Do you know that rhyme? Amelia has no curls, but I just wanted to write a quick post about the fact that when Amelia and I have a good day, it is a very good day!
I spent most of yesterday in a state of worry about some new and mystifying toddler behavior from Amelia. Tantrums, fits, etc. Somehow it seems like every time I think I've gotten the hang of this motherhood thing, something changes.
Anyway, after a nice talk with my mom, lunch with Dean, and the afternoon at the Children's Museum, yesterday turned out fine. And today was great! It was sunny (albeit terribly windy) and Amelia slept till (gasp) 7:15. We had breakfast--Amelia ate 2 scrambled eggs--and went on a walk, then a wagon ride, then to toddler yoga. We came home, spent an hour pushing the baby stroller and grocery cart, then Amelia napped. We spent the afternoon at the park, and the evening Skyping with grandparents. Bathtime was pleasant and bedtime was super smooth! No real crying at all. Now Dean is picking up Thai takeout and I am having a glass of wine, enjoying the peace.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tomorrow
is the first day of National Poetry Month! I spent the wee hours of the morning planning my post and came to no decisions.
Anyway, I found 30 Ways to Celebrate on Poets.org. Start planning!
If anyone is still considering being a guest blogger, please let me know! I received a comment with a good question about whether favorite poems can be published on the blog. If they are your poems (as in, you wrote them), and they haven't been published anywhere else, sure! But otherwise, any poems you want to include need to be included through a link. In other words, if you can find them elsewhere on the Internet, we can link to them. But because of possible copyright issues, I don't want to just copy down poems word for word on the blog. If the poem can't be found on the Internet, you can provide title and author information, and of course can cite lines of poems as you would in an essay.
Just a reminder, if you want to write a post, you need to submit a comment with your idea and your email address so I can contact you. I promise not to publish your email address for the whole Internet to see.
In the meantime, happy planning! I am going to spend the rest of Amelia's nap reading some of the 8 books about toddlers I got from the library yesterday. I think I just wrote last week that having a toddler was easier than having a baby... the universe is chuckling at me now.
Anyway, I found 30 Ways to Celebrate on Poets.org. Start planning!
If anyone is still considering being a guest blogger, please let me know! I received a comment with a good question about whether favorite poems can be published on the blog. If they are your poems (as in, you wrote them), and they haven't been published anywhere else, sure! But otherwise, any poems you want to include need to be included through a link. In other words, if you can find them elsewhere on the Internet, we can link to them. But because of possible copyright issues, I don't want to just copy down poems word for word on the blog. If the poem can't be found on the Internet, you can provide title and author information, and of course can cite lines of poems as you would in an essay.
Just a reminder, if you want to write a post, you need to submit a comment with your idea and your email address so I can contact you. I promise not to publish your email address for the whole Internet to see.
In the meantime, happy planning! I am going to spend the rest of Amelia's nap reading some of the 8 books about toddlers I got from the library yesterday. I think I just wrote last week that having a toddler was easier than having a baby... the universe is chuckling at me now.
A Tisket, A Tasket...(again)
This was Amelia almost exactly a year ago:
And this was Amelia yesterday.
And this was Amelia yesterday.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
National Poetry Month: A Call for Writers
April is National Poetry Month. A couple of weeks ago, I had this great idea. I was going to write a poetry-post a day, one every day in April. I planned to write about poems and poets I love, poems and poets that have influenced me as a writer. I even made a spreadsheet with dates and ideas.
But. If you have read this blog long enough, you will remember other great ideas I have had where I was going to a a certain number of posts about certain things. And most of those posts did not happen. (I blame Amelia.) So I came down to earth a little bit. I will simply say this: during April, National Poetry Month, I will write some posts about poetry.
I want there to be as many posts as possible, though, so I want to invite you to write a post of your own. Yes, you, reading this blog right now. Will you be a guest blogger? Will you write a post about poetry for National Poetry Month?
Maybe there is one poem you always remember, one that sticks with you. You could write about that poem and why it means so much. Maybe there is a teacher who introduced you to poetry you could celebrate. Maybe you have taught poetry or read poetry to kids and want to share that experience. Maybe you write poems of your own. You could share the poems here, or write about how or why you write. Maybe you study poetry and have something specific you would like to share with a wider audience. Heck, maybe you hate poetry and want to say why. I would like to invite any and all readers to share any and all thoughts about poetry here during National Poetry Month.
