Happy Monday Super Mommy!

June gloom has passed and summer is in full swing. Seems appropriate that I took Max on a shopping spree today. A few hot ticket items on his "fun in the sun" list were a kiddie pool, extra large gardening tools, and a bjorn potty seat.

That list pretty well sums up what's going on around here. It's gorgeous outside and Max is ecstatic about being in the water, so we are putting a little pool on the rooftop deck. I can't think of a better way for Max and his friends to spend some time together.

The gardening tools are all the rage because they are as big as his body. I've had to take all heavy toys away from him because this kid has an arm. "Ow!" He'll knock you out with a wooden spoon or a pepper shaker, and the new toys I just got him are light and won't damage me OR the house. Since Max banged a dent into the bamboo wood floor, I'm on toy patrol.

And then the potty chair is something I'm convinced he's ready for. I've heard that babies who wear cloth diapers are easier to potty train because they can feel the wetness when they tinkle. Also, Max jumps in the shower with me and laughs and laughs as he pees. It makes me think he might know what he's doing. I can't wait to see his reaction when I sit him on his new potty chair the next time I catch him making his number-two-potty-face.

Usually I'm bragging about how proud I am of my baby, but today I feel like giving myself a big pat on the back.

First of all, Max slept TERRIBLY last week. He cut his top two fang teeth and was up all the time at all hours of night like clockwork. Poor baby....I hate teeth! And lucky us, he cuts them two and three at a time.

At one point, I got out of bed to pat him on the back or rub his belly, and I was just too darn tired to stand there leaning over the side of his bed rail. So I repeated something that I had only done once before, and I crawled into the crib to snuggle with him.

Now, I know that most moms would have just brought their baby in the bed with them. But I was too tired to think of something so clever or intelligent.

At some point between midnight and the middle of the night, we fell asleep spooning in his miniature manger. Who knows how long I was passed out in there for, because when I woke up in the morning, there was a beautiful baby in my arms and a gnarly crick in my neck. We'll see if I can stick with my big girl bed this week....ahahaaa!

Last Monday, I took Max to a friend's house to babysit her 19-month-old son, Jackson for about 6 hours. We had so much fun and I think that's what really made me feel like supermom. Those boys were running around going crazy, and I whisked them off to the park in the nick of time before they destroyed the house. It was absolutely delightful to see the way they were feeding off each other's endless energy. It was also an enormous challenge to keep up with the both of them!

Of course I adored every minute of it. Now that I'm a mom, it's my mission in life to give love to babies, toddlers, children, adult children, and anyone that was ever a baby once in their life. Since I'm oozing all this love and compassion for kids, it is perfect for me to be able to share that with another munchkin. Babysitting is the perfect opportunity for me to gush all over the babies and help out some other mommies.

The only thing that I find to be extremely difficult about being out in public with two kids, is how the heck you are supposed to go to the bathroom while "taking care" of the bunchkins??? It always amazes me that moms are able to go to relieve themselves in the toilet when they need to. I mean, forget privacy. Those days are long gone, but to use the restroom is an obstacle that confuses me to pieces.

See, I didn't want to bring the boys into the bathroom because it was just gross in there. Nasty park potty. Ugh, I don't even want their cute little shoes to touch a public bathroom. Maybe I'll get over this at some point, but what if they decide to touch something, or for goodness' sake sit down in there. Gross! And you can't really ask a stranger to watch them for a minute when you're babysitting for someone else. Maybe if it's a park you go to on a regular basis, but I was in a different park in Studio City where I didn't know anyone.

And then there's me (remember her?) and the fact that I don't have a minute to spare or I will pee in my pants. So you wanna' know what I do?... (Normal? I think not.) I sprint into the bathroom. I prop the door open (you know, the main entrance to the bathroom so that you can see everyone and they can all see you), run into the stall, and pop a squat over the toilet with that door open. That method worked brilliantly and I can't imagine anything better. (Maybe? That's not public indecency is it?) Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Every Wednesday I teach my family yoga class. I loooove my new job. It is EXACTLY what I want to do with my time on hump day. It is my pleasure and an honor to work with parents and children together. Max and the other kiddos wear themselves out playing with the yoga blocks while the parents are literally "in" happy baby. This is my idea of a win, win situation!

