1. I can't believe no one commented on my last post. I still need advice on getting rid of a giant pillow.
2. My baby is almost six months. How is that possible? Also, I think I need a nap/eating schedule for a six month old. I have no idea how to frame our day. Any advice?
3A. One of my friends (who is half-Asian) swears that my daughter looks Asian in certain photos. I tend to agree.
3B. Somewhat related - my friend sent me a link the other day to a mom's group in town. I thought it was weird since there is a HUGE mom's group here (like over 1000 families) and I didn't see the point of a little one. Anyway, I just joined because I figured that it wouldn't hurt to have more activities over the winter and I see this testimonial - "We are excited to be a part of the group. C is 15 months old and loves to walk everywhere. He is a happy and active boy that likes to explore. We look forward to meeting other Asian kids soon." Wait, what?????
4. I am going to TX for a wedding on New Year's Day (no husband, no baby). I'm trying to decide if I should wean the baby beforehand so that I don't have to deal with pumping while away or if I should continue breastfeeding...I'm going to play it day-by-day now. I figure she's now been BF x 6 months so at least Giselle Bundchen will be happy (ha, I totally stole that joke from AMW). Also, I've been supplementing with formula since day one.
5. The baby is super distracted lately while eating - someone recommended a nursing necklace. Is this useful???
Monday, November 15, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Quick Thoughts
1. I described myself as "the Liz Lemon of playgroup" to Mike the other night. If you watch 30 Rock, you know this is not a good thing. Similarities...awkward, earnest, many striped shirts. It's bad. I am embarrassed after each playgroup. I never giggle or act like my usual self.
2. This came up because Mike said something about how he figured that we were the stars of playgroup. I had to inform him that his wife is a fictional nerd and his daughter sits there with a scowl on her face (which she does in large groups of people).
3. In other news, the day care provider did say that she was one of the most smiley baby she's ever known. So the scowl is reserved for playgroup which makes me feel better.
4. Remember how I was in love with my Snoogle? Now it's just taking up room. How does one get rid of a GIANT gently-used pillow? That's not really something you can put out with the trash. But it's not really something that you can give to someone else...here, have the pillow that I drooled on for 4 months.
2. This came up because Mike said something about how he figured that we were the stars of playgroup. I had to inform him that his wife is a fictional nerd and his daughter sits there with a scowl on her face (which she does in large groups of people).
3. In other news, the day care provider did say that she was one of the most smiley baby she's ever known. So the scowl is reserved for playgroup which makes me feel better.
4. Remember how I was in love with my Snoogle? Now it's just taking up room. How does one get rid of a GIANT gently-used pillow? That's not really something you can put out with the trash. But it's not really something that you can give to someone else...here, have the pillow that I drooled on for 4 months.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Pet Peeve
I went to Target last night and they were taking down the Halloween stuff and putting up the Christmas stuff. Did you think that would be my pet peeve? Nope - I figure anything after November 1st is fine.
My pet peeve is that I can't stand when people spell Christmas as "Xmas". I feel that it kind of misses the point about Christmas, hmmmm? Also, now that I've typed "Christmas" numerous times, I kind of can say that it's hard to type. But still...
Another pet peeve is when someone says "ugh, I think (kind of food) is GROSS. I would never eat it. It smells like poo"...when I'm in the middle of eating that food. I appreciate your opinion - could you wait until I don't have the poo-food in my mouth?
ok, I'm feeling better now. Onto daydreaming about Christmas!!!
My pet peeve is that I can't stand when people spell Christmas as "Xmas". I feel that it kind of misses the point about Christmas, hmmmm? Also, now that I've typed "Christmas" numerous times, I kind of can say that it's hard to type. But still...
Another pet peeve is when someone says "ugh, I think (kind of food) is GROSS. I would never eat it. It smells like poo"...when I'm in the middle of eating that food. I appreciate your opinion - could you wait until I don't have the poo-food in my mouth?
ok, I'm feeling better now. Onto daydreaming about Christmas!!!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Food
We had our daughter's baptism this weekend and then took our families out to dinner at a great place in Brooklyn. I just wrote out the menu and my mouth started watering again.
I'm copying and pasting it so you can get hungry too.
Everything was family-style (my spelling may be off):
- roasted artichokes in lemon sauce on arugula, baked clams, mozzarella in corrozza (google this - basically fried grilled cheese), fried shrimp and shrimp cocktail
- Mediterranean salad
- pasta course - fusilli in vodka sauce and linguine with clam sauce
- entrees - chicken francese and chicken marsala
- sides - broccoli rabe and mashed potatoes
- dessert - big plates of spumoni, slices of cheesecake, slices of carrot cake, tartufo, etc...
Seriously, it was awesome. I'm hungry.
And because I don't plan to post her photo, here's a glimpse of her with a proud and happy momma:
I'm copying and pasting it so you can get hungry too.
