These days it is hard to not be aware of all the toxins in our environment. And as a new parent and mild environmentalist, I would say that I am hyper-aware. It is all so daunting though. I mean it seems as though everything is toxic these days and it all ends up in your baby's mouth. I just read this list published on a blog that I follow, and although most of it was already information I knew, it still troubled me. Of course I have only BPA-free bottles and sippy cups but there are so many little plastic toys that have made their way in and out of Eddie's hands and mouth and I know that they cannot be the "safe" kind of plastic...if there is such a thing. He loves his bath tub squirter toys...hard and soft teethers really aided his teething period...and what about all the plastic baggies I use to hold his frozen cubes of food? Should we all get rid of our Ziplocs too? I mean our mothers used plastic and WE turned out ok, right? I know that one tragic result of BPA-exposure is obesity - actually there was a recent study of Harlem teenage girls and those with high rates of BPA in their systems were also more likely to be overweight or obese. It all comes down to the endocrine system; these harmful chemicals seem to disrupt hormone levels and could lead to metabolic and even neurological disruptions/disorders as well. I even just read something about chlorine-ridden pools and how all indoor pools should be avoided because the air hovering over them is full of toxic VOCs that can cause asthma. Sure. I will tell that to my son when he is older and I explain why he cannot go swimming like his friends. Even worse, I read that parks should be avoided, as in the grass there, because most cities use pesticides on the grass. And here I was concerned about dog poops and urine...
What are we to do, our over-informed, over-paranoid, over-analytical generation of parents? Reject or return all the gifts that could be toxic? Avoid potential hazardous environments...gasp...a less-informed friend's home? It all sounds so ridiculous, and yet I find myself gravitating towards these types of news blurbs that indicate yet another reason to be angry with our commercialized world that cares more about making something cheap and easy instead of making it healthy and safe. And god help the Monsantos of the world and their beliefs that the planet is a much better place with the creation of pesticides. We have a container of Round-Up in our garage; we used it last summer to kill the weeds and grasses growing between the cracks in our brick path. I was extremely opposed to its purchase and usage and still flinch when I see the thing sitting on our garage shelf. And yet it is still there. We own it. Those made-in-China plastic toys are still in the toy bin, wet from Eddie's saliva. Like many of the toxins in our world, we seek to eliminate them, to avoid them and even actively speak out against them, and yet when it comes down to the reality of things, they are still ever so present in our daily lives.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Video of the Week
Once again, I am a tad slow uploading and so this is actually from last week. It showcases Eddie's ability to focus on one toy for awhile (his Dad likes to say he has anti-ADD), his movement and his curious love for his dog Marty. Enjoy!
i'm still standing
Eddie is really taking more opportunities to perfect his new skill of standing. He has discovered the stairs and can now pull himself up onto the one step in our foyer that leads to the staircase. It is such a cool process to watch him learn a skill that seems so simple and innate to us as adults. As he gets into kneeling position, he brings one knee up into a forward lunge and then pulls himself up to be completely standing. It is almost as if you can see the brain neurons firing and the muscles getting acclimated to this new body position. Note, we just watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button;" Brad Pitt did an amazing job acting like an old man acting like a child.
