The Many Uses of a Mesh Laundry Bag!

At the dollar store, I found a mesh laundry bag, similar to this one sold at Crate and Barrel for $1.95:

This is a versatile little sucker.  I use one for lingerie in the washing machine (its intended purpose), but I also keep one under the kitchen sink.  You could use them to:

• Wash toys in the dishwasher (especially rings and links)
• Wash bottles parts, baby spoons, bowls, containers and lids in the dishwasher
• Hold bath toys (attach a string or ribbon and hang it in the shower stall--attach to towel rod, soap holder, or a suction cup with a hook)
• Wash baby socks, stuffed animals, and other small items in the washing machine
• Hold sand/pool toys (maybe put the mesh bag inside a plastic bag to carry home, then hang in the mesh bag outside until dry)

Yes, you can buy separate items made for each of the purposes listed above, but for $1, you can't beat this bargain!

Reciprocal Love

Now that Will is 7 months old, he is able to show love to me.  For a while this has been a pretty one-sided relationship...give, give give.  Now, though, Will is giving back!

When we're playing on the floor, he'll reach for me to pick him up or to hold him on my lap.  When I pick him up, he snuggles his head on my shoulder and wraps his arms around my neck and cuddles with me.  When we're sitting together, he's even starting to lean his face against mine as if he's mimicking the way I kiss his cheeks.  Even the separation anxiety he's experiencing in the church nursery, while painful, is such a nice sign that he knows me and loves me and wants to be with me.  What joy.

Seven Months

Seven months.  I am so blessed.

I keep saying that it just keeps getting better...and it's so true!  I am enjoying Will now more than ever.  He is a lot of fun.  He has developed a sense of humor where little silly faces, voices, tickles, pokes, peek-a-boo games elicit adorable squeals of delight.  He has started to give me hugs--he will wrap his arms around my neck and lay his head on my shoulder for several seconds at a time.  I will hug him back and thank him for being my "cuddlebug."  I need to make sure he always hugs his mother!  I love it!  I love knowing that he loves me.  For a while there, this was a completely one-sided relationship.  Now, he's able to return love and it is an amazing feeling.  He has a different relationship with Alex, but he is still very attached to him.  He looks for Alex before he goes to bed and once when he couldn't find him, he didn't settle down.

Now that he is conscious of this connection with us, he is also now conscious of when we are not around.  This month Alex and I had our first overnight away and Will stayed with my parents.  He did all right but according to them, he missed us.  He cries when I leave him in the nursery at church while I'm at Tuesday morning Bible study.  It is so sad, and it is so hard to leave him there when he's crying, but I know he's in good hands, and I want him to learn to be able to leave us, knowing that we'll return. 

I have learned this month that there is nothing worse in this world than seeing your baby crying or in pain and there is nothing you can do about it.  I will never forget how hard it was to see Will wheeled away in that hospital crib-bed and hear his cry piercing the air long after the crib was out of view.  No matter how much physical pain a child experiences, his parents' hearts are hurting more.  I never knew this before.  I never knew this love for someone who completely depends on me.

Will's surgery this week reminded me of what a blessing it is to have a healthy boy, growing and developing normally.  He really has only had one small cold/cough in his whole life.  The birthmark removal was something relatively so minor.  It was also another reminder of the lesson I first learned early on in my pregnancy.  Will is in God's hands.  He is in control.  I live with an illusion of control in my life, but really, I have none.  As my dad says, God can take us home any time he pleases--he doesn't need a surgery to do it.  In His grace, Will made it through surgery just fine.

Will, I hope you know that your dad and I love you so much that we trust you to God's hands.  We will do everything we can for you, to provide the best life we can for you.  We want to provide you with safety, security, love, a good education, and the best medical care money can buy.  But above all, we want you to find that true security and indescribable love is found in God.  We trust you in His hands.

Surgery

Surgery.  When the doctor first gave me instructions for setting up "Will's surgery" I froze.

It's a birthmark..."surgery"?

Three doctors said the same thing.  The nevus sebaceous on Will's left scalp had to be removed.  And it had to be done in surgery.  Baby hospital gown.  ID wristband.  Fasting.  General anesthesia.  Stitches.  Scar where hair will not grow.  Ugh.

After weeks of dreading the day, yesterday Will had this surgery and he did just great.  Now it's over and it's healing...all downhill from here.

