I love the beach. I mean, I LOVE the beach. It's my happy place, it's where I feel recharged, it's where I go in my head to escape where I am. (For example, when I was lying on a surgery table after 16 hours of labor, body shuddering and constantly dry-heaving, worried as heck about my baby who was not coming out, I turned to my husband and said, "I'm going to the beach." And I did. And then my little girl was born!)
I love everything about the beach. The endless expanse of ocean, the rhythmic crashing of the waves, the hot sun blazing down, the soft sand shifting beneath me. I enjoy lying down reading a book while I bake, sitting up under an umbrella watching the kids and people around me, standing in the surf while the waves come and go, and walking out into the water to dive through the waves just as they crest. I love it all.
I am a Beach Girl.
My kids, however, I'm not so sure about... yet. I'm pretty confident that I can turn them into Beach Kids, but it turns out it's not an instant thing. Good thing my parent now have a beach house less than 3 hours away, and good thing we are going to be a Family That Travels! Because I am working on it as much as I can.
Not last weekend, but the two weekends before that, I took the kids to my parents' beach house. The first weekend we went, I drove myself and the kids down to the beach house, where my parents and my brother's family were already vacationing. The second weekend, I went with my mom, my kids and my 5-year-old niece. Both times were good times, with fun dynamics. I mean, how cool is it to go on vacations with cousins who are close to you in age? I got to do that every summer at my grandparent's house in Cape Cod with my two cousins from my mom's side. It was always such a great experience. And now I can pass that on to my kids as well.
But back to the issue at hand. The kids and the beach.
We went last year, but the Pookie was too little to really have an opinion. He enjoyed digging in the sand and tried to eat handfuls of sand. The Pumpkin had been in previous years, and she was excited about it. But then we had a little incident where she got swept off her feet by a wave. Even though I immediately had her up and on her feet, it scared her and gave her a healthy respect for the ocean.
I don't know if she remembered that incident on some level of her consciousness or if she is just at an age where things are scarier than they were before. But either way, she was very scared of the water and waves this year. She clung to my hand or ran from the water the whole time we were at the beach that first weekend. She sat just at the edge of where the waves could reach and built a wall (out of sand, which didn't really last as long as she had hoped). I didn't want her to feel and think that she was "scared" of the water, so I gave her the words, "I'm a little nervous about the water" which was super cute to hear her say to other people.
At first, my son seemed excited about the water. He enjoyed getting his feet wet and feeling the sand. I sat him down with his sister to play in the wet sand and build the wall together. These kids of mine spend their entire outdoor playtime at school in the sandbox, so I knew they would love to sit and dig in the sand. And they were really enjoying themselves.
Then a big wave came all the way up to where they were sitting. I had my back to the water, so I didn't realize it and didn't give the kids a warning. It surged over the Pookie unexpectedly. It surprised him and was uncomfortable for his to suddenly have sand and cool water all over his legs, while he was simply sitting in the sand playing. Meanwhile, his sister jumped up, shrieking, and ran back a bit higher in the sand.
I laughed and said "whooa," and he was starting to settle down. But then it happened again. And that was it for him. He was UPSET! I picked him up and helped him back to our umbrella and chairs way back on the beach. He did NOT want to be by the water. He insisted, "No wawa! No wawa!" He didn't even want ME by the water. For the rest of the day.
We hung out back on the beach, out of view of the surf. My parents and brother watched and played with my daughter and her cousins. Then my brother, dad and the cousins went back to the beach house, while my mom and I stayed with my kids.
It was at that point, I was no longer willing to sit so far away from the water (practically out in the dunes!) and out of view of my daughter playing. I also wanted to help my boy get used to the being around the ocean, since my plan is to go to the beach house as much as possible (see above about me being a Beach Girl).
I moved my chair, the toys, our other stuff and my self down to where my mom and daughter were, encouraging my son the whole time to come. He came most of the way, then flipped out about him and me being closer to the water. My mom went back with him to where our stuff had been, and I sat down with my daughter to build a wall.
The tide had gone out a bit, and the beach was less crowded. I could see the Pookie, and he was upset about me being closer to the water, but he was more unhappy being away from me and having no toys back where our stuff had been. He soon came with my mom back to where the Pumpkin and I were playing.
He started getting upset again, but I quickly moved into distraction mode, as well as adamantly telling him I wasn't moving and that the water was not where we were. Plus, I got his sister to start playing with him.
Before I knew it, we were all happy. I had a great view of the ocean, the kids were playing in the sand, and my mom was able to sit down and relax. In one day, we'd come a long way. And even both kids even dipped their feet in the water right before we left, as the four of us all held hands, standing in the surf. It was lovely.
The next morning at the beach went more smoothly. I knew to set up closer to the water from the get-go, I made sure both kids were comfortable with their location (the Pookie started getting upset, but he was quickly mollified). We had a lovely time.
Plus, did I mention the airplanes? The Pookie LOVES airplanes (and any vehicle, or go-go), and he pointed out every. single. one that flew over the beach with advertisements. To everyone around. It was really cute. And we saw boats and seagulls and even dolphins! Both kids loved seeing those things and pointing them out. You know, like Beach Kids do.
The next weekend went even better! From the first hour at the beach, they were playing in the surf with their cousin. They stood their holding my and my mom's hands. Then they wanted to stand on their own more and more.
My daughter ran up and down the slope to the beach, chasing and running from the waves in a fun game. She stood "strong" in the water with her cousin, pretending their feet were on surf boards. My mom lifted them (one at a time) to jump over the edges of the waves as the water came up the beach. She jumped in the water and stood still so her feet would get covered in sand, depending on her mood and current game.
My son wanted to do what the girls were doing. He played and jumped and stood still and wanted me to let go of his hand before long (which was okay for little bits of time, but the waves and riptides at this beach are unpredictable, so I mostly held on to him or at least stood right next to him). At one point, he even said, "mo wawa!" A big change from the previous weekend! So I picked him up and carried him till I was waist deep in the water, with waves surging up higher. I even had to sheild his head with my body when one wave crashed right on our heads! That was as I was just walking us back out of the water. He started to look upset about that one, but I think he didn't because he saw I was laughing and having so much fun!
They are well on their way to becoming Beach Kids now! I feel like I got them both over the initial humps we encountered. I do want them to understand and be slightly wary of the power of the ocean. It's important to know what riptides can do, and why it's important to stay with an adult. We really did have a few scary-ish moments when a strong riptide came out of a seemingly small wave and start to pull the kids with it. They are still small, and the ocean is strong and vast. Luckily, my mom and I and the other adults in my family know and understand what needs to be done to keep them safe, without ruining the enjoyment of the beach.
Because, you know, we're a Beach Family!
Showing posts with label water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water. Show all posts
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Water as a Force of Nature
Before leaving for vacation, I had told the Pumpkin that we were going “to the beach.” I realized as we were leaving, she thought we were going directly to the beach. We quickly explained that we were going to the “beach house” where we would spend our vacation, making trips to the beach while we were there.
Although we got that cleared up, there was still a lot of build up about going to the beach. So once we were there (it’s only a 2.5-3.5 hour drive), unpacked and settled in, I thought I would take the Pumpkin to the beach itself for a little while, leaving the Pookie behind with Londo to continue getting settled in. One of my BFFs and her hubby and son (who is the Pumpkin’s age) were staying with us for the weekend, and they had the same idea. In fact, they may have had the idea first. But the point is that we all drove the 10 minutes or less to the beach to stick our feet in the sand and our toes in the ocean.
We didn’t bother with bathing suits, since we weren’t planning on getting anything but our feet wet. No towels or beach chairs or beach toys came with us. It was already 4:30 or so, and we just wanted a little time at the beach to be at the beach.
When we got to the path through the dunes, we kicked our shoes off and reveled in the feel of our feet in the sand. We hurried down the path to the beach, shouting out that we saw the ocean as soon as it was in view. The Pumpkin was laughing and having fun with her friend, as I was with mine.
In moments, we were in the surf, standing and running about in the edge of the water in our shorts and bare feet. I showed the Pumpkin and her friend how to run and tag the water with their feet. My friend and her husband splashed around with us.
I turned and took maybe two strides from my daughter to put my purse and shoes down in the sand, out of the way of the water. I kept my eyes on my fearless, adventurous daughter, and was just straightening to go back to her side.
As I watched, a second little wave crept up over another one which was receding. At the same time, my daughter hopped on one foot, turning, twisting, playful and having fun. The second wave was more forceful than it appeared, and my daughter was less balanced than she should have been.
It knocked her right over. Swept the one leg she was standing on right out from under her. Tumbled her onto her back. Started to pull her with it as it receded. Tugged at her, while she flailed her arms and legs, unable to get purchase on the wet, moving sand.
And it might have succeeded in taking her into the next wave, about to crash down. But I was RIGHT THERE. In the heartbeat of a second it took to knock her down and start to tug her away, I was there, grabbing her up into my arms. Into safety.
I’m not sure how to adequately describe how quickly it happened. From the moment I saw the her start to fall, I took two large strides and was pulling her up. And yet, in that short amount of time, she was knocked down, unable to get up and starting to be pulled into a very dangerous area of the water where all the waves crash. In a SECOND it all happened. But also in a second, I was there getting her up and comforting her.
Was it the force of an unusually strong-but-small wave? Was it that she slipped because of the shifting sand? Was she simply teetering anyway while she hopped and turned? I have a feeling it was a combination of all those. It was just one of those freak combination of factors that turns an innocent moment into something that could have been tragic.
It totally scared the CRAP out of BOTH of us. Do I need to tell you all what scenarios passed through my head in that instant? The scenes that keep popping into my thoughts, though I quickly push them out? The thoughts about rip tides and undertows and what if I had been more than two steps from her? I think it’s best I don’t, that I keep pushing those thoughts away.
She was crying, scared and so very upset. She didn’t know that the water could do that. That it could be so unpredictable, dangerous, a Force of Nature. We all quickly headed back to the car. In addition to being shaken up, she was also wet and cold.
I stripped her down, standing in the back of my Highlander. But we had no towels in either of the cars, no change of clothes other than the spare pair of her underwear I had in my purse. I was ready to rip my shirt off and drive back in my bra, so long as my child was comforted by being in clothes. Luckily, my friend’s husband had a jacket in the car, and my friend had a box of tissues. I dried her off with tissues, put on the pair of underwear and the way-too-big-but-dry-and-warm jacket, hugged her and quickly got her into her carseat.
