Naptime Blog

I can’t believe that the school year is almost over. My oldest son Jeromy is preparing for his 3rd grade End of Grade Tests (in NC we call it the E.O.G.’s). I have mixed emotions about these tests. Jeromy is a pretty good student. He reads above grade level but has to work a little harder at his math. I think our biggest obstacle thus far has been multiplication. It didn’t help very much that our newest family member Jayce decided to join us right around the time Jeromy started his multiplication tables!!!

I definitely needed a refresher multiplication lesson . As much as teachers and parents/guardians try to prepare the students for the E.O.G.’s, there is still a lot of anxiety. Jeromy had 2 tests, reading & math. At the 3rd grade level the students must pass both E.O.G.’s to advance to the 4th grade. The morning of Jeromy’s 1st test, he was obviously nervous and concerned. My husband & I tried to do everything we could to calm his nerves, we even said a little prayer before he went out to catch the bus.

Thank goodness by the end of the week we learned that Jeromy had PASSED both tests and was on his way to the 4th grade. Unfortunately, we knew a few family members and friends who were not so lucky. The sad part about these tests is that they don’t fully assess the WHOLE student. EXAMPLE: A student can do ABOSOLUTELY nothing all year and perform really well on the test, on the flip side: a student can work really hard all year and not test well, so they fail!!!

This is just another instance were we the parents have to be the advocates for our own little students…

-Shanta

One thing I have learned during my two plus years of being a mom is you can’t really plan special photo ops with little ones. I have learned one trick for getting really good photos of the kids though. Be prepared!

What does this mean? It means always having a camera at the ready. I have two cameras, one is a point and shoot and one is a little bit nicer model. I also keep the point and shoot in my diaper bag when I’m out and about and by my laptop when I’m home (I never lose my laptop so I know where the camera is at all times). I keep the nicer camera near the kid’s rooms on a shelf so that I can grab it quickly. This way I am prepared to not only snap photos if one of the kids decides to up and take off walking for the first time (which happened recently). Most digital cameras also have a video shooting mode so you will be prepared to take video as well.

The good thing about digital cameras is you can snap away without the worry of wasting film. Later, you can sort through the photos and find your favorites while deleting the poor shots. I also love doing videos on a digital camera or digital video camera (so many affordable options out there) because you can upload your clips to any of the free editing websites and splice them together, delete scenes, add text, music, etc. and have a keepsake for years to come.

I made this video of my youngest son’s first steps online at One True Media and it was super easy and tells a story we can look back on when he’s older. You can download your finished product or buy a DVD. Several sites offer this service.

First Steps

As far as photos go, if you use this technique of always having a camera at the ready and just snapping away (get down on their level), you are bound to get at least one or two good shots. There are many online photo sites that offer canvas prints, poster prints, framed prints, etc. for a fraction of the price you’d pay a professional. I love nice looking art that is personal.

I always get comments asking me how I take such good photos of my kids. Honestly, only about 10% of the photos I take are even halfway decent. I am not a professional and I’ve never taken a class. In addition, both of my cameras are on the low budget side. It’s the quantity and always being prepared. After all, you never know when junior is going to paint his next spaghetti sauce masterpiece on the dog.

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

1. Childbirth
They say you forget the pain, but I have yet to forget it. Yes I had a c-section so some mothers will say I took the easy way out. The 16 hours of back labor before the c-section must not count.

2. Poop
I can’t clean up dog or animal mess, but I have no problem changing Tristan’s diaper and then if need be, showing it to my husband. I never thought three people (my husband, daycare provider, and I) could talk about poop so much! It seems like Tristan is either constipated or is having major blowouts, when do we get the calm in between stage.

3. First Words
Tristan’s first word was Dada. I spent so much time saying Mama, I was so jealous he said Dada first. I know that is not fair but I was. I am also jealous he now says Baba (bottle) and a few others, but still no Mama.

4. Sleep
Even when Tristan sleeps through the night, I still get up and check him a million times. I am not sure I will ever get a full nights sleep again. I think there will always be something to worry about.

5. Growing Up
My friends often compare milestones, I don’t stress about it. When Tristan is ready to do something he will. It seems he is growing up so fast, why make it faster. He took two steps in California and has not done it again, I don’t want him to. I can’t handle my 7 month old walking. So enjoy these times, don’t feel bad if someone else does something first.

