World Breastfeeding Week

Every year from August 1-7, WBW is celebrated around the world. Locally, the Breastfeeding Resource Center in Abington has events today. Sadly, with a jam packed weekend schedule, we cannot attend this year. This year, in celebration of WBW, I am doing something a little different...weaning. Breastfeeding has been and still is, a most amazing bonding experience for Cecelia and I. I am happy that she has nursed for 2+ years, and honestly we could go longer. Through this journey, some of my ideas have changed.

While I was still pregnant, in about April, a friend told me that going to a La Leche League meeting was really helpful for her, and doing so before she had the baby. I figured I'd check it out. The group of women I found was incredibly helpful, supportive, and just plain nice. I learned, after I had been to several meetings that LLL has historically been viewed as a "militant" bunch, but I can speak from experience that that is not the case with our Montgomery County East group and I attended a PA conference and found likewise. It was nice to talk to others having or who had the same experiences and then later to be able to offer my own help.

Through different reading on the topic of Breastfeeding, I knew that I wanted to breastfeed Cecelia for at least two years. The AAP guideline states exclusive BF for 6 months and until a year or until mutually desired (indicating that if mom is "done" we are done and that mom should not "force" child...- interesting concept, I can say that was never necessary). The World Health Organization indicates that two years is ideal. So that was my goal. Fast forward to the end of this school year. Due, mostly, to my schedule, Cece was down to one, if that, nursing per day. I figured tapering off until two and we'd be in the clear. Then came summer. Mommy was home and Cecelia saw this as an all you can eat buffet opportunity. Which was partially my fault. Because it was easier. But this resulted in the exact opposite and I wasn't sure quite how to terminate our Breastfeeding relationship. But I am determined. A friend told me about her experience with her older daughter and how they substituted a cup in at bedtime. I already knew Cece was not a fan of milk in a cup, but I knew I should figure something out. My concern was that she would just fuh-reak out, as she is sometimes prone to do, and I would just give in, which would reinforce bad behavior. The next day, I decided to try. So, she asked, and I said no. And she gave me a look, but didn't put up a stink. At nap time, she asked and I said no. We sang songs, she put her head down, and she went to sleep. This was going to be easier than I thought!

The next day, she started with a runny nose and a horrible cough and I...blamed myself. Through breastfeeding, I surmised, she had maintained excellent health. And through weaning, I had singlehandedly in one day, gotten her sick. Bad mommy. So, I made a perfectly logical decision...to drown her in milk. And I did, and she got better. Which she would have done anyway. And then I got back on track. I made a plan. Because cutting off in one day hurts. So, instead, I made a gradual step down plan...like any addict. And I got some cabbage for myself. Because it helps the hurt. And I can say that by 8/31, Cece will be all done. Before school starts. And about a year before any siblings will enter Cece's world and steal mommy and her milk away. So hopefully, she won't remember...or she'll remember that she is a big girl now. How did that happen?

Cup Roundup

When Cece first started drinking from a sippy cup, I blogged about different ones we found. Now that Cece has moved on to bigger cups, I wanted to tell you all about them too. The Foogo cup by Thermos that we used is still great, but it holds what now seems like a very small amount of water, so we have since upgraded to these ones. Of course, Cece has also perfected drinking from just about any cup, including those with no cap or straw...most of the time.

Out of Business

As it turns out, Whitehall Jewelers went out of business...in 2008. Clearly I wasn't paying attention. When the "shank" (just learned this term Wednesday evening - it means the thin part of the ring's band) needs to be repaired on your engagement ring (who knew it could even crack) and the jeweler has gone out of business, a jewelry service plan doesn't mean much. So, as a result I investigated the cost of repair with every jeweler remaining in the Montgomery Mall. It amazed me the difference in cost that was possible. The first jeweler quoted a price at $64. I thought that was a pretty good deal considering the service plan that was now void cost more. But as I researched further, I found some were more and some were less. Some cited the rising cost of gold as accounting for a high price to solder a ring. How does that work exactly? In the end, Belden Jewler won our business for the fine and fair price of $35.99 plus tax. Two weeks from now, my ring will be good as new!

