Monday, January 31, 2011
Snow Trip!
Last year Derek, Adalyn and a few of our friends and their families went to the snow to sled. Since I was pregnant and I had to work I did not go, but this year I did! We had so much fun and with the beautiful weather and warm snow clothes I wanted to stay out all day. Adalyn had a lot of fun too, but my little miss is not a dare devil by nature so she needed to be coaxed at first. The car ride up the mountain also takes a lot out of her, but as you can see with the two middle pictures her smile is natural and beaming. Good thing Erin brought her camera, because I am looking forward to more sledding shots. Too bad she left before I ate it on the mountain. I managed to steer right into a huge divet and I went flying! Ah...good times. Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
I'm back and I brought reinforcements!
I know it has been forever since I have posted anything new to my Blog. Technical difficulties were plaguing me in the form of passwords not getting reset, etc. I will not bore you with those details. This first post after months contains a small collection of pictures taken by my very own Adalyn Giselle, 3 years old. The four pictures represent the members of our immediate family, as seen through her eyes. My favorite picture is the self portrait of the photographer herself. Next in line is a shot of Camille Soleil enjoying one of her most favorite things in life, Mum Mums. Following the Cami Camille is a picture of Derek, who is caring for one of Adalyn's baby dolls...she has a large brood of babies. And last is a candid shot of yours truly in the kitchen. As you will notice the pictures are grainy, some very blurry. Derek and I got Adalyn her very first working digital camera for Christmas, but it is a child-proof one with low pixels. However, I love the point of view the pictures offer and I hope you do too!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
My breif life as an allergic food eater.
Right, meaning my time as an eater of all things non-dairy. My sweet 3 month old Camille Soleil showed early signs of not tolerating dairy proteins. As a nursing mommy I made the choice at about week 2 of her life to cut dairy out of my diet for her health and well being.
But, I think my time as a non-dairy eater is just about up. Lately I have been sneaking a nibble here and a small bite there of things like cheese, butter and even (gasp!) ice cream. Gauging Camille's reactions of not reacting to these bites with things like excessive spitting up, to eczema, I am almost near the point of having a glass of (mmm....) milk. In one of my dreams last night I indulged in a cold glass of the white stuff and it was as satisfying as I remember. My dreams are good for things like that. My time without dairy would have been near impossible and it was difficult for the first several weeks, but I found so many great non-dairy replacements. Here are a few of my favorites.
First on the list; Luna and Larry's Coconut Milk Ice Cream in Chocolate. This discovery alone has converted me to a coconut milk ice cream lova'. The only caveat with this new found love is the price. $6+ for one measly pint! For Christmas I am going to ask Santa for a new whiz table top ice cream maker! One pint is barely enough for 2 sittings.
Second (by a fraction): Double Rainbow's Chocolate Sorbet. Oh man, I just had this today and the decadence of the chocolate with the smooth sorbet mouth feel...YUMMY! Thank you guys from San Fran. Hmm...Double Rainbow?
Third: Coconut milk from the can, Thai style. I started using the canned coconut milk which will separate in the can with the creamy stuff hanging out on top, in my morning Jamba Juice style smoothies. So good! My favorite coco concoction is the coconut milk, a splash of OJ, a banana, unsweetened cocoa powder, a tablespoon of peanut butter, flax oil (for good Omega 3s), soy protein powder and ice cubes. Its pretty fantastic if I do say so myself.
Fourth: Daiya Cheese, the milk free, gluten free, soy free, everything else free-but-tastes-good cheese in both cheddar and mozzarella. I have to thank my good friend Erin Langstraat for this one as her daughters' have a very sensitive system for just about everything. Erin is like a one-woman-food-allergist-resource-guide. She has been such an awesome support and she even picked up my two packages of Daiya cheese when she went to the specialty store that carries it.
Fifth: Vanilla enriched Rice Dream Rice milk. I tried soy milk and let me tell you in so many words it did not agree with me, or with Camille. I tried almond milk and it was okay except for the funny after taste. I even tried coconut milk, made in a milk like container for drinking and that wasn't that great either. Lastly was rice milk and it has been the best. At the end of the day however there is no real substitute for my friend cow's milk. I need the protein and the flavor cannot be mimicked.
Last night's dream feels like a premonition, a glance into the very near future if you will and I do look forward to the day when I can again pour myself a nice tall glass of it. Camille however is my most important priority and I do not want to cause her discomfort so I will continue to have a minimal amount of dairy products and keep checking her progress. Until then I will just have to keep dreaming of my tall glasses of milk.
