Playing

My great Aunt and Uncle (so the boys great-great!) were here a few weeks ago (and I didn't take a single picture!! I can't believe I forgot!) They brought Wesley this Jolly Jumper and he loves it!
I think Judah is slightly jealous of his brothers toy, however he gets great delight in swinging him in this and/or twisting him up and letting him unspin. Wezzy is delighted by the attention :)

Tips for Traveling with Littles

Having recently done a rather lengthy drive with the boys (6 months and 23 months) I thought I would share some of the tips that made our trip easier.
The trip up to my parents took 18 hours, and the one back south took us 28 hours. The extra 10 hours were taken up with stopping for a last minute visit with a couple friends, sleeping in the car and getting lost.

We started both trips with a prayer for safety and harmony. God was gracious in answering - on the trip home we came within a couple of inches of hitting a deer (and then saw about 8 more walking on the side of the road!) and there was another stretch of highway where there were about 8 serious looking car accidents in the span of 5 miles. We also all got along and liked each other at the end of both driving times ;)

Preparing for the Trip
In preparation for the trip I bought/made some 'special' non-sugary treats for Judah. This included crackers, cheese, sausage mini quiches, fruit leathers and apple juice. I cut the sausage and cheese into little cubes, perfect for his little fingers. I had a special little dish for his food to go into and I would put small servings into the dish and then pass it back to him. He was always free to ask for more, but I tried to not put too much in it to avoid having too much food fall on the seat/floor.

Since we were leaving on Christmas day we decided that we wouldn't give him a stocking that morning, and would instead give him little presents -one at a time- in the car. Most of the 'little presents' I used were items he already owned. Things like sunglasses, little cars, books, binoculars and a toy phone.
I think the only thing I actually bought for him for the trip was a set of mini glow sticks (from the Dollar Store.) Since we were driving through the night I thought he would have such fun with it, and he really did! He was fascinated with the 'light' and occupied himself for almost two hours straight with them. At the two hour mark he got oddly silent and I turned around to look at him and he had somehow managed to bite through the stick and had the green glowing stuff all over himself and the seat and door. The Glow Sticks are non toxic, but I think we'll wait til he's a bit older to give him those again.

On top of those items I had a few "Emergency" tools too - items that I knew would instantly cheer Judah up and pull him out of an oncoming bad attitude. These items included hand lotion (Judah adores having lotion rubbed on his hands!), gummy Dinosaur candy and lip gloss (shh! Don't tell Paul I am telling the world that his son loves lip gloss.) These items were used only a handful of times to retain their 'specialness' and they really did do their job!

As far as preparing and packing stuff for Wesley there really wasn't anything to do for him (6 months) I had a couple of car seat toys hanging for him and a pacifier, which he doesn't really use. He was rather simple to plan for in the car.

Including the Boys in Conversation and Songs.
We spent a lot of time talking with the boys and singing them songs. On the way up we drove through the night and it had been our hope that Judah would sleep through the night but that was not to be. Our social child slept for an hour or two max for the entire car ride. During the 4 hour stretch that I drove going up there Judah chattered with me almost nonstop while Paul slept.
We mooed and counted and worked on his letters and sang and were just goofy together. I think that making him feel included and important helped keep him cheerful and good natured when it came to sitting for so long.

Burning Some Energy.
We stopped every 3-4 hours for Wesley to nurse. While I sat in the (nice, warm) car with the baby Paul took Judah out and walked and ran and jumped with him in the parking lot of wherever we were stopped. Having that little bit of freedom, and the opportunity to use up some energy, was really good for Judah.

Keeping up with Judah's normal eating time and serving him hot meals.
To help keep things normal we stopped around meal times to eat - I know it would have been much cheaper to have just packed everything in the car that we wanted to eat, but to us, it was worthwhile to buy. Most places were closed on both days of our trip (Christmas and New Years Day) but to be totally honest our favorite place to buy food while on the road is Sheetz Gas Station. The food is fresh, hot and delicious.
We made one stop at a Japanese place and got sushi to go, but otherwise the rest of our meals came from Sheetz.

Diaper Changes and Dirty Clothes.
Keeping on top of clean diapers isn't so fun while in the car! There isn't ever a doubt when a diaper has been dirtied, but actually changing the diaper is a rather large task. I cannot bring myself to change the boys on the handy changing 'tables' located in most gas station and fast food bathrooms. It makes me cringe to think of it, and it is just not an option.
A friend gave me a fold up changing mat that holds diapers, wipes and anti bacterial hand gel. It folds up to the size of a large pocket book. I kept in the car door and when the boys needed to be changed we would do it on the passenger seat. We kept bags close by to put the diapers in and disposed of it as soon as we were able. The colder it got the more difficult it was to stand outside the car and change a dirty diaper, but that is how we did it for all the diapers we encountered.

We didn't do it this trip, however in the past we have 'lined' the car seats with a towel to catch any explosions that might leak through the clothes. I would highly recommend this!


A Few Other Things.
Once or twice we had to change an outfit because of a diaper mess or food mess. This was anticipated and an extra change of clothes was within easy reach for each boy.

