Another Money Saving Tip

Yesterday, I got four free 32 oz cans of Gerber Ready-to-Feed formula and a free 36 pack of Huggies Snug n Dry diapers. How did I do this? My mother-in-law gave me some gerber "checks" that she received in the mail and I had wrote Huggies an email saying that I loved their product. Pampers is sending me two 10 dollar off coupons in the mail for the same reason. Email your favorite companies and get these awesome coupons!!!!

Help Me Grow Programs

I love being a part of this program. The Help Me Grow program is a free program for first time mothers in Ohio. There are programs of the same name in other states that help developmentally challenged children only, but this is not that kind of program. It is specifically for helping first time mothers through pregnancy and then through the first 3 years of your baby's life.

It is so scary being a first time mother, and this program helps to guide you through the journey of being a "been there, done that" mother. A person comes to your home every week for the first 4 months, then every 2 weeks for the next 2 years, and then once a month for the 3rd year. They answer any questions you have concerning, well, anything to do with your child. They can install car seats, and even help you get baby clothes and free stuff if you are in need. For example, I got a free convertible car seat, plus she installed it, and a free bag of name brand clothing for the winter. He's gotten toys, and books, and sometime they even throw in a little something for you, like lotion or body wash. They make sure your son/daughter are meeting their milestones, getting enough hours of sleep, are eating the right things at the right times. (ie, solid foods starting between 4-6 months, formula/breast milk until one year, etc), and everything in between. It's like having an extra piece of mind, I love this program and I'm so glad somebody referred me. Well, I have to go because Jacoby's Help Me Grow lady will be here in 10 minutes!

Great Places to Find a Babysitter

Family and friends are your first option, of course. But what if you don't have any around, or they aren't available for the times you need? I'm part of a two great websites that provide caregiver profiles for a small monthly fee that you can pay for, for just one month, every 6 months, or a year. The caregivers can pay a small fee to get background checks which are posted to his/her profile, the profile shows his/her total years of experience, different certifications he/she may have, if he/she have special needs aptitudes, his/her availability, references, contact information, etc. If you have read my blog, you know that I babysit. I use these sites to find families who need caregivers. I have been hired by 4 families on Care.com and 1 family on Sittercity.com so far. Care.com seems to be the most used as compared to Sittercity.com but they are both great sites and very similar. Both also offer profiles for Petsitters, Nannies, Senior Care, and Housekeeping. Here is my profile on Care.com and my referral link on Sittercity.com:

Middletown Babysitters >

Sittercity referral link:
http://buzzwat.ch/melin5

IcyHot Spray

I absolutely LOVE IcyHot Spray. It really comes in handy because I'm lifting 20 pounds of baby all day, and it kills my back and neck. It takes forever to run out, so it is definitely worth the extra money, and I use the spray because Shaun refuses to rub the lotion on my back because he cannot stand the smell.

So for those ladies constantly picking up your babies, get IcyHot spray. I would not recommend spraying it around your baby because it is VERY strong smelling. I spray it in the bathroom with the door closed and vent on.

My Blog Template

I usually stick to talking about baby stuff, but I've had some questions about my blog template. "You blog about your journey as a mom, why the unrelated background?".

WELL, naysayers of the world, even though I don't necessarily owe anyone an explanation, I suppose it is a valid question.

It so happens that I am a dreamer. I'm one of those people that dream they are laying on the beach, enjoying a cool glass of wine in one hand,

and a good book in the other. I dream of complete financial security (don't we all?), of big houses, a brand new honda, and the american dream. I want a bay window in my kitchen, and a black, suede sectional in my living room. I want to look out my window seat, and see the beauty of the ocean. I want to laugh watching two little children that came from my womb, playing in the sand and splashing each other. I want to look down and see a ring on my finger that came from the man I love.

I feel that my template reflects the passion I have for my fantasy world, my "happy place" that I go to when I need to step away from reality for a moment.

Childproof me please!

Today, I am getting my house childproofed FOR FREE! If I were to pay to have it done, it could cost anywhere from 500-1200 dollars! I'm part of a 3 year injury-related study (formally named the CHIPS study). I get 85 dollars spread out over the 3 years and I get to keep all the child proofing stuff they install. All I have to do is participate in short phone/home interviews every few months (that I also get paid for).

