Saturday, March 13, 2010
Smartypants
It was pointed out to me that my update on Carson may have been a little lacking :p So now is the part where I get to gush about my little boy as only a Mama can. He is SO smart! At last count Carson knew on over 60 words and he learns knew ones every day. He is definitely a talker (gee, wonder who he got that from?) He will babble on and on as long as you let him (and usually even longer!) Some of his favorite words are doggy, woof woof (which he says in reference to most any animal "kitty! woof woof!" "fishy! woof woof!" you get the drift), cracker, cheese, Ashley (our neighbor), baby, boobies (that on is particularly fun out in public...not), shoe (he's obsessed with taking his shoes on and off) and of course, every toddler's favorite word...NO! Carson loves to get into everything all the time, particularly anything I would rather he didn't get into...seriously, some days I'm not even sure why I buy toys for this child, I don't think he played with a single one of his toys today other than books, he loves to read. So basically, my little boy is fantastically amazing, he's super smart, definitely the cutest toddler I've ever seen, and oh he is a lovey little thing, he give hugs and kisses (closed mouthed even-most of the time anyway-so mama doesn't get covered in slober) and when he blows kisses he does it by kissing his hand then touching that hand to your mouth, its so cute!
Monday, March 8, 2010
976 blog posts is 1
Ok, ok...I know, I a terrible blogger! Carson is 16 months old now, my last post was SEVEN months ago! So here's a little bit of a recap...and I promise to try to post just a little more frequently, but I can't make any guarantees...
So in the last 7 months....Bryan turned 25, I threw him a surprise party, it was fun! Carson had his first birthday, I threw another party, it was even more fun! There was Thanksgiving, Brandon and Kellin and Aiden came to visit again, Carson and Aiden had a great time together! Then there was Christmas, New Years, I turned 22...and then there was school...and more school...and even more school!
Peanut Butter Playdough
Just like lots of toddlers, my little boy who used to eat nearly anything decided that it would be more fun to just be picky and not eat hardly anything. The hardest thing to get him to eat is protein, he has eaten meat exactly once in the last month, PB&J is hit and miss, as is cheese...so we were seriously lacking in the protein department. So what did we do? We made playdough! Not something I'll do on a regular basis unless I can find or come up with a less sugary recipe, but it was a super fun way to play together and get some peanut butter in Carson's tummy!
Playdough? OKAY!
I didn't just put it in my mouth Mommy!
Oh, I'm allowed to eat this playdough? YUM!
Ooooh, cookie cutter playdough!
Want to make some peanut butter playdough for your kids? It is super easy!
3 parts flour
1 part sugar
2 parts peanut butter
enough water to make it "playdough" consistency
mix it all together in a big bowl and HAVE FUN!
Bulema Redux
So remember I told you Carson was picky? Well before the no protein stage was the no veggies stage. It wasn't quite as bad as the no protein stage, he would still eat some things some times, but there was a good week or two where the ONLY way I could get the kid to eat a vegetable was to feed him morningstar veggie bites. If you don't know what those are, they basically look like chicken nuggets but instead of chicken, there is spinach and cheese inside. The only problem? There is only one place in Corvallis that sells them and after I bought both packages they carried, they didn't get any more in for weeks (and still haven't, I'm starting to think they don't make them anymore) So I decided to try to make my own. I bought a big container of spinach, I cooked a few cups of it down in a pan with just a touch of olive oil, then I mixed it with some feta and parmesean and rolled it into chicken nugget sized pieces and dipped it in egg wash and then in bread crumbs and into the oven on a cookie sheet until they were crispy. They were SO good! So why did I name them bulema redux? There are these yummy spinach and cheese filled pastry things that my grandmother makes, she taught my brother and I how to make them a couple of summers ago, they are freaking delicious, but they take all day to make, not to mention a little counter space (something for which we are seriously lacking) but these came out tasting pretty similar~not as good, but similar.
mmmm, Dinner!
Grad School
I applied for Graduate school. To get my masters degree in apparel design with an emphasis on functional apparel. I should find out any day now...so keep your fingers crossed for me, 'kay?
Sleep, Ear Infections, Weight Gain and Finally getting some teeth!
Anyone know where I can get some? Carson is sixteen months old. A 'good' night for us is him only waking up 3-4 times, an average night is 5-6 times, and a not so great night (like last night) is every single hour....its exhausting. I get up with the baby all night, then Bryan takes him in the morning so I can get some sleep. We're both exhausted...that word doesn't even cover it. I go to school and people there talk about how they're so tired because they've been living on 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night for 3 or 4 nights, it makes me want to scream because I would all but actually kill someone for 5 consecutive hours of sleep in one night, let alone 3 or 4 nights in a row! There are plenty of nights where I'd kill just to have had more than 2 total hours of sleep by the time 5:30 or 6am rolls around and Bryan gets up with him. Oh to be lamenting over only getting 5 hours of sleep! Carson is also nearing the end of his antibiotics for his 3rd ear infection in the last 2 months...oy, poor kid got my genes on that unfortunately :( On the bright side, he has finally hit a real growth spurt! He has gained 4 lbs in the last month, grown 1.5 inches and gone up a shoe size! Take that failure to thrive! Oh and teeth, Carson finally got his second tooth on Friday. Most toddlers his age are working on their molars, but not my kid, he was rocking the toothless grin until 15 months, and even now has the same amount of teeth (or less) than the itty bitty babies in his room at daycare.
Ok, that's enough catching up for now, I need some sleep.
So in the last 7 months....Bryan turned 25, I threw him a surprise party, it was fun! Carson had his first birthday, I threw another party, it was even more fun! There was Thanksgiving, Brandon and Kellin and Aiden came to visit again, Carson and Aiden had a great time together! Then there was Christmas, New Years, I turned 22...and then there was school...and more school...and even more school!
Peanut Butter Playdough
Just like lots of toddlers, my little boy who used to eat nearly anything decided that it would be more fun to just be picky and not eat hardly anything. The hardest thing to get him to eat is protein, he has eaten meat exactly once in the last month, PB&J is hit and miss, as is cheese...so we were seriously lacking in the protein department. So what did we do? We made playdough! Not something I'll do on a regular basis unless I can find or come up with a less sugary recipe, but it was a super fun way to play together and get some peanut butter in Carson's tummy!
Playdough? OKAY!
I didn't just put it in my mouth Mommy!
Oh, I'm allowed to eat this playdough? YUM!
Ooooh, cookie cutter playdough!
Want to make some peanut butter playdough for your kids? It is super easy!
3 parts flour
1 part sugar
2 parts peanut butter
enough water to make it "playdough" consistency
mix it all together in a big bowl and HAVE FUN!
Bulema Redux
So remember I told you Carson was picky? Well before the no protein stage was the no veggies stage. It wasn't quite as bad as the no protein stage, he would still eat some things some times, but there was a good week or two where the ONLY way I could get the kid to eat a vegetable was to feed him morningstar veggie bites. If you don't know what those are, they basically look like chicken nuggets but instead of chicken, there is spinach and cheese inside. The only problem? There is only one place in Corvallis that sells them and after I bought both packages they carried, they didn't get any more in for weeks (and still haven't, I'm starting to think they don't make them anymore) So I decided to try to make my own. I bought a big container of spinach, I cooked a few cups of it down in a pan with just a touch of olive oil, then I mixed it with some feta and parmesean and rolled it into chicken nugget sized pieces and dipped it in egg wash and then in bread crumbs and into the oven on a cookie sheet until they were crispy. They were SO good! So why did I name them bulema redux? There are these yummy spinach and cheese filled pastry things that my grandmother makes, she taught my brother and I how to make them a couple of summers ago, they are freaking delicious, but they take all day to make, not to mention a little counter space (something for which we are seriously lacking) but these came out tasting pretty similar~not as good, but similar.
mmmm, Dinner!
Grad School
I applied for Graduate school. To get my masters degree in apparel design with an emphasis on functional apparel. I should find out any day now...so keep your fingers crossed for me, 'kay?
