It's not so much a resolution as a statement. It's a statement that I'm completely and utterly conflicted about, but resolute none-the-less. I will miss our breastfeeding relationship. It was wonderful to stop everything and have a little one-on-one cuddle time with my favorite little person. But like everything, this too must come to an end. I'm very proud of our 20+ months of nursing. I entered this arrangement thinking it would last no longer than a year. A few months ago, I decided we'd be done before her second birthday. The last few weeks, our breastfeeding relationship kind of wrapped up on it's own.
If you read about weaning, it's always suggested to avoid weaning at stressful times, including the holidays. I was planning on starting to really wean her after the holidays had commenced. We were already down to just two sessions a day (before nap and before bed), but the hectic schedule of the holidays made my toddler too busy to remember to nurse, and I wasn't about to remind her. I kept our before bed ritual as best I could until this week. Before I knew it, three days had passed without her nursing at all due to evening plans that kept her out past her normal bedtime and falling asleep in the car. We were home all day yesterday, and she asked to be nursed a couple of times, but was easily distracted and despite following all our other nightly rituals, didn't have any problems going to sleep without it.
I'm sure if I wanted to continue nursing, I would still produce milk, but I feel that perhaps this easy weaning was an answer to my prayers for the last 8 months. I was so afraid of a tearful, painful weaning. While it is bittersweet, she doesn't seem to upset by it at all. And I can't tell you how excited I am to go out and purchase bras that don't have escape hatches and actually fit (although I'm willing to bet that the girls are not quite done shrinking yet).
2011 was a wonderful year for my family and I hope 2012 will bring new growth to our little family as we hope to start trying for baby #2 this summer. I wish you all a blessed new year and that you find joy in your families, as I have in mine.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Quick Last Minute Gift
Has this ever happened to you?
You forgot to get a hostess gift for a party you are attending later this evening. You'd rather stab a fork through your hand than go out again in that last minute Christmas shopping hell, so you grab that bottle of Pinot you were hoping to enjoy yourself. But how do you make it look like you put a little effort into the gift instead of grabbing it at a liquor store on your way to the party?
You forgot to get a hostess gift for a party you are attending later this evening. You'd rather stab a fork through your hand than go out again in that last minute Christmas shopping hell, so you grab that bottle of Pinot you were hoping to enjoy yourself. But how do you make it look like you put a little effort into the gift instead of grabbing it at a liquor store on your way to the party?
Enter: the super easy to make wine bag. It says you're thoughtful and crafty, but what your hostess doesn't have to know is that it took you less than 10 minutes to make!
First, you'll need some festive fabric, about 13 inches by 11 inches. If you have a pair of pinking shears, use these to cut your fabric, it will make your life a million times easier*. Fold the fabric in half hot-dog way (so it becomes 13x5.5"), wrong side out. Sew along the long side and one of the short sides.
Now here's the fancy part: on the sewn short end, pinch your corner and sew a triangle into the corner like this:
Repeat with the other corner. This creates a more rounded bottom to your bag. Just make sure that your seam lays in the same direction on both corners, so it doesn't look like this:
Now, flip your bag right side out, insert your bottle of wine, and tie closed with a pretty ribbon. Voila!
*If you don't have pinking shears, make your fabric 1/2 inch longer (13.5x11), fold down the top edge 1/4" twice, and sew this seam down.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Two Must Have Sewing Tutorials
I have to share these two sewing tutorials that I've found and used. They are must haves for sewing mamas with small frys. Just starting out at sewing? No worries, they are super easy to follow and don't require any advanced sewing skills.
The first tutorial is perfect for the season: flannel PJ pants! I've already made two pair for my kiddo and a pair for my nephew. My sister wanted our kids to have matching PJs for Christmas Eve, so this was the most economical solution I could find and paired them up with some Christmas Tshirts from Old Navy. I added a bow on the front since my husband was a little weirded out that the first pair didn't have a front and back.
The second tutorial is perfect for my girlie-girl. It's rare to see my daughter not carrying around a baby doll or purse, and I was tired of watching her drag around silly gift bags or reusable shopping bags as her purse. I found this super cute tutorial on how to make a purse from old jeans. The blogger uses her daughters old embellished jeans to create an adorable purse. I didn't have any old jeans of my daughters that needed to be up-cycled (and lets face it, she's only now wearing 18 months; that would be one tiny purse), so I used some pieces of my own old jeans that I had cut off and just sewed on a purple heart. If I use this tutorial again (who am I kidding; WHEN I use this again), I will avoid using the original cuff; it was too hard to sew over.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Evolution of the Toddler
If I have learned nothing else from being a mom, it is that my daughter is constantly changing. Nothing about her is static. Everyday she learns a new word (today it is "happy"), tries out a new skill, and changes her mind about what food she likes.
Our newest and most challenging change for me is nap time. For the last almost five months, since cutting down to only one nap, our routine before nap has been very simple. After lunch and a little play time, we go up to her room, close the curtains, and nurse to sleep. Of course, some days when we're out and about, she'll fall asleep in the car, and then I'll carry her to her crib where she continues to sleep. Unfortunately, this past week, nursing to sleep has been wholly unsuccessful. Mind you, she'll fall asleep while nursing; its during the transfer where she wakes up, stands up in her crib, and screams bloody murder.
Today, we tried a completely different approach. After church, she decided she really wanted her "boobies". Ok, fine. So I told her that she could have her boobies now, but then she would have to eat lunch and for nap time she would not get boobies. She agreed, but I was skeptical. As nap time approached, I could tell she was getting quite tired. I told her again, we would go upstairs and read books, but then she would have to close her eyes and go to sleep.
Amazingly, it worked! I mimicked our bed time routine with the exception of a bath and putting on pajamas. We put on her sleep sack, turned on her music, sat in the rocking chair, and read three books. After our three books, and a quick diaper change due to an unexpected poop, I laid her down in her crib and told her night-night. I did not hear a single crab or cry on my way downstairs. I'm sitting here typing and checking the monitor and feel like I was just granted a miracle!
I'm sure with time, this wonderful stage will end and another will begin. I was once told never to get used to any stage, good or bad, because before I know, it will pass. For now, I will enjoy this small victory until the next battle begins.
Our newest and most challenging change for me is nap time. For the last almost five months, since cutting down to only one nap, our routine before nap has been very simple. After lunch and a little play time, we go up to her room, close the curtains, and nurse to sleep. Of course, some days when we're out and about, she'll fall asleep in the car, and then I'll carry her to her crib where she continues to sleep. Unfortunately, this past week, nursing to sleep has been wholly unsuccessful. Mind you, she'll fall asleep while nursing; its during the transfer where she wakes up, stands up in her crib, and screams bloody murder.
Today, we tried a completely different approach. After church, she decided she really wanted her "boobies". Ok, fine. So I told her that she could have her boobies now, but then she would have to eat lunch and for nap time she would not get boobies. She agreed, but I was skeptical. As nap time approached, I could tell she was getting quite tired. I told her again, we would go upstairs and read books, but then she would have to close her eyes and go to sleep.
Amazingly, it worked! I mimicked our bed time routine with the exception of a bath and putting on pajamas. We put on her sleep sack, turned on her music, sat in the rocking chair, and read three books. After our three books, and a quick diaper change due to an unexpected poop, I laid her down in her crib and told her night-night. I did not hear a single crab or cry on my way downstairs. I'm sitting here typing and checking the monitor and feel like I was just granted a miracle!
