So, as per usual I have neglected my blog. That's okay. You don't mind.
Whats new in my life? Well, we recently made the decision (today, in fact) to go ahead and start me back on drugs for my RA. Orencia. This one was chosen as opposed to all the others because it does not need to be taken with MTX, which is dangerous for Evelyn to ingest.
Yes. I said ingest, because she will continue to breastfeed while I am on this medication. We are making this decision against the advice of my rhuematologist, but with the support of Evelyn's pediatrician (Dr.Cox, who deserves her own amazing post). Basically the deal is there is no research on if it is safe, so they reccomend to not, because no one wants to test on babies. And I guess I kind of am.
But for us the possible risks (which may be none) are outweighed by the many many benefits of continuing to breastfeed. Ideally we will continue our breastfeeding relationship until she weans herself (usually happens in humans between 2-6 years old).
Lately I've been struggling with Evelyns birth. But I will post about that later. My baby and daddy are calling!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Baby Led Weaning
Right now I can take the time to post because Evelyn is sitting in her high chair eating. And by eating, I do really mean that. Except right now her version on eating is more about exploring the food with her hands, mouth, face and belly.
Current mess on the high chair? Bananas and yogurt.
She is absolutely loving food. We decided to introduce it in the style known as "baby led weaning" which is just a fancy phrase that means baby gets to decide what happens: what she puts in her mouth, when, how much she swallows, and on and on. We do not put anything into her mouth for her.
Oh no, you think, but how will she get enough food in her to fill her up?? The short answer is: She won't. Breastmilk will be her main source of nutrition until up around 9months, at which point her fine motor and chewing skills will have developed enough to let her eat for nutirition's sake. And even then, "Food before One is Just for Fun!"
There is so much more behind this topic, and if you are really interested, google "Baby Led Weaning" it's okay if they send you to the UK for it. That's sort of where it got popular.
Current mess on the high chair? Bananas and yogurt.
She is absolutely loving food. We decided to introduce it in the style known as "baby led weaning" which is just a fancy phrase that means baby gets to decide what happens: what she puts in her mouth, when, how much she swallows, and on and on. We do not put anything into her mouth for her.
Oh no, you think, but how will she get enough food in her to fill her up?? The short answer is: She won't. Breastmilk will be her main source of nutrition until up around 9months, at which point her fine motor and chewing skills will have developed enough to let her eat for nutirition's sake. And even then, "Food before One is Just for Fun!"
There is so much more behind this topic, and if you are really interested, google "Baby Led Weaning" it's okay if they send you to the UK for it. That's sort of where it got popular.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Procrastination
I have, over the last few weeks, sat down to write a new post on here. And then life happens. Evelyn wakes up, or I need to eat, or SHE needs to eat, or the phone rings... you know how it goes.
Currently, Evelyn is sleeping upstairs on our bed. That's not unusual. What IS unusual is that I am downstairs. I'd normally be upstairs with her, reading or doing whatever right beside her. Today I closed the door and turned on the baby monitor and came down here to relax without a baby.
Is it working? No. I am obsessively listening to the baby monitor, and becoming more and more anxious as I sit here away from her. So....
.... I'm going to check on her.
Currently, Evelyn is sleeping upstairs on our bed. That's not unusual. What IS unusual is that I am downstairs. I'd normally be upstairs with her, reading or doing whatever right beside her. Today I closed the door and turned on the baby monitor and came down here to relax without a baby.
Is it working? No. I am obsessively listening to the baby monitor, and becoming more and more anxious as I sit here away from her. So....
.... I'm going to check on her.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Mom time
Right now I am getting half an hour of what I dub "mom time." This is a half an hour I take after the baby has been fed, after she has had a good long nap, and after or right before she has been changed, and I take I computer up into the bedroom and close the door. The unspoken rule is that the door is not to be opened for at least a half an hour, unless the baby is screaming.
It doesn't always work out. Sometimes she screams. Sometimes dad needs help. But I have discovered that unless I take these half hour breaks I will go crazy. Like, put the baby on the floor by her dad and walk away before I scream.
and even now, while I have been having my half an hour, I have been interrupted twice! Once by the missionaries calling and asking if the Young Men can come deliver a present here, and once by my dad telling me he will be in the paper tomorrow, and to look for the article.
*Sigh*
And now my time is up. I know that Tim would let me stay up here longer... but there's the catch - if I stay up here I am away from him, too. And family time is nearly as important as mommy time.
It doesn't always work out. Sometimes she screams. Sometimes dad needs help. But I have discovered that unless I take these half hour breaks I will go crazy. Like, put the baby on the floor by her dad and walk away before I scream.
and even now, while I have been having my half an hour, I have been interrupted twice! Once by the missionaries calling and asking if the Young Men can come deliver a present here, and once by my dad telling me he will be in the paper tomorrow, and to look for the article.
*Sigh*
And now my time is up. I know that Tim would let me stay up here longer... but there's the catch - if I stay up here I am away from him, too. And family time is nearly as important as mommy time.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Time
It used to be that I would look forward to things. I'd be prepped for Halloween by August, for Christmas by November 12th (the first day I felt morally okay with celebrating!), and for my birthday/Tim's birthday/Anniversary by New Years.
