Things I thought I'd never say as a parent...

Daddy to little boy J: "No, you don't have to eat the banana bread if you don't like it. But you cannot run over it with your tricycle."

Survivor: The Fishbowl

Sometimes I feel like my fish are stars in Fishie Survivor. The only issue is that "Boat" (as named by a 2 year old), is a year old and always seems to win. He doesn't play a fair fight either. He usually starts eating whatever fish remains before it has even lost the game. Now we are off to replace "George" before little guy J realizes that they aren't just playing hide-n-seek with each other.

Sounds that make us go.... OH NO!

Imagine ten minutes ago, the terror in my mind as I hear the toilet flushing. The hubs is in bed, so he can go leave for work at 8 pm. I rush to see what has taken the great white waterslide to its sewery demise, never to be seen again. I follow the trail of toothpaste, contact lens packets, and child flossers. I take a deep breath and look into the porcelain throne.

NOTHING.

I take a mental inventory of what likely occupied the packages. It all looks the same. I ask the little one if he can show me what he flushed. He looks back at me confused. His expression almost says, "What is supposed to be flushed?"

I go back in the living room. I separate myself from the ticker tape of thoughts going through my head. Baby J climbs on my lap and asks to cuddle a few minutes later. I ask him if his pants are wet, because he is due for a diaper change.

"Nope." He replies.

"Are your pants wet?" I ask.

"Nope. I went on the toilet."

"You went on the toilet?" I ask flabbergasted.

"Yep. I went in the big, white toilet. I said buh-bye to my potties."

My jaw drops. That explains the toilet flush. What a relief! He didn't flush my contacts or his dinner. And he is trying!

Now we just have to work on removing the underwear before going.

:)

So it begins...

Before baby J was even born, we were told that someday soon he would know more than we do, or at least think he does. Well, it is beginning.

Yesterday we went to Legoland. If you haven't been, I encourage you to go at least once (but buy your tickets online beforehand). There is nothing that can't be done with a Lego. If you have a child with you who doesn't already own every Lego set known to mankind, plan to buy one on your way out the door several hours later. We did. We bought baby J his very first Duplo. It is a 62 piece set, which sounds like a lot more than it is, with a person, the makings for a house, alphabet blocks, 2 flowers, a cat, and a car base. I set them all out for hik so that he could play with them when he woke today. I even left out the single Duplo firetruck bought for him by a friend long ago.

I looked at all the pieces and wondered what he would create. His first task, of course, involved the car. He loaded the flowers on the base like a flat bed. I thought, "Wouldn't have been my first move, but okay." Then he took the person, put her in the firetruck. He put the cat on the back and attached it to the car base using the trailer hitch. You see, I hadn't noticed the hitch but he had formulated a creative plan in the split second that I set him at the table.

So it befan today. He is learning at a much greater level than I am. At this rate, he will know everything by the time he is twelve.

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My baby isn't anymore.

A few weeks ago, baby J made the connection that he is identified in a particular manner. He has called others by their names for awhile now. He knows his meemaw and peepaw. He knows his mommie and papa. He even knows his uncles and uncles by friendship. But when we would ask his name, he would reply with a confident "baby". I'm not sure how he adopted this name for himself, as he is never called baby. I call him "bugs" (not sure why) and papa calls him "little man". Other people call him by the shortened version of his name. I began to pay more attention to how other people identified him. Nope. Nobody calls him baby. I was fine with this reference for himself, because he is my baby and the nickname won't be fitting for much longer.

And he has already begun to outgrow it.

 A few days ago, while playing the "who's that?" name game, he called himself by his name.

In fact, I overheard he and his papa having a conversation yesterday. Papa reprimanded him for having his tongue out while climbing on the bed (he was getting the duvet wet) and asked if he was a little doggie. He replied, "I no doggie. I boy."

My baby J is redefining himself as a boy now. He is almost 2. He is a boy. And too rapidly in my opinion.

I'm baaa-ack...

Life is eventful and as a mommie, I feel pretty uncertain of every choice I make. But, usually, at the end of the day, I get a silent reassurance that we are doing just fine. When I look at my little guy slowly drifting into sleep while cuddling his "bwown bearw" book, I know that we are all going to be okay.

