Baby Talk

Kyle's new word yesterday was "ack", for "snack".  He can almost say "milk", he get's the "ilk" really good...and Josh said yesterday morning Kyle said "m....ilk."  Kyle says "out" (he wants to go outside ALL the time!).  Other "words" include... "at" for "cat", and "up" for "cup" (although he uses that one for the word "up" as it is intended, also).  "At" is a universal word as well.  He uses that when he points at things, either saying, "what is that?", or "look at that.".  He makes it very clear whether he is talking about the cat, wants you to tell him what something is, or if he is just trying to get your attention to look at something that maybe he wants.  Very smart fellow!  He also tries to say "eat."  He's learning new words every day.  :)

He also says "ock" for "rock"...he is an avid rock collector!!!  Everywhere we go, he has to find a new rock to hold on to.  Perhaps a little geologist has been born....lol!

I'll try to keep you posted on Kyle's latest and greatest baby words as they develop.

Pumpkins At The Zoo

"Don't worry, I got it!"

Kyle and I went to the zoo today with our friends Michelle (mom) and son James, and Amanda (mom) and daughter Maggie.  We all met each other during swim classes at Sunshine Swim School, and became friends.  (I don't recommend classes there, by the way.)  There were pumpkins everywhere at the zoo, and lots of cute Halloween decorations!  We had fun taking a few pictures of the kids.  (If you click on the photos, you can view a larger image.)  I hope you enjoy them!

Here are all of us!

 

LOL, this is what you get when you put together a 12 month old, 13 month old, and 15 month old and try to take a picture.... no one looking at the camera, and one unhappy baby!

Kyle crawling through a fake log.

Peek a boo James and Kyle!

Maggie and Kyle

We had a fun visit today at the zoo, and the kids had a fun time playing together.  They all play so nice with each other, and us ladies have a nice time socializing together and sharing mommy ideas and stories!

15 Month Well Check

Today Kyle is 15 months old!  Happy Birthday little guy!  Kyle went for his 15 month well check today, and came out with a clean bill of health!  He is 25 lbs. 1oz., and 33.5" tall.  He is in the 50-75% for weight, and the 97% for height.  His numbers have always been off the charts since he was born, so these are "normal" numbers for him.  He's a big boy!

Today we told the doctor that we have decided to stop vaccinating Kyle.  I was very anxious today, not knowing what kind of a response to expect.  I know that some pediatricians will literally kick you out of their practice if you do not vaccinate, and there have even been accounts of pediatricians calling Child Protective Services for child abuse...for not vaccinating your child.  How obserd!  Parents should be able to make an informed decision and not be made to feel guilty for doing so.  Our doctor is very nice, and I didn't expect there to be any drama...but I wasn't sure...

The Dr. was very nice about the whole thing.  He listened to our concerns, and didn't make us feel bad for our decision.  He understood that we had valid concerns, although he still held his position of recommending the vaccinations.  I respect his recommendation, but we have decided not to take it.  He was honest and said he didn't have a response when I mentioned that the people who are recommending these vaccinations (CDC, FDA, and the manufactures) have done some shady things in the past with contaminated vaccinations.  My point about it was...what contaminants might be in these vaccines now that we won't find out about for another 10 years that are harmful...?  He couldn't answer that question...nor did I expect him to!  But, it's a valid concern.  He said that honestly these diseases we are vaccinating for are rare, but of course can (not will) have complications if you get them.  He basically told us that we have to weigh the benefits and risks both ways, and decide which risk to take.  Are the vaccines a bigger risk, or getting a not so common disease that could have complications...?  Of course we told him that we thought the risks of the vaccines were higher.  He could tell that I had done my homework, and there was no talking us out of our decision.

He didn't fight us at all, or make us feel stupid for our choice.  We actually discussed the topic a bit, and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be after all!  The Dr. was very respectful, and had me sign a form saying that I was declining the vaccinations for Kyle today.  He was supposed to get a DPaT booster, and a Hep A vaccine today.  He also recommended the flu vaccine, which we also declined.  I assume that every visit where vaccines are routine, I will have to sign that form declining the vaccines.

He told us flat out that some practices kick patients out who decide not to vaccinate, but this practice has decided that the kids that don't vaccinate need a doctor too.  So, they try to support the decision, even though it goes against their recommendation.  It makes me feel good that this is their position, and that they genuinely care for the kids!  It clearly isn't all about money at this office, which is really nice to confirm!  Our doctor said that if we ever change our mind and decide to vaccinate, they can do it at any time.

It was a good day, and I have a happy and healthy baby!  It was really nice coming home with a healthy baby today...one who wasn't fussy, or running a fever from shots!  What a relief!  :)

Tray of Snacks

I tried something new with Kyle this morning, and it worked out fabulous!  I got this idea from The Baby Book, by Dr. Sears.  I took an ice cube tray and put different snacks in the little trays.  This morning I put grapes, pears, peas, corn, cheerios, and graham crackers.  I put it on Kyle's little picnic table in the living room, where he could "graze" and play.  He actually sat at his table and ate all of it but a few peas and corn.  He played a little in-between eating.  (Yesterday I set peas out in the morning and he ate them all up, so I guess he just wasn't in the veggie mood this morning.  lol)  He knew to keep the tray on the table and sit in his seat.  Very cute!  We are moving up in the baby world...watch out!

 

 

When he was winding down for his nap time, he let me know he was ready to sit in his high chair and have a little breakfast.  He didn't eat too much more, but that's okay.  :)  He then had a cup of goat milk, and went down for his nap.  Hurray!

I think we've finally gotten the morning routine down, and I have a much happier baby...that isn't throwing food all over the place!  Happy Mommy!!

A Day In The Desert

Yesterday we took a family trip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  We had a nice day together.   Kyle got to run around, play in dirt, collect rocks, and watch the mountain lion on the prowl!  We got some really nice photos of Kyle today, so I thought I would share a few.  He is such a happy baby, so getting shots of him smiling is never a problem, as you will see!  :)  Enjoy the photos!

