Looking Forward to August

I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but I cannot believe how quickly time is passing! It seems like just a few days ago I was heading out of my classroom to begin my maternity leave, and now I am pulling materials together for the first weeks of the school year.

I definitely want to appreciate everything that is in store for our little family, and August is going to keep us on our toes.

What’s in store for August

Baby Boy’s 4-month check up
Back to school for my husband and myself AKA
My return to teaching since March 3rd
Birthdays upon birthdays! 14 big ones in our family (Who knew November was so sexy???)
The return of football, preseason
Family pictures with my parents
Bad Moms movie night with my girlfriends
A family visit with an aunt and uncle we haven’t seen in a few years
A massage appointment for this mama thanks to my godmother
July was fabulous, but I’m always eager to start a new month because it inspires me to try, try again at achieving goals.

Family Goals: Spend more time with each other than in front of a screen.

I know that his is qualitative, not a quantitative goal unless I literally keep track of minute-to-minute time spent. I do know that I will be gone from the house more than I ever have before since Cliff was born so it will be important to make each moment, each hug, each snuggle count. Nobody wishes that they would have watched one more episode of TV or checked Facebook one more time when they calculate their valuable moments. I may have less time, but I will be better quality time spent with my family in this upcoming month.

Health Goals: Keep everything in check and hit the gym daily.

I have reached my body composition goal by being able to fit into my khaki capri pants for work. It’s a dull goal, but now I just want to maintain that achievement. I can accomplish this by sticking to my 80/20 diet (80% healthy, 20% cheat food) and getting to the gym. I am grateful that I enjoy working out, mostly afterward, and it’s not a mental mountain to climb.

Professional Goals: Take in every day, remain present, and then become reflective.

Ask anyone who has been working full time for some time if they would like an extended period of time off, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would turn you down. I will not insult stay-at-home parents and call my maternity leave/summer break a vacation because trust me, I worked! But what I will say is that this time away from the classroom reminded me why I love my profession, why I believe it’s my calling, and refocused me on my objectives: support student learning through innovative and whole-child instruction. I want to work with students, their parents and my colleagues to support their educational advances. Money, power, and titles were not why I chose to become a teacher, and I have forgotten that in the past few years, allowing what I thought I was “owed” to taint my opinion of what I do and what I contribute. I was able to conduct a two-week SAT English study camp this summer, and it was just enough to remind that I love my job.

July So Far and Goals Check-In

The first two weeks of July have just blown by, and our little family has been thoroughly enjoying!  We have had two guests come to meet our little guy: my SIL and best friend.  Cliff fell in love with them both, and the feeling was totally mutual.

Cliff has been thriving and developing new skills so quickly these days!  Wednesday night we started feeding him some rice cereal from a spoon, and at first he wasn’t so sure what his crazy parents were up to.  He sort of let the liquid pool around his lips and tongue, then would let it seep further into his mouth.  The next night, he started catching on halfway through that he was actually being fed, so he opened his mouth each time I brought his red spoon to his mouth.  it was adorable.

 

 

Cliff had the same emotional reaction: rice cereal in formula is blaaaaaaaand.

What little boy’s life, whose name is Clifford, would be complete without these???

Exactly!  Three months old is the age when you start wearing backpacks anyways, right???

I was asked to run a two-week, SAT Reading tutoring session, which has been a great opportunity for us, not only because of the extra income, but also it forced to met get to know the updated test.

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July is already halfway over, and before I begin to think about August, I thought it would be a good idea to check in with the progress that I’ve made with my July goals.

Books/Reading/Curriculum Planning:

Goal: Review the following books & create “Lists”

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Goal Update:

I have reread both The Great Gatsby and The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and have reacquainted myself with the specific motifs and themes from both novels.

I wouldn’t say that I have created specific lists, by chapter/section, that I want to have the students focus on, but I am definitely closer to having my first units completed.  Luckily, the texts and strategies are familiar to me, so I can easily outline the curriculum.

As for The Scarlet Letter, I have decided that I want to put that title on hold because I am not using it this year.  Instead, I want to spend more time organizing my first two units for English III and AP Literature.

Health and Wellness:

July Goal: Workout daily & fit into my black and khaki capri pants.

