The Caitlin Moss Blog

I survived. While I can't see myself riding solo on an airplane with a baby again, it honestly wasn't awful. Ther's something about air travel that makes me nervous anyway. I'm not the type that's prescribed valium but there is a certain level of anxiety I get when boarding, taking off, and landing. Now that I was traveling with a bundle of cuteness, I didn't want to be THAT mom with the hysterical child. Here's how it all went down... First, I got to board early. Awesome. But as they were taking my ticket they didn't having the name of my traveling infant. After a brief scolding I told her I was never asked and I sure wasn't hiding him. Oh well. Then when we got to our seat and got settled, everything was fine until Isaiah had a meltdown. Seriously, he was mad! I tried giving him his bottle (which I brought because I wanted to be discrete and not flash the teenage boy sitting next to me). Nope. Then I tried his pacifier. Nope. When in doubt, get him...

It's no secret now! After three and a half years in San Diego, we are moving home to Washington. While we have absolutely no regrets about living here or all we experienced, we sure are happy to be going home. Here are a few things we've done during our last days here... ...visited Lake Murray ...played with my giraffe ...celebrated dad's birthday ...loved on mama ...acted cute ...visited friends ...went for walks ...went to Old Town San Diego ...went to the beach ...helped mom pack ...went to dinner with friends ...hung out by the pool ...met Grandpa Moss ...met Aunt Carmen and Uncle Matt

I never knew how much love and family could change my perspective on...well, everything. When I graduated from college (two and a half years early) I had BIG dreams. I was going to have a big job, a big California house with a pool, and drive some kind of big luxury vehicle with leather seats - a husband and kids would come later. Then along came Darren and the move to California. I quickly realized my life would not be complete without him. Long story short, we got hitched and started to build our life together. All of a sudden MY goals became OUR goals and they reflected a more frugal and practical life than I dreamed up my last semester at WSU. And now we have Isaiah. The perfect addition to our life. He fills places in my heart that I didn't even know I had with so much love and joy! Every day I feel like I'm going to explode! How did I get so lucky? Why did God choose me of all people to have the most incredible husband and father to the most wonderful little baby? While I...

Isaiah is already 6 1/2 weeks old and I'm finally getting my groove back. Now that we've both passed the six week mark, we're running out of excuses to stay cooped up in this little apartment. I'm not just starting to feel better, I'm starting to feel great! I've been exercising (I even wore my skinny jeans today!), spending alone time with my wonderful super-hubby, and feeling more comfortable about the little "field trips" I take Isaiah on. Now that I'm passed feeling the relief of no longer being pregnant and dealing with the recovery of post-partum, I've been able to reflect on becoming a mother. There isn't really one way or word to describe the process. We spend nine long, emotional and sometimes torturous months growing and carrying a baby that we love automatically without even knowing who he/she is or even looks like. I know personally I spent every free moment imagining who Isaiah was going to be and what he was going to look like...

Hello mama's and mama-to-be's (since most of you reading this are)! I just wanted to tell all of you THANK YOU for all the love, support, and advice about breastfeeding. Since my post about my struggle with it, I've received emails, messages, and phone calls with such great encouragement. It's so relieving to know I'm not alone with this issue. Many women struggle with breastfeeding for the same reasons I do (I guess we just don't talk about it very much). I guess it's a little taboo to say it out loud but I'm glad I did because I wouldn't feel this much better about it had I kept quiet. Feeling nauseous (caused by hormones), smothered, and just not enjoying the feeling is completely normal and common! Thank goodness - I'm not an alien! I've decided to really stick it out. I've had my hiccups in the short time I've been doing it so far but I have no health reason to quit now and my mama didn't raise no quitter. Plus, I think Isaia...

Our pride and joy - love this face! These days I really have been praying for patience. Not as a parent (I think I'm doing OK with that - it helps having a baby that is practically perfect!) but with a few other things I'm struggling with since Isaiah was born. Let's face it, I'm not the most patient person. I couldn't wait to grow up and graduate college; I received my bachelor's at age 19. I couldn't wait to get out of Washington; I took the first internship I was offered in sunny San Diego and moved one month later. I couldn't wait to get married; I was engaged for only 2 months. I've always been eager to get up and get things (whatever they might be) going! While we're slowly developing a new routine for everything with the newest addition to our family, there are two things in particular that I'm struggling to wait for. First off, I don't like breast feeding. This is REALLY hard for me to admit (I only just told Darren a few days ago...

...for me at least! The entire time I was pregnant I received a lot of advice - good and bad. It's ALWAYS nice to hear what happened to other people/what worked for them but, let's be honest, when it comes to someone who isn't a parent or isn't a parent you'd like to be, their advice can just be stupid. I know everyone is different but I'd like to share my experiences. For those of you that would like to hear it, here are a few things that have come up during the first few weeks for me that I wish I had more of a warning about/didn't expect: 1. The hospital is NOT fun - everyone told me being in the hospital after delivery is great. You have all the extra help and resources, etc. No thank you! I didn't get any sleep while recovering because there was constantly someone in our room - checking my blood pressure (yes, I was woken up for that on many occasions), checking on Isaiah, cleaning the bathroom, getting your food orders (seriously, bring me a PB and...