Over Reaction

So yesterday afternoon we were playing with munchkin on our new leather loveseat.   It has two recliners and we were playing with them, enjoying the newness.  We had Munchkin up with us and she was having a great time.  Then I noticed what looked like a bug bite on her wrist.  I mentioned it to The Man that we should keep an eye on it.  A few minutes later we noticed that there was a long one about mid arm and another on her upper arm and they were all red.

The Man was more concerned that I was and he started looking all over her body.  He found another one on her left check.  It was nap time so we decided to put her down for a nap in her diaper so we could check on her while she was sleeping.  DH wanted to take her to Urgent Care but I said let’s wait and see if anymore appear.  I was nursing her before she fell asleep and before my very eyes I saw these red marks appear on her skin.  So I called to The Man and decided we’d take her to Urgent Care.  That’s why we have insurance, right?

There was no one at Urgent Care when we got there and we didn’t wait very long. We noticed that the first spot we noticed on her hand was gone and the long one was fading.  After a few minutes we got taken back and they took her vitals.  She did so well and thought that her bracelet was for her to chew on.  We were taken to another room and we waited for a little but.  She was a happy baby and played with some of the toys I brought.  the doctor came in and told us it was was an allergic reaction.  It could be from the new loveseat.  Basically when something rubs along her skin with pressure her body reacts but becoming red and raised.  After about 10-20 minutes it goes away.  He said we can give her some Benadryl if it gets too bad.

So I guess as first time parents we might have over reacted.  I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry and know that it’s not serious.  It was nice that our first trip to Urgent Care wasn’t for something too serious.  It was a good way to break us in!

Walking

I know I told you that Munchkin is walking but I wanted to show you.  So here’s a little video, complete with baby drama.  Don’t let the tears fool you, she loves walking!  This video was taken on Monday.  Since then she’s taken more steps all on her own.  She’s still crawling all over the place as well.  I spend my days chasing her.  Please don’t think I’m complaining, I’m not!  It’s a blessing to have a little one to chase after.  

 

Munchkin taking some of her first steps

I promise I’ll write about more than Munchkin walking soon!

A Standing Girl

Munchkin is not only cruising around, walking while holding on to things, but she’s standing as well.  Not only that, but she has walked a few steps by herself!  She’ll do about 4-5 at a time.  She’s so cute! I know it means I’ll be running after her more but I already chase her cause she’s a fast crawler!

Child Nutrition and Cooking

Thanks to Elizabeth, I found out about this great course on Coursera called Child Nutrition and Cooking.  It’s free and the professor is part of the faculty at Stanford University.  I enrolled since Munchkin is now eating solids and I can always use more ideas about what to feed her.  There are 25,000 students taking the class worldwide.  Crazy, huh?!?

It’s a simple format, where you watch 4-5 short video lectures.  When you’re done you can take the short quiz.  You can take the quiz as many times as you’d like but quiz isn’t hard and if you were paying attention at all to the movies you should be able to answer the questions.  We also have weekly homework.  We’re given something to cook.  You cook it, take a picture and describe what you did and the ingredients in 200 words or less.  Then your peers evaluate your dish and you evaluate at least 5 dishes made by other students.

It’s week four of the course and I’m loving it!  I’ve learned some interesting statistics, such as 1 in 3 children are obese or overweight in the US. They are more likely to suffer from diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Another interesting one is that today’s children are the first in modern history that may have a short expected lifespan than their parents.  That’s just wrong. 

The point of the class is to try to change those stats.  They propose that one way to change them is for people to cook at home instead of eating fast food (because something like 1/3 of kids in the US eat fast food EVERYDAY. Yuck! I always feel gross after eating fast food.)  They are emphasizing cooking from scratch and not using the processed foods because they are part of the problem.  I try to cook from scratch as much as possible so I’m not finding it hard.  The professor has shared some recipes, such as toad in a hole, how to make a tomato sauce, roasted veggies and an almond cake recipe.  I haven’t tried them all but want too. 

