Naptime Blog

We have officially out grown the safety first bath seat we have. It says when the baby can stand up to stop using. Well Tristan has been standing and trying to walk for about a month, but I guess he never thought to stand in the tub until the other night. So for now he sits on a bear sponge and has a little bit of water to sit in. Here is a video of why we can no longer use it. Please ignore the background talk, my husband didn’t realize I was taping and was trying to get me to be more forceful with my saying no. I am not sure when a baby gets the concept of NO, so I try to be gentle when saying it. I stopped the video right as he stood up since I was worried about him falling out.

Chrystal
www.everydayoates.blogspot.com
www.everydayoatescooking.blogspot.com

Since Tristan is still under a year, I try to go by the no dairy rule. Here is a great alternative to frozen yogurt or ice cream on a hot day. Tristan loved it and it is super easy to make. I take 3 bananas and cut them up and put them in a plastic container. Then freeze over night. I keep some frozen for up to a few days at a time. Then when you are ready to use them Place frozen bananas in the bowl of a food processor. (NOTE: This doesn’t work with a mixer or blender, so you have to have a food processor.) Pulse several times to break into smaller pieces, then turn on and run for about five minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. The bananas will start to resemble soft serve in a few minutes. It will be chunky and gooey at first and will clump together, but after a few minutes, it will take on a pale yellow, fluffy texture. Transfer to a bowl and place in freezer for about 15 minutes, if you’d like, or serve immediately. (Makes four 1/2 cup servings) Each serving is about 100 Calories so this is also a great treat when counting your calories, plus a fun way to slip in a serving of fruit.

Chrystal
www.everydayoates.blogspot.com
www.everydayoatescooking.blogspot.com

Rick and I have been going back and forth about buying Tristan a puppy. He loves dogs and the Ceaser dog food commercial. When Tristan hears the start music he rushes to the tv. I am not sure we are at a place in life where we have the time for a dog. I don’t want to be the type of person who is never home and I feel that is neglectful to an animal. The other issue it my husband is highly allergic, about the only dog he can be around is a poodle. If we do get one then we have to decide what size. We live in a three story 2300 sq ft townhouse; I don’t feel that a big dog will have the room he needs.

Sometimes I think that Tristan wants to be a dog, he crawls around with everything and anything in his mouth. He also steals things from my mother and sister in laws dogs. My sister in law has a dashund, Missy is very territorial with her things. The only person that can take things from her is Tristan. Missy is so protective and loving with him, I love to watch them together. The other day Tristan took a toy out of Missy’s mouth and stuck it in his mouth. Missy looked so sad and followed him around until he dropped it. She was super nice to him. 

I think we have a lot to go over, getting an animal is a big decision and its not something we are jumping head first into. I have attached a picture of my sons favorite dog, his name is chase and he belongs to my mother in law. In this picture he was being shown at a local dog show by my nephew.

Chrystal
www.everydayoates.blogspot.com

We went over a friends house for the 3rd of July, part of that was fireworks over the bay. It was a beautiful clear warm night and we had a blast. I was worried Tristan would be scared of the fireworks, but he loved them and actually watched them. It was amazing! I was a little nervous with all of the bang pops and sparklers around, my nephews kept wandering closer to the baby. I can’t seem to relax around sparklers, I feel that everyone forgets how hot they are and that they can seriously burn you. I saw 2 and 3 year olds with sparklers and they had them right by their faces. I found it more stressful then fun, I know that every parent has to make their choice about children and fireworks, I just have a hard time keeping my mouth closed. Thankfully a DC firefighter came over and reminded everyone how dangerous they can be. After that I relaxed and enjoyed the show.

Tristan is now eating a lot of table food, he got to try bbq ribs, grilled chicken, potato salad, and pasta salad. I can’t get over how good he was the whole day. I try to plan my schedule around his so I can keep him on his eating and sleeping schedule. We had him out until one am and he was fine. He went to sleep around 10 pm after the fireworks and stayed asleep through all the transfers from the party to the car to his crib. I truly have been blessed with a good baby.

Chrystal
www.everydayoates.blogspot.com

Our happy spitter at the pediatrician calls him is back. Tristan is getting worse again so our pediatrician told us to try a stage 2 baby formula. Tristan is getting vitamins and nutrients from is cereal and food, so this could be gentler. I was sad because I told myself no way would I be able to get the Parents choice in a stage two. So I thought this would be expensive. I went to Wal-Mart to get diapers and there it was in all of its glory.

They did have it, I was so excited. I hadn’t researched it yet, but I know I love my parents choice sensitivity. We have been feeding this for a week now, and guess what? He has not been spitting up! We are so excited, his daycare provider has commented on it many times. Its amazing how much less laundry you have when your child is not going through three and four outfits a day.

