In case you're new here, here's a recap of my baby's sleeping history: I read "Babywise" at 7 weeks and my little guy quickly took to the eat-play-sleep schedule. By 2 months he was a great napper and slept through the night 6+ hours, by 3 months 9-11 hours straight. I put him down awake, he sucked his thumb and went to sleep quietly. At 5 months all went to hell in a hand basket due to any combo of the following: 1) He cut his bottom teeth and promptly stopped sucking his thumb 2) We had a 1 week vacation to my parent's house 3) He developed object permanence 4) We stopped using his swaddle/sleep sack Around 7 months my sister convinced me to do "Cry It Out" and we gave it a half arsed attempt but had 2 things in our way: 1) It was summer and we don't have AC, so he got way too hot while crying. 2) He gnawed at the crib when we left him in there crying (evidence below) So, I got crib rail covers and waited for the summer heat to fade away. I found the Sleep Sense Program by Dana Obleman (more on that in another post) and decided to give it a go during my husband's next business trip (I don't want Kenzo's crying throughout the night to keep my hubby up, awwwww am I the best wife or what?? ha! Seriously though, he's such a wimp, always pulling baby into bed with us at the first sign of a whimper). In the meantime we've been co-sleeping for the past few months and he's been waking up about every 1-3 hours and cries until he gets a boobie. I whip it out and we both pass out within a couple of minutes. It's really not that bad, but it's not good (what would happen after I wean him??) and his napping has been getting worse and worse as well. We both need to get better sleep! Tonight the sleep training finally commenced! Here's a video selfie just after I put Kenzo down in his crib. Whooooo that sucked... The crying lasted 45 minutes, which funnily enough is the exact time Dana reported as the average time of first night crying on the hundreds of cases she's worked on as a baby sleep consultant. She gives the option of staying in the room with the little one throughout, or just going in to check on him and reassure him. I opted for the second method. I went in at 3 minutes, at 5 minutes, and then 10 minutes a few times. Then I felt like my going in was just working him up even more. So after the 30 minute mark I stopped going in and by the 45 minute mark he was silent. I waited a few minutes then went in to make sure he was ok and in a comfortable position. This is what I found and I almost burst out laughing!!! He was out, kind of in a twilight sleep, and kept sitting up and falling forward over and over again. Really sad actually, but hilarious at the same time. Luckily he didn't wake up when I laid him down. I'm really not looking forward to him waking up in the middle of the night... I have a feeling it's going to be rough!! I blame myself - just giving him the boob to make him go back to sleep has just made him wake up more frequently and become so dependent on me. This might be a tough habit to break! Preemptive strike against possible criticism: Sleep training with or without CIO, no sleep training, breast vs. bottle, SAHM vs working mom, whatever... #ISUPPORTYOU and hope you will support me too. We're all doing the best we can and doing what we feel is right for our families. I would love if you comment with your personal experience, advice, tips, etc. But there is no need for judgement or criticism.
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Struggling to come up with a Christmas wish list for your munchkin? Me too. What's more? I have to come up with his 1st birthday wish list as well (yes, he's a Christmas baby!). I'm in baby toy and gear research hell. Don't get me wrong, it can be fun to troll the internet and pinterest boards and just add away to the registry, but it can be overwhelming as well and end up turning me into a Grinch. Speaking of Grinch... look at what we just got from Manhattan Toy - Whoozit Learn & Play Cube & Grinch toy! How cute is this Grinch doll!?! You know how parents do the Elf on the Shelf to report back to Santa about who's being good or bad little boys and girls? Well, I think Grinch will do an even better job in this house!! ^_^ Here's my little one checking out his new plushie. The Grinch is way cute and so festive, but definitely something to only let the little guy play with while being monitored. Not sure how long those soft little buttons and whiskers will remain in tact! haha!! The Whoozit Learn & Play Cube on the other hand is not only baby friendly but has an assortment of gadgets and gizmos to entertain and develop baby's tactile skills! It's got a little clock, abacus, spin dial, beads, crinkle fabric, a mirror, and lighty-uppy buttons that play music. It bundles up into a neat little cube and then fans out for baby's play time! This cube has quickly become one of Kenzo's favorite toys. At 10 months he can't do some of the functions himself yet, but I'm excited to watch him learn and develop these skills soon! There you have it, 2 Kenzo tested and Kenzo approved toys you can add to your little one's wish list! Or just go ahead and buy the Grinch & Cube today ^_^ **Disclaimer: Although I did receive these products free of charge, I was not compensated in any other way to do this product review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and completely unbiased.