Goal Update:

There is definitely more room to breath in both pairs of these pants.  I wouldn’t call them wear-ready at this point, but I still have 15 more days.

A friend of mine asked me how I was able to get back to my pre-baby body so quickly in comparison to some other women, and I told her it was all through hard work and dedication.  I still go to the gym daily, but the harder part is monitoring my food.  I’m an “all-or-nothing” person, so I can’t nibble on things or feel successful with portion control of what I call “heavier foods.”  These include: ice cream, chocolate, fries, chips/crackers, “salads” that contain a creamy dressing that is mixed throughout the ingredients, and breads.

Instead of fighting to be the person who can indulge now and again, I figure it’s better to embrace who I am and just avoid those foods that may taste good for a moment, but make me feel bloated and deflated beanbag-esq.  So that means I have cut out most unnatural sugars and increased my water intake.  It’s not easy this time of the year, what with all the BBQs and appeals to eat ice cream on a hot summer day.

 

Pregnancy Update Week 37

How far along? Currently 37 Weeks!  We have reached the point in the pregnancy in which Baby Boy could arrive at any time.  You know what that means: every little movement, twinge, and sensation makes me think, “Is it happening???”  Not quite yet, but oh so soon.

According to “What to Expect” and their app, Baby Boy is the size of a winter melon, is around 19-22 inches and 6.5lbs.

Total weight gain:  Enough to cook a proper baby boy.

Bump Alert: FULL alert!

With an ever-growing baby, my body is going through some major changes as well.  Check out the difference:

Maternity clothes? Exclusively maternity!  I have had trouble finding comfortable clothes lately, but refuse to spend another dime on  maternity clothing.  Baby will be here soon enough and then I’ll have my choice of SO many t-shirts and yoga pants during my postpartum days.

Stretch marks? Still moisturizing and still luckily stretch mark-free!

Sleep: I am so relieved to tell you that it’s gotten so much better!  I still wake up once during the night, but I am able to get back to sound sleep.

Workouts: I reduced my daily steps goal to 10,000 steps instead of 15,000.  I still reach the higher number most days, but as long as I reach my goal, I am happy.  The strength training sessions have come to an end, but I’ve been doing a lot of stretches that have helped to keep me limber.

Best moment the week: Last week on Sunday, our wonderful friends and coworkers hosted a baby shower for us.  It was so incredibly sweet!

Food cravings: Normal eating patterns, but I have definitely joined the batch lunch making bandwagon.  I’ve always been a creature of habit when it came to my breakfasts and lunches, so it shouldn’t have taken me so long to start packing for all five days.  It makes the work week evenings so much less stressful.

I will say that I have increased my water, not just liquid, intake by about 30 ounces per day.  I cannot seem to get enough water.

Labour signs: A few more contractions here and there, but other than that everything is normal.  My OB gave me the run-down of what to look for before calling her.  It gave me a lot of peace of a mind, and also an increased anticipation.

Symptoms: I still have dry skin and at the end of the day, my feet get pretty swollen.  Thank goodness we live in FL and it’s usually sandals weather.

Belly button in or out? Still an innie despite the belly growth.

Wedding rings on or off: On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy and tired

From the “Sleeping Should be Easy” Blog – Newborn Tips and Tricks for New Moms You’ll be Glad You Read

Newborn tips and tricks:

#1: Onesies can also be pulled down.

Want to know the real reason onesies have those envelope flaps on the shoulders?

I thought it was to accommodate different or growing head shapes. That’s just one part of it. You can also pull the onesie down when your baby has an explosive poop. Rather than maneuvering a filthy onesie over the baby’s head, you can pull it down towards the bottom.

#2: Do the elbow-to-the-knee move to eliminate gas.

My babies had serious cases of gas. Drops weren’t cutting it. New bottles weren’t either. What did help was a neat body move that expelled the gas immediately.

Lie your baby down on his back. Then, move his right arm and left leg towards each other as if the right elbow and left knee were going to touch. Do the same with the opposite elbow and knee. Alternate a few times until your baby stops farting.

#3: Keep newborns awake no longer than an hour and a half.

Newborns sleep a lot. They may not sleep in long stretches, but over the course of the day, newborns will be mostly sleeping. Or, more importantly, newborn babies can’t stay awake for long periods of time. An hour and a half max.

