Sleep Training... My White Whale

I was going to have my lovely husband write this post and then I realized that I would be doing you all a disservice by not admitting to the fact that at 2.5 years old, Gabby is still not a good sleeper. 

What would be more useful is the tale of how I screwed up her ability to sleep forever and what I have learned along the way. If it makes you feel better, Lillian is a fabulous sleeper, so if you screw up like I did, just try again with your second kid. The best thing about subsequent children is the ability to see you are not a failure of a parent, you just didn't know what you were doing as a new parent. 

Anywho... 

Because I was home with Gabby full-time for 7 months, I never put her on a schedule. I had no idea how, I tried a few times to just impose one out of nowhere and repeatedly failed. For a type A person, I am not good with routines. When I finally got a job after graduate school and Gabby started daycare, I begged them to help me get her on a schedule. At this point (I hate to admit), she napped sporadically and slept in our bed every night. She had never spent one night in her crib. BIG MISTAKE. 

Daycare got her on a good schedule but the pediatrician and my co-workers looked at me sideways when I said she still nursed all night at 9 months old. The doctor said there was no biological reason for her to nurse all night and since she was starting to crawl it was pretty unsafe to have her in our bed, so we did some reading on sleep training. 

We decided we would try a gentle approach where we would go in to soothe her at ever-elongating increments until she got over it. I lasted about two days before the hubs took over and I drowned out the sound by locking myself in the downstairs bathroom until she stopped. It took about 4 days and we were all good.

For a few months. Every few months ever since we have had to repeat the process. She does now sleep 12 hours at night but by 12 months, she was only napping sporadically and now she doesn't nap at all on non-daycare days (because she hates me). 

So what have I learned? I started letting Lillian sleep in her crib at night starting around 3 months old. Newborns sleep better on their stomachs (which is why they love to ball up on your chest), so I put her to sleep on her tummy and flipped her over onto her back after a little while. I learned Lilly's natural sleep schedule and then reinforced it. I learned to put her to bed when she was tired, which was for a long time 6pm. It was sad for me to come home from work and put her straight to bed, but we are now reaping the benefits. She is a great sleeper. 

The moral of the story? Do what works for you and your family. Everybody screws up. And if you screw up as bad as I did, you can always try again by having another kid!

Poop in the washing machine - Our Cloth Diaper Journey

Because I am so brutally honest and willing to disclose all of my experiences - good and bad - many of my friends who are about to become parents for the first time as me about two things: baby registries and cloth diapers. 

I still to this day couldn't create a baby registry for my life. All you need for a new baby is diapers, formula or boobs, clothes, and a place for it to sleep. Everything else you will buy out of desperation and necessity. All baby gear is subject to baby's approval, so why spend $150 on a swing the baby hates? But I digress...

What I DO know is what a cost-savings MIRACLE for our family cloth diapers have been. Cloth has come a long way since the cloth diapers of my childhood and they are so much easier to use. 

Pros of using cloth:

1. It's a one-time expense. You can stock up and never have to buy another diaper. 

2. I buy all-in-ones, all-in-twos, and pocket diapers. Each style has their own merits, but these are some of the more foolproof styles. 

3. It prepares you for potty-training very well. I don't get mad when Gabby pees her pants because I've been touching her pee for two and a half years. Worried about poop in the washer? You think your toddler isn't gonna "poop in the unnawears?" Think again!

4. They are so much better at containing newborn poop. I was super picky with both kids and had Pampers Swaddlers on hand for nighttime and travel. I never had more crazy diaper blowouts than with those expensive diapers. With cloth, I rarely see poop outside the diaper because the diapers are so fuzzy inside. It holds everything in. 

Cons:

1. It's a bigger investment at the start, but you can easily start with a small stash and grow it as needed. You don't need newborn diapers for very long and then I like to buy one size diapers so they last until potty training. 

2. You are going to have to touch poop. It's inevitable. But as I mentioned before, using disposable diapers is not going to keep your hands clean. Diaper blowouts are going to happen and you will get poop on your hands. 

