Safely sleep with baby….

I am not an expert….but here is how I safely sleep with baby.

Make sure there is NO way the baby can fall out of the bed!

• We built a side car for our baby.  You can do this by taking off the front side of the crib and pushing the crib tightly against the mattress.  If there is any gap at all you need to stuff it with high density foam, an extra blanket or towel.  Anything that will safely close the gap.  We also used blocks to build up the height of the crib and made the transition from our matteress to the crib matteres flush. Ours looks a lot like this ~ Click here.
• You can also push your bed tight against a wall and fill any gap.  This option does not allow for extra space, but if you have a big bed you may not need the extra space.
• Some people put their matteress on the floor so that if the baby falls out of bed it’s a tiny drop.
• You can also purchase side rails for your bed.

Keep items that can smother baby….away from baby.

• NO heavy comforters.  Milan has his own blanket.  Sometimes he snuggles under ours, but it is lightweight.
• NO pillows near small infants. Once baby is asleep, I move my pillow far away from him.
• Keep your heavy arms to yourself.  As a mommy it is your job to stay aware of your body.
• Fill gaps that baby could slide into and not be able to lift themselves out of.

NEVER

• Never sleep with baby if you are OVER TIRED
• Never sleep with baby if you have drank alcohol or under the influence of mind altering drugs
• Never sleep with baby if you have taken over the counter or prescription medication to help you sleep or relax.

Sleeping with baby is wonderful, but it is not without risk.  Make sure you take all necessary precautions to make babies sleeping environment as safe as possible.  If you are uncomfortable at all with the situation, then perhaps an arms reach bassinet is a better choice for you.

I enjoyed this…..http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/co-sleeping-yes-no-sometimes.

Back in the side car again….

As the sun slowly dipped down to the horizon and night-time loomed before us my husband I sat independently.  Each of us pondering the previous nights, neither of us wanting to say what needed to be said.  Each sitcom and commercial served as a reminder that the time for us to put our dear sweet son down for the evening was quickly approaching.  We were tense.

Man broke the silence and said the words that had been rapidly running through my head all evening.  “I can’t do it again.”  I trembled with relief, I couldn’t do it again either.

It never occurred to me that man and I would co-sleep with the baby.  In fact when he was a wee little one he spent most nights comfy in his bassinet.  There were a few nights when he slept strapped to my chest, but that was during his first couple days of life.  After that he slept wonderfully in his bassinet.  Once he out grew  his bassinet we moved him to his crib and he slept beautifully for about one week; then the teeth.

When Milan’s adorable chicklets began to pop through, he became super needy and super cuddly.  He had zero interest in sleeping alone, so I spent a few nights in his room cuddling him to sleep on the futon.  Then because I am old and can’t just sleep anywhere anymore, we moved to the bed.  Soon days turned into weeks that turned into months.  We eventually moved  his crib next to our bed and made a side car for him.  This new arrangement made it much safer and comfortable for all of us.

Recently, we tried moving him out of our room. I new when we were moving him out of his room that he wasn’t ready, I wasn’t ready and man wasn’t ready either.  However, we didn’t listen to our hearts.  We listened to the world.  As parents it’s so hard to trust yourself, but as a wonderful friend reminded me recently, “Your the parents, you know what is best.”  She was absolutely right!  It’s now been a few nights since we moved the crib back into our room and made Milan a side car.  Last night he started with a runny nose and cough. I am so happy that he was right near me and I could comfort him through the night.

Milan’s back in his side car again and as a family we couldn’t be happier!

Winning ~ The Baby is Winning….

After two nights of extreme excess at crib sleeping and much gloating we have now had two of the worst nights since Milans birth.  He refuses to be put down in his crib.  I’ve scoured the net looking for tips and implemented the ones that made sense.

• Warm Bath
• Play Time (extreme….we played hard for nearly two hours)
• Rocking and Singing (it could be my singing)
• Letting him cry by himself
• Letting him cry while I am in the room
• Giving him a snack before bed
• Nursing him to sleep
• Letting him fall asleep without nursing
• Transfer to crib on pillow

Last night at 4 am I finally just gave in and slept on the couch with him.  I can’t stay up ALL night….Or can I?

So mamma’s…. what is this mama to do?

How to keep your baby busy while you cook…

Really Mom?

Okay....I'm going to grab one...

Oh....they are fun to bang together....can I get more out?

Oh ~ this is sooo fun!!

Peek

a ~ boo!

Silly face is in his crib….and my arms feel empty.

Oh my dear sweet silly face has moved from our bed to his crib.

Dear Sweet Silly Face!

I’d love to say he did so without a peep, instead I will say he did so with just a small amount of peeping.

I miss my little co-sleeper.  Yes, we co-slept with our baby (que the disapproving looks and gasps).  I was convinced that moving him to his crib would render me useless due to lack of sleep as he cried through the night.  On the contrary I am more rested now then I have been in months!  Laaaaaaaaaaaa!

