It's true that the swaddle soothes a baby. Especially if you can master it with a regular blanket.
We were not ones to master it well at all. With the value of sleep on the rise we bought one of those blankets with the Velcro that swaddles the baby with ease. It worked wonders for our Little Flower.
I wondered one day, "When do we stop swaddling our baby?"
Little Flower let us know the answer sooner than we anticipated.
Now.
So, what do you do with a baby who really would rather not be swaddled and continues to break out of the swaddle, yet still flails her arms about (making it difficult for her to fall asleep and to stay asleep)? Oh the dilemma.
Well, I did some looking around on the Internet and in our clothing drawer and found a semi-helpful solution. I put a sleeping gown or sack on the wee one and then pin or rubber-band the arms off --with her little arms inside. You see, it still acts like a swaddle in that it keeps her arms from going all over the place but not so confining as the swaddle. It works well enough. However, I have noticed that the gowns that snap up work much better than ones that go over the head. Little Flower stretches the neck even further and sometimes breaks out. The snaps are much stronger.
I think I need more snappy sacks.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Numb
It's rather odd that I had major surgery 7 weeks ago and I still have some numbness in my abdomen area.
It's true.
I went for my final check-up and told them about this tingly, numb, weird feeling. I told them that it wasn't on my incision but near there and doesn't seem to radiate as far out as it had before. The doctor then told me that the numbing medicine can linger in the body for weeks and that was most likely the issue.
Awesome.
It's true.
I went for my final check-up and told them about this tingly, numb, weird feeling. I told them that it wasn't on my incision but near there and doesn't seem to radiate as far out as it had before. The doctor then told me that the numbing medicine can linger in the body for weeks and that was most likely the issue.
Awesome.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Going Price
More quotes from a newsletter that we again find ourselves pondering, "Say WHAT?"
"The going price to kill a pastor is $250."
- Faiz Rahman, chairman of Good News India, says about the 500-plus Christians who have been killed in India by Hindu mobs since August 2008. (World Net Daily, www.wnd.com, "Going rate to kill a pastor: $250" 11/20/08 )
"If we threw a handful [of babies] on an island and they raised themselves, I think that they would believe in God."
-Dr. Justin Barrett, a senior researcher at England's University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind, who claims that children have a predisposition to believe in God. (www.telegraph.co.uk, "Children are born believers in God, academic claims" 11/24/08 )
"Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
-The words on a sign placed at the Washington State Capitol by atheists and agnostics with the Freedom From Religion Foundation. (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com, "Nonbelievers' sign at Capitol counters Nativity, " 12/02/08 )
"The going price to kill a pastor is $250."
- Faiz Rahman, chairman of Good News India, says about the 500-plus Christians who have been killed in India by Hindu mobs since August 2008. (World Net Daily, www.wnd.com, "Going rate to kill a pastor: $250" 11/20/08 )
"If we threw a handful [of babies] on an island and they raised themselves, I think that they would believe in God."
-Dr. Justin Barrett, a senior researcher at England's University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind, who claims that children have a predisposition to believe in God. (www.telegraph.co.uk, "Children are born believers in God, academic claims" 11/24/08 )
"Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
-The words on a sign placed at the Washington State Capitol by atheists and agnostics with the Freedom From Religion Foundation. (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com, "Nonbelievers' sign at Capitol counters Nativity, " 12/02/08 )
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Batteries Not Included
For a time in life if we had batteries, fine... if not, fine. We didn't have many things that required batteries.
That is, until Little Flower arrived.
We realized that many of her things require batteries (swings, bouncy chairs, sound soothers, etc). Our family laughed as we entered a phase in life where we should probably have a supply of a variety of batteries on hand. More than just double A's - we are talking multiples of C and D.
Then it was all topped off by my Papa giving us a fun family game that also required batteries that we did not have. We accidentally left it on after we first played it only to have to replace them again.
Fun times.
We are looking into rechargeable batteries. :)
That is, until Little Flower arrived.
We realized that many of her things require batteries (swings, bouncy chairs, sound soothers, etc). Our family laughed as we entered a phase in life where we should probably have a supply of a variety of batteries on hand. More than just double A's - we are talking multiples of C and D.
Then it was all topped off by my Papa giving us a fun family game that also required batteries that we did not have. We accidentally left it on after we first played it only to have to replace them again.
Fun times.
We are looking into rechargeable batteries. :)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Oh, yes... and Flag Etiquette
I finally remembered what the other thing that occurred to me while I was watching the events of today unfold on TV.
Flag Etiquette.
