Those with a weak stomach should not eat with a toddler.
This is what was going through my mind while eating breakfast with Claire this morning and, unfortunately, is a regularly occurring thought. I must admit that I love her enthusiasm and zeal for life in general, but especially for food - if anybody enjoys her food, it's Claire. And maybe we adults could learn something from her and her fellow experimenting peers.
One of her favorite things to do is mix things together. If she has a bowl of berries and a glass of milk, the berries are sure to wind up in the milk and her fingers are guaranteed to be covered in milk (as are the table, her chair, and her shirt.) That's not so bad - it's reminiscent of berries and cream, and milk is easy enough to clean up. A more borderline experiment is crackers and olives in her kombucha. But maybe the worst combination to date was this morning.
It started with an innocent glass of milk. She mastered drinking from a glass months, if not a year or two, ago. But she got a huge cheek-filling gulp and had to spit some back into the glass. It happened again so Mark said "watch mama drink from her glass, see how she does it." I slowly brought my glass to my lips and demonstrated a nice, slow sip for her. No drips, no filled cheeks. No spitting. I gently set my glass down on the table again.
"Oh, with ONE hand," she said in all seriousness. Yes, that was the takeaway; that all of her problems would be solved by using only one hand instead of two to hold her glass of milk. Way to nail that lesson, mom and dad!
She went on eating her breakfast of 2 eggs over easy with a piece of toast cut into little pieces so she can get the perfect egg/toast ratio on the fork each time. One of the next bites were apparently too big, so naturally she spit it out. Into her glass of milk. Mark started to say "OK, that's enough," when Claire proceeded to drink the milk, without spilling or filling her cheeks. She followed it up with an emphatic "Mmmm-Mmm!"
I was taking my supplements and had a mouth full of milk myself, and was trying not to laugh when she leaned over as if to tell me a secret. "I have toast in my milk!" And then she took another sip with closed eyes, as if to say "this is divine!" I would have taken and shared pictures of this, as I normally do, but won't for two reasons. 1. it looked pretty gross, and 2. I try not to encourage this sort of behavior and it's already hard enough to hide my smiles and laughter - whipping out the camera would almost certainly make her want do it bigger and better next time.
Showing posts with label Parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parenting. Show all posts
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The windows needed washing, anyway
Today we stayed in our pajamas all day. Ok, we've done that a lot this summer, so today wasn't out of the ordinary in that regard. What set today apart was that we painted the windows.
A few days ago we took a field trip to a craft store because the cord cleat for Claire's bedroom blinds snapped in half, and it's been really irritating trying to wind the cord around a tiny little screw each morning. Of course, I can't visit a craft store without walking up and down every single aisle, and while we were doing this Claire happened to find the perfect tube of bright pink paint. It was just the size for her little 2.5 year old hand to grasp, and she was being so patient with my wandering that I told her we could get it. I hesitated at first upon noticing that it was window paint, but then I realized how fun it might be to paint on the windows...and I was right:
Tengo Bingo!
Cleanup wasn't too bad; it came off pretty easily with water and then I followed that up with vinegar to eliminate the water spots. The windows had been covered with sticky little hand prints so they needed a washing, anyway.
I have another project that's calling me back to the craft store tomorrow...I wonder what else we'll find while we're there?
A few days ago we took a field trip to a craft store because the cord cleat for Claire's bedroom blinds snapped in half, and it's been really irritating trying to wind the cord around a tiny little screw each morning. Of course, I can't visit a craft store without walking up and down every single aisle, and while we were doing this Claire happened to find the perfect tube of bright pink paint. It was just the size for her little 2.5 year old hand to grasp, and she was being so patient with my wandering that I told her we could get it. I hesitated at first upon noticing that it was window paint, but then I realized how fun it might be to paint on the windows...and I was right:
Tengo Bingo!
Cleanup wasn't too bad; it came off pretty easily with water and then I followed that up with vinegar to eliminate the water spots. The windows had been covered with sticky little hand prints so they needed a washing, anyway.
I have another project that's calling me back to the craft store tomorrow...I wonder what else we'll find while we're there?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Front porch fun
We need to get this girl a sandbox or a sand table.
This morning Mark commented on our pathetic-looking geraniums which have been denied water since...well, since my mom planted them a few months ago. (Sorry, mom!) They've gotten a little rain here and there, but are mostly protected from it up on the porch. Unfortunately, they are not protected from the intense afternoon sun...you do the math. I'm usually outnumbered by kids and have a million other things to do, so I took advantage of Mark's help and grabbed a watering can.
Claire followed me outside and started playing with a hose nozzle that was lying near the outdoor faucet, so I left the front door open after I was done watering. We were all still in pajamas, but she was having so much fun walking up and down the porch, pretending to water the plants. And then she started coming inside to her play kitchen, "filling up" the nozzle with water and bringing it back out to the plants. I got involved in other projects and when I peeked out to check on her a few minutes later she was digging in the dirt with one of her measuring spoons.
Funny how as parents we learn to...um, adjust our expectations and tolerances. I appreciate neat and tidy surroundings, but when kids are having fun I've learned to just let the mess go. Instead of worrying about the piles of dirt growing on the front porch I wondered if it was toxic Miracle Gro brand potting soil or the new organic stuff Mark had picked up this spring (pretty sure it was the organic stuff.)
Soon Claire's tools also included her little ceramic teapot (which, sadly, broke when she dropped it on the concrete) and she was having full conversations with an imaginary friend, going back and forth between the planters and her play kitchen. It was so cute, I just had to snap some pictures. Oh, and notice her favorite yellow pajamas - from two different sets - and her "ballet" shoes which she insists on wearing all day, every day. She also has her favorite aqua socks on, but you can't see them in this picture.
These poor geraniums! I will try to water them more often now that I'm up and around.
While I was outside with her she also ventured out to the big planter in the front yard for some exploration. (Check out her lovely aqua socks!)
When I was done taking pictures outside I headed in to vacuum. Claire followed because she loves to pretend with her little wooden ball popper thingy. Here she is vacuuming. What a big helper! :)
This morning Mark commented on our pathetic-looking geraniums which have been denied water since...well, since my mom planted them a few months ago. (Sorry, mom!) They've gotten a little rain here and there, but are mostly protected from it up on the porch. Unfortunately, they are not protected from the intense afternoon sun...you do the math. I'm usually outnumbered by kids and have a million other things to do, so I took advantage of Mark's help and grabbed a watering can.
Claire followed me outside and started playing with a hose nozzle that was lying near the outdoor faucet, so I left the front door open after I was done watering. We were all still in pajamas, but she was having so much fun walking up and down the porch, pretending to water the plants. And then she started coming inside to her play kitchen, "filling up" the nozzle with water and bringing it back out to the plants. I got involved in other projects and when I peeked out to check on her a few minutes later she was digging in the dirt with one of her measuring spoons.
Funny how as parents we learn to...um, adjust our expectations and tolerances. I appreciate neat and tidy surroundings, but when kids are having fun I've learned to just let the mess go. Instead of worrying about the piles of dirt growing on the front porch I wondered if it was toxic Miracle Gro brand potting soil or the new organic stuff Mark had picked up this spring (pretty sure it was the organic stuff.)
Soon Claire's tools also included her little ceramic teapot (which, sadly, broke when she dropped it on the concrete) and she was having full conversations with an imaginary friend, going back and forth between the planters and her play kitchen. It was so cute, I just had to snap some pictures. Oh, and notice her favorite yellow pajamas - from two different sets - and her "ballet" shoes which she insists on wearing all day, every day. She also has her favorite aqua socks on, but you can't see them in this picture.
These poor geraniums! I will try to water them more often now that I'm up and around.
While I was outside with her she also ventured out to the big planter in the front yard for some exploration. (Check out her lovely aqua socks!)
When I was done taking pictures outside I headed in to vacuum. Claire followed because she loves to pretend with her little wooden ball popper thingy. Here she is vacuuming. What a big helper! :)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Fun with cherries
I love this time of year, when berries and cherries are in season, and well-stocked at the market. For today's afternoon snack I washed a bunch of cherries, and cut the pit out of the ones for Claire. She was happily eating her halved cherries while I tended to Arden when I saw her slip away; I walked in the direction she had run and noticed a pink swirl on the wall around her eye level and knew she must be in a creative mood.
"Claire?" I called. She reappeared.
"Please don't smear your cherries on the wall, ok? Cherries are only for eating, not drawing." I tried to hide a smile, realizing how ridiculous my request sounded.
She ran and hid underneath her little table, so I followed and knelt down to peek under the table. I wanted her to know that I wasn't mad, but I was serious about not drawing on the walls with food. When I looked under the table I was met with a big grin surrounded by a pink-swirled face.
"No cleaning the walls with cherries?" she asked innocently.
"No, no cleaning the walls OR drawing on our faces and hair with cherries, please." Guess who's getting a bath tonight? At least it's better than permanent marker...
"Claire?" I called. She reappeared.
"Please don't smear your cherries on the wall, ok? Cherries are only for eating, not drawing." I tried to hide a smile, realizing how ridiculous my request sounded.
She ran and hid underneath her little table, so I followed and knelt down to peek under the table. I wanted her to know that I wasn't mad, but I was serious about not drawing on the walls with food. When I looked under the table I was met with a big grin surrounded by a pink-swirled face.
"No cleaning the walls with cherries?" she asked innocently.
"No, no cleaning the walls OR drawing on our faces and hair with cherries, please." Guess who's getting a bath tonight? At least it's better than permanent marker...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Hypocrite
I never wanted to be one of those parents who operate with the "Do as I say, not as I do" philosophy, but tonight turned out to be one of those instances.
Earlier this evening Claire was coloring in a notebook with markers at her little table while Mark and I were sitting at the big kitchen table talking. I looked over to check on her - she had been awfully quiet for a while - and noticed that she was busily coloring both of her arms and hands with the green marker. Not wanting Mark to miss out on the scene, I stifled a laugh and motioned for him to turn that way. They're washable markers so we weren't terribly concerned, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere; when she starts drawing on herself, the walls and furniture are next on her list. She seemed to be concentrating pretty hard on one of her wrists, so I quietly snuck over with the camera to take a video and was promptly busted. After checking out her arm art I reminded her that markers are for paper only, not for drawing on ourselves. She responded by coloring baby's nose green, and then doodling on her chair and the windowsill. Toddlers and self control...
