Brusha, Brusha, Brusha

Dental hygiene is such a critical part of  a child's life.  And man is it hard to instill the skills and recommended routines to make it happen.

I'd say since McKenna turned two and was actively eating foods that included sugar, we have tried to be adamant about brushing her teeth.  Man is the struggle real! I mean a two year old who is now in control of her body, chooses when she feels comfortable with someone helping her stick a brush with bristles on it in her mouth.

So here is my list of must haves and do's:

1. The right brush.  We started out with the normal 0-2 yrs tooth brush, but that wasn't working. Then I stumbled upon the Jack N' Jill silicone brush.  The brush is the trick!  Bringing independence to our little girl! We purchased from Amazon here,  but then I found the exact same product at Wal-Mart for a couple bucks less.  Can be purchased on Amazon here or at Wal-Mart in the baby section. The best thing about this brush is that it can be used from ages 2-5 years and surrounds the teeth on bottom and top at the same time!!! Major plus and saves some major hassles.  I still go back and take a regular toothbrush and get really good along the gum lines and on the molars.


2. The right toothpaste.  We have chose not to use fluoride and avoid any paste with dyes or unneeded additives.  My favorite two pastes right now are Poofy Organics and Jack N' Jill's strawberry flavor. McKenna absolutely loves these and I love that they are good for her.  I also choose to use a fluoride, clay based toothpaste from Redmond.


3. Encouragement and Consistency.  Sometimes good ol' You Tube is just the thing.  Our favorite videos are the following because they are catchy and fun.  Typically lasting about the time the child should brush their teeth to get an adequate cleaning.

I also have McKenna join me in the morning and evenings to brush teeth.  We try to make it fun! Even brushing our dolls and stuffed animals when extra encouragement is needed. Because they need clean teeth too!

4. A trip to the dentist for an introduction.  This past Wednesday I had my 6 month cleaning and I had been talking with my dentist about his tips.  He invited her to come and watch for this visit.  She was scared at first, but enjoyed learning what was happening, the tools, and even playing with some gloves.  She even got to pick out my toothbrush and floss to take home and then some little prizes. Over all is went well and she talks about the dentist cleaning her teeth now.  I have loved the office I go to and how upfront and real they are.  I even asked for a dye free paste to use on my teeth for the cleaning and the hygienist immediately responded of course.  They had just plain pumice!  

So good luck to all the families out there that and on this adventure too!

New adventures....hopefully!

Yes, it has almost been a month since my last post.  But if you refer to the previous post, you know why!

Last Friday, we received the letter that informed us McKenna had not been chosen for the 3-year old preschool.  We had applied in hopes that she could attend and then attend a child care center for the remaining part of the day.  Yes, it would have saved us money.  But now I think it honestly was meant to be.  As a public school educator, I had the fear of "schooling" being pushed at too young of an age. I have always said that children are born with the desire to learn until it becomes forced.  Not to say this program forces, but I just worry that she would get tired of the "schooling" at a young age. I know the social aspect would have been great for her, but she gets it in other doses.  And this mama is planning big things for the summer including starting gymnastics!  So the stress of getting into the program had me going, but now I am at ease with the decision.  She will stay with her wonderful sitter for the next year!

I have also been stressing about other changes that could possibly take place.  There are many details to follow, but thoughts for us and positive vibes are welcomed right now!

Playing catch-up (aka: working mom problems)

Let me start off by saying this post is in no way saying that SAHM do not have the same problems that working moms do.  As a matter of fact, I would love to be a SAHM, but it is just not feasible for our family at this time.  This is just my perspective of how I have to deal with tasks, problems, and everyday life as a working mom.

On Sunday (3/12, yes almost two weeks ago...it's taken me that long to finish this entry) I was folding laundry, trying to get to the grocery store, wanting to go run, and thinking about the week ahead.....which involved packing lunches, more laundry, work, trying to work out, and enjoying being with my family.  I said out loud to Mike that I wish I was in the other room playing and devoting my time to M.  But I knew if I didn't get this work done, then I would be dealing with it during the weekdays (which I dread) and my OCD self can not handle that.  I did remind my self that I had taken M to the festival at my school for a couple hours on Saturday, so we had definitly enjoyed quite  a bit of time together.  But it was just the fact that I have to do this tedious stuff to keep the house going.

