Saturday, March 14, 2009
Sticker Girl
Claire loves stickers. If I need to keep her busy, I can just give her a little sheet of stickers, and she'll stick them all over herself and her baby dolls. You can also hear her say some words in this video like "yeah, turtle (which she's said for a long time) two, calc (for calculator), hop, ball, and book."
Playing in Water
Claire did not make a mess. I actually had to dry her off after I shut of the camera. She was very distressed by getting water all over herself...haha. It was fun to try though! At the end she says "I want more!" She's been saying this phrase...I swear since about 12 months. I thought I was hearing things, but it's clear as a bell now. But now for about 2 weeks she has said "I want more Mommy" or Daddy if she wants us to pick her up. And just in the past couple of days she says "I want my Daddy" or Mommy which is sooo adorable, it just melts me. How is she using possessive pronouns already when last year at this time she couldn't even pull herself into sitting or crawl yet!?!
The Right
Ok, another good blog with a good post about breastfeeding: http://www.phdinparenting.com/2009/03/13/what-gives-you-the-right/
Thursday, March 12, 2009
You Took my Parking Space at Church
You Took My Parking Space at Church
One day, a man went to visit a church, He got there early, parked
his car and got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out
and said, " I always park there! You took my place!"
The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and
sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated,
"That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat
distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.
After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat
down. Another member walked up to him and said, " That's where I
always sit! You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by
this
treatment, but still He said nothing.
Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among
them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change.
Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet.
Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What
happened to you?" The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of
thorns, and a tear fell from his eye, "I took your
place."
One day, a man went to visit a church, He got there early, parked
his car and got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out
and said, " I always park there! You took my place!"
The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and
sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated,
"That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat
distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.
After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat
down. Another member walked up to him and said, " That's where I
always sit! You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by
this
treatment, but still He said nothing.
Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among
them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change.
Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet.
Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What
happened to you?" The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of
thorns, and a tear fell from his eye, "I took your
place."
Feeling Nostalgic Today!
Ok, I don't know why, but I feel like I can never be done about going on and on about nursing. I made a previous post a LONG time ago about Magical Mama's Milk, etc...but ANYWAY...I have heard before that people say they didn't know what their life was about before they had kids, and that is so true. I didn't know what love was before Claire. It's absolutely indescribable how much I love little Claire. I would die for her in a heartbeat. Like if she were in danger, etc. NOW I KNOW why when I was teaching parents would ask me if I had kids. I wish for everyone who wants to experience parenthood to have a child. I think, sadly, though that some people I used to teach with were "ruined" in a way and don't want to have kids because teaching "burned them out" and made them not want to have kids. But trust me, having your own kid is SOOOO different. SO DIFFERENT. And I think my dad said it best in "If you wait for the perfect time to get married or the perfect time to have kids, it won't happen." So I'm thinking that's pretty true for having a second kid. Because thinking about having another kid (and no I'm not pregnant) is a little more intimidating than the first because you know it's a 24/7/365 kind of job, with NO paid overtime or vacation breaks. Oh, and no sick days. I was pretty stupid before kids. I thought...what the HECK is so bad about waking up at night. I thought it was bad when I was prego and had to wake up at night 5 times to pee. Well, you wake up on your own between your own sleep cycles, pee, and go right back to sleep. It's a little different when you have to get your baby back to sleep whenever she wakes up. Definitely could never have her crying. I work so hard to keep her from crying, I don't want to "let" her cry at night. That just seems so eternally-to-the-core-wrong for me to do. It might work for some people, but not me! I think Claire and I still rely on each other for a lot. And I was going add that I worked so hard to get started, I don't want to give it up just yet! :) I recently read an interesting article about how HUMANS are like the only species that wean their young before they can forage for themselves. Haha. Claire can forage in an open refrigerator, but not very well. She might grab a jar of pickles while I have the door open and run away in sheer delight. She'll sit down, pat the jar, and laugh like she just got a special prize. Have at it--if that's what make you happy, Miss Claire! Alright. I need to go to bed. Night night!
Monkeys Floss
Wow. This is awesome! See, even monkeys floss. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4976810/Monkeys-teach-offspring-to-floss-their-teeth.html That is freaking awesome!
