Baby Ella is 2 months old!!

Can you believe it?? I can't. But it's true. My little baby girl. The one I have dreamed about since I was old enough to not be a baby myself, wanted since my teens, and ached for since meeting my husband, is now two months old. Today was her 2 month appointment and it was a doozy.

As you may or may not know, Ella Grace was not gaining so well during her debut weeks. She was only 10 oz above her birth weight at her one month appointment. However, the following week, she had gained a pound! Flash forward to today...

I spent the morning loving on my little girl. Blowing motor-boats to make her smile, singing songs, taking pictures and telling her how much I love her.  I packed us up for her 11 o'clock appointment and we were on our way. 

Two month baby check appointments are a shot appointment. As I mentioned in my previous post "That's A LOT of shots!" Sean and I have decided to do a modified/delayed vaccination schedule for Ella Grace. I knew this was what I wanted, but on my way to the appointment I was becoming anxious. I wasn't sure if it was the thought of her getting shots in general, or my fear of someone (a nurse or doctor) telling my what I had decided was wrong and trying to pressure me to change my mind. I think it was a little of both. I've also previously mentioned my mommy crush/hero Jessica. I called her for support and she came through for me. She not only told me that Ella would be fine, but she also made me remember it was my right and my job as Ella's mom to make decisions that I felt best for my daughter. That no-one could tell me 100% that my decision was right or wrong, and that as long as I was confident in my decision, that is what mattered. 

I decided on 2 shots. Polio and HIB. Two very basic vaccines with mild if any reactions. Ones that I received at her age. I mentioned at sign in that we didn't want all of the shots today. The nurse called us back. We took Ella Grace to be weighed and measured...

Ella Grace at two months! 

 11.9 pounds

23 3/4 inches long

 38 1/2 Head Circumference

Once in the room, she began to talk about today's visit. "Today is a vaccination visit she will be getting..." "excuse me, we actually only want to do two vaccinations today." "The vaccines we get are premixed with..." "no, we only want the Polio and HIB today. That is all." "The doctor will be in shortly." Yeah. She seemed kind of miffed that I was standing firm. I felt good. The doctor came in and things got rolling. He looked over Ella's measurements and was pleased. He congratulated me on getting her weight up while continuing to almost exclusively breast feed. (Ella has been given formula on occasion) Then came time for the shots. He administers the shots himself. Something that I really appreciate. He is who examines my daughter and he is the only one who will ever give her vaccinations. I told him I only wanted to do the Polio and HIB today and he said ok. Reminded me that I needed to keep track of what she receives and make sure she gets the next dose (if required) at the appropriate time. He asked me when I planned to do the two other shots that we were not getting today. I told him that we would be back in a month but that I still wasn't sure we would be getting the DTAP then. I'm still doing my research and feel that as long as she is not in day care, we can hold off on this for the time being. He was okay with that, for now, and told me to feel free to call and talk to him anytime. Then came the shots.

He did them fast and although she cried, she didn't wail like some babies I heard in the office. I immediatly took her from the table and nursed her. Since she was only in her diaper we were almost competly skin to skin with my hooter hider covering me. Dr. V told me to take my time. By the time we walked out, she was calm. Not as happy as when we came in, but not a mess.

 The rest of today has be trying. My mom went and bought us a bottle of baby Tylenol when she was fussing and crying even when nursing. She was hurting and I wanted her to feel better. Now it's nearly midnight and she has finally fallen asleep and I'm about to crash myself. We'll see how the rest of the night goes. We have to be up early tomorrow. Our first time trying to be out of the house before 8am. Wish us luck!!

New Button on my side bar...

If you haven't noticed it, look  harder! It's Jack's Harvest.!

