Mommy Molecules

Web Comic: mini hairdresser

2012-01-13T19:05:00.000-08:00

Just one of the sights I have seen returning home from work. At least he has more patience than almost anyone I know.

(This was not a sponsored post. This comic is our copyright.)

Web Comic: That Sentimental Pee

2011-12-23T17:29:00.000-08:00

No we are not on that road right now and probably will stay off of it in the future ;) Two is plenty. But, this was one of the fun things about the trip. I have to admit I kept the positive tests from our second baby. It is just such an amazing feeling when you see those results appear before your eyes, I didn't want to just throw it away. Don't worry, I am a clean freak, of course it is disinfected and stored safely away for my memory only ;)

(This comic is our copyright. Please let us know if you are interested in using our comics. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: License for that Butt?

2011-10-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who does this but I always seem to be knocking over my 3 year old with my caboose. He's just at the right height now and I am not always paying enough attention I guess. I feel so bad and try to watch out but it still seems to happen. I bend over to grab something and he is right there and next thing I know, boom.

(This comic is our copyright, no use without our permission. This was not a sponsored post.)

Picture on Canvas from Easy Canvas Prints

2011-09-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

We were given the opportunity to try out Easy Canvas Prints pictures on canvas with a free 8 x 10" of one of our own photos printed on canvas. The finished product is below and it turned out great. I'm am sure my photos do not do it justice. Also, I have to say how glad I was that Easy Canvas Prints did a wonderful and thoughtful job packing the canvas for shipping. When I got home from work on Friday it started to pour rain and I saw a package at the door. We brought it in and then I realized it was the canvas, ahhhhh, oh no!!! I quickly tore open the box hoping to get to the canvas before the water did. There was a good amount of brown packing paper around the canvas which was blocking the water but even better, under the paper, the canvas was in a closed plastic packing bag, phew! I was so relieved and then excited to see our print!

So this is the original photo that I chose, quite a feat to get these two guys to sit still and smile (well, our older son at least):

And below is the final 8 x 10" picture on canvas. The colors are as vibrant as the original, it was just hard for me to capture that on our camera but you can see it in the next photo. The canvas has true canvas texture so it looks different at different lighting angles so that is something to keep in mind when choosing your photo and location of your print. An 8 x 10" sounds big, compared to a regular photo, but once we put it up in the wall in our house we realized how big our living room walls are! If we order another one we would get an even bigger one so a good word of advice, measure the area you are planning to hang the canvas before you order it. Their website has a preview of the size next to an average couch, I just didn't pay enough attention to it during the process. During the ordering process their website analyzes your photo and tells you on a scale of poor, fair and good how appropriate your image is so that was very helpful.

The photo below shows the border color choice, we picked black but you have multiple border options including a mirror image of the main photo or other colors. The black really turned out well, nice and bold and solid all the way around, no gap. You can also change the depth of the border. We chose the smaller one but there is a larger choice called Gallery Wrap. The standard border thickness was wide enough to give the canvas a good weight and make it feel substantial but the Gallery Wrap could add some body to the print for a larger room. You can see in this photo how the red is very nice and red on the print, in both our sons' hair and shirts, good green on the grass too. It was true color to the photo we chose:

Below is a photo of how they mounted the canvas, it is on solid wood and comes with the hanging hardware attached already so you can just put it right up on the wall. The final piece is lightweight so it is easy to move around the house. The wood goes all the way to where they cut the canvas opening on the back so you can see it is a solid mounting. The canvas was nice and tight on the wood, no bubbles, not loose at all.

I also thought the website ordering was very easy and straightforward with good directions. I had no problems with it and it moved along quickly. They sent a confirmation email and shipping email and before I knew it the print had arrived (I ordered it on Sunday September 4th and it was at our door Friday September 9th). There is a complete FAQ page on the Easy Canvas Prints website with lots of great tips about how to select your image and care for the print. I am such a point and click person I didn't look at that ahead of time but I would recommend it, especially if you are choosing a larger canvas, just to make sure you make a wise choice about your image.

We were very happy with the whole process and love our final print of the photo of our sons. It is something that we plan to have up in our house always and is a special way to display their picture.

(Note: This was a sponsored post, I received the free 8 x 10 with free shipping.)

Web Comic: Smart potty words

2011-09-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, yes, toddlers love talking about poop, and shapes, and this is what you get. Yes, he really said this. No, I did not pick this one for a comic but guess who did ... Ah well, life with kids, and men. Lots of poop talk.

(This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you are interested in using our comics. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Viking Mom

2011-08-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

I think this one was just an excuse for Ken to draw me in a Viking outfit. I never really did this, although I do admit to owning a Viking hat with braids on it ... but I only wore it at Disney World. I may use the idea for our Arizona Renaissance Festival one of these years, if the boys will actually agree to be seen with me in a Viking outfit. I have a feeling there will only be a few more years where I could get away with something like that. (and yes, I think we misspelled medieval in this one, oops)

(This was not a sponsored post. This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you are interested in using any of our comics.)

Web Comic: Diaper Dudes

2011-07-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

I think this must come from some deep male sympathy for their sons having to go through the pain of circumcision but my husband just loaded up our son's diaper with petroleum jelly after his circ. I don't know how much it really helps with the pain but I think it does help things not stick to the diaper, including pee. For that whole week I kept wondering why every time I held our son I got pee all over me from diaper leaks. Then I figured it out, use a whole tube of petroleum jelly in a diaper and it doesn't absorb anything, the pee just runs right out, thanks Ken ;) Glad I figured it out at least and didn't blame the diapers anymore.

(This comic is our copyright. This was not a sponsored post. Please contact us if you would like to use it.)

Web Comic: Cleaning bottoms

2011-06-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

This is me trying not to go bankrupt from my husband's method of diaper changing for our new son. He is very careful but always seems to use a way more than I do on paper towels and wipes for diaper changes, and this is our second kiddo. Ah well, better than having poop all over the place I suppose. I really am lucky he is so involved in taking care of both of our sons.

(This comic is our copyright, contact us if you are interested in using it. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Window watching

2011-06-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

Our 2 1/2 yr old son actually said this when some birds were pecking around our yard the other week. I think they found some old cat litter in reality, who knew birds eat cat litter right, but it is this wheat based stuff so I think they actually do. Anyway, our son thinks birds eat rocks. So after a little bit of explaining he still thinks birds eat rocks. There is just something to what you think you are seeing being more believable than birds eating cat litter I guess.

(This was not a sponsored post. This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you would like to use these comics.)

Web Comic: Moon

2011-05-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

I really did feel just this roly poly by the end of our second pregnancy. Getting out of bed or up from sitting on the floor to play with our toddler took a major feat. That is one thing I don't think the movies exaggerate. It does feel good to be back in my old body where I can jump from the front to the backseat of the car in one easy step and I don't block whole hallways in our house. Still it was a fun time because you are never more aware of another whole person growing inside you as at the final weeks.

(This was not a sponsored post. This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you would like to use it.)

Web Comic: The value of the sexes

2011-05-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

It really drives me nuts when people say what gender they think our baby is going to be and then depending on what I tell them, they say we have to have more kids because they think we need to have a boy or a girl. Obviously this comic was created out of that frustration. I know I shouldn't let it get to me but really, why does it matter if we are having a boy or a girl and whose business is it how many of either sex we have? They make it sound like our life will be over if we don't have a girl next but honestly I am happy with two boys. Plus it totally devalues the baby that is growing inside me when they find out that he is a boy. I get this response alot from women which is extra rude because they should just be supportive regardless. My husband gets comments like "alright man, you're a boy-maker!" Well guess what, I am a boy-maker too so how about some credit. In King Henry VIII's day I would be a superstar.

It is kind of like when there is food at a party and some people just won't leave you alone until you try it like you are missing out on the best thing ever made in life. I want to say "Really, that gross mayo clam dip will make me gag, you go ahead, I'm not missing out on anything other than gastrointestinal distress."

(This was not a sponsored post. This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you would like to use our comics.)

Web Comic: Um, those are actually for boobs

2011-05-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

I am sure I'm not the only Mom who has walked in on her toddler playing with her breastpump parts ... and husband too. Maybe I am the only one who would admit it. At least it is a pretty rare occurrence but once in awhile our son will get ahold of a box of pump parts and he loves taking them apart and putting them together. Not quite Legos but I guess it can't hurt.

(This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you would like to use our comics. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Super Hero in Training

2011-04-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Since our son was around 1 1/2 he has been climbing on and jumping off everything higher than 2 feet in the house. I know it is probably exciting for him but it just makes us cringe every time he tries to climb something new. Our floor is covered in cushions just so he has some padding. I wonder how much it would cost to replace the floor with a giant trampoline ...

(This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you would like to use these comics. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Whip Cream Fairy

2011-04-11T23:51:00.000-07:00

It is really weird but this was so true for our son. Maybe he just needed a little extra burst of dairy or calcium. For awhile there it seemed like every time we had whipped cream for a treat he would cut a new tooth. It's really late and I'm zonked. That's all I've got for this one.

(This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you are interested in using our comics. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Already Sweet on Snow White

2011-03-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

I am so curious what our son's future girlfriends and wife will look like. He already seems to have a big crush on Snow White and also likes Cinderella and Gizelle (from Enchanted). If I say "hi Snow White" and wave at the TV he gets shy and tells me to stop. I am thinking she may be inspiration for future romantic pursuits. We will see how it all plays out. For now, whenever we meet a girl in real life who is a pretty brunette and he gets really shy, I know why ;)

(This comic is our copyright, it is not a sponsored post. Please let us know if you would be interested in using our comics.)

Web Comic: Why Mom's are always cleaning

2011-03-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

You would think the fact that one or both of us is home most of the time with our son that our house would be pretty clean but, it is creative projects and "games" like this that seem to keep that goal far, far away. One time I came home a little early to find them scrambling around and our son saying "gotta clean up, Mom's coming home" and he is only 2. You can just imagine how the rest of our house looks most of the time. I no longer judge people by how clean their house is. I realize now that there are forces much stronger than the most compulsive OCD cleaner, they are called kids, and Dads.

(This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you are interested in using our comics. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web comic: Bathroom flasher

2011-02-26T19:31:00.000-08:00

I think this happens every time I take our son with me into a public restroom. So far he hasn't gotten the door further than unlocking it but I am just waiting for that day at Starbucks where he opens the door to flash me stumbling after him in a very un-presentable state for the whole room full of coffee sipping customers.

(This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you would like to use it. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web comic: Boogers of Steel

2011-02-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while our son gets a booger that just seems to jump around his face every time I try to wipe it off. I always just try to snag it before he loses complete patience and ends up running around with the little thing stuck on for good!

(This comic is our copyright, please contact us if you are interested in using it. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Pregnant lady in her underwear?

2011-02-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

And yes, this is a comic of a pregnant lady in her underwear. I am not going to admit to it being me, I didn't even know Ken was going to draw this one. I guess this is his perspective on seeing me, I mean ladies, dealing with the changes their bodies undergo during pregnancy. Although, I will admit I can only fit into one of my pairs of jeans with the zipper even halfway up and the button held together with a pony-tail holder. It really is that point when you have to admit that you have to consider other clothing options, although I still haven't bought any official "maternity clothes." I did buy a couple of pairs of cargo pants with a stretchy waist. I plan to spend the spring in skirts, that seems to work best and I won't mourn the money spent on clothes that I can only wear for a short while. Or maybe I am just a stubborn red head. That is probably it.

(This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you are interested in using it. This was not a sponsored post)

Web Comic: Christmas Wrapping

2011-01-21T21:43:00.000-08:00

In desperate times ... Although it would be pretty creative for a baby shower.

(This comic is our copyright. This was not a sponsored post).

Web Comic: Decoy Pie

2010-12-24T07:05:00.000-08:00

Well, I know this one is a little late but it applies to Christmas and Holiday goodies too. Our son likes to taste one of everything dessert-like that comes out of our kitchen so we came up with the concept of making decoys. As soon as the treats are done I have to hide one or more for the guests or for the real event and then give him one to eat or play with in the mean time. Same goes for cookies since he likes to take a bite out of every one. Oh, and cupcakes, he likes to just eat the top of course.

(This comic is our copyright. Please contact us if you are interested in using it. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Boy in Pink

2010-12-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

I was so bummed, he only wore his St. Patrick's Day shirt once before the leprechaun's got to it.

(This comic is our copyright, no use without permission. This was not a sponsored post).

Web comic: Too much of a good thing

2010-11-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

If you are like me you keep the old markers for way too long and the new ones just keep adding to the pile. When they get all dried out, like they very quickly do since the lids are always the first thing thrown on the floor from a new package, we just get a cup with a wet paper towel for our son to dip the markers in. It gets the ink working again and kind of looks like watercolors. He calls it a "wee cup" because he still calls water wee. He has even taken the concept to chalk art and always insists in having water to dip his sidewalk chalk in outside so it is more like paint. So getting back to the comic, whenever we are getting ready to visit my Mom she asks if our son needs new markers. As I look at the huge pile of them all over our house the question just makes me laugh.