(BTW: just as I was about to finish this post my tall drink of water hubby came home from work and dished up his nightly bowl of ice cream, we are a hard core dairy family and his small glass of cold milk to wash the ice cream down with. I asked if I could have a drink of his milk, he agreed but wouldn't you know it, it was 3 days past due and I could taste it. YUCK! Nice first drink after several months!)
But, I think my time as a non-dairy eater is just about up. Lately I have been sneaking a nibble here and a small bite there of things like cheese, butter and even (gasp!) ice cream. Gauging Camille's reactions of not reacting to these bites with things like excessive spitting up, to eczema, I am almost near the point of having a glass of (mmm....) milk. In one of my dreams last night I indulged in a cold glass of the white stuff and it was as satisfying as I remember. My dreams are good for things like that. My time without dairy would have been near impossible and it was difficult for the first several weeks, but I found so many great non-dairy replacements. Here are a few of my favorites.
First on the list; Luna and Larry's Coconut Milk Ice Cream in Chocolate. This discovery alone has converted me to a coconut milk ice cream lova'. The only caveat with this new found love is the price. $6+ for one measly pint! For Christmas I am going to ask Santa for a new whiz table top ice cream maker! One pint is barely enough for 2 sittings.
Second (by a fraction): Double Rainbow's Chocolate Sorbet. Oh man, I just had this today and the decadence of the chocolate with the smooth sorbet mouth feel...YUMMY! Thank you guys from San Fran. Hmm...Double Rainbow?
Third: Coconut milk from the can, Thai style. I started using the canned coconut milk which will separate in the can with the creamy stuff hanging out on top, in my morning Jamba Juice style smoothies. So good! My favorite coco concoction is the coconut milk, a splash of OJ, a banana, unsweetened cocoa powder, a tablespoon of peanut butter, flax oil (for good Omega 3s), soy protein powder and ice cubes. Its pretty fantastic if I do say so myself.
Fourth: Daiya Cheese, the milk free, gluten free, soy free, everything else free-but-tastes-good cheese in both cheddar and mozzarella. I have to thank my good friend Erin Langstraat for this one as her daughters' have a very sensitive system for just about everything. Erin is like a one-woman-food-allergist-resource-guide. She has been such an awesome support and she even picked up my two packages of Daiya cheese when she went to the specialty store that carries it.
Fifth: Vanilla enriched Rice Dream Rice milk. I tried soy milk and let me tell you in so many words it did not agree with me, or with Camille. I tried almond milk and it was okay except for the funny after taste. I even tried coconut milk, made in a milk like container for drinking and that wasn't that great either. Lastly was rice milk and it has been the best. At the end of the day however there is no real substitute for my friend cow's milk. I need the protein and the flavor cannot be mimicked.
Last night's dream feels like a premonition, a glance into the very near future if you will and I do look forward to the day when I can again pour myself a nice tall glass of it. Camille however is my most important priority and I do not want to cause her discomfort so I will continue to have a minimal amount of dairy products and keep checking her progress. Until then I will just have to keep dreaming of my tall glasses of milk.
(BTW: just as I was about to finish this post my tall drink of water hubby came home from work and dished up his nightly bowl of ice cream, we are a hard core dairy family and his small glass of cold milk to wash the ice cream down with. I asked if I could have a drink of his milk, he agreed but wouldn't you know it, it was 3 days past due and I could taste it. YUCK! Nice first drink after several months!)
Friday, May 28, 2010
"Bad Mommy Award" goes to...me.
My sweet 3 week old Camille has a virus.
Last night I noticed what look like a serious case of heat rash all over Camille's little barely three week old body. What I read in Dr. Sear's "The Baby Book" is that heat rash is generally found in the folds and creases of a baby's body and around where diapers sit. What Camille had, or has is all over her body, legs, arms and trunk. The rash is angrier around her folds and under her diaper, but in places that one would not usually find the prickly like heat bumps.
I checked this morning and the rash persisted through the night. It was a little calmer this morning, but still present. A call was promptly made to the Dr. office and I took my sweet Camille in this afternoon. I began to go through my mind as to what else would cause the bumps, like a sensitivity to the soy milk Im drinking (because she is sensitive to cow's milk), or her flaky newborn skin, or even again just a bad case of heat rash. I knew it could not be associated with my laundry detergent because I use free detergent, as in free of dyes and perfumes and I don't use fabric softener either. I ran all of my ideas across the Dr. and he shot each one down and finally settled on some viral infection. He then asked me "Do you take her out a lot?" Um...yes, I do. He looked at me and I noted something in the glance and he promptly reminded me that newborns do not have the defenses to ward off viruses and I should not take her out to frequently.