As a variety of dignitaries were being seated (I think at this particular time it was members of the Senate) a particular man came our wearing the American flag. This is where I throw the foul flag! The American flag is not to be donned as a piece of clothing.
You can check out more here at Flag Code
Yes, it's one of my many peeves coming from a military family. It also helped that my Civics teacher in high school went over this in great detail.
Flag Etiquette.
As a variety of dignitaries were being seated (I think at this particular time it was members of the Senate) a particular man came our wearing the American flag. This is where I throw the foul flag! The American flag is not to be donned as a piece of clothing.
You can check out more here at Flag Code
Yes, it's one of my many peeves coming from a military family. It also helped that my Civics teacher in high school went over this in great detail.
Presidential Chivalry
I opted to watch some of the inauguration coverage this morning on NBC when I would normally be watching on FOX News. However, while feeding Little Flower it was the channel that the TV was already set. It's entertaining to listen to what the press notices.
I found it interesting that one man said that "husbands around the country will be in trouble this afternoon" with their wives because President-Elect Obama has been noticed to wait for his wife as she gets out of the car and even <gasp> opens the car door for her when she is getting in and out. I was glad that another commentator noted that President George W. Bush did the same thing for Mrs. Bush.
My thought on the whole thing... Well, he should!!! I don't think that chivalry was meant to be relegated to the office of President.
I think it's a function of showing how one cherishes his wife. My sweet Husband goes well out of his way to do this for me and I love it.
There was something else that I found rather funny in the coverage and now that I am here writing about it I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. Oh well. If I remember later I will be back.
I found it interesting that one man said that "husbands around the country will be in trouble this afternoon" with their wives because President-Elect Obama has been noticed to wait for his wife as she gets out of the car and even <gasp> opens the car door for her when she is getting in and out. I was glad that another commentator noted that President George W. Bush did the same thing for Mrs. Bush.
My thought on the whole thing... Well, he should!!! I don't think that chivalry was meant to be relegated to the office of President.
I think it's a function of showing how one cherishes his wife. My sweet Husband goes well out of his way to do this for me and I love it.
There was something else that I found rather funny in the coverage and now that I am here writing about it I cannot for the life of me remember what it was. Oh well. If I remember later I will be back.
Incisions and Adhesive
I am thankful that I live in a time after doctors found a better place for the incision of a c-section. In days past the incision would be a vertical cut in the stomach almost obliterating the belly button and making a natural birth virtually impossible in future pregnancies. Now, the incision is horizontal and lower on the abdomen. I can barely see where the incision was, thus, making the scar basically undetectable. Plus, barring another baby in a breech presentation the possibility of a natural birth is at a higher percentage.
My husband just asked, "Your blogging about your incision?"
Well, it's not so much the incision that I wanted to tell you about. It was more of a set up for the next part.
You would think that with such a major surgery the scar would be the biggest remnant left of the whole procedure. However, for me, that is not the case. In recent years I have noticed that I have an adhesive sensitivity. They marked me with an allergy but there wasn't a whole lot they could do to avoid using adhesive on my now very tender skin. Needless to say, I have some scars left from tape and other adhesive typ things they used to sew me up.
An unlikely battle scar. Although, I find it highly entertaining and laugh. Now the nurses understand why I didn't want to just let them RIP my bandages off. ha ha ha!!!
My husband just asked, "Your blogging about your incision?"
Well, it's not so much the incision that I wanted to tell you about. It was more of a set up for the next part.
You would think that with such a major surgery the scar would be the biggest remnant left of the whole procedure. However, for me, that is not the case. In recent years I have noticed that I have an adhesive sensitivity. They marked me with an allergy but there wasn't a whole lot they could do to avoid using adhesive on my now very tender skin. Needless to say, I have some scars left from tape and other adhesive typ things they used to sew me up.
An unlikely battle scar. Although, I find it highly entertaining and laugh. Now the nurses understand why I didn't want to just let them RIP my bandages off. ha ha ha!!!
Monday, January 19, 2009
100
On this day in 1909, my grandmother entered this world in Palmer, Nebraska. Today, she is celebrating 100 years of life. One hundred years of learning, living, wisdom, and love. Only a very few can experience such a feeling. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember everything quite so clearly. It's just a product of being older for her. She doesn't hear very well and she is legally blind so a lot of her memory loss is attributed to the lack of new input that would keep her mind sharp. However, one would be surprised at how much she does remember and the stories she still manages to recall. My grandmother loved to read which made the loss of her eye sight all the more devastating.
