24-month Checkup

Amor Chiquito's 24-month check up went well. As usual, we answered many questions to assess development. We also did the autism screening. I am happy to say that she passed with flying colors.

The pediatrician is pleased with Ari's progress in the language department.

Ari weighs 25 lb 7oz and is 35" tall. 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. We have a tall, skinny kid.

The pediatrician is not concerned about her weight because Ari has been in the 25th percentile for over a year. She figures if there is consistency, there is nothing to worry about.

Ari has followed the pattern breastfeeding kids tend to follow: gain lots at the beginning and gain at a slower rate later on. I used to get concerned about her weight gain, or lack thereof, but she is not underweight, so we need not worry.

Funny little story. The pediatrician asked what questions we had. I said I wanted to talk about
Ari's weight and eating habbits. The pediatrician's response? "Arianna has the proportions I have been dreaming of my entire life! She is perfect!"

Ari got a shot today. I warned her and explained as best I could what was coming. I don't know if that is what did it or if we were just lucky, but she did not cry, did not ask to nurse, did not seem upset at all.

Afterwords, she milked it for all it was worth, though! She kept talking about her booboo and limping any time she remembered it! The drama!

After the checkup, Ari spent the day with Abuela and I went to a training session for a part-time job. Long day, so I am going to bed. More tomorrow, maybe, hopefully, if the child allows!

Watch out, I am two!

I think something along those lines is going through my daughter's mind!

Amor Chiquito is standing in front of the television, watching cartoons, eating cookies.

When did I become that mom, the mom letting her kid have cookies for lunch and letting her run the house for a brief period of time?

She has a super wet diaper, but refuses to let me change it.

Her once upon a time warm pasta is waiting for her at the dining table. But she won't come eat it.

No, no, no... That is the answer to anything I say to her.

Welcome to the terrible two's! We are celebrating her birthday in style, with a reality check! This is what it is like, what everyone talks about! We are in for it!

Long night. My father is in the hospital with something cardiac-related. Add the multiple calls from the hospital, calls from relatives and friends asking questions, and the times Ari woke up last night... I was up more than six times. I am tired. I don't feel like fighting her. But I feel like a crappy mom. Time to get off my butt and put Love and Logic to work.

Happy birthday, my baby girl! The day will get better, I promise.

A trip down memory lane...

Last Tuesday, shortly after I woke up, I remembered/realized it was 9/15. I felt like it was a date to remember, but could not place it. It was my due date. It was the very much anticipated date, the date I waited for for over eight months! The day was just like any other day. It came and went, with nothing to remember, not even a contraction!

Since Tuesday, I keep remembering all the things we did just before Ari was born, all the thoughts going through my head before the big day. I distinctly remember thinking I want to sleep; I need to sleep really late, one last time! I knew I would not be getting much sleep, but, oh boy, I so did not know what it would really be like! I tried to sleep late, but just could not, probably due to the labor jitters.

Two years ago, right about now, we arrived at the hospital for an induction. In hind sight, the induction was not necessary. The OB left it up to me and I was freaking out because the baby was not moving as much as she used to. Now I know a lot more than I knew back then. Every now and then, I feel guilty for having put the two of us through unnecessary hell: her heart tones decreasing over and over again, mine increasing, my low pressure decreasing... Freakin' pitosin and epidural, how much I dislike them... They are great drugs for the times when they are necessary, but they are so over used. But that is another post for another day.

So, back to memory lane, pitosin was started at 9pm. For about an hour and a half, it was a piece of cake. Tiny, almost unnoticeable contractions.

At 10:30, I said yes to breaking my water so that things would progress. That is when labor really started, no doubt! A yoga ball and a bottle of water to put pressure on my back became my best friends!

Around 1am, things got really scary and unbareable. I will never forget the never-ending contraction that lasted about five minutes. My room filled up with nurses. Someone put an oxygen mask on me. Everyone telling me to get on my side. I said I could not move. A nurse said I had to for my baby.

After that hell, I agreed to an epidural. After an idiot trying to put in the epidural three times, a real anesthesiologist did it quickly and without it causing me pain. That made me feel better, but my baby was still in distress, lots of distress. My blood pressure started getting dangerously low.

After three hours of hell and scares, it was time to push. The longest hour of my life began. Everyone said I was doing so well. I felt like the baby was never coming out. Pushing was, by far, the most intense workout of my entire life!

At 5:31am, on September 18, 2007, Arianna Janette was born. What a releaf! She was here, safe and sound. She was immediately placed on my chest. I held her close and cried and cried...

About 20-30 minutes after she was born, we breastfed for the first time. I so did not know what I was doing! Fortunately, Ari did very well. Eventually, it became very painful due to her being tongue-tied, but those first two days were great.

Long story short: it was totally worth it. I have my precious girl and she is fine, despite all the scares. But, please, learn from my experience. Research, research, research... Ask lots of questions. Educate yourself. Let nature do its thing, so long as you and your baby are healthy. If something comes up and the baby needs to come out, sign up for an induction or a c-section yesterday. They can save lives. But, otherwise, hold your horses! Labor and delivery will be much more manageable that way, believe me!

On a different topic, my daughter just began an Elmo obsession. God help me!

Houston, we have phrases!

Ari started saying phrases every now and then a few weeks back, but now she is saying phrases all the time.

Her favorite? "Mas teti (more boobie!)"

Another favorite: "mas fita (more Ffresca)"

Just now, we were lying down. She was nursing. We love to snuggle! She said "Ari fria (Ari cold)."

More later, before someone else begins typing!

Better day today...

Ari napped today. We were at my mother's and she had not napped there in months. I would end up coming home earlier than anticipated so she would not miss her nap. But it worked and she napped for almost two hours. I had to try twice, but it worked.

Thanks for the reminder/encouragement, Musical Daddy!

Geeky Entrepreneur still has work to do at home, but he told the people he was meeting with he was wrapping up at six so he could have dinner with the family. So the three of us got to enjoy a nice dinner at a local, quiet restaurant. Nice, low key way anniversary celebration.

A little story... September 2004, Geeky Entrepreneur had been on eHarmony for six months. On September 7, he expanded the age range so that he would get matches 21 and up, rather than 24 and up. He wanted nothing to do with the 21-year-olds who were still trying to figure out who they are, what they want, etc. Turns out the very same day he changed this parameter, I signed up and we got matched. Guess how old I was at the time? Yup, 21! You got stuck with a 21-year-old after all, Geek!

I knew Geeky Entrepreneur had played with the age setting, but I had not realized that he did so the same day I signed up. Five years later, we are still learning little stories about each other... You would think we must know it all by now, but, clearly, that is not the case...

Post #100 already...

Happy Anniversary, Geek!

Not our wedding anniversary. That was last month, August 12.

Geeky Entrepreneur and I were matched on eHarmony five years ago today! Yes, eHarmony! We were only 30 minutes apart, but we would have never met otherwise. As Geeky Entrepreneur likes to put it, he works with old men and I was at an all girls school. Go eHarmony!

Happy anniversary, my love. Here is to hoping that you get home from work before 10 p.m. so we can spend some time together before the day is over!

I have been informed that he will be helping an entrepreneur build a presentation from scratch and that he might very well be working until 10 p.m. He is starting at 10 a.m. So sad!

Blogger Bug?

The last three times I have tried to post a comment on my posts, I am told my request cannot be processed, but when I try a second time, the comment goes through.

Has this happened to anyone else? Strange...

Almost 3:30 a.m. Let's see if I can get some sleep...

One of those days...

No nap today. No nap whatsoever... I tried three thimes and she never went to sleep. Ari has now been up for 12 hours. A long time for a child her age.

Please tell me this is just a fluke! Please tell me she is not outgrowing naps! I need those naps. It is the only break I get all day.

K, done panicking... Hoping that tonight and tomorrow will be better...

She ate a real meal, finally!

I know that toddlers go through phases where they are not interested in eating. I don't know why this happens. I just know that it does. I know not eating well for a few days is not going to kill her, but it is hard not to get worried when it has been about ten days.

We just got home from Abuela's. We delivered dinner because my mother just got surgery. Surgery on your left hand (carpal tunnel release) when you are left-handed sucks!

Back to Ari, she asked for rice and actually ate all the rice I gave her. She also had a small bowl of fruit and about half of a Danimal smoothie. I can feel her little, full meatball tummy! Yay! The things parents get excited about!

Article on Early Education

Just came across this article:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/08/30/pressure_cooker_kindergarten/?page=1

About half of my readers are parents to 2-year-olds. Soon, it will be time for us to begin thinking about preschool. Do we want our kids to go to preschool? If so, what questions do we ask? How do we pick the right preschool for our children? What do we want our children to get out of preschool?

Thoughts on this article?

Looking forward to your comments! Some of us are parents. Some are teachers or thinking of becoming teachers. Some are both. This will be interesting!

One more thing to research!

The latest source of entertainment is...

Arianna is thoroughly enjoying throwing toys and other things down the stairs and screaming "down"! I should tell her to stop, but I am having too much fun watching. I could not keep a straight face if I tried!

Night-Weaning: Night Eight

Last night went well.

Ari was excited about her new bed. She enjoyed checking it out, jumping on it, etc., before bed time.

At bedtime, I nursed her, gave her a chance to have some milk (aside from mama milk), walked her, sang the song, and gave her a backrub, as I do every night. Ari took a while to fall asleep, but there was no crying, no trying to nurse. She put her hand on my chest and went to sleep, after tossing and turning for a while.

Ari slept for five hours before she woke up! At that time, I went in her room and sat next to her, until she fell asleep. I was in there for about half an hour. It took me a long time to fall asleep after that. That was the only bad thing about last night. So nothing to complain about.

The next time Ari woke up it was 5:30, so I told her she could nurse and brought her to bed with us. I was too tired to sit next to her for another half hour or so. I felt like I had just fallen asleep. The stupid toothache is not letting me sleep very well.

On a different note, I tried to donate platelets today, but I got a temporary deferral because of some tiny red bumps on my arms. Basically, there are red marks from where the needles had been. The nurses were fairly certain that there is no infection as there is no pain or swelling. But they could not take a chance and more needles would not help my arms right now. I was told I could go in again when the redness goes away. I guess my body is complaining about the facts that there have been needles in my arms three times in just over three weeks!

When the redness goes away, I will try again and hopefully I can donate every other week.

