The Moby Experiment

We've been putting it off...testing our infant carrier and wrap. We have an ERGObaby Carrier and a Moby Wrap. We decided that today was the day, and we'd attack the more overwhelming of the two...the Moby Wrap.

After 15 minutes of frustration trying to get it onto me (where we consulted both the instruction manual and YouTube videos), I decided I'd gotten it right. All I needed was a baby...but he was sleeping, and I was NOT about to wake him. We resorted to the next best thing...

A POPPLE!!

Hopefully, Ethan is as accommodating as this non-moving, non-crying ball of fluff!

Taking the Plunge

Yesterday, my brother said, "Raising a kid is not an experiment." Well, in my limited experience, it kind of is. Albert Einstein once said, "Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." That's kind of how I feel about our current nap/sleep method with Ethan. It's just not working, and I'm going crazy!

The problem lies in two conflicting viewpoints on the nap/sleep front. The first approach involves not letting a baby sleep "too much" during the day, in the hopes that they will sleep more at night. Let's call the second, the "don't wake a sleeping baby" approach. The name says it all.

We've been trying the first approach, making sure that Ethan is fed every 3-4 hours. Between the length of the feedings and his need to be awake a bit (since he's more alert now), he was only getting a 1-1.5 hour nap. I think he's so overtired at night, that he's not even getting 3-4 hour stretches then! Therefore, he is not getting an appropriate amount of sleep. Also, since I feed him when he wakes (or when I wake him, for that matter), I feel that he's not always hungry, and falls asleep mid-feeding. This causes him to need to eat smaller amounts more frequently. 

I think we are going to take the plunge and try approach #2. This is the recommended approach in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child which I am slowly reading. Dr. Weissbluth, the author, claims that if you don't let your baby/child sleep the appropriate amount necessary for that 24 hour period, they will be in "sleep debt". They will be so overtired, that their bodies will not let them fall asleep as they should. 

Now, I plan to not let him sleep more than three hours at a time during the day, since that has been the consensus among the people I've polled (read: my mom and friends). I know that I have to give this a try for about a week to see if it will work. The difficult part will be to continue on the first few days and nights, even when it seems like it might not be working. The truth is, it might not work, but raising a child is and experiment, after all.

One-a-Day

The last few weeks have started out great, but the farther I get into the week, the more stressed out and overwhelmed I feel. I don't know if anyone else out there in blog-land has the same issues. (I imagine anyone who teaches is in the same boat as I am.) I have come up with a solution. Well, not really a solution...more like an experiment. No matter how bogged down we get with work/family/bills/other stressful things, let's vow to do ONE thing a day just for ourselves. I'm not saying this has to be a big thing (although it could be once in a while). It could be something like treating yourself to a Starbucks coffee, taking a bubble bath, reading for pleasure (imagine that!) for 10 minutes, making a fun online purchase, whatever. As long as this "one-a-day" is purely for yourself. I know this sounds a little selfish, but many times we (and I mean women, mostly) put everyone else first and don't take the time to make sure we are in a good place, sacrificing our sanity for the sake of others. Taking the focus off of our stresses and spending time doing something positive for ourselves just once a day, may make us feel more confident and centered. I really think this is worth a try. So, my "one-a-day" for today? Yoga!!! And tomorrow??? Sushi dinner with my friend Rachel. What will your "one-a-day" be today? Tomorrow?? Keep me POSTed!

Guinea Pig

Over the last month, I have decided to use myself (and sometimes Kevin) as a guinea pig to test out several different foods and eating habits. Some of these things I've been doing for the entire month of January, while others, I have tried more recently. My inspiration to blog about this topic derives from one of my favorite people, who writes a blog called Happy Fat Girl, and her latest post. So, here it goes. Drinking at least 6 glasses of water before other beverages (except coffee): I am definitely snacking less. This is VERY difficult to maintain because of the nature of my job (teaching does not allow for freedom in potty breaks). Many weekdays, I don't make it to 6 glasses, so I don't get to drink anything but water, which is not a bad thing. On the weekends, it's a bit easier, and my evening plans sometimes force me to drink lots of water so I can enjoy a glass of wine at night. Tofu Shiritake Noodles: Kevin does not enjoy these at all. I am undecided right now. I've made two pasta dishes using them, and the second was better than the first. The noodles, while only 40 calories per package, have an odd texture, so they must be cleaned thoroughly. Here are a few recipes, thanks to Hungry Girl. (I made the first recipe, and highly recommend using the cleaning tips mentioned.) I have not totally given up on these noodles...more on these in the future. Eating snacks between meals (and eating smaller meals): Let me preface this by saying that I have only been doing this a few days. So far, this has been working well. I eat a snack between meals (cheese, fruit/fruit leather, turkey jerky, almonds, veggies/dip, etc.), which makes me feel full most of the time. During the week, I eat breakfast at 6:30 and lunch at 12:15. With that much time in between, I'm famished by lunch, and don't feel completely full even after eating my meal. Therefore, I end up snacking a TON after school gets out. By eating a snack in between my meals (and one a few hours before bed), I feel a lot more satisfied. It's like I'm playing a trick on my brain! * A note on this one...I try to write out a plan for what I will eat each day in the morning. As a teacher, I'm all about lists, so this helps me stay on track. Preparing snacks on Sunday afternoon: It sounds like a pain, but I tried this last Sunday. It is not that bad. I spent about 30 minutes cutting up vegetables and making a tasty dip. I also took some of this time to divide snacks into single-size servings (cheese, almonds, green bean chips which I'll talk about next, etc.). Result? Kevin and I are able to control our snack portions much more easily, and reaching for a healthy snack (i.e. veggies and dip) over a bag of chips just got a lot more realistic. Green Bean Chips Holy moly, these little suckers are good! There is a link to them in my side bar under "A Few of My Favorite Things". They sound icky, but if you are a green bean lover, you'll flip for them. You can find them at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or Fresh Market. (A 1/2 cup is only 1 WW point!) Fuji Apples and Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese Wedges: I'm a HUGE fan of apples and peanut butter, but it's high in fat and calories. Hungry Girl to the rescue again. Enter Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese Wedges. Sounds interesting but tastes GREAT!!! (Click on the Hungry Girl link in this paragraph to learn more ideas on how to use this fab cheese.) I think I'll continue to rate new items that I try out on myself (and my patient and willing husband), and blog about them at them at the beginning of the next month. Up next: Primal Strips Meatless Jerky and VitaTops.

The Spinach Experiment

Last night, Kevin made spinach dip so that I could take it to school for our "Payday Treats". Each payday, one grade-level brings food, like a potluck, and everyone gets to munch all day. Kevin HATES defrosting the spinach my way, using hot water, the sink, a strainer, and paper towels. According to Kevin, these are way too many materials. (I must say that Kevin uses considerably more paper towels than necessary.) He decided to test out a new defrosting method. Here is his experiment, a la fifth grade science project. Question: Is there a cleaner way to defrost spinach? Hypothesis: I can defrost spinach using a Ziploc bag. Procedure: 1) Remove frozen spinach from package. 2) Place frozen spinach into Ziploc bag, and lay in sink. 3) Run hot water over Ziploc bag. 4) Squeeze water from bag. 5) Remove spinach. Results: It took 20 minutes to defrost one box of spinach. The end result was two little balls of spinach - "spinach turds" as Kevin called them. The dip tasted exactly the same. Exactly zero paper towels were lost in this battle. Conclusion: While it took a much longer time to defrost the spinach, the whole process ended up being a lot less messy!