Much ado about nothing

So the other night EJ was getting very sleepy around 8pm. He's usually up till a little after 9 so I knew if he fell asleep at 8 he wasn't all that tired and would be up again around 11pm. I couldn't keep him entertained anymore, so I rocked him in his bedroom and he quickly fell asleep. I laid him in his crib and I thought that would be a great first step in getting him to sleep in his own room. We'd do naps in there so he'd be used to it and the transition to nighttime sleeping in there would be easy.

Well, I was right he woke up around 11pm and was looking for a bottle. I stayed in the rocker to feed him and kept the room dark and played his lullabies. He didn't even finish the bottle before he was back asleep. Hmmm...what if I just left him in his room again?? It would have been a longer walk to my room, obviously. So there he stayed for the rest of the night. IN HIS CRIB IN HIS OWN ROOM. And I was perfectly fine with it. I had the monitors on and of course I heard his first whimper the next time he woke up. Everything went smoothly that night. It wasn't nearly as hard on my as I was expecting. He literally was only feet away and everyone was right. I did sleep better without him in my room and I'm sure he slept better in his own quiet room.

So all of that fussing on my part worrying about it and it went off without a hitch. And it was totally on a whim so there was no anxiety from me worrying about it all day.

The only negative to all of this is that when he's in his crib he doesn't sleep more than 3 hours at a time. Gone for now is the STTN. I'm sure it's just a matter of time until he gets used to his crib and gets into a deep enough sleep to go 6-9 hours like before...at least I'm hoping :)

Crazy 8's

Lisa has tagged me with the Crazy 8s!

Rules: Mention the person that tagged me, complete the list of 8’s, and tag 8 bloggers.

8 Things I’m Looking Forward To:
- Taking EJ to my parents' pool this summer
- Two weeks vacation down in OBX in August
- Losing 20 lbs by Labor Day (should we make it 30??)
- Sleeping in on weekends
- All the great family BBQ's this summer
- Reading "Something Borrowed" if I ever have time
- Meeting Patty next month (and seeing Katie again!)
- Getting a nice suntan :)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
- Brushed my teeth
- Ate ham and cheese for lunch
- Went grocery shopping
- Made yummy beef stew for dinner
- FOUND MY FAVORITE FLIP FLOPS IN THE BASEMENT!!!
- Watched the season premier of Wipeout
- Went for a walk with EJ, Jimmy the dog and my Mom
- Watched the Real Housewives of NJ

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
- Lose weight without dieting
- Lose weight without exercising
- Never have to work again
- Go to Italy this summer
- Have enough extra cash to hire a maid
- Get pregnant on my own
- Make my pets not get older
- Sleep as long as I want

8 Shows I Watch:
- The Real Housewives of...Orange County, New York, Atlanta, New Jersey
- Desperate Housewives
- Top Chef
- Days of Our Lives
- Dancing with the Stars
- American Idol
- Jon & Kate + 8 (ooohh the drama!!)
- Diners, Drive-ins & Dives

8 Favorite Fruits:
- Apples
- Oranges
- Bananas
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Lemons

8 Places I’d Like to Travel:
- Italy
- Greece
- Australia
- Ireland
- Egypt
- Spain
- Costa Rica
- Brazil

8 Places I’ve Lived:
- Philadelphia, PA
- Howell, NJ
- West Milford, NJ
- Long Beach Island, NJ
- Lansdale, PA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Bensalem, PA
- Pottstown, PA


8 People I’m Tagging (sorry, I did not have time to post links):
- Leah
- Emily
- Newt
- Patty -- excellent way to start your blog!
- Katie
- Tracy
- Mrs.RebekahZombi
- Kristin

Just made myself LOL

So I am currently about 6 dpo and I just had a dash of bright pink spotting. Wouldn't it be a total piss if it was implantation spotting??? Go ahead...laugh your asses off at me for that thought even popping into my head.

Please weigh in

EJ will be 5 months old on Monday. And he's still sleeping in my room. Is that terrible? Should he be in his own room by now (and like months ago??)?

Ed and I have a few decision factors on the issue:

-He should sleep in his room because we're probably waking him up at night if we snore.
-He should sleep in our room b/c he still wakes up in the middle of the night (about 4 times a week) and it's so much easier with him close.
-He should sleep in his room so he doesn't have a hard time changing b/c he's getting too old and is just use to our room.
-He should sleep in our room b/c I want him to :)
-He should sleep in his room b/c otherwise I'm creating a very dependent baby.
-He should sleep in our room until he's old enough to roll over on his own.
-He should sleep in his room so his little noises don't keep me up at night.

What are your thoughts? I'm fully prepared for some of you to say he should have been in his own room at 6 weeks, but we obviously can't change history, nor would I have done it any differently. I guess I'm just looking to see if five months old is too old to still be in my room. Should we move him this month or can we hold out a bit longer??

What day is it ?!?!

All day long I thought it was Friday. Nope...it's Monday. I swear days still have a "feel" to them even though I'm not working. I still look forward to weekends because those are the days that Ed gets up early with EJ so I can sleep in as long as I want. Those mornings are glorious :)

But today I was starting to wake just as EJ was around 7:30 so I got up with him and let Ed stay in bed. Maybe that's why I didn't realize it was a holiday?! Who knows.

Maybe it's my allergy medicine that is making my head all fuzzy? LOL.

Anywho, I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Memorial Day and that the weather is just as beautiful where you are as it is here.

Cash Wanted

So now that we're settled into our new groove of life, Ed and I are hoping I can start bringing in some money. Some of you may remember I lost my job on April 4, 2008. I am still (THANK GOD!!) collecting unemployment benefits, but they will stop this summer. While we have been able to save most of that money and live off just Ed's salary, we don't want to have to dive into our savings too much. We'd like for me to bring in enough to cover our "extras" each month, which may be only a few hundred dollars if don't don't sacrifice the life we're used to living...going out to eat when we want, not many restrictions on trips to the mall or Target, etc.

I still have my dog walking business, but that is pretty slow right now. I have a few booked for the summer when people go on vacations, but I haven't had any daily clients since I was on bedrest before having EJ and had to refer them to someone else.

I'm trying to find something part time during the evenings and/or on weekends. I would LOVE to find something I could do from home, but I know that is a long shot. I just got off the phone with a Pampered Chef representative. What do you ladies think of me being a Pampered Chef host for parties? Be honest. Bring up all the pros and cons. I don't want to get involved in it only to hate it for things I didn't think about. On average, I would make $100 a party...sometimes less, sometimes a lot more. I could make my own schedule and it would almost always be at night or on weekends when Ed could be home with EJ. It is usually busier around the holidays, which would be great for me to earn extra money for all the presents I'll buy to spoil EJ :)

I would also love to hear any other suggestions you may have. I'm up for anything!

Our lunch date

Many of you wonderful ladies chat with Katie of the Happy Hours, and those that don't probably have heard me mention her about a thousand times in my posts. Well we got to meet in person yesterday! We live about 3.5 hours apart so we found a place that was half-way. I left my house around 10 am and I swear EJ was asleep within minutes. I knew I had 100 miles to go so I thought he'd be awake at some point in my journey. He wasn't. He slept until I literally pulled into the parking lot. Yeah little man!!!

A few minutes before I got there I get a text from Katie telling me she just got a bloody nose from her allergies and not to be alarmed at the blood. So I pull up and lucky for her I had a new pack of baby wipes with me to help clean her up a bit. We go inside and she has a little gift bag with toys for EJ and the sweetest Mother-Son book for me. I just love how thoughtful she is :)

We had a great lunch...including peanut butter & chocolate cake for dessert...and we spent time chatting about our DH's, IF, PG Loss, her Mom Patty (who many of you know as well). EJ was so good and was happy to sit and play with his new toys. Just as he was getting fussy, it was time to go and he fell asleep before we even left the parking lot...and didn't wake up until I pulled into the driveway 100 miles later! Woohoo!! EJ got two gold stars in the car for that trip! LOL.

Here are a few pics of me and EJ. I really wish I would have had my brain attached and taken pictures of Katie with EJ. Katie, remind me to do that when we see each other next month!!!

Award Ceremony

My dear friend Kristin honored me with the Sisterhood Award on her blog today.



Have we ever met IRL? No.
Does that matter to us? No.
Would we get along IRL? Most definitely!

I "met" Kristin on the Nest PL board I don't know how long ago...almost two years maybe?? We've been in near-daily contact through comments on our blogs, and posts on the Nest before we started blogging. Kristin has always been there to give undying support, even when she needed support right back in return.

I would like to pass this award on to a few ladies who would be my "BFF" if we didn't live so far away and actually met IRL.

Katie
Lisa
Kristin (yes, I can send my award back to you!)
http://noexpectationsexceptababy.blogspot.com/
Newt

A poll, of sorts

I'm embarking on a very big decision and I would like you all to weigh in. I am considering donating my eggs. Ed and I have just starting talking about it and we've come up with our own list of pros and cons. But I would really like to hear what you have to say about it. Please be totally honest and feel free to play devil's advocate. Just don't be cruel as we wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Thanks ladies!!!

Just to clarify after Katie's comment...we don't have any frozen snowbabies left (as many of you know) so I would do a fresh IVF cycle up to the egg retrieval (if that makes any difference in your comments).