I learned that my last platelet count was 290. My count keeps going up! The higher it is, the more platelets I can donate. Last time I gave enough for two infusions. I am told I will probably be giving enough for three infusions soon.

Night-Weaning: Night Seven

Wow, it has been a week already. We have our ups and downs, but, overall, night-weaning is going better than I had anticipated. There have been very hard times, don’t get me wrong. There were many times when I second-guessed myself, felt like a selfish B, etc. But I am confident that this was the right decision for our family. Ari and I are already sleeping better. And my husband is back in bed with me! It is the little things in life…

Last night, I decided to lie down next to Ari, but on her bed, rather than bring her to bed with us. I was unsure about how this would work, but it worked quite well.

Usually, Geeky Entrepreneur puts Ari to bed, but she just was not having it last night. Eventually, I took a turn, lied down next to her, and she went to sleep. I wish I had put the man out of his misery sooner. All she wanted was to put her hand on mommy’s chest and go to sleep. She did not even ask to nurse before going to sleep.

Ari slept for 4.5 hours. When she woke up, I went in her room, lied down next to her, waited for a bit, and left her room after she had fallen asleep. This was around 3:30am. I could not believe how well things went. No crying, no asking to nurse, just her hand on my chest.

The next time Ari woke up it was 6:00 or so. I told her she could nurse because it was daytime. She nursed, we cuddled, and everyone got to sleep another hour and a half.

Yay! A good night! Can we have some more of those, please, kiddo?!

The rail for Ari’s bed arrived today. Abuela and I reassembled the crib and installed the Kidco rail. We finally have what I wanted: a bed where she cannot roll off, but can get out of safely. Now let us see how she likes it tonight. I don’t know if I can lie down on it with her. Not sure on the weight limit. 100-something pounds is much more than 25 pounds! Maybe I should do some research before bedtime!

She is fibbing already!

My daughter is outright fibbing to me! I have been telling her that it is time to change her diaper because she pooped. I ask her if she pooped. She says “no” and smiles! She keeps running away. She prefers to stand at the door and look outside, rather than get the poop off of her bum! That’s beyond me!

Different story… A while ago, Ari enjoyed running in circles around me. When she was standing in front of me, she would put her toy spoon in my mouth. That happened five or six times. Ari then switched to putting the spoon in her mouth and the handle in my mouth. Silly kid!

Lastly, Ari has recently become interested in going up the stairs backwards or sideways. I am unsuccessfully trying to talk her out of that.

Night-Weaning: Night Six

The night-weaning part is getting easier. Ari is no longer asking to nurse, trying to latch on, or crying for extended periods of time each time she wakes up. She is, however, needing a fair bit of time to go back to sleep, often 45 minutes to an hour. Ari still wants to hold onto my nipple. Lately, she also wants to fall asleep with her head on my arm. I love cuddling with her. I really do. But it means I sleep like crap and I end up hurting. I hope we can find a way that works for everyone. What I really want is for Ari to be happy sleeping near me, not on me, and for our next bed to be a king-size! Oops, the husband had not heard that yet!

Back to last night, Ari woke up three times. That made the night hard on me, along with the horrible toothache I had.

It feels like now we are ready to tackle the next big thing: the many night wakings. Night wakings are normal. We just need to help her develop ways to put herself back to sleep. It won't be easy, but I am feeling like if we got through night-weaning, we can do this.

Encouraging Post on Night-Weaning

I needed this. I so needed this!

Here it is:
http://sonyasf.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/guest-post-how-i-night-weaned-my-daughter/

Time for bed. Let's see if I can sleep for an hour or two before Ari gets up. Yes, when you are the parent of a child who does not sleep through the night, your expectations regarding sleep change drastically! I would be a happy, rested woman if only I got five hours of uninterrupted sleep! Would never have guessed that two years ago!

Night-Weaning: Night Five

Last night had its ups and downs, more downs than ups.

The first time Ari woke up, Geeky Entrepreneur helped her go back to sleep. She cried for a bit. Once he took care of her diaper, she went right to sleep.

The second time… Well, I am not so sure what happened that time… I think it went ok because Geeky Entrepreneur stayed in bed with us. That means there was not a whole heck of a lot of crying. I have a vague memory of noticing that Ari was not asking to nurse incessantly, as she had done before. It took her a while to go back to sleep, though. That is hard on me because she wants to keep her hand on my chest. I cannot roll over and so I end up with a backache.

The third time sucked big time. Ari was crying. It must have been over an hour by the time she fell asleep. She kept wanting to hold my nipple. This is uncomfortable and really drives me nuts. If I remove her hand, we start back at square one. If I don’t, my nipple hurts, I get frustrated, and the backache returns.

Today I tried putting her down for her nap three times. Not sure what went wrong. Finally, around 3pm, I asked Geeky Entrepreneur to take her for a ride. This is something we seldom do. Not a good habit. But it is an ok plan C when nothing else works. The alternative was to be ok with her not napping. She would drop of exhaustion around 5-6 and then she would be up until 10 or so. Unacceptable.

I hear that about 20 minutes into the ride, Ari fell asleep and slept for almost two hours.

As for me, I had big plans. Sunday is cleaning/laundry/everything day for us. But all I did was wash her clothes and nap. I needed it badly. I am so tired after all the hard nights that I have an almost constant headache. I have been feeling unmotivated and moody lately. My poor husband… Thank you for being so supportive and helping out, my love!

I remember reading that people need 21 days to break a habit. I really hope that that is not true! Please, tell me that is just a myth! Otherwise, we are only 25% of the way there!

A bit of good news: after eating poorly for the past few days, Ari is slowly starting to eat more. She is thin. She is not getting the calories she had been getting from nighttime mama milk. So we need her to eat up, not reduce her caloric intake! Feel free to share what works for you and your family, any tips you have heard, etc. This mommy is a bit desperate! I don’t want my baby to be so thin she will fall off the famous chart. Most importantly, I want her to be eating healthy again.

I was about to get in the shower, but I scratched that idea because I cannot find my shampoo! Yes, I looked everywhere. Where is it, kid? Hopefully one of the two other people in this house, the ones with better eyes, can give me a hand when they get in. Maybe she will even remember where she left it!

Night-Weaning: Night Four

Last night was horrible. It sucked big time. Here I was thinking that things could only get better from now on in the sleep department, but, no. I should have known. Actually, I knew there would be bad nights every now and then, but refused to believe it. Been trying very hard to stay hopeful. Night-weaning really, really sucks. I hate seeing Ari cry.

I cannot remember clearly how many times Ari woke up or how long it took her to go back to sleep. I think she got up four times.

The first time, Geeky Entrepreneur tried to help her go back to sleep for about 45 minutes. Then, I took a turn. About 50 minutes later, she went to sleep.

I don’t remember anything about the second or third times. All I know is that there was a short period of time between time two and time three, less than an hour. I also remember that one of those times she fell asleep horizontally, near the edge of our bed. Eventually, she was upside-down, with a foot on my face. Fortunately, that did not last long. That means the weird sleeping arrangement happened on time two! I am still trying to wake up, can you tell?

Ari woke up a fourth time around 6:30. She did not ask to nurse, but it was daytime, so I offered. She nursed and slept for another 1.5 hours.

At 8:00, I woke up Geeky Entrepreneur so he could take over and I went back to sleep. I got to sleep another 2.5 hours, which was very helpful. Still feel strange, though. My head feels funny. I can’t wake up!

Ari has been starting the night on her high-end bed, the floor, but, once she wakes up asking to nurse, we co sleep the rest of the night. Poor Geeky Entrepreneur has been sleeping on an airbed all week. Better than both of us hearing her cry and not being able to sleep, but I would love to have our husband back at our bed, any day now.

Not sure how transitioning her back to her bed will go or when it will happen. I feel like it is a must because I don’t get good sleep when we co sleep. She likes to keep her hand on my chest and it becomes painful not to move all night. If I could sleep well and we had a king-size bed, I would think that co sleeping is cool!

For now, transitioning her back to her bed is not our top priority. Night-weaning is. In a way, I feel like if we can get through night-weaning, we can get through anything in the sleep department.
I was going to write about something else sleep-related, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember what the heck it was. Perhaps it is time to go back to bed. More later.

Oh, shoes!

That is one of her favorite phrases! Ari loves putting them on, taking them off, trying new ones on… Such a girl!

Today Ari’s shoes were delivered. I ended up getting a white pair of sneakers and a black pair of shoes.

After much searching, my favorite website is zappos.com. They carry some of the shoes that the APMA recommends. Good prices. Free shipping. If the shoes do not fit her, I have the option of returning them and I would not be responsible for shipping costs. Not our case, but it is nice to know we have the option.

I got the sneakers from Zappos and the shoes from pediped.com.

I hope this is of help to some parent looking for toddler shoes out there!

Night-Weaning: Night Three

Last night, Arianna got up around 12:45. About 25 minutes later, she had settled down. She kept asking to nurse every once in a while, almost in her sleep. I felt bad…

Once we got through that, we got five hours of uninterrupted sleep! Wow, it had been so long!

Ari got up around 6:00. She was not done sleeping, but she wanted to nurse. I showed her it was daytime and told her she could nurse because nighttime was all done. So she nursed and went back to sleep for another 1.5 hours!

For those of you who like to create a graph in your head (there is a certain husband who might be booting up Excel right about now!), here is the data:
Night 1: settled down after 1 hour
Night 2: settled down after 40 minutes
Night 3: settled down after 25 minutes

On the down side, Ari was somewhat clingy and fairly uninterested in eating today. She must have asked to nurse 15 times. No, not exaggerating! We are working on getting her to bed earlier and are hopeful that in a few days she will return to herself, once she is sleeping better and is used to no mama milk in the middle of the night.

Night-Weaning: Night Two

I am very proud of our little girl. I know that she will need a few days to adjust, but, thus far, she is doing a great job.

Last night, Ari woke up about an hour after going to sleep. This is rather unusual. Usually, she sleeps three or four hours before getting up. Geeky Entrepreneur was able to put her to sleep without me going in there and saying “all done” or any of that.

She then slept for four and a half hours before she got up again. Around 3:30, Ari woke up and I brought her to bed with me. About 40 minutes later, she had settled down and gone to sleep. At first, Ari kept asking to nurse. I kept telling her that breastfeeding was all done until daytime and that my breasts have booboos, which is true. Nothing horrible, just sore nipples due to nursing a million times in the middle of the night. Eventually, she stopped asking, put her hand on my chest, and went to sleep.

