I started this blog as a way of journaling my experiences as a new mom. I want to be able to look back and remember how I felt, what I did, and all of the ups and downs of motherhood. I figure part of the process is not losing myself. Even though I am a mom, I am still all of those things that made me name my blog "One Multi-talented Mom". So this blog is going to be about me! (Thanks Jackie, I stole this from you)
25 Things About Me
1. I love a hot cup of coffe, a nice glass of wine, and a cold beer!
2. My favorite thing to do on the weekend is sleep in (those days are gone for now)
3. I am an obsessive list maker. I feel calm and in control when I make lists.
4. This is similar to #3, but I also love to organize and plan things. Since early high school I have been the group organizer for my friends and family. I get anxious when I leave the planning up to someone else.
5. One of my favorite things to plan is vacations! I love to travel. My favorite vacation spots involve a beach and a cocktail.
6. I love cats AND dogs!
7. I have a weird thing about even numbers. I only like even numbers and am superstitious when it comes to numbers.
8. I love to read. My favorite books recently are The Help, Water for Elephants, The Last Song, My Sister's Keeper, and the Twilight Saga
9. I have a love/hate relationship with my job. Education in NJ right now sucks, and I hate all of the BS that goes along with being a teacher (15 pages of lessons plans, hours and hours of grading, meetings 3 times a week, leaving for work at 6am) but I do enjoy the actual time spent teaching the children.
10. For someone who never played a sport, I am super competitive.
11. I love to dance. I spent most of my life until age 22 dancing. Now I like taking dance related classes at the gym (like Zumba) to help keep in shape and to keep me involved in dancing.
12. I HATE snakes and heights
13. I love spending summer days at the beach or the pool. Nothing is better than a Jersey Shore tan.
14. Even though I grew up at the Jersey Shore, I am a really bad swimmer.
15. One of my guilty pleasures is enjoying a spa day!
16. I am a huge NY Yankees and NY Giants fan.
17. I am part of a huge family. Tons of aunts and uncles and over 23 cousins and the family is still growing. I love our huge family and look forward to all of our crazy gatherings. I can't imagine what its like to have a quiet holiday.
18. I have never smoked cigarettes or pot in my life.
19. I would like to be a stay at home mom one day.
20. My favorite TV shows are Modern Family, Friday Night Lights, How I Met Your Mother, and Glee.
21. I am a Republican - thats all I will say to avoid debate :)
22. I am a big Bon Jovi fan. Concert tickets is how my husband won his way into my heart.
23. I have been known to sing karaoke after a few drinks.
24. I hope to get a boob job one day, I have wanted one since high school.
25. One of my new hobbies is photography and making digital photobooks instead of scrap books.
I am now 8 weeks post pardom and feeling pretty good. I am down to 114 lbs so I only have 4 pounds to go. I started working out last week and it felt great. My brother's girlfriend is a trainer so she is going to help me get back to my pre-baby body. I went to the doctor today, and I am still not healed down there!! I can't believe it! I have to go back again in two weeks (by then I'll be 10 weeks PP) and will hopefully be cleared for full exercise and SEX! Poor Mike, its been a long time.
Otherwise, I feel great. The baby blues are pretty much gone and I'm getting out more often. Tonight I have a date night with my hubby and Friday I'm going out to dinner with the girls! I am really looking forward to both, this mommy needs a little me time.
The Taynors
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
I can do it!
As my previous posts have stated, Ryan has been a difficult baby. From the moment of his delivery when we had to rush to get out him out due to the cord around his neck, he has presented me with many challenges! Scary delivery, digestive problems, won't eat, hole in his heart, jaundice, acid reflux, eczema, cradle cap, eye infections, projectile vomitting, colic, lack of sleep... all wrapped into one very cute 7 week old baby. There are many days I just cry along with him. Sometimes I find myself saying "Why did I have to be the one with a challenging baby?" I wish for a day when he will wake up from a nap and not start immediately crying or for an evening when I can eat dinner at a table instead of doing it one handed while I try to sooth him. I can't wait for the days when he is smiling and happy and we can enjoy the time he is awake, instead of feeling anxious because I know the screaming is going to start at any moment. Don't get me wrong, we do have the occasional glimpse of happy Ryan, but as of now they are still few and far between.
This is what I have come up with to help me get through the really tough days. God only gives you what you can handle, so he knew I would be strong enough to take care of this baby. This challenging start to his life will only make me a better, stronger, more loving mother. This beautiful baby boy needs extra care, love, and attention and God knew that I would be up for the job.
Ryan Joseph, I love you with all of my heart and one day when you are a strong young man, I can not wait to tell you what a pain in the butt you were as a baby :)
This is what I have come up with to help me get through the really tough days. God only gives you what you can handle, so he knew I would be strong enough to take care of this baby. This challenging start to his life will only make me a better, stronger, more loving mother. This beautiful baby boy needs extra care, love, and attention and God knew that I would be up for the job.
