Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 6)

January 20, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

Written at 10 weeks.

I saw a Facebook post this morning, while laying in bed with my terrible cold (happy new year, am I right?), that made me laugh out loud. A friend of mine with two little boys, similarly aged to mine – oldest is a bit younger than EK, youngest a bit younger than J – posted her resolution for 2015: no childbirth. She elaborated that after two consecutive unmedicated labors/deliveries, she wanted a pain-free year in which she could have more than one cocktail. And you know my reaction – directly after the laughter, that is? Total understanding and a little bit of jealousy. I will have had a baby in 2012, 2013, and 2015. I will have been pregnant or nursed most of the way through each of those years and also obviously 2014. That’s a long time of taking extra precautions because another living thing is quite literally depending on my health and habits. Not just that if I’m sick, I need to get well quickly. Not just that I need to be present and attentive. It’s literally growing a child in my womb, who relies on my every decision. It’s literally nourishing a child via the nourishment I provide for myself. That’s pretty heavy stuff.

But it’s also been good for me. I’ve led a healthier lifestyle in general – I’ve eaten more nutritiously and intentionally (food as fuel, know what I mean?). I’ve exercised, yes to lose my baby weight twice, but to be a healthy pregnant woman also. And having two little ones depending on me, not to mention a husband who depends on me (not in the same way, but he still does), has been the ultimate weighing factor in my decision-making. I need to be healthy, mentally and emotionally available, present and nurturing for those in my life counting on me. The best way for me to help others is to be my best self, my healthiest self.

Has anyone else had a few busy years here, creating and nurturing lives? I know I’ve got a few friends who can relate to a few years in a row of eating extra greens and drinking less alcohol/caffeine. Did you change your lifestyle? How? Do you have tips, or best practices to share?

home, mommyhood, parenting fails

The Unintentional Pampers Challenge

January 19, 2015 Only Hsuman 7 Comments

I’m so annoyed right now.

Due to our basement renovations, the Hsu house is extremely loud from time to time. It’s totally fine, and we knew it would be that way, and our contractors have graciously given us no less than 24 hours notice when we’re going to have a extra loud day. Today was one of the loud ones, so we got up, had breakfast, made a Target run, then came over to my in-laws’ house for nap times (my kids aren’t having the glorious double nap right now, so “nap times” can be anywhere from 2-5 hours). My in-laws are absolutely wonderful for letting us interrupt their days and their home by letting us come over, eat, watch tv, make messes and require quiet for naps. That being said, I’ll move on to the real point of this post.

I almost always use Pampers diapers. I thought about cloth diapering with J since we were “parenting pros” (HA HA HA) but Hubby nixed it. I wasn’t that sad. We’ve tried Huggies, Babies R Us brand, Costco/Kirkland brand, and a few others that are cheaper than Pampers. But in our experience, especially with bigger babies/toddlers, Pampers is the way to go. My in-laws keep a stock of diapers at their place, mostly cheaper ones since they’re sorta emergency diapers, used only for short periods of time and never for overnight, and I’m just super grateful that they’re there, because when I’m coming over with the kids, I don’t even bring a diaper bag. ((The photo above is Pampers (diaper bag crushed and all), Huggies, Kirkland/Costco, and Babies R Us, and all are size 4.))

Today, J went down for his nap first, right when we got there. Nothing was out of the ordinary… I put a fresh diaper on him, gave him his swaddle (my kids both sleep with one) and his bottle of warm milk, and he went right to sleep. He slept for three hours! HALLELUJAH! However, he had woken up with wet pants, because his Huggie (same size as the Pampers he always wears) had leaked. It wasn’t as if I left him for his nap and he drank several cups of water. He NEVER leaks at nap time. Sometimes at night, but never at a nap. So of course I changed his pants and went on about my business.

Right before J woke up, EK fell asleep, without drinking anything I might add, watching a movie (a special privilege since we’re at her grandmother’s house – she doesn’t do that at home) on the couch. As far as I know, she had a dry diaper on, because we’d just had an accident in the Pull-Up right as the movie started. Her diaper was a Kirkland brand (from Costco, size 4, which is her normal diaper size – yes, same size as J. Yes, that is a wonderful phenomenon.) She woke up in a puddle on the couch.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Two leaking naps, in two different brand diapers that aren’t our usual, and at someone else’s house, no less?! I felt terrible… Not only am I already doing my laundry over here (no laundry available at our place during the basement reno) but I’m causing more laundry and wrecking the couch. Or my kids are. Or we as a family are. Ugh. Good thing I have forgiving, wonderful in-laws who love me with my messy kids.

