Potty training - Day 1

So, the posts are going to be late, sorry. It is because of the way the training is being conducted and because I don't want to miss telling how something really went.

Overall, it is going ok. A few accidents, but not nearly as many as I thought there would be. When the eBook says to get over 20 undies, they are not kidding! We went through 5 in the first 2 hours! Thankfully, it slowed down after she got used to having them and having us tell her to, "Let daddy know when you have to go potty."

The problem I'm finding is that during the rest times, nap and sleep, she is saying she needs to potty and doesn't. I think it's because she is trying to stay up longer and knows that we rush her to the bathroom. So, we'll have to address that, but other than that, it's been quite simple.

I have found that my patience is not running thin with her, but it is with Mama, Just a little. I've found that I need to take a breath and not get short with my wife. She makes suggestions and it's contrary to the book, that she didn't read, and it just bothers me. I really need to pray about my heart in this respect. I don't want to cause a division over something so small.

So far, the tally of the Accidents, Half way (started to have an accident, but stopped her self and we made it to the bathroom and success is as follows:

                  Accident               Half way             Success
Day 1            12                          2                        8            

Doesn't look too bad in my opinion!
                          
Anyone else training have similar issues? Or have you used the "3 day" method? please let me know and how you were able to handle it!

Potty training... *GULP*

So, there is a book called "3 Day Potty Training" and I've read it! Emma, has not been potty trained as of yet, and she is about the age (21 almost 22 months) recommended in the book (22 months) to start training. She is showing all the signs and has been for a while, and has also been using the bathroom a bit every now and again, but we haven't done any method.

I'm in high hopes that this book can help me get it done. She went to bed tonight 12/29/13 at 8pm and her last drink was at 6PM. So, she ideally should wake up dry, and then I'll change her and she'll be out of her Cloth diapers for ever!

Truth be told, I'm tired of hand washing them and the covers and this'll be a great reprieve between her and her sister, Annabella Marie, who was born on 12/14.

Below is a link to her the books site:
http://www.3daypottytraining.com/
also, don't forget to check me out on FB and share if you enjoy it!
1 last also, pray for me!!!! I'm going to need it while I teach our new "Big Girl" how to do it like mommy and daddy.

Stitches...

We went to the doctor and finally got the stitches out. I'm so thankful that our little one is so tough. The doctor was even impressed with how well she handled the removal. The only problem we had was that she kept wanting to see what the doc was up to.

A poke at the head and she'd turn to look up and see what the doc was doing. That was the worst of it. Have you ever had a moment like this or are we just really blessed with how well this one behaves and are in a world of hurt with the next one?

Attack of the House???

Its been a long and hard night. You finally are able to put the baby to sleep. You gently lay her down and tip toe out of the room, knowing that any sound in the dead of the night just might wake her.

1 strep, good. 2nd step, still good. Third step, crick. You pause and release that breath you had been holding and take an even deeper one as you try to take another. Then, every step after that the house cracks under your footfalls and the baby starts to stir and as you get even farther way you can hear her no longer stirring, but starting to pout...

In a final, ditch, effort, you hustle even faster out of the door and thou make it to the hall way when the whole floor goes CRACK! And the little one goes into full on crying. Anyone else's home out for blood or is it just mine?

Glass Bottles Review - Lifefactory

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today will be the first of several product reviews. I plan on reviewing:
Cloth diapers
Glass Bottles
Diapers covers
Baby toys
and more!

Starting us off will be Lifefactory's Glass bottles:

Price
@ $16.99 for 9 oz bottles and 14.99 for 4 oz bottles, they certainly are not the cheapest on the market. The package deals do offer some off, but you really have to shop around to find the best deal. We bought ours at a local shop, but Amazon.com has some great pricing for them. The nipples are not universal and must be Lifefactory, and the sippy caps are also expensive at $8.99 for 2.

