Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Earlier this week I spent some time going through my posts from Jackson's first year. I wanted to look at his pictures and compare his infancy to Annabeth's. I realized a few things in reading those posts. For instance, Jackson was about 2.5 pounds heavier than Annabeth at 4 months and an inch longer. They rolled over (tummy to back) at about the same time. Jackson took his sweet time doing the back to tummy roll and Annabeth is doing the same. By now Jackson was already showing signs of teething. Annabeth is not really.

Poor Annabeth - she's already been sick so many times. I guess that's the lot of the second child. Jackson's first sickness was at 7 months old and he came down with it on the morning before his first airplane ride. That probably worked in my favor since he's much calmer when he's sick. But Annabeth has had one cold after another. She was a little warm and fussy on Sunday and by yesterday she was coughing and sneezing non-stop. She has not been nursing well this week. I can't tell if it's because my milk is running low or because she can't breathe through her nose. Ever since Memorial Day, I've been really nervous about my milk drying up. I've been working on making sure she's nursing enough times each day. Since she sleeps 12 hours at night (don't hate me), it would be easy to drop to too few daytime feedings to sustain it. Today I realized that the drop in supply may be hormonal. Hopefully that's all it is. Regardless, it does not make baby girl happy.

So I've had two sick kids this week with completely different things. Jackson's was so weird because he had every sign of the stomach virus, but no vomiting. He even leaned over the bowl, cried, shook, and sweated, but nothing came. I think he just fought it so hard. That day he was the most pitiful I've ever seen him. He laid on a blanket on the floor for hours. He's been getting a little more energy back each day. I will say that he's been very easy to deal with. Today he was almost normal. But when I grab his little hand, there's still not much strength in his arm. Bless his heart.

Reading my old posts made me feel like such a loser blogger. I was much better in the past. I swore I wouldn't post again this week until I had something "good." But I've got nothing! Nothing, I tell you!

Well, I do have one thing. Jackson got this water-filled, squishy toy from my aunts on Sunday. The next morning he squeezed it in such a way that it made a weird bubble along a seam. He brought it over to me and said, "Mommy! This look like my bunny!" Sure enough, it looked like a set of hiney cheeks. I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the couch. Are you confused? Maybe I failed to mention that four generations of my mother's family have referred to the private parts as the bunny.

Really, who am I to change things? How arrogant would I be to think I could improve on such a longstanding child-rearing tradition? No pun intended. That's a lie. I totally meant it. If "bunny" was good enough for Minnie Ola Roundtree and Aletha Green, it's good enough for me. When my kid yells out that his bunny itches in a crowded elevator, I will thank my lucky stars that my mama raised me up right - and her mama before her, and her mama before her. Don't worry, they didn't leave us completely in the dark when it came to anatomical correctness - we always knew we had a front bunny and back bunny.

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

My daughter (second child) was sick ALL the time her first two years of life. It was so bad around 10-18 months I literally thought I was going to lose my mind. But she outgrew it and has pretty much been healthy as a horse. She's 11 now. But if we get sick, she seems to get the worst of it.

Our "name" was winky. We just made it up one day. One time I accidentally called my son Wee Willy Winky. OH! He was mad. It didn't help that he was about 7 years old. Heyy!!! It was an accident!

Anonymous said...

I am laughing because, in my family (and I'm going to get REALLY candid right now), it was called a "birdy". My brother STILL has a complex about it and sometimes (just to be mean), I will yell, "oh look Jonathan! Look at that beautiful birdy in the sky!" and he will shoot me the dirtiest look! ha! :)

Anonymous said...

Hope the lil ones feel better soon. Bunny..hehe~

Nicole said...

Now THAT is stinkin' funny!!! I have never heard "them" referred to as bunny...but I love it!! Hilarious!!

Sarah said...

HA! My mothers family has always called their bums "monkey". You were raised right!

Hope the babes get to feeling better soon!

Kelly said...

I say "bunny" too!!! I think it's an Arkansas thing!
Um - I do hate you for the 12 hour thing (note my time of posting) - if I didn't love you so much I would REALLY hate you!
(Just kidding - you need those 12 hours to keep up with two kids I'm sure of it!)
Harper has her first cold this week - I feel so bad for her little snotty nose.

Marc and Charity said...

Front bunny and back bunny...hilarious. I'll try that the next time one of mine ask how we got Addison. :) Apparently the real word makes them crack up laughing. :)

Melinda said...

I'm dying over here - DYING!

Angela said...

I laughed out loud about the itching bunny! ;-)
You will be SOOOO glad we that scream that out!

Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

First of all love the music on the page:) Nice touch...I don't know if wordpress would let me do that..oh well:)

Parents are hilarious aren't they? They come up with names for everything..I think my grandmother called private parts something in italian..idk.

:)have a good day!

:)angie

Zoe said...

That is too funny! front and back - ha! Hope your kiddos are feeling better soon... it is so hard to have little sickies.
Love your blog - it is an encouragement to me in my mothering! :)

JottinMama said...

It's so hard to have sick little ones....

I hope yours are feeling back to normal REAL soon :) I just said a prayer that they would!

Have a great day!

-Kate :)

Cathy said...

This post is too funny!! I love it. Hope everyone feels better soon!

Paige said...

ok-that was funny! I have heard those parts called all kind of things but never a bunny. I have a friend who works for the Department of Family and Children Services and she tells us all that we should teach our kids the correct names...we all just laugh. I can't even say the correct names without dying laughing. I am like a teenager or elementary school kid...snickering and turning red while I attempt to say it.

So yeah for the bunny...and it will save you embarrassment in the elevator or church or school play or the grocery store!

And I think your posts are great!!!

Michelle said...

OH. HOW. FUNNY!!! "BUNNY"! I LOOOVE IT!

Lauren said...

Awww, Amanda, I hope your kiddies get to feeling better!!!

Deirdre said...

oh dear. It is very hard to read this and laugh (as I must) silently !!!

I should know better than to read your blog while at work.

And no I don't hate you. Ginny slept 8-12 hours a night since the day we moved her out of our bedroom and into her own nursery. I maintain to this day that my hubby snores were keeping her awake.

bunny! what a great idea. love it.

ABL mom of 3 said...

We refer to a lady's top parts as "Rubies". You know, "You don't let your "Rubies" show." So, we understand the "bunny" thing.

Amy Beth @ Ministry So Fabulous! said...

I love this post. You are hilarious.

And can I just say for the millionth time how much I love Annabeth's name?

CJ said...

Loved hearing about "the bunny!" Too cute! :) I think it's always something moms go blank on regarding what to call it! Thanks for commenting about the "Fortune Cookie" story of me telling my hubby about our baby. It really was fun. I still have lots of fortune cookies I keep passing out to family, as I had to order in bulk!

gillian said...

12 hours, seriously!?!?! how did you get her to do that? i'm lucky to get 5 hours!

kittyhox said...

We call bunnies "boonies." Pretty close.

YES, my daughter has been sick several times in her seven month life, whereas my son was never ever sick.

Poor youngsies.

Hope everyone is right as rain asap.

Missy said...

Poor Annabeth. Hope she is feeling better soon. Her friend is ready to play! :)

k and c's mom said...

OK: Those last lines will leave me laughing all day!

Holly said...

Chris' grandmother's name is Ora Matilda. I think Minnie Ola and Ora Matilda would have been good friends!

And Chris' version of "Little Bunny Foo Foo" scoops up poo poo and smashes it on his head...which would totally go with your theme here...

Tara said...

Oh this post made me laugh so hard! "A front bunny and a back bunny." Love it!

Hope your kids start feeling better soon!!!

Shawn said...

Hi Amanda,

I just saw a lactation consultant last week who recommended More Milk Plus for boosting your milk supply. You can get it at any Whole Foods grocery.

~Heather

Unknown said...

You have totally made my heart smile today! THANK YOU!

Prayers and blessings,
Rebecca

MEGAN said...

Nicknames for privates are SO FUNNY. My youth pastor in high school taught their kids the correct names when their boys learned how to talk, and that is even weirder to me than birdie, or bunny, etc.

Heather said...

We're just not as cool as y'all cause we just call it privates. How lame and boring are we? That made me laugh!

Missy said...

So, do you say things like "do I need to swat your bunny?"

Poor bunny. You're nobunny till somebunny loves you.


I second the motion for More Milk Plus. Works wonder to kickstart the "rubies".

Moose Mama said...

hahahaha...front bunny and back bunny hahahaha Oh my goodness.

And you so are NOT a loser blogger.

Melana :)

Marla Taviano said...

Front bunny and back bunny are killing me!!

Do boys have front bunnies, or are they called something else??

Praying J feels better soon!!

lavonda said...

My grandmama, my best friend who I could tell anything and she loved me unconditionally, HER name was Minnie Ola! I've not ever heard that name before for anyone else til I read it here just now. She went to be with Jesus 3 years ago... I felt tears brim my eyes when I read her name just now in your words. I miss her so very much.

Driving to the beach one time we passed a street sign near the coast that said 'Minnie Ola Lane'... I made my husband turn around so I could take a picture of it for Grandmama. She loved it so much she put it on her fridge! :)

I love 'bunny'! How original!
(I had an elderly patient one time who called it her 'monkey'... I bout fell in the floor when she used it in a sentence) :)

Bobbie said...

You're an awesome blogger, doing two at once!! AND raising two beautiful, loving kiddos!

Bunnies...you have me laughing! We have so much fun in the south...

katiegfromtennessee said...

Little Momma, you have a great sense of humor:) I'll pray that your kiddles start feeling better:):) Now, I have never heard of those parts of the body referred to as "bunny"! Quite interesting, I think you are onto something there, instead of your kids saying embarrassing stuff in public, people will simply have no clue what they are talking about-genious, really:)

katiegfromtennessee

Carley said...

Hey Amanda! I'd love to hear your wisdom on how you have gotten Annabeth to sleep through the night already! I have a 6 week old and would love any tips I can get!

Anonymous said...

Too cute.

If Annabeth is 6/7 mo, then yes, your hormones are probably dropping and she's hitting a growth spurt and eating more food, which is hard on the milk supply.

I found a tea made by Traditional Medicinals called "Mother's Milk Tea". Our Kroger carries it (in the organic section) but I've seen it at HEB and Central Market, too. It tastes pretty good, though I usually add a few drops of sweetener. Drink two cups at night and that milk will come aflowin' in the morn!

There are also some herbal supplements (Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle) that some friends of mine like, but I found the tea to be more effective. And easier to swallow. :)

Hope baby girl is feeling better soon!

The Davidson Den said...

LOL!!!!!!! Well, you can stop worrying now about whether or not your blogging today is as good as it once was, because that, my dear, was one entertaining post. Seriously. And, yes, you've done the right thing carrying on such a wise tradition...Consider my plight: I mistakenly taught my daughter the words "tee tee" and "poo poo" when potty training her at 23 months. In fact, I taught her a little TOO well. Now, at nearly 5 years old, she still cannot stop herself from hollering out that she needs to go "POO POO!" and it matters not where she is or who is around or how utterly humiliated she makes her mama. :)