Moved!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Tattoos and Drool has a spiffy new blog at its very own domain! Check it out and update your bookmarks and feed readers. See you all over there!

TattoosandDrool.com

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 10:50 AM 0 comments  

Over the hump

Friday, August 21, 2009

So, did anyone notice anything special about the picture I posted? Anyone? Bueller?

Look a little closer and you'll see that my baby girl's scrumptious cheeks are RASH FREE! Thank you, Aveeno baby wash and Hydrocortisone cream. No more angry red hives or crusty ears. Now I can move on to worrying about other things, like that annoying flat spot she's developing from having a right side preference, or that her poop may possibly not be the right shade of honey Dijon yellow. Lets hope I learn to stop obsessing over everything by the time she's twelve.



My emotional state has improved tenfold in the past week or so. Thanks, in part, to a massive blow out in which I aired all my thoughts and fears to DH and he thankfully didn't declare me loony toons and run for the hills. And also thanks to a baby who sleeps amazingly well so I haven't had to deal with any sleep deprivation thus far.

I used to think that a newborn being a good sleeper was a myth and anyone who said they had one was lying through their teeth (although I still secretly hated them and wanted to land a swift punch right in their well-rested eye). A quick read through my archives will have you understanding the sleep hell I dealt with when Beckett was a baby. But Avonlea is different. I now know that easy babies DO exist. I also know I had every reason to hate those bitches because it is A-FLIPPING-MAZING. You're free to hate me, too. But I was about due for an easy one this time around, if you ask me. DH is loving it too, because it means he doesn't have to walk a stroller around the block at three in the morning every. single. day. Thanks for that, Beckett. Yes, the man is a saint.

I should probably stop talking about it now, because my superstitious subconscious won't stop whispering that it's going to come back and bite me in the ass in a couple months. That'd be my luck.

We have a busy weekend ahead, filled with cleaning and packing and my first Tupperware party tomorrow. (Which, by the way, if you're just dying to get your hands on some air-tight-sealed goodness, jump over to my website!) Avonlea has an appointment with our chiropractor tomorrow afternoon to deal with this pesky side preference. Sunday will be devoted to packing, making lists, checking off those lists and then checking again to make sure I haven't forgotten anything, as well as cat-proofing the house so they can't destroy anything while we're gone. And then we're leaving bright and early Monday morning for the 8-hour trip to the land of cheese curds and no cell phone service, aka Wisconsin.

Eight hours.

With three kids.

I have a feeling the DVD player in the Pilot will become my new best friend, so much so that I may want to name my next child after it, much like babies end up being named Bob or Gary thanks to a good anesthesiologist. Samsung Melban has a nice ring to it.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 12:21 PM 4 comments  

Wordless Wednesday - Time Is Fleeting

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

And just like that, a month has passed.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 2:11 PM 2 comments  

Surviving

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

We are surviving. And doing a pretty good job of it, if you ask me. I might even say we are thriving. After I kind of dropped off the face of the earth with my last post about being so incredibly scared of life with three children, it probably gave a bad impression. But really, I'm doing okay.

That first week alone went HEAPS better than I could have ever expected or imagined. Avonlea is a dream baby. Seriously. I have never met such a laid back, easy going, happy newborn. I think she must have known that mama needed a little help because I don't know if I could have survived having another high needs infant. I am so grateful.

The week after that, my mom and sister came down and stayed for a week, which was heavenly. One of my biggest issues is feeling completely alone, and for a whole week I was surrounded by the people I love and didn't have to be lonely. Not having them close by is so hard. SO incredibly hard. Those of you have have family nearby, no matter how crazy they make you sometimes, CHERISH IT. You don't know how lucky you are.

The past few days, we've been thrown another curve ball that has sent my anxiety through the roof. Avonlea developed a rash on her face. It started out as a couple little red pimples and just multiplied from there. I figured we were just getting plagued with baby acne again and would have to ride it out. But it kept getting worse, and by Monday her whole face, ears and scalp were covered with a raised, crusty rash. I called the pediatrician, which I rarely do, and took her in. "Oh, yes, that just looks like baby acne. There's nothing you can do but wait." Really? This is baby acne?



I wish the picture was able to capture how red and inflamed this rash looks, because it's bad. It is absolutely killing me to see my precious baby this way. So needless to say, I was not content with the pediatrician's "diagnosis." *insert gigantic eyeroll here* So yesterday, we saw our wonderful midwives, who took one look at the rash and said, "It's yeast." I cried. Both because I was glad to have an answer and because I was terrified. I'm sure every mom has heard the horror stories about how resistant yeast can be. What if I can't get rid of this? What if it gets worse, and turns into thrush on top of this incredibly ugly rash that already makes people stare and question?

I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and just take it one day at a time, but that's just what my mind does. It latches onto the worst possible scenario and runs like lightning with it. I keep thinking "everything will be so much easier when this is gone!" I hate it. I want my perfect little baby back. I don't want her to have to deal with this.

So for now we're doing two things. Applying apple cider vinegar topically to change the pH of her skin, and - this part really sucks - I have to remove all sugars and simple carbohydrates from my diet for at least two weeks. Awesome, no? I'm only on day two and I'm already struggling. I am just not a meat and veggies girl, and well, that's about all I can eat. So it sucks. But I'll do it because I really don't want to deal with this for even one more day. Avie is such a sweetheart and any time I'd take her out before the rash, I'd get tons of ooooohs and how cutes and so preciouses. Now, no one says anything. I'll see their eyes light up as I walk by with the carseat, and then they get a glimpse of her and quickly walk away. It breaks my heart. Maybe that's vain? I don't know. But it sucks.

So that's where we are right now. My kids are awesome but I'm struggling emotionally because of something I can't control, so hopefully what we're doing works. I feel like it consumes me right now and I want to be done with it so I can just enjoy her again.

Blogged by Making A Modern Family at 8:26 AM 4 comments