Babies Are Such Messy Creatures

Sadly, not much is new in the Mecham household; I wish I could say otherwise.

We’re gearing up for graduation and getting out of this cold place. Remember how we went for walks all weekend last weekend? Well, Rexburg once again reminded us that it hates us and it snowed all week. The kind of snow that sticks to the ground and then melts off by the time the sun goes down only to repeat the snow process during the night. Gross; that’s all I have to say about it without using expletives.

Aslynn is a drooling fool. She’s getting pretty good at blowing spit bubbles though. The many burp rags scattered around the house have been helping to clean up the constant flow of saliva. THANK YOU Aunt Sue and Grandma Mecham!

Z’s figured out that she likes to be carried around on her stomach. If she’s crying and Luke picks her up and lays her on her tummy across his arm, she stops crying and is good to go for at least 20 minutes or so. Tummy time does give her more opportunities to tone her neck muscles, so we’ll continue to cart her around that way.

Hand sucking has also become a big part of her “self-soothing” routine. She makes me laugh because she’s so loud when she does it. (See video below for proof of the loudness)

She’s also getting really good at holding her own hand. We often find her with her hands clasped together like she’s praying. When we lay her on her back to amuse herself, she spends most of her time playing with her fingers and different ways to arrange her hands. I wish I had a picture of it.

*She's also getting really good at taking her bink out of her mouth using her hands instead of just spitting it out. This picture shows how she's taken her bink out of her mouth and now she's just holding it while she naps.*

Aslynn’s nose is still runny/stuffed up. The pediatrician did warn us at her 2 month appointment that she might have allergies. We think she’ll live though.

At the beginning of this week I started having some really bad lower back pain. Today I went to the Student Health Center for an appointment for myself for the first time in my life. I guess that’s a good thing, but I find it kind of pathetic; four years of going to school here and I’ve never gone in for an appointment. An appointment at the SHC is a college rite of passage.

*Full of smiles with Aunt Barbie*

I told the doctor that the pain was concentrated on the right side. When she checked my reflexes by hitting my knee, my right leg didn’t move at all, so some nerve is pinched for sure. I feel broken. I now have muscle relaxers to keep my pain under control until I can see a specialist next week.

I am working on my final portfolio for my culinary Advanced Presentation class. I am making a chess board out of aspic (think really hard jell-o that you can color to make a “stained glass” looking picture on a plate that you can serve food on) and then I am going to make a variety of hors d’oeuvres to serve as the chess pieces. I plan on it being a fun, edible centerpiece. It is going to be a lot of work so that’s my big project for next week.

Luke’s still furiously filling out job applications for anywhere and everywhere he can. He’s my hero!
*Daddy's Girl.*

Paranoia, Pants and Pediatricians

Okay, I really shouldn't be looking at baby websites anymore. "Why?" You may ask? Because I have this self-destructive tendency to look at the articles about the many ways my baby can die. When I read these articles my imagination goes into overdrive and I get paranoid (I'm a big enough woman to admit it). Today I was reading about SIDS. According to the research I read, babies ages 2 - 4 months are at the biggest risk for SIDS?! I thought of my daughter as an invincible bundle of cuteness! There goes that illusion! Sure, I knew she could get sick, but DIE unexpectedly, at any time, and I really have no control of stopping it?! So now I am all freaked out that Aslynn is going to die. It’s driving Luke nuts. He doesn’t really believe most of the things that I get freaked out about are even true and/or worth getting all worked up about. Doesn’t matter. I’m a new mother; I’m entitled to a little freaking out time.

Yesterday was Aslynn’s 2 month birthday. As a birthday present we took her to the doctor and let nurses hold her down and stick her three times. I was not in the room, of course. I made Luke stay with Z. She’s such a trooper; she cried for only a few minutes after and then she was done. She’s braver than her mother that’s for sure.

The pediatrician was impressed; he said she’s growing just like she should - 12 lb. and 23 in. long. I think that Aslynn has a crush on her doctor because when he was inspecting her she smiled and flirted with him the whole time. Hussy.

*This is what she looks like in the morning when we're ready to get up and she's not. Side note: this will not be happening very often anymore thanks to my previously-referred-to freak out.*

She’s been stuffed up lately. She’s “snarky” as Luke likes to call it. We have to suction out her nose at least four times a day. The funny thing is that she likes to have her nose suctioned. She smiles the whole time – unless the suctioning interrupts a meal; then she’s mad.

*Proof of the spit up thing I was talking about in my last blog.*

Last night I sang Aslynn to sleep (for an hour…but still. And they were Church songs...jeeze, what kind of mother do you think I am?!). It started out as me just singing to her and then it turned into her going to sleep. She slept BY HERSELF for six straight hours. Hallelujah! We will try it again tonight and see what happens. I’m not holding my breath though.
*Even when she sleeps she's the princess. "Kiss the hand!"*

Today is was a balmy 60ish degrees in Rexburg, Idaho. You would not believe all the people lounging around on the grass. I swear I haven’t seen that many people in MONTHS. Where have they all been hiding?

Anyhoo, we went on a walk. See photo evidence below. It was wonderful. Aslynn likes to go on walks so I hope we live in a place with nice weather so we can get outside a lot. We’ll work on her tan and her vitamin D intake (The sun stimulates your body to create its own Vitamin D; which is where most of your Vitamin D comes from. Just your random fact of information for the day).
*That's Luke's "Honey smile for the picture" face.*

Something I rediscovered this week was that our daughter has no pants. She has one pair of jeans and that’s it. I need to get her some pants so that people won’t look down on me as a mother. (Example: Look at that! That child has no pants on; just a onesie! What kind of Mormon mother takes her daughter out in public like that?!)

P.S. Luke and I picked up our cap and gown yesterday. Graduation is just around the corner! Woot woot! It seems almost real now.

I am Aslynn; Hear Me Roar!

I don’t know why, but the weeks just seem to fly by nowadays. There just never seems to be enough time to get everything done that needs to be done. (For example: you should see my house. It’s a mess! It is driving me bonkers!) Aslynn won’t let anyone get anything done if she wants to be held because even if you are holding her and trying to do other things, she’s gets upset that the world isn’t revolving around her and she lets you know it. ALL HAIL THE BABY!

I am dreading the fact that soon I will have to be packing up my apartment. Yuck. At the cleaning rate I am going at now, it is going to take me two months to be ready to move. So I’ve made a plan. Little do all the people coming to graduation know but they will be helping me pack up my apartment. Isn’t that nice of them? (I guess they know now. BRING BOXES! Thanks!)

I went to the dentist on Wednesday for an exam before the insurance goes away. I haven’t been to the dentist since before Luke and I got married. It was desperately needed. I went back to the dentist yesterday. I went back to the dentist this morning. They just didn’t want to numb my whole mouth up at one time. My mouth feels so pretty now though. But as I type this, half of my face is numb but feels ginormous and my tongue feels like it is the size of a large sausage. (Great mental picture, isn’t it?)

*She thinks it's a fun game to cry for her bink and then spit it out as soon as you turn your back. So then when she cries for it again, you have to come put it back in her mouth and give her attention. Luke decided that he would keep it in her mouth with some self-stick stamps (not as sticky as tape). It worked for a little bit; she figured out how to push it out with her tongue. Man, this girl is a probelm solver!*

School is wrapping up and I have senioritis BIG TIME. I am ready to be done. I have stopped caring about the grades I get. But don’t worry, (Dad, I know you read that and while shaking your head said something like “She shouldn’t just let herself slack off.”) “stopped caring about grades” means that I am okay getting a B and nothing lower.

*This picture was taken this morning, right before I left for the dentist.*

No luck on jobs so far. “Just keep praying. Just keep praying. Just keep praying, praying. What do we do? We pray, pray. Lalalalalala we love to PRAY…”

Aslynn is growing like a weed. I never really understood why grown-ups said that to me when I was little but I understand it now. I feel like if I hold still and just stare at her for an hour I will actually be able to see her grow. It’s making me excited for the experiences and milestones to come; I am sure that I will look back and miss this time when she was really small, though.

