Maya: The Incredible Hulk

I typed up this post a couple of nights ago. Maya and I have been camped out in the guest room because Wes and Finn are both sick with a terrible stomach bug, and us girls are trying not to get it (fingers crossed). So I have had ample time to devote solely to Maya's sleeping routine and habits.

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I want a take-back. If at any time I said or implied that Maya is a fantastic sleeper, I take it alllllll back. I take it back as I sit here blogging at midnight too tired to do anything productive, but too worked up from helping Maya settle down. I know... I am being a tad melodramatic (but what fun is life without a little dose of healthy drama?). Woe is me...blah blah. Wes puts up with this all the time. What a good sport.

(OK. Back to the task at hand.)

Maya was a pretty good sleeper for a newborn, once I found out about The Happiest Baby on the Block (which, by the way, if you are a new mom, or mom-to-be, buy this video posthaste). But in the last 3 weeks I've seen a change brewing just under that happy little pink surface. I think I see some monsterish green itching to get out (as she smiles one of her sneaky new smiles at me, luring me in to her innocent and irresistible babyness). About 4 days out of the week, starting around 7pm, Maya starts to get fussy. And fussier. And FUSSIER... There is a lot of loud shrieking going on, and some pouty-lipped all-out newborn crying, loads of spitting up, some refusing to nurse, wriggling and writhing, and lots of red-faced frustration (on my part, too). This goes on until about midnight, when she finally passes out, exhausted, hanging over my shoulder as I pat her to sleep. I think it's the only thing in the end that helps her tummy. And I know she is only sleeping because she has lost the will or energy to fight it any more. Otherwise, I'm telling you—Fuss Fest All Nighter! She'd try it—don't put it past her.

Happiest Baby DOES work. Any time other than 7pm-midnight. I can do all the swaddling, side-positioning, shushing, swinging I want. I would let her suck whenever she feels the need, if it would help. There is no having it. This girl has something funky going on, and this Momma is not able to help her out, poor little dear. Mylecon drops? They laugh in my face. Papasan swing? Bah!! Is there a hint of colic going on? A nudge? I know Dr. Karp of Happiest Baby insists that even colic can be calmed with his method (and really kind of writes off colic in the video...hmmmm). But I am going to disagree. (Gasp!) I have disagreed with medical professionals before (see last December's posts about Finn's EX pediatrician), and I am doing it again. I truly think colic is real, and sometimes the 5 S's just aren't going to cut it (Harvey, if you want to come to my house and demonstrate your 20+ years of experience on Maya, I am sure it would work a skosh better for you...). And I don't even think Maya has full-blown colic (she does take a few breaks to smile at me during a diaper change, filling me with false hope for a quiet evening). Colic Moms out there, I feel for you! If this was an every day occurrence, or went on for more than the few hours on-and-off that I deal with it, I would go insane.

I don't want any sympathy. I am not blogging about this so that people will feel sorry for me. I told Wes today when Maya sleeps too long I can't wait for her to wake up and nurse so I can snuggle her. I completely understand that this is all part of the new baby deal. I was fully prepared to deal with whatever came with baby # 2. I have my Supermom armor on (it might be losing a teensy bit of its luster and has a few dents). I need to document all of this so that I can draw from it for Maya's future dating games. It's great material for mortification ("You should have seen her projectile when she would spit up! And those chubby little thighs, SO CUTE! "). Of course, any seasoned mom advice is always well-taken (said in desperate tones).

Little Hulk-ette is sleeping soundly in her swing right now (was that a peep...how did she know I just typed that?!). I'm off to say my fervent prayers that she will stay that way for the next 3-5 hours. :) She usually delivers a good dose of sleep for me once she's out. I've got to be thankful for that!

Supermom Series: Giveaways!!!

Since the Supermom Series has been kind of dormant for a few months while Maya takes priority, I thought it might be nice to have a little visit from the Super Fairy. Mothers' Day is just around the corner. And I have 3 great giveaways for just such an occasion! There are 3 different delightful giveaway packages, and 3 lucky winners.

