Falling Into Place

Things are finally starting to fall into place here. My goals last week were to find daycare and an apartment. I accomplished both!

Last Tuesday, I was able to call and confirm Remington's place at a recommended daycare center here. He started today and I think it went well.

Last Wednesday, I found an apartment and signed the lease Thursday. It's not much and is wood paneling paradise, but it'll do for now. It's pretty big and has brand new carpet. Remington already enjoys crawling around the place.

I went home over the weekend to see Remington and Landon after a week without them. Landon and I took Remington to the zoo for the first time. I was expecting at least one melt down (especially since it was so hot), but he did really well. He watched people more than the animals, but he would at least look at the animals directions if they were close to the cages.

On Sunday we moved my stuff into the apartment. I'm finally getting to relax for a little bit about this whole situation. I love all the staff at the schools here. Work will continue to be stressful (it's just that kind of job), but it will all work out. I'm thinking positively.

Daily Baby Essentials

After Remington's first week of day care (minus Thursday's snow day and Monday with my mom) I feel really good. I am gradually getting better at leaving him and I like the daycare setting he's in. I think he's being good for her too and not crying all day. I'm also getting back into the work routine. The only problem, sort of, is Remington has been fighting his first cold. He has been stuffy the last couple days and now he's coughing quite a bit. I think it's because when he snorts in the snot, then he coughs. I guess he's going to have allergies like myself. Poor little guy. Even worse, is that he gets his two month immunizations on Monday. I sure he's not going to be happy.

Photo color edit by me.

When you're pregnant with your first child it's hard to know what baby items you'll truly need on a daily basis for your baby. To help, here's a list of what we use every day. Click on the pictures to follow the link for places to purchase the items.

1. Formula- I didn't think I was going to need this, but since breastfeeding didn't go well... We use Similac Advance shield like they had in the hospital.
2. Diapers- Remington is just now transitioning from newborn to size 1. We use Pampers Swaddlers, the newborn size has a yellow line than turns blue when the diaper is wet- very handy.
3. Crib- I love ours. It was worth the wait, but scary that we only got it three days before he was born.

4. Clothes- A couple of onesies and long sleeve/feeted outfits a day- just in case we have some blow outs, spit ups, or pee accidents.
5. Carseat- I love our Chicco Keyfit 30

6. Pacifiers/WubbaNub- We use them more than I expected, but Remington is just one of those babies who need something to suck on. I recommend the Mam 0-2 months (he holds them in his mouth better than the soothies).

7. Cloth diaper/Burp rags- Burp rags are okay, but the cloth diapers work so much better.
8. Swing- He loves it and falls asleep pretty fast, but he's still a little small since he tends to fall forward or to the side too much. We use the Fisher Price Little Lamb swing.

9. Bouncy/Vibrator seat- We use it when we can't get him to fall asleep in the crib. It's also good to bring along to the grandparents for him to sleep in. We have the Fisher Price Little Lamb one.

 
10. Changing Pad and wipes- We actually have two- one upstairs in his room and one downstairs so we don't have to constantly go upstairs to change him. The wipes I recommend are Huggies- they're thicker than the cheap brands and easier to get out of the box one at a time.
11. Blankets- Remington likes being cuddled up in them.
12. Sleep sacks/outfits- They keep him warm at night without a blanket, which is a SIDS no no.
13. Boppy-  Was awesome for breastfeeding, and continues to be great for holding him during bottle feedings, for him to lay on. Much easier than proping up regular pillows and easy on your shoulders after holding an increasingly heavy baby.

14. Bottles- Again, I didn't expect to use, but oh well. Right now we just use the Medela ones that go with the breast pump we have, but they're not vented. We also have one vented Playtex bottle.
15. Diaper bag- Holds all his junk, :)
16. Hooded towels and baby bath items- To keep him clean.

Photo color edit by me.

The following are things I thought we'd use, but haven't:
1. Diaper rash cream- Remington hasn't had a problem with this yet.
2. Rattles or any toys- He's not interested in them quite yet.
3. Baby hats- He doesn't like them very much and they just seem like a pain.
4. Baby mittens- He's scratched himself, but it's easier to clip his nails
5. Lanolin- Didn't use after breastfeeding stopped working
6. Breast pump- Again, the failure of breastfeeding...

That's my list at a little over two months, hope it helps someone.

Back to Work

These last two days have been hard.

