Blogging is interesting. My sister-in-law Angie has written a couple thought-provoking posts this summer about her struggle to know how much good and bad to put on her blog and when and how. (Check her out here.) My "friend" Jen Hatmaker (friend is only in quotes because we haven't met, but I'm pretty sure that I love her enough to make the friendship work even with that minor technicality in play) wrote several stirring, serious, passionate posts in a row only to -- with astounding humor and effectiveness -- relate five normal mundane things that irk her. (Check her out here.)
Here is part of my favorite paragraph from her recent post, which kind of describes my dilemma in writing this and (sometimes) other posts about Gavin.
From Jen a few days ago: The downside of being a pretentious ingredient snob is that ... You end up saying
pompous things like, “Grocery store tomatoes are not 1/100th the quality
of my Cherokee Purples in the backyard.” This actually makes people
hate you, like when you complain about shredding cheese and someone says
just buy the preshredded bag and you call it waxy and unacceptable and they are like I kind of wish you were dead."
When I share victories about Gavin like how he is talking up a storm, I wonder if people are like stop bragging already. Then there are times when I contemplate sharing struggles and questions like...
when will he stop waking up at 5am already and
can the child never sit in circle time in our mommy-and-me class and
does this mean that he will always be a loner and not function in society? (I was pretty sure that he would start kindergarten being able only to bang toys together and never use them as intended until he proved otherwise. But I obsess, I mean, digress! ...Ummmm...)
I find it difficult to blog about struggles that are not yet resolved. That's what anonymous message boards are for, right? Somewhere between my anxiety about looking clueless (so sad she never properly taught that child to sleep) and my anxiety about looking clueless (doesn't she know babies that age aren't supposed to do that yet), it's just hard to get it down on the page. BUT I am contemplating thinking about planning to try to be more open about struggles in my blog. (Can you tell I don't feel particularly compelled at the moment?)
So that's for later. This is for now. Gavin is talking up a storm! Please don't 'kind of wish I was dead.'
Gavin has been saying words for quite a while. At about 18 months, there wasn't anything he wouldn't try to say. Then at 19.5 months, he started saying two-word phrases like "big up" (he still loves to step up and down more than just about anything else) and later that week moved on to two-word (what the books call) sentences like "bye dad-dee" and "eat pear." We love it, and he is quite proud of himself!
Along with his new ability to put words together has also come a new level of jibberish that will soon become intelligible conversation. New intonations, new sounds and a new expectation for us to understand more than we do. You see, his pronunciation is often far from accurate. I have often considered helping those closest to us by charting his "N" words like lunch, down and dinner and his "M" words like balloon and violin and...you get the idea. I remember excitedly texting Josh during his important study session when Gavin went from saying pink (for months pronounced "hum") to pink (pronounced "humnk") to pink ("mink") to pink ("pink") all in a morning. (Aside: even now I'm wondering if you are like doesn't she know that kind of pronunciation is a sign of a learning disability or conversely if you are like duh, all babies do that. Reference crazy-person rant above about blogging struggles.)
Anyway, because he expects us to understand more these days and because--for new words or words with no context--we often don't, his (adorable) little toddler brain has a few go-to ways of dealing with it:
1) Just keep saying it. I can picture his patient, earnest little face now as he thinks to himself C'mon mom, you can do it. Reach back into that rusty brain. Remember, we were talking about this yesterday. Remember. Many times, it will click for me, and I'll know I'm right when he repeats my correct answer with confident approval. Sometimes, he'll even add a yeah which he then tends to follow by yes and uh-huh.
2) When possible, point. He'll usually try a couple times without pointing even if the object is right next to him. I love it when the object is not next to him, and he takes those cute pudgy legs over to it and then gently repeatedly points with one finger.
3) Take a better suggestion. If I am guessing, and say something that sounds pretty good to him, he'll sometimes (though much less often than you might think) change his mind. Crackers? Yes, okay mom. Since you're offering.
