day. Not to mention keep NTH from having a meltdown because his bottle isn't ready or he's gotten overtired. the paper inside ...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: oversharing about my child's bathroom habits peeps, i can't help it; i'm really pleased with this whole EC potty thing! NTH is very good at it.  he never pees on me while i get him on the potty and i'm consistently catching something at least 80% of our potty visits. i've even held him over our big toilet and he's gone in there!  yesterday we were at my parents' house and he started to squirm and fuss so to the bathroom we went and he did all his business!  my mum was pretty impressed too. this morning i put him on to pee and he ended up spitting up right in the potty, lol. it was a perfect catch!  the benefits just keep on coming, lol

Mom Achievement Unlocked: got poop stains out of a white onesie first try   My son's first explosive poop (aka not able to be contained by a mere diaper) happened while he was wearing this white onesie. I must say, I'm counting it a win that his first explosive poop happened this late in the game. To be honest I've lived in low key fear of a messy diaper blow out for a long time. I used my filled away Pinterest info to peel his onesie down instead of up over his head and then soaked it in some oxy clean for a few minutes before throwing it in the wash. And voila! No stain! Yay!!

Mom Achievement Unlocked: my child finally has his own room you guys, this is a feat, a FEAT.  i was looking through my calendar and every single weekend since june i've had "paint nursery" written in.   of course "paint nursery" sounds way more simple than what was actually required. NTH's room was my craft/junk/hide the mess because guests are coming/extra closet room.  there was a lot of stuff in there to lug out, sort out, donate, and find a new space for (still finding a space for stuff!) and then it had to be patched and sanded and wiped down and THEN we could paint.  well my friends, last week it happened.  HALLELUJAH.  i was getting really stressed about it. he's almost 5 months old, i felt like we both just must be bad people for not having it done already, but honestly we only have so much time and energy each day (also, if you speak enneagram hubby & i are both 9, so, like, heaven help us). indulge me, let me give you a tour, s...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: official potty catcher! last week the BabyBjorn potty arrived and the kushies waterpoof mats. today i officially started EC (elimination communication).  as suggested, i had been monitoring his routines and looking for cues when he's actually going.  it takes practice and is very hit or miss. before getting into this morning's events lets adore the cuteness of the potty together, shall we? ok, how cute is that little potty? seriously. they come in several different colours too.  the high splash guard keeps pee from going everywhere.   the whole white piece comes out for easy flushing i decided today was the day to start.  after his morning bottle i burped him like normal, waited a few minutes and then set him on the potty.  i have it set up near where i normally do diaper changes. i had showed him the potty when we first got it and set him on it once, still in his diaper, as a sort of introduction. this...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: acquired a foam play mat these foam mats are ubiquitous in any family home.  we got ours yesterday so we can officially say we are parents now, i mean, if you don't have one what even are you? a gloried baby sitter? and so another step down the road of interior design ridiculousness has been taken.  my one act of rebellion was choosing a mat in non-primary colours...ok, it was also the least expensive, but still. it's pirate themed & i love that you can raise the edges like a little fence.  he's got those cars that you back up and are self propelled so this keeps them from rolling out of grabbing distance.  during tummy time he loves watching the cars go back and forth. ahoy tiny matey!  i like that it's so easy to clean, if he spits up i can wipe it down instead of having to wash and dry a blanket.  it's also more padding under his little head.  i had 3 layers of blankets on the floor before and his little infant...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: satisfying my inner hippie peeps, i think i'm kinda a hippie at heart.  my first clue was realizing i wanted a med-free birth...then it kinda grew to wanting a home birth (ok, maybe i'm just an introvert who hates hospitals. i did have a hospital birth & i don't regret it at all)  & then i got into baby wearing - no joke, NTH is over 4 months old and he's never been in a stroller! the other night on pinterest i discovered a new hippie-esque thing: Elimination Communication, often referred to as EC.  it's basically super early potty training. via GIPHY you learn baby's cues for needing to 'go' and offer them a toilet so they don't have to sit in wet and dirty diapers.  you still use diapers as a back up (and, i'm not doing cloth, i'm only "kinda" a hippie, remember?).  the theory is it lets baby recognize when they have to go, regular diapers wick away so much moisture that eventually babies...

Mom Acheivement Unlocked: making peace with all the baby accoutrements NTHs come with a lot of crap stuff and my house is already on the cluttery side so accommodating everything has had its challenges. you should see our upstairs...scratch that, no one will ever be allowed up there again.  downstairs clean = upstairs disaster zone  according to the  MomMath TM  law "that stuff has to go somewhere"      but, i digress... one obvious design question that i'm sure everyone has dealt with is, of course, where does one put the nearly life-size Gandalf cardboard cutout? i know. For the moment Gandalf is in the corner, because, well, nobody puts baby in the corner so it's all his.  via GIPHY Also, turns out his real name is Gandalf the Great Babysitter  update: we've added more crap another fun thing! a jolly jumper.  he loves it. like, truly. and i do too because 15 min in that thing twice a day and he naps longer and sle...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: the nap babies are tricky.  sometimes figuring out the formula to napping seems as elusive as drinking coffee while it's still hot, as in, is it even possible? NTH   is almost 4 months old (i know! how is that true?!) and i have decoded some of his napping clues...creating a nap equation or, NapMath TM if you will, a MomMath TM specificity. 1. slight fussing and a general "enh, enh, enh" sound denotes that he's tired and a nap possibility is near. think Anne from Little Brittain.  this comparison cracks my husband and i up.  if you don't know what i'm talking about check out a tiny clip here: 2. create optimal conditions.at this point i do a diaper change &/or fresh bib &/or onesie if needed 3. insert soother. sometimes he likes this one & sometimes i have to go find the other one . there is absolutely rhyme nor reason to this ever alternating preference as far as i can tell. 4. movement. usually if i hol...

Mom Achievement Unlocked: finding the humour it was late and the NTH woke up from what i thought was going to be his long stretch...not so much Hot Tip: when life gives you late night shenanigans find the humour and make a comic

Mom Achievement Unlocked: survived traveling alone with an infant NTH and i took our first big trip, from here in NB to Vancouver...which requires 2 planes each way (my kingsom for a direct flight) but and you know what? NTH is an excellent flyer! i used my moby wrap so my arms wouldn't be exhausted holding him the whole time and to make navigating the airport easier.  luckily i have amazing friends who had tracked down a car seat and base for us at our destination so that was one less thing i had to schlep. also, people in general are so helpful & lovely when one is holding a baby.  people offered to carry my bags while getting off the plane and helped me take me coat off and countless other tiny but helpful things.  i'm the type of person that hates inconveniencing others but having a baby is a good exercise in asking for help...it's somehow empowering in a weird, paradoxical way. so, excuse me pleasant looking stranger, can you please hold this for a second?...