Reviving this blog

It's been more than 2 years since I published to this blog - high time I started on it again!
The kids have gotten so big. William is 2, Zoe 4, and John 6.  John started 1st grade 3 weeks ago and I started doing lunchbox napkins for him  - I've been trying to improve my drawing skills, so the best way to do that is practice practice practice!  I've also started illustrating the kids' chore charts to get some practice there.

William continues to have terrible eczema on his arms and legs - it's clearly allergies as it comes and goes, but we can't seem to figure out what he's allergic to. He's talking all the time now and has a fantastic sense of humor. And Zoe is... simply amazing. Her imagination, intelligence, and emotional awareness are stunning for a child her age. I've tried to keep track of her (and the boys) stories as they tell them, but I know I'm only capturing a fraction of what they tell me.

It's hard to believe that only 7 years ago, I was struggling to get pregnant and praying for healthy children. Now we're blessed with three amazing, smart, beautiful kiddos that make my life so much better every day. Even when I'm screaming at them to pick up their toys. And by screaming, I really mean "bellowing" ;)

Fairy houses

I've been reading The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule and really enjoying it. So, when the labor day weekend came and it wasn't horrifically hot, the kids and I decided to make fairy houses:

After we set up the house, I found some old clay drip pans in the garage and we decided to paint them for the fairies to they could have some dinner ware.  JJ added two round stones for chairs and we gave them a bit of bread and honey so they'd get the idea that the plates were for them.

The next morning, sure enough the fairies had eaten up the bread and honey!  And apparently they'd used a honking big tongue because rather a lot of the paint was missing off the dishes (thank goodness it was non-toxic - note to self, shellac them next time...). And they were knocked around a bit. The kids were thrilled.  And the dog didn't look terribly guilty either :)

Well the no dairy thing worked! For the last week and a half William has slept 7-9 hours every night. It's insane. It's wonderful. It's terrifying. I keep worrying that there is something wrong with him but apparently thus is how Normal babies sleep. I mean my other two didn't do this so I thought they were normal. Yikes!
But I'm not going to argue with a full nights sleep at 3 months (as long as he keeps gaining weight)!

So here's the specifics - he's got an intolerance (not allergy) to dairy protein and soy. But as these things go its pretty mild - I can still have butter but that's about it. The more protein the worse the reaction - so yogurt and cheese are particularly bad. Small amounts of cooked dairy seem to be ok - I had some biscuits and gravy at my moms with no problem - but uncooked is an issue (like cream in my coffee). So bye bye pizza, ice cream, yogurt, sour cream coffee cake ... But hello sleep! His eczema cleared up within days of me eliminating these things - no more diaper rash, less spit up, less gas and overall happier baby!

He smiled at me

William has been flashing his killer smile for a while. Today he was nursing and he stopped and looked up at me and just broke into the biggest grin ever. He's such a lady killer!

He's started having conversations where he coos and smiles. I just love it. And of course everywhere I go, people just love him- he's such a perfect little baby. He looks like a doll and no one can resist. I had 5 different women and one man come up and talk to me just to be able to be near and admire William including the sushi chef at Krogers. :)

Bye bye dairy

Let us have a moment of silence as we mourn the passing of dairy from my diet at least for the next few days. No more cream in my coffee (which probably means no more coffee if this morning is any indication). No more yogurt. No mor cookies or coffee cake or buttered bread. No more pizza (aaagh) But if it helps him sleep better and be less rumbly tummy it will be worth it. My food diary has lead me to suspect milk and yogurt as the main culprits but as dairy is a daily part of my diet it would explain the ongoing gas and greenish poop issues. So would gluten so if the no dairy thing doesn't work that's my next try. It will certainly be challenging! Fortunately real simple just did an issue that lists a bunch of healthy snacks many of which don't have dairy in them so I'm headed to the store today to pick up some to try and keep my mind off of cheese and cookies. :)

Last night was brutal - William was unable to sleep for more than 30-45 minutes unless he was held. His pooping and gas kept waking him up. He wanted to nurse constantly (which blows my oversupply theory ) and was just miserable. My poor baby!

Eczema maybe

Well the quest to figure out the poop color mystery has now been joined by the what is causing the babies eczema mystery. Could be the same thing. Could be two different things. My current theory is sunspots which I'm sticking with until I get enough data with the food diary. William has a red bumpy rash all over his body with some areas that are very dry patches. I've lotioned the heck out of him but that only helps the dry patches . Doesn't seem to bother him although not much bothers this kid.

I'm switching to method free and clear laundry soap today to see if that helps.

Attachment baby

I have to say william is the classic attachment baby in a lot of ways. Took to breast feeding like a pro, sleeps better when held ( what baby doesn't?), and lives the body carrier. The other two weren't really into the carriers but this little guy adores it. I can take him anywhere and he will be super calm then just fall asleep as long as he's in the carrier. It is a total life saver!