Everything was family-style (my spelling may be off):
- roasted artichokes in lemon sauce on arugula, baked clams, mozzarella in corrozza (google this - basically fried grilled cheese), fried shrimp and shrimp cocktail
- Mediterranean salad
- pasta course - fusilli in vodka sauce and linguine with clam sauce
- entrees - chicken francese and chicken marsala
- sides - broccoli rabe and mashed potatoes
- dessert - big plates of spumoni, slices of cheesecake, slices of carrot cake, tartufo, etc...
Seriously, it was awesome. I'm hungry.
And because I don't plan to post her photo, here's a glimpse of her with a proud and happy momma:
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Article about hip dysplasia
There was a great article about hip dysplasia in People magazine. It also included some information about the Pavlik harness. Here's some excerpts from it:
http://celebritybabies.people.com/2010/09/29/larry-the-cable-guy-and-wife-cara-how-we-healed-our-son%E2%80%99s-hip-dysplasia/
A few things really resonated with me - especially when the mother said that she would "get one hour out of 24 when I got to squeeze him and hold him like a real baby"...that really is one of the hardest parts about it for me. You just want to snuggle (and breastfeed) your child in the normal position and it's hard to realize that you can't.
I will say that I'm so glad that I stuck with breastfeeding even though it sucked. I am sad that for half of her life, I couldn't hold her "normally" but now that she's only in it part-time, I'm glad that I kept doing it.
The comments from readers after the article are also interesting. When my daughter was diagnosed, I found very little information on such a supposedly common disorder, I'm so glad to hear all of these stories. I'm also so blessed that my daughter was diagnosed on day #2 and has been followed by an amazing pediatric orthopedic surgeon since day #4. The longer diagnosis and treatment takes, the more likely your child is to require hip surgery. Scary! And again, so blessed!
http://celebritybabies.people.com/2010/09/29/larry-the-cable-guy-and-wife-cara-how-we-healed-our-son%E2%80%99s-hip-dysplasia/
A few things really resonated with me - especially when the mother said that she would "get one hour out of 24 when I got to squeeze him and hold him like a real baby"...that really is one of the hardest parts about it for me. You just want to snuggle (and breastfeed) your child in the normal position and it's hard to realize that you can't.
I will say that I'm so glad that I stuck with breastfeeding even though it sucked. I am sad that for half of her life, I couldn't hold her "normally" but now that she's only in it part-time, I'm glad that I kept doing it.
The comments from readers after the article are also interesting. When my daughter was diagnosed, I found very little information on such a supposedly common disorder, I'm so glad to hear all of these stories. I'm also so blessed that my daughter was diagnosed on day #2 and has been followed by an amazing pediatric orthopedic surgeon since day #4. The longer diagnosis and treatment takes, the more likely your child is to require hip surgery. Scary! And again, so blessed!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Not Cool!
We rented a cottage on Cape Cod in August. We rented it the first week and my parents rented it the second week. When we first got there, I was definitely disappointed - the place was definitely run-down and the loft that had been heavily billed in the ad was inaccessible except for a ladder (somewhat hard to get to if you were carrying anything - like wine or a baby). Buuuuut...whatever...GREAT location to both downtown and the beach and reasonably priced.
EXCEPT...there were two deposits - $100 for "extraordinary cleaning" and $250 for "house repair".
Guess where this story is going??
That's right - we didn't get our cleaning deposits back. I was a little shocked but i was like "well maybe we didn't clean it as well as we thought - plus there was a ton of trash because of the diapers".
But a few days later, my dad finds out that he didn't get his deposit. Whaaaat???? That's just CRAZY. He is neurotic (thanks to many years in the military and many years as my grandmother's son). He even said that my stepmother told him to STOP cleaning before check-out because it was spotless.
Also, they took $39 out of dad's $250 deposit because he "stole" 2 pillowcases (which he thought belonged to me). He was SO mad "$39 for your shoddy old pillowcases!!!". They couldn't have given him a call to ask if he had them??? So now he's packaging them up and mailing them back without a note. Hee. My dad rarely gets fired-up (similar to my husband, not so similar to me) but when he does, it's awesome.
We (Mike) already called the owner and he was not interested in discussing it. Oh well...time to let it go. Lesson learned!!! Renter beware!
EXCEPT...there were two deposits - $100 for "extraordinary cleaning" and $250 for "house repair".
Guess where this story is going??
That's right - we didn't get our cleaning deposits back. I was a little shocked but i was like "well maybe we didn't clean it as well as we thought - plus there was a ton of trash because of the diapers".
But a few days later, my dad finds out that he didn't get his deposit. Whaaaat???? That's just CRAZY. He is neurotic (thanks to many years in the military and many years as my grandmother's son). He even said that my stepmother told him to STOP cleaning before check-out because it was spotless.
Also, they took $39 out of dad's $250 deposit because he "stole" 2 pillowcases (which he thought belonged to me). He was SO mad "$39 for your shoddy old pillowcases!!!". They couldn't have given him a call to ask if he had them??? So now he's packaging them up and mailing them back without a note. Hee. My dad rarely gets fired-up (similar to my husband, not so similar to me) but when he does, it's awesome.