Anyway, I shared all that because I’d like to share with you the meals I’ve made and some of the recipes I’ve learned.  I know how busy so many of us are and it can be hard to cook. It’s so much easier to reach for something fast.  But cooking (from scratch) doesn’t have to be hard and is something that we can work into our schedules.  I hope the recipes I’m going to be sharing will be helpful to you.

Do you enjoy cooking?

Memorial Day

Every year in middle school we had to write an essay on What Memorial Day means to me.  It was hard, sometimes, to write because the topic felt far removed from me.  Sure, I was thankful for all the soldiers that had died defending our country and my mind always pictured soldiers long ago, fighting in the revolution and civil war.  Sure, Operation Desert Storm made it a more real but I didn’t know anyone serving so it still wasn’t tangible to me.  I think it is hard to have a full appreciation of Memorial unless you know someone who has died.  The meaning isn’t taught anymore and we have lost an appreciation for those who serve.

I have a sad and heavy heart for those that have been killed doing their job defending our country.  My heart breaks for their spouses, children, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends.  The world is a sadder, lonelier place for them now that their loved one is no longer here.  My prayers are with them, not only today but one other days as well, as God brings them to mind.  We need to remember and celebrate those who have given everything for our freedom.  Our country would not be the place it is today without their sacrifice. 

With being said, I’m tired of being told BBQ’s and sales and going to the beach are bad ways to spend Memorial Day.  There is NOTHING wrong with having a party with friends or saving money on a mattress or getting a tan.  There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a day off from work and sleeping in.  People will spend their weekend the way they want too because, thankfully, we have that freedom of choice.

Instead of criticizing people how about we education them?  How about instead of bitching on social media (where often you’re preaching to choir) you inform and inspire?  Write a blog post about the meaning of Memorial Day or what it means to you (even if it does make you feel like you’re in middle school again.) If you know someone who had died, write a post about them.  Give us a name, a face and something about them.  Knowing they loved fish tacos makes them more real for us.  Share them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+.  Share quotes and other items that honor those who died.  Teach your kids what Memorial Days means and do meaningful things to celebrate.  Instead of just saying don’t say Happy Memorial Day, tell people why.  There really are people out there who just don’t know and need to be taught.  So take the lead and teach them!

I think it boils down to not everyone knows someone who as died while serving.  There is a HUGE disconnect and getting upset and yelling at people won’t help.  Instead, share and make it meaningful.  Seek to fix the problem instead of making it worse. 

Now that Munchkin is on the move, she’s hearing the word NO more often than she would like.  It’s amazing how quickly she can go from a happy baby to a screaming, crying one!  She’s too cute, even when crying.

 

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5 Minutes for Mom

Little Traveler

Munchkin has, in her ten months, has taken two airplane trips.  She took one when she was 3 months and she just completed her second one at 10 months.  Hopefully this is just the beginning of her traveling adventures!

This past trip was easier for at least two reasons that I can think of.  One is that The Man traveled with us and it was so nice to be able to pass the baby back and forth.  I think it was also easier because Munchkin is older and is more interested in toys.  When she was 3 months she wasn’t too interested in her toys and enjoyed crying while we were on the plane.  I was so afraid of being THAT mom with the crying baby.  I’m over that now and it eased my stress level a lot!  There are some other things that helped me while traveling with Munchkin while she was an infant.  They are:

1.  Travel light

Since I was going to have the baby to take care of while traveling, especially alone, I didn’t want to have to deal with luggage.  I checked it and made sure to fly on an airline that offered one bag free.  Munchkin’s clothes don’t take up too much room so it was easy to share a suitcase with her.  I also didn’t have to worry about a car seat since I was visiting my mom and we have lots of friends with kids.  We were able to borrow a car seat.  It was nice to not have to bring one! I packed one carry one, filled with items that were mostly for Munchkin.  For me, I only brought my Kindle, wallet and iPod with earphones.  The airline I prefer has personal TV screens so I use that for entertainment while Munchkin sleeps.

