I always loved my baby, but I must admit mothering has gotten a lot funner as time presses on.

During the first 6 weeks of bleary-eyed sleeplessness, I wondered (as a first time mom) if I ever would hear something more than a low grunt coming out of my adorable little baby. 

My jaw literally dropped the day I heard her make a sweet, baby-like “coo.”  It was the most beautiful sound in the world as far as I was concerned.

Then just the other day, her grandmother was visiting, and playing pat-a-cake with her, and you know what?  My little baby clapped her hands on her own to the song!

It was magic.

To see such blatant evidence that those baby wheels were turning was amazing to me.  I called for my husband to come see, I ran to get the cam corder.

It was an official “proud parent” moment.

Since that break through, she hasn’t been able to stop “pat-a-cake-ing.”  She is so excited about the accomplishment.

Seeing as this has been so much fun and wonder-full, I can hardly imagine the amazement of seeing her do anything more.

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I have  a friend whose 5-month-old baby cries each time she goes potty – number 2 to be exact.

Her pediatrician told her not to give the baby any fresh foods from plants, because they could cause allergies at this young age (no fruit or veggies yet).  So my friend has been giving her daughter some rice cereal in addition to her normal liquid formula, as directed.

But the baby is obviously painfully constipated. 

So the baby’s grandmother visited and said that back in the day, “I gave my babies applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes at this age, and my children didn’t develop food allergies.” 

My friend’s mom encouraged her to give the baby plant-based food that may loosen the stool and stop the painful cycle the baby is in.

So now my friend is considering following her mother over her pediatrician.

But my friend might not be totally “living on the edge.”

Up until a few years ago, doctors considered it important to wait until age 1 or as late as age 3 to introduce certain foods, like eggs, fish, and peanuts to youngsters.  But after some reading, I learned that now doctors don’t believe delaying will make much of a difference.

According to a report in January 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics says there’s no concrete evidence that waiting to give potentially-allergenic foods will prevent a child from developing an allergy.

Surely a little pureed apple and apricot couldn’t do too much damage, right?

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A cough here, a sneeze there,  it could seem so innocent, but doctors say adults and teens could have whooping cough, not know it and accidentally pass it on to vulnerable children and babies.

 Whooping cough can be a deadly illness, and cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, have doubled in some states since last year.

 The bacterial disease is strongly contagious.  Most adults don’t know they have it until it has set in for two weeks.

Then, doctors say it can cause violent coughing spells and can kill young children.

Whooping cough especially for infants can cause such a severe breathing problem that they can’t even catch their breath, they lose energy and strength and eventually struggle to eat and breathe.

Pediatrician Dr. Steven Riggs at Covenant Clinic in Waterloo says there have been some pertussis-related deaths recently in Iowa.

Doctors say many adults have pertussis but not even realize it.  They think they have a cold, but they could give it to a child where it would be much more serious.

Infants usually catch the disease from an adult or teen, not another infant.

That is why doctors like Riggs urge adults and teenagers to get the relatively new adult pertussis vaccine, to protect the smallest among us.

“Every adult and teenager should get this at least once in their life,” he says. 

Doctors say women should not get the vaccine while pregnant, but they should get immunized right after giving birth.

Better yet, doctors say men, women and teens should get the vaccine today to cut down on the growing number of cases of whooping cough.

What do you think about the opportunity to get this new vaccine?  Would you get it?

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Despite piles of laundry calling my name, a lawn that was looking a little shabby, and more tasks waiting to be accomplished which I will not mention, I ignored them all Saturday and left town with the fam.

After a two-hour meeting in the morning, I just had an overwhelming need to “go somewhere.”

I’d never been to The Amana Colonies, and I always wanted to go, so my husband, baby and I packed up and drove.

It was already 3:45 in the afternoon, but I didn’t care.  We just needed a break from the ordinary.  And I’m glad we went.

The quaint buildings and shops inspired a festive feeling that you only get when you visit somewhere new.

There was a live blues band performing outside which created a little bit of weekend magic, and even the baby seemed inspired, kicking her legs to the beat.

We had a nice dinner at one restaurant and some homemade pie at another, and just enjoyed walking outside in the fresh air.

Driving back, we realized that upon traveling to the colonies, we took a much longer route – about 20 minutes longer than we needed to, but again, we really didn’t care.  It was just nice to think about something other than the monotonous daily tasks waiting for us.

My husband seemed more relaxed and happier, so did I, and we both thought the baby enjoyed being somewhere new as well.

I’ve read statistics that claim workers are more productive after vacation, and generally perform better when they have regular vacation time.  I think I can see why – even after a few hours out of the ordinary, we felt pretty refreshed, nicer and more patient.

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”  - True words indeed!

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If you ever struggled with keeping your home organized, it’s a whole new world with a child!