The crappy thing is, I know this. I know that babies, especially the new newborns are crazy suseptible to all kinds of sickneses. In my cockiness, I guess I figured the rules did not apply to my child partly because Adalyn was hauled all over with Derek and I and she never came down with anything. In fact it was just a month or more ago that she had to go on her first round of antibiotics at 2 and half years old. I am grateful that all Camille seems to be suffering from is the red bumps on her skin and no fever or stunted eating or weird poops, but really mom, it could have totally been worse.
So my lesson learned here is, although I may feel up to climb a mountain just days after birthing my baby, my baby is still, well, a baby. Fragile, precious and not just something to show off to others for admiration. I need to slow it way down, if not for me, for my sweet Camille.
(PS she is not contagious!! Which again is better than it could be because then I could stress about all the people I infected graciously sharing my child with anyone who wanted to hold her.)
Last night I noticed what look like a serious case of heat rash all over Camille's little barely three week old body. What I read in Dr. Sear's "The Baby Book" is that heat rash is generally found in the folds and creases of a baby's body and around where diapers sit. What Camille had, or has is all over her body, legs, arms and trunk. The rash is angrier around her folds and under her diaper, but in places that one would not usually find the prickly like heat bumps.
I checked this morning and the rash persisted through the night. It was a little calmer this morning, but still present. A call was promptly made to the Dr. office and I took my sweet Camille in this afternoon. I began to go through my mind as to what else would cause the bumps, like a sensitivity to the soy milk Im drinking (because she is sensitive to cow's milk), or her flaky newborn skin, or even again just a bad case of heat rash. I knew it could not be associated with my laundry detergent because I use free detergent, as in free of dyes and perfumes and I don't use fabric softener either. I ran all of my ideas across the Dr. and he shot each one down and finally settled on some viral infection. He then asked me "Do you take her out a lot?" Um...yes, I do. He looked at me and I noted something in the glance and he promptly reminded me that newborns do not have the defenses to ward off viruses and I should not take her out to frequently.
The crappy thing is, I know this. I know that babies, especially the new newborns are crazy suseptible to all kinds of sickneses. In my cockiness, I guess I figured the rules did not apply to my child partly because Adalyn was hauled all over with Derek and I and she never came down with anything. In fact it was just a month or more ago that she had to go on her first round of antibiotics at 2 and half years old. I am grateful that all Camille seems to be suffering from is the red bumps on her skin and no fever or stunted eating or weird poops, but really mom, it could have totally been worse.
So my lesson learned here is, although I may feel up to climb a mountain just days after birthing my baby, my baby is still, well, a baby. Fragile, precious and not just something to show off to others for admiration. I need to slow it way down, if not for me, for my sweet Camille.
(PS she is not contagious!! Which again is better than it could be because then I could stress about all the people I infected graciously sharing my child with anyone who wanted to hold her.)
Monday, May 24, 2010
Day One
Day One, of being home as a full time mommy with two children and the husband at work.
Camille had her 2 week check up today and with good report! She is now 10lbs. 11oz and 21.5" long! She is over the 85% of other children her age, under what Adalyn was at this point, but hey, each baby is different.
Getting out of the house was relatively easy this morning and we were on time for the 10am Dr. appointment. I have started a sticker reward system for Adalyn, with her good behavior earning her a sticker and with so many stickers earning her a special treat, like a Jamba Juice. I was feeling really good about the day, thinking that I had it in the bag, that is until we got into the appointment with the Dr. In the middle of my conversation with Dr. Buffington about my delivery with Camille, Adalyn began demanding that I stop talking. She has never done that before and so I ignored her and continued my conversation. She began to become even more demanding and at the climax of her fit she struck me several times and even hit Camille on top of the head. I made her stand away from us and she began to scream and at that point I changed my tactic and asked what she needed from a hug to sitting on my lap. I offered to put baby sister in the car seat and to have Adalyn sit on my lap. The Dr brought out several books for Adalyn to look at. I was finally able to redirect Adalyn when the Dr. began her check up of Camille by having Adalyn observe what the Dr. was doing.
After the appointment I wanted to run up to the nearest Trader Joe's and grab a few groceries. Thank you Trader Joe's for having child size shopping carts! Adalyn loved pushing it around with the groceries we were planning on purchasing. However somewhere along the way, I am now having a hard time remembering Adalyn hauled off and hit me again for something that she was frustrated over me not allowing her to do. We went home and Adalyn went down for a nap and so Camille and I also took the opportunity for a snooze.