I did very well (Alex told me so).  I did not get worked up when the anesthesiologist went over all the information with us.  I did not get worked up when the pediatric plastic surgeon came in to get our consent on all the paperwork.  I did not get worked up when the nurse put the little band on his wrist.   In fact, I smiled at how cute he was sitting in this hospital crib-bed with his little hospital gown on, playing with his toys.

Now when they finally wheeled him away, and I could hear his unmistakable cry all the way down the hallway...then I cried.  I knew that would be the hardest part.  Will must have been so scared.  Everyone tells me he won't remember a thing and I hope that's the case.  I hope he doesn't remember how it felt to be taken away from his mama.

While we waited I overheard the couple next to us talking about their daughter's surgery happening at the same time as Will's.  I didn't ask about her condition, but I heard that they were in from out of town and had stayed at the Ronald McDonald House the night before.  Their daughter's surgery was an hour and half long.  What a reminder to me of God's grace to us.  Will's birthmark is not a big deal.  It will be off and it's over.  All will be well.  It's just a skin thing.  There are kids everyday going in for life-threatening surgeries.  Thank God that our experience is so minor!  Talk about perspective.

After an hour, the doctor came to let us know that everything was okay.  Shortly after that, a nurse brought a sobbing Will and his IV bag into the waiting room and called for us.  I couldn't gather my things and get to him fast enough.  The first thing I saw was the 2-inch cut on his head.  I didn't realize it would be so big.  I felt a little sick to my stomach.

Even in my arms, Will cried.  His eyes were as puffy as they were when he was first born.  Two very traumatic experiences in his short life.  He didn't want the bottle I brought--he only wanted to nurse.  When he was nursing he was calm.  He wasn't even eating much, more just hanging out, but he knew he was safe. 

He was awake, but out of it for a while after he came to us.  His eyes were dilating funny and all he did was moan.  No smiles, no familiar baby sounds.  Just moans.  He cried hysterically when the nurse took the IV out of his foot.  Poor guy.  I just held him close and sang to him, tried to let him feel like everything was okay.

Just like they said, after an hour and a half with Will, we were ready to go home.  He slept in the car, and by the time we got home he was smiling again and more or less "normal."  He was very clingy and either Alex or I stayed in close proximity all day long.  Today already he's smiling and laughing like nothing happened.

But something did happen, and he'll have a scar forever to show for it.  Of course every mom just wants the best for her kid.  I hope we made the right decision having this removed and I hope he's not ever teased or embarrassed.  I hope he knows that we did the best we could.

Alex reminded me: If we weren't born into the family, place, and time that we were, think how different Will's experience could have been.  He might have been born with a mark that turned cancerous and took his life as a boy.  No one may have even realized what the problem was.  Instead, Will Hoffer went to three doctors for advice, went to one of the best pediatric plastic surgeons in the country for surgery, had drugs during and after the procedure to eliminate pain, and Mom and Dad's insurance covered a large chunk of the whole thing.  And he'll be fine.  No worries.  Not even a follow up appointment!

Praise God for his grace.  I will continue to pray and trust God for a quick healing and a small scar.  With God, all things are possible!

Solids: Stage 2

So after 3 and a half weeks, Will finally started to act like he enjoyed eating solids!  He actually opened his mouth and ate quite a bit of the purees he was offered.  It was time to move on and figure out the next stage of the mystery of weaning.

The pediatrician informed me that Will could now eat pretty much anything we were eating, just so long as it was cut up to the size of our pinky fingernail.  Not helpful.  When I gave Will tiny banana chunks that night, he nearly choked.  Like, I had to pull him out of the high chair and hit his back til he coughed it up. 

So, we needed to go a little slower.

Stage 2 weaning for me means:

• Offer food twice a day, 
• Offer mixed-ingredient purees, 
• Make the purees a little thicker (still no real lumps, though), 
• And add yogurt to our mix of cereals, vegetables, and fruits.  

I plan to continue this regimen until Will is 8 months old.  I am adding some blueberries and some citrus in the form of orange juice added to some of the purees.  Some sources advise against berries and citrus until 8 months, but my pediatrician said I could go for it.

Here's the list of things I have made so far or plan to make.  (Many of these I will mix with yogurt, breastmilk, oatmeal, or rice cereal for another variation.)

