Mem Fox gets controversial...and I say good for her

I was cruising my Google reader when I came across this interesting blog post. After what I went through with Eliza in day care I am not a huge supporter to say the least. This article responds to author Mem Fox calling full time daycare for infants child abuse.

Mem fox responds here on her website.

Do I think day care is child abuse? I am not sure if I would go that far but I definitely think it is terrible when a parent is unable to stay home with his/her child. I never wanted to put E in day care and would have loved to be home with her those months I was working- or would have loved for a caring family member of friend to have her.

Mem defends her position and I have to stay I think she should stand behind what she has said if she feels strongly on the issue. I don't see why she should back down...and I certainly don't think people should boycott her books because she has a strong opinion.

I know people often have no other choice than to put their babies into daycare. I was one of those moms. But maybe we as a country should be questioning this practice and making it possible for parents to spend more time with their children during those critical early months.

I could't make it up if I tried

Happy 7 Month Old Birthday Eliza!

There is no need to respond to this post. I can just go back to the other ten posts where Eliza is sick and read your wonderful comments.

Eliza has been sick with a head cold/ or allergies- who knows- for about a week.

Yesterday after I picked her up from day care she did not seem that interested in eating. After her 7:30 bottle she threw up on me four times. I changed my clothes. Then it happened again. I had to change my clothes again. Even though her poor little stomach was empty she continued to dry heave and throw up every 30 minutes until 12:30 a.m. My husband held her until 3 a.m. because we were scared to put her down and I was a mess- basically no help at all. She was also tugging on her ear a great deal and my husband was worried that she had an ear infection. Luckily, we now think she was just trying to soothe herself.

It took the doctor and hour and a half to call us back. When she did call back she said if the baby was still throwing up in the morning take her to the E.R because they did not have office hours today. BIG HELP!

So I am home with Eliza today. She took 3 oz of Pedialyte at 6:30 a.m. and 3 more oz at 7:30 a.m. She is now taking a nap. Unfortunately, Peter and I did not learn from the first time she had a stomach bug and she mad a mess in the bed. We woke up this morning to a mess in the bed AGAIN! Oh the joys of parenthood.

Can someone please throw us a bone. How much can one little baby, a mommy and a daddy take. I know so many other families are in much worse situations so i don't mean to vent this much but I am just so frustrated.

Oh and of course we called daycare to tell them Eliza would be absent. We inquired about any other reported cases of stomach flu and they said no other toddlers or babies has the bug-0 but some preschoolers did. The preschoolers are in a different part of the building and apparently my daughter can catch a bug from 100 miles away.

For more info on the cause and prevention of noroviruses- the stomach flu- check out this article from the CDC.

Still here...Update

I spent my second night in the hospital last night. Pete was going to stay but I couldn't leave my pumpkin. Tonight I might have no choice because I am not feeling so well myself. I think I might have a bladder infection too and I really need some rest. I am hoping we are out of here quickly but I don't think that is going to happen. The doctor said three to five days.

Last night was a little bit rough. We are sharing a room with another mom and baby who is 5 weeks old. I am sure you can imagine how it is at night with two little sweeties in one room. Eliza was up a lot and had quite a coughing spell. The nurse heard her with the door closed and came in to help me out. After that the IV backed up and the nurse had to drain it out- which woke me up. Then at 7 a.m she was out cold and they came in to draw more blood which of course woke her up. I was kinda annoyed-but I know it is necessary. Don't they know you shouldn't wake a sleeping baby? or is that a sleeping dog you shouldn't wake? haha Overall the peanut is in good spirits. She loves all of the doctors and nurses coming in to see her. She is such a ham all smiley and happy. However, it is very hard to entertain her in this tiny room- but we are doing our best.

Eliza has not had a fever since late Saturday night which is a very good sign. We are still waiting for the blood and urine cultures to come back to see what- if anything-grew. We know she definitely had some type of infection because her white cell count was elevated. Depending on the results of the urine culture she might need an ultrasound of her kidneys. She has had some diarrhea from the antibiotics and now they are giving her probiotics to help.

The pediatrician feels strongly that we should take her out of day care. Eliza's little system is just not handling the germ overload well. I wish we had some other option. Pete and I plan on trying to find private care for her.

I just want to thank everyone for all of the well wishes. It really has made me feel wonderful to know so many people are thinking of our family.

We have taken a lot of pics but I haven't been able to get them on the computer. Hopefully I will get to do that soon.

My Bazzle Baby!

Last week before the onset of the tummy bug I received a Banda Bib and a Big Bib in the mail. Both products come from the amazing company Bazzle Baby.

Eliza is teething big time and I can barely keep up with her drool. She is a drool queen and her shirt always ends up soaking wet. The day care requests 5 or 6 bibs a day and she wears one all day long. This is not very stylin for my rock star peanut. When I found the Banda Bib I immediately was in lust. It is a bib that looks like a bandanna. How cute is that? It is super stylish and looks adorable with any outfit. This is a great alternative to a standard bib wich did nothing for Elzia's fashion sense. I figure at least one of us had better look good- and these days it most often is not me. It is super absorbent and fits close to the chin so her little neck won't get all wet.


I sent Eliza to day care with her Banda Bib and I am pretty sure the other tots were jealous. The ladies that care for lil E loved it! They thought it was for her head before I put it on as a bib. They were really impressed by how it stayed close to the chin and caught the dribble! I let them know that Banda Bibs are now available at Target!

The other awesome bib from Bazzle Baby is the Big Bib. We started giving Eliza solids and I figured most of the food would end up on her and not in her. Little did I know I started solids on the same day she would end up with a tummy bug! I needed a good bib to keep her dry. I used my new Bib Big which is 10 x 13 inches and it worked great. I especially like the soft chenille backing. Eliza had tons of fun with her cereal and stayed very dry.


Another great thing is that the bibs are adjustable. A lot of the bibs I purchased when Eliza was a baby are too small for her now and in turn a big waste of money. I am adding these bibs to my list of must haves for new moms.


Once you get your Bazzle Baby gear you can take a pic and send it in to the company. They are holding a contest and one baby will be featured on the front page of the website and win gifts valued at $210. I am entering Eliza and she is pretty darn cute! Bring on the competition.

Say Whaaaaaaat?

Before Eliza arrived I never thought I would be a baby talkin momma. However, I now hear the most ridiculous things coming out of my mouth. I wrote them down and realized I use the word stinky a LOT. It isn't like Eliza is a smelly kid or anything. I just really like the word I guess. It makes sense that one of my favorite kid's books is I Love You Stinky Face. I hope my daughter doesn't grow up with a stinky complex.

Here is my list

1. Who has a booger nose?



2. Are you a stinky ba-dinky?



3. Let me hear a big girl burp!



4. Did you make stinky farts?



5. That was a big pooper dooper!



6. Are you doing a stinky doo doo?



7. Who's my Eliza, Beliza, Deliza, Meliza- you get the drift.

I see a bodily function theme here. I am sure there are more and will jot them down if I remember. I will also seek psychiatric help as it appears I must have some sick fixation with stinky farts and doo doo.

Eliza did really well at daycare again. I called at lunch to check on her. I tried not to but I am WEAK! I picked her up at three thirty and the lady was singing to her and rocking her with her bottle. Eliza had a huge smile. When she saw me she started giggling and squealing. She seems to really like it there. That makes me so happy. I guess she was tired of being with boring old mommy all day.

Here she is on her first day of school. Do you see the look she is giving her carrier?Here she is on her second day of school.

I do have one gripe. They wanted me to bring diaper rash cream. I only use Vaseline on her and Triple Paste when she really needs it. I don't like the chemicals components in many diaper creams. Desitin is a 5 at the Skin Deep site and I would just rather us something else.

Have you seen my towel?

I get out of the shower and stand there dripping like a wet dog- only much less stinky. As the drops of water fall onto the bathroom rug I can't seem to figure out what is missing. I look around the steamy bathroom as I try to trick my brain into functioning. Oh MY! It sure is chilly standing here all drippy and wet-like. As I slowly scan the room my gaze falls onto the counter where there should be something dry and fluffy awaiting my embrace. Alas! I forgot a freakin towel! Now I have to race, naked style-like Larry from Three's Company-to the linen closet to get a towel. I slowly come to the realization that things like this happen to only me. I would like to report an undiagnosed case of Momnesia!

And now for the day care update...

Eliza did really well at day care. On the other hand, I probably could have used a brown paper bag to breathe into on the car ride there this morning. I just know my lungs were not functioning properly. And I teared up twice but forced the drops back into my burning tear ducts because I wanted to appear strong. I DID call at lunch. Thanks Pam for encouraging me to be a strong momma! She took her naps in the cradle swing- which is fine by me. I wish I would have invested in one of those instead of my Pooh swing from Graco that she HATES!