You Know a Good Day Care When . . .

Until today I was really very satisfied with our Day Care. They seem organized, do great and innovative activities with the kids and they keep us informed. I even have a parent-teacher conference this week.....for my four month old. All this to say that they took it to a new level today. Ms. April called my office today to tell me that Tripp was doing great, had tummie time, was eating well and then she paused. She said "and one more thing. I was wondering if I could .... ah... braid his hair."
My responses, "Absolutely."
Now maybe all day care centers are this 'bout it, but as a new mommy, right now, I am impressed. Especially, since I can't braid. According to my co-worker, they braid both her daughters' hair.
In addition, I just washed Tripp's hair last night so the timing is PERFECT!
If this works out okay, pictures will be posted tonight.

I am so excited right now!!! And if you saw our Easter pictures, you should be too.

I'm Baaack

I know it has been a while but for those of you who don't know I'm back at work. I went back on April 1st and the baby started daycare the same day.

For me, work is like I never left. Lots of work, not enough time - Same old thing.

For Tripp, he is in a whole new world. The teachers at his daycare are awesome and they are always doing new and interesting things with him. For instance, this week they had a foam party, planted a tree and played in jello. He even had is first picture day.

Development wise, he is doing great. He can roll over, laugh in response to your laughter and carry on a conversation with you in baby talk. He has also started eating rice cereal (he doesn't really like the oatmeal).

Tripp is also growing like a weed. He is almost 26 inches long. In other words, he has grown out of his car seat and we have to get a new one this weekend.

Lastly, we had a great Easter Sunday. Tripp, David and I all dressed up and went to Church. I church is pretty laid back so we usually just wear jeans but on Easter we all dressed in our best, including Tripp.

Check out pix of Tripp's first Easter.

Product Reviews

In my few months of motherhood I have found some products that I just have to tell you about. The following are Tripp's top 4 must haves for a happy baby and a sane mommy. All the experienced mothers may know about these things but for us newbies these are life changers

1. Nose Fredda (AKA the snot sucker) - Just trust me. Google it, buy it, use it, love it.

2. Mylicon Infant Gas Drops - Let's say your 3 month old will not sleep through the night. He/she wakes up just to eat and go right back to sleep. They may be waking up because of gas or heart burn and not just because. Try a these gas drops at night before bed. They are safe to use on infants and work wonders. Hopefully, this will give you at least 4 or 5 hours of sleep.

3. Summer Infant Kiddopotomus Swaddle Me - I think most mommies know that swaddling is a must. These things are great. The are much simpler to use than other swaddlers or a blanket. So if your swaddle game needs a little work, try these. Tripp isn't swaddled anymore but for the first 3 months, I could not live without these.

4. A&D - Smells kinda medicine like but works really well on dry skin and scratches. Tripp would scratch his face sometimes and this works really well to heal the scratches in just a few days. I got used to the smell and now we use it as a diaper cream all the time.

Back from the NC

We are back from North Carolina. We went to see the grandparents in Southern Pines and New Bern. Not a lot to report except that Tripp is still not taking a bottle. His great grandma seems to think that he knows when I leave because then he starts to cry. I will upload the few pictures from the trip tomorrow.

My family seemed really shocked that I was breastfeeding. Not to be funny but it started to make me think if there is some sort of conspiracy to discourage or, more likely, not encourage black women to breastfeed (especially the poor, rural and uneducated).

Breastfeeding is cheaper (practically free), healthier for baby and kids who were breastfeed have higher IQs and a lower rate of childhood obesity. All advantages that our children of color need. I really got a lot of questions and strange looks from my cousins when I broke out the girls to feed Tripp. I was not breastfeed and my mom claims she just didn't know that breastfeeding was best. Anyway, we all need to make sure we educate and encourage each other to breastfeed when possible. - D's PSA for February :)

For those without children

For all those without children, this is what 7 weeks can look like.

:-\ (FYI - I love this photo)

No really, this is what 7 weeks looks like. :-) (I love this photo, too)

6 weeks and counting.

