Haute Mom Dilemma #15 - Leaving A Piece of You Behind

I know that your entire mentality changes when you have children, especially your first one. I think about things that I have never thought about before, which is very wearing on my already OCD-type brain. I can't imagine what it does to my husband. I worry more about people on the road next to me now that I have precious cargo in the car. I worry about leaving Stella and driving a distance too far away to get back to her quickly. I worry about the sun, the wind, the rain, how loud something is, and people smoking around me. I worry about what I eat because I am nursing and want to make sure Stella is getting enough nutrients. I even worry about going to the gas station (I haven't pumped gas since before I was pregnant thanks to my hubby). I had a small scare a few months ago when my doctor found cysts on my thyroid. CYSTS - what a scary word. It launched me into a new line of thoughts, specifically about who would care for Stella if something happened to me. Would my husband be capable of raising her on his own? What is something happened to the both of us? What could I do now to make sure that Stella was able to inherit all of life's lessons that I have waiting for her? I now am going through another scare. I found a lump in that dreaded female area and originally thought it was a clogged milk duct. This was quickly answered when my doctor shook her head and stated that a clogged duct would feel different than what I was experiencing. I have a follow up appointment in a week. My thought for this post was to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month as I have seen an increasing number of younger women being diagnosed with breast cancer. I know how busy us moms can be and wanted to dedicate all of my October posts to creating awarenes for all you haute moms out there. I never thought that this would be something I would be going through at this point in time. I go back to those dark thoughts of how I can leave a part of me behind if something should happen to me. What are some ways I can be sure Stella hears my voice growing up if for some reason I can't always be here? I am sure that my next appointment will be fine and whatever it is will be something simple, only made serious by my own mind. That aside, I see now how important some things are to think about when you have a part of you that you will one day leave behind. Do all moms go through this or do I belong in the crazy house?

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - 25 years!

Garden of Giveaway Guest Host

Hi Haute Moms! To celebrate our first amazing giveaway, Epicuren Baby, we have been listed as a Guest Host in the Garden of Giveaways! Check us out as well as all the other great giveaways you haute moms deserve!

Lazy Sunday

So as I sit here in this 95 degree weather and listen to my husband ask me what we are having for dinner, I can't help but imagine a life with a maid and full-time chef. Lord knows I would be happier and skinnier. To say I am no Betty Crocker is putting it lightly. My take on cooking dinner equals ordering out. I have had two jobs for years and the last thing I want to do after a 12 hour day is cook. So how, I wonder, am I supposed to cook now with a four month old who loves to be held (and when I say loves, I really mean screams if she is not picked up at least once every 15minutes or so). We can talk about spoiling issues later. I do want to attempt to cook more, now that I am staying at home until December and want to eat healthier to try to lose some pregnancy weight. How exactly am I supposed to cook with a baby? There are very few receipes that would allow me to start in 15 minutes and then revisit for another few mintues at a later time. I need few ingredients, low preparation, and health rolled into one! Well, I found one and I am going to try it out - Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken! It is even friendly with this heat wave we are having since I don't need the oven or the stove for very long. Try it out too...and let me know how it turns out or if you came up with any creative variations!
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=141491

EPICUREN BABY GIVEAWAY

I am so excited that my first giveaway is for Epicuren Baby! I am a user of Epicuren products myself and absolutely LOVE them, so what better thing than be able to use them on my baby! Epicuren Baby is all natural and contains over 75% organic ingredients. The product also uses aromatherapy blends to help calm and soothe your baby while promoting the bond between mother and child! I have used this product on Stella and it soothes her at night. I have also noticed a change in her dry skin areas. The diaper spray is also soothing and doesn't leave a medicine-like smell like Desitin. I spray it on her when I change her diaper and it has helped her diaper rash. Johnson and Johnson products are what I used before and this is just as gentle except now Stella gets a spa treatment! You will receive each of the Epicuren Baby products (5.4 oz.); daily wash, daily lotion, and diaper spray. Pamper your babies with Epicuren Baby!To enter, you must follow this blog publicly and tell me what you love about Epicuren Baby. Please leave me one comment letting me know you have done this. This is required and must be done before any extra entries count!

Extra Entries

1. Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/ktenny and tweet about this giveaway. Leave a comment with a link to your tweet. You may tweet once a day for an extra entry everyday!

2. Comment on one of my other posts and leave me a comment here letting me know that you have done this.

3. Join Networked Blogs and follow this blog. Leave a comment letting me know you have done this.

4. Know a great product to help moms stay haute? Leave me a comment with your email or the contact email and maybe it will become a future giveaway!

5. Visit Living Out Loud http://lgreenss.blogspot.com/ where Haute Mom is a guest host in the Garden of Giveaway. Leave one comment telling me what you love about Living Out Loud!

This giveaway will end on Friday, October 8th at 9:00 p.m. PST. Thanks for all your entries and good luck!

