And he voiced his opinions on solid foods. I took him away from the dinner table and his face crumpled up into a heartbroken cry. So I started giving him solid foods once a day, and he's very grateful. He wouldn't want those thunder thighs to slim down, would he?
Dave is teasing him in this video, he cries if he doesn't get it right when he wants it.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Car conversation
Me: We just need one more boy, don't we?
Boys: Yes
Dave: You're gonna have a girl next.
Me: No I'm not.
Dave: Is that a "I know I'm not." or a "I hope I'm not." ?
Me: I'm just not. I'm having 6 boys. Remember how you thought Walker was a girl and you were nervous to go to the ultrasound and be disappointed that it wasn't a boy? We'll have a boy next
Dave: I'm not coming to the ultrasound this time.
Me: Good, cause I'm not finding out what it is at the ultrasound.
Dave: You're not? (we have discussed this previously, I'm not sure where the surprise came in) Why?
Me: I just think it will be fun. It's not like it will be a huge surprise, I'm sure it will be a boy.
Dave: So if it's not going to be a surprise, why not just find out that it's a boy at the ultrasound?
Me: I just think the anticipation will be fun. I actually don't care about the moment when they say, "It's a....." at all, I just like the idea that no one knows until the baby comes. It will be exciting. In fact, I'm pretty sure in the moment of birth I really won't care what it is, I'll just be glad it's out.
Dave: Well, I DEFINITELY think that you should get the epidural this time.
Me: WHAT???!!!! No way. Why?
Dave: You were right at the very edge Erica, remember, "I can't, I can't."
Me: That is what everyone says at the end. That is how they know the baby is coming. If you don't say, "I can't" then they don't think the baby will be there any time soon. Even people who promise themselves that they won't say, "I can't" still say it. No one in that room was surprised by my delivery cries at all.
Dave: Shrugs and ends the conversation.
I just wanted to remember that conversation with Dave. I love our conversations. It's very telling of us. But don't worry, we're not pregnant yet or anytime soon. (remember the hippy post, I'm still doing the lactation ammenhorrea thing with all this nursing)
Boys: Yes
Dave: You're gonna have a girl next.
Me: No I'm not.
Dave: Is that a "I know I'm not." or a "I hope I'm not." ?
Me: I'm just not. I'm having 6 boys. Remember how you thought Walker was a girl and you were nervous to go to the ultrasound and be disappointed that it wasn't a boy? We'll have a boy next
Dave: I'm not coming to the ultrasound this time.
Me: Good, cause I'm not finding out what it is at the ultrasound.
Dave: You're not? (we have discussed this previously, I'm not sure where the surprise came in) Why?
Me: I just think it will be fun. It's not like it will be a huge surprise, I'm sure it will be a boy.
Dave: So if it's not going to be a surprise, why not just find out that it's a boy at the ultrasound?
Me: I just think the anticipation will be fun. I actually don't care about the moment when they say, "It's a....." at all, I just like the idea that no one knows until the baby comes. It will be exciting. In fact, I'm pretty sure in the moment of birth I really won't care what it is, I'll just be glad it's out.
Dave: Well, I DEFINITELY think that you should get the epidural this time.
Me: WHAT???!!!! No way. Why?
Dave: You were right at the very edge Erica, remember, "I can't, I can't."
Me: That is what everyone says at the end. That is how they know the baby is coming. If you don't say, "I can't" then they don't think the baby will be there any time soon. Even people who promise themselves that they won't say, "I can't" still say it. No one in that room was surprised by my delivery cries at all.
Dave: Shrugs and ends the conversation.
I just wanted to remember that conversation with Dave. I love our conversations. It's very telling of us. But don't worry, we're not pregnant yet or anytime soon. (remember the hippy post, I'm still doing the lactation ammenhorrea thing with all this nursing)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Gardening guide for Cache Valley
Garlic: March 15-May 15
Potatoes: April 15-June 1
Radish: April 15-June 1
Sprouting broccoli: April 20-June 15
Peppers: June 1-15
Muskmelon: June 1-15
Garden peas: April 15-May 29
Spinach: April 15-June 15
Cabbage: April 15-May 29
Squash: April 15-June 15
Onion sets: April 24-May 15
Cauliflower: April 29-May 29
Leaf lettuce: April 29-June 15
Beets: April 29-June 29
Chard: May 4-June 29
Carrots: May 4-June 29
Sweet corn: May 24-June 15
Tomatoes: May 29-June 10
Eggplant: May 30-June 10
Cucumber May 30-June 15
Snap peas: May 30-July 14
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Call me a hippie.
You can call me a hippie if you want. The 2004 Mama Erica would have. But I just got back from Walkie's 4 month appt and I am not starting solids. Yes, I am a HUUUUGE fan of natural childbirth and breastfeeding. No, I'm not an activist, in fact I'm not worried about the health implications of epidurals, formula or baby food. I do immunize too. I just genuinely enjoy these hippie tendencies.