But since having Evelyn time seems to have... stopped? I'm not sure what I mean exactly. It's not that I've stopped looking forward to things exactly, but whereas before it was all I focused on, so much to the point of often being disappointed in things once they finally happened, now I feel I am living in the moment better.
Is this what having kids does to you? Help you realize the value of *right now*?
It's also a tad scary how you start to realize that we, first as kids, and then as teens, and now as young adults, have No. Fricking. Clue. about what is going on.
And it saddens me that I know my daughter will not listen when I tell her, "Trust me, such and such is for the best, you'll look back and realize high school was lame, this won't matter in 5 years/6 months/tomorrow." I KNOW she won't listen. Because you don't think anyone gets it.
A very disjointed post. Written with a very snuggly baby against my chest.
Also, a doctors appointment in a few hours where we will find out how my arthritis is doing, and what the plan is for the next 6 months.
But since having Evelyn time seems to have... stopped? I'm not sure what I mean exactly. It's not that I've stopped looking forward to things exactly, but whereas before it was all I focused on, so much to the point of often being disappointed in things once they finally happened, now I feel I am living in the moment better.
Is this what having kids does to you? Help you realize the value of *right now*?
It's also a tad scary how you start to realize that we, first as kids, and then as teens, and now as young adults, have No. Fricking. Clue. about what is going on.
And it saddens me that I know my daughter will not listen when I tell her, "Trust me, such and such is for the best, you'll look back and realize high school was lame, this won't matter in 5 years/6 months/tomorrow." I KNOW she won't listen. Because you don't think anyone gets it.
A very disjointed post. Written with a very snuggly baby against my chest.
Also, a doctors appointment in a few hours where we will find out how my arthritis is doing, and what the plan is for the next 6 months.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Baby wearing
Before I had Buck I had several great ideals. For example: my arthritis would probably be SO bad after I gave birth that there was no way I could carry her around all the time, and it would be spoiling her to do so anyways.
As I write this, I'll share with you the fact that she is peacefully sleeping against my chest, snug and cozy in her Mei Tai. That ideal flew out the window when I saw my daughter and realized how happy she was when she was held and snuggled. And yeah, with my arthritis sometimes my hands get sore and tired. Hence the awesomeness that is the Mei Tai (pronounced "May tie"). It's a baby carrier that has a rectangular piece of material that is padded, which goes against baby's back, and four straps which tie around your waist, and over your shoulders/around your back. It puts baby at the perfect level... right by your heart, and close enough to kiss.
I get some flack from family about wearing her as constantly as I do. And I will admit that it would be nice if she was having this nap on the floor/in bed/on the couch so that I could lay down, or do jumping jacks or whatever. But then I look at how peacefully she is sleeping, and I can smell her, and smooch her, and I sigh and carefully squat down to get the load of diapers out of the top-loading washer.
As I write this, I'll share with you the fact that she is peacefully sleeping against my chest, snug and cozy in her Mei Tai. That ideal flew out the window when I saw my daughter and realized how happy she was when she was held and snuggled. And yeah, with my arthritis sometimes my hands get sore and tired. Hence the awesomeness that is the Mei Tai (pronounced "May tie"). It's a baby carrier that has a rectangular piece of material that is padded, which goes against baby's back, and four straps which tie around your waist, and over your shoulders/around your back. It puts baby at the perfect level... right by your heart, and close enough to kiss.
I get some flack from family about wearing her as constantly as I do. And I will admit that it would be nice if she was having this nap on the floor/in bed/on the couch so that I could lay down, or do jumping jacks or whatever. But then I look at how peacefully she is sleeping, and I can smell her, and smooch her, and I sigh and carefully squat down to get the load of diapers out of the top-loading washer.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Re start.. again...
I am trying to start this up. Again. I'm hoping since life has somewhat reached a calm state that I'll be able to do this on a regular basis.
Lots of things have changed since July. Namely, I had the baby :) We named her Evelyn (recently nicknamed "Buck"). And by "we" and I mean that I picked it. Because 12 hours of "labour" followed by a c-section entitles a woman to that right. (but more on the birth story later...)
Another change - I have embraced my inner hippie! We are now a baby-wearing, cloth diapering, family cloth using (only ask if you really want to know), room sharing family. And have lots of plans for Buck's future - baby led weaning, extended breast feeding, extended rear-facing, and much much more. Since having the baby, my inner activist has reared her ugly head, and I have started advocating for things such as keeping our baby boys intact.
One final change, I've gone back to church. The LDS church, if you were curious.
So there we go. You're all caught up.
Lots of things have changed since July. Namely, I had the baby :) We named her Evelyn (recently nicknamed "Buck"). And by "we" and I mean that I picked it. Because 12 hours of "labour" followed by a c-section entitles a woman to that right. (but more on the birth story later...)
Another change - I have embraced my inner hippie! We are now a baby-wearing, cloth diapering, family cloth using (only ask if you really want to know), room sharing family. And have lots of plans for Buck's future - baby led weaning, extended breast feeding, extended rear-facing, and much much more. Since having the baby, my inner activist has reared her ugly head, and I have started advocating for things such as keeping our baby boys intact.
One final change, I've gone back to church. The LDS church, if you were curious.
So there we go. You're all caught up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
