Golly Gee! Goober's Three!

                                         

I can’t believe I have a three year old!  Everyone always tells you that children grow up way to quickly, but I never really believed it until I had my own kids.  My little Goober, the wonderful girl who made me a mother, had her third birthday this past weekend.  And my chunky monkey many turned four months old!  The days are going by in a blur and while part of me wants to slow down the clock, another part of me is excited to see the people they will become.  What are their talents?  What will be their hobbies?  Can I raise them to be well-rounded, responsible adults?  And most importantly, can I raise them to love and have a relationship with the Lord?  So much responsibility!

There are many times I ask myself “what in the world am I doing raising two kids?  Two little people?  I sure hope I don’t screw them up!”.   Then I look at their smiling faces, the way they love me and their dad and each other, the way Goober interacts with other kids, and I think I must not be doing too bad. 

So on Saturday (her actual birthday) we had her very first friends-invited birthday party.  In previous years we have just done a family party.  However, putting together a party on a budget was definitely a challenge!  I managed to get a wonderful deal on a party package at the local YMCA family pool.  So we had a swim party!  We had already decided we were getting her a fish so that fit with the pool party theme well.  Aside from some other small things, the big present that she liked the most was a battery powered four-wheel car.  I got it off a local trading Facebook page for only $10.  It had bad sun damage but it ran well so I bought a can of spray paint and painted it blue (her favorite color).  Let me just say it was the best $15 we have spent in AGES!  She loves that car and has been riding it around the house ever since the party.  However, the car will soon be relocating outside as an outdoor-only vehicle.  I am really impressed with how long the battery lasted since the car has obviously been well used in the past! Other ways I cut the party budget include: making the cake instead of buying it, comparison shopping for decorations, and scheduling the party at a time between meals so cake and ice cream would be sufficient and no extra food (aside from some chex mix) was necessary.  All in all, I only went over our party budget by about $10.  Go me!

The party itself was a lot of fun, even if she did end up being 10 minutes late to her own birthday party.  The Weatherman did feel pretty bad about that.  She had several friends from church and several friends from daycare.  The only issue was her friends wanted to play with her and she wanted mommy and daddy. 

I am personally just glad the whole ordeal is over!  Frog Face of course picked last week as a time to have sleep problems so as I was trying to get things ready for the party after both kids went to bed, they both kept waking up and making it difficult.  Also, we had the in-laws visiting, and while it was wonderful to have them here to help play with the kids, it also threw their schedule off and left us with some grumpy children. 

All in all, it was a good birthday (I think) and more importantly Goober had fun.  Frog Face was fantastic and despite being hungry and tired, he didn’t make a peep the entire party and just kind of went with the flow of things.  I am so grateful for my mellow baby!

Goober tests my patience and drives me crazy sometimes, but the love I feel for her (and her brother) is so overpowering it can’t be put into words.  Every night the Weatherman and I sneak into her room and just take a moment to gaze at her as she peacefully sleeps.  Her angelic face and beautiful blonde curls.  That child and her brother mean more to me than anything.  At 9:34pm, the time of her birth, I thought back to when I first met my screaming, squalling child and how that one moment changed my life forever and started me on the greatest challenge and adventure I have ever had: being a mother.

So here is some information about Goober on her 3^rd birthday: 

• ·         Height: 37 inches
• ·         Weight: 28.5lbs
• ·         Likes: being held by mommy, reading, coloring, playing with her “baby” (both the real baby and her baby doll), anything having to do with puppies, dancing in princess dresses, Dora, Thomas the train, Elmo, “baby puppy” (shaytards), riding her new car, playing with play-doh,
• ·         Dislikes: trying new foods, waking up in the morning, going to bed,
• ·         Favorite Food: cheese, anything with sugar (which mommy closely monitors), waffles, French fries, strawberries, any other kind of fruit,
• ·         Favorite Color: Blue
• ·         Accomplishments: fully potty trained, speaking well, can count to 10, can say the alphabet, knows most of her colors, learning shapes (knows heart, star, and circle already), can sing many songs, including: twinkle twinkle, ABC’s, happy birthday, and monkey’s jumping on the bed, can dress self with little assistance,

And here are some stats about Frog Face too at 4 months:

• ·         Height: 25 inches (50%)
• ·         Weight: 16lb 1oz (75%)
• ·         Head:
• ·         Likes: snuggling with mommy, playing with sister, grabbing anything within reach, eating anything within reach, annoying the cats, creating diaper blow-outs for daddy, silly faces, dancing with mommy, playing with feet and pulling off his socks, gnawing on mommy or daddy’s knuckles,
• ·         Dislikes: being put down, sleeping in his crib, when mommy eats dairy,
• ·         Favorite Food: mommy’s milk
• ·         Favorite Color: yet to be determined
• ·         Accomplishments: great neck/head control, can sit moderately well with support, can roll from tummy to back and can roll from back to side well, laughing and smiling easily, reaching and grabbing objects well, 

Her refurbished car

Frog Face liked the water too

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The Great Sleep Debate

“So, is he sleeping through the night yet?”

*sigh*

With my daughter I would cringe inside whenever someone asked me that question because my response for over 2 years of her life was always the same: “no”.  My Goober was a horrid sleeper.  Absolutely.  Horrid.  When she was still very much a baby she would wake every 2-3 hours all night to eat.  I was very adamant about breast feeding her myself and not sending the Weatherman in with a bottle because I didn’t want her to reject the breast and I didn’t want to jeopardize my milk supply.  When she started on whole milk after the age of 1 and I began decreasing my pumping at work, then I would send him in with a sippy of warm milk once a night, but it wasn’t until this past Christmas that she actually started sleeping through the night. Needless to say, I was a zombie, but I eventually did get used to the frequent night wakings (only to have a few months of sleep before I became too big and prego and uncomfortable and was up peeing every hour or two). 

We tried everything to get her to sleep: not letting her fall asleep at the breast, laying her down awake, setting a bedtime routine and keeping her on a schedule, playing music and white noise, not playing music and white noise, using a humidifier and not using a humidifier, leaving lights on and having total darkness.  I read every sleep-aid book and scoured every website I came across for a little inkling of why she wouldn’t sleep.  I could not allow her to cry it out.  I have heard wonderful things about it, but that is just not for me and my family.  Maybe her sleep would have been better if I had let her scream until she exhausted herself and comforted herself, but every instinct in my mommy body told me not to, and I have learned to listen to those instincts.

I eventually learned to live with it.  I had read somewhere that children who woke up a lot at night often turned out to be gifted, and that the frequent night wakings were because their brain was just too active to rest, so I would tell myself this to help me get through another sleep-exhausted day.  I held onto the hope that sleep would come eventually.

And you know what?  It did.  She sleeps very soundly now and despite waking up every now and then due to night terrors, she does great!

Coming through the experience of a poor sleeper and seeing the other side has given me perspective.  So when Frog Face started sleeping for 4-6 hour stretches at only a couple weeks old, I flipped!  I didn’t know what to do with a child that actually slept well!  Should I wake him to feed him?  Should I let him sleep?  Will this affect my still-being-established milk supply?  I did opt for the “let him sleep” method and was grateful for the extra shut eye. 

However, that didn’t last long.

Frog Face started having sleep issues about the same time we discovered his dairy allergy.  He had terrible gas that would cause him to fuss and wake himself up a lot at night.  He would eventually burp or fart after we bounced him a bit and then go back to sleep.  He also spits up an insane amount of milk.  I would be worried about the amount of milk he spits up if he wasn’t so obviously a chunky monkey (17lbs, in 6-9 month clothing, and not even 4 months old yet!).  But the digestive upset caused for sleep upset too, despite gas drops and gripe water.

Then when I started going back to work the sleep issue seemed to get even worse.  However, I can’t blame the little guy for waking up more to be with mommy because he is apart from me all day.  So without meaning to we have begun to change our sleep habits and become something I never thought we would become: a cosleeping family.

Frog Face starts off in his crib in his own room (he outgrew the pack-n-play next to our bed weeks ago) and will sleep in there for a bit.  However, after waking up every 30-60 minutes, he eventually finds his way into our bed snuggled up next to me.  I have such mixed feelings about this!  There is nothing wrong with cosleeping, but I never viewed us as a cosleeping family either.  With Goober, we NEVER let her fall asleep with us because we wanted her to sleep in her own space and we were worried about blankets, overheating, rolling over on her, SIDS, etc.  Even when she was sick or we were traveling and I WANTED her to sleep with us, she wouldn't.  I also was not very good at nursing lying down.  I think that is where things started to change this time around: I learned how to feed Frog Face without having to get out of bed, or even having to wake up much.  So after going in to his room to give him his pacifier or feed him for the umpteenth time, I eventually tell the Weatherman to bring him in with me and we all sleep so much better.  In fact, some of my favorite moments with Frog Face are watching him sleep as he is contentedly snuggled up next to me. 

However, I still hate the question, no matter how well-meaning, of whether my almost-4-month-old son is sleeping well.  When did the sleeping habits of our infants become a symbol of baby temperament, development, and overall parenting skills?  Just because my child is not sleeping through the night by 6 weeks old doesn't mean I am a bad mother or that I am doing something wrong.  Some kids really are just poor sleepers.  Also, breast fed babies usually wake up to eat more than formula fed babies since breast milk travels through the digestive track faster, meaning they get hungrier more often. 

So there you have it: my son sleeps in bed with us.  We will continue to lay him down for naps in his crib and start him off in there at night so he is familiar with it, but for now, this is a battle we are not ready to fight.  Sleep is more important for us and he is too young for us to start sleep training more strictly (although I still won’t do CIO even when he is older).  And honestly?  I like the snuggles.  Goober is turning three this weekend and it reminds me of just how fast the time does fly and that before I know it they will both be teenagers and won’t want to have anything to do with me.  So for now, while he still thinks I am the center of his world, I am going to soak it up, even at night.

Not the most flattering  picture of me, but Frog Face sure looks awfully cute!

This is a picture of Goober when she was about the same age as Frog Face is now

Apparently this was a favorite sleep position for her!

Goober sleeping in her big girl bed.  She is a pretty good sleeper now!

Annual Bird Round-up

This week I had the opportunity to participate in the zoo’s annual winter bird round up.  We have an outdoor walk-through aviary.  Because the aviary is obviously subject to climate changes, the birds in the aviary experience rain, wind, and typical outdoor temperature fluctuations.  They have ample shelter, heating lamps, and trees to utilize for protection from the elements, but because many of the birds are exotic or migrate during winter, each fall when the temperature starts to drop we remove most of the birds from the aviary and place them into a heated building where they wait out the winter in climate-controlled comfort.  However, capturing 30-odd flighted birds in an open-air aviary is quite the challenge and requires all hands on deck for the zoo staff.

Despite being at the zoo for almost 6 years, this was only my second opportunity to participate in the winter bird round up.  The round up is a well-coordinated activity of nets, kennels (for transportation of the birds to their new homes), banding, health checks, and lots of people.  We get some funny looks from guests when they walk by and see 15 zoo personal jumping over rocks and duck around branches chasing after elusive birds and yelling out things like “coming your way!” and “center mesh!”.  Some of the birds that are accustomed to winter temperatures stay in the aviary (with shelters and heaters of course), but most of the birds have to be moved.  We also take this opportunity to do a quick health check on the birds, check their band ID, and in the case of our new Hammerkop chicks that hatched this year, clip a feather or two to send off for testing to determine gender. 