Do I think negatively of you if you walk into the hospital to deliver a baby with a target signs on your arm and back saying, "pit here, and epidural here?" Nope. in fact I encourage it if that is what you want to do. I only encourage you to be sure you won't regret your decision, do your research. My research told me that delivering a baby was not equivalent to amputating your leg like that girl told me in my first pregnancy. It is actually pretty awesome. It makes me want to have like 15 more babies....
And my personal experience has told me that my body wants to feed twins....... or nothing at all. Pumping in those early NICU days produced a large supply of milk. I was able to slowly decrease my pumping to twice a day, about 11-12 ounces a day. I tried pumping once a day, and my whole supply dropped dramatically. So I pump twice a day, donate the milk, and am not starting this baby on solid foods until he makes the choice to grab a french fry off my plate and eat it to my horror. (Oh wait, that was how I had my first food) The dr told me as long as I give him a few spoonfuls here and there to train his tongue, we don't have to make a habit out of it for awhile.
So onward I go breastfeeding this sweet little piggy. I hope I make a PR with this. Any time past July I will accomplish that. Go ahead, call me a hippie!
Walker William
4 months old with Rhinovirus and a fever :(
12 lbs 3 oz 10%
24 in 20%
Sweetest little pumpkin ever, who loves his mommy. Loves me so much he wants to hang out with me every night at least once in the night. And since his mommy is a hippie now, she's ok with it. :)
On our good nights he goes to sleep at 8 ish and wakes up around 3 ish. He almost always eats and goes right back to sleep, but if he doesn't he will find himself in the swing in the night. I usually try to take him in bed with me for eating and snuggles when he wakes up around 5 or 6. He sleeps like a rock in bed with me. He loves it. He will sleep until 9ish and he's up for the day.
Walker loves to stand, coo, smile, and laugh. He doesn't roll over or sit yet. He has pretty blue eyes, darkish hair on the top, and chubby cheeks. He likes to munch on his hands and loves his binky.
He is still swaddled at night, or in a sleep sack with mittens. He can sleep anywhere, and I'm trying to keep it that way as long as possible.
He loves his mobile and swing, not super into the bumbo and saucer yet, and hates tummy time. He can take a bottle without a problem, but I try really hard not to let him have them as it seems to sabotage my breastfeeding.
He is an angel and if I keep having babies like him, I might just keep having babies forever.
Do I think negatively of you if you walk into the hospital to deliver a baby with a target signs on your arm and back saying, "pit here, and epidural here?" Nope. in fact I encourage it if that is what you want to do. I only encourage you to be sure you won't regret your decision, do your research. My research told me that delivering a baby was not equivalent to amputating your leg like that girl told me in my first pregnancy. It is actually pretty awesome. It makes me want to have like 15 more babies....
And my personal experience has told me that my body wants to feed twins....... or nothing at all. Pumping in those early NICU days produced a large supply of milk. I was able to slowly decrease my pumping to twice a day, about 11-12 ounces a day. I tried pumping once a day, and my whole supply dropped dramatically. So I pump twice a day, donate the milk, and am not starting this baby on solid foods until he makes the choice to grab a french fry off my plate and eat it to my horror. (Oh wait, that was how I had my first food) The dr told me as long as I give him a few spoonfuls here and there to train his tongue, we don't have to make a habit out of it for awhile.
So onward I go breastfeeding this sweet little piggy. I hope I make a PR with this. Any time past July I will accomplish that. Go ahead, call me a hippie!
Walker William
4 months old with Rhinovirus and a fever :(
12 lbs 3 oz 10%
24 in 20%
Sweetest little pumpkin ever, who loves his mommy. Loves me so much he wants to hang out with me every night at least once in the night. And since his mommy is a hippie now, she's ok with it. :)
On our good nights he goes to sleep at 8 ish and wakes up around 3 ish. He almost always eats and goes right back to sleep, but if he doesn't he will find himself in the swing in the night. I usually try to take him in bed with me for eating and snuggles when he wakes up around 5 or 6. He sleeps like a rock in bed with me. He loves it. He will sleep until 9ish and he's up for the day.
Walker loves to stand, coo, smile, and laugh. He doesn't roll over or sit yet. He has pretty blue eyes, darkish hair on the top, and chubby cheeks. He likes to munch on his hands and loves his binky.
He is still swaddled at night, or in a sleep sack with mittens. He can sleep anywhere, and I'm trying to keep it that way as long as possible.
He loves his mobile and swing, not super into the bumbo and saucer yet, and hates tummy time. He can take a bottle without a problem, but I try really hard not to let him have them as it seems to sabotage my breastfeeding.