4) Give up. Sometimes, he'll just decide it's not worth it. I'll guess a few times as he stares intently at me, then he'll just calmly look down and go back to what he was doing like Yeah, nevermind...it's really not worth it after all.
5) Whine or cry. Thankfully, this doesn't happen often, but he is a toddler after all, and more so every day.
To end this already-too-long post, here are my favorite things he's saying right now. At this point, I am probably the only one still reading, so why not indulge myself?
scissors -- seh-sehs with equal emphasis on both syllables
olive oil -- he'll say it five different ways in one minute which is part of the cuteness, but it's one of the few times he makes an actual "L" sound instead of a "Y" sound. Usually it comes out ol-oh.
house -- it's spot on but almost a nasal sound
high five dad -- I miss this one about half the time until he patiently helps me catch on, so I don't really know how to describe it.
hug -- an oldie, but a goodie -- he says it like a cross between hug and huck, which is adorable, but it's that sweet face with eyebrows slightly raised and those arms reaching out that make me think I don't care how you say it, baby. Yes, I'll take one of those.
what I'm learning and loving about parenting...and other stuff
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Milk...it does something...
The post below is complete, and now I'm sitting here trying to think of a creative, interesting way to open it. The more I sit here, the more I realize it is pointless to avoid the fact that this is a very technical post -- meant to be one of those that comes alongside another mom to help. Trying to open in a snazzy way is making me cranky (grin). So...I will just say that if you are looking for cute anecdotes about Gavin, stay tuned. In the meantime, please pass this on to a mom that may find it helpful.
Some of you may remember that we took Gavin off of all dairy in an attempt to reduce or eliminate his breathing issues. Well, it did seem to help with that and also with his sleeping! He went from getting up one or two brief times in the middle of the night (mostly for a re-plug of the pacifier) and also waking early (anywhere from a yucky time like 5 to an acceptable time like 6:30) to not waking at all in the middle of the night and most of the time having a normal wake time (between 6 and 7:30).
When we relayed our experience to his pediatrician, he seemed intrigued but not at all surprised. He said milk can negatively affect digestion, breathing and even the nervous system--any one of which could have been disrupting his sleep. We are thankful that our pediatrician intentionally integrates nutrition into his practice.
When jumping into this non-dairy adventure, I read everything I could about how to help him get enough nutrition without whole milk and found everything from "serve your baby a variety of healthy foods, and he/she will be fine" to recommended quantities of fat, protein, calcium and vitamin D and the best ways to get them. Of course, I jumped full in to the latter...bring on the calculations, checklists and overall obsessing!
Our family is far from perfect in this area, and as with everything, you should definitely check with an expert (disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer), but with all the hard work I've done and great resources I've found, I feel compelled to share.
First, I will share an Excel sheet I created to help me determine how much calcium, fat, and protein Gavin needs at each age. The spreadsheet also contains a list of the major foods we use to get him there with the amounts of each nutrient listed above according to Super Baby Food or the product package itself (if they differed, I used the product package). Second, I will share what a typical day of nutrition might look like for Gavin. I looked everywhere for an example like this and came up with nothing. Like I said, I come at this with no credentials, but I offer this as a starting place for your own researching and planning. Third, I will list my primary sources and how they helped.
Non-Dairy Nutrition Calculator for Children 1 to 3 Years Old
This calculator contains formulas based on nutritional recommendations for children 1 to 3 years old found in the book Super Baby Food. The book itself contains recommendations for children 0-12 months as well. Since this post is particularly for parents who want an alternative to whole milk for their children and since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children not drink whole milk before the age of 1 year, I have put only the calculations for that age group to keep things simple.
To download the chart for your own use, just click the link below. You will be taken to an online version of the chart in Google Docs. You cannot edit the chart online, but you can download it from Google Docs onto your computer to complete for your own child. Click here to go to Google Docs to download. (Go to the File Menu in the top left corner and click "download" as Excel or as Open Document.)
A typical day of nutrition for Gavin
At the time of this writing, Gavin is 20 months. Keep in mind that he loves and has always loved his food. So, yes, he does eat all of this happily. If your child resists new foods, remember that most kids must sample something 7-10 times before they develop a taste for it. The important thing is to keep offering it. They don't have to eat an entire serving -- just taste it. When we were introducing tahini to Gavin, we planned to mix it into his cereal. We started with a 1 teaspoon mixed in and he did grimace the first few times. Once he was used to that small amount, we slowly worked up to a tablespoon. He gobbles it down now.
With each meal or snack, we give Gavin almond milk fortified with calcium and other vitamins. It has twice as much calcium as cow's milk but it's not the primary source of his fat or protein, so I'm not insane about him getting a certain number of ounces, but he usually has about 12-15 ounces in a day.
Breakfast: Some kind of berries and another kind of fruit usually blueberries and mango or strawberries and peaches. Also, his beloved Cheerios(R).
Morning snack: 1/2 piece whole wheat bread (you'll need to check the ingredients if you are eliminating all dairy - some contain whey) with almond butter (about 1T), a small amount of blackstrap molasses and usually either crushed pineapple, sliced banana or applesauce to help the almond butter go down. Also, some kind of fruit cut into bite-sized pieces or applesauce if we're out and about.
Lunch: 1 egg (hardboiled or scrambled), Green veggie like kale or broccoli (about 2T), beans (about 2T), 1 small orange or 1/2 of a large one.
Afternoon snack: Earth's Best oatmeal or Dr. Sears multi-grain cereal (3T) with 1T tahini (raw) and
1-1/2 T wheat germ mixed with coconut milk (about 3 oz or to the right consistency). We used to also give an orange veggie like carrots or sweet potatoes, but recently I increased the cereal and saved the orange veggie for dinner. Mostly to make it easier for me -- especially when we're out.
Dinner: Meat or fish (about 2 ounces), orange veggie like carrots or sweet potatoes or winter squash (about 2T), sometimes tomato (about 1T), avocado (1/6 of a small one), 1/2 piece of bread. Recently, I've been concerned about making sure he's getting enough healthy fats, so I let him dip his bread in olive oil with Italian herbs sprinkled in. He loves it, and it is super cute to watch him dip and listen to him try to say olive oil.
This is just an example. We certainly deviate in one way or another most days, and like I said, we are far from perfect, so I would love to hear your suggestions. Just leave a comment below.
Sources that were helpful to me
This post would not exist without the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. It covers nutrition for infants through toddlers, and even though I didn't start reading it until Gavin graduated from purees to finger foods, I cannot overstate its usefulness to me. My favorite features are:
Another resource that was helpful to me was an article called, "Is Milk Really Good for Our Children?" With studies quoted from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, I found the information helpful. Just keep in mind, the list of calcium sources may or may not be listed in baby-sized portions.
For questions about foods not on my chart or in your other sources, you can use Self's Nutrition Data. Just make sure you are adjusting for baby-sized portions.
Final thoughts: If you have questions about this, I recommend you ask your pediatrician. If you have a question about the chart or our approach with Gavin, please ask it in the comment section below, and I will address it to the best of my ability.
Some of you may remember that we took Gavin off of all dairy in an attempt to reduce or eliminate his breathing issues. Well, it did seem to help with that and also with his sleeping! He went from getting up one or two brief times in the middle of the night (mostly for a re-plug of the pacifier) and also waking early (anywhere from a yucky time like 5 to an acceptable time like 6:30) to not waking at all in the middle of the night and most of the time having a normal wake time (between 6 and 7:30).
When we relayed our experience to his pediatrician, he seemed intrigued but not at all surprised. He said milk can negatively affect digestion, breathing and even the nervous system--any one of which could have been disrupting his sleep. We are thankful that our pediatrician intentionally integrates nutrition into his practice.