But yesterday, we had a long day. After looking forward for months to the visit of a traveling overseer to our congregation, we had to leave early. My poor baby J was having an issue again. The issue is one that we thought had been resolved over a month ago.

Go back 2 1/2 months...
We had tried nearly all natural methods, a few traditional ones, and finally had to mutually agree with our doctor that antibiotics seemed the best route to get this under control rapidly (as it had gone on for several weeks without improvement). He took a regimen of antibiotics and probiotics.We were ecstatic when it worked. The problem cleared up. And he had only a day of nasty antibiotic side effects.

Now to the present...
After napping peacefully as we listened to the well-prepared discourse by the traveling overseer, he woke rather pleasantly. I left the auditorium to change him and found that *sigh* it was back. We took our things, quietly left the auditorium, and proceeded to the emergency room. There, the physician's assistant recommended a straight catheter to retrieve a sterile urine sample for urinalysis and culture. I was happy that she was being so proactive, but secretly in terror that my boy would have to go through that. I quickly asked if I could breastfeed him while they placed the cath. The nurses looked at me like I was crazy. Here I am with a nearly 2 year old about to have a straight cath placed and I ask about nursing him during?!? They were apprehensive, but I stood out of the way, contorted myself as one nurse prepared to place the cath, the other held him down with my husband's assistance. It seemed like forever, but he nursed and occasionally let out a gasp of discomfort. Afterwards, the nurses said that went "surprisingly well". I'm sure they attributed none of it to the many positive results that breastfeeding a child in distress produces. But I do.

And so, while I get strange looks when I mention that I still breastfeed my 23 month old, I'm confident that I have made the right choice for my family. Had I not, he would've been a lot more traumatized and in more pain. I owe this one to our Grand Creator who knows what he is doing!

Learn more about the long-term benefits of breastfeeding.

Kissy Face (The Sequel)

In a previous post, I described baby J's "kiss" routine with all of his bath toys. Tonight, while bathing, he began handing me his toys. First, his rubber duck. "Kiss kiss". I gave his ducky a peck on the bill. Then his tug boat. "Kiss kiss". This time I gave a big smooch only to hear poppy warn, "He just peed in the tub."

No more "kiss kiss" with the bath toys.

Dairy-Free Day!!

It is so difficult to know what is dairy-free and what isn't. I've been wondering if baby J's restless nights are linked with somehting that I've been missing (or something that isn't missing) in his diet. Reaffirmed. Walking into Wendy's today, I noted a large chart, about the size of 3 posters, hanging as I entered the front door. It is a new feature and I am glad they have added it. It has a list of the 7 most common food allergens and their presence (or potential presence) in foods offered by the franchise. They are broken into 3 categories, distinguishable by different colored dots. Red means that the allergen is present, blue means that the food is cooked on the same surface or in the same oil as that allergen (and may be cross-contaminated), and green (?? the colors are on the chart, but I don't recall this one) means that the food is prepared or manufactured on the same line as the allergen (and may be cross-contaminated). Wow! What a concept! Just put it out there for everyone to see. So dairy-free at Wendy's is even more limited than I had believed. There were a lot of red dots. But now I know.

This encouraged me to venture into the land of the unknown regarding other fast food restaurants and allergen information. Here is what I've found so far. I will continue to update the list as I learn more. And remember that just like all processed foods, the ingredients continually change and so the facts today may not be the facts tomorrow.



McDonald's (note that the bottom section lists actual allergens- like milk- and what products they are in)

Arby's lists the allergens in red next to the name of the food item.

Burger King

Chipotle makes it easy by only using dairy in their cheese and sour cream. That's why we love you, Chipotle!

Panda Express says milk in the Orange Chicken and mixed veggies, so no more for baby J, but at least the Mandarin Chicken is still okay!

KFC says go for the Original or Grilled with Dairy allergies, but avoid anything breaded or extra crispy.

Popeye's makes you work for any info. They list all ingredients, but only a few allergens that are contained in each. For example, they list "wheat" as an allergen, but not "milk", although the ingredients clearly state that they contain milk. Sigh. Virtually everything has an allergen. Buh-bye.

