It's Hard to Believe...

I really can't believe my little girl is going to be ONE in six short weeks. The time has really flown by.

I remember thinking, after my son was born, that it took forever for him to reach this momentous milestone. I am not sure why, but I couldn't wait for him to turn one. I guess I felt like if I could get him that far, maybe I could actually handle this mothering thing. I feel bad now, rushing all those precious moments, but I couldn't help it. I remember not being able to wait until I could read the next chapter in What To Expect The First Year and get my monthly e-mails from Baby Center.

Now, this second time around, it has gone way faster than I imagined and wanted. I am pretty sure I am not going to do this again...so I want her to stay a little baby just a wee bit longer. While I will be happy to put my pump in permanent storage and not be tied to the house for two naps, there is just something so precious about a baby.

As only babies do...I love when she reaches her chubby little arms in the air for me to pick her up and when she rubs her big blue eyes when she is tired. I love laying her down in her crib and watching her roll over, cuddling her little "lovie" and the HUGE smile on her face when I go in her room first thing in the morning. I love kissing her 10,000 times a day, since she is just too little to tell me to "stop pease."

Since I also know what fun lies ahead, I do look forward to our future together. I am counting down the days until we can get mani/pedis and hit the stores and I know my mom can't wait until we can do tea at The American Girl!  But, for these next six weeks, I plan to treasure all the baby moments that I can.

Thank goodness my brother's son will be born in April -- that should tide me over in the baby department...for a while!

We're In It Together, Right?

So, my excitement over my story being published on the "Safer Chemicals, Healthy Family" Web site was extremely short lived. When I visited the sites Facebook page, I was met by comments, like this:

"ok, so she wants the govt to change legislation so that her "tide" will have to be made less toxic ie..more natural? am I reading this right? Because she didn't like the "natural" versions? there are a million great natural versions of laundry detergent that all come in great qty and great prices and work great, I've used them or known plenty that do. And they work WAY better than any of the conventional junk. Sorry but I just don't understand her point, besides not wanting her kid to eat it."

"I am just trying to get my head around 42 loads of laundry..." (it was an exaggeration, lady!)

"There's no reason why any laundry (or personal care) product should be toxic. Even the so called natural ones are made with solvent extracted ingredients. And what one person chooses to use affects everyone else around them, as entire neighborhoods are polluted when these chemicals are spewed out of dryer vents."

Woa, people. This reminded me when I went online to do research on Organic formula options in case I needed to supplement. I actually read comments from people pretty much calling me and people like me the devil for actually even considering formula. My heart ached for the women who went into these chat rooms for advice on breastfeeding because they were having trouble and people were just vicious and judgmental.

Aren't we all just doing the best that we can? Aren't we all just trying to raise our kids as happy and healthy as possible? And, aren't we supposed to be helpful and supportive of others trying to do the same?

At the end of the day, being so judgmental isn't going to help their cause. We are all just doing the very best we can and we should all be in it together!

Toxic Chemical Reform...and well, me!

It is official...I have been published.  No, its not the USA Today or People...but I am proud!  And, to boot, it is for a good cause.  Check it out...http://saferchemicals.org/.  It is on the front page...

For My Dad

Since I have the best dad in the world, it's hard for me to ignore his request to "come up with a new nickname for my first grandchild."  I guess he thinks Mad Dog isn't quite endearing enough for his grandson.  Since I have repeatedly ingored his pleas for my kids to call him "Bob" or "Coach"...I will comply with this request.

I am a nickname person and I have a lot of them for my son:  monkey, mister, little man and tons of version of his name shortened or legnthened depending on my mood (and his!).  But, for the sake of this, I will use his initials, MDB.  He can't get mad at me for that when he is older, right?!?

I am beyond thankful that my dad loves my kids so much...happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

It Takes A Village

The recent daylights savings really wreaked havoc on my the family's precious sleep.  And, not being the brighest tools in the shed, we also decided this would be the perfect time to transition Mad Dog from his crib to a bed.  I know, I know...not smart.  Needless to say, it was an ugly couple of weeks.  My son, who was a pretty great sleeper...was out of bed a hundred times, would finally fall asleep from sheer exhaustion, but would either wake in the middle of the night and/or get up at the crack of dawn.  He was cranky and frankly, so was I. 

I knew I needed help when I was actually dreading going home from work and dealing with the never-ending bed time routine night-after-night.  So, I did what every mother would do...cried for help from my Facebook "friends."  It was either that or military school. 

Shockingly, I received over 25 comments.  For one, I felt better knowing this was a normal part of toddler development and secondly, because they truly did save the day!  I took all their advice but nothing worked as well as this glorious invention...

Let me introduce you to The Good Nite Lite.  Where was this in the 2,000 parenting/sleep books I read? 

In a nutshell, the night light is a softly glowing blue moon through the night which turns into a sun in the morning.  You can pre-set the times you want your child to go to sleep and when its okay to get up in the morning.  The first night, he was excited to get a new night light, kissed it goodnight and went to sleep.  (Note...this light isn't that good.  While we were waiting for the light to arrive, we did use some of the other advice we got (if you want it, let me know!), I just think this light sealed the deal!)

He woke up at 5 am the next morning and started screaming.  I used the intercom on his monitor (whatever, I didn't feel like walking up the stairs) to softly explain that he couldn't come down until the sun came up.  Although he did cry for a bit, he FELL BACK TO SLEEP!  The next day and ever since, he has been going to sleep without any issues and when he wakes up he chats/sings until the light turns yellow.  I can't help but smile when I hear him say, "Mommy, it turned yellow and orange, come get me!"  I am going to try and set it for 10 am on the weekends and see what happens...just kidding!

So, there is something to be said about it taking a village to raise kids.  I guess, as we enter 2010, the village now equals Facebook.  Whatever, I'll take it!