Fugalista: Thrill of the hunt!

Yesterday was opening day for Just Between Friends Tulsa Spring Sale. I've been to four JBF events since November 2009 (two months before Libby's birth) and have always scored awesome deals. Like our gently used Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper for half-off of retail. Or her cute rolling/rocking pony for $10.00. She LOVES that thing! And I've always gone on the final day and snapped up all of the 50% deals, especially on clothing, where I have gotten full outfits for $1.00-3.00/each.

That said, I've never been on opening day with the general public. I did go the first time during the "new moms" time that is opened ahead of the general public. So, yesterday was quite the experience. It was PACKED! And frenetic. There were people pushing strollers full of items while they slung crying babies and toddlers on their hips. There were hugely pregnant women dragging laundry baskets overflowing with baby gear. The check-out line took 1.5 hours!

Armed with $100 bill and my list, I set out on my hunt. I am a major bugetzilla and frugalista. I love bargain shopping and think consignment is the way to go when you're a mom trying to keep up with a growing child! 95% of Libby's things are gently-used. Buying second-hand items are good for mama's wallet and good for mother earth too. I cannot imagine trying to fully outfit the nursery and layette and all of the things we've used in the 13 months of Libby's life if I had to pay full retail price!

I started with the toys and books. I snapped up this classic Fisher-Price Corn Popper Push Toy for $5.

And this awesome set of small, chunky board book ABC blocks for another five bucks. I had wanted to get this for her birthday, but hadn't gotten around to ordering it off of Amazon.

I got a slew of other books too. Libby's favorite things right now are books. She adores them. And we read through the ones she has over-and-over again, several hours a day. She has many of them memorized. She really likes the ones that have photos rather than illustrations and those are hard to find. So I snapped up three of those, including one with a built-in mirror that she can see herself in while she's looking at the pages. I also got two fabric, "quiet" books. One is peek-a-boo with fabric flaps that she can lift to find the characters. The other is a Taggie book, that is great for her to have in her crib.

Next up was clothing and shoes. Libby is wearing a 24 months/2T and her growth has dramatically slowed down since August. For the first half of her life she went up in size in her clothing about every 6-8 weeks! So by summer she was in a size 18 months! In December we moved her up to size 24 months/2 T. Carter's outfits tend to fit her really well and for quite a while, so I bought several cotton knit one-piece rompers and dresses with bloomers. The other thing I appreciate about Carter's is that their styling for babies and toddlers is age-appropriate. I find that many of the other affordable children's clothing lines (where brand-new outfits are $25 or less) are like scaled-down, mini-tween and teen designs. It's sad, really. Libby wears cloth diapers and is on the chunkier side, so she needs things that are roomy and stretchy. And even if she could fit in slimmer designs, I just don't get why babies and toddlers need skinny or boot-cut jeans and tops that look like mirco-versions of things that 18-year-olds wear.

Maybe it's because I am an "older" first-time mom and other moms are closer to being in their teen years than not, especially around here, but I just don't think it's cute at all to let littles dress like they're older. Even my tween niece wants to wear things that I would have worn when I was 16 or 17 years old! I feel like such a fuddy-duddy. I am not prude at all, but what's wrong with little girls looking like little girls? Even the shorts and things that are out now are super short! Like with a 2-inch inseam. And why do toddler's clothes not have fully-elasticized waists. I cannot find one pair of woven or denim bottoms that are full elasticized. So we're sticking with comfy, cotton knits. To each her own, but I think moms who let their little dress like they're older are going to be in a world of hurt once the kids are actually teens. I mean, if she's allowed to wear a bikini bathing suit at age 5 why not at 15? Daisy dukes are cute when you're 3 so why not at 13? I'm just not going to go there. If Libby is anything like her mama, she will develop early. And she won't need any help in the looking-older-than-her-age department.

*stepping off my soap-box*

To round out the spree, I got a darling pair of multi-colored sandals. Libby is really into shoes right now after she played with the corn popper push toy and looked at all her books she just had to try on the sandals! This morning, she wanted to put them on over her footed pajamas. Too cute! So it was $97.12 well-spent. Usually, I got back to JBF on the closing Saturday to get the 50% deals. But I don't think I will this time...even yesterday, her size-range was pretty picked over...probably all of the "early-bird" shoppers (those who volunteer, etc. get first dibs) and I am not interested in getting items that I feel are not really age-appropriate styling. That said, I think she'll be pretty well covered for this Spring and Summer, although I'd still like to find a swim suit. It's so nice to feel confident in her sizing...this time last year I had purchased 6-9 and 9-12 month clothing thinking it would last her through the summer and I was so wrong!

My Little Chickadee has Chicken Pox!

Libby got the Varicella vaccine on the 10th, at her one year pedi appt. Earlier this week she had a low grade temp and runny nose and has been refusing almost all solids for the past 4-5 days. I chalked this up to teething since her molars are right under the gums. And having to go to the babysitter this week since my mom is out, I figured she's just feeling a little "off." Then, on the evening of the 23rd I noticed a few red bumps, including one that was oozing, in her diaper area. We have been treating her for a yeast diaper rash since the pedi appointment and I thought that this little bump might be due to chaffing in the area that is already rashy.

Yesterday, I put her down for a nap and when she woke up 2 hours later she had a red, swollen bump right under her right eye. I put some breast milk on it and in a few hours it was less swollen and looked like a little pimple. Later, during bath time, I noticed she had more pimple-like bumps...one behind her ear, several on her leg where she was injected (behind the knee, on her ankle, etc.). Today when she woke up she had two more bumps...one on her back and another one under her arm. All in all she has like 12-13 of them in random places all over her body.

So today I took her to the After Hours Pediatrician (which is open weekday evenings and all day on the weekends) since her regular pedi is closed on the weekends. The doctor said it could be chicken pox since it's a live, attenuated vaccine that is given. But she was adamant that  it's very rare for children to develop bumps. The statistic is like 5%. She seemed very skeptical.

So I asked her, "Well, what else could it be?"

She said, "Do you have pets?"

I said, "Yes."

She said "It could be bug bites."

I told her that all of our animals are on flea preventatives and that none of them have been itching or scratching and neither me nor my husband have any bites. Not to mention we've just have tempertaures below freezing and thought that it was too cold for flea season to have already started. She didn't say anything after that.

Then I said, "Libby's usually not in daycare but has been this past week and is scheduled to go again this week. Given this situation, should I keep her home or is it safe to send her to the babysitter? She has a four year old and a four month old."

The doctor paused and said, "Well, the four year old has probably been vaccinated but since there's a four month old, she probably shouldn't go..."

So I said, "....so it's probably chicken pox...caused by the vaccine?"

Then the doctor said, "Well, even if it is chicken pox, it's a mild case and there's really not much we can do for it. I can give you a script for some anti-itch cream..."

Arg! This woman simply would not confirm that it is actually chicken pox nor would she admit that it was most likely caused by the vaccine. I am beyond annoyed.

First of all, J asked the nurse at the pedi's office if Libby could get chicken pox from the vaccine and the nurse said no because it wasn't a live virus they were giving her. Well that's false. Secondly, had we known this we would have waited to give her the vaccine, especially since we knew that my mom is out-if-town and therefore we'd be up a creek if Libby couldn't go to the babysitter.

So now, I am taking time off work, J is skipping classes and has resigned himself to take an incomplete on his assignments this week. He doesn't get them until Wednesday and they're due at Noon on Friday. He's been struggling to get them in on time with my mom out of town because he's watching Libby during the day on Thursday and Friday while I am at work. He does the best he can, staying up late after he gets home from work on Wednesday and Thursday nights and squeezing in more homework when Libby naps, but it's been tough. This week, I actually took Friday morning off so he could get the assignment in by Noon.

What's even more irritating is that the other students in his cohort have until Mondays to turn in their assignments. He a small group other students got stuck with a clinical instructor known to be a hard-ass and purposely makes it difficult for her students. It's totally unfair. And might mean the difference between J passing this class or having to repeat it. He's going to make a formal complaint and ask to be switched to a different instructor, who allows assignments to be turned in on Mondays. I have no idea if they'll accommodate his request.

What's more, this is probably the worst week for me to be out of the office. Although I have plenty of leave time accrued and can use it, the timing is just really bad. We've had 5 snow days this month and I have some big projects that are due April 1. Next week, I'll be in Chicago for a conference. Ugh. So I am going to try and work from home...while I am looking after my little with chicken pox.

I am trying to make her as comfortable as possible. Bless her heart, she's not scratching. But she's cranky and clingy. I gave her a lukewarm, colloidal oatmeal bath and we're giving her acetaminophen. And snuggling a lot. Poor baby.

The silver lining in all of this is that she and I will have a lot of quality time together this week, which is good since I'll be leaving her for 5 days and 4 nights next week. I've never been away from her for longer than 18 hours, so I am anxious about this trip. But she'll be in good hands, my mom will be home and with her 24/7 and J will be here too.

I just hope to be able to leave enough pumped milk for her (she refuses all frozen BM). The plan is to pump as much as I can, starting this Tuesday, and leave it in the fridge for her. The stuff I pump this Tuesday, they'll use first next week and so on. Perhaps being being away will also convince her to take cow's milk? It's been introduced, but she basically refuses it. I am going to pump 4-5 times a day while I am gone and bring the milk home to give to the baby to whom I've been donating my extra milk. I still need to read up how to do that with the TSA. *sigh*

It's times like these that I really wish I was a SAHM. I know it's not easy to SAH, but it's not easy to be a working mom either. Especially one who has to travel away from home. Let's face it, being a mom just isn't easy, no matter how you slice it.

Bonding Over Breastmilk

It's fairly common knowledge that breastfeeding is a great way to bond with your baby. But I had no idea that breastfeeding would lead me to bond with other mothers. And make friends with them. Case in point. The mama with whom I went to the aquarium last weekend and I met while sitting in her chair at a recent dental appointment. I asked her if the numbing agent was approved for breastfeeding mothers. She said it was and we proceeded to chat (as much as one can with a numb mouth and dental tools in it) about the joys and trials of being working mothers who breastfeed. We hit it off and soon discovered many other things in common.

And, I have bonded with the mother to whom I've been donating breastmilk. So much so, this week, she and her husband looked after Libby for us while I was at work and J was in class. My mom is out-of-town this week and next so she can be with her sister, who just had a double bypass, and we needed an alternative daycare situation. This mom stays-at-home with her four-year-old and four-month-old daughters. Her husband works second shift, like J, and is home during the day. So as soon as we learned we'd need someone to babysit, I contacted them with the proposal. Much to our joy, they said, "yes, no problem." What a relief. So Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, we packed Libby up and dropped her off at their place.

We've never had to do the whole daycare drop-off and pick-up routine so it's been a learning curve for all of us. She was there on Monday from 8:15 a.m. until 2:45 p.m., Tuesday from 8:15 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. and Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. She'll do the same next week. I offered to pay them and they said, "just keep giving us your milk." But that didn't feel right. So I have them some cash on Wednesday. And will do the same next week. I don't want them to feel that we're taking advantage of a new friendship. And they've really helped us out, so the least we could do is give them some "fun money."

 Here's two iPhone pics that were taken of Libby by my firend while she was watching her this week. She posted them to my FB for me so I could see how Libby was doing while I was at work. So sweet!

This week has also made me extra grateful for the fact that my mom usually watches Libby during the week. Libby can sleep until she's ready to wake and we don't have to rush around and get her into the car and to daycare. It's so nice to be able to have Libby stay home, even if it's not with me. At least for now. When she's older, I would like her to go to preschool a couple day a week to socialize and begin preparing for school.

