Keeping Up With Baby

"I feel the need. The need for speed." - Mavrick, Top Gun

   I'm tired, guys. We as parents spend so much time getting excited for our wee ones to start walking, that we forget how much work it really is to deal with them once they've started walking! Our Wee Lass started walking about a month ago and she hasn't stopped since. There is also her fascination with the garbage, so when she's grabbed any number of discarded trash pieces, catching her is like wrangling cats. It's certainly added a layer of stress, but we wanted this, right? 

   There are certainly some difficulties that come with your toddler starting to walk. Every ledge and corner becomes a death trap. Since newly walking toddler all look like they are drunk, EVERY side of them is destined for some kind of infant fender bender. We watch for corners, surfaces that can pinch, toy land mines left on the floor, unattended stairs, and so on, and so on. With an 8YO and 4YO, there is plenty left within reach of "the runner". I mean, when we watched The Croods as a family, the older two immediately adopted the phrase "Release the baby!"

   So given that it was inevitable, and each phase only lasts so long, I thought a quick post recording this point in time was relevant. I wish you all in the same situation my best. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Though, sometimes you WILL be sprinting. Just remember to stay hydrated. 

J. 

When Babies Start Crawling

"Whoever wields this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." -Odin, Thor

   The time has come. Yes, it is now the time when we shall have no rest, yea no sleep. Our Wee Lass now "wields the hammer" of mobility. It's funny,..we knew it was coming, but not so fast! Now we're frantically jumping up from the our seated position every two minutes trying to prevent her from ingesting a block, a shoe, a crayon wrapper, the plague, etc. As our 'Lil Miss is a pack rat and our 'Lil Man is, well, a boy,...it's not that easy.
   What does life look like when your baby starts to crawl? First off, there's the baby proofing. That's standard. One must review the state of the rooms the baby will be in. Sharp edges, access to stairs, small items from other children's toys, etc, are all on the list of review and renovation. Depending on how quickly the child can move, grab, and open, baby proofing cabinet and drawers might be right on the heels of the other items.
   The other item that may play into how fast you take care of those items would be how aware you are of your creepy crawler. See, there are two types of creepers in my opinion. There's my Wee Lass, the grunter, who sounds like she's pinching one off with each army crawl she does. This makes her easy to keep track of, and therefore we haven't had to make a ton of changes all at once. Then there's the "binja", or baby ninja. Having mastered the art of the infant ninja within, you turn your head for a minute and the child has the car keys and is halfway to Vegas before you can do anything about it. If you have one of those and need a support system, drop me a note and we can talk. Our 'Lil Man was a third degree binja.
   They are precious moments. Don't forget to capture them on film. Then you'll remember how cute they were after you're done pulling out your hair keeping up with them. Good luck!

J.

Baby Milestones - Rolling Over

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;
the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ― Plato

   I love to watch the progress of each baby that comes into our lives. Our Wee Lass has just started rolling over and it made me think of how fearless these little ones are. They are truly fearless when it comes to progress, learning, and so forth. It's funny how we can react in two directions when this kind of thing happens. There is a war "whoop" of excitement and success, followed by a realization that things are about to change rapidly. 

   We immediately want to get the carpets cleaned. It's also very apparent how many little things are left on the ground by our 3 and 7 year old kiddies. Her play mat is suddenly too small as she rolls into the padded arms that hold up her hanging toys. Then there's my panic that she'll perfect crawling too soon, a REAL game changer. 

   I also realize how fast time goes. Our Wee Lass is over 4MO, and we're already at rolling. The Wife and I have been trying to remember to savor each moment. We try to be more patient with the late nights and such. She seems heavier each day, but I love to hold my baby, as I at one point I thought I'd never do that again. So I'm now in the last rolling phase of my children (that I know of). I'm in the daddy zone, and I'm afraid of how I will feel once certain phases are over.

   Pay attention, cherish each moment, take LOTS of pictures (one can always delete, never create afterward). Now,...Autobots.....ROLL OUT!!!

J. 

Bye-Bye Binky - Pacifier Exorcism

 

"Do thou snatch treasures from my lips, and I'll take kingdoms back from thine."

- Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Photo courtesy of America Bronzing Co.

   Binky, bubba, pacifier, pacies, dummy, soothies, etc. It's gone by many names, but meant one thing for our little ones. Comfort. You ever give your little one their binky and their eyes glazed over in comforting goodness? Those of you who know the international trading laws that go with trying to kick the binky habit can give me an AMEN. Those of you who don't,......prepare yourself. Or don't. We just said goodbye last night to our 'Lil Man's, and here's the score for our three kiddies:

'Lil Miss: Hit her mouth on a window ledge back in the day, and didn't want it thereafter. SCORE!
'Lil Man: Chewed it beyone recognition and said goodbye to his last one, last night. Verdict is not in yet, but he did pretty good all night without it.
Wee Lass: Hates 'em with the white hot intesity of a thousand suns. I think she'd prefer a mouth full of bees before she'd take a binky!

Tips: We used bribery, trade, and finally used the old art of distraction. I reminded my 'Lil Man that he knew the consequences of chewing on his friend. Then I used verbal smoke and mirrors to keep his mind off it. I told him an extensive bedtime story, which turned out to be very entertainng (look for my first children's book hit entitled "The Dragon Who Liked Chocolate", summer of 2014). We actually ended up hitting 4 of the 6 tips offered over at Circle of Moms.

Let me know if you have any other experiences, tips, rants, etc.

J.

The Pee-Pee Teepee

     Okay, so I laughed right out loud when I got a set of these as a gift after the birth of my son. At first, I had no clue as to what they were. Then I read the title of the product. The "Pee-pee Teepee", by Beba Bean. They come in an array of styles to choose from, allowing you to express yourself, while your son expresses himself. I kept them in the packaging until my first incident. Implementation followed shortly after. Give 'em a try and you won't experience the following: 

J.