Go-Go Mommy

Almost There

There are going to be some big changes at the Go-Go house. Call me superstitious, but I can't bring myself to talk about them until everything is complete and things are "set in stone." Or at least as "set" as they can be in these situations.

I can tell you this, we are very busy having many family adventures: visiting our families in Michigan, racking up lots of hotel points, and learning which hotels have the best pools and breakfast bars.

And while Sweet Pea is doing quite well joining in on these "hotel adventures" (for example, she's definitely ready for a toddler bed as she loves to crawl up into the big hotel beds and pull the covers up to her chin), she is slipping back to her usual tricks when it comes to getting "comfort" from mommy. In other words, the nursing pendulum seems to be on the backward swing. (Please let this end soon!)

As always...more to come soon!

Cowboys vs. Brits?!

You might have read about my dirty little secret here, but I just can't seem to help myself when it comes to reality tv. And with all of the shows on right now, I feel like there's no better time of year... well, except for Christmas, and Superbowl Sunday, and the holiday College Bowls!

Anyway, with the advent of the DVR, I have found my dream come true. I get to "reward" myself with mindless television after a hard day's work of caring for a Poppy (now 4, which she'll tell you over and over just in case you would like to sing "Happy Birthday" to her) and Sweet Pea (17 months). Since my day with them begins at 5:30am and ends when Poppy goes to bed anywhere from 8:30pm to 9:00pm, I think it's a very good use of my time as I put away dishes, fold clothes, knit, or all of the above.

For instance, want to see how catty girls can be and watch incredible beauty transformations? Just turn on America's Next Top Model! (Okay guys, I know you have your own reasons for watching that one.) Would you rather see a "prequel" to Iron Chef? Then switch on Bravo TV for some Top Chef episodes. And who doesn't love to pretend they can pick out the next big recording artist on American Idol?!

For me, one of my favorite reality shows that I haven't been able to let go of is The Apprentice. I know for most of you this one probably didn't make it past Season 2. I usually don't have any problem letting go of a tv series that has jumped the shark, until now. You might remember my post about this season's "Celebrity Apprentice" and how it had all the makings of great tv. Unfortunately, while the stars where present, the episodes were sooo annoyingly identical this season.

Basically about 90-95% of the tasks boiled down to who had the best "black book" and the most generous friends/donors in order to get big money and "win the task." So what do you do when "the formula" has become a bit rancid and stinky from overuse? You totally ignore fire the really deserving and qualified candidate for the final episode (yes, I'm talking about Carol Alt) and you gain viewership by making it a good vs bad, America vs. Britain, soft-spoken cowboy vs. ruthless talent judge thing.

Now that the season finale is this Thursday, I must say that I am debating over whether or not I will tune in...but I WILL DVR it! I know, I know.... I'm way too sucked in to this madness!

Here we go again!

If there's one topic that every mother out there can write about it's this one: mommy guilt. Whether you work outside of the house, stay at home, or participate in any combination thereof, it's something that is unavoidable. Granted that "guilty" feeling may stay away for a while and lull us moms into a false sense of security, but soon enough it rears its ugly head and there we are, staring at the elephant in the room.

"Am I doing the best I can do for my child? Am I spending enough time with her? Should I be spending more quantity time or more quality time? Are those mutually exclusive? Should I be staying at home with my daughters or is it better for me to work and give them a chance to socialize with other kids? If I stay at home do they get enough socialization at playdates and organized activities? Should I breastfeed? How will I continue to breastfeed if I go back to work? Am I a bad mother if I can't/don't want to breastfeed?...."

The list goes on and (I imagine) only gets longer as new topics are added as the years go by. School, summer camps, dances, dates.... does it E-V-E-R end?! My guess is - no.

The ironic thing is that this "mommy guilt" topic came up at a time when I was just thinking about my "foodie guilt." I'm no stranger to guilt; I'm Catholic (ie: almost an expert), I've written about it before, etc., but I find my realm of guilt is spreading from "caring for my kids" to "caring about what I feed my hubby and kids."

