11 Months

Couldn't make this a Wordless Wednesday...too much to say. I should have kept my update from yesterday until today...didn't even think of it actually. On his 11 month birthday, Baby J got his first taste of waffle. I gave him 1/2 and I think he would have gone for a whole but he had his super porridge to eat first. Besides, it was just a treat.

I am still making his food for the most part, but he is getting some finger foods too. Most of the food he is eating is high fat (the good kinds, not saturated) and calories. He is taking a 40/60 mix of breastmilk (thanks to my cousin Melissa) and PediaSure. It used to be a 25/75 mix but he is growing and I keep a close eye on his weight.

I have written about super porridge in awhile...probably because he wasn't allowed to eat it and then he wouldn't eat it. I had a hard time getting him to eat anything but Cheerios for awhile and fruits/veggies were not going in. I had no idea baby lips could be so tight! Anyway, after much coaxing (and waiting until he was starved) he is now on a steady diet of healthy foods. The GI doctor didn't want him having hardly any fruits or veggies...mostly cereal and pastas or potatoes. Couldn't do it. Although I'd love someone to put me on that diet, I can't see that it would be good for him in the long run.

Now, I am well aware he needs to have foods that will keep him growing because as he eats more food he will drink less Pedia Sure (30 cal/oz). At this point I think his metabolism is slowing down a bit, but he still needs tons of calories. He gets two main things in addition to Cheerios and his breastmilk/PediaSure feed.

1. Super porridge
2. Tofu/Veggie/Cereal

His super porridge is advacado, rice cereal, tahini (18 g. fat/2 Tbs), vitamins, moringa, flax seed powder, and PediaSure. If you want my exact measurements, let me know. It is actually a super healthy breakfast for any baby. You can also make it with oatmeal and most certainly with another formula or breastmilk. At first it was hard to get him to eat...and I can't say the pea soup color is appealing to me...but now when he sees it coming his feet are a kicking!

The second thing, that he has for most lunches/dinners, is as it sounds...tofu mixed with a veggie and some rice cereal. He's only getting like 1 TBS of tofu total in a day, don't worry. I also throw a little of whatever baby appropriate food our family is eating onto his tray after his food and bottle are gone. Usually it just serves to entertain him, not nourish him.

I get questions about making my baby food all the time. Pretty soon I won't even be needing to make it...so if you have questions ask now before I completely forget what I did. Oh, and get the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. Great source!

Update on Baby J...

I haven't posted anything about how Baby J is doing in awhile because it has been the same 'ol same 'ol for awhile...which is a good thing. Cause "same 'ol" right now means he is growing and developing nicely!

I think you'll agree from the picture above taken on Friday or was it Saturday or maybe Sunday or actually I don't know...the kids are living in the baby pool right now. Maybe I should start over.

I think you'll agree from the picture taken sometime over the weekend, that Baby J looks great! I keep waiting for his 4 top teeth to show up in a picture...they are there and have been for awhile, but those two little cuties on the bottom keep stealing the show.

We went to the doctor today, just our regular normal family doctor (we don't use a pediatrician anymore) to have his ears checked out. When we went to the audiologist last week and they wanted him to take a look and see if he had an ear infection because his tympanogram was completely flat. If you want to know what on earth I am talking about, click above as I am not a medical expert and don't completely understand it myself. (Diagram B looked the closest to what his readout was...his was a bit flatter as it didn't have any jump in it). Anywho, he does indeed have fluid in his inner ear and is now on an antibiotic to see if they can clear it up...haul out the homemade yogurt! I didn't blog about his trip to the audiologist because until we saw the doctor we didn't know what the results really were.

The audiologist said something...disturbing. There were many things they did that Baby J heard...they were 99% sure he was hearing them....but he was ignoring them. He would respond once and then ignore it from there on out. He didn't like to have eye contact with the tester who was in front of him. They kinda laughed and said "there's nothing we can do about that". Basically they summed it up as this: Baby J does what Baby J wants to do...good luck.
They were not being mean, and he was pretty giggly and in a great mood with them, but they were certain that he was tuning out anything that wasn't high on his priority list. I think he's gonna be a fun toddler, don't you? :o)

While we were there (audio) they did many tests on him. He does have some hearing loss (congenital hearing loss they said) but it might not be as bad as they thought if he had fluid on his ears (in his ears?) like the tympanogram indicated. Well, I never thought I'd be glad my kid had an ear infection, but I'll take that over hearing loss. Our doctor wants him retested in a few weeks to see if the results come back better. He weighed in today at 18 lbs, 4 oz & 29 inches long. The nurse said something about being in the 5th percentile...not sure if that was height or weight...but LOOK at him. I think he is chunk enough thanks. On top of that, he is mobile, happy, gaining weight, and healthy (except an ear infection that he showed no real signs of...oops). We'll let him be in whatever percentile...he's doing so so good and we are so so thankful.