I'm sure with time, this wonderful stage will end and another will begin. I was once told never to get used to any stage, good or bad, because before I know, it will pass. For now, I will enjoy this small victory until the next battle begins.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Mini Ring Sling
I was so excited when I saw these super cute mini Beco's for little girls to carry their baby dolls in. I wanted to get one for my daughter and was immediately convinced that it was going to be one of her Christmas presents. But as I thought about it, I had a few concerns. First of all, would it be small enough for her? My daughter is super tiny, only in the 4th percentile for height and 2nd for weight. Then there was the whole issue of spending almost $30 for something that I might be able to make myself. While a soft-structured carrier might be a little above my skill level, I knew I could come up with something that would produce similar results.
After thinking on it awhile, I decided to make her a mini ring-sling. I had made a few regular ring slings using a tutorial on the Maya Wrap website that appears to no longer exist, so a mini ring sling should be pretty simple, right? I first had to figure out what to use as the rings. I would typically use rings purchased from SlingRings.com, but since this ring sling would be much smaller and carry plastic or fabric baby dolls, I didn't really think anything that fancy was necessary. So I found some large D-rings at Hobby Lobby and used those. I bought a yard of cute fabric and cut it in half so it was approximately 18"x45". I hemmed the long edges and secured the D-rings on one end. I looped the free end through the D-rings, tried it on my somewhat unwilling model, and found that it fit!
 |
| Mini Ring Sling! |
A fabric that is "reversible" or cute on both sides might work better, but lets be honest folks, this is for my 20 month old. She doesn't mind! After making sure it fit, I hemmed the loose end and hid it so she would forget about it. It's now wrapped and waiting to be put under the tree. Yay for simple, inexpensive Christmas gifts!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
My Grandmother's Legacy
This is my Grandmother's Legacy.
You might think it odd or even disrespectful that I consider a pot of dumplings (or Spaetzle for the rest of the world) to be my grandmother's legacy. But this pot of dumplings signifies so much more than that.
My grandma passed away this August at the age of 86. She was very much the matriarch of our family. Out of 7 brothers and sisters, she was the last one living (if any of my family reads this, I counted baby Julie). She had two daughters, five grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. She was the surrogate mother and grandmother to the children and grandchildren of her sisters and brothers as they passed and welcomed anyone into the family. And she did it in the most delicious way.
My grandmother was the best cook and baker I ever met. Walking through her door always meant being greeted by the most wonderful smells imaginable, and she made everything from scratch, including soup noodles. Her food meant comfort, love, and family.
Doing it Alone
I have to give a lot of credit to single parents, parents whose spouses are deployed in the military, and parents whose spouses travel frequently for work. I honestly don't know how they do it.
My husband is traveling this week for work. This means I am alone with our child from the moment she wakes up in the morning until she utters her last whimper at night. At 19 months old, she is exhausting! If I had to do this week in and week out, I think my life expectancy would be cut by at least 20 years. Thankfully, my husband's job doesn't require him to be gone more than a few weeks out of the year.
I enjoy evenings with my husband. When "daddy's home" it signifies a milestone of the day. The energy of the house changes and it's like we all (the child, the dog, and I) take a deep breath and know that someone is here to save us! to entertain us! and to distract us from our crabbiness. My daughter looks forward to having someone else to "UP!", and I enjoy not being the only arms around. Not to mention the fact that I finally have someone who can talk to me in fully intelligible sentences... well, mostly. Even if he has to go straight to his office and continue working, I feel a sense of peace knowing he's here.
My husband thinks his job is hard. I know he works hard. He starts his workday at 6am and works until 5pm and often later. He deals with impossible demands and constant complaints from customers and disgruntled and uncooperative coworkers each and every day. But he gets to talk to adults, eat real food at restaurants (and often gets reimbursed for it), and since he's in sales, his scenery is constantly changing. And most importantly, every other week his employer deposits a whole buncha money into our checking account for his efforts.
Being a stay at home mom has much different perks. I wouldn't change it for the world. But I also am grateful, each and every evening, for my teammate to come and help me with this teeny tiny Tasmanian devil we call our daughter.
My husband is traveling this week for work. This means I am alone with our child from the moment she wakes up in the morning until she utters her last whimper at night. At 19 months old, she is exhausting! If I had to do this week in and week out, I think my life expectancy would be cut by at least 20 years. Thankfully, my husband's job doesn't require him to be gone more than a few weeks out of the year.
I enjoy evenings with my husband. When "daddy's home" it signifies a milestone of the day. The energy of the house changes and it's like we all (the child, the dog, and I) take a deep breath and know that someone is here to save us! to entertain us! and to distract us from our crabbiness. My daughter looks forward to having someone else to "UP!", and I enjoy not being the only arms around. Not to mention the fact that I finally have someone who can talk to me in fully intelligible sentences... well, mostly. Even if he has to go straight to his office and continue working, I feel a sense of peace knowing he's here.
My husband thinks his job is hard. I know he works hard. He starts his workday at 6am and works until 5pm and often later. He deals with impossible demands and constant complaints from customers and disgruntled and uncooperative coworkers each and every day. But he gets to talk to adults, eat real food at restaurants (and often gets reimbursed for it), and since he's in sales, his scenery is constantly changing. And most importantly, every other week his employer deposits a whole buncha money into our checking account for his efforts.
Being a stay at home mom has much different perks. I wouldn't change it for the world. But I also am grateful, each and every evening, for my teammate to come and help me with this teeny tiny Tasmanian devil we call our daughter.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Organize Your Tops!
I am not a neat person. Ask my husband, this is his biggest issue with me. I constantly leave stuff EVERYWHERE. But somehow, I still believe that I'm organized. I'm probably not really organized, but the trick is believing you are. If you can get past the clutter on my counter tops and open my cabinets, you will see there is some truth in this. It does help that in our new house I have more cabinets than I know what to do with. But that's besides the point.
One organizational issue I had was how to organize the lids to my pots. Do you try to stack them up? Lean them against the sides of the cabinet? There really didn't seem to be any solution to this problem. I wanted some kind of organizer, and in my mind I envisioned a wooden rack with dowel-rods separating the lids to hold them vertical. The problem was I had no one to make it for me and wood work is a hobby I have no desire to pursue. I was complaining to my sister when she suggested I try a dish rack. I couldn't believe how simple the solution could be. I found this perfect dish drying rack at Ikea for $5.99! The size is perfect for my cabinet and fits all but one of my lids (it's just a smidge too bulky to fit).
Happy Organizing!
One organizational issue I had was how to organize the lids to my pots. Do you try to stack them up? Lean them against the sides of the cabinet? There really didn't seem to be any solution to this problem. I wanted some kind of organizer, and in my mind I envisioned a wooden rack with dowel-rods separating the lids to hold them vertical. The problem was I had no one to make it for me and wood work is a hobby I have no desire to pursue. I was complaining to my sister when she suggested I try a dish rack. I couldn't believe how simple the solution could be. I found this perfect dish drying rack at Ikea for $5.99! The size is perfect for my cabinet and fits all but one of my lids (it's just a smidge too bulky to fit).
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Wine Cork Garland
I've recently joined Pintrest, and I've been amazed by all the wonderful and creative crafts I've come across. It's awesome to me how people come up with these things. I've actually started to make some of the crafts that I've pinned, although I have yet to actually finish any of them.
So here's my very own tutorial:
While looking through many tutorials, I've realized that I'm pretty crafty myself. One craft I came up with myself and am most proud of is my wine cork garland. My husband and I love wine, as does many of our friends and family members. When we were married, our wedding had a wine theme and I collected wine corks to use as table card holders. I ended up with way more corks than I knew what to do with (mostly collected by friends and family, I promise, I'm not that big of a wino). So I came up with this ingenious idea to create Christmas Tree garland from it. I had been trying to find a unique garland for our tree, and nothing I found fit our personality until I came up with this.
Supplies:
- many, many corks. I've found the rubber ones are the easiest, but this can be done with cork corks as well and I've even used a champagne cork.
