Baby Blues

We had a big scare last night.

During dinner, I gave Isaac something new to eat--steamed chicken and apples. He was really tired, and I should have known better than to give him something new while he was cranky. But he is such a good eater, I thought he'd be fine.

Well, he just didn't want any of his food. He pushed the spoon away and got really upset. And when Isaac gets upset, he doesn't wail--he holds his breath. This time was different, though. He held his breath...and held his breath...and held his breath...until he turned blue. By this time I had pulled him out of his high chair and was blowing in his face, trying to get him to breathe.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to his worried parents, he took a breath. I cuddled him to me as he started to settle down. Then Scott looked at me in horror and said, "He's going to pass out." I looked down at my baby's face, and sure enough his head was lolling and his eyes were rolling back.

Scott asked, "What can I do?" (God bless him!) I told him to put cold water on his hands and splash it on Isaac's face. That seemed to do the trick and revived Isaac from his stupor.

Oh, Lord, how scary! Seeing your child turn blue (and I mean BLUE) is an experience I wish on no parent.

We actually had a fairly similar experience last Sunday, when Isaac got really upset while Scott was trying to use the aspirator on his nose. He held his breath until he burst little blood vessels in his face. Afterwards, it looked like he had a red rash on his face. The rash is still there today, but it is slowly fading.

I talked to his pediatrician today. She said, "Oh, no. You have a Breath Holder!" She said that kids do this to get attention, and that they can actually hold their breath long enough that they will make themselves faint and even have seizures. "They do grow out of it...by 4 or 5 years of age." Oh, goody.

Is the church still there?

This morning on our way to preschool (which Caleb attends at our church), it was incredibly foggy. Not just one of those "Hey, I can't see the skyline anymore" kind of fogs, but the "Hey, I can't see the end of the block" kind of fogs. We couldn't even see the church building until we were halfway into the parking lot.

When we were almost there, I asked Caleb, "We can't see the church. Is it still there?" He wasn't so sure. He just kept watching out the window, and I think he was getting a little worried that somehow the church really had disappeared.

When the church "appeared," he was excited. "There it is, Mommy!" I told him that the church had been there the whole time; we just couldn't see it.

"Can you see God, Caleb? Even though you can't see Him, He's still there, too."

Bad news

AT&T just announced that they will be laying off 12,000 employees starting this month and continuing through 2009. That's 4% of their workforce. Please join me in praying for Scott's job, and for all of those who will be affected.

Something I never thought I'd hear a doctor say

I went to a dermatologist today. I have what he termed "hand eczema"--the inside of my right hand is severely dry and itchy, and it gets so tight that I can't extend my fingers all the way without bleeding. Fun, huh? Sorry if that grosses anyone out. But the doctor told me something that I never thought I'd hear a doctor say. "You need to stop washing your hands so much."

What?!? It's so important to wash your hands! I am such a freak about keeping my hands clean. That's what we're told to do, after all. Wash before you handle food, after you handle food, after you go to the restroom, before you play with the kids, after you play with the kids, after you touch anything dirty (which, in my opinion, just about everything is dirty!), etc. But evidently I've been a little too diligent.

Anyway, the doctor said that I should think every time I go to wash my hands and decide if I REALLY need to wash them. (I did that tonight, and I saved at least 20 hand washings.) And he said that most of the time during the day, I will only need to rinse my hands and skip the soap. I just kinda stared at him, slack-jawed. He said that I may only need to use soap a couple of times a day. What??? Rocked my whole way of thinking. Not sure I totally buy it, but I'll think about it.

He said that our society has become too germaphobic. "There are germs on your steering wheel that will get on your hands as soon as you leave here," he said. You mean not everyone takes a baby wipe, puts hand sanitizer on it, and cleans their steering wheel with it?

Please note: I consider my dermatologist's advice to be strictly for me. The rest of you better be washing your hands at least 100 times a day to keep the germs away from me! :)

Now if only I could get a doctor to say, "You really need to eat more fried chicken and mashed potatoes."

Caleb's First Prayer

Before his nap today, Caleb asked Scott if he could pray. Of course, Scott said yes and then led him through a prayer. Then Caleb said, "Now I pray all by myself, Daddy." He buried his head in his little pillow and started to pray. We couldn't make out all of it, but we heard him mumble, "Thank you for Meme and Papa" and "in Jesus' name, Amen."

PRECIOUS!! We just about cried.

Caleb's Third Birthday Party

Caleb is 3 years old now! Amazing.


We had a great little family party for him Saturday. I made him a Blue's Clues "paw print" cake (from scratch--it took forever, but turned out yummy).



Isaac also turned 10 months old yesterday (it's so great that they were both born on the 29th--easy to keep track of). And just when we were getting ready to open presents, Isaac took his first independent steps! Little brother is already trying to steal the spolight....


Here are Matthew and Sara helping Caleb play with his new presents.

