Well, we made it almost the whole winter without much in the way of illness and then February became runny nose month. Nothing too major, but then we attended (within 8 days):
*A one year old birthday party with around 40 guests
*A two year old birthday at Chuck E Cheese (sigh.....I am really trying not to judge, but for a 2 YEAR OLD???)
(Did I mention both of these were on the SAME DAY?!)
*A babysitting night at church (our youth group was in charge of it) with 10 other kids
*3 play dates
*ANOTHER party for a 2 year old with around 25 guests
It's no wonder the sniffles turned into a hacking cough, fever and major congestion. Really, she's fine, but we are going through a LOT of burp-cloth-turned-nose-wipers at our house right now. And, I will take it, because it's making her tired enough that bed time has become MUCH easier!! (knock on wood, I probably just jinxed myself) She has been going down within 20 minutes and with hardly any fuss or complaining and at the reasonable hour of between 8 and 9, rather than 11:30. And sleeping until 8 or 9. THANK GOODNESS)
The parties were all fun. They are all good friends or family. It is crazy that these kids are already another year old, because it means that my child is quickly approaching 2 and another party is in store. (this year's will be smaller than last year because in Nelson's family, only the 1st one is the BIG one) I'm thinking something VERY low scale, because (1) she's only 2 and won't remember it (2) I don't want to stress out over it and (3) We are on a budget right now, while saving for a down payment.
I know there are parents out there who will think I'm a b**** for saying this, but I am NOT doing the Chuck E Cheese thing. I am not going there again with my child for a LONG time. That. place. is. HORRIBLE. Everything about it. The crazy activities, the flashing lights, the shows, the food, the crowds of people, the greed over tickets, the greed over tokens, the greed over cheap, crappy prizes, the wild kids, the parents not controlling their wild kids....it is all just too much. Yes, Kalaya had a fun time, but she was so overstimulated and so overwhelmed. Nelson and I agreed that we will do ONE, just ONE party each for our children there and only if we can't talk them out of it. And, not until they're 7 or older. There are just so many better ways to spend time with family and friends to celebrate a birthday!
Speaking of our down payment, this process is actually moving forward!! We have submitted out loan application and it looks like we are going to qualify for the FHA loan for enough to buy our first house! We are SO excited, because we only have to put 3% down and it's definitely a realistic goal by May or June. We've met with our Mortgage banker several times and it turns out we have FANTASTIC credit (who knew???) so we should get approved no problem. The down payment it very reasonable and realistic as well. We have contacted and started meeting with a realtor and are actually starting to see this happening!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Toddler Nursing Intro
I plan to post a LONG blog about this soon; for now, read this article, they took the words right out of my mouth!! (the toddler nursing on his head is SO TRUE!! I was so glad to see it's not just mine!!)
5 Toddler Breastfeeding Myths That Drive Me Insane!
Posted by Christie Haskell on February 18, 2011 at 2:29 PM
Despite the fact that the World Health Organization, multiple Surgeon Generals, UNICEF, La Leche League, and just about any doctor worth their salt recommends breastfeeding at least until the age of 2 and beyond, many people find it strange when a mom is breastfeeding a toddler.
In an effort to lessen the weirdness of it for some people, I took a look at some of the more popular myths about breastfeeding toddlers. I'll debunk those myths, explaining the reality, in hopes of clearing up confusion and stopping the spread of misinformation.
Myth #1. "There's no benefit to nursing after 1."
As a lovely friend of mine once put it, this is like claiming that spinach loses nutritional benefit once you're, say, 15 years old. Something that is healthy and nutrient-rich never stops being good for you.
In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breast milk provides:
- 29% of energy requirements
- 43% of protein requirements
- 36% of calcium requirements
- 75% of vitamin A requirements
- 76% of folate requirements
- 94% of vitamin B12 requirements
- 60% of vitamin C requirements
-- Dewey 2001
We know that the majority of brain growth is done in the first three years of life, and that fat is one of the things that the brain needs to grow. Human milk fat is the thing the baby's body is designed to use best, so it's the optimum food for brain growth in the formative years. Considering there are toddler formulas shows that even the formula market knows that toddlers still need that extra composition of milk fats and other vitamins and minerals past the first birthday (and toddler formulas are designed to go from 12 months to 36 -- until that third birthday).
