*I purchased the product being reviewed and was not compensated in any way for this review. I have Bissell's permission to write this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
As a mom and pet owner, I can honestly say that the Bissel SpotBot Per has become a vital cleaning tool in our household. This product has literally saved me hours of scrubbing. With 2 large dogs-one with a sensitive stomach-an 8 year old and a toddler, our household is no stranger to accidents and messes. We have had doggie diarhea, muddy foot prints, spilt beverages and heaven only knows what else, but no matter what the mess is, the Bissell Spot Bot is my go-to cleaner that has yet to let me down!
The Bissell SpotBot Pet has 3 cleaning options-surface stain, set in stain, and hose. The set in stain option by itself has been a life saver for cleaning up all our dog's "little" accidents-even if the stain isn't set in, it gives me piece of mind knowing that all the mess has been throughly cleaned. While the surface stain option is the perfect option for cleaning up after spilled drinks. The hose, however, is my favorite feature. With the hose, I can easily clean everything from a trail of muddy paw prints that would take forever to clean spot by spot to the entire couch! Rather than merely spraying a scented must into the couch and hoping it is really cleaning, I know my couch is clean after I've used the hose attachment on it. The hose attachment makes cleaning the couch fast and easy and gives me peace of mind that my kids are laying their heads on a clean couch.
This product has been worth it's weight in gold to our family. It is every bit as vital to our house as a vacuum. Without it I cannot even begin to guess how many times the dogs would have created stains that would be otherwise impossible to get out. A true must have item for any pet owning moms!
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Magic Bullet: BABY BULLET!
(Disclaimer: Mom's Gone Bronson received the following for review and all thoughts are her own. Your views may differ, thank you!)
I remember being pregnant and seeing the baby bullet on TV. These commercials were the inspiration behind my trying to make my own baby food. When it came time for us to make baby food, I opted instead to use the blender, and bought all the accessories seperate-the cook book, the storage containers, everything. If I could do it all again, I most definitely would have bought an all in one kit like the baby bullet that is already designed specifically for making baby food! See Mom Grow is excited to partner with Mom's Gone Bronson for this exciting give away for a product that would have made life 10x easier if I had gone that route.
A message from Mom's Gome Bronson:
Everybody! Gather around and meet the Magic Bullet: Baby Bullet - the simplest, easiest and most convenient way to make your own baby-food, from scratch, at home, just the way your baby is going to love it and with all the goodness and nutrition he or she is going to need!
For as long as I can remember, I have cooked from scratch and I love to feed my children good, healthier foods without any of the added sugars, sweetners or other products that just simply do not have to be there and I have always mashed and smashed and smoothed the hard way - though have managed to get the job done!
The Baby Bullet really takes out all of the stress that goes along with the baby-food-mashing olympics, though, with its 2 stainless steel blades, high-torque power base, 3 piece batch bowl and storage and mixing accessories!
To make life even easier, the Magic Bullet: Baby Bullet comes with a guide full of recipe ideas for baby and includes goodies from a simple fruit or veg for babies eating for the first time, through to those eating mixed, thicker or a little more complex varieties as they grow!
The Baby Bullet really does take you through the first stages of baby-feeding and lasts beyond! You can always make apple sauces, blends, smoothies, even ice lollies from fruit and veggies and none of the added stabalizers or unnecessary sugars! Great!
I personally LOVE apple and raspberry sauce and my children can never have enough! Making a soup is easy with the Baby Bullet and anything I am making for myself, I can put into the Baby Bullet and have it ready to go for little mouths with the push of a button!
I am actually thoroughlly impressed with this cute little contraption and you can't help but smile seeing that big grin staring back at you every time you whip up a batch of goodness for the kids!
The Baby Bullet actually comes with a storage tray and storage cups, which are just the perfect size for babies to toddlers and make a great way to treat yourself without going overboard, too!
Make a weeks worth of meals in less than 5 minutes, which is just what you want when planning with a house full! I know I can cook up some goodness, throw it in the Baby Bullet and freeze it down ready to go!
My children LOVE the cute cups and are happy to reach for an apple sauce in a smiley cup then something that isn't perhaps so great for them! I love that I can wash the entire set out and save on trash and recycling with this set and there are just so many bonuses to making your own food, period.
I really wish The Baby Bullet had been available when my older children were babies, but delighted that I have been able to try one out now! It is just the perfect size to make the perfect children's portions and will keep me going back for more as I learn new recipes and goodies that I still want to try!
I would definitely recommend giving one a try if cooking for your little one is something that you have been thinking about - I think the Baby Bullet is a really good start! It doesn't take up very much space in your kitchen, either and so you can always have it ready to go!
If you would like to find out more about The Baby Bullet, you can find them on Twitter, Facebook and over at their blog, with other outlets such as Pinterest and Instagram to keep you in touch, which you can also find in our giveaway form!
Speaking of giveaways...
***GIVEAWAY!!***
The good folk behind The Baby Bullet would love for you to try one out for youreslf and is letting us give away ONE Baby Bullet set to ONE lucky winner!!
All you have to do, to be eligible to participate in the give away is to reside in the U.S.A, be 18 years or older and enter via the rafflecopter, below!
This giveaway will run from 1/21/15 and end on 2/4/15!
The giveaway winner will be notified via email within 24 hours of giveaway ending and will have 48 hours to claim their prize! If no correspondence has been received by the deadline then all prizes are forfeit and a new winner is chosen until the prize is calimed!
Note: No participating bloggers are in any way, shape or form, responsible for this review or giveaway. Prize fulfillment falls to the company sponsoring the giveaway and all views within the review are those of the original reviewee, Mom's Gone Bronson. Your views may differ! Thank you!
What are you waiting for!?
GOOD LUCK!
When Parents Have Different Parenting Styles
There is no doubt about it, my husband and I have two very different parenting styles. I love baby (and now toddler) wearing, I experimented with making my own baby food, I jumped to her every cry and picked her up whenever she indicated she wanted up, rocked her to sleep, and I teach her baby sign language. I am a lot more concerned about trying to be a great parent and can get totally wrapped up in parenting. My husband always waited till he finished what he was doing to see why Pumpkin was crying, said he would never baby wear when she could just learn to be carried in the infant car seat, thought everyone would be better off if the bed time routine was simply putting her down in her crib, advocates for sleep training, and thought baby sign language was stupid. He is much more laid back than I am and way more creative at playing with Pumpkin than I am. So how did we survive parenting our daughter together for 15 months and counting? I'll admit it is not always easy, but it is definitely worth the effort.
I have always felt that a husband and wife are a team, and parenting is no different. Each of us have our own strengths and weaknesses, but together we can cover each other's faults and create an even better home than either of us could accomplish individually. Yes, we do things differently, but because we do things differently we can create a balance. Not only do we create a balance, but when one of us is out of ideas, the other is sure to have a new angle to attack the problem and eventually a solution is found that works for our family. Even though he hasn't always agreed with me in the beginning, eventually my bus and grew to see that some of my ideas aren't so bad after all! For example, he eventually ended up wearing Pumpkin-even as a toddler-and now works with me teaching her sign language. He saw that those things that I do really work, and are beneficial.
