Parenting Children

Spring is that time of year when I get the inspiration to clean the heck out of my house. The best helper of all the cleaning helpers in the world?
MyDyson vacuum. 5 minutes for mom is sponsering a contest for you to win a new Dyson slim vacuum. I promise you will love it.

Go on, hurry,contest is open until Aril 4th.

My son is a crier.

There, I said it.
That took a lot to admit but he is a crier. I have made it acceptable by using keywords to friends such as “sensitive” or “emotional” which he is, but really? Maybe he is just a crier.

He was always my more emotional child. He would cuddle with me and be my food network watching friend, he was generous with his hugs and kisses and so very loving. His twin sister was always too busy to stop and spread the kisses. She would only sit on your lap for more then 10 seconds when she was sick.

L will cry if you scolded him, he would cry if another child took his toy, he would cry if there were bigger kids on the jungle gym and he was intimidated. I felt myself being frustrated with him, seeing his sensitiveness as a weakness, a trait nobody wants to see in their child.

As their first school year is winding down, I can see the changes in him. Does he still cry? Yes, but it is not every day and it is not for “any” reason anymore. He is more confident and strong. He does not clutch to my leg when I try to leave his classroom, he interacts with all the kids, not just his sister.
I have grown too, I realize that he is not weak, he is strong.

He can cry and that is ok, I will never let myself feel frustrated by it. It is who he is. He is not defined by it but it is a tiny part that comprises his personality.

He is empathetic, loving, sweet and caring and he is undoubtedly one of the greatest people I have ever met.

crying, kids, preschoolers, toddlers, emotional kids, moms, parenting, love

The love between a father and his son:

sailor surprises his son, fathers and sons, dads, children, love,

Check out this hysterical video on how to potty train your kids:

potty training, kids, learning to use the potty, funny videos

The choice for me to stay at home with our twins was made for me. My husband was transferred 1.5 hours away from our hometown where all of our friends and family are when I was 8 months pregnant. I would have to leave my job, and there was nobody to watch our kids full or part time unless we put them in daycare. With two infants, the cost of daycare would have taken up 75% of my paycheck and therefore, not financially worth working outside the home.

I am thankful, because I love staying home with my kids and I couldn’t imagine them staying with a stranger all day.

Many mothers chose to continue their career or do not have a choice in the matter. They leave their children in daycare during their working hours and I am sure that must be very hard.

Today, an article in the New York Times caught my eye about children in daycare. An American child care center has found a preschooler who is in day care for at least one year has an increased chance of having behavior problems in grade school up until the sixth grade.
This was despite the child’s gender, parent’s income or the quality of the day care center.

What does this mean? I guess that we need to be more sensitive to children’s development and how hard it may be to transition into grade school.

What do you think of this study?

You can read the entire article from the New York Times here.

daycare, kids in day care, preschoolers, moms, dads, working mothers

My twins go in and out of being picky eaters just like most preschoolers. Sometimes they will eat everything and anything that I have in the house, other times they suddenly are repulsed by granola bars and hate mini bagels.
Those are the times when I start pulling out my hair.

I have a few tricks that gets my kids to eat even when they are on a eating strike.

Kids love to dip anything, put fruit chunks on popsicle sticks and lt them dip their “kebobs” into yogurt.

My children love to dip vegetable sticks into spinach dip that I make. They will eat tons of it and I even serve it for lunch sometimes.

Tortilla chips and salsa is a great snack, one that I even pack for lunch for them.

My sister and I loved celery sticks with cream cheese or peanut butter when we were kids and although at first my kids were not into it, but after watching an episode of Wonder Pets (who eat celery), they now love it.
I add raisins and tell them to eat all of the ants on the log.

Fruit and nut granola in yogurt is one of their everyday favorites and I love it for breakfast or after dinner snack also.

Lastly the new trick in my house to get a child to finish their meal is to tell them not to.
I will say “OK R, that sandwich doesn’t want you to be eaten” ” Don’t you eat it”. That gets her giggling and eating it all up as I feign horror.

[picky eaters, preschoolers, toddlers, snack ideas, parenting ideas, parenting help, meal ideas for kids, moms [/tags]

It was 8pm and both of my children have been in bed for a half an hour. My husband and I were excited to sit down and watch TV together with a little wine.
As we debated which show to watch we heard footsteps. Someone has come downstairs and I know exactly how it is going to play out.

“R, what are you doing out of bed?” I asked.
“I have to ask Daddy something Mommy”
“Daddy, L said we should get out of bed and tell you we can’t sleep and we want to watch a show in L’s room”
“Oh? L said?” my husband asked.
“Yes, Daddy, just one show, just one and then we will go to bed” She told him cocking her head to one side and sparkling those big blue eyes at him.
I knew he was in trouble. BIG trouble.
“Ok, just ONE show though and no fooling around!” he told her trying to sound stern

“Oh now we make bargains with four year olds? I ask my husband
He just turned and smiled. My kids knew who to send down as a representative for their cause and which parent to ask. They know he is more lenient when it comes to things like watching TV or getting chips packed in their lunches.

All I can do is laugh, because he has the daughter and son he always wanted and they have him wrapped around their little fingers.

parenting, Dads, spoiled kids, spoiling kids, life with kids, moms

Everyone knows that new babies sleep all the time. Everyone that is, except the new baby.
Just ask my friend A whose adorable son is just four weeks old.

She is struggling with night feeding when the baby just wants to be awake and every fiber of your being wants to be asleep. After all, he is sleeping most of the day while you are attending to his every need. Did he forget to read the sleep memo you gave him in the womb?

I wanted to strangle the people who told me to “just sleep when the babies sleep”. That is great, in theory, but then when do you shower/eat/make bottles/clean/do laundry/make SOS calls to your husband? That didn’t work for me.

The best laid plains can backfire but at least you have a plan to agree on. I think planning on who is going to do what feeding with your husband or partner is a good idea even before you have the baby.
Who likes to go to sleep earlier? That person can take a morning feeding.
When can you pump during the day to make sure there is a bottle ready for your partner in the night so you can get that block of 3-4 hour uninterrupted sleep? That four hour block makes such a difference on your outlook for the day.

Try and make sure your baby can “self soothe”. Babies do wake up at night, even if your child sleeps through the night, but the difference is he is putting himself back to sleep without your assistance.
Stimulating him by rocking or picking him up and singing to him doesn’t give him the skills to get himself back to sleep.
I know, easier said then done when there is a crying baby at 3am!

My only other piece of advice is accept help. When people come over and tell you they will watch the baby, don’t feel bad or that you have to entertain them, accept the help and take a nap. The dishes will wait.
After all they are there to see the baby, not you.

infants, sleep, babies and sleep, new moms, pregnancy, first time moms, sleep advice

When someone says these two words to you, what springs to your mind: new baby.
I know what comes first to my mind, luscious, smooth baby skin. For some babies this soft skin doesn’t last because 20% of all babies have eczema, a skin condition that leaves scaly, dry patches in certain spots on your child or in more severe cases, all over.
It is itchy and uncomfortable to have.

It also can be inherited.
A family that suffers from the “atopic triad” of linked ailments (hay fever, asthma, and eczema) may have children throughout generations that can have either these illnesses or eczema.

Although it can never be “cured” most kids will outgrow eczema by the time they are seven years old or so. In other cases it can be controlled by diet, or by recognizing what is triggering it like detergent, food (milk, eggs, nuts or tomatoes)pet dander and dry skin.

If your child has eczema remember to moisturize well and when it comes to moisturizers, less is more. My rule of thumb is, the more natural the ingredients and the ones with the least amount of chemicals you cannot pronounce is the better one for your child’s skin.
As always if you think that your child’s rash is more then just eczema or if your child is very uncomfortable and nothing is working, consult your doctor. They can prescribe steroid creams that work very well for the more extreme cases.

eczema, rashes, babies, infants, kids, skin rash, moisturizers, lotions for kids, parenting

I think the hardest part of being a child is the pressure to conform. You remember what it is like to have the same jeans or shoes as all your friends or how you talked just like your friends.
You wanted to fit in, to be like them so you didn’t stand out. The kids who stood out were the “freaks” or “nerds”.

Nobody wanted to be labeled. Nobody wanted to be different. A lot of the times the “in or cool” things are the expensive purses or designer shirts. Many parents can’t afford those things, or think it is ridiculous to pay $49.00 for a T-shirt. Who can blame them?

That is why I am liking school uniforms more and more. To create an even playing ground, so in school everyone looks the same. Individuality or creativity with clothing will have to come after school and on weekends. It could also help curb gang violence or theft in schools.
How do you feel about this?

school uniforms, school, kids, conforming, parenting

Today it is going to be 66 degrees here. It may not sound like much to many of you, but to a NJ girl even with a mild winter, it sounds like heaven to me. It means no heavy coats, no mittens or hats to keep on two kids and it means we can go visit our dear old friend, the park.

What that means is that spring is right around the corner,(hopefully!) and we may get a chance to go away on vacation. In the past all of our vacations have taken us to Florida where E’s parents and one of his sisters live. Florida is great for kids because, well, you all know why.
NJ has terrific beaches and we always frequent those every summer, they have family friendly things to do for kids of all ages.

I am looking for something new, a new destination and a new adventure.
Somewhere that is great for adults as well as my two four year old children.

I am going to have to ask Jill at family trip deals, she has amazing ways to save money on any vacation and the pictures she posts make you want to pack your bags right away!

Where do you go for family vacations? Are there any places you just love for family friendly getaways or events?

vacations, family travel, traveling with kids, vacation with kids, kids, parents, family getaways

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions on the breast and bottle post. You can see in the comments that she tried a lower flow nipple and now the baby will take the bottle! Yay!

Now she is having another problem very familiar to me, hair loss.

I started losing my hair about 4-5 months after I had the babies. It seemed like the primary goal of my body was to rid itself of every little hair on my head. I had bald spots, like a receding hairline. My hairdresser said if I didn’t have so much hair, I would have been in worse shape then I was in.
I was like a snake shedding its skin. It was everywhere and it was grossing me and my husband out.

We would find it on the kitchen floor, in the shower, on our pillowcases, in the babies cribs, everywhere but my head.

Why couldn’t we lose our underarm hair instead? Or our leg hair?

That would so rock, not only do we have a new baby at home but also, now we freed up some time because we don’t have to shave our legs anymore!
Oh, What I would have done with that free time.

I would have slept.

hair loss, pregnancy, women, mothers, moms, life after baby

My friend has a daughter who is a little over five months old. She has exclusively breast fed her for this entire time. It wasn’t always easy but she stuck it out and I am proud of her for that.

The problem is now, that she cannot leave the baby for more then 2 hours because she is breast fed. Obviously it is not always convenient to take a baby everywhere you go, so she pumps. The baby will not take the bottle. She will cry herself to sleep refusing that bottle and my friend will have to cut her outings short to come home and feed her.

I assume the baby is so used to her breast that she doesn’t want the bottle, and I suggested she try a different nipple or bottle or even a bigger nipple on the bottle so it flows more like her breast. Trial and error are what motherhood is all about anyway right?

What do you think all wise mothers out ther, what do you suggest my friend does to get her daughter to take a bottle?

parenting, breastfeeding, bottlefeeding, weaning, infants, babies, nipple refusal, bottle refusal, mothers, moms

I understand that all labels are not created equal, especially women’s. I know that some retailers have a bigger cut of pants with a smaller size on the label to inflate our ego. I like to see a smaller then usualy number onmy label, but my kids can’t read yet.
So then why are all 2T kids clothes not all the same size?
Why do one brand of 2T pants look like capris on him and another like extra long bell bottoms?

You need to have a good memory when you shop for kids clothes, does this look to small for her? Is she really this long? How old is he again?
The age, weight and even height doesn’t cut it anymore, some things just run so small while others run huge.

The only pants I can buy for my son are from Gymboree or Baby Gap because they have adjustable waists that he needs because he is so thin. Some Old Navy pants have adjustable waists now and I see that they also have a “husky” section.
Target brand(Cherokee) t-shirts run a tiny bit small in our case but for the small price tag, the shirts do last a long, hot summer.
Gymboree to me fits true to size, maybe even a little big. I love gymboree and their clothing is made very well, some have lasted three or four kids in my extended family!
Old Navy pants run small to size for me, especially the girls pants which never seem long enough.
Carters runs true to a little small for size. Although they usually have height and weight chart on their tags so it is easier to find a good fit.
I also love baby gap, they have stylish clothing and their little dresses for girls are always so cute! They seem to run pretty true to size, but I do always buy one size up in t-shirts.

Girls bathing suits also never run true to size for me, I have had to buy at least one size bigger since she was 18 months. What is that about?

What do you think? Why are all kids clothes not created equal? What are the best brands to stay true to size?

children, babies, infants, kids, clothing, kids clothes, kids sizing, childrens clothing, moms, Gap, Old Navy, Gymboree, Target

One of the best things about being pregnant is the ultrasound. A tiny glimpse into the miracle that is your baby. Growing every day and changing, little buds that turn into feet and hands, sucking their little thumbs, floating in their protective sacks.

Since I had twins, I had more ultrasounds then the singleton pregnancy and for that I was happy. When I was pregnant the ultrasound “boutiques” started to become popular. You know, where you go in and for $300 you can have some 3D ultrasounds of your baby?
Of course I can understand wanting to see your baby’s development and growth and who he looks like but to me ultrasounds were always for medical diagnosis and not to be done for fun.

How do you feel about souvenir videos or photographs of your unborn baby? Do you think it is safe enough to do?

ultrasounds, sonograms, 3d ultrasounds, pregnancy, babies, pregnant