A girl and her dog...a not so lovey love story

Shelby (our Westie) was the first baby and is super spoiled. When she was a puppy people used to ask me if she had legs because I carried her around so much that people never saw her walking. I loved my dog and was so excited to get her.

Now that Molly is in the picture Shelby still considers herself the baby and has had a hard time adjusting to someone else getting all the attention. The first few weeks Molly was around Shelby would try to sit in my lap while I breastfed Mols, not exactly the ideal breastfeeding scenario.

Today I was sitting with Molly and Shelby wanted to sit with me, but she wasn't sure about Molly since I had pushed her away a bit in the beginning. I called Shelby up to sit with us and we had a nice little "moment." My girl was cuddling with me and my little dog was curled up in my lap. It was wonderful.

This evening when Molly was doing her obligatory tummy time Shelby came over and laid down next to her.

Shelby hates having her picture taken so she took off after these were taken, but for a moment there I thought FINALLY the dog had warmed up to the girl.

My guess is she will love Molly when she is a toddler and leaves a trail of snacks for the Shelbydog to clean up! :)

Coddlelife Bottle Giveaway! **CLOSED**

CLOSED!

Congrats, Jaime :)

There were 72 comments and 14 people who commented on my post for an "extra" entry. The 71st  comment was Jaime! Congrats Jaime!! Enjoy the bottle!

Alright---you read the review---now it's time for the giveaway!

Here's how you can win an 8 Ounce Coddlelife PP Anti-colic Bottle Featuring Peristaltic Nipple!

Leave a separate comment for each entry. You enter up to 6 times! (You only have to do one thing to enter once)**Make sure you leave me a way to contact you**

1. Subscribe to my blog via email (left hand side of the page--just enter your email address!)
2. Follow my blog via google friends
3. Follow Coddlelife on Twitter
4. Follow Molly and Mommy on Twitter
5. Become a fan of Coddlelife on Facebook 
6. Tweet about this giveaway: I just entered to win a @Coddlelife bottle from @MollyandMommy!

That's all you have to do! Easy as pie, right?

Good luck! I will draw a winner using random.org on Wednesday, February 10th at Midnight EST!

Coddlelife Bottle Review (Giveaway to follow)

My favorite color is pink, is that normal for someone in their mid-twenties? I am partial to blue as well, but pink has always been my fav.

When I found out Molly was a girl I was so so so excited to buy everything pink I could get my hands on. So, when I saw the Coddlelife bottle on Heir to Blair, I was instantly in love. I contacted Coddlelife to see if they needed another reviewer, and sure enough they sent me a bottle to try out (and offered to let me give one away to you guys--how cool is that?!)

Look at this bottle--how could you not love it?

Molly has only had maybe 5 or 6 bottles in her life. We used Dr. Brown's and she was fine with them, but I was always worried about the comparison of a regular bottle to breastfeeding. This bottle was given to her and she loved it almost as much as she loves her toes. She didn't want to put it down! It was the first time I have seen her hold a bottle on her own and she had no problem sucking down the entire contents of the bottle.

I want to tell you all how much I love love LOVE this bottle and you all should buy one if you don't win it in the giveaway. Seriously. It's that awesome.

The really great thing about this bottle is that it has a one piece venting system, so unlike many other bottles there are no extra pieces to wash.

It has a peristaltic one-piece nipple which dumbed down basically means it will mimic breastfeeding quite well as it allows the baby to control the flow of the feeding. As perverse as it sounds, I played with the nipple and found that it was much more stretchable as well as more flexible that a standard bottle nipple. This makes the experience much more like breastfeeding.

See the chart below for a better explanation of how the bottle works (Click to make it larger):

You can buy these bottles on Amazon: Coddlelife 8 oz Wide Neck Polypropylene (PP) Bottle - 3-Pack or you will be able to win one on my blog! Your child will love them!

Jumperoos and French Fries

The following is an actual conversation with a Wendy's cashier.  I wish I were making this up, but sadly I am not that creative.

Me: I'd like a combo 8 with a chili instead of fries and a water please.
Cashier: Is that all?
Me: Yep!
Cashier: Nothing for her? (Gestures to Molly)
Me: No, she doesn't eat solid food
Cashier: Well you could atleast let her suck on a fry or something.
Me: ::Silence::

Um, yes. I will get right on feeding my almost 5 month old french fries. I would like to contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic sooner rather than later, thankyouverymuch.

Wow.

Anyway, Molly is growing by leaps and bounds! I was looking at her 0-3 month clothing today and it is SO hard to believe that she ever wore something so little. She loves her jumperoo, although she won't jump in it. She stands there and beats the keyboard until she can get the music to play, silly girl.

Here is your daily Molly picture (I LOVE her hat!)

Oh and here are the giveaways I have coming up---so stay tuned!
- Coddlelife Bottle Review and Giveaway
- Bummas review and giveaway
- How to create custom bouquets DVD giveaway
- ModmomME Keyfob giveaway
-Mimijumi Bottle review and giveaway

PS: I am now #103 on Top Mommy Blogs! You all rock!!