6. Love
I thought I could never love someone as much as my husband. I was wrong I love my son down to the core, I still love my husband but its different. Tristan can bring a smile to my face with one look. He is the light of my life.

7. Looks
Every baby is the cutest baby. Well mine is the cutest in the world but all babies make me stop and look. It must be the innocence and trust they have from day one.

8. Money
A few of my friends say “I will wait until I have the money to have kids.” You will never have the money. Kids are so expensive, if you wait you will be 40 and look back and ask why you have no kids. I believe its all about budgeting. We bought a house and had a baby in the same week, our expenses went through the roof. We still manage but its tighter and we don’t eat out or vacation as much. I still wouldn’t trade it for the world.

9. That kind of Mom
I always knew I would not be that mom, you know what I mean. The mom that was over protective about germs, the mom that could care less about germs. The list goes on and on. I have decided to be me, the only Mom I can be. At the airport I let Tristan crawl all over. I got nasty looks and comments. Pardon me, he needs to get some energy out before a 5 hour flight. When he was done, I scooped him up and used an antibacterial wipe from the diaper bag. Guess what he lived, so all is good.

10. Emotions
I can still 7 months later break out in tears at the drop of a pin, I hope one day that the emotional roller-coaster is over. I blame it on hormones, but who knows.

-Chrystal

I’m always reading up on developmental charts to see where my son compares on them. So I was a little concerned when I read that he should be crawling and pulling himself up to stand when he hasn’t done either of those things. I googled “ways to help or encourage your baby crawl” and found rather interesting tips on ideas to help. One suggested laying him on his tummy across your thighs so that he could balance his weight and another was called the towel trick.

My husband folded a bath towel in the way it instructed and placed Shaughn on it. He lifted it up slightly and moved forward so Shaughn could move his legs and arms, a natural reflex the website said would occur. Well, he moved a little and then realized it was just too much work and stopped! He is a definite roller, though. He will get from point A to point B in an instant just by rolling, its quite entertaining. Well, we had his 9 month checkup and when we answered no to our doctors question of Shaughn crawling, he took a look at his legs, and noticed they are not symmetrical. He has a crease on his right leg that is not on his left, which we would always kid was a little extra chub roll.

For precaution, our doc suggested we have x-rays done of his hips, to check for mild DDH, Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip. Just to hear that as a possibility is quite scary so we will be having x-rays done just to check and then go on from there. He spoke about possible physiotherapy as well, but nothing is set until we have the results. Lets just hope our son is lazy!

-Krystle

I love to cook.  I would say that I am pretty good at it, too!  I am of Italian heritage, so I guess the best dishes I make are pasta in tomato sauce and meat (“macaroni and meatballs”!), eggplant parmigiana and sausage and peppers.  I also enjoy making pasta salads and outdoors barbeque dishes.  I try to make a variety of meals, if I am cooking a meat entrée, I always include a vegetable and a starch.

Food shopping gets pricey, especially in today’s economy.  I cannot believe how much more expensive everyday food items have gotten over the last few years, such as milk, eggs and meats!  Olive oil can cost $25!  I often try to clip coupons, but $.50 off of a $4.50 item, although it helps, doesn’t really lessen a grocery bill of $200 that much!

My husband is a stickler for being sure I only buy name brands on certain items…  We can only have Gulden’s Mustard in our house, for instance.  And if I buy anything other than Thomas’ English Muffins, he refuses to eat them (“it’s the nooks and crannies that make an English Muffin, and only Thomas’ has them” is usually his famous line).  But yet he is always making comments if I go grocery shopping without him that I spend a fortune!  Which is usually why I like to go with him so we compromise.  And since I have to be mindful of our budget (which keeps expanding out of necessity as our twin boys are now beginning to move from just formula to formula and baby food and now to formula, baby food and table food), I have to steer away from brand names in some cases.

Since I enjoy cooking and since I make dishes that require spices, I absolutely refuse to spend $3-$5 on a McCormack garlic powder.  I try to use fresh garlic wherever I can, but I still love to add some powder as well.  I was in the dollar store a while back and decided to try their brand of garlic powder.  And unless I took out the container of it during dinner, know one would have known it wasn’t a name brand spice!  Little by little I began to replace the spices in my cabinet with store brand spices as they ran out.  I have yet to have any problems with any of the spices I have bought.  Recently, I found 5th Season spices in Wal-Mart.  The garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes and red pepper I bought were only $0.50 each!   I bought four spices for less than the price of one name brand spice!

