Discoveries, Confirmations, and School

I made a fabulous discovery this past week.  Well, I say that.  Really, I've known it all along, but it was definitely confirmed this week.  Here it is:

About 90% of Bella's disciplinary problems stem from boredom - lack of cognitive challenge and/or physical and metal stimulation.

I mean really, I've known this.  The kid will wander around the house or follow me around like a puppy dog...drives me crazy...  I'll tell her to go find something to do, but playing just isn't enough for her.  And let's be honest - I have been horrible about challenging her.  Yes, we've done "school" but not super-consistently.  And once Isaiah came - yeah...didn't happen.  Anyway, so on Thursday I decided to do an experiment (on my children...mwah-ha-ha!)  I was going to have Bella and Balian paint, but Bella said she wanted to do play-dough...so they did play-dough at their "little table" while I was feeding Isaiah...(the first time I've included Balian) and lo and behold - they played together!  they shared!  there was no fighting!  Bella was actually helping her brother, and Bella probably worked on play-dough for a good hour or so.  seriously.  Then, I tried to make a point of letting Bella do as much as she could all by herself.  She made her own sandwich for lunch, cleaned up her own messes, and helped me with various things (not that she doesn't do these things on a typical day...just trying to over-emphasize it).  That afternoon, I pulled out the mega-blocks, and Bella built towers for over an hour that afternoon.
Over the course of the entire day I had little to no disciplinary problems with her.  I know that all of these activities seem elementary for her, but the point was that she needs direction to get her started on something, but once she got started, she would work diligently for over an hour without a fuss, a fight, or wandering around aimlessly...

The odd thing is that I suppose I have been wandering pretty aimlessly myself, so to speak.  I mean, I've had this idea of what I want "school" to look like, but I haven't been able to achieve it.  I tried getting a curriculum, but every day as I'm looking over the activities for the day, most of it wasn't challenging for Bella at all.  And I am so not good at coming up with my own activities - that takes a special kind of creativity, and I don't have it.  I actually was thinking about giving up the whole homeschooling thing for this next year and enrolling Bella into a PK-4 class.  I was actually looking at some websites for some local places...but I couldn't seem to find what I was looking for.  Then, just out of curiosity, I checked out the Montessori schools - and I realized then that my whole way of doing things (teaching, potty training, etc.) all seemed to be rooted in this "Montessori" approach.  The ironic thing is that over a year ago my mom had given me a book called "Teaching Montessori in the Home" - I just never took the time to look at it.  So I suppose a lot of my ideas about potty training and teaching my kids in general have stemmed from my mom's way of doing things, which came from the Montessori approach.  Totally makes sense.  The more I looked into teaching Montessori at home, the more I liked it - and the more I saw that I really could do it - and how perfect it is for ALL of the kids, because it is supposed to be used in a context of multiple ages.
So now, we have a plan for next year (or as soon as we can set it up) that is much less stressful, and much more challenging for Bella.  It helps her to work at her own pace and teaches her to become self-disciplined in all that she does.
In the meantime, I'm trying to incorporate as much of the Montessori approach into everything that we do here, at home, as much as I can.  Now that I know what I want, I have much more direction (and motivation) to do it.

This week we've done a lot of "small" things.
Building towers with blocks:

And learning how to set a table properly:

Bella also learned her months of the year and can officially count by 10's on her own.  It always amazes me how much more easily kids learn when you put something into a song.  We learned the months of the year to the tune of "5 Little Indians."  The words all fit (if you add a couple of "and"s in there)and she learned it in about a day.  Works for me!

January, February, March, and April
May, June, July, and August
September, October, and November
December

Tongue Ties and Breastfeeding - Part 3

Today we went to Ft. Worth to see Dr. Cole about Isaiah's lip tie.  After looking him over, asking a lot of questions, and explaining all of the issues that it can cause, he said it boiled down to 2 questions:
1. "Is he gaining enough weight?"
2. "Are you experiencing any discomfort while nursing?"

The answer to the first question was yes.  He's been gaining weight well ever since he got his tongue clipped.  However, the answer to question #2 was yes as well.  I've still been having a lot of soreness while nursing.

Essentially, it boils down to if the lip tie is causing symptoms in either mom or baby.  If the baby has a lip-tie, but there are no symptoms in either the baby or the mom, then it doesn't need to be clipped.  However, if the baby or the mother are symptomatic, then it should be clipped to help with the nursing difficulties.  However, just as I have stated before, he explained that a baby can be symptomatic even if they aren't breastfeeding.  They can have just as hard of a time with a bottle as well - if not more so (like Balian did).