Myth #2. "You should stop breastfeeding when the kid can ask for it."
This one is just silly. Parents think babies babbling "baba" is asking for a bottle and eventually do train the child to say that as a request for a bottle, but nothing is seen as wrong with that. Many children who are taught basic sign language start signing "milk" or "nurse" around 8 months old -- obviously too early to wean. And of course, this is just plain illogical -- if your child asked for broccoli, would you tell them they were cut off? They learn to ask because it's a common part of their day. Punishing them by cutting off the thing they've learned to ask for makes no sense in any logical universe.
Myth #3. "Nursing past X months/years is just for mom's personal enjoyment."
Oh yes, moms of toddlers just force them to the breast, pry open their mouths, and say, "NURSE! Please, kick me in the face! Try to stand on your head! Pull my hair and try to dance! It's so much fun!" Okay, I'm being insanely sarcastic here. Toddlers, frankly, can be a major pain in the ass to nurse. They don't want to stay still, they get easily distracted, and they run off a mere minute after screaming to nurse. They like to pick on mom the whole time by seeing what "Nursing Acrobatics" they can accomplish because they don't like being still. Nursing a toddler is something moms do for themselves, sure. Because it reduces mom's risk of cancers, and also is better than Pedialyte when the kiddo is sick. And, yes, the bonding and cuddles are sweet and unbeatable, but moms are nursing toddlers mainly for the same reasons they nursed them months sooner -- they're still biologically designed to be breastfed and it's healthiest for them as well.
Myth #4. "You cut out bottles and formula at 1, so breastfeeding needs to go too."
You know how I said toddler formulas existed with the recommendation being to use until the third birthday? Yeah. That's because it's not the formula or milk-nutrition you're weaning a child from at their first birthday -- it's the bottle. Bottles function completely differently in the human mouth than a flesh nipple. While mom's nipples actually work to develop the child's mouth, tongue, and jaw in a beneficial way, an artificial nipple actually requires sucking done in a different way that is actually damaging to the palate, teeth, and mouth formation in general. You're weaning from the silicone nipple -- not the liquid that's in it.
Myth #5. "They need solids/there's no need for breast milk when they eat real food."
Do you drink a glass of water with your dinner? Breastfeeding toddlers eat "real" food too, and nurse the same way formula-fed babies eat food and get a bottle. Over the second year, the ratio of solids to breast milk start shifting away from breast milk. It's intended to be a process, not a sudden event.
What do you think of nursing a toddler? What's the weirdest myth you've ever heard?
21 Months
How am I ever going to remember to keep up blogs about 2 kids some day when I can't even get around to one?? (no, I'm not pregnant or trying, just thinking about my mom friends with multiple kids who manage to post every day!!)
Anyway, 21 months is a fun, fun age. Kalaya's language skills are beyond description. You really have to hang out with her to get the full effect. And, it has to be once she is comfortable. She is so much like her daddy in that way. At home, she has a running dialogue from morning until night. She talks to mommy, daddy, the doggies, her bear, her babies, the chairs, her kitchen, the bath tub, you name it!! She babbles and sings in the car, the stroller, the high chair, the play room and the pack and play. Her memory astounds me and it is so amazing to see her become this wonderful, adorable person, so curious and fascinated by the world around her. She loves so many things and gets so excited about so much!
