Look How Far We've Come!

ACHTUNG! Want to win a quart size bag for traveling 

or a diaper clutch from Flanabags? 

Then head over to my most recent giveaway 

and enter!

The BabbyDaddy and I both took off work today. Our plan was to use this day to celebrate the Babby's birthday. On her actual birthday, there was a party at daycare, and we didn't want her to miss it. But she also had a pediatrician appointment today and a little cold, so brunch at a railcar diner was all the celebrating we could muster pre-naptime.

The afternoon plan - for this amazingly warm and sunny day - is to head over to the European bakery to let the Babby choose three tiny pastries for three wonderful years.

As for the pediatrician appointment, all was well except for the Babby refusing to stand on the big kid scale which meant she had to be stretched out on the baby scale. Luckily, she weighs in at only 26.5 pounds (12th percentile) and so didn't break the thing. She's also, for the curious, one half inch shy of three feet tall (26th percentile).

What went surprisingly well was the blood draw and shot! During the shot, the nurse kept talking to the Babby about ice cream - and there was this bug eyed dog thing. The nurse said "Look at my dog's eyes!" and then started them bouncing. Odd, but it worked, making me so glad they are giving her shots in the arm versus the leg. It means I'm only holding down one arm, not a whole kid.

For the blood draw, they played the usual game... here's the bird, here's the butterfly, here's the bee (*sting), look the butterfly is sipping, and the bird is drinking, drinking, drinking. The Babby actually cracked a smile while the "bird" drank her blood. For that, she got to choose a sticker from the sticker box.

And guess what! I was such a good mama that I got a sticker, too. 

For us, it feels like the weekend has already started, so I guess I'll say Happy Weekend! Do you have any awesome plans?

Why I Think a Working Parents Support Group Would Be a Good Idea

ACHTUNG! Want to win a quart size bag for traveling 

or a diaper clutch from Flanabags? 

Then head over to my most recent giveaway 

and enter!

The BabbyDaddy was a little sad last night. Somehow we started talking about how the Babby will only be with us - as in, living under our roof, with us as her main comforters and providers - for a relatively short period in her life and our lives. It got all tied into working parent schedules. He thought about the whole thing for a little bit, then said "And I will only have seen her for about two hours a day for most of that time."

Then he said something else: "But I'm happy that you're lucky enough to get to spend more time with her."

Which naturally just broke my heart into a thousand itty-bitty pieces. Because as much as I complain about being a working parent, I am luckier than a lot of working parents in that I get at least a few daylight hours with my child. Even if they are the crankiest of all daylight hours.

See, there I go again.

I don't always feel particularly lucky. My brain likes to remind me that it wasn't supposed to be this way. Sure, I never really imagined myself not working, but the work I pictured myself doing was nebulous and very part time and, most importantly, done from home while imaginary children skipped around me. Or better yet, were napping contentedly in their beds.A

It didn't work out that way past the two year mark. For a lot reasons I've gone into before.

But I'm also not working 9-6 in Boston and I do get more time with the Babby than her poor papa, who sometimes has just a half hour with her before the bedtime routine turns her all persnickety. Sure, in a couple of years, the Babby will be off to school and then those hours will belong to teachers and books and possibly also homework so maybe it won't matter as much. Which of course, makes me think that all the lost hours and days now somehow matter even more.

No matter how you slice it, working parents - dads and moms - miss out on a lot. A lot of milestones. A lot of questions and hugs and eye opening learning moments. A lot of kissed booboos and wiped tears. A lot of growth and discovery and change.

People chuckle at the idea of having a working parents support group, but I think it's an idea that a lot more working parents would jump on if they didn't think they'd get mocked for it.

How About a Belated Valentine from Me and the Babby?

ACHTUNG! Want to win a quart size bag for traveling 

or a diaper clutch from Flanabags? 

Then head over to my most recent giveaway 

and enter!

In all the hubbub surrounding the Babby's birthday - also known as Valentine's Day - I totally forgot to say Happy Valentine's Day to all my gorgeous readers, blog friends, mom pals, and the handful of relatives who actually read my blog. 

So even though your name might not be on the silly little homemade valentines the Babby and I whipped up in too short a time, pretend that one of them was for you - and then give yourself a big hug from us! 

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

The Valentine's Day Giveaway: Win a Travel Bag or Diaper Clutch from Flanabags

This past Christmas,the BabbyDaddy and I found these travel bags under the tree. Now, as someone who sews and who does a little traveling here and there, my immediate reactions were 1. Best idea ever! and 2. How does she do that with the zipper and the handle, anyway? Under normal circumstances, I would have done some more examination and then eventually crammed these quart size bags into our luggage. But as it turned out, the designer behind these bags is a friends of my mom's wife - so I got a chance to find out more.

What you're looking at is the Flanabags AirQuart bag, a TSA-compliant, see-through, quart size bag that can get all your gels and liquids - though probably not cupcakes, sorry Rebecca! - through security so you can make it to the gate without having to spend $4 on a freezer bag. Why not just use the freezer bag? For one, an AirQuart will outlive a freezer bag by about, oh, a lifetime. 

And hello, wouldn't you rather have a quart size bag with a little style considering how much those wheelie suitcases cost?

