Life, Motherhood

Why I’m Happy Wednesday: 60

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I’ve been traveling into the city a lot lately. Some has been for work, while others are strictly for fun. I often get asked if I miss the city, and I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t. But I know it’s not right for our family right now. That’s why I cherish these trips that I get to have when I do go into the city. And it’s even better when I can bring the kids with me.

Last weekend I took Macks in with me so that we could spend some time with my sister. It was the first trip that Macks and I took on our own into the city and spent the night. He loves seeing the lights, the buses, the taxis, and the tall buildings. Although he doesn’t remember his short time we lived there, I know deep down, he’s still a city kid at heart.

I feel so fortunate to be able to live in a place where I really do feel like I have the best of both worlds. It’s pretty incredible.

That’s what makes me happy.

Now tell me something good. Something that’s made you happy. It can be big, it can be small, just something that has put a smile on your face. You can participate by sharing a photo on Wednesday with the hashtag #WhyImHappyWednesday and tagging me @laurenjimeson or feel free to write it in the comments below. I do read them all and am happy to reply back on your good news! You can also join in the conversation on my Facebook page!

Photo by Charlie Juliet Photography for our Minted Holiday Session.

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Family, Motherhood

No Rush

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Last week I received the enrollment form for Macks’ preschool for next year. While filling out the form I noticed the sentence “All incoming preschoolers must be fully potty trained.” “Oh he’ll be potty trained by then,” I thought to myself. “He will, won’t he?” I asked myself again. “I mean, it’s a year away, of course he will be using the potty by then.” I was desperately trying to convince myself of something that I honestly wasn’t completely sure of.

The thing is, Macks has his own timeline for when he wants to do things. He’s still not sleeping through the night, he’s still in a crib (for those nights he does sleep in his own room,) and he’s still wearing diapers. Maybe it’s because he’s our third child, maybe it’s because we aren’t forcing him, or maybe it’s because he’s not ready. And to be completely honest, I’m in no rush to do any of those things with him.

I was speaking with someone the other day about how Macks had kept me up all night the night before. I mentioned that I feel like I’ve been stuck in the newborn phase at night for over two years now. “He’ll get there,” this person assured me. “Eventually he’ll sleep so much, you’ll have a hard time waking him up rather than keeping him asleep.” 

That’s the reality. He won’t do these things forever. These (nearly) three years of waking up every night or changing what feels like millions of diapers, will feel like a short moment in time come 30 years from now. And it’s then that I’ll miss the moments of walking into his dark room with me squinting my eyes half asleep to pick him up out of his crib and have him lay his head on my shoulder and fall quietly back to sleep. Or the funny faces we make to each other as I lay him on the ground to keep him occupied while I’m changing his diaper.

As a mom of three I am rushing to get everything I need to get done in one day when it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. Rushing to get out the door for school, rushing to get to ballet, through the grocery store, to bed. At the end of every single night I feel as though I’ve tried to speed through the day so that I can check more off of my to-do list. But what do those check marks really accomplish in the long run? Nothing really.

So what would rushing Macks out of the diapers or out of his crib a few months early really do? Nothing really. I guarantee that I won’t remember 30 years from now what age he was when he accomplished these things. I’ll just know that he did it. And he will do it. In his own time. Without the rush.

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Family, Life

The Learning Curve

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Our lives were turned upside down when we found out Macks had food allergies. I cried for days after the diagnosis. Part of me was scared of the unknown, part of me was fearful for Macks, and part of me felt a deep sadness for him.

It didn’t take me long to start asking questions. I called friends who have children with food allergies, I spoke up and asked friends online, I Googled for hours trying to find every single bit of information that would make this journey for us just a little bit easier.

We started reading labels on everything, educating Macks and the girls, informing our family on his allergies. Slowly, things started to become more normal. Although only two, Macks started asking what the ingredients in things were before he ate them. I learned to bring alternative snacks when we were going to parties that had food without labels, and it took a couple of times, but he was okay with eating the alternative. Although still a little bit fearful, I was becoming more and more used to our new normal.

That was until our new normal really hit me. I didn’t realize what a process it was going to be for Macks when he started school this fall. I was losing all control for three hours each day, which gave me complete and utter anxiety. I knew that I could make sure that his lunch and snack for school was safe, but I couldn’t control what his classmates brought in.

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Unfortunately Macks’ school does not have a no-nut policy. They told me that they could recommend for parents not to bring in nut products, but could never guarantee it. It was disheartening and very discouraging knowing that I was sending him to school everyday with this rule. Here I was trying to do my best to learn about Macks’ allergies and I was already hit with a bump in the road.

Shortly before school started, I was informed by his teachers that I could email the parents of his classmates informing them of Macks’ allergy and educating them on what they should and shouldn’t bring into the classroom. Rather than telling them everything that they couldn’t bring in, I gave them suggestions for swaps that we’ve made at our house since Macks was diagnosed. The teachers supported me in my email and made sure that they would do everything in their power to keep Macks safe while he was in their hands. They were open to my suggestions and thankful for the education of allergies that I was bringing to the classroom.

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I assured them that this was very new to me and I was thankful that they were letting us all learn together. With their help, we’ve implemented a non-food celebration in the classroom. This was huge for me. Macks has the same teachers that Avery did when she was his age, and for every birthday celebration, parents brought in cupcakes and cookies. This was a big change for them, but it was one that they thought completely necessary to keep Macks safe. They also let me bring in snacks for holiday celebrations in the classroom. Macks is the only child in his class with food allergies, so I was more than happy to bring in snacks that the entire class could enjoy without excluding anyone. They also let me bring in wipes to the classroom to make sure that hands and tables get wiped before and after anyone eats anything in the classroom, to avoid any contamination of possible allergens.

Cleaning surfaces and washing hands is so important to help reduce the risk of exposure. One of the first sites I went to for research on Macks’ allergy was Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE.) They have so many resources for parents of children with food allergies and made me feel at ease in a time when I thought my world was crumbling around me. When looking for what type of wipes I should bring into the classroom, I learned that Nice ‘n CLEAN partnered with Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) to help raise awareness around ways families can help protect their loved ones from food allergens no matter where they are.  

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Nice ‘n CLEAN is the exclusive wet wipe sponsor and proud supporter of FARE. As part of this commitment, 1% of all purchases of Nice ‘n CLEAN Antibacterial Hand Wipes will be donated to FARE to help advance their critical education and advocacy work in communities across the country. Their Antibacterial Hand Wipes are proven to remove 99% of peanut residue from hard surfaces. That’s a fact that can make drop-off just a little bit easier for me.

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We’re now in a great routine at school and Macks is so excited to walk into that classroom everyday without a care in the world. One of the first things that everyone that reached out to me after Macks’ diagnoses was that things will get easier and soon this will be normal for everyone in our family. We’re progressing in this, and we’re doing it together as a family. There is still so much for us to learn, but I’m so thankful to have so much support around us as we do.

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