The Return of the Room

Originally, pre-baby, we had only adult things in our bedroom and bathroom.  And no, I'm not inferring something naughty, I mean things like chairs, a bed, dressers, lamps, etc.  After having children, your room gets taken over with baby things.

Initially, we had a bassinet, a car seat, a second laundry basket, a changing table mat, diapers, diaper pail, breast pump, breast pump bottles and accessories, diapers, wipes, and lots of other little baby things.  In the bathroom we had a baby bathtub, baby shampoo, baby towels.  Even the dresser drawers got reassigned so we could have baby clothes close.

The room is gradually returning and looking like an adult bedroom and not a baby room.  The bassinet and car seat are gone.  The stool with the lamp and items for middle-of-the-night feedings are gone too.  The breast pump and accessories will be gone next week.  I'm thrilled.  We've still got a baby laundry basket, diaper pail and changing station in the room, and I think that's going to be there for a while, but the room feels like it's more ours than the kids now.

The bathroom still has a lot of baby fun in it though.  My son has a drawer with bath toys (his favorite time of day) that he opens and puts into the tub when we run the bath.  I like bath time too.  He loves it and I love a clean smelling baby.

So, some things are going to stay for a while, but I'm glad the room has returned to parent-land, at least in part, for now.


The Big Boy Update: He Knows No.  He doesn't like no.  Who does, really?  But he'll react to "no" appropriately, which is a big thing.  Say he's going for the cabinets he's not allowed to open.  Saying "NO" firmly will have him turn and go elsewhere (in most cases,) instead of pitching a fit and pushing back like he did not that long ago.  He still gets angry from time to time, but he does listen more now.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  It was my son's day for Kindermusik, but I decided to take the the tiny girl instead.  She's old enough to hold herself up and participate in the songs and fun inclass now, and I wanted to see how she liked it.  She had a great time, left tired, and everyone there couldn't believe how much she's grown in the almost four months since she was born.

Right-size counter:  15.8 pounds to go (Again?  Gonna have to get serious.)

When is Too Soon To Let Something Go?

When is it too soon to clean out and get rid of things?  I've been thinking a lot about this lately because I have a good friend who's daughter is due with a daughter in two months who could use many of our baby items.  It would help her out with the financial burden and it would be a good home for baby clothes and baby items we're not going to be using any more.

Part of me doesn't want to let some of the items go.  I went through everything we've put in the "retired" area for my son two months ago.  Lots of things we won't ever use again, and some of them I know she could use, so I sent them along.  While doing that, I kept out some of the most memorable, or special items of clothing to keep as a reminder of his first year.

But his clothes weren't really suitable for a girl, especially a girl who's mother wants to have a pink and purple baby shower and pink stroller, car seat, crib, bassinet, you get the picture.  So, I've been saving all the clothing my daughter has grown out of to pass on.

But it's hard to pass off all the adorable things she wore, even if she's not four months old.  I know it's the right thing to do.  They'll go to a good home that has a need, now, for these items.  But for some reason it's harder to pass them on now, as opposed to a few years from now.

I can't explain it.  But there is a box of three months of baby cloths ready to go the next time I see her.  Hopefully I'll get to see a few pictures of her baby in them in the months to come.

I do know that I'll love having a "hand-me-down" home for my daughter's clothes in the future.  There is nothing I love more than a good cleaning out.  But I need to balance cleaning up and out with keeping things that help us remember our past—things that were important or special to us. 

I hope I'll have a good balance of keeping and passing on things as the children grow up.


The Big Boy Update:  While some of his body is getting better with the eczema, he still has a terrible time with his wrists, forearms and under his chin.  He gets food all over these areas and anything acidic of that might cause any kind of reaction, makes him try and scratch his skin off.  I feel for the little guy and have to put anti-itch medicine on him sometimes even during meals.  Since the other areas of his body have gotten better, I hope these areas clear up soon too.


The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Bored bored bored.  I'm bored.  I'm laughing because you're funny looking, didn't you know?  Speaking of, aren't I cute?   (I think these are the things that go through her mind.  Maybe I'm just projecting though.)

Right-size countdown:  15.8 pounds to go ...ish.

