Holistic Mommy

Summer is here! We've been to the beach three days in a row now! I spent $20 on sunscreen for her - Ombrelle Kids is what is widely recommended in this neck of the woods. Her Aunty bought her the cutest little red polka dot bikini. It was fun to watch her experience sand for the first time. On Saturday, our first day at the beach, she would take it and try to shove it in her mouth (of course). When she crawled over it she wouldn't let her knees touch the ground - just like the first time she crawled over grass! We figured our challenge all summer long would be keeping the sand out of her mouth! But yesterday, her second day at the beach, we noticed the sand wasn't going into her mouth so much. Instead, she would dig her little hands into the sand and scrunch them up over and over again (like she was squishing one of those stress balls!). At one point, she would take a handful of sand, and dump it on my chest. She did this over and over again. Today the sand was old news a...

I took my nine month old to baby massage today! A baby store here in town offered massage lessons for parents. So I put her in her fluffy pink robe, hopped in the car -- and when we walked in the door announced, "we're here for our massage!" The massage was a lot of fun. I enjoyed getting out and trying something new. There was one other baby being massaged at the same time. The massage therapist had us slather coconut oil all over our hands and then, starting with babies legs, she went through teaching us proper techniques. I can't tell if she liked it or not! With her being a crawler and with so many neat distractions in the store, massaging her was pretty challenging! The other baby was not yet mobile and I was a little envious of her parents! The massage therapist explained that while adults get very relaxed and sleepy during a massage, babies tend to get quite fussy before they 'crash'. I though that was quite interesting and good to know for whe...

We came up with a new game today. It's called "Charge!" We are staying at Little One's Aunty and Uncle's house this week. New places always excite her and yesterday, when she was crawling around the floor checking things out, she got a burst of energy. She looked at me, let out a holler and then crawled as fast as she could across the room. It looked like she was a charging bull! It was too cute. Then today, as she was crawling around, I wanted to see if I could get her to charge again. I got down onto all fours, on the opposite side of the room, and hollered, "CHARGE!" I crawled as fast as I could toward her. She thought it was so funny. I did it again and she laughed her little toosh off. I kept doing it over and over. She laughed so hard she snorted! Haha, I love not being at home because then I have so much time to spend with her and make up dorky little games together.

Oh my gosh there's so much to do!!!!!!! I'm moving tomorrow and thought I'd be ready to go by now! Although, I am to the point where I just need to put everything into the truck (after I take the winter tires out). I have to go say goodbye to the neighbours - and clean up the dogcrap at the bottom of the stairs (one of the dogs had a diarrhea attack in the middle of the night and honestly, it's not at the top of my priority list). I'm in the process of finding a temporary home for the doggies so I have to make a phone call or two. I'm playing nurse to baby's dad who just had double knee surgery. One nice thing about that though, is that he's laid up on a queen size mattress in the middle of the living room floor so, baby just crawls around him until she needs me and I am able to get a whole lot done. Today, I really understand what it's like to be a mom!

Separation anxiety is here! Yikes! I'm very well aware of separation anxiety; I've learned a ton about it in school as well as talked to many parents on this phenomenon but, wow! They really do cry - no, wail - almost every time you leave the room, go around the corner or even duck behind furniture. It's tough! I warned my husband that this would happen around nine months of age. He understands why it happens but still feels bad, and often takes it personally when he can't calm our baby himself. It sometimes makes him feel as though he hasn't bonded with our baby. The other day I had to bust out one of my child development textbooks to remind him why no one but myself can calm her down. We read that this is a really scary time for babies as they're just realizing that they are separate from their mothers (or other main caregiver). They don't understand that the mother will come back; they're scared that they're never going to see them again. It...

So, I’m in the local thrift store looking for housewares for our home renovation project when I come across an Evenflo Snuggli babycarrier. It’s in fabulous condition but with no price tag. I took the carrier off the shelf, brought it up to the counter and asked the cashier for a price. She looked it over, thought a moment and then said, “how about one dollar?” I nearly fell over. Keeping my cool I said, “one dollar sounds good”. I handed her a loonie, tucked the carrier under my arm and got out of there as fast as I could before she could realize she just let me rob her. That was yesterday. Today, I’m in my favorite store of all time – Value Village. I’m scanning through different fabrics and what do I stumble across, mixed in with my future kitchen curtains? A ‘Baby Wear’ sling looking brand new and wanting so badly to go home with me. How much? Three dollars and ninety-nine cents. At this point I’m starting to think someone’s playing a prank on me. I mean really, two sl...

Oh my goodness she has become so squirmy; diaper changes have become nearly impossible! There is just so much going on around her that distracts her from the task at hand that our once intimate diaper changes have since become battles! There was a time when I'd lay her down for a change, we'd make eye contact and she'd smile back at me. I'd go through all her favorite songs and before you knew it, she was dry, happy, and ready to go. These days however, it is a different story. I lay her down and she'll often let out a wail; she doesn't enjoy being on her back. So, I pick her up bounce her up and down until she laughs and then try again. It usually takes three tries before I can lay her down and have her be OK with it. If she is OK with being layed down, she'll immediately flip onto her side reaching for anything she can get ahold of and, as a result, stretching her little body to the point that she's turned herself into the letter 'C'. I t...