Enjoying the Chaos :)

Welcome to chaos! This is the kids' room/my office/playroom. Notice, Alex is napping in the crib where there is a hamper of clean clothes. Otherwise, Claire would take everything out and then I wouldn't know what's clean/dirty.
Ok, so here is the changing table. Notice Claire has put her footstool here so she can change her baby dolls here. She also likes to watch Alex get changed.

Now...check out how organized I was...lol. And I do mean was. The day before Alex was born, I had Claire help me tape these labels on the drawers. She still has some work to do with putting dirty clothes in the hamper and not back in the drawers. When I put laundry away, I have to check the drawers for dirty/unfolded stuff. She changes clothes like 6 times a day. A battle that I do not wish to fight...

This is Alex's dresser. He got a Onesies label and that's it. Haha..it will stay like that for awhile. Just like my desk is going to be sitting in here. I seriously need someone to come over and help me rearrange...we have space...we have 4 bedrooms/3 baths/3,200sq. ft. but I am clueless how to use it and organize stuff. We never use our dining room table. I actually have a makeshift changing table set up on it for downstairs right now. Any professional decorators want to come over and give me some pointers before my desk sits in here another 5 years? I suck at decorating stuff. We don't want to give up our guest room yet, but I think it will be headed that way...eventually...once someone starts sleeping alone anyways... also notice that the Barbie bin, nicely labeled with stickers so she knows what goes in there...is totally empty.

Click on the pix to make them bigger.

The JOYS of a Messy Baby

I thought I would entertain you, dear blog readers:

Claire is getting good at eating with a spoon when she is interested in eating!

Claire loves ice cream! Seriously, though...who doesn't...I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't...

New Videos

And here I thought nobody looked at my blog...we've had a demand for some videos that are new so here you go! Here she is bouncing in her baby seat which she still LOVES!




Here she is saying Baa for her toy sheep:



I used to think Kate from Jon and Kate was crazy for mopping 3 times a day. I no longer think so. Are your kids this messy or just mine? A dog would be a good suggestion if I weren't allergic. But I don't like dogs anyway...I know...blasphemy...I think any creature that licks itself is too grubby to be living in my house. ;)




And my new favorite baby video of Claire...IT'S DANCING CLAIRE!!! Now does she look skinny to you? I don't think so...we converted her car back into the walker since all she did was push it around and get mad at it, like she knew it should be her walker that she could run over toys much more effectively while running!

Pulling my Hair Out

Ok. So here is Claire after eating some spaghetti. She is not happy. Neither am I.

This is actually how about 90% of our meals end. She cries, screams, and is just generally unhappy.

I am pulling my hair out. Today I went to see the "darling" of the ped practice we go to. I liked him much better. I realized why. Instead of playing peek-a-boo and being all cutesey-wootsey like the regular ped (female) doctor we see, he actually was professional. He answered my questions and had EXCELLENT communication skills. Poor guy had to kind of clean up the mess the other doctor left. I basically went in not too happy.

I don't think putting Claire on cow's milk and pediasure (aka: basically sugary formula for older babies) will help her learn to eat better. Last night she choked badly on a soft spaghetti noodle. It's whole wheat spaghetti, but it's well-cooked and wasn't that long. Anyway, I asked why they weren't using separate charts. He was open to plotting her growth on the chart I brought in from WHO and was going to look into it more. When he showed me her chart again, I noticed that on the right-hand side that all these different types of formulas were advertised. I actually said "That disgusts me," and pointed to the names.

He was kind of shocked, as was I. I can't believe I said that. But I'm glad I did. LOL! He explained that these were not the "1977" charts but updated ones. I said, "Well, given all those ads on the side, it's hard not to say they are formula charts." I think I was making him squirm. Since I was already on a roll, I had the audacity to say, "Isn't that a direct violation of the WHO code?" (See my post about that.) He said it might be if he were to give me that paper to take home, but the chart is just for them to keep and use as a record. So THEN I said, "OH, so it's just subliminal messaging." Yup, I was on a roll. Then I said, "I see Pediasure is listed at the bottom of the formulas, so it's basically formula?" He said he was fine with me not using Pediasure or cow's milk, and agreed that it won't help her to eat more solids.

Today we had an off day. I honestly don't think she ate more than the 1 bite of yogurt I forced in her mouth this morning. She throws so much food, it's ridiculous. I used to think Kate from Jon and Kate Plus 8 was insane for mopping three times a day. Now I know why. Messy children. I am mopping three times a day. It's not like I do the whole floor, just the big chunks of food, etc. It seriously takes an hour from start to finish. And it's not like I get the highchair spotless. I just want the major food stuffs gone. ARGH! I just don't want our carpet to get all stained and gross. I also have forgotten to wipe down the highchair and let me tell you...food grows mold seemingly overnight. ESPECIALLY cottage cheese. We are talking BLACK by the next morning. Yucky!

So anyway, back to the appointment...he basically had ACTUALLY read the chart! Kudos to him. I actually think some people have a better memory than others, and clearly he does! He referred to some of the other things in the chart. (Still gagging on Cheerios at 12 months.) So he asked how her choking was this week. Well she's choked 3 times this week. And I don't mean gagging. I mean choking. Red face. Can't breath. Spits up. Cries. Screams. Wants out of her highchair and to be done for that meal.

So I am considering looking into his advice more about getting some intervention of a speech-therapist or something to come and work with her. I'm not ready to be done nursing, and she definitely isn't either. But I am ready to be done nursing every 2 hours around the clock. I REALLY think she'd sleep better if she managed to eat a good solid dinner.

It's like she has to be in the perfect mood for eating. Not too hungry or full...not too tired or too awake/wanting to run around...and then the food has to be just right. And the banana she eagerly ate the past 4 mornings, might just find itself flung across the room, sliding down the glass on our back door.

I'm not too keen on the whole intervention thing, but really...what else can I be doing at this point?