Most Pierced Woman ... Whoa

Yeah, has anyone else read about Elaine Davidson? She is the most pierced woman in the world and has been since 2000 when she had 462 piercings. She now has 6,005 piercings (over 1,000 of which she claims are internal ... according to foxnews.com). What is she thinking? She claims to not even enjoy getting pierced (which was my first thought when I heard about her). What would possess somone to do this to their body?

Other Mothers

I often think about all the other mothers out there and wonder what their lives are like.


For instance, we met a blind mother-to-be at our Beginning with Baby class. What is life like at her house? How does she care for her child? Does she have help or can she do it all on her own? Every so often when I look at my son, I am reminded that she has never seen her child. What must that be like?


On the other side of the spectrum, there is Nadya Suleman. *sigh* How can she possibly have the capacity to care for all her fourteen children? Unmarried and unemployed, she seems foolishly hopeful that this will all work out in the end. Now, that is not to say that if a person is married and/or has a job that things will certainly work out. But she has no help (besides her parents). I could go on and on for days about how irresponsible I think she is, but I will stop there. We've all heard it before.

My fascination with the lives of other mothers probably started when I began reading about Christine Coppa, blogger for Glamour.com and WEtv.com and stylishly single mom. She gave readers a window into her life and from the minute I started reading her blog, when her son J.D. was just a bun in the oven, I was hooked. Reading about her experiences also made it easier to dream about having a son of my own ... I hadn't had much experience with little boys and honestly had no idea what to expect. (By the way, it is a true JOY!)

It takes all kinds, doesn't it?

Baby Whisperer ... hmmm

Well, as my baby boy hasn't been taking very good naps lately (and still gets up once a night ... sometimes twice), I decided to search out some "professional" advice. A friend of my sister's (Hi, Jes!) suggested Tracy Hogg's The Baby Whisperer. As he only naps in half hour increments giving me very little time to read without distraction, I decided to shortcut through the book to the sleep section (since he's a good eater and all ... at 21 lbs. I'd say so anyways). I know, this is probably not the ideal way to follow someone's "teachings", but it's a big thick book and I don't have a ton of time.

So I'm reading the book and now have begun to wonder, "Am I an awful parent?" She has all these schedules mapped out, how feedings are at EXACTLY the same time every day, etc. She talks about how at four months the baby should be switched from a three-hour feeding schedule to a four-hour feeding schedule ... my baby is almost six months old and still eats about every three hours. Am I stunting him for life?! Agh!

I need honest answers, people ... am I doing this parenting thing all wrong? Is a more relaxed, slightly haphazard parenting style going to end up hurting my son in the long run? Should I be doing what feels right or should I be listening more to the "professionals"? (Our ped told us to put him in his crib for an hour twice a day ... what he does with that hour is up to him, even if he cries the entire time. Didn't even do it once.)

*On a semi-related note, my son just took an hour and a half nap because I let him babble himself back to sleep when he woke up at the 30 minute mark ... hmmm.*

A Good Thing

My son is sick ... no, that is not a good thing. But his little nose is starting to run something fierce and the tissues I had were making his nose red, so I decided (at 9:00 p.m.) that I needed to go to the store to get some. I was going to take him with me (yes it was raining cats and dogs), but my husband said he could take a break from all the work he had to do to watch him. So I scooted out in the rain, in the dark, with a bit of a bad mood cloud over my head.

When I got to the store, I had trouble finding a parking spot and had to park a little ways away. I made a run for it inside and that's when I saw him ... my favorite greeter. He's probably in his forties and is confined to a wheelchair, but every time I see him and he smiles at me it makes my day.

"Good evening, darlin'!" he smiled and said to me. The clouds lifted, my smile came back, and I was able to focus on the task at hand: Puffs Plus for my sick little boy.

I don't know his name or anything about him, except for the fact that he is such a nice man. And he is a good thing in my life.

What are good things in your life?

Beer Me Bread

Does anyone else out there love beer bread? I do! And I HATE beer. But in bread ... yummy!

I had a hankering for some beer bread the other day, so my mom (bless her heart) found me this awesome recipe on allrecipes.com. My husband made it last night and it was super!

Easy Beer Bread Mix

2 1/2 cups self-rising* flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 (12 fluid oz.) can beer
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch baking pan.

2. In a bowl, mix the self-rising* flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Pour in the beer, and mix until just moistened. Transfer to the prepared baking pan. Top with the melted butter.

3. Bake 45 to 55 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

* If you aren't interested in buying a whole package of self-rising flour, you can make it yourself.
1 cup flour + 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt = 1 cup self-rising flour

Try it out! It tastes fantastic. I used Miller Lite beer, but I'm wondering if a honey wheat would add a different flavor.

On a side note, the check-out girl at the grocery store didn't card me when I bought the beer. What the heck?! Am I getting that old?

Sick Baby

I think my son might be sick. He has had a really stuffy nose since last night and his little fake cough that he does has turned into something a little more substantial. Poor kiddo. He even had trouble eating because his nose was so stuffy! I tried to suction the snot out, but I didn't get much ... and it made him cry so hard.

I feel like such a bad mommy, but he needed to have his nose cleaned out and he doesn't know how to blow it on his own yet.

Any ideas on how to make my boy feel better? I thought about steaming up the bathroom to clear things up ... has that worked for anyone else?

Sun Babe

So as I mentioned in my previous post, we are taking a trip to Florida at the end of March. Hopefully the weather will be nice and warm, as I'm hoping to get my son into the pool for the first time. That said, I am concerned about sunscreen for him. We bought some yesterday at Ulta (Neutrogena Baby stuff ... looks promising), but I'm wondering where to put it on him. I know that sounds stupid, but think about it ... he doesn't know not to rub his eyes when it's on his hands, he sticks his hands and his feet in his mouth all the time, and should I put it on his scalp? He has really light hair and I would hate for his scalp to get burned, but I don't want the cradle cap to come back. (sigh) So much to think about.

Not to mention trying to pack for him ... oy! I just want to dump all his drawers and his entire closet into a suitcase and call it good. How do you pack for someone so small when the weather could be so variable? And all the toys he plays with ... what about those? Not to mention we need to bring his pack-n-play, car seat, some form of a high chair, etc.

I'm planning on buying his diapers down there ... no need to schlep them all the way from Michigan. But I will probably bring swim diapers with us in case they are tough to come by where we are staying.

Oh, and does anyone know of any baby lip balm that has sunscreen in it? We currently use one that doesn't have SPF but I'd like to find one if possible.

Post Baby Body and a Swimsuit

So we're heading to Florida in a few weeks (end of March) and I'm starting to look at my swimwear, wondering what in the world I should wear. I have lost all the baby weight, but my body looks nowhere near what it did before ... those 64 pounds had to go somewhere and my skin seems to have taken the brunt of it. It's not nearly as taut as it used to be, and I'm wondering if it will ever go back to the way it was.

Probably not, I know, I know.

Anyhow, last night I tried on some tankinis my sister loaned me and they just didn't seem to work. (sigh) Even though most of them had underwires, they didn't seem very supportive in the chest area. So I tried on my favorite halter bikini top ... and it fit! Well, generally speaking anyway, although I think it might make my dad a bit uncomfortable.

I was originally thinking I should go with a tankini to cover up the tummy (both the slightly saggy skin and the odd bruise I STILL have from my c-section), but now I'm wondering if a new bikini is in order for the support of my newly buxom chest. And is it okay for a mom to wear a bikini? I'm not talking the string variety, don't get me wrong. (cringe) But something with a bit of coverage and support ... would that be okay? Appropriate?

Brand Loyal to a Fault?

I don't know if any of you out there are like me, but I find myself being totally brand loyal. I buy Tide, Cascade, Downy, Jif, Kraft Cheese, Fiber One, etc.; I almost never buy the generic brand and rarely stray from the brand I am used to unless someone tells me they really liked this or that. When we lived in Dearborn, I saw that Farmer Jack's brand of grape juice was on sale, and since my husband is often shocked and appalled at the price of juice, so I decided to give it a try. Big mistake. It tasted disgusting! Maybe it was just me and what I am used to, but I could barely drink it.

I clip coupons and often have them for the brands I like to buy, but am I being silly? For example, I can buy Cascade brand dishwasher detergent with a coupon, OR I could buy the store brand for less. Inevitably I buy Cascade (though I do try to pair coupons up with sale prices), but in these difficult economic times I'm wondering if I'm doing the smart thing for my family.

Any advice or personal wisdom about brands and brand loyalty?

Best Bets: Baby Clothing

Hi there! Yes, I know ... I've only been a mom (officially) for a little under six months. But in the time I've been a mom, I have come to prefer a few products. Here are a few of my favorites in the clothing department.

Sleep Sacks (either by Halo or Carter's)

They are fantastic for our baby as he refused to be swaddled (either by a blanket or a swaddle-me sleeper). I never have to worry about a blanket covering his mouth and nose, and they always seem to keep him so warm and snuggly. If you want a sleep sack with sleeves for the cooler months, then you'll probably have to go with Carter's ... that said, they only come in one 0-9 mo. size - which our boy outgrew in month five or so. The Halo ones are generally sleeveless, come in a variety of sizes, and have a reverse-direction zipper for easy changes (and so the pull doesn't poke baby in the chin).

Carter's Wiggle-Proof Socks

Hallelujah! A sock that doesn't come off ... even if my son pulls on it. I don't have as much knowledge (price, sizes, etc.) on these as I should, but we just found them a month ago and they are much harder to come by. For some reason, Babies R Us doesn't seem to carry them very often. You'll have a much easier time finding them at Kohl's or JC Penny. If you can't find them and live in an area with a Meijer, you can try their Falls Creek brand tube socks for babies.

Carter's Drool Bibs

With a thin layer of water/drool repellant material in the center, these bibs are fantastic for keeping baby's clothes dry and moisture away from his/her skin. Another great feature of these bibs: a side closure. In fact, in my experience, any bib with a side closure is ideal; they allow you to fasten and unfasten the bib without having to hold the baby's head up for a long time, and the baby doesn't have to lay on a bulky, uncomfortable closure.

In general, I love Carter's products, but their clothing in particular has been a pleasure. Our son has a longer torso, and Carter's brand onesies and rompers offer more length in the torso than other brands do (namely Gerber and Little Ones). Plus, Babies R Us always seems to have some sort of deal going on Carter's clothes, so they end up being best price-wise as well.

Gymboree is also another good brand for baby clothes, albeit a little more on the expensive side. However, as my mom and sister can attest, they often have great deals on their out of season clothing ... as long as you are up for a little digging through some bins. And I must say, their clothes are extremely well-made and too cute for words.