Topic Archive: Amanda

February 27, 2012

Bye Bye Babyhood

For the last 15 months, I have been attempting to savor every minute with Caleb, my youngest baby.  I hold him a little tighter and a little longer than I held my other two.  We’ve co-slept and breastfed more frequently and longer, too.  He’s basically lived in the Ergo carrier, and he’s even earned the nickname “Titty Baby Supreme” because, well, because he is.  For most of his life, he’s been happiest when he has been held, carried, or worn by his mommy, and I have liked it that way!

I have wanted him near me or attached to me constantly because I know that he’s our last baby.  I know how fast a baby’s first couple of years fly by, and I know how much I will miss it.  It pains me to think about him not being a baby anymore (If you are now thinking that I should just go ahead and have another baby, please read my earlier blog post Baby Fever), and the thought of weaning him from breastfeeding practically sends me into a panic attack.  Try as I might, I cannot stop the clock.  He’s becoming his own little person, and I have to let him grow and explore the world, as much as I want him to stay close forever. (more…)

November 3, 2011

Hot Mom, Here I Come!

I want to be a hot mom.  I don’t mean skinny, let’s get that straight.  I don’t care about numbers on a scale.  I also don’t mean I want to look good for someone that has three kids.  I want to get rid of that “for someone that has three kids” qualifier.  I mean I want to be HOT.  I want to be sleek and strong and fast.  I want my husband’s jaw to drop when I get dolled up for a night out without the kids.  I want to be the kind of woman that other people look at and think, “Wow, she must work out.”  I don’t want to jiggle, I want to strut! I already know that my body is capable of amazing feats.  I have grown babies and birthed them all by myself.  So now, I want to be the best ME I can be.

Just to clarify, I am not completely shallow.  I also want to be able to keep up with my active boys, and set a great example for them, too. But most of all, I want to do this for me.

When Caleb was born, I set a goal to be a hot mom by the time I turned 30 (14 months after his birth).  I knew this was a big, lofty goal, especially because I hate exercise and love eating.  However, I figured I had plenty of time. Well, having three kids has been a little more hectic than I anticipated, and I didn’t really do much to meet that goal for the first nine months of his life. (more…)

October 10, 2011

Boy Crazy: Why I Love Mothering Boys

When I leave my house with my brood of children, I know someone who has a piece of advice or a question about life with three boys will soon approach me.  I’ve come to expect it, and I am always ready with a polite smile and laugh.  The most common comments are, “Three boys?  Wow, you really have your hands full.” and “Three boys?  So, you’re going to try for a girl next, right?”  Sometimes strangers tell me I’m lucky or blessed, or they just give me a knowing smile to let me know they understand how crazy a simple trip to the grocery store can be with three little men in tow.  I don’t mind the attention because I know that people are just trying to be nice.

Last week, however, I was approached by a woman who caught me completely off guard.  When she saw me walking toward her with the baby strapped in the Ergo and the other two boys each holding one of my hands, she stopped me. (more…)

July 5, 2011

Gourmet Mama: From Breastmilk to Homemade Baby Food

I have a love/hate relationship with my babies starting solid foods.  It’s so messy.  Even with bibs, the baby ends up wearing most of his meal.  The floors are gross because food is flying everywhere. Diapers no longer smell sweet and innocent.

On the other hand, it’s kind of fun, because it’s another milestone of infancy, a completely new experience for your baby.  I get a lot of pleasure out of food, and it’s such a delight to get to introduce my baby to the world of food and discover what his likes and dislikes are.

I was not in a rush to start my youngest on “people food.”  I learned my lesson with the first two.  Once you start solids, you can’t go back.  It complicates life.  I can no longer live by my motto “Have boobs, will travel” because breastmilk alone doesn’t cut it for “Sir Chunx A Lot” anymore.  He still loves nursing, but he is one hungry boy that demands to be let in on the fun when he sees people eating. (more…)

June 29, 2011

Stop the Clock! My Kids Are Growing Up Too Fast!

What is the one piece of unsolicited advice that you get most often if you are pregnant or a new mom?  For me, it was something along the lines of “Enjoy these times when your baby is little because they fly by.”

I am now here to tell you that all those annoying commentators were correct.  It flies by at lightning speed.

May has been a month full of milestones in our house for my “book end” kids, Sammy and Caleb, a month that makes me want to freeze time somehow.  I just want to hold my three babies close and keep them from getting any bigger.  Scenes of life 10 years, 20 years, 30 years from now keep flashing before my eyes.  My babies will be all grown up, turned from boys into men, and they’re not going to need me anymore!  If you’ve ever read the children’s book Love You Forever (and I recommend that you do if you are a mom to boys), I envision myself as the mom driving across town in the middle of the night to climb into her grown son’s room and rock him while he’s asleep.  Go ahead, call me crazy, but someday, you might just know the feeling.

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May 8, 2011

Mother Load of Love!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in the PregTASTIC blogosphere!

I am feeling very lovey this Mother’s Day, very womanly and warm-and-fuzzy about being a mom.  Until I became a mom, I didn’t really care all that much about this “Hallmark holiday.”  I always sent a card and a gift to my mom, I always told her I appreciated her for giving me life, but I didn’t really get it.  Honestly, did we really need a whole day dedicated to our mothers?  YES, I have realized we do.  Now Mother’s Day has a whole new meaning.  I know the depths of the love my mother felt for me and my siblings growing up because I feel it for my own kids.  I understand the highs and lows of being a mom because I am living it.  I never realized before, but now I do, that I would actually treasure the craft that my preschooler worked so hard to keep secret from me.

Becoming a mother made me appreciate the efforts my own mom has made throughout my life.  She was also a stay-at-home mom until and a Navy wife just like me.  I never appreciated the hard parts of her job as a mom –  the amount of birthday cupcakes she must have made, the number of field trips she chaperoned, the loads of laundry she folded, the difficulty of parenting by herself when my Dad was on work trips, cheering us up when we were in a fight with a friend or rejected by a boy.  I understand it now, and I am grateful for it.  So I called my mother this morning and jokingly thanked her for giving birth to me, to which she replied, “Oh, it was my pleasure.”  But really, thanks Mom!

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April 26, 2011

Moms, Can’t We All Just Get Along?

I recently had to remove myself from a few “mommy” websites.  I loved the content – articles and blogs and forums created by other moms.  As a self-declared birth junkie and mother of three boys, I love that stuff.  However, I just couldn’t take the comments from random readers anymore.  These moms were so mean-spirited and hateful that I had to stop following.  Unlike the warmth and open-ness embraced by PregTASTIC listeners and panelists (insert shameless plug here!), these women were ruthless. One even wished cancer on another one and called her the “b” word!  Seriously?! (more…)

April 8, 2011

Can I Put This On My Resume?

This spring my oldest son will turn five.  That means I’ve been unemployed for five years.  I joke that I’m on an indefinite sabbatical.  Sometimes I even like to say I’m retired, although that implies I lead a life of leisure.

I used to daydream about not working back before I had children.  I never really liked getting up and going into work every morning.  It was such a drag.  The thought of hanging out in PJs, drinking coffee, taking naps, and watching soap operas for the rest of my life was so appealing.  I even secretly hoped we could space out our baby-timing so that I could stay home for longer. HAHAHA.  I hope all you stay-at-home moms out there are laughing at me right now. (more…)