Back from Iraq!

My nephew is home, really home back on US soil, sleeping safely in his bed! Thank you God for this blessing. Thank you Guardian Angels for protecting him! And most of all Thank you, Matthew for offering your life freely in the service of our country to help others.

We are so proud of you Matthew!

The ADD Chair

Some people may never know why their child has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. But as I write this I will always know, if that day comes for Holly. It will defintely be her enviroment that will cause her short attention span.

First is the swing, strategically placed in a room close to the kitchen, where I am most of the time, but not close enough to bother her sleeping. Unfortunately, I did not take into account how close the tv is to the swing. So Holly has become accustom to a nice blue flickering blur as she swings and at the age of 3 mos could recognize the theme songs to Curious George and MASH.

And now, an impulse purchase, something people striving for a simple life should never do. I have introduced Holly to the ADD chair. I have been searching for something, anything that Holly would sit in, not choke and gasp with spit up, and stay for a little bit. One day, I took a few minutes to go to Big Lots and buy this chair:

The lights, bells, rattles, not to mention the rocking motion every time she moves. Oh, and the children who stop in the kitchen to play and dance and bounce around the chair. The plain simple walker that I really wanted is now on sale at Big Lots for half the cost of our ADD chair.

Hopefully, Holly will grow to appreciate the quiet of a summer evening, the peace of a restful boring Sunday afternoon, snuggling under the covers with a good book on a rainy day, despite the errors her parents make in these early days.

I will post about the effects of Sleep Deprivation on decision making another time :-) Remember that if you really want a particular something, it is worth waiting. Never buy on impulse!

The Power of Reflux

Never underestimate the power of Reflux. For many months I have denied that this was a real condition, that was really effecting Holly's life. Just days after Holly's surgery without the Prevacid, her symptoms were back and worse than ever! Wheezing, coughing, irritable all the time. So back on the Prevacid. And with a slight adjustment to her dosage, I have seen a huge difference in her behavior and general attitude.

Holly may actually be a happy baby, when she is not in pain. Big Surprise. So if you are reading this and have a "colicky" baby, please run to your pediatrician and ask aboutReflux. Or if you know a parent whose baby cries all the time, mention, maybe even many times, Reflux.

Reflux is a huge thing for Holly. Bigger than I could have imagined. Since it was Reflux that landed us in the ER, I don't know why this was so hard to believe. Now with one solid week of Happy Baby in the house, I am more determined than ever to advocate for her. I will never believe that old "colic" label any more. Babies really do not cry for no reason. For Holly, it is a combination of formula and medicine that has made all the difference.

There are still a few more adjustments to make with this medicine, but finally I see a little at the end of the tunnel for Holly, a little peace, and a lot of baby laughter!

Anything But Clean!

There a few things on my mind today, and one is to avoid cleaning. I joined this Weekly Menu email group which I think I am going to like. Each week, the site emails you a menu, including a grocery shopping list and recipes. Neat! So far, I have made one recipe and been inspired to cook three nights in a row. A rare event, sad enough to say!

But in addition to this, I checked a box when I signed up for some other weekly reminder. I don't recall what the topic was, I think something about being organized. Anyway, the email that came was a note saying: your goal today is to deep clean shower/tub, including under valve covers in the current area for 15 minutes only. You will probably not finish all of this task, just do as much as you can in that time then quit.

How funny is that? Just the thought of deep cleaning my tub has caused me to straighten, dust and now blog. Anything But Clean the Tub! So maybe the note isn't bad. I probably won't clean the tub today, but then maybe I wouldn't have dusted if I hadn't seen that note!

It is much more fun to play dress up and take pictures like this:

What beautiful big eyes!

Tomorrow marks a Big Day

4 Months and going strong!

How Ungrateful!

I am back on The Light Weigh. And spent most of yesterday offering up my food temptations for a good nights sleep.

Holly did actually sleep through the night! Miracle! She had a 4 oz bottle, 1 oz of Apple Juice and Rice, a bath and another 4oz bottle. And kept it all down. And slept in her swing 9pm-1am. In her cribfrom 1am-4am!!

And I actually woke up cranky because I slept on the couch (near the swing) half the night. How rude. Pray a prayer, and God answers me, immediately. And that's the thanks I give?

Lord, Thank you for Holly sleeping all night. I am sorry for being ungrateful. Thank you for hearing me, and caring for me. I promise to do better for the rest of the day. Thank you for letting me know early on, that I needed to turn around! Love, Peg