I should also mention that the AirQuart is just one member of the stylin' Flanabags family, which you might have guessed from the title of this post. There's the Make Up Zip Up, a scaled down version of the AirQuart that makes it easy to find your lippy in your purse; the NOT see-through padded Zipp Pouch for the personal items you want to keep personal; the iPad SPF, which lets you use your tablet or e-reader at the beach, in the kitchen, or anywhere else where dirt, sand, or splashed might be a problem; and yes, a diaper clutch called the Quick Change.

I'm pretty excited to use our AirQuart travel bags the next time we're flying since I'm not a fan of having to put all my makeup and toothpaste and lotions in a freezer bag. And I'm thinking of getting a Quick Change see-through diaper clutch because even though I am the kind of gal who carries a giganto purse around, I'd rather not have loose diapers and wipes (or undies and wipes or both) scooting all around the bottom of my bag. Have you ever looked, I mean really looked at the inside of your purse? It would be awesome to have a grab and go option that didn't mean either carrying my huge mega bag just to have diapers handy or trying to stuff supplies in my pockets - and awesome to see at a glance whether I needed to add dipes or undies or wipes before leaving the house.

THE GIVEAWAY!

Linda has generously offered to make an AirQuart quart size bag or Quick Change diaper clutch (in the winner's choice of color) for one I Know How Is Babby Formed reader. To enter to win, visit the Flanabags shop, then come back and tell me which style and which color you'll choose if you win. Note: This is one entry.

Want more chances to win? Here are the usual extra entry guidelines:

1. One additional entry when you add I Know How Is Babby Formed to your blogroll, or let me know it's already on there so I can follow you back!

2. One additional entry each if you mention this giveaway on your Facebook profile AND / OR your own blog AND / OR tweet about it - include the link to your Twitter account or blog post in your comment

3. Two additional entries if you like I Know How Is Babby Formed on Facebook

As always, leave a separate comment for EACH entry – so one comment for one entry and two comments for two entries. And don't forget to include your email address!

This giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, February 20, 2012 and the winner - chosen via the trusty random number generator - will be announced the next day! Good luck!

Happy Birthday, Babby: I Can Hardly Believe You're Three!

In addition to being Valentine's Day, today is also the Babby's birthday. If you haven't read her birth story, then long tale short, she was born very unexpectedly on February 14 - a month and a half before her due date.

Last year, I did a photographic look back at two years of life with the Babby. It felt right, since those were just about the happiest two years of my life! This year, I wasn't going to do a look back in pictures... until I realized that I was just being silly. So what if this past year of the Babby's life wasn't the happiest? It was still pretty darn good!

In the end, I couldn't help myself. But this year, the look back is at my life with the Babby. A kind of photo montage of she and I experiencing this past year (and the ones before it) together. Which, let me tell you, was not easy since I'm usually the one behind the camera! I've put it under a cut to be kind, but do have a look... and enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 

BABBY!

If I Want a Valentine's Day Gift, I'll Just Buy It My Own Darn Self

While prematurity is no picnic, the Babby's early arrival did do me one favor. Being born not on March 30, but on February, she effectively shoved aside all the usual significance of Valentine's Day and made it a family day instead. So much so that when people online and in life mention February 14 to me, I immediately think How sweet that they want to celebrate the Babby's birthday! Only for a second, though. Then I remember, oh right, Valentine's Day.

A day that is particularly easy for me to forget about because when God was handing out husbands, he didn't give me a particularly romantic one.

Which is okay. Truly. Because when God was handing out wives, the one he gave to the BabbyDaddy (me) is not particularly romantic, either. Not to mention, not nearly affectionate enough and entirely unable to make it through most shows of affection, loving conversations, or whispered sweet nothings without dissolving into hysterics.

So the lack of romance in my life? Is probably my own fault for my inability to have someone act romantically toward me without my interjecting uncontrolled laughter.

Romance in movies? Looks lovely. In theory.

In the past, around Valentine's Day and my birthday, I imagined that I might just be surprised during my workday with an unexpected bouquet or be whisked off to an impromptu - but secretly planned - dinner at a fancier-than-usual restaurant. Then I got real. That's not what I married. It's not like those things happened once upon a time and stopped happening after the ring. It's just not the BabbyDaddy's style.

If I want some flowers, I have to buy them my own darn self. A dinner date? If I really wanted it, I'd have to plan it myself. And you know what? I'm pretty much okay with that. I love the BabbyDaddy to death. Everyone has their own love language, and the BabbyDaddy doesn't speak Valentine's Day. (He does, however, speak scooping the cat boxes, helping me paint everything to within an inch of its life, washing up, and etc.)

I guess I don't speak Valentine's Day, either, since it's not like I have a romantic hot night out secretly under wraps for February 14. Sorry!

When the Babby came along and turned Valentine's Day into not just a birthday, but also a day of finger finger painted cards, chalky candies, daycare parties, and so on, the pressure was off. To all the romantic couples out there, enjoy your champagne dipped strawberries and candlelit evenings. I'll be the one enjoying discounted chocolates on February 15!

P.S. - Here's a picture of the BabbyDaddy and yours truly from waaaay back in the day. I swear I am not picking my nose. Not that he would have cared.