I have learned countless ways to play with Pumpkin from my husband. I've also learned to lighten up and not kill myself trying to be a perfect parent. Sugary cereals are ok sometimes when I'm trying to get work done and don't have time to make her anything else, I don't need to be her personal entertainment 24 hours a day, and actually it isn't good for her to have me entertain her constantly. Punpkin needs time to explore on her own and spread her wings. He reminds me that it is ok to take time away from Pumpkin for us to spend time as a couple (grandmas make great babysitters).
Naturally, we don't always "see the light" in each other's methods. That's ok too. Actually, it makes perfect sense that we would each have our own ways of interacting with Pumpkin-if kids weren't supposed to have a mom and a dad then nature would not have designed it that way. But as it is, it takes two people to make a baby, and children benefit from having two parents to raise them. On those things where we do not agree, we usually just do things out own way when we are taking care of Pumpkin-if I prefer desitin at diaper changes and hubby prefers talcum powder, Pumpkin will survive. If it is a bigger issue that cannot be solved by us simply respecting that the other does things differently, then perhaps we can meet somewhere in the middle.
When we disagree, it is because we both have different opinions of what is best for Pumpkin or the family. It is not because one of us wants what's best for her and the other wants to sabotage her-after all she is both of our child and we both love her! However, babies don't come with manuals, and there are many different lines of thought on what is the right way to raise a child, and to be honest, I doubt there is any one right way. Since no two kids are the same, what works for one kid or one family may not work for the other. If both parents work together, though, I truly think they can find the right way to raise their own child.
I have always felt that a husband and wife are a team, and parenting is no different. Each of us have our own strengths and weaknesses, but together we can cover each other's faults and create an even better home than either of us could accomplish individually. Yes, we do things differently, but because we do things differently we can create a balance. Not only do we create a balance, but when one of us is out of ideas, the other is sure to have a new angle to attack the problem and eventually a solution is found that works for our family. Even though he hasn't always agreed with me in the beginning, eventually my bus and grew to see that some of my ideas aren't so bad after all! For example, he eventually ended up wearing Pumpkin-even as a toddler-and now works with me teaching her sign language. He saw that those things that I do really work, and are beneficial.
I have learned countless ways to play with Pumpkin from my husband. I've also learned to lighten up and not kill myself trying to be a perfect parent. Sugary cereals are ok sometimes when I'm trying to get work done and don't have time to make her anything else, I don't need to be her personal entertainment 24 hours a day, and actually it isn't good for her to have me entertain her constantly. Punpkin needs time to explore on her own and spread her wings. He reminds me that it is ok to take time away from Pumpkin for us to spend time as a couple (grandmas make great babysitters).
Naturally, we don't always "see the light" in each other's methods. That's ok too. Actually, it makes perfect sense that we would each have our own ways of interacting with Pumpkin-if kids weren't supposed to have a mom and a dad then nature would not have designed it that way. But as it is, it takes two people to make a baby, and children benefit from having two parents to raise them. On those things where we do not agree, we usually just do things out own way when we are taking care of Pumpkin-if I prefer desitin at diaper changes and hubby prefers talcum powder, Pumpkin will survive. If it is a bigger issue that cannot be solved by us simply respecting that the other does things differently, then perhaps we can meet somewhere in the middle.
When we disagree, it is because we both have different opinions of what is best for Pumpkin or the family. It is not because one of us wants what's best for her and the other wants to sabotage her-after all she is both of our child and we both love her! However, babies don't come with manuals, and there are many different lines of thought on what is the right way to raise a child, and to be honest, I doubt there is any one right way. Since no two kids are the same, what works for one kid or one family may not work for the other. If both parents work together, though, I truly think they can find the right way to raise their own child.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Disney World On New Years and More!
My husband and I have been trying to plan a Disney World vacation with my step daughter since we first moved in together (about 4 years ago). I'm pleased to announce we finally made it happen-and on New Year's Eve and Day on top of it! Unfortunately, our funds only allowed us to stay the two days, but we had a blast during those days and are hoping to return in a couple of years (for a longer stay).
We arrived in Oralndo on Dec 30, and began our Disney experience in Downtown Disney to pick up our tickets. Downtown Disney is a GREAT place to start the magic of the parks. Honestly it felt like a party. Everywhere we went music was playing, souvenier shops were easy to find, and restaurants were all around. It really set the mood for a fun, exciting vacation!
The next day was New Year's Eve and we spent the day in Magic Kingdom! It sounds really exciting, but in retrospect I wish we had come a different day only because it was soooo crowded. Usually I am one that loves being a part of a big crowd, but Disney is something we don't get the opportunity to do much, and the large crowd really put a damper on how much we were able to accomplish. There was a LOT of waiting in line and when all is said and done we rode the tea cups, space mountain, met 2 of the 4 princesses in the princess castle (Elsa and Anna), Mickey, Tinkerbell, and Merida. That was all we could fit in in about 12 hours. Our plan was to stay and count in the new year, but as evening wore on, they had many events planned and they typically involved closing a large portion of the streets so that no one could get anywhere. We ended up frustrated and left early.
In spite of the large crowds, however, there were definitely a fair share of magical moments. The lines were long but the prizes were worth it. Upon entering the park there was a little welcome to the park show on Main Street USA featuring Mickey and his pals as well as many other disney heros, villains and princesses. I will never forget the look on Pumpkin's face (14 months) when she saw her favorite characters in the stage. Her face absolutely lot up as she pointed and looked at me with huge smiles in her face. She was awe struck! It also was Pumpkin's first time riding a ride (teacups) and all the characters we met were VERY well cast. They truly embodied the characters they were playing and did great with both my step daughter and Pumpkin.
The next day we hit the Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom was a great way to rap up our stay and everyone in our group enjoyed it. Here we went on an African Safari that was much more exciting than any zoo we have ever visited, but perhaps the most memorable part was seeing a giraffe chilling by the edge of the trail. He was lying down in the shade and as we passed someone could literally reach out and pet the giraffe (if it were allowed, which it is not). Animal Kingdom did a great job putting together the various "countries" you could visit. They really felt authentic! I also really liked that one of the stands served items like fruit, crackers and cheese-a perfect snack/light breakfast for a 1 year old. While there (among many other things-lines were not really an issue in this park) we also come to my step daughter's favorite part of the trip-a ride called Dinosaur. The basic gyst was that you must travel back in time and bring a Dino back with you. My step daughter was absolutely delighted.
Our main reason for planning our trip in spite of the lack of days was our desire to make it to Disney before my step daughter became too old to be excited about things like meeting the princesses, and I'm afraid we just missed that age with her. Looking back, I should have treated the whole experience as I did the Dinosaur ride. On Dinosaur, I made the experience real, even though we both new it was just a ride. If I could go back I would have treated the entire trip that way because it really brought the experience alive for her. The big surprise though was Pumpkin. I think of everyone that went, she enjoyed herself the most, and we all thought she would be too young to "get" any of it. Boy were we wrong! She danced, drank juice, and def recognized her favorite characters. The magic of Disney was completely real and alive in her, and it made the magic real for me too.
I'm excited to announce that the magic of our disney experience is not quite over yet, however. I returned from our vacation to discover that I have been selected to host a #disneyside @ home party! Perfect timing!
*I have received a free Disney Side @ home party kit. All views and opinions expressed are my own.
We arrived in Oralndo on Dec 30, and began our Disney experience in Downtown Disney to pick up our tickets. Downtown Disney is a GREAT place to start the magic of the parks. Honestly it felt like a party. Everywhere we went music was playing, souvenier shops were easy to find, and restaurants were all around. It really set the mood for a fun, exciting vacation!
The next day was New Year's Eve and we spent the day in Magic Kingdom! It sounds really exciting, but in retrospect I wish we had come a different day only because it was soooo crowded. Usually I am one that loves being a part of a big crowd, but Disney is something we don't get the opportunity to do much, and the large crowd really put a damper on how much we were able to accomplish. There was a LOT of waiting in line and when all is said and done we rode the tea cups, space mountain, met 2 of the 4 princesses in the princess castle (Elsa and Anna), Mickey, Tinkerbell, and Merida. That was all we could fit in in about 12 hours. Our plan was to stay and count in the new year, but as evening wore on, they had many events planned and they typically involved closing a large portion of the streets so that no one could get anywhere. We ended up frustrated and left early.
In spite of the large crowds, however, there were definitely a fair share of magical moments. The lines were long but the prizes were worth it. Upon entering the park there was a little welcome to the park show on Main Street USA featuring Mickey and his pals as well as many other disney heros, villains and princesses. I will never forget the look on Pumpkin's face (14 months) when she saw her favorite characters in the stage. Her face absolutely lot up as she pointed and looked at me with huge smiles in her face. She was awe struck! It also was Pumpkin's first time riding a ride (teacups) and all the characters we met were VERY well cast. They truly embodied the characters they were playing and did great with both my step daughter and Pumpkin.
The next day we hit the Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom was a great way to rap up our stay and everyone in our group enjoyed it. Here we went on an African Safari that was much more exciting than any zoo we have ever visited, but perhaps the most memorable part was seeing a giraffe chilling by the edge of the trail. He was lying down in the shade and as we passed someone could literally reach out and pet the giraffe (if it were allowed, which it is not). Animal Kingdom did a great job putting together the various "countries" you could visit. They really felt authentic! I also really liked that one of the stands served items like fruit, crackers and cheese-a perfect snack/light breakfast for a 1 year old. While there (among many other things-lines were not really an issue in this park) we also come to my step daughter's favorite part of the trip-a ride called Dinosaur. The basic gyst was that you must travel back in time and bring a Dino back with you. My step daughter was absolutely delighted.
Our main reason for planning our trip in spite of the lack of days was our desire to make it to Disney before my step daughter became too old to be excited about things like meeting the princesses, and I'm afraid we just missed that age with her. Looking back, I should have treated the whole experience as I did the Dinosaur ride. On Dinosaur, I made the experience real, even though we both new it was just a ride. If I could go back I would have treated the entire trip that way because it really brought the experience alive for her. The big surprise though was Pumpkin. I think of everyone that went, she enjoyed herself the most, and we all thought she would be too young to "get" any of it. Boy were we wrong! She danced, drank juice, and def recognized her favorite characters. The magic of Disney was completely real and alive in her, and it made the magic real for me too.
I'm excited to announce that the magic of our disney experience is not quite over yet, however. I returned from our vacation to discover that I have been selected to host a #disneyside @ home party! Perfect timing!
*I have received a free Disney Side @ home party kit. All views and opinions expressed are my own.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
5 Most and Least Useful Items For Baby's First Year
As a first time mom it was easy to go into a baby store and want to buy everything. From Pumpkin's first year, here are the best and worst of what we purchased.
Top 5 Best Items:
5-High Chair-our high chair got a lot of use (especially when we first started solids) and still gets used today. It is a hundred times easier to feed a baby in a high chair than it is on your lap.
4-Baby Swing-the baby swing was an awesome tool to help me get stuff done while Pumpkin transitioned to not always sleeping on mommy. Our baby swing had a very nice vibrate feature to it also. We think Pumpkin had a bit of reflex as if she laid flat for too long she would projectile vomit, but the baby swing was at an angle so it made for a happy baby and a productive mommy.
3-Infant Bucket Car Seat-the bucket car seat is the way to go for the first year. A convertible car seat might save you money in the long run since you will only need to buy one car seat, but it does not snap out of a base, but the bucket car seat does. The bucket seat was amazing for those times when Pumkin fell asleep in the car, as it enables us to move her without waking her (sometimes).
2-Infant Baby Carriers-my daughter was one that hates her car seat as a newborn, so my ring sling and mei tai were quite the life savers. Even once she adapted to tolerating her car seat, then liking it, I have consistently found uses for baby carriers. They have enabled us to have many enjoyable shopping trips, restaraunt visits, walks, and has made certain chores much easier (like laundry-I could wear my daughter while I gathered the laundry upstairs instead of having to juggle trying to carry her in one arm and two hampers in the other).
1-Pack-n-play with a changing table-from her newborn days through present day, there is not a day that we don't use the pack-n-play. We keep it in the family room and use it for pretty much every diaper change. The high edges of the changing table help keep our "mover" baby in one place long enough for a quick change. Meanwhile the pack-n-play portion has become our baby supply shelf. My daughter doesn't like to be confined so we never bothered removing rhe bassinet. Instead it holds all of our diapering supplies, some toys for entertaining Pumpkin during a change and whatever else we end up throwing in it. Unlike a standard shelf, no one can see the mess except for the person changing the diaper, so it helps in keeping the rest of the house tidy. While this may be an item that I could learn to live without, it's number 1 because I don't WANT to learn to live without it. Being a new mom, I deserve at least one true convenience item ;)
Top 5 Worst Items:
5-Car Seat winter cover-this one needs some explaining. It is not that all car seat winter covers are bad-just the one we bought. In true new mom fashion I went for cuteness over functional. We chose a cute teddy bear cover and it is pretty thin. I always wound up stuffing the car seat with blankets to make up for the fact that the cover was pretty much all show. If I could do it all over I would opt for a plain, THICK, warm, blanket looking cover.
4-Nursing Cover-I used this a handful of times and hated it and I suspect Pumpkin wasn't a big fan either. When we did use it, it is hard to see to latch Pumpkin on. When I did get her to latch she would constantly unlatch, and we just never were able to get comfortable. We both much preferred to leave the room and nurse.
3-Cart Cover-we used this about twice because it was cute and I wanted to. Here is the thing about a cart cover-your baby isn't going to be sitting in a cart to use it until she can sit on her own. Your baby MIGHT be starting to do this at 6 months, but really we are talking more like 7 to 8 months old. At that point I was more concerned about slowly building up her immune system than sheltering her from every germ out there. Usually if she is sick already I would wear her and avoid the cart altogether, or healthy I would use the wipes located by the carts in most stores and give the cart a quick wipe down.
