Wanting What's Best

We all want what's best for our children right?

And I think most of us would agree that part of making our children strong is watching them go through adversity and learning from those experiences.

But how do we ensure that those adversities aren't "too" adverse? Do you know what I mean?

For instance, my baby girl is crawling all over the place. She is now starting to pull herself up to a standing position on furniture and to crawl up and down things. So this means more falls, and more bruises. More owies and bumps.

But I know that this is necessary for her to learn about the dangers around our house. For her to learn how to properly crawl up a stair and back down again without breaking her head.

At first I tried staying right next to her so that if she was going to fall, I could catch her. But I quickly learned that I can't hold her hand through everything. She needs some independence. This got me thinking about when she's older how I can give her some independence, but yet help her through those tough times.

My girl's not even in school yet but I find myself wondering about how to protect her during those vulnerable years. How do I protect her from all the bullying, name-calling, violence?

How do you other mothers do it? How do you teach your children independence and the importance of overcoming adversity without your child (or children) succumbing to those pressures?

I obviously don't want my child getting seriously injured as she learns how to walk, but I also can't be by her side constantly. I guess this is a predicament for all parents, one that must be learned perhaps through experience and trial-and-error.

I'd sure like to get a head start on this though! I just want what's best for her.

Birthday/Celebration Time!

My little girl just turned one! I cannot believe it's been a whole year since she was born. For the past few weeks I've been preparing for her birthday celebration. Most of these ideas can be used for any kind of party, whether it's a baby shower, baby's first birthday, any-age birthday party, or just to celebrate milestones or decorate for a holiday or season.


I made a cute birthday banner that can be used for anyone's birthday. I simply chose some fabric that I liked and cut out a triangle, then used liquid stitch crafting glue to stick the fabric pieces together front to back. Then I sewed some bias tape to the top and attached the triangles. Simple and cute!

I came up with this birthday "banner" all by myself and thought I'd share since it was pretty easy, and completely free! I was boxing up some of my baby's newborn clothing and thought that I could make a cute banner by simply stringing some twine through the sleeves of the clothing! It was a fun visual reminder of how much she has grown in her first year!


Then I simply used some colorful paper clips to attach two sets of newborn mittons. You could also use cute colored clothes pins to attach all sorts of items; hats, socks, shoes, bows, etc.

You could easily add anything onto this banner and make it longer or shorter. Other items you could use on the banner are:

Baby beanie hats

Baby socks

Ribbon

Pacifiers

Pictures of baby throughout their first year

Baby shoes/slippers

Footprints/handprints on paper

We had lots of yummy food including:

My favorite- chicken salad sandwiches!

For E's birthday bash, I also wanted to show some pictures of her from when she was just a newborn throughout her first year to show how much she has grown and changed! I simply printed out some 4 x 6 photos and then attached them using paper clips and other office supplies to a cute ribbon!

It was so easy (and free!) and I thought it turned out great! I strung two other ribbons with photos around the house.

More food! I love caprese and these little caprese kabobs were so good and easy to make!

Simply cut skewers in half, then assemble the kabobs by alternating cherry or grape tomatoes, mozzarella cheese cubes, and basil leaves. Then sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and voila!

Chips, crackers, and spinach/artichoke dip!

Veggie tray

Deviled eggs- a must have!

Fruit!

I loved these cute little containers I picked up for $1 at Target! They can be used for multiple things. I used them as utensil holders.

Another great idea I've implemented when we have company over is to fill this container with water and then to keep it cold, I simply freeze a plastic bundt cake pan full of water overnight then the next day I empty the beautiful ring of ice into the drink container! I also add slices of lemons and limes to the bundt pan so it looks pretty and adds flavor to the water!

Burdens Lifted

My baby is sick, or teething. We've thought many times before that she might be teething, and each time we find out she is not. So we've given up on the theory that when she's acting sick, she might be teething.

But really this time.....she might be teething. Only time will tell. My baby (almost 1 year old!) has teary eyes, a runny nose, excessive crying, frequent sneezing, all the signs of teething. Oh how I wish I could life her burden!

Whenever my husband is sick, I always feel so sorry for him. Or when my mom gets sick, or another family member or close friend. I always feel sorry for them and wish I could make things better. I could make them a warm meal, tuck them into bed, send a get-well card, etc.

