*Knocked Up*'s Final Post

This is *Knocked Up*'s final post.  No worries BBFF's I'm still be blogging only it'll be on my new blog Pampers & Pumps.
This post is a flashback with lots of links to *♥ Knocked Up ♥*'s best and worst times.  I hope you enjoyed our journey as much as I did!

The Best of….	The Worst of….
…Pregnancy q       Ultrasounds q       Hearing the heart beat q       Feeling the baby move q       Having a baby (d'uh) q       People being SUPER nice to me	…Pregnancy q       Reflux q       Swelling q       Sweating q       Nausea q       Headaches q       Charley Horse (leg cramps) q       Acne q       All the stabbings q       Constipation q       Sore boobs q       Dr. Megaphone
…Labor q       My nurses q       My sister told us she was pregnant q       The epidural q       When it was over q       My best friends were in PA	…Labor q       The erratic contractions q       Having just about everyone who  walked in the room look at my vagina….#awkward q       Seeing baby daddy (BD)
…Delivery q       Broderick! q       No more gihugic belly	…Delivery q       The episiotomy stitches q       He got stuck and needed to be vacuumed out
…Post Delivery q       Holding B for the first time	…Post Delivery       q       Vagina ouch!

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Bath Time

Bathing a baby is no easy task.  There is a whole lot that goes in to it, at least for me there is. 

1. I have to make sure the sink is empty.
2. I have to make sure the water isn't too hot or too cold.
3. I have to put more then 1 inch of water in the bath.
4. I have to have two (2) wash clothes.
5. I have to have a squirt bottle filled with warm water.

Here is why all of those are a requirement for Little Man's bath time:

1. I'm still using a sling for bath time and the sink is where he takes his bath so there can be no unwashed dishes lying around.

2. If the water is too hot he will scream and probably piss himself, if the water is too cold he will scream and most definitely piss himself.  Warm water is key.  Granted there is still a chance he'll pee in the water but at least he isn't screaming while doing so.
3. When I first started to bathe Little Man in a bath and not just sponge bathing I read that you're only suppose to put an inch or two of water in the bath so not to drown the child.  I did this for about 3 baths and he was MISERABLE!  Finally my mom told me to put more water in it because he was probably cold and what do ya know?!?! It worked!
4. Wash cloth #1 is the one that I throw over B the moment his little toes touch the water.  This prevents any possible piss from covering the freshly washed dishes that are drying in the rack.  I use wash cloth #1 was a wet blanket, it keeps the parts that aren't in the water warm while I bathe the rest of him.  Wash cloth #2 is for cleaning up all the little fat rolls he has such as his 5 necks, his layers of thighs and his hands, toes, and arm pits.  Now I'm sure you're thinking "Umm Nicole.....you forgot to wash his no-no parts."  I assure I have not forgotten the no-no's, I use wash cloth #1 as the 'Butt'n'Nut' washer, that way I'm not washing his face with the same cloth I just used to wash his junk.
5. I don't believe in rinsing the child off with the dirty water he is sitting in so I have a separate bottle of clean water to rinse.

Some helpful pointers for new mom's:

• Have your dry towel ready!  Your kid will hate being air dried as you fumble around looking for a towel.
• Get a death grip on the child when removing them from the bath.  They are slippery when wet!!!
• Try giving a baby massage right after bath time to relax baby even more.
• Make sure you wash their hands really well.  B gets hand jam which is the hand equivalent of toe jam.  It is gross build up from him grabbing onto things and now that he sucks on his hands a lot clean hands are a good thing!
• Never trust a fart during bath time.
• If you are going to clean the baby's ears with a Q-tip after the bath, swab the outer ear canal ONLY!  You don't want to risk damaging the baby's ear should they turn their head when you don't expect it.

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Nicole J and Broderick

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Birth Announcements!

Congrats to all my fellow BBFF's who have had their babies!

 Visit their page daily to catch their posts on their birth stories. Don't forget to leave a comment congratulating them on their new family!

Congrats to Katherine and Brian of Irish Italian Blessings Braden Edward was born on July 14, 2011 at 2:36pm

8bs 5oz and 20.5 inches long
(Sorry for the lateness on this BBFF)

Congrats to Shelley and Michael of Hand in Hand
Emily Joanne was born on September 25, 2011
7lbs 9oz and 19.75 inches long

Congrats to Venassa and B of The Best Days of Your Life
Chloe was born on September 25, 2011 at 1:01pm
5lbs 12oz

And I have a very special congratulations to my beautiful cousin Heather and her husband Romeo on their gorgeous baby girl born yesterday (on my birthday!)
Quorra Noelle (pronounced Cora)
was born on September 27,2011 at 11:47pm
6lb 9oz and 18.5 inches long

I love you with all my heart and I'm so happy for you!


Congrats to all you new (and repeating) parents!

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Does Anyone Else Smell Pancakes?

