Reporting From the Trenches of Motherhood

I haven't posted here in a while because I've been sent out on assignment down into the trenches of motherhood. On April 6, my husband and I welcomed beautiful baby C into our family and life has been nonstop ever since. Baby C weighed in at 6 lbs, 5 oz and 20 inches long. I had a labor that I will perhaps blog about once I have had a chance to get over the fact that the jerks at Kaiser made my labor way more traumatic than it needed to be due to their arrogance and lack of compassion.

Anyway, we are back in the land of sleepless nights and exhausted days. It's funny how motherhood has a way of producing some sort of Jedi mind trick allowing you to forget how tiring it is to be up with a newborn all night and how fun it is to feel like the baby is going to suck your boobs right off your body. You forget the joy of yellow poop projecting across the changing table and the fact that your waist is still but a distant memory even four weeks after delivery.

Baby C is fabulous. He's is a cute as a button and growing fast. My other two boys love him to pieces and the dog has yet to give him a second look. (Of course, that could very well be because the dog is desperately in need of being groomed and can probably barely see the baby through his long "bangs.") He seems to have a pretty calm temperament and doesn't mind the noise the other boys make while running through the house playing.

I have to say that by and large, baby number three is pretty darn easy. As a mother, I feel like I have lots of tricks up my sleeve. (And believe me when I tell you I'm wearing sleeves. My post-pregnancy arms are not a sight to behold.) I'm also so much more calm than with my last two. I know that the difficulties and sleepless nights will pass. I know what I have to look forward to. Every moment is so very fleeting. Today, for example, I swear that my four-week-old bundle of love smiled at me for the first time. (Yes, he is a genius. I just filled out his MENSA application.) It was magic. It made me forget the fact that I have not slept since 4:30 and the fact that my boobs feel like I imagine my dog's chew toys feel. Baby C is just so precious, I can barely stand it.

So anyway, I'm back and sorry it took so long to get here. I'll be reporting the good, the bad, the ugly, and the wonderful of my journey. I'm also hoping to start doing a few giveaways here, instead of over on my Disney blog, Babes in Disneyland. If you aren't already, please follow this blog through google and "like" me via Facebook so that I can have more visible fans here.

Rights for Breastfeeding Mothers

It was announced today that it is now "illegal" to tell a woman she cannot breastfeed in a public place in the state of Wisconsin. The bill, signed in to law today, allows women to nurse their children in a public or private places so long as she is permitted to be there by law.

Wait. Are you kidding me with this? Was it actually "illegal" to breastfeed a hungry child in Wisconsin in a public or private place before? That seems unbelievable. You wouldn't tell a mother she can't give her baby a bottle, so how dare someone say you can't nurse your child? The kicker is that only 40 other states have such rights signed into law for mothers and babies. What?!

Here's more on the law...
Breast feeding in public is permissible, thanks to a new WI law - WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |

And for the record, I'm not a granola mom who whips it out in public without considering those around me. I am always covered up and not only make sure no one can see "where" the nursing is taking place, but try to ensure no one can see any other skin as well. If you are a nursing mom and looking for a great solution to cover up while nursing, stop by my blog and enter to win a Cover Me Strap. These straps turn baby blankets, towels, etc. into a nursing cover. It's fabulous!

One Big Ball of Hormones

I'm now 32 weeks pregnant and I can honestly say that I am one big ball of very emotional hormones. I feel like I have the worst case of PMS on the planet. My fuse is short. I've been crying all day. I've gotten frustrated by the simplest things. I feel like I'm going to jump out of my skin. (That's a fun one.) You know, as if it's not bad enough that I'm swollen (I'm telling myself I'm swollen even though I know I'm actually just FAT), uncomfortable, and achy from my giant belly, but I have the added bonus of being an emotional wreck as well?! I mean come on!!!!

To all of you out there who just LOVED being pregnant, I just don't get it. I mean...really? You "loved" it? Which parts exactly? You "loved" the food aversions? You adored swollen feet and/or ankles? You thought watching your otherwise flat stomach turn into a veiny beach ball was totally hot? Please tell me which part you loved. I'm dying to hear the great part.

Look, I know that the great part of pregnancy comes at the end when I get to meet my beautiful new baby boy and hold him in my arms (and smell like breastmilk and look like a train wreck for the next 9-12 months), but all that aside, let's be real. God must be a man because a woman would never make another woman go through the agony of pregnancy considering what you have to go through with a newborn in the aftermath.

I'm just sayin'.

Stroller Discrimination

There's is nothing I hate more than when I am discriminated against because I am a parent with children. My children are well behaved in restaurants and stores. Our house is full of antiques and not baby proofed. They respect our belongings and those of others. They are by no means perfect, but they are probably on your upper end of well-behaved kiddos. (I consider myself very lucky!)

Recently, we walked over to a bakery for breakfast and on our way back we decided to go into an antique store that was just about to open. The owner saw us lingering by the door and she told me that the would not be open for about ten more minutes. We walked to a couple of our other morning errands and headed back. When I got there, she told me that we were not allowed to come into the store because I have a (small) stroller. I was disgusted. First, why didn't she just tell me I would not be allowed in her store when she first saw me? Second, this store is going out of business and they are trying to liquidate the inventory. If you are going out of business, shouldn't you be happy to get money from anyone? The ironic thing is that while we were waiting for the store to open, we had walked to the bank where I got a bunch of cash so I could pick up some treasures from this glorified junk store.

The incident this morning reminds me of another time we were discriminated against. The California Pizza Kitchen by our house has a policy (official or written, I do not know) that they seat families with children in the back of the restaurant. One time while in there, my husband asked if we could have a seat at the front of the restaurant so that my son could look out the window while we ate. They outright refused to allow up sit up front until my husband said, "I just want to be sure I understand what you are saying--you won't let me sit up front because we have a child." The hostess replied yes until she realized what she said and then said she could make an exception. Needless to say, we left the restaurant and we've never patronized another CPK.

I work hard to make sure my kids are well behaved in public. We are out and about all of the time so that they are well socialized and experienced with the right and wrong ways to act in public places. And when our children do misbehave, we remove them from the restaurant or store immediately. I hate being punished for the fact that other children do misbehave! And yes, I know what you are going to say. I realize that store and restaurant owners can allow in whomever they choose. I still think it sucks!

The Pressure of Baby Naming

Naming a new baby is huge pressure. Will said child get made fun of for the name? Does it have CEO potential? Does it have staying power or is it a kid's name?

Naming our first son was easy. We decided on the first name and meaningful (family-linked) middle name was decided months before I delivered. With our second son, the hubs and I "discussed" names at length...the entire pregnancy. We still didn't have a name picked out once he was born and had the hospital retype his birth certificate paperwork four times within the hour before we left the hospital.

Naming our boys has been tough each time because every time I bring up a name, my husband has a few prepared responses:

• "I know a guy with that name..."
• "I know a guy with that name and he's an a-hole..."
• "I knew a guy with that name and he was such a nerd."
• "No way! "

The hubs isn't difficult to get along with, just has definite opinions about things...like names. I find it most ironic that the problem is usually his agreeing to a name when I'm the one who is a teacher and is around so many (insert adjective to describe today's youth here) kids all day.

Tonight the hubs came back from taking our kids to a neighborhood holiday party and proclaimed that he had come up with a name. It's a good name. I like the first name and fits in with my first letter requirement. The middle name is good too, but doesn't fit in with what we've done for the other two boys. Each of my other sons has a middle name with familial significance and the proposed middle name is just...a name. No special significance, just sounds good with the first name.

So now I feel that I must walk the fine line with the hubs again of trying to negotiate the name game. Wish me luck.