When jumping into this non-dairy adventure, I read everything I could about how to help him get enough nutrition without whole milk and found everything from "serve your baby a variety of healthy foods, and he/she will be fine" to recommended quantities of fat, protein, calcium and vitamin D and the best ways to get them. Of course, I jumped full in to the latter...bring on the calculations, checklists and overall obsessing!
Our family is far from perfect in this area, and as with everything, you should definitely check with an expert (disclaimer, disclaimer, disclaimer), but with all the hard work I've done and great resources I've found, I feel compelled to share.
First, I will share an Excel sheet I created to help me determine how much calcium, fat, and protein Gavin needs at each age. The spreadsheet also contains a list of the major foods we use to get him there with the amounts of each nutrient listed above according to Super Baby Food or the product package itself (if they differed, I used the product package). Second, I will share what a typical day of nutrition might look like for Gavin. I looked everywhere for an example like this and came up with nothing. Like I said, I come at this with no credentials, but I offer this as a starting place for your own researching and planning. Third, I will list my primary sources and how they helped.
Non-Dairy Nutrition Calculator for Children 1 to 3 Years Old
This calculator contains formulas based on nutritional recommendations for children 1 to 3 years old found in the book Super Baby Food. The book itself contains recommendations for children 0-12 months as well. Since this post is particularly for parents who want an alternative to whole milk for their children and since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children not drink whole milk before the age of 1 year, I have put only the calculations for that age group to keep things simple.
To download the chart for your own use, just click the link below. You will be taken to an online version of the chart in Google Docs. You cannot edit the chart online, but you can download it from Google Docs onto your computer to complete for your own child. Click here to go to Google Docs to download. (Go to the File Menu in the top left corner and click "download" as Excel or as Open Document.)
A typical day of nutrition for Gavin
At the time of this writing, Gavin is 20 months. Keep in mind that he loves and has always loved his food. So, yes, he does eat all of this happily. If your child resists new foods, remember that most kids must sample something 7-10 times before they develop a taste for it. The important thing is to keep offering it. They don't have to eat an entire serving -- just taste it. When we were introducing tahini to Gavin, we planned to mix it into his cereal. We started with a 1 teaspoon mixed in and he did grimace the first few times. Once he was used to that small amount, we slowly worked up to a tablespoon. He gobbles it down now.
With each meal or snack, we give Gavin almond milk fortified with calcium and other vitamins. It has twice as much calcium as cow's milk but it's not the primary source of his fat or protein, so I'm not insane about him getting a certain number of ounces, but he usually has about 12-15 ounces in a day.
Breakfast: Some kind of berries and another kind of fruit usually blueberries and mango or strawberries and peaches. Also, his beloved Cheerios(R).
Morning snack: 1/2 piece whole wheat bread (you'll need to check the ingredients if you are eliminating all dairy - some contain whey) with almond butter (about 1T), a small amount of blackstrap molasses and usually either crushed pineapple, sliced banana or applesauce to help the almond butter go down. Also, some kind of fruit cut into bite-sized pieces or applesauce if we're out and about.
Lunch: 1 egg (hardboiled or scrambled), Green veggie like kale or broccoli (about 2T), beans (about 2T), 1 small orange or 1/2 of a large one.
Afternoon snack: Earth's Best oatmeal or Dr. Sears multi-grain cereal (3T) with 1T tahini (raw) and
1-1/2 T wheat germ mixed with coconut milk (about 3 oz or to the right consistency). We used to also give an orange veggie like carrots or sweet potatoes, but recently I increased the cereal and saved the orange veggie for dinner. Mostly to make it easier for me -- especially when we're out.