Halloween, oh how I love thee! I have such fond memories of getting all dressed up (Cleopatra, zebra, Village People with friends, you name it!) and going around the neighborhood collecting pillowcase after pillowcase full of candy. MAN it was fun! Now that I have a baby, I'm not so keen on the idea of him collecting and eating tons of candy, but I'm all for the dressing up and trick or treating part! Here's our little monkey all dressed up and ready to hit the streets! First we went to Owl's Head Park for their annual Halloween Party, which was pretty fantastic. They even had a Haunted Walk! We went around 5pm and it was still light outside, and since we had a baby nobody jumped out at us, but it was still pretty darn creepy. Kenzo is too little to understand monsters and ghosts and such so he did fine, but we definitely won't be taking him back there til he's at least 10! After the park, we headed to 3rd Avenue for some Trick or Treating at, get this, the shops!! Apparently the big thing in Bay Ridge is going trick or treating at all the restaurants, pharmacies, and boutiques on the main strip! This was a crazy idea for me but actually was a really fun way to meet all the shop owners and clerks! But never thought I'd carry my baby into a liqueur store and beg for candy, haha!! Even Rite Aid had a worker handing out candy! We even hit up some of the gorgeous million dollar homes in the nabe, but were disappointed that only a very small percentage of houses were participating. I guess that's what happens when you can count on your local shops to hand out candy, haha! When Kenzo was tuckered out, we popped into the Pizza joint for one last trick or treat and some dinner to take home :) Our little monkey did a pretty good job earning candy for mommy and daddy! Next year we'll have to figure out how to implement the "Switch Witch" (she takes kids' candy and replaces it with healthier treats and toys).
If you know me, you know I love free stuff. What I like almost as much as getting free stuff is giving it away! So here ya go mamas and papas, some free stuff for your little one! Enter to win in the raffle box below. Without further ado, here are the prizes in the jackpot going to one lucky winner: Miny Moe Diaper Sampler (6 brands / 30 count) Not all diapers are created equally, and not every brand or style will suit every baby. Saving you time and money, Miny Moe diaper samplers are a great way for you to try out some of the top disposable diaper brands and find out quickly which brand is the best fit for your baby. The winner will receive this pack of 30 diapers (5 diapers from each of the following 6 brands: Honest, Huggies, Pampers, Luvs, Target, & Walmart) and can choose between size Newborn, 1, or 3. You'll also get the Miny Moe score card, which includes categories of price and eco-friendliness (both pre-scored) and allows you to rate each brand on fit, irritation, and design. does Miny Moe was just voted a top 10 baby shower gift in the Red Tricycle Totally Awesome Awards and featured in Momtrends' Baby Shower Guide!! Miny Moe Disposable Nursing Pad Sampler Not only does Miny Moe offer diaper samplers, they also carry nursing pad samplers! Our winner will receive Miny Moe's disposable nursing pad sampler, including one pair from each of the following 3 top brands: Johnson's, Lansinoh, and Nuk. Miny Moe also carries a 6-brand nursing pad sampler that includes washables as well as disposables. These breast pad samplers are great for nursing and pumping moms (and even some women while still pregnant!), so they can find which pad meets their needs in absorbancy, size, visibility, price, and eco-friendliness! Flowspoon Flowspoon is a great new baby spoon that helps baby transition from breast or bottle to spoon. It's SO much easier to use with those first solids, you know, the super duper liquidy ones that are too runny for a regular spoon but too thick for the bottle. See Flowspoon in action here. Our winner will receive one Flowspoon. MAM Start Newborn Pacifier This ultra soft silicone non-bpa pacifier has an anti-slip texture to keep it comfortably in baby's mouth, and a symmetrical nipple ideal for baby's jaw development. The curvature and textures on the shield allow for air circulation, and it's good for 0+ months! Our winner will receive one of these great MAM pacifiers! NUK Genius Pacifier This extra soft and thin non-bpa pacifier was developed by dentists to provide optimal oral development, is suitable for babies age 0-6 months, and 1 will be going to our winner! Boogie Wipes Saline Wipes (Sample & Coupon) Boogie Wipes are gentle saline wipes developed by moms tired of using dry tissues on their children's runny noses. They come in scented (grape or fresh) and unscented. Our winner will recieve a Grape scented Boogie Wipes sample and coupon. Dapple Baby Laundry Detergent (Sample & Coupon) Dapple laundry detergent is hypoallergenic and free of parabans, phthalates, 1,4-dioxane, SLS, SLES, fragrance, and dyes. It's biodegradable, made from natural ingredients, and perfect for baby's clothes and cloth diapers. Our winner will receive a sample of this great detergent as well as a coupon. Boudreaux's Butt Paste (Sample) This zinc oxide based cream can be used to prevent and treat diaper rash. With a mild smell, it spreads on and wipes off easily, and with this sample our winner can give it a try! You gotta get in it to win it, so enter in the Rafflecopter box below (US residents over the age of 18 only please)! Don't forget, you can get extra entry points daily with tweeting, facebook shares, and pinning! ^_^
