Tag: making memories

The Dreaded Paci Weaning

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I am going to share with you my experience with weaning my 2 year old off of the paci. I can only speak from my experience as I know there are lots of ways to go about this delicate process.


For my Isla girl, her paci has been her best friend since day 1. I thought it was a miracle when a few months before she turned 2, we were able to cut down on the paci use to just naps and night time. Since she really struggled with teething every time she got a new tooth, and her paci was a comfort and help to her during those times, I just figured I’d wait until all her teeth were in to worry about taking the paci away altogether.
Fast forward to a couple days ago. She had turned 2 four months ago and I kept wondering when those last molars were going to come in so we could start thinking about taking away the paci. Well I felt like an idiot when I finally counted all her teeth and realized she already had those last molars in for a while now and that she no longer is teething. For some reason I kept thinking more were supposed to come in.


It was in that moment I thought, “Ok, this is it. We need to start the process of taking away the paci. There’s never going to be the right time. I’m going to have to create that moment myself.” I had these thoughts about an hour before her nap, so I tried to casually mention that she’s a big girl and big girls don’t need their paci anymore.
The reality of the words I had been speaking didn’t settle until I put her in the crib and told her she wasn’t going to be getting her paci for nap time. The look of sadness and distrust on her face just about broke me, but I knew it was going to be tough, but so necessary to get through. The screaming/crying/wailing for her paci last about 30 minutes. I went in to check on her about halfway through to reassure her and negotiate what a treat might look like if she takes a nap. That’s Isla for you—she loves to make a deal. To my amazement, she eventually fell asleep! She even woke up in a good mood, and that’s all the evidence I needed to know that we can get through this.
That night looked a similar way, but the crying didn’t last as long. The next day for her nap was even better, and that night before bed was even better. Here we are on day 3, and as I write this story, she’s taking another peaceful nap without her paci. I honestly thought her future husband was going to have to deal with the fact that Isla comes with a paci. She was that attached to the thing.


I wanted to share my experience to give hope to those terrified parents who are dreading the same process. I even asked some other mom friends what their technique was, and most of them said they got a paci bear, read books about a paci fairy, or they took several days to prepare their child letting them know the day was coming soon when they didn’t need their paci anymore. I don’t recall any of them saying they did it cold turkey one day without any planning, but for me and Isla, I think that’s the method that was going to work best for us. When thrown into a situation we adapt. Isla amazes me at her ability to transition and make adjustments where needed. She’s so strong and I am so glad that we embarked on this journey of no more paci without preparing much for it. That might seem like the opposite thing to do, but it really is just tough no matter your technique. It is about 3 days of lots of tears but they eventually do go to sleep without it, and it becomes one less transition to work through.


For us next, we plan on tackling potty training this winter. She’s not ready for it yet, but I definitely want her to be potty trained before she turns 3, and I want to give us plenty of time to work through it.


I honestly just can’t believe I’m even writing this post. This day has come, and I feel so proud of myself and Isla for working through it and being consistent. Good luck to all you parents getting ready to embark on this journey, and I’d love to hear how your experience goes!


I’m so grateful to be Isla’s mom and to be able to come alongside her as she grows throughout her life.

Last Pregnancy Update!

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Before baby girl arrives in April, I thought I’d get one last pregnancy update out before I forget. Especially considering these peculiar times, I want to be able to look back and remember all that was going on surrounding the time that our Remington Palmer was born.


As I’m writing this, I am almost 37 weeks pregnant, and am going on a full week of isolation at home, due to recommended social distancing because of the Coronavirus. At my appointment today, my doctor said only my husband will be allowed in the hospital during our stay when Remi is born. It’s so strange to think that we won’t be able to have family and friends come and go to visit with us and meet our new baby when she is born. When Isla was born, we looked forward to having visitors and even Starbucks and other food brought in. This time, however, that will not be the case. Everyone will have to wait and meet her when we get home, and even those visits are going to have to be spread out.


I am thankful for the time Ross and I will have to bond with our baby before coming home, but gosh I’m going to miss Isla, and I’ll be so excited to introduce her to her little sister!


My goal right now is to stay healthy. I’m not leaving the house much at all. Going to the doctor today was my first public outing in a week, and it was almost eerie seeing all the steps that had been taken within a short amount of time to try and combat the spread of this virus. I also want my husband to stay healthy so that he can be with me when we welcome Remi into the world.


