Military Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Hi! I'm an AW.
So I've been on MN for more than two years now and am still a lowly Bronze. Just 300 posts to go for Silver, though! Anyone want to ask me 300 questions? 
Haha. But seriously. I have a very sleepy baby this afternoon and would love to engage in meaningless chatter.
ETA: Meaningful chatter is also welcome.
Re: Hi! I'm an AW.
It's the best! Is that too cliche? I really am so obsessed with him, though. He's so cute and fun and interactive and attention-loving. The last part makes it hard to get anything done
. He sort of stopped sleeping for the entire month of January so I was a total zombie, but it's gotten better.
How are you? How's the job hunt?
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Is motherhood what you expected?
What do you enjoy most about motherhood?
What do you do for YOU? (Not wife, mom, daughter. . . But for YOU?)
Forewarning that I'm breaking my responses up in the interest of being a PW haha.
But I know what you mean! I notice when other people's babies must be napping more now too. I told M the other day that I feel like a little kid whose parent just set a timer. "Let's see if you can clean your whole bedroom in 5 minutes!" Nap times are like these crazy countdown races to see how much I can get accomplished.
Except today's naps. Those are for catching up with my eBFFs.
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Yes. And no. I think I had a good handle on things since I have 7 younger siblings, but I don't think you can ever really know what it's going to be like until you experience it. Being a big sister is definitely different from being a mom! And although I knew that, I didn't really know exactly how. Does that make sense?
I didn't know it was possible to love something this much. And I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I don't mind the less-pleasant things. Sleepless nights are okay because he's so darn cute. And dirty diapers, although not my favorite things in the world, aren't half as bad as my sister-ness remembered.
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It's the most incredible thing in the world to be loved by your baby. I was just telling M the other day that my favorite thing is when Jake smiles at me. Not when I do something to make him smile (I mean, I love that too), but when he catches a glimpse of me and just smiles because he loves his mom and I make him happy. It's the most rewarding thing I've ever experienced.
And I love watching him grow and learn and experience the world. It makes me so excited for the future.
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Running has always been my "me" thing, but I'm still trying to find a way to fit it in with the short days and M's schedule. I'm really looking forward to it being lighter longer, because the gym just doesn't feel as fulfilling.
I recently started putting more of an emphasis on getting dressed and "ready" in the mornings, and it's made a difference in how I feel throughout the day.
The more independent Jake gets, the more independent I feel in being able to do "me" things... and "wife" and "daughter" things, too!
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He's 5 months old and I think he's finally falling back into a routine. He was fairly predictable pre-holidays, but I think all that craziness plus a growth spurt just really threw off his groove. I had to hold him while he was sleeping or it wouldn't happen, which meant zero time to accomplish anything! So sweet, but not very productive.
I currently workout and shower at night when M is home, but I feel so much better if I do it in the morning. I'm thinking of hiring a babysitter for an hour in the mornings so I can run and then shower and start my day right (until Jake is big enough for a jogging stroller). But I just haven't been able to pull the trigger on that expense yet.
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Haha, it really is funny when you say it out loud. I'm just grateful to be semi-well rested these days.
Job hunting stinks. But I'm excited for your big Australia trip! What other fun things do you have planned?
Also, I keep checking for Ellen tickets for us and they're always gone. I think we should just send a letter.
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I want to hold your jake! He's so adorable!
1) Now that you've had a baby, are you just as obsessed with all things baby as I am?
2) When you were hanging with the A listers, did any of them have stinky breath? haha
3) 5 baby things you have but don't use/need.
4) Got any advice on how to gently end a friendship?
Gotta post and run!
I've already been to a couple shows (American Idol and Dancing with the Stars), so they sent me an e-mail requesting I submit a photo for consideration to be in the "casted audience." And then they sent me tickets. And then when you get there, they separate you again based on your appearance -- some got to be seat-fillers, everyone else was in the balcony. It's all rather shallow, actually haha. But we had so much fun!
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I want to hold your Caleb! They would be best buddies if we lived on the same coast.
And YES! Obsessed hardly begins to describe it. Whoever said baby boys weren't as much fun as baby girls was crazy.
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Not that I noticed! The room smelled like a whole bunch of yummy cologne, actually.
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Um... We were actually pretty good about not over-buying, but I'm sure I can think of a few things.
I think I used our boppy for nursing about 10 times, but it was a great lounger for Jake when he was younger. He's sort of over it now.
He also loved his swing when he was younger but is much less interested in it now. Apparently babies grow up and think they're too cool for their "younger" toys.
Milk storage bags. I hate pumping and therefore only pump what I need to a little in advance, so I use the little containers and store in the fridge instead. Maybe with the next baby?
We don't use our baby book half as much as we should. Does that make me a bad first-time mom?0
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Oh boy, I'd be awful at this. I think I'm guilty of the fade-out in the past.
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Fun! Planning little trips is the best way to live up temporary retirement, in my opinion. I'll be sure to request our tickets for the end of April haha.
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I think the experience is supposed to be payment
Just like being in any other audience, but cooler.
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I have to say that I just finished catching up on your blog just before I opened this post, your son is so cute.
What kind of camera do you take your pictures with?
Thanks! We have a Canon 50D and a Canon point-and-shoot (1400 maybe?). It's fairly easy to tell which pictures come from which, I think: as a general rule of thumb, if it's pretty, it was the 50D. We also whip M's iPhone out here and there. It's quite the hodgepodge of picture quality on that blog haha.
Are you in the market for a new camera?
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I would seriously love that. I'm dying to live on the west coast for once!
And I totally agree, baby boys are so much fun. I definitely understand that whole mother/son bonding thing now.
I never use the boppy either! I used it for nursing once at the hospital when I was still trying to find my groove. The rest of the time my mom used it as a pillow for her legs haha. Later, I used it to prop him in it but he's also over the boppy now. Thankfully it was a shower gift.
And the swing is one thing I regret buying. He hates it. I'm hoping the next kid won't mind it so much. Oh! And I didn't even get a baby book haha. Oops.
Also don't think pack-n-plays are that great either. They're a pain to open/close and I recently got the peapod and it's sooo much better! Lighter, cheaper, easier, cuter, cozier...pretty much just all around amazing.
Peapods look so cool! We just got a little Graco travel crib/pack-and-play to use as our bassinet and it's been great for that. We have some very active friends who swear by the Go Crib, but it's pretty pricey. I'm hoping we can get away without needing a hard-core pack-and-play. We'll see.
A friend gifted us a fun little non-cheesy baby book (this one: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-baby-book-amy-krouse-rosenthal/1017812146?r=1&ean=9780307465429&cm_mmca2=pla&cm_mmc=GooglePLA-_-Book-_-Q000000633-_-9780307465429) and I actually really like it. I just forget to write in it. Oops!
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A) Your thing about baby smiling at you just because you're his mom and you love him is so sweet. I remember noticing that about MellsBells's baby when I visited, and it's just the most amazing thing in the world.
A) It really is
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I think a Canon Rebel would be lovely when you're ready to buy! The 50D is a lot to lug around.
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