Ryan Joseph, I love you with all of my heart and one day when you are a strong young man, I can not wait to tell you what a pain in the butt you were as a baby :)
Sleep...or Lack Thereof
My wonderful cousin Jesse gave me a little present for Ryan. It was a bib that states"Star of Mommy's Blog". So I figure I should continue with that trend and make this post about RYAN!
He is 7 weeks old today, and he is still not a sleeper. Day time naps are a challenge every day (you never know what you are going to get) and night time sleep is equally as challenging. On a positive note, Ryan is officially sleeping in his crib all night, every night. I decided I just had to pick a day and do it. Even though right now its a little bit harder on me, I know eventually I will be glad we made the transition. I'll explain why its hard on me in a bit. So last Saturday was crib day. Every night at around the same time I bring him up, change his diaper and clothes, swaddle him tight, and play lullabies while I feed him one last time. Our little night time routine is going well. Another positive note is that he does not seem to be in as much pain when he is laying down. At this point he is able to fall asleep in his crib and stay asleep for a while. These are huge improvements from a few weeks ago. Of course the first night we tried to put him to sleep in his own room we had a HUGE thunderstorm. The house was literally shaking from the thunder. The power went out and I was not able to use the monitor to watch him, so I just sat in bed with a flashlight praying for it to come back on. Ryan was not phased by any of it... but mommy was a nervous wreck!
The reason it is so difficult on me is that he still wakes up soooo frequently and needs my help to get back to sleep. Whether he spits up, needs to eat, or wants his pacifier, I need to get out of bed, plod down the hall and spend sometime with Ryan. Sometimes this process can be up to an hour and a half before he is actually back to sleep. I spend just about as much time in his room at night as I do in my own.
Here is an example of a typical night at this point: Start the bedtime routine at 8pm. He is normally then sleeping by 9:30. I can then sleep til he wakes up (and these days he still only goes about 3 hours between feedings) which is probably around 12. Then the process of changing, feeding, burping, and getting him back to sleep takes at least an hour, so I am back in bed around 1:30. Then he might sleep til 4 and we get up to do it all over again. He then sleeps for a little bit, but once we hit 6:30 he gets very fussy and wants to be up again. I have not figured out why he is so distressed at this time in the am, but mornings are always rough. So in total I get about 5 hours a sleep a night, but it is broken into 1 or 2 hour increments.
If you have not figured it out yet, I am desperate for some consecutive sleep! I have not slept for more than 3 hours consecutively since March 1... that's almost two months! I would love for him to get just 4-5 hours of sleep in one stretch. I am not asking for him to sleep through the night... just some longer increments. I follow other blogs and a forum of mothers who gave birth in March, and I find myself super jealous of the mothers who already have babies sleeping for 8 hour stretches. It seems like many babies are better sleepers after 6 weeks, and Ryan is one of the few who still wakes up so frequently.
Anyway, the only thing Mike and I seem to be able to talk about these days is sleep...or lack thereof!
He is 7 weeks old today, and he is still not a sleeper. Day time naps are a challenge every day (you never know what you are going to get) and night time sleep is equally as challenging. On a positive note, Ryan is officially sleeping in his crib all night, every night. I decided I just had to pick a day and do it. Even though right now its a little bit harder on me, I know eventually I will be glad we made the transition. I'll explain why its hard on me in a bit. So last Saturday was crib day. Every night at around the same time I bring him up, change his diaper and clothes, swaddle him tight, and play lullabies while I feed him one last time. Our little night time routine is going well. Another positive note is that he does not seem to be in as much pain when he is laying down. At this point he is able to fall asleep in his crib and stay asleep for a while. These are huge improvements from a few weeks ago. Of course the first night we tried to put him to sleep in his own room we had a HUGE thunderstorm. The house was literally shaking from the thunder. The power went out and I was not able to use the monitor to watch him, so I just sat in bed with a flashlight praying for it to come back on. Ryan was not phased by any of it... but mommy was a nervous wreck!
The reason it is so difficult on me is that he still wakes up soooo frequently and needs my help to get back to sleep. Whether he spits up, needs to eat, or wants his pacifier, I need to get out of bed, plod down the hall and spend sometime with Ryan. Sometimes this process can be up to an hour and a half before he is actually back to sleep. I spend just about as much time in his room at night as I do in my own.
Here is an example of a typical night at this point: Start the bedtime routine at 8pm. He is normally then sleeping by 9:30. I can then sleep til he wakes up (and these days he still only goes about 3 hours between feedings) which is probably around 12. Then the process of changing, feeding, burping, and getting him back to sleep takes at least an hour, so I am back in bed around 1:30. Then he might sleep til 4 and we get up to do it all over again. He then sleeps for a little bit, but once we hit 6:30 he gets very fussy and wants to be up again. I have not figured out why he is so distressed at this time in the am, but mornings are always rough. So in total I get about 5 hours a sleep a night, but it is broken into 1 or 2 hour increments.
If you have not figured it out yet, I am desperate for some consecutive sleep! I have not slept for more than 3 hours consecutively since March 1... that's almost two months! I would love for him to get just 4-5 hours of sleep in one stretch. I am not asking for him to sleep through the night... just some longer increments. I follow other blogs and a forum of mothers who gave birth in March, and I find myself super jealous of the mothers who already have babies sleeping for 8 hour stretches. It seems like many babies are better sleepers after 6 weeks, and Ryan is one of the few who still wakes up so frequently.