- twine
- wooden beads (I used 3/4in ones from Michael's)
- acrylic paint
- Phillips head screw driver
- paint brush
- sissors
2. Cut your twine; I made mine about 7-8 feet long to begin with.
 |
| loop knot |
3. Tie a knot at the end of your twine. I also added a loop, as I feel it makes it easier to hang the garland on the tree
4. Start making holes in your corks. I used a Phillips head screwdriver. Please be careful not to hurt yourself or your table. For some corks, I put the holes width-wise, others length-wise. Not all of my holes were very straight, but I don't think that really matters.
5. String your beads and corks on in a way that is pleasing to you. To make it easier to string the corks, I made a giant needle out of some wire.
6. Once you've reached your desired length, tie another knot with a loop at the end and you're done!
The best part of this, is that every year you can make a new string!
 |
| Here's my tree the first year I did this. One strand isn't quite enough for a 7 ft tree, but I think it's a pretty unique garland! |
Saturday, August 13, 2011
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Children
I find it continuously shocking how unwelcome small children are at many stores and restaurants. Ok, so maybe "unwelcome" is being a little extreme. It may be more accurate to say that many stores and restaurants are not very accommodating to parents with small children. The carts and high chairs supplied for these children are all the same and extremely inadequate. I don't know any toddler who is unable to escape from the single strap placed around their tummy (chest?). High chairs for my peanut, until very recently, brought her about chin height to the table... as if that's going to entice her to eat. And that's just the start of my complaints about serving children in restaurants.
Besides one-size-fits-none high chairs found at restaurants, I can't believe how many eating establishments have plopped down a steaming hot, ceramic plate of food in front of my toddler. Might as well hand her that steak knife too. I realize that serving food luke warm is probably not good business at a restaurant, but perhaps they could offer to bring the child's food a little bit before the adult entrees and serve it on something a little less breakable. Sometimes I think enough to ask, but I usually feel like I'm being super high-maintenance and keep my mouth shut.
Even one establishment considered by many to be the most kid-friendly of all, falls short. On the way home from the grocery store today, feeling a little sorry for myself for being a golf widow on a beautiful August Saturday, I swung by the McDonald's drive thru. After requesting my Daily Double, I was promptly informed that on Saturdays, breakfast is served until 11am, and it was currently only 10:50. "Are you kidding me?!" I asked. "No, ma'am, we don't serve lunch for 10 more minutes." Yes, I know it was early, but my child had been awake since before 6 am. Sleepy time is fast approaching and I need food for her little belly. I am not going to sit and wait 10 minutes while my Skinny Cow melts in the trunk so you can deam it proper lunch time.
Stores are just as bad, too. Have you ever tried to open a door to a store while pushing a stroller through? You would think that establishments that thrive on the business of stay at home moms could make it just a tad easier for them to get into their establishment.
There is one store that has kid-friendly down to a science. Ikea isn't where I do a majority of my shopping, but when an Ikea trip is planned, I know it will be as pleasant as possible. Ikea offers family bathrooms fit for a queen with a comfortable chair for mothers who are nursing, sinks at low heights for our little-bits to reach, and even little play areas for tots to stay occupied while mommy takes a pit-stop. Their restaurant offers genuine kid-sized portions and even baby food and bottle warmers. Their high chairs are made for small children to sit securely. Did junior have an over-active colon and you ran out of diapers? Never fear, they even offer FREE diapers! While they aren't infallible (shopping carts are only available on the first floor, something you probably won't find out until you reach the second floor and are forced to return to the first in search of a proper cart) they do offer hope to parents that some establishments do want you to bring your child with you.
I am going to continue to shop with my little miss, mainly because I have no other options. I will grin and bear it and make sure my eye never strays long enough for her escape attempts to be successful. But I will continue to hope that one day, store owners will realize the type of torture they are inflicting on parents of small children and will take steps to make our life easier.
Besides one-size-fits-none high chairs found at restaurants, I can't believe how many eating establishments have plopped down a steaming hot, ceramic plate of food in front of my toddler. Might as well hand her that steak knife too. I realize that serving food luke warm is probably not good business at a restaurant, but perhaps they could offer to bring the child's food a little bit before the adult entrees and serve it on something a little less breakable. Sometimes I think enough to ask, but I usually feel like I'm being super high-maintenance and keep my mouth shut.
Even one establishment considered by many to be the most kid-friendly of all, falls short. On the way home from the grocery store today, feeling a little sorry for myself for being a golf widow on a beautiful August Saturday, I swung by the McDonald's drive thru. After requesting my Daily Double, I was promptly informed that on Saturdays, breakfast is served until 11am, and it was currently only 10:50. "Are you kidding me?!" I asked. "No, ma'am, we don't serve lunch for 10 more minutes." Yes, I know it was early, but my child had been awake since before 6 am. Sleepy time is fast approaching and I need food for her little belly. I am not going to sit and wait 10 minutes while my Skinny Cow melts in the trunk so you can deam it proper lunch time.
Stores are just as bad, too. Have you ever tried to open a door to a store while pushing a stroller through? You would think that establishments that thrive on the business of stay at home moms could make it just a tad easier for them to get into their establishment.
There is one store that has kid-friendly down to a science. Ikea isn't where I do a majority of my shopping, but when an Ikea trip is planned, I know it will be as pleasant as possible. Ikea offers family bathrooms fit for a queen with a comfortable chair for mothers who are nursing, sinks at low heights for our little-bits to reach, and even little play areas for tots to stay occupied while mommy takes a pit-stop. Their restaurant offers genuine kid-sized portions and even baby food and bottle warmers. Their high chairs are made for small children to sit securely. Did junior have an over-active colon and you ran out of diapers? Never fear, they even offer FREE diapers! While they aren't infallible (shopping carts are only available on the first floor, something you probably won't find out until you reach the second floor and are forced to return to the first in search of a proper cart) they do offer hope to parents that some establishments do want you to bring your child with you.
I am going to continue to shop with my little miss, mainly because I have no other options. I will grin and bear it and make sure my eye never strays long enough for her escape attempts to be successful. But I will continue to hope that one day, store owners will realize the type of torture they are inflicting on parents of small children and will take steps to make our life easier.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Super Easy Microwave Mac 'n Cheese
Yesterday I was at a loss for what to make my little one for lunch. I had some extra penne noodles from a pasta dish I had made for my dad the day before, but I didn't want to just make her spaghetti again. So I put the noodles in a microwave safe bowl with a pat of butter, some shredded cheddar cheese and a little milk. I nuked it for a minute and a half, then stirred it up. After letting it sit for a few minutes, the milk and cheese thickened to a nice creamy sauce. Super easy and pretty yummy, if I do say so myself. Best of all, it's toddler approved. Of course, by that I mean that Miss Mia ate about 3 noodles before signing her version of all done, but she didn't totally refuse to eat it. It's definitely something that I'll make again next time I have leftover noodles.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Meeting the New Neighbors
I've decided the married couple's equivalent of a first date must be the first BBQ in a new neighborhood. I have changed my outfit three times and spent all week mulling over what appetizer to bring. I am frustrated by thoughts of "what if they are offended that we're bringing beer?" "what if I do something really stupid?" "what if the baby bites someone else's child?"and most importantly, "what if they don't like us?". It didn't help that as of yesterday, making sure people really like us became more important than ever when our next door neighbor, also the neighborhood gossip, sprayed my dog with the hose because she just "can't take the barking anymore." That's what she said when she said when she looked up and saw me watching her. Yes, my little terrier barks for a few minutes when she sees other dogs. I'm sorry and we're working on it. It gives her no right to discipline my dog, especially in anger.
So here I am, all ready to go, with over a half an hour to burn. Typical of me. So I'm spending my time blogging about it. Wish me luck!
So here I am, all ready to go, with over a half an hour to burn. Typical of me. So I'm spending my time blogging about it. Wish me luck!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
These Boobs Were Made for Nursing
So it's official... I'm an extended nurser! My little Mia is 14 months and is still nursing strong. If you would have asked me a year ago how long I would nurse, my answer would have been one year. Now I'll tell you 18 months, but honestly, I don't know. I can't imagine taking away from my little peanut something she loves so much. Sometimes she'll stop nursing and flash me this huge smile like "this is the greatest thing ever!" Really, how can I take that away from her?
I already get comments from friends and family and inquisitions about when I'm going to stop. I don't know why they're so concerned. We're down to about four nursing sessions a day, one when she wakes up and before each time she sleeps, and I rarely ever nurse in public any more because she doesn't request to. I know people think it's weird; trust me, I used to think so too. People ask me, don't you want your body back? But isn't that part of being a mom? Giving yourself wholeheartedly over to your children? I watched a fellow mom at MOPS the other day with her 3 year old in her lap. The mom had come to the meeting with her her up in a clip, but her little girl wanted it down to play with, comforting her as she "rested". How is that really any different than the way I comfort my daughter? The mom still needs to be around, still has to adjust something (her hair rather than her clothes), and her daughter feels loved and comforted by something soothing.
More than anything, the benefits surely outweigh any inconvenience. It's miraculous to think how our bodies are equipped to sustain our babies for so long with little to no outside help. For the first 9 months of life, babies thrive on just what our bodies provide them. After they are born, all they really need is momma's breast milk (with the possible exception of Vitamin D, depending on who you ask). While most babies start on solids before a year, the saying "under one is just for fun" isn't just a cute rhyme. Eating solids before the age of one is more for the sake of practice rather than to consume nutrients.
And isn't it comforting to mom to know that if your child is sick and refusing to eat, they will still get the nutrients they need from nursing? It's very rare that a sick child will refuse the breast, even when everything else is turned down.
For us, breast continues to be best.
I already get comments from friends and family and inquisitions about when I'm going to stop. I don't know why they're so concerned. We're down to about four nursing sessions a day, one when she wakes up and before each time she sleeps, and I rarely ever nurse in public any more because she doesn't request to. I know people think it's weird; trust me, I used to think so too. People ask me, don't you want your body back? But isn't that part of being a mom? Giving yourself wholeheartedly over to your children? I watched a fellow mom at MOPS the other day with her 3 year old in her lap. The mom had come to the meeting with her her up in a clip, but her little girl wanted it down to play with, comforting her as she "rested". How is that really any different than the way I comfort my daughter? The mom still needs to be around, still has to adjust something (her hair rather than her clothes), and her daughter feels loved and comforted by something soothing.
More than anything, the benefits surely outweigh any inconvenience. It's miraculous to think how our bodies are equipped to sustain our babies for so long with little to no outside help. For the first 9 months of life, babies thrive on just what our bodies provide them. After they are born, all they really need is momma's breast milk (with the possible exception of Vitamin D, depending on who you ask). While most babies start on solids before a year, the saying "under one is just for fun" isn't just a cute rhyme. Eating solids before the age of one is more for the sake of practice rather than to consume nutrients.
And isn't it comforting to mom to know that if your child is sick and refusing to eat, they will still get the nutrients they need from nursing? It's very rare that a sick child will refuse the breast, even when everything else is turned down.
For us, breast continues to be best.
Friday, June 3, 2011
A little MOTN fun
I know it's been awhile since my last post. Things have been pretty busy around here and won't be slowing down anytime soon. I'll post more about that later. For now:
My LO no longer sleeps through the night. She only wakes up once between 12 and 5, and it doesn't bother me. I don't mind giving her a few extra calories if she needs them and sometimes it means she will sleep longer. Last night she woke up around 3:15. I got up and went to the bathroom, and by the time I was done, she had fallen back to sleep. Yippee! I went back to bed and wouldn't you know, as soon as I fell back to sleep, she wakes up again. So I get up at 3:30 with her. We settled in our glider and she nursed on both sides. She started slowing down on the second side and I was about to get up to put her back to sleep when she spit up pretty much every ounce of milk she had just ingested, all down my side. It was super lovely.
I called for back up and turned on the light to clean us up. DH took care of the spillage on the glider and the floor, got me a wet washcloth and a clean shirt, all to the delight of Miss Mia. She thought it was a MOTN party! Thankfully, after her jammas were changed and the light was turned back off, she went back down with only a few minutes of comfort nursing.
I guess I learned two things last night: she might not really be all that hungry after all and just because she's over a year doesn't mean the spit-up episodes are over. Joy.
My LO no longer sleeps through the night. She only wakes up once between 12 and 5, and it doesn't bother me. I don't mind giving her a few extra calories if she needs them and sometimes it means she will sleep longer. Last night she woke up around 3:15. I got up and went to the bathroom, and by the time I was done, she had fallen back to sleep. Yippee! I went back to bed and wouldn't you know, as soon as I fell back to sleep, she wakes up again. So I get up at 3:30 with her. We settled in our glider and she nursed on both sides. She started slowing down on the second side and I was about to get up to put her back to sleep when she spit up pretty much every ounce of milk she had just ingested, all down my side. It was super lovely.
I called for back up and turned on the light to clean us up. DH took care of the spillage on the glider and the floor, got me a wet washcloth and a clean shirt, all to the delight of Miss Mia. She thought it was a MOTN party! Thankfully, after her jammas were changed and the light was turned back off, she went back down with only a few minutes of comfort nursing.
I guess I learned two things last night: she might not really be all that hungry after all and just because she's over a year doesn't mean the spit-up episodes are over. Joy.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Yummy, cake!
I haven't posted in a while, we've been super busy. After having our house for sale since December, we finally decided to put it up for rent too. We didn't have any showings until we listed it as a rental and we had 12 showings last week. So needless to say, I was quite busy picking up the house and evacuating.
Mia turned 1 on April 11th. We had her party April 9th. I decided I wanted to make her cake(s). Since we had around 60 people coming, this proved to be quite an endeavor. I chose to do box mixes for the cake since I needed so much cake and since my mom told me that whenever she made cake from scratch, it always turned out too heavy. So she came over on April 8th and we baked. And baked. And baked. And then decorated. We did make most of the frosting, using my grandmother's cooked frosting recipe. It was quite yummy. And although my cakes were more worthy of Cake Wrecks than Cake Boss, I was quite proud of them. I made a red velvet #1 cake, two smash cakes (one yellow cake for the party and one chocolate cake for her actual birthday), and a whole bunch of cupcakes (yellow and chocolate). The chocolate frosting on the yellow cupcakes was from a can.
Mia turned 1 on April 11th. We had her party April 9th. I decided I wanted to make her cake(s). Since we had around 60 people coming, this proved to be quite an endeavor. I chose to do box mixes for the cake since I needed so much cake and since my mom told me that whenever she made cake from scratch, it always turned out too heavy. So she came over on April 8th and we baked. And baked. And baked. And then decorated. We did make most of the frosting, using my grandmother's cooked frosting recipe. It was quite yummy. And although my cakes were more worthy of Cake Wrecks than Cake Boss, I was quite proud of them. I made a red velvet #1 cake, two smash cakes (one yellow cake for the party and one chocolate cake for her actual birthday), and a whole bunch of cupcakes (yellow and chocolate). The chocolate frosting on the yellow cupcakes was from a can.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
My Big Little Girl
It's amazing to watch Mia grow and develop. She hasn't said her official word yet and she doesn't take more than a couple of steps at a time, but it's so obvious every day that her little brain is developing a little more every day. Its funny how she incorporates her world and mine together... one day I found one of her blocks in the potato bin and a few days ago, she stole my wireless mouse and stuck it in her push-walker toy.
Today I'm typing as she pushes around a box from the grocery store. She pushed it around and around the kitchen to the living room, into our "dining room" and back into the kitchen before her nap with just her shoe in it. Now she's pushing it around again, and on each round, she has a few more treasures in it. Some of the things she has taken from the diaper bag, but others are necessities... like her straw cup, which she periodically takes breaks to sip from. She also has taken one of the dog's toys and added it to her "stash". When I hear her fussing it usually means her box is stuck and she can't get it to move where she wants it to go. I'm just tickled to see how industrious she's become.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Baby Steps
My baby girl had a big day today. In less than two weeks she will be turning one. That's bittersweet enough to think how fast this first year has gone by. Then she had to go and do so much more to make me super proud and a little sad all at the same time.
Today was Mia's last session of physical therapy. Her therapist and I waxed sentimental thinking about how far she's come in less than 6 months. When we first started therapy, she hated to be on her tummy and did not want to bend. I know that sounds silly, but my little girl preferred to be board straight, either laying on her back or being held in a standing position. And also, there was the whole head tilt to the right, turn to the left that was caused by her torticollis (the reason for the therapy). As of this morning she was crawling all over the place, pulling up, cruising and even standing on her own. Her therapist said she doesn't see a tilt at all any more (the turn was the first to go) and that she may even be walking before her birthday party... in less than 2 weeks!
So after therapy, we went to the mall for lunch and a little shopping. After we got home, refused to take a nap (she fell asleep 2 minutes away from home, unfortunately), had a snack and played a little, mommy started making dinner. Mia decided she didn't want mommy to do anything but hold her. So every couple minutes I picked her up, cuddled her, then set her back on her feet on the floor. One time I did this and then stepped back. She reached out for me and... took two steps!! I scooped her up and fawned over her "yey Mia, yey! What a big girl! You took two steps! Momma's so proud of you!" She was happy that mommy was making such a big deal over her, but I don't think she even realized what she did. I tried to get her to do it again but was only able to get her to take one more step. I made sure to notify all the important people (daddy by voicemail, grandma by phone, and her aunt by text) and fawned over her a little more before returning to dinner.
For the icing on the cake, Mia ate dinner like a champ! She chowed down on broccoli, noodles, ground turkey and cooked green peppers. She really made her mommy proud today!
Today was Mia's last session of physical therapy. Her therapist and I waxed sentimental thinking about how far she's come in less than 6 months. When we first started therapy, she hated to be on her tummy and did not want to bend. I know that sounds silly, but my little girl preferred to be board straight, either laying on her back or being held in a standing position. And also, there was the whole head tilt to the right, turn to the left that was caused by her torticollis (the reason for the therapy). As of this morning she was crawling all over the place, pulling up, cruising and even standing on her own. Her therapist said she doesn't see a tilt at all any more (the turn was the first to go) and that she may even be walking before her birthday party... in less than 2 weeks!
So after therapy, we went to the mall for lunch and a little shopping. After we got home, refused to take a nap (she fell asleep 2 minutes away from home, unfortunately), had a snack and played a little, mommy started making dinner. Mia decided she didn't want mommy to do anything but hold her. So every couple minutes I picked her up, cuddled her, then set her back on her feet on the floor. One time I did this and then stepped back. She reached out for me and... took two steps!! I scooped her up and fawned over her "yey Mia, yey! What a big girl! You took two steps! Momma's so proud of you!" She was happy that mommy was making such a big deal over her, but I don't think she even realized what she did. I tried to get her to do it again but was only able to get her to take one more step. I made sure to notify all the important people (daddy by voicemail, grandma by phone, and her aunt by text) and fawned over her a little more before returning to dinner.
For the icing on the cake, Mia ate dinner like a champ! She chowed down on broccoli, noodles, ground turkey and cooked green peppers. She really made her mommy proud today!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Necessity is...
It is said "necessity is the mother of invention." I think for infants and toddlers, necessity is the mother of fun milestones. Friday night, DH and I took Mia to Go Roma for dinner. (For those of you who don't have the pleasure of a Go Roma, it's halfway between a nice sit-down restaurant and fast food and totally kid friendly). Mia's sippy cup had been in her diaper bag earlier in the day, but she took it out to play with it and, silly mommy, I forgot to put it back in. So when we got to the restaurant and ordered our food (buttered noodles for Mia), they asked if she'd like milk, apple juice or a fountain drink. I told the girl she only drank water, so I guess we'll take fountain drink, and she handed us one of those kid's harder plastic cups with a straw. My LO had never drank from a straw and so I had DH fill it halfway with water and figured it would be a good distraction until the food came.
Mia enjoyed chewing on the straw for awhile. For some reason, I bent my head down next to hers and made a sucking noise with my mouth. She put her mouth on the straw and blew in, making the cup vibrate with bubbles. Again, I made the sucking noise next to her face and this time, she sucked the water up the straw! She was so surprised by the water it threw her into a coughing fit, but she immediately wanted to try again. She got the hang of it pretty fast, although she always had to blow air in first and then suck the water up. But now, at 11 months old, she can use a straw! I'm pretty impressed by my little peanut. And to think, this all came about by being a slacker mommy. ;)
Mia enjoyed chewing on the straw for awhile. For some reason, I bent my head down next to hers and made a sucking noise with my mouth. She put her mouth on the straw and blew in, making the cup vibrate with bubbles. Again, I made the sucking noise next to her face and this time, she sucked the water up the straw! She was so surprised by the water it threw her into a coughing fit, but she immediately wanted to try again. She got the hang of it pretty fast, although she always had to blow air in first and then suck the water up. But now, at 11 months old, she can use a straw! I'm pretty impressed by my little peanut. And to think, this all came about by being a slacker mommy. ;)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Goodbye Itsy Bitsy Bikini
I'm not ashamed to admit it, I've always been a slender gal who looked pretty damn good in a bikini. Never mind that I didn't have much to fill up the bra-cups, and perhaps that's why I preferred the ones that the ladies with the over-inflated fake boobies wear that only cover their areolas (and they say nursing in public shows too much boob!). On me, they covered my entire breast and then some. But I think my bikini-wearing days are behind me. Its true that I have shed most of my baby-weight, and perhaps have even dropped as low as my high school weight, but my body... well, it just isn't what it used to be. To be more specific, I have this tummy-flab issue that just won't go away. I've never had a six-pack, or hell, even a two-pack, but my stomach used to be much more presentable than it is now. Plus, there's the whole issue of if it's okay for a mom to wear a bikini. I don't think I'd judge other moms if they did, but I'd feel like I was being judged all the time if I wore one.
So today when I was at Target, I thought I'd check out the tankini selection. Um, how sad. Nothing looked cute, and my choices were pretty much black, brown, or army green. Not the fun, bright colors that I'd usually pick. This tankini search I feel will be a long one.
So today when I was at Target, I thought I'd check out the tankini selection. Um, how sad. Nothing looked cute, and my choices were pretty much black, brown, or army green. Not the fun, bright colors that I'd usually pick. This tankini search I feel will be a long one.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
It must be nice to be a Dad
NOTE: I realize that not all Dads are the same. Some are super involved and even perform roles typically performed by moms. Some do way less than my husband. This post is purely intended as a vent.
It really must be nice to be a Dad. To be able to get up and go where-ever, whenever you please without having to worry about what you're going to do with the child(ren). To be able to sleep in if you want to and tune out the sound of your child's voice. To perform your chores and tasks without interruption and without a child attached to your leg or crying out for your constant attention.