If you are willing go be a guest blogger, let me know. If you know me, you can email me or call. If you don't, leave a comment here with your email address, what you would like to write, and what week in April (the first, second, third, or fourth) you would like to send me your post. I won't publish these comments, but I will get back to you to confirm your post date and answer any questions you might have.
I am excited to spend a month thinking more about poetry, and I hope you can help!
But. If you have read this blog long enough, you will remember other great ideas I have had where I was going to a a certain number of posts about certain things. And most of those posts did not happen. (I blame Amelia.) So I came down to earth a little bit. I will simply say this: during April, National Poetry Month, I will write some posts about poetry.
I want there to be as many posts as possible, though, so I want to invite you to write a post of your own. Yes, you, reading this blog right now. Will you be a guest blogger? Will you write a post about poetry for National Poetry Month?
Maybe there is one poem you always remember, one that sticks with you. You could write about that poem and why it means so much. Maybe there is a teacher who introduced you to poetry you could celebrate. Maybe you have taught poetry or read poetry to kids and want to share that experience. Maybe you write poems of your own. You could share the poems here, or write about how or why you write. Maybe you study poetry and have something specific you would like to share with a wider audience. Heck, maybe you hate poetry and want to say why. I would like to invite any and all readers to share any and all thoughts about poetry here during National Poetry Month.
If you are willing go be a guest blogger, let me know. If you know me, you can email me or call. If you don't, leave a comment here with your email address, what you would like to write, and what week in April (the first, second, third, or fourth) you would like to send me your post. I won't publish these comments, but I will get back to you to confirm your post date and answer any questions you might have.
I am excited to spend a month thinking more about poetry, and I hope you can help!
Monday, March 28, 2011
The Plan
I have decided to wean. I even have a plan.
I am not sure what made me finally make this decision. I guess it's a combination of things. First, Amelia has a lot more teeth these days. Enough said there. Also, she is in stage of huge attachment to me. Sometimes I think she is more clingy and whiny just because I am around. I am starting to feel like nursing is just a habit for her, and one that is not always serving her well. And she is almost 18 months old, which is how old both I and my sister were when my mom weaned us, so 18 months has always seemed like a good age to wean to me because of that.
Not to say I am not conflicted. A couple of weeks ago, I checked out a bunch of books from the library with titles like Mothering Your Nursing Toddler and How Weaning Happens. Turns out all of the books were published by La Leche League. They did offer some good tips-- ways to distract a child from nursing, for example, and the fact that if you're not going to nurse, you are going to need to pay a lot of extra attention to your child--but overall the message from the books is that kids wean themselves when they are ready. Usually by age 4 at the latest. As in four. Years. Old.
Part of me--the part that really wanted to do yoga during labor, to give birth at home, to fire my male OB for a bescarved and tattooed midwife--still really wants to let Amelia wean herself. However, the part of that decided to stick with the male OB and give birth at a hospital strongly suspects that Amelia is one of those kids who would happily breastfeed till she is 4. Or 5. Or older. And that part of me has no interest in breastfeeding that long.
My plan is this. Yesterday, I cut off the nursing during naptime (again). I figure this would be hard but still maybe one of the easiest times to cut out because if Amelia is sleepy, she will eventually go to sleep. I told Amelia that we weren't going to have milk at naptime. She understood. She even said "no mama" as I was changing her diaper. I said, "Yes, you still have mama, just no milk!" and tickled her. She laughed. I kept doing that for a minute. It was funny. When it was time to put her down, we put some dolls and stuffed animals in her crib in case she was not sleepy right away. She looked interested. Then I sat in the glider and rocked her and sang. She snuggled and listened for about 2 seconds and then tried to nurse. "No milk at naptime," I said. I offered her water. She refused it. She cried. Angrily. I tried to rock her and sing, but she was having none of it. So I put her in the crib with the water.
She cried. Loudly and angrily.
Since Dean was home, he went up to sing to her like he does at bedtime. She cried. She was mad. But as soon as he left the room she went to sleep.
I, however, cried for quite awhile. In the meantime I was reading _Unbuttoned_, and in one essay about weaning, the author mentioned a study somewhere that asked older children who nursed about breastmilk. They said it was better than ice cream, better than cookies. Something about that made me cry and cry. I want Amelia to be happy and healthy. What if weaning is traumatic for her?