 I didn’t have any programs, just office work, so wanted to get out and enjoy the brisk day for a bit and volunteered to help with the bird round up.  My job was simple: stay out of the way of the more experienced bird netters and assist where I could.  My job consisted mostly holding a long pole and shaking a tree every now and then to flush a bird from the foliage.  The majority of the birds were rounded up in a matter of 30 minutes or so.  But then came the last four birds: three guiras and an ornery little blue-faced honey eater.  It took us another 2 hours to finally net the three guiras.  For a while I couldn’t determine if I was actually being helpful or not, since the fast-flying elusive birds would come toward me only to escape again.  However, I was thrilled when one of the last guiras was netted by a keeper next to me and I got to carefully remove it from the net and take it to be checked, banded, and kenneled.  Woohoo!  Success! 

Or not.

That silly little honey-eater, with amazing camouflage and the ability to zip right by you like a speeding dart did not want to cooperate.  At one point, there were probably about 7 keepers surrounding the bush she was hiding in with nets and another keeper perched high in a nearby tree to discourage the bird from heading that direction.  The little sucker still managed to get away!  Eventually the curator called an end to the foray and the honey eater got to stay a little bit longer in the aviary.  Attempts to rennet the little bugger were scheduled for a few days later.  I did not participate this time and I have yet to hear if the keepers were successful. 

On a side note, the cooperation and communication of the staff was amazing!  Opportunities like this where we can work together on one project and accomplish a goal really helps to make everyone (including an outside-the-keeper-realm educator like myself) feel like part of the zoo team.  Go us!

Pets

If you work at a zoo, you probably like animals.  I realize there are exceptions to the rules (such as maintenance positions for instance) but the keepers and education staff are definitely not in this career field for the money.  Trust me on this one. 

If you love animals, it is safe to say you probably have a pet or two or three at home.  Some zoo people have a whole menagerie of animals such as my coworker the Dog Whisperer who has 4 dogs, 3 cats, and a rabbit.  Some people (like me) have a more moderate number of furry friends.  For years I owned ferrets but after my last one died of a pancreatic disease and old age, I finally convinced the Weatherman to let me have the pet I have always wanted: a cat. 

Meet Neko. 

The word “neko” is the Japanese word for “cat”.  I have an anime (Japanese animation) addiction so I always knew I wanted to name my cat Neko.  We actually got Neko while one of our ferrets, Pepper, was still alive.  The vet had given Pepper 3 months to live due to her advanced age and cancerous disease but she proved everyone wrong when she lived for another 2 years.  Neko (like all my pets, including the ferrets) was rescued, in this case from the local shelter.  When the Weatherman first agreed to let me get a cat, I did a ton of research and had a completely different cat picked out from the humane society website.  But when I went to visit my website kitty, Neko stole my heart instead.  As soon as he saw me, he started meowing and tried to reach out of his cage to touch me.  Who could say no to that?

And thus began a love/annoy relationship with the first cat I have ever owned myself.  I always said I wanted a lap cat, and I got that x100 with Neko.  He seeks out attention wherever he can get it.  Sitting on the couch with two children in your lap?  Not a problem.  Neko will find the teeniest piece of your lap and proceed to squeeze himself onto it and push the children off.  Or if that won’t work, then he will get on the couch behind you and literally lay himself across your shoulders.  Trying to go to the bathroom?  Neko will be right there on the counter next to you, rubbing your head with his.  Taking a shower?  Neko will either A) wait patiently on the counter or closed toilet lid until you are finished or B) wedge himself between the shower liner and shower curtain so he can meow at you while you are soaping up. 

Neko is also the silliest cat I have ever seen.  He loves pipe cleaners, twisty ties, and has become quite the hair tie/rubber band thief.  He will also dart into a room he is not supposed to be in (like our bedroom which is supposed to be off limits to cats) at any opportunity he can.  And when he does make it somewhere he knows he’s not supposed to be, he gets the most devious-yet-innocent look you have ever seen.  If you are a cat owner, you know the one I am talking about. 

As annoying as Neko is, I really couldn’t ask for a better pet and companion for my children.  Granted, he did hiss at both kids when we first brought them home as babies, but within hours he warmed up to them.  Now that Goober is almost 3, they have a very special bond and he tolerates her attentions with good grace.  Neko is incredibly annoying, but such a special part of our family that he could never be replaced.