Sleep, Ear Infections, Weight Gain and Finally getting some teeth!
Anyone know where I can get some? Carson is sixteen months old. A 'good' night for us is him only waking up 3-4 times, an average night is 5-6 times, and a not so great night (like last night) is every single hour....its exhausting. I get up with the baby all night, then Bryan takes him in the morning so I can get some sleep. We're both exhausted...that word doesn't even cover it. I go to school and people there talk about how they're so tired because they've been living on 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night for 3 or 4 nights, it makes me want to scream because I would all but actually kill someone for 5 consecutive hours of sleep in one night, let alone 3 or 4 nights in a row! There are plenty of nights where I'd kill just to have had more than 2 total hours of sleep by the time 5:30 or 6am rolls around and Bryan gets up with him. Oh to be lamenting over only getting 5 hours of sleep! Carson is also nearing the end of his antibiotics for his 3rd ear infection in the last 2 months...oy, poor kid got my genes on that unfortunately :( On the bright side, he has finally hit a real growth spurt! He has gained 4 lbs in the last month, grown 1.5 inches and gone up a shoe size! Take that failure to thrive! Oh and teeth, Carson finally got his second tooth on Friday. Most toddlers his age are working on their molars, but not my kid, he was rocking the toothless grin until 15 months, and even now has the same amount of teeth (or less) than the itty bitty babies in his room at daycare.
Ok, that's enough catching up for now, I need some sleep.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
When its your baby, you get to be a hypocrite
There are so many things that people without babies say, things I probably said before having a baby, and things people do, but when you're a parent, everything changes. We have been searching for a daycare or nanny for Carson for some time now, and thankfully I have fallen in love with one and that is where Carson will be going in the fall, but while we were searching, there were so many things that I just thought weren't good enough for my baby and I realized that I, well I am hypocrite.
When I was younger I used to babysit, actually I was still babysitting 2 years ago at 19 years old. During my search for the perfect person to care for my son, I talked to a lot of people. in particular and 19 year old. She just seemed so young to me, and so completely incapable of caring for my child in the way I see fit. I realize that this woman is only 2 years younger than I am, months younger than I was when I became pregnant even, and yet she just seems so very very young. It was then that I realized that I am a big huge hypocrite. I started babysitting at 13, people trusted me with their children at thirteen! Yea, I'm not even about to leave my child with another child. Yep, I'm a big huge giant ball of hypocrisy.
I used the think that anyone who nursed a baby past roughly 14-16 months was crazy. I am now very much considering nursing my own baby until 2 years or until he self weans. I also thought that cloth diapering was insane, and here is sit 5 1/2 months into cloth diapering my baby and I am addicted.
There are so many other things that I thought were prefectly ok before I was a parent and now I cringe at the thought. So tell me, other moms, what were you so adamantly against (or for) before having children that you have since changed your mind on?
When I was younger I used to babysit, actually I was still babysitting 2 years ago at 19 years old. During my search for the perfect person to care for my son, I talked to a lot of people. in particular and 19 year old. She just seemed so young to me, and so completely incapable of caring for my child in the way I see fit. I realize that this woman is only 2 years younger than I am, months younger than I was when I became pregnant even, and yet she just seems so very very young. It was then that I realized that I am a big huge hypocrite. I started babysitting at 13, people trusted me with their children at thirteen! Yea, I'm not even about to leave my child with another child. Yep, I'm a big huge giant ball of hypocrisy.
I used the think that anyone who nursed a baby past roughly 14-16 months was crazy. I am now very much considering nursing my own baby until 2 years or until he self weans. I also thought that cloth diapering was insane, and here is sit 5 1/2 months into cloth diapering my baby and I am addicted.
There are so many other things that I thought were prefectly ok before I was a parent and now I cringe at the thought. So tell me, other moms, what were you so adamantly against (or for) before having children that you have since changed your mind on?
Friday, July 31, 2009
My baby is 9 months old! How did that happen?