Thrifty Thursday

I haven't posted a Thrifty Thursday in a while because quite frankly, it is hard to find a good deal out there! Has anyone noticed that? With the state of the economy aren't businesses supposed to be giving us deals!? I finally found one that will fit perfectly in with all of you haute moms - Living Social! Living Social is a website that provides local deals near your area. It allows you to search for cities which also means if you are travaling or doing a Mom's Night Out and want to venture farther, you can find deals outside of your area as well. I searched Orange County, CA deals this morning and found a lot of great stuff for the haute mom like spa treatments at various OC spas for up to 71% off! That's right! A massage for $25 at a ritzy OC spa. They also has hot air balloon rides which I thought would make for a nice gift. It doesn't matter where you live so everyone can join and find a city near you!

LivingSocial.com https://livingsocial.com/redeem_invite/12617737?ref=lnk



Don't forget to check back for the Epicuren Baby giveaway that starts tonight!

Haute Mom Dilemma #14 ~ Does it ever get easier?

I was sitting in my living room today in silence, Stella asleep on my chest, soaking in the sound of nothingness when I heard, "Hey Mama Tenny" at my back door. My guard dog, Sierra, went into attack mode, barking and growling loudly as Stella woke up crying. I got up grumbling, wondering what idiot would shout into my house knowing that I had a baby and saw my friend and his 15 month old son. Well, it was actually my ex-husband which would explain the idiot part; we can discuss the 'ex" part at another time. Luckily my ex-hub and I are really good friends and I come to find out that he was just checking on me and my new role as mom. I actually think he was coming over to see how I was handling the whole thing so he could have a good chuckle on the way home. Thank goodness I showered and put some make-up on today, eh ladies? I walk outside and as we chat, I introduce Stella to his son, Kai. As he asks me 20 questions about motherhood and how hard it's been, Kai shows off his new walking skills in my driveway. I ask how things are now that his son is walking, wondering if it is easier now that his baby is mobile. His reply is simply, "No" and he goes on to philosophize that he doesn't forsee things getting any easier until Kai can make his own breakfast.

This gets me thinking...does it ever get easier? I have fully accepted my new role and am beginning to love it more and more and cry less and less. I often think that as Stella accomplishes each new milestone, my role will get a little easier. For example, I couldn't wait until she was able to hold her head up, thinking that this would free up one hand to do things with while I held her. Then I was thinking that it would be easier when she could roll over so she could stop screaming during play/tummytime and just roll herself over instead of needing me to do it. Now I am thinking that it will get easier when she can sit all by herself...I guess the moral of this story is that it never gets easier! I haven't even thought further ahead than one year old but thinking about 16 years old, 18 years old...we are getting into a whole other world of easier or rather...not so much! Can any of you out there tell me when it gets easier?



Stella reaching milestone...rolling over. Well, I guess she just rolled over in this one. :)

Haute Mom Dilemma #13 ~ Holy Spit Up Batman!

I know that with each month comes different things that babies go through. Apparently this month Stella is going through a spitting up phase. I have never been showered with more drool and milky spit up than I have the last few weeks. I did read somewhere that around 4 months they tend to spit up more than normal but it seems a little excessive over here. Yesterday I got spit up on three times right after she ate. Why don't they invent burp cloths that cover your whole side and arm? Because it is more liquid than anything, it just runs off the burp cloth and right down my arm or side onto whatever I am sitting on. Yesterday, that was my bed and my pillows. I think the next time my husband irritates me I may strategically sit on his side of the bed and try to use this to my advantage. I also got a nice chest spit up as well. Good thing I was wearing a tank top. I am sure my eau de spit up scent is less than pleasing to others. Becuse of this new phase, I am also doing loads of laundry every other day because spit up on the clothes is not something you can just wipe off. Is there a wipe or product out there that will allow me to wipe her sleeve off without leaving that horrible, sour spit up smell? I wonder what other moms do during this phase. Is there a brand of burp cloth that is more absorbent than the rest? My Gerber cloth diapers that I use are not cutting it! Any suggestions or do I just deal with it?

Haute Mom's Giveaway Teaser

Hi Haute Moms! As a thank you to all the support and helpful comments you have been giving me, I am going to launch my first giveaway soon! It is a haute product that I know all of you moms will appreciate. For those of you who are into high end skin care, Epicuren makes a line for babies. Better yet, it is all organic! I love the line and I know all you haute moms will ove it for your little ones as well. Check out the product and keep posted for the giveaway...




http://episencial.com/epicuren-baby/

Haute Mom Dilemma #12 ~ Buying Your Freedom

Yesterday I made a huge accomplishment and went and played a round of golf with my hubby and my brother. I hadn't swung a club since before I found out I was pregnant and I terribly missed playing golf. I realized around the 7th hole that our round of golf was costing us approximately $85; $50 of that going to our nanny. She is absolutely wonderful and Stella seems to love her but it is definitely pricey. I initially tried her out by running and getting a pedicure. That cost me about $80. I have moaned and groaned about being tied down to my baby but now I am seeing what the price of freedom is going to cost me. My husband and I have an "adults only" birthday party tomorrow night and after some discussion, figured it was going to cost us about $70 to go to a "bring your own meat and side dish" party. Not quite worth it when all is said and done. I am grateful that we have a great person to watch Stella and I do know that this is the price of being able to get out of the house. It is going to be even worse when I go back to work and she starts coming full time. I see now why some women have children and become stay at home moms. With the cost of daycare, working is almost a wash. Why bother? Hmmmm...

