Uncategorized – Page 75

It Aint Always Rosy {Potty Training}

July 15, 2011 by Danielle

So I had the perfect plan. I was going to do the 3 Day Potty Training e-book method and E was going to be potty trained. Easy as that. We read the e-book. I stocked up on underwear, treats and prizes. And I talked to E the whole time about how he was such a big boy now that he was 2 and big boys pee pee and poo poo in the potty. He showed signs of readiness as early as 18 months old and fit the list of “readiness” checks that almost every potty training book/article highlighted. So it would have to be easy, right? I mean, yeah, he also had a new baby sister but that wasn’t anything big.

The weekend of training seemed to be a success. By the third day he was saying “pee pee” before he had to go and was going on the toilet. And even when we started going out and running errands he stayed dry and successful. He really seemed to pick up on it and get it fast. I was definitely proud of my boy.

Then somewhere between 2-3 months into being potty trained he seemed to regress. Not every day. Maybe an accident every 2-3 days. Usually it was just when he was busy playing or outside running around. Then about a month or two ago it started getting worse. And by worse I mean 4-5 accidents in a row after sitting and going a little on the potty. I got so worried I had the doctor check him out because he said that his penis hurt. I was worried that he may have a UTI or something.

All tests came back clear and nothing was wrong with him. And I just realized he just didn’t care. Seriously. He lost interest in going potty on the toilet. So I tried something new. I downloaded a potty chart and got some stickers. I told him if he told mommy he had to go potty then he got a sticker. When he filled up a row he got a prize and when he filled up the whole chart we would go to the store and he could pick out anything he wanted (within reason of course).

And he lost interest after a day. He just didn’t care. I would ask him to tell me when he had to go pee pee every 1/2 an hour. And literally 1-2 minutes after I asked and he said no he’d turn around, look at me and pee his pants. He’d also start to run away from me when I told him to tell me he had to go and would pee in a corner. I was losing patience and losing it fast.

About two weeks ago Joseph came home to me in tears. I had had enough. I broke down and put a diaper on E. Told him that if he wanted to pee in his underwear like a baby then he’d have to wear a diaper like a baby. He cried and said no when I put it on. I told him that if he kept the diaper dry and told me when he had to go potty then I’d put his underwear back on him.

I came and asked again in 1/2 an hour if he wanted to try and go potty and he said, “No, I go in diaper.” I about blew a fuse. I was so upset. But I had Molly in my arms and didn’t want to get upset with him so I said, “Ok, then we’ll have to change you into another diaper.” He replied with a simple OK and didn’t resist me putting a diaper on him. After this horrible day I regained focus and decided to move forward with underwear.

The next day Ethan had no accidents. We started putting stickers for when he went potty AND giving him a choice of a marshmallow or gummy penguin (Trader Joe’s) treat every time he went on the potty. I started to realize that even though he long ago learned how to hold his pee for a few hours that he was releasing only a little bit at a time when I sat him down and than peeing a little in his underwear and pants a little later on. So I started to ask him to try and get all the pee pee out when he sat down on the potty.

It was working. No accidents for two more days. But he still won’t tell me when he has to go. He’ll just go try whenever I ask him if he will tell me he has to go. I pray for the day that he starts telling me again. It will be much easier than me remembering every 1/2-1 hour. I’ve also started driving around with a potty in the trunk. Just in case.

I pray that it gets easier from here but highly doubt it. I never realized how strong willed he was until we began this journey. I know we’ll have regressions again. And I will need to work on controlling myself instead of giving in to his rebellion. Because really it’s just that. He’s trying to figure out how much he can push. What I’ll give into and what he can get away with. I’m definitely not giving in. I have 25 years on him, right?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Being a Mom, Potty Training

Last NASA Shuttle Launch

July 8, 2011 by Danielle

Today is a sad day in our household. I honestly never thought this day would come in my lifetime and hope that this isn’t really the end. Today is the last NASA space shuttle launch. So please tune in to watch this historic event! There is a possibility that due to weather it will be postponed. I’ll be watching with Ethan and Molly.

