Getting Back to Basics

This Thanksgiving I was able to attend service at my home church in Fruitvale, and hear an amazing message.  He brought to light everything that I have known, but needed to hear one more time I guess.  Did you know that we (the world) produce enough food to feed everyone on earth, and clothing to put on every single person's back?  We just have a distribution problem.  What an interesting way to look at it.  How do we solve this distribution problem?  I have no clue, but I for one would like to take small steps in my own life to live as simply as I can, so I can hopefully do my part.  

I am making the commitment to no longer buy new clothing, toys, furniture etc.  I am going to give only hand made, used or recycled gifts, and hope that maybe I can inspire others to do the same.  Each gift I give will include a tag that tells the receiver a little bit about the gift and why I choose to give hand made or recycled things.  There are more than enough items in used stores and online to meet my needs (as well as yours).  It might even make me re-think buying things such as toothpaste and deodorant...why not make them myself? 

Sometimes I forget that I am living a rich life.  I don't realize that my life isn't among the average in the world.  In North America we are privileged.  I don't know that I like that word.  Privileged.  Lucky.  I like that better.  

The other day my friend posted on facebook:  

"Me: Oh man. All of my friends on Pinterest are getting married right now.  

Ben (her boyfriend): First world problems."

  

What small thing can you change in your day-to-day life?

Big One Year Old!

So my little man turned ONE last Sunday, and let me say that his party was a huge success!  

Malakai sure is blessed!  

He got all sorts of clothes, toys and books, amazing hand-crafted gifts and even some cold hard cash that will be put away in his very own bank account!  So many dear friends were able to come celebrate with us, and the park was the perfect venue!  The weather couldn't have been better!  We had healthful treats of fruits and veggies, rice crackers, corn chips, hummus and home made spinach dip.  

I made Kai one-year-old friendly cupcakes that were DELICIOUS if I do say so myself!  Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana...YUM!  Grain-Free, Dairy-Free and the only sugar to be found was in the dark chocolate!

My amazing boss from The Alpine Grind donated some amazing Oso Negro coffee and everyone loved it!  It was so awesome to see all the babies, toddlers and kids crawling, running, and tumbling around the park.  Thanks so much to everyone who came to help celebrate his big day!

Boobless

Well, Kai has officially weaned at night. I was sort of hoping for a grand finale of sleeping through the night, even though I knew that was pretty unrealistic. Even though Malakai went the whole night without breast feeding last night he was still up a few times. Hopefully he will learn over the next few days that it is a lot easier to just sleep...

This concludes my 7 days of sleep posts. Stay tuned for updates on how he's doing. Next post will be a birthday post for my big one year old boy! I can't help but remember how I was feeling at this very moment last year!

Tonight's The Night!

Yesterday, after being so confused as to why Kai had been up from 3-5 that morning, I was feeding him, stick my finger in my mouth, and discovered another tooth! That was a shock, because usually his teeth take super long to come in, and there is no surprise when they do! I feel bad now, that I didn't console him as much as a could have (trying to stick with the sleep learning). Kai seems to have recovered though!

He had a wonderful two and a half hour nap in the morning, an another 45minutes that afternoon (I had to wake him from this one because it was so close to bedtime).

Last night Malakai brilliantly slept through his old 8:45 feeding, and I fed him for a very short 2 minutes when I went to bed at 10:30. He stirred a bit at some point, and then woke at 3:26am signing for more milk. He quickly settled on his own and fell back to sleep. I fed him again for that ridiculous 2 minutes, but he seemed satisfied, and went right back to sleep for another two hours!

I think that tonight will go well, even if he wakes up once or twice. Can't believe how quickly he has changed!

Bump In The Road

Last night bedtime went perfectly along with the first 2 feeds. He woke up at midnight (scheduled feed at 12:35), but fell back to sleep without tears at 12:30 and I woke him around 12:50 to feed for 2 minutes. It was the first night that I had eliminated the 2:30 feed, and of course he woke up at 3am and whined and jumped around for an hour. Then he proceeded to cry for another hour before he went to sleep. He was supposed to feed at 4am, but he wailed right through that, and didn't fall asleep until 5:10. I woke him 15 minutes later and fed him for 4 minutes. Thankful he slept until 7:40 so that I'm not a complete grouch!

I'm always so surprised at how quickly babies forgive and forget. He woke up all smiles! I hope that last night doesn't set the bar for tonight. I'm supposed to be going from 4 feeds to only 2. Crossing my fingers that we both get some well deserved sleep tonight!

Progress...

For those interested, here you can see our exact progress! Listed are our [goals] as well as how we actually did!

First night: Saturday Sept 8
[7:30 Bedtime]
Layed him in bed at 7:17pm, moved around a lot,climbed on me, whined a bit, at 7:40 he started to cry and by 7:47 he was asleep, and not on top of me!
[8:45pm feed 10 min]
[10:15 feed 12 min]
Woke at 9:53 an cried bloody murder until 11:27. Nursed at 11:43 for 10 min.
[12:35feed 14 min]
1:06 8 min
[2:30 feed 8 min]
Cried briefly being put back to sleep. (less than a minute)
[4:00 feed 12 min]
[6:30 Wake time]
Woke at 6:15

Night 2: Sunday Sept 9
[7:30 Bedtime]
In bed at 7:45, asleep by 7:46, though sprawled on top of me!
[8:45 feed 8 min]
Alarm didn't sound :( Kai woke at 9:12, went back about 9:20, fed at 9:32 for 8 minutes.
[10:15 feed 10 min]
Alarm is dumb! (11:00) fed 10
[12:35 feed 8 min]
Alarm is dumb! 1:00 fed 8min
[2:30 feed 6 min]
2:42 fed 6 min
[4:00 feed 10 min]
[6:30 Wake time]
6:00 wake time, out of bed 6:20

Night 3: Monday Sept 10
[7:30 Bedtime]
[8:45 feed 6 min]
[10:30 feed 8 min]
[12:35 feed 6 min]
[2:30 feed 4 min]
[4:00 feed 8 min]
[6:30Wake time] 6:00 wake time

Night 4: Tuesday Sept 11
[7:30 Bedtime]
[8:45 feed 4 min]
[10:15 feed 6 min]
[12:35 feed 4 min]
[2:30 feed 2 min]
[4:00 feed 6 min]
[6:30 Wake time]
5:15 wake time...stayed in bed until 6am.

Waking up Early

Well, nights are definitely progressing as they should! Tonight will be the first 4 feed night (down from 5)!

I mentioned yesterday thatj Kai has been waking up earlier, and I must have jinxed myself, because he woke up at 5:15 and wouldn't go back to sleep. I made him tough it out until 6, but man I needed that extra hour of sleep! Hopefully things change here as far as his wake time, otherwise I may need to consider moving bedtime a little later. It's said that on average babies his age sleep around 11 hours at night but my little man seems to like more like 10 or 10 1/2. He did wake up with a runny nose, so he may just be fighting a cold :(

Another day of work for me today...I sure miss my little guy in work days!

How Fast Babies Learn

I am in complete shock that little Malakai, the baby who used to only sleep 30 minutes at a time for a nap, only with me laying next to him, now takes between an hour and fifteen minutes to two hours for his nap without me by his side!  I can't believe he has changed so much in less than 4 days!  

Yesterday while I was at work Kai had an awesome day with Grammie and Pop Pop.  He had an hour and a half nap in the morning, and an hour and fifteen minute nap in the afternoon.  Let me just say here how much I LOVE when Kai first sees me after one of my work days.  It is nothing but PURE JOY!

Last night, we followed the same routine, and my sweetie went right to sleep with no problems.  My alarm worked perfectly (finally), and Kai only woke unscheduled twice.  He had a nightmare around 10pm, and I felt so bad!  But I just came in and put my hand on his tummy and he fell right back to sleep.

I have noticed that he has been getting up 30 minutes to an hour earlier than he had been but I'm sure that will change over the next couple weeks.  I'm not too worried about it.

Technical Difficulties

I have nothing but positive things to say so far about the weaning techniques I've learned from The Sleep Easy Solution. After Kai had a luxurious 2 hour morning nap, I put him down for his afternoon nap and he acted like what I always thought of a "normal" child going for a nap: He brought me a book to read, nursed and pulled off when he was finished, then I put him down in bed and snuggled in next to him. He babbled to himself, climbed over top of me, bounced around a little, and then went to sleep! No crying at all. He then managed to sleep an hour and fifteen minutes, which was wonderful! I've never had such a productive day!