Haute Mom Dilemma #11 ~ Dressing Baby

So I was dressing Stella this morning into this darling outfit that she had yet to wear. They were little pajamas with feet and a matching shirt. I finally wrestled her into the outfit (the kiddo does not appreciate her hands going through the arm holes) and take her out to show daddy to which he bursts out laughing. "What's so funny?" I demand. He cautiously (yes, that is the mood I have been in lately) points out that I have dressed our child into a midriff pajama set. Her little (rather big) belly is hanging out over the top of the bottoms (which are too short so she pulls then down when she straightens her legs) and the top which is too short. What the heck? I haven't seen someone have so many clothes that don't fit since my freshman year in college when I gained the freshman, uh, fifteen (give or take some pounds). I sighed and tossed the outfit in the "no longer fits" box where it smugly joined about 30 other outfits that are barely worn, if at all. I was told by others to bypass the newborn sizes for 0-3 months since she would outgrow them so quickly but didn't realize it was going to continue. At just shy of four months old, little Stella is outgrowing things left and right and I am never sure what size to buy her now if the labels don't have a pound and height chart. It is so difficult with all the varying brands and the inconsistency with sizes; Gerber running small, Circo (Target brand) runs big, and Stella's thighs need a 6 month size because ufortunately she is like her mommy. I swear I buy her an outfit or two each week. I am really bummed the weather has turned cold again because the best solution was just to leave her in her birthday suit. My friend Meggan (so to be a haute mom herself) just told me about a service called ThredUp where you can trade boxes of gently worn clothes. This service allows you to even search for the age/size and season of clothes you are looking for. I am going to give this a shot and send in a box of 0-3 month Spring/Summer clothes for a box of 6 month Summer/Fall clothes to test this out. There are even details of what types of brands and clothes are in the box. What a great idea! I feel a little weird getting used clothes for Stella but when she is only wearing stuff once or twice I figure what do I have to use. Here's to hoping I get a box of baby Gucci and onsies from Sax Fifth Avenue!

If you give it a try post your experience!
http://www.thredup.com/

Stella in her birthday suit - the one thing she will never grow out of!

Haute Mom Dilemma #10~ Considering the Inconsiderate

I remember a time a few years ago, at a wedding, a girlfriend of mine was showing pictures of her daughter to me. After the fifth picture, I rolled my eyes and said something to the extent of, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. She's cute. Stop with the pictures." I then got up and headed back to the bar to get a refill (it was open bar for only a limited time). Fast forward to the present where my life has changed considerably and my biggest issues in life are not free cocktails but have to do with Stella. I have become so aware of things that I never noticed before. One of those things are the number of people who are so inconsiderate that they do not think about the fact that things are much more difficult when you have a baby in your life. If I had a dollar for every person that has let a door go without noticing (or acknowleding) that there is a lady with a stroller trying to get out behind them. I don't need you to load my car for me, carry my bags, or escort me to my car, but come on. Hold the door please! What about going out with non-baby couples? It takes us approximately 30 minues to get out the door. That does not include the amount of time that it takes me to get ready personally. On top of that, because I breastfeed, I must work backwards from the time we are supposed to be at dinner, at the start of the day, to time her feedings so that we can have a peaceful meal. We need advance notice if you are going to be late, change the restaurant, or cancel. We recently had a couple cancel on us 15 minutes prior to the dinner time. We had been getting ready for the past 45 minutes. I mean please. We were told that they were going to cancel 30 minutes prior to that. Well then why didn't you? You could have saved us a lot of time. What about the people that want to get together and then are late? If you say you are coming over at a certain time then be there. I am not just sitting here filing my nails, I am trying to keep my daughter on a schedule. My mother-in-law recently told my husband that our daughter needs to be on OUR schedule. Really? She is 15 weeks. What a crock. On the other hand, I have noticed that there are so many people who are considerate because of our new addition. Friends who welcome her at their parties, strangers who offer to help you when they see you struggling. It is amazing! I feel as though I have left an old club and joined a new one with nicer, more considerate adults. My haute social circle is leaving some people behind; leaving behind people that were once like me. People who just don't get it. I don't care about your events, your dinners where your biggest concern is what you are going to drink. I have a new haute life with nicer people who actually consider other people than themselves. Thank you to all my old friends who have come along with me for the ride. Good riddance to the rest of you.

Stella's feelings about the topic: