Jonas was sick…

My baby had the cold… and then I had the cold… then we both had it together… and can you believe it?  Daddy was fine and healthy.  Strong man he is.

Well, my fear with Jonas getting sick is that he would not be able to breathe.  When I can’t breathe, I get so ANNOYED!

At the beginning of the cold, he was very fussy.  Anytime we put him down, he would cry.  I think it got harder to breathe when laying down.  He began with a small fever, 100.4.  He lost his voice.  It was cute to watch him utter his grunts and they sounded sick.  He had a lot to cough out, but he didn’t know to cough it out or to sniff out the mucus.  I just watched, heard, was alert… but there was not much I could do.

I didn’t give him Tylenol.  I was waiting to see if the fever got higher, it didn’t.  I was waiting to see if he was in any kind of pain or real uncomfortability he was fine.  He was a good sick baby.  Better than I thought he was going to be.

We’re still getting over the cold.  All we have left is some coughing here and there.

Lessons to be learned:  AVOID GETTING SICK

-WASH MY HANDS ALL THE TIME (to avoid others’ germs and avoid passing them)

-Eat well, Drink well, Sleep well.

-Avoid touching my face too much.

-At the first sign of a cold, drink tea with ginger and lemon.  (I heard it helped get rid of the cold… I want to try it).

If I do get sick, since no matter what I do sometimes we’ll still get sick…

-Stay home, drink soup, rest.  This helps me heal quicker.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t live in such a cold place… so that I don’t get sick that much.  But in someway… in some weird way… I believe it’s a blessing.  Thank you God.

Laughter Is So Good...

My baby laughs everytime I sing "the wheels on the bus"... I emphasize and exaggerate every word. He loves it!

I love to hear him laugh! He's soooo cute!

Raspberries make him laugh...

Any kind of sillyness, really.

I was thinking today how MUCH FUN I had as a young girl.

In DR, I played so many games all day. Games such as: Hopscotch, Yun, La Latica (Hide n' Seek), Marishal Pasando Lista (Marshall Taking Attendance), cops and robbers... So much fun!

When I came to America I was upset that now I was mostly inside 4 walls- BORING!
TV became the thing to do because there was nothing else to do. Unbelievable!

I dreaded becoming an adult. It seemed as though they took EVERYTHING SO SERIOUSLY! They looked boring... not too much laughter in their lives.

Then I started working full time... there hardly was any time to have just much fun after college.

I need laughter in my life... I think I need to focus on just building friendships with the people in my life. Then maybe, we'll get adventurous some times.

Spoiling My Baby? Or Loving My Baby? Part 2

What I've learned is:

When I answered my baby's cries and tried to meet all of his needs...
Baby was happier (me too) and cried less.

HE WAS THE BEST BABY EVER!

He slept with me on the bed... I fed him when he wanted to be fed... I held him when he cried and tried to figure out what was wrong.
In every instance, I've learned that he always cried for something... He wasn't trying to 'play' me at all.

Now at 4 months, he sleeps 10 hours a day! I'm glad. But he was always a baby that knew the difference between day and night since he's always slept longer at night.

He wasn't like this the day we came from the hospital. He cried when I was just trying to change his diaper. When I decided to meet his needs no matter how 'inconvenient' it was for me, I guess he began trusting me that I would meet all of his needs... and voila, what a great baby.

Even now that he cries more that before... I notice he still always cries for a reason... he's hungry, tired, needs diaper changed...

Now, do I think I've found the perfect formula to raise great, no crying babies?? NO! I've asked around and have learned that Every baby is different... they have their own personalities.

Hey, maybe he took after me... I didn't really cry much when I was a baby.
Who knows if my next baby will be a crier even if I'm meeting all his/her needs?
I hope this is the formula: love, meet baby's needs willingly= happy baby

I'll find out after my next baby. GOD WILLING.

D.

Spoiling My Baby? Or Loving My Baby?

So baby is born.

He cries when he's born... as soon as I breastfeed him, he's fine.

He slept. And was breastfed. I was determined to breastfeed him on demand--even if it took doing this each hour... which it did.

As long as I held him, he was fine. The minute he was placed down to sleep, he woke up and began crying... SO I kept holding him. And we slept together. And that first day, I actually slept well... with him on me. I thought it was very nice.

"oh, you're really spoiling him" says one of the nurses.
Oh GREAT!!! Guilt-trip!
(I think: Does this nurse have children??? What does she expect me to do? Let him cry through the whole night? Or let him cry til he goes to sleep??? On the first day of his birth!?)