Anyway, the other skill that I love to watch the details and intensity of is his eating. He is now eating mostly finger foods since he seems to really prefer feeding himself. And it is such a joy to just sit there and watch him eat - to watch as he figures out now to get tiny morsels like peas and cubes of bread and shredded cheese from the tray to his mouth. It is truly an art form. He probably only gets the food straight to his mouth about 1 in 5 times (although it is improving rapidly), and so the other times the food either falls into his lap or somewhere below (thank you Marty) or gets stuck somewhere on his hand or arm. When this happens he uses his mouth to search it out, by sucking along his arm. I think I could watch him eat Cheerios all day. The little crunch they make as he chews them is so cute. I will have to film this soon to share with all of you.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
9 months
Eddie turned 9 months last Monday, which means he has officially been on the outside longer than he was on the inside, as in in the womb. And this is very evident in not only his physical developments and motor skills, but also his budding personality and sense of expression. Within the last couple of weeks it is almost as if a switch has gone on and he is able to communicate his wishes through his body language and of course his voice. When he is upset or doesn't want something, he lets you know. When set down on the floor and he prefers to be held, he will start to whine. When reading a book that he doesn't like at the moment, he will push it away or close it and then lean over to grab a new book. And his latest dislike is bibs - he refuses to wear a bib while eating and will pull it off as quickly as you put it on. Lastly, of course, he is still fussing during changing time and likes to flip over on the changing table and sit up and try to crawl from one end to the next, all making the act of changing him something that I now dread.
We had a good visit with the pediatrician this week. Eddie is in the 75th percentile for length/height at 28.5 inches and the 25th percentile for weight at 18 lbs 7 ounces - still long and lean! He got his polio vaccine (and didn't even cry after the shot!) and they drew blood from his fingertip to test for iron levels and lead. I have been concerned about his iron because he doesn't eat any of the fortified baby cereals since I make his from whole grains like brown rice, barley, oats, etc. And he hasn't been taking a supplement and only just started eating meat. But his level was 12.3 which was superb since they consider good levels anything between 10-13. We also discussed a bunch of topics, everything from allergies to autism to his head banging and teeth grinding, all of which she assured me were no cause for concern. She also is being really flexible with his vaccine schedule and allowing us to postpone the MMR vaccine as long as we want, even up to 3 years old - this is the one that has been associated with autism in some medical studies. Boys have a propensity for autism and I have been hyper aware of its recent prevalence in youths so I am always keeping me eye out for potential concerns. My latest concern arose when I read somewhere that an absence of stranger awareness and/or separation anxiety is a cause for concern at this age, as in your kid should be able to distinguish between mom and dad and everybody else; well, Eddie doesn't have any signs of separation anxiety and willingly goes to new people when handed off and smiles at strangers. Up until this week he rarely expressed any desire to be with mom or dad, as in clinging or wanting to be held like I see other kids of his age, but then suddenly this week that started to happen more. Rest assured, the doctor said there is no reason to be concerned since he is right on track developmentally and that it is a good thing that he is so open to new people. My husband tells me that the reason Eddie doesn't have separation anxiety is because I am always around...we are always together, and so the thought doesn't even cross his mind, hence he is a confident little independent baby...it's true.
Here are some more developments over the last month:
Eating - right now he is so into finger foods. He loves his Cheerios and puffed rice. I also give him small chunks of avocado, pear, cooked apple, cooked carrot, chicken, potato, mango and cottage cheese. He loves to feed himself and make a mess. He really likes chicken and dairy - loves cottage cheese and yogurt. We just started beef a few days ago and he seems to like it. Salmon was a pass - he gagged every time.
Physical/Movement - he is really starting to crawl fast and has explored every corner of our home. Within the past few days he has seemed less interested in his toys and more interested in exploring. He follows us via crawling when we leave the room. He really barrels after Mara and when Dad walks in the door, which is adorable. Mara is scared of him right now and runs away when he approaches. She is also getting really jealous - I know this because she has suddenly taken an interest in his toys, whereas in the past she has never been a toy type of dog. She got a hold of one of the stuffed toys he sleeps with and would not give it up; I had to pry it out of her mouth. Eddie is reaching up for objects and pieces of furniture and pulls himself up, typically into a kneeling position but he has also started to stand more often.
Language - there is a lot of "dada," "mama," "baba," and "gaga" these days. But his main mode of expression is this sort of hiss and razz that seems to indicate that he is really into something.
