Adios!

Attention all readers! I know I've done this to you in the past and I apologize.
We have moved to a new blog!
I hope you can all follow me there as The Mamasita.
I love you all and hope you can keep reading!

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo to all of you who celebrate this day.

I admit it's a fun day to have an excuse to break out the chips & salsa and margaritas. 

But did you know that the Americans are the only ones who really celebrate this day? 

I didn't know this before we moved to Mexico. After moving there and expecting to see parties galore I found out that they don't think of this day as "special." 

My husband, who was born and raised there, asked me what Cinco de Mayo was. 

Funny, huh? 

So to those of you who enjoy today as a holiday, Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Doctors

Going to the hospital to have my baby, I didn't have a pediatrician picked out. 

I didn't grow up here so I couldn't use the one my mom used for my sister and I. And I don't have friends here to ask for a referral. So the day we were to head home, I had to hurry up and pick one before they'd let us leave. They gave us a two-sided sheet practically overflowing with the names and numbers of all the doctors in the city. I had no idea what to do so I pretty much just closed my eyes while pointing to one on the page. The only things I knew I wanted ahead of time was for the doctor to be a woman (so that I could easily talk to her about breast feeding) and I wanted to be able to pronounce her last name. 

Not knowing anything about her at first I have discovered that she's been more than I could've hoped for. She, like my childhood doctor, wasn't born in the states. She was born and raised in El Salvador. 

Do you remember when I blogged about her suggesting giving my son tea to ease his tummy and his digestion? When I lived outside the country I was always hearing about some home remedy and so when my husband told me about some of the things (one of those being the tea) she suggested to do instead I couldn't help but wonder why. Well, now I know. I found out that in many Latin & South American countries they give babies chamomile tea to ease their little systems. They even give it to them in the hospital before their first feeding. Weird, right? I also found out that it's 100% natural unlike the gas meds most U.S. born doctors would prescribe. For some reason I have much more respect for this doctor. 

Today we saw her for my son's four month check up. Four months. Can you believe it? It does feel like just last week that we were there for his three month check up.

What's new this month? Well a few things.... 

1. Solid foods!!! I have been counting down the days for this. I can't wait to see what foods he loves and which ones he hates. So today was day one. We introduced the spoon and ate rice cereal. More about this to come later! 
2. We were told to buy a bouncer/entertainer, one that he'll be standing up in. Yes. Time to work on strengthening the legs and lower back. I came home and ordered one. It should be here no later than the beginning of next week. (Yeah, it's kind of a long wait for something so exciting but I didn't want to pay the extra shipping costs.)
3. Thrush. A little bit of it. The medication he has for it now... he thinks tastes gross. If only you could see his face!  [Thrush can cause a painful mouth rash & diaper rash. Sadly he has a little bit of both.] 
4. He's growing, longer. He didn't gain weight this month [but she said not worry]. He's just at the top 10% of the growth chart in his length. Holy smokes. Does that mean he's going to be giantly tall? [Just kidding!]

It was a greatly exciting day for us. I'll try posting more about solid foods this week. 

Oh! Happy May!

Healing

After a long weekend of being sick and the days to follow being full of recuperation I think I'm back.
I have been sick for quite a while but this past weekend blew these past few weeks out of the water. I have had plenty of sick days in my life but none of them compare with being a sick mother.
I had to hand over all responsibilities to my husband and even had to call my mom in the middle of the night to come watch Joaquin while we went on a search for a night clinic. Plus, I couldn't just take any meds from the pharmacy. So I had to suffer until finding a doctor.
I found out the hard way that the night clinics are really only evening clinics and should probably change their names. No one is open after ten or open before nine. So in those eleven hours of the night when only the ER is open, you're out of luck [unless of course, you end up going to the ER].
I did finally go to a doctor. After the Easter weekend was over. [Oh yeah. Even places open on weekends were closed for Easter. Yay!] 
And now I'm starting to feel better.
You have no idea how happy I have been today. I can rock and dance around with my son without doubling over in pain. I can eat when I'm hungry without being too afraid that I'll be sick afterwards.
I know that I'm doing what the doctor told me but I know that God is the true healer in all this. I wouldn't be feeling like this without him.
All I know is that when I put all my faith and trust in Him, He works his magic. Even in something as small as my sickness. Now I'm just praying that the rest of my family can do the same. We just found out that my grandma has a tumor on her kidney after being cancer free for a year. Her surgery to remove it was today. With all my heart I have been praying that my loved ones can love, whole heartedly, the one who heals. If He can raise the dead, He can heal cancer.
Yes, there are doctors. But it is only through God that they have their knowledge and skill. So if you or someone you love is suffering or sick put your trust in God and then the doctor. All it takes is faith.

CLOUDS!

It's cloudy today! I can't believe it!!
The sun makes it still bright out but I can live with that.
I'm not burning up by just sitting here. Thankfully.
Praise the Lord.
PRAISE THE LORD!