My How They Grow...

Magdalena is moving.  Inch by inch, slowly, scooting across the Living Room floor.   I noticed this yesterday at Alicia's house.  I set a toy out of her reach and about five minutes later she got to it.  Yes, she moves slowly, but the point is that she's moving.  And she rolls completely over all the way across the living room floor, until she bumps into something.  At which point she whines for me to move that something (or her) or she starts in the other way.  And she sits unassisted, did I tell you that?  She has been for a few weeks now.  Oh, and this morning while at Nana's Erich and I watched as she got up on all fours and started rocking back and forth.  I have no doubt that once she gets going, it will only be a short time before she's up on two legs. 

She hasn't had any solid food yet.  I think that people are just plain sick of asking and me telling them no, cause they seemed to have stopped asking.  heh.  :) 

Who took my baby?

This morning I reached in Magdalena's mouth, it's become a morning ritual.  Her other bottom tooth poked through.  :(  Two bottom teeth.  I didn't cry this time, but it's still bittersweet.  She isn't a tiny baby anymore.   She's growing up way to fast! 

PS no crying, no screaming, nothing.  Just a new tooth and a big grin.  How did I get so lucky?

Can't We All Just Get Along?

Since when is breastfeeding like changing a diaper?

What weekend?

I'm tired.  I'm currently the only one awake right now because I'm stripping diapers.  You see, we've been battling a diaper rash for.ever. I couldn't figure out what the hell it was and I tried everything including standing on my head while changing her diapers.  It was driving me mad.  I took her to the doctor at the end of June (actually we saw the NP who I don't care for)  and she gave me Nystatin cream, which didn't work.  I bought OTC clotrimazole and it worked better than the Nystatin, but didn't make it go away completely.  Anyways, she had her 6month checkup this week and he gave me a Nystatin cream with some other miracle drug mixed in and it cleared up completely in 12 hours.  Praise God.  Anyways, I threw a scoop of Oxyclean in one of the loads of diapers, on accident mind you, and now Magdalena has a flaming rash in her crack.  (sorry for the description!)  It's not the same spots as the other places mind you , a completely new place.  And the only thing I can think of is that damn Oxyclean reacted with her pee or poo.  The girl poops more now then she ever did as a newborn which makes me feel good that her body is flourishing, but, well you know the other side.  My mom laughed in my face because I asked her if everyones poop holes were red!  I mean, if you poop a lot wouldn't it get irritated? I should shut up.  Anyways, so I think it may be the oxyclean.  This would be a easily fixed problem since it was only one load, but I've been lazy about bringing up the diapers everyday from the washer, so I threw them all in one big hamper to be brought upstairs, so their all mixed and I don't know which ones had oxyclean.  So they're all going through again.  Feh. 
 
My in laws came over today.  It was nice that FIL could help Erich in the yard.  (Erich is currently working on a driveway project.)  I believe that MIL secretly despises me because Magdalena screams if left alone with her.  heh.  Of course, they arrived exactly in the middle of Magdalenas naptime.  Then they look at me as if I put her to sleep on purpose because they were coming.  Um, no, she sets a schedule for herself and I merely follow it while in the home.  I believe that children need to learn to be flexible, and Magdalena does really well when "off schedule" (she really doesn't have a strict schedule) while out, but at home, I think she deserves the right to have naptime when she wants.  Is it my fault they have such awful timing?
 
Anyways, MIL brought stuff to make dinner.  Corn from the farmers market and pork cutlets to be fried.  I don't care for pork much, unless it's a butterfly chop.  I love those, so tender and juicy.  This pork was dry and tough.  Anyways, I hate when other people cook in my kitchen.  Aside from the 25 million questions they have to ask me about where everything is, I'm picky about the way my pans are treated and the way things are done.  The only people that I ever feel comfy with is my mother and Alicia.  Don't ask me why, they don't bother me really.  Anyways, the sink is full of dishes and the kitchen smells like burnt flour.  Another feh.  I did tell her not to do the dishes though.  I hate not being able to find things after people guess where they go and I'm picky and I couldn't help her because Magdalena wasn't cooperating with that plan.  She had another plan.  :)  So I told her to leave them.   Now my sink is full of dishes, as it has been off and on all week.  It seems as soon as I finish washing dishes, within an hour it's full again.  **sigh**
 
I did steam clean the batheroom carpet upstairs.  Yippee!  :)  (aren't you proud of me Alicia?)  I've only been saying I need to do it for about 2 weeks.  I'm on the last half of the diapers and I'm about to fall over from exhaustion.  The first load that came out stripped felt nice and soft so I'm a bit excited about the whole ordeal.  (not the rash, just the softness) 
 
Maybe it's in the air, but I haven't been sleeping well lately.  I'm having crazy crazy dreams.  Magdalena is nursing a lot at night but I don't think it's because of her.  I don't think I'm cycling through sleep the way I'm supposed to.  I have so much on my mind, yet nothing at all.   Is that odd?
 
I've been dreaming about Magdalena crawling, probably because it is in the very near future.  She's been demanding a ton of my time because she is so stinking frustrated that she isn't moving.  She can roll her way from one end of the living room to the other.  She'll get on her belly then move her knees up under her and start to move her arms then.... flop, she's back face to face with the floor and it pisses. her. off. 
 
Her second tooth is bulging too.  Her bottom left is through (her left) and it's very pretty (and small) except that she wants to chomp on our hands to get the other one through like she did the first, and that little damn tooth is sharp! 
 
I really lucked out.  I've seen fussy babys and babys with colic and babys that are just pissed off at the world and she is not one of them.  She sleeps so well at night and is so happy and healthy.  I sometimes sit and think to myself, how did I end up with such a great baby?  I don't ever think of myself as doing anything right to end up so well off, ya know?  I was told I was going to get paid back for my youth, where is the payback?  Or is it that I just love her so incredibly much that her cries don't seem awful?  They are more like little knives in my heart because I can't figure out what she needs fast enough.  Or someone squeezing my heart when she cries during  a diaper change when all she really wants is to curl up and nurse, though I know that she needs her diaper changed.  I'm so damn lucky.  And sometimes I don't realize it until I walk upstairs and see my husband asleep with his little girl curled up next to him.  And I just want to sit on the bed and cry and thank whoever sent me this wonderful life. 

Netflix

If this is true, Netflix might be more worth it for us.  The turnaround time from here to Indianapolis is usually only about a day or so (depending on when mailed.)  That would rock my socks!

Since when is eating in a restaurant make someone else uncomfortable?

W. Branch restaurant faces new criticism
 
 
Taking the "nurse" out of nursery: Why I think the folks at LAC are a bunch of boobs
 
Edited to add:  If I'm in a restaurant with a nice sitting area in the batheroom that doesn't stink like a landfill, I'm more likely to go in there to nurse for Magdalenas comfort.  She doesn't like covering up with sling and generally likes to look around.  If there are lots of people in the restaurant, it's hard for her to concentrate on eating.  If the restaurant has a batheroom with no sitting room and/or it stinks like a landfill, I'm not going to go in there.  *I* don't even like using public batherooms, so why would I make my daughter eat in there? 

Baby Pics

So the question has been asked over and over and over again, "Who does she look like?"  These people are obviously talking about Magdalena.  I always report something along the lines of, "I think she looks a bit like me with Erich mixed in of course.  And she definitely has her fathers facial expressions." 
 
Well, my mother brought over some pictures of me yesterday, so the verdict is in.  Who do you think she looks like?
 
 

Me at 5.5 months old. 

Magdalena at 5 months 3 weeks old. 

Busy Bee

Sorry, I've been super busy lately.  I had T yesterday and we went to the library for storytime.  I was actually running late, but not to worried about it since I always get there early and everyone else is late.  Well, when I got there, she was waiting on us and some other "regulars" to show since it was a small group.  Heck it's the middle of no where in Indiana, they always have a small crowd.  hahaha.  Anyways, I was able to pick up some books for the girls for the summer reading program and browse some magazines and cookbooks for myself.  Erich has been desperately wanting to see "the Bourne Identity" which he asked the library to order.  They did order it, last year, and it went into circulation.  The problem is that I can NEVER get the damn thing.  It's always checked out!  And you can't reserve DVD's or VHS so that sucks bigtime.  I've also been trying to catch "Cheaper By the Dozen" and "Win A Date with Tad Hamiltion."  (As you can see, I'm not looking for a real movie to make me think!)  We've talked about Netflix, but we can't see spending $22 a month at this moment, but we may try it out in the winter when we can get our money worth.  So where was I?  Oh the library.  Magadalena does really well at the library and everybody drools over my sling and says how gorgeous Magdalena is and how cool the sling is.  Yada yada yada. 
 
She's at this cool age where she can roll around, yet she can't crawl away just yet.  (I say just yet because she is terribly close to crawling and when she rolls on to her belly, you can see her surveying the area.  I can almost hear her little brain saying, " now that would be cool to peak into...")  So I've been taking a blanket and I lay Magdalena down with a quiet toy and get on the computer to search the catalog for my selections of the day.   I try to find a computer that is out of the flow of traffic but where you can see people going about.  Magdalena LOVES this.  She rolls onto her belly and just watches as people check out books and walk in and out of the door.  It's fun.
 
I have both T and Magdalena enrolled in the summer reading program.  They said I could enroll to, but hell, if I'm reading them books when am I going to fit in books?  The books I like to read are longer books and since I read, oh, five or six pages at a time, I'd never get that many books done in eight weeks.  (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to read, it just seems that I can only read in the potty these days since Magdalena demands so much time.  And I generally only go to the potty for an extended period of time once a day! TMI?)  Anyways, with the program they get prizes for every 2 books they read.  They always have these junk toys and books.  You get one prize each time, unless you are a bit behind like us.   I generally get a book for Magdalena and T gets some assorted piece of junk. 
 
I made two loaves of bread yesterday and conquered a mountain of laundry.  Today I made a batch of flour tortillas and a batch of corn tortillas.  I also made spaghetti sauce with pasta and potato soup.  The potato soup left something to be desired.  I had planned to make a batch of PB cookies, but didn't get to it.  I also had planned to mop the floors downstairs and didn't get to that.  So I really MUST do that tomorrow along with the cleaning the carpets upstairs. 
 
We had a Dr. Appt on Tuesday.  Magdalena weighs 14lbs 12ounces and is 24 3/4 inches long.  She is doing wonderfully and is way ahead of the developmental milestone chart according to the Doc.  He gave me a hard time about co-sleeping, but didn't have an answer for me when I asked him how many high schoolers he saw sleeping with their parents still!  :)  He almost jumped out of his chair for joy to hear that she had had no solid food whatsoever.  I'm not sure if we're ready to start just yet either.  Her tongue ejection reflex is getting better, but she still doesn't "mooch."  We'll see.  Of course, my mother is dying to feed her table food. 
 
I have T tomorrow.  Hopefully it won't rain.  She's so funny.  Yesterday I told her that we were going to clean the house and she said "Really!?? Can I help too???"  And if I say, I'm going to wash some diapers she'll say, "yay!  I want to help!" 
 
I gotta go.  The princess is awake.

Baby!

Lauren FINALLY had that baby! :) Welcome Grace Caroline! ( And good luck little girl, you may need it with all those boys!)

Growing Pains

I just took a peek into Magdalenas mouth and her left bottom tooth is poking through. Just a corner, and the rest of the gum is very clear. Her right bottom tooth is bulging through the gum so I'm sure it will be following soon. I'm excited for her, but sad. I'll miss those gummy grins, though I'm sure she'll look just as cute with teeth. Now do I make a not that it broke the gum in the baby book now? Or wait a day or two so I can see the entire tooth. She was really "working" on her butterfly teether yesterday, so I guess she did some good work!

She's also rolling both directions without problems now. I bought the stuff yesterday to do some baby proofing. I'm not a huge babyproofer, because I think if I babyproofed everything she wouldn't learn that it is forbidden. Don't worry, I am babyproofing dangerous stuff. She'll be crawling soon. She sits unassisted for lengthy times now and she leans forward and reaches like she is just going to crawl off. And on her tummy she can pull her knees under her and lift her head up, though when she gets her belly off the ground she collapes. But it's just a matter of time. I'm so sad and happy for her!

Maybe it is time for another baby? Hehe.

You Know You're From Indiana When...

You've never met any celebrities.

Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.

"Vacation" means driving through Brown Countyor going Kings Island.

You've seen all the biggest bands ten years after they were popular.

You measure distance in minutes.

You know several people who have hit a deer.

You have no problem spelling or pronouncing "Terre Haute."

Your school classes were cancelled because of cold.

Your school classes were cancelled because of heat.

You know where all the Yoders live.

You've ridden the school bus for an hour each way.

You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

You think ethanol makes your truck "run a lot better."

You know what's knee-high by the Fourth of July.

Stores don't have bags, they have sacks.

You see people wear bib overalls at funerals.

You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it no matter what time of the year.

You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: "Where's my coat at?" or "Who are you gonna go with?"

All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, or grain.

De-tassling was your first job (that's de-tassling corn for you city folk).

Your idea of a really great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the bun and accompanied only by ketchup and a dill pickle slice.

You say catty-wumpus and kitty-corner.

You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, beer, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows.

When asked how your trip was to any foreign, exotic place, you say, "It was different."

You consider being called a "Pork Queen" an honor.

You carry jumper cables in your car.

You know what "cow tipping" is.

Okay, this is really sad. I was actually in the "Miss Pork Cuisine" pageant in the local fair. And I can remember when there was a "Mr. Pork Loin" contest, but it was cancelled one year when a 300lb guy came out in a g-string and offended the "elders."

Straight from the Tap

Okay, so if you read my blog, you most likely know that I breastfeed. I enjoy breastfeeding. It helps my family in many ways. We don't dish out tons of cash for formula, in turn Erich and I get to enjoy eating as well. My baby is very very happy, ahead of the milestone timeline, and I sleep well at night (beside her!) knowing that she is getting the *best* nutrition possible. I don't think formula feeding is a great option. I really don't think it is an option at all for our family. Anyways, back to my point...

