Yes, part 2, because she's growing soooo fast and doesn't do just one new thing at a time very often! I have the cutest video of this that I'll upload later, but I noticed her other theme this week is a continuation of mastering her hands.
She's good at reaching and grabbing for things, and batting her toys around, but is really having to work when it comes to fine motor skills. We got her some little shaped blocks to play with for when she's in her bumbo chair, and that's where you really see her struggle with picking them up. But more, once she has them picked up, she has a hard time opening her fingers to let them go again! I just find it so remarkable to watch her working on this... to think even the most proficient Olympic athletes in the world once started out not being able to control their hands and fingers!! Well, enjoy the video... (arghhh more squishy head... how do I stop that???)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Theme of the Week - WORDS!!!!
It's happened several times over the week and even a bit before, though I only really clued in yesterday (I'm slow), but the Chievious is definitely responding in recognition to certain words!!! I mentioned before her knowing the words "splash splash" in the tub, and when we say those words, she splashes excitedly in the water. We've experimented with seeing if she knows her name but that one's hard since you never know if she's just responding to voice or to the name. But, she did the other night, turn her head to Nathan more frequently when he called "Chievious" than when he called "Brenna". (Don't worry Aunty Joanna, I'm using her name - though I confess, usually in combination it's usually "Baby, Baby Brenna", or just "Hi ba-beee!!"... no worries, you'll just have to re-teach her her name when you see her again!!).
Then there's the cue sounds for pooping that she definitely recognizes and even does now when she needs to poop, but those aren't actually words. But I think they count since it's recognition of a sound, right??
Okay, but it really hit me last night... she was on the floor playing with her toes and I was casually commenting on her toes, and I gradually realized we were doing a kind of game. The pattern eventually emerged as such that she'd put her feet on the floor, I'd ask her about her toes, and she'd swing her legs up with a big smile and grab her toes. I began to experiment by saying other things and seeing if she grabbed her toes anyway. If she did grab her toes it was more absentmindedly, but each time I said the word "toes", out came the huge smile and excited toe-grasp and even a swing of the legs toward me, oh man she's cute!!!
So then I called Nathan over, and said the word "Daddy", well would you know, she looked right up at him! Coincidence? We're not sure yet since we don't want to brag prematurely, but I do think she knows who "Daddy" is.
Okay so another thing... this past week, she's been crying out "mmmaaaammmmmmmm" when she's tired. Now can I really think she's calling for me? Or, is that why they call us moms? Cuz the babies say mmmmaaaaaammmmm when they're tired so we just got that name?
By the way, did I mention, she's cute???!!!!
Then there's the cue sounds for pooping that she definitely recognizes and even does now when she needs to poop, but those aren't actually words. But I think they count since it's recognition of a sound, right??
Okay, but it really hit me last night... she was on the floor playing with her toes and I was casually commenting on her toes, and I gradually realized we were doing a kind of game. The pattern eventually emerged as such that she'd put her feet on the floor, I'd ask her about her toes, and she'd swing her legs up with a big smile and grab her toes. I began to experiment by saying other things and seeing if she grabbed her toes anyway. If she did grab her toes it was more absentmindedly, but each time I said the word "toes", out came the huge smile and excited toe-grasp and even a swing of the legs toward me, oh man she's cute!!!So then I called Nathan over, and said the word "Daddy", well would you know, she looked right up at him! Coincidence? We're not sure yet since we don't want to brag prematurely, but I do think she knows who "Daddy" is.
Okay so another thing... this past week, she's been crying out "mmmaaaammmmmmmm" when she's tired. Now can I really think she's calling for me? Or, is that why they call us moms? Cuz the babies say mmmmaaaaaammmmm when they're tired so we just got that name?
By the way, did I mention, she's cute???!!!!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
How can I NOT say anything about the Chievious???!
Okay I only lasted 15 minutes.... how can I post about acorn squash and NOT say a word about the little Chievious??? Well, I can't, that's how!!
So, :)
Here's the update on her new 'doings' today... and it's soooo cute!!
The three of us were in the car on the way to the mall tonight, and she was making a unique noise... she's done it before in the car. It's like a humming and whine and a little fuss but not really fuss and not really whine, but not a happy hum either. Other times when she's done this in the car, we sing her favourite celtic lullaby and she settles really quickly. Today, we realized, she's actually asking us to sing! So we started to sing, and she was happy! Then we stopped singing just to experiment with her, and she made her funny noise again, until we started singing again!!
