I was reading one of my forums today and they were discussing toys. Specifically the lack of quality in toys. Not only do they break easily, but with many of today's being imported not only is their quality questionable, so is their safety.
Look at the recent problems we have had with lead levels in the toys imported from China. Maybe these levels are acceptable there but as these toys were manufactured with the intent of selling them here in the US, shouldn't they have been manufactured to our standards?
And what about the toys themselves? They used to last more than six months (or even six weeks...or six days) before breaking. Some toys not only lasted through all the siblings in a family, but made it to our kids. Try that with one of today's toys.
They used to encourage the imagination. Remember Lincoln Logs, and Erector sets, and Legos (not the small sets for one specific toy like today, but the big sets where what was built was limited only by the...imagination). And baby dolls - just plain baby dolls, ones that didn't eat, talk, and all but change their own wet diapers. And stuffed animals, real stuffed animals, not the ones with computer chips to control their sound and actions (or, in my mind worse, animals that only exist on a computer chip or online).
Then there's the physical fitness aspect - hula hoops, roller skates, and jump ropes for gross motor skills - jacks and marbles for the fine motor skills. But all of them requiring more physical activity than moving thumbs on the controllers. Even our so-called educational toys (Leapfrog comes to mind) discourage physical activities and encourage video game addiction from a very young age. Do we really want to send our kids down this path?
What about group games like Monopoly and Clue which encourage kids to exercise critical thinking skills rather than their thumbs? When did toys and games become about keeping our kids sedentary and quiet rather than about physical fitness, imagination and learning? I sometimes think we should go back to the old toys. What do you think?
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Working the room...
Have you ever seen a person who enters the room and immediately starts making the rounds? They tend to take the time to see every individual at least once and spend a little time with each of them? They make friends everywhere they go and the word stranger is not part of their vocabulary? They never met a person they didn't like?
This is Little Man. The second he enters a roomful of people, whether he knows them or not, his face lights up like a Christmas tree. He gets the biggest grin on his face. And he literally makes the rounds! He is passed from one person to another for the entire time that we are there. I'm lucky if I get him back long enough to feed him. He is so cheerful and happy that everyone wants a turn -- even people who are not ordinarily "baby people."
Four months old and he already knows how to work the room! He instinctively knows how to schmooze with the best of them. Think he might be a politician when he grows up? (I certainly hope not!) He has the sweetest temperment. I feel so lucky in that.
This is Little Man. The second he enters a roomful of people, whether he knows them or not, his face lights up like a Christmas tree. He gets the biggest grin on his face. And he literally makes the rounds! He is passed from one person to another for the entire time that we are there. I'm lucky if I get him back long enough to feed him. He is so cheerful and happy that everyone wants a turn -- even people who are not ordinarily "baby people."
Four months old and he already knows how to work the room! He instinctively knows how to schmooze with the best of them. Think he might be a politician when he grows up? (I certainly hope not!) He has the sweetest temperment. I feel so lucky in that.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Spectacular news!
We got a call from the apnea clinic regarding his monitor readings. Little Man has not had an apneac episode for a full month! He officially received the all clear and no longer has to wear the monitor! He has outgrown the apnea. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, on to the next adrenaline-filled idea he is hatching for us....
Now, on to the next adrenaline-filled idea he is hatching for us....
Uu-u-r-gh! Help!!!!!
"The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children. " ~Edward, Duke of Windsor, Look, 5 March 1957
I came across this quote yesterday and found it very amusing because my daughter had just commented on how the baby was now running the household. Isn't it amazing how having a child changes our priorities?
Our schedules no longer revolve around getting everyone's needs met, but instead getting everyone's needs met revolves around the baby's schedule -- which is, of course, subject to change without notice. This is especially true when he decides to be up all night!
I find myself spending a great deal of time figuring out how to fit our schedules around his need for naps, feedings, etc. All this while still trying to meet everyone else's needs. My daughter's medical and school schedule needs, my father-in-law's need to eat by a certain time to avoid digestive problems, my husband's need to have certain errands run, my own need to keep the house clean and meals on time.