It took only two nights for him to sleep in his crib without complaint.  The first night I nursed him to sleep and then moved him to his crib.  He woke up and began crying.  I decided to give him a little cry time and if he didn’t quiet I would go in and love on him and try again.  However, his cry was one of complete terror and I went in and got him within minutes.  He had a wet diaper.  After I changed him it took him several minutes to calm down.  I felt terrible for the little guy and started to second guess my decision to move him into his own bed.  So instead of him sleeping in his crib and me in my bed we spent the night sleeping on the couch.

Night two.  I had trepidations about trying to put him down in his crib again, but since my hubby was convinced we were going to squash him I knew I had to try.  I started the putting down process with a fun bath.  Then I dressed him in comfy jammies, a fresh diaper and let him burn off some energy with fun playtime!  He let me know when he was ready to nurse and relax for the evening.  I fed him and then I rocked him for a few minutes.  I finished the process of with a prayer and placed Milan in his crib.

Fun Play Time! Yes, cold air returns are fun!

He Cried.  My heart sank.  Still I crept out of the room….then I realized although he was crying it wasn’t the terror filled cry that he had the night before.  Next thing I knew he was not crying….he was sleeping.

And then….I was sleeping.  The first real sleep I have had in months.

It is now Day 3.  He is in his crib fast asleep and my arms are empty….

Potty Update

When I look back at Milan’s 10 week old photo of him sitting on his potty I CRACK up!  What a little cutie pants!

Pooping Rockstar

Mylan is now just under 9 months old and he is still using his potty.  It’s been a long time since he has pooped in it, but he does his pee pee in there several times per day.  He goes on his potty first thing in the morning and then every time he whines at me but isn’t wet.  He is in the habit of peeing and then trying to leap off his potty into my arms.  He then quickly squirms out of my arms to inspect the results.  This behavior is a good indication that he understands what his potty is for….Yay!  However, he still goes potty in his diaper about 75 percent of the time.  This is mainly my fault for not taking him to his potty more….sooooooo….

Milan on the potty at 8 months and counting

I have a new goal starting Monday to get him on the potty more often than not!  Update to follow….

In the midst of change….goal number 2.

Old Blogs…..

I’ve had two other blogs besides this one.

If your just dying to read every blog post that I have ever written.

You can go here….http://brownbagbagels.blogspot.com/

and then go here….http://doing-things-differently.blogspot.com/

I’ve recently moved content here because I like the format of this blog host better.

Cheerio!

Diaper Cloth Ma’Ma’s Celebrate….Long Live the Diaper Snappy!

Whoot!  My diaper Snappies came in the mail today and they are AWESOME!

No more worrying that I might poke poor baby Milan with a gigantic diaper pin.

Snappies work just like an ace bandage clip.  They have little teeth that grab the fabric and hold the diaper on.

I am in love with these fantastic little clips!  Celebrate!

*****UPDATE***** 8 Months later and I still LOVE these diaper snappies!

~*~Make Yourself an Infant Wrap~*~

A friend of mine made me a wrap and me and my son Milan love it!

This type of wrap is the perfect carrier for infants.  It allows you to strap your baby to you, while you go about your business.  Yesterday, I was doing dishes and nursing Milan at the same time; talk about multi-tasking!

To make your own  warp you will need:

• Scissors
• 5 ~ 6 yards of flexible t-shirt material
• needle and thread
• button or tag

Simply cut the fabric down the center length wise so you end up with 2 long pieces of fabric.

Now find the center of the fabric on each piece.

Take your button or tag and sew it to the center of each piece, this will serve as the center marker.

You now have two wraps….keep them both or give one away as a gift!

If your thrify and use coupons, each wrap should cost you less then 15 bucks!

Milan Walker Rockin His Old School Diapers!

This marks the end of week one, of our cloth diaper experiment

When I was small my grandma would tell the tales of using cloth diapers on her 8 children.  She’d say, “Misty, at least you won’t have to worry about cloth diapers now that they have those disposable ones…..” Ha!  If she could only see me now!

Here is my first attempt at diapering my little man.  This diaper leaked!  Thankfully, I am quickly becoming a cloth diapering expert!  No more leaks 🙂

Why am I using cloth diapers?

I’m not trying to save the planet or be  environmentally chic.  Although, it is nice to know that my frugalness is having a small impact.  It has everything to do with my family and nothing more. I desire deep in my heart to be a stay at home mom and be there for every second of my sons life.  The only way for this to be possible, is for me to do everything I can to save money. When I saw how many diapers this little man
burns through, I knew we had to make some changes.

Here you see about 5 days worth of Smilen Milan’s (My~lan) dirty disposable diapers!

Now that week one is finished, I am happy we tried it and will be happy to continue with it.  Prefold Cloth diapers are easy to use, economical and yes, environmentally friendly! I’d be nice to have those fancy, shamancy Charlie Banana’s or the really cute BumGenius or even some Fuzzibunz.  But for now I am pleased with my old school prefolds.  I would do anything, to be able to see this every single second, of every single day.