*"Thanks cousins Seth and Carla for the only complete outfit I own! I am finally big enough to sort of fit into it!"*

Z can hold her head up all really well now. When she’s being burped she never lays her head down. It’s always up so she can look around at everything. As a result, 8 times out of 10 her puke ends up down your arms, instead of on the burp cloth.

It’s amazing how often we HAVE to do laundry. Before Aslynn we did it maybe once a week. Now the washer is running almost every day.

*Somehow almost no poop ended up in her diaper. We don't know how she did it; this girl's got talent!*

Prayers, Fasting, Faith & Job Hunting.

Alright, we’re getting really desperate at this point in time; I am calling in all available cavalries for backup.

In exactly a month Luke is graduating with a 4-year degree in construction management and I in communications. Its time for us to go out in the real world and be grown-ups, and we are ready and rearing to go. But we’re hitting a pothole of sorts.

We have been desperately trying to find Luke a job for the past three months. To no avail.
I know that it is probably no surprise to you, but the economy isn’t that great right now and jobs are scarce. In fact, jobs that were posted two weeks ago no longer exist; not because people were hired but because the company can’t pay people to work those jobs.

We have to find a job within the next couple of weeks so that we know where we will be going when school gets out.

We need your prayers. We need your faith.
(Please and Thank you TONS!)

I figure the more people are praying that we’ll get a good job, the more Heavenly Father will be reminded that we’re here and need His help.

Still, I know that He hasn’t forgotten about us. He blesses us every day. We know that; we thank Him daily for all of our many blessings. We just need His help on this one. We know that we can’t do it without Him.

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

A few (okay, way more than a few) words of advice from a well seasoned mother of one child, age almost 7 weeks. (With such a believable opening line such as that, who could believe that, most of the time, I really don’t know what I am talking about?)

1. If the baby is happy, keep doing what you are doing. I don’t care if your arm is asleep or you have a cramp. If she’s not crying, let’s keep it that way. Anything you do to change what you are currently doing could unleash her wrath, and believe me, it is loud and high pitched.

2. Nipple confusion, shimpple confusion. Pacifiers are a godsend. Use them. If you don’t the baby will use YOU as a pacifier and trust me, boobs can only take so much damage before they bleed.


3. Bouncers and baby swings are amazing inventions. When she is really little the vibrating bouncer is very good at keeping her content and sometimes even asleep. When she is a little bit older a swing will serve the same purpose; only it will do the job better.

4. Every new mommy and daddy needs a very large exercise ball. SIT AND BOUNCE. Before the baby is born it is great for dealing with contractions. After the baby is born it is great for quieting said child and putting her to sleep. Warning: your back will hurt. Refer to #1.

5. Daddies are irreplaceable; they will take the baby when mommy needs a break. If you aren’t married, it is highly suggested that you are before having children. I can’t imagine having to do it alone.

6. Though it may be the most expensive piece of cotton fabric you will ever buy, a Moby will allow you to cuddle your baby without using your hands so that your hands can be doing other things. It’s called multi-tasking without injury or frustration.

Man, am I a wealth of knowledge or what? ;)

Baby Z update:

Little Miss Thunder Thighs loves for someone to hold her up so she can stand. Then she dances and wiggles because her hips aren’t as strong as her legs.
She’s got great leg muscles. If she decides that she doesn’t want her legs apart, nothing you can do to try and pry them apart will work. This can make diaper changing difficult at times.
I am hoping that her legs will remain this strong because when she’s a teenager and some guy tries to get in her pants, it won’t work. She will have been taught to keep her thighs together; nothing a teenage boy can do will get those legs apart. (At least that’s the plan. And the fact that she won’t be allowed to date until she’s 20 also might help with the guy issues. ;) )

Luke puts Aslynn to sleep at the beginning of the night. When she’s out, he will put her in the swing (Thanks again Aunt Stefanie!). She will sleep there for about 3 hours (wonderful hours of uninterrupted sleep) and then she will wake up hungry. I don’t put her back to sleep in the swing because I don’t want her getting used to being rocked while she sleeps because then I am afraid she will NEVER sleep in her bassinet.

Z’s a morning person. She got that from her dad – I could sleep in until noon. She’s most talkative and smiley right when she wakes up and after she’s been fed.

I am trying to teach her to do a gargle-coo because all the babies in my family were taught to so do. I am obligated to teach my daughter so that she can teach her daughter and so on. TRADITION!

Circle of Life

*I bought this sweater because it has a pineapple on it. I thought it was cute and I like pineapples. There will be no SpongeBob references!*

Today was fast and testimony meeting at church, and I was really touched by the spirit as a family got up to bear their testimonies to their dying father so that he could hear them one last time.
My great-grandmother Ruth passed away this week. To be honest, I am glad. She was old and very sick. She missed her husband. She was in pain all the time. She didn’t leave this world in a horrible way; it was very peaceful, at home with those she loved and those who loved her. Though I am glad she isn’t in pain anymore, I will miss her. I am thankful for the knowledge and peace that the gospel gives me that I know that I will see her again. She’s isn’t gone forever. What a blessing!
For a while there were five generations on this earth. I wish we had been able to get a picture of Grandma Ruth, Grandma Shirley, my mom, myself and Aslynn. Thank goodness for the miracles of Photoshop. ;)

On to a happier topic (some people find death depressing) my good, dear friend Jenny had her baby this week! Emma Hermione Campbell is super cute!
I went to the hospital and sat with Jenny for a while so her husband, Logan, could go to a meeting. While I was there I started to think about that House episode where this woman has a disorder where she likes the attention that she receives when she goes the doctor saying that she’s sick. I feel like that lady.
I don’t like the sick part, but I cannot lie, the perks of the hospital make me miss it. Think about it:

1. the bed has a nifty-cool button that elevates it and makes the feet and head part tilt up and down (when it’s three o’clock in the morning and I need to nurse, I could just push a button to sit myself up).

2. There’s room service any time of day (how come I didn’t eat more?!).

3. The nurses are always saying “Is there anything else I can get/do for you?”

And 4. Apparently there is a Jacuzzi tub (Jenny got to use it…too bad no one told me about it when I was there).
When it comes right down to it, I don’t want to go back to the hospital (pushing out a kid, being sore, bleeding, etc.); I want a maid/slave/eager-to-please, very rich friend. Know where I can get one of those?

*ET phone home*

Aunt Stefanie came to visit this weekend so Aslynn got to meet on of her namesakes. Z likes her; they’ve bonded. *Aunt Stefanie and Aslynn*

We celebrated Grandma Mecham’s birthday yesterday with a party at her house. Aslynn got to meet her other great-grandmother. When we put Z in Grandma’s arms all was well – at first – and then the crying started. When Aunt Joy (Grandpa Arvel’s sister) picked Aslynn up out of Grandma Mecham’s arms, the baby immediately stopped crying. She’s such a pill. Aslynn liked Aunt Joy the most out of all the relatives she met last night.

*Grandma Mecham and Aslynn*

*Aunt Joy and Aslynn*

This week Aslynn has introduced us to a new sleeping schedule. It’s called: “I am wide awake from the hours of 11 PM and 2 AM, and no matter what you do I will be awake.” She doesn’t cry very much during this time period. She’s just awake and wants to look around. But she’s cannot be by herself; she has to be held. It’s been an experience to say the least. Luke and I take turns taking care of her during that time so the other can get some sleep.

Stefanie bought Aslynn a swing as a present. The swing is better than a bouncer.

Aslynn has started talking this week. Mornings are the best talking time. Luke won “Cutest Baby Picture/Video” this week with this one.