Friday, April 27, 2007

Crafts for 2-year-olds

thanks, Kristy Maligro, for these great ideas!

Craft ideas to do with two-year-olds:
- cut out shopping cart and have them glue on cut outs of food items (cut out of local newspaper) or cut out paper people and glue on clothes for them
- threading cardboard bookmarks (punch holes in cardboard and use string w/ tape around end to thread through the holes)
- glue cotton balls onto a sheep cutout to make an ornament
- maybe we could have everyone at playgroup bring a t-shirt and then use a fabric pen to trace all the kids hands on all the shirts w/ their names/age in the middle of their hand.
- Rice, oatmeal, beans or noodles in a dish pan is a great sensory experience let her use measuring cups, funnels, strainer, pastry brush etc
- Take two paper plates and staple them together putting beans or rice in the middle. Let the child paint or glue or put stickers and ribbon on the outside making their own tambourine
- have races with hotwheels cars… make ramps /tunnels for them
- make shakers w/ toilet paper roll (fill with beans or rice and cover each end securely)
- playdough day
- music day - bring any instruments/rattles/etc. or scarves/ribbons... for a time of music where the kids can sing or play or dance along... can do hand motions to songs they may already know too. tagen seems to be fascinated by this lately
- make cheerio necklaces (string w/ tape around each end makes for easy threading)
- crumple paper into crazy shapes and glue onto paper... or can use pasta shells or string or something
- fingerpaint day? do we dare? May be messy but we could do it outside on a big old sheet or in the kiddie pool/hose them down after
- paint a little pot then plant something in it... take it home and have them help take care of it and watch it grow
- bring a tshirt or onesie and we can tie dye them for the kids
- ideas for learning shapes, colors, abc's, numbers...
-Get a sand/water table. Fill it with all sorts of sensory things- hard beans, noodles, water, sand, cotton balls, etc. It really helps kids learn by feel.
-For ABC's, each person bring a stuffed animal. An animal they can easily recognize as that letter- a bird for B, a deer for D, a sheep for S, etc.
-A color basket. Fill it with all sorts of items that can be passed around of that color. Red apples, a red feather boa, red flowers, red stuffed animals, etc- stuff they can touch and feel, and enjoy.
-Kids paint or color paper plates, then a grownup cuts them in a spiral. (Cut a bit of a bulge for a head in the center.) Voila! Snakes! These can be hung, too
-Use old tights/nylons to pull around wire shaped like a butterfly. The body can be a sock filled with sand (rubberbands to separate head). Kids can paint or glue on glitter
-Finger painting with pudding. (outside in the kiddie pool)
-"painting" by putting paper into a 13x9" baking pan. Put some paint on the paper and have the child blow the paint around on the paper through a straw. The results can be really pretty and after they dry, they can be hung on the wall.

--Kristy Maligro is a mother of two (a 2-year-old boy and 9-month-old girl) who used to live in Santa Barbara and recently moved to Hawaii and is a good friend of mine--

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Newborn Layette Basics

Let me begin by defining "layette": the basic collection of clothing for a newborn baby.

There are many lists of what is necessary for a layette, and probably as many different opinions about what you REALLY need or don't need. From my experience, there are several factors that affect what you need in your layette. One, is the season of which your baby will be born. I've had my two babies in the winter, and therefore have needed to make sure I have some outfits to keep them pretty warm in. But summer babies will need cooler clothes obviously. Another factor is your own preferences. These can vary even from baby to baby. With Samuel, I LOVED putting him in the little one-piece footed sleepers, even all day long. I thought they were so convenient and warm and cozy. But with Hope, probably because she was a girl and I wanted to put her in cute little pink outfits, I mostly only used these at night for her to sleep in. Some moms love these things, and others don't. Okay, another factor -- how often you want to do laundry. I have found that I don't really need that many newborn clothes for two reasons - one, they grow out of it so quickly, and two, I do laundry so often that I could probably get away with about 6 outfits for them. Of course, I always have way more. But, if you think you don't want to do laundry that often, you will need more clothing. BUT LET ME GIVE YOU THIS SMALL PIECE OF ADVICE: don't wait too long to wash your baby's clothes because quickly washing things that get spit-up and poop on them is the key to keeping them from getting ruined. So, plan on doing lots of laundry if you can.

Okay, so let's get practical now. Here's a list, but remember, pick out the things that you think you will prefer to put your baby in, and try to start with less and then get more later if you are finding you really need it. (Because chances are, you won't) You can even buy things you think you will use, and not open them until you need them. That way, if you end up not using them, you can just return them. This often happens since babies grow out of their clothes so quickly. I did this with a swaddling blanket for Hope and am so glad I didn't open it, because it turned out that she didn't really like being swaddled and I never used it, so I was able to return it! (remember to keep your receipts!)