This year has been quite the stressful year with the group of students that I have.  It is not that they are bad to say, they just are very chatty, have a difficult time following directions and are very drama filled.  I made the promise to myself once M was born that I would be out the door of the classroom at promptly 3:30 and there would be very little "extra time" spent at the school.  If papers aren't graded or plans aren't completely done, well then oh well.  Family has become my first priority. So talking about my school day is usually off the list because I just can't take anymore time away from my "family life."

As a working mom, I always feel like there is something that has to be done, as stated in the second paragraph.  I have come to terms that yes, sometimes I won't get the house exactly as clean as I would like or that I may have to skip a run.  I have learned that being present is what is important right now.  My sweet daughter will not be 2 forever.  She will not want to sing nursery rhymes, play dinosaurs, or sit in my lap forever. It is hard trying to juggle everything that there is to do to keep our household going, but I am doing the best I can.

I may not be perfect, but I am pretty sure I am "perfect" in my daughter's eyes!

Side note: This post took two weeks to complete because other things were a little more important. Another playing catch-up moment.

Part 3-The final verdict

I stuck to it, just like I always do.  Pacifier gone in 1 week.  Potty training in 3 days (still making progress). Night weaning in 10 days.  Yes, I am one, that once I set a deadline, it will be accomplished.

This post is a little delayed past the 10 day mark of night weaning, but I would say it has remained the same since day eight.  My sweet girl has gone from nursing 1 to 6 or 7 times a night, to none!!!
Let's just say, I so needed this and in the end, it was actually quite easier than I expected.

McKenna still nurses to sleep (which is fine with me) and then sleeps for her seven hours without nursing.  The mornings often involve a nurse session around 5:15 to 5:45.  Then I am up getting ready for the day.  She will typically sleep another hour.  I find myself having to wake her around 7:15 to get up to head to the sitter's.

We did complete the process by continuing bed-sharing and we will continue to bed-share till at least the spring.  We live in a 1940s home and there is no insulation in the walls. I refuse to put my child in a room that has two windows facing the elements (this is honestly one of the main reasons we bed-share, besides the fact that I love the snuggles).

Upon completing our night weaning, McKenna has also reduced her daily nursing sessions.  She will nurse first thing in the morning before I get up.  She no longer requires a nurse session when I pick her up from the sitter's.  She may or may not have a nurse session between 5-7pm.  Then it is basically a nurse session to go to sleep.

Like I said in the beginning, I hoped McKenna would initiate self-weaning, but that has yet to happen.  I have reached my point of being touched out at times, wanting my space and feeling overwhelmed.  I know I will miss these special moments, but it is what will be best for us in the end.  I continue to cherish each and every time we meet to nurse.  It is a super-special bond that I  will never forget. EVER!

I love you too!

It is the most wonderful thing to watch your child grow and learn.  Within the past six months our little one has taken on a personality all her own.   She is developing her interests, trying new foods, encountering and overcoming obstacles, and testing new social encounters.  What an amazing sight it is to watch our baby develop into the child she is and has always been.

McKenna is very verbal.  She can communicate very well.  It amazes me with the number of people that have told us they are surprised at how well our 29 month old can talk.  I mean, yes she is my daughter, and yes she is pretty amazing.  We have always been adamant on engaging McKenna in our conversations.  We also talked to her about what was going on and described the surroundings to her from a very young age.  I think it has really paid off.

She can count to twelve, say her ABC's, recite multiple nursery rhymes, knows colors and shapes, and of course says "I love you too, Mommy." It honestly melted my heart the first time I told M "I love you" and she replied "I love you too, Mommy."  I was flabbergasted because I did not expect it to come out of her mouth.  My heart expanded a hundred times over and continues to do so.

It astonishes me how quickly she is growing.  I wish time could slow down, but then again I am enjoying all that she is learning and can do on her own.  Some people call this the "terrible twos," but I call it the "developing twos" because she is becoming her own.  It's only terrible if you make it terrible.

Yes, our girl has her episodes of tantrums in which she is "not getting what she wants."  But that is a part of growing up.  We try to talk with her and help her realize why things are not going the way she wants.  And then there are the majority of our days that are spent with our energetic, funny, inquisitive, challenging, sweet, friendly, and caring daughter. Oh and her memory...you better not say anything you don't mean because she remembers from ages ago!

