Please Wear Your Baby Safely!

Levi told me about this post today on CNN.  I sort of wish he hadn't mentioned it to me, but the more I think about it, the more upset it makes me.

In case you  didn't read the article, a woman took her week old baby out to Costco in an Infantino Sling Rider, and by the time she had finished her shopping and her hot dog and got back to the car, she noticed that her baby was "not the right color".  By the time she got to the hospital, it was too late, and her son didn't make it.

My heart goes out to this mother.  My heart goes out to any mother who has lost a child.  I remember five years ago when Levi's 19 year old cousin died, I couldn't even fathom losing a child; now that I'm a mother, it's even more unfathomable.

She's suing the company that made the sling.  This part, I disagree with.  I know that she is heartbroken, but I don't think that the sling is the direct cause of her child's death.  There are many sites that explain how you ought to wear your baby if you choose to wear them so young (I'm not sure that I would, but that's just me), and they ALL specifically say that positioning is key when they are 0-4 months.  You HAVE to make sure that baby is positioned just so in order to keep their airway unblocked (which is exactly why I wouldn't wear my baby so young).  Other mothers have used the same product properly without consequence, and now the company is spending all of this money to recall a product that isn't broken, AND possibly have to pay out millions for pain and suffering to moms who have lost their children.

Not amount of money will ever ease the guilt that mom will feel for losing her son.  And I'm sorry, but in my opinion, it isn't the company's fault that her child died.  As a parent, you (and your spouse) are responsible for your child's well being, and that includes making sure that, should you choose to carry your newborn in a sling, you do it safely and properly.  Personal responsibility seems to be a thing of the past in this country, and I'm over it.

Not trying to start a huge debate, but I do welcome your comments, as long as they aren't mean spirited!

Busy day, a Mommy Date, and Shopppppping!

Yesterday was so much fun!  I had a Mommy date with Stephanie and Miss Ada, and a new friend Lisa (a fellow Mommy blogger) and her two boys...SO CUTE!  Lisa was also kind enough to let me try out her Ergo baby carrier, and that thing was like HEAVEN.  I ordered mine from Amazon as soon as I got home.  Thank you, $300 Amazon credit!  This is the one I ordered: ERGO baby Carrier Galaxy Grey/Galaxy  It's super cute!  I wanted the blue organic one, but Levi said it was too girly, so we chose this instead.  Check it:

Seriously, click the link, and buy one.  Your back AND your baby will thank you!  It's like the Cadillac of baby carriers.  Delightful!

I also got the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras for my new Nikon D90 that's coming in the mail...well...sometime.  I ordered it on the 18th, and it was supposed to be here in 7-10 days, but I'm not sure if it's LEFT the facility yet.  I was told I'd receive a tracking number in my email as soon as UPS updated it, but guess what?  No tracking number.  Ugh.

Anyway, back to my date.  It was a fairly busy day for us.  Oliver had his nine month check up (even though he'll be ten months on Saturday...him being sick a few weeks back set us back on the "well check").  My little monster is 21 lbs. 2oz., which is only in the 70th percentile!  He is, however, 30 inches long...that's 90th percentile stuff, there.  He's gigantic!  And it completely blows my mind that he's ten inches longer than he was at birth.  Well, more like nine, but STILL!  Anyway, he's got a case of the sniffles, and I'm thinking that kid that coughed in his face just one time in the church nursery last Sunday is to blame.  Tip?  Don't send your sick kid to the nursery.  Come on!

After the peds appointment, I met Stephanie for lunch.  We had a heart to heart, which we haven't done in awhile.  Being parents has changed the overall dynamic of our friendship, but we still connect on the same level we always have, which is nice to know hasn't changed.  Oliver had a good time chewing on my sunglasses while we ate, and then we headed back to Steph's.

We had an impromptu Wal-Mart run while the kids were napping (Robert was working from home, so he stayed with the kids).  I got Oliver It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (remastered deluxe edition) for his cute little Easter basket that I made.  We're trying really hard not to put too much emphasis on the candy and the Easter bunny, because the true meaning of Easter is in the fact that Jesus rose from the tomb that first Easter morning...but still.  It's the Easter Beagle!  I had to get it.  We have the boxed set of Fall/Christmas-time Charlie Brown DVDs, so this joins our little collection.