Then there is Little Pete. 

Little Pete is actually a female cat and kind of weaseled herself into our lives without us meaning to adopt her.  At our previous residence a cat had a litter of “dumpster kittens”.  I found one next to the dumpster on my way to work one morning shivering in the rain so I of course brought it in and fed it and found it a home with another zoo employee (Jade is now a very happy kitty who is incredibly spoiled). 

However, knowing that there were other dumpster kittens out there, I tried, and succeeded in catching another.  This kitten we called little hiss-and-spit because she was so aggressive.  We kept her in a separate room from Neko since we didn’t intend to keep her.  Little hiss-and-spit however proved to be quite a character: she repeatedly got out of the enclosure we had set up for her and would get up on our guest bed and poop all over it!  Turns out she did have worms (ew) and that was causing the upset stomach.  But it still did not excuse the pooping on the bed part.  Without quite meaning to, little hiss-and-spit grew on us and we decided that Neko could use a companion due to his desire for attention, and the fact that both myself and the Weatherman worked during the day.

Little Pete is the exact opposite from Neko (which is wonderful because I don’t know if we could handle two Neko’s).  She is very shy and if you ever visit our house you will not see her at all since she runs away and hides the entire time (quite the opposite from the little hiss-and-spit she used to be).  She will not sit on laps but will occasionally sit next to me when she wants to be close.  She does like to be pet, but only on her terms.  She loves playing with those little fur mice and is our mini garbage disposal and will eat anything we drop on the floor or leave on the table.  One time I forgot and left a cinnamon roll on the table and when I came back from running an errand I found the cinnamon roll half eaten and cat puke all down the chair and on the floor next to the table.  And you should never leave a cup anywhere she can reach it because she will be drinking out of it the moment your back is turned.   

The Weatherman and Pete have a special arrangement:  Pete likes to sleep on top of our printer on top of the Weatherman’s desk.  She spends most of her time up there, but when she wants to get down she will wait patiently until the Weatherman clears a spot off on his desk so she can jump down to the desk portion and then onto the floor.  I often refer to Pete as the Weatherman’s little study buddy. 

Little Pete and Neko get along wonderfully and have pretty much from the start.  They can often be found curled up together on the couch or wrestling on the floor.  They are both indoor cats, although both have escaped briefly on occasion and were scared out of their wits and immediately came crying home. 

Our life, and the lives or our children, are greatly enriched by our furry family members.  For now, two cats are enough (although we have had ferrets, hamsters, fish, and a dog in the past).  We will be adding a fish to our family soon since that is going to be one of Goober’s birthday presents.  As those of you with pets know, they can be smelly, annoying, disgusting, and expensive, but the love and joy they add to your lives cannot be replaced. 

And now for your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures of Neko and Pete, doing the catty things they do best!  

Cat in a Sack

"Does this box make me look fat?"

Peek a boo!

Neko's first day home from the shelter

The Weatherman's initial reaction to having a lap cat

My little hiss-and-spit

Pete and the ferret Pepper

Poor hamster....

I do realize that there are more pictures of Neko than of Pete, but that is just because this cat is SO silly!

That is the ferret cage.  He is not supposed to be in there.

That is the dryer.  He is not supposed to be in there either

Neko think's he is hiding

Neko was going "night night"

He really is like a third child

Can you find the cat?

Best of friends!

Money Matters

Let’s talk about money.  Many people say money is the root of all evil, but others argue it is the love of money that is the root of all evil.  I think it is a bit of both.  I understand the need for money in a modern world (the barter system just wouldn't work too well nowadays after all) but money does seem to make things complicated.

I wouldn't say I love money or that I need expensive things, although who wouldn't like to have a bit extra in their pocketbook at the end of the month?  I am just striving to make ends meet and keep from sinking.  And I praise the Lord that we are not worse off than we are (which isn't really that bad in the grand scheme of things).  My children may not always have name-brand clothing, but they have good, sturdy, clean clothes.  We may not always be able to eat out at fancy restaurants, but we always have food on the table and extra in the cabinets and fridge.  We might not have the nicest things, but we do have more things than we could ever possibly use and all of our needs are met.  We are incredibly blessed!  Fresh clean water, electricity, heat, air conditioning, our own house…way more than millions of others have.

