Christmas 2014

This year we celebrated Christmas on both coasts - here on the West Coast with the Keller family, and on the East Coast with the Lloy family :)

Both Christmas celebrations were amazing!  It is always awesome to get home to NS ... and of course chaotic in the best way possible.

Traveling with 2 kids - one a toddler and the other an active 5 month old - is like driving in the rain. you can't take your eyes off the action for one minute - if you do, you will likely regret it :)  The girls did pretty well on the flights - it is a long day of travel, about 12 hours door-to-door! We had to run to make our flight in Chicago both ways to make it even more interesting! 

But we made it! Both ways! and in one piece :)  It was so great to be home in NS - my brother and sister got to meet Maya for the first time and of course everyone enjoyed seeing Emily again. Oh and us too (yeah, yeah ...  we know we are just vehicles for the kids :))As always the visit to the farm was packed with family, love, laughter, chaos, and memories.

A few of my favorites memories of the holidays:

Taking Emily ice-skating for her first time. So much fun!

Hand and feet printing of miss Maya

Emily's excitement when she met "the real" santa - she would not let him leave without drinking his milk and eating his cookies :)

Family laughter, singing, and time together

Gingerbread house decorations

Family Dinners

 

Walks around the farm

The girls :)

Time with my favorite people :)

Snuggles with Maya

'Twas the week before Christmas

'Twas the week before Christmas ... and all thru the night
Not  a parent was sleeping, try as they might
One kid was getting better while the other got sick
We hope they are both healthy before we see 'Old St Nick

The shopping is not done and our bags are not packed
But we'll get it done before Friday, and that is a fact
Thank goodness for grandma and papa - oh yes!
Without them we'd be even more of a mess!

:)

You know you hava a toddler and an infant in the house when ...

...

• One kid won't eat and the other won't stop eating (i'll let you guess which is which)
• Peek A Boo gets the whole family laughing ... Emily is quite the comedian
• More than one  person laughs at Emily's one-line joke (told as one sentence: why did the chicken cross the road to get to the other side) :)
• The kitchen is always a mess (ok ok, it wasn't always tidy before either)
• The littlest people in the house now have more laundry in volume than the big people
• You never sleep past 5am. One of the girls is up. Neither is easy to put back to bed :)
• There are nights when you don't get any sleep between the two of them ...
• The giggles and laughter fill the house in a way you could not have imagined
• So do the screams and tantrums ;-)

Love these girls and our little family so much!!

Time is flying by ...

Wow! Maya is now four months old ... and Emily is almost four years old! I can't believe how fast they are both growing up.

Emily is a very sweet, very helpful... and also very 'capitalizing' (she picks out Christmas presents for Maya that are really for her) big sister! So far so good with the adjustment of a new little one in the house. And Maya ... well, she is bright, alert, and does not miss a thing. She mimics faces and sounds she hears all the time now and it's quite entertaining ... and means we are often telling Emily "inside voice" since Maya will match her big sisters volume level :)

Emily's fourth birthday is coming up and it's all about 'Frozen' ... and so I have ordered frozen cupcake toppers, frozen cupcake wrappers, frozen cake toppers ... and so many other frozen things that I am all 'frozen' out :) Emily is sure Maya wants frozen dolls too ... LOL.  This past week we went shopping for a 'big girl bed' (twin) - she is currently in a toddler bed - a reminder of how big she is getting!

Maya just turned four months and she's very mobile - rolling all the time - and very vocal - she talks a lot now :) She has also gotten really good at mimicking - we noticed a new face just the other day - and I realized it is the face I have when I cut her fingernails  She is quite social and loves her 'friends' at daycare ... her favorite thing is to interact with people - especially when they talk to her. she likes to read books and look at mirrors, and suck on pretty much everything. She's now grabbing hair, faces, and more and pulling them in to suck on them :) Pretty cute.  One of her favorite places is still the bjorn - which is where she is sleeping now.  She has also become a bit of a snuggle bug, which of course we LOVE :)

Time is flying so fast and our days feel so busy. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing little family. I wish I could press 'pause' on our busy life sometimes .. but I can't so I try to enjoy the time we have together as much as possible. These months and years are flying by so quickly ...