My girl is a lover of dinosaurs, trains, Peppa Pig, and anything that involves bouncing, running, or climbing.  I love you to the moon and back sweet girl.  And I look forward to watching you continue to grow and learn.

Delighted expression

The little explorer

Part 2....We are making HUGE progress!

This is the homestretch of the night weaning adventure.....

Night 7 (Monday, February 23)
Tonight went actually quite well.  The lil' Miss went to bed and nursed.  She awoke around 3ish and wanted to nurse.  I told her that we could not and that we had to wait till the morning.  She only whined a small bit and fell back asleep.  She did awake around 5:40am and this was before the 6:00 time I had originally set.  I told her "No" again and that we had to wait till the sun shines.  She definitely threw a little fit that was lasting around 15-20 minutes and I began to give up and give in.  I told her "OK, you can have milk." She began to turn her back towards my chest and ended up falling asleep. So in the end, I honestly did not give her milk during the set time frame.

Night 8 (Tuesday, February 24)
Can we say a WINNING night it was!!!!  
This girl went to bed (side note we have stayed up later with our snow days and delayed days) at 10:00pm and honestly did not awake again till 5:15am.  I could not believe it!  I typically awake around 2ish and it takes me about an hour  to fall back asleep.  I was amazed that she did not awake during this time.  I watched her sweet face, asleep in a deep state.  Around 5:15ish she awoke and asked for "milk."  I began to think, she had slept the seven hours I wanted, so what the heck.  I nursed and she fell back asleep within a few minutes.  She proceeded to sleep till after 8am.  It amazes me how her body is learning to sleep on her own and without "crying it out" or the need for "milkies" every time she awakes.  I am excited for what is to come in the next few days of this adventure we have embarked on.

Part 3 to come!

Part 1-A good night's rest

So in the beginning everyone asks is your baby sleeping through the night like it was suppose to be the most magical thing that could happen. When I went back to work, the lil' Miss was just 3 months old.  And honestly at that age she needed to eat multiple times at night.  So bed-sharing became the easiest thing to do for us to "sleep through the night."

Well at McKenna's current age (29 months), she does not need to nurse at night for hunger.  It's more of a comfort for her.  So we embarked on the night weaning challenge, just as I had stated I would.  Here's how it has played out thus far. Again I am attempting to follow Dr. Jay Gordon's Method.

Night 1 (Tuesday, Feb. 17)
I decided to choose the 11pm-6am time frame as my seven hours of sleep goal.  M nursed to sleep as she typically does.  She ended up waking around 1am and just as the plan called for, I nursed but made sure she did not fall asleep nursing. She fussed for a moment and I began shushing. Within a couple minutes she had fallen back asleep. Fast forward a couple hours later to 3am.  She awoke again and I again nursed and made sure to have her awake when finished.  This time wasn't as easy.  She began fussing and I again tried the shushing.  My sweet child actually said "Mommy, STOP shushing."  There was fussing, whining and crying for around 10 minutes.  I finally got her to sleep with some light patting on her bottom and the shushing.  She re-awoke after 6am and asked for milk.  I reassured her that since the sun was shinning she could have milk. So I nursed and we slept till 8:30am.  I would say Night 1 was a success in terms of what needed to be accomplished.  She woke up happy and loved being with mommy!

Night 2 (Wednesday, Feb. 18)
So basically we had a repeat of night 1, but a few more nursing sessions. She still exclaimed "Mommy, NO shushing!" at one point.  But overall we made it to the 6am time and she again nursed and slept in till 8:00am!  Yay, success.  Luckily we have had snow days, so we are able to sleep in.

Night 3 (Thursday, Feb. 19)
Tonight I think was honestly the best so far.  I don't know if it had to do with my reading the book Nursies When the Sun Shines before bedtime.  She first wanted to nurse around 2:00 am and quickly dropped off as I counted down from 5 to 1, as I usually do during day sessions.  Then she wanted to nurse again around 4ish.  She fussed a little more this time, but still quickly went back to sleep.  Around 6;15ish she wanted to nurse again and we did as a normal session because that is "what the rules" allow.  She proceeded to sleep to 8:45.  Momma even snuck out of bed earlier on and made some coffee!!! Winning!!!

