As I've mentioned before, our apartment doesn't have air conditioning. It's not so bad, even in this heat wave, but no matter the temperature we have to escape every once in a while. Especially when Kenzo is cranky and not napping. Distraction is key and the best kind of distraction for him is a different environment! If it's nice outside we'll take a walk, come home, go to the grocery store, come home, go to the park, come home, etc etc. Anything to break up the day. But it's too hot for those lovely adventures so I thought I'd give the library a shot. We go there every Monday and Wednesday for their free Babies & Books classes, and recently we've been popping in to get those board baby books as we only have about 10 at home and I was soooooooooooo tired of reading them over and over again! Now we go about twice a week and get about 10 each time. Not sure Kenzo cares about it but I'm all excited to read the different stories!! Some are so fun and cute, others are a joke - like really, how did this get published? I could have come up with something more interesting! haha! I digress. Where I was going with this is that I took Kenzo to the lil' kids area of the library today to just hang out for the first time. They have a special room that is semi-sound proofed with a door that shuts. I brought a big blanket for him to sit on since the carpet in there is pretty cruddy (they don't have a shoes off policy, boo!!). I brought 5 squeezy blocks and a couple of other toys. There were a couple of other families in there reading and I sat him down and started stacking his blocks for him and letting him knock them over. There was a little boy walking around the room shoving crackers in his mouth, making a terrible mess on himself and the floor all over the room. Cue disapproving mom face. *SMH* I think he was with his nanny, but I didn't call her that, remembering all the responses I got from yesterday's post saying people thought they were a nanny to their baby simply because their skin tones didn't quite match. But not only was this woman a completely different complexion but if she was related she was his grandmother if anything. But anyway, she was totally ignoring him. Poor guy. He starts inching his way closer and closer to the fun action going on between me and Kenzo and our blocks. Sure enough he is finally brazen enough to join us and start STEALING MY BABY'S BLOCKS, with his crumb covered hands no less. I had been listening out for any sort of sniffle or cough the second he started making his way toward us, so I'm pretty sure we're in the clear there. But crumbs on the blocks Kenzo sucks on. He hasn't had solids yet, who knows what kinda allergies he has yet. CUE ANXIOUS MOM FREAKING OUT. lol
Anyway, I just pushed my worries to the back of my mind and fostered a sharing playful environment between the two of them. Showing them they could stack and knock over the blocks together, and even enjoying the advanced level of play this 2.5 year old had (for example asking him what animal was on each block and what sound it made). The whole time his nanny or grandma or whoever was in the corner of the room not even attempting to join or monitor. That's probably the part I have the most problem with. Until today, Kenzo really hadn't socialized directly with anyone outside of his itty bitty baby cohort, and I liked it that way. I'm a bit uncomfortable with him playing with older kids, because of germs and especially if I'm the only one around to mediate - I can't keep Kenzo from scratching the other kid AND keep the other kid from throwing a toy at Kenzo's head, ya know? Oh, the joy I have to look forward to when Kenzo has a baby brother or sister (in a few years folks, don't get any ideas here!!). On the other hand, playing with older kids is probably good for his development, not to mention it's downright entertaining for him to just observe them and their crazy antics. What do you think? Do you keep your little ones playing with others their own age? Do they prefer playing with older or younger kids?
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First of all, a big HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY to my little man!! I can't believe just 6 months ago I was enduring the biggest most horrendous pain of my life and gifted with the biggest joy of my life!! What a mixed bag of emotions the birthing day is!! I'd like to take a moment to reflect on some of the ups and downs of the last 6 months...