I was reading some online forums and came across an entry about extended breastfeeding and dr. phil. These women were raving about how "gross" and disgusting it was for "a 7 year old american girl" to be breastfeeding. They were talking about how formula was a "decent replacement." First off, why would it be okay for a chinese little girl to nurse at age 7 or a nigerian baby boy to nurse at age 9, but not an american girl to nurse at age 7? Aren't all three gaining the same thing from it? What makes the american girl any different?

Secondly, since when is formula "a decent replacement?" When have they ever said that formula is just as good as breastmilk? If you believe that, I'm sorry, but you are WRONG. It isn't as good, and if you have the option to breastfeed then why the hell don't you? IF you physically CAN'T, I'll pardon you right now. But if you choose not to breastfeed "because you don't want to" or because "it was to hard" I'm not very happy with you. I bled, I cried, M cried, we all cried while learning to breastfeed. I had bruises, I cried in pain, but we learned. How is it I stuck with it and you didn't? And I hate when people say, "she had a hard labor, so she thought it best to bottlefeed." What the hell? I do remember my 22 hours of undrugged labor topped off with a csection at hour 26. I STILL breastfeed. Why are people patting the backs of others to make them feel better for breastfeeding. I don't often hear people saying, "gee Suzanne, that's great that you stuck with it and pulled through" (some really great friends have said that though) or " gee Suzanne, I'm sure Magdalena demands a ton of your time and it's really great that she is still breastfeeding at 6 months" or "I know it's rough but I did it and you can too! Even when you feel like you don't ever want to be touched again, it really is worth it." So to demonstrate how awesome I think you breastfeeding moms are I give you PROPS!

"YOU ROCK! YOU BREASTFEED YOUR BABIES AND RECEIVE LITTLE TO NO RECOGNITION BUT I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT I ADMIRE YOU! YOU ARE SO SPECIAL BECAUSE YOU BREASTFEED, YOU CHOSE TO OVERCOME YOUR ISSUES AND YOUR CHILD WILL BE THE LIGHT IN YOUR EYES. AND I'M SURE HE/SHE WILL THANK YOU WHEN THEY GRADUATE FROM HARVARD MED SCHOOL!"

I won't say to your face that I'm sorry that you bottlefeed. And I won't pat you on the back and say "it's okay" because I don't really think it is.

I apologize in advance for feelings I may have hurt by writing this. This is my space on the web though and I felt compelled to spit my guts out.

And it begins. I left her ten more minutes and this is how I found her. She opened that door herself! And now I think she is stuck! :) 

I'm really not sure how she does this, but when I laid her on the floor her head was on the green pillow of the butterfly. She can turn in a full circle if I giver her long enough. She is also rolling both ways to get to things she wants. And she is scooting along the floor on her back! :) One of these days, she is just going to take off... 

Mikes Blog

If you are at all curious, Michael Moore has started blogging.

That would be Erichs finger you see in the side of the picture. I'm too lazy to crop it out. :) 

The Ups and Downs

I'm feeling a bit better. Not 100% okay, but bearable. Part of it all may be hormones, as Mother Nature (that bitch) decided to come back after about 15 months (ya know, 10 months gestating, 5 months breastfeeding). I'm still exclusively breastfeeding, but am one of the lucky few who find themselves fertile again. Guess my body thinks it's time for another one! :) Maybe I should talk with Erich...

Let me say that you, my few readers, and every single person on my blogroll ROCK my world. I consider you all friends and care about each and every one of you. If I had a secret stash of never ending cash, I would be touring the country right now to meet each and every one of you. I hope Magdalena will someday find a network of friends like I have. To name just a two (not excluding any of you), but Jennifer dropped me a line saying she sent me a birthday gift. She is the coolest most thoughtful person I have never met. If all people were 10% of the person she is, we'd be very lucky. And Rachel. I have the privilege of having short conversations here and there on the phone or online with her. She is a super cool Mom and person, and I always walk away from the conversation feeling like I was talking to the coolest kid in school. It's a great feeling.

Have I mentioned that I miss reading AndreaQ?

That's all for now. I went to a friends house today and she helped make me a sling to take in the pool. (It's a beautiful sling, but not quite as special as my Maya so I needed one to "ruin") We also made some diapers for her son, and I took pride in feeling like the crunchy mama I am. I look at Magdalena and feel like I am doing *something* right and that's a super good feeling. I don't feel that way often, and I hope others feel the same way too. I'm going swimming with Alicia tomorrow. Yay. Water. I love water. Magdalena loves the bathtub. Here's hoping she likes the pool too.

PS

On Friday, Magdalena figured out how to roll her way across the living room floor. It takes her a while to get there, but with determination, she gets there. And for the love of Pete, I feel the teeth, pop through already, those teeth are driving me batty.