You've got to love Subway for just putting it all out there. Usually good old non-processed ingredients.

Taco Bell lists the allergens in a great, easy to use chart; but it is only accessible online. It isn't possible to print it.

Wendy's who gave me this idea.

White Castle for those with iron stomachs.

Have fun eating out with the help of my list! These are just places local to me, but if you'd like to review other options, a great resource is the Go Dairy Free dining out guide and the shopping lists.

Kissy Face

Sorry... I am very very sorry. I hadn't even realized that my last post was on June 28th. Yikes! It doesn't feel like it was that long ago.

Baby J reminded me today, though, of why I love to share little snippets of our life online. He was in the bath tub with all his Munchkin bath toys. He has a dozen or so and each is in the shape of a sea creature. He would gently lift each toy out of the water, rinse it under the faucet, give it a kiss on its mouth, then hand it to me and say "kiss kiss". This went on repeatedly until he and I had both kissed each little toy creature three times. While he was putting them all back in the tub for a fourth round, I unsuspectingly reached behind him and pulled the bath plug.

Then he climbed out of the tub and I bundled him in a towel. He walked towards the stairs and up towards bed. As he closed the gate behind him, his little pinky got caught. I quickly swooped him up only to hear "kiss kiss". And I did. Then he called poppy and asked for another "kiss kiss".

Before bed, he as usual gave us our individual hugs and "kiss kiss", then said his sweet "buh-bye" as we tucked him into bed.

I can't wait until morning. Then I will be able to have my morning "kiss kiss". I just can't get over my little kissy face.

The newest family addition

Please allow me to take a moment to introduce the newest member of our family. She doesn't have a name yet, but already has a purpose. According to our latest library addition about potty learning, a doll which potties can help a child connect the idea of drinking, urinating, and wetness. So, today, we began our search for such a doll. First, please know that they only come in pink. Some are even capable of pooping, if fed special separately purchased "baby food". But baby J liked this little girl. She has her own potty which is very similar to his froggy potty (also chosen by him, per "the book"). We searched for big boy pants and found "mouse" (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) underpants which he gleefully carried around the store.

When it comes to such matters, there is no shortage in the potty market. Actualy potties can range from $9.99 to unlimited amounts (the most expensive I found was $80.99!! It had better train the child for you). Some have splash guards or music or handle bars. There are "starter potties" and those for advanced children. The book section is loaded with wisdom on the matter too. But, when you make it to the potty-ing dolls, expect a limited selection of girl dolls.

One comes with juice packets, baby food, and disposable diapers (I'm too cheap to buy them for my own son, why would I buy them for a doll?!?). The other comes with cloth diapers, a potty chair, and a BPA-free (not really) bottle.

Everything Potty Training Book: $9.99

Lots to Love Babies potty doll with accessories: $15.00

"Mouse" underpants: $9.99

Baby J splashing in LTLB's toilet water: Priceless

Tot Time

Baby feet in the swimming pool are the cutest. I love baby J's little toes anyways, but to see them beneath the water makes them appear even more magical. Those little round toes remind me of grapes fresh off the vine; I just want to gobble them up (don't tell James that I said that; he's never understand that phrase.) Baby J was especially fond of looking at them once I pointed them out too.

We scrambled frantically to the froggie slide. We were the second people in line at the gate. While tot time is restricted to children under 6, children under 6 can still be stressful to a little guy. Last time we were there, baby J saw the slide. And baby J loves slides (the way I love baby feet). So he ran to it. Once he got to the top step, though, he found it a bit intimidating. And the boy who pushed him down it didn't make him less paranoid. Today, I hoped to conquer the fear before the others arrived. He did come down the slide, but not the way you think. He pushed his way down the steps when the hoards of children under 6 arrived. Hopefully next week will be more promising.

The cutest part, though, was that the whole time we were hanging out in the pool, he kept gravitating towards the large, twisty waterslides. I'd hate to be the kid waiting behind baby J in that line! Thankfully, that is a few years off.

While we didn't make much progress in overcoming the slide fear, we did have a great time together just splashing and walking in the water. That's where you'll find us twice a week. By the end of the summer, he should be holding his own on that froggie.

so many things to do and so little time...

