Still, try to tell that to a 5-year-old “big boy” who is sobbing at his bedside because the pull-ups make his bum itch and he WILL go to the potty before bedtime and he WILL try very hard not to wet the bed. Just PLEASE NO PULL-UP!

So, last night I gave in. And I was up at 3 a.m. yanking sheets of his bed. My son cried, “I’m sorry Mommy. I’m sorry.” How can you fuss at an adorable, soggy little kid after he says that? I put him back in dry underpants and parked him in the upholstered glider my husband thinks we should get rid of; took the wad of wet sheets and threw them over the banister to the foyer downstairs; went to the linen closet to get fresh sheets where I knocked over one of those long, skinny fluorescent light bulbs that had no business being propped up in there anyway; grunted loudly as I fought to stretch on the mattress a clean pad, fitted sheet, flat sheet, blanket, and two pillow cases; threw the cat out of the room because she apparently found the whole bed-making process amusing; and carried my darling little boy back to his bed and tucked him in. Then I dashed downstairs and checked to see if my husband was still breathing. He was. (Why can’t I sleep like that? Oh yeah…that mother thing.)

I must have drifted back off to sleep at some point because I was jolted back awake at 5:45 a.m. by sobs coming from my little boy’s room. And once again I was yanking sheets off the bed. I swear, I thought his bladder was empty after that last wetting!

Today, I’m up to my bra straps in laundry and am really starting to wonder what we’ll do tonight at bedtime. I wonder if a few days of middle-of-the-night sheet-changings might cure him of this habit. I’m not sure I’m up for another night of sleeplessness, though, or another day of laundering. I need to buy one of those parenting books. I need … I need… a nap.

Post from: Blisstree

A soggy, filthy mess to be in

My son has always been somewhat of an active sleeper. Sometimes he laughs at night, sometimes he chatters away. Other nights he screams violently. These are the most difficult to handle, as you can image. We’ll find him flailing around in his bed as if being attacked by a thousand invisible spiders. I reach out to hold and comfort him but he sees me coming and starts kicking and throwing his fists and shouting, “No! No! Go away!” I often end up with scratches on my face and bruises on my arms. Just like the laughter, his screams stop suddenly and he drifts right back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

I soon learned these were night terrors. My girlfriend Cyndi was the first person to tell me about them. Her husband suffers from them – a rarity for an adult – and she tells vivid stories of how he leaps out of bed at night and tries to climb the wall or chase the ceiling fan. After minutes – which seem like hours – he’s back in bed asleep and in the morning he remembers nothing.

Though they are frightening to witness, night terrors are not serious and most kids grow out of them by the time they reach school age. If you suspect your child suffers from night terrors, discuss it with your doctor. There are some things you can do to prevent them, like waking your child during the night. I’m not so much a fan of waking a sleeping giant, but to each his own. Here’s another helpful resource I found online, the Healthy Place.

I haven’t met many people whose kids have night terrors. Let me know if any of you have experienced it and how you cope with them.

(Photo: Flickr, LovelyPetals)

Post from: Blisstree

Night terrors…and boys that go HA! in the night

I’m sure no one really flat out LOVES going to the doctor and dentist and whatnot, but I really seriously hate going. I always find myself wishing for a good reason to cancel, something like, “oh the car isn’t working, can’t get there! Time to reschedule!”

Today we have dentist appointments, just a regular check-up. I’d rather stay home, thanks. On top of my dislike of these necessary appointments, today’s appointment in particular sucks because of the time. I generally try to book them for the morning, preferably first thing. I’m not much of a morning person, but my kids are and that’s the best time for everyone.

Unfortunately, the only time slot available was 1 pm. Do you know how ridiculous that is? I live far enough away from the dentist office that I have to leave an hour early. On top of that, Montreal is under massive last-minute “quick let’s do some construction before Winter hits!” so we need to leave 15 minutes earlier than THAT because heaven forbid you’re late or you might end up bumped to the very end of the day, at which point I might get homicidal.

That means we have to leave at the time that my little one is usually going down for a nap. She hates dentists and doctors as it is, so I have to hope that she’ll fall asleep in the car so that she isn’t exhausted on top of scared and annoyed. We’re also leaving at the time that I generally prepare lunch for the older one, and we’ll still be at the dentist when the little one would normally be waking up for her lunch too. Since it’s the dentist, they can’t really eat while they sit in the waiting room.

And speaking of waiting rooms, don’t even get me started on the fact that the big girl starts school next Tuesday and waiting rooms are a cesspool of random illnesses so I’ll have to spend the next week crossing fingers, praying, and sacrificing goats in the hopes that she doesn’t come down with something the day before grade one starts.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who not only doesn’t enjoy these appointments but stresses about them to this extreme! And wish me luck!