It's Been a Week

... since we started our diets.  How have we done?  Not badly.  We've both lost over four pounds, which isn't because we were crash dieting, it's that first week of water weight loss that makes you think the rest of the diet is going to be so very easy.  I have a feeling we have a long way to lose the twenty pounds we've set as our goals.

It's so much easier doing something difficult when you have someone to do it with.  I was trying to eat responsibly before last week, but I just didn't have the motivation I do now that I know we've gotten serious and we're doing this together.  It's nice having someone who knows you're hungry and can understand when you want to whine.  It's also nice to not have someone eating cheesecake and donuts around while you're working hard to control your appetite.

We both had our ups and downs this week.   One thing that's helped is we don't have much food in the house that's tempting.  However, when you're hungry, it's amazing how the most boring food item can sound delicious.

One nice change that happens is when you eliminate something from your diet, say sweets or alcohol, after a bit you stop craving it and get to the point where you don't even want it.  I thought I was going to have a hard time with both sweets and alcohol this past week, but so far so good.

The Big Boy Update:  When he was much younger, he started arching his back in the bed and leaning left and right.  I was worried he was really uncomfortable.  We'd hear him doing this in the middle of the night where he'd flop back after arching and moving his hands.  It was about a month later he accomplished rolling over via this method and we discovered he was practicing and working hard instead of being uncomfortable.  Since that time, he mostly sleeps on his stomach with his butt in the air.  I mention this because his sister is now rolling over, only entirely differently.


The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She addressed the problem of rolling over in a more scientific manner.  A fulcrum will help lift or rotate something more easily.  She discovered if she lifts both legs up and leans them together to one side, he whole body rolls over to that side.  She's now half-way to her stomach and she can lean into the rest of the turn.  She learned how to get on her stomach pretty quickly in only a few days, but she doesn't know how to get back to her back.  Last night I got a little concerned because she wants to go to sleep on her side and later rolls to her stomach.  Will she be okay on her stomach all night?  The general thought from doctors is to put them to sleep on their backs and when they can roll over, let them do so on their own.    She rolled over more than once last night and we found her this morning happily asleep on her stomach, so she doesn't seem too unhappy.


Right-size countdown:  15.8 pounds to go

That Actually

I actually think that there are certain words that we use that are sheer filler.  They don't enhance what you're saying, aside from adding extra words.  For example, does the first sentence of this post read any differently if it were to say, "I think there are certain words we use that are sheer filler."

"That" gets thrown in a lot as a connector.  We need the word "that," we just don't need it as often as we use it.  "Actually" seems to be commonly used to add more validity or importance to what the person is saying.   From my experience, confident people use the word "actually" less than less-confident people.

Mind you, this is only my personal impressions on the use of these words, not anything I've read online or know to be a hard and fast grammar rule.  I try to avoid using extraneous "thats" in my writing.  I don't think I do a good job of policing myself when using "actually" in my speech though.

I think I'm going to see if I can catch myself using "actually" over the next several days and see if I use it more than I think I do.  Sometimes, when you monitor your own behavior, you find out you do things you had no idea you do.

The Big Boy Update:  Making Friends.  He had the best time running amok with all the children at the surprise party.  He is drawn to other children, as I hear most kids are.  He also likes his sister—a little less delicately than she can take.  He likes to bring her a pacifier or a blanket, as these are things he loves.  He gently patted her head this morning several times and after we told him what a good boy he was for being gentle, I think he misunderstood and thought he should do it more, only harder.  It was hard to tell him, "no" when he was smiling so big while making friends.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Back to one hole.  She's been having some irritability during and after eating lately. She's got gas, and she gets gas drops, but I was wondering if she was also sucking in too much air.  Last night I did a test and swapped out her two-hole bottle nipple with a one-hole one for her bedtime meal.  She ate it with no dribbling and didn't burp any air and went straight to sleep.  We may put her back on the slower-flow (and longer feeding time) nipples for a bit if it will make her more comfortable at and between meals.

Right-size Countdown:  16.3 pounds to go (Darn my husband's Chicken Ginger Pow dinner that was so good.)

Sesquipedalian

I don't fancy myself a sesquipedalian, but I do like words.  I like learning new words and I even have a "Good Words" document I add words to from time to time.  I like authors who write with an expansive vocabulary.  It's like finding little word treasures while you read.