Monday was my first day back to work after maternity leave. My mom came to our house to watch Remington. I was good with leaving him and heading to work. All day at work I was so busy that I barely had to time think about not being with Remington. Then I came home. I still wasn't upset about being gone all day. After my mom left and Landon got home, though, I realized how much I had missed him. I started crying again. By this time, I think Landon thinks I'm starting to go nuts with how much I cry. I've cried more these past two months than I have in years. He understands though. I just felt so many mixed emotions. I missed Remington, but I was glad to have a break. I was bored at home, but didn't want to go back to work. I just didn't know how to feel.

Today was worse in the morning. Last night I was also crying because I was nervous about today. Remington went to daycare for the first time ever. I know the daycare person is perfectly capable, but it's hard to let someone you barely know watch your baby all day. I can't wait until I can pick him up again. I was good to drop him off, but cried a little bit when I was in the car and leaving to head to work. It's also hard when people ask me if it was hard to leave him and come back because it is. I don't want to talk about it to coworkers though, because I'll end up crying again. I also know nothing really about daycare. I never went to daycare and don't really know how it all works.

I felt bad yesterday and today when Remington smiled at my mom and the daycare lady instead of looking at me. I now know how Landon felt when I was seeing him smile, but Remington wouldn't really smile at him when he got home. I know in my head that everything will work out and that Remington knows who his mom is, but it's still hard when he'll go to and smile at anyone. I'm going to be a mess when he gets old enough to not want to leave me.

Weird things people say and the end of maternity leave

When you cart a baby around with you 24/7 you're going to have people ask about the baby. Most of the time they ask how old he is. I don't really have people ask me if Remington is a boy or girl- I think he definitely looks like a boy and I usually have him dressed in blue. One weird thing people ask is if he's a good baby... How are you supposed to respond to that? No, he's always disobeying and back talking me. One more night of his crying and I'm shipping him off to military school. I mean, what do people expect you to say? I just respond with, Yes, he's pretty good.

I haven't updated about Remington's 2 month doctor appointment yet, so here it is: Remington's doctor appointment was last Wednesday (Dec. 30). He was weighed first thing and was 9 pounds 11 1/2 ounces! I'm so glad he's continuing to gain weight. He's still in the 10th %ile though. He hasn't gotten any longer- 21 1/4 inches (5th %ile), or a bigger head either- 15 inches (10th %ile). The doctor didn't seem concerned though since we had so many problems at first. Just as long as he's going, it's okay for now. The doctor checked his heart, lungs, and movement. He has good neck control when he's sitting upright, but still can't quite support it when he's lifted from being on his back. It was amusing when she was trying to get him to lift and turn his head when laying on his stomach. She put him on his stomach on the doctor table thing and had me go to the side in which he didn't have his head turned. Then she had me talk to him and try to get him to lift and turn his head to see me. He tried so hard. He just kicked his legs and flailed around so much she thought he was going to roll over (which he didn't- he can't quite accomplish that milestone yet). He kicked and kicked until he was rotating himself around to face me. It was very cute. Even though he can't quite turn his head, he's pretty good on milestones.
I thought the doctor was going to give him his 2 month immunizations, but apparently I have to set that up with the health department. I'll give them a call on Monday.

Tomorrow I have to go back to work. I'm so not looking forward to it. It will be nice to get a break from Remington, but I know I'll miss him too. I'm just worried about how much I stress about work anyway that now it's going to be worse since I'm stressed taking care of Remington. Tomorrow won't be so bad since my mom will be watching him at our house, but then it's off to daycare. I've blogged about daycare before here and here. I'll let you know how the first week back to work goes, until then...

Go with your gut and randomness.

So, here is the story of my two visits to potential daycares.
1. The first place is two blocks from our house and licensed, so I thought they would be a great place. When I walked in, the house was alright. Not messy or unsafe, but not nice either. It was an older house and didn't look very updated on anything. The lady was super nice though. I really liked her and she had adequate credentials. The main problem was that she wanted money for the entire time to hold the spot. That would be $400 a month for 6 months of the kid not even being there. That is not good. So, she was put off as a last resort kind of spot.

