I fought the bottle (of milk)… and I won!

It has now been just over 3 weeks since D had her last bottle of milk, so I am happy to confidently report that we are currently a bottle-free house. I haven’t washed a bottle or nipple in 24 days. Wahoo!

Our doctor has been recommending D drop the bottles all together by 18 months (which she turns tomorrow!), but until recently I was scared to even try. We were successful in getting her down to just having them at night – 1, maybe 2, before bedtime if she drank the first one and was still wanting more – but I had no idea how she was going to get to sleep without those. Well, I would usually give her one before naps on weekends, too, so I guess *almost* only at night would be more accurate. Only at sleep time, we’ll say, that’s better.

I didn’t feel like she was ready to drop them completely, and if I’m perfectly honest, I didn’t really want her to drop them either. It’s almost like it was the last vestige of her really being a baby, and I didn’t want that tie to be broken just yet. I didn’t want to give up that bonding time we still had when I would rock her to sleep with her bedtime bottle.

I say we were successful in getting her down to just sleep time bottles – that was probably by December that the morning and random daytime bottles were totally gone (i’m talking bottles at home – she hasn’t had one at daycare since at least last summer). Then we went to Hawaii, and it turned into a bottle free-for-all. We took multiple ones in the diaper bag on the planes to calm her in flight if needed. We gave them to her in the mornings if she wanted them. We gave them to her at the pool before naps so she would snooze in the shade. We took them to restaurants when we went out to lunch and dinner to keep her calm if needed. And yes, we gave them to her at bedtime each night too.

So you see, we totally screwed ourselves there. How was she ever going to give them up now, after we’d just jacked her bottle quotient up higher than it had been in months? The poor girl was in bottle heaven!

We simply went cold turkey, that’s how she gave them up. The week after we got back from Hawaii, I conceded that she could still have 1 bottle, but only 1, and only right before bedtime. If she drank it then didn’t go to sleep, she wouldn’t get another when she finally did go down. That lasted a night or 2, before I realized that if we’re cutting her back down to this level, we may as well try to get rid of the whole shebang.

We started on a Saturday, and the first night sans bottle – terrible. I took her in to her room at bedtime and rocked her while reading a book, because I could tell she was really sleepy. She had her little burp cloth that she likes to hold at bedtime, and we were snuggled in tight in the glider in her room. Eventually she got very squirmy, and I could tell I was in for a struggle. Instead of putting her down, though, I held her in a cradle hold and stood up to bounce/rock her like I did to soothe her when she was really little. She wanted none of it, but I just kept her there, held snugly against my chest so her head was resting in the crook of my arm.

After about 15-20 minutes of the crying cradle hold rock, she was out like a light. R had come in at the start of the cries and told me to just give her a bottle, we’d try again tomorrow, but I insisted on not giving her any more. I knew how tired she was and that she’d eventually give in to sleep, and I was right. I knew you could do it, D.

The second night – cries again, but for a much shorter time. The third night – cries again, but even shorter still. By the middle of that first week of no bottles at bedtime, D knew the routine. We get her rag and book, then go in to rock before going night-night. Sometimes she’ll fall asleep on the couch in R’s lap while he’s watching tv, but most nights I read and rock her. I do usually read and rock her for nap time on weekends too, but she has gotten better about going down without that sometimes.

The first week after dropping the bottles D did wake up during the night a little more often than normal, but that has since diminished as well. This transition turned out to be much less frightening than I expected, which helped my mama heart. D was an absolute trooper, as usual. I figured if she never has bottles at daycare and simply lies down to sleep at nap time for them, she can do it at home too. She proved me right.

What are her favorite bedtime stories, you ask? Right now we like The Little Red Hen and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I usually have to read The Little Red Hen a couple times before she falls asleep, but so far I’ve only made it all the way through One Fish, Two Fish once. It’s amazing how quickly you can memorize a children’s book. “Not I! said the duck…”

 

 

This one time, when I fell asleep with my eyes open while driving…

I realized the other day that I really have shared zero stories from my time in NYC witch’all. Not that my life was brimming with parties and celebrities and tales that would make even Paris Hilton blush, but it was just fun being out there, finding my way in such a monstrous and amazing city as that of New York City. Manhattan. The Big Apple. So many monikers, and it lives up to each and every one of them.