This weekend I found myself trying to convince Kristin (my sister) to smell my armpit.  I know it sounds gross but I smell like maple syrup and I wanted someone to confirm it.  She never did smell me but I know I smell like it.  I started taking Fenugreek on Thursday night.  Fenugreek is a galactogogues, meaning its a substance that helps increase milk supply. 

Ever since I started back to work I'm pumping half the time and nursing half the time.  I wanted to make sure that I have enough milk to feed the little monster when I'm not with him so I began to take the herbal supplement Fenugreek.  I can't say that I've noticed a big difference in milk production but I can say that I smell like pancakes.  My goal is to get 5-7oz/pump session which is 2-4oz more than I am getting now.  I'll update you with a product review after a few weeks of being on it.

Have a happy Tuesday!

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Weekend Recap

Thursday
After we got home we went for a visit to my friend's (Gerry and Michelle) house.  Broderick got to meet them both for the first time and impress them with his boyish charm. 

Friday
We had Broderick's 2 month check up in the AM.  My little monster weighs in at 13lbs 9oz (80th percentile) stretching as long as 24.5 inches (95th percentile) long with a head measuring 15 inches (5th percentile) round.  Do I have anything to be worried about if his head is only in the 5th percentile?  I didn't ask what his percentiles were when I was there, I used a percentile calculator that allowed me to plug in his measurements to get his percentages.  The girl who measured him thought that she had given him some extra inches on his height so she remeasured him and was stunned that he had jumped from 19 inches to 24.5 inches.  He got his shots and he did ok at first then he started to cry and he was crying with the boo-boo face on by the time they stabbed him with the second one.  He cried for a few moments after the shots but calmed down pretty quickly.  Do to his size B will be starting cereal in October!  Crazy!

After the assault we headed over to my sister's work where he'll be attending AM daycare on Monday's and Tuesday's.  I had to submit his health forms and fill out emergency contact papers.  When we were done there we headed to Ruby Tuesday's for lunch with my girlfriend Courtney.  She was super excited to be meeting B for the first time.  Unfortunately Broderick was starting to feel the effects of the shots by this time so he was fussiest that I've ever seen him.  We tried to feed him but he wasn't eating like his normal self, he was taking his time and crying in between gulps.  He eventually fell asleep on Court and stayed there until we were ready to leave.  We got home and I gave him some baby medicine (which tastes atrocious!) and he slept for the rest of the day with the exception of waking up to eat.  Poor thing was just not himself that day.

Saturday

Wawa Gobbler:  Hot turkey with stuffing and
cranberry sauce on a roll covered with gravy.



We spent the day with my sister and her friend Teena's family.  We met them at Peddlers Village for a nice day of walking around and looking at all the scarecrows they had up for the annual scarecrow contest.  We stopped and had lunch at Sweet Lorraine's Cafe but I didn't get anything because I was still full from eating a Wawa Gobbler for brunch.

 After Peddlers Village we picked up my mom and brother-in-law and went for dinner at Friendly's.  I LOVE Friendly's!  I enjoyed my usual order of the Cheeseburger Deluxe Set-up followed by a chocolate molten lava cake with nut's over caramel ice cream, caramel, marshmallow topping and whip cream with a cherry.  It was amazing!

Sunday

BD picked up Broderick a little after 9am (even though he was suppose to be there at 8:30....I can't say I'm surprised by this).  I gave him the milk I had pumped on Thursday and sent my little guy on his way.  I hung out at the house and created my own Psych marathon by watching episodes off the DVR.  By this time my mom was getting home from work and we headed out to pick up my sister to go and visit our dad. 

On our way we stopped at Babies'R'Us so I could get stage 2 diapers for B since he is getting to round for stage 1.  While I was there I bought him his fall formal outfit (I decided that each season I will buy him 1 really nice outfit so he isn't always slumming it in a onesie and stretchy pants because lets be honest stretchy pants do nothing but highlight his monster sized thighs).  I also got the Podee bottles that I wanted for when he's in the car and I need to give him a bottle.

Our dad was in a good mood that day which was nice.  BD dropped Broderick off at the nursing home so he could have a visit with PopPop before we went home.  After seeing our dad we went to Kristin's house for dinner then headed back home.

Sleep update:  Broderick is doing much better with sleeping at night.  He is finally starting to develop a bedtime schedule.  I found that he's getting sleepy and fussy around 9pm, I nurse him one last time and he sleeps from 9:30pm to 2am AND he did this in his bassinet, not the swing! 

Thanks to my cousin Kelly we now have the Summers Infant Resting Up Sleep Positioner which seems to be working like magic for B!  Kelly (B's part time babysitter) noticed that he was having mucussy spit up which her youngest son had as well.  She told me that her son had reflux and that B might have it to after hearing how he would only sleep if he was sitting in his swing.  Ever since we got the sleep positioner he's been sleeping with no problems!

