Countdown to Christmas

I have decided to share a list of our holiday traditions:

1. Elf on the Shelf (new this year) Jake the Neverland Elf joined our family yesterday. Named after a show she watched for the first time yesterday. I'm sure at some point I said I would never get an elf because they are so creepy-never say never. I thought Vivienne could use some behavior encouragement this year so I snagged an elf off Buy Sell Trade. My intention is to use Jake to inspire Christmas spirit and good behavior. She is probably too young to fully understand, but it should be fun and maybe a practice year for mom and dad.

2. 24 days of Christmas books. As a former teacher I have over 25 Christmas books so last year I started the tradition of wrapping 24 of them so Viv can open one per day until Christmas. She loves the opening part and I like that she has to wait and learn patience and can't just open all of them on the first day. She already has her favorite books, so the reading part isn't going so well this year! I think it is something I will continue, if only to use up last year's wrapping paper. :)

3. Tree Lighting at the Mallway. One of the reasons we moved to UA was for a sense of community and the events here don't disappoint for young kids! Last year we walked a few blocks in the rain to the tree lighting at the mallway because I insisted this was going to be our new family tradition! Although we skipped Santa, the sleigh ride, and the actual lighting of the tree, Viv did get to meet Sven and some of his friends! This year I have high hopes for getting a peak at Santa and at least riding in the sleigh. 

4. Zoo lights. I'm pretty sure this is on everyone's list in Columbus! I'm not sure when, but eventually we will get to the zoo lights. We technically saw them a few weeks ago on Sunday morning, but Viv needs to experience them at night!

5. A Cushing Christmas Party. A night out for mom and dad! My cousin Liz is hosting her second annual holiday party and it is getting a fancy cocktail twist this year!

6. Lebanon Carriage Parade.  The Carriage parade and dinner at my friends house has been a tradition for years ( way before kids) and was so much more fun the last two years with Vivienne! We are not able to go this year since it is in Cincinnati and we have two events in town on the same day. We will go next year no matter what and may have to make it an every other year tradition from now on. 

I'm sure there are little things I have forgotten and I know we will continue to add to this list every year. For now I need to wrap gifts, continue shopping, and pack for Florida! 

Christmas card outtake. I need to get these in the mail! 

You know it's a Monday when....

You know it's a Monday when your toddler wakes up sick and your baby doesn't nap until 12:30pm. It took me 3 1/2 hours and lots of bribing to convince Viv to come to Target and buy cold medicine with me. She had to pack her Hello Kitty purse with her princess clip dolls inside and I had to make sure she peed before we left which involved more bribery. She has been known to pee in the toy aisle at Target. We had a list of what we needed and mostly stuck to it. I had promised her play doh if she got in the car, so we walked through the toy section to find it. Ever since Target did that gender neutral bull shit, I can't find anything in the toy department. My ultimate goal was to get Neve to sleep and that didn't happen. At home, we made "Anna/Elsa soup" and found that Campbell's makes an organic version which would please my mother in law ;) Neve ate more than Viv! She LOVES to feed herself and was so happy to be picking up tiny noodles and carrots! I was able to convince both girls to take naps and they are even overlapping a bit (hurray for me)! Now for some me time, the mess in the other room can wait.

Happy Thanksgiving!

WHAT?? Mimi and Papa are coming home today???

Someone told me I should start a blog...

Someone recently told me I should start a blog. Sadly I started this when Viv was first born and I couldn't even get my family to read it! With no followers, I lost interest and also got super busy with Viv and just couldn't find the time anymore. I figured there was no harm in starting again, especially now with two kids!

Vivienne will be 2 1/2 at the end the month and Genevieve will be 8 months tomorrow! Life with two girls has been a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, and still no sleep!

We spend our days playing, spilling, dumping, and cleaning. Our favorite activities are walking to the (three) playgrounds in our neighborhood, library story time, and soon swimming lessons! Vivienne goes to "school" on Thursday mornings and that gives Neve some quality, quiet time with mommy and allows Viv to play with other kids her age and listen to someone other than her parents for a change.

Typical Monday morning

Traveling with a baby

I was completly terrified to fly with Vivienne. I was convinced she would scream and cry and her ears would hurt and she wouldn't sleep....you name it, I was sure the worst would happen. I was proven wrong. Thank God!

Vivienne never fussed or made a peep the entire flight to Florida. She was up past her bedtime, which didn't seem to bother her. She didn't want to play with a single toy I brought, just the window and cup holders and a box of candy. She didn't want to nurse at takeoff, but I did keep the pacifier in her mouth most of the trip.

She seemed to adjust well to my parent's house. We were so lucky that they had most of the things we needed and we only had to (over) pack clothes for Viv. Viv slept in the walk-in closet in our room which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. She has always woken up in the middle of the night to eat and that continued while we were in Florida. She started eating three meals a day while we were there. We took her to the beach and put her toes in the freezing ocean, which totally freaked her out. She wasn't a fan of sand either. But she LOVES the pool!!! Her favorite thing to do was splash her hands and flap her arms up and down which we obviously called swimming. We had her skinny dipping in the hot tub before we left:) I am really looking forward to going back in April and seeing her swim again!!

Tips for Flying with Baby:

1. Bring an umbrella stroller, not your nice jogger. We got a gate check bag at Buy Buy Baby.
2. Put your baby in the Bjorn while going through security. They will let you through easily and swipe your hands.
3. I packed less than 3 oz of milk, a mini bottle of water unopened and a squeeze pouch of baby food and they let it all through, but they took it out of the bags and examined it all.
4. Keep your baby distracted on the plane with the barf bag and safety pamphlets-they are new toys!!!
5. Use a pacifier, sippy cup or bottle at take off and landing if possible.
6. Fly in the AM! Chances of your baby sleeping are slim to done since there will so many distractions, so don't plan to fly at bed time. Fly early and take your baby in their pjs!

6 months tomorrow!

Our little Vivienne will be 6 months tomorrow!! She has managed to get her first two teeth, sit on her own and start crawling (forward) all before 6 months?! We (and the pediatrician) expect her to be walking by 9 months...

This was the post I began over a month ago and I have not sat down at the computer since! I wonder why???

Viv has been keeping me extremely busy by crawling, pulling up, standing and exploring EVERYTHING. Luckily she is not quite "cruising the furniture" although now that I said that, she will start tomorrow. The holidays kept me very busy with parties, traveling and family. We got home from Florida late Tuesday night (that will be it's own post later) after two weeks away. We are trying to get back into a routine at home. Eating three solid meals a day, nursing less, sleeping the same (hardly any). We are looking forward to getting back to library story time and mommy/baby playgroup. My only goal for 2014 is to be healthy. I have a huge problem with stress which led to illness (shingles and mastitis) last year. This means I need to focus on sleep, exercise and eating healthy. Easier said than done.

Happy New Year!

Loved eating almost every meal outside!

A chilly day in Florida (not nearly as cold as home that day)

It's going to be how cold when we get home???

Happy to be back!

Crying It Out

After going through a few rough weeks of multiple feedings per night, rocking back to sleep and popping the paci back in, I decided it was time to teach Viv how to soothe herself. It took me about another week to convince Eric it was time. I googled "crying it out" and found the following schedule which we used for both naps and night time.

Day 1 - 3 min (1st wait); 5 min (2nd wait); 10 min (3rd wait); 10 min (subsequent waits)

Day 2 – 5 min; 10 min; 12 min; 12 min (subsequent waits)

Day 3 – 10 min; 12 min; 15 min; 15 min (subsequent waits)

Day 4 – 12 min; 15 min; 17 min; 17 min (subsequent waits)

Day 5 – 15 min; 17 min; 20 min; 20 min (subsequent waits)

Day 6 – 17 min; 20 min; 25 min; 25 min (subsequent waits)

Day 7 – 20 min; 25 min; 30 min; 30 min (subsequent waits)

 ****noobmommy.com is a great resource and has more detailed info on "Ferberizing."

These times are just suggestions and you can choose what works for you and your child.  Most people say they notice improvement after 2 days. We had to go all the way to day 5. If you think five minutes is hard...wait until day 5!! We would go in according to the wait time and calm her down, giving her the wub a nub and moo moo (lovie blanket). On day 5 we noticed that she was able to go back to sleep on her own before the 15 minutes was up! It would take her about that long to put the pacifier back in her mouth. Last night (day 6), Viv was able to go nine hours without us coming in to help her go back to sleep! That made the whole week of crying worth it! Every time she woke up, she would snuggle her moo moo and fall back asleep. Using this method has helped Viv take longer naps. She always protests a little before going down, but as soon as she has the paci and moo moo, she calms down and is asleep within minutes! Viv always gets ready for bed at 6:30 and is in her crib by 7pm. We have been doing this routine for about two months now and I would highly recommend it! I try to keep her naps as consistent as possible and if she wakes at 7am, she naps at 9, 11, and 2. This is not a science yet because Viv wakes at different times every day and her naps are different lengths every day.  I'm hoping that as we get closer to 6 months, feedings and naps will become more routine. This is the most confident I have felt as a parent yet! 

Vocab for New Dads

I've managed to fill my brain with mostly useless crap. I can rattle off the starting 22 on Ohio State's football team. I am super nerdy when it comes to Excel spreadsheets and math. Oh, and for whatever reason, I still know the Contra code for 30 lives. Here are a few things that I still refer to incorrectly (even after 5 and a half months of fatherhood) primarily because they have silly names... but it's mostly useless knowledge until you become a parent... For all you dad's out there, don't let the mother of your child mock you for calling a "boppy" a "bumbo".

 

The Boppy

To the average human being, this looks like an over-sized airplane neck pillow. In fact, it might be an effective neck pillow for someone like Shaq, Dikembe Mutombo, or Yao Ming. But this pillow-masquerading object was designed for entirely different reasons. You'll come to find out that it's an integral tool that assists with breastfeeding, support for family & friends who have forgotten (or don't know how) to hold an infant properly, and once the baby is sitting (or learning to sit) as a force field that protects your little one from jerking backwards or sideways (avoiding face-plants and unnecessary concussions). 

The Bumbo

First of all, the Bumbo belongs on the floor. Your baby can and will find a way to tip it over... and you don't want your baby toppling off say, a couch (see above) or even worse, a table. Don't be that mom or dad. Keep it on the floor. Anyway, this rubbery plasticky device is an amazing product for two reasons: keeps your kid stuck in one place and it helps him/her learn to sit. I would have called it the Sticky Chair - makes way more sense.

The Swing

Because it swings. Somehow when you're operating on several hours of sleep, you'll forget why this is called a swing, but it swings, side to side and front to back. 

The Bouncer Seat aka "Bouncey Seat"

Another straight-forward, well-named baby product. It bounces on its funky, curved, wiry legs. It's a parent-friendly baby-drop spot. These come in various colors, designs and materials with varying accessories to keep your diaper-wielding bundle of joy preoccupied. Music and vibrating settings are hit. As my brother-in-law Drew has said on more than one occasion, it's terribly unfortunate that this doesn't come in adult sizes. #MassageCushion

The Jumperoo aka "Jumper"

But not to be confused with the Bouncey (because she bounces in it) or even with the piece of clothing that's also called a jumper. (The clothing vocab edition  might be available at a later date.) Put your baby in this thing and let the jumping begin. I imagine it's more effective than squats or jump boxes.... You should be able to wear your child out with this device. 

I am hopeful that no one's situation is so dire that they needed me to define things like bib, burp cloth (you need lots of these) and pacifiers (aka paci, binky, wubanub). 

Have a nice day.