A mom-owned and operated frozen organic baby food company! And I just happen to know both of the founding moms! Heather Schoenrock and Connie Pope. Now, obviously Ella Grace isn't eating solids yet, but I can't wait to see her face when has her first taste of  Jack's Harvest!Some of my readers are already feeding their babies solids, or are about to start. Some of you might even have older children who you are fighting with to eat their veggies. That is why I'm sharing this with you now. Take a look at Jack's Harvest online and place your order today! Check out the recipes section to see how Jack's Harvest can help you get those older kids to eat some of the wonderful veggies they think they don't like and all the great flavors available for getting your babies started on, not only yummy in the tummy but good for the body as well, solids. When Ella Grace starts solids I will make sure to write all about it and what she thinks of Jack's Harvest. In the mean time, get yours now and tell me what your little ones like best! Better yet, tell your local grocery store that you love Jack's and want it in your store! Heather and Connie have provided  great letter you can send to your local store on their home page. You can also find them on twitter and facebook !

I can't wait to hear about what flavors your little ones love! Send me pics and reviews to mommydeegan@yahoo.com

(Save an additional 10% when you purchase eligible Jack's Harvest products sold by Amazon.com. This discount will be reflected in your cart at checkout. Offer valid through March 31, 2010.)

Awing Ella Grace...beacuse I can!

Because this is my blog, I get to AW my sweet little Ella Grace. Enjoy!

Laundry day is fun!

Thank you Rachel and Peggy! I LOVE my elephant.

Man, it was a long day!

Hmmmm...not sure what this thing is, but I like.

NO...regression is bad!

Last night Ella Grace was up until almost 2am. Yup. So did she sleep longer you ask?? Nope. Shorter actually. She was awake at 4:30, 6:30, and 8:30 to nurse. We went back to sleep from 9-10:15 and then she was up until 1pm Slept for 20 minutes and was awake again. She has now been asleep for almost 1 1/2 hours.

I am exhausted but have so much to get done. I have 3 posts that I need to edit and put up and then I need to clean the fridge out, make several phone calls, figure out dinner for tonight and the rest of the week, clean the bathroom, finish up some final editing on some photos, and bath Ella and myself. I literally stink. Not sure why I smell so bad other than that I didn't shower yesterday and well, today is almost over. Ok. Maybe I do know why I stink. I have to run through that to-do list so that we can try to have an early night. I need sleep. Wish me luck? Or sweet slumber?

Bare Naked

No, not me! Bare Naked natural granola.

Tonight I went to the store in search of something yummy. I wanted something junky but not too junky. I looked at Chex Mix, but it just wasn't doing it for me. I had a bag of some sort of chocolate pretzles, and then on my way to checkout, I saw it. The "healthy" section of the grocery store. I wandered in. I recognized many of the items and brands. But felt a fraud walking through the isles with my junk food in my buggy. I walked back and put it where I found it then headed back to the healthy section. I looked around and something caught my eye. Chocolate granola??? Ooooo... that sounds wonderful! Then I saw something else, Izzy Sparkling Water. In a CAN!!

I am a huge fan of this water, but I have never seen it in a can before! The can's have slightly less than the bottles, but that's okay, they also cost less.

I headed to checkout with my "healthy junk food" feeling pretty good about my purchases. I'm home now with Ella, settled in bed with my laptop and munching on my Bare Naked Chocolate Granola, washing it down with Izze Pomegranate Sparkling Water in a can. Yup, still feeling good about my purchases.

I might have to go buy some other flavors of this granola. It's pretty darn tasty.

Note: this is my first product review. I was not paid or even asked to write this but I did and I stand by my opinions. If you purchase these items and do not like them, you can write me and I will give you my address to send me the remaining product. I will not refund your money, but I will gladly accept your cast offs.

Hospitals and Hand-Me-Downs

Hospitals

Today did not start out as planned. Then again, what day with an infant ever really goes as planned??

