It's only December, and I already feel like we are living at the doctor's office this cold and flu season.
SB kicked things off with an ear infection. This was like her third ear infection total, so it wasn't really on my radar. 10 days of antibiotics later...
Nugget had her six month appointment, and as I wrote earlier, had a double ear infection. Since she's been on antibiotics twice recently (ear infection, then respiratory infection) they tried a Z-pac this time - three days of antibiotics for her.
Then, BW had a couple accidents at daycare, and was suddenly waking up every morning with a wet pull-up. I greatly appreciate daycare, because I would probably have been clueless had they not gently suggested that accidents like that can be indicative of a UTI. So, after a doctor visit and urine sample (I'll write more about that later) BW was diagnosed with a bladder infection. 7 days of antibiotics for her. Then, she has to have a repeat urine sample 3 days after finishing the antibiotics. The following week, Nugget is scheduled for an ear recheck to make sure her ears are clear since she's had two ear infections in short order.
Sigh. At least giving birth this year means we met our deductible long ago.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
The last time...
I read an article or blog post a few years ago, can't remember which, about how we celebrate the "firsts" for kids, but how it's the "lasts" that are the most bittersweet. With Nugget, I am finding how true that is. I am 99% sure she is our last baby. As the article stated, you often don't even know that you had the "last" until it is already gone. Like the last time baby fits into a newborn outfit. Or the last time you see that gummy smile before a tooth pokes through.
I've sold our infant swing. The rock n play is folded up, waiting for me to list it for sale. The bouncy seat is stashed in our storage room, also waiting to be sold. Nugget is closer to seven months than six. She is sitting up on her own, army crawling across the floor, and loving eating solids. I am oh-so-tired, but I know that there will be time not very far off that I will not sleepily carry Nugget into our room in the early morning hours, before the sun is quite up, and snuggle and nurse her while we both half-doze.
This morning, BW picked out her clothes, then completely dressed herself, except for a little help with her socks. With three under three, I've been working on self-dressing with SB and BW, but to have it suddenly a reality makes me realize how quickly they are growing up. SB talked excitedly this morning about how when she gets bigger she will ride on the school bus, the biggest one. Soon enough, little one.
......
Then, we got to daycare and BW threw a fit because she wanted to go first (I'm not sure what or how she wanted to go first, as we were walking down the hall and she was in front of me) and then SB started crying as well, because why wouldn't you cry if you sister is crying? Still my little toddlers, after all :)
I've sold our infant swing. The rock n play is folded up, waiting for me to list it for sale. The bouncy seat is stashed in our storage room, also waiting to be sold. Nugget is closer to seven months than six. She is sitting up on her own, army crawling across the floor, and loving eating solids. I am oh-so-tired, but I know that there will be time not very far off that I will not sleepily carry Nugget into our room in the early morning hours, before the sun is quite up, and snuggle and nurse her while we both half-doze.
This morning, BW picked out her clothes, then completely dressed herself, except for a little help with her socks. With three under three, I've been working on self-dressing with SB and BW, but to have it suddenly a reality makes me realize how quickly they are growing up. SB talked excitedly this morning about how when she gets bigger she will ride on the school bus, the biggest one. Soon enough, little one.
......
Then, we got to daycare and BW threw a fit because she wanted to go first (I'm not sure what or how she wanted to go first, as we were walking down the hall and she was in front of me) and then SB started crying as well, because why wouldn't you cry if you sister is crying? Still my little toddlers, after all :)
Friday, November 20, 2015
On starting solids, the second time around
I did a post when I started solids with SB and BW, which you can find here. Yet again, I was such a first-time mom. No cereal - it's empty calories! No iron supplements - we'll feed iron-rich foods!
Result? Two anemic babies.
Not serious anemia, but we had to do twice-daily iron drops, SB and BW seemed particularly vulnerable to illness, which then caused their hemoglobin levels to drop again, and it was a months-long process of iron supplements, frequent scanning of the internet and nutrition labels to find iron-rich foods, and finger-sticks to check levels. And iron drops? Horrid. It's like drinking liquid pennies. Oh, and they can stain teeth, so they should be mixed with something.