Cosmetics
The bottles do look fantastic. Many people that see them are impressed with how clean the look is and feel. They also come in an array of colors. Note that the colors are very limited. As I'm writing this, there are only 7 colors in the 9 oz sleeves and 8 colors in the 4 oz sleeves, but regardless, they do look pretty cool.

Durability
The bottles themselves are very durable and can withstand drops from various heights. We personally have dropped them several times on concrete, tile and hardwood. While the bottles themselves can take a beating the white caps can not. For 4 of our bottles, on the 1st drop we lost 2 white caps, then later another 2. Then, we lost another as I was fastening it to the bottle. It was possibly already damaged, but I've never had that happen with another brand. Again, everything for this product is pricey if you're on a budget as we are. Like all things glass, the bottles do break. Yes, we have dropped them onto cement, but that doesn't mean that on the 1st or 11th time they won't break. Just know, it will happen. We had one break in the bag.

Practicality
The bottles, even without the sleeves are heavy. My daughter, very muscular, never liked to hold them by herself and often would have them slip through her tiny fingers. The bottle white caps can be tightened and loosened to increase or decrease the flow. If the cap is too tight, the baby will have issues with sucking the milk through, and if it's too loose, then the milk may spill out. The bottles can be used as a sippy, but if your child has a "hard suck" then the rubber stopper can get twisted and close the flow or fall off leaving a wide open flow to pour all over the place. You can drop them, but again with all glass they can break.

Conclusion
Overall, the Lifefactory Glass bottles are an excellent purchase if you don't worry about a budget and can afford to put a couple hundred down to start you off. They are very durable, more than Evenflo, and they feel like they can make it through multiple babies. That being said, they are pricey and weight too much. You can't really lug around 3 or 4 of the bottles in sleeves as they are very bulky and heavy, and you certainly don't want to take them out of the sleeves and leave them exposed to... well life. Will I use them again? Yes. Will I purchase more? The short answer is, "No". There are other bottles that are less expensive, but not as durable, but with the money you save, you can buy 5 additional bottles.

Wounded

Well, we made it 17 months before my daughter got a serious wound. She, unfortunately, tripped over a big pillow from the living room while it was in our bedroom and went face first into the corner of our bed.

Poor baby had to wait at the hospital for several hours, thankfully we have health insurance as they out us on the fast track, but it still took a long time to get through. Then, the nurses had to clean it and immediately told his she'll need stitches. I always wondered how they did the stitches on babies but I never wanted to find out.

The doc came in, and told us what they would do and the time it would take to before they could begin. The nurse then gave Emma some cream that went onto the cut to numb it then gave us a sarrenge of medicine. We just called it loopy juice. They said unit makes them act funny and calms them, and possibly puts them to bed, we were hoping for the latter.

She got a little loopy, but it didn't hit her hard at all. She was talking like normal, and acted perfectly fine. The entire trip there and wait she was fine. Thankfully she didn't start vomiting or throwing a huge fit. I honestly think babies handle it better than adults do.

When the 30 mins had past the head nurse wrapped her like a burrito, and just as a recurrence she hates to be swaddled, and hates to be pinned. Then, he asked me to hold her arms down while mama tried to comfort her and the nurse held her head fully pinning her down. Thankfully, my mom was there immediately from her work and helped us with her. Mama did good and almost lost it when Emma looked up at her and said, "mama" with tear filled eyes pleading her to stop the pain. The tears welled up in mama's eyes as she fought the instant instinct to comfort her. 

The doctor put the needle through slowly cause my daughter is very strong for her age and was able to push her head around several times. to top it off she was still crying hard and her sniffling for air made her body jump. The doctor, with precision, was able to finish it. It's been only a day and it feels like it was just yesterday... oh, wait. It was. What's the worst injury your child has sustained? I know this won't be the last, but I hope nothing worst is still to come.

Cloth Diaper Fail

Like everything in life it's an experiment that your are performing or someone else has already performed. Cloth diapering is no different.

My wife and I were trying to find the best way to clean our diaper covers. We were starting to have issues with them leaking more and more and we wanted to see if there is a better way, shy of hands washing. We came across a site that said putting the wash on high heat would clean them better, diapers and covers, and then hang them on the line. We did and the next day my daughter went through 5 covers! And by the 5th cover the day wasn't even over.

What had we done? Turns out reading the label is a useful thing and you should do it. If you don't feel like it, it says, "Machine/hand wash cold to medium water only." High heat didn't shrink them, but pulled the coating off our Bububibi causing them to leak far more than they ever had. We washed them with the cloth diapers. 

Thankfully we didn't wash them all that way, but after going to the sight it seems as though everything is bad for this brand. Don't leave them in a moist area, don't leave them in sunlight, once dry remove from dryer immediately. Really this is a bit considering we sometimes start the dryer before we head out and have them dried before we get back, but we'll make changes to keep these working as long as possible. We are going to give the Flip brand a shot and let you know how that goes.

I may begin to hand wash the diapers just to ensure we can get the longest life out of them. How are you washing them and what results are you getting?

Here are some trusted sites that we have personally used to purchase cloth diapers. Enjoy!
Ibabydepot.com
Thegreennursery.com
Nickisdiapers.com
Theecochicboutique.com

She's still asleep!!!

With all the help I got from the last post (None!) my wife and I have come up with a way that just might get her to sleep, but not just sleep, sleep the entire night!

After we brush our teeth and say our prayers, generally it's only 8pm, but since my father-in-law is in town helping and teaching me about repairs around the house, she's been going to bed between 9pm to 10pm. It seems to be working! I'm excited as we are on the third night of not waking in the middle of the night!

If this continues to be true, then it'll be her new bed time. If not, then it's back to the drawing board and I'm still turning to the people reading this for help. What time is your sweet spot and what time does your child wake up in the mornings?

What is a normal Night?

Its been tough putting Emma to sleep. A lot of the issues are from us jumping at her waking, as my wife put it, 'it breaks my heart to hear her cry.' She would say that she couldn't be heartless and now even today, or tonight as I'm writing this, we are suffering.

Experts and other parents have said that wee just need them to cry it out, but its just not that simple when it's your first. We should have listened and now we have a little girl that's almost 17 months old that still doesn't sleep through the night, but a hand full of times a month. We developed a bad habit in our child, we own that, but we are struggling to have normal nights.

What is a normal night? To us, its a crying baby at 1am, then again at 6am. I've started staying awake until she wakes up the 1st time so that my wife can get a good nights rest. Then she wakes up at 5 and Emma wakes at 5:30-ish.

I suppose it's better than it had been. When used to wake at 11pm then again last 1am and stay awake until 3am-ish. I'm thankful we have moved from that, but we just can't seem to find that sweet spot that'll get her full nights rest going forward. With another one on the way, we can't keep this up and something has to change. Can anyone offer some helpful advise? We are thinking it's teething, and are giving her some Tylenol, but she is still waking.

HELP!

Some simple signs. Video

I hope you enjoy this 1st video.

The signs that are shown are:
Orange
Cookie
Banana
Orange
More
and both baby sign and baby Spanish
Done
Food

If there are other signs that you want to see next time, please feel free post them in the comments section of the video or this post. You can also e-mail me at the247daddy@gmail.com

Almost Witnessed

Just a story today, but a lesson leaned, none the less.

Emma and I hopped out of the shower and we go to her room to get her diapered and clothed. Then, as we are coming out of the hallway towards the formal dining room the doorbell rings.

I'm in a towel! And, to make things better, my daughter decides she wants to play a game of pull off the towel! The front door is just before the dining room and the only way to get to my clothes is to cross the dining room and go past the door, that happens to have a glass designed window, so you can see in if you are looking and to top it off, I had the good sense to open the window that is next to the door opened and there were 2 people at the door, one dangerously close to the window!

I paused for a bit. Good they weren't peeking. (side note: its rude to peek into someone's home! Have we forgotten this?) Just as the guy starts moving towards the window on the door I dash across and make it to the other side. I'll start taking my clothes with me to the shower from now on. Have you ever been caught in a similar situation?

Baby Signlanguage Part 2

Though the "food" and "done" were great, teaching her "more" was extremely useful. She could apply it to drink or bottle, Playing outside or even, as she like to do, "more" Curious George. 

I taught her this by doing the sign while saying the word and then give her the food. It only took a few days and she had 3 very useful words that she could sign.

Needless to say "cookie" was simple for her. I must say, in my experience, that teaching her "cookie" and "banana" so close to each other was a negative.  She now does a "half cookie" and "half banana" for both of them and it has been tough to correct and to be honest,  it hasn't been corrected and she's already 16months.

On Saturday I'll post a vlog of how to sign:
Apple
Orange
More
Food
Done
Cookie
Banana

Along with how I said the words in Spanish so that, if you chose to, you can use these simplified versions of the words.

If there is a word you would like to see please leave it in the comments section, and I'd be more than happy to have them added in another vlog.

The Power of Prayer

I have a faint memory. I'm standing in a pew with my parents and I'm holding my dad's hand. I'm looking around and he squeezes mine it to remind me that were are in the middle of praying. I close my eyes and return to my prayers. I can't say when that happened, but I know that it did happen.

I also remember my mom. Telling me, reminding me that GOD is a GOD that listens and that he's with you and listening to you wherever you go and that you can pray no matter where you are.

I may have fallen away from faith when I got older,but even in my darkest times I never forgot. Those memories and that wisdom was always there, I was just afraid to use it and afraid that I had veered so far off the course that, 'How could GOD ever want me back?' That's literally what I thought and when I felt alone and in the dark. I wanted to be protected and wanted to have peace, but why would GOD want someone like me?

Now that I am older and I have actually read the Bible, I found in John 3:16 it says that 'GOD so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, and who so believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.' It wasn't just for the people with clean backgrounds, or the pastors or the people that spent their lives in church. It was for everyone. I know that people were praying for my salvation and because of prayer I was able to come to the Father and be forgiven of my sins and the burdens of my past and all of my sins were placed on Jesus when he died at the cross. That was his point in coming to Earth as a man and the entire point of him dying on the cross. To save and to free us from the sins that bound us.

A great joy I have as a parent is that before we eat and before we go to bed and randomly throughout the day, Emma loves to grab our hands a bow her head and she just waits. I don't know if she's praying in her mind or not, but I do know that she's waiting on me to lead in prayer. We can't start eating until we've prayed. I hope and prayer is that she learn from my mistake, and that she never have to feel the loneliness and unrest of being away from the Prince of Peace. I my hope and prayer is that she never forgets.

Baby Signlanguage part 1

When I first heard of this,  my wife used to work at a daycare,  I was blown away. Then I saw the movie that had it and was like,  'I can do that!' So I decided that when the baby was old enough I would teach her some sign language.

She was around 4mo old when she learned "done", and I used a trick I had learned from helping raise my niece, Lauren now 13, and was able too teach my daughter to sign done using an ESL and Spanish combination.

I'm not an expert at Spanish, in fact I only know a hand full of words, but growing up, the words I knew, like caca for poop and moco for booger, I thought they were English.

First is "bah". I can't spell it and I'm not sure if that's the correct way to spell it, but I do know its like saying "done" and through repetition I was able to help her begin her communication.  2nd was "food". I would say, "Bah-pah" which I learned as food, although I'm sure it means potatoes,  and did the sign for food. Sure it took a while, but getting to know that she was hungry and when she was done was a giant leap in a direction that changed the difficulty of being a stay at home.

Have you ever taught your child/children to sign? What was the first word they picked up and how old?

To cloth, or not to cloth diaper?

That is a question isn't it? One that seems daunting, but when thinking about weather or not to use cloth diapers the costs might need to be considered along with the time and the hassle.

We'll start with hassle. Believe it or not, not very many stores carry cloth diapers and even less still, they carry good absorbent type that'll actually do the job and less still if you don't want chemicals to touch you baby's skin. Not to mention the fact that you have to clean them yourselves! (Note: you're supposed to clean the disposable as well, but no one does. At the very least, the big stuff)

The initial cost for 2 dozen Indian pre-folds (there are Chinese pre-folds as well) and 4 covers and a couple all-in-one's was around $200. Then, there is the type of detergent you have to use. It's not just anything you have at home already or you want them to smell like, it has to be non-scented as it can cause some rashes. To add on you have to also change them when they are wet...

GASP! Your child can't walk around with a 10lbs diaper to strengthen their legs? No. The younger kids you can get away with 2 tinkles, but as they get bigger so does their ability to urinate and I don't have to tell you!

With all these negatives is it worth it? The diaper leaks, the constant changing, the soaking the dirty diapers in water, the wet clothes, both you and baby, and the expensive , are they worth the hassle?

Lets look at disposable

They are quick and convenient.  You don't have to clean them and you baby doesn't have a giant bottom because of the cloth and unlike the cloth you don't have to wash them.

But, like the cloth you still get leaks, there are "guaranteed not to leak" markings on the box and yet they still leak. Worst still this was the expensive brand and yet they still leak. You go through multiple brands to find the one that is going to fit and just when you finally discover it, your baby grows and you get to start all over again.

The cost is low, but when you take in the costs of having the proper brand and size and you have to buy 2 to 3 boxes every month at $30 a box, it adds up quickly.Not to mention that if you decide, "Oh, I'll buy in bulk. That'll out smart them!" the baby decides he/she wants to out grow them and then they leak because of that as well!

We have used both and have found that at night,  the disposable work for us as well as when out, but at home the cloth win it. It's not that much of a hassle when they are wet, just change them, and I'm home. If I need more I just have to wash them. We use the covers no matter where we go (not to mention this has saved us from being covered when a diaper EXPLOSION occurs). This formula works for us, what works for you? Do you do some kind of combination or are you a hardcore "clother" with a "stash"?

I will be sharing my experience with baby sign language and what did and didn't work. Hope you check it out.

No Bathroom break

Its 2am and you're half way asleep as you're putting the baby back to sleep from waking up. She's almost out and you know that if you hold out for just a little longer you can finally go back to bed...

Then, for some reason you bladder kicks into 5th gear and screams at you, "Go to the bathroom!" Now you're perspiring and you can't hold it any more. You want to put the baby down, but you know it's just a little too soon. You didn't have to go before they woke, and you didn't have to go 2 minutes ago, but now? Why now?

Am I the only person that has this happen or is there anyone else?

Who, what, why, huh?

Hello,
I'm not perfect, no one is, and I am far from it. Some of you, moms, may be thinking why would I listen to some man that is taking care of his kids, nothing he does is spectacular, or unique and you're right. I'm just a regular guy that happens to be with my daughter, soon to be 2 daughters, 24/7.

I write this blog for 3 reasons to:

     1. Glean wisdom from others that have gone on before me and have done a spectacular job
     2. Keep track of what i have done and what did and didn't work and
     3. Help others that are getting started so they can learn about my successes, but mostly my failures in hopes you, and I, don't repeat them.

I get frustrated as much as the next person and I wake the baby up because I tripped over something and sometimes the crying is more than I can take and I have to pray so that I don't go crazy, but it's part of the journey that we go through as parents. I'll talk about my experiences and what I found worked best for me in hopes they might work for you.

My name is Michael Hernandez, and welcome to my journey. I hope you stick around, we could learn something from each other.