On the way back to the beach house, she said things like she didn’t want to go back to the water or the beach. I was able to turn it around, so that she knew we weren’t going then, but would go back the next day. I played up how I would show her to “stand strong” against the water so it wouldn’t push her down and how to keep her feet from slipping when the water was moving. I told her she didn’t have to go back into the water if she didn’t want, but that Mommy (and Daddy) would always be right there with her to pick her up. Wasn’t I Right There? Of course! And we could hold her hand or hold her while we go in the water.
Thankfully, it worked. After a bath together to get the sand and salt off of her, she was talking about how we would go to the beach the next day and all the things that she would do. Even though the water scared her. And we did. We went back to the beach for full Days at the Beach 3 more times.
And although it was one of the scariest things in the world to me and her and although I hate to see my daughter scared of the water, this incident actually served a purpose. It instilled in her a healthy fear of the ocean. After she readjusted to being at the beach and playing in the surf, she enjoyed the beach, the sand, the waves and the ocean--but did not run into the water carelessly or fearlessly.
Although we got that cleared up, there was still a lot of build up about going to the beach. So once we were there (it’s only a 2.5-3.5 hour drive), unpacked and settled in, I thought I would take the Pumpkin to the beach itself for a little while, leaving the Pookie behind with Londo to continue getting settled in. One of my BFFs and her hubby and son (who is the Pumpkin’s age) were staying with us for the weekend, and they had the same idea. In fact, they may have had the idea first. But the point is that we all drove the 10 minutes or less to the beach to stick our feet in the sand and our toes in the ocean.
We didn’t bother with bathing suits, since we weren’t planning on getting anything but our feet wet. No towels or beach chairs or beach toys came with us. It was already 4:30 or so, and we just wanted a little time at the beach to be at the beach.
When we got to the path through the dunes, we kicked our shoes off and reveled in the feel of our feet in the sand. We hurried down the path to the beach, shouting out that we saw the ocean as soon as it was in view. The Pumpkin was laughing and having fun with her friend, as I was with mine.
In moments, we were in the surf, standing and running about in the edge of the water in our shorts and bare feet. I showed the Pumpkin and her friend how to run and tag the water with their feet. My friend and her husband splashed around with us.
I turned and took maybe two strides from my daughter to put my purse and shoes down in the sand, out of the way of the water. I kept my eyes on my fearless, adventurous daughter, and was just straightening to go back to her side.
As I watched, a second little wave crept up over another one which was receding. At the same time, my daughter hopped on one foot, turning, twisting, playful and having fun. The second wave was more forceful than it appeared, and my daughter was less balanced than she should have been.
It knocked her right over. Swept the one leg she was standing on right out from under her. Tumbled her onto her back. Started to pull her with it as it receded. Tugged at her, while she flailed her arms and legs, unable to get purchase on the wet, moving sand.
And it might have succeeded in taking her into the next wave, about to crash down. But I was RIGHT THERE. In the heartbeat of a second it took to knock her down and start to tug her away, I was there, grabbing her up into my arms. Into safety.
I’m not sure how to adequately describe how quickly it happened. From the moment I saw the her start to fall, I took two large strides and was pulling her up. And yet, in that short amount of time, she was knocked down, unable to get up and starting to be pulled into a very dangerous area of the water where all the waves crash. In a SECOND it all happened. But also in a second, I was there getting her up and comforting her.
Was it the force of an unusually strong-but-small wave? Was it that she slipped because of the shifting sand? Was she simply teetering anyway while she hopped and turned? I have a feeling it was a combination of all those. It was just one of those freak combination of factors that turns an innocent moment into something that could have been tragic.
It totally scared the CRAP out of BOTH of us. Do I need to tell you all what scenarios passed through my head in that instant? The scenes that keep popping into my thoughts, though I quickly push them out? The thoughts about rip tides and undertows and what if I had been more than two steps from her? I think it’s best I don’t, that I keep pushing those thoughts away.
She was crying, scared and so very upset. She didn’t know that the water could do that. That it could be so unpredictable, dangerous, a Force of Nature. We all quickly headed back to the car. In addition to being shaken up, she was also wet and cold.
I stripped her down, standing in the back of my Highlander. But we had no towels in either of the cars, no change of clothes other than the spare pair of her underwear I had in my purse. I was ready to rip my shirt off and drive back in my bra, so long as my child was comforted by being in clothes. Luckily, my friend’s husband had a jacket in the car, and my friend had a box of tissues. I dried her off with tissues, put on the pair of underwear and the way-too-big-but-dry-and-warm jacket, hugged her and quickly got her into her carseat.
On the way back to the beach house, she said things like she didn’t want to go back to the water or the beach. I was able to turn it around, so that she knew we weren’t going then, but would go back the next day. I played up how I would show her to “stand strong” against the water so it wouldn’t push her down and how to keep her feet from slipping when the water was moving. I told her she didn’t have to go back into the water if she didn’t want, but that Mommy (and Daddy) would always be right there with her to pick her up. Wasn’t I Right There? Of course! And we could hold her hand or hold her while we go in the water.
Thankfully, it worked. After a bath together to get the sand and salt off of her, she was talking about how we would go to the beach the next day and all the things that she would do. Even though the water scared her. And we did. We went back to the beach for full Days at the Beach 3 more times.
And although it was one of the scariest things in the world to me and her and although I hate to see my daughter scared of the water, this incident actually served a purpose. It instilled in her a healthy fear of the ocean. After she readjusted to being at the beach and playing in the surf, she enjoyed the beach, the sand, the waves and the ocean--but did not run into the water carelessly or fearlessly.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Mother's Day Moments
The Pookie did not have the best night's sleep the night before Mother's Day. Londo helped ease the difficulty of getting him back to sleep at least once. But when the Pookie woke up at 6:00, I was just too tired to get right out of bed. Luckily, he usually entertains himself for about a half hour after waking up for the day, so I went back to sleep.
About 30 minutes later, I woke up and jumped out of bed. The monitor was off, which isn't unusual in the mornings, since I turn it off if he's playing happily in his crib. But the door to our bedroom was shut! With the monitor off, I need the door open so I can hear him when he is really crying and upset and hungry and ready to GET UP. We always leave the door open during the night, but the Pumpkin often shuts it when she comes into bed with us during the night.
And sure enough, as I jumped out of bed, I noticed that the Pumpkin was in our bed. But... Londo wasn't! Oh, Happy Mother's Day to me! Londo got the baby so that I could sleep in. I climbed back in bed, cuddled up with a very snuggly Pumpkin, and went back to sleep.
-----------------------
Around 7:00, the Pumpkin started stirring. I opened my eyes, and she was smiling at me.
caramama: Did you know it's Mother's Day?
Pumpkin: Oh, it is?
caramama: Yes, it is. Can you tell me "Happy Mother's Day"?
Pumpkin: Happy Mother's Day!
caramama: Oh, thank you!
Pumpkin (after contemplative a moment): Where's Daddy?
caramama: He's downstairs with [the Pookie's real name]. Do you want to go down with them?
Pumpkin: No, I just want to snuggle with you.
caramama (heart melting): Okay.
After a minute or less...
Pumpkin: I want to go downstairs. Do you want to come with me?
caramama (not surprised by this not-unusual turn of events): No, I'm going to sleep in a little bit. You can go downstairs with daddy and [the Pookie's real name].
Pumpkin: Okay. You sleep in a little. I'll rub your back.
Then, she rubbed my back a little bit. I closed my eyes, acting like I was going to sleep and trying so hard to not smile. And then? She leaned over and kissed my cheek! Next, she got up, off the bed, opened the bedroom door, closed it behind her and called out to her Daddy to tell him she wanted to go downstairs (there is a babygate at the top of the stairs that she hasn't completely figured out yet).
Although I wasn't able to fall back asleep, I did lie in bed reading for like an hour or more, while Londo dealt with breakfast, tantrums and general whiny-ness. And when I did go downstairs for breakfast, Londo made me sweet rolls and cheesy eggs, as I requested. Londo gave me cards from him and the kids, and he gave me a gold baby booty charm for the charm bracelet I will eventually have, but for now looks lovely on a necklace chain. It was wonderful morning.
-----------------------
The Pumpkin's swim class is now on Sundays (which we go to with one of my BFFs and her son). We get in our swim suits before we leave, and take off our outer clothes in the locker room. This week, the Pumpkin wanted to put her flipflops on by herself, but I told her that the ground was dirty and I didn't want her to sit on the floor in the locker room. I told her to sit on the bench. She promptly, without a word, slide off the bench and leaned down, looking like she was going to sit on the floor. I got frustrated at this very common experience of her ignoring what we are telling her to do/not do and trying to do what she wants anyway. I firmly reminded her that I didn't want her sitting on the floor, and I put her back on the bench. She slide off, and as I started to get mad, she finally explained that she wasn't going to sit on the floor. She "just wanted to stand up to put them on." Well, that's a fine compromise, and I told her so and explained why it was a compromise (not sitting on the floor, not sitting on the bench).
-----------------------
The activities in the swim class are hit or miss with my girl. Some activities she generally likes, some she doesn't. Sometimes she doesn't like the same activity she loved the week before, or vise versa. She never likes to put her head, ears or eyes under the water, and although we've been working on it, I'm not going to push it especially on Mother's Day. Not worth the fight, when I know she'll get there in her own time.
This week, she LOVED jumping off the bench/ledge that's in the water. She puts her arms up "like Supergirl" and jumps to me. She loved this activity so much, that she would jump as soon as I had put her down on the ledge, way before I was ready. I explained that she had to wait until I was ready, and that she should ask me if I'm ready before she jumps. She started doing just that on the very next jump. Which was nice, because through most of the class she didn't listen to what I or the teacher told her to do. She didn't follow any instructions really, and kept hanging on and pulling me.
Near the end of class, she begged to go down the clam slide. She loves slides. The teacher accommodated her request by hurrying through the last activity. Then, we told her she could go down once. She got to the top of the slide, and freaked out. The previous week, she went down it twice, but you land in water at the bottom, and she did NOT like that. So there she was at the top, and she started getting all upset. At the teacher's suggestion, I got her to come around the side of the slide and just put her on halfway and hold her as she went down, making sure she didn't dunk at the bottom. That was a success.