I didn’t bring a stroller.  I’m not a stroller person and while we have one we barely us it.  I’m a HUGE fan of baby wearing.  I wore Munchkin both times.  There are huge advantages to baby wearing in the airport. One is that you are able to wear them through security (as long as the  carrier is on under any kind of jacket/coat. If not, you will have to take the baby off to take the coat off.)  You don’t have to go through the x-ray scanner.  Instead you go through the metal detector and get your hands swabbed.  Easy peasy.  Wearing the baby also helps keep them from getting over stimulated from the activity going on around them.  I’ve heard that you have to take the baby out of the carrier of take off and landings but I’ve already had her out so I haven’t had to deal with it.  I have worn the carrier during the flight while Munchkin slept.  She gets heavy and it was nice to have it help take some of the weight off my arms.  It frees up my hands as well so I can read if I want too.

So when I’m going to the gate, I have my baby in my Ergo and our diaper bag.  It’s very doable and it’s my normal load

If you do want to bring a stroller, you can check it at the gate which is nice.  It might be worth it just to carry the carry on, depending on how big and heavy it is!

2.  Dress the baby for easy diaper changes.

Both times Munchkin traveled I had her wear a long sleeve onesie and baby legwarmers.  This allowed for very easy diaper changes because I didn’t have to worry about taking anything off.  The last thing you want to do is to try to fight to get their legs into pants while in a airplane lavatory. 

3. Use disposable diapers

If you use disposable diapers normally than this one is easy for you!  If you cloth diaper then you might want to consider using disposables.  It was super nice to just be able to throw the diaper away.  I’ve found that I tend to change Munchkin more while we travel and I don’t want to have to carry that many cloth diapers, even flips with disposable inserts!

4. Think about the flights

I prefer having a non stop flight so I don’t have to deal with a layover.  You might be the opposite.  But figure out which one you prefer and do it!  All 4 of Munchkin’s flights have been non stop cross country flights and it works for us. We try to book them for when she will be sleeping because a sleeping baby on an airplane isn’t crying/fussing/wanting more room to play.  She doesn’t sleep for the whole thing but will sleep for most of it.  I don’t want to have to try to get her asleep twice with a layover! I also don’t want to deal with changes in air pressure and her ear drums twice.  You might prefer to have a layover depending on your flight…if you do, make sure you have one!

5.  Don’t stress

Babies cry.  It’s a fact and sometimes there is just nothing you can do.  Some people might give you the stink eye.  Don’t worry about it.  Do what you can to calm down your baby but don’t let others get to you.  Most people, especially other parents, understand.  If they don’t, oh well.  You’ll probably never see them again!

Do you have any other tips for traveling with an infant or baby?

Feeding The Baby

*I know that there are a lot of differing opinions on the right time to start solids and the best way to do it. I’m sharing how we started solids.  If you did something different, I’m not saying you’re wrong or a bad parent.   

We started Munchkin on solid foods at 6 months.  The first thing we tried was some home made baby food.  I think it might have been carrots.  They didn’t go over so well.  Munchkin really wanted to play with the spoon and there was no way she was letting us put it in her mouth.  The few times I did manage to get the spoon in she was not impressed.  We decided to wait a few days before trying again.  After all, she was getting all she needed nutrition wise from the mama milk.

The next time we tried we decided to try something I had done a little research on called Baby Led Weaning.  The name is misleading.  It could be better described as baby self feeding.  Basically you give the baby food and they feed themselves, deciding what to eat and how much.  It really is as simple as that! I started with soft, naturally mushy foods, such as avocado, mango and bananas.  In the beginning Munchkin played with it more than ate it.  I was ok with that because I had been told several times, from several people that “Food before 1 is just for fun."  She was exploring and getting used to the food.  Eventually she started eating it.  It was super messy but I knew that going into it so it didn’t bother me.  Joey quickly became her best friend as he loves eating whatever falls on the floor! He will eat most of it.  He’s not a fan of kiwi though.