Let’s just say I wasn’t famous for my tidy room growing up.  In college, an acquaintance passed my bedroom door, looked in, and asked, “What happened?”  As in, ["There certainly must have been an earthquake or tornado hit this room, what happened!?"]

There is a saying to “covet the best gifts,” and I certainly admire/covet people who are born with a natural ability to organize.  It is something that I am determined to master, but it takes a concerted effort at the moment.

Throw in the wonderful demands of a baby: getting the baby down for naps, diaper changing, feeding, pumping, developmental play, story time, song time, walks, cuddling, plus making dinner, trying to clean it up, LAUNDRY (it will bury you alive if you’re not careful), daily essential errands, and, oh yeah, a full-time job…

And you’ve got yourself a miracle waiting to be performed.  – Or at least that’s what it feels like some days.

Enter: The FLY Lady.  Maybe some of you have heard of her?  “FLY” stands for “Finally Loving Yourself.”  She has truly been a Godsend to me.  People with my type of brain and abilities have found such hope and clarity through her kind, loving approach and her simple daily routines.

She targets “SHEs,” (Sidetracked Home Executives), and helps them resolve their “CHAOS” (“Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome”).   She blasts perfectionism, and surprisingly, blames the quest to be perfect in house cleaning for SHEs’ struggle to keep a house clean.

“House work, even done incorrectly, still blesses the family,” she says.  She also says, “You are not behind.  Don’t try to catch up, just jump in where you are.”

She used to be a SHE, and had a breakdown of sorts, found a house cleaning routine that she liked, then built on it.  A friend asked the FLY Lady (real name is Marla Cilley) to email the routine, and voila! A few years later, hundreds of thousands of women use her uplifting, comprehensive house cleaning routine.  It’s helped their houses to look better, but more importantly, self esteem has gone way up, and families are happier because there is more peace.

If you’ve ever struggled with home organization, or would just like some ideas on the subject, check her out.

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Statistics show the virtue of empathy is in danger of extinction among many children.

Being an animal lover, I wanted to help teach my daughter early how to treat animals kindly.  I was happy to notice she is naturally fascinated by our cats and when they are near, it is impossible to feed her or do anything except follow the cat.

I held her up to the cat, who is very patient, and she exuberantly grabbed the fur.  Luckily, my cat is shedding and the fur is loose, so when my daughter pulled away with fist fulls of fur, the cat didn’t seem bothered.

I put the baby’s open hand gently on the cat, “Gentle,” I said. “We love the kitty, she’s our friend.”

This was followed by an excited gumming of the cat’s shoulder, and a mouth full of loose fur, which I tried my best to wipe out.

It was obvious it was all done out of love.

I imagine our lessons on how to treat animals will continue, but I think they are off to a good start.

It seems that nearly all children have a natural curiosity of, and affection for animals.

How do you teach your children to be kind to animals?

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Thank you for your enlightening comments.  I really appreciate hearing your experiences.  Time has just flown since my last blog post.  Life certainly goes on super-overdrive once you have kids!

On the tail of Memorial Day, I wanted to share a little about one of my personal heroes.  He was a young married father of three.  History found him toward the end of World War II.  He decided to enlist in the Navy.

Commanding officers assigned the young man to the U.S.S. Callaghan, a destroyer, in the South Pacific.  July 27, 1945, the sailors found out they would be going home after one more night of duty.

During the early morning hours of July 28, a kamikaze struck the ship, blew up, and one of the plane’s bombs ignited the Callaghan’s supply of ammunition.

The explosion sent shrapnel flying violently, and the ship flooded.  47  sailors died because of the attack.  As for this young father, wood and metal shrapnel struck him in the neck, breaking it.

He thought he would die.  He thought of the faces of his wife and three young children as he drifted in and out of consciousness in the water.

He said a prayer then that would shape the course of the rest of his life.

“Dear God, if you let me go home and raise my family, I will never say ‘no’ to anything you ask me to do”

He thought he was paralyzed, doctors weren’t sure he’d survive, but eventually he regained the ability to walk and then run.

For what ever reason, God saw fit to save his life.

Did he make good on his promise?

Well, he literally served in the scouting program till he was nearly 90 years old – nearly 80 years in all!

He served in his church as a youth leader and a bishop.  He became a popular high school  music teacher.

He was also known to not only mow his own lawn, but several of his neighbors, especially widows, who

My hero, Doug Merrill. Standing, far right.

would find their grass cut as well. – The same went for snow blowing, too.

He was given “Museum Association Volunteer of the Year Award.”  I could go on and on.

You could say he made good on his promise.

His example of service has been a light to me and to my family and to all who know my grandfather.

My mother’s father, Douglas Merrill, is one of my heroes.

I hope we keep the memory of the service of countless men and women of our armed forces in our consciousness throughout the year – not just on one day.  Because so many of them gave all they had – or were willing to give all they had, so we could have what we have today.

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