The Perfect Day

My first Mother's Day was perfect. Ed got up early with EJ so I could sleep in as long as I wanted. Then we had a leisurely breakfast of danish and I got my first Mother's Day gift -- gorgeous diamond earrings. I'm so excited I got something that I'll be able to keep forever to remind me of this very special day. I would have hated to have to throw out flowers in a week and have no keepsake of the day.

We then had a late brunch with my family, which was outstanding. Then we went to Ed's sister's house for an early dinner with his family.

My Mom's Mother's Day gift to me was tickets to go with her to see Il Divo last night. I saw them with her when they toured with Barbra Streisand, but this was their own tour. Two glorious hours with these heavenly men. Click here if you don't know who they are. I just want to put Sebastien in my pocket and carry him around with me forever. He melts my heart!

I came home late last night to find Ed, EJ and Jimmy all snuggled on the couch waiting for me to get home and go to bed. I love my three guys more than anything and I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family on this very special first Mother's Day.

I almost forgot, the grand finale of their concert last night was "The Impossible Dream". I got all teary when I thought that EJ was my "Impossible Dream" for three years. For those of you who know the song, you know why it made think of all of you wonderful ladies. For those of you who don't know it, here are the lyrics...

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mommy's Day to all mothers and mothers-to-be out there :)

This is the first Mother's Day since 2005 that I've woken up with a smile on my face.

Hugs and love to all of you still on your journey to be mothers...I'm praying you'll all be celebrating this special day next year!



P.S. I'm going to see Il Divo tonight!!!!!!!

Random picture

Just because I'm a proud Mommy and want to show off some cuteness :)

4-month check-up

First, thanks to k@ourboxofrain who commented on my last post about sleep regression. That makes total sense!

My little baby is getting so big...13 lbs 4 oz!!!!
His check-up went great and he was so brave for his shots. He's now starting on solid food, with rice cereal coming first. We did the cereal last night and he LOVED it. LOVED it I tell you. He didn't miss a single little drop. And I credit the cereal for getting him to sleep well last night. I feel very well rested today and he woke up in a great mood.

The only thing we need to work on is getting him to turn his head to the left. He favors the right side so we need to stretch his neck a bit to get the left side as limber as the right. He's holding his head up perfectly now so we're hoping that issue will go away by next month's appt.

The good old days.

These were the days when EJ would sleep anywhere from 7 to 9 hours every night. He'd sleep happily in his cradle and wake with a little stirring and I'd have time to get his bottle ready before he actually woke and started to cry.

Those days are gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.

Now he has reverted back to waking every three hours, quite loudly I might add, and he never really goes back into a deep sleep. He jolts his eyes open every time I lay him down in his cradle so we're back to co-sleeping just so I can get any sleep possible when he dozes off.

What's the sudden change you might ask? We believe it's teething. While it does seem a bit before the normal 6-month mark (he's just 4 months old) it's not unheard of. He's drooling & blowing bubbles quite a bit and he will gnaw on everything his tiny hands can shove in his mouth. He's doing a bit of "grumbling" and just seems uncomfy when he would normally just chill and hang out in his jumperoo. We have his 4-month pedi appt tomorrow so hopefully she'll be able to shed some light on this. Maybe it's teething, but maybe he's just going through a rough phase.

At any rate, he still makes me smile whenever he smiles at me and I would do anything for him to make him happy :)

Anniversaries

May 1st evokes a mixture of emotions out of me.

May 1, 2008 was EDD #2 for me (out of 4 total). That pregnancy ended with no heartbeat at 8w4d. That EDD was burned in my brain for I thought that there was no possible way I could have two miscarriages in a row. I mean, what are the odds of that?? I soon learned that they were slim, but still existent and I fell into that small group of women. Little did I know then that I would be part of the even smaller group of women who would have to endure three miscarriages.

May 1, 2008 was also the date of FET #2. It was the last two of our snowbabies and we knew it was the last try at IVF since we had no more insurance money left for a fresh cycle. All of my eggs were literally in one basket and I felt my every life's happiness was riding on that FET. It was a very scary day. And I felt it was kind of doomed from the beginning since it held the horrible memory of being EDD #2.

Well, for all of you who have been following my story, you know that FET worked and I now have a wonderful little guy, EJ, who is four months old today :) And for as happy as I am, May 1st will always be burned in my brain as one of my EDD and I will always remember that this was the date that EJ began his own life's journey by burrowing in with a Mommy who loved him so much even though he was just a few small cells.

I pray that all of you still on the TTC journey don't have any more "bad anniversaries" and know that while it does get easier over time, you may never forget. And that's ok. There is no rule that you can only feel one emotion at a time. It will help you appreciate and love your little bundle of joy even more than you ever thought possible.