Eid

Yesterday on Eid.

He was so fascinated with his Alladin-like outfit, especially his shoes. He kept playing with them.

These are pics with our new camera, which after looking at the ones from yesterday, I HATE (the camera)!

Shake That Thing

I was laying down feeding Critter, was half asleep myself when I felt the earth move under my feet. The entire building shock. I heard and saw the mirror in the hallway banging against the wall. I thought they were doing plumbing work in the apartment upstairs. I checked the bathroom and kitchen to make sure the ceilings didn't fall because of the incompetent workers and was going to call the management company to complain about the workers upstairs.

Well, lucky for the non-existent workers upstairs, I turned on the radio to listen to music and heard that NYC felt the effects of an earthquake in Virginia. That is wild.

Bel Bambino

Guess who's going to Italia and taking his parents?

Photo Take Jan. 11, 2011 - Critter was 6-1/2 Months Old (The Italia Shirt Fit Him Then)

We're going for a month in September. I'm so excited. We've been planning this trip for several months now, and it's 3 weeks away! We have friends in Naples, and we'll be traveling with them (they have an almost 2 year old son) throughout Italy, and also going to Vienna and Munich.
Road Trip!!

I have lists of things I need to do, buy, pack. I need a pair of great walking shoes!

Traveling with a baby for a month is going to be interesting....but I think it'll be lots of fun.

La Dolce Vita!

Tinea VersiWHAT?

About three months after Critter arrived, I noticed small discolorations on my stomach and lower back. I assumed it's due to hormonal changes and really didn't think about it, assuming it'll go away in a few months. Weeeeeell, it got worse. The small dime sized discolorations grew into reddish patches all over my back. Some were3" by 3". As the months flew by, I started to get concerned. It wasn't going away. Surely, the hormonal changes of having a baby don't last a year? Do they?

Google became my friend....and my enemy. I tried to google the symptoms, which for me was just the patches of redness. I didn't feel itching, burning, nothing. In my endless pounding of the keyboard, typing key words, hitting search, I didn't come up with anything. Well, I came up with lots of things. But, hey, it's the internet and everything I read seemed like what I had. The skin "C" word kept coming up in my searches. OMG! What if I have Cancer? I just had a baby, I can't die....not yet. I want to see my child grow up. I got pissed, I got angry, I got scared. I cried. And finally, I stopped looking for an answer on the internet and made an appointment with my doctor.

One look at my back and stomach and he said it's Tinea Versicolor. Huh? What? Tinea What? Tinea Versicolor (Read here about it). It's a fungal infection of the skin. To be certain, he recommended I see a dermatologist. In the meantime, he suggested I rub Selsun Blue (Yep, dandruff shampoo!) on the infected area, leave it on over night.I didn't do it, cause I wanted to be sure.

I went home, relived. I'll live to see Critter grow through the terrible twos, defy me as a teenager and hopefully marry a woman as great as his mom. But I couldn't help going to google (my friend turned enemy) and typing in Tinea Versicolor. That's IT! I read and read and read.

I went to the dermatologist and she confirmed it, Tiena Versicolor! I guess that's why they have the medical degrees hanging on their walls and all I have is an internet connection. She gave me a prescription for Ketoconazole (oral) and sent me on my merry way. I filled the prescription and was happily going to pop the pills BUT decided I should read the "prescription information". It specifically states in bold "This medicine is excreted in breast milk. Do not breast feed while taking this medicine."

HUH?!?!?!?! I told dermatologist I was nursing (Yep, still shoving the boob in Critter's face). She looked it up, on her iphone. She said it was safe and approved for lactating women. But, but, but....the prescription information sheet states otherwise.

It was too late to call the Doctor.
Come to mama, google.
Yep, I went back on the "Information Superhighway".
The manufacturer doesn't recommend using it if  breastfeeding.
The cream is safer and may be used.
Stupid doctor! Did she look up the cream instead of the oral (what she prescribed).
After playing phone tag for a few days with the doctor and getting more and more irritated by her grave oversight, I finally spoke to her. Boy, did I want to chew her up! I wanted to tell her that she's a stupid idiot, blah, blah, blah.
I questioned her as to why she prescribed that knowing I'm nursing and why would the prescription information state NOT to breastfeed, but she had no answer. UGH!! She insisted that she looked it up and it stated it's safe for lactating women. She didn't believe me. Double UGH! It's right there in black and white, b*tch. I read it! I feel like sending her the prescription information I got with the medication.

After going back and forth for a bit with her and she gave me other medication options, I decided that I'm not going to take anything and I'll live with the patches on my back until I'm done breastfeeding. My kid's health is more important than my vanity.

In my endless googling for info about Tinea Versicolor, I did find a couple of great sites:
www.kellymom.com - Here's the page about AAP approved medications while breastfeeding.
www.mothering.com - Here's a forum post from a woman with Tinea Versi, asking  for advice.Check out some of the home remedies.
Apple Cider Vinegar! That's right, rubbing it on my back, going to bed smelling like a tossed salad, washing it off in the morning shower and the patches are getting smaller and disappearing.