At this time, I haven’t started dilating. I’m taking it all a day at a time, but I am getting so excited, it’s hard to stay patient!
The next post I write may be a while from now, but when I do, I will have 2 children. That thought is so wild! I have been loving my time with Isla during these last couple weeks of my pregnancy as I know that things will be very different here soon. She’s still my baby no matter what, and I love and value the sweet relationship that we have.


I’m so excited to post photos of our daughter when she arrives!!

Don’t Sweat the Clingy Phase

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I’m speaking to myself on this one, but I’ve also been learning a lot about how to navigate this phase, and I’ve picked up on some really helpful tips! I can only speak for myself based on my experience, but I feel that being a SAHM has contributed to Isla’s tight circle of people that she trusts. Her separation anxiety has been pretty constant since she was a couple months old. For us, this looks like her not wanting to be in the nursery at church without me in there. Or even when we’re out and about in public, if she had wondered too far (even still in the same room), she’ll start to cry and rush back over to me. At the same time, she loves people and is super friendly. She just so happens to want me around probably 95% of the time. I’m so thankful she also loves being with grandparents because that can be a lifesaver for when this mom needs a break! Anyway, here are some things I’ve learned from my experience along the way with having a child that has separation anxiety:
  1. Pray- I’m not saying this to be funny or cliché either. I’ve found myself having terrible dreams the night before an event where I know I’ll be putting Isla in childcare for a couple hours. In these dreams, Isla is miserable the whole time, and it makes me super uncomfortable because I hate pushing her into situations like that as her mom, the one she should be able to trust 100%. In reality, these are not just bad dreams though. This is real life. When she can be so miserable apart from me, the anxiety can run high. So one night as I was putting Isla to bed, I prayed with her about the upcoming day where she would need to be in childcare, asking God to help us both not to be nervous. But that if she did have a hard time and I needed to come get her, that I wouldn’t be worried or stressed about it. And that night, I felt as though I truly had given all my fears to the Lord. I slept well, and Isla even lasted the whole time with another caretaker the next day! I’m not counting on that being our new normal, but I’m grateful to have had the peace going into it. That was what changed my perspective the most. 
  2. Don’t worry about establishing super high expectations- I used to create these ideal expectations and scenarios in my head where Isla loved going into the nursery by herself at church. And every time that didn’t happen, I’d find myself more and more discouraged. Finally, I decided to toss my currently unreachable expectations and be a little more flexible and relaxed. 
  3. Keep trying- Even though I may not have those high expectations right now, it doesn’t keep me from trying. I still put Isla in the nursery at church each week, and in childcare for my MOPS meeting each month. 
  4. Create opportunities as consistent as you can for them to be around other caretakers- My last point leads me into this next one, which is similar but adds an extra step. Along with your normal routine, be creative in thinking of ways to incorporate new opportunities for your child to experience being under the care of others. An easy way to start is by introducing one new person and having them watch your child often. I’ve found this to help Isla. She’s never been one to click right away with someone and trust them, but if she’s given the opportunity to build a relationship with them, we’re more likely to find success. And start within your home if you’re able. Having someone care for your child within their own comfort zone can be super helpful for the child as well. 
  5. Enjoy-They’ll grow out of this before you know it! It will definitely get better in time. It may not be today, but being anxious about it definitely won’t help, so don’t stress! This can be the hardest tip to implement, especially all the time, but is crucial in getting through it with joy. 
I’m grateful for my daughter teaching me so much beyond just how to parent. A lot of my flaws have become painfully clear to me since becoming a mom, but through realizing them I’m also seeing that there are always ways to improve. 

Making Christmas Memorable for Yourself and Your Kids

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Image result for christmas cheer

 

In this blog post, I wanted to include ways to make the Christmas holiday memorable for yourself as well because I’m finding it easier and easier for the holidays in general to lose their magic and sparkle, but I don’t think it has to! No doubt, finding ways to make it fun for our children can be easier, but I have put a list together of some ways I think the Christmas season can be a special time for parents and children alike.

1. 25 Days of Reading

Wrap 25 books for your children to open every day in December leading up to Christmas. This not only creates a fun moment your children can look forward to every day, but also ensures some family time together as you follow up with reading that book along with them.

