On Becoming Babywise

When I found out I was pregnant with Thomas, the first thing my friend and mentor Anna said to me was, "You've got to get Babywise." I had no idea what Babywise was, but she told me that it would help me and my baby to sleep. As any normal mom-to-be, I thought, "Sign me up!" At about 3 or 4 months pregnant, I bought the book and read it through a couple of times before Thomas came. I will admit when Thomas arrived there were a rough few weeks. Nursing didn't go as planned and he had his days and nights mixed up for a few days. What did I do? I called Anna and said, "Help!" She helped me understand how to read Thomas' signs that he was sleepy and once I got that down, he got into a routine and at 7 weeks and 5 days, he slept through the night and has every since.

Now every mother-to-be I meet, I tell them about On Becoming Babywise because I do feel it is one of the best resources for moms. It is not specifically Christian (although the rest of the books in the series are), but it does advocate a marriage centered home and not a child centered home. Marriage is esteemed because without a good marriage, children will not thrive.

Thomas is on a consistent schedule, so I know when he will nap everyday and when he will be awake. It is so helpful in planning my day as well as planning time to spend with Josh. I also don't have to worry that he won't go to sleep when Josh and I leave him with grandparents while we go on a date. He has even continued to sleep uninterrupted though teething. We even went to Louisville when was just 3 months old and he did great. He napped at the right times and continued to sleep through the night.

One thing I have learned since becoming a mom is moms are either for Babywise or against it. Some people advocate attachment parenting and claim those that follow Babywise don't love their children, or their children aren't thriving, but that certainly hasn't been my experience. I believe that since we have set a firm foundation of good sleep habits from the beginning that Thomas is a happier baby and I'm a better mama.

The other week I found a blog dedicated to answering questions and sharing insight into the book On Becoming Babywise. Even though I've read Babywise several times, it was nice to see how another mom has implemented the principles. You can read her blog here.

Autism and Vaccines - Is there a link?

The other night Josh was watching a special on autism on PBS. I happened to walk into the room and immediately started listening to the program. What I saw really scared me. Children who could not speak or interact with their parents because of their autism. Parents who testified that their children were developing normally before their vaccines. I have to admit this was the first time I really began to think about a link between autism and vaccines. Immediately after the program was over, I went to Thomas' room and just prayed over my precious child. I asked the Lord to protect him and to give me wisdom concerning this subject.

Thus far Thomas had had all of his scheduled vaccines, including a flu shot. He has had no negative reactions to any of the shots. However, it is his 12 month and 18 month shots that are controversial and many parents believe their child became autistic after these shots. Doctors say that it is just a coincidence because it is around 18 months that a child exhibits signs of autism, while parents say it is because of all the mercury in the shots. On the PBS special, parents were trying to "detox" their child of mercury hoping if they could decrease the mercury it would help cure the autism.

I don't think that parents should stop vaccinating their children. We don't want an epidemic of childhood diseases to return. There has to be a balance and I pray more research will be done into the link between vaccines and autism.

Right now, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I want to be able to trust the doctors and the CDC, but I also think that mamas know their children better than a doctor. I'm thinking that I may delay some of his shots until he is a little older. More than anything, I want Thomas to be healthy and it really scares me to think I could make a decision that would hurt him. However, I know that God is sovereign and nothing happens outside of His perfect will.

Please comment on your thoughts or links to information you think would be helpful. I know this is a highly volatile subject, so please be kind in your remarks.

Significant Dates

For those of you who know me well, you know that I remember dates - birthdays, anniversaries, significant dates in my life or those in people I know. I even remember special dates for people that I barely know. And much to my husband's dismay, I remember every significant happening in our life from our first date until now. Yesterday was one of those days.

Josh and I started dating in Februrary 2006 after a long friendship. Because we knew each other so well, we weren't dating just for the fun of it, but to determine if we should marry. By the second date, I knew that Josh was the man I wanted to marry and it wasn't too long before I had fallen in love with him. However, I couldn't tell say, "I love you," until he told me first. Oh, how hard it was because I wanted to express my feelings, but I just had to wait on him! There were a couple of times that I thought he was going to say it, but nothing.

The first week of April was spring break at Southern Seminary (where we both attended) and we decided to come to South Carolina to visit Josh's family. I had met his parents once before at a wedding, but this time I would meet them as Josh's girlfriend. We drove down on a Wednesday evening, and on Thursday, Josh decided to give me a tour of his favorite places in SC (I'm from Georgia). We went to his college and then he took me to see the only covered bridge still standing in the state. Then we went to a place he liked to go in college, Poinsett Bridge. It has been there since the 1800's and the road after the bridge would take you from Greenville to Asheville. We looked around and went to sit down by the creek that the bridge was over. As we were sitting there, Josh finally said the words I had been longing to hear, "Dianna, I love you!" I was so surprised and so happy - even now I'm smiling as I remember that sweet moment. Josh really wanted the moment to be special and he achieved it.

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Josh made April 6 special and I'll never forget it!

Two Teeth!

If you look closely you can see his two bottom teeth. Josh is calling him Thumper now because he has two teeth like a bunny and he loves to tap his right foot in the high chair. Isn't he precious?!

Update on Contest

I thought I would give everyone an update on the Upstate Moms contest in which I won $350 in gift cards. The cards weren't just to the mall, but anywhere that accepts a Visa debit card. Josh decided that we needed to take pictures of our shopping trip. Unfortunately, I didn't really find anything when I shopped for myself. I did get a couple of things that aren't picture appropriate, but I was really hoping to find a nice dress, but could not. However, we were able to buy Josh a suit. He really needed a new suit and the plan was to use our tax refund to buy one. Macy's was having a fantastic sale and we couldn't pass it up. We bought the suit with the gift cards, and I will take what we spent out of the tax refund. I also got some new pajamas for Thomas at Target.

Enjoy the fun pictures that Josh took of our adventure. We looked at a lot of dresses and as you can tell by the pictures, Thomas was very ready for a nap! Oh, and I didn't win the $1,000 gift cards, but I'm not sad. Praise God for the $350!

Very nice...but way too much

Okay....this is just ugly!

Nope...definitely not me.

How can I entertain myself while Mom shops?

Don't like it enough...

Way too many dresses - I feel claustrophobic!

Shoes are a possibility...

I really like this pair!

Okay Mom! I have had enough! Give me a nap now!