*a going-home-from-the-hospital outfit -- try to pick one of your smallest outfits unless you think you're going to have a big baby, because even most 0-3 mo. clothing swallows up a newborn (and also, make sure it is something where you can still put them securely in their carseat - so no gowns or long dresses)
*5-10 legless sleepwear outfits (sleeping gowns / kimonos / sleeping bags / newborn sacques / blanket sleepers) or footed sleepers (with the gowns or bags, some people love them and some hate them...with Samuel I hated using them because they always slid up, but with Hope I got more into them)
*6-12 onesies (short-sleeved, legless bodysuits)
*a few pairs of pants or leggings
*a few other outfits, either all-in-one piece outfits with or without feet, or some sort of top and bottom outfit
*undershirts / T-shirts (I actually rarely use these, the white onesies work better for this)
*receiving blankets (no more than 5)
*swaddling blankets (2 or 3)
*hooded towels (2 or 3)
*baby washcloths (6-12)
*socks / booties (6-12)
*hats / beanies / sweaters / bunting (depending on the climate)
*burp cloths (cloth diapers are often recommended - I usually use TONS of these at first, like probably 1 or 2 dozen)

The First Six Weeks

I want to write a brief encouragement about the adjusting process most, if not all, moms have to go through. I would have to say that the most dramatic life experience I've had so far was having my first child. I believe many moms would agree. In my opinion, becoming a mom definitely tops any other major life changes such as moving (which I've done many times), getting married, or going off to college. It was a very difficult experience for me in many ways, and yet has for sure been the biggest blessing in my life.

I just want to encourage you pregnant and new moms out there that when you have your first baby, if things are very hard, don't worry -- you are normal and things WILL get better.

After the first few months after having Samuel, I remember thinking, "why didn't anyone tell me that it would get better?" I realized that we as human beings can endure just about anything for a month or two, but in our enduring, it is very helpful to know there is an end to it. So, be encouraged, things WILL get better. Even if you're a mom struggling through 7-8 mo. old sleep problem regressions, things WILL get better.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

My Birth Stories Part 1 - Samuel

I decided I wanted to record my birth stories, because it is always interesting to read about other people's experiences of their children's births, but also so I would have them archived for my children to read later. So, here is the story of my first birth, the birth of Samuel John Lomelino.

It was 11pm on January 29, 2005 when I first started having very very mild contractions - very much an early labor stage. In fact, I didn't even realize I was having contractions. I was still over a week from my due date, and not planning on having a baby any time soon. I went to bed and had a very UNrestful night of sleep, having mild contractions all night, but not realizing what was going on. Then I finally got up out of bed at about 3 or 4am, not being able to sleep anymore. I didn't wake Jason up yet, but I sat at our kitchen table and wondered what was going on. I was definitely in total denial, until I started watching the clock and realized that something unique seemed to be happening every 5 or so minutes. I was slightly excited and a bit concerned, thinking there was a possibility that I was in labor. Finally at about 5am I woke Jason up and called my doula. Mostly I just wanted to ask her if she thought there was any way that this might be labor. She instructed me to drink some absurd amount of water over the next hour and lay on my left side. She said if I still kept having contractions after this, call her. I proceded to drink the amount of water she recommended, but had to spend most of the hour on the toilet instead of my side. I continued to have contractions, called her back and reported this, and then was told that I was probably in labor. After letting this sink in, we called our parents and told them, and then I tried to take a shower and pack a bag in the midst of contractions.

I have no concept of time, but I guess about 3 or 4 hours went by and I was just "doing the labor thing" - having contractions, trying to breathe deeply, ya know! Then we decided to go to get something to eat at a local restaurant called Silvergreens. It is right by UCSB, so it was full of college students, and I was doing okay, but every 5 minutes or so would have to stop what I was doing and have a contraction and try to breathe deeply through it, making very low moaning sounds, and I am sure anyone who payed any attention to us was probably really wondering what in the heck was wrong with me!

