Tag Archives: Babies

Stomach bug

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A stomach bug had me and little man down for two days. I kid you not, horrible doesn’t even describe it. I’ve never had a stomach bug that bad! He was actually tougher about it than me. But I could tell the poor thing was so uncomfortable and aching.

I made sure to keep he and I hydrated. Even when we were unable to eat we just kept consuming fluids. You can actually make yourself worse and cause internal damage (worse case scenario) if you don’t hydrate well while sick.

I’m starting to feel a little more normal again but I’m not 100%. My body is exhausted. I literally feel like the life has been rippled out of me. It’s crazy what an illness can do to your body in just a short period of time! I would never wish that stomach bug on anyone. This week my focus will be just to build my strength and immunity back up.

Ryder however is making me look like a weakling. He’s bouncing around the house like crazy as if nothing happened. What I wouldn’t give for that kind of energy!

Take your vitamins, drink lots of water and pray this bug doesn’t hit you! 🐛 😷

Toilet paper, baby and a dog

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Never in my life did I think I would come to hate the sight of toilet paper. Don’t freak out I’m not about to discuss anything gross.

What do you get when you have a baby, a dog and a roll of toilet paper?…….a HUGE mess that you are stuck cleaning for days.

So recently Ryder discovered the toilet paper holder in the guest bath. He loves to pull the toilet paper off the roll. I don’t know how he does it. I turn my back for just a few seconds and a full roll of toilet paper goes from the roll to the floor. I’ve learned that while this happens, he shreds a few pieces too and keeps them in his mouth or hands. He then distributed these little pieces all over the house without me looking!

This is not where it ends! My dog LOVES the cardboard part of the toilet paper roll. So she will take it and “burry” it in random places in the house. Guests have found toilet paper rolls between the cushions of our sofas when visiting.

Needless to say, this game of theirs goes on for days. I say that because I’m the one cleaning up the little pieces of toilet paper and hunting down the hidden cardboard roll. It was cute the first two times. Not so much anymore 🤦🏼‍♀️

My Job

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In my opinion I have the best job in the world. Never did I think I would say that about being a stay at home mom. Now do note, I didn’t say anything about it being easy. I just said it’s the best.

I spend every day with my little man from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be a stay at home mom. I was always someone who was so career driven. I worked in marketing for 7 years designing digital marketing pieces for the automotive industry. I then went on to follow my true calling and become a teacher. I loved teaching. Being in the classroom can be so rewarding (and such a beat down at the same time). But when given the option to continue teaching and put my little one in daycare or stay home with him, I of course jumped at the thought of staying home with him. Nothing against people who’s kids are in daycare! My parents worked and had to do daycare so I totally understand. However, the idea of being with my little guy every minute of every day was exactly what I wanted. I never miss anything. Every little milestone I’ve been there to see (and gotten most on film for my husband).

When people ask if I miss working I make sure to correct them. I am working. Raising a child isn’t easy. There’s so much that goes into it. I swear you’re constantly following them around or chasing them to make sure they don’t injure themselves too bad. Unfortunately I don’t get paid to do this job. But it’s the most rewarding job I’ve ever done in my life. Do I miss working in marketing and teaching? Absolutely. There were fantastic things about each of those I loved. But nothing compares to the job I have now.

Separation anxiety

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My son is now 10 1/2 months old and I still get separation anxiety when I’m not with him. It was really bad when he was younger and I had to go out of town for a day or two to judge a cheer event. However that’s expected. I just figured by now I would be ok with leaving him for a bit. Maybe it’s a Mom thing. Or even a “first child” thing. I don’t know. But even going to the gym for an hour, halfway into my workout I start missing him and have to text whoever’s watching him to see if he’s ok. Yes I can be a bit of a control freak when it comes to him. I keep him on a tight schedule. He eats at the same time and naps at the same time pretty much every day. He likes his schedules and so do it. But this doesn’t feel like a control thing. It really is a missing him kind of feel. I’ve had people tell me it gets easier as they get older but I don’t know. I don’t know how I’ll ever worry about him less or not wonder if he’s ok all the time. Any other moms feel like this?

Costco pee incident

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Yesterday was not our best day. Talk about a new Mom fail……Somehow my child decided that our Costco run would be the best time to fill his diaper. While walking around Costco I had him in the front carrier (baby Bjorn). I felt a little wetness on my leg. I was in the cooler area with the fruit so I figured something dripped from above. A few minutes later while walking down the diaper isle I felt my entire right thigh become soaked. I felt under Ryder and he was drenched. So was the carrier. In a panic I almost just left my cart and walked out. But then I remembered I needed that stuff from Costco (obviously the diapers). So I was forced to wait in line with pee soaked pants and a pee soaked child attached to me.

In hind sight I probably should have checked his diaper after we left our lunch date. But in my defense, he never fills a clean diaper in a matter of an hour! Lesson learned. Never underestimate your child’s peeing abilities!

Sleep training

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Sleep training has been the hardest thing ever! When Ryder was 4 months I had him on a perfect sleep schedule. Then at 6 months he started getting bag gas that woke him up every hour at night throwing off his sleep schedule so his naps were all off during the day. At 9 months we finally saw a reduction in the night gas and he started sleeping better. He was back to his daily scheduled naps.

Now at 10 months I am training him to learn to nap in his crib. He will still sleep in his bed in our room till he’s 1 year old. It was recommended by our doctor to reduce the risk of SIDS. But naps will be in the crib since they’re short. Yesterday was day 1 of crib nap attempt. It was brutal! He fought it for an hour. Our dog Sadie was in his room the entire time. She would stick her nose trough the crib rails and whimper at him. I let him cry and would check on him every 5-10 minutes. Near the end of the hour I could see he was really starting to fade. He would doze off, then remember he was supposed to be mad and start crying again. Finally he fell asleep and he slept hard! He was snoring so loud even the dog would look up at his crib on occasion!

I feel like I achieved something by getting him to nap in his crib but I also feel like the worst mom in the world for making him cry. I keep telling myself this is a learning process for he and I, and that it’ll get better (and easier) eventually. But it’s still so heartbreaking listening to your child cry. Good luck to all you moms out there attempting sleep training! It’s not easy but you and your little one can do it!

Motherhood changes you

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Motherhood changes us in more ways than we may notice. I think it’s softened me a bit. I was a gymnast and was always told I was robotic with my emotions and feelings. Having Ryder I think I show my emotions a little more. I make sure to always tell him I love him and I’m proud of him because I never really had much of that growing up. People were always telling me I could do better or I needed to be better. It didn’t matter how many competitions I placed in, how many awards I got or how many A’s I made, I was always told I could do better. I told myself when I had Ryder I would always tell him I was proud of him no matter what. And that’s what I’ve done. Every time he does something new or attempts anything I tell him I’m proud of him. During the day I tell him multiple times that I love him. I want him to always know how loved he is. It’s one thing to show it, but kids really do need to hear it. I think parents forget sometimes how important words are to a child especially in the early stages. Never forget to say I love you 💙

Traveling with an infant

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Traveling with an infant is definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. I get really bad anxiety in situations I can’t control. So before our flight to Kansas City I was a complete wreck worried about Ryder being comfortable on the flight and at the hotel. Had I known how amazing he was going to be I probably could have spared myself the internal freakout.

My husband booked our flights around Ryder’s feeding and nap time which worked out perfectly. Before the plane took off I gave him a bottle. This helped with the pressure and it didn’t seem to bother his ears. After his bottle he fell asleep. I brought his favorite blanket and wrapped him in it because the plane was a little cold. He napped until about 15 minutes before we landed. He did wake up confused and cried a little because he didn’t know where he was. But we opened the sun shade of the window so he could see out and that did the trick! He looked out the window till we landed.

I may have OD-ed it on the packing. I had my backpack (diaper bag), small roller bag and large roller bag. I packed every toy known to man that would fit in my small roller bag. Yes I may have over done it with toys but I wanted to make sure he had everything he needed. In that same bag I packed diapers and wipes. In hind site it would have been smarter for me to just buy diapers and wipes at a store close to our hotel rather than stuffing them into a bag and taking up more space. But I wasn’t sure if a store would be in walking distance in case my husband took the rental car to the golf course. So I just jammed four days worth of diapers in my bag to be safe.

One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the hotel not having a bathtub. If you travel with an infant I recommend calling the hotel before to find out. Lesson learned. If you have ever showered with an infant then I’m sure you’re laughing right now. It is NOT an easy task. I kept our swimsuits on because we had just come from the pool and honestly I felt weird showering naked with my child. The swimsuits were the only thing that saved us. I can’t tell you how many times I almost dropped him because he was so slippery! Ever had a bar of soap in your hand that slipped out and you can’t seem to catch it with your hands and luckily do before it hits the ground? Ok this was nothing like that but it totally felt like it! The swimsuits at least gave us some sort of traction. But he definitely slipped a few times. Next time I will bring our blow up tub for him!

I worried about Ryder being comfortable in the hotel room since it was a new place. We let him stay up a little past his bed time to play in hopes that it would help his comfort level. It worked! He had a blast throwing toys across the room and chasing after them. I’m sure the people below us were wondering what the heck was going on, but hey whatever makes him happy!

As for sleeping, we didn’t want to check another bag so we left his travel bed at home and just let him sleep with us. Each night he curled up next to me and went right to sleep. I’m a back sleeper so I never worry about rolling over on him. I’m sure some people are shaking their heads at me for letting my 9 1/2 month old sleep in the bed and not in his own baby bed but I don’t care. He was safe and slept better with me than he would have in that bed. Plus, we did not need to be those people checking one more bag (we already had like 6).

Overall the trip turned out pretty great. I learned a few lessons for our next trip if we go anywhere again soon. And I’m glad to know Ryder is a good little travel companion!

Changing a diaper on a plane

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I deserve a medal. Actually any parent who has changed a baby diaper ON the airplane deserves a medal! Yesterday flying home from Kansas City, ten minutes into our flight, Ryder needed a diaper change. I asked a friend before we left what to do if this happens. She said she was lucky enough to get someone who was ok with her changing her little ones diaper right there in the seat. I however was not going to do that to the guy next to me. Not to mention, ryder doesn’t have the best smelling diapers, so the scent was sure to fill the plane. I decided to take a chance and go to the bathroom with him to change it there. It’s obviously been a long time since I used an airplane bathroom because I don’t remember them being that small! I laid ryder down on the toilet lid and placed a new, unwrapped roll of toilet paper under his head so it wouldn’t bang around with the turbulence. Only his upper body and half of his hind end fit on the toilet. The bottom half of him was just hanging off. I expected him to cry or be upset but he didn’t make a noise. I swear he had this look on his face that said “you got this Mom.” Because of the turbulence I had to keep one hand on him to keep him from rolling. I then used my knee to prop his hind end up from falling off the toilet. I had to use my elbow to hold the diaper in place while attaching the velcro piece with my hand. It felt like a game of twister. Somehow I managed to successfully clean him without getting anything on me, him or anywhere on the bathroom! It’s not the easiest thing to change a diaper one handed while on a plane with turbulence. However I sure felt like I won a big game walking out of that bathroom! At least now I know how to successfully do it! Do I want to do it again? Absolutely not!!

Baby night gas

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People warned me when I had a baby I’d get no sleep. To be honest the first 6 months weren’t too bad. Ryder slept pretty good. The problems came at around 7 months when his night gas got bad. He literally woke up crying like he was in pain. The minute the gas passed he fell right back to sleep with no problem. But that gas is not fun. He was up anywhere from five minutes to an hour. And of course it happens at the worst times. Typically between 2-5am. I called his doctor and she said it could be the food he’s eating or the food I’m eating. I cut out dairy in my diet and bananas in his diet. Lactose and potassium are two things that cause gas in babies. I tried gripe water and it seemed to lessen the gas but doesn’t rid it completely. Not only was is it exhausting for me but also for him. When he woke up in the morning he had bags under his eyes. The poor thing just looked so tired and pitiful. He seemed so out of it for the first few hours till nap time. After his morning nap it’s like he was back to normal! I hate that he had these gas problems. He’s now 9 months and it does seem to be affecting him anymore. Maybe it’s just something he had to outgrow or his body may have needed time to just make its digestive process stronger. Who knows but I’m glad it’s over! I hated seeing him hurt!