Hi all,
Sorry for the late post. Tripp was 6 weeks last Sunday. Its been a crazy time over the past month and a half. I still can't believe that I am somebodies momma. Anyway.
We have had a first cold (at 3 weeks), cradle cap (started at 3 weeks, cleared at 6 weeks and 1 day), and baby acne (started at 3weeks and we are still working on a cure). Other than that we are doing just fine.
Tripp eats every 3 to 4 hours (EVERY 3 to 4 hours). He has had a few nights were he sleeps 5 hours straight but they are few are far between and generally involve sleeping in mommy's arms the entire time. Unfortunately, I am guilty of falling asleep in the rocker with the baby in my arms and waking up hours later when David comes in to kiss us goodbye before work.
Now Tripp is on this kick where he will only sleep in your arms or in his bouncy seat. So we swaddle him up and put the seat in the crib at night ~ too funny. We have slowly learned that this is Tripp's world and we all have to adapt.
Daddy is doing just fine by the way. David and Tripp hang out a few nights a week all by themselves so mommy can go to the gym. David has been really amazing! Some nights he even takes the lead in putting Tripp to bed so I can get a nap before the 4pm feeding.
Well, here are a few pictures and videos. I hope to update you all a bit sooner next time.
D'Asia ~ the mama.

Birth Story

All,

I wrote the following in the hospital the week Tripp was born but somehow it never was published. For those who want to know, the following is our birth story. Enjoy
-
As you all may know by now that Tripp has arrived. I'm in the hospital and restless. I should be asleep because the baby is sleep but for whatever reason I am not.

Anyhoo, I decided to write our little birth story for those who want more details about the birth. So for those who want to hear it (or read it) . . . here it go. I'm a bit graphic but not too much. :)

We were due on December 17th. I was considered full term on Thanksgiving day so I knew I could go at anytime. We were going to the doctor every week and Dr. Adams would say, "See you next week, or see you on the delivery floor." Me and David would look at each other each time like "OMG".

So last weekend, I was really trying to tie up most of my loose ends. David put up the curtains in the baby room. I searched all over to get the blackout, energy efficient, noise reducing curtains.

When he finally put them up on Saturday night, David said, "We don't need anything else for this room - it is complete." I still think we need a book case, but whatever. I knew when he said that something would happen.

Later that night, I started to spot lightly. Its called the pink shadow or bloody show, I think. It was very light and normal. The doctor warned us of it.

All the books say its the early stage of delivery. The books also say that delivery can happen in hours or days. So to me that meant tomorrow or next week.

So, no biggie. I went to bed

The next day, David went to the Falcons/Eagles Football game and tail gate. I woke up early to help him get ready for the tailgate but I stayed home. 9 months preggers and port-a-potties don't mix.

So I decided to go to Wal-mart and get a few things around 11:30am. I walked around Super Wal-Mart and got all that I needed.

I then went home, had a sandwich at 1:30pm and took a nap.

At 3:50pm, I awoke from my nap with a feeling of a big gush. I thought, "oh, God. My water broke." So I ran to the bathroom and found lots of blood in my pants.

I called David and told him that my water broke, it was a lot of blood and to come home quick. I then called the Doctor and she told me to go to the hospital asap.

I took a shower and Janelle called. David was stuck in traffic with Jerry (Janelle's husband). They called her to have her pick me up. She was calling to tell me she was on her way. ~ Cool.

I finished getting dress. Janelle picked up my bags and we were off. The next thing I know I'm in the hospital, laying in the bed and the nurse is checking me out. She saw all the blood and called the doctor again. David arrived shortly thereafter.
The nurse thought I was five centimeters dilated, so we thought great. David was super excited and looked like he was about to jump out of his pants. Things should be moving pretty soon - a few hours or so - we thought. But when the Doctor arrived she said that I was not that far along. She said I was only one centimeter and loosing too much blood to wait. She told us that I need a c-section immediately. The nurses then started prepping me for surgery.
David looked a little nervous and asked me if I was sure this is what I wanted. It wasn't but I wanted me and the baby to be safe. So we were off.
They wheeled me into surgery, gave me the epidural and started the procedure. Things moved so fast that I only had 2 contractions that I know of. they removed David from the room to get him into sterile clothing but the doctor started the procedure before David got back. I was so nervous and freaking out. I felt no pain but I could feel the pressure of someone digging in my stomach. The anesthesia tech was right by my head and did a great job calming me down until David came back. Then David took over in making sure I didn't completely loose it.
Then at 6:47 p.m. he arrived. He was healthy and beautiful.
They showed him to me over the curtain and rushed him to be checked out.