Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Here are a few random things that have been going on around here lately…

~Baby Girl stayed in the nursery this morning at BSF. It was the first time she’s stayed in a nursery. We both survived. In fact, she did great.

~Boo turned two last week. More on that when I get my act together and get pictures uploaded.

~Little and Boo go for their very first dentist appointments tomorrow. Should be interesting.

~We got new outdoor toys this weekend. The kiddos are having a great time playing in the backyard.

~Baby Girl has learned to roll from back to tummy over her left side.

~My best friend moves from 2 houses down to 20 minutes away next week. I can’t say that this makes me happy, but I’m excited to see her new house.

~Matt and I got to go out Friday night (thanks for babysitting, Mom and Dad!). All.by.our.selves.

~I’m contemplating buying a sewing machine again. Matt says I’m crazy and that I don’t have time to learn to sew (which is pretty accurate).

~I’m also considering taking up scrapbooking. Matt will probably say something very similar to his comments about sewing.

~We’ve planted a garden. Again, a post awaiting uploaded pictures.

~I’ve fallen off the “reclaiming my jeans” wagon this week. I need to get back on quickly! (so far I’ve lost about 5 pounds and several inches from my waist and lower abdomen, but I have a ways to go to get back into my jeans)

~Baby Girl has had a string of rough nights this week. We’re hoping to get a little more sleep sometime in the near future.

I think that’s about all I’ve got for now. More thorough posts to come soon assuming I can string together comprehensive thoughts.

For the last few weeks I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to convince Boo that he should give up his paci when he turns two. The whole “you’ll be a big boy” spiel has failed along with the “only babies take pacis” route. In my latest venture I decided that maybe bribery was the way to go.

Me: Would you trade your paci for a soccer ball?
Boo: no
Me: Would you trade your paci for a new dinosaur?
Boo: no
Me: Would you trade your paci for a new train?
Little: yeah, Boo, a new train
Boo: no, Mommy
Me: Would you trade your paci for a slide?
Little: yeah, Boo, a slide would be fun
Boo: no

Little: I’d trade my thumbs for an octopus!

Two years ago this week Matt and I welcomed Boo into our lives. In the months leading up to his birth I knew that I wanted to be a babywearing Momma but was unsure what type of carrier I wanted to use (ring sling, mei tai, wrap, etc). Enter my wonderful sister-in-law, Lu…

A few months prior to Boo’s birth, Lu gave birth to my precious nephew, Peanut. Lu had a Sleepy Wrap and told me how much she loved it. That testimonial was all I needed to invest in a Sleepy Wrap of my very own. Over the last two years, I’ve tried several different types of carriers, and hands down, the wrap is my absolute favorite for wearing a newborn. In fact, I could not wait to get Baby Girl in my Sleepy Wrap after we got home from the hospital!

Let’s start with the basics. The Sleepy Wrap is one long (5.5 yards) piece of heavy, high quality, stretchy knit fabric that you wrap (thus the name) around your body and tie at the waist. Your baby sits on the “x” formed by the crossing pieces of fabric as you tie the wrap around you, and then you pull the front panel up over baby’s bum (see tying methods). This swaddles baby close and secure at your chest.

With Boo, I used the wrap on the go and at home. Because he had reflux we had to keep him upright or he was screaming (pretty much all.the.time). There were many days in his first year of life that the Sleepy Wrap saved my sanity (due to the decrease in screaming) and was the only way I could get anything done around the house. It was also just about the only way he would nap for the first few months.

Now that Baby Girl is here, I have three children ages three years and under which means that I don’t have enough arms to keep up with everyone when it’s just the four of us. I must have Baby Girl in a carrier for any trip, activity, or errand where I will have all three kids out of the car. I wore Baby Girl in the Sleepy Wrap for the first time at 3 days old when we made her first pediatrician’s office visit. It was so nice to know that the baby was safe, secure, and snuggly in the wrap while I wrestled the other two in and out of the car and building!

