Article from La Leche League

I was on the LLL website trying to find some information to help a friend with a newborn. Did not find what I was looking for, but I found this article:
http://www.llli.org/NB/Law45com.html

"I also realized that our society has little understanding of newborns, and does not sanction compassion for their needs or feelings. Demand nursing, as
I saw it, was no different from caring for a family member who has been rendered powerless. Would we refuse an incapacitated father a meal because it was "not time"? Or leave a paralyzed spouse alone in a room to "cry it out"--checking in every 10 minutes to say, "It's Ok"--without trying to find out what
is wrong and doing something about it? If he or she only wanted to be held, would we refuse, for fear of spoiling someone we love? How can anyone claim that legal or religious tenets require us to deny babies sustenance and comfort "in their best interests"?"

Article: Discovering Nature's Plan for Parenting

Just came across this article:
http://www.connectionparenting.com/parenting_articles/plan.html

Very thought-provoking. Makes a lot of sense to me. Go read it! I won't attempt to write about it right now because my husband is in surgery right now and my brain just isn't at 100% right now.

My stay in the basement today!

So, I was in the basement, on the elliptical and doing laundry. When I went downstairs, Geeky Entrepreneur was playing a video game. Ari was with my mother.

When I finished on the elliptical and walked up the stairs, I realized the door was locked!

Some fun facts:
I almost never get signal down there.
My battery was down to two bars.
I usually bring the cordless phone, but I didn't today.
I was able to call Geeky Entrepreneur, but he didn't pick up.

So, there I was, thinking! I called my mom. Maybe he left to go get Ari. I was right. There he was, being a cute daddy, having a blast with his kid, at my mom's!

Here is the deal. Any time he walks by the door to our basement, if it's not locked, he locks it, so his kid won't fall down the stairs and all that. Awesome, ain't it?! But, wait, the child wasn't home! And, wait, the wife was down there, and he knew that! He even admits that he called my name to tell me he was leaving. Somehow, after trying to talk to me, "auto pilot" took over and he locked the door!

I told him he's sleeping in the car tonight! And I said he's pretty freakin' lucky that that is not a phobia of mine! Actually, I was laughing about it almost the whole time!

The best part? My adorable child had a word with him, multiple times!

"Daddy, that not nice. You need to be nice to mommy. You need to say you're sorry."

Everybody has had a blast with my stay at the Basement Hotel! My sister just called and asked "how was your stay at that awesome hotel?"

What a day! I bake him banana bread and bread pudding! I make sure he sleeps in because he is sick. I am taking care of logistics so I can keep him company at the hospital when he has gallbladder surgery this Thursday. And the man locks me in the basement! But I still love him!

Moral of the story: my husband is not allowed to take Nightquil!

How did/will you talk to your child about Santa?

Regardless of which holiday your family celebrates, good old Santa will come up in conversation, simply because your kid talks to other kids and watches television. It's inevitable. It will happen sooner or later.

This is the first year that Ari has been aware of it all and so we had to make a decision. We were always leaning towards saying the truth. Santa is pretend, just like Dora, Diego, Barney, and all of them. She can talk about Santa and enjoy the character as much as she wants. I just don't want to lie to my child. I want her to grow up knowing that mom and dad were always truthful, at an age appropriate level, of course.

What about what my child might do with the information about Santa being pretend? You know she will tell her peers at preschool when one of them starts talking about how Santa is coming! If another family decided to tell their child that Santa is real, I don't think we should get in the middle of that. It is their decision and we ought to respect that. What happens in that case? Do I tell her not to talk about Santa? That's not realistic. Do I say that different people believe different things and that is ok? Will she understand that? I wonder how the teachers handle it. I will be asking in the next few days. I am very curious!

Here is a blog entry from a mom who had the talk about Santa with her four-year-old recently:
http://thefeministbreeder.com/on-being-honest-with-our-children/

Thoughts? What did/will you be telling your children when they ask about Santa?

What to do when your child cries?

Check out this article:
http://www.todaysparent.com/baby/healthsafety/article.jsp?content=20100920_150903_9772&page=2#02

Thoughts?

Should we have another baby?

Just read this:
http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/advice/0809228475.php?nid=360

So much to think about, especially when you tend to over-analyze everything, like I do!

What do you think? Any questions you would add to the list? Those of you with more than one child, what were your thoughts/questions when you were in the process of deciding if you would try for #2 or not?

I slept like crap last night because Ari has her tenth cold this semester. She woke up more than five times and she woke up each and every time I got out of bed. Somehow, I'm still thinking about another baby! Maybe I am a junky, after all, just like the article I linked to below proposes!

Is parenting an addiction?

Just came across this article. It argues that parents are stressed out most of the time and that they are on a high every now and then, like when their child comes over and gives them a kiss. It concludes that parenting is an addiction.

I don't know what to tell you. My head is spinning after reading this! Is being a mother the hardest thing I've ever done? Yes. Do I consider myself to be an addict? No! Am I simply in denial? Maybe, I suppose.

This is certainly making me think a lot! It rubs me the wrong way, but there is something to it, maybe. I don't know. Maybe I'm a junky and proud of it!

http://www.slate.com/id/2274721

Tell me what you think!

Review: Paragard (copper IUD)

*** This is my opinion, based on my experience with the copper IUD for the past three years. ***

A little bit about it:

It is a hormone-free contraception option.

It can stay in for ten years.

A provider needs to insert it and remove it.