Now I didn’t technically live in NYC. I lived right across the Hudson River in Jersey City, NJ. This worked out perfectly, for the PATH train that ran from NJ into the city stopped less than 1 block from my apartment building, I had a 19th floor view of the entire Manhattan skyline from past the Empire State Building all the way down to the Statue of Liberty, and the rent on my 700+ sq. ft. 1-bedroom apartment was considerably less than what I would have paid on the same space anywhere within the city limits of Manhattan.

But I did work in the city. Right in the heart of it. First in the World Financial Center (which used to be attached to the World Trade Center by a footbridge), then actually in Jersey City for a stint after 9/11 since our building was damaged in the fall of the towers, and finally smack dab in the middle of the island near Times Square once we procured our new office space. It was awesome. If you’ve never been, that city really is alive every minute of every hour of every day. There is always something going on somewhere, and if you find yourself bored in NYC, then I think there’s just something wrong with you.

It’s unfortunate that I detested my job so much by the end of the 2 years I lived there, for I really could have pictured myself staying out there for much longer. I moved out in July 2001, R came to join me in June 2002, and we moved back to Milwaukee together at the very end of June 2003. I cannot even tell you how much it meant to me (and ultimately our relationship) that R moved out east to spend that year with me, because we had more fun exploring and getting to know our new locale than I think we have anywhere else. And it’s now always a city that will still feel a little like home no matter how many years go by between visits.

But anyway, more on that later. Back to my story that prompted the title of this post. How does one fall asleep with their eyes open, and while driving, no less? Easy. I’ll show you.

Less than a month after I moved out there, my 2 best girlfriends A and E came out for a long weekend visit. I was absolutely thrilled, because I so badly missed everyone from Madison. Moving 1,000 miles away from your family and friends all by yourself was a little harder than my 22-year-old self was expecting. So to see them again so soon was wonderful. Through work, I had been to a lot of bars and clubs and had heard of even more, so of course I wanted to show them all the best ones during their stay. Because as 22 and 23-year-old coeds on the loose in Manhattan, isn’t that what you do? Duh.

The last night of their stay we decided to go all out. We went out to dinner at Tortilla Flats, hit up a couple bars in that area on our way over to the Meatpacking District, then ended the night at Exit, this huge behemoth of a night club over on the west side of the city. It’s an all-night affair kind of place, which we discovered as we came up out of the subway back across the street from my apartment at about 7am with the sun in our eyes. Oops. And then we had to turn right back around and drive to LaGuardia so they could catch their flight home, fresh off our no-sleep escapades. Double oops.

Fortunately driving through Sunday morning Manhattan at 8am-ish is much less crowded than driving through, say, Friday afternoon Manhattan at 5pm-ish, but still. It’s driving through Manhattan nonetheless. And this was after a night out on the town with zero minutes of sleep. So at one point, I heard A shout from the passenger seat, “Red light! Red light!” What?? Where, what are you talking about? Oh shit! Right HERE!!! Yes, I was steering us directly through a huge intersection at which I had a red light, and I didn’t even know it at all. I had fallen completely asleep at the wheel, WITH MY EYES WIDE OPEN. Triple oops.

Obviously we all made it to the airport in 1 piece and they arrived safely back in Madison, even after having to sleep on some garbage bags on the floor of O’Hare at one point. But damn if that wasn’t one of the craziest trips ever. The whole drive home from LaGuardia I was just waiting to careen off a bridge somewhere or crash full into the side of a huge building, because without a trusty sidekick, who was going to hold my eyelids open? Note to self – SLEEP next time.

 

 

 

Status qu…it being so lazy!

