21 September 2011
14 September 2011
06 September 2011
Montessori Materials Find
http://www.absorbentmontessorimaterial.com/default.asp
Great homeschooling items here to replicate a Montessori environment.
Great homeschooling items here to replicate a Montessori environment.
05 September 2011
The Moment When...
Your baby takes that first awful tumble.
This is probably one of the most gut wrenching calamities to happen to a parent. Stuffing has rolled off of the couch before and landed on the ground, fortunately our couch is very close to the ground and while she was stunned, one piercing shriek was the extent of her displeasure. Last night in the middle of a speed crawl her hand slipped from underneath her and her face hit the kitchen floor, hard. I heard the "thwack" of my sweet girl's face hitting the floor and saw blood. I don't know who screamed loudest. I felt sick to my stomach.
We cried together, until I was assured by multiple third parties, that A. she was indeed concussion free B. not going to bleed to death and C. she was going to be OK. Children get hurt, they fall, get cut, slam fingers into crevices, run head first into pointy objects and live to tell the tale. We as parents know this but that first awful fall jars us from a place of knowing. Seeing blood pouring out of your child's mouth is agony inducing. We have made it through with a swollen lip and cut gum but ay dios mio I don't want to experience that again.
This is probably one of the most gut wrenching calamities to happen to a parent. Stuffing has rolled off of the couch before and landed on the ground, fortunately our couch is very close to the ground and while she was stunned, one piercing shriek was the extent of her displeasure. Last night in the middle of a speed crawl her hand slipped from underneath her and her face hit the kitchen floor, hard. I heard the "thwack" of my sweet girl's face hitting the floor and saw blood. I don't know who screamed loudest. I felt sick to my stomach.
We cried together, until I was assured by multiple third parties, that A. she was indeed concussion free B. not going to bleed to death and C. she was going to be OK. Children get hurt, they fall, get cut, slam fingers into crevices, run head first into pointy objects and live to tell the tale. We as parents know this but that first awful fall jars us from a place of knowing. Seeing blood pouring out of your child's mouth is agony inducing. We have made it through with a swollen lip and cut gum but ay dios mio I don't want to experience that again.
04 September 2011
Gift Find
http://www.iseeme.com/
Makes personalized books for children, cannot wait to order one for Stuffing!
Makes personalized books for children, cannot wait to order one for Stuffing!
The Rundown: Stuffing
My sweet girl is 16 pounds! WOOT! She is up from 14 lbs 9 oz at her one year well visit on 7/19/11.This has been her biggest weight gain since leaving the NICU. She does not refuse food and is really downing her meals so I offer her meals and healthy snacks whenever I can. It is such a good feeling to finally see my girl gain some weight.
We are now in the land of walking. Tentatively taking steps for over a week now but I think she will master the art in a few months. Watching someone the size of a 6 month old attempting to walk is an amazing thing. I always think back to the 1 lb 10 oz baby doll sized person that was born to me. I have not been able to get over that and I don't think I ever will. I gaze at her in amazement for just being, there were so many of preemie warriors who were not afforded this opportunity at life.
This week her fingers were slammed in the door at day care and we were not called immediately. DH stopped by to drop off a few juice boxes when he noticed her fingers were bloodly/swollen and he was beyond livid. The teacher that was assigned to watch the children in the classroom while the lead teacher was bringing in the mobile children from the playground was suspended for negligence. There were 3 teachers and 8 children so this was completely uncalled for. We have had 3 major incidences with her new classroom that we never had in the infant room and I'm hoping we can get over this hump otherwise we will be moving childcare centers.
We are now in the land of walking. Tentatively taking steps for over a week now but I think she will master the art in a few months. Watching someone the size of a 6 month old attempting to walk is an amazing thing. I always think back to the 1 lb 10 oz baby doll sized person that was born to me. I have not been able to get over that and I don't think I ever will. I gaze at her in amazement for just being, there were so many of preemie warriors who were not afforded this opportunity at life.
This week her fingers were slammed in the door at day care and we were not called immediately. DH stopped by to drop off a few juice boxes when he noticed her fingers were bloodly/swollen and he was beyond livid. The teacher that was assigned to watch the children in the classroom while the lead teacher was bringing in the mobile children from the playground was suspended for negligence. There were 3 teachers and 8 children so this was completely uncalled for. We have had 3 major incidences with her new classroom that we never had in the infant room and I'm hoping we can get over this hump otherwise we will be moving childcare centers.
03 September 2011
Summer is Almost Over!
I am not a fan of summer at all, it is entirely to hot, humid and bug infested. Enjoyment is at a low due to the extreme heat. There are so many family friendly events that I couldn't take Stuffing to because we would melt. However all is not lost! Autumn is upon us with its wonderful temperatures and beautiful colors. Now is when I'll be able to take my sweet girl for walks and on outdoor play dates.
10 August 2011
03 August 2011
01 August 2011
Making Friends Monday Blog Hop: August 1
Leave me a comment so I can get to following to great new blogs!
31 July 2011
30 July 2011
Glasses
We finally got the Miraflex glasses after almost a month of trying to get the correct size for her head. She doesn't keep them on just yet but I'm hoping with time she'll get better.
Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work we go
Today I have spent a great deal of time researching different activities and events we can participate in. I live in a very small area and we don't have much in the way of variety. So I have to broaden my search at least two hours away from home. By broadening the search I was able to find two children's museums, a botanical garden, two zoos and lots of baby friendly activities.
My calendar at work is full of festivals, free kid days, sign language classes and a family movie nights through December. What I really want is to start participating in pageants however I work on Saturdays and its more difficult to attend what is generally an all day affair.