3. I honestly can't think of more cons. 

Considering cloth? Want some tips? Want some free diapers to start your stash? Comment below and I will answer any and all questions! 

Dressing Little Girls... On the Cheap

Note: I was not compensated for this post. I just really love the quality and service these companies offer and you would be missing out if you didn't have this information! If you use my referral link for Moxie Jean, you get a $10 off a purchase of $20 and I get store credit, but otherwise these companies are not paying me to say nice things :-)

Baby Gap top, Mini Boden leggings from Moxie Jean.
Freshly Picked moccs purchased at 30% off at the end of the season.

Before I had kids, I never thought I'd care very much about what they wore. Clothes are clothes, they are just going to destroy them anyway, and all that nonsense. The reality is little girls' clothing is freaking adorable and if you know where to look, you can find great clothes for good prices and have some darling little ladies toddling around in your life. 

My favorite place to shop for the girls is Moxie Jean, an online consignment shop for kids and maternity. Their tagline is "upscale resale" and they really stay true to it. Without this store, I would never be able to afford Tea Collection dresses and Mini Boden pinafores and corduroys. They sell top brands for amazing prices and the best part is that you can order a seller bag for FREE. Send them your best stuff and they will send an email detailing what they accepted and what they will pay you for it. What they don't accept gets donated to children in need. You even get an extra 25% if you take your payout in store credit. 

Then there's babycheapskate.com.  This website has daily alerts for all kinds of deals, including "lowest price ever" deals on Amazon and many of my favorite brands. Since following Baby Cheapskate on Facebook, I have found 70% off on Hanna Andersson, Tea Collection, and Mini Boden. One click to like the page on Facebook, and you can thank me later for the savings. 

Retailmenot is a website/app that I go to regularly for promo codes. I almost never complete a sale online unless I can minimally get free shipping. Usually you can find 10-15% off your purchase if you sign up for emails. Set up a "junk mail hotmail" account and let the savings fly!

Happy shopping!

Subliminal messages from the white noise machine

Disclosure: I might regret posting this because all 4 people who read my blog will inevitably think I'm insane. I'll have you know the hubs hears things, too, when the machine is on. 

Meet the girls' white noise machine. We like it because it doesn't shut off, although this is our second one. The projector likes to stop working after a while. We really need a new one. This one has been talking to me. 

They like the "white" noise setting. I have never heard anything funny in the rain or heartbeat modes, but Gabby refuses to sleep unless I choose white noise. But after some time, usually when rocking Lillian to sleep (read: playing candy crush and minding my own business), I start to pick up a pattern in the loop and it sounds like a voice saying words. Here are some things the creepy white noise machine has said to me recently:

"You're Kris Kringle."

"I'm filthy."

"Don't worry."

"Do the Macarena."

"How about you?"

"Scouts are afraid."

"Now it's time for braiding."

I don't know what it's trying to tell me with these messages but I really don't need to question my sanity every night. 

Also, the projector stopped working. Any recommendations for a non-psychosis-inducing machine?

Holidays, Schmolidays

I love Christmas, I really do, but the holidays are such a stressful time for me for so many reasons. It's not even the financial aspect of the holidays, I actually love bargain hunting and researching the perfect gift for everyone and strategically buying for my kids. It's the other stuff that gets to me.

My husband's family is split between Florida and Long Island. Because my parents are divorced and everyone has a problem with someone in the family, there's really NO chance of spending any time with my family as a whole. I always feel a nagging sense of guilt that I would choose to spend the holidays with my in-laws versus my own family, but I like the traditions we have with them and want my girls to experience that. Maybe in the future we can extend the holiday and trek down to PA to spend time with my dad and sister, but it seems like a hell of a lot of driving to me and honestly, I am already too stressed out about all of the traveling we do.

