It's now 6:39 A.M. A perfectly respectable time to get up in the morning. That would have been awesome if that is when I actually got up. I've been up since 4. Ugh.
Now to give you the full perspective on this, you have to know that I am a nursing mother. With a baby who doesn't understand the concept of sleeping through the night. K is almost a year old. He's had about 4 long stretches.....in his life. A typical night has me awake 2-4 times, his average stretch being 3 hours.
I'm tired.
All.
The.
Time.
And I have two more kids under 5 to take care of. I will readily admit that sometimes "taking care of" means a day of movies and snacks while mama lays on the couch trying to recover.
Normally my goal is for the baby to get through the night without screaming and waking the rest of the house up. To that end, I nurse him when he wakes up. I know that he doesn't need to eat, but it's easier and I'm tired. And I also know that this has created a habit that I'm going to have to break. Got it, thanks.
The secondary concern for being up that many times is getting sleep inbetween wakings. I leave all the lights off and navigate my house like I have radar. I manage to stay in a bit of a stupor and return to my bed often unable to remember how many times I was up during the night.
But today was one of the frustrating days where I returned to my bed completely unable to fall back asleep. I tossed and turned. Jotted down notes that I will be unable to comprehend because I can't manage to write well in the dark. Contemplated getting in a workout and finally stumbled out to my computer.
I figure if I can't sleep I may as well get something done.
Facebook-check
(I'm on PST so at least I have plenty of friends 3 hours ahead of me)
Email-check
Window shop new Gymboree line-check
Upload new pictures-check
And finally...
Blog-check.
It's now 6:51 and my family will wake soon. The lights will come on. The cartoons and whining will start. The dogs will beg for breakfast and my husband will rush around frantically looking for clean laundry. But for now, it's quiet, save for a snoring dog. The snow is falling and I am alone. And while I'd still rather be sleeping, I'm trying to appreciate the gift of a bit of time to myself. The lull before the storm. A beautiful storm.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Two posts in one day, imagine that!
This one is inspired by a friend's status on Facebook about her Houdini baby and the inevitable diaper removal. Sounds funny, when it's not your baby. And not your job to clean up the mess that usually results from a commando baby.
All these tips can be used seperately, together or in succession. Some of them work, some of them may just slow baby down a bit.
Put the diaper on backwards. This only works with certain brands, but worth a try.
Put regular underware on over the diaper. You will need them sooner or later, so might as well try it out.
If baby is big enough, try a Pull up. The closures are different and they may confuse them.
Find a sleeper or outfit without feet and put it on backwards. The snaps or zipper in the back should slow baby down quite a bit.
Duct tape on the diaper flaps. This one is really hit or miss because some baby's will figure out to tear the paper instead.
Good luck!
This one is inspired by a friend's status on Facebook about her Houdini baby and the inevitable diaper removal. Sounds funny, when it's not your baby. And not your job to clean up the mess that usually results from a commando baby.
All these tips can be used seperately, together or in succession. Some of them work, some of them may just slow baby down a bit.
Put the diaper on backwards. This only works with certain brands, but worth a try.
Put regular underware on over the diaper. You will need them sooner or later, so might as well try it out.
If baby is big enough, try a Pull up. The closures are different and they may confuse them.
Find a sleeper or outfit without feet and put it on backwards. The snaps or zipper in the back should slow baby down quite a bit.
Duct tape on the diaper flaps. This one is really hit or miss because some baby's will figure out to tear the paper instead.
Good luck!
Don't start what you don't want to finish.
Parenting advice is something that I try not to give unless asked for. *Note: by coming to my blog, you asked for it. Aren't you lucky?
But if someone does ask, or has me jot something down on a piece of paper for some lame baby shower game, this is the nugget of wisdom they get.
Don't start what you don't want to finish.
Kid's are creatures of habit. And while some experts will tell you that you need to do something X number of times for it to become a habit, kids often think otherwise. And it's never good things that they cling to after one time, it's stuff you wish you could go back and never introduce.
So to save you the pain, let me share a few of these scenarios that I can't, but wish, I could undo.
Ranch Dressing- In an attempt to get my daughter to eat veggies, I gave her Ranch dressing. She ate her veggies, and anything else she could dip. I've seen my daughter eat a brownie with Ranch. God forbid we run out, the poor child would starve. I've tried to wean her and she is back down to just veggies, fries and chicken. But that was a battle, one I wish I'd never had to wage.
Quarters for the dumb ride outside a store-Not all re-dos are mommy's fault. I have never given my kids money for the rides or games that we find at stores and restaurants. But Thank You Grandma! My announcement of "Mommy doesn't have quarters for that ride." was instantly met with her digging in her purse. All fine and dandy for them to have a little fun, but now every.single.time. we go into that store they campaign for a ride. They beg, they protest and I lose a bit more of my already dwindling mind. I have now come up with a solution though. Since my kids love me taking their picture, they climb in the ride and I snap a photo with my phone and show it to them. They are happy and we move on.
Riding in the big part of the shopping cart-Again, not my fault. I blame Daddy.
Can they "un-watch" a show?- Plenty of these. My current least favorite is Fish Hooks.
Driving Woes-Also known as "Mommy, what's an Idiot?". I do much better now that we don't live in a major city, but I get grumpy at people when I drive. To this day if you ask my daughter what an idiot is, she will tell you it's someone who can't drive. I'm glad she went with my explanation, but I'd just as soon never yelled it in front of her.
Honey Nut Cheerios-This one covers lots of food choices. But in simplest terms, if the original is good......don't offer up the next option. I rue the day I passed over the big yellow box. Now my kids have to be tricked into eating them. The trick? Well, it also helps with the cereal aisle melt down should I have to suffer the trauma of taking kids groccery shopping. They are allowed to pick any kind of Cheerios they want (not totally true, we don't do the yogurt, chocolate or banana ones) and I get a box of regular ones. At home, I pour both boxes into a Tupper cereal box. They get half the good stuff and half the healthy. So I guess it's only half a solution, but it's working.
I'm sure there are dozens more examples. As moms we have a lot of talents, too bad seeing into the future isn't one of them. Do your best to think down the road and you may save yourself a struggle or two. Or four.
But if someone does ask, or has me jot something down on a piece of paper for some lame baby shower game, this is the nugget of wisdom they get.
Don't start what you don't want to finish.
Kid's are creatures of habit. And while some experts will tell you that you need to do something X number of times for it to become a habit, kids often think otherwise. And it's never good things that they cling to after one time, it's stuff you wish you could go back and never introduce.
So to save you the pain, let me share a few of these scenarios that I can't, but wish, I could undo.
Ranch Dressing- In an attempt to get my daughter to eat veggies, I gave her Ranch dressing. She ate her veggies, and anything else she could dip. I've seen my daughter eat a brownie with Ranch. God forbid we run out, the poor child would starve. I've tried to wean her and she is back down to just veggies, fries and chicken. But that was a battle, one I wish I'd never had to wage.
Quarters for the dumb ride outside a store-Not all re-dos are mommy's fault. I have never given my kids money for the rides or games that we find at stores and restaurants. But Thank You Grandma! My announcement of "Mommy doesn't have quarters for that ride." was instantly met with her digging in her purse. All fine and dandy for them to have a little fun, but now every.single.time. we go into that store they campaign for a ride. They beg, they protest and I lose a bit more of my already dwindling mind. I have now come up with a solution though. Since my kids love me taking their picture, they climb in the ride and I snap a photo with my phone and show it to them. They are happy and we move on.
Riding in the big part of the shopping cart-Again, not my fault. I blame Daddy.
Can they "un-watch" a show?- Plenty of these. My current least favorite is Fish Hooks.
Driving Woes-Also known as "Mommy, what's an Idiot?". I do much better now that we don't live in a major city, but I get grumpy at people when I drive. To this day if you ask my daughter what an idiot is, she will tell you it's someone who can't drive. I'm glad she went with my explanation, but I'd just as soon never yelled it in front of her.
Honey Nut Cheerios-This one covers lots of food choices. But in simplest terms, if the original is good......don't offer up the next option. I rue the day I passed over the big yellow box. Now my kids have to be tricked into eating them. The trick? Well, it also helps with the cereal aisle melt down should I have to suffer the trauma of taking kids groccery shopping. They are allowed to pick any kind of Cheerios they want (not totally true, we don't do the yogurt, chocolate or banana ones) and I get a box of regular ones. At home, I pour both boxes into a Tupper cereal box. They get half the good stuff and half the healthy. So I guess it's only half a solution, but it's working.
I'm sure there are dozens more examples. As moms we have a lot of talents, too bad seeing into the future isn't one of them. Do your best to think down the road and you may save yourself a struggle or two. Or four.
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