Since Harlow’s birth, Mazzy’s birthday and the holidays all fell on top of eachother this year, I’ve got so many thank you cards to write, I am debating writing any at all. (Is it possible that 40-50 people will all assume their card got lost in the mail?)
Add this to the birth announcements I still have to send out and the holiday cards I debate getting every year and my tongue already wants to shrivel up and die from the thought of licking all those envelopes.
But, there are a few people in my life that really deserve a proper card this year and thankfully, the best way to address them is online…
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Dear Readers, Fans (can I call you fans?), and Friends,
I want to use today to thank you all for your comments and advice.
Three years ago when I had Mazzy, I didn’t have a blog where I could talk about my baby issues and get tons of quality advice in return. I would have to google my problem, which would take me to a Baby Center message board, where I would read a thread that starts with genuine suggestions and then slowly devolves into a fight I would have had in junior high school.
Now, I write about reflux issues with Harlow or sleep training Mazzy for the second time and not only do I get tons of free advice, I get it from people I trust, who are smart, non-judgemental, and have a great sense of humor. People whose names I recognize and personalities I have come to know. A few people who have been reading and commenting on Mommy Shorts for 2+ years now.
I know I don’t respond to comments like I used to. I always plan to. But then the day slips away and I have tomorrow’s blog post to write, children to take care of, a husband that doesn’t want to be ignored and ice cream sitting in my freezer that is not going to eat itself, so I say I’ll do it tomorrow… but then tomorrow comes, the comments build up and the task seems impossible.
Please know, whether I respond to comments or not, I read each and every one of them. Reading your comments is one of my favorite parts of the day. A lot of the time, I think the fodder in the comment section ends up being better than the original post— which is why I steal from you all so frequently.
Thank you all for reading, sharing your stories, commiserating, challenging me, and giving me your hard-earned parenting advice.
This blog has become a very special and crucial part of my life and you guys are all a huge reason why.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for caring about my family. I hope everyone has a very happy holiday season.
xo, Ilana (aka Mommy Shorts)
ps: If this felt unusually sappy, please blame the sleep deprivation.
pps: I ordered the Fisher-Price Newborn Rock n’ Play Sleeper
thanks to the ridiuclous number of testimonials that it helps babies with acid reflux under yesterday’s post. I hope it works!
Maybe because Mazzy & Rebecca are just a few days apart so I relate to so much that you write (when you write it) but your blog is one of the funniest I read, always good for a smile. Keep it up! 🙂
You’re welcome and a thank you right back for making us laugh and cry, and sharing your knowledge, life, and family with us. As a sporadic blogger, I really admire how consistent and consistently great you are. It’s not easy. And now you’re doing it with a toddler and a newborn? God bless you. Eat some more ice cream.
That’s it, we’ve obviously lost you to the hormonal dark side.
I’m not crying, I have allergies, ALLERGIES OK?
Shut up.
I’m a fairly new reader but you have quickly become one of my absolute favorites. Happy holidays to you and your family!
(erinmich82 on IG) 🙂
They say the best way to receive free therapy, counseling, and advice you would’ve otherwise spent money or time trying to get would be to start a blog 😉 You’re sap is much appreciated!
I love reading your blog and look forward to it daily you make me laugh and with a little boy close to Mazzy’s age and hopefully one on the way soon its fun to share experiences. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to entertain us. Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
I could have written these exact words, except for the baby parts, BUT: my blog has become a huge part of my life, I am grateful to my readers more than I can ever tell them. THey have given my life such a sweet edge to it, I was lonely before, and now: friends at the push of a key.
I am as grateful as you are, for all that my blog has brought me. I am unbelievably grateful.
Did I just hijack your Thank You letter?
Yes I did.
Thanks for doing such a great job.
xo
Picture of you is gorgeous BTW. I’d say “hey, I’ll hijack your picture, too, except for the youthful lush skin, and hair, and smile …)
i don’t comment much cause i have 4 kids of my own, so i don’t usually have a lot of time on here, but i do read your blog every day, it gives me the “happy tears” i need to get me thru the day filled with “sad, hurt, angry, he won’t give it back tears”. your sense of humor is just great! and your readers comments let me know that i am so far from being alone with the things my kids say and do to me. i look forward to all of your posts!! thank you so much for taking time everyday to blog, its greatly appreciated (and needed…lol) happy holidays to you and your beautiful family!!!
Your blog is the first thing I read every morning at work (after I trudge through and respond to my emails like a responsible employee of course!), it’s one of my favorite parts of the day 🙂 Thank you for sharing your family with us!!!
LOVED our rock n play sleeper and my baby didn’t even have acid reflux, it just rocks.
Good luck w/ the rock and play. Lovely note and photo. One tip: forget the thank you notes. You don’t have time for that now. Or delegate. Mazzy three – she can take it from here.
You need to check out the Red Stamp app. I totally texted my thank you cards from my little one’s first birthday.
Best of luck with the sleep stuff. We’re still working it out with our 7 month old. Don’t be scared of the reflux meds. Baby Prevacid changed our lives!!!
I’ll just say again that your blog is one of my favorites to read, and pretty much the only one I comment on. You just seem very real to me and like the girlfriend down the street. So thank YOU for writing! I look forward to your new posts so much. 🙂
Hugs regarding yesterday’s post – I really hope that things get better with Harlow and her reflux soon. You’ll have to write about whether or not that swing does the trick! And post a pic. That would be cute. 🙂
Most of us understand your situation now (and you’re popular!) and you really don’t have to reply to these mediocre, non-essential, stupid, trolling comments, if I say (okay, at least you can safely ignore this one). But you can always show your girls pictures instead 🙂
Ah, by the way, say hello to Dr. B. please.
