A week from tomorrow I will be heading back to work. Its a very bittersweat thing for me to do. I know I have to do what I have to do, so I am looking forward to settling into my new routine. Raynor and I ran the numbers and put it all out on paper and it just wasn't possible for me to stay home with her full time. However, with the price of childcare we decided it would be the best choice for me to go back part time. I stepped down from the Sales and Service Specialist postition, and decided to be a part time 20-30 hour teller. I am really looking forward to it, I'm not going to miss the stress of my old job. My work days will be Wendesday, Thursday, Friday and half a day on Saturday. Other than that I will be home with Alexxa. Wendesday and Thursday one of my best friends will be taking care of her, so its comforting to know she is in good hands. Friday is Raynor's day off so obviously, I know she will be in great hands with him. The sadest part of this whole arrangement is that Raynor and I no longer have a day off together, and that will be so hard for us. We enjoy our family days with Alexxa and our fun little date days where we just go and do whatever. Raynor will be working 6 days a week starting on Saturday then Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wendesday, and Thursday with Friday being his only day off. It will be hard, but I guess we are just running on hope that things will start to turn around and he will be able to find a new job.
Tomorrow I am going to spend the day going through all my clothes. Since I got pregnant and my work wardrobe was all maturnity clothes, I really can't remember what I have for work clothes and what I might need. I know I definitely need some new pants and skirts. My old ones still fit, as in I can wear them, but my body is just a little different now that I've had a baby so I don't like the way the look anymore. I got some money for Christmas though, so I think some evening next week I'm going to head to the mall and see what I can find.
Raynor and I also came up with a new budget this week. We are really going to change the way we spend our money. I went through our bank account with a calculator and added up all out unnecessary expenses. Let me tell you, the number made me sick! We are going to stick to the budget we made up for a few months and see where it takes us. If we are doing ok, I might be able to cut my hours down at work even more and work. But we would rather play it safe and have extra money than not enough.
Anyways, keep me in your thoughts and prayers next week. It will be hard for me, but I'm tough and I think I can handle it.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Another year gone...
Is it just me or does it seem like the older we get, the faster the years go? It certainly feels this way to me. I remember back when I was in school (which wasn't really that long ago) the years would just drag on and on. I remember sitting on the bleachers at my freshmen year orientation feeling like 4 years was a lifetime. And it did feel that way until June 11, 2004 while I was sitting on the track with my classmates in my cap and gown about to graduate! At that point it was hard to imagine where all that time had gone. High school is not one of my fondest memories, but there were some good times, but a lot of anger and frustration in those years as well. My little brother is about to turn 20 on January 10th and I have told him several times not to feel so bad about leaving those teen years behind. My 20's have been waaaay more fun than the teen years!
So let's get to the reason I am writing this blog. The year 2009. The first thoughts that come to mind are, "WOW! What a wirlwind!" If someone told me last year on New Years that I would be where I am right now at the beginning of 2010 I would have probably laughed and thought no possible way. The year 2009 has been one of the best and also hardest of my life. There have been loved ones lost, new ones born, relationships that have fallen apart, new friends that have come into our lives and then some that have fallen out of our lives. The year started out very rocky for Raynor and I. At the time I was have issues at work, really hating my job at the time, our bad financial desisions had finally started to bite us in the butt, and Raynor's hours had been cut nearly in half at work. Towards the end of January, we made the tough decision to move out of our condo. Soon after that, we got the biggest suprise of all. Two little pink lines on a pregnancy test. And it could not have come at a worse time. We found out right when we were in the middle of packing up our condo, about 2 weeks before we had to move. At a time when we needed eachother more than ever we were parting ways. Not breaking up, but I was moving home to my parents house and Raynor moved in with a friend. We decided it was the best option, so we would have time to save up our money and pay off some debt. That was probably the worst part of the entire year. It was also one of the best decisions we have ever made, as hard as it was. We were able to build our savings, and pay off some credit cards. As the month of April started to approach, and I got further into my pregnancy, we decided we were ready to find a new place. At first it was really discouraging. It seemed like everything was out of our budget. We had found a perfect apartment in Wilsonville that we fell in love with, but they didn't allow dogs. I was SO upset! About a week after that I was surfing Craigslist for places and came across an add for an apartment complex in Tualatin that Raynor and I had actually toured about a year earlier. We really liked it, but it was out of our price range at the time. However, because of the bad economy they had dropped their prices a bit and were running some killer specials! The very next day we headed in to check it out. We liked the apartment even more so than we had before. Its 2 bedroom 2 bath and very spacious. To make things even better the application fees were only 15 dollars each, they waived the move in fee, and we got our first month's rent for free. We wasted no time applying, soon got approved and moved in at the end of April. Finally it there was some light at the end of the dark tunnel! I still absolutely love where we live. This place feels more like home to me than anywhere else we have ever lived, even the fancy condo.