2-Diaper Genie-we used this until it got filled up. This was that garbage we always forgot about until I went to put a diaper in and there was no room. Quite honestly, I was so busy as a new mom that it was easier and faster to just throw it in a different garbage and move on. Then I would get caught up doing whatever was next that I would totally forget about empting it again. They look great on paper, but a standard garbage that everyone is already used to taking out regularly is much more convenient.
1-UV scanner germ killer thing-a-ma-bob-I admit I don't remember the exact name, but if you see it in a store you'lol know what I'm talking about. We bought one of these because it would be cool to keep baby in a bubble like that, and we put it right in the diaper bag, ready to go. Well for the first few months Pumpkin wasn't really interested in grabbing at everything in sight, by the time she was 1-she was old enough to not need sheltered from every germ on the planet and 2-I had totally forgot about it. One day she was trying to teeth on a table and I remembered it, went to get it out and the battery was dead. We did not use the product once, our baby girl is just fine, and we did not feel like we were missing anything.
Top 5 Best Items:
5-High Chair-our high chair got a lot of use (especially when we first started solids) and still gets used today. It is a hundred times easier to feed a baby in a high chair than it is on your lap.
4-Baby Swing-the baby swing was an awesome tool to help me get stuff done while Pumpkin transitioned to not always sleeping on mommy. Our baby swing had a very nice vibrate feature to it also. We think Pumpkin had a bit of reflex as if she laid flat for too long she would projectile vomit, but the baby swing was at an angle so it made for a happy baby and a productive mommy.
3-Infant Bucket Car Seat-the bucket car seat is the way to go for the first year. A convertible car seat might save you money in the long run since you will only need to buy one car seat, but it does not snap out of a base, but the bucket car seat does. The bucket seat was amazing for those times when Pumkin fell asleep in the car, as it enables us to move her without waking her (sometimes).
2-Infant Baby Carriers-my daughter was one that hates her car seat as a newborn, so my ring sling and mei tai were quite the life savers. Even once she adapted to tolerating her car seat, then liking it, I have consistently found uses for baby carriers. They have enabled us to have many enjoyable shopping trips, restaraunt visits, walks, and has made certain chores much easier (like laundry-I could wear my daughter while I gathered the laundry upstairs instead of having to juggle trying to carry her in one arm and two hampers in the other).
1-Pack-n-play with a changing table-from her newborn days through present day, there is not a day that we don't use the pack-n-play. We keep it in the family room and use it for pretty much every diaper change. The high edges of the changing table help keep our "mover" baby in one place long enough for a quick change. Meanwhile the pack-n-play portion has become our baby supply shelf. My daughter doesn't like to be confined so we never bothered removing rhe bassinet. Instead it holds all of our diapering supplies, some toys for entertaining Pumpkin during a change and whatever else we end up throwing in it. Unlike a standard shelf, no one can see the mess except for the person changing the diaper, so it helps in keeping the rest of the house tidy. While this may be an item that I could learn to live without, it's number 1 because I don't WANT to learn to live without it. Being a new mom, I deserve at least one true convenience item ;)
Top 5 Worst Items:
5-Car Seat winter cover-this one needs some explaining. It is not that all car seat winter covers are bad-just the one we bought. In true new mom fashion I went for cuteness over functional. We chose a cute teddy bear cover and it is pretty thin. I always wound up stuffing the car seat with blankets to make up for the fact that the cover was pretty much all show. If I could do it all over I would opt for a plain, THICK, warm, blanket looking cover.
4-Nursing Cover-I used this a handful of times and hated it and I suspect Pumpkin wasn't a big fan either. When we did use it, it is hard to see to latch Pumpkin on. When I did get her to latch she would constantly unlatch, and we just never were able to get comfortable. We both much preferred to leave the room and nurse.
3-Cart Cover-we used this about twice because it was cute and I wanted to. Here is the thing about a cart cover-your baby isn't going to be sitting in a cart to use it until she can sit on her own. Your baby MIGHT be starting to do this at 6 months, but really we are talking more like 7 to 8 months old. At that point I was more concerned about slowly building up her immune system than sheltering her from every germ out there. Usually if she is sick already I would wear her and avoid the cart altogether, or healthy I would use the wipes located by the carts in most stores and give the cart a quick wipe down.
2-Diaper Genie-we used this until it got filled up. This was that garbage we always forgot about until I went to put a diaper in and there was no room. Quite honestly, I was so busy as a new mom that it was easier and faster to just throw it in a different garbage and move on. Then I would get caught up doing whatever was next that I would totally forget about empting it again. They look great on paper, but a standard garbage that everyone is already used to taking out regularly is much more convenient.
1-UV scanner germ killer thing-a-ma-bob-I admit I don't remember the exact name, but if you see it in a store you'lol know what I'm talking about. We bought one of these because it would be cool to keep baby in a bubble like that, and we put it right in the diaper bag, ready to go. Well for the first few months Pumpkin wasn't really interested in grabbing at everything in sight, by the time she was 1-she was old enough to not need sheltered from every germ on the planet and 2-I had totally forgot about it. One day she was trying to teeth on a table and I remembered it, went to get it out and the battery was dead. We did not use the product once, our baby girl is just fine, and we did not feel like we were missing anything.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Our Infertility Battle
I just finished putting my beautiful baby girl to bed. She's over a year old now and there still is not a day that goes by that I am not thankful for being blessed with her-and we've had our share of not so easy days. But no matter what I go through with her, nothing is more difficult than infertility. Infertility was by far the most difficult obstacle I've ever had to overcome, and it still gives me pains today. That, however, is a story for another day. Today I would just like to share our battle-from start to finish (and by finish I mean the conception of Pumpkin-we still are unsure if we will experience infertility if we try for a second child).
It all really started for us about 3 and a half years ago. I was 22. My husband-or at the time my boyfriend-and I had just moved into our second apartment together with his daughter from his first marriage, my insurance at my new job had just kicked in, and we were ready to have an "ours" baby. It was all very exciting. Only one problem-my cycles have always been pretty screwed up. My shortest unmedicated cycle is 6 weeks long and haveing a 3 month cycle really isn't all that unusual for me. Before deciding to try for a baby, this was the best cycle ever-especially since I also have pretty light bleeding that ends fairly quickly. I absolutely loved my cycles as a teenager. But now that I actually needed my cycles to work properly it was aweful. We tried for a few cycles before I decided to see a doctor. Normally they say you should try at least a year "unless there is a reason to suspect" something is wrong, and I knew something was.
Since I only wanted to try and fix my cycles and wasn't asking for fertility treatments, my doctor was very willing to do some bloodwork on me the very day I went in. The first tests were to check my hormone levels. As it would turn out, my hormone levels were totally normal. Ironically, when you go through this process and you actually suspect something is wrong "normal" is the exact opposite of what you want to hear. If they don't know what is wrong, they can't treat it. At this point I was referred to an ob-gyn. My new ob-gyn got me in for a new patient visit and we discussed my issues and scheduled yet another appointment. This time I needed an ultrasound to check that the lining of my uterus was neither too thick or too thin and to make sure everything looked normal. Aside from my having a tilted uterus-which apparently has no effect on fertility-all was once again normal. Naturally I had to set another appointment just to go over the results of the ultrasound. Altogether, this much of the testing phase of infertility took around 4-6 months, so if you suspect something is wrong, I highly recommend getting the testing phase of things done ASAP.
