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Thursday, 28 June 2012

Sponsored: My Hectic Days

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Florida Orange Juice. All opinions are 100% mine.

Being a mom is a job all of it's own, but when you add in owning your own business and running two blogs, days go from busy to B-U-S-Y. I'm talking, little time to eat or go to the bathroom sometimes! It seems like from the time I step out of bed, I am go, go, go.

One thing that has helped me is having a pretty solid morning routine. Once the kids are awake, they are changed and situated for breakfast. I'll admit that breakfast most days is something quick for everyone, it's just easier then hauling out the ingredients and equipment needed to make waffles or eggs. I do try to keep pancakes and muffins in the freezer, but sometimes grabbing some cereal bars and fruit (or 'squeezie' pouches of puree for the one year old) is just way easier.

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Family Awarded $55 Million In Medical Malpractice Suit

A Maryland family have been awarded $55 million after their newborn son was left with severe brain damage following an emergency c-section. After complications arose during their home birth, the family rushed to Johns Hopkins Hospital where doctors ordered an emergency c-section. The c-section was performed 2 hours after being ordered. Their baby was deprived of oxygen and now suffers from cerebral palsy and seizure disorder.

The family is planning to use their compensation to provide care for their son, who requires round-the-clock care. Because of a state cap, the amount will be reduced to around $30 million.

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Is There A Wrong Way To Name A Child?

Looking through baby names just now, I was struck by the variety of them out there, and curious about the limitations society seems to put on names. Even though we've got celebrities naming their children after colors and fruit, there still seems to be a big hesitation about naming a baby something unusual, unless it's "trending" (let's hear it for "Brielle," I know two born this year already ).

Personally, ethnic names, Biblical names, family names, and unusual names that others are able to pronounce and spell fairly easily are on my "okay" list.

Names of close family or friend's children, names that are colors, foods or just don't even sound like names are on my "not okay" list.

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IGT - Insufficient Glandular Tissue

IGT is the kind of thing that can sneak up on a woman and steal her dreams away. It's a sinister condition that many women have, and some don't even know about it. No one really knows much about it, and it can effect women in different ways. One primary implication of IGT is a medically valid low breastmilk supply.

While I myself have low supply due to a breast surgery, I have found a safe haven in the IGT community because our problems are so similar. I am astounded when I find that so many medical professionals, even some lactation specialists, are clueless as to what it is, or how to move forward with a breastfeeding IGT mother. Especially when you consider that plastic surgeons recognize the physical symptoms of the condition in their patients, and correct them through breast augmentation. (The augmentation does not increase the chance of breast-feeding success, and may actually diminish your chances.)

If you have IGT here is the breastfeeding story in a nutshell: Your breastfeeding journey may be rocky. Even if you've had other children in the past each individual pregnancy/infancy will bring with it the question "can I produce enough milk?" The answer to your question is another question - how much is enough?

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Wednesday, 27 June 2012

Parents Beware: New Delaware Child Abuse Bill

I was recently made aware (through the Home School Legal Defense Association) of a bill that has already unanimously passed the Delaware Senate (on June 19th of this year) that may lead to dangerous new ground for parents.

Senate Bill 234 redefines the legal term "physical injury" as it applies to child abuse to also include the word "pain." This redefinition would make spanking a child in Delaware a crime punishable by imprisonment.

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Raising Healthy Children

I have gotten lots and lots of comments about how healthy we are. And I started to think that it's important to raise healthy children. I am doing so many things differently from my parents that I thought I might blog about it. We are FAR from the perfect examples, and I know we have a far way to go. I hope this doesn't come off as "I am more righteous", but I do have a true passion for raising healthy children.

I grew up on a LOT of processed foods and we do occasionally give them to my children out of convenience but couple it with fruits and vegetables. We very rarely ate fruits and vegetables growing up because of the cost. We also were not enrolled in sports because of the time with four children and the cost, my parents just couldn't figure it out. So, I understand there are confounding factors. The thing is to find what works for YOU and your family.

This is what works for us:

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Tuesday, 26 June 2012

When Your Baby Becomes a Big Sibling

This past Valentines' Day we found out that we are expecting our second child- a little girl! We are really excited and feel that the 3 and 1/2 year age difference between her and our son will work really well for our little family. Jaime has been potty trained for over a year, and been in his own toddler bed for 2 years. Since we heard the heartbeat, we have been explaining what's happening to Jaime. He went with us to the ultrasound, and the tech was very patient in explaining all the body parts to him. He got to see his sister Beatriz kicking around, and was excited to show our housemates the ultrasound pictures.

Last month we bought a crib and set it up in his room. We wanted to start introducing the baby's things into his space early, to ease him in to sharing the (small) space. He helped re-organize his toys to make space for her changing table, and seemed happy to help out (he LOVES to be a little "helper").

Every time I go to the doctor he asks if the baby will come home outside of my belly, and he's impatient for her to be born. He gives my belly hugs and kisses goodnight, and likes to feel the baby kick. This is all fine and good, and I'm glad he seems to genuinely understand that a baby is coming. But I'm worried that the reality of a needy little baby, taking all of mommy's attention, will be hard for him.

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Foster/Adopt Orientation

We've been considering fostering and adoption for the past year, I think even before we started any fertility treatments. We wanted to do the treatments first. I don't feel that makes us selfish, it was just the logical next step. Over a year later and still no baby with the possibility of never having one, we haven't forgotten about fostering...

Something told me to look at our state's CYFD website late last week. I used to occasionally check the status of some of the children, but I put the idea out of my head to focus on the treatments... Until I saw that our county was having an orientation on fostering/adoption. We saw no harm in getting more information even if it's something we wouldn't immediately do.

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Monday, 25 June 2012

Pregnant...

I took a First Response this morning at 5 AM, after about 6 hours of sleep. It showed a very light line in the time frame. I think it may even be lighter than the one the night before. Then at 10 AM, I took a dollar store test and it showed a faint positive within the time frame. Which is good, since it was taking 30 minutes or more to show up the day before. Good sign right? I am just nervous because they are so light, but I have no idea how far along I would be. I called my Dr. and they said they will have me come in on the 26th to "see what's going on." I didn't just call and say "I'm pregnant," because then they'd have me wait at least four weeks. I called and told them about my miscarriage and I think I am pregnant because I am getting light positives. I was hoping to get in today for bloodwork, but no. :(

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Free eBooks: 1,001 Best Slow Cooker Recipes & Mom's Lifestyle Guide To Working From Home

Over on Amazon today, you can pick these two eBooks for FREE (Kindle editions). If you don't have a Kindle, there is a free application that you can download that will allow you to read these on your PC. You can download that application here.

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