2010-02-10
Playing with Daddy
Here's a cute moment that's rather typical at our house when Lucas gets home from work:
2010-02-08
The Many Benefits of Delaying Gratification
Do you remember looking in the toy store window as a kid and drooling over some toy? I do. For me, it was American Girls' Felicity doll. I still remember how much she cost: $84.00. That was a massive sum for a 9-year-old girl. I got about $2 a week in allowance and, after tithing, I saved it all for that doll. By the time I had saved up all that money, I had something even more valuable than a very exciting package coming to me in the mail. I had learned financial self control.
Sadly, that value has been lacking in our society as a whole for a while. The popularity of Keynesian economic policy ("spending our way" out of economic crisis) has given license to our greedy sinful natures. The entitlement mentality, growing credit card debt, the housing bubble, and even
the obesity epidemic all reveal a woeful lack of delayed gratification in our society.
How would the world be different if we relearned to work hard and wait for the good things in life? Maybe we could find complete satisfaction in what we've earned. Buying a new car with cash that we've saved; paying off the mortgage on a house that teaches kids to share a room; seeing genuine gratitude on their faces at Christmas... Perhaps the current economic slump will help us find these simple pleasures again.
RESOURCES
Living With Less So Your Family Has More
Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles, and Busts
Sadly, that value has been lacking in our society as a whole for a while. The popularity of Keynesian economic policy ("spending our way" out of economic crisis) has given license to our greedy sinful natures. The entitlement mentality, growing credit card debt, the housing bubble, and even
the obesity epidemic all reveal a woeful lack of delayed gratification in our society.
How would the world be different if we relearned to work hard and wait for the good things in life? Maybe we could find complete satisfaction in what we've earned. Buying a new car with cash that we've saved; paying off the mortgage on a house that teaches kids to share a room; seeing genuine gratitude on their faces at Christmas... Perhaps the current economic slump will help us find these simple pleasures again.
RESOURCES
Living With Less So Your Family Has More
Where Keynes Went Wrong: And Why World Governments Keep Creating Inflation, Bubbles, and Busts
2010-02-03
Garden of Eden
Remember when God created man in his image? Well, do you remember hearing about that anyway? I really like Debi Pearl's three ways that men tend to reflect God's image. Maybe you'll recognize your husband among them:
1. Mr. Command Man: These born leaders reflect God's strength. They see the big picture and enjoy being in charge. Respect is very important for these men. Their wives will find themselves adored Queens when they allow their "Command Man" husbands to be the Kings.
2. Mr. Visionary: This man reflects the Holy Spirit's prophetic nature. He sees the details of life and is a shaker, changer, and dreamer. Visionary men are usually either rich or poor, depending on how their often-risky schemes go. They need wives who can enjoy being along for the adventurous ride, but can think objectively and keep their feet from flying too far off solid ground.
3. Mr. Steady: This "rock" of a man reflects Christ's caring, providing, and faithful nature. He diligently does his work and raises his family without a lot of fanfare. His home will be blessed with peace and security. He will appreciate a wife who adds her own accomplishments to his. His wife can also have the privilege of singing his praises since he won't jump up to do that himself.
Though few men are entirely of a single type, I recognized many of the men I know among her descriptions. Since my husband is different from my father, I can't rely on my past experiences to understand him. It helped me to read through her advice on how to best serve and understand my husband.
RESOURCES
Created to Be His Help Meet
1. Mr. Command Man: These born leaders reflect God's strength. They see the big picture and enjoy being in charge. Respect is very important for these men. Their wives will find themselves adored Queens when they allow their "Command Man" husbands to be the Kings.
2. Mr. Visionary: This man reflects the Holy Spirit's prophetic nature. He sees the details of life and is a shaker, changer, and dreamer. Visionary men are usually either rich or poor, depending on how their often-risky schemes go. They need wives who can enjoy being along for the adventurous ride, but can think objectively and keep their feet from flying too far off solid ground.
3. Mr. Steady: This "rock" of a man reflects Christ's caring, providing, and faithful nature. He diligently does his work and raises his family without a lot of fanfare. His home will be blessed with peace and security. He will appreciate a wife who adds her own accomplishments to his. His wife can also have the privilege of singing his praises since he won't jump up to do that himself.
Though few men are entirely of a single type, I recognized many of the men I know among her descriptions. Since my husband is different from my father, I can't rely on my past experiences to understand him. It helped me to read through her advice on how to best serve and understand my husband.
RESOURCES
Created to Be His Help Meet
2010-02-02
Introducing an Older Baby to the Bottle
If you've ever tried to give a breastfed baby over a certain age a bottle, you'll believe me when I say that our son wasn't interested in that cold plastic thing with formula in it. We tried for several weeks but he would have none of it. Why did we keep failing? Well according to the "Baby Whisperer," Tracy Hogg, we weren't really giving it all we had.
Here's her plan, which worked really well for us:
1. Prepare yourself emotionally for a hunger strike. If your baby has had 4 or more months to enjoy and acclimate to nursing, bottles of formula probably won't be very appealing to him.
2. Offer the first bottle at the beginning of the day after Baby's had a long break from food and will be hungry yet well rested.
3. Don't force it. You don't want to create a negative association. If Baby doesn't want the bottle after about 5 minutes, just say "I guess you're not hungry" and put it away. Hunger is a powerful motivator. It's the only motivator he'll need.
4. Keep trying every hour or so until Baby takes the bottle. Our son never held out longer than two hours. They were two rather fussy hours, but over quickly compared to weeks of 'trying.'
5. It can be helpful to have someone other than Mom feed the first few bottles, but don't wait too long to join in. I found that my son would often reject them from me, but if we did something else and tried again 5 minutes later, he would take it from me too. After a day of that, he knew I was serious.
6. Commit to 2 days of only bottles after Baby accepts the first one. This was not my favorite part, but it did help our son get used to the new food.
7. After the 2 days, you can nurse again, but continue to offer a bottle at least once a day.
Our 11 month old son has been doing well with his bottles now for a week or so. I am sad to see the nursing go, but I'm glad we won't have any trauma when we leave him with Grandma for our week long mission trip that's coming up.
RESOURCES
The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems
2010-01-29
Walking Is Hard to Do!
2010-01-26
Momma is a Teacher
This is true for my little boy twice over. He heard plenty of teaching in utero as he came along to the high school Spanish classes I taught. Now, as he is growing, he is seeing the teacher side of Momma more and more. Among other things, I teach him to fall asleep on his own, keep his hands off the electrical cords, use the potty, and brush his teeth. What do you teach your children?
It's an important question to consider as Baby approaches toddlerhood. What do you want to teach him? I am a much better mother when I keep in mind my long and short term goals. To get you thinking, here are just a few of the goals I am implementing with my 11-month-old:
Goal: Play Independently
Implementation: After breakfast each day, Junior knows he'll have 30-45 minutes of entertaining himself. I put him in his play-pen or a very small room that we have baby-proofed with the music on and some toys and books to play with. I say "have fun" and leave him to entertain himself for a while. We started with much shorter amounts of time when he was younger and have gradually worked up to this length. I'm glad to have a baby who doesn't whine to be entertained by me all the time and who is learning how to amuse himself.
Goal: Drink from a Sippy Cup
Implementation: After his morning nap and before lunch, I sit Baby on my knee and help him explore his sippy cup a bit. He likes to study it and take intermittent sips. According to The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, it can take up to a month for babies to master the art of sippy cup drinking. We haven't been at it that long, so I am patiently teaching.
Goal: Play well with others
Implementation: About once a week, we go to the library and spend some time in the play area with the kids who happen to be there. I sit near my son and if he takes someones' toy or behaves inappropriately, I tell him "no." He also periodically gets to play with his cousins ages 8 mo., 2 yrs, and 4 yrs. Again, I am there to supervise. For now, he doesn't play without parental supervision as we don't think he's quite ready for that freedom.
Goal: Enjoy music
Implementation: At nap time and bed time, I hold my son and sing "Amazing Grace." He knows that song means sleep is coming soon, and it often brings on a yawn. While he plays alone, I put on classical music. When I go get him after "independent playtime," we dance around the room to that music. A few times a week, I play the piano while he plays in the same room. After a few songs, I hold him on my lap and let him explore the keys too.
Goal: Be bilingual
Implementation: During the weekdays while my husband is at work, I speak Spanish with our son. When Daddy is home, it's English time. This means that Junior hears many of the same things ("time to change your diaper," "Don't touch!," "I love you" etc.) in both languages on a daily basis. It's exciting to begin to see how he responds and understands to both languages now.
Without even trying, the home becomes a classroom to a growing baby. Every parent will have different strength and skills that they want to emphasize and teach. I am so thankful for the fine arts of conversation and friendship that my Mom modeled and taught. I want to make it easy for my son to learn my strengths and hard to pick up my weaknesses. One way to do that is to think through my goals in parenting and be intentional about what I teach him.
RESOURCES
The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems: Sleeping, Feeding, and Behavior--Beyond the Basics from Infancy Through Toddlerhood
Babywise II: Parenting Your Pretoddler (5 to 15 Months)
On Becoming Toddlerwise
It's an important question to consider as Baby approaches toddlerhood. What do you want to teach him? I am a much better mother when I keep in mind my long and short term goals. To get you thinking, here are just a few of the goals I am implementing with my 11-month-old:
Goal: Play Independently
Implementation: After breakfast each day, Junior knows he'll have 30-45 minutes of entertaining himself. I put him in his play-pen or a very small room that we have baby-proofed with the music on and some toys and books to play with. I say "have fun" and leave him to entertain himself for a while. We started with much shorter amounts of time when he was younger and have gradually worked up to this length. I'm glad to have a baby who doesn't whine to be entertained by me all the time and who is learning how to amuse himself.