Sounds normal, doesn't it? Here's the catch: now that I stay at home, I do a lot of cooking and love to treat my family to new recipe finds for dinner. Now, however, the mommy guilt enters and it looks like I have to "step it up" for breakfast.

Last week was my turn to bring a hot breakfast food for my mother's group. I headed straight for my handy "Simple and Delicious" magazine (a year subscription was great and really helped get me started on some new recipies) and found a VERY yummy recipe for a hot breakfast dish: "Baked Apple French Toast."

It was a great recipe where you slice fresh bread into a pan, spread apple pie filling over the slices, top it with another slice of bread, and pour an egg mixture (eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg) over it and let it marinate overnight. As if that's not enough, you top it with a chopped pecan and brown sugar "crumb" and toss it in the oven to bake.

Can't you just smell it cooking?! Well, Poppy did. She came out for breakfast that morning like she was in a Folgers/Maxwell House coffee commercial. (Insert your favorite memory here - I think mine is the one where the son came home from college for the holidays and made coffee with his little sis, then the mom woke up to the lovely aroma of coffee served by none other than her son who she probably hadn't seen since September - sob, sob.)

Poppy: Mmmm, that's smells yummy!

Mommy: Thanks honey. Are you ready for yogurt and toast?

Poppy: Well... I think I'll have that! (Pointing to my bubbling french toast creation in the oven.)

Mommy: Uh, I would love to give that to you but it has to finish baking and then it goes to the mommies today for our meeting.

Poppy: But I want some too!

Mommy: I know. I'm sorry. How about some bagels with the yummy strawberry cream cheese that you love?

Poppy: Well, okay. But mommy, do you think you'll make that for me someday?

(OUCH!)

Welcome mommy guilt - my favorite almost normal state of being!

Cross-posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog (JB).

Is this uber cool or what?!

I've always wanted to see my name in lights - this is even better!

Click here to try it.

Confessions of a (Dis)Organized Cleaner

I am the person who loves making lists. I am the person who gets so excited about school supplies - even though it's been a few years (ahem) since I have been in school - that I still saunter down store aisles in the fall, inhale the smell of paper, and check out the latest binders, pens, etc. and treat myself to something new. I am the person who gravitates to stationary stores and specialty paper displays, looking for that new journel or calendar that is calling my name. (And yes, I tried all the electronic gizmos but there is just something so homey about having books filled with my print and notes of my life - ironic since I'm now a blog addict!)

I guess that's why I found my special "cleaning" skills lie not in doing the actual cleaning around the house. Rather, I'm the person who is among the ranks of many brilliant moms who clean before the cleaning people come to the house! When I look around at what I have to do before tomorrow, it could, admittedly, get a bit overwhelming but I've decided that this is simply the way I work. Maybe because I now approach it armed with a "to do" list:

-clean overflow laundry and put away
-make sure there are clean towels & sheets to put out
-wash dishes, pots, and pans
-go through the last 2 weeks of mail & shred/recycle/file
-pick up the pile of clothes & luggage that mysteriously accumulates
next to my husband's side of the bed
-put shoes away that have been scattered throughout the house
-etc., etc: you know the drill

So, as I finally get the kiddies off to bed and prepare to wear myself out so I can get everyone out of the house before they arrive at 8:45am (and with a toddler and infant you know that's sometimes asking a lot), I calmly reassure myself that this is what I was meant to do - surface cleaning with my beloved list. So tell me, what's on your list and am I forgetting anything on mine?

"Oh, the places you'll go"

I recently received an email asking for travel tips from someone who is going on "flight travel of 23+ hours with an infant and two year old." After I gave my blessings and told them they should be nominated for Parent of the Year, I began to think of my airline trips with Poppy and Sweet Pea.

