Weekend Wear

The Occassion:  Errands and lunch with a friend.
T-shirt:  Old Navy
Jersey Cardigan:  Old Navy
Belt:  Borrowed from a skirt
Jean Leggings:  GAP
Boots:  Steve Madden

Whooga Winter Boots

Looking for a new pair of boots this winter?  Whooga Boots, maker of Thermofleece-lined ugg boots, is offering a 10% discount to All Things G&D readers now until the end of this week.  Use discount code  1039ALLTHINGS at checkout to save some cash!

Feeling lucky?  Sign up for their newsletter for your chance to win a free pair of Wooga Boots in their monthly drawing.  Good luck!

Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Jewelry by Katie M. giveaway. The winner of a $75 gift certificate is Sara (a.k.a. sjlarsen6515)!

Congratulations Sara--please check your email for information on how to claim your prize!

Interested in scoring a personalized piece of jewelry of your own?  Please keep in mind that each piece is custom made and may require up to two weeks of production time before shipping so get your order in now in time for Christmas! 

Giveaway: Jewelry by Katie M.

***This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you to all who entered!***

Shortly after Kate was born I blogged about my new favorite necklace--a handmade, distressed sterling silver necklace, personalized with Kate's name from Jewelry by Katie M. Here it is again to refresh your memory:

Worn with this outfit earlier this summer (the longer necklace is from American Eagle): 

I was so happy to be introduced to Katie's gorgeous jewelry through a friend, and now I'm excited to announce she is offering a $75 gift certificate to her store for one lucky All Things G&D reader! 

Here's just a sampling of Katie's work:  

 

All of Katie's jewelry is hand made by her once it is ordered and can be customized with any names, numbers, initials, or inspirational words you choose.  They make the perfect personalized holiday gift for a friend, relative, new parent--she even offers customizable dog tags for the guys! 

ENTRY RULES:

To enter this giveaway, check out the Jewelry by Katie M collection and comment on this post telling me your favorite piece and what you'd have it customized with by this Thursday, November 25th at 11:59pm CDT.

You may enter up to 4 additional times by doing any of the following:

Follow/Like Jewelry by Katie M on Facebook

Post a link to this giveaway on your Facebook page

Post a link to this giveaway on your blog

Post a link to this giveaway on Twitter

Leave separate comments letting me know which of the above you have done for each additional entry. Your comment(s) must include an email address to be eligible to win (either through your blogging ID or typed into your comment entry).

The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Friday, November 26th.

Good luck everyone!

Poop Quiz: Multiple Choice

Fill in the blank:

After the major poop explosion my daughter just had, I may never _______ again.

a)      Eat

b)      Stop washing my hands

c)       Take a bath

d)      Touch her “Home Grown with Love” onesie (a.k.a. the victim)

e)      Have more children

You can choose your best answer because all of the above instantly ran through my mind.

That's What I Said

"A fellow first-time parent of a nearly one-year-old, that's who."

Said by me in response to the question:  "Who brings vodka as a gift to a one-year-old's birthday party?"

(To be clear, the vodka was for his parents, in celebration of making it through their first year of parenting--not for the baby.)

Happy first birthday Brady!  I've loved watching you grow over this past year and so far you're still on track for becoming our future son-in-law.  Keep up the big smiles and those stock market investments, and in thirty years we'll talk.  Love you little man! 

Our Perfect Girl

I had two concerns when I was pregnant with Kate:

1. That I wouldn’t be able to breastfeed.
2. That she would be born with a cleft palate.

Both came true.

I had absolutely no reason to think either of these things might occur--no family history of issues, no related medical concerns, nothing.  To be fair, I wasn't aware that these two things went hand in hand--you can’t have #2 without #1.  I also have to admit that at the time I thought a “cleft palate” was the lip deformity (which I now know is called a cleft lip; a cleft palate is related but different). My first concern was triggered by society, no doubt.  What triggered my second concern was hearing during my pregnancy that a friend of a friend had a baby who was born with a cleft lip and palate.  Once that worry was planted I just couldn’t shake it. 

Now here’s what’s strange about that:  I’m not usually one to worry. 