Last night I set my alarm for 7am. This is the first time I have set an alarm to actually wake me up since Ella Grace was born.  I had planned on being up and ready to see Sean by 8am. I knew I would be nursing Ella Grace somewhere near 7 so the alarm was more of a "hey it's 7" alarm than "hey it's time to get your booty moving" alarm. Well, apparently when my alarm went off I hit off instead of snooze and since Ella had nursed at 6am she wasn't awake at 7, so we slept. We slept until Sean called at 8am and woke me up. I woke quickly but thought, "ok, I can still be out of here fast-ish and see Sean before his procedure." I threw some clothes on, packed the diaper bag, got Ella Grace out of the swing where she was sleeping. I un-swaddled her and changed her diaper. At this point it was 8:20. Ella Grace was awake and wanted to nurse. Lucky for me, this past week or so she she become much more efficient in her nursing so this didn't stress me that much. While nursing, Sean called again. They were taking him to his surgery now. "What?? Now?? Why??" I was trying to remain calm but it wasn't working so well. Sean's mom was nearly there at this point and was able to talk to the doctor and see Sean before his procedure. That at least gave me some comfort. He didn't go under without seeing the face of a loved one.

Ella Grace and I got to the hospital around 9:45 and by 10:20 Dr.S was out talking to us. The lump on Sean's neck wasn't a lymph-node, but a nasty looking cyst. He had cut it out and cleaned up the area surrounding it to avoid further infection. He had attempted to locate a lymph-node near by, but was unsuccessful. He no longer feels like we were dealing with Lymphoma, but wants Sean  to follow up with either a hematologist or an infectious disease doctor. Something is causing Sean's health problems, and he feels strongly that he needs to see someone who will pull all the pieces together and hopefully help us out. Hopefully giving us that much needed break I wrote of yesterday.

Sean is now home. He is tired and sore, but stubbornly trying to do work.

Hand-Me-Downs

 As many of my readers know I have been babysitting for a special family with triplet girls for a while now. Before Ella Grace, I was their Saturday sitter. I was there every Saturday to help with whatever needed helping. Birthday parties, Girl Scout field trips, packing for vacation, school shopping, cleaning out the girls clothes. As you can probably imagine, that last item yields quite a bit of clothing that no longer fits or the girls simply don't like and won't wear. For several years, their mom participated in local consignment events, but that was more work than it was worth, so this season, she is cleaning out the storage closet and getting all those clothes out of the house. Now, although there are little to no baby clothes yet, there are oodles of cute clothes 2T and up so I talked to my mom and she agreed to store whatever I wanted to keep for Ella Grace. I also called my good friend Ashley to come and see if there was anything she would like for her little K bug.  K bug is 3 so there was quite a bit that Ashley could and would use. We spent a couple of hours on Sunday going through clothes and a couple more hours on Thursday. Ashley walked away with BAGS of clothing to last K bug for quite some time. She is a single parent, and works hard. But as we all know, kids are expensive. These clothes are a real blessing and budget saver for her. The great thing about Ashley taking these is that she can pass them along to me for Ella Grace!

If you have clothing that your children have out grown, take a moment to think about the people in your life. Is there anyone who you could bless?? Understandably, most won't have as much to give away as the mother triplets, but every little bit helps. If you don't know anyone personally, how about donating to a women's and children's shelter? Or your local Red Cross? I'm not a fan of donations to Goodwill as then people have to buy the clothing. I would much rather simply gift them to an individual or an organization.

Have you had your break today?

If only going to McDonald's really made things better and made a girl feel refreshed. Then again, if it did, I might be as big as a house instead of the comfortably curvy girl that I am today.

As people IRL (in real life) know, Sean and I don't have the best of luck or can't "catch a break" when it comes to health issues. Today, Sean went in for testing at one of the satellite branches of our local hospital. He has a bump on the back of his neck that has been there for several years, but has just recently started to bother him. In the past 2 months, he has competed 3 rounds of antibiotics in hopes of taking care of the issue. We assumed it was a cyst or folliculitis (infected ingrown hair.) When the antibiotics didn't take care of the issue, we were sent to a general surgeon to talk about cutting it out. We were still thinking cyst or  folliculitis.

Last Week

Dr.S: "I would like to do some test just to make sure we aren't missing something. This appears to be a lymph node and I don't want to just cut it out without doing a CT and blood work first. Then we can byposy it and send it to pathology to rule out Lymphoma."

Me & Sean: "Lymphoma?"

Today

Sean's mom took him to the hospital at 6am for testing. At 11am, after blood work and a CT, they admitted him. The byopsy has been scheduled for 10:30am tomorrow.