We had a few other things for the boys that we kept within easy reach from the front seat. The snacks, toys and diapers were all kept close by, as well as Childrens Tylenol, Ora gel, bags for trash and diapers, winter clothes and extra blankets. We didn't bother with layering clothes for Judah while he was in his car seat. We dressed him in a long sleeved t-shirt and put blankets on him. When we took him out of the car we had his winter clothes right near by. It worked well for us.

I think the biggest thing about traveling with babies and/or toddlers is anticipating the various situations that could arise (exploding diapers, boredom, etc.) and preparing for those situations. Also, try to maintain as normal of a diet as possible while traveling

More Sleep for Wezzy

Wesley has never been one to just settle down and sleep. He fights sleep, especially if there are people around for him to watch. When he does sleep he doesn't do it for long. Up until this past week he nursed every three hours, around the clock. Which, in case you didn't pick up on it, means I hadn't had any more than three hours of sleep in a row for the past 6 months.

With Paul being away for nearly two weeks, and me being near the point of exhaustion, I decided something *had* to be done.
Up until Judah was 18 months old he would sleep anywhere from 15-20 hours. He would sleep for 12 hours at night, and then take two 2-4 hour naps. At a few weeks shy of 2 he still sleeps for a total of 14-15 hours a day.

Wesley, at 6 months, was sleeping for maybe 12 hours a day, and that is being generous.

I began thinking back as to why Judah would've slept like that and what I was doing differently that was making Wesley not sleep like that... and it struck me, with Judah I gave him the opportunity to sleep - and he took it. Judah didn't have an abundantly affectionate brother keeping him awake. Or a loud brother keeping him awake.
I realized that while I kept wishing Wesley would sleep I wasn't giving him the same opportunities to sleep that Judah had.

So I decided to change that. On Tuesday when Wesley woke up for the day I nursed him, let him play for 30 minutes and then swaddled him back up and lay him in our bedroom - which was peaceful and quiet. Within minutes he fell asleep and slept for three hours.
When he woke up I fed him and kept him up for an hour and a half as I had errands to do, but when we came home I swaddled him again and lay him back down. And he slept for three hours.

I maintained that schedule - wake, eat, play, swaddle, sleep. Sometimes he would play first and then eat just before going to sleep. But I tried to not let him be awake for more than one and half to two hours at a time.
And you know what?! That first night he slept for four hours, nursed, and then slept for another four hours. I didn't know what to do with myself after the first solid four hours of sleep I got! I felt so rested and good!
The next day we kept up the schedule, and that night he again slept for four hour stretches.

And then the next night he slept for five straight hours!
And the next night.

I know it sounds silly to say "The more he sleeps during the day, the better he will sleep at night" - but it has been proven with both my boys. I am hoping soon that he will soon sleep even longer periods of time, but for now I am grateful for the five hours he is sleeping and am beginning to feel like a whole new person just for getting those extra couple of hours!!

Munchkin Munching

Here is Judah using the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder mentioned in my recent Thursday Thirteen. He was eating peaches =)
These things are marvelous creations! (This video was taken a few days ago, when he was feeling healthy!)

Judah's New Game

This innocent face has started biting me (with his gums) when he is nursing. OUCH! It started this morning, and as painful as it is I have the hardest time not laughing when it happens. He will bite down *hard* and I will pull him off and yell "OW!" and he then bursts into tears while I tell him "No Judah, that hurts!"
Then I put him back on, he stares up into my eyes, grins, and bites down again. And the cycle continues. What is so funny to me is that he has tears in his eyes - coming down his cheeks even - and then as soon as he is latched on again he grins.

In the last couple of days he has become so much more playful! Paul plays peek-a-boo with him every day and the last few days Judah has really been responding to it - it's the funniest thing in the world to him when his daddy pops his head out from behind his hands and says "BOO!"

Our baby is becoming fun! =)

Thursday Thirteen #24

Have a baby shower coming up that you need to shop for? Here are thirteen gift ideas to help you out! My Thursday Thirteen:





1. Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder, available at Amazon.com This is perfect for a baby starting out on solids. You stick a piece of fruit, meat or vegetable inside the netting and snap it shut and then let the baby at it! The baby gets to chomp away on something without the risk of choking!
2. Diapers! You can NEVER get too many of these! But try to pick up the bigger sizes, or make sure the parents can return them if the baby outgrows that size. 3. A Restaurant Gift Card for the tired new parents!

4. A Baby Sling, like this one, available from Babies-R-Us. 5. A book for mum - but not parenting books! Something light hearted that is easy to put down, maybe just a magazine.
6. A certificate for a free night of babysitting so the parents can get out on their own!
7. Shower gel and loofa for the new mum!
8. A book or candy for the new dad - just so he knows it's about him too!
9. A months subscription to Netflix for the first month that baby is home.
10. Books for baby - look a little harder and find some that dad and mum will enjoy reading! There are some funny ones out there!!
11. A music cd for baby that mummy and baby can dance and sing to- like one by Laurie Berkner
12. Swimmer diapers, sunscreen and a baby beach towel. Add a cute baby swimsuit to the mix too if you want! =)
13. A fun stuffed animal that will make the parents smile, like this skunk. (We don't own that, but we've got a red horse that makes me laugh!)

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