Childhood: Take Two!

Who knew that having kids would be like reliving your childhood. I always thought that having kids meant 'growing up' and being the authority and helping to guide and shape your child's life. Perhaps that is true but these first few years are like having a second childhood! Maybe not all of it but definitely a lot of it.

When I go to Target or am out shopping, I'm looking for toys and stuff that not only my boys will like but that I might like too...I'm always trying to find things that will stimulate their minds but be fun at the same time. I worry that I'm not doing enough to help their early development...should they really be licking and gnawing on their stuffed animals? That just seems gross to me (hello, cotton mouth!) but sometimes I have to remind myself to just let it go. There will probably be a lot more worst things heading into their mouths in the months and years to come.

These are all the 'grown up' things that run through my mind when it concerns my kids but the other part of raising my children has involved watching cartoons, playing their games and purchasing fun outfits for them. The boys watch a lot of Noggin during the day - they're starting to understand what's going on and even chuckle along sometimes. Among the shows they watch - 'Ni Hao Kai-Lan,' 'Max & Ruby,' 'Wow Wow Wubbzy' - okay - those are my favorites among the shows that they watch. I actually get excited when those shows come on. When I'm in my room, late at night, getting ready to hit the sack, I actually turn to Noggin to see what's on...part of me thinks this is force of habit...the other part is just enjoyment. I don't watch it, because it's usually just a repeat of what was on earlier.

My husband remarked the other night that he couldn't wait for the boys to get bigger and come into our room on a Saturday morning and watch Saturday morning cartoons with us in bed - too bad Saturday morning cartoons are just not what they use to be. And when we were playing with the boys while Ni Hao Kai-Lan was on the TV once, I said, 'Oh, I don't think I've seen this one.' He responded with a summary of the episode including the moral of the story and the song that they sing at the end. I couldn't help but look at him all funny and chuckle. You'd think he was telling you about an episode of Law & Order! But you know it's pretty sad when my husband and I are sitting in front of the TV, each holding a sleeping child, with Max & Ruby still on in the background....boy, I haven't watched Access Hollywood in MONTHS!

Reality Check: New Mommies

I think anyone that adopts a child deserves a gold star - my husband and I had thought about adopting before we had the twins but we really wanted to try and have kids of our own first before looking into adoption...but I was really happy that my husband was willing to even go the adoption route as there are many people out there that don't like the thought of adopting, especially overseas.

My Mom got to experience, a little bit, of what an overseas adoption was like on a trip to China...she happened to be staying at a hotel where a bunch of newly minted parents were staying with their newly adopted baby girls. She said that they all gathered in the lobby and were just filled with so much excitement and love because they've been given this gift to look after. I imagine that coming home with that new baby would be very much the same as if they had had that child naturally on their own....CHAOS!

Coming home with a new child, for any type of parent (natural and adoptive) is a whirlwind trip...first time parents, especially, are always filled with questions and precautions. Getting your child use to their new environment and surroundings. Trying to bring some order back into your life with a new baby. Trafficking guests that come through to coo at your brand new bundle - it's all overwhelming.

So I'm wondering, how is it that a celebrity, who recently adopted a baby a few short weeks ago has been able to have a celebratory dinner with her husband and her mom, sans new baby, after only a few short weeks of acquiring said baby? My boys are 17 weeks old and my husband and I haven't been able to go out to dinner on our own YET! I'm sure we could have if we wanted to, by now, but we actually like being with our boys - we like that they know who we are and give us big smiles when we get home from work. We've taken them out to dinner with us but we also like to be home for their last feeding before they go to bed.

Reality check lady - it's nice that you have all this money and can probably afford a nanny, no problem...but I know that when I became a new mommy, all I wanted to do is be with my kids. When I read and saw that this celebrity adopted a child, it made me think 'what a kind and decent human.' But a week later, when I read that she's out with her family (sans baby) having a celebratory dinner, it makes me think, 'Must be nice to not be hands on.'

For the record, we have a live-in nanny and even I don't take advantage of that by going out to dinner with my husband whenever....we are, however, going to have an early dinner, without our kids, for our anniversary this Sunday but I'm still going to make sure that I make it home for their last bottle before they go to bed.

Shedding With a Vengeance

Prior to pregnancy, you would see hair on the bathroom floor on occassion (more often than not) that came from my head because I had long hair and women naturally shed a lot of hair. It would really drive me crazy when I would lay down on my carpet and I would see my hair within the carpet threads but it's just not something I can help.

When I got pregnant, it seemed like the shedding stopped momentarily. I could go a week, perhaps, without seeing hair on the bathroom floor. I didn't think twice about hair weaved within my carpet because I wasn't shedding as much while I was pregnant. I can really tell how much I shed after I wash my hair and brush it because that's when most of my hair will come out.

I was spoiled for about ten months because the shedding is back and it's come back with a vengeance. My husband remarked, the other week, after vacuuming up my hair, 'I could've made a sweater with what I picked up...' or 'You could've made another hair donation with the amount on the bathroom floor.' I just don't understand it - I seem to be shedding MORE hair than I ever have before. When I come out of the shower and brush my hair, after washing it, I can get CLUMPS of hair coming out onto my brush and in my hands. I feel like I have to wipe the bathroom floor every other day just to clear up the hair. I don't even want to think about the carpets because I'm so disgusted with how much is coming out onto floor I can actually see.

Is my head making up for lost time? Is this all hair that should've been out in the past ten months that is only make it's way out now? I don't get it.

Good thing I have a thick head of hair or I could've been rendered bald by now!

There's a Reason They're the Best

Since registering for baby items and about a month into their lives, I have been in the market for baby slings/carrier - the most popular one out there, being the Baby Bjorn. I registered for one thinking that that could be my husband's baby carrier. Of course I wanted a 'cooler' carrier, so I had registered for the 'Peanut Shell' sling and an Infantino sling.

While one of my boys was calm, I threw him in thePeanut Shell sling to see if he would like it. First of all, just from my perspective, he didn't look comfortable AT ALL. Secondly, he started crying which let me know he wasn't comfortable AT ALL. He looked 'squished.' This is when I gave up on the Peanut Shell and went with the Infantino - because it looked 'sturdier' and more comfortable. Again, after waiting for a calm moment, I threw one of the boys in the Infantino only to be met with more crying and more 'squishy.' This is when I gave up on the sling altogether and decided that maybe I need to just go with the upright carrier....but still wanted something cooler looking than the Baby Bjorn.

I have friends that have the cloth carriers that is basically like a six foot piece of fabric that you tie in all kinds of directions on your body in order to secure your baby to your frontside. There was no way I was ever going to be able to handle that....so I saw another Infantino upright carrier that looked comparable to the the Baby Bjorn at about half the cost. I purchased it and during a recent trip to Costco, I put my 'lighter' son into the carrier to see how he would like it. I ended up spending half the Costco trip adjusting my straps to get him tighter and closer to my body, having my husband pull down on the center 'circle' thing on the back to make sure it was in the center of my back. I have to say that it wasn't terribly comfortable for me and if my son could talk, he would probably give it one thumbs down, while the other stayed in his mouth.

On another excursion, I had taken out the Baby Bjorn for my husband so he could get use to it and start using it. After about ten minutes, he decided it was too hard to figure out and kind of put it to the side. In planning for a doctor's appointment tomorrow, I decided I was going to try on the Baby Bjorn and see if my son liked it any better than the Infantino.

Firstly, the Bjorn was SOOOOO much easier to 'assemble' than the Infantino - there are a lot of snaps and cloth pulls on the Infantino and it was pretty confusing where I was supposed to stick my head and arms...but with the Baby Bjorn, everything is pretty mapped out for you in shapes and colors. It was a lot more comfortable and the best part, my son didn't cry or fuss while in the Bjorn.

I guess there's a reason why they seem to be monopolizing the marketplace in Infant carriers - of the four slings and carriers I've tried, they are the best, simply put. And I like their range of products - from 'fancy' infant carriers (think sparkly and patent leather for nights on the town) to sporty ones with breathable mesh fabric.

I keep the Infantino carrier in the car for emergencies but I think I'm going to have to break down and purchase a Baby Bjorn for myself - maybe the sporty one...you can call me 'Sporty Bjorn.'

New Mothers and Their Syndrome

I just got back from seeing an Orthoepedic. I had made an appointment because what started out as carpal tunnel in my hands in the last few weeks of pregnancy had turned into a sharp pain on the inside of my wrist. I was convinced that I no longer had carpal tunnel but something more serious. I tried to think what could have happened between delivery and nine weeks later...I didn't fall, I hadn't been at the gym lifting weights. I thought perhaps it was caused by the nurse putting the IV needle into my body and perhaps aggravating a bone/tendon?! All I knew was that this pain was getting more serious by the day.

It impacted just about everything I did from picking up the boys, to feeding them (the way I was cradling them, their little elbows would jab into my injured wrist), to something as simple as putting my hair in a ponytail or closing my bra hooks. I made an appointment with an orthoepedic to see what was going on. I was convinced that after taking x-rays, he would see a hairline fracture or even a bone spur, whatever that was.

Turns out I've got De Quervain's Tenosynovitis. I sat in the doctor's office for 30 minutes. The doctor saw me for three minutes and declared I had tenosynovitis, or in lamens terms, Nursing Mother's syndrome. One problem - I'm not nursing nor have I been nursing for five weeks. But Nursing Mother's syndrome was just the general term. It's a pain on the side of the wrist and base of the thumb due to inflammation of one or two tendon sheaths or a strain of these tendon sheaths, the extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) or abductor pollicis longus (APL). Again, lamens terms - pain in the inner wrist that goes up to the thumb that causes internal inflammation in your hand. For me, it was probably brought on by picking the boys up and doing it in a 'scooping' motion where my thumbs come out when I go pick them up.

It's treatable and should go away in about two weeks - I had the option of getting a shot for the pain or anti-inflammatory medication. I took the meds because the thought of another needle in my body wasn't too appealing. I also have to wear a splint on my hand/wrist for two weeks - I look like a left-handed professional bowler. It sure makes typing hard because of the limited movement I have in the wrist.

So just as an FYI - if you're experiencing the same irritation that I had, chances are you have Nursing Mother's Syndrome, which isn't exclusively reserved for nursing mothers.