Six months old today and ready to share his story!

Six months ago today I was in a lot of pain.  I was walking circles around our bedroom, stopping every few minutes to get through another contraction.  I labored and birthed at home.  After 17 intense hours, our beautiful boy, Andrias entered our arms.

We're halfway through our first year, and so much of his personality has been coming through.  I can't believe in just a few short months he'll be entering his toddler years, and making his way toward independence.  For now I'm trying to enjoy every day of his babyhood, and today I find myself reminiscing about his birth.  So I thought it only fitting to finally go back and finish writing his birth story.

It's super long... no big surprise there, when have I ever written anything short?  So I decided to put it up here in installments over the next few days.  Here's part one.  Enjoy!



Andrias's Birth, Part 1 -- The scary back story (i.e. Regin's birth)

To understand my experience this time around, I think you have to understand a little bit about my last experience, which is the one I was hoping not to repeat.  (If you want the original account, I wrote my full birth story here on the blog and a retrospective on it three months later.)

With Regin I was completely unprepared.  I was naive and didn't think I needed any preparation.  I was completely, 100% unafraid of our planned home birth, or at least I thought I was and I thought that being unafraid would help make the pain less severe so that was really all the preparation I needed.  When it came down to it, the pain did scare me.  Not the idea of it.  I thought I was going to be so ready for it because of the years of dysmenorrhea I'd had.  But when each wave of pain hit me, my body tensed up and fought it.  I said "no no no no no," as it hit and I begged and cried.  I was weak and powerless against it all.  And I hated being told I was doing great because I was doing nothing; it was being done to me.  This unbelievable force was acting on my body, and the force was torturing me every couple of minutes and would keep me in excruciating pain for up to three minutes at a time.  Do you have any idea how long three minutes is?  I can say with certainty that I do.  And the pain towards the end was so severe I actually asked George to knock me out so that I could be taken to the hospital. 

So much for my beautiful and empowering home birth.  So much for not needing preparation. 

To add to it, George's father was fighting a losing battle with cancer when labor started which he ultimately lost during the middle of it all.  That devastating news, as well as other things like an ill-timed, though wonderfully soothing bath slowed my labor down greatly.  By the end of it, it was nearly 48 hours long, I'd missed two full nights of sleep, and I was well into the third night when Regin was born.  Further, we weren't really aware of all of my issues with food (hypoglycemia & allergies) or how to handle them.  When Regin finally arrived, I was blinded by pain, completely fatigued, totally sleep deprived, and in the middle of what was probably a major hypoglycemic crash.  I was so weak I had to be fed and my brain snapped.  I didn't know what was going on anymore.  I didn't have the rush of joy and love that women get when the hormones are doing all the right things.  I didn't even know what this hot lump of flesh was that was handed to me, and whatever it was, it certainly didn't come from me.  I was for a long time unable to look at the first photo of Regin and me together because I could see my fear and confusion reflected back at me in the photo.

Love and bonding was slow in coming.  It took weeks if not months.  I was fond of my boy from the beginning, but not bonded.  By the time the affection had finally grown to the point where I was mad with love for him, I cried and cried with the grief I began to feel for the moment he and I didn't share when we first met. 

The physical pain lived on in me too.  My body took a while to recover, breastfeeding proved to rival birth in its level of pain, and I willed myself to hold on to the memory of my labor pains.  The memory was so strong and clear that I could literally feel them when I thought about them.  I wanted that.  I wouldn't let go of them.  I wanted to remind myself of how intense and, sadly, how horrible my experience had been. 

When you sum it all up into one word, my first birth experience was one of trauma.  Home-birthing women don't like to use that word.  We birth at home in part because of the trauma stories we hear about in the medicalized environment.  Truth is, birth trauma isn't necessarily iatrogenic; of course it isn't.  Even having the exact birth you want, regardless of environment, can still result in trauma.  Not all births are happy -- even when you have all ten fingers and ten toes accounted for and functioning fully.  Although I must say, I'm still glad I birthed at home.  I still believe in the reasons that compelled me to choose home birth and if I had gone through the same thing in the hospital, I don't imagine it would have gone any better.  Plus I would have been in a colder environment and if I'm going to go through something that hard, I want to have the comforts and familiarity of home around me.

Regin's birth also had permanent effects on my health.  I have never been the same.  My hypoglycemia rose to a new level of sensitivity (and worsened still after a half marathon I did later that same year), and I've yet to get it under control.  Although we'd never planned to have an only child, the trauma I (we) went through, plus the effect it had on my health made us think I might not be able to handle more.  When I found myself pregnant again last year I was terrified.  It took me some time to come to accept it, and when I finally did, I knew I would do everything in my power to make sure my experience this time would be different.  And it was.

To be continued.
Part 2 -- Preparations, coming tomorrow...

El Chapulin Colorado!!!

Regin FINALLY agreed to put on the hat we made him for his Halloween costume -- only three months late.  They tell you about toddler time, but they don't tell you it can be months off your desired schedule!

Last Snuggles With My Only Child

I'm laying here next to Regin in our family bed, all snuggled up and warm, and I'm feeling something bitter-sweet. I'm relishing this moment together and the peaceful stillness of the morning with my little one curled up against me.  But I can't help but wonder... How many days or even hours do we have left to be just the two of us?

Our relationship will change so much soon. His life will change. Three is becoming Four and Only is becoming First or Older.

Somehow even at his age I get the feeling he somehow understands his life is in transition. Even though he's going through a powerful Papi phase, he clings to me and cries for me more than ever.  He's become suddenly hyper and more difficult for an easily overstimulated Mamma to handle and it's been a sudden shift. We've talked about the baby in Mamma's tummy, how it's going to come out soon and how we'll love it and care for it when it does.  We've read Welcome with Love and We  Have a Baby together.  But can a two-year old understand what's happening?

Even if he doesn't, I do. And it makes me think back over the last almost three years...

His birth was long and difficult and I didn't bond with him right away, but when I started pulling out of my post-labor fog, and I looked at his poor little face that had been squeezed out of me, I recognized him and I smiled at the large feet he'd inherited from his Papi.  And on that first night together, as he slept on my chest, I listened to and learned the timbre and cadence of his voice in his breath.

In the early days I couldn't believe I'd made him.  When I looked at him sleeping next to me I marveled at the thought that I had made something so beautiful and I whispered to him that things would stay as they were and we'd never fight.  As he learned to focus his gaze on mine, I saw his love and felt mine.

In the following months, I learned how he and I would be together, that the books and websites were often wrong, and that I could trust what we developed together.  He learned to smile almost right away, earlier than supposedly possible, though he'd never let me catch it on camera, and after months of stressful and painful breastfeeding, I learned that I could go lengths of time without feeding him from my breast and still not lose my milk.  So in tune were we that if I was ever out of sync with his feeding schedule, even if it had changed suddenly and I wasn't there to know it, I would leak, and not any time I felt emotional or heard a baby cry like they show on TV.

As he's grown, I've been astonished at every new thing he's learned and wished I could track his language acquisition (English, Spanish, ASL, and even Faroese) and record every word as it came to him.  I tried a couple of times but just couldn't keep up.  I chuckled at my little climber, who did amazing stunts, scaling relatively high furniture before learning to walk.  I've seen him fall in love with identifying monkeys ("mono!"), motorcycles ("moto!"), balls, balloons, airplanes, fire trucks, robots, trains, and now letters, especially his favorite: the letter 'H'.  And I've watched him study his world as a scientist while using the same 'concentration face' I do.  I love that face, Little One, even though at some point you'll be misread as grumpy when you use it like I've often been and your Omma was before me.  It's funny that the 'sign name' that Tía Monica gave you is based on the word 'happy' (because you were always so happy as a baby) when others have often commented how serious you are.  I know you're just as silly as you are serious though.

He has gravitated towards boyish toys and interests despite having had no reinforcement for that from us.  So, maybe building and cars and shooting (SERIOUSLY don't know where he got that one) really do have something to do with the chromosomes.  Or maybe it's just coincidence.  After all, I did gravitate towards similar interests as a child even though I consciously made efforts to make myself like baby and Barbie dolls like my friends did.

He has his particulars with his foods as most children do.  Since graduating from purees, veggies and wet foods have been completely out, there is no limit to the amount blueberries he can eat, and as of the last six plus months, he has to have a glass of water and a glass of milk with every meal, including cereal.

He's always been extremely sensitive and empathetic and I adore that about him.  When he sees me upset or hears me yelp he asks me what's wrong and comes over to offer his kisses and rubs to make it better.  He uses pleases, thank yous, you're  welcomes, and such of his own accord, I frequently get an "I love you too, Mamma," and sometimes even get an unsolicited "I love you."  He's a hand holder, like me, and loves to hold our hands off and on when we eat together at the kitchen table.

Every day I learn something new about my boy.  Every day I get to laugh, even through the struggles and yes, fights, and delight in all the silly things he does.  I love even the things that annoy me like his singing Smilla-de-Lilla or Heffalumps and Woozles for hours on end, though I must say his aggressive display of affection for Smilla is not my personal favorite. 

Most of all I love the morning wake ups together; our snuggles and tickles and all the good stuff that comes before he insists we get up to eat.  I hope that a new baby won't interrupt that morning ritual too much, I hope it won't be too long before (s)he joins in the morning yumminess and that another member of our snugglefest only enhances the warmth of it.  But for now I want to savor the last moments we have alone together.  I love that it's just we, my little boy and me.

Don't call me brave.

I've been sitting on and meaning to post this article (a home birther's reaction to being called brave) for some time. I thought I'd finally post it as it's getting more and more relevant to me now as my second planned home birth approaches.

I urge you to read it, if only to understand me better, or if you are so inclined, to understand home birthers in general. It is fantastically written and explains it all so well, but I'm going to hack it up and give you some excerpts, because I'm doubting that most of you will read the article.  Needless to say I also have some thoughts...

When hearing the news that I had my last baby at home and am planning to have this one at home as well, the first response from most people is, "You're so brave."


This has to be one of the most irritating things that people say to homebirthers. The implication is that birth is dangerous and that we are willing to take on a tremendous risk to do it anywhere but a hospital. It negates the research and planning that we've done to come to this decision.

And after reading this article I started actually responding to these comments, which I also get frequently. Now when you say something like this to me, I respond by saying, "I think people who birth in hospitals are brave." And no, I'm not trying to be funny. Hospital births carry with them a number of risks.  Many are detailed in the article, and I'm quoting a couple...

In 2003, over 20% of women had their labors induced, with a rate closer to 40% in many hospitals... Approximately 40-50% of inductions fail... and most failed inductions end in cesarean section. Inductions increase labor pain and length, and create, among other problems, an increased risk of fetal distress, uterine rupture, and cesarean section.

And in case you think c-sections are a walk in the park...

Over 30% of women in the US have cesarean sections, while overwhelming research has led the World Health Organization to set an ideal standard rate of cesarean sections at 10-12%... Cesarean sections increase the likelihood of maternal death by as much as 4 times, and have other immediate and long-term heath risks for mothers that include, but are not limited to, infection, bowel or bladder perforation, hysterectomy, future infertility, and increased risk of uterine rupture for future pregnancies. Risks for the baby include respiratory distress, fetal injury, prematurity (if result of schedule section or failed induction), and breastfeeding difficulties.

It's difficult to get into a discussion with most women who've had c-sections.  Some of them have had truly emergent situations and I will forever say thank goodness for hospitals and surgeons for those situations; I am personally counting on their availability should any issues arise that my midwife deems emergent.

A trickier set of individuals to discuss this with are the ones who have been told by their doctors that they needed a c-section for x, y, z reasons and then they go off into the world saying, "thank goodness for hospitals, because I would have died if not for my OB."  Thing is... a large baby (obviously not as large as that 19+ lb one in Indonesia) is not a reason for most people, and 'failure to progress' is extremely subjective.  My labor with Regin lasted about 48 hours.  There are few OBs out there who would have allowed me to go on that long.  Even the one I saw recently when my midwife dumped me who was totally pro natural birth and has a great relationship with many of the local midwives (including the one I'm currently working with) told me he wouldn't let me go that long.  But true 'failure to progress' would be more than simply having contractions for several days, because that is actually PERFECTLY normal, and it wouldn't necessarily be something those electronic fetal monitors picked up either.  That increase of information can make OBs jumpier and significantly increases the likelihood of c-section.

Further complicating this issue of whether a c-section is necessitated or not is the set of women for whom the c-section became necessary as a result of a chain of events that began with 'benign' interventions such as the administration of Pitocin - a drug routinely used in hospital births to intensify contractions and thus hopefully speed up labor.  For an illustration of how giving pitocin can lead to problems here is a clip from Business of Being Born.  I much prefer the related segment from Orgasmic Birth, but I couldn't find the clip on YouTube.  (You can start at about 1m 20s without missing much).