Downs: Lack of sleep, lack of free time (I miss my bazillion TV shows I was addicted to!), lack of alone time with hubby, extreme frustration during the witching hour (evening time when Kenzo's at his crankiest), lack of money (we haven't really dipped into our savings but I do our financials at the end of each month and I miss seeing it actually go UP - missing the dual income). Ups: Seeing Kenzo's constant development both physically and emotionally, his laughs and giggles and smiles, all my awesome new mama friends, juggling baby and Miny Moe and this blog and Mommy Nearest is a struggle but really fulfilling, feeling more a part of society (we go to the weekly library classes, strangers say hello on the street, I'm active in the local community through FB's Bay Ridge Parents, Bay Ridge Baby Mamas, and Bay Ridge Swappies). Best of Times: * Witnessing Kenzo roll over for the first time - I screamed SO LOUD!!! * Tickle time - depending on his mood he's really ticklish on his tummy, armpits, and inner thighs. His laughter is contagious and we both go nuts for a good 10 minutes! * Introducing Kenzo to family and friends for the first time, I feel like such a proud mommy! * Finally making the decision to quit my job and not go back after maternity leave - best decision ever and such a relief once it was finally made! Worst of Times: * Diaper blowouts and poo explosions - all over his back, on my hands, on the wall... ick!!! * Screaming the ENTIRE drive back from NJ after hubby's basketball game. Eventually mama was crying too! * Trip to the ER at 4 days postpartum (for bilirubin check) - what a nightmare and so scary! * Physically for me, the whole 1st 2 weeks postpartum, yuck yuck ouch ouch no fun at all!!
These first 6 months with Kenzo have flown by, I can't even believe it!! Sometimes I wish it'd slow down - he's growing so fast and I feel like if I blink he's going to be graduating high school and leaving us >_< But at the same time, it's so amazing watching him grow and change and learn new things! I guess we just have to savor each moment, take tons of photos and videos, and have another baby when this baby is no longer a baby! haha!!
So how about you?? What have been your ups and downs as a new mom? Me and my Bay Ridge Baby Mamas strollering the mean streets of Brooklyn. Are we ready for a rumble or what?? ^_^
You've heard of "Throw Mama from the Train"? Well, today it was "Throw Sofie from the Stroller". I was hustling home from the grocery store cuz they sky was looking ominous. All of a sudden a lady coming the opposite direction on the sidewalk said "Look out, over there dear". Huh?? I looked where she was pointing. Light years away on the other side of the sidewalk was our little Giraffe Sofie. I looked down at Kenzo in the stroller who was innocently manhandling his little toes in an upside down rolly polly position. Had he seriously just hurled his little Sofie 5 feet away? And without me even noticing?? Wow! Time for this guy to be signed up for little league!!
So, he's got a great arm. In other bodily news - his bottom teeth are seriously about to sprout! And the halo sleep sack success was a fluke... today no such luck. He started flipping in it, and once he realized he could do that, it was all over. Last 2 naps were a no go - wouldn't stop crying and every few minutes when I'd pop in to calm him down he was on his tummy, stuck, ughhhhhhhhhhhh.... I give up on figuring it out and I'll just call it teething... Remember my baby's sleep strike? He's been screaming when being put down for a nap for about 2 weeks now, since we went to my parent's house in North Carolina. Sometimes he will just skip a nap altogether - being completely soothed and calm when I'm in the room and hysterically screaming the second I leave, eventually I give up and wait a couple of hours to try again. Sometimes he'd wake up several times a night, doing acrobatics in his crib, kicking the rail, etc. Was driving me crazy!! He was exhausted and cranky and I felt so bad for him, and myself! Everyone said, "Oh yes, he's teething!". But he doesn't show any kind of pain when he's awake. Sure he has his hands in his mouth 24/7 and leaves a trail of drool wherever he goes, but didn't really seem to be having any sort of discomfort. Just didn't want to go to sleep!
So, I started racking my brain... What happened around the time that we went to North Carolina??? The answer??? The weather turned warmer and we did away with his Halo Sleep Sack! Could that be it??? Let's see! It got cooler and I decided to put him down for his nap in the sleep sack (swaddled with arms out as we'd been doing since he was 4 months). You know what? It was lights out without a peep and he slept for a good hour and a half without moving an inch. WHAT?!?! This has to be a coincidence!! So, I used the sleep sack for the rest of his naps, and bed time, and the next day's naps and bedtime.... sweet sweet glorious calm baby is back. Do we have sleep-crutch on our hands? Quite possibly. Do I care?? HELL NO!!! If this helps my little one get the sound sleep he so desperately (and I so desperately) needs, so be it!! Bring on the sleep sack!!! If anyone recommends a light weight one that still swaddles but is a very thin breathable material - I'm all ears!! I don't think the one we're using will work when the sweltering heat comes back... Oh my god oh my god oh my god what is UP with my child recently?!?!?!?! This dude will just not sleep. He's obviously tired: rubbing his red-rimmed eyes, yawning, fussy. But the second I put him down in his crib it's hysterical crying and screaming. I give him a minute to find his thumb and sooth himself (or a few minutes if I've lost it and need some time to deal with my frustration - as we were directed to do by the nurse who made us sign a waiver saying she told us about "shaken baby syndrome" before being discharged with him after his birth). But it's like all of a sudden he forgot about his thumb, which he used to love and it would calm him down in all of 2 seconds!! My sweet little baby who used to go down for a nap all smiley is now a ferocious best determined to NEVER SLEEP AGAIN!!!