An Incredible Blessing
I feel like we've been incredibly blessed in many ways. Obviously, we've been blessed with Claire and all the Joy she brings. But also, I feel blessed with our nursing relationship. http://blog.thenatureschild.com/2009/03/shes-still-nursing-that-child.html Check out that link to AN AWESOME read about extended nursing. It's a blog I follow. She discusses basically what extended nursing is in her opinion (anything past 12 months). I think that's interesting because in the US it's more like anything past, say 6 months, is extended!
And she also talks about other issues relevant to nursing. I feel incredibly blessed that Claire has never been really sick. The only time she has thrown up was because I thought I should give her iron drops. I haven't had the chance to post about this yet...but basically I had myself tested at an annual physical for all my blood work, etc. My calcium and D were low even though I eat a ton of dairy. I actually drink about 3-4 cups of milk/day and have at least one yogurt and cheese serving/day. So I hate to think what my calcium/D would be without that! I also rarely drink carbonated crap as I know that can somehow interfere with the absorption of those. SO anyway, I am now taking calcium/D supplements and I'm going to get retested soon. I still take a prenatal vitamin and fish oil daily as well. I think this is why my blood pressure runs so low. The last 3 times I've been to the doctor, they checked it twice! Ha! Anyway my iron was surprisingly high for what I used to run. I used to donate a lot of blood and sell plasma in college. (Si denote: it's kind of creepy that the Red Cross gives away pins for each gallon of blood you've donated. Like you want a reminder?)
So then I had Claire checked for the gene mutation that my brother Rich has that causes blood to clot too quickly. And only because we were already sticking her, I had her checked for D, calcium, and iron as well. Her mutation test was negative...yay. Her D and calcium was fine, but her iron was REALLY low. So the doctor prescribed iron drops, which were less vile than the over the counter drops, but still truly nasty. I made myself take a whole dropper full orally like Claire would, and totally understood why Claire hated them. I always want to "taste" what she's eating anyway. Just that mothering instinct I guess. Ok, so long story short...she was on the drops for less than a week. She would absolutely refuse to take them. The last time I gave them to her she actually coughed/gagged so hard that she brought up her dinner, which was awful. Luckily we were in the kitchen. I will spare you the details of what it looked/smelled like, but I will say that it wasn't digested and looked exactly the same as when I fed it to her. OK...I digressed a bit, but luckily she hasn't thrown up other than that one time, knock on wood, and I truly think that nursing has helped prevent any major illnesses. Not to say that she can't get sick or get a cold, but it's shorter and less severe...etc.
I feel pretty passionate about wanting to talk about babies and breastfeeding because it's my life right now, obviously. Is Claire still a baby? I would say yes. I went to a toddler meeting for LLL, and we talked about discipline. I thought it was really good. Basically it talked about how little children understand and how quick we are to treat them like little adults. ESPECIALLY in the US. They need to sleep on their own too early. They need to wean too early...etc...etc...I don't know...let's let the kids be kids and the babes be babes for awhile. And the whole "they can ask for it thing" drives me nuts because um, hello, newborns "ask" for it by crying. Duh.
But I guess most of all I feel incredibly blessed to have such a supportive family and husband when it comes to extended nursing and letting Claire have what she needs. Because I think that if she still "wants" it then she still "needs" it. And I truly don't have it in my heart to ever tell her "no" to nursing. I could not wean her if she wasn't ready. If we are out and about I try to offer her the sippy cup or crackers, but that's mostly because there's not a good place to sit down and nurse. Although, I have learned that the shopping cart is the perfect height for nursing when Claire sits in there! Ha! As long as I have my coat on and a baggy shirt, I just pull over and "read" a label for awhile while she nurses. Some more talented people might be able to actually push the cart and nurse! I've also learned from another mom that you don't have to flip the baby over to the other side at night to nurse on the other side. It is possible once they are older (you'll know when) to just lean over some. It's not super comfortable, but sometimes it works when you just don't want to even roll over! :) ALSO...I learned from another mom you can YES YOU CAN nurse while laying on your back. Just put a pillow under the side you want to nurse on, and that will bring the baby up high enough. I thought I'd share those great nursing positions if you haven't tried them already. I think it's pretty funny that when I first starting going to LLL I thought some of the "older" babies who were able to stand and nurse "were so old"! HA!