Some favorites right now are pretending to cook, shopping with her shopping cart, taking care of babies, feeding babies in the Bumbo, eating crackers, cheese, apple sauce, oatmeal, broccoli or yogurt (and a lot more), taking baths and showers, reading, especially any book that contains, Elmo, Abby or bunnies, running around aimlessly, chasing the doggies, dragging the doggies leashes around, going for walks, going to the park, bubbles, coloring with crayons and on her magna doodle thingy, taking things out of the pantry, drinking milk, throwing tennis balls and toys for the doggies, playing with flashlights, chasing the doggies around with towels and blankets to make them go 'night night', putting babies, bears, any toys night night, looking at pictures of family and friends, saying night night to family members and friends, looking for birds, quack quacks, cats and doggies, singing about her tummy, tummy, tummy, reading books about and singing the ABCs, taking pictures, her Elmo slippers and Elmo washcloth, begging to go 'ouside', playing horsie with Daddy, looking at and smelling 'pitty fwowers' (flowers), riding in the car, going to church (which means we get to church and she exclaims TOYS! to go into the nursery), demanding music from the computer or Daddy's phone, sneaking off and figuring out how to call people on Mommy and Daddy's phones, sitting on the potty and immediately demanding a 'book', playdates with Elena, looking at the photo Christmas cards we will have to keep up until next December so we can talk about Connor, Chloe, Allie and Elena, wearing her 'anta' hat around and saying 'ho ho ho', taking every puzzle piece and small toy in the house and carrying them around in her pumpkin trick or treat bucket, looking at picture of herself and saying 'kalaya pitty', pillows, blankets, wearing lots of necklaces and bracelets, wearing 'pitty' tutus, washing her hands, talking to her cousin on Skype, helping mommy by closing the dryer, pushing to buttons on the dryer, dishwasher, and garage door, putting her dishes away from the dishwasher, taking clean dishes out of drawers and cupboards to put in the dishwasher and all over the house, and more things I can't think of off the top of my head. She's a busy girl!
Things we do not like right now: having time outs, not being able to go outside, eating a meal (we have to call it a 'nack' most days and then she'll eat no problem), and bed time.
:::sigh::: Bed time has become a real issue in our house. Nap time isn't a problem, as far as going to sleep, but, well, I guess I should look back a bit.
Kalaya has never been able to fall asleep on her own, other than in the car. We took the advice of many people and tried putting her down early, before she was exhausted and without soothing. That didn't work. At all stages of life, she'd either immediately scream (including in the hospital, as a newborn, ALWAYS), or lay and babble to herself until she got over tired on her own and then would then proceed to freak out. Even if she was nursed or rocked completely to sleep, she'd wake up much sooner than any other baby we knew.
Around one year old, she started sleeping through the night. Before that, went to sleep on her own (starting around 9 months. before that, she was nursed to sleep), by laying down with mommy or daddy. She'd wake once or twice at night to nurse and then go right back to sleep. At a year, she slept with Nelson only for a couple of nights to learn not to wake up to nurse, which she did so easily and without much complaint. She nurses now only before 9pm or after 6 am, unless she is sick. This has gone really well for months and then has changed in the last couple of weeks. Once she's asleep, she sleeps great, usually for about 10 straight hours, wakes up to nurse briefly and then for another 2-3 hours. She then takes a nap in the afternoon, usually 1-1 1/2 hours, which she goes down for in the pack n play on her own, with no soothing from anyone. She sometimes fusses for less than 5 minutes, usually talks to herself for a little bit and then goes to sleep on her own.
The problem is getting her to sleep at night.
She used to lay quietly for only 10-20 minutes next to one of us and drift quietly off to sleep. She'd then sleep through the night, as described above. She would go down around 8:30 or so, sleep until 6 (when Nelson gets up), nurse, and sleep until 8:30 or 9, often even later.
Now, on many nights, (though not all) bed time is a screaming battle. If one of us lays in there with her, she either talks and babbles to us or we have to pin her down screaming. If we leave her alone in the pack n play, she screams for 2-3 hours. She FORCES herself to stay awake. She bites her fingers, stares into the night light, keeps herself on her back (she really tends to only fall asleep on her tummy), makes herself keep sitting up or rolling over. We've tried the cry it out and yes, she falls asleep. For maybe 30 minutes. And, that's after 2 hours of crying. Then she cries for another hour. Night after night after night. She has been finally going to sleep around 11pm. Yes, she sleeps until late the next day, but she's so off. I've tried forcing her to get up earlier, but that's a disaster too. Then, she needs a morning nap and is still cranky the rest of the day.