The past two weeks, Max has blessed me with the sweetest gifts a mother could possibly receive. When I'm teaching and demonstrating poses in the middle of yoga class, he will come over and randomly give me kisses. He'll be on the other side of the room playing, and run over to give me a reassuring smooch while I'm in updog. It's as if he's saying, "Mom, you're doing a great job. Keep up the good work!"

This is the most challenging and draining job I've ever had...In a good way! Multitasking as a mommy and a yoga teacher is a blast! My main concern is making sure Max is finished napping before we leave the house at 3pm, which means we can't run behind in the mornings. We have to be en pointe with waking up, breakfast, lunch, and nap, so we have a happy and upbeat toddler at 4pm. It is a huge blessing to be able to take my baby to work with me, and so far the feedback has been fabulous.

At this point, I think we have a nice, solid schedule down that works for all of us. He is only napping once a day, and as long as he goes down for that nap by 1pm, we are set. Fortunately, I am always able to get him down for a nap, even if he is not rubbing his eyes and yawning by 1pm. All I have to do is breast feed him in a dark, silent room until he falls asleep. Things like that may sound easy, but it does take honest effort....especially after a bout of teething that knocks you off your schedule.

And then on the weekends I have been working for Kitchenaid. I feel so resourceful, because I have found a way to make the amount I pay the babysitter a little cheaper. I just have her meet us at the mall instead of meeting at my house. That way she can play with Max at the indoor playground next to Macy's, and I don't have to pay her for my travel time driving to/from work. And then if Max gets sleepy and needs milk I can easily step out and tend to him.

We've also made time to do tons of other social activities. We had a great time at Giselle's princess birthday party on Saturday! It was Max's first time to play in a bounce house and he thought it was the greatest thing that had ever happened in the whole entire world.


I don't know how moms do it. Life becomes a perfectly synchronized orchestra of sorts. And it works! I'm taking a moment to pat myself on the back for making mommy magic happen every single day of my life! Woohoo!

Selflessness and strengh are only a couple qualities of the life of a mother.....Tapping into those now!

Happy Monday you Super Mommy You!!!

Saving the World...One Baby at a Time!

Max and his best friend Kai both have cars and cell phones. They are the exact same age and play together beautifully.... For the most part!

They are happy except for when Kai stops pushing the car in order to take a call. Yes, Kai did stop propelling his friend forward to jabber into the dead cell for a moment.

From the looks of these pictures, Max appears to be the alpha of the two. Oh boy....

For the first year of Max's life, I found it difficult to identify myself in any other way than being a mom. Maybe I didn't even want to identify myself differently. Breast feeding, interrupted sleep, and sh*t storms have been my favorite topics for the past 15 1/2 months.

Now I feel like more than a mom. I feel like a yogi, an artist, a dancer, an employee, a student, a teacher, a writer, a friend, an explorer, a martyr.....I feel like I am so many wonderful expressions. And I understand them in a different way than before baby Max entered my life.

But one thing I can't seem to quit reeling over, are babies. I think about babies across the world, in other countries, in neighboring towns, and in nearby buildings. I think of babies and mommies being together like they were destined to be. And then I think of babies helplessly crying by themselves without a mommy to respond. And it completely, utterly, and totally breaks my heart.

I think there are many reasons why a mother would neglect her precious crying baby. It's possible that she didn't know better. Maybe she thought it was good for the baby to cry. Maybe she listened to some bad advice. Maybe she was too tired to respond. Maybe she didn't feel connected with her child. Maybe she was a selfish bitch. But it's most likely that she was simply misinformed and lacking support.

When I was crazy sleep deprived, my lactation consultant said that if anyone asks you if your baby is sleeping all night, to just lie and say yes. At the time I didn't completely understand why, but looking back it makes perfect sense. Some detached parents are unsupportive and judgemental.

