The easiest thing to do with a sick, fussy toddler, of course, is to pop him on the couch and let him veg out in front of the TV. That's what I feel like doing when I've been barfing my brains out. But when my two-year-old, who never saw an operational television until he was over a year old, started talking about the Wonder Pets like they were friends of his a couple of weeks ago, I realized it was [way past] time to put the breaks on the boob tube consumption.
This winter has been brutal. With two kiddos, our sick days have doubled and it seems like one virus just snowballs into another. In the past six weeks, we've had a crazy stomach flu, a cough & cold and now another cough & cold and each bug takes 7-10 days to work its way through the entire family. We're perennially tired, head-achey, generally achey and snotty. So. . . our normally active lifestyle of play dates, playground outings, walks, music class, museums and running errands, has ground to a halt and we're all going bonkers with cabin fever.
What to do with a tiny, sick little guy who can't go anywhere or do anything we usually do? Well, in our case, water always does the trick, but we can't spend half of every day in the bath and the wood floors in my kitchen are going to warp from the time we spend at the sink filled up with water, boats and cups with Huck on his stepladder.
Maybe you already do some version of this, but here's a stupidly easy, cheap and fun activity that keeps my little man happily engaged for 20 minutes or more. It's great fine motor practice and is about a thousand times more water-wise than filling a bath or sink. We call it Water Cups.
Here's what you need:
- A cookie/jellyroll pan - Two shatterproof cups, different sizes, one filled with warm water - A silicone potholder (optional, prevents slipping)
If your kid is anywhere near as obsessed with water and pouring as mine is, she'll love this activity, and so will you. Strap him in his booster or high chair at the table while you check email or empty the dishwasher and let her have at it. I put a silicone potholder on the table to prevent the cookie sheet, which keeps at least some of the water from slopping all over the table, from slipping and fill one of the cups with warm water. Occasionally I pour the water from the cookie sheet back into one of the cups.
Do you have some fun, cheap and easy activities to keep your tykes from going bonkers on sick or rainy days? Email us your ideas and pics and we may feature them on our blog.
Happy cold & flu season, Mamas! Spring is just around the corner.
My attempt at green parenting has been a precipitously slippery slope. I started out with cloth diapers, a natural rubber mattress, all organic clothing, homemade organic baby food and exclusively non-plastic toys. But what I've ended up with is 7th Generation disposables/part-time (like, when the mood strikes me) cloth diapering, a mix of pricey organic cotton and $2.97 Target specials (made, probably, by kids only slightly older than mine), frozen "all natural" chicken tenders & Whole Market taquitos, and more plastic toys than I can shake a stick at. So much for my lofty green ideals.
What happened between then and now?! Well, lots of things, like gag-inducing encounters with the diaper sprayer, the sheer economics of dressing a rapidly growing kid in $30 shirts, picky eating, and, of course, my kiddo's preferences in toys.
We recently had a green toy coups, however, when I discovered Sprig Toys, a Colorado-based eco-friendly toy line. For Huck's big 0-2, I purchased the Dolphin Explorer Boat (because anything to do with water is an instant win with the boy wonder) for $29.99, the dump truck and the loader, both $14.99 at Real Baby in Denver. All three toys are paint-free and made of Sprig's proprietary SprigWood, a delightfully satisfying-to-the-touch bio-composite material made of reclaimed wood and recycled plastic. If your little one isn't a classic dump truck/loader enthusiast, check out DuneBug's Sand Truck, which includes an adorable DuneBug character and wild flower seeds.
The little man especially adores the Dolphin Explorer set, spending nearly an hour at a go on his step ladder at the sink and in the tub with his boat, captain and dolphins, and we're looking forward to spending warmer spring days at the playground digging and dumping sand. For my part--and considering kids are spending record-breaking time in passive play with battery operated toys and electronic media--I adore how active he is in his play with these items--Sprig Toys are, as a rule, "kid-[not battery-]powered," which is just what this pseudo-green mama wanted.
Next Sprig Toys acquisition: The Discover Rig. Lights, motor sounds and songs are powered not by batteries, but by a generator triggered when your kid moves it. Also of interest, Sprig's Storybuilders: four classic story books with block-and-panel sets that allow kids to build and re-enact classic storylines. If I had a little gal, I might even do Princess Penny's Story Building Palace. I wish it weren't so. . . pink. . . but it would be a blast to build a little castle (as long as she can build skyscrapers out of normal blocks, too!) and hey, who doesn't like a pointy princess hat on a cute little faceless figurine?
The past week has been rife with life lessons for me. 1.) When you plan a romantic weekend away whilst breastfeeding, make darn sure your pump is working well and that you're working well with your pump. 2.) Having not heeded lesson one, when you get home on the brink of mastitis (romantic, I know) and your milk supply is demolished, power pump. 3.) When your toddler, who has a pernicious stomach virus, mentions poop even in passing right before a bath, save the suds for later.
I think lessons one and three are pretty self-explanatory, but I have to share the best breastfeeding/pumping tip I have ever heard during my 20-month (over two babes) breastfeeding tenure. Let me repeat: ever.
Three days after returning from said romantic getaway (during which I lost most of my milk because I just couldn't seem to let down for the pump), I called the lactation consultant at the hospital where both my boys were born to see if there was any hope--my poor little guy was hungry and my milk seemed to be dwindling further! With precipitously plummeting prolactin levels and on the brink of tears (Rants aside, I'm a breastfeeder. I don't ween until my kids can talk and walk. Period.), I nodded through all the advice--pump after every feeding, fenugreek supplements, etc., and then she hit on a tidbit so priceless I can't even believe I'd never heard about it before: power pumping.
It's difficult and super time consuming to essentially double your nursing time by pumping after every feeding, particularly if you have an active or sick toddler on your hands in addition to an infant, so when the lc told me about power pumping, I saw light at the end of tunnel and got straight to work. She told me to pump for ten minutes, rest for ten minutes, on and off, for a total of one hour (of course I did two), to simulate a growth spurt. The best part: you can do it whenever you have time, so I was able to rebuild my milk supply after my guys were already in bed for the night.
I power pumped and took fenugreek three nights in a row and saw a huge increase in my milk that I hadn't seen with the fenugreek + sporadic pumping regimen I'd been futilely practicing for most of the week. For three days,Little Lou had been taking full 8 oz bottles at bedtime after 20 frustrating minutes of succor-less suckling. After the first power pumping session, he nursed for 20 minutes and took 4 ounces. The second night, he nursed for 20 minutes again and took a 2 ounce top up. The third night, he nursed 20 minutes and fell fast asleep, milk drunk.
Power pumping would not only be great for re-gaining a lost milk supply, but would also be a stellar way to stockpile milk if you're going back to a paid job or on a trip away from the kiddos.
Power to the pump, mamas! Let it set you free. (And thanks much to the fab lc at St. Joes!)
When my
brother and I were growing up together, it was him and me, against the
world.We were a team, and although we invariably
drove each other bananas at some point on any given day, we were sister and
brother, through thick and thin.That’s
all there was to it.No discussion.Together we felt bigger, stronger, more
secure, and, best-of-all, we always had a friend through cross-town moves, new
schools, every-other-weekend visits with our father and on family
vacations.So. . . as a sister and newly-minted
mom-of-two, I’m always looking for ways to reinforce the importance of the sibling
relationship because I know whata life
line it can be.
Right
now, with two-year-old and 5-month-old boys, that motherly prodding comes in the
form of obsessively pointing out and exulting images of happy brothers in
magazines, songs, pictures and books. Me: WOW! Look at those brothers! They are having sooo much fun! He's too little now, but soon you'll be having a blast with your little brother! Which is why my new favorite sibling book
is What
Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best, by Laura Numeroff with
illustrations by Lynn Munsinger.This is
a flip-over book that has the story of what sisters do best and illustrations
of sister/sister and sister/brother pairs on one side and identical text with different
illustrations of what brothers do best on the other.
This isn't a book on par with childrens' classics like Seuss, Goodnight Moon, or even The Going to Bed Book, but it is a simple, straightforward and illustrative jumping-off point to talk to the apples of your eye about the perks of siblinghood and all the things they can do together one day. I think it helps my big boy, when he's looking with total bewilderment (see right) at this little attention sponge who, though adorable, only rolls over when he's angry, to know that some day they'll be able to do lots of things together,
like climb trees, ski and help each other out. And, should a little chic come along some day, we'll be all set with the flip side about sisters.
It's a common complaint: You are 6 weeks postpartum, and are proud of yourself for, (A) being out of the house and (B) having showered and applied makeup. As you are strutting happily along, babe in tow, you eventually run into some idiot who says, "So, when are you due?"
This situation happens to us all, and my previous coping strategy was to simply bury the incident deep in my brain, never to be thought of again. But then one of our readers left the following comment:
I have
several tops like these[NOTE: she's referring to the floaty tops featured in our Postpartum Belly Hiding Tops post] that I wore after giving birth in May, and I
was so disappointed and embarrassed when people asked me if I was
pregnant. I wanted to scream...hey, not everyone looks like Heidi Klum
six weeks postpartum. But then I thought maybe it also had to do with
the loose floaty tops I was wearing. Any suggestions for this problem?
I'm pregnant again and want to AVOID this situation in the future!
Sigh. It's best to face this situation head-on. So, is there anything we can do to avoid looking pregnant after we've given birth?
The short answer is: No. Not really. Our bodies just went through 9 months of crazy changes - it's not going to be undone overnight. One O/B told me to think about it this way: It takes 9 months for your body to get that big, it's probably going to take another 9 months for your body to go back to normal. At least. And as someone who got scary-big (click link then scroll down for a pic), I get it.
There are, however, a few strategies worth trying:
Choose tops that skim over the pooch.
While I know that this silhouette can be very maternity-top, you can always rein in the fabric with a banded bottom, like Forever 21's Gale Gathered Front Tunic, $13.80. We also pictured a several of these types of tops in our first and second Hide the Postpartum Pooch posts, if you need more ideas.
Show some cleavage.
Typically, postpartum boobs are still huge, whether you are nursing or not. And if you are nursing, well...they are epic. Nothing makes you look bigger than big boobs, all covered up in fabric. So choose a deep v-neck, cowl, or a large scoop neck. Anything that shows some cleavage. Again, the Gale Gathered Front Tunic does a nice job of both camouflaging the pooch and showing some cleavage.
Disguise the Pooch In a Pattern.
Look for patterns that are a bit busy and
asymmetrical. I know that sounds horrible. Admittedly, it's hard, but not impossible, to find busy, asymmetrical patterns that are cute. The goal is distraction.
Florals are huge for Spring, and I'm loving Forever 21's Tropical Floral Top, $15.80. It has a banded bottom, a low neckline, and a busy, asymmetrical pattern to disguise a postpartum pooch. Wow - it hits all three strategies. So if the sight of your fantastic cleavage isn't enough to draw the eye up, all of that floral goin' on will nicely camouflage the pooch.
Try Some High-Waisted Jeans
I know you are thinking, WHAT????? But consider this: your postpartum pooch is very, very soft. It's really just extra skin and lots of...jelly-like stuff. Ugh. But the good news is that it squishes down quite a bit. Zipping it up into a pair of high-waisted jeans helps keep it under control, and gives you a bit of support that will actually feel good 6 weeks postpartum. Really. You want the high waist tight, but not so tight you can't breathe.
These jeans are a bonus for c-section girls: many low-waisted jeans can irritate your very sensitive scar. High-waisted jeans were the only thing I could wear for months (besides sweatpants, obviously), and to this day, there are times when my scar still gets irritated and I pull them back out. Ahhhh....relief.
Just because you have high-waisted jeans doesn't mean you need to show off the high waist until you are ready (read: have lost the jelly-belly). Just pull tops down over the high waist. No one will be the wiser. Since high-waists have been around a while (the fashion mags seem to love/hate them every 6 months), they are currently really easy to find, and often on sale. Personally, I really liked Seven For All Mankind's High Waist Bootcut Jean, $196 at shopbop.com.
Try the Tupler Exercises
WIth many pregnancies,the outmost halves of the abdominal muscles seperate a bit, making it hard for you to regain your pre-baby belly. Doing the right kind of abdominal exercises mays help. Julie Tupler, RN developed an exercise (the Tupler Technique) that can help women pull these muscles back together. Medline has a great interview with Julie Tupler (with her instructions on the exercise), but for a quick synopsis of just the exercise, go to Fit Pregnancy's article.
Wrap Up the Belly
Julie Tupler recommends wrapping your belly in her Tupler Diastais Rehab Splint, $35 (pictured at right), or you could always try the Belly Bandit Bamboo, $66 (pictured at left). Both products pictured are from Becoming Mothers in Boulder, CO. The Tupler Splint helps target the the seperated muscles specifically, while the Belly Bandit helps reduce uterine swelling, water retention and offers back support.
For an even more affordable approximation, you can always try a simple Ace Bandage. Ask the hospital for one before you leave - they'll give you one for free. I wore mind daily for several weeks. I don't know if it reduced uterine swelling or helped with my diastais, but I do know it made life much more bearable, helped support my aching body, and hid the pooch a bit. Next time around I might try the Belly Bandit. It fits nice and low, and looks like a c-section girl's best friend.
So hopefully this will help avoid any awkward, "Are you STILL pregnant? Oops - there's the baby!" situations in the future. But probably not. Just remember: pooch or not, your baby is pretty darn sure you are the most gorgeous thing he (or she) has ever seen.
Ten minutes is a precious commodity in the life of a new
parent.Think of all the things you can
do in that very short period of time: shower (!), check your email, pay
your bills, empty the dishwasher, call your best friend, clear the drain of all that hair you're shedding, paint your toenails,
savor a cup of coffee or tea . . .But where on EARTH will you find ten minutes
for all of these gloriously luxuriant activities I speak of, you ask?Where indeed.You need the right toys for your kiddo, ones that will enable her to
play independently for short (~10 minute) periods of time.Toys that will engage and stimulate him and make
your life about a thousand times easier, both in the short term and in the long
run. In time your peanut’s attention span will grow and he’ll be able to play independently
for longer periods of time—an important life skill he’ll need.
Aren’t you the chick who spent $125.99 on a ridonculous
play mat when you already had a $40.00 version you really liked? You might
ask.I could say I bought that play gym
as research for this blog, but in the interest of full disclosure, the truth is
I still have plenty of room for mistakes in the area of baby accoutrement.BUT, I’m telling you that, beyond a shadow of
a doubt, and after watching my boys play with the same stuff over the last two
years, I have 100% mastered toys for the 0-6 month set.
I’ve whittled the seemingly endless list of useless baby gadgetry
I’ve purchased down to the essential toys that actually get played with, and
I’m confident these items are close to, if not all, the toys you’ll need for
your kiddo, up to about 5 or 6 months.
Amazing
Baby Blanket Teether Bear - $13.00 This sweet little bear is a great at-home and car toy.It crinkles, squeaks, has multiple textures,
rings for easy grasping and teether paws.
Baby Buzz’r
- $13.95 This toy is a tender, low-key version of baby shock-and-awe.It doesn’t have independent play staying
power, but watch as your fussy little or gal becomes mesmerized and contentedly
quiet, buying you the few moments you need to check out at the grocery store or
finish a phone call before an all-out meltdown.
Baby
Sweet Dreams Crib Mirror - $8.99 I’m a huge fan of mirrors for babies. I have lightweight shatterproof mirrors above
both my sweet-peas’ dressers and a mirror in my 5-month-old’s crib.Mirrors are fascinating to the little ones
and help with language and social skill development.
Babyville
Activity Toy - $15.95 The only thing babies love more than their own reflection is
another baby.The Babyville Activity toy
has several pictures of diverse cuties, funky and interesting octopus arms with
different textures and ribbon and teether tabs.
Infant-Stim
Mobile - $19.99 The high-contrast and interchangeable images on the Infant-Stim
mobile are a big with hit the 0-6 month set.I can’t count the times I’ve entered the room of both my eldest and
infant son to catch them looking up and laughing or smiling at this mobile,
something I’ve never seen happen with designer mobiles that are appealing to
older folks.I change one of the images
at least once a week and watch as my little guy looks at his mobile with new
eyes, a terrific exercise in observation and memory for his developing brain.When we traveled with my eldest, I’d pop a
few of the cards in my carry-on for a compact, durable on-the-go toy.
Peek
Rattle & Teether - $9.99 A small set of soft blocks are a must.Little people need interesting objects that
are light enough for them to handle but cool enough to hold their
attention.I like this set because they
are made of high-contrast color fabrics and have little windows with other
interesting objects, like a rattle ball, rings and bell, inside.
Really
Big Oball - $16.99 I love the Really Big Oball for tiny babies and older kids
alike. Our tiniest man just hangs out and manipulates
it, looking pretty impressed with himself.I think he gets a kick out of handling something so big, but it’s light
and grasp-able enough for his Lilliputian guns.By the same merit, when his big bro’ punts it across the room, it
doesn’t hurt too much when it connects.
Squish
Classic - $12.04 If you only buy one toy for your 0-6 month old, this should be
it.To observe first my oldest and now
my youngest little man playing with this delightful toy is to witness sheer awe
and absorption.Luv luv luv that it squishes
flat, making it a stellar travel toy, too.
Twist
and Fold Activity Gym - $43.59 As far as I’m concerned, this is the best and cheapest activity gym
out there, and I
have owned three.Moms of little
chicks: do not, not for even for a second, consider purchasing the “girl” pink
vomit version of this gym.The “boy” version
is totally unisex enough.
Congratulations on your new bundle, and enjoy your 10-minute break,
dear mamas!
Honestly, I don't know WHAT had gotten into Glamour lately, but I love it. LOVE it. Pictured at right is Glamour magazine's November cover, featuring all plus size models. And they look beautiful.
Why all the focus on plus-size models? Glamour ran an article this summer, featuring a beautiful women with a (gasp) poochy stomach. She's Lizzie Miller, and her photo garnered tons of comments. So Glamour, realizing that a movement was afoot, ran with it, and hence, November's cover. Well done, Glamour. Read the feature story, These Bodies Are Beautiful At Every Size, or the editor's take.
Furthermore, it's a rare day indeed that I see a national fashion magazine (other than a parenting related mag) showing outfits that are actually practical for running around with a toddler. However, Glamour's 10 Weekend Outfit Ideas are pretty good! I don't like all of them, but there are a ton ideas for us moms to glean. And you know I love look 10 - it's all about a scarf.
Glamour, how refreshing. It's so nice to see a serious fashion magazine embracing what we've known all along: Poochy stomachs, c-section scars, a little extra on the arms, hips and butt doesn't prevent one from being beautiful. It's all part of the package.
Let's hope that our culture's obsession with unhealthy thinness is, like stirrup pants, an awkward trend that's on it's way out.
If I'm honest with myself, I didn't love being pregnant. I wasn't sure if I had a maternal bone in my body, so pregnancy (and a baby) was something that had to grow on me (no pun intended). I did end up embracing my pregnancy, but it took a while. And by "a while" I mean approximately 8 months. Comments from my coworkers (who obviously regarded me, a pregnant woman, as a freak of nature) certainly didn't help.
Now, secure in my status as a mom (and having lost, for the most part, my HUGE pregnancy belly), I find their comments hysterical. I mean SERIOUSLY. People SAID these things. Out loud.
NOTE: One would assume, from the comments, that I was the hugest pregnant lady who ever lived. At the very bitter end, my belly WAS huge. However, most of these comments came when I was still a cute little preggo lady (see pic). There's just no excuse for these people.
I had a good day today. After Mike came home, he took the babe, and I went out to do errands for my summer trip home. I ended up in Gap Body, looking at bikinis, which are currently on sale for a mere $5 - $12 a piece. So of course I had to try some on. I was looking for something simple. That's all. And by simple, I mean something that makes me feel like a tan, Brazilian supermodel sex goddess. A tan, Brazilian supermodel sex goddess who needs a bottom that comes up high enough to hide her c-section scar. And a seat large enough to cover the pregnancy induced cellulite that still hasn't gone away. And a band that doesn't sit too tightly on my hips, lest my tan, Brazilian supermodel sex goddess muffin top is squeezed. I'm still nursing, so thankfully the boobs are Brazilian super model sex goddess all by themselves. I actually had to squeeze those babies into a Large top (NOTE: My pre-baby boob size was XS) to keep them in the said Brazilian supermodel sex goddess category - otherwise, they would easily flow into the Pamela Andersen wannabe porn star category. Which would be, to use a favorite term from my childhood, "highly inappropriate."
In spite of
my apparent bitterness about the breastfeeding establishment, I loved
breastfeeding my son. I can’t sing its praises high enough and I know I
will breastfeed all of my children. Not only is breastfeeding close and
tender and healthy and sweet, it is cheap, convenient and fab for your
metabolism—not to mention a fun boost for the décolletage, too. They
don’t call it a milkshake for nuthin’, girl.
But I
have a laundry list of things I wish I’d known when I’d started and found out
too late. If you’re expecting your first and your girlfriends haven’t
dished, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about—just pop that kiddo
on and gas ‘em up, right? But as it turns out, breastfeeding might not be
as easy as you would think and feeding in general is the lynchpin of your
child’s universe. As such, it affects every critical aspect of your early
existence together, from sleep (oh, sleep!), to your enjoyment of activities
other than your babe and your ability to get out the door in a somewhat timely
fashion.
I don’t
pretend to be a breastfeeding expert, but I’ve done it for roughly 14 months so
far and this is the advice I give to friends and that I’m going to try with
this new babe from the get-go.
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