Dinner: Meat or fish (about 2 ounces), orange veggie like carrots or sweet potatoes or winter squash (about 2T), sometimes tomato (about 1T), avocado (1/6 of a small one), 1/2 piece of bread. Recently, I've been concerned about making sure he's getting enough healthy fats, so I let him dip his bread in olive oil with Italian herbs sprinkled in. He loves it, and it is super cute to watch him dip and listen to him try to say olive oil.
This is just an example. We certainly deviate in one way or another most days, and like I said, we are far from perfect, so I would love to hear your suggestions. Just leave a comment below.
Sources that were helpful to me
This post would not exist without the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. It covers nutrition for infants through toddlers, and even though I didn't start reading it until Gavin graduated from purees to finger foods, I cannot overstate its usefulness to me. My favorite features are:
- A breakdown of how much of the major nutrients a child needs at each age.
- A list of almost every fruit and vegetable you can think of and its primary nutrients and preparation tips.
- A list of vitamins and minerals and the foods that are highest in them.
- A list of super baby enhancers (things you can easily add to cereal or sandwiches to boost nutrition).
- Nutrient table with baby-sized portions.
- An example of what a-day-in-the-life of her baby's diet looked like (I looked everywhere for this online).
Another resource that was helpful to me was an article called, "Is Milk Really Good for Our Children?" With studies quoted from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, I found the information helpful. Just keep in mind, the list of calcium sources may or may not be listed in baby-sized portions.
For questions about foods not on my chart or in your other sources, you can use Self's Nutrition Data. Just make sure you are adjusting for baby-sized portions.
Final thoughts: If you have questions about this, I recommend you ask your pediatrician. If you have a question about the chart or our approach with Gavin, please ask it in the comment section below, and I will address it to the best of my ability.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
What Gavin is Doing at 17.5 Months
But first...the current love tags: snuggle, snug, snuggle pocket, buddy, baby boo, sweetie pie, honey bun. If you're new to the blog, I can't help it. They just come out. Not that I try to stop them...
So 17.5 months! Here's his latest and greatest.
He is totally taken with stepping up and down. I could take him to the best toddler play area ever, and he would find a step and say, "Up....n dah" at least a dozen times. And then he'd glance around at all the cool stuff and find another step and do the same thing. The more challenging step, the better.
Pouring - it might not seem like a big deal, but I was kind of waiting for it. I don't know why.
He is using his voice to do some new intonations to ask questions (like "Where's the orange egg?" which sounds more like "Ahh Ange?") and express surprise (like "There she is!" which sounds more like "Ahh-she!") It's the intonation and sometimes the hands going straight up in the air that makes it a question or an exclamation. I LOVE it.
To go along with the above: hiding eggs around the house has been a favorite game since we found them in Grandma and Grandpa's yard on Easter. It's just now starting to lose steam (in other words, he watches mommy hide the eggs, finds one and then moves on to something else). It's pretty amazing to me that now he can look in the bucket (yes, Easter bucket, not basket) and know which egg is missing. The pink one was missing, and after a few days of hearing "Ahh Hum??" (translated "Where is the pink one?") repeatedly and with looks of great concern, you betcha I invested some time in finding that egg!
One day in the ER (we've had a few trips due to his some-are-calling-it-asthma-some-are-calling-it-reactive-airway-disease), I was trying to distract him a few more minutes and started bouncing his Pooh Bear up and down in time with (my version of) the Winnie the Pooh song. He loved it. Now, he bounces Pooh in time to the song. When he wants me to sing faster, he moves him faster, and when he wants me to sing slower, slower. And today, he matched pitch with one of his toys. It sings "red," and he repeated, "red" on the same note. I felt pretty proud.
On Mother's Day, he started saying "cuddle" and hugging me. Aaaahhh! Even writing about it, I'm about to just DIE. It's so cute! Now he "cuddles" with Daddy, his cousins, his Pooh Bear and our dog Millie (once). This past weekend, he started saying "hug" and giving really good squeezes with both arms. Aren't you just dying?! Well, unless you don't know Gavin at all, and then maybe you're at least smiling.