 

 

 

And the mountain lion, of course....

Leo the Lion

Last year Kyle was a frog for Halloween.  The costume only stayed on long enough to take pictures because it was so hot that day...that was about 5 minutes.  Kyle was 3 months old.  And look how big he was!

Today Josh and I took Kyle to Bookman's for their free Halloween Party.  Kyle is a lion this year for Halloween. After we got the lion costume we realized that Kyle's astrological sign is Leo, which is a lion.  :)  So, the costume is fitting for our little Leo.  When you ask him "what does the lion say?", he gives a little growl.  Hee, hee, it's so cute!  We think his face is perfect for the lion costume.  He got oogled over at the party, of course!  :)  Enjoy the pictures!

Daddy and Kyle arriving at the party

Hi little lion!

What a cute little tail!

 

Walking around visiting with all the kids.

 

Roaaaaaaaar!

 

Trick or Treat!  How could you turn this cute face away?!!

Chickenpox Vaccine

First off I want to say that never in a million years did I imagine I would be sitting here writing about vaccines!  I never thought I would take this position about them either!  I have had my share of vaccinations in my life.  (Although, I'm not sure that in my whole life I have had as many vaccinations as Kyle has had in his one year of life!)  If you haven't already read about how I got to this anti-vaccine position, you can read some of my older entries.  The one titled "What Do We Do? - The Vaccine Controversy," is were it starts (in the October 2009 archive folder).  Hope you find some of my banter useful, or at least entertaining if nothing else.  :)

So, I've been wanting to write this entry for a couple days now, but I needed to take a breather from the vaccine stuff.  All this reading and research is exhausting!  Anyway, this entry will hopefully educate you a little bit about the chickenpox vaccine, so that you can make an educated decision on whether to do it or not for your kids.

The chickenpox vaccine, in my opinion, is one of the most ridiculous vaccines!  Kyle was given the chickenpox vaccine at his 12 month well check, and I am so mad now about it!  By the end of this entry, hopefully you will understand why.  Of course I can't dwell on the past, and all I can do is make decisions for the future based off of the information I now have.  I hope you will find the following information useful, and for convenience of writing I will make a numbered reference guide on the left side bar (you may have to scroll down a bit to get to it), so that I don't have to write the title of every book I have referenced, every time.

What is Chickenpox?

"Chickenpox, or varicella, is a contagious disease caused by a virus.  The technical name for this virus is varicella-zoster, a member of the herpes virus family.  Chickenpox is considered by many experts to be a relatively harmless childhood disease.  Symptoms include a fever, runny nose, sore throat, and an itchy skin rash which can appear anywhere on the body.  The rash and disease usually disappear after one or two weeks.  The disease confers permanent immunity, the child will not contract it again." (1)

Okay...I had chickenpox when I was little, and yes it sucked.  But, it was short lived, and now I have immunity for life.  The vaccine does not provide immunity for life, in fact, no one even knows yet how effective the vaccine is, because it is so new.  The FDA thinks that they are at least effective for the first 5 years, until the next booster shot, but aren't sure yet.

"...the FDA does not know how long beyond the five years immunity will last.  "The only way to sort that out is going to be to see what happens after the vaccine is introduced," said Philip Krause, M.D., a senior research investigator in the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.  The FDA asked Merck to follow several thousand vaccinated children for fifteen years to determine the long-term effects of the vaccine and to see if there would be a need for a booster shot.  Unfortunately, the results of that research will not be available until at least 2010."  (2)

"According to the vaccine manufacturer, "The duration of protection...is unknown." (5)

Not only does that mean that we don't know how long it will last, but we don't know what the long term effects of the vaccine itself are.  Essentially, our children right now are the experiment subjects for this vaccine!

"No one knows the possible effects of latent vaccine virus stored within the nervous system.  Varicella-zoster virus may be a cause of cancer.  This association has never been proven, though varicella-zoster-invected human cells have transformed mouse cells to cancerous cells in a laboratory setting and varicella-zoster virus-infected cells produced cancers when inoculated into hamsters, which also developed viral antibodies.  ..... The possible long-term effects of this herpesvirus vaccine remain unknown." (4)

How is the Varicella vaccine made?

 "The virus was taken from an infected individual decades ago and placed in a culture of lung cells from human embryos.  The virus used the lung cells to multiply.  The viruses were then removed and placed in a culture of guinea pig embryo cells for further growth.  Finally, they were put in a culture of human diploid cells (in human tissue) to multiply even more.  These viruses were then taken to Merck's laboratories.  Merck keeps the virus replicating in a different human diploid cell culture nourished with serum from a cow fetus (the liquid part of the cow fetus's blood) and removes batches of the virus to go into the vaccine.  The viruses are put into a solution of saline, sugar, electrolytes, MSG, and gelatin.  The virus is whole and living when injected, so it can potentially cause chickenpox."  (3)

"In other words, children vaccinated with the chickenpox shot are mobile carriers of the virus, and can spread this highly contagious disease to every susceptible person they come into contact with." (1)

"The DNA and proteins from the human cells are an unavoidable byproduct of this particular manufacturing process.  These aren't known to be harmful, but some parents find it a little odd to inject unknown human DNA into a baby."  (3)

Personally I think this is gross!  And "unknown human DNA" is being put into my baby...?  I wonder if most people know how the vaccine is made and that their kids are carrying the disease around just from the injection...?  Do parents of this generation realize that their kid is a guinea pig for this relatively new vaccination...?  I didn't have a clue when we vaccinated Kyle!  These things aren't discussed in the doctor's visit, unfortunately.

