Small Things

Let's help save babies!

It's March of Dimes time again! They have changed the name of their annual WalkAmerica event to the March for Babies, to more readily address what cause the event benefits. I have joined my MomsClub team, and I will be walking with my kids (hubby will be away) at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on April 27th. Can I make it 5 miles pushing a double jogger with a 3 month old strapped to my chest? Sure I can!

To give some background on the March of Dimes, it evolved from Franklin D. Roosevelt's Warm Springs Foundation, and was instrumental in developing the polio vaccine. Now the March of Dimes works to fund research and services to prevent prematurity, birth defects, and low birth weight.

I am walking in memory of my baby girl Hope, who was born in 2004 with a fatal birth defect. Her picture is at the bottom of the column to right. The March of Dimes promotes awareness of the importance of folic acid supplements, which help prevent birth defects like my Hope's.

If you are moved by this cause, please sponsor me in my pledge (see sidebar), or even sign up to walk, too!

New Green Guide mag makes going green easier

From homemade cleaning products, to cloth diapers, to organic milk, I have made a lot of green choices for my household. Some are very easy to do, but others, like keeping up with which plastics are food safe and which are recyclable, can be tricky and hard to remember.

This week I picked up a copy of the first issue of The Green Guide magazine, from National Geographic, and it just may be the handiest green resource I've seen. It covers topics like how to get better gas mileage, how to minimize hazardous waste in your garage, and why our household air can get so polluted. Handiest of all is a tear-out cheat sheet to keep in your purse or planner listing which plastics are safe for food, recyclable, or neither. Each issue will feature a similar-themed tear-out card.

Best of all, this is from National Geographic, so I can trust that each article is thoroughly researched and that the science is proven. (Because we no longer trust any old magazine, ever since the "drink 8 glasses of water per day" myth was busted!)

The Green Guide will also publish each issue IN FULL electronically, if you want to stop by their website, thegreenguide.com.

Tub Time

From my wise children, at bathtime tonight:

"Mommy! I'm coooold! I need my sunglasses!"

"Hey, Mom, I'm giving you the TOES UP!  Feet are the cousins of hands, you know."

The awesome Domino's Pizza Tracker

I have been ordering pizza online for several years now, and loved the ease of it! No searching for the number, looking for coupons, being put on hold, and then hoping my kids stay quiet long enough for me to order. Online, it's all right there, even coupons, and I swear the pizza comes faster.

Today I discovered the Domino's Pizza Tracker, and am beyond amazed. I am in awe. I finished my order at 6:01. At 6:02, Samantha began assembling my pizza. She got my pizza into the oven at 6:05. I am currently waiting for the status bar (similar to the bar you see when you download a file, telling you how much of the task is complete and how much remains) to tell me when my pizza is done baking.

While it bakes, can I point out how PERFECT this tool is for the internet generation?

Ooops! Randall just left the store with my pizza at 6:12! Holy cow!

Gotta go cut some veggies and set the table . . .

Update: The pizza got here at 6:28. I told Randall how much I love the Pizza Tracker, and he just gazed at me like I was speaking Gaelic. Apparently he does not know about the Pizza Tracker! Maybe it's kept a secret from the pizza people, so that corporate can keep them on their toes. Or may he was just scared by my MANIA over the Pizza Tracker, perhaps regretting his choice of a career delivering to private homes, where any kind of crazy person might answer the door.

It's now 6:38 and I have just finished a slice. It was burn-your-mouth hot, and it was goooood. I will never order anywhere other than Domino's again! Maybe I should call Domino's and send my compliments to Samantha . . .

A Book for Lovers of Little Women and Green Gables

For me, a perfect day would have to start with good coffee and include a trip to Barnes and Noble, without my kids. And even though the kids would not be there, I would still head to the children's section. I love to pick childrens books for my kids, especially when I can pick quality ones I know they will like once we read it together, instead of only the ones with the licensed characters on the front that they tend to gravitate toward and beg for. But I love getting books for myself in the children's section, too.