Last night we were a few minutes late getting ready for bed, but it went as smoothly as ever. He was asleep within about 2 minutes of hitting the pillow, although he did whimper a little and turn himself so he had his head on my shoulder.

The rest of the night went really well, except for the fact that apparently I don't know how to work my alarm. Thankfully my inner alarm went off within a half out of whenever we were supposed to get up to feed. Malakai only woke up once on his own, and it was only because of my stupid alarm that didn't go off. This time instead of an hour and a half of screaming, he cried and whined for about 8 minutes and then fell right back I sleep.

HOORAY!

Today I'm at work for both his naps, but Grammie already had him falling asleep without a bottle, so no worries there!

Praying that he continues to progress and by the weekend will no longer be waking up at night!

Day 2 Sleep Learning

So after my post last night most of his feeds went super smoothly. Key word: MOST.

He woke up before his scheduled second feed, so I had to
try and get him to fall back asleep without the boob. NOT FUN. Kai screamed bloody murder for an hour and a half. That's one way to make mama cry! On top of the crying he was angrily signing "more milk" over and over again. It was the longest hour an a half of my life. I cried right along side him and thought many times about just giving up. But I was determined.

Finally my little man fell back to sleep sprawled on top of me, and 15 minutes later I got him up, fed him and put him down. The rest of the night worked beautifully, but man am I tired!

For his morning nap I followed the same routine as bedtime, and after putting him in bed he cried for about 10 seconds and fell asleep. On his own! I left the room, and he has now been sleeping for 2 hours! I'm in awe!

Looking forward to tonight.

7 Days of Sleep Posts...

Sorry if this isn't your thing, but right now it is a huge learning curve for both me and Kai.

As most of you know I have been pulled in many different directions not knowing which way to go to work towards better sleep habits for me and my little man. I have co-slept since the beginning, and have been reluctant to give that up. I have read countless books on sleep training, and am almost always feeling torn by the time I finish them. There are so many different techniques, and honestly I really wish I lived in the day and age where there weren't so many books, suggestions etc. Then I could just go about my business and figure things out day by day, asking friends and family for their personal experiences.

In today's North American culture, it is pretty rare that a mother can afford to sleep when baby sleeps, even though countless books tell us this is one of the best things to do. I think that a lot of us assume that the "sleep when baby sleeps" rule ends after the first 2-3 months. It's around this time that our schedules start to fill up again, your feel like we need to keep a clean house, and get countless other things done.

In most tribal societies when a woman has a baby she is expected to take care of the baby and herself. She nurses baby when she needs it and doesn't think to worry about the number of times baby is up at night, because she's going to be napping right along side her. Nowadays, most of us are working moms, or just plain used to being busy moms! We can't afford to be tired and waking up 5-7 times a night!

So while I struggle with the idea that I am NOT a tribal mother, I have decided that it is about time I get some sleep. I still really enjoy sharing a bed with my son, so unless nothing else works, we're going to continue to co-sleep even through "sleep learning" (a term I much prefer to "sleep training").

The latest book that was recommended to me by an old friend called The Sleep Easy Solution, seemed to be the right fit for us. Basically I've decided to begin to wean Malakai at night in hopes that this will solve his 4-5 average night wakings.

Over the past few nights I tracked Kai's night time feeds and was surprised I the amount he was actually nursing. So I came up with a weaning schedule where I physically get him up to nurse about an hour before he would normally wake to feed. I repeat this throughout the night with each feed a set amount of time. Every night I will reduce each feed by 2 min, and hopefully within a week he will no longer need to feed through the night.

Kai's weaning schedule:

First night: Saturday Sept 8
7:30 Bedtime
8:45pm feed 10 min
10:15 feed 12 min
12:35 feed 14 min
2:30 feed 8 min
4:00 feed 12 min
6:30 Wake time

Night 2: Sunday Sept 9
7:30 Bedtime
8:45 feed 8 min
10:15 feed 10 min
12:35 feed 12 min
2:30 feed 6 min
4:00 feed 10 min
6:30 Wake time

Night 3: Monday Sept 10
7:30 Bedtime
8:45 feed 6 min
10:15 feed 8 min
12:35 feed 10 min
2:30 feed 4 min
4:00 feed 8 min
6:30 Wake time

