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Yes, we’re expecting baby number 2 in mid-April! Needless to say we’re thrilled, excited, petrified, and happy that SuperBoy gets to be a big brother. The biggest challenge of being 10 weeks pregnant is that I have a bad case of the all-day morning sickness and a toddler who runs, plays, teethes, and wants to go outside all the time. I was very sick with SuperBoy the whole 9 months and am praying for reprieve by 12 weeks this time around! My midwife recommended a few different ways of coping with the extreme nausea. Please add ones that worked for you! 1) Food. All the time. Any time. Anything that sounds appealing. Protein. Ice cream. Whatever can stay down (not much). Ice cream does stay down better than other things, and bland does appear to be the order of seasoning at this point, much to my chagrin as I love my Thai and Persian food with some taste. 2) Acupressure & Acupuncture. I’m wearing Sea Bands on both wrists–which helped defer vomiting for a day–and considering acupuncture. Did this work for anyone else? 3) Ginger. I just loathe the taste of it, but have managed to suck down a few ginger drops. These and preggie pops just don’t taste very good to me. But I should really give them a large-dose try. 4) Vitamin B6. Haven’t done it yet. 5) Zofran. Only if absolutely necessary. I had to take this for a while with SuperBoy as I was being sick…
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If you have a spiritual practice, one of the best parts of it is the gift of sharing it with your child. As he discovers the world, and is introduced to the various dimensions of it, he also discovers and learns about the spiritual side of things. We practice Roman Catholicism and it is so endearing to watch J blow kisses to crucifixes, make a kissing sound every time he hears “Jesus,” and to get excited about the beautiful icon he has in his room of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. (The icon is a gift from our dear friend who passed away last year, the woman who shaped my sense of parenting and music as written about here.) He pages (and rips) through his picture Bible and sometimes behaves at mass. He also loves chewing on his wooden rosary. Whatever your spiritual practice, sharing it with your child can never come too early. As children grow older and wiser, they quickly ask the “why” behind the “how.” Starting to discuss spirituality young lays a good foundation for what’s to come. 1) Talk about it. Talk about God, nature, centeredness, whatever spirituality means to you. Solicit a response from your chosen terminology. Pair up the associations–Jesus and kissing, in J’s case, or nature and kissing the ground–associative links are crucial for vocabulary and comprehension growth. 2) Read about it. We read the Bible aloud to J everyday. Does he understand any of it? Aside from the name “Jesus,” probably…
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It’s been almost a week that I’ve been out here in New York helping my sister and her husband with the difficulty of their little girl being in the hospital. It has been a tough and learning experience to be away from my own child during this time. I’m so glad I have the support system back home such that my little J doesn’t appear to notice mama is gone. My parents and siblings have been wonderfully present during the day, and AA has been at work less. Our friends have been over with meals. J actually appears to have had the time of his life this past week! A few missing-your-child travel tips: 1) If you are still nursing, keep up the pumping. I came prepared to pump in the am and pm, as that has been J’s nursing schedule. I’m grateful my milk is still here and hope traveling home through TSA isn’t too terrible. It’s helped me stay connected mentally to my toddler and ensured neither of us had to quit cold turkey. (My sister’s baby came early.) 2) Look at photos and videos. I get daily media updates from my sister, mother, and husband. We decided it would might too tough for a 14 month-old to skype with mama, and be able to see me, but not touch me, especially as he hasn’t had any meltdowns or tantrums indicating he needs me. Therefore I get to see him, but he just hears my voice over the…
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Why buy jarred baby food when the real stuff is so much healthier, better tasting, and better for your child? We base our little man’s diet off Super Baby Foods, but it doesn’t take a recipe to steam, puree, and freeze veggies. What you do need that Super Baby Foods provides is a very thorough guide to selecting and preparing every imaginable fruit, vegetable, and herb for babies & toddlers (especially if you’re like me and a bit veggie-illiterate). It also includes lots of toddler recipes that are healthy and natural. I still refer to it even though I’ve been reading it for over a year! I even tabbed the prep section for quick reference. We don’t recommend (nor does the APA) starting solids like veggies before 6 months of age. 1) Purchase & prep. Head to the local coop, Farmers’ Market, or natural foods store. Start with a simple digestible veggie like sweet potato or one of the winter squashes. Or a very mild uncooked fruit (though I did a roasted pear once that J loved). Pick a few nice medium-sized sweet potatoes, let’s say, and head for the cashier. Scrub it up well with your clean veggie brush, peel it (I didn’t peel it in the above photo as J is old enough to handle the skin), and chop it into equal sized hunks. You’re going to blend it later so it doesn’t matter how large or small, just ensure they’re equal in size for steaming’s…
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Today was an errand day. J was a trooper in his Ergo in this heat. We don’t usually do errands together as I try to save those up for when my mom or sister can watch him. Both of them haven’t been around lately, so little man and I went out today. A few tips for errand running with a squirmy toddler: 1) Wear the child if possible. If he or she is even remotely carriable, it is way easier to peruse the aisles, pack the groceries, or make the detailed selections on fabric with a child strapped to you, versus scooting or toddling away from you. We live in our Ergo Baby Carrier, but once our Rockin’ Wrap arrives (thank you, Larissa!) with its beautiful horse head design, J will have two places to live while attached to me. J found the aisles of CVS particularly amusing and tried to lunge for the hair samples attached to the bottles of hair color in the shampoo aisle. Luckily he was attached to me! 2) Bring water or a snack. We brought homemade biscotti (whole wheat! (recipe to follow)) and a sippy cup with water. Naturally J only wanted the water once I took the cap off as he likes to drink out of “big boy cups” instead of his cup, but he did get a little hydration which was key in this heat. The biscotti was a great hit in the car when he realized he couldn’t rip apart the envelope he…
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A girlfriend and her sweet little 7 month old came over the other day for a dip in the baby pool and to share lunch, time, and thoughts. It is so refreshing to connect with like-minded parents. We mothers, especially ones who are the primary caregivers for their children, need other mothers for support, inspiration, and shared laughter over the foibles of parenthood. 1) Support. Mother who stay home have unique challenges: being alone with an infant, baby, or toddler for extended periods of time punctuated by diapers and naps is simultaneously wonderful and difficult. Mother who work have unique challenges: the stresses of work expectations balanced with the stresses of feeding, cleaning, shopping, loving, and caring for family. We need other moms in our lives who have parallel journeys. Reach out to those high school girlfriends who’ve fallen by the wayside over the years. See if they have children too! What about your work girlfriends? Church/volunteer activity friends? Motherhood is too good to keep to oneself. 2) Inspiration. Since starting this blog project, I’ve found so many amazing mothers online who are also bloggers. They are a constant inspiration to me! Frugal Granola, Small Town Simplicity, Conversion Diary, Kitchen Stewardship, to name a few. I continue to be inspired by people I knew pre-blogging. Diapeepees, Keeping Up With the Joneses, All Things to Please, Kid Play Times, Farm Girl Fare, Meghan Orud Photography & Design, and JosefBig. Being a mother is simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. It is both inspiring…
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