Parker Week 40 – 9 Months…
September 30, 2009
It took 9 months to grow him, and now he’s grown 9 months on his own – time flies…
ps. Aren’t he and Mazzy adorable?
Archive for September, 2009
Parker Week 37 – Hello Speedy!
September 30, 2009
In the past three weeks Parker has gone from sort of crawling to a high speed motor around the house. He knows what he likes (cat food/water, wires of any kind, the PS3) and he goes straight for it without hesitation. He loves to pull himself up onto things now (the couch/stools/chairs, his parents, his brother, pretty much anything that will stay still long enough for him to grab on). Last week he even crawled up the stairs by himself (with careful spotting from Dad of course). It’s amazing how quickly babies figure this stuff out. I know it won’t be long before he’s walking, though he doesn’t really have that balance thing down yet.
Parker loves his new-found ability, and would really prefer to be down and crawling all the time (which just isn’t possible in places like a doctor’s office or the grocery store…) he is also not shy about letting his displeasure about confinement be known to anyone within earshot.
Xander also loves Parker’s new-found ability. Zach and I joking equate it to Xander having a puppy because Parker will eagerly chase Xander around the whole house and the two of them will laugh and giggle the entire time. Just about 9 months now, and I have a feeling he’ll be walking about the same time his brother did, in a few months. Will that make life easier, harder, or a little of both…?
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You Mean I Have To Wash My Face?
September 25, 2009
About a month ago (ok, maybe a little longer – I get busy and forget things), a rep. from Ponds contacted me to ask if I’d be interested in reviewing their Wet Cleansing Towlettes. Never one to turn down offers for free products, I said sure and they sent me a sample pack.
They are packaged in a resealable container similar to baby wipes, and that container sits in a little half box (the picture on this site is what it looks like). I discovered that it’s kind of hard to open the package while it’s in the box (the flap opens from the bottom) so I ditched the box pretty quickly.
The towelettes themselves work really well. They were able to get lots of dirt and makeup off my face, and left it with a fresh and slightly tingly feeling. I’m a big fan of moist towelettes because it means that a face washing project that would normally take 3-5 minutes has been cut down to 45 seconds. And for me, that means the difference between washing my face every night and just not doing it. I think most busy moms would agree with me on that one.
I’ve always been pretty happy with Ponds products. My skin seems to react well to them. For more information you can check out this website. The towelettes cost $4.79/package. You can buy 4 packages (30 wipes each) for $21.94 from Amazon. I think the Ponds Towelettes work really well. If I have a spare $5 in my weekly budget I would consider buying another package. I’m of course always interested in my readers feedback as well. Do you/have you used Ponds products more specifically these towelettes? If so, what did you think?
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The Battles Rage on
September 25, 2009
It’s been almost a month since we “sold” Xander’s binkies. It’s been a good move I think. It was time. We were ready. He was ready. These are the phrases that keep marching through my head every night at bed time. Xander is generally a great kid. He’s positive, upbeat, happy and usually cooperative. Like all kids (let’s be honest, even adults), he doesn’t react well to the word ‘no’, but we can usually move on pretty quickly. Until the dreaded bedtime.
At “bedtime” Xander morphs from this happy, easy going kid into a petulant, obstinate, bratty toddler. It’s fight to do everything, brush his teeth, get his pajamas on, read books and finally turn out lights. It doesn’t matter how great an evening we’ve had, or how much warning or prep time I use. Incentives haven’t worked, taking away privileges or “treats” hasn’t worked. Last night is a perfect example. Parker was exhausted and asleep before 7pm. Xander and I stayed up and played for a bit before watching about 20 minutes of Iron Giant. I warned him about getting his pajamas on. I paused the movie, got him dressed and resumed the movie. At a good stopping point, I stopped the movie (after several warnings) and told him it was time to brush his teeth. I warned him that if he didn’t get up, he would have a time out. I counted to three, and then he got his time out (just 2 minutes). He cried the whole time, but then agreed to brush his teeth.
In the bathroom, more disagreements about which toothbrush to use, about not swallowing the toothpaste and about not biting down on the toothbrush while I’m brushing. Finally, it’s time to go upstairs and read books. I sit Xander in his bed and pull out 2 books. He doesn’t want those 2, so I put them back and try again, and then again. After the third rejection, I tell him that if he rejects the next 2, he’s not getting any. (Currently we have a small collection of books on a high shelf in his bedroom, a hazard of keeping the house clean while it’s on the market). He turns down the next set, so I turn off the light and step outside the room.
He cries of course, and I walk back in and ask him if he’s ready to be reasonable. He says yes, so I turn on the light and pull another book from the shelf. He tells me he wants his mix ‘n match superhero book. I hate this book. It’s falling apart. It takes forever to read because Xander has to hear each combination, so it’s not even a cohesive story, just repeated bits over and over and over again. I say no. Xander pitches a fit, which wakes up Parker. I leave Xander and try to sooth Parker back to sleep, but with Xander’s continued wails, he won’t settle back down. So, I pick Parker up, and deposit him on Xander’s floor and tell Xander that now that he has woken his brother, we only have time for 1 book. I read him his one book (quickly, without the usual dramatic effect, voices or input from him, which Xander clearly does not enjoy as much). Then I tell him I have to put Parker back to sleep. I turn out the light and Xander starts to wail again – this time because I only read him one book. I close the door and take Parker downstairs to settle him back down into a sleepy state. I have Parker nearly asleep when Xander gets out of bed and to the stop of the stairs and calls for me. This of course wakes Parker up again.
Now I’m really frustrated. It’s just me and 2 crying boys, and I don’t have enough hands to deal with them both at once. I make Xander come back downstairs and tell him to sit in the time out chair until I get Parker back to sleep. More wailing ensues, but at least with the door to Parker’s room closed, it’s quiet and I can finally get Parker back to sleep.
I collect my exhausted son who has been wailing for the better part of an hour now. He’s tired, and splotchy, and mostly worn out. I tuck him back into bed, and he asks me to sit with him. I should note that every night since we took away his binkies his father or I have ended up sitting next to his bed until he falls asleep. It’s not fun. It makes my back hurt and my butt numb. I told Xander that I would not sit next to him until he falls asleep, but I would give him a flashlight. In a rather weak exhausted parenting moment, I gave Xander the flashlight even though he had been awful throughout the entire bedtime process. This at least allowed me to retire to the couch for a few hours and not sit next to my non-sleeping son for the rest of the evening.
Every single night for a month we have battled with Xander on sleep. Prior to this, life had been nearly blissful – Xander had been sleeping perfectly and without argument and Parker had been sleeping through the night. Now, it takes super-human strength and patience to get Xander to sleep (and he usually wakes up at least once in the night) and he almost always wakes his brother up. On nights when Parker somehow manages to sleep through his brother’s antics, he wakes himself up at 2:30 or 3:30 and is almost always awake for at least an hour.
It’s going to get better, right? I’m going to have more than 4 hours of sleep in a night someday, right? I’m not going to have to wrestle, argue, cajole, bribe and beg my son to sleep every night for the next 15 years, right? Someday this parenting gig is going to ease up a bit, right?
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Helpful Tips For Working Moms
September 24, 2009
Here are just a few helpful tips from one working mom:
If you happen to commute to work with your husband, it’s a good idea to make sure that he hasn’t taken your car keys and his car keys when he leaves for an early 7am meeting.
When attempting to reach said husband, it’s a good idea to make sure you are sending text messages to him and not to your friend (sorry about the early morning, slightly grumpy texts Jenny!)
While waiting to be rescued from your stranded position at home, you should probably insist that your toddler use his stool to go pee or else you’ll end up cleaning your entire bathroom (for the thirteenth time that week).
While attempting to keep urine off your bathroom ceiling, you probably shouldn’t assume the buckle on the changing table will actually restrain your 8-month-old because he’ll be crawling off of it any second.
It’s probably a good idea to wipe your urine soaked hands on something before rescuing said baby.
You’ll want to grab a burp cloth after you get the poopy diaper on the baby changed, because he’s going to start spitting up all over your floor, and if you’re not quick, he’s going to crawl through it and smell like baby vomit all day. You’ll also want to break out the carpet cleaner because yeah, he’s going to spit up there too.
When your husband finally arrives home, it’s probably a good idea to already have the kids in their shoes and coats and ready to walk out the door and not upstairs in a bedroom with toys everywhere, or he might be annoyed at you for making him leave in the middle of his meeting and then not being ready when he comes to return the keys he stole rescue you.
Just a few friendly tips from me to you so you don’t end up debating whether it would be better to crawl back into bed and wait for tomorrow or keep going because what else could possibly go wrong?