Over the course of one day, baby J becomes so many things...

the molder of Play-doh, (Due to his infatuation with all things in the shapes of balls, I taught him to roll a small clump of play-doh between the palms of his hands. He now endearingly refers to yet another object as "balls")

the maker of trouble, (the expression is "No... No." With as frequently as he says the word, people must think that we don't say anything but "No... No".)

the adventurous explorer of wetness,

the happy boy who wishes to play,

the boy who asks "Where is he?" and then playfully pops out saying "There he is!" (We would ask him this and when we'd uncover our eyes or come out of hiding, we would say "There he is!". So, if you are ever wondering why he looks cluelessly at you when you go "Peek-a-Boo", it was unintentional on our part. He knows the game, but plays it a little differently.)

the saver of pennies, (Hopefully we will instill in him the ability to be thrifty and content.)

 

and, of course, our cool guy.

I've lost baby J...

It seems that it was just 30 months ago that baby J began to form. He was my precious little stowaway.

I was a different person then. You might say that I was more of a person. But that mattered very little to me, for I had been given a gift, a little person to lovingly nurture. I had longed for that day for most of my life. As a little girl, I would wrap my dollie inside my dress and tie a ribbon around her so that I could have a "mommie belly". And when my blessing arrived, I knew very little about mommiehood; I still know very little.

That is how it began. It wasn't until today that this finally came to fruition. Honestly, how could something like this happen? One moment, you are grasping so tightly, and the next, something that you thought you couldn't live without is gone. I've lost baby J...










... I did mention that losing baby J is a metaphor for losing the weight equivalent to the little guy, right? 25 pounds down and I'm well on my way!!

Still good people out there...

Every once in a while, I am bombarded with a number of obstacles that make me wonder why people can't be a little nicer. I know the obvious reasons, but have always believed in the very essence of the Golden Rule.

Do to others as you wish to be done to you.

But often people reverse that catchy and appropriate phrase making it "Do to others as they have done to you".

This can grow exhausting while trying to constantly combat the same attitude. When cut off while driving, receiving a rude customer service representative on the other line, and becoming the backlash of someone's bad day, it can be very difficult to hold the tongue (or the horn).

Thankfully, I have someone to call on who can always help me. And he always comes through, even if it is making me choke on my own tongue until I remember.

But then there are days when people surprise me in the opposite respect. Today was one of those days. The most outstanding example was an older woman. I had gone to the salon to get my haircut. Baby J was being curiously well-behaved, but still a little antsy. In the mirror, I saw an older woman. She asked me if it was okay if she sat beside him and read him one of his stories. I was silently surprised, but said okay. For ten minutes she sat with him and kept him company all in my view. I could tell that his sweet personality made her day. Little did she know that she was improving mine. As we left, she asked if it was okay to give him a hug. I told her "of course". He gave her a wonderful bear hug! And her eyes watered a bit. Then she told me how much she appreciated seeing such a well-behaved boy, that it breaks her heart a little when she sees children rampaging through stores and parents granting their every whim.

Since become a mommie, I have learned how valuable these pearls of genuine wisdom are. This reminds me that more often I should offer my assistance and kind words to those in vulnerable states. Mommies definitely fit in that category. Thank you to all who continually do this! You now only improve the days of others but genuinely impact the course of their lives!

Cabin Fever...

I wish that I had captured this on film, especially because it has become such a part of our daily routine. But you will have to imagine the scenario.

Imagine, baby J standing at the door or window, shoes in hand, saying "out... out". He has only grown more emphatic since inheriting a Fisher Price playhouse which at present resides in the far corner of our property. From the dining room window, he can clearly see its presence. So, he often adds to his reportoire "out... house... out". But since monsoon season so quickly approached, he doesn't understand that "out... house... out" isn't an option. And the toys inside have gotten soooo boring.

Today we will venture out in search of an indoor version of what he loves so much. If you call or come by and we aren't available, sorry. We are "out... out".

Mommiehood: Feeling His Pain

Since becoming a mommie, I've often had the opportunity presented to me to recount my own childhood.

