The Rest Of The Tidbits

Finally concluding our update!

In last August's post, All Caught Up! I talked about making organic lasagna and in The End Of Summer said that I was interested in seeing the film Food Inc., which I finally did last night. It was good, but sad. It'd be nice if we didn't have to worry about where our food comes from and could just trust that manufacturers all have our best health interests in mind. It reminded me of how I joined the CSA at The Farmer's Market last August so we need to start using it!

Speaking of food, the only food that Logan hasn't tried yet is shellfish because that is the only food allergy I know of in my family. My half-brother, Jacob, can't eat shrimp because the couple of times he ate it as a child became two serious situations. The second time I was there for (the first time no one had realized his illness was an allergy) - we were visiting our dad's family in Houston in 1997 (he was ten) and we went out to an authentic seafood restaurant. I can remember eating my first shrimp in New Orleans at two or three years old, as my parents always liked seafood so I grew up having it and never would have thought someone could have a bad reaction. But that night my brother came down with hives and was violently ill. He had a high fever (sweating) and was throwing up non-stop. Thankfully my stepmom is a nurse and so since this was in the middle of the night she was able to tend to him rather than go to a hospital. I can't remember whether we still went to one in the morning or not (as is recommended at any signs of an allergic reaction), but my brother was fully recovered the next day - and has never eaten shellfish again! He still says it was the worst he's ever felt in his life.

The American Academy Of Pediatrics says that shellfish is okay once a child has been eating solid food for a couple of months. The only exception is if there is a family history of an allergy (shellfish is on the list of top 8 allergic foods) and then it should be avoided until age three. Logan's had tuna and fish sticks and other types of fish and has done well, so I bought some popcorn shrimp to try. . .but am going to wait a few more months becuase I still have the scary memory of my little brother fresh in my mind! But Jacob was also allergic to eggs until around the age of three and was a colicky baby, so since Logan hasn't shown signs of any other food allergies I am optimistic that he will do fine.

Whether or not you have a history, the first time you introduce fish or shellfish, be sure to watch for the signs of an allergic reaction (hives, difficulty breathing or asthma symptoms, swelling of the mouth or throat, vomiting or diarrhea and loss of consciousness), know how to respond and be ready to call 9-1-1 immediately.

The FDA recommends to avoid giving children shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish because of the high mercury levels. Pregnant and nursing women should also avoid these fish. Good fish to start your baby on that are low in mercury include canned light tuna (albacore is higher in mercury), salmon, pollock and catfish.I keep forgetting to mention that 370-Grill (which I have mentioned a few times on this blog since we'd eaten there several times since it opened a year ago) closed.

Last summer I talked about Logan's big curl on the back of his head, which I clipped off the end of October when he was 18 months old. He hadn't had any other curls until after his first haircut earlier this month - and now every hair on his head is wavy!!!! I love it, it's really cute, but we have no idea where he gets it!

In my post Everything-3 I mentioned that Logan had always behaved crabbier around Joe than me (ever since birth). But around 20 or 21 months old that changed! Nowadays he is the same for both Joe and me which is nice for all of us because then I don't hear whining off in the distance when I'm trying to get my things done and it's less stressful/frustrating for both Joe & Logan. Joe even occasionally changes Logan's pajamas to regular clothes now - it still won't happen before noon but it's progress from never changing his clothes at all or getting Logan ready on his own (although Joe still won't wash Logan's face or brush his teeth unless I tell him to).

In Everything-2 I wrote that last summer Logan was hiding our things. Thankfully that stopped by the end of the summer.

He still crosses his ankles occasionally, however it's not all of the time like it used to be.

My brother still hasn't heard whether the show that he has a lead in is getting picked up. The pilot he did last summer was not.

In my post, Everything, I wrote about going on a 3-day detox due to having a cough off and on for two years. It must have worked because I haven't had the cough since!

In, He's Talking! I gave an update on the girl's blog who I went to high school with. Her son who had cancer at only a few months old (but praise God has been cancer-free ever since) and has pulmonary hypertension caused by sleep apnea/hypoventalation (under breathing) is now a year-and-a-half old. Unfortunately, he's still having to go through sleep studies and sleep with a bipap because doctors don't know how to "cure" him. Aside from his enlarged heart and high blood pressure, he has swallowing issues and has to have cardio echos done every six months. . .so life has continued to be a rollercoaster for this minister, stay at home mom, and two boys who are thirteen months apart.I started writing my memoir posts here and then decided they really don't fit in with the rest of my blog. As much as I've preferred having just one blog (since in the past I tried to have another), I decided it would make more sense to start an additional site for my autobiography. This way I can keep it private - or at least out of search engines, etc. Please e-mail me if you'd like the URL.

In March when I wrote the posts Turning Point and Follow Up, I realized after talking to my family that, with some things, I have a too-good of memory. Some people will find it hard to believe how far back I can remember as a child, but many things were confirmed when talking to those who had been adults at the time and had forgotten situations. They said they were shocked because I was correct. I think pictures help a lot. My mom took a lot of photos when I was growing up and I loved looking at them almost every day. It kept memories fresh in my mind as the years went on. Now many moments are foggy, but because I relived them in my head so much as a child, I even have a couple of flashbacks being one year old! Needless to say, I can remember being the age that Logan is right now which makes me happy that pretty soon he might start remembering our day-to-day life together - forever!

In Straw Cups, Not Sippy Cups (Part Two) I wrote what pediatricians recommend for one year olds to eat. Despite what I said in yesterday's post, on paper Logan's eating gets an A. He still has the recommended iron-fortified DHA cereal or oatmeal many mornings because he loves the HappyBellies brand. His favorite is the organic multi-grain.

Every morning he immediately asks for dry cereal upon waking up - Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Kix, Kashi's Heart To Heart, and/or Raisin Bran. Also, every morning he has a fruit of some sort - banana, orange or clementine, apple, pear, peach, or plumb. In addition, some mornings he even shares a bagel or waffle with Daddy (Logan still doesn't like eggs).

He drinks more than the recommended 16 oz of milk these days, but we don't mind because there's a lot worse things he could be having and he's always drank 2% milk so he's getting less cholesterol than those who have always drank whole milk. A couple of times a week we let him have 8 oz of orange juice. Otherwise, he sips on water all day long.

For a morning snack he often has a string cheese, crackers, and a fruit that he didn't have for breakfast.

For lunch I give him a meat - chicken, turkey, or beef and/or beans (baked beans are his favorite). Also, a vegetable - his fav are peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes and he also eats corn and cauliflower. (He doesn't like broccoli or green beans.)

For another snack he likes a cookie immediately after waking up from his nap because he is often groggy and it takes him a good half an hour before being as cheerful as he was for the first half of the day.

He usually has leftover veggies from lunch as another snack later.

For supper, his last food of the day, we do a meat that we didn't do for lunch, and usually either a pasta, a rice, or a bread.

In my same post linked above, I mentioned that my friend Brooke had her daughter six days after Logan turned one year old. For their update, Kaelyn started sleeping through the night this past Easter, shortly before she turned a year old (I had blogged in early 2010 that both Brooke & my friend Chris were having trouble with their babies still not sleeping through the night but that Chris' son started soon after. Brooke tried soothing Kaelyn without picking her up, but it didn't work and so she was relieved when Kaelyn stopped waking up on her own, naturally)!

My other friend who had her baby boy last April (Melissa, who lives in Arizona) celebrated Axton's first birthday on April 9th. I still talk to her on the phone often and most recently she said it is very possible they might move to the Carolinas in four years! I am excited that whether Joe or I pick North Carolina or Chicago (where my bff Sarah is planning to move in a couple of years), I should have a friend nearby! Melissa is planning to start trying for baby #2 after this Christmas.

Well. . .I think I'm finally all caught up! I'll end by asking - do many of you new mothers find that you're fearing death more than before? Before Logan was 10 or 11 months old, I was never scared to die. Because, I know there's an after-life and I've had a great relationship with God since I was under the age of two, so there was nothing to have anxiety about. As a teenager, there was a time in my life when I actually wanted to die because I hated myself and my life. Even after I found peace with myself and my life, not being able to control death was not something that bothered me. Even when Logan was an infant, he did so well with anyone who held him or watched him, I was confident that he'd do fine without me.

That all changed in March 2009. I began having trouble going to sleep because my mind would race - what if I died in my sleep and never knew it? It is more important to me than anything to be able to watch Logan grow up!!!!! I feel like I have so many things I want to do in life - my life doesn't feel like it's even half over. . .but people's lives get cut short every day. There are no guarantees for how long we have. None of us know when our time is up.

I was hoping that by a year later the anxiety would have gone away, but it didn't because now Logan really would be traumatized. I am the most important person in his life. He wouldn't understand me disappearing and never coming back. . .and (okay my words are blurry because the tears have started) in time he would forget me.

If I died tomorrow, the best I'd be able to hope for is maybe one flashback - but he'd never know me. His life would not be the easy, happy life that he has now and that I pray continues for him forever. Let's face it, a kid can grow up in a good environment with great family and friends, but there is no replacing a mother. Most often it seems those who have lost their mother at a young age have a darker black cloud hanging over their head than other people's black clouds.

A few months ago I had to remove a family member's activity from my facebook newsfeed because it was so full of hate and anger towards God. I had thought maybe it was just a phase so I just ignored it, but it went on for so long - posting pro-athiest activity several times a day - that aside from being offensive to me, it was depressing with too much negative energy. This person lost their mother at a very young age. Whether they think so or not, I believe that had their mother (a devoted Christian) lived, they would not be an athiest today.

I wrote a letter in Logan's journal telling him that if I die, I only have one request: don't turn away from God no matter what happens in your life or how many things you think are "unfair" or don't make sense - with God in your life I will be able to rest in peace knowing that at least you are being watched over and protected and guided in a good direction and we will see each other again some day in a place that is far more important and lasts longer than this short life here.

I have no expectations or thoughts on what I want Logan's life to be like, as long as he's happy. But I pray from the deepest place in my soul that I am here for him to share his adult life with. Joe says that although the hardest part of his life was losing his dad when he was 21, it didn't change him because he was already grown. So I think as each year goes by it will get easier/I'll have less anxiety because Logan will be that much older. In the meantime, I try not to think about it and just do all that I can do while I'm here - like, this blog has more memories than my children will probably care to read, haha!!! :-)