Here are the rules:
1. Take a look at the giveaways below, and decide which ONE you would like to win.
2. Leave a comment with your name and e-mail. Include which giveaway you prefer.
3. Important!! In your comment, list one great reason why you love your mom (or your mom's mom, or your friend's mom, or your friend who is a mom...). A winner will be chosen for each giveaway. The contest ends Friday, May 1, 11pm EST. I will post the winners and their comments on my blog Saturday, May 2. (I will also notify the winners by e-mail.)

And now for the giveaways!

B. Beautiful:
Two little lovelies from Crystal B. Jewelry Design. You will love the Boho Chic earrings, and Vintage Coral Bobbi Pin. (She is my favorite Etsy jeweler. Visit HERE for more of her designs.)

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Cozy Home:
• A delicious French Market candle from Backyard Candle Company—a beautifully floral scent. (She mixes them all herself, and they are some of the best smelling candles I've found. Find them HERE.)
• Some adorable glass magnets for the fridge.
• Hello Birdie cards from Deb's Designs. (Find more of her simple and sweet designs HERE.)

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Glitz it Up:
Volumes 1-3 of Glitz Design Digital Create-a-Card Kits, as well as Season 2&3 of their entire digital scrapbooking collection. (Visit HERE to view Season 4, just released!)

Good luck. And thanks for being so Super!

Spit-ups and Split-ups

Maya and I had another little photoshoot today. She was screaming after a nap. So I put her down on the guest room bed, and presto! All smiles (for 30 minutes, at least):


Speaking of the guest room, Maya and I will be having a sleep-over in there tonight. Poor Finn has been throwing up, etc. all evening (he's been sick for a few days now, but it turned into this tonight). So sad. We all thought it best to split up. Finn wants to be in our bed with Dad, and Maya and I will be hanging out girl-style in the guest room. That way she won't wake Finn, and Finn hopefully won't pass on his bug. I admit I am not handling it all that well. It brings up all the scary emotions I felt when he was so sick this past winter. Wes is pretty much doing 100% Finn duty, freeing me up for Maya, so I won't feel overwhelmed. I love him.

Goodnight, all!

Psssst! I heard a rumor that a giveaway is coming to town! I think it wants to camp out on my blog for a few days. Better come back tomorrow just to check and make sure!

Little Miss Sunsine

Caught on camera! A Maya smile! She's a pretty happy baby. Of course, she has her grumpy moments like all newbies, but she's just entering that stage where she'll crack a huge smile when I give her tummy a good raspberry. She's still sporting the face rash. It's the latest trend in 6-week-olds this spring. But she's still as beautiful as ever. :)

Finn vs. Mall

The iPhone was at it again (pardon the low quality):

Finn vs. Dragons: Finn Wins!

Finn vs. Legos: Finn Wins!

Finn vs. Burrito: Finn Wins!

Finn vs. Busy Day: Busy Day Wins!

Sadly, even though Finn had such a fun day at the mall with Grandma a few days ago, he is now sick. He woke up from his nap today sounding suspiciously like he has croup. Poor little guy.

Maya is smiling and cooing. Please forgive my posting laziness. I promise more Maya photos soon. I captured a great smile today on my real camera!

Fun with Finn

I realize I was a drama queen yesterday. So I thought I would let Finn bring me back to center:

These iPhone moments have been brought to you by Wes and Lyndsay: Proud owners of really nice cameras; Not too proud to capture life with their telephones.

