I’m pooping right now
Originally uploaded by wilddreemer

He was pooping while I took it. I think it really captures his “Codiness”!

This will explain why I haven’t been posting much !!!!

House updates

The boys both saw the doctor today. I’m to tired and lazy to write a witty post so I’ll attach the email I sent out to family along with a few of my favorite pictures lately,

Brandon and Codi both had appointments today. Brandon his three year and Codi his 9 month. The highlight is that somehow both boys were caught up and NEITHER needed shots. I think I was happier then they were.

Brandon weighed in at 30.6 pounds and was just over 33″. He is finally in the 50% for height AND weight. This is a large feat since he spent the first year and a half of his life in the 3rd percentile. The rest of him was in great shape. The doctor laughed at all his battle wounds. He really laughed when I told him the scar on his back involved trying to climb up to the second shelve in a home depot. He was impressed with his speech and coordination. He did say that his tonsils are big and that we need to keep an eye on them over the years because they are at risk for infection. He also said Brandon’s night time sleep disturbances sound related to night terrors. He gave me great advice on what to do so hopefully that helps out.

Codi is weighing in at 18.6 pounds. Weight and height were both 25% but his head is 75%. I don’t call him fat head for nothin! The doctor walked in right when he was standing up pushing the stool around like a walker. he thought that was great and noted that Codi is right on track if not ahead of the game. His tracking and hand movement was great. He smiled and giggled and put up a tremendous fight over diapering. We laughed over that because the hand out for a child his age said a developmental milestone was the resistance of diapering. Codi still has no teeth. They are there, we can tell they are coming but for now they just tease. His bottom tooth is close to popping out. So close in fact that his little gum is now bruised in that area while it waits for it to pop out. Poor dude. He is so sad about this he has decided to express himself by biting me while he eats. That way we can both suffer I guess. He is also still not eating anything but breast milk. The doctor said it was still fine since he is obviously not malnourished. For a while he would snack on organic rice puffs, cinnamon Life, organic crackers and the occasional Popsicle. Lately though his mouth hurts so much he is hardly eating. Tonight he did explore some spaghetti though.

I find his eating habits funny because they are 100% opposite of Brandon. Brandon ate anything and everything and now will barely eat anything. Rob and I often joke that Codi eating nothing now means he will eat anything and everything when he is older. The doctor was very happy to hear that I’m still nursing. He doesn’t even bother listing off the benefits of nursing to me anymore since he knows my thoughts on how amazing nursing is. He agreed with my wishes to nurse Codi as long as Brandon (15 months) and said to encourage food a little more aggressively towards a year but not to force him now since he is thriving just fine on breast milk.

Over all it was a great visit. The boys are really don’t good. They are keeping Rob and I on our toes. I don’t even remember what holding still feels like. Even in my dreams I’m thinking about chasing after those boys. One things for sure, they complete our life and are my whole soul.

Pretending he isn’t making messes

Out of focus because mom does not know how to focus in timer mode

Passed out after a shower

My husband keeps tellinng me he isn’t addicted to burritos. This weekend he came to me, showed me his phone and asked if having the burrito store listed under his FAVORITES in his phone was a bad thing. I think it’s worse they know him by name when he calls in his order on Fridays

This picture makes me sing the stupid pirate song from Lazy Town

Daddy come home mom is driving us nuts

This is the face he makes at night when daddy goes to softball. He cried for hours and finally we had to call daddy so he could cry on the phone to him.

Happy spaghetti head

I just walked out to the garage to get in the fridge. I wanted a diet 7-Up. The garage fridge is located 1.5 feet away from the last known location of BIG MOTHER FUCKING SPIDER. Normally when I go out I hop down half a step, lean around to the fridge and reach in. Then I run back in the house before any spiders get me.

However. Tonight the soda box was new so I had to punch the little thingy to get it open. Which meant standing near the fridge for an extended period of time (read 14 seconds). So I punch it open and pull and the soda can rolls out.

IT ROLLS OUT RIGHT UNDER THE TOOL TABLE WHERE BIG MOTHER FUCKER SPIDER LIVES!!!!

I am not freaking the fuck out because I don’t want to just leave a stupid soda rolling around. So fast as lightening I reach under the table and I swear I felt harry spider legs crawling on me. I go to pull my arm out and that is when I cracked my elbow right in that spot. You know the not so funny when you hit this bone, bone? SO now, I’m whining, freaking the shit fuck out, trying to run in the house, trying not to shake up my soda any more, I stub a toe, nearly ram my head into the door because I don’t try to actually open the fucker before I attempt to go barreling through it. I finally make it in, slam the door, lock it (because the lock will keep the spiders out) and run all the way across the house to the safety of my living room.