When my grandmother was 6 months old her family moved into the family home (that my great-grandfather built) out on the farm, where she would live for 84 years. When she and my grandfather left the farmhouse for the "city" of Central City the house was falling apart and would later be "donated" to the local fire department for a training exercise. We (really, my dedicated aunt with the consent of the grandkids) recently had to sell the farm to care for my grandmother.
As I look at my grandmother's life it is marked with some fun and interesting stories as well as some terribly tragic moments that contribute to the fact that my grandmother really never wanted to live to see her 100th birthday.
Here is a smattering of stories:
Oh, I am sure that I could sit here and recount a variety of things. I opted to go to college in Nebraska for a variety of reasons and one of them was so I could be closer to my grandmother for a time. I had to laugh when I would visit and try to sleep in because noises that I remembered as a child from the farm were still present in the new house. What noise is that you ask? The All-Star Polka Show. Yes, it's true. The All-Star Polka Show was a must listen on the farm radio which was forever on the same channel unless there was a baseball game. People would call in and ask for a "special" polka to be played for some random occasion. It would drive me nuts but it's a memory that I now cherish.
My grandmother's quality of life isn't all that great right now. She basically spends her days sitting in the chair in her long-term care unit. She's not sick with anything it's just a better place for her to be than at home alone. She opted to go there on her own which I think was the best thing for her.
My husband is a wise man. I was sharing with him feelings about my grandmother, her 100 years, and her current quality of life. His response to me was, "God is the giver of life and it is to be honored." These words struck me to my very core...because they are true.
So, here's to my Grandmother and her 100 years of a full and sometimes adventurous life out on the farm.
When my grandmother was 6 months old her family moved into the family home (that my great-grandfather built) out on the farm, where she would live for 84 years. When she and my grandfather left the farmhouse for the "city" of Central City the house was falling apart and would later be "donated" to the local fire department for a training exercise. We (really, my dedicated aunt with the consent of the grandkids) recently had to sell the farm to care for my grandmother.
As I look at my grandmother's life it is marked with some fun and interesting stories as well as some terribly tragic moments that contribute to the fact that my grandmother really never wanted to live to see her 100th birthday.
Here is a smattering of stories:
- My grandmother accepted my grandfather's marriage proposal because she "wasn't sure if anyone else would come along." You see, I think my grandmother had several marriage proposals and turned them down for a variety of reasons. My grandfather was 7 years younger.
- Grandma was 40 years old when she gave birth to my mother and 70 when I was born.
- Grandma has endured what no parent should have to endure - she outlived both of her children. She also out lived her younger sister and her husband.
- Grandma made the best eggs -- I learned her secret... salt.
- She got her first refrigerator in 1950.
- She was still using an outhouse in the early 1970's because my grandfather didn't want to fix the plumbing. (It was finally fixed at some family urging)
- Her father used to take them to school in a horse-drawn wagon.
- She remembers driving one of those "crank-up" cars.
Oh, I am sure that I could sit here and recount a variety of things. I opted to go to college in Nebraska for a variety of reasons and one of them was so I could be closer to my grandmother for a time. I had to laugh when I would visit and try to sleep in because noises that I remembered as a child from the farm were still present in the new house. What noise is that you ask? The All-Star Polka Show. Yes, it's true. The All-Star Polka Show was a must listen on the farm radio which was forever on the same channel unless there was a baseball game. People would call in and ask for a "special" polka to be played for some random occasion. It would drive me nuts but it's a memory that I now cherish.
My grandmother's quality of life isn't all that great right now. She basically spends her days sitting in the chair in her long-term care unit. She's not sick with anything it's just a better place for her to be than at home alone. She opted to go there on her own which I think was the best thing for her.
My husband is a wise man. I was sharing with him feelings about my grandmother, her 100 years, and her current quality of life. His response to me was, "God is the giver of life and it is to be honored." These words struck me to my very core...because they are true.
So, here's to my Grandmother and her 100 years of a full and sometimes adventurous life out on the farm.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Elastic Girl
In the months leading up to the delivery of my sweet daughter I was a little apprehensive about the dreaded stretch marks. I had horrid thoughts of what they may do and what they may look like. I bought the lotion that comes recommended... but for whatever reason I did not use it as I should.
So, I was quite surprised that as I was heading to hospital to meet this little blessing there were still no stretch marks to be seen. That is, except for the vague leftovers that I acquired on my hips when I was in middle school and I grew 4 inches in 9 months. Yes, I was quite excited that I would be making it through this pregnancy without any stretch marks.
Then I looked in the mirror...