Despite her protests and attempts to mark up other areas of the house, Mark and I ended up putting her markers away with a reminder that we don't draw on ourselves or the furniture, which induced a minor tantrum of sorts in Claire. Her face wrinkled in agony that only a frustrated 2 year old knows, she walked over to the pantry door and threw Baby inside as hard as she could before slamming the door shut. Then, of course, she realized that she wanted Baby back so she started banging on the door, sobbing "Baby! Baby!" Poor kiddo...such big emotions. So we retrieved Baby and she fell into my arms to finish unloading, and soon all was well again. The markers safely tucked away in an upper cupboard, Claire went about the rest of the evening with the message that we don't color on anything but paper.
Fast forward a few hours. I had forgotten during the marker episode that I had somebody coming over tonight, somebody I had hired to color on my skin. A local artist was coming over to do pregnancy henna on my belly. The timing seemed like it was going to work out well: Mark and Claire usually go upstairs around 6:30 to start the bedtime routine (brushing teeth, pajamas, reading books) and Victoria was planning to arrive shortly after that because it was the only time that worked for both of our busy schedules. Unintentionally at first, I figured Claire wouldn't see her or know that she had even been here - and now that the marker incident had occurred, it seemed better that she wasn't going to witness the hypocrisy firsthand. That was the plan, at least.
Long story short, Claire didn't fall asleep right away and ended up coming downstairs (a rare occurrence these days), and saw the lady drawing on Mama's belly just a few hours after Mama had told her that we don't draw on ourselves. I felt like such a hypocrite! But Claire was unphased, and took great interest in the process so we let her stay up a few hours later than usual.
If only I'd known what a fun and relaxing process this is, I'd have done it during Claire's pregnancy, too. I feel so pretty and pampered! And it's so enjoyable for the mom that babies love it, too; our little guy or gal spent most of the time stretching and rolling with big, sweeping motions. Victoria did a beautiful job, and we had so much fun chatting. I can't wait to take some portraits this weekend when the henna will be at it's darkest. We don't have many belly shots yet, and this finished product is gorgeous...what a fun way to celebrate this pregnancy and the largeness of my belly :)
These pictures were taken about halfway through...the finished design is amazing. I plan to post better pictures this weekend :)
While we waited for my belly art to dry, Victoria even did a little henna heart on Claire's hand, and then she applied magenta glitter - so cute! Claire was really good about holding it out to keep from smearing it...for about 5 minutes. Then she abruptly wiped it off. Notice the leftover green marks from the incident earlier in the evening. ("Hypocrite! Hypocrite!") Mark had a hard time getting a clear picture because she was wiggling and dancing around in excitement. I think she'll still have a faint heart on her hand tomorrow, since it stayed on for at least a few minutes, so I'll try to get a good picture.
So I foresee two possible things resulting from tonight:
1. Claire may be even more inspired to draw on herself now, and who can blame her? I'll laugh if she starts drawing on her belly.
2. Claire will NEVER want to go to bed again, thinking we have parties like this every night after she goes upstairs.
These next few nights should be interesting...
Earlier this evening Claire was coloring in a notebook with markers at her little table while Mark and I were sitting at the big kitchen table talking. I looked over to check on her - she had been awfully quiet for a while - and noticed that she was busily coloring both of her arms and hands with the green marker. Not wanting Mark to miss out on the scene, I stifled a laugh and motioned for him to turn that way. They're washable markers so we weren't terribly concerned, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere; when she starts drawing on herself, the walls and furniture are next on her list. She seemed to be concentrating pretty hard on one of her wrists, so I quietly snuck over with the camera to take a video and was promptly busted. After checking out her arm art I reminded her that markers are for paper only, not for drawing on ourselves. She responded by coloring baby's nose green, and then doodling on her chair and the windowsill. Toddlers and self control...
Despite her protests and attempts to mark up other areas of the house, Mark and I ended up putting her markers away with a reminder that we don't draw on ourselves or the furniture, which induced a minor tantrum of sorts in Claire. Her face wrinkled in agony that only a frustrated 2 year old knows, she walked over to the pantry door and threw Baby inside as hard as she could before slamming the door shut. Then, of course, she realized that she wanted Baby back so she started banging on the door, sobbing "Baby! Baby!" Poor kiddo...such big emotions. So we retrieved Baby and she fell into my arms to finish unloading, and soon all was well again. The markers safely tucked away in an upper cupboard, Claire went about the rest of the evening with the message that we don't color on anything but paper.
Fast forward a few hours. I had forgotten during the marker episode that I had somebody coming over tonight, somebody I had hired to color on my skin. A local artist was coming over to do pregnancy henna on my belly. The timing seemed like it was going to work out well: Mark and Claire usually go upstairs around 6:30 to start the bedtime routine (brushing teeth, pajamas, reading books) and Victoria was planning to arrive shortly after that because it was the only time that worked for both of our busy schedules. Unintentionally at first, I figured Claire wouldn't see her or know that she had even been here - and now that the marker incident had occurred, it seemed better that she wasn't going to witness the hypocrisy firsthand. That was the plan, at least.
Long story short, Claire didn't fall asleep right away and ended up coming downstairs (a rare occurrence these days), and saw the lady drawing on Mama's belly just a few hours after Mama had told her that we don't draw on ourselves. I felt like such a hypocrite! But Claire was unphased, and took great interest in the process so we let her stay up a few hours later than usual.
If only I'd known what a fun and relaxing process this is, I'd have done it during Claire's pregnancy, too. I feel so pretty and pampered! And it's so enjoyable for the mom that babies love it, too; our little guy or gal spent most of the time stretching and rolling with big, sweeping motions. Victoria did a beautiful job, and we had so much fun chatting. I can't wait to take some portraits this weekend when the henna will be at it's darkest. We don't have many belly shots yet, and this finished product is gorgeous...what a fun way to celebrate this pregnancy and the largeness of my belly :)
These pictures were taken about halfway through...the finished design is amazing. I plan to post better pictures this weekend :)
While we waited for my belly art to dry, Victoria even did a little henna heart on Claire's hand, and then she applied magenta glitter - so cute! Claire was really good about holding it out to keep from smearing it...for about 5 minutes. Then she abruptly wiped it off. Notice the leftover green marks from the incident earlier in the evening. ("Hypocrite! Hypocrite!") Mark had a hard time getting a clear picture because she was wiggling and dancing around in excitement. I think she'll still have a faint heart on her hand tomorrow, since it stayed on for at least a few minutes, so I'll try to get a good picture.
So I foresee two possible things resulting from tonight:1. Claire may be even more inspired to draw on herself now, and who can blame her? I'll laugh if she starts drawing on her belly.
2. Claire will NEVER want to go to bed again, thinking we have parties like this every night after she goes upstairs.
These next few nights should be interesting...
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
"I made a mistake!"
The infamous Terrible Twos are so commonly talked about and dreaded, I never expected to enjoy this age so much; I had no idea that 2 would be one of my favorite stages. Sure, I did a lot of babysitting as a teenager and I remember loving this age in other kids. But I figured that I was only seeing the best of these kids, kind of like a tv personality...anybody can look cheerful and nice for a limited number of hours each week, it's what 2 year olds did "off camera," or when the company went home, that I was a little leery about as we approached toddlerhood with Claire.
Of course we have our challenges, and it's not all fun and games at our house. I do agree that this can be a difficult age because toddlers want to be more independent, and their mental capacity may not always match up with their physical capabilities. It can also be difficult for adults to understand their words and behaviors at times, which is really frustrating for both sides and can lead to meltdowns (possibly on both sides, as well).
But what about all of the fun things about this age? Why is it such a secret that the Twos are also Terrific and Triumphant and Thrilling? I spend a good part of each day laughing at something Claire is doing or saying, or marveling over how quickly kids this age learn new things. Yes, it's annoying when Claire draws on the walls with black and red crayons, or on the tan leather couches with blue ink, or all over herself with every color marker within reach. But it's a rare occurrence, so far it's all been easily removed, and when she witnesses me noticing a new work of art for the first time she gets a concerned look on her face and points at the offending marks while saying dramatically, "Oh, no no!" Sometimes she'll even give me a "lecture" and explain to me that we only draw on paper.
Today in the car we were listening to a cd we're borrowing from the library, a compilation of jazzy kids' songs, when Claire started singing along. Her favorite track is Ella Fitzgerald's lively version of Old MacDonald. When I first caught a glimpse of her in the rear view mirror she was casually reclined with her hands clasped behind her head, elbows out. A few minutes later I looked back again to see her really getting into it, bopping along to the beat and waving her arms around. I couldn't help cracking up, and wishing I had a video camera permanently aimed at her. Even something as mundane as potty training has turned out to be amusing, with her joyful proclamations of "I did it!" or her know-it-all lectures explaining to us that everybody poops (after which she proceeds to list off all of our relatives and friends by name. If only they knew we were roping them into this!)
One of my favorite things about this age is Claire's ability to form strong bonds and relationships with people other than me and Mark. She even has inside jokes with my parents. For example, as their most recent visit with us came to a close, Claire was upstairs "helping" them pack when she got sidetracked and plopped down on the bed with a notebook and some markers. Mark and I were downstairs in the kitchen, but this is how my mom explained it to me: Claire would pick up a marker, take off the cap and place it to the side, and draw for a bit before replacing the cap and choosing another one. Then, again, she would take off the cap, set it aside, and draw for a bit. One time she took off the cap, set the marker down to the side, and almost started drawing with the cap before she noticed and exclaimed, "I made a mistake!" She dissolved into laughter, and to this day she can't say that phrase without laughing. Even while my mom was here over this last weekend, Claire would get a silly look on her face as she would look at my mom and repeat the phrase so they could laugh and relive the memory together.
I guess I don't know what I was expecting from this age, but clearly it was nothing near what we've been experiencing with her. It's so fun watching her personality and sense of humor develop along with all of the other milestones. All of this to say that I think the Terrible Twos have a bad rap. It's a misnomer. I hereby declare this age the Terrific Twos, and I hope that by renaming them I will inspire parents who are struggling with this age to step back and see things from another angle. If we go into something with a cloud like the word "terrible" hanging over us, we're bound to turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I will continue to enjoy the Terrific Twos, and look forward to the Thrilling Threes and Fabulous Fours. I can't even imagine the fun we have yet to come.
Of course we have our challenges, and it's not all fun and games at our house. I do agree that this can be a difficult age because toddlers want to be more independent, and their mental capacity may not always match up with their physical capabilities. It can also be difficult for adults to understand their words and behaviors at times, which is really frustrating for both sides and can lead to meltdowns (possibly on both sides, as well).
But what about all of the fun things about this age? Why is it such a secret that the Twos are also Terrific and Triumphant and Thrilling? I spend a good part of each day laughing at something Claire is doing or saying, or marveling over how quickly kids this age learn new things. Yes, it's annoying when Claire draws on the walls with black and red crayons, or on the tan leather couches with blue ink, or all over herself with every color marker within reach. But it's a rare occurrence, so far it's all been easily removed, and when she witnesses me noticing a new work of art for the first time she gets a concerned look on her face and points at the offending marks while saying dramatically, "Oh, no no!" Sometimes she'll even give me a "lecture" and explain to me that we only draw on paper.
Today in the car we were listening to a cd we're borrowing from the library, a compilation of jazzy kids' songs, when Claire started singing along. Her favorite track is Ella Fitzgerald's lively version of Old MacDonald. When I first caught a glimpse of her in the rear view mirror she was casually reclined with her hands clasped behind her head, elbows out. A few minutes later I looked back again to see her really getting into it, bopping along to the beat and waving her arms around. I couldn't help cracking up, and wishing I had a video camera permanently aimed at her. Even something as mundane as potty training has turned out to be amusing, with her joyful proclamations of "I did it!" or her know-it-all lectures explaining to us that everybody poops (after which she proceeds to list off all of our relatives and friends by name. If only they knew we were roping them into this!)
One of my favorite things about this age is Claire's ability to form strong bonds and relationships with people other than me and Mark. She even has inside jokes with my parents. For example, as their most recent visit with us came to a close, Claire was upstairs "helping" them pack when she got sidetracked and plopped down on the bed with a notebook and some markers. Mark and I were downstairs in the kitchen, but this is how my mom explained it to me: Claire would pick up a marker, take off the cap and place it to the side, and draw for a bit before replacing the cap and choosing another one. Then, again, she would take off the cap, set it aside, and draw for a bit. One time she took off the cap, set the marker down to the side, and almost started drawing with the cap before she noticed and exclaimed, "I made a mistake!" She dissolved into laughter, and to this day she can't say that phrase without laughing. Even while my mom was here over this last weekend, Claire would get a silly look on her face as she would look at my mom and repeat the phrase so they could laugh and relive the memory together.
I guess I don't know what I was expecting from this age, but clearly it was nothing near what we've been experiencing with her. It's so fun watching her personality and sense of humor develop along with all of the other milestones. All of this to say that I think the Terrible Twos have a bad rap. It's a misnomer. I hereby declare this age the Terrific Twos, and I hope that by renaming them I will inspire parents who are struggling with this age to step back and see things from another angle. If we go into something with a cloud like the word "terrible" hanging over us, we're bound to turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I will continue to enjoy the Terrific Twos, and look forward to the Thrilling Threes and Fabulous Fours. I can't even imagine the fun we have yet to come.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Food, Glorious Food
[Reposted from my old blog]
We've started Claire on solid foods. What an adventure! First it was avocado - and can I tell you, nobody in the history of mankind has ever looked so cute with green paste smeared in their hair, up their nose, inside their ears. It's ridiculously adorable. And watching her eat is so entertaining. We skipped purees and baby food and are going the "baby led weaning" route (weaning as in transitioning to food, not as in weaning from breastfeeding. I think this is a British term. She is still nursing, and probably will for another year or so.) This means that we give her managable chunks of safe foods, the perfect size for her to grasp in her fist, and she feeds herself. No spoons. The theory is that if she's developmentally ready to hold onto the food and put it into her mouth, then she's able to safely swallow it, too. I've read a lot about this and watch her like a hawk while she eats, and so far it's been working really well for us.
So back to the avocado. It's one of my favorite foods, and Mark loves it, too, so we thought it was only natural to make it Claire's first food. Plus it has a nice, bland taste and soft texture, and it's a powerhouse in the nutrition department. She is always interested when I put a few slices on her tray, and immediately picks one up and experimentally squeezes it in her fist. Green mush squishes out from between her fingers, bringing a smile to her face. Then she puts it in her mouth and lightly chews on the end sticking out of her fist, getting little bits of the soft meat in the process. The taste and texture are still new to her, so she makes funny faces that almost make me think she doesn't like it - but she keeps coming back for more, so it can't be that bad. And then she swallows those little bits, shuddering as they go down. What an odd feeling it must be to eat for the first time when you're only used to drinking. It's such a fun and messy process!
Last week I baked some butternut squash, which my mom tells me was Holly's first pureed food - and happens to be one of her favorite foods to this day. Claire and Holly are so much alike, I thought it was fitting for squash to be next in line. So I baked a few small organic squashes and cut them into french fry-shaped pieces once they cooled. They were soft enough to be gummed, but still not quite as mushy as the avocado. Claire did not approve, and after taking several bites started heaving and threw up the few small chunks she had swallowed. I wondered if it was the texture, so I mashed a little bit with a fork and helped her eat with a spoon, but she had the same reaction so I decided to call it a day and wait to reintroduce it some other day. Most recently we tried very-ripe banana slices, which were pretty close in texture to the avocado. She accepted them, but not with the same enthusiasm she had for the avocado.
I cannot wait until she can eat "real" food, I have a feeling she's going to love Mexican! I wouldn't be surprised, because I ate a lot while I was pregnant and she still gets the taste through my milk now. That's the beauty of nursing: babies experience many different tastes depending on what their mom eats. I think once she gets used to eating, she'll have a healthy appetite for lots of different flavors.
Speaking of food, one of my new favorite items is Ezekiel bread. It has sprouted grains, so the nutritional content is much higher. I recently discovered the benefits of sprouted grains, so I've tried sprouting my own as an experiment (just garbanzo beans, so far). I love a few slices of the Ezekiel bread toasted, smeared with several tablespoons of butter - yummmm! And I know what you're thinking, that butter is unhealthy. But I would urge you to do some research (try www.westonaprice.org for starters), and you'll see that saturated fats are NOT as bad as they have been made out to be. They are actually necessary for good health, and it's the rise in vegetable oil consumption that coincides with the rise in heart disease. Isn't that something? All these years we've been told to avoid butter and load up on vegetable oil. Our ancestors had the right idea, and the closer we can get our diets to resemble theirs, the healthier we'll be. It's sad that we have more knowleldge and technology today, yet we're unhealthier than ever. The processed and artificial foods we're eating can't even be called food anymore.
But anyways. It's getting late. I can see lightning in the distance, and I'm hoping for a storm tonight. Time for bed.
We've started Claire on solid foods. What an adventure! First it was avocado - and can I tell you, nobody in the history of mankind has ever looked so cute with green paste smeared in their hair, up their nose, inside their ears. It's ridiculously adorable. And watching her eat is so entertaining. We skipped purees and baby food and are going the "baby led weaning" route (weaning as in transitioning to food, not as in weaning from breastfeeding. I think this is a British term. She is still nursing, and probably will for another year or so.) This means that we give her managable chunks of safe foods, the perfect size for her to grasp in her fist, and she feeds herself. No spoons. The theory is that if she's developmentally ready to hold onto the food and put it into her mouth, then she's able to safely swallow it, too. I've read a lot about this and watch her like a hawk while she eats, and so far it's been working really well for us.
So back to the avocado. It's one of my favorite foods, and Mark loves it, too, so we thought it was only natural to make it Claire's first food. Plus it has a nice, bland taste and soft texture, and it's a powerhouse in the nutrition department. She is always interested when I put a few slices on her tray, and immediately picks one up and experimentally squeezes it in her fist. Green mush squishes out from between her fingers, bringing a smile to her face. Then she puts it in her mouth and lightly chews on the end sticking out of her fist, getting little bits of the soft meat in the process. The taste and texture are still new to her, so she makes funny faces that almost make me think she doesn't like it - but she keeps coming back for more, so it can't be that bad. And then she swallows those little bits, shuddering as they go down. What an odd feeling it must be to eat for the first time when you're only used to drinking. It's such a fun and messy process!
Last week I baked some butternut squash, which my mom tells me was Holly's first pureed food - and happens to be one of her favorite foods to this day. Claire and Holly are so much alike, I thought it was fitting for squash to be next in line. So I baked a few small organic squashes and cut them into french fry-shaped pieces once they cooled. They were soft enough to be gummed, but still not quite as mushy as the avocado. Claire did not approve, and after taking several bites started heaving and threw up the few small chunks she had swallowed. I wondered if it was the texture, so I mashed a little bit with a fork and helped her eat with a spoon, but she had the same reaction so I decided to call it a day and wait to reintroduce it some other day. Most recently we tried very-ripe banana slices, which were pretty close in texture to the avocado. She accepted them, but not with the same enthusiasm she had for the avocado.
I cannot wait until she can eat "real" food, I have a feeling she's going to love Mexican! I wouldn't be surprised, because I ate a lot while I was pregnant and she still gets the taste through my milk now. That's the beauty of nursing: babies experience many different tastes depending on what their mom eats. I think once she gets used to eating, she'll have a healthy appetite for lots of different flavors.
Speaking of food, one of my new favorite items is Ezekiel bread. It has sprouted grains, so the nutritional content is much higher. I recently discovered the benefits of sprouted grains, so I've tried sprouting my own as an experiment (just garbanzo beans, so far). I love a few slices of the Ezekiel bread toasted, smeared with several tablespoons of butter - yummmm! And I know what you're thinking, that butter is unhealthy. But I would urge you to do some research (try www.westonaprice.org for starters), and you'll see that saturated fats are NOT as bad as they have been made out to be. They are actually necessary for good health, and it's the rise in vegetable oil consumption that coincides with the rise in heart disease. Isn't that something? All these years we've been told to avoid butter and load up on vegetable oil. Our ancestors had the right idea, and the closer we can get our diets to resemble theirs, the healthier we'll be. It's sad that we have more knowleldge and technology today, yet we're unhealthier than ever. The processed and artificial foods we're eating can't even be called food anymore.