I guess I'm thinking about this because Claire woke up about 8 times last night. Thankfully she was able to nurse back to sleep quickly. I don't know how I would ever put her to sleep without nursing. She is quite possibly the world's most clingy baby. My mom said it's "revenge" because I was her clinging vine. But really, I think it's just sweet. So if this is revenge or payback, it's kind of sweet because as long as she's in her Bjorn or sleeping velcroed to my side, I know where she is and that's she safe. I just also wish that every woman gets to experience pregnancy and motherhood and most especially nursing. The bond is truly incredible. Nursing has helped put me to sleep sometimes too. It releases those hormones to make mommy sleepy and relaxed too, if you didn't know. Oh, so Claire woke up so many times because she had a small plastic ring in her jammies all night. She was playing with a handful when I was putting her lotion and jammies on on the changing table last night. Apparently one fell down behind her but in the jammies. So NOW I KNOW why they say if baby is fussy to change their whole jammies if they just won't be consoled. I've done this other times and found it pointless, but the one time when it's what I needed to do...haha...I didn't do it! She survived though without any marks!
But I do have to tell myself, we are weaning...it's just slow. Claire was a late starter when it came to liking foods. She actually didn't eat too well when it came to solids yesterday so she had a breastfed mush poop today...so we have days when she nurses more or less. I still can't count how many times. I would still say ONLY NOW are we down to the reality of 8-12 times w/in 24 hours. The first 6 months it was like nursing constantly or so it seemed. Ha!
Anyway...the way I see it happening is Claire eventually just dropping more and more of her nursing sessions...hopefully especially all the night ones...ha!...and then she'd drop like the Nature's Child article said...to just every other day or every few days and then once a month....and then like I've heard other LLL moms say .... suddenly they realized it's been 3-4 months since the last nursing...and they can't remember the last time they nursed...then usually tears will spring up all around the group because then everyone thinks about their child weaning, which is a happy/sad thing! I guess that would be easy esp. if you have a younger one nursing and the older one just checks in once in while to see if he/she still can.
Well, I've only been posting pictures and videos lately, and not doing a whole lot of writing on here, so I wanted to write. I have written thousands of books in my head though as I drift off to sleep. Am I the only one who does this?
OH! I also wanted to comment on how Nature's Child blog lady mentioned that she once said something about if they are old enough to walk up and ask for it, they are too old...ha! I also have said things that I definitely would take back now! Two quick examples are...1. I said all kids should be potty trained once they can walk. HA! That's another post though. and 2. I said I would not donate breastmilk. I actually would love to do this at some point!
Well I'm just thankful that nursing worked out in the end because I never thought I was going to make it especially in the beginning. So I feel like I've had an incredible blessing to go on and be nursing right now at 19.5 months and still going strong.
What did you think of Nature's Child post and what's up with you!?!
And she also talks about other issues relevant to nursing. I feel incredibly blessed that Claire has never been really sick. The only time she has thrown up was because I thought I should give her iron drops. I haven't had the chance to post about this yet...but basically I had myself tested at an annual physical for all my blood work, etc. My calcium and D were low even though I eat a ton of dairy. I actually drink about 3-4 cups of milk/day and have at least one yogurt and cheese serving/day. So I hate to think what my calcium/D would be without that! I also rarely drink carbonated crap as I know that can somehow interfere with the absorption of those. SO anyway, I am now taking calcium/D supplements and I'm going to get retested soon. I still take a prenatal vitamin and fish oil daily as well. I think this is why my blood pressure runs so low. The last 3 times I've been to the doctor, they checked it twice! Ha! Anyway my iron was surprisingly high for what I used to run. I used to donate a lot of blood and sell plasma in college. (Si denote: it's kind of creepy that the Red Cross gives away pins for each gallon of blood you've donated. Like you want a reminder?)
