An email from Callie

My friend Callie sent this to me, and I thought it was rather appropriate now that I have my own baby.

To Those of You Born
1930 - 1979


TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.


We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.



As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.


Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.



We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.



We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.


We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?

Because we were always playing..that's why!



We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.


No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.


We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.
WE HAD FRIENDS or we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.



We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.



We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.


Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.


The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it a ll.



If YOU are one of them? CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.



Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

What 10.5 weeks can do to a baby!!

Today I thought it would be funny to dress Adelaide up in the same thing we had her in when she was just born.

Here she is when she was only 2 days old.



And here she is today!

Tummy time

She did WHAT in the toilet?

Some of my friends from the birthing class have been doing this thing called "Elimination Communication" where you put your baby over the toilet and they go to the bathroom there instead of their diapers. I thought it was kind of crazy, and didn't even consider learning about it at first, but then I started noticing that it was really working, so I started asking questions. Basically from what they have told me, babies are born knowing how to control their pee and bowels, but after going in a diaper for so long, they eventually loose the ability to use those muscles. It's like they forget how to do it and then you have to re- train them when they are being potty trained. My friend says you can do it, even just once a day, and that will help the baby keep the memory of how to control things down there. The part of it I like even more is that it's basically about communication between you and your baby. It's just one more way to know them a little bit better and to respond to what they are trying to tell you. I have been practicing attachment parenting from the beginning, and this is just one more part of it. I know it sounds crazy. Here is how it's supposed to work. I hang out with Adelaide either with no diaper on so I can see when she goes to the bathroom, or with just the cloth and no cover. When I see her pee then I'm supposed to make a pppssssssss sound. After a few days of this, I should be able to hold her over the toilet and make that sound, and if she needs to go then she will.

I had tried two times with no luck...but today..... I heard her let out some farts so I went to change her diaper and there was pee and a little poop in there. Then I took off her diaper and held her over the toilet. I started making farting noises and all of a sudden - SPLAT - she pooped straight into the toilet!!! I can't explain how excited I was about this because I really didn't think it would work. And Adelaide had the biggest smile and seemed so proud. I know it sounds like a crazy thing, but I was just so excited. I am going to continue trying to get better at reading her signals to me, and try this when we are at home and not too busy. If nothing else, it's one less diaper to wash. I think she was as excited as I was, so we will see how it goes. Here are some pictures Myles took of me holding her over the potty.

Bath in the sink

We love Fridays

Here are the pictures from our second play group meeting. It was great to get together with the mom's again and line all of the babies up from oldest to youngest. Once again Adelaide was the only girl, and this time is right in the middle! I really am excited for Fridays these days because I love seeing the changes that happen in just one week with these little guys. One day they will be big enough to play together. That will be funny!

10 weeks

Another snow storm

We were going to meet our friends for lunch downtown today, but the snow started falling around seven this morning and hasn't stopped. I love that we have had so much snow this winter. It makes it so fun to stay in and keep warm. I don't think the baby minds staying in. Here is a picture of her in front of the snow, and also a video of her being cute this morning! She is wearing the outfit her auntie Jess got for her =)

Bigger Diapers

Here is the difference in size from the infant and the "premium" size cloth diapers. You can see how much bigger this next size is. Putting them on Adeliade reminds me of when she was a newborn and the infant size was giant on her. We have to do all kinds of folds to get them to fit on her, and then it looks like a giant buldge under her clothes. I know she will grow into these in no time. It's just sad that she is already wearing the normal size and no longer infant. I think that means she must be over 15 pounds by now. She is just growing so fast right before my eyes.

All cozy warm

Here is Adelaide in her little wrap that my Aunt Judy got for her. I also learned how to put the blanket over the seat when I'm taking her outside to help her stay warm. Who knew there were all these ways of keeping the baby warm!!?? I was just throwing a blanket on her and calling that "good", but now I see she can be much warmer and cozier. I wish I had a little place like that to climb in and get warm!

Rolling over, coughing and bigger diapers!!

I keep forgetting to write about all of the things Adelaide has been figuring out. Ths morning I propped her on her belly on the bed again to see if she would roll over. Nobody was next to her this time so there was no slope for her to cheat. I did put her hands under her rather than at her sides. Sure enough, a few seconds later she roller herself over! She is also much better at holding up her head when she is on her tummy. Sometimes I feel like I don't give her enough time in the day on her tummy, so I'm trying to be better at it. Usually she gets frusterated and worn out pretty fast and starts to fuss.

About two weeks ago she also learned how to make her self cough. It's really a fake cough most of the time, but she will do it when she chokes on the milk. Twice now she has done it right before a yawn, so I think she is still a little bit confused about when to cough, but it sounds really cute with her little voice!

The other thing that makes me a little sad because she is growing too fast is the fact that she no longer is fitting into the "infant" size cloth diapers, so we are going to have to upgrade to the "regular" size. I tried to get it changed for tomorrows delivery, but I think I might have to wait until next week. I just wonder if she is still considered an "infant" or not? I guess that's just a title, and she is still my little baby....I'm just trying to soak in every minute of it. I know it's healthy for her to be growing and thriving.

One other thing is that I keep finding her little hairs..so I think she might be loosing her baby hair. I assumed she would have white hair, as both Myles and I did when we were little. I guess we just have to wait and see. Her eyes are still blue/grey. I think they seem a little darker. The woman at the shop where we get our cars worked on thinks they will be green. I think that's a good guess because Myles has gorgeous green eyes. There might be a tint of green in there, but they mostly seem blue and grey to me.

First official play group

We were planning to meet at another girls house today for our first official get-together from the birth class. Her baby wasn't feeling well so I offered to host at our house instead. It was so fun to have all of the babies together. They are all so different. Adelaide is the only girl, and also one of the biggest and older babies. Here they are all lined up from oldest to youngest.At the bottom I added a video too! I really hope we get to do this every week. It helps to know that others are going through the same experience that you are! We also got to share parts of our birth stories which was really nice! Four out of 11 girls ended up having hospital births. It's really great to hear all of the different experiences, and also to know that the midwives will transport if they need to. It just makes me even more sure about our choice to have a homebirth. Adelaide have finally figured out how to get her hand to her mouth, and is sucking on her fingers. It's really cute, and almost a little sad that she might not need me as much to sooth her, as she is finding was to do it herself! Today she was on the bed on her belly and rolled over!!! Myles was next to her causing a slight sloap, so I think that helped. I just couldn't believe she really rolled over on her own!

Big belly

Today one of Adelaide's friends from our birthing class came over to visit. She is such a sweet girl and her son is adorable. Here he is with Adelaide, although he was not so happy in his little bear outfit! The rest are just some pictures of her that I took after they left. She was so good at sitting up on the couch by herself so I had to keep shooting. Do you think I have her pants pulled up too high?

9 weeks

The weeks are really starting to fly by now. I can see such a difference when I look at her newborn pictures. Adelaide is getting really good at holding up her head for quite some time. She is also making a lot more really cute noises and trying to talk to us, and sing along when I sing to her. She is so much more interactive. She will look at me and smile so big...sometimes I feel like she knows what I'm thinking. If I will laugh at her, she trys to laugh back. She is such a smart little girl, and very good at telling us what she wants as well. Sometimes she will make a face that makes you think she is going to scream really loud and start crying...and then she lets out a little sound just to say she is mad or hungry. Her expressions don't always match her sounds. She loves to hear me sing, and last night Myles whistled to her and she loved that even more. She is such a happy girl. She makes my life so full of fun memories and thoughts. I'm so lucky to get so spend so much time with her.

Myles took these today

Bed Time

While talking to some of the girls from the birthing class I learnt that our midwives had advised them to start getting baby into a routine and set up a bed time. The girls are putting their babies to bed at 6 or 7 pm, and say that it helps the baby not to be craby in the evening (because they are sleeping). Babies need a lot of sleep, and the only way to really get it is to go to bed early. So we tried it out. Last night I took Adelaide upstairs at about 6 o'clock because she seemed tired. I nursed her and she fell asleep, but as soon as I got up, she was awake. Myles and I speant the next 3 and a half hours trying to get her to go back to sleep. She was just laying up there making little noises every now and then, and then would cry a little and we would go up and comfort her, and then come back down. I'm not one to "let my baby cry". She stayed up until about 11:30 and then finally went to sleep. I'm going to keep trying, but I'm not sure if it will work. She only sleeps if I'm holding her, even in the day. I guess I need her to get used to sleeping on her own, but I think it's going to be a long process.

Another walk in the stroller

We got about 3 blocks and Adelaide started to scream. People were coming out of their houses to see what was wrong. I had to carry her home while pushing the stroller. I think our walks will be better with the Moby. I just feel like I want to get some use out of that darn stroller because it cost so much money. I guess that isn't what matters though, and I guess I'd rather be carried than pushed around in cold, hard plastic as well.

8 weeks

We just got this cute new diaper cover. All of our other ones are solid, and most of them plain white. I think the flower ones will be cute once it gets warmer and she is running around without clothes on =)

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

Today Adeliades favorite song is "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf". I started singing it to her a few days ago and she really likes it. She will stop what she is doing and smile and listen when I sing it. I have no idea where I remembered the song from. Tonight I found it online and played it for her. She really loves it.

Hands up

We had an ultrasound done when Adelaide was 18 weeks along in my belly. That means only 18 weeks from her conception...such a very young age! The one thing I remember best was that her hands were covering her face and the lady was having a really hard time trying to get her to move them so she could see her face. We didn't know if she was sucking her thumb, but it looked like little fists held up to cover her face. When she is really tired and nursing she always puts her little hands up right next to her face. It's really precious to me because it's something that I know she has always done. Now that she is getting older she is starting to keep her hands open a little bit more often, but sometimes I will look down and see those little fists.