So far I've traveled alone with them twice. The first time was when Poppy was 3 years and Sweet Pea was 6 months. Our second trip was about 5 months later (3.5 years and almost 1 year). I was feeling "experienced" enough to take the "red-eye" from California out to the midwest for the second trip. So, while I haven't spent "23+" hours of flight travel time (and by the way, I'm DYING to know where my friend is traveling "to" and "from"), I have traveled at all times of the day/night and have survived to tell about it.

Here are some of my "helpful hints". This list is by no means exhaustive, for instance, I forgot to mention in my return email that my trips were made easier because I purchased a "flight safety harness" that is FAA approved from a company called CARES. It slips over the airline seat, attaches to the seatbelt, and acts like the harness systems that are on childrens' carseats. This little safety harness is great! It fit right into our carry-on bag so I did not have to break my back trying to carry Poppy's carseat onto the plane (after all, I was already weighed down with Sweet Pea's infant carrier) and instead I just checked in the carseat. (Did I already say how much I heart this device?!)

Anyway, here is what I wrote in response. I hope you find these tips helpful and if I missed something that worked well for you, I'd love to hear about it. You can never have enough new things to do/take on a flight when it comes to infant/toddler travel!

Things to take: (in no particular order)
1. Somehow food seems to come to mind first:
Take an insulated lunchbox with ice pack(s) and good
home-cooked food that you know your little one will
eat & favorite snacks (You never know where you are
going to get hung-up while traveling so best to be
prepared - plus airplane food is usually non-existant
or really bad unless you're on Air France);

2. For infant: if bottle fed, I would take premeasured
dry powder formula, buy a few bottles of water at the
airport, and viola - instant bottles;

3. Your portable DVD player & videos with an "extra
or multiple headphone jack", I got mine at Radio Shack
- it lets 3 headphones plug into one port so everyone
can listen;

4. LOTS of "busy work": Depending on your child's
interests, I would being coloring books, crayons,
sticker books, flash cards, books to read, travel-size
magna doodle, etc.

5. Bring at least one "new toy" for your older one -
you can even wrap it so they will remember the
experience. My MIL also bought an "airport lift the
flap" book that reviews everything that happens at the
airport - we looked at this book every night for a
couple of nights before our trip so our older one knew
what to expect;

6. For infant: bring as many pacifiers as you can and
make sure he/she has a bottle during take off and
landing (it really hurts the ears and the sucking
motion helps them) & as above, bring favorite toys,
stuffed animals, favorite blanket (or something that
smells like home), AND new toys/teethers, etc. as well
- when they get fussy, DISTRACTION is the key!

Happy travels everyone!

A new way to "green-up" your home.

What's more hip than "going green?!" Having recently gone through a 1/2 house remodel, it's hard to ignore all the "green" talk when updating your home. Whether you are choosing new flooring or paint color, you suddenly learn all about sustainable materials like bamboo and low VOC paints. And in the process, you have fun discovering the newest alternatives and resources are for making your home safer and "greener."

There is, however, another way to go green which will make your house infinitely safer for your little ones, help our water supply, and is much cheaper than remodeling. In fact, it's free! Simply check your expired medicines and dispose of them properly by taking them to a "Green Pharmacy."

Our water filtration systems, while designed to remove primarily biological human waste, are now susceptible to new pharmaceuticals which are introduced into the marketplace and then "flushed" when no longer used or needed. Unfortunately, this may lead to products in the water which are "overlooked in monitoring studies" according to Dr. Joel Kreisberg in "Pharmaceutical Pollution: Ecology & Toxicology." Consequently, pharmaceuticals are showing up in samples of drinking water - among the most common mentioned in Dr. Kreisberg's article were aspirin, hypertensive medication, and statins.

While making your New Year's resolutions, consider including a quick review and clean-up of your medicine cabinet. "Going green" can really pay off this year!

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, here is a list of pharmacies that will take back unwanted and/or expired medications. They even include a checklist of accepted versus not accepted items. In addition, they have a link to a guide which tells you how to dispose of substances that are "unacceptable."