How was your weekend?  Anything to share?  If so, make sure you link up your blog url in the comments so I can read all about it!

xoxo
Nicole J

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New Look

I'm going to be changing *Knocked Up*'s blog name soon, I'm just not sure what it'll be changing to.  When I first started this blog I didn't expect anyone would actually read it and honestly I didn't expect myself to maintain it.  I've grown fond of many of you and because of you I continue to write.  Since I think of you all as my B.B.F.F.'s (Blogging Best friends Forever) I feel it is only right that you help me with a new name.  Perhaps we'll do a poll.  If you happen to have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!

I'm also on the prowl for some new blog skin.  As much as I love Leslie, the cartoon preggo in the header (she looks like a Leslie doesn't she?), I feel she needs to retire since I am no longer knocked up.  I'm not too good with html codes so this will take some time.  Ideally I'd like to create my own header with pictures but we'll see.  I hope you are excited for the renovations!!!

I think B has some reflux issues.  My cousin Kelly who's a mother of 3 has been watching Little Man for me while I'm at work and has pointed it out.  I'll be asking the peditrician on Friday what they think of it.  If he does have it that would explain why he hates to lay on his back and prefers to be in his swing or held.  I'll fill you in on Monday's blog post or you can follow me on Twitter to get the updates quicker.

Question:  Since we are B.B.F.F.'s and all is it weird to friend you on facebook?  I don't want to come off as stranger danger.  Just thought I'd ask :)

ALSO, I want to start up Celebrity Guest again.  All are welcome to participate even those of you who are blogless.  If you want to be featured go to the About Nicole J page to contact me.  I'll need to know your status (i.e.:  are you preggo or are you mama or are you a furbaby mama, etc.) so I can come up with some questions for you to answer. 

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Minor Improvement

Broderick did better last night.  He was fed a crap ton of boob and slept until 1:30am then needed to be fed and changed.  After feeding him he felt the need to wrestle my boob for a few minutes so I tried burp him and nearly dropped him because he pulled a wiggle-kick-wiggle-kick-wiggle-PUSH! combo on me.  Thank goodness I have cat like reflexs!  After his failed attempt at base jumping he thought it was smile and giggle time so I let him have his happy time for about 10 minutes before I tried to get him back in bedtime mode.  All in all last night was a nice break compared to the previous two nights we had.  Thanks for all your tips!

Here are the answers to all of your questions posted in yesterday's comments:

• Yes, he was particularly overtired on Sunday night, Monday night not so much.
• I don't have a sound machine but his swing has white noise as one of the sound options which I do play every time he is in it.
• No, I have not read the Happiest Baby on the bLock but I'm looking into it.
• Swaddling is a temporary thing.  I can't swaddle him tight enough, he always breaks free.  First it's a finger then the hand and then out pops a foot some how.
• I haven't tried the stroller thing but maybe I'll try adding that into the nightly routine.
• No, his stomach wasn't hard.
• Yes, I have gas drops and he gets them 4 times a day.

I truely appreciate all you input on the situation because to be completely honest I have no clue what I'm doing and I'm winging it.

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When Will it End

I've had it rough the past two nights.  B refused to sleep alone both nights.  I let him cry for over 45 minutes last night straight in hopes that he would self-soothe but he wasn't having it.  I caved and let him sleep on my chest again.  Go ahead and judge me if you must.  I could really use some help.

This is how last night played out:

• 6 - I arrive home from work and go straight to nursing him.
• 6:30(ish) - I eat (quickly) because B wants the other boob.
• 7:30 - B is asleep on the boob so I put him into his swing in hopes that he'll remain asleep.
• 7:45- Screaming.
• 8:30- Asleep.
• 8:35 - Screaming.
• 8:37 - Asleep.
• 8:41 - Screaming.
• 8:48 - Asleep.

He did the whole "screaming to asleep" thing for a good bit.  Finally at 9:25 he was just straight screaming so at quarter to 10 I cave in and pick him up.  I proceed to change his diaper and nurse him again.  At this point I have a need for sleep since I have to be up between 5 and 5:30 am to get ready for work, not to mention the early morning feeding that happens anywhere between 2:30 and 4 am.

He cried so much it made me sick.  I'm not kidding.  I was upstairs puking.  For realsies.  His screams were making my stomach turn.  Maybe he had gas, maybe he wasn't feeling well, maybe he was just hungry.  Truth is I don't know what the tears were over.  All I know is that once he got picked up and calmed down he was cool as long as you didn't put him down. 

Things that we've tried:

• The whole going to bed early thing ain't happening, we failed miserably.
• Bath time before bedtime to relax B works, but the soothing effects don't last long.
• Feeding the child until his belly gauge reads "FULL" works until you move him.

This has got to get better because nights like this are the worse.  Hopefully our rescheduled pediatrician appointment this Friday can shed some light on the situation.  Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.



I wish he was this sleepy at night!

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