I love Jenny McCarthy. She’s hilarious and speaks (and writes) the way I think. Of course I can’t speak that way since I teach and parent, but I love reading her books. I laughed at the first one. I laughed harder at the second. And then I cried reading her latest.
Louder than Words
(This is the continuation of the Newborn and Baby sleep posts)
Just when you think you’ve got your nights figured out, you get a toddler. Infant issues often seem mild by comparison. Your infant can’t talk back. Your infant most likely won’t follow you out of the room, and your infant often doesn’t realize that the rest of the world isn’t going to bed at 7pm. (Although you may wish you were.)
Foundations
Ideally you’ve set the foundations for sleep as your little one was growing. Hopefully somewhere along the line, she’s learned to fall asleep on her own or at least is only waking up once to eat by the time she’s a year old. In theory babies shouldn’t be waking up past 9 months to eat, but as the mother of huge babies, I say, if they’re hungry – feed them. After all, my kids at least will be twice the size of most by the fifth grade.
I’m rather wasteful when it comes to a lot of things. I don’t usually eat leftovers despite my good intentions. I get bored with lotions and shower gels long before they are used up. And baby gear was so much fun to buy, I went a bit overboard. Now, if you’re being frugal and wise, perhaps you can learn from my mistakes. Here are some of the most expensive baby gear items I wasted:
High Tech Diaper Pail
I didn’t have a Diaper Genie, but I had something similar. It would hold over 400 diapers or something ridiculous. To a new mommy this sounded great – until I got my first whiff of 400 diapers.
I’ll sleep with anything that needs to be warm in the middle of the night. At the moment I’m sleeping with two bottles of water. Every night I make two bottles, throw the lids on and put them in bed next to me. (Sorry, dear – spot’s taken.)
I measure out the scoops of formula and put them in the handy formula dispenser next to the bed, and then I’m ready for action late at night.
When Brian wakes up, I’m a bottle slinger.
I learned something last week. Latex nipples have an expiration date.
I know that most moms use silicone, but I liked the latex ones with Jake because they were easier to suck. Like the thrifty mom I am, I simply scrubbed them within an inch of their life and put them away until Brian showed up.
I’ve been using them for two months, and recently went to buy a new pack to have on hand when I skimmed the back.
1. Latex nipples should only be boiled on time and hand washed after that. Check – already knew that.
2. Latex nipples should be replaced every 2-3 months. Oops.
I’ve mentioned before that bedtimes are early in my house. This is for two reasons.
1. It keeps me sane and gives me time to work.
2. It makes my kids happy and healthier.
Bedtimes for kids should follow their natural rhythms. The body has circadian rhythms that give us cues for sleeping and being awake. If you don’t sleep when your body thinks it should, you’ll wake up tired. If you sleep too long, the same thing happens. But if you sleep during the “ideal” times, you wake up feeling rested and ready to go.
So when are these ideal times? They vary by person and child, but for the average baby and toddler, bedtime should be 6-8pm, and morning should start at 6-8am. Yes, it’s early. But it’s far better to have a rested and happy child. Besides, in a few years you won’t be able to get them out of bed in the mornings and you can sleep in then. And I’m counting on it.
It never fails. I had just posted about the early bedtime, when we were struck down. Hard. A stomach bug is a bad thing when you’re single. It’s far worse when you have it, your toddler has it, and you’re trying to protect your infant. There are a few things to be learned from a stomach bug, however.
1. Pull-ups are not very good for toddlers with diarrhea.
2. Toddler vomit in the middle of night is far worse than toddler vomit during the day.
3. Toddlers don’t like Pedialyte. At least mine doesn’t.
Brian is now going to bed at 7pm. I’ve been waiting somewhat patiently for the routine early bedtime, and now I have it. Jake goes to read stories with Mom around 7:30 most nights, and is out around an hour later. Now, he’s in a little preschool which wears him out, so he’ll be asleep by 7 most nights, too.
I am so excited!
There are so many baby items I got with my first, I couldn’t imagine needing more- until I was pregnant with my second. Then there were a few things I realized I didn’t get the first time, so I was sure to get the second. None were necessary, but they were fun to find. This round of infant required a Boppy pillow
Now, there is only one baby item left to buy that I honestly thought I wouldn’t need. But now having tried to walk to the park with a thirty-four pound toddler in a hiking backpack pushing his almost seventeen pound brother in the stroller, I’ve decided I want a double stroller.
I told you I’d keep everyone posted on my weight loss, so here is an update.
I haven’t lost a ton of weight just yet, but I am getting there sloooooowly.
I’m not sure if it is the calcium in his milk or the size of his little fingers, but Brian’s fingernails grow at an astonishing rate. It doesn’t help that his little hands are always up by his face. I live in fear of him scratching himself on his eye. (I shudder just thinking about it.)
I prefer to cut his fingernails with clippers, but there are other ways. Cutting baby nails is tricky since the little one is unlikely to hold still just because you asked him to. I actually have the same problem with toddler nails, but that is easily solved with basic bribery.
To cut a baby’s nails, I…
1. Wait until he is sleeping and then cut at my leisure.
Sleep is a big deal for parents. As I mentioned in my post about newborn and baby sleep, there are plenty of ways to help your baby get a good night’s sleep.
Here are some of my favorites:
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer
The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
I’ve also read these, but they didn’t suit my lifestyle.
I shared with you my experiences and research on newborn sleep a while ago. Now, with Brian getting a bit older, and me getting a bit more desperate for an early bedtime, let’s discuss the middle stage of little ones and sleep. I’ll share more on toddler sleep another time.
As Brian approaches four months of age, his sleep patterns will hopefully begin to settle. First his bedtime will move earlier hopefully much earlier. Then he will develop a morning nap at about the same time, and finally an afternoon nap will settle in. Since he’ll be going to be so early, he’ll probably still wake up one or two times a night until close to nine months.
Older babies will have a few quirks, and this is the marvelous age where many parents begin to fully understand the terms “Cry It Out” and “Sleep Training.”
Just remember, this too shall pass...