When I returned home from having a c-section where they rip you open and move things around in a fashion that I am sure no body part is ever really prepared for I noticed some newly acquired stretch marks. If you were to ask my sweet husband who watched it all he would also put the emphasis on them STRETCHING me in ways that he was sure would penetrate the spinal I had (It didn't).
After 8 months of trying to avoid the little beasts they were applied to my tummy in less than 30 minutes.
Sigh. I will opt to try to think of them as a badge of honor of sorts. ha!
More musings on pregnancy, delivery, and life with a new born to come.
So, I was quite surprised that as I was heading to hospital to meet this little blessing there were still no stretch marks to be seen. That is, except for the vague leftovers that I acquired on my hips when I was in middle school and I grew 4 inches in 9 months. Yes, I was quite excited that I would be making it through this pregnancy without any stretch marks.
Then I looked in the mirror...
When I returned home from having a c-section where they rip you open and move things around in a fashion that I am sure no body part is ever really prepared for I noticed some newly acquired stretch marks. If you were to ask my sweet husband who watched it all he would also put the emphasis on them STRETCHING me in ways that he was sure would penetrate the spinal I had (It didn't).
After 8 months of trying to avoid the little beasts they were applied to my tummy in less than 30 minutes.
Sigh. I will opt to try to think of them as a badge of honor of sorts. ha!
More musings on pregnancy, delivery, and life with a new born to come.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Baby Girl
Yes, a brief return to the blog world. I am not sure how long this will last or how often it will be. But here is a return as we strive to establish our new "normal."
On December 11th, our Little Flower made her debut. Were we ready? By no means! We were not expecting her to arrive for another 4 weeks. But she was quite ready and didn't want to miss Christmas. My water broke at 4:30 AM and when I realized what was happening I knew there was no tuning back. They can stop contractions but they can't put that "water" back! We made it to the hospital around 6:00 AM and by 8:00 AM we had our little girl in our arms. Wow. She came via "emergency" c-section as she was in a breech presentation. The irony in it all was that the next day we had an appointment to talk about our options for tuning her. Yeah, so much for that! All in all, things went well and I am no longer afraid of the epidural or spinal needle. I am pretty sure that when baby two comes along (hopefully, naturally) I will be signing up for the epidural. The contractions I had were becoming not so fun... ha ha ha!!
I had pondered the season in which I was pregnant. I thought about the arrival of Jesus and the trek that Mary and Joseph made. I was pretty sure that I would not have been so keen about jumping on a donkey for a long journey. Goodness, I was uncomfortable on a two hour car ride to Prescott the day after Thanksgiving. I appreciated Mary's willing heart and submissiveness to the Lord. There were deeper pondering of my heart but I think that many of them will stay there for now.
It's hard to believe that Little Flower has already been with us a month! She has a fun little personality (when she's awake) and we just enjoy getting to know her. For sure there is a lot to learn and we are thankful for the grace and the learning curve. We have never been so tired and deliriously happy all at the same time.
Little Flower arrived just a few hours before her cousin (another girl) out in Missouri. How fun to share the same birthday!!
On December 11th, our Little Flower made her debut. Were we ready? By no means! We were not expecting her to arrive for another 4 weeks. But she was quite ready and didn't want to miss Christmas. My water broke at 4:30 AM and when I realized what was happening I knew there was no tuning back. They can stop contractions but they can't put that "water" back! We made it to the hospital around 6:00 AM and by 8:00 AM we had our little girl in our arms. Wow. She came via "emergency" c-section as she was in a breech presentation. The irony in it all was that the next day we had an appointment to talk about our options for tuning her. Yeah, so much for that! All in all, things went well and I am no longer afraid of the epidural or spinal needle. I am pretty sure that when baby two comes along (hopefully, naturally) I will be signing up for the epidural. The contractions I had were becoming not so fun... ha ha ha!!I had pondered the season in which I was pregnant. I thought about the arrival of Jesus and the trek that Mary and Joseph made. I was pretty sure that I would not have been so keen about jumping on a donkey for a long journey. Goodness, I was uncomfortable on a two hour car ride to Prescott the day after Thanksgiving. I appreciated Mary's willing heart and submissiveness to the Lord. There were deeper pondering of my heart but I think that many of them will stay there for now.
It's hard to believe that Little Flower has already been with us a month! She has a fun little personality (when she's awake) and we just enjoy getting to know her. For sure there is a lot to learn and we are thankful for the grace and the learning curve. We have never been so tired and deliriously happy all at the same time.
Little Flower arrived just a few hours before her cousin (another girl) out in Missouri. How fun to share the same birthday!!
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