One of my favorite moments with Adalyn is when she comes into my room after waking up in the morning or from a nap and I am still in bed and we share a sweet smile. She came in and crawled in bed with me, but as I anticipated just a moment later she began asking then demanding some chocolate cookies that I gave her a taste of before her nap. I told her she could have some in a few minutes after I got out of bed. She did not like the idea of waiting and began to whine and then scream and finally hit me again.
At this point I am super angry. I am having a hard time keeping it together, in fact as it is, I jump out of bed and not as gently as a mother should I pick her up and march her to her room for a time out. The feeling of anger that I have at her behavior is overwhelming. Even now as I think about my emotions in relation to her behavior and I am troubled by them. I know she is acting up more because of the change of our family dynamics, but I am ultimately responsible for managing not only my emotions and behavior, but hers as well. I can remember never feeling angry at her. Granted this was when she was my only child and there was a sense of ease about our relationship as mother and daughter. It has become more complicated now because of the addition of another beautiful girl, and because Adalyn is growing more independent. Part of me is afraid of not having that same sense of being in love that I had when she was my only one and that the feelings of frustration and anger at her behavior will begin to consume more of my time with her. How do I manage that? How do I capture that special sweetness as she is my daughter and I love her more than I love my life? I weep over some of what I feel I have already lost, yet I would not give up having Camille in my life now for anything, but I do not want to sacrifice my bond with Adalyn either. This is not a new problem I am sure, but it is new to me.
To end for the time being, we are having a day of no TV because of the choices Adalyn made today and I am making sure I give her more one on one time in the interim. We shall see how the rest of the day progresses.
Camille had her 2 week check up today and with good report! She is now 10lbs. 11oz and 21.5" long! She is over the 85% of other children her age, under what Adalyn was at this point, but hey, each baby is different.
Getting out of the house was relatively easy this morning and we were on time for the 10am Dr. appointment. I have started a sticker reward system for Adalyn, with her good behavior earning her a sticker and with so many stickers earning her a special treat, like a Jamba Juice. I was feeling really good about the day, thinking that I had it in the bag, that is until we got into the appointment with the Dr. In the middle of my conversation with Dr. Buffington about my delivery with Camille, Adalyn began demanding that I stop talking. She has never done that before and so I ignored her and continued my conversation. She began to become even more demanding and at the climax of her fit she struck me several times and even hit Camille on top of the head. I made her stand away from us and she began to scream and at that point I changed my tactic and asked what she needed from a hug to sitting on my lap. I offered to put baby sister in the car seat and to have Adalyn sit on my lap. The Dr brought out several books for Adalyn to look at. I was finally able to redirect Adalyn when the Dr. began her check up of Camille by having Adalyn observe what the Dr. was doing.
After the appointment I wanted to run up to the nearest Trader Joe's and grab a few groceries. Thank you Trader Joe's for having child size shopping carts! Adalyn loved pushing it around with the groceries we were planning on purchasing. However somewhere along the way, I am now having a hard time remembering Adalyn hauled off and hit me again for something that she was frustrated over me not allowing her to do. We went home and Adalyn went down for a nap and so Camille and I also took the opportunity for a snooze.
One of my favorite moments with Adalyn is when she comes into my room after waking up in the morning or from a nap and I am still in bed and we share a sweet smile. She came in and crawled in bed with me, but as I anticipated just a moment later she began asking then demanding some chocolate cookies that I gave her a taste of before her nap. I told her she could have some in a few minutes after I got out of bed. She did not like the idea of waiting and began to whine and then scream and finally hit me again.
At this point I am super angry. I am having a hard time keeping it together, in fact as it is, I jump out of bed and not as gently as a mother should I pick her up and march her to her room for a time out. The feeling of anger that I have at her behavior is overwhelming. Even now as I think about my emotions in relation to her behavior and I am troubled by them. I know she is acting up more because of the change of our family dynamics, but I am ultimately responsible for managing not only my emotions and behavior, but hers as well. I can remember never feeling angry at her. Granted this was when she was my only child and there was a sense of ease about our relationship as mother and daughter. It has become more complicated now because of the addition of another beautiful girl, and because Adalyn is growing more independent. Part of me is afraid of not having that same sense of being in love that I had when she was my only one and that the feelings of frustration and anger at her behavior will begin to consume more of my time with her. How do I manage that? How do I capture that special sweetness as she is my daughter and I love her more than I love my life? I weep over some of what I feel I have already lost, yet I would not give up having Camille in my life now for anything, but I do not want to sacrifice my bond with Adalyn either. This is not a new problem I am sure, but it is new to me.
To end for the time being, we are having a day of no TV because of the choices Adalyn made today and I am making sure I give her more one on one time in the interim. We shall see how the rest of the day progresses.
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