Mom groups

I went to MOPS (mother's of pre-schoolers) today and it was funny.  I dropped Sully off in the nursery and checked back to nurse him.  Not even fifteen minutes later I hear "Sullivan's mom" on the microphone again, yes this happened at the last meeting too.  So I go and nurse him put him down and watch him crawl swiftly and happily away so I quickly walked out of the nursery and back to the room where all of the moms were chatting.  Then I feel a tap on my shoulder because my baby boy was climbing into the built-in shelves and bonked his head, though I couldn't see a mark.  I took this as a sign that my sweet boy was going to hang out with me for the rest of the time.  We played games with our groups and one mom held Sully while I did a jogging stroller "competition" and to my utter shock he fell asleep on her shoulder.  Poor lady's arm was probably numb when he finally woke up, I only say that because sometimes mine goes numb too.  We had a great time.  It's so nice to have a place to go and meet other mom's in similar circumstances as you.  I see lots of play-dates and fun in our future.

~Megan

Lookout...Fun Stuff Ahead

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I am getting so excited for our trip to Phoenix.  The weather is going to be great (I hope) and it will be nice to see my family.  Arty and I will get to go on some dates since we will have babysitters...hooray for that!  I got him tickets to go see a Cubs spring training game as part of his birthday gift.  I think it will be fun!  I also signed up for a boot-camp class that we used to take when we lived there.  They say that it can burn 800 calories per one hour class.  I have never been so sore in my life until I took this class.  Seriously I would wake up the next morning in bed and know I was sore before I even started moving.  Its a good feeling.  Plus, I know we will get to eat some good food and my cousin Kaysie will be there to see Sullivan for the first time AND the last time my parents and family saw Sully he was only one month old.

I need helpful tips for traveling with a baby.  I am planning on bringing our stroller and ergo and have no idea what the process for the stroller is.  I assume its a gate check thing?  Arty will be with me on my flight there but I will be solo on my flight back.  Yikes!  How did your babies do on their first flight? I already pulled out the suitcases and am trying to slowly pack stuff that I know I will need.  So much more thought goes into things when you have a baby to pack for.

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Tomorrow is our stroller exercise class and I just have to say that I am so glad I joined.  The other mom's are really nice and we have a good time with our babies.  On Monday, Sullivan was not a happy camper during class so I put him in the Ergo and did the work out with him there.  My legs were pretty tired after doing lunges, wall sits, dips, and squats with an extra 18 pounds strapped to me.  He slept as soon as I put him in the carrier.  

~Megan 

Adventures in Mall Walking and Pictures From Today

As you know, I took Sullivan to the mall to try out a stroller exercise group there.  It basically consisted of squats, wall sits, dips, lunges, and of course walking.  I think the walking was my favorite part because I got to chat with the other moms.  It was fun but not physically that challenging but I will take what I can get.  Conversation, babies, and exercise...YES PLEASE.  We will be going back.  The group also does activities like go to the children s museum together.  Sullivan was so alert but perfectly content chewing on his giraffe.  He also loved it when I held him and did squats.  To show his approval he let out squeals of happiness.

Here are some pictures I took today :)

Smiling with his giraffe

Loves to grab his shirt or bib

There he is again with his shirt :)

Happy Momma and happy baby

He's just pulling on my hair again...ha!

~Megan

1st MOPS Experience

Yesterday I went to a MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group for the first time.  I was nervous, excited, scared you name it and I probably felt it.  I just kept reminding myself that if I am serious about meeting people and trying to make friends here I need to be able to follow through.  Silly yes, but this is how I was convincing myself to go.  So anyway, I woke up and gave Sully a bath, got us dressed, ate breakfast, made coffee, pumped a four ounce bottle, and dropped Arty off at school.  Then it was time to head over to the church where the group meets.  I also called my mom who encouraged me that this was a positive thing for me and for Sully.  So I followed the signs and walked in.  I saw rooms for 5,4,3, and 2 year olds.  I briefly thought ok if I want to leave I can because it doesn't look like there is a room for the infants.  A nice lady told me where the nursery was so on we went towards the nursery.  I filled out some paperwork and just got the diaper bag and bottle situated.  A couple other mom's with babies walked in.  Some babies could crawl and others could sit up on their own.  I left Sully there and went to the room where the event would be.  They had brunch and coffee there and all I had to do was fill out some paperwork and put on a name tag.  They just started a table for the new people so I found my seat.  Everyone at my table was really nice.  It was great to just chat with mom's.  It's been a while since I had any girl talk in person.  I kept expecting one of the nursery workers to come find me (because they don't let the babies cry, if they can't be soothed within a couple minutes they go find mom) but they never did.  The whole two hours I just sat with the women and my table and talked.  It was truly refreshing.  When I went to go pick Sully up he was in a swing sound asleep where he had been the WHOLE two hours!!  Never ever does he take two hour naps for me, plus he hardly likes our swing.  I was in awe because there were about ten babies there and it was not quiet but there he was peacefully asleep.  A-mazing!  So needless to say we signed up and will be back.  The whole experience was like a breath of fresh air.  Thank you to those who encouraged me here :)

~Megan