Moral of the story: I may never buy anything but Pampers ever again. Has anyone else have tried and true Pampers stories? Has anyone had good luck with the off-brand diapers?

mommyhood, My Big Jesus, parenting fails

Failing at Manners

January 19, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

This post also appeared on MyBigJesus.com !

Growling "like a dinosaur" instead of eating her lunch. — Growling “like a dinosaur” instead of eating her lunch.

So, I’ve been trying to teach EK about manners. I know, my two and a half year old doesn’t know much about manners (says anyone who’s ever spent time with her). She’s a little spastic, likes to run around instead of stay in her chair during meals, and thinks spitting, yelling, sounding like a fire truck, and pushing down her brother (who just learned to walk) are all acceptable things to do. We talk every day about being polite, making good choices, and being kind to others, and I can tell it’s finally starting to sink in. She knows better than doing lots of the things we talk about. And that’s where we get stuck.

Recently, she’s been saying, “That’s funny!” or “Ella Kate so funny!” after she does something mean or rude. So the other day, I countered with, “No, that’s not funny. That’s rude.” If you could tell me how to take those words back, I’d pay you a million dollars.

I have literally heard that phrase several times a day since I said it the first – and only – time. Of all the things I say that she parrots, I can’t believe that’s the one. Sometimes, she does something truly funny, and we tell her so. And right on cue, she responds with, “No! That’s not funny! That’s rude!”

Talk about a lost meaning. A giant parenting fail that I committed, just as I was trying to teach manners. The best laid plans, right? Well, I can’t stop teaching her about manners because I had an epic fail. I can’t just let her run me over when I try to teach her right from wrong. One failed teachable moment doesn’t excuse me from ever teaching her anything again. It just makes me want to get it right even more. As a parent, it’s my job to teach her to make good choices on her own, so that she can do it without me later. It’s a scarily important role, teaching those things. It’s tough. I’m sure when she’s a teenager, it’ll be tougher still. But I can’t be discouraged by one fail, or five fails, or a thousand. That loud, endearingly crazy girl is going to get the right idea, if I can help guide her in spite of ourselves.

mommyhood, pregnancy

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 5)

January 19, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

Written at 9.5 weeks pregnant

I’ve decided that the time of year didn’t line up with my time of pregnancy as nicely as with my other two. I want to stay motivated to run and work out, mainly to keep up my energy level but also to not gain weight too quickly… but unfortunately the weather is cold and dreary, and that does NOT motivate me to go for a run. It motivates me to take a nap. Which I do.

Also not helping my feelings/weight/energy level: the holidays. I’m eating like the Kool-Aid guy and I’m probably going to look like him, too. And can everyone say “SUGAR CRASH” with me? S-U-G-A-R C-R-A-S-H, folks. I’m worse than my kids when there are sweets in the house. That’s why when I’m craving something, I make it Paleo or Clean and I don’t keep it around long. I won’t survive this season of cakes and sweet breakfasts. I’ve gained 5 pounds in the past couple of weeks. Oops.

Also getting a little bit annoying are the sleeping habits of my entire family. I know that there are lots of treats being eaten, but not after dinner, and I know there are a lot of people around to play with, but they’ll still be there after nap time. This not sleeping thing is killing me, especially since both of the kids are kicking the last little bit of their runny noses and coughs. The worst of it was last weekend, but they’re lingering, and I know resting well would help. I’m just hoping for the last Christmas miracle of not getting what they have myself.

Anyway, done for now. I know I shouldn’t complain about the holidays, because we are blessed with family and gifts and food and a home to live in. So my bad.

mommyhood, pregnancy

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 3)

January 17, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

Written at 7 weeks.

Being pregnant is hard. Being pregnant with a kid is harder. Being pregnant with a job and two kids? My hats are off to y’all that have done this and survived. I hope I’ll join your ranks in a few months.

I’ve been feeling a little guilty these past few weeks because I feel like I’ve been choosing to either be healthy for the baby in my belly (aka take a nap, lay on the couch, eat the comfort food) or be the best mom to the existing kids (get up, turn off the tv, facilitate learning and go outside to play). Those are exaggerations, but sometimes it does feel like I can either choose to succumb to the fatigue and let the kids watch tv all afternoon, or I can choose to ramp it up and possibly make myself puke. Blerg.