My latest pick was The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy (Penderwicks (Quality))by Jeanne Birdsall.  I found it over in the young adult section, which is my favorite place to browse. Growing up, I devoured everything by Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and L.M. Montgomery, among many others.  As adult, I still love young adult novels, and always hope to find other books with characters like Jo and Laura and Anne. The Penderwicks was it. It is about 4 sisters on a summer vacation with their brainy, widower father, staying in a guest cottage behind a mansion with a magnificent garden, where there lives a friendly but lonely boy who needs their help. Hooked yet? If not, than you are no true lover of Alcott, Wilder, and Montgomery.

The sisters have very different personalities, but love each other very much, and manage to get into all kinds of 'scrapes'. This all sounds very much like a mix of Little Women, The Secret Garden, and Anne of Green Gables. But it reads very fresh and new, set in modern day, even though it feels timeless. It is a National Book Award Winner, and a new favorite of mine. Birdsall is a first-time author, which I find inspiring, too.

My next pick from the young adult shelves will be The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood . . .

Alarm Clocks, the Dentist, and some Good Advice from a Hollywood Hooker

Today I will share a cautionary tale. As a mom, I tell many cautionary tales to my children, such as the one about how their Dad got a wooden dowel stuck in the roof of his mouth when he was a kid (lesson: don't run with things in your mouth), one about how I once stapled my thumb and it throbbed all day (lesson: don't touch the stuff on mommy's desk), and one about how I knew a girl who accidentally stuck a knife into her eyeball and had to get a glass eye (true, and the lesson should be obvious.) But today's cautionary tale, while equally scary and painful, is for the moms, not the kids.

I'll start with a shocker. It's been 8 years since I went to the dentist. Do you already see where I am going with this? So last night I set the alarm clock for my 7:45 dentist appointment. Why 7:45? Perhaps I thought I could sleep through it all. Anyway, it was strange setting the alarm clock last night, as no stay-at-home-mom with 3 kids under the age of 5 has any need for an alarm clock. (Unless you are one of those super put-together moms who showers and makes coffee before the kids get up, and if you are, please don't tell me about it.) Even stranger, it seems alarm clock makers have started printing much blurrier labels on the teeny-tiny setting buttons since the last time I had to set one.

But mine successfully went off at 6:07, and I actually got fully ready and out the door before any child or even my husband was up. And stupidly felt a thrill of freedom at being out of the house alone, in the morning, in a decent outfit and with make-up on. I look like one of those put-together moms! The possibilities for my day are endless! Should I go through Starbucks? No, don't want to get my teeth dirty or get coffee breath. So straight to the dentist I went, ten minutes early, no rushing necessary (another nice change for me.) In the waiting room, I even got to watch CNN with no interruptions, like a real, thinking, informed grown-up. And then she called my name.

I knew it would involve some very unpleasant scraping, and that my gums were not so great, and so there would be some gingivitis and bleeding. But oh-my-goodness, I had no idea.  Before she picked up her metal tools, she used this water-pick type pressure washer that seemed to pierce and shred every inch of my gums, all with this high-pitched drilling drone radiating into my jaw. I used my Bradley Birth relaxation techniques to keep from clenching every muscle in my body against that thing.

She reassured me my gums would get much better once they were cleaned well, and that regular cleaning, of course, will prevent the need for that in the future. She mopped up the blood from that round of torture, and THEN picked up her metal scraping instruments. Seriously, I began thinking about the scene from Syriana when George Clooney has his finger nails pulled out. I wondered if this might be worse.

To skip over the rest of the gore, I will just say that I am trying not to smile much today, so as not to make anyone recoil in terror at my red and puffy gums. I have a new professional mouthwash that I will use religiously, I will be flossing more consistently, and I will NOT procrastinate my six-months cleanings in the future. And I keep hearing Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman saying, "You shouldn't neglect your gums!"