We had Carson's 9 month check up yesterday. He is 28.5" tall and 16lbs 1oz. He has fallen back off of the chart for weight, and that is a huge bummer. His doctor said that he thinks there is about a 75% chance that Carson just has a fast metabolism (he is Bryan's child afterall) and a 25% chance that there is a chrinic illness or other problem contributing to his lack of weight gain. He has been deemed failure to thrive based on his weight. Let the testing begin....
After his appointment we went to the hospital lab so he could get blood drawn and about a million blood screen/panels done. It was traumatic for us both for him to get his blood drawn, the poor thing has a bruise from it today, not that it slows him down any. His pediatricians office called this afternoon to let us know that one of the liver panels came back below the normal range, so he will be getting more testing done to figure out what that is about. We go in Monday morning for a VGUC, which is where they catheterize him and inject dye into his kindneys and to test for urine refluxing back into his kidneys from the urinary tract. Then we go back in to the pediatrician Thursday to go over all his test results and figure out where we go from there.
On the bright side, he is doing beautifully as far as development goes. He has hit all the milestones he should have so far and then some. He is finally sleeping a little better, he only wakes up 3-ish times a night now instead of every hour. He loves to explore and get into everything and he has the cutest laugh in the whole wide world!
After his appointment we went to the hospital lab so he could get blood drawn and about a million blood screen/panels done. It was traumatic for us both for him to get his blood drawn, the poor thing has a bruise from it today, not that it slows him down any. His pediatricians office called this afternoon to let us know that one of the liver panels came back below the normal range, so he will be getting more testing done to figure out what that is about. We go in Monday morning for a VGUC, which is where they catheterize him and inject dye into his kindneys and to test for urine refluxing back into his kidneys from the urinary tract. Then we go back in to the pediatrician Thursday to go over all his test results and figure out where we go from there.
On the bright side, he is doing beautifully as far as development goes. He has hit all the milestones he should have so far and then some. He is finally sleeping a little better, he only wakes up 3-ish times a night now instead of every hour. He loves to explore and get into everything and he has the cutest laugh in the whole wide world!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Why we use cloth
I have had mixed reactions from people when they find out we cloth diaper. The reactions range from pure disgust to interest to excitement and everything in between. So why do we use cloth? There are lots of reasons!
- It is cheaper! Cloth diapers range in price from $20 for a dozen prefolds to $50 or $60 or even more for a single diaper, so I guess it isn't always cheaper, but for the most part it is. Our stash consists of roughly 25 BumGenius pockets, 5 or 6 pockets I have made myself, a random (but cute!) Happy Heiney pocket, 4 made by me fitteds, a dozen infant prefolds and 3 covers. In all I have spent about $200 on my stash. Now, that might sound like a lot of money for diapers, and all at once it was BUT I was spending $50-60 a MONTH on disposables, so in the 3 1/2 months we were using disposables, I spent the same amount as I spent on diapers for the rest of my child's diapered years, and I'll be keeping them for the next baby too.
- They don't go in a landfill! Disposable diapers take up to 500 YEARS to decompose in landfills, not to mention the fact that you are putting human waste into ladfills as well, blech!
- Earlier potty training! Babies who are cloth diapered tend to potty train sooner. It seems that disposables can make babies feel too dry, they don't learn to feel wet and learn to tell when they have to go as early as cloth diapered babies because well, they never feel wet. Along with the little bit of EC we do, I'm hoping Carson will be completely out of diapers day and night by 2, hopefully closer to 18-20 mos.
- No chemicals! Babies have sensitive skin, my little boy has allergies to a lot of disposables, so it is nice to have a solution to diapering that is chemical free.
- Cloth diapers are soft and squishy and comfy! Would you rather wear cloth undies or papery plasticy depends? I know I'd rather wear cotton panties, thank you very much!