I love doing studies. If you live in the Greater Cincinnati Area, the P&G Discovery Center has studies plenty frequently. They focus more on baby stuff, but they also have studies that don't require you to have a baby. Their studies pay anywhere from 25-200 dollars, I have been to two 100 dollar diaper studies. I had to come early in the morning, (if you don't get there early enough, and the panels filled up, then you are excused to go and you get a "bump" fee for

substantially less than if you were to complete the study) and I stayed until 2 or 3 o clock in a room with about 10-15 other moms and their babies.

I cannot disclose exactly what was done during the study because I had to sign a confidentiality agreement beforehand, but I can tell you that they provided a personalized, delicious lunch both times (one from La Rosa's and the second time from Subway), and they also provided pop/bottled water the whole time. The staff was very nice and great with the babies, and it was nice to sit around and chat with the other moms. The only downfall I didn't like was the babies didn't get to nap very long since we were up and down a lot. If you would like to join the panel, I've provided the link below. They will send you emails each time there is a study, and you will have to fill out a survey to see if you qualify. When you click on the link, scroll to the bottom of the page to find the registration forms.
http://www.pampers.com/en_US/pg-baby-discovery-center

The Cry It Out Method

Jacoby goes to sleep on his own now, for naps and for bedtime. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, he usually puts himself back to sleep within 5 minutes. I know there is a LOT of controversy about CIO (cry it out) methods, and I was always on the fence about it so I developed my own little modified CIO method. It is nothing fancy and I'm sure people have thought of it before but all I know is it worked wonders. Once I started doing it, he was self soothing in a month. The first week was the hardest, oftentimes I had to take him out of his crib and rock him, but every week, he got a little bit better at it. Here is generally what I did:

1. Make sure he is full/clean/burped/warm/comfortable.

2. put him in his clean crib (no toys or distractions, my son likes to hold a baby blanket), and turn out the lights

3. leave the room for 10 minutes, let him fuss and cry (obviously check on him if you think something is wrong)

4. come back after 10 mins, patt his back/belly, talk to him and comfort him until he quiets down.

5. when you feel he is calmed down a bit (doesnt have to be perfectly quiet but better off then he was before you came back), leave for another 10 mins.

6. repeat the same cycle until he falls asleep on his own (if i did this for an hour and he was still not asleep, i would take him out and rock him to sleep, or feed him)

It won't be perfect every night but he will get the hang of it. Once again, this took about a month, so this isn't something that happens overnight. I hope this helps anyone looking for a good sleep method!

Wow been almost 2 months!

It's been almost two months since I posted. I was never very good at keeping a diary when I was younger. Anyway, now I am back, but I am not going to promise that I won't disappear again!

Updates on Jacoby! He is started crawling on August 24th and then pulling himself to stand on August 27th! He has two teeth that sprouted up, and he is now eating baby meats. He said mama for the first time (though he doesn't know what it means yet), and he is starting to cruise the furniture.

Ever since he started crawling he hasn't stopped. He wears himself out everyday. Here is a picture of him two days ago, jumping himself to sleep:

And it is pure frustration trying to baby proof a house. I have the living room and the bedroom (connected to the living room), sectioned off with his playpen so that he has a safe place to wonder around, but he still manages to find things he is not supposed to have.

As for the weight loss journey, I have pretty much given up for now. I want another baby, and I think there's no point to working my butt off to lose extra weight (I'm already at my pre-preg weight), when I know I'm just going to gain it back with the second baby. So I'm just trying to make healthy choices for now.

I still haven't started my period. I'm usually right on time, and today is the day I'm supposed to start, so we shall see. I really hope I don't get my period, even though we will probably catch hell from everybody for getting pregnant so early after Jacoby. I've tried to shake the desire to have another, but the more I try not to think about it, the more I think about it.

Updates on other things: Shaun finished his Bachelors in Business Management, and already has his Associates in Accounting. I convinced him to let me be a stay at home mom since he hates to clean, and Jacoby seems to really benefit from it. As long as I can babysit part time, he is okay with it. I met a really great family recently, and I start babysitting for them next week, so I think I finally met my match.

Jacoby blowing rasberries!

I am posting the video at the end of this post, so cute. He just started doing it today.

I have done perfect on my calories today. Did about a half hour of DDR and then I just walked around the whole neighborhood for about 20 mins. Hopefully I'll see my efforts on the scale tomorrow morning.

