I had my appointment yesterday and had the blood drawn for the Lenetix test. I should hear back about that some time next week.
I still haven't had an MCA scan, I'm 22 weeks. They did the anatomy ultrasound and the tech doing it said that they usually do not start the MCA scans that early. I told her that everyone I'd heard of started at 18 weeks... so I don't know what's going on there. She said the baby looks perfect (it's a boy!) and has no signs of hydrops, which made me feel better. I even asked her why should couldn't just go ahead and do the MCA scan, since she had already told me that they do them in that room, but she never gave me a straight answer.
I'm praying so hard that the baby has negative blood! I don't know if I can stand going to that clinic for the entire pregnancy!
I was also told by a nurse that my titers were NOT checked at my last visit, which is so upsetting because I called and they told me that the number was 1:16, which is the same number it has been all along. I feel like I was given a false sense of relief because I thought the number was simply staying the same. So I guess my titers have not been checked for 2 months. They said they would check them yesterday, I hope they did. They also scheduled my next visit for 4 weeks again. I decided not to say anything, just in case the baby's blood turns out to be negative. If it's positive, I will be calling and insisting on a sooner appointment.
Do you think that I'm overboard and just a big complainer? Or does it seem like things aren't being handled very well in my situation?
Well, I thought I would have a hard time night-weaning. However, it just seemed to happen all by itself. At about 8/9 months we moved Haven into her own room and she started sleeping through the night. Over this past month, she started day weaning herself. I still offer at night and in the morning and I still have some milk, but I am more worried about weaning too early now, instead of not being able to wean whenever I want to. Now I don't even know when I want to wean. I just feel better knowing that she is getting to nurse. I know that it is good for her and it's easy for me.
Homeschooling in Germany is illegal with rare exceptions. The requirement to attend school has been upheld, on challenge from parents, by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. Parents violating the law have most prominently included fundamentalist Christians who want to give their children a more Christian education than that which is offered by the schools. Penalties against these parents have included fines (around €5,000), successful legal actions to take away the parents' custody of their children, and jail time for the parents.[1]
In a landmark legal case commenced in 2003 at the European Court of Human Rights a homeschooling parent couple argued on behalf of their children that Germany's compulsory school attendance endangered their children's religious upbringing, promoted teaching inconsistent with their Christian faith – especially the German State's mandates relating to sex education in the schools – and contravened the declaration in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union that "the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure education and teaching is in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions". In September 2006 the European Court of Human Rights upheld the German ban on homeschooling, stating "parents may not refuse... [compulsory schooling] on the basis of their convictions", and adding that the right to education "calls for regulation by the State". The European Court took the position that the plaintiffs were the children, not their parents, and declared "children are unable to foresee the consequences of their parents' decision for home education because of their young age.... Schools represent society, and it is in the children's interest to become part of that society. The parents' right to educate does not go as far as to deprive their children of that experience." The European Court endorsed a "carefully reasoned" decision of the German court concerning "the general interest of society to avoid the emergence of parallel societies based on separate philosophical convictions and the importance of integrating minorities into society."[2]
I have decided to become a minimalist. To me, this means:
I only keep what I need, no duplicates
I keep floors and surfaces clear of clutter and dishes
I do not buy anything that is not necessary
I have already started with my kitchen cabinets. I am going to toss a bunch of kitchen knives that I never use. That is about as far as I've gotten. I don't have a whole ton of junk because I already was somewhat a minimalist, but I'm just wanting to crack down on it a little more. Having 4 closets full of junk is not my cup of tea. It bothers me just knowing that stuff is there... just sitting there... doing nothing but taking up space.
Why do I keep junk?
I think I might need it someday
Someone gave it to me
I've had it for a long time
That's about it.
I might need it someday This is a BIG one. What if I need those 10 little candle holders someday. If I throw away the ones I have, I might have to buy more and that is a waste of money. I CANNOT waste money! Yes, I really do have a bunch of little candle holders under my kitchen sink that I cannot bring myself to get rid of... I also have clothes I haven't worn in over a year that I cannot get rid of because I might want to wear them someday. I have to find a way to realize that I will NOT use these things in the future. They are just taking up valuable space in my home. Cluttering up my style! Crowding and wrinkling the things I do love to wear.