He is an angel and if I keep having babies like him, I might just keep having babies forever.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Potty training
Potty training is the WORST part of parenting. I am so not a fan of it. It's so unpredictable, what works for one kid, doesn't work on the next. So I'm a fan of waiting until close to 3 years old, when I get struck by a whim and springing on my child one day.
I got struck by that whim 2 weeks ago. My little Henry who followed the mold of potty training right before 3 and being night trained at the same time, has regressed. Oddly, about 8 months after potty training he started having some nighttime accidents. They have come and go, and aren't consistent enough for me to want to put a diaper on him. This fall, he started having day accidents too. OVER A YEAR after he was trained. Things were spiraling downward fast, and all of a sudden he was peeing his pants more than not. I started looking at him like a bad dog. It didn't help that him and G. growled at each other when they were fighting. I had to put a stop to the animal like behavior.
I decided to reward them both with cars for going potty. I didn't know if it would work, but when the idea flew into my head, I had to move on it before the idea flew back out (thus the workings of my brain these days). I told G. I would give him a "NEW CAR" if he went potty. He immediately took his diaper off and peed in the potty. Hmmm, I thought. That was easy. So we kept going with it. That night, he pooped on the carpet. Had to pull out the carpet cleaner, but kept moving forward. It took Henry a few days to earn his first car. But Henry hasn't peed his pants during the day since then. YAY! Still doing the unexpected night accidents with Hen, but I'm still not sure what to do about that.
Henry's challenge is impulse. He is the SORRIEST little boy ever, telling me, "I'm so sorry Mom. I will NEVER do that again." But in the heat of the moment, if he's worried about losing his toy, or his spot at the table, he would rather pee his pants than get up and surrender the moment. I'm glad we've moved past that for now, and I know how to get rid of that habit should it arise again in the future.
G. was pretty much potty trained immediately. He had one wetting accident a day for 3 days, and never pooped in his underpants. I didn't know it was possible to escape the dreaded potty training without the casualty of a few pairs of underpants.
Things are still going great, 2 weeks in. I'm very pleased. He's still not sure he likes it......Today he asked for a diaper. We had to have a complicated discussion about it. You have to be careful not to step on that boy's toes, he will blow up at you. I made the mistake of saying we should save the diapers for baby Walker, and he did NOT like that.
So he is dry day and night, just like the others. I can't quite believe it was so easy. This G. monster keeps me guessing every time. There have been so many "not so easy" things with him.
Oh yeah, and I cracked the whip on growling, so hopefully I got rid of the feral children and can raise these kids like human beings.
Now if I can teach G. to keep his pants on while he pees...... don't be surprised if you see him half naked for awhile, he just doesn't see the need to put them back on when he's done.
I got struck by that whim 2 weeks ago. My little Henry who followed the mold of potty training right before 3 and being night trained at the same time, has regressed. Oddly, about 8 months after potty training he started having some nighttime accidents. They have come and go, and aren't consistent enough for me to want to put a diaper on him. This fall, he started having day accidents too. OVER A YEAR after he was trained. Things were spiraling downward fast, and all of a sudden he was peeing his pants more than not. I started looking at him like a bad dog. It didn't help that him and G. growled at each other when they were fighting. I had to put a stop to the animal like behavior.
I decided to reward them both with cars for going potty. I didn't know if it would work, but when the idea flew into my head, I had to move on it before the idea flew back out (thus the workings of my brain these days). I told G. I would give him a "NEW CAR" if he went potty. He immediately took his diaper off and peed in the potty. Hmmm, I thought. That was easy. So we kept going with it. That night, he pooped on the carpet. Had to pull out the carpet cleaner, but kept moving forward. It took Henry a few days to earn his first car. But Henry hasn't peed his pants during the day since then. YAY! Still doing the unexpected night accidents with Hen, but I'm still not sure what to do about that.
Henry's challenge is impulse. He is the SORRIEST little boy ever, telling me, "I'm so sorry Mom. I will NEVER do that again." But in the heat of the moment, if he's worried about losing his toy, or his spot at the table, he would rather pee his pants than get up and surrender the moment. I'm glad we've moved past that for now, and I know how to get rid of that habit should it arise again in the future.
G. was pretty much potty trained immediately. He had one wetting accident a day for 3 days, and never pooped in his underpants. I didn't know it was possible to escape the dreaded potty training without the casualty of a few pairs of underpants.
Things are still going great, 2 weeks in. I'm very pleased. He's still not sure he likes it......Today he asked for a diaper. We had to have a complicated discussion about it. You have to be careful not to step on that boy's toes, he will blow up at you. I made the mistake of saying we should save the diapers for baby Walker, and he did NOT like that.
So he is dry day and night, just like the others. I can't quite believe it was so easy. This G. monster keeps me guessing every time. There have been so many "not so easy" things with him.
