Moss Sphere Salad Planter
For a few months now I have wanted to do the moss ball salad greens thing. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s all the rage. Check out this video!
Fair Warning
The title doesn’t lie. This story is gross…
Well, Here’s How It Started…
Please Just Go To Sleep
Tonight my son had a difficult time going to sleep. We started his bedtime routine on time just as we do each night, and went through our whole process. It took him almost an hour longer to fall asleep than usual. Any parent reading this I’m sure has also pleaded in weariness, “Why is this happening to me?”
As a first time Momma, I’ve read a lot in an effort to learn about babies and sleep. In the spirit of full disclosure, I definitely wasn’t following many of the suggestions that have been given on this particular night. We’ve been going through quite a transition lately because we are in the process of moving. The routine is all over the place and despite my best efforts to maintain consistency for my baby’s sake, some days it just hasn’t been possible.
Falling in LOVE with Cloth Diapers
I absolutely LOVE cloth diapering. I never imagined how much I would enjoy it! I mean, they are diapers after all.
How it All Got Started
My husband and I decided the summer before my son was born to go the cloth diaper route. Initially my reason for looking into it was cost savings.
Before researching cloth diapers, I was doing a cost analysis of a list I had made for everything I thought we needed for the baby. I actually researched approximately how many diapers we might need in the first year and the cost was staggering. It was something like $1,500. Wowza!
Early Morning Adventure
Two mornings ago, around 4:30, I was putting my son back to sleep after a feeding. He fell asleep quickly, and I laid him in his crib. I then proceeded to get a drink of water and use the bathroom. After washing my hands, I was suddenly very aware of how dry they were.
By the dim light of the small night light we keep in the bathroom, I saw a large bottle of lotion and quickly pumped a generous amount onto my hands. I worked it over my fingers and hands, then deciding what I was doing was a good thing, I continued up my arms and past my elbows.
As I stood there in those few seconds, moisturizing, I felt like I was doing a good thing for myself, and then the moment came when I recognized the scent of what I was lathering onto my arms and hands.
That’s Not Lotion
Co-Sleeping
There’s a lot to be said about co-sleeping. However, this post isn’t to hash out the safety precautions or to rave about the family bed. I simply want to write to share that co-sleeping is how I was able to sleep 7 hours last night.
Seasoned co-sleepers will be nodding their approval I’m sure while others may cringe upon reading the words “family bed”, but my hope is that some where out there another tired Mama might be able to use one more suggestion to help her get a little more rest.
More Than the Old Adage
You’ve heard the saying, “all babies do is eat, sleep, and poop”. And while these three things certainly are the majority of my baby’s day (with perhaps the exception of poop, which isn’t currently an every day occurrence), there is so much more going on than that.
We have all heard it… shoot, I think I even said it last week, but is ‘it takes a village’ just a phrase or is it really truth? Honestly, this phrase never even crossed my mind until my son was born and all the villagers came out of hiding with the good, the bad and the ugly advice; but this didn’t really bother me until I got some parenting experience under my belt. My son is 9 months old so obviously I am now an expert… even so; I was now ready to bestow my “parenting wisdom” on other moms. As soon as another mom mentioned any struggle she was having with her kids, I wanted to jump in to save the day with my expert advice on the matter… queue the other mom holding back on rolling her eyes as I ask the question all moms know too well “have you tried this?” like she hadn’t googled every possible solution to the problem she was dealing with. Was I really going to be that villager, the one with the pitchfork of advice at the ready any time I talked to another mom? Is a village necessary to survive parenthood? If so, what is truly needed?
Deciding on the Birth Center as a Venue
Whenever I thought about childbirth, I never really wanted to have a baby in the hospital. To me, a hospital was a place people go when they are sick, bleeding, or dying. I didn’t think of it as a great place to bring a baby into the world. Obviously, many babies are born in a hospital and arrive home healthy and happy. It just wasn’t something I was particularly interested in.
For some people, a hospital birth is the only way that comes to mind, so upon mentioning giving birth at a birth center or at home, with midwives, rather than doctors, one witnesses an interesting variety of responses. Some of them are comical, and most all of them are sincere and out of a place of concern.
Short, Simple Routine
Whether you’re putting your child to sleep for the night or for one of the several naps he or she may take that day, having a short, simple routine is a great way to help your baby get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer.
When you do the same things before nap time or bedtime, they become habitual and will cue your baby that it is time to sleep.