Likes - as for toys, he really likes playing with and chasing after balls. He also likes to bang objects and will take anything that is somewhat long and stick like and turn it into a hammer; likewise, he turns anything bowl-like into a drum and often will drum objects with both hands, bongo-drum style. He likes musical instruments - a maraca-like rattle toy that was given to us by Eddie's co-worker and loves tambourines. He likes hard objects, like wooden blocks and toys. He likes his jack-in-the-box and is trying to figure out how to turn the crank himself. He likes anything with wheels, especially his dump truck. He still chews on everything and seems to prefer his rubber bath toys these days. As for books, he is into the lift-the-flap style books by Karen Katz and others. He loves this book called "Alligator Alphabet" which goes through the alphabet and associates each letter with an animal and I add improvisations, like for "B" I say "B is for Bear. Like a Maine Black Bear." At the end we sing the alphabet song and he likes it. He laughs at more things these days, too many to keep track, but lately he laughs consistently at Marty, tickles and when Dad hangs him upside down.
He is a good baby...intense and with a strong personality but very loving and accommodating and smart and active and brave...he had two splinters this week from crawling on the deck - one in his little toe and one in his palm - and we successfully removed them without him whining or shedding a tear. It was a huge parental accomplishment in my eyes...to be able to aid your baby's ailments. I was proud of us as parents and proud of him, my strong little boy.
We had a good visit with the pediatrician this week. Eddie is in the 75th percentile for length/height at 28.5 inches and the 25th percentile for weight at 18 lbs 7 ounces - still long and lean! He got his polio vaccine (and didn't even cry after the shot!) and they drew blood from his fingertip to test for iron levels and lead. I have been concerned about his iron because he doesn't eat any of the fortified baby cereals since I make his from whole grains like brown rice, barley, oats, etc. And he hasn't been taking a supplement and only just started eating meat. But his level was 12.3 which was superb since they consider good levels anything between 10-13. We also discussed a bunch of topics, everything from allergies to autism to his head banging and teeth grinding, all of which she assured me were no cause for concern. She also is being really flexible with his vaccine schedule and allowing us to postpone the MMR vaccine as long as we want, even up to 3 years old - this is the one that has been associated with autism in some medical studies. Boys have a propensity for autism and I have been hyper aware of its recent prevalence in youths so I am always keeping me eye out for potential concerns. My latest concern arose when I read somewhere that an absence of stranger awareness and/or separation anxiety is a cause for concern at this age, as in your kid should be able to distinguish between mom and dad and everybody else; well, Eddie doesn't have any signs of separation anxiety and willingly goes to new people when handed off and smiles at strangers. Up until this week he rarely expressed any desire to be with mom or dad, as in clinging or wanting to be held like I see other kids of his age, but then suddenly this week that started to happen more. Rest assured, the doctor said there is no reason to be concerned since he is right on track developmentally and that it is a good thing that he is so open to new people. My husband tells me that the reason Eddie doesn't have separation anxiety is because I am always around...we are always together, and so the thought doesn't even cross his mind, hence he is a confident little independent baby...it's true.
Here are some more developments over the last month:
Eating - right now he is so into finger foods. He loves his Cheerios and puffed rice. I also give him small chunks of avocado, pear, cooked apple, cooked carrot, chicken, potato, mango and cottage cheese. He loves to feed himself and make a mess. He really likes chicken and dairy - loves cottage cheese and yogurt. We just started beef a few days ago and he seems to like it. Salmon was a pass - he gagged every time.
Physical/Movement - he is really starting to crawl fast and has explored every corner of our home. Within the past few days he has seemed less interested in his toys and more interested in exploring. He follows us via crawling when we leave the room. He really barrels after Mara and when Dad walks in the door, which is adorable. Mara is scared of him right now and runs away when he approaches. She is also getting really jealous - I know this because she has suddenly taken an interest in his toys, whereas in the past she has never been a toy type of dog. She got a hold of one of the stuffed toys he sleeps with and would not give it up; I had to pry it out of her mouth. Eddie is reaching up for objects and pieces of furniture and pulls himself up, typically into a kneeling position but he has also started to stand more often.
