Good Idea at the Time

Last Thursday was one of those days where I didn't leave the house at all and began getting major cabin fever by the end of the day.. do you ever get that way? Anyway, the guys went to get some parts to fix our computer Thursday morning but I stayed home to work.. by the end of the day I was feeling sort of down and ready to escape. That's when I came up with the best idea ever!!

A few years ago, Mamma Nancy (Brandon's mom/my awesome MIL) gifted us a small, covered fire pit for Christmas that we have never been able.. so I thought it would be fun to make s'mores, sit by the fire, and enjoy the warm summer evening. Sounds totally picturesque, right?

Please ignore our yard/patio.. they are both a work in progress (the previous owners did a real number on the lawn..)

I knew that Jax would require a lot of supervision (because toddler.. and fire), but I didn't realize I'd have to keep the lighter away from him the entire time because he wanted to copy dad and light the fire himself.. Yeesh. Anyway, he had no interest roasting marshmallows or eating delicious s'mores (he couldn't get past the lighter), so our little family adventure lasted an entire 3 minutes. Oh well.. there's always next summer! 

How to Entertain a One-Year-Old

As I've said before, the laid back days of having a newborn are long gone.. in fact, we're now in full blown toddler mode! Jackson is definitely his own little person with lots of personality and opinions and I want to make sure he keeps learning, engaging, and growing. With that being said, I've tried to find different hands on activities for him to do that build his motor skills and keep him busy (this kid will not sit down to watch a movie which is both a blessing and a curse).

Here are a few of the different activities/crafts we've tried so far:

The Homemade Ball Pit

One of my friends gave me this idea.. I bought a 150 count bag of ball pit balls and poured them into his pack and play--he had a blast sifting through them but was more interested in putting them back into the bag (pictured). This little activity has gifted us with hours of entertainment and I plan to continue using the balls for future activities (like learning and sorting colors)!

 Stickers

I never knew that a one-year-old could grasp the concept of stickers until we went to dinner at a place that had them on the kids menu--Jax was hooked! I thought he'd be too young to really get it but he's been stickin' away! We're currently decorating Valentines for family which has been fun for both of us--he loves choosing which sticker to use, putting it on the card, and then scribbling around them with his (washable) markers.

Edible Play-Doh

I made this edible peanut butter play-doh and gave Jax a few cookie cutters, plastic utensils, and bowl of sprinkles and let him go to town! He was a lot more interested in the sprinkles than he was the play-doh (for the record, the dough tastes amazing) but it was a fun thing to do on a snowy Colorado day.

2-Ingredient Play-Doh

Who would have thought that mixing conditioner and corn starch could make such an interesting toy? This was another snow day activity that we did (recipe here) and it was a hit! This was much tackier and easier to mold than the PB dough and Jax seemed to like playing with it more.

Sift & Find Bottle

Our local library has a little shelf with "I-Spy" books with these bottles and I thought they were the coolest thing ever! To make ours, I used an empty water bottle, about 1 1/2 cups of rice, and little knick knacky things I found in my office (giant paper clip, clothes pin, cotton ball, etc.) and let Jax shake the bottle around to find the different treasures. He may still be a little young for it but he seems to be understanding it a bit more each day.

These are a few of Jackson's and my favorite things to do when we're home (other favorites include building blocks, Little People play sets, chasing the cat, and crawling through tunnels). What types of hands on activities do your toddlers enjoy?

Adventures in Sleep Training

Disclaimer: I'm not writing this post to create any type of controversy or debate -- I know that every one of us has our own ideas and opinions about sleep training/co-sleeping. This is our account of sleep training and what worked best for our son.

 

If you've been around my part of the Internet for the last year or so, you know all about our co-sleeping adventures with Jackson. 

As some of you may remember, Jax was born two weeks early and was admitted to the NICU hours after being born because of his grunting and inability to cry. Fortunately, after a day and a half, Jax showed signs of improvement and we were sent home. Once we were home and began adjusting to life as a family of three, we discovered that Jackson wasn't the greatest sleeper and was always wanting to be cuddled and fed. Since this was our first child and we had virtually no other experience with a newborn, we decided to just roll with the punches and let him sleep in bed with us for the time being since he was a bit premature and may have just needed the extra comfort and warmth.