My husband has gotten used to looking in the cabinet and seeing store brand spices in there.  He no longer makes a face and asks “Why didn’t you buy McCormack?”  He does not taste any difference in my sauce or meatballs since I switched over.

Over time, I am going to try to sneak in some other store brand groceries and try to save more money.  I am not sure I will ever be able to fool him with mustard or English Muffins, but I will try other items.  And if I need to purchase over the course of a year 12 to 15 containers of spices, that’s $36.00 in savings!  Imagine what I can save if I threw in some more store brand groceries in the bill!

Well, I better go.  I have to go check my sauce which is simmering on the stove!

Jennifer
Mom to Juliana (7), Louis (9m) and Anthony (9m)
Expecting #4 in September!
www.nevaland.com

Well, we survived another well baby check up. Unfortunately, Jeromy (my husband/baby daddy) could not leave work for our appointment on Friday. I hate taking the kids to get shots by myself, so Aunt Cat (my husband’s lil sister) volunteered to go with me. She loves the kids to death and is always stopping by to hang out with us. I really appreciate her offering to go. For the most part Jayce was in a pretty good mood while we waited to be seen. He was laughing, cooing & looking all around. We just knew it was going to be an ok appointment. We even gave him a dose of infant Tylenol to help with any fussiness the shots might have caused. After the nurse did vitals & weight and all that good stuff, the doctor finally came in. We were amazed to learn that he was already a little over 14 lbs., he is only 4 months!! Let’s not forget my lil guy started off at a shocking 5lbs. 2 oz.!!

For the most part the appointment went well. She did notice some skin tags in his scalp that she wants a pediatric dermatologist to look at and she was concerned about his skin/complexion. Jayce is obviously light/very fair to be an African American. I never thought much of it, but his doctor would like for us to see a Geneticist for testing. She suggested we may be dealing with some form of Albinism. That was a major blow to me heart. To me he is just perfect, but the thought of Jayce having something wrong with him SCARES me to death!! She tried to reassure me that if that was what we were dealing with, that children with Albinism typically due very well and don’t have any problems. She also gave a VERY brief education on the condition and that it comes in several different variations. We/ the parents would just have to be diligent about protecting his skin because he is so fair. I just hope & pray that he is fine. So, we came for a 4 month well check up and we will be leaving with 2 outside referrals to see specialist. Other than that, Jayce checked out really well, he is growing and developing nicely, hitting all his milestones. The doctor left to get the nurse to come back in with those dreaded shots!!!! I was ready, but Aunt Cat was looking a little nervous about the whole thing. The nurse came in with 3 vaccinations; 2 shots & 1 oral medication. We elected to do the oral medication 1st.  The nurse asked us to lay Jayce down on his back and she would administer the shots in his thighs. Well once she did the 1st one, my baby turned red as fire and screamed out, he had tears rolling down his face, when I turned around to check on Aunt Cat she had tears rolling down her face TOO!! It was sooooo funny; I thought it was really cute to see her crying. It made me realize our family members love our baby just as much as we do. Even though I am concerned about these upcoming appointments, I just know Jayce is going to be just fine & we are going to love him up regardless!!!

-Shanta

I sound like a broken record. My 2 year old has figured out how to get unbuckled from his high chair and thinks it is fun to stand while he eats.

Here is our fives times a day conversation (three meals and two little snacks).

Me: “Sit down, please.”

Son: “Drrr”

Let me translate: He doesn’t have a big vocabulary. Well, at least it’s not one English speaking folks understand. This is a catch all word that means general irritation.

Me: “Please sit down, you will get hurt if you fall.”

Son: “Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

He then proceeds to sit down and eat a few bites.  Thirty seconds later, a similar conversation ensues.

Me: “Why are you standing up again? Please sit down like Mommy asked you to!” (In a mildly irritated voice)

Son: “Drrrrr, Dada!”

Me: “Daddy isn’t here, he’s at work so please sit down. If he was here he’d have the same issues with you standing up.”

Son: “Dit Down!”

Um, what? That sounded just like actual words. The funny thing is that he DIDN’T sit down.  I think he was commanding me to do so and leave him be.
Good thing his big boy seat is on order. I wonder how long it will take him to figure out how to get out of it?