I’ve been meaning to do a fitness update post for awhile now, but honestly, I’ve just been really lazy. Both with the post and with the fitness. Ugh. I haven’t worked out consistently for over a month now, and as such, I kind of feel like a total slug. I was doing so well, too, working up to week 4 in my Jillian Michaels workouts and really feeling great.

Then I got sick the week before Christmas, which meant I got approximately zero workouts in. Things were a little better in Hawaii, though, as I walked a solid 3 hilly miles (if not more) almost every single day. I even threw a little jogging in on some of those too. So that made for a good exercise week.

But since we’ve been back, my level of activity has dropped back to the nothing range. I think I’ve gotten 1, maybe 2, workouts in with my trainer, which are excellent, but when they come so infrequently I can’t believe they’re doing a whole lot of good. I was pretty proud of myself at my workout last week, though – I tested my pull-up endurance at the start of the session and was still able to do 5 full pull-ups. Not bad.

Outside of that, though, nada. Gone are the twice-weekly 5am workouts with Jillian I was sticking with so well to bump my weekly workouts up to 3. I felt like another cold was coming on this past week so was super tired, and in the weeks before this I’ve just been busy, tired, busy and tired, or just plain didn’t feel like it. And no matter how geared up I can be to exercise, if I just don’t feel like it by the time that workout rolls around, more often than not it doesn’t happen.

Fortunately the number on the scale hasn’t been screaming in my face and has remained pretty static, even somehow going down a pound after Hawaii. But I just hate knowing my overall fitness level is deteriorating even if my weight isn’t creeping up.

So that brings us to tonight. I got more stressing news at work today, and I’d finally had it. I needed a release. Maybe that’s been part of the problem lately, why everything has seemed so much more overwhelming than usual – I haven’t had my regular heart-pounding outlet to release my inner tension. Which could also, in turn, be why I’ve been feeling more sluggish and blah than normal.

Now get ready for this… I actually got off my lazy butt and went for a run after work. OUTSIDE again! It was even pretty much dark out, since I didn’t get started until 5:30! Here, I’ll help you up from the floor since I know you just passed out from shock. Sorry about that.

Remember my no-running-outdoors-unless-it’s-above-50-degrees rule? Totally broke it tonight. It was 38 on the temperature tower on my way home from work (and still light out! that definitely helped my motivation), but for some reason it didn’t even phase me. The run felt great. I just did my shortest route, since it’s been almost 2 months since my last jog, and I didn’t even take music. Just me and my breath, hitting the pavement.

Does that ever happen to you? You take a decent hiatus between runs and that first one back feels awesome? Now I know if I continued running outside I’d have to slow down a bit again before getting back up to speed without injury, but still. Tonight felt fantastic.

Here are the run stats – I ran 1.44 miles in 12:56, for a 9:00/mile pace. I’ll take it. Especially since for the first time in a long time I looked in the mirror after my shower tonight and saw a glimmer of the abs I was so happy to show off on my Mom Sexy day instead of a 2-pack with some mush underneath it. Maybe it was the post-workout endorphins finally coming back, or maybe it was because my little abs/push-ups routine I have been diligent about keeping up at least 4-5 times per week might actually be doing something, even with my lack of cardio exercise. But it was good to see nonetheless.

And I felt a little stress melt away with each step of the run, too. My mouth stung from the cold air, but my head was thanking me with each block. Ahh… Now if I can just get back to an exercise routine with which I can stick. I’m planning on cleaning up my road bike on the trainer in the basement and getting back on that next week after work 2 nights. Because although I love my dates with Jillian, I really hate getting up early.

How about you guys? Anyone else already giving up on their New Year’s exercise resolution, or is it just me? Well, actually I didn’t really give up on a resolution, since I don’t make them, but I just fell off the exercise wagon period. Hopefully I’ll get back on a little more permanently this time.

Hello, abs, nice to see you again

 

 

“SURPRISE!!”

This past weekend we all went to my mom and stepdad’s house for a surprise 60th birthday party for my mom. She’s probably cringing right now after reading how I just revealed her age (hi, mom!), but I’m positive that as soon as you take 1 look at the pictures of her below, you will think I’m lying about her being 60 years old.

