Sleepy Head

No naps for you 2

Anyone have any advice for how to get a twenty-one month old to take a nap? Recently my son has decided he no longer needs naps but if I give in and let him stay up instead of taking a nap, by time 5:00 rolls around, he is a holy terror. I know many kids go through this stage so I was just curious if anyone had gone through something similar.

My husband and I have reached our whit's end and no longer know what to do. We've tried taking all his toys out of his room so he would have no distractions. But, now he climbs into his brother's crib and plays with the mobile (the mobile is various sports balls). This isn't anything to be too concerned about yet since his brother still sleeps in his bassinet in my bedroom, but once Ethan (the baby) starts sleeping in his crib, I don't want my oldest son to just crawl in whenever he wants.

We have also tried punishment - if you get out of bed, you will get in trouble. But, he must be hard-headed because even that doesn't even phase him. I think he gets that from me because I have always been known to do things when other people don't want me to do so. It's almost as though Austin (my oldest) knows that if he hollers for us long enough, we'll just give in and he won't be punished for disobeying.

And now, an hour after he was put to bed, he is still hollering "mama" and occasionally "daddy" in hopes we'll change our minds about him taking a nap and go get him out of bed.  So, once again I ask...any creative ideas that we haven't already tried before?

Couch exerciser...

I have been trying P90X for the past few weeks now, and it seems to be helping my overall energy level, health level, and self-esteem. In order to get my full workout in, I have to make sure I get up early (around 6 or 7) before my 2 year old gets up. Some mornings I fail at getting up early depending on what time I got to bed and how tired I am. Today was one of those days. Right when I turned my workout DVD on, I heard my son knocking on his bedroom door (he hasn't learned how to open it yet), yelling "MAMA!" My husband typically doesn't sleep well at night so of course I ran to his door and let him out of his room, even though I knew this meant my workout would prove difficult.

I was right! Upon walking out to the living room, my son (Austin) started asking me if he could watch "Tom," otherwise known as Thomas the Tank Engine. With my response being no, he wasn't too happy and proceeded to spill all his cheerios out onto the floor, the same floor I was attempting to do stretches and push-ups on.

I then had to pause the DVD, get my son to pick up all his cereal, then get my mindset right again to make sure I did a good job in my workout. After it had been quiet for a while, I had been so concentrated on the DVD that I had forgotten to watch what my son was doing. I looked over and there he was, drinking his whole milk, eating his cheerios, laying on his belly watching the workout on the television! Oh how similar this is to many individuals - in fact, when posting this story on Facebook, one of my friends admitted that he does this all the time! I just thought it was funny that my son did this, and yet ironic at the same time.

I forgot to mention he did attempt to workout with me - he tried to do "arm circles" which was so cute!

The Swingin’ Kids

            Imagine yourself as a new parent standing in the baby section at your local store. You are amazed at the wide variety of swings – ones that are electric, ones that play a large variety of music, and some that even have the option of swinging front-to-back or side-to-side. As you stare at the huge selection, you feel a headache coming on. Before you know it, you are walking out the store and going home to do more research before returning to that wretched aisle. That was me almost three years ago. But instead of doing more research I simply went online, found a swing that had a couple details I desired (being electric and having a mobile), and purchased the first one I found. That particular swing was the Fisher Price Power-Plus Swing. The options for baby swings are endless and the price range for these swings can be anywhere between $70 and $200 on www.babiesrus.com.   

            While this particular swing model is no longer available, there are still several Fisher Price Power-Plus swings available for purchase on Amazon.com, though the price tag is slightly higher at $180. The model I have is a budget-friendly, easy-to-assemble, and easy-to-operate swing. With a price tag of under $80 and having the option of either running off batteries or being plugged in to any electric outlet, I was sold. When I received the swing in the mail, it came pre-assembled and all I had to do was click the metal arms together, click the seat arms onto the base, and attach the side cloth panels. Within minutes I was done assembling and I never had to use a tool. Without reading the handbook, I was quickly able to figure out how the swing operated – there was a lever for speed control that went from one to six, there was a volume lever for “soft” music or “loud” music, and there was a switch for electric power or battery-power.

            New parents may not think about this but imagine with me for one moment if you would. Your baby is sleeping soundly, being rocked to the sound of a lullaby when suddenly the baby opens his eyes, pukes all over the swing, and resumes sleeping. If you didn’t do research before purchasing the swing, now you face the big question, “How do I get that stain out?” The Fisher Price swing has an adorable blue and brown fabric but the biggest area where baby sits is beige. After a few uses, the seat looks disgusting; I would much rather purchase a swing with a darker color fabric. But perhaps you are one of the lucky parents whose child does not throw up often or at all, you still want to consider color of fabric because you never know when your baby’s diaper will leak and create stains on the fabric. If you can see yourself in either scenario but don’t want to bother finding a swing with a darker fabric, rest assured that the seat cover does come off easily for continuous washing if necessary.

            One of the biggest selling points for any swing is the time it allows parents to get a break from holding baby. While some babies don’t require noise or music to fall asleep, it seems to help lull most babies to sleep. This particular swing offers a volume control as mentioned previously, and plays 4 lullabies in a loop. With the volume control, not only is baby still lulled to sleep with the quiet music, but the parents are able to sleep without having lullabies go through their dreams. I do appreciate the music option that comes with this swing, but sometimes the motor and the clicking of the swing back and forth can be slightly irritating.

            Along with the music, there are a couple accessories on this swing that make it more appealing. There is a mobile that can swing behind the seat making it easier to lift baby out without hitting his head on anything. The problem I have with the mobile is that it doesn’t move in a circular motion like most. The other option is the two pieces of fabric that are attached to the sides of the swing. These are used to cover the bolts to make the metal bars smoother in case baby bumps against it when learning to walk. There are pockets on the sides of the fabric so you can place items there for easy access such as spit-cloths, or pacifiers. These pieces of fabric velcro into place; if you have a single-child home this isn’t an issue but if you have a toddler running around, he will constantly tear these pieces off. This option would be more appealing for me as a mom of a baby and a toddler if it had snaps instead.

            Now that I have told you all the little details about the swing, I am sure every parent would like to know how safe this swing will be for your little one. I found a review on Amazon.com from someone who purchased this swing whose username is Emm “Emm” and she writes, “...it has safety features which stop the swing if anything (like baby’s arm) gets outside it…It is nice to know that baby is safe…It will also stop if she leans forward as if to fall out and I like that – the stopping usually pushes her back gently.” Out of all the features mentioned above, the most important is safety and if I know there are a few minor flaws in a swing but it’s overall safety is high, I will purchase that particular swing.

            I believe in this swing as I have used it for both my children and they have loved it. If I ever needed a break, I knew I could place baby in this swing and rest assured I would have a couple hours of peace and quiet. I love the safety features as stated above, and I definitely like the price tag on this item. There is an old saying, “you get what you pay for,” and it’s so true. This is not a poorly constructed item for the money you are paying - if you want a swing that would resemble a BMW for baby, this is not the one. But, if you want a swing that will not let you down, that baby enjoys, and that fits your budget, then say hello to the Fisher Price Power-Plus Swing!  

Sleepy Head

Crossroads...

Lately it seems as though I'm letting most things fall by the wayside as I try to figure out what is TRULY important in my life. I have been so busy that I feel as though I barely get any time with my boys. And, while I cherish every moment I have with them, they grow up too fast not to push other things to the side so I can have more precious time with them.

Instead of working on homework, every professor's nightmare, I opted to take my son to Crossroads with my husband, a friend of ours, and his nephew. It was a beautiful night for trick-or-treating and I was so excited to see how my two year old would react to the train. So many things in life he still hasn't experienced and it's so enjoyable as a parent to see what he does and doesn't like.

We (my husband and I) figured he would enjoy the ride because he loves trains so much - but boy we were wrong. He had a rough time at first, and after a while he started falling asleep, which I've learned is what he does when he gets real scared. It's his way of trying to relax...but we kept him awake because we knew if he gave it another chance, he would enjoy it. And, he did...they started playing music which helped him get a little more excited and he started getting used to the back and forth motion of the train.

It was such fun to get away from life for a while...until I got home and had homework staring at me, wondering why I put it off for so long. ;)

Surprise!

On Monday afternoon my husband told me "find a sitter for Tuesday and Wednesday because we're going away." I was so excited to have a surprise but had no idea who would be willing to watch my kids. I got on the phone and started calling friends and family. The second call I made, I was in luck - we had a sitter all lined up and I was finally going to get an overnight vacation from the kids, the first one since Ethan was born (3 months ago). Tuesday morning we got a call and our sitter was sick. That morning I called two sisters and a few friends, all with the same response "I'm too busy." So, even though we were desperate for a night away without the kids, we had no choice but to take them with us. After all, we already had reservations at a hotel - by this point my husband told me the trip was to Mackinac city. One of the places I'd been wanting to go to ever since we got married 2 1/2 years ago.

We climbed in the car Tuesday afternoon after quickly packing once I got home from school, and by 5:30 we were in Mackinac. I was excited for the next day when we'd go out and do a few things (and hopefully visit the island) but was not looking forward to spending the night in a hotel with a 3 month old and a 22 month old. Needless to say, it was pure torture. If you need birth control of a different variety, that was it for sure! My husband and I had already decided no more kids, but that definitely made the decision even more definite!

At least we got the chance to get away for a while, even if it was with the kids. As my sister said, God knew they would go with us before we knew we'd take the trip. I don't always like it when people tell me that, and this was definitely one of those times.

Sleepy Head

My youngest son during his stay in NICU this summer

Four hours of silence...

As a teenager, I never wanted quiet. I would pace the house looking for something to do so that I didn't have to worry about there being any quiet. Or I would call a friend or two and have them come over to stay for a while. Growing up, I never liked silence - it always bothered me so much.

A few weeks ago in the beginning of class, we had one minute of silence - while many people squirmed in their chairs, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Most people may think I'm crazy...but the reason is because I have two small children at home so having a moment of silence doesn't come real often. In fact, I found it hard to stay awake in that one moment of peace simply because those moments are so few and far between.

That one minute of silence reminded me of all those times growing up when I did all I could to keep the world around me noisy and as full of life as possible. While I love my children and enjoy having the noise around, now I yearn for a few moments of silence. Today, my wish was granted and my husband went to visit his folks - he took the boys with him which was a huge relief for me. I got a lot of homework done, some housework done, and even started working ahead on some assignments. Some may say I'm an over-achiever - I don't think so. I think I'm just smart and take advantage of the quiet moments when I can so I can get as much homework done as possible.

While I enjoyed the four hours of silence, I was glad to have the boys back home. Even though it's tiring and stressful to constantly have young children crying, or whining there are always moments that make it all worth while. And, when I'm old and gray I will yearn for the noise as I did when I was a teenager.

My balding two year old...

This evening, after being exhausted from my long week, I mentioned to my husband that our son needed a haircut. He didn't look too shaggy yet so I wasn't too worried about it getting done right away, but evidently he decided he wanted to take it upon himself to make sure his hair was cut.

While preparing brownies to go into the oven, my husband came walking out of the bathroom (which was where he and my son had disappeared to) laughing hysterically and the first thing he said to me was, "You've GOT to come see your son...you are going to laugh SO hard! This is hilarious!" At this I KNEW he had done something to the poor boy's hair, but nothing could have prepared me for what came next.

I walked into the bathroom and there sat my son with a big smile on his face, not knowing what his dad had done. His hair on the sides looked like it hadn't been cut, but the ENTIRE top of his head was shaved completely bald. I wanted to be mad but I couldn't help but laugh - it was like seeing my son in the future...lol. 

My husband completed the hair cut and I kept reminding myself that his hair WILL grow back...he may not look real great right now but it was a much-needed laugh for both my husband and I...and my husband had fun and it did no harm....and it's not too often I can just let go of things and not let so much bother me!

Mother of 5

Boy am I glad I don't have five kids!!! My sister had an emergency arise, and I am now responsible for her 3 children for the afternoon. It's amazing how much you do NOT get done when there are kids running around a small 2 bedroom apartment!

As my oldest runs around, playing with his toys, I realize out of all 5 of the kids, he is the loudest and most out of control. He doesn't see his cousins much and loves it whenever he gets a "surprise" visit from them! Oh how I wish I wasn't so busy so I could take the time to go visit his cousins - after all he has 25 of them! Of course, I would have to visit Texas, Oklahoma, and two cities in North Carolina in order for him to see all of them. Half of them he's never met and probably when he does meet them, will never get to know them because they aren't around enough for him to do so.

But, back to the business at hand..I thought having 2 kids in diapers was hard...try having 3 kids in diapers, one who is a chatter-box (which I LOVE most the time), and one who just sits on the couch the entire time as though sulking about the fact that her parents aren't around.

I'm a busy mom but never too busy to help out my family...hopefully this is a good lesson for some!

Sleepy Head

Nothing better than being all cuddly and warm

on a blustery, fall day! This picture was taken

2 years ago.