Murphy's (new-shoes) Law:

Buy your daughter a brand-spakin' new pair of (fifty dollar) sneakers for spring... (Hey, you'll pay anything as a parent to get your child the "only footwear engineered & specifically patented to address the podiatric needs of a child's rapidly growing feet")

Figures A & B:

...and she will, upon the first day of wearing them, stumble upon the only piece of stray gum in her school parking lot and step DIRECTLY ON IT.

Figures C & D:

It's a good thing my daughter is as cute as she is... Oh, and it also helps tremendously that these are from Stride Rite's new, 100% machine-washable line. Crisis averted- Whew!

Soy, my newest (and most unexpeted) hero!

Ok, so we all know that I've made a few inadvertent mistakes at the expense of my handsome little man lately....namely, this. Well...add the following to the list of terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad things that I've overlooked at poor little Gav's expense.

I stopped nursing him around 5 months. Mostly because it is much harder with your second child, (since you are constantly on the go with your first,) and way more convenient to just pack a bottle and go. (Also, I was having some serious boob issues at the time-- mastitis, which was an absolute day in the park, and other equally "fun" stuff which I'd rather spare you the details of....) Ok, enough qualifying my premature breastfeeding cessation story. Moving on.... When we switched him to formula, we decided to go with Enfamil GentleEase-- the same that Ava was on as an infant (and she was a reflux baby.) We figured, why not preemptively put him on a formula that was easier on his little belly & easier to digest right from the get-go? The first month we noticed some changes in him....Notably, spitting up lots more than he had previously (he barely spit up at all while nursing) and a few very tiny eczema patches on his legs. When we mentioned this to the Dr. at his 6-month checkup, she dismissed it as his little body's way of dealing with the shift from breast to bottle milk. Ok, fine. Between months six and seven, things got progressively worse. (*Note that hindsight is always painfully 20/20, and so most of these realizations didn't occur until this week as I looked back at the big picture.) And by worse, I mean: arching his back at feedings, not enjoying eating as much, definitely not the smily/cooing/happy boy that I had been used to, not sleeping as well, not napping at all, and a general miserable demeanor that was COMPLETELY not like him.  However, in this timeframe, his first two teeth broke through and we figured that this was the culprit. Well this past month-- from seven to eight months-- has been the worst yet.  And it was Jeff & my Mom, who watched him full-time for a week while I recovered from my back injury, who pointed out that he just seemed "off." He was no longer just spitting up-- he was vomiting. (this was evident by the distinct smell of stomach acid as it came up.) And he would vomit from the MINUTE he finished his bottle, every few minutes, for HOURS. Right up until his next bottle. He was barely sleeping at naptime and now screamed whenever we tried to lay him down or change his diaper. He resisted snuggling or being held. He screamed when you put him in the high chair...Something wasn't right here....
Everything hit an all-time low this past weekend for us. His demeanor was completely sour, he barely smiled/cooed/babbled, and had no interest in eating. Anything.
So we called the on-call nurse Monday who suggested that reflux may be the culprit, but agreed that this was late-in-the game, so to speak, to develop this. (Ava was diagnosed with reflux at 4 weeks old!) She suggested we be seen first thing Tuesday at the Dr. And so we went.
His pediatrician, after hearing my accounts of the past few months, was unequivocally sure that we were dealing with a milk protein allergy, or some sort of lactose intolerance.

"Let's start him on Soy for 2 weeks and then re-evaluate." She said with a smile.

But I was not smiling. SOY MILK?! Are you kidding me?!  Ignorant to (and having no understanding of) soy milk, all I pictured was a lifetime ahead of having to shop at Whole Foods just for Gavin's "special," pea-green colored, soybean flavored schlop, while the rest of us enjoyed the white frothy goodness of Garelick Farms milk with our Oreos.

I was devastated as she handed me three trial-sized (and very unfamiliar) cans of Enfamil "Pro-Sobee."

"Oh, and one more thing?" the pediatrician said as she went to leave the room. "We're going to need some of his poop samples to evaluate for blood in the poop. Just smear some poop on these disks, fold them up tight, and return them in the next 48 hours."


Great, I thought to myself...My poor baby now has to drink this nastiness, AND I get to smear poop all over the place. What a fantastic start to the week.

Well....fast forward four days (and two successful, blood-free poop samples), to today.

Four days of a new, strange-smelling (but miraculously, and due to the resiliency of babies, edible!) soy-based formula.
 Four days of....
HARDLY ANY SPIT-UP!
NO VOMITING!
SMILING AGAIN! LAUGHING AGAIN!
NO ROUGH SKIN PATCHES!
HAPPINESS AT MEAL TIMES!
TAKING PHENOMENAL NAPS AGAIN!
SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT AGAIN!
ENJOYING LIFE AGAIN!

One of my biggest concerns (especially since the Dr. warned us ahead of time about it,) was that it may take him a while to warm up to the "different taste" (i.e. "gross taste") of this new, very different, unfamiliar formula. I felt so bad thinking about his first experience with a soy bottle. I envisioned screaming, flailing, spitting up, pushing the bottle away, etc... Well, thank you, lucky stars, that apparently Gav wasn't bothered at all by this. What an adaptable little guy we have  :-)

In one week's time, he has completely transformed back to the delightful, content little cherub that he was for the first 5 months of life. It is amazing to me how quickly this change in his diet affected every aspect of him-- mood, demeanor, sleep habits, eating habits, digestion, etc... I am so incredibly (and cautiously-- since it hasn't been the full two weeks yet...) optimistic that all we have been dealing with over this past several weeks is a teeny-tiny milk intolerance. An intolerance that will hopefully be outgrown by his first birthday.

I suppose this is one of the many times in my life as a Momma when I will look back with clearer eyes and wish I had followed my instincts sooner...But the reality is, although he may have been uncomfy, irritable, and in pain for those 12 weeks, at least we figured it out now. Imagine if we never had this checked out, assuming it was colic or teething or any other random baby ailment...and the poor little man suffered for much, much longer?!  I suppose I am just looking for the silver lining of this yucky situation, and if one exists, than that is it.

Frankly, I am just beyond ecstatic to finally have my babbling, chuckling, silly, gummy-smiling little boy back  :-)

(p.s. PLEASE wish us luck as we enter week two that this good improvement continues!)

Gav's first playdate!!!

Long story short: I met a fellow Mommy-to-be last year around this time on a pregnant Mommy website. We hit it off online, seemed to have similar interests/senses of humor/etc, and corresponded via emails and messages through the website for a while.

Fast forward to June-- we ended up having our babies ON THE EXACT SAME DAY!!!! (what are the chances, really!?) She gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Annabelle about an hour after Gavin was born on June 30th. Super cool.

And so we've talked on the phone/emailed here & there since June about getting together, but life always seems to have an uncanny way of interrupting plans. (someone is sick, someone didn't sleep well last night, someone is teething, etc...)

Thank GOODNESS that today, our (78th) prospective playdate actually came together and these two birthday buddies were able to FINALLY MEET!!!! I am beyond ecstatic that Gav actually has a friend his own age now, that lives nearby, that he'll be able to play with. (I mean, attending all of his big sister's playdates have sufficed until now, but being the only 1/2 balding, toothless, drooling young man in a room full of sophisticated 4 & 5 year old young ladies can prove a bit intimidating after a while.)  Anyhoo, the two seemed to hit it off instantly, and Melissa (Annabelle's Mommy) and I both see a possible, long-term future for them together.  (what, you think wedding plans are a bit premature?)  ;-)

Well, photographing 2 squirmy 8-month olds was a bit difficult, but we were able to capture a couple to commemorate this big day....
So without further ado, may I present to you all, Gav & Annabelle's first playdate!