I usually have to offer a food two or three (though sometimes more!) before Munchkin will eat it.  She’s finally eating avocado and loving it! She also loves strawberries, cucumbers, kiwi, noodles and cheese.  She likes chicken and potatoes and she’ll eat a little bread, eggs and beef (doesn’t matter if it’s ground or in from a steak, she’s not a huge fan.)  My goal is for her to have two meals a day with real food but sometimes only one happens.  Sometimes three happen depending on our schedule and what’s in the fridge.  She really is eating whatever we’re eating.  It’s so nice to not have to have something separate for her! Munchkin and I went out to eat with my friend recently and she just helped herself to the baby carrots and some chicken off my plate.  My friend offered Munchkin her lemon and Munchkin had a great time sucking on it.  Apparently she likes lemons too!

Some of you might be scratching your heads.  Yes, I skipped giving Munchkin rice cereal.  She’s never had it and she doesn’t need it.  She’s never had any food straight from a jar or any purees other than that first attempt. I’ve tried apple sauce and she won’t let me put a spoon in her mouth at all.  She purses her lips together and shakes her head at me.  I’d love to get some yogurt into her as well so I’ve bought a few pouches to try.  I love that her favorite foods are fruits and veggies right now. I feel that it’s a great start for her and her health.  Hopefully we can keep her love of healthy food strong!

Munchkin enjoying a stuffed shell at 8 month old

If you’re interested in more information on baby led weaning, check out this page for info on how to get started!

Baby Shower Gift Basket Ideas

Lots of friends having babies = lots of baby showers!  I have a different view of what to buy new moms to be now that I’m a mom.  I’ve brainstormed some ideas of gift baskets that I would have loved to have received. 

If I were going to be giving one of these as a gift, I’d make it up in one of those cloth basket/box things.  I use them to hold Munchkin’s cloth diapers and her toys.  They are so useful. Depending on the size, you could use a receiving blanket to wrap around it and tie at the top with a bow. Super cute and useful!

Breastfeeding Basket

Breastfeeding can be rough in the beginning   Some ideas for it include a breastfeeding pillow (such as a Boppy or My Breastfriend) for help with baby positioning in the early days.  Lanolin & cooling jell pads help with sore nipples that happen early on.  I was always thirsty once Munchkin latched and I found that keeping a full reusable water bottle near where I would nurse was helpful.  I was also ravenously hungry so some granola bars or other snack could be nice addition to add to the basket.  Nursing pads are a must for many women, either disposable or reusable. 

Emergency/Medicine Basket

As a first time mom, I didn’t have all the child medicines and stuff on hand.  A great basket could include a child thermometer, gas drops and/or gripe water, children’s cough & cold medicine (like Dimetapp), infant pain reliever/fever reducer, children’s Benadryl, a nose bulb or nosefrida, teething tablets & gel, ice packs for bumps when they get older or even a Boo Boo Bunny. 

I would have LOVED to get a basket like this because the first time we needed these things we had to run out to get them! It was no fun leaving a sick baby with daddy and having to run to the store to buy baby Tylenol.  I was trying to hurry and it took me awhile to figure out which one to buy.

Teething Basket

I don’t think any parent looks forward to teething! We all know teething is going to happen sooner or later so this basket will get used!  Some ideas for this basket include an authentic Amber teething necklace, Sophie the giraffe, other teething toys (Munchkin really likes these ones!), teething tablets, teething gel and water resistant bibs.  A teething necklace would be a great item to include.  I have a one that Munchkin loves and it’s been helpful for her to chew on when we’re out and about.

The teething necklace in action

Food Basket

It’s so much fun when the baby can start eating “real” food.  Some great items for this basket would be some sippy cups, kid friendly bowls and plates, and some spoons.  You could also add some baby snacks.  Munchkin really likes Ella’s cookies.  Puffed snacks are also good.  Pouches of food are another idea that would be great in a basket.  Another option would be to include the ingredients and the recipe for homemade teething biscuits or you could make them for the mama and tell her they can be frozen until she needs them.  Bibs are also a must! We like ones with pockets on the bottom because they help catch falling food.  You could also add a cute outfit because even with a bib sometimes the baby still get really messy and need an outfit change.

