Let's talk Sleep

SLEEP...it's a big deal! I wish I have tips to share on this one but I have not had much success on it so this is to just share my feelings toward it and my experience. As I planned out parenthood (learned soon after giving birth that there's no such thing), I knew I wanted to sleep train. I have friends that  had great success on it and thought, I would love to have that, a good sleeper. I read blogs after blogs, forums after forums and all sorts of research on how to sleep train and thought that my first 7months were great and that I may have reached success. I was warned about regression but nothing like what I've experienced.

I love my daughter, I do but she put Jeb and I through sleep hell! It started during her 8th month, I thought that this was quite early for regression but later found out that there are things that us parents do to cause it and I think I did 9 out of 10 of those things. Isla was a straight sleeper in her first 7months being that she's formula fed, she was always full before sleep and she would have 8-12hours of straight sleep. At her 7th month, my husband and I decided to bring her to a trip to Miami. Her sleep was not the same afterwards. Her anxiety as we leave her in her crib was stronger than ever (during night and even nap time), we tried CIO (crying it out), we tried camping in her room, holding her hand, rocking her, giving her an earlier bed time...believe me when I say I tried it all. After two weeks though, I saw an improvement and thought we're back! But, silly me decided to go on a trip on my own, leaving her again and it just got even worse upon my return. Now nothing helped. She woke up every hour to check if I'm in the room and cried out her lungs (one night straight for an hour) every time I tried putting her down. Did I give up? Nope! I chose to put her crib every night and woke up every hour or two until she was 11months old. I was lucky to get 2hours straight of sleep before having to get up again to comfort her. She didn't need to be rocked to sleep, she just needed me beside her.

When Quino arrived, I've decided to end this battle with sleep training and decided to co-sleep. She has slept better and so did the rest of the household. Straight sleep? No! Since she started daycare at the same time, she was sick weekly which means no straight sleep for us even if she's in our bed. Our night routine, now involves me having to put her down in her toddler bed and my only purpose is so that she knows she has a room and a bed in the hopes that when she's able to understand a little bit more, that I can persuade her to sleep in her room and bed and no longer in mommy's and daddy's (like, wish me luck). She wakes up to check if I'm in there with her one-two sometimes three times a night before she finally decides to move to our room and by that time I'm just ready for bed and no longer feel like I have the energy to fight it out with her.

My feelings towards sleep? Do what makes you have your best try at getting some. If you're more successful at sleep training, then bravo and good for you. Others may not have your luck and in that case, decide and stick and stand by your decision. I have been very happy with the medium I chose because it is what works for us the best at this time, plus since I work, bedtime is my cuddle time with her and I don't mind that one bit. For now, Quino is happily sleeping in his room and crib, he is 7months but I'm sure we will go through some sort of regression sometime soon and who knows? He may end up in our bed too! I do want to see if I would have a better shot at it with him being that I've decided not to plan any trips for his first year. His personality may also differ from Isla and we may have success...at the end of the day, what I have at heart is that my children get the rest and sleep they need and mines? Hmmmm...I'll sleep when I'm dead!

Restaurants and Babies

Please know that all kids are different and some of what I'm about to say may or may not apply, but it's certainly worth a try! Jeb and I are big resto eaters, two reasons, one, we just love trying out new places and their food, two, we don't always have time or want to cook. So, how do you deal with a toddler, an infant or a kid at restaurants? Here's my take on it:

- Plan!
Yes, just like everything else with kids, eating out also entails planning. Not all restaurants will accommodate young children especially out in the city. So make sure to either call ahead or read reviews on the restaurant to see what type of accommodations they can do for your certain situation. Do you need to bring a carseat with you? Can a stroller fit? Do they have a high chair? Not all places do, some only uses boosters and others don't have both.

- Prepare for battle!
If you're a first time parent, you maybe used to eating out as a time to chit chat with friends or just to relax and have a drink and with an infant/toddler, this may not be the case. Bring certain items to help you make this day the best for you and your party.
        1. For our toddler, we've purchased the over-sized bib protects baby's clothes top to bottom (Click here to see).
        2. We also have a reusable silicon mat as her plate (great because it can be folded and packed) (Click here to see).
        3. Pack small snacks, which is great since toddlers aren't really the most patient customers in the restaurant. This way, while they're waiting for their food, you can keep them occupied with their snack of choice, cherios are best, I also bring mumums for Quino, nothing too heavy that they wouldn't have room for their main course.
        4. Next, bring plenty and I mean plenty of wipes. They are always going to be messy, there's just no way out of it so just prepare yourself for that.
        5. Bring a toy or two. I try to limit my kids with use of phones but since they eat much faster and would most likely get bored while you finish your dish, phone is a great back up, temporary sitter. I also bring with me a mess free coloring book (crayola is great!).

- Train them early!

This is one battle that I actually won (lost with breastfeeding and sleep training), but so far, Isla has been a great company at restaurants. She loves to eat and knows how to sit and eat with us. Just like everything else, it all starts from home. Train your baby to eat with you at the table every meal. Do not encourage TV or electronics while eating as this is what they're going to look for when in a restaurant instead of them learning to enjoy meal time. We also trained her early with eating at restaurants and brought her out in plenty of resto trips that she's now gotten used to the resto environment and cooperates at least 90% of the time haha! You can't win 'em all!