Never have I ever....wanted to dissapear into thin air

...like I did today.
Allow me to set the scene: We are at the Hallmark store at the mall picking up a card. Because it was yet another yucky, icky, cold, wet/sleeting/snowing/raining day here in New England, the mall was packed with lots of other moms hoping to re-gain some sanity by escaping the confines of their homes for an hour or two. And so we stood in line to make our purchase for a good 10-15 minutes. (unheard of at Hallmark store!) Now those of you with kiddos can understand hat ten minutes in kid time equals, like, 5 years in grown-up time.  There was whining, flailing, begging for toys, bribery with Cheerio-s and other miscelaneous snacks, and ultimately a game of "I Spy" to pass the minutes more quickly.

I started the game....

"Ok Aves, I spy something yellow with a shiny silver top."

After looking around the store for a while in deep thought (forefinger tapping on her cheek as she did,) she finally had her 'A-HA!' moment and realized what I had spied; a Yankee candle on the front display. 

"Good job! Okay, your turn," I told her.

"Hmmmm," she began as she looked around the crowded store for a good clue to stump her Mom. And then a very mischievous look came over her face.

"Momma?"  she said. "Can I tell you a secret?"

(*It is extremely important to note here that this is how she "tells secrets"....she cups the back of her ear (instead of her mouth) as she tells said secret, leaving her voice totally exposed for everyone to hear, and then for some reason feels the need to tell the secret at ten 100 decibels higher than she would normally say any other random thing.  So in essence, an "Ava secret" is quite a paradox in and of itself.)


"Of course you can, baby," I tell her.
And so I assume the secret-telling position, stooping to her level by squatting next to her. She cups her ear, leans towards me, and proceeds to state loudly:



"I was going to say 'I Spy a lady with massive boobs in front of you!' and I just wanted to tell you Momma, they are BIG. Even bigger than yours! And you can even see her booby crack because her shirt is too small!"

This secret-telling session cumlinated with a tremendous, high-pitched giggle from her, and her infamous raised eyebrows and wide-eyed expression, begging me to laugh in accordance with this hilarity.

I don't think that another time in my life has ever existed when I actually wished that someone would throw a bucket of water at me and, in true Wicked Witch style, I could melt into the floor leaving behind nothing but my pile of clothes.

At this very moment, I was three things simultaneously:

1). Completely morfitied. 
2). Horrified that this (supposed) big-breasted woman in front of us (who clearly) heard the entire "secret" might turn around and read me a riot act about disciplining my child and teaching her respect & decency.
3). Baffled & clueless as to how to end this conversation ASAP before things got worse (if that was even a possibility at this point.)

All I could think of in that moment to avert more disaster was the first thing to catch my nervous eyes; the marvelous, shiny stack of multicolored Lindt chocolate balls 2 feet in front of us - any child's dream. 

"Aves, do you think you can count how many balls are in that pile up there??"  I asked her, trying to act normal, as if the horror of the "incident" 50 seconds ago never happened. "If you can, you can choose one to eat when we get to the register!!"

"Sure Momma!" she happily exclaimed (thank you GOD that children are completely ignorant to the conversation-changing tactics of their parents in moments like these and able to just go with the flow...) And so began this ridiculous Lindt ball-counting journey out loud: One, two, three, four....


I believe she was somewhere around seventy-six when it was finally our turn at the cashier.  I tried desperately to avoid eye contact with the booby-crack perpetrator (who was checking out that the cashier directly next to us), but was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming desire to glance...just one harmless glance...to see if my daughter had inherited the "I'm a complete exaggerator" gene from me, of if there was any validity to her previously urgent "secret."

Just one glance....I thought to myself, and fake-reached for a pack of gum in that direction as not to blow my cover completely...

Oh. Em. Effing Gee.

That's when I saw them.

They were massive.  And for me, (a very full-bosomed woman myself) to be alarmed at their size... that's saying somethin'.