*side-note - I really liked Dr. Cole.  He isn't a pediatric dentist, but rather a holistic dentist.  You could tell right off that he is a believer, because of his incredible Joy.  Very positive and very good about explaining everything.  He wanted to make sure that I knew the ins and outs of the symptoms, why the symptoms were there (how it all worked), the procedure, and what to expect (or not expect) after the procedure and healing process.

After our consultation, Dr. Cole put a swab of stuff to numb a bit on the lip tie site. A couple minutes later, I swaddled Isaiah in his swaddle blanket and laid him down on the dental chair.  We all  put on our "special" glasses to protect our eyes - yes, even Isaiah - and while I kinda held Isaiah still, Dr. Cole used the laser to cut Isaiah's lip tie.

The procedure itself probably took about a minute or 2 total.  Isaiah cried a good amount, but only because they had to hold his upper lip up to cut the tie, which covered his nose and he couldn't breathe as well - or so he thought.  As soon as the procedure was done, he stopped crying, even before I picked him up.  They put some Aloe on the site to aid in the healing process, then left me to nurse him.

I immediately noticed a difference.  First, he was able to get SO much more of the nipple in his mouth - so he got a deeper latch.  His lip was able to flange up, like it's supposed to, and I could hardly see any of the areola - because Isaiah's mouth was covering it all!  His suction felt much stronger, and as soon as I had a let-down he started choking.  This totally makes sense.  He was able to stimulate the areola much more, and his suck could be more efficient due to a better latch - so my flow was a lot faster than what he was used to!  And that goes into the next thing - a shorter feeding!  It took him about 20 minutes to eat vs. the 30-45 minutes it has been taking.

I did notice a bit of discomfort on the areola while nursing - probably because Isaiah hasn't been stimulating that part of the areola up to this point.  So my nipples have been "toughened up" in the spot his mouth is usually stimulating, but because he's getting a deeper latch I'll have to kinda "re-toughen up" on the areola where he will be stimulating now.  Other than that, it felt much better.

At his second feeding, he did the same thing.  He actually drained the first breast in about 10 minutes, then only ate for about 5 minutes on the second side.  I don't think he has ever actually drained a breast before.  I usually switch sides before he does (at about the 15 minute point.)  So I was amazed.  I kept offering it to him again, but nope - he was done.

So, we set up a follow-up appointment, and they sent me home with instructions to stretch the lip out good with every feeding, give Tylenol if necessary, and they gave me some Aloe to put on the site a couple times a day until it healed.

Let the healing begin....

New Fitted Diapers for LoveBums

So I've been experimenting with some new fabrics and new techniques for some of my diapers.  I think I've got a new fitted diaper down, and I'll (hopefully) be ready to sell some of these pretty soon.  I finished this diaper yesterday, and I'm really happy with how it fits - so glad I have a baby to fit it on :)

Ok, so here's the stats:

This diaper is made out of 4 layers of 100% organic cotton fleece (so soft!!) - 2 diaper layers, and 2 soaker-pad layers.  100% organic cotton French Terry is another option that feels very similar - the same weight of fabric, and also very soft.  They both feel like your favorite sweatshirt!  Stitched and serged on edges for durability and no raveling.
6 snaps in the front.











Soaker pad is a "flap-style" - sewn in, but only on the top edge, so it "flaps" around while in the dryer, therefore drying faster.

Elastic at legs and waist, to help contain messes.







And I know you want to see this on a baby...

Isaiah is about 11.5 lbs. right now, and this is a size small that should fit 10-20 lbs.  The smallest snap setting fits, but is starting to get snug.

              

Not super-bulky, so it's easy to move around in, but the absorbency is very good.  Isaiah wet in it twice before I could even feel that it was damp, and at his normal diaper-change time, it was wet, but didn't feel totally soaked.

     Hugs the legs without being too tight.

Doesn't it just make you want a fluffy bum at home?

These will sell for $10 (the French Terry fitted would be $8 - less expensive fabric).  Most fitted diapers you find are well above that (about $15) for different sizes, and one-size fitted diapers are more like $20.  I think that's crazy.  And remember that all of my proceeds will be going toward making diapers for those that need them!!

I'll be ordering a bunch of supplies (hopefully) this week.  So I'll be making these ready-to-sell very soon! :)

Let me know what you think!!