Posted by: nikkik in Postnatal Parenting on
Aug 02, 2008
While my oldest daughter was at a preschool field trip today to the Portland Children's Museum, I took my youngest daughter, Chloe (2 1/2), to the Van Mall Library Branch Baby & Toddler Jamboree. There were toys, bubbles, music, crafts, snacks, and storytimes. So much to do, we hardly had time to do it all before it was time to go! It was really great to have some one-on-one time where I could focus only on Chloe and follow her lead as she went from one fun thing to the next.
I'd recommend library events to anyone with any age of child, at any time of the year. There are so many locations, there's bound to be one in your neck of the woods, and best of all, they're all FREE! Visit www.fvrl.org to find out about storytimes, clubs, and special events for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, school-agers, teens, and, yes, even us
No matter how many times an expectant mother is warned about the baby blues, when they set in, it feels like you've been hit with a hormonal brick. I did not expect in my wildest nightmares that I would be suseptible to postpartum depression in any form. I had prepared thoroughly, had a supportive husband and family, and had no history of depression. Additionally, labor with my first daughter went incredibly smoothly. If I could make it through childbirth "successfully" what else was there to fear? Or, more to the point, what did I have to be depressed about? Even when we left the hospital and headed home, where my mother (who is also a doula - how convenient!) was staying with us for a week, I felt like I had everything under control.
Then came the first night away from the hospital. At this point I had probably gone at least 36 hours with very minimal sleep, and part of that was spent working hard to birth a baby! Lack of sleep + overwhelming responsibility of a dependent
Posted by: nikkik in Postnatal Parenting on
Jul 12, 2008
I was sneaky when my first daughter was a toddler. Per advice from my own mother, I secretly laced her apple juice with carrots to add a little somethin' somethin' in the nutrition department. Here's how I did it:
Cut up several carrots, add water to cover about half the carrots, and steam until very soft.
Pour carrots and water into a blender and puree until liquified.
Pour mixture into an ice tray and freeze to create individual-sized carrot ice cubes.
Each time you serve your little one juice, add a carrot cube and a boost of Vitamin A!
You could potentially do this with many different veggies (I occassionally used green beans and beets), I just found that carrots had the right consistency and my daughter really liked the taste of the apple/carrot blend.
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Posted by: drchang in Postnatal Parenting on
Jun 21, 2008
January 11, 2005... 3AM... Through my fog of half-sleep, I heard three voices - all of them were crying. I thought about it for a second. "I only have two children, right? I'm pretty sure it was just twins..." Well, being a responsible parent, I thought I should get up and verify the fact that I had two kids. I needed to get more stuff if it was really three babies. The preceding four days were a blur of activity and no sleep. Who knows if the hospital stuck an extra kid in the car when I wasn't looking...
Turned out, of course, that ,I indeed, had twins and not triplets. The third teary person was my wife. I found her crying and hunched over the changing table with Allison (my older daughter) also crying. Avery (my younger daughter) was still in her crib crying her head off as well. I looked at my wife and asked, "Are you ready yet?" She nodded, I hugged her, and I sent her to bed. I made some Enfamil and fed the babies. (An interesting juggling act with twin newborns
When I was breastfeeding both my daughters, I was always frustrated that I felt somehow expected to find a private place to nurse, away from those who could be offended by the practice. It's now been 6 months since I weened my second daughter (at age 2) from the breast, and I still don't understand why anyone would be offended by breastfeeding in public.
Please understand that I'm not refering to breasts hanging out for all to see, but quietly nursing my baby, completely covered. I will admit that I never remember anyone ever mentioning anything derogatory or even giving strange looks when I did venture to breastfeed in a public place out of necessity. So perhaps it was my own inihibitions that produced a self-inflicted paranoia. But I have a sneeking suspicion that some people are shocked to see a woman breastfeeding - even when they're completely covered! The baby's got to eat, and I don't feel I should be forced into a dark corner to do feed her. Am I sounding militant?
Wow. That title could mean anything, huh?! HA!
What I'm actually going to talk about a bit is intimacy - specifically, between you and your husband. In the process of chatting with my pateints, the subject of the husband's desire for intimacy with them often comes up. It actually goes both ways. What I mean is - some husbands seem to have found some long lost aphrodisiac during your pregnancy, some husbands seem to withdraw.
First, the ones that can't get enough. (OK, OK; I know. For some you, that's pretty much the way it is pregnancy or no....!) Many men actually find a pregnant woman very attractive. That's not weird! A lot of my patients think that their husbands are somehow crazy for finding them MORE attractive during pregnancy - a time when most women are thinking, "Man, I'm totally awkward and decidedly UNattractive." Your husband really doesn't think so. Sexual intercourse is actually safe and healthy during pregnancy (with some exceptions, but your doctor will be
So today I'm going to write about something different. Parenting is such a crazy thing. I have twin girls. They are three years old now, and sometimes I wonder how they got here. What I mean is....
One day when I was home with them and my wife was at work, I was on the computer checking my email. I heard..."thumpthumpthump...boom!" This was soon followed by "WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" (By the way, why does it always take a second or two before the crying starts? Isn't that weird? I scream the second I stub my toe.) My younger daughter had tried to climb the stairs and made it to the fourth step.
One day when I was home with them and my wife was at work, I was on the computer checking my email, I heard....nothing. For all you parents out there, you know that this is a bad thing. Silence is always the result of your kids busy with something. I repeat this is a bad thing. I realized this and began an immediate search of the premises. I found my younger daughter head first in the
Posted by: nikkik in Toddlers, Postnatal Parenting on
Apr 24, 2008
Someone somewhere coined the catchy phrase "terrible twos," and although every 2-year-old has their moments (what age group doesn't, including twenty- and thirty-somethings?), I've decided, based on anecdotale evidence and personal experience that the terrible twos are, in my opinion, a myth. When my first daughter approached that fabled age, I braced myself for the worst, but it never happened. Although this could very well be atypical, as I have not conducted scientific research on the subject, both my daughters (and several other children I know) actually became exponentially easier to handle upon their second birthday. I credit communication and ease of mobility for this happier state of mind. It seemed that once my kids could actually convey what they wanted or needed, and once they could get around well enough to be able to access almost anything their little heart could possibly desire (even the most dangerous of chemicals and objects if not carefully stored and kept out of
