im going to netti. no more colds!

About a week ago I finally stopped coughing from a lingering cold, and now I have a new worse one. Apparently it is common to get frequent colds when you have a toddler. Kids get sick a lot as they build up their immune systems. Z isnt so bothered by the cold, just a snotty nose but every snotty nose she gets, I get knocked down it seems. Doesnt matter if I wash my hands or keep things clean. With a little snuggle bug you are bound to get a snotty kiss now and then. So. I am going to start sinus cleaning. I have long known about the benefits and yet never tried it. I even bought my brother one such little teapot nettipot for christmas. So, my promises to myself: remember to take a vitamin each day, go get the flu shot, and clean out those sinuses each time I see the zoster's nose run. Lets see if I can make it the rest of the winter without another bought of sick!

happy at home

So many things to talk about. Here is a relatively randomly generated list:

Glad to be home. And really glad ms. zo has gone back to happily sleeping in her crib for good long bouts of time at night. It was all about co-sleeping on the road, which was nice in the cuddle department and not so nice in the get-good-sleep department.

So proud of my baby girl who rocked as super traveler for three days of driving to Nebraska and a long flight home with too many hours in Chicago (but thanks for the rocking chairs in the airport, thats nice!)

So proud of my little brother who rocked as Tommy in his highschool's production of Brigadoon.

In Nebraska I had the chance to record a couple tracks for a lullaby cd my mom's group Baby Needs Shoes is working on. Lots of fun. The first time anyone sang while nursing a baby in that particular studio...probably not common in any studio. And Zoe may make an appearance as well. We tried to record cute cooing sounds, but she was mostly interested in yelling in a way that wont really jive with a lullaby album.

While hanging out at my mothers I watched daytime tv for the first time in forever and saw one of those morning "news" shows, you know that one where they go outside and talk to the screaming people, Good Morning America I think. Anyhow, they did a little bit about how many resources the average person uses in a lifetime and they talked about disposable diapers. My thoughts about this rambled so long I have decided to make it a separate post - so see above.

Zoe had her two month shots today and I almost got teary. Poor thing has been hurt so few times in life so far. Wish I could always protect her from pain. I don't actually think that vaccines cause autism, and I do think that vaccines save lives. But I nevertheless couldnt help but think about it and feel a little worried...

I got a spinning composter for my birthday! Yay for the husbub who took up a collection among family. N0w to start diggin in the dirt. We have plants still in the ground from before winter...the broccoli has bloomed in lovely little yellow flowers. Who knew broccoli produced lovely little yellow flowers? But unfortunately only tomatoes and broccoli seedlings have grown, the eggplant and pepper seeds failed to rise up. shucks.

Yay for roasting marshmallows in the backyard! (see pics :)

Is your baby well adjusted?

Once upon a time I found myself with stubborn, rather serious, lower back pain. Something was stuck and stretching and yoga only partially eased but didnt solve the problem and I had it for months. Then I met a chiropractor giving free consultations at my gym. I started visiting him weekly, as my insurance appeared to cover the cost (and when we realized it didnt, he waved the the co-pay since I cant afford it, so I really felt I owed him the benefit of the doubt to keep going). I was fairly skeptical, especially of the strange clicky tool he used that seemed bizarre. But after not too long, I was cured! My back was seriously fixed. Once again I could sneeze in the morning without falling to my knees in pain, and I could enter yoga poses previously off limits because I just couldnt bend that way anymore.
And then I got pregnant. I doubted that a pregnant woman should continue to see a chiropractor, but apparently its quite normal. I kept going, twice a week, and I didnt have the typical pregnant back pains. In fact I had a pretty easy going healthy pregnancy. I cant say that mr. chiropractor necessarily gets all the credit, Im not sure what it would have been like without the regular adjustments, but I bet it helped. In fact, for awhile I had really bothersome rib pain. I didnt mention it to him for a couple weeks (somehow I retain a good deal of disbelief and skepticism, Im not sure why). He used the bizzaro clicky tool and, voila, rib pain gone. Wild.

And then he said he wanted to see the baby. I dont mean to look and say, oh what a cute baby. He wanted to adjust my baby. In the first week of her little life. This seemed totally ridiculous. He described it, it sounded pretty gentle and harmless. He swore that there are studies showing that baby chiropractic care reduces the incidence of ear infections and colic. That sounds good to me. So I brought Tim and Zoe on her week birthday to the chiropractor. Im actually a little embarrased to admit it, because it sounds so totally crazy, but my baby had a chiropractic adjustment. He felt her little spine with two gentle fingers, pushed very lightly on the back of her neck, held her by her hips upside down while she stretched and twisted herself around, and massaged her little belly a tiny bit. I dont know if it will help her in any way, but Im certain it will not hurt her. And if she can avoid ear infections and colic, Im totally on board. So now Zoe will go with me to the chiropractor each week.
She's a well adjusted baby.