But anyways. It's getting late. I can see lightning in the distance, and I'm hoping for a storm tonight. Time for bed.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Unconditional Parenting
About a week before we headed up north, I started teaching Claire the ASL sign for milk. When I was still pregnant, Mark and I took a class on sign language for hearing babies (yep, just like in Meet the Fockers). The theory is that it improves communication, therefore reducing crying and frustration (presumably with both the baby and the parent ;) Seven months is the recommended age to start, and I figured milk would be a good one to start with. So imagine my surprise after just over a week when she started doing the sign on her own! My mom or Holly actually noticed it first, and it was the cutest thing. I don't know why I was so surprised, she had learned how to wave without my even really trying to teach her a few weeks before that. It's so much fun watching her learn new things, and rediscovering the world through her eyes!
I knew I was going to love Claire before she was even born, but I was not prepared for how hard I would fall for her. Just looking at her makes me grin, and I miss her when I'm away for even just an hour; her safety and happiness are more important to me than anything in this world, and I would do anything to guarantee both for her. Becoming a parent has changed me in so many ways, but one of the most profound has been my relationship with my parents. Their "uncool" decisions, and the times I thought they overreacted when I was growing up - it all makes so much sense now. Sure, sometimes they were overreacting, but I can relate now. I understand why they did and said the things they did, and I see it really was out of love. I wish I could have had this clarity 15 years ago.
I've spent a lot of time reading about parenting this past year, and thinking about my childhood and what worked/what didn't for my family. I love Alfie Kohn and his approach, so I'm trying to learn how to parent "unconditionally", when I was raised miles down the other side of the spectrum. I've talked extensively with my parents about this, to get their points of view and their wisdom, and to make sure they don't take it personally that I'm raising my kids in such a radically different way than I was raised. But they tell me they wish they could have done some things differently, and that they're proud of me for being so proactive and for taking the time to learn so much about my options. I'm so thankful for their support.
One of the tenets of Unconditional Parenting is to avoid punishment and rewards/praise. The punishment business hasn't been an issue for me, as I have always believed that babies are exempt. Rewards and praise, on the other hand, are my biggest obstacle right now. It's second nature to see a baby or little kid do something and respond with "good job!" It's like a Pavlovian response, I no longer feel I have any control over it; the words just come flying out. But in "traditional" parenting magazines and books, so-called experts stress the importance of positive reinforcement, and that's how I was raised. But now that I'm aware of this habit, and why it's not the best approach to take, I'm noticing examples everywhere.
In his book Unconditional Parenting, Alfie talks about the "dangers" of praise citing a study that was done with toddlers and their parents. Now let's see how well I can explain this from memory! (I hope I can do it justice.) They split the group down the middle and gave each toddler a toy to play with, telling one group of parents to praise their children while they played with the toy, and the other half to refrain from doing so. Later, they gave the kids another toy and watched them playing independently with it; the children who had recieved praise didn't have as much interest in playing without the praise, and appeared to need the cheerleading section to even want to figure out how to use the toy. The other kids whose parents had been nearby to answer questions but did not offer praise were able to figure out the toy on their own, and had more fun playing independently. The kids who were praised became dependent upon it, and it actually wound up hindering their ability to enjoy playing without it.
Now obviously, there are worse ways to parent. And I'm not saying parents who praise their kids aren't good parents. But this really opened my eyes. It reminded me of an afternoon a few summers ago that Mark and I spent with a family we know. Noah must have been about 6, and all of the adults were sitting outside watching him shoot hoops on the driveway. He's been a super athletic kid for as long as I've known him, able to make baskets and pitch baseballs better than many kids twice his age. So when he kept making baskets in the adult-sized hoop, we all clapped and cheered and yelled "good job!" But that got really old after a while, and one by one we adults became involved in side conversations and the praise died out. Until Noah turned around, hand on his hip, and said something like "hey, guys..." with a motion to resume the cheering. He wasn't done playing, and seemed insulted that we had stopped. When the cheering failed to sound as loud and exciting as it had been in the beginning, he threw the ball to the side and walked away kind of dejectedly. And the same thing has happened the last few times we've seen him: the first thing he asks is "Mark and Alyssa, want to watch me play video games?" If we don't watch him, he won't play. He needs the cheering section to enjoy many of the activities that other kids enjoy because of the activity itself. And I hate to sound harsh, I think he's a great kid and I love him. But what a perfect illustration of praise gone wrong. Kids should enjoy doing things because it makes them feel good, not because it's pleasing somebody else.
Punishment was a normal part of childhood for me. I wasn't a bad kid, and the punishments certainly weren't extreme. But I was grounded my fair share of times, had privileges withheld, and was scolded at times for not behaving a certain way. My parents were raised in the oppressive 50s, when all of the experts advised parents to control their household like a dictatorship or they would lose control altogether. Parents were looked down upon for not disciplining their children enough - even still today, when kids act out the parent is always blamed for not being in control. But this book has shown me that when parents exert control over their children, they are pushing their kids away and losing it in the process. When I was punished as a kid, I never got the message my parents wanted me to get, I just learned how not to get caught the next time. And it made me trust them less and fear them, and future punishments, more. It's been really interesting reading about this and looking back on examples from my childhood - and challenging to come up with ways to do things differently. Here's a good excerpt from Alfie's website:
"Advice for raising children typically comes in two flavors: threats (known euphemistically as "consequences") and bribes ("positive reinforcement"). Either we make kids suffer to teach them a lesson, or we dangle goodies in front of them for doing as they're told. Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin, and unfortunately, neither can buy anything more than temporary obedience. Manipulating children's behavior -- by means of time-outs, contrived praise, privileges offered and privileges taken away -- can never help them to reflect on the kind of people they want to be. Instead of encouraging kids to take responsibility for their actions, it makes them dependent on rewards and punishments. Rather than promoting generosity and compassion, it leads them to focus on the consequence to themselves of pleasing the adult."
I have a lot of reading and thinking to do, and I'll probably never really feel like I've got it down. But I'm also really enjoying this learning process and the challenges of finding better ways of doing things when they exist.
My question to you: how were you raised? Do you think it was effective? What would you do differently/the same?
I knew I was going to love Claire before she was even born, but I was not prepared for how hard I would fall for her. Just looking at her makes me grin, and I miss her when I'm away for even just an hour; her safety and happiness are more important to me than anything in this world, and I would do anything to guarantee both for her. Becoming a parent has changed me in so many ways, but one of the most profound has been my relationship with my parents. Their "uncool" decisions, and the times I thought they overreacted when I was growing up - it all makes so much sense now. Sure, sometimes they were overreacting, but I can relate now. I understand why they did and said the things they did, and I see it really was out of love. I wish I could have had this clarity 15 years ago.
I've spent a lot of time reading about parenting this past year, and thinking about my childhood and what worked/what didn't for my family. I love Alfie Kohn and his approach, so I'm trying to learn how to parent "unconditionally", when I was raised miles down the other side of the spectrum. I've talked extensively with my parents about this, to get their points of view and their wisdom, and to make sure they don't take it personally that I'm raising my kids in such a radically different way than I was raised. But they tell me they wish they could have done some things differently, and that they're proud of me for being so proactive and for taking the time to learn so much about my options. I'm so thankful for their support.
One of the tenets of Unconditional Parenting is to avoid punishment and rewards/praise. The punishment business hasn't been an issue for me, as I have always believed that babies are exempt. Rewards and praise, on the other hand, are my biggest obstacle right now. It's second nature to see a baby or little kid do something and respond with "good job!" It's like a Pavlovian response, I no longer feel I have any control over it; the words just come flying out. But in "traditional" parenting magazines and books, so-called experts stress the importance of positive reinforcement, and that's how I was raised. But now that I'm aware of this habit, and why it's not the best approach to take, I'm noticing examples everywhere.
In his book Unconditional Parenting, Alfie talks about the "dangers" of praise citing a study that was done with toddlers and their parents. Now let's see how well I can explain this from memory! (I hope I can do it justice.) They split the group down the middle and gave each toddler a toy to play with, telling one group of parents to praise their children while they played with the toy, and the other half to refrain from doing so. Later, they gave the kids another toy and watched them playing independently with it; the children who had recieved praise didn't have as much interest in playing without the praise, and appeared to need the cheerleading section to even want to figure out how to use the toy. The other kids whose parents had been nearby to answer questions but did not offer praise were able to figure out the toy on their own, and had more fun playing independently. The kids who were praised became dependent upon it, and it actually wound up hindering their ability to enjoy playing without it.
Now obviously, there are worse ways to parent. And I'm not saying parents who praise their kids aren't good parents. But this really opened my eyes. It reminded me of an afternoon a few summers ago that Mark and I spent with a family we know. Noah must have been about 6, and all of the adults were sitting outside watching him shoot hoops on the driveway. He's been a super athletic kid for as long as I've known him, able to make baskets and pitch baseballs better than many kids twice his age. So when he kept making baskets in the adult-sized hoop, we all clapped and cheered and yelled "good job!" But that got really old after a while, and one by one we adults became involved in side conversations and the praise died out. Until Noah turned around, hand on his hip, and said something like "hey, guys..." with a motion to resume the cheering. He wasn't done playing, and seemed insulted that we had stopped. When the cheering failed to sound as loud and exciting as it had been in the beginning, he threw the ball to the side and walked away kind of dejectedly. And the same thing has happened the last few times we've seen him: the first thing he asks is "Mark and Alyssa, want to watch me play video games?" If we don't watch him, he won't play. He needs the cheering section to enjoy many of the activities that other kids enjoy because of the activity itself. And I hate to sound harsh, I think he's a great kid and I love him. But what a perfect illustration of praise gone wrong. Kids should enjoy doing things because it makes them feel good, not because it's pleasing somebody else.
Punishment was a normal part of childhood for me. I wasn't a bad kid, and the punishments certainly weren't extreme. But I was grounded my fair share of times, had privileges withheld, and was scolded at times for not behaving a certain way. My parents were raised in the oppressive 50s, when all of the experts advised parents to control their household like a dictatorship or they would lose control altogether. Parents were looked down upon for not disciplining their children enough - even still today, when kids act out the parent is always blamed for not being in control. But this book has shown me that when parents exert control over their children, they are pushing their kids away and losing it in the process. When I was punished as a kid, I never got the message my parents wanted me to get, I just learned how not to get caught the next time. And it made me trust them less and fear them, and future punishments, more. It's been really interesting reading about this and looking back on examples from my childhood - and challenging to come up with ways to do things differently. Here's a good excerpt from Alfie's website:
"Advice for raising children typically comes in two flavors: threats (known euphemistically as "consequences") and bribes ("positive reinforcement"). Either we make kids suffer to teach them a lesson, or we dangle goodies in front of them for doing as they're told. Rewards and punishments are two sides of the same coin, and unfortunately, neither can buy anything more than temporary obedience. Manipulating children's behavior -- by means of time-outs, contrived praise, privileges offered and privileges taken away -- can never help them to reflect on the kind of people they want to be. Instead of encouraging kids to take responsibility for their actions, it makes them dependent on rewards and punishments. Rather than promoting generosity and compassion, it leads them to focus on the consequence to themselves of pleasing the adult."