The other result is I cringe when I see women commenting on various parenting sites that "food before one is just for fun" or quoting kellymom.com as the end all/be all of reliable sources on the high level of absorption of iron from breastmilk, or "cereal is garbage and tastes terrible", or "cereal is just filler and has no nutritional value" - this last one just kills me. It does have nutritional value - it has iron in it. Even if the iron in BM is highly absorbed, it's not enough, and if you have kids that aren't interested in eating iron-rich foods (like SB in particular), anemia is a real possibility. I've even seen some moms post that it is OKAY for your baby to be anemic. Iron is important for brain development. I'm not willing to sacrifice brain development because baby cereal doesn't taste very good. You know what else doesn't taste very good? Iron drops.
SO, Nugget has been sampling the baby cereal (although we skipped rice and went right to oatmeal). And, as I would expect of my roly-poly chubbers baby, she loves eating like a big girl.
Although my experiences with SB and BW have changed my direction a bit this time around, it's also given me good knowledge so I don't have to rely on cereal as a sole iron source. We'll be offering blended meat and blended beans (SB and BW ate lots of beans, and still do - great source of iron). We also offered SB and BW blackstrap molasses frequently - as a syrup on pancakes, as a sauce on chicken, as a dipping sauce for meatballs, and they loved it. I'm not sure if they would still eat it - they haven't had it in a while, and it's a pretty strong flavor, but it was very versatile for us, and SB liked it so much that she wouldn't eat plain chicken but would eat it if it was drizzled with blackstrap molasses.
In other news...sob. My baby is already moving on to solids. 6 months went fast, I'm sure the next 6 will only go faster.
Result? Two anemic babies.
Not serious anemia, but we had to do twice-daily iron drops, SB and BW seemed particularly vulnerable to illness, which then caused their hemoglobin levels to drop again, and it was a months-long process of iron supplements, frequent scanning of the internet and nutrition labels to find iron-rich foods, and finger-sticks to check levels. And iron drops? Horrid. It's like drinking liquid pennies. Oh, and they can stain teeth, so they should be mixed with something.
The other result is I cringe when I see women commenting on various parenting sites that "food before one is just for fun" or quoting kellymom.com as the end all/be all of reliable sources on the high level of absorption of iron from breastmilk, or "cereal is garbage and tastes terrible", or "cereal is just filler and has no nutritional value" - this last one just kills me. It does have nutritional value - it has iron in it. Even if the iron in BM is highly absorbed, it's not enough, and if you have kids that aren't interested in eating iron-rich foods (like SB in particular), anemia is a real possibility. I've even seen some moms post that it is OKAY for your baby to be anemic. Iron is important for brain development. I'm not willing to sacrifice brain development because baby cereal doesn't taste very good. You know what else doesn't taste very good? Iron drops.
SO, Nugget has been sampling the baby cereal (although we skipped rice and went right to oatmeal). And, as I would expect of my roly-poly chubbers baby, she loves eating like a big girl.
Although my experiences with SB and BW have changed my direction a bit this time around, it's also given me good knowledge so I don't have to rely on cereal as a sole iron source. We'll be offering blended meat and blended beans (SB and BW ate lots of beans, and still do - great source of iron). We also offered SB and BW blackstrap molasses frequently - as a syrup on pancakes, as a sauce on chicken, as a dipping sauce for meatballs, and they loved it. I'm not sure if they would still eat it - they haven't had it in a while, and it's a pretty strong flavor, but it was very versatile for us, and SB liked it so much that she wouldn't eat plain chicken but would eat it if it was drizzled with blackstrap molasses.
In other news...sob. My baby is already moving on to solids. 6 months went fast, I'm sure the next 6 will only go faster.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
I'll take the gift of sleep for the holidays, please
My last post included Nugget's sudden penchant for middle of the night parties every 45 minutes to an hour or more. This went on for a week. Nugget was sleeping in the RnP for portions of the night so we could all get some sleep. Nugget was spending a few hours attached to the boob so we could all get some sleep. I have much greater sympathy for those moms who say their child won't sleep unless they are attached, because we did that for a couple hours two nights in a row. I learned that I love baby snuggles, but bed-sharing is not for me. The manner in which I have to lay to make sure I am not concerned about baby rolling in to me, and the shallow sleep pattern I am in since I am conscious of baby next to me is not restful at all. Yawn.
Anyway, to keep this brief, Nugget had her 6-month check-up, and it turns out she had a double ear infection. I felt like a terrible mom, but aside from some differences in her normal behavior that really only clued me in after the fact (the waking all the time thing, and being a booger about taking bottles at daycare) she was absolutely unchanged. She was her same smiley, cooing self, and even her night wakings she was cooing and squealing like she just wanted to be awake for the heck of it. No fever, no tugging on ears, nothing. So, good to know that the kid doesn't show signs of being sick like I would expect.
