Baby's First Visit to Santa

I don't remember ever believing in Santa. Maybe I just have a shotty memory and Mom, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember thinking that fat guy was ever real. I blame this on my Kuya (my brother). Very early on, he taught me that Mom and Dad hide presents in their closet or under their beds. (Really,Mom and Dad? You couldn't think of better hiding places?) My brother and I would peruse the house and gawk at the toys we were getting on Christmas from "Santa." Later in life, when I wouldn't have time to search the house for presents because I was to busy playing house, I would shuffle through the presents under the tree and ever so carefully untape one side, maybe the other, and take a little peekaroo. I may or may not have opened a whole present once and rewrapped it afterwards. This rebellious habit lasted well into my 20's. I stopped because I confessed this to my Hubby and he made me promise I would stop doing that. Luckily, we share a bank account now and I can easily see what I get for Christmas. Nanny nanny boo boo! :p

I hope Joaquin doesn't pick up on Mommy's bad habit. I hope he believes in Santa forever. I pray that he doesn't turn out to be one of those first graders I once had that blurted out "Santa isn't real!" I hated those kids and I would scrambled like hell to divert the conversation before the other first graders asked me any questions about it.

So, this Christmas I will start planning. I will start a plan on how to make my son believe in Santa and find good places around the house to hide the presents so Santa's cover is never blown. Joaquin WILL believe... Or he will teach his younger siblings otherwise. Either way, it'll be fun times.

Wandom Wednesday: Recovery

This Sunday, my little snugaboo will be one month old. WHOA Nelly Furtado! I am torn between wishing time would stand still so I can have this little newborn forever, and wishing time would fast forward to the point where he can wipe his own butt. I'm sure one day I'll miss wiping his butt... one day.

GAH! Just the other day his little belly button cord fell off. I was both excited and disgusted, then I cried because he's growing up so fast. This was a big moment for the whole family.

I have to be honest and say that these past few weeks, although filled with magical moments, has been an emotional roller coaster for me. Baby blues hit me like a freggin' hurricane and I sobbed uncontrollably EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I heard crying sounds coming from my own mouth that I've never heard before. Even Baby Joaquin was like "What the hell, Mom! Why are YOU crying?" When I am in these deep holes of emotion, I often wonder if I'm cut out for this "mom gig." Hubby really had to dig me out of some really dark moments and there were even times I pulled him right down there with me. I felt so alone even though I was surrounded by everything a woman could ever want out of life. Dammit Hormones! I really had a difficult time with breastfeeding, getting up every 2 hours, going out in public, and even interacting with friends and family. I just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep for a redonkulous amount of days.

Then I remembered I AM a mom now and this little guy is counting on me. I remembered that newborns can pick up on mommy's stress and I couldn't deal with the thought of ruining my kid's life already. There will be times for that...like showing the video of his first bath at his 18th birthday party in front of all his friends and his stupid girlfriend, who I'm sure I'll hate. So in true obsessive compulsive and teacher lady form, I started a plan of action.....an IEP (for all you teacher friends out there)for myself to fight the blues.

1. Organize....in a cute organizer.

Ummm, I'm TOTALLY obsessed with my new planner. If you're into the good ol' paper organizers, check out ErinCondren.com. Her planners are so cute and functional. I am in organize heaven! I made it a point to plan out family walks, visits from friends, and simple trips to the market so I can feel productive. Those were the things that made me feel "normal."

I also love my Baby Daze tracker. Totally unnecessary but helps the OCD monster in me to keep track of every poop and pee that lil' man makes. That info will make for beautiful keepsake moments, no?



 2. Don't be a Vampire Slug

People say to sleep when baby sleeps but when I did that, I felt like a vampire slug living in a dark house with the curtains always drawn shut. I needed to get some fresh air everyday. My little family and I went on our first walk around the block days after Joaquin's birth. We all loved it, especially Sonic. This helped with my sanity and my c-section recovery.

3. Take a damn shower

Since my c-section, my incision site open once. Lovely. I had to take a trip to the ER, they drained it, and told me to sponge bath myself for a few days. Sponge baths are hard if you don't have a nurse on hand to wipe you down the correct way. Sure I have a husband, but it is too early in my life for him to wipe my butt. When I got the green light to take a full shower, I danced...carefully, with joy. Showers are your friend and you should take one...even if it lasts a whole 2 minutes.

.via.





 4. Do what's right for YOU

-cracked and bleeding nipples
-nipple shields
-Lanolin cream
-Thrush
-Plugged Ducts

If you plan on breastfeeding, make sure you do your research on these things. I really thought that breastfeeding would be as easy as slapping the baby on your teet and letting him go at it, create a magical bond, blah blah blah..... no. Nobody told me that breastfeeding can be so hard!

I am a firm believer in "Happy Wife, Happy Life." Same goes for being a mom, too. If mommy isn't happy, then all hell will break loose in the house and everyone will be miserable. One struggle I had, and continue to have on occasion is breastfeeding. I want to write a full post about my battle with this, but in short, I had to do what was right for me. It seems like right now, the push is for breastfeeding and anything else is poison apparently. I felt the pressure hardcore and had to find ways to come to terms with what works for me and what wont drive me up the wall. In a nutshell, I hate breastfeeding...yes I said it...I hate it. I decided that the best thing for me right now is to exclusively pump and supplement if I need to.

 5. Cookies

Remember when I said I'd post the recipe for the pumpkin white chocolate chip cookies...yeah well, I had a baby and I totally forgot. Mommy brain? Better late than never.
FYI- I subbed the pumpkin spice and puree for a lazy can of pumpkin pie puree and I nixed the frosting and dusted it with powdered sugar.

Yummy recipe here!

I also did a my first TIM TAM SLAM! Oh, it's a thing. Google it. It's going to be big like Gangnam style. Mark my chocolate faced words.

For all you new mommies out there.... hang in there. It does get better. Atleast that's what everyone keeps telling me.