Language - there is a lot of "dada," "mama," "baba," and "gaga" these days. But his main mode of expression is this sort of hiss and razz that seems to indicate that he is really into something.
Likes - as for toys, he really likes playing with and chasing after balls. He also likes to bang objects and will take anything that is somewhat long and stick like and turn it into a hammer; likewise, he turns anything bowl-like into a drum and often will drum objects with both hands, bongo-drum style. He likes musical instruments - a maraca-like rattle toy that was given to us by Eddie's co-worker and loves tambourines. He likes hard objects, like wooden blocks and toys. He likes his jack-in-the-box and is trying to figure out how to turn the crank himself. He likes anything with wheels, especially his dump truck. He still chews on everything and seems to prefer his rubber bath toys these days. As for books, he is into the lift-the-flap style books by Karen Katz and others. He loves this book called "Alligator Alphabet" which goes through the alphabet and associates each letter with an animal and I add improvisations, like for "B" I say "B is for Bear. Like a Maine Black Bear." At the end we sing the alphabet song and he likes it. He laughs at more things these days, too many to keep track, but lately he laughs consistently at Marty, tickles and when Dad hangs him upside down.
He is a good baby...intense and with a strong personality but very loving and accommodating and smart and active and brave...he had two splinters this week from crawling on the deck - one in his little toe and one in his palm - and we successfully removed them without him whining or shedding a tear. It was a huge parental accomplishment in my eyes...to be able to aid your baby's ailments. I was proud of us as parents and proud of him, my strong little boy.
Friday, May 15, 2009
our little terror
The transition from baby to toddler has begun. Eddie is getting more adept at expressing his desires...and his intense personality. For the last few weeks we have noticed him hanging onto the railing of his crib, usually from the kneeling position. But two days ago when Eddie went to retrieve him from a third nap gone awry (I think he is trying to eliminate the need for the third nap), he found him standing in his crib holding onto the railing. The sounds of "good boy!" and "big boy!" were expressed loud enough for me to hear the appraisal from downstairs so I knew that something big must have happened. And although we were proud parents and wanted to bask in our little guy's new development, we also quickly came to the conclusion that it was time to lower the mattress, else our little explorer could end up scaling the crib.
The other new behavioral development is occurring during changing time. He starts to throw a fit (an early glimpse of a temper tantrum...shudder) and wriggles around so quickly, flipping himself over. Even on the floor, he cannot stand to be on his back for long, so eager to get into crawling position and get moving. The past two days this has happened at least once a day and it always happens when he has a big load of poop in his diaper. It is quite frustrating to try to clean poop off of a wriggling baby. And then to put a diaper on a moving baby - yes, I am close to mastering this skill. As for the clothes, forget it. This morning I had him half in and half out of his pjs and just left him like that for over an hour while he calmed down and played on the floor and ate his Cheerios (his new favorite food, by the way). Every time I would try to re-dress him, he would throw a fit. So I just gave up. And started to really dread the future - thinking about all the instances for him to just totally fight me and how utterly frustrating and draining it will be.
3 minutes of eddie
Here's a clip from last week (sorry a tad behind in uploading) of Eddie. A little bit of talking, a little bit of head banging and a whole lot of moving. Check it out:
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
square one
Feels like we are back to square one with sleep. Eddie is just getting to be smarter and realizing that he can cry out to me and I will respond. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, all last week I was nervous that he was going to get sick, so every time he cried out, I went to check on him to make sure he didn't have a fever. Well now he has learned the meaning of cause and effect and he is testing me, or so it seems. So we are back to letting him "cry it out" per se. It sucks. They say that a baby's cry is one of the more horrific sounds that exists for a reason and it can stress a parent out. Well I would argue that even more stressful is a baby who will not sleep. Even though I try to get stuff done while he is in his crib fighting the sleep, I am simultanously stressing and probably losing a year of my life by the toll that such anxiety plays on my nervous system. Parents with babies who are good sleepers are just so so lucky.