Really, I could use my break.I wonder if Ronald can help me out. If nothing else, I need some french fries. I'm typing this from Sean's room at the hospital. Ella is asleep in the bobby on the little hospital table/tray thing next to my laptop. She is blissfully unaware of the worry and angst her parents are currently experiencing. I keep telling myself and Sean that everything is going to be fine. God did not bring us to this point together and give us Ella just to take Sean away from me. He is going to be here for the long haul.

With that said, could you please take a break from your day and say a prayer for us? A prayer for health and peace and for all that is to come.

God Bless you and yours.

**RedBook April Giveaway Bonanza**

Okay, I admit, RedBook didn't call what I'm about to tell you about a "giveaway bonanza". However, with 1,767 giveaways including vacations, diamonds, washer/dryers, laptops and $250k in cash, I think this qualifies as a bonanza.


I don't buy magazines myself. I either look for free subscriptions, or scarf them from my in-laws house. (Don't worry, my MIL is glad to see the clutter go.) RedBook is one of the scarfed mags. This month I won't even take it home since I am spending a few days at their house and can enjoy it here and then we can toss it...err... I mean recycle it. This months issue is packed with great giveaways and I thought I would share them. Although, come to think of it, I could just keep this information to myself and increase my odd of winning. Oh well.


Two of the great giveaways are:


the Dior Beauty makeup and Redken hair products used o Trisha Yearwood for the cover shoot : enter here


$250k, yeah that's right, $250,000.00: enter here


to see what else they have click here

So... head on over to RedBook and try your hand!

Thankful and Camp Caglewood

When Ella was born, one of the first things I did once I had her in my arms was count her fingers and toes. 20, 10 perfect fingers and 10 perfect toes. I was not born this way, and although they checked her out as well as they could while she was in my belly, and told me many times over that my condition was not one that would likely be passed on to my children, in my heart of hearts I still worried. So when I saw those perfect little fingers and perfect little toes, I cried.


My worry for my child was for physical abnormalities. If she had been born with anomalies such as mine, she would have been fine, but I was thankful that she wasn't. Of course we had the test run during my pregnancy to test for downs syndrome and other such conditions, and that was a fear as well. But I wasn't overly concerned about that either. For physical disabilities I would be able to help her and I knew people who could help Sean and I as well. For mental disabilities, we had Paul, Jessica, and Camp Caglewood.

From www.campcaglewood.org

"Caglewood is a Special Needs Camping Program that serves individuals with developmental disabilities through active programming that provides enhanced life experiences, personal development, and respite opportunities. Caglewood fosters the core development of those we serve by engaging them in activities designed to promote independence and confidence. Caglewood’s programming inspires spiritual and social development through communion with nature. A camping trip with Camp Caglewood consists of counselor planned and led activities, crafts, devotionals, hiking, camping, swimming, and various forms of physical therapy and adaptive skills training. 

Caglewood is designed for both children and adults diagnosed with developmental disabilities including the autism spectrum, PDD, down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. Parents and caregivers send their loved ones to camp for respite care, and independence growth."



"The Caglewood program was in development for almost two years prior to the formation of the corporation in 2001. The beginnings of the Caglewood program sprouted from the experience of Jessica and Paul Freeman.  Both served at the same summer camp program as counselors and program leadership while in college.  Paul went on to serve on the board of the camp, and studied Special Education and facility administration while Jessica went on to work with two different brain injury programs where she performed Occupational and Art therapy.  She also facilitated the move of several clients from group homes to independent living.  Then working together they completed developing the Caglewood business plan and began implementing phase one in September of 2001."


Paul is one of Sean's best friends. They grew up playing football together. I am happy to claim Jessica as one of my closest friends now. She is my "mommy hero", but that's another post all on it's own.


The camp is currently up for a grant through the Pepsi Refresh Project. This is a vote driven grant opportunity, meaning everyone, you and me, have the opportunity to vote for who should get the moola each month. Paul and Jess and the other wonderful people who work with the camp submitted the camp to the program and were accepted. The voting for their round begins April 1st. We need to get everyone to vote!