I have a lot of reading and thinking to do, and I'll probably never really feel like I've got it down. But I'm also really enjoying this learning process and the challenges of finding better ways of doing things when they exist.
My question to you: how were you raised? Do you think it was effective? What would you do differently/the same?
Friday, May 9, 2008
6 months!
Claire turned 6 months old today! I woke up briefly at 3:00 this morning and thought to myself, "six months ago at this time I was in labor on the couch, completely in my own little world while Mark was installing the carseat so we could go to the hospital..."
Claire is finishing up a nap, so I'm clearing off the memory card on the camera and enjoying "mommy time." And laughing because this morning I dressed her in 12 month pants and an 18 month tshirt. And they fit! She prefers to be called "curvy" rather than "large and in charge." A note to moms-to-be: don't buy too many clothes ahead of time, you never know how big (or small) your baby will be.
Some friends of mine have been telling me about a parenting book by Alfie Kohn, called Unconditional Parenting, so I checked it out from the library. Here's what the book jacket says about it: "Most parent guides begin with the question "How can we get kids to do what they're told?" --and then proceed to offer various techniques for controlling them. In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking "What do kids need-and how can we meet those needs?" What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them." I'm looking forward to diving in, just as soon as I get a chance.
Lookslike it won't be now - she just woke up. Gotta run!
Claire is finishing up a nap, so I'm clearing off the memory card on the camera and enjoying "mommy time." And laughing because this morning I dressed her in 12 month pants and an 18 month tshirt. And they fit! She prefers to be called "curvy" rather than "large and in charge." A note to moms-to-be: don't buy too many clothes ahead of time, you never know how big (or small) your baby will be.
Some friends of mine have been telling me about a parenting book by Alfie Kohn, called Unconditional Parenting, so I checked it out from the library. Here's what the book jacket says about it: "Most parent guides begin with the question "How can we get kids to do what they're told?" --and then proceed to offer various techniques for controlling them. In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking "What do kids need-and how can we meet those needs?" What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them." I'm looking forward to diving in, just as soon as I get a chance.
Lookslike it won't be now - she just woke up. Gotta run!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Party time
Mark and I are going to a "will party" tonight. And I use the word 'party' loosely.
It's several couples going to somebody's house for a few hours one night so we can share the cost of the lawyer and use our collective motivation to get us to finish this yucky task. Then we reconvene in a few weeks to sign everything and make it official. It's one of those things that has to be done, but nobody ever enjoys doing it - so why not try to make it a little easier/more enjoyable?
We've been struggling with the guardian issue. If something were to happen to both of us, who would take care of Claire and any future kids we'll have? I hate thinking about it, but there's something I would hate even more: my kids being handed over to a stranger because we didn't choose somebody ourselves. Even when we think of people we know and love, it's tough. Some are single and we don't want to tie them down, others are already busy with a big family and maybe don't live the same lifestyle we want our kids to live. And thinking of somebody else raising your child, no matter how much you love them, is a difficult thing to do. But it has to be done. So we'll see how tonight goes and if we learn anything new that might make this an easier process.
In more uplifting news...yesterday Claire and I went on a long walk around the neighborhood and I happened to find a diamond ring along the way. When we got home, I posted a message on our neighborhood website and called the community center to let them know. It was a really nice ring - platinum, about a 1 carat center stone with a few quarter carat diamonds on the sides - and I knew somebody had to be missing it. About an hour after I posted the message, I got a phone call and the girl described the ring perfectly - I was so relieved! So she came over and picked it up and I got my happy ending and went about my business.
This afternoon I took Claire to a co-op to pick up some veggies and when we got home there was a black van sitting in our driveway. Hmmm, I'm not expecting anybody, I thought. When I got closer I saw that it was from a local florist, but it still didn't click until I opened the attached card. It was from Sara, the girl whose ring I found yesterday, thanking me for finding her ring with a gorgeous bouquet of tulips in a vase wrapped with a satin ribbon. How sweet, and totally unexpected!
Ok, better run, time for the will party!
It's several couples going to somebody's house for a few hours one night so we can share the cost of the lawyer and use our collective motivation to get us to finish this yucky task. Then we reconvene in a few weeks to sign everything and make it official. It's one of those things that has to be done, but nobody ever enjoys doing it - so why not try to make it a little easier/more enjoyable?
We've been struggling with the guardian issue. If something were to happen to both of us, who would take care of Claire and any future kids we'll have? I hate thinking about it, but there's something I would hate even more: my kids being handed over to a stranger because we didn't choose somebody ourselves. Even when we think of people we know and love, it's tough. Some are single and we don't want to tie them down, others are already busy with a big family and maybe don't live the same lifestyle we want our kids to live. And thinking of somebody else raising your child, no matter how much you love them, is a difficult thing to do. But it has to be done. So we'll see how tonight goes and if we learn anything new that might make this an easier process.
In more uplifting news...yesterday Claire and I went on a long walk around the neighborhood and I happened to find a diamond ring along the way. When we got home, I posted a message on our neighborhood website and called the community center to let them know. It was a really nice ring - platinum, about a 1 carat center stone with a few quarter carat diamonds on the sides - and I knew somebody had to be missing it. About an hour after I posted the message, I got a phone call and the girl described the ring perfectly - I was so relieved! So she came over and picked it up and I got my happy ending and went about my business.
This afternoon I took Claire to a co-op to pick up some veggies and when we got home there was a black van sitting in our driveway. Hmmm, I'm not expecting anybody, I thought. When I got closer I saw that it was from a local florist, but it still didn't click until I opened the attached card. It was from Sara, the girl whose ring I found yesterday, thanking me for finding her ring with a gorgeous bouquet of tulips in a vase wrapped with a satin ribbon. How sweet, and totally unexpected!
Ok, better run, time for the will party!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
People smile and tell me I’m the lucky one
When I woke up this morning it took me a moment to realize that the horrible dream I had just dreamt was not real. In it, my arms had been ripped from my body in a terrible accident and it hurt like hell. My shoulders were still burning with a familiar, deep ache when I awoke. Yesterday morning I was greeted with aching hips, but told myself it was just from overdoing it the day before. Damnit, I thought the arthritis was done with me. I haven't been eating the healthiest these last few weeks, maybe working on that will help. Ugh, what a pain. If my body can barely manage being 29, how will it handle aging beyond 30?
If there is a positive spin to put on this, it's that it made me investigate vaccines before Claire was born. I'm not sure I would have thought twice about giving her the recommended schedule otherwise, and she might be the one suffering the side effects instead. I would gladly take this for her, so until I get this under control again I'll remind myself of that. Just call me Pollyanna.
I'm getting better at reading and responding to Claire's sleep cues, so today was a little easier in that regard. I had a 9:30 conference call for work - those always stress me out because I worry about having a loud baby in the background prompting my boss to ask, "don't you have daycare?" To which I would have to respond, "No! I lied to you in my interview. I don't have daycare so my time is split between work and caring for my newborn, who will always come before work."
But today I noticed her getting tired at 8:45 so I nursed her to make sure she would be full for a few hours, and put her in the sling facing me. After turning on the radio (rather loudly, too - she loves music) I began the laps. Just walking a big circle around the staircase on the main floor gets boring, so I switched it up and did figure eights incorporating the couch, the kitchen table, the center island. When plain walking didn't do the trick, I hit the stairs. Luckily (hah!) the house looks like a tornado hit, so I had plenty of clutter to put away; working as inefficiently as possible, I slowly got some things put away while walking up and down the stairs as many times as possible. Have I mentioned that my pre-pregnancy jeans now need a belt to stay up???
Needless to say, she was fast asleep with her face buried in my chest by 9:30, and the meeting went well. She slept for 2 hours so I got a good chunk of work done, too. Later on she had another good nap, falling asleep almost immediately after I got her situated in the sling. And when she woke up a few hours after that, I flipped her around so she was facing out and together we put away the non-perishable groceries I didn't have time to put away when I got home from the store last night. I'm still living life in increments of about 2 hours, and I pushed my (her) limits last night. By the time I got home she was starving so I had to throw the perishables into the fridge and freezer like I was on a game show being timed, then dash to my little baby bird who was impatiently waiting for me with her mouth wide open. She is so darn cute, even after a frantic day of rushing to get things done and giving her every ounce of everything I have, I have to surrender to the grin that spreads across my face every time I see her.
Yes, I am indeed a lucky one.
If there is a positive spin to put on this, it's that it made me investigate vaccines before Claire was born. I'm not sure I would have thought twice about giving her the recommended schedule otherwise, and she might be the one suffering the side effects instead. I would gladly take this for her, so until I get this under control again I'll remind myself of that. Just call me Pollyanna.
I'm getting better at reading and responding to Claire's sleep cues, so today was a little easier in that regard. I had a 9:30 conference call for work - those always stress me out because I worry about having a loud baby in the background prompting my boss to ask, "don't you have daycare?" To which I would have to respond, "No! I lied to you in my interview. I don't have daycare so my time is split between work and caring for my newborn, who will always come before work."
But today I noticed her getting tired at 8:45 so I nursed her to make sure she would be full for a few hours, and put her in the sling facing me. After turning on the radio (rather loudly, too - she loves music) I began the laps. Just walking a big circle around the staircase on the main floor gets boring, so I switched it up and did figure eights incorporating the couch, the kitchen table, the center island. When plain walking didn't do the trick, I hit the stairs. Luckily (hah!) the house looks like a tornado hit, so I had plenty of clutter to put away; working as inefficiently as possible, I slowly got some things put away while walking up and down the stairs as many times as possible. Have I mentioned that my pre-pregnancy jeans now need a belt to stay up???