I am not joking when I tell you they had to have been at least a J cup. Maybe a Q. Triple Q. I don't even know. HONEST TO GOD, they were each the size of medium-to-large sized watermelons. The biggest bazoombas I have ever seen, period. And the shirt  she was wearing looked like it was shop-lifted out of the closet of an American Girl doll...so you can just imagine the PDC (public display of cleavage) situation that was going on.

Ultimately, booby-crack lady never made eye contact with me or Aves and went on her merry way after her purchases were made...there was no defamation of character lawsuit threatened, no finger-waving at my child, not even a subtle, irritated acknowledgement of what was said about her or her boobies.

Phew. I thought as she walked out of the store. We're safe!

Ava grabbed her well-earned prize-- a red Lindt chocolate ball, smiled at me, and took my hand in hers as we left the store.  

"Can we play more I-Spy?"  she asked me, completely unaware of the (massive) social faux pas that she had just committed minutes prior.


But I don't even think I answered her...I was too busy daydreaming about her first game of "Telephone" in third grade....and how badly she will inevitably do, unless I take the next few years to sharpen  completely revamp her secret-telling skills.  ;-)

Rub-a-dub-dub....2 kids, one tub! (Woo-hoo!)

Not only is it much more time-efficient and water-saving...but it's adorable to see them together having such a BLAST! (oh, and this big pimpin' new bath seat for Gav makes it so much easier to bathe him than the infant tub that he has officially outgrown. Doesn't he just look *miserable* in it?!)

The best thing my child has ever said to me:

A: "Momma?"

"Yes?"


A: "Do you know what I want to be when I get bigger?"


"Do you mean besides the things you've told me before, like a butterfly, a fire-girl, a doctor, a nurse, a chef, a dentist, a Friendly's hot-dog cooker, and a mermaid??"


A: "Yeah Momma....more than all of those things, I have decided just what I want to be the most... a good Mommy like you, because you are the best Momma in the whole wide Earth."


Literally...my eyes welled up with tears and I felt so incredibly proud. So happy, so humbled. That one sentimental little conversation between my four-year-old and me made every single sleepless night...every single acid reflux-induced projectile vomit session when she was tiny...every single bed-wetting episode, every single time-out session, every single tear shed over the past four years-- ALL OF IT-- so incredibly worth it.

Thank you Aves for the smile that you brought to my heart today  :-)

XoXo,

Momma

A random act of kindness...and a yummy one at that :-)

Dear Em(and hubby Andrew):
Are you guys serious!? I am still in shock about what transpired here tonight. (And so, so incredibly humbled by your selfless act of generosity.)  Sure, we've corresponded a bunch via Facebook over the past several months, but the truth is, we haven't seen each other in person since-- umm, high school? 1999ish? Once upon a time, an era existed when our families frequented Wendy's together post-softball games (circa 1995,) and we'd sit & giggle, devouring chocolate frosties, marveling over how on Earth we beat that Red team.  However the reality is, after high-school, we went our separate ways and didn't really connect again until (very) recently.  The fact that the two of you went tremendously out of your way to drive to our house tonight to drop off a yummy, hot meal (and homemade dessert!) to help our family after the tumultuous few weeks we've had here is beyond any amount of generosity that words could do justice to.  We are all still (attempting!) to fall back into some resemblance of a routine given the month that we've had, and truly a hearty meal is exactly the sort of thing that we have been lacking.  We are so, so appreciative of this gesture and only hope that an appropriate time in your lives will arise for us to return the favor.  Thank you both so much for filling up our bellies with the yummy, healing goodness of comfort food, and for extending such a kind & thoughtful act of friendship.  (Oh, and also for reminding us that amidst all of the yucky nastiness that exists in the world, there is so much goodness too!)

I came across a quote that really struck a chord within me regarding what transpired tonight, and I will leave you on this note:

"We ourselves tend to feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be much, much less because of that one missing drop."   ~Mother Teresa


Thank you again guys!!! You are amazing!!


Jeff, Trace, Aves and Gav