Oh she is so cute, and I can't believe she is actually deliberately communicating with us, not just by default til we figure out what she needs, but she's consciously after something specific! I'm so impressed!! My sweet little girl!!! :)
So, :)
Here's the update on her new 'doings' today... and it's soooo cute!!
The three of us were in the car on the way to the mall tonight, and she was making a unique noise... she's done it before in the car. It's like a humming and whine and a little fuss but not really fuss and not really whine, but not a happy hum either. Other times when she's done this in the car, we sing her favourite celtic lullaby and she settles really quickly. Today, we realized, she's actually asking us to sing! So we started to sing, and she was happy! Then we stopped singing just to experiment with her, and she made her funny noise again, until we started singing again!!
Oh she is so cute, and I can't believe she is actually deliberately communicating with us, not just by default til we figure out what she needs, but she's consciously after something specific! I'm so impressed!! My sweet little girl!!! :)
Classic Baked Acorn Squash
Hey now, no blog is complete without some tasty recipes!!! So here's my first to put up here... I promise that next time the food photography will be my own, but this time I'm sad to say I was so eager to eat, I completely forgot about taking pictures until after the meal!!
I had picked up some squash from the farmer's market last week. When I lived in Ontario, we used to get these little squashes that looked like mini green pumpkins. All you had to do was put them in the microwave for 5 minutes, and boy did they smell and taste awesome!! So I've been hoping to do something tasty with the squash around here but wasn't sure what. Well, Nathan found this recipe on the web and it's oh-so-easy and really tasty!!
I had picked up some squash from the farmer's market last week. When I lived in Ontario, we used to get these little squashes that looked like mini green pumpkins. All you had to do was put them in the microwave for 5 minutes, and boy did they smell and taste awesome!! So I've been hoping to do something tasty with the squash around here but wasn't sure what. Well, Nathan found this recipe on the web and it's oh-so-easy and really tasty!!
Acorn squash are wonderfully easy to prepare - just cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, add a little brown sugar and/or maple syrup, and bake for a little over an hour. Choose squash that are heavy for their size and have a hard, deep-colored rind free of blemishes or moldy spots. The hard skin of a winter squash protects the flesh and allows it to be stored longer than summer squash. It does not require refrigeration and can be kept in a cool, dark place for a month or more, depending on the variety. Once the seeds are removed, winter squash can be baked, steamed or simmered. They're a good source of iron, riboflavin and vitamins A (more than summer squash) and C.
Ingredients
- 1 Acorn squash
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
- Dash of Salt
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.2 Using a strong chef's knife, and perhaps a rubber mallet to help, cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.
3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.
4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.
Serves 2 to 4, depending on how much squash you like to eat.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Other Firsts From Today
There were a few other exciting "Firsts" today besides the playdate, that I just have to brag about!
1) During the play date, Brenna gestured and communicated in a brand new way!!! She had her soother attached to her clothes with the little clippy, and Grissom reached for it like it he wanted it. His Mom then handed him his own soother, which he proudly put into his mouth and sucked on for a bit. Brenna watched this, then held out her own soother, looked at us, looked at her soother and back at us again and smiled. She was very deliberately taking part in the soother 'discussion' going on and was showing us hers. I couldn't believe it and was so proud! Mel agreed that it was a deliberate and concious gesture... not just a coincidental hand movement. Wow, my little baby knows what is going on and it taking part in things!!!
2) Tonight, for the very first time... while on her tummy having playtime, she rotated herself and then inched toward her toy basket, and reached in and pulled out some toys!!!! Oh boy! Watch out, she's on the move!!!!
3) Then,,, earlier, she'd had a bath. The last bath we had, we held her in a sitting position and taught her how to splash, saying the words "splash-splash!". Tonight, at the end of her bath, we sat her up, and didn't show her anything but simply said "splash-splash!", and she made splashes each time we said the words!!! She really is understanding what we're saying!! Oh, and she just loves making splashes! I have to get a bathing suit so I have can take to the local pool!