Eeek ... back to work already!

Yes. It's true. Today was my first day!!! I procrastinated writing this post for quite a while .. I think mostly because I didn't quite feel ready to return to work :)

So how was my first day? It was mixed :) I learned a few things:
1. It is easier to pump at a time that will make me late for a meeting rather than leaving a meeting early. Leaving a meeting early seems impossible.
2. I don't have to pump as often as Maya eats - she eats every 2 hours - today I got away with pumping every 4 hours
3. Maya is totally exhausted after 8 hours at daycare. She has been sleeping since 5:45 (it's 7:16 now) ... while I know she needs her sleep, I miss her and am half tempted to let Emily wake her up (Emily wants to play with her ;-))

Other things I already knew like:
- Taking time to pump is going to be hard and I have to be hardcore to ensure it happens
- I miss Maya like crazy, but am also happy to be back in the office
- Yes, I am *that* mom, I called to check in. But only once :)
- Nothing is as urgent as it felt when I left. Nothing compares to the stress of an infant in pain ...
- Nothing really changed :)

So ... yup ... back to work and desperately trying to figure out a good work/family/sport balance while Maya still wakes to eat every 2 hours :$

Yes, I left early. And I plan to leave early for a while :)

On the up side, came home to a wonderful meal ... yes, the food fairies visited today ... even Apple Pie for dessert! I am so thankful that the Kellers have adopted me :)

Getting snuggles while I can ... how I spent my last few days with Maya

Cutie pie

Morning Smiles

Afternoon giggles

Maya is on the move!

I know, I know ... all parents say this ... but it's true! Maya is growing SO fast!  I can't believe she is 15 weeks now! in two weeks she will be 4 months!

She can roll over now, has found her thumb, is very verbal about what she does not like - and pushes/bats things away she does not want, does a half-sit up when you lay her down and she does not want to lay down ... it is just amazing to see her personality and her skills develop!

Unfortunately some of her 'skills' have gone backwards ... she no longer sleeps  4 hours in a row :( It's back to eating every 2 hours - but still she will sleep on her wedge, rock 'n' play, or bed .... which is better than a person :) 

Speaking of backwards ... this girl can scoot ever so slowly backwards on her tummy now - and can rotate in circles while on her tummy :) That one is funny to watch ;-)  She also does a thing I call 'back crawling'. While on her back she uses the plank pose (really! she digs in her deals and lifts up her bum) to push herself either backwards or forwards, depending on what she wants. All this moving around makes diaper changes entertaining ... She is not one you can leave anywhere but the floor safely anymore :)

She's also into chewing and drooling - I thought that phase was a few months out, but man, she loves to chew and suck on anything and everything .. and drool .... bibs are part of her regular attire now :)

oh, and speaking of "on the move", I have learned to nurse while wearing her in the bjorn ... makes family outings much easier.  She really likes it - the upright position is good for her reflux :)

She is pretty strong and really good at holding herself up - has a really strong core, so you have to hold on to her pretty tight :)

She still loves to sing! 

yup, found her thumb!

Taking more time with Maya

It has taken me a while to write this post ... mostly because I wasn't sure what to write. So finally I am just writing ...

Maya turned 12 weeks this past Thursday ... and for those of you who live in the USA you know what that means. It means that my paid maternity leave is over. For those of you in Canada .. I KNOW!!!! 12 wweeks! how insanely short for a maternity leave, right? Well, 12 weeks paid is actually a good ''deal' here in the USA.  As a Canadian it really feels like priorities are a bit whacked here :)

In any case - yes - my paid leave is over. But I am not going back to work. After much discussion and soul-searching, we have decided I will take at least 4 more weeks off. This was not an easy decision ... and has many facets.