Kenzo just hit 10 months, actually about 30 minutes ago! ^_^ I really can't believe how fast he's growing, it's kind of scary! Exciting, but scary. One by one his friends are all turning one year old and all the moms say what a hard day it is, full of sobbing and memory lane. I feel full of anxiety just thinking about that and it's still 2 months away!! Speaking of turning one, we just booked his birthday party - we're gonna have a joint one with 2 of his baby friends who were all born within a week of each other during the crazy week of Christmas and New Year. Of course all 3 of us moms have been sucked into Pinterest getting ideas for save the dates and invitations and decorations and food and.... Man, that thing is EVIL! haha!! Anyway, back to my 10 month old little one... he's got 6 teeth now (4 top, 2 bottom), is taking solo steps, usually about 2 but up to 5 at a time! I introduced chicken and turkey so he's no longer a vegetarian! He is really into cuddling now which is uber uber cute, he is also a big fan of clapping, waving, and most recently throwing things. Ha! He's still a monster at night (since about 6 months) waking up multiple times and I've totally been enabling him as I just pull him into our bed and nurse him back to sleep cuz it's the fastest and easiest. He's dealing with his 3rd cold in about 6 weeks, but I swear as soon as he recovers we're conquering this sleep thing!! You're in for it little dude!!! Also as one year approaches I'm having to think about the whole going back to work thing. I really really don't want to. I've got my hands in so many pies at the moment (blogging, Miny Moe, Mommy Nearest, Kidz Central Station, Eczema Company, and of course my Facebook groups Bay Ridge Baby Mamas and Bay Ridge Swappies) none of them raking in a ton of cash but together they take care of groceries, haha. But they keep me busy and my hope is that through them I'll develop the right skills and meet the right people so when/if it comes time for me to find a 9-5 again I'll have some good connections. And no one can ever say I was just twiddling my thumbs during maternity leave, that is FOR SURE!!
The first annual New Jersey Baby Bazaar is set to take place on Sunday, November 3 from 10:30am-5pm at the W Hotel Hoboken (conveniently located just 3 blocks from the PATH station, making it easily accessible from NYC).
Presented by Mommies 247 and Jumblzar, the Baby Bazaar will be an "exclusive all day family event that helps you connect with all the top baby brands, local businesses and experts". And heeeeeeeeey I've got the hookup!! 50% off tickets, whoohooooo!! Just purchase your tickets HERE and enter the code "BloggerFriend13". Check out more info in the flyer below or on their website! See you mamas and mama-to-be's there!! Have a child that you don't keep home locked up in a bubble? Yes? Then get used to cold after cold after cold running amok in your family. Or at least that's what everyone's been telling me. We made it 9 months before baby's first cold (followed without a break by baby's second cold - both of which he passed on to me. Before that it had been over 2 years since my last cold!).I've heard that colds will strengthen baby's immune system, so I should be happy each time he gets sick, or that I should even seek out sick friends for him to play with and catch their illnesses! This is B.S. if you ask me. Something they tell moms so there is a shimmer of a silver lining to the anxiety and annoyingness that a cold brings. We often have play dates and there have been a couple of times that someone will bring along a baby with a runny or crusty nose and a cough and I casually ask "Ummm is he sick" to which I am either ignored or nonchalantly answered with, "ohhhhh no he's just teething". Meanwhile, their baby is drooling away on my baby and they're excitedly putting each other's toys in their mouths and I'm trying my best not to flip the F out!! So, I took to Google today, as we do, for some help in understanding how the spread of cold and flu works. Here are the basics of what I found... Contagious Period * Flu: children are contagious about 1 day before symptoms start (great!) until about 2 weeks after symptoms started (even if they’re feeling better, fever is gone, etc). Adults are contagious about 1 day prior and 7 days after symptoms started. * Cold: often before symptoms start to about 4 days into the illness (this one surprised and relieved me!) Survival time of Cold and Flu Viruses: * Hard Surfaces (books, toys, etc): 8 hours (can be longer if temperature and humidity are ideal) * Skin: 3 hours Prevention * Wash your hands: you should scrub hands with soap for the length of the “Happy Birthday” song (20 seconds) - this makes me question whether quickly washing toys in soap and water will do the trick... * Disinfect:
3/4 cup warm tap water 1 tablespoon baking soda 10 drops of tea tree oil (antibacterial, antifungal, etc.) 2 drops oil of lavender essential oil (optional) (antiseptic and smells nice) Do you have any tips of preventing the spread of germs? I'm finding it especially difficult not to catch baby's colds, as his hands are always slobbery and find themselves creeping into my nose and mouth, not to mention his adorable wet open mouthed kisses, and coughs/sneezes that he can't cover up yet.
Kenzo is nearly 10 months old now, I know right, time friggin' flies!! But that is beside the point. He's still exclusively breastfeeding, and eating 3 "meals" a day. Meals is in quotes because they consist of about 2 ounces of pureed fruit, veggies, and meat (we only started meat last week!). He's happy with this, as am I. Who needs all the choking hazards of real food what with it's chunks and chewiness. No thanks! But... I know he is growing up and needs to develop proper eating habits and abilities, or that's what I hear anyway. When we are out and about with our baby friends, they're all snacking away on their Cheerios and Puffs, so I figured it was about time Kenzo had a go. Here he is examining the goods: I had to make sure these things are water soluble as they claim to be and so I popped one in my mouth. If did dissolve, not super fast but fast enough to satisfy my choking anxiety. So I popped a puff up on his high chair tray for him, expecting him to pop that thing into his mouth with super speed. Much to my surprise, this is what happened: Apparently, he needed some help figuring out what to do with that jumping puff. Mom to the rescue, well, more like MOM FAIL FAIL FAIL!!!! Poor guy!!!! So, yeah, I'm a bit traumatized. I know gagging is a natural reflex to protect babies and of course they'll gag on solids the first (many??) times they try them. But still, it was scary!! He is still not drinking from a sippy cup so it's not like I can be like "Oh here drink this it'll help you get it down". So if he's really choking, my only defense is flipping him upside down and whacking him on the back. A few of my mommy friends have dealt with choking babies recently and that is some scary sh!t man. EEEEEEEeeeeeeeeek. I think Kenzo will be on purees until college...
A few months ago I went to the launch party for the new infant spoon, Spuni. Kenzo didn't cooperate at the event, so I was really disappointed that we didn't get to give the cool new baby spoon a whirl. But... look at what we just got!!! You can see the shape and design of Spuni is unlike any other baby spoon out there. The idea is that with the tulip shape, baby can't push food to the back of the spoon, resulting in a cleaner and easier feeding. The shape is also supposed to promote the instinctual latch and suck. It's free of BPA, BPS, Phthalates, PVC and is dishwasher safe. I should also add it's super light and quite comfy to hold! He didn't suck the spoon or treat it any differently from his regular baby spoons, but perhaps that is because he's been using them for 3 months now and has gotten the hang of them. The tulip shape was interesting though and did lead to a cleaner collection of the food from the spoon. His top lip kinda went over and up to the peak and then scooped everything into his mouth! Sure we still had some food around his mouth and side of the spoon, but that's probably more my fault what with trying to feed him with my left hand and take photos with my right! haha! After I put the camera down we got into the swing of it!
So, do I recommend Spuni? For sure! It's cute, it's comfy (for feeder's hand and baby's mouth), it's unique and innovative, and it does a good job! Disclaimer: Although I did receive this product free of charge, I was not compensated in any other way to do this product review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and completely unbiased. I highlighted Melzy Baby a few weeks back as part of my Baby Bonanza Giveaway. Unfortunately I hadn't received it in time to do an actual review. Now I've got the Soaker Stopper in hand so here we go!! If you have a baby, I'm sure you've had your share of leaks and blowouts and all that fun stuff. It's usually the product of a terribly made diaper, a diaper that doesn't fit your little one properly, or downright dirty luck. Melzy Baby came up with 2 really cool products to help parents in the fight against leaks and blowouts: the Blowout Blocker and the Soaker Stopper. I would have killed for a Blowout Blocker around months 2-4 when they were happening rather regularly, ughhhhh. But now at 9 months they are thankfully a rare occurrence (thanks to the introduction of solids!), so we went with the Soaker Stopper: It's just one piece that wraps around and secures on itself and onto the diaper with velcro. You'd probably figure it out even without the instructions, but they're helpful anyway! It is super soft and stretchy, so not uncomfortable in the least for baby! I also love the extra velcro strip that comes down and attaches to the diaper to keep it from riding up. Unfortunately my son tends to hold his business overnight, so we weren't really able to give that aspect of it a proper testing. However I did do a little science experiment to test out it's liquid holding abilities and the "waterproof outer layer"... I placed the Soaker Stopper over a tissue and poured 1/2 a cup of water onto the Soaker Stopper. Waited a few minutes. Lifted it up and PRESTO - not a drop of water had gone through to the tissue! Seems to get the job done!! Disclaimer: Although I did receive this product free of charge, I was not compensated in any other way to do this product review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and completely unbiased.
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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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