Now that Ari simply puts her hand on my chest, rather than holding and squeezing one of my nipples, I am enjoy co sleeping again. Nothing like cuddling with your baby! I especially love when she suddenly rolls over and puts her arm around me.

The next time Ari got up it was 6:30 and I could tell she was done sleeping. When she asked to nurse, I brought her to the window, had her look outside, told her it was day time and that she could nurse because it was daytime. Ari breastfed for quite a while. I was very full and lumpy. She had not nursed for nine and a half hours. I had almost forgotten what full, lumpy boobies felt like! What a trip down memory lane! I was brought back in time to those days when she was tiny and I was just as full two or three hours after she had nursed. Those memories make me smile!

I have really enjoyed having that special connection with my little girl. I have enjoyed witnessing first-hand the miracles that are pregnancy and breastfeeding. I knew kids could be exclusively breastfed, but to actually know that my child grew, gained weight, and thrived on only the milk that my body made for her was quite the experience.

Tonight is night three and, just like last night, I am a bit anxious but very hopeful that we will do well, just like last night. I keep reminding myself that night two was much better than night one and that even night one was not as horrible as I had anticipated.

Wish us luck and I will update tomorrow!

A bit on what The Imp has been up to...

I am starting to feel like I should rename Amor Chiquito The Imp!

Yesterday, she was playing with a key. There is a gap between our back door and the ground. Amor Chiquito dropped the key and it landed on our back porch. I opened the screen door so she could get it. Once she was outside, Amor Chiquito did not want to come in. I said “outside all done” and told her it was nap time. She threw a bit of a tantrum but I brought her inside. Once inside, Amor Chiquito threw the key so she would have an excuse to go outside again! Once outside, she picked up the key and proceeded to go down the steps and onto our driveway so she could play with our tenants’ kid. The hell with what mommy was saying!

Amor Chiquito got a hold of my nursing pads and put them on her chest!

She enjoys stealing my hair clip, running away, and laughing her little butt off!

Amor Chiquito tells us “down” when she wants us to lie down on the floor so we can pick her up with our legs!

She tells me “up” when she wants to get something she cannot play with, like her Tylenol, but cannot reach.

Amor Chiquito is quite impish! I like impish! Impish is fun!

Night-Weaning: Night One

I knew that the time was coming, but I figured we would not be night-weaning for another few months. I was guessing we would be doing it around December. I figured Amor Chiquito might be uncomfortable because of the molars coming in, so I did not want to make life harder for her. Unfortunately, lately, she has been waking up more and more often asking to nurse. Amor Chiquito would only go back to sleep if she nursed. Sometimes we were up for hours no matter what. Recently, we were getting up every two hours. Needless to say, the three of us have been very exhausted lately.

I understand that night wakings happen, but I do not think Ari should need boobies every two hours. We are way past the newborn stage. I think she will be happier and rested once she is not waking up so many times in one night. I am 100% certain that I will be a better, happier mother once I get a little more uninterrupted sleep.

Last night was one of those nights… I had nursed Ari four times and she would not go to sleep. I was hurting and very frustrated. Actually, I was starting to resent nursing. I was angry, biting my lip while she nursed. I knew I had to do something about it. I love breastfeeding her and I know she loves breastfeeding too. We have beautiful memories of breastfeeding. I want to keep it that way.

So, last night, around 12:20, I decided that I was starting the night-weaning process right then. I knew it would be hard on her, but I felt confident we would get through it. I felt at peace with my decision. I knew I was emotionally ready. Trust me, it took me a very long time to get here, so I felt like it was now or never!

I decided to do this on my own, rather than handing her off to Geeky Entrepreneur. I wanted her to know that, despite the fact she could not nurse, I was there, loving her, hugging her, rubbing her back. I wanted the transition to be as comfortable as possible.

The first time, it took an hour before Ari fell asleep.

Two hours later, she woke up again. That time, it took 25-30 minutes before she went back to sleep.

Two hours later, Ari got up again, but she was only awake for 15 minutes.

We made it! We did it! We made progress. This morning, she was herself. She was not upset.

My goal is for her to learn and be comfortable with nursing during the day but not at night.

Wish us luck tonight!

A big thank you to one of my best friends, who quickly responded to my text message and took the time to hear me out today. She just went through this about three months ago, so I knew she would understand how I felt. I love you lots, Yaminette! You are the best!

Crib/Toddler Bed Update

It is a long story, but I will not bore you with all the details.

Boil down:
I am extremely disappointed with our Babies R Us as it took me speaking with four reps, either on the phone or in person before I learned what I needed to know. You would think they would know what they are talking about. I have spent plenty of hours doing customer service. I know the job can be tedious, but, come on, people…

In the end, we own a $380 “lifetime” crib and yet our child is sleeping on her mattress on the floor while we wait for a $75 convertible crib rail to show up in the mail. Kind of ridiculous, if you ask me.

What I learned from this whole ordeal: some “lifetime,” “convertible,” or “three-in-one” cribs are not all they are cracked up to be. If you plan on getting one or already own one, do the research sooner rather than later. Do not wait until your child climbs out of the crib and assume that you will be able to take care of it the next morning.

Everyone tells you to keep your child in the crib for as long as possible, at least age 2.5. The older the child is, the easier the transition will be. However, once the child is 35” tall (or even 33.5, like Ari!), he/she might be able to climb out. At this point, even if the transition is tough, in my opinion, there is no choice. You need to do it. It is a safety issue. Better to deal with a hard transition than with a broken arm.

Some cribs turn into a toddler bed easily.

In some cases, you need to buy a kit to convert your crib into a toddler bed and it is a special order, so you will be told that you must wait three months for it to arrive. Yeah, I am still shocked about that one. Makes no sense to me.

In some cases, you remove the front of the crib and buy a rail from the manufacturer of your crib. The purpose of this new rail is to keep your child from rolling off the bed, but to give her/him the ability to climb in and out of bed independently.

In some cases (our situation), you remove the rail and use the crib as a daybed, so a crib with only three sides. If you, like me, are concerned that the child might roll off the bed, you need to buy a generic convertible crib bed rail.

I just ordered this today:
http://www.amazon.com/Convertible-Crib-Rail-KidCo-WHITE/dp/B001U8CWSY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1251167447&sr=8-1

I hope that it arrives soon. I hope that it works well for us. I am still annoyed at the fact that we had to spend another $75 after our in-laws paid $400 for this crib because we felt it was a wise, long-term investment. You would think I did not bother doing any research. I could have gotten Ari a decent toddler bed with $75!

The cool thing about this: Ari thinks sleeping on her mattress on the floor and being able to jump on it is the coolest thing ever!

Daddy thinks there is absolutely nothing wrong with her sleeping on the floor! Boys! So, clearly, the only one mythed in this home about the crib issue is me!

Potty Training Update

A bit of progress in the potty training department…

We have talked to Amor Chiquito about how there is a potty for mommy and daddy and a potty for her. We have given her opportunities to sit on it, but she is not interested yet. Fine, we are not in a rush. Pressure is counterproductive.

What is different is that Amor Chiquito is starting to tell us when she is about to pee, not that she has already peed, as she has been doing for months.

Once Amor Chiquito has peed, she lets us know and proceeds to remove her diaper.

I have more laundry now than I used to because the kid cannot stand sitting in pee! Every time she pees, Ari wants a new diaper. No complaints; it means she is learning. Yikes, I don’t have a baby anymore!

Ari is now able to put her pants on independently. This brings us one step closer to potty training. Yikes, I guess it is time to start buying training diapers!

The child cannot stand the taste of hummus!

I told Arianna it was sleepy time. As usual, suddenly, she wanted rice! Yes, that is how she tries to avoid the inevitable, by asking for anything and everything: rice, milk, agua, you name it she wants it at bedtime…!

I was getting the rice out of the fridge and she decided to grab the hummus. I told her I did not think she would like it. But, then, I figured why should I stop her? I hate hummus, but maybe she will like it.

I gave Ari a taste of hummus. Immediately, she spit it out onto my hand! Furthermore, she said “towel”, asking for a paper towel. You should have seen her! She was spitting onto the paper towel and cleaning her tongue with the paper towel!

Yes, kid, hummus is nasty! I am right there with you! Yuck! Daddy disaagrees, but we are right!

I hope you had a good laugh, like we did!

Toddler Shoe Shopping

It is time to get Arianna new shoes. I have read that shoes with soft soles are recommended for kids 24 months and younger and that flexible soles are recommended for kids ages 2-5.

Up until now, I have been getting her Pedipeds. These are recommended by the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA). Unfortunately, I find them to be pricy. $38 for sandals, $44 for shoes, and over $50 for boots that she will only use for a few months feels like a bit much! So I did the usual: started doing a bunch of research!

Check out this link:
http://www.apma.org/MainMenu/RecommendedProducts/SealofAcceptance/APMAsSealofAcceptancePediatricFootProducts.aspx

This website contains a list of footwear recommended by the APMA.

So now it is time to go bargain hunting! I love bargain hunting! I love finding good deals!

I already know that some Robeez are cheaper, around $28 rather than $44 a pair. That works, much better! Unfortunately, not much of a selection on their website.

I wish local shoe stores would carry footwear that is appropriate for her age. Come on, all I want is a pair of shoes, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of boots that will be good on her feet. Is that too much to ask?

Online shopping it is.

I went to striderite.com and searched for several of the shoes listed on the APMA website. Didn't find any. What is that about? I thought they are all about shoes that are good for kids.

She is napping, so I am going shoe shopping!

When she wakes up, I will turn her crib into a toddler bed. Please wish us luck tonight!

I will have her there with me as I unassemble and reassemble her bed so I can tell her what we are doing and why. I am hoping that that might make the transition easier. That strategy has worked for us in the past.

Toddler bed, already?

Crap, I really was not prepared for this one. I envisioned her in her crib until age 2.5 or so. But she just successfully climbed out. This is not safe. I guess we will be turning her crib into a toddler bed much sooner than anticipated. In the meantime, the rocking chair was moved as far away from the crib as possible so that if she falls she does not hit her head. I am paranoid about this because climbing out of a crib is what gave my sister one of the scars on her head.

Geeky Entrepreneur just went with her on a car ride. Nothing else is working. I cannot remember when the last time he did this was. Crappy night, what can I say...

