Naptime Blog

It seems like just yesterday, Saturday April 11th to be exact that Tristan started sitting up by himself. Now here it about a month later and he crawls everywhere. At first he would not stay where I put him. I would turn my back for a few minutes to do dishes and look up and he would be in a completely different room. Rick and I assumed he was rolling to get places since we had seen him do that. So for about a week we never actually saw him crawl. Its not that we don’t watch him closely, it’s just that we never saw it. Then one day I set a package of diapers down and he was there in like three seconds with the corner of the diaper bag in his mouth before I could blink. I was shocked and stunned. I grabbed the package of diapers and threw them in the pack n play. I tried getting Tristan to crawl to me by lying on the floor and putting toys just out of reach. He was not having it, Rick got home and I told him of course he said something like sure.

 I knew I had to make him do it again, so I grabbed his can of formula. It’s a bright orange can, so I knew it would get his attention. I laid the can on the ground and bam he was there.  Rick was so excited he clapped and made a big deal. I was so busy looking at him I never noticed Tristan popped the top off of the can and my floor was covered in powdered formula. It’s a good thing that we tend to buy in bulk. I dislike shopping (I know strange right) so I go and buy 8 or 10 cans of Parent’s Choice formula and diapers at a time. Having a 20 pound 6 month old means we run through formula quickly, Tristan drinks about six, seven ounce bottles a day. We also go through about twelve diapers a day, sometimes more. It never fails that I go to change a semi-wet diaper and as soon as the fresh one is on he goes potty.

 About a week after the crawling started (by the way he can crawl perfectly but he really has to want something to go after it, my lazy baby) I noticed that he was standing in his crib. So I ran and grabbed Rick, when we got back to the nursery he was sitting and playing. I guess he was hiding his new ability, we all played in his nursery for a half hour or so before he pulled himself up and had the biggest smile on his face. He was so proud of himself and so were we. This leads me to his newest trick, climbing. Rick and I recently bought gates for the top of the stairs. We decided not to buy one for the bottom of the stairs going up right away. We thought we had some time, and we weren’t sure how to drill into the banisters without ruining them. Well last night Tristan crawled to the stairs and pulled himself up to stand. I quickly rushed over and Rick said wait and see what he does. I sat on the ground behind Tristan to catch him if he fell. Well it took all of ten minutes and Tristan was up on the second step. Rick ran right to the store to buy another baby gate. He got these really cool things that allow you to attach a baby gate with out drilling your banisters.

 Time with Tristan is really flying by. I miss my little baby that loved to snuggle and be held. I miss the little guy that stayed where I put him. I now have a baby who is not easy to get a hug and kiss from. He goes where he wants and does what he wants. I am amazed everyday by Tristan and I love every minute we have together.

–Chrystal

How exciting it is to be a mother! I enjoyed my very first Mothers Day! When Shaughn fussed a little during the night, my husband let me stay in bed while he went to check on him. And in the morning I awoke to breakfast in bed, courtesy of Dunkin Donuts and their bagels, and Starbucks of course. This was the first time my husband remembered to purchase a card in the last year which made it even extra special. Men don’t realize sometimes that it really is those little things that make us happy.

Shaughn of course just thinks its another day. Except instead of me doing everything, it was Daddy cleaning up, feeding him, washing dishes while I was able to just relax! I enjoy my life and taking care of Shaughn and the house but hey, it was Mothers Day so I took advantage. Starting around 6 months, Shaughn has always just babbled away saying a couple of words mixed in the jibberish but nothing really to call his first word. He can clap, kick his feet, jump on you, and give a high five on cue so while I was doing these with him and trying to learn more my husband comes up and asks if I know what Shaughn can do now.

I’m thrilled that he’s learned something new and tell him I hadn’t seen him do it. He leans in and says “Dada” in Shaughn’s ear. Shaughn smiles as if he reminded him he learned this and continued to say “Dada” all… day… long. I know it’s been said that the D’s are easier to pronounce than M’s, but come on! On Mothers Day? I couldn’t get over how funny it was and how happy I am that he’s continuing to learn, but oh wait, just wait til Fathers Day!

–Krystle

My twins are now 9 months old.  They have had completely different personalities since birth.  As they get older it is more and more apparent that they are completely separate individuals with different attitudes, expressions, tempers and traits.  But Louis, the older twin by two minutes, would cry bloody murder at least two or three times a week, usually in the evening. 

I had read about colic, but that was such a broad term and he really is (and always has been) such a happy baby!  Plus, I don’t think there is much to do about colic except wait it out, and this baby seemed to be in such pain!  And the spitting up was unbelievable!  I had two babies the same age, and although it is wrong to compare them with milestones, and such, Anthony would spit up once after his bottle and he’d be fine.  Louis would spit up, and spit up, and spit up…  all over his clothes, all over my clothes, all over my shoes… it wouldn’t end, and it would be accompanied by that screaming!