Throw in the fact that my husband likes spicy foods while avoiding unhealthy, sodium filled foods, his dad needs to avoid too much vitamin K, my daughter has a tremendous number of food allergies, and I am a type II diabetic (while breastfeeding) and meal planning becomes an adventure! I sometimes find myself cooking 3-4 different meals -- all at the same time! I try to keep them as similar as I can, but sometimes it's just not possible.
And of course, Little Man wants to eat every two hours! Help!!!!!!
I came across this quote yesterday and found it very amusing because my daughter had just commented on how the baby was now running the household. Isn't it amazing how having a child changes our priorities?
Our schedules no longer revolve around getting everyone's needs met, but instead getting everyone's needs met revolves around the baby's schedule -- which is, of course, subject to change without notice. This is especially true when he decides to be up all night!
I find myself spending a great deal of time figuring out how to fit our schedules around his need for naps, feedings, etc. All this while still trying to meet everyone else's needs. My daughter's medical and school schedule needs, my father-in-law's need to eat by a certain time to avoid digestive problems, my husband's need to have certain errands run, my own need to keep the house clean and meals on time.
Throw in the fact that my husband likes spicy foods while avoiding unhealthy, sodium filled foods, his dad needs to avoid too much vitamin K, my daughter has a tremendous number of food allergies, and I am a type II diabetic (while breastfeeding) and meal planning becomes an adventure! I sometimes find myself cooking 3-4 different meals -- all at the same time! I try to keep them as similar as I can, but sometimes it's just not possible.
And of course, Little Man wants to eat every two hours! Help!!!!!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
If I had my child to raise all over again!
"If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging."
~Diane Loomans, from "If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again"
This particular poem really hits home. I was a working mom when we raised our daughter and my mother-in-law spent more time with my daughter than I did. This time, our son's medical issues and the loss of Mom have combined to force the issue of staying home with him -- and I couldn't be happier! The loss of income -- especially in view of the additional medical bills and lack of advance warning -- has made this a rough transition -- but SO worth it!
In some ways, my son's birth is like getting a second chance to be a better mom. I just wish I could have a "do-over" with my daughter and be better for her!
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging."
~Diane Loomans, from "If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again"
This particular poem really hits home. I was a working mom when we raised our daughter and my mother-in-law spent more time with my daughter than I did. This time, our son's medical issues and the loss of Mom have combined to force the issue of staying home with him -- and I couldn't be happier! The loss of income -- especially in view of the additional medical bills and lack of advance warning -- has made this a rough transition -- but SO worth it!
In some ways, my son's birth is like getting a second chance to be a better mom. I just wish I could have a "do-over" with my daughter and be better for her!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Surprise of a Lifetime!
This year, the "New Year" was not just a holiday. It was, indeed, a new year. My husband and I received some rather surprising news in January.
We have a 22-year-old daughter and we were informed that we should be expecting a "new arrival." That's right, we would soon be adding a baby to our family. And, NO, our daughter was NOT the "new mom," -- I was! That's right -- we have 2 children -- one in college and one in diapers.
After several years of hoping for a second child, my husband and I had been told that I could not have another -- fifteen years ago! Apparently -- someone was wrong! And to make things even more crazy, we were given a March 1st duedate giving us less than 2 months to prepare.
I was fighting off bronchitis in September and November of last year and, finally, in November, I succumbed to pneumonia. I continued to fight off these infections into January and when I visited my OB/Gyn for my yearly checkup, she informed me that I was pregnant. Of course, I doubted her prognosis. I hadn't had any symptoms -- oh, wait -- I'd been tired, dragged out, nauseous, experiencing tearing pains in the pelvic region, etc. over the last 4 months -- while fighting off bronchitis and then, the pneumonia. These illnesses had masked the symptoms as they were "explained away" by my primary care physician (of 20 years) who had not investigated further because he knew I could not get pregnant -- wrong!