Once during my pregnancy my amniotic fluid levels were reading low and my doctor seemed concerned but told me not to worry.  So I didn’t.  He followed it up by urging, “Don’t Google!”  So I didn’t.  My general opinion is this:  I’m not going to spend my energy worrying about something unless I have good reason.  A week later my amniotic fluid levels were re-measured and everything looked great.  It turned out there was no reason for worry and I was glad I hadn’t wasted my time.

I’d heard so many different stories about babies being born with birth abnormalities when I was pregnant--everything from Down syndrome to neurological issues to heart conditions, you name it.  It seemed like every week I was hearing or reading about another baby being born with some type of medical condition or concern.  True to form, none of this shook me.  I never once thought, “What if Kate has that, too?” 

Until I heard about the baby born with a cleft palate. 

It was the one thing I just couldn’t shake, although to be honest I wouldn’t say I dwelled on it, either.  It was just there, somewhere tucked away in the back of my mind, and maybe once a week (maybe less?) it’d pop into my head and I’d ponder it for a minute and then put it away.  My most vivid memory from our 20 week ultrasound is when the technician said, “Palate looks good…” as she moved the wand over my belly.  I remember breathing a sigh of relief and thinking, Thank God.  Afterwards, I taped Kate’s ultrasound pictures to the side of our refrigerator and sometimes I’d catch myself staring at them, looking for any signs of a lip deformity…and then I’d snap out of it and go about making dinner. 

My unfounded concerns about not being able to breastfeed far outweighed my unfounded concerns about cleft lips and palates.  I read as much as I could about how to get a successful latch and the importance of immediate skin-to-skin contact.  I never read a thing about cleft palates.  I talked to all my mom friends about what I needed to know for breastfeeding and how long it took to get the hang of it and what nipple cream they recommended.  I told one friend one time that I was having these silly cleft palate worries.

Toward the end of my pregnancy my breastfeeding worries had completely obliterated those pesky little cleft palate concerns and I don’t think I thought about the latter at all during those last few weeks.  More than anything I was just so excited to meet our little girl. 

It’s impossible to think you could love someone as much as I instantly loved Kate.  Immediately following her delivery the hospital pediatrician looked her over, gave her a clean bill of health, and then handed her to her Daddy who brought her to me.  Every pore in my body radiated bliss from the moment I saw her and held her in my arms.  Our daughter had arrived. 

G and I decided to have Kate spend her first night in the hospital nursery.  It was a tough decision to make, but we'd barely slept in two days and I was ridiculously drugged and immobile thanks to my c-section.  Kate’s safety was my top priority and I was hell-bent on making sure someone (who was awake and not drugged) had eyes on our precious child at all times.  We agreed to have Kate go to the nursery, but requested she be brought back to me throughout the night to practice our breastfeeding. 

The next morning the nursery nurse brought Kate back to our room for yet another feeding and I was ecstatic to be reunited with our little girl.  I was holding Kate in my arms as the nurse gave us a brief report on how our last two hours apart had gone and then casually added, “I do a routine physical on all the babies in the nursery and I noticed last night that your daughter has a cleft palate.” 

Greg and I looked at each other, then back at the nurse.  After a second of silence I replied very matter-of-factly, “Okay.  What does that mean, and what do we do about it?”

The nurse informed us that she had already called our pediatrician and he would be in later that morning to examine Kate and answer all our questions. 

Would you believe it if I told you I wasn’t upset? 

I really wasn’t.  I mean, I heard what the nurse said, but I just kept looking at Kate and all I felt was sheer happiness.  I remember later confessing to a friend that I think that nurse could have came into our room that morning and said, “Excuse me; I noticed your daughter has a third arm growing out of her back...” and I probably would have beamed with pride and said, “She’s advanced.” 

You just couldn’t tell me there was something wrong with our precious girl. 

The next week of Kate’s life was a whirlwind of hospitals and specialists while Greg and I got all our questions answered, including finding out that breastfeeding was not an option for us due to Kate’s cleft palate.  It was official--my two pregnancy concerns had become realities.  Only now they were replaced with much bigger, significantly more important concerns:

1.  Helping our daughter overcome this challenge.
2.  Making sure she knows she has been loved unconditionally every moment of her life.

A few months later I was talking to a friend who asked how Kate was doing and I gave her my proud update.  She asked about Kate’s cleft palate, so I filled her in on that too.  Then (in regards to Kate’s cleft palate) she said, “So other than that, she’s perfect."