Since Tristan is eating better and on stage three foods, we have decided to introduce some table foods. We started with things he has had before like carrots. I did learn that he is allergic to Avocado, so always keep track of new foods. Last night we fed Broccoli, he went nuts for it. As a side note Parent’s choice also now has stage two foods. I just missed them since we are on threes and table.

-Crystal

It has been raining non stop in Washington DC. I feel like I am a duck that will float away. Tristan loves water, the rain, the bath, the pool. He is truly a water baby. We recently took him swimming and he loved it. When I decide to do something regarding Tristan I will research it for a day or two. Since we have had him in the pool a few times, I want to get him swim lessons. Rick and I weighed the pros and cons and it has been decided that Rick will take Tristan to swim lessons. I would take him but I can’t swim. I know I need to learn, I did pass the Navy swim test. That just tells me that I know enough to stay alive if something should go wrong.

Enough about me, lets get back to my story. The first time we put Tristan in the pool, he didn’t have a float. Then I decided he needed a float, off to the store I went. I read every label of every float that the store had. I brought it home, stuck Tristan in it and he loved it. The only thing is he tries to stick his face in the water. I am glad he is not like me, I can’t stand for my face to be wet. I learned a valuable lesson about swim diapers. That lesson is they are made to hold poop, and not pee. So if you are on the way out to the pool and your baby pees, it will get on you. Who would have known? I didn’t. Another thing I learned is the oh so cute swim trunks I got Tristan really don’t fit over the diaper, so he swims in the diapers.

The ocean is amazing to Tristan, while in California we went to see it. He would laugh when the waves came. The sand was fun to eat, but not fun to play in. Also sand is really hard to get out of all the little places a baby has.

-Chrystal

I can’t believe my baby is 8 months old already. Friends always tell me the first year goes by quickly. As I watched him playing last night I remembered the first time I laid eyes on him. I didn’t get to see him when he was first born, due to an emergency c-section. I did get to see him a few hours later as strange as it sounds I didn’t feel connected to him. I asked the nurse about it and she said many new Moms feel that way, especially c-section moms. I got to see him for 10 minutes and then they took him for the next 24 hours. It wasn’t until a few days later when we were home that I looked down at him and truly felt he was mine. He looked up at me and I connected, I have never told anyone that before.

I felt it was important for new Moms to know, my best friend just had her third child. She had complications and at our hospital we don’t have a neonatal care unit. Lisa’s daughter was flown to Johns Hopkins, while she stayed at our local hospital. It has now been a week and Lisa is out of the hospital and on her way to be with her daughter. Lisa called me on the way crying because she said she feels like she is going to see a stranger, this baby she doesn’t know. Lisa’s husband has been with the baby, so that has caused her some inner turmoil also. I told her to wait and it would happen. I asked my mother who didn’t get to bring my twin sister and I home right away when she felt it. She said honestly you didn’t feel like mine until you were close to five months. My Mom thinks it’s because even when she went to see us she had to follow someone else’s rules. I will leave you with two pictures of my little man. One from when he was born and one from his 8 month birthday. Pardon the mess in my living room, some how it always looks like toys r us threw a bunch of toys all around. I am constantly picking up

-Chrystal

When you have a big baby, Tristan was almost 9 pounds its strange to see little tiny babies. We were out and about when a small little shrimp of a girl walked up to us. Yes walked, she was less then half of Tristan’s size. I asked her Mom how old she was, I know my mouth hit the ground when she replied 11 months. She had the same reaction when I said Tristan was 7 months. We talked about size and differences; her daughter was 4 pounds at birth. I think I would be afraid of breaking Tristan if he was ever that small. I have an identical twin sister and we were 3 months premature. I was 1 lb 2 oz, and she was 1 lb 9 oz when we were born, I can’t image a baby that small. Especially in 1983, there is a picture of us at John’s Hopkins Hospital where we were born; the Doctor has each of us in one hand. Its no wonder they kept us for four months, can you imagine peoples shock if my mom just carried us around that small. I hope our next baby is a big baby, I am not sure I could handle a shrimp. Tristan makes me nervous now, he crawls in a cabinet and will sit there hitting his head over and over again, all the while laughing. He is my strange little bull in a china shop.

Tristan and I visited my work, for about a week he was afraid of strangers. He seemed fine at my office, looking back its only two people he is nervous and cries around. I think maybe he reads something about them that I don’t see as an adult. It is funny to see how people act around a baby. Everyone wanted to hold him, and play with him. Many people commented how nice and relaxed the office was while he was here. I think that the world would be a better place if everyone made each other laugh like they do with babies. We would all be happy and nice all the time.

-Chrystal

1. Childbirth
They say you forget the pain, but I have yet to forget it. Yes I had a c-section so some mothers will say I took the easy way out. The 16 hours of back labor before the c-section must not count.