Bella B Valentines Day Giveaway! Win a Customized Mom Tee

Have you ever had a pickup line used on you and you just could NOT believe how cheesy it was? Share it with us and win a customized Mommy tee!

Valentines Day Giveaway! Enter by February 13th for a chance to win.

Up for grabs is a personalized mommy tee from Bella B Maternity. You can spot Jessica Alba rocking her "Honor's Mom" tee on the playground!

-This tee was recently featured in Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine
-Tees are 100% produced and manufactured in the USA!
-Tees are super comfy, 100% ring spun cotton

Bella B is proud to offer maternity for the entire family! From maternity wear and Mom wear, to things for Dads and tees for tots, to tutus and diaper bags it’s all there. Check out Bella’s gear and all of their celebrity fans like Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, Gwen Stefani, Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, and Tori Spelling. Head over and stock up on some upscale fashions and accessories at bargain prices. You can shop at BellaBMaternity.com.

ENTRY:

1. (Mandatory) Submit your favorite pick up line or the worst pickup line that you’ve heard for a chance to win!
Examples: Are those stars on your pants? Because your ass is out of this world!!
Excuse me but I think I dropped something....my jaw!
 
Make sure to include your contact information. You may submit one entry on all 5 participating blogs, so go check out our friends and up your odds of winning. Each blog will choose one winner and those winners will be pooled to select the ultimate winner. Be sure to stay tuned when the winner is announced. All non-winners will receive a 10% discount code to use on Bella’s gear!
 
Visit these blogs for more chances to win!:
 
Momma Maven
Heir To Blair
The 818
365 Days: 30+ Mommyhood

Talk to Me

Daily Dosage of Molly

Oh, Mom, I am so OVER having my picture taken.

Get A Clue

Dear Alissa,

When you buy chocolate, you eat ALL of it. Within days if not hours. Here's a clue: STOP BUYING IT! I know that Valentines Day is approaching and stores are having sales on candy. It doesn't mean that you have to buy multiple bags and eat all of them. I thank you.

Love,

Your Waistline.

The above is what my body is saying to me this week. I haven't felt good and I think it's mostly because I have been scarfing down gratuitous amounts of chocolate. It also doesn't help that AF has made her not so welcome return and I just want to eat (and eat, and eat...).

So far I have lost my baby weight, quite honestly without really trying. I'm onto the tough part now which is getting back to where I would LIKE to be.  I don't HAVE to weigh what I would like to weigh, but it would be nice. Hence the "I don't give a crap if I turn into a giant chocolate bar because I am at my pre baby weight, thankyouverymuch" attitude.

So, this week, I have a couple super easy goals, and if I cannot acheive them I may just go take a swim in the Ohio River (kidding!).

1. No extra chocolate consumption. A couple pieces=fine. Two entire bags? Excessive.
2. Lose two pounds (should be easy with the lack of chocolate consumption).

I think I can do those two things, right? I apologize to those of you who came here looking for weight loss inspiration. I can only tell you that hey, it is possible to lose the entire 63 pounds you gained while pregnant in 4 months. However, I cannot tell you how to get rid of the spare tire of skin below your below button. I now believe that celebrities have that skin removed and then reattached when they want to have more children.

Next week I will not be fatter. That's a good goal, correct?

**Make sure you check out The Heir to Blair for more McFatty Monday posts**

Scandalous

I posted a while back about how I wasn't ready to do baby food yet because I wasn't exactly comfortable with it. What frustrates me is that when I explained my reasoning to the pediatrician, I was told that "A new study came out that says it's okay to start them between 4-6 months". Okay, great, but what about the old study? What was wrong with it? How do I trust studies that say one thing and then are discredited by another? What happens when this "new" study is discredited?

When I read articles like this: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/delay-solids.html I feel better about the decision to delay solids a bit. It's not about knowing more than her pediatrician or not listening to what the Dr. says, it's about what I feel is best for Molly. I am under the opinion that "breast is best" for the first 6 months of life, if not longer.

That said, I have a confession. On a whim I bought her some baby food and we tried a bit of it. She had a hard time with it. She didn't like the texture and made horrible faces. She didn't know what to do with it. I continued it for a little while thinking she would get used to it, she didn't. She wasn't ready and I feel guilty about that decision now. We will not be doing any more solids until 6 months, and if she's ready then, great! If not, we will wait longer.

Every child is different and I honestly don't believe that a "one size fits all" policy is what's best for infants. That's what I felt the pediatrician was giving me when solids were suggested. That one size did not fit Molly. Molly is not every other baby, she is her own person.

I digress. I know some of you read the blog for Molly's pictures, so here is your daily dose of Mols:
                                                  
I think she was staring at Sophie in this one:

                                                    
Paparazzi! Stop taking my picture: