New Crop Mama

Mothering a Japanese-American baby since 2013.

[shinmaimama]

I'm experiencing one of those nights when you can't fall asleep because your baby is beautiful and you can't stop staring at her perfect sleeping face. I love you so much, Little Miss.

[shinmaimama]

Bad shape

I'm 26 years old. I'd say that's young. On Sunday night, my husband and I had cheeseburgers and fries. In the middle of the night, I woke up with chills. I took my temperature. 99.1. A bit warm for me. I felt very nauseous. And this is coming from a gal who had (almost) no morning sickness. For me to vomit, it's a pretty big deal. I felt better after the burgers and fries were down the toilet, but my chills continued and I couldn't sleep. In the meantime, I'm waking up, feeling like death, and nursing my baby. Then in the morning, I took my temperature. 101.6. With the chills and the tender spots on my breast, I was sure it was mastitis. I had avoided it for so long, but I didn't pump the night before going back to bed. I went to see my doctor, who cleared me of mastitis. That was good. She ran a few tests and suggested it may be a gallbladder attack. Now I know pregnancy can induce a lot of things, but I didn't realize gallbladder problems was one of them. 5 months later and I'm feeling like death. Yikes. The current diagnosis is a gallbladder infection. I'll have to talk to my doc about my treatment options. Diet change would probably be a good idea. No more burgers and fries... Unless they're veggie burgers, maybe :) It is no fun being sick with a 5 month old with so much energy. I love Little Miss so much and I want to be the good parent for her. I want to stick around for a long time. So, for the sake of meeting my great-grandchildren one day, I'm going to eat healthier. Find time to exercise. Lose a bit more of the baby weight. Healthy living, here I come!

[shinmaimama]

We will rock you

Against the advice of "sleep experts," I rock my baby to sleep daily. Will I regret it? I don't think so. We've all learned to sleep on our own eventually. I'll probably regret not holding her when she needs me. I'll regret it if I ignore her cry. Sleep may be a scary thing for babies. A temporal good bye with a world that they've come to known. So I will rock you. I'll hold you until my arms need a break. And when they need a break, your dad's arms are available too.

[shinmaimama]

Having a baby is like having jet lag all the time.

You wake up at crazy hours at night, you’re tired at crazy hours during the day, you can’t fall asleep when you should, and you’re hungry at those crazy hours.

Good thing my family used to drag me into international travel as a kid. Listening to birds chirping at 4 am totally brought back those memories.

[shinmaimama]

My view She didn't want to nap anywhere but in my arms. I love the cuddles. It just makes me sad when I think she'll never be this little ever again.

[shinmaimama]

Little Miss Burrito We put a towel on top of the blanket in the living room so little miss can roll around. Today she decided to make herself into a burrito. Way to go, girl!

[shinmaimama]

I'm grateful for...

A healthy baby A happy baby A baby who (generally) sleeps well at night A healthy me A (most of the time) happy me Enough rest to allow me to function during the day My husband Friends Family Support networks A home A home with two loving parents to raise the most perfect baby A home where we feel safe I've taken so much for granted before having a child. Life is wonderful. Thanks for letting me stop and think about how I'm truly blessed, Little Miss.

[shinmaimama]

All ready for swimming! Swim suit - check. UV brim hat - check. Swim diapers - check. Sunscreen - check. Little Miss will be introduced to the pool tomorrow!!

[shinmaimama]

9 amazing hours

My day started at 5 am, but I don't mind at all. Little Miss slept for 9 hours and I slept for 8. Sleep is a gift.

[shinmaimama]

Play time On the morning of returning home, we took Little Miss to the children's museum. She had a blast in the baby play zone. I had a good time showing her around the areas. Dad had a good time photographing her. She was so tired, she took a very good nap in the car. I think in the future, we'll do the same thing. Go to a museum, a mall play place, a fast food play ground, etc., and shake some energy out. She was a little thrown off schedule on her night home, but I'm sure she'll catch up with her normal routine soon!

[shinmaimama]

Home away from home How wonderful it was to stay at a Homewood Suites when traveling with a baby! Their room layout of having the bedroom and the living room area separated by a door was perfect for late night feeding. I'm sure dad was very happy that I didn't turn on the lights in the bedroom. They also provided us with a pack n play, we created a changing station on the coffee table, and the kitchen was perfect for late night snacking. I'm not a bottle feeding mama, but I'm sure having a full size kitchen is wonderful for those that bottle feed and/or started solids! There's very little info about what hotel to stay at when traveling with a baby. I was super happy with my experience with Homewood Suites. We'll be back!

[shinmaimama]

The perfect traveller Little Miss was a perfect traveller on a 4-hour road trip. She slept the almost the whole way home, woke up for the last 30 minutes but was quietly entertained my nursery rhymes. You rock.

[shinmaimama]

This toy is delicious I love it when little miss rolls over, finds a toy and grabs it on the go with her. I make a little trail of toys for her to grab.

[shinmaimama]

Foot in the mouth

Little Miss has decided that putting her foot in the mouth is the most exciting thing in the world. I'd agree with her if it weren't 12:30 in the morning.

[shinmaimama]

Bedtime

Bedtime is an hour early since her afternoon nap only lasted for 30 min. Hope she sleeps well! I can't wait until her teen years when I get to wake her up at whatever time I please! Muhahahaha!

[shinmaimama]

Heartaches

I don't watch TV. We have an old-school TV, but it's not hooked up. When I had a baby, we decided to get rid of it. I'll have a more detailed post about why I don't have TV another time, but no TV means I don't get much news. Facebook is basically my lifeline to the outside world. When tragedies strike, my friends update their statuses asking for prayers. I look up more info and feel devastated. And when I rock my little miss to bed every night, I think about all the parents out there who had that moment and no longer have it. And my face is covered in tears. Having a baby has made me a more emotional person. I wasn't cold hearted before I had my little miss, but I was a little detached from the world. I'll look at tragedies and feel the need to help out, but not quite feel the pain and heartaches. Now I ache. And my feelings linger there. The more people that I've met and the more people that I begin to care about means more opportunities for aching. Of course there has been the joy that outnumbers those aches. But I still wish there was much less aches and pains in this world.

[shinmaimama]

Mobility

Someone has discovered that rolling over can get you from point A to point B. Like: Hitting milestones, growing strong Dislike: I need to baby proof. Now.