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. 🤷🏼♀️
Being a stay-at-home mom I’m often asked “what do you do all day?” Sometimes it’s asked harmlessly, and other times it’s asked as if the person thinks I just lay around and watch tv all day. It actually makes me laugh when someone asks that. Some of the time I want to make up something ridiculous just to see what they say in response. 😂
But truthfully my days are never “relaxing.” I don’t get much downtime. Once Ryder started walking, any free minute I had was taken up by chasing him around and cleaning. This kid can destroy a room in under 2 minutes. Yet it takes me at least 10-15 minutes to put the room back together. 🤦🏼♀️
His favorite thing to do is take things out of drawers and move them other places. Yesterday he emptied out two clothing drawers and put everything in the bathtub. While I was folding the clothes and putting them away, he was in his room taking diapers out of their bin and throwing them in the kitchen. Once that was complete he found the two kitchen drawers that aren’t baby proofed and emptied them of everything (don’t worry it’s just things like chip clips in that drawer).
The cleanup is never ending. I can’t get mad at ryder because he’s not doing it to be “mean.” He doesn’t know better. He just thinks it’s fun to empty drawers and boxes. We are working on explaining why we don’t take everything out of drawers. But each time he just looks at me like “ok mom are you done, I see another drawer to empty.” 😂
In addition to the daily pick up game, I have food to make, a house to clean, laundry to do, errands to run, etc. It’s never ending. But I’m not complaining. I do love it. 💙
So when someone asks me what I do all day, rather than give the long version, I just say they I chase Ryder around all day. That pretty much sums it up. 🤷🏼♀️
We are off to Cabo tomorrow! I’m excited but also a little uneasy. Not because I don’t like traveling or anything. It’s because I hate leaving Ryder. I love spending every minute of every day with him so it’s really hard when I have to actually go DAYS without seeing him.
I know it’s healthy to have time as “adults” and take a break for yourself. But it’s just so hard! I feel like something is missing when I’m not with him. Plus everyone is always saying “enjoy it while it lasts.” I know there’s going to come a time where he doesn’t want to be around me all the time and will want to be off with his friends or on his own. So I feel like I need to take advantage of it now and soak up every minute with him while I can.
Lucky for him when we leave, he has 4 full days of fun planned with his grandmother. I literally think she has every minute of the day planned out with little adventures for them like the aquarium, Playstreet, etc. I know he will have a blast and be well taken care of.
I’m trying to remind myself that this time away could be good for him too. He gets to spend time alone with Gramma, which I never got to do much as a kid since one of my grandmothers passed very early and the other lived far away.
Letting go is hard. Even if it is just for a few days. Thank god for FaceTime!
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. 💙
I’m a huge advocate for letting your immune system build and do its job. I have a few close friends that are the opposite. At even the slightest hint of illness they immediately push for medication. (Medication not immunization. Two totally different topics) 💪🏻
When my little one gets sick, I hold off on medication unless absolutely necessary. I want his immune system to try to work and do it’s job first. Your body is stronger than you think. By letting it work and “learn” it will be able to battle and fight stronger through other illnesses in the future. 🤢
By medicating for things that the immune system can handle, you actually cause the immune system to weaken itself. Therefore causing more and possible worse illness risks later on down the road. This is why I love that we found a doctor who believes the same. She encourages us to use honey to help soothe Ryder’s throat or help suppress his cough as opposed to using cough medicine. 💊
Mind you, there are obviously some illnesses the body cannot fight off on its own and medication is a must. It’s definitely up to you and your doctor to make this call. But when possible, natural is always your best route! God knew what he was doing when he built us these bodies! 😉
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
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…….
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! 🛁
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!
My child has hit the stage of temper tantrums and meltdowns. It’s his new thing these days. I’d say we have at least one a day right now. Does this mean he is a bad kid or is spoiled? Absolutely not!
Tantrums and meltdowns are symptoms that a child is struggling with emotions they can’t relate to. When a child is overly stimulated this can cause a meltdown. There’s so much going on that it just becomes too much for them. This can be anything like sounds, visuals, feelings, exhaustion, etc.
Currently my child only has a few words in his vocabulary. So he isn’t fully able to vocalize his wants, needs and feelings. That has got to be incredibly frustrating. You kind of can’t blame him for breaking down and losing it some days. 😂
When Ryder has one of his temper tantrums or meltdowns, I just walk away. I give him his space and I busy myself with something else. After about 30 seconds to a minute he stops. He will look around like ok I’m over this, and go find a toy. It’s like he needed to get out an emotional release. Once out, he’s back to his normal self. I know what you’re thinking…..why don’t you hug him and make him feel better. Tried that! He wants no part of it. During a temper tantrum or meltdown he does not want to be touched. Hence why I give him his space.
If you see a child having a meltdown or throwing a tantrum, don’t automatically assume they are a bad kid. They may just be overstimulated or not able to vocalize their needs. It’s all a learning process. They grow out of it eventually (sort of).
The next time you see a parent who’s child is having a melt down, instead of looking at them like they’re a bad parent, try taking pity on them. It’s not easy, or fun when the meltdowns happen. Each parent is just trying to do their best to get through it and help their child learn from it.
Fit Dallas Mom Blog 