Only now, I swear to shit there are 50 fucking spiders crawling on my shit.

I can’t stop itching.

GET THEM OFF.

When I was pregnant I was a novice at all things baby. No one was walking around handing out advice (like I love to do), so I was left to discover it all on my own. One of the things I really worried about were diapers. I wanted the best one. My theory has always been that diapers are gonna touch my kids special parts and their tushy they should be the best and softest possible. My solution to this, short of opening every bag in the store and pulling out a diaper was to register on the diapers websites. Before long I had samples of Pampers and Huggies in my mail box. A friend had given me a ton Luvs so there was no need to register there. First I opened the Luvs and I HATED THEM. They were stiff and scratchy and not at all stretchy. Then I opened the Huggies. Again, it was awful. Finally I tried the pampers swaddlers and I LOVED THEM. I was hooked. For the first 5 months that was all Brandon wore. But they only made Swaddlers up to size 3. I set out finding a new diaper. I tried Huggies with the GIGGLASTIC waist band and was so disappointed. They leaked, and were still scratchy and so on. After researching I settled on the Pampers Cruisers. They worked fine for a while.

One of the oddest parts of the story is the part where Pampers started changing their diapers almost weekly. My cousin would make fun of me because for a period of 5 months every single box of Pampers I bought was different. The straps would change colors or size, some would have elastic some didn’t, some would rip, some were even glued together rendering them unusable. In fact, at one point I had started saving all the diapers that sucked and I mailed them off to Pampers to ask what the fuck. I received coupons and gift cards and it was nice.

Fast forward to Codi’s birth. I again registered on the diaper sites. Again I chose pampers. And yet again they changed. When I arrived at the hospital I was dismayed to find the diapers were awful. They were small, and stiff and scratchy but the worst part of all, they had this awful net lining in them that would stuck to the babies butt. One particular day I was really complaining about it when I went to my mail box to find a sample of the NEW Huggies Gentle Care Natural Fit. I opened it up to find a nice quilted interior. It was crazy soft. The back stretched nicely and the outsides were soft and bendable but sturdy. I packed up the Pampers to donate and went right to the store for some Huggies. I’ve been thrilled with them since.

This last trip to the store I figured I would buy a small bag of Pampers Cruisers to see how they were. I opened them to find flimsy extra wide no shape diapers. The inside is still shitty, the outside has no leak barrier and the back doesn’t lock in shit. In fact the first time I put the diaper on Codi he blew right out the back.

There is a commercial on for Huggies right now where some parents walk around with their baby brick. They say other diapers are find if your kid is shaped like a brick and I fully agree. The pampers are huge. They have no soft little leg cut outs, no shape what so ever. Codi’s Huggies are cut so there is no bunching at the legs. They even have a stretchy belly panel now for babies like him with a little chub in the tummy region.

While I’m really glad I’ve finally settled on a diaper with Codi I can’t lie and say it is not really frustrating how drastically Pampers has changed. I supported Pampers for a long time. I don’t understand why a company would go from a great product to a mediocre product to an AWFUL one.

What brand do you use? I know a lot of people use Target or Kirkland but for me I can’t imagine them being extra soft and smooth. Did anyone else notice the immense change in Pampers over the last year and a half? Are there other products out there that you think have changed? I still swear by the Pampers newborn sensitive wipes. All the others are scratchy. What are your baby items you will never stop using, and the products you can’t banish from your house fast enough?

**Edited to add: On the TWO mile drive to work (I guess about 6 miles if you count the drop of to Brandons school) Codi pooped and it leaked out of every single side of his stupid fucking pampers cruiser.

** Edited one more time: If these diapers suck so bad, and I don’t want them and have a full bag, what do I do? Do I donate them? Because why would I donate something so awful? But maybe if I donated them they would find their way to someone who could use them? So, do I donate them or just trash them and waste the money entirely?

IT’S GRAINY BUT YOU GET THE POINT

Yes I know my hair looks BAD! I went to bed with wet hair and woke up with that. You are seeing me exactly 18 minutes after stumbling out of bed and only having 5 sips of coffee in me. So here it is in all it’s gore. My double chin, weird hair and pasty skin. But don’t look at that, look at Codi trying to walk holding the couch, make funny noises, talk and make raspberries. Also Brandon steals the show once when he realizes he is on camera! I turned the main music off for a day so you can enjoy the movie

THERE ARE NEW PICTURES ON THE CLUSTERFUCK BLOG. CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO SEE THEM!

I’m sitting here reading my Parent’s Magazine and I’m cruising the little spot in back with new products and such when I just came across this one. It’s called Milk Screen. It works by placing a few drops of breastmilk on a little strip and then waiting two minutes. If the strip changes color then the milk test positive for alcohol. If not, then you’re good to go.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. On one hand I think it’s a nice idea for women to test their milk and make sure they are not giving the baby milk with too much alcohol. On the other hand I feel like this gives moms a free pass to get drunk and then just sit around and wait for the strip to turn, thus leaving the baby hungry and lowering milk supply.

I read around on the site more and discovered that this test was made to reduce the amount of babies who consumed alcohol, leading to sleep disturbances and poor feeding habits. After reading more, its seems the makers of this feel consuming alcohol often, leading to poor feeding habits was the number one cause of women discontinuing feeding. The science is, if the baby is not eating the mom thinks they are ready to ween, thus ending with a baby weened far to early.

I read further and came across this fact,
“Only about 30% of infants are exclusively breast-fed through age 3 months, and just 11% through age 6 months.”

I was totally disgusted to find that out. I realize of course that alcohol is not the only reason babies are weened to early, but it is probably a big one. Whatever the reason, I just hate seeing it happen. The website says babies will stop eating if the milk taste like alcohol, it is not a flavor they like.

Here is what the product says:

Why should mothers test their breast milk for alcohol?

Studies have shown infants consuming breast milk with alcohol concentrations at approximately 30mg/dl, or 0.03%, and higher have exhibited distinctive changes in:

• Feeding behavior: baby consumes less if the milk contains alcohol.
• Sleeping: baby sleeps less and wakes more frequently.

The milkscreen test is set to show a color change at 0.02% to let Mom know if her milk contains a level of alcohol that may negatively impact baby.

I don’t feel intoxicated – why use the test?

Because all mothers are unique! So, naturally the way each woman’s body process alcohol is unique, too. Again, it depends on several factors including:

• Body weight
• Type of alcohol consumed
• Food intake

A feeling of intoxication or non-intoxication is not an accurate indicator when determining the level at which alcohol is concentrated in the breast milk.

How much alcohol is “safe”?

Although there is no definitive research to dictate “safe”, we do know that the negative effects of alcohol begin to appear when an infant consumes milk containing alcohol at 30mg/dl (0.03%), and higher. Studies also show that about 2% of the alcohol a mother consumes will enter her bloodstream and milk. A newborn’s immature liver makes it very difficult to process even small amounts of alcohol and a three-month-old baby can metabolize alcohol at about half the rate an adults can.

So many people have asked why I will not just ween Codi and start medicine now. The number 1 answer is that the benefits of breast feeding by far outweigh the the negatives of eight more months of the crazy in my head. I want to make it clear. I did go in and see my doctor. We had a long talk about this. I’ve also talked to my kids pediatrician. And also my OB. All three agree that right now, nursing is the best thing I can do. My doctor agrees because she knows in the long run, the guilt I would feel over not nursing Codi as long as Brandon would be detrimental to my recovery. The pediatrician agrees because he would like to see Codi be nursed at least to a year so he can gain the maximum health benefits from my breast milk. My OB agrees because women who nurse over a year SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the chance of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and type two diabetes. Since I do have a history of ovarian cancer in my family and a mess of health problems surrounding that area, he ABSOLUTELY advocates my continued nursing.

All of my doctors have spoken together and shared my records and again the resounding consensus is for me to just wait the eight more months and then start on the medicine.

Obviously, If I won’t take medicine that helps me I also won’t drink while nursing. Shit, I won’t even take an Advil because the pediatrician says I can only have Tylenol while nursing. Since I think Tylenol is bullshit I pretty much live on vitamins!

However, if I did drink I probably would use a product like the one mentioned above during special occasions. I do remember when I nursed Brandon having to pump and dump after a wedding or two because I felt I had drank to much. I hated that he had to have a bottle but I was at least happy I had pumped a little milk for him before each wedding. This time around I had a shit ton of milk pumped for Codi. He took a bottle for a while however around 5 months he adamantly refused. The saddest day ever was when I threw away almost 30 bags of pumped milk because he denied a bottle with every fiber in his body. With him, pumping and dumping is not an option because he would have no back up since he rebuffs bottles the same way I would a plate full of dog shit!

Anyway. I would like to hear your opinions on this product. Do you feel like it is a winner? Would you use it? Do you think it will advocate drinking excessively while nursing? Do you feel like it will promote continued nursing for longer periods of time?

After mentioning the cakewreck blog Christy from Cakerwakers sent me the link to the “unnecessary” quotation blog. It’s “fucking” funny shit!

Also presenting the “fail blog“!