(photo: sxc.hu)

Post from: Blisstree

Kids and appointments

[image: sxc]

Round 1 was a blast and we have a lot of great stuff to give away for kids now! With summer break looming we need all the help we can get keeping the kids entertained and safe at the same time. Below you’ll find some fantastic products to help us out!

To Enter:

To enter, simply leave a comment in this entry. That’s it!

Each prize or prize pack (as specified) will have one winner unless otherwise stated, and your one entry will make you eligible to win any below items!

This giveaway will run until midnight PDT Saturday, June 7th, and winners will be chosen randomly and announced on Sunday, June 8th.

One entry per household, please! We actually had one person from the last round who was chosen as a winner until we discovered she’d entered seven times. WE DO CHECK!

Please make sure you leave a valid email address in the email field so I can contact you if you win.

The Prizes:

In no particular order, here’s what you can win!

Prize #1

Exergen TemporalScanner™

The Exergen TemporalScanner is a a battery-operated infrared thermometer that is transforming the way parents take temperature—without resorting to rectal thermometers or waking sleeping infants. The Exergen TemporalScanner gives a temperature reading with accuracy comparable to a rectal thermometer, but is so gentle, even sleeping babies won’t be awakened. An easy, two-second “swipe” across the forehead is the only action needed to measure temperature. With two dozen studies attesting to its accuracy and reliability, almost 30 percent of hospitals and physicians are currently using the Exergen TemporalScanner and recommending it to their patients.

Prize #2

Funky Monkey Snacks

New Funky Monkey Snacks are freeze dried fruit – all natural, with no added sugar, preservatives, colors or flavors. They are gluten-free, wheat-free and dairy-free. They come in four delicious flavors: Bananamon (banana and cinnamon), Carnaval Mix (banana, pineapple, apple, papaya and raisins), Jivealime (pineapple and lime juice) and Purple Funk (banana and acai berries). (Açai, a berry from the Brazilian rainforest, is considered to be one of nature’s true superfoods and is loaded with antioxidants, amino acids, essential omegas, fibers and protein.)

Prize #3

Mom’s Summer Survival Pack from CVS/pharmacy

The “Mom’s Summer Survival Pack” from CVS/pharmacy can help mom survive the summer! The pack contains:

~ PLAYSKOOL Wash or Toss Sippy Cups: Great to throw in a bag for wherever your travels take you – restaurants, the playground, family parties and everywhere in between. Plus, you can wash ‘em or toss ‘em without guilt since you can pick up a 6-pack for $4.49!

~ CVS/pharmacy Hand Sanitizing Spray Pen for Kids: If you have an active kid, you never know what they are going to get into – make sure they are prepared for every potentially sticky situation with this kid-friendly solution that is alcohol-free and kills 99% of germs instantly. Plus, its cool design makes it easy to fit into a purse, backpacks, lunchboxes, or even to be clipped onto a kid’s pocket.

~ PLAYSKOOL Cottony Cloths: All moms know that baby wipes aren’t just for babies! Keep a travel pack of Cottony Cloths handy and be prepared for those inevitable spills and messes.

~ CVS/pharmacy Continuous Clear Spray Sunscreen SPF 30: This clear, no-rub spray goes on kids quickly and comes in a 3oz bottle that’s easy to tote. CVS/pharmacy carries additional strengths and formulas to suit the needs of the entire family!

~ CVS/pharmacy Instant Itch Relief Spray: Bug bites are bound to happen in the summertime – be prepared to relieve pain and itching with this Instant Itch Relief Spray for insect bites, scrapes, and even poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac.

Prize #4

SafeEyes Parental Control Software

“Jenna was just beginning to learn how to use the internet and thought it might be fun to see if there was a jenna.com website. When she typed it in, Jenna Jameson’s adult-rated website popped onto her screen.” What parent hasn’t worried about this happening?

Even the most savvy internet parents can have a hard time protecting children from internet dangers such as inappropriate material and cyber bullying. A new software called SafeEyes, (winner of a 2008 Parent’s Choice award and rated #1 in Consumer Reports) can help parents protect their kids by monitoring chatting programs and limiting time spent online!