Still, like most families, money can be a struggle.  In our case, it is paying for daycare for two kids that is taking a large chunk out of our paychecks each month.  So last year when I found out I was pregnant with Frog Face I began seriously buckling down in anticipation of the daycare payments to come and focusing on getting rid of our debt and figuring out how we could cut corners. 

First of all, I started listening to Dave Ramsey.  He is a religious financial adviser who is pretty famous, has a daily radio show, several books, and is the founder of Financial Peace University (FPU).  I have always wanted to attend FPU but could never justify spending $100 on a course to save money.  How is spending $100 helping me save money?  So I just checked out his book from the library and read it instead.  His basic idea says to make a budget, save up a $1,000 emergency fund, then look at your debt and start paying it off with what he calls the “debt snowball”.  Start with the smallest debt and pay as much as you can on that and the minimum balance on the other debts.  Once the first debit is paid off, attack the next using the money you were putting toward the first, and so on.  Thankfully, the only debt we have (aside from the house) are two credit cards and a car payment.  So last December we stopped using credit cards and really went to work!  If we are able to stay on track, we will be completely debt free (except for the house) in 12-18 more months! 

But it is taking a lot of sacrifice for this.  We do have a budget and try to stick to it, but don’t do a very good job of staying to it to-the-penny.  We got rid of cable and just have internet and a Netflix subscription (we did buy a Roku – a streaming device – that we LOVE), we only eat fast food once a week and try to eat as cheap as we can (re: dollar menu), before we spend money, we try and decide if we really need it or if we can do without.  For instance, our older car needed a new starter so we decided to become a one car family until my father, who is awesome at mechanics (but lives 7 hours away) could make a trip out here to fix it for us (which he did a wonderful job!  Thanks daddy!).  We even made the tough decision not to travel back to visit family after Frog Face was born because we couldn't afford it.  And now that the weather is cooler Frog Face is sporting a pink infant car seat cover because I really can’t justify buying a new one when the only thing wrong with the one we have (which I got at a thrift store for $2) is that it is pink! 

I also love thrift store shopping and get most of the kids clothing from there.  You can find some amazing deals if you have the patience to look for them!  I got a Moby wrap baby carrier for Frog Face for $2 (retail for $40), a miracle swaddle blanket for $3 (retails for $30), breathable bumpers for the crib for $3 (retails for around $25) and every season I go shopping for shoes, jackets, and other clothing for both Goober and now Frog Face.  I also visit consignment sales when they are available and purchase items of our local Facebook trading site (we got our deep freezer off of there for $85 and a battery powered car for Goober’s birthday for $10 that runs great but just needs repainting and cleaned up). 

I have gotten creative and try to think outside the box before I make a purchase.  I wanted black out curtains for Goobers room but taped aluminum foil over the windows instead and it worked great (her bedroom is in the back of the house so no one sees the foil from the outside)!  We moved the glider from Goober’s room over to Frog Face’s and instead of getting a new chair for her room we put an old recliner in there.  Frog Face also got the Weatherman’s dresser that he never used instead of us buying a new one for the nursery.  And now that Halloween is near, I am trying to think of costumes that are cute and fun but won’t break our budget.

I also have become quite good at couponing.  I am not nearly as good as those crazy people you see on TV, but I can usually save a pretty penny by cutting coupons and matching them to items that are on sale (or better yet…on clearance!).  Walgreens and Dillons are both excellent places to shop while couponing and I will stock up when an item goes on sale if the item is non-perishable (soap, shampoo, cereal, can goods, boxed juices, diapers, wipes, etc.).  I have a coworker who brings me extra coupons every week and I have been known to raid the recycling bin for coupons as well.  We have also become a generic-brand family and only get certain things name brand now (although this is a bit harder now that I am dairy free: we have discovered many generic items contain milk).  Although it has become difficult to find time to cut coupons or go shopping now that Frog Face is here. 