Speaking of which, we had our third Parents as Teachers home visit this week. I cannot say enough about how wonderful this program is. We've learned SO much in the three months we've been participating. I cannot believe it's free! I plan to donate some materials, like books and art supplies to our PAT educator as a thank you. Libby is developing way ahead in most areas and in some ways I know we've got our work cut out for ourselves to stay one step ahead of her! Last week, in the bath, she used two cups that we have in there (to help with shampooing her hair, etc.) to pour one into the other. Apparently these are called "transfer skills" and not something that toddlers her age can typically do. What's more, she always only uses the smaller one to pour into the larger one (the small one is 2 oz. and the large one is 6 oz.) which is also considered advanced problem solving and not something one year olds are usually capable of doing. Pretty neat, huh?

A Great Day

Today started with a quickie photo session in downtown Tulsa. I met our photographer near 4th and Elgin (down the street from the bus station) to snap some "urban" photos with Libby. Here's a sneak peek:

I had seen this location a lot in other photos and just knew I wanted some of Libby there too. Well, I almost changed my mind once we actually got there. As cool as this near-abandoned building with peeling aqua paint over brink and chipped red doors and stairs looks, well, it's down a back alley with broken out windows and abandoned shopping carts. It was dirty and smelled like pee. And right across from where we were shooting there was a homeless couple and their VERY large pit bull trying to catch some shut eye in one of the abandoned and dilapidated buildings. I think we took them by surprised. They watched us, but didn't say anything. As soon as we were done they got up and came out, but again, only after we had moved on...as I drove away I felt sad for them. I wondered what might had happened in their lives to lead them to the place where they spend the night in abandoned buildings. And I've seriously thought about trying to gathering up some things...food, water, blankets, etc. and bringing them back down there for them tomorrow.

I won't lie, something felt surreal about taking my freshly scrubbed baby, in her cute outfit (I already had everything except the cute pinafore, which I got from here), to have photos taken there. But then I saw this shot and was glad that we did it. I hope, someday, that when Libby is grown, she might return to this place (if it's still there) and have photos taken again. It's the first time I've taken her downtown (other than just passing through in our car) and I said to her, "This is YOUR city baby girl. This is where you're from...Tulsa!" I have always felt deeply connected to San Francisco, where I was born and raised, and I wonder if Libby will feel that way about Tulsa. I guess we'll  have to wait and see...I am sure it will be somewhat determined by how long we stay here.

We came home and had some lunch and Libby napped. As soon as she was up we got ready and headed to the Oklahoma Aquarium to meet up with my new friend L and her daughter A. A is two months younger than Libby. And 8 pounds lighter! But they're SO cute together. A wanted to touch Libby's hair. And Libby wanted to touch A's face and even gave her a kiss on the forehead. L and I took the girls around the aquarium which was quite busy since it was a Saturday. L is a working mama and we actually met in December when I was a client where she works. We hit it off immediately and chatted like old friends. I saw her again in January and invited them to Libby's birthday party. We've chatted on Facebook and are developing a nice friendship, which I so appreciate. It's been tough to be here and not have any girlfriends. But finally, after 2.5 years of living here, it's starting to happen. And I am SO grateful. L is younger than me (she's in her late 20's) but I feel like we click and can relate. I admire her greatly...she lost her first daughter on February 18, 2009, at just 4 days old. So this past week was the anniversary of her birth and death. And I thought L might not be up for a play date after such an emotional week. But she was. And she was great company and her little A was just precious. Obviously, with A almost 1 years old, L got pregnant again fairly soon after loosing her first little one. I cannot imagine the heartbreak. It must be bittersweet to be planning A's first birthday and remembering the first daughter she lost just two years ago. I look forward to developing our budding friendship and seeing the girls have more fun play dates together. Who knows, maybe A and Libby will be posing together for their senior portraits in downtown Tulsa someday?

