How Old Is Your Child?

 

   If you've been around anyone with children or happen to have a few yourself, you know one of the first questions asked(other than what their name is) is how old they are. If they're under the age of 4 you will more than likely hear not a year but a number of months, usually a double digit of months.
    You're probably thinking right now, okay and your point? Exactly. Why do people get so annoyed and bent out of shape when people use the month measurement of age for their child. Maybe you've never heard anyone complain about it before, or maybe like myself you've seen some people write mile long rants on their social media accounts about someone having a 36 month old and not a 3 year old. But why?! Is it hurting anyone? Is it hurting the child? Are people just so opposed to math? Actually I totally understand the last one.
   Yes I get the whole thing about if you're 30 years old you don't say you're 360 months old, but who cares if someone did? For me this whole uproar is like getting mad if someone says 1 gallon or 4 quarts of water. It doesn't matter, they're the same thing, and most people know that.
   Now this blog post is by no means an attempt to demonize those of you who are annoyed by the month system. Hey, we all have things we get a little too exasperated by. For me, it's people who take up the whole grocery aisle. There's room for us all! I think sometimes we let ourselves get too irritated with the wrong things, like me with the aisle hogs. If only people were as irritated about things they could make a difference with. If we all banded together we could have wider grocery aisles for everyone, but I digress.
    For some parents calling their children by the month number instead of a year is just a way of cherishing the baby days. Those days when you clap over every new thing, and of course Instagram a picture of the moment with the appropriate hash-tags. The days of babyhood go by faster than you could believe. No matter how many people tell you "blink and you miss it", we all do. I'll probably keep going by the month with my son until I can't do it in my head. Or at least until he tells me to stop.
   So keep on calculating those months, and weeks, and days, and minutes, and soak each one in. Celebrate every first, and every last. It only comes around once, make it count.


                      Linking up with Natalie & Annie

Miller's 6 Month Update

  Hey y'all! This past Sunday Miller officially turned 6 months old, half a year...is that crazy or what?! I thought I should do a little update on Miller, because you only turn half a year old once...

Weight: 16 lb. 2.6 oz.

Clothes: Currently rocking mostly 3-6 or 6 months sizing wise(although he's almost ready for the next size).

Diaper: Size 2 for a couple months now already.

Food: Still doing well with his g-tube, and he gets to start on purees very soon!

Favorite toy: He loves his Little Tikes Play Triangle, for some reason he thinks he can get it in his mouth. His "o" ball and keys are a close second.

Best time of day: The morning time! He loves to talk and play then.

Likes: Being held, having his diaper changed(surprisingly!), having his face wiped, talking, Daniel Tiger, being rocked to sleep in his rock 'n' play, books, eating his fingers.

Dislikes: Not being held, having to have saline drops, baths, tummy time(except when he gets to do his tummy time laying on mommy).

Milestones: Miller just had his first appointment with a neonatologist developmental doctor. It went very well! They said he is right on target for 5 months, which is what he is expected to be developmentally since he was a month early. As far as sitting up goes he's getting stronger. His little head is finally starting to get more hair on it.





Before Church this past Sunday!

 

Five Under $5

  Well it's finally the weekend, we made it! *plays "We are the champions" so loud the neighbors complain* Maybe you've got big plans for your weekend, maybe you're just planning to not have any plans. Either way here's just a few things I've found lately that have brought a smile to my face, and for under $5!

   1. NYC Get It All Foundation- $3.99   
    I like this not only for the price, but it's convenient. If I'm running behind I can just swipe it all over my face and blend with my fingers. I can't do that with my usual foundation. It has surprisingly good coverage for being a inexpensive product too. I got it in light. I found this at Target, but I'm sure you can find it in other stores as well.

   
   2. E.L.F. Lip Kiss Balm- $2.00
    It goes on smooth, keeps my lips feeling moist, and has a nice hint of color without being obvious. I feel like going back and getting 10 of these just in case they discontinue it, which I kinda doubt they will if everyone else feels the same way about it. I got it in bare kiss. Again Target!

   3. Target Planners- $1.00
    Can you sense a theme here? Seriously though I love a good planner, but some of them can be a little pricey for something that you can only use for a year. Target's dollar section has a ton of cute ones. I found this one around the beginning of the year.

   4. Healthy Choice Café Steamers- $2.00
    I know, frozen food isn't real, there's too many unknowns, whatever. But I also know once Miller is down for naptime you don't just linger. You hustle. So obviously tv dinners are my friend. I like these because they don't make you think of a frozen dinner, and they're pretty tasty. The beef merlot is my favorite right now. My local Wal-Mart has them for only $2.00.

   5. Cute Wall Art- $3.00
    And for my last great find, I give you adorable wall art courtesy of, you guessed it, Target! This is just one of the cute things I've seen at Target lately. If you've looked on Etsy before you already know the sometimes outrageous prices some charge for something this cute. I plan to use this in Miller's nursery.
    

       Linking up with April, Christina, Natasha, & Darci

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, & Narci

 

 

When Your Child is Sick

  Hey y'all! I hope everyone's week is going well, this week has been better than the last week for us. You see Miller got his very first cold the Friday after Easter, and naturally we all got it too. So we've been busy with trips to the doctor, trips to the pharmacy, and trips to the couch so Miller can nap on mommy. Anyways, I thought I'd share a few thoughts from the brain of a mama with a sick babe.

• "Well for having a weakened immune system we're pretty lucky that this is his first cold and he's almost 6 months old."

• "Awww Daniel Tiger has a episode all about being sick....wait why isn't he going to the vet? This is incredibly inaccurate. "

• "There should be an easier way to give a baby nasal drops! Isn't there an app for that?!"

• "Parents should have immunity when their kids are sick. Don't get me wrong I'd rather have a 1,000 colds than Miller be sick once, but it's a new level of hard when you're both sick."

• "Oh wow, I lost a little weight! Jokes on you cold!"

• "Ugh liquid amoxicillin...we meet again. I had almost forgotten that smell. Until now."

• "If I'm going to get through this I'm going to need to double down on caffeine. I can probably Google how to put in a I.V...."

• "I never understood the people wanting a cure for the common cold. Now I do. Is there a walk for that?"

• "How is he this cute and energetic yet still so sick? I feel like death. Does he feel like death?"

• "I wonder how many days I can wear my hair in a messy bun before it stays that way permanently..."

• "When will this cold end?! Like is he going to college with this cold or what?!"

                    Linking up with Annie and Natalie

Beef Stroganoff

 Hey y'all! It's been a while since I've shared any yummy recipes, so why not share one today?! As usual it's super easy, and has become one of my favorite things to make for dinner. It's beef stroganoff!
  All you'll need is:

• 1 family size can of cream of mushroom soup
• 8 oz. sour cream
• jar of mushrooms(I used a small jar)
• 1 lb. of egg noodles( FYI I didn't use the full bag, probably about 3/4 was actually used)
• 1 packet of precooked beef (you can find it in the refrigerated section)
• A splash of milk

First you take the soup and the sour cream and heat it up in a skillet on the stovetop. I put a little milk in the soup can and pour it in the mixture just to dilute the thickness of the sauce. I then drain the jar of mushrooms and add them in as well. Make sure you continue to stir the sauce evenly. While the sauce is cooking I boil the noodles according to the packaging(which most packages take about 10 minutes). Before I put the beef in the sauce I cut it into smaller pieces and heat it in the microwave for a minute. Then once the noodles are finished I drain them and add them to the sauce. And that's it, voila'!
  I told you it was super easy. I wasn't a big fan of beef stroganoff until my mom made this about a year ago. Now it's in my top 5. I hope y'all enjoy this as much as I do, let me know how it turns out for y'all!

Miller's NICU Story

  Hey y'all! On my last post I touched briefly on Miller and his medical condition, but I felt it deserved a more detailed post.
   You might remember the term HIE(hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy), otherwise known as oxygen deprivation. Basically that means that for a period of time before Miller was born his oxygen supply was cut off therefore causing injury to his brain. HIE does not go away, it is a permanent condition of the brain. We have no way of knowing exactly when it happened. Now HIE can happen after birth but the way Miller's HIE presented it was pretty clear that his injury was prior to birth. Miller was very blessed in the sense that a lot of babies born with this injury can have organ failure, but he didn't. In fact at birth he presented fairly well, he was only taken to the NICU as a precaution with his lungs.
   The only sign and the way we found out that anything was amiss came a few hours later when I was holding Miller for the first time. I looked down at him in my arms and something seemed off. I can't even really remember exactly how it looked, but I knew right away. "Is he having a seizure?". The neonatologist took a look at him, and said no and that it was normal newborn behavior. I didn't even think about it later, taking what he said for face value.
   Fast forward to the next day, we were taking my aunt and cousin back to see Miller. We had just entered the NICU when the same doctor from the day before rushed over to us and asked if he could talk to us in private for a minute. It turned out it was a seizure. They knew because he had a few more that day. I was shocked. The whole pregnancy I had been concerned about him even getting the chance at life, I never even thought about this being a issue. I thought once he was out I could breathe easy.
    They called in the pediatric neurologist and ordered a EEG and a MRI. Over the next few days it was confirmed, it was HIE. The big concern at that time for getting him home would be feeding. That was his biggest hurdle. For the time being he had a NG tube(a feeding tube that goes through his nose), but he couldn't go home on a NG tube. The feeding specialist started working with him on his feeds. Unfortunately that was one of the areas that his HIE had affected. His swallow was out of sync causing silent aspirations after 7cc. After 2 swallow studies that had the same results it was finally time to make the hard decision to allow them to put a G tube in which would require surgery. After that it was just a countdown to home.   
    When I look back at Miller's time in the NICU it feels like another life entirely. The worry, the waiting, the what ifs, the second guessing. I remember the agony of knowing that if he had presented as severe(which his HIE presented severe on his MRIs) he could have had a cooling cap that has been used in the last few years to help babies appearing to have HIE hours after birth. I can recall waiting for him to come out of surgery strangely calm, then as soon as it was over questioning whether it was the right choice, even though the hospital said I had no other choice.
  I share this all because of the other parents that are maybe going through this right now, or have gone through this. Because I can remember sitting there in the hospital Googling every medical term I heard, reading every blog written by a parent who went through this. If we don't talk about this, who will?

Waiting for Miller's arrival!

Miller James is born!


 

His 1st picture in the NICU

The 1st time I held Miller

Chillin' under his bilirubin light

Headed for another test

His 1st Halloween was spent in the NICU, he also turned 2 weeks old that day!

Miller headed for PCN(Progressive Care Nursery, it's a step down from the NICU) the 1st time!

Right before his G-tube surgery