mommapalooza

flying the friendly skies

If you're reading this, it means that Chris, Madeline, and are on board a plane en route to Toronto for the weekend. Hopefully we got to the airport in time and were able to be seated in the same row. If we have to be split up, I would volunteer to stay with Chris :) Hopefully I managed to get Madeline's carseat installed well enough on the plane - the info I got from the Baby Bargains forums suggest that for a forward-facing install, I first ought to try to get a seatbelt extender. Then I raise the armrest, recline the seat, buckle the carseat in, and then move the plane's seatback into an upright position. If I wasn't able to get a seatbelt extender, I will have twisted the seatbelt one-half turn before buckling it up. This is supposed to make the buckle open away from the carseat, which I've read is the key to getting the seat out without injuring one's hands in the process. Hopefully Madeline won't kick the back of the seat in front of her too much, but I understand that it's also unavoidable with little legs like hers. Hopefully the flight attendants were willing to fill Madeline's cup with some water or milk before the takeoff so that she has something to swallow to relieve any pressure in her ears. Hopefully Madeline will be amused with all of the stickers and art supplies that I stocked our carry-on bag with. I'd rather not turn her seat-back tv to the cartoon channel, but I'm glad it's there at the same time.

Onto my links for the week:

These two posts at Motherhood Uncensored came along just when I needed them: How Long Does It Take for You to Think Like a Parent? and I Guess This Is Supposed to Be a Thankless Job. Both of these resonated with me - this week ended with a few struggles/challenges for me.

The new post at Ask Moxie asks about useful books on parenting.  I agree, certainly about her take on the whole Babywise thing and also about the Baby Whisperer. I didn't think that I could feel nagged by a book until I read the Baby Whisperer one. I even read the sequel on toddlers just to make sure that I wasn't imagining things!

Searching for TPB

I don't know when the acronym LBD came into our collective consciousness, probably because I'm not the type of person to make it a point to own a perfect little black dress. The perfect bag (TPB) on the other hand, well, I've been re-inventing what I consider one of those to be for awhile.

When Madeline was first born, I had two Land's End bags (the Do-It-All and the Little Tripper). The big bag was perfect for carrying on airplanes and packing for road trips. The small bag was about the same size as the bag I carried in pre-parenting days, just better organized so that I didn't have to empty out the entire thing to find my wallet or Madeline's sunhat. Then I got a little tired of carrying around a diaper bag. Out in public, I couldn't help but notice that everyone else seemed to be carrying a cuter bag than I was!

Madeline was older, too, so all I needed to carry around was an emergency diaper (it's rare that I have to change her while we're out), a drink, and a snack. The rest of the bag could be for my stuff - whee! So, I asked my handbag-designer sister to make me a funky bag for Christmas 2005. I popped Madeline's diaper stuff into a diaper case, and I was feeling a little bit more like my pre-mom self again. This bag is the one I take out on special occasions.

Next, I saw some Timbuk2 messenger bags in one of the shops here in town, and my dear Chris bought me a Metro. It's smaller than the other two, but has a zippered pocket that fits a disposable diaper and a pack of wipes perfectly, not to mention an inside pocket for holdling a water bottle (or sippy cup, as it may be). This became my everyday bag. It's waterproof, and dirt just wipes right off of it.

The only thing about my two newest bags was that they were shoulder bags, and they'd go flying all over the place when I was chasing after Madeline at the playground. Enter the sling pod from MEC. It's the first bag I read for when I go out solo with Madeline now. It hugs my back closely so I can keep up with her unencumbered. There is a bottle pocket on the outside, and a few zippered compartments on the inside. I wish I'd bought one at the beginning of the summer, as it's TPB of the moment!

"I walk on beam"

That was one of Madeline's first four-word sentences. She uttered those words while walking across a balance beam, her tiny hands cupped in mine. One of the things to do with a toddler in St. John's is take them to gymnastics class. There two gyms offering a parented class for one and two year-olds: Cygnus Gymnastics and Campia Gymnastics (okay, this one is really in Mount Pearl, but really, what's the diff?).

We took the toddler class at Cygnus over the summer - the last class was on Friday. Madeline and her classmates got to try out miniature versions of the highbar, the parallel bars, and the balance beam (though the toddlers were free to walk on the elevated beams, which Madeline totally preferred). There were trampolines for jumping, soft padded blocks and mats for tumbling and rolling, and a big pit of large, moist, damp, mildew-y foam blocks for jumping into. Oh, how I loathed that foam pit ... I think that most of the parents felt the same way, actually. One thing that I have to mention is that the facility is really dusty, probably because of all the chalk, and that it could be a dangerous environment for toddlers who run before they think. In parts of the gym, there are cables running from equipment to the ground every few inches, so the tripping hazard is great.