But, she woke up. She was fine. She ate Veggie Straws while sitting on my lap--actually, that could be called the first nursing session to go, the post-nap session, since the day I got some Veggie Straws for myself to eat while Amelia nursed after her nap. She snuggled in to nurse, looked at my snack, then sat up and took my bowl. And today at naptime, she only cried for about 3 minutes, then went to sleep. She is still sleeping.
To get back to the plan: although Amelia has never had an exact number of feedings a day, I have divided the day by feeding "sessions". There is first thing in the morning. The rest of the morning. Pre-nap (that's the one that's out this week). Afternoon. And evening. Each week, I will just say there is no milk right now for one of those sessions. So, if all goes according to plan, we'll be done in... 4 more weeks after this. Maybe sooner. She doesn't always do the evening. I am sure things won't go exactly as I plan. But at least I have a plan.
In my book, I came across another passage that stuck with me. It's in an essay called "Wean" by Catherine Newman. In it, she describes "accidentally" nursing her baby (who is 2 years old) a few weeks after she has weaned. It sums up how I am feeling these days:
I have loved nursing, but I have not cherished every moment of it because, frankly, there has just been too much of it. I savor these last few moments with the baby, the baby who is disappearing even as I hold her.
I am not sure what made me finally make this decision. I guess it's a combination of things. First, Amelia has a lot more teeth these days. Enough said there. Also, she is in stage of huge attachment to me. Sometimes I think she is more clingy and whiny just because I am around. I am starting to feel like nursing is just a habit for her, and one that is not always serving her well. And she is almost 18 months old, which is how old both I and my sister were when my mom weaned us, so 18 months has always seemed like a good age to wean to me because of that.
Not to say I am not conflicted. A couple of weeks ago, I checked out a bunch of books from the library with titles like Mothering Your Nursing Toddler and How Weaning Happens. Turns out all of the books were published by La Leche League. They did offer some good tips-- ways to distract a child from nursing, for example, and the fact that if you're not going to nurse, you are going to need to pay a lot of extra attention to your child--but overall the message from the books is that kids wean themselves when they are ready. Usually by age 4 at the latest. As in four. Years. Old.
Part of me--the part that really wanted to do yoga during labor, to give birth at home, to fire my male OB for a bescarved and tattooed midwife--still really wants to let Amelia wean herself. However, the part of that decided to stick with the male OB and give birth at a hospital strongly suspects that Amelia is one of those kids who would happily breastfeed till she is 4. Or 5. Or older. And that part of me has no interest in breastfeeding that long.
My plan is this. Yesterday, I cut off the nursing during naptime (again). I figure this would be hard but still maybe one of the easiest times to cut out because if Amelia is sleepy, she will eventually go to sleep. I told Amelia that we weren't going to have milk at naptime. She understood. She even said "no mama" as I was changing her diaper. I said, "Yes, you still have mama, just no milk!" and tickled her. She laughed. I kept doing that for a minute. It was funny. When it was time to put her down, we put some dolls and stuffed animals in her crib in case she was not sleepy right away. She looked interested. Then I sat in the glider and rocked her and sang. She snuggled and listened for about 2 seconds and then tried to nurse. "No milk at naptime," I said. I offered her water. She refused it. She cried. Angrily. I tried to rock her and sing, but she was having none of it. So I put her in the crib with the water.
She cried. Loudly and angrily.
Since Dean was home, he went up to sing to her like he does at bedtime. She cried. She was mad. But as soon as he left the room she went to sleep.
I, however, cried for quite awhile. In the meantime I was reading _Unbuttoned_, and in one essay about weaning, the author mentioned a study somewhere that asked older children who nursed about breastmilk. They said it was better than ice cream, better than cookies. Something about that made me cry and cry. I want Amelia to be happy and healthy. What if weaning is traumatic for her?
But, she woke up. She was fine. She ate Veggie Straws while sitting on my lap--actually, that could be called the first nursing session to go, the post-nap session, since the day I got some Veggie Straws for myself to eat while Amelia nursed after her nap. She snuggled in to nurse, looked at my snack, then sat up and took my bowl. And today at naptime, she only cried for about 3 minutes, then went to sleep. She is still sleeping.