Vegetables

Carrots
with apples, peas, dried apricots, sweet potatoes, green beans, potato/brocooli, sweet potato/potato, pumpkin, parsnip, parsnip/sweet potato, corn

Peas
with carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, potato/broccoli, sweet potato/leek, pumpkin, corn, green beans

Broccoli
with carrots, potato, peas/potato, zucchini/potato, sweet potato, carrots/potato

Pumpkin
with peas, carrots, bananas, pear/apple juice, apples, orange juice

Sweet Potatoes
with peas/leek, carrots, potato/carrots, broccoli, peas, spinach, green beans, potato/zucchini, parsnip/carrots, pear, apple, banana

Potato
with broccoli, peas, carrots, sweet potato/carrots, broccoli/carrots, broccoli/peas, corn, spinach, parsnips, zuchinni/squash

Corn
with carrots, peas, potato

Spinach
with potato, squash, sweet potatoes, banana/yogurt/apple juice

Avacado
with banana

Green Beans
with carrot, sweet potato, peas

Squash
with pear, apple, sweet potato, zucchini/potato

Zucchini
with potato/broccoli, squash/potato

Parsnips
with apples/carrots, carrots, potato, sweet potato, pears


Fruit

Apples
with vegetables (any?), pear/banana, blueberry, raisins/orange juice, carrots/mango

Bananas
with avacado, apples/pears, apple/orange juice, peach, sweet potato, apple/prune juice, blueberries, peaches, avacado/pineapple/yogurt

Pears
with squash, sweet potatoes, blueberries, pears, apples

Papaya

Blueberries
with bananas (roasted?), pear

Mango
with apples/carrots

Peaches
with bananas

Dried Apricots
with apple/pear, plum

Plums
with prune juice/apples

Baby Play

 I love the idea of heuristic play--kids playing with real objects and not just items designated as "toys."  I think this makes kids think of the whole world as a joyful place full of discovery and learning experiences.

Inspired by the treasure baskets I found at TheImaginationTree.com, I put together a collection of kitchen items and put them on the floor for Will.  He played for a really long time!  He was enthralled.  How simple--and how fun!

The next step (because I didn't want to get rid of all these toys we do have!) was to make treasure baskets with a variety of items--toys and non-toys.  I made three of them.  Now I rotate them around and let Will take the items out, explore them, and explore the basket itself (often his favorite part!).  One day we'll be able to work on putting the items back IN the basket, too! :)

One Year Ago Today

For the last 6 and a half months I have often thought to myself, "What was I doing a year ago today?"  It started in the hospital recovery room the day after Will was born.  It was the morning that teachers first reported back to school.  I woke up at 5:30, the time I would have had to get up to be at school, and thought of all my colleagues waking up and getting ready to begin a new year.  I woke up after my second night in the hospital and thought of all my colleagues greeting students for the first time.  I remembered vividly the nervous anticipation I always felt on the first day of school...but this year was different.  This year, I wasn't going back. 

This weekend last year was a memorable one for me.  Last year on March 8, my mom came up for the weekend to help me make curtains for our family room.  It was one of those projects I had on my list of "things to do before the baby came."  The day before she arrived, Friday, was the first day I could not button my jeans!  I gave in and finally tied a rubber band to the belt loop to give me some space in the waist.  I knew, though, maternity clothes were in my near future.  I had just started that, "Oh my gosh, nothing fits!" stage...and when my mom came, she empathized and determined that we would head over to the maternity store to get a maternity wardrobe going for me before she left town.  We did.  She bought me pants and tops for school, a couple sundresses for spring and summer time, and a couple pairs of jeans.

By the time she left, I felt such a huge sense of relief.  I had new curtains that were beautiful and I had clothes to wear.  I wasn't anxious about not fitting into things...I was ready for the next step of pregnancy. 


One year ago today Will was so small I didn't know his gender and I could still nearly button my jeans.  Now the little guy is nearly 20 pounds and I can't imagine my life without him. 

And I can't remember my family room windows without curtains!

Another Pin-spiration: Cookie Dough Dip

This is heralded as a healthy cookie dough dip by Chocolate-Covered Katie.  I think it's really a version of dessert hummus, but it's good, and not [too] guilty!

Her recipe is:

• 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (1 can, drained) (250g)
• 1/8 tsp plus 1/16 tsp salt
• tiny bit over 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup nut butter (You can get away with using only 3 T. If you use peanut butter, it’ll have a very-slight “pb cookie dough” taste, so if you don’t want this, you can sub oil.)
• up to 1/4 cup milk of choice (Start with 1 T, and add more as needed)
• Sweetener (see note below, for amount)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips or Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
• 2 to 3 T oats (or flaxmeal) (You can omit, but also omit the milk if you do)

Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a good food processor (not blender), and blend until very smooth. Then mix in the chocolate chips.

Good with strawberries or graham crackers.  Yum!