2. Look at Christmas Lights

Growing up, I feel like some of my most favorite memories are were the ones that cost little to nothing. This can definitely be one of those memories for you and your kids! Whether it’s driving around from neighborhood to neighborhood admiring others’ hard work or seeing a professional lighting display put on in your local city or town, this can be made into a tradition I guarantee your children will remember for years to come.

3. Baking/Decorating Gingerbread House

This is a great way to stir up holiday cheer for all involved! Not only do we get the satisfaction of enjoying the fruits of our labor afterwards with either some hot cocoa or glass of milk, we also got to have fun as a family being in the kitchen together laughing and making memories.

4. Watch ALL the Christmas Movies

I exaggerate a little, but really, watch a bunch of movies together! Sometimes watching a favorite Christmas movie can be just the thing to help us parents also get more in the Christmas spirit. Do this with your kids but also with your spouse after your kids have gone to bed. Holiday cheer between adults is super important and fun too!

5. Decorate!

I want to start off with this, more or less, obvious way to make Christmas memorable for your family by saying that I feel like there should be no rules when it comes to this. This year, we decided to put our Christmas tree up a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. Some may think this is too early, and that’s just fine for them to think. But in our household, it’s extending our favorite time of the year and allowing us to enjoy the beauty of the lights on the tree even longer! Since my daughter, Isla, is only a year and a half old, she isn’t able to help put ornaments on the tree yet, but this is definitely a tradition we look forward to continuing through the years!

6. Be Generous

Tis the season to be generous to others. Create opportunities for your kids to watch you giving to others whether it’s through giving presents, your time, or even just kindness (especially when we want to be impatient or rude to the people crowding the grocery stores and shopping malls–where did all these people come from?!) Being able to demonstrate generosity in front of our kids is a wonderful lesson we can teach them, and there are many ways to let them join in on it too!

7. Read Luke

For this idea, read a chapter in Luke from the Bible every day in December. There are 24 chapters, so you can get through the whole book together as a family by Christmas. Luke 2 contains the Christmas story of Jesus’ birth, and the rest of the book goes on to talk about his life on Earth. This can be a wonderful tradition to establish as a family that may even go beyond just the month of December! If your family isn’t already in the habit of reading Scripture together, this is great way to incorporate it long-term within your daily routine.

8. Fill in the Blank

Incorporate any other Christmas traditions that have been passed down through your families that you want to hold onto. It can be anything! It’ll be special to you because of fond memories from your past while creating new memories with your children.

I hope this list gives you some ideas if you are feeling stumped this Christmas season. It can feel like it’s a lot easier for children to get into the holiday spirit, and while that may be true, I think it’s also important for them to see their parents taking part in Christmas cheer. It doesn’t hurt if we find ourselves a little less stressed and overwhelmed because of it too!

I’m Grateful For…

Past memories during my childhood that helped to shape my fondness towards Christmastime and the wonderful opportunities that I have no to pass down a lot of those same traditions to my children.

Countdown to Thanksgiving…I’m Grateful For Friendship

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Last night we went over to our friends’ house and were treated to a lovely home-cooked meal and wonderful conversation. We hadn’t hung out with them for a while, so it was nice to catch up! Then this morning, I took Isla to a local toy store for story time, where she was able to interact with other children and make some new friends, which she is able to do so easily (I love that quality about her). And tonight we had some friends from church over to house for dinner. We ate yummy food, had a bonfire, played a game, and overall just enjoyed each others’ company. Tomorrow, I will be getting together with ladies from my church to make Christmas crafts and hang out with one another. Looking back at the last couple days I’ve had, it’s crazy to think I feel like I don’t have many close friends! When really, it can be as simple as accepting an invitation to get together, being the one to reach out and invite others to come over, or just texting one friend a week you haven’t heard from in a while to let them know you’re thinking of them. I think I tend to overthink friendship, and my goal is to try and get out of what is often a negative mindset around friendship and embrace each connection point I have with everyone and help them know I’m present in that moment and that they mean a lot to me. After all, that’s definitely what I’m looking for in a friend! I’m so thankful for these last couple of days being able to enjoy friendships and fellowship.