I haven't really been one to make up stories. Maybe the foggy look all over my face said it all anyway. When people would ask me how many times baby Max woke me up in the middle of the night, the honest answer was usually, "I can't remember".

One of my crunchy parent facebook friends wrote a status update that said a lady at the farmers market was asking about her baby and if she was letting her sleep. My friend replied, "of course not" with a smile and the lady went on to tell her about how she "Ferberized" all her kids because she needed to sleep. Here are all the comments below:

ugh, that makes me sick. I was up late last night and bored and was browsing some lady's babywise page... there was a mom on there asking for advice because she has been letting her SIX WEEK old cry it out for several days and it "still wasn't working." And another one trying to force feed her 4 mo. old because he would "only" take 4 oz at a time and wake up an hour later hungry. It honestly makes me nauseous to read things like that!

Ferberized? What does that mean?

ferber made the "cry it out" method popular, and depending on how you interpret it, it can be pretty extreme such as letting baby cry themselves to sleep in their crib alone until essentially they are "trained".

wtf

Ugh. I am reading babywise so I can say I did. All the rumors are true.

I read BW too, just so I knew what was in it, and it literally made me physically ill. Ferber is almost as bad, although I think it's Weissbluth that says to put them in bed, close the door, and not come back until morning. Sadly enough, at our Target W's boom is next to "Happiest Baby"

It's in with the swaddle blankets and baby monitors. :-(

Whatever happened to Maternal instinct??

I couldn't get past the first chapter in Babywise!!!! It was such BS.

grrrrr. I am utterly sick of ppl telling me that...

‎that is Horrible! Ug- God forbid something like a child gets in the way of someone's schedule... Ick!

*

So yes, it took well over a year for my son to sleep through the night. And some nights he still doesn't "sleep through the night". But it wasn't an inconvenience for me that limited me on what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. He is my son and I never want him to be afraid of asking me for something that he needs. I refused to begin our relationship ignoring his call for help.

It is worth noting that Baby Wise is the only parenting book that the American Association of Pediatrics has stated is dangerous to babies. It's also interesting that the children and grandchildren of the authors of Baby Wise want nothing to do with them either. It bewilders me that a book that is harmful to babies is legal. I'd like to start a revolution and get this trash off bookshelves.

Realistically, the difference I can make is at home. I vow to never treat my baby like an inconvenience. I promise to do my best to listen to his needs with a compassionate, open heart. That's the here and the now that I know is possible.

Attachment parenting is a lifestyle. I have a girlfriend that calls her parents in the middle of the night any time she needs help or advice. She's in her 30's and they have a super cool relationship. So maybe it's a better idea to be there for your kids whenever they need you. Even if it requires being a zombie mommy for a little while. :)

Something Sparkly + Mexican Food + The Bachelor Happy Valentines Day to us baby!

Love is in the air. Romance took me by storm on Valentine's Day. No seriously, I shaved my legs and it was sultry. I even wore clean clothes. It was amazing. When you look up the word sexy in the dictionary, you see a picture of me and my almost brushed hair yesterday on valentines day.

First of all, Max slept 10 hours in a row and woke up at the perfect time for us to get ready for music class. We changed clothes, ate breakfast, and headed out the door and arrived at the jam session at 10:30am. Not only do I love singing "The Wheels On The Bus" with a captive audience of babies, but it is also magnificent to be in groups with such friendly, intelligent, supportive moms. The fact that we got home just in time for Max to nap in his crib was icing on the cake.

Gosh, I am really easy to please, huh! A good night's sleep, knocking out my to do list while my baby naps, and then Marc coming home in a great mood.... He completely caught me off guard by sending me off to the yoga studio with a very pretty, sparkly necklace that he picked out all by himself. The first thing that crossed my mind is uuuuuhhhhhhhhh......what did I get HIM? And then I remembered I had stuck sweet nothings in his car and briefcase the night before so that he would be sent off to work with a happy heart. Oh thank goodness I had planned ahead! Whew! I'm so excited about my new necklace!