4) A little less exciting, we went shopping on our way home, and, unlike yesterday, today she reached out to touch some toys on display. Yesterday, in the Disney Store, I took her close to touch the mini mouses, but she kept her hands to herself almost as if though it was all too overwhelming. But today, she was right into taking the toys right off the rack!
5) Oh, and how could I forget... also for the first today, (too many firsts for one day!!), while sitting in her bumbo chair, she made the cue sounds to let me know she had to go poo! I repeated them back to her, and quickly got her onto her potty, and she pooped in the potty!! Not the first time she's pooped in the potty, but it is the first time she verbally let me know!!
1) During the play date, Brenna gestured and communicated in a brand new way!!! She had her soother attached to her clothes with the little clippy, and Grissom reached for it like it he wanted it. His Mom then handed him his own soother, which he proudly put into his mouth and sucked on for a bit. Brenna watched this, then held out her own soother, looked at us, looked at her soother and back at us again and smiled. She was very deliberately taking part in the soother 'discussion' going on and was showing us hers. I couldn't believe it and was so proud! Mel agreed that it was a deliberate and concious gesture... not just a coincidental hand movement. Wow, my little baby knows what is going on and it taking part in things!!!
2) Tonight, for the very first time... while on her tummy having playtime, she rotated herself and then inched toward her toy basket, and reached in and pulled out some toys!!!! Oh boy! Watch out, she's on the move!!!!
3) Then,,, earlier, she'd had a bath. The last bath we had, we held her in a sitting position and taught her how to splash, saying the words "splash-splash!". Tonight, at the end of her bath, we sat her up, and didn't show her anything but simply said "splash-splash!", and she made splashes each time we said the words!!! She really is understanding what we're saying!! Oh, and she just loves making splashes! I have to get a bathing suit so I have can take to the local pool!
5) Oh, and how could I forget... also for the first today, (too many firsts for one day!!), while sitting in her bumbo chair, she made the cue sounds to let me know she had to go poo! I repeated them back to her, and quickly got her onto her potty, and she pooped in the potty!! Not the first time she's pooped in the potty, but it is the first time she verbally let me know!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Playdate with Grissom
Brenna had her first playdate with another baby today. Nathan's old friend Mel, who now lives in Ottawa with her husband Olaf and son Grissom, is in town with Grissom so we had a get together. Grissom has just turned 10 months, and is quite the cutey! I first met Mel this past Easter when I was still quite pregnant, and it was interesting at the time for Nathan and I to hear about her and Olaf's experiences with a baby. We don't have any other friends in the area who have babies so this was new. I remember at the time, watching Mel and Olaf with their then 3month old, and wondering if I would ever be able to keep my energy up enough to look after my own baby. (thankfully, YES!!) So today, Grissom impressed us with sophisticated big-baby ways!! He reached steadily and purposefully for things, and his head did not bob like Brenna's does. He smiled readily and sported his little teeth! And then proceeded to put food into his mouth and eat it (which surprised both Nathan and I!). Later, he showed Brenna how to skillfully crawl around, and even took some time to pull himself up and walk around the coffee table! (I was careful to tell Brenna that she needn't think about moving around so much just yet... we are not yet ready for such a mobile baby!!!)
Here are some pictures from our afternoon...
Friday, October 22, 2010
Theme of the Week - reaching, grabbing, and kisses!!
Before getting this blog going, I was making notes on a little winnie the pooh calendar, identifying significant dates and making notes of what little Brenna was up to in a given week. The great thing about a blog is that I have ROOM now to write down the little stories of what she is up to! On the calendar, at the end of each week, I'd write down a "theme of the week" that described what she was spending most of her time and attention on. So I'm going to continue that trend here...
The Theme of this week has been using her hands in a much more deliberate and eager manner... She's REACHING for things!! Of course, she's technically been reaching for a while, to grasp at things we offer her, or even to slowly grasp at Nathan's glasses, but this reaching is much more eager, excited and aggressive. And she's reaching of her own initiative and with great excitement, not simply when something is offered to her.
Her very first aggressively active reaching is actually caught on video and is here on the blog titled "Trouble Posting Videos". About halfway through, you see her reach toward the video case Nathan is holding to keep their game going! Since then, she's started reaching for many things and is just so funny... she threw herself at and grabbed a fistful of roses that i was showing her how to smell. she's taking hold of things we hold like my water bottle, and the funniest, when i walk into a new room, she flails her arms up and down hoping to land on something!
The other theme of the week is that she is really into kisses!! She can't get enough of us kissing her ears, cheeks and neck. And, I think she is actually trying to kiss us back! She throws her wide open mouth onto our cheeks, gives a big wet sloppy one, and giggles!! I remember my mom bringing my little sisters to our cheeks for kisses when they were babies, and they did the same thing Brenna is doing... so very cute!
The Theme of this week has been using her hands in a much more deliberate and eager manner... She's REACHING for things!! Of course, she's technically been reaching for a while, to grasp at things we offer her, or even to slowly grasp at Nathan's glasses, but this reaching is much more eager, excited and aggressive. And she's reaching of her own initiative and with great excitement, not simply when something is offered to her.
The other theme of the week is that she is really into kisses!! She can't get enough of us kissing her ears, cheeks and neck. And, I think she is actually trying to kiss us back! She throws her wide open mouth onto our cheeks, gives a big wet sloppy one, and giggles!! I remember my mom bringing my little sisters to our cheeks for kisses when they were babies, and they did the same thing Brenna is doing... so very cute!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Brenna's Baptism
We had our little girl baptized this Sunday. It felt like such a grown up moment. You know, one of those where it suddenly feels like you're just a kid playing grown-up, only to realize that this little baby really thinks I'm the parent! It was also a bit of a time-warp moment... since I don't go to church very often these days, it's easy to get propelled into the past when I do go. And here I was, after so many church attendances of praying quietly for a life partner and for the opportunity to have a family, suddenly here I was standing next to Nathan with our Little Miss in arms! I was no longer asking but was instead giving thanks and taking a step toward guiding my daughter in what will become her own journey of faith. Baptism is so important in the Christian faith, and while many an argument has been had over the issue of infant vs adult baptism, I have to say that having my baby baptized was for me, a regrounding and restatement of my own faith almost more powerful than my own adult baptism. We renounced our sins before God and pledged not only to live in faith but to guide our little one in her own journey. I guess for me, one of the more powerful teaching tools is modeling, thus guiding Brenna in her journey means modeling it with my own. Maybe it's obvious, but it only really struck me as we stood before the Pastor.
Brenna and I had come rather close to missing the baptism! Getting out of the house much earlier than normal combined with pretty dress, christening gown, and last minute poopy diaper were expected hurdles... the un-expected was having trouble finding the church! The baptism was scheduled for 11am, and we arrived at 11:05. But you know, I just didn't have the heart to go to stress land. I knew that I wouldn't begrudge a mom and baby for being late to a baptism, so I determined not to worry about it with us and instead thought of a dear friend and how she handles situations. Thankfully too, since I'm glad now I didn't trade the experience of such a special day for the confusion and tension of stress!!
Little Miss was a hit!! Daddy met us at the door, and helped put the christening gown over Brenna's dress, and we went right into the baptism as they were waiting patiently for us! Brenna had been fast asleep, so woke up with her usual curiosity and pleasant demeanor. She wooed everyone with her big smiles, and I think was quite thrilled to have so many people smiling back at her all at once!! Unfortunately, the church has a no camera policy during services, so we didn't get those moments, but we were able to stage some shots after the service. A big thank you to Rochelle's dad for being our photographer!
Above picture shows Brenna being baptized by her Grandpa Steve, while wearing an heirloom gown that was made for and worn by her Grandpa Allan. (It was also worn by me, my sister Joanna, our cousin Brodie and our Uncle Don.) We thought this was pretty cool!
Left to right: Grandma Joanne, me, Nathan, Uncle Ben, Aunty Rochelle, Pastor Steve holding Brenna.
Uncle Ben and Aunty Rochelle are her sponsors. Too bad we didn't think to get a picture of the three of them!
Here we are all working at taking her gown off. Nathan said the moment struck him like that of a bride with everyone fussing over her dress. It's true, there's something about these sacred moments in our lives.
Brenna and Aunty Rochelle had matching sweaters over their dresses!
Back at Gramma and Grampa's we enjoyed a lunch and then Brenna, for the first time on her own, opened some presents!!