As I sit here and write this, my husband is sleeping. He is normally the morning person. Saturdays are supposed to be my day to sleep in while he gets up with the baby. Sure, I wake up when she does to nurse her, but after that, I get my one free hour to sleep. It is divine. Except for the fact that I'm usually wide awake because the baby is laughing/squealing/whining the entire time I'm trying to sleep in and I can't sleep at all. But, I digress.
Today, I really need that extra hour of rest. Tonight I'm working my paid job until 11pm. Once I get home, pump, and get ready for bed it will be 12:30. Wait, no, scratch that, it will be 1:30 am because tonight begins (ends?) daylight savings and we lose an hour. So I will get a grand total of 4.5 hours of sleep, assuming that she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night. And tomorrow morning we will go to church; its something I feel is important for our whole family.
It really must be nice to be a Dad. To be able to get up and go where-ever, whenever you please without having to worry about what you're going to do with the child(ren). To be able to sleep in if you want to and tune out the sound of your child's voice. To perform your chores and tasks without interruption and without a child attached to your leg or crying out for your constant attention.
As I sit here and write this, my husband is sleeping. He is normally the morning person. Saturdays are supposed to be my day to sleep in while he gets up with the baby. Sure, I wake up when she does to nurse her, but after that, I get my one free hour to sleep. It is divine. Except for the fact that I'm usually wide awake because the baby is laughing/squealing/whining the entire time I'm trying to sleep in and I can't sleep at all. But, I digress.
Today, I really need that extra hour of rest. Tonight I'm working my paid job until 11pm. Once I get home, pump, and get ready for bed it will be 12:30. Wait, no, scratch that, it will be 1:30 am because tonight begins (ends?) daylight savings and we lose an hour. So I will get a grand total of 4.5 hours of sleep, assuming that she doesn't wake up in the middle of the night. And tomorrow morning we will go to church; its something I feel is important for our whole family.
Why is my husband, the morning person, sleeping in, you might ask. Well, last night he went to play hockey with his buddies at 10:30 at night. Did he have to clear it with me to make sure that I’d be home at the time since our little one would be sleeping? Oh, of course not. Of course I’d be home. It would be crazy to think otherwise; I’m the mom and that’s my job.
Dads have it so easy! They get the love and admiration of their children and all they have to do is be there occasionally and play with them, take them to fun things like baseball games. They don't even have to be the disciplinarian anymore like in the old days of "wait till your dad gets home."
My husband does help a lot. He helps with dinner if he's done working in time and usually cleans up. He changes diapers (even poopy ones) and gives Mia her baths. And those rare days I get to sleep in, he gets up when Mia does (if he's not up already), changes her diaper, and brings her to me in bed so I can nurse her there. He's not all bad. I just wish he had some sense of the burden I carry being a mom. I guess it's a burden I'll have to carry on my own, along with the majority of all other moms the world over.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The value of a Community Part 2
Before Mia was born, I was convinced that I was going to be the ultimate mom. And of course, part of being the ultimate mom is making your own baby food. So I went ahead a registered for a bunch of baby food making supplies, such as the food grinder, baby food storage trays, and baby food cookbooks. And my friends and family did their part in buying me these wonderful supplies.I didn't need a food processor, as I already owned a Magic Bullet, full-size food processor, and mini food processor.
As Mia grew and neared the magical age of six months, I got excited about the prospect of making and feeding her this homemade baby food. Other moms on my board were already beginning to give their babies purees at as young as four months, and I read about their experiences on our birth board. And then I read a post from one mom who said she was waiting till six months or older, and that she was going to do Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) with her child. I had never heard of this BLW and decided to check it out myself. I started by finding the BLW board on BabyCenter. The sticky post on the board had a ton of information and links about BLW. I continued to do my research and found that this may be a better system than the usual spoon-fed often force-fed baby feeding that I knew of and even participated in with children I babysat.
The concept of BLW is relatively simple. You give your baby soft, finger sized sticks of food that they can pick up on their own and feed themselves. It is like the table food concept that the main-stream crowd begins around 9-10 months old, except with larger sized pieces of food. The biggest concern for most people is: "won't she choke?". The answer: "most likely not." Of course there is a small chance of the baby choking, but no more than in any other food situation that the baby might be in.
The most attractive parts of BLW for me were that my baby would feed herself, allowing us to eat our meals at the same time! What a concept! Also, she could eat what we were eating, no need to make special food for her or spend hours cooking and blending food that she will probably spit out anyway. BLW is a gradual thing of course; when a baby starts doing BLW, the chance of food actual being chewed and swallowed is minimal. But with time, the baby learns how to bite off the food, move it around with her tongue, chew it (no teeth required, those gums are quite up to the challenge), and finally swallow it. The the eventual evidence in her diaper is like finding gold for most parents! Gagging is par for the course, but it is completely different from choking and is a good thing. The gag reflex helps baby learn how much food she can safely put in her mouth. Finally, babies who are introduced to solids using the BLW method are often better eaters. They are introduced to many different tastes and textures early and are more willing to eat a variety of food.
There are rules for BLW. First of all, baby should be 6 months old before starting BLW and able to sit up on a lap or in a highchair. Six months is the age when baby's digestive system should be mature enough to handle new foods. Also, food should be soft enough to be easily mashed up, although give to baby in a two-inch stick shape. Harder foods can be steamed or roasted, softer foods, such as avocado or ripe pears, can be offered raw.
We've had a great experience with BLW. Now that Mia has mastered the pincer-grip, she prefers her food served in smaller pieces, and she eats so many different foods. Just this week alone she's eaten cooked celery, green peppers, pasta, kidney beans, acorn squash, tilapia, hummus, avocado (one of her favorites), pears, grapes (another fave), banana, chicken, pork chops, potatoes, pita bread, cucumbers, and probably some other things that I can't remember at the moment. It's fun to share meal times with her, having her at the table with us and letting her join in our dinner conversations. BLW has changed the way my husband and I eat dinner as well. We now sit at the table like a real family instead of in front of the TV and we are trying foods we haven't eaten before. And to think, I would have never heard of this concept had it not been for my mommy community!
Green beans at 6 months
Avocado at 9 months, Mia's Favorite!
As Mia grew and neared the magical age of six months, I got excited about the prospect of making and feeding her this homemade baby food. Other moms on my board were already beginning to give their babies purees at as young as four months, and I read about their experiences on our birth board. And then I read a post from one mom who said she was waiting till six months or older, and that she was going to do Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) with her child. I had never heard of this BLW and decided to check it out myself. I started by finding the BLW board on BabyCenter. The sticky post on the board had a ton of information and links about BLW. I continued to do my research and found that this may be a better system than the usual spoon-fed often force-fed baby feeding that I knew of and even participated in with children I babysat.
The concept of BLW is relatively simple. You give your baby soft, finger sized sticks of food that they can pick up on their own and feed themselves. It is like the table food concept that the main-stream crowd begins around 9-10 months old, except with larger sized pieces of food. The biggest concern for most people is: "won't she choke?". The answer: "most likely not." Of course there is a small chance of the baby choking, but no more than in any other food situation that the baby might be in.
The most attractive parts of BLW for me were that my baby would feed herself, allowing us to eat our meals at the same time! What a concept! Also, she could eat what we were eating, no need to make special food for her or spend hours cooking and blending food that she will probably spit out anyway. BLW is a gradual thing of course; when a baby starts doing BLW, the chance of food actual being chewed and swallowed is minimal. But with time, the baby learns how to bite off the food, move it around with her tongue, chew it (no teeth required, those gums are quite up to the challenge), and finally swallow it. The the eventual evidence in her diaper is like finding gold for most parents! Gagging is par for the course, but it is completely different from choking and is a good thing. The gag reflex helps baby learn how much food she can safely put in her mouth. Finally, babies who are introduced to solids using the BLW method are often better eaters. They are introduced to many different tastes and textures early and are more willing to eat a variety of food.
