American Society Is Full of Baloney

Sarah Palin's daughter is only 17, she's having a baby.......

...and, she's not married!  *gasp*

Of course she's not married, she's 17!  But the media has been saying that "unmarried" part like it's such a dirty little secret.  Would they find anything better to say if she was 17, having a baby and already married?  I doubt it.  It would still be "dirt."  

It boggles my mind how the media and society can be making such a big deal of Bristol Palin's pregnancy.  We live in a society where:

• No one wants to promote monogamy
  
• No one wants to tell teenagers to stay abstinent until marriage (much less practice it themselves)
  
• No one wants to promote saving "intimate relations" for the marriage bed 
  

...and yet the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's daughter is somehow a disgrace?  

Forget all the grown and matured ADULTS who are making this same mistake and "falling pregnant" when they are unmarried and at a point in their life when they didn't plan to have kids.  Forget all the grown ups who AREN'T having children as a result of their choice to abort their baby because they are unmarried and didn't plan to have kids at that time in their life.  Yeah, all that is common, it's not that big a deal, but God forbid a teenager be in that predicament.  This young lady, without all the "life experience" that adults have makes a mistake, keeps moving forward and it's somehow such a shameful situation?  That's so full of baloney!

I'm not saying I would want that for my kids.  I don't.  I'm just flabbergasted by how the whole situation is being painted and looked at my the media and by society when those groups of people are the very ones who accept, and sometimes even promote, the actions or life choices required for a young individual to end up in that situation.  

You can't "hang loose" with standards or moral codes then rail and criticize someone when they end up in a situation that is a direct result of living the a manner that you readily accept as "the norm."

In Their Own Time

Kids are funny. They never seem to do things when we want them to. With my oldest, I was always trying to "help" her to her next milestone. She was at about 6 steps, as far as walking goes, on her 1st birthday.

Now, with my youngest daughter, I was in no rush. She could take her sweet time growing up and I wouldn't worry one bit. Of course, now, at 9 months, she's already broken the "record" her biggest sister had at 1 year of age. Yesterday, I saw my baby girl take 10 steps in a row completely unassisted.

Then there's this bouncer I got her when she was little. My son loved his bouncer so I figured I'd get a cute one for her too. She couldn't use the one my son had because my older kids used to like to sit in it too and they sort of broke it. So a new bouncer it was for my baby.

Before she was born I saw the cutest pink bouncer! So when I saw a gently used one at a garage sale when she was a few months old, I had to get it. Of course, my little one didn't think as highly of it as I did. She never stayed in it for long (unlike my son in his bouncer) and I seriously was going to throw this thing away.

But of course, now that she's mobile and can go places on her own, she LIKES to climb into her bouncer and cruise in it. Go figure. I have a twit pic of her in it.



Now my oldest DD wants to potty train her. Maybe I should have her read some EC articles.

Got the Lil Dipper

I saw this at the store the other day and thought it was such a cute idea and perfect for my daughter. She is now 8 months old and very interested in eating "real" food (vs nursing). She also likes to grab at what we eat and gets so ecited when she sees her spoons.

Of course, she's not all that great at feeding herself, but when I saw these, I thought they were such a great idea for this age my daughter is at. I don't remember seeing these when my other kids were younger. At any rate, I bought a pack of these Lil' Dippers for my daughter and let her try it out last night. So far she loves holding it and putting it in her mouth, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of dipping it in her food then putting it in her mouth. I'm looking forward to watching her figure it out though.

Well, off to give it another try. I think she's about ready to have some baby food for breakfast!

Surprised at Myself

I did a post a about a month and a half ago asking "How do you know when you're done having kids?" Well...(no, I'm not pregnant)....I just had the privilege of being present at the birth of my sister's very first child. My sister is 8 years younger than me and my one and only full blooded sibling.

First of all, I have to say, she did great! She delivered her son after about 9 hours of labor and with no drugs. She did have to work quite a bit to get the little guy out, he made her push for over an hour. There were a couple of worrisome moments when it looked like baby's heart-rate was dropping and my sisters was as fast as a fetus' should be. The tried having her change positions a bunch of times, they tried monitoring baby's heart with that thing they stick on baby's head (sorry, can't remember what it's called right now), and at one point they even brought in an ultrasound machine because they couldn't pick up baby's heart-rate as well as they wanted to with those other monitors. I was really worried about the baby at that point, but kept telling my sister that she was doing really great and in the end, they both were just fine.