Another new challenge to his sleep is that he is so mobile now and his new thing is kneeling in his crib and holding onto the railing, often chewing on it. And his cry is now more like a holler, which often startles me and causes me to think he has hit his head or something and so I run up to check on him. But of course peeking in on him just makes the matters worse because he senses my presence and then gets really pissed when I leave - note to all the soon to be parents: get the video monitor; it would come in handy in this situations to really see what your baby is doing in there. This morning when I went to get him up I found him kneeling with his hands on the railing, but one leg was dangling through the bars. Jeez. We might have to lower the crib soon.
Another new challenge to his sleep is that he is so mobile now and his new thing is kneeling in his crib and holding onto the railing, often chewing on it. And his cry is now more like a holler, which often startles me and causes me to think he has hit his head or something and so I run up to check on him. But of course peeking in on him just makes the matters worse because he senses my presence and then gets really pissed when I leave - note to all the soon to be parents: get the video monitor; it would come in handy in this situations to really see what your baby is doing in there. This morning when I went to get him up I found him kneeling with his hands on the railing, but one leg was dangling through the bars. Jeez. We might have to lower the crib soon.
Monday, May 11, 2009
RIP Diggity Dan Dog
Diggity Dan Dog, a European-style stroller/car seat toy given to Eddie by Nanni Lauer, is no longer with us. Diggity Dan Dog was a part of Eddie IV's life from December 25, 2008 until April 26, 2009. He was a good toy. He was there when Eddie got his first teeth, and provided much comfort as Eddie would often chew on his strap. He was there when Eddie first learned to eat solid foods, often accompanying the meal. He would hold the spoon for Eddie and "feed" him, and would often eat some of the food himself going "yum yum yum yum yum." His favorites were peas and sweet potatoes. He also enjoyed traveling - Diggity Dan Dog went to music class often, to the Four Seasons for high tea with Mary Bush and to Greek Easter at the Tassaras'. Diggity Dan's last voyage was to Madeline's birthday party and we have not had him since. We hope he is in a better place now...although we cannot imagine a better place than Eddie's world. Enjoy the slideshow featuring some of their moments together:
mom day
My plan for Mother's Day was to connect with our primal mother, Mother Earth, by spending the day planting my vegetable garden and setting up our new compost tumbler and worm bin. Yet perhaps our "primal mother" had another plan for me as my so-called allergies, which have been heightened this week do to increased pollen, seemed to develop into a major head cold. I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck with tons of sinus pressure and congestion - my husband surprised me with breakfast in bed to which I replied in my stuffed-up voice, "urgh, I don't want anything." Later I felt bad for my foul mood. So I neti-potted (for those that don't know about the amazing way to clear your nasal passages, check it out here) and felt better, and after putting Eddie down for his morning nap, I rolled up my sleeves to hit the garden. After turning the soil and preparing the "canvas" for my veggies, I only got 1 onion plant planted before Eddie woke up and I had to stop. I stood up and almost fainted. My whole body ached and I soon realized that I wasn't just suffering from severe seasonal allergies but rather had a cold/flu.
All week I have been paranoid that little Eddie was going to get sick because we had a playdate on Monday with two kids that had runny noses and were on the last days of a cold with fever. I probably should of bowed out of the playdate, but I had already canceled once so I felt like we had to see through the commitment. And so all week any time Eddie awoke in the night I went to him to make sure that he didn't have a fever. On Friday night I was confident that he was coming down with something because he was inconsolable after unsuccessfully going down for bed at 7:30 p.m. - he awoke at 8:30 and would not go back to sleep. But no fever. And we rationalized through it all that he is just growing up and getting too smart and now knows that if he cries I come to get him; he was testing me and it worked. So we might be back to the drawing board with having to let him cry it out a bit so he can fall asleep unassisted.