(This comic is our copyright. Please let us know if you are interested in using it. This was not a sponsored post, although I am sure the marker people have made hundreds off of us already.)

Web comic: Comics and underwear

2010-10-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

Yes we actually had this conversation but he has a point. Whenever we visit our favorite mall in our hometown we split up and he goes to the comic book store and sends me to Victoria's Secret. Maybe it is his way of getting me not to feel like he is spending money on "silly things" but I suppose the opposite is true.

(This comic is our copyright. This was not a sponsored post, I just like VS and that was what we actually talked about. If you are interested in using our comics please email me.)

Web comic: Men's work

2010-10-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

I think this one speaks for itself ...

(This comic is copyrighted by us. Please contact us if you are interested in using it. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web comic: Talk like a parent

2010-10-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

He is right you know, that actually can happen, but it is not the normal thing you say to a 2 year old. We find ourselves worrying about stuff like that and that we are going to somehow damage our son for life in some way. I even told him the other day not to touch the chicken cage at a farm because he could get Salmonella. I can't wait to hear the things he is going to tell other people when he is a little older. Hopefully we don't make him too afraid to leave the house.

(This is our copyright. This was not a sponsored post. Please contact us if you are interested in using the comics.)

Web Comic: Mom initiation

2010-10-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ok so the bug wasn't quite this big but this did happen, and it was a lot earlier than I thought it would. Our son was probably around 18 months and we were in the back yard and he put his hand up to give me something which I didn't even question and then I saw it was a little slimy bug. I can tell this is only the beginning ...

(This comic is our copyright, illustrated by Ken Wright, we co-wrote it. The comics are available for use with our specific permission.)

Grandmother Removes Toddler from Mom During Nursing

2010-09-24T21:28:00.000-07:00

I know I don't have a comic for this one but I couldn't wait for Ken to draw it.

I was talking to an acquaintance today who has a granddaughter who is a few months younger than our son, so she is about 21 months. We were comparing stories and all that good stuff and she asked me if I was still breastfeeding and I said yes, mainly at night. She has, up to now, been very supportive of her daughter-in-law breastfeeding her granddaughter but told me that when her granddaughter nurses now, this acquaintance tells the little girl that it is yucky and not for big girls! I was pretty shocked.

Wait, it gets better. She went on to tell me that the other grandmother, that would be the daughter-in-law's own mother, actually pulls the little girl from her mother's breast during nursing. The little girl responds by taking her Mommy by the hand into another room to nurse in peace. I have never heard such an outright sabotage of the Mother-Child nursing relationship and would not be able to handle that if it were in my own family. My acquaintance just kind of laughed about it all and made it sound like her daughter-in-law wasn't upset about it all but I wonder how she really feels.

I didn't totally know what to say so told her "Hey, she is still getting benefits from nursing, antibodies and all. The World Health Organization says it is good until at least 2 years old" but I could tell she didn't really agree. (More info about the WHO here: http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en/). I felt so sorry for the granddaughter who has such forceful grandmothers. She is really going to have her work cut out for her to make her own path of who she wants to be in life. Not to mention the fact that the nursing relationship has been linked to the first loving relationship for a child. What does this tell her about making her own choices in loving someone ...

It was a far cry from the Mothering article "Breastfeeding in the land of Genghis Khan" (Jul-Aug 2009, p56-61) where the author living in Mongolia was given thumbs up from taxi cab drivers and other people would even lean in and kiss the child while he was nursing. She even had some of her breast milk taken from a bottle at work! The grandmothers there were totally supportive as was the entire culture. They said it made the kids good wrestlers.

There was another lady who wrote in for the Jul-Aug 2010 issue (page 16-17) about her time with the Yup'ik in Alaska. She visited an elder's home and nursed her child while there and the elder and her sister shook their boobs up and down thanking the lady for breastfeeding saying that if you feed the kid "cow's milk formula they would have half an animal brain."

By the way, did you know that if you breastfeed your child past the "normal age" (whatever that is) you are "Extreme Breastfeeding"? Check out this article. According to this article the average weaning age around the world is 4 years old.

Here is another great article called "Breastfeeding Toddlers" from La Leche League International that explains: "Although it may seem out of the ordinary in some cultures, during most periods of history and in most parts of the world babies have been breastfed for years rather than months (Mead and Newton 1967). In much of the world today, weaning doesn't occur until at least two years of age (Bengson 1999). They also state: "A child who weans gradually is able to maintain his emotional attachment to his mother, rather than being forced to switch to an inanimate object such as a cuddly toy or blanket." This article also has a great section on the benefits of nursing and the myths of extended nursing.

If you haven't already seen it I would recommend watching the movie "Babies" that is about four different babies from birth to age one around the world. The family in Namibia has an older sibling already and it is so good to see how a family living in the middle of the desert, basically "in nature" or "as God intended" handles these types of things. Their older son is still nursing and will tandem nurse with the younger child, Ponijao.

I think we are seriously too tied to "shoulds" instead of just parenting the way it feels natural and the way it feels right to us (which if that means not nursing into toddler hood is fine but I think it should be the Mom and child's choice alone).

Alright, hope I didn't get too ranty on you. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

The art above is titled "Fangen Moder" from 1901 by Einar Wullum, an artist from Trondheim, Norway. It is public domain and more information is available on Wikimedia.

(This was not a sponsored post, copyright me, yadda yadda. Thanks.)

Web Comic: Accidental Exposure

2010-09-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

I love that he drew the coffee cup balancing on her boob. Well, this never actually happened, at least not in public. I was pretty shy about nursing in public and always had a cover but was a little more open in the backyard. There was a bee incident once, I have to say, and I was a little worried about the neighbors but really, it was not quite as exciting as this strip. It must have made more of an impression on Ken than on me.

(You know the drill, this is our copyright, no use without our permission but we would love to hear an offer. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Cell phones and Men

2010-09-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Hey all you men, this isn't a joke. Well, it is but, it is sort of true too. I read somewhere that men should not keep their cell phones in their pants because some scientists somewhere found that it could have an effect on sperm (http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/09/18/cellphone.sperm/). You know, men really pay attention when you mention a product having a potential effect on maleness. He wouldn't eat flax seed for a while when I told him what can happen when men eat too much, since it acts a bit like an estrogen. And then there's the soy conversation ...

(This comic is our copyright, no use without our permission. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: Flexible Mama

2010-08-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

Really I have only gotten to go through my favorite yoga video twice or so since our Son was born. He would always seem to wake up after the first section. The other day I was doing yoga and realized how different my state of Zen is as a Mom than it used to be. I used to have to make sure the living room was all nice and clean and I had my yoga blanket perfectly folded. Now, I just try not to step on any of his toys as I move into positions and usually end up using one of his bigger blankies from the couch for the yoga mat. I also end up contorting over the cats since they think our Son's naptime is their attention time so they come right over and try to help out and get some pets along the way. Even with all this chaos it feels so good to get through the whole video and get my muscles stretched out after being sore and tight from carrying and lifting my Son every day. I have to admit though, I usually leave the sound off just to make sure it doesn't wake him up.

(The video I like the most these days is Shiva Rea's Gaiam Postnatal yoga video. It even has a section for baby massage.)

(This comic is our copyright. It was illustrated by my Husband and we co-wrote it. No use without expressed written permission. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web comic: Boob in a bottle

2010-07-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah, this one pretty much speaks for itself. Thank God for breast pumps. Seriously, all nutritional benefits aside, having a stash of Mommy Milk in the freezer is like magic juice for boo boo's, help sleeping and just plain comfort. The only thing is it's a little harder to make a Mommy latte than a Starbucks one you know?

Our Son still gets one 4 oz bottle when I am at work and it is just enough to take the edge off a rough day for him and my husband. Now that our Son is older, when he wants to nurse he knocks on my shirt and says "Apen" (open) and "Glug" (the sound my husband would make when he shows our son a bottle, like Glug, glug, glug.) Way better than him saying Boobie in public ...

(This was not a sponsored post. This is our copyright and may not be reproduced without our permission.)

Mommy Mentality: Fatty Dipping?

2010-07-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

I was wondering what it is called if you jump into a pool with all your clothes on instead of off. If you go swimming naked it is skinny dipping so would it be fatty dipping? Oh well, either way that is how my son and I watched the fireworks this last Fourth.

We finished up a nice dinner at a resort visiting my Mom where our Son was more interested in playing on the nearby mini golf course than sitting to eat when I realized it was getting close to fireworks time. We hightailed it up to our room and had to leave my husband and Mom to settle the bill to make sure we could grab our suits to get to the pool area in time to see the fireworks.

Ok, finally there and it is pitch black, music blaring and our Son is really wanting to go swimming. He fell in love with the pool over this weekend. I gave it an honest effort to change him into his suit at the pool but he did not get the concept of having to change clothes before swimming. I gave in. I figured who can even see anyone here?

I took my cell phone out of my pocket and in we went. He was happy and I avoided a possibly dangerous tantrum around wet cool decking, a million pool chairs, and about 200 strangers. He definitely didn't know the difference. The fireworks started a few minutes later and my Mom and husband made it there just in time. Even though it may not have been the perfect situation for watching the fireworks, the fact that our Son was so happy just to be in the pool at that moment made it all worth it. It is funny the things you will do as a Mom to make things work out for your kiddo.

(This was not a sponsored post. This is our photo and our copyright. No use without our permission).

Web Comic: He's drawing the line

2010-07-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

This is our house right now, every day. Our son is so into drawing he must be the next Picasso. I have a big stash of Magic Clean erasers and microfiber cloths and know just which combo works for each type of marker and crayon that he uses to decorate our walls, himself, his clothes, the outlet covers, you name it.

We have started putting huge pieces of artist paper on the walls with masking tape that he can draw on which works pretty well, most of the time.

Web Comic: What the Beep?

2010-06-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

It has always been annoying when the smoke alarms start beeping their little warning beeps when the backup battery is low, especially when it happens in the middle of the night. But, once you have a baby it is downright maddening, especially if you are home alone. The alarms are always so high up, which I am sure serves a purpose to keep the family safe, but there has to be an easier way to change out the batteries. Luckily when this happened to us our Son was in a deep enough sleep it didn't wake him up but you know how it is when you finally get your baby to sleep and some annoying sound starts threatening the peace.

(This was not a sponsored post. This strip was drawn by my husband for this blog and is our copyright, no use without our permission.)

How breastfeeding protects newborns

2010-06-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this article (http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/HowBreastmilkProtectsNewborns.pdf) while trying to research which immunoglobulins are in breastmilk. Well it turns out all five are (M A G E and D shown as IgM etc, I always remembered Mag Ed in micro classes). Anyway, since our son had a blood test for allergies they said he had elevated IgA, well it turns out this is the main antibody they get from breast milk. Overall it is a good thing but can be related to allergies/asthma if it overreacts. I am getting off track. I just wanted to post this article for anyone who wanted a little background on the immune system protection offered by breast milk for their own interest or as proof to anyone giving them grief about breastfeeding.

Basically this article covers things like helpful bacteria in the milk delivered to the infant's digestive system, immunoglobulins, and particles that can adhere to bacteria and viruses and eliminate them and even damage the chicken pox virus. This author even says that there are immune system cells (lymphocytes) that grow in the presence of E. coli and act differently than the lymphocytes in blood. Also he says that certain breast milk hormones and proteins help to close up the leaky digestive system in infants to help it to be impermeable to pathogens (things that try to make your baby sick).

This was a total accident that I found this article but I really enjoyed it and wanted to pass it along in case anyone else is as interested in the science behind breast milk and breast feeding as I am. If I ever were to go to Medical School I would do research on the chemistry and biology behind this process. I am especially curious about the letdown reflex and how many times it triggers when. I am sure I am getting into blah blah blah mode so I will stop. I hope you enjoy this article.

Oh and by the way, yes I am still nursing my 21 month old son and I think this helps keep him from getting sick very often. I have to admit I almost CAN NOT fall asleep without him nursing, it is crazy. Something about the hormones or my body relaxing and knowing he is right there safe. I can't stand when people I barely know ask how old he is and how long I am going to nurse him for like it is time because they think it is time to wean. You can just tell when that is what they are getting at compared to the people who think it is great and really understand the bond and health benefits. I always pull out my "go to" line "Well, the World Health Organization recommends nursing until age 2" and of course "He's allergic to cow's milk anyway so he needs something." I don't know why I feel like I have to make that excuse. It really is no one else's darn business but if they are going to ask I am going to really let them know what I think. I plan on nursing our son until he is done with it or I just can't really do it anymore. I figure around 2 1/2 or 3 probably. I do think there is a limit. I am not going to nurse him into first grade or anything so everyone can just relax but I don't feel this is something I should give up for anyone else but our own reasons.

(This was not a sponsored post. I own no rights to the linked article so contact that author if you are interested in it. The image is from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milk_glass.jpg and was taken by Stefan Kuhn shared under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.)