It started when we went down to visit my family in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago, but has been getting progressively worse. And recently the sleep strike has extended into the night. Last night he woke me up 3 times because he had flipped to his tummy and couldn't flip back, twice because he had gotten his feet stuck between the rails of the crib, and another 2-3 times because he was kicking the side of the crib so hard I was scared he might bust the rail off and fall onto the floor (is this one of those unwarranted mom worries, or can it really happen??)!! Finally I couldn't take it and just brought him into bed with me. Daddy is out of town, so there was plenty of space thank goodness. Aghhhh this has got to be some sort of phase he's transitioning through, right? Teething perhaps? But he doesn't seem to be in pain - it seems to be completely emotional. I guess he's getting to that magical point around 6 months where he's developing object permanence and self-awareness and... MANIPULATION!!! I don't want to create a habit where I break down and nurse him back to sleep every time. But I don't want to cause him (and me) undue trauma by just letting him scream his little head off. Meanwhile, I just can't get the title of that one hilariously inappropriate children's book read by Samuel L. Jackson out of my head: "Go the F*K to Sleep!!!" Advice? Support?? Valium??? The creative juices are definitely not flowing today... I'm tired. But I can't blame it on baby! I joined Pinterest yesterday and now have that to add to the time sucking abyss that is social media!! Kenzo usually goes to bed around 10pm and wakes up around 6-7am. So, I know if I go to bed by 10pm (11pm at the latest) I'll be good to go. But recently, man, I really get sucked into Twitter and now Pinterest, ughhhhhh have got to get to bed sooner. Unfortunately they really are necessary for building a business. In just 2 months, Miny Moe has gotten over 600 followers on Twitter and almost 300 "likes" on Facebook. Of course that doesn't directly effect how many sales you'll get, but the more your name is out there the better! Natalie, the owner of Baby List, pinned us on Pinterest the other day and it got over 300 hits, and we got four sales that day!! Used the right way, social media can really help a sister out. So, I'm trying! And, I'm tired...
My sister is coming into town tonight from Montreal for the weekend!!! So today I've been a busy bee. Short of mopping the floors (though I did some spot cleaning of random spit-up stains on our wooden floors), I cleaned up nice and good - dusted, swiffered the floors, cleaned the fridge, reorganized our kitchen cabinets and Kenzo's closet, did laundry - even the sheets and duvet cover!! WHOA!! Hubby is out of town for 2 weeks, and after my sister leaves on Monday, Kenzo and I will fly down to my parents' home in NC. Hubby will return to the apartment several days before us, and so help me god, if this place is a mess when we return.... >_< I'll never forget when we were living together in Japan, the first time I was coming back from a trip home he said that he cleaned up the apartment for me. Wow, I thought, what a catch!! I got to the apartment and it was a TOTAL MESS!!! When he got home from work I was all "WTF is this???" and he was like, "It's clean!!" Turns out we have different definition of clean... his does not include organized and tidied up. Well, it didn't before that incident anyway... we shall find out in a few weeks if he's learned o_o The first postpartum month was rough. I think I showered about once a week. Why you ask? Exhausted, check. Massive leakage from top and bottom that made being nude a nuisance, check. Did I mention exhausted??? I think I stepped up the showers to twice a week during the 2nd month, and then up to 3 times a week the 3rd month. Then, I met my mommy friends and actually started getting out of the house on a regular basis, which forced me to pull it together... somewhat...