A good friend of mine, Helene, has written (in colaboration with a few others) a few tributes to this last launch. Check them out on GeekMom. She also has another cool project under wraps to come out soon so I’m sure I’ll be mentioning her in the future.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Life, Miscellaneous

Baby-Led Weaning {Ditching the Purees}

July 2, 2011 by Danielle

Miss M has been interested in our food since she was about 4 1/2 months old. I knew she was ready for solids when she started lurching for our spoons and plates and trying to snag what we were eating. So I started her on purees and she seemed to be into it. But she never seemed to be interested after taking about a tablespoon of food. She was much more into gnawing on the spoon. So I started researching and asking around and found the answer I was looking for. Baby-led weaning.

I put away the purees I made and wiped off the food processor. M’s first real experience with baby-led weaning was with a food she was used to… apples. I just sauteed them up so they were soft and diced them up. I don’t think I made the pieces big enough so I stopped after a few tastes. Here are a few pictures from her experience 🙂

She did really well picking up the pieces with her fingers so I gave her a few puffs to practice with. Then I started thinking of what I was going to serve for dinner. And I figured carrots would be good to practice with as well. I made sure to keep them in stick form so she could grab onto them and gnaw little pieces off. They were a hit! She loved it and the mess she left proved that she had a great time as well.

Since that first day we’ve offered her a little of whatever we’re having at each meal. Sometimes she just plays with the food and other times she eats a bit. She’s really good at chewing with her gums! Definitely surprised me with how well her gums work to chew.

And she’s doing great with her sippy too. She still uses it mostly as a teether but she does get water out of it every once in a while. Friday night we had pizza so I made her a deconstructed pizza plate of sorts. She got to taste olives, a bit of mozzarella, some steamed broccoli and pizza crust. She looked like she thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the family meal. I wasn’t too sure about the cheese since she seems a bit young to have it but we’ve had no problems so far.

I really think this is not going to be easier for us in general but it’s less stressful, in my opinion. I never worried about how much E was eating when he was on purees but I did start to worry when he started eating table food since I didn’t think he was getting enough. Now I know it’s all just practice at this point. Her main nutrition still comes from my breastmilk and she’s getting really good at playing with her food 🙂

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Baby #2, Baby Food, Baby-led Weaning, Crunchy, Health

Enjoying the Summertime Fun {SD County Fair}

June 15, 2011 by Danielle

Every year since E was born we’ve made our way over to the SD County Fair for their discounted Tuesday. The past two years it was $2 Tuesday. This year it was $3 Tuesday. Pair that with $2 Taste of the Fair Tuesday and you get one discounted day at the fair! Definitely worth every penny. And we did it for under $30.

We sampled some yummy fair food including meatball sliders, freshly made mini donuts, corn dogs, cinnamon rolls & ice cream. We saved a bit of room for when we take Daddy. But all in all we got a taste of everything we wanted that day. Each “taste” cost us $2.

There were so many temptations! It was hard deciding what we wanted and what we passed on. E made most of the decisions for us though. The large, over-the-top signs helped him 🙂

Once we got some food in our belly we were ready for the animals. The animals are one of E’s FAVORITE parts of the fair. When we come again we’ll see them again. Maybe even twice through.

Ethan was very curious about the cows and had many questions. One of them being why they were laying down and if he could pet them. He asked if he could pet every single animal he saw. (The blanket is there to cover their legs from the sun, not to keep them warm ;)).

Goats were super fun. They made lots of noise and kept both kids happy for a while. We just parked in front of a few and just watched what they did.

Then we came up to the birds. Ducks, chickens and turkeys oh my! Ethan loved this large turkey. He kept talking to it and putting it’s bedding back in it’s cage for him. He even mimicked him when he gobbled.