The cost was about $10/class, and the classes were an hour long. Madeline had a really good time, and it was neat to watch her courage increase and her balance improve from week-to-week. The class ended with "sticker time", so she was always happy when we exited the building.

The Highlight Reel

My post for this Friday is going to start off with some highlight-reel-worthy Madeline moments:

• On Sunday, Madeline completed her first unassisted somersault! We were at the Brigus Blueberry Festival, relaxing on the grass, and Madeline was running around and climbing on empty chairs. Then she started getting into her somersault starting position (in her case, bent over on all fours, kind of like a downward-facing dog), and one time, she pushed herself over in just the right way! She was so thrilled!
• On Wednesday night, just as I was eating my last bite of a tuna-pasta-mushroom-and-pea casserole at dinner, Madeline turned to me, pointed at her nose, and exclaimed, "Pea! Up! Pea! Up!" Goody! It took me awhile to extract the trespassing pea with the narrow-tip tweezers from my serger because they tickled Madeline's nose ...
• This week, Madeline started murmuring "thanks" all on her own, quite reliably, when I pass her a cup of milk, the book she asked to look at, etc. "Please!" is also coming along nicely.
• The other day, she leaned in to look at a book on my lap, and went to stand up without leaning back, thus bonking the underside of my chin with her really hard head. "Madeline, that hurts!" I exclaimed, holding my throbbing chin. I didn't say that crossly, but Madeline still became upset, uttered "Sorry!" and held out her arms for a hug. Awwwww .... her first "sorry!"
• Yesterday, Madeline seems to have decided that if she has to go, she has to go, no matter if she's wearing her undies. How quickly things change. (And Chris and I did eat that box of Reece's Pieces)

Last night, Chris took Madeline's eleven o'clock wake-up, and they both did awesome.

My link of the day is the very humourous post and I'd like another bag of pretzels while you're at it over at a little pregnant. Madeline and I are embarking on a trip to see the the rellies a week from today (via a short stop in TO with Chris), so I'm reading all I can about traveling with little people. I'm sad to have to leave Madeline's sippy cups empty before we board under the new (new new) passenger safety requirements. Hopefully she'll be able to get a beverage to drink before the plane takes off, instead of having to wait until the plane reaches crusing altitude like us grown-ups do.

(The second-runner-up link is this post at babyfruit, for the pic of the cutest baby belly button ever).

bonds

It's good to have a dad around.

Madeline had been getting up every hour for a good stretch of the night for four nights in a row, and it had really been rough for me. The greatest stretch of sleep I'd been getting was only from about 4am - 6:30am.  Chris rescued me when Madeline woke up in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, less than an hour after I'd re-settled her back in her crib, and attended to her. Words cannot describe how heavenly it felt to contine to lie still in a warm bed with my eyes closed (I could so get used to that)!  I still had to get up and re-settle her in the end, but those minutes when I knew that I had a partner in the night-time parenting jig made me feel like all was right in the world!

The surprises don't stop there, though! Chris took Madeline downstairs to read and play when she woke up today, a responsibility that defaults to me at on at least six days out of seven.  Today, I didn't have to get dressed in a huge rush with either a toddler wailing across the hall, or impatiently following me around, insisting the she be carried downstairs N-O-W! This small gesture from my husband has totally made my day!  I don't know about it taking a village to raise a happy and healthy child, but I know that having a partner to share the good and bad parts of being a parent with makes me approach my roles as a wife and mother much more positively and with a lot more optimism. It's been a long time since I've felt this good and peaceful. And it was awfully cute to see Chris and Madeline curled up on the sofa together this morning, reading stories :) 

proof I'm raising a slacker

Madeline and her potty have been aquaintances for about three weeks now, and I've only had to clean up three accidents. Some parents might nod their heads approvingly at that statement, others might even be a little envious. But the three accidents are only half the story.