I should go to sleep, but how can I go to sleep knowing that she is crying in the car right now because she only wants me tonight?

No idea if it is the sugar, the molars, or something else...

Platelets: The Second Time

Today was great, so much better than last time. This is, I think, because I was prepared. I dressed differently, as if it was the winter, because I knew I would get cold. I had 12 podcasts and lots of music on my mp3 player. I started with U2's Beautiful Day. Great start! I was comfortable and had something to do. This made a world of difference. Time flew by this time. I was never uncomfortable. Heck, I felt like I was on a high at the beginning! It felt awesome to do this and actually feel comfortable doing it. I can sincerely say that I enjoyed it.

I learned that my platelet count last time was 287 and that last time’s donation was enough for two infusions, not three like I had been told. Fine, it is still more than worth it to me, as long as the platelets go to people who need them. I am not doing this so they go to researchers or to waste! Shelf life is only five days. Unfortunately, there is no way to know where my platelets end up, but I trust that they are going to someone who can use them.

10:20 and Ari is still up. Things are not pretty here tonight. I have nursed her three times and she will not settle down. I am guessing it is because of the shortbread cookies I had at Red Cross around 3:30. I guess I should have starved instead… Feeling not so bright right now… Wish us luck. Lots of crying right now.

Oh, poop, we are in for it!

Ari got into the cabinets. She is better than the baby proofing we installed!

On the kitchen floor, there is an ice tray.

She is holding one of the Medela bottles I used to pump into.

Suddenly, I hear the water dispenser. Since when can she reach the water dispenser? Clearly, starting today, she can reach it just fine!

The grin on her face… The giggle… She is ecstatic!

And, well, we are in for it!

Her process:
Fill bottle with water
Bring bottle to ice tray on floor
Pour water from bottle onto ice tray

I need not worry about my child’s problem solving skills!

Furthermore, I can ask her to fill up the ice trays for me, should I ever need them!

Oh boy!

This stage is a lot of fun, for her and for me!

Me, avoiding sweets and feeding my family whole grains?

Kids really do make you eat your nevers, as my mother-in-law is fond of saying!

It is no secret that I was never very good about eating healthy. I am 26 and I only started eating vegetables maybe eight years ago. My ex-boyfriend talked me into being ok with having a slice of tomato in my sandwich. My persistent husband took things a step further and talked me into eating salads! I am over fried foods. I cannot remember the last time I fried something. I have definitely been eating much healthier the past five years. Thank you, Geek!

Things changed drastically when I realized I was pregnant. I decided I would give it my all and really try to eat better because now it was no longer just about me. Whatever I ate would go to the little growing person inside me.

Once Arianna was born and I could notice the impact my eating habits have on her, I could not go back. Anything I eat is in the breast milk she drinks. I remember realizing at one point that I could not have anything with caffeine after 1pm. I was able to prove time and time again that what I eat shows up in her breast milk six hours later. I don’t like coffee. I quit drinking tons of soda a long time ago. But I do like to enjoy a piece of chocolate espresso torte every now and then! So it is either no torte or torte at noon!

For a while, I thought sugar was ok. It was not until very recently that it dunned on me that perhaps my having desert after dinner might be affecting her night sleep, and, therefore, ours. Sure enough, I no longer have anything sugary after 3pm and Ari is sleeping a lot better. She still wakes up twice in the middle of the night, but she goes back to sleep very easily. Please don’t tell anyone I said that or else I will be screwed tonight!

I will admit that I am not thrilled in the slightest about this! For some reason, I crave sugar in the evenings! I have realized that I have a choice: enjoy desert or breastfeed my baby (well, toddler, whatever!). I love yummy deserts, but I love breastfeeding more. So, here I am, craving something sweet almost every night and settling for All Bran whole grain crackers instead!

I have been complaining to Geeky Entrepreneur about this nonstop, but earlier today I read a post by Logical Mommy, one of my readers, who is breastfeeding her 1-month-old. She is going on what sounds to me like a hellish diet so she can keep breastfeeding her little one. Needless to say, I am done whining now!

Another change: I want to do my part in helping Arianna develop healthy eating habits. I don’t want her to struggle with eating healthy like I do. So, guess who is buying whole grain everything? Yes, we are eating brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat English muffins, and freakin’ whole-wheat crackers! What is even crazier is I actually think several types of whole-wheat crackers are tasty! Who would have known?!

Ari is 23 months today.

In one month, we will be celebrating Arianna’s second birthday. In a way, it feels like she has been around for such a brief period of time. Two years, already? At the same time, it feels like she has been around for so long. Two years, that is it? It feels like so much has happened, so much has changed.

I cannot remember what my life pre-baby was like anymore. I know one thing: I remember feeling bored every now and then. I have not been and do not think I will feel bored ever again! Oh, I know another thing: everything was quick and simple!

Two years ago, I was pregnant and knew my life was about to change, but had no idea what it would really be like. No clue what I was getting myself into! I can now say that being a mother has been the hardest, most challenging thing I have ever done. Being a student at very demanding Mount Holyoke College does not hold a candle! At the same time, I can also say that being a mother has been and continues to be the most rewarding thing I have ever done. There is nothing like seeing my daughter develop in so many different ways, exploring her surroundings, imitating our behaviors, including the silly stuff, being her unique little self. There is nothing like her smile! There is nothing like hearing her blowing kisses, seeing her giving her daddy hugs, or hearing her saying “teh-too” (thank you)!

Holy crap, I am a mother and I am responsible for shaping, to an extent, the life of a new, little being who will someday be a grownup like you and I. Yikes! I better do a kick-ass job! I sure am trying! She is most definitely picking up on many positive things, and, for that, I am very grateful.

Ok, done with the squishy stuff!

New Pics

Geeky Entrepreneur just uploaded the latest photos of our precious, silly child. Check them out here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/PaulGSilva/Arianna_MostRecent#

That is the website where he attempts not to overwhelm people with hundreds of pictures! If you want to see it all, go here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/PaulGSilva/AriannaJanetteSilva#

The second website is outdated. I will repost it when he puts up all the new photos. If you never saw it before and would like to take a peak, there you go!

Enjoy!

Can I just kick 'em?

I am talking about the idiots who think a woman breastfeeding in public is wrong. Is it wrong for you to eat in public, dumbo? Why should I nurse in the bathroom? Why should I pump and bottlefeed my child when my boobs have the milk my child needs? If I was a gorgeous hottie with huge boobs and a nice shirt to show them off, you'd love looking at me. But if I nurse you are offended? The hell with you! Guess what? Grow up and get over it! That is what they are for.

Got that off my chest; I feel better now!

I have not had anyone said anything to me directly about breastfeeding in public. I am sure I have gotten looks, but I can't see them, so whatever! It is one of the few bennies of being visually impaired: you don't notice the idiots as easily!

But, back to breastfeeding in public... For whatever reason, it can be controversial at times. Frankly, I really do not understand why. It is such a natural thing to do. As a breastfeeding mother, you become a pro at breastfeeding discretely. So what is there to complain about?

Check out this post from a labor and delivery nurse:
http://realityrounds.com/2009/08/14/breastfeeding-chicks-at-chick-fil-a/

Having a blog is cool; I can freely be opinionated and who ever does not like it can go screw off! Awesome! I love it!

Speaking of, time to nurse and do the going to bed business!

Donating Platelets: My First Time

Today I gave platelets for the first time.

The bad news:

I ended up spending three hours there.

I wish they were a bit more efficient. I waited for quite a while.

Because I was a first-timer and they did not know how my body would react to the procedure,, my machine was set to one of the slower settings. Therefore, the actual donating platelets process took two hours. Add another 20 minutes or so to answer the 50 questions they ask you, the iron test, checking the vital signs, etc.…

One of my arms is a little sore.

I was unable to move and had nothing to do for two hours. I sincerely believe that I am an undiagnosed ADD case and I tend to get anxious when I must sit still and do nothing for a prolonged period of time. I must get podcasts, music, something… and put them on my mp3 player next time. Lesson learned, fur sure!

At one point, I was tired of being there, getting anxious, cold, sore back, mildly light-headed, tummy feeling weird, and whatever else that I cannot recall now… I started wondering what the hell I got myself into! “You should have known,” I told myself. “How the hell did you think you could sit completely still for hours?”

But, then… The good news:

I gave enough platelets for three platelet infusions!

That is an efficient use of my time, to say the least. I am lucky that I am healthy and I can help those who are not, and, for that, I am very grateful.

I feel that donating platelets is like being birth, in a sense: it is hard on you, but it is so worth it in the end.

For the record, don’t take the analogy very seriously. Giving platelets was a piece of cake when compared to giving birth!

Yes, it was time-consuming and there were times when I could not wait to be done. Yes, I feel tired, sort of drained, sort of like you feel after a long walk and inadequate hydration. But, yes, I will do it again, most definitely. In fact, tomorrow I will schedule my next appointment. My goal is to do this every two weeks.

News from Red Cross

I just got a letter saying that my platelet count is higher than the average count and that I could donate platelets up to 24 times a year. The process is time-consuming, 2 hours. I want to and will make it work, though. I can't wait! I could potentially give platelets every two weeks. How cool is that?! Oh, I can continue donating whole blood too. So, if I get my way, I will donate blood every three months (I always need the extra 4 weeks for my iron level to be high enough) and platelets every two weeks or so.

I was finally able to give blood!

I am so happy! I was telling Geeky Entrepreneur that I feel like I am on a high! I absolutely love donating blood. I have been wanting to give blood for years and I was finally able to do it. It had been just over three years.

After dating someone with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) who received numerous blood transfusions, I decided being afraid of a needle was not an acceptable excuse for me. More than 10 people help save his life. How could I not do the same? How could I not pay it forward?

I was pregnant. Then, I was the mother of a little one, breastfeeding, sleep deprived, feeling I could not chance becoming anemic (which has happened in the past). Then, I tried but could not donate blood because I forgot my i.d. Lastly, I could not give blood because my pulse was too high. You have no idea how upset I was every time I tried and it did not work out!

Everything worked out today. I hope that the blood Geeky Entrepreneur and I donated goes to someone who really needs it.

If you have not donated blood, or if you have not done so in a while, please consider doing so. The actual process of giving blood only takes 8-10 minutes. Honestly, it is no worse than getting blood drawn for a test. You feel a pinch, that is it. After that, it is as if the needle is not even there.