But with your own child, it's different. Waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy different! It's like you'd give ANYTHING to lift that burden off their shoulders. There's nothing so sad as watching your own child suffer. I wish, oh I wish, that I could take her pain away. Take away her sadness, her tears, her aches.

But alas, that is part of being a baby. Part of growing up. In the end, it makes them stronger. She has to go through that process to progress. It reminds me of baby chicks who hatch from their eggs. They have to work hard at getting out of that egg. They peck and peck and peck some more at that hard shell, and eventually, the shell breaks and they are free. But if you break the shell for them, and "help" them out of the egg, they lose out on that experience to gain strength. It's a part of being born for them. That's the way it was intended for that baby chick to progress, to get stronger.

And that's how it is with our children. We can't protect them from every little bump, bruise, or scrape. What we can do is kiss them better, help them up after they fall (figuratively and literally), put a bandaid on their "boo boos", and just hold them tight until they stop crying. Until I stop crying.

But that doesn't change the feeling in my heart of wishing I could lift her burdens and make them light.
Maybe I'll make her some homemade chicken noodle soup.

Baby Banner

Here is a great idea for a baby's first birthday banner (or a baby shower banner)! All I did was take some twine string and loop it through the arm holes of my baby's onesies and outfits from when she was a preemie/newborn. It was easy as pie!

Then I just added some small hand mittons using colored paper clips. It took me all of 10 minutes to get it put together and hung.

 

You could easily add anything onto this banner and make it longer or shorter. Other items you could use on the banner are:

Baby beanie hats

Baby socks

Ribbon

Pacifiers

Pictures of baby throughout their first year

Baby shoes/slippers

Footprints/handprints on paper

The possibilities are really endless. And if I'd had more time, you could also hook these items on using clothes pins (you could paint them any color to coordinate with other items), or diaper pins (like the ones for old cloth diapers).

Another Baby

I have been thinking a lot lately about having another baby. I love having a baby. I love that E is growing bigger and that we are getting to experience her as an older baby now that she’s crawling and eating and growing developmentally, but I am also already missing the infant stuff about her! I want her to have a sibling soon.

My husband and I have talked a lot about our hopes to have a baby naturally this time. We are so grateful for modern medicine that has allowed us to get pregnant with E, but I would love to be able to experience getting pregnant like most women do, just getting pregnant naturally, without all the ultrasounds, medications, exams, etc. 

Although I have a baby of my own, I still feel a little jealous when I hear of other people I know getting pregnant and having babies. I think it’s because I feel like we are back to square one again trying to get pregnant. Even though we have been immensely blessed to have one child, I constantly think about how long it took us to get her here! I don’t want to have to wait another 2-3 years to get pregnant. All the mothers I know seem like they have a baby, then the month they want to conceive again, boom, they get pregnant. 

I just found out recently that a good friend of mine was able to conceive within WEEKS of getting off birth control. Weeks! I would KILL for that! People who are blessed to be fertile have NO IDEA the heartache that accompanies infertility. They cannot possibly imagine what it’s like to want to be pregnant NOW and be denied that blessing for months, even years. 

Another friend of mine at work is pregnant and stated clearly that it was an accident. She was paraphrasing something her husband said, “Why can’t we at least have to try to get pregnant like everyone else! I swear I blink and you’re pregnant!”. I do understand that for some people having an unplanned pregnancy is hard for multiple reasons, whether it be financial, physical, emotional, timing is not right, etc. But still, they are blessed to be pregnant! I would much rather be able to get pregnant without hardly trying than go through what I have been through. At least people who are super-fertile have the option of birth-control! 

I’ve been trying to suppress my feelings of jealousy at others who are pregnant/just having babies, but it is still there deep down (okay, maybe not that deep down!). I want to be like them. I want to be able to surprise E soon and tell her she’s going to be a big sister!

The questions that run through my mind all the time are:

-When will we get pregnant again?

-How long will we have to try to get pregnant?

-Will we be able to get pregnant naturally or will we need to do IVF again?

I need to focus my thoughts on something else. I know that in time we will have more children, I just wish I could look into my crystal ball and see when that time will be!