Have you made a conscious effort to capture your baby’s firsts (steps, laughs, etc…)? If you have/do, how do you do so? It is definitely tough to keep on top of, especially with multiple kids. Let’s hear what these mamas have to say
Ashley: I totally planned on doing one! I had one growing up and it was to take it out and look at it every so often. However, I’ve been horrible about putting anything together. Luckily for my son’s first birthday, my sister (who knows me too well) gave us a baby book she had started for him since she know I hadn’t gotten around to it. I’m so glad she did! However, I’ve been bad about updating it 
Emily: I’m horrible about this, too. I purchased something that was called “All About Me” – it was the size of a recipe card box and contained index cards that you were supposed to fill out for various milestones. I’m embarrassed to say that I never used it. All of my son’s milestones are written in my planner. I recently discovered Project Life, and plan to make one for his first three years. I hope to stay more on top of it going forward.
I also have a letter sized tote box that contains folders with all of the art projects that we do. That makes me feel a little better about slacking in the “baby book” department.
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Competition among moms. Why do you think it exists? Are you a competitive mom?
Lena: I am much more ambitious in work environment, than I am in a mommy army, but mainly because I know that mama drama and competitions are such a energy sucking hobby. I almost enjoy telling one of my friends that I got something new, because I know within the next couple weeks she will get something better. Is that bad?
Ashley: Not so much competitive as I like to see where my son is in comparison to other children his age. None of my friends have kids, so I admit, I’m an amateur when it comes to parenting. I’m always asking where other kids are in development in comparison to him. It helps me know what I should work on more or what he is doing great in. I do think competition exists though, which is a shame. I notice it a lot in my “mom groups”.
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Written on
July 13, 2012 in
General
Summertime means more time as a family! What are your bucket list items for the summer and how do you plan to tick them off the list? Do you have any summer traditions or will you be starting new ones this summer?
Mary: Our summer bucket list includes a lot more trips to the beach, the Cuyahoga County fair, the soon to be 2nd grader’s birthday and maybe a trip to Cedar Point. It is hard to believe this is July! Oh and the soon to be second grader wants to have a lemon-aid stand.
Emily: This summer, we’re planning to spend as much time at the beach as we can! A few things on my list are going to the county fair, seeing a baseball game, taking a trip to Martha’s Vineyard (with The Boy) and one to Nantucket (without The Boy). I also want to use our backyard fire pit more than we did last year. S’mores, anyone?
Valerie: My kids have been talking non stop about a lemon-aid stand too! On our list is Sea World, Six Flags, Splashtown, Gatti Town and hopefully a trip to the beach.
Ghada: We’re aiming to do lots of day trips that might even involve renting a car. It’s our first summer in the area, so everything will be new to us. I really want to make the most of friends and getting together and creating memories – I know it sounds hokey, but I really think its important for the littlies.
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How and when did you or are you planning to wean your child? Do you go with the idea of self-weaning or do you have a certain age in mind due to lifestyle or work commitments? I think this is a matter of personal choice. Like all things with baby it doesn’t always go to plan either. Here are a few different opinions.
Leila: My daughter and I struggled with nursing so it wasn’t a big deal. My son and I… oye. I nursed for 4 months, but due to my work schedule and the pressures at work (I worked at a medically supervised weight loss clinic and couldn’t do the program to lose weight until I wasn’t nursing any longer), I weaned at 4 months. I was miserable physically and emotionally. To this day (he is now 4) I wish I would’ve nursed longer and let him wean himself. I just keep telling myself “next time”. 
LaVonne: Long I made the decision to breastfeed for 2 years. There were many difficult times, I will admit, but it was worth it. I quit breastfeeding 2 weeks after my Princess turned 2, and I think she did better than I did with the cold turkey change. Thankfully, I am able to stay home and could breastfeed when I wanted. I am pregnant and almost due with baby #2 and have already made the same decision for this one. Unless of course, he self weans.
Ghada: With my first, I had decided that I wanted to wean him when he was 1. For me that felt like the magical number. I was working from home – only having to go out to meetings a few times a week, so it was easy. He started to get bored of breastfeeding around the one year mark so it all worked out, we were done at about 13 months. This time around, I don’t know if I will make it to a year with Miss 6 months. Somehow their seems to be so much more going on…but I can’t seem to get her to take a bottle…that’s a whole other problem lol
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Leila: My son turned 4 on April 27th. He has been much easier to deal with for about 2 weeks prior to turning 4! His behavior went from being untolerable to tolerable!
Valerie: My 7 yr old is awesome, but she has always been a pretty awesome kid. My 4 yr old is always getting in trouble, but she is very strong willed. In my case I think it has a lot to do with personality and in that case I have a long road ahead of me for my youngest.
Cyndy: My daughter turned 4 on March 17 and gradually I am seeing improvement and it has been fabulous. I still see spurts of the behavior we were seeing, but we really “drew our line in the sand” about 4 weeks ago. It may sound harsh, but we noticed she was taking for granted the things that we have – toys, movies, Wii, DS, etc. – so I took away ALL of her DVDs for about a week. Then I have been giving them back, or not, based on behavior. It has been very effective!
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Terrible TWOs – heard it, lived it, gotta share it.
Leila: My kids didn’t go through the Terrible Two’s. Mine had Terrible Three’s! Their behavior and tantrums increased at three and have since decreased now that they are 4 and over 4! Whoever coined “terrible two’s” mistook it for the “terrible three’s”!
Lena: My son was 4 weeks old and my daughter was 2 yo when I took them to the mall on my own (brave, ah?) My daughter ran off to the carousel. I had no other option but to follow since she was already sitting on the horse. After 2 rides I said that we needed to get going. She threw such tantrum. I tried carrying her, but she was loud and wiggly. I let her lay on the floor and stood next to her (Yes, I am that Mom) waiting for her to come down. After that – pick her up, walk 10 steps before she throws another tantrum. OMG – I hated how long this mall was
Emily: I have come to realize that the Terrible Twos are an urban legend designed to prepare parents for the Troublesome Threes. The Boy turns three in July, and we’ve enjoyed smooth sailing with regards to his behavior until a few days ago. I saw signs of it a little bit last month, but chalked it up to being tired. It seems that everything he doesn’t want to do is now the end of the world! He lays on the floor and cries about whatever it is he doesn’t want to do, he attempts to negotiate “two minutes” for everything! He tried to throw a tantrum in the store a few days ago, but I told him we’d go home & not be able to do fun things if he didn’t act like a big boy, he quickly calmed down.
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