-----------------------
After swim class, the Pumpkin thinks it's really fun to take a shower in the locker room. I got her shampoo and soap for the shower, and she started taking off her flipflops. I explained that she needed to leave them on in the shower. She tried to take them off anyway. I insisted that if she wanted to shower here, she had to leave them on. She did, and we headed to the shower. Where she promptly turned up the volume on defying, ignoring and arguing with me.
We were maybe in the shower for a minute--two tops!--and I had already told her twice that if she wanted to take a shower there, she had to listen and follow my instructions. I told her that she had one more chance, and if she didn't listen we were going to go home without finishing the shower. Literally, 10 seconds later, she continued arguing/whining, sitting bare-bottomed on the gross floor. She insisted that she didn't want her hair washed. The hair that already had some shampoo in it. The hair that I didn't even finish rinsing off, as I grabbed her off the floor, sobbing and whining. I bundled her in a towel and out of the shower. I explained firm, and angrily, that I was putting her clothes on and my clothes on and then we were leaving. She'd have to shower at home. She kept crying that she wanted a shower there in the locker room. And I basically (and probably verbatim) said too bad.
Do you know how the sound in locker rooms carry and echo? Yeah, that was fun.
-----------------------
Over the past year, we've tried numerous times to get the Pookie to nap at my parents' house when we are there for family gatherings. But it's like he knows there is all sorts of fun going on elsewhere, and he refuses to sleep! So on Mother's Day I realized that we needed to get that boy a nap at our own house before going to my mom's for a cookout. This was really a good idea.
While he was napping, the Pumpkin and I made pudding, and we got ready to go over. We got over there about 4:30, had some early dinner and played with everyone. It was a good time, made so much better by having a well-rested baby. The Pumpkin is now old enough to go off and play with her cousins, which she did at one point, but she still likes to stay around the adults.
For dessert, my mom had ice cream and toppings available. I had brought the pudding with blackberries to go on top. My husband started dishing out the ice cream, and called out, "Who wants ice cream?" Of course all the kids came running. My girl was one of them, and she was especially interested in the sprinkles/jimmies to go on top. Although this was prior to the Pumpkin's allergy appointment, we had been careful all year long since we first suspected the peanut allergy. So before Londo gave any to her, I reminded him, "Be sure to check the label." My dad said, "There are no nuts in it. It's vanilla!" I responded, "But we have to check to see if there are any nuts in the facility where it was made and packaged." Sure enough, Londo read out loud, "Made in a facility that also contains peanuts, treenuts..."
So no ice cream for the Pumpkin. Luckily, I did have the pudding, and I quickly dished her a bowl and Londo put sprinkles on top, and she was as happy as could be! (Although later I realized that we didn't check the sprinkles' label! Doh!)
-----------------------
We got home right at bedtime. Londo and I swept the kids straight upstairs and started their bedtime routines. As part of the bedtime routines, the Pumpkin (and now the Pookie) has always given us a hug and kiss goodnight. But lately, the Pumpkin has not wanted to give me one before I go to put the Pookie to bed. In fact, probably every night the week leading up to Mother's Day was without a kiss. I don't believe in forcing them, but I do want it to be part of the bedtime routine.
So that night, I said to her that I would like my hug and kiss while she was on bed. She rolled away from me, as usual. I kneeled down and looked her in the eye and said, "Pumpkin, I've had a really wonderful Mother's Day. You have made it so special for me! What would really be special is if you gave me a hug and kiss goodnight right now. That would make me so happy!" She thought about it for a minute, and then she sat up and gave me a wonderful hug and kiss! A beautiful end to a (mostly) lovely day.
About 30 minutes later, I woke up and jumped out of bed. The monitor was off, which isn't unusual in the mornings, since I turn it off if he's playing happily in his crib. But the door to our bedroom was shut! With the monitor off, I need the door open so I can hear him when he is really crying and upset and hungry and ready to GET UP. We always leave the door open during the night, but the Pumpkin often shuts it when she comes into bed with us during the night.
And sure enough, as I jumped out of bed, I noticed that the Pumpkin was in our bed. But... Londo wasn't! Oh, Happy Mother's Day to me! Londo got the baby so that I could sleep in. I climbed back in bed, cuddled up with a very snuggly Pumpkin, and went back to sleep.
-----------------------
Around 7:00, the Pumpkin started stirring. I opened my eyes, and she was smiling at me.
caramama: Did you know it's Mother's Day?
Pumpkin: Oh, it is?
caramama: Yes, it is. Can you tell me "Happy Mother's Day"?
Pumpkin: Happy Mother's Day!
caramama: Oh, thank you!
Pumpkin (after contemplative a moment): Where's Daddy?
caramama: He's downstairs with [the Pookie's real name]. Do you want to go down with them?
Pumpkin: No, I just want to snuggle with you.
caramama (heart melting): Okay.
After a minute or less...
Pumpkin: I want to go downstairs. Do you want to come with me?
caramama (not surprised by this not-unusual turn of events): No, I'm going to sleep in a little bit. You can go downstairs with daddy and [the Pookie's real name].
Pumpkin: Okay. You sleep in a little. I'll rub your back.
Then, she rubbed my back a little bit. I closed my eyes, acting like I was going to sleep and trying so hard to not smile. And then? She leaned over and kissed my cheek! Next, she got up, off the bed, opened the bedroom door, closed it behind her and called out to her Daddy to tell him she wanted to go downstairs (there is a babygate at the top of the stairs that she hasn't completely figured out yet).
Although I wasn't able to fall back asleep, I did lie in bed reading for like an hour or more, while Londo dealt with breakfast, tantrums and general whiny-ness. And when I did go downstairs for breakfast, Londo made me sweet rolls and cheesy eggs, as I requested. Londo gave me cards from him and the kids, and he gave me a gold baby booty charm for the charm bracelet I will eventually have, but for now looks lovely on a necklace chain. It was wonderful morning.
-----------------------
The Pumpkin's swim class is now on Sundays (which we go to with one of my BFFs and her son). We get in our swim suits before we leave, and take off our outer clothes in the locker room. This week, the Pumpkin wanted to put her flipflops on by herself, but I told her that the ground was dirty and I didn't want her to sit on the floor in the locker room. I told her to sit on the bench. She promptly, without a word, slide off the bench and leaned down, looking like she was going to sit on the floor. I got frustrated at this very common experience of her ignoring what we are telling her to do/not do and trying to do what she wants anyway. I firmly reminded her that I didn't want her sitting on the floor, and I put her back on the bench. She slide off, and as I started to get mad, she finally explained that she wasn't going to sit on the floor. She "just wanted to stand up to put them on." Well, that's a fine compromise, and I told her so and explained why it was a compromise (not sitting on the floor, not sitting on the bench).
-----------------------
The activities in the swim class are hit or miss with my girl. Some activities she generally likes, some she doesn't. Sometimes she doesn't like the same activity she loved the week before, or vise versa. She never likes to put her head, ears or eyes under the water, and although we've been working on it, I'm not going to push it especially on Mother's Day. Not worth the fight, when I know she'll get there in her own time.
This week, she LOVED jumping off the bench/ledge that's in the water. She puts her arms up "like Supergirl" and jumps to me. She loved this activity so much, that she would jump as soon as I had put her down on the ledge, way before I was ready. I explained that she had to wait until I was ready, and that she should ask me if I'm ready before she jumps. She started doing just that on the very next jump. Which was nice, because through most of the class she didn't listen to what I or the teacher told her to do. She didn't follow any instructions really, and kept hanging on and pulling me.
Near the end of class, she begged to go down the clam slide. She loves slides. The teacher accommodated her request by hurrying through the last activity. Then, we told her she could go down once. She got to the top of the slide, and freaked out. The previous week, she went down it twice, but you land in water at the bottom, and she did NOT like that. So there she was at the top, and she started getting all upset. At the teacher's suggestion, I got her to come around the side of the slide and just put her on halfway and hold her as she went down, making sure she didn't dunk at the bottom. That was a success.
-----------------------
After swim class, the Pumpkin thinks it's really fun to take a shower in the locker room. I got her shampoo and soap for the shower, and she started taking off her flipflops. I explained that she needed to leave them on in the shower. She tried to take them off anyway. I insisted that if she wanted to shower here, she had to leave them on. She did, and we headed to the shower. Where she promptly turned up the volume on defying, ignoring and arguing with me.
We were maybe in the shower for a minute--two tops!--and I had already told her twice that if she wanted to take a shower there, she had to listen and follow my instructions. I told her that she had one more chance, and if she didn't listen we were going to go home without finishing the shower. Literally, 10 seconds later, she continued arguing/whining, sitting bare-bottomed on the gross floor. She insisted that she didn't want her hair washed. The hair that already had some shampoo in it. The hair that I didn't even finish rinsing off, as I grabbed her off the floor, sobbing and whining. I bundled her in a towel and out of the shower. I explained firm, and angrily, that I was putting her clothes on and my clothes on and then we were leaving. She'd have to shower at home. She kept crying that she wanted a shower there in the locker room. And I basically (and probably verbatim) said too bad.
Do you know how the sound in locker rooms carry and echo? Yeah, that was fun.
-----------------------
Over the past year, we've tried numerous times to get the Pookie to nap at my parents' house when we are there for family gatherings. But it's like he knows there is all sorts of fun going on elsewhere, and he refuses to sleep! So on Mother's Day I realized that we needed to get that boy a nap at our own house before going to my mom's for a cookout. This was really a good idea.
While he was napping, the Pumpkin and I made pudding, and we got ready to go over. We got over there about 4:30, had some early dinner and played with everyone. It was a good time, made so much better by having a well-rested baby. The Pumpkin is now old enough to go off and play with her cousins, which she did at one point, but she still likes to stay around the adults.
For dessert, my mom had ice cream and toppings available. I had brought the pudding with blackberries to go on top. My husband started dishing out the ice cream, and called out, "Who wants ice cream?" Of course all the kids came running. My girl was one of them, and she was especially interested in the sprinkles/jimmies to go on top. Although this was prior to the Pumpkin's allergy appointment, we had been careful all year long since we first suspected the peanut allergy. So before Londo gave any to her, I reminded him, "Be sure to check the label." My dad said, "There are no nuts in it. It's vanilla!" I responded, "But we have to check to see if there are any nuts in the facility where it was made and packaged." Sure enough, Londo read out loud, "Made in a facility that also contains peanuts, treenuts..."