Anyway, here I am with my head cold, the most sick I have felt since becoming a Mom. All my body wants me to do is rest and sleep, and yet Mom's cannot rest. Surprising I cannot nap...I am compelled to wash the floors, do laundry and make baby food...I am in high-gear Mom mode. This is perhaps one of the more interesting things that has happened to me as a result of becoming a Mom - I suddenly actually like doing housework. I am motivated to keep a relatively clean home, especially for my crawling baby, and to prepare dinner every night no matter how awful and tired I feel - having a family has heightened all of my natural instincts to nurture. And it is in this light I think that becoming sick with this cold/flu is a positive thing - it is nature's way of protecting little Eddie from getting sick instead. Because I am breastfeeding, antibodies that fight off illnesses are passed from me to Eddie. I believe that I got sick from the snotty-nosed kids we played with on Monday instead of Eddie. I believe this because I am a Mother now and I will do anything to protect my child...even when it involves my own discomfort.
All week I have been paranoid that little Eddie was going to get sick because we had a playdate on Monday with two kids that had runny noses and were on the last days of a cold with fever. I probably should of bowed out of the playdate, but I had already canceled once so I felt like we had to see through the commitment. And so all week any time Eddie awoke in the night I went to him to make sure that he didn't have a fever. On Friday night I was confident that he was coming down with something because he was inconsolable after unsuccessfully going down for bed at 7:30 p.m. - he awoke at 8:30 and would not go back to sleep. But no fever. And we rationalized through it all that he is just growing up and getting too smart and now knows that if he cries I come to get him; he was testing me and it worked. So we might be back to the drawing board with having to let him cry it out a bit so he can fall asleep unassisted.
Anyway, here I am with my head cold, the most sick I have felt since becoming a Mom. All my body wants me to do is rest and sleep, and yet Mom's cannot rest. Surprising I cannot nap...I am compelled to wash the floors, do laundry and make baby food...I am in high-gear Mom mode. This is perhaps one of the more interesting things that has happened to me as a result of becoming a Mom - I suddenly actually like doing housework. I am motivated to keep a relatively clean home, especially for my crawling baby, and to prepare dinner every night no matter how awful and tired I feel - having a family has heightened all of my natural instincts to nurture. And it is in this light I think that becoming sick with this cold/flu is a positive thing - it is nature's way of protecting little Eddie from getting sick instead. Because I am breastfeeding, antibodies that fight off illnesses are passed from me to Eddie. I believe that I got sick from the snotty-nosed kids we played with on Monday instead of Eddie. I believe this because I am a Mother now and I will do anything to protect my child...even when it involves my own discomfort.
Friday, May 8, 2009
first cereal box toy
Opened a box of Cheerios this morning and inside was a Lego-style matchbox car, Eddie's first cereal box toy and first matchbox car! I placed it on the floor and pushed it, sending it vrooming and Eddie loved it - went after it on all fours like a crazy man. He definitely has some of the Clark family blood running through him - likes fast cars.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
parties, playdates and puffed rice
A couple weekends ago Eddie was invited to his first birthday party, for a girl from his music class named Madeline. Then he was invited to a playdate with her...potential future girlfriend! So we have been busy, hence the delay with blog entries. Also my time to blog is slowly dissipating because I can only get stuff done, like housework, when Eddie is sleeping since all of his waking hours are spent either eating or crawling. He is starting to not want to be in his high chair much because he just wants to go go go. In order to keep him happy in the high chair long enough to feed him, we have to offer him his new favorite snack: puffed rice. He is working on his pincer grasp and seems entertained by the process of raking in rice and trying to get it to his mouth. A lot still drops onto the floor, but Marty is right there to catch them! He is actively crawling throughout the entire house and discovering new objects of interest. The latest attractions/fascinations are the piano pedals, the dishwasher, the door stoppers, the glass shower door and the legs of the dining room table. He is also starting to reach up for things from the crawling position, balancing himself on one arm, which makes me think that trying to pull up/stand up will be happening soon.
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