Day: January 24, 2024

Posted in Extra Tidbits

Bonus – If you could…

Posted on by Mama

If you could care for any unconventional animal, which would it be and why?

A bear!

Sorry I thought about this question and got super excited to answer. I have been obsessed with bears since I was a kid. It started when a teacher of mine taught us about them in class; I was so fascinated that I became hooked. At the time, teachers were allowed to be friendly with their students, so at the end of the year she got the whole class gifts: a bookmark and something else. Mine was a teddy bear. She was the best, and teachers like her are hard to find these days.

She sparked my love for the shaggy omnivores. I find them majestic in their mighty stature, their intelligence and playfulness. They are extremely protective, especially of their cubs, which as a mother myself I can relate to now. They are beautiful creatures who are strong and intimidating, but oddly clumsy at the same time. Plus their cute little tails, their silly little snouts and their huge paws are too adorable for words in my opinion. They are definitely mammals to be admired and I sure do!

I get so excited when I see bear videos, photos and I purposely seek out the bears at the zoo. I know, they shouldn’t live in that enclosed environment, but I can’t see them anywhere else in person.

So yes, I would definitely care for a bear if I could; feed it well and love it to no end. But also being very cautious, it’s still a dangerous animal after all.

But aren’t all animals dangerous? Food for thought.

Ciao!

P.S. – I took all these photos at the Michigan Zoo and Ohio Zoo years ago.

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

Teething Early

Posted on by Mama

As mentioned in a previous post, Valeria has begun her teething early. Normally children begin from four to seven months of age and others say six to twelve (the internet is so indecisive geez), however she is three months. Her two little top teeth can be seen starting to come out and I feel for her. It can’t be easy to have that discomfort and pain after everything she has already been through.

She has been relatively calm about it so far, though today she has been fussier then normal, making this new sound we never heard before. It seems almost like a bit of a whining pain noise, I can’t really describe it, but we’ve attributed this with her teething. She then proceeds to drool ALL over her onesie and chew on her hand. Indicating to us, it’s time for her toys.

We have this all natural teething medicine, but we are trying to hold off on it until she really needs it.

Instead, we have found that she really enjoys cold teething toys and cold choochies (pacifiers), it seems to help with the discomfort. We also found that she likes gnawing on her wooden teething ring, but not really sure why with that one. She tends to want to chew and suck on our fingers too, but please if you let your baby do this, Wash Your Hands! I know that’s self explanatory, but it still needs to be said.

If you are interested in the wooden rings or the silicone fruit, I highly recommend. The wooden teether is called Loulou Lollipop – Bubble Silicone and Wood Teether and the others we found on amazon. There are so many on there, the package we bought off amazon came with: a grape, a strawberry, a banana, a giraffe and some finger brushes. Though the finger brushes seem more like a little gum massager. Valeria isn’t a huge fan of the strawberry, but she seems to like everything else.

Since she has been drooling and blowing little spit bubbles quite a bit from the started, I noticed that her skin on her face and cheeks began to get dry in spots and a bit of a rash in others. I put a dab of breast milk on the area and it seemed to help (please understand I am no longer breast feeding however I still have a teeny tiny bit of milk still there). I’ve found a small touch of coconut oil helped the dry parts as well. I’m constantly keeping her face dry now, wiping it with her burp cloth whenever I can. Seems to be helping to alleviate the rash and dryness.

So my tips:

  1. Cool/cold teething toys and pacifiers – wonderful to help soothe sore gums
  2. Wash your hands before letting your baby chew and gnaw on your finger or knuckle
  3. Try different toys to see what your baby enjoys and what they don’t – they may not like certain textures
  4. Massage their gums when you can, if your baby allows you (Valeria hates us digging around in there)
  5. If your baby is drooling a lot, try to keep their chin and cheeks dry the best you can – burp cloths are amazing for this!
  6. If a rash or dryness occurs on their face, try a bit of breast milk (mamas if you are able and are producing, but if not that’s okay!) OR a teeny bit of coconut oil. Just don’t make your baby look like they are about to go out and get a tan
  7. Patience. Your baby is going to get fussy and cranky and all they want is love, comfort and soothing from mom and dad.

Hope this helped even a little. It is what my husband and I are finding to works at the current moment, but I will keep you all posted on her two little teeth!

Ciao!