Toddler Bed Turmoil

We did great until Wednesday night. Fuss would go to bed, cuddle a little with Mommy, and go to sleep with me right there (in the bed) with her. Wednesday, she woke up at 4 a.m. and WOULD NOT go back to sleep!! I finally climbed in bed (hers) with her and she fell asleep a little after 5. She was awake again at 6 and Daddy brought her to bed with us.

Thursday, she wouldn't go to bed until after midnight. She then proceeded to wake up every 3-4 hours crying. Luckily, I was able to give her the pacifier and she would stop.

Friday, she went to bed on time but was very restless.

Saturday, we had friends visiting so she missed her "normal" bedtime. (Let me add here that she had also nose-dived from my couch to the coffee table around 1 p.m. and had to be taken to urgent care. We were told to check her for signs of concussion every 2 hours. I am NOT waking up a sleeping kid to shine a flashlight in their eyes, for crying out loud!) Fuss finally went to bed around 10 p.m. An hour past her usual bedtime, but not bad. However, I didn't have to worry at all about waking her every 2 hours to check on her...she woke up every 45 minutes until almost 2 a.m.! I passed out at that point from sheer exhaustion after being up cleaning with a Fuss running around since 8 a.m., 2 doctor's visits, and then checking on her for hours straight. Daddy stayed up late to get ready for work, though, so he kept an eye/ear out for her for a few more hours.

That all brings us to tonight. Sunday. Daddy went back to work. Fuss decided she wasn't going to go to sleep tonight. She cried for me to cuddle in her bed. She cried to "go potty." She cried for water and for food. She threw the binky JUST so she could go get it. 9:30 this started. I decided she was going to lay down and I held my hand on her gently but firmly so she couldn't wander anymore. She cried for "Mommy" even though I was sitting beside her. At 9:45, I walked out. I couldn't handle the crying any longer. I shut the door and I left. Fuss chased me and started banging on the door, screaming at the top of her lungs. She lost her voice due to the screaming and the sore throat she's had for the last 4 days. I listened to some music on headphones to calm myself before attempting anything else. She cried for 15 minutes straight, alternately banging on the door and trying to scream. I feel like complete sh*t.

Finally, I give up. I go in and get her. She tries talking to me asking for "Binky" but her voice is so frail and raspy she can barely get it out. Yup. Mom of the year material. I end up rocking her. I got her calm and sat down with her in my lap on her bed. Next, I put her butt on the bed but keep her head close to my chest. Then I put her down on her pillow with my arm still under her head. I slide off the bed to sit on my knees on the floor. I think to myself, "Great. I hope I don't get stuck like this all night." As I slide my arm out, my sleeve gets stuck under her head and pulls her slightly as I move. Her eyes pop open and she grabs me. So, I put my hand on her hip and start patting her butt. She calms down slowly. I can finally move my hand away from her face. Pat, pat, pat, pat. I pull the blanket up over her and finally stop patting but leave my hand in place for a few more minutes. When I am sure she's out, I slowly start to move away from the bed. I have to crawl because my legs are too numb to walk. Across the room to the door I go. Turn the knob. Step out quickly (on my still-wobbly legs) and close the door quietly. SUCCESS!! It took 20 minutes but I got her to sleep!

I'm not really sure if I'm going to survive this whole sleep transition thing if it keeps up like this. I thought the Dora sheets would help her see it's awesome having a "big girl" bed and she'd want to stay there. I was wrong, apparently. She loves being in it in the day time, but won't nap there, and the second we mention bed time, she freaks out. And I wonder why I'm getting gray hair at 29.

Wordless Wednesday

Toddler bed!

Happy Future Wipe Liniment Review

I received this sample from Happy Future to review as part of a sampler package. Since Fuss has been starting to PL, we have been staying away from cloth wipes in favor of toilet paper and disposable wipes. However, she recently had a few days where she didn't want to use the potty at all. No problemo!

Then, she decided apple juice was her drink of choice for the day. I knew better, but in order to keep the peace I gave her 4 (sippy) cups of apple juice. Oh, dear... LOL. The following day, Fuss pooped SOOOOOOO many times we could barely get a clean diaper on her before she filled it again! I ended up using her cloth wipes with the stickiest poop with the Liniment on them. It worked really well!

The liniment is the consistency of runny lotion. This actually makes it really great for squirting on the wipe before wiping baby's bottom. You can also squirt it directly on baby to loosen super stuck "stuff." I used both methods depending on my needs at the time. The liniment is also a great protectant! It coats the skin very lightly with the natural oils it is made from. I think it would make a great nail/cuticle conditioner! LOL. Fuss had no reaction to this liniment, nor did she mind when I put it on her directly. As opposed to sprays, she didn't seem to notice this on her. Sometimes when I spray her she will jump and giggle as the spray hits her. The liniment at least kept her in one place on the changing table.




Also, as with all Happy Future products, the liniment is certified organic!

I'm very glad I had the opportunity to review this product for BunnyBerry and Happy Future! Do you have any questions or concerns I missed? Let me know in the comments!

To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool

Although I do realize it is several years before Fuss heads off to school, I find myself leaning more toward homeschooling. It's not necessarily for the reasons you would think. I vaccinate, so that's not an issue. I do not care that she isn't being taught "values" in school. That's what parents are for anyway. The things I am most concerned about run more along the lines of the quality of education she will receive knowing just how bad a lot of the schools are now. Our state isn't the lowest-ranked in the nation when it comes to education. Apparently, we're somewhere in the middle, around #34 (source). I'm not 100% certain that's where WV ranks since most of the sites are membership-only and won't show a comprehensive national average. However, I know that thanks to the "No Child Left Behind Act" many children who are already considered "advanced" are turned down for pre-school and Kindergarten based solely on if their birthdays fall a few days short of the deadline while those considered "delayed" or "mentally retarded" are often shoved into a school ill-equipped to handle them. Each teacher is responsible for 30 students and usually has at least 1 "special ed" kid in their classroom. Most are not allowed to have aides. The aides that are available are generally required to be with the worst students. Don't get me wrong, I believe EVERY CHILD should be educated! However, I think each child's education needs to be tailored more individually than our current system allows.

This is why I'm considering homeschooling. I want Fuss to have every opportunity to excel that I can grant to her. How can we expect 30 children to learn exactly the same way and at the same rate? It is improbable, if not impossible, to expect ANY of those children to learn ANYTHING! I still remember sitting at my desk doodling during many of my classes because I was bored with the teaching style. Plus, so much of it was repetitive. I learned the same Geography lessons from fifth grade to eighth! Hubby can read things and has a near-photographic memory for them. He got bored quickly in school. I was the people-pleaser, the "A" student, the one all the teachers wanted. I know my Fuss. She has the potential to be an "A" student. She also has the (very real) potential to be a troublemaker if bored or unfocused. How do I expect her to handle being advanced when she is forced to sit and listen to the same lecture five times due to a few students who can't keep up? Every child is different. Every situation is different. I think if our school systems could understand that, we would do a lot better.

That still leaves me with the question stated initally: To homeschool or not to homeschool? At this point, I don't know. I'm doing my research and looking for insight. Fuss can already count to 7 and says her alphabet up to J by herself. Yes, I am biased. I also know that our 90-year-old pediatrician is impressed with her each time we go in. I know she has wonderful manners and other people find her quite pleasant. I want her to have the opportunity to do dance, cheer, play soccer, anything she wants. I just don't want to be the reason she is stopped from any of those things by my choices now.

Any advice from my loyal followers? Links to great homeschool sites or groups? Please post below!

Today was the Day

I took Fuss out to Wal-Mart (or Hell-Mart, however you choose to see it) this evening to pick out her new bedding. She is in her toddler bed now, so she gets to make the "big girl" decision of how she wants her room decorated! I put her in the buggy (shopping cart for those non-hillbillies) and wheel her over to the shelf of sheets.

She immediately points to Dora and yells loud enough for the rest of the store to hear, "DORA!!!!"

Then I tell her, "You can pick out your sheets for your bed, for 'Fuss's' bed. Which ones do you want? You can pick one: Fairies, Princess, Dora, or Minnie." I pointed at each one in turn. This is met with a very intense look and a "Hmmm." She studies them carefully. I see her look at Minnie, but her attention doesn't stay there long. She looks at the Disney Fairies. Same story. It's all down to the Disney Princesses or Dora.

She looks at me, pointing, and asks, "Princess?"

My reply? "If you want Princess on your bed, you can get it. It's going on YOUR BED. So, are you sure you want Princess? You pick."

She stands there another few minutes. I can see her thinking this over and looking from one to the other, back and forth. "Dora?" she says.

"If that's what you want, you can have it. You pick one: Dora or Princess."

"DORA!" she yells, not quite so loud this time, as she points to the Dora sheets.

"Are you sure?" I ask her. She responds with a smile and a nod and repeats Dora. "Okay, we'll get Dora!"

Yes, I actually had the above conversation with my not-yet-2-year-old. She had actually picked the Dora set out online before we went to Wal-Mart and HUGGED my laptop going "Awwww, Dora!" the second she saw it. Do I believe she understood everything I said to her? Not quite everything, but it was enough that she knew she could choose for herself. I admit, it was really interesting watching her make the decision when she could see the prints right there in front of her. Online, she could have cared less about the princesses. In real life, it was a completely different matter! Not to mention, as we walked through the rest of the store, she would point to Disney Princesses and go "Princess!" just as often as she would point to Dora. Apparently, this was a really difficult decision! In another couple years we will probably be changing her room to princess stuff from Dora, but for now she's happy (and hugged her sheets on the way out of the store) and that's all that really matters.

**And, in case you were wondering, last night Fuss slept in her toddler bed all night! She didn't wake up at all until almost 9:30 this morning. Of course, the second she woke up today, I heard "Mommy" and the patter of little feet running to the door. Her door was not latched, so she opened it and ran to her kitchen to play. Nap time wasn't quite so easy, though. She got up twice before I finally rocked her to sleep and placed her in the bed.

1500+ Fan-stravaganza!

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My munchi by Leslie Tolhurst-Greyson
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Hip Girl Bowtique by Nikki Powell
Kalypso Twist by Amber Hill
Scrunch Nose Sews by Ashleigh Harvey
Mother Natural by Desiray Walker
Llama's Bowtique by Niki Ledford Woofter

Goodbye, Baby...Hello, Toddler!

Okay, I know officially that Fuss is already a toddler. She's past 1 and walking. However, she was still in her crib. I figured as long as she wasn't climbing out, I wasn't going to transition her to the toddler bed setting (we have a convertible crib that goes all the way to a full size bed). She was great until recently. A couple weeks ago she started pulling herself up on the railing. Then, she would try to get her foot up over the railing. No big deal. She couldn't even potentially reach.

But in the last 2 weeks, she has gained another tooth AND at least 1" in height. I didn't think anything of it. Until today. This morning Fuss pulled up and put her foot over the railing on her crib! Had I not been standing right there, she would have fallen on her head. Joy. Now it's time to get the side rail out and set up her toddler-stage bed.

Personally, I am NOT ready for this. I am not ready for Fuss to get out of bed on her own in the middle of the night and come get mommy and daddy. I am not ready for her to be up at God-knows-what-hour in the morning running through the house. *I* am not ready. But she is. So, as usual, we follow her lead.


Now, to convince Daddy it needs done today....