So then I had Claire checked for the gene mutation that my brother Rich has that causes blood to clot too quickly. And only because we were already sticking her, I had her checked for D, calcium, and iron as well. Her mutation test was negative...yay. Her D and calcium was fine, but her iron was REALLY low. So the doctor prescribed iron drops, which were less vile than the over the counter drops, but still truly nasty. I made myself take a whole dropper full orally like Claire would, and totally understood why Claire hated them. I always want to "taste" what she's eating anyway. Just that mothering instinct I guess. Ok, so long story short...she was on the drops for less than a week. She would absolutely refuse to take them. The last time I gave them to her she actually coughed/gagged so hard that she brought up her dinner, which was awful. Luckily we were in the kitchen. I will spare you the details of what it looked/smelled like, but I will say that it wasn't digested and looked exactly the same as when I fed it to her. OK...I digressed a bit, but luckily she hasn't thrown up other than that one time, knock on wood, and I truly think that nursing has helped prevent any major illnesses. Not to say that she can't get sick or get a cold, but it's shorter and less severe...etc.
I feel pretty passionate about wanting to talk about babies and breastfeeding because it's my life right now, obviously. Is Claire still a baby? I would say yes. I went to a toddler meeting for LLL, and we talked about discipline. I thought it was really good. Basically it talked about how little children understand and how quick we are to treat them like little adults. ESPECIALLY in the US. They need to sleep on their own too early. They need to wean too early...etc...etc...I don't know...let's let the kids be kids and the babes be babes for awhile. And the whole "they can ask for it thing" drives me nuts because um, hello, newborns "ask" for it by crying. Duh.
But I guess most of all I feel incredibly blessed to have such a supportive family and husband when it comes to extended nursing and letting Claire have what she needs. Because I think that if she still "wants" it then she still "needs" it. And I truly don't have it in my heart to ever tell her "no" to nursing. I could not wean her if she wasn't ready. If we are out and about I try to offer her the sippy cup or crackers, but that's mostly because there's not a good place to sit down and nurse. Although, I have learned that the shopping cart is the perfect height for nursing when Claire sits in there! Ha! As long as I have my coat on and a baggy shirt, I just pull over and "read" a label for awhile while she nurses. Some more talented people might be able to actually push the cart and nurse! I've also learned from another mom that you don't have to flip the baby over to the other side at night to nurse on the other side. It is possible once they are older (you'll know when) to just lean over some. It's not super comfortable, but sometimes it works when you just don't want to even roll over! :) ALSO...I learned from another mom you can YES YOU CAN nurse while laying on your back. Just put a pillow under the side you want to nurse on, and that will bring the baby up high enough. I thought I'd share those great nursing positions if you haven't tried them already. I think it's pretty funny that when I first starting going to LLL I thought some of the "older" babies who were able to stand and nurse "were so old"! HA!
I guess I'm thinking about this because Claire woke up about 8 times last night. Thankfully she was able to nurse back to sleep quickly. I don't know how I would ever put her to sleep without nursing. She is quite possibly the world's most clingy baby. My mom said it's "revenge" because I was her clinging vine. But really, I think it's just sweet. So if this is revenge or payback, it's kind of sweet because as long as she's in her Bjorn or sleeping velcroed to my side, I know where she is and that's she safe. I just also wish that every woman gets to experience pregnancy and motherhood and most especially nursing. The bond is truly incredible. Nursing has helped put me to sleep sometimes too. It releases those hormones to make mommy sleepy and relaxed too, if you didn't know. Oh, so Claire woke up so many times because she had a small plastic ring in her jammies all night. She was playing with a handful when I was putting her lotion and jammies on on the changing table last night. Apparently one fell down behind her but in the jammies. So NOW I KNOW why they say if baby is fussy to change their whole jammies if they just won't be consoled. I've done this other times and found it pointless, but the one time when it's what I needed to do...haha...I didn't do it! She survived though without any marks!
But I do have to tell myself, we are weaning...it's just slow. Claire was a late starter when it came to liking foods. She actually didn't eat too well when it came to solids yesterday so she had a breastfed mush poop today...so we have days when she nurses more or less. I still can't count how many times. I would still say ONLY NOW are we down to the reality of 8-12 times w/in 24 hours. The first 6 months it was like nursing constantly or so it seemed. Ha!
