Mommy Guilt Sucks so stop Judging

This past weekend I started to notice that Moms in general have many opinions and some of these moms push their strong opinions upon you and believe that they are right and your parenting skills are not so right or better yet they look at you with I cant believe that is what you did or what your doing.

Lets take breastfeeding as an example. If you breastfed or are breastfeeding that is great. It may have worked for you, your child and your family but this doesn't give mom's or better yet women who have no children to give their strong opinions and say hurtful things. SERIOUSLY i hate it when someone who has no child talks "shit" and makes you feel bad that your not breastfeeding.

My point is Mommy guilt sucks.. Mom's stop judging other mommies... so whether we breastfeed or formula Feed, give our babies flu shots or not, sleep train by letting our baby cry it out I believe us Mommy's are still going to raise good children and do what we believe is best for our family and whatever works for our family. Mommy's stop judging other mommies and let people do what is best for them.

Morning at the Park

Alex this morning was cranky and just didn't want to play or eat so my dear husband decided what a great morning to take him to the park. I am super sad I missed Alex's 1st swing park experience, but happy that my husband took at least 50 photos of him to be sure to capture every moment of my little monkey's happiness.

The best part of it all was after the park my husband stop by my work with the camera and Alex to show me the pictures. Even though I missed his 1st experience because I was at work my husband was super sensitive to my feelings and did whatever it took to make me happy. I feel very blessed this morning.

Alexander's 9 month Check-up

Saturday was Alex's 9 month checkup. My preemie has grown to be a big boy. 20 lb 10 oz and 29 3/4 inches. He is in the 85% for height and 50% for weight. Maybe he will be the 1st Armenian basketball player (that would be Daddy's dream). He has hit pretty much all his 9 month milestones. I am so proud of my little monster.

Now I have to start planning his 1st birthday!!! Since he is a Christmas baby I am planning to have a Christmas winter wonderland theme event for him.

Let the planning begin.

Donations needed to help end SMA!!!

I posted about SMA awarness month last month. This Month I am posting to help my friend Molly raise 10K for The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation (who is dedicated to increasing awareness about SMA -- Spinal Muscular Atrophy -- the leading genetic killer of young children, and accelerating research toward a cure.)

Molly's Mommy Friends have come togther to help Molly raise the money .

Since losing her precious angel June Marie, Molly has done all she can to spread the word to raise awareness and support for SMA and her friends have come together to help her carry out this mission.


To make a donation in honor of Angel Baby June Marie Howsden please click on: http://www.firstgiving.com/juneangelbaby

Thank You,


P.S. If you would like to know more about June and Molly, please visit Molly's blog at http://bootsieandbull.blogspot.com/

Alex's Future

Yesterday was Alex's teething party. All of my close friends and family joined us at my moms house for a fun filled day. The food was great, the dessert was yummy and most of all Alex seemed to enjoy all his friends. I had an overtired baby at the end of the day.

As for Alex's future: he touched a book seemed that he wanted to pick it up but he picked up a yellow car toy instead. So my son is going to be a race car driver?? I am not sure how I feel about that. =)

Here are some pictures:

Road Trip

This past weekend my Husband and I decided we wanted to get away. We took a road trip out to Sunny and hot Palm Springs. We had a blast. We stayed at a very nice family friendly Hilton hotel. Alexander got sooo much attention by all the cute ladies. He was such a flirt. The best part of our trip was a call from my high school friend who is pregnant and lives out in Palm Springs that her water broke. We got to go see her on our way home unfortunately her baby (also my sons girlfriend) was not born yet.

Here are a few photo's of our trip:

WTF Preggo Brain-still after 8 months

I still have Preggo Brain/Mommy Brain. WTF Its been 8 months since I delivered my baby. Where is my brain!!

My co-worker came up to my desk to ask a question about his vacation days. I looked at him and while he was talking to me I was just thinking please God let me remember his name!!! How embarrassing!!! I had to ask him his name wow!!! That was the 1st!!! Seriously I want my brain back.

My little Sunshine!!!

I love how my baby loves animals. He puts a huge smile on his face.

