Swimming Samuel

Swimming is a nice aspect of our program. It gives good vestibular stimulation for balance. It helps to improve respiration. Babies love swimming--they did just come out of an aquatic environment, and babies who swim crawl earlier. Plus mom and dad love to swim, too! Way more fun than flashcards!!

Samuel is not quite four months. We've been doing some "swimming" in the bathtub, practicing floating and getting comfortable in the water. But today Timothy heard someone say it was summer and he demanded that we swim ("You said we could swim in the summer"). We turn our hot tub down to 98 degrees (body temperature) so it's not too hot for the kids and we use a minimum amount of chemicals.

Timothy's got to get used to the water again this year (he wanted to wear his flotation swimsuit) and Samuel didn't quite know what to think, but the more we're in the water the better off they'll get.

With Samuel, we work on floating, going under the water, and just getting comfortable. I nursed him in the water, too, and that made it a little more tolerable for him! But I recorded his first "real" swimming experience. He wasn't too impressed, but he got a little more comfortable as time went on.

The thing is--Samuel just doesn't like anything.

My Samuel

Dear Samuel,



It's been almost four months since you were born. Honestly, it feels more like four years! Those first three months were very rough--I think you spend 75% of your waking hours crying. Things are calming down now and we're all adjusting, but sometimes I still think you're just a little bit of a miserable person.



We've spent a lot of time together--in fact, just about all our time. We even took you to my doctoral luncheon and graduation! With you nursing every two hours still, it's impossible for me to get away even long enough to see a movie. Speaking of nursing, that's pretty much your favorite thing to do. We do it day and night still (you still wake up 3-5 times in the night). Mommy watches a lot of tv and reads a lot of books when she's stuck in her nusing chair!



You love to watch Little Reader and TV is a new favorite, too. Your favorite shows are Monki See Monki Doo and Your Baby Can Read.



We try to keep you on the floor at least several hours a day, but we get down on the floor with you and build blocks with your brother. Your can get up on both knees and one hand and you throw yourself across the floor. I think you'll be crawling on hands and knees before you brother did (at 4.5 months). Any day now I expect to see you doing it!!



We work on swimming and you absolutely love the water! Mommy's tried to put you in a water baby classes but they say you have to be six months old. :-(



You're a mess, Samuel!! But I think we're going to keep you...


Love, Mommy

GOD is BIG

Graduating Class of 2010

In the last week, we've had double graduations!!

.

Last Saturday, I received in PhD in English with an emphasis in rhetoric and composition.

.

This morning, Timothy graduated from the 3 year old preschool class. They sang several songs, recited nursery rhymes, and walked the stage to get their diplomas!

.

We picked up Timothy's report card today and he still needs practice on zippers, buttons, and pasting. However, he made so much progress this year it's ridiculous!!! I love Timothy's preschool--he only goes for 6 hours a week, but in that six hours he has a great time and I don't have to worry a bit.

.

CONGRATULATIONS, TIMOTHY!!

Product Review: Monki See Monki Doo

Children learn from spending time with mom and dad. We're hands on parents. We send Sameuel down the crawling track countless times a day. We show math dots and Bit cards and reading words. We read books, say rhymes, and do finger plays. However, sometime during the day the laundry has to get done. Bills have to be paid. Showers must be taken. At times like this, I am very thankful for high-quality television.

Monki See Monki Doo is a fantastic series of children's DVDs that you can be proud to show your children! When I need to cook dinner, I can put on a program that is going to stimulate Samuel's brain, entertain him, and teach him as well. It teaches reading as well as parts of the body, animals, and common objects.

.

We have other baby reading DVDs, but this one seems to hold Samuel's attention more. When the cute theme song comes on, his attention immediately turns to the program. Samuel is not a happy baby, but he has watched the entire program without whining several times in the week we've had it. Let me tell you from a mom of a miserable baby--any break I can get is much appreciated!!

.

My favorite aspect of the DVD is that the big red words are shown on a white background. There's nothing to distract the child from the written word, and Doman recommends red for infants as it is an attention-getting color. After the word, the child learns what the word is, what it means. Babies need to learn everything--not just how to read the word "nose" but what "nose" means and what it does. This program teaches all of those things. It shows the word "nose" free of distraction, shows a child's nose, and sings a silly song about noses. I also like that the DVD links the two concepts by showing a picture of a nose and the written word nose together at some points.

.

With a doctorate in English, I believe that reading is one of the most fundamental skills necessary for learning. Monki See Monki Doo teaches pre-reading skills (such as rhyming and poetry) along with whole-word reading (the same way you and I read).

.

Their store carries everything you need to teach your baby to read--not only DVDs but also digital flashcards and print flashcards.

.

For a parent of a infant, time is precious. I am very blessed to have these DVDs and allow Samuel to learn even when I'm busy doing something else!

Wordless Wednesday

Upcoming Product Review: Monki See Monki Doo

Samuel's not a pleasant, smiling baby. Most of the time he's not a happy guy at all!! However, recently we realized that the kid loves television.

There's been a great deal of debate about babies and television. My beleif is that many shows that are meant to be education (such as Baby Einstein) actually have very little content and do more harm than good. I have seen several terrific programs for babies, though, and I beleive that limited television-watching is fine as long as the programs are high-quality and truly educational.

Lately, we moved a small television in to the floor of Samuel's playroom. When he's not in a very good mood, we can put him down for tummy time and he pushes up to see the video. We show educational programs so it's a win-win for us--Samuel stops fussing, he gets tummy time, and he learns from the program.

There aren't a whole lot of shows that meet our high-quality educational criteria, though, so I'm thrilled to be reviewing Monki See Monki Doo. I'm not very familiar with the products, but the website says the DVDs are lively, entertaining, and teache whole-word reading. Why let your child watch mindless programming designed merely to keep him child quiet when he could be watching a program designed to stimulate neurons and teach him to read!!

Be looking for my review in the upcoming weeks!!

Creating a Specific Sound

Part III of The Language Development Program for Birth to 12 months, as outlined in Glenn Doman's How Smart is Your Baby, says that you should recite a simple poem several times a day. I've been doing this for several weeks with Samuel.

I say:
These are your fingers
These are your toes
This is your mouth
And this is your nose

Then, you drop the last poem of the word. As Doman says, the mother "waits and looks at him enthusiastically...Since he has heard the poem many times he knows there is a sound at the end and that it is missing. he wants to fill it in for mother."

Maybe it's just me being a crazy mom, but it seems like Samuel really knows what his part in this poem is. He's quiet for the whole thing and then, when it's his turn, he make a sound that sounds very similar to "nose"

(I should note, hwoever, that Timothy never did this. We would wait and wait for him to make some sound--any sound--when we did "Creating Specific Sounds." He certainly didn't respond this young. Timothy's language wasn't anything to write home about in the first year, despite us doing everything in HSIYB)

Pledge Allegiance

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to my MOM, who taught Timothy to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Timothy is so blessed to have an awesome Grandma, and I'm so blessed to have an awesome mom!

Product Review: WallCandyArts Smarts

I have found a product that I absolutely love. I believe every parent following Glenn Doman's Gentle Revolution or How Smart is Your Baby program with an infant should have this!

On Doman program message boards, I often read how parents want to jump right in and start flashcards right away. However, all that flashing does no good if the baby's eyes aren't able to see clearly!!

To help the baby's eyes initially, there are two things you can do:

1) Turn the lights on and off several times a day so that the pupils can have stimulation

2) Give the baby a visually stimulating environment.

The Smarts product from WallCandyArts helps with task #2 and looks adorable, too!

The product consists of several different reusable wall stickers. These peel right off the paper and don't damage your walls a bit! You can rearrange them periodically to make them more interesting.

The decals are designed to grow with your baby. You can start with just the black and white contrasting objects (checkerboard, bees, flowers) and then when you baby is a few months old they have objects in primary color for you to add! The final step is to add your picture.

Plus--look how they transform a room! You could put these above a changing table or near a crib, but we chose to place them low to the ground since we have a floor baby. The big empty space between our playroom window looked pretty boring before, didn't it?

In less than half an hour, we had complete transformed this area! It's now visually interesting, with black and white contrast and bright, bold colors. When Samuel is a little older we'll use the picture frame stickers that are enclosed!

It just doesn't get any easier than this! Peel off the decals & put them on the wall. If you ever want to remove them, just take them off. They didn't leave any sticky residue whatsoever when I moved some that Timothy "helped" me with. They really do liven up a room, too!

At around $25 a set, I think the product is very reasonable priced. It cost me more than that to print out infant stimulation cards on cardstock and have them laminated! And Samuel's going to benefit from this--research has shown that a visually stimulating environment helps an infant's eyes develop better & earlier. I love what a cute backdrop the decals make for photos, too. Adorable--yes?

They have lots of other really cute wall decals, too! Whether you're decorating a nursery or just wanting to stimulate your baby's vision you should take a look at what they have!

If you would like to purchase these or any other wall decals, use the button below!

The Many Faces of Samuel

Knots

I believe we'll be signing Timothy up for Boy Scouts as soon as he's old enough. He loves camping, knives, building fires, collecting sticks and--here lately--tying knots. I still haven't been able to untie the knot that he tied!! When people come over they'll just think we're weirdos with rope all around our house and knots in the strangest places (they probably would even without the knots, though).

Timothy

Pop got Timothy a real pocketknife when we were on vacation. Unfortunately, it just doesn't cut trees down like Timothy thought it would!

On "Sleeping through the Night" -- What NOT to Say

I'm a walking zombie. I find myself dozing off as I sit in my chair writing this. It's been over three months now and, during this time, I have never (not one time) got more than 4 hours sleep at a time. Samuel still wakes up at least 4-5 times to nurse in the night and, while I love nursing, it's not quite as enjoyable at 2am.

I'm exhausted and, apparently, I look it. I'll be dropping Timothy off at preschool or getting some groceries at Wal-Mart and a well-meaning friend (I'll abbreviate WMF) normally comes up to chat. Our conversation goes like this:

WMF: Awww, look at him. He's still so tiny! How are you? You look exhausted!
Me: Oh, yeah. I'm really tired. Samuel's still waking up at night...a lot.
WMF: Oh, bless your heart. My kid slept through the night (from birth/at two weeks/at four weeks/at six weeks)

Never do this. Seriously. I know what it's like to have a child who sleeps through the night when he's supposed to. Timothy slept through the night at six weeks. However, when you have a child who doesn't sleep through the night (and cries all day, to boot) it's not very helpful to hear how early other kids slept through the night. Nope. It's not.

One day I will sleep again. It's the mantra I tell myself over and over as I sit in the dark nursing at 2am. One day I will sleep again. Sleep--glorious sleep!!

Evaluation with Donna Bateman

Last Wednesday, both kids were evaluated by Donna Bateman with Parents with Purpose. Both of the boys are well children, but we wanted to know about the areas they were struggling with and what we could to do help. Her website says this:

As a parent, you will learn information that will enable you to be one step ahead of your child all the way. You will know what they should be able to do, when they should be able to do it, and how to stimulate the brain in the appropriate way to ensure their abilities. You will have the peace of mind of knowing you are on the right road with them and how to proceed throughout the journey.

When you purchase a big-screen tv, you arrange for the delivery and wait excitedly for the appointed time. You have it carefully unpacked and immediately look for the instructions about the wiring. You have the complicated job of getting all the right plugs in all the right holes in all the right order. You would NEVER just stand it up, guess which plugs go where and then hold your breath, hoping it works properly.

But perhaps sometimes we do that with our children. Maybe sometimes we’re not really sure how everything works together---how are all the parts integrated into one system? But we are hoping and praying that it all works properly. It is a wise parent who invests the time to “read the directions” and make sure your child’s brain is properly nourished---with both food and stimulation. It is a wonderful opportunity for parents (and everyone who is involved with children) to see the pathway laid out clearly—with sign markers along the way—and be able to guide your little ones (or big ones) smoothly and successfully to adulthood.

We, as parents, really wanted to know what we should be doing to help each of our children. We have the How Smart is Your Baby checklist, but we didn't know if we should move on to the next stage or what. Making calls like that is difficult!!

The great news is that Timothy and Samuel are both doing great!! It's so awesome to hear that nothing's drastically wrong with your children.

Here are the concerns she raised about our children:
1) Samuel's not a happy guy. Like...he cries all the time. Donna was insistent that I needed to get off gluten and casien because the poor baby is just miserable.
2) Samuel's not tracking perfectly. He tracked great to his left side, but he absolutely refused to track on his right side. Weird, because he doesn't do well nursing on his right side either. I have to do the football hold on that side.
3) Samuel doesn't have a Babinski reflex. We knew that and she affirmed it.
4) Timothy's speech needs to be more clear for his age. Donna thinks this is an auditory processing problem rather than a speech problem.
5) Timothy's still got the eye shutter when he tracks objects. It's less, but he's still got it.

Since we last saw Donna, she's become all high-tech. She has a specific plan for us to follow one step at a time.

What we're doing:
1) Samuel's vision: black/white objects with color and tracking in a dark room
2) Samuel's crawling: 20x down the track that now has less of an incline
3) Smells for both boys
4) 750m of creeping/crawling a day for Timothy
5) Samuel's tactile: Textures at diaper changes
6) Timothy's auditory: locating a sound

We also have some reflex integration exercises to do once a day with both boys--those are easy peesy.

We're supposed to take until May 10th to prepare for the program and then slowly build up 10% at a time until we're doing everything. I like that.

Of course, the hardest thing for us right now is eliminating gluten and casien from the diet. However, Donna said if she only had us do one thing that would be it. Coincidentally, if we could choose to NOT do one thing that's what I'd choose :-)

I'll update you as we move forward and make progress, as always!

A New Child

Well, I've been off of gluten and casien for two days now and already we're seeing great changes in Samuel! His broken-out skin is looking better, he's crying less, and today--the day before he turns 3 months old--he laughed for the first time.

I'm not going to sugar-coat it: being GFCF (gluten-free/casien-free) absolutely stinks. However, it's very, very clear that this has been contributing to Samuel's constant crying and broken-out skin.

I think I can do it. The hard part is breakfast. I was spending some time with my mother and today she asked me, "Can you have cereal? Can you have muffins? Can you have donuts? What about a taquito? Toast? A bagel?" It's going to take osme getting used to, but I'm sure I'll figure it all out. I haven't even been to the health food store yet to check out all their GFCF goodies!