Since we could find no explanation for why my cycles were crazy or for why I was not yet pregnant, my doctor ordered a semen analysis on my hubby and prescribed clomid for me to start after we verified my husband had good swimmers. This was very exciting because we were finally actually doing something that would give us a real chance every month. Unfortunately the first dose of clomid did not work. I was prescribed a medicine to induce my period and even that almost didn't work. Since my period was so reluctant to show I got referred straight to a fertility specialist. I think getting referred to a specialist was the first time I actually cried about my situation. I knew it was silly-who better to help us get pregnant than a guy who's entire job is getting couples pregnant? But getting referred to a specialist also made it very real-I REALLY a had a problem now. Something that is supposed to be so natural and easy and a birthright, and I had to go to a specialist to make it happen.
After I got my cry out and went to my specialist, I was excited. My specialist was very awesome. For the first time a doctor sat me down and really laid out the game plan in the long run, whereas everyone wlse just explained this step right now. I left from my initial consultation feeling a renewed sense of hope! My clomid prescrition for increased to 100 mg and it actually worked. I was finally ovulating in a normal timeframe! I just "knew" that this would be it for us. Unfortunately, we did not get pregnant on that cycle or the next. My fertility specialist decided to go ahead and order the HSG test.
An HSG test is where they use a vaginal catheter to inject a dye into your uterus to check that your Fallopian tubes are not blocked. One thing that I really liked about my doctor is he FIRST made sure I was ovulating before we did the test. Some doctors will do it at the beginning to get it over with, but I feel the other way-my doctor's way- is a better way. Why? Because a lot of people are able to get pregnant after the hsg. The dye they use has a side effect of really making sure your tubes are clean. If I had it done on a cycle where I did not ovulate that would be throwing away this bonus perk of a rather pricy fertility test! Why waste the perk?
I think of all the tests I went through, the HSG was the scariest test. All the other ones were very non invasive, and I while I have no fear of needles, I AM afraid of catheters. To add to it, my husband was not allowed to come back with me. They didn't want to expose anyone to radiation unnecessarily. The test actually was not as bad as I had thought it would be though. There was a moment of pain when the catheter needed to be adjusted and it just was not pleasant, but aside from that it was relatively pain free. Afterwards I was once again excited-my tubes were totally clear, and we were continuing clomid so I was going to ovulate. Surely the added fertility from the HSG would be enough. As fate would have it, it still was not meant to be.
It was around this time that my husband and I got married. Somehow, during this stage of my life everything and anything somehow related back to my fertility, so I thought for sure that maybe God just wanted me to get married and do things "right." Once we are married I thought for sure God would bless us with a baby. Eventually he did, but it was several months later.
Meanwhile hubby and I moved up in the world of fertility treatments to clomid with and IUI and timed intercourse. We did 3 cycles like this and still got nowhere. It was time for us to consider the more expensive treatment options. Clomid clearly was not working for us. The next step was a powerful drug called gonadotropins and withe hat we could either do just times intercourse or continue doing IUI's in addition. If those didn't work our options would be IVF or adoption.
We had a very serious talk and decided the best course for our family was to take a month off while we had our honeymoon (we had our honeymoon a couple months after the wedding) and come back to a cycle of follistim (there are 3 brands of gonadotropin and follistim is one of them) and an IUI with timed intercourse. If that didn't work, we decided that we could not keep throwing money fruitlessly at treatments. We also could not afford to do IVF THEN adoption-it would be one or the other.
We went on our honeymoon, came back and started our follistim cycle. It was Christmas time when I was doing the injections, and we went to my aunt's Christmas Eve party that year. While we were there, one of the guests and I got to talking-she had also experienced infertility and now had 2 kids, so we kinda bonded over that. She then proceeded to get drunk and predict that I would have a baby boy by the Christmas party the following year. I shrugged it off-infertility hurts, but it's not like I was going to take a drunk prediction seriously. Not only did she predict my baby, she also predicted that one of my cousins-who had no plans of having a child and was possibly getting ready to have a hysterectomy done-would also have a baby boy by the next Christmas party.
The cycle failed. I was not pregnant, and when faced with the choice of IVF-where a pregnancy may or may not happen-or adopting where we would eventually for sure get our baby, we chose adoption. I cried. Not because I am against adoption-I was adopted myself and am VERY pro-adoption. Just because I wanted my baby now, and because I would not experience pregnancy ever. I would omit be able to breastfeed, or holds newly born baby. Because we had just spent thousands of dollars and now we're going to spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to adopt. It was all so much to handle. My body was broken. That hurts no matter what.
By the following week I had researched all the adoption agencies trying to find the most affordable and deciding what kind of adoption we wanted to do and taking all the effort I had put into trying to conceive and fling myself headfirst into adoption. I was GOING to have a baby. I needed to have a baby. I needed to be a real mommy, not just a step mom. We actually wound up having a very interesting experience in the adoption realm, but alas, that is also a story for another time.
Hubby and I sent in our homestudy contract and check ($1500). Within a week it got sent back to us for insufficient stamps. So I added another stamp and sent it back out. Meanwhile I had been having tingly breasts for 4 weeks and instead of my period showing up, my breasts were killing me. I decided if I didn't have my period by Saturday I would use up a test. That Saturday i peed on and Internet cheapie and got an instant positive test. I isn't believe it so I dunked a first response into the cup-my first response was so positive that the test line was darker than the control line. I ran into our room at 5 30 am and woke my husband (who worked second shift back then) and told him I was pregnant. He definitely did not believe me. I don't think he actually believed me until we went to the gender scan.
To this day I cannot believe that I actually have a baby! My baby that was conceived by us, without fertility treatment. Of course all of those treatments were almost definitely still in my system. I know because the dating ultrasound showed I was 6 weeks pregnant when it had only been 6 weeks since I started the cycle. That means that I ovulated when I was supposed, not when I normally would have.
I remember reflecting on everything late one night after my daughter was born as I nursed her to sleep. Infertility was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure, but without a doubt it has made me a better mom, and if it had not been for my infertility battle, I would not have my daughter, and I wouldn't trade her for ANYTHING. You see, my daughter is the result of a very specific sperm meeting a very specific egg, and if I had conceived any earlier, it would not have been the RIGHT sperm and egg that met. And if I had not gone through infertility I might not have been able to FULLY appreciate what a blessing my daughter is. As things stand now-I am able to parent my daughter with confidence and trust my instincts. So many people have an opinion on what is the right way to parent a child, but I know my daughter best, and I have the confidence to trust my instincts when people give me well intentioned advice. Most importantly, I enjoy every minute with my daughter. From middle of the might wake ups to the dirty diaper to the precious cuddles, smiles and kisses, I love being Pumpkin's mommy. Mommy hood is worth fighting for! So often the reality doesn't live up to the dream, but in this-the reality is far better than the dream.
