Growing Up

Baby A is getting so big so fast. I can't believe in just a few short days she will be 8 months. It is so hard to believe that 8 months ago I gave birth to our beautiful daughter. Really, it's hard to believe.

She is doing all kinds of exciting new things. She has started to pull up on just about everything possible and occasionally walking along things that she can grab and hold on too. She holds on to almost everything with everything she has. She has a tight little grip for a little bitty thing. She is so impressed with her standing skills that every time she stands, she jumps, squeals, and giggles. And this happens so darn much. She stands in the bath tub, which scares the living day lights out of me, but I feel that I can't force her to sit because she sees it as progressing and doing something amazing. But of course she is still a baby, so I just watch her closely and hold her if she is in the bath tub.

Speaking of bath tub, she still loves water. Now she drinks from a sippy cup and she has so much coordination. She grabs it and puts it straight to her mouth. She has been doing this for a while now.

She doesn't have much teeth, though. Which I am 100% ok with. We can see 6, but they have been lingering around for a while. Waiting to see when they will actually break through. I'm not in any hurry for that though.

We are still nursing, and it has been an amazing experience. I am still unsure of when I will start the weaning process, but I feel like she is already starting to do it on her own. She only nurses 3-5 times during the day, and it is generally closer to 3 than 5. But at night she still wakes to nurse. This is something we are working on breaking because she use to sleep through the night, but for some reason she wants the comfort. I am ok with it for now, but at some point, it will need to stop.

She takes two naps during the day, around 11am and 4pm. She will nap from about 1 hour to 2.5 hours depending on what is going on, if we are home, and things of that nature.

She eats solids now, of course. She eats them 3-4 times a day and she's a piglet. She has a fruit with oatmeal in the mornings and a meat, veggie, and starch for lunch and dinner. Occasionally she will have a snack between lunch and dinner, which will be a fruit or vegetable depending on her mood and mine. She does very well with eating and understands the spoon is to feed. She knows exactly what to do with a spoon, but doesn't have the coordination to feed herself of course.

Things have been great for the last few months, even through our traveling. Mommyhood is a great experience and will continue to be - I am sure.

Guest Blogger: Picking The Right Window Treatments For Your Baby’s Room

While I am away on vacation, I will have some guest bloggers posting for all my readers. I hope you enjoy, and I may just pop in for some updates and pictures while in Scotland! 


Picking The Right Window Treatments For Your Baby’s Room

Providing the perfect living quarters is just one of the many things you have to bear in mind when welcoming a new born baby into the world. This is often one of the happiest moments in any person’s life, however what isn’t always documented is just how stressful a time it can prove to be for those concerned. In addition to making sure the baby has enough food, clothes and toys, it’s is also of huge importance to ensure you are bringing the child into the safest environment possible.

There are a number of potential risks to a small child’s safety in any home, and it’s important to make sure that you eliminate as many (if not all) of these as possible. One hazard that many people may not consider is the one caused by your choice of window treatments, so it’s important to pick these very carefully.

Any baby in a new environment is likely to want to wander round and explore their fresh surroundings. As you are unable to keep your eyes on your child for every minute of every day, it’s key to ensure that the items within their reach pose as small a threat possible for the occasions when they’re out of your site. Whilst curtains may be attractive on the eye, they often come with lots of loose materials which can provide temptation for children to play with and, in turn, potentially get tangled up in. An alternative solution to this is a set of roller blinds which, the majority of the time, can be operated with the use of a cordless device. If you take advantage of the “made to measure” service that a lot of companies provide then you can also make sure that they are the right size for your windows, but also kept out of the reach of any wandering hands.

As well as helping to provide a safe environment in terms of material fittings, they can also help when it comes to assisting your baby develop a healthy sleeping pattern. Blackout roller blinds are available to ensure that the lighting in a room can be maintained at the correct level, which will help your baby get their head down at a good time no matter how light it is outside. In addition, roller blinds can also contribute towards maintaining a healthy temperature in a room, meaning the baby’s sleeping quarters are insulated perfectly during all adverse weather conditions.

Whilst they are a practical option, roller blinds are also easy to the eye too. The simple design means that it shouldn’t be too hard to find a style to fit in with any existing décor and colour scheme. This could prove to be particularly convenient over time, as children are notorious for changing tastes and styles over the years.

There are likely to be a million and one things on your mind during this life-changing period, and cost-cutting is more than likely to be one of them. It’s worth considering roller blinds, as they are a very cost effective way of providing a perfect environment for any new born baby.

Guest Blogger: Why is it important for my child to have their eye's tested?