And here is another clip about a few of the other interventions that have been used over the years.



Haha.  I love it... "The best thing to do is get the hell out of the hospital."  And this guy (an M.D. himself) used to be the director of women's & children's health for the World Health Organization.  Point is... just because a doctor says an intervention is ok, doesn't mean it is.  Case in point:  I was advised in the emergency room in October (when I went in for dizziness, cold sweats, and chest pain) to get a CT scan of my lungs.  The doctor said they were routinely done on pregnant women, no problem.  My gut said no, but he made it sound like I could die if I didn't get the scan.  Turns out, my gut may have been right.  My own doctor was upset that they did the scan, and didn't think it was at all necessary or safe for the baby, and he was visibly appalled that they hadn't covered my abdomen during the scan.

Anyway... back to c-sections...

While this and many pro-homebirth articles focus their attention on unplanned c-sections, I think it's especially important to note the issues with c-sections for those who are planning them.  The whole 'too-posh-to-push' craze freaks me out when you look at all of the data on c-sections.  Planned c-sections are one of the hardest things for me to understand.  C-sections are risky.  They are major surgery.  And the recovery is longer.  (Though I continuously hear of women who go out and shop or do heavy housework within days of a c-section.  We've become so used to the idea that c-sections are no big deal, but I can't imagine anyone doing anything so strenuous within days of other kinds of major abdominal surgery.  My midwife wanted me on bed rest for 2+ weeks after birth and I had a long but uncomplicated vaginal delivery!!)

And this is one point I return to again and again:

The vast majority of women in the US give birth in hospitals, and yet the US's maternal death rate is the worst among 28 industrialized nations and the neonatal mortality rate is the second worst. The Netherlands, where 36% of babies are born at home, has lower maternal and neonatal mortality rates than the US.

We're supposed to have these great hospitals and doctors that people travel from all over to get better medical care from.  And yet... our mortality rate is horrendous!  For more info on what we can do to reduce infant mortality, watch this short film:


Reducing Infant Mortality from Debby Takikawa on Vimeo.



And my final quote from that home birth article:

My decision to homebirth wasn't made in a void, but based upon years of research. I wonder how much research the average woman puts into her hospital birth?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!  That's not to be smug or superior about the research I've done.  That is simply in response to the assumption that we home birth out of bravery or some touchy-feely, new-agey reason.  I, and all those I have come across who've done this, have done this after an unbelievable amount of research and soul-searching.  This is a completely information, data-based, well-reasoned-out decision.  Well, for the first one it was, this time I also have a lot of personal comfort reasons I'm adding.  We have thoroughly assessed the risks (as best we can) on both sides, and determined this to be, to the best of our knowledge, the less risky option.  So to imply to a home birther that they have chosen it for some hippy reason, or because celebrities are doing it, or anything else that isn't based on research and reason is completely offensive.

Basically, when you boil it down, we choose the home for the same reason most of you choose the hospital:  we feel it to be the least risky option and will be most likely to provide the best outcome for mother and baby.

Wow.  I was going to let the article speak for me, but I guess I had some stuff to get off my chest!

---

Another cool thing about this piece is I have a new word to add to my vocab:  iatrogenic.  It is the "inadvertent adverse effects or complications caused by or resulting from medical treatment or advice."  It amazes me how many totally useful and very specific words there are like that in our language.  It's like when I learned the word 'jingoism' after September 11th.

Halloween Party 09!

Well some thought I was crazy to throw a party for toddlers and parents, but I did it and I'm so glad I did. WHAT FUN! I had TONS of help from my mom (& George of course) and we prepped all week leading up to the party. The best part -- both the parents AND kids seemed to really enjoy themselves, especially the kids! How amazing is that?

I was most stressed about arranging activities and then "emceeing" on party day. So I decided to have a few activities that kids could make their own way through (or not) in their own time. I had ghostie bowling (total flop), pumpkin decorating, and a tub of duplo blocks. And when in doubt, add balloons. Can't ever go wrong with balloons! The kids were all running around playing throughout the party. At one point an impromptu parade made its way through the house with kids with push/pull toys and one on a tricycle! What a shame not to have photos of that!

My sister JoAnn came and helped us set up the food, and George cooked the burgers (on Jack-O-Lantern buns, don't you know). MMMMmmm.

