My "To Attempt" List

I have been working on crocheting Graham's blanket since I learned I was pregnant. I just need to find my crochet needle to weave in the thread ends, then it will be done.

Since I do not have a permanent address, nesting is a little difficult. DIY projects help me overcome this obstacle. I have been researching my next crafty project. I plan to become familiar with my sewing machine in March, so I can attempt to sew cloth diapers and a ring sling. I also want to make a few mobiles. Verybaby.com sells fabrics and has free tutorials for sewing cloth diapers. SleepingBaby.net shows different ways to make ring slings, even without sewing. I would like to sew a reversible ring sling though, and maybe include a zippered pocket. Something like the sling below would be my goal, just not sure of my own sewing skills just yet.

I was doing some research on mobiles. It never occurred to me before that different mobiles are best suited for different levels of visual awareness to promote visual stimulation. Newborn's mobiles should be black, white, and red and hung 12 inches from the baby's face. At two months, bright colors should be introduced. I was inspired by a few mommy blogs. From a Martha Stewart tutorial on making felt balls, a crafty momma made a beautiful mobile, complete with tutorial here. I like how the balls could be used for bouncy balls later. Hudson&Co shows a simple ribbon mobile constructed of common craft items, which can also be easily disassembled. Babies grow so fast. I like the idea of crafts that can be disassembled and reused for other purposes.

So a couple cloth diapers, a sling, and a couple mobiles are on my ambitious "To Attempt" list. I am hoping I can discover the hidden craftiness within myself.

My constant audience

From 16 weeks after conception, a fetus is capable of hearing. Graham has been reacting to sounds for the past month. He first responded to daddy's low voice when John spoke to my tummy. His kicks weren't strong enough to be felt by John until the following week, but I could feel it. After that reaction, we tried playing music for him. Cello concertos elicit the greatest reaction. He also reacts to first experiences, such as the first time he heard me speaking Spanish and the first time he heard me play the violin.

I started playing violin about a month ago. I played in middle school, but had not played in the past seven years. So after digging the violin out of my mother's closet, I had it tuned at a local music store, bought a chromatic tuner and book of songs, and started playing with violinonline.com and youtube. I recorded myself playing Pirates of the Caribbean here. I wanted to record more, but I am not very skilled with the software yet. Graham frequently also hears Colors of the Wind, Somewhere Out There, Beauty and the Beast, Pink Panther, and My Heart Will Go On. The first time I played an actual song, Graham kicked and squirmed rapidly. Now, he does not respond with his movements. Perhaps he is becoming acclimated to my rehearsal sessions.

I have a theory that children can sense hostility in words they do not yet understand and can become acclimated to hearing curse words. When my 13 year old brother was growing up, all of us older people in the house did not censure our language. The week before he entered kindergarten, we had to explain to him why certain words were not appropriate to use around his new friends. I am now trying to censure my language, before Graham arrives. Slip ups do happen on occasion, such as when the water temperature changed suddenly in the shower and I cut my knee on the bath faucet as I leaped out of the burning water. But I can avoid using the WTF expression and similar idioms. My swelling uterus means that I am never alone. My little audience of one may or may not be listening to me at any moment.

Language Research

I have personally held the belief that "bilingual" toys were a scam. First of all, I have never observed a young child acting attentive to a loud toy or the television noises. Secondly, I disagree with the widespread use of "bilingual". You are not bilingual if you understand that "donde esta..." means "where is...", but you might be bilingual if you understand asking "donde esta..." will help you find what you are looking for. Too many language learning songs, toys, and games are just translators. Bilingual children are capable of thinking in other languages, so they don't have to translate.

John and I watched an amazing video last night that literally made me jump out of bed (very painful with my aching back supporting my large uterus). TED is a nonprofit organization with the goal of hosting talks at conferences that range in subjects, but all share high intellectual thought and conclusions. The talks are archived on their website for the public to view for free. Patricia Kuhl's talk about baby's recognition of different sounds in languages is what we watched last night. Not only did she show that infants are much more capable of discerning different sounds used in other languages at an early age, she also showed that learning language through video or audio recording does not affect the brain the same way as interacting with a speaker. The study could be used to show that the Baby Einstein language toys, dvds, and cds are totally useless. I encourage you to watch the video yourself and explore other videos at ted.com

Flu Vaccine During Pregnancy

Children less than 5 are at higher risk than adults of being hospitalized for seasonal flu or complications, including pneumonia, dehydration, and worsening of preexisting heart disease, asthma, sinus problems, and ear infections. The CDC urges caregivers of infants to become vaccinated against influenza, but children less than 6 months cannot receive the vaccination themselves. Also, antiviral drugs used to treat and prevent flu are not recommended for children less than a year old. So what can a parent do to protect their infant who is less than six months?

A study conducted by colleagues from the Yale University of Medicine from 2000 to 2009 on seasonal flu vaccination found that prenatal vaccinations were effective in preventing flu hospitalization in infants. The effectiveness of influenza vaccine given to mothers during pregnancy in preventing hospitalization among their infants ages less than 6 months was 91.5%.

After trying to find conflicting studies, I was only able to find the H1N1 vaccine to risk complications with pregnancy and therefor got my seasonal vaccine at my local CVS. Seasonal flu vaccination is recommended for pregnant women who have completed their first trimester. I normally would not worry about Flu (I spent June and July of 2009 in Mexico), but I plan to travel with Graham before he is six months. Some of my vaccines will benefit him, either through my placenta while being in my womb (ending at about 6 months) or through my breast milk. Because of my antibodies, my breast milk will even help Graham defend against Chicken Pox! This extra immunity advantage is one reason why UNICEF and WHO suggest breastfeeding for two years.