Literary Monday: The Read-Aloud Handbook

If there is one area where I would love to see my children succeed, outside of spiritual matters, it is with reading.  I love to read, and I firmly believe that if a person can read well, he can do anything.  But how can I pass down this love for reading to my children? 

The Read-Aloud Handbook
I did not expect to love Jim Trelease's book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, nearly as much as I did, but I found the entire book fascinating.  Like me, Trelease also believes that the skill of reading well is a great determining factor in a child's success in almost any area, and he's got the reasearch to support it.  He points to ACT scores and college success, and gives many examples of children from even impoverished families who went on to succeed, all because a parent instilled a love for reading in the child. 

His book does give plenty of research and data to back up his arguments, and many universities use this very book in their education classes.  However, Trelease's book is not at all dry and is very practical.  While we all know it's important to read to our children, many parents don't know how to read effectively, what to read, and when to read.  Trelease answers all of these questions.

Should I read to my four month old baby?
Yes.  What's the point?  At this age, reading to my son will build the habit for us, give us good cuddle time, and simply allow for conversation between us.  I think it also gives him a positive association with books and reading.  It doesn't really teach him anything yet, but that's OK.  We don't know exactly when children begin understanding what is said, so we should start early.  It's the same reason that parents talk to their children from the moment they are born.  Andrew has the benefit of having an older sister, so he gets read to all the time.  But Isabelle?  We had daily reading time for her at this age too. 

What can I buy to make my child a better reader?  The Three B's
Books:  Trelease says that book ownership is incredibly valuable.  I would completely agree.  Every book that my 2 year old has been given in the past 6 months has become her favorite at some point in time, whether that book was Read-Aloud Bible Stories, Llama Llama Red Pajama, or The Five Little Monkeys.  Books have always been Isabelle's favorite "toys."

Book Basket:  This is something we had already incorporated into our home, for the sake of neatness.  Isabelle drags books all around the house, so it made complete sense to me to place a book basket in the living room, in addition to the shelves in her room, the shelves in the nursery, and the shelves in our room.  Trelease says to put book baskets in the bathrooms and kitchen as well, especially as your child gets old enough to read on their own.  He says that when people eat alone, they will read whatever is on the table, so be sure to have reading material nearby for your children.

Bed Lamp:  If you want your kids to love reading, let them stay up a bit past their bed time to read.  Trelease explains a great way to make this work in your home.

A Reading Heritage
Of course, one great factor in a child's love to read is the parents' love for reading.  If mom loves to read, children have a greater chance of loving books as well.  But if dad loves to read, that number jumps up considerably.

Turn it Off!
But of course, if you want your kids to love reading, you're going to have to turn the TV off.  Be very mindful of the amount of TV your children watch.  They could learn much more through a book or a conversation with mom.  Studies show that for every hour of videos a baby watches, the child learns 6-8 fewer vocabulary words, when compared to babies who watch no TV.  The AAP recommends no screen time for children under the age of two.  Here's a great article on the recall of Baby Einstein videos a couple years ago.  We didn't follow the AAP's advice completely.  We started allowing videos at the age of one, but only sparingly.  My one year old did watch some Baby Einstein and loved it.  She practiced signing and actually learned some words through it.  But I really think videos should be used in moderation.  And keep in mind that, as Trelease points out, if given the choice between a book and a video, a child will probably pick the video, so limit TV time if you really want your child to love reading. 

Learning through Reading
As kids get older, Trelease says that one really important facet of reading is the ability to identify with characters and experience the world through them.  Again, I heartily agreed with Trelease on this point.  As a kid who loved reading and had a big vocabulary, I didn't feel like too much of a dork because Anne liked to read too.  Anne had a great imagination and a large vocabulary.  Who is Anne?  Anne Shirley, the main character in the Anne of Green Gables series. 

What to Read?
One of my favorite aspects of The Read-Aloud Handbook is the back portion of the book.  Trelease has compiled lists of book suggestions for every age range.  Through skimming these lists, it made sense to me why my toddler loved The Foot Book so much.  Children at this age love repetition and rhyming.  Using his lists enabled me to find more books that my toddler would love.  His website also has new reading lists with books that have been released since the 2006 edition of his book, so be sure to check it out. 

Milk Banks

I received this sweet note in the mail yesterday 

along with this great little gift.