In the same area as the birds they had a petting zoo and other animals in larger pens. We caught a glimpse of this little oinker tinking. E wanted to know why it wasn’t using the potty.

E kept reaching his hands in the fence and calling the goats (and cows, chickens & pigs) over to be pet. Next time we’ll have Daddy with us so we can do the petting zoo. I hope to get some good pictures then!

After strolling through the tents and perusing the fair deals on the latest and greatest gismos and gadgets we took a small break by the flower and landscape area. E had acquired a mini dino Pillow Pet that I spotted in one of the tents and wanted to play a bit with it as looked at all of the different landscapes people designed. This one below even had a choo-choo! E wanted to watch it the whole afternoon…

All in all it was a great day with the kids. Something I hope they remember fondly as they grow up (as I plan on continuing the tradition yearly). I remember how much fun I had at the fair when I was younger so I hope they do too!

Filed Under: San Diego, Uncategorized Tagged With: Activities, Firsts

It Aint Always Rosy {Breastfeeding}

June 15, 2011 by Danielle

Breastfeeding

I have had a fairly easy time breastfeeding. My children, from the start, had a great latch and breastfed well. And they seemed to really enjoy breastfeeding. There was not something I did, or read, to allow for this. It really was just the right combination of everything that allowed me to continue to breastfeed with ease. And because it was so easy for me I just kept going.

I had to introduce a bottle to my son fairly early on. When he was only two days old I was told I had to supplement with formula until my milk came in due to jaundice. He had no problem taking the bottle and nipple confusion was non-existent. He took a pacifier, he breastfed and he took the bottle. It was pretty awesome. Then he gave up the pacifier at 9 months. And only wanted me to soothe him. It was hard. But we got through it. And now, even though I am not breastfeeding him anymore, he still rubs my arm to soothe himself.

When my daughter was born I just assumed she would take a bottle as well. Trying to figure out our lives after we brought her home we just forgot about the whole bottle thing until I started pumping when she was about 3-4 weeks old. I wanted to start a freezer stash for when I went back to work so I started pumping once in the morning. I asked my husband to give her the bottle when I was out for a bit one evening and came back to a screaming child. She had refused to take anything from the bottle.

We thought it was a fluke. So we continued trying every few days and she never seemed to take anything from the bottle. I was starting to get worried when my return date for work fast approached. The day before I was scheduled to come back to work I tried the bottle again. And she took 1.5 ounces!!! I was relieved. And I happily left her with my husband for the day. And she didn’t take anything from him so he ended up coming to me at lunch for her to nurse. And so it continued.

The two days I worked she would hold out until my husband, mother-in-law and aunt-in-law brought her to me. I couldn’t handle it any longer and decided we would be better off if I was home with her 100% of the time until we could focus on other foods for her main source of nutrition (solids are not the main form of nutrition for infants until they hit 12 months, formula or breast milk should still be the main portion of their diet). So I have actually quit my job to feed my child.

I don’t know what would have happened if things didn’t go well with breastfeeding from the start. I really didn’t have a large support group of lactivists around me when I came home with my son. Sure there was the friendly internet but I didn’t feel like I had a buddy right next to me whom I could confide in for help. I think I felt more of the opposite. Those around me were more willing to encourage me to throw in the towel and start formula. I’m not sure if I’d push forward and seek the help I might need if I did need assistance or if I had problems I couldn’t figure out the answers for.

I now know that I need to be more open about my knowledge of breastfeeding, my experiences and the research I’ve done. I want new mothers to feel empowered, not scared to admit that it isn’t as easy as everyone makes it to be. I want new mothers who run into problems to know that if they truly want to exhaust all resources before throwing in the towel then there’s someone here for them to help them along the way. I also want new mothers to know that they AREN’T horrible parents if they choose to formula feed. That is their personal choice and no matter what the story is behind it they should not be chastised or feel bad about their choice.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Being a Mom, Breastfeeding, Crunchy

It Aint Always Rosy {Co-Sleeping}

June 14, 2011 by Danielle

Co-Sleeping

From the first night I brought my son home I really had no idea how the sleeping thing would work. I mean I had an idea that he’d eventually sleep in a crib. Cause all babies sleep in cribs, right? But I had the pack n’ play set up in our room for at least the first few nights. I had heard that it would be easier for me to sleep if he was in the room with us. Especially if we were breastfeeding.

