Playgrounds

Hallelujah for playgrounds for children! Miami has many more to choose from than Minnesota, which makes sense when considering the year-round heat and weather conditions for being at a playground.

The other day, we went to discover a new playground near where we live. While there, we decided to let our son sit in the sand and dig around. The next morning, I texted my husband regarding some tiny bites all around his mid-section, not knowing what to make of them. Shortly after that, I remembered the sand and recalled other things that I had only heard about children and sand.

I do not think Minnesota playgrounds ever need be concerned about that issue because nothing much survives long enough - too cold when the the winter season arrives! All potential living things in the north-land make their way south for long survival - survival of the fittest is a good way to say it for Minnesota...then again, I might have to say the same for Miami!

Hallelujah for healthy children!

Motherhood

Hallelujah for new mothers!

A friend of mine recently asked me what the basic necessities for baby are, so I put together a list and thought I would share it on my blog as well.

+ Diapers & Wipes (Snappy Bottoms is what I used for cloth diapers and
the wipes are simply baby wash clothes - 30 diapers last us 2-3 days -
consider the cost and that the cloth diapers can be used with kids to
follow)
+ Car seat (consider what you will be doing with it - wanting
something light and easily transportable, flights, reversible)
+ Stroller (consider, again, what you will be using it for - more than
one child possibly or to transition to using it for two kids)
+ onesies (wait for sleepers depending on what your child likes to
wear - IJ didn't like sleepers from the beginning)
+ pacifier (try a few different ones - some don't like the shapes of
one verses the other - your pinky inserted upside down is a good way
too until you purchase one)
+ sling/carrier
+ blankets (2-3)
+ pillows for support when feeding (I liked the BreastFriend and also
simply pillows - the breastfriend allows for a little more mobility
because of it getting strapped via Velcro)
+ breast pump (depending on milk flow, a hand pump may suffice, but
the electric ones are fabulous at doing the job)
+ nipple cream (I like the MotherLove brand)
+ bag of some kind (I like a good backpack so that it leaves my arms
free to carry other things)
+ something to aid in bath time (it can be very basic - just aids in
keeping baby upright in the tub or something to set on the counter top
- simply showering with your baby works too or taking a bath together)

Eventually add on:

+ mirror toy that can be used for tummy time
+ black and white toys that can be used for floor time until they can
distinguish colors
+ mobile (great for simply laying them down in their crib while you do
things - good for development)
+ swing or bouncer or jumper

V-Back

Hallelujah for faith and hope in the face of a V-Back in Florida!

As I progress to my 27th week of pregnancy with my second child, I am learning more about the health system in Florida verses Minnesota. Florida is not friendly to V-Back's, unlike in Minnesota. Most doctors, here, will not support them. For all birthing centers it is actually illegal, UNLESS the midwives within the birthing centers assist the mothers with a home birth (weird how that makes any sense).

BRAT

Hallelujah for healthy children!

Hallelujah for learning to endure through a week of diarrhea and loose stool!

My son had something that made his bowls produce the above, to the extent of eight dirty diapers a day. I finally received a wise pointer from my mother: BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toast). Something had set my son on the wrong track - something he ate interrupted his normal cycle. It needed to be corrected and that is the way situations as such were approached years ago. It literally took about eight hours for him to show a difference in what he was producing. Once I started him eating only the above foods and giving him Gatorade (Pedialyt would work too - something to simply help replenish the liquids he was loosing through his constant poo), it was merely a matter of time.

Hallelujah for healthy poop!