So...

Set a reminder

and on April 1st make sure to

The first day of voting is most important as those in the top 10 get placed on the front of the website so those who have never heard of Caglewood would be able to vote for it if we bust our booties and get them in the top 10. After that, you can vote everyday and I hope you will. Please feel free to send this on to anyone and everyone you know! Blog, facebook, twitter, myspace, email! Get the word out!

I will be posting a reminder on the 1st as well as a linky button to vote. I am also adding a linky button for donations to Caglewood. If you feel so inclined, they are a non-profit and always in need and thankful for even the smallest donations.

For now, if you feel so inclined, donate HERE.

Thank you!

Happy Birthday Maggie!

On my first day of kindergarten, as my mom and dad were pulling up to the school, I saw a girl. She was standing in front of the school sign having her picture taken with her little sister. She had long blond hair. I wanted blond hair. "I hope she is in my class" I told my parents. When we walked into my classroom, she was there, her name was Maggie. We were in kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade together. In 3rd grade, the teachers suggested separating us as we were known to be quite chatty. In 4th grade Maggie when to a different school, 3 weeks into the year, I transferred there. My family moved away in 5th grade, and Maggie and I didn't end up back together for another 2 years. 7th grade, we both started a new school, middle school. But we had each other.

That was the last year we were in school together. But our friendship has remained. We don't see each other often. It's been almost 2 years I guess. But I will always love her and pray for her and hope that one day our lives will reconnect.

Happy 25th Birthday Maggie Girl, LYLAS.

Presenting ShortyRed Designs! (our 1st giveaway!)

It's here!! My first blog giveaway!!

As many of my readers know, I'm a bumpie. I post and respond to and lurk on www.thebump.com . I was quite obsessed with it during my pregnancy, and have developed friendships with some amazing women through common posts and comments. Well... one such lady ShortyRed is a wonderful graphic designer and has launched an etsy.com store. She can design pretty much anything you can think of! 

She created this new watermark/logo for my photography business.

She has graciously agreed to create custom "A note from..." cards for the winner of this give away!

 WIN IT!! 

Description

Personalize notes with your favorite photos.  20 (3.5x5 in) personalized flat cards with white envelopes.

Great design with color or black & white photos.

All photos and texts are customizable.

(not this exactly, but your own custom " A Note" note cards!)

 

MANDATORY: *1 Entry* To enter this giveaway, you first need to follow me! It's easy, just click the "Follow" link in the right column of the blog. Then visit www.etsy.com/shop/shortyred and come back and tell me what you like about her designs!

 Make The Odds A Little Better

1.  *1 Entry*   Follow me on twitter and comment that you follow my tweets in a comment on this page.

2. *3 Entries*  Fan The Deegan Daily on Facebook and ShortyRED on Facebook  and comment that you are a FAN in this post.

3.  *2 Entries*  Subscribe to The Deegan Daily by by using one of the subscription options in the right column and let me know you subscribe in a comment on this post.

4.  *2 Entries*  Blog about this giveaway and include a link back to my blog (please leave a link to the post in the comments on this post.)

5. *1 Entry* Comment on another post in my blog and leave a comment on this post letting me know.


The winner of this giveaway will be sent information on contacting ShortyRED and further information on photograph requirements for customization.


Open to US residents only. Giveaway will end March 31st Midnight! The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on April 2nd!

Please Remember: Our sponsors are responsible for prize fulfillment.  Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery, although we hope it's right away!

READY, SET, GO!!!

Happy Birthday Seth Michael!

Today is my cousin Seth's 25th birthday!

Seth and I spent the first 7 years living more like siblings than cousins, and our birthdays are so close to one another - a little over 2 months apart, that he will always be more of a brother. Almost a twin. To this day, when I hear of things in his life that have not turned out well, my heart aches. Likewise, when something in his life is going well, my soul soars with joy and pride. I love you Seth Michael. I wouldn't be the girl I am today without you in my life. 

