Baby Prep

We have about 11 weeks until Baby G's anticipated arrival. While I know it is naive to think that we could ever be 100 percent prepared for life with 2 kiddos. There are a few things I have been doing or plan to do with N to prepare her for another person to share her mommy and daddy with.

1. In the next week or so, we are taking the unused crib out of her room and put it in G's future room. It will be replaced with a twin bed we already have. Although she never slept in it, she is accustomed to her room being set up a certain way. At this point, we plan to cosleep with both children until one of them lets us know they don't want to anymore. That being said, I'd like to try some naps in her own room.

2. We have been playing with dolls (okay, mostly her stuffed Mickey or Minnie). We call them baby, she pushes them in her shopping cart, places them in the mamaroo, and she has even learned how to "burp the baby." So proud of her.

3. I know she is young, but I think she understands a lot more than she is given credit for. She is such a quick learner. We read books about the new baby and talk about mommy milk, and generally try to get her excited for impeding changes.

4. I'd also like to make her a "big sister" kit for when the baby arrives. I'm thinking of sewing her a mini mei tai carrier. I'd also like to include a book or toy from the new baby. Anyone else done anything like this? I'd like to include more, but useful things!

Am I missing anything helpful to prepare her for the baby? Suggestions please!

Food Intolerance and Healthy Eating

When N was an infant we started noticing some significant gastrointestinal issues- certainly not severe, but absolutely bothersome. As an exclusively breastfed newborn she was experiencing a significant amount of gas, tummy troubles and general pain beginning at about 1-2 weeks of age. 

At first, it was attributed to "normal newborn" stuff, but it wasn't getting better. In fact, it just continued to get worse. She was in pain, awful pain. She wouldn't have a bowel movement for days on end (which can be normal) but when she would it could be runny and green. In between she would have a rock hard tummy and just scream. It was heartbreaking. So, I knew something had to change. Initially, I did an elimination diet that I found through Dr. Sear's website. Basically, I cut out dairy, soy and gluten. Yep, I was pretty much hungry all. the. time. Not sure if it was just me, but I could eat just about anything and everything when I was first nursing. Always hungry. However, N was doing better within 2-3 days and it just kept getting better after that. So something was going right. 

I continued on with the elimination diet and slowly starting adding things back in, except soy; best to avoid that anyway. I tried on a few occasions to add dairy back in with not good results, it was then I decided to embrace my dairy-free lifestyle as it wasn't fair of me to keep experimenting with my daughter. I had hopes that she would eventually outgrow it. As she started to eat more solid foods, around 8-9 months, I could eat butter, yogurt and some cheese (very little). Not to mention I was nearly 20 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight. Happy day!

Fast forward to N about 11-12 months, still nursing but also eating a pretty significant diet of whatever we ate. I was cooking with dairy, eating cheese and generally not worrying about it. The symptoms returned...Because I wasn't interested in solely treating the symptom and trying to avoid unnecessary medication, I made an appointment with an allergist.

After a lot of conversation, some testing and a very pleasant and informative appointment it was determined that N is dairy intolerant. Not always easy to detect in a toddler, but the signs were significant enough to the physician and myself. Interestingly enough, the doctor highly recommended we eliminate or avoid high concentrated corn products and gluten, as well. I was told that generally it is a myth that she will ever grow out of her intolerance, but someday she may be able to tolerate them better. It is a choice I will leave up to her as she gets older, but for now, we find it best to completely avoid the dairy. There are a few exceptions- butter used in cooking doesn't seem to bother her and she is also able to digest yogurt and dairy kefir. Which I attribute to their extremely low amount of lactose. The probiotic factor seems to cancel it out and actually seems to help. 

Surprisingly, it hasn't been as difficult as I initially anticipated. My husband is also trying to avoid wheat to combat some issues and overall, we are all doing well with the lifestyle change. So, all in all we aren't doing it necessarily to be trendy or cool, but because it helps us all. However if eating healthy, whole and unprocessed foods is hip than consider me on that bandwagon. 

Camping- (Photo Dump)

This past weekend we drove up to Interlochen to "camp" (in a fifth wheel with a bathroom...the only way I'll do it) with my Mom while my brother and Dad were at band camp. My brother is a senior this year (whoa!) and it was his last year there and my dad was chaperoning. Chris and I met at Interlochen 10 years ago, so it is certainly nostalgic to be there, but also much more pleasant to be able to be on the other side of the fence.