I made this mistake with my eldest, toting him around family parties way longer than an hour and a half. He felt cranky, and we were miserable because of it. Now I know to put newborns to sleep if an hour and a half has passed.

#4: Track your baby’s feeding and diapers.

You’ll want to track how often your baby feeds and at what time. If he’s breastfed, track how many minutes he nurses and on which breast. If he’s bottle-fed, track how many ounces he drinks.

In addition to feeding, keep track of your baby’s diapers, noting whether they were wet from pee or dirty from poop. You’ll also want to record what kind of poop your baby had, such as color, texture, and how often they peed or pooped. I know, not exactly enticing, but necessary.

I created this feeding and diaper tracker that’s yours free when you sign up for my newsletter:

 

#5: Follow the eat/awake/sleep routine.

Do your nurse or feed your baby to sleep? I used to rely on nursing my eldest to sleep, especially for naps. But then he started to fall asleep only through nursing (or rocking). Nursing to sleep wasn’t the way to go.

Then I read Tracy Hogg’s E-A-S-Y technique (eat/awake/sleep/you).Feed your baby (eat) when she wakes up (awake) so she’ll have energy for her awake time. She won’t rely on milk to fall asleep. And she’ll have something to transition from sleep to awake.

After your baby has been awake for an hour and a half, then you put her sleep drowsy but awake (sleep). She can explore different ways to put herself to sleep, such as sucking on her thumb or rolling her head side to side.

And once she’s asleep, you can tend to yourself (you) and repeat the cycle.

Such a game changer for me! All this time I thought my only option was to nurse to sleep. But that only makes the baby rely on nursing or sucking to fall asleep.

#6: Find alternative ways to hold your baby.

Your baby’s preferred position? In your arms. The snuggling is good, but not sustainable. After all, you need your arms for other things, and it’s not always safe to fall asleep with the baby in your arms.

Use other techniques to hold the baby, such as these items I’ve used or recommended:

• A swing
• A baby carrier or wrap
• An infant cushion
• Pushing your baby in a stroller

Try different ways to put your baby to sleep or to hold your baby using any of these methods. The more options you have, the less likely you have to convince your baby to sleep away from your arms.

#7: Swaddle your baby to sleep.

Master the art of swaddling:

1. Place a square swaddle blanket (like these Aden+Anais ones I used) flat on a surface like a diamond.
2. Fold the top corner down 5-10 inches towards the middle so that the diamond now looks like the top part got cut off.
3. Place your baby on top of the swaddle with her neck aligned with the straight line you just folded.
4. With your baby’s arms held straight down next to her body, fold the left corner of the swaddle over her body and tucking it under her back. Her left arm should still be free.
5. Fold the bottom corner up and over her left shoulder, tucking it inside the swaddle.
6. Holding her left arm down, fold the right corner over her arm and entire body, tucking into the swaddle.

Everything should be comfortable and tight. You want to mimic the snugness of being in your womb. The moro reflexes typical of the newborn stage also cause her to flail her arms. This wakes her up, either because of the motion or she hit herself on the face.

Look at this step-by-step illustration of how to swaddle a baby from the Mayo Clinic.

You can skip these steps using a velcro swaddle blanket or the Magic Merlin. Both keep your baby snug, helping her fall and stay asleep. I personally used the velcro swaddle blanket which helped so much! I didn’t have to worry about the swaddles coming undone. It comes especially helpful in the middle of the night—less steps to do!

#8: Use white noise so your baby doesn’t startle.

Your baby listened to the white noise of your womb. To go from that to a pitch-quiet room is a big change. Help your baby sleep longer with a white noise machine or a fan. There should be enough sound to keep her from jumping at the slightest sound.

#9: Hang darkening curtains.

Your baby has no sense of day or night when she was in the womb. Out in the real world, she’ll need help adjusting to the hours. Help her get into a routine by hanging darkening curtains, especially at night. Her body will adjust and she’ll know that nights and dark mean long stretches of sleep.

Conclusion

The newborn stage is tough enough as it is. You’re not getting any sleep. Forget about hobbies or leisure time. And your baby takes up nearly all the hours of the day.

With these newborn tips, you’ll have an easier time caring for your baby. You’ll know the best way to relieve your baby of gas and how to help her sleep longer. And you can finally enjoy the newborn months a little bit more