So no ice cream for the Pumpkin. Luckily, I did have the pudding, and I quickly dished her a bowl and Londo put sprinkles on top, and she was as happy as could be! (Although later I realized that we didn't check the sprinkles' label! Doh!)
-----------------------
We got home right at bedtime. Londo and I swept the kids straight upstairs and started their bedtime routines. As part of the bedtime routines, the Pumpkin (and now the Pookie) has always given us a hug and kiss goodnight. But lately, the Pumpkin has not wanted to give me one before I go to put the Pookie to bed. In fact, probably every night the week leading up to Mother's Day was without a kiss. I don't believe in forcing them, but I do want it to be part of the bedtime routine.
So that night, I said to her that I would like my hug and kiss while she was on bed. She rolled away from me, as usual. I kneeled down and looked her in the eye and said, "Pumpkin, I've had a really wonderful Mother's Day. You have made it so special for me! What would really be special is if you gave me a hug and kiss goodnight right now. That would make me so happy!" She thought about it for a minute, and then she sat up and gave me a wonderful hug and kiss! A beautiful end to a (mostly) lovely day.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Question of the Week - And the Living's Easy...
What a fantastic weekend! The meet up at the At Play Cafe was so much fun (I'll definitely write up a post about that soon)! I had a lovely Sunday getting some good nesting in, the culmination of which was a cleaned out and organized linen closet (which I'd been meaning to do for months). And Monday was spent at the pool and relaxing at home. I do love summer time, especially long weekends with fun plans.
This week's question of the week is:
What summertime activities do you look forward to doing?
For me, it's the pool, the lake, the beach. Basically, hanging out in the side beside and in water.
This year, Londo, the Pumpkin and I will not be able to make our annual beach trip to the time share with my parents. Even though the beach is only 2.5 - 3 hours away, the trip would be... hmmmm... I think next week. And I am in no shape to do any car trip over 30 minutes. Plus, Londo kind of wants to keep me near our doctors and the hospital. Cause, you know, I could pop any minute.
These limitations also interfer with any trips up to my cousin's lake house, which is 2.5 - 3 hours in the other direction. The house is so relaxing, and although the lake is really cold it is beautiful. But the best part is zooming around on the speed boat, something I am totally not up for.
Which leaves the pool. The wonderful, cooling, just-down-the-street neighborhood pool. Where I can feel almost normal again and can carry and play with the Pumpkin in the big pool. Where we can come and go so easily from our house when the mood strikes us.
We'll also blow up the fun baby pool in our backyard and play back there a lot during the summer. We would have done that this weekend, but our beagle discovered a nest of baby bunnies* in our backyard**, so we are trying to keep toddler and dog away until either the mama bunny moves them or we figure out what to do with them. This also cuts down on Londo's favorite summertime activity, which is grilling while the family is hanging out in the backyard.
Those are the things I look forward to about summer. I'm a water sign, so what do you expect? Of course this particular summer, I'm also really looking forward to the birth of our son!
So what about you? Do you love summer like I do? Even if you don't, what fun summertime things are you anticipating?
*Unlike the baby birds' nest which is up too high to disturb, this nest is in a shallow hole right in a main part of our yard. It's like we are some sort of animal habitat or something. What's going on?
**For those who don't know, beagles are actually bread to hunt out rabbits. You'd think the mama bunny would have been smart enough to not build a nest in the backyard of a beagle! But our neighborhood is totally overrun with rabbits, so we guess that they are just out of room and finding any place. Dumb but cute, those bunnies.
This week's question of the week is:
What summertime activities do you look forward to doing?
For me, it's the pool, the lake, the beach. Basically, hanging out in the side beside and in water.
This year, Londo, the Pumpkin and I will not be able to make our annual beach trip to the time share with my parents. Even though the beach is only 2.5 - 3 hours away, the trip would be... hmmmm... I think next week. And I am in no shape to do any car trip over 30 minutes. Plus, Londo kind of wants to keep me near our doctors and the hospital. Cause, you know, I could pop any minute.
These limitations also interfer with any trips up to my cousin's lake house, which is 2.5 - 3 hours in the other direction. The house is so relaxing, and although the lake is really cold it is beautiful. But the best part is zooming around on the speed boat, something I am totally not up for.
Which leaves the pool. The wonderful, cooling, just-down-the-street neighborhood pool. Where I can feel almost normal again and can carry and play with the Pumpkin in the big pool. Where we can come and go so easily from our house when the mood strikes us.
We'll also blow up the fun baby pool in our backyard and play back there a lot during the summer. We would have done that this weekend, but our beagle discovered a nest of baby bunnies* in our backyard**, so we are trying to keep toddler and dog away until either the mama bunny moves them or we figure out what to do with them. This also cuts down on Londo's favorite summertime activity, which is grilling while the family is hanging out in the backyard.
Those are the things I look forward to about summer. I'm a water sign, so what do you expect? Of course this particular summer, I'm also really looking forward to the birth of our son!
So what about you? Do you love summer like I do? Even if you don't, what fun summertime things are you anticipating?
*Unlike the baby birds' nest which is up too high to disturb, this nest is in a shallow hole right in a main part of our yard. It's like we are some sort of animal habitat or something. What's going on?
**For those who don't know, beagles are actually bread to hunt out rabbits. You'd think the mama bunny would have been smart enough to not build a nest in the backyard of a beagle! But our neighborhood is totally overrun with rabbits, so we guess that they are just out of room and finding any place. Dumb but cute, those bunnies.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Question of the Week - Recharging and Centering
I've been MIA for almost a week for a very good reason... I was in Florida with two of my oldest and dearest friends. Just us three in a hotel on the beach. No kids, no husbands, no computers. It. Was. Awesome!
We got connections that hooked us up with an unbelievable rate at a super nice resort. We had a fantastic room with a sliding glass door that lead out to a little patio. It overlooked the pool, palm trees, sand and ocean. We would wake up, open the curtains and door, watch the waves and listen to the surf. It was amazing.
Unfortunately, it was a bit cold (even in the 50s one day) and very windy while we were there. But just because we didn't lay out on the beach did not mean we didn't have a great time and enjoyed every second of it.
For me, going to Florida in the winter is good for my mental health because there is stronger sunlight down there in the winter than in the DC area. Also, the warmth helps me feel like spring is not too far away.
But even more than those things, there is something about the beach and ocean that center me, any time of year. When I get to an ocean, I just look out at the horizon, take deep breaths, listen to the surf and feel at peace. I've realized that I need to make a trip to the ocean at least once a year or I feel off all year long.
In addition to the centering I felt from being at the ocean, I also was able to recharge my batteries (as one of my friends put it) and reconnect with my two friends at a deeper level than we have for years. Since we weren't chasing after kids, making sure our husbands were having a good time, worrying about our house being messy, and all that other stuff, we were able to relax and enjoy each others company. And I don't think we stopped for more than 5 minutes while we were together! We caught up on everything.
So today's question of the week is:
What helps you to recharge or center yourself?
Do you have a place or a hobby or an activity that does this for you? Does being with friends and without the normal, every day hassles recharge you? Do you need breaks or do anything to center yourself?
We got connections that hooked us up with an unbelievable rate at a super nice resort. We had a fantastic room with a sliding glass door that lead out to a little patio. It overlooked the pool, palm trees, sand and ocean. We would wake up, open the curtains and door, watch the waves and listen to the surf. It was amazing.
Unfortunately, it was a bit cold (even in the 50s one day) and very windy while we were there. But just because we didn't lay out on the beach did not mean we didn't have a great time and enjoyed every second of it.
For me, going to Florida in the winter is good for my mental health because there is stronger sunlight down there in the winter than in the DC area. Also, the warmth helps me feel like spring is not too far away.
But even more than those things, there is something about the beach and ocean that center me, any time of year. When I get to an ocean, I just look out at the horizon, take deep breaths, listen to the surf and feel at peace. I've realized that I need to make a trip to the ocean at least once a year or I feel off all year long.
In addition to the centering I felt from being at the ocean, I also was able to recharge my batteries (as one of my friends put it) and reconnect with my two friends at a deeper level than we have for years. Since we weren't chasing after kids, making sure our husbands were having a good time, worrying about our house being messy, and all that other stuff, we were able to relax and enjoy each others company. And I don't think we stopped for more than 5 minutes while we were together! We caught up on everything.
So today's question of the week is:
What helps you to recharge or center yourself?
Do you have a place or a hobby or an activity that does this for you? Does being with friends and without the normal, every day hassles recharge you? Do you need breaks or do anything to center yourself?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
This and That
Update at bottom
I've been so neglectful, and I have a bunch of things that I want to say. So I'm doing one of those posts full of random tidbits, mostly updates from other posts. Hey, it's better than not posting at all, right?
-----------------------
I'd love to add all my online friends as Facebook friends. I really would! But (you knew there was going to be a "but," right?) when I started my blog I promised my internet-security conscious husband that I would not use our real names* or post pictures where you could see any of our faces. I'm on Facebook with my real name, with the Pumpkin's real name and linked to my husband with his real name. We have both already posted pics of us and the Pumpkin. So to friend my online friends (even via email) would go against the spirit of my promise to my husband and his comfort level of the internet and my blog. I hope you all understand. And I hope we can just keep up with each other through the blog. Maybe I'll get back into Twitter too... We'll see.
*Cara is actually a nickname for my middle name, and one that I no longer use in real life (except when meeting other bloggers). It's a shame, because it's the name I prefer by far, but everyone else knows me by my first name or the nickname of my first name.
-----------------------
We had about a week and a half of really good (for us) nights of sleep! About 3 of them, the Pumpkin slept through the night in her own bed all night long! The other nights, she would get out of her bed, walk down the hall, come into our room, climb in bed with us, snuggle with Londo and go right back asleep (which I've mentioned before). This suits us just fine, because we don't have to get out of bed and we are getting huge chunks of sleep! Now that Londo is used to how she wakes us up, neither of us have a problem with her coming into our bed, as long as she is sleeping. After all, we've spent well over a year cosleeping half the night in her room in that little twin bed where we were very uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, the last few nights have not gone as well. She is not going right back to sleep and is fussing, fidgeting and even crying. But at least we got a little respite.
