Random randomness

Since I know you didn't get enough randomness from me here, I give you a collection of some of the thought-snippets that have been floating around my head recently:

Kevin Bacon what?: Ever think of how incestuous the blogging community is? Like, instead of six degrees of separation it's 1.5 comments of separation. I'm turned in to quite the blog-reading addict. I get transfixed, absorbed, as I read the stories of others. Then I click back. Then I click on comments and click on THOSE blogs. Rinse, repeat. It's vicious.

Super size me: Gerber baby onesies run suppppeeeerrr small in my opinion. Elle was able to wear the newborn ones once, and since then, I haven't even tried except putting her in 24M onesies this past week. They fit her excellently, which is sad considering she's not even nine months old yet.

Gerber onesie in question.

A rose by any other name: Any one else have several nicknames used by specific people? I've been sending a bunch of e-mails to family members lately. My mom, sister and youngest brother usually call me "Bug." (Short version of the story: I've always been a pest but "Bug" sounded cuter than "Pest" or "Nuisance.") My dad and other brother call me Kris. So when I send an e-mail to my mom and dad, I sign it "Bug/Kris." Sometimes I have to pause a minute and remember who I am e-mailing before I sign it. Weird? Maybe.

Squeaky clean: There were some comments on my cloth diaper post (whheeeeeeeee, Earth Day!) about  natural/homemade cleaners. I'm planning to switch over to a lot of these, mostly to eliminate chemicals but also to save money, as we run out of the cleaners we currently have. I've been doing research, and some of the best information I've found is on one of the coolest blogs I recently discovered, Young House Love. They have posts about unexpected natural cleaners as well as a plethora of recipes for all natural, homemade cleaners.

Guess who has two thumbs and a pregnancy mask?: This guy. Er, girl. I found a new, small mole on my face about a month ago, and I realized I hadn't been to the dermatologist in two or three years. I'd gotten married, moved, changed insurance and then was pregnant during that time, so an annual check kind of slipped through the cracks. I made an appointment after finding the mole, though, and my new doctor deemed me without worrisome spots but "mole-y." As in "mole-y enough to require yearly checks." Plus, this is Florida, y'all. (And I never SAY "y'all," my fingers just itched to type it.) We have sun coming out of our ears. Usually I'm not in it a lot, because I hate, hate, hate being hot and sweaty, but in the "winter," outside is the best place to be. At my appointment, I also brought up the pregnancy mask (that I self-diagnosed around week 36 of pregnancy) on my forehead, which seemed to be returning/getting darker in the last two months or so. (Coincidentally, about as long as I'd been seriously training for the half-marathon relay with my sister.)

The doctor said, "Oh yes, I see some on your forehead, cheeks and chin." WHAT?! I hadn't even realized it was anywhere other than my forehead. But after I looked more closely, I could definitely see it on my cheeks - it had been camouflaged by freckles, age spots (because I am approaching ancient) and general face-flushedness. The chin I'm not so sure about, but holy geez, it's everywhere!

A decent look at the dark spots
near the center of my forehead.

She asked me how long ago I'd stopped nursing. "I still am," I said. She looked at me with a smile and said, "That's why. It's all about hormones and melatonin." Awesomesauce. Which means that it could take a few months after I stop breastfeeding to fade ... and if it doesn't fade on its own I can try some over-the-counter face creams ... and if those don't work I can try some prescription options ... but at that point I'll probably be gearing up to get pregnant again ... and will then breastfeed again .. and the whole cycle will continue. So get used to it, folks. This mask is likely here to stay (for at least the next few years, anyway).

Bright side? At least I'm set for Halloween.

Biceps of steel: Ever vacuum approximately 800 square feet of carpet with one arm because the other arm is holding the baby that is deathly afraid of the vacuum cleaner unless she's being held? I don't recommend it. She's getting better - last time I vacuumed she refused to look anywhere but over my shoulder. This time she actually watched. But I think I got more of a workout vacuuming our condo the other day than I did from my 3-mile run at the gym.

Beware of flying objects: I sometimes wonder if our childbirth education/safety instructors are the only people in the world who warn of attaching toys to car seats. Has anyone else heard this line of thinking? The women made very good points that we never would have considered: In the event of a car crash, those toys (and everything else in the car) become projectiles. I can tell you that my car is much cleaner on a regular basis now than it was pre-baby, just because I fear every empty soda can or random box could become a dangerous weapon if we were ever, God forbid, involved in a crash. We'll throw a toy on the car seat handle when Elle is in her stroller (her infant car seat snaps in to her Snap N Go stroller), but we always keep the bar of her seat empty and down when we're in motion. If anything, we might give her Sophie the Giraffe to play with, but usually, she's pretty toy-less. Luckily, she's content with that.

Protective father alert: I bought Elle some shorts and skirts a few weeks ago at the mall.  I showed Tim how cute they were, and he responded with "They're too short."

Teething is officially a jerk: My sweet baby has been hurting for the last few days, and on top of the tooth pain, she had some congestion going on. But the kicker to all of this is that Orajel had been my savior - I knew I could fix at least one thing by numbing Elle's gums temporarily. Then my sister e-mailed, and Facebook assaulted, on Tuesday with the news that  the active ingredient in gels like Orajel and Anbesol, benzocaine, can cause a serious and adverse reaction and should not be used in children under the age of two. TWO. Have any of you heard about this? I don't feel comfortable using the gels until we speak with our pediatrician - Elle's next well-baby visit is in two weeks - so until then, I wondered what we would do. She has teether toys and is good with those, but the frozen washcloth thing doesn't interest her AT ALL, and I'm most concerned with helping her when she's sleeping. She's been crying out during naps and at night, and I want to take away the ouchies. The only other teething remedy that came to mind was Hyland's teething tablets, and the only thing that I remembered about them was that they were recalled last fall. Conveniently enough, we had mommy/baby group on Wednesday, so I asked for advice then, and my good friend Lara suggested these homeopathic teething strips. They also have tablets that dissolve in water to make a slightly thicker serum to rub on the gums. I've been using the tablets, the sitter has been using the strips, Elle is loving them so far, and they both seem to be helping.

Pick a card, any card: Elle has been extra fussy and clingy lately. It's hard to isolate even a stab in the dark guess at the issue, but it could be her recent cold, those effin' teeth or maybe it's a bit of separation anxiety. Or maybe a combination of any of them. Or something else entirely. I cuddle, cuddle, cuddle, but I hate hearing her so sad and upset when I have to step away for 2.3 seconds.