Rich and Angela

Meme and Papa

Friday

Caleb was so exhausted on Friday afternoon. He wouldn't wake up, no matter how many times I nudged him or called his name. So, I decided it was a good time to get a picture.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was very fun. The family all gathered at Mom and Dad's house for the feast. Usually I look forward to playing board games when the kids take naps, but we got so caught up in just talking, we didn't even break out the games. It was good to see everyone again. Mimme Scott (my grandmother) was even there. She moved to Rowlett about a month ago, so now she can join in the festivities.

My goofy husband and child (this is what happens when Scott is responsible for taking pictures)

New Neighbors

I think we have new neighbors. The "for sale" sign is down, and lights are on in the house.

So, what's the modern-day etiquette for welcoming people to the neighborhood? When I saw the lights on, I had an image of me wearing an apron, carrying over a freshly baked apple pie with steam still rising from it, knocking on the door and introducing myself.

How 1950's. This is the new millenium. We don't care who our neighbors are, as long as they leave us alone to live in our own little bubbles.

Baby Monkeys

Today I learned something interesting about baby monkeys who are raised without mothers. If they are given the choice between a "mother" made out of wire who gives milk and a "mother" who is covered in a soft, warm material but has no milk, they will choose the soft and warm one every time. That speaks volumes about babies' needs to feel loved and comforted.

Baby Food

Isaac is so different from Caleb. He likes just about every food we give him. Caleb at this age had already developed dislikes for several foods. I blame myself--when I was pregnant with Caleb, all I wanted to eat was McDonald's cheeseburgers and turkey bacon sandwiches! I was a much healthier eater with Isaac.

So, Isaac is starting out his adventures in food very differently. We started him on all organic foods, with added probiotics and/or DHA when available. Caleb never had any of that stuff.

I started making my own baby food last month. It's saving a ton of money! I don't buy all organic, but I try to when I can. I only buy premade baby food occassionally, and when I do I like the organic Happy Baby frozen foods. (There are BOGO coupons for Happy Baby on the Happy Bellies cereal cans, so it's affordable.) I have made my own squash and sweet potatoes supply, and today I made applesauce and blueberry puree. I buy fresh bananas and avocados--it doesn't get any easier than that, since all you have to do is mush them up with a fork or stick them in the food processor. I have some peas and green beans I need to cook and puree.

It is oddly satisfying to make your own baby food.

For my own benefit, here's a list of foods that Isaac eats and enjoys:

• Brown rice, oatmeal, and quinoa cereals
• Bananas
• Avocados
• Applesauce (regular and cinammon; he likes it mixed with other food better than by itself)
• Squash
• Sweet potatoes
• Cheerios
• Strawberry/apple puffs
• Shredded cheese (mild or sharp cheddar)
• Green beans
• Peas
• Spinach
• Pears
• Carrots
• Mango
• Black beans
• Egg yolks--he didn't like this in chunks, but will try it pureed

I need to try these over the next couple of weeks:

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Ground beef
• Yogurt
• Grapes (can freeze them and put them in a mesh baby feeder, or peel and cut into quarters)

I am going to buy one of those 2-tier steamers. Today I used the little collapsible steamer for the first time, and it worked okay, but not great.

Things I learned today to remember next time:

• For blueberries, bring the water to a boil, add blueberries, and immediately turn down the heat. Let the blueberries simmer in the hot water for 15 minutes. I kept the water boiling when I made them today, and the blueberries broke apart and drained into the water.
• For apples, dice them very small so they'll cook faster. I think it took about 45 minutes to steam my 6 apples today! I thought it would only take about 20 minutes. Also, make more for myself! The apples were SO good and smelled wonderful while they were cooking. I kept "testing" them. ;)

Pics from Tuesday

Caleb playing with his breakfast. His bites of oatmeal become "cars" waiting at a traffic light. A great imagination on that kid!

Isaac playing this morning in his cute little pj's.

I SO wish this picture wasn't blurry! Isaac does this cute little Hiro-ish squint that is precious.

What do you do with a blog, anyway?

Ok, I'm going to finally get with the program and start a blog. I guess people just talk about randomness on their blogs, so here's mine for today...

Caleb will turn 3 on Saturday. Hard to believe that just 3 years ago I was kidless. A former life.

Poor Caleb was up almost all night on Sunday with an ear infection. He's been very healthy since about 18 months (just chronic hayfever/allergies), but he's had 2 ear infections now in one month. He probably didn't heal properly after the first round of antibiotics, and infection set in again. He's back on a stronger dose of Augmentin.

He's pathetically cute when he's sick. He gets really clingy and cuddly. Normally, he isn't still long enough to really want to cuddle anymore, but when he's sick all he wants to do is be held. So I got to hold him through Sunday night when he came to our room and kicked Scott to the couch. ;)

Isaac is absolutely precious at this stage. He stood for about 30 seconds yesterday, then took 2 steps to me. Not even 10 months old.