You really shouldn't.

5 Baby Things I Don't Need

Of all the stuff marketed to moms, there are very few that I really need. I already listed my must-haves, and now here are the 5 that don't make the cut. Every mom will have her own opinion, of course, and if you are a first-time mom, it is hard to predict which ones you will truly find handy. But I am a third-timer, so these are the things I know I don't need.

1. Formula. I am so grateful that breastfeeding has always been fairly easy for me. I feel good knowing that my babies have only ever had the real thing, as nature intended. I know it's not that easy for everyone, but I, personally, have never had to spend a dime on nor have my babies needed a single drop of baby formula.

2. The Boppy. This one may have some readers gasping in disbelief, I know there are moms out there who love their nursing pillow. I have one, and I did use it some with my first baby. With my second, I started to feel like it was more a hassle than a help. Now with my third, I haven't even taken it out of the closet. Just don't have a need for it.

3. The Diaper Genie. I don't use many disposable diapers, but even when I've been on disposables for a couple of days, I would never want one of these in my house. Disposables stink SO much, they just go straight in my garbage can, which gets taken out in less than a day. I could never keep a stinky diaper contraption in my kids room. I do keep a small garbage can with a step lid for cloth diapers, but there is never really any poop in there, and the wet cloth diapers don't stink anywhere near as much as disposable. By day 3, when I am due to wash diapers, it smells pretty much like your kids bed the morning after they've peed in it. Doesn't take a genie to tell me when it's time to tote it to the laundry room.

4. Breastfeeding covers. When I am nursing in public, I prefer to attract as little attention as possible. I feel like draping a blanket or nursing cover over my shoulder, chest, and baby would look too obvious to those in-the-know, and for those who don't know, would invite curious stares until the lightbulb comes on and they look away, feeling embarrassed that they were staring for so long. I prefer to just hold my baby as though she is napping, with a blanket (often I just use my sling as a blanket) wrapped under her and pulled up high enough to block any view of the "action." Luckily, my babies facilitate this by not wiggling around too much. I also worry that nursing covers give the impression that breastfeeding is something to be so self-concious about that we should all hide under 'baby-burkas.'

5. A Breast Pump. I am a stay-at-home-mom. I am also a work-at-home-mom. On the occassions when I do leave home, baby is slung along, because my husband is often deployed. Sure, it would be nice to have a couple of bottles of milk stored for the very, very rare occassion that I might go out without the baby, but it just doesn't ever happen. At least not for more than an hour or so. So I have no need for a pump. In fact, I would go so far as to say that NO ONE needs a breast pump, unless they expect to be separated from their baby.

Now, some moms are told they 'have to' pump in the beginning, to get their milk supply up. I say that's a bunch of hooey. Your baby will bring it in, as long as you let her do all her sucking at the breast. Using artificial nipples and milk to replace the real thing will of course tell your breast that the milk is not needed. You will get engorged, and your breasts will respond by making less milk. Nurse your baby on demand, and believe me, your breasts will make the right amount, and get over that initial engorgement faster. Even if baby is sleepy, I would much rather wake a sleepy baby than hook up to a machine that will just interrupt the supply and demand cycle.

Of course I know many moms disagree with me, and love and/or need the above baby things . . . please comment and let me know!

5 Baby Things I Use Everyday

Moms use a lot of stuff. We get stuff at showers, we buy stuff, we get hand-me-down stuff, and still, there are people inventing new stuff for moms to use with their babies everyday. Some of it is useful, some of it is totally unnecessary, but there are always a few things that fall into the category of can't-get-by-without-it. It varies a little for each mom. I've had a few rounds doing this baby thing, so I am starting a series of lists. Today's is a list of the 5 things I find so useful I can't get by without them, or wouldn't want to try.

1. The baby swing. Mine is an old Graco swing that my husband bought used at a secondhand store, the very day we brought our first baby home from the hospital. It sits in our living room, and it is thanks to the swing that I am able to type this now. It also is a handy place I can put Katy that is up off the floor, where older children won't randomly fall on her.