"you can't spoil a baby" says a lactation consultant.
oh GREAT!!! How come no one else seems to know this bit of information???
(I was just confused there were so many opinions about parenting from different professionals--which one do I listen to?)

Baby is crying. His diaper is fine. He was just fed. He's trying to suck his fingers, but can't find them. What then? Let him "cry it out"?
NOOOOOO!!!! It's more stressful ON ME! I'm barely getting some sleep... and I have to let him "cry it out"?????????????????????
So, I give him a pacifier. I can't hold him ALL day.
BUT... he doesn't take it. He actually 'gags' it out.
So, I gave him my finger to suck on until he 'finds' his own... and he's fine.

I'm a person that wants to do the 'right thing'. So I was VERY CONFUSED there that there were so many opinions.

BABY TRAINERS VS. ATTACHED PARENTING

Baby trainers say: "let him cry it out", "Don't let him suck his thumb", "don't let him sleep on you, you're spoiling him", "don't spoil him--you'll regret it later", "Don't give him a pacifier!", "babies do not sleep with their parents", "don't rock him, nurse him, do anything to help him sleep-- let him learn to sleep on his own".

I'VE RECEIVED ALL OF THESE ADVICES!!! ALL OF THESE ADVICES ARE BASED ON THE FEAR THAT THE BABY WILL ADOPT BAD HABITS THAT WILL INCONVENIENCE OUR LIVES!!!!!!!

FEARS:
1) I don't want a spoiled child.
SPOILED CHILD= a child who gets what he wants all the time. When you don't give him what he wants, he cries. And he will keep crying and raging until you give him what he wants.
Inconvenience= a disrespectful child who wants his own way and will not obey what I say. I will be embarrassed in public with such child.

2) I don't want my child to have damaged teeth because they are sucking their thumb when they're older.
Inconvenience= My child's mouth will look different... and it's a little embarrassing to see an older child sucking their thumb... and I will need to spend money on braces, etc.

3)If baby sleeps on me, he will ONLY want to sleep on me. He'll never want to sleep on his own bed by himself.
Inconvenience= I'll never be able to sleep in my own bed without baby.

I'll share what I've experienced in the next post.

Back To Work...

I thought that going back to work was going to be harder. I guess I really needed some time to socialize with other people and to help others also.

However, after a week, I'm feeling like I want to be attached to my baby all day... so that he never forgets me :)

Baby started going to 'daycare' which is really 'grandmas' care' this past week from Mon-Thurs. On Wednesday night I was in shock with Jonas. He was SO HYPER... He was crying... He seemed like a totally different baby than the one I knew so well. I had no idea why he was crying--I usually know almost all the time what's his need. I felt a little bit like when I came home from the hospital--not really knowing why this baby was crying and feeling a little down.

It is so hard to think that there's a part of my baby's life that I'm not sharing (while he's at daycare). I can feel like I'm missing out. I'm scared he won't recognize me one day.

UGGH... the worst part is trying to figure out when to breastfeed and pump. Gosh, I was hurting this past week. And now, baby has to work a little bit harder to get milk.

I have to work because there are bills to pay. So I will believe the best of the situation. Jonas will recognize his beautiful, awesome, best mommy... He will love me above all... He will want me to care for his boo-boos in the end... God will raise him up to know and love Him... Our bills will get paid... Jonas will be disciplined the way I want him to be... It will all be good in the end. Oh, and I will have enough milk for baby, I'm not really going to dry out.

"Let it be according to your faith"-- Jesus.

Oh Lord, thank you so much for my little baby boy.
I love him so much. I want what's best for him out of this life.
I want him to know You and love You and honor You all days of his life.
I want him to be respectful to everyone.
To obey those that are authority in his life.
To be a nice person. A patient man.
Who respects women as he grows up.
Who cares about others' needs as he grows up.
Who will marry a God-fearing decent woman when he grows up.
Who will not conform and will not accept the ways of this world.
Who will stand up for what he believes in and not be swayed by the world's standards.
Who will be HONEST... regardless of the consequences.
Who will FOLLOW YOU and LOVE YOU FIRST in his life.
Who will make it through this life... and make it to heaven.
Help him PLEASE. SHOW HIM why it is worth living.
Show him your TRUTH. Show him also the lies so that he may hate that path.
Help him to be wise. Guide him whatever he may walk... that he may always come back to You. That his comfort would always be with You.
That just in case I'm not around to keep praying... that You Lord will please answer all of my prayers.
Thank you Lord.
I love You.

Halloween??

Baby is too young to go "trick-or-treating"...
However, I can't help but think about what it would be like when he is older.
Would we enjoy this holiday or not? I've read the why yes and why nots...

YES--
I'd like to take my child trick-or-treating. I did it when younger and it was a lot of fun. I just liked dressing up and getting candy.

NO--
I definitely do not want to in any way celebrate demons and witchcraft, etc. I'm not sure that going and getting some candy tells the world that I agree with the darkness and evil deeds. Any holiday can be used to do wrong things... I'm thinking it's all about our hearts...

I believe, that as a Christian, I am free... but that I need to use my freedom to do good.
I don't believe that dressing up and getting candy tell people that I'm on the side of evilness... or that I hinder them from believing in Christ.
I believe this holiday does in some way celebrate evil... but why not use this day to do good? I could share my faith... make sure that my child dresses up in good costumes, not evil...
Now about the candy... I'm thinking I don't want my son enjoying too much candy. It just doesn't do kids well to eat too much candy I think.

Well... I could do both decisions (yes or no) and be okay.

I'll choose next year... I don't want to say something today and change what I say later on.

Til' next year...

My Baby Jonas!

Jonas is almost 3 months old now.
As a new mommy, I've learned MANY things.

One of these I learned when pregnant: THINGS WILL NOT ALWAYS GO YOUR WAY.

I thought I'd never get heartburn, I did.
Oh, and it felt so bad. I didn't like it... and I also stopped drinking orange juice thinking this may have been the cause.

I thought I would never get stretch marks since I put on lotion religiously and my skin is dark, and my mom never got any... but I did.
And I cried. And cried. One day on my last month I wake up and see some marks on my belly. OMG!!! STRETCH MARKS! I thought my life was ruined. I would never have a smooth belly ever again. DH assured me everything was okay, that he loves me and thinks I'm beautiful with them, that they represented Jonas--so it's all good.
I LOVE JONAS and I wouldn't EVER trade anything for him (of course), so if my stretch marks were one of the costs of having Jonas in my life... so be it.
But I still do miss my smooth, flat belly... Life.

I thought I would deliver my baby without an epidural... I used the epidural.
I was the first to think "I will never use the epidural". I condemned it as an unnatural way to give birth. God didn't make the epidural, I'd think.
WELL... Here's my labor story :) I do believe (now) the epidural is God inspired...

The labor was LONG. My water broke at 5:38am... I was waiting for my 'labor pains' to be 4 min. apart before going into the hospital. I called my 'clinic' just to let them know. My contractions began to be constant - every 4 min. at 3:30 pm. I waited 1hour to make sure they were constant before going into the hospital (they wanted me to call when my contractions were consistent). I got to the hospital by 5:30pm.

My doc (at the clinic) had checked my cervix to see how much I was dilated at 2pm... she couldn't see because of the fluid or something.
So I couldn't be checked again because there's risk of infection.
So we were waiting until I was in REALLY bad pain before checking.

The contractions began getting closer and closer together...
And stronger and stronger...
By the time they were every 2 min. apart and I was not able to walk anymore and I was crying like a baby... it was 11:30 pm... 8hrs in labor!!!

So the doc checked me to see how far I was...

I was 4 CENTIMETERS dilated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I WAS SO MAD!!!!!!!!!!! I was like: "WHAT??!!" I'm taking all this pain thinking I'm 'moving along'... in case you didn't know-- 4 cent. is the beginning of labor pains. I needed to get to 10 centimeters and the pain is supposed to get even worst.
I was SO UPSET; I didn't want to use the epidural... but it would take 1hour for each centimeter. So basically we had 6 hours to go.
YEAH RIGHT!!!! Epidural time!

The epidural was a right decision for me. My mom and husband were able to sleep. I wasn't in unbearable pain for 6 more hours. And the contractions were going along very well... the baby was also doing well. So everything was going fine... as it should... just I didn't have to suffer more :).

At 5 am I was 10 cent dilated. The midwife got the nurse... they began helping me 'push' at 5:15am (I couldn't feel half of my body... so I 'made believe' I was pushing, but I couldn't feel it :))
The docs told me it would take around 2 hours for baby to come out because of the epidural and me not feeling the 'push' etc.

BABY CAME OUT IN 20 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At 5:34 am he was born!!!

The docs were impressed I pushed so well. I thank God now that He helped this go quick because I was so tired.

I didn't get cut (episiotomy). I healed down there very quickly... I think. But everything went great.

Baby was so alert when he came out.

Lesson Learned-- never judge someone else... or walk in someone else's shoes before making the judgment :)