The Bet

Anyone ever seen the movie Trading Places? If you haven't, what happens is these two uber rich dudes make a bet that would change the lives of two guys completely (one was poor and was made rich, and vice versa) and all for $1. Well in that spirit, let me explain The Bet.

My family has TONS of twins. My grandmother is a twin. I have a set of twin cousins. One of my cousins has twins. The Husband's grandmother was ALSO a twin. See where I'm going with this? We haven't had any twins in the family in a little while (compared to how they've popped up so far) and I'm pretty certain that I'm "doomed" to have twins. I'm actually kind of surprised that I didn't have them with the first pregnancy, but it would make more sense (at least from my side of the fam) for them to come with the second pregnancy. The twin cousins were all the second pregnancy.

The Husband thinks we'll have a boy, and that will be it. I, based off of history, have determined that we'll be having twins (I'm thinking a boy and girl). Therefore, we have a bet. And yes. It happens to be for $1.

Let me get one thing straight. I don't necessarily WANT twins. I used to...but now that I'm older and I understand how money works and that I like having as much of it as possible it wouldn't be conducive to us having money to have two babies at once. Also, now that we have the one munchkin and have experienced what taking care of a baby is like I doubt we would be able to take care of an extra two by ourselves...at least not with both of us working. We have a plan that would actually work out well if we ended up with double the fun next time, but that doesn't mean we need to go through all of that.

In the end, whoever we end up blessed with, no matter if there are one or two new people in our lives, we'll make it work, and shower all the munchkins in as much love as we can!

The Two Month Old!

Time is going oh so slow but yet blazingly fast...Chloe is 2 months old! She is sleeping 5 hours at a time at night more often now and every now and then goes down for the entire night! I'm pretty confident that she'll get the whole pattern/sleeping schedule thing down in no time.

As far as her development goes, she seems to be a pretty strong little girl (just like I thought). She can grip the mess out of things and lift her head to the point where she may be able to lift her chest and support herself on her arms soon. When you hold her upright and let her feet touch something solid she's really good at stretching her legs out and putting weight on them, which is a great sign. I think her strength may be developing faster than her motor skills though, because it seems like she would be able to lift up for real if she had a better handle on what to do with her arms and legs...which is completely normal. Her back is getting stronger too, which means she will be able to support herself when sitting and being carried soon!

We have recently discovered the beautiful thing that is a pacifier that stays in her little mouth for a while. She seems soooo comfortable and calm with that thing...it really does live up to it's name. I had to get some more and some clips for them.

Chloe has had a few VERY successful babysitting experiences so far...mainly because The Husband makes me so we can go do things together again. It's not a bad thing...but he does literally have to make me do it, lol. So far she's only stayed with her Gan-Gan (that's what she wants to be called, so deal with it, lol) but there have been visitors while she was there. I've been very calm about it too. I haven't been too overbearing or anything...I didn't even cry. I probably will the first time she goes to school or daycare though, lol. So far I'm learning that it's us, the patents, who seem to have the hardest times with separation. The kids are all whatever about it...at least mine is, lol. I think it's because of who she's with though...a woman I trust completely who successfully didn't kill and raised two grown men...I think she can handle one tiny baby girl just fine. ^_^

We had her two month checkup today. She is 10 lbs, 2 oz, 22 inches long, and her head is 38 cm around. She's growing very well! She got a couple of shots and some oral medicine. Then she got her ears pierced! I'm pretty sure the doctor told me she was going to use a gun when I first asked about getting it done, and I wasn't really the happiest about it, but I figured if the doctor got her infected then there was something else totally wrong with that place in general. Luckily for everyone, the nurse brought in these individually packaged sterile and disposable piercing tools to do the job. Chloe was scared after getting all of other procedures done (even though she took the shots like a champ!) and I think that and the fact that we had to hold her down a bit were the worst parts of the piercings. She did scream for a little bit but I calmed her back down and fed her before we left the office. She did seem a bit irritable after she woke up at home, but she had a huge day. Irritability can be expected after all of that!

Happy Chloe with earrings!

Some of the fantastically cute things she's done lately:

• SMILES...like all the time at us, and really big too ^_^
• she grabbed my lip with her toes
• blows cute little bubbles
• laughs (oh the dimples!) and "dances"
• grabs at randoms things, like the crotch of her outfit
• trys to hold/support her bottle when eating
• stretches. I cannot possibly describe how cute it is to watch her do a full body stretch...well, I can, with a picture...

She kind of looks like she's doing a move a
 Greek would do...

Have you ever looked at the results of something you've done and you really have no words for how you feel about it? I am so many things...amazed...awestruck...in love...shocked...just all these different things when I look at her and realize that I grew her inside of me and gave birth to her. Life really is a miracle and we've been given the chance to watch a life from start to who knows when. It's so amazing!

Countdown: 8 Things That Are Saving My Life

HEY NEW MOMS! So, I'm still pretty new at this myself, but I figured I'd share some things with you that have been COMPLETE lifesavers lately. Okay, maybe they aren't all that, but they're making me happy, and will probably make you happy too! You can find most of this stuff in a store easily, but all the images link to Amazon or the place where I get them from if it's specific.