Needless to say, she was fast asleep with her face buried in my chest by 9:30, and the meeting went well. She slept for 2 hours so I got a good chunk of work done, too. Later on she had another good nap, falling asleep almost immediately after I got her situated in the sling. And when she woke up a few hours after that, I flipped her around so she was facing out and together we put away the non-perishable groceries I didn't have time to put away when I got home from the store last night. I'm still living life in increments of about 2 hours, and I pushed my (her) limits last night. By the time I got home she was starving so I had to throw the perishables into the fridge and freezer like I was on a game show being timed, then dash to my little baby bird who was impatiently waiting for me with her mouth wide open. She is so darn cute, even after a frantic day of rushing to get things done and giving her every ounce of everything I have, I have to surrender to the grin that spreads across my face every time I see her.
Yes, I am indeed a lucky one.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Does this purse make my butt look big?
Claire and I met a few friends for lunch on Wednesday, one of whom has a girl about Claire's age and the other who just announced she's pregnant. Yay, another mama-to-be in our group! We already knew about the one due in early July, and now this one is due at the end of September. How exciting :)
The newly pregnant friend and I had arrived at the same time, and as she held the door open for me I noticed her "purse". If you could even call it a purse. It was more like a coinpurse or Polly Pocket accessory; cute, but tiny. I mentally compared it to my own purse, roughly the size of a 2-slice toaster, and diaper bag. Maybe she'll be able to use it as a binky holder in the diaper bag once Junior arrives? When we took our coats off, we each revealed similar purple sweaters (we have a way of always showing up in the same color, somehow), only she pointed out that mine had a little dried spitup on one of the shoulders. lol
I remember when I used to leave the house in clean clothes every time, not just on lucky days; I remember when I used to wear accessories without having to worry about them scratching or being yanked on by the babe (heck, I'm so sleep deprived now that I'm lucky if I remember that I even own wedding rings, but it takes noticing them on somebody else when I'm out to spark it). And I'm perfectly happy with all of this; I'm 100% satisfied being plain (if not a little messy at times) for now so I can focus on Claire. Her clothes are a lot cuter than anything I could buy for myself, anyways.
Heh - Claire just woke up, and I decided to weigh myself with and without her - her diapers have been getting a little small and I was having a hard time believing that she was about to graduate to the next size already. Is our scale right? Does she really weigh 16 pounds?! My little baby is growing so fast :)
Speaking of the scale, I have to admit that I once broke it. Yes, I broke a scale, and I wasn't even pregnant (although I did gain a lot of weight with Claire, about 60 lbs)! Before I got pregnant, I was doing a new weight routine when I overdid it a little. I felt great walking out, maybe a little sore, but by the time I got home my legs felt wobbly. I went up to the bathroom to shower, and figured I'd step on the scale since I hadn't weighed myself in a while. When I lifted my right leg to step onto it, I realized just how sore I was because my left leg started collapsing. I grabbed the wall to steady myself, but my foot still landed a little hard and I heard a loud CRACK! I had stepped on and broken the little plastic window. I still prefer the mental image I get when I think of breaking a scale, of springs flying every which way, but the real story wasn't that exciting. It still works (at least I'm pretty sure it does!) and now I have something funny to remember every time I use it. Now if only growing out of clothes could be this amusing to me.
The newly pregnant friend and I had arrived at the same time, and as she held the door open for me I noticed her "purse". If you could even call it a purse. It was more like a coinpurse or Polly Pocket accessory; cute, but tiny. I mentally compared it to my own purse, roughly the size of a 2-slice toaster, and diaper bag. Maybe she'll be able to use it as a binky holder in the diaper bag once Junior arrives? When we took our coats off, we each revealed similar purple sweaters (we have a way of always showing up in the same color, somehow), only she pointed out that mine had a little dried spitup on one of the shoulders. lol
I remember when I used to leave the house in clean clothes every time, not just on lucky days; I remember when I used to wear accessories without having to worry about them scratching or being yanked on by the babe (heck, I'm so sleep deprived now that I'm lucky if I remember that I even own wedding rings, but it takes noticing them on somebody else when I'm out to spark it). And I'm perfectly happy with all of this; I'm 100% satisfied being plain (if not a little messy at times) for now so I can focus on Claire. Her clothes are a lot cuter than anything I could buy for myself, anyways.
Heh - Claire just woke up, and I decided to weigh myself with and without her - her diapers have been getting a little small and I was having a hard time believing that she was about to graduate to the next size already. Is our scale right? Does she really weigh 16 pounds?! My little baby is growing so fast :)
Speaking of the scale, I have to admit that I once broke it. Yes, I broke a scale, and I wasn't even pregnant (although I did gain a lot of weight with Claire, about 60 lbs)! Before I got pregnant, I was doing a new weight routine when I overdid it a little. I felt great walking out, maybe a little sore, but by the time I got home my legs felt wobbly. I went up to the bathroom to shower, and figured I'd step on the scale since I hadn't weighed myself in a while. When I lifted my right leg to step onto it, I realized just how sore I was because my left leg started collapsing. I grabbed the wall to steady myself, but my foot still landed a little hard and I heard a loud CRACK! I had stepped on and broken the little plastic window. I still prefer the mental image I get when I think of breaking a scale, of springs flying every which way, but the real story wasn't that exciting. It still works (at least I'm pretty sure it does!) and now I have something funny to remember every time I use it. Now if only growing out of clothes could be this amusing to me.
Friday, February 1, 2008
You’re not fully dressed without a smile
Oh, the emotions! And in just one 24 hour span...
On Wednesday when Mark got home from work, I ran out to the grocery store. One great thing about shopping on a weekday evening when it's 9 below is that you get a great parking spot, and the store is virtually empty. I can't stand crowded stores, especially grocery stores with carts and people clogging the aisles. I'm the type who wants to get in, get out, and go home. No lollygagging or dodging indecisive people.
But when I brought the groceries in, I accidentally woke Claire who was sleeping on Mark in the family room. She hasn't been sleeping the greatest lately, and was pretty cranky about it, so her fussiness turned into crying (which she rarely does, she usually stops at fussing.) She was really frustrated, complete with the lower lip hanging out - it was so cute, but I felt awful! Every time she inhaled, her lower lip sucked in...very dramatic. If she could walk, she would have tripped over it. And that's when Mark announced that there was a tear on one cheek, her very first tear, and I felt awful because I had caused it. Welcome to motherhood, right? Thankfully she got over it and life went on.
So last night I got home from the gym around 9:00 and Claire was ready to nurse and hit the sack. She fell asleep in my lap when she was done, which she usually does, and I was comfy in the rocking chair so I sat and watched her sleep for a little bit. She's so cute when she sleeps; in the light sleep cycle she kind of twitches, and big smiles flash across her face (involuntarily, I've read, because her nervous system is still immature; I like to imagine she's having good dreams). Last night was no different. She was curled up on her side facing me with both hands near her chin, and a big smile appeared, and then she started *giggling*!! Her first laugh was in her sleep!! It was the most adorable thing, she looked and sounded like a little girl on a playground, laughing at a joke with her friends.
Mark had just gone downstairs, so he missed it. I scooped her up as gently as possible and brought her down so I could tell him, but she woke up in the process - and thankfully there were no tears this time. So I tried singing to her and doing what usually makes her smile, but she was pretty tired so we just got a few smirks. I can't wait to hear her laugh again. What a beautiful sound!
On Wednesday when Mark got home from work, I ran out to the grocery store. One great thing about shopping on a weekday evening when it's 9 below is that you get a great parking spot, and the store is virtually empty. I can't stand crowded stores, especially grocery stores with carts and people clogging the aisles. I'm the type who wants to get in, get out, and go home. No lollygagging or dodging indecisive people.
But when I brought the groceries in, I accidentally woke Claire who was sleeping on Mark in the family room. She hasn't been sleeping the greatest lately, and was pretty cranky about it, so her fussiness turned into crying (which she rarely does, she usually stops at fussing.) She was really frustrated, complete with the lower lip hanging out - it was so cute, but I felt awful! Every time she inhaled, her lower lip sucked in...very dramatic. If she could walk, she would have tripped over it. And that's when Mark announced that there was a tear on one cheek, her very first tear, and I felt awful because I had caused it. Welcome to motherhood, right? Thankfully she got over it and life went on.
So last night I got home from the gym around 9:00 and Claire was ready to nurse and hit the sack. She fell asleep in my lap when she was done, which she usually does, and I was comfy in the rocking chair so I sat and watched her sleep for a little bit. She's so cute when she sleeps; in the light sleep cycle she kind of twitches, and big smiles flash across her face (involuntarily, I've read, because her nervous system is still immature; I like to imagine she's having good dreams). Last night was no different. She was curled up on her side facing me with both hands near her chin, and a big smile appeared, and then she started *giggling*!! Her first laugh was in her sleep!! It was the most adorable thing, she looked and sounded like a little girl on a playground, laughing at a joke with her friends.
Mark had just gone downstairs, so he missed it. I scooped her up as gently as possible and brought her down so I could tell him, but she woke up in the process - and thankfully there were no tears this time. So I tried singing to her and doing what usually makes her smile, but she was pretty tired so we just got a few smirks. I can't wait to hear her laugh again. What a beautiful sound!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tick tock
Mondays just got a bit more challenging. School started back up for Mark again, and he has class on Monday nights until 8:30. That means that he takes off for work around 7:45 (unless he has a 7:00 conference call with China or Europe, which has been more frequent lately) so it's just us girls until after 9:00 pm. That's a long day for one person to be with an 11 week old!! Don't get me wrong, I love it and we have fun, but between getting my 8 hours of work in while she nurses and naps on my lap (the only place she will sleep these days), keeping her entertained when she's awake, trying to make and eat quick meals here and there...it's exhausting. And this teething thing is adding another dimension to the mix - sometimes she cries because she's in pain, and nothing I can do will fix it. Sometimes being a mom is heartbreaking! And then she looks up at me with a big smile, as if I'm the most important person in the world, and everything in the world seems right. We'll make it through this teething and through Mark's school just like we somehow made it through the colic (I seriously thought that would never end). And then I'll complain that I miss my baby, and where did the time go? heh
I just joined a local walking group for babywearers. They meet at the Mall of America and the skyways downtown (and local parks when the weather warms up!) which will be a really nice excuse for me and Claire to get a change of scenery. And it will be nice to meet some more moms who think and parent like I do. Most of my current friends are on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to a lot of parenting issues, or they don't have any kids so they don't even care about my views on vaccines or co-sleeping.