So we came home. And my baby slept in my arms. Literally in my arms. I slept sitting up those first few nights. I really didn’t feel like I could put that little angel down. He was so tiny. How was he going to sleep without being right with me. Maybe it was just because he was a part of me for so long and I didn’t want to let that go.

Then because we were successful in breastfeeding I just kept him in our bed at night because it was so much easier than the thought of actually having to get out of bed and get up in the middle of the night. Plus he was a pretty good sleeper and hardly woke up to nurse when he was hungry. None of this hours of no sleep. He’d wake up, fuss a bit, nurse and fall back to sleep. I didn’t know why everyone else said they were so exhausted during the newborn stage.

And I started feeling a bit weird about still having him in bed with us. So I tried to transition him to the crib. I guess I didn’t try hard enough. I read that starting with naps first might be the best way to go. So I would put him in his crib once he nursed himself to sleep (or I rocked him to sleep). But he always seemed to wake up 1/2 an hour or less later. That didn’t seem right. So after a few naps like this I went back to having him nap in our bed or in his swing. 1-2 hours… much better!

I would try to transition him every few weeks but he never seemed to want to stay in his crib long. He much preferred our bed. What I didn’t realize was that I was hardly helping him in this transition. When he was younger I didn’t really put him down. Ever. So he got used to needing me to soothe him to sleep. So I just gave up on the crib and said we were going to co-sleep. Then he started getting bigger. And my husband didn’t feel comfortable in bed anymore. He’d wake up with a foot in his back and only five inches of bed to lay on. I understood and started looking into alternatives.

So at 15 months our son transitioned from our bed to his own twin bed. In his room. And it worked great for the first few days. He napped perfectly in there. And would call out to me to pick him up when he woke. Nights were a bit different. He would sleep until 3am and then would wake and call for me. I’d either bring him into bed with us or fall asleep with him in his bed.

Today he sleeps in his room. But he usually ends up crawling in bed with us at around 3am. And even with the second one I never quite figured out how to transition an infant to the crib. I did get a co-sleeper though so I try and remember to put our daughter in there for 1/2 of the night. And I promise I’ll try better to transition her to the crib. Maybe…

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Being a Mom, co-sleeping, Crunchy

Playing Tourist {Seaport Village}

June 14, 2011 by Danielle

On Saturday this weekend we headed over to Office Depot to pick up a scanner. The Office Depot we first went to was out of stock so we asked if they’d check stock at the Downtown location. We were in luck. They had one! Now you’re probably wondering why the heck I’m talking about a scanner when the title of this post clearly states that it should be about Seaport Village. You’re right. But I’m getting to WHY we went to Seaport Village.

My dear two year old decided that we were going downtown not to pick up a scanner. No, he thought we were going there to see boats. Sadly for him he was wrong. And we really were just picking up a scanner. It was late, his sister was getting very tired and Mommy and Daddy just wanted to sit down and relax.

So I made a promise. If he was a good boy that night we’d go see boats the next day. And low and behold he was a good boy all the way through bedtime. So the next morning we waited for Molly to take her first nap and then headed out to see boats. We didn’t quite know where we were going but I knew I wanted to end up by the Star of India or the Midway. So we decided on parking at Seaport Village and taking it from there.

As soon as we walked in through the little shops E found the water. In a small pond form. With ducks. He was ecstatic! And as an added bonus there were baby ducklings too. When we turned to another area of the pond there was another duck mama and her set of ducklings as well! Two sets of mamas and ducklings. that has to be a good sign of a great day.

E just kept asking if he could “pet them” and we told him if he could reach the mama duck then he could definitely try. It didn’t happen. Mama was watching over her ducklings swimming to the side of the small stream through a strong current.

Then we headed towards the water. The real water. And E loved what he saw. Sail boats and speed boats were going by and he got to watch them. For as long as he wanted to. We gave him full reign for our outing and let him choose when he wanted to stay and when he wanted to move onto the next spot.

He quickly found more water. And this time at a spot where he could actually touch it. He asked me to roll up his sleeves and got his little hands in there so quickly. He loved pointing out all of the monies to me. But he listened and only used his fingers to play with the water. His wrists were hardly wet by the time he decided to move on.

See? He does listen sometimes! Just dipping his fingers 🙂

E asked Daddy to help him look farther out and just gazed around for a bit before he decided he wanted to see some big boats.

But then he saw the telescope (is that what these are? I’m just assuming). And quickly wanted to be lifted up again to check it out. Sadly we had no change on us. So he just pretended. And told us he was a pirate. What an imagination already!

Then he saw a small pier and asked Daddy to take him out to see if he could find any fish or birds out in the water.

As we got to the edge of Seaport Village we continued along the harbor and started to see the larger boats. In the background of these boats you see the USS Midway. This ship is now actually a museum. We plan on making it a day trip in the near future. I really think E will like it. He already started pointing out the airplanes and helicopters on the deck before we even got close to the ship.

This is when E started to get tired. We were pushing naptime up in hopes that we could get some fun in before getting back home to do housework and yardwork. He enjoyed having Daddy carry him.

My sweet boy definitely loves his father! Since we knew we were getting to the end of our trip we decided to get lunch before heading back to the car. We stopped by Anthony’s Fishette and grabbed some yummy fish sandwiches. Joseph had the original fish sandwich and I had the salmon sandwich. Oh yum! That salmon sandwich is something I had when I was pregnant with E on a regular basis (there was a fishette close to my work at the time that shut its doors by the time I was pregnant with M). It hit all the right spots 🙂

E munched on french fries and had a few of my black beans. He even had a taste of each of our sandwiches. M enjoyed the crust of my sandwich. She really got mad when we were leaving and she couldn’t have any more bread. That little one really likes food she can’t have already!

She was demanding more!

By the time we got back to Seaport Village we had worked up a little more room in our stomach. And E had a bit more energy so we grabbed our Entertainment book and tore out a coupon for Ben & Jerry’s. We enjoyed waffle cones. E and I shared. We both didn’t need a whole one. M even got some in the end. She finished off the waffle cone!

If you are by a Ben & Jerry’s and they have the coconut seven layer bar ice cream flavor available try it! It was amazing! And don’t try to take the end of a waffle cone away from M. She gets pretty upset when food is taken from her. Even if it is a choking hazard.

All in all we had a fabulous day. It was low key, inexpensive (about $30 for the whole day including parking) and we got to enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery that makes our city a tourist destination. I’m hoping to do a lot more “tourist trips” with the family this summer. Being a tourist in your own city is pretty darn fun!

And I apologize for the lack of M pictures. She slept in the Ergo on me or rested in the stroller the whole time. She leads a very chill life 😉

Filed Under: San Diego, Uncategorized Tagged With: Activities, Life

It Aint Always Rosy {Being a Mom}

June 13, 2011 by Danielle

A friend of mine and I got to talking one day. About life. And kids. And how jealous we get of each other. Not necessarily jealous, no, that’s no the right word, but how inadequate we felt about ourselves as moms when we started to compare how we mother, how we live and how quickly (or slowly) our children accomplished milestones to how others are doing it. It got me thinking how many other friends feel this way. How many other girlfriends who don’t really see the “real” me.

You see… I’m far from a perfect mom (big surprise there). I do think that some of this mothering thing really did come naturally. I truly feel that some part of our ability to be a mom is innate. So I may make certain things look natural but what you don’t know is that I am really good at keeping things in. And failing to mention other things.

I get angry with my son. And sometimes even with my infant daughter who can’t even speak yet. I raise my voice. I tap little hands when they pinch or hit. And sometimes I yell and get mad when he sits in front of me and pees his pants on purpose even though every book I’ve read tells me it’s not the right thing to do. My son eats french fries when we go out for lunch or dinner. Sometimes he doesn’t get one vegetable in him. And sometimes I forget to give him breakfast (bad mom right there!).

My parenting style is not reflective of one book or one belief. It’s an accumulation of many different influences and what feels right. Sometimes it’s just what feels right at that moment. And sometimes what “feels right” is choosing the easiest choice for that time. Following the path of least resistance.

What’s funny is that all of mine and my husband’s major choices in parenting seem to make us (me) look pretty crunchy. I breastfeed, We co-sleep, I baby-wear, I make our children’s food (for the most part), I didn’t sleep train (might consider it with the second) and try not to let my child cry for long. But what these choices in parenting don’t show is why I do all of these things. And to tell you the truth the answer is that I do most of these things out of convenience.

So I’m going to break down the different aspects of my “parenting style” for you this week. Give you a little inside look to my choices and decisions as a parent. Feel free to ask questions, point out my flaws, share your parenting style and over all feel better about how you parent (or how you’re going to do everything better when you do parent) because you shouldn’t feel bad about how you’re doing it.

As long as your kids are happy, healthy and fed I’m sure you’re doing a great job!

Filed Under: Parenting, Uncategorized Tagged With: Being a Mom

Miss M’s Baptism

May 22, 2011 by Danielle

My beautiful baby girl was baptized this Saturday. With family surrounding us we welcomed her into our church. She was quite pleasant even though we didn’t get a chance to feed her before we left for the church and as soon as we got there we had no time to nurse. She smiled, she cooed, she made everyone love her even more 🙂 But come on… how could you not love her?

I was going to have her wear my baptism outfit but it just didn’t look right and I didn’t get a chance to bleach it in the sun. So we used our back up outfit. I found this dress at Nordstrom’s Rack. It was an amazing find. The gown has what looks like a cross and a heart embroidered right on the front of the dress but the tags said nothing about it being a baptismal dress. It was long sleeved and came with matching white bloomers and it fit Molly perfectly.

Molly received a bracelet from her Godmother, Aunt Louise. and wore it with her dress. It was a beautiful addition to her outfit. She received this beautiful cloth box from her Great Grammy filled with two cute outfits. And it was too beautiful not to reuse for Molly. So I am going to store her baptism dress, bracelet and candle. I also hid away two pictures for Molly of her special day. I’ll post those when we get the pictures from the photographer.

Molly was all smiles in Daddy’s arms before the ceremony

And she gnawed on Sophie while she waited for her turn to get dunked

Cousin Aaron made silly faces while Father Michael spoke

And then we got on with the show…

Molly and her godparents, Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Louise

And the parents

Aunt Louise made cookies just like she did for E’s baptism. Everyone gobbled them up!

I made some monkey bread, two different types of egg cups and crock pot oatmeal. I also served some fruit and coffee, tea & juice. Everything was super yummy.

Grandma Ann kept the two boy cousins entertained with a great book. This one’s one of E’s favorites (Dinosaurs Love Underpants).

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Baby #2, Firsts

Big Boy Room Completed

April 12, 2011 by Danielle

We’ve finally completed the big boy room. This past week we picked up an awesome Pottery Barn Kids bedspread from craigslist because we knew our big boy would love it. And he does! Now we just have to get a few more prints we bought for the walls framed and the room will look awesome. Animals and Dinosaurs may not be the best combo but it’s what our son loves 🙂 What do you think?