First, I love Maya and I know that this time with her is precious ... and I will never get this time back.

Additionally, her tummy still is not settled though it is getting progressively better. I hate the thought of her crying and not being able to comfort her. Daycare has 2 other kids in the infant room who also need attention - we started working with them(did 2 days last week, up to 3 hrs in a row) and they will work with us to gradually increase her time there as her tummy improves. They were very glad after Thursday (she did not have a great day) that the ramp is gradual :)

At the same time, I am eager to get back to work ... at least some days.  Some days I am too exhausted to even think about work. Other days, when I get 4 hrs of sleep in a row and Maya has a decent night, my mind is searching for something to keep it occupied - something other than learning baby sign language and new things to do with and teach Maya :)

I also feel a huge amount of pressure to return to work - career pressure. My job is high pressure and highly competitive. Admittedly a lot of this pressure comes from me :)

Days like today, where her tummy is pretty upset and she cries out in pain every time I put her down, make me confident in my decision. Other days, when she has a good day (I can nap her on something other than me) I wonder if I am doing enough for her, and if it is the right thing.  I am guessing a lot of working moms go thru this with their little ones - especially at 12 weeks, and especially when they have tummy issues.

In the end, even though I feel pulled in many directions, I KNOW this is the right place for me, for now.  I also know that when I am 60 I won't be regretting the few months of work that I missed ;-)

Almost 3 months already????

Where did the time go? Maya will be 3 months in just over a week. I have no idea how that much time went so quickly, and yet some of the minutes seemed to creep by soooo slowly!!

Maya has grown so much - she can do so many things now and is learning new things daily, it seems!  Here is a quick update on our newest family member ...

She loves to sing and talk. She is a really social baby :) Her favorite 'toy' is people ;-) So when she is awake, we are talking, singing, or playing some silly game. It's so much fun!

She laughs and just this weekend learned how to giggle - oh how that laughter brightens even the toughest day! I was not prepared for the emotional roller coaster that comes with a baby ... (I am guessing some of it is lack of sleep and some is just 'normal') ... but her giggles and smiles just melt my heart!

She recognizes people - she has recognized myself and Jonathan for a while now, but totally recognizes Emily's voice, and Grandma, Papa, and Aunt Jenn too! It's so fun to watch!!

She can grab things - and has a strong grip! She regularly grips the sun, one of her favorite toys and pulls so hard that she undoes the Velcro and it comes tumbling down :) She also likes to grab hands, fingers, and hair :) Emily has to be careful now with her hair ;-)

She's very curious about the world around her - always checking out people and noises.

She loves the outdoors. Getting outside will calm her almost immediately ... and she now likes to go for walks in the bjorn and look around. it's pretty fun :)

She still struggles with her tummy, but we are making progress. With the wedge and food elimination (no dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, bananas, almonds, broccoli, yeast, green beans, lima beans, kidney beans, pineapple, or cranberry), she sleeps 4 hours in a row each night - so nice! Naps are mostly in the Bjorn but I've managed to get her to nap on the wedge or rock and play sleeper a few times.  And I've even managed to shower a few times when it is just her and I! Progress, my friends, progress :)

Maya posing on the couch ...

 

Tummy time! 

Giggles!

 

Maya's wedge

My new 'normal'

There are classes and support groups for parents who bring baby home … most of them are about 'embracing the new normal'  … since it feels like we are still figuring out our new normal I figured it was a good blog title :)  We are still figuring everything out … but one thing I know: no two babies are alike… therefore 'normal' is different for all parents, and changes with each kid … Here is our 'normal' with Maya:

Before I begin I want to say … Maya is perfect and I fall more in love with her every day.  I say this because some might read this as me complaining .. But really, I am just trying to be honest and tell it like it is. No frills : )  So lets get started shall we?