Little Miss was a hit!! Daddy met us at the door, and helped put the christening gown over Brenna's dress, and we went right into the baptism as they were waiting patiently for us! Brenna had been fast asleep, so woke up with her usual curiosity and pleasant demeanor. She wooed everyone with her big smiles, and I think was quite thrilled to have so many people smiling back at her all at once!! Unfortunately, the church has a no camera policy during services, so we didn't get those moments, but we were able to stage some shots after the service. A big thank you to Rochelle's dad for being our photographer!
Above picture shows Brenna being baptized by her Grandpa Steve, while wearing an heirloom gown that was made for and worn by her Grandpa Allan. (It was also worn by me, my sister Joanna, our cousin Brodie and our Uncle Don.) We thought this was pretty cool!
Left to right: Grandma Joanne, me, Nathan, Uncle Ben, Aunty Rochelle, Pastor Steve holding Brenna.
Uncle Ben and Aunty Rochelle are her sponsors. Too bad we didn't think to get a picture of the three of them!
Here we are all working at taking her gown off. Nathan said the moment struck him like that of a bride with everyone fussing over her dress. It's true, there's something about these sacred moments in our lives.
Brenna and Aunty Rochelle had matching sweaters over their dresses!
Back at Gramma and Grampa's we enjoyed a lunch and then Brenna, for the first time on her own, opened some presents!!
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| This book is authored by Desmond Tutu!! Sophisticated baby reading!! |
Monday, October 18, 2010
Trouble posting Videos
I am just having the most difficult time uploading videos taken with our new camera! I finally got this up, but the screen has gone from widescreen to narrow, squishing brenna and nathan's heads. Anyone have any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this?
Besides the squishy heads, this footage is so adorable!!!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Learning the Art of Elimination Communication
Well so far the diaper free thing is surprisingly easy! We started Brenna on some diaper free time in the evenings at my parent's house while I was still in Ontario. We put a water proof change pad on a blanket on the floor and let her play and practice rolling. And she did not poop or pee. But, she did poop within minutes of me putting a diaper back on. Was she holding it in? Coincidence? Who knows...
Then, back in Calgary, I started some diaper free time here and there in the afternoons. The literature said that while a baby could be started from newborn, many cultures didn't start their babies until about 3 months, while some waited till the baby could crawl. Others yet would do this according to seasons, waiting for the warmest season, so baby might be very young or older depending on birthday.
Lacking somewhat in a concrete starting plan and feeling somewhat hesitant, I started first by observing Brenna to see if I could notice a schedule with her elimination needs. The best I could figure was that she poos around 4 to 5 times a day, anywhere from waking up to going to sleep, and rarely in the middle of the night. Hmmm, not very specific. So then I started looking for cues, since, apparently, babies will give cues when they need to go. But yeah, no, I could NEVER pick up on her cues. Many women talk about having an intuition for when their baby needs to go, likening it to knowing when baby needs to eat. But I find that repeatedly, I forget that Brenna needs to eat. She tells me when it's time to feed. So much for intuition - if I can't tell when she needs to eat, how am I supposed to tell when she needs to poop???
All this aside, I did find that when I took the plunge, taking the diaper off and spending some time watching her play, it was actually very easy to manage her. The second she made a noise out of the ordinary during play time, I either took her to the toilet or held her over a bowl (makeshift potty). In one afternoon, we caught all but two small pees, and all the poops!! It was almost too easy!! Even Nathan had her pooping in the bowl when I was out of the room!
BUT... the problem for me, is that this seems to be a ton of work! It's far easier to let her do her business in a diaper, and then get up to change when I feel like it, be it right then, or 5, 10, or 15 minutes later. Jumping to catch her in the moment is just a hassle!! Maybe this would be something I'd do more when she starts eating food and actually starts having trouble with diaper rashes?
Still, I found a support group in Calgary on the internet for diaper free babies. And then yesterday, I managed to meet the woman in charge at a Starbucks to chat. She shared how her family has practiced Natural Infant Hygiene for several generations, going back to a great great grandmother who did not have running water thus diapering was not a practical option for her babies. She herself has two little ones, a two year old and a five month old. She takes a modified approach that sounds appealing to me. Her babies wear diapers, but use them only for peeing, and don't poop in them. She said she found that trying to catch all the pees was too hard since babies pee every 20 minutes. But she taught her babies at the ages of 7 and 8 weeks, to cue her when they were going to poop so she could take them to the toilet to go. She said to start, you just take them to the toilet as soon as you know they are pooping, get them in position and make a cueing sound, like "uh-uh". At first you have misses and a bit of mess, but then the babies anticipate what you are going to do and they wait til you get the diaper off. And within a month, her babies would make the cue sound "uh-uh" to let her know to get them to the toilet. She said with her son, they had only 5 miss in an entire year!