Londo and I discussed how we felt if she continues to come into our bed long term (based on the feedback I got from you guys), and we both agreed that we honestly don't mind if it continues for even years. Londo remembers being scared of the dark when he was younger and that his parents always let him come to bed with them if he felt he needed it. It meant a lot to him. Also, we just don't have a problem with the "family bed" if that is what works for everyone. It's pretty normal in other cultures, and I know it's just about what each family is comfortable with. We long ago agreed that the dog and cat could sleep with us, and we've got a king-sized bed. If it's Londo, me, the dog, the cat, the Pumpkin and future child in bed with us, as long as we can all get comfortable and sleep most of the night, we are fine with it.
I totally appreciate the view points everyone shared in the last post about this. I don't know if I would have thought about the long term and discussed it with Londo on my own, and that was very important to do!
-----------------------
The Pumpkin and I have been taking showers together in our stall shower pretty regularly now, and it's working out great! We first attempted this when she had a stomach virus and we both needed to get cleaned up. Now, it's been become a fun, regular way to get her clean without me having to deal with the issues I was having with giving her a bath.
There have been a few times where she's thrown a toddler tantrum and even had a complete meltdown because she didn't want to get in or out or have a towel or whatever. But those would have happened no matter what we were doing--they were just those kind of nights.
She still doesn't like water right in her eyes, but I developed a great trick for rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. After shampooing it in while blocking the water, I put a washcloth over her eyes and get her to stand under the shower spray. The washcloth can be wet or dry, just as long as it doesn't have any soap on it. I hold it against her eyes with one hand while I rinse out the shampoo out with the other. And in no time at all, she is rinsed and back to playing with bottles and whatever else is on the stall floor.
The additional bonus is that I finally don't have to worry about how to fit in my shower. We usually shower at night, but sometimes in the morning, and not every day. This suits me perfectly! And I still get some showers without her, which is when I can shave and just enjoy being in the peacefulness of the shower.
-----------------------
In my car, the vents that are supposed to blow on my feet are not working. It has been very very cold. The other day, it was about 10 degrees F. Not only do I hate the winter, I also hate the cold.
The heater is working, just not the bottom vents. But consider this... I bundle up in a thick coat, a hat, a scarf and gloves, so I don't really need the heat blowing on my upper body. I wear pants to work, but no extra layer under them (because I don't have any maternity long johns). I do wear socks and shoes, but they aren't thick, warm socks or boots. So what I need the most is warm air on my bottom half. Which I don't get.
I'm hoping Londo will fix it soon. He thinks he can, but he needs to look at it. Maybe if he reads this post it will pressure him into fixing it soon. I'm not above that. ;-)
-----------------------
Well, that's all I've got for now. I've got a bunch more to post, but they are longer thoughts and deserve their own posts. Which means, I better start posting more regularly or I'll forget it all with my pregnancy brain!
-----------------------
Update:
Now I am feeling pretty self-conscious because no one is commenting. Are you all mad that I won't friend you on Facebook? It's not you, I promise! It's me! Or rather, it's Londo!!!
I've been so neglectful, and I have a bunch of things that I want to say. So I'm doing one of those posts full of random tidbits, mostly updates from other posts. Hey, it's better than not posting at all, right?
-----------------------
I'd love to add all my online friends as Facebook friends. I really would! But (you knew there was going to be a "but," right?) when I started my blog I promised my internet-security conscious husband that I would not use our real names* or post pictures where you could see any of our faces. I'm on Facebook with my real name, with the Pumpkin's real name and linked to my husband with his real name. We have both already posted pics of us and the Pumpkin. So to friend my online friends (even via email) would go against the spirit of my promise to my husband and his comfort level of the internet and my blog. I hope you all understand. And I hope we can just keep up with each other through the blog. Maybe I'll get back into Twitter too... We'll see.
*Cara is actually a nickname for my middle name, and one that I no longer use in real life (except when meeting other bloggers). It's a shame, because it's the name I prefer by far, but everyone else knows me by my first name or the nickname of my first name.
-----------------------
We had about a week and a half of really good (for us) nights of sleep! About 3 of them, the Pumpkin slept through the night in her own bed all night long! The other nights, she would get out of her bed, walk down the hall, come into our room, climb in bed with us, snuggle with Londo and go right back asleep (which I've mentioned before). This suits us just fine, because we don't have to get out of bed and we are getting huge chunks of sleep! Now that Londo is used to how she wakes us up, neither of us have a problem with her coming into our bed, as long as she is sleeping. After all, we've spent well over a year cosleeping half the night in her room in that little twin bed where we were very uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, the last few nights have not gone as well. She is not going right back to sleep and is fussing, fidgeting and even crying. But at least we got a little respite.
Londo and I discussed how we felt if she continues to come into our bed long term (based on the feedback I got from you guys), and we both agreed that we honestly don't mind if it continues for even years. Londo remembers being scared of the dark when he was younger and that his parents always let him come to bed with them if he felt he needed it. It meant a lot to him. Also, we just don't have a problem with the "family bed" if that is what works for everyone. It's pretty normal in other cultures, and I know it's just about what each family is comfortable with. We long ago agreed that the dog and cat could sleep with us, and we've got a king-sized bed. If it's Londo, me, the dog, the cat, the Pumpkin and future child in bed with us, as long as we can all get comfortable and sleep most of the night, we are fine with it.
I totally appreciate the view points everyone shared in the last post about this. I don't know if I would have thought about the long term and discussed it with Londo on my own, and that was very important to do!
-----------------------
The Pumpkin and I have been taking showers together in our stall shower pretty regularly now, and it's working out great! We first attempted this when she had a stomach virus and we both needed to get cleaned up. Now, it's been become a fun, regular way to get her clean without me having to deal with the issues I was having with giving her a bath.
There have been a few times where she's thrown a toddler tantrum and even had a complete meltdown because she didn't want to get in or out or have a towel or whatever. But those would have happened no matter what we were doing--they were just those kind of nights.
She still doesn't like water right in her eyes, but I developed a great trick for rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. After shampooing it in while blocking the water, I put a washcloth over her eyes and get her to stand under the shower spray. The washcloth can be wet or dry, just as long as it doesn't have any soap on it. I hold it against her eyes with one hand while I rinse out the shampoo out with the other. And in no time at all, she is rinsed and back to playing with bottles and whatever else is on the stall floor.
The additional bonus is that I finally don't have to worry about how to fit in my shower. We usually shower at night, but sometimes in the morning, and not every day. This suits me perfectly! And I still get some showers without her, which is when I can shave and just enjoy being in the peacefulness of the shower.
-----------------------
In my car, the vents that are supposed to blow on my feet are not working. It has been very very cold. The other day, it was about 10 degrees F. Not only do I hate the winter, I also hate the cold.
The heater is working, just not the bottom vents. But consider this... I bundle up in a thick coat, a hat, a scarf and gloves, so I don't really need the heat blowing on my upper body. I wear pants to work, but no extra layer under them (because I don't have any maternity long johns). I do wear socks and shoes, but they aren't thick, warm socks or boots. So what I need the most is warm air on my bottom half. Which I don't get.
I'm hoping Londo will fix it soon. He thinks he can, but he needs to look at it. Maybe if he reads this post it will pressure him into fixing it soon. I'm not above that. ;-)
-----------------------
Well, that's all I've got for now. I've got a bunch more to post, but they are longer thoughts and deserve their own posts. Which means, I better start posting more regularly or I'll forget it all with my pregnancy brain!
-----------------------
Update:
Now I am feeling pretty self-conscious because no one is commenting. Are you all mad that I won't friend you on Facebook? It's not you, I promise! It's me! Or rather, it's Londo!!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Vacation Highlights
Besides the lovely weather, there were a lot of great things about my vacation. Most of them (maybe all) directly related to my adventurous and active toddler. Here are a few:
- We were on the second floor of the hotel and took the elevator up and down multiple times a day. The Pumpkin called it the "elegator," which I truly hope she did not confuse with alligators. I do not want her to walk into their open mouths! Also, she loved to push the buttons for the elegator, and she was really good about only pushing the one we pointed to.
- I'm happy to report that so far the Pumpkin is a happy beach girl. This would be the third trip to the beach in her life, and each time has gone well. This time was especially good, because she is old enough to really enjoy it. She digs in the sand, she laughs as the surf hits her feet, she tries to go into the water farther (holding my hand at all times near the water), she picks up handfuls of wet sand and looks for shells, and she sits in the water left behind by the receeding tide and plays with her buckets and shovels. Also, she got a kick out of stomping in the water when I sang "If you're happy and you know it stomp your feet."
- The place where we stayed was really a resort area. This meant that things were expensive, but they were also very nice. (Thank goodness for the Hilton points my parents had saved up!) The Pumpkin did well at the couple of nice restaurants we went to, and I enjoyed some good meals.
- The plane rides went really well. I'm really glad that she did so well. Minimum fussing and no real screaming. All the tricks everyone told me really helped.
- I discovered that sometimes, when the Pumpkin can't reach my hair (like in her carseat on the plane), she will settle for the hair of a My Little Pony. But if my hair is at all an option, she still wants it during every bottle, when falling asleep and when she needs comfort. My hair is getting really sensitive to all the tugging and twisting. I'm hoping she will start going for the My Little Pony more and more.
- We are now on cold bottles and lying down in bed to fall alseep with the bottle for both naps and bedtime. These were just easier on vacation, and really it's time to start transitioning. I don't think Londo was ready for it, but I feel like it's probably past time and she seems to be handling it well.
- My parents got to spent a lot of quality time with the Pumpkin and really see how much personality she has now! Also, she is talking even more than she was the previous week, with new concepts and whole sentences. My parents are amazed and really enjoyed her.
I'm sure there are more, but that's all I've got for now. It really was a great vacation. It's hard to come back, but at least it's a short week.
- We were on the second floor of the hotel and took the elevator up and down multiple times a day. The Pumpkin called it the "elegator," which I truly hope she did not confuse with alligators. I do not want her to walk into their open mouths! Also, she loved to push the buttons for the elegator, and she was really good about only pushing the one we pointed to.