Happy Birthday brother of my heart.

Little Laughs...

Last night in a state of utter milk drunkenness, my daughter laughed at me. She was smiling and cooing and being very lovey. Which is not typical for a 1am feeding. Then she looked at me and laughed. It was not a hesitant, was that me, sort of laugh. It was intentional, and sweet, and wonderful. It was a look into the future for me. I can't wait for us to laugh more!


Nothing is a more wonderful sound than that of a child's laughter. I have felt that way for a long time. Now that it is my very own daughters laughter, I long to hear it again and again and again. God help those who cause her to to cry instead of laugh, this momma might not be able to restrain herself.

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.  ~Yiddish Proverb

Oh the places I NIP...

Nursing in pubic is considered somewhat controversial...and to me that is crazy! Nursing is one of the most, if not the most, organic things a mother and her child do. And really, how many people would rather hear an infant screaming than have a mother nurse in public? I adore nursing my daughter. I am amazed that my body knows when she is going to be hungry and how much she is going to need to eat and that there is always milk for her. I was thrilled that the nutritionist we saw not only thought 1 year was a good goal, but she said that she wished it was seen as a minimum amount of time to nurse. Tomorrow is 7 weeks since Ella Grace was born and in that time I have nursed in lots of places... here is my tribute. In no particular order.

Verizon Wireless - Northlake Diner - Babies R Us - Walmart - Kids Consignment - Northlake Mall - Olive Garden - Steak n Shake - Outback Steak House - Church - Public Park - Longhorn Steak House - McDonald's Parking Lot - Publix Parking Lot - Prosthetic Doctor's Office - Husband's Doctor's Office Waiting Room and during his appointment - My Parent's living room - My In law's living room - Wachovia Parking Lot- Side of the road in a random neighborhood

and not even 2 months in yet!

I want to add a note that in no way do I look down on mothers who formula feed. I do however encourage those I know to really give breast feeding a chance and not give up if things don't start out "easy". 

Check out my favorite site for all things breastfeeding related. 

Giveaways Are Coming!!

Just a little head's up-

I am going to be having giveaways galore in the next few weeks! Take a peek at these great sites and all the great products they have! Become a follower of my blog through this post within the next 48 hours and you get an extra entry when the give-a-ways go live! If you are already a follower simply make a post to let me know you saw this!

That's A LOT of shots!

DISCLAIMER: I understand that vaccination of children is a hot topic. I am not writing this in hopes of altering anyone else's views on childhood vaccination, just to get my feelings out there. I am not including a bunch of data, however I do encourage anyone and everyone with small or new children to do their own research and be fully comfortable with the decisions they make for their children.

During the course of my pregnancy, I had to take the twins I was caring for to their 4 year old well child appointment. Little did I (or their mom) realize that they would be receiving 4 shots each that day. They were really brave. One didn't cry at all and the other only cried for a few minutes immediately following. However, they did not feel so hot an hour or so later. They both were extra crabby and nothing seemed to comfort them.

I had heard plenty about the current debates about vaccines. In the long run I want my daughter to be safe and understand that vaccinations are one way to protect her. However, I was and still am concerned about the number of shots she is going to receive. The total is a concern, but the number at each scheduled visit is what concerns me most. Her body is so tiny and the thought of her being stuck by any number of needles makes me cry a little, but the thought of four needles in a matter of minutes piercing her sensitive skin and shooting her body full of foreign substances is more than I can take. So, we are going to be spreading out her vaccines. I have talked to her pediatrician as well as a doctor at the local department of health and they have both okay-ed our request to have no more than 2 vaccinations given at a time. This means that Sean and I will need to take extra care to make sure she is given the correct shots and that the spacing between the shots is correct. That extra care, is more than worth it in my opinion, because like I said before, it's all about making sure Ella Grace is safe.

The Couch Cave

AKA....Mommy & Ella's bed.