But why am I surprised at myself? Because I was thinking that being part of the miracle of my nephews birth would cause me to want to have another baby. Contrary to what I expected, it did NOT have that effect at all. It did have the effect on another person in the delivery room that way, but it just didn't bring up those "Oh, I want another one" feeling for me. That surprises me.

I don't know that this shuts the door completely because I'm still not quite ready to just close that chapter of my life, but I just found it interesting that being there with my sister didn't give me "baby fever" again. Hmmm...

Yikes 103.3

It's late, I just got home from the ER. My youngest daughter, who is now 7 months old, had a fever of 103.3 degrees tonight. She was warm on a few occasions last week, but always, the next day or two she was back to normal. She isn't congested, isn't coughing, has no runny nose, is "peeing and pooping" fine, has a normal appetite, and has been acting pretty normally as well.

But after her afternoon nap today, she woke up feeling warm. I didn't think too much of it because she had been fine in the morning and she was still acting quite normal. But after dinner I picked her up to nurse her whole body, arms, legs, hands and all just felt way too warm for my liking.

I had my oldest daughter get our thermometer out and took her temperature under her arm. It was 101.7. I knew her temperature would be up, but I wasn't thinking it would be that high. I also know that taking a baby's temp under the arm usually gives a read out of about 1 degree BELOW actual temperature, so that's when I decided to just take her in and see what was going on.

The ER dr said her ears, throat, and chest were all fine. He didn't see any rashes on her and basically didn't see anything "alarming" that he could attribute her fever to. They gave her some medicine for her fever while we were there and by the time we left her temperature had gone down a bit to 102.9.

We were discharged with instructions to give her fever reducing medicines to help with her temperature and to follow up with our regular dr in a few days. It's a bit annoying that the ER dr couldn't tell me anything I didn't already know. But at that same time, I'm glad to know that it's not something really serious and I wasn't ignoring/missing some sign that my baby was really sick. So now it's time for bed for all of us. It's times like these I'm glad I don't work outside the home - I'm thinking tomorrow will be a rest/take care of baby (and mom) day.

She Thinks She Can Stand

Yes, my daughter at 6 months old, thinks she can stand up! It was just a few weeks ago that she couldn't even crawl yet. She was just turning 6 months at the time and I remember thinking that she would start crawling soon, but I was glad that she wasn't really that milestone early. It seems like the older you get and the more kids you have, the less anxious you are for them to hit those upcoming milestones and "grow up."

So I had no problem with the fact that she was already 6 months old and not even "army crawling" yet which my oldest was doing at 5 months. Then what happened?

The following Saturday, she started army crawling. She was finally moving forward instead of moving backwards.

Then, the very next Saturday (just one week after learning to move forward) she got up on her hands and knees for the first time and started crawling like that every now and then.

THEN, the Saturday after that, she thinks she can stand up! She was already crawling over to furniture and pulling herself into a standing position! Not only that, she figured out how to go from the crawling position into the sitting position without any help. TOO FAST!!!!

The week after that I noticed her start off on her hands and knees, then next thing I know she is just on her hands and FEET (butt in the air) looking at me like, "Hey Mom! Isn't this cool?"

Man...so fast, just a few weeks ago, she was 6 months old and moving backwards on her tummy. Then before she even reached 7 months she's doing all this stuff. Yes, it's cool, but she's also growing up sooooooo faaaaaaaast.

Oh, and did I mention that she has 4 teeth already? You can see two of them in this picture...

Of Course It's "Da-Da"

So, my daughter if finally making all kinds of cute little sounds on purpose now. She's 7 months old. And, of course, it's "Da-Da" first. What's up with that? Why is it that they always say "Da-Da" before "Ma-Ma?"

Of course, my husband is happy about it and my daughter always has this big, teasing smile on her face when she says it as if she's saying "Da-Da" instead of "Ma-Ma" on purpose simply because I'm trying to teach her "Ma-Ma."

