Regrets

I've always hated watching/ listening to parents yell at their children, especially when the kids haven't done anything wrong. And now that I have my own child, my hatred and intolerance of such acts has increased.

Today I went to get my hair cut, and just as I was finishing up, a woman came in with 5 young children (my guess is that they were all age 6 or younger). She wanted to get her hair cut, but the stylist said she wouldn't cut the woman's hair unless someone was watching her children. The woman then yelled at her children and told them to sit down. And when one of the children failed to sit down, but instead, wanted to stand by his mom, who was now in the chair, the hair stylist told the woman that she couldn't cut her hair. So then the woman yells at her children to "get out to the car". I had just finished paying, and followed the woman out the door. By the time I got to my car, I was crying. I couldn't just sit there. So I got out of my car and walked over to the woman, who was trying to get all of her children into the car. I asked her if I could watch her children while she got her hair cut, but she said no. And so I offered again - "I'd be happy to entertain your children in the lobby so you can get your hair cut", and again she said no. So I walked back to my car and cried all the way home.

I pray that those children know that someone loves them.

You Get What You Pay For

We received lots of diapers for Amelia at baby showers. All brands, multiple sizes. And I am here to tell you that they are not all the same - although most of you probably already knew that. The no-name, store brands, most likely the most inexpensive, well, you get what you pay for. They don't fit well. They leak. They don't seem to hold as much. The name brand, expensive diapers - they are well worth the cost . . . even when I have to buy them after our "gift" supply has run out. And the wetness indicator on the diapers? I thought it was a silly idea when I first heard about them, but I LOVE them. It's a great way to check a diaper in the middle of the night. I am happy to pay for what I get.

Before we drove to UT a few weeks ago, I bought a bottle of water. For the most part, I think buying bottled water is a waste of money. Why not just fill your own containers with water from the tap? However, there are certainly occasions when the convenience of buying bottled water outweighs the cost. So I'm standing in the convenience store trying to find the most inexpensive bottle of water, because it's just water and who wants to spend a lot of money on water? Nestle Pure Life was the cheapest and I giggled afterwards when I discovered why. When I read the label to see where this "pure" water came from, the source of water was listed as the Dallas, TX public water supply. How funny! I paid for tap water . . . You get what you pay for.

I am a hotel snob. Comes from working for Marriott for 11 years. I can't stay in a hotel without "inspecting" the room, and critiquing the amenities. Sadly, I haven't worked for Marriott for 3 years, and the discounted rooms are long gone. And since we're currently living on the student budget, the hotels we stay in are far from Marriott standards. On our drives back and forth to Logan, UT, we have discovered that Beaver, UT is about the half-way point. There's not much in Beaver . . . a few hotels, fast foods restaurants, and gas stations. Knowing that we're not paying much for a hotel, I can't expect much more than a clean room. The free "breakfast"? Nothing more than cheap cereal and Hostess donuts. So far, we've been lucky with cleanliness, but our last room had a uniqueness I've never experienced before. The toilet was tilted to the side, like it was going to tip over at any moment (but thank goodness it didn't). And the bathroom floor was so warped and flimsy, we were afraid we were going to fall through the floor. Did we complain? No - you get what you pay for!

Mixed Emotions

I think it's time to stop breastfeeding Amelia, and I'm not sure I'm happy about it.

Two months ago when I went back to work (wow, I can't believe it's been two months), we had to start giving Amelia a bottle during the time I was at work because I just didn't produce enough milk when I pumped.

A few weeks ago, Amelia became even more social and had a hard time focusing while breastfeeding. This came to a head while we were at the family reunion in UT last week. Who wants to eat when there are so many new people/ places to look at? Apparently just eating a little bit from the breast is bad - that and a few other conditions resulted in a mild case of mastitis. By the way, I'm a firm believer of using cabbage leaves to help the mastitis - don't know how it works, but it does.

And then there is the inconvenience of pumping at work and the minimal quantity produced lately - it doesn't seem to make it worth the hassle.

But even with all the above reasons, I'm not sure I'm ready to stop. I seem to only have enough milk for Amelia in the middle of the night, but that is exactly what I don't want to stop. I love bonding with my baby, in the night. Sure I can give her a bottle . . . and better yet, Ken can give her a bottle in the middle of the night, but I'll be sad to end this experience.

I have really enjoyed nursing Amelia (even when it was so painful in the beginning). I know some people have told me it just wasn't their thing. But even when it took up long hours of my day, it seemed time well spent. So I guess for now, it will come to an end, but I can look forward to repeating the experience, perhaps, with baby #2 - if and when that happens.

New Things

*Amelia went on her first road trip to UT. Falling asleep in the car seat was a new experience, and a skill that took her hundreds of miles to master. Let's just say that there was much crying and frustration on the first half of the trip. She finally got it figured out in time for our drive home - thank goodness.

* While we were in UT, we visited our friends, Andy, Amber, and Kylee. Amelia thought Andy was pretty funny covering up Kylee's face.

We had a great visit - thanks again for dinner!

* Amelia has been learning all sorts of things and it's so fun to watch. Our pediatrician said that when Amelia showed interest in food, we could start feeding her cereal. She looks pretty interested to us . . .

. . . so we decided to give her some rice cereal. She ate it, but I'm not so sure she enjoyed it.

Sunday - a day of rest?

. . . not for Amelia! She is increasingly sleeping through the night, but her napping has gone downhill. Yesterday, she slept for a total of 30 minutes during the day. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm hoping this is just a phase. She's not grumpy, just not sleepy. And she continues to make us and other people smile . . . especially when she looks so cute when we go for a walk.

Mindless Ramblings

Old. The temp. worker that is helping us in the Acct. dept. is so young, he's never used a typewriter. I took type in middle school!

Quality Control. We have sugar ants in our kitchen - yuck! The only thing good about them is I call them my quality control. I find a pile of ants on the floor, and realize I've unknowingly spilled something on the floor. I see ants on a pan that is drying on the counter and realize I must not have cleaned it well enough. Any one have tricks for getting rid of sugar ants? The ant spray doesn't seem to be working.

Two weekends. Ken just has 2 weekends left of his internship - yeah! This 8 weeks seems longer and harder than the 8 weeks he was gone to Portland.

4 months. Amelia will be 4 months old on Sunday. She's finally putting on some weight. Her legs have little fat creases - they're so cute. She's always been a "looker" - meaning she looks around at everything every where we go, but lately she really loves looking around at everything when we go for a walk. It's so fun to watch her gawk.

Clothes. I would love a personal shopper. I need some new clothes, and I just can't find the time to go . . . and I've ranted about it in the past - I hate clothes shopping.

TV. I'm glad I haven't made a big deal about Mom's who put their kids in front of the TV - because I am one of those moms (and Ken does it too). Amelia loves watching videos - Sesame Street, Baby Einstein, Baby Signing Time - and we can get things done without having to entertain her and/or hold her.