Oh yeah, and I cracked the whip on growling, so hopefully I got rid of the feral children and can raise these kids like human beings.
Now if I can teach G. to keep his pants on while he pees...... don't be surprised if you see him half naked for awhile, he just doesn't see the need to put them back on when he's done.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Brag (Isaac)
I have to brag. No, I shouldn't.....Yeah I will, no I won't.
Sorry, I have to. I can't help it. **DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DON'T LIKE BRAGGERS*
(In other words, don't read on unless you are a blood relative.)
We had Isaac's parent teacher conference today. Now Isaac is pretty much the dream oldest child. Bright, responsible, concerned with others, sweet. So naturally we would expect to hear all those things from his teacher at his conference, and we did. She said he is good to help others with their work, nice to people, and excelling in all his subjects. His scores were very high, the only things he seems to lose points on is spelling, and only 1 word per test at the most!
He recently told me that he does his reading group in the library. I was feeling a little bit concerned about this. I thought perhaps he was getting the shaft by this because they didn't have any reading aids to help him in the classroom. The more advanced readers usually don't get help with their reading groups. I felt kind of sorry for him that he wasn't getting the same level of reading help as the other kids. He told me that 6 kids from his class and a few kids from the other classes met together in the library for their reading group. And he LOVES the librarian who helps them.
We learned in the conference that they were able to create a special program for the top readers to go down and do some special activities in the library during their reading time. I then learned about all the things that Isaac had told me he had done (which were pretty cool) and that they were a part of this program. What a neat thing that the principal put together so that these kids no longer get the shaft! I'm pretty excited for him. And my mother bear instincts that made me feel bugged about it have relaxed.
I must also add that I love his teacher. I think she is so nice and doing wonderful things for him. I'm so grateful for good public schools!
Sorry, I have to. I can't help it. **DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DON'T LIKE BRAGGERS*
(In other words, don't read on unless you are a blood relative.)
We had Isaac's parent teacher conference today. Now Isaac is pretty much the dream oldest child. Bright, responsible, concerned with others, sweet. So naturally we would expect to hear all those things from his teacher at his conference, and we did. She said he is good to help others with their work, nice to people, and excelling in all his subjects. His scores were very high, the only things he seems to lose points on is spelling, and only 1 word per test at the most!
He recently told me that he does his reading group in the library. I was feeling a little bit concerned about this. I thought perhaps he was getting the shaft by this because they didn't have any reading aids to help him in the classroom. The more advanced readers usually don't get help with their reading groups. I felt kind of sorry for him that he wasn't getting the same level of reading help as the other kids. He told me that 6 kids from his class and a few kids from the other classes met together in the library for their reading group. And he LOVES the librarian who helps them.
We learned in the conference that they were able to create a special program for the top readers to go down and do some special activities in the library during their reading time. I then learned about all the things that Isaac had told me he had done (which were pretty cool) and that they were a part of this program. What a neat thing that the principal put together so that these kids no longer get the shaft! I'm pretty excited for him. And my mother bear instincts that made me feel bugged about it have relaxed.
I must also add that I love his teacher. I think she is so nice and doing wonderful things for him. I'm so grateful for good public schools!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
G Jesse
G Jesse will occasionally admit that is his name (although he sometimes only wants to claim the "G") but he will scream at you "I NOT GORDON!!!!" If you try to call him by his full name.
This kid is the world's BIGGEST monster, yet he is still the apple of my eye. He is adorable, charming, fun, but full of mischief. He is harder than the other 4 kids put together. And yet he feeds me with enough sweetness to melt my heart so I don't beat him.
I was just reading my blog from the past (something I do while I feed Walker to keep from getting bored) and I read the letter I wrote to G Jesse when I was sorting out my feelings about him being a boy.
"Whatever you look like, whoever you become, that all remains to be seen. I know that in about 20 weeks we will bring you home in the world’s tiniest monkey suit after the whirlwind which will be your birthday. "
I had to laugh. I.had.no.idea.just.how.much.of.a.whirlwind.his.birthday.would.be! And I had no idea how much of a whirlwind toddler he would turn into.
This kid is the world's BIGGEST monster, yet he is still the apple of my eye. He is adorable, charming, fun, but full of mischief. He is harder than the other 4 kids put together. And yet he feeds me with enough sweetness to melt my heart so I don't beat him.
I was just reading my blog from the past (something I do while I feed Walker to keep from getting bored) and I read the letter I wrote to G Jesse when I was sorting out my feelings about him being a boy.
"Whatever you look like, whoever you become, that all remains to be seen. I know that in about 20 weeks we will bring you home in the world’s tiniest monkey suit after the whirlwind which will be your birthday. "
I had to laugh. I.had.no.idea.just.how.much.of.a.whirlwind.his.birthday.would.be! And I had no idea how much of a whirlwind toddler he would turn into.
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