It's taken a course of antibiotics and a few days, but Nugget is finally, after almost 2 weeks, starting to sleep some longer stretches again. Every time I get her to sleep and lay her down, I pray she will sleep at least 2 hours. Last night she slept from 8-10, and 10-3. I'll take it.
In other news, she is at the weight limit, and, with rolling and sitting unassisted and being almost able to pull herself fully sitting, developmental limit, for the RnP. It needs to go. However, it's so nice to have the incline sleep option if necessary. Sigh.
Anyway, to keep this brief, Nugget had her 6-month check-up, and it turns out she had a double ear infection. I felt like a terrible mom, but aside from some differences in her normal behavior that really only clued me in after the fact (the waking all the time thing, and being a booger about taking bottles at daycare) she was absolutely unchanged. She was her same smiley, cooing self, and even her night wakings she was cooing and squealing like she just wanted to be awake for the heck of it. No fever, no tugging on ears, nothing. So, good to know that the kid doesn't show signs of being sick like I would expect.
It's taken a course of antibiotics and a few days, but Nugget is finally, after almost 2 weeks, starting to sleep some longer stretches again. Every time I get her to sleep and lay her down, I pray she will sleep at least 2 hours. Last night she slept from 8-10, and 10-3. I'll take it.
In other news, she is at the weight limit, and, with rolling and sitting unassisted and being almost able to pull herself fully sitting, developmental limit, for the RnP. It needs to go. However, it's so nice to have the incline sleep option if necessary. Sigh.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Week 26
I've had a rudimentary understanding of the Wonder Weeks since SB and BW were little, but I haven't done heavy reading into it. It makes sense that babies have developmental leaps; but I don't know that I need to have specific instruction to "help" my baby through the leap.
I vaguely recalled that one was around the six-month mark, so when Nugget slept like poo a few nights ago, and decided that the middle of the night was a great time to have a party last night, I decided to look it up. Closest leap? 26 weeks. Nugget's age? 26 weeks, 1 day. Week 26 is supposed to be about relationships. Baby realizes that things have differing distances from baby. Which explains why Nugget thought she should wake up and nurse every 1-2 hours a few nights ago. Must have mommy close. Also explains while she was squealing and cooing to herself in her crib the next night and I went to peek in at her (hoping she would soothe herself to sleep) she had her paci outstretched and was turning it slowly too and fro, studying it carefully.
She's also started using rolling as a mode of transportation, like she just realized there is a purpose and benefit to being able to roll over, and it's not just an accident or novelty. She doesn't complain about being put on her tummy anymore because she knows she can change it if she wants to. She also is really starting to love interacting with SB and BW. She smiles at them and "talks" to them, and they can usually distract her if she is starting to get fussy and I need a minute or two to finish something up. Although SB and BW are technically our "middle" children, I have a feeling Nugget will be our mediator. She is very calm most of the time, although she has her moments. I can't wait to keep watching them grow up together.
I vaguely recalled that one was around the six-month mark, so when Nugget slept like poo a few nights ago, and decided that the middle of the night was a great time to have a party last night, I decided to look it up. Closest leap? 26 weeks. Nugget's age? 26 weeks, 1 day. Week 26 is supposed to be about relationships. Baby realizes that things have differing distances from baby. Which explains why Nugget thought she should wake up and nurse every 1-2 hours a few nights ago. Must have mommy close. Also explains while she was squealing and cooing to herself in her crib the next night and I went to peek in at her (hoping she would soothe herself to sleep) she had her paci outstretched and was turning it slowly too and fro, studying it carefully.
She's also started using rolling as a mode of transportation, like she just realized there is a purpose and benefit to being able to roll over, and it's not just an accident or novelty. She doesn't complain about being put on her tummy anymore because she knows she can change it if she wants to. She also is really starting to love interacting with SB and BW. She smiles at them and "talks" to them, and they can usually distract her if she is starting to get fussy and I need a minute or two to finish something up. Although SB and BW are technically our "middle" children, I have a feeling Nugget will be our mediator. She is very calm most of the time, although she has her moments. I can't wait to keep watching them grow up together.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Who am I?
I had a chiropractor appointment for the raging sciatica that has suddenly made my life miserable this week. Chronic pain sufferers - I am so sorry. I've only been dealing with this for four days. I hope I can get it under control because it's affecting my life.