Web Comic: Name that liquid

2010-06-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

You would be surprised how often this happens. As I am sure most Moms, and probably Dads, can attest, even when the kid is in a diaper there always seem to be mysterious liquids coming from somewhere. Lately our son protests wearing a diaper at home so once in awhile we get caught in the spray. My husband was exaggerating a bit with this strip but, I have to say I am pretty sure those words have come out of my mouth at least once.

(This art is our copyright, no use allowed without our consent but please ask if you are interested. This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: kid or cat food?

2010-06-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

We have a few cats and this has really become an issue. If we turn our backs for a second they are going after our son's food, and actually, for a while there, he was going after their food. There were these organic cereal puffs that the cats just went crazy for. They kind of melted in your mouth. Oh well, at least they are getting healthy supplements to their normal diet, right?

(This was not a sponsored post. This comic was drawn by my husband and is our copyright, no use without permission, but if you want to pay for syndication you can totally use it!)

Web Comic: zone defense

2010-06-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

Recently my husband told me that our parenting style is like Zone Defense in football. I had no idea what he meant but basically it is that we each kind of have our zones in the house or when we take our Son out so whichever one of us owns the zone our Son runs into, that parent has to chase the little ~~quarterback~~ wide receiver (I was just corrected) until he runs back into the other person's zone. This is in contrast to both of us chasing him everywhere or one of us directing the other one what to do. At least now I understand a little more about football!

Mommy Mentality: It's Like Fight Club for Moms

2010-05-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

It has been 10 years or so since I have been to a graduation and of course I did not have a 34 inch companion then so had no idea how much action was involved trying to get a 1 1/2 year old to sit through the ceremony. Last Thursday was my Husband's graduation ceremony for his Bachelor's Degree. This was the smaller ceremony (like 700 people) where he actually got to walk across the stage and have his name called. I realized the day before the ceremony that there was slim to no chance that our son was going to sit for even five minutes for this thing. I was right. I tried to bribe him with food and coloring standing in the side aisles which worked for about 10 minutes and then we snuck into a side room where he lasted 15 minutes. I finally gave up and carried him crying through the back of the auditorium headed to the lobby where, to my huge relief, I found them. The other Moms. And of course their kids who also could not stay put.

I was so happy! Phew. This was not a case of me not being able to discipline my child or not being creative enough to give him projects to keep him busy. This was normal! This is what having kids means!

There were about four kids from age 4 to 7 and a couple toddler/babies with all their respective Moms. It was like our own little impromptu playgroup. It was so awesome how we all just gathered instinctively in one area of the lobby and the kids started playing as we started making introductions. 10 minutes into our playgroup they were all having snack time together and one little guy was trying to feed me his cereal. 20 minutes later they were all having races through the lobby. It really validated me as a Mom that I am doing ok and that kids shouldn't totally be expected to be perfect sitting patient angels. I was surprised how many adults unattached to kids were also roaming the lobby in a fit of ADD by the way. If they couldn't stay put how could all of the kids?

We all ended up coming and going through the course of the ceremony, going back into the auditorium to check up for our loved one's turn and running outside for some fresh air play. We never really got to say goodbye to each other. By the end of the ceremony I saw most of them back inside the auditorium and we cast knowing glances and waves at each other like we had just come from a Fight Club meeting or something because we all had a visit to the Mom Club and gave each other that respect. We ended up missing my Husband's big moment but a friend caught it on film for us so that worked out. My Husband said he figured that would be how it ended up but he was just glad we were there in any room. Anyway, thanks to all the Moms that made our Club meeting so cool. I feel like it was my initiation.

Just for fun I am pasting the Fight Club rules with a little modification. I think they apply to the Mom Club. I am not actually TALKING about ~~Fight~~ MOM Club mind you, I am writing about it ...

1st RULE: You do not talk about FIGHT MOM CLUB.
2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about FIGHT MOM CLUB.
3rd RULE: If someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out the fight Meeting is over, no offense taken, follow your kids, we all understand.
4th RULE: Only two guys to a fight. As many as 8 kids and Moms to a group is good. Even one other Mom and Kid counts, any place, any time.
5th RULE: One fight at a time. Roaming in and out of Meetings in the same building is cool, especially if your kid is like mine.
6th RULE: No shirts, no shoes. Really that is ok, as long as it is the kids. I would recommend diapers.
7th RULE: Fights Meetings will go on as long as they have to.
8th RULE: If this is your first night at FIGHT MOM CLUB, you HAVE to fight enjoy it.

(This was not a sponsored post.)

Mommy Mentality - When the parents can't just talk anymore

2010-05-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

Now that our son really seems to understand most of what we say we are finding ourselves realizing that we can't say certain things in front of him. I am not talking about the obvious things like swearing or whatever. I am talking about certain words that make his little ears perk up and will get us into a huge tantrum or whine fest if we say one of these trigger words and then don't produce the corresponding real item. You know, like Cookie, Cupcake, Cake, and oddly enough Light Bulb (he is crazy for light bulbs).

We have finally gotten into a habit that I never thought would happen where we spell out some words to each other to avoid a meltdown. What is really hilarious to me is that sometimes when I start saying my letters spelling out a word I just get this blank look from my husband. He just stares at me for a minute. Then he says "Oh, got it." It is like his brain has to switch into spelling gear. I have started spelling a little slower just to make it easier and he said thanks for that. Who knew we would have to play spelling bee to communicate with each other as parents. It won't be long before our son will figure it out but hey, maybe it will help him to grow up to be some amazing Spelling Bee champion.

(This was not a sponsored post)

In his own bed

2010-04-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

It is funny to me to see books that are helping kids transition from their cribs to a big boy/big girl bed since our son has been sleeping in an adult bed since he was 8 months old, albeit a mattress on the floor to be safer.

We are going about this whole thing backwards and are trying to get him to sleep in his toddler bed from our bed. He did used to sleep in this crib way back when he was very little but reached a point where he was too comfortable sleeping with me right there and I was too tired not to give in.

Anyway, we finally converted the crib to the toddler bed and have it right next to ours. When he first falls asleep at night or for a nap when I am home I put him into his bed and he sleeps great for about an hour or so. Then he wakes up and looks around and would get up if I don't go to him and nurse him back to sleep. I know we have to figure out a way to break this cycle but for now it seems to be a good first step. When he wakes up he does end up in our bed for most of the night and once in awhile I end up crunched up next to him in his toddler bed if that is what he asks for to sleep. I am really too accomodating, I know, but as long as he sleeps and is excited about his toddler bed I really have to do everything I can to support him I guess. The other ironic thing is that I can hardly sleep if he is not next to me for some reason, just too used to that I guess.

By the way, I am typing this on the floor of our room while he is sleeping because he fell asleep at 8pm tonight but I was not ready for bed myself. I was too chicken to leave him and go into the other room that he would just wake up in an hour and walk out and be up for another few hours before going back to bed. Oh well, baby steps right. Just can't type too loud, it will wake him up.

(This was not a sponsored post. This photo is our copyright.)

Mommy Tip: Organized Chaos - The "Go Back Box"

2010-04-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

This box is basically a bunch of junk which is very important because most of the time this type of junk is spread all over our house now that our Son is walking and climbing and exploring everything. That means he is disorganizing all the organizing I had done for the 8 years in this house before he was born. What that also means is I usually am going crazy about the amount of random things in odd places. We finally came up with the "Go Back Box" like they have at grocery stores for things that need to get re-shelved.

Basically, it is just a shoebox that we keep in our pantry and throw all the random "stuff" we find around the house once our Son is done playing with it. Then about once a week or so I grab the box and take the items back to the places they really belong. Of course some things stay in the Go Back Box longer than others or are favorites of his and I should just leave them out. Some of the things lately range from various child proofing supplies like cord keepers and parts for drawer latches, a box of binder clips, mardi gras beads, a hoop earring, a bag of old Legos and a 1950 Charlie Brown toy I keep meaning to sell on eBay but never do, Star Wars Easter stuff I got on sale after Easter for 75 cents, a night light bulb, butt paste, a bag of screws (collected from all the ones I find around the house from the day he opened all the childproof sets to get all the screws out), oh, and our webcam that had been lying by the TV for about 2 months.

Anyway, it is a great way to have one place for the random miscellany (I love that word, never get to use it) that is strewn about our house, to make me feel a little more like my old organized self but so I don't have to go around constantly organizing and cleaning up.

(This was not a sponsored post. All the junk really is ours and I am sure we actually paid cash money for it at some point.)

Mommy Munchies: Cute Cop Out Cupcakes

2010-04-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am not sure if I mentioned that one of my Mommy Goals is to become an amazing cake baker and decorator along the lines of Bree Hodge or Martha Stewart. Well, the one thing that makes that hard is actually having a kid. Planning goes out the window for me. I realized I don't even have round cake pans (other than a Bundt pan that never comes out clean all the way). So for my husband's birthday recently I really wanted to get some cake baking practice but of course by the time his birthday arrived I had a box of cake mix in the pantry and no plan or time. I ended up doing quickie cupcakes from a mix, whipping up some homemade frosting (powdered sugar, butter, rice milk, alcohol free vanilla - the old standard) and just added some sprinkles and they weren't too bad. I have such a long road in front of me if I am going to make a good looking cake by the first birthday our son will actually care what the cake looks like.

Mommy Mentality: Disney Defined Family

2010-04-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

So we are trying to plan our 1 1/2 yr old son's first trip to Disneyland and they have this "deal" where you book 3 nights with tickets at a Disneyland hotel and you get 2 nights and park days "free" but the catch seems to be that you pay for a family of 4 (3 adults and 1 child age 3-9). That just seems pretty limiting to me. I guess our 2 adult one "infant" sized family is not a Disney average family. Anyway, be careful if you book because it seems to be much more affordable to book "hotel only" and then buy the 5 day deal pass from AAA at the 3 day pass price. The total is way cheaper than the package that probably has some bonus features that we aren't really looking for. Here is the fine print in case anyone is curious. I got it from http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/reserve/specialOffers/detail?name=FY10Q3_2NightsFreeSpecialOfferPage

Offer is valid for bookings from 3/16/10 through 9/1/10 and for arrivals from 5/1/10 through 9/26/10 with travel being completed by 10/1/10. Upon the purchase of a 3-night package, with 3-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper souvenir tickets at a participating hotel for a family of four (3 adults and 1 child (age 3-9)), two (2) consecutive free nights will be added to the hotel stay and two (2) days added to the tickets. Offer applied once per package/reservation and not valid for previously booked rooms. Check for offers associated with other lengths of stay. The Disneyland Resort Park Hopper souvenir tickets expire 13 days after first use or 10/13/10, whichever occurs first, and each day of use of a ticket constitutes one full day of use. Tickets may not be sold or transferred for commercial purposes. This offer is subject to availability; and advance reservations are required. Not valid with any other discount or promotion. Subject to restrictions and change without notice.

This is not a sponsored post. Let me know if you find better deals, please.

Secrets and Makeup in Bed

2010-03-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

I was thinking up this post this morning while I was putting my makeup on in bed, well actually, on the floor bed I slept in for most of last night with our son. (Last night was our fourth night back in our bedroom. Our son has been adjusting pretty well to the new surroundings but last night he woke up at 1am and wouldn't go back into the bed for anything, too hot I think, so we all slept in the living room. I had to get ready for work but he kept almost waking up too early when I tried to get up so I put my makeup on right next to him sleeping).

Anyway, on to secrets. I was thinking how funny it is that people are such voyeurs. We all want to know everything about most everyone. When someone answers that their weekend was fine but gives no details or went on a trip and just says it was "good" there is this internal drive to know more. Them being tight lipped makes your imagination go wild like it must have been some amazing weekend and they did all this cool stuff but for some reason are too cool to share the dirt. In reality I know it probably does just mean nothing out of the ordinary happened because often I am that person. That average person that does most of the same things week to week. So why are the tables turned in my mind when it is someone else that doesn't share? I have no idea but boy does it drive me nuts. Throw me a bone once in awhile would ya! I'll try to do the same, or at least make grocery shopping and the park sound amazing.

(This was not a sponsored post. The image is from Wikimedia Commons and is open use by photographer Deror avi http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Deror_avi. The image can be found at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:012Versailles_Queens_bed.jpg. I love this bed. It is the Queen's bed at the Palace in Versailles. You may recognize it from the movie Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst. The curtains pull all the way around when they are sleeping from what I understand. That is a fantastic and pretty historically accurate movie.)

Another woman in our bedroom

2010-03-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this title is a bit misleading but still basically true. Our house is in an odd state of normalcy to us right now but I have to say I don't know what else to do. Basically, one of our female cats has had a really hard time adjusting to our son's arrival. When our son was about three months old this cat started peeing other places than the litter box. We had been warned by friends that this could happen but our cats are pretty good about following the general rules. Well, I was pretty pissed (sorry for the pun, couldn't resist) and surprised when I discovered what this cat was doing. We tried all the fancy sprays, litter, and tricks to try to convince her to use the litter box and even offered the guest tub as an alternative but she just wouldn't stop. We finally got her tested and her liver is a bit off the normal range but not enough for them to blame that, just enough to make the Vet not want to give her kitty Prozac to calm her down about her new lifestyle.