Night 4: Tuesday Sept 11
7:30 Bedtime
8:45 feed 4 min
10:15 feed 6 min
12:35 feed 8 min
2:30 feed 2 min
4:00 feed 6 min
6:30 Wake time

Night 5: Wednesday Sept 12
7:30 Bedtime
8:45 feed 2 min
10:15 feed 4 min
12:35 feed 6 min
4:00 feed 4 min
6:30 Wake time

Night 6: Thursday Sept 13
7:30 Bedtime
10:15 feed 2 min
12:35 feed 4 min
4:00 feed 2 min
6:30 Wake time

Night 7: Friday Sept 14
7:30 bedtime
12:35 feed 2 min
6:30 Wake time

Night 8: Saturday Sept 15
7:30 bedtime
No Feeds!
6:30 Wake time

Tonight was day one...and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! Instead of reading stories in bed and nursing him to sleep, I brought a comfy chair into my room, and we read stories and had song time and nursies there. When I could see that he was almost ready to fall asleep I put him down in our bed with his stuffed animal and lay down next to him. He whined a bit and for about 20 minutes or so climbed over me and rocked himself. When he was really tired he started to cry and within 7 minutes he was out like a light! And he wasn't even sprawled out in top of me!!! 40 minutes to fall asleep is spectacular for a first night of sleep learning. An hour is said to be average!

Here's hoping the rest I the night goes as smoothly!

OOPS! Missed a week!

So although I thought about my blog a lot, somehow I didn't get a chance to sit down and actually write a post last week.  

Last weekend I drove from Trail to Calgary with my little man.  What do you pack for your road trips?

Before I left, I had baked some Skinny Monkey Cookies, and Breakfast Cookies, as well as grabbed some energy orbs from The Alpine Grind.  I packed those along with some fresh fruit and water bottles for the ride, and for snacks on the weekend.  Since going wheat free I have pretty much eliminated my ability to eat at fast food restaurants (for the better I may add), so I need to pack most of my food with me.  

Do you eat out of boredom while driving?  On a long drive without another adult to talk to and children's French rhymes playing about 80% of the time, I went back to a bad habit of eating.  Thankfully the food I had packed for the drive there were healthful, but on the drive back I had nothing home made, and didn't plan well for good snacks for myself.  

Just curious to see what your go-to's are for road trips!  Do you try to make your snacks healthful or are your go-to's more like "vacation food" such as chips and chocolate bars?

Weekly Posts...

So after quite the long hiatus, I am back.  My lovely friend wrote a post last week about doing a blog challenge for herself (writing every day for 33 days!), and I thought I would join her.  Check our Ginny's blog here!  Since I am quite busy fitting in everything, I have decided to be realistic and shoot for one post a week.  I am going to try to make sure that each post has something to do with my blog title: Health, Parenthood, Hippie (the simple life), or Art.  Looking forward to this challenge!  It gets me doing something for myself that isn't watching TV!

WEEK ONE!

For years I have watched countless commercials and infomercials on different diet regimes, pills and exercise equipment claiming results in as little as a few days...I'll admit, that starting at the young age of 13 I became a chronic dieter.  Being a competitive dancer, I always felt bigger than I should be, because I had a womanly figure (thighs, bum, hips and boobs).  Most of the other girls I danced with were tiny.  Long and lanky...flat chested and flat bottomed.  It was a constant struggle.  I am so grateful that I did not end up with some horrible eating disorder, but wish it wouldn't have taken me 15+ years to get a handle on a healthy lifestyle!  I tried almost everything:  the egg and grapefruit diet, slimfast, Atkins, Michael Therman and different cleanses just to name a few.  

After having my son Kai last September, and weighing myself after 3 or 4 months, I discovered that I had actually GAINED weight!  Suddenly some light switch went off in my head and I knew that my lifestyle needed to change.  To start, I began counting calories.  I know that some of you may feel that this is no different from dieting, but the difference is that I made this a life habit that I will continue to do even as I maintain.  Now I will say that while breastfeeding weight comes off quite easily as long as you aren't eating everything in sight, so this was a great time for me to start.  I knew I had about 40lbs to lose to get to a healthy weight, so instead of lowering my calories to 1200 a day (quite drastic), I figured out how many calories I would need to eat in a day to maintain my GOAL weight.  Eating this amount would allow me to lose the weight more gradually until I arrived at my goal.  Counting everything I ate was quite eye opening.  It really teaches you to be aware of the types and amount of food that you are putting into your body.  

