Icky Sicky

Bear has spent the last week being sick...poor boy! Just a cold, 99.9 temp and some vomiting. Here's how we got through it...

-I determined that the vomiting was caused by the milk based formula so we switched to pedialyte and juice.

-Kept the humidifier on high during the night with Vics oil in the little spot for Vics oil.

-Used VICs baby rub on his back and chest.

-He slept in a t shirt and diaper only - that one was his choice...his newest thing is he likes being naked.

-I don't really like using Tylenol but in this case it was a lifesaver at night/naptime.

-I babied him to no end (he is a baby after all) I held him while he fell asleep, let him nap on me and pretty much sacrificed all sleep.

-I let him eat anything he wanted (recommended by the pediatrician) she advised that as long as his diapers were wet regularly that I shouldn't be too concerned about his eating.

-Warm baths with no bubbles.

It felt long and painful but we got through it! Now I'm sick =[ but I'll survive.

Here are a few good meal suggestions if your little one does end up with a bit of a cold/minor sickness:

Breakfast:

Cherrios - for a few days that's all he would eat

Mango Pure - I get the kind in the squishy pouches so he can suck it out himself.

Pedialyte - if your baby is congested I find it's better to stay away from milk based products (but I'm no doctor) If your baby is like most and wont drink the pedialyte, try mixing it with a naturally sweet juice like apple or purple grape.

Lunch:

Green Bean, Rice and Corn - 3rd foods by Beech Nut

Cottage Cheese - I found this didn't make him more snotty/congested for some reason

Pedilyte/juice mix or water

Dinner:

Rice and Chicken Mush - I have the 'better than bullion" that comes in a jar (boullion paste with less sodium) I mixed one baby spoonful of that with 3 tbs warm water and then mixed with rice cereal - Bear loves it!

Carrot and Barley - 3rd foods by Beech Nut

Water mixed with juice

Graham Cracker for desert

In between meals keep baby hydrated and snacking is always good =]

Love,

PlusPeace

Oh Wow!

It's official I have a mobile baby! He pulls up, crawls, climbs, etc. Some quick reminders (and things I've learned) for moving babies.

Keep the floor vacuumed.

Keep surfaces clean.

Hardwood floors = ouch! - dont leave baby alone on them.

Lower the crib (if it lowers) so your little one can't climb out.

Be advised that naps are no more when little baby can stand and jump on his bed!

Don't leave baby unattended on any raised surface.

Get a gate for the stairs. I like the one with a plastic window instead of bars or those criss-crossed fence looking ones - I can just picture pinched fingers. =[

Everything becomes a toy! Have empty baby formula cans, BPA free bottles, baby spoons/plates, anything baby can safely play with, on reachable surfaces.

When your baby gets bored with toys try the above items, build a tower and let them destroy it! Tons of fun for both of you.

Get a blanket and go hang out outside! There are lots of new adventures outside.

Love,

PlusPeace

Take Pictures!

I can not stress enough how important it is to take 80 billion pictures of your kid(s) growing! It gets harder as they move more and demand more attention but capturing all those moments will be a blessing in the future!Not everyone is the best picture taker but here are some basic rules to taking a great photo from Nick Kelsh ( www.howtophotographyourbaby.com )

1) Get Closer! Physically closer, don't just zoom.

2) Turn off your flash! The flash on a regular camera bounces off the objects closest to it. Making it look too bright in the wrong areas (forehead, floor, etc) Try to use natural light as much as possible.

3) Take more pictures. The more pictures you take the higher the chance you'll have an awesome picture hiding in there. Just delete the bad ones after or you end up like me with 80 million bad pictures and 300 good ones taking up space on my computer.

I organize my pictures by date. If you have more than one kid, make a folder of the date the pics were taken then a folder inside for each kid to split up the pictures. Then you'll be able to find exactly the picture you're looking for.

I listened to aq Creative Memories webinar last week and after listing Nick's 3 key rules, the host said "print your pictures." as a final rule. I have THOUSANDS of pictures just hanging out on my computer or posted on my facebook. If you're into scrapbooking print them and make a book if you don't have time for that, get a brag book to keep in the livingroom when company comes over.

Below I want to share some recent photos I took - I have a Canon Rebel T2

To Crib or Not to Crib?

I know this is a debatable topic but for the purpose of my blog (and it being mine) I will state my opinion and what I believe can work wonders and save big bucks! Mommy Confession: I COSLEEP! And I am proud of it! I couldn't afford a nice wooden crib, I had my heart set on one of the ones that turns into a toddler bed with rails and then eventually a full sized bed. Then I thought about how awesome those racecar beds are for toddlers (my dad is a carpenter and can make me one free) and then you can't really switch to the 'big boy' bed because it's the same old peice of furniture. So I didn't want to invest in something my son would only use for 1.5years and so I put an ArmsReach Co-Sleeper on my registry. I do love this but he

Sneaky Peek!

So I boxed up everything for my winner and it's off in the mail! Yay - only took me 3 weeks =/

Thought I'd share the lovely things my winner won:

I love the shoes, they came out really cute! I'll have to make more soon! I have two small giveaways coming in June one will be for June babies and the other for anybody. Same rules (to apply just click the follow button and publicly follow my blog)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Love

PlusPeace

Oh Mommy Daze

This one is more for fun and for thought. A list of 11 things you could only learn by actually being a Mom (even though you were warned before).

1) How painful labor really is. Some have a a hard time during labor and most have a horrible time during labor - I fell into the hard time category (thank God)

2) I will never ever again eat a hot home cooked meal.

3) Being a working Mom I do miss some major milestones but it's still just as great seeing it when I get home!

4) Babies go through lots, and lots AND LOTS of clothing, very quickly. It needs to be washed constantly and bought constantly.

5) Getting anywhere on time is basically impossible.

6) After a while you'll start talking in baby unexpectedly - say to a coworker, your significant other, or even a stranger in a checkout line. And the most embarrassing part is 80% of the time you wont even know you've done it.

7) What's eating healthy?

8) My body will NEVER look the same after giving birth.

9) There is no such thing as a "night off" I am constantly thinking about and missing my son no matter where I am. In fact - I don't really want a night off!

10) I can survive exactly 4 months without 7 hours of consecutive sleep - then I need 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep or I'll be one mean lady.

11) My entire world was turned right side up the moment my son was born - best feeling in the world - and it gets better every day.

What have ya'll come to realize being a Mommy?

Love,

PlusPeace

Lyrics for the Walls

Bear and I (unfortunately) share a room. I am doing a total room makeover in a month or so and started designing some wall art made with my favorite children's songs! I am anticipating these to be really really cute and hopefully they will turn out like I want.

I have two ideas:

1) Use cutouts and soft pictures out of magazines to make a collage and then putting the lyrics on top.

2) Painting little watercolor pictures and putting the lyrics on the paintings.

I am leaning toward option 2 although I have no idea how I am at watercolors...hopefully good!

Here are some of the lines from song's I plan to use (I'll have to narrow it down to two or three):

"You'll be my little man, You'll be my lady, You'll be my funny little buddy, Hey hey pretty baby" -Woody Guthrie's Whose My Pretty Baby

"It went 'zip' when it moved and 'bop' when it stopped, and 'whirrr' when it stood still, I never knew what it was and I guess I never will" - Peter, Paul and Mary's The Marvelous Toy

One of each line on this one: "I've got peace like a river in my soul - I've got love like the ocean in my soul - I've got joy like a fountain in my soul - I've got love like a river in my soul" - Elizabeth Mitchell's Peace like a River

"I've gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out, Shake, shake shake my sillies out, Shake, shake, shake my sillies out, And wiggle my waggles away!" - Raffi's Shake the Sillies Out

"I love you so dearly, I love you so fearlessly, I wake up in the morning so early, Just to tell you" - The Be Good Tanyas' Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs

That's what I've got so far. Any suggestions are totally welcome. When I have one made I'll post a picture!

Love,

PlusPeace