Someone gave it to me Oh the gifts! How can I get rid of something someone GAVE to ME??? Someone cared about me enough to give me something. How could I just get rid of it? But, if someone really loves me, they will be happy with whatever I want to do with the gift, right? They wouldn't want me to keep it if I don't want it, would they? Plus, they are probably never going to find out anyway. I am still clinging to many useless things, just because they were given to me.
I've had it for a long time This one gets me a lot. What about all those birthday cards I have kept (or my mother kept for me) since I was born? I need to keep those forever, right? What about the comics that I kept from 1996? How can I throw those away now? What about the t-shirt I got when I was 12? It still fits. For some reason I believe that the longer I've had something, the more valuable it is to me, making it much harder to get rid of. Many of these things are also gifts -making them even harder to part with. Yes, there are things that are old and are gifts that I would NEVER get rid of. For example, the quilts my grandma gave to me. I LOVE the quilts! I cherish them AND I use them. I guess I'm not a "keep collectibles pristine in a box" kind of person. If I can't get it out of the box, it's of no use to me. I've tried collecting things before and it's never worked out for me. I collect boxes. Boxes are very useful to me. I can keep all my junk in them!!!
Hello Everyone, I'm back and I have big news -I'm pregnant! Exciting :)
Lately I've been wondering how I will handle breastfeeding both of my children if Haven doesn't wean before the baby is born. I think tandem nursing is great, but I'm a little worried about night-time tandem nursing. That doesn't sound like something I want to try... This is my plan in the works:
Breastfeed Haven on demand until she is 1 year old.
At 1 year, start night-weaning Haven. Here is my night-weaning plan (We'll see if this works): STEP ONE: Nurse Haven to sleep, but when she wakes up to nurse during the night, only nurse her for a few minutes and them have her go to sleep without being nursed to sleep. This will probably be hard, since she likes to nurse to sleep. STEP TWO: Nurse Haven to sleep, but when she wakes up to nurse during the night, do not nurse her, just comfort her back to sleep. She's probably not going to like this very much.... STEP THREE: When Haven stops waking up during the night to nurse (I'm guessing this will happen when she realizes that she is not going to get to nurse) we can move her crib into the other room.
This is my plan, we shall see what actually happens.
Another thing I'm planning on doing before the baby is born is teaching Haven to sit or stand next to me without running off. Well, so far she can't even walk, but I guess she could definitely crawl away, lol. The reason for this is, when I have the new baby, I don't want to be chasing her around when we are in public and in church while carrying around a newborn. Just trying to plan ahead a little. You mom's out there with more than 1 child probably think I'm insane, lol. Again, we shall see what ACTUALLY happens, lol.
I bought the Yobaby yogurt for Haven (Heath wasn't with me when I went shopping, lol). I got the 6 pack with vanilla and banana flavors. I mixed the banana with rice cereal and she liked it pretty well. It took three meals to use the whole 4 oz. Tonight, I decided to just feed her the vanilla without mixing it with the cereal. She LOVED it! I decided to taste it to see what the big deal was -it tasted like icing! LOL! She ate almost the whole 4 oz. I finished off the rest. It was delicious. The nutrition facts says it has 13 g of sugar including natural milk sugar. Seems like a lot for a baby. I will probably mix it with cereal from now on.
Someone forwarded this to my mailbox. I usually don't read forwards but the title got me curious. Some of this stuff is SO TRUE!
THINGS I LEARNED FROM BEING RAISED IN ARKANSAS
Armadillos sleep in the middle of the road with their feet in the air.
There are 5,000 types of snakes on earth and 4,998 live in Arkansas
There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 live in Arkansas , plus a couple no one's seen before.
If it grows, it sticks; if it crawls, it bites. (and if it's flying and biting you -it's a mosquito!)
'Twiced' is a word.
People actually grow and eat okra (I LOVE FRIED OKRA!)
'Fixinto' is one word. (I say this at least once a day)
There is no such thing as 'lunch.' There is only dinner and then supper. (It can be confusing if someone invites you over for "dinner"... so should I come at noon or at 7:00 pm?)
Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar! (I wish I had some sweet tea right now!)
'Backwards and forwards' means I know everything about you!
Djeet is actually a phrase meaning 'Did you eat?'
You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH them. (Older people say this, lol)
You measure distance in hours. Like its 3 hours from Little Rock to Fort Smith . (I never know how many "miles" it is to somewhere)
You'll probably have to switch from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day.
You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked. (We never locked our doors growing up -house or cars. My parents still don't.)
Yes, a Friday night high school football games is serious football!
You carry jumper cables in your car . . . for your OWN car. (Doesn't everybody?)
There are only four spices: salt, pepper, Tabasco and ketchup. (Minus the Tabasco, add Louisiana hot sauce)
The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and sports.
100 degrees Fahrenheit is 'a little warm.' (actually, complaining about the weather is a favorite pastime. "It's not the heat, it's the humidity!")
We have four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, still Summer and Christmas. (Where I grew up, we were lucky to get one snow a year!)
Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as 'goin' to Wally-World.' (We went at least 3 times a week.)
A cool snap (below 70 degrees) is good pinto-bean weather. (I have no idea what this means...)
A carbonated soft drink isn't a soda, cola or pop, it's a Coke, regardless of brand or flavor. Example: 'What kind a coke you want?' (This is 100% true)
Fried catfish is the other white meat.
We don't need no stinking driver's Ed. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive. (I got my permit when I was 14, lol)
If you understand these jokes please forward them to your friends from Arkansas (and those who just wish they were).
EVERYONE can't be from Arkansas . You might say it's a gift from God!
And the most important thing we learn growing up in ARKANSAS is... IN GOD WE TRUST
I Love Arkansas and would never want to move anywhere else. But if I had to choose, I would pick... Texas :)
1. Wash the dishes * 2. Fold and put up laundry * 3. Clean both bathrooms * 4. Give Haven a bath * 5. Take a shower 6. Change the sheets in the guest bed 7. Make Heath some lunch 8. Make the beds * 9. Get the fan ready to put up in the guest bedroom 10. Mow the yard .5*
And do I actually have enough time to do all this stuff?
1. Wash the dishes 1 hour (there are a lot!) 2. Fold and put up laundry 30 mins (a lot of this too!) 3. Clean both bathrooms 40 mins 4. Give Haven a bath 15 mins 5. Take a shower 15 mins 6. Change the sheets in the guest bed 10 mins 7. Make Heath some lunch 20 mins 8. Make the beds 5 mins 9. Get the fan ready to put up in the guest bedroom30 mins 10. Mow the yard 45 mins TOTAL 4 hours and 30 mins!
That is exactly how long I have. I guess I will start with the dishes. Boo.
Wow, I never thought I'd really be thinking seriously about something like this! I remember hearing about Snowflakes on Christian radio 5 or 6 years ago. Of course, I probably hadn't even met my husband yet so I really didn't think about it at all. In fact, yesterday was the first time it came back into my mind. I was talking to my oldest sister on the phone and she suggested that I might adopt an embryo with a negative blood type.
For those of you that don't know, I have Rh disease, which means that if I carry a baby with a positive blood type, antibodies in my blood may attack the baby's blood. My body created the antibodies during the 3rd trimester of my first (and only) baby. I had refused the Rhogam shot at 28 weeks and had planed to get it after the baby was born. If you have negative blood, get the shot at 28 weeks, the alternative is very difficult if you get antibodies like I did.
Right now we do not know if my husband has positive/positive blood or positive/negative blood. If the former is the case, we will never have a child with negative blood. If the latter is the case, we have 50% chance that each of our children will have negative blood.
As for now we have decided to try to have another child -praying for a good outcome! I still fear the worst, although I know I should give it to God. He is the one who opens and closes the womb. He is the one who knew I would have antibodies. He is the one who kept Haven safe from them while she was inside me.
I keep going back the the option of adoption. I've always wanted to adopt, since I was a teenager. I never imagined I might HAVE to adopt to have more children. I wanted to choose adoption just because I wanted to adopt.