So I am re-encouraged. I picked up a very cute winnie the pooh potty that will be more comfortable to use than the bowl. And we spent most of today with no diaper on, mostly motivated because she developed a very sore bum last night after I forgot to change her (bad mommy!!). So today I wanted to let her skin breath and heal. And the only miss (we don't call them 'accidents') we had was just before dinner when I was distracted talking with Nathan. By the end of the day, she'd peed countless times and pooped twice in her brand new potty. And best of all, her sore bum is all better now and she's happily back in a diaper for bedtime.
Then, back in Calgary, I started some diaper free time here and there in the afternoons. The literature said that while a baby could be started from newborn, many cultures didn't start their babies until about 3 months, while some waited till the baby could crawl. Others yet would do this according to seasons, waiting for the warmest season, so baby might be very young or older depending on birthday.
Lacking somewhat in a concrete starting plan and feeling somewhat hesitant, I started first by observing Brenna to see if I could notice a schedule with her elimination needs. The best I could figure was that she poos around 4 to 5 times a day, anywhere from waking up to going to sleep, and rarely in the middle of the night. Hmmm, not very specific. So then I started looking for cues, since, apparently, babies will give cues when they need to go. But yeah, no, I could NEVER pick up on her cues. Many women talk about having an intuition for when their baby needs to go, likening it to knowing when baby needs to eat. But I find that repeatedly, I forget that Brenna needs to eat. She tells me when it's time to feed. So much for intuition - if I can't tell when she needs to eat, how am I supposed to tell when she needs to poop???
All this aside, I did find that when I took the plunge, taking the diaper off and spending some time watching her play, it was actually very easy to manage her. The second she made a noise out of the ordinary during play time, I either took her to the toilet or held her over a bowl (makeshift potty). In one afternoon, we caught all but two small pees, and all the poops!! It was almost too easy!! Even Nathan had her pooping in the bowl when I was out of the room!BUT... the problem for me, is that this seems to be a ton of work! It's far easier to let her do her business in a diaper, and then get up to change when I feel like it, be it right then, or 5, 10, or 15 minutes later. Jumping to catch her in the moment is just a hassle!! Maybe this would be something I'd do more when she starts eating food and actually starts having trouble with diaper rashes?
Still, I found a support group in Calgary on the internet for diaper free babies. And then yesterday, I managed to meet the woman in charge at a Starbucks to chat. She shared how her family has practiced Natural Infant Hygiene for several generations, going back to a great great grandmother who did not have running water thus diapering was not a practical option for her babies. She herself has two little ones, a two year old and a five month old. She takes a modified approach that sounds appealing to me. Her babies wear diapers, but use them only for peeing, and don't poop in them. She said she found that trying to catch all the pees was too hard since babies pee every 20 minutes. But she taught her babies at the ages of 7 and 8 weeks, to cue her when they were going to poop so she could take them to the toilet to go. She said to start, you just take them to the toilet as soon as you know they are pooping, get them in position and make a cueing sound, like "uh-uh". At first you have misses and a bit of mess, but then the babies anticipate what you are going to do and they wait til you get the diaper off. And within a month, her babies would make the cue sound "uh-uh" to let her know to get them to the toilet. She said with her son, they had only 5 miss in an entire year!
So I am re-encouraged. I picked up a very cute winnie the pooh potty that will be more comfortable to use than the bowl. And we spent most of today with no diaper on, mostly motivated because she developed a very sore bum last night after I forgot to change her (bad mommy!!). So today I wanted to let her skin breath and heal. And the only miss (we don't call them 'accidents') we had was just before dinner when I was distracted talking with Nathan. By the end of the day, she'd peed countless times and pooped twice in her brand new potty. And best of all, her sore bum is all better now and she's happily back in a diaper for bedtime.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Diaper Free Baby!!??!!
