Category Archives: Toddlers

Baby 1 meeting baby 2

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Everyone keeps asking me how I think Ryder is going to handle having a new baby around. I literally have no idea. And all the questions have started making me feel a little guilty. That sounds horrible when I say it out loud. But in all honesty I’m a little nervous. I don’t want him feeling attention deprived or think I love him any less. I’m having a hard time with that right now. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I know the positive patty’s of the world are going to tell me he will be just fine and everything will turn out great. Yeah yeah, leave me alone. I know everything will be just fine, but that doesn’t mean my mom guilt just goes away or lessons any right now. 😢

I know it may take a few weeks and he will eventually adjust to the change and realize I’m still here and still love him as much as I ever have. It just tears at my heart that for any amount of time he would be upset or sad. He’s the happiest kid ever so it breaks my heart to see him upset. 💙

Clean up

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Baby pee, easy clean up. Baby poop, no prob. Baby vomit, not ideal but I’m fine cleaning but up. However, today I had to use my nail to clean a booger out of my kids nose because the wipes, Kleenex and sucker wouldn’t get it……THAT almost made me vomit. I was literally gagging trying to clean his nose. That was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve done in a while! Ridiculous I know. I guess we all have our “gross out” things. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Injury flashbacks

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The other day when I was dropping Ryder off at our gym daycare, a little boy about his age fell while playing outside and busted his nose. There was blood everywhere. The child was screaming of course out of fear and I’m sure pain. I knew it was going to freak ryder out a bit with people rushing around. He seemed ok so I left.

A few minutes later I heard the siren for the paramedics. I immediately went right back to the daycare. I knew when ryder saw those paramedics he would have a flashback to his accident a few weeks ago and freak out.

When I got to the daycare I found ryder hiding in a corner of the room. He wasn’t crying or anything he was just hiding and looking at everyone with a nervous look. When he saw me he walked over and just hugged me. I stayed until the paramedics left. I wanted him to know they were ok and there to help, but I also wanted him to know I was there to help make him feel safe.

After everything settled and I left, they said he did great. He went back to playing like he does every day. Did I have to go back in there when I heard the paramedics? No. But the accident he had a few weeks ago there is still fresh in his memory and I want him to be comfortable at daycare and not scared of it or of paramedics.

Call it coddling or babying, that’s your opinion. Everyone handles situations differently and this is how I chose to handle this one. To each their own. But having my 1 1/2 year old scared because he remembers his own first major injury is just not something I wanted him to be alone for. 💙

Counting age in months

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There needs to be an unwritten rule set on how long it’s appropriate to tell your child’s age in months. I heard a woman say the other day that her child is 31 months old. Lady, your child is 2 1/2…. 😂

I understand telling your child’s age in months up until 2 years old. Children’s clothing counts in months from 0-24mo so I get counting to 24. But once your child hits 24 months, I think it’s time to start counting in years and half years. Their clothing no longer counts in months for sizing so maybe we shouldn’t either. Just a thought

Find The Sippy Cup….

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Every day without fail, ryder and I play the game “find the sippy cup.” Never played? Be thankful! It’s not exactly what I call fun.

My child loves his sippy cup. He carries it around the house like crazy. I can’t complain too much because the kid is constantly drinking water. He stays hydrated better than me. The only downside, when it’s empty he puts it in random places. I have found it in a shoe, in the hamper, in the closet, in the toy bin, on the windowsill, on the toilet lid, etc.

And no we don’t have just one sippy cup 😂 We have a few, but without fail one goes missing daily and I have to hunt for it. He doesn’t have many words yet so he can’t tell me exactly where it is. However some of the time I can get him to take me to it so the search is short lived.

I feel like the hidden sippy cup is just preparation for other things to be hidden in the future…….

When your child gets injured

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Yesterday did not exactly go as planned. We spent the afternoon in the ER getting some stitches. I never thought I’d have to bring my 18 month old in for stitches! I figured we still had a few more years before this kind of thing happened.

While the injury of a child puts a lot of stress and fear in the child themselves, it’s another world of fear for the parents. I kept myself calm and collected the entire time for Ryder’s sake. Now at 18 months he picks up on my emotions. But inside I was absolutely losing it. It’s incredibly hard to see your child in pain and not be able to make it go away.

I’ve been around broken bones and severe lacerations before. I’ve been trained in first aid and concessions. But I’m one of those people where everything just went out the window when it came to my child. I couldn’t tell if the wound was deep enough for stitches or not. I was so panicked my mind just wouldn’t process anything. I wasn’t sure if an ER visit was a must or if I was being dramatic. Now looking back at the pictures I took of the injury, I realize in my right mind, it was definitely a deep cut that required an ER visit. So even in my parent panic mode, bringing him to the ER wasn’t dramatic, it was a good choice.

I hope we will never have to go through something like this again. However, I am logical….I have a boy. It’s bound to happen again. So I’ll pray that god will give Ryder the strength he had this time to be tough through it and not be overly scared. And to give me the strength to keep my composure for Ryder and hopefully give me a clear head to think.

After that stressful day, a few minutes to myself just collecting my thoughts and trying to relax was a must! 🛁

Children and sweets

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I’m pretty particular about what my child eats. I give a little here and there. But one thing I don’t budge on is sweets. I personally believe we introduce candy and sugars into children’s diets at too early of an age. Most doctors and dieticians will recommend waiting till a child is at least 4 before introducing them to candy and sweets (longer if possible).

Hard or chewy candies are a choking hazard, and giving your child other treats like chocolate can contribute to poor eating habits as they grow up.

Candy is chock-full of empty calories, and you want to make sure your child eats more nutrient-packed foods. Because eating habits and tastes are learned early, what you offer your child now will affect them for the rest of their life.

Your child will figure out soon enough the appeal of sweets, but you can help them make smart choices. If you want to give your cold something sweet, safe and healthy options are fruit, yogurt, frozen yogurt, pudding, etc.

Help your child learn healthy habits early in!

Overly disinfecting toys

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Truth: I have let my kid eat dirt (it was one time and it was more of a little dirt disc He found on the floor) and sometimes I have to pull things out of his mouth that he picked up off the floor (like an old blueberry he found on the floor that the dog didn’t eat and I didn’t sweep up). If his pacifier fell on the ground, at home, I dusted it off and popped it back in his mouth. But I totally disinfect his toys every two weeks. It’s all about balance!

I’m a firm believer in allowing your child to build an immune system. If you overly disinfect things, you actually reduce your child’s ability to be exposed to certain bacteria and pathogens, therefore causing them to have a weaker immune system.

By no means am I telling you to allow your child to lick a gas station floor (I went a little dramatic there I know). But don’t overly sanitize. You don’t need to clean their toys every day. And don’t freak out if they eat dirt on occasion or chew on the dogs chew toy (been there). They will turn out just fine! It’s good for them to be exposed to different elements.

I know I ate my fair share of dirt when I was little. I even drank from the hose! I turned out just fine.

Disinfect toys every so often. Aim for every other week, or every week if you’re a clean freak. Don’t make it a daily thing. Especially if you keep your house decently clean. Spend more time playing with your child and making sure they stay physically safe. They grow up too fast. Wouldn’t you rather spend that hour you would disinfecting, playing with them instead?

Never under estimate a toddler

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I used to think the infant stage was going to be the most difficult part of having a new baby. I figured because they were so little they were going to take so much time and energy.

Go ahead and laugh all you veteran moms. Yeah yeah I was SO wrong. Infants are easy! They eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom with little movement. I say little movement because they aren’t walking and depending on age, just learning to crawl. I could put Ryder in a front carrier and get so much done around the house when he was really little! He would just sit and watch or fall asleep!

A toddler, now that’s a whole different story! They get into everything! What little free moments I had before are now gone. I spend most of my day chasing him around making sure he doesn’t hurt himself. That and picking up whatever he’s torn up or pulled down. I swear the minute I get something put away, he’s already gotten in to 3 other things! By the time his bedtime hits, I’m ready for bed too!

Forget having a clean house. Those days are over. I’m just happy if we can get through a day where he doesn’t get hurt or the house is torn apart too much. I’m sure someone is shaking their head at me for saying I hope we can get through a day without injury. You’d understand if you took care of my kid for a day. Baby proofing has nothing on this kid. He will get the dog to lay down so he can stand on her to reach for something high above him. Never under estimate a one year old.

Every day is something new. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love every messy, exhausting minute of it. We have our good days too I promise! 😉

Kids and technology

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I always said I would never be one of those moms who just stuck their kid in front of the tv or let them spend hours playing a video game. I’m still not. However I will use technology to my advantage.

I grew up in a time with no cell phones and only one tv in the house. People had pagers and made calls on land lines or pay phones. People didn’t have a tv in every room of their house. You had one in the living room and that was it. In our house, tv time was only allowed if homework was done or on weekends in the mornings. After the morning tv time was up we could either play outside or in our rooms.

Going to dinner as a family we all sat together and talked or my brother and I would eat fast, find a tree on the restaurant patio and go climb it! We didn’t have phones or video games to entertain ourselves. I want Ryder to grow up not fully relying on a tv, a cell phone or a video game to entertain himself like I did. I know it’s not logical to completely avoid this. So that’s where I feel moderation comes in.

Ryder’s so little right now that he has no interest in the tv or video games. However going to a restaurant it can be a battle to keep him entertained. He’s in a throwing phase so we can’t bring toys our we spend the entire dinner picking them up off the floor. At football games he wants to run all over the place and there’s not much space for him to do that. That’s where the cell phone comes in handy! Ryder loves to watch videos of himself. He thinks it’s so funny. What’s even better is he will sit still for a good 30 minutes watching videos of himself!

I know as he gets older the battle over the tv or phones will get worse. That’s part of growing up in a tech savvy world. But I do hope we are able to be that family I see on occasion, out to eat with no cell phones in hand, just hanging out spending time together. But for now I’ll be appreciative of cell phones and their ability to entertain my child through a short meal or and event like a football game!