Creative-Bun

To spark my creativity, I ordered a few books online and received them this week. The first book is "Creative Play for Your Baby"- it has Steiner Waldorf expertise and toy projects for babies 3 months - 2 years. I love this book. I made a simple doll for Aoife using an old fleece blanket of hers, some yarn I had, and a cat toy with a bell in it which I turned into the head. This is one of the simplest dolls to make. It is perfect for her age because right now she is interested in faces which is all this doll really has. Tim thinks is looks like a wailing banshee, but I think it's cute. Aoife didn't pay much attention to it until I started to play with it, and then, she couldn't keep her eyes off of it.


The other book that I got was "The Creative Family" about how to encourage imagination and nurture family connections. This book isn't too useful until she's about a year old, but it gave me some inspiration to come up with my own project. Monday night, Aoife was patient enough to let me trace around her hands, and she watched me color them in. She loved the bright colors and wanted to chew the final result!
Dorrie came by again on Wednesday to care for Aoife. It seems as if they had another good time with each other. Aoife took a long nap for Dorrie, and afterwards they played with Aoife's feet. Aoife put her foot into her mouth all by herself. I knew she would be able to do this soon and was happy to see her do it later that night. Gramma Rachel knit Aoife a colorful ball, and Dorrie said that Aoife would place it on top of piggy, and she would try to knock it off. Aoife is grabbing things that she wants and putting them into her mouth now. I'm learning a lot from Dorrie on how to be a more mindful mother. Dorrie always seems to be in the moment which seems to be a difficult state to be in. I rush quickly during the day at work, and when I get home, I have to let myself unwind and become mindful. I've completely dedicated my time from 1pm -8pm just being with Aoife. After 8pm and during naps I tidy up, cook, lesson plan, read, watch a show on TV, and pump many many times. Wednesday night I was pumping when all of a sudden my pump suddenly stopped. Tim and I did all we could to get it to work again and soon I started to panic. I was glad that I had pumped enough milk for her by then. The next day I had come home with my pump dismantled and sprawled across the living room floor: my pump was broken. Tim had called the hospital for me so that I could rent one until he "fixed" it. Aoife and I took off to the hospital the exact path I had taken when I was in labor with her. I told her my birth story again and was excited to go back to the labor and delivery floor. I saw a couple of new moms with their babies, and it really hit me that these past four months have been a time of great growth within myself as well as the growth of Aoife's body. The lactation nurse was very happy to see and outsider come to her with a big baby. She talked enthusiastically to Aoife and Aoife would give her a sheepish smile and look away quickly then she would look back at her to see if she was still there: cute!. The lactation consultant commented on how bald Aoife was just like her little babies. I guess I didn't pay too much attention, but she is still very bald. Check out her wig below! Well, I ended up buying a new pump; a much better pump. My new pump is portable and has a let-down feature which I love. It makes pumping more pleasurable.

Aoife's making funny new noises this week. She is grunting, and not because she's trying to poop but because she likes the noise. It's a strange noise to hear. I think she is definitely teething now. When I look at her lower gums, I can see two little white buds. She likes it when I rub her gums with my finger, so we got her a blue non-toxic rubber teether the shape of a fish. I guess she's been doing this a while, but Aoife sucks on her lower lip too. I think that's probably going to be a habit she'll pick up for many years to come.




Also this week, I got my first magazine from Gramma Rachel (Thank you!). She subscribed me to "Mothering"- a magazine for natural family living. My parenting philosophy and issues follow very close to this magazine, and I enjoy reading about moms who are similar to me. Dorrie said that she used to get this magazine when she had Ansel and Chenoa. Another magazine that I am reading is "Brain, Child"- it contains a bunch of essays from moms who are professionals. These essays are funny, sad, entertaining, enlightening, and so on. I like this magazine because it doesn't seem to have an agenda- just a collection of stories from all types of mothers. Sometimes it's good to expose oneself to other points of views. I've already got both of them read! One article I especially liked was called "a summer to savor". In America, it seems to be typical of parents (who can afford it) to send their children off to camp, and pack their summer with many classes and cultural enrichment activities. This article was written by a woman who decided, after much protest from the kids about an overloaded summer, that for that summer they would do nothing. She said it was one of the most cherished childhoods the kids remember having where the kids would go swimming in the lake, climb trees, make crafts, read books, make popsicles and pies; simply do nothing- time flowed like honey.


So, a question to you out there; since it is now summertime, what is a favorite memory from your childhood summer that you'll never forget???