July 24, 2012

Happy	Reading
Happy 3-months of being on the outside, little man! Time sure does fly... ~Mama	There is something so captivating about words to SJ.  He loves to stare at writing.  We have a mirror in our entryway that I’ll share a picture of one day.  It is one of his favorite things to look at and it captures my heart.   I’m not crazy.  Really, sometimes we are convinced he is reading.  In his playpen, when he can scoot to get a look at the label at the end, he will stare at the words as long as he can stand it. Recently he was straining to see this picture we have.   A gift from a thoughtful, beautiful woman.  I took it down and put SJ and the picture on the floor.  He talked for the next ten minutes engrossed in the words on the picture, which happen to be all my favorite scripture verses about what a blessing children are.   And that they are!    ~A

July 23, 2012

Only You and Me	Too Cool
I waited for you With anticipatory breath, Bated so as not to seem Too wild, for 41 1/2 weeks. Then suddenly you were upon us. Your head. I remember your Papa Saying, "stand up!" As if to greet you properly. Then your little slippery body Into my hands. A dull echo of voices Somewhere far away. Head spinning, You looked so small Yet too big to have Come from me. Your hair, Your fingers, Your nose and ears. Yourself. In that moment It was Only you and me In the world. ~M	We finally figured out what to do to protect SJ’s eyes from the sun.  At least now he will open them when we go outside and it is sunny. ~A

July 22, 2012

Reasons	Blazing Hot
Here are but some of the reasons I'm choosing to breastfeed. This doesn't even touch on the emotional and psychological factors, or the fact that breastfeeding burns extra calories! ~M	One of the ways we have been trying to save money is through shopping and preparing food with weekly lists from emeals.com.  It’s a brilliant plan.  Each week I receive a meal plan for 7 dinners for my family.  We are trying new recipes and saving money, which is very smart and fun.  Today I was thrilled to try a new recipe and invited some of our closest friends over for dinner.  I got busy chopping veggies and cooking.  I didn’t wear gloves while cutting the jalapenos and about the time dinner was done my hands started to burn.  About that time I itched my eye and OWWWWW.  In case you didn’t know, jalapeno oil burns when it comes into contact with your eyes.  Now normally I would wash my hands and move on scolding myself for not thinking, but with a nursing newborn I have to be even more careful. SJ breaks out when someone with a lot of perfume or cologne holds him, so you can imagine how sensitive his skin is.  I was very concerned I would get the oil on him. My husband and our friends quickly looked on the internet to find out how to get the pepper oils off of my skin.  FYI not everything you read on the internet is good. Note: Lemon juice (or any recommendation of acid to remove acid) will spread the oil and make a burn go from uncomfortable to BLAZING HOT.  My hands felt like they were on fire.   Water: Um not so much Milk: will provide cool relief.  The only relief I found was to submerge both hands into milk after washing them in alcohol. Yes it was an eventful evening.  All in all SJ was safe from the oil. Of course I wish I could say the same thing for my husband who kissed me on the forehead on his way out the door.  He quickly returned asking if I had touched my jalapeno hands on my forehead because his lips were burning. Oops. ~A

July 21, 2012

Home Birth	Cool Breeze
BC and I headed up to Thorntown today for the Believe Midwifery Bazaar. Remarkable to see so many babies and toddlers - all the product of home births! I imagine Penny (midwife and owner of Believe Midwifery Services) must have looked around the room and felt such pride in knowing she was, in a very big way, responsible for that. I know I felt extra proud to be a home birth mom today.  I have a friend who is pregnant and considering a home birth. Many times I have tried to articulate what is so wonderful about having your baby at home and I come up short every time. I was just so grateful to not be in a hospital. I got to be at home; home like a family should be. I didn't have to worry about people waking me up with bright fluorescent lights, lying in the petri dish that is a hospital bed, or keeping one eye open to make sure services and procedures were not rendered without my consent. Now I realize that I have nothing to really compare my home birth to; this was my first birth, after all. But the piece of mind that came with birthing at home truly was a gift. I will forever be grateful to Penny and her team for helping me to have a birth I can be proud of and the beautiful work that they do for women, babies, and families. For my own selfish reasons, I hope my preggo friend does end up having a home birth. Mainly so I'll have someone to talk to who will have had that shared experience. That's what I got to do today. And it was great.  ~M	With so many blazing hot days we have all been experiencing a little cabin fever.  It’s too hot to go outside and play so we have stayed in.  After a tiny rain, the temperature dropped to the 80s and we found ourselves in our trusty minivan heading out for a bit. One of the many reasons I love my fairly “new to me” minivan is because the back windows roll down so the kids can experience the freedom of country cruising with fresh air flowing.  We turned on the music and took SJ for his first cool breeze drive.  It felt so good.  Singing voices, laughter and fresh air flowing as we drove.  SJ loved it too! ~A

July 20, 2012

Since	DaddyTime
These are 2 pictures of BC in the same little cradle taken about 6 weeks apart. He looks like a different kid! What happened to my little baby? I can't get over how much babies change and so quickly. I have a friend whose son, JD, is 7-months and, even though I see him about once a week, he seems taller every time. Same goes for SJ. And same goes for BC. I look back at his newborn pictures and ones like this from several weeks ago and think, "my goodness, how he's grown." He'll be 3-months on Tuesday. Three. Months. 3 months since my life was altered in the most encompassing way imaginable; since I expelled a perfect miniature blend of me and my husband; since all of my hopes and fears were put into one place; since my body became not my own; since I felt a connection to another human being that was beyond love. 3 months... And counting each and every one to come. ~M	SJ loves music and he loves his daddy so it was a real treat when he got to watch some live music with daddy online today. ~A