To get back to the plan: although Amelia has never had an exact number of feedings a day, I have divided the day by feeding "sessions". There is first thing in the morning. The rest of the morning. Pre-nap (that's the one that's out this week). Afternoon. And evening. Each week, I will just say there is no milk right now for one of those sessions. So, if all goes according to plan, we'll be done in... 4 more weeks after this. Maybe sooner. She doesn't always do the evening. I am sure things won't go exactly as I plan. But at least I have a plan.
In my book, I came across another passage that stuck with me. It's in an essay called "Wean" by Catherine Newman. In it, she describes "accidentally" nursing her baby (who is 2 years old) a few weeks after she has weaned. It sums up how I am feeling these days:
I have loved nursing, but I have not cherished every moment of it because, frankly, there has just been too much of it. I savor these last few moments with the baby, the baby who is disappearing even as I hold her.
Hurricane
It has been quite a morning. Amelia woke up too early and has been a grouch. Plus she has played with Crispix, Play Dough, all of her toys, and helped me unpack groceries, an activity that entailed pulling everything out of the both the freezer and one cabinet, sampling several of the new items (grapes, cheese, oranges), and taking at least three breaks to read stories.
This is what my house looks like.
Is it just me? Do other people have days like these? Sometimes I wonder what I am doing wrong.
Speaking of weathering storms, we have all survived Amelia's first post-hospital sickness. She got a fever Thursday, first one so low I assumed it was teething and forgot about it, but later in the afternoon, it was around 102. She had no other symptoms so of course I immediately assumed she was at the beginning of another terrible illness. To make a long story short--really, I don't want to relive all the worry--I took her to the doctor Friday. Her doctor, who was never as convinced as the surgeons that Amelia's earlier problems originated with her appendix, drew blood. She wanted to be sure there was not some weird bacterial infection going on. After 4 tense hours waiting for the results, we got them: virus, possible mono. Amelia has had maybe one mild cold all winter, but she is certainly getting her share of Diseases You Didn't Think Toddlers Can Get. However, her pediatrician said that most 5-year-olds have antibodies for mono, meaning they already had it as babies or toddlers but it was never diagnosed. Apparently in younger kids mono passes quickly and is not nearly the problem it is in teens and adults. You can read more about that here. Anyway, they wouldn't know for sure it was mono with more tests, which the doctor said wasn't worth it. Whatever it was, Amelia's fever went away yesterday morning and she seems fine now.
I guess I should spend the rest of her naptime cleaning the house.
This is what my house looks like.
Is it just me? Do other people have days like these? Sometimes I wonder what I am doing wrong.
Speaking of weathering storms, we have all survived Amelia's first post-hospital sickness. She got a fever Thursday, first one so low I assumed it was teething and forgot about it, but later in the afternoon, it was around 102. She had no other symptoms so of course I immediately assumed she was at the beginning of another terrible illness. To make a long story short--really, I don't want to relive all the worry--I took her to the doctor Friday. Her doctor, who was never as convinced as the surgeons that Amelia's earlier problems originated with her appendix, drew blood. She wanted to be sure there was not some weird bacterial infection going on. After 4 tense hours waiting for the results, we got them: virus, possible mono. Amelia has had maybe one mild cold all winter, but she is certainly getting her share of Diseases You Didn't Think Toddlers Can Get. However, her pediatrician said that most 5-year-olds have antibodies for mono, meaning they already had it as babies or toddlers but it was never diagnosed. Apparently in younger kids mono passes quickly and is not nearly the problem it is in teens and adults. You can read more about that here. Anyway, they wouldn't know for sure it was mono with more tests, which the doctor said wasn't worth it. Whatever it was, Amelia's fever went away yesterday morning and she seems fine now.
I guess I should spend the rest of her naptime cleaning the house.
Some people like coffee...
Yesterday morning Amelia wanted to see in the refrigerator. After surveying her options, she chose a jar of mustard. While I was getting her some cereal, she opened the mustard and licked some off the lid. She then paused and said, "More, more."
Thinking she liked the strong flavor but not wanting to squirt mustanrd in a cup for her, I asked her if she wanted a pickle.
Her eyes lit up. She said, "Two!"
Thinking she liked the strong flavor but not wanting to squirt mustanrd in a cup for her, I asked her if she wanted a pickle.
Her eyes lit up. She said, "Two!"
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