Little Happies, Two

1) On Saturday we had our first visit since the hospital with Nathan's birth mother. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with her, and I am so glad that Nathan will have her in his life. It was such a nice day, and I left with my heart bursting with joy and feeling so grateful. We seriously could not have dreamed up a better adoption.

2) Spring break! I'm on spring break this week, and boy does it feel good to know that when I wake up my only job is to take care of my little man. We declared today to be a jammy day. We lasted until about 6pm when I realized I was going to have to run to the store later and still hadn't showered. And then Nate spit up all over himself. We almost made it all day.

3) Soft pretzels with nacho cheese- Yea, I know. These aren't even remotely healthy, but this has been my go to snack the past few weeks. I love my late night snacks.

4) Naps. I love to sleep. I love taking a late afternoon nap while Nathan is napping. I could be productive and get something done, but I can't resist snuggling up in a fluffy blanket on the couch.

5) I had a terrible cold last week- definitely not one of my happies. On Tuesday I could barely function. My mom came over bright and early and stayed the whole day, taking care of Nathan all day for me. I was able to sleep in and keep my distance from my little guy so that he wouldn't get sick. I'm so grateful to my mom for helping out that day. Knowing that we have family nearby who are willing to help whenever we need it- definitely one of my happies.

6) My youngest brother, Mark, is home from college for spring break. We had a family party yesterday, which was a lot of fun. It's so nice when our whole family is together. Over the past several years, there is often someone missing due to one of us being away at school. So these breaks are always nice to spend time as a family. And Nathan sure loves seeing his uncles.

Thanks to Stephanie for hosting one of my favorite link-ups!

Important Info for Pro-lifers

Before I even begin I want to clearly point out that I have started to and will continue to vaccinate my children with every recommended vaccine. 

I couldn't believe it when a friend of ours who is in med school informed us that some of the most common vaccinations were derived from a strain of aborted fetal cell lines. Maybe I'm late in finding this out, but I'm finding that most people I talk to had no idea either. The common combination shot (Pentacel) for polio, DTaP, and HiB is one of these vaccinations. The polio component is the "offending component". The good news is that if you come to the doctor informed, there are other options. In our case, we were able to get the combination Pediarix shot plus a HiB shot. Unfortunately there are three more vaccinations in the future that Nate will need (MMR, chicken pox, and Hepatitis A) in which there are no alternative options. In this case, it is morally acceptable for us to vaccinate, and we will. It is just unfortunate that we are faced with these situations. For more detailed information, I suggest checking out these two sites: Ethical Childhood Immunization and FAQ on the Use of Vaccinations. I know just enough to ask for what I need at the doctor's office, so I suggest also referring to these more reputable sites for more detailed information. They are very reader friendly and informative.

As Catholics it is our responsibility to request one of the alternative options for Pentacel, and if there are no other options offered it is permissible to receive it. In fact, the articles I cited discuss the importance of immunizing our children and parents' "moral obligation to protect the life and health of their children and those around them". I was extremely nervous about talking to our doctor about it. I had called to speak with a nurse prior to going to our appointment, and she basically told me that Nathan had to receive Pentacel. I almost cried when she told me this. In her defense, I hadn't explained why I wanted my son to receive an alternative shot, but I still felt defeated. At our appointment, we explained to our doctor our concerns regarding Pentacel and asked if Nathan could get Pediarix instead. She was very receptive and immediately agreed. She also offered to look at the components in all the vaccinations he would be receiving that day to be sure nothing else was derived from the fetal cell line. I liked our doctor before, but now I loved her. And the nurse that administered his shots let us know that she set aside his future doses of Pediarix to ensure that they have it in stock for us at our future visits. I was expecting to be faced with resistance, but they were very understanding and did not question us for a minute.

If our friend hadn't informed us about these vaccinations, I never would have known. Most people I have told about it so far were in shock. So I hope that by sharing this we can spread the word. Maybe the more people that ask for other options, doctors will be forced to think twice about administering Pentacel. I also hope that some day soon the medical field provides us with more acceptable options for those vaccinations that have no alternatives at this time.

"Hey pharmaceutical companies!"

"Yea, you!"

"Let's get some vaccinations that are morally acceptable."

"Got it?"

"Good."

Little Happies 1!

Little man is finally allowing me to put him in his swing at nap time today, so I ran to my computer to get a blog post in. I absolutely love this link-up at Blessed to Be and have been wanting to join in for the past few weeks, so I'm excited to join in today. So here are some of my little happies.

1.  In general, I try to stay away from caffeine. I generally don't drink much caffeine, so when I do I tend to really feel it. I don't really like coffee that much anyways, but I do LOVE iced coffee with a shot of flavor of course. When I went back to work I found myself stopping at the golden arches for a french vanilla iced coffee and an egg white delight each morning. It made waking up and dropping off my little guy at my mom's a little easier, and quite frankly kept me awake. I decided to take a break from these little pit stops for Lent, but I have a feeling this little happy will be making another appearance around Easter.

2.

My next little happy was a delicious meal we had this weekend with Dan's family in Effingham. We went out to lunch at a new Japanese restaurant, and boy was it delicious. Just a couple years ago I wouldn't touch sushi. It grossed me out, but Dan got me to go to a Japanese restaurant with him once and I'm on board now. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the spread that we had Saturday, but all we have is a shot of my delicious Pina Colada (mmm another little happy) and me feeding one of my "biggest happies" these days.

3. Taking trips to Effingham are another little happy for me. I love relaxing with family and spending time with everyone. This weekend we also got Nathan's 3 month pics and family pictures taken. It was a lot of fun. I feel like these trips to visit family are a nice little break from any stresses we may have.

4. Spending time with friends. We had a great visit with some of our closest friends last Sunday. We hadn't all been together in a few months, so it was a much needed visit. We're are so blessed with the friends we have in our lives who we can honestly say are like family to us.

5. When I walk in the room on moments like this.

Nathan absolutely adores Dan. If he hears his voice, he will strain his neck to try and find him. If Dan and I are standing above him together, his eyes go directly to Dan's face. I don't have a chance. I can't compete with their father-son bond. And boy is my son lucky to have this guy as his daddy. 

6. One of my favorite little happies these days is resting my cheek on the side or back of Nathan's head. It just brings me such peace and joy. My heart jumps a little just typing this. LOVE

7. A clean house- Last night we came home from Effingham to a clean house. These days (and really always) that's rare. We had our final home visit for our adoption license on Friday (you have to do it every 6 months to keep your license active), so we had to pick up a bit. There's nothing like coming home to a cleared kitchen table and not tripping over blankets, toys, and clothes on the family room floor. 

Those are my little happies for the week! Thanks to Stephanie for hosting! 

PS- To all the adoptive families just finishing up their first home study process, I guarantee you will never clean your house as well as you had it for that first licensing home visit. I took off a day of work to clean the first time around. Never again... we're lucky if we remembered to pick up for the last couple!

5 out of 7...

Not too bad... I didn't quite make it with the 7 posts in 7 days, but I think 5 out of 7 with a 2 month old isn't bad :) He is currently asleep in my arms so today a few pictures will have to do.

Someone got to play in his jumpy for the first time today and seems to like it.

He's getting pretty strong. Tummy time is a breeze :) I just love how he looks like such a peanut in this picture!

Hanging out with Uncle Marky. 

And just hanging out with mommy. 

I may not have made it to 7 posts in 7 days, but it served its purpose of reminding me to blog and how much I enjoy it. So hopefully I'll be on here a bit more than once every couple weeks now :)