- I'm happy to report that so far the Pumpkin is a happy beach girl. This would be the third trip to the beach in her life, and each time has gone well. This time was especially good, because she is old enough to really enjoy it. She digs in the sand, she laughs as the surf hits her feet, she tries to go into the water farther (holding my hand at all times near the water), she picks up handfuls of wet sand and looks for shells, and she sits in the water left behind by the receeding tide and plays with her buckets and shovels. Also, she got a kick out of stomping in the water when I sang "If you're happy and you know it stomp your feet."
- The place where we stayed was really a resort area. This meant that things were expensive, but they were also very nice. (Thank goodness for the Hilton points my parents had saved up!) The Pumpkin did well at the couple of nice restaurants we went to, and I enjoyed some good meals.
- The plane rides went really well. I'm really glad that she did so well. Minimum fussing and no real screaming. All the tricks everyone told me really helped.
- I discovered that sometimes, when the Pumpkin can't reach my hair (like in her carseat on the plane), she will settle for the hair of a My Little Pony. But if my hair is at all an option, she still wants it during every bottle, when falling asleep and when she needs comfort. My hair is getting really sensitive to all the tugging and twisting. I'm hoping she will start going for the My Little Pony more and more.
- We are now on cold bottles and lying down in bed to fall alseep with the bottle for both naps and bedtime. These were just easier on vacation, and really it's time to start transitioning. I don't think Londo was ready for it, but I feel like it's probably past time and she seems to be handling it well.
- My parents got to spent a lot of quality time with the Pumpkin and really see how much personality she has now! Also, she is talking even more than she was the previous week, with new concepts and whole sentences. My parents are amazed and really enjoyed her.
I'm sure there are more, but that's all I've got for now. It really was a great vacation. It's hard to come back, but at least it's a short week.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
caramama Updates
It has occurred to me that I write about a lot of different things, especially issues we are having, and then I never write any updates or resolutions. So today, I'm going to give some updates.
Let's see...
Weaning the Pumpkin
Although I didn't feel ready to wean the Pumpkin, it actually went surprisingly smoothly. I think this was for two main reasons: the timing and her already taking bottles during the day. Although she really enjoyed nursing, she seemed to be in a stage where she didn't HAVE to have it. She was already taking bottles for her nap and once a week for bedtime (Londo was putting her to bed one night a week to give me a break). So we just switched her morning nursing and the rest of the betimes to bottle. She hasn't really seemed to miss it at all. I have, but she seems to have moved on. And we still get the close, snuggle time when I give her bottles and rock her to sleep.
Big Girl Bed
It's been almost two weeks since we moved the Pumpkin to the twin bed in her room. This has also gone surprisingly smooth. That's not to say that it was some perfect fix for her inability to consistently sleep through the night or her need for us to rock her to sleep. Not at all. But she is sleeping (or not) just as well in the twin bed as she was in her crib. The one thing that is WAY better is that putting her down is so much easier. She used to sometimes wake up when I leaned over to put her down in the crib. Now, it's much smoother of a transition.
When she wakes up in the nights or in the mornings, instead of standing in her crib crying, she now gets out of bed and stands at the door, jiggling the handle, crying/calling, "Mommy, open door! Daddy, open door!" When one of us goes and opens the door, she runs into her room straight for the rocking chair, saying, "Rocking chair!" Then, we rock her back to sleep and slip into bed with her. If we wake up during the night or in the morning and she is fast asleep, we slip out of bed and back into our own bed. I'm much happier with this set up, and I think she is too.
Climbing vs. Childproofing
When I wrote about what a monkey my little girl is, sheSaid said, "I had been wanting to ask you how you balance satisfying her climbing need and childproofing. We don't seem to have enough he can actually climb safely (he's still short so he can only reach certain things)."
The short answer is, I don't know that we do. Balance is such hard work. Also, our girl is very tall on top of able to climb, so she can (and does) get into EVERYTHING! We quickly realized that we had to put locks on all the doors in the kitchen. We are not a family that can get away with not locking them. All of them. In addition, we had to take just about everything off of shelves that were below the counter height. In the last month, I actually had to move everything that was on the counter by the kitchen table and chair to ON TOP OF THE FRIDGE! I'm not kidding. Our bread box and napkins are now up there, which I can barely reach (I'm only 5'2").
She tries to climb on tables now, too. We just keep telling her no, to sit down in the chair or not get on the coffee table. We let her climb in any chair she wants and the couch, but she's not supposed to stand in them. Ha! There's pretty much no stopping her and she isn't good at listening to "No." With her, it's all about putting things up even higher, distracting her, and deciding what to just let go because it's not that big a deal if she plays with it.
We did get one of those toddler cube/slide things for the backyard (yeah for freecycle!) and the babysitter takes her to a playground pretty much every day. But she still tries to climb everything, including us.
Baths
Baths have gotten better mostly since I was losing it. I did a lot of what you all suggested in a throw-everything-including-the-kitchen-sink-at-the-problem-and-hope-something-sticks method. The things I think that have helped the most are getting a bunch of new toys, her being older and therefore better about holding her head back so I can pour water without getting it in her eyes, being sure to take turns with Londo so I don't get overwhelmed, and letting a lot of it go. Hearing that many people just let them drink the bath water helped. I don't really want to offer her a sippy cup or other water, because we try to limit water after dinner. She gets a big bottle before bed, and her diapers are always very full. After a few leaks, we instituted the no water after dinner. But if she drinks some bath water, it won't kill her.
--------------------
I'm sure there is a ton more I can update, but those are the big things that come to mind now. Am I missing anything that anyone has been wondering about? (Besides the TTC stuff. I'm not ready to talk more about that yet.)
Let's see...
Weaning the Pumpkin
Although I didn't feel ready to wean the Pumpkin, it actually went surprisingly smoothly. I think this was for two main reasons: the timing and her already taking bottles during the day. Although she really enjoyed nursing, she seemed to be in a stage where she didn't HAVE to have it. She was already taking bottles for her nap and once a week for bedtime (Londo was putting her to bed one night a week to give me a break). So we just switched her morning nursing and the rest of the betimes to bottle. She hasn't really seemed to miss it at all. I have, but she seems to have moved on. And we still get the close, snuggle time when I give her bottles and rock her to sleep.
Big Girl Bed
It's been almost two weeks since we moved the Pumpkin to the twin bed in her room. This has also gone surprisingly smooth. That's not to say that it was some perfect fix for her inability to consistently sleep through the night or her need for us to rock her to sleep. Not at all. But she is sleeping (or not) just as well in the twin bed as she was in her crib. The one thing that is WAY better is that putting her down is so much easier. She used to sometimes wake up when I leaned over to put her down in the crib. Now, it's much smoother of a transition.
When she wakes up in the nights or in the mornings, instead of standing in her crib crying, she now gets out of bed and stands at the door, jiggling the handle, crying/calling, "Mommy, open door! Daddy, open door!" When one of us goes and opens the door, she runs into her room straight for the rocking chair, saying, "Rocking chair!" Then, we rock her back to sleep and slip into bed with her. If we wake up during the night or in the morning and she is fast asleep, we slip out of bed and back into our own bed. I'm much happier with this set up, and I think she is too.
Climbing vs. Childproofing
When I wrote about what a monkey my little girl is, sheSaid said, "I had been wanting to ask you how you balance satisfying her climbing need and childproofing. We don't seem to have enough he can actually climb safely (he's still short so he can only reach certain things)."
The short answer is, I don't know that we do. Balance is such hard work. Also, our girl is very tall on top of able to climb, so she can (and does) get into EVERYTHING! We quickly realized that we had to put locks on all the doors in the kitchen. We are not a family that can get away with not locking them. All of them. In addition, we had to take just about everything off of shelves that were below the counter height. In the last month, I actually had to move everything that was on the counter by the kitchen table and chair to ON TOP OF THE FRIDGE! I'm not kidding. Our bread box and napkins are now up there, which I can barely reach (I'm only 5'2").
She tries to climb on tables now, too. We just keep telling her no, to sit down in the chair or not get on the coffee table. We let her climb in any chair she wants and the couch, but she's not supposed to stand in them. Ha! There's pretty much no stopping her and she isn't good at listening to "No." With her, it's all about putting things up even higher, distracting her, and deciding what to just let go because it's not that big a deal if she plays with it.
We did get one of those toddler cube/slide things for the backyard (yeah for freecycle!) and the babysitter takes her to a playground pretty much every day. But she still tries to climb everything, including us.
Baths
Baths have gotten better mostly since I was losing it. I did a lot of what you all suggested in a throw-everything-including-the-kitchen-sink-at-the-problem-and-hope-something-sticks method. The things I think that have helped the most are getting a bunch of new toys, her being older and therefore better about holding her head back so I can pour water without getting it in her eyes, being sure to take turns with Londo so I don't get overwhelmed, and letting a lot of it go. Hearing that many people just let them drink the bath water helped. I don't really want to offer her a sippy cup or other water, because we try to limit water after dinner. She gets a big bottle before bed, and her diapers are always very full. After a few leaks, we instituted the no water after dinner. But if she drinks some bath water, it won't kill her.
--------------------
I'm sure there is a ton more I can update, but those are the big things that come to mind now. Am I missing anything that anyone has been wondering about? (Besides the TTC stuff. I'm not ready to talk more about that yet.)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Bath Time Breakdown
It's official. I hate giving my child a bath lately. I didn't used to, but lately I hate it as much as I used to hate my mornings. (My mornings are so much better, by the way. I actually really enjoy them now that the Pumpkin is older. Especially when she sleeps in her crib until after 7, giving me time to get ready all by myself!)
I think part of the problem is that I've been doing the majority of her baths over the last few weeks. This is due to a combination of Londo's being extremely sick for over a week and my getting home to late to give the child dinner. We have always traded off dinners and bath time, so if Londo gives the Pumpkin dinner, then I give her the bath. When I'm home to late for her dinner, then it's only fair for me to give her the baths.
Except lately, I'm about to lose it at bath time. There is something about this age, this 18 month fussy period, this tempermental, grabby, whiny, pushing-her-boundries, run-away-from-what-she-doesn't-like-while-screaming phase that is especially pronounced for me when she's in the bath. It's probably because we don't have enough bath toys to really do a good job with distraction and because there are things I need to get done in a limited amount of time and space.
Unfortunately, all she wants to do lately is drink gross bath water, run away from me when I try to wash the shampoo out of her hair, and fling her legs out from under her so she lands in the water on her bottom with a big splash. These three things drive me absolutely nuts. Let me tell you why.