First a bit about Maya … as you already know, she has reflux … also, she seems to have food sensitivities which we have not totally figured out yet … on top of that I am blessed with an over-supply of milk and she has not adjusted to the flow yet …

So … here is what a 'normal' day looks like … If she has had a good night, Maya will start to get fussy around 4 or 5 am … she usually has some burps to get out … lots of bouncing and patting ensues. I am not ashamed to admit I have taken to using Emily's trampoline when I am tired of bouncing :) Once we get a few burps out I will try to feed her … once dada gets up I will get dressed (and hopefully remember to put on deodorant ;-))… put on a baby carrier and start my day of baby wearing.  I thank the people who came up with these carriers every day … though my back sill gets sore, I cannot imagine what I would do without them.  Hats off to women like my mom who had 'fussy' babies (yup, that was me) and no carriers!! We have been trying to get into a routine where one of us gets in a workout in the morning ... but it hasn't happened yet.  We are lucky that Emily has taken to reading in bed with me while Maya nurses in the mornings ... this lets Dada catch up on some of the sleep he lost so I could sleep the night before :)

Maya and I generally get out for a walk (how she sleeps best) before 11am - we do a 2.25 mile loop that has some hills … we've been adding more as I get faster. I am nervous to go more than 30 min - if she gets too hungry, she gulps and this makes the burps worse :) After that loop I sometimes walk up and down our street. I am sure our neighbors think I am a bit nuts ;-)  After a mid-morning feeding we'll do medicine … and then a few times a week, a bath. On a really really good day, Maya will sleep on top of my chest while I nap …

Maya has taken to talking, cooing, smiling, and reaching for things which is loads of fun and we get about 10 min of time on her back with her telling me stories after a good feed before her tummy starts to hurt. She really likes to talk to me and enjoys the feel of different textures on her belly. She seems to like really colorful toys and also watching herself in the mirror.

Some days she will sit in the bouncy bjorn chair while I bounce her with my foot and do something … like write a blog post  or eat.  She hasn't taken to her swing yet - lasts about 3 minutes (man, I can get a lot done in 3 min these days!) before it irritates her.

Showering happens when dada has time in the morning or my in-laws come over for re-enforcements. I've managed to shower on my own with Maya exactly twice in 8 weeks :) Hmm … I wonder how she would feel about taking a shower in the bjorn with me? ;-)

Eating? I have figured out that I can eat while she is in the Bjorn without getting food on her by putting a blanket and dish cloth over her head :) She does not like it when I get food on her … lol. Can't blame her … Dinner is usually in shifts - dada and I take turns … on a good day she will sit in her bouncy chair for 10 - 15 minutes and we sit down together!

Dada takes a feeding shift each night so that I get a full REM cycle of sleep … after that she generally eats each hour … or on a good night every 1.5 hrs. We have even had a few nights where she eats every 2 hours! In between feeds she will sleep on me …  or we bounce and walk.

That about sums it up … we hope that our precious peanut will outgrow her upset tummy or we will figure out what food(s) might be irritating her. 

The faces of Maya

The faces of Maya, brought to you with one-handed typing as Maya sleeps in the bjorn :)

Sleepy ...

 

 

 What are you doing?

Hmmm, that is interesting

Hi!!

Ha ha, you are funny mommy

Are you sure??

yawn!

I do not like to sit still!!!

Good Morning

Snuggles

Love her to bits!!!!!