Sean is not a good sleeper. No, let me rephrase that. Sean is not a good lack of sleep person. He literally starts going a bit quaky when he is running low on rest. The first week of Ella Grace, she and I slept upstairs with Sean. We live in a one bedroom apartment so Ella's cradle is next to our king size bed. However, every little sound she made woke Sean up. Just normal baby sounds. He was such a concerned daddy and simply wasn't used to the sounds she makes in her sleep. After a week of little to no sleep, Sean was practically incapable of functioning much less in any condition to work. Thus the "Couch Cave" was born.

Since we don't have a second room, and we don't have an extra mattress, and our couches are both love seats, it made more sense to me for Ella and I to make our bed downstiars than for Sean to try and find an alernative place to sleep. By pushing the two love seats together, it creates a cave of sorts for us. It blocks out any drafts from the front door (and boy can it be drafty), and is quite comfortable in my opinion. Not only does this allow Sean a better nights sleep, but me as well!

I'm not really sure for how much longer we will continue with this arrangement. Our lease is up in July and, if Ella is still not sleeping through the night by then, we will at least be in a two bedroom apartment after that. I miss sleeping beside my husband during the week, but the memory of our "couch cave" are ones I'm sure I will cherish forever and hopefully Ella will find ammusing in her childhood and even more so when she becomes a mommy herself.

One week makes a BIG difference!

Today Ella Grace and I had an appointment with a nutritionist. For her it was a visit to check her weight and to talk about if we needed to do anything to boost her in take. For me it was a check in on my current weight loss and to make sure I was eating what I need to eat to make good milk for my baby. Well...we both passed with flying numbers! Ella gained a whole pound this last week and I lost another 2! Yay for us! Next month when we go back, the nutritionist is going to go over my food diary with me...I'm a little nervous about that.

 Today Ella weighed 10.5 lbs!

www.my-calorie-counter.com     The webs free Fitness Log

What A Wonderful World...

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Another Way Our Government Wasted Money

I received what at first glance I thought was our 2010 Census in the mail today. However, when I opened it I was not only disapointed, but frustrated at the money wated. I'm sure every other American got one of these today or will be receiving it wthin the coming week. But for now, the first sentence of the letter reads:

"About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail."

I am fully in support of the Census and I believe in it's importance. But this seems absolutely ridiculous to me! According to the US Census Bureau in 2008 they estimate 130 million housing units in the United States. At approximatly  $.50 to print and mail these that is over 60 million dollars just to mail these papers out! Tell me how that makes sense? Tell me how when there are people in our country struggling to put food on the table, roofs over their families heads, clothing on their children's backs...tell me how spending $60 million to mail these out makes sense? I know I know...if given to the American people it would only be $.50 per dwelling, but every penny counts right??

What is your opinion??

Lindsay Lohan v. ETrade :GET A GRIP!!

Apparently Lindsay Lohan has filed a lawsuit against E-Trade. Claiming that their Super Bowl ad was taking a shot at her.


If you haven't seen the commercial, take a look...









See The NY TIMES Article Here


Really? I mean really??


As a new mom, this commercial made me LMAO! We have joked since probably day one that Ella Grace is a milk-a-holic. Proof of that is in my blog in two places! Post 1 Post 2


It NEVER crossed my mind to think of this commercial in relationship to LL and her infamous drunken escapades. How about you?

Baby Leggings Give Away-- Adventures of Baby Kaitlyn

As many of my readers know, I am a pretty loyal viewer and poster on thebump.com. Beacause of this, I view LOTS of mommy blogs such as Adventures of Baby Kaitlyn. :) And some of them host give-aways. Yes, like the ones I hope to host soon! 

I am currently entered in this give away for a pair of baby leggings from Sharpe Crafts. If you haven't seen these, they are awesome! They are so much easier than pants for changing a baby's diaper and they also grow with the child. They can be worn under skirts when a little girl gets older and again I would think are a great help with potty breaks!

I would love to be able to buy several pairs of these...but for now, I will cross my fingers and baby Ella's legs in hopes that we win!

I should be sleeping....

I Should Be Sleeping

I never knew there were such great movies
on TV at three A.M.
I'd never guess that at midnight Tuesday
I could have pizza ordered in
I've never been a real night owl
but these days I'm all turned around
there's only one thing I'm sure of right now

I should be sleeping
instead of keepin these late hours
I've been keeping

I've been pacing and retracing
every step of every move
and even though I'm feeling so right
I'm so happy still I know
I should be sleeping instead of dreaming about you

song title 'I Should Be Sleeping' by artist 'Emerson Drive'

Yeah... this song runs through my head as I sit waiting. Trying to decide if  I should try to sleep...or wait for Ella to wake up and nurse just one more time...I REALLY should be sleeping.

 

Woohoo! FREE STUFF!

Today while doing my usual hunt for on-line deals I came across a jewlery site I've never visited before ChunkyBling.com. And what do you know, they are having a Bloggers Special! Blogging For Bling! Naturally I'm going to give it a go!

ChunkyBling.com specializes in interchangeable watches. They also carry full lines of other chunky jewelry such as beaded bracelets, Swarovski crystal and Swarovski pearl rings, and interchangeable charm necklaces. All at great prices!


Another neat thing about this company is you can host an online jewelry party with some friends and earn a bunch of FREE jewelry. For mom's on a budget a way to score free bling is always a good thing!

Ella's One Month Stats...

Yesterday was Ella's one month appointment. I was really nervous about this appointment as I don't think she has been gaining much weight and I knew that was one of our pediatrician's main concerns. She lost a lot in the beginning due to jaundice. Apparently the APA finds a loss of 10% or less ok but over that they have concern. Well she lost more than 10% of her birth weight.


Flash forward to yesterday. I know that my daughter is, on the whole, healthy. She is strong and alert. She makes her needs known and she is generally a very happy baby. The first thing they did at her appointment was weight and length.


I undressed her and handed her to the nurse who placed her on the scale. The numbers jumped and then began to climb. 8.8...8.14...9.4!!! WOOHOO!! WAY TO GO BABY ELLA! Way to go mommy! Your milk is making her strong! Your milk is giving her the nourishment she needs!


Ella measured 22 3/4 inches long and passed all the other things the doc checked her for. She had to get her second hep B vaccination and of course she didn't like that, but I quickly sat with her and nursed her and she was my calm happy baby once again. Our doctor is still a little concerned about her weight. If she had been born at 8lbs and not 8.97lbs he would be happy with her weight. But seeing as how she is really only 10 oz more than her birth weight, he wants me to try and give her an additional formula bottle a day. We'll see how that goes. I think I am going to look into how to make MY milk more fortified so to speak.


We go back in one month for her two month appointment. She is supposed to get five, yes, I said FIVE vaccinations at that time. I'm going to do a separate blog on my feelings about this.

Happy 31st Birthday Sean!

Look what Ella did for her daddy!

 

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband Sean. He's an old man! Just kidding...

Sean is going to scan the card she made him and I will post that tomorrow.

I love you Sean! Happy Birthday! 

Tummy Time and Mommy Time

So tummy time didn't go so well tonight. At least not the part we filmed. After hanging out on daddy's chest and playing peek-a-boo with the sun she was beat! But...the video is cute and we wanted to share it with our family and friends who don't get to see us on a regular basis.

Yet another snowday in Atlanta...

The music was playing. The swing was swinging. Ella Grace was so peaceful. If only it was always like this.

Montclair...the Black & Gold. GOOOO MUSTANGS!

Today I took Ella Grace to visit my elementary school No, you didn't miss anything. I'm not a teacher. This is MY elementary school. I know that there are very few people who would be taking their newborn to the elemetary school they attended, but believe it or not, there are still a few people there who I know and who have remained a part of my life. Two woman. Mrs. Pursley and Mrs.Smith. They are wonderful incredible women. They have shown their love for me over the past nearly 20 years on every meeting. They are genuine woman who love God and share God's love in thier everyday actions. I was overjoyed to see their joy upon meeting my daughter. My camera died right after taking a picture in front of the school so we will just have to make a return visit to get pictures with these two great women.

One Month of Ella Grace!

Happy One Month Ella Grace!

I can't believe my little girl is already one month old...