28 July 2011
Year 2
N and I celebrated our two year anniversary yesterday. We boogied over to Savannah to have dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House (which was OK). It was our first time eating at Ruth's Chris and while the dining experience was pleasurable, the food was only so-so and I would not return. While there celebrating we met another couple who decided to celebrate their 36th anniversary, they called our two years baby years. They were great to talk to and gave us good sound advice on how to keep going for another 34 years (minus the four children of course). Their biggest suggestion of course was communication and always considering how your actions affect your spouse and your family unit. They still seemed so excited to be in each others company even though they have spent over three decades together. I love seeing obviously happy couples, it makes my cold heart melt.
Last year for our anniversary, we spent the day in the NICU with Natty and then had a quick bite at Outback just to say we "celebrated" but our celebration was not in good spirits. I was depressed and wanted my baby to be home and healthy not hooked up to machines and sick. It felt great this year for my prayer to be true. I was able to go out and enjoy a few hours with N while Natty stayed with her Aunty T and apparently munched on chicken, bread and a nutragrain bar AND drank out of a straw. She is learning so quickly and surprises me every day.
Yesterday was also Natalia's Name Day which we celebrate as something special just for her especially since it fell on our anniversary (dumb luck) and with her being a preemie I like to do special little things for her. Last summer I worked with an intern from Poland who started shortly after Natty was born and her name was Natalia as well. She explained the importance of Name Days in her native Poland and I thought it would be something neat to do especially for Natty being in hospital at the time. I have continued the tradition this year and purchased her first doll, Lucy. I found Lucy on Pottery Barn Kids and fell in love with her instantly. She is just the perfect size (fits in the palm of my hand) and small enough for Natty to handle on her own. She did not like Lucy yesterday when I presented her but this morning she did play with her, she figured out that Lucy's leg fit in her mouth and is a perfect chew toy for the 4 teeth she has coming in on top.
Last year for our anniversary, we spent the day in the NICU with Natty and then had a quick bite at Outback just to say we "celebrated" but our celebration was not in good spirits. I was depressed and wanted my baby to be home and healthy not hooked up to machines and sick. It felt great this year for my prayer to be true. I was able to go out and enjoy a few hours with N while Natty stayed with her Aunty T and apparently munched on chicken, bread and a nutragrain bar AND drank out of a straw. She is learning so quickly and surprises me every day.
Stuffing last year at MUSC
05 July 2011
First Birthday
Stuffing turned one on June 16th and had her first cupcake, she was in heaven!
She had a small party at daycare, then dinner at Outback and her birthday party the following Sunday. Fun times
Girls just wanna have fun
I love nail polish, manicures, pedicures, facials, hair, make up and well all things girly. This of course had taken a back seat to all things mommy through neglect on my part. First it was the stress of the NICU, then being home with a premature infant as well as being a first time parent and guilt I felt over my daughter's start in life.
It's not something that every preemie parent goes through but it is something that I went through and still am dealing with today. Looking through pictures of myself on Facebook and even just through the house I realized how much I'd flat out given up on. My hair was a mess, tangles, knots, split ends on top of my spilt ends, breakage etc. My face was abysmal, my feet look like I make a profession of walking in powder. I really am not perturbed by my weight just yet so i'll give that a miss.
My husband has never said a word except when I wear a bun but he despises buns on general principle. My mother on the other hand made it her life's mission to inquire what was wrong, why was I not doing XYZ anymore. She never failed to mention that I used to take such good care of myself and now I did the bare minimum (brush my teeth and use deoderent). I now realize she wasn't being malicious she was being honest. I did take care of and pampered myself rotten. My outward appearance was a reflection of how much I loved myself. If my husband wanted to make my day just bring home a bottle of new nail polish and my eyes would glaze over. Now I can't even be bothered.
Have my priorities shifted? Absolutely. Does that mean I can't continue my girly pampering? Absolutely not! I just have to take the time out to remember to focus on me. My beauty rituals were never long but they aided in my relaxation down time. It's time to love me again, one nail at a time.
04 July 2011
"Welcome to being a Mommy"
I had plans to head to Atlanta for the long holiday weekend but on Friday daycare called my husband to let him know that Stuffing had diarrhea and needed to be picked up right away. So there went out weekend of cooking out, the Aquarium and the park. I was in no way comfortable taking a 5 hour drive with her in the back seat and diarrhea. So we've been home all weekend so she can recuperate. Of course I call my BFF bka my mummy and her sage words were "Well kids, welcome to being a mommy, you do what's best for your baby and nothing less. I'm so proud of the woman and mother you're becoming"
I love mummy a thousand times over, but my reasons for not going were no where near so altruistic. The thought of having to scrub her and the car seat down with a couple bottles of Deer Park water was not appealing. So I'll try for another trip later in the summer. I really do want to eventually make it to the Aquarium because I've never been and I hear rave reviews.
Being Natalia's mother is great and I can roll with the sacrifices for her because I generally don't see it as a sacrifice. Any excuse to spend 3 days in bed or the sofa being bums together is actually a high lite in my life. Dropping her off at day care 5 mornings week is the bigger sacrifice. Vacations come and go.
I love mummy a thousand times over, but my reasons for not going were no where near so altruistic. The thought of having to scrub her and the car seat down with a couple bottles of Deer Park water was not appealing. So I'll try for another trip later in the summer. I really do want to eventually make it to the Aquarium because I've never been and I hear rave reviews.
Being Natalia's mother is great and I can roll with the sacrifices for her because I generally don't see it as a sacrifice. Any excuse to spend 3 days in bed or the sofa being bums together is actually a high lite in my life. Dropping her off at day care 5 mornings week is the bigger sacrifice. Vacations come and go.
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