Carol | January 6, 2012
This is what I’m doing right now…. Sooooooo thankful for my lifestyle…. Soooooo glad I can stay home…. And that my kids can stay home, too…. So thankful to have learned about attachment parenting 18 years ago.
Thankful
Carol | December 28, 2011
My sister’s baby is due in six weeks, and we have enjoyed feeling kicks and watching bumps. Last night, C1 hurt herself a bit and cried. Instantly, Ruth’s unborn baby started thrashing about in empathy… Every time one of the older kids gets hurt, C1 does a fake low whimpering squeal in empathy. She definitely feels their pain!… C1 has a dolly that starts with a cry, makes more different sounds, and finally laughs. C1 knows exactly how to treat the dolly during each sound. She hugs, pats and comforts at the first cry, and mimics the other ones, and laughs when her baby laughs.
Carol | December 22, 2011
“The best part of waking up is Baby at your side!” We’ve practiced sleep sharing with all five babies, and I can most certainly say there are no regrets. NO CRIB CAGES at our house! No babies in their own rooms! The benefits and rewards of co-sleeping are amazing. Oh, my, what other people miss.
Carol | December 18, 2011
I don’t know if it’s having five kids or the fact that I’m almost 42, but it sure is fun to just open a bag of Oreos and set them on the floor and watch a huge smile come across a little girl’s face and her sweet little hand reach in for cookies. I really don’t mind the crumbs or that she keeps going back for more. All BEFORE supper. The transition into becoming a grandmother (later on) should go smoothly. If the joy that C1 gives to me had a dollar value, I would be a millionaire.
This weekend: Kung Foo Panda 2, decorating a gingerbread house with extra candy to eat, a trip to the Candy Store with Daddy, a little shopping, some major house purging with many hands making “lighter” work, Starwars marathon (being recorded), gift wrapping, mild fighting over Advent Lego, saying “Just look at her! How did we get her?!” about C1 fifty times per day, watching C10 knitting American Girl doll scarves for her friends, etc.
Carol | December 5, 2011
At the grocery store, I wear C1 in a ring sling in a sitting/standing forward position so her hands can grasp the shopping cart handle. I don’t have to worry about her falling out of the shopping cart, and I have room for all the groceries needed for a “big” family. She loves to push the cart. I often pass her items or let her get things off the shelves, and she puts them in the cart. We meet a lot of people who want to talk to her and hold her hand. When we get to the check-out counter, she helps get things out of the cart and put them on the counter. Her favorite part is after waiting… and waiting… and waiting… for it to change from “Do Not Remove This Card”, she gets to haul the credit card out of the little machine. Then the check-out lady gives her the receipt.
C1 is an excellent shopper (as were all my babies/toddlers). I believe that is because she has always been carried, always been included, always been treated as a person. She is not stuck in a car seat. She is not stuck in a cart. She is not stuck at home with a babysitter. She is learning about real life.
The most common question I get when people see me wearing C1 in a sling is, “Isn’t she heavy?” Uh, yeah. But you sort of have to carry your 15-month-old child. I mean, seriously, if I have to make a bunch of stops – to the bank, to the post office, etc. I can’t leave her in the vehicle. It would be crazy to drag a stroller. Why wouldn’t I choose a way to carry her that leaves my hands free? (What on earth do other mothers do?!) Very importantly, babywearing also keeps C1 content in “her spot”. She knows her place and does not struggle to get down which she would do if she was simply in my arms. Today, I had to take the van to get it inspected. C1 had just fallen asleep in her carseat. I put her in the sling and she slept the whole time in the waiting room.
Babywearing makes mothering so much easier, assuming you don’t prefer to get a mother substitute.
Carol | November 13, 2011
C10 taught C1 how to twirl yesterday.
Carol | November 7, 2011
What a beautiful day for November! The kids had fun outside. Leaves certainly are crunchy! Cattails sure make great toys, BUT they make an incredible mess. It looks like snow all over the yard. And they stick to clothes something wicked… The past several months have turned our innocent little baby into our number one mess maker (and the competition was stiff). C is now 14 months old and likes to empty drawers and cupboards. She loves climbing and reaching and even opening our lever doors. She discovered the toilet brush. She still loves books and often just sits and reads to herself. She doesn’t know the difference between “coloring books” and “coloring ON books.” She is SUCH a big girl and is accepted and included as one of the gang. The older kids are so helpful with her. She has B13 wrapped around her little finger. A “cough/crank/fake cry” brings him running, and she turns her frown upside down on a dime. It is really hilarious. She loves patting the cat. The joy C1 brings into our lives is immeasurable. I hope she is blessed in her future like she has blessed us.
Carol | October 30, 2011
I was saying, “I..love..you” to C1 slowly, helping her repeat after me. For “I”, she kept pointing to her eye. LOL
Carol | October 25, 2011
Happiness is… the look on C1′s face when I admired her crayon work. She was so excited to make marks on her paper. It was C10 who introduced her to coloring a few months ago.
Carol | October 7, 2011
We brought home a bright orange pumpkin with our groceries and C1, all smiles, pointed to it, and did her “balloon” sign. Too cute. This baby sign language thing is awesome.