He's doing all kinds of new gross motor skills: revving his cars before rolling them, bending his knees or lifting one foot when he sees another kid jumping (I hear they don't jump until they're 2-ish), doing toe raises, putting his feet into our shoes, not to mention all of the skills he's learning in our Mommy-and-me gym class.
Here's a scary one. Now he can look into the future and remember the past (somewhat). Today at lunch, I said that maybe we could read his "Wheels on the Bus" book when we were finished eating. About 5-10 minutes later, he walked over to the book shelf saying "bee" (bus). Of course, we found the book and read/sang it.
Daddy sometimes juggles bean bags for him, and it's so cute to watch him hold two bean bags straight up in the air as if willing them to fly in a juggling formation.
He loves making jokes, even if we sometimes don't understand why they are funny. He'll try just about anything to make us laugh. And his laugh is changing from a baby laugh to a kid laugh--a long, loud, delightful kid laugh.
My favorite words he's saying now are ride (that long "i" sound is new and just too cute), hug (of course) and go (because of the way he extends the "o").
I've had several friends say, "Every age is the best age," and I think about that often. So far, it's absolutely true.
So 17.5 months! Here's his latest and greatest.
He is totally taken with stepping up and down. I could take him to the best toddler play area ever, and he would find a step and say, "Up....n dah" at least a dozen times. And then he'd glance around at all the cool stuff and find another step and do the same thing. The more challenging step, the better.
Pouring - it might not seem like a big deal, but I was kind of waiting for it. I don't know why.
He is using his voice to do some new intonations to ask questions (like "Where's the orange egg?" which sounds more like "Ahh Ange?") and express surprise (like "There she is!" which sounds more like "Ahh-she!") It's the intonation and sometimes the hands going straight up in the air that makes it a question or an exclamation. I LOVE it.
To go along with the above: hiding eggs around the house has been a favorite game since we found them in Grandma and Grandpa's yard on Easter. It's just now starting to lose steam (in other words, he watches mommy hide the eggs, finds one and then moves on to something else). It's pretty amazing to me that now he can look in the bucket (yes, Easter bucket, not basket) and know which egg is missing. The pink one was missing, and after a few days of hearing "Ahh Hum??" (translated "Where is the pink one?") repeatedly and with looks of great concern, you betcha I invested some time in finding that egg!
One day in the ER (we've had a few trips due to his some-are-calling-it-asthma-some-are-calling-it-reactive-airway-disease), I was trying to distract him a few more minutes and started bouncing his Pooh Bear up and down in time with (my version of) the Winnie the Pooh song. He loved it. Now, he bounces Pooh in time to the song. When he wants me to sing faster, he moves him faster, and when he wants me to sing slower, slower. And today, he matched pitch with one of his toys. It sings "red," and he repeated, "red" on the same note. I felt pretty proud.
On Mother's Day, he started saying "cuddle" and hugging me. Aaaahhh! Even writing about it, I'm about to just DIE. It's so cute! Now he "cuddles" with Daddy, his cousins, his Pooh Bear and our dog Millie (once). This past weekend, he started saying "hug" and giving really good squeezes with both arms. Aren't you just dying?! Well, unless you don't know Gavin at all, and then maybe you're at least smiling.
He's doing all kinds of new gross motor skills: revving his cars before rolling them, bending his knees or lifting one foot when he sees another kid jumping (I hear they don't jump until they're 2-ish), doing toe raises, putting his feet into our shoes, not to mention all of the skills he's learning in our Mommy-and-me gym class.
Here's a scary one. Now he can look into the future and remember the past (somewhat). Today at lunch, I said that maybe we could read his "Wheels on the Bus" book when we were finished eating. About 5-10 minutes later, he walked over to the book shelf saying "bee" (bus). Of course, we found the book and read/sang it.
Daddy sometimes juggles bean bags for him, and it's so cute to watch him hold two bean bags straight up in the air as if willing them to fly in a juggling formation.