Maybe I'm wrong on the ear infection...those of you with kids with ear problems, help me out. The audiologist said "ear infection" and "fluid in/on ears"...today the doctor just talked about the fluid...is it all the same, or are they two different things? Anyway, Dr. B thinks we may be seeing an ear nose and throat Dr. with Baby J eventually. Of course we will.

I had said here that Baby J was creeping...but really he was up on hands and toes/knees and reaching for things. Now he is in and out of rooms and the baby gates are up. He loves to crawl without any clothes on and he is super fast. I don't love him to do that...but sometimes it happens. And we never laugh about it.

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

That was the name of a TV show a long time ago, but if I had written down all the things I've heard kids say over the years in my classroom and daycare...well, I'd have a novel.

Snug just said "I swimming....like a duck" as I was turning on the laptop to post yesterday's pictures. I'm sitting outside with the computer so that he doesn't drown in his 6 inches of pool :o)

We are learning not to laugh out loud at what he says though, because it only encourages him. He has a vivid imagination these days. It is always interesting to see what he says about what he learned at church. We have a great Bible believing church that starts telling Bible stories and sharing the love of Christ starting in the toddler nursery. Snug knows/has heard many many Bible stories, but manages to retell them in a special way each and every week. For example, this week when asked what he learned, he told #1 (who just got off work as I am typing this...this story is literally minutes old) that God made us, but He gets sad. #1 asked why God gets sad and Snug replied "because the angels fight Spiderman". Really? I was standing outside the door (long story) during his story time and I know for a fact the story was about Rahab and the walls of Jericho.

FYI Snug has never seen the Spiderman movies or cartoons...he loves Spiderman because the boys I babysit for love Spiderman. If he saw the "real thing" it would scare his pants off.

Anyway, Saturday was one of the most relaxing days I've had in a long time. Unfortunately #1 wasn't home because it was his Saturday to work, but the boys and I had a good time nonetheless. I had seen a sign that said there was a parade in Cedarville in honor of Memorial Day. We decided to attend and arrived about 30 minutes early to ensure that we got a spot on the parade route...there were about 4 other people ready to watch so I figured I might have misjudged the um...magnitude? of the parade. We set our chairs down and went in search of my favorite coffee shop in the whole wide world.
I used to live with the owners of this particular coffee shop (Beans N Cream for those of you who live round here) my first three years of teaching. I stop in once in awhile to smell the coffee (which I don't drink), poke around, and catch up with the owners. While poking around I found they are now stocking soaps and such from a local artisan that are 100% natural and paraben free. Score! I will advertise for them after I try the soap...don't know if I like it yet. But if I do, I'll share it with you.

I also got a great compliment from the local barber when he saw Snug's hair. He had no idea I cut it myself but he told me whoever cuts his hair does a great job and that a fauxhawk on a toddler isn't easy and rarely done right. i was thinking his hair looked not so great and was thinking of shaving the rest off...maybe I'll rethink it. The pictures below show it after it had been in the hot sun for awhile and it looks even worse. At least he like it!
So back the the parade. It started 15 minutes late and lasted about 8 minutes total. Wow. Snug enjoyed it though because the boys baseball team threw him candy and there were lots of "woos".
These big signs were posted everywhere...you would think with the cost of advertising that the parade would have been a bigger event! If you notice Snug having his hand up "snapping" as it is in this picture once in awhile, it is because when I want to get Baby J's attention I snap and holler and dance around like an idiot trying to get his attention. Snug follows suit, so even if I get Baby J looking, then I get Snug snapping and yelling, and acting like and idiot like his mommy.

The afternoon was spend swimming like ducks in the pool with old containers.

And a great time was had by all! Baby J can crawl creep in the water super fast...and he falls in face first, pushes himself up, and keeps going. That's my boy!

Oh! One more thing, I wanted to show you what my $15 bought at garage sales yesterday. I got one Graco baby doll highchair (for Little Miss E and Mother Hen), a thing to keep Baby J in place in the tub (he has started to pull to a stand in the tub...oh so safe), a new set of measuring cups/measuring spoons (now that Baby J is eating again and I am making his food I run out of them quickly), a Bob the Builder dress up vest, large wooden (will be repainted I assure you) shelf, three bags of Legos*, one Thomas the Tank Engine railroad car, and another car that will fit on Snug's "new" train table when he gets it for his birthday!