To which I firmly replied:  “No.  Even with that she’s perfect.”

Baby Notes

Looking for a cute way to write a thank you note on behalf of your baby?  Write it in children's handwriting!  I wrote this note to Kate's grandparents by simply turning the card and printing the letters upside down with my dominant hand.  When you turn the card back around this is what it looks like--a cute note from a child!

Warm Winter Weather

I've been loving this unseasonably warm winter weather!  Short sleeves after September in Wisconsin--who would have thought?

Dress:  Old Navy
Scarf:  New York & Company
Socks: Old Navy
Boots:  Nine West

Kate: 9 Months

Kate is 10 months old today, and after all she's been through this past week I'm sure she's happy to say goodbye to being 9 months old!  Before we focus on being in double-digits, let's take a look back at all Kate learned and did at 9 months old:

Kate is pulling herself up onto things like crazy!  She pulls herself up to stand at the coffee table, the ottoman, her toybox, the dresser, in her crib, everywhere!  She's going to be one ripped little girl with all the pull-ups she performs all day.  Since she's started pulling herself up in her crib we've had to lower it all the way down to its lowest setting which means now I can barely reach anything in there.  That back corner would've been a good place for her to stash all her pacifiers--I'd need an extension ladder to reach all the way back there! 

I mention "paci stashing" because we weaned Kate from her pacifier over this past month.  (And yes, I need a glass of wine just from typing that sentence.)  Nine months may seem early for pacifier weaning, but it was really important that we did it before Kate's surgery.  Kate relied on her pacifier at naptime and bedtime to help her fall asleep and we needed to help her learn how to fall asleep without it since she wouldn't be able to use a pacifier post-surgery.  I did my google research to try and figure out the best way to go about pacifier weaning, but there really isn't much information out there for her age so we decided to go cold turkey.  EEK!  It was a rough few days, but we made it through and we know it was the best thing for Kate.  The last thing we wanted was for her to have one more thing to be upset about while she was recovering from her palate repair. 

Back to the fun stuff!  Kate has started taking baths in "the big girl tub" which she loves.  We fill up our master bathtub with a couple inches of water, toss a bunch of toys in there, and she splashes around and plays.  We've come a long way since her newborn days of crying in her infant tub! 

We have a children's music channel on Pandora (internet radio) which Kate likes to listen to, and over this past month she's started dancing along to the beat.  It is so cute to see her little tush bounce up and down when her favorite songs come on! 

Kate has been "army crawling" since she was 6 months old, and just when we were beginning to think that would be the extent of her crawling, we were wrong--she's finally started "regular" crawling up on all fours with her belly raised off the ground.  Her increased mobility seems to have made her impatient to get to the next level because she is also beginning to test out walking.  She loves walking behind her little push toys or with G or I holding both of her hands.  I don't think we're going to be able to go without a baby gate in the house for much longer! 

You may notice from Kate's recent pictures that this girl has got some CRAZY hair going on.  It's all different lengths (with the longest strands, strangely, coming from her crown) and sticks straight out in all directions.  Let me tell you--it's quite the attention getter!  We can't take her anywhere without at least half a dozen people commenting on it.  I actually got it tamed down once and had it all laying nice and smoothly but I quickly realized it wasn't "her."  Her wild and crazy hair is a much better match for her big personality so we just let it go! 

In addition to her big and bubbly personality, Kate continues to show us her independent side.  Last month I shared that she prefers to feed herself her solid foods, and this month she's insisted on holding her own bottle.  Kate uses a special bottle (called a Haberman Feeder) with a long nipple that you need to squeeze or pulse each time she closes her mouth as if to suck.  The squeezing mimics sucking (which Kate cannot do because of her cleft palate) and releases milk into her mouth so all she has to do is swallow.  We never thought Kate would be able to bottle-feed herself because of the coordination that goes into it, but after months of having an up close and personal view of Mommy and Daddy pulsing the bottle while she "sucks" Kate has now figured out how to do it on her own.  It's been so remarkable to see!  Of course, we still hold her while she bottle-feeds to monitor how she's doing and jump in with assistance when needed, but without a doubt she prefers to be the one in charge.   

It's rather contradictory, but our Little Miss Independent has also entered that attachment stage that many babies go through.  She has periods where she's pretty clingy and only wants Mama.  It's a bit stressful on all of us but we know it's normal for her age.  We've found that taking our time introducing her to new settings or "people who aren't Mom" helps the most.  Once she gets warmed up she's more comfortable being held by others or being put down. 

And then of course there's Kate surgery to repair her cleft palate, which happened on the tail end of being 9 months old.  It's hard for me to put words to everything we've been through with that, so I will save it for another day.  Right now G and I are focused on being strong for Kate and getting through these difficult couple of weeks.  Kate seems to be doing a little better every day and we are so proud of her.  I cannot thank you all enough for your words of encouragement, support, and kindness.  It has meant so much to us and we sincerely appreciate all of you who took even the shortest moment to send a positive thought our way.  Thank you so much! 

Kate's 9 Month Stats
Bedtime: It's been 6:30pm for quite some time, but we've been slowly trying to push it back.  Prior to Kate's surgery she was making it until 6:45pm or 7pm.  Since her surgery her entire schedule has been thrown out the window and she sleeps and wakes around the clock.  It's like going back to caring for a newborn!  The one good thing about this, though, is that Daylight Savings (moving our clocks back one hour) didn't affect Kate at all.  I'm pretty confident that once Kate is feeling better we'll be able to get her back to her old schedule fairly easily. 

Wake Up Time: As we moved Kate's bedtime back a little later we noticed that she started waking up a bit earlier.  Most mornings she'd wake at 6:15am (versus her usual 6:30am).  Currently (post-surgery) she wakes up at 11:30pm, 1:45am, 2:30am, 4am, 5:15am...

Naps: Kate is still averaging two naps per day for a total of 3-4 hours/day.

Bottles: Prior to surgery, Kate was offered 7.5 oz bottles 4x/day (when she woke up in the morning, woke up from her first nap, woke from her second nap, and before bedtime).  Now that Kate is recovering from her palate repair, eating is incredibly painful for her and quite the challenge.  We offer her 2-4 oz bottles around the clock and just cross our fingers she'll drink something.

Meals/Solids: We used to feed Kate breakfast at 7am, but she wasn't that hungry so soon after her morning bottle so she wouldn't eat much.  We noticed she'd get hungry again in the late morning and would want more to eat.  It was getting to the point where she was eating two small breakfasts, so instead we decided to push her breakfast time back a bit.  She now eats one full-sized breakfast around 8:15am.  Lunch is still between 12-1pm, and dinner around 5:30/5:45pm

New Foods: Pumpkin, cheese, pasta, kiwi, and cauliflower.  Kate has been unable to eat solid foods since her surgery.  Her "last meal" before her surgery was her first taste of homemade macaroni and cheese which she loved! 

Developmental Milestones & "Firsts":  Regular crawling, beginning to walk with assistance, weaned from pacifier, moved crib all the way down to its lowest position, taking baths in the full-sized bathtub, first trip to a pumpkin patch.

Favorite Toys:  I guess we shouldn't be surprised considering Kate's current attachment phase that she's also beginning to show attachments to certain toys and objects.  Right now her favorite "toy" is a woven wristlet key fob I got from my friend Steph's Etsy shop (Mada's Place).  I have one on my keys and she is always trying to grab it out of my hands but I won't let her play with it because my keys have been dropped in more dingy parking lots than I'd like to consider.  I finally ordered her one of her own and she's obsessed with it!  It pretty much goes everywhere she goes.  She loves it so much I immediately ordered three more as back-ups. 

Her other favorite toy is a super-soft little stuffed bunny that I spent a ridiculous amount of money on when I was pregnant and hormonal.  It was the first toy I bought for her and of all of her crib loveys she's decided this one is her favorite (oh yeah, I'm beaming).  It's the first thing she grabs when we lay her down to sleep, and she's usually holding onto it when she wakes up.  We even brought it into surgery with her as her comfort item, so Kate and her bunny have certainly been through a lot together already!

Other favorite toys include this Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Activity Walker (which folds flat for sitting floor play, or pops up and she can walk behind it and push it around), remote controls, measuring spoons, and piles of folded laundry.  Her Baby Signing Time DVDs (which I blogged about last month) have been a LIFESAVER since her surgery, so they deserve another mention.  When Kate is at her fussiest they're the only things that will take her mind off her pain long enough to calm her down.  Those videos have been worth every penny!   