He loves making jokes, even if we sometimes don't understand why they are funny. He'll try just about anything to make us laugh. And his laugh is changing from a baby laugh to a kid laugh--a long, loud, delightful kid laugh.
My favorite words he's saying now are ride (that long "i" sound is new and just too cute), hug (of course) and go (because of the way he extends the "o").
I've had several friends say, "Every age is the best age," and I think about that often. So far, it's absolutely true.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Mommy Wars
Am I the only one who didn't realize this was "a thing"? Mommy Wars -- apparently the phrase was coined in the '80's when I was still playing with pogo-balls and fashion plates. Don't get me wrong. I know there is competitiveness among mommies who ascribe to different
theories -- believe me I know. I guess I just didn't realize it had a
name. And also that moms in some countries don't experience it. I guess what I'm saying is, I thought it was normal. And, yes, I've been a perpetrator and a victim.
I found this post while looking for a devotional, and I found it very interesting...and moving. Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable
It is the third of five in a series on the topic. I started with the third because it was the most recent one at the time, but I found them all uplifting and thought-provoking. And I thought we gals, gals who all mean well though we may have been inadvertent perpetrators at one time or another, could advance Mommy Peace and Mommy Grace and Mommy Dependence on God. I'm going to try to make that my thing.
Love you girls!
I found this post while looking for a devotional, and I found it very interesting...and moving. Mommy Wars in the Local Church: A Parable
It is the third of five in a series on the topic. I started with the third because it was the most recent one at the time, but I found them all uplifting and thought-provoking. And I thought we gals, gals who all mean well though we may have been inadvertent perpetrators at one time or another, could advance Mommy Peace and Mommy Grace and Mommy Dependence on God. I'm going to try to make that my thing.
Love you girls!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Just a Moment-o Please
A large part of the great thing about having kids rests in the little things. The things that maybe no one else would notice (unless they are with your kids hours upon hours) and if they did notice, they surely wouldn't think those "things" are as adorable or as significant you do.
My life is full of these little things, and I've been using a great app for capturing those little moments (who has time for a full-fledged journal?!) It is appropriately named Momento (by d3i for iPhone and iPad). This app allows you to record anything you want to remember and tag it (if you want), so you can find like items. (In my case, tags are simple: talking, walking, family, playtime...) You can also import feeds from your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or a dozen more online accounts, so that your "diary" is all in one place. The things you write directly into Momento can stay private, which is great because I am in love with my boy, but even I don't think that the whole world wants to know when he starts to say the word egg like "egk" instead of "agk." I don't pretend to be a tech review gal, so I'll just say it does lots of other cool stuff, and it's worth looking into. (It was runner up for Apple App of the Year in 2011...so it's quite possible that you all have been using it for months.)
Here are a couple of those little things that I've enjoyed in the past week:
My life is full of these little things, and I've been using a great app for capturing those little moments (who has time for a full-fledged journal?!) It is appropriately named Momento (by d3i for iPhone and iPad). This app allows you to record anything you want to remember and tag it (if you want), so you can find like items. (In my case, tags are simple: talking, walking, family, playtime...) You can also import feeds from your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or a dozen more online accounts, so that your "diary" is all in one place. The things you write directly into Momento can stay private, which is great because I am in love with my boy, but even I don't think that the whole world wants to know when he starts to say the word egg like "egk" instead of "agk." I don't pretend to be a tech review gal, so I'll just say it does lots of other cool stuff, and it's worth looking into. (It was runner up for Apple App of the Year in 2011...so it's quite possible that you all have been using it for months.)
Here are a couple of those little things that I've enjoyed in the past week:
- When Bob Marley's "Is This Love" came on, Gavin started grooving in perfect rhythm, and looked at me like, "I love this song," though he had never heard it before.
- When we were at a playdate, he had just finished putting all of the Duplo Legos back in the bucket, and a little friend came over a took a few out and started placing them on the floor. He watched her and looked down at each Lego like, "I just put those away..."