If I remember correctly, it is not recommended for women who do not have children.

Pros:

It is hormone-free.

It is as close to permanent and worry-free as you get. You can forget about contraception for ten years.

Cons:

The insertion process is uncomfortable, even with a very gentle provider.

I experienced longer and heavier periods. When you tend to have short cycles, it can be very annoying.

Not to get graphic, but it can hurt when you have intercourse. You never know what's going to work!

It can affect lubrication.

The string can poke your partner. To be fair, this did not happen all the time, just a few.

(Who's blushing?!)

The biggest con for me was an ethical issue. In theory, you can conceive and the IUD would keep the embryo from implanting in the uterus. I have researched this and have asked multiple providers. There is no way to know how frequently this may happen. I am not going to get into the pro life or pro choice issue here. But I will say this: this really bothered us and I will not be using an IUD again. Was I ready to get pregnant during the past three years? No. Would I want to miscarry if I did get pregnant? Absolutely not.

Since I brought it up, I know you're wondering... Yes, I am IUD-free. We are in the process of deciding if we are going to try for #2. We are leaning in a certain direction, but we need a little more time and so I am not ready to share yet.

As for our choice for birth control if we decide we're done or after a pregnancy, we're leaning towards the diaphragm. More on that another time. I have an 'elephant' who would like to play!

We're a team!

That's what Ari said yesterday! I forget what we were working on together, but it led to some cuteness! She said something like: "Mommy, you do it. I do it too. We're a team!"

I think it's pretty cool that my 3-year-old thinks her family is a team! I hope that she remembers that forever! I look forward to always being a team, a kick ass, awesome, inseparable team. I hope that's not too much to ask for!

What cute thing has your little one said recently?

Video about car seat safety

Sometimes, when it comes to car seats, we rush our kids to the next step before they are ready. We may have them forward-facing too soon, may put them in a booster seat too soon or we may stop using the booster seat too early.

For those of you with older kids, this video is a must-see. It walks you through five steps so that you can find out if your child is, indeed, ready to stop using a booster seat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqC1OvyLBf0

The video is quick. Please take a few minutes to watch it. This is really important stuff. You know how you drive. You have no idea how the drivers around you drive.

Logical Mommy, thank you for sharing.

**Edit**

Your child needs to be 57" tall before s/he stops using a booster seat. Read more here:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/faq/safety.shtml

S/he is throwing a fit? They get tons of choices, but this is, most definitely, not one of them.

Update from the Elephant Family

So, here is the deal! This week my child is an elephant! All of us are elephants! If you call her name, she will tell you "I'm not Arianna; I an elephant!"

The other morning, my sister said good morning to her.
Her response: That's not fair. Elephants don't like good morning."

If you talk about her clothes, shoes, etc., they are not her clothes or shoes. They are elephant clothes and shoes!

That reminds me... She is using many words and phrases that she clearly has heard but whose meanings she does not know. This is a bit dangerous! My kid could currently get anyone in trouble! The other day she told me that her grandma is not fair, that she is mean, and that she hurt her (Ari's) arm. She forgot to explain that she wanted to take her cousin's silly band, even though it was not hers and she already had three of her own. See what I'm saying?!

Back to the elephant silliness, I say it's all her dad's fault! Nana is a puppeteer. Daddy grew up with puppets and talking stuffed animals. He has over ten monkeys. Yes, still, right now! They are in front of me right now, all lined up on our love seat! The monkeys still talk to people. They talk to our friends and they even have talked to tenants and coworkers. The ones that talk the most are Momo and Bobo. Ari's first word was Momo, in fact! They have personalities. Momo is an annoying and impish troublemaker. Bobo speaks very slowly and is kind-hearted. He sounds like a pothead!

My child is learning from the best! What can I say?! We're never bored around here!

What silly thing did your child do or say recently?!

Napping in school, sleep arrangements at home, and the lovely rash

Apparently, it was not a one-time deal. Amor Chiquito has now napped five times in school! Yay!

Somewhat related topic. We are in the process of moving her back to her room. It was unplanned, but it seems to be working ok.

For the past few months, Amor Chiquito has been sleeping on a separate mattress, right next to me. This has worked well. Daddy and I have enough room and Daddy does not get kicked anymore.

When Amor Chiquito got sick, I suggested Daddy sleep in another room. That way only one of us would be getting up in the middle of the night. You see, if I make sure he gets his sleep, then I feel just fine about asking him to take over at six or seven a.m! Getting another hour or two of sleep after a rough night makes my life and day so much better!

We have been dealing with a runny nose and a rash for over a week. We have been trying to figure out what is causing the rash. We wondered if there was something in our bedroom, so we moved Ari to her bedroom. She has slept there the past three nights and she has not complained once. She would prefer if I sleep with her. Usually, she comes to snuggle sometime between three and six a.m. The new system is mostly working. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

As far as the rash, I still have no idea whatsoever as to what is causing it. We saw a pediatrician on Monday. He says it is not an infection or anything serious. If it was an infection, benadril would not get rid of it. It gets rid of it completely, but after six to ten hours, the rash comes back.

I have gone through the list 20 times. No new soaps or detergents. No new foods. She gets the rash both at our place and at my mom's. She has gotten in the car. The doctor says it is something she is eating, touching, or smelling. It could be anything. I am clueless.

We are looking into an air cleaning system. If you know anything about that, please share! I am slowly going up the learning curve.