Goal: Drink from a Sippy Cup
Implementation: After his morning nap and before lunch, I sit Baby on my knee and help him explore his sippy cup a bit. He likes to study it and take intermittent sips. According to The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, it can take up to a month for babies to master the art of sippy cup drinking. We haven't been at it that long, so I am patiently teaching.
Goal: Play well with others
Implementation: About once a week, we go to the library and spend some time in the play area with the kids who happen to be there. I sit near my son and if he takes someones' toy or behaves inappropriately, I tell him "no." He also periodically gets to play with his cousins ages 8 mo., 2 yrs, and 4 yrs. Again, I am there to supervise. For now, he doesn't play without parental supervision as we don't think he's quite ready for that freedom.
Goal: Enjoy music
Implementation: At nap time and bed time, I hold my son and sing "Amazing Grace." He knows that song means sleep is coming soon, and it often brings on a yawn. While he plays alone, I put on classical music. When I go get him after "independent playtime," we dance around the room to that music. A few times a week, I play the piano while he plays in the same room. After a few songs, I hold him on my lap and let him explore the keys too.
Goal: Be bilingual
Implementation: During the weekdays while my husband is at work, I speak Spanish with our son. When Daddy is home, it's English time. This means that Junior hears many of the same things ("time to change your diaper," "Don't touch!," "I love you" etc.) in both languages on a daily basis. It's exciting to begin to see how he responds and understands to both languages now.
Without even trying, the home becomes a classroom to a growing baby. Every parent will have different strength and skills that they want to emphasize and teach. I am so thankful for the fine arts of conversation and friendship that my Mom modeled and taught. I want to make it easy for my son to learn my strengths and hard to pick up my weaknesses. One way to do that is to think through my goals in parenting and be intentional about what I teach him.
RESOURCES
The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems: Sleeping, Feeding, and Behavior--Beyond the Basics from Infancy Through Toddlerhood
Babywise II: Parenting Your Pretoddler (5 to 15 Months)
On Becoming Toddlerwise
2010-01-21
Surfing the Sleep Wave
Good sleep is a lot like surfing. Really. Several biological rhythms work together to help us (and our babies!) fall asleep. There are rising and falling temperatures, as well as melatonin and cortisol level cycles. We want to catch the rising "sleep wave" before it begins to crash into a fussy, overtired baby.
According to Dr. Weissbluth in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
, when we time our childrens' naps and night sleep when all three of these cycles are at the right point, good quality sleep will come easily. This is when the child is beginning to lose steam, but before he catches his "second wind."
I had a recent experience that illustrates the most common problem parents have with riding the "sleep wave" very clearly. Our 10-month-old son is getting more active and alert and toddler-like all the time. That means that he can handle longer times of wakefulness before he needs a nap. I, however, made the classic mistake of pushing the naps back too far.
At first, he seemed able to cope quite well. He was still napping about 1.5 hours twice a day and sleeping nearly 12 hours at night. This was less sleep than before, but I figured he was growing up. But over the course of a week or two, he became fussier and more "wound up" at naptime. It took him longer to fall asleep and his naps became far too short. This is not fun for mom or baby, let me tell you!
So yesterday, as I was reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" it dawned on me that I had created this problem. But adding just a little too much wake time, I had robbed my sleepy boy of his much-needed rest. So I moved up his afternoon nap by an hour and he took a gigantic 3.5 hour nap. He must have had a lot of catching up to do!
Today we are back to slightly earlier nap times and so far, pretty solid sleep. Maybe I'll surf the nap wave myself...
RESOURCES
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
According to Dr. Weissbluth in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
, when we time our childrens' naps and night sleep when all three of these cycles are at the right point, good quality sleep will come easily. This is when the child is beginning to lose steam, but before he catches his "second wind."I had a recent experience that illustrates the most common problem parents have with riding the "sleep wave" very clearly. Our 10-month-old son is getting more active and alert and toddler-like all the time. That means that he can handle longer times of wakefulness before he needs a nap. I, however, made the classic mistake of pushing the naps back too far.
At first, he seemed able to cope quite well. He was still napping about 1.5 hours twice a day and sleeping nearly 12 hours at night. This was less sleep than before, but I figured he was growing up. But over the course of a week or two, he became fussier and more "wound up" at naptime. It took him longer to fall asleep and his naps became far too short. This is not fun for mom or baby, let me tell you!
So yesterday, as I was reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" it dawned on me that I had created this problem. But adding just a little too much wake time, I had robbed my sleepy boy of his much-needed rest. So I moved up his afternoon nap by an hour and he took a gigantic 3.5 hour nap. He must have had a lot of catching up to do!
Today we are back to slightly earlier nap times and so far, pretty solid sleep. Maybe I'll surf the nap wave myself...
RESOURCES
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
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