What a Sunday

Maya and Wes at the end of our long day:

I have to vent. Just a little. It's been quite a day! I woke up to a phone call this morning from our realtor who was supposed to be hosting an open house at our home today. Let me back up and tell you what it takes to get our house ready for an open house (with a toddler and newborn). We dropped $200 on the most fabulous house cleaning (the first time ever that I have paid other people to come clean my home—pretty luxurious, if you ask me). Then I spent all day Saturday (while Wes was away shooting a wedding) taking care of Maya, corralling Finn, and organizing and making the house absolutely ready for this open house. This involved getting all of the kids' things ready/bags packed to leave in the morning for church, and be gone all day at Grandma Jinx's house. I was up until 1:30am accomplishing all of this. My house has NEVER looked better. OK, back to the phone call. HE CANCELED!!!! AT 8 am. I started crying. Literally. I was so frustrated and in complete disbelief that I had made sure that every dish/every trash can/and every stitch of laundry was meticulously and repeatedly cleaned/emptied/washed and put away throughout the day. Sure, my realtor was sick. Not his fault. But I was still exhausted and ticked off (to put it nicely). I had to pick up and put away Finn's toys about 50 times yesterday evening to make sure the house was completely immaculately perfect. I had to squeegee the entire shower (walls and all) twice after showering. We made sure Koda found a new home this week so she would be gone for the open house. I could go on and on. Really, I could. But I am sure you are rolling your eyes by now (or groaning in sympathy). Selfish anger, big pity party, but still founded in some validity.

So even though the open house was canceled, there was no way I was going to hang around all day and let it get trashed by my little tornado. Off to church we went. Maya has the WORST face rash (which is no big deal, really—very normal for babies her age). But she looks like a 7th grader who hasn't discovered Proactiv yet (poor little dear). It was our first day back at church for the whole family since Finn's surgery and Maya's birth. Big day. I was worried that everyone would see Maya's face and be so concerned or surprised (she looks pretty extreme up close). But Wes assured me they would say "Oh she is so beautiful!" but just be lying. Ha! (I had a good chuckle.) We did alright at church the first half hour. Maya nursed—I'm pretty sure I accidentally flashed one of the Dads that walked by. Finn read a book—at the top of his lungs during the sacrament prayer. Then Wes took Finn out for a little while to run the halls. He came back a few minutes later demanding that we leave that instant. So I rushed out after him a little in shock. Finn had been opening lots of doors and running in, when they happened upon a mom and her baby. It turns out that the baby is sick, and the mom was hanging out in one of the unoccupied Primary rooms to stay away from everyone.

The. baby. has. RSV.

She quickly let Wes know that her baby has RSV, and that she didn't want to get Finn sick, so they should leave the room. RSV. RSV!!!!! I am VERY upset that anyone would bring their child to church with RSV—much less hangout in a Primary classroom where lots of little kiddos will be filing in to learn in a few minutes. RSV hospitalizes so many young children every year, and is very contagious. It leads to pneumonia, and is especially dangerous for infants. When we were in the hospital for Finn's lung surgery, they quarantined the RSV patients. I don't want to be mean to that mother. I don't. I know how hard it is to have a very sick child. I am just concerned for my babies, and everyone else's. And frankly, for her baby, too. Am I getting too worked up? With a son that just had pneumonia complications, and a newborn, we thought it best to evacuate the building...speedily. If your children are sick, please oh please don't bring them to church. It's just not worth it for anyone.

Deep breath. That was rather long-winded. Not to worry—the day has ended well. I caught that photo up top of Wes and Maya in my squeaky clean laundry room (she's looking worn out and ready for a bath, he's looking dapper). It made me smile. We sent Koda off to a new and very deserving, loving home. Wes and I talked about L.A. and how things are falling into place. I feel very blessed. I have a beautiful family and an exciting future to focus on. So I'm off to look at rental homes on the internet. That's how I wind down. Funny, I know.

I think instead of potty training Finn, I will work on Swiffer training him—so he can contribute to "Operation Cleanest House on the Block." I think he's totally ready.

Calling all moms!

I need some advice on:

• Diaper rash.
• Newborn face rash.

• How to get a new baby to accept a pacifier (because she's using me as one alllll day long).
• How to get a 2 year old off the pacifier (we've weaned him down pretty well, but any tips are appreciated).

•The dreaded potty training.