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

Having children is an expensive venture. Many new expenses are added; I always said I would wait until I was financially ready for children before I had them. The more I thought about it, I realized no one is ever really ready. I have learned some money saving tricks, here are a few. Only register for what you really need, this way people shopping off of it will get helpful things. I took a friend who had three children with me to register, and we did it in a day. I wish in the beginning I would have registered for a convertible carseat. Tristan was a big baby when he was born, and around 4 months was very long and not fitting in the carrier. So the money spent on one carrier and two extra bases only lasted a few months.

I started off breast feeding and it was bumpy from the start. Around two months we started supplementing with formula and by four months he was completely on formula. I researched and read about all of the different formulas, I wanted to know what I was feeding my son. I decided to try Member’s Mark regular formula. Tristan did fine for awhile, then he started spitting up. So we switched to Member’s Mark Gentle Infant Formula. It has partially broken down proteins so it is easier on baby’s tummy. That worked for a little bit then he started spitting up bad again. Our pediatrician said to just try different options. That is when we switched to Parent’s Choice Sensitivity, this one still has the milk proteins but the lactose carbohydrates are taken out. We have had no further issues since finding this formula.

You will find some people that swear by the name brands and others that might even look down on you, but if you do the research you will see all store brand formula is tested with the same standards as the national brands. I save a lot of money feeding Parent’s Choice, I did a price comparison when making the choice about what to feed my baby and I save almost $50 a month buying store brand.

Recently I was in the baby section of a toy store and a woman was reading all the different cans of formula. I was buying jarred baby food that was on sale. I could tell she was a new Mom, so I asked her if I could help her in anyway. She said that she had tried breastfeeding but it wasn’t for her so she wanted to start formula feeding. I told her that I feed Parent’s Choice and explained how the FDA regulates all baby formula and if she wanted to save money to go to Walmart or Target and try a store brand. We talked back and forth and she asked how long I had been feeding and what my experiences were. She seemed a little hesitant about buying a store brand, so I said buy a can here of whichever kind you want and then go get a store brand and you will see they are the same.

She asked for my phone number in case she had any issues, I was hesitant because she was a stranger and she could be crazy. So I gave her my cell phone, at least then she would not be able to tell where I live. She called me a few weeks later, her name is Casey and her baby is 5 months younger then mine but we have become great friends. She doesn’t have a Wal-Mart by her so she feeds Target brand formula. One night Casey and I were researching store brands and it turns out a lot of the major ones are manufactured by the same parent company. So if I go to Target and I need formula I grab a can of theirs.

-Chrystal

Everyone told me of what a joy parenthood was going to be. They said that first moment your eyes met your child’s was the most amazing feeling in the world. They said when you see them smile for the first time it will melt your heart. They said when you first heard a giggle, it would be music to your ears. They said when you heard his first word, it would make you cry tears of joy.

Well, so far all that is 100% right and even a more joy to experience first hand than being told! But no one ever told me how over precautious and slightly paranoid I would become! Where was that warning from my beloved family and friends? I can’t help but carry hand sanitizer everywhere I go. I even recently bought a travel sized can of Lysol Disinfectant air spray. Listening to the news of newfound viruses and such puts me into such a worried state of mind. I swore to never leave the house with Shaughn once the first case of swine flu hit my county and then again as the numbers here quickly rose.

Sometimes I wish I could put him in a bubble like Bubble Boy and keep him safe from germs, bumps n bruises, and airborne illnesses. I think of everything I need to baby proof the house for when he begins to crawl and walk. Can I bubble wrap my furniture? But thankfully, my husband is the extremely laid back and relaxed one who keeps me grounded and reminds me children inevitably get sick.

I guess I can’t set up a fort in my house to hide from the world. How do you feel about these arising threats and the precautions you take, have any of you became a germ free nut like me?

- Krystle

The first Friday of every month is always a half-day at my daughter’s school.  Getting out to pick her up with the babies is getting easier now that the warmer weather has started to creep in.  I usually walk to the bus stop with the boys in the double stroller and the dog on his leash.  But it was raining this past first Friday, so I had to load the boys in the truck and drive to the bus stop.

When Juliana got off the bus she was famished as she doesn’t get lunch at school on half days.  Had I walked, we would have gotten sandwiches in the deli where the bus stops, but since I was in the truck I was dreading unloading and reloading the boys to their stroller just to run in and get quick sandwiches.  So I suggested we drive to my mom’s job and have lunch with her (it was approaching her lunch hour and the boss never minds if my kids visit during lunchtime).  And that is exactly what we did.

