Pregnant with a Toddler

In a weird way it is almost easier to have a job than to stay home with a toddler when you are pregnant. I worked most of my pregnancy and my daughter stays home with my husband. This summer I have been able to stay home with her and my husband, and yes, she is more exhausting than a full-time job. Daddy is my superhero. He always lets me rest when I come home from work, even though it is exhausting to parent a toddler (pregnant or not). I have some tips to getting that needed rest with your needy toddler while you are pregnant. Oh, and an just for clarification I am pregnant with a baby in my womb and I live with a toddler. Daddy made me clarify.

It is crazy because in a week or two I am not going to be pregnant with a toddler anymore. I am going to be the mother of a newborn and a toddler. Honestly, I am a little nervous about becoming a parent of two children, but I guess we will see if I have any advice to give in a month or two. Now for the tips while you are pregnant.

1. Take a bath with your toddler. Audrey and I will take baths together. She rubs the shaving cream on my legs. We play with her toys and I get to soak my soar muscles in the tub.

2. Have Daddy babysit and go get a spa pedicure. I got a lot more massages the first time around. Mostly because Daddy now gives Mommy a lot of breaks because he is parenting a toddler now as well. So, I had Daddy babysit and I went to the nail salon and got the super ultra spa pedicure for $40.00. I told them I was pregnant and I think they gave me extra special treatment. I went to the Nail Spa in Cerritos, CA. You sit in a massage chair and then they massage your legs and feet like three times. It is heavenly for those tender feet and ankles.

3. Take a nap while the toddler is napping. How much are you really going to get done while your baby is sleeping? It is worth a couple missed chores to keep your strength up. I always try to nap when she naps. Yeah, the house is a bit messier, but I am a lot less cranky.

4. Let them watch some educational DVD's. I know you are not suppose to let them watch DVD's and television until they are over 2, but those psychologists and researchers have obviously never been pregnant with a toddler before. Sometimes I just need to relax and kick my feet up and Audrey really likes her shows. Of course you need to limit the time (maybe one a day), but I show them to her guilt free. Audrey loves My Baby Can Read, Elmo's World, Word World, Sid the Science Kid, and Baby Signs.

That's all I got for now, but I may have more tips for you later. I kinda have prego brain at 38 weeks pregnant.

Love,

Today's Mom

Homeless with a Toddler

For the last 6 and half months my husband, toddler daughter, and I lived in hotels waiting for our house to close escrow. We gave notice at our tiny two bedroom apartment too early and then we fell out of escrow. Oh, and did I mention I found out I was pregnant the week we had to move all our stuff in to a storage unit? (three storage units actually). A lot of people thought we were crazy, but in the end it paid off because we got our house!!! It is amazing. It even has a fruit orchard. It is amazing how God works things out. Believe me, I thought it wasn't gonna work out more than once. Audrey was 14 months old when we moved into various hotel rooms. She is now 21 months old when we finally moved into our house. We made it in time to get ready for Luke (our son, due in September). Needless to say, my husband and I are experts at traveling with a toddler. It is really cool that hotel rooms are pretty child proof. Bring in a bag of toys and you have yourself a portable bedroom. Blackout curtains work great for tired, cranky, toddlers. In fact, now that we are in a house without blackout curtains, Audrey wakes up at the crack of dawn. It is really cool that someone cleans up after your toddler's mess. Poopy diapers, crumbs on the floor, messy towels on the floor are all cleaned up after a visit to the grocery store. My husband had a whole nap time system for when the maid came to clean. He would take Audrey in the car for her daily nap while the maid cleaned the room. Looking back on this experience after it's all said and done I realize that it was worth all the moving around because I am sitting here in my huge living room in my huge house. If we were not patient or willing to be flexible we would not have been able to be here. I think my daughter is very flexible with different situations because of this out-of-the-ordinary experience. She knows how to have a different schedule without having a meltdown. We can travel anywhere and she is fine with it. I love seeing her in her new pink princess bedroom because it reminds me of how as a family we worked together and made this house happen together. We were all patient and it paid off. In the end, my point is that every child needs a little bump in their schedule. I think Audrey will now always be ready for new experiences and traveling to new places. I am glad we don't have to do this anymore, but looking back it was a great experience.

Hippie Parents

A friend of mine referred to my laid back parenting style as, "hippy." I guess in some ways I am pretty laid back about parenting. Let me give you the context. We were eating at a restaurant on the patio. No one else was eating on the patio, but our group. My 21 month old daughter refuses to sit in a high chair very long anymore, so we don't even bother. She sits in a chair now. My husband and I let her get down and climb and run around as long as she is not bothering anyone. I have been out with friends who spend their whole meal fighting with their kid to sit down and be quiet. What is the point of even going out if you are going to make it miserable for your child the entire meal? My daughter let us sit and talk for over an hour in the beautiful sunshine and she was completely happy. So here are my tips for a successful sit down meal with a toddler.

1. Go to a loud restaurant. My daughter is a loud talker, so if the restaurant is louder then her no one will mind her lack of volume control. Also if your toddler does decide to have a melt-down in the middle of dinner no one will be able to hear.
2. Get one of those large corner booths if possible. I let my daughter run around on them and it keeps her entertained for awhile.
3. Always bring back-up. My daughter loves to look at books and she loves to color. Make sure if it is gonna be a long dinner that you have entertainment for your child. I also keep one of those mini-Magna Doodles in her diaper bag. Those things are amazing.

I look at my "hippiness" as a positive thing. I am not a hippy about everything, but there are some things a mom should just not have to stress about. Going out to eat every once in awhile should be fun for all (including your child).

Love,

Today's Mom