Bigger does not always mean better!

As a blogger, you really have to love your bloggy friends. Bex over at Brown Eyed Girl Bex sent me a 'personal' email (bonus marks for that!), with a link to a story about how infants who gain weight rapidily from birth to six months are more likely to be obese toddlers by the age of 3.

Whether this is true or not, is besides the point, but she's been reading along about E's weigh gain journey and saw the story and thought it would make me feel better! And it definitely did... finally some reserach to back up what I have been thinking for the last 6 months - thanks Bex!

I love when there is some good medical evidence (from one of my fave schools, Harvard), that basically throws a shoe in the face of the medical professionals who believe that bigger babies are healthier babies... when I personally think this is not always the case.

The research study followed 559 babies ... and measured length and weight at birth, six months, and three years. They looked beyond how much weight babies gained, and focused on how quickly they gained it. Results of their study concluded that babies who gained weight more rapidly from 0-6 months were more likely (by 40%) to be obese by his/her third birthday (and the results were no different for boys or girls).

Now obviously this will not be the case for all babies... but the underlying message of the story was that 'bigger' babies, are not neccessarily 'healthier' babies... and obesity aside, I like what this story is saying.

As a new mom to a 'smaller' baby (who was not premature), I get a lot of remarks about just how 'small' E is, and after a while you start to wonder if you've done something wrong in the size department. Its sometimes to the point that I wonder if our society expectations of a baby is to be that chubby, rolly-polly, baby that's fat jiggles when he/she smiles and laughs, and if he/she isn't ... then people start to ask questions of concern.

This leads me to the question... what is wrong with slender babies?

I realize that mothers of 'big' babies probably get sick of hearing 'oh she's sooooo big' the same way I get sick of hearing 'oh he's sooooooo small', but I think bigger babies are more accepted in our society than the small/petit babies who take a bit long to gain that baby fat everyone is looking for.

My hope is that no matter what weight a baby is that it is healthy ... whether he/she is a door stopper or a feather in the wind. What's your take on the story... and society's idea of a healthy looking baby?

Fragment Friday!

So... I don't have time to flush out one 'GREAT' post today, so I thought I would go with the update around here, and random fragments of info that I feel like sharing. After all it's Friday, and nobody should work too hard on Friday, not even a blogger on maternity leave!

• So... earlier in the week, E had his weigh in with the family doctor and he is up to 12lbs, 10ozs! I was happy ecstatic, and so was the family doctor. The entire time we were in his office, E just smiled and giggled, driving home the point that he is A okay. The good news is that we don't have to report back in with this doctor until his 6 month shots in mid-May (although we do go back to see the ped in mid-April).

• I had my MomMeFit class today... and it was so much fun. E was the best baby of the group today... he didn't say boo, except to giggle at me during the circuit training. Its a crazy work out in an hour, and although I contemplate suicide about 20 minutes in, I feel fantastic when the hour is up! The instructor (MJ) is a GREAT woman, she is motivating, and fun, and really knows her stuff. She keeps the class pumped up and the intensity high. I can't wait for next week!

• Are you looking for a good chiropractor in Ottawa? My chiro, Dr. Keith Ellard of Glebe Chiropractic is holding his semi-annual 'Discover Chiropractic Week', which if you are at all interested in the benefits of chiropractic treatment - this is a MUST for you. He offers a free consultation, assessment, and X-rays if necessary... its $175 worth of services for FREE, and no obligation to commit to any further treatment. I actually did this a few years back when I was having real issues with tension in my neck... and I was so happy I did. Dr. Ellard is great, and if you have any reservations about getting an adjustment, you will quickly see that the bed he uses takes the fear of the 'crack' away, as you almost don't feel anything. If your interested, call the office at 613.237.9000 and ask to book a consultation with Dr. Ellard between the week of March 30th to April 3rd - you won't be sorry!

• PC and I joined the blackberry revolution last weekend. Our contracts were up and of course they lured us back in with offering us a free upgrade if we signed another contract. So we bit the bait, and since it was a 3 year contract, we felt the pressure to go with blackberrys as in 3 years time the lonely little cellphone may be non-existent! Well - not really, but of course this is how they sell it to you, and we all know PC and I are whores when it comes to a good sales pitch!