I brought Louis to the pediatrician when he was about three months old in the hopes she could do something.  I was expecting to hear that it was colic and it would get better in a few months.  I explained his symptoms, and was shocked when he was diagnosed with Acid Reflux!

Of course the guilt then sunk in, for I have very bad acid reflux myself, and I knew he inherited from me.  I know the pain of it all too well, and felt even more terrible that I didn’t recognize this myself!  My poor little boy must have been in so much pain!

The doctor prescribed baby Zantac and had us change his formula from Similac Advance to Enfamil Gentlease.  Within a few days, Louis was a different kid!  He was not screaming anymore, he didn’t constantly need to be held, and he seemed so much more relaxed!  But the spitting up continued.

A family goes through so much formula on a daily basis, imagine how much formula you go through with twins!  Our monthly budget was being eaten away by formula, and it was extremely difficult month after month.  I had been posting on a twins message board since I found out I was expecting them, and had been hearing the other moms rant about store brand formulas.  Quite a few moms frequently discussed the Walmart brand, and how their children were thriving on it.  I thought it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot.  If nothing else, I’d go back to the Enfamil.  Plus, it just might save us a few bucks each month.

Within two days I was SHOCKED to see that Louis’ spitting up was significantly less on the Parent’s Choice Gentle Formula!  As a matter of fact, after a week he was spitting up as much or less than Anthony!  He wasn’t in pain, he wasn’t spitting, and we were saving over $75 a month!

Both my boys are on Parent’s Choice now, and I plan to start our new baby (expected in September) on it from the very beginning.  Louis is still on the Zantac, although he is now almost ten months old, and the pediatrician says that babies usually outgrow the Acid Reflux by a year old.  I hope he is one of the kids that outgrow it by a year, because I know how horrible it is to live with daily.  Thanks to baby Zantac and Parent’s Choice, I am a happy mommy (and a lucky one, both boys have been sleeping through the night since they were three months old!) with two happy babies.

Jennifer
Mom to Juliana (7), Louis (9m) and Anthony (9m)
Expecting #4 in September!
www.nevaland.com

About a week ago our pediatrician called. The message she left sounded sooo upbeat and excited! She wanted to remind us that Jayce had a 4 month well baby check up coming up. I can’t believe that my brand new baby is 3 ½ months and getting ready for more shots. He is too little, I thought. He has already had about 4 vaccinations in his short little life. I have mixed emotions when it comes to the vaccination schedule. By the time he is 2 yrs. old he would have already had about 20 + vaccinations. That is a lot!!!!

Things seem so much different from when I had my 1st son almost 9 years ago. Maybe back them, I was just a young mother and didn’t question much. Now, I think I am a little wiser, definitely a little older (LOL Real Loud). So I tend to pay more attention, I question things that I don’t agree with. Especially, with all the current controversy surrounding vaccines and Autism. I don’t even want to go there…

You have to be your own healthcare advocate. And being Jayce is barely 16 weeks old that makes me his healthcare advocate as well. I found an interesting article about the vaccination schedule.

http://www.cispimmunize.org/pro/pdf/Vaccineschedule.pdf

Always,
Shanta

The boys are at a stage where they are into everything. Things you think they couldn’t possibly reach? They totally can! They not only reach those off limit items, but then they’re off to pull the dogs’ ears and make wooden block and stacking ring soup in the big dog’s water bowl (with a side of Goldfish, of course).
But can I stay upset with them for more than 0.2 seconds? Um, not really. I mean, could you? Just look at this face? The picture of sweetness and innocence and all that is pure and good in the world, right?

Well, sure, but…
Anyone have a guess what he was doing not two seconds before I snapped this photo? No way was he throwing a little mini conniption fit because I wouldn’t let him chew on the digital camera’s USB cord. Nope, not my sweet baby. And he definitely wasn’t involved in a re-enactment of WWE (that we don’t even watch) right in the middle of the living room floor with my two year old. Nope, not my darling honey. And he definitely wasn’t wondering what kind of hairstyle he could create with his lunch in a few minutes. Nope, not my perfect angel.

They say little girls have their daddy’s wrapped around their little fingers. Well, I know these little boys sure have their mommy wrapped around their chubby little baby fingers.

Every morning, during playtime, it’s a zoo here with screaming and crying and laughing and giggling and the sound of hard plastic toys hitting the wall. Most mornings I yearn for naptime so I can rest a bit in the silence. A funny thing happens though. About five minutes into naptime I start to miss the chaos and sometimes I even tiptoe in to give them a little kiss on their noses and see this and I can’t remember all the sour moments, only the sweet.

What kind of mischief do your little ones get into that, although they are being naughty, you just can’t get upset with them?