Breast is Best - But can I have mine back now?

Before I had kids, I never thought I would breastfeed. On second thought, I never really thought about what I would do when it came to feeding my child until I was close to 8 months pregnant with our first daughter.

Like it so often happens in life, I found myself pregnant at the same time as 5 co-worker friends of mine who were also expecting a child. For four of us, it was our first. Naturally, since we were all professionals who were all due around the same time, we kept each other abreast of all of our lastest findings: the safest car seats, the best rated cribs, the "must-read" pregnancy books, etc. And in our search for "the best" we all were in agreement that the best nourishment for our new bundles of joy would be breastmilk. And so each of us was committed to giving it a shot.

And so what seemed like such a simple decision, took us all by surprise when we found out that is a most complicated undertaking. We all hear how it is "the most natural thing" and how "our bodies are made for it", but there's no way to truly know what it's like until you're "knee-deep" in it.

As with many of you reading this post, I can just hear your stories; both good and bad. Probably like many of you, I just thought: "Okay, so you take the baby, hold it to your chest, and viola, the feeding begins!" Then I find out there is a whole new vocabulary like "latching on" and "colostrum." All of a sudden, I wondered why I didn't do more homework and really research this topic during my pregnancy - but no matter, I'm from the midwest so once I decide to do a job, I do it!

After breastfeeding both my daughters, I've learned these basic truths:

-No matter how determined you are, it takes two to tango: Your little one has to be ready, willing, and ABLE (yes in caps) to breastfeed, no matter how much you want it to happen.

-The sooner you start pumping the better. Ask the hospital for a pump and get on schedule: This really helps get your production on track. While I did breastfeed my first daughter, she was a rather large baby (9lbs. 5 oz.) and I really didn't start pumping until after I got home from the hospital (day 4) and her "latch" wasn't the best. After losing more weight than we wanted her to lose in that first couple of weeks, I saw a lactation consultant who said my baby had "calibrated" my breasts for a 7lb baby so I was always behind in production. Consequently, I had to supplement with formula.

-There's no substitute for experience: Talk to other breastfeeding moms if this is your first time trying it. You'll be suprised at how much you learn from a group of women who really love to talk!

-Don't give up! If this is what you want for your little one, it is possible even with a preemie. (Just ask me!) When my little one wasn't yet able to latch on, it was my adherence to pumping, saving, and supplementing her diet that kept me on track and got her off to a healthier start. In fact, once she was strong enough to breastfeed, her weight growth chart for the first 9 months was literally almost a vertical line.

-Make goals that are attainable and know when to stop trying: With my first, my initial goal was 1 month. After I celebrated making it that far, I tried to reach the 3 month mark. Once I made it to that goal, I was headed back to work but I was in a groove and ready to pump during the day so I decided to push for another 3 months. After only 1 more month, however, I caught a sinus infection and was given an over-the-counter product which not only dried my sinuses but dried up my milk supply as well, despite the fact that I was pumping. I felt devastated that it really wan't my decision to stop breastfeeding but I was happy to have made it that far.

-Convenience, convenience, convenience: This one is self explanatory.

-Don't forget to buy some lanolin cream: Hospitals usually provide this as a parting gift too, thank goodness!

-Invest in a comfortable robe (or robes) since this will most likely be your dress of choice for the first 4-6 weeks.

As for weaning your baby, that is where I'M asking for advice. I never thought I would make it to 13 months with my Sweet Pea (daughter #2) but here we are: she's weaned from daytime feedings but still likes to nurse before naptime when we are at home, right before bed, and at a very early 4:30am every morning. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that we still have this time together and I know this is great for her development. But sleeping in until 6am when Poppy wakes up is rather tempting....

So if you decide to try breastfeeding, whether you do it for 2 days, 2 months, or 2 years, just remember that you are blessed for the time you had together. Good luck!

Cross-posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog.