That Face!

I had my 36 week appointment today.  There's nothing too new or exciting to report.  Blood pressure still good, still got a ton of fluid, not gaining much (a little under 20 pounds).  Since I have polyhydramnios, we get frequent peeks at our little fish and today's peek was AMAZING! It was challenging at first since someone wanted to duck on their hands.  Here are a few of the best shots:

Hello, love!

We were clearly annoying the little night owl with our morning antics

Those lips! Those cheeks! That little nose!  Be still my heart! Our technician said my extra fluid and baby's fat layers are why these pics are so great.

I think it's amazing that we can see the baby so clearly before s/he is born. This level of technology didn't exist for my first 3 children was quite new when I was expecting Side Salad.

While we know what Lil Fish looks like, we don't know the gender. If you think you do, click the link and make a guess!
<a href="http://www.expectnet.com/logingame.php?game_name=BabyFerraro"><img src="http://www.expectnet.com/148075/17eeb73d/banner1.png" border="0"></a>

Wordless Wednesday: Maternity Pics (the professional ones)

Location: 

Hope's Ferry Landing 

Photographer: 

NTHeSTReeTzENT marketrap009@gmail.com

Make it Monday: If you give a first grader a saw...

Usually I spend my summers traveling with the crew but I'm nearly 37 weeks pregnant so we are staying close to home this year.  It kinda sucks-I want to camp and hike and whatnot.  Next summer, we'll be back at it.

So because I can't do what I want, I do what I can. Today,  that means making stuff.  Getting all these baby gifts mean lots of boxes and what better way to repurpose boxes than to make a car!

I got this MakeDo kit a while back from Target. [Note: this is a first gen kit and Make Do has some awesome upgrades that make it even easier for kids to create.]

 It came with a "saw," some plastic connectors , and lots of stickers. 

I gave Popcorn a couple of boxes and a Sharpie and got out of her way.

Getting out of the way is important.  We adults tend to like things to be just so and that's fine BUT kids need freedom to create and experiment. I helped her a little-when she asked-and encouraged her all the way. Her siblings and MechanicBae offered support and advice intermittently. Pepperoni offered moral support.

After a couple of hours,  this was her final product.

Not too shabby for a 6 year old.  But bigger than that are the lessons:

• Creativity-she designed the car
• Planning-she had to plan where to put the roof and doors, create a steering wheel, etc
• Perseverance-she worked through frustration and kept working until she was done
• Problem solving-she originally wanted to use an old Wii steering wheel but it was too heavy so she constructed a cardboard steering wheel. This took several tries, which is important, too.  Kids need to fail sometimes.  They need to know that failing is part of learning and growing.

All of these are important critical thinking skills and translate to real life problem solving.

I shared these pics with the folks at Make Do and they were super responsive-and they  told us all about their new products.   Stay tuned for a future post with more making and doing!

Happiness not allowed

I was scrolling though Instagram today and came across an old pic of this drop dead gorgeous mama and her brood.

I've seen this pic before and I'm wowed by it every time. That woman is #flawless and giving me all sorts of Mama Earth Fertility Goddess life.

Then, I read the comments.

Why do I ever read the comments? I wish I could say was floored...but I wasn't.  See, I know those sentiments well. It's part of the reason I wait to share my pregnancies.  I think I was in my 3rd trimester before I shared Popcorn and I was about 33 weeks when I shared this pregnancy.  Black women frequently "aren't allowed"  to celebrate new life in ways others are.  Allow me to explan.

There is a very single faceted perception of what a Black woman can and can't be.  One of those things is "happy to be a mother of many."  If a woman has more than 3 children, the perception is that she's poor, ignorant recieving public assistance, and promiscuous.  It's up to the woman to prove she's none of these.  However,  if a white woman shares a pic of her large family, it's by and large "a blessing" and she is a super mom. It doesn't matter if dad is in that shot or not. She's assumed to be married, nurturing,  intelligent , and pious. Heck, she might even get a TV show.  I am not disagreeing; I clearly love large families.  I'm shappy MechanicBae came with offspring (and a wonderful exwife), even though they are only with us sometimes.  I'm just pointing out that it's hypocritical. The automatic aassumptions are unfounded and insulting.  And the most vocal outcry comes from other Black women.  Why? How?

Because people breath life into tired, false stereotypes.   Here are some facts:

• Birth rates are down.  Black women declined from 2.14 births per woman to 1.89 births per woman. People are not "having a whole bunch of babies." (Except me.  I'm having a whole bunch of babies.)
• Black people do get married.  75% of Black women marry before 35.  I could have told you that, anecdotally,  but I prefer facts.  I have very few friends who have never been married and most of those are by choice.
• Black fathers are not across the board absent. MechanicBae is a great dad/stepdad. My male friends are awesome fathers.  My friends' husbands ROCK.

Every time I see a baby, Black or otherwise, I feel a little peal of joy.  Babies remind us that life goes on, that there's hope for the future. But Black people represent such a tiny sliver of the population, 13% if I recollect.  That should make each little melanated munchkin extra precious to us all.

So now that you know some facts, how about we all just  #letblackbabiesexist

Heartbreak

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Have you ever had your heart broken so poignantly you could hear it? Today, at 1:41 PM, I experienced that pain first hand.

I had my mouth set for a pile of delicious southern fried goodness and a slice of coconut cake with a sweet tea served in a Mason jar on the side so I decided to go to JackSons, a local buffet. I knew lunch ended at 2:30 so time was of the essence.  As I drove, I planned my first & second plates.  I like to come prepared.  I could almost smell that amazing fried fish as I wove through the traffic on 378. Cars, everywhere-why?  Don't these people have jobs? Didn't these fools understand? I was on a mission!

When I got there, the parking lot was eerily empty and I noticed a sad faced elderly couple in a late model Caddy backing out. "Better parking spot for me," I mused gleefully yet something nagged at me.  Where was the crowd?  It should be thinning by this time but today it was literally nonexistant. I was so confused.  I got out and strode warily up to the door and there it was. A sign. An odious message.  The most woeful words that could be printed on a sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 :

CLOSED
 ON VACATION UNTIL 7/22

Y'all,  I almost fell out.   I don't even want to eat anymore.  Ever.  For the rest of my life.

The moral of the story? Eat at JackSon's.  After July 22.

#imnotbeingdramatic
#okaymaybealittle
#atleastididntcry
#stillhungry
#wheretoforlunch

Back on the sauce

My iron is chronically low but this pregnancy caused it to plummet.  A little background: complications with my previous birth control decimated my iron levels.  They never fully recovered over the past 2 years.  It appears that I don't absorb iron efficiently through my stomach. Additionally,  iron supplements both nauseated and constipate me.  No fun.

I'd been able to keep my iron at the lower end of respectable for the others but this little bugger had me below 8 which concerned my docs and left me achy, cranky, and exhausted. We're talking waking up ready for a nap. Taking a nap before bed.  Barely able to cook or fold laundry.   Being a crappy mom.

So today, I'm having my 4th iron infusion
 At last check, my iron was a smidgen over 9 but they want it higher so here we are.

Looks like soy sauce...I am hungry.

Needles in,  time to begin.

This is NOT my favorite thing.  I hate needles.  And it feels so weird going into my vein, cold.  Plus, what if I had a run in with Magneto-he could use this extra iron as a weapon against me! That's a valid concern, right? 

But to paraphrase Tommy Pickles, "A mommy's gotta do what a mommy's gotta do!"

The plus side is 2 quiet hours! I usually watch "Arrested Development" until I fall asleep (the process takes a couple of hours) but my son wants me to read this book.

He read it while in Germany last month.  I'm a quick reader and I have 2 more infusions after this so that is what I'll do. As I keep watch for errant mutants. By the way, which mutant do you most worry about encountering?

Target Registry Bag

In my last post was about the Walmart Baby Box , I mentioned my Target Registry Bag.  I recieved it free at my local Target after creating my registry online.  I wanted to share the contents .

First, the bag itself. It is a cute little gray and white patterned tote. I am gifting it to Popcorn as it's the perfect size for a 6 year old.

 Here are the contents of the bag:

Not too shabby!

 Samples I recieved were Palmers Stretch Mark Cream, Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment, and babyganics moisturizing daily lotion. Being an eczema family, we love Aquaphor so I'll be tucking that into my diaper bag.  Good samples, but no coupons for the products.

 BUT there are coupons! There is a whole booklet of coupons for products for mama and baby...AND A STARBUCKS COUPON!!! 50% off a beverage.  I went with passion tea lemonade. There are some nice Seventh Generation coupons,  too.  This bambino will be in sposies so they will come in quite handy.

 There was some breast pump info and a pair of nursing pads and a couple of breastmilk storage bags from Lansinoh.

And, my favorite, the trial sizes!  There are 2 up&up (Target's house brand) size 1 diapers, a 10 pack of honest co wipes (woot woot!), a travel size Baby Dove Tip to Toe wash,  and an 8 oz Dr Brown Natural Flow bottle.

All in all, it is a nice bag.  It being free is icing.  And if you want to send a little love this way, feel free to visit our registry.