So anyway, we have discovered that if this cat has the full run of our bedroom/bathroom with the door closed to the rest of the house she is the perfect cat. We have also discovered no other cats can be in there with her. I am just so embarrassed to admit that our cat has taken over our bedroom. We don't even sleep in there ourselves because we are sleeping on a mattress with our son on the floor of his room as a way to help him and us all get sleep safely. I know I need Supernanny and a Cat Whisperer to get us out of this ridiculous setup but when you have a cat who pees (which stinks like nothing else) and you get her calmed down enough to act normally again you don't want to mess up the good thing you have going. It is really funny how quickly little lifestyle adjustments you make to help things run smoothly feel normal even when they really are just a bid odd.

My next goal is to move us all back into the bedroom with the cat to see if she will tolerate us and if maybe the only real offender is our boy cat (The Dude) who torments the other cats all the time.

Wish me luck.

(This was not a sponsored post. This picture is copyrighted by us and is the cat mentioned in the post.)

Spring fever and guilty pleasures

2010-03-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Now that the weather is getting warm it is such a great time to do things outside. We took our Son to his first Spring Training baseball game last week. It is one of those things that just makes for a great day and makes you want to skip work very day to do in March. I was off on this day but it was so fun I still felt guilty.

Other guilty pleasures I have to admit to happen when the little guy falls asleep and include checking out the White House Black Market website for their latest clothes, even though I never buy anything because they are so pricey, watching Desperate Housewives (with the sound off to not wake him up but still fun), playing on Facebook, and looking up what my favorite celebrities are up to (the Jolie-Pitt crew are my most favorite). I don't do these things much but once in awhile I splurge and ignore that little voice saying I am just wasting time. We have to enjoy silly, frivolous entertainment once in awhile!

(This was not a sponsored post. These photos are ours, no use without permission, thank you.)

Mommy Mentality: Stupid Responsibility

2010-03-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

The little man actually fell asleep before midnight tonight thanks to a late Target trip and now I am conflicted. Do I use this time to get some much needed sleep because I have to work tomorrow or stay up playing on the internet or worse, eat popcorn and watch a non-cartoon movie with my husband like two teenagers that stayed out past curfew. I think we are actually going to try the sleep idea which is no fun but is the responsible thing to do. Most likely the little man will be up at 4am because he is teething and never goes to bed this early so I guess I can look forward to popcorn as an early breakfast. Stupid responsibility and acting like a grown up. Oh well. Here's to the un-popped popcorn.

(This was not a sponsored post. This image is from Wikipedia Commons under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Attribution:Andrew Butko I got the image here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ab_food_06.jpg)

Mommy Munchies: Easy and Fun Veggie for Kids - Spaghetti Squash

2010-03-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

I was never a big lover of squash but one of my friends at work brought in some cooked spaghetti squash one day and I was hooked. Our son is getting picker these days and this is one of his favorites which makes me happy because he is getting a vegetable.

Ok, take a spaghetti squash and wash it off.
Poke a bunch of holes in it with a fork. It takes some muscle but is important so it doesn't explode in your oven!
Put the squash directly on the rack in your oven at 375C for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
When it is done it will be a little crisp and softer than it was when you put it into the oven. Oh yeah, it will be REALLY HOT! Don't burn yourself.
Take the squash out of the oven using good oven mitts and place it onto a plate or cookie sheet.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise using a regular table knife. It doesn't have to be too sharp. Watch out for the hot steam coming from the inside!!! It kind of pops when you cut it.
Flip the squash open and grab a spaghetti spoon (any spoon or fork will do but this one works great).
Use the spaghetti spoon to scoop out the center seeds and squash that is a bit darker. Throw this away.
Then use the same spoon to scoop out the cooked squash into a casserole dish (or 2 if you have a big squash and want to pre-make leftovers for another night).
Put some butter, salt and pepper and cheese of your choice ( I like Mozzarella) on top.
Place the casserole dish in the oven for 3-5 minutes at 350C until the cheese is melted to your liking.

Enjoy!

(This was not a sponsored post. Only one Mommy was slightly injured during the creation of this recipe but no medical care was necessary. As usual these photos were taken by me and are copyrighted by me but are in need of improvement. Don't worry I am not planning on writing a cookbook. If I do I will hire a food stylist and photographer.)

Mommy Munchies: Quick Cake Topping Instead of Frosting

2010-03-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

This is a very quick and easy tip for topping a cake with something sweet and pretty other than frosting. Have you guessed it yet? Probably so from the photo but remember, you must let the cake cool ALL THE WAY before you put the powdered sugar on top or it will melt or soak into the cake. It will still be yummy so if you just can't wait, go for it. But, don't say I didn't warn you. I used a flour sifter to evenly dust the powdered sugar over the cake but a steady hand is fine too. Another variation is to block out designs by cutting out hearts or stars or a name in paper, laying it across the cake or cupcakes and then applying the powdered sugar. Remove the paper carefully, keeping it level so as not to spill the sugar back onto the design. You will be left with a pretty design or name on the cake in the "negative space" (aka "plain cake" for any non-Artsy folks, my husband is an artist so I accidentally pick up these terms and try to sound cool using them once in awhile).

(This was not a sponsored post. The picture was taken by me and is copyright by me. Pay no attention to the crumbs on the counter.)

Mammary Masterpieces: Beautiful Japanese Breastfeeding Art

2010-03-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

The title of this work is Yama Uba nursing Kintoki by Kitagawa Utamaro who lived in the late 1700's to early 1800's. This work jumped out at me for the crisp, beautiful representation of the mother and child and the fact that the child is nursing while looking somewhere else. I think it really shows the true nature of a nursing relationship for an older toddler when they are interested in their surroundings but still want that milk from their Mother. It also shows the versatility of the Mother as by this point the average odd nursing position does not offer discomfort. If you put a brand-new Mama in this same pose it would be painful and pretty annoying but a seasoned Mama would be used to it by now and would only flinch at the occasional bite.

Also a very interesting point I noticed is the fact that the child is pinching the Mother's other breast. This is something that my son does a lot now that he is older and I am not really sure why. It really adds to the painting's validity as being based on a real Mother and child as the artist would not have been likely to come up with that detail on his own. I have wondered if it is to stimulate the let-down reflex or just a source of control or comfort but he always wants access to both sides! Very amazing to see that even back in the 1700-1800's this was the case. Human nature is very constant.

The research I have done on the author reveals that Utamaro was married but the information is unclear as to whether or not he had kids of his own. He painted many beautiful scenes depicting women and children. I first discovered the painting here: http://www.promom.org/gallery/fine_art/106_G and it is public domain based on age of the work. If you would like to know more about Utamaro you can read about his life and work here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utamaro.

(This was not a sponsored post. Please contact me if any information I have presented is incorrect. The use of this image is for educational purposes only.)

Mommy Tip: storing wrapping paper

2010-03-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

This is a really handy, easy, space-saving tip for storing wrapping paper. All you do is put as many nails into the wall as you have rolls of wrapping paper, just space them apart depending on the size of the roll. Then get some binder clips in the office supply section of your local store (they come in fun colors, not just black). Clip the clip to one side of the roll of paper, and hang the loop over the nail. The wrapping looks very organized, you can find it when you want it, it says rolled (finally!) and it takes up no floor space. This way you can take advantage of unused closet wall space. I have mine in the hall junk closet, four on each side. Keep in mind for really big rolls you may need bigger clips.

(This was not a sponsored post. Photos were taken by me and are copyright by me, not that they are that great.)

What motherhood means to me - Parenting magazine writing contest, they didn't pick me

2010-02-22T17:37:00.000-08:00

I wrote this last year for the Parenting magazine contest about Motherhood to coincide with the movie Motherhood coming out on video tomorrow. Well, as I sat pumping at work today, flipping through the latest issue of Parenting, I stumbled upon the contest winner's reveal, and it wasn't me. Anyway, this way I get to share the entry with you here:

Six days after we brought our son home from the hospital we took him to his newborn doctor’s appointment. After the appointment I was holding my tiny sleeping baby feeling that new-mama love while waiting for my husband to bring the car around. A lady came up to me and we had the normal how old is your baby conversation and then she said it, those words that have haunted me since but have defined my mental state as a mother “He will grow up before you know it, my baby is 23 now. It seems only yesterday …” I cried the whole ride home, just staring at him, being so mad at that woman but, realizing that she had given me a tremendous gift, the realization that while motherhood lasts the rest of your life, your baby’s childhood is fleeting and their babyhood goes even faster.

I realized that as his mom I had to soak in every sleepless night, nursing session and dirty diaper because it would all go so fast. I write this one year later, and have learned during this first year that motherhood to me is remembering to make our son laugh every day, taking the time to hold him while he sleeps whenever I can, rushing home to him after work, taking him on walks, and watching him wonder at the things we take for granted as so mundane and ordinary.

Motherhood to me is remembering to savor every moment with these special people, our children, because one day, say 18 or 20 years from now, maybe sooner, maybe later, most will be out of the house, on their own, and while we will still be their parents, life will never be like it is now and we can never get these moments back.

(This was not a sponsored post. This is our own photo, copyright us, if you want to use it you need to ask please, thanks. )

Mommy Tips: Protect your kids from bad toys

2010-02-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

In case anyone is not already signed up for the recall email list here is the link for the sign-up page. This is from the Consumer Product Safety Commission which is the organization that oversees the recalls and informs consumers (us regular folks) about what items have been determined to be unsafe for one reason or another. The email alerts not only cover toys, clothing and kids jewelry but also some household items such as lights and tools that can pose a risk as well.

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCList.aspx

It is a really easy way to stay informed and just make sure you are getting the latest news about what could harm your child so that you can make changes to keep them safe.

(Image is public domain, from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cpscmagnetixtoyrecall.jpg
This was not a sponsored post)

Mommy Mentality: One of those days

2010-02-21T14:39:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's the cloudy weather or just hormones or all the chocolate I eat (but really shouldn't) but I am really feeling the blahs. You know when you get all these ideas of things you should be doing (cleaning the floor, folding the laundry, doing the dishes, setting up amazing playdates, doing yoga, doing your makeup, making some amazing meal, stimulating your child's mind with some unbelievable educational homemade creation) but end up just hanging out with the kiddo and lounging in your pj's and eating whatever is easiest to grab from the pantry with the most calories. Oh well. We all deserve to have a few of these days every now and then. I think they are our bodies' way of letting us have a break and recharge the batteries.

I think it may also be our escape from all of the crazy and ridiculous things we feel responsible for every day or feel that we "should" be doing to be a good Mom/wife/whatever that really can wait so you can just have a PJ's, sugar and TV day once in a while and the world will still be there when you wake up and have to get some adrenalin going to start being a responsible Mom again. Anyway, I just want to say, if anyone else ever feels this way, enjoy it. Revel in your unwashed and undone hair, enjoy the feel of the mismatched pajamas, laugh at the avocado smushed in the carpet and the toys all over the house and give your kiddo that big hug and just have a wonderful blah day. You deserve it and it is probably healthy for you as a Mom, and a human.

(Image is public domain from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desserts.jpg
This was not a sponsored post.)

Web Comic: A Mother's Crazy Love

2010-02-10T17:26:00.000-08:00

We actually had this conversation when my hair was long and our son like to play with it, I ended up getting it cut short and totally forgot about the ponytail. Oh well.

This comic was drawn by my husband and written by both of us.

(This was not a sponsored post.)

Mommy Munchies - Valentine Butter Hearts

2010-02-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

These are really easy to make. I wanted something fun to do with butter, kind of silly, for Valentine's day. You just soften or melt butter and then pour it or fill it into silicone baking cups of the desired shape. Place them into the fridge for an hour or so and then pop them out of the molds. You could also use cookie cutters on wax paper, the butter just has to be soft, not melted. I hope you have as much fun trying this as we did!

(This was not a sponsored post.)

Overfocused and Anxious Lover? Book Review

2010-02-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

This is a little book of wisdom. It is marketed for helping marriages but is so much more. I received it free through Book Sneeze to do a review and was not sure what to expect and thought, well, my marriage is doing pretty well, all things considered, you know, being a working parent of a one year old, we just get busy and tired but overall things are good. It turns out the tips and information in this book about how our brains work and affect our personality not only have helped me to understand myself and my husband better and how we relate to each other but it has also given me a huge insight into other friends and family members in my life. The overall concept is that if your brain is not balanced, which it seems most of ours are not, you cannot relate to and love other people well.

The book explains some basic brain functions in a very easy to understand way and makes it interesting at the same time. Then it is broken down into sections describing The Scattered Lover, The Overfocused Lover, The Blue Mood Lover, The Agitated Lover, and the Anxious Lover. Each section has a quick quiz at the beginning to see if you fit into that category. Then the author explains each type and gives tips for you on love and life to get over these hurdles that include diet tips, such as calming foods for the Anxious Lover, and "feel good" foods for the Blue Mood Lover.