I love staying home with my munchkin all day. I don't miss a thing, we have a routine (which is hard to keep up when working). I have the energy to clean and cook for my hunny and I just love it. I keep trying to convince him that me staying at home would be what's best as soon as he finds a higher paying job when he gets his degree in less than two months. He is a little skeptical, but he is also enjoying the delicious dinners I am now home to cook. I usually work long evenings and nights when I do work to minimize on having to find a babysitter.

Here is the video link!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150262814661951

Day 2

Well I did well yesterday on my meals and exercised but I still am 194 today :( Oh well gotta try again today. Not that I expect to lose 5 pounds but it would be nice to see even a tiny change.

So far day 1=success

Today i have done well. I walked about 3 miles in the morning then played dance dance revolution in the even plus some kinect. My meals were as follows:

Breakfast- Small bowl of life cereal

Lunch- Turkey bologna sandwich with 35 cal bread and grapes.

Dinner- Low fat cheesy steamed veggies, banana, and a serving of pretzel crisps.

Snacks and drinks: glass of milk, bottled water, banana, string cheese, small handful of peanuts, and a plain frozen yogurt cup.

This makes for a total of 1099 calories which is too low, so I will be eating a 200 calorie snack before bedtime.

Not working at Wendy's make this sooo much easier. Before I would have nuggets, fries, pop, and ice cream all within reach at all times. Now to get the stuff, I have to load up Jacoby, make sure I have money, and drive to the fast food place. I'm too lazy for that lol


Just woke up from napping

Rededication Day 1

I'm getting ready to go on a 3 mile walk in the park and then another 3 miles when my friend gets out of her zumba class. Then when I get home I'm going to do at least 30 mins of Dance Dance Revolution. I won't be doing this much working out every day, but I'm just trying to get myself back into the groove.

Weighed at 194 this morning.

Goal is 150.

This is what I was like my senior year and it is what I want to look like again.

Weight Loss Time

I am so ashamed of myself. When I had Jacoby, I was 220 lb when I left the hospital. 3 weeks after I was 205 (from breastfeeding). On April 15th, I decided to start dieting and working out. I did great for a while, from then until now, I got all the way down to 189. Now I've been eating like crap for the past 2-3 weeks and I'm done with it. I'm ready to lose weight again. I have a weight loss group on Facebook called Weight Loss Buddies. Right now we have about 100 members, mostly moms. Here's the link for those who could use some support:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/209127215772279/?notif_t=group_activity

We have weigh ins every Friday, but I'm going to record my daily weight on a separate post to help keep me motivated.

I'll be eating 1200-1300 calories a day, and doing some type of cardio. Right now my favorite thing to do is Dance Dance Revolution because it is fun. I also like to take walks with my little one in his stroller. Wish me luck!

Mmmmm Feet!

Jacoby finally figured out how to eat his feet! Lol, my silly baby.

Today he had squash, at first he screwed his face up at it, but as we continued, he begin to like it better.

Money saving update! A lady I am purchasing 100 jars of baby food meats from for 20 dollars just offered me the rest of the food for 30 more dollars. She has several hundred jars of baby food and just wants to get rid of them. I wish I had the 30 extra dollars right now but I don't. I might tomorrow so I told her I would let her know. Shaun doesn't think it is necessary but I just can't pass up that great of deal. And plus whatever we have leftover after Jacoby grows out of it, we can sell, or even better, donate. But men only think in the now, not the future. Well my man anyway. Even if I don't get to buy the other jars, 100 jars for 20 bucks is still one hell of a deal. Plus I got the 120 jars + 4 boxes of baby cereal the other day for 25 bucks. I think that is 55 dollars well spent if I do say so myself. I also found some free formula on freecycle! I'm just going crazy right now with saving money. I think I can call myself a pro.

Saving money

Over the past 12 months, I have had a long list of expenses I never ever had pre-baby. Here are some of the ways I have saved money:

Facebook! If I needed a piece of furniture, baby clothes, services, the first place I go is facebook. I post in my status whatever I'm looking for to reach 200+ friends to see if anyone has the item. That way I either get it for free or very cheap. Also when I know Shaun and I plan on going out, I go to the companies facebook/website to see if they have any "Like us" deals.

