Feeling Totally Overwhelmed

I usually keep my life in pretty good control by getting things done early and planning ahead, but today was one of those days when I felt totally overwhelmed and honestly, it showed! I didn't blow up, I just fell into a slow and steady meltdown.

It started with the fact that I already had too much to do when Bossy sent out an email begging me to help her today with Burrito. He wanted to enter the Reflections contest, but the deadline is tomorrow and he hadn't done anything. I wanted to say no, really I did, but the next thing I knew, my plans to fold all the laundry the Dog Walker brought to my family room were thwarted...not that I really wanted to fold laundry, it's just that I have my first scout meeting on Friday and a big family party on Saturday morning for Baby Doll who is getting baptized. I also had a large pot of tomato sauce that needed to be cooked down and pressured before I headed out for volleyball (of which I'm in charge) at 6:30 with little hope of returning home before 10:00.

Wednesday night volleyball for Scout. They won both matches.

Oh, and did I mention that I had Twizlet all day? Or that we are dog-sitting? Or that Scout's Reflections deadline is also on Friday and she was counting on my support to finish things up? And just to make things that much harder, I also have a boutique that I have to set up for on Friday (not at my house, thank goodness!) and... and... and...

My lists never end, but this time my brain decided to check out.

I forgot to pick up Baby Doll at the dance studio. She patiently waited for her ride for 45 minutes. I totally forgot that when Curly gets home from football practice on Thursdays that he only has about 15 minutes to change and get to his Jazz class. I remembered about 10 minutes before the class was over. And Crafty called me from the church... "Mom, are we going to have anything for dinner tonight?" Thankfully those words were followed by, "Would you like me to make something?"

I'm so sorry you get this long rant from me today. I should probably either go to bed or go fold some of that laundry...

Moments in the NICU: That's My Mom! by Bossy

The primary reason Skittles spent so much time at the hospital was that he was unable to take food by mouth. He couldn’t figure out how to suck, swallow and breathe while nursing. Latching issues aren’t a surprise to me.  Both Taco and Burrito had to use a nipple shield when nursing as newborns.  Taco couldn’t even figure out how to latch well with his tongue tie. Once Burrito was used to my rapid, heavy let down, he was able to nurse without the shield.

Early on, I asked the lactation specialist for a shield and described the struggles my older boys had nursing.  We had countless people come and watch him latch and try to nurse. As adorable as his cheeks are, they made it difficult to see how strong of a latch we had. He was also using his cheeks to store the milk and he would let it dribble out the sides of his mouth instead of swallowing.

With little progress being made at the beginning of week 3, I began to toy with the idea of going back to work before he was released and taking more time when he came home.  At that point it hit me that when I returned to work, Skittles would need to take a bottle and if we gave him his feeding by bottle before the tube feed, we could see exactly what he was doing when he tried to suck, swallow and breathe.

I asked his nurse, Amy, if we could get permission to try a bottle feed at his next feeding. Bottle feeding a preemie is not like feeding a full term baby. Amy showed me how to lay him on his side facing away from me so I could monitor the flow in the nipple and watch his breathing. Skittles really liked Nurse Amy; she was present at his birth and frequently checked on him when he wasn’t assigned to her.

No problems smiling now, Skittles at 3 months old.

 Skittles has always been hyper-aware of his surroundings. I watched him track a new voice across his room at 3 days old. He reacts when he meets a new person, especially if they don’t compliment his hair and cheeks. He is a very observant baby! He watched Amy intently and tried to figure out how this crazy bottle thing worked. At some point during the feeding, he became so focused on the bottle and Amy, that he forgot I was in the room holding him on my lap.

Grandma! My grandma is here! (Skittles @ 3 months)

Being on his side, Skittles was back to his old tricks of just letting the milk dribble out of the corner of his mouth Amy suggested we adjust his position to see if it would help him swallow.  As I went to adjust him, he turned his head and noticed me. He eyes lit up and he shook with joy; if he could talk, he would have shouted, “Mom, my mom is here!” 

Can't Wait to "Watch Ya' Mouth"

I am really good at making a fool of myself without the help of a game, and when Twiz brought over the original version of this one, we had a great time being silly.

The idea behind the game is that you put a plastic stretcher bar in your mouth while you speak and your team has to guess what you are saying. It gets absolutely hilarious!

I"m hoping that since this is a 90s version I might actually have an advantage since I remember the 90s and most of my kids really don't. If you want to get your copy of this great party game before I do, you know I have a coupon code for you. Just click here, and you can save 30% and get free shipping.

Happy Birthday, Baby Doll

We had this whirlwind weekend full of General Conference and two birthday parties. Since I was sick last Sunday and we cancelled Crafty's party, we managed to slip it into Saturday night right after the Women's Conference. I loved walking into the church with 7 of my 8 daughters and then listening to the speakers and our dear prophet. So many changes going on in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

Crafty wanted strawberry shortcake.

We woke up this morning to Drama Queen's Belgian waffles covered with strawberries and whipped cream. It was the perfect beginning to a fun family day. We had 4 more hours of  conference on TV and then in the evening all the kids joined us (except for Prima Donna) for dinner. We also had Li'l Sis and her family help us celebrate for Baby Doll.

Mmmm. which one should I blow out first?

My sweetie made turkey soup with homemade noodles. I didn't even have to frost the cake. Crafty and Bossy took care of that. Baby Doll loved her gifts and was excited to share them with her brothers and sisters, especially the pie that Dog Walker made for her. I should have gotten a pic for you. It was Sprite-flavored.

In other exciting weekend news, Dog Walker got the corn maze up. I'm sure he will share pics with you soon. Things are getting colder and I'm expecting we will see things freeze up in the next week or so. It's finally starting to feel like fall.