But I don't consider that I've really learned a word unless I can use it in speech, where appropriate.  I could have a panoply of words I know, but if I can't use it, it doesn't count.  Some words can be hard to use because an opportunity doesn't often present.  For instance, unless I were to do a lot of outdoorsy activities, I don't think I'd get a chance to comment on, "the danger of that talus slope."  And try as I might, it's just not often I get to use abattoir in conversation.

And yet I find I am ineluctably drawn to learning and then using new words.  I was able to use several of my favorite words in this little post, including, sesquipedalian, which describes a person who likes to use long words. 

The Big Boy Update:  He's a little commentator.  He really wants to talk, but he's much better at physical things than verbal things.  His baby sign language is great because he picks up the signs quickly.  He also knows a lot of words because it's clear he understands us.  But he's trying to talk.  He will babble at the TV or at people and it is just the cutest thing.  In some ways, I'm going to miss it when he can really communicate.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  She is far more verbal than he was at her age.  She coos at you as you talk to her, and she understands the back and forth of communication because she responds after you say something to her.

Right-size countdown:  16 pounds to go (whew, I didn't blow it at the party)

Say Hello to Goo

We're preparing for a big party tonight, so this is going to be short and brief.  We have Sirius satellite radio in both our cars.  It seems that the newest car truncates the names of songs.  It's sort of a fun game to try and guess what the name of the song is before you get to the point in the song when they sing the title words.

The first one was a new Pink song.  We'd never heard it and the car was new so we didn't know about the truncation yet.  We knew Pink had some interesting lyrics, but we were all doubled over in laughter because the song was apparently called "Glitter in the A." 

Since then, many songs have been truncated at strange places, making the song sound like it's about an entirely different topic than the one the artist was really singing about.  Yesterday I heard a new song, titled, "Say Hello to Goo."  Science experiment gone wrong with Ectoplasm perhaps?

The Big Boy Update:  His play pen has been removed in preparation for the party and I'm discovering all kinds of things he likes to do with his toys and in the greater room that I wouldn't get to see as much.  There are eight other children at the party tonight; I have a feeling he's going to have a great time.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  She turned over for the first time this morning.  She was lying in her crib awake and ten minutes later she was on her stomach.  She can also do a 180 degree rotation in the middle of the night, which we've yet to see during the day.  And she likes "tummy time" so much that she napped that way earlier.  She doesn't have control of the turning over just yet, but she's made it once without any help.

Right-size Countdown:  16  pounds to go

To See The Future In a Drawer

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a glimpse into the future?  Not be there, not time travel, just have a glimpse of something forward in time.

I've thought things like, "I wonder if I'll still live here in ten years," or, "I wonder what our new neighborhood will look when it's not a bunch of empty lots."  What about how much the trees in the back yard will have grown or how well the new car will have fared after years of child abuse? 

What if you were able to get a glimpse of where you live right now.  Would you be able to tell if you still lived there if you could see into the future?  Maybe your favorite painting would still be on the wall, even if the furniture and paint had changed.  What if there was lots of antique furniture in the room instead of more modern, clean lined furniture?  What would that tell you?

What if this future-peeking were a game show like Name That Tune?  How much would you need to see of your current house to know if it was your future house?  One room?  Two rooms?  Less?  I like to be organized, and I think I have a relatively good grasp on the things I like and dislike around me.  I would wager it all that I could Name That House Resident in one drawer.  You pick the drawer, if it's mine, I think I'd have a good chance of knowing if the things in it were mine.

If they ever come out with that as a game show, I'm signing up to be a contestant.

The Big Boy Update:  We're decorating for a party and he's having some of his normal areas rearranged.  He noticed Mylar balloons today and was trying to explain to my father that they were on the ceiling by pointing up and talking baby talk involving lots of "oooos."

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Some days she's confusing. I'm hungry and I'm mad.  But I don't want to eat.  But now that the food is not there, I'm going to suck my hand.  And then I'm going to cry.  Also, I have gas and my tummy is rumbly.  She was like this this evening.  Once we got the gas out both ends she settled down, ate some and went to sleep.

Right-sizing counter:   16.3 pounds to go (Remember, the first week is always easy with the water weight dropping off.  I assure you, I'm not starving myself.)