There are rules for BLW. First of all, baby should be 6 months old before starting BLW and able to sit up on a lap or in a highchair. Six months is the age when baby's digestive system should be mature enough to handle new foods. Also, food should be soft enough to be easily mashed up, although give to baby in a two-inch stick shape. Harder foods can be steamed or roasted, softer foods, such as avocado or ripe pears, can be offered raw.
We've had a great experience with BLW. Now that Mia has mastered the pincer-grip, she prefers her food served in smaller pieces, and she eats so many different foods. Just this week alone she's eaten cooked celery, green peppers, pasta, kidney beans, acorn squash, tilapia, hummus, avocado (one of her favorites), pears, grapes (another fave), banana, chicken, pork chops, potatoes, pita bread, cucumbers, and probably some other things that I can't remember at the moment. It's fun to share meal times with her, having her at the table with us and letting her join in our dinner conversations. BLW has changed the way my husband and I eat dinner as well. We now sit at the table like a real family instead of in front of the TV and we are trying foods we haven't eaten before. And to think, I would have never heard of this concept had it not been for my mommy community!
Green beans at 6 months
Avocado at 9 months, Mia's Favorite!
The value of a Community Part 1
So a friend of mine from high school, who is basically now just a Facebook friend, is pregnant. Not that this is something out of the ordinary, a lot of my friends (especially FB friends) have had or are having babies. But suddenly, I felt this need to share my knowledge with her. There are all these cool things I know now having a 10 month old that I did not know when she was "brand new" or when I was pregnant. And I realized that most of these things were things I learned from my Babycenter Birthboard. Despite having friends and family with small children and despite reading books about babies, I learned this information from a collection of strangers all over the country. I cannot share all this information in just one post (or FB message to that friend) so I'll start with one very important topic: carseat safety.
I have to give credit where credit is due; the person I learned the most about this topic goes by the screenname of Dela-Where. Not all of the informaton I learned came from her, but much of it did. She taught me the ins and outs of keeping my baby warm in the winter while keeping her safe in her carseat. She pointed out to all of us the importance of not putting our babies in a big puffy jacket or snowsuit and then putting them in the carseat. This is very unsafe because it puffs out and makes the straps looser so that baby is not a snug in her seat as she should be. In one extreme case, during a car accident, a baby was ejected from a carseat with the winter coat still buckled in.
Similarly, those BundleMes and similar carseat blankets are not safe either. These things are considered "aftermarket" and not manufactured to fit in specific carseats (and will validate your carseat warrantee if you're ever in an accident). Since they don't usually line up with the seatbelt slots, they re-route the seatbelt straps, making them longer and therefore looser on the baby. Once again, looser seatbelts equal less safety in an accident. How should you keep your baby warm in the winter then? Put them in a thin, fleece jacket or snow suit, warm up your car before putting the baby in it, and cover the baby with a blanket when going outside. There are also some products that can be purchased that keep baby warm while staying safe, such as a carseat poncho and infant seat covers that stretch over the top like a showercap.
Finally, I learned about extended rear facing (ERF) for children on my Babycenter Birthboard. The law in most states is that babies should be rear facing until 20lbs AND 1 year of age. So the general thinking goes that once the baby is a year old and weighs 20 lbs, the child should be in a front-facing carseat. While this is compliant with the law, it is not safest for your baby. Leaving your baby rear facing for as long as possible is safest for your baby, since in the case of a front end collision (more common that rear-end collisions) the baby's head will snap forward when front-facing which can sever the spinal cord causing paralysis or even death. For this reason, we will be rear-facing Mia until she is at least 2 years old, if not longer.
I have to give credit where credit is due; the person I learned the most about this topic goes by the screenname of Dela-Where. Not all of the informaton I learned came from her, but much of it did. She taught me the ins and outs of keeping my baby warm in the winter while keeping her safe in her carseat. She pointed out to all of us the importance of not putting our babies in a big puffy jacket or snowsuit and then putting them in the carseat. This is very unsafe because it puffs out and makes the straps looser so that baby is not a snug in her seat as she should be. In one extreme case, during a car accident, a baby was ejected from a carseat with the winter coat still buckled in.
Similarly, those BundleMes and similar carseat blankets are not safe either. These things are considered "aftermarket" and not manufactured to fit in specific carseats (and will validate your carseat warrantee if you're ever in an accident). Since they don't usually line up with the seatbelt slots, they re-route the seatbelt straps, making them longer and therefore looser on the baby. Once again, looser seatbelts equal less safety in an accident. How should you keep your baby warm in the winter then? Put them in a thin, fleece jacket or snow suit, warm up your car before putting the baby in it, and cover the baby with a blanket when going outside. There are also some products that can be purchased that keep baby warm while staying safe, such as a carseat poncho and infant seat covers that stretch over the top like a showercap.
Finally, I learned about extended rear facing (ERF) for children on my Babycenter Birthboard. The law in most states is that babies should be rear facing until 20lbs AND 1 year of age. So the general thinking goes that once the baby is a year old and weighs 20 lbs, the child should be in a front-facing carseat. While this is compliant with the law, it is not safest for your baby. Leaving your baby rear facing for as long as possible is safest for your baby, since in the case of a front end collision (more common that rear-end collisions) the baby's head will snap forward when front-facing which can sever the spinal cord causing paralysis or even death. For this reason, we will be rear-facing Mia until she is at least 2 years old, if not longer.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Mommy Fail
So I have my first Mommy Fail for the month of March. I've been wanting to teach Mia how to blow out her candles for her first birthday party last month. A friend of mine had taught her daughter how to do that a few years ago, and it was quite impressive. I had lit a candle in the bathroom this morning to kill the smell of bleach cleaner. When it came time to blow out that candle, I thought I'd show Mia, use it as a teaching moment. Unfortunately, the candle holder was one of those ones that look like a real tall wine glass. She wasn't getting the blowing thing, just wanted to touch it. I was holding her close arm down so she couldn't reach it. I finally gave up on the teaching moment, and blew it out myself. Then, somehow with her other arm, she reached out and knocked the candle holder down, spilling hot wax all over the bathroom counter. Thankfully, the wax didn't get on her or me. Just on my freshly cleaned bathroom counter. Fail! Hopefully this means I got my fail out of the way and I'm done for the month. For some reason, I highly doubt that.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Snowmaggedon 2011
So yesterday was day 2 of snowmaggedon 2011. It was pretty crazy to wake up to 4+ foot snow drifts in our backyard (in the exact spot where we had been shoveling the night before). We only got around 20 inches of actual snow, but the mega winds created huge drifts. Then add to that crazy thundersnow (which I unfortunately missed). It was definitely one for the record books... and the baby book.
Today, we have lots of sun, but super cold. The current temp is -9 degrees. That the temp, not the "feels like" temp. I have not left this house since Monday, cabin fever has definitely set in.
Our snow drifts in our backyard
Giant snowdrift/pile across from our driveway
On a positive note: the snow gave us a little "fenced in" yard for the dog!
Watching daddy shovel
Today, we have lots of sun, but super cold. The current temp is -9 degrees. That the temp, not the "feels like" temp. I have not left this house since Monday, cabin fever has definitely set in.
Our snow drifts in our backyard
Giant snowdrift/pile across from our driveway
On a positive note: the snow gave us a little "fenced in" yard for the dog!
Watching daddy shovel
Friday, January 28, 2011
Excersizing my Mommy Rights
On Thursdays, Mia has Book Babies at the library. The library is located in the same building as the community center, where I have a gym membership; a membership that I haven't used since probably September. So Yesterday, I decided that I'd take Mia to the child care provided at the community center ($2/hour) and I'd get in a little workout for myself after Book Babies. This ended up meaning a great deal to me for two reasons.
First of all, I don't know how other SAHMs do it, but every so often, if I don't get out of the house away from my LO for a little bit (the days I work do not count), I kind of start to lose it. So doing this for myself was pretty huge for me. It means I have a way to carve out an hour of time for just myself without having to rely on DH or other family members. And I don't need to make a huge production of it. It just requires $2 and an appointment (its required for the little bitty ones like Mia, and hopefully I'm not fooling myself by thinking that I can make it like an hour before I want to go to the gym... I'll find out eventually). Unfortunately, their hours are only 8-12am and 4-8pm and don't really fit well with her nap schedule, but I can probably find a way to work around that.
The other great thing that came of this was in a small comment made by the child care provider. A little back story: Mia was diagnosed with torticollis and asymetrical brachiocephaly when she was 6 months old. Torticollis is a condition where one side of a person's neck is tighter than the other; in her case, she always turned her head to the left and tilted it to the right. The brachiocephaly is a flatening of the back of the head, basically caused by this and too much time on her back (asymetrical because it was more on the left side). Often the brachiocephaly, and a similar condition called plagiocephaly, is treated with a helmet or doc band.
Anywho, because of the torticollis, Mia hated tummy time. It was always a challenge to get her to spend any amount of time on her tummy and subsequently, she was a little behind on some developmental milestones such as rolling over. Once she did start rolling over, it was from her tummy to her back, basically negating any possible tummy time. But I digress. She started going to weekly physical therapy appointments and we worked on different stretches and excercises to try to "fix" the torticollis. She hated them and so did we, but we pushed through and accomplished amazing feats. She started crawling at 8 months, something that I was afraid she'd never do (and the PT made my apprehension even worse by telling me that crawling is the single most important physcial milestone a baby will accomplish in their first year of life). And now she's pulling up on things and cruising like a little champ. Even on these teeny-tiny feet of hers. After 12 weeks of PT, the doctor was amazed by the improvement in the shape of her head and she never needed a helmet.
So about the comment made by the child care provider was after I returned from my work out. She turned to me and said "is she really 9 months old?" I said yes, expecting to hear how she's so small, like usual. Instead, she said "she's so advanced for her age! She's feeding herself and drinking out of the sippy cup. She was crawling around everywhere and pulling up on everything! The other girl and I couldn't believe she was only 9 months."
What a way to make a mom beam with pride!
First of all, I don't know how other SAHMs do it, but every so often, if I don't get out of the house away from my LO for a little bit (the days I work do not count), I kind of start to lose it. So doing this for myself was pretty huge for me. It means I have a way to carve out an hour of time for just myself without having to rely on DH or other family members. And I don't need to make a huge production of it. It just requires $2 and an appointment (its required for the little bitty ones like Mia, and hopefully I'm not fooling myself by thinking that I can make it like an hour before I want to go to the gym... I'll find out eventually). Unfortunately, their hours are only 8-12am and 4-8pm and don't really fit well with her nap schedule, but I can probably find a way to work around that.
The other great thing that came of this was in a small comment made by the child care provider. A little back story: Mia was diagnosed with torticollis and asymetrical brachiocephaly when she was 6 months old. Torticollis is a condition where one side of a person's neck is tighter than the other; in her case, she always turned her head to the left and tilted it to the right. The brachiocephaly is a flatening of the back of the head, basically caused by this and too much time on her back (asymetrical because it was more on the left side). Often the brachiocephaly, and a similar condition called plagiocephaly, is treated with a helmet or doc band.
Anywho, because of the torticollis, Mia hated tummy time. It was always a challenge to get her to spend any amount of time on her tummy and subsequently, she was a little behind on some developmental milestones such as rolling over. Once she did start rolling over, it was from her tummy to her back, basically negating any possible tummy time. But I digress. She started going to weekly physical therapy appointments and we worked on different stretches and excercises to try to "fix" the torticollis. She hated them and so did we, but we pushed through and accomplished amazing feats. She started crawling at 8 months, something that I was afraid she'd never do (and the PT made my apprehension even worse by telling me that crawling is the single most important physcial milestone a baby will accomplish in their first year of life). And now she's pulling up on things and cruising like a little champ. Even on these teeny-tiny feet of hers. After 12 weeks of PT, the doctor was amazed by the improvement in the shape of her head and she never needed a helmet.
So about the comment made by the child care provider was after I returned from my work out. She turned to me and said "is she really 9 months old?" I said yes, expecting to hear how she's so small, like usual. Instead, she said "she's so advanced for her age! She's feeding herself and drinking out of the sippy cup. She was crawling around everywhere and pulling up on everything! The other girl and I couldn't believe she was only 9 months."
What a way to make a mom beam with pride!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Let's get started
Ok, so I've always wanted a blog, a place to share my thoughts and ideas. A way to get out what I think are interesting thoughts, but my husband thinks are silly notions. Even if I never have a follower (oh, but how I want followers!), I think this will be a creative outlet and a way to journal. If my experiences make someone smile, that would be great. I know I will never get a book or movie deal from this (a la Julie and Julia) but maybe I'll fulfill the need for intelligent conversation. Even if it's just with myself.
About me. I've been married to my DH, Joe, since September 2008, but we've "been together" since 2002. In April 2010, we were blessed with the arrival of our beautiful baby girl, Mia. She's a constant joy and I'm amazed everyday by how she grows and changes. Our little family also includes a fiesty, 3 year old Pomerianian-Rat Terrier named Zoe.
As a profession, I'm a Medical Laboratory Scientist. That's the new name. The old name is Medical Technologist, sometimes known as Clinical Laboratory Scientist. Basically, I perform the tests on the blood, urine, and other bodily fluids that is taken from you at the doctor's office or hospital. No, I don't draw blood. Since having the baby, I am now "on reserve" at the hospital, which means I work a few days a month. I'm not going to lie, it's OSM to only work a few days a month. It's a great opportunity to get to stay at home with my baby and still keep my skills sharp in my field. And the little extra spending money doesn't hurt either.
As for my mommy-style, I'm kind of a hodge-podge of everything. I exclusively breastfeed my baby, and we chose to do baby-led weaning/solids instead of traditional purees. I like to say I baby-wear, but I don't do it often or very successfully. As much as I'd like to try cloth diapering, I haven't been able to pull the trigger on that, so we use disposables. Oh, and I'm pro-vax.
So that's that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Hope you enjoy my blog!
About me. I've been married to my DH, Joe, since September 2008, but we've "been together" since 2002. In April 2010, we were blessed with the arrival of our beautiful baby girl, Mia. She's a constant joy and I'm amazed everyday by how she grows and changes. Our little family also includes a fiesty, 3 year old Pomerianian-Rat Terrier named Zoe.
As a profession, I'm a Medical Laboratory Scientist. That's the new name. The old name is Medical Technologist, sometimes known as Clinical Laboratory Scientist. Basically, I perform the tests on the blood, urine, and other bodily fluids that is taken from you at the doctor's office or hospital. No, I don't draw blood. Since having the baby, I am now "on reserve" at the hospital, which means I work a few days a month. I'm not going to lie, it's OSM to only work a few days a month. It's a great opportunity to get to stay at home with my baby and still keep my skills sharp in my field. And the little extra spending money doesn't hurt either.
As for my mommy-style, I'm kind of a hodge-podge of everything. I exclusively breastfeed my baby, and we chose to do baby-led weaning/solids instead of traditional purees. I like to say I baby-wear, but I don't do it often or very successfully. As much as I'd like to try cloth diapering, I haven't been able to pull the trigger on that, so we use disposables. Oh, and I'm pro-vax.
So that's that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Hope you enjoy my blog!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)