Craigslist/Ebay! One recent example: Jacoby just started eating baby food, and WIC provides 32 jars of baby food every month to us. In three months, we have to turn in our pay stubs again, and I don't think we will be able to renew our WIC. At .59 cents or more a jar, it is going to get expensive. So, on a whim, I got on Craigslist to see if anyone was selling baby food. Sure enough, a lady who's daughter did not like baby food was selling 128 jars of unexpired stage 2 baby food and 4 boxes of unopened cereal for 25 bucks. That's over 50 dollars worth of food. Needless to say, we will not have to buy baby food for quite some time and even then, we are going to make his food at home instead of buying it, so I am saving up the jars.

Company websites! Beechnut, gerber, pampers, similac, parents choice, etc etc. Most baby brand websites offer free formula, baby food, diapers, and wipes samples. Granted it usually takes 4-10 weeks for delivery of these samples so I don't really rely on this, but it is something nice to have on hand. I sign up at daily sample websites such as Allyou.com, and they send me daily sample emails. These websites usually have great coupons.

Yahoo Freecycle! This is one of my favorites because I LOVE free stuff. Who doesn't? It is similar to Craigslist except everything is free. It is basically like a free, local thrift store. Used clothes, furniture, household items, baby stuff, electronics, you name it, just email the person, and pick it up. To join, just go to yahoo groups and search for Freecycle (your location). For example, I live in Middletown, Ohio so I would search Freecycle Middletown, Ohio. You can also search surrounding areas. Got stuff you want to get rid of but don't want to throw away? You can also offer your free items as well. Examples of things we have gotten: baby clothes, bed frame, a large computer desk, an old treadmill, furniture (extensively checked for bugs).
Here is their website, search for your area and they will give the link to the yahoo group http://www.freecycle.org/

Kids resale stores! Gently used baby/kids clothes/items at unbelievable prices. I recently bought my son 15 outfits for 25 bucks at Once Upon A Child. It's as easy as googling resale stores in your area. I especially love that our Once Upon A Child is right next door to Platos Closet, where mommy can treat herself to a little   cheap shopping as well.

Last but not least, coupon sites. Coupons.com is the best, all others just seem like copycats and have the same coupons. I'm not an extreme couponer by any means, but right before I go grocery shopping, I scan that week's coupons to see if I can use any of them.

I hope I've been of some help to anyone trying to save some money!

Infuriating!!!

So I'm checking out at Kroger, and I have a month's supply of formula that WIC supplies me. Just making conversation like I always do, I say to the cashier,

"I can't believe he eats all this plus baby food and cereal"

She replys,

"Yeah I know, it's crazy"

Simple everyday small talk between cashier and customer. Then this pompous @$$hole behind me says,

"You know you wouldn't have to get all that if you did it the old-fashioned way" What?!?!?! 

Me- "Well I did breastfeed for a little while but had to quit when I started working." Don't you think that would have shut him up? But no, he says:

"Well my wife would freeze her breast milk when she went back to work."

Me- "Well to keep up your supply, you have to pump every 2-3 hours, and I couldn't do that in a 9 hour shift where I worked. As long as my son is getting fed, I think it is okay." Conversation over? Nope. And then he replies:

"Well you could say you're going to the bathroom." Are you effing serious dude? Why don't you mind your own business? Where does this guy thinks he has the right to say anything about how I feed my child. Screw you. 

On a brighter note, look we matched yesterday!

Onions may make you cry, but they may help your little one stop crying.

I know this sounds crazy, but when your tiny baby is screaming his/her head off for no apparent reason, and sometimes for hours nonstop, this will not sound so crazy. We heard this home remedy from an older lady when Jacoby had colic and it saved our lives.*

1. Boil a slice of onion in water. No particular time limit, just bring it to a boil.
2. Fill a bottle up a couple of ounces. Save the rest in the fridge.
3. Put in a tsp of sugar for taste, and give to your baby to sip on.

This should help put him/her to sleep within minutes or at least calm him/her down. It worked with us. There is some science behind I found with a simple google search. Insomniacs use onion remedies to help them sleep, something in the onion, I'm not exactly sure what. Your baby might not drink it at first, we had to trick our little one by giving him his paci and once he started sucking on it, we switched it out with the bottle. He was asleep within minutes.

*It is not recommended to give your baby water until he/she is at least 4 months old. I personally do not think a tiny bit will hurt. But there you go.