The next set of information is most disturbing to me.  This disease is usually harmless for young children, but can be very serious and even deadly for teens and adults.  That's why parents used to have "chickenpox parties" to get their kids sick when they were young, so that they would have lifelong immunity and not get sick when they were older (and it was more dangerous or deadly!).  The vaccine was originally created because chickenpox can be especially dangerous for children who have a weakened immune system, such as those who have leukemia or other cancers.  But, here is the bottom line of why we are all required today to give our kids this vaccine (whether they are healthy or compromised).....

"Prior to licensing the chickenpox vaccine, an important study concluded that a national chickenpox vaccination campaign would shift the age distribution of chickenpox cases from children, who are not likely to experience problems with this disease, to teenagers and adults, who have higher complication rates.  Yet, this did not stop authorities from licensing and mandating this vaccine, because "the U.S. could save five times as much as it would spend" on this shot by avoiding the costs incurred by moms and dads who stay home to care for their sick children." (1)

This fact was mentioned in every 5 of the books I have referenced (although in different wording of course).  I am not siting from anti-vaccine books, by the way.  Most of these books are written by doctors who are simply giving the facts (and for both sides).  Just wanted to make that clear.  Anyway... 

I am a stay at home mom!  If the whole reason why parents are pushed to vaccinate for the varicella virus is to save money so that mom's and dad's don't have to miss work...then Kyle should never have had that vaccine!  I am home to take care of him if he gets sick!  Why is this not a discussion at the doctor's office prior to vaccinating?  It is "routine" to get this vaccination at 12 months of age, and again at 5 years.  Why...?  Oh yeah, because it makes a lot more money for the manufacturer if you give it to all children, and not just those who have compromised immune systems!

Now knowing how it is made, and really thinking about all the information I have shared with you...it makes me furious that Kyle was vaccinated...I know, I authorized them to do it!  I should have looked into this more before it was time for the vaccine!  I just trusted our doctor, and that he is pointing us in the right direction.  But that is all water under the bridge, and Kyle will not get the booster shot at 5 years.

"...adults are 10 times more likely to require hospitalization and 25 times more likely to die from chickenpox than children.  Yet, this did not stop authorities from licensing and mandating this vaccine.

Before the vaccine became available, more than 90 percent of people entering their 20's were immune to varicella, mainly due to natural chickenpox infection.  Thus, very few adults contracted this disease.  Infants were usually protected as well because their mothers, who contracted chickenpox as children, had protective antibodies that they passed on to their babies in utero (during pregnancy).  However, as more children receive the vaccine and lose the opportunity to acquire natural immunity, moms will no longer be able to protect their babies and the disease is likely to shift to infants, another age group at greater risk for complications.  Anyone who doubts this possibility merely has to look at what officials did with measles.  Before the vaccine was introduced, less than one-half of one percent of all babies contracted measles.  Today, following years of mass immunizations, about 30 percent of all measles cases now occur in babies under one year of age."  (5)

What makes me so mad is that we are keeping our kids from getting sick with the disease while they are little (and it is mild).  This makes it possible for them to potentially get seriously ill or die from the disease in their teen or adult years (because they do not have the life long immunity)!  Again, the reason for this vaccination (like many others) is to save $$$.  Other than that, it is actually doing harm by pushing the disease into the later years, and who knows what other side effects will come to the surface from the vaccine itself.  Not to mention that there are already lots of reports of adverse reactions and even death from the vaccine.  Then there is the whole discussion about giving several vaccines at the same time.  I won't get into that in this entry, you can read more about that if you wish to do so.  And finally there is the issue of long term problems and diseases from the crap that is in the vaccines, that we have yet to discover in the years to come.  There's just too much to even mention in this one little blog entry!

For those of you with little girls, you need to think even more about this one.  It is very dangerous for a woman to get chickenpox when she is pregnant.  (You can do more reading on your own if you are curious about the details.)  I didn't have to even think about this when I got pregnant, because I did have chickenpox when I was a little girl.  Also, if a pregnant woman hasn't received the natural immunity to the disease, they can not pass on the antibodies to their babies.  Again, something I didn't even have to think about when I got pregnant.  But, unfortunately this new generation of girls are going to have to think about all these things as they get older and come of child bearing age!

Just a few things to think about moms and dads!  Start researching these vaccines and asking more questions!  The information is out there, but unfortunately you have to go looking for it on your own.  :(

Bottom line...we don't know that the varicella vaccine is safe or effective long term...and it is not necessary!!!  I do hope that despite the vaccine, Kyle will get chickenpox naturally while he is young, so that I don't have to worry about him getting older and having no immunity to it.  I know it will be a rough week or two for all of us if he does get it...but long term it's worth it!

Anyone know where the "chickenpox party" is being held this week...?

8th tooth!

Kyle's 8th tooth is poking out!  I saw it tonight while I was brushing his teeth.  It is a couple teeth back from his front teeth (on the bottom right side), so it wasn't blatantly obvious.  This kid does not let you look in his mouth for anything!  So...you've got to be creative.  Anyway, he has 8 teeth now!

I can't believe how fast he is growing!  He is more mature every day (in body and soul)!  I couldn't help but feel my heart explode with love every time I looked at him today, he is just so wonderful!  He just has the sweetest spirit!  He is so kind hearted to everyone and everything, and it just warms my mommy heart more and more every day.  He is the cutest little boy I have ever seen!!!  I am so proud, and I just love him so much!

Good night little Kyle.  Sleep tight, and sweet dreams!

Mommy's New Trick...?

So, Kyle has not been very interested in eating lately.  I think at first it started because of teething.  His 7th tooth broke thru, and we've still been struggling with getting food down him.  So, I was thinking that there may be more teeth on their way (and there very well may be...who know...he won't let me look in his mouth!).  But this morning I decided to try something.  Yes - I just now figured this one out!

So, I went in and got one of Kyle's plastic bowls and put a few cheerios in it.  I brought it to the living room, where Kyle was playing.  He kept playing, but in between his busyness he would come over and take a cheerio, and then go play again.  He did this until they were all gone.  I let him play for a while, and then he let me know when he was ready to sit down for breakfast!  This was a miracle!  He went in his high chair without a fight, and actually ate!

