the next step

Where has the time gone? Seriously, where???? Bramley is about to turn two. Secretly, all I can think is WOO HOO; I've kept her alive for TWO YEARS (and I haven't killed my husband in the process)! Thank you for all of your help with this.

What does the future bring? Potty training, moving to a big girl bed, molars, jumping off furniture, giving up the passy, asking to borrow my car keys... I can't even wrap my brain around it.

For now, my biggest challenge has nothing to do with the babe. It's all about managing my life. I feel like I am constantly spinning in circles. Quite frankly, I feel like I have twice as much time as a stay at home mom. I have 8 hours a day where i can control the chaos. Plus, down time means, uninterrupted time to surf the net for birthday gifts, check facebook, start my holiday card excel spreadsheet, pay the bills, read the Strength in Moms blog (go Katie!), while sitting comfortably in my desk chair and not having to bribe a 23 month old with fruit snacks and the promise of more bubbles. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love and adore Bramley. I cherish every minute we are together; but I just don't know if I could keep her engaged from sun up to sun down. I applaud all of you who chose to stay home; you are much stronger than me!

How do you manage it all? What are your tricks? How do you keep sane? Does anyone feel like me or am I just being a cry baby??? Give it to me straight ladies.

One Nap, One Less hour of Freedom

Hey Moms. I know it's been awhile; and it's not because i haven't needed your advice, it's that i haven't had a chance to sit down without my head spinning. What a year 2010 has been. New business for my husband, both of my dogs die from cancer, and my kid continues to be the love of my life. I'll be honest, i am so happy i am still standing.

So, back to what this blog is about. I need your help. The bean is turning 14 months soon, and will be transitioning to the toddler room at daycare any day now; which means, ONE NAP. Yes, it's the dreaded phrase i have been avoiding for months now.

when did you make the transition?

how did you do it?

How long should the nap last?

what time is the best time for nap time?

HELP!

Rejection

I thought being rejected by the boy you liked in high school was the end of the world. Wow, was I completely wrong. As much as it's beautiful watching your baby's face light up when her daddy walks into a room; at some point it just becomes out right annoying!!!! I think I am changing my name to Dada. Better yet; I am going to start believing that Brams thinks my name is Dada. That is the only explanation i can think of!

There is nothing more heart breaking than when Greg needs me to hold her so he can do something; and she immediately starts crying. She doesn't even know what a mean mom i am yet! I was hoping the rejection wouldn't start until I began rockin' out the mom jeans and permed short frosted hairdo in about 12 years.

Ugh.

VOMIT AND MORE VOMIT

We went to the vet the other day and weighed Bramley on the pet scale. is that bad parenting??? we did put down a towel... she's 18.6 pounds! I think some of you had babies that came out at 18.6 pounds, but for us, that's big!!! On to the real reason I am typing.

We have a vomit problem. I think our girl may be bulimic. I know that's not funny, but she seriously throws up A LOT. I'm not talking spit up, i'm talking projectile vomit puke. She will start coughing and choking a little bit, and then boom the flood gates open. Afterwards she is totally fine, like nothing happened. Most of the time she isn't even hungry again.

Did anyone else have this experience? Are we over feeding the poor girl? Is it because of the choking? The doctor said we need to start feeding her less formula and more food, so we are doing that (i think, i'm actually out of town, so i have no clue what my husband is doing). I just want to know if this is something that is possibly normal? None of the baby manuals touch on it, so I am freaked out.

Clothing Optional...

Is it me or did Spring really just skip over us this year? I swear I had the heat on in my house LAST WEEK and it's now 90 degrees!

And this my friends brings me to my new dilemma!!! I am not prepared for summer dressing at all! The daycare has already yelled at me 3 times for dressing Bramley too warm, but it’s 50 degrees when we wake up. I forget that it will end up at 85 by the end of the day. GEEZ.

So, now what I can’t figure out is, what in the hell do I put her in to sleep? I went out and bought one of those summer sleep sacks, but there is no way that is warm enough, right? I know I wouldn’t be warm enough if I was wearing a nightgown and just a cotton blanket.

Help! What do I do??? Do I use a cotton night gown and a fleece sack, or footed pajamas and the cotton sack? I am just way too confused. I literally send 20 minutes a night trying to figure out what to dress her in.

And, during the day, does she need socks? is it trashy to have her hanging around in her bare feet?

Is it trashy just to have her in a onsie with no pants or skirt or something on the bottom?

Why is this so hard... I love clothes. This should be fun for me.

I was in the airport yesterday, so i actually had sometime to sit and just read the newspaper. There was an article in the USA Today on Vitamin D supplements and how breast fed babies do not receive enough Vitamin D.

The article states:
Only 1% to 13% of infants under 1 year now get a vitamin D supplement, available in inexpensive drops, according to a study published online today in Pediatrics.
Those drops are needed, the study says, because only 5% to 37% of American infants met the standard for vitamin D set by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2008: 400international units a day.
Vitamin D strengthens bone and the immune system and also appears to prevent type 1 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, the paper says.
Few breast-fed babies — 5% to 13%, depending on their age — received the recommended amount of vitamin D, researchers estimated...
It continues to say:
Many mothers also are vitamin D-deficient.
A second study in Pediatrics reports that 58% of newborns and 36% of mothers were deficient in vitamin D, according to blood tests. Although taking prenatal vitamins helped, more than 30% of moms who took them were still deficient. Getting lots of sunlight helped raise vitamin D levels in moms, but not in their newborns.
Relatively few pediatricians today talk about vitamin D with parents, says Wendy Sue Swanson, a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital who wasn't involved in the new research. That may be because the pediatrics academy's previous vitamin D recommendation — 200 international units a day, set in 2003 — was easier to meet, Swanson says.

My pediatrician has not spoken to me about Vitamin D. Since I sit in an windowless office everyday, I have to be one of those deficient moms mentioned above.
Did you supplement?

When to stop Swaddling?

Mommies - i need your help. I love Happiest Baby on the Block and quite frankly feel it's methods are a God send, but the one thing Dr. Karp doesn't teach you is to how to STOP SWADDLING. I know it's time, or i think it's time, but i am afraid of the wrath that putting Bramley to bed without a swaddle will bring. We are not using an actual swaddle, we are using those life saving sleep sacks with the wings. I call it the swaddling for dummies blanket which i desparately needed since to this day i am afraid to swaddle tight enough with an actual swaddling blanket.

So, your help please! When did you stop swaddling at night? how bad was it? how long did it take for the baby to adjust? Any advice would be MOST appreciated.

Thanks Village.

(and the picture i found on the internet, how cute is that little snuggled bug!!!)