The spring and summer of 2009 were awesome. Well except for the heat. I was very miserable during all that heat! Of course one of the hottest summers in history was the one that I was pregnant haha! But it was all worth it. In May I transferred to a new branch. I stayed with the same position, but the move was a good one for me. I had been working out in Cedar Mill for 9 months and it was ok, but the drive was long and the robbery that we had in November of 2008 had really got to me. So when the market told me they wanted to transfer me to the Washington Square branch I was more than willing. I was there from May through September when I went on maturnity leave and I loved it. The rest of the summer kept us busy with an awesome vacation to the Raynor's family cabin on the snake river, baby preparations, and lots of family time. Before we knew it September snuck up on us! On the 9th of September my doctor decided to pull me out of work because little miss Alexxa was wanting to come out earlier than she was supposed too. It wouldn't have been a terrible situation because it was so close my due date, but they wanted her to wait until at least 38 weeks idealy. He didn't put my on bed rest, due to the fact that it was so close and she would have been fine. But if she did come earlier than 38 weeks I wouldn't have been able to have her at the hospital I wanted too, and my doctor doesn't have privilages at Emanuel (where we would have gone if she came early) so I didn't want that at all! Instead of bed rest he told me to take it really easy. Doing light chores around the house was fine, going to the store, family's houses stuff like that was ok, but I wasn't supposed to be doing any major activity. I of course took his advice and layed low for a few weeks. I still had majorly painful contractions though and it was really miserable! Finally at my 37 week appointment I asked him when, if ever he would be willing to "help" me go into labor so I could stop being miserable. He said he would induce me at 39 weeks considering everything seemed favorable at my 38 week appointment. He went ahead and scheduled the induction for October 6th, contingent on the 38 week appointment being all good. To my luck it was, and we were able to go ahead with October 6th. I remember that morning just like it was yesterday morning. I only slept until 3am and after that I was too excited to sleep. I called the hospital at 5am as my doctor had instructed me too, and they said there was room for us and to come on in at 7am! Raynor packed the car while I showered and got ready. It was so surreal leaving our apartment knowing that when we came back we would have a baby with us! Sure enough at 9pm on October 6th Alexxa Rae come into the world. It was a wonderful, perfect experience. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
The last few months have been like a dream. Bank of America has a great family leave program. I have been very fortunate to be able to spend the last 3 months at home with her. She amazes me more every day. I can't even believe that in 2 weeks she will be 3 months old. So crazy. All she does is laugh and smile now and she has gotten so chubby! I was looking at her newborn pictures this morning and all the baby pudge is certainly new! She was such an itty bitty thing when she was born.
Wendesday the 6th of January I will be going back to work. Raynor and I came up with the best situation we could pull off and I think it will work out nicely for now. I am not going back to the bank as the Sales and Service Specialist. I decided to step down to a part time 25-30 hour teller. It will be nice, I will not miss the stress of my old job. My work days will be Wendesday, Thursday, Friday, and half a day Saturday. My very good friend Ticia will be watching Alexxa on Wendesday and Thursday and Raynor will have her Friday. My mom and Raynor's mom will rotate Saturdays and other than that I will be home with her. Our goal is for me to eventually be home with her full time, but until that is possible this arragement will have to work. I'm actually looking forward to getting back to "normal".