We (Mike) already called the owner and he was not interested in discussing it. Oh well...time to let it go. Lesson learned!!! Renter beware!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Pavlik
*** This post will not interest my usual readers (ie my brother and six of my friends). However, since my daughter got her Pavlik harness, I've been searching the internet for information and I haven't come up with much. I hope this post will be found by another parent who is searching for information. It is an amalgam of google searches, information from my daughter's doctor and hints from a friend of a friend. ***
Sleep - not happening. I went from having a nine-week-old who sleep 8+ hours (a combination of luck and a strict sleep/nap routine) to having a 15-week-old who sleeps MAYBE 3 or 4 hours at a stretch. And to cap it off - I'm back at work (and caring for other people's children) so the lack of sleep is really hurting us. No solutions yet.
Skin - I think the best thing to do is put on a plain (no appliques) white onesie, then the harness and then a dress. We use onesies that are a little bigger than usual (I think 3-6 month) and they've been washed in Dreft (especially impt since the onesie is so tight against her fair skin all day). We use dresses in the 6 month size. Also when I take the harness off for the "one hour of freedom", I usually bath her and I always do a quick skin check. I look for areas of redness (future breakdown) around the neck, under the arms, on the back, hips and on the thighs. I also check her toes for good circulation and to make sure that they aren't squeezed into the the foot part (this was happening in the smaller Pavlik). If I see problems, I apply Aquaphor to the area and I try to eliminate future rubbing with Duoderm or stockingette. I have also heard of parents putting cornstarch in the booties to avoid the smell.
Cleaning - for a child who can't move, you would be surprised at how dirty and smelly the harness can get. Our daughter's August harness got particularly dirty because we were at the beach for almost two weeks (and I possibly spilled baby vitamin drops all over the back). For dirt, some parents recommend dyeing the harness so you can't see the stains. We didn't do this because I didn't really care about a little dirt. However, a spitty baby equals a stinky/smelly Pavlik. To get rid of the smell, I suggest scrubbing at the spots with a (CLEAN) hard toothbrush and some mild detergent (again, Dreft is probably a good idea). Then scrub again without the detergent (just water) or rinse with as little water as possible. If you need to dry the harness quickly, I suggest blasting it with a hairdryer. Otherwise, let it sit in the sun (this is a natural stain bleacher) for a few hours.
Also, I suggest taking off the booties when changing a dirty (DIRTY) diaper. I've changed a lot of diapers in the last twenty years and infants have an uncanny ability to get their feet smack in the middle of the diaper. Gross. Double gross when it involves your white cloth harness.
Ok, I'll write more in another post. Topics will include gear (slings, Bumbo, etc...), breastfeeding, snuggling, swaddling and the emotional aspect of your child being in a harness.
Sleep - not happening. I went from having a nine-week-old who sleep 8+ hours (a combination of luck and a strict sleep/nap routine) to having a 15-week-old who sleeps MAYBE 3 or 4 hours at a stretch. And to cap it off - I'm back at work (and caring for other people's children) so the lack of sleep is really hurting us. No solutions yet.
Skin - I think the best thing to do is put on a plain (no appliques) white onesie, then the harness and then a dress. We use onesies that are a little bigger than usual (I think 3-6 month) and they've been washed in Dreft (especially impt since the onesie is so tight against her fair skin all day). We use dresses in the 6 month size. Also when I take the harness off for the "one hour of freedom", I usually bath her and I always do a quick skin check. I look for areas of redness (future breakdown) around the neck, under the arms, on the back, hips and on the thighs. I also check her toes for good circulation and to make sure that they aren't squeezed into the the foot part (this was happening in the smaller Pavlik). If I see problems, I apply Aquaphor to the area and I try to eliminate future rubbing with Duoderm or stockingette. I have also heard of parents putting cornstarch in the booties to avoid the smell.
Cleaning - for a child who can't move, you would be surprised at how dirty and smelly the harness can get. Our daughter's August harness got particularly dirty because we were at the beach for almost two weeks (and I possibly spilled baby vitamin drops all over the back). For dirt, some parents recommend dyeing the harness so you can't see the stains. We didn't do this because I didn't really care about a little dirt. However, a spitty baby equals a stinky/smelly Pavlik. To get rid of the smell, I suggest scrubbing at the spots with a (CLEAN) hard toothbrush and some mild detergent (again, Dreft is probably a good idea). Then scrub again without the detergent (just water) or rinse with as little water as possible. If you need to dry the harness quickly, I suggest blasting it with a hairdryer. Otherwise, let it sit in the sun (this is a natural stain bleacher) for a few hours.
Also, I suggest taking off the booties when changing a dirty (DIRTY) diaper. I've changed a lot of diapers in the last twenty years and infants have an uncanny ability to get their feet smack in the middle of the diaper. Gross. Double gross when it involves your white cloth harness.
Ok, I'll write more in another post. Topics will include gear (slings, Bumbo, etc...), breastfeeding, snuggling, swaddling and the emotional aspect of your child being in a harness.
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