I have to say though that prepping for a week before your party only means you do more work. Instead of whittling down the list to needs and wants and tossing out all the wants, and spending 1-2 days getting ready, you do almost all the things on your list and you work for a whole week on the party! I think I'm more suited to last-minute. Sorry, it's just my way.

Anyway, here are some photo highlights. You can see the complete Halloween party album on Facebook, including all the kids' costumes and more decorations/foods.


I made those orange string balls (with heavy help from George -- only an engineer can manage to wrap a balloon a thousand times with string without the string falling off).


Ghostie bowling.



Regin was El Chapulín Colorado.  We had the hat and shoes to go with it, but he refused to wear them.  The shirt, however, he didn't take off for three days.  True story.

George stuck with his same costume, but I didn't have time to paint the eyeball again (or to make a new costume) so I did this simpler version:

I'm a starry night through a break in the clouds. I guess I could still be an eye of the storm, couldn't I? Minus the pun of course.


Preparations


JoAnn can tell you your future if you dare to learn it!

Pumpkin decorating table:


A couple of favorite decorated pumpkins:




My mom with one of Regin's creations. He decorated all the remaining pumpkins after everyone left.


My pumpkin threw up some dip. :)

Scared clementines and chocolate spiders.


Abby, Kiko, Palmer, and Regin playing with Regin's new Duplo blocks.


Reed, Evelyn, and Lucah at the pumpkin decorating table.


The kids wanted to see our snake. Missing here: Palmer & Lyric. Palmer touched the snake and walked away. Meh. Snakes, who cares? Lyric, kept her distance for other reasons!


Lyric has more fun with less animate things.  :)

Unschooling in a nut shell

I wish my parents would have known about this when I was school age. I wonder how different my life could have been.



So that really is the principles of unschooling in a nut shell.  He isn't really talking directly about unschooling, but just about how children learn, how it happens naturally, whether they have formal education or not.

I have been meaning to talk more about this for a while, and I just haven't gotten to it. There is time, it's years before Regin is ready for schooling decisions. I'm kind of off my research and reading mode right now, so I might post more on the subject when I'm back in it.

I definitely didn't do it right

Seems like it's not relevant anymore, but I've been meaning to post more on birthing for AGES now.  Especially after my friend Teddi had such great results from her "Hypnobabies" techniques.  I know, because I told my painful birth story in such detail (1 and 2), I scared a lot of people off of natural birth and I find that to be so sad.  So I wanted to present an alternative experience.  Back when it seemed more relevant, I hoped Teddi would tell us her experience here or let me grab some excerpts from her blog (what do you say T?).  The one quote from Teddi that has stuck in my brain (and forgive me if this is not what you remember saying T) is: "I wouldn't exactly describe it as pain."  Wow!

Hypnobabies is based on the same science and techniques used for hypnoanesthia, where patients who are allergic to anesthesia can have pain-free surgery using hypnosis.

I only wish Teddi had birthed before me so that I could have had the benefit of her knowledge when I gave birth.  But if we ever have a second, and that's a pretty big IF considering the state I'm in, I will definitely be looking for those classes. 

Why am I talking about this now?  Well today I stumbled on an article that gives yet another spin on the labor experience.  Not only can one describe labor as I remember Teddi describing it, but now it goes from "I wouldn't exactly describe it as pain" to "pleasurable" and even (LITERALLY) "orgasmic"!!!!!!!!  I can't decide if I'd actually want that experience though.  I was vulnerable enough being naked and screaming in agony in front of George, my mom, and a three-woman-strong birthing team all at once.  Could I maybe prefer immense pain to letting all those people see me in that state? 

Check out the article here.  There is a documentary too.  May have to look for that if there ever is a number two on the way.  I have my culturally-instilled inhibitions, but I still want to know what my options are!

Recent Adventures in Food

We know that my diet is difficult with my hypoglycemia, but Regin also has his own set of peculiarities when it comes to food.  And though I know he doesn't mind the taste, I have a heckuva time trying to get his daily veggies in due to texture and other issues.   So I'm forever trying to find ways to make veggies more appetizing to him.  One solution I found was to make veggie smoothies.  He usually likes them, some versions more than others, but I'm not happy about the fruit juice/banana I have to use to make the smoothie sweet. 

Another solution I found was to cut steamed veggies with cookie cutters.

My first try was with sweet potato flowers.  Each had a dab of butter as the flower's center.  Regin loved them!

He went straight for the ones that still had visible centers first.  So... when I went to make veggie shapes again, and didn't have butter (or cream to make butter with), I dabbed ketchup for the centers.

He likes to explore the feeling of ketchup, but does not like to eat it.  Maybe that's why he's giving me the finger.

Another new thing we've tried is almond butter and jelly sandwiches.  I'm still too influenced my American fears to give him peanut butter even though it's probably fine.  But he's had almonds before, so I gave him almond butter (which is up to about $10 a teeny jar here!)  Another example of his texture issues...  It was all touch and no taste.

One important thing I've learned from all my research is that you can't assume that kids don't like something because they turn their noses up at it a couple of times.  Apparently you have to give it to them at least ten times before they'll start to accept and eat some things.  So I'm staying on with the veggies.  I refuse to be one of those mothers who feeds their kids crap because that's all they'll eat.  I know that can't be true.  It's not like kids in other cultures starve themselves rather than eating whatever rice and vegetables their mothers have prepared. 

As far as cooking for me.  I'm absolutely extatic, since having given up grain, to have discovered almond flour!  I have been making myself almond bread once or twice a week.  I've mostly used almonds I grind myself with a coffee grinder.  But those come out dense, heavy, and wet.  I've also tried store-bought almond powder which I have found in a couple of the tiny organic stores here.  That came out fluffy, almost like cake (using the same recipe)!  All I need is some stevia and I can have something baked AND sweet!  Haven't found stevia yet though, and no, I cannot eat artificial sweeteners.  They give an insulin response.  Besides, keep those yucky chemicals away from me! 

I've also tried combos of the almond flour with coconut flour, and some variations ended up like cornbread.  Yum!  But none of them will really hold as a piece of bread or cake.  Everything crumbles.  Time to try a new recipe perhaps.

Here's my cakey almond bread baking away in my tiny oven...

Ooh, I think I might make some more tonight.

Happy 18 months: NO BOOB FOR YOU!

I'm such a rotten mother.  Regin's 18-month birthday came and went (yesterday) and I didn't even pay attention.  There are no photos of him from the day, so no way to record how he actually looked on the day he became 18 months old.  Course, it's still the day of in Denver, so I will go ahead and pretend it's today!

To celebrate, I'm cutting him off from breast milk!  100%!  I've been sort of wishy washy about it, and cut back on the number of feedings, or feedings at certain times.  I believe breast milk would be beneficial for him still, and I had intended to go to two years.  But it's aggravating my hypoglycemia, and he needs a sane, nice, calm, happy Mamma more than he needs the nutrients in my milk. 

I'm soooo very hopeful that this will make a huge improvement in my condition. Please cross your fingers for me/us!

P.S. the photos are of him begging and whining for milk ("Meel! Meel!") earlier today.  I stood my ground.  No milk for you!

Milestone Shmilestone

Had kind of a rough day yesterday.  More on that another day.  Suffice it to say that Regin had a fall and now has a very swollen lip.

Before that we were peachy keen, I was taking pictures of my new 'do, and reading up on developmental milestones.  I clicked on his category, 13-18 months (he'll be 17 months in a couple of days), and found that not only has he pretty much got them all covered, but these are mostly way old news for him.  So I checked out the 19-24 month range, and guess what?  He's got a lot of those down too. 

Stuff other kids do at 19 months

-he can use a fork and a spoon, though he's not that great at either of them.
-throws a ball.
-enjoys helping around the house (we're just starting this one, but he loves to clean with brooms and rags, and he likes to sort laundry)
-knows when he needs to pee. (But EC people believe babies feel this pretty soon after birth.  But if you doubt me, he actually announces the "urge" by saying "poopoo" or "chi chi" or "potty")

-dumps an object in imitation (puts laundry in hamper/bags)

At 20 months

-"understands as many as 200 words" -- I would be surprised if he understood that few.
- points to an object on a page when you call it by name
-"may start exploring genitals" (??? I guess my kid is super advanced here -- this happened as soon as he could figure out how to control his hand, gotto be at least a year now.)-names several body parts (nose, eye, mouth, ear, hair, foot)

At 21 months

-kicks a ball (done this for ages)
-"stacks 6 blocks" -- I've seen him do 7!
-names a simple picture in a book -- oh he LOVES to do this.  He recognizes and names: babies, birds, monkeys, general animals, fish, food, apples, oranges, balls, clothes, water (drinks and bodies of water, even drool!), he also names some people in pictures -- Shanti was the first one he recognized and referred to by name.  And he pointed her out in a photograph without me saying anything.

23 months
-sings simple songs -- he often walks around singing to himself, and now he hums "Twinkle, Twinkle" at the same time as I'm singing it, which is hugely distracting for me.
-uses vocabulary of 50-70 words.  I have recorded at least 40, and I know there are many more that I haven't recorded that he uses regularly.  He's got a few made up words of his own, some are baby versions of words, but some are absolutely perfect.  Yesterday he shouted, clear as a bell, "money! money!" when I got some money out of my pocket to give to a cashier.   And he knows many words in English and Spanish and knows which corresponds with which parent.

24 months
-becomes attuned to gender differences - well, maybe I don't know what they mean by attuned, but I'm pretty sure he already thinks boys are cooler than girls.  Though George told me he had a brief 'fling' with a little girl at the store the other day.

There are several mentions in this age range of putting on or taking off clothes by himself.  He's not quite there yet, but he knows how to step into a pair of pants, and put his arms through his sleeves.

I'm convinced that either my boy is a genius, or these people grossly underestimate (aren't properly observing?) the abilities of toddlers.  I suspect it is a lot of the latter, but let's say it's a combo.  This makes me feel a lot better anyway after our pediatrician decided to again inform me of Regin's shortcomings (lame pun) on baby growth charts.  So what he's a shorty!  His mind is huge!

iPhone photos from a few weeks ago

Some of George's iPhone photos I haven't put up yet.

First it is our make shift ball pit, which Regin loves spending time in.

And we have a natural cleaner (thank goodness someone in our family is!).  If Regin sees a wet spot on the floor and there is a floor rag handy, he will (without anyone suggesting it) go and get the rag and wipe the spot up on the floor!  Sweet!

This is what he looks like when Mamma is wrapping him on her back.

It's Potty Time!

Potty training or EC is going relatively well. I was getting a little worried at the 6 month mark because I'd heard so many people who practice EC had huge success and were done with diapers by 6 months. We, on the other hand, were still only catching some poops (most of the time) and little of the pee. But this last month has seen a leap forward in our success.

Regin pees and poops often in the potty. We don't catch as much of the poop as we used to, because he sits up and plays on his own now, and he often makes the same grunting sounds sitting as he does when he's about to poop. But we still do pretty well and he pees often on the potty now. He still pees just as often in his diaper, but we've made huge strides. His diapers are often dry through the night (though he pees through his naps -- weird), and I'm developing a better instinct and understanding of his habits and his need-to-go fussies.

I have to say, even if he doesn't end up totally out of diapers before any other American babies, this is still sooooooo worth it. I have to deal with VERY few poopy diapers, and I have much fewer diapers to wash in general. The biggest bummer is trying to do this when we're out of the house. It's very frustrating, hardly ever works, and takes me away from whatever I'm doing (or whomever I'm seeing) for too long. But maybe I'll have strides to report back there in a month or three. So, after trying it out for some time now, I do really have to recommend the book, "Diaper Free".

He's awfully happy on that potty, and he loves to slap his feet on the floor:


Plus, he's made a little vehicle out of his potty:


You can't see it because of the stupid YouTube logo in the bottom right corner, but in this next video, Regin is after the camera-bag strap on the floor and is scooting himself over to it. The camera stopped recording before he actually got the item, but this is just a little demo of how he can scoot himself over to an item he wants.


Below I have some news snippets about the practice of EC. Usually when you see bits about it on TV or hear it on the radio, there is a judgmental undertone, and they usually finish with some health professional/official saying that it's harmful to put a child through the trauma of potty training before 1-2 years of age. As you can see above, it's total misery for my boy to be on the potty!

They also often suggest that it's too much work for most people. That's really ridiculous. If you are an attentive caregiver, or are leaving your child with an attentive caregiver, it's not much more work than diapering. And no more work for sure than it is to potty train them later! Not to mention the reduced diapering work! And, no one has ever mention in these bits (that I've seen so far) that there is varying levels of commitment. Some people do it only in the mornings and evenings when they are home from work, but don't worry about it when they hand their kids over to someone else or are out in public. It takes them longer, but it's still effective.