But diaper-free baby? Not able to imagine beyond "gross!", I shrugged it off and forgot about it. Instead, I turned my attention to learning baby sign language, and trying to decide about cloth diapers, which, was turning out to be a huge dilemma. We were using disposables temporarily just to get through the initial adjustment of having a baby. Cloth diapers these days are EXPENSIVE, ranging from $10 to $30 per diaper!!! The old fashion plain cloth are available at Walmart, but, in Alberta you can't buy diaper pins!! I'm against the environmental implications of disposables, and uncomfortable with the amount of chemicals that are carcinogens against baby's skin. And then, I'd discovered that diaper rashes are caused by yeast in the intestine, and the yeast is not only hard to get rid of but is transmitted in the laundry. So cloth diapers can actually perpetuate diaper rashes!! Ugh.
Then, while in London ON having coffee with my best friend Stacey, she mentioned a friend of hers had done no diapers with her baby. Now I was eager to hear more... she said it's really easy. She got used to knowing when her baby has to go, and she holds him over the toilet and he goes. Huh.
Would you know it, a couple days later I went to Chapters. I got my Starbucks drink, turned around to enter the book section, and the very first book I laid my eyes on was titled "Diaper Free" by Ingrid Bauer. I bought the book and started reading.
Turns out, babies, much like many animals, instinctively do not want to do their business where they eat/sleep/play. And while this sounds crazy in our society, many cultures around the world continue as they have for generations, keeping their babies clean and dry without diapers. My sister confirmed that in her recent trip to southeast Asia, the babies there did not wear diapers!!
I was hooked when I realized this might be the answer to my diaper dilemma. If this works, then I would no longer need to worry about environmental and health implications, nor about diaper rashes! Plus, I could add it my list of baby-parenting practices I'm doing that are modeled after other cultures where the idea of crying and fussy babies is non-existent. These include gentle and nurturing practices such as natural weaning ("extended nursing"), co-sleeping (even modified), wearing and holding baby in close physical contact, responding promptly to cries, never leaving baby alone, allowing extra nursing time for nurturing and bonding, etc... I've found the more I do these, the better Brenna sleeps at night and the less she cries in general. Bauer's claim is that practicing Natural Infant Hygiene and Elimination Communication, provides yet another opportunity to understand and be closer to our babies.
Okay, count me in... I'll at least give it a try!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Point in Time: Brenna Dawn - A Journey Begins
I just realized, now that we've jumped into blog world, a bit of context of where we've come from might be nice.
The following is short video put to music of baby Brenna first born in the hospital, and below that is a photobook I made online (with Shutterfly) featuring images that tell the story of Brenna's birth and time in the hospital.
I'll periodically post bits and pieces of our story leading up to here, but for starters, it's all about the baby!!!
The baby rocks our world!!!!
The following is short video put to music of baby Brenna first born in the hospital, and below that is a photobook I made online (with Shutterfly) featuring images that tell the story of Brenna's birth and time in the hospital.
Holiday Monday
Long weekends are never complete without at least one day of lounging. I always like it to be the third day. The first two are busy and festive, and the third is for lounging and savouring that extra time that comes around so seldomly.
And with that lounging time comes time for leisure hobbies... Nathan got his guitar this past Christmas and took some lessons this spring. He'd hoped to be able to play for the baby and also that she'd like it. Well it turns out she loves music, and quite enjoys watching her Daddy sing and play!!
A little while later we decided to get out of the house and go to ToysRUs. We received one of these baby backpack carriers for a shower gift but hadn't tried it out yet. While in the store we realized Brenna is almost big enough so we gave it a whirl... both she and Daddy loved it! Looking forward to using our own!
Shop till you drop!! :) The poor sweetie had sniffles this morning and is a little under the weather. Here's hoping it's just the last cold giving a final hoorah and not another one coming on!!
Monday, October 11, 2010
A Baby’s First Thanksgiving
Today turned out to be the most wonderful day for a thanksgiving weekend!! The weather was just perfect, especially impressive for Calgary! 20 degrees with just a bit of humidity, and no wind!! We went on a really nice walk in Bowness Park with Uncle Ben and Aunty Rochelle. Brenna almost slept through the whole thing, but we managed to rouse her for some visiting time that she quite enjoyed.