I'm so excited to see what the New Year will bring. I have a feeling its going to be great. Hopefully the economy will start to turn back around, and there will be more jobs. Its hard to believe that this time next year I will have a little 1 year old toddling around. Its a crazy world we live in!
So let's get to the reason I am writing this blog. The year 2009. The first thoughts that come to mind are, "WOW! What a wirlwind!" If someone told me last year on New Years that I would be where I am right now at the beginning of 2010 I would have probably laughed and thought no possible way. The year 2009 has been one of the best and also hardest of my life. There have been loved ones lost, new ones born, relationships that have fallen apart, new friends that have come into our lives and then some that have fallen out of our lives. The year started out very rocky for Raynor and I. At the time I was have issues at work, really hating my job at the time, our bad financial desisions had finally started to bite us in the butt, and Raynor's hours had been cut nearly in half at work. Towards the end of January, we made the tough decision to move out of our condo. Soon after that, we got the biggest suprise of all. Two little pink lines on a pregnancy test. And it could not have come at a worse time. We found out right when we were in the middle of packing up our condo, about 2 weeks before we had to move. At a time when we needed eachother more than ever we were parting ways. Not breaking up, but I was moving home to my parents house and Raynor moved in with a friend. We decided it was the best option, so we would have time to save up our money and pay off some debt. That was probably the worst part of the entire year. It was also one of the best decisions we have ever made, as hard as it was. We were able to build our savings, and pay off some credit cards. As the month of April started to approach, and I got further into my pregnancy, we decided we were ready to find a new place. At first it was really discouraging. It seemed like everything was out of our budget. We had found a perfect apartment in Wilsonville that we fell in love with, but they didn't allow dogs. I was SO upset! About a week after that I was surfing Craigslist for places and came across an add for an apartment complex in Tualatin that Raynor and I had actually toured about a year earlier. We really liked it, but it was out of our price range at the time. However, because of the bad economy they had dropped their prices a bit and were running some killer specials! The very next day we headed in to check it out. We liked the apartment even more so than we had before. Its 2 bedroom 2 bath and very spacious. To make things even better the application fees were only 15 dollars each, they waived the move in fee, and we got our first month's rent for free. We wasted no time applying, soon got approved and moved in at the end of April. Finally it there was some light at the end of the dark tunnel! I still absolutely love where we live. This place feels more like home to me than anywhere else we have ever lived, even the fancy condo.
The spring and summer of 2009 were awesome. Well except for the heat. I was very miserable during all that heat! Of course one of the hottest summers in history was the one that I was pregnant haha! But it was all worth it. In May I transferred to a new branch. I stayed with the same position, but the move was a good one for me. I had been working out in Cedar Mill for 9 months and it was ok, but the drive was long and the robbery that we had in November of 2008 had really got to me. So when the market told me they wanted to transfer me to the Washington Square branch I was more than willing. I was there from May through September when I went on maturnity leave and I loved it. The rest of the summer kept us busy with an awesome vacation to the Raynor's family cabin on the snake river, baby preparations, and lots of family time. Before we knew it September snuck up on us! On the 9th of September my doctor decided to pull me out of work because little miss Alexxa was wanting to come out earlier than she was supposed too. It wouldn't have been a terrible situation because it was so close my due date, but they wanted her to wait until at least 38 weeks idealy. He didn't put my on bed rest, due to the fact that it was so close and she would have been fine. But if she did come earlier than 38 weeks I wouldn't have been able to have her at the hospital I wanted too, and my doctor doesn't have privilages at Emanuel (where we would have gone if she came early) so I didn't want that at all! Instead of bed rest he told me to take it really easy. Doing light chores around the house was fine, going to the store, family's houses stuff like that was ok, but I wasn't supposed to be doing any major activity. I of course took his advice and layed low for a few weeks. I still had majorly painful contractions though and it was really miserable! Finally at my 37 week appointment I asked him when, if ever he would be willing to "help" me go into labor so I could stop being miserable. He said he would induce me at 39 weeks considering everything seemed favorable at my 38 week appointment. He went ahead and scheduled the induction for October 6th, contingent on the 38 week appointment being all good. To my luck it was, and we were able to go ahead with October 6th. I remember that morning just like it was yesterday morning. I only slept until 3am and after that I was too excited to sleep. I called the hospital at 5am as my doctor had instructed me too, and they said there was room for us and to come on in at 7am! Raynor packed the car while I showered and got ready. It was so surreal leaving our apartment knowing that when we came back we would have a baby with us! Sure enough at 9pm on October 6th Alexxa Rae come into the world. It was a wonderful, perfect experience. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
The last few months have been like a dream. Bank of America has a great family leave program. I have been very fortunate to be able to spend the last 3 months at home with her. She amazes me more every day. I can't even believe that in 2 weeks she will be 3 months old. So crazy. All she does is laugh and smile now and she has gotten so chubby! I was looking at her newborn pictures this morning and all the baby pudge is certainly new! She was such an itty bitty thing when she was born.
Wendesday the 6th of January I will be going back to work. Raynor and I came up with the best situation we could pull off and I think it will work out nicely for now. I am not going back to the bank as the Sales and Service Specialist. I decided to step down to a part time 25-30 hour teller. It will be nice, I will not miss the stress of my old job. My work days will be Wendesday, Thursday, Friday, and half a day Saturday. My very good friend Ticia will be watching Alexxa on Wendesday and Thursday and Raynor will have her Friday. My mom and Raynor's mom will rotate Saturdays and other than that I will be home with her. Our goal is for me to eventually be home with her full time, but until that is possible this arragement will have to work. I'm actually looking forward to getting back to "normal".
I'm so excited to see what the New Year will bring. I have a feeling its going to be great. Hopefully the economy will start to turn back around, and there will be more jobs. Its hard to believe that this time next year I will have a little 1 year old toddling around. Its a crazy world we live in!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Baby product research
I think from the time we find out we are expecting a child we only want the best for them when it comes to baby products. I mean, who wants to be a penny pincher when it comes to their child? Is there anything that is "too good" for your child? I think not! When Raynor and I started shopping around for baby stuff, I guess I automatically thought the expensive stuff was probably expensive for a reason: It was the best! When we bought her stroller/carseat travel system I did endless research on them to truly find the safest option for our baby. In the end we went with a Graco Snugride Travel System. I decided on that one because I actually talked to a police officer that had seen the Snugride carseat survive a roll over crash and the baby was fine. God forbid that would ever happen to us, but if it did I can rest assured that Alexxa would be safe. Now, that Graco Travel System just so happened to be cheaper than the Chicco one we were considering by over 100 dollars! To Raynor and I, 100 dollars is a lot of money!
I think my biggest struggle of all boiled down to baby formula. Oh yes, the formula. Obviously you want anything you are putting into your child's body to be good right? Not even just good, you want the best! I knew beforehand that breast-feeding was best. I was not excited about doing it because, well afterall I had already shared my body with this little person for the last 9 months and I was ready for it to be mine again and wasn't exactly stoked about sharing it for another 6-12 months. However the research is black and white and to the point. Breast-feeding is superior to formula. So you can probably imagine my guilt and disappointment when it didn't work out the way I had planned. From the very first try, Alexxa wanted nothing to do with it and I didn't like it either. It would turn into this battle between her and I and would leave us both in tears. The second night we were in the hospital I broke down and called the nurse to bring a bottle. She did and Alexxa guzzled it down in about 2 minutes! Poor little thing was starving. I thought that after she got some food in her she might have an easier time with breastfeeding. NOT the the case. Over the next two weeks we met with lactation nurses three times, and had several more battles ending in tears. She had made up her mind about what she wanted and I had to swallow my guilt and give the child a darn bottle! Which brings me to my main point (I got a little off track) the baby formula! The hospital and her pediatrician had been giving me samples of Enfamil. I had about a 10 day supply of the liquid samples from the doctors office and while I was pregnant I had gotten 2 cans of the powder samples in the mail. Eventually though those ran out, so Alexxa and I went on our first outing together to Target. I went down the formula isle and gasped in shock! Sitting there on the shelf was Enfamil formula at about 25 dollars a can, Similac for about 27 dollars a can and then there was Target brand for about 12 dollars a can. Now I sat there for, I don't know how long maybe about 10 minutes thinking. What was the difference? This store brand couldn't possibly be as GOOD as the name brand Enfamil Lipil the pediatrician had given me right? So what did I do? I bit my lip and spent 25 dollars on Enfamil.