2. Poop
I can’t clean up dog or animal mess, but I have no problem changing Tristan’s diaper and then if need be, showing it to my husband. I never thought three people (my husband, daycare provider, and I) could talk about poop so much! It seems like Tristan is either constipated or is having major blowouts, when do we get the calm in between stage.

3. First Words
Tristan’s first word was Dada. I spent so much time saying Mama, I was so jealous he said Dada first. I know that is not fair but I was. I am also jealous he now says Baba (bottle) and a few others, but still no Mama.

4. Sleep
Even when Tristan sleeps through the night, I still get up and check him a million times. I am not sure I will ever get a full nights sleep again. I think there will always be something to worry about.

5. Growing Up
My friends often compare milestones, I don’t stress about it. When Tristan is ready to do something he will. It seems he is growing up so fast, why make it faster. He took two steps in California and has not done it again, I don’t want him to. I can’t handle my 7 month old walking. So enjoy these times, don’t feel bad if someone else does something first.

6. Love
I thought I could never love someone as much as my husband. I was wrong I love my son down to the core, I still love my husband but its different. Tristan can bring a smile to my face with one look. He is the light of my life.

7. Looks
Every baby is the cutest baby. Well mine is the cutest in the world but all babies make me stop and look. It must be the innocence and trust they have from day one.

8. Money
A few of my friends say “I will wait until I have the money to have kids.” You will never have the money. Kids are so expensive, if you wait you will be 40 and look back and ask why you have no kids. I believe its all about budgeting. We bought a house and had a baby in the same week, our expenses went through the roof. We still manage but its tighter and we don’t eat out or vacation as much. I still wouldn’t trade it for the world.

9. That kind of Mom
I always knew I would not be that mom, you know what I mean. The mom that was over protective about germs, the mom that could care less about germs. The list goes on and on. I have decided to be me, the only Mom I can be. At the airport I let Tristan crawl all over. I got nasty looks and comments. Pardon me, he needs to get some energy out before a 5 hour flight. When he was done, I scooped him up and used an antibacterial wipe from the diaper bag. Guess what he lived, so all is good.

10. Emotions
I can still 7 months later break out in tears at the drop of a pin, I hope one day that the emotional roller-coaster is over. I blame it on hormones, but who knows.

-Chrystal

Having children is an expensive venture. Many new expenses are added; I always said I would wait until I was financially ready for children before I had them. The more I thought about it, I realized no one is ever really ready. I have learned some money saving tricks, here are a few. Only register for what you really need, this way people shopping off of it will get helpful things. I took a friend who had three children with me to register, and we did it in a day. I wish in the beginning I would have registered for a convertible carseat. Tristan was a big baby when he was born, and around 4 months was very long and not fitting in the carrier. So the money spent on one carrier and two extra bases only lasted a few months.

I started off breast feeding and it was bumpy from the start. Around two months we started supplementing with formula and by four months he was completely on formula. I researched and read about all of the different formulas, I wanted to know what I was feeding my son. I decided to try Member’s Mark regular formula. Tristan did fine for awhile, then he started spitting up. So we switched to Member’s Mark Gentle Infant Formula. It has partially broken down proteins so it is easier on baby’s tummy. That worked for a little bit then he started spitting up bad again. Our pediatrician said to just try different options. That is when we switched to Parent’s Choice Sensitivity, this one still has the milk proteins but the lactose carbohydrates are taken out. We have had no further issues since finding this formula.

You will find some people that swear by the name brands and others that might even look down on you, but if you do the research you will see all store brand formula is tested with the same standards as the national brands. I save a lot of money feeding Parent’s Choice, I did a price comparison when making the choice about what to feed my baby and I save almost $50 a month buying store brand.

Recently I was in the baby section of a toy store and a woman was reading all the different cans of formula. I was buying jarred baby food that was on sale. I could tell she was a new Mom, so I asked her if I could help her in anyway. She said that she had tried breastfeeding but it wasn’t for her so she wanted to start formula feeding. I told her that I feed Parent’s Choice and explained how the FDA regulates all baby formula and if she wanted to save money to go to Walmart or Target and try a store brand. We talked back and forth and she asked how long I had been feeding and what my experiences were. She seemed a little hesitant about buying a store brand, so I said buy a can here of whichever kind you want and then go get a store brand and you will see they are the same.

She asked for my phone number in case she had any issues, I was hesitant because she was a stranger and she could be crazy. So I gave her my cell phone, at least then she would not be able to tell where I live. She called me a few weeks later, her name is Casey and her baby is 5 months younger then mine but we have become great friends. She doesn’t have a Wal-Mart by her so she feeds Target brand formula. One night Casey and I were researching store brands and it turns out a lot of the major ones are manufactured by the same parent company. So if I go to Target and I need formula I grab a can of theirs.

-Chrystal