So, here is the "SAHM with a New Baby" Style I've been sporting as of lately: 1) Disproportionally tan hands with the to half of fingers still rather pale and a wedding ring tan line, from strollering around the neighborhood endless hours a week. Why no sunblock? Because little one likes to suck on my hands and fingers, and I don't want him ingesting my sunblock. And not sure how much of those chemicals would end up in my milk. And, I'm a secret sun worshiper - shhhhh don't tell my sister! And as for the nails, forget the manicure. Gotta keep these bad boys trimmed short or else I accidentally scratch the bejeezus out of my poor boy when changing his clothes or diaper. Also, cuticles? What are those? Haven't seen mine in a while! 2) My scent? Not the yummy Ferragamo my hubby bought me a couple of years ago that I STILL haven't finished. Oh no. These days it's Eau du Spit-up, which is an interesting blend of sour spoiled milk with a hint of buttered popcorn (more one or the other depending on how digested the spit-up is, yum!). Also have developed a lovely B.O. since giving birth, gotta love those hormones!! Since finding out I was pregnant I stopped using regular deoderant and have been using this great liquid crystal roll-on for over a year now. While pregnant, it worked awesome, I never stunk!! But since giving birth, omg, yuck. It's getting better, slowly, but now summer is drawing near and I'm afraid. But I refuse to wear regular deo cuz of the chemicals and links to breast cancer, and don't know how well the natural sticks work, and what I love about the crystal deo is no more deo stains on my clothes!! Ugh. 3) My hair also screams new mom. Thinning, receding (Again, thanks hormones! Everyone assures me it's temporary, I can only hope!!), and always in a pony tail because little one loves to grab it and pull. He also loves to grab my jugular, I'm serious, my actual vein. If you don't hear from me for a couple of days, just assume that he's ripped it right on out of my neck and look for my obit in the Sunday paper. 4) Jeans and a t-shirt. I'm so so so bored, but this seems to be the only thing I can wear these days. Because of aforementioned spit-up, I don't dare wear anything delicate that can't be washed and dried regularly. I can't wear any relatively low-cut tops cuz I'm always leaning over to get Kenzo into or out of his stroller, and when carrying him he's pulling my neckline dangerously low. I also can't wear dresses because of breastfeeding. What am I gonna do, hike up the entire dress up above my boobs in the middle of the park? Riiiiiiiight. Speaking of jeans, can I just say that my favorite pair right now are maternity jeans from my sister? hahaha!! Even funnier, I couldn't wear them when I was actually pregnant! They're not the full panel kind, they have a thick elastic that went under the belly and was too tight on me, I was worried about hurting the baby! I've been back in my regular clothes since about 2 months postpartum, but these preggo jeans are just so damn comfortable, with the added benefit of skimming valuable seconds off of you trip to the bathroom cuz there is no button or zipper to mess with! haha!! 5) I love wearing Kenzo in his Mei Tai carrier, but there is one big fat problem. Key word here is FAT: Back Fat, Muffin Top, whatever you want to call it. The ties of the carrier dig right into my fat child bearing hips and it's NOT an attractive look. Yikes. 6) As mentioned above in #1, baby has been gnawing on my hands and arms lately. I'm like a human teether, and I enjoy it! But ashy arms is the price I pay since I don't dare use lotion knowing he'll be lapping it up in no time! 7) I've never had the best posture, but since having a baby I have become the hunchback of Bay Ridge! Hours upon hours of walking around bouncing the baby in those first couple of months did it. And now, hunching over the stroller or the crib or the playpen or the changing table, or sitting on the floor playing with him. I need some sort of back brace to force me to sit and stand up straight. 8) I'll finish up on a positive note. I have finally painted my toe nails!!! I couldn't reach my feet (comfortably) during the last few months of pregnancy, and after popping the baby out it was winter so what was the point. And if I was too tired to shower, how could I possibly paint my toe nails? But now spring is upon us and I finally got around to a self-pedicure. Looking down at my feet they look so alien!! What are these hot pink growths on my feet?? But, it was about time. Now if I could just start pumicing and lotioning them up on a regular basis, they might actually be presentable by mid-summer... After my recent research on phthalates and phosphates and all that good stuff, I've decided to give it a go with green cleaning. Due to its acidity, vinegar kills most mold, bacteria, and germs (scientific