- He has started blowing kisses and saying "mwah" or "mah" as he does.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
The Trouble with Waiting
The trouble with waiting to publish a blog post is that with a toddler, most things move at lightning speed.
For example, my last post was about the love tags we are using and also about how I was so glad Gavin was feeling better after a rough week. I knew I was forgetting some love tags, so before I hit "publish," I thought I'd walk away for a little while until they came to me. Not an hour later (at 10 p.m.), he wakes up crying and would not be consoled, which is all but unheard of these days. Finally after a diaper change, Hyland's teething tablets, orajel and ibuprofen, I gave him a second spot of orajel, and he relaxed and went to sleep.
I DID think of a few more love tags in that time, and I added them, but otherwise left the blog as is. It was still a bright spot in a hard week. I just wasn't sure when I published it if the rest of the night would prove to be so as well. As with most things toddler--that was up in the air.
So anyway, why do I imagine that anyone cares about the internal puzzling of my blog-writing process? Well, there have been several posts that I published quickly, so they would be true at that moment. Then later, I learned a new bit of related information or realized I forgot something important. So recently, I went back to the posts and added comments to address the missing items.
Here are the posts with new comments:
Oh, the places I've pumped! (and other nursing adventures)
For example, my last post was about the love tags we are using and also about how I was so glad Gavin was feeling better after a rough week. I knew I was forgetting some love tags, so before I hit "publish," I thought I'd walk away for a little while until they came to me. Not an hour later (at 10 p.m.), he wakes up crying and would not be consoled, which is all but unheard of these days. Finally after a diaper change, Hyland's teething tablets, orajel and ibuprofen, I gave him a second spot of orajel, and he relaxed and went to sleep.
I DID think of a few more love tags in that time, and I added them, but otherwise left the blog as is. It was still a bright spot in a hard week. I just wasn't sure when I published it if the rest of the night would prove to be so as well. As with most things toddler--that was up in the air.
So anyway, why do I imagine that anyone cares about the internal puzzling of my blog-writing process? Well, there have been several posts that I published quickly, so they would be true at that moment. Then later, I learned a new bit of related information or realized I forgot something important. So recently, I went back to the posts and added comments to address the missing items.
Here are the posts with new comments:
(If you're wondering why I'm OCD enough to go back and add the additional information, you may want to read this one.)
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Current Love Tags
It's been a long time since I've posted love tags (the loving nicknames we are calling Gavin). We've just been through a trying week of breathing problems, fever, diaper rash and teething. What better time to recount our love tags. Here are the ones currently gushing forth.
Honey Bear
Baby Boo
Sweet Somethin'
Snuggle
Snuggle Pocket
Snuggle Pop
Sweetie Pie
Fussy Bucket (only when he's fussy, of course)
My Pumpkin Pie
Gavin is feeling much better now. So much so that he feels he can conquer the world, or at least, repeatedly walk toward and touch all of the off-limit items in the house (all the while smiling and saying "no" in acknowledgement). Oh well. I would much rather redirect a mischievous baby who is smiling than try desperately to figure out how to help a miserable baby who is just trying to make it through the day.
Today was a bright spot, and I am so thankful to my loving Lord for that.
Honey Bear
Baby Boo
Sweet Somethin'
Snuggle
Snuggle Pocket
Snuggle Pop
Sweetie Pie
Fussy Bucket (only when he's fussy, of course)
My Pumpkin Pie
Gavin is feeling much better now. So much so that he feels he can conquer the world, or at least, repeatedly walk toward and touch all of the off-limit items in the house (all the while smiling and saying "no" in acknowledgement). Oh well. I would much rather redirect a mischievous baby who is smiling than try desperately to figure out how to help a miserable baby who is just trying to make it through the day.
Today was a bright spot, and I am so thankful to my loving Lord for that.
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