Mamatography - Week 8

Day 50

(02/19/12)

Gorgeous day for a walk! We were much less stressed having Sasha in the stroller. It was a first (in a long time), so she enjoyed it, too.

Spencer's Health

Spencer had his 2 month well child check up today. He is 11½ pounds already, which has him in the 90th percentile for size (on the Down syndrome growth chart)! His head circumference is 38cm, keeping him at a proper curve just above the 50th percentile. he has grown to 23 inches tall! This is also well within the normal curve.

Monday Minimalist: Baby Registries - Infant Care II

All we really need to bathe our babies is a creek, right? Ha! Baby stores disagree.

Baby Care / Grooming

They use the term "baby care" loosely, don't they?

• Nail Clippers - Yep, you're gonna want them. Unless, of course, you prefer to chew your baby's nails down. It is actually a common practice, I'm told.
  
• Brush & Comb - Really? You don't even know if your baby will have hair yet. And really, a wet wash cloth works fine.
  
• Digital Thermometer - You might check with the hospital first. The hospital gave me a digital thermometer the last two times I had babies.
  
• Ear Thermometer - Why would you need both of these? I actually did get a fancy thermometer. Just research and see which you would prefer. I was fine with the freebie digital thermometer for Sasha, but with Spencer's increased risk of getting sick (and some other factors), I wanted something better.
  
  
  
  
  
• First Aid Kit - I don't specifically have one, but most first aid kits I've seen include bandages and ointment. There are some things that are good to have in case of emergency, so you could either register for a good kit or put one together yourself / register for the individual items.
  

Sunday Surf: Cure Nothing, Cure All, and a Tower

I've coddled my sick hubby this week and we suspect our littles are at least a little sick. My own cold has taken its time settling in, hiding in a headache most of the week. Meanwhile, here are the links I found for you!

5 Common Medical Procedures (That Secretly Aren't Worth It)

I bet you can think of 1 or 2 that are on this list! I love cracked.com and usually agree with their articles.

58 Medicinal, Cosmetic, and Other Alternative Uses for Breastmilk

On the other end of the spectrum, breastmilk is good for pretty much anything. I'm sure my husband thinks I'm insane, I've been putting breastmilk on pretty much everything! He says I think it is a cure-all and I reply that it pretty much is!

The Gro Tower

You've probably seen these wooden towers around, but this particular one is a new item being offered by my friends over at BornAtHomeToys. They are good peeps and I love that they manage to do this together for income.

I hope you've enjoyed this week's links. Please let me know if you have one I should check out!

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!

I Am Not a Perfect Natural Parent

Welcome to the "I'm a Natural Parent - BUT..." Carnival

This post was written for inclusion in the carnival hosted by The Artful Mama and Natural Parents Network. During this carnival our participants have focused on the many different forms and shapes Natural Parenting can take in our community.

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All too often, blogging moms can appear to be the picture of perfection. I hope you get a more balanced view of me here, since I do tend to share the uglier side of things as well. Still, this sounded like a fun carnival, especially since I've enjoyed chats with this same topic among my NP friends. So...

I'm a Natural Parent, but...

Fostering Healthy Attachment?

Welcome to February edition of the Authentic Parenting Blog Carnival, hosted by Authentic Parenting and Mudpiemama!. This month, participants have looked into the topic of “Fostering Healthy Attachment”. Please scroll down to the end of this post to find a list of links to the entries of the other participants. Enjoy!

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Are you an "Attachment Parent?" I hadn't heard the term until I had Sasha. I was very attached to my older daughter, too, though. We rarely left her anywhere. Hell, I rarely even left her with her father! I nursed her on demand, until she self-weaned at 3½ years old. She was, however, considered a "mama's girl" and it is all too easy to blame that on my parenting style. When I left that family (got a divorce), I had planned to take her with me. However, based on my weird work schedule at the time and living at an apartment, her father suggested leaving her with him - in the house in which she'd grown up so far. We agreed on it. We hoped that the separation would help her, too.

I still can't speak to that topic. I don't know yet if it was a benefit or detriment. Three years later, her father passed away suddenly and she came to live with me full time. We're not as close as we were back then and I think being her mother would probably be a lot easier if we hadn't had that time apart. Thinking about that makes me sad.

I started working from home while I was pregnant
with Ronni because I couldn't fathom leaving him.
(This photo was taken from my desk.)

NoseFrida Review

Waaay back in May, I included a link to NoseFrida on my Sunday Surf. I had also read somewhere that it was especially good if you had a baby with Down syndrome, though I didn't see a reason given.

I contacted NoseFrida and asked if they'd be interested in sponsoring a review. Soon after, I received a NoseFrida and a Windi. Spencer hasn't been gassy and I'm still not quite "there" with the idea of the Windi yet, so this review is just about the NoseFrida itself.

The snot sucker arrived before Spencer (as I'd hoped), so I didn't have a newborn test subject available right away. I tried it on Sasha, but she resisted. She actually makes cleaning out her nose a big game where she giggles and wiggles her head... it does make things difficult.

Finally, Spencer arrived. The hospital actually even neglected to include his bulb syringe when we brought Spencer home. It wasn't long before he had something that needed sucked out of his nose.