So if you are struggling with infertility, make yourself a promise that you will never ever give up. Promise yourself you WILL make it happen. Maybe you won't make it happen in the conventional way, but that doesn't make mommy hood any less great. As an adopted person myself, I can honestly say that my mom is the person who raised me. I am great ful to my birth mom for giving birth to me instead of aborting me, don't get me wrong. But my mom is the one who was there for me my whole life. Or perhaps one of the treatments that did not work for us will work for you. Or maybe you will get lucky as we did and conceive when you go to adopt. No matter how you get there, mommy hood is worth fighting for-so make your dream come true!!
It all really started for us about 3 and a half years ago. I was 22. My husband-or at the time my boyfriend-and I had just moved into our second apartment together with his daughter from his first marriage, my insurance at my new job had just kicked in, and we were ready to have an "ours" baby. It was all very exciting. Only one problem-my cycles have always been pretty screwed up. My shortest unmedicated cycle is 6 weeks long and haveing a 3 month cycle really isn't all that unusual for me. Before deciding to try for a baby, this was the best cycle ever-especially since I also have pretty light bleeding that ends fairly quickly. I absolutely loved my cycles as a teenager. But now that I actually needed my cycles to work properly it was aweful. We tried for a few cycles before I decided to see a doctor. Normally they say you should try at least a year "unless there is a reason to suspect" something is wrong, and I knew something was.
Since I only wanted to try and fix my cycles and wasn't asking for fertility treatments, my doctor was very willing to do some bloodwork on me the very day I went in. The first tests were to check my hormone levels. As it would turn out, my hormone levels were totally normal. Ironically, when you go through this process and you actually suspect something is wrong "normal" is the exact opposite of what you want to hear. If they don't know what is wrong, they can't treat it. At this point I was referred to an ob-gyn. My new ob-gyn got me in for a new patient visit and we discussed my issues and scheduled yet another appointment. This time I needed an ultrasound to check that the lining of my uterus was neither too thick or too thin and to make sure everything looked normal. Aside from my having a tilted uterus-which apparently has no effect on fertility-all was once again normal. Naturally I had to set another appointment just to go over the results of the ultrasound. Altogether, this much of the testing phase of infertility took around 4-6 months, so if you suspect something is wrong, I highly recommend getting the testing phase of things done ASAP.
Since we could find no explanation for why my cycles were crazy or for why I was not yet pregnant, my doctor ordered a semen analysis on my hubby and prescribed clomid for me to start after we verified my husband had good swimmers. This was very exciting because we were finally actually doing something that would give us a real chance every month. Unfortunately the first dose of clomid did not work. I was prescribed a medicine to induce my period and even that almost didn't work. Since my period was so reluctant to show I got referred straight to a fertility specialist. I think getting referred to a specialist was the first time I actually cried about my situation. I knew it was silly-who better to help us get pregnant than a guy who's entire job is getting couples pregnant? But getting referred to a specialist also made it very real-I REALLY a had a problem now. Something that is supposed to be so natural and easy and a birthright, and I had to go to a specialist to make it happen.
After I got my cry out and went to my specialist, I was excited. My specialist was very awesome. For the first time a doctor sat me down and really laid out the game plan in the long run, whereas everyone wlse just explained this step right now. I left from my initial consultation feeling a renewed sense of hope! My clomid prescrition for increased to 100 mg and it actually worked. I was finally ovulating in a normal timeframe! I just "knew" that this would be it for us. Unfortunately, we did not get pregnant on that cycle or the next. My fertility specialist decided to go ahead and order the HSG test.
An HSG test is where they use a vaginal catheter to inject a dye into your uterus to check that your Fallopian tubes are not blocked. One thing that I really liked about my doctor is he FIRST made sure I was ovulating before we did the test. Some doctors will do it at the beginning to get it over with, but I feel the other way-my doctor's way- is a better way. Why? Because a lot of people are able to get pregnant after the hsg. The dye they use has a side effect of really making sure your tubes are clean. If I had it done on a cycle where I did not ovulate that would be throwing away this bonus perk of a rather pricy fertility test! Why waste the perk?
I think of all the tests I went through, the HSG was the scariest test. All the other ones were very non invasive, and I while I have no fear of needles, I AM afraid of catheters. To add to it, my husband was not allowed to come back with me. They didn't want to expose anyone to radiation unnecessarily. The test actually was not as bad as I had thought it would be though. There was a moment of pain when the catheter needed to be adjusted and it just was not pleasant, but aside from that it was relatively pain free. Afterwards I was once again excited-my tubes were totally clear, and we were continuing clomid so I was going to ovulate. Surely the added fertility from the HSG would be enough. As fate would have it, it still was not meant to be.
It was around this time that my husband and I got married. Somehow, during this stage of my life everything and anything somehow related back to my fertility, so I thought for sure that maybe God just wanted me to get married and do things "right." Once we are married I thought for sure God would bless us with a baby. Eventually he did, but it was several months later.
Meanwhile hubby and I moved up in the world of fertility treatments to clomid with and IUI and timed intercourse. We did 3 cycles like this and still got nowhere. It was time for us to consider the more expensive treatment options. Clomid clearly was not working for us. The next step was a powerful drug called gonadotropins and withe hat we could either do just times intercourse or continue doing IUI's in addition. If those didn't work our options would be IVF or adoption.
We had a very serious talk and decided the best course for our family was to take a month off while we had our honeymoon (we had our honeymoon a couple months after the wedding) and come back to a cycle of follistim (there are 3 brands of gonadotropin and follistim is one of them) and an IUI with timed intercourse. If that didn't work, we decided that we could not keep throwing money fruitlessly at treatments. We also could not afford to do IVF THEN adoption-it would be one or the other.
We went on our honeymoon, came back and started our follistim cycle. It was Christmas time when I was doing the injections, and we went to my aunt's Christmas Eve party that year. While we were there, one of the guests and I got to talking-she had also experienced infertility and now had 2 kids, so we kinda bonded over that. She then proceeded to get drunk and predict that I would have a baby boy by the Christmas party the following year. I shrugged it off-infertility hurts, but it's not like I was going to take a drunk prediction seriously. Not only did she predict my baby, she also predicted that one of my cousins-who had no plans of having a child and was possibly getting ready to have a hysterectomy done-would also have a baby boy by the next Christmas party.
The cycle failed. I was not pregnant, and when faced with the choice of IVF-where a pregnancy may or may not happen-or adopting where we would eventually for sure get our baby, we chose adoption. I cried. Not because I am against adoption-I was adopted myself and am VERY pro-adoption. Just because I wanted my baby now, and because I would not experience pregnancy ever. I would omit be able to breastfeed, or holds newly born baby. Because we had just spent thousands of dollars and now we're going to spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to adopt. It was all so much to handle. My body was broken. That hurts no matter what.