*If you ever see Legos at a garage sale I advise you to snatch them up. Depending on what set you buy, (Mom I checked again...) Legos cost between 9 and 14 cents EACH. That means I got $72 "worth" of Legos for $3. They are only worth that if people are willing to pay that though. They are a great investment even if your kids are little because they don't wear out, are hard to break, and were invented in 1949...I'll say that is a true test of time. If you want to read the entire history of Legos, click here.

Blogging

Today's post is a reflection, a sorting out, and a healing for me. I thought about not even publishing it, there are times I blog, delete, and move on with life. Today though, I believe I will hit publish, as many of your heartfelt posts have been ointment to wounds I have had...and maybe this one will be for one of you.

A very dear friend, who does not read my blog (as you will pick up on soon), was poking a bit of fun at me being a stay-at-home mom, especially since I stay home and blog. She kept saying they had a name for me at her work...you know, those stay-at-home moms who blog. She didn't share what the term was, as her children and mine were playing together, but I didn't need to hear the derogatory term to be hurt. She only knows I even have the blog as I asked her permission in the past to post pictures of her children. She also thinks many of the cleaning/cloth diapering/environmentally friendly living things I get off of YOUR blogs are pretty dumb. She is a good enough friend that the comment will not destroy our friendship, and if it comes up again I will address the issue. Our friendship is not the point of the post.

The point of this post is to say, whether stay at home or working, blogging or anti-blog, we are all hard working moms. I feel personally that my job is at home with my children first and foremost. For those of you who have read my posts before you know I also work full-time out of my home (with less than part time pay) watching other people's children. If these moms didn't work, I'd be out of a job and back in the workforce.

Hats off to you working moms (not that being a stay-at-home mom isn't a working mom, but you know...working OUT of the home moms) who can do both well. I sit for a mom who does a phenomenal job of both. She is both one of the best teachers I ever worked with and has wonderful children and a great family life. I for one, was terrible at both. My classroom either was suffering because I was enjoying Snug and my husband, or I was absent from my family and consumed with work. Working both outside of the home and taking care of a home is an extremely daunting, challenging thing. Encourage those in your life who manage both...they are undoubtedly very tired and stretched.

Hats off to you stay-at-home moms. It isn't easy to live often paycheck to paycheck, find odd jobs to do (or have a hubby who is willing to take lots of overtime) so you can go on vacation, be home with no one to talk to hours at a time, and lose many of your former friends. I think being a stay-at-home mom is one of the loneliest things I've ever done. Thank goodness for Thursday library group, Friday playgroup, and my good friend Mindy (also runs a home daycare). My husband is also a huge support for me...he has to hear EVERYTHING after I've been home for 9+ hours by myself with several children. Encourage stay-at-home moms you know...their lives are not easy.

As for the blogging...I know it takes up time, and many working moms, or anti-blog people probably think it is time wasted. For me it is therapy...realaxing...and reflective. When I have had the chance to sit down and blog, or read other peoples' blogs, I am a better mom and wife. I often come away from the computer with more love for my children, appreciation for my husband, and new ideas to make cleaning and housework more enjoyable. It has certainly deepened my prayer life as I pray for others I don't even know, or rarely see. It has challenged my thinking in so many areas of life, and it has brought friends into my house where friends rarely enter.

Thank you to everyone who reads and comments on my blog. It makes me know that people out there enjoy my family and sometimes your comments put me in my place and make me remember what is truly important. Thank you!

Thank you to everyone whose blogs I read. From my friend Megan's (who you need to update more sister!) funny stories about her oldest, Carrie's blog that teaches me many new life skills, Erin's videos that let me see how her son is growing, to my cousin Melissa's blog that keeps me in touch with family I desperately miss. Thank you.

*There are many many more blogs I enjoy that I didn't mention...not because I don't love them...just didn't name them all. On the right hand side of my blog they are all listed in the order they have been updated. If I didn't list yours, it isn't because I don't like it...I only have ones listed that I love!

Alphabitty Moments

Once again Alphabitty moments is here...I didn't do it on Thursday as usual because I was really busy AND I couldn't get onto Mama Bear's Blog. Please go to her site (click the button for the exact link) and read everyone elses as they have really cute stuff going on!

M is for Miracles...

When Snug was born 6 weeks early, it was really hard to see him be sick and small. However, the nurses and staff were surprised at how quickly he bounced back and got to go home. It is very hard to leave the hospital without your baby.

Bringing him home was such a blessing...
And look at my preemie now!

When Baby J quit growing and was almost diagnosed with a lifetime disease, we were devastated. However, we believe his healing was also a miracle...

Within 24 hours of receiving the word that the doctors were 100% sure he had Celiac...this test (pictured above) showed another set of doctors that they were 99% sure he didn't.

And here is my chubby miracle this past weekend, he is now 18 lbs!

Every baby is a miracle from God. This week for us, M is for Miracles.