Chewbeads

Jude loves to gnaw on my jewelry. Unfortunately most of my jewelry is not only too delicate to be tugged and chewed on but also dangerous to be tugged and chewed on. At four months he's also yet oblivious to the word no. So the idea of jewelry for adults that is meant to be chewed on by babies was really appealing to me. Something passable as fashion that's also more appealing to Jude than my real jewelry. This is how I discovered Chewbeads.

Blurry image because of all the fun.

Chewbeads are soft, chewy beaded jewelry available in a variety of colors and styles for mom to wear and for baby to chew on or play with. A clever way to always have a toy on hand. The necklaces have a quick-release clasp in case baby yanks too hard (it'll come off rather than snap) and the bracelets are on stretch cord. Since they're all dishwasher safe, cleaning them is a cinch.

I ordered a bracelet in ivory, as that's what Jude tries to gnaw on most, and so far he seems to enjoy it. I'm still wearing my silver bracelet but he doesn't even pay it attention anymore. He prefers to grab at the Chewbeads, manipulate them with his fingers, and of course shove them in his mouth. I imagine they'll be even handier once he starts teething. The only downside is the price, they're a little expensive but if you order from Amazon, or anywhere else you can have them shipped for free, totally worth it.

Cat Scratch Fever

That was a rude awakening. Jude had fallen asleep nursing beside me and had all the intention of granting me the rare treat of sleeping in when all of the sudden: Neelix! All 25 lb of him leaps up onto the bed, or rather onto the baby and my breast. There is blood EVERYWHERE. The baby is screaming and crying. I about swallow my tongue but outwardly I must remain calm.

As I clutch Jude to my chest in an effort to cuddle and comfort him I realize there is a searing pain in my nipple. Having soothed the baby to a degree, I pull him away to inspect the damage. As I wipe away all of the blood I realize that it's mine. Not his. He's fine. The screaming was due to the sudden jolt of having my boob yanked from him by a monstrous cat. He was just scared.

So here I am, with three scratches raked across my tit, trying to nurse the baby without hissing in agony. I don't even know where to begin in treating this. Anything you'd normally use on a scratch is off limits due to location and breastfeeding.

Solids Before 6 Months?

There is a lot of debate out there concerning when to start your baby on the path to solids via Infant Cereal. These days it is customary to exclusively breastfeed or give formula for the first six months of life before introducing rice cereal and deviating from this recommendation at all is met with some inappropriate outcry.

Our last check-up revealed that Jude, despite eating on demand every couple of hours like a happy piglet, was losing weight. He has always been a very active, engaged baby and other than the weight loss, there were no signs or symptoms of a problem. So, along with scheduling a follow-up in two weeks, our pediatrician told us to start him on Rice cereal, twice a day mixed with white grape juice.

This seemed weird to me, not because solids at four months but because of the white grape juice. So I asked Google to find out if this was common and if so, why? What I found boggled my mind. Countless posts from angry mothers claiming that those asking about the rice cereal should notify the health board and get their pediatricians medical licensees revoked because, "ur baby needs NOTHING BUT BREASTMILK for the first six months!!!" and, "recommending otherwise is sabotage!" or something. Along with accusations of being a lazy parent who "just doesn't wanna bf anymore." Now, as previous posts have stated: I am strongly pro-breastfeeding, but come on.

Also, somewhat hilariously one woman's ignorance answered her own question. She flew off the handle about how, "rice cereal is binding and will give such a young baby constipation!!!" followed immediately with, "and white grape juice is a stool softener, it'll give your baby diarrhea!!  your dr is an idiot!!!" Yes, what an idiot doctor to counteract the constipating effects of rice cereal with the stool softening effects of white grape juice... duh.

All of the inquiring women were in the same boat that I am: despite nursing on demand their babies just weren't getting enough. NOT offering solids at this point would be grossly negligent. Basically enforced starvation. Yet none of these other women took that information into account. I drink two litres of water per day and aim for more than two thousand and five hundred calories a day. I eat oatmeal and drink Mother's Milk Tea. I take my vitamins and fenugreek supplements to insure my milk supply is the best it can be. There isn't really anything else I can do outside of supplement his diet in some way.

I was worried that such a change to his diet would have a lengthy adjustment time. That it would upset his tummy for a number of days and make him fussy. But none of that happened! Jude took to the rice cereal immediately. Even so much as to open his mouth every time he sees the spoon, like a baby bird awaiting the worm. He was more than ready to start solids. He's always been a pretty happy baby but since starting solids he has been all around happier. His body is getting everything it needs, and it hasn't interrupted his breastfeeding. He still nurses on demand, the same amount as he had before.

I like to alternate. Two days of cereal mixed with milk for the added calories, followed by a day of cereal mixed with white grape juice just to be sure he doesn't have any trouble going potty. Though really, so long as you continue breastfeeding on demand, baby should be getting enough liquids to prevent constipation. If doubtful you can always give them a couple of tablespoons of water or white grape juice to make sure. Solids haven't changed his nursing schedule at all.

The box says that your baby is probably ready to begin solids once they can sit up with assistance. I'm not sure how accurate that is though because Jude has been able to sit up with assistance since he was five weeks old. Which definitely is too little for solids, but definitely a sign that he probably could have benefited from this change in his diet a few weeks sooner than nineteen weeks.

One thing I feel compelled to say however: despite popular belief the addition of rice cereal to your baby's diet does not make them stay asleep longer! I hear this so much from people wanting to be helpful to new moms unable to get a decent night's rest and it simply isn't true. Jude's sleeping habits have not at all been effected positively or negatively by the addition of rice cereal.

While it is true that cereal and also formula are harder for baby to digest thus leaving him feeling a little fuller a little longer, at the earliest you should be introducing cereal your baby should've already established its own schedule which involves sleeping for at least six hours per stretch with one 'midnight feeding.' Giving baby cereal in his bottle earlier than this will probably just give him gas -- meaning he'll sleep worse. Also, giving solids in a bottle is a choking hazard and should be avoided entirely, no matter what. Solids should be offered via spoon only. It takes longer, is definitely messier, but is indefinitely safer.

You're better off just sleeping whenever baby sleeps until he gets into his own groove. It'll be a hard couple of months, but it too shall pass.

Water is Life

One of the most important things you can do for yourself is drink water. Whether you're pregnant, breastfeeding, or neither -- but especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

One of the biggest problems in first world countries is chronic dehydration because people simply forget to drink enough water, or don't know a good way to keep track of how much plain water they've had every day. Tragic considering that there are places in the world where clean water isn't available, and here we are simply forgetting to drink enough, or passing the life giving liquid entirely for double lattes and fountain drinks.

It's not entirely our faults, household drinkware has the volume visible no where on it. Once you remove it from the box and recycle the packaging you've no idea how many cups of water each glass you fill has unless you measure them out, which is a little OCD. So here is a sure bet way to drink plenty of water, every day.

First things first: go here and take the hydration quiz. Next go the the store and purchase your favorite juice in a comparable volume to the above. As a pregnant woman I drank a ton of orange juice, so I found reusing the Tropicana jug quite fitting and simple. Next thoroughly wash out the jug and rinse completely. It may still smell like juice despite being clean so let it air dry, open, on the counter for a few hours. By now it should be clean and aroma free. Finally, simply fill with water and pop in the fridge! If there are multiple people in your household, you can each fill up a jug and write your name on it with a Sharpie to keep tabs.

You will know you've gotten enough water throughout the day if by the time you're ready for bed your jug is nearly empty and needing to be refilled for tomorrow.

Drinking enough water is also a fabulous way to lose weight! Our bodies are amazing things, but they often mistake thirst for hunger. Try drinking a glass of water prior to snacking and chances are you will find you weren't even actually hungry to begin with. Drink water at meal time with your meal and you'll be able to cut down on your portion sizes too.

Advent Breastcare Essentials Kit

Size comparison: pouch, xbox 360 controller, thermal pad

Whether you nurse or pump, this is a handy kit! It packs a lot of essentials and the included pouch is larger than I expected (about the size of a decently long novel), making it great for storing "mommy" must-haves on the go -- either in your luggage or diaper bag.

The entire thing costs less than each of the included products do on their own, for example the thermal pads themselves are 10.00. At $9.00 for 2 thermal pads, 12 daytime nursing pads, 6 nighttime nursing pads, a reminder bra clip, a diary, and a convenient carry case: it's not just handy, it's also a great deal.

Bonus? When you're done nursing, the thermal pads can be used for any variety of other pain, hot or cold.

Fun With Genetics

Baby woke me up early today, so I spent the morning playing with him and thinking about dominant and recessive traits, because you need something to keep your mind busy while entertaining a human whose most exciting part of the day is when daddy disappears behind a blanket only to magically reappear a moment later with an exclamation of, "Peek-a-boo!"

So, let's talk genetics.

This is more or less how they work, granted it's been a long time since I took advanced biology, so bear with me. Dominance or lack there-of is the relationship between alleles. In dominant traits, one allele overpowers the expression of the other allele of the same category (ex. eye color).

If you break it down to mom's DNA and dad's DNA, there will be three possible outcomes; expressing the dominant trait, expressing the recessive trait, or carrying the recessive trait while expressing the dominant one. Some traits are super recessive, less likely to occur even against other recessive traits. Add in grandparent genetics and this gets a little harder to keep track of.


They play out something like this:
Dominant Trait ----------------- Recessive Trait
Brown Eyes --------------------- Blue Eyes, Gray Eyes, Hazel Eyes
Every Other Eye Color -------- Green Eyes
Brown Hair, Black Hair ------- Blonde Hair
Every Other Hair Color ------- Red Hair
Curly Hair ---------------------- Straight Hair
Widow's Peak ------------------ Normal Hairline
Dark Skin ----------------------- Light Skin
All Other Skin Color ---------- Albinism
Freckles ------------------------- No Freckles
Dimples ------------------------- No Dimples
Unattached Earlobes ---------- Attached Earlobes

Before Jude was born, Aaron and I played at guessing what he'd look like. Of the two of us, Aaron has the more dominant genes with his dark hair and his dark eyes. For ease, above I have color coded Aaron's genetic traits and Mine for comparison.

Thus we expected that Jude would probably be light skinned with brown eyes, brown curly hair with a widow's peak, dimples, unattached lobes, and maybe freckles later in life. When he got here we were mostly correct. He had Aaron's hairline, dimples, unattached lobes, light skin, eyes that seem to be suggesting they'll be brown, and while he's got straight hair now that could change as he gets a little older. However we were surprised to discover Jude is a ginger!

Have you ever tried to guess what your baby would look like? How accurate were your guesses?

Losing That Pregnancy Weight

Want to lose the weight you put on during pregnancy? As a new mother you probably don't have the free time or funds to join a gym, but it may be easier than you think. Use your baby!

First things first, if you can breastfeed or even pump breast milk... do it! Nursing mothers burn at least 500 extra calories per day. Per day. That's the equivalent of running five miles without ever having to get off the sofa. Ever seen the body of a runner? They're lean for a reason. The more you nurse or pump, the more you burn. Just how many calories per day do you need? Take this test to find out, then add 500 to it (whether or not you're nursing isn't a question) to find out.

Second, you cannot spoil a baby in its first year of life, the lack of object permanence guarantees that. So when your baby wants you to pick him up -- pick him up! I know you may be tired or have other things to do, but carrying around extra weight burns a lot of extra calories and tones muscles.

If you need your hands free consider baby wearing rather than putting baby down. They spend nine months being cuddled inside of you, it's little wonder they want so desperately to be held close once they're here. Baby will be happier feeling your warmth and heartbeat and you'll be abolishing fat without really going out of your way to do it.

Want to kick into high gear? Try a few squats with baby in hand or, rise up onto your toes then slowly lower your heels to the floor. Toss in a lunge or two. Be mindful of your balance though.

Third, get out of the house and take baby for a walk at least a couple of times per week. The outside world is less likely to over stimulate your little one and the fresh air will do you both good. Getting out of the house has been shown to help with postpartum blues, too. Not to mention simply walking ten or more minutes a day can boost your metabolism. So plop your new addition in their stroller and hit the sidewalk. Even if you've nowhere in particular to go, just a lap around the block will suffice.

Lastly, and this really applies to everyone, drink nothing but plain water. You retain more calories from liquids than you do from solids. So simply cutting out the sweet drinks can work wonders without the need for hardcore dieting.

In summary:

1. Breastfeed
2. Pick Up Your Baby
3. Take a Walk
4. Drink Water