From what I've learned about embryo adoption, I think it's amazing. You get to carry the child, give birth to the child, breastfeed the child... I was just curious if they would even let me into the program since I do have Rh disease and the embryo MUST have negative blood. So I sent them this question:
Hi, I have a D antibody that could cause harm to any child I carry that has a positive blood type. However, if I carry a child with a negative blood type, it will be a normal pregnancy. I was wondering if you work with women like me who would like to adopt an embryo with a negative blood type. (If both the parents have a negative blood type, the child will certainly have a negative blood type.) My husband and I are going to try to have another child on our own (we have one child already), but if the outcome is bad, we are thinking about adoption. A friend of mine just pointed out that I could possibly adopt an embryo with a negative blood type and I would be able to carry it myself and breastfeed it and have all those wonderful new baby experiences. Please let me know if you think this is even possible. Thank You, Summer
This is the response I received:
Hi Summer, Thank you for contacting us. From the information that you have provided us, I see no reason why you would not be an eligible candidate for our Snowflakes Program. Our only requirement would be that your doctor provides a letter stating that you have no contraindications to pregnancy. I have attached our information packet for you to review if you would like. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. We wish you the best on your next pregnancy and hope that everything goes smoothly. In the future, if you do decide you are ready to adopt, we would be pleased to work with you. Warmly, Sierra
I am really excited to have this option and I plan on learning as much about it as I can. These embryos are frozen in time, waiting for life. Their parents have decided not to have more children. I think it's an amazing program. What do you think?
¾ pound ground beef, lean
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
10 3/4 ounces cream of mushroom soup, condensed
3/4 cup sour cream, or yogurt
In medium skillet, brown ground beef and onion; drain excess fat. Stir in garlic salt, pepper, soup and mushrooms. Simmer covered, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in sour cream; heat through, but do not boil. Serve over rice, noodles or chow mein noodles.
Serving Size: 4
CREAMY - CHEESY CORN
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. milk
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (16 oz.) can whole kernel shoepeg corn, drained
Mix all ingredients, except corn; cook over low heat until cheese melts, stirring often. Add corn and heat thoroughly.
(This meal was a big hit last night.DH LOVED the corn.Haven ate a lot of the stroganoff)
MEAL 2
EASY CHICKEN FAJITAS
boneless chicken breast
1 1/2 c. water or chicken broth
1 pkg. taco seasoning
2 chopped bell peppers (red, green, or yellow)
Cut chicken breast into strips. Simmer strips in water or broth until just about done.Place in skillet along with 1 cup cooking water or broth, taco seasoning, and chopped bell peppers.Simmer until chicken is done and sauce becomes thick. Add remaining water or broth (1/2 c.) and simmer 10 minutes. Ready to eat! Recommended Toppings: Lettuce, Tomato, Refried Beans, Sour Cream, Taco
MEAL 3
SHEPHERDS PIE (POOR MANS PIE)
¾ lb. ground beef
1 can peas
1 can sweet corn
1 medium onion, diced
1/3 c. sugar
8 medium potatoes
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Boil potatoes, mash and season to taste with milk and butter. Brown ground beef and onion with salt and pepper. When cooked, add peas, corn, sugar. Let simmer until heated through. In 13x9 pan place meat and vegetable mixture in bottom of pan. Cover with mashed potatoes and sprinkle cheese on top. Place in oven on BROIL until cheese is bubbly or light brown.
MEAL 4
SAUCY MEATBALL SUPPER
¾ lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. onion, chopped
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
1 c. (2 slices) soft bread crumbs
2 tbsp. snipped parsley
1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
Mix all ingredients well. Shape into 1 inch balls. In large skillet, brown meatballs in a little shortening on all sides. Drain off excess fat. Combine one (11 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 cup dry white wine. Add to meat in skillet. Cook, covered, over low heat 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over cooked spaghetti, noodles or rice. Serves 6.