The author also explains which types of medications and fish oil would be good for each type if the imbalance is severe enough but has lots of natural options to try first. He also includes in each section how to deal with a spouse who fits into each category. All of the real-life anecdotal stories make the book very relatable, funny and touching and really inspired me to just spruce up how I treat my husband and members of my family a bit. The diet and health tips such as the importance of Vitamin D for people with low serotonin as well as "feel good" foods have already helped me to cope with a stressful day at work. Overall the book really helped me to understand myself more and what will make me happy as well as my husband and to understand our differences and not try to get him to be like me because his brain is different. I see now why he is such a calming effect on my life. I think the pearls in this book apply to all kinds of relationships and really help you to understand the other person's perspective instead of just wishing everyone could fit into your perfect idea of who they should be or what they should do. Maybe it will help some people get a little slack in their relationships too and help overstressers realize they can relax and everything really will turn out ok.

Donate Milk to Haiti

2010-01-26T20:25:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to share this link: http://www.hmbana.org/index/locations

They need human milk donations for babies in Haiti and also in the US for preemies and babies with special needs. This link is to a directory of milk banks in the US. This is something that I can't do right now but in case you have extra milk and want to help out I thought I would share it. It is a very special way to help and costs nothing.

(The above image is free for any use and is from Wikipedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Breastfeeding-icon-med.svg)

This was not a sponsored post.

Mommy Tips: Organizing Pump Parts, Bottles and Nipples, Oh My

2010-01-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

So one thing I incorporated into our house to try to get a bit more organized this year was a better way to let my breastpump parts air dry out of sight after I sterilize them with the Medela microwave bags. Here are a couple of pictures. Basically I got the purple plastic bin and put a paper towel in it. I put the wet parts in there after they are microwaved and leave the top cracked so they can air dry but still be out of sight in the cabinet. The box fits three sets right now and keeps them from getting knocked around, played with by the cats or accidentally sneezed on in the kitchen. I keep the sterilizing bags folded up to the left in the cabinet and a sharpie near them so I can check off the boxes each time I use the bags (you know what I mean if you use the bags, they have 20 uses and you check off a box after each one, regular pens don't write well on these and it is a pain to find a pen when you need one.) This way I have everything right above the microwave for the quickest use.

We also let the bottles and bottle tops air dry in their dishwasher baskets in this cabinet on the top two shelves. I just lined the cabinets with paper towels and plastic shelf liner from Ikea to protect the cabinet from water. That way the clean bottles are not cluttering up the counter, they stay clean until we need them, and are usually pretty dry by the time I need to use anything for our son. If we have to run another load I just take the dry lids/tops/etc out of the baskets and keep them in a big baggie under the parts shelf for easy access. The plastic baby spoons dry in the mugs on the second to the top shelf. I have to admit we do end up having the dirty bottles and lids on the counter until we get around to running a batch in the dishwasher but I have all the lids, nipples, baby spoons etc in a big pretty serving dish so they don't look so annoying or get mixed up with the other dirty dishes on the counter.

(This was not a sponsored post).

Doh! Facebook challenged

2010-01-13T22:11:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this, it is so embarrassing. I just realized after months that when Facebook changed their privacy settings I didn't notice that the new default for my posts was "only me." All this time I was feeling invisible on facebook and couldn't figure out why no one ever responded to any of my status updates. I kept trying to be funnier, more interesting, shorter, to the point, and nothing! Well, this makes me feel better but like a dork ;) Just wanted to share this in case anyone else was too busy being a Mom to check out the details in Facebook!

Mommy Tip - Trashy Diapers, not for the squeamish

2010-01-11T20:36:00.001-08:00

This is really silly and I can't totally believe I am sharing it but does anyone know what great little trash stashers old diapers in the car are? I know, that sounds gross but please let me explain ...

What I am talking about is this:

You have been in the car with your baby and have a pee only diaper and are just too lazy to run it over to the nearest trash can so it sits on the floor of the car until you get home (Does nobody else do this? Please validate me here). Then you notice little pieces of paper or raisins or baby cereal, maybe a banana peel from one you just now ate, also in the backseat of the car that you would have to gather up at some point and throw away, hopefully. Where the heck should all this garbage go? That's my point, just stash it in the not too gross diaper and wrap it up like a nice little package with the tabs to toss when you get home or somewhere else.

When my husband drives and I sit in the backseat with our baby I get this secret glee out of hunting out all the junk that needs to be tossed and fitting it all into a diaper to just toss when we get to our next destination. I think it is the ultimate garbage efficiency and even better you don't have to spend money on trash bags and your backseat stays constantly clean.

Ok. If this grossed you out too much I am sorry but the next time you do a diaper change in the car (maybe I am the only one who does that too) just glance around and see if there is any other garbage around to stuff in it and you may see my point.

Cosleeping Obstacles Addressed

2010-01-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

Before we had our son I swore cosleeping was one thing I would never do because I was just to freaked out that it would be too dangerous. I was fully committed to the other 6 Baby B's of Dr. Sears' Attachment Parenting (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/T130300.asp) but Bedsharing would have to be left at a bassinet near our bed and nothing more. Fast forward 5 months after the Little Man was born when he was teething combined with too many times I accidentally fell asleep nursing him in the rocker (laying pretty safely on the Boppy) and I had managed to introduce cosleeping into our household in a very inefficient and uncomfortable way. I tried for a while to keep putting him back into his crib after each time he fell asleep and to swaddle him and all that but he started waking up within 30 minutes each time and I was exhausted. Meanwhile most of our friends had their babies sleeping through the night in their own cribs.

We took him into our bed but once he started scooting around we figured that was only a recipe for disaster and ended up putting our Queen mattress without the boxsprings on the floor in his nursery up to a corner. We have been sleeping on that since and the Little Man is now 15 months old. It is probably very picturesque, like a heart as one of our friends put it, with me on one side and my husband on the other with the Little Man between us to keep him from accidentally finding his way off of our little nest.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this article (http://www.mothering.com/bed-roses by Stephanie Nakhleh) on the Mothering Magazine website that addresses some of the major concerns people have with cosleeping and I wanted to share our experience for each main obstacle. That is a great article for anyone interested in cosleeping or trying to understand why people choose this to incorporate into their family.

Obstacle #1: Possibility of squashing your baby
I have to say this was a huge concern for me as well but from all of my research and own experience it seems for the most part that if you are not obese, not intoxicated/on drugs/otherwise impaired, and not exhausted beyond all belief (more that the average sleep deprived parent) this seems to be a very rare occurrence. Other things to keep in mind are to keep pillows away from the baby, keep blankets and sheets off the bed, only cosleep with a very young baby if you are breastfeeding and wear very light tops that would not cover the baby's face when they are nursing. I like v-neck PJs and tank tops the best. I will say that the fact that you are somewhat aware of where the baby is and the fear of overlaying them I do not always sleep as soundly as I would like but more soundly than if the Little Man is crying and I have to get up with him 15 times in the night. Over time you adjust.

Obstacle #2: How do I keep up my love life?
Really I think having a young child in the house at all is more of an obstacle to our love life than cosleeping. If you remember your teenage years I am sure you can be creative and realize their are other locations for a rendezvous. For me it is more the endless piles of laundry, bottles, dishes, cleaning, chasing a running toddler, and working that wear me out to the point where at night I really am more interested in sleep than anything else, regardless of where our son is at any given moment.

Obstacle #3: How do I handle the squirming?
I don't really even notice it. Our son is pretty still when he sleeps with the exception of the occasional foot on my husband or head on my arm. Really it is just like a nice snuggle so I love that part of it. He is not a wild sleeper.

Obstacle #4: How do I keep my mobile baby from falling off the bed?
This one I would definitely recommend having the mattress on the floor. I just don't see a way around it. They sell all kinds of large round pillows and plastic rails but once the kid is climbing he will be over those in a hearbeat and the risk is just not worth it. Even with the mattress on the floor they can fall off so we like to put throw pillows against furniture near the bed just in case he were to sneak off the bed and accidentally knock into anything. This has never happened to us. He usually crawls backwards toward the foot of the bed and we have taught him "feet first" for getting down so he usually goes that way. One time I did wake up to myself grabbing him as he was going over me and off to the side but it was like second nature like a spy or something how I just grabbed him while I was still basically sleeping.

Obstacle #5: How do I cope with all night nursing?
The article explains that breastfeeding has been linked to a reduction in the risk for SIDS and that somehow this connection and possibly the antibodies play a role. For us the Little Man does not nurse all night. Some nights he nurses maybe twice. On nights when he is too cold or teething it may be more but really is not too much of a bother. I have to pump when I get up in the morning to have some milk for him when I go to work so I usually just reserve one side for him in the night and save one and the supply works out. My husband stays in bed with the Little Man until I am done or he wakes up. Also, if you want to keep your supply up you really do have to keep nursing more often and this is a natural way to help that system out. Before, for the few months when our son was sleeping through the night I had to get up to pump at 3am and 6am to not be too uncomfortable. I would much rather give him the milk while I am sleeping than have to get all the way up and deal with the pump in the middle of the night and try to go back to sleep.

Obstacle #6: Will my baby ever leave the bed?
I am sure he will but for now it is the most wonderful present when he wakes me up in the morning with his most beautiful smile and says "Hi" and then lays down for a quick snuggle. I know these are times I am really going to miss when I am older but will provide memories for a lifetime. From everything I have read, including the Mothering article, most kids decide to move into their own beds around 4 years old or so and do it of their own volition.

Obstacle #7: What if my partner is opposed to cosleeping?
I am sure this could represent a huge conflict. For us I had to convince my husband a bit but once he had to help out a few nights with the constant putting our son back into his crib and waking up again in 30 minutes and seeing how exhausted I was from the whole thing he helped to figure out the family bed solution and got it all set up for us. By then we all needed sleep so badly he would have tried anything. Plus he does get some Daddy - Son snuggles because hey, he puts off way more body heat than I do so if our son is cold he usually rolls over to that side of the bed. This really is something that would have to be worked out in a special way for each couple.

Obstacle #8: How do I handle criticism from relatives?
Honestly, no one in our family has raised an issue with this but I am not sure they all realize it is how we sleep. As a parent people criticize so much this is just one more thing. In the end it is none of their business and your baby will grow up to be so confident and well adjusted that it is not even worth worrying about. I would just get good at changing the subject tactfully if Aunt Mildred is not going to be understanding about it and you don't want to offend her.

Obstacle #9: What if one child is still in bed with me when another baby comes along?
This is the one we wonder about the most. From the article and Dr. Sears' book there are many options including adding a small mattress next to the bed for the older child but the bottom line is not to have the baby and the toddler next to each other during unobserved sleeping for safety reasons. Once they are older I am sure it would be fine but most likely they would want their own beds by then. I always did wonder how you read a bedtime story to two kids in their beds if they are in separate rooms and the family bed would help to solve that problem.

I wanted to add Obstacle #10: Doesn't the baby have a different sleep schedule?
Yes. That has been the most difficult for us. At night if we don't go to bed when he does or within an hour or so he will often wake up and think it is time for play or to get up. Sometimes if he goes to bed too early he is up in the middle of the night which means we are too. That has been a real point of discipline for us to still "sleep when the baby sleeps" even now just for the overall sleep routine in the house. I am sure this is still an issue for babies who sleep in cribs but has left us with some rough nights before a day of work or an early appointment the next day. And still, I think "crying it out" would be way rougher and has way too many long term risks for trust and other issues and feels insensitive to me.

Overall, it is another period of adjustment and I would say that the wonderful loving moments and benefit of everyone getting good sleep outweigh any inconveniences from the situation and I would recommend cosleeping to any parents of older babies and to all breastfeeding parents who are committed to doing it safely and putting in some safeguards and research first.

(This was not a sponsored post)

Web Comic

2010-01-09T20:46:00.001-08:00

This comic really is true in our house. We finally got a web cam last year and used Skype to connect with my husband's parents, once. We planned this for a long time because we live 4 hours away from them but never get around to using it. The thing with the webcam is you have to be semi-presentable, in clothes (as opposed to PJs depending on who you are visiting with) and it is harder to multi-task during the conversation. Plus, all of us have to be there for the call instead of just my husband while I hang out with our son or we move around the house, etc. Not to mention you have to be home. I have a lot of guilt about this because I do want my husband's parents to get to see our son more, even if it is only by webcam when we can't get together for an in-person visit. The other issue now that our son is walking is keeping him in one room long enough to stay on camera. At least the camera we have is separate from the computer so we can just pick it up and aim it at the Little Man when he is on the move.

(This is not a sponsored post)

Laundry and Your Sex Life

2010-01-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

I used to be a fanatic about laundry all the way to the socks and underwear which had to be neatly folded or rolled so that if, God forbid, anything ever happened and people had to clear out our house everything would look neat and tidy. That was one of the big things I worried about when we were first thinking about having kids, how would I keep up with that or would my husband.