I will be missing him today. He is spending the day and night at Grandma and Grandpa Andonians while mommy and daddy go to a wedding. Can this be considered a date night?

No more late afternoon nap

Its official ever since Alexander turned 8 months old he has decided he doesn’t need a 3rd afternoon nap anymore. I have mixed feelings about this no 3rd nap situation.

Why this sucks: Alexander needs to get to bed at an earlier time 7:00pm vs. 8pm. This sucks for mama because by the time I pick him up from Grandmas and come home its 6:15pm I have very little playtime with him.

Why this awesome: He is happy and well rested.

A letter from my Aunt.

Last week we went on our first family airline trip to Chicago to visit my Aunt, Uncle and their kids. Alexander did pretty well. he slept 1.5 hours each way. Played and cried but overall it was manageable. My Husband was totally helpful.

After our return my Aunt sent me the most beautiful email I wanted to share part of the letter with all of you. (note Char Mama means bad mama and my aunt said that to me as a joke). I love you Auntie!!!

"I also wanted to let you know I think you are an awesome mom. It's amazing how grown up you are and how well you're handling having a child. Wow, Lucy! I'm really proud of you! I can say char mama all day long, but the reality is you're a great mom! Raising children is the hardest thing I have ever done, there is not manual that tells you exactly what to do, you're always second guessing yourself. But you've got a good sense of who you are and that itself is huge. Hang in there, you're doing a great job!"

August: SMA Awareness Month

August is SMA Awareness month. (SMA=Spinal Muscular Atrophy.)

What is SMA?
SMA is a terminal degenerated disease called Lou Gehrig's disease of babies. It is inherited and it kills more children than any other inherited disease. SMA babies are born healthy. SMA will impact every muscle in the child's body hindering the ability for the child to sit, walk, stand, eat,breathe, and swallow. The mind stays unaffected and children with SMA are bright, sensitive and playful.

I never knew what SMA was until one of my friends Molly and her husband Chris went through this with their beautiful daughter June (who lived for three weeks after birth). Molly's blog has a ton of info about SMA and June's story can be read on her blog: bootsieandbull.blogspot.com.

To honor Molly and her family and to honor the memory of June, I am posting this so my friends and family can make themselves aware about SMA.

Teething Party

My baby got his first tooth a month ago and in the Armenian Tradition we throw a party called agra (means tooth) hadig (refers to a traditionally cooked wheat dish eaten on this occasion). When I told some of my co-workers they looked at me with such a shock. Who celebrates the 1st tooth. =)

Since I was a little kid I loved this Armenian Tradition so I have decided to throw my son a Agra Hadig next month. I just made cute invites and will post pictures after the event.

Here is some info about the Teething Party tradition written by: (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/CA/200002748.html)
"Armenian First Tooth
The centuries-old Armenian tradition agra hadig is celebrated worldwide by Armenians, no matter where they live -- Armenia, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, or the U.S. Agra means "tooth," and hadig refers to a traditionally cooked wheat dish eaten on this occasion. The agra hadig celebrates the appearance of the baby's first tooth. The mother props the infant up on a table or on the floor and places five objects in front of the child; the first object the baby selects predicts his or her future occupation. Before the child makes the selection, its head is covered using a veil or a scarf, onto which some hadig is sprinkled to signify a wish for fruitfulness.
If the child picks up a book or a Bible, s/he will be a scholar, teacher, or clergyperson; if the child chooses money, s/he will become a banker, financier or wealthy person; if the baby selects a hammer, s/he will be in the building trades; a knife symbolizes a doctor a surgeon; and scissors foretell a life as a seamstress or tailor. In afternoon celebrations, only females attend and only sweet foods are served. When the party is held in the evening, males also attend, and a full Armenian buffet dinner is served. Although merriment prevails, underlying the gaiety is a genuine concern for the future well-being of the child, its social status and its economic prosperity. While the first tooth sets the timing for this divinatory event among Armenians, in other cultures, it frequently occurs when the child is one year old. Storytelling is an integral part of "first tooth" celebrations, and gifts are brought for the baby."

Sleep Train

A lot of my friends ask me how did you get Alex to sleep through the night? Dr. Ferber is my answer and this book is my sleep bibble.

Some parents are lucky and their babies sleep through the night without any parental assistance. I was not so lucky. For all those moms not breast feeding you must read Dr. Ferber's book. He made motherhood so much better for me.

This is a cry out method so this is not for everyone but for my family this method was great.

Alex now knows how to put himself to sleep and sleeps through the night from 7:30pm-6:30am. He wakes up very happy (koos until I pick him up).

Alexander’s 1st professional Haircut

Weekend was full of fun but Saturday was super cranky day for Alexander. He seems to be teething badly. He woke up at 4:30 am (the last time he woke up at 4:30 was before I had even sleep trained him). What a disaster!!! He was up from 4:30-8am at 8 am he slept for 30 min and was up for another two hours. He was cranky and cried the entire day. At 7pm he was in bed for the night. He slept from 7pm -7:30am. Thank Goodness

Happy baby and Mama and Daddy decided to take Alex to his 1st professional haircut at the Mall on Sunday. He did so well.

Check him out in the Rocket

Growing up quickly

He is officially 7 months old and got his first tooth. My husband and I threw him his first pool party. We had a small turnout but the most important people in his life were there. He had a blast.

Here are a few pictures.

Alex with Grandma Ruby

Alex with Mommy and Daddy

Alex with his Dad

Alex with Uncle Edmond

Alex with Grandpa Shahe

Alex with Taleen and Mom

Alex with Grandpa Vahe and his first cousins Leo and Savannah

Lunch Time!!

Alex's 1st time in a restaurant highchair eating sweet potato's and chicken puree YUM!!!

Challenges of a working Mom

Last night I was talking to my girlfriend about being a working mom and the challenges. The term working moms is an oxymoron. All moms are working moms. I want to talk about the challenges moms working outside of her home.

I stayed home with Alex for 6 months so I don't have much experience of being a SAHM other then what I learned the first 6 months of his life. After being a "working mom" for the past month I find this a much more of a difficult balance then being a SAHM. As a working mom not only do I have the challenge of getting myself ready and Alex up and dressed and out the door, every aspect of my working live is impacted by my parenting responsibilities. If Alex is sick (which he was last week) I have to make sure he is okay enough to go to my moms or he needs to stay home with either Ray or I and I have to arrange a doctor appointment which will cut into Rays and my work life. I have arranged all of Alex well appointment to be on a Saturday so that I wont miss out. I feel like as a "working mom" I am missing out on his life but I also feel that I can provide a lot more by being a career women. I also do love my adult time and my job.

I begin my second job at 5pm when I leave work. Dinner must be prepared, laundry done, dishes washed, Alex bathed and put into bed then finally 8:30pm rolls what to do? Should I work out, fold the laundry, clean the house, catch up with friends or catch up on me time. What about enjoying time with Ray? By 9:30 pm I am super exhausted.

These are my challenges and I am hopeful one day soon I will find a way to balance my career and my family.

Going to a wedding need an evening gown?

One of my favorite designer for evening gowns Badgley Mischka on sale at www.ideeli.com/invite/princesslucy. I love this dress.

Smiles

This is what I go home to every afternoon from work.

Alexanders 1st Photoshoot

Ray and I took Alex to Kiddie Kandids before he turned 6 months old to take some professional pictures. It took two hours but we got some great photos. Here is my faviorite picture from his 1st photo shoot.

My Favorite Online Shopping Websites

I am addicted to shopping.

Here are four websites I love to shop at.. great deals on designer clothes, shoes, accessories, kids items, and housewares.

www.ideeli.com/invite/topjianl

http://www.ruelala.com/invite/landonian423

http://www.hautelook.com/invite/874977

http://www.gilt.com/invite/topjianl

Hope you enjoy these great deals like I do. I just bought a dress for my friends Talin Wedding original price was $650 I got it for $250. Now that is a savings.

The best part of online shopping is when a brown box shows up at your door. Its like Christmas everyday at my house.