In February, after talking to some friends and reading some background and history of wheat, I decided that it would be beneficial for me to take wheat out of my diet.  For more information check out Wheat Belly!  Once I took wheat out, my weight loss seemed to speed up a bit as well.

When spring hit I started walking and hiking a lot, because let's face it...it's not just about the food you do or do not put into your mouth.  You have to keep an active lifestyle to ensure the optimum health.  By the end of May (about 6 or 7 months since I began my journey), I had reached my goal weight!  So exciting!  The one thing I did notice though is that although I was at a wonderful weight, and I didn't want to lose any more, I still had lots of "jiggly bits".  I had done quite a bit of cardio, but didn't concentrate enough on muscle building.  Now I am at the beginning of a new journey, which is developing muscle.  I didn't know where to start and had a much harder time getting motivated to start anything.  My dear friend who I have mentioned to you before sent me a link one day to the recent phenomenon of BodyRock!  Free workouts that you can do with either no equipment or with things found around the house!  12 minutes!  Yes please! She has even started posting her own modified beginner workouts for friends to follow along!  Find them here...

Sometimes I get annoyed with people saying "I hope you aren't going to lose anymore weight", or things of that nature, because I still count calories and work out.  I don't think people realize that it is a lifestyle change.  In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, one needs to continue doing what they are doing.  Otherwise it would be a diet!  

 

Anyhoo...I hope this encourages you to start living a healthier lifestyle.  It feels great!

Whatever works for you is best!

Ok I promise that my next blog will be about something other than sleep! Ha! I guess that this has been a major part of what is going on in my life so I can't help but share about it.

To recap: the first night Kai was in his crib he woke after only an hour. The second night, after two. So on the third night I'm happy to report he slep three hours! The fourth and fifth were 2-2 1/2, and last night a GLORIOUS FOUR HOURS!

I have decided that the routine is he goes to bed in his crib, but when he wakes he comes to bed with me, so I'm not getting up every time. Last night after his 4 hour stretch, he came to bed with me, and had two 3 hour stretches after that! What a change! I hope this is the beginning of better sleep for both of us! So glad my slow going approach is having some effect!

It's not unlike my experience on The Camino when I would see pilgrim after pilgrim pass me by going almost twice as fast, but I was enjoying every second. It made for less stress, no injuries, and an overall content star of being. With Kai, I k ow that I'd like for us both to be getting more sleep, but I don't want to rush the natural process. Everything has its own time. I realize that this approach is not for everyone and am a big believer that you have to do what works best for you. There is no right or wrong answer.

Happy Sleeping :)

Getting More Sleep

Two days ago Kai fell out of bed during a nap for Grammie, and it was decided that it was time for the crib to make an appearance. He wasn't hurt thank God, just a bit shaken up.

And so it begins...

That night we moved the crib so it was right next to the bed, and I tried to put him to sleep in the crib. Nursed him to sleep in my arms (still trying to avoid the "crying it out" method), then moved him to the crib. I actually had energy to watch a movie and was quite excited to stay up a little later...

Kai was up 6 times before 2am. By then I was sleeping in the bed next to the crib and getting up every time to nurse him to sleep. Needless to say I was a little exhausted so at the 2am mark I just let him stay in bed with me.

Last night was a little more successful as far as night wakings go, up 5-6 times total the entire night, but when I nursed him at around 1am, I was too tired to sit up to nurse so I laid us both down...and that was the end of the crib for the night! LOL! We both fell asleep, so next time he woke up I didn't bother taking him back to his crib.

If I can get enough milk stored in the fridge/freezer, I may try to start giving him a bottle at night, and ween him off the boob. Maybe that will help with the night wakings. That way I can also feed him right in his crib so there is no getting up and down up and down.

We'll see. I'm ok with the slow process...just trying out different techniques to see which seem to work for him (and me)!

Figuring Babies Out...

Ha!  As soon as I think I have Kai figured out, he changes something, or he gets sick, or he's teething.  I've been pretty exhausted through this sleep training (getting even less sleep because I actually have to be aware of what is happening every time  Kai wakes up), so last night the grandparents were generous and gave me some time to get some solid sleep. 

Grammie put Kai to sleep at 7pm, and his first stretch he got 3 hours and 20 minutes!  I got to sleep from 9pm-2am! When pop pop went to bed, I got up to pump and then lay on the couch to wait until Kai woke up again.  Pop pop had put him to bed at about 1:20am and I was sure he'd be awake within an hour or two.  The next time I looked at the clock it was 5:30am!  I was thinking "is he alive???"  so of course I tried to sneak into bed with him, but he woke up.  I fed him and he fell right back to sleep and slept until 7:30am!  

I was left a little confused and baffled...I have really wanted to continue to co-sleep, but after last night I feel like he sleeps better and longer without me in bed with him.  Tonight I'm going to try to sleep in a different room and get up for feedings.  We'll see how it goes.  If he continues to sleep better and longer, I will start the transition to his crib :(  I think that I will still let him in bed with me for the morning sleep, that way we still get time together, but we both get a good night sleep.  

So...the thing is, I am a first time mama, and I am just learning what works best for the both of us.  I know that every baby is different, and every mama is different.  I, in no way think that co-sleeping is better, I just really loved that time with my baby and am sad that it may be ending...

Would love to hear about other sleep transitions that families have made!

The Camino: At Home!

Today started off a little rough.  I was grumpy and feeling like I needed my space.  I have been spending a lot of time at my parents' place (upstairs), and now it's just become a habit to go upstairs instead of feeling comfortable in my own space.  When we got back from Cuba, we found our space a little torn apart as Pop Pop finished painting the stairwell, and ripped up the carpet on the stairs.  It hasn't really felt like 'home' since, so we've pretty much been living at grammie and pop pop's.  Today I decided we needed to claim our space again, instead of waiting for the stairs to get re-covered. That made me feel a little better.

After eating lunch in our own kitchen, Kai and I made our way over to the Columbia Trail and headed out for a beautiful hike.  It was GORGEOUS out today!  My dear friend Sarah D kept us company via her wonderful voice.  Not only is she a talented musician, but she is also a fellow blogger...check her out!







I LOVE feeling like I'm walking on the Camino, when I'm right at home!  There were so many moments this afternoon when I swore I could be hiking in Spain.  I thought of all my dear friends I met along the Way and about all the lessons I learned.  Now I KNOW that I can bring the Camino into my every day life.  What a blessing to be able to share this day with my handsome little man.



So today turned out to be good all around, for my mind, body and soul!

Skinny Monkey Cookie Cups

Today I thought I'd post my altered recipe for Skinny Monkey Cookies

I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so I found the original recipe a little too "skinny", so I "fattened" it up a little! These are dairy and wheat free!

Skinny Monkey Cookie Cups
3 ripe bananas
2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips.  Add chocolate chips and dollop a tablespoon or so into a 24 mini cupcake tin lined with unbleached papers.  Bake at 350F for about 15 min.

Makes 24 minis at 93 calories a piece.

I find this quite delicious, but they are still not as sweet as your run of the mill cookie.  A great on the go breakfast (I have 2 or 3) or just a treat when you want something sweet but don't want something junkie.

Enjoy!

Sleepless Nights...

Well, sort of.

Since Kai started teething in February, he's been getting up every 1-2 hours at night, which makes for a pretty sleepy mama.  Just recently thanks to a facebook group, a book called "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" was recommended to me.  I have to say it was the first book on sleep that I have actually felt a jive with.  I am keeping a Sleep Log every 10ish days, and I thought I would share our progress via my bloggy blog.  We are co-sleepers, and I'd love to keep it that way, but I know that if after a few months of training neither one of us are sleeping better, I'll have to figure out a way for Kai to move to a crib :(  Here's hoping I get to stay with my little man!

So here is my Sleep Log before I implemented some of the advice  from NCSS:

Naps:
9:35am-  26 minutes
11:30am-  32 minutes
1:52pm-  32 minutes

3 Naps,  1 1/2 hours

Ideal: 2 Naps, 3-4 hours

Night:
Fell Asleep at 6:20pm
woke at:
7:00pm up 10 min
8:04pm up 29 min
9:40pm up 10 min
12:09am up 6 min
1:47am up 6 min
3:06am up 9 min
5:00am up 45 min
6:35am Up for the day.

