Similac Recall

Heads up for Similac drinkers, which includes my own family (well, the baby in the family) (which isn't me, depending on who in the family you ask):

Abbott is recalling these products following an internal quality review, which detected the remote possibility of the presence of a small common beetle in the product produced in one production area in a single manufacturing facility. The United States Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has determined that while the formula containing these beetles poses no immediate health risk, there is a possibility that infants who consume formula containing the beetles or their larvae, could experience symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort and refusal to eat as a result of small insect parts irritating the GI tract. If these symptoms persist for more than a few days, a physician should be consulted.

To immediately find out if the product in your possession is included in this recall, parents and caregivers should visit www.similac.com/recall/lookup, and type in their lot number to determine if their product is affected, or call (800) 986-8850.

11+1 is 12

Mui Mui hit 11 months last weekend!
OK, we don't really celebrate all the monthly birthdays, but the 11^th month is kind of like the warning sign that this baby, who was moved from newborn, to infant, is now on the cusp of becoming a one-year-old toddler. She's climbing and standing pretty steadily on her stubby little legs (I promise not to say that to her when she's in High School), and I predict she'll be walking before her first birthday. Now any parent can sympathize – it's hard to see your child, who used to be small enough to cradle in a forearm, get so big that you can pull a minor muscle group lifting them. It might be a feeling of seeing them grow more independent, where they won't need you to carry them around anymore to get somewhere (but still need you to feed them). But it's also a little depressing to know that you can never go back. The memory of you having to support their neck when you held them won't happen again. And it'll be replaced with supporting their arms for their first steps, or balancing them on one foot when they put their shoes on to go to the park.

I don't want to grow up!

But it's never good to live in the past, so I will save these words and pictures and accept them as rapidly passing memories and look forward to what these two will teach me as they, and I, get older.

6 Months Later

I read somewhere that 92% of the blogs on the Internet aren't updated. Although I've fallen into that statistic for the last 6 months, I have good reason to! With Mui Mui around, we needed more space for scooting, crawling, and toys, so we packed up the kids and relocated to a suburb where they can roam free. In Suburbia, we've now got a room for everyone, a dedicated play area within our four walls, more than one bathroom, and a lawnmower.

The following are the top five most stressful things in anyone's life:

• Having a child
  
• Moving
  
• Starting a new job
  
• Getting married
  
• Getting divorced
  

We've accomplished the first two of the five in the past few months (and don't plan on the other three). Personally, my handy man resume has slowly been growing, so I'm learning as many new skills as the kids at this point. I've established a daily schedule, gotten used to the commute, and will make the best use of my commuting time to update this when I can. It's especially important now, since Suburbia is much farther than where we used to be, so keeping up with the kids will be tougher for people who used to see us in person a lot more.

Mui Mui has just started to crawl as of last weekend, and that changes everything. (She decided to crawl on the first weekend we've ever left her overnight, so we missed her first strides.)

We have the new place baby proofed somewhat, because big brother was never one to get himself caught under a falling object or inserting small, sharp objects in his mouth. Mui mui, on the other hand, has the reflexes of an overweight ninja; although she's not too quick on her feet yet, her chubby arms face no wind resistance when swiping silverware off the table. I've already found her playing with electric cords, and pushing her hands through the slats of a safety gate. She's already been voted "Most Likely to Break Something and then Eat It" in the household.

Brother and sister still get along, but more tug-a-wars happen now since she's learned to grab things from Gwo Gwo. He will also provide an early warning system to keep her out of trouble, by screaming "No, Mui Mui!" whenever she's nearing a danger zone, "Back, Mui Mui!" when she gets too close to his trains, or "Mui Mui's coming!" when she leaves the family room. Now Gwo Gwo isn't speaking in full sentences yet, especially compared to those two year old females he's been meeting (I should clarify meeting in person, not online). We believe it's a little below average for him in his toddler evolution, but he's certainly trying to speak. He knows his alphabet and letters, and repeats pretty much anything he hears now. He can recognize and recite the alphabet, and count from 1 to 10 (in two languages). The sentence he uses the most is "I do it!" but he doesn't put together words as aggressively as he should be for 2.5 years old. We do see progress every day, as you can see him really thinking and trying to understand the words that are coming out of your mouth. He did use an adjective the other day, when driving in the car (that's the only way to get around in Suburbia), he screamed out "Dog big!" from the back seat.

For the next few months, we're planning on shopping for a bigger car, and getting ready for Mui Mui to turn one year old. I'll also do a little catching up over the past few months, because even though I took a break from typing, I haven't stopped with the camera and video taping.