- There is nothing cuter than a soft squishy cloth covered bum! For real, its just flat out cute, and there are so many prints and colors and patterns to choose from.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Daycare
Putting your child in daycare can be one of the hardest decisions you make, and finding the right daycare is no small undertaking either. For the first 8 months of Carson's life, I was lucky enough to be able to take most of my classes online and bring him with me to those classes I had on campus. This coming term I will be taking all my classes on campus because nothing in my major is available online and I am virtually finished with all my general ed. classes. Carson is not going to be able to handle going to class for hours on end 4 days a week, and unfortunately Bryan and I have almost identical schedules, so there will be no option of passing the baby back and forth between us. So this Fall, Carson will officially be in the care of someone who isn't me 17 hours a week.
Finding the right daycare is tough though, I mean, you are entrusting this person (or people) with your child, the most precious little thing in the world. There are so many questions you have to ask and so many things that you are looking for in the right person. I have a lot of expectations for my daycare provider. They need to be willing to...
Finding the right daycare is tough though, I mean, you are entrusting this person (or people) with your child, the most precious little thing in the world. There are so many questions you have to ask and so many things that you are looking for in the right person. I have a lot of expectations for my daycare provider. They need to be willing to...
- Cloth diaper
- Be aware of my son's food allergies and dillgently watch him (like a hawk) when around food to make sure nothing goes in his mouth that may be harmful to him. They also need to understand that casien and whey are dairy products (and are in just about everything) and just because they aren't feeding him a string cheese and a glass of milk doesn't mean that he can have the graham crackers that everyone else gets.
- Their discipline methods and how long they let a baby cry (which better not be long if at all!) needs to fall in line with ours.
- They must not spank.
- They must have practices in place to make sure that my son only gets his bottle/sippy cup and not someone else's by mistake. For real, this could be detrimental to his health.
- They must give off the right vibe. Seriously. I know it sounds silly, but if I don't get the "totally comfortable with you" vibe from someone, there is NO WAY I am leaving my child in their care, Mama needs to be comfortable!
- Advertising you vast children's movie collection-Please don't do this, if I wanted somebody to plop my kid in front of a TV all day (not that he would cooperate) I would buy a portable DVD player and bring him with me to class, trust me, it would be way cheaper than paying for daycare.
- Charging more for in home care than nationally accredited childcare centers-If I am going to pay this much, I'm going somewhere that I know my child will be learning and flourishing and under excellent supervision for his allergies.
- Ads that have terrible spelling or text-speak-Don't get me wrong, I use my fair share of internet abbreviations and I have some terrible grammar when being lazy, but when in a professional setting (or a school setting) I do not type things like Gr8! Treat your childcare business like a business and maybe I might be willing to put my child in your care...maybe.
My Mama Blog
After being inspired by my many wonderful Mama-blogging friends, I have decided to start my own mama blog. Hopefully this can be a place for other mamas to come enjoy some leisure time reading, maybe learn a thing or two (maybe teach me a thing or two) and hopefully at the very least be entertained.
A little about me...
I am Stephanie, 21 year old wife to the love of my life, Bryan, and mommy to my sweet Carson Christopher. I am also a full time student in the wonderful world of apparel design and a work-at-home-mom (WAHM) running an online store of infant and children's boutique clothing and soft soled shoes (and the occasional cloth diaper) named Carson's Closet Designs. In my spare time (because I'm sure you can imagine I have tons of that!) I like to draw and paint and take pictures or the outdoors, I also decided to teach myself to knit a few days ago, so that is my newest hobby, I'm currently making a blanket for Carson. My son is cloth diapered, breastfed, worn, and most importantly--LOVED.
A little about me...
I am Stephanie, 21 year old wife to the love of my life, Bryan, and mommy to my sweet Carson Christopher. I am also a full time student in the wonderful world of apparel design and a work-at-home-mom (WAHM) running an online store of infant and children's boutique clothing and soft soled shoes (and the occasional cloth diaper) named Carson's Closet Designs. In my spare time (because I'm sure you can imagine I have tons of that!) I like to draw and paint and take pictures or the outdoors, I also decided to teach myself to knit a few days ago, so that is my newest hobby, I'm currently making a blanket for Carson. My son is cloth diapered, breastfed, worn, and most importantly--LOVED.
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