...the Wise, the Witty, and the Waste of your time...

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

9 Months

Well, little Evanie Josephine has officially been outside the womb as long as she was inside; she hit the 9 month mark! Before I know it we'll be celebrating her first year!

You know, it's almost shocking to me how consuming these little people are. Not a single day has gone by since that little pink line showed up on my pregnancy test that she hasn't taken up brain space and time. My entire life is currently invested in this little two foot package. I don't mind it, in fact I love it and I know she'll be grown up before I'm ready, it's just a bit staggering when I think of what a life hog she is! :)

So at nine months, here's what's going on in her life.

  • We've lived to see 4 teeth arrive. I found teething to be ridiculously stressful. Way too much crying and not nearly enough sleep for either of us but praise God, the Chiclets have appeared. And they really do look like chiclets. She has a significant gap between her top front teeth which I find quite endearing but for her sake I hope the adult ones come in without the 1/8 inch of gum in between them! :)
  • She says dada, mama, papa, and bye bye. Actually she loves to yell "dada" at the top of her lungs.
  • She's loud. Everything she does is loud. She loves shrieking and babbling at the top of her lungs. On nice days I have to set her outside on the deck just so I can think above her over the top happiness.
  • She thinks her farts are funny. This she gets from her dad.
  • She weighed in at 15lbs 2 oz which is surprising to me because she still nurses 4-5 times a day and has 2-3 meals and snacks on everything I eat. This is also from her dad.
  • She is 26.5 inches tall. I think she has a bit of 'runt' in her.

Getting measured. Note the nervous stance as she's pressed against the wall.
  • She's begun the bum scoot. It's slow and painful at this point but it has revolutionized her way of life because now, instead of screaming frantically when her toys are out of reach, she can get them herself! Yay! She'll still shriek if the girl I babysit is here because she knows the little one will fetch her toys for her. Mom...not so much.
  • Still no rolling. And she is terribly offended if we roll her over against her will.
  • She claps her hands, dances to music, wiggles her head on command, stomps her feet, and shows us how "big" she is. And has recently begun stingily giving out kisses.
  • She can sign "more" which is AWESOME because now she doesn't have to go into hysterics between each bite! Seriously, baby signs is a genius idea!
  • She just started walking along furniture and loves holding our hands to walk around the house.
  • She LOVES her dad and she LOVES the girl I babysit.
  • She has boundless enthusiasm for everything in life, especially food....and mostly nursing.
  • Currently I only change maybe 2 poopy diapers a week because she goes regularly on the toilet. Usually after her second nap. Which is awesome.
  • She continues to be the most indecisive baby. She sucked her thumb regularly for about a month and then quite cold turkey. Now she's back to the on again, off again with the pacifier. If I give it to her she chucks it across the room but if I leave it in her crib she usually ends up with it in her mouth by morning.
  • 80% of the time she goes to bed like a champ. 20% of the time she screams and screams and rages about it. Same percentages apply to sleeping through the night.
  • She is ridiculously social which is awesome for an aspiring hermit of a mother because she shrieks at people to get their attention which invariably leads them to talk to me.
  • She is usually 110% happy and brightens each day - but when she is grumpy, she is also 110% grumpy.
  • She loves to smile huge, face splitting grins; which in turn, makes people around her smile!
As a result of the bum scoot...things are no longer as safe as they were a few days ago.

Dump it out...


Spread it around...


"Mom, can I chew on this?"

Yelling for Dad from Carolyn Wiebe on Vimeo.

The Scoot from Carolyn Wiebe on Vimeo.

I know mothers everywhere have a special spot in their hearts for their kids but I have to say; this little bitty kid has a really special spot in my heart!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A Tiny Soap Box

I'd say one of the hardest parts of being a parent is the requirement to suddenly know everything. I need to be a nutritionist, a lactation consultant, a dermatologist, an environmental geologist, fluent in sign language, an allergy specialist, a nurse, an insomniac (for extra study time), a psychiatrist, a sleep therapist...the list goes on. (And then they want us to be "yummy mummies" too, give me a break!) Sometimes I wish I lived in "the olden days" where a person was allowed to know very little. If you were a corn farmer than you knew all the ins and outs of corn and that was your field but no one expected you to also know about cotton or tobacco or global economics or allergies or the price of tea on China.

But I live in today. And in the Age of Information if I DON'T educate myself then I'm a sitting duck for blindly following all of the latest fads and fashions...right over the next cliff. There are a plethora of experts out there vying for my undying allegiance and I am unwilling to sit at their feet and swallow each word they spoon feed me.

I don't like being told what to do, I never have. If someone says jump all I want to do is sit and this hasn't changed now that I'm a mother. Now when I get my embossed list of "2010 new rules for raising your child" I have to look everything up for myself because I know that the 2011 list will be entirely different and this makes me feel responsible for figuring out my own way for my own family. You know what I'm talking about: bottle feeding is best/ breastfeeding is best, sleep on their tummies/ sleep on their backs, feed 5 minutes on each side/ oops that doesn't work, this drug is safe/ this drug causes cancer... It's frustrating to stay on top of the latest scientific finds, even doctors can't stay on top of ALL of it.

So on this note and at the risk of stepping on a toe or two, I'm recommending some books. If you're a person who is concerned about the vaccination controversy I'd recommend that part of your reading and research include these two books.

I am hardly an extremist, I don't have an agenda, I do not hate doctors, and I'm not going to picket or chain myself to a tree; I just found these books to be informative and if there is anyone reading this blog who is looking for information, you may benefit from these books.

Lots of the vaccination information on both sides is radical and hysterical and I'm not interested in the 'foaming at the mouth' opinions. These books aren't necessarily for or against vaccination but both encourage a common sense approach. Jenny McCarthy has also written her personal story called Louder Than Words which is my next read. And the best thing about these books is that you can get them for free at your local library.



And one quick photo of the little miss eating her Easter treats. And no, I didn't feed her chocolate. I'm a nutritionist/dietitian/allergy specialist, remember?