Countdown to Thanksgiving…I’m Grateful For Fun Weekends

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This past weekend was filled with lots of fun things to do, but when you have a toddler, you’re still aware it could go either way if they get overwhelmed or overtired, etc. Our weekend started off with a birthday party for one of Isla’s friends who just turned 2. That was great because she could walk around, eat, socialize—basically all her favorite things. After that, we darted over to a Friendsgiving party. There were some other kiddos for Isla to play with there as well, and she played straight through her nap time. She was in her element and having a blast, which calmed my fears on whether or not she’d have a meltdown from not sticking to her usual schedule. It showed me that she is getting older and is able to be more flexible. She’s been doing this in some other ways as well and it is making my husband and I super excited to watch! After that get together, we went to our parents’ house to enjoy a nice dinner to wrap up the day. Once again, the girl played so hard. When it was nearing her bedtime, I was getting nervous that she wouldn’t want to go to bed because of being too excited all day, but she finally hit her wall and went straight to bed that night. It was such a full day but a wonderful one at that, and I’m so grateful. I feel like I’m able to participate in more grown up conversations. You know what I mean? For the longest time, I found myself tuning out everyone in order to tend to my child. Watching her grow is so exciting for this momma to experience.

Countdown to Thanksgiving…I’m Grateful For Snow!

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Where we live in Southern Indiana, it can be a little unusual, but not unheard of, to see our first accumulating snow occur a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. That made it super exciting to wake up to this week, especially since we already have our Christmas tree up as well. Talk about all the holiday feels! The snow also came with frigid temperatures, so I didn’t take Isla out to play in it, but she definitely enjoyed looking out the window at it.
Seeing things like snow on the ground make for sweet moments that I can share with my daughter. Remembering that this is her first time to maybe even realize what snow is since she was still an infant last year help me to slow down more to make sure she’s taking in all that there is to experience with everything surrounding the holidays.
I’m hoping we get a lot of snow this winter and have opportunities to play in it and do all the fun things that you’re supposed to do when you’re little and it snows. Until then, we watch as the first snowfall starts to melt and look forward to the next with grateful hearts.

Countdown to Thanksgiving…I’m Grateful For Shopping with my Daughter

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To be honest, I don’t go out and about shopping with Isla very often for a couple reasons. The first is that there isn’t money to spend on shopping, so it wouldn’t be fun for either of us. The second is that Isla hates being confined to a shopping cart and wants to get down and walk around on her own, making it near impossible to get any shopping done anyway. However, we managed to give it a try and went to Home Goods and Ulta (2 of my absolute favorite places in case you’re wondering). And although it went about as expected, we still had such a blast! Isla is so good at making friends wherever she goes, and I was able to get a couple things crossed off my to-do list as well.
It was a good reminder for me that even though I know it’ll be tough and maybe even stressful, these outings with her are super important to let her continue to learn what my expectations are of her when we are out in public and to also let her interact with others and make new friends.

Countdown to Thanksgiving…I’m grateful for surprise visits

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Yesterday my sister texted to let me know she was in the area and wanting to come by my house. That thrilled me to pieces because I love visitors! Most people can’t come during the day because of work schedules, but she was off work due to it being Veterans Day. Having people over or even going to others’ home in the middle of the day can be such a fun and refreshing way to break up the routine if you’ve been in the house alone with your children for too long. Thankfully, I know some other SAHMs that I try to plan play dates consistently with, but having it be your sister that comes by added an extra fun touch and surprise to my day, which I’m so grateful for.

Countdown to Thanksgiving…I’m grateful for preparation

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When you’re looking forward to something, doesn’t it seem just as fun, if not more fun, sometimes to go through the planning process? Like with the anticipation of an upcoming vacation where you’re packing and getting everything ready while dreaming about all the fun you’re going to have. Or for me in this case, planning the menu for Thanksgiving dinner as I eagerly countdown the days until the day is actually here. I absolutely love the preparation process.

Mixed in with Thanksgiving planning, I find myself also starting to prepare for Christmas. I am definitely not a Scrooge—I welcome Christmas celebrations whenever anyone wants to fa la la. I do not judge because I know how happy this season makes me as well. It’s a whole new world too when you have kids and can see the experience as being so fresh in their eyes. I’m grateful for this season of thankfulness and preparation leading up to the holidays.