• E got an early Easter present from his Grandma & Grandpa C... a new jogging stroller! He loves it and so do we! It is so easy to push, and will be great for running, rollerblading, and off roading on some trails. Thanks G&G C!
• 

• Our PVR is still on the blimp... so I have resorted to tracking down the episodes I am missing of my fav shows... online of all places. I have even discovered a new series (thanks to Boyder for the rave reviews) that I absolutely LOVE. Its called... United States of Tara, it airs on Showtime, and its seriously GOOD! It's about a woman with multi-personality disorder. She is married and has 2 kids, and she transitions from this down to earth normal wife and mother, to 1 of 3 possible alters: Alice(the perfect wife), T(a crazy teenager from hell), or Buck (a hillbilly man). Its comicial, and fun, and entertaining. Toni Collette plays these parts so well, she really deserves an acting award of some kind. I really like the show, you should check it out if you want to kill a few hours. They are only 11 episodes into the first season, and trust me after the first two you will no doubt be hooked!

• Wow... it has taken me all day to get this post done. We BBQ'd steak and potatoes tonight with a huge salad that I put East Side's Signature salad dressing on - SO GOOD. E has been in bed for a good 3.5 hours now... and I think I may try to hit the hay now too as tomorrow is suppose to be beautiful outside... so will most likely take E out for a walk in his new ride.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Fragment Friday. I wish each of you a fabulous weekend, and perhaps if mine isn't too hectic I may even get in another post before Monday!

Oh the economy...

Lately this all we ever hear about on the news... what a frail state our economy is in. And yet, I don't deny what every news outlet is saying, but I have a hard time seeing how this frail economy is affecting me.

This isn't a post to brag (because as we know... bragging gets me nowhere), but in all seriousness, my life hasn't really changed since the economy has taken a turn for the worst.

My friends and I were chatting about this in recent conversations that everyone is always saying 'oh the economy' or 'well you know with the economy the way it is....', and well I know its not great for the country to be in this economic situation, I personally think we have actually benefited from the changes in the country/world's financial situation.

For instances, gas has dropped down to a reasonable price again, which makes traveling and taking trips much more affordable for my friends and family. This is thanks to the economic situation.

Stores are offering discounts and random super sales to bring people in, because the state of the economy has people watching their pennies. I think sales are fantastic, and if stores want to offer me an extra 30 or 50 percent off the regular price because of 'the economy', I happily accept.

I guess much of my personal situation has to do with two things... PC and I both have fairly decent paying/secure jobs, and we don't have tons of any money tied up in the variable stock market.

Obviously I feel terrible for families in the automotive industry and other rise and fall industries that have had to make major cut backs due to our economic state, as I know there are people out there going through hard times (and trust me, I really do feel for these people as I know the stress in these situations can be paralyzing). But aside for that... I don't necessarily think that this current economic situation is all bad... the fact that gas is lower, and that retailers are lowering their prices is a good thing in my world.

And let's face it, the economy will bounce back... maybe not tomorrow, or next month, but in the not so distance future, things will come around for everybody. Gas will rise again, and prices for standard things will again be through the roof. Unemployment will go down (way down hopefully) and all industires (old and new) will be calling for thousands of skilled workers. This day will come, I am certain!

I hope I haven't offended anyone by this post, but does anyone feel the same way? Has the current economic state really affected you? Or are you feeling like things are moving along nicely, just like they always have?

Bragging gets you nowhere!

Earlier in the week PC and I were in the car together, and there was a piece on the radio about the number of colds reported by Canadians. Apparently... the number is fairly high, compared to recent years. At any rate... I couldn't really relate to this report as I haven't caught a cold in FOREVER.

After that radio report, I even remarked to PC that in the last 18 months, I have only taken 2 Tylenol... for one bad headache, not even for a cold. I went on to say how fortunate I was to not get a cold or the flu while I was pregnant, and that since E's birth, I haven't been sick at all.

I spent a good 10 minutes on the subject of just how healthy I am, even went as far to say that I have been around people who have been really sick (namely PC) and have yet to come down with even the slightest of bugs.

PC attributed it to my daily dose of vitamins over the last 18 months, as since 3 months before I got pregnant I started taking a prenatal/postnatal multi-vitamin. Personally, I just like to think that I have an immune system made of steel and that nothing can break it (ain't nothin gonna break my stride, ain't nothin going hold me down, oh no, I got to keep on moving!)

But of course... you can only brag for so long until somebody gets pissed off, and wants to take you down! And in my case, I have yet to pin point the culprit, but about 4 days after that 'look at me' conversation, I have now come down with a bugger of a head cold.

The worst part is ... since I am still breast-feeding, I can't take anything for it, so I have to really rely on the cool mist humidifier, the Benylin wall plug-ins, and good ol' Vicks vapour rub. What I wouldn't give to take an Advil cold & sinus pill ... or a Claritin.

As you can see... bragging gets you nowhere! Thanks to my big mouth, my 18 month healthy-as-a-horse non-cold & flu streak is over! Now I am back to being just like everybody else, with nothing to brag about!

Have you been sick a lot over the past year, or are you one of the lucky ones like me (not bragging I swear) who hasn't had a bad cold or the flu in recent months?

What a Croc!

Someone tweeted about this story last night week (I've been busy ok!), and I found it rather interesting, as I am actually a big fan of Crocs, and was eagerly awaiting E's feet to get a little bigger so I could buy him his first pair.

But apparently... according to the article, Crocs are very dangerous for kids, when they wear them near the side of a moving escalators. I would have never thought this... but apparently the Croc gets suctioned to the side of the escalator and chews up the foot pretty good before it decides to spit it out.

As the story details, there has been more than one incident where a child's foot has been damaged because he/she was wearing a pair of Crocs while riding an escalator.

Check out this image of the chewed up toddler foot and the chewed up Croc after an escalator incident....
WOWSERS! I am pretty sure it's not something to take lightly by the looks of these photos!

This story hasn't turned me off of Crocs altogether, but has made me think twice taking E on an escalator with Crocs on or any other form of rubber shoe for that matter.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Taking off the socks: Pew-eey!

I posted this on Facebook last night, but I know some of my faithful readers are not on FB, so I thought I would upload it here for your viewing pleasure! E is really starting to come alive around our house, he finds the smallest activities pretty funny! We love it!

Great Toy!

Meet Sophie the Giraffe! You would think this toy looks pretty boring from the outset, but believe it or not it seems to be E's favourite toy right now.

I bought it when I was in Toronto, sort of curious what was soooooo great about it. I had heard others rave about Sophie, but for the price point ($20), I was pretty skeptical.

However, in the last month, E has wanted to put everything in his month and chew on everything he can get his hands on, so when I heard Sophie was made of all natural rubber, and is a great substitute for hands in the mouth and other cloth toys... I snatched up the first one I saw!

She doesn't disappoint either. The concept of the toy is fairly simple... not a lot of bells and whistles. She makes a squeak here and there, but over all is a just a plain-jane type toy, that E seems to love.

I guess the other thing that make me want to buy her, is that she isn't just toy that the novelty will wear off when the next big thing in toys comes along... she's been around the block and back, as her history dates back to the 1960s. Her packaging reads ...

Born in 1961, her success is legendary in France. Made in the French Alps with natural rubber and non-toxic paint, Sophie has been safely cuddled and chewed for over 40 years! She is soft, light, and easy to grasp and fits perfectly into little hands. Sophie is loveable and amusing. She even makes a happy sound when squeezed. Babies especially love her bumpy head to soothe their teething gums.

I love that I can wash Sophie in warm soap and water... and that she is not going to fade or get fuzzy. She is very low maitnenance, a quality that is hard to come by in for many toys.

Have you heard of Sophie, do you own one? What other toys would you recommend for a soon to be teething baby?

Do I mumble or is he hard of hearing...?

At our house... PC and I have this on-going battle about whether I mumble when I talk or he is just plain hard of hearing.

Now... since this is my blog and not PC's... you know how this one is gonna go, but I am sure in PC's world, on PC's non-existent blog, you know who would win in his version.

I don't remember this so-called battle being evident back when we first got together, after all... the annoying habits never come to light until the young love phase wears off, but ... for a few years now we have been going back and forth on the issue.

The evidence I have stacking up against PC goes like this:

• Whenever I talk... whether we are at the dinner table, down the hallway, or in the next room... he shouts 'WHAT?' as if he is an old man who is... (wait for it)... hard of hearing!
• If he stays up late watching TV, and I get up early and turn on the TV, its on at least 10 notches above what I consider an acceptable volume for the hearing elite.
• When he talks on the phone... he talks louder (than me), like someone *might* do when they think the other person can't hear them or perhaps, they can't hear themselves.
  
• I hear him saying 'WHAT?' to other people he talks with... not just me.

In his defense (and you know it will be a weak one)... he's got this on me:

• Whenever I talk... whether we are at the dinner table, down the hallway, or in the next room... he shouts 'WHAT?' as if he is listening to a woman who mumbles.
• And...
  

Clearly... he's got to be hard of hearing!

Its funny, because now that we have E in the family... I laugh as we use him to communicate to one another.

Earlier in the evening, I was downstairs surfing the net, when I let out an 'oh', as I discovered something online. PC says to me... 'what?' - not the hard of hearing WHAT?, the 'I clearly heard you... what did you say oh for' what?