There are several things that I absolutely love about this wrap. The material is soft and comfortable for mom and baby, the stretch of the fabric makes it easy to get baby in and out, it keeps baby snuggled close to me while my hands remain free to handle my preschooler and toddler, it makes baby feel safe and secure, and my babies sleep well when in the wrap. I also like that I can tie it on before I leave home and just get baby out of the carseat and pop her into the wrap at each of our stops instead of having to put on and take off a carrier each time (or even worse, lug the heavy and cumbersome infant seat everywhere). Most of all I love to be able to bend my head and kiss the top of that sweet little baby head, because, really, can you ever get too much of that?

I’ve found very few drawbacks using the Sleepy Wrap over the course of these two years. The biggest one is that, due to the weight of the material and the fact that my wrap is black, it gets hot on me and baby when we are outside for an extended time on a hot, sunny summer day. The only other one I would say is that due to the stretchiness (is that a word? it is now) of the fabric it gets looser as the day goes on and as baby gets bigger. Neither one of these are issues that can’t be easily solved (by taking the wrap off every now and then (like when you stop to nurse) on hot days and tying it tighter to compensate for stretching), and certainly wouldn’t affect my recommendation of the Sleepy Wrap.

Literally, just about every time I’ve worn my Sleepy Wrap I’ve received inquiries about and comments on it, and every time I’ve told the person how great this product is. In fact, several of my friends have used them after seeing me in mine and hearing about it.

So, in conclusion (because I haven’t used enough words already), I would (and do) whole-heartedly recommend the Sleepy Wrap! It makes a great carrier for first time babywearers because it is easy to use (really, it isn’t nearly as complicated as it looks) and is wonderful for tiny babies right on through infanthood (and into toddlerhood). If you are expecting or know someone who is, a Sleepy Wrap would make an excellent shower gift.

If you’re interested in purchasing a Sleepy Wrap, head over to their site and check out the great selection of colors. (It’s also available in organic now.)

If you’d like a chance to win one, the wonderful folks at Sleepy Wrap have given me the opportunity to sponsor one of their great products as a prize at Ultimate Blog Party 2010 (prize number USC 61).

Thank you Sleepy Wrap for making a great product!

Disclaimer: I received no compensation (either monetary or products) for writing this review. I truly do love my wrap and am thrilled to be able to share one with another mom via the UBP’10 giveaway.

Last week my friend Lindsey passed along a blog award that included directions to list 10 things that make you happy. While I don’t do the whole “blog award” thing, I will list 10 things that make me happy (in no particular order).

1. hearing/seeing the older kiddos playing happily together.
2. when the kids laugh (baby girl has started giving us a few giggles)
3. when Little asks questions about Jesus (although she’s beginning to get pretty deep in her theology)
4. spending time with Matt
5. hanging out with friends
6. enjoying beautiful Spring days
7. daffodils and tulips and the other lovely, colorful Spring flowers
8. doing things as a family (even the simple things like grocery shopping…well, usually:-)
9. reading with my kids
10. having extended, uninterrupted time to read a good book

So, what makes you happy?

The last couple of weeks have been kind of unusual around here, and in the midst of it all, blogging got pushed to the back burner.

Two weeks ago we had a TERRIBLE week with baby girl. She slept worse than she ever has in her short little life. I don’t know if it was a developmental spurt, tummy issues, or what, but for about eight days Matt and I got very little sleep. She would go to sleep with no problem, and then when she got up for her first nighttime feeding (around 1) it was like her little world exploded. She would only sleep if one of us was holding her, and we had to be sitting or standing. Any time we tried to lay back (like trying to sleep with her on our chest while we laid on the couch) she would wake up and cry. Needless to say, it was a rough week, and I spent most of my quiet time during the day trying to get some rest (when all three of the nappers cooperated).

Last week I wasn’t online much at all because we spent as much time as possible outside enjoying the GORGEOUS Spring weather. Tuesday morning we spent about 3 hours at the zoo, came home to eat lunch and nap, then played out in the yard for about 2 hours in the afternoon/evening. Wednesday we went to Bible study, and on our way home Lindsey called to say they were at the park. We spent about 45 minutes at the park, came home for lunch and nap, and then spent an hour and a half or so playing outside.