Nights 4 & 5 (Friday, Feb. 20 & Saturday, Feb.21)
I basically had thought I would carry on nursing and then laying to go to sleep on her own for another day, but I came up with my own turn on the method.  On both nights she did want to nurse shortly after 1:00am and so I did.   But I did my countdown from 5 to 1 so that she would not nurse forever and to allow her that time to fall asleep on her own.  Then the second or third times that she wanted to nurse, I did not allow her to do so. She did get a little mad on Saturday night when I told her "No milkies, only when the sun shines" and she literally got up and went to sit on the floor at the end of the bed and began to pout.  I went and grabbed her and brought her back to the bed.  Some shushing and patting led her back to sleep as needed.

Night 6 (Sunday, Feb. 22)
So this was the best night yet! I had decided no offering of milk tonight.  And I made sure to stick to it.  It is often easy to change your mind when sleep is on your mind and the easy way out is to offer a boob.  Literally the only time McKenna awoke to nurse was around 3ish.  I told her "No milkies.  We have to wait till the sun shines."  She was a little fussy after it, but I offered comfort through patting, shushing, and a hug.  It worked!!!! She did take a good half hour to get back to a deep state of sleep, but she never looked back!  Perseverance is on my side and we will do this!!!!

And to make today even better, my breastmilk necklace I had made arrived!  It was one of my Christmas gifts from my mom.  I feel so strongly about breastfeeding and especially the relationship I have had with McKenna.  As we are embarking on some turning events in this chapter of our relationship, I was quite happy to have received it.  It will be a reminder of some of the most precious moments we have had in her first 29 or so months of life.  The necklace and pearl charm were made by JoBriMilk Charms and the stamped "m" was made by Loving What You Make. Both items are going to help in completing this chapter in our lives.

Also on a side note, weaning overall is going well.  I have had the past total 10 days off with my darling daughter.  And she honestly has only needed to nurse at naptime, bedtime, and awaking time.  Again this is HUGE!!!

Snow play

I believe once you have a little one in your household, it makes you want to relive those childhood memories you had.  I don't know who has wanted snow to appear more, myself or McKenna (who am I kidding, it's me).  I have been wishing for that one big snow, so that we can go out and play and I can have a few "snow days" off of work (one of the great perks of being a teacher).  

Honestly in a majority of my adulthood (minus the college years) and my teenage years, I could have cared less to go outside and play in the snow.  But seeing my little girl's face light up when she sees the snow and she can now recall the joy that there is in playing in that white stuff, well it just makes me want to get out there as fast as we can.  

So here is how we do a Snow Day in our house!

Almost 7 inches

Mittens failed, so we switched out with the old sock trick!

Lots of walking

Sled pulling (what a workout for mommy)

More walking

Three steps and a fall was the typical outcome

Attempting to get up

Trying to get the icicles off the wheel

Venturing

Daddy took a break from his wonderfully appreciated hard work of shoveling the driveway

Of course there was snow cream making

My little helper

Yum! Sprinkles!

These are the days that I treasure and are so grateful to be able to create these memories with my family!

Might I add......

Snow jacket (Thrift store) $1.50

Snow bibs (Consignment sale) $2.00

Snow boots (Goodwill outlet) $1.50

Hat (hand me down) Free

The memories created PRICELESS

So don't go spending an outrageous amount on your child's winter weather attire, the memories are what matter :)

Sleep changes, here we go!

Yes, I have finally reached the point where I want to make some sleep changes.  So here I am putting it out in the open to offer that second state of "you must give it a try."

So after much thinking I am pretty sure I will begin on Tuesday of this week. We will follow the Jay Gordon  method to get our girl to sleep on her own.  I must say that she does not require her "milk" as often at this point, so let's hope this continues! But when I am with her it is needed at bed, nap and waking.

This is not an easy task.

We as a family are ready for this change and hope that it helps lead to complete weaning. I love my girl, but I need my space/time at this point! And some extra sleep;)

And I love my girl! She is my life  and the reason why I have breastfed this long.  I know that it is best for us both in the long run.

She still needs.....

So life is never easy.  There are bills to pay (ugghh never ending story), events to attend, work, and the little one always asking "Mommy please play."  