Prize #5

MEAD Products

Mom’s School Organizer: A new school year isn’t just an organizational challenge for students. A return to school often means added stress on mom, as she has to keep track of everything from soccer games to parent teacher conferences to the days the school cafeteria serves pizza. That’s why this academic-year calendar features 18 months (July ’08-December ’09) of calendar pages incorporating extra-large grids. No more squeezing the day’s events into a tiny space! Plus, the wall calendar is packed with 448 miniature scheduling stickers that incorporate words like assembly, dance, pack, buy, spring break, no school, lesson, game, dentist, doctor and more. An organizing sleeve holds the stickers and other scheduling documents the family needs to stow.

Mead Writing Fundamentals: Developing writing skills is half the battle of literacy, but while it is equally important to develop writing skills as it is to develop reading skills, writing isn’t always sufficiently covered in school. In fact, as little as 10 minutes a day is spent on the subject and typically no instruction is provided past the third grade, leaving as many as 20 percent of children struggling with handwriting.

To help bridge the gap, the experts behind Mead®, one of the most trusted names in school supplies, developed Mead Writing Fundamentals, a line of 15 products guiding parents how to best introduce and develop fundamental writing skills at all handwriting stages. Developed with and endorsed by a pediatric occupational therapist who specializes in handwriting, the Writing Fundamentals products feature proven techniques to ensure success, whether used at home or at school, with fun, engaging, multi-sensory activities for children.

Prize #6

Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s “Henry and the Hidden Veggie Garden”

Kimberly Williams-Paisley, actress and wife of country music star Brad Paisley, has written a children’s book called “Henry and the Hidden Veggie Garden.”

It tells the story of a city kid who learns to love his veggies while on a visit to his aunt and uncle’s farm. It was written in support of the Love Your Veggies Nationwide School Lunch Campaign from the makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings that gave $10,000 nutrition grants to 51 elementary schools across the U.S. this month to help increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Prize #7

The Ladybug Game

Once upon a time in a beautiful rose garden there were four ladybug friends who flew among the leaves, exploring their sweet-smelling home. Although they loved the rosebushes, sometimes they wondered what lay beyond their world. Each ladybug had a different wing color with spots, Ella Yellow, Rickie Red, Tommy Teal, and Olivia Orange.

The Ladybug Game is a game created by a six-year-old girl for her 1st grade science project and is flying off the shelves at Target right now (they sold 25,000 in one week!)!

Prize #8

My Fruit Roll-Ups and Yoplait Kids yogurt coupons

My Fruit Roll-Ups are customizable Fruit Roll-Ups that you can create online with your own text and over 400 images to choose from and are then sent to you in the mail! Yoplait Kids offers drink-able and spoon-able yogurt that now contains the nutrient Omega-3 DHA, an important nutrient to help support healthy brain development. Yoplait Kids also has no artificial flavors or sweeteners and has 25% less sugar than the leading kid’s yogurt.

(NOTE: the Yoplait Kids yogurt coupons are not valid in CA, ID, LA, NV, NJ, ND and TN as they are for a free package of yogurt and those states have a law against free dairy.)

Prize #9

Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kit

Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kits are a great party planning product that includes a helium-filled tank, balloons and ribbon all in one box that you can easily transport and store (the box is a little smaller than the average car seat)!

Prize #10

Iron Man Pen Walkie Talkies

Iron Man Pen Walkie Talkies: Keep in touch with your crime fighting team and write down important information with these dual purpose walkie talkie pens!

Prize #11

Shrek the Third Projection Flashlight

Shrek the Third Projection Flashlight: Stay out of the dark with some of your favorite Shrek characters, like Princess Fiona, Donkey, and Shrek! These bright lights have interchanging faceplates that allow your favorite characters to be projected in the room.

Prize #12

Munchkin Products

Bath Squirters: Give your little squirt a SpongeBob™, Dora the Explorer™, or Go, Diego, Go!™ squirter. Moms like to keep their little ones busy in the tub and the pool…so let these fun characters entertain them. They suck up the water and give a gentle squirt that brings lots of giggles. They’re also a gas for making bubbles under the water.

Twisty Fish™: Little bathers love to splash around with our funny, friendly fish. This ingenious new bath toy has fascinating tumble beads and a spinner wheel in the belly that twists and turns as water drains out from holes in the tail. The handle makes it easy to scoop in water from the mouth. The head and tail even rotate around a full 360 degrees to keep small hands even busier while you get your little one sparkling clean!

Caterpillar Spillers™: Your child will love to inspect this friendly insect that links up 7 numbered cups. These brightly colored cups pour and strain water in the bath for endless spilling and scooping fun. The cups also stack up to form a towering paddle wheel. And when bath or pool time are over, they nest compactly to stow away for next time.

Prize #13

WallPops

WallPops are manufactured by Brewster Wallcovering Company, a family-owned and operated fourth generation company. WallPops feature a bright and colorful selection of patterns and solid colors in the form of wall art that are simple, fun and repositionable. Great for tweens, teens, college students, young adults and homeowners alike, these forms of wall art are fun for everyone. WallPops add pizzazz to walls, headboards, picture or poster frames, message boards and almost anything else you want to dress up creatively.

Post from: Blisstree

Giveaway Round 2: Lots of Great Stuff for Kids!

Our routine tends to involve a bath as needed (usually every second day unless it’s really hot, in which case they get a cool bath without shampoo or soap or anything other than cooling down), changing into pajamas, a snack (usually a small PB&J sandwich or cereal for my oldest and some yogurt for my toddler), a quiet show on Treehouse, a story, teeth, sippy cup of water, and bed.

It’s nothing dramatic or innovative, it’s just what we do.

This site has some bedtime routine information if you’ve been winging it or if your current routine doesn’t seem to be working anymore – that does happen. I used to give my oldest a soothing bath every night as a baby until she hit six months and suddenly bath time revved her up more than it calmed her down. While you’re there, you can create your own personalized ritual logs to keep track of bedtime behaviours, you can check out a message board to discuss tips and tricks with other parents (and share your successes to help someone else too!), play with customizable storybook adventures that star your own kids, and look at a ton of activities. It teaches children the importance of brushing their teeth, washing up, and reading at bedtime while keeping it fun for the family.

While you’re there, parents of school-aged children can enter their elementary school in a contest to win $1000 worth of new books for the school library (US residents only, alas).

Obviously, it’s a corporate site but the activities are fun and if you’re a US resident you can earn rewards like free toothbrushes. If you’re Canadian like I am, you can just pick an arbitrary state and zip code and while you won’t get the rewards, you can still peruse the activities and have fun with the kids!

Enjoy!

Post from: Blisstree

Bedtime routines

Tonight I got stuck watching it because the remote in the bedroom is broken and I was on that channel while trying to convince my toddler that it was time to sleep.

Much to my shock I ended up sobbing through the first ten minute segment. And then I wanted to stand up and applaud for those six kids who lost so much weight and bettered their health.

I was shocked by what they showed in the cafeteria before Shaq got in there to make changes. The fries and pogo sticks and greasy burgers… it was insane! When I went to school, we had pizza on Friday for lunch. Other than that, our lunches were mostly uninteresting but overall pretty healthy. We could only buy juice, water, or milk – no pop. We didn’t have candy bars or sugary cookies. The closest thing to sweet that you could find was their oatmeal cookies (I still daydream about them, they were awesome cookies).

Because of my own experience, I couldn’t believe the garbage they were serving to children who need to learn all day long. It was disgusting. Once in awhile is fine. I’m certainly not perfect. We eat hot dogs here for lunch sometimes. My girls have cookies for dessert sometimes. But we also eat fruit, vegetables, lean meats, yogurt, grains, all the food they need to get their proper food group intake.

I’m so relieved about the school my oldest will be attending this Fall. They have a zero tolerance policy for junk food. We have a full list of things that are not allowed and a good list of ideas of what is good to send. Off-limits: Chips, most cookies, candy, chocolate, hot dogs, etc. Suggestions: Tea biscuits, fruit, chopped vegetables, wrap sandwiches, cheese and crackers.

I’m not militant about food, but it’s good to know that my daughter is attending a school where it’s not okay to have kids eating greasy garbage and guzzling sugary sodas while they’re trying to learn.

Post from: Blisstree

Kids and obesity

I remember it like a film on instant replay, over and over again. Her blonde hair streaked with blonde, her blue dress, both flying as she ran around a blind corner–straight into me. I even remember her name. I must have been in first or second grade, prone to melodrama. We collided and the back of my head hit the asphalt path. Hard. An hour later, I didn’t feel well. I was sick to my stomach, sleepy and dizzy, and only wanted to curl up in a bean bag and be still. It took my teachers a while to believe me, that I wasn’t just being dramatic or stubborn. Then they connected the way I was acting with the fact that I’d smacked my head on the pavement, and called my parents.

We had to stop twice on the way to the hospital so I could throw up.

The MRI showed nothing serious, just a mild concussion, and my parents spent a long, anxious night waking me up every hour. A boy in New York City was beaten on the head repeatedly by another boy, thirteen years old, as he played basketball. He went home, went to bed, and was later brought to the hospital, bleeding from his nose and mouth. He died. Perhaps, if this boy’s parents had known the warning signs of a head injury, they could have saved him.

