Infant Care - Holy Moly

I thought of lots of titles for this blog before coming up with the easiest choice. There was "I want to pull my hair out", "Is this a joke?", and then my personal favorite "WTF?!". I decided to be politically correct and just go with a safe title, even though the title does NOT justifty my stress levels on this issue at the current moment.

Oh, and I apologize ahead of time for this rant.

First off, the fact that our son is not even here yet and I am already having to face the fact that someone else will be having him - is a tough pill to swallow. Then you add the EXTREME paranoia that comes with that fact. WHO will watch him?! WHO can we really trust with our CHILD?! Oh yeah, a stranger we pay? That's reassuring.

I've contemplated long and hard about changing my career to Stay At Home Mom (and it's looking more and more like an option) - but I just don't think we can swing it. We have rent, bills, monthly expenses, and not to mention a whole new plethura of expenses with the baby on his way. And we also have the minor event of our WEDDING next August as well to save/pay for.

All in all, as glamorous and amazing it would be to imagine not leaving our baby with strangers and working all day - I dont just dont know if it's possible right now. At least not for this first year of his life. So - it brings us back to square one: DAYCARE.

I'm sure I am not the first new mom to research daycares for newborns so I know that many of you out there can/will relate to my struggles and frustrations.

Problem 1: Cost.

I understand that newborns are more of a handfull to care for than toddlers, but the far range in price was still surprising. For some reason, most daycare centers seem to think that parents are living on a champagne & caviar lifestyle. And granite, some are, however most aren't. This is a a recession, even if it wasn't though - this is REALITY. We all h ave to work to make a living, and I'm not in any position to pay $1,200 for someone to watch my baby while we go to work. I'm sorry, that's crazy. Especially when they are not providing whipes, diapers OR formula?! So, I'm literally paying you more than we pay for our RENT and HOME to make sure he sleeps, eats, and is happy from 7am-6pm. For a five-star daycare that has the best reviews and some sort of system - we are basically looking at selling our organs on the black market, or taking a loan from the bank. WHY!? I understand you get what you pay for and that if we want the best people to take care of our child, then we have to pay more than average - however, these prices are just unrealistic. And it's realy discouraging to know if we want the best for our son (and obviously we DO), then we have to pay top dollar. Top dollar meaning, literally TOP of the scale dollar.

Problem 2: Security

It's incredibly scary to fathom leaving our son with a stranger. The fact that is he is exiting my womb soon, freaks me out in itself. I've been the one person in contact with him and responsible for him and his diet and well-being. Soon, the world will be introduced to him and will take on those responsibilities, and that's scary in itself. Though, I'm extremely ready to meet him, I'm trying to take this one step at a time.

So jumping a few feet ahead to the dreaded time of maternity leave being over and having to go back to work, now we have to find someone else to care for our child, as if he was their own. NOTHING SOUNDS MORE IMPOSSIBLE.

I was not prepared for some of the horror stories I found in the "reviews" tabs on yelp. Stories of kids getting slapped, babies being forgotten in the backyard, oh and my personal favorite: the cat that bit the ear off of an infant. REALLY!? This makes me not only want to stay at home with our son, but literally not let him depart from my womb. Scary is an understatement, and the more I've searched the more scared I've gotten of all the facts that lie in the unknown care of a stranger.

There are many other factors to consider when looking for the perfect daycare, all of which make this process incredibly impossible.  You have location of the daycare, hours of the daycare (because some like to open after we go to work or close before normal office hours), curriculum vs. non-curriculum, type of kids in the daycare, who all works or stays at the daycare during the day with the person you pay..the list goes on and on.

I obviously cannot give up, but I am no where near finding the perfect place for our little one.

I'm sorry I didn't tell you ahead of time, but no, this blog doesn't come with a happily ever after, at least not at this point.

I hope very soon I can have a "follow up" blog which will include my dream daycare, and our baby enrolled in it :)

PLEASE, keep your fingers crossed.

Also, any suggestions or referrals would be GREATLY appreciated. Google, Yelp, Care.com can only get you so far.



Intros & Salutations

Well, hello :)

I'm so excited to get back into blogging! And I could not be more ecstatic that this new blog involves our baby, Our very own little R&R. Just knowing he's coming is enough reason to celebrate every single moment, but now I have an outlet to share my frequent bursts of excitement and facilitate my gazillions of pictures and updates on the baby bump saga we have growing on right now. I know facebook gets tired of it, but here - well, it's totally mine and totally optional to read - it's a whole new venue to host all this excitement growing and growing more each day. I love it.

And I'm so excited for all the blogs and updates to come, and to share them with other people who are going through pregnancy also, or just curious to see what it's like, at least for me.

Being pregnant has been a whole new adventure in itself. The last six months have flown by but have taught me so much about myself, about life & I can honestly say I have never been happier than I am at this very moment. Every day has been a blessing. Every day that goes by is a day closer to holding our son. Every kick I feel is another reminder that he's in there growing & getting bigger. Every day brings new experiences in, not just pregnancy, but motherhood. The sacrifices of losing my figure, my energy, my good skin, my tiny feet or the ability to even see them on most days, or even my mojo (lol, sorry mom) - are all small and temporary sacrifices in the grand scheme of what's in store for us. Our son. As tough and draining as a day can be, it's those little kicks and flutters & the monthy trips to the doctors to hear his little heartbeat racing - it's in those moments, it's all worth it.