8. Munchkin Bottle and Nipple Brush

Let's say you go a little obsessive-compulsive when baby arrives, like I did. There are m any reasons for doing so, so don't feel bad. My reason was thrush, and cleaning everything that touched my baby's mouth became a way of life. This thing is making cleaning bottles out SO easy. The ones that have just the bristles and no sponge are decent cleaning utensils, but this bad boy gets all the grime out quickly. Which is good when you want to get your hands out of the dishwater as soon as possible. Which you WILL WANT. The only hangup I even think about a little bit is the sponge part (germs, bacteria, misc. crap), but I'm pretty confident that I'm getting all of the water out of it and will be replacing it as soon as it starts to get icky.

7. Palmolive with Aloe for Dry Skin

For the same reasons I like the brush above and more...I LOVE this stuff. I was washing baby bottle and my hands so frequently at one point that my hands were super dry, cracked, and even bleeding a little. It SUCKED. I'm sure there are other dish liquids that are just as good and even better, but this has been helping me out a LOT.

6. My Healthy Skin Mix

I made my own mixture of organic natural stuff to sooth my skin and prevent stretch marks when I was pregnant and I liked it so much that I made another batch once I ran out after the baby was born. My mixture has shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, vegetable glycerin, and vitamin e. That's it! It's really simple to make and I would tell you the amounts I used but I didn't keep very good track of it. Just don't use a whole lot of the vitamin e if you decide to make your own mix...I believe I read somewhere that too much can be bad for a baby and you don't need that much anyway. I don't have a single stretch make on my body (at least, that wasn't there before the baby, lol) and in the warmer months this was all I needed on the places I used it (chest, stomach, knees, feet, a trouble spot on one of my elbows, and now my hands). I wouldn't put this on my face, but my face can't really handle a whole lot besides water, a little soap, and coconut oil (or light application of lotion with oatmeal) without freaking out. I got the shea and cocoa butters and glycerin from mountainroseherbs.com, the coconut oil from the DeKalb Farmer's Market (but I'm about to learn how to make my own!) and the vitamin e from Wal-mart.

5. Graco Lovin' Hug Infant Swing

Once Miss Chloe got a little older, bigger, and less spastic (all babies are spastic when they're born) she fell in love with this swing. We use it to help her get to sleep when she shows signs of needing a nap and sometimes we have to make use of it at night when she's being particularly stubborn. It also comes in handy when we have things to do and need her somewhere content and stationary. It has sounds, music, a timer, and a mobile. The mobile just became useful as she didn't really pay attention to it until now, but there is a white noise sound on there that was sent from heaven, I'm sure. It makes her calm down almost instantly and usually helps put her to sleep too.

4. Infant Tub with Sling

Ok, so this isn't the specific one I own, but it's the one I originally wanted. I ended up getting a white one with an Elmo sling on it as a gift and it has been amazing. We were using a a square plastic dish cleaning basin and a big sponge for a while. There is an entirely different baby in the bathroom from the one who used to be in there getting a bath. The last time she didn't cry a single bit and the time before that she only cried when I took her out! The sling is where it's at...it's nice and comfy for baby and the warm water on her bottom and back and a wet washcloth on her tummy make it all soothing and wonderful for her.

3. The First Years Night and Day Bottle Warmer System

I originally didn't even think I'd need this. I put it on my registry because it was one of the recommended items, and it has been such a great gift! This particular model comes with a cooler on the back, so you can take a couple of bottles into your room or the nursery and fill the little vials on the sides with the right amount of water and you're set for the entire night. All you have to do is grab a bottle out, pour the water in, and push the button...less than five minutes later you have baby food ready to go! I usually change her diaper while it's heating and I can do that and get the bottle in her mouth before she starts screaming again. 

2. MAM Love & Affection Pacifier

So, I actually kind of love how I told Chloe's Godmother about all the things I didn't want to use with Chloe, but she got them for me anyway, lol. One of those things was disposable diapers. She had a raffle at my baby shower and to get a raffle ticket you had to bring diapers or wipes. I am SO glad I have those things right now. Another one of those things was a pacifier. I did a fair amount of research on them while pregnant and there seems to be a huge dividing line about using pacifiers. I originally didn't really want to, but since actually having the baby these have been AWESOME. These in particular are made for a baby 2+ months old (shh, don't tell anyone...we have a week left until she's that old, lol) but they have some for super new babies. She happily calms down when one of these is popped in her mouth and it actually stays in there for a little while, which is great for us. The Husband has made it clear that we need more.

1. FAMILY

So I had to get a LITTLE mushy and sentimental in this post. The people in the pictures are friends as well, but they are all family to me. I don't know what I would do without each and every single one of them in our lives and I'm so very happy they are around and love our baby (almost) as much as we do. From just being there to talk to, to babysitting, to going out, to staying in and chilling out they've all been there in some way or another and they've been AWESOME. Number one lifesaver. Number ONE. ^_^