We had a nice lunch and the boys even ate.  They had fun and got to play a little bit, too!  Then it was back home.  We piled the kids back in the car and off we went.  The boys hadn’t had their naps yet, so I wasn’t surprised when they both fell asleep in the truck.

When I pulled into the driveway, Juliana had to go to the bathroom, but the babies were still sleeping.  So I unlocked the door and told her to go to the basement bathroom and then come right out.  I also asked her to bring out the dog so we could walk him.  Sure enough, five minutes later, she came out with the dog.

Juliana was sitting not five feet from me on the bench with the dog and I had my driver’s window open talking to her.  I do not know why she came over to the car door and opened it.  The dog was trying to jump in the truck so she pulled him out and closed the door.  Unfortunately, she closed the door right on her finger.  By the look on her face I knew it wasn’t good, as a matter of fact, her finger was still stuck in the door and I opened it as fast as I could.  She was bleeding, screaming and crying, and I knew she was in pain.  What was I going to do about the babies in the back seat, her bleeding finger and trying to calm her down all at the same time?

I grabbed some napkins I had in the console and wrapped her whole hand up.  I asked her if it would be alright if she could follow me downstairs as I carried the boys down.  I am five months pregnant, so I do not make it a habit to carry both boys together (they are each 20 pounds), especially down the stairs, but I had to tend to Juliana ASAP.  I managed to get them all down, pretty much threw the boys into their corral, and was terrified to see what I was going to find under the napkins of my still screaming little girl.  Yes, I was NOT thinking when I blurted out the thought in my head (a bit of Mommy-advice:  always censor your thoughts before they become actual words in front of your child!!!) and only made my daughter cry harder – “I need to make sure it didn’t fall off!” and Juliana wailed “My finger is going to fall off?”  Smart one, Mommy!

I managed to get my screaming child into the kitchen and took the napkin off (very carefully).  Her poor finger was a mess, but the nail was on and her finger seemed intact (thankfully!).  She was developing a black and blue on the opposite side of the nail and blood seemed to be pooling under the nail and at the cuticle line.  I rinsed it off and managed to put some ice on it, then I called both my mother (who was 5 minutes away) and my husband (who was a half hour away).  When they both heard the screaming child in the background, both rushed home.

And my little boys were still in the corral in their jackets, and one of them cried anytime he heard his sister’s screams get louder.  When my mother arrived I was able to take off their jackets, and noticed I had gotten blood on Anthony’s clothes!  But they were fine; it was their sister I was worried about.  I sat with her for what felt like hours, and considered whether or not I should take her to the emergency room.  By the time dinner time came, she had stopped screaming and crying, and was even playing on the floor with her brothers.  So my husband and I decided to monitor her.

The next morning she went with her biological father overnight.  I gave him all the cleaners and bandages and told him to let me know if it swelled or bled again.  But when she came home on Sunday night, I could tell in her face she was still in pain, and when I went to change the bandages, I noticed her finger was still bleeding!  The next morning I rushed her to the pediatrician, who after looking at her finger, asked my daughter to sit outside while she spoke to me.  The pediatrician suggested I take her to the ER where they would probably remove the nail due to the pool of blood under the nail.  GREAT!  “My poor baby has to go through more pain!” I thought.  And how was I going to tell her this?  I didn’t.  But I brought my boys home to my mother so my cousin and I could take Juliana to the ER.  I told her they would see what they need to do and decided that I wouldn’t alarm her until I knew exactly what was going to happen.

I was shaking the whole ride.  Surprisingly, we were taken right in to one of the rooms, and the resident came in to take a look.  Then the pediatrician came in, and I was relieved to learn they were not going to remove the nail, however, they needed to relieve the blood under it.  They ordered a small laser (the size of a pen) from the OR and put three small holes in the nail, where it immediately relieved the bleeding and the pressure which was still causing the pain.  The X-ray revealed a small fracture, so her finger was bandaged and splinted and off we went.

Thankfully, two weeks later, she is almost fully recovered, although still scarred, and she has pain only if she bangs her finger.  She was able to play softball for the first time yesterday, and she did very well, with little discomfort after.  Although the event shaved a few years off my life and gave me some gray hairs, it could have been much worse, so our first ER visit and bone fracture was not too bad. 

Can we keep our kids in bubbles until they are 18?

Jennifer
Mom to Juliana (7), Louis (9m) and Anthony (9m)
Expecting #4 in September!
www.nevaland.com