MEAL 5
CHICKEN MEXICALI
1 chicken, boil 7 deboned
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies
Doritos
Grated cheese
Mix all the above ingredients in 9"x12" pan and pour over corn Doritos and top with grated cheese. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
MEAL 6
PORCUPINE MEATBALLS
3/4 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. uncooked rice
1/4 onion, chopped fine
1/2 slice white bread
1 can tomato soup
Salt & seasoning salt, to taste
Take 1/2 slice white bread, add 1/2 cup cold water and mix. Add to meat, seasoning, onion and rice. Form into meatballs and place into ungreased, covered electric fry pan or heavy fry pan.Cover with 1 can tomato soup and 1 can of water which have been mixed together.Place cover on skillet or fry pan. Cook on medium heat (just so tomato juice lightly boils) until rice pops out like a porcupine. Can also be placed in heavy pan in 350 degree oven (covered) until rice pops out.
MEAL 7
SUMMER’S POTATO SOUP
5 - 8 potatoes
Half a stick of butter
¼ cup of milk
¼ stick of Velveeta
Skin and boil the potatoes.Drain.Add butter, milk, and Velveeta.Allow Velveeta to melt.
SHOPPING LIST
MEAT
1 bag chicken breasts
3 lbs ground beef
CANS
1 Cream of chicken soup
2 cream of mushroom soup
1 cheddar cheese soup
1 rotel
1 peas
1 sweet corn
1 refried beans
1 tomato soup
1 shoepeg corn
VEGETABLES
Bag of onions
3 bell peppers
1 bag potatoes
SEASONING
Chili powder
Parsley
Oregano
Taco seasoning
DAIRY
Milk
Grated cheese
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
Sour cream
3 oz cream cheese
Butter
OTHER
Rice
Eggs
Bread
Doritos
Sugar
Velveeta
COST ABOUT $48.00
(My total cost was $48.82.However, I also bought 2 muffin mixes, 1 can of salsa, and 1 can of chili.I did not buy tomato soup, Velveeta, butter, parsley or oregano.)
I love ECing, but I didn't know this is what I was going to be doing before I had my little one. That's why I bought 15 BumGenius One Size Pocket diapers (which are amazing). However, they aren't perfect for ECing. Taking the diaper on and off can be a hassle. I've been doing a lot of diaper-free, but my husband isn't a big fan of nakey-bum. I just wish I had one of those EcaWare flip-down, drop-front little learning pants!
But alas, they cost $18. You know my husband wouldn't hear of buying more diapers when I already have 15 perfectly fine ones.
I also needed a diaper that wasn't so water-proof, so I could tell when Haven had wet and change her quickly. So... I MADE MY OWN EC DIAPER OUT OF AN OLD T-SHIRT!
First I laid one of my diapers on the T-shirt
Next, I pulled the elastic tight. After that, I marked around the diaper, an inch or two away from the edge. If your little one is on the floor, she will want to help. Then I cut it out. This was the hardest part because my scissors STINK! Next, I laid my little one on the diaper and tied the back flap around her middle. Since I cut it so that the back flap was still a loop, I just pulled one side of the loop through the other side and tied it like that. Then, I just tucked in the front flap. Now I can simply pull out the front flap whenever she needs to potty and stuff it back in when she is done! Misses will be easily seen or felt. The diaper is also easy to take completely off because the t-shirt stretches enough to pull it off without untying it.
Here she is on the go. She wasn't happy about being my model...
Here she is wearing the other pair I made before. They were a bit too small because I didn't stretch out the elastic before I traced the diaper. When I make another, I will probably make it even longer, just too make tucking it in easier.
Now, if you have a sewing machine and you are a great seamstress, you probably will not care for this diaper. I, however, have no sewing machine or any sewing abilities. In fact, my sister is hesitant to allow me to even use her machine for fear I might break it! If you have a fear of breaking sewing machines -this could be the do-it-yourself EC diaper for you. Happy ECing!
comment and you could win 3 BumGenius 3.0s and baby leg warmers!
Here's Havey in her blue BG Here she is in her pink ones!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
BBC believes most people have read less than 6 books in this list. How many have you read? The ones I have read are in red font. My total: 18 (A lot of these, I read the short version of when I was younger, I didn't count those... that would have given me 5 more.)
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Total: 3
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier 16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faul 18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger 19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger 20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
Total: 2
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens 24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh 27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carrol 30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Total: 1
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis 34 Emma-Jane Austen 35 Persuasion - Jane Austen 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres 39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden 40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
Total: 2
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell 42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez 44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving 45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins 46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery 47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy 48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding 50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
Total: 2
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel 52 Dune - Frank Herbert 53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons 54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen 55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth 56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon 57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens 58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Total: 0
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck 62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov 63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac 67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding 69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie 70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Total: 1
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens 72 Dracula - Bram Stoker 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson 75 Ulysses - James Joyce 76 The Inferno – Dante 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 78 Germinal - Emile Zola 79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
Total: 2
80 Possession - AS Byatt 81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell 83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro 85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert 86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry 87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
Total: 3
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad 92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams 95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole 96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute 97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
I just put the diapers in the wash and there were 25 used diapers. That means over the past 6 days, Haven has used an average of 4 diapers a day. That's about half of what she used to wear. plus I used to have to wash diapers every other day. This is great!
We had 3 misses within an hour (or maybe a half hour) while I was washing the dishes. Discouraging, but it was bound to happen. They were easily wiped up off our laminate floor. Actually, it was way easier than changing a diaper...
Haven was giving me vocal signs with 2 of the 3 misses. I took her to the potty, but she was arching and whining. I must be more persistent in the future.
Today, Haven has not had an accident (it's 12:47 pm). She has used the potty 6 times already today!
This morning I had an "aha moment." I've been reading http://www.tribalbaby.org/ and she is so inspiring! She talks a lot about "part-time diaper free." I have been very skeptical of diaper free. The first time I ever heard of diaper free was about 5 or 10 years ago when I saw a special about it on the news. My reaction was "That is so gross! I would never let my baby pee all over everything like that!" Of course, I didn't have a baby, or even a husband, at the time.
Starting Infant Potty Training was not planned at all for me. Haven was about 4 and a half months old when I was about to put her in the bathtub. On the way, she pooped on the floor -right next to the potty! I thought, "She could have pooped in the potty..." And that's how it started. You can imagine my shock when, after only setting her on the potty about 3 or 4 times, she actually peed in the potty! I was hooked!
However, I did not want to try diaper free. I was so scared of my baby peeing all over everything! For 3 months I just took off her cloth diaper to potty her and put it back on when she was done. This became an annoying task, especially when she would refuse to go. Then there was the problem of misses. I wanted to change the misses as soon as possible so that she wouldn't get used to being wet. I was getting sick of diaper on-diaper off-diaper on-diaper off!
Suddenly, I thought, "Hey, she could go diaper free while I wash dishes or cook. She would be in the kitchen and any misses could be quickly wiped away. Taking her potty would be a cinch, since there would be no diaper to mess with." So I tried it this morning and I couldn't have asked for better results. Thank you, part-time diaper free!
I just got done putting the diapers in the wash and we've had 27 misses in 3 days. That's an average of 9 misses a day. Most websites say that a 6 month old wets 6-8 times a day. She's obviously wetting more than that. The website that had the highest number of wets for a baby said 12-15 times per day. If Haven is wetting 15 times per day (which is very likely), then we are catching about 6 wets per day. That's not half, but that's pretty good. I guess I should start counting the catches. I'm good at counting the poopy catches. We've had 2 today. Those are the ones that matter the most anyway.
In the middle of the night last night I put Haven in the bed with me to nurse. She nursed for a while then she started patting me with her hand. I read yesterday that that could be a sign that she needs to potty. I took her potty, but she had already used her diaper. I took her and laid her in her crib and said, "Go night, night." I only had to lay her head down once at first (my memory of this is hazy). I had to stop her kicking several times, then she tried raising her head a few more times. Finally I was satisfied she wasn't going to try to move anymore. The light was out so I could see if her eyes were closed. I don't know what time it was because I didn't have my glasses on. I laid down in my bed (which is right next to her crib) and waited to see what she would do. I couldn't go to sleep. She was tossing and turning a bit. Finally, after about 5 minutes, I bent over her crib to see what she was doing -she was looking right at me, lol! So, I picked her up and put her in bed with me... I couldn't resist.
I would call it a success because she didn't get up or cry, even though she was still awake.
It was 4:23 pm when I laid her down for a nap, she was obviously very sleepy. She only tried to raise her head about 5 times. However, she started kicking her legs. I knew this was going to keep her from going to sleep, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it. First I thought, maybe she needs to potty. Kicking can be a sign that the baby needs to go. So set her on the potty, but she did not go. I took her back to bed and started over. The kicking started up again. I decided to treat it just like her raising her head. Everytime she kicked, I stopped her legs from kicking and said, "NO, no. Go night, night." It was just as hard for her to give up the kicking as it had been hard for her to stop raising her head the first time I trained her. She didn't give the kicking until 4:45. She was asleep by 4:47. I stayed by her crib until 4:50 just to make sure she was really asleep. If you subtract 5 minutes for the potty break, this session took about 17 minutes. That stinks.
Haven was very sleepy so I took her to her crib at 1:19 pm. I said "Go night, night" and gently pushed her head down and said, "No, no. Go night, night" every time she lifted it up. Haven stopped trying to raise her head in 2 minutes and was asleep 1 minute later!
This is 1000000 times better than the crying it out method! I like it because I am right there with my baby, comforting her by little pats on the back and laying my hand lightly on her noggin. I'm letting her know that I want her to go to sleep, instead of being far away in another room hoping that she will finally get the idea, stop crying and go to sleep. I have to admit, I have tried crying it out 2 times before and it broke my heart to hear her crying. It sounded like a cry of "mommy, why did you leave me all alone? I need you!" The crying (mostly just whining) she does with this new method is more like "mommy, I don't want to lay my head down and go to sleep. Let me get up and play!" That's a cry that I can deal with.
Another 8 minute success at 1:15 pm today! Boy, do those 8 minutes seem like an eternity! I'm thinking, "She's never going to give up!" But she does and sooner than I expect.
I've been reading what people think about traditional discipline online and it's quite sickening. Some parents say, "I never make demands of my children, I simply ask them to do something and if they say 'Do I have to?' I say 'no.'" THAT IS INSANE! Imagine this scenario:
Child is standing in the street when parent sees the child is in danger. PARENT: Johnny will you please get out of the road? CHILD: Do I have to? PARENT: No, but what if a car comes and you get hit? CHILD: I don't see any cars. PARENT: If a car comes you will get hit by it. Do you want to get hit by a car? The child thinks for a minute. The child is too immature to understand the consequences of being hit by a car. CHILD: Yes. Parent sees a car approaching. PARENT: You have to get out of the road, there is a car coming! CHILD: NO! I don't want to! Parent grabs child. Child becomes limp and begins throwing a fit. Parent drags screaming child out of the road just in time.
How could that parent FORCE their child to do something?!?!? How cruel to break that little spirit!! How cruelly authoritarian of that overly traditional parent!!
You get my point.
I think I may know the cause of all this. 1. People want to do what they want to do. 2. People know that God made laws for them to obey. 3. People decided that God's laws do not matter. 4. People decided they are better off without God's laws. 5. People decided that obedience to laws (commands) is a weakness. 6. People do not want to make their children weak by forcing obedience onto their children. RESULT 1. People suffer because they break God's laws (example: the adulterer losses his family's trust, the fornicator losses his purity and gets sexual diseases) 2. Children suffer (become spoiled brats) because their parents refuse to make them obey. 3. Parents finally must force obedience in desperate situations.
She mentions the child arching his back to indicate that he does not need to use the potty. However, in my experience, Haven arches her back because she would rather do something besides use the potty. For example, just a few minutes ago she woke up from her nap so I took her to the potty. She immediately pooped a little and I praised her. Then she started arching her back. I said, "No, no" and put her back. Then she pooped some more. So when it comes to Haven, arching her back does not mean she doesn't need to potty.
Heath and I are now proud parents to almost 7 month old Haven Norah. She has been the best baby I could have hoped for. Such a sweetie. Most of my days are consumed with feeding her, diapering her, training her, and loving her. I can't imagine my life without her. Getting her here was quite a journey, which I'm sure you'll hear about later.