The Healthy Baby Bag had samples of various nursing mommy items, like nursing pads and lanolin.  I appreciated the gift, but I loved the note even more.  I recently had my first experience with a human milk bank and it was excellent. 

Milk banks are something that many nursing moms hear about, but few of us have any interactions with them.  Essentially, they collect breast milk donations from nursing moms and deliver it to NICU babies whose mothers are not able to give their babies milk.  Often this occurs because the mom isn't producing enough milk yet, especially since the baby is unable to nurse and facilitate that wonderful supply and demand process that regulates the body's ability to breastfeed.  The NICU babies are often struggling to make it, and donated breast milk gives them the best possible chances of thriving. 

I became a donor mom a couple of months ago, when Andrew was released from the hospital.  During his stay at the hospital, he was on IV fluids for a couple of days and then began taking breastmilk through a feeding tube.  He started out only taking about 7 ccs an hour, and over time, that amount was slowly increased.  It would be five days before he could finally eat from a bottle.  I pumped the entire 11 days that he was hospitalized in order to keep up my milk supply.  Because it took a while for him to be capable of nursing, I created a huge stock pile of milk in my hospital floor's freezer.  In fact, my milk took up so much space that there wasn't room for other patients' milk, and the nurses had to store the milk on other floors. 

When we could tell that Andrew would be released soon, I began looking into milk banks.  We live several hours away from the hospital, so I didn't want the frozen milk to thaw on the car trip home.  I could've purchased an ice chest to take all that milk home with me, but I knew we wouldn't really need all the milk I'd pumped, and if I did want to have milk for an occasional bottle, I could pump when I got home.  I thought a better solution was to simply donate the milk.

Selecting a Milk Bank
During my internet search, I found a couple of milk banks in the area, but one in particular stood out, Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas.  It seemed very reputable, and in fact, when I inquired about milk banks at our hospital, this is the very milk bank they recommended.  Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas is one of only ten milk banks in the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), and they follow a strict screening process and pasteurization process to ensure the safety of the milk.  Check out the map on HMBANA's website to see if there's a milk bank near you.

The Process
I called Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas to discuss the situation with them and determine which drop-off location would be best for me.  The donor coordinator was incredibly helpful and accommodating.  They made it as easy on me as possible. 

First, I needed a blood test.  As we were leaving Dallas after Andrew's discharge from the hospital, we passed by one of the many locations of a diagnostic center so that I could get a blood test.  The milk bank uses a diagnostic center that has locations all over town to make it easy and convenient on their donors.  My blood test was free (paid for by the milk bank).  I walked in, told the employee why I was there, and ten minutes later, I was finished with the blood work. 

When I got home, the milk bank sent the necessary paperwork to my home.  It contained a lengthy questionnaire for me, as well as information about my doctor and pediatrician.  The milk bank used this information to contact the physicians to ensure that it was OK forme to donate milk.  Specifically, they were inquiring of the doctors if I had a milk production issue.  If Andrew was not gaining weight adequately, the milk bank would not have permitted me to donate my milk--it wouldn't be fair to poor Andrew! 

The questions for me were fairly simple and straightforward.  Primarily, they were interested in any medications I was taking.  I wasn't taking anything to boost my milk supply (such as fenugreek) and I wasn't taking any medications other than prenatal vitamins.  At the time, I wasn't even consuming caffeine, because Andrew was only 6 weeks old, and when I'm nursing, I always introduce caffeine slowly to see how the baby responds.  I had not yet begun consuming caffeine, but even small consumption of it would not have prevented me from becoming a donor.  I filled out the paperwork, put it in the postage-paid envelope, and sent it off to the mik bank.    

The actual donation of milk was the easiest part.  There are multiple drop-off locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but the milk bank made it incredibly easy for me.  Although our hospital, Children's Medical Center, was not one of their drop-off locations, the donor coordinator said that their milk courier regularly drops milk off there, so he could just as easily pick up there as well.  We made arrangements for this to happen, and I was done with the process.  The milk bank tests and pasteurized my milk to ensure the safety of the milk. 

