Forever has new meaning with a baby

forever mom

I already had a sense of committing to something for a lifetime – marriage has that whole “til death do us part” aspect and all. Dean and I agreed that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, and we are still happy with that decision. Having a baby is sort of the same thing, only there isn’t exactly that moment when you hear the words and have to say “I do” – there really should be. I’m her mom, and I will be forever – that’s a big deal!

It’s not that I’m unhappy with the decision to procreate. Harley is gorgeous, growing so well, and becoming an integral part of my life. We are falling in love more each day, and bonding with each and every midnight feed and silly game. But there are still moments when it hits me – this is the new normal, and my life will never be the same again. Continue Reading

3 Comments Parenting, Rambling

Why you want to win this Book Owl giveaway

Giveaway Book Owl

I think by now we all know that reading to our offspring is incredibly important. It boosts vocabulary and language skills, is important for bonding, and helps with literacy and education for life. I asked for books at Harley’s baby shower, and when people ask me what I want for her first birthday, I think I will ask for more books, or subscriptions with The Book Owl. That’s why I’m very happy to be able to giveaway one month of The Book Owl to a lucky reader.

I first heard about The Book Owl over on Pregnant in Cape Town & Ever After. It sounded like Loot Crate, but for books for little ones, which it pretty much is. Last week, I decided it was time for me to give it a whirl, so I signed up for a one month trial box. Kirsten, the genius behind this service, wrote to me to find out Harley’s name, interests, and which books we already have to avoid duplications. But there are so many more reasons to love The Book Owl. Continue Reading

25 Comments Geek, Giveaway, Parenting

The dinner conundrum

Harley is growing so nicely, it’s amazing to see her put on weight and thrive just on my breast milk. It makes me feel so good to know that my body can feed another little body. Of course, I need to feed myself to make that possible, and I’ve been doing my best to eat well. However, I have a dinner conundrum.

While she is doing better, Harley still has her most needy and difficult time in the evenings. I usually spend the majority of the time between 5-9pm nursing, cuddling, bouncing, burping and otherwise looking after the little one. It’s the most inconvenient time – not only do I miss out on quality time with Dean, I’m also unable to do much to help with dinner. Dean is pretty wonderful about doing the cooking, but it’s not exactly an easy set up. Continue Reading

Comment Food, Marriage, Rambling

Activities for baby development – 0-3 months old

development milestones

I am determined to give Harley the best shot at life, wanting to give her all the mental, physical and social advancements possible to help her in her later life. I already knew I wanted to read to her as part of my plan to hopefully raise her to be a book worm. However, at this extremely young age, reading is sort of difficult – her attention span is really short and she’s barely even able to focus on the pretty pictures. I still like to read to her, but it doesn’t feel like it’s doing much to help her develop.

Thankfully, the massage class I started going to with her actually gave me tons of other ideas for activities with her. That, combined with reading a bunch of articles about really early childhood development, means that I’ve sorta learned how to develop her various skills until she reaches the point of being able to grab her toys or focus on pictures when I read her books. Continue Reading

8 Comments Child Development, Geek, Parenting

I’m not going to apologize for being a working mom

working mom licia ronzulli

With a little over a week left of my maternity leave, I’m rather excited to start back at work. It will be great to fill my head with other thoughts, to feel productive, and to use my brain again. I’ve missed working a lot, but it will be different to be a working mom. I’m incredibly lucky to already work from home, and I have awesome colleagues who will understand if I have to pause for a bit to take care of a crying baby.

Yes, I there are a lot of benefits to my job, and being able to work flexible hours without wearing heels is definitely a big one. However, I will still have to do tons of work, which I’m happy about. That work includes meetings, and I had originally thought that I would have to organize childcare for Harley for those times. Now, I’ve decided to take her along, and I’m not going to apologize or feel bad about it. Continue Reading

8 Comments Parenting, Rambling