Then my son doesn't help any because he's encouraging her to say, "Da-Da" which in turn gets him praise from my husband. It's a conspiracy I tell ya.

As a side note, we did some straightening up of some areas in our house and in my car and found a number of diaper stashes - all size 2. As you may guess, knowing that my daughter is 7 months old, she doesn't exactly fit size 2. I suppose I should give them all to my sister. Her son, who has yet to be born, won't need them for a while, but *maybe* they'll have a chance at being used if I give them to her.

Separation Anxiety

I guess it's about that time when my daughter is at the age that separation anxiety starts. She's starting to grumble if I'm by her then walk away. She's starting to protest when I hand her over to someone else. And she's very "verbal" about it. She lets you know, quite loudly, what she thinks about having to be away from mom. It's amazing how much of her own personality she already has at 6 1/2 months. She's just growing up way to fast for my liking. ;P

One weekend she was just learning to move about on her belly, the next weekend she was up on her knees crawling, and now she's able to go from the crawling position into a sitting position. I wasn't expecting that to happen so soon. For a baby that's carried a lot (since there are so many hands to carry her what with her being the youngest of 5) she sure does move around a lot.

Right now I'm looking at her sitting down playing her brother's cars. She's so cute because she's the brownest baby I've had. She's got a good looking tan....and I thought I'd never have a "brown" baby. LOL On top of that, she's got the waviest hair of us all right on top of her head.

How Do You Know When You're Done?

Having kids I mean....how do you know when you're done? My husband and I have been blessed with being able to have our children with little medical issues. We've never made our decision on whether or not to add another based on our financial situation either. Since we don't have health or financial reasons to help us make the decision to me "done" how am I going to know when I'm done? Do you really feel done when you're done?

The thing is, I've felt "done" before. After I had my son, I really thought that was it. I felt complete, I felt done, I felt like never going through the whole labor and delivery thing again, I felt too worried about not making to the hospital the next time to even consider trying for a "next time." And yet, here I am, 3 1/2 years later with one more child wondering when I'll be done.

I've always said 2 or 4 kids, but obviously I'm beyond that now, I have 5. Of course, almost everyone I see asks me if I'm done and I have no clue. I guess the thing that's adding to it is a career issue. I have the chance to become the head coach of the softball team I assist with now, not next season, but the season after that. I know how hard it is to commit time and give my all when I have an infant. I don't want to short change the players, but to be honest, if that was not part of the equation, I may already be trying for another. So I'm torn.

My husband and my children want more. They also want me to take the head coaching job if it is offered to me. I don't like committing to something like that if I can't give my all and I am so limited to what I have to offer when I'm toting around a baby.

It's funny though....now that I've written this all out, the slight inconvenience of having an infant during ONE softball season no longer seems to outweigh what we want/may want as a family. Hmmmm....we'll see what happens I guess.

If you're done, how did you know you were done?

If you're not done, how will you decide when you are?

My Baby Likes Tags

My daughter is now 6 months old and she loves tags. One day, my sister gave her a little teething toy. It was some kind of squishy/stuffed animal with a plastic bone in it's mouth. Okay, now that I think about it, maybe that "animal" was a dog. Anyway, this dog had many things for my daughter to bite on. The feet, the arms, the ears, and of course, the plastic bone. After all, that's what it was made for. But what is it that she finds interesting? What part of the toy soothes her and makes her stop crying? Yep, the tag. You know, the one that says who made it, where it was made, washing instructions, etc. Yeah, that's the part that she likes to put in her mouth. That's the part that keeps her quiet.

As I sit here and type, my son's Cars pillow is on the ground near us. Again, she goes for the tag.

It's funny how these baby/toddler toys are developed to be the right color, size, and shape to be stimulating and interesting for our little one's eyes and how their texture is made for their little one's touch. And yet, that's not always what grabs their attention.

As I sit here on my living room floor, there are toys scattered about. But what is my daughter's little hands are working on overdrive to grab. What is it she wants? The keys on my laptop! Yes, she wants to type with me. She crawls at top speed toward my laptop and pays the toys no attention whatsoever. If there is something other than my laptop she's interested in, it's not the things she can play with. It's the little piece of candy wrapper rubbish left on the ground by her sisters, or the lone sunflower seed that somehow made it's way from the softball field to my living room floor, or a random piece of plastic who's origin is unknown, or the penny someone dropped under the couch. All things that she really shouldn't be putting in her mouth. That's my daughter, completely uninterested in the items that intellectual baby people somewhere spent hours to develop.