If you're a nursing mom, it's worth taking a look into the process of becoming a milk donor.  Just think of all the little babies you could help out!  The milk bank does ask that donors pledge to give a minimum of 100 ounces over the course of your baby's first year of life.  Since mine was a special situation and a one-time donation, they were happy to accept any milk I had to give, even if it wasn't the 100 ounces.  My grand total?  90 ounces.  While I was disappointed that it didn't meet the 100 ounces, I'd only pumped this milk over the course of two weeks, and the milk bank was incredibly pleased to receive it. 

I've recently discovered that you don't have to live near a milk drop-off spot to be a milk donor.  Milk banks will be happy to send you the packaging necessary to make your milk donations through the mail.  I'm considering doing this, since I'm already a registered donor, but I need to get in the habit of pumping for that to happen.  My experience with a milk bank was incredibly positive, and I would encourage anyone who is interested to become a milk donor. 

Here's a great article in USA Today about the value of milk banks.

Wordless Wednesday

Isabelle, 2, kissing Andrew, 3 months

Someone forgot to tell me that I gave birth to two babies back in February. 

Literary Mondays

I must confess, I'm a bibliophile.  I absolutely love books, and it takes great restraint to avoid purchasing more books, especially when I find them on sale.  I was very proud of myself for leaving the church garage sale last weekend with only about five books. 

A segment of my "neat" bookcase.  The other large bookcase in our bedroom is exploding with books. 

I'm not sure if it's a love for books, a love for the written word, or simply a love for learning, but regardless, I've always had a passion for reading.  Surely this comes as no surprise, since I'm a former English teacher.  I fondly remember the year that I taught high school, finished grad school, and still had time to read 52 books.  My life looks a little bit different now. 

These days, there's little time for reading, so I've had to limit my reading to books that directly impact my current career as a homemaker.  I read books about parenting, discipline, budgeting, marriage, homeschooling, and my walk with God.  And of course, I read countless children's books to the kiddos.  But essentially, if it doesn't make me a better wife, mother, or Christian, I don't have time to read it.  That's just the crazy stage of life I'm in right now. 

On Mondays, I'd love to have book discussions.  I'll share with you some of my old favorites or recent reads.  I'll also tell you about some of our favorite children's books.  In a couple of weeks, I'll share my absolute favorite marriage book.  Stay tuned, because it's a real game changer.  Your marriage will be impacted if you read it.  I guarantee it.  And next Monday, I look forward to telling you about a really neat book I read recently about how to cultivate a love for reading in your children.

Any other bookworms out there?         

Growing and Growing!

I held my head up while on my tummy for the first time today!!

Hi, I'm Andrew, also known as the toughest lil three month old dude this side of the Mississippi.  Bet my scar is bigger than any you've got!  Everywhere we go, my mom is telling people about my crazy surgery and the night she almost lost me.  She tries not to be a blabbermouth about it, but she wants everyone to know that God is real.  Real enough to care about a little guy like me. 

My mommy worries about me way too much.  I keep smiling, laughing, and rolling over, just to show her I'm OK, but she still worries about me and my big sister.  I even caught a cold recently, so that she'd know just how tough my lungs are (even if I'm missing half of one).  But she still worries.  That's something she's praying about.  She says God is growing her as He teaches her that I don't really belong to her.  I belong to God.  My name means warrior, and she prays that I'm a warrior for Him one day. 

My Nana shared this verse with my mommy, so mommy is memorizing and meditating on it, finding comfort in God's peace as she remembers that God has her family tightly in the palm of His hand. 

Peace I leave with you;

My peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give to you.

Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. 

John 14:27



An Almost Wordless Wednesday

It's an almost wordless Wednesday because I can't keep my mouth, er, fingers, shut. 

I've been caring for sick kiddos (again) for the past week or so, so we've had lots of pajama days for the kids and no make up days for mommy.  But here's a little glimpse of life at our house lately.  No pictures of the tears or frustrations of course, just happy thoughts.

Izzy and her "Ehscope" (telescope).  Her vocabulary and enunciation are growing by leaps and bounds.

Everyone needs a dinosaur magnet on their head, right?  At least Isabelle seems to think so.

Andrew says "This is how I roll.  And I can't believe you put me in a gown, mommy!  And what's with the pink rattle?"

If I ever find myself under the mountain of laundry, cranky and snotty toddlers and nursing babies, then I might remember I have a blog again. 

In the meantime, gotta start dinner!