The other detail that has to do with this is nap time. She still needs a nap. Every afternoon, she is definitely fussy and tired. Some days, nap time and bed time are no problem. We can't figure it out. Some afternoon, she takes an hour nap and then goes to bed without a hitch. But, some days, it's like she doesn't get tired until 4:30 or 5 and then it's too late for a nap. Yes, we've tried (eek!) assuming that she's outgrowing naps and just kept her up, but then she falls asleep in the early evening (usually in the high chair), we put her to bed and then she wakes up an hour or so later, wide awake, thinking she's had a nap and is ready to play and not tired in the least. We've tried keeping her up a little later, with no nap, which yes, means she goes to bed fine, but it is a miserable last couple of hours, because she's so tired. She has never been a kid that 'catching her before she's exhausted' works. I've seen those babies who just fall asleep while playing, go to sleep on their own after babbling, etc. She's only like that for nap time. NEVER for bedtime. The only way is in the car and we can't afford the gas to do that every night. : /
I know it will get better. It's just a phase. It always is. It's just making us dread every evening and question every nap. I know we'll get back to normal. IT'S JUST A PHASE. (I'm trying to convince myself)
Did I mention that in the middle of all this we're pretty sure those 2 year molars are trying to push their way through AND that she has a cough and stuffy nose?? Sigh again....
Other than that, she is a joy and a pleasant toddler. I (still!) love being a stay at home mom and being a part of each and every day of her life!
Anyway, 21 months is a fun, fun age. Kalaya's language skills are beyond description. You really have to hang out with her to get the full effect. And, it has to be once she is comfortable. She is so much like her daddy in that way. At home, she has a running dialogue from morning until night. She talks to mommy, daddy, the doggies, her bear, her babies, the chairs, her kitchen, the bath tub, you name it!! She babbles and sings in the car, the stroller, the high chair, the play room and the pack and play. Her memory astounds me and it is so amazing to see her become this wonderful, adorable person, so curious and fascinated by the world around her. She loves so many things and gets so excited about so much!
Some favorites right now are pretending to cook, shopping with her shopping cart, taking care of babies, feeding babies in the Bumbo, eating crackers, cheese, apple sauce, oatmeal, broccoli or yogurt (and a lot more), taking baths and showers, reading, especially any book that contains, Elmo, Abby or bunnies, running around aimlessly, chasing the doggies, dragging the doggies leashes around, going for walks, going to the park, bubbles, coloring with crayons and on her magna doodle thingy, taking things out of the pantry, drinking milk, throwing tennis balls and toys for the doggies, playing with flashlights, chasing the doggies around with towels and blankets to make them go 'night night', putting babies, bears, any toys night night, looking at pictures of family and friends, saying night night to family members and friends, looking for birds, quack quacks, cats and doggies, singing about her tummy, tummy, tummy, reading books about and singing the ABCs, taking pictures, her Elmo slippers and Elmo washcloth, begging to go 'ouside', playing horsie with Daddy, looking at and smelling 'pitty fwowers' (flowers), riding in the car, going to church (which means we get to church and she exclaims TOYS! to go into the nursery), demanding music from the computer or Daddy's phone, sneaking off and figuring out how to call people on Mommy and Daddy's phones, sitting on the potty and immediately demanding a 'book', playdates with Elena, looking at the photo Christmas cards we will have to keep up until next December so we can talk about Connor, Chloe, Allie and Elena, wearing her 'anta' hat around and saying 'ho ho ho', taking every puzzle piece and small toy in the house and carrying them around in her pumpkin trick or treat bucket, looking at picture of herself and saying 'kalaya pitty', pillows, blankets, wearing lots of necklaces and bracelets, wearing 'pitty' tutus, washing her hands, talking to her cousin on Skype, helping mommy by closing the dryer, pushing to buttons on the dryer, dishwasher, and garage door, putting her dishes away from the dishwasher, taking clean dishes out of drawers and cupboards to put in the dishwasher and all over the house, and more things I can't think of off the top of my head. She's a busy girl!
Things we do not like right now: having time outs, not being able to go outside, eating a meal (we have to call it a 'nack' most days and then she'll eat no problem), and bed time.
:::sigh::: Bed time has become a real issue in our house. Nap time isn't a problem, as far as going to sleep, but, well, I guess I should look back a bit.
Kalaya has never been able to fall asleep on her own, other than in the car. We took the advice of many people and tried putting her down early, before she was exhausted and without soothing. That didn't work. At all stages of life, she'd either immediately scream (including in the hospital, as a newborn, ALWAYS), or lay and babble to herself until she got over tired on her own and then would then proceed to freak out. Even if she was nursed or rocked completely to sleep, she'd wake up much sooner than any other baby we knew.