While I am away on vacation, I will have some guest bloggers posting for all my readers. I hope you enjoy, and I may just pop in for some updates and pictures while in Scotland!

Why is it important for my child to have their eye's tested?

Getting your child’s eyes tested is extremely important and more important still is ensuring they get their eyes tested as early as possible. A skilled Optometrist will see your child from as young as 2 years old so you should not be worried that they are too young.

Below I have listed my top 3 most important reasons that you should take your child for an eye test:

 1. Check their vision is developing: The first 7 years of your child’s life are critical in their visual development. Beyond this age it is virtually impossible to correct a lazy eye. During an eye examination your Optometrist will be assessing to see if your child has a lazy eye and also checking to see if they are at an increased risk of developing a lazy eye. If either of these apply, your Optometrist will act accordingly in the best interests of your child. A lazy eye is an eye that even with the best possible eye glasses will only be able to see partially down the eye test chart. A lazy eye can only be treated by your Optometrist if it is picked up below the age of 7 years old (the earlier the better) and is not treatable with laser eye surgery as people wrongly assume.

2. Check their eyes are working together: Your Optometrist will be carefully assessing your child’s ‘muscle balance’ which effectively means how well their eyes work together. If your child is found to have a ‘turn’ in their eye, this will require either full-time glasses wear or possibly eye surgery (this is different to laser eye surgery). If your child’s strabismus (turn in the eye) is left untreated or picked up beyond the age of 7 years old, then the eye that is turning will be permanently lazy. As well as this your child will have very poor binocular vision which is essential in judging depths and distances. Poor binocular vision will mean your child will struggle with fast moving ball sports such as basketball, baseball, tennis and American football. In addition to this, your child will not be able to see in 3D which means they will not be able to enjoy 3D films at the movies! If the strabismus is picked up early enough and either treated by surgery or with glasses, then it is possible that some binocular vision will be saved.

 3. Health of their eyes: Just because your child is young does not mean they are immune to developing eye diseases. The most serious type of eye disease your child could develop is Retinoblastoma, which is a fast growing cancer of the eye. This can be easily picked up by your Optometrist during a routine eye examination. For this reason, even if you think your child has perfect eye sight you should still take them for an eye examination as early as possible.

 This article was provided by Tim, an experienced Optometrist from the UK. Tim works as a full time Optometrist and sees a great number of children. He also writes useful information for his own website TreatmentSaver. Tim’s take home message from this article is as follows: Taking your child for an eye examination should be right at the top of your list of priorities. Don’t assume your child’s vision is fine as often parents may think this is the case only to be shocked that their child has a lazy eye. Providing we see your child early enough (from as young as 2 years old) most visual problems can be corrected giving your child the best chance of achieving success in both their academic and sporting activities.

Happy Halloween! (Very Late)

I had created this little announcement to wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween, but we had some internet troubles during the week of Halloween up until our vacation so it was never posted or shown. Here it is anyway!

Used MyMemories! Be on the lookout for a review, giveaway, and discount code to be used for this software program!

Guest Blogger: The Secret to a Budget-Friendly Family Vacation

While I am away on vacation, I will have some guest bloggers posting for all my readers. I hope you enjoy, and I may just pop in for some updates and pictures while in Scotland! 

The Secret to a Budget-Friendly Family Vacation

A family vacation is a wonderful thing. It’s a chance for bonding, a way to create life-long memories, and it’s just plain fun! But in this day and age, it’s also an expensive proposition. Unless you know the secret.

The secret to a fun budget-friendly family vacation is renting a timeshare. Many people aren’t aware that when timeshare owners can’t use their weeks, they list them for rent.  This gives families who are looking for vacation accommodations a great deal. You‘ll be able to take the family to a luxury resort that you might otherwise not have been able to afford.

A timeshare rental gives you:

1. Affordable Accommodations. Most timeshare rentals are up to 50% less than the cost of a hotel room.

2. Space. A timeshare rental gives you much more space than one cramped hotel room. You get separate bedrooms, a living area, a dining area, and a patio or balcony. It’s a real home-away-from-home where the entire family can truly relax.

3. Kitchen. Your timeshare rental will come with a full-sized, fully-equipped kitchen for further cost-savings – no more need for the budget-busting  expense of taking the family out to eat three times a day. And even though cooking on your vacation might not have great appeal, you have to admit that $50 worth of groceries goes much further than $50 at a restaurant.

Having a kitchen is also very convenient. The family can eat breakfast in their pajamas; easy to fix snacks during the day for those constantly hungry kids; stock your own popcorn and ice cream for at-home movie night.

