Momma Jorje

Monday, April 9, 2012

Monday Minimalist: Easter

A few years ago, a friend picked up this adorable Easter basket for our daughter:

This year was her third Easter and she is still using this basket. I was really wishing I had dug our Easter stuff out sooner this year. I thinned down our eggs. Also, my oldest is a teenager now so she got a giant chocolate rabbit - no more eggs. I set aside 28 eggs, 1 bucket + plastic grass to donate. If I'd done it sooner, someone could have gotten use out of it this year.

I kept 30 eggs and even then split them in half. Sasha got 15 eggs and next year I'll split the 30 between her and Spencer. It was so tempting to purchase the metallic eggs I saw, but we obviously had more than we needed.

Does it seem weird to store Easter stuff? It isn't really any different than storing stockings for Giftmas. In fact, you could even set baskets out the night before Easter in the same style. Make your own traditions. They shouldn't include wasting materials.

Do you save Easter stuff from year to year?

Let me know if you have a Monday Minimalist post and I'll share it on my blog.

Click the icon to grab the button for your MM posts or for details on how to join the movement.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Sunday Surf: Dirty Leukemia

Do you ever get to the weekend, look back on your week and find yourself unable to recall what the heck you did?? I do! I always have to check my calendar or journal to get an idea of it. This week I found out that I am not diabetic after all! I also found out that my ear parts all work properly. I also took my teenager to a couple of appointments of her own. Next week we have appointments every day but Thursday!

So that is how things are here (busy, as usual). Here are the links I have for you this week.

Uh, yeah. We let Sasha get dirty.

Girls who play in dirt grow up healthier according to researcher

"Women infected with the auto-immune disease Lupus outnumber their male counterparts 9-to-1. While there isn't a concise explanation as to why the disease occurs more frequently in women, the expectation for young girls to stay cleaner than boys may provide a reason."

Doesn't that say it all? I, personally, think that our society has become ginormous germaphobes. Pfft! I loathe hand sanitizer. As in: I don't like the way it feels. I don't like the way it smells. And I don't think it is a good idea. To each their own. Reading this article may help you see how germs help our children.

Knowing your baby has an
increased risk of Leukemia can be terrifying.

Down Syndrome Mutation Helps Leukemia Survival">Down Syndrome Mutation Helps Leukemia Survival

I knew that leukemia was a little more prevalent in children with Down syndrome. I also knew that children with Down syndrome and leukemia responded better to treatment than typical children with leukemia. Scientists think they have figured out why our children work this way.

So yeah, knowing that your baby has in increased risk of leukemia is terrifying. (Don't you find that word itself scary?) It is, however, slightly reassuring to know that he also has a greatly increased chance of beating it.

Did you read anything fascinating or fun this week?

I'm joining Authentic Parenting and Hobo Mama for Sunday Surf. Share your best reading of the week, and link up your post at either blog!

For more great reading, visit Hobo Mama or Authentic Parenting for the latest Sunday Surf and linky.

Happy Surfing!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Social Media Connections

I actually have a larger following (officially) on FaceBook than I do on my actual blog. I do post to FaceBook whenever I have a new article posted here. I also post when I have guest posts published elsewhere, something I've been forgetting to do here. (I do add them to my "Published" page, though.)

We have some fun discussion over on FaceBook, too. We discuss posts here, but also other topics off the cuff. It might be what cute things our kids say or do. It might be how best to strip cloth diapers.

So I just wanted to extend a specific invitation to everyone that reads here to join us on FaceBook. I do not Tweet. I do not Pin. I blog and I share on FaceBook.

I hope you'll join us.

Friday, April 6, 2012

a fluffy secret

During Spencer's NICU stay, his temperature was checked under his arm, regularly. One or two of my favorite nurses helped me learn to check it, too. The babies have to have at least a ____° temperature before you are allowed to take them out of their warming bed.

Sometimes we had to check Spencer's temperature 4-5 times before getting a high enough reading. These nurses often blamed this on Spencer's "fluff." I just thought they were referring to his fat. Being full term (38 weeks, really), he was definitely one of the biggest babies in the NICU! He weighed 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces at birth.

Finally, one of the nurses explained something to me that I hadn't read in any book or on any website. Babies with Down syndrome are fluffy. Spencer actually has very thin limbs, compared to my other babies. But he has these fat pockets in his armpits. They make it harder to locate his "core" for checking his temperature. These fat pockets feel... less dense than what you normally find on babies.

Look at those irresistibly fluffy cheeks!

This "fluffiness" also applies to Spencer's fat baby cheeks. Kissing them, you can feel the difference. His cheeks are softer than other babies! He is... fluffier! The extra tissue on his neck feels the same.

This tissue seems to shift / sag more than denser tissue, too. This is really only noticeable on his cheeks.

I simply can not kiss his fluffy little cheeks enough! I just thought I'd share this possibly little-known aspect of babies with Down syndrome. They are wonderfully fluffy! And you thought you loved average baby fat...

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Mamatography - Week 12

Day 78

(03/18/12)

Sasha helped Daddy build
this tower with her blocks.

Monday Minimalist: Breastfeeding Accessories

There was a dishwasher at our last residence. I started out pumping into and then even freezing 4oz bottles. They take up too much space! Besides, eventually you run out of bottles. I did finally get some bags for milk storage, but I still kept all my bottles. They were actually from when Sasha was an infant.

Then we moved into a Travel Trailer. I don't use 20+ bottles anymore. I donated all but about 9 bottles and gave a trial run to surviving with just 6. I soon decided I would survive just fine with 6 and donated the rest. I only kept enough screw tops and nipples for what I kept, too. I only kept 3 lids. I also donated a set of pumping breastshields that I didn't need. I have kept a spare set, though. I also kept all of my extra valves and membranes. They don't take up much space, could get lost or damaged, and this way I won't have to worry about replacing them.

This is my entire pumping / feeding kit.
It fits neatly into a cabinet.

What is more amazing is that I donated the pretty bottles. The plastic seemed thicker and so they took longer to warm milk, or at least that was my theory. I was surprised to find that hand-washing my cheap bottles made them more transparent! They'd become cloudy from only going through the dishwasher.

I've come close to having all 6 bottles dirty at once, but it is rare. My kitchen is very small. I do dishes 3-4 times per day to keep it clear.

How much stuff do you have for pumping and feeding your baby?
How much space does it take?