Anyway, I know there are tons of you out there who have already done this, more times probably, and have great ideas and encouragement. So hit me with it! Leave a comment with how you balanced your life, or how you got the best of both worlds. I know there’s a way!

mommyhood, pregnancy

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 2)

January 16, 2015 Only Hsuman 4 Comments

Written at 6 weeks.

This is my first pregnancy that I haven’t had a full-time job. Wait. Let’s restate that. This is my first pregnancy that I haven’t had a full-time job teaching, outside of the home. I do have a full-time job right now. I mother two kiddos. That IS a full-time job.

This pregnancy has been an interesting one so far because I feel like I’ve known I was pregnant forever already. I mean two weeks but still. With EK, I found out at 6 weeks. With J, I found out at 9 weeks. Finding out at 4 weeks was awesome (my lifestyle changed immediately and entirely) and also difficult. Some symptoms I was having already (fatigue, digestive weirdness, etc)and then some seemed to intensify when I saw those two lines on that test. My fatigue went from early bedtime to needing a nap almost daily. My appetite skyrocketed, which had happened with EK. At 6 weeks, I was calling myself crazy because I was SURE I could feel the baby move. And no, it wasn’t gas. I’ve been pregnant before – I know the difference. Best response ever from my friend who received the text, swearing I could feel my lentil-sized baby move: “Maybe not that early for baby #3 – they say you are so in tune by then. I wouldn’t doubt it… Heartbeat and spontaneous movement start at 6 weeks.” Friends validating a girl for the win!

I do really want to believe that I’m so in tune with my body that I can feel every little hormone surge (yes, I’m crying about everything) and little spontaneous movement in my womb. Who knows. But the likelihood is that a lot of it’s mental. I know I’m pregnant, and I know that I’ve felt those things before… so why wouldn’t I be feeling them right now?

Has anyone else ever had super early pregnancy symptoms? Or felt like you had those “feelings” when you… didn’t?

mommyhood, pregnancy

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 1)

January 15, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

Written at 5 weeks pregnant.

Finding out that you’re pregnant when you’re only four weeks along is no joke. Why did I even take the test, you ask? Well, because I was already feeling exhausted and downright strange. I knew we had been “not not trying”. (That’s my term for not planning out days to try to conceive, but also not being on birth control. “Letting it happen” basically.) So when I was feeling extra tired and a little, well, crappy, I took a chance and peed on the stick. A FULL WEEK before my period was supposed to start. And guess what, folks? I was pregnant! Right there at four weeks. So early I knew it’d be silly to tell, but already so excited I couldn’t contain myself. That’s why when my friend Stephanie mentioned to me (in secret at the time) the next day that she was also expecting her third (10 weeks along. She was totally in the clear.) I was like “AHHH! ME TOO!!” because I knew she could keep my secret. That’s why in my “8 Truths About Being Pregnant” post, I wrote about having a secret keeper. Women are communicators. And when you have big news like this, that is totally life changing, yet you’re supposed to keep it to yourself, it’s damned near impossible. So choose a secret keeper to blab your news to and chat about plans with. It’s always a nice thing to share your news with a loved one who will pray with you, be excited for you, and check up on you till you share your news with everyone else.

Anyway, for the first week after I found out, all Hubby and I could talk about was how we were ever going to keep it quiet (no caffeine? no alcohol?) until I was at least 10 weeks along. We were devising plans, thinking of “mocktails” (which is ridiculous because I’m a wine and beer gal, not much girly liquor drinking for me) and trying our hardest to think of excuses for “being super healthy” since it was during the holidays. In hind sight, I should’ve been coming up with excuses for why I needed so many naps… that’s what’s been the most obvious, but maybe everyone doesn’t know I’m taking these naps…

Anyway, that’s it for today. If you’re enjoying hearing about the past few weeks you’ve missed, check the blog tomorrow for more!

mommyhood, pregnancy

What I Know Now

January 14, 2015 Only Hsuman 5 Comments

When Hubby and I got engaged, all our married friends were telling us to go out, party, and hang out with our single friends while we still could. Because, of course, we could never go out without our spouse. They told us to get ready to stay in every night and never see other people and be boring and lame. At least that’s what it sounded like to me.