Then I read somewhere that you can judge a person's love life by how messy their clothes drawers are: The messier the drawers the better the sex life.

So, I started being a little less picky about it and realized if I had so much time to make my clothes look perfect I was not living life.

Now I am really lucky if the clothes make it back into the drawers clean, dry and within two weeks of wearing them. I do still fold most things but definitely not underwear and I have given up matching socks, even for our son.

The one thing I do still like to have semi-organized are the sheets and towels and washcloths so I can at least find what I need.

For any other Martha Stewart and Bree Hodge loving Moms out there who have had to give up a little bit of control over their house being perfect I feel your pain but hey, we have more important things in our lives now. Plus, you may want to mess up your drawers for the sheer posthumous reputation it may bestow. Just a thought.

(image from Wikipedia Commons here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snuggling_clothes_pegs.jpg
by Kalan)

Mommy Mentality: Perfection or Nothing?

2010-01-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

I am starting to admit I think this is true. I read that perfectionists sometimes get paralyzed by their eternal quest to make everything just right which means they may have a project to start but because they want it to be perfect and don't quite know where to begin they may never start it at all. I think blogging is like that for me too. I read so many great blogs and then think, Geez, I am so beat today my writing is just going to suck, why bother? So anyway, this is just a little enlightenment for other Moms who may feel the same in many areas of their lives, especially now that they are Moms.

We don't have to be perfect, we just have to be.

This brings me to my New Year's Resolutions which took me awhile to write for the same reason.

The first resolution is to stop trying to be perfect and stop trying to meet the expectations that I think everyone else has for me, the "them" and "they" in my life. You know, like that the Christmas card we send has to be perfect or what will the collective "they" think? Most of the time "they" are not even real people, nobody specific or in particular, just my wild imaginings of a group of people seeing the card and laughing saying I picked a bad background or it is too goofy. From now on I am going to just live my life by what I like and what my husband and son like and try to stop making everything be perfect for what I think everyone else would like.

So on that note some of the other resolutions are less profound and I hope to accomplish them based on my success at the "not so perfect" goal:

Make a 2009 photobook
Get to work earlier
Do yoga 3x a week or so
Make a "leaving the house" staging area with hooks and shelves to help us keep track of everything we need to leave the house quickly instead of hunting for shoes and gloves at the last minute.
Eat more fish
Get more Sun
Enjoy things more
Stress less (ties back into the perfection goal I think)
Finally sell that stack of games and toys on eBay

I am sure I missed a couple but our Son is sleeping on my lap and the list is in the other room so I am just going to relax and say that is good enough.

Web Comic - Christmas #2

2009-12-28T12:49:00.001-08:00

This was inspired by our son who really enjoyed Christmas this year but really got into everything. We definitely rotated a few decorations out due to him playing with them and accidentally breaking them and just from seeing how he handled them and decided to leave some in the boxes for a few years from now. We had toyed with the idea of getting a train for under the tree but figured this comic would be the outcome so are postponing that for a few years too. I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Web Comic - Christmas #1

2009-12-28T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well, we had these drafted up but couldn't get around to posting them with all the Holiday Hoopla. Anyway, here is the first of two new Christmas comics. Hope you enjoy them!

Mommy Tips

2009-12-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

So this is a new feature called Mommy Tips that I will try to post every so often when I think of helpful tips for new Moms. These two are pretty random but valuable.

#1 - When you are going to the hospital to deliver your baby bring your Boppy or another nursing pillow. The hospital pillows are really hard to balance a baby on for nursing or holding. I didn't have mine and really wish I had brought it.

#2 - Avocado makes a great early and later on baby food. It is one of the most nutritious natural foods, is already easily packaged for taking with you on the run and is already soft and smushy. Our baby has liked it since he first tried it and it is still a "go to" food to grab when we are taking him to a restaurant to make sure we have something nutritious for him in the diaper bag if the restaurant is not quite baby tummy friendly. When the babies are older you can cut the avocado into larger pieces that they can pick up and eat themselves. When they are really little you can smooth it out in the blender or just smush it well with a fork.

(This was not a sponsored post)

FTC Blogging Guidelines for Sponsored Posts

2009-12-16T18:01:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to share a couple of links to the new Federal Trade Commission guidelines about sponsored endorsements on blogs which includes Mommy Blogs of course. These went into effect on December 1st this year.

An article explaining the new guidelines is here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

Some videos of Mary Engle with the FTC explaining more are here: http://www.ftc.gov/multimedia/video/business/endorsement-guides.shtm

Basically the rules seem pretty simple. I accidentally stumbled upon this information on a blog I follow (Mom-101) and am so glad she posted the information so wanted to pass along the favor. None of my posts have been sponsored but I would really be in a bind if I didn't know the rules and got into that side of blogging.

(This was not a sponsored post)

Time

2009-12-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

I am trying to sneak in this blog in the 30 seconds before our Son gets impatient and runs out of the room. That is the thing, time is so precious but even more so as your child gets older. I feel so guilty spending time doing things for myself like blogging or playing on Facebook even though I know overall they are good for me and my mental state. Ok, there he goes, wait, he is playing with the printer and the cat.

Ok, anyway, being a working Mom I already feel like I don't put in enough hours at the office then when I get home I feel like I have to relieve my husband who stays home with our Son so that he can have at least a few minutes to himself before he is off to make dinner. Yes, he makes dinner, and most of the other meals, does most of the dishes, and cleans up most of the messes, AND does an amazing job for caring of our Son. I am a lucky girl.

So you can see why I feel guilty taking time out of my husband's "free time" which is also his study time because he is back in school and working so hard at it all without ever really complaining. When our Son was younger it was no problem because he would sleep in my arms a lot more and nurse all the time so the computer was just logical but now that our Son is on the move I can only ususally get computer time if I am at home during one of his naps which is rare.

Now the time I would love to be updating my blog or getting to know other bloggers is usually taken up by balancing laundry (which gets washed and dried but usually ends up in a pile on our closet floor or in new bins I bought that I convinced myself would help me be more efficient but mainly hold clean piles of clothes), taking care of our Son, doing any holiday stuff around the house, vaccuuming, cleaning the floors, you name it, the stuff that has to be done, plus keeping up with family pictures and baby books, reading and playing with our Son so he actually likes me, etc. Oh yeah, and showering too.

Hmm, what was my point. Oh great, there he goes down the hall, I will try to blog more, maybe but bear with me.

Vitamin D and Nursing Moms

2009-12-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

Today I got a call from my doctor about my blood test results for my annual physical. I am going to a new doctor who interestingly enough includes a Vitamin D test in the blood panel which I assumed I would ACE no problem living in Southern Arizona as I do and going outside for walks every couple of days. I was astounded when they told me I was Vitamin D deficient. The doctor told me to take 3000 units daily and get at least 10-15 minutes of daily sun on my arms and legs and then to get retested in 8 weeks.

Wow. How did that happen? I drink fortified milk, eat eggs, and get a good amount of sun, and take a prenatal vitamin. Hmmf. Well, I guessed it must be that I am still nursing our son who is now almost 15 months old but I thought I would do some research to share the recommendations for nursing moms.

I discovered that a study reviewed in 2007 found that nursing moms should be taking 10 TIMES the amount of Vitamin D Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for the average person. That amounts to 4,000 IU (International Units). The study researchers recommend a minimum of 2,000 IU but really push the higher dose saying up to 10,000IU is safe for up to 5 months just beware of toxicity of higher levels.

So, what are the health risks of low Vitamin D?

Rickets (a bone deforming disease) if your baby is deficient
Osteomalacia (bone thinning disorder in adults characterized by musculoskeletal pain, hmm, sounds familiar, that was a complaint of mine on this doctor visit)
Osteoporosis
Cancer
Heart Disease
Diabetes in adults
Flu infections
High blood pressure
Autoimmune diseases

Who is the most at risk:

The elderly
Extremely Obese individuals
Exclusively breastfed babies
Those who get little sun exposure (Did anyone hear new or working moms who only get sun going from the car to work and back to the car?)
Those with darker skin as it is harder to absorb sunlight

So what can you do?

Get sun on your bare skin (more effective in southern geography)
Take a supplement
Eat these foods: cod liver oil, fatty fish, eggs, beef liver (eww), mushrooms, some meats
Talk to your pediatrician about a supplement for your child

Doing this research freaked me out pretty well but really made me realize how serious this can be and that you should never assume you don't have a deficiency of Vitamin D. (Another important nutrient for pregnant and nursing moms is Iron by the way. I stopped my prenatal vitamin for awhile after I had my son and starting having dizzy spells, etc.)

The links where I found the information above are here if you would like more information:

http://newsletter.vitalchoice.com/e_article000724143.cfm?x=b76GVyV,b1kJpvRw,w

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-d/NS_patient-vitamind

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D#Natural_sources

(This was not a sponsored post)

Mammary Masterpieces - The First Boppy?

2009-12-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

This installment of Mammary Masterpieces is in honor of the Christmas Season. The painting is titled Madonna mit dem grünen Kissen (Maria lactans) by Andrea Solario and is from the first quarter of the 16th Century. According to Wikipedia Commons there were many works created depicting the Madonna and Jesus breastfeeding until the later Renaissance which was a surprise to me because I don't remember ever having seen them growing up. I guess that may be because breastfeeding is not always as publicly supported in art in the United States these days so the average painting of this pair one sees includes a fully covered Mary, or else I just wasn't paying much attention to those details as a child.

There are many beautiful representations of this special bond between the Blessed Virgin and Baby Jesus but this work was particularly charming as the Baby Jesus was so cute and chubby. Many of the paintings of the same topic portray a somewhat gaunt and long Baby Jesus that just doesn't seem as cuddly to me. I love the reddish hair on the Baby and the fact that He is gazing into His Mother's eyes and playing with His foot because it captures such a true mannerism of real babies for a work that was created long after the end of this Baby's actual time on Earth.

I couldn't help but notice that it appears Andrea Solario paitned Mary as a 16th Century Mommy taking advantage of a Boppy-type nursing pillow. I wonder if Susan Brown (the Boppy inventor) took any inspiration from this work for her modern day masterpiece.

The image and details were obtained from Wikipedia Commons here.

(This posting was not a paid endorsement and I have no relationship with any company mentioned).

Love bites?

2009-12-03T17:59:00.001-08:00

I am so embarrassed, it has been over a week since my last post. Anyway, that is life especially with the Holidays and full time work. So today's post is just a quick one about my son's new annoying game of biting us. At first it was cute and not too hard but now he has gotten a lot rougher and stronger with his jaws, not to mention has more teeth. My husband and I are both covered in double half moons from the little guy. We try to do what the books recommend: say No, put him down, don't react. Of course this usually just gets him going more and he squeals and laughs. I end up using the nursing latch break trick of putting my pinky in the side of his mouth. I hope he grows out of this soon because he is leaving his mark, or marks I should say.

New Web Comic

2009-11-22T11:25:00.000-08:00

Since our son turned 9 months old he started trying to help himself to the mommy milk whenever he pleased which included being in public so I found myself having to be smarter about my wardrobe choices to prevent unplanned flashing at the grocery store.

More Babies?

2009-11-21T19:06:00.000-08:00

Lately my mind is consumed with the question of whether or not we should try for a sibling for the Little Man and if we do, when? He is 14 months now and I have this nagging feeling that it is time to start trying for a sibling. Then minutes later I have a nagging feeling that we should only have him, no other kids. I am an only child so I don't really know what it is like to have siblings. I was pretty close to some of my cousins but that is the extent of my knowledge in this area.

Everywhere we go, Target, the Zoo, church, I am looking at other families seeing how many kids they have, how far apart in age are they, how well do they get along. I email my friends with multiple kids and ask them all kinds of questions about spacing like I am preparing to write a book or something and I have to get all the facts. I'll find one article in a magazine or online that has me totally prepared to have another baby and then I will find a different one that makes me think we need to wait awhile. It just seems there is no "right" answer. We are so happy right now I don't want to goof that up but do want the Little Man to have more family and to have what my friend called her siblings "automatic best friends for life."

Then there are all the questions: Who will watch our son while I am in labor with the next baby? What if there are complications? What if being pregnant affects breastfeeding our son now? What if breasfeeding affects the pregnancy? What is tandem nursing like? What if we have twins? What if our son hates me for having a new baby? What if we don't have another baby and he feels empty and lonely like I have at times being an only child? What if the stress of it all is a strain on our marriage? What if it is the most wonderful thing of all to add to our family? What if during all this time I am wasting pondering everything I missed our window? What if they don't like each other? What if they love each other and gang up on us? What if they grow up and move far away from each other, who will we choose to live near?

I always do this. I remember when my husband and I were first dating I asked him "What if we get married and then 20 years from now you go bald?" I still married him and he still has hair and at this point I would love him even if he were completely bald.