Yeah, greetings are important in life, but still less important than your own life I suppose? 😉
Aw, so sweet! THANK YOU for providing me with a daily dose of parenting humor! Hope that sleeper works for poor Harlow!
There is nothing nicer than having a community that to’s and fro’s with information that is needed (sometimes desperately). It is also nice just to know sometimes that what we go through as parents is also experienced by others, thus we don’t feel so alone. Thank you for making us laugh (and cry sometimes too). You make parenting more fun! Happy birth Harlow, Happy Birthday Mazzy, Happy Hanukkah and happy families!! Much Love xoxox
Like everyone else, I love reading your blog too. I actually had a dream last night that you and Mazzy came to a sleepover party that my kids were having, and I was like, whoa whahoo someone famous is at my house! (okay if that’s weird, sorry, haha).
Be thankful for your beautiful family, and hug them bunches. I will be doing the same when I go home, because today, well it’s just awful.
That is so sweet! I am glad to hear you read and appreciate the comments, as I know would be daunting (pretty impossible) to respond to every one, but is nice to know comments aren’t just being shot into la-la-land blogosphere, lol!
I didn’t comment on the reflux post as you got so much great advice. But if it makes you feel better (or not) I swore that my second would not sleep in my bed as was well aware of the risks of bedsharing, and then she was born and decided to NOT sleep in my bed was a ridiculous concept, and clearly her mother was an idiot who needed to be schooled, and her argument for beat my argument against as I would coo and rock her and talk in a reasonable manner and she responded by screetching like a banshee. So, yeah.
Anyhoo – until you get the rocker, try using the breastfeeding pillow. If you have the puffy (but firm, not fluffy puffy) one, not the flat one. I found that kept her close enough to me in the bed she was calmer, kept her propped enough to help digestion, and provided enough of a barrier I wasn’t worried about rolling on her. Then I eventually transferred her to the cosleeper thingy that fits in the adult bed, then moved that contraption into her cradle (which was in our room that she should have been thrilled to sleep in from the getgo – stupid picky baby). Then at three months was in own room in crib, but I had to rock her to sleep for over an hour in the dark before she would settle – not feeding, not hungry, just wanted to be rocked in darkness.
And in other news, I was a wealth of information about vasectomies from the time she was approximately 2 weeks old. Give or take two weeks.
You make me feel less alone in this motherhood world.
Thanks to you for all your kindness, for teaching me new ways of raising my son and for the laughs, oh, so many laughs.
Despite the tragic events of today, I wish you and your family a very happy December and New Year, as well as a very bright 2013.
With a lot of affection, (it’s amazing how you start caring for people you’ve never met, so quickly)
your Argentine reader 🙂
So glad to hear others recommended the Rock and Play! I meant to comment and suggest it, but got sidetracked by some sort of toddler need/demand/tantrum. Our son slept in that thing for five months and only moved out of it to his crib when his feet were practically hanging over the edge. It was the best! Good luck with everything!
I didn’t read all the comments on your reflux post so I apologize if this is the 30th time you’ve heard this… I have a just about 4 month old who was the grunty-est baby you could imagine. He slept through it, but from 1 am to 7 am he would grunt, almost constantly. And loudly. Like leafblower, you ought to have ear protection loud (I clocked him on a decibel meter). He has reflux and is on Prilosec, which helped many things but not the grunting. The grunting was a dairy problem. 3 weeks after I stopped eating dairy, the grunting stopped and he started going for more than 2 hours between feeds at night. If I eat any dairy, it comes right back. I just mention it because I had him sleeping upright, on his side, on a tilted bassinet…they helped with the spit up, not the grunts. Oh, and once he was on Prilosec, I only had to hold him up for about 10 minutes. Good luck, life with a digestively challenged baby is challenging. Be kind to yourself.
You’re one of the first blogs I ever read when I first started blogging. You’ve always stayed true to you, your voice and remain one of my favorite reads.
Have loved watching Mommy Shorts grow. Only with a slight tinge of envy. 🙂
(I haven’t been commenting as much, or been the first for a long time. Much is going on over here too. Also, sleep deprived.)
Yep. This is why we blog. Hugs to you. xoxo
Your blog is the one I look forward to reading the most! 🙂
Just be careful: be sure to read the 1star reviews on amazon about the sleep and play. Serious risk of flat head syndrome and torticolis. On another note, my 2 month old had same issues as Harlow, and they’ve resolved–no spitting up for past 2-3 weeks. Hope this will be similar experience for you…
Hey, I totally understand! Some of us have been reading that long and also haven’t commented in a long time. I found that typing one handed while feeding the new baby and keeping the toddler entertained with my left foot was more than I could manage.
I still read and enjoy every post! Just a now I have become a comment lurker.
Your blog is one of my favorite things to read! Funny and informative-thanks for making us smile ^.^ would love to meet you one day
If you’re going to do sappy (saaaaaapppppy), at least you do it well. (I believe you told me something along those same lines, back in the days when I used to actually remember that I had a blog.)
Still reading, though too lack-of-sleeped (yes, still, at 4.5 months, but THIS WILL NOT BE YOU DON’T WORRY) to comment. I’m belatedly seconding the Rock ‘N’ Play, though in our case it was a combination of that, a much-earlier-than-planned introduction to the crib (with tummy sleeping; don’t tell), and continued co-sleeping after 4 a.m. or so that got us through the past months. Things are finally turning the corner here and I swear, colors do look brighter and foods do taste better, once you get to that corner. Except for ice cream, which, as you know, always tastes fabulous.
Hang in there, you and your gorgeous, gorgeous girls. And if Harlow ever wants to chat around 3:30 a.m., Jax is available.
My mother suggested and gave me a sleep and play rocker…and it is the ONLY place my 6 week old will sleep, except for on my chest. Good luck! Oh, and your kiddos are just beautiful!