Around one year old, she started sleeping through the night. Before that, went to sleep on her own (starting around 9 months. before that, she was nursed to sleep), by laying down with mommy or daddy. She'd wake once or twice at night to nurse and then go right back to sleep. At a year, she slept with Nelson only for a couple of nights to learn not to wake up to nurse, which she did so easily and without much complaint. She nurses now only before 9pm or after 6 am, unless she is sick. This has gone really well for months and then has changed in the last couple of weeks. Once she's asleep, she sleeps great, usually for about 10 straight hours, wakes up to nurse briefly and then for another 2-3 hours. She then takes a nap in the afternoon, usually 1-1 1/2 hours, which she goes down for in the pack n play on her own, with no soothing from anyone. She sometimes fusses for less than 5 minutes, usually talks to herself for a little bit and then goes to sleep on her own.
The problem is getting her to sleep at night.
She used to lay quietly for only 10-20 minutes next to one of us and drift quietly off to sleep. She'd then sleep through the night, as described above. She would go down around 8:30 or so, sleep until 6 (when Nelson gets up), nurse, and sleep until 8:30 or 9, often even later.
Now, on many nights, (though not all) bed time is a screaming battle. If one of us lays in there with her, she either talks and babbles to us or we have to pin her down screaming. If we leave her alone in the pack n play, she screams for 2-3 hours. She FORCES herself to stay awake. She bites her fingers, stares into the night light, keeps herself on her back (she really tends to only fall asleep on her tummy), makes herself keep sitting up or rolling over. We've tried the cry it out and yes, she falls asleep. For maybe 30 minutes. And, that's after 2 hours of crying. Then she cries for another hour. Night after night after night. She has been finally going to sleep around 11pm. Yes, she sleeps until late the next day, but she's so off. I've tried forcing her to get up earlier, but that's a disaster too. Then, she needs a morning nap and is still cranky the rest of the day.
The other detail that has to do with this is nap time. She still needs a nap. Every afternoon, she is definitely fussy and tired. Some days, nap time and bed time are no problem. We can't figure it out. Some afternoon, she takes an hour nap and then goes to bed without a hitch. But, some days, it's like she doesn't get tired until 4:30 or 5 and then it's too late for a nap. Yes, we've tried (eek!) assuming that she's outgrowing naps and just kept her up, but then she falls asleep in the early evening (usually in the high chair), we put her to bed and then she wakes up an hour or so later, wide awake, thinking she's had a nap and is ready to play and not tired in the least. We've tried keeping her up a little later, with no nap, which yes, means she goes to bed fine, but it is a miserable last couple of hours, because she's so tired. She has never been a kid that 'catching her before she's exhausted' works. I've seen those babies who just fall asleep while playing, go to sleep on their own after babbling, etc. She's only like that for nap time. NEVER for bedtime. The only way is in the car and we can't afford the gas to do that every night. : /
I know it will get better. It's just a phase. It always is. It's just making us dread every evening and question every nap. I know we'll get back to normal. IT'S JUST A PHASE. (I'm trying to convince myself)
Did I mention that in the middle of all this we're pretty sure those 2 year molars are trying to push their way through AND that she has a cough and stuffy nose?? Sigh again....
Other than that, she is a joy and a pleasant toddler. I (still!) love being a stay at home mom and being a part of each and every day of her life!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wait, it's February?
I don't even know what happened. January wasn't even that crazy, yet some how I have not been motivated to write on here. Not in a depressed way. Just in a 'I'd rather be doing other thing' kind of way. Let's see what's happened in the last month:
~Our youth group took a fun trip to this place called Skyhigh Trampoline and I discovered I am no longer as young as I once was. Picture several rooms of just trampolines, including slanting up the walls, with dozens of kids running around and narrow platforms between the jumping part. Sheesh, just to read it sounds scary. And dangerous. I should have realized I may have been making a mistake when I had to sign a WAVER. Anyway, instead of hurting myself doing a triple flip or something cool, I managed to roll my ankle while walking across a trampoline and a little kid ran by, making the surface not where I expected it to be. I felt crazy, since hardly anything seemed to have happened, but it HURT to walk on. A trip to Urgent Care later than afternoon revealed a sprained ankle, which was black, blue, purple and swollen within a couple of days. I was given a brace/sleeve thing and crutches. 2 days on crutches and I gave up; they just don't work with a toddler. Neither do pain killers with sleeping drugs. So, limping and Advil have been enough. It still gets sore if I exercise on it too long, but it's fine now. I should have taken a picture of it, it was GROSS.
