my life with baby...and other issues

melt-down mania... that's what happened at my house last night.  and the melt-down didn't happen to our 7 week old- it was ME!  bless ryan's soul for loving the crazy side of me.  i am the kind of person that appears to have her business in order ALL the time, however, like many women, i do not.  i do great {almost} all the time, but last night was one of those nights.  i talk everything, i mean everything, out with ryan (again bless is soul), and it helps, but it also makes me realize how not-level headed-i-am.  i get so anxious about the most random things and sometimes i feel like i need to go on one of those retreat workshops on how to say no (some of you reading this will know i'm a big people pleaser and some of you have even talked to me about the lack of strength in my backbone).  so this post doesn't get out of control, i'm not going to have a personal therapy session on here.  some of you might know exactly how i feel, but i'm deciding to take my {flaws} and turn them into {quirks}.  i might be a softy or not able to say no, or scared to disappoint people, but maybe, just maybe, that means i have a huge heart!  and not someone without a backbone.  it's all how you look at yourself, right.  

ok, so my baby update.  emarie is a great kid.  i'm sure that's what all parents say.  so the real story is that i don't have her on a schedule just yet.  to all of you "baby-wise parents" try to keep your advice to a minimum, i'm not a follower.  i believe all kids are unique and i'm going to parent by doing what {works} for my family.  if you have some friendly advice, i'm all ears.  here's how it's going in my world:  emarie eats, plays (and by plays, i mean looks around, kicks her legs a bit, or tries to crawl up my chest), and sleeps.  pretty normal.  since she's almost 2 months old, i thought now is a good time to try to implement the dreaded schedule...muuuuaaaahhhhaaaahhhaaa (evil laugh)!!! so starting two days ago, we started our routine bath and bedtime activities.  i start slow.  thank you, mandy kraft, for telling how this changed your life.  i hope it, too, changes mine :)!  emarie gets a bath every night at 7 (haha, well really sometime between 7 & 8, see i told you i start slow), then a good lotion rub with j&j's lavender lotion (sorry aveeno, you gave emarie a rash), and then some food, and a good rock in the rocking chair. it's been exciting to see if i notice any changes... so far, no.  but i'm hopeful i will over time.  it's only been 2 days, right.  i couldn't get any of this done without ryan.  he's not big on giving the baths. sometimes emarie doesn't like it and her daddy can't bear to see her cry.  he's there for the grand finale with a warm towel just out of the dryer (thank you for this idea, heidi).  if it were up to her, the lotion step would be dropped.  she doesn't really like that part either.  come to think of it,  she really just likes the eating and rocking parts.  

we also took up swaddling again.  i think there is something to this part of baby wise.  emarie does seem to calm down, sleep heavier and longer when she's all wrapped up like a little papoose (i'm indian, so i can use this term).  i stopped because she seemed to like being "free" and i didn't want to fight her or over-heat her.  live and learn.   it seems to work, for now.  

lastly, i took christian's advice about the Playtex VentAire bottles.  $5.09 at walmart (that's with tax) compared to the ones i registered for at $11.99 each (eckum...tommy tippee) that drown her.  some "slow flow" nipples aren't really slow flow.  the Playtex bottles have my endorsement... for whatever it's worth.    

now, the things i love: watching emarie sleep, this is when she practices her smiles.  she also looks at the same things over and over, but each time it's like she's seeing it for the very first time.  the fan is probably her favorite.  hearing her toot.  it's so loud for a tiny creature, and i giggle each time she does it.  mature, huh.  this love of the simple things makes me realize my {other issues} don't really matter.  my family is what matters.   

{this is what matters}

with all the advice, it really does take a village to raise a child.  thanks! 

Tara