EC: A Retrospective

For all intents and purposes, Cece is "potty trained" during the day. The night might take a while and I'm ok with that. I used to EC Cece at night when she woke up frequently and seemed to need to go. When she still woke up, but didn't go, I stopped EC at night. As a mom in my Diaper Free Baby group once said, "Sleep trumps pee.". But, back to the potty success story. EC was a practice I learned about from a friend when I was halfway through my pregnancy and as I am apt to do, I read EVERYTHING I could find on the subject. Which, maybe not surprisingly, was not a lot. Hmmm, a book I could write that may have a growing market...but, the book I suggest to inquiring friends is Christine Gross-Loh's "Diaper Free Baby". It is the one that is the most practical, not too loaded with "theory", it makes it all seem very do-able. Which is good. Because it is. Looking back, I don't know that I would have tried this had I not known someone who had done it. It made it so much easier to justify to others. Well, so and so did it, so I am trying it. That was another key, telling people I was trying it sounded very non-committal, though to be honest, I was bound and determined. The first time I held Cece over a potty, she was six days old. Prior to eating solids, we caught mostly pee. Around 7 months, after being introduced to solids, she pooped only in the potty, but still peed in her diaper too. Gradually, over time, she has learned to signal that she has to go. During the time of her terrible teeth, she went on a potty strike, telling us she had to go, but really just washing her hands. But since then, she has been consistent, and dry through the days. She is now sleeping in gdiapers, which means the few disposables we have are reserved for babysitters. She is in underwear at home, and cloth diapers out and about. But they stay dry. Monday, she had a milestone wherein she signaled to the awesome Miss Jamie at our gym's daycare that she had to go, and let Miss Jamie help her go potty. Then she did it again on Tuesday. Cece consistently goes #2 before (or during) barytone, and always in the potty. She still prefers to face backward for #2, but since watching a friend go independently facing front, she has made the switch for pees. She has always wanted to go on the regular toilet. Even though we have a Baby Bjorn little potty, pink IKEA potty, see through little potty, foldable potty insert seat, and the Potette plus, Cece will have nothing to do with any of them. To look on the bright side, I never had to clean out a potty as she went direct to the source...or end...source doesn't make much sense there.

So, while I am still careful to never pat myself on the back, I look at EC as a healthy choice for my daughter, both psychologically (she's happy, proud of herself, and was never cajoled, pressured, or rewarded for using the potty) and physically (she has never had diaper rash or any other related issues). We will not have two kids in diapers because she'll be out of them by the time number two is a glimmer in my eye. Note: not yet folks.

For any friends, or strangers yet to be friends who are wondering, EC is short for Elimination Communication and I would encourage you to give it a chance...the rest of the world does.

A Bedtime Story

In her two short years, Cecelia has been both a super sleeper, and a sleep deprivation machine. Her dual personalities can be, at times, frightening. Especially when you've grown accustomed to one and the other rears its ugly head.

To encapsulate Cecelia's sleep, she was NEVER the baby that comes home from the hospital and instantly sleeps all the time, not at night, not in her bassinet pack and play, not in her crib, not even in the specially designed Arms Reach co-sleeper, the one I got specifically to avoid having Cecelia in our bed. Because, you see, no one plans to co-sleep. I shouldn't say no one, but I'd say a whole lot of the people that do end up co-sleeping didn't plan to when they were pregnant. Because haven't you heard, there are blankets, and pillows, and smothering, flailing parents. Well, I can tell you that in our case, there was no flailing or smothering, bur there was functional sleep for everyone. Early on, Cecelia slept ONLY if she was within a breath of another person. And there are reasons for this. It regulates her breathing, calms her, she can hear a heartbeat (also regulating and calming) and she is warmed. This went for daytime sleep too. She slept in a sling. Period. I tried and sometimes did transfer her onto a surface still cuddled in her sling, but for the most part, I found she got her her best rest in the sling. And for any anti-baby wearers, the sling we had was not recalled. The ones that were recalled were designed to look more comfortable, safe and secure, being worn with the baby down at your waist, and they were buckled in, so that must be a good thing, right? Wrong!

So, Cecelia slept with us for at least a portion of the night for 13 months, and during that time she did not sleep through the night. Around 13 months, she started taking more regular naps, but there was also a shift. Even once she shifted to sleeping in her bed, she would fall asleep cuddled with us. Then one day, that changed. She couldn't fall asleep with us there. She needed her own space.

Cecelia developed a good routine. So much so that she got to a point where she would point to her bed, we would lay her down, cover her with a blanket, and she would look up with a huge cheesy grin. We walked out and that was it. Same for naps and night sleep.

