Carol | September 27, 2011
“180″ Movie
“I’m a construction worker and I see a building and I say to you, I’m just going to blow up that building… There’s a possibility there’s somebody in there, I just don’t know, but I’m going to blow it up anyway. What would you say to me? I’m not sure if there’s life in that building but I’m going to blow it up anyway…”
Carol | September 27, 2011
I don’t know about you, but every single time I have witnessed people talking about babies and night sleeping, there are always only two scenarios: Either the baby sleeps through the night (or almost), and everyone gathers around in admiration saying, “Wow, you’re lucky, he must be such a good baby!” OR, the baby does not sleep through the night, and the mother shifts embarrassingly, not knowing how to explain the shameful situation.
When I hear the sleeping-through-the-night situation worshipped, I wonder the following:
Related posts:
http://parentingfreedom.com/2010/12/05/does-she-sleep-through-the-night/
http://parentingfreedom.com/breastfeeding/
Carol | September 26, 2011
Is there anything cuter than a 12 1/2 month baby in her first pair of sneakers, strutting up and down the mall, holding her Mommy’s hand? (and/or Nana’s)
Carol | September 25, 2011
I change diapers on the floor for safety and convenience. No change tables for me. No babies falling off tables. No having to stand up to change diapers. No worries if I have to step away for a second.
I use disposable diapers and would never consider anything else unless they were banned. A colicky baby, an unhealthy mother, and having better things to do than wash cloth diapers brought me to that decision years ago. No regrets.
I just go with the flow when Baby is twisty and turny and doesn’t want a diaper change. Years ago, I used to get annoyed, but now I know it makes sense for babies to be impatient. Baby is smart enough to think of better things to do. And I am smart enough to change the diaper regardless without resorting to anger and/or violence.
Here is an example of a diaper change basket:
Here is a list of what I prefer for changing diapers:
~ a pretty basket
~ a waterproof diaper change pad
~ a stack of diapers
~ a box of tissues
~ a plastic container that my hand will fit into and is big enough to hold enough water for the worst of diaper changes
~ a small plastic container to hold a bar of soap
~ a bar of unscented Dove soap
~ a pack of white kitchen garbage bags (keep away from children) for diaper disposal
~ a baby toy
The basket can used in any room, although near a sink would be the most convenient.
I keep some of the same supplies next to my bed for convenience as well. Why get up when you don’t have to?
I only use diaper wipes when we are away from home.
I recall having no problem with generic diaper brands in the past, but for my latest baby, everything besides the name brands seemed to leak! I do notice that leaking is a sign to go up a size of diaper. In the past, I had my infants sleep on soft diaper change pads next to me to save changing big bed sheets, but I don’t find leaking to be a problem with a large enough brand name diaper. Now, I don’t have a good excuse to bother changing bedsheets very often. LOL
One trick I thought of for this baby was if the diaper gets a little full in the night, but I don’t dare want to wake a sleeping baby, I just grab another diaper and put it RIGHT OVER the other one – over the undershirt and all! That is part of the sleeping baby, rested mother game. It doesn’t hurt MY baby a bit, but if your baby has sensitivities, then change diapers more often.
My babies almost never got diaper rash, but when the occassional redness occurs, I use a natural health cream which works like a charm.
Whatever is in the environment when a baby experiences a serious conflict can become an allergy trigger. At birth, the nurse put Pampers on my baby, and it turned out that Pampers (not Huggies) became an allergy trigger, along with things like the silicone oxygen mask, cotton clothes, snaps from the undershirt, etc. Thankfully, we got her sensitivities cleared through German New Medicine and NAET treatments (energy medicine) at a Forever Healthy allergy clinic.
Carol | September 25, 2011
We had an enjoyable “summer” evening with the kids. A little soccer, trampoline bouncing, shoe tossing, swinging, dandelion collecting, etc. The weather has been beautiful this month.
Carol | September 25, 2011
This is not much of a tip, but it IS different as I found out again today in a social situation. I don’t spoonfeed. My babies start solids rather late (at least 8 months), and they begin to feed themselves right away with their own little fingers. I can’t bring myself to shovel food in a baby’s face, even if it might mean less night wakening. An exception is bananas (which stain clothes so much that spoon feeding is a must at this age), and I feed chilly ice cream with a spoon (ice cream is part of my new food freedom. I didn’t give my other children so-called junk food). :-) The bananas remind me, I don’t do bibs much either. Up until recently, C1 only had one bib. Oh, yeah, I do spoon feed at OTHER people’s houses and at restaurants because I don’t want the increased risk of a mess, although that can be controlled if you only put small portions in front of Baby.