By the following week I had researched all the adoption agencies trying to find the most affordable and deciding what kind of adoption we wanted to do and taking all the effort I had put into trying to conceive and fling myself headfirst into adoption. I was GOING to have a baby. I needed to have a baby. I needed to be a real mommy, not just a step mom. We actually wound up having a very interesting experience in the adoption realm, but alas, that is also a story for another time.
Hubby and I sent in our homestudy contract and check ($1500). Within a week it got sent back to us for insufficient stamps. So I added another stamp and sent it back out. Meanwhile I had been having tingly breasts for 4 weeks and instead of my period showing up, my breasts were killing me. I decided if I didn't have my period by Saturday I would use up a test. That Saturday i peed on and Internet cheapie and got an instant positive test. I isn't believe it so I dunked a first response into the cup-my first response was so positive that the test line was darker than the control line. I ran into our room at 5 30 am and woke my husband (who worked second shift back then) and told him I was pregnant. He definitely did not believe me. I don't think he actually believed me until we went to the gender scan.
To this day I cannot believe that I actually have a baby! My baby that was conceived by us, without fertility treatment. Of course all of those treatments were almost definitely still in my system. I know because the dating ultrasound showed I was 6 weeks pregnant when it had only been 6 weeks since I started the cycle. That means that I ovulated when I was supposed, not when I normally would have.
I remember reflecting on everything late one night after my daughter was born as I nursed her to sleep. Infertility was the hardest thing I've ever had to endure, but without a doubt it has made me a better mom, and if it had not been for my infertility battle, I would not have my daughter, and I wouldn't trade her for ANYTHING. You see, my daughter is the result of a very specific sperm meeting a very specific egg, and if I had conceived any earlier, it would not have been the RIGHT sperm and egg that met. And if I had not gone through infertility I might not have been able to FULLY appreciate what a blessing my daughter is. As things stand now-I am able to parent my daughter with confidence and trust my instincts. So many people have an opinion on what is the right way to parent a child, but I know my daughter best, and I have the confidence to trust my instincts when people give me well intentioned advice. Most importantly, I enjoy every minute with my daughter. From middle of the might wake ups to the dirty diaper to the precious cuddles, smiles and kisses, I love being Pumpkin's mommy. Mommy hood is worth fighting for! So often the reality doesn't live up to the dream, but in this-the reality is far better than the dream.
So if you are struggling with infertility, make yourself a promise that you will never ever give up. Promise yourself you WILL make it happen. Maybe you won't make it happen in the conventional way, but that doesn't make mommy hood any less great. As an adopted person myself, I can honestly say that my mom is the person who raised me. I am great ful to my birth mom for giving birth to me instead of aborting me, don't get me wrong. But my mom is the one who was there for me my whole life. Or perhaps one of the treatments that did not work for us will work for you. Or maybe you will get lucky as we did and conceive when you go to adopt. No matter how you get there, mommy hood is worth fighting for-so make your dream come true!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Working Full Time From Home with a Baby
It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since I came off my maternity leave to my work from home job, but here we are! This last year has definitely had some ups and downs, but it has also been the best year of my life! I never could have imagined the love and joy Pumpkin would bring to my life. That said, working 40 hours a week while caring for a baby definitely is not a walk in the park. It is definitely doable...but it takes some serious effort and time.
Every work from home mom will tell you something different, but here are the top tips to how we are able to make working from home with a baby work:
1. Working full time hours takes time. Lots and lots of time. In my experience a straight 8 hour day with a 30 minute lunch somewhere in there simply does not work with taking care of a baby. When I went back to work at 10 weeks it took me 12+ hours to work 9 hours. I wish I could say that things have improved since then but I am still pretty much working all day long (Pumpkin is almost 14 months old). I did briefly try working straight days but my productivity at work fell to beyond stressful levels, Pumpkin was having growing problems and I truly think part of it was my trying to feed her meals while I worked instead of sitting her down and feeding her a meal, and frankly Punpkin was all over me most of the day for attention. When she saw me going to the chair she would grab my leg and cry. It was just too long of a stretch for her.
2. Get used to not sleeping much. To this day I go off of less than 6 hours of sleep a night. To put it simply, my most productive time at work remains as the times during which Pumpkin is asleep. My day starts at 2:30 am.
3. Experiment with how many hours per day work best for you and be open to change. When Pumpkin was a little baby I liked to do 4-9 hr days and a 4 hr day. Adding the extra hour a day I barely even noticed the added work, yet on Fridays I definitely noticed the shortened day. It gave me the opportunity to really enjoy being a mommy to Pumpkin. Now that Pumpkin is older and awake more often and more interested in stuff I like to do 11 hours mon-wed (something like 2:30a to 1 hour after Pumpkin wakes up at 7:30 ish; from the time Pumpkin goes down for a nap to 1 hour after she wakes up; and then I finish up my hours starting 1 hour before hubby comes home until I hit 11 hours. All in all Pumpkin only has to entertain herself for 3 hours a day then she gets a lot of mommy time Thursday to Sunday.) and 7 hours Thursday. This enables us to do things like story time or other field trips on Thursday and Friday.
4. Invest in high quality toys and lots of variety. Toys can be a real life saver! I recommend a lot of different types-blocks to dolls to stuffed animals to electronic. We even have a few apps on my phone for her. Without good toys she would not entertain herself at all. Buy enough that you can rotate the toys around. When she gets tired of her toys, take them away and bring out the old toys. It will be just like if you got her a new toy as she explores them with her ever growing skills.
5. You are not a stay at home mom, but everyone will think you are. Since you are "home all day" a lot of people will think your life is a LOT different than it is. Some have even told me that I don't really need a maternity leave since I am already at home (clearly they have forgotten how much care a newborn requires). Others will wonder why doing xyz is such a big deal or not get why you are so stressed out. It's ok. They don't HAVE to get it. I tend to take the less confrontational route and just shrug it off. No matter what others may say, I know I am working 2 full time jobs simultaneously. That's an accomplishment!
6. You will work harder than you have ever worked in your life and not excel at anything. At work, my productivity is just enough to get by. As a parent my baby is fed, clean, and clothed. I do my best to throw in a few stories and a game or two, but some days-clean, fed and clothed is about all I manage to sneak in. My dogs have not been walked in over a year. I have not lost my post partum weight-I have no time to exercise or to cook decently. Mostly I grab whatever is fast and easy. When it's nice out I might manage a quick walk. Sometimes I have to send my step daughter to the bus stop on her own because all hell has broken loose or I really need to get my productivity at work up or Pumpkin is still asleep and if I wake her I will REALLY be screwed (as if my job isn't hard enough, let's make the baby cranky all day long). And the housework-I clean and the next day you would hardly be able to tell, but it will have to do until next week. If I were getting grades I would probably be getting straight c's. But straight c's are enough. The family is healthy, happy and mostly thriving.
7. Schedule some time for you. You need it. In the beginning days I insosted on a half an hour a night for my shower. Now I stay up an hour after I put Pumpkin to sleep. Do I need the sleep? Yeah, sure I do, but if I don't have at least some time to take a deep breath and relax...I don't know what would happen, but I know it wouldn't be good.