First Haircut

Monday was our 10th Valentine's day together. It was Libby's second and to celebrate, she got her first haircut! My mom was taking a bath with her and while she played with her bath toys my mom combed and snipped her bangs (since they've been hanging in her eyes). That's it! Super quick. It came out cute and she's definitely looking more like a toddler now. Her walking is getting better and better each day and while she still crawls when she wants to get somewhere or something quickly, she's walking more and more.

We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day on the 15th. We don't really do much...usually just a dinner date. This year we decided to check out The Green Onion. It wasn't bad. The food was tasty and generous portions. We both ordered fish...I had the blackened Ahi and J ordered the stuffed salmon. He couldn't say enough about their famous potato! Dessert was yummy too...fresh apple pie a la mode for me and chocolate bread pudding for him. It was sorta empty while we were there but the service was slow. We had to ask for forks after the salad came and went. And the place looks like it's stuck in 1979. I swear, I was looking for Jack Tripper (from Three's Company) to show up any minute! LOL. But the food was good and the company was GREAT! We've not had a date night for a while and enjoyed just having some couple time together. Before heading to dinner, I got home and the weather was amazing so we took Libby up to La Fortune Park and played in the playground with her. She went down the slide and crawled on the equipment. She had fun watching all of the other kids too.

My mom left today to be in Portland with her sister as she has a bypass. It's scary and my mom is anxious for sure. The surgery is on the 23rd so please send healing and positive vibes to my aunt. With my mom gone that means it's just me and J looking after Libby. Normal, right? Well, we like out "village." My mom helps us so much! Especially now that J is in clinical classes by day and still working nights at the restaurant. So we're punting a bit. She'll be gone two weeks, come home for a week (to help J with Libby while I am at a conference in Chicago, for work) and then return to Portland for another week. Libby will be staying with our friends while J is in class and I am at work. This is the family I met in October. They'd just adopted a baby girl and were looking for donated breast milk for her. So, I gave them my whole freezer stash and have been donating whatever I can pump during the week to them. We've become friends and had a few visits with them. They came to Libby's birthday party and we went to their older daughter's birthday party the following week. The wife is a SAHM and the husband works second shift and is home in the daytime. So we felt comfortable with leaving Libby with them and are so grateful they said "yes" when we asked! I just pray that Libby is amenable and not too crabby or difficult for them to handle. Luckily, their older daughter, who just turned four, plays nicely with Libby and is a good distraction for her. That said, I know Libby will be missing my mom.

Today, I had a late teleconference at work, so J was off and home with Libby all day. It's been a while since he's had her all to himself for that many hours. He's such a great dad and I am sure they had fun having the time together. I picked up take-out from the new Thai Bamboo Bistro that just opened. It was just okay. We love Thai food, but to us the food just tasted like generic American-style Asian food. You know what I mean? Like mall food court Asian food. And it was SUPER salty so I bet they use MSG. We probably won't eat there again. We'll stick with Lanna Thai which is tasty and seems way more authentic.

First Haircut

Libby's hair has been hanging in her face, giving her a Justin Bieber-esque look:

So, during her bath tonight, my mom clipped her hair:

It still looks wispy and babyish but without the scraggly hairs hanging in her eyes.

Sneak Peeks!

Here's three shots from this morning's session!

This was the toughest session yet because Libby is SO mobile now and wanted to be into everything...and didn't want to sit/stand still in front of the camera.  That little black chair I picked up for $30 from Ross last night. It's velvet and has sparkly buttons where the tufting is. I gifted it to Malisa for all of the great photos she's done for us in last 14 months!

The nursing shots were a no-go because as soon as she latched on a Malisa starting snapping she'd pop off the breast to see what was happening. So, I guess I'll have to have my mom or J try to take some nursing photos of us. I am happy with how the cake turned out...it has a TON of frosting on it...not so great for eating, but GREAT for photos! Libby did as we expected and picked the sprinkles off and ate some of the frosting...no smashing whatsoever!