My baby is a goofball

Scene: Comforter is laid out all nice and neat on the floor, toys are strategically placed around, and it is now playtime. I turn around to pick up a few things off the floor, and when I turn back around, this is what he decides to play with. My silly baby lol.

Jacoby turned 5 months old today. It seems like the time literally flies, you don't even have time to blink and poof! he isn't a newborn anymore. He's playing with your keys, trying to eat your phone, babbling dadadada, trying to crawl, eating baby food, ugh! I just want him to slow down a little bit. Before I know it, he's going to be going to college. As I type, he just knocked my phone to the floor (he's sitting on my lap). Thanks bub.

First Weeks

The first few weeks of my sons life were (so far) the hardest, most rewarding, most stressful days of my life. The first night we were home, he was up every 2 hours, sometimes every hour, and we were exhausted. Luckily my mom was there for the first two weeks, and we got to catch some shuteye during the day. Well Shaun got to catch some shuteye, I didn't get much sleep at first because I was "exclusively breastfeeding". It wasn't until a week later I started pumping so other people could feed him and give me a break.

After the first week of having him home, my mom noticed symptoms of PPD (postpartum depression) coming from me and urged me to see the doctor. I was in denial for a little while, as I hate taking pills, but I ended up going and being prescribed Zoloft. It was a life saver, that is for sure.

Let me catch you up to where Jacoby is now (5 months old tomorrow). I stopped breastfeeding after 3 weeks because I thought I had a job, which ended up falling through. At the 6 week mark, Jacoby started waking up only once or twice at night instead of every two hours, which was perfect timing because I started working again, smiling, and a little cooing. By two months old, we started moving into our new house and out of our apartment, and at about the same time Jacoby started sleeping 8-12 hours straight. By 3 months old he was rolling over from belly to back and "talking"/laughing. By 4 months old he started giggling, and a little after started rolling from back to belly. He says dadadadada, but he doesn't know what he is saying, he is just babbling. Yesterday he ate his first two whole jars of baby food, sweet potatoes and applesauce. Today he had peas, which I don't think he liked as well. You are supposed to wait 3-4 days in between baby food flavors to make sure he isn't allergic but I didn't know that until recently. No allergies so far.

My very first post

Hello! First I would like to give a shout out to my big sister for inspiring me to start a blog. Hopefully I keep up with it, the life of a working mom is a busy one. Let me tell you a bit about myself:

I'm 20 years old and I am a mother to my 5 month old son, Jacoby Joseph Mienko. We live with his daddy in a little, ugly blue house on a semi-busy street in a working class neighborhood. It's not much but it's home for now.

I found out I was pregnant on July 4th, 2010. I was going through some bad things, so Shaun (boyfriend/Jacoby's daddy) and I took a break and I moved in with my parents in Texas for the first 3 months of my pregnancy.

Let me tell you, being pregnant sucked at first. Every morning I couldn't do anything else until I got sick in the bathroom. Then throughout the day, everything made me feel queasy, especially eggs, milk, and anything mayonnaise-based. Finally after 4 months, the sickness just went away. POOF! Just like that. Gone. Of course I didn't complain, nope not one bit. It was just in time for me to move back up to Ohio with my soul mate. We had worked out our problems over the phone over the course of the 4 months, and were ready to move back in together. The 21 hour drive was not too bad, it went by pretty quickly, and I got some much needed alone time in the hotel that night. Living with your parents, grandparents, and two brothers does not leave much room for privacy or rest.

Long story short, my pregnancy went by problem-free, and I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy at 2:30pm on March 2nd, 2011 after 18 hours of labor. He was 8 lbs 10 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long. The first night in the hospital was just fine. I started out breastfeeding, and we couldn't have done better our first time. Once they wheeled me and Jacoby into our room, everyone visited for a while and then went home to get some rest. Shaun had to go home to feed our dog and get some things for the stay at the hospital, and before I knew it, I was alone with Jacoby for the very first time. I have never felt more scared and helpless in my life. We ended up both falling asleep while I was breastfeeding. I had been up for over 24 hours by then. The first night, he slept all night and I kept having to wake him up to feed him. The second night, he was up until 4 in the morning. The nurse finally took him from me so I could catnap for a couple hours before having to breastfeed. The next day we were sent home, and boy I was so glad to finally be going home to my bed.