Mommy Problems

“Here Mommy, Here,” Sharing Words That Are Not So Magical To A Gluten Free Mommy’s Ears #MommyProblems

A beautiful sight to be seen, when your little girl shares for the first time. Our not so baby girl is a sharing machine in her toddler years. Always making sure Mommy, Daddy, and her sweet sister, and let’s not forget her furry sister, are well taken care of, a tall order for such a small little girl. Her big little heart amazes me more everyday with just how giving a little person she can be, sometimes maybe a little too generous though.

Besides the colds we all shared since the New Year, yay 2016!, my toddler is oh too generous when it comes to her meals too. Not a meal or snack goes by without her offering up a morsel from her plate, most of the time being her favorite things too. Most mommies would cheer in excitement that their lessons of sharing are paying off! Yes I’m thrilled my little girl knows how to and loves sharing. And I hate having to turn down every offer all because I’m gluten free.

Early on our dietary difference wasn’t that difficult but as my girls started eating, my hands became dried and cracked from so much washing and oh yeah, my 3 year old daughter has learned that her mommy is gluten free. Raising two non-gluten free girls when you’re very much so gluten free means you’re in store for a couple challenges. First up, the excessive handwashing. I’m already an excessive handwasher, germophobia and all, but just picture this, gluten snack, wash, baby cereal prep, wash, and dinner time, well you might as well just leave the water running the whole prep time.

Next, the constant worry of cross contamination, hence the hand washing. Do I think twice when my daughter wants to hold my hand after digging her little fingers into a delicious gluten filled snack? Yup I do, I try to steer clear of gluten in any way, shape, or form, even on her sweetly miniature fingers. Another favorite, when she tries to give me a kiss during meal time and it just so happens to inadvertently land on my unexpected lips. I suddenly go into panic mode thinking about the crumbs that might’ve been sitting on her gluten lips. Yup, I’m that paranoid but any other gluten free mommy out there can understand. 

My favorite obstacle though for a partially gluten free family is that whole sharing thing that might just be a little overrated. Sure I want my girls to share, toys okay, clothes sure, basically everything else but food, at least with their mommy. It’s a terrible feeling turning my generous giver down time and time again, almost to see disappointment on her face after the millionth offer rejection. And yeah, that feeling is 100% mutual, there’s nothing like saying no thank you with a smile as your sweet little girl is offering her coveted goldfish, cookie, or worse, piece of birthday cake. My first and worse no thank you had to be at my toddler’s first birthday party when she offered her cake covered hand to me for a taste. It was the first time we saw her giving spirit and it was to me! Since she was very persistent Daddy stepped in to have a taste, but little did I know that would the first of many less than enjoyable gluten free mommy moments.

These days she’s not shoving cake fingers in my face but instead dangles gluten filled crackers, goldfish, cookies, bites of sandwich, you name it, she’s offered it and with insistence too. “Here Mommy, here,” as she dangles the morsel inches from my face, to which I politely say no thank you, only to have her insist that I try it again and again. And no surprise, after years of no thank yous I knew my intuitive little one would pick up on the fact that Mommy eats differently and rarely accepts her generous offers. Yup, my 3 year old, she was actually 2 when I first heard her say it, knows that her Mommy eats gluten free. She’s actually held up a snack and said “Here Mommy, it’s gluten free.” My little miniature is turning into quite the gluten free advocate and thankfully is still sharing up a storm!

I’ve on many occasions thought about a life where I’m not the only gluten free one in our house, but my girls, and maybe my husband, were too. It would be easier in so many ways sure but for so many reasons they aren’t and won’t be unless medically necessary. Being gluten free for me is out of medical need, it’s not optional, and as long as my girls can tolerate gluten, for however long that may be, they’ll be enjoying every bit of it, or at least for the 50% of the time they ingest it since I only bake and cook for the most part gluten free around here. This lifestyle is expensive and very limiting and to be fair, if they can enjoy food for what it is now I wouldn’t want to rob them of that. So for now, I’ll stay the gluten free mommy while everyone else enjoys their gluten. I’ll ward off the gluten snacks, pasta, and bread around me like the plague. And I’ll politely duck out of the generosity of my girls even if it breaks my heart to do it. #MommyProblems #GlutenFreeMommyProblems

Girls

Sincerely,

Lindsay 

 

A Runny Nose With A “Mommy I Don’t Feel Good” Translates To Colds For All #MommyProblems

No mother enjoys cold and flu season, but for one who is a slight germophobe and she herself is a magnet for all things microscopic and highly contagious this season of the year is dreaded on so many levels. In years past with only one little girl who wasn’t emerged in the germ filled environments that school age kids are we’ve been able to minimize exposure, only picking up a few things here and there. This year’s Fall seems to be a whole different animal and with a new little baby this is far from encouraging seeing as the roughest time of year has only just begun.

Giving her little sister lots of love!
Giving her little sister lots of love!

After surviving our first round of cold tag only a few weeks ago, I was treated this morning to an unusually late wake up call. As wonderful as the extra sleep was the second I took a look at the video monitor in my toddler’s room and caught a glimpse of her still suspiciously fast asleep I knew something wasn’t right. Nonetheless I decided to let her rest a little more while I peacefully got breakfast together for both girls and treated our furry daughter to some one-on-one petting time. Once I cracked her door open and heard that familiar stuffed sniffle and first through-the-mouth breath I knew we were in for it. Buckle up because we were about to start the second round of colds this season. Can I just say something? It’s OCTOBER. it’s only October and we’re starting our second round of cold remediation!

Hearing those first sounds from your sick little one is a horribly horrific way to start any day. All it took was one glimpse of the dried snot trail across her cheek to make my stomach drop just thinking about the week or weeks ahead of us. And then the oh too familiar “Mommy, I don’t feel good” followed by a “Mommy I’m sick” as she points to her nose really hammered it in, making this mommy want to run out of the room and grab a face mask and gloves. That’s not too extreme right? Just with those few words and sniffles I felt that pit in my stomach get bigger and bigger as I pictured a worn out version of myself nursing my toddler back to health while spending the week worrying and hopelessly attempting to prevent passing it along to everyone else, baby sister included.

A pre-date night cuddle with Mommy and Daddy!
A pre-date night cuddle with Mommy and Daddy!

This part of mommyhood is torture, watching your kids sick and suffering, granted this time it’s just a cold, but come on any mom would cower at the first signs of the highly contagious cold that puts mommy smack dab in the middle of a pool of dirty tissues and runny noses. And nothings worse than after a long bout of sickness with one or both of your kids when you start feeling your favorite cold symptoms knowing now it’s your turn to enjoy the same fun your kids had. To make matters worse for your turn though you get to tackle a cold while taking care of two fully energized, almost 100% well kids and to boot, if you’re in my shoes still trying to nurse your baby so meds are off limits. 

As you can tell I’m not a huge fan of germs, but hey what mommy is? I worry about my girls and seeing as I’m a sponge for anything that comes into this house I know that if this mommy goes down then everyone else might as well go with me. Still even with a gigantic bottle of antibacterial in my car we find ourselves at the starting line of another cold run. A huge part of me wants to cover my girls (and myself and Dan too!) in gigantic bubbles or just never go anywhere, no more dance, no more fun activities, but that’s certainly not the way to go. So for now my fingers, toes, legs, and everything else is crossed that this round will be really mild and hopefully start and stop with only one of us and as for the future, I’m hoping that all of our immune systems get a little bit stronger so we can have all the fun with only some of the sick.

Showing her little sister how to pick just the right pumpkin!
Showing her little sister how to pick just the right pumpkin!

Even with all of these sniffles though, so far this Fall has been one of the most special ones thanks to our two little girls! And as I try to stick to positive thinking, I thought I’d share some healthier versions of my little girls loving life and each other!

These two little girls love each other so much already. Watching our toddler share her world, and her germs unfortunately, with her little sister has warmed our hearts and we can't believe we're so lucky to be blessed with two such sweet girls!
These two little girls love each other so much already. Watching our toddler share her world, and her germs unfortunately, with her little sister has warmed our hearts and we can’t believe we’re so lucky to be blessed with two such sweet girls!

Sincerely, 

Lindsay 

 

When It Comes To Babies, A Blow Out Takes On A Whole New Meaning #MommyProblems

With my first little girl potty trained just in time for her sister’s arrival early this summer instead of having a few diaperless days we just traded the larger diapers for the itty bitty ones. Of course our newest family member’s toosh is the cutest on the planet, fitting into the palm of my hand, but I guess somewhere between those early days and potty training I’d forgotten the joys of poo poo explosions. Probably one of the most gag-worthy baby moments is a massive blowout demolishing not only the diaper but also the onesie and outfit too. It never ceases to amaze me how those adorable, miniature babies can produce such an explosive bowel movement that’s capable of so much destruction. Just a side note, remember when a blow out meant those quiet moments of your day when you’d go get your hair done? Yeah, well that term has taken on a whole new and grosser meaning since becoming a mommy, hasn’t it? Mommy problems.

When it comes to blow outs, both of my girls seem to defy all the odds, means of science, and just logic as a whole when it came to their pooping skills. In her short 3 months since her birth day, our newest little one has reminded me one too many times of those blow outs I became oh too familiar with only a few years before with her sister. It really is amazing how these tiny little human beings make these projectile, explosive bowel movements that are powerful enough to not only leak out of the diaper but literally go all the way up their back and if your lucky their front too. And of course I’m thrilled to see their systems working as well as they are but let’s be honest, is digging my fingers in stinky, gross poop on the outside of the diaper, giving my little one an impromptu bath because they were covered in poo from head to toe, and ending it all with scrubbing their adorable poop covered outfits to prevent permanent damage my favorite parts of being a mommy? No. 

Before having my girls I never imagined all that they were capable of in the pooping department, nor did I think I’d be paying so much attention. Did any of us really think before our babies arrived that everyday we’d think and talk about poop at least once a day? Albeit baby poop yes, but poop nonetheless. I can’t tell you how many times Dan and I have talked about the girls potty activities, and that’s just part of a normal day. And you know what, we love it. Not the poop part, but that our girls are our whole life, where we love talking about every single part of their lives. 

No matter how disgusting blow outs are, there’s something about looking at your adorably sweet little baby covered in poo that still makes you smile and laugh. When they just look at you with those loving and helpless big baby eyes you melt, even if they stink quite a bit and have added a couple extras to your to do list for the day. And even though a majority of these moments have happened while their daddy is at work, I may have taken a quick picture once or twice and sent it along to him just so he can partake in some of the fun. I mean he wanted pictures and updates right? Seriously though, I love every bit of my girls, even those tooshies that are capable of such unimaginable grossness. These blow outs are worth all of the kisses my big girl is covering me with as I type and the sweet smile that’s plastered on her blue eyed baby sister. 

My sweet girls, one potty trained, one not so much.
My sweet girls, one potty trained, one not so much.

 

Sincerely,

Lindsay