Teething pains

Hey everyone,

I am in need of some major advice! Dahlia is right in the middle of getting her first top tooth. She is in so much pain; it breaks my heart to see her like this. Everyone told me the top teeth would be much more painful coming in than the bottom, but I had no idea it would be this bad.

Right now, I have been giving her cold teethers, Tylenol and baby Orajel. The pain just doesn’t seem to be letting up though. All day she just wants to cry, snuggle or sleep. She is totally uninterested in playing or engaging in any of her normal activities.

What are all the moms out there using to ease their babies teething pains? Any ideas or help would be very much appreciated! Thank you in advance.

Until next time,

One Sad Momma

*photo credit – my husband!

Unconventional parenting… But it works!

Hi everyone,

I think when it comes to child rearing everyone has an opinion…friends, family, neighbours, self proclaimed experts, strangers, etc, etc, etc. and that’s okay! There are a lot of theories and advice out there on ways to raise a child. But, guess what? Only you can choose how you actually do it.

We are a vegetarian household, we don’t let Dahlia cry for very long before comforting her, we let her play with lots of toys, she drinks formula, we tried to buy organic when the price is right and we feed her homemade food and baby food from a jar.

My husband and I haven’t picked a particular method to raise our daughter and that’s working for us. We rule by “whatever gets the food in her mouth, do it!” theory in our house. While I was pregnant, we had all of these amazing plans on how to raise Dahlia but as soon as she was born they all went out the window and we live each day as it comes. I’m not here to talk negatively about any parenting methods, I’m always open to hearing new techniques and tricks parents have for their children. I simply think that it is too easy to get caught up in trends and fads before doing enough research. It’s easy to jump onto a new parenting trend before considering the effects it may have on your child.

Once you become a parent, your main group of friends seem to have children as well. It is so easy to compare your child to another child around the same age (I do this all the time). You will drive yourself crazy doing this. Every child hits developmental milestones at different times and the way you choose to raise them can effect these things.

I think the main purpose of this post is to point out the fact that everyone is going to give you parenting advice but it’s your decision to take it. We are all here surviving our day-to-day routines and you shouldn’t worry what everyone else is doing. If it’s working for you keep up the good work!

Until next time,

One Unconventional Momma

Soother Weening

Hi Everyone,

Introducing Dahlia to a soother (aka pacifier) was a lot of work. We tried many different ones and she seemed to gag with almost all of them. 35 weeks ago we found one that worked for her…

Fast forward 35 weeks and here we are. She doesn’t have a soother in her mouth at all times. She mainly uses it to calm herself to sleep at night and for her naps. I’m at a cross roads on how and when to lose the pacifier. I want to get rid of it before she gets to old and to attached but am unsure how to go about it.

Today we got a new pacifier that is suppose to ween babies off of pacifiers…

My goal is for the pacifier to “get lost” or disappear once she turns a year old. Every time I think about that day I get nervous. I would love to know some tricks or tips anyone has for losing the soother! Please HELP!

Until next time,

One Nervous Momma

Pregnancy after a miscarriage

Hi everyone,

When I had a miscarriage a few years back I never realized how it would effect me with future pregnancies. I remember that day like yesterday. The sadness, feeling alone, everything disappearing within a moments notice and having no control.

When I got pregnant with Dahlia, all of those feelings came flooding back. I spent almost everyday for 9 months worrying that the same thing would happen again. One of the scariest things has to be not having control. I worried (probably to much) about every pain or cramp until we hit the day in the pregnancy where it was safe for Dahlia to be born.

Pregnancy lose is something that is not talked about a lot. But to my surprise is much more common than I had ever imagined. Until I lost a baby I had no idea how many people I knew who had experienced the same thing as me. Life is a crazy thing. I always relate life to space (A weird analogy, I know). My brain has a hard time comprehending how big space is and how it was created. The same goes for understanding conception and the creation of life.

Because of everything I have gone through in the past, I am here and am stronger. I cherish the fact that I was able to have a baby after a miscarriage. Life really is a miracle and should not be taken for granted. It’s hard to really understand how someone feels until you lose a baby or can’t have a baby until you want one yourself.

Despite the fear and anxiety I may have felt while I was pregnant with Dahlia, I would never change anything about it. Having Dahlia is the best decision we have ever made. Never let your fears hold you back from getting or achieving something you really want.

I really didn’t start healing from my experience until I opened up and talked about it. I hope my post today reaches someone out there and helps them with pregnancy lose.

Until next time,

One Very Grateful Momma

How to stay fit with a new baby

Hi everyone,

A couple posts ago, I spoke about how I have struggled to accept my new body after having a baby. I thought it would be a good follow up to post about ways to try to stay fit after having a baby. So here are a few of the ways I have tried staying healthy without hitting the gym.

1) Breastfeeding – Breastfeeding is not only very healthy for your baby but it burns a ton of calories for you as well. Win- win

2) Walking – When we had Dahlia the weather was just starting to warm up, so I was going for at least 2 walks a day. Now that it’s winter I sometimes don’t even get one walk in a day. But when I do I burn a ton of calories trying to push the stroller through the slushy sidewalks.

3) Daily dance parties – At our house we have multiple dance parties in one day. I love to dance and because I dance with Dahlia so often she’s starting to bounce when the music comes on. Dancing with a baby in my arms makes me start sweating pretty quickly; especially since she’s getting bigger.

4) Chasing my little monkey around the house – You would be surprised how quickly a baby becomes mobile and wants to get into everything. I spend most of my day chasing Dahlia around the house making sure she’s not pulling the cats hair, climbing everything or just getting into any trouble.

5) Baby wearing/ Baby Carrying – I wrote about baby wearing a while ago. Carrying your baby rather than pushing them in a stroller is a great way to work up a sweat. Check out my post on baby wearing here to read more about it… http://wp.me/p2WTEc-2C

What’s your favourite way to stay fit after having a new baby? I would love to hear your ideas.

Until next time,

One Fit Momma

Life lessons from a new momma

Hi Everyone,

Today I am going to write about some life lessons or things I have learnt since having Dahlia. Becoming a mother has completely changed my life and I love everything about it.

So here are a few of my life lessons:

Junk food is in fact, junk. Bye bye, late night food runs. Hello grocery lists. Before Dahlia, my husband and I use to eat out way more often. We are now more conscious of what we eat and the amount of money we spend on food.

Coffee is my best friend. If your friends with children tell you their children always sleep through the night… They are lying to you! Babies sleep schedules are unpredictable and coffee saves my life after a rough night.

Get the picture while you can. You would be surprised how quickly your baby becomes mobile and all of your pictures turn into action shots. You have to be fast on the trigger and capitalize on when your baby isn’t as mobile.

Adult time is a necessity. Pretty quickly after Dahlia was born I found myself talking “baby talk” to my husband well after she was asleep. Adult time is very necessary to keep your sanity.

You have an instant connection with other parents. When I hear a baby crying in a store I instantly can sympathize and be thankful when it’s not my child.

Smiles really are contagious. Dahlia has the biggest smile ever. It’s the best way to wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. The last 9 months of my life have been so much fun. I have never laughed and acted so crazy as much as I have since having Dahlia.

Does anyone have any lessons they have learnt since becoming a parent? I would love to hear them.

Until next time,
One Changed Momma

Accepting my new body

Hi everyone,

As you all know having a baby changes your body drastically. Your skin stretches, your organs shift, your feet swell, etc, etc, etc.

While I was pregnant I had every symptom in the book. I was bed ridden for the beginning of my pregnancy and sick almost the entire 9 months but I already miss it. Pre-pregnancy I took my body for granted. I was 115-120lbs and sometimes felt “fat”. Looking back I had nothing to complain about. 9 months after the birth of my little girl I still have proof of the miracle that grew inside of me. I weigh 10-15lbs heavy, have lots of stretch marks and hips I am not use to dressing.

I find it very difficult sometimes to accept my new body. I think as a women almost everyone of us has struggled at some time with body image. It’s quite sad because pregnancy is a beautiful thing. You grew a human inside of you; every finger, toe, hair & limb, developed under your skin. We shouldn’t be afraid of the outcome of our body after pregnancy; we should be celebrating the fact that we created life.

My body might not be the same as it was before but in the eyes of my little girl I am perfect. She doesn’t see me for the stretch marks or weight gain; she sees me as a provider, a play mate, and most importantly a mom.

Until next time,

One Accepted Momma

During Pregnancy:

After:

Looking back & moving forward.

Hi everyone,

I want to start this post with one of my favourite quotes…

“Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it’s the moments that take your breath away.”

This quotes represents my 2013 perfectly. A lot of major things have happened this year: the birth of my daughter, I married my best friend and we moved. So I have decided to create a few New Years resolution type goals for 2014 based on what I have learned so far from becoming a parent.

Here they are:

1) Ask for help when I need it – I tend to try to take a lot on by myself when I could easily ask for help.

2) Print more pictures – I loved looking at photo albums growing up and I want Dahlia to enjoy this as well. I take so many pictures everyday I really should start now.

3) Cherish the small stuff – 2013 flew by and now Dahlia is 3 months away from being a year old. I know I can’t slow down time but I can take the time to appreciate all of the small things on a daily basis.

4) Have more date nights – 2013 was a pretty busy year but I want to take more one-on-one time with my husband this year.

5) Worry/Stress less – (or at least try) this year I worried about everything: Dahlias health, money, housing, etc. Most things work out in the end and I just need to keep that in mind.

Well, there are my 2014 goals. What are yours?

Until next time,

One Grateful Momma