Saturday, July 18, 2009

Don't You Dairy

I often get caught up in the diet advice of whatever I happen to be reading. Which means I will stick to the prescribed advice for just a week or so - Atkins diet, South Beach, Weight Watchers - they've all had short term stints in my life. I've never stuck with any of them long. More recently though I've been much more interested in nutrition rather than diet, maybe because for the last year another human as been depending on me and what I eat for his development. So I try to keep up with my fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein and dairy products. It's this last one that seems to possibly be causing a problem in before-mentioned young human. Milo has been a big spitter upper from pretty young, but lately it's gotten worse. Like two or three times after each feeding worse. So yes, pretty much constant spitting up. He also is congested and a little wheezy. His skin has patches of itchy and angry looking eczema. His doctor took a look and thinks he is reacting to the dairy I'm eating. She doesn't think he has a severe allergy, but certainly a sensitivity. So off of dairy I go.

I've meant to do it in the past, this cutting dairy out of my diet. I would like the promised more energy and renewed focus. I had even gone so far as to download the challenge information at godairyfree.com, but the daily journal has been sitting unopened on my desktop for well over a year and a half and the blog entry I started to write about the experience still sits in draft form. Turns out without really good motivation, I'm just not willing to skip cheese on pizza or cream in coffee. Looking at Milo's itchy little eyes though is reason enough for me to at least see if the cow protein is the problem. And if it's not, I could really use that energy and renewed focus.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Four Months

Gosh, to be honest this past month was pretty much a blur. I'm trying to rember the highlights - and there were some really great moments - but for the most part it's been a rush of getting out the door in the mornings, walks and quick dinners in the evenings and then falling into bed exhausted at the end of it all. And that's the whole family, not just Milo.

Milo is becoming a different baby each day and is growing up so quickly. Where he used to mainly smile at people, he is now also more interested in toys. He likes to hold onto something soft - like his friend Ears the bear, a blanket, or a teething toy - when he is riding in the car or going down for a nap. Speaking of naps, we struggle with those a bit. On the weekends I can usually get him down for a nap, but at day care they just don't have the time for my book, cuddle, nap routine. If naps are trade off for good nights, I'll take the good nights. Since I've been back to work, Milo has been waking up a couple of times a week for a feeding in the middle of the night. It's not all that bad, but since I was used to a solid 8 - 9 hours for two months, it's been an adjustment.

Tummy time is going great if he's in a good mood. Overall though he has really good head strength and can kind of sit up supported. We've transitioned him to riding in the stroller without the carrier for evening walks and he likes to look ahead and see what is coming. We were on a roll again for a couple days, but it's just not a skill he wants to stick around.

Our little guy (or not so little at 17 pounds, 13 ounces and more than 25 inches now), is quite the talker. He babbles to us a lot and we love having little conversations with him. Milo's smiler is still working and his grins just light up the room.

Next month we look forward to the introduction of solid foods!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

A Friend

Before they went Christmas shopping that year, my parents stopped for a few drinks. My brothers and I were probably home with Grandma and my parents were fully taking advantage of a night without kids. The story goes that those few drinks helped my mom convince my dad to buy me a certain bear with a yellow tracksuit. Albert the Running Bear quickly became my favorite stuffed animal and friend. Dad has been known to say it is the best $75 he has ever spent.

Albert traveled rather extensively with us, to visit family in Canada and several trips to Florida. There are few childhood pictures of me that don't feature the bear. Albert came along to college where he was the victim of a brief bearnapping (luckily the perpetrator sent me ransom notes via e-mail so I quickly got the bear back). Albert may or may not still sleep with me.

A few years ago, I tried my hand at bidding for an Albert on eBay. I lost several auctions that year. Evidently like new condition Alberts are now a collectors item and some people want them for collections. I wanted a "new" Albert to share with any little guy or girl who would come my way.

With Milo now showing more interest in stuffed animals, I decided to try my luck at eBay again. I found an Albert with a green tracksuit and the original tags on it. I was lucky enough to be the high bidder.

Albert the Running Bear (green) is on his way to our house. At this point, the bear and Milo are about the same size, but when Milo is three years old, I plan on giving him his very own Albert. I can only hope he finds a friend as true as I did.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Other Thing

Other than wondering how Prada is taking the whole living with a baby thing, people most often ask me how cloth diapering is going. Here's the thing: we do cloth diaper, but not all the time. Evenings and weekends are spent in cloth, overnights and days at daycare are spent in disposables.

This arrangement is working out really well for us. I figure some cloth is better than no cloth and each time we have his little butt in a cloth diaper, that is one less disposable diaper in the landfill. There is also some research out there that suggests cloth diapers aren't really better for the environment (because of the water and energy that goes into washing them), so I think striking a balance is a good thing.

Even with the little bit we use the cloth diapers, there is the washing and at this point it really isn't bad at all. First of all, since he's breastfed, even the dirty diapers aren't too dirty. I know this will gross some people out, but we just put the dirty diapers in our laundry machine. We do a pre-soak and an extra rinse and use additive free detergent. From there they go for a quick spin in the dryer (although I do plan on line drying them if we ever get the backyard clothesline back up).

Milo does seem to notice a wet or dirty cloth diaper more than he does a soiled disposable diaper. I'm hoping this works out in our favor by the time potty training comes around. In the meantime, we'll keep using the cloth as much as we can because I like the benefits to them...and he looks adorable in them.

Monday, July 6, 2009

A Special Day

Reading over the baptism rite one more time as a refresher to the class we attended back in April was something I meant to do before the official Baptism day. Unfortunately, that intention got lost in a flurry of washing white clothes, decluttering the house and making food for the party, so when the priest asked me what I wanted for my son, I drew a blank. I was standing there at the baptismal font holding Milo thinking how do I put into words all the things I want for him. I wasn't sure where to begin, but thankfully the priest mouthed the word baptism and it suddenly clicked. Yes, we want baptism for our Milo. For him to know the church community and to live by the Golden Rule. We would like for him to have faith in a higher power and to know the loving comfort of the Lord. And so we had him baptised yesterday.

It was such a special day. Full of family and good friends and love and togetherness. And as one baptism attendee noted it was quite possibly the most important day of his life.