~Our youth group finished their big project we've been working on. Last Sunday was the first Youth Sunday at our church. They worked really hard to prepare the sermon, an original skit written by my talented and hilarious husband, depicting Jesus on "Episcopal Love Connection" evaluating people for their entrance to Heaven. The youth were also the readers, the greeters, the ushers and assisted and/or chose all of the prayers and music. It was a huge success and the church members loved it!
~Since it is now 2011, holy crap, the planning for my 10 year reunion has begun. HOW HAS IT BEEN TEN YEARS??? At the same time, high school seems light years away. A group of us has started planning. It's a bit daunting, since we have almost 500 in our class, but I think we're off to a good start. It was interesting though. The 20s are a weird age nowadays, people are still partying and living the single life, others have 2 or 3 kids. Not that there's anything wrong with either lifestyle, it's just interesting.
~Nelson is loving his new job and is really happy. He seems to have jumped right in and picked up everything just fine. I'm glad to see him enjoying work for a change!
~We are still living with my parents, which has its challenges, but overall has been fine.
~We have started talking with a mortgage banker about what we are qualified for, in terms of loans for buying a house. It's very exciting! We have started the process of applying and it looks like we will definitely qualify for an FHA loan, which means we will only need 3% down. With interest rates being low and so many people desperate to sell, it's a buyer's market right now, so we're hoping this is a realistic goal for us! We'd like to be in our own home by May or June. We have a realtor in mind and will be contacting her once we know what we're qualified to buy. SO EXCITED ABOUT ALL OF THIS!!
~Our youth group took a fun trip to this place called Skyhigh Trampoline and I discovered I am no longer as young as I once was. Picture several rooms of just trampolines, including slanting up the walls, with dozens of kids running around and narrow platforms between the jumping part. Sheesh, just to read it sounds scary. And dangerous. I should have realized I may have been making a mistake when I had to sign a WAVER. Anyway, instead of hurting myself doing a triple flip or something cool, I managed to roll my ankle while walking across a trampoline and a little kid ran by, making the surface not where I expected it to be. I felt crazy, since hardly anything seemed to have happened, but it HURT to walk on. A trip to Urgent Care later than afternoon revealed a sprained ankle, which was black, blue, purple and swollen within a couple of days. I was given a brace/sleeve thing and crutches. 2 days on crutches and I gave up; they just don't work with a toddler. Neither do pain killers with sleeping drugs. So, limping and Advil have been enough. It still gets sore if I exercise on it too long, but it's fine now. I should have taken a picture of it, it was GROSS.
~Our youth group finished their big project we've been working on. Last Sunday was the first Youth Sunday at our church. They worked really hard to prepare the sermon, an original skit written by my talented and hilarious husband, depicting Jesus on "Episcopal Love Connection" evaluating people for their entrance to Heaven. The youth were also the readers, the greeters, the ushers and assisted and/or chose all of the prayers and music. It was a huge success and the church members loved it!
~Since it is now 2011, holy crap, the planning for my 10 year reunion has begun. HOW HAS IT BEEN TEN YEARS??? At the same time, high school seems light years away. A group of us has started planning. It's a bit daunting, since we have almost 500 in our class, but I think we're off to a good start. It was interesting though. The 20s are a weird age nowadays, people are still partying and living the single life, others have 2 or 3 kids. Not that there's anything wrong with either lifestyle, it's just interesting.
~Nelson is loving his new job and is really happy. He seems to have jumped right in and picked up everything just fine. I'm glad to see him enjoying work for a change!
~We are still living with my parents, which has its challenges, but overall has been fine.
~We have started talking with a mortgage banker about what we are qualified for, in terms of loans for buying a house. It's very exciting! We have started the process of applying and it looks like we will definitely qualify for an FHA loan, which means we will only need 3% down. With interest rates being low and so many people desperate to sell, it's a buyer's market right now, so we're hoping this is a realistic goal for us! We'd like to be in our own home by May or June. We have a realtor in mind and will be contacting her once we know what we're qualified to buy. SO EXCITED ABOUT ALL OF THIS!!
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