Not so bad

So Christmas actually went really well. We were supposed to be going to church on Christmas Eve but that didn't happen. I was sick and John was exhausted after a long work week. So we relaxed at home and ordered pizza. We had a wonderful little quiet Christmas morning and were definitely blessed with lots of wonderful gifts. Chloe was definitely spoiled this Christmas. She got lots of clothes, toys, books, and more!

She wanted to eat all her toys. That's her new thing. If she can't get something in her mouth she throws a complete fit. Silly girl. John is going to kill me for uploading this picture.



She also got a very awesome Fisher-Price rainforest jumperoo from her Grandparents (John's mom & dad). She adores it. She hasn't quite figured out how to jump yet, but she definitely likes looking at and touching all the toys. It's so adorable. She was a little confused when we first put her in.



I hope everyone else had a wonderful a happy holiday weekend. I'd also like to link to the blog for baby Scarlett. She needs as many thoughts and prayers and she can get right now. Blog here!

Ba Humbug!

Look at that, one week in and I'm already slacking. Really it's just been a crazy week. Chloe still hasn't been sleeping. I'm super tired and the last thing I've wanted to do is be on the computer. I'm trying to figure out Christmas stuff, and have been running around shipping parcels and buying gifts.

I'm not particularly fond of Christmas. If it weren't for my husband being obsessed with Christmas I'd probably just skip the holiday and continue on with my year. But having Chloe means I need to get into the Christmas spirit, so I'm trying, but inside I'm failing miserably. I don't entirely know why I dislike Christmas so much. When I was a kid my parents always went overboard on Christmas and we always were quite spoiled. My parents divorced when I was eight and after that Christmas was always spent at one place or the other. I never really liked that. Then we moved to Michigan and we'd spend Christmas with my mom's side of the family. That's a whole mess I won't even get into on the internet, but suffice to say, I'd rather just skip the holiday all together than deal with my grandmother's holiday criticism. Now I live eight hours away, my husband works retail, and we can't leave town during Christmas.

Chloe went to meet Santa this past weekend. It went well. She didn't really seem to mind at all. I'm sure next year will be a whole different story. Here's a quick pic, then it's back to gift wrapping for me!

Can I have my baby back?

Where did my good sweet little girl go? Chloe started sleeping through the night at around 6 weeks old. It was amazing. She'd go down around 10pm, wake around 6am for a nursing and then sleep until 9am and be up for the day. Starting two weeks ago she decided that was no longer going to be the plan. She started waking up every three hours, then every two. Last night, EVERY SINGLE HOUR. She would nurse a bit then fall asleep. I don't believe in trying the cry it out method, it's just not my thing. I'm so tired though, I'm not sure what to do next. I didn't think there was a four month growth spurt, but this sure is something!

I just adore my little girl though. Even when she keeps me up all night. She's so precious and beautiful. This morning we played on our mat and actually had some good tummy time. She's getting so close to rolling over! But she just doesn't want to quite yet. She loves swatting at the things on the play mat and scootching around to get to them. It's so cute. I can't wait for her to start rolling though, it'll be adorable.

I guess today's nap is only going to last 30 minutes. She's up and talking away. I better go see what's up! Ta-ta for now!

Oh I meant to add ... check out the Survey Junkie giveaway for the VTech MobiGo. Chloe is too young for it right now but I'm sure she'll like it when she's older. Or maybe one of my followers will win it! Either way would be great :) Click on the button to check out the giveaway, and check out VTechKids.com for more cool VTech toys!

Why must you open your mouth?

It's been snowing here since last week Sunday. I know it does this every winter, and usually I'll complain a little and then move on. It's not such a big deal. But with a four month old it's definitely a big deal. There's no more throwing on a warm coat and a scarf and running out the door 10 minutes before you need to be somewhere. Everything takes planning, which starts hours before you need to be there. I know she nurses every two to three hours during the day. So the prime time to leave is right after a nursing. During the fall I could just pop her right in her car seat and go. Now, not so much. I need to bundle her up, bundle myself up, get the car warm, brush off the snow, stop her from crying because she's bored sitting still, etc. etc. etc. I have no idea how people with more than one child do this, and those with twins ... they're amazing. I'd be a hermit.

Today is actually quite warm compared to the last week. It's about 32 out, a little snowy this early afternoon but the wind calmed down so we ventured out to get some Christmas shopping done. I hate when you see something a few months before Christmas and think it will make a great Christmas present, but unable to purchase at the time you make a note to come back. I went to Kohl's today to get some things I had thought of for Christmas presents. Some were there, others not. Now I need a backup idea of what to get my little sister and two sister-in-laws for Christmas. Money is tight and I suck at making things, hopefully an idea will come to me. So on top of being frustrated at myself for procrastinating the Christmas gifts and not being able to get them, Chloe had a meltdown in the store. I always feel bad when that happens. She was just a little hot from being bundled and quickly calmed down once I unzipped her pram and gave her a paci, but I got some death glares from other shoppers. Get over it.