 

Cloth Diaper Basket

For the cloth diapering mama, more fluff is always a great gift! There are cloth diaper available in a range of prices. You can  buy or make some cloth wipes out of flannel. It’s recommended to have 2-3 dozen cloth wipes and really, you can’t have to many. You can also include some coconut oil to be used as butt cream, or some other cloth diaper friendly butt cream, such at CJ’s BUTTer.  A roll of disposable liners are great for when the baby gets older.   Some samples of cloth diaper laundry detergent could be nice too.  I’d include a small toy to help distract the baby during diaper changes when they are bigger and want to wriggle all over the place!  Another idea would be to include a diaper sprayer.  I think this would be cute packaged in a plastic garbage can, as that is what many cloth diapering mamas use to hold the dirty diapers.  Don’t forget the pail liner! Or the hand sanitizer and Lysol (to spray the garbage can with in between liner changes)

If the mama isn’t cloth diapering, you could still still do a diapering basket with a package or two of disposable diapers, wipes, butt cream, hand sanitizer, a toy and a change of clothes (cause you KNOW poop explosions are going to happen!)

 

Looking for more Baby Shower Gift ideas? Check out this post by my friend Jodi.

*The items mentioned in this post are ones that we really like and the companies have no idea I am sharing them.  I get nothing if you purchase them.  I’m just passing on things that we like!

Is there anything you would add to any basket?

Which one would do you think would be most useful for a new mom?

Milspouse Appreication Day

Happy Milspouse Appreciation Day!

In my short time as a milspouse, I’ve known some amazing spouses and some not so amazing spouses (you know the ones, the drama lllamas, dog tag chasers, the rank wears, the entitled ones.) Most of them are amazing, holding things together so their sailors/soldiers/airmen can do their jobs and not worry about the home front.  You may complain because yes, it sucks, the constant moving and the work ups and deployments but at the end of the day you love your spouse.  So you keep on keeping on, you hold everything together, sometimes one minute at a time.  You hold back tears and shed them in private so no one will know how weak you feel.  You’re not weak.  You’re strong and you hold one knowing that at the end of it all, that person you married makes it all worth it.

Thank you for what you do. 

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If this is your first time visiting Many Waters, Welcome!  If you’ve been here before, Welcome Back!  I’m glad you stopped by. 

I’m Poe and I’ve been married to The Man for almost 4 years.  Our daughter was born last July.  She’s amazing and I love being her Mama.  The Man was a submariner in the Navy but he separated about a week after Munchkin was born.  He’s in the IRR (Individual Ready Reserve.)  I don’t really consider myself a milspouse anymore but I do have a military ID and we have base/NEX/commissary privileges so maybe I am?  I understand the lifestyle and the difficulties that come with it.   I miss seeing my husband in uniform and having the bed to myself on duty nights.  I am enjoying the fact that The Man gets home at the same time everyday and the fact there there are no more deployments in our future.

I mostly blog about our life and being a mom.  You’ll find posts on what Munchkin is up too, what I’m cooking in the kitchen, my random thoughts, and different things we’re doing in the lovely PNW. 

I’d love to connect with you! Please let me know you stopped by, even if you only say hi.  I’ll visit back but it might take me a little bit as the next few days are going to be a little crazy for us.  I’m on Twitter a lot and that’s a great place to find me.  I’m also on Facebook and Google+.  If you’d like to read more on the blog, you can follow via Bloglovin’,  You could follow via GFC but since it’s going away it really wouldn’t make sense too!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Proud Mommy Moments

This week Munchkin has done some great stuff.  I’m so proud of her and can’t believe how fast she’s growing!  9 1/2 shorts month ago all she did was eat, sleep and poop and now she’s a girl on the go.

On Sunday, she rolled over for the first time.  She took her sweet time!  She’s been sitting by herself since 4 1/2 months but she has refused to roll.  Then I went in and check on her during nap time and she was on her belly.  It was amazing!