The other half? Well, while Madeline understands quite well that it's not optimal to pee in her underpants, instead of telling me when she has to go, or even just wandering over to the potty herself, she appears to be holding it in. She'll stay dry for a mind-boggling 3-5 hours at a time. I'll put a diaper on her at naptime, and after naptime, it will be ten times heavier. It seems that she's only making a half-effort with this potty-training thing. I think this week we'll take a break, maybe have some casual chats about how it's okay to pee in the potty when one is wearing underpants - low pressure stuff like that - without any pressure about the actual potty. I hope that she starts using it regularly soon - I have a new box of Reece's Pieces waiting in the fridge for successful potty deposits, and as each day goes by, Chris and I are more tempted to break it open ourselves :)

my eyes are bigger than my stomach

Am I only eBay addict who's only ever won three auctions? I've been wondering that this week. I've been checking the listings a few times a day in the hopes of scoring a duplicate of the stripey sweater Chris and I gave Madeline for Christmas, just in a larger size. Is it my fault that other items happen to catch my eye as I browse the Gymboree offerings in 2T? I guess I shouldn't be surprised when I check my "watched items" table and see no less than a dozen colourful little shirts and pants, all in a row, with the "Bid Now" button innocently beckoning.  Usually a few hours later, after doing the dishes, folding laundry, etc., I'll remember that Madeline already has several long sleeved shirts for the winter, three pairs of jeans, and so on, and prune my watch list. Thank goodness that I eventually come to my senses ...

Links for this week:

• I've gone back and read this post at MamaPie a few times over. It has reminded me of both the good times and bad times that Madeline and I have shared with the nursing thing, and I totally agree with the helpful advice at the end. On my last visit to re-read the nursing post, I found this one, which I also love. If you don't visit, you're missing out :)
• This is the second week I've found a powerful post at This Sister's Journey - what I love about A Letter to My Husband is the unabashed honesty. I hope that I can be as honest the next time I feel overwhelmed.
• I never did weigh in on the controversy caused by the nursing-baby-cover at BabyTalk magazine, but I read a lot of opinions from mama bloggers who did. CityMama pointed me to this kinda funny article at Women's Health News. That's where I learned that the breast on the cover of that magazine spurred 700 individuals to write to the magazine. I wonder how many letters Maxim and FHM get each month in response to the breasts on their covers?
• One cool product idea - the BumpyName bracelets for labeling bottles, cups, and snack containers at daycare, playgroups, etc. Madeline isn't even in daycare and I'm tempted ...

taking care of terrific

I really dislike the label "terrible twos". For one thing, I think it kind of scares parents into thinking that their child will be mysteriously abducted and then replaced by a monstrous little imposter for a year of horrific misbehaviour. Secondly, it's never quoted as the "terrible and terrific twos" so there is no implication that there will be an upside or positive moments intermingled with the challenging parts. Thirdly, I just hate labels. Madeline is two years old, and she's a little person who is trying to figure out what the appropriate standards of behaviour are for someone here age in a variety of situations.

Yesterday, she failed miserably in this endeavor. She had a bad day. Two molars coming in, not feeling well, a skinned knee ... who wouldn't be cranky and short-tempered? I was quite sympathetic to her mood, even offered a sugary popsicle treat to numb her gums, but something happened that gave me pause. As I was buckling Madeline into her carseat for the trip to the store to buy the promised popsicle, Madeline suddenly decided that she didn't want to accompany me for the trip, got angry at me, and started to hit and shove! I chose to ignore the behaviour and continue buckling, but I realized that Madeline might have crossed a new line and I'm going to have to think of how to address this behaviour when it happens again in the future. 

Can I have a pet starfish?

Can I have a pet starfish?
Originally uploaded by goingdomestic.

I think I've mentioned Memorial University's Ocean Science Centre once before as a possible toddler activity in St. John's. We were driving on Logy Bay Road yesterday with Madeline and her Auntie Julie (or Auntie Whoolie, as she was better known), saw the sign for the research facility, and decided to step in. There was an outdoor touch-tank set up where visitors could pat starfish, sea cucumbers, a crab, and a few other invertebrates. When we scaled a set of stairs, we found two outdoor pools where several sea lions were perfecting their back strokes. All this was completely free of charge, so both Chris and I think that it was 15 minutes well spent for Madeline :)

hitting the bottle

May I present the newest member of Madeline's sippy cup collection?

I hope that this Nalgene Grip n' Gulp proves to be the answer of our leaky sippy cup woes! In any event, Madeline seems to really like her new beverage containers, and I'm happy because when she outgrows the spouts, we can just buy regular replacement lids! Whee! I love things that grow with a kid! 

Cool stuff for this week:

• This post at Kiddley about recycling little stubby bits of crayon!
• The post The Doing of the Toes at This Sister's Journey - this resonated with me more than any other that I've read this week. I found this one because it was recongnized as "A Perfect Post" for July. I'll be reading the others here this weekend.
• Ramona and Bunny at my long-time fave, CityMama. I had to mention this one for the nostalgia factor. For the first time in eighteen years, I wish I had my Beverly Cleary books at hand!