I think that in the morning he just needs some time to wake up, and he is too busy playing to be interested in eating.  But, I also think that without the snack he actually gets too hungry and then is cranky when we sit down to eat.  Thus, throwing his food on the floor, and not eating very well.

I'll try it again tomorrow.  Snack during his morning play time, and then breakfast at the table.  Here's hoping mommy has this one figured out!  :)

Balls In The Bucket & Donut Rolls

I took Kyle to his gymnastics class this morning at the Little Gym.  We usually go on Saturday morning, all three of us...but we missed last Saturday, so I took Kyle this morning for his make-up class.  He was a little shy at first because there were new parents and new kids there that he's never met before.  We did see a couple familiar faces, but we made new friends today.  :)

Kyle walked the balance beam (I held his hands of course), and he explored all the equipment.  They set the gym up differently every week, so the kids always have new things to explore, and it never looks the same.  It's a good thing...it keeps Kyle interested...otherwise he would get bored of it.  We played with the shakers, and popped bubbles with our fingers.  Kyle did backwards flips with mommy, and rolls with mommy.  It was a lot of fun, and both of us were smiling and laughing!

They have this big blow up mat that they call an "air track" at the gym.  It's like a jumping castle but with no walls.  They take it out every now and again, but not every week.  Today we played on the air track.  Kyle was a little nervous about riding it today while it inflated (he didn't throw a fit or anything, he was just a little apprehensive about being on there while it filled up).  He is usually fine about riding it while it fills up, but I think with all the new people today for some reason he wasn't so sure.  He did somersaults and crawled around on the air track, and then when it was time to put it away, all the parents and kids sat together on top to take a ride down while it deflated.  Kyle was fine sitting with me for that part.  :)

Every week they dump out a big bin full of balls for the kids to play with.  It's one of Kyle's favorite parts of gym I think.  He is starting to get the idea of kicking the balls, but it's still a work in progress.  When Miss Kristy (the teacher) put the big garbage can back out to put the balls away, Kyle walked right over and put his ball in the can, before any directions were even given.  He's got the routine down for sure!  Ha, ha!


For the "skill of the week", Kyle stood up next to a big "donut" (circular mat), and with Miss Kristy and I spotting his arms and legs, he rolled up and around over the top, and when he came back down (head first)...he put his hands down, tucked his head, and did a somersault.  He wasn't so sure about the whole thing when he was going up and around the top (he gave a couple tiny wiggles, but never said a word), but then when we got to the somersault part he realized he was fine.  Silly little guy!


We go again for class this Saturday, and I can't wait to see what new things he will learn!

Kyle's Latest & Greatest...

I figured it was about time to do a Kyle update on all his new things these days.  He is a very busy little guy!  Kyle will be 15 months old in 6 days.  He is walking like a pro, and exploring everything new that he can get his hands on!  He likes to climb on whatever he can, and he's an expert at pulling books off the shelves.  He is very happy, healthy, and engaged!

He is starting to talk a little.  He says 'out', and wants to play outside all the time now!  He also says 'at' for cat...or anything that he knows belongs to the cat (like the cats toy mouse).  He tries to say milk, and he says 'hot'.  He understands everything we say, and follows our directions so well!

He has learned to be very gentle with the dog and cat.  He pets gently with an open hand.  We have caught him "petting" other children's hair, just like the animals.  LOL  Kids are so funny!  :)  He is very good at sharing with others, whether it be his food, drink, or toys.

Kyle still goes to bed between 6-7pm...but usually it's closer to 6 than 7.  He usually sleeps 13 hours at night.  I think he's been trying to move into one nap a day.  So some days he takes a 2 or 3 hour nap and that's it.  If he takes a 1.5 hour nap in the morning he usually takes another short nap in the afternoon.

Kyle is really cute with his stuffed animals...he likes to give them hugs, and lately he has been putting them on the glider chair and rocking them.  It's pretty cute!  He likes opening and closing doors, he thinks that is great fun.

We've been having a hard time getting Kyle to eat lately.  I think he is teething still.  His 7th tooth came in a few days ago, but I think there are more on the way.  So, today when Kyle walked over to his high chair, set his ball on the seat, and tried to climb up, it was amazing!  He has never asked to get in his high chair before, so I was shocked!  He did actually eat a little after I put him in his chair.  Hurray!

When Josh got home from work today Kyle was playing with us really cute.  Josh was at one end of the couch and I was at the other.  Kyle was running back and forth from one of us to the other, laughing all the while.  It was so cute!

Kyle is still trying to figure out his sorting blocks.  He can consistently get the circle in the circle hole...but is still trying to figure out the other shapes.  He's learning so quick, so I have no doubt he'll have those figured out pretty soon.  :)

We still have Kyle's car seat backwards.  We are going to keep it that way for as long as we can.  According to the AAP, the new recommended age for a rear facing car seat is 2 years minimum.  This seems like a long time, I know, but it really is safer if you can pull it off.  You can view this video about the safety of rear facing car seats vs. forward facing.  Kyle doesn't complain about being backwards which is helpful.  :)

That's all I can think of at the moment.  I'm sure there are more cute things he is doing that I will think of later!  I'm just trying to keep a little journal here, so that I don't forget these things, and Kyle will have this information when he gets older.  :)  If you are following my blog, hit the follow button.  All that does is let me know who is interested in my blog.  It's just nice to know that people are checking out my site.  :)  That's all for now...  Good Night.

Fun Things We Like To Do In Tucson

Well, our list of recreational activities got shorter after Kyle was born... but we have new things we like to do as a family that are fun for Kyle.  :)

Our very favorite thing (especially Kyle's favorite thing) is going to The Little Gym.  It is a gymnastics center that is made for little people.  The staff is so great, and all of the parents and kids there are so nice!  All the children get along, share, and play so nice together.  It is just such a joy to go there to play.  :)  We go once a week for a parent/child class, and then they have two days a week where they have "open gym" for an hour.  We have made some new friends there, and it is just so much fun for all of us.

When Kyle first started out at the Little Gym, he was crawling, but not walking yet.  I was watching all the walking kiddos walk the balance beam, and I remember thinking...'I can't imagine Kyle being big enough to do that.'  LOL  Here we are...Kyle is walking...and he can walk the balance beam!  :)  Time goes so fast!  Kyle loves doing somersaults, climbing all the mats and obstacle courses, walking the beam, hanging on the high bar, climbing the 'alphabet wall', playing with shakers (and he especially likes taking all the shakers out of the tub and just plays with the plastic tub!).  He has learned how to throw balls, put things away, and share with other children.  Fun for the whole family...and a great place for Kyle to learn good social skills with other kids.  :)

We also like to go to the library "baby read" (it's free!).  They have separate classes for different ages.  Kyle is still in the younger of the two classes...but moving up there quickly!  At the library, the lady usually reads one or two short books, and the rest of the time is playing and singing (as a group).  She has a bubble machine, and the kids love to pop the bubbles.  At the very end there are a couple buckets of toys that are left out for the kids to stay and play with, while the parents mingle.  Kyle seems to have a good time, and it's a nice place to meet new people.  Good price tag...free!  :)

We sometimes go to Bookman's, they have a "children's book read" there as well (also free).  However, theirs is a bit too formal of a setting for Kyle right now.  The kids all sit in their parent's laps, while stories are read for about 30 minutes or so.  Kyle is not into sitting right now...he's into exploring!  So, we haven't made that one of our frequently visited locations.  They provide snacks and drinks for the kids, and they sometimes give out $5 free kids book credit. So, that's a nice perk...we get to leave with a couple new books for free.  :)  Maybe when Kyle gets a little older we'll go more often.

We have a membership to the Reid Park Zoo.  It's a very fun place to take Kyle, and it gives mommy a chance to get a little exercise in (which is much needed!).  Kyle's favorite animal is the giraffe.  Last time we were there, we fed the giraffes for the first time.  Well...I fed the giraffe, and held Kyle so he could watch.  When he gets older, he can feed them himself, and I'm sure he will love it!  There is a play area with fake grass where kids can run around and play.  That is where Kyle started rolling as a mode of transportation for the very first time (I was lucky enough to get it on video!).  It's nice having a membership, because we can go whenever we want, and for 30 minutes if we want to...and we don't have that feeling like we wasted money for such a short visit.  Now that the weather is cooling down, I'm sure we will be making a lot more trips to the zoo.  It was just too hot during the summer, so we only went a couple times.  Zoo weather is back, hurray!!

We also have a membership to the Desert Museum.  We like to go there as a family trip, since it's such a drive.  We leave during Kyle's nap time so he can sleep on the way there.  Josh and I like it there, and I think Kyle will enjoy it more and more as he gets older.

Those are just a few of the places we like to frequent here in Tucson.  I'm sure the list will expand as Kyle gets older!!

Fall Fun 2009 - Apple Annie's

We took Kyle to Apple Annie's Fall Festival in Wilcox, AZ yesterday to take pictures with the pumpkins and enjoy the outdoors.  It turned out to be a pretty warm day!  We didn't do too much while we were there, but it was nice to be outside enjoying the weather.  The fields of sunflowers were really pretty!

 

 

If you wanted to pick your own pumpkins from the patch, they had tractors pulling trailers with bails of hay to sit on for your ride out to the patch.  We didn't go out to the pumpkin patch, or take a ride, but Kyle really liked watching the tractors!  :)  They were selling fresh produce and preserves, sunflowers, and pumpkins.  We enjoyed taking pictures of Kyle with the pumpkins.

 

 

 

And Kyle enjoyed playing in the trough full of corn kernels!  He thought it was GREAT!  Daddy buried him, and he thought it was so much fun!

 

 

The Polio Vaccine

This statement from the conclusion at the end of the book, Vaccines: Are They Really Safe & Effective?, fits me perfectly before I started doing some research!

"Some mothers have long suspected that vaccines may not be appropriate for their children, but they worry about whether they can make the decision not to vaccinate and still be strong enough to face their pediatrician, family and friends."

In this entry I will quote a few different books, all by different authors.  The titles and authors can all be found on the parenting book list on the left side bar.  My hope is that I can share just a glimpse of what I've learned about the polio vaccine, without you having to read a bunch of books.  I do urge you to do your own research so you can fill in the dots and come to your own conclusions.  Lets start at the beginning.

What Is Polio? (from Vaccines: Are They Really Safe & Effective?)

"Polio is a contagious disease caused by an intestinal virus that may attack nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord.  Symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, and vomiting.  Some victims develop neurological complications, including stiffness of the neck and back, weak muscles, pain in the joints, and paralysis of one or more limbs or respiratory muscles.  In severe cases it may be fatal, due to respiratory paralysis."

Now that we know what it is, lets learn some more facts about polio, and the polio vaccine.  These are the things that my pediatrician never told me.  We were encouraged to give Kyle the vaccine, with no discussion...and we did.  Why didn't I ask more questions...?

"Many people mistakenly believe that anyone who contracts polio will become paralyzed or die.  However, in most infections, caused by polio there are few distinctive symptoms.  In fact, 95 percent of everyone who is exposed to the natural polio virus won't exhibit any symptoms, even under epidemic conditions."  (Vaccines: Are They Really Safe & Effective?)

"No cases of wild polio have occurred in the United States since 1979.  The risk of a child acquiring polio in the United States is zero, except from the vaccine itself.  All cases of paralytic polio in this country since 1979 were either caused by the oral vaccine or contracted in a foreign country during travel.  The risk of acquiring wild polio in the United States is zero."  (The Vaccine Guide: Risks and Benefits for Children and Adults)

"One of the little known facts about the early polio vaccine is that millions of doses were contaminated with a monkey virus (SV40) that causes cancer in laboratory animals, but which government officials insist to this day is not dangerous to humans.  Not everyone agrees with that claim, however.  SV40 appears to also have been involved in causing or contributing to a type of lung cancer called mesothelioma.  The contaminated polio vaccine [with SV40] was administered to ninety-eight million Americans before the Food and Drug Administration required manufacturers to screen for the virus." (What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccines)

 There is another important debate about the polio vaccine... the link between the polio vaccine and the spread of HIV.  I won't discuss that here, you can read about that more on your own, if you wish to do so.    The book, Vaccine Safety Manual, By: Neil Z. Miller (page 71 and on) goes into detail about this subject and the author sites the references for all of the information he provides.

Several studies have shown that injections increase susceptibility to polio.  I would guess this has to do with the lowered immune system that vaccines create.  Our bodies are built with a strong immune system to fight off these diseases, but then you go and mess with the immune system, and now it can't handle the load if it has to.  Some will argue that the decrease of polio was because of the vaccine, but there are many studies to support the argument that polio was on a steady decrease before the polio vaccine was ever introduced.

Many people don't know that most vaccines are made in either animal tissue, or aborted human fetal tissue.  It's true.  I certainly didn't know this until my recent research into vaccines.  The polio vaccine specifically is grown in monkey kidney tissue.

"The danger in using monkey tissue to product human vaccines is that some viruses produced by monkeys may be transferred to humans in the vaccine, with very bad health consequences.  Desrosier (Harvard Medical School professor) also warned that testing can only be done for known viruses, and that our knowledge is limited to about "two percent of existing monkey viruses."  ......

Despite the polio vaccine's long history of animal-virus contamination, today's inactivated shot is manufactured in much the same way as earlier versions.  "The viruses are grown in cultures of a continuous line of monkey kidney cells....supplemented with newborn calf serum..." The vaccine also contains two antibiotics (neomycin and streptomycin) plus formaldehyde."  (Vaccines:  Are They Really Safe & Effective?)

That makes me want to run right out and get one!  Geez!  And we are putting this stuff right into our children's blood stream!   We don't know what kind of contamination is happening in these vaccines...and it sounds like even the experts don't know for sure either!  And did you see the word formaldehyde?  I am learning that this is a common additive to some of our popular vaccines.  Personally I would never let Kyle drink any amount of formaldehyde, so then I think to myself...why would I allow anyone to inject any amount of it into his blood stream?  Formaldehyde is being studied, and according to the National Cancer Institute, is possibly linked to several different cancers.  In the case of the polio vaccine, why take the chance of vaccine side effects (whether it be short term or long term), when the likelihood of getting wild polio is slim to none!  Needless to say...Kyle will not be receiving another polio vaccine!

Again, I loose trust in the system, when 98 million people were vaccinated with a contaminated polio vaccine before the FDA required the manufactures to screen for the SV40 virus. It makes me think...what contaminants are in our current vaccines that are known (or not known)...but are not being screened for...?  Especially when we are talking about a brand new H1N1 vaccine that we don't know for sure what the effects will be.  I think you can guess our families position on the H1N1 vaccine by now.  :)

I want you all to understand, I am not trying to tell anyone what to do regarding vaccines and their children (that is your own decision to make)...I merely hope to share some information that makes people think!  It certainly has gotten me thinking, for sure!  We, as parents, need to ask more questions.  In my experience, the information that the pediatrician who is recommending the vaccine, tends to be one sided (on the side of the vaccine, and not the risks of them).  I wish I had asked more questions...but I didn't know what questions to ask!  I now know.

Sesame Street, Or A Walk Down The Street?

I grew up watching TV, like almost everyone else I know.  Rainbow Bright, Popples, Shera, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, Dark Wing Duck, Three's Company, Who's The Boss....just to name a few of my favorites growing up.  My mom and I used to watch Gilmore Girls together every week.  I have always loved watching television!

Along my way, a couple things have changed my amount of viewing hours.  Growing up, if I wasn't watching TV, or I didn't have a friend available to hang out with (especially in my teen years)...I didn't know what to do with myself.  In my teenage years, and even college years, my mom used to tell me, "Beth, you need to have a hobby.  Something you can do by yourself.  You need to be able to entertain yourself."  She would tell me the story about when she was little, growing up on the farm, and she would play with her 13 cats.  She had one that would let her dress it up like a doll.  (Poor cat!)  But she lived too far away to always have someone to play with...so she had to learn to entertain herself.

In other words, I need to learn how to be happy just being with myself.  Hmmm, that sounds boring!  I was never able to really attain that goal, until I was pregnant and had the house to myself all day.  I started doing lots of reading, and house cleaning, and sometimes I would just sit and think, and be perfectly happy doing it!  For the first time in my life, I didn't need television, or any other outside source to make me happy.  I was happy in my own company!  (Only took me 28 years to figure it out!)

After my mother passed away in 2003, I realized how many things I still needed to learn from her, and that I had so many unanswered questions!  One of the biggies is that she would always try to get me to come into the kitchen while she was cooking, so that I could learn how to do it myself.  I was never interested in taking her up on the offer, because I was always busy watching some TV program that was so important at the time.  Do I even remember what I was watching?  Nope, it obviously wasn't that important!  I always thought I had more time...that I would take a cooking lesson from her later.  Always later!  But that later never came, and I missed out!

I do still watch some TV, don't get me wrong!  But, every time I turn a program on, I hear my dad's voice say, "Will watching this program be the best use of your time?  Will it significantly benefit your life today?"  Yep, 29 years old, and I still hear my dad in my head lecturing me about my TV programs!  LOL  But it's true...I make different choices in what I watch now.  I do not just flip channels to see what is on because I am bored.  I no longer waste my time on programs that are not important to me.  I Tivo the programs that are most important, and watch those if I get the chance.  My life does not revolve around the TV anymore, or what is on it, it's amazing!  I spend so much more of my time reading (and blogging) now.  :)

When Kyle was born, Josh and I decided that we would limit our TV watching.  We decided that it was important to focus on Kyle and not our silly TV programs.  We started only watching TV at night, after Kyle went to sleep.  I do not watch any television during the day at all.  I haven't for 15 months (since Kyle was a baby)...aren't you so impressed??!!!  I am!  It was an adjustment for me, for sure!  In fact, we don't even have a TV in our living room anymore.  It is unplugged and stored in our office right now.  Kyle never watches TV, and I don't watch during the day when he is awake...so why not turn the living room into a play room, since that's all we do in there anyway?  Josh and I do have a TV in our bedroom...so after Kyle does to bed at night, we will sometimes watch some Tivo, or a DVD in there.

I've done a little reading about television and children.  One of the concerns with children watching television is the possibility of ADD and ADHD.  The biggest concern about letting your baby watch television, is that most of the time that means that the parents are not engaging meaningfully with their children.  It takes away from the experience of interacting and learning from a real person vs. a television program.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 2 not watch television, and limited television for older children.

The AAP has the following very clear position on kids/babies and television:

“Children of all ages are constantly learning new things. The first 2 years of life are especially important in the growth and development of your child's brain. During this time, children need good, positive interaction with other children and adults. Too much television can negatively affect early brain development. This is especially true at younger ages, when learning to talk and play with others is so important.

Until more research is done about the effects of TV on very young children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend television for children age 2 or younger. For older children, the Academy recommends no more than 1 to 2 hours per day of educational, nonviolent programs. “

I believe that my time is better spent playing with Kyle, helping him explore and learn how to navigate in this world.  :)  Sure, there have been times when I thought, boy it would be nice to just have a few minutes... But, I have never done it.  I've never actually used the TV as a babysitter.  I am shocked, because before I had Kyle I never thought I would feel this way about my kid watching television.  I grew up watching TV!  So weird!

In fact, if I was to try to use TV to distract him for a few minutes, it would fail...Kyle doesn't seem to have any interest in watching TV!  I used to let him watch about 5 minutes of Sesame Street while I cut his nails.  But, I usually only got a successful 2 minutes out of him before he was off and running!  He just has no interest in sitting there long enough to watch.  Maybe since he doesn't watch television he won't get brainwashed by all the commercials of all the toys he has to have!  LOL

Kyle would rather be off exploring new things, or playing outside... which is fine with me!  In the long run, I'm sure it's more healthy for him.  It's definitely a lot more work for mommy, because that means that I have to entertain him all day long!  But, Kyle is a happy (and very busy) little guy, and I think it's all worth it in the end.  I just hope we can keep it up as he gets older!  Instead of Sesame Street, we take Kyle for walks around the neighborhood in his little blue car.  He LOVES this car!!!  :)

Thanks mom, for the hard lesson that I had to learn on my own.  Maybe now Kyle will have more time with his parents, learning things and engaging with family activities!  I am learning how to navigate in this life, and you are my #1 example.  I hope to be just as wonderful of a mother to Kyle as you were to me!  I love you, and I miss you!

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep!

I would consider myself one of the most blessed mothers in the world!  My baby likes to sleep!  :)  It didn't start out that way...I'll tell you how we got there.

Kyle was nursing about every one to two hours at the beginning and was sleeping about 4-6 hour chunks at night.  I was sleeping on the couch (in the recliner chair) because of my c-section recovery.  It was too hard to get in and out of bed, so I pretty much lived on the couch for the first month or so.  Kyle did not want to be put down for the first month, he wanted to be held all the time.  So, out of respect and support for me, my darling husband also slept on the couch, and each night we took turns holding Kyle for the night while we slept.  He liked to sleep on our chest all curled up in a little ball.

The problem was that Kyle had his awake hours in the evening, and we couldn't seem to get him to sleep until about 1:00AM every night.  This was exhausting for all of us!  All I wanted was some good rest!  I prayed every night for just one good night of sleep!  I was up nursing with him around the clock, and I was still trying to recover from the surgery.  I just needed a break to rest and sleep!  (Yeah, right...nursing moms don't get to rest...they work 24/7!)  The 2008 Beijing Olympics were playing when Kyle was born, so Josh and I would stay up watching the Olympics on TV while we tried to get Kyle to wind down for the night (on the couch, of course, lol).

So then I came across a sleep book called The No-Cry Sleep Solution.  I figured it was worth reading if it could help us all get some sleep.  :)  There were a couple things that stood out for me in this book that I think made a great deal of difference in Kyle's sleep habits.  These points from page 103 of her book stood out to me like flashing lights!

"Many people put their babies to bed much too late, often hoping that if baby is "really tired" he will sleep better.  This often backfires because baby becomes overtired and chronically sleep deprived.

A bay's biological clock is preset for an early bedtime. When parents work with that time, a baby falls asleep more easily and stays asleep more peacefully.  Most babies are primed to go to sleep for the night as early as 6:30 or 7:00 PM.  It is helpful if you establish your baby's bedtime and plan for it by beginning your pre-bed routine an hour before, if at all possible.

I often hear about how babies and young children have a "meltdown" period at the end of the day, when they get fussy, whiny, and out of sorts.  I now suspect that it's simply a sign of overtired children longing for sleep."  (page 103)

 One day it just clicked in my head.  I realized that maybe we were waiting until Kyle was too sleepy to try to put him down!  Maybe he was so overtired that it took us until 1:00 AM to get him to finally fall asleep!  So, I decided to really pay attention to Kyle and see when he was showing signs of being tired.  (Obviously any signs he was giving, were so subtle that we weren't even noticing!)

Here are a few signs of fatigue that your baby may demonstrate (these are from the book): decreasing activity, quieting down, losing interest in people and toys, rubbing eyes, looking "glazed", fussing, yawning, lying down on the floor or on a chair, caressing a lovey or asking for a pacifier, a bottle, or to nurse.  She then talks about how important the timing is too.  (I'm just paraphrasing here.)  If you wait until your baby is exhibiting signs of being tired, and then start the whole night time routine...by the time you are all ready for bed...they are wide awake again.  So, I realized that I needed to pay closer attention to Kyle and his signs of being tired, so that I could start a bed time routine early enough to get him down before he was too tired.

I was also concerned that if I got him down too early that he would be wide awake in the middle of the night, or really early in the morning.  I realized from this book that this is not the case (who knew?!).

"For babies, early to bed does not mean early to rise!  Most babies sleep better and longer with an earlier bedtime.  Many parent are afraid to put their baby to bed so early, thinking that they will then face a 5AM wake-up call.  Or they may come home from work and want to keep baby up late to play.  But keeping your little one up too late backfires, and he becomes overtired, distressed, and too wound up to settle down, and more often, a late night is the one followed by that early morning awakening." ( page 103-104)

I started watching Kyle very closely, after reading this information.  What do you know...he was showing signs of being tired way earlier than I would have even imagined!  He was wanting to go to bed around 7:00PM!  So, I gave it a shot...I put him down right away...and what do you know...he actually went to sleep!  It was probably the best nights rest we had gotten thus far, to our amazement.  (Which is still not saying too much, because we were still up to nurse during the night.)  But, he did sleep longer in the morning hours!

He was also letting us put him down in the co-sleeper at night (this was around one month old), which was a step in the right direction.  He did sleep in bed with us during the late morning hours, but for most of the night he was staying in the co-sleeper, right next to my side of the bed.

I think Kyle was about 3 months old when I put him to bed in his room for the first time.  I was trying to do naps in his crib before that, but those were not super successful.  But...ever since the first night he went to sleep in his room, he's been in there ever since!  He would wake up in the early morning around 4 or 5 AM to nurse, and I would bring him into bed with me to nurse and we would fall asleep together there.  We did that for about a month.  After that, he was in his own bed for the whole night (around 4 months old I think).

Over those first few months, I realized that his bedtime was changing!  It was getting earlier and earlier!  At one point he was going to bed around 4:30 or 5:00 PM!  Josh didn't see Kyle for about  a week straight, because he would leave in the morning before Kyle woke up, and he got home from work after Kyle went to bed for the night.  It was crazy!  But the most consistent bedtime from month 4, until now actually (almost month 15) has been 6:00 PM!  I start Kyle's dinner around 5:00 or 5:30 PM, then we do bath, pj's, read a couple of books, we rock while he drinks his milk, I put him in his crib, and he goes right to bed all on his own!

Kyle learned how to put himself to bed at a very early age.  Which I think is a good thing.  :)  People have their own opinions on this subject, but we did decide to let Kyle "cry it out" at bedtime so that he could learn to put himself to sleep.  The very first time we did it he only cried for 30 minutes, and was out like a light!  The longest he had ever cried it out at night before bed was 30 minutes (which is not bad at all, compared to some!).  The doctor had recommended that we do this, because Kyle was waking a lot during the night, and the doctor said that this was because I was nursing Kyle to bed every night.  He would then wake up in the night and think, "Hey, when I fell asleep I had my mommy and a boob, where is my boob?  I have to have it to fall back asleep!"  So, I was having to get up several times every night to nurse him back to sleep.  He didn't want daddy at all, he wanted to nurse with his mommy!  The doctor said that he was old enough that he could sleep through the night without nursing (I think he was around 6 months old)...that he had simply gotten into the habit of nursing to fall sleep!

For us, this advice was a blessing!  We let Kyle learn how to fall asleep without mommy (and her boob), and it has created the most peaceful night time in our house!  Kyle still goes to bed around 6:00PM (sometimes 7 PM), and will sleep through the night until about 7:00 or 8:00 AM.  He never sleeps less than 12 hours, and often sleeps 13 hours at night.  Kyle never fusses, cries, or fights us at night time, he loves his routine, and he loves his sleep!  Am I a lucky mom or what?!!!

We have finally moved into taking one nap a day.  This started about a week or so ago.  Now Kyle goes down (almost like clockwork, and with no fussing, which is amazing!!!) at 10:00 AM for his nap, and sleeps for 2 or 3 hours.  We have a nice sleep routine in our house, and I feel so lucky!

It has been hard on Josh and I this last year, as far as the social life goes.  We pretty much miss out on any activities that happen after 6:00 PM (unless we have Grandma Buchanan or Grandpa Hayes come while Kyle is sleeping, so we can go out).  We decided that it's more peaceful for everyone if we just let Kyle go to bed when he wants to...which happens to be around 6:00 PM.  If we keep him up late, he is just fussy, so it doesn't make for a pleasant experience for any of us. We'd rather have everyone get a good nights sleep, than try to force him to stay up late at night.  I've also noticed that if we keep him up late, he night wakes more, wakes up earlier in the morning, and takes horrible naps the next day.  It takes us 2 or 3 days to get back into rhythm.  It's just not worth it to me.  So, we stick to our routine, and it works pretty well for our family!  :)  Josh and I figure we can sacrifice a little bit by staying in at night, if it promotes healthy sleep and a happy baby.  Perhaps if we had known to start bedtime earlier, we wouldn't have been up until 1:00 AM for so many nights, who knows!  Something to try with the next one... :)

If you read my earlier entries, you probably read about our first overnight without Kyle.  Kyle is getting old enough now that he is doing okay with Grandma B. doing his routines in place of mommy.  This is starting to give Josh and I a little more freedom, which is nice!

Finding that "perfect" sleep routine was definitely a process, and there was a huge learning curve on our part, and some sacrifice involved...but we finally got there!

Even if you don't have a fussy sleeper, I do recommend the book, it has lots of tips to help establish good sleep routines and much more.  Maybe it's not for everybody, but it worked for us!  :)

Sweet Dreams!