I reveal in those moments when my sweet gal asks me to play!  It may mean that the dishes don't get done, the laundry is not folded, or dinner isn't ready at the exact time I wanted.  But I have come to realize these are the most precious moments. My little one is not going to be small forever and on that note.....

she still needs to sleep with us

she still needs to nurse

she still needs to rear face in her car seat

she still needs to be rocked

she still needs the sweet affection her family provides

she still needed kisses when she bumps her knee

she still needs reminders of boundaries

she still needs us to feed her at times

she still needs the opportunity to be Miss Independent (she is a human being after all)

she still needs to sing songs and rhymes all days of the week

she still needs Momma to pack her lunch to make appropriate food choices

she still needs to be read to and offered opportunities for play

she still needs outdoor time and the experiences that nature offers

she still needs to be my little girl........which will never change!

Transitioning to our new childcare

Our lovely little 2 year old is constantly surprising me!

Transitioning from one place to another and a surrounding of new people, often leads to a very overwhelmed and quite timid child.  M is always clinging to me when we meet new people or travel to a new place.  Which is quite understandable at this age.  However she is also a very social child and can jump right into a new setting within a few minutes.  Just give her that "warm up" time and she is just fine.

Our first childcare placement began when the lil' Miss was just 3 months old.  A great friend was able to care for her for the next 5 months of my school year.  I am so thankful that we had her because I know she gave our girl that loving care that she needed as an infant!  Thank you Mrs. B!

After the first year we switched childcare because we wanted to make sure our good friend could give the proper attention to her own children, her part-time work for the family business, and we honestly wanted to keep a friendship, rather than a business relationship.

So for the past year and a half, we have entrusted the care of our child to a wonderful lady that actually worked at my school when I first began 9 years ago.  She decided to begin doing childcare in her home a short time after her youngest son was born.  It was wonderful that I knew her on a personal level, so there was no blind meeting.  M very easily made the transition to Mrs. K because at the time she was only 11 months old and not in an attachment phase.

Over the course of a year and a half, M became very close with Mrs. K.  She was loved by all her family members.  They would hold her, play with her, talk with her, and honestly treat her as a member of the family.  So as childcare goes, some children left the care of Mrs. K for various reasons.  And by mid-January M was the only child she was caring for in her home full time.  I loved that she was getting one-on-one care, but I knew that Mrs. K might not continue on with childcare because of numbers.  I let Mrs. K know that if she needed to move on to do something else, we understood.  As I have always said, your own family comes first.

About three weeks ago, this mama was on a determined search to find new childcare for our little lady because Mrs. K had applied for a job.  It was a little stressful there for a week.  I was referred to about 4 different in-home childcare people.  Three of them were full, but one lady, that at least four people had referred me to, was able to make it work for us to begin coming to her!

You don't want to just send your child to just anyone, but knowing that I had at least four people recommend or refer me to her, I felt way more comfortable. We were able to go and meet with her last Thursday because I wanted to warm M up to a new setting.  I was really worried about this change because M had become so attached to Mrs. K.  I even had began telling M that we would be going to a new babysitter because Mrs. K had to go to work.  

When we met Mrs. B, M was a little timid, which I totally expected.  It was the evening and she wanted mama. But after a few minutes the lil' Miss was walking and exploring.  She found one of the cats and was in love!  This kid has a passion for animals. Oh and M even used the potty when we were there, which was great.  Mrs. B couldn't get over that she was potty trained and how well she talked! We sorted out details with Mrs. B  and decided that the first Tuesday in February we would be coming to see her.

I feared last Friday because it was our last day with Mrs. K.  We said our good-byes and we will definitely be visiting her.  And then I feared this past Tuesday because it was our first day at Mrs. B's.  In all honesty, I took lil' Miss there and literally she jumped right in to having breakfast with one of the other children. There was no crying or reaching for mommy as I left.  Which in a way was sad, but for the most part I was elated! No fear or anxiety from my child of a new situation :)

Here it is Friday and we made it a whole week in a new setting.  It ended up that a couple of the mornings she didn't want me to go, but Mrs. B was good about taking her and talking to M and hugging her.  When I picked her up in the afternoons, she was happy to see me.  There was the asking of milk, but I told her later.  For the most part she accepted that response (there may have been a little whining).  And today she did not want to leave because she was having so much fun playing!