The thought of being debt free in as little as 12-18 months is amazing.  It hasn't been easy, and I am sure it won’t be as we continue our budgeting in the future, but I know it will be worth it.  We are spending somewhere around $650 a month just on paying off our debt.  To have that money in our pocket every month is a goal I know we can achieve.  I look forward to when that day comes!

Frog Face asleep in his crib.  The breathable bumper you can see at the top has a pink edge too it, but I got it at the thrift store for just a couple bucks so it was worth it!  He is also sleeping in thrift store jammies, but they are still cute!

Goober's room: The curtains are hand made and the recliner is old, but it is still pretty cozy!

The Scoop on Poop

I was giving a program today and one of the students asked me “do you ever get pooped on”.  And the answer of course is yes.  Although I usually say that “it’s never a good day at the zoo unless you get pooped on at least once”. 

Poop is a daily part of your life when you work at a zoo, even if you have a position like mine that does not involve cleaning the animals.  Poop is an excellent indicator of the health of an animal.  In fact, the zoo regular examines the fecals of our animals to check for parasites.  If you have a pet at home, then checking their poop will give you a good idea of how your beloved Fido is feeling.  Runny and stinky poop?  Fido probably isn’t feeling too well.  Bits of green plastic and a small helmet?  Fido probably got into Jr.’s army men play set again. 

You get the idea.

This practice of observing and monitoring poop to assess the health of the pooper applies to humans as well.  Because of this I have become a bit obsessed with poop.  I don’t really “like” looking at it, but I do pay particularly close attention to the poop of my children.   Things like color, consistency, content, regularity, and amount are all taken into consideration.  I don’t write it down on a chart to track it, or examine it with a dissecting microscope, but I do try to pay attention to it.  The Weatherman on the other hand hates poop about as much as I hate vomit so he tends to toss or flush the evidence as soon as he can and ignores my yells from the other room inquiring about the normality of the feces.  But hey!  At least he changes the poopy diapers!  I am grateful for that!

This poop observance really paid off for us when I noticed that Frog Face was having traces of red blood in his stools when he was around 4 weeks old.  I wasn’t too panicked because I had recently learned of a friend whose young child experienced the same thing that was caused by a food allergy to dairy products.  So I cut all dairy from my diet and sure enough the blood went away about a week later (dairy takes a bit of time to get out of the mother’s system).  It has been difficult being dairy free because you never realize all the foods dairy is in until you can’t have it.  McDonald’s French fries for instance have dairy in them.  Many breads have dairy as well.  And then of course there is cheese, ice cream, butter (although dairy free butter is actually pretty good), and chocolate.  Oh how I miss chocolate.  And pizza.  And ice cream.  Although oreos, chocolate frosting, and some bakers chocolate do not contain dairy.  This helps a little.

Let me just say I am glad I only have to cut dairy while I am nursing and that when Frog Face is weaned I will be able to binge on my missed dairy items (this binging combined with the weaning will probably result in an increase in growth around the middle for this mama).  Poor Frog Face may have to deal with this allergy for a while still, although many babies apparently outgrow their dairy allergy within a couple years. 

Anyway, back to poop.  There are many types of poop out there: I have come to learn that bright green poop after blueberries is okay, and that Frog Face is the master of “stealth poops” where he somehow manages to fill a diaper without making a single sound, and the only way I know it is filled is when I get a whiff of his tushy or (far too frequently) stick my hand in it when I go to pick him up.

I might be a bit crazy to pay so much attention to poop, but that’s okay.  I have been trained to observe poop at work so I can’t help but observe it at home too.  Just another way that raising children is similar to raising animals.  And hey!  At least Goober is fully potty trained, so there is that to be thankful for!

Bet you thought I was going to post a picture of poop huh?  Instead I give you my little Frog Face.  3 months old last Saturday and already thinking he can sit like a big boy.

Her "strong" pose.  I think she looks a bit like the Joker from Batman