Finally when we got back home I asked Jason (my husband) to call the doula and ask her to come over. I could tell I was starting to get more out of it and was going to need more help soon. So, she came over probably around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and helped me get into different labor positions and go for walks around the block every half hour or so. Things were starting to pick up, and finally around 7pm we decided to go to the hospital. After a grueling trip to the hospital (I had major back labor and sitting in a car was almost unbearable), we made it inside and they checked me, I was about 4 cm dialated. From there, I continued to progress, slowly but surely, and was at about 8 cm by maybe 1am. I spent most of that time laboring on the birth ball with my doula doing some serious hip squeezes and massage on my back to help with all of the back labor pains I was experiencing. So, finally around 1am when I was 8 1/2 cm, the nurse checked me and said I had a "bulging bag of waters" (aka, my water had still not broken and was right there in the opening, keeping me from dialating completely). So, she took it upon herself to "pop" my bag of waters, and then I pretty quickly dialated from there. However, just before I was at 10 cm, I started having an uncontrollable urge to start pushing, and the crazy nurses told me to not push yet. It was the most miserable part of the whole labor when my body was telling me to push, but the nurses were telling me not to. So, I tried as hard as I could with each contraction to not push, until finally another nurse came in and said I could start pushing. Praise God! It felt so good to start pushing at that point.

So I think I pushed for about an hour and a half, and the baby was finally starting to show himself- part of his head was visible each time I pushed. But then the nurse came in and said that the baby's heart rate was showing up the same as mine, so something was not being read correctly. Soon after that, the doctor showed up saying he needed to get a better heart beat on the baby, and he ended up having to put an electrode thing into his scalp to get a reading. When he did, it showed that Samuel's heart rate was way too low, and the doctor calmly said that he needed to get the baby out right away, so he did an episiotomy and with the next push, Samuel came sliding on outat 3:37am. It was a major relief in many ways, because it felt like I had been pushing forever and I wasn't sure how much longer it was going to be before he came out. He was 6 lbs. 15 oz. and 20 in. long.

They put him on me for a second, but then had to take him over to be checked out because of the heart rate thing. Then they took him to the nursery and said he was having very mild breathing problems, so they kept him for an hour or so, and got me all set up in my room, then brought him to me. I tried breastfeeding him, which is a crazy thing to learn at first.

Morning Sickness - any suggestions?

So, here's a blog post that needs your contributions! A reader asked for suggestions on dealing with fairly severe morning sickness, and says she has tried all sorts of home remedies like ginger, herbal teas, etc. I get fairly bad morning sickness with my pregnancies, and would love some tips myself. I haven't found anything that is amazingly helpful, but the best remedies I've experienced are finding foods that help, though it has varied from pregnancy to pregnancy. Some of my personal favorites have been yogurt and cheese. The most helpful things though have been taking a B-complex vitamin and using pressure point wristbands for motion sickness. But please post your best suggestions under the comments!

Monday, April 9, 2007

A Little Piece of Helpful Info.

This comes from some e-mails that have been going on between my sister-in-law and some of her friends. It is actually a piece of information I received with the birth of my second chid. I don't know too much about the medical/scientific info. behind it, but it basically consists of the fact that when babies are born, they most often have their days and nights mixed up. Most people know this, especially new moms. We get the joy of experiencing long nights with babies who tend to really enjoy being awake and often crying alot all night long. But what most people don't know and I learned not too long ago, is that babies often have their days and nights mixed up because their "circadian rhythm" is not developed yet. But the good news is that this WILL develop with time, and they will naturally be able to start sleeping more at night and less during the day. It tends to get progressively better starting around 4-6 weeks. SO, don't stress, and until that happens, try to just enjoy those many quiet moments you have during the day while your new one is sleeping so much! I wished that when I had my first baby someone would have told me in those first few weeks that it WILL get better! I realized later that if I had known it would have only been that crazy for the first month of two, I would have been able to cope a lot better. The fact is, we can handle just about anything for a short period of time. But when we don't know if it will ever end, it gets a lot harder to cope. So, remember that each difficult season with children will come to an end at some point, and you WILL make it!

Here's something written about this idea from an article I found on the internet:
"In the first weeks and months, it's too early to expect a young baby to sleep through the night. As tiring as it seems, don't expect infants to pay attention to adult schedules right away. A newborn doesn't know that people sleep when it's dark, and a baby's "circadian rhythm"—the 24-hour internal clock that controls our sleeping and wake patterns—is still developing (McGraw, Hoffman, Harker, & Herman, 1999).

But hang in there! In a few months, babies gradually begin to organize sleeping and waking according to daily cycles of darkness and light. The 24-hour, light-and-dark cycle begins to affect most babies' sleep patterns within the first three months (Louis, Cannard, Bastuji, & Challamel, 1997).

By six months of age, many babies organize their main sleep times in concert with darkness and light. Although babies can vary a great deal, six-month-olds may sleep six hours or more at a time, and most of these longer periods take place at night. Also by six months, your baby will probably wake up fewer times at night (Anders et al., 1999)."