Crib Bumpers

While I was pregnant, I read every book about babies and baby care I could get my hands on.  As a first time mother I was very safety conscience and worried a lot. We put locks on all the drawers and as an extra precaution placed all the cleaners way out of baby reach.

When I set up the nursery I read all I could about safety and SIDS.  I made sure there were no pillows in the crib, no blankets, no toys and no windows nearby.  However, I thought that it was odd that crib bumpers seemed to be deemed safe. It seems to me that they are just another suffocation hazard that should be kept from children.  My girls did not have bumpers on their cribs.  We had no instances of them getting limbs stuck between railings and they slept just fine.

Today I read that the American Association of Pediatrics has declared crib bumpers to be unsafe.  They have stated they increase a child's risk of SIDS.  I am very pleased they have done this. 


Below is a link to the AAP about crib safety and bedding.
http://www.healthychildren.org/english/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Choosing-a-Crib.aspx

Play Time

While Charles and I were slowly drinking our morning cup of coffee today, Nicole informed us she had other plans.  She brought our shoes to us and then tried putting on her own shoes.  After we all had shoes on, she tried to open the front door.  Obviously she wanted an outing.

After finishing breakfast, we all piled in the car and went to the neighborhood park.  The nice part of living in the desert is you can spend a lot of the year outdoors.  It is the middle of October and in the mid 80's here.

Both girls ran for the slides when we arrived.  They recently discovered the joys of sliding.

After a bout of sliding, Nadia decided to examine the local flora.  She discovered that some bushes have bees flying around them.

The park is fairly large and has lots of grass.  After the bees the girls decided to run around the grass.  This was tons of fun until it was time to water the grass.  Nadia had a very stern talk with one of the sprinklers.

Adventures in Potty Training, Pt 1

There comes a day in every little girls life where she needs to learn the important step of using the big girl potty.  Today is the day for Nadia and Nicole.

Nadia and Nicole have been showing signs of being ready for potty training for quite awhile.  Every family member has told me I need to start potty training them.  The thing no one seems to remember is I am the mother of twins.  All attempts that have been made to potty train my girls have ended in bare-bottomed babies fighting over their potty chair (yes we do have two).  As funny as it sounds, it is not very fun to clean up.

Charles has decided to use the two weeks of vacation time from work that he has been accumulating all year.  This means I have a helper for the next two week.  There will never be a more perfect time to tackle this task.

So far there have been no successes.  There have been some close calls and more importantly, the girls are seeming to get the idea of what they should be doing.  With any luck this process will proceed quickly and my girls will be one step closer to asking for the car keys.

Holidays

I have never been one for holidays.  I never enjoyed looking at Christmas lights, I detested Halloween (my birthday is right before) and Thanksgiving seemed to be a reason to eat a lot.  I would celebrate with my family and friends, but I was never really in the spirit.

Nadia and Nicole changed all that for me.  Last year was their first holiday season.  They were 7 months old for Halloween and didn't think very much of the adorable costumes I forced them to sit still in. 

Nadia the tiger, Nicole the monkey

Thanksgiving passed very much the same way.  Their Great Uncle and Aunt visited from China, we had the traditional dinner, and Nadia and Nicole didn't care.


All that changed with Christmas.  I decorated a small tree and hung some garland on one of our fish tanks.  The girls loved the lights and really loved ripping open packages.

Now that the holiday season is here again and my girls are a year older, I find myself excited about decorating for them.  I have hung a small amount of spider webbing and placed some glow in the dark rats and spiders around.  My fish tank has been decorated for the season.

I cannot wait to finish Halloween decorating and decorating for the other holidays.  I hope my girls find wonder and joy in the holidays.

Aspiring Parrotheads

One of the nice things about living in Las Vegas is all the fun things to see and do.  Yesterday was the grand opening of the Margaritaville Casino at the Flamingo.  While the event was a bit crowded, my girls rode in their kokopax carriers and had a great time.

Nicole and Grandma Judy

The day started with a street fair with lots of live music, entertainers, and food.  The worlds largest margarita was made to kick off the festivities.  While the girls couldn't taste this, I can assure you there was booze in the blender.  Afterwards we had a wonderful lunch with an old friend at the Margaritaville restaurant.

Nadia and Nicole split their first cheeseburger in paradise while dodging pirates.


Nicole danced almost the entire meal to Jimmy Buffett.  We will be sure to return soon.

Night Terrors

Around 1am this morning Charles and I were woken up by Nicole screaming.  A child crying in the middle of the night is bad enough, however, when  you know there is nothing you can do to comfort them it is even worse.

Nicole was about 3 months old when she first started waking up in the night screaming.  She would cry, hit us, and scream inconsolably for about 20 minutes.  Nothing seemed to calm her, then just as fast as it started it would end and she acted like nothing had happened.

Her pediatrician stated these episodes were night terrors and were a sleep disorder.  I immediately started researching the topic.  Night Terrors are different from a normal nightmare.  The child cannot wake up from the terror.  All our attempts to console her were making no difference because she was sound asleep.  Research states that children have no recollection of the night terror the next day, which is a blessing because they appear to be very traumatizing.

While there is no cure for the night terrors, there does seem to be ways to control them.  Consistent sleep schedules work very effectively with Nicole.  If she misses a nap or stays up late, we can pretty much guarantee she will have one either that night or the next. In more severe cases, parents have reported that waking their child shortly after they fall asleep can interrupt their sleep pattern enough to stop the night terror from happening. 

Keeping Nicole's sleep schedule consistent helps alleviate the amount of night terrors she has, but does not completely stop them.  When she is sleeping well she has about 1 night terror a month, compared to the 2 to 3 a week she was having.  When they do occur, all we can do for her is hold her and be there for her when she wakes up.

For more information:
http://www.nightterrors.org
/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000809.htm

Kokopax

One of the first items I received as a gift when I had my twins was two Kokopax backpack carriers.  Unfortunately I was unable to use the carriers until my girls were about six months old, for safety reasons kids need to be able to sit upright unsupported before using backpack carriers.  However, since this time the carriers have become indispensable.

The carriers are lightweight, under 3 pounds, and made of durable, washable fabric over an aluminum frame.  I was worried at first that the girls would pull hair and ears because they were at head level, however, they seem to love being able to see what I am seeing and they leave my hair and ears alone.  

We love to go hiking and these packs are sturdy enough to take on day hikes, yet easy enough to use while doing housework or going shopping.  During long outings, the girls often fall asleep in the carriers and the sides of the carrier are padded so my girls are nice and comfortable.

Nadia asleep in Kokopax carrier

Grandma Judy with Nadia in Kokopax carrier at Death Valley

www.kokopax.com
 Our Kokopax Carriers were such a success, when a friend had a baby I knew she had to have one.  Her daughter is almost old enough to ride in her carrier and updates will follow.