Friday, August 27, 2010

Get into art


When is the last time you made art with this much wild abandon? 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

School is a lot of work.

First day of class. Assignments? Read 41 slides of lecture (this is an internet class). Read Chapter 1 in textbook. Watch a 4 hours film on AIDS. Read an article. Answer case study questions. And then discuss online in small group.

Thank goodness I am just taking one class!!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Back to School

It is back to school time. Now that my office is right dab in the middle of a college town, I have seen all the students trickle back into town. Kinda makes me feel old. However, we are never too old to learn, right? So, using my lovely tuition waiver I get as an employee, I am taking a class this semester. Intro to Epidemiology online. It will be useful knowledge for my job, and hopefully just generally interesting. I hope I still  have what it takes to study, etc! I'll keep you posted!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Monday, August 9, 2010

Rate Limiting Factor

Yesterday, Grandma YaYa came over and visited with the kids allowing Hubby and I to go do a task we have been wanting to get to, but have found very difficult with 2 little ones. Cleaning the garage. A messy garage is just not where you want to have them play. Also, it was really a task that the two of us needed to work on together, so leaving one of us to watch the kids just didn't help all that much.

Let me just say, it is AMAZING what you can get done when you are not having to simutaneously supervise children. Just one hour in the garage and we got so much done! What a rate limiting factor kids can be to project completion. I seriously think it would have taken most of the day to do what we did had we had to watch the kids as well. Is it pitiful that I am excited about having had the opportunity to clean my garage?

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Self Feeding Pros and Cons

Molly is now full fledged eating "real" food! It means I don't have to sit at the table with her and spoon feed her purees anymore. She can feed herself and that is great. However, with this milestone comes a con.




Massive clean up.

Hair, face, hands, arms, ears, elbows, clothes... and that's just Molly. Then there is the table, high chair, bib, and floor. It take a wet paper towel or two to clean her up, a dish cloth to the table and high chair, and a broom to the floor, and sometimes mop or sponge as well. For every meal.

Yes, the bib with the pocket does help. (Why didn't they think of this a long time ago? Genius.) But, really the only thing that would help minimize the mess is to put her in the yard to eat. And I guess that just wouldn't be cool.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Cindy Lou Who

Someone said that Molly reminds them of Cindy Lou Who because of her big blue eyes and long lashes. There is some resemblance. What do you think?


Hmmm... it's an idea for Halloween.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

In Honor of World Breastfeeding Week


Did you know?
Evidence shows that early initiation can prevent 22% of all deaths
among babies below one month in developing countries.


Did you also know that the World Health Organization suggests the followoing?

To enable mothers to establish and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for six months, WHO and UNICEF recommend:
  • Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life;
  • Exclusive breastfeeding - that is, the infant only receives breastmilk without any additional food or drink, not even water;
  • Breastfeeding on demand - that is, as often as the child wants, day and night;
  • No use of bottles, teats or pacifiers.
Breastmilk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life.

What every family and community has a right to know:
  1. Breastmilk alone is the best food and drink for an infant for the first six months of life. No other food or drink, not even water, is usually needed during this period.
  2. Newborn babies should be given to the mother to hold immediately after delivery. They should have skin-to-skin contact with the mother and begin breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
  3. Almost every mother can breastfeed successfully. Breastfeeding the baby frequently causes production of more milk. The baby should breastfeed at least eight times daily, day and night, and on demand.
  4. Breastfeeding helps protect babies and young children against dangerous illnesses. It also creates a special bond between mother and child.
  5. Bottle feeding and giving a baby breastmilk substitutes such as infant formula or animal milk can threaten the baby's health and survival. If a woman cannot breastfeed her infant, the baby can be fed expressed breastmilk or, if necessary, a quality breastmilk substitute from an ordinary clean cup.
  6. If a woman is infected with HIV, there is a risk that she can pass the infection to her infant through breastfeeding. In the first six months, this risk is much greater if the infant is fed both breastmilk and other liquids and foods than if fed breastmilk alone. Therefore, it is recommended that the baby receives breastmilk alone for the first six months, unless it is acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe to give breastmilk substitutes (infant formula) exclusively.
  7. A woman employed away from her home can continue to breastfeed her child. She should breastfeed as often as possible when she is with the infant and express her breastmilk when they are apart so that another caregiver can feed it to the baby in a clean and safe way.
  8. After 6 months of age, when babies begin to eat foods, breastfeeding should continue for up to two years and beyond because it is an important source of nutrition, energy and protection from illness. 


I have posted this before, but I will post again: 101 reasons to Breastfeed


Lastly, read this interesting article. The last line says:  “It’s all there for a purpose, though we’re still figuring out what that purpose is,” Dr. Mills said. “So for God’s sake, please breast-feed.”