Then she turned two. It seemed like that was enough to put her and us over the edge, but the key was in the routine. Our home is listed for sale and with trying to navigate home showing times, and my nasty habit of loading the day up with activity, Cecelia strayed far from her normal routine. And we all paid the price. She stopped napping, gradually. First, she could no longer transfer into the house from the car, or if she fell asleep at all in the car early in the day would not be able to fall asleep at her nor,al nap time. Then one day, I stayed home and tried for normal nap. And it still didn't work. So, I resigned myself to car naps. And that was ok. Until it affected night sleep. One night, Cece fell asleep on me and would not transfer to her bed. I chalked it up to a stuffy nose/cold, and decided she could sleep on me that night. She slept in our bed and slept well. But a two year old is much different than a one year old. She did gymnastics all night long, in a different position all night. But it was nice. Until 4:30 rolled around and she was up and at em. Not cool. We decided that the next day, we would try to get Cece back into a routine. That night, she fell asleep on me again. After an hour and a half of trying to transfer her, I decided she could sleep in our bed. Except she wasn't sleeping anymore. So into her room she went. She had a cage fight with herself and TWO HOURS later fell asleep.

The next day was daddy's routine bootcamp. And it was the kick in the butt/reminder that we all needed. That she did still need to nap. That she could get back to sleeping 10-12 hours at night. And that sacrificing my jam packed days was well worth the healthy, happy child that was returned to our doorstep. And that a little tv time to wind down is ok too.

A friend recently said she has learned not to give herself too much credit when it comes to her kids. I absolutely agree. You do what works for you...until it doesn't work anymore. And then you figure out what does. It might be different for everyone, and the greatest mistake we can make as parents is to judge. When you feel judged, you close the door and don't let others in, and the only way we can learn from one another is by opening that door.

Cecelia has returned to going to bed easily without a fight, without tears, and with a huge, cheesy goodnight grin.

The Blueberry (Yaris Edition)

Background. I seem to have a thing for blue cars. Preferably ones with good gas mileage. The first car that I bought independently was a royal blue Kia Rio. This was back before anyone else had heard of Kia. I did my research. Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm also a fan of inexpensive cars. And it was. Jeff dubbed this car the blueberry. When we were pregnant, we had a plan to upgrade Jeff's 2 door, and did so through a Kia trade. My Rio for a new Kia Sportage. Because, at the time, I had a plan to get a Honda Fit (blue). Which would have been great. If we could fit a stroller in the back. But we couldn't. So, I looked some more and decided on the Yaris (also blue).

Yesterday, Jeff told me a story about his day at work. A co-worker's father came into the gym and asked, "Whose Yaris?". To which Jeff responded, "Mine.". "Nice color.". "Thanks, well, it's my wife's, so I'll let her know.". "Great car. I have to run, so Joe (his son), tell him the story."

So, Joe tells Jeff the story.

About how his family is on their third Yaris. And with good reason. The first Yaris they owned was hit, badly, by a drunk driver. The car was completely totaled. But Joe, who was driving, walked away without a scratch. So, his dad got another Yaris. And the next time, his wife, Joe's mom was in a bad accident. Again, the car took the impact, not the person inside. Joe's dad has written letters to the company, including pictures of how the cars were wrecked and the people inside walked away unharmed. He likes to tell any fellow Yaris owners what a good, safe car they own.

Shortly after I purchased my Yaris, there were many, many Toyota recalls. But not for the Yaris. I had recently considered that when the time came, I might return to Kia for another Rio, but this story made me think. Not just about sticking with the Yaris, ut how fortunate I have been when it came to cars as well.

When I was in college, I was in a bad accident where the Dodge Omni I was driving (which seemed to be possessed) hit the guard rail on the turnpike and spun around twice...on the turnpike. I broke my finger, but besides that, was fine. When I was just 17 weeks pregnant, I was in an accident in the two door Honda Civic, and was fine. And, just a few months ago, over spring break, we were rear ended in the Kia Sportage and were all three fine.

So, Joe's story made me feel lucky to own a Yaris, but also lucky. Just plain lucky.

Heh-woah, Bye

Like the Beatles song, Hello Goodbye, Cece has these two down pat. She has been a proficient waver for quite a while now, though early on she would only wave goodbye. This was a strong indication to most people that she wanted them to go away. I don't think that's true, but she does seem to tell it like it is. A while back, we heard the intonation of a greeting, like hello but without the clear articulation of a word. More recently, we have heard heh-woah. Which is super cute. Especially when she's hiding behind something, peeks out, and yells, "HEH-WOOAAAHHH". You'll just have to trust me on that. So, yesterday to add to the cuteness, out of absolutely nowhere... Cece and I were leaving to go to the pool and were at the bottom of our stairs in the foyer. I told her to say goodbye to daddy, which would usually result in a waving hand...maybe...if he's lucky. But yesterday, it resulted in, "Bye.". Just like that. "Bye.". To which I responded, "Did she just say bye?". She had, and now she wants to say bye to everything and everyone. And it's awesome. Girls at the gym playroom...bye. People at the supermarket...bye. People at the Babies R Us...bye. The potty...bye.