2. The second place was a little further away, but not bad. It's also right across from a small park. I walk in and the house is perfect. It looks a lot like our front rooms with antiques and very clean. Needless to say, the kids are housed in the basement not there. Anyway, this lady is older (almost 70), but super nice. I stayed there for almost an hour just talking to her and watching her interact with the kids. She had 3 two year olds who were required to ask nicely for snacks, etc. She also had two older kids that day who were required to occasionally help out with the little ones. I was amazed when the two year olds were told they had to put up their nap mats before they sat in their chairs for snack, and they actually did it. She's also constantly using GermX and making the kids use it too (I will so be doing this- grad school made me a germ a phobe). Right away I'm loving this lady. Then she says that she doesn't want any money to hold the spot!!! And she only charges $100 a month (vs. a week)!! Amazing! So, I let her know I was interested (even though the original plan was to talk to Landon first-I'm sure he won't mind) and we have the spot. I'll call her when the baby is born and then in January to set up an actual start date.

I am so amazed that we were lucky enough to find this daycare person. I know, that I'll still have to see how it goes when our kid is actually being cared for, but I'm excited. Also, she used to watch the kids of a co-worker, so that's a plus too. Anyway, I'm glad that after this little stressful time of trying to find someone, I'm pretty sure we hit gold. Yay!

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Random 10 Friday Tunes:

1. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da- The Police
2. Round Here- Counting Crows
3. I Think I'm Paranoid- Garbage
4. Unemployable- Pearl Jam
5. The Song Remains the Same- Led Zeppelin
6. Come Sail Away- Styx
7. Like I Love You- Justin Timberlake
8. Mr. Richard- Timbaland and Magoo
9. Find Another Girl- The Hives
10. I Disappear- Metallica

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Please pray for my sister. She's been in the hospital since yesterday. She's been feeling sick for a couple weeks now and went in with a fever and cough. At first they thought it was a sinus infection, but now the doctors aren't sure what it is. They've been testing for everything from Tuberculosis to lung cancer. She's been feeling better, but pray that they find something minor and she gets better soon. Love you sister!

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Ooops, had to edit this post since I forgot to include the random picture from my camera (can't have a post with no picture, that would be crazy...). Picture from the wedding I attended last weekend.

Will anyone watch my unborn baby?

Ugh, childcare searching sucks. I did find out that the place that was rude to me isn't taking any kids under a year old anymore. Something must have happened and that's why they were rude. Bad thing is that since they aren't taking anyone, every other place is full. I stopped by the Chamber of commerce and they didn't have a list of providers because they aren't chamber members. However, she did give me a website and phone number to call for lists. It's called ChildStart (http://www.childstart.org), and they had some places that I could call. Also, since my mother in law works for SRS, she asked coworkers if they had suggestions. So, I then at least had a short list of people to call. After calling around today I found two home based day cares that have openings. I'll stop by and check them out tomorrow. I don't really know what I'm looking for but I want to see that it's clean (well, as clean as a day care can be), that babies are sleeping in cribs on their back, that it's safe, and that the care giver is nice. I'm not even worried about cost anymore, it's been so hard to even find someone. Even if I find a place I like I know I'll always worry about what's going on there and if my baby is safe.

Yesterday I went for our previously scheduled gender check sonogram. We didn't cancel this appointment just because it was free and we would then get a second opinion and another sonogram. Anyway, it's still definitely a boy. My next actual doctor appointment is next Thursday. I can't believe summer is almost over. I don't want to go back to work. It'll be weird too, because the last trimester will be spent at work while I've been relaxing and enjoying the easy 2nd trimester on vacation. It's going to be stressful. I'll have to do a lot of scheduling of IEPs so that they won't be during my maternity leave. But, what if the baby comes way early- then I'll be even more stressed. There's just too many unknowns that you have to work, or try to work around.

Daycare

This weekend I took a quick trip to Topeka for a classmate's wedding. It was great having a mini SLP reunion. While there I also stopped by Babies R Us to get something blue for our little boy. I found an adorable onesie that Landon wants to bring the baby home from the hospital in. I also bought another onesie and a cute shirt for the baby's 6 month pictures (if he fits 6 mo. clothes at 6 mo.). I have scheduled the baby pictures with L. Hardin photography. Now I'm trying to find a day care. I called the only two childcare centers in town on the 9th, but no one called me back to say they had openings or not. So I called today. The place that's supposed to be better were rude and said they don't have an opening. The other place is supposed to call back tomorrow. We'll see. I realized that an infant takes the place of 3 other children, but I'm calling 6 months in advance, you don't have to be rude about not having a spot open. If the other daycare doesn't have a spot I don't know what I'll do. How do you find home based care? They're not listed in the phone book, and our doctor wasn't any help. Maybe I'll try the Chamber of Commerce or the health center. It takes me back to when I was trying to find a doctor...if a person with a good job, insurance, homeowner, married, and in their 20s can't find these services then how does anyone??? Irritating.