Potty Training

Hi Everyone,

I don’t know about you but when I think about potty training a few things come to mind; stressful, tiring, hard, shitty (no pun intended), these are just a few of the things that I thought potty training would be. I’m a researcher when it comes to anything baby related so when I started to research potty training techniques I found a lot of articles that said you could potty train an infant in 1 week (I’m a sceptic).

Instead of believing all of those crazy articles I decided to ask the best potty trainer I know, my Mom. She bought Dahlia a potty a while back so she suggested I start setting her on it so she could get use to the feel of it; so that’s what I did. A few months ago my husband and I started setting Dahlia on her potty around her bath time. The first few times she hated it and got right off but slowly she got use to the idea of sitting on it.

Fast forward a few months until late last week, we decided to start trying to get Dahlia to pee on her potty. She always pees after her naps so that is where we started. Right after her naps we put her on her potty and guess what she peed on it! The first week of potty training has been super successful. Dahlia pees on her potty twice a day and for the first time today she went “#2”.

The result of potty training has went totally opposite than I thought. It’s been exciting, rewarding and accomplishing to change a couple less diapers a day. We are no where near having Dahlia fully potty trained but I am so glad we started at a year and a half old and not waited to long to get her use to using a potty.

Does anyone have any successful tips or tricks for potty training?

Until next time,
One Potty Training Momma

 

I Survived the First Year of Parenthood!

Hi Everyone,

As of March 29th, 2014 I officially survived one year as a new mom! WOW, that year flew by! It was one roller coaster ride of a year and I wouldn’t change a moment. Lets look back on some of the top and hard moments of the last year.

Some Top Moments:

-Dahlia has learnt to rolling over, smile, crawl, laugh, walk, eat solids, sit up, stand up, babble, etc.

-seeing the excitement and determination when she tries something new

-her laugh always makes me smile!

-seeing & holding Dahlia for the first time

-celebrating my first Mother’s Day, our first Christmas, her first birthday…

-rocking Dahlia to sleep every night

-creating memories and new traditions as a family

Some Hard Moments:

-the lack of sleep in the first 3 months

-finding out Dahlia is allergic to dairy

-her first big fall from walking

-healing from child birth

-breast feeding

-people not realizing you have a baby and your life revolves around there schedule

-leaving her for the first time over night

-deciding to return to work

 

These are just a few of many things I can think of.

 

Becoming a parent has to be the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. As life progresses and Dahlia gets older each day, I will never forget the day she was born. It was the most amazing and life changing day of my life. I know all of you new moms and dads out their are wondering what life will be life as your child grows up; my only advice is every day just keeps getting better and better!

Until next time,

One Sentimental Momma

 

 

*clearly we are related!

 

Smash the Cake – A Birthday Photo Shoot

Hi everyone,

As you all know, Dahlias first birthday is on March 29th. One of the celebratory things I wanted to do was the iconic “Smash the Cake” photo shoot with her. We decided to set it up and do it ourselves since we bought a nice camera. I wanted to do if before her birthday because we are having a party on her actual birthday and I didn’t want to plan to many things on one day.

The photo shoot went fabulous in my opinion. We got some great shots and Dahlia had a blast. She hated the cake; she actually gaged when she tried it but she loved getting messy.

Here are a few of my favourite shots:

Looking back on the last year really opens my eyes as to how fast life really is. In one year Dahlia has grown, changed, and learned so many things. It seems like yesterday we were headed for the hospital to have her.

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I do.

Until next time,
One Happy Momma

Dahlia’s First Birthday

Hi everyone,

I am the middle of planning Dahlia’s first birthday. Her birthday is just over a month away and I am enjoying  planning her party way more than I thought I would! It is so much fun to look back on how far we have come in a year and get to celebrate her life. We are planning to do a “Smash the Cake” photo shoot with Dahlia. I am ecstatic to see how much fun she has getting messy and trying cake for the first time. I will, of course, post pictures after so you can all enjoy it just as much as us.

There are so many cute first birthday ideas on the internet. I can’t decide what to do and what not to do; I just want to do them all. I found this ADORABLE baby info-graphic on Pinterest the other day. Does anyone know where or how I can make one of these? Is there a special program or website to make this?

 

One year… where has the time went! Each day I look at my little girl and can’t believe how much she has grown and change. I wish time would slow down but also love the little personality she is gaining. She has the biggest smile, can walk, has the most addictive laugh, is a picky eater and loves to snuggle and I wouldn’t change anything about her.

Until next time,

One Sentimental Momma

 

 

 

 

The Truth Behind Maternity Leave

Hi Everyone,

As my maternity leave is quickly coming to an end, I can’t help but wonder where the last year of my life has went. A year is a substantial amount of time to be away from the working world but it seemed to fly by. The daunting task of re-entering the world of advertising is fast approaching and I can’t help but be a little sad.  Prior to my maternity leave, when I pictured myself with a child and about to return to the working world, it seemed easy and normal. But since spending every minute of the last year of my life with my daughter it no longer feels right.

Becoming a mom changed my life. I am no longer the same person that I use to be. I am a mother, a provider, an entertainer, a chef but the thought of re-gaining the title of Search Engine Marketing Specialist just plain scares me. I have spend 11 months talking “baby-talk”, how am I suppose to have an intelligent conversation with a co-worker? So, as I approach this new chapter in my life, I thought I would “confess” the truth behind maternity leave.

I had the privilege of taking the entire maternity and parental leave in our household. Not working for a year seems amazing as you approach a maternity leave. Its a “break or vacation” from your normal everyday life. Once you leave life as a student, there aren’t many more opportunities to not have to work (unless you’re rich of course) until you retire.

My experience with maternity leave was pretty great. It went by a bit to quickly but that’s uncontrollable. Everything has there advantages and disadvantages so here are a few of mine.

Advantages:

– Getting to watch your child grow

– Teaching your child new things

– You learn new things about yourself

– You have so much fun

– You will smile more than you have in your entire life

– You get to spend the first year of your child’s life with them apposed to childcare

Disadvantages:

– Feeling lonely sometimes

– Feeling like you have accomplished nothing in a day

– Sometimes not leaving your pj

– Cabin fever

– Returning to work is daunting

– Time flies when you are having fun

Theses are just a few of the advantages and disadvantages I have personally experience on my maternity leave. Although with good comes some bad, I would never change a moment I have spent with my daughter in the last year. The thought of it all coming to an end makes me very sad but I can’t help but think of all of the amazing things to come in the future.

Until next time,

One Changed Momma

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

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

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: