When It Leaks, It Pours

First off: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JONO!! Yeppers, despite the busyness in our life right, we have a reason to take a moment to sit back and chillax. Maybe dinner tonight…

So, we’re in the process of selling our condo. (Surprise!) In order to sell, we’ve gotta do showings. It’s where people make appointments to come in and see the place. Sounds easy. Except that the baby is 1 and very mobile, and nothing stays at neat as it did pre-baby. So far, the appointments have been set with many hours notice, with time to clean during naptime, and then leave home as soon as she awakes, so that there’s no time to undo the cleaness.

Well, today, I knew we had a showing appointment for 7 pm. Baby took an early afternoon nap, and woke up around 1 ish. I wasn’t dressed to head out anywhere yet, nor was the house prepped for showing just yet either. The phone rang–there was a potential buyer in the area, can they come see the place now? Uhhh…now?! We set it for about 1 hour. I set the baby in front of a veggie tales silly song DVD and got to work. Straightened up, got dressed and fed baby all within 30 minutes and left home. I went to my parents’ place to hang out for a minute. My celly rang. The showing agent called my agent to pass on a message that there was a leak in the bathroom. There was water leaking from the bathroom fan…while the potential buyers were in the place looking at it!!! AHHHHHHHHHH! Not good, not good. I immediately called the property manger and lodged my complaint.

I got home, not too much I could do. Washed the bath mat and toilet seat cover. Washed the bathroom floor (with bleach, of course) and opted to do the kitchen floor too, since the mop was out. We were still on for our showing later that evening. Went out for dinner and had some fantastic food.

Now for some much needed sleep….

Please Don’t Feed My Baby

Ha ha! Sounds like a cage warning at the zoo. But I’m deathly serious here. I can’t believe I didn’t blog about this sooner. My darling girl has a food allergy. To what?

Milk. Yes, you read that right–M-I-L-K.

Did you realize that milk is practically, like, everywhere?!!! AHHHHH! I discovered this back in March, when after her first spoonfuls of solid food, she immediately broke out into a rash on the entire lower half of her face. I watched her like a hawk for the rest of the afternoon to make sure she didn’t have any respiratory issues. She didn’t–praise God!

In June, we went to see an allergy specialist, for testing. Dr. C (and he’s definitely cuter than those t.v. docs) tested her for cow’s milk allergy and also peanuts, at my request. The few times I’d eaten a minute amount of peanut butter, she’d spit up later. So, that was something else I’d been avoiding. Well, no allergy to peanut butter. However, to be on the safe side, Dr. C recommended that she avoid all tree nuts & seafoods for the first 3 yrs of her life. Still, no peanut butter for this momma! The reaction to milk, on the other hand, was quite big. Then he proceeded to provide me with pamphlets. Because of the severity of the reaction, and the fact that allergic reactions can be very unpredictable, I was also given a prescription for an epi-pen. The way some kids are deathly allergic to peanuts is how she’s allergic to milk.

Here’s a recap of what the pamphlet had to say.

Avoid ALL milk products and foods containing milk products. Read all food labels carefully. When in doubt, don’t eat it. The list of foods & ingredients to avoid:

  • Cheese, milk solids, yogurt, sour cream, cream, buttermilk, butter, artificial butter flavour, skim milk powder

  • Goat’s milk (many kids allergic to cow’s milk are also allergic to goat’s milk)

  • Ice cream, sherbet

  • Curds

  • Whey (Gisè)

  • Casein

  • Caseinates

  • Lactalbumin, lactoglobulin

  • Lactose, lactulose (may be contained in some medicines)

  • Most margarines (check labels)

  • Nougat


Not necessary to avoid:

  • Lactate, lactic acid, lactylate

  • Foods labelled “Parve” or “Pareve” are milk-free

The pamphlet did also give some milk substitues for baking and a few recipes.

Well, wish me luck. The no milk thing isn’t too bad–I myself am lactose intolerant. I also don’t really care much for milk products. So, it’s not a huge sacrifice on my part to abstain from these ingredients while breastfeeding. The harder part will come as she increases on her solid food consumption and I have to stay creative.

Please, Lord, don’t let her also be a picky eater on top of the allergy!

I Wish She’d Warn Me Ahead of Time

So yesterday morning, I got called for a showing request for our home, in the late afternoon. Cools. I figured I’d vaccuum, put baby down for a nap (usually about 2 hrs), and finish cleaning up and getting dressed. I wouldn’t have time to eat & clean up, so we’ll skip that. I figured we’d be out of the house by about 3 pm–wayyyy before the showing at 4:30 pm. But the sooner I leave home, the less likely the Dear Girl is to mess it up again.

I was done in ample time, and starting MSNing it with my bro. And the time is slowly ticking away. Long enough that I could have actually created something gourmet and eaten it too! It got to the point that I had to go and wake her up! That was more of a four–yes 4– hour nap!

Had I known this ahead of time, I would’ve scheduled things differently. And of course, silly me went to visit my bro who did NOT feed me. We’ll have to work on that, because most times, he’s a good host…

Bonus side of the 4 hr nap–a very happy and good natured kid all afternoon!

Hmm, Why Didn’t I Try This Sooner?

It’s no hidden fact–Jamayia’s been slow on the whole eating solids bit. She’s great when it comes to her cereals before bed time. She wolfs that bowlful down easy! But during the day, the fruit & veggies is a whole other story.

At nighttime, her dad usually bathes her and dresses her for bed, while I make her food. Then I vanish while he feeds her. That’s why she eats so well. Then I reappear for some breastmilk top up.

During the day, however, Daddy dearest is at work, leaving Mommy to tackle the feedings alone. So, this week, we’ve been trying the organic sweet corn casserole yumminess. The other day, she was open for a whole 4 spoonfuls! Better than the usual 1 spoon she permits. Then today, she quit after 2 spoonfuls. So I nursed her, then decided to try again. She said no to the spoon. But…

**ding** (lightbulb going off). I had a brainwave. I put some of the food on my finger, and she was happy to lick it off for me. I did it again…and again….and a few more times. She was actually eager for the solid food! I’ve never seen this before with her. Ever!

So, she’s not completely anti-food. Yippee!

And She’s Off!

We got home from a wedding this evening to find that Jamayia has become even more adventurous.

She can walk. Independantly, as in on her own. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

We came inside our home, and Jono put her down, and she procedeed to walk across the room. Then, because neither of us could believe our eyes, she kept getting up and repeating this feat over and over and over. And laughing. It’s as though she was congratulating herself for achieveing this latest accomplishment. Then, Grandma & Grandpa decided to drop in, as they were in the area. Jamayia made sure to continue the show for them too. My dear mother, being the proud Grandma she is, made sure to call my sister when she got home to advise her of the latest milestone.

Congrats, my baby. Walking. Well, this is just another way for Mommy to keep in shape. I’m sure she’ll be up in everything now. But it’s alright–I’ll just have to stay one step ahead.

Got Any Sleep Tips, Uncle Sherwin??

This post is dedicated to my dear brother, Sherwin. He wanted a shout out–here ya go!

Jamayia loves to fight sleep. Why, is beyond me. But, this kid only sleeps best when we’re at home and she can lie in her crib. When we have to go out during nap time, she punishes herself and stays awake. She also remains her good-natured, playful & laughingly cute self…but a very tired girl nonetheless.

Today, we went to a funeral. It was at 12:30pm, which is right around the time Jamayia should’ve been going down for a nap. I figured that the drive out to the funeral home was long enough–she’s catch a quick snooze in the car. No dice! Upon arriving at the funeral, I stuck the baby in the Cuddly Wrap, knowing she’d be good for a nap. Again, no dice. Good think I don’t gamble. The service was simple and I stayed for a few minutes of the reception. We settled in for the drive home, with me hoping she’d fall asleep within a few minutes. All together now–no dice! She finally fell asleep when we were just a few short minutes away from home, and woke up when I took her out of the car. I did manage to get her napping once her crib was in site though.

Compare that to Uncle Sherwy. This guy can sleep through just about anything. In fact, once, when we were younger (to be fair, I’ve gotta mention that he was about 12 yrs old at the time), he slept through a break in at our home. He often sleeps though his ringing celly & alarm clock. Like today. He was supposed to meet me. I called him to offer a ride, but didn’t get an answer. I sent a txt msg, again, no answer. I finally got him when I was 5 minutes away from my destination. “Are you coming?” I asked him. “Oh, let me call Greg for a ride” was his reponse. Ironically, Greg also overslept and neither of them made it.

So, Uncle Sherwy, can you please give your dear niece some tips on how to sleep? What’s the secret?

I Love Layers

Forgive the busted/tired look, but I just had to show you my hair. I got it done on Wednesday, and of course, took pics. The photographer to credit is Dacia (thanx Girl!). I was quite tired, and still had a long evening ahead of me. Sorry to disappoint, but it involved no juicy date or details…. Now, onto the pics:

Dignity, Undefined…

I used to agree with the dictionary’s definition of dignity…

1–bearing, conduct, or speech indicative or self-respect or appreciation of
the formality or gravity of an occasion or situation.
2–nobility or
elevation of character; worthiness.

I was watching the news last nite, and they did a report on last nite’s concert. Hilary Duff was in town concerting on her latest album “Dignity”. And of course, they showed footage from the concert. What part of this looks like dignity??

I was wondering what happened to the girl’s pants. How is she parading on a public stage, under bright, bright lights pantless, wearing only a shirt? But wait–the above picture shows my error–she’s wearing “shorts”. So, uh, you make a big deal of dying your hair and trying to maintain a mature image, but forget how to fix your wardrobe to match a more dignified kind of look?? Sorry…

The thing is that you know you’re an idol for young girls. There were little kids out past their bedtime at this concert last nite (the paper told of an 8-yr old who fell asleep at the reportedly dull concert…). So, whether or not this was your intended audience, why not take what you got, and live it up? Show the younger generation that you can be cool, pretty & hip–all with clothes on!

Let’s get back to the dictionary’s definiton of dignity please. Don’t undo all the hardwork of the many highly respectable and deservingly dignified women out there.

Family Secrets

I watched an ABC Primetime episode tonite because it caught my eye. The focus was on pregnant teens who choose to adopt out their unborn children. The two girls in the stories were 15 & 18 at the time of their pregnancy, and went on to both have daughters and chose couples who would adopt them. It was a very touching episode. Two things really stuck out in my mind.

The first is that good things happened for the birth moms down the road. They were interviewed again three years later, now 18 & 21. The 18 yr old was prepping for community college and had no regrets about her decision to place her daughter for adoption. Though she was harassed as school for her choice, she felt that at the time, it was the best thing for her child. And she was doing her best to do something good with her life. The 21 yr old was working in her dream job and she too had no adoption regrets. She hopes that when her girl turns 18, her doorbell rings for a reunion… I respect that these girls went on to do something good with their lives.

The second was a statement that one of the adoptive mothers made. She has three adopted girls. And their family is open about that detail of their lives–all three girls know that they’re adopted. They each have albums from their birth moms and get to see pictures of their biological families. The show host asked the adoptive mom why she chooses to be open with her young girls. Her response was that she’d never met a 30 yr old who took it well when they suddenly found out they were adopted, and that family secrets are never good. Yeah for her.

Coming from a background and culture where it was important to keep many family secrets, it really makes no sense. It’s much easier to deal with things when you know what you’re dealing with. It also helps you to look less stupid to those around you when you’re aware of what’s happening in your family.

We’re doing our best here to make sure that we don’t keep family secrets from Jamayia. It doesn’t mean that we’ll give her detailed descriptions about every little thing. But when she asks, we’ll be open with her.