- Share your Food

When we eat out at restaurants or even at home, Jeb and I would share the food on our plate with Isla and now with Quino. Until recently that Isla now can eat a good portion, we would feed her what we eat and this got her interested in trying out food that we have. This I think makes her feel like she's part of the dining experience and therefore doesn't think that she's just there for the ride.

- Don't be afraid of the mess
Let her make a mess, eating at restaurants should just be as comfortable as her eating at home. I've added some tip when Isla makes an extra mess but I do let her eat the way she is used to eating at home. My daughter is perfectly capable of using utensils but chooses to use her hands and I let her, if that's what would make her dining experience enjoyable.

- Be mindful of their time
As much as you want to have a 2hour dining experience, you do have to consider that your child may not last as long, sometimes they do most of the time they won't. 2hours has been our max at the restaurant with no meltdowns and but a minute over and it is a disaster so do finish your meal and when they start demanding to be off the chair, give them some freedom to do so. Ask your husband or a friend to take them for a quick walk to the bathroom or switch chairs, sit in a lap and then work your way back to the table or their chair.

Diapers and Subcriptions: My honest opinion on Honest

I had been meaning to post my opinions on diapers for sometime now but it's good that I waited until my 2nd child to do so because I'd have now more to say and know about it. Is it really that complex? Well...yes and no. As a first time parent, I considered all choices when it came to which diaper I would choose for Isla. I read blogs and reviews on different brands and really considered how much I am willing to spend for it. After all that research, I went, for both babies, Honest Co. I also liked Parasol Co. but thought that their pricing and what came in the subscription was not enough for the money. I also considered reusable diapers but based on reviews, it is a lot of work (washing) and also need some budget to start your pile. Now you may ask, do you need subscription? Of course not, as the mom, you are entitled to choose and purchase whichever diaper you want for your child. This post is mainly to say what I love and don't love about what I chose for my kids.

Love...

1. I will admit that the first thing that drew me to honest are the prints! I'm a girly girl, pretty superficial about certain things including diapers that goes under my children's clothes! haha...they're just too cute!

2. I've tried several brands--pampers, huggies, target brand, seventh generation, babyganics and I will say that Honest will still be my favorite. Yes it is overpriced, this is something to consider but after using it and going back to other brands, I can tell there's a difference. Its absorption is great. It lasts about 6-9hours with no leakage whatsoever and my kids drink/feed a lot! Isla who doesn't sleep straight and still relies on milk (sadly) to help her get back to sleep drinks in total about 10-12oz of milk/water mixture every night and that cause a lot of peeing over night. With other brands I end up having to change her 2-3x/night as to 1/night with honest. With my little one, Quino takes his last feed at about 9-930pm of 6-8oz of formula and will sleep straight until 7a-8a does not need any changes overnight, unlike with other brands that would need 1 change over night and would have leaked by the morning time.

3. Honest diaper also does not sag. Even if it gets full, it gets heavy but does not sag like most diapers.

4. I also love their wipes, it's too bad I use so much of it that the 4 packs that used to come in my subscription is no longer sufficient for two babies. It's thick, not overly wet which is great because Isla has very sensitive skin and needs to be dry at all times. It also does not tear or stretch out like other wipes would. Not scented either, some like it that way some like it scented, but that's just an info I'd add here.

Great tip coming your way!!!
5. My opinion on subscriptions? I love it! With honest or any diaper brand you choose, you can have subscriptions. You can go directly to the honest website and avail their $80 one (I did this for a year and some months, came with 186 diapers and 4 packs of 76 bag wipes) or simply go to amazon and now, target has them too! I love it! With two babies, shopping anywhere is tough and since I try to limit my target runs, I now do most of my shopping online. I just love that diapers/wipes are in stock at my house since I still have two using them for now. I've switched my subscriptions to target from direct honest, this way I am not tied to just one brand and I can customize my monthly payment the way I want it. My current subscription at target has me getting 2boxes of honest diapers and one box of pampers 576count wipes for $56 every 4-6weeks (with redcard). More wipes that I would ever get for the $80 I used to pay at honest. I also only subscribed to two boxes of diapers because target would sometimes have a sale on honest diapers and promos on all diapers and I would still like to be able to avail those. For example, recently target had a promo of buying 2boxes of diapers any brand and you will get a $10 gift card. Since I normally use 3boxes of diapers/month for two (yes with honest even though the count is less, since my changes are also less, 3-4 boxes are enough for my two babies), I purchased the two and used the $10 giftcard to purchase one more box.

Not so great...
1. Do  not be fooled with the honest marketing ploy about it being green or extra safe etc. a diaper is a diaper, because it has prints, they still use dye, and even if it marketed itself as safe for the environment, because we throw them in non-biodegradable bags, it kind of defeats the purpose.

2. Biggest one, it is pricey! Overpriced in fact, I, however, use it because I love it therefore I chose to spend on it. Now though, I do have a more conscious effort to get them at the lowest price possible.

3. Honest can be found at marshalls and ross, a tad bit cheaper price...it kind of hurt when I used to have the subscription only to find out you can also get it elsewhere.

4. Sizing, I do think they run a bit small compared to the weight description on the sizes. My kids now wear the same size diaper (at 11 months apart, yes they don't weigh that far off from each other), at size 4 even though weight wise it says they should still be ok with a 3, 4 just fits more comfortably for them.