4. Washer and Dryer. Pack light and save on those escalating airline check-baggage fees – most timeshare rentals come with their own washer and dryer!

5. Amenities. A timeshare rental that is attached to a resort will also include many of the resort’s amenities in the rental price. These can be multiple swimming pools, often with waterpark features, hot tubs, kiddie pools and children’s playgrounds, arcade game rooms for your teens, and even lighted tennis courts. Depending on the specific resort, additional on-sight activities can also include such things as arts and crafts, volleyball tournaments, miniature golf, ice cream socials, or even a karaoke sing-along.

Just to give you an idea about the cost-savings of http://www.redweek.com/timeshare-rentals">timeshare rentals, here are a few examples:

·         Sheridan Vistana Resort – in Orlando, just a mile from Walt Disney World – timeshare rentals start at $56/night

·         The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas on Maui – timeshare rentals start at just $63/night

·         Hyatt Beach House Resort, Key West, FL – timeshare rentals are starting at just $25/night.

·         Wyndham Old Town Alexandria, Washington, D.C. – Take the kids to see our Nation’s Capital for just $68/night.

Compare these and other timeshare rental prices to what you would be paying at the same destination for a hotel or even a motel.

You almost can’t afford not to take your family on a budget-friendly timeshare rental vacation! Happy Memory-Making!

Alice Perkins is a timeshare travel blogger for http://www.redweek.com”>RedWeek.com, the largest online market place for timeshare rentals, where vacationers can find luxury accommodations for less than the cost of a typical hotel room. 

Skip the Gym! (Guest Blogger)

While I am away on vacation, I will have some guest bloggers posting for all my readers. I hope you enjoy, and I may just pop in for some updates and pictures while in Scotland! 

Skip the Gym! - Fitness tips for Work at Home Moms Using Things You Already Have in Your House

Being a work at home mom certainly has it’s benefits – more flexible schedule, more direct oversight of the running of you house, more time with your kids etc. However, juggling working at home and being an all-in-all cook/mommy/driver/home-manager/clean-up-patrol-woman leaves little time for “extras” such as going to the gym (or even just washing your hair!)

However, keeping fit is vital if you want to stay healthy and be able to stay on top of things. So how can you do this without taking away from your other important to-dos for the day?

One of the most practical ways to get in some exercise everyday is just to do little spurts of physical activity throughout your day. You can do this pretty easily, and it will keep you energized the whole day. Here are a few quick moves you can do when you have a few minutes, or even when you don’t have a few minutes to spare.

1. Baby Squats

Squats are like the exercise of all exercises. They work your entire leg and your glutes and even help to strengthen your back and your core muscles. What’s great about these is that you can do them anywhere and you don’t need any special equipment. When my daughter was young, she would wake up from her naps crying until she was held for about 15 minutes. I utilized this time to do a few squats and the added twelve pounds of the baby helped make the exercise even more challenging. However, if you do this, please make sure that you have good balance. If you need to hold on to something like a chair, a baby sling can help keep your baby nice and snuggly while she enjoys the up-down motion.

2. Sitting “Wiggly-Worms”

If you have kids you are probably accustomed to the “Gotta-go” dance; this is the one they do when they “Gotta go!” but are too preoccupied to run to the toilet. Well, as odd as it might sound, I discovered that doing my daughter’s patented “Wiggly-worm” dance while sitting at my computer not only keeps my voyeuristic neighbors entertained (Note: Probably a good idea to close your blinds…) but it also helps keep my midsection looking not so pudgy. You can do your own version of the wiggly-worm; just use those abs to rock and sway away like you’ve just drunk a liter of coffee and there are no bathrooms in the entire world.

 

3. Wall Squats

These work well if your desk is located where there is a wall behind you. I have a “dining room office” myself, as this allows me to keep a close eye on everything that’s going on in my house, and since the room is small, the table is only two feet away from the wall on one side. Whenever I’m feeling like it, (i.e. when my bum is numb from sitting too long) I ditch my chair and “sit” with my back up against the wall. I can only do this for a minute or two, and the first time I tried it, I could only hold the position for a few seconds. This exercise really tones your thighs and leaves your quads feeling shaky after a minute.

These little bits of exercise can help you stay fit no matter how busy you are. Once you incorporate them into your daily routine, it will be easier to fit them in here and there and you may even find that with the extra energy keeping fit will give you, you will have more time to do the other things you need to do in your day, as well.

Stacey Cavalari is a corporate writer and blogger for Viamedic.com, a safe U.S. medication facilitator that has been facilitating medications for over 12 years. Customers can purchase safe medications online such as Propecia and Zyban in the convenience of their home or office.