Your blood could go to someone receiving chemo, someone who lost a lot of blood for some reason, someone who had major surgery, etc. The blood you donate can be divided into three components: red blood cells, platelets, and plasma. An hour of your time could help save three people’s lives. Let’s go give blood more often!

(800) give life

Today I am parenting a sweet, happy, funny horse!

Amor Chiquito slept mostly ok last night.

She went down for her nap very easily and napped for 2 hours.

Amor Chiquito ate like a horse today! I cannot believe the amount of food that is in that child’s tummy right now!

She was very pleasant most of the time. No sleep deprivation-induced cranckiness.

Lastly, Ari did very well during the early intervention visit. The therapist thinks Amor Chiquito is probably at 21 months as far as language. She is 22 months. So, if Amor Chiquito was evaluated today, she would not qualify for early intervention. How she went from scoring 14 to 21 months in two months is beyond me, but I will not complain!

Thank you God for a great day! These are the days when I think I want another baby!

Mother's Guilt

Mother's guilt... It is real. It is common. It is being researched/studied. Yay for curious psychologists!

I recently learned from one of my friends that a psychology professor at a college in NY has done a fair bit of research on this topic. I can't wait to read about her findings! I will be sure to share what I learn. I will not say when I will post about it because I have no idea. Ask my daughter when she will start napping again and that will give you a sense of when I might be able to spend more time on the computer!

Check out this post by a mom on coping with mother's guilt:
http://largerfamilies.com/wordpress/?p=128

If you are a mother experiencing this every now and then, be kind to yourself, be patient with yourself, do your best to take care of yourself (easier said than done, I know), and remind yourself that you are a human being, not some sort of wonder woman who must have all the answers 100% of the time. While you are at it, please remind me when I forget!

Oh, boy, my husband is going to have something to say about this post! I can hear him already! He will take my own words and use them against me!

Reassurance is always comforting...

I love blogs! In fact, here is a confession: I am obsessed with following blogs! I am following over 40 of them right now! Why? Because I am learning so much. There are so many cool people blogging about things I find fascinating out there. How do I manage to pull that off? I jump on the computer as soon as Arianna goes to bed!

I just read this blog post:
http://parentingbytrialanderror.com/2009/07/27/mushy-tributes-and-the-real-truth-about-parenting/

Seeing as how I have been feeling like I am a wimpy mom the last few days, reading that post was very comforting.

For moms of boys...

Lately, I have been looking for parenting blogs. I came across a blog where a mom writes about what parenting boys is like. Check out this funny post:
http://bloggingboutboys.blogspot.com/2009/07/top-10-signs-you-might-be-boy-mom.html

What do you think? Is she right on or what?! I don't have a boy, but I do have a brother, so I found this post entertaining!

More of the same, more or less...

Last night was a lot better than Sunday night. Amor Chiquito got up 3 times. The second time it took us about 45 minutes to get her back to sleep. That was still a lot better than Sunday night because she gave us 2 3.5 hour chunks and there were no crying incidents.

The other good thing is that Amor Chiquito slept until 7am, whereas, the past few weeks, she had been waking up around 5:30 and the only way to get her to sleep was to let her nibble herself to sleep on our bed. It seemed, to me, that there was a pattern: if it was dark, she would go back down in her crib; if there was light, she was either up or in bed with us. Abuela installed the shade I bought months ago and so far so good. Seems like it worked like a charm. Let's see what happens tonight. I am cautiously hopeful!

As for her nap and eating, that is a whole other story. It is 3pm and she has not had lunch or napped. I have offered rice, beans, milk, and other things I know she likes right now. Amor Chiquito won't eat. She won't even sit down. Amor Chiquito just takes off and wonders around the kitchen. She is often completely ignoring me. Freakin' terrible two's! I guess I can't reread Love and Logic soon enough!

I really wish I knew why she will eat like a horse some times and other times she just does not care for food, no matter who does what. I also wish I knew why she will often eat great with my mother but not with me. Come on, kid, my food is not that bad!

As for the nap, every time I say it is time to nurse and sleep, she begins naming foods she wants. Of course, when I offer, she won't eat them. The other thing she is doing is running in our bedroom and climbing in our bed. Lastly, when I talk about naptime, she starts to cry. If she manages to get away, she starts playing like nothing ever happened. I guess that is, by definition, being impish.

What next? I don't know. I don't know what else to try. Maybe I'll end up nursing her to sleep on her bedroom floor again. I don't want to send mixed signals, but I don't know what else to do. I am not willing to leave her bedroom and let her scream herself to sleep. I am desperate, but not that desperate.

If you have any suggestions, comment away!

Confessions of a tired mommy...

Today has been a crappy day, to say the least. Actually, it started weeks ago, but today was the worst.

Amor Chiquito used to go to bed around 8:30 and would sleep until 7-7:30. She was napping at noon or so for about 1.5 hours. Lately, Amor Chiquito has been going to sleep at 9:30 and gets up around 6:30 or so. She was waking up twice and lately we have had nights when she has woken up five times. What is worse is the nights, like last night, when it takes hours to get her to go back to sleep. Lastly, Amor Chiquito has been eating poorly, for the most part, the last few days.

Yesterday, Amor Chiquito did not go down for a nap until 3:40. She napped until 6:10, so I knew she would not be going to bed early. Sure enough, Amor Chiquito was up until 10:30.

At 2:00 is when things got interesting. She woke up. I nursed her and put her back in the crib. Less than an hour later, she was awake again. Both Geeky Entrepreneur and I took turns trying to help her go back to sleep. Eventually, I decided I would try co-sleeping. Sadly, it really does not work for us, but last night I was desperate and was willing to try almost anything.

Co-sleeping was not working. We had been awake for hours. She kept wanting to nibble or wanting to hold a nipple. Picture your nipple getting squeezed for a long time. It is not pleasant. If I knew that after 10 minutes of it, we could all go to sleep, it would make it worthwhile, but that was not the case.

So, anyways, I tried the crib again. No success. Lots of that heart-breaking cry, lots of mommy, mommy. When I picked her up, she ran to our bedroom and climbed into our bed. I decided to try co-sleeping again because, what the hell, nothing was working. This was the option where she would be the least miserable. Hours later we were asleep.

Long story short: I got 4.5 hours of sleep. Geeky Entrepreneur probably got 5 or so. Ari got 6.5 hours of sleep. She needs at least 10 hours.

Fast-forward to naptime… Same thing… Amor Chiquito was very tired, but she would not go down in her crib. She wanted to co-sleep, but I just couldn’t do it. My nipples were quite sore after last night. Eventually, I nursed her to sleep on her bedroom floor. Yes, her bedroom floor; that was the best I could do. I am not proud of it, but, she finally napped. I got somewhere.

Of course, I am asking myself the usual questions: what the hell is going on? Is she not feeling well? What is it? What can I do to help her feel better? God knows I’d do anything! Is it the molars? Something else?

I know that this is nothing, really, that many kids and their parents out there have it a lot harder. But, right now, today, after 4.5 hours of sleep and a long, hard day, I am feeling so frustrated, so tired, so useless, so helpless, so anxious… There have been multiple times today when I have wanted to hide somewhere and cry. I know something is up with my kid and I can’t figure it out. I am her mother. It is my job to protect her and to take care of her. And, yet, I can’t even freakin’ get her to sleep! I feel like I am failing somehow.

I am a very private person. I don’t go around telling people about my issues. For example, I really struggle with anxiety and only a handful of people know about it (I think four and one of them is my husband). So why am I writing about this on a public blog? I want other parents to know that they are not alone, that all of us parents often have hard days and that it is ok to get frustrated, to want to cry, to reach out for help. This happens. It happens often, even if we do not talk about it.

In addition to what I wrote above, I wish someone had told me what parenting really is like before I got pregnant. Please do not misinterpret my words; I love my daughter to pieces and I would not change having her in my life at all. What I mean is that people always tell you “Wait… It is hard… Blab la bla…” But they don’t really tell you anything. No one tells you that there are times when you feel helpless because you can’t make your baby feel better. No one tells you that when your baby is a newborn, you need to nurse every 2-3 hours, at least, and that you will be sore as hell for weeks. No one tells you that even at 22 months you will be having rough, sleepless nights.

So, moral of the story: for me, being a mother is wonderful, intense, rewarding, hard, life-changing, overwhelming, humbling, among many other things. If you are thinking you would like to become a parent or are thinking of adding to your family, educate yourself. Don’t just talk to your mother and mother-in-law! Go on parenting message boards, for example.

Yikes, I realize this post is all over the place and for that I apologize. Normally, I would go back and edit, but I am too tired for that today! I need to take a shower and go to bed. Who knows what is in store for tonight. Fortunately, so far so good. She went to sleep at 8:45.

Oh, one more thing, whatever you do, if you want to have kids, make sure a 21-century dad fathers them! I don’t know how our mothers did it! I will admit that if I didn’t have a wonderful man at my side like I do, there would be no doubt: I’d go get my tubes tied! Geeky Entrepreneur is great, though, so I might want to try for #2 someday, despite the fact I’m still not sleeping well!

Done rambling for now. Thanks for hearing, well, reading me out!

The Adventures of Amor Chiquito (7/25/09)

New words: Manny (as in Handy Manny, the cartoon), ama (cama, Spanish for bed), nanigh (blanket, lying down, something related to sleep…!)

I am sure there were a few more, but I am blanking out now.

Amor Chiquito is enjoying pretending games, such as putting pillows on the floor, lying down, and covering herself with a blanket, pretending she is going to sleep. Those naps last about 30 seconds!

Amor Chiquito says “se cae” (Spanish for falling” if she thinks she is about to fall, if someone else trips on something, or when Daddy runs down the stairs really fast.

Yesterday, Amor Chiquito figured it was time to remind me about that potty training stuff! Twice, she peed, took her diaper off, and handed it to me. One of the two times, after taking off the diaper, she grabbed my new underwear and put it on! It was photo-worthy – a little girl in mommy’s underwear walking around the house! Oh, if you’re wondering, no, she did not pee on the rug; I got a new diaper quickly enough!

I’ll admit that I have not done anything to help her with potty training. I really need to get started. I explained what the potty chair is for once, but did not follow through. I’ll need to do that again. Let’s see if she wants to sit on it now. She didn’t feel like it last time. She is not even two, so I am not going to force it. Forcing kids to potty train does not work, anyways.

