tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.comments2013-08-25T13:37:11.023-07:00Little BugLaura and Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927249438159544773noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-1596423370242008642013-08-25T13:37:11.023-07:002013-08-25T13:37:11.023-07:00Happy Home Day, Little Bug!! Though our experience...Happy Home Day, Little Bug!! Though our experience with Ezra was not nearly as harrowing, his extraordinarily early arrival, his sojourn in NICU after the hospital almost killed him, the whole nuttiness of that, well, it gets way mitigated but never fully goes away. Every year that Ezra gets stronger and taller (he's now in the normal height and weight range) is testament to how less and less I think of those awful 10 days. <br /><br />We have fashioned a birth story for Ezra that he finds funny. We talk about the "emergency-ness" of it all in terms of him being anxious to get out in the world. He loves the part where he literally flew out of me. And we never tell him that the hospital almost killed him, but instead tell him he just needed a bit of extra time to "cook" in the hospital since he rolled out of me earlier than he could have. Of course, he's only 10. But he loves the purple glasses that I kept from NICU that he had to wear when he was under the lights, and when he asks to see them and asks for me to tell the part when he flew out of me again, I know that he has also chosen to pick the best parts of the story and make them his own.<br /><br />I am so thankful Little Bug made it and brings you both never-ending joy. <br /><br />xo,<br />JodiJKKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05118482423689107838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-56529118941590787872013-05-25T08:00:44.881-07:002013-05-25T08:00:44.881-07:00Oh my, I cried through every sentence of this...wo...Oh my, I cried through every sentence of this...wonderful blog. Thank you. MomKaren Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08905469444457544745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-48000075937605985752013-05-13T14:19:09.202-07:002013-05-13T14:19:09.202-07:00So frustrating! I've had this conversation wit...So frustrating! I've had this conversation with adults about both of my boys when they were little. <br /><br />I ran into a work acquaintance in a restaurant once while I was in line and holding Henry, who was maybe a year old. She came over and did the typical baby-talk gush and told Henry what a beautiful little girl he was. I said "Thank you and, actually, he's a boy. His name is Henry." She corrected me! She said "Oh no! This is a beautiful little girl! Little boys don't have such long lashes and beautiful curly hair." I still can't wrap my brain around where exactly the compliment is in that statement. The temptation to drop his diaper and let him piddle on her salad was strong. But, you know, then I'M the inappropriate one. :)<br /><br />Good for you for the way you handled things. Especially the part about having crackers. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07214427919519608002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-44518831094851325212012-08-29T16:47:18.762-07:002012-08-29T16:47:18.762-07:00Wahooooooo! Way to go, Jackhoe! :)Wahooooooo! Way to go, Jackhoe! :)Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14131172767553347301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-70185278642445888752012-08-27T07:02:31.904-07:002012-08-27T07:02:31.904-07:00Oh my dears, you made me laugh and cry with this. ...Oh my dears, you made me laugh and cry with this. "Backhoe Shirt!" What a perfect answer. I suppose the tears are the fate of grandmothers everywhere - and I suppose that Jackson would have a one word comment. Lup. <br /><br />Karen Williams Karen Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08905469444457544745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-77147303985749252612012-06-19T20:16:05.241-07:002012-06-19T20:16:05.241-07:00What a fabulous little engineer! Thanks for your ...What a fabulous little engineer! Thanks for your blog - we can't get enough of Little Bug back here in Tucson! Miss you all! Love, JenJenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14131172767553347301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-60460230025888774652012-05-28T11:15:39.900-07:002012-05-28T11:15:39.900-07:00(Clark here) Thanks for this informative and touc...(Clark here) Thanks for this informative and touching post. My three-year-old cousin is a persistent and (I think) talented sports player with good hand/foot-eye coordination, but he cannot move all his fingers independently either. He cannot make the sign for airplane for example. It is good to be reminded what is developmental. I'm glad you have such good pediatric support.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14387446978395222007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-5151098308928385432012-04-03T22:17:50.514-07:002012-04-03T22:17:50.514-07:00Dear Laura and Jennifer,
Thank you for the opport...Dear Laura and Jennifer,<br /><br />Thank you for the opportunity to recall such sweet memories. It's true - I recall with such tenderness and truth the absolute love affairs each girl had with the moon, the woman in the moon, baños de luna on Tia Elisa's porch, and stories of their grandfather traveling there and back. To their wonder and delight the moon consistently followed them and flooded their windows with the sweetest glow... So many happy memories to remember and the wonder in them is the sweetest thing of all... Here's to your little bug and his relationship to la luna. Thanks for remembering us and including us in his life's story so far...<br /><br />Cariñosamente,<br /><br />Adela y familiaadelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252544042595250560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-69337985877262432222012-02-23T13:02:11.530-08:002012-02-23T13:02:11.530-08:00Yay! Sentences! Hooray for Bug! Hold on to these...Yay! Sentences! Hooray for Bug! Hold on to these early words dearly - Andy and I were just lamenting the other day about how slowly and somewhat imperceptibly Ben's early words morphed into 'real' words, and now we'll never get those early words back. It's a bit of a surprising feeling for me, since I've always been looking forward to the next thing in childhood (do you think that's common among parents of 'rough start' kids?). Anyway, give your little talker a big hug for us!Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14131172767553347301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-18055305850583533332011-07-23T10:41:29.487-07:002011-07-23T10:41:29.487-07:00love it!love it!Evahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01295457080479429445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-61279406329504229842011-07-14T22:53:28.860-07:002011-07-14T22:53:28.860-07:00What a wonderful post... super fascinating. Great ...What a wonderful post... super fascinating. Great to hear he is doing so well.Emily Hobsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16559543213555517233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-44455915551532088942011-07-13T12:28:33.779-07:002011-07-13T12:28:33.779-07:00so glad that he is doing well... :)
Enjoyed the p...so glad that he is doing well... :) <br />Enjoyed the passage...always so amazing how emotionally articulate and expressive babies/children are and how society has a tendency to silence that emotional consciousness as they grow olderAnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15374147465623963125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-54212841067955861102011-05-27T09:35:26.998-07:002011-05-27T09:35:26.998-07:00yeah, I've got nothing to say about toddlers a...yeah, I've got nothing to say about toddlers and older kids, who I know well can have a lot to say about food. And I did once know an anorexic baby, when I was teaching daycare--she was about 9 months old I think when I got to know her, maybe as young as six months--and she scared the hell out of me. Also I know parents who deal with scary allergies in their babies. I don't mean to minimize the ways feeding can be hard.<br /> But really, would it kill them to say in the baby books, feeding a baby can *also* be a ridiculous amount of fun, assume it will go well, and you won't believe how ridiculous a baby looks coated from head to toe in mashed strawberry? I felt like Bug had to teach me the joy of it.Laura and Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927249438159544773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-11526285716698005122011-05-27T08:42:35.824-07:002011-05-27T08:42:35.824-07:00I never power struggled over food when they were b...I never power struggled over food when they were babies, but apparently I'd been saving for power struggles now, for pre-teens and 2nd graders. Legendary fights over Nutella, for example! But you read about that one on my blog, so I won't get into it here. Fun reading, hooray!JKKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05118482423689107838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-15707005927560291642011-05-27T08:33:53.474-07:002011-05-27T08:33:53.474-07:00Yep, I'm living proof that parents *definitely...Yep, I'm living proof that parents *definitely* get into power struggles with their babies over food. Yesterday Benjamin ate one egg, one piece of bread with peanut butter, and one serving of applesauce. That's it (plus lots of milk of course). He was offered potato soup, cheese, crackers, naan, paneer roll, chicken curry, cookies with whipped cream, etc. and he wanted none of it. I learned long ago you can't force a baby to eat if he doesn't want to eat. So, as the mother of a little boy who's on the opposite end of the eating spectrum, I say: 1) big hurray for Jackson (and does he want to offer some advice to his little cousin?), and 2) babies are so different (just like adults!), and isn't that wonderful?Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14131172767553347301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-937746396527728622011-05-25T18:08:19.314-07:002011-05-25T18:08:19.314-07:00When Ava was three, she told me she felt sorry for...When Ava was three, she told me she felt sorry for kids from mom/dad families because they didn't have "mommas" (my ex is a butch gal who identifies as female, "Cuz those are the cards (she) was dealt," but not because she really sees herself as a woman). Ava thought mommas were more perfect parents than daddies. Then she thought again and said, "Probably those kids think having a momma is a problem. And I feel sorry for them about that, too." I was astonished that she naturally began developing a complex sensibility about gender without any emotional charge attached to the conversation.<br /><br />She's always displayed a fairly subtle dance with middle-class hetero norms of femininity -- I can't wait to see what's next as adolescence looms. XX, JennieHippoMommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07437269169661588948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-66479868096289431072011-05-25T16:38:10.813-07:002011-05-25T16:38:10.813-07:00Laura, you are right, of course, but even here in ...Laura, you are right, of course, but even here in fly-over country, at our very diverse public school, I watched 7 and 8 year old boys hug each other on a field trip yesterday. Unselfconsciously. And my very active, videogame loving boy likes nothing better than to sit in a chair and read for hours. I agree with your premise, but the truth is much more complicated, at least til adolescence (which we have not hit yet).Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03662254328494675142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2795064715438856588.post-54683515628016030392011-05-25T14:41:27.151-07:002011-05-25T14:41:27.151-07:00so ever since I remember, my mother tells me the s...so ever since I remember, my mother tells me the story of how back then when they could not identify the sex of the fetus w/ ultra sound devices - when I was in womb- they listened to my heartbeat and based on the number of my heartbeats and some other (clearly pseudo-scientific) methods predicted my sex to be male...my mother was so surprised when I was born with female genitals. <br />Then, as years went by, I heard over and over again from both men and women about how I act like a boy and carry myself in a "masculine" way (what is that anyway?) and how I "emasculate" men!!! it took me such a long time to claim my gender, which from where I stand, is a perfect fit of masculine and feminine for me- <br />it took me such a long time to come out and identify as a queer woman and it may take me forever to explain to puzzled people that I can be queer and have a partner who identifies as male…<br />but you know all of these I feel like I can handle…<br />what I have a hard time handling is how to react when people impose their perception of sexuality and gender on my daughter…<br />I cannot tell you how many times people have told me- “oh what a cute little boy”<br />When she was younger (non-verbal) I just would not point out otherwise…Now if they hang around for a moment she will say: “ I am a big girl!” and that ‘s that for now<br />And so many times, they are shocked and quietly whisper to me…”wow but she is so strong” or “oh she has such a demonstrative personality” or “wow she takes a leading position doesn’t she?”<br />…and I have so much to say but have not yet mastered the ability to calm the rage that boils in my belly and to engage them in a constructive way- so I just remain silent and then come home and am outraged at myself for not taking advantage of these opportunities to push their boundaries –<br />So this is where I have to check myself…Anahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15374147465623963125noreply@blogger.com