In addition, traveling makes the Santa lie myth story difficult to pull off because depending on the day we leave, we might have to give the kids gifts early or late and then Santa comes to Grandma's house, but then there's also stuff at our house when we return home almost a week later. And what if we need to leave on Christmas Eve? When they're older won't they be looking for Santa's sleigh in the sky? We've been telling them Santa only comes if you're sleeping. It's exhausting to me to have to continually maintain the story. I am a bad liar. Everyone knows that.

Then we add to the mix the overwhelming influx of new toys when they already have so much. My kids are spoiled. They have a ridiculous amount of toys. When anyone comes to visit, they bring toys to bribe my kids to open up to them (I'm looking at you, Grandmas). I am on an endless quest to rotate toys, get rid of broken toys, find lost puzzle pieces, and salvage toys they don't care about so I can sell them at consignment so I can buy them more crap they won't take care of because they are TWO and 10 MONTHS OLD. The struggle is real, my people. The toys don't go away as fast as they come in. I don't know how this will affect my kids. Are they going to be entitled little brats? Am I overreacting? I don't know.

The worst part of the holiday season for me is the crushing disappointment when the holiday season is over and it's just cold and cloudy for 4 more months. The toys aren't new, the gift cards have been spent, we go home to Buffalo and are left to face the fact that we are stuck inside for the foreseeable future mediating fights over toys, cleaning up messes, and knowing that we will do it all over again next year.

I really don't mean to be a Scrooge. I really am a Christmas nut. I just get exhausted by all of the sameness and start wishing the holidays to be over before they begin. Tell me I'm not alone in this!

6 signs a kid (or two) lives here

1. Top-level kitchen organization.
   
   
   It doesn't even seem right that our kitchen counter should look like this. We have TONS of cabinet space. But when a toddler needs a drink, you damn well better materialize a cup from thin air (and it had better not be an OLD cup - better known as a cup from an hour ago). Also note the bottles and bottle accessories. This is also where we store the kids' medicine. I know you're jealous of my organization skills.
   
2. Blankets covering every square inch of the couch.
   
   It's covered in stains, but what I can't see can't hurt me. 
3. "Babies sleeping" in odd places.
   
   
   Imagine my horror when I walked into the kids' dark bedroom and stumbled into this. For all I knew it was a dead burglar. 
4. Potty seat hanging on the wall.
   
   
   How fancy are we that we have a special hook in the bathroom just for hanging the potty seat? Please ignore the filthy sink and 1950 tile job. We will probably move before the bathroom ever gets updated (or cleaned, haha).
5. All the no-no items are up high.        No not the breakable things, we don't have any of those. I'm talking about the iphones, laptops, TV remotes. The items we would not survive parenthood without.  
   
6. It's not sparkling clean, but it feels like home.

Happy 9... er... 10 months, Lilly!

And now for our next installment of "Giving Your Child An Inferiority Complex!"

I completely forgot about the 9 month update and Lilly will be 10 months old in 2 days. Oh, well.

Our girl.

This child is a piece. of. work. She is quiet and sneaky and gets into EVERYTHING. Just the other day, I was brushing my teeth while she was happily playing in the playroom. I peeked my head out to check on her about every 15 seconds or so because she is not to be trusted. So, I finished brushing my teeth, went into the playroom and found her face, mouth, teeth, tongue BLUE. She had eaten a crayon in the 5 seconds since I had last looked at her. 

At her last appointment, she was 28" and 18lb, 13 oz. She was around the 50th percentile for everything. The pediatrician was happy to see that she is pulling up, crawling, babbling, and loving solid foods. 

Since that appointment (2 weeks ago), she has been standing on her own for a few seconds at a time, pushing push toys one-handed, and climbing the entire flight of stairs without assistance. She has 3 (almost 4) teeth and has been sleeping better, happier, and tons of fun. I think this is my favorite age. 

I can finally see how I ended up pregnant with her when Gabby was her age (although it will NOT be happening again, I promise). 10 month olds are lots of fun. Especially ours!