I’ll ask her if she wants to pee on the potty when I go to the bathroom and we’ll see what happens. She always goes in there with me anyways, so I think that’s the way to go for us!

Last night, Amor Chiquito became extremely fascinated with butternut squash! She stopped eating so she could check it out. She pointed and pointed until Daddy figured out what she wanted and gave it to her. Amor Chiquito was looking at it, holding it, hugging it, trying to eat it raw! So funny! We’ll be cooking squash tomorrow tonight and letting her watch the entire time so she can see how squash goes from being the big thing she was holding to yummy orange stuff on her plate!

This morning, Abuela and I took Amor Chiquito and Jaiden, her cousin to the park across the street. Mind you, this was Ari’s second time going to the park; Geeky Entrepreneur took her early this morning, probably at 8:30am. It was so early they had the park to themselves! I got lots of nice photos of the kids on the swings and going down the slides. They also enjoyed the sprinkler park, but it was nearly impossible to get photos of them there; they would not stay still! It was nice. We don’t get to see Jaiden much. It was nice to see the kids play together, well, near each other, that is.

Amor Chiquito is still extremely afraid of strangers. She has been going to the park every day for weeks, but she still will not go down the slide if another kid is up there. I know she will do better with this eventually, but I do wonder when. It’s been almost a month, I think. Time will tell…

Amor Chiquito went grocery shopping with Geeky Entrepreneur today. I heard she got very excited when he grabbed some watermelon! She wanted some right away, so much so that she tried to bite through the saran wrap so she could get some!

I think Amor Chiquito is teething again. We’re not big fans of teething; she sleeps terrible when she is teething. She doesn’t sleep great to begin with! Whatever, it’s nothing, in the grand scheme of things. It’s part of life. In a few months, the last four molars will come through and she will have all her 20 teeth.

I think Amor Chiquito might be having nightmares. She often wakes up crying, even if we are right next to her. I tried cosleeping last night in the hopes that we would sleep better, but, as usual, it was just as bad as having her in the crib, if not worse. I lost track of how many times she woke up and definitely lost track of how many times she jumped on to nibble.

I think that is about it for this week. Let’s see what this coming week has in store for us. Lots of fun mischief, I’m betting.

I've been in denial, but, yes, there is no doubt: she is almost two!

I can't believe it. I don't have a baby anymore! September 18 is coming up fast!

So, yes, the "terrible two's" are here! I am not complaining. I know we are lucky. Amor Chiquito is healthy and she is a good kid. I’ve seen other kids her age. I know there could be more tantrums, that the tantrums could last longer, more crying and screaming, more frustration. I do wonder how much of our “luck” is due to her own personality and how much of it is due to the way we have chosen to parent. But I’ll write about that another day.

So, we are seeing the signs. Amor Chiquito is testing boundaries. She is often saying “no” when we ask her to do something. Amor Chiquito decides when she wants to listen to what we are saying. She will cry for no good reason, like a little while ago when Geeky Entrepreneur was clipping her nails. Her cry sounds like she is so upset. Yet, you let her go and she is fine, as if nothing ever happened, in, oh, I don’t know, 5 seconds.

I won’t lie; parenting an almost 2-year-old can get intense at times, but I feel that thus far I am doing well with the whole thing, better than I had anticipated, that’s for sure. Geeky Entrepreneur… Well, he’s kicking ass, as usual! I think the is the more patient one of the two of us. If you know him, you know the man just never gets angry! How he does it? I don’t know, but I am so glad he is the man I married! He is such an awesome father. I love you, Geek! You are the bestest (yes, I know that's not a real word!) daddy!

But, back to Ms. Mischief, Love and Logic, here we come! I am going to listen to the book again. I think we will get even more out of it this time around. I will be sure to take notes as I listen along and I’ll be sure to post them. I can already tell you that the book is awesome. In the next few weeks, I’ll show you why I feel that way.

I’ll leave you with this quote from mamatrue.com, a blog I just discovered a few minutes ago:
“If you know where the boundary is, you can lean on it, derive support from it, and relax within the limits. If you don’t know where the boundary is, that doesn’t mean it’s non-existent. It just means that you can run into it and get hurt.”

This quote made me think and reminded me of the importance of lovingly setting boundaries early on. I figured the mommies out there reading this might find it helpful.

When in doubt, say no!

That is my daughter's philosophy! If you ask her a question and she has no idea what the heck you are talking about, she'll simply say no! If she feels like being mischivious, she'll say no and start laughing her little butt of!

The kid is super funny!

Baby hugs are the best!

When I am sitting on the floor, Ari often comes over and hugs me from behind! I love it! Lately, she started wrapping her legs around me too!

Her other new thing - we'll be playing and, suddenly, she'll stop whatever she is doing so she can give me a hug and kiss my nose!

Baby hugs and kisses are the best!

We traveled and our trick worked again!

We spent a night away from home. We drove down to see Geeky Entrepreneur's family. His grandmother turned 80 yesterday!

We left Friday night, around 8:30pm. We left my mother-in-law's around 9:15pm on Saturday. Amor Chiquito did great both times. We find driving at that time of day tiring, but it works for the baby, so we do it. I missed traveling and I am glad we have found a way.

Amor Chiquito had a blast with Nana. They were both upset when it was time for us to leave. Amor Chiquito got to play some with her great-grandmother, who she does not get to see very often. She got to play with balloons, which she loves.

Amor Chiquito ate like a cute little horse yesterday! She had her rice, some of Nana's pasta, some of my corn, some of her great-grandmother's fries, and she even had some chicken! Is my little vegetarian converting? That was a first, for sure!

As Geeky Entrepreneur likes to put it: lots of fun was had by all!

For those of you who were at our wedding, Amor Chiquito met Father Ciro for the first time yesterday! She was cautious at first, but realized that he was ok after 15 minutes or so. It was great seeing him. We love the revel priest!

Early Intervention Update

The early intervention therapist has been coming over once a week. We are seeing lots of progress, so much so that she thinks Amor Chiquito won’t qualify for early intervention after her next evaluation. In November, Amor Chiquito will be evaluated again, after six months of service.

Amor Chiquito has between 40 and 45 words right now.

In theory, we will begin to hear phrases sometime between 50 and 75 words, in other words, in the next few weeks.

The advice we have received recently is to use short phrases, as opposed to one word. For example, we should say “more bread” instead of “bread.”

The other thing that the therapist has emphasized is to do lots of narration, to tell Amor Chiquito what she is doing.

We started play group last Friday. We will be going in every Friday morning for 12 weeks. I bring her in for 2.5 hours. There are about 10 kids and their parents.

Amor Chiquito does not do well with crowds. She is afraid of strangers, including little ones her age. She either sat on my lap or played by herself. Being cautious of strangers is healthy, but her current response is not healthy either. The goal/hope is that in a few weeks she will feel more comfortable interacting with her peers. Let's see how it goes this Friday.

The Adventures of Amor Chiquito (7/19/09)

It has been weeks since my last update. Let’s see how much I can remember…

New words: shy (outside), slide, ri (rice), bobobi (broccoli), jew (juice), baby, yes, sho (hot), up, down, se cae (Spanish for fall), papo (diaper), ow (house)

There are many more, but I can’t remember right now.

Oh, she calls corn cereal! Maybe because they sort of look like Kix? No clue!

Amor Chiquito now understands the difference between hot and cold.

When her food is hot, Amor Chiquito will tell you and proceed to blow on it!

Amor Chiquito used to call rice food, but now she calls it rice. She loves white rice! She’d live on rice if we let her!

Amor Chiquito has become quite the outdoors person. I find this strange, in a way, because neither Geeky Entrepreneur nor I love being outdoors as much as she does. But it is good for her, so we do it, particularly Geeky Entrepreneur.

There is a park across the street from us and it was recently redone. It kicks butt! There is a section for kids ages 2-5. Amor Chiquito loves going to the park every day, day and night! She is lucky; Daddy brings her almost every morning and every evening.

There are three slides. She has a favorite, the whindy slide, of course! That we agree with her on! She also loves the swings.

There is a mini water park. She is slowly becoming a fan. At first, she would only stare. Then, she’d get her hands and feet wet. Now, she is coming home completely soaked!

One of Amor Chiquito’s most recent hobbies is to play with the hose. (Thanks, Geeky Entrepreneur; you’ve unleashed a monster!) When we go “shy” (outside), she brings us to the hose. She enjoys making sure Daddy is thoroughly soaked! But she doesn’t want Daddy to return the favor!

Speaking of Daddy, Amor Chiquito is a much bigger fan of him, which makes me no end of happy! She used to only call me when she woke up; now, she calls both of us. She is always looking for him, calling his name, running after him… So cute!

Other hobbies: wash her hands and brush her teeth over and over again.

A funny story – Amor Chiquito knows why people sit on toilets. Consequently, if we go to the bathroom, she will say “mommy/daddy peepee”! When you come out of the bathroom, she announces to the world that you went peepee! It felt a little strange yesterday to be at my mother-in-law’s, surrounded by the in-laws, and having all of them hear that I had just peed! Whatever, she is cute as can be!

Amor Chiquito saw a little bit of Daddy playing his video game. Not a big deal to some, but I really don’t want her to get interested in video games. Also, and most importantly, I don’t want her seeing violence of any sort. Unfortunately, she was fascinated and so she wants to be in there with him while he is playing. Today, she got the X-box controller and made Geeky Entrepreneur’s character walk around. She then found a grenade or something. That was the end of that…

So much more to say, but I am completely blanking out right now. I am not feeling well. I can’t eat much. I’m in pain. It might be my gall bladder. It sucks. Hopefully we will know soon.

I want the pain to go away, of course, but I am hoping I don’t need surgery. Amor Chiquito and I have never spent a night apart. She still wants to nurse in the middle of the night. So if I need surgery, it will suck big time.

"The sound "moo" is not always related to cows!

Amor Chiquito is doing and saying many silly things these days. I will write more about that tomorrow, but I wanted to share a quick, funny story!

Last night, we hung out with our friends, Sarah and Will. Ari calls Sarah “Sharah.” Perfect, close enough.

Will, on the other hand, though…! Ari can’t say the W sound. This is when substitution comes in: the child makes up a word to replace the word she cannot say. Will’s name? “Moo”!

I swear I am not making that up!

I’ll leave you with that! I hope you got a good laugh!

Eating organic, an example of our transition to crunchiness!

Originally, this blog was meant to be about our transition to “crunchiness”! I realize that I have not written much about how I am reluctantly turning into a crunchy mama. I hope to fix that, now that I am done with school.

Here is an example of our transition to “crunchiness”!

Prior to getting pregnant, we had started considering buying organic produce. We tried a few fruits and veggies, but we were not consistent about it. Once I was pregnant, that was it. Geeky Entrepreneur announced we were making the switch! It was cute, actually. Cute how? To me, it meant that, even though Amor Chiquito was tiny and we had not met her yet, her daddy already cared about her enough to start making changes in our lives if those changes might have a positive impact in her life.

We started buying organic fruits, veggies and chicken. We read some articles that discussed which produce are worth buying or not. For example, if I remember correctly (this was years ago), it turns out that there is not a big difference between organic and non-organic bananas. We get organic anyways because they are tastier!

Some argue that the jury is out on whether “organic” is all it is cracked up to be or not. I won’t argue either way here, as I have not researched it heavily, but if it means that less chemicals are getting into our bodies, I feel it is worth it, for us.

Speaking of organic food, I got organic strawberries, blueberries, and grape tomatoes today. I must say that the grape tomatoes were the best tomatoes I have ever had! The blueberries were also quite tasty. I wish we could get yummy fruit and veggies like that more often!

If you know me, you know I’m not really into veggies! I eat them because I know they’re good for me, blab la bla…! All kidding aside, I used to not eat any veggies whatsoever. It has been hard to get used to eating them, but I have made a great deal of progress. Ask my husband!

But, back to what I was going to say, you know that if I am saying the grape tomatoes were delicious, they must be awesome tomatoes!

Arianna is Daddy's partner in crime, with pride!

I was sitting in our living room, enjoying some computer time. Amor Chiquito and Geeky Entrepreneur were upstairs, Ari enjoying "bubble time." Suddenly, they are standing in front of me and Daddy says "go Ari." The silly kid puts tons of suds on my hair! I am sure I made an interesting face! I was both shocked and laughing at the same time!

It was adorable, lots of fun, lots of mischief! I am loving this stage.

More later! It's been a while since I posted about anything; I am looking forward to rectifying that!

Allow me brag...

One of Momo's favorite phrases is "allow me show..."! I stole the concept and came up with "allow me brag..."!

Amor Chiquito really likes Sarah, our friend/former tenant. She began saying Sarah's name last Sunday. Amor Chiquito is absolutely obsessed with Sarah! She stands at the door, looking out, wondering when Sarah is coming home. (She is a bit confused because Sarah is not coming home anymore, of course, and new people are walking into what Ari thinks is Sarah's house.) In the morning, one of the first things Ari does is pick up the phone, begin dialing, and say Sarah!

What really surprised me... The "brag," finally! Sarah drives a Prism. Yesterday, twice, when Ari saw a Prism, she said Sarah!

I am always surprised at the things this silly kid understands!

The Adventures of Amor Chiquito (6/22/09)

Behind schedule, but here is the weekly update on our silly kid!

New words: teeth, mouth, nose, baby, house, flower, car, papas (Spanish for French fries), food, hi

First phrase ever: mas cheese

Last Monday was one of those days packed with mischief:
fights with the cousin
coming home, looking for Daddy, running to the front door, holding the door nub, saying “doggy, doggy”
taking off in mid-diaper change and peeing on her chair (not the potty chair)

Every time we pull into the driveway, she wants to go see all the “doggies” in the neighborhood!

If she has not seen Daddy all day, when I tell her Daddy is coming, she gets very excited and starts saying “daddy, daddy”! When he walks in, she runs to him, says hi, and gives him hugs!

When Abuela is cooking, she walks in the kitchen, points at the pot, says “food,” and says “mmm”! I heard that today she would not leave the kitchen! She lied down on the floor to enjoy her milk and wait for the rice!

Every time we are at a drive-through, she thinks we are getting French fries. Yes, I’m big into her eating healthy, but she does know and love French fries, I must admit.

Not sure if this was a coincidence or not, but a while ago she grabbed two socks from a laundry basket and they matched. There were many socks and they were not in pairs, believe you me!

We're traveling again!

Geeky Entrepreneur and I had been apprehensive about traveling (as in a 2-hour drive) with Amor Chiquito because last time we did it was chaotic. Lots of crying on the car ride, lots of crying at the hotel, did not want the playard, up until midnight, lots of crying during nap time the next day...

I knew that eventually she would do fine. She understands more and more language every day, so I figured I could explain to her what we are doing in a simple, toddler-friendly way. I have been seeing lots of progress in the sleeping department. Six months ago, she would only sleep in her crib. Now, she sleeps in her crib at home and on a toddler bed at Abuela's. She can cosleep and not try to nibble all night like she used to.

Last Friday, Geeky Entrepreneur said he wanted to drive down to see his father on Father's Day. I reminded him that if he drove down without the baby, his mother would disown him!

We brainstormed on what would work best. I figured we should leave at naptime so Amor Chiquito would sleep on the car ride. That adventuresome, curious, very active free spirit absolutely refuses to sit still for that long, just like her father!

Back to planning, Geeky Entrepreneur came up with a better idea: leave at bedtime, around 8pm. We could spend the next day with his parents and drive home at bedtime. We decided to go for it. Once I said yes, I got anxious, but, at the same time, I wanted to do it and had a feeling that it would work.

So, on Friday night, while Geeky Entrepreneur and Amor Chiquito went on their evening walk, I packed frantically! Off we went around 9pm, behind schedule, of course!

I put Ari in the car. I said "sleepy time in the car." She nursed. While she was nursing, I sang the bedtime song. Geeky Entrepreneur played the "rain on the roof" track from Happiest Baby on the Block (we play it every night). Ten minutes in she was asleep! She slept the entire time!

We got into our hotel room. Amor Chiquito woke up briefly and went right to sleep. She got up again at 3am, but went back to sleep easily. We got up at 7am and by 7:45am we were at my mother-in-law's.

Amor Chiquito napped in the car at 1pm. Again, it went well. She slept for an hour. Not ideal, but good enough.

After dinner, we got in the car and 20 minutes in she was asleep. She woke up ten minutes before we got home.

So, it could not have gone better! I am very happy that we found something that works. The takeaway is: be mindful/considerate/awear of her schedule, tell her what we are doing and replicate the bedtime routine as much as possible.

I am looking forward to planning a trip to the Boston area so we can see our "Boston friends" (hi Yaminette, hi Liz!).

Huge fight at Abuela's house...

Holyoke, MA - Two toddlers, 21-month-old Ari and 28-month-old Jai, get into a big fight over... diapers!

It is diaper time for both kids. Ari wants Jai's disposable diapers. Jai wants Ari's cloth diapers.

Ari grabbs two of Jai's disposables. Jai is just not having it! He takes them away from her.

Jai grabs a pocket diaper. Ari is just not having it and gets her diaper back, whatever it takes!

Hitting is allowed in this fight, and, in fact, everybody hit and got hit!

Whatever Abuela has at her house is, clearly, much cooler than what we have at home or what my brother has at his place for Jaiden, my nephew!

The other thing they fought about: Abuela. If one went to Abuela, the other one ran and sat on her lap! Amor Chiquito was particularly not interested in sharing Abuela.

The things kids fight about...

Abuela had both of them on Monday for about five hours. Bless my mother's heart!

You know you are a parent when...

You never cared about cartoons as a kid, but, suddenly, you look forward to and enjoy singing the "Bob the builder" song! Your kid laughs when you sing, so you enjoy singing the silly song even more!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out PVS at 7:30AM!

And...

You know you are a breastfeeding mom with a working reproductive system when...
You are freezing one minute, boiling hot the next, and freezing again, all in five minutes.

To clarify, this does not happen to me all the time. It only happens during my menstrual period.

What causes it? Extremely low estrogen levels.

When you breastfeed, your estrogen level is low.

When you are menstruating, your estrogen level is low.

When you are menstruating and are a breastfeeding mother, I guess your estrogen level is non-existent! Ok, not quite, but it is extremely low.

There's a female biology tipbit for you!

It is pretty frustrating when it happens, but it is only a few days a month. I still love breastfeeding, even though I am getting hotflashes from hell this week!

Abuela is cruising with us after all!

Abuela was uncertain, as she has not cruised before, but she said yes and all of us are very excited!

Abuela and Amor Chiquito will have their own cabbin. Win-win for all! Abuela is ecstatic! To her, it will feel like Amor Chiquito is sleeping over, which she can't wait for. But, at the same time, if Ari needs us, we are a few steps away. Geeky Entrepreneur and I are ecstatic because we'll have some "us" time.

It will be great to have both family activities and adult activities. Yeah, I know you're probably laughing! What I mean by "adult activity" is things like going on the awesome 2-story slide. We can't do it together if we have the baby. She is too little. We also enjoy hottubs, which are not an ideal activity for a young child. So, with Abuela coming, we will get to do things like that, but, we'll also get to go to the beaches as a family, among many other things.

We are very lucky in that our mothers are good mother-in-laws. My mother-in-law is so awesome I invited her to join us on our last cruise. We spent 7 days together and when we flew in and went our separate ways, I actually missed her! Weird and unusual, I know. I am a lucky woman!

The Adventures of Amor Chiquito (6/14/09)

Nothing big to write about. My memory is pathetic; I can't remember anything these days!

There are some new words, but I am still trying to figure out what they mean. Amor Chiquito is doing lots of "substitution." In the language world, this refers to when a child makes up her/his own word because she/he is unable to pronounce the real word. If a sound is being used consistently, it counts as a word, even though it is not a real word for us grownups.

When we come home, almost always, Amor Chiquito wants to walk around the neighborhood to look at the "doggies"!

Amor Chiquito is exposed to lots of things at Abuela's house that she does not see here, mainly girly stuff. I'm just not into lotions, makeup, or hair products. Just the basics for me! A few days back, she went in Abuela's room, grabbed the body spray and sprayed herself. She then put lipstick on herself. Lastly, she asked for "tata" (lotion). Makes Abuela very proud!

Something new: she is drinking more milk (cow milk, that is). That does not mean she is weaning, though. To her, they are two separate things. And, frankly, I'm in agreement. I'm much better than a cow, thank you very much! I know what I put into my body and my milk gives her immune system a boost. When she is sick, she can still drink mommy milk, whereas that is not true about cow milk.