After the shopping trip, we got the kids ready to go to the park.  It was SUPER crowded in the parking lot! Another tip?  Seriously...if you came to the park to run or to walk your dogs, PLEASE don't park in front of the playground.  It's hard enough dealing with all your STUFF and a BABY (or two, in Lisa's case!), and then having to hike from the other parking lot to the playground.  Be considerate, people!!  Anyway...we finally got a parking spot (ten minutes later...no lie!) and met up with Lisa.  Steph and I had to feed our tots, so we did that while Lisa chased her oldest.  =)  He is too stinkin' adorable!  There were some questionable folk out at the park that day (one guy had on an "Orgasm Donor" t-shirt.  Really?  At the park?), but we had a nice time.  I'll admit, I am a homebody.  I don't mind staying home all day with the tot!  But it sure is nice to get out and see other grown ups.  For a long time, I thought I didn't need many Mommy friends...that the few I had were enough.  I'm glad I chose to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people, though.  I had a really great time, and have heard nothing but good things about the group of Mommies that Lisa is a part of.  I can't wait to meet the rest of them.  =D

I have some pics from the other day, when Levi and I took the tot on a walk.  Levi loves to carry Oliver in the baby carrier.  The one we have now (the Evenflo BabyGo Glide Baby Carrier - Animal Toss) was inexpensive and is complicated to put on.  Much like everything else in life, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!  lol  Anyway, I'll post those pics another time.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday!

Answered prayers are awesome.

Let me start by saying...I really really love my church.  SO much.

We started attending NorthPointe a little over a year ago.  It is the complete opposite of the church we attended previously.  Our old church was small...NP is huge.  Our old church was an piano/organ/hymns kinda place, and NP does praise and worship music.  About 70% of the denomination of our old church were elderly people (and no, that's not an exaggeration), and NP only has a handful of elderly people.  Our old church didn't have much of a kid program, and NP's kids program is phenomenal!  When we started looking for a new church, we were pregnant and we wanted a church where we could met people our own age, going through the same things we were, and we wanted a place where Oliver could grow up with other kids and learn about God.  NorthPointe was such a perfect fit that we joined after only three visits.  God has really blessed us through this church!

We found a small group pretty quickly (the first one we visited), and funnily enough, there were two elderly couples, and everyone else was older than us.  Ha!  Levi wanted to stick it out, anyway, so we did.  They are super awesome folks, but the group wasn't what I wanted...what I thought we needed.  I have been praying for a long time that we would find some folks at our church who were going through the same things we were.  I love the folks that we connected with in our small group, but we decided to go ahead and start shopping around for another small group. 

Last week, we had lunch with Aunt Janet and Uncle Weldon after church (they attend NP too), they mentioned that they were going to start hosting a small group at their house for younger folks.  Aunt Janet and Uncle Weldon are in their forties, but they thought it would attract the thirty something crowd.  It was something we were super looking forward to!

Well, this week, before the service, I saw a mom sitting with a new baby, and decided to go see the new (totally adorable) baby, complete with tiny girl mohawk!  =)  We started chatting, and it turns out we had a lot in common!  Her two girls are 4 and 7 weeks old, and she's been married about the same amount of time that Levi and I have been.  AND she told me about this small group that is going to meet after church which is like, excellent nap-wise!  That's the biggest thing with the other small groups, the timing.  SO...the week after Easter, we're going to try this new small group.  I'm so excited, because it's an answered prayer that I've been waiting on for so long, and I'm glad it's finally here!  God is so good!

Welcome, Spring!

After my deep, introspective post this morning, it's time for something a little more fun.  Today, we took Oliver to the park for the first time!  Note:  These pics can be seen in their full sizes on my Flickr account.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/risainternet

Having a good time in the stroller!

This is about as much fun as he had in the swing.  Still, I loved these swings!

 He wasn't too sure about being in this bouncy car, and kept trying to push Ada out of the way so he could get out!

 Ada doesn't mind.  lol

 Lookin' at Miss Ada.

This is Stephanie's pouty face.  This is Ada's yellin' face.

Bye bye, park!  We had a blasty blast!

Balancing Act

I feel like I've been having trouble adjusting.  Not to any one thing in particular...more like, well, to everything.  When you're a teenager, you spend all this time and effort trying to figure out who YOU are.  Then you get married, and you have to figure out who you are in a couple.  You get a job, or in my case, stay home and keep house (a full-time job!), and you incorporate that into who you are as well.  Then you have kids.  You have to figure out how to be all the things you were previously, AND a parent.  I think the hardest part for me is learning to juggle all of these things, and not lose who I am at my core during the whole juggling act.

I should start by saying that I am very blessed.  God has given me so much!  I have a loving husband, a wonderful son whose temperament you'd swear was sent straight from Heaven, and friends and family who love me beyond measure.  We are financially blessed, and never want for anything.  We have a plethora of things to be thankful for, and believe me, I am.

One of the things I need to work on is having time for just me.  During the day, I'm responsible for Oliver all day long.  When he's napping, I'm responsible for taking care of the house.  When Levi gets home, I'm responsible for taking care of him and making sure he has what he needs.  Then I get everything ready to do it all over the next day.  I'm lucky in that if I need to run errands or something on the weekend, Levi is more than happy to take care of the baby.  It's just that grocery shopping isn't exactly ME time, you know?

Levi and I have talked about it, and we thought that one of the solutions was for me to get back into photography.  He thought if I had something to help me decompress, it would help me feel more balanced.  My new camera is on the way (it couldn't get here fast enough!!), and I'm looking forward to jumping back in to taking pictures.  Another solution we came up with was to start having evening Bible studies together after we put the tot down for the night.  That way, we're spending time together AND we're spending time with God in the Word.  It will strengthen our marriage, our spiritual lives, and make us better, well, everything...better spouses, better friends, better people.

I think that the other part of the solution is that I'm going to have to start realizing that I'm not going to get to be all the things I was before, AND the person I am now.  Yes, I need time out for me.  But I don't need to spend so much time on me that I neglect my family.  Or my friends.  Or my walk with God.  Finding the balance is going to be a challenge, but it's one I'm willing to tackle head on.  After all...these are the most important things in my life.  Being a wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter...these are the things that make life worth living.

Here's to the first steps.  Pray that I stay encouraged on this search for balance!

Falling off the wagon.

Well, I hate to say it, but the cloth diapering journey has ended for now.

Oliver is growing and changing so much that about half of his cloth diapers don't fit any more.  The other half work fine, but what good is half a stash of cloth diapers?  I ended up with more pee laundry and more diaper laundry (since I had fewer to work with), and it became too much.  Of course, it also coincided with wisdom teeth surgery and other life issues, so that was part of it, too.

It was a great six months.  I plan on cloth diapering with baby number two, as well. 

I am satisfied with the choice we made to use cloth while we could, and though I'm not thrilled with throwing all the diapers away, I'm at least going to check into more eco-friendly diapers.

Other things are going on.  My friend Sarah that I mentioned is doing great in rehab at the Shepherd Center,and is slated to come home March 26th!  I told her that her reward was a spa day in the mountains when she gets better.  Steph and I found a great place in the Blue Ridge Mountains that we loved, and I told Sarah she will have earned a spa day!  Her physical therapy is going well, and every time we see her, she looks better and better.  Praise God!

I am selling my D-SLR camera.  I'm upgrading from my Nikon D40 to a Nikon D90.  I listed the D40 on Craigslist, and we'll see how many takers we get there.  The link is here, in case anyone is interested: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/pho/1649614381.html  I ordered the D90 and it should be here next week...just in time for Easter pics!  I also have a 50mm lens on the way (after ordering, returning, ordering, returning, and RE-ordering, we have it straightened out now), so woo!  Looking forward to returning to my hobby of photography.  And blogging about it!  =)


Oliver is growing like a weed.  Almost ten months old!  Twenty two pounds, and soooo active.  Whew.  I get tired just thinking about it.  I am currently looking into a new baby carrier.  The Ergo looks the nicest, but the price is a bit steep.  Anyone familiar with it?

Gotta go take out baby food cubes for tomorrow.  More to come!

I know, I know...

I know I said I was jumping back in with both feet.  Then I had a sick baby all week!!  Oliver is just now getting over his yuckies, so I figured an update was due.

My little tot is growing like a weed!!  He is almost 22 pounds, and is getting so tall.  I'm fairly certain he'll outgrown his one size diapers soon.  I only have three diapers in a large size.  We might be switching back to disposables after he outgrows the cloth ones.  I found a brand of disposables that I don't despise (Pampers Cruisers, for those who are interested), and figure if we follow our plan of getting pregnant again this summer, I'll be back to cloth in no time for baby #2, and the diapers I have now will be in excellent condition!  Win/win.  Not to mention, in the past 6 months alone of cloth diapering, I have saved money AND will be able to use the diapers again for baby #2.  Awesome sauce!

An update on my friend Sarah...she is out of the ICU and moved into a rehab facility that is tops in her sort of rehab.  She is answering all their questions with her typical sense of humor, which is great because apparently sense of humor is a higher brain function, so it shows that hers is working properly.  I have been missing our normal Wednesday night dates.  Usually, Levi and I meet up with Sarah and her husband, Coy, along with Sarah's parents, to play trivia at a local bar.  We won the last time we played, which was right before Sarah got sick.  It's amazing how just one night away with grown ups, especially for a stay at home mom, is SO crucial in making the week run smoothly.  I miss it!!

Please continue to pray for Sarah's rehabilitation.  I expect God to do big things and grant a full recovery.

Hope you all had a good weekend!