While I was pregnant with EK, I heard all those cautionary tales from friends and family about “Get sleep before the baby comes!” and “Enjoy your pedicures and massages before the baby comes!” and “Have lots of date nights with your husband before the baby comes!” Well, it sure sounded like my life would be over after I had that silly baby.

Then when I got pregnant with my second, there was a lot of “Enjoy the time with just one!” and “Spend lots of one on one time with your daughter before your son arrives!” as if somehow I wouldn’t see my daughter again, and my son would totally take me over and I wouldn’t want my daughter.

Well folks, let me debunk those lies. Your life isn’t over when you get married, or start having kids. It is only beginning. I have more love in my heart than I ever thought possible. Hubby and I party, and hang out with friends, and go out. I still *gasp!* get pedicures and massages. It may take a little more planning, and I don’t necessarily go on a whim, but I still do it. I still have date nights with Hubby – and he is more attractive and lovable to me than ever. Seeing him as a father, first to our daughter and now to our son, has filled me with such love and pride and happiness that I could never fully describe to you. It amazes me how much I can love him loving our kids.

To the naysayers who believe (or who are just telling themselves) that the only way to truly live is to be single and mingle, well, you don’t know anything about it. I’m not saying that if you’re single, or if you don’t have kids, that your life can’t be fulfilling. It can! Marriage isn’t for everyone, and neither are kids. But just because marriage and kids are for me, do not tell me that my life will be over. Don’t tell me that I should enjoy my free time while I have it. I would never change my life for a minute. My husband is my rock, my best friend, and the person I choose to spend time with every time. My kids are my little loves, my proteges (haha, right?), and my most fun and hilarious, if unpredictable, companions. Yes, Hubby and I bicker and get on each others’ nerves. Yes, my kids have rough days and I get frustrated with them. Yes, sometimes I need a girls night (or weekend, let me be honest) to rest, recoup and regenerate. But does that mean I regret any of the decisions I’ve made, or wish that I wasn’t in the position I’m in? Absolutely not. My family is my everything, on good days and bad, on days when they make a fabulous dinner, use the potty, and don’t have teething issues, and on days when we go through diapers like they’re grains of sand and the blueberries from breakfast are still smashed into the floor at dinner, which is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

This is totally characteristic of our relationship.

I don’t want you to think my life is perfect. If you know me, or read this blog, then you know that. But seriously… my family is the best. They are my everything. And I wouldn’t trade them. It’s my 2015 motto (in lieu of a resolution, remember?): Embrace it. Embrace this life. Embrace these people. Embrace all of the things.

mommyhood, parenting fails, pregnancy

Accidental Announcement

January 14, 2015 Only Hsuman 1 Comment

A couple of days ago, when I posted for My Big Jesus, I sneakily (and accidentally) interjected a little announcement about myself… and my growing family!

We are expecting our third baby this July!!!

I know. That was a lackluster announcement. Sorry, third baby. I promise I will do something cool for you when you’re born, since I missed the opportunity to announce your presence a little more excitingly.

So there ya go! I’m 12 weeks today! Hello, second trimester! I’ve been feeling great (albeit exhausted) and super excited (albeit busy with life in general) about planning for and meeting another youngun into our home. I’ve also been working a little something for the blog ever since I found out I was pregnant…

I’ve been working on a miniseries (that wasn’t how it started, but that’s how it’s turned out!) about the first trimester of my pregnancy. I didn’t want to put it on the blog when we found out (at four weeks – holy moly!) but I did want to write about it. So over the next week, I’ll be posting the things I wrote about for the first few weeks I knew I was pregnant! I hope you enjoy reading about the first trimester of my little fig’s life (that’s how big the baby is right now. I’ve never actually seen a fig, so I don’t know what it means.) and how I’ve been coping with the decaf coffee and lack of sushi. I’ll even start posting bump photos, once I’m out of the “Did she just have a big lunch?” phase and into the “Aww, how far along are you?!” phase.

Anyone else out there prego? How far along are YOU?!

We're Only Hsuman…

Monthly Archives: January 2015

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 6)

The Unintentional Pampers Challenge

Failing at Manners

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 5)

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 3)

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 2)

Pregnant With My Third! (Volume 1)

What I Know Now

Accidental Announcement

A mother's musings on family, faith, and fun!