Here I am!

I haven't forgotten about you, my dear readers. I've just been busier than usual. During my free moments during the day, I've been helping a friend prepare for a move the company she works for is about to do (paid gig) and also trying to work on my final and group project for my class. My final is due next Thursday and the group project is due on the 13th.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. We went over to the house of Lorian and Douglas along with many more people (12 total) for a large feast of good stuff. I contributed sweet potato casserole, mushroom stuffing and Field Roast. Manda brought the meat-free gravy and homemade cranberry sauce. There was also two other kinds of stuffing, ham, turkey, corn casserole, asparagus, green bean casserole and 4 pies. Douglas also made sweet tea. He's also from the south so thought it was appropriate to add that to the feast since I was bringing sweet potato casserole. Malcolm did really well the whole time we were there.

On Sunday, we are going to an after-Thanksgiving potluck at Jill and William's house where there will be at least 20 people. I'm making homemade cornbread for that feast.

Yay, food!

3-Month Letter

My Little Mal,

You turned 3-months old earlier this week - good job! This past month, you discovered that you can have fun. You like to smile a lot and suck on your right fist. My suspicion is that you are right-handed. One of your daddy's favorite things to do is to get you to giggle (he's much better than I am).



Your giggle is infectious! We have to work at getting you to giggle like we had to work at making you smile. Now you will greet me every morning with a smile. You've been working really hard on figuring out how to control your arms and get better at it every day. When you suck on your arm and fist, you make this obnoxiously loud slurping noise. It really is the cutest!

Since your 2-month exam with the pediatrician, your dad and I have been obsessed with your poop. We took a sample of your poop to the lab to have tested and the results showed that you weren't absorbing enough nutrients when you ate. We started giving you something to help out with that and you've been gaining weight like a champ since then. The other change is your poop. I won't go into details, but I will say that changing a poopy diaper is now an adventure.

A few weeks ago, we started attending a support group for new parents. We hang out with these other families every Wednesday and talk about how we deal with particular situations. On the first night, we decided to get a picture of all of the babies together.

You're still figuring out how to stay sitting up and have actually improved since this picture was taken. Fortunately, you are sitting next to Michael who is a few weeks older than you so he did what he could to help you out.

You also love for mommy and daddy to sing to you and make faces at you. You're trying really hard to mimic the faces. Your newest thing is blowing raspberries.

I would have to say that this has been a very productive month for you. You really seem to be enjoying the growing up thing except for tummy time. We're going to work on that more before you meet your cousin, Collin. He's a few days younger than you and he loves tummy time. He started lifting himself up weeks ago! Check it out:

I know you'll get there really soon. No pressure, I swear.

Both of your parents got sick this month and somehow you didn't get the illness from us. I am so impressed! I have to admit, I fear your first illness, so keep up the good work with staying healthy. You are my favorite little guy.

Love,
Mommy

How to be a good parent when you are sick

Please tell me because I do not know.

I think I had a 24-hour stomach bug yesterday that totally kicked my butt. I woke up and felt a little 'eh' and it proceeded to get worse throughout the day. I couldn't eat or drink anything without my stomach cramping up and add on nausea, diarrhea, weakness, fever and a headache. I could barely lift my arms. How am I supposed to take care of Malcolm when I am that sick? I really don't know what I would have done if Tony wasn't here to take care of the little bean all day long. He brought him to me when he needed to eat but I was having a hard time with that due to dehydration.

I am feeling much better today. Not 100%, but definitely better.

Update on the baking soda as deodorant: it is working much better than expected. I have to admit, I am quite surprised. I would be interested to see how it works in more humid environments where people tend to sweat more.

There are a couple of ways to apply it. Some people mix it up into a paste as described here. I brush it on with an old make-up brush. I've done it when my pits are completely dry and when I splash a bit of water on them - it doesn't seem to make a difference. Although I apply it while leaning over the sink, baking soda tends to get all over the bathroom counter.

Armpit stink

I have sensitive pits and they are particular to what gets put on them. Most anti-perspirants give me a terrible rash and deodorants don't do the trick in covering up the smell. I've tried the 'natural' crystal deodorant but it stings my sensitive skin. Right now, I have Trader Joe's unscented deodorant in my medicine cabinet but it doesn't really deodorize very well so I end up not using it most of the time.

Since being eco-friendly is the new 'it' thing these days, I've been reading a lot about people using good ole' baking soda as deodorant. I think I'm finally going to give it a try. I don't have much need for an anti-perspirant since I don't sweat much (it kinda weirds me out anyways. Aren't we supposed to sweat?) and I don't have much to lose since I'm basically not using anything now.

This post is brought to you by the stink of my armpits as I wait for Tony to get out of bed on this Saturday afternoon so I can go take a shower while he watches the little guy.

12 Weeks old!

12 Weeks Old:

8 Weeks Old:

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