I think it goes to say, when you doubt that you child will be content in a new surrounding, you need to just give it time.  I never would have imagined how smoothly this week would have gone.  She did amazingly well and  I am so pleased that my daughter has the social skills needed to enter a new environment.  She amazes me everyday with how she is growing and the length to which she is learning!

How is this bright, adventurous, comical, apologetic, polite, sweet, kind, loving, friendly, athletic, and charismatic child mine?

I am grateful everyday for my sweet "Rainbow" baby and the love she has brought into my life.  She never fails to surprise me.

Why I breastfeed my 2 year old (28month,14 day old to be exact)

To start off, I must thank Mrs. Sarah O for her return to blogging to get me in the mood too!!!  I really do enjoy writing. Heck I am a Reading Specialist these days with a drive to share my life. Although I never am quite sure how much I should tell.  I am reluctant to share certain things, but motherhood has definitely brought me to the conclusion of only my opinion matters in how and why my family does the things we do.

So brings me to the topic of breastfeeding which is what has been on my mind for multiple weeks now.  When I was pregnant I had nightmares of never being able to breastfeed my child.  Literally I think that was my biggest fear.  Labor was a breeze. Breastfeeding, well that was a challenge.  To start off, McKenna had jaundice and she literally was not getting what she needed because she was too lethargic.  Once we had her cleared, things finally settled and we began to develop a routine.  I was a time watcher instead of a "cue" watcher in the beginning. I guess I would do it all differently the next time around, but I am super happy with the way things have gone for the lil' Miss and I.

So when things were going so well, I eventually returned to work.  I was able to pump enough for my sweet gal and even extra.  Turns out she enjoyed the real thing and drank minimal amounts during the day, from a bottle.  I ended up being able to donate milk to a wonderful family that had twin boys. I can't tell you the amount happiness this brought me, in supplying another family with the wealth of milk.  And M has milk brothers for life!  What a rewarding story to tell her when she gets older.


Goals, well we all set them and sometimes we achieve them and then we have the ones we doubt.  Well I set a goal of one year.  Goal reached! Then it was two years and I can't see myself going past that.  Well that goal was reached and more.....so what do I do now?

The original setting of the goals was the possibility of bringing another child into the family.  As most do not know, we struggled.  Many tests, medicines, and close monitoring brought us our beautiful baby girl! So to make the best of a natural pregnancy this time around, breastfeeding would need to come to an end. But I decided if this girl was going to be my only, I wanted to make it the best and so we continued on with the idea of trying to begin weaning at the beginning of 2015.

Here I am, 28 months, 14 days into this lovely journey, and I don't want it to end.  It's amazing the bond we have.  The joy I see in my daughter's eyes when I can provide her with this comfort, happiness, and what I call sleepy milk. I have always said I wanted her to self wean, but we are at a point that I am going to begin initiating the weaning process.  I dislike that I have to do this, but I think it is best for our family.  As always, mothers need to do what they  feel is best and not judge!

It has been hard to go this long, as I have felt I have not always been supported in our journey.  This includes family, friends, and society.  No one will ever know what I feel, except for myself.  So to tell me what I am doing is wrong is criticizing and hurtful.  I am not hurting my child.  I am providing love and comfort as she needs.

So to end my long story, we began our day with a new sitter for M. She did wonderfully.  Typically I had nursed M when I picked her up from our previous babysitter.  I decided that I would begin today with not nursing when I picked her up.  It went pretty well.  She did ask immediately for "milk" when I came to pick her up.  Although I don't usually like to offer sweets, I broke down and offered a cookie or ice cream and told her we could have "milk" at home.  She agreed and cried once I tried to put her in the car.  She wanted "MILK."  This process is not easy on lil' Miss nor myself.  We made it to 8:30 this evening and she nursed to sleep.  So we begin this process, which is one of the hardest tasks I have ever set out to conquer.

I guess in writing this post, I want to ask all, to support mommas in the choices they make that are in the best interest of their child.  Remember they are only little once!

And I leave you with a beautiful image taken by a dear friend of ours to symbolize this journey! Breastfeeding is beautiful and natural!