Thursday we decided to make a trip to the botanical gardens and check out a new feature they’ve added called My Big Backyard. It is a big garden space divided into various sections devoted to different outdoor and nature activities designed for kids. There are two big tractor tire sandboxes with shovels, watering cans, and pails in one section. Another area has a rope climbing area shaped like a giant spider web. There is a spot with hammock swings and a conifer “forest” to play in, an area with worm “tunnels” to crawl through, percussion instruments to play, houses to play in, a tree house and slide, and many other fun things to do. The kids loved playing in the big backyard, and enjoying a picnic lunch at the kid sized picnic tables. It was a great morning and something we’ll definitely have to do again soon.

Matt was off on Friday, so we spent the day cleaning house, running errands, and grocery shopping.

Saturday was the big egg hunt and festival at our church. The kids did egg hunts, Boo bounced in the bounce house, Little got her face painted, and she won a cupcake at the cake walk. We ended the festivities with hamburgers and yummy ice cream. Then we headed to Whole Foods for some more grocery shopping, and then came home and took naps.

Sunday, of course, was Easter. We celebrated Christ’s resurrection at church in the morning, and then spent the evening enjoying yummy food and good fellowship with friends.

All the fun this past week definitely made up for the lack of fun the previous week. This week promises more pretty weather, so I’m sure we’ll be headed to the park, playing outside, and doing any other fun things we can think of to enjoy Spring!

Here are some recent conversational funnies from chez sidetrack’d…

Talking to Little:

Little: Question number one…Mommy. Who makes toes? (this is a little game she’s been playing lately. the answer is always Jesus.)
Me: Jesus
Little (deadpan): Jesus and God. There are a lot of toes.

Then there was this one:

Me (to Matt): Little told me today that I am a princess.
Little: I was just pretending!

Ouch!

And, filed under statements you never thought you would have to make:

“Boo, don’t put your bacon in your ear!”

which ranks right up there with the admonition we had to give Little when she was about 15 months old: “Don’t lick the toilet!”

Yep, never a dull moment around here.

I know there are a few of you anxiously (or not) awaiting an update post on baby girl. Sorry, but you’re going to have to wait a bit longer for a couple of reasons: 1) I want to post this first, and 2) we have to take some pictures of the baby. Poor thing is seriously going to have third child syndrome; she’ll be a month old tomorrow and the only pictures we have of her are the ones we took in the hospital. Yes, I do feel Mommy guilt, so let’s move on.

Little is all about snow this winter. She talks about snow, asks when it is going to snow, and plots the things she will do when she finally gets to play in the snow.

Imagine her disappointment when our first snow of the winter left us with barley a 1/2 inch dusting (in fact, I think the layer of dust in my house is deeper than the snow was on the ground). When she looked out and saw the “snow” the following conversation ensued:

Little: Mom, can I play in the snow?
Me: Little, there really isn’t enough snow to play in.
Little: Can I make a snowman?
Me: No, baby, there isn’t enough snow.
Little: Can I make a snow angel?
Me: Sorry, sweetheart, there isn’t enough snow.
Little: Well, can I at least make a footprint?

Fortunately, there was enough snow for her to make some footprints.

So, that was our first encounter with snow this year. Then, a couple of weeks ago, the weather people started forecasting a big snow headed our way. We were supposed to get 6-8 inches, and everyone was very excited (and very anxious to get to the grocery for bread and milk). This is the South, people!

There was enough for the little people to go out and play, which they loved.

check out the tiny snowman; that’s all the snowman they could build

And the next day the ice made it perfect for sledding. They loved this too!

Little was much more impressed with this snow, but since it was mostly ice it posed challenges of its own.

She couldn’t make a snow angel because she couldn’t push her arms down hard enough to break through the ice crust.

And poor Boo had trouble walking in it. Just about every time he took a step he lost his balance as his foot broke through the ice crust and fell on his bucket. I so wish I had been filming him when he first went out; he stepped over the transition point between our concrete patio and the grass, lost his balance, and went sprawling face forward into the snow. It was hilarious!

That was the first of our two snows in a week and a half span. I’ll post about this week’s snow soon.

With the baby girl set to arrive in the next 5 weeks (give or take), we are finally starting to prepare for her arrival.