Fast forward a year and Jackson was still sleeping in bed with us.

We had (kinda) tried crib training Jackson in the past but it wasn't working--we tried letting him cry-it-out during his regular nap time but my mamma heart couldn't take the crying and I'd end up picking him up and laying down with him a few short minutes later. Then in November, when I was sick with a bad case of bronchitis, my doctor prescribed me a codeine cough syrup to help me get some much needed sleep and we attempted some "emergency" crib training (I'm normally a very light sleeper and feel Jax's every move but wasn't willing to risk rolling over on/nursing him in my narcotic induced state). Needless to say, he was back in bed with us 45 minutes later and I settled on just taking some Robitussin.

Then on New Year's Eve, Brandon found a deal on airline tickets that got us thinking about taking a weekend vacation away.. just the two of us.. without our darling little bed sharer. Long story short, that ended up not working out but the next day, I found a good deal on a flight and hotel in Vegas and decided to just go ahead and book it.

That was the final nail in the coffin (so to speak)--we had to sleep train Jackson.

Enter:

By that Friday night, Brandon put Jackson in his crib against both his and I wishes we were ready to give it a shot. After our nightly nursing session, we put Jax in his crib and without skipping a beat, he began to scream bloody murder. It took every fiber of my being to not go in there and rescue him from his cold jail cell of a crib--I finally had to go downstairs to do dishes just to resist the urge to "save" him.

While Brandon was taking his "shift" and checking in on Jackson every couple of minutes, I let the hot tears pour down my cheeks and onto the dirty dishes. I prayed for strength and self control on my part, patience on Brandon's, and peace for our confused little Jax. After I finished loading the dishwasher and turned off the faucet, I braced myself for the shrill screams of an angry and tired toddler. Do you what I heard instead? Nothing.

I heard nothing.

I tiptoed upstairs, peeked into Jax's room, and saw my husband leaning over the crib, rubbing our sons back, and reassuring him that everything was okay while Jax laid there in a calm and dreamlike state.

Was this real life? Was our son actually calm? In his crib?

I had every intention of just letting Jackson cry it out all night but my husband surprised me and tried a different method he'd read about earlier that day.

Here's what he did:

• Quietly walked into the room and softly reassured him that everything is okay.
• Encouraged him to give Elmo a hug (Elmo is Jackson's version of a security blanket or lovey), which got him to lay down. 
• Rubbed his back until he fell asleep.

I wish I could say this method kept him asleep for hours straight but alas, Jax was up again a few short hours later (which is when we started the process over again). But it was progress.

We've been consistent in using the same method for over two weeks now (with the exception of the night he was running a high fever and just wanted to be held) and things are getting better and better each night. Jax now LOVES his crib and squeals with delight every time he sees his Elmo and music/light machine waiting for him. We still need to work a bit more on teaching him ţo self sooth and fall back asleep on his own but we figure we'll take everything one night at a time. One great article I read in regards to sleep training recommended letting your child hold onto a stuffed animal/lovie/security blanket during nursing sessions so they begin to associate that item with being comforted and cared for. I've done that with Elmo and it has made a huge difference.

I never thought that Jackson would be sleeping on his own (in fact, I figured he'd be co-sleeping until he was 16) so the fact that he's falling asleep and staying asleep in his crib for a few hours at a time is a really big deal. I also forgot how nice it is to be able to sprawl out in bed, cuddle with, and be a little more, err.. spontaneous with my husband--I'd say that sleep training has been a win/win/win for the entire family.

Over the next week, we'll be working more on drinking whole milk (versus breastfeeding) and self soothing so stand by for another lengthy blog post.

Which method worked best for your little one when it was time to sleep train?

Jackson's 13 Month Update

Sweet toddler boy turns 13 months old today (which is kinda weird because it feels like we celebrated his 1st birthday months ago--sooooo much has happened this month with Christmas, New Years, anniversary, sleep training, etc.)!

Jackson is seriously such a joy to be around--he's so social, fun, curious, and smart! We've been all kinds of busy this month so I'll stop with the chit chat and get to the good stuff.