Anyway, the only thing Mike and I seem to be able to talk about these days is sleep...or lack thereof!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Information Overload
As a new mom, I am anxious to get as much information as I can about my new baby. How to create good habits, how much should he be eating, whats normal vs adnormal, best ways to get him to sleep, dealing with colic, etc etc. There are books, blogs, websites, and magazine articles on any topic a mom can think of. So whats the problem you may be wondering?? There is way too MUCH information out there for one mom to handle. As I am figuring out, there are so many different strategies to handling any situation that comes up with a baby. Even the "experts" frequently disagree with how things should be handled. Just with sleeping alone there are many conflicting ideas... let the baby cry it out, never wake a sleeping baby, cuddle and hold your baby as much as possible, start a routine as soon as possible, use co-sleeping, put your baby in the crib as early as possible... and the list goes on and on!
So what is a new, sleep deprived, overwhelmed mom to do?? I guess we have to just figure it out on our own :) I find myself taking little bits of advice from all different sources and putting them together in what works best for us. I openly listen to help and advice, but then I adjust it to the needs of my individual baby. Mike laughs at me because one day I'll be spouting off some new thing I read but the very next day I'll offer a new idea that totally conflicts yesterdays thoughts. Bottom line is that we are figuring it out. The books help, but ultimately we need to do it on our own. Before Ryan was born I remember saying that Ryan was going to join the life we already have, not that our whole lives were going to change because we had a child. I still believe that is possible. We are learning how to continue to live our lives and just enjoy the new addition to it.
On that note, my first big night out post baby is this Friday!! My cousin is getting married and we are all going. I have a new dress and new shoes and am looking forward to shaving my legs and getting all dressed up. It will be different from weddings of the past because we will have our 6 week old with us, but I am excited to see lots of friends and family and hopefully get in a dance or two!
So what is a new, sleep deprived, overwhelmed mom to do?? I guess we have to just figure it out on our own :) I find myself taking little bits of advice from all different sources and putting them together in what works best for us. I openly listen to help and advice, but then I adjust it to the needs of my individual baby. Mike laughs at me because one day I'll be spouting off some new thing I read but the very next day I'll offer a new idea that totally conflicts yesterdays thoughts. Bottom line is that we are figuring it out. The books help, but ultimately we need to do it on our own. Before Ryan was born I remember saying that Ryan was going to join the life we already have, not that our whole lives were going to change because we had a child. I still believe that is possible. We are learning how to continue to live our lives and just enjoy the new addition to it.
On that note, my first big night out post baby is this Friday!! My cousin is getting married and we are all going. I have a new dress and new shoes and am looking forward to shaving my legs and getting all dressed up. It will be different from weddings of the past because we will have our 6 week old with us, but I am excited to see lots of friends and family and hopefully get in a dance or two!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
One Month Old
Just like everyone says, time is going by so fast. I can't believe Ryan is one month old already! At his one month check up he weighed 8 lbs 6 oz. Here is a quick list of whats been going on in the life of Ryan...
- You like to eat! He has become quite the boob man :)
- You like to sleep in peoples arms
-You are very strong, you can keep your head up and kick very hard
- You like tummy time on Dad's chest (but not Mom's)
- You smile after you are done eating, before you drift off to sleep
- You are happiest sitting up straight, so anytime you are flat on your back you cry (because of the reflux)
-You like to put your hands in your mouth, occasionally you suck your thumb
-You calm down when Dad makes a funny face like he is crying too
-Unfortunately, you are going through a tough time right now so you spend a lot of time crying and unhappy. Most of your awake time is spent crying. You also fight sleeping most days and nights. I can tell you are really tired and want to sleep, but you easily wake up again. Sometimes your own toots will wake you up and then we have to start from the beginning to try to get you to sleep.
I am so much in love with you and very sad that I can't make you happy. Hopefully we will figure out why you are so uncomfortable and my happy baby will return. I look forward to being able to spend time playing and singing and making you smile some time soon.
- You like to eat! He has become quite the boob man :)
- You like to sleep in peoples arms
-You are very strong, you can keep your head up and kick very hard
- You like tummy time on Dad's chest (but not Mom's)
- You smile after you are done eating, before you drift off to sleep
- You are happiest sitting up straight, so anytime you are flat on your back you cry (because of the reflux)
-You like to put your hands in your mouth, occasionally you suck your thumb
-You calm down when Dad makes a funny face like he is crying too
-Unfortunately, you are going through a tough time right now so you spend a lot of time crying and unhappy. Most of your awake time is spent crying. You also fight sleeping most days and nights. I can tell you are really tired and want to sleep, but you easily wake up again. Sometimes your own toots will wake you up and then we have to start from the beginning to try to get you to sleep.
I am so much in love with you and very sad that I can't make you happy. Hopefully we will figure out why you are so uncomfortable and my happy baby will return. I look forward to being able to spend time playing and singing and making you smile some time soon.
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