Naptime Blog

Pregnant moms are told that they need to prepare for a new baby by getting themselves healthy.  Prenatal health is such an important part of the development of our babies, and we strive to get our bodies and minds in the best possible shape for the good of our babies.

Many new moms are so consumed with their new baby’s health and well-being, they forget to take care of their own.  I try to keep reminding myself that I can only be a good mom if I am at my optimal health.  I need to take care of myself better so that I can take care of my children.  I wish I would remember to be as good with my post natal health as I was with my prenatal health!

Prior to becoming pregnant, I ate healthy.  I remembered my fruits and vegetables; I watched my meat intake, increasing fish and chicken.  I drastically cut back on sweets and snacks, choosing healthy options instead.  I quit smoking and only drank a glass of wine or one drink every now and then.  After all, I did not know how long it would take to conceive, and I wanted to be sure that if I had gotten pregnant that I was giving my baby the best possible start from day one.  I limited my caffeine intake to one cup per day and I took my prenatal vitamins faithfully and kept up with regular exercising.  I was in very good shape.

These days, I make sure my children are clean, safe, well-fed, and happy.  I work from home and manage the house and the kids 24/7.  I find myself dragging to get into the shower each morning, and by mid afternoon, when I develop a headache, I realize I haven’t eaten anything, the only thing I consumed all day long was coffee (and lots of it) and whatever picking I have done from my kids’ plates.  Not good.

My children are my world, and they are wonderful.  Tired as I am, I enjoy every minute I have with them.  The one thing I have to change is how I take care of myself.  I think it is time for me to go back to taking care of myself as if I was taking care of my prenatal health.

Last month I made a pediatrician appointment for the boys.  Louis and Anthony needed their two year old well visit and Joseph needed his 10 month well visit.  I gave myself plenty of time to find someone to come with me, but silly me picked a VERY bad week to do this.  No one is available to come with us, so it looks like it will be just me and Juliana with the three boys off to the pediatrician’s.

While I was getting myself ready this morning, I realized that three well visits have the potential for three boys needing shots!  Just thinking about this appointment is making me anxious!  I have to load all the kids in the van, drive up to the office (about 15 miles away), unload into strollers, get them all into the office, then strip each one, do the well visit, get some shots, then dress each one, load them back in strollers, load them back into the van, drive back home, unload everyone into the house, and hopefully be semi-functional enough to be Mommy for the rest of the afternoon until Daddy comes home.

I keep telling myself “YOU CAN DO THIS” and “PIECE OF CAKE”… but the reality is, it is going to be a BIG challenge.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Stay tuned for the update…  once I recuperate!

Jennifer Nevadomski
Paul’s Wife
Mom to: Juliana, 8 – Louis and Anthony, 24 months – Joseph, 10 months
www.nevaland.com

I had every intention on writing a strong review about the Hyland’s Teething Tablets. I read so much about them online myself and had a great number of friends and family to share their success stores with me.

Jayce is cutting those back molars and BOY in he cranky! He does not care much for the taste of Orajel so that is a fight to get in his mouth. So I was glad to hear of a table that dissolves and has a little flavor.

Unfortunately, as soon as I slipped the table in his mouth, he through a fit. He did not care for the taste and immediately started fishing it out of his mouth. It was chalky and messy after it was wet with his saliva. I also was a little uneasy about the directions. You can give 3 or 4 up to 4 times per day, that really seems like a lot to me. Because he wouldn’t keep them in his mouth not sure if it works.

Has anyone had any luck with the teething tables on the market?

http://www.amazon.com/Hylands-Teething-Tablets-tablets-Pack/dp/B000FYT4N0

~Shanta

Not quite sure how Anthony got pink eye last week.  He is not in school and really is only around his brothers and sisters.  But he got it, and had crusty, leaky, swollen eyes for a few days.  I thought maybe he was having a reaction to the chlorine, as he was swimming the day before his eyes started to show symptoms, and really didn’t think he was contagious because no one else had caught it.  But sure enough, about a week later, the baby woke up with eyes closed shut! 

Joseph’s left eye was very icky and gooey, and I called the pediatrician.  I explained to Dr. Grace that Juliana and I had slight colds, and asked if it could be possible that Anthony and Joseph’s cold symptoms were coming out their eyes.  She said this would be possible, and asked me to monitor the little guy and call her if anything changed.  I kept cleaning Joseph’s eyes (by this time both eyes were showing symptoms) and hoped that when he woke up the next morning he’d be better.

When my 10 month old baby boy woke up yesterday morning, he looked like a prize fighter!   His left eye was almost shut closed, he was swollen and red, his eye was crusty and gooey.  I was just about the call Dr. Grace back when Juliana walked into the boys’ room.  “MOM!  Look at my eyes!  They hurt!”  UGH!  Lucky me.  Three out of four kids obviously have pink eye/conjunctivitis, or whatever they call it these days.  Dr. Grace got us right in.