Anyway...the way I see it happening is Claire eventually just dropping more and more of her nursing sessions...hopefully especially all the night ones...ha!...and then she'd drop like the Nature's Child article said...to just every other day or every few days and then once a month....and then like I've heard other LLL moms say .... suddenly they realized it's been 3-4 months since the last nursing...and they can't remember the last time they nursed...then usually tears will spring up all around the group because then everyone thinks about their child weaning, which is a happy/sad thing! I guess that would be easy esp. if you have a younger one nursing and the older one just checks in once in while to see if he/she still can.
Well, I've only been posting pictures and videos lately, and not doing a whole lot of writing on here, so I wanted to write. I have written thousands of books in my head though as I drift off to sleep. Am I the only one who does this?
OH! I also wanted to comment on how Nature's Child blog lady mentioned that she once said something about if they are old enough to walk up and ask for it, they are too old...ha! I also have said things that I definitely would take back now! Two quick examples are...1. I said all kids should be potty trained once they can walk. HA! That's another post though. and 2. I said I would not donate breastmilk. I actually would love to do this at some point!
Well I'm just thankful that nursing worked out in the end because I never thought I was going to make it especially in the beginning. So I feel like I've had an incredible blessing to go on and be nursing right now at 19.5 months and still going strong.
What did you think of Nature's Child post and what's up with you!?!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Evil Yummies
I haven't made any of these yet...but they look oh sooo good. Girl Scout Cookies ... HOMEMADE! http://bakingbites.com/2005/10/thin-minties/ YUM! Thanks for posting that, Pam! :)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Aucky Poo-poo!
Claire's latest words are poop, poo-poo, and aucky which she says for "yucky." Any time we are on a walk, she notices all the dog poop. I never realized how nasty our neighborhood was until she started pointing out all the "aucky poo-poo." THAT and we have geese poop in our neighborhood too by the ponds. Oh fun. And clean up after your damn dogs. Seriously people.
Indy Ice Game
Listen carefully around 40 seconds into that video. My dad says "Make sure you get footage of the cheerleaders." Ahh, that's my dad. My parents came down last weekend and watched Claire while Josh and I went to the Melting Pot. I love that place. It's a chain. So you seriously need to go there if you haven't. http://www.meltingpot.com/ Then we went to the hockey game with my Dad and Dave. I'm so glad I didn't have Claire with. She gets heavy on my lap after awhile! My mom had fun watching her while we were gone.
Be an Advocate!
Ok, time to be an advocate again! Sign this and then pass it on!
Here's the text from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance's form letter --
Many women have mood swings after birth. While they may have looked forward to the birth of their child, they can be happy one minute and extremely sad the next. Almost 80 percent of women who have recently given birth experience symptoms of postpartum blues. Postpartum depression, which is more serious can often lead to suicide. Legislation has been introduced in the both the House and the Senate that will educate the public about postpartum depression. This legislation will ensure that new mothers and their families are educated about postpartum depression, screened for symptoms, and provided with essential services. Won't you join me in writing a letter to your legislators about this important legislation?It is quick and easy and will only take a few minutes of your time. Thank you for your consideration.
Click here http://capwiz.com/ndmda/issues/alert/?alertid=12832296
Enter your zip for your area rep, then fill in the info. Done!
Here's the text from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance's form letter --
Many women have mood swings after birth. While they may have looked forward to the birth of their child, they can be happy one minute and extremely sad the next. Almost 80 percent of women who have recently given birth experience symptoms of postpartum blues. Postpartum depression, which is more serious can often lead to suicide. Legislation has been introduced in the both the House and the Senate that will educate the public about postpartum depression. This legislation will ensure that new mothers and their families are educated about postpartum depression, screened for symptoms, and provided with essential services. Won't you join me in writing a letter to your legislators about this important legislation?It is quick and easy and will only take a few minutes of your time. Thank you for your consideration.
Click here http://capwiz.com/ndmda/issues/alert/?alertid=12832296
Enter your zip for your area rep, then fill in the info. Done!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Holly and Mark's Engagement Pictures
Check out my sister's engagement photos. They live in VA Beach. http://picasaweb.google.com/L3ahNiz/HollyMarkEngagement?authkey=Gv1sRgCPuh5YeDiKCArgE&feat=email# Just taken this weekend!
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