Our next stop was the grocery store. As I'm walking in this woman goes "Oh my goodness, you shouldn't have that baby out in this weather, poor little baby!". Oh give me a break. We live in the UP of Michigan. If I didn't go out in this weather I'd be stuck in my house from the end of October until May. Chloe was covered in the cozy cover, with a warm pram on, and a hat, no body parts exposed to the wind. It's not even cold yet! This woman just happened to be in the same area of the store as us throughout our trip and continued to make comments, "Don't forget food for the baby, it's easy to buy things for yourself." What the hell does that mean? She's a four month old exclusively breast fed child, I'm not buying her food yet. Get your nose out of my cart please.

Sorry for the long crabby post. I do need to look on the bright side today but I'm still trying to find it. When I get there I'll post again, or maybe tomorrow will be a better day. Chloe was up every two hours again last night and isn't napping well today. This has been going on for almost two weeks now and I'm exhausted. My house is a disaster. Somehow I will figure out how to balance the mother, wife, homemaker rolls and all will be happy. Until then Chloe will be taken care of, and the rest of things will have to wait.

Blog Hopping!

So I had never heard of blog hopping until today, but it's a great way to find other mom's blogs and hopefully gain some followers here. Here's a link to the blog hop I found!

Let's give this a try ...

I've always wanted to be a successful blogger. Not success in numbers, but success in actually keeping up with a blog. I started a blog years and years ago when I was around 15. I updated it daily, if not more than that. I read it now and laugh at how I ever had any followers, but I loved it. I tried to start up again when I went away to college in 2005. That lasted about a week. My last attempt was in January 2010 when I was pregnant with Chloe. I wanted to start a blog to write letters to her and journal about my pregnancy and all the excitements that came along with it. That lasted about 6 posts and then I just didn't have time.

So here we go again. Forth time's a charm right? In preparation for this blog I read my old ones. Maybe for inspiration, maybe just to see what I felt was important then. It's amazing how life can change so fast in just a few minutes on an amazing day, and it just puts everything into perspective and changes your entire view on the world. This blog will be about life, family, photography, and whatever else I plan to throw out there. Can't hurt to try again!

I named this blog 'Making of a Mama' because that's how I'm feeling about life right now. I gave birth to my beautiful daughter on August 10, 2010. A planned c-section that thankfully went routinely. My little girl decided at 32 weeks gestation to be head up and there she stayed. Very breech, but still perfect in every way. The doctor called her the "breechiest baby" she had ever seen when she was forcefully evicted. Her little legs were up by her ears and had to be trained back down. They still go up there when she's really mad. I remember looking at her for the first time and just smiling and staring. I didn't want to blink incase she did something and I missed it. I didn't believe in love at first sight until I met her.



I'm a firm believer that simply giving birth does not make a mama. There are too many bad mothers out there, that just don't deserve the title. It's the days, months, and years after your baby comes that makes you a mama. I'm still learning how to be one. Like everyone else, I'm sure I make mistakes, but I'm trying my best to learn this new role and be good at it. Thanks to my amazing hard-working husband I will have lots of time to gain experience. Originally I was going to be working full-time when Chloe came, but I just couldn't do it, so we tried part-time, and it just wasn't financially worth it to pay for daycare when I was only making a little more than what that cost us. Money is tight, but we're making it work. No extras, but that's okay. I'd live in a box and eat dirt if it meant I could spend all day with my baby.

All mama's have their set of "titles" that they like to share. All over the baby forums you'll see someone's name and then it's followed by "CD, CS, BW, EBFing Mama". I used to think they're silly, but in mama world it's sort of like a doctor putting M.D. after their name. It's important to share with other mama's your baby raising philosophies and what's important to you. Breast feeding is one of the most important things to me. It's been a tough road, but so far Chloe has never had a drop of anything else. I'm so proud and lucky that I've been able to do it. I've read about lots of mothers trying their hardest and being unsuccessful and my heart hurts for them. I know that if one day my body fails me I will be heartbroken and depressed. We've struggled but thankfully I have a ton of support from my husband, doctor, and lactation consultants and we're making it. My goal is at least one year, I sure hope we get there. I don't want to come off like I'm against formula feeding. I'm most definitely not. Every mother needs to do what is best for her and her baby. Whether it be medical or personal reasons that a mother chooses not to breast feed it's really nobody's business. Many women on the community I'm a member of post their sadness and guilt of now being able to breast feed and I always feel bad because someone always beats them up about it. The most important thing is that the child is fed and healthy, not the method in which is gets to the belly!

I'm going to wrap this one up here with one of my favorite mama quotes, from the lovely Princess Diana, "A mother's arms are more comforting than anyone else's."