And now I'll end Kate's 9 month post with some pictures of her first pumpkin patch visit a couple of weeks ago!


Personalized onesie made by Amber from The Cotton Cupcake Shoppe!



Can you spot our little pumpkin?



Kate Update

Kate made it through yesterday's surgery okay, but her recovery is off to a very rough start. Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you all so much!

Prayers for Kate

Considering how much I blog about Kate, you may be surprised to discover there's something you still don't know about her.  Kate was born with a cleft palate, which is, in very simplified terms, a hole in the roof of her mouth.  She is having surgery this afternoon to get her palate repaired, and Greg and I would deeply appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers during this time.  Please pray for our daughter to make it through this difficult procedure and recovery, for us to stay strong and be the kind of parents she needs us to be, and for her talented medical team with whom we are entrusting our most treasured gift.

Thank you all so much.       

Things Loved in October

1.  Kate's first Halloween!


Kate: 9 Months



We decided not to take Kate trick-o-treating for her first Halloween since she's so young--plus it's past her bedtime.  In lieu of a costume, I got her this "my first halloween" onesie.  So cute!

2.  Halloween Trail Mix.

While browsing the Halloween section at Target, I spotted a jar of "Monster Mix" which was a festive little concoction of candy corn, peanuts, yogurt covered pretzels, and M&Ms.  Mmmmm...it was delicious!  And such a great idea for a quick and easy DIY seasonal treat!  I plan on making this myself (and springing for the better peanuts) next year. 

3.  Bequet Celtic Sea Salt Caramels

Who's ready for a story?

I recently joined a natural foods co-op (Willy Street Co-op for all my locals) so I could get the best, freshest fruits and vegetables for Kate's homemade baby food.  Well a few weeks ago I was standing in the check-out line with my organic bananas and reusable tote bag when I noticed the only thing the person in front of me was buying was caramels. 

Caramels? 

It seemed strange to me that someone would come to the grocery store only to get a handful of individual-wrapped caramels.  They must be good, I deduced with my super-sleuthing skills.  I better try one. I picked out one "Celtic Sea Salt" caramel to add to my purchase, and tossed it in my mouth once I was back in my car. 

HOLYHELLITWASAMAZING!

Ridiculously delicious, super soft and perfectly chewy, with little bursts of saltiness breaking through that sugary sweetness.  It was one of the most incredible pieces of candy I've ever had in my life.  I quickly decided I needed more.  Lots more.  I managed to make it one whole day before I returned to the Co-op to get my fix. 

But how many to buy??  It's not like they came in packs of 10 or were sold in one-pound bags.  Oh no.  These were individually wrapped, individually sold caramels sitting in a large plastic bin. 

I wasn't exactly sure how to handle this situation. 

Do you just dive in with both hands, pulling out as many caramels as you can, like you're some kind of game show contestant?  Or count them out one-by-one, not caring what your final number is as long as it's in double-digits?  Perhaps the meticulous nature of the latter will make onlookers think you have an actual, specific number in mind for a very good reason.  Forty trick-o-treators anticipated at your home?  Wedding favors for 125, maybe? 

Common sense told me the meticulous "one-by-one" method was the better way to go, but my taste buds just didn't have the patience for it.  I decided to activate my go-go-gadget hand shovels and scoop out as many of those salty sweet delights as possible in a respectable amount of time. 

Oh, did I mention this tub of caramels is actually located in the check-out lane?

Yeah.

So it's not like you can go at an off hour and hope no one's around to see you.  You've got to do your thing in front of at least one other person--the cashier who doesn't even bother averting her eyes.  Trust me, you won't even care.  They're that good. 

I quickly discovered the problem with the "hand shovel method" comes when the cashier asks, "How many of these do you have?" and you have to reply, "You just saw me.  Did it honestly look like I was counting?" 

Feel free to learn from my mistakes.  It'd be nice if one of us did. 

Now I'm guessing you're interested in finding out where or how you can get your hand shovels on these caramels and here's the part where I have to tell you I honestly have no clue.  A quick google search can turn up some online sources, but it's hard to say where you'll be able to find them in your town.  Maybe try a local food co-op?  Or a natural foods store? 

If I were you, I'd just move to Madison.  My dealer is located at 1221 Williamson Street.