Thank you modern science for nothing, good ole home remedy is working!

After reading all this, you need a cheesy music video.

Get Up, Stand Up

Stand up for your rights.

"He's not walking yet?" They asked. Well, not really asked, it was more a statement.
"No, not yet." I replied and then felt like I had to justify Critter's  development by throwing in "Well, the average child starts walking between 12 and 15 months. So, he's right on schedule".

I don't know why it irked me when they (not mentioning whether it was a he or a she) said that. Maybe, because they then said, "Well, (their child's name) started walking at 10 months old." Oh, NO! They didn't go there! Bragging! Comparing?! I really wanted to punch the daylights out of them but all I can say is "That's early." But I really wanted to say "Do you think your kid is special? etc. etc. etc."Oh, how I wanted to let them have it. I really hate when parents gloat about their kids. I can understand sharing stories and telling antidotes about their children, but what I hate is bragging. Oh, look at my kid, they can do this and say that and.........it's almost as if they're saying, "I bet your kid can't do that."

I have a friend whose child started walking at 9 months, didn't even crawl , I know a mother who's son just started walking alone at 17 months. It has NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING to do with intelligence but is a motor skill.

Here's what Dr. Sears has to say about it.

After I read this, I wanted to call 'bragging parent of early walker' and tell them their kid is impulsive and buy stock in band-aids.

It's interesting what he says about babies with easier temperament.

"Babies with easier temperaments often approach major developmental milestones more cautiously. Since crawling is speedier than walking anyway, confirmed crawlers are content to zip around on the floor like miniature racecars and show no interest in joining the tall and busy world."

"Late walkers are more likely to be content to entertain themselves with seeing and fingering fun than with motor accomplishments. A late walker goes through the crawl-cruise-stand-walk sequence slowly and cautiously, calculating each step and progressing at his own comfortable rate. When he does finally walk, he walks well."

Critter definitely has an easy going temperament. And I've noticed with everything he does (the first time) he's very cautious but when he does it and realizes the outcome is positive, he plows full speed and repeats the actions.

Walking will happen and come naturally, I'm not going to rush him. When he's ready, he'll do it. Baby Steps.
On Saturday evening, for the very first time, he did what will eventually lead to walking. He was on the futon "reading" when he decided to push himself up and viola, he was standing for a few seconds. He plopped on his bum, giggled and repeated his actions.

Pure joy to watch. I'll admit, after he amused himself with his vertical uprisings, I grabbed him, hugged him so tight and cried. He's growing up soooooo fast.

Let's Talk About Six, Baby

Let's talk about you and me. Okay, just me. Let's talk about ME.

"Your ass looks small." Hubby said.
"You're still the same size." I retorted.
He was looking at my tush when he said that, but I can't help getting in a jab whenever I can (at the Ass not in).



Can it be? That my rear caboose is smaller?
Yep. I'm working on shrinking my rump (roast) and belly (flop).
I've used the excuse I just had a baby for my flabbiness. After a year and a month, I can't use that excuse anymore.
A few weeks ago, I stopped consuming sugar laced products on a daily basis to soothe my soul. I've lessened my intake of starches (not the ironing kind). I was always a walker and I'm continuing to walk at least 2 miles every day. I started doing yoga again. Photos of my legs around my neck and/or doing pigeon pose will be posted shortly; that is, after my body is limber enough to first touch my toes. AND, I've started dancing with Critter. Every day, we put on the radio, he plays on the floor while his mother is Gettin Jiggy Wit It until she breaks out into a sweat and is panting from exhaustion.



Have I lost any weight? I don't know. I don't own a scale. I'm gauging it with clothes. Before, I got Preggo, I was wearing a size 2 (don't hate me cause I was skinny). After baby, I was wearing a size (I'm not telling). Now, I'm wearing a size (I'm still not telling and it isn't a size (2, 4 and 6) I have in my closet.

When I get dressed in the morning, I only need to open the sliding closet door 3" and reach in and grab one of 4 pants that fit me. The other day, I flung the door all the way and from the depths of my closet, I pulled out a size 6 cargo pants. I shimmed my way into them. They fit around the legs. I pulled them over my keister, zipped and buttoned them. THEY FIT!!!!! Okay, they were a little snug around the waste but I figured as the day wore on, they'd loosen up.

Critter and I went out for most of the day, I wish I can report that the size 6 pants stretched a little, but the truth is, they got tighter and tighter with every ticking hour. By days end I felt like an over stuffed sausage ready to burst from it's skin. Every time I took a step, I felt like another seam was going to pop. I didn't bend down for anything. If I dropped something, oh well, it was gone forever. When I walked, I barely lifted my legs in fear of hearing riiiiip. I shuffled home and as soon as I unbuttoned them my stomached sighed in relief. I peeled them off and discovered the button made in imprint on my belly (no photos available for your amusement). Maybe, those kids are onto something with sagging. I'm going to start wearing my pants under my badunkadunk and on the ground.