Keep in mind, my babies always continue to nurse well past two years and breastmilk gives them lots of extra nutrition. I know MY babies get enough to eat, but I am certainly not suggesting that other parents stop spoonfeeding because it might be necessary in order for their babies to get enough food.
Carol | September 25, 2011
Imagine watching a baby staring up in the blue sky with her eyes following a bird flying with sun shining on its wings. Then imagine her smiling face as she looks at me with amazement, hoping I had seen it too.
Carol | September 24, 2011
It is so much fun to sneak around the sofa in the living room when C1 is busily playing, and when she discovers me, her face lights up into a HUGE smile, and she giggles, and runs to me as fast as she can, expecting me to swoop her up in my arms, and give eachother hugs and kisses. … She has been outside playing with the big kids this week. She LOVES it! When I call out and wave to her from the front step, she hightails it over as fast as she can go, telling me things the whole way. She can run 100 feet like nothing! … I guess it’s time for some real shoes. Her only shoes have been her sister’s old pair and a new pair of Robeez. They are perfect baby shoes. But they cannot handle her running around on the wet grass at 12 1/2 months of age.
Carol | September 24, 2011
C10 took the above photo.
C1 loves to blow dandelion seeds. She runs around the yard collecting them.
C10 put a daisy in C1′s hair.
Carol | September 24, 2011
The TV was accidentally on the Weather Channel, and I heard a reporter ask a boy (about ten or so), “How do you feel about being back at school?” and he replied, “Not very good.”
Carol | September 24, 2011
This is probably the topic that causes me the most grief, but it is comparable to only one small tear in a rushing river of blood.
37 Seconds
China’s one child policy
http://www.allgirlsallowed.org/
Explosive new evidence of torture, murder, and pillage to be revealed today at House hearing on China’s brutal one-child policy
http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/09/explosive-new-evidence-of-torture-murder-and-pillage-to-be-revealed-today-at-house-hearing-on-chinas-brutal-one-child-policy/
“Detained illegally pregnant mothers about to be forcibly aborted using ethacridine lactate – comparable to a saline abortion”
China’s one-child toll reaches 400 million
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/death-toll-from-chinas-one-child-policy-reaches-400-million-unborn-babies
“Over the years, I have been asked many times to estimate how many lives have been lost in China as a result of the one-child policy. Given that the policy has been in place for 30 years, I respond, and given that each year the government aborts between 10 to 15 million women, the total number of unborn children whose lives have been sacrificed is somewhere between 300 and 450 million…”
“Think about China’s astonishing economic performance — its annual GDP growth over the past three decades is close to 10% — once the Communist Party stopped trying to control all economic activity. Think of the tremendous work ethic of the Chinese people and their dedication to educating their children. Think of the labor shortages that are now cropping up across the country because of the one-child policy, where many factories cannot recruit enough workers.”
“Think on these things, and then ask yourself: Is China really better off because its leadership has eliminated 400 million one of the most intelligent, hard working, and entrepreneurially minded peoples the world has ever seen?”
“Has the Chinese Communist Party lost its collective mind? It has eliminated 400 million customers.”
Carol | September 23, 2011
Awwww… C1 happened to find her baby ring sling and carried it over to me. She was so proud she had found it and smiled excitedly to be put in it… At home, I haven’t tended to babywear her as much as I did with my previous babies because with much older children in the house, more arms want to hold her, and she actually wants to be in on all the action. At this age, she usually prefers to be wrestling on the living room floor rather than in the sling at the kitchen sink. (Not that I am at the kitchen sink very often what with having older kids.)
Carol | September 23, 2011
It crossed my mind this morning that the children could all be away at school and only C1 would be home all day – with no buddies. I mentioned the scenario to L7, and he did a seven-year-old roll on the floor and was not impressed with the thought. Something so strange and shocking to us is the norm to most other families. If you think about it honestly, which is really more NORMAL?! It has been hard enough on the kids to have the oldest brother go to university, but this sibling separation was supposed to start at age five? I think NOT.
Carol | September 23, 2011
Yes I do peel grapes and cut them in pieces for my one-year-old, (as I did with previous babies.)
Carol | September 22, 2011
I was getting groceries tonight, and during the 25 minutes, I had three mothers tell me they regret not having more children.