Anyway, in the meantime I started charting my fertility again on http://www.fertilityfriend.com/ and can almost feel when I ovulate but still I let it go by this month. Next month is out because their birthdays would be too close together, both in September, right? Or would that be really cool for them? I don't know, I guess that means we are waiting until January to try. And then of course I am neurotic about the possible new baby's birthday after reading the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and I really want another baby only to be born in September, October, November or December, maybe January to make it easier on them in sports and going to school. It really shouldn't be this hard but what can I say, I am an overthinker.

(This posting was not an endorsement for product or payment and I have no relationship with any company mentioned)

O Stinky Tree, O Stinky Tree, How toxic are your branches?

2009-11-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

Well I broke down and ordered an artificial Christmas Tree against the advice of that little voice in my head saying "what about PVC and lead and all that, this isn't healthy, is it?" They are so pretty now with the realistic molded tips and you save money in the long run, they last longer and are flame retardant. Oh and look, it is $50 off if I buy it online. These are the reasons I came up with to talk myself into this plan. The tree arrived and yesterday and we were excited to start setting it up.

My husband opened the box and came into the living room and asked if I could see if the tree "smelled funny" so I went to the garage and checked it out. I thought it smelled a little like some familiar smell, almost like when you get new electronics for Christmas as a kid but it wasn't bad. We brought the tree in and put it together and that was when we really started to smell it. I finally recognized the smell. It was the carpet glue smell from elementary school when they glued down carpet when I was a kid and more recently at my workplace a few years back. It was so strong. We put the tree into my office at home to "air out" but by morning today the room reeked. We put it into the garage and when I got home it still smelled. I know PVC trees "off-gas" but this was downright toxic. It made me feel sick and made me feel even more sick at the thought of the Little Man breathing this into his sensitive baby lungs.

I started researching artificial trees on the internet and found the information that I dreaded: these trees often contain lead and of course PVC which contains endocrine disrupting phthalates. On our tree it seemed more like a paint smell but I thought, I don't really know what lead smells like. Either way it is too creepy for me. There is a big debate and a lot of the sites I found state that lead is no longer used in PVC to make it malleable but I know this smell is not safe. I printed the receipt to take it back to the store right away.

Here is a helpful link on preventing lead exposure in children from the National Institutes of Health and it does mention that after many years the old PVC starts to break down and releases lead dust which gets all over the house and you breathe it in and your kids and pets crawl through it and probably ingest it as well.

So, that settled it. No more fake trees for us. We are going to go ahead and get a real tree and just not put many lights on it or maybe only a few LED lights to help reduce the risk of a fire. Why can't Christmas Trees just be easy, safe and environmentally sound? Being a parent and trying to celebrate responsibly really makes Christmas a lot more work.

(Christmas tree photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Christmas_Tree.JPG)

Preggies and Veggies

2009-11-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

I guess it shouldn't really surprise me that the results of a study recently published in Pediatric Diabetes found that pregnant women who rarely ate vegetables while pregnant had twice the risk of their babies having Type 1 Diabetes when they were older but I am not totally convinced. The study was performed by Swedish researchers and I wonder if they have the same level of highly processed, highly refined carbohydrates in their country's general population's diet as we have in the United States. Either way it is just another reminder that if you are pregnant it would be wise to eat lots of vegetables to help keep your baby healthy at birth and as a child. You can read more about this study at the National Institutes of Health's site Medline Plus here.

Mammary Masterpieces

2009-11-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

My husband takes lots of art history courses and every once in a while he comes across a classic painting of a mother nursing a child. This is the first installment of what I plan to be a recurring posting of these "Mammary Masterpieces."

The first one is by Pierre Auguste-Renoir and is a painting of his son (Pierre) and the mother of his son (Aline Charigot) who he later married in 1990. The really interesting aspect to this piece to me is that Renoir redid this piece many times with an almost identical central portion of the mother and child just in different backgrounds and in various stages of completion. A few of my favorites even have a little kitty down in the right corner. The title of this piece is L'Enfant au sein (Maternité) and is from 1886 from what I can find. An earlier similar piece is from 1885 which was the first one of the series that my Husband showed me and was titled "Maternite, ou femme allaitant son enfant." I found the information about Renoir in "Modernity and Modernism French Painting in the Nineteenth Century" 1993, Yale University Press, page 269 and found the image at Wikipedia commons here.

Mommy mentality

2009-11-07T12:24:00.000-08:00

I was thinking today how funny it is that I think a little differently now as a Mom and there are some silly changes I have made because of it. My big example is that I feel like I can never leave the house wearing racy undies ever again because what if I got into a terrible car accident and at the hospital they saw. I can just see them shaking their heads in the operating room saying "Tsk tsk tsk, this Mommy was too trampy. We thought she was a sweet little Mommy but boy were we wrong." I just couldn't handle it.

Watch Out for Oogie Boogies

2009-11-01T16:56:00.001-08:00

We woke up so excited on Halloween morning to spend the day leisurely getting ready for trick or treat time. At around noon we decided we should trim our front yard tree to make the path clear for the little kiddos. All three of us (me, the Little Man, and the Papa) went into the garage to go to the front yard. We pressed the button to open the garage door and the Papa noticed some stuff dripping from the door onto the tops of the cars. He looked down right outside the garage and saw them ... the eggshells. We had been egged. We quickly closed the garage door to minimize the drips and the Papa cleaned off the cars. We decided to go through the front door of the house to see the damage. As soon as we opened the door we saw that the ooey gooey mess was on the front door too! The total came to three eggs so it could have been worse but was pretty gross as it was. One over the garage, one on the garage door and one on our front door, all over some of our Halloween decorations which we had to toss. It was still a little drippy but had solidified. I was so furious. I know this happens all the time but we thought our neighborhood was pretty quiet.

Long story short we spent a few hours trying different magic potions to get the egg off. Finally, vinegar and baking soda with a scouring pad is what worked. You just spray the vinegar on the egg, put the baking soda onto the scrubber and start scrubbing and keep spraying. If you can let it soak a bit that really helps too. Think about how long it takes to clean scrambled egg out of a frying pan and you will get the idea. Then use a final rinse with water. Of course on the stucco you have to use a brush of some kind and try to spare the paint but we will probably have to touch it up eventually. Also, remember eggs carry Salmonella so try to be careful with your cleaning and wash up well after. We sprayed the Clorox Anywhere spray all over the front walk when we were done so no Trick or Treaters tracked egg or Salmonella home.

Anyway, about 3pm we started getting ready for the big night. The Little Man was the Incredible Hulk, although he refused to wear the Hulk hair. The Papa was Spiderman and I was Mary Jane. We left around 5:30pm and got back around 7pm because our little Hulk was having such a great time. We kept him in the stroller but by the time he figured out the goal of this wild night he would bounce up and down and try to stand up in anticipation of the next house. I thought some of the really creepy houses with smoke and music would scare him but he seemed to love it. He finished the night with his first bite of a Kit Kat and helped us hand out some candy to the late trick or treaters at our house, which he thought was fun too. It was such a rush getting to feel like a kid again and it really brought back Halloween memories. We were just glad the tricksters didn't hit us again Halloween night and that we still had plenty of treats.

Web Comic: Sentimental for poop?

2009-10-22T18:38:00.001-07:00

This is the first installment in the Mommy Molecules web comic strip that I will be posting. My husband is the artist and we worked on the writing and ideas together. I am hoping to have one posted every couple of weeks at the latest but it depends on his schedule right now. I hope you like it!

Pumpkins and PJs

2009-10-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

I really should be going to bed right now. It is 10:18 and the little man fell asleep by 9:30pm tonight but here I am writing while I am holding him and his Papa fell asleep on the floor of the office waiting for me while studying for his class. I just wanted to post a couple of pictures from our trip to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend. They don't really show our faces because I am still pretty nervous about posting our info/photos online but I am feeling brave tonight, probably due to lack of sleep. Anyway, we had a great time at the farm. The weather was great and there were so many kids and babies and families and even a lot of ladies expecting. The Little Man had such a fun time and fell right asleep when we got into the car to leave. He figured out the goal pretty quickly that we were hunting for good big orange things in the field and was determined to hike over the crops himself some, even though the rows were taller than he is in some parts. He was really interested in the hay that was everywhere and wanted to touch all the pumpkins. It was a great time and I would recommend this annual tradition to everyone. Ok, time to sign off. The Papa is snoring now and might wake up the Little Man.

(Just a friendly reminder these photos are ours, please do not use them without asking permission first. Thank you and it would of course be a great compliment if anyone really ever wanted to!)

Fun CDs for Kids

2009-10-09T22:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of great CDs we have been listening to with the Little Man are the Beach Boys Greatest Hits and Ziggy Marley's Family Time. He really gets a kick out of running around and "dancing" to them. His dancing is really just fast stomping but he gets his point across and has so much fun doing it. Yesterday we were at a little restaurant for breakfast and an old Cranberries song came on and the Little Man actually started tapping one foot sort of to the beat. It was the first time he had done that. It just amazes me what little things they come up with.

Cake

2009-09-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought making a baby's first birthday cake would be so hard. The Little Man is allergic to either milk or eggs, or both, we are not quite sure which, so I am trying to make a cake without using these ingredients. The first one I made tonight turned out like sweet mushy cornbread. At least I still have a few days and at least he is getting a separate cake from the party cake for the rest of the guests! I want him to enjoy it but not at the sake of breaking out in hives on his special day.

The good thing is that it will be pretty. We bought some really fun and colorful Sponge Bob cake decoration toppers so maybe no one will notice if the cake is not perfect.

I know I am putting way too much energy into this party but I don't know where to stop. I suppose this first party can be a good experiment so that we will get it right for the birthdays he will actually remember in the future.

Dancing and downtime

2009-09-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

This last week or so has been pretty rough. The Little Man got his first cold, Roseola and Hand/Foot/Mouth all in one week and guess what ... I did too! Just when we thought the cold was going away I noticed this funny zit on the back of his leg, just, it wasn't a zit, it was the first little mark for the illness. All in all it wasn't too bad, a couple nights of fever and then lots of little red marks. I got a sore throat so I imagine he did too since our symptoms seemed to be pretty close. The part I was surprised at was the muscle soreness. None of the books talk about that but we both had it. The Little Man has just wanted to be carried for the past couple of days which is great but he weighs a lot more than when he was actually little.

Even though he has felt crummy this week the Little Man graced us with his first dancing performance. He started it by climbing up onto the new baby gate box and doing kind of a little stomp. We thought it was so cute we made a big deal of it and he figured out that was a crowd pleaser and has been doing it ever since. It is so cute.

Also, I could swear he said 'no' for the first time tonight. He has been babbling up a storm this week and there were a few times when the sounds actually seemed pretty close to real words but that was the first one that really seemed right on.

I don't have much deep insight for tonight, just glad that he fell asleep before 11PM for the first time since he has been sick, glad he and I are feeling a lot better, glad that I had the illness too so I could be more sympathetic to what he was feeling, and glad it is time for bed for me. I am also glad that his Papa didn't get sick so he could wait on us hand and foot. Which is only fair since he brought the cold home to us ...

15 Things I have learned about breastfeeding

2009-08-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

1. In the beginning your newborn may very well want to nurse all the time, yes, I mean all the time, or at least for multiple hour stretches. This is really ok. It doesn't mean anything is wrong. Some people will say you are being the "human pacifier" but remember your baby wants to be near you and just got evicted from their nice 24hr /day mommy condo. Plus, in a few months you will long for these days, especially when your baby is on the move and you just want an hour to veg in front of the tv.

2. Take warm baths, they really do help more than showers for preventing and clearing up clogged ducts/engorgement. Plus, it is a nice excuse to pamper yourself, you will feel a lot better.

3. Use the lanolin every day, even if you are not having trouble it just helps to keep everything moving. I really like Medela's brand because it has some extra emulsifiers but any kind will do.

4. If you are pumping, get a few sets of the parts. That really helps to save you time, especially if you pump at work. This way you don't have to sterilize until you get home.

5. On the subject of parts, get a few different sizes of breastshields, don't be modest, go ahead and get a couple of the larger ones. It will really help if you are having engorgement. You will change sizes throughout the day depending on volume. Too small breastshields over time will just lead to clogged ducts which are really annoying.

6. Don't pay any attention to those rude people who keep asking "are you sure the baby is eating enough?" They will probably include your mother, mother-in-law, sister and best girlfriend but yes, the baby is getting enough as long as they are putting on the right amount of weight and filling their diaper sufficiently. You are doing great, babies just like to nurse from their mommies, and around 3-6pm babies are just unsettled.

7. Nursing in public is not as hard as I thought. A good cover like Bebe au Lait or a sling and just a little bit of bravery is enough to get you back into a restaurant, grocery store or Target. I have nursed the Little Man walking through the store, eating at restaurants and even while we signed the papers to buy a car. Most of the time no one even notices and when they do it is usually a positive response that you will receive, if anything.