Welcome, Maya Ella Keller - July 10 2014

Yes, I am a bit behind on blogging ... but for good reasons! You see, I have more important things to do like nurse our little sweetheart, change her diaper, and burp her :)

Yes, Peanut has arrived!!!  Maya Ella Keller (aka Peanut) arrived on July 10, 2014 at noon (well, 12:20 to be exact).  We were so excited to meet her and are settling in as a family at home now :)

An open letter to 'peanut'

Dear Peanut

It is hard to believe  we will meet you in a few short weeks …  It's been a wild and amazing ride.  As excited as I am to meet you, I feel like I already know you in so many ways.   Pregnancy has its up and downs but overall, it has been amazing. I have been fortunate in so many ways and will carry many memories with me. Here are just a few …

• Feeling your movements so intensely … every time you wiggle, stretch, re-arrange, do the jitterbug, or punch (mostly my bladder these days) I feel it very intensely. It can be a bit annoying (the bladder part) but mostly I love the feedback that you are 'there' and doing well.
• Learning what foods you enjoy by your reactions. You LOVE strawberries and almonds. It is funny, but this combination always gets a reaction from you … strawberries and any protein, but almonds seems to be your favorite
• Knowing that you sleep well while I am running and riding. Perhaps this will carry over post-birth. If so, I am guessing I'll have to get back into shape quickly ;-)
• Getting to know you … you have no problem letting me know when I do something you do not 'approve' of … for example:
• If I sit or move into a position that you don't like you punch (usually it is a sitting position you do not approve of) me .. Usually in the bladder … with your little fists until I adjust properly. I can almost hear your sigh of relief when I move into a better position
• you are kind of a picky sleeper at night :) You prefer me to be standing, it seems … or sitting.  When I lie down on the 'wrong' side (from your perspective) you jiggle and wiggle until I get up, walk around, and then lie down on the 'right' side. Then you do make a few big contented moves as you snuggle into position and drift off.  You do this many times in the night if I move into a position you don't like … or you get tired of my current position.

 

As much as I will 'miss' you being part of me, I am really looking forward to meeting you ... and know that you will be 'just perfect'.

Xoxo

We have new Neighbors ... kinda

We have new neighbors! .... well, kinda :)

Jonathan's parents & sister just moved to Redmond area from Kansas city - we are quite excited about this! Having family close by is pretty amazing - both from a mutual support and a grandparents/aunt relationship point of view.

We've already had several family dinners ... and are looking forward to a family picnic outing this weekend.

Emily is also very excited, and always asking to go to Grandma and Papa's 'new house' :)

Yes ... we are pregnant :)

I know, I know ... I am so behind on blogging that this is OLD news. But i'm going to tell you about it anyway :)

We are SO excited to be expecting a baby girl in early July. No, I am not going to tell you the names we are thinking about ... and no. I cannot yet balance a plate on my belly (a bowl, yes), and yes, I am getting uncomfortable with 10 weeks to go .... and YES, I am still able to ride my bike and run 8 miles!

It's been an amazing ride! The first trimester was a mix - for the first 6.5 weeks I had no symptoms, and in fact we did not realize we were pregnant until 6 weeks in! The next 8 weeks ... well, a different story. I was pretty sick most of the time - the only think that alleviated my symptoms was exercise. So i'd do a ride first thing in the AM and get 2 hours 'puke free' ... and sneak out for a run at lunch and get another 2 hours. Blissful :) Exercise went from 'I need to do this because i love it' to 'I need this not to puke' :)

And the sleep ... well, sleep was non-existent. for some reason I could not sleep more than 2 hours at a time. After a few weeks, this adds up ... some people say I was prepping for the arrival of little peanut ... I say I don't need that much prep when it comes to sleep deprivation ;-)

This made Brazil interesting as I am sure you can imagine. :) I don't recommend doing a 20 hour flight while being so sick.  That said, Brazil was still really fun - just different than we imagined.  A few weeks into the 2nd trimester the sickness slowly improved .. and so did the sleep.  And then I was sleeping thru the night and hadn't puked in weeks. Yay!

The 2nd trimester was much better. and it was fun ... I had been able to feel peanut kicking and moving around as early as 8 weeks ... but now Jonathan and Emily could start to feel her from the outside ... and that was pretty cool. 

Time has flown and now I am in my final trimester. I have 10 weeks to go and can't believe that time has passed so quickly. We are really looking forward to meeting Peanut!!!