I drove home still thinking about the Target brand vs the Enfamil. So that night I got online and did some research. Here is what I came up with:
*EVERY can of formula on the market today MUST meet FDA regulations. There are specific procedures manufactures must fallow to make it. So wether you are feeding your baby Enfamil, or a generic brand, the baby is getting a safe, FDA approved product. As long as the Formula contains iron, your fine. The majority of baby formula is actually made by the same company! Therefor, the generic brand comes out of the same factory as the name brand! The extra 13 or so dollars? Its pretty much for the fancy label.
*Why do pediatricians and hospitals give you name brand samples? It boils down to money. Pediatricians and hospitals get hit by marketing campaigns, samples, and kickbacks in order to give away samples of name brand formula. Enfamil and Similac (the leaders of the baby formula empire) know that once you get your baby hooked on "what works" at the hospital or on the samples your pediatrician gives you, you are then less likely to switch products. Enfamil and Similac are also big enough companies that they can afford to dazzle you with samples and coupons, but when those run out you are forced to subject your money to the 25 dollar label vs the 12 dollar one.
*What is are the major differences? There aren't any. Wether its Enfamil, Similac, Nestle, or generic the ingredients are almost identical. As for the generic brand, if you compare the label to one of the name brands eventually you can find the one that the generic is replicating. The Target Brand just so happens to be an identical match to Similac Advance. 12 dollars vs. 27 dollars!
So there you have it! After Alexxa enjoyed her 25 dollar can of Enfamil formula, we went to Target and bought 2 cans of the Target brand for less than the price of 1 can of Enfamil or Similac. I fed it to her at her next feeding, expecting her to maybe get a little upset tummy over the switch, but nothing happened! She loved it! Lesson learned. The expensive stuff isn't always the best, and now Raynor and I will save hundreds of dollars over the first year of her life. I now feed my baby Target brand formula and I do it with pride!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
My sweet little angel is 2 months old!!!
Well I'm looking at the clock right now. 10pm exactly. Two months ago at this time I was sitting in my hospital bed with Raynor admiring our precious new arrival. Ever since that night my life has been like a dream I haven't wanted to wake up from. I don't remember what life was even like without her. She is like the last peice of the jigsaw puzzle that fit just perfectly into our lives.
Alexxa is doing amazing. She just shocks me every day. She has transformed from the little red faced bundle we brought home from the hospital into this very alert little person who is learning to smile and coo. Today I was on the computer and she was entertaining herself so nicely in her bobby bouncer. I had the music on and the chair also vibrates which was making the little toys move in front of her face. I looked down and she was actually batting at the toys with her little hands! Amazing! So far she has watched her mobiles and toys very intently, but she hasn't showed any interest in trying to touch them. Well today she did. She intentionally reached up and hit them. Such a small thing, yet it made me so proud! And she just loves her mommy and daddy. When she is in a full blown crying spell all it takes is for one of us to pick her up and snuggle her and she calms right down. I love being the magic woman!
Friday she has her 2 months check up. I am so excited to see how much she weighs and how much longer she is! At first there was a lot of conern about her eating habbits and she wasn't gaining weight at the rate the doctors like to see. She just didn't show much interest in eating much at all! Breastfeeding never came easy to me, and it didn't come easy to Alexxa either. We would both get so frustrated and eventually she would end up screaming her little head off and I would also be in tears. I met with the lactation nurses three times, once while we were at the hospital and twice after we had gone home. I tried pumping too and nothing was working. Finally, I had to just let go of the guilt and throw in the towel. But now that I did, Alexxa and I are both happier, and eating isn't so dramatic! She has come to LOVE her bottle! That was another saga...bottles. I swear, we must have tried every bottle on the market. For a while she liked the playtex drop ins, (although I thought they were a pain), we did Playtex Ventair, and then Avent. She seems to prefer the Avent and I definitely don't miss the extra step of having to put the liner in the bottle. The only issue I have with Avent is they are expensive and occasionally they leak. But the leaking problem can usually be solved by taking the cap off and putting it back on. Anyways, when we first started giving her formula she was barely taking 2 ounces at a time. Now she is chugging down 4 ounces like a pro! She is even getting cute little rolls on her theighs and arms! I love it!