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/

Hello, my name is Chrystal. I am married and I have one son. My husband and I met through a family friend on Thanksgiving in 2003. We have been inseparable ever since.  It was a long two year journey to conceive our first child and we had lost hope and stopped trying when we got our little blessing. Life is funny that way.

I am 25 and my husband Rick is 38 so he was strongly feeling the urge for a family. We decided it obviously wasn’t meant for us to have children. So imagine our shock and surprise when little clues hinted I was pregnant. I took a test and we were so scared to look at it that the 5 minutes elapsed and we never looked. I sent Rick to the local Wal-Mart since it was the only store open to buy more tests. Six digital pregnancy tests later we sat in disbelief. We were going to be parents. I know most people wait three months to tell people and by our calculations I was only 6 weeks, but we immediately told his parents. As the oldest of three children his Mother and Father had been waiting but not pushing for us to have children.

It seems like my pregnancy flew by, we had many ups and downs. The house we were renting was going up for sale and we had to buy it or be out. Knowing we had this little life coming we wanted something that didn’t need a ton of work like this older house did. So we went to a new townhouse community being built and bought a house. Well we were the second house to purchase, they had just started building. Well the house ran three months late, and the baby ran two weeks late. The day after Tristan was born on October 15th, 2008 Rick left the hospital to sign the papers on our new house. I guess I should mention that we all wanted a little girl so bad we could taste it. It was wrong to be that way I know. The day of my sonogram I was ecstatic to know I was having a boy. I wanted a girl but truly a happy and healthy baby of any sex is better.

We currently live in Maryland, I love it here. Tristan and I can go to the park one day or the Zoo the next. We are close to Washington DC and Baltimore, so there is never a lack of things to do. I can’t believe how the first six months have flown by. As a new Mom I have learned so many things that I wish I knew in the beginning. I found out you can read every book, google every topic you can think of, and talk to every Mom you know, but nothing prepares you for being a parent. It really is a life changing roller coaster ride that I am glad to be on.

Chrystal

Hey all! My name is Krystle, I’m 24 years old, and I am a proud wife & mommy! My husband Brent & I have known each other for 12 years and have been married for 1 1/2 years and we have our beautiful 8 month old son Shaughn. I live in sunny South Florida where I have happily called home for over 13 years. I am a high school graduate who took a little detour from the direct road to college. I still have trouble deciding what I would like to major in, making sure its something that will keep me happy!

In 2007 I moved to Missouri where Brent was stationed with the United States Air Force. Later that year we discussed having a child and decided to give it a try. Well, 3 weeks later and we were pregnant! I married THE love of my life on February 28, 2008 and became a family on September 4! That day, hands down, is the best day of my life! Since Shaughn has been here, we’ve all gotten even more closer than before. He’s such a replica of us and our temperaments that he is a perfect match! Three weeks after he was born we had to pack up everything and move back to Florida, and good for me too because though Missouri was beautiful in it’s own way, I realized I was NOT a “country girl!”

I am currently unemployed while my husband, thankfully, holds a full time job. The awesome benefit to that is being able to be with Shaughn and teach him during this developmental time. Every day is a new adventure!
 
I am a very outgoing person, often called “bubbly” (that’s a good thing, right?). I enjoy meeting new people and always love reading about others, which probably has something to do with my weekly purchases of those paparazzi mags! Yes I am guilty of that. Hey, a girls gotta have fun sometimes. I enjoy all time spent with my family and friends. I love to go out with my husband and enjoy “date nights” when my mother steals Shaughn away. He is so lucky to have the grandparents he does. During Mommy’s quiet time, I am on the computer searching for good deals, catching up with friends, or playing with photos and sending them to my family. Of course all that happens after the loads of laundry are completed, the dishes are clean and put away, and the floors are vacuumed just to get all messed up again when quiet time is over! I also now utilize this time to finally step up and take control of my weight, striving to be at my goal - hey, or lower! - by August so I have many things keeping me busy! I recently re-discovered my interest in reading thanks to the Twilight series! Yep, fell for that too!
 
And most importantly, I believe in treating people the way you want to be treated and not judging a book by it’s cover. Everybody’s got a story to tell, and I like to listen. Hope you enjoy hearing from me as I let you in on a piece of my life!

–
Krystle Hayes

Hello fellow parents and caregivers! My name is Jennifer Nevadomski, one of your Mom Bloggers on Parent’s Choice’s “Nap-Time Stories”! I live in New York City with my husband and three (soon to be four!) children.

I am 34 years old, married to Paul, a wonderful husband and father, since 2007. We were both previously married and we each have a child from that marriage. I have a seven year old daughter named Juliana. Paul has an eighteen year old son named Paulie. We were thrilled to welcome our twin boys, Louis and Anthony, into our family last July. They are now nine months old and a lot of fun. In February, we learned that we were expecting another baby. What a surprise this was! My c-section is set for September 25, 2009. We are expecting another boy.