We took Bella and Isabel with us. Bella is our dog and Izzy is my parent's golden. Isabel has stage 4 lymphoma, but is still in good spirits!

Isabel

Bella enjoying the car ride.

Our first day there we got to watch the band march to dinner. I wasn't sure how N would do with the loud drums and the yelling, but she did great!

We went on a few long walks. Well, at least they felt long! A pretty big highlight of the trip for N were the swings. She LOVES to swing.

Bella also enjoyed some alone time on our morning walks down to the water, watching and listening to the birds. She was our first baby and got to go everywhere with us and I can tell she really misses it, so I'm glad she was able to come this time. She did so well and was really well-behaved.

Plenty of escape attempts...

And playing with Bella...

 

On Sunday morning we got to watch the band perform. By some sort of miracle, N just sat on my lap the entire time and watched, so I got to watch too! So proud of my brother, can't believe how much he has grown up in the past 4 years. They all looked like they were having a lot of fun out there.

Pretty typical attempt at a photo. Chris trying to tell my dad how to use the camera, Timmy getting annoyed and all of us trying to get N to look at the camera. 

Outtakes:

This is a perfect example of an interaction between my brother and I.

...and I wanted to get a picture of N in her "I love my Uncle" shirt. She might smile someday, but she was pretty focused on grabbing the drum sticks.

All in all, glad to spend some time in Traverse City and enjoying watching my brother. He is all grown up now...

Setting Boundaries and Creating Balance

After a playful morning, my daughter desperately needed a nap. N has never been the type of child to just lay down and fall asleep. It generally requires a fair amount of cuddling, baby wearing and quiet time, which is fine because that's just her personality and we work with it. But right now, I'm enjoying the time where she does play by herself. But, I also have to take the opportunity to write down thoughts while they are fresh, otherwise I'll forget them and they'll be gone forever. Or maybe not forever, but they'll be gone and come back at a really inconvenient time. This is something that I have been thinking about A LOT lately in various contexts, but still quite a bit. Generally, I like to think that I have a pretty good handle on my life, I'm pretty much in control and don't let myself get too "out of control" with any one thing....however, there is an intense need/attachment in my life to media/social media/connection.  Idolizing. Something that is just always there, reliable, but good? Oh sometimes, absolutely. Most of the time, no. Just time consuming. Laying in bed with my daughter and husband scrolling through Facebook, yup. Checking email while at the park with N, oh gosh, yes. Nursing or feeding and flipping through Instagram, all. the. time. Get it?

Let me be clear, I certainly don't think this social media thing is a terrible, awful drug that should be eliminated--no, not at all. I have made friends, kept up with distant family members and continue to keep myself up-to-date with issues that are important to me. All things that are IMPORTANT. What I'm trying to say is that it's just TOO time consuming, which is where the boundaries come in.

I'm teaching myself to set personal boundaries. As someone who "works" in a hybrid way, in person and online, soon to be strictly online, it is exceptionally important for me to be available, but not always. It's easy to get caught up in constantly checking. I need to draw the line before it gets too far skewed to be deciphered. Make sense?

For the very reason of "teaching" myself and my family, primarily N, I certainly will not completely eliminate social media from my life. Not only it is a welcome escape for me when I spend 90 percent of my time with babies but it also isn't going anywhere. To eliminate it from our lives would be naive and silly. I want to set these boundaries early so that my children don't get inundated with social media but have learned how to effectively use it in the most beneficial and satisfying ways. In fact, this morning there was a segment on the Today Show that highlighted the "Twitter Revolution" and how it has changed Hollywood. media and life in general. It struck a cord with me, it's so interesting, gratifying and yet exceptionally scary for us and future generations. I don't want to be constantly checking, but I don't want to miss anything. Sometimes, the logging in has become more of a habit that an actual interest in the lives of the people that are on the other side of the meaningless (yet sometimes hilarious or infuriating or annoying) status updates, tweets or IG photos.

My phone and laptop aren't going to be locked up, I'm not going to delete any apps or accounts, but I'm going to challenge myself to just leave it alone. Thus I won't be eliminating the temptations but rather learning to deal with it. My hope is that I'm not alone in this struggle and that if you're feeling a little TOO connected that you'll take the time to enjoy the amazing things that are actually around you. Or spend the time you're online doing something that enriches your life rather than a pointless time-waster.