The Bumbo is So Cute

That's a picture of my daughter in her new Bumbo Seat. It's such a cute seat for her to be in during the times of the day I can't hold her and laying down in her crib or play pen is just too boring. It seems like she doesn't quite know what to make of it just yet, but I think she likes the new perspective. It just so happened that the only Bumbo left at the store I went to was pink, but it does come in other colors too.

The box says that it's for ages 3 months - 14 months. My daughter just made 3 months earlier this month, so we'll get "full" use of this Bumbo. My 3-year-old son has put his butt in it a couple times when his sister wasn't in it. I guess he wanted to check out his sister's cool new chair. I was surprised that he actually fit in it. I was a little worried about my daughter fitting in it when she got older, but if my son can squeeze his 3 year old booty in it, I'm sure she'll still be able to sit in it at 14 months.

Anyway - One of the cute things I noticed was her checking out her feet...see?

Sharing Some Giggles

I was surfing YouTube this morning and came across this video and wanted to share it because it made me laugh really hard. It feels good to laugh. The giggles were so contagious. I hope it makes you happy watching these babies too.

3D Ultrasound Pictures - I'm Amazed

Then again what mother isn't amazed when they see their baby? LOL

I didn't think I was going to do this, but my husband asked about it and I caved in. I know there are people out there who are absolutely against unnecessary ultrasounds, but after we did this one I felt like it was a good decision for my own personal reasons.

So - for those of you who are curious, I'll share some of the pictures we got. We are still firmly on Team Green though the tech was asking us if we could tell by the face if it was a boy or girl. Seeing as how my youngest daughter and my son look very much alike, I find it quite pointless to try to determine gender by face alone. Of course, most people I've shared this with has an opinion on what they think and I find each one interesting, so feel free to share yours.

We were also told that fluid level was good and that baby was measuring accurately with my dates so that was good to hear too.

Okay...here are the pictures...







Personally...I've never seen one like this before, so it's one of my favorites.

Water is Wonderful

I am now 23 weeks pregnant and water is so great! Being that it's summer and quite warm some days does have something to do with it, but the pool and the beach are so wonderful because I can submerge myself in water and take all the weight and pressure off my legs, back, and hips. I love the feeling of being in the water. There are so many movements I can do in the water and I probably wouldn't be able to do on land bearing my own weight. So I get to relax, move some muscles around that wouldn't normally be moved in that manner, and I also get to practice my relaxation.

Why do I practice relaxation? In hopes of an easier labor and delivery experience of course. I've learned that the more relaxed your body is, the more efficiently it progresses through the birthing process. Of course, staying relaxed and calm during a contraction isn't easy. So I'm practicing relaxation and breathing now so that I can, hopefully, become better and better at getting my body and mind into a relaxed state, and, therefore, be able to do it during contractions as well.

One of the things I visualize when I practice is being "weightless" in the pool. I only wish that I would have the opportunity to labor in water. I could, of course, fill up my bathtub at home and labor there before going to the hospital, but based on previous labor experiences, I probably won't have time for that. Or, if I do get in my own tub, chances are baby WILL be born, unattended, at home which I don't want. So, I'll just have to use my imagination and pretend I'm surrounded by comforting water.

Ah yes....right now, water is my friend.

Man I Love Ice Cream

I knew I liked my ice cream, but I never realized how much until now that I'm trying to limit my ice cream intake. Gosh, I really do like having ice cream every single day. I trick myself into thinking that it's good for me because of the calcium I'm getting out of it when I add milk to my ice cream and turn it into a little bit of a shake.

You know what I learned? Apparently, chocolate and ice cream are "acidic" types of food. It's not even in the moderately acidic column it's on the "very" acidic end. I found out that if a women's "environment" is more acidic, it's more friendly to girl sperm than it is to boy sperm. I'm beginning to wonder if this really has something to do with my apparent tendency to have girls. Hmmm...and we thought it baby gender outcomes were solely dependent on the guy.