This weekend we borrowed a toddler bed for Boo from my best friend and set about transitioning rooms for the older two kids (Boo and Little will be sharing a room for now). Last night Matt moved all the furniture around – moving the crib and changing table out of Boo’s room into what used to be Little’s room (and will now be baby girl’s room) and Little’s bed into Boo’s room. We got the toddler bed all set up and ready, and then waited for bed time.

For the record, Little is absolutely thrilled to be sharing a room with Boo. In fact, both of the kids were bouncing around like rubber balls while Matt was moving furniture.

At bed time Matt took Boo into his room, piled all of his “bees” (blankets, lovey, and monkey) into his big boy bed, and put tucked him in. As soon as Matt left the room Boo was out of bed and at the door crying. For about 30 minutes, they repeated the steps of their dance. When it was time for Little to go to bed (we started early with Boo knowing it would probably take a while) we thought maybe he would do better having her in the room with him. Nope.

He stayed in his bed now but was crying like he’d lost his best friend. After 20 minutes or so of listening to him cry and Little do her best to soothe him (she was so sweet!), we broke down and set up the pack ‘n play. They continued to “chat” for another 30 minutes or so until they both finally settled down and went to sleep. We decided to try again with Boo at nap time today.

So here I sit, during what is supposed to be nap time, listening to Boo cry from the pack ‘n play in baby girl’s room. I did get him to sleep in his bed – after putting him back in bed 3 or 4 times and then listening to him cry for a half hour or so – which was an accomplishment, but it was short lived. After he’d been asleep about an hour I heard him whimpering and then heard a thud followed by crying. When I went in the room Boo was standing beside his bed disoriented and crying. I quickly whisked him and his bees out of the room since Little was sleeping in there, and set up the pack ‘n play hoping he would go back to sleep. Nope.

Looks like this might take a while.

Here’s hoping that tonight goes better!

A few months ago I was given (free of charge) a Gro Baby shell set to try out with Boo. I must say I love the Gro Baby diaper – the ease of snap-in liners versus “stuffing” pocket diapers, no problems with leaking (even overnight), and a trimmer fit than our Fuzzi Bunz. In fact, Matt likes the Gro Baby system so much better that he has requested that we use them with the new baby girl when she arrives in a few months.

And now Gro Baby has made it even better by introducing their Biodegradable Soaker Pads.

Bio Soakers, as they’re known, are biodegradable inserts designed to use when you are out and about, traveling, or any time you desire a liner that doesn’t requiring laundering. Just like the cloth soaker pads in the Gro Baby system, you can remove the soiled Bio Soaker liner and insert a new liner as needed while using the same shell.

The Biodegradable Soaker Pads are made of a soft certified natural, 100% Ingeo spunbound non-woven fabric that touches baby’s skin, a core of biodegradable wood pulp fibers (contains 3 grams of SAP gel compared to 10-20 grams in other disposables), and a 100% natural waterproof outer.  They attach to the Gro Baby shell using a sticker adhesive that holds the liner in place without damaging the mesh interior of the shell.

Bio Soakers are a great addition to the Gro Baby package, and will be a great addition to my cloth diapering stash.  I’m looking forward to trying out this new product!  In exchange for publishing this post The Natural Baby Company will provide me with a Bio Soaker Intro package free of charge.

Thank you to The Natural Baby Company for providing a quality cloth diapering product and an opportunity to try out their new product free of charge.

Recognize that number? Yep, that’s poison control. That’s the number I had to call last week for the first time. Why? Because Boo decided it might be a good idea to taste a little hand sanitizer.

Little had used the hand sanitizer and handed it to me while I was typing an e-mail. I set the bottle on the desk and went on about what I was doing. A few minutes later the phone rang and I went into the kitchen to answer it. After a couple of minutes on the phone I came back into the living room to find Boo standing in the desk chair with the hand sanitizer pump in his mouth!

I didn’t (and still don’t) know how much he ingested, and there didn’t seem to be much gone from the bottle, but I could smell alcohol on his breath. So, I called poison control. The kind lady took all the facts, gave me a little advice (give him something sweet to drink, watch him for signs of inebriation), and told me to call back if I had any questions. Fortunately, Boo showed no signs of harm and continued to act and play normally.

Little has been around for three years and I’ve never even thought about having to call poison control. You just never know what Boo is going to get into (no matter how hard we try to keep things locked away!). Boys!