I didn't think her drinking the bath water would totally drive me crazy. I also didn't think it would be so hard to get her to stop doing it. But for some reason, she just LOVES to lean over in the tub and drink the dirty, soapy water straight from the bath. And for some reason this. makes. me. crazy. I have tried many different ways to get her to stop, including saying no firmly, distracting her with other things, playing with her, pulling her up, ending the bath, yelling, etc. It simply does not seem to matter. She laughs at it all, and goes back to drinking the water with a little smirk on her face. Grrrr.
The Pumpkin does not like water to get in her eyes, so I try to be very careful when I rinse her hair. She is great about getting is shampooed, and sometimes she is even really good about letting me rinse. However, my girl cannot sit still, so sitting still with her head leaning back and eyes closed is simply not going to happen. I end up having to chase her around the tub with the special pour cup (it has one side that is flexible to put against the forehead just so it won't get water in her eyes!), trying desparately to get her to hold still and look up. When I finally get her to pause for a second and get one pour, she's off again. I'm keep trying to grab her slippery, wet arm to get her to hold still, but it's not easy. Rarely, she actually sits down and leans her head back so I can put the soft part of the cup against her forehead and use correctly... in that moment, things are perfect and we are both happy... and then she leans forward and tries to drink the bath water.
Finally, she also basically falls on her butt from standing, making a huge splash. This is so much fun for her, and I usually find it very funny. However, it is not so funny to me when I've just been trying to get her to stop drinking the bath water or rinse her hair and am sitting so close to the tub that I get soaked. When I'm already frustrated, getting soaked and mopping up a flood of water around the tub is not so fun for me. She still thinks it is hysterical, so I let her do it. It's not worth the fight.
After writing these, they feel like such little things. So why do they combine to drive me so very crazy? I'm not exactly sure, but they do. And I hate bath time.
Luckily, after my last fit about it in which I needed him to take her so I could cool down before reading her books, he said he would do bath time for a while to give me a break. That is good, cause I really really need it.
I think part of the problem is that I've been doing the majority of her baths over the last few weeks. This is due to a combination of Londo's being extremely sick for over a week and my getting home to late to give the child dinner. We have always traded off dinners and bath time, so if Londo gives the Pumpkin dinner, then I give her the bath. When I'm home to late for her dinner, then it's only fair for me to give her the baths.
Except lately, I'm about to lose it at bath time. There is something about this age, this 18 month fussy period, this tempermental, grabby, whiny, pushing-her-boundries, run-away-from-what-she-doesn't-like-while-screaming phase that is especially pronounced for me when she's in the bath. It's probably because we don't have enough bath toys to really do a good job with distraction and because there are things I need to get done in a limited amount of time and space.
Unfortunately, all she wants to do lately is drink gross bath water, run away from me when I try to wash the shampoo out of her hair, and fling her legs out from under her so she lands in the water on her bottom with a big splash. These three things drive me absolutely nuts. Let me tell you why.
I didn't think her drinking the bath water would totally drive me crazy. I also didn't think it would be so hard to get her to stop doing it. But for some reason, she just LOVES to lean over in the tub and drink the dirty, soapy water straight from the bath. And for some reason this. makes. me. crazy. I have tried many different ways to get her to stop, including saying no firmly, distracting her with other things, playing with her, pulling her up, ending the bath, yelling, etc. It simply does not seem to matter. She laughs at it all, and goes back to drinking the water with a little smirk on her face. Grrrr.
The Pumpkin does not like water to get in her eyes, so I try to be very careful when I rinse her hair. She is great about getting is shampooed, and sometimes she is even really good about letting me rinse. However, my girl cannot sit still, so sitting still with her head leaning back and eyes closed is simply not going to happen. I end up having to chase her around the tub with the special pour cup (it has one side that is flexible to put against the forehead just so it won't get water in her eyes!), trying desparately to get her to hold still and look up. When I finally get her to pause for a second and get one pour, she's off again. I'm keep trying to grab her slippery, wet arm to get her to hold still, but it's not easy. Rarely, she actually sits down and leans her head back so I can put the soft part of the cup against her forehead and use correctly... in that moment, things are perfect and we are both happy... and then she leans forward and tries to drink the bath water.
Finally, she also basically falls on her butt from standing, making a huge splash. This is so much fun for her, and I usually find it very funny. However, it is not so funny to me when I've just been trying to get her to stop drinking the bath water or rinse her hair and am sitting so close to the tub that I get soaked. When I'm already frustrated, getting soaked and mopping up a flood of water around the tub is not so fun for me. She still thinks it is hysterical, so I let her do it. It's not worth the fight.
After writing these, they feel like such little things. So why do they combine to drive me so very crazy? I'm not exactly sure, but they do. And I hate bath time.
Luckily, after my last fit about it in which I needed him to take her so I could cool down before reading her books, he said he would do bath time for a while to give me a break. That is good, cause I really really need it.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Don't Drink the Water
An interesting thing happened in my county on Sunday night. There was a water main break in the county water line, which resulted in the loss of water pressure and water service to some areas. Because of the possibility of contamination associated with loss of water pressure, we were under a "Boil Water Advisory." We had to use only boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, preparing food and washing hands.
In some ways, I felt like we were transported into the past. We kept bowls of the boiled (and cooled) water next to sinks so we could use that to wash our hands, brush our teeth and wash our faces. You know, like they used to have back before running water. I excitedly suggested we use the antique water jugs and basins I have collected, because that is exactly what they were for. Londo gently reminded me that they are antiques that I love and have in the guest room as decor and I would be very upset if something happened to them. But the point is that this is how people used to live.
And it sucks. The water gets cold when sitting in a bowl, and I hate cold water. We could have showered, but we'd have to wash off our hands and face with the boiled (and cooled) water afterwards. Oh, and we were supposed to reduce water usage, so showering and flushing the toilet were things we tried not to do. The baby drinks her bath water, so she could not have a bath with the water from the tap. So she went without a bath last night. So we are all a little dirty and the dishes are piling up in the kitchen. Lovely.
They have fixed the issue, but the Boil Water Advisory remains in effect for now. Hopefully, we will be back to running water soon. Especially since we just got a new water heater that I want to take full advantage of!
On the bright side, my office closed yesterday afternoon and today. I guess they realized that it's a little less than sanitary to not be able to wash your hands, and there is no way to boil water in the office. I'm working from home, something I used to do regularly but haven't been able to do much since moving to this project. We are back in the office tomorrow though... just in time for more meetings.
In some ways, I felt like we were transported into the past. We kept bowls of the boiled (and cooled) water next to sinks so we could use that to wash our hands, brush our teeth and wash our faces. You know, like they used to have back before running water. I excitedly suggested we use the antique water jugs and basins I have collected, because that is exactly what they were for. Londo gently reminded me that they are antiques that I love and have in the guest room as decor and I would be very upset if something happened to them. But the point is that this is how people used to live.
And it sucks. The water gets cold when sitting in a bowl, and I hate cold water. We could have showered, but we'd have to wash off our hands and face with the boiled (and cooled) water afterwards. Oh, and we were supposed to reduce water usage, so showering and flushing the toilet were things we tried not to do. The baby drinks her bath water, so she could not have a bath with the water from the tap. So she went without a bath last night. So we are all a little dirty and the dishes are piling up in the kitchen. Lovely.
They have fixed the issue, but the Boil Water Advisory remains in effect for now. Hopefully, we will be back to running water soon. Especially since we just got a new water heater that I want to take full advantage of!
On the bright side, my office closed yesterday afternoon and today. I guess they realized that it's a little less than sanitary to not be able to wash your hands, and there is no way to boil water in the office. I'm working from home, something I used to do regularly but haven't been able to do much since moving to this project. We are back in the office tomorrow though... just in time for more meetings.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Question of the Week - I'd Rather Be...
Well, I'm back to work today. It's so hard to get back in the groove of things after being on vacation. Granted my vacation was exhausting, but it was still a break from work after two major deadlines. And it's hard to come back, wade through all the email and create a massive To Do list. But here I am, although I'd rather be elsewhere.
Which, of course, brings us to the Question of the Week:
Where would you rather be right now?
Is mine obvious? I'd rather be on a beach. But let me get a little more specific. I'd rather be laying on a Caribbean beach (second choice would be a Mediterranean beach in Italy), hot sun beating down on me with a few puffy white clouds to break up the heat, a nice salty breeze, a rum drink in my hand, palm trees nearby, husband hanging out nearby (he's not a lay-out-on-the-beach guy), with no toddler in sight. I love my toddler and love spending time with her, but right now, I'd rather be relaxing in my perfect place with no worries or cares at all.
How about you? What would your "I'd rather be..." bumper sticker say?
Which, of course, brings us to the Question of the Week:
Where would you rather be right now?
Is mine obvious? I'd rather be on a beach. But let me get a little more specific. I'd rather be laying on a Caribbean beach (second choice would be a Mediterranean beach in Italy), hot sun beating down on me with a few puffy white clouds to break up the heat, a nice salty breeze, a rum drink in my hand, palm trees nearby, husband hanging out nearby (he's not a lay-out-on-the-beach guy), with no toddler in sight. I love my toddler and love spending time with her, but right now, I'd rather be relaxing in my perfect place with no worries or cares at all.
How about you? What would your "I'd rather be..." bumper sticker say?
Friday, May 30, 2008
Even Kid Bathing Suits Are Ridiculous
I've been annoyed with the bathing suit industry for most of my life. It's like common sense does not factor in their designs. For example, if women use band and cup sizes to find the right bra, why wouldn't bikini tops come in the same sizes? I know they usually do now, but for YEARS they came in small, medium or large, or they came in numbered sizes (size 6, 8, 10, etc.). And who doesn't know that humans often don't have the same size top as they do bottoms, so why wouldn't bathing suits always come in separate pieces?
But I thought that at least with children's bathing suits, they couldn't screw up too badly. Their just kids, so their sizes should be pretty simple. Now, I person don't like the idea of putting bikinis or even two pieces on a baby or toddler. It just doesn't look right to me. Those are adult styles designed to show off the body. IMO, children should be dressed more moderately. However, not everyone shares the same opinion, so I understand that the bathing suit industry makes bikinis and two pieces for infants.