Luckily, Anthony’s eyes looked much better.  Joseph and Juliana were given drops, and she told us that should Louis develop symptoms, give her a call so she could call his prescription in as well.  And off we went.

Don’t you know it, not 2 hours after we left the pediatrician’s office, Louis wakes up from his afternoon nap with a swollen right eye and goo coming out of it!  By bedtime, his left eye was gooey as well.  Just my luck, four kids, eight pink eyes over the last week.

Not that this was enough of a blow for our family…  but don’t you know it?  I woke up this morning with a gooey right eye!  Fun, fun, fun!  I hope my husband doesn’t get it!  I cannot imagine when I have all four kids in school and germs are spreading in their classes.  I will FOREVER be at Dr. Grace’s office!  Happy Summer everyone!

Jennifer Nevadomski
Paul’s Wife
Mom to: Juliana, 8 – Louis and Anthony, 24 months – Joseph, 10 months
www.nevaland.com

Jayce is almost 18 months. Because I am in my mid 30’s now, I feel like my clock is ticking LOUD! My husband & I both want to add to our family and were trying to figure out the best time. Our oldest son is 10 and we both want to try again. I have had my fair share of high-risk pregnancies and I don’t want my age  to be another factor in my high-risk situation.  Many parents say that there is never a perfect time, I just want a smooth transition.

I also wish for a happy & healthy baby, and a little girl wouldn’t hurt

http://www.pregnancy-period.com/best_time_to_get_pregnant.html

~Shanta

So the question is:  In my attempt to become a Crunchy Mom, will I end up Crunchy Granola or Nestle Crunch? 

There are some things I know my husband and I are not going to change (nor would we if we were back in certain situations) but there are some things I would like to say will stick.  If you went down a list of things that might get me to be known as a crunchy hippie mom, most of them are just not me…

• Home birthing:  I would have loved the opportunity to give birth to my children at home in the tub.  But considering the fact that my water broke with my oldest and after fourteen hours without dilating, increasing the risk of infection and increasing the risk of harming my child, I went the C-Section route.  Three times.  The risks associated with a VBAC were just not worth giving it a try.  So home birthing would have never been an option for me.
• Holistic Medicine:  I guess I would consider trying anything, but I tend to think I would always go back to modern medicine.  And I do not manage pain well.  Moms who give birth with no pain meds?  Hats off to you.  I will take my drugs anyday.
• Exclusive breastfeeding:  I give credit to those mothers who can do this.  I tried.  But being available every three hours round the clock for 2 years and be the only one who could feed my child was just not cutting it for me.  I did do the tandem nursing thing a few times with my twins, but look:  After nine months of a pregnancy, I need my body back and my rest to be a good mother to my children.  That’s just me… to each his own (or her own).  I nursed each of my kids for 3 months, supplementing all the while. And they are happy, healthy children.
• Co-sleeping:  Literally?  No way.  Each of my children were in our room in their OWN bassinets for about 3-4 months after their births.  I felt comfortable knowing my newborns were close by and that I could get to them quickly if needed.  But then they moved into their own rooms with their own cribs.  My three boys (all within 14 months of age) all share a room.  We have three cribs in their room.  So if that is considered co-sleeping, then I guess I’m in.  Otherwise, my husband and I believe the only people in our home sharing a bed is him and I.
• Baby wearing:  I have tried this.  I tried to wear my twins in two carriers at the same time; I nearly chopped my head off.  I tried to wear my youngest so that I can have two free hands to tend to the toddler twins;  he is too active and I was scared he might fall out if I bended over to get one of his brothers.  So yes, I have tried, but I am not a big fan of baby wearing. 
• Not vaccinating:  OK, now this one I take personally.  As a biology major in college, I am all too aware of the many communicable diseases out there.  Yes, smallpox is not a life threatening disease because we haven’t seen it in years.  But guess what, Moms?  All it takes is one child to catch the disease from somewhere (possibly visiting another country), bringing the disease back to the U.S., other non-vaccinated children catching it, and then we have a deadly epidemic.  I have researched the vaccines recommended for children in the U.S., and I can’t see how the small risks could possibly outweigh the benefits of vaccinating.  All of my children have received all of their shots on schedule.  If my child catches a new strain of something he or she has been vaccinated against because other parents chose not to vaccinate and a disease has mutated, that is irresponsibility on our part as a society.  Medicine and technology advancements should be utilized when available all across the board.
• Not circumcising:  I have to admit, I was on the fence with this one.  I thought about not circumcising.  In the end, it was my husband’s decision for this one, as he has “that part” and knew better than me.  We circumcised all three of my sons.  I cried all three times as they were brought into the nursery for the procedure.  But I know it was the best thing for our family.  One day I might write more about my husband’s reasons and why we circumcised.  I have no regrets.
• Being against crying-it-out:  All four of my children have been STTN (sleeping through the night) since before they were 2 months old.  I could not possibly function if my children were two years old and still waking up crying in the middle of the night.  My children are very good night sleepers (not the best nappers, though), so I have been very lucky.  When they wake in the middle of the night crying it is usually because someone is sick or some other extenuating circumstance.  But if one of my children got into a habit of waking nightly crying, you can bet he’d be crying it out until he realized nighttime is for sleeping.
• Cloth diapering:  I will gladly buy the most environmentally friendly diaper they sell, but I will NOT cloth diaper.  I do laundry for six, and that is about 15-16 loads per week…  I will not wash diapers on top of that.  Besides, I’m not that much of a SuperMama… sometimes I can barely stand cleaning butts, never mind the diapers that the butts were on.
• Diaper-less:  I battle one of my twins regularly when he decides he wants to strip down and be natural.  After one such occasion of him stripping with poop in his diaper while he was playing with his twin in their corral, I have certainly decided “diaper-less” is NOT for me.  Thank you very much.
• Home schooling:  Another one you can keep.  I believe the socialization and the benefit of learning as a group of peers is invaluable. 
• Gentle Disciplining:  Yes, we tend to do a little of this, and I do not believe children should be hit, save a gentle spank on a diapered tushy or a little tap on a hand that just stuck a key in an electrical outlet to remind him that this is not something we do.  I try to reason with my children and distract them from certain behaviors.  But I do not see how you can distract or reason with an 8 year old who rolls her eyes and opposes every possible suggestion you give (Did you know the sky is orange according to tweens?  Can’t imagine what color it will be by the time she is a teen!).  For those parents who do, kudos to you.  For me, I know a stern raised voice works wonders.  I also think that respect for authority means that a little fear needs to be in place.  I do not want my children to be afraid of me.  I do, however, want them to know that there are unpleasant consequences in life (prison, fines, losing possessions, etc.) and being fearful that these unpleasant things might happen to them will help them to stay away from certain behaviors.
• Organic food and clothing:  So, this one I can try.  And I plan to.  I might meet some resistance from my husband and some other members of my extended family, but I am going to give this one a fair shot.  I’m not too thrilled with the idea of pesticides and chemicals in our food anyway. 