Home Depot came by with the Pumpkin Patrol Truck and handed out free pumpkins to everyone…
Later on at home, we set up some new toys for Brenna that Nathan picked up off kijiji earlier today. A rainforest Jumperoo for $40 (retails ~$150 at ToysRUs), and a Bumbo Chair with Tray for $20 (I think retails around $80 for both). We were super excited about the great deals we got and couldn’t wait to see Little Miss playing!
Of course our day wasn’t complete until we’d had a pork roast with roasted veggies, potatoes and gravy!
And a homemade apple pie to boot. Quite a nice way to celebrate our first Thanksgiving with our little Chievious!! :)
Credit for the "Rustic Apple Pie" recipe goes to Nathan's cousin Kirsten's blog: http://alamodetheblog.blogspot.com
Home Depot came by with the Pumpkin Patrol Truck and handed out free pumpkins to everyone…
Later on at home, we set up some new toys for Brenna that Nathan picked up off kijiji earlier today. A rainforest Jumperoo for $40 (retails ~$150 at ToysRUs), and a Bumbo Chair with Tray for $20 (I think retails around $80 for both). We were super excited about the great deals we got and couldn’t wait to see Little Miss playing!
Of course our day wasn’t complete until we’d had a pork roast with roasted veggies, potatoes and gravy!
And a homemade apple pie to boot. Quite a nice way to celebrate our first Thanksgiving with our little Chievious!! :)Credit for the "Rustic Apple Pie" recipe goes to Nathan's cousin Kirsten's blog: http://alamodetheblog.blogspot.com
Blogging - to Create a Keepsake
I'm frequently amazed at how a baby can change so many things. Besides the obvious in routines, suddenly our interests are different and we have more in common to talk about with more people. Ironically, as our pace of life slows down, giving the illusion that we are doing less, we find we actually have more time to do more things! For instance, we think we'll actually carve a pumpkin this year for hallowe'en... something we'd never have had time for in previous years!
Along with these changes in activities, I find myself journaling, logging events (baby found hands, baby laughed out loud, etc), collecting video and picture memories, making online digital photobooks, and in general finding ways to preserve our cherished moments with little Brenna. Then, this past weekend, we watched Marley and Me. If you've seen the movie, you'll remember the part where the kids read through the book of Dad's columns that have preserved their memories throughout the years. It got me thinking how it'd be nice to have one integrated item that contained our stories, rather than journals here, pictures there, etc etc.
Then Nathan suggested a blog. Of course! Blogging allows for pictures, video, and a place to jot down thoughts all in one place! I'd always resisted the world of blogging... who'd want to read my ramblings day after day? But the idea of a blog as the vehicle to writing our story - the journey of our adventures, antics, struggles, triumphs, and moments shared together - something that can become a keepsake for years to come. Well that appeals!!
So here we are, entering the world of blogging!! The goal, to create a family keepsake that we can cherish in years to come. Something to tell our stories, to help us reminisce.
Gramma once said, "take pictures, because you do forget!!" Such is life, we are creatures of the moment, bound by the movement of time. And so we take comfort in collecting, preserving, and cherishing our memories.
Along with these changes in activities, I find myself journaling, logging events (baby found hands, baby laughed out loud, etc), collecting video and picture memories, making online digital photobooks, and in general finding ways to preserve our cherished moments with little Brenna. Then, this past weekend, we watched Marley and Me. If you've seen the movie, you'll remember the part where the kids read through the book of Dad's columns that have preserved their memories throughout the years. It got me thinking how it'd be nice to have one integrated item that contained our stories, rather than journals here, pictures there, etc etc.
Then Nathan suggested a blog. Of course! Blogging allows for pictures, video, and a place to jot down thoughts all in one place! I'd always resisted the world of blogging... who'd want to read my ramblings day after day? But the idea of a blog as the vehicle to writing our story - the journey of our adventures, antics, struggles, triumphs, and moments shared together - something that can become a keepsake for years to come. Well that appeals!!
So here we are, entering the world of blogging!! The goal, to create a family keepsake that we can cherish in years to come. Something to tell our stories, to help us reminisce.
Gramma once said, "take pictures, because you do forget!!" Such is life, we are creatures of the moment, bound by the movement of time. And so we take comfort in collecting, preserving, and cherishing our memories.
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