Anyway, because of the immediate pain, I couldn't see my regular chiro, because she is like, the best ever and always pretty booked. So, as the chiro is doing all sorts of lovely cracking things to my back, he asks me this question:
"So, what do you do for fun?"
Umm..Ahh...well...go to the chiropractor?
Nothing. I do nothing. Does facebook surfing while half-watching whatever show the Hubs has chosen count? Candy Crush Soda Saga? Because that's pretty much all I do outside of mothering, laundry and work.
Maybe he should have asked "what would you do for fun if you could?"
Take my kids swimming, start running again, go camping, waterski, snow ski down the bunny hill (I am adverse to speed), read, crochet, knit, put puzzles together, grown-up color, learn to sew on my sewing machine that sits in the closet.
I suppose spending time with family counts. But that's not always fun for me. I need to start looking more for things that are fun for me.
Anyway, because of the immediate pain, I couldn't see my regular chiro, because she is like, the best ever and always pretty booked. So, as the chiro is doing all sorts of lovely cracking things to my back, he asks me this question:
"So, what do you do for fun?"
Umm..Ahh...well...go to the chiropractor?
Nothing. I do nothing. Does facebook surfing while half-watching whatever show the Hubs has chosen count? Candy Crush Soda Saga? Because that's pretty much all I do outside of mothering, laundry and work.
Maybe he should have asked "what would you do for fun if you could?"
Take my kids swimming, start running again, go camping, waterski, snow ski down the bunny hill (I am adverse to speed), read, crochet, knit, put puzzles together, grown-up color, learn to sew on my sewing machine that sits in the closet.
I suppose spending time with family counts. But that's not always fun for me. I need to start looking more for things that are fun for me.
Sharing the burden
Hubs and I tag-team daycare drop off in the morning. We have a routine - he takes Nugget and drops her in her room, and I take SB and BW to their room. Hubs checks the kids in on the computer system, and waits for me and we walk out together.
One thing that bothers me is that when Hubs and I are upset with each other, like we were this morning from an argument that lingered from last night, I'm sure it shows. I'm sure staff and other parents can tell that our demeanor toward another is different. I probably care too much about what people think, but it bothers me that this coolness is on display for everyone.
Our argument last night was over something simple, but turned into something hard, with anger. I have, for some reason, suffered from unrelenting sciatica for the past three days. That, coupled with lack of sleep and stress and frustration led to me getting more angry that I thought I could. I left the house to cool off. I'm ashamed that I got so angry. I'm ashamed and afraid that perhaps our voices were loud enough that they disturbed the sleep of SB and BW, and might have scared them. My early childhood was filled with lots of fighting between my parents. Most of the details I've forgotten, but a few I remember. I don't want my kids to have those memories, so I am ashamed it may have happened last night.
I can do daycare drop off (and pick up) on my own, and I have several times. It's a bit of a juggling act, and I may have clunked a toddler in the head with Nugget's infant seat once or twice, but it's not impossible. However, it is so much easier to share with Hubs, like everything else in life. I can do it on my own, but I want to do life with the person I love by my side. I want to share the burden. I want to support him when he needs it, and I want him to support me when I need it. Even after half a decade, we're still figuring this out - I expect it's a lifetime learning experience.
One thing that bothers me is that when Hubs and I are upset with each other, like we were this morning from an argument that lingered from last night, I'm sure it shows. I'm sure staff and other parents can tell that our demeanor toward another is different. I probably care too much about what people think, but it bothers me that this coolness is on display for everyone.
Our argument last night was over something simple, but turned into something hard, with anger. I have, for some reason, suffered from unrelenting sciatica for the past three days. That, coupled with lack of sleep and stress and frustration led to me getting more angry that I thought I could. I left the house to cool off. I'm ashamed that I got so angry. I'm ashamed and afraid that perhaps our voices were loud enough that they disturbed the sleep of SB and BW, and might have scared them. My early childhood was filled with lots of fighting between my parents. Most of the details I've forgotten, but a few I remember. I don't want my kids to have those memories, so I am ashamed it may have happened last night.
I can do daycare drop off (and pick up) on my own, and I have several times. It's a bit of a juggling act, and I may have clunked a toddler in the head with Nugget's infant seat once or twice, but it's not impossible. However, it is so much easier to share with Hubs, like everything else in life. I can do it on my own, but I want to do life with the person I love by my side. I want to share the burden. I want to support him when he needs it, and I want him to support me when I need it. Even after half a decade, we're still figuring this out - I expect it's a lifetime learning experience.
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