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The Safety Zone to the Holy Sh*t Zone

Oscar is now 1 year old.  He’s <wiping away tears> growing up.  He’s not needing me 24/7.   I mean he kinda does, but there’s more to his life now than breastfeeding.  He sees more than the 18 inches from breast to face!  He’s spreading his wings.  Exploring.  He’s interested in things OTHER THAN ME.

For the past year he’s been under my watchful eye.  Only myself and his dad have taken him anywhere.  The lady that watches him once a week does so here, in my home.  She’s taken him for a walk around the block, or up to the store, but never anywhere else.  Personally, I thought she was too afraid to (lord knows I was terrified the first time I drove anywhere with him!  I don’t think we did over 30km on the drive home from the hospital, lol!).  And I never broached the subject, because I was too afraid of him going anywhere with anyone else.  Here, he’s safe. He’s under my roof.  He’s in his home.  Nobody comes over unless me or his dad invite them.  No strangers in the house (even though you don’t get stranger than us, lol!).  But out there is a “big bad world”.

And so this morning she asked if we are going to be getting the new car seat soon because she’s looking forward to taking him out somewhere.

GASP!

NO!

NO!  IT’S TOO SOON!  I’m not ready for him to be out somewhere without me!  NOOOOOOOOOOOOO………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What if she gets in a fender bender?  What if she doesn’t do the seat up properly?  What if she forgets a latch on the stroller and it all implodes on him?  What if she lets a stranger get too close (what is it with people that automatically go in for the tickle or the pinch?  Personally, unless they’re little old ladies I physically block them with my body.  NO APOLOGIES.  But what if she doesn’t?)?  (I’m probably being PSYCHO but I’m really really scared.  What if this woman doesn’t have the balls to say No?)

And remember… I am a worry-wart.  But still, he’s my child.  My only child.  My baby.  I’m allowed to worry.  But am I going overboard?

Simply put, my son is going to be out there in the world with someone other than me to protect him and keep him safe.  And I don’t trust anyone to do that BUT me (or daddy).  So I’m freakin’ terrified.

Am I alone in my psychosis here? Anyone else go through this terror?  How did you get through it (on a wing and a prayer?  Trusting the universe? Not till they were older?  Inner knowing? WHAT?  Help!)

I didn’t think I’d have to cut the apron strings at LEAST for another 18 years….

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Ah Ah Ah-Choo!

Dairy allergyAfter four long months of waiting, we finally got in with the pediatric allergist yesterday.

And learned NOTHING.

Ok, we did learn something.  We learned that just because Oscar might have tested negative for peanuts, egg whites, egg yolks and shellfish, doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t have an allergic reaction when we feed it to him at home.

WTF?  Thanks for nothing.

Oh yeah, and we learned that yes, he’s allergic to dairy.  (Uh, we kinda knew that when he BROKE OUT IN HIVES AND HIS EYES SWELLED UP AFTER EATING COTTAGE CHEESE.)

Again, WTF?

Ok, ranting over.

We really did learn something.  We learned that right now it’s more important to get fat content than calcium – for brain development.  Because he can’t get that fat from dairy, we have to make sure he gets it from things like fattier cuts of meat, avacados (no problem, he loves them with banana and in tuna with a bit of cilantro) and pouring olive oil over vegetables (vegetables?  Oh, um, hmmm…. I guess I should make them more often….).  I’m still breastfeeding so that’s a great thing (hey, speaking of which… O is bfeeding about 3 times a day still.  First thing in the morning, late afternoon, and I feed him to sleep at 7:30-ish.  Any other moms of a 1-yr old still bfeeding 3xdaily?  I don’t expect it to be odd, just wondering what other moms are doing).

She also mentioned that I should up my calcium intake (seeing as I only have milk in my coffee and the odd slice of cheese) and that would help too (again, still bfeeding).

I have to stop freaking out thinking he’ll have a reaction to every new thing I introduce (ie: peanut butter and eggs). Just because he had an allergic reaction to dairy doesn’t mean he’ll end up being allergic to anything else.  SO STOP PANICKING, STEPHANIE!  I have benedryl.  I have the epipen.

And I’ll probably never have to use them.

He was ok with the egg this morning.  I’ll try again tomorrow.

I’ll try peanut butter soon as well as he didn’t have any reaction at all at the allergist’s.  I’ve got to stop being so freakin’ nervous!

But I can’t help it.

I’m his mom.

We panic. We worry. We fret.

We’re moms.

It’s kinda what we do.

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Baby Bouquets and Gifts: Product Review

Baby Boy BouquetThe only thing I can say is WOW.  What a wonderful idea, what a joy to receive and what a fantastic product!

I recently had the opportunity to review a bouquet of baby clothes from Baby Bouquets and Gifts out of Calgary, Alberta.  I received two samples in the mail (see bottom of post for how you can win!), packaged carefully so they were sure to arrive safe and sound.  From the packaging to the lovely letter from the owner to the beauty of the arrangements – and usefulness! – I was impressed immediately.  So let’s start from the beginning.

First of all, how fun is it to receive a parcel in the mail?  And this one?  Carefully marked “Fragile” so you know it’s precious cargo…and even more care went into the inside packaging to ensure safe delivery and that everything was kept in place.  Not a “bud” out of place.

Bab Bouquests and Gifts

These were so beautiful I didn’t want to unwrap them!  The two I was sent were the unisex Flower Child, and the Sugar and Spice bouquet for a newborn baby girl.  These bouquets looked so real, I fully expected a beautiful flower fragrance when I unwrapped them!  (Note, for the purposes of this review I only opened the Sugar and Spice bouquet as the Flower Child is the giveaway.)

Again I noted the care with which these bouquets are prepared.  Care, and TALENT.  It was obvious to me that this is someone who absolutely loves what they do, and someone who really cares about her customers.

Baby Bouquets and Gifts - Flower Child & Sugar and Spice Bouqets
The bouquets are individually wrapped in cellophane, beautiful ribbons to tie it all together and the owner even includes a handwritten note describing the contents of each one!

Baby Bouquets and Gifts Sugar and Spice bouquet
Each bouquet comes in a whimsical, reusable container.  And the fun doesn’t stop there… I LOVE how each item is wrapped inside the bouquet to look like flowers.  I don’t mean just rolled up, but actually wrapped with floral tape to look like stems.  They could have been just tucked neatly inside, but they really go the extra mile here.  Again, more care and love.  I was surprised at that.  And completely in awe.

Baby Bouquets and Gifts baby clothes bouquet items

As I was pulling out each “flower” I kept thinking that that was all, that I had found all the items, only to discover even more tucked inside.  Delightful!

Baby Bouquets and Gifts Sugar and Spice bouguet items

All said and done, the Sugar and Spice bouquet comes with a diaper shirt, two onesies, 3 pairs of socks, a hat and a bib.  PLUS reusable silk flowers and a fun and funky container!  And another fantastic point?  The price.  This particular bouquet is only $41.25.  FORTY ONE TWENTY FIVE!

I’m not a flower person.  Well, I am, but my cats ruin them all.  They eat them, they pull babies breath all over the house, then they throw it all up, they knock over vases… so flowers are a no go in this household.  And so of course for the birth of my son I received TONNES of arrangements and bouquets.  They were brought into the hospital, delivered to my home, dropped off to my husband at his office, etc etc etc.

Basically we had a closet full of flowers that we never got to see.  Seriously, since our son was sleeping with us, I used his closet to store all of these flower arrangements.  His room smelled delightful, but we never got to enjoy the flowers.  So these kind folks spent a small fortune on beautiful arrangements that were LOCKED IN A CLOSET ALL DAY AND NIGHT.  I would have MUCH rathered a bouquet from Baby Bouquet and Gifts.  We could enjoy them day in and out, use all the clothes and various items, reuse the pot AND even reuse the silk flowers for years to come.  AND they’re cost-effective.  AND unique.  Wouldn’t they make a delightful shower gift?  They are also a great gift to bring to the hospital for mom and baby.  Best thing is that you can order well in advance as the flowers won’t die, lol!  There are a variety of choices: preemie, twins, unisex, girl, boy, etc.  All for a great price point.  I researched other companies with similar product and I haven’t found any that are comparable in price for what you get.  These bouquets by Baby Bouquets and Gifts are by far the best price point and quality I’ve found – and the prettiest and best put together arrangements.

What I would love is to see them available in hospital gift shops.  That way you could quickly purchase if you’ve totally forgotten (who hasn’t run around town at the last minute?), or if baby comes early.

Either way, they are a delightful surprise for the new parents!

*****
The Contest:

The Tsunami Mommy readers have a chance at winning a beautiful unisex bouquet from Baby Bouquet and Gifts (Can and US only), in one of two ways:

  1. Leave a comment on this blog (leave your email address in the private field and sign the comment with your first name please) letting me know your opinion of these “flowers that bloom into babywear”.
  2. Follow me on Twitter (@TheTsunamiMommy) and retweet the following:

“RT @thetsunamimommy is giving away a baby clothing bouquet on her blog! Simply RT this or comment to enter http://bit.ly/d2msWN”

(Do what you want, but #2 is WAY easier… simply retweeting a link to this post!)

Winner will be announced on Friday, March 5.  Good luck!

*special thanks to Baby Bouquets and Gifts.*

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It’s all about me.

Now that Oscar is almost one year old, I’m ready to start doing things for myself again.

*GASP*

The first year of his life, well, it was all about him.   And rightly so.  I mean, of COURSE it’s all about him, but what I’m trying to get at is that various choices and decisions we made simply limited my ability to be away from him, ie: exclusively breastfeeding, no baby sitters, etc etc.  And it’s all good, I’m delighted that we made those choices.  Oscar and I have quite the attachment.  And now that he’s becoming more “independent” and stretching his wings, I can stretch mine a bit too.

Here are a few things on my to-do list.  And to do now, not someday.  Nope, this is an immediate game plan.

1.            Join a gym.  Or something.  I’m so tired of NOT finding clothes that fit me, in this new post-baby body.  I’m tired of spending way too much money on clothes that just don’t look good, or clothes that I only wear a few times and THEN realize they just don’t look good (how f*cking embarrassing.  I used to be so fashion forward and pulled together.  Now I’m just a hot mess.).   Instead of all that (and frustration!), I may put that money into a gym membership.  Maybe.  Gym’s make me nervous.  But that’s a WHOLE other story.

2.            I’m going to get out with my best gal pal more often. We were chatting the other night and realized that we’ve GOT to get together more.  We’re aiming for at least 2 nights a month or so. We really miss each other and we really miss adult conversation… not to mention opening a bottle of wine and solving all the world’s problems!

3.            I’ve joined a mom group.  Well, it’s a baby group, but our kids are still all too young to really engage with each other, so it’s more of a mom group.  I haven’t really connected with any of the moms in any sense of the word, but it’s SO NICE just to chat with other adults!  Even just listening to them chatting amongst each other makes me feel better and more connected… and less like a retard for not realizing when my son started waking up during the night that MAYBE HE WAS HUNGRY for crying out loud. Because, by listening to other mom’s, it’s happened to them too.  We’re not retards.  We’re just sleep-deprived moms who lost a few brain cells at birth.  That’s all.

4.            And finally on my list?  My husband and I are going to try to get out together more.  Once or twice a month (probably once) we’re going to do dinner or grab a coffee and walk Robson,  or whatever.  But we’re ready to leave our precious little guy with my auntie for a few evenings here and there so we can get out and enjoy each other.  And by “enjoy”, I totally mean “ignore each other, together, while window shopping and sipping lattes on Robson”.

When did you start taking time for yourself again?  In what ways?  Did you find it difficult at first to be away from your little one, even for a few hours?  How did you reconnect with your spouse after baby?  TALK TO ME!

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Mooless in Vancouver

It’s coming close to Oscar’s first birthday.  Since I’m now a mom and he’s my son, I’m going to try to make his cake.  Cupcakes, actually.  And it’s a big deal for me.  I somehow lost all domestic inclination over the past few years.  So here I am, wanting to be this domestic goddess for my son’s first birthday and it hit me…. my son is allergic to dairy.  What kind of cake, what kind of icing, can I make without dairy.

That would be any good.

I put the call out on Twitter and Facebook.  Two of my good friends sent me recipes.  One was much too complicated (and called for chocolate… which has dairy, this was going to be more difficult than I thought.)  The other has no dairy, no eggs, and is simple as hell. So I tried it yesterday.

It is DELICIOUS!

I can’t believe how moist the cake is.  And so rich and yummy.

And dairy free!!!  (And egg-free. So all of a sudden my kid is a vegan…)

Here’s the recipe for all you mom’s with dairy and egg allergic kids.  Hell, the recipe is fantastic for anyone who loves chocolate!  Chocolate Oil Cake.  YUM.

Will get back to you on the frosting…

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Things YOU’LL wish you didn’t know

It’s been almost a year since I gave birth.

When will I stop peeing myself when I sneeze?

Argh.

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Things you wish you didn’t know

I walked around the corner today only to find my cat, Chicken, up on the dining room table licking the BOWL OF PEANUTS.

FML.

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So there ARE enough hours in the day!

But only clockwhen your child NAPS.

I’m so grateful that Oscar sleeps through the night.  And I’m SO grateful that he sleeps until 8:30 or so.  And it’s funny that when he wakes up the odd time at 7am, I’m all like, “Oh God no, please no, a few more minutes, please….”.  And then I get happy and excited to see him so I jump out of bed to start our day together.

But one GOOD thing about Oscar waking up that early is that he actually naps during the day.  And so I can get things done.

For the past few months he’s been only napping (for the most part anyways) about 1/2 hour in the morning and 45 minutes or so in the afternoon.  That’s just not enough sleep for a little dude (well, apparently it IS or he’d sleep more I suppose….).  Anyhoo…. the 7am days I’m finding he’s ready for another nap at 9:30 or 10am and he has a good one.  I have time to have a shower (AND EVEN MAYBE SHAVE MY LEGS IN THERE!) and finish my coffee and straighten up from breakfast.   Then we can do our thing and have lunch at a normal hour and then he’s ready for another nap around 1 or 2 or so.  And it’s a minimum of 1.5 hours!  And it’s delightful for me!  I put him down at 1:15 today, it’s 3:45 now and here’s what I’ve accomplished:

Folded laundry, loaded washer, cleaned kitty litter, fed cats, cleaned living room, cleaned kitchen, prepared his dinner to take with us tonight, cleaned out inbox, updated facebook, uploaded and labelled photos, updated facebook again, cleaned up Twitter, actually tweeted for the first time in ages, listened to a brief teleseminar, moved laundry to dryer, cleaned bathroom, vegged out, folded laundry, wrote this post.

And now I’m freaked out that he’s sleeping so long that I’m going to sign off and turn on the monitor to make sure the little lad is breathing, lol!

Happy to be back.

S.

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Boo!

haunted_houseI know halloween is long past, but seeing as my new favourite show is Ghost Hunters, and another one I’ve just discovered this weekend was Celebrity Ghost Stories (LOVED Joan Rivers), I feel like sharing my own ghost stories.

BUT… it’s 10:50pm and I’ve got to get O for his dream feed (which I’m going to start to wean him off.  Wish me luck.), so the ghost stories will have to wait for another day.

A teaser?

I’ve lived in 3 haunted houses.  The last one ROCKED.  It was crazy. I’m talking howling, knocking, windows flying open, and a tall man in a groovy suit.

Until I can make it back here to write about it, care to share yours in the comments?

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Playground politics.

playgroundI’m a great mom.

So what, I haven’t taught him how to blow a kiss or give a high-five… I’m still a great mom (even though I didn’t feel like a great mom when his uncle was trying to get him to blow a kiss and high-five last night….).

I love him unconditionally.  I’m there when he needs me – even (or especially) at 4am when he’s been up crying for 2 hours with a tooth coming in.  I fret over the simplest decisions (ie: feeling like a bad mom when I give him beef stew, gasp, TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW), and lose sleep over difficult ones (h1n1 vaccine anyone?) (which we have decided against).  I teach him everything I can think of (and as a mom, I’m teaching him even when I don’t think I am.  And am teaching him by example.  So there’s a segue into a future post on swearing.  F*ck.), I take him outside in the chilly air and rainy days for long walks because even though I don’t feel like it… he LOVES it.  I drive him around for 2 hours in the car when I know we’ll be out late – to make sure he gets a nap.  (How many times a week do I hit the Starbucks drive through I wonder?).  My whole life is about loving him, protecting him, teaching him, raising him, and just doing what’s best for him.

And I would imagine alot of you reading this feel the exact same.

So I wonder how the other moms view me as they witness my 10-month old son crawl over to their child and promptly poke them in the eye.  Or pull their hair.  And I sit there like a deer in the headlights, kinda panicking on the inside not really sure what to do about it, other than squeak out the words, “Oscar, be gentle”, and gently remove his hand (or their hair from his vice-like grip).  I mean, it would be a different thing altogether if he was 13 and picked a fight.  But he’s 10-months old and is just being a 10-month old.  He’s just discovered pointing, so all he does, constantly, is point at anything and everything and sometimes that pointing at things is directly in a little friends’ EYE.

And then there’s the times when their little ones crawl over to Oscar and promptly do the same.   It happened yesterday at the playground.  A cute little guy was hanging out with Oscar and reached up and grabbed his hair.  Before his mom could even notice, I think, I said, “Oh, gentle now”.  And I felt like it really wasn’t my place, but it was automatic.  I wasn’t scolding by any means (as far as I’m concerned, there’s not a reason in the world to scold a 10-month old), just automatically said it.

Was that wrong of me?  If someone else had of said that to Oscar, I wouldn’t mind (at least I don’t think I would).

Or am I just making a mountain our of a molehill?

What the hell am I going to do when the days of pushing and shoving and not sharing come along.

Sigh.

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