But knowing the signs (sensitivity to light, headache, dizziness, nausea) don’t do any good if your child doesn’t tell you what’s going on. Make sure your children know how important it is to be honest about what happened, especially if they aren’t feeling well after a fight. Because if they don’t tell you they got into a fight in the first place, you won’t know to suspect anything more serious than a stomach bug.

Kid’s Health has a good page on concussions, and they list the following symptoms as indicative of a possible concussion:

“seeing stars” and feeling dazed, dizzy, or light-headed
trouble remembering things, such as what happened directly before and after the injury occurred (this can happen even with mild concussions)
nausea or vomiting
headaches
blurred vision and sensitivity to light
slurred speech or saying things that don’t make sense
difficulty concentrating, thinking, or making decisions
difficulty with coordination or balance (such as being unable to catch a ball or other easy tasks)
feeling anxious or irritable for no apparent reason
feeling overly tired

Post from: Blisstree

Do you know the signs of a concussion?

He’s sound asleep. And he sounds like he’s choking. He takes three, strangled breaths… forgets to inhale again on the fourth go round. I wait, both there in the doctor’s office as well as that night, holding the video camera. In my head, I start to count. 1…2…3…4…5

When I get to fifteen, I can’t stand it anymore. “Breathe, baby,” I whisper, and my son takes a breath like a drowning man breaching the surface of a deep lake. The doctor doesn’t even watch the rest of the video.

“So, when do you want to schedule surgery?”

This is not a trivial, elective surgery. Often, my son’s ENT specialist will have patients referred to him by a child’s orthodontist. The strains and pressures of ‘mouth breathing’ can change the shape of the mouth cavity. Watching my son suck and strain for every breath, I’m not surprised. If left untreated, sleep apnea can cause cardiac arrest. It can also affect growth, because growth hormones are produced most at night.

The scheduler never called me back today. It’s on my list of things to do first thing on Monday. I want by boy to be able to breathe through his nose.

Tags: visitationmommy, motherhood, mothering, kids, children, tonsilectomy, adenoidectomy, tonsils out

Post from: Blisstree

it’s official: the tonsils are coming out

At first, it was no big deal. Just annoying. And loud. But anyone who watches television has seen the ads: “does your husband snore at night? Maybe he has sleep apnea!” And then it goes on to list all the scary things that sleep apnea can do to you. So I worried.

Watch my son sleep. It’s like turning off a light. One second, he’s talking to me, snuggled in my arms, and the next? Boom. He starts to snore. His nasal passages are completely blocked, and he struggles for each breath. Sometimes, I can see his chest pulling for air, but nothing is happening, so I say to him, gently, “Breathe, baby. Breathe through your mouth.” Finally, he’ll take a breath and I’ll realize I’ve been holding mine.

No one’s getting much sleep in our house, these days.

It’s horrible in the winter, with the dry air wreaking havoc on all of us, but him most of all. I’ve tried vaporizers and Vics Vapo Rub, eucalyptus on his pillow and humidifiers by his bedside. I’ve tried propping him up, I’ve switched out his pillows for more or less height and support. Every time he crawls into the big bed in the middle of the night, I spend the hours until dawn worrying over every breath he takes–or doesn’t.

There are three possible problems that need to be addressed. I know something’s not working right in his nose, because he can blow his nose a hundred times and nothing comes out… but if you close one nostril and ask him to breathe, he can’t. He might have a deviated septum, which can be fixed surgically (I don’t think shoving drinking straws up his nose would alleviate the problem, thanks for suggesting it, though). He might have enlarged tonsils, which can also be removed with a minimum of fuss, as soon as I stop getting freaked about anesthesia. Or it might be his adenoids.

Do you know what the adenoids are? I didn’t, until I began to research why my son couldn’t breathe. Adenoids are hidden behind the nose and the roof of the mouth, and may help young children fight infections while their immune systems develop. There’s a chance my son’s adenoids are swollen and infected, and that a round of antibiotics might clear up the problem. If not, they can be removed, and a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are sometimes performed together. Now, if only I could get his doctor’s office to pick up so I could make an appointment! Sigh. No time like the present.

Post from: Blisstree

Does your kid snore at night?

Kate over at Babylune has done it again. She has issued a challenge to us all to eat healthy by sampling our way through the alphabet’s fruits and vegetables.

She has some great ideas on how to turn this into an exciting learning opportunity for your kids, too. Veggie charts! Food pyramids! And perhaps a reduction in Blogger Butt. I’d like some of that, please?

*runs off to do a bellydance excersise DVD*

Post from: Blisstree

Did you eat your alphabet today?