I guess it is pretty safe to say you will never see me become a crunchy hippie mom, however, I do think our family has a lot more room to “Go Green”.  Therefore, I plan on taking the next few weeks to use less paper plates and eat more organic.  I’m already recycling, but I can be better with reducing and reusing.  And I am going to consider buying more eco-friendly cleaning supplies as well.  I plan to take you all along with me…  Stay tuned for more on “THE NEVALAND FAMILY GOES GREEN”.

Jennifer Nevadomski
Paul’s Wife
Mom to: Juliana, 8 – Louis and Anthony, 22 months – Joseph, 8 months
www.nevaland.com

One night my son was playing along in the house when he hit his head pretty hard on a piece of wood from our computer table, and started crying a lot. Shaughn isn’t a cryer really and if he hurts himself he will get right back up and dust it off, but this time it hurt and you could tell.  I rubbed his head and he calmed down. There was a little bit of a bump afterwards but he was fine and his behavior was fine and normal.

Two hours later was his bedtime and he went to bed easily like usual. The next morning he was just very strange while I was getting ready for school. He was wimpering and laying anywhere I put him crying. I placed him on the bed while I was changing and he was just limp almost. Very very odd behavior and unlike him. The first thing I thought of is the night before and how he hit his head. Hoping there was no connection, I wanted to be sure and take him to the ER, so I called out of school and went straight there. They brought us in right away, started asking questions about losing conciousness, etc. I told them he didn’t lose consciousness and he wasn’t throwing up he was just very odd and for it to be the next day after that head injury I wanted to be safe. The doctor comes in, with an attitude that he thought I was a loony, and asks me “So you brought your son on because he’s misbehaving?” I wanted to cry! Of course I did not bring him in here because I can’t discipline my child, I brought him here because he has no behavior. I have been with my child every day of his life and know that not once has he ever acted the way he did that morning. He then asks me what I wanted to do and informed me “we could do a cat scan but he will be exposed to radiation which can stunt his cells” Right, because that’s what I want to hear. My mother called her friend in NY who is a doctor and reassured her that having a catscan would eliminate the question of any head trauma or brain swelling and that it wasn’t going to be damaging to him. I thought this over and decided to go with the catscan. Thank goodness, everything came back normal, but its better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to my child.  Have you ever had an experience like this where it seems the pediatrician has poor bedside manner or made you feel like you were going nuts?