Then on Tuesday she was scooting around and landed on her belly.  Usually she cries and pulls her arms and legs up like Superman.  This time instead of crying she just looked at me and pushed herself up.  She looked like she was doing a downward dog and then bent her legs and sat down.  She grinned at me and went on her way.  When I started clapping and telling her good job she started clapping too.  She was (is!) so cute!

All this week long she has been scooting and cruising all over the place.  She loves to just walk along.  Sometimes when she’s just standing she’ll let go and just stand there for a few moments and when she realizes she’s not holding onto anything she’ll start to wobble and grabs ahold again.  She wants to be walking so badly.  I think she’ll be walking on her own soon.  At least I’ll get more exercise running after her!

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Fun in the Sun

The weather was gorgeous over the weekend.  We broke some records in the PNW with the warmer than usual weather.  Munchkin and I weren’t complaining though, and took full advantage to enjoy some time outside!

 

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5 Minutes for Mom

 

Menu Planning Monday

It’s Monday again and its gorgeous in the PNW! We are in the middle of a heat wave and I must admit I’m loving it! It’s been in the 80’s for the past two days.  It’s so nice!  I haven’t really been wanting to cook so we’ve been grilling.  It counts, right?!?

Here’s what we’re eating this week:

Monday: Crockpot Beef & Noodles, with veggie sticks and fruit.

I’m also making chicken broth in the crockpot.  I love that I can have two of them going and it doesn’t make the kitchen any warmer! And homemade chicken broth…YUM!

Tuesday: Steak, baked potato, & a veggie.

Wednesday: Chicken Spaghetti

Thursday: Fiesta Chicken

Friday: I have no idea yet but I’ll be using up whatever it in our fridge.  I’m thinking a stir-fry might be nice.

 

A while back Elizabeth mentioned on Twitter that she signed up for a free course on Child Nutrition and Cooking.  I thought is sounded interesting so I checked it up and signed up too.  It started today and I’ve watched the video and so far: AMAZING!  So far it’s been simple stuff, things I already knew but it’s nice to be reminded of them.  The class started today and I'm not sure if you can still enroll.  If you can, GO DO IT NOW! 

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Breastfeeding In Public

I had an epiphany the other day.  It was the realization that I was finally comfortable nursing Munchkin in public. It might seem small but it means that there is less stress in my life. 

Before I was pregnant I knew I wanted to breastfeed.  Wanting to breastfeed and actually breastfeeding are two different things.  It was a harder in the beginning than I was expecting.  I’ve been “blessed” with a larger top half and it took me a little bit to learn how to get Munchkin to latch.  I have to hold the “sandwich” in order for her to stay latched.  This can make things awkward, especially in public.  Juggling Munchkin, my breast, the cover, and propping her up on my leg took some practice.  I didn’t think it would ever become second nature.  It used to stress me out so much that I would avoid going out.  If I had to go out, I would nurse Munchkin right before we left and would bring a bottle of mama milk with me.  That worked ok, except that Munchkin preferred mama milk from the source. So often I ended up nursing anyway.

When I nursed in public I felt like everyone was watching me.   I used a nursing cover in the beginning but Munchkin HATED it.  I did too, as it was just one more thing to deal with.  I felt like I should be covered because I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.  I also didn’t want anyone to say anything to me about nursing my baby.  How embarrassing would it be if someone told me to stop or to move?  At this point I no longer care if someone says something to me.  WA state law allows me to nurse in public and if someone doesn’t like it, oh well.  If someone does say something they’ll get an earful from me.  Nicely, of course!  The best part is that if The Man is with me, he’s ready to say something too.  I love that I have his support in breastfeeding our daughter.

I think what made it easier was nursing at church.  There’s a rocking chair tucked away for nursing moms.  You can see the TV for watching the service if it’s going on and there are usually only kids and their parents in the area.  I started with the cover in that area, then a blanket and finally nothing.  From there I just started nursing in other places too.  Now I don’t think about it, I just feed the baby when she’s hungry.  It’s nice to have one less thing to stress about.

 

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Studying with Daddy

 

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The Paper Mama

Project Alicia

live and love out loud

5 Minutes for Mom