I better go and relieve Mark. He's been walking around and bouncing Claire since I left for the gym a few hours ago. Now that I've had a little time to unwind, it's time for a shift change. I cannot wait for summer...I think we'll both have more energy when the sun doesn't set at 4:00, and we can spend time outside.
Maybe tonight will be better than last...Claire and I went to bed at 8:30 (before Mark even got home - we were tired!) and she woke up about every hour to nurse and/or fuss until 4 am when I put my arm around her and felt a wet spot on her back. She had wet through her diaper and her little outfit was damp. So I fumbled in the dark and found another one in the clothes basket (full of clean clothes I haven't had time to fold or put away...). It was a footed onesie/pajama number that I snapped from the feet up to the top, but when I got to the top set of buttons I realized that it was too tight and wouldn't reach. The rest of it fit fine, so I left it and we went back to bed. When I woke up this morning and saw her laying there, grinning, with the ill-fitting outfit I couldn't help laughing. The collar had folded out and was laying flat like an adult button-down shirt - she looked like Career Claire, as if she just needed a strand of pearls and a blaser and she was ready to head to the office. I guess we'll need to get some more 6 month outfits, as the 3 monthers are getting too small! Mommy's little chunker... :)
Ok, really, time for bed!
I just joined a local walking group for babywearers. They meet at the Mall of America and the skyways downtown (and local parks when the weather warms up!) which will be a really nice excuse for me and Claire to get a change of scenery. And it will be nice to meet some more moms who think and parent like I do. Most of my current friends are on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to a lot of parenting issues, or they don't have any kids so they don't even care about my views on vaccines or co-sleeping.
I better go and relieve Mark. He's been walking around and bouncing Claire since I left for the gym a few hours ago. Now that I've had a little time to unwind, it's time for a shift change. I cannot wait for summer...I think we'll both have more energy when the sun doesn't set at 4:00, and we can spend time outside.
Maybe tonight will be better than last...Claire and I went to bed at 8:30 (before Mark even got home - we were tired!) and she woke up about every hour to nurse and/or fuss until 4 am when I put my arm around her and felt a wet spot on her back. She had wet through her diaper and her little outfit was damp. So I fumbled in the dark and found another one in the clothes basket (full of clean clothes I haven't had time to fold or put away...). It was a footed onesie/pajama number that I snapped from the feet up to the top, but when I got to the top set of buttons I realized that it was too tight and wouldn't reach. The rest of it fit fine, so I left it and we went back to bed. When I woke up this morning and saw her laying there, grinning, with the ill-fitting outfit I couldn't help laughing. The collar had folded out and was laying flat like an adult button-down shirt - she looked like Career Claire, as if she just needed a strand of pearls and a blaser and she was ready to head to the office. I guess we'll need to get some more 6 month outfits, as the 3 monthers are getting too small! Mommy's little chunker... :)
Ok, really, time for bed!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Vaccine rant
I started this entry on Wednesday, and it's taken me this long to wrap it up. Work and Claire have kept me insanely busy!
Claire is "pre-teething". She'll be 10 weeks on Friday, so it's a little on the early side. I don't expect to see teeth any time soon, but things are definitely moving around underneath her gums causing her some pain. Poor baby :(
In a moment of desperation, I called our pediatrician's office to see if we could give her infant acetaminophen if things got really bad. The pain seems to come and go, but when it's bad she gets so frantic; she gnaws on her fists, her entire body stiffens up, and her face turns bright red. So after a sleepless night I was starting to anticipate a rough day ahead.
I got an emphatic "NO" to the infant Tylenol, or any other medication for that matter. The nurse went on to explain that babies under three months are in an especially high risk category and cannot take any medications.
So then let me ask why it's ok to inject babies with up to 5 shots, most of them containing 3 vaccines each, at the 2 month "well baby" visit? I know why they do it: because parents bring babies in for regular visits so it's a convenient mass-coverage plan. Parents don't normally bring older kids in regularly, when they could possibly better handle the overload to their immune system. Knowing why they do it this way is one thing, understanding why they think it's OK is another.
The fear that Thimerosal (mercury, a neurotoxin), a preservative in some vaccines, causes autism is just the tip of the iceberg. They may be phasing it out of vaccines now, but what about the chemicals that are still used? What harm are they causing? Aluminum, known to cause brain damage (and has been linked to dementia and Alzheimer's disease); formaldehyde, a known carcinogen; chick embryo cells, which are commonly contaminated with avian leukosis viruses. You may be thinking that an avian virus can't transfer to humans, but I just read that early Polio vaccine experiments in Africa may have transmitted an AIDS -related monkey virus to humans, beginning the AIDS epidemic. You just never know.
Viruses can only be detected in vaccines if researchers know what they're looking for...I don't want my child to be part of an experiment - which is what vaccines are - only to find out down the road that "oops, we didn't know X was in it and happens to be harmful to humans." That's what happened to me with my Rheumatoid Arthritis after I received MMR, DT, and flu shots. I won't put Claire through what I've been through these last 5 years.
Instead of mass vaccinations, why not teach and encourage better nutrition? A strong and healthy immune system is the best defense against illness. In high risk populations where the possible benefits of a vaccine outweigh the risks, it makes sense to utilize them as long as parents have informed consent. But it makes me so mad when doctors make parents feel like they MUST vaccinate according to schedule, and that side effects NEVER happen. Many states, including Minnesota, allow parents to decline vaccinating their children with some or all of the recommended doses; parents also have the option of delaying the schedule. We declined the HepB vaccine when Claire was born because neither of us have Hepatitis and the chances of exposure are incredibly slim. It would have been like putting casts on her legs "just in case she breaks them". No thanks.
I also wonder about the chickenpox vaccine. It is not guaranteed to guard against the disease, and it only lasts up to 8 or so years, max. So what happens after that? It surely doesn't give immunity in adulthood, when chickenpox become serious and sometimes life-threatening. So why prevent kids from getting it when complications are rare and they're in turn guaranteed lifelong immunity?
I better end this entry now, or I'll go on forever. Long story short, I'm interested to see how our pediatrician reacts when we take Claire in on Thursday for her 2 month visit - the visit she's supposed to be getting her first round of shots at. I've already told our doc that we're not interested, and he was respectful (unlike other pediatricians I interviewed when I was pregnant) but he did ask me to do extra research on a few in particular. I did, and am armed with reasons why I'm still not interested. I'm sure I'll have another long-winded entry after the appointment. Aren't you lucky!
Claire is "pre-teething". She'll be 10 weeks on Friday, so it's a little on the early side. I don't expect to see teeth any time soon, but things are definitely moving around underneath her gums causing her some pain. Poor baby :(
In a moment of desperation, I called our pediatrician's office to see if we could give her infant acetaminophen if things got really bad. The pain seems to come and go, but when it's bad she gets so frantic; she gnaws on her fists, her entire body stiffens up, and her face turns bright red. So after a sleepless night I was starting to anticipate a rough day ahead.
I got an emphatic "NO" to the infant Tylenol, or any other medication for that matter. The nurse went on to explain that babies under three months are in an especially high risk category and cannot take any medications.
So then let me ask why it's ok to inject babies with up to 5 shots, most of them containing 3 vaccines each, at the 2 month "well baby" visit? I know why they do it: because parents bring babies in for regular visits so it's a convenient mass-coverage plan. Parents don't normally bring older kids in regularly, when they could possibly better handle the overload to their immune system. Knowing why they do it this way is one thing, understanding why they think it's OK is another.
The fear that Thimerosal (mercury, a neurotoxin), a preservative in some vaccines, causes autism is just the tip of the iceberg. They may be phasing it out of vaccines now, but what about the chemicals that are still used? What harm are they causing? Aluminum, known to cause brain damage (and has been linked to dementia and Alzheimer's disease); formaldehyde, a known carcinogen; chick embryo cells, which are commonly contaminated with avian leukosis viruses. You may be thinking that an avian virus can't transfer to humans, but I just read that early Polio vaccine experiments in Africa may have transmitted an AIDS -related monkey virus to humans, beginning the AIDS epidemic. You just never know.
Viruses can only be detected in vaccines if researchers know what they're looking for...I don't want my child to be part of an experiment - which is what vaccines are - only to find out down the road that "oops, we didn't know X was in it and happens to be harmful to humans." That's what happened to me with my Rheumatoid Arthritis after I received MMR, DT, and flu shots. I won't put Claire through what I've been through these last 5 years.
Instead of mass vaccinations, why not teach and encourage better nutrition? A strong and healthy immune system is the best defense against illness. In high risk populations where the possible benefits of a vaccine outweigh the risks, it makes sense to utilize them as long as parents have informed consent. But it makes me so mad when doctors make parents feel like they MUST vaccinate according to schedule, and that side effects NEVER happen. Many states, including Minnesota, allow parents to decline vaccinating their children with some or all of the recommended doses; parents also have the option of delaying the schedule. We declined the HepB vaccine when Claire was born because neither of us have Hepatitis and the chances of exposure are incredibly slim. It would have been like putting casts on her legs "just in case she breaks them". No thanks.
I also wonder about the chickenpox vaccine. It is not guaranteed to guard against the disease, and it only lasts up to 8 or so years, max. So what happens after that? It surely doesn't give immunity in adulthood, when chickenpox become serious and sometimes life-threatening. So why prevent kids from getting it when complications are rare and they're in turn guaranteed lifelong immunity?
I better end this entry now, or I'll go on forever. Long story short, I'm interested to see how our pediatrician reacts when we take Claire in on Thursday for her 2 month visit - the visit she's supposed to be getting her first round of shots at. I've already told our doc that we're not interested, and he was respectful (unlike other pediatricians I interviewed when I was pregnant) but he did ask me to do extra research on a few in particular. I did, and am armed with reasons why I'm still not interested. I'm sure I'll have another long-winded entry after the appointment. Aren't you lucky!
Ragin’ CAJN
CAJN. Those are Claire's initials, and sometimes Ragin' Cajun is a fitting nickname. Poor thing is still fussy on and off, and I still think it's teething (or pre-teething) pain. I took her to a La Leche League meeting on Thursday and had to stand and bounce her almost the whole time. I was meeting a few friends there, and one of them has a 6 week old who is already visibly sprouting teeth. And although it's rare, some babies are even born with teeth. So I don't think it's too early for that to be the case with her at 10 weeks. I just hope it stops soon, because I hate seeing her in pain. At least between the painful periods, she's her cheerful and smiley self. I live for her smiles and coos.