As a parent, I am determined to have well-behaved, obedient children. I don't think that is too much to ask. I think, if I expect unruly children, that is what I will get! I am aiming much higher.
I mentioned "training" Haven and that may sound strange to most. How do you train a 7 month old baby? Well, I'm still working it out myself, but I will share what I have learned:
According to the Bible, a child must be trained. I have been quite worried about this in the past because, I had no idea how to "train up a child in the way he should go." I was sure to fail with no plan. I mean, I did have a plan kind of.... I knew that I would spank my kids if they disobeyed me. But that didn't give me peace. There must be more to know. I finally found a website
( http://www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com/ ) written by the mother of 10 children that explains how to train children. It was such a revelation and relief to find!
She starts with the very basics - from day 1. This is just my paraphrasing:
0-about 6 months: Love, hold, cuddle, comfort your baby. No need to train, just make them feel secure and loved. Plus, you are still recovering from delivery and probably have no time to think about training.
About 6 - 12 months: Start teaching your baby the meaning of the word "no." It is time to start teaching your baby that you are the authority that must be obeyed. It is kinder to teach them now, rather than wait until they are older and more independent and resistant. This isn't full-time training, just a time to basically teach that when you say "no" they will not get their own way. In my opinion, there should be no painful spanking in this stage. Ultimately, according to the author, if you begin training early and consistently without painful spanking, you will rarely have to spank in the future.
This is about how all I have committed to memory, since Haven is still 7 months old. Let me share what I have done so far.
July28, 2009
11:15 am Haven was sleepy so I put her lying on her stomach in her crib. She lifted her head and I gently pushed it back down and said "No, no. Go night, night." After about 5 repeats of this, she started whining. after about 5 more repeats, she started crying. After about 10 more repeats she started sucking her thumb. After that, she only lifted her head about 5 more times before going to sleep. This whole process took about 15 minutes (although it SEEMED much longer to me!). I was so amazed and excited! Can you imagine? Your child is only 7 months old and you've already won your first battle of wills in just 15 minutes? (By the way, I do not HOLD the baby's head down. I want her to choose to keep it down on her own.)
11:30 pm Haven was sleepy so I laid her on her stomach in her crib. She lifted her head and I gently pushed it back down and said "No, no. Go night, night." There was barely a whimper of protest this time. She continued to try to raise her head for about 5 to 8 minutes before falling asleep. Another success!
July 29, 2009
11:30 am Haven was kind of fussy and I thought she might be sleepy so I laid her on her stomach in her crib. She lifted her head and I gently pushed it back down and said "No, no. Go night, night." She begin to fuss and continued to lift her head for about 5 minutes. Then she became calmer and I thought she was about to doze off. However, she suddenly begin crying more loudly than before and lifting her head more often. (I believe in psychology this is called spontaneous recovery.) This continued for about 15 more minutes, when I had to go finish Heath's Lunch. I was pretty upset that I had to stop the training before she went to sleep, since consistency is the key here. But I did wait until there was a pause in her crying before picking her up and putting her on the living room floor.
1:00 pm Haven was tired and sleepy so I laid her on her stomach in her crib. She lifted her head and I gently pushed it back down and said "No, no. Go night, night." She resisted MUCH less than before and was asleep in about 8 minutes. Progress!
The only other area that I am currently training Haven in is associated to her IPT (infant potty training). I have been noticing for a few weeks that she has become resistant to being held over the potty and arches her back a lot. Since learning more about child training I have started saying "No" and putting her back over the potty whenever she arches her back.
She's been really good about using the potty. She usually uses it about... 4 to 10 times a day. I NEVER get upset if she uses her diaper (maybe a bit discouraged, if she does it all day long), becuase I don't expect her to know how to hold it yet. I just praise her everytime she uses the potty instead of her diaper. People seem shocked when they find out I take her to the potty, but why not? I believe that children can learn things very early and I don't plan to wait around and let her "learn" that the diaper is the only place to go potty. In the same way, I don't want her to "learn" that she can do whatever she wants all the time and no one will ever make her do anything she doesn't want to do.
I will try to keep posting about this, mainly so I can look back to see what works and what doesn't.