I've shared many of those experiences. Many of them are lessons I learn as I see baby J learn them.

Today, we shared another of those. As a child, I remember vividly the excitement of having plans. Knowing that a friend was coming over or an outing to the zoo was enough to brighten the gloomiest days. I would eagerly anticipate and remind myself repeatedly and sometimes even have countdowns. And then the phone would ring and my mom would break the bad news... cancelled.

My mom would always comfort me and remind me that everything would be okay. She would even make alternate plans, but it just wasn't the same. And I honestly believed that she had no idea how much it hurt...

... until today.

This afternoon baby J had a playdate. When I told him about it this morning, he was so excited. He kept telling his papa and even using his little buddy's name. "Park.... park." Then, the dreaded text arrived. My heart immediately sank. I think that it affected me more that it did him. How can I explain this to a 19-month old? He isn't going to understand. He was so excited!

That is when the epiphany arrived. How often I had told my mom that you don't know what it feels like. And she would look at me and tell me that it was okay. Then we would spend that time together.

It still broke my heart to see those sad little eyes when he awoke from his nap only to be on his way back home. But we spent our afternoon together. And we can never have too much time together, right?

A Mommie's Love Is...

... kneeling on a single stall bathroom floor to change an overwhelmingly poopy cloth diaper of an overly active and very sleepy toddler with a serious shortage of baby wipes but ample supply of paper hand towels only to realize that the toilet is clogged by the contents of the aformentioned without a plunger on hand and no response from papa after sending an urgent "HELP" text to learn that his phone has died and he is knocking at the door wondering if everything is okay because the two of you have been in there for so long.

And then looking deep into those big blue eyes and instantly forgetting the drama.

The Joy of Pulling Weeds

I always thought my mom was a little crazy- okay, a lot crazy. If you had awoken by chance at 4 in the morning, you would find her outside contentedly with a cup of coffee while sitting on the ground with a large pile of weeds next to her. Who, in their right mind, would find such joy in pulling weeds? Nevermind the fact that the sun itself has barely risen?!?

Now that baby J is 19 months old and into (literally) everything, I have either gone crazy or found my mom's key to sanity. There is very little satisfaction in cleaning the house when you have little ones. As soon as a project is completed, a typhoon mysteriously appears in another place. So, I have given up trying to attain a neat home and settled for the fact that it is messy, yet clean.

The garden, however, is another story. The amazing thing about weeds, is that once you've pulled them, you can satisfactorily gaze upon your hard work and feel a deep sense of accomplishment. The next day, a few might have reappeared, but with a simple bend of the waist, it's gone!

As spring is making its grand entrance this year, it has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I now see that it is a splendid opportunity to become immersed in nature and feel the sense of accomplishment that is often missing in a mommie's mundane life.

Thank you mom for passing along this secret sanity that you possess.

Why we need to eat fruit...

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/
With so much publicity about high fructose corn syrup, I was curious about the facts. If baby J can get all his servings of fruits and vegetables from juice, why not? Especially considering that fresh fruits and veggies contain fructose naturally (we can't eat too many of those, right?).

So I asked the doctor. The explanation was surprisingly simple. Here are the facts.

Fruits and vegetables contain fructose. True. They contain the same amount that you'd get by consuming a serving of them in any other form. The difference is that in their whole form, they are high in fiber. This is important because fructose is digested differently than other things. It is digested in the colon. For proper digestion, the fiber must push the fructose past the stomach and into the colon. Without the huge amounts of fiber, it isn't digested properly.

And undigested sugar and fructose becomes....

.... fat!

This is how a lack of fiber contributes greatly to obesity. And childhood obesity isn't a joke. Juice is a fun treat, as are other things containing fructose, but are never a healthy replacement for their substitutes.

This is yet another reason why we need to be grateful for the natural supplements our Grand Creator gave us. Enjoy an apple today. (BTW- studies indicate that eating a whole 200 calorie apple 20 minutes prior to a meal will cut the number of calories significantly during that meal).

Read more about the research being done at Princeton University.

Naptime buddies

Baby J always naps especially well when he has someone to cuddle. And Lyli is always looking for some extra love. It seems they have dreamt up the perfect pair.