Things didn’t start off quite as planned, however, since this area of the country suffered a nasty winter storm Friday night complete with heavy snow, rush hour Chicago traffic, and 10 mph highway speeds. That is not an understatement. What is usually an hour and 45 minute trip took us 5 solid hours. 6 if you count the full hour it took R to get from his office, pick up D from daycare, then get down to pick me up at my office so we could finally hit the road that afternoon.

All of the guests were supposed to have congregated at their house by 6:45, as my mom, stepdad, and the couple with whom they were having dinner were planning on taking the train back to the suburbs from downtown Chicago and arriving home themselves by 7:15. Har! Yeah right. We didn’t get there until 9:00. And some people weren’t even able to come that night and had to miss the surprise and come down the next morning instead.

Fortunately they were a couple hours delayed themselves, and thanks to the horrendous traffic and some strategic texts from my sister, we were able to sneak in the door not 10 minutes before they walked in the house. Whew! The surprise was safe!

It was so much fun. I think the pictures speak for themselves…

Although he wanted none of the spotlight, we made it into a joint surprise birthday party for my mom and retirement party for my stepdad. Friday was his last day!

Please note that D assumed this position on my mom’s hip as soon as she walked in the door Friday night and remained perched there the entire weekend until we left very early Monday morning. I think she may even have snuck out of her crib during the nights to sleep there, too.

We were excited to get D on the toboggan on Saturday, but she wasn’t too thrilled with the snow. I refuse to believe that the fact she had gloves on her feet since I hadn’t taken her boots and her legs were wrapped in a blanket covered by a garbage bag to keep the snow out had anything to do with that… Ahem.

Many an hour has been spent at this table (and many a beer drunk, as you can see) playing board game after board game during family get-togethers. Can’t you just feel the concentration?

And it never fails – you try to get my sisters and I together for a picture and it usually ends up something like this…

Happy Birthday, Mom!! We love you more than words, and you will never look a day over 25!

 

 

Flutter

One little blink, just one blink more…

You woke with fright, shaken to the core.

 

The world is dark at 2am.

But I’m your mommy; here I am.

 

Your cries pierce the air, are in earnest this night.

No little pats to calm down; this time needs the light.

 

Little hands knead, your eyes peek around.

Back and forth we rock, barely making a sound.

 

All the way this time, so you don’t start.

Be still, little one, you are my heart.

 

One little blink, just one blink more…

Before I lay you back in your crib and slip out the door.

 

 

 

 

Memories Captured – January edition

This is one of my favorite pictures ever taken of our little family. Now before you get all ranty on me, let me just say that no, this is not how every day is spent in our house. It was the last full night of our Hawaiian vacation, and we were simply enjoying a cocktail on the lanai.

And D wanted to join in the fun.

 

 

 

 

 

(Semi-)Blacked out to stand against SOPA/PIPA

Why the black bars up in the corners today? you may be wondering. A day of mourning? Not exactly.

Without completely blacking out my site (i wanted you to still be able to see me! well, and to give a little explanation of what’s going on, too), I’m joining thousands of others to put the Internet on strike for a day in an act of protest against the proposed Internet censorship bills SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act in the House) and PIPA (Protect IP Act in the Senate). SO-what?

Essentially these 2 controversial pieces of legislation aim to put control of the Internet in the hands of the government and corporations, namely the entertainment industry. They claim it’s to try to crack down on rogue foreign websites and Internet theft, but a core goal of these bills is really to get people to maybe buy more Hollywood movies. What the what? Yeah, I know, that’s what I thought too.

There are, of course, many more intricacies to and repercussions of these bills, and my synopsis above barely scratches the surface. Please watch this video for an excellent recap of what may happen if this legislation does pass.

If you’d like to join me in the protest, head on over here and here for details and to email Congress to stop the bills. For the sake of retaining my freedom to keep my blog as I know it, thank you!