I'm looking forward to attending a baby wearing meeting sometime in the next week. I have a sling and a wrap, and have tried both with her a few times, but she hasn't liked either yet. I think it's because she loves looking out at the world, but doesn't have the required neck strength to be worn facing out yet, so she squirms when I wear her facing me. Maybe in the next month or two it will get easier when she can face out. Or maybe it's because I'm still new at this, and she's uncomfortable while I fumble to get her situated. I'm hoping I can figure it out at a meeting with women who are pros at this, or maybe I can try a few other types of slings/wraps to see if another style works better for us. Either way, I really want this to work out - I love having her close AND having both hands free!
I've been emailing back and forth these last few days with Karen, the other woman who just started at work and trained with me. So she was there the first day and a half when we didn't have computers, and she's endured our trainer's motormouth with me, and she also sat in her car outside of our boss's house the day we trained there together when our boss was late to her own house. Neither of us have ever worked for a company quite like this before, so it's nice that we have each other to talk to when something happens. I told her about my latest experience on Tuesday.
I trained at our boss's house again while Karen went somewhere else to train. My boss told me to arrive at 8 (which required me to leave my house by 7 because of rush hour), and when I did she was still getting her kids ready for school. We didn't get started until around 9, and then she told me that she had a 1:00 coffee date with a friend that she had forgotten to cancel, and would I mind hanging out at Target one exit up the highway for a while? I would have just gone home for a bit, but my house is a good 45 minutes away without traffic.
Being new and wanting to make a good impression on my boss, I told her "no problem!" and headed to Target. I pulled into her driveway at the agreed upon 2:15, noticing only one set of tire tracks leaving her garage stall. She wasn't home yet. So I sat in my car on her driveway - again - with the heat blasting for 10 minutes until she rolled up. Pretty tacky when she's the one who planned this training session, and it was her second time making me wait outside her house for her.
So then Karen told me about her latest experience. Since we're WAHs (work at home employees) we were given computers. Unfortunately, that's about all we were given. We had to remind the several times to give us log-in info and passwords, and then when we got home we had to figure out how to set everything up and find the necessary programs on our own. Karen was having trouble with her router at home, so she called the help desk. Apparently the guy she talked to was so impatient and unprofessional that at one point she could hear him banging his phone against his desk. Nice! I have such a hard time believing Fidelity is as succesful as it is, and that it's a Fortune 500 company. How is anything accomplished when nobody knows what they're doing? I just hope they'll give me a break and flexibility if I ever need it, because I've certainly excused enough from them these last few weeks.
Ok, time for bed.
I'm looking forward to attending a baby wearing meeting sometime in the next week. I have a sling and a wrap, and have tried both with her a few times, but she hasn't liked either yet. I think it's because she loves looking out at the world, but doesn't have the required neck strength to be worn facing out yet, so she squirms when I wear her facing me. Maybe in the next month or two it will get easier when she can face out. Or maybe it's because I'm still new at this, and she's uncomfortable while I fumble to get her situated. I'm hoping I can figure it out at a meeting with women who are pros at this, or maybe I can try a few other types of slings/wraps to see if another style works better for us. Either way, I really want this to work out - I love having her close AND having both hands free!
I've been emailing back and forth these last few days with Karen, the other woman who just started at work and trained with me. So she was there the first day and a half when we didn't have computers, and she's endured our trainer's motormouth with me, and she also sat in her car outside of our boss's house the day we trained there together when our boss was late to her own house. Neither of us have ever worked for a company quite like this before, so it's nice that we have each other to talk to when something happens. I told her about my latest experience on Tuesday.
I trained at our boss's house again while Karen went somewhere else to train. My boss told me to arrive at 8 (which required me to leave my house by 7 because of rush hour), and when I did she was still getting her kids ready for school. We didn't get started until around 9, and then she told me that she had a 1:00 coffee date with a friend that she had forgotten to cancel, and would I mind hanging out at Target one exit up the highway for a while? I would have just gone home for a bit, but my house is a good 45 minutes away without traffic.
Being new and wanting to make a good impression on my boss, I told her "no problem!" and headed to Target. I pulled into her driveway at the agreed upon 2:15, noticing only one set of tire tracks leaving her garage stall. She wasn't home yet. So I sat in my car on her driveway - again - with the heat blasting for 10 minutes until she rolled up. Pretty tacky when she's the one who planned this training session, and it was her second time making me wait outside her house for her.
So then Karen told me about her latest experience. Since we're WAHs (work at home employees) we were given computers. Unfortunately, that's about all we were given. We had to remind the several times to give us log-in info and passwords, and then when we got home we had to figure out how to set everything up and find the necessary programs on our own. Karen was having trouble with her router at home, so she called the help desk. Apparently the guy she talked to was so impatient and unprofessional that at one point she could hear him banging his phone against his desk. Nice! I have such a hard time believing Fidelity is as succesful as it is, and that it's a Fortune 500 company. How is anything accomplished when nobody knows what they're doing? I just hope they'll give me a break and flexibility if I ever need it, because I've certainly excused enough from them these last few weeks.
Ok, time for bed.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
First day back to work
Whoah, what a day. We had another long night with Claire (not too surprising, considering she'll only be 8 weeks old on Friday) and when the alarm went off at 6 am, for the first time in several months it was meant for me, too. I was so tired I felt numb. But I was also excited to be starting my new job today, and a little nervous, so I snapped out of it and got down to business. I was loaded down with stuff: my pump since I'm nursing Claire, my purse, a notebook, and a lunch that reminded me of elementary school. When's the last time I had pb&j with a cut up apple? Now that I know I'll have access to a fridge and microwave, I can bring something better, like leftover beef stew. Pb&j was pretty boring today.
Ironically, the new office is just 5 minutes from my former job (20 miles from my house). I made it there before the other new girl and the trainer, so that made me relax - I hate being late. And both women ended up being super friendly, so it made training very pleasant. The only problem: the IT department failed to have computers for us in the training room. So we spent the entire day, from 8-4, talking about what we were missing out on. "There's a screen in the system that does this....and then there's a button that does that...and this part turns blue when this happens, you'll see tomorrow." I'm an auditor and work in a queue, my entire job is done on the computer, yet they couldn't train us on a computer today. Why didn't they just let us go home?
The woman who was training us is one of those people who doesn't need to take a breath for 8 hours. And her segues were worthy of an award - she talked and talked all day long, somehow finding her way to new subjects without letting either of us get a word in about the last one. I finally had to interrupt her after 2 hours of solid talking to remind her that she offered to give me a tour of the building and show me where I could pump. Things were starting to get painfull and I needed to take care of it.
So now I know her life story, and those of her daughters and the kids she babysat after high school. I also learned that vinegar and baking soda are very effective cleaning agents, and that I need to see the movie Chocolat. But I was so tired from our long night that my eyes started to get dry. And the training room was really warm, and when she started talking about what the computer system would look like, I felt my eyelids getting heavy. I was sitting across a small table from the other two women, trying to stay awake and look interested when my head snapped up and woke me up. Woke me up?! That means I was sleeping!! But the trainer didn't even notice, she was still talking a mile a minute and laughing in her good natured way. I tried blinking and squeezing my eyes shut to ease the dryness, but I was too tired and the hypothetical topic too boring. I fought hard to keep my head from falling onto the table. Somehow 4:00 rolled around and I was set free with the promise of actually learning something tomorrow.
I woke up completely when I stepped out into the 7 degree weather, and picked up some dinner on the way home. And then I somehow had energy to run to the gym - another first since Claire's been here. It felt good to stretch and move around, but it was incredibly frustrating not being able to do what I used to do. I listened to my 'exercise' playlist, the one containing my most motivating songs that I used to LOVE working out to, and it only made me long to push myself harder than I knew I should. Maybe I should hold off on those particular songs, as the Pavlovian response is just too strong.
Aaaand somehow it's 11:00 and I have to get up in 7 hours to do it all again. Good night!
Ironically, the new office is just 5 minutes from my former job (20 miles from my house). I made it there before the other new girl and the trainer, so that made me relax - I hate being late. And both women ended up being super friendly, so it made training very pleasant. The only problem: the IT department failed to have computers for us in the training room. So we spent the entire day, from 8-4, talking about what we were missing out on. "There's a screen in the system that does this....and then there's a button that does that...and this part turns blue when this happens, you'll see tomorrow." I'm an auditor and work in a queue, my entire job is done on the computer, yet they couldn't train us on a computer today. Why didn't they just let us go home?
The woman who was training us is one of those people who doesn't need to take a breath for 8 hours. And her segues were worthy of an award - she talked and talked all day long, somehow finding her way to new subjects without letting either of us get a word in about the last one. I finally had to interrupt her after 2 hours of solid talking to remind her that she offered to give me a tour of the building and show me where I could pump. Things were starting to get painfull and I needed to take care of it.
So now I know her life story, and those of her daughters and the kids she babysat after high school. I also learned that vinegar and baking soda are very effective cleaning agents, and that I need to see the movie Chocolat. But I was so tired from our long night that my eyes started to get dry. And the training room was really warm, and when she started talking about what the computer system would look like, I felt my eyelids getting heavy. I was sitting across a small table from the other two women, trying to stay awake and look interested when my head snapped up and woke me up. Woke me up?! That means I was sleeping!! But the trainer didn't even notice, she was still talking a mile a minute and laughing in her good natured way. I tried blinking and squeezing my eyes shut to ease the dryness, but I was too tired and the hypothetical topic too boring. I fought hard to keep my head from falling onto the table. Somehow 4:00 rolled around and I was set free with the promise of actually learning something tomorrow.
I woke up completely when I stepped out into the 7 degree weather, and picked up some dinner on the way home. And then I somehow had energy to run to the gym - another first since Claire's been here. It felt good to stretch and move around, but it was incredibly frustrating not being able to do what I used to do. I listened to my 'exercise' playlist, the one containing my most motivating songs that I used to LOVE working out to, and it only made me long to push myself harder than I knew I should. Maybe I should hold off on those particular songs, as the Pavlovian response is just too strong.
Aaaand somehow it's 11:00 and I have to get up in 7 hours to do it all again. Good night!
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