Back on Track

Things are starting to get back to normal around here. Finally feeling well enough to eat a couple of meals a day, although I have found that at lunchtime I am not especially hungry, so I try to eat a big late breakfast, or brunch type meal instead. Being sick (once again) gave me a knock to the milk supply, so I am trying to pump every hour or so in order to increase it, and drinking my mother's milk tea. I think we'll try our hand at some baby oatmeal tonight. The rice at 4 months didn't go over well, and the pediatrician always says no solids or cereal before 6 months anyway, so we waited and now I think it's just about time. I think we will start a vegetable this weekend to see how she likes that, but maybe oatmeal at night this week so that she can get prepped for her veggies. Problem with oatmeal is that it still has to be mixed with breastmilk, so that means I will be dipping into my supply in the freezer a bit as I try to increase my supply of "fresh" milk.

When Ardyn got weighed last week, she was 14 pounds 11 ounces. Still "small" by formula feeding "growth" standards, but according to the Dr., right on for a sweet little breastfed baby... and perfectly proportioned. But we already knew that!

Next week we get our taxes done. Pretty sure that our tax refund will go right to our hospital bill from Ardyn's birth. We might still have some $$ left over, but we will just have to see! If we pay that off, we will be completely, and totally and completely debt free. YAY! Not a single payment to make on ANYTHING. Not a single credit card. Not a single loan. YAY!

I am dying for spring. Really. We bought some pool/sandbox toys for Ardyn. I know she will be too small to probably fully appreciate them, but at 9-12 months, she should understand what's up. She loves playing in the bathtub.... and we still are talking about taking her swimming. I was able to speak with the Aquatics Coordinator at the Metro Center today, and got Ardyn signed up for swim lessons starting in April. Two months of lessons, once a week, is $40. I think we can handle that!

I have this perfect plan in my head. When it's nice, take a walk with Ardyn each day in the stroller, get the mail, tour the town, perhaps walk a dog or two. Go to the park, play in the grass. Stop and smell the flowers. That sort of thing. I am also SUPER excited because one of my bestest friends ever in the whole wide world (That means it has to be Angela or Carrie!) is coming home. Carrie will arrive in Chicago in March, and Angela will bring her in from the airport. I can't wait for the three of us to be together again. We haven't been together since before I was pregnant with Ardyn, in the fall of 2006. Angela and I flew out to Utah to stay with Carrie when her daughter Cara was 3 months old. Then a couple of weeks later, Carrie, her husband Jay, and Cara flew here for our 10 year class reunion. I haven't been able to see them since! I can't wait. And she will be around for the spring, which is extra special cool. I am hoping to go get Ardyn's ears pierced this spring, and make a day trip of it.... and take Carrie, Cara, and Angela for moral support. I can not WAIT for spring. I can't wait for green grass and bright sunshine. Oh and Carrie started a new business venture, which is pretty neat, so check it out if you have a free moment.

I am also excited about Easter. This past weekend we were trying to decide what to do as a family and Evan said "Is the easter bunny at the mall yet?" LOL. He cracks me up. Always looking ahead for fun times. Ardyn's Easter basket is all ready to be filled, but she won't really know what's going on. That didn't stop everyone at Christmas though.... I am trying to figure out if it would be cheating to put all those pool toys we just bought her in her easter basket. LOL. And maybe add a stuffed doll that we saw in Pottery Barn that we decided she MUST own. (as if she doesn't own ENOUGH stuff already.) My mom is getting Ardyn a toddler swing for the front yard for Easter, and I can't wait for that either! Now I just need the damn picket fence in the front yard. LOL.

Ardyn and I have been doing lots of playing with cups and stacking towers and wooden puzzles. We are working on her put and take coordination, and she is really getting great with her hands. It's fun to see what she will do next. She really likes the Pampered Chef Kids Measuring Cups, and all the buckets we have. She loves the stackable parents buckets, and the nesting animal buckets that jingle and crinkle when they are touched and moved. She isn't a fan of the bucket on her head. At first she was just bewildered, but at that time it was almost bedtime, so bewilderment soon turns into crankiness. She loves the excersaucer and the jumparoo so much... I am so lucky that we have both of them. She loves to be standing and jumping around, and my arms can only entertain her for so long before being exhausted. I am amazed at how long she can go in the Jumparoo.... it's great for tiring her out before bedtime! The excersaucer is like a toy playground, as Evan discovered that the more toys you pile on it, the happier she is.

I can't believe that Ardyn will be 6 months old in just 13 days! It's exciting and sad to see her growing so fast! Evan's answer is "more babies!" To which, of course, I agree!

But if you have more babies, that means you have to make room for them. I have been casually working on Ardyn's big girl room in my mind, and I have bedding and a rug, and window shades, and the twin bed.... and I think that her toy shelf would move in there with her, and probably one of the dressers from the nursery. But let's not get TOO ahead of ourselves. After all, a new baby could take years to achieve! (Let's hope not!)

So my tooth has been hurting the past two days. It's a back molar, and it only hurts when I bite down. I just went to the dentist like a month ago and had no cavities (never had one, knock on wood) so I am worried that it is that damn wisdom tooth that is UNDER the rest of my teeth, trying to come through. Right before I found out I was pregnant, I had been told that I needed to have three wisdom teeth pulled. One was already completely in, and the other was almost 3/4 of the way in, and the other was under the rest of my teeth still. My dentist referred me to an oral surgeon, and I had to go to Peoria. I was so freaked out that Evan drove me to the appointment. Deep down I thought that "consultation" meant "Knock you out with a baseball bat when you walk through the door so you can't resist." Evan even had to go back with me. They said "We'll just pull them all" and then they proceeded to show me the video that warns of the dangers of surgery, the potential of cutting nerves, yada yada- and then showed me the big bill - Ca-Ching$$. For a person who is afraid of surgery and in general hates the idea of being put under, this wasn't pleasant. In fact, it was distinctly UNPLEASANT. Now, for someone who has a baby to take care of, breastfeeding to do, the thought of potential of death from having your teeth pulled doesn't help me feel any better. SO I did what any responsible adult would do. I ignored it. And luckily finding out I was pregnant made it perfectly acceptable for me to cancel my appointment with tooth pulling doom, and now breastfeeding means I can delay it even longer.... right? And it doesn't hurt. At all. My other teeth have been crowded a bit while the one wisdom tooth comes through almost all the way, but besides that, It's been quite pleasant in the depths of my mouth. Pleasant enough, in fact, that I was sure that I wouldn't NEED them pulled as "they" insisted I did. I think they just wanted more teeth for their voo-doo necklaces. Right now I am working on the "ignore it" philosophy for a bit longer, to see if that pain on the left side will go away. Surely there must be some magikal herbal remedy that will make that painful tooth fall out on it's own? Certainly hermits and homeless people must have a dental alternative? Something besides drilling, cracking, and pulling?