-Krystle

Open up a newspaper and you’ll read about it, buy a container of milk and you’ll see it, turn on any cop drama TV series or action movie, it’s there.  And now, it happened to MY family.  I am STILL in shock.

My grandfather, newly widowed since my grandmother’s death just 8 months ago, was always an independent, strong, and smart man.  Since her death, Poppy has been slowly showing his age, as he is 85 years old.  He has been forgetful and sometimes seems a bit confused.  We truly had no idea how serious this was until last night.

Poppy went missing at about 5pm yesterday evening.  When my aunt went to check on him at 6:00, his television was on, his house seemed a bit a mess, the car was gone and Poppy wasn’t around.  By 7pm, there was still no sign of him, no one had any idea where he was, and we began to worry.

My family searched near his house, near our house (45 minutes away), circled highways and hospitals in between the two locations.  At 12:30 am, an official missing persons report was filed. 

Finally, at 2:30 am, the Sheriff visited my aunt.  Afraid of what she would learn when she answered the door, the Sheriff informed her that Poppy was found 2 ½ hours north, in Massachusetts!  He had been in an accident and was hospitalized.

Throughout the day today, my whole family is numb.  We learned more and more info as the day progressed, and as my parents and aunt and uncle drove up to Massachusetts to see him.  Poppy was in an accident (luckily no other car/pedestrian was involved).  He flipped over, got pinned inside his car, and the Jaws of Life removed him.  They airlifted Poppy to the nearest hospital, and he has 2 broken ribs, a fracture in his neck, and is being monitored for a spot on his lung.  Poppy had been recovering from pneumonia, so the doctors suggested that he stay in the hospital in Massachusetts through the weekend for further monitoring and care. 

None of us can believe that this has happened.  We will do what we have to do for Poppy, and deal with whatever dementia or Alzheimer’s he may have, but it is just numbing to think about the last 24 hours.  This could have been so much worse, we are very blessed, and I am thankful to God (and my grandmother, who I believe was with him when the car flipped over). 

Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (8), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (7 months)
www.nevaland.com

We all have it; some manage it far better than others. I am not one of the people who can handle stress very well! I like to try to take control of the situation and hopefully change it, but a lot of times that is simply not possible. My husband tells me not to stress out about the things we cannot control because of just that – I can’t control it so getting upset over it is pointless and frankly, a waste of time.

Is it because I am a woman that I get so worked up over these things? I have been applying to jobs like a crazy woman. Jobs that will work greatly around my school schedule and still allow me to bring in a decent part time income, with having time for my little boy as well. Now it seems harder than ever to find that job. The only positions I see and apply to that do contact me back right away are all sales positions, and I cannot sell something if my life depended on it. I feel that while so many people are suffering with money problems, I am unable to talk them into buying something especially if it is a product or service that isn’t a necessity in life.

There are a lot of scammers out there as well who go around feeding off these people who are hurting. Not to sound like I am bragging, but when I applied to a job 2+ years ago, I was immediately contacted back, and if a personal interview was scheduled, I always got the job, and now it’s like pulling teeth with some employers to even give me a consideration. Who knows if they even read my emails anymore with so many unemployed people looking for work. The search continues, and I pray every day that something will finally come along and give us the break we need.

- Krystal

As you may know, I often shop at Wal-mart and talk about their prices and how much they have helped me and my family when it comes to purchasing items as “store brand.” Today, instead of Great Value, I will talk about Equate. This seems to be the generic name of their medical supplies; vitamins, feminine needs, over-the-counter products, etc.

I am still working on losing weight, which we’re so far doing really good on, and wanted something that I could have quick – maybe take on the run – while feeling good and not shaky or having jitters from lack of food or nutrients. I thought “Slim Fast shakes!” I went over to the section where they normally have them, in front of the pharmacy, and checked out their selection. While they had slim-fast shakes there, they also had the Equate regular shakes, and some called the Ultra. When looking at the ultra, I saw that it had even less calories than the Slim Fast shakes, which really threw me off. I got a couple of cases of Equate, chocolate and vanilla (they had others, I am just very simple with that) and put them in the fridge. I have to say, they tasted really good and I felt good.

Anything in my stomach would feel good when I was used to leaving the house on an empty stomach and would fight on till the afternoon. Now I have 2 shakes, one in the morning on the way to class, and one after school around 1:30pm, while snacking in between on granola bars, 100 calorie packs, yogurt, fruits, veggies, etc. and then have a nice 500 calorie or less dinner. I feel pretty good and hopeful so we’ll see how it works!

I also take the Equate version of the Women’s One A Day Weight Smart vitamins in the morning, and enjoy this lifestyle. Of course, it will take some time to get used to it, but it’s all about positivity!!….right??

- Krystal