Teething, our next chapter

Never mind the solid food bit, I know teething is coming down the timeline for our little Kristen as well.  As a result from a net surfing something else altogether, I came across this mom's post for a natural teething remedy.  I'm looking forward to trying this out!

All you'll need are the following (taken directly from mommypotamus):

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, or for a milder flavor 1 tablespoon olive and 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 drops clove bud* essential oil

For the full post, please click here.


*I was actually researching cloves stemming from someone's FaceBook post about a natural mosquito repellant.  I didn't know what cloves were and had only heard about garlic cloves.  Cloves are really neat and useful!  For the mosquito repellant, please click here.  It's not the same post but it's along the same lines and actually has 3 versions for different uses.

Travelling Tuesday - or not?? STROLLER RECALL!

Sorry for the lack of posts and this lazy one.  I've had naps instead of actual sleep the last few nights so I end up a bit of a zombie in the evenings.  Here is an important post, however, and please pass this on to your other parent friends whether they have this stroller or not because they may be considering this purchase.

Please follow this link to the Baby Gizmo post but in sum, Kolcraft is recalling 96,000 strollers due to a potential projectile hazard.

"Hazard: The inner tube of the tire on the Jeep Liberty stroller made by Kolcraft can rupture causing the wheel rim to fracture and fly off as a projectile, posing a risk of bodily injury and property damage."  ~Hollie Schultz @ Baby Gizmo

If you haven't been by the Baby Gizmo site before it's worth taking a surf through.  If I ever wonder about a baby product, I check out Hollie's reviews first, especially her videos.  It was her review of the Britax B-Ready that convinced me to get it (after which I still did a lengthy comparison research myself but couldn't convert myself to love another stroller!).  So far no recalls, or at least none that I know of...!!

Foody Thingies: Nuby infant spoons

Kristen will be starting solids soon (although I think she can start now and I'm delaying because nursing is so much simpler than solids!) so I've started gathering supplies.  The spoons we used for Derek are worn and a tad smelly as the soft plastic has retained some food odours.  I loved them, the Tommee Tippee explora heat sensing spoons, but thought I'd give the Nuby ones I try because they have a smaller tip.

I broke them out of the package to wash them and waited to see how the tips would change colour.  I'm a nerd for science-y things. =P  I waited... waited... turned the water higher... higher... then the highest heat setting we had and still, no change!  Finally the coloured area started changing to white, but not after I'd been running the hottest tap water setting for 5 seconds over the spoons!  Below is a picture of the spoons after they've changed colour.

Here is the package they come in, advertising the change in tip colour if the food is too hot.

And finally, the back with instructions.  It notes that to detect if the food is too hot, stir the spoon around in the food then check to see if the tip has changed.

Maybe I'm spoiled by Tommee Tippee but I expected it to change not long after it makes contact with the food, not after I've been stirring for 15 seconds.  Regardless, it took a much higher temperature than I would allow for even my food to change, let alone for a baby!

Thankfully they weren't that much and I do prefer the longer handle... which leads me to remember that one of the great features of the Tommee spoons is that they are designed such that the bowl of the spoon doesn't touch the table when it's laid down.  Le sigh... I'll use these in the beginning and have them around but it seems we'll be going back to Tommee again!  I'll spew my love for this brand at another date.  =)

Random thoughts

So I'm a nerd over numbers.  Yes, I've been stalking my analytics reports (yes, I use Google Analytics for my blog!!) and it's been so interesting to see what's being read and what's being tossed.

I thought my makeup post would garner a load of hits but surprisingly, the wardrobe ones have caught the most attention.  Maybe more mommies think like me? - that I have to get dressed but I don't have to wear makeup, I'd like my outfit not to reflect the fogginess of my mommy brain, and I have no clue how I'm supposed to work with this body that keeps changing sizes and shape every two months!

Another one is the Britax post but I don't know if that's because people were doing actual research on the stroller or because it came up accidentally during the "Free Ride" event.  Not as many people hung around that post.  Maybe I need to clean it up a little, since it was essentially based off an email to friends. =P

Ah well.  We'll see what happens.  If you are reading my posts though it'd be nice to hear from you.  Even just a quick email letting me know what you enjoyed would be great!  No obligation to keep reading the blog, although that'd be nice, because I can't tell anyway.  I won't bug you for more info, I promise, unless you let me know I can pester you with questions.  =)  Thanks for reading!

Healthy Thursdays: To Kegel or Not To Kegel?

That is the prenatal and post-partum question, apparently.  Although before this article, it wasn't a question at all.  Doing Kegels for pregnant women is like eating vegetables for the general public: You know you should but you keep forgetting.  Now, Katy Bowman is telling us that not only is it not necessary, it can actually be harmful!

In a nutshell, continually contracting or tightening a muscle doesn't actually make it stronger and in fact, it can make it weaker.  What helps strengthen is working on opposing muscles to balance things out and give support to the pelvic area overall (I hope that's right!).  Enter in squats: Harder to do, not as fun and not as inconspicuous.

The results, however, are much more rewarding.  Squats help build your core as well which assist in keeping balance (something every pregnant woman needs more of!).  I found it also helped my breathing (branch benefit from working out the core) and mindfulness of my body.  Thanks to my working at Starbucks, especially to working the "lobby" position, I had ample opportunity to do squats as I always squatted to grab things below my waist, intentionally pushing up with my glutes and my quads.  Carrying around a toddler will help do that too!

Okay, so enough of my squawking, read the article and judge for yourself.  =)

http://breakingmuscle.com/womens-fitness/stop-doing-kegels-real-pelvic-floor-advice-women-and-men

How about you? Did/do you do Kegels regularly?  Did/have you found them useful?  Can you compare their effectiveness to squats?

Wardrobe Wednesdays: Layering

FLast week I mentioned H&M being one of my preferred stores for inexpensive yet stylish shirts which allow me to nurse without fumbling about too much.  The next day, I stumbled across a $7 shirt sale of semi-opaque, texture-patterned layering t-shirts!  They are perfect to go over tank tops that don't cover the wide nursing bra straps enough with a neck hole flexible enough to allow nursing access (although to keep from disfiguring the shirt too much while I'm out I pull it up if Kristen isn't fussing much).

As with all cheap things I find which will get a lot of use, I scooped these up in multiple colours after trying them on and settling on a flattering (enough) size.  I got one in black, grey-blue, peach, and white.  The only 2 things I don't like about them is that a) they are hang-dry; and b) they have those annoying straps to help keep the shirt's shape when hanging.  Since these will be stuffed - I mean, nicely folded into a drawer, I'll cut them off and save myself the embarrassment of having them flap around (or just the plain annoyance of them tickling me as I go about my day!).

As it's late right now, I can't take a good picture of them so I'll do that when it's day light.  Or, you could just go to your nearest H&M store and check these out for yourself. At $7 a pop, they may not be around much longer!

A bit more about layering: I find this to be a great way of looking less frumpy and a bit more stylish, if done well enough.  It also allows for me to extend the mileage of my separates into other seasons and maximize my wardrobe as I mix and match various combinations.  Right now these shirts are going over tank tops but come fall (or cooler summer days, which we've gotten a good dose of already!), I'll switch the tanks for some long sleeve t-shirts instead.

How about you?  Do you have any tricks for dressing easily without looking (too) frazzled?  Any items in your closet you find flatters your post-partum shape?

Makeup Monday: Looking Less Dead

I know some people wonder why some moms even bother with makeup since it takes time and is an extra cost to the myriad of things which need to be purchased.  The way I see it, I would spend money on other things for leisure, such as a magazine or a book, a coffee out, movies, what-have-you.  Makeup does the double-duty of being my hobby and making me, as the title states, look less dead.  I know I won't look fabulous but I don't want to scare people with my I-got-5-hours-of-sleep-taken-in-2-different-night-shifts face!

I was really into makeup before I had my kids though so the learning curve isn't so great for me.  If anything, my learning curve has been to scale down my routine.  I've built it back up a bit over the last 2 months as I've been figuring out some tricks on how to look a bit more awake without taking up too much time.  As a comparison, I used to spend about 10 minutes along in creating a look for my eyes (I'm all about the colour and making a statement with eyeshadows!) so this is a big change for me.

So over the next few weeks, I'd like to make some recommendations of products which I've found to be helpful in lifting up my face a bit as I get out the door.  For today, I'll just go over my most basic routine and get into products starting next week.  If you can't process much reading right now, skip to the bottom for a straight-forward listed routine.

I usually apply any makeup after breakfast, having given time for my moisturizer to absorb.  Since my skin gets oily and darkens most foundations in any form, I apply a primer to create a barrier between my skin and the foundation.  I then dot on a bit of concealer under my eyes and apply a powder foundation with a stippling/skunk brush lightly over all my face.  I fill in my eyebrows with a brow pencil, then smudge a multi-tasking cream product over my eyes and blend it over my cheeks.  I swipe one some lipstick or lip gloss and I'm done!

I actually usually apply any lip product in the elevator or the car as I don't need a mirror so much for it, and if I forget it, it's not too big a deal.  There are modifications to the routine - to me, makeup is my way of artistic expression so things are flexible - and what I add or do depends on my time or number of active brain cells that day.  So for example, I'll curl my lashes and add mascara, or I'll buff in a highlighter, or I'll use a more colourful powder blush.  I actually do those more often now as I'm getting faster at my routine (or perhaps getting less picky at how things look? =P).

Okay, so here's a summary of what I do:

1. Apply primer.
2. Dot and blend concealer under eyes.
3. Apply light layer of powder foundation.
4. Fill in brows.
5. Smudge multi-tasking cream product over eyes.
6. Blend same cream product over cheeks.
7. Swipe on lipstick or gloss.

And that's it!  If you haven't before, give it a try one time when the baby's sleeping and see how just a little bit can pick you up.  I'm not saying we can't look beautiful without makeup but let's be honest, over-tired mommies don't always look that great!  These can help you on those no-so-great days.  =)  Or just when you want to play around with some makeup.

How about you?  What do you do to look a bit more polished and together before stepping out the door?

Singing the Future

Sorry this one's so late!  Got caught up with other things last night.

One suggestion almost everyone makes to help soothe babies is singing but what I realized when I first started singing to Derek, I was singing more to myself than to him.  Not in a selfish way, more like a I-need-to-be-reminded-to-keep-my-sanity way, especially at 3 am!  So I chose songs that had messages I wanted to impart to him and would remind me as to why I'm committing myself to less sleep and playing a continuous game of Guess the Wail (or Guess the Babble during happier times!).  They would keep me focused as to how I'm parenting, who I'm parenting and remind me to make wise decisions during tough times that will lay down a solid parenting foundation for future days that will hold other joys and struggles.

The songs I chose are Christian-based but you can use any song that will help soothe you as you soothe your baby.  Mine are the following:

This Little Light Of Mine (learn the song and lyrics here; fun gospel version here)
I chose this song because I wanted to remind myself to raise up a child who would be a light wherever he goes, prayerfully a light within God's church as he grows, and that he is my little light, reminding me of the blessing and opportunity God have given me to partake in creation by giving birth to life.  It also has 2 other verses to make it fun during more active times ("Hide it under a bush - oh no!" "Won't let Satan blow it out" with the option of a light blowing* into the face instead of saying "blow").

Beautiful (learn the song and lyrics here; my awesomely talented brother plays an acoustic medley with other songs here)
This song was chosen mainly for the line, "Jesus makes beautiful things of my life", which He has in the little lives he has blessed me with.  It reminds me in those wee dark hours that I have been charged to take care of this beautiful creation and not to harm it, as a fatigued and frustrated may stray to do.

I Cast All My Cares Upon You (learn the song and lyrics here - this is the series I sang with decades ago!)
I blend this song with "Beautiful" as they're both in 6/8 time.  It also keeps me from getting to bored and falling asleep!  This was especially helpful when Derek was crying and not falling asleep for who knows what reason - he's changed, fed and burped, so why won't he just sleep?  I'm comforted to know that God is watching over me and watching over Derek, and that I can lean on Him when I'm feeling so tired.  I can cast my worries about this crying child into His hands and know He'll be working with me to figure things out!

So if you're feeling at the end of your rope sometimes while caring for your little one, try picking up one of these songs, singing as you change a diaper or bathe a wriggling body or wait for a tantrum to let up, not necessarily to calm them down, although we hope it will, but to help calm you down and re-focus your purpose in parenting. Of course, no need to finish the song at their expense (I used to feel obligated to finish the song before I moved on to my next action, lol) but if you're feeling frayed, keep singing till you feel a bit calmer and more ready to handle the situation.  We'll never have it all together but anything that helps us be a bit better helps, right?  And the more you sing your repertoire, the more your child will become familiar with it which can help with bonding, his/her speech building, musicality, etc.  It's tons of fun especially when toddler months hit and sing-alongs begin!

How about you? What tricks or methods do you employ to keep yourself sane?  If you were to choose a song, which would it be and why?

Toddler Science Fun!

Dare I hope that the numbers I see from my blog stats are due to people checking in for a new post? =D

Sorry for the late posting but I honestly couldn't keep my brain going for a decent post.  I was also looking up something for a "Fun Friday" post and found that my ideas may be a bit much for some readers to take in so until you get the feel of who I am and what humour I have, we'll keep those for another Friday.

So for today, I was looking up toddler science projects I could do with my son.  I'm considering home schooling so I'm going to try a relaxed version from July to December to see how he takes to is and how I can keep it up.  I'm hoping that his desire to learn will inspire the teacher in me to be disciplined in creating fun lessons!  As you can see from this blog, I am not the most disciplined person, but I am trying. =)

On to the meat of the post (finally!).  I found a page that has a bunch of ideas but the one I like most is the "Cloud in a Jar".  Using shaving cream, food colouring, water all in a jar, a simple explanation is given of how rain happens.  You can find that particular project here.  For more ideas, visit this page.

As I haven't tried this out myself I can't really tell you how it goes but I think this will keep a toddler interested for 10-15 minutes at a time, possibly for a week!  Different coloured clouds allow for artistic expression as well, then posting pictures of their creations.  I'm really looking forward to this!

How about you? Is there a project you'd like to try?  Have you already done one of these with your kid(s)?  Are there any you'd like to suggest?  Please share!

Reminders of Aging...

Looking at yesterday's post, it wasn't really that short of a post, haha.  Today's will be.  Just finished watching a bit of Avengers on Blu-Ray and I'm feeling pretty off,  like slightly motion-sickness off.  I felt this when watching Life of Pi but I think it's my eyes straining to keep up with the detail in HD that's causing me to feel a bit sick afterwards, especially if there's a lot of action.

With that, I'll just leave you with my reflection that I'm accepting my body's adjustment to another year added to my life.  I may have to keep action movies to SD and "waste" HD on slower-paced movies!  =P

Oh, and today was for "Healthy Thursday", in case anyone's actually keeping track.  It is healthy for my emotional health to accept aging gracefully!  And on that note, off to bed I go.

How about you?  What have you noticed about your body adjusting to growing older?  What have you been able to accept gracefully?  What are you still working on?

Wardrobe Wishes

Sorry, this will be a short post!  I almost forgot to post and was about to head to bed when I remembered so to respect my need for sleep and my commitment to post daily, I'll put up a short blurb today.

One delight that's been taken away when I roam around a mall is the possibility of buying much of anything due to a) my new and ever-changing body shape, and b) the unlikelihood of nice clothing surviving a day without having some form of food, pre- or post-digested, on it.  Perhaps, though, it's a blessing in disguise: now I can look at clothes wistfully without having to crunch numbers about whether I can afford it!  Makes window shopping a lot easier, in a sense.

What's become my best fabric friend, however, is jersey or anything stretchy.  I do have some Thyme Maternity shirts and while they are more stylish than Motherhood/Destination Maternity, now that I'm more than 8-weeks post-partum I find that they look more mumsy than I'd prefer.  I can't say that wearing jersey on a roly-poly figure is miles better but I feel more... normal, for lack of a better word (which I kind of hate using but I'm not going to get into a debate about what's normal for a woman to feel and beg you to understand what I mean without splitting hairs).

Items I've found useful, even as I'm still nursing, are basics from H&M and stretchy tops from Joe Fresh.  They can usually get me looking somewhat stylish without seeming like I'm trying too hard.  And they're not hard on the wallet too.  As a result, I have tank tops in at least half the colours offered at H&M. =P Some thin long-sleeve T-shirts from Joe Fresh are serving as home/night clothes, due to them being a little thinner and therefore more see-through than I'm comfortable with.  I did layer them under other shirts during colder days.  I've found them incredibly useful and wish I had more!

How about you? Have you had any clothing finds which make you feel more comfortable post-partum and while nursing?  Do you still keep pants of smaller sizes hoping you'll fit into them soon?

Exiting the home with two or more kids

Travelling and Toys will be topics of discussion for Tuesdays.  For this week, it'll be travelling.

So I have barely made it out of the home with both my kids in tow, by myself.  It's been 5 months since Kristen was born and I still haven't really mustered up the energy to do so!  Mind you, Derek hasn't been pooping well so sticking around home has been our M.O. lately.  Today may be a different day, however, as he has pooped two days in a row allowing for him to be more comfortable and therefore, more agreeable.

One thing I was waiting for was Kristen's eating and napping schedule to be more apparent before stepping out with both of them.  It has now so I'm waiting for the best combination of weather, my energy and my wake-up time to head out the door.  I did try it once in the winter time with a post-partum doula, Shawna (who was awesome, by the way, and I would totally recommend her if you're looking for pre-natal, birthing or post-partum help) but it wasn't the greatest weather given it was in early March and that I chose to take a shorter route that ended up being fairly icy.  Not the best when wearing an infant in near-freezing temperatures and a toddler who's never walked on ice!  But I made it with Shawna's help and since then have made it down to the condo play room but that's about it.

We'll see how today's possibility goes.  And by today I really mean tomorrow since I'm timing the posting of this... post.  Publishing!  That's what I mean.  =P  So yah, I'm actually typing this Monday night for a Tuesday posting.  Mondays are supposed to be makeup and hair (oh vanities!) but I kinda missed that so I'll have to put something up next week.  Anyhoo, I'm mainly trying to get myself to post every day.  More substantial posts will be coming, I promise!

In the mean time... any other parents out there delaying a multi-kid outing?  How are you dealing with it and when do you plan to venture out with 2+ little ones?  For those who already have, please share your experiences with us!  Doesn't matter if they were "bad" ones, it'll give us all a good laugh and hopefully help us prepare for the worst, or at least some of it.  =P

  

Derek and Kristen after 6 weeks of being siblings

I have no clue how those mommy bloggers do it!

Okay, so even with setting up timed posts I'm really bad at maintaining a blog.  I'm trying to find ways to be more motivated to posting - I mean, I want to post, but at the end of the day I feel like I only have enough brain cells to be passive (e.g. watch tv, paint my nails, etc) instead of put down in writing (typing?) all the ideas and thoughts I'd like to share.

Hopefully this angle will work.  I'm going to try a theme for each day of the week.  I'll unfold them as I go along.  For today, Sunday, we'll have "Silly and Spiritual", which will not necessarily be overlapping themes, more like I wanted to use some alliteration to keep things somewhat memorable and catchy. =P  So Sunday posts may have something silly, or spiritual, or one of each, or something that encompasses both.

Okay, so enough explaining!  I really do complicate simple things, don't I?  =P  Here's a "spiritual" post that I've already posted on Facebook but would love to get the message out of Christian and his mom... whose name I've forgotten!  How horrible.  But I think she'd say it's more important to know of her son than her... not that she's any less important as she's doing such a great job of raising him! (*just found that it's Lacey Buchanan.  She also has a blog, http://christianbuchanan.blogspot.ca/).

Here's what I posted on Facebook, and the corresponding video.  If you cry at tear-jerker movies, grab a box of tissue and hug your kids close.  And as Lacey says in her blog, praise God for the child, the life, that you have been gifted with.

As glad as I am that my two children formed well in the womb, my mind always wanders to "What if?", hope I would have the mental and emotional stamina to deal with the other possibilities, and my heart goes out to those whose children came out differently. Watch this video and reflect on how you may treat cute babies vs not as cute, girl vs boy, "good"/easy-going vs "naughty"/active, and remember that no matter what, each of us are made in the image of God and are worthy, valuable and beautiful to Him and, therefore, to us.



How About You? Have you met any extraordinary moms?  Are you dealing with an extraordinary situation?  Have you caught yourself treating some kids differently because they aren't what you would prefer or hold as ideal?