8. Be prepared for mental breakdowns. Even if you schedule "you" time, they are going to happen. I just recently had one. I cried for almost a whole day last week. That's the thing about working your but off for the absolute bare minimum results-you feel like you are just barely holding everything together, so when that one thread gets strained a little too far you REALLY feel the pressure. Talk to someone. There might be absolutely no good solution to the problem, but my friend I went to said this "even if you do nothing, know that (stepdaughter) and (daughter) will both grow to admire you." It may not have solved everything, but it helped me to breathe. I'm doing ok!
9. Get out of the house. A work out of the house mom gets out to commute to work. A stay at home mom has errands. A work at home mom is in a position where it would be sooo easy to just stay in. But the fresh air is good for both you and baby. So instead of becoming a prisoner I. Your own home, get out of the house. Find a local story time at the library, go out to eat, run to the bank or store. It doesn't matter what you do, just get yourself out there.
10. It DOES eventually get easier. I worked from home for about 2 years before I gave birth to Pumpkin and during that time I was caring for my 5 year old step daughter. Even in the summer that WAS a walk in the park. I hypothesize that it gets easier after potty training ;)
And that's how we survived our first year. It wasn't easy. I'm flat out exhausted, but it is totally 100% worth it everytime I see my baby girl smile, hear her laugh, or see her discover something new. if given a choice between working outside the home or working from home, working from home will
win hands down every time (likewise stay at home mom would beat work from home mom everytime but that's besides the point). With a lot of effort, time and commitment, anyone can make a work from home schedule work with a baby. Just hang in there and remember it will not be this hard forever.
Every work from home mom will tell you something different, but here are the top tips to how we are able to make working from home with a baby work:
1. Working full time hours takes time. Lots and lots of time. In my experience a straight 8 hour day with a 30 minute lunch somewhere in there simply does not work with taking care of a baby. When I went back to work at 10 weeks it took me 12+ hours to work 9 hours. I wish I could say that things have improved since then but I am still pretty much working all day long (Pumpkin is almost 14 months old). I did briefly try working straight days but my productivity at work fell to beyond stressful levels, Pumpkin was having growing problems and I truly think part of it was my trying to feed her meals while I worked instead of sitting her down and feeding her a meal, and frankly Punpkin was all over me most of the day for attention. When she saw me going to the chair she would grab my leg and cry. It was just too long of a stretch for her.
2. Get used to not sleeping much. To this day I go off of less than 6 hours of sleep a night. To put it simply, my most productive time at work remains as the times during which Pumpkin is asleep. My day starts at 2:30 am.
3. Experiment with how many hours per day work best for you and be open to change. When Pumpkin was a little baby I liked to do 4-9 hr days and a 4 hr day. Adding the extra hour a day I barely even noticed the added work, yet on Fridays I definitely noticed the shortened day. It gave me the opportunity to really enjoy being a mommy to Pumpkin. Now that Pumpkin is older and awake more often and more interested in stuff I like to do 11 hours mon-wed (something like 2:30a to 1 hour after Pumpkin wakes up at 7:30 ish; from the time Pumpkin goes down for a nap to 1 hour after she wakes up; and then I finish up my hours starting 1 hour before hubby comes home until I hit 11 hours. All in all Pumpkin only has to entertain herself for 3 hours a day then she gets a lot of mommy time Thursday to Sunday.) and 7 hours Thursday. This enables us to do things like story time or other field trips on Thursday and Friday.
4. Invest in high quality toys and lots of variety. Toys can be a real life saver! I recommend a lot of different types-blocks to dolls to stuffed animals to electronic. We even have a few apps on my phone for her. Without good toys she would not entertain herself at all. Buy enough that you can rotate the toys around. When she gets tired of her toys, take them away and bring out the old toys. It will be just like if you got her a new toy as she explores them with her ever growing skills.
5. You are not a stay at home mom, but everyone will think you are. Since you are "home all day" a lot of people will think your life is a LOT different than it is. Some have even told me that I don't really need a maternity leave since I am already at home (clearly they have forgotten how much care a newborn requires). Others will wonder why doing xyz is such a big deal or not get why you are so stressed out. It's ok. They don't HAVE to get it. I tend to take the less confrontational route and just shrug it off. No matter what others may say, I know I am working 2 full time jobs simultaneously. That's an accomplishment!
6. You will work harder than you have ever worked in your life and not excel at anything. At work, my productivity is just enough to get by. As a parent my baby is fed, clean, and clothed. I do my best to throw in a few stories and a game or two, but some days-clean, fed and clothed is about all I manage to sneak in. My dogs have not been walked in over a year. I have not lost my post partum weight-I have no time to exercise or to cook decently. Mostly I grab whatever is fast and easy. When it's nice out I might manage a quick walk. Sometimes I have to send my step daughter to the bus stop on her own because all hell has broken loose or I really need to get my productivity at work up or Pumpkin is still asleep and if I wake her I will REALLY be screwed (as if my job isn't hard enough, let's make the baby cranky all day long). And the housework-I clean and the next day you would hardly be able to tell, but it will have to do until next week. If I were getting grades I would probably be getting straight c's. But straight c's are enough. The family is healthy, happy and mostly thriving.
7. Schedule some time for you. You need it. In the beginning days I insosted on a half an hour a night for my shower. Now I stay up an hour after I put Pumpkin to sleep. Do I need the sleep? Yeah, sure I do, but if I don't have at least some time to take a deep breath and relax...I don't know what would happen, but I know it wouldn't be good.
8. Be prepared for mental breakdowns. Even if you schedule "you" time, they are going to happen. I just recently had one. I cried for almost a whole day last week. That's the thing about working your but off for the absolute bare minimum results-you feel like you are just barely holding everything together, so when that one thread gets strained a little too far you REALLY feel the pressure. Talk to someone. There might be absolutely no good solution to the problem, but my friend I went to said this "even if you do nothing, know that (stepdaughter) and (daughter) will both grow to admire you." It may not have solved everything, but it helped me to breathe. I'm doing ok!
9. Get out of the house. A work out of the house mom gets out to commute to work. A stay at home mom has errands. A work at home mom is in a position where it would be sooo easy to just stay in. But the fresh air is good for both you and baby. So instead of becoming a prisoner I. Your own home, get out of the house. Find a local story time at the library, go out to eat, run to the bank or store. It doesn't matter what you do, just get yourself out there.
10. It DOES eventually get easier. I worked from home for about 2 years before I gave birth to Pumpkin and during that time I was caring for my 5 year old step daughter. Even in the summer that WAS a walk in the park. I hypothesize that it gets easier after potty training ;)
And that's how we survived our first year. It wasn't easy. I'm flat out exhausted, but it is totally 100% worth it everytime I see my baby girl smile, hear her laugh, or see her discover something new. if given a choice between working outside the home or working from home, working from home will
win hands down every time (likewise stay at home mom would beat work from home mom everytime but that's besides the point). With a lot of effort, time and commitment, anyone can make a work from home schedule work with a baby. Just hang in there and remember it will not be this hard forever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)