It was really an internal oh that accidentally escaped... so I said 'I found a yoga class for the .... nevermind' (as it was unimportant and I knew he could care less about yoga).

Then he gave me the hard of hearing WHAT? To which E gives a grunt, and PC says to him: I didn't hear what she said either... she's mumbling again!

I will go as far as to admit that I do mumble... when what I am saying is not of importance, but when I want an answer... I make sure I speak up, and clearly make my statement, which leads me to believe that I mumble far less, than PC is hard of hearing.

Tonight for example... I yelled down to the basement to him:

Me: Is that dish loose on the roof? (because the winds were gusting at about 90kms/h)
PC: WHAT? (hard of hearing WHAT)

Me: The dish? Is it loose on the roof?
PC: WHAT. (double hard of hearing WHAT)

Me: The di... forget it (mumbling by now).

PC: Silence.

Now... you can't tell me, I was mumbling in the beginning of that exchange, I was yelling it, and yet NOTHING.

The only other conclusion I've come to is, if by some miracle PC's hearing is perfectly fine... then its gotta boil down to multi-tasking, which he will admit, he does not do. If when I am talking (not mumbling) he is watching Sports Centre or something else that he thinks is even one tenth more interesting than what I might be saying... he tunes out, and his go-to response is the hard of hearing WHAT?, which he doesn't want to admit to, so he chalks it up to me mumbling, therefore he is not in the wrong - typical male!

I have a feeling... we'll still be going at this one in 50 years, which by that time, he will definitely be hard of hearing, and I will most likely be mumbling about him being hard of hearing for 50 years!

Oh the joys of marriage!

What fun little back n' forth battles do you have with your significant other... ? Any that you would like to share?

This and That

Its been several days since my last post, and I wish I could say I had a valid excuse for not posting, but as it turns out I have no excuse! I have had tidbits and partial posts floating around in my head... but just never the time to sort them out on the blog, so I thought I would just throw out these random updates and thoughts, and let you take what you want from them... if anything at all!

• Two weekends ago, I took E on his first over night roadie... to a cottage just past Bancroft. My roomies from University (130-O ladies) planned a get together as one of our members (shout out to Bee) is moving to Texas, and we wanted to have one last weekend together, before she departed. It was quite the adventure... packing for this trip for me was nothing, but packing to take a baby to a cottage in the middle of winter ... WOW! The things you have to remember to take... I don't think the term 'packing lightly' was meant to be applied when a baby is involved.
  

The weekend was quite good... as per usual when I get together with these ladies, we always have a good time... reminiscing about old times, and then adding new memories with our silliness!

Here is a quick pic from that weekend...

• Then... last weekend, I went to a SURPRISE goodbye party for little Miss Texas... in Oshawa, as her sister had planned this party in addition to our previous ladies weekend. This meant, a second roadie with E, for a second weekend in a row. This was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I wanted to go, but wasn't sure about taking E all that way just to go there and back. But then my BFF Kristy was going to be at her place that weekend in T.O. so I decide to go to the party in Oshawa with E, and then in T.O to stay the night, see her new condo, and get in a quick visit. It was a fabulous trip... Bee was so surprised when she showed up and we all jumped out to welcome her, and seeing Kristy was the perfect bonus to the trip. On top of that.... taking E in the car was awesome! He's a good little traveler... so our next trek will be definitely be the 8 hour jaunt to Thessalon!

Here's a quick pic from last weekend... the boy toy in the picture is Bee's boyfriend Ryan - the reason she is moving to Texas!

• Tomorrow... we visit E's family doctor for the mommy are you feeding him enough monitoring session weight check up. I think its going well... I am hoping he will have gained close to another pound this round. The bottle feeding is going really well... and I have actually come to see that its a hell a lot more convenient to bottle feed on road trips than it is to breast-feed, so while I was at first a little bitter about the whole situation, I have since discovered the silver lining in it all.

• This week, the Tim Horton's Brier in on (curling for sports challenged)... and its been fun to watch (minus the fact that I have issues listening to Linda Moore and Ray Turnball for more than 20 minutes at a time. I won't go into a long rant on these two... but the older they get, the worse they are! Thank god for Vic Rauter... he's still got it)!

This is why I love curling so much:



Honestly... best shot I've seen in a long time, and so glad it came from Team Ontario!

• The time change has been kicking my ass this week... and its only Tuesday. E somehow got his signals crossed and is acting like we will fell back instead of springing ahead an hour. I... being the confident mother I am, was so sure that the darker mornings would translate into longer sleep-ins for E, but he apparently feels the need to wake up almost an hour earlier than he was previous to the time change. This has me being extra tired and thus being a little cranky by the day's end. I am hoping to get back on schedule ... by the end of the week (if the good lord knows what's good for this world)!

• Our PVR is on fritz... somehow, PC and a party who shall remain nameless (JULES!), were screwing around with the dish while I was away on the weekend, and the somehow the PVR quit working in the middle of this necessary repair. I could literally lose my mind. I heart my PVR... it allows me to keep up to date with my key shows, but not have to be restricted to the TV schedule, because as we all know... babies have this way of keeping you on THEIR schedule, which doesn't happen to be the same schedule as the TV guide. I grilled PC on how long the repair is going to take... as I was secreting loading the gun behind my back and removing the safety for emphasis.

• Before the PVR went on the fritz... I managed to take in the finale of The Bachelor... and the After the Final Rose, Part I and II. Oh the drama. I swear this is why I have faithfully watched this show, I love stuff like this. He dumps the one he proposed to, to ask for a second chance with the one he originally dumped... and its all on TV for my viewing pleasure. Someone at ABC obviously had me in mind when they thought up this show - I just can't get enough. And too boot, the Bachelor himself, Jason Mesnick, is now on Twitter... so now I can keep tabs on him and Molly as often as I want. God, I love when reality TV and social networking unite! LOVE IT!
  

• Baby bottles... HOLY complicated. I went to Toys R Us this week to look at getting some larger baby bottles for E, as he is outgrowing the 6 oz. bottle and fast. I am using breastfeeding bottles right now, and really like the nipples on these bottles. I want to keep the same type of nipple just on a larger bottle but do you think it could be that easy - NO! I must have starred at the bottle wall for a good 10 minutes just overwhelmed at all the options. Its crazy... slow flow, fast flow... even flow... air flow, drop-ins, plastic, BPA Free... the options are endless. I think taking the brakes off the Escape and putting them back on would be an easier job then selecting the right bottle and nipple to transition into!

Okay... there are other random thoughts floating around in my head, but I will have to cap it off at that for now as I am one tired cat! Feel free to comment on anything that may have peaked your interest... especially if you have some suggestions in the bottle department.

Cheers!

5 months... already!

Well... today my sweet boy is 5 months old! Hard to believe... (at least for me!). The last month has gone by so quickly... perhaps because it was the shortest month of the year, but also maybe because E and I are having so much together I don't notice the days flipping by on the calender.

This past month E seems to be getting more coordinated as each day passes. He has finally realized that his arm is attached to his wrist, which is attached to his hand, and that he has control over when and how he moves it. He is grabbing everything in his sight ... and with that hand/eye coordination comes the connection to his mouth. He swipes everything he sees straight into his mouth.

In the last month E has also mastered the roll from back to front. Before he was doing front to back, but now he's got the back to front going, so he is all over the place, especially when left to play in his crib.

He is also quite responsive to the sound of my voice... I love to call him from another room, and see him searching around to spot me!

E has also discovered cartoons... accidentally! I turned the TV one morning while I was getting dressed and hit the wrong channel which ended up being some kids cartoon - his eyes were glued to the screen for 10 minutes straight, he didn't look at me once. I think we have a TV buff on our hands whether we like it or not!

As the weather gets nicer now, I am hoping to get out more with E. I love to see his reactions to things that he has never encountered before... and the more we get out of the house, the more opportunity he will have to do this.

I can't wait.

As per usual, he are the results from his 5 month photo shoot!

A quick update!

Well... it seems I have been short on time these past few days, which has meant blogging gets squeezed out of the daily routine., but I thought I would post a quick update before I hit the hay.

Today was a great day, as E returned to see the ped. this afternoon and the report was good.

He has gained a pound since he last visit... he is now a whopping 11 pounds, and happier than ever... see:

The ped. was very pleased by his progress over the week, and feels that we are on the right track. Of course she is going to keeping checking in on his progress over the next month, but she didn't see any cause for further concern if he keeps gaining weight. She figures he should be back on the holy graph in no time.

It was actually quite a relief to see the scale today... we are on the right track, and I am actually enjoying the new routine with bottle feeding, minus the daily bottle washing and sterling process.

Next week E returns to his family doctor and hopefully will receive his 4 month vaccinations... and the 'see you in 2 months' confidence nod.

I am feeling much better about the whole situation this week. Thanks to many of your for your care and concern, and advice, it really has put my mind at ease.