studies show it does a great job, however not quite as good as the commercial cleaners). So, armed with a gallon of distilled white vinegar and a spray bottle, here is a simple list of recipes and cleaning tips for the budget & eco minded housewife in us all (go here for a much longer list): Disinfect & Remove Mold, Grime, etc: Spray with or wipe with a cloth soaked in undiluted white vinegar, then wipe clean with water-dampened cloth. I think the vinegar kills something like 98% of germs, whereas commercial cleaners are about 99.9%? So, I plan to use the good old clorex wipes to clean up after preparing raw chicken or if it's flue season Clean the Microwave: Mix half a cup of white vinegar and half a cup of water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it til boiling. Apparently it will loosen caked in messes and deodorize it. Wipe clean. Clean the Fridge: half water half white distilled vinegar Clean Grout: spray with undiluted white vinegar, let sit, then scrub with toothbrush Clean Floors: 3 drops dish washing liquid, 1/3 part white vinegar, 1/3 part alcohol, and 1/3 part water. WARNING: do not use white vinegar on marble! Disinfect Baby Toys: add white vinegar to soapy water and wash, or wipe down with undiluted white vinegar and wipe clean with damp cloth (if it's something they'll be teething on, you'd be sure to wash off the vinegar well, or else little one might be quite offended by the taste). Clean Produce: use 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water. For smooth produce (ex. apples) spray with the solution and wash clean. For un-smooth produce (ex. lettuce or broccoli), let it soak in a bowl of the solution for at least 2 minutes, then wash clean. You should clean produce even if you won't be eating the rind (ex. melon), since cutting it would introduce any bacteria from the rind into the part you'll eat. *TIP* Soaking produce for 5 minutes in a half vinegar half water solution will help remove the wax and underlying pesticides. Do NOT use vinegar in you dish washer or washing machine, as it eats away at your rubber hoses and seals. After picking up the vinegar from my super market and the spray bottle from the dollar shop, I came home and got to work! Soaked some brussel sprouts, strawberries, and nectarines in the 1-to-3 part solution. *WARNING* If you have any cuts on your hands, it will BURN! Yowza!! Vinegar is great beyond cleaning. Here is a list of home remedies for whatever might ail you! You can even use it to wash your hair! But I'm not quite there yet...
With the obesity rates of adults and children on the rise, screen time is a big issue that has come up recently. As a child, I don't remember ever having limits set on screen time, but I do remember equally enjoying running/biking around outside and playing our educational Texas Instruments video games. The PC got invented and internet wasn't really a big thing until, gosh, high school? And cell phones, well, didn't have one of those til college! Suffice it to say the world I was raised in and the one I'm raising Kenzo in are two different ball games!
Go anywhere these days and you'll see toddlers playing games on their mom's cell phone, kids playing video games or glued to the tube, teenagers texting til they get carpel tunnel (seriously, it's a thing!). If it has a screen with entertaining stuff moving about on it, the kids want to watch it! But is it healthy? I guess it can be, to some extent. But there is a time and a place for it. Using the TV as a babysitter, well, it's gotta be done from time to time, but can be a dangerous habit to fall into. Kenzo is only 3 months and already getting accidental screen time - when he's on the play mat and the TV is on, he'll crank his neck so that he can see the TV, even if it's on mute! If he's sitting on my lap and I'm trying to finish up an e-mail or check Facebook, he's looking at the screen intently. We skype my parents and sister both once a week, and he's pretty captivated with that already, too! Now he's too young to really understand about what he can and can't have or do, but that will develop soon and hubby and I have to sit down and figure out how to handle restricting screen time, sweets, etc etc. In an ideal world, I'd say no screen time for the 1st 2 years, and after that only 30 minutes a day of educational TV, like sesame street. But who am I kidding?? Internet, TV, movies - these are HUGE in my life, and to limit screen time for my kid also means limiting it for myself. Yikes. Things just got real... |
About ME:I'm a NYC metro area mom blogger living in NJ with my Japanese husband & our 3 kids (twins plus 1), focusing on fun and honest product and travel reviews, saving moms time finding the best for their families! Find what you need in the menu bar or search section above! Categories
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