2. My Hotsling. I just switched to my spring cotton sling, in the Sweet Pea print, and I love it. I keep Katy in it everyday on the playground after school while Jimmy and Mary play. I get to socialize with the other moms for an hour (sometimes two!) with Katy safely sleeping where I can pat her bottom, and still have hands free to drag a kid out of a tree, up from the mulch, off of the merry-go-round, or back to the car if the afternoon ends in meltdown. Some superheroes need capes. Supermoms need slings.

3. One-piece sleepers. I have a couple of two-piece outfits, but I fear they will never be worn, because the sleepers are so incredibly easy. Katy stays warm, there's no pulling on pants, or pulling things over her head, or socks falling off. They make it easy to slip Katy into and out of a sling, and diaper changes are literally a snap. I suppose when it warms up here, I will have to dress her more lightly, and I love cute little dresses. As long as they have bottoms that snap!

4. Aveeno Baby Soothing Relief Moisture Cream. Katy had eczema for a week or two, and her face still gets really dry and flaky. The doctor had given us a prescription for a really greasy petrolatum-based moisturizer, but I couldn't stand the greasiness.  I tried a couple brands I had on hand before I bought the Aveeno, and now it is my new favorite thing. Katy's face stays velvety and never greasy. It's fragrance free, and feels great, it's the only thing I use on my hands and arms now.

5. Fuzzi Bunz diapers. While I do keep some disposables around for outings, or for when laundry gets backed up, I mostly use Fuzzi Bunz reusable diapers. Katy's skin gets so red after using a couple of disposables in a row, but when I put her in a Fuzzi Bunz, with it's fleece layer keeping her skin dry, her bottom stays peachy. I use an old-fashioned pre-fold to stuff it at night, and she's leak free for 8 hours!

'Everyday' is relative

Ok, so I already missed a day in my post-a-day resolution. But I am climbing back on the wagon! I am going to make a new writing habit come hell or high water . . . or a newborn, a 2-year-old who won't nap, a 5-year-old with strep, and a husband working late.

I promised a photo of my new baby Katy, so here is a great one of her smiling at 7 weeks.

My new baby girl!

I have been so remiss in updating my blog, and I would blame it on giving birth, but that just makes it more outrageous that I couldn't even share that majorly newsworthy piece of info here.

In an effort to jump back in with both feet, and kickstart the habit of daily writing, I am commiting to a month of daily posts with NaBloPoMo. They even give us a theme--a list a day. Lists should be easy. Here's my first.

Ten things about my new baby girl:

1. Her name is Katherine Rose, and I like to call her Katy Rose. Maybe she will like to go by Kate when she is older--I like that name too.

2. She was born 6 days past due, and I finally managed to labor at home and arrive at the hospital at 9 cm dilated. Woo hooo! No drugs this time, I totally rocked! Even after two days of labor.

3. During day 1 of labor, I went shopping for a new coat and gloves, and then we bought a new car (a Saturn Outlook.) Ok, that's not really about Katy.

4. Katy was baby #4, and she weighed 8 lbs. 14oz.

5. She is the quietest baby we've had, she is so content most of the time, I feel guilty at how long she stays in her swing. I pick her up and try to tell her to make some noise, that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. My oldest two know how to demand what they want, I don't want Katy to miss out on what's hers.

6. Her brother and sister love her, they hug her and adore her. Jimmy says she is like an angel, and Mary . . . well. Mary has to learn to be more gentle and not so touchy-feely.

7. She has been smiling for a few weeks now, and her beams have gotten bigger each day. So joyful!

8. She has blond lashes and eyebrows like me, she will probably get hooked on mascara someday too. Sigh.

9. Katy Rose makes me work even harder at having enough energy and patience to be the mom I want to be to all my children.

10. I will post her picture here for my next post!