Due to my history, my OB/Gyn insisted on doing an ultrasound to make sure we weren't dealing with an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. No, and she was somewhat surprised that I was 32 weeks into the pregnancy at that point. Somewhat surprised? I think a better term for what my family was feeling was, hmm, --shell-shocked? It took weeks for it sink in, partially because we didn't have 9 months, or 8, 7, or even 5 months to prepare -- we had less than 2!
Talk about having to get ready in a hurry! Then he was born on his duedate only to find out he was 5 weeks early! The doctor had been deceived by his size because I am a Type II diabetic and he was large for his stage of development. He was a preemie! A 7 lb, 5 oz., 20.5 inch long preemie. Unfortunately, his lungs were not as fully developed as the rest of him and he spent the next 17 days in a special care nursery.
After he came home, he wound up in the ER 3X (with a 3 day admission for tests on one occasion) because he decided it would be fun to scare the living daylights out of us and stopped breathing! He was diagnosed with apnea. Apparently, his lungs were not the only thing that was not fully developed. The center of the brain that controls breathing was a little behind as well -- not uncommon in preemies apparently, but scary nonetheless. Time was the answer for this one -- with a monitor to let us know if he decided to play games with our adrenaline levels again!
Other than this he has caught up with -- or surpassed -- most of the milestones for his age. All of this aside, becoming a new parent (again!) has been a totally different experience than the first time. He is such a miracle and we look forward with anticipation to experiencing parenthood again -- if it doesn't kill us first!
We have a 22-year-old daughter and we were informed that we should be expecting a "new arrival." That's right, we would soon be adding a baby to our family. And, NO, our daughter was NOT the "new mom," -- I was! That's right -- we have 2 children -- one in college and one in diapers.
After several years of hoping for a second child, my husband and I had been told that I could not have another -- fifteen years ago! Apparently -- someone was wrong! And to make things even more crazy, we were given a March 1st duedate giving us less than 2 months to prepare.
I was fighting off bronchitis in September and November of last year and, finally, in November, I succumbed to pneumonia. I continued to fight off these infections into January and when I visited my OB/Gyn for my yearly checkup, she informed me that I was pregnant. Of course, I doubted her prognosis. I hadn't had any symptoms -- oh, wait -- I'd been tired, dragged out, nauseous, experiencing tearing pains in the pelvic region, etc. over the last 4 months -- while fighting off bronchitis and then, the pneumonia. These illnesses had masked the symptoms as they were "explained away" by my primary care physician (of 20 years) who had not investigated further because he knew I could not get pregnant -- wrong!
Due to my history, my OB/Gyn insisted on doing an ultrasound to make sure we weren't dealing with an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. No, and she was somewhat surprised that I was 32 weeks into the pregnancy at that point. Somewhat surprised? I think a better term for what my family was feeling was, hmm, --shell-shocked? It took weeks for it sink in, partially because we didn't have 9 months, or 8, 7, or even 5 months to prepare -- we had less than 2!
Talk about having to get ready in a hurry! Then he was born on his duedate only to find out he was 5 weeks early! The doctor had been deceived by his size because I am a Type II diabetic and he was large for his stage of development. He was a preemie! A 7 lb, 5 oz., 20.5 inch long preemie. Unfortunately, his lungs were not as fully developed as the rest of him and he spent the next 17 days in a special care nursery.
After he came home, he wound up in the ER 3X (with a 3 day admission for tests on one occasion) because he decided it would be fun to scare the living daylights out of us and stopped breathing! He was diagnosed with apnea. Apparently, his lungs were not the only thing that was not fully developed. The center of the brain that controls breathing was a little behind as well -- not uncommon in preemies apparently, but scary nonetheless. Time was the answer for this one -- with a monitor to let us know if he decided to play games with our adrenaline levels again!
Other than this he has caught up with -- or surpassed -- most of the milestones for his age. All of this aside, becoming a new parent (again!) has been a totally different experience than the first time. He is such a miracle and we look forward with anticipation to experiencing parenthood again -- if it doesn't kill us first!
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