Oops, did not mean for that to turn into a little rant. I just get frustrated when people say things like "why haven't you weaned her already? She should be drinking more milk. She won't eat good until you wean her." They imply that cow milk is somehow healthier than the milk my boobs make. What kind of crap is that?

K, off my soapbox.

Amor Chiquito has learned to take the cap off her sippy cups. Consequently, she drinks her milk with a straw now.

Everything at Abuela's is cooler than the stuff at home! That includes the disposable diapers that my nephew wears. When we say diaper time, she runs and grabs a disposable diaper. Guess what? She is incredibly alergic to them. In 5 minutes, she is itching badly, crying, etc. Unfortunately, she has not connected the dots.

We used disposable diapers for 10 months, always Pampers. We never had a rash. So I wonder if there are different chemicals in the different brands? The diapers at Abuela's are not Pampers.

Back to the weekly update, we met with the early intervention therapist last Friday. Nothing new, really. This time Geeky Entrepreneur was able to join us, so he got to hear the suggestions directly from her, which was helpful. Basically, the boildown is that we should use brief phrases, lots of repetition, and lots of narrating what she is doing. Some time between 50 and 75 words, she will start saying phrases. We have about 30 words right now, so hopefully we'll be hearing some phrases soon.

I guess that was it for this week. On to get ready to start another crazy week.

Why won't they potty train me already?

I think that is what she is thinking!

I have not heavily researched/educated myself on potty training yet, but, what I have read so far indicates that children are not neurologically ready to potty train until age 2. Several articles I have come across suggest that parents begin the potty training process between age 2 and 2.5. These articles also point out that it is ok if it takes a child longer and that the child might not be done with potty training at age 3.

Needless to say, I was not expecting that I would need to learn about this right now! She won't be 2 for another 3 months. Until very recently, I would have fun every now and then looking at the new pocket diapers! I guess now I need to move on to cloth training pants! Holy crap, my baby is not a baby anymore! When did that happen?!

So, the story... For months, Amor Chiquito has been saying "tati" (her substitution for poopy in Spanish). It meant both pee and poop. Very recently, she started talking about pee and poop, each having their own word. Amor Chiquito started isolating herself, standing at a corner, for example, if she was going to poop. The most recent development is that, if we are changing a diaper, she will get up, say "pee-pee" and run to some corner and pee on a rug! No fun for mom and dad!

So, what next? I am trying to figure that out. We have a potty chair already. Amor Chiquito has never used it. To be more specific, I never introduced it. So I will start there!

We will give her the chance to spend some time near/on the potty chair during a diaper change. Abuela is on board and will do the same, which is good because Amor Chiquito is spending a lot of her time there for the next three weeks.

As with everything else, we will do lots of positive reinforcement. We will say positive phrases any time she sits on the potty chair. We will probably clap when she actually goes on the potty! Yes, we are silly, corny parents! You should have seen Geeky Entrepreneur clapping when she began spoon feeding herself! It works like a charm!

Back to potty training, here are some articles that might help those of you out there who will be potty training in the near future.

Article discussing whether or not child is emotionally and physically ready:
http://www.webmd.com/hw-popup/confusion-about-a-childs-readiness-for-toilet-training

WebMD article with useful info and FAQ's regarding potty training:
http://children.webmd.com/tc/toilet-training-topic-overview

Awesome WebMD article that provides step-by-step suggestions on how to potty train your child:
http://children.webmd.com/tc/toilet-training-home-treatment

This is what I got from a quick search. I will post links to more articles later.

We're going on a cruise!

So, I lied... I didn't get any work done earlier as I said! Instead, I wrapped up my cruise research! I booked our next cruise! Geeky Entrepreneur, Amor Chiquito, and myself are going to the Bahamas on Nov. 15 for a week! I am so excited! I can't wait! 160 days to go! (The Carnival website keeps track for me!)

My mother might come with us. If she does, her and Amor Chiquito will have their own cabbin.

There are kid pools for Amor Chiquito and a 2-story water slide that Geeky Entrepreneur and I can't wait to get on! Geeky Entrepreneur is also very excited about 24/7 access to icecream! No, not making that up!

We'll be flying to Baltimore. The flight is only an hour and 10 minutes. It will be our first time flying with Amor Chiquito. I am a little nervous about it, but hopeful that she will do ok. She'll be 26 months then, so I am sure she will understand more language than she does now. My plan is to point out planes, tell her about them, tell her we will be going on one, etc.

Now, need to get some work done, for real!

I will never talk about how well she is sleeping, ever again!

A few days back, I was hanging out with our neighbor. She asked how Amor Chiquito had been sleeping. "Great" was my response. That night, Ari woke up five times. Ouch!

Last night, I got 2.5 hours of sleep. No, I'm not exaggerating. Something is bothering her and I can't figure it out.

We took turns putting her in the crib, trying to cosleep, checking on her diaper, offering food, you name it... She just could not fall asleep. She would toss and turn for a while, then, suddenly, she'd start to cry. It was the "I'm in pain" cry, not the "I just don't want to sleep right now" cry. She was up from 11:30 to 2:30 and and up for the day at 5.

She wanted to nurse constantly. TMI warning - my nipples are beyond sore today. It had not been this bad since she was a newborn, I think.

Amor Chiquito has been quite booboholic the past few weeks, since she had that crazy fever two weeks ago. Once she started feeling better, I started limitting how many times she nurses during the day. By limitting I mean leave my boobs alone for three hours, for the love of God, as my mother-in-law puts it! During the day, she does pretty good. She tries to nurse, but when I say no, she moves on to something else. Last night was a different story, though, hence the soreness.

Once again, something is wrong and, thus far, I am 100% clueless. I really hope that I can figure it out soon so I can hopefully help her feel better and so we can get a good night sleep. I am swamped with school work and Geeky Entrepreneur just got a new job, is helping launch a company, travelling, etc. So we'd like to get some sleep, please!

Off to get some school work done while I have a bit of brain power.

The Adventures of Amor Chiquito (6/7/09)

Lots of fun mischief this week!

New words: bow (hello), titi (Spanish for aunty), house, mi (milk) tata (lotion)

It is very fascinating how children make up their own words when the real word is too hard for them to say. How “lotion” and “tata” are similar is beyond me, but whatever works!

Amor Chiquito is spending lots of time at Abuela’s this month because I am doing a summer course. She is enjoying herself over there quite a bit.

Amor Chiquito grabbed Abuela’s lipstick, took the cap off, and started putting lipstick on her lips. She then grabbed a bottle of perfume, aimed it at her neck and tried to spray unsuccessfully. I hear she added spraying sound effects!

Amor Chiquito grabbed Abuela’s coke from the coffee table and started drinking. Abuela put it away and brought Amor Chiquito with her to the bathroom so she could clean. Suddenly, Amor Chiquito was gone. She went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and grabbed the can of coke again! My daughter finally tasted coke; that was a first!

One day, I was at my mother’s and I was so tired I fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up, there was lotion on my hair! Turns out she put lotion on my hair multiple times. My mother not only knew, but, in fact, provided the lotion for the mischief! You should have seen the grin on her face when I asked how Amor Chiquito got a hold of the “tata”!

Amor Chiquito loves to help us. Today, she put all her diapers, one by one, in the dryer. I didn’t have to bend over once, works for me!

I ask for hugs and she says no. She’ll give Daddy hugs almost any time! Too cute!

Amor Chiquito is getting better and better about telling us what she would like to eat or drink: shia 9(cereal), mi (milk), chee (cheese), bah (bread), (papa (Spanish for French fries), agua (water), etc.

Amor Chiquito is now able to get on the dining chairs unassisted. She sits at the table like a big girl and does a great job eating her food. She is not interested in using her booster seat anymore! We have compromised on having her sit on the booster, so she is higher up and can reach her food better, and eating at the table, rather than using the tray that came with the booster seat.

Amor Chiquito is definitely testing her boundaries every now and then, but, thus far, I feel like we are doing well with the transition to the “terrible two’s.” Fortunately, everyone who is a caregiver to her (my mother, Geeky Entrepreneur, and myself) is on the same page. I feel very strongly that that makes a big difference. I don’t know how things will be six months from now, but, so far so good. Basically, what we are doing is lots of positive reinforcement, relocating her when she is doing something inappropriate/dangerous, and trying to be consistent about saying “ut-oh” when she is doing anything inappropriate. We briefly explain why not and if she insists on throwing a tantrum, we try not to give her attention until she is done with the tantrum.

Things are stable in the sleep department. She gets up twice every night, but she goes down very easily and quickly. She is doing a great job with her daytime naps and sleeping on a toddler bed at Abuela’s. I am very excited about the fact that she is consistently sleeping better because it means that we will finally feel comfortable about spending a night or two away from home.

I think that is all for now.

Why does she eat so much better with grandma?

What's that about? So many times, I offer her food and she does not eat much. But she goes to my mother's and she eats like a horse! My mother, of course, is proud as can be! "I don't understand why you say she won't eat." Why do I say it? Because it's the truth! Because I try and try and she shakes her head and says no to almost everything I offer.

I am thrilled that she eats well at my mother's, but she lives here! She needs to eat well here too! What about the days when we do not see my mother?!

If you have any ideas, please share!

Amor Chiquito is Little Ms. Independence, so what works best is to let her feed herself. I do that, but, even then... Help!

Amor Chiquito weighs 23 pounds and 7 ounces. She is in the 25th percentile. So she is at a healthy weight. But I want her to stay at a healthy weight!

Oh, an interesting thing... She is not the traditional picky eater. She eats anything and everything, when she wants to. She eats all different fruits and veggies. Right now, she is in love with broccoli. To each their own! No meat. Self-proclaimed vegetarian! I'm telling you - I don't know where the heck she got that from because Daddy and Mommy are never ever giving up on meat!

Another interesting thing - if she was to decide what her meals would consist of, she would survive on white rice!

I started my summer course today. So I probably won't get to post much the next few weeks. This month will be crazy. I am doing a 14 week course in 5 weeks. Every day, I have lab homework, a lab quiz, multiple chapters to read... A test every week. The kicker: class starts at 8:15 and we're there until 1. Have I mentioned I am not a morning person?! At least it's human biology, an area I am very interested in.

I'll have my diploma soon. That's what I keep telling myself! Once I complete the biology course, I will be one credit away from graduation! Finally!