Yep—that's a lot. So hit me with your best shot! :)

POST EDIT:

Wow! Thanks so much for all of your comments so far! They are awesome. Keep 'em coming! I had to laugh out loud about the "Help Meeeeeee" comment. It was so sweet, and I could picture Finn doing just that. Also, Maya gags when I try any type of pacifier, as well (believe me—I have bought every single paci at the store...Finn is addicted to Mams, but Maya gets pretty dramatic with the gagging when I tried them). So I am going to try dipping one in the sugar solution. I also thought about maybe dipping it in a little breastmilk, to see if she will go for it. We have been allowing Finn's "Uh-oh" (that is what Finn calls his binky) only at night and naps for a week. He still tries to sneak it if we aren't looking, of course (he knows it "lives" in the bed—ha!). I'm pretty sure we won't be potty training until after the move (so that he's not so overwhelmed by new baby and new move), but he seems pretty interested in "pottying" outside of the diaper lately. So I will store all of the great advice I am getting. I'll be sure and post if I find any really effective cures or solutions to any of my issues.

Grillin' up good times

I stole these photos off of my friend, Mel's, blog. I told her at the time she was taking them that I would do that...so I did. I love the one of me brandishing the knife while Wes is unsuspectingly turned away, innocently grilling paninis. I also love how Finn is gripping Melanie's leg as if to say, "Please take me home with you!!" Robby, Melanie, and cute-as-a-button Gracie (age 3) came over for some panini-grillin' time this week. Finn is Gracie's brother from another mother. They are like little twins. They have the same temperament, same high spirits, and even similar little voices. They are really cute together. Not to mention that it makes me feel soooo much better to have a mom-friend who can 100% relate to every developmental stage that Finn is (loudly and destructively, albeit endearingly) moving through. Robby and Wes have been friends since Finn and Gracie's age. It's a fun time whenever we get those 2 together in the same room. I got a good dose of well-rounded laughter, good food, crazy kiddos, and great friends. Now if only we can find time to do it more often...

This Home Sweet Home

This is our wonderful home that is now for rent:

2,350 Square Feet; 3 Bed, 2.5 Bath; Golf Course; Quiet neighborhood; Custom everything. All at a great deal. E-mail me at left for more info.

Link to Map (click here).

Happy Easter!

I love this painting for 4 reasons. I love that the Savior is appearing to Mary Magdalene first—a woman. I love the open tomb in the background—the empty tomb of the Resurrection. I love Mary's expression—I can feel the love pouring out of her. I love the blue sash around the Savior's waist and his kind demeanor—it holds personal significance. I had a dream 5 years ago. I sat with the Savior in a wide cave high above Jerusalem, overlooking the city. He wore a white robe and had a blue sash around his waist. The 12 apostles were at the mouth of the cave talking with each other. The Savior and I sat quietly. His arm was around me, and my head rested on his shoulder. I woke up with a feeling of overwhelming love. Seeing the blue sash in this painting reminds me of the personal relationship I have with Christ. He knows me. He remembers me. And I am so glad to remember him on this day—Easter—the day of his Resurrection.

About 6 years ago I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have had a few people ask why we don't use the image of the cross to represent our church, or wear the crucifix around our necks. It's not that we don't recognize the significance of the crucifixion. We certainly do—as part of the fulfillment of the Atonement (along with the suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane). We, as Latter-Day Saints, celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We recognize the Atonement in our lives. We give thanks for the life of Christ, and know that he still lives and loves us. I remember this every day. I am so grateful for this Easter season, and the message that it brings.

Visit HERE for a brief Easter message.

Late night with a One-Monther

Maya didn't want to go to bed until 3am last night. So instead of going crazy, I decided to break out the camera and catch Little Miss Wide-Eyed:

Oh, talented friend.

Dear Crystal,
I got my earrings today! This morning I put on a blue shirt, hoping the red Eliza earrings would arrive in my mailbox as an accessory. I put a gold clip in my hair with little jewels in it, as well. Then I went to the mail box, and smiled in delight when I saw your return address. I opened the package to find TWO pairs of earrings! And guess which ones perfectly matched my outfit? Those darling blue jewels! You are a doll. How serendipitous. Thank you so much!