What I can't get over is that one piece girl suits for babies and toddler don't have snaps at the bottom! Who designs these suits? Do they have or have they ever had children in diapers? Have they thought about what it's like to have to strip off a wet bathing suit in order to change a poopy swimmer diaper? And then try to get that wet bathing suit back on a squirmy toddler? RIDICULOUS!!!
Last year, after searching every store with childrens clothes in my area (which is considerable in the DC area), I found ONE bathing suit that had snaps at the bottom for my 3 month old. This year, that store is carrying some new line that I'm not ready to try, and no other stores have any with snaps. I just want a one piece bathing suit that has snaps at the bottom. Not a two piece*. Not something that looks like she's going surfing. And not something that is going to bug the crap out of me every time she needs a diaper change. URG!!
*Even if child's tankini was modest enough, I'm not good with sun block and am very nervous that I would miss a spot on my little girl's snow white belly. I just know the bathing suit top would pull up while my toddler was being her active self, and she'd end up with a bad burn on her precious skin. I'm simply not ready to attempt a two piece of any kind.
But I thought that at least with children's bathing suits, they couldn't screw up too badly. Their just kids, so their sizes should be pretty simple. Now, I person don't like the idea of putting bikinis or even two pieces on a baby or toddler. It just doesn't look right to me. Those are adult styles designed to show off the body. IMO, children should be dressed more moderately. However, not everyone shares the same opinion, so I understand that the bathing suit industry makes bikinis and two pieces for infants.
What I can't get over is that one piece girl suits for babies and toddler don't have snaps at the bottom! Who designs these suits? Do they have or have they ever had children in diapers? Have they thought about what it's like to have to strip off a wet bathing suit in order to change a poopy swimmer diaper? And then try to get that wet bathing suit back on a squirmy toddler? RIDICULOUS!!!
Last year, after searching every store with childrens clothes in my area (which is considerable in the DC area), I found ONE bathing suit that had snaps at the bottom for my 3 month old. This year, that store is carrying some new line that I'm not ready to try, and no other stores have any with snaps. I just want a one piece bathing suit that has snaps at the bottom. Not a two piece*. Not something that looks like she's going surfing. And not something that is going to bug the crap out of me every time she needs a diaper change. URG!!
*Even if child's tankini was modest enough, I'm not good with sun block and am very nervous that I would miss a spot on my little girl's snow white belly. I just know the bathing suit top would pull up while my toddler was being her active self, and she'd end up with a bad burn on her precious skin. I'm simply not ready to attempt a two piece of any kind.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
At Least We Support Each Other
In the evenings, Londo and I switch off who is going to feed the Pumpkin and who is going to give her the bath and get her ready for bed (I then nurse her to sleep, if I can). The other evening, Londo came home after leaving work late and being in a bunch of traffic, so I told him to do whichever would be easier for him. He said he'd rather feed her than kneel down by the tub.
What we didn't realize was that this night the Pumpkin was going to be a grumpy and picky eater (it happens). As she was throwing the food on the floor, banging her highchair tray, whining the whole time and not eating any number of things that Londo offered, here is a snippet of the conversation he and I had across the dinner table:
caramama (snarkily): Boy, am I glad you picked feeding her!
Londo: Yeah, thanks for your sympathy. I hope she poops in the tub for you.
caramama: haha
For the record, I finished feeding her when he got too frustrated and then I also gave her the bath! And Londo did all the dishes that had piled up in the sink while I put her to bed.
What we didn't realize was that this night the Pumpkin was going to be a grumpy and picky eater (it happens). As she was throwing the food on the floor, banging her highchair tray, whining the whole time and not eating any number of things that Londo offered, here is a snippet of the conversation he and I had across the dinner table:
caramama (snarkily): Boy, am I glad you picked feeding her!
Londo: Yeah, thanks for your sympathy. I hope she poops in the tub for you.
caramama: haha
For the record, I finished feeding her when he got too frustrated and then I also gave her the bath! And Londo did all the dishes that had piled up in the sink while I put her to bed.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Another Busy Sunday
I really do want to post on Sundays. I just keep getting so busy on Sunday mornings, and then we go to Water Babies (having a great time there, BTW), and today the Pumpkin and I are going to a playgroup after that which will probably last all afternoon. Sigh... I simply to busy with good stuff. It's just so tough to be me. ;-)
Sunday, January 13, 2008
This Isn't Really a Post
I hope you weren't expecting much today. I've started another book, so I'm not online as much as usual. I did go with a romance because I forgot that I had a book in a series I enjoy, and I just had to know what happens next. Besides, it's not even halfway through the month, so I have plenty of time to read Jane Eyre. Also, we go to Water Babies today, so I have to get ready soon. Plus, I've been feeling pretty down lately and don't have it in me to write much.
I hope everyone out there is having a good day!
I hope everyone out there is having a good day!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Watering My Baby
On Sunday, the Pumpkin and I went to our first class of Water Babies! My good friend and her baby, who is 15 months old, also went, and it's fun to have a friend to go with. Not that I didn't talk to all the other moms and dads, because I will strike up a conversation with anyone.
Here's how the class went:
Once I got us changed into our bathing suits* and our stuff locked in the locker, we joined the class and headed into the very shallow area of the pool. We sat the babies in the water and dribbled water over their heads to get them used to it. The Pumpkin liked splashing around, but wasn't thrilled with the water dripping into her face.
Then we got colored rings and threw them a little way in front of the babies to get them to crawl to them. I felt like I was playing fetch with my dog, including the part where after the second time, the Pumpkin just kept going. Just like my dog, who says "forget this 'fetch it back' stuff, I'm going to check out what's over there!" But it was really cute and we had fun with this part, because the Pumpkin loves to crawl around in the bath tub and now she had ROOM to crawl! We crawled over to other babies and smiled and splashed a bit, and I kept trying to herd her back to our spot next to my friend. Her baby was just sitting there taking it all in, trying to figure out what the heck everyone was doing.
Then, we went into deeper water. Not deep enough were we could stand and the babies still be in the water, so we all crouched down in the water, holding the babies. The girl who was leading the class then told us how we were to blow in the babies' faces and dunk them under. I was not sure about this, but willing to try. The first time, I think it went okay, the second time the Pumpkin was looking wary, the third time she decided she definitely didn't like it. Neither did my friend's baby, so at least we were not alone.
Next, we put them on the walls and played Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, when we slid the babies off the wall into the water. The Pumpkin thought this was fun at first, but again, started to dislike it as it went on, especially the sitting on the wall part. She was much happier just being in the water and splashing around. And that's what we did mostly for the rest of class. First floating them on their backs, and then on their stomachs, then holding a floating barbel and then the parents blowing bubbles in the water with the babies watching. My girl and my friend's boy both did pretty well during those.
I think the Pumpkin's favorite part was at the end, when we all got in a big circle and went around, singing "Ring Around the Rosy" and dunking them on "all fall down" except that I didn't dunk the Pumpkin. She didn't like being dunked, and I wanted her to enjoy the class, so we just bounced on that part. She thought that was fun, and splashed and giggled. My friend did the dunk like she was supposed to, and her boy let it be known he did!not!like!that! So I was glad that I didn't do the dunk, because I'm sure that the Pumpkin would have started wailing!
All in all, I think it was a fun first class. The Pumpkin loved crawling in the super shallow water and bouncing and splashing in the deeper water. I will try dunking her at least once each class, but I won't push it. We have 5 more classes, and I'm so excited! I LOVE the water and am so glad to be able to share it with her.
*Note: It is very hard to change yourself and your baby in the locker room when you don't want the baby to sit on the floor and she refuses to stand (although she constantly wants to stand every other second of the day). It is a much better idea to wear the bathing suits to rec center under your clothes. Now that I know this, I thought I'd share.
Here's how the class went:
Once I got us changed into our bathing suits* and our stuff locked in the locker, we joined the class and headed into the very shallow area of the pool. We sat the babies in the water and dribbled water over their heads to get them used to it. The Pumpkin liked splashing around, but wasn't thrilled with the water dripping into her face.
Then we got colored rings and threw them a little way in front of the babies to get them to crawl to them. I felt like I was playing fetch with my dog, including the part where after the second time, the Pumpkin just kept going. Just like my dog, who says "forget this 'fetch it back' stuff, I'm going to check out what's over there!" But it was really cute and we had fun with this part, because the Pumpkin loves to crawl around in the bath tub and now she had ROOM to crawl! We crawled over to other babies and smiled and splashed a bit, and I kept trying to herd her back to our spot next to my friend. Her baby was just sitting there taking it all in, trying to figure out what the heck everyone was doing.
Then, we went into deeper water. Not deep enough were we could stand and the babies still be in the water, so we all crouched down in the water, holding the babies. The girl who was leading the class then told us how we were to blow in the babies' faces and dunk them under. I was not sure about this, but willing to try. The first time, I think it went okay, the second time the Pumpkin was looking wary, the third time she decided she definitely didn't like it. Neither did my friend's baby, so at least we were not alone.
Next, we put them on the walls and played Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, when we slid the babies off the wall into the water. The Pumpkin thought this was fun at first, but again, started to dislike it as it went on, especially the sitting on the wall part. She was much happier just being in the water and splashing around. And that's what we did mostly for the rest of class. First floating them on their backs, and then on their stomachs, then holding a floating barbel and then the parents blowing bubbles in the water with the babies watching. My girl and my friend's boy both did pretty well during those.
I think the Pumpkin's favorite part was at the end, when we all got in a big circle and went around, singing "Ring Around the Rosy" and dunking them on "all fall down" except that I didn't dunk the Pumpkin. She didn't like being dunked, and I wanted her to enjoy the class, so we just bounced on that part. She thought that was fun, and splashed and giggled. My friend did the dunk like she was supposed to, and her boy let it be known he did!not!like!that! So I was glad that I didn't do the dunk, because I'm sure that the Pumpkin would have started wailing!
All in all, I think it was a fun first class. The Pumpkin loved crawling in the super shallow water and bouncing and splashing in the deeper water. I will try dunking her at least once each class, but I won't push it. We have 5 more classes, and I'm so excited! I LOVE the water and am so glad to be able to share it with her.
*Note: It is very hard to change yourself and your baby in the locker room when you don't want the baby to sit on the floor and she refuses to stand (although she constantly wants to stand every other second of the day). It is a much better idea to wear the bathing suits to rec center under your clothes. Now that I know this, I thought I'd share.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)