Weight: 19 lbs. (taken on bathroom scale)

Length: 29 1/2 inches

Nicknames: Jax, Stinker, Baby, Jacksie, Bubbies

Wearing: 12 & 18 month clothes (18 month shirts fit pretty well but the pants are still way too long); Size 3 diapers

Sleep: He's sleeping on his own!! In his crib!! More on that below.

Jax likes: Mo mo (Elmo), other little kids, showing off, stickers, cats, pulling things out of drawers, the vacuum, giving kisses, brushing his teeth, putting on mommy's jewelry, cuddling, pulling Siri up on mommy's phone, pushing all the buttons on daddy's phone, climbing the stairs, the music/light machine in his crib, messing with locks & door handles, playing with wrapping paper/tape/bows/boxes, reading, and pushing buttons.

Jax dislikes: Sitting still for diaper changes, falling, being left out of anything, being pushed down by bigger kids at the library (which mamma wasn't too happy about either)

Food: Jackson is getting to be more and more picky (ugh) and only likes cheese, peanut butter, crackers, veggie noodles, sweets, Belvita Biscuits, Greek yogurt, and breads. #chiaseedsonallthefoods We're going to start really pushing whole milk this weekend.

Teeth: 4 teeth on bottom and two up top--cutest. thing. ever!! He has a few more getting ready to poke through up top, too! It's amazing how much older he looks with his little teeth.

Happenings: Second Christmas; first (failed) experience playing in the snow; second New Years; lots and lots of playing at the library, toddler gym, park, and museums; staying with Great Aunt Nancy & Uncle Rolf when mommy & daddy went out to celebrate their wedding anniversary; 4th haircut; trip to see Grammy & Grandpa; several visits from Grammy, Grandpa, & Uncle Joe; sleeping in crib (!); and lots of playing in our backyard.

Post-haircut

~Jackson had a wonderful 12 month well check and impressed his doctor with his fine motor skills (the term she used was "incredible" which made me very proud)! His weight was in the 10th percentile, length in the 25th, and head in the 95th. I asked if we should be concerned in regards to his weight but she said not to worry; he's just a little guy and is right on track (he weighed 5 lbs 13 oz when he was born so he's tripled his weight which is what they hope to see)!

Swinging at the park

~This kid seriously turned one and RAN--it's amazing how much he's learned/changed over the last month! He now says a few words including Dada, Mama, Mo Mo (Elmo), Nah (No), I (Hi), AAA (YAY!), & nigh nigh; brushes his teeth with his big boy Elmo toothbrush; points to things he wants; climbs up and down the stairs by himself (with close supervision); puts necklaces and hats on by himself; and figures out ways to get into things he isn't supposed to. 

~I know I'm a little biased but this kid is so, so, so smart! He is fascinated by trying to plug cords into wall outlets (which isn't good but we have the fancy built in protectors so I don't have to keep quite as close of an eye on him), door handles & locks, light switches, and anything mechanical. Maybe he'll be an engineer like his Grandpa Tony? He also understands a lot of what we tell/ask him now and can go find things for us, point to certain people in pictures, and is trying so hard to do "Patty Cake" & "Itsy Bitsy Spider" on his own.

This kid LOVES kitties and squeals every time he sees Smokey (Grammy & Grandpas mean cat)

~Is it bad that Jax is already becoming embarrassed by his mom (I thought I had a few more years before that happened)? Example: Every morning, Jax and I dance to the closing credits on "Sesame Street" and then go eat our breakfast.. anyway, on Monday he was doing his own thing and didn't want me to pick him up to dance so I started dancing on my own while he looked on in horror and then shook his head "no" and went back to playing with his toy.

~Ah, sleep.. sweet, sweet sleep. Sleeping training has actually gone much, much better than Brandon and I had expected! He's been sleeping in his crib for about two weeks now and while we still have to get up a few times a night to go in, reassure him, and rub his back until he goes back to sleep, he pretty much has the hang of it and enjoys his crib. I will have a much, much longer post in regards to sleep training (hopefully) next week.

 ~This kid is such a little thrill seeker and loves going down the big slides (while sitting on someones lap), swinging high on the swings, and jumping around with mommy--we'll see if he's a roller coaster enthusiast like his parents!