On my way home from yoga we decided to pick up yummy mexican food from El Cholo and watch some trashy television with Max. Yup, that's right. We spent Valentine's Day with enchiladas, bachelor Brad, beautiful Emily, and psychotic Michelle. We can't help but devour that show....and guacamole. Ridiculous I say! What's even more ridiculous is that I took a minute out of my day to google their spread in Sports Illustrated after watching their photo shoot on their last date. That's when you know you're sucked in....except with a tummy full of salsa there is no sucking in at all.

And then the real magic happened... Max took four steps and I was simply relieved that the couch was the closest thing to him, so when he fell there would be a nice cushion and I didn't need to dive in for the catch. Except instead of crashing into a piece of furniture after those initial steps he casually stopped and looked around like a pedestrian waiting for the walk sign. Really? After a few seconds there, it was as if he saw the appropriate green sign, and he continued to meander in the direction he was going until he got to his destination between the cat and me. Just standing around like it was no big thing....

I've been wondering when I could say that Max is officially walking. He trips and tumbles to the ground simultaneously while taking three or four steps all the time, but I decided that since he increased that number without falling that it's official. This little boy is walking! It was a happy day for lots of reasons, but I think this one tops the charts! It is so exciting to see my boisterous bundle reach every single milestone.

I really couldn't have asked for a better monday. It truly was a happy valentines day with all my boys! Sleep, food, jewelry, yoga, and The Bachelor intertwined with love made for an incredible day. That's as fancy as we get around here lately! Happy Valentines Day!

Sleepy Time Sentiments

There are about eight (thousand) reasons why I will be awake at 4am tonight:

1. My baby. He might cry around that time for one of a thousand reasons. He might be a little too hot or cold and need a blanket placed on or removed from his body. He might be thirsty and need some milk. His pacifier may have fallen out of his mouth and need me to put it back in. He might simply want the comfort of knowing that I will be there for him and revel in a few pats on the back before he is sent back into his slumber.

2. My boobs. Actually the chances are highly likely because I am so used to getting up around that time that even if baby Max does not need me, my body is biologically programmed to wonder how the little rugrat is doing. Funny how mother nature takes over. Thursday night Max slept for 10 hours in a row and my boobs were so full of milk that morning that I was afraid to move. I even broke the number one cardinal rule of motherhood and woke my sleeping baby and latched him on for a drink.

3. My cat. Boogars likes to announce when he is going to use the potty and will howl at the top of his lungs before going out to his litter box. That's the best case scenario because at least he finds what he needs and I don't have to get out of bed to tend to him. Other reasons are because he ran out of food or water in the night or wants attention. He may also meow at 4am if I have not gotten up to assist Max in some way. He is so used to getting pets before and after my other baby gets his pets that if I skip that feeding he is all kinds of confused.

4. Marc. His phone. His alarm. His trips to the bathroom. Yada yada yada....

5. Me. God forbid I have to tend to myself. Sometimes I wake up about to chew my tongue off because I am so thirsty. Breast feeding does that. And then after pounding water in the middle of the night, sometimes I have to get up again to use the bathroom once or twice.

6. Earthquakes. Yeah, we live in southern California and earthquakes are a regular occurrence here. But wait. This is not true. I was already awake for every earthquake we've had since baby Max was born. So an earthquake never technically woke me up.

7. My To Do List. Yes, it is possible that a list could wake me up. Because I have a huge fear of being unprepared or neglectful and worry too much. Dammit, that reminds me I need to write a few thank you notes, submit some insurance claims online, and I can't remember what else I forgot.

8. My Dirty Hair. Last night I woke up because I remembered that I forgot to wash my hair this week. No kidding! I worked for eight hours on Wednesday and between that and yoga teacher training I only allotted four minutes time for a shower. Don't ask me how I remembered to use soap and shave my armpits because my day started at 5am and I didn't get home until 5:30pm. By the time I put Max to bed at 11pm I was delusional. Thank goodness I don't have to do that on a regular basis!

Can you believe someone actually gave us an alarm clock for a baby shower gift? And you wonder why the only present I ever ask for is sleep. Everyone thinks I am joking, but that is all I ever need. Well I could get greedy and think of some other things! Hmmmm.....Time to go to sleep!