I have my Master’s Degree in Counseling with an advanced certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy. Prior to the birth of our twins, I was a social worker for a foster care agency here in NYC. I am now a stay at home mom to our children, and although it is the most challenging job I have ever had, it is also the most rewarding. I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Yes, I do have my hands full! Thankfully I am now in my fifth month of this pregnancy, so the morning sickness has ceased and the constant fatigue is now only ‘sometimes’ (ok, most of the time but at least now I can keep my eyes open long enough to talk to my husband after the kids are asleep!).

The twins are hysterical! They are now both crawling (and following them around makes me even more tired!) and their babbles are starting to sound like real communication. With my daughter, we used to have play dates with her little friends once a week, but with the twins, we have play dates every day! So when they fight over a toy, I just break it up and in three seconds they have already forgotten about it (for now… I know this will change in a few months!).

My daughter is the princess… even though my stepson lives with his mother and has his own life (he is pretty much an adult!), she is surrounded by brothers, and loves it! She was thrilled to learn that the new baby was a brother also. She is seven going on seventeen… or maybe she is seventeen already! The attitude sure seems that way sometimes! Otherwise, she IS our Princess, and although she is a girly girl, she is crazy about playing softball and basketball (and is pretty good at it!).

As for Paul and I, we have each been given a second chance at love, and with that also a second chance at life. I feel like I have known him forever, and our family is awesome. Paul is my best friend, and although we face parenting challenges daily (what parent doesn’t?), I think we are doing a pretty good job!

Jennifer
Mom to Juliana (7), Louis (9m) and Anthony (9m)
Expecting #4 in September!
www.nevaland.com

My name is Shanta. I am a 32 yr. old mother of 2 great boys: Jeromy Jr. 8 & Jayce 4 months. Jeromy Jr. Loves everything sports and of course video games. As for ‘Baby Jayce” we still haven’t figured out what he likes yet, other than his bottle and paci!!

My husband Jeromy & I were high school sweethearts; we even went to the senior prom together!! We will be celebrating our 10 yr. wedding anniversary this July. We hope to add to our family 1 day soon.
 
We are both active members of our own “Relay For Life Team”. We both lost our mothers to cancer within the last few years and this has been a great outlet for us.
 
My family LOVES going out to eat. My oldest son is pretty good with chop sticks!!

I work full time outside of the home and I am a full time student. I enjoy all types of music and traveling. I would like to think of myself as a techy, I love love love my laptop and cell phone!!
 
I look forward to getting to know you all!

 
Shanta’

Hi, my name is Shannon and I’m the wife of Andrew and the mommy of two boys, Finley and Kieran, born 366 days apart. They just celebrated their first and second birthdays in April with a big back to back birthday party.
Here they are. Cute huh? (By the way, the correct answer is “yes” hehe):

And here we are as a family:

I have two (somewhat) patient furchildren named Mandy and Chloe:

I am a stay at home mom and a blogger, but that wasn’t always the case. I have only been a stay at home mom for one year and a blogger since last summer.
 I started a blog as an easy way to share photos and updates with family and friends, but it turned into much more.  Blogging is my creative outlet. I worked at a newspaper for 10 years until 2005 when I married and moved away. I love to write. I also worked as a DJ at a country radio station for six years. If someone tells you I did a polka show, I might deny it, but, ok, it’s true. As “fun” as that experience was, I wouldn’t change it for the world since that is how I met my husband.

I love to try new things for my family and share my experiences with my readers. The name of our blog came from my eldest’s nickname. He is my little Finleypotamus, which has now been shortened to Potamus. My youngest is my little Kierbear. My blog can be found at www.potamusprefers.com.
When I’m not blogging about life with a one and two year old, I’m living it. We love to go to the park and feed the ducks at the pond. Our neighborhood also has trails and there is a horse farm nearby. The boys love seeing the horses and other animals (such as squirrels). Another fun thing we have recently done is go to the strawberry patch. We try to find free or cheap things to do as much as possible.

One thing I’ve learned quickly, as a new mom, is to do your research on store brands and buy used when you can. With our oldest, we bought everything new and everything name brand. I wish I knew then what I know now. It is possible to save a ton of money and still get quality food, clothes and other items for your children. I buy generics at Wal-Mart of staples such as formula, milk, graham crackers, etc. and I trade clothes with friends. They pass down clothes that no longer fit their children and I pass down clothes that fit smaller children. I am also a fan of Freecycle and Ebay.

I look forward to getting to know y’all better and am excited to be a part of Nap Time Stories.

Shannon
Potamus Prefers
http://www.potamusprefers.com/