Out and About

Little Peach and I continue to be out and about around town as much as we can.

Getting out has really helped us make friends. I say "US" because it is important that little peach has someone to play with and that I have someone to talk with. There is nothing better for a friendship then sharing in experiences. I have found myself in a wonderfully supportive large group through Stroller Strides. I love that this group is comprised of so many moms. Or group has a Facebook group where we can share information on upcoming events or get advice. I also have a smaller group within this group who all have kids around the same age. Our kids play well together and at the same level - amazing. We have been setting up weekly play dates with this group. This is so good for little peach. His social skills are refining as he learns about playing gently with others, and alternates between taking toys and having toys taken from him.

Getting out has built my confidence immensely as a mom. I have had great days out and total disasters and I have survived them all. Little peach has thrown a fit in the middle of Target and I survived. He has screamed the whole way in the car to an putting and I've survived. Blowouts, wet diapers, throw up - I have survived it all!

Getting it tires us both out. Little Peach has never been a better sleeper. I know he is exhausted from all the playing but it makes him sleep well for naps and at night. He falls right to sleep without a fuss and will even engage in a little quiet independent play in his crib with a book. I want him to learn to value quiet downtime as much as playtime. He seems to like the change in routine.

I've had to relax a few of my standards. When we are at a play date or at an activity little peach gets some more processed food then I would give him if we were having lunch at home. These things are helping me be more relaxed and helping baby peach be more flexible.

A Love Letter to My Library

Dear Local Library -

I'm sorry we were apart for so long. I moved to a land far far away (see Out of Edwards), where we lost touch. Then, in August, we were reunited!

I knew we would be fast friends when I was able to choose the design on the front of my freshly laminated library card. I, of course, chose brightly colored hot air balloons.

In those years we were apart, you had grown and changed. Yes, you were still filled with books, but now you had an iPad app so I could check on books from my phone and place them on hold. (A necessity with a wiggly one in tow.) You send books straight to my kindle, audiobooks to my iPad, and three free songs a week!

The events you've planned have dominated my calendar. We started at Baby Time, but soon we were too mobile. We spent a week attending the regular story time - but that was way over our head. That's when we discovered Toddler Time - a wonderful collection of songs and stories with no requirement for sitting still. We've petted dogs (at the library each week for kids to practice reading to) and chickens, built Chinese Dancing Dragons and even fed the ducks behind the Monument branch (just ask at the desk for duck food.)

Just when I thought I couldn't be more attached, I found your collection of board books. Little Peach could hardly contain his excitement as he pulled all the books out of the bin. I've had to place an artificial limit on how many we get each week.

It is not all about Little Peach though. You provided most of the Oscar nominated films for after the baby is asleep date night movies, in addition to some classics and documentaries. I'm slowly winding down my Amazon book wish list filled with cookbooks, chick lit, parenting books and sewing books with each visit.

My husband has even found a few books to read. He is the first to admit his initial attraction was due to your proximity to our local brewery and the promise of a lower Amazon bill, but now he is addicted to your online offerings. He even says your audiobooks make his commute more productive.

Have I mentioned your self check out lanes? Love those. Seriously.

With warmest regards,
- Mama Peach

P.S. if you want to know what I'm reading, head over to Peach Stitches and check the side bar.

PPS. Okay, a few of my fellow bloggers have asked when I have the time to read. I've found more time to read now than ever before - mostly when little peach falls asleep in his car seat, stroller or other inconvenient place. I pull out my book and read!

Unloading all our Library Books! 

Ma Chauffeur’s 5 tips to a successful first flight (at least with my 7-month old)

By the time February rolls around every year, I’m a Michigander who yearns to see and feel the warmth of the sun.  In order to boost our vitamin D levels, my husband and I decided to start a new family tradition – an annual winter retreat to Naples, FL! 

I don’t know how many of you moms worried about your first flight with your LO (or still worry if you haven’t taken your first flight yet), but after sleep training then 5-month old B in December, I seldom worry about any new experience with him now.  I worried more that I would forget B’s SPF 50 sun tan lotion and birth certificate than how he would handle his first flight. 

Despite my worry and to my surprise, during and after the flight we received many compliments from the crew and other passengers that B was extremely well behaved so without further delay and in no particular order, (although my husband may disagree), here are my top 5 tips to our success on our first flight.  

#1. A bottle of water.  We heard having something to drink upon lift off and landing was critical to popping ears.  I planned to breastfeed B to help pop his ears, which I eventually resorted to, but since he loves to do anything “adult” do and we’re practicing drinking out of “big boy” cups, he was fascinated with a bottle of water for longer than I expected. 

#2. A boppy.  Some parents told us their LO sleep in a front body carrier on their flight, but B is not a fan of any carrier and hates to be confined.  (You can only imagine our shock when B was hours old that swaddling was completely out of the question).  I had to be creative as to how he was going to sleep on my lap.  Praise to the high heavens that what I thought may work, actually worked and my mother’s intuition kicked in!  B felt most comfortable sleeping on our boppy on his back with both arms and legs extended far out in all directions.

#3. My boob. On the flight to Florida, there were a few seconds when B started to cry.  After being kept up past his nap time, exhaustion set in.  His fascination with the bottle of water ended and I panicked. Was he going to cry during the entire 3-hour flight?  I quickly whipped out my boob and B was home sweet home.  As soon as his crying started, it stopped, and he slept through touch down upon our arrival in Florida.

#4. Reading B’s cues. I knew I had to make B as comfortable as possible since this was a completely new experience.  Upon take off, when he looked at me like I had 10 eyes, I explained what was happening.  When he started to cry, I fed him so he could go to sleep.  When he woke up in a panic from his sleep, not knowing where he was at, I positioned him in the other direction on the boppy, fed him again, and he slept the remainder of the flight. The flight attendant even commented he looked so relaxed and peaceful.

#5. My husband. He stood in the aisle with B until he was required to sit down.  He entertained B for the longest game of peek-a-boo that I’ve ever seen. He shielded wandering teenage boy’s eyes when my boob had to make an appearance for breastfeeding.  And he told me I was doing a great job keeping B as comfortable as possible.  I must say so myself, he is husband and Dad of the year in my world!

From one mom to another, I hope you find one of my tips help you in your first successful flight with your LO.  PS – And after worrying about B’s birth certificate, they never asked for it. 

Naptime aka The Universe's Cruel Joke on SAHM

To give you a little background my now 2 year did not sleep for the first year of her life. People who said sleep when the baby sleeps risked getting punched in the face by me. She didn't nap, she didn't sleep at night, and it didn't help that my husband was enjoying his 15 hours of sleep per night during his vacation in the desert.

Now I realize that naptime is really the universe's way of saying f**k you to stay at home moms. It's payback on behalf of all those women who have to work everyday while we stay eating bonbons, watching reality tv, and getting fat. (and God help you if you tell me that your child naps for 5 hours every afternoon)

I think for a large portion of stay at home moms we approach naptime with the same trepidation we might use when trying to kill a spider in our home. You know it's something that needs to be done and yet you dread it with every fiber of your being. Dread mixed with unbridled optimism that today will be the day that your child naps.

Today we had to run to Walmart to return this crappy humidifier (fair warning do not waste your money on a Honeywell humidifier. I don't know how a company who makes pretty much every single piece of an airplane including the engine can NOT make a simple humidifier. I may never fly again.) Because our sweet sweet daughter had been up since 5:30am she fell asleep in the car on the way home at 11:30am. Not only on the way home, but actually on our street. I thought this is great. I'll just sneak her up to her crib and she'll take a nap and I can eat lunch and have 5 minutes to relax and get things done.

I'm sure my other SAHM's can relate to that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when, after you've congratulated yourself on successfully getting your child into the house; getting her shoes off; getting her jacket off; getting her into the crib; and getting yourself back downstairs, you hear not 30 seconds later that tiny voice on the monitor. Mommy, mommy, *singing*, *singing*, *talking to stuffed animals*, *playing* and you know that You. Are. Screwed.

So I get Em up and feed her lunch and eat my own lunch, during which she has a massive poo (ya know the kind you can hear), and I know I have to change her diaper and that there's a good chance I'm gonna throw up on her. So we head upstairs around and it's now 1pm and I put vicks in my nose and inhale a baby wipe (it was THAT bad y'all) and gag and try not to throw up and finally get Em into her crib.

Where she cries, and plays, and whines, and wants to go potty, and on and on and on. Around 2pm I try laying down with her. hahahaha And the thing is that she is soooo funny that I have a hard time not laughing (even though my soul feels like crying for the desperation I feel at needing a break from my child).

Around 2:30 my phone, which is downstairs, starts ringing...and ringing...and ringing. Em, like her daddy, is very concerned about me not answering my phone so finally I go down to see what the emergency is. I return some phone calls (and tell the hubby that if he comes home and asks me what I got done today there is a good chance he'll be punched in the face) and as I'm on the phone I can hear Em running around upstairs and I realize there will be NO naptime today...for the second day in a row.

No naptime. I feel like I've just learned that there is no Santa Claus.

Now I'm sure all you working moms are thinking "oh poor baby, gets to stay home and play with your child all day. Boo hoo." And yes that thought has crossed my mind as well. In my defense I did get FIRED during my pregnancy and I also went crazy after the baby was born (literally crazy, like had to take medication crazy) which would've made returning to work at that time challenging considering I worked with the mentally ill and 4 months after said baby arrived my husband deployed to Afghanistan so...it's not been all fun and games over here in our household. But yes, I do thank God every day for my blessings and the ability to stay at home...even when I want to run screaming naked into the yard.

Becoming an "Eco-Mama"

I'm a big fan of the webpage Food Renegade, which focuses on eating healthier by getting as close to the source as possible with the foods you eat. I've become increasingly "granola" since having Little Peach (okay, who are we kidding: it all started with the birthing class I took at BiniBirth in LA and solidified by my amazing doula assisted birth, all this much to the chagrin of my mother and the delight of my sister for finally embracing her ways.) Anyway, the blog is not judgy, and provides a good variety of articles on everything from public policy to recipes.

The author of Food Renegade has published a book on eating during pregnancy, breast feeding, baby's first meals and even on possible links to infertility. The book is on Pre-order now on Amazon. If you Pre-order now, she throws in her online nutrition e-course. We are not sponsored by Food Renegade, but I wanted to pass on the word if you think this book might be for you. Once I get my copy, I'll let you know how it is.

If you think this is up your ally, you may also enjoy the following. (If this is not your thing, please stop reading now and feel free to judge my growing crunchy-ness...)

Get Ready to Get Pregnant by Dr. Michael C. Lu

(Please don't read this if you are already pregnant!) Dr. Lu is a leading OBGYN at UCLA who has had great success in reducing pregnancy complications (hypertension, early labor, etc.) through diet and environment changes prior to pregnancy. His current research focuses on extending these practices to eliminate childhood conditions. The book provides information on his studies and easy to follow check lists for changes you can make. His methods are widely used by the UCLA OB's and Midwives including the Dr 's we used for Baby Peach.

Slow Death by Rubber Ducky: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things by Robert Smith

The ultimate book of #firstworldproblems. This is the book that convinced me to give up sulphates in my shampoo and (as much as possible) anything containing the word "parfume." (Mama Bee should not read this book, and neither should those who may become obsessive.) I found this book to be filled with information which I could take and act on and others I chose to completely ignore, because I can't imagine giving a particular product up. If like me, you're an information gatherer, this is a great book to be aware of the chemicals in our lives,

Stork Stack Review Update and Another Great Month with Citrus Lane

Today my snow day was interrupted by finding this in my mailbox.

Yep. It's a Postage Due notice for $1.15 from Stork Stack. To refresh your memory read the review here; but the long and short of it is that Stork Stack sent the wrong gender baby legs. I was asked to mail them back (which cost $2.07) to Stork Stack. Then, today, I received the notice--for what I assume to be the baby legs--because there was insufficient postage. I am waiting for the company to get back to me, but I'm annoyed it has taken so much effort to resolve this problem. They just got back to me (while I was writing this post) and are applying a $5 credit to my account. They also apologized, which goes along way with me.

Meanwhile Citrus Lane continues to impress with one of our best monthly packages yet! Citrus Lane has revised some of their packages due to customer feed back, so they are now sending items babies can grow into. Our February package (age 10 months) included the following.

The small board book Spring is Here from Chronicle Books.

 Toddler Tamborine from Hohner Kids

 Little Buddy Wipes from Me4kids

 Tooth Gel from Branam

Lip Balm (for Mom) from Pangea Organics.

 The items total to just shy of $39 - which is great since I only pay $25/month!

Friday's Favorite: Books about baby

Well I was going to just comment on Mama Peach's post (but that was quickly getting out of control). So here are my favorites:

• Pregnancy: 
• I also have the Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy but I also read Great Expectations , the Baby Bump (by the editors of TheBump.com), and Show Mom How (by the editors of Parenting magazine

• Great Expectations: This was my go to book because it takes you all the way from pregnancy (week to week changes) to labor and recovery (i.e. birth alternatives) and to how to care for a newborn (feeding, bathing, emergency baby life support). It also had great recommendations on baby gear (what to look for when making the major purchases and how to start your layette).

• The Baby Bump: This is basically like the website where it describes weekly changes you might be feeling and things like whether it's safe for a pregnant mommy to paint the nursery. My husband loved reading this and updating me that "Baby Bee is now the size of a cantaloupe", hah.

• Show Mom How: this book is hilarious. It's like all those "How to Survive a ____ Attack" books. There's a version for Dads and both are filled with tips like how to stimulate baby's development and how to fake a clean house as well as "How to Conquer a Ninja Obstacle Course".  

• Recording your pregnancy/baby's first year:

• I didn't get the Belly Book but I did get the My Baby book by the same author. It's cute and there are short questions on how baby is changing (although I've FAILED on updating it haha). The only thing I didn't like about it is there isn't a place for all the keepsakes from our time in the hospital.

• The first weeks. 
• Agreed on the Happiest Baby on the Block; it was in the new Dad's class the hubs went to, the tips were easy to do, and it really worked on our little one. We later transitioned to Baby Whisperer when it came to establishing a regular nap routine. It worked well for us but it's certainly not the only one out there (see previous blog posts for Sleep Training tips). 

• It starts with a quiz to identify your baby's temperament then it provides solid advice on how to calm your baby's specific type. 

• Best All Around: 

• We were gifted Baby411 and I can't believe how many times we've gone through that to find answers on feeding, well baby checkups/immunizations.. everything.