Its unbelievable thinking that my maturnity leave is almost up at the bank :( Before you have them you think 12 weeks sounds like forever, but it really flies by. Every moment with Alexxa is amazing. Right on down to the four AM diaper changes. I just never get sick of her. Going back to work is going to be so hard, but I know I can do it. Its comforting to know it will only be temporary until Raynor gets another job. Up until now we haven't been able to come up with a plan as to what we will do about childcare. One of my best friends, Ticia is able to take her 2 days a week, but we haven't been sure about what to do the rest of the week. Last week I toured 3 daycares and they are just too expensive. So expensive that there wouldn't be a point in me even working. I think Raynor and I have come up with a pretty solid plan though. But first I have to clear it through Ticia and of course my boss. So cross your fingers for us and pray that it works out!
Anyways, I think that is about all I have to say for now. Its about time for Alexxa's bedtime bottle. Goodnight all!
Alexxa is doing amazing. She just shocks me every day. She has transformed from the little red faced bundle we brought home from the hospital into this very alert little person who is learning to smile and coo. Today I was on the computer and she was entertaining herself so nicely in her bobby bouncer. I had the music on and the chair also vibrates which was making the little toys move in front of her face. I looked down and she was actually batting at the toys with her little hands! Amazing! So far she has watched her mobiles and toys very intently, but she hasn't showed any interest in trying to touch them. Well today she did. She intentionally reached up and hit them. Such a small thing, yet it made me so proud! And she just loves her mommy and daddy. When she is in a full blown crying spell all it takes is for one of us to pick her up and snuggle her and she calms right down. I love being the magic woman!
Friday she has her 2 months check up. I am so excited to see how much she weighs and how much longer she is! At first there was a lot of conern about her eating habbits and she wasn't gaining weight at the rate the doctors like to see. She just didn't show much interest in eating much at all! Breastfeeding never came easy to me, and it didn't come easy to Alexxa either. We would both get so frustrated and eventually she would end up screaming her little head off and I would also be in tears. I met with the lactation nurses three times, once while we were at the hospital and twice after we had gone home. I tried pumping too and nothing was working. Finally, I had to just let go of the guilt and throw in the towel. But now that I did, Alexxa and I are both happier, and eating isn't so dramatic! She has come to LOVE her bottle! That was another saga...bottles. I swear, we must have tried every bottle on the market. For a while she liked the playtex drop ins, (although I thought they were a pain), we did Playtex Ventair, and then Avent. She seems to prefer the Avent and I definitely don't miss the extra step of having to put the liner in the bottle. The only issue I have with Avent is they are expensive and occasionally they leak. But the leaking problem can usually be solved by taking the cap off and putting it back on. Anyways, when we first started giving her formula she was barely taking 2 ounces at a time. Now she is chugging down 4 ounces like a pro! She is even getting cute little rolls on her theighs and arms! I love it!
Its unbelievable thinking that my maturnity leave is almost up at the bank :( Before you have them you think 12 weeks sounds like forever, but it really flies by. Every moment with Alexxa is amazing. Right on down to the four AM diaper changes. I just never get sick of her. Going back to work is going to be so hard, but I know I can do it. Its comforting to know it will only be temporary until Raynor gets another job. Up until now we haven't been able to come up with a plan as to what we will do about childcare. One of my best friends, Ticia is able to take her 2 days a week, but we haven't been sure about what to do the rest of the week. Last week I toured 3 daycares and they are just too expensive. So expensive that there wouldn't be a point in me even working. I think Raynor and I have come up with a pretty solid plan though. But first I have to clear it through Ticia and of course my boss. So cross your fingers for us and pray that it works out!
Anyways, I think that is about all I have to say for now. Its about time for Alexxa's bedtime bottle. Goodnight all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