Up 7 times, longest sleep stretch: 2 hours 19 min, 9 1/2 hours total sleep

Ideal: Up 1-3 times, 10-11 hours

Total sleep: 11 hours

Ideal sleep:  14-15 hours

Next is my log 10 days later after implementing a few small changes in routine:

 
Naps:

10:05am-  1 hour 35 min

2:00pm-  40 min

2 Naps, 1 hour 45 min

Ideal: 2 Naps, 3-4 hours

Night:

Fell Asleep at 6:10pm

Woke at:

8:03pm up 5 min

9:02pm up 45 min

12:06am up 14 min

1:12am up 9 min

3:09am up 8 min

4:17am up 13 min

6:20am Up for the day

Up 6 times, longest sleep stretch: 2 hours 19 min, 10 hours 50 min total sleep

Ideal: Up 1-3times, 10-11 hours

Total sleep: 13 hours

Ideal sleep: 14-15 hours

~So, yes this is what I have been doing on my nights the past few months.  How does your baby sleep?  What did you do, or change to improve sleep habits with your family?

Stay tuned for further improvement (hopefully)!

Breakfast for dinner? Yes Please!

So since I have given up wheat two months ago, I have really gotten into posting recipes on Pinterest.  I have to say I have become quite the baker!  I've decided to post my recipes once and a while when I have something particularly yummy!  Tonight I made a savory pancake...

This is the original recipe:  Bacon and Corn Griddle Cakes

I altered this recipe to be dairy and gluten free, but by no means is it low calorie or "healthy"!  But man they are yummy!

Bacon and Corn Griddle Cakes

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 large green onion diced
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2/3 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup daiya cheddar style shreds
warm maple syrup, for serving

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon pieces until they begin to brown. Add the onion and continue to cook until the bacon is crisp and the onion is softened.
2. While the bacon is cooking, combine the flour, green onion, baking powder, salt and pepper. Stir in the almond milk, egg and oil, just until moistened. Stir in the bacon mixture (grease and all), corn and cheddar shreds. The mixture will be thick. If you'd like the griddle cakes to be slightly thinner than those pictured, add a little more milk to thin out the batter.








3. Heat and grease a griddle or large skillet. Dollop oversized spoonfuls of the batter onto the griddle and cook until it is golden brown- 3 to 4 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining batter.



4. Serve stacks of griddle cakes with a good dose of warm maple syrup.


For those of you like me who count calories (maybe there aren't many of you), this recipe made 10 cakes at 267 calories each, not including maple syrup.

These are delicious and well worth the calories!

HAPPY EATING!

Finding the Balance

At least once a year (usually many more times than that), I am left feeling very conflicted about how I am living my life.  In 2009 I walked the 800km Camino de Santiago, and it was eye opening to say the least.  Since then, it has been even more difficult to figure out how to live more simply like I was while on The Camino.  I have decided recently that  would really like to take some steps towards a more simple life.  Since November I have been changing my diet...watching my calories, taking out wheat and eating out less.  I'm concentrating on getting outside more for the next couple of months.  Next steps will include slimming down my wardrobe, using the library, shopping locally, watching less tv, giving only gifts that are home made or recycled, and eventually getting rid of my cell phone (I know right?!).

First Time Traveling with Baby...

Ok folks...it's been a while since my last post.  I was busy as a bee getting ready for our big trip to Cuba for Kai's Godparents' wedding!  This was my first trip with my baby boy, so I was a little stressed about packing, how he'd be in the car and on the plane, and how he'd adjust to the time change.  I got a bit of packing advice from other moms and tried my best to pack enough of everything I knew Kai would need.  Lots of toys, diapers and wipes (disposable for travel only), sunscreen, blankets, hats and a multitude of sleepers and clothes. 

Kai did fairly well on the first leg: the car ride to Kelowna.  Mama sat in the back with Kai while Sarah and Joel got the front.  Only had a few tears, as I have now mastered the lean over method of breast feeding while still in my seat belt!  The next morning was a super early wake up for all of us, and I hardly got any sleep at all because of snoring grandparents in the next bed, different bed and excitement for the trip.  Kai woke up for his early morning feed and was able to fall back to sleep in his car seat until the airport.  The plane wasn't so bad as every time he got a little fussy I stuck a boob in his mouth :-D