I wish I would have started this blog a lot earlier in my pregnancy, so I could have documented all the memorable and exciting times we've had. However, the morning all-day-and-all-night sickness, fatigue & dizzy spells, would not allow for that. I'm finally gaining my energy back and it's the perfect time to start documenting. So, since you could not be with me from the beginning, I'm going to give you a quick update to fill you in on the basics so far :)

March -- after being sick for weeks on end and having NO energy whatsoever, it was time to take a test... Took one before work, FREAKED OUT, texted my cousin instantly to see if I was wrong with my results (I was definitely not wrong). Took the whole box to work and took two more tests throughout the day (thinking 2 may not give a clear answer?) LOL -- drove straight home and shared the news with Rick! Who.. was not surprised at all actually.
Most exciting day, by far, that we have shared together.

8 week bump! (TWO Months!) <3
I had been wanting a baby bump so badly because that's one of the best parts of being pregnant and I was so ready to get that cute little bump. He finally started to show himself, and didn't stop after that!

After meeting with a prenatal nurse, our very first appointment was set! This is our very first ultrasound picture of our little bambino. I was pretty far along by this time so we got an amazing first picture of him. He was big and strong and 10 weeks old! Doctor said we can expect to meet him on November 14th <3

12 weeks! (THREE Months!) <3
Finally hit our SECOND trimester! There's no greater sigh-of-relief than when I hit that "safe zone" everyone was telling me about. I knew I would get there and nothing bad would happen, but it still doesn't make you less thankful when you do get there. Unfortunately, the sickness did not end that very same morning like everyone said (it lingered for a few more months)... However, we got to share the news with the whole world at this point - and that's when the real fun began.

15 Week Gender Reveal (& what a revealing it was!)
I was, okay AM, way too impatient sometimes. But there is no way, no how I could wait until I was 20 weeks to find out what we were having. No way. I'm sorry Doctors, but you need to change that policy. So - I got a great referral from some of my girlfriends on where to go for an early gender reveal ultrasound - paid the small fee and BOOM - we got our answer! It was a pretty quick showing before we all knew, IT'S A BOY!
I called Rick (he had to work that day sadly) instantly and he thought I was joking because everyone thought I was for sure having a girl. But, a little Rick was in our future - and I don't think I've ever heard more excitement in his voice than when he found out we had a SON.

That same day it's safe to say we cleared out the boy sections at local stores. Thanks Carters for having a super sale on the same day of our "big reveal" - it was much appreciated ;)

17 Weeks! (4 MONTHS!) <3
By this point my "baby bump" was not such a baby anymore. It was quite obvious he was in there! And also by this point, I had come to accept that my body was not getting any smaller anytime soon. This was the month I packed up my ENTIRE life of clothes and heels (I'm no Snookie & will fall flat on my face if I tried anything over a "flip flop" heel) & put them in storage. Maternity clothes were the only thing in my closet from that night on. It was a very sad night, I did shed a few tears saying goodbye to a big piece of my life (mind you a lot of that could have been hormones, or just being a girl)... But to be honest, there really is not a better accessory than a baby. He makes everything adorable, and the bigger he gets, the prouder I get. I'll get back into my clothes one day, but for now, I'm really enjoying showing him off <3

20 Week Ultrasound!!! FIVE MONTHS! <3
This was the BIG ultrasound with my doctor. They have you drink TONS of water to fill your blatter, than ask you to NOT pee your pants for a total of one hour while they take all these photos (another thing we can maybe work on Docs?). Rick took the morning off work and him & I went together. We got a DVD with him moving, a recording of his heartbeat, and got at least 35 still shots of our little angel. They took his measurements of his crown and made sure all his organs and limbs were working & developing properly - and (another huge relief) - they ALL were. He was perfect. It was the most amazing trip to the doctors yet. We got to spend a FULL HOUR with our son. Amazing.
This is his perfect little profile<3

Sidenote -- This is the cutest thing I've ever seen. When he wasn't doing backflips and rolling around (little olympic on the way I swear) - he would hold still for a moment and cross his arms and legs for the camera :)

Oh yes, at this appointment - the doctor gives you the "official" Gender Revealing -- I'd say we were 100% on the verdict that he was still, very much, a little BOY<3
(Daddy's proudest moment so far I'd say) LOL.

20 week bump! (FIVE Months!) <3
Made it halfway!! THIS was the most exciting milestone yet. The hard parts were over, and now the FUN parts were left. Baby shower, Nursery, Hospital Tours &.. of course - DELIVERY!

LOL, I seen a version of this on Pinterest and had to take it. It's pretty cute I must say.

24 Weeks! (SIX Months!) <3
Wow. Even uploading this picture now blows my mind that we've made it this far already. I've always been told by my girlfriends who have kids "It only goes by fast when you're not the one pregnant"... Well that was another myth I put to rest because I'll tell you - this pregnancy has gone by SO fast. I feel like I literally woke up and my belly was big and nobody could resist the urge to touch my belly or ask how far along I was. It's no secret now world, baby boy is coming!

Well, there we have it.

You're all up to speed for the most part. Please stay tuned for the rest of this fun adventure to unfold. We have 15 short weeks left, and I cannot wait for each one of them. We have so much to be thankful for, and so much to look forward to. As soon as this ride ends, the BIG one begins!