8. On pumping, sometimes squeezing helps, it is really ok.

9. Putting on makeup while doing morning pumping really saves lots of time, I mean hours for me some days because it is free time when the baby is fully taken care of or sleeping and you can focus.

1o. Don't give up. Even when things are rough you will usually be able to get through anything. It may mean a few extra late night pumping sessions or taking a day off work here or there but you can be a working, pumping Mama.

11. If you pump at work, even if the door locks, just go ahead and put a baby proof knob on the outside of the door as a gentle deterrent. I was almost walked in on even with all my signs on the door. It is an easy solution.

12. Breastfeeding is such a special time for you and your baby. Yes you can multitask during it but it is nice to reserve at least one session a day just for the two of you. Also, some of the best naps you will ever get are during a nursing session.

13. If you are going to work after your baby is born, stock up on pumped milk as soon as you can after the baby is born. It will really come in handy later on and let you have some pump-free days.

14. I should have brought the Boppy to the hospital with me. Thank goodness I had it for home, it made all the difference and allowed me to nurse while eating, working on the computer and napping in a chair (even though this is not really approved, it worked for me). The one thing, I wish it had a handle so you could carry it one handed easier through the house.

15. Don't feel pressured to stop breastfeeding early, in Mongolia some people breastfeed until the kids are 9 years old so you probably will not go to that extreme. There is a great article about this in the Mothering magazine from August 2009 I believe.

Jury Duty

2009-08-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

So 15 minutes late thanks to my life and a full parking structure I finally arrived to perform my civic duty of Jury Duty on Tuesday. Of course I was nervous putting the breast pump through the x-ray machine and so I forgot to empty my pockets and ended up setting of the metal detector first thing. When I got to the jury assembly room there were a million people already there. Ok, maybe more like 300 but still that was more than I was expecting. I had to check in and let them know I would need a room for pumping and they seemed fine with it like it was just another day. Luckily it was 9:15am and I wasn't due until 11:15am.

To my great surprise I got selected to go up to a trial. We had to wait in this tiny hallway that was only about four people wide and filled with about 50 people. Our bailiff was nothing like you see on the court TV shows. He was a silly Englishman in black glasses and a nice shirt and tie. He was a real comedian but I guess that helps when you have to handle such a variety of people everyday. He seemed more like a lawyer wannabe than a cop but I was glad he was my bailiff, which is a funny thing to say. I had to let him know about my pumping situation and he was a little surprised but very accommodating. He took us into the courtroom and the defendant was staring at all of us on the prospective jury as we walked into the room. Our names were called one by one for us to take our seats and I ended up having to sit right behind the defendant! Needless to say he was more than a little creepy with lots of tattoos around his eyes and just an unsettling nature about him. Anyway, the judge started the trial and then called me and counsel up to the front. He said "I understand you are a nursing mother?" as I put my hands up onto the bench and then realized, Oh, I probably shouldn't be touching this, and I said "Yes." He excused me from the trial but said he couldn't excuse me for the day so I had to go back down to the jury assembly room where the ladies behind the desk just asked for my badge and let me go after I explained why I was back. Phew. I wonder what the defendant thought for my hasty exit but I hope I never find out. What a stressful time but, I got the rest of the day to go home and spend with the Little Man and the Papa. Done with my duty at least for a year.

Jury Duty

2009-08-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I have avoided it my whole life but I finally have to go to jury duty tomorrow. I am still pumping so they say they have a room for nursing mamas to pump so we will see. At least it is not until 9am. I will be really surprised if anyone wants to select me as a juror with the 45 min breaks I will have to take every 3 hours. I am also hoping there is not too much grief getting through security with the pump. I have a Medela pump in style (silly name) so at least it is less conspicuous. Oh well, wish me luck!

Here Kitty Kitty

2009-08-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

One of the Little Man's favorite activities these days is to chase our cats. As soon as one of them comes into his view he gets this huge smile and then as he walks or runs towards them he just bursts into the most adorable laughter.

Our male cat has figured out that he can lure the Little Man after him and then just as the baby is about to pounce on the cat, the cat darts out of the way and mysteriously has placed the baby right near hard objects (like bookshelves, etc) so that when he leans in for the grab he would fall against whatever he is near. Luckily we are always there to intervene but the cat is really showing his cleverness and maybe a little bit of his attitude about the baby.

To get back at the cat we noticed that when this cat lays right on the outside edge of the Little Man's play area gate sleeping, the Little Man reaches his little fingers through the gate openings and pulls clumps of the cat's hair through, without the cat realizing a thing.

Ahhh, I am sure this is just the beginning of the cat vs baby antics.

Posture

2009-08-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

I just noticed tonight how the Little Man walks with his shoulders pulled back, his chest puffed out and his arms up like he is ready to do the "Chicken polka" or something. He has great posture. I wonder if I tried walking like that for awhile if my posture would get better ...

Stressful birthdays?

2009-08-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

So we are in the midst of planning the Little Man's first birthday parties. Yes, that is right, parties, plural. He is having one party with friends in the city where we live, a private just family party at our house and a party in our hometown with those family and friends. I am really trying to make it low key and just fun but if feels so easy for it to get complicated and overblown. What to serve, what kind of cake, where to find a low sugar cake recipe, who to invite, when it should be... Wow is it more than I planned for. We finally decided that the one in our city will be at a small local kiddie gym where they setup everything for you and organize all the activities etc., at least that party should be less stress. The Little Man has been having some major stranger anxiety when anyone other than me or his Papa tries to hold him so we are just hoping he doesn't cry too badly at his guests and everyone gives him space. So much stress for the little guy. The hometown party is going to be at a nice local park that also has a water play area with these statues that squirt water at the kids. He loves the park and loves water fun so it should be a good time no matter how it turns out, as long as it doesn't rain.

I have decided I need to just make some decisions and stick with them and realize that it won't be perfect no matter what but as long as the Little Man has a good time it will be just right for him.

No Shoes No Service?

2009-08-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

I just ran across this news story about a manager of a Burger King asking a mother, grandmother and 6mo old baby to leave because the baby was not wearing shoes. There is a lot of controversy over this and I have to say I don't think they should have been asked to leave at all, the baby's feet at that point are no different than hands really because they probably don't walk yet, unless they are just amazing.

Anyway, since our Little Man is walking now I have worried about people's opinions in public on whether he should wear shoes or not. Walking outside I do think he should wear shoes and although I would love for him to wear shoes inside to keep his feet clean, the shoes really hinder his walking and make it more dangerous for him. We bought him the Bobux iWalk shoes and tried them out last week inside the house. He could still walk but was very very wobbly compared to barefoot. Outside in those shoes he just stands in one place or squats so I think he is not really ready for the harder soled shoes. Tonight we bought a pair of the really soft soled Bobux shoes so we will see if those are better. I do have to admit to letting him walk around barefooted on the carpet of our eyeglass doctor's store last week. He had such a great time and carpet there is not really much different from that at home, I just washed his feet off in the car before we left. Oh well. To each their own I guess. Can you imagine what that manager would have done if the mommy at Burger King had been breastfeeding openly ;) It probably would have blown his mind.

Two funny things that happened today

2009-08-05T22:15:00.001-07:00

Today during breakfast the Little Man started sneezing repeatedly and then what I thought was a little baby booger flew out but when I was cleaning it up I realized it was a little piece of toast! Very crazy, The Papa confirmed it came out of his nose and I'm not crazy. It was pretty funny. The little man seemed unfazed.

Now that the Little Man is walking we have to be so much more careful watching him but he always finds ways to surprise me. Tonight while we were getting his bath ready, the Little Man was playing near the toilet paper dispenser and figured out how to get past our blockade around the toilet (very advance setup with diaper bin and small trash can) and get behind the toilet. I try not to let him touch it just for cleanliness sake but he was faster than me. Anyway, when I was just about to grab him from the side of the toilet he did something I just never would have thought about him doing ... he licked it!!!! I grabbed him quickly so hopefully it was less than a second or two but I was pretty mortified. I wiped off his tongue with a wash cloth but he just thought it was great fun. He seems to get a little charge out of any time I take something away from him that he knows he is not supposed to have or starts walking/running away from me when he knows he is not supposed to. He just gives me that grin and sometimes a little giggle. It is just too cute for words but we are really in for it with this guy.

Mom's Rules

2009-08-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

I was talking with a coworker today about all of the crazy things that can happen in this world and we came up with these "Mom's Rules" for our kids to follow:

1. Be happy and live a long healthy life.
2. If you get married, be madly in love and live a long wonderful life together.
3. If you have kids, your kids must be healthy and happy too, forever, no exceptions.
4. Repeat rule #3 for your Grandkids.
5. Don't mess around with drugs or any other bad stuff that could hurt you or those you love.
6. Nothing bad is allowed to happen to you, your kids, or Grandkids, ever, do you hear me!
7. Follow these rules your whole life, or at least until I am too senile to know any different, or dead.

Love, Mom

Good thing bad thing

2009-08-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

One scary thing:
Mommy bloggers, watch out for people posting your pictures for other uses. Check out this news story regarding a Craig's list posting where a mother finds own baby's photo on Craiglist in an adoption scam through another country: http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/08/02/Mother-finds-own-babys-photo/1249263747.html

One cool thing:
I sure wish they had a place like this in my town. This is a little cafe with a great play area for pre-crawlers and toddlers called Sadiedey's Cafe: http://www.sadiedeyscafe.com/

Sleepsaver

2009-08-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

This week we realized the little man was teething on his upper teeth. We thought it was just the two middle teeth but looked closer tonight and saw that all four middle top teeth are coming in at the same time. This would explain why the little man is a lot more cranky this week and doing a lot more tantrums than we would expect so young. His tantrums are pretty cute consisting of just laying as flat as possible with a scrunched up face and some whining but the more tired he gets the worse the tantrums are and I just feel so bad for him. Anyway, with this tough week he has been extra needy for me and puts up such a fight to go to anyone else, even the Papa or even to be put on the ground to walk around. Our sleepsaver has been this video my Mom got us called Chicks n Chickens where the moms wear their babies in slings and follow a little dance to a few different songs. It works like a charm to calm the little man down whenever we put the video on and more often than not helps him to fall asleep. If I need to hand my son off to his Papa and he is having a tantrum time, the Papa puts the video on and it settles our son right down. I love all the extra attention the little man is wanting but will be glad when he is feeling better and his teeth have settled. The new teeth are going to be pretty cute.

Why can't all cows be happy?

2009-07-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

I think the hardest part about writing for this blog is going to be deciding what to write about. Everyday I have so many thoughts but by the time I sit down to write they have all gone somewhere else or I have lost some confidence with the sleepiness of nighttime sinking in.

Well, here goes. Today I was pumping at work, something I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to do twice a day for about 1/2 an hour each time, and ironically during the session I was reading an article in the latest Vegetarian Times magazine about cows getting milked for cheese and milk in the dairy industry. I am not a vegetarian but don't eat too much meat. These magazines have some great articles and recipes on food and health. Anyway, the article was talking about these poor cows that get impregnated and then their calves are taken away from them so that the mama cows can be used for their milk and sometimes they even get mastitis, just like human moms. On another day or at another time of day I might not have felt the same twinge of sympathy for these cows but at that moment, when I myself was hooked up to a contraption for extracting milk and managing slightly clogged ducts as happen every so often, I thought about how sad it must be for those poor cows to do that all day long without the payoff of their time and trial providing nutrients for their babies or helping them to bond with their little calves. I have never felt so guilty for eating cheese or drinking milk in my life. I always thought, well, if I don't eat as much meat I am probably helping some cow somewhere not to be slaughtered so I will just add a little extra cheese to make up for it. You know, now I will just never look at a glass of milk or piece of cheese quite the same way. I am still going to eat and drink dairy products but each time I will mentally thank those mama cows for sharing that gift with me that was really intended by nature for their little ones.

On a positive note, the article did say that buying organic dairy products and dairy products that state no antibiotics or hormones were used on the cows can help to ensure the cows lived a better life during the whole process. Some farms also allow the cows to have some pasture time. It also makes me think about those commercials about California having "happy cows" and how I just really hope most of the cows out there in the dairy industry are somewhat happy.

It is funny how becoming a mom can bring out sympathy in different places. Maybe I should cut back on reading during pumping time ...

(Cow pictures taken by me on a trip to Texas in 2007 during which I was oddly conflicted about eating beef).

Sweet time

2009-07-29T22:06:00.000-07:00

So it is that sweet time of night when the little man is sleeping on my lap resting on the Boppy and is so asleep he doesn't wake up at anything. It is also the time of night when I really should be taking advantage of the baby being asleep so I can sleep myself but this is usually one of the only times I have to make my internet rounds. At least the new blog will be a little more productive than harvesting crops on FarmTown in Facebook. As a new Mom I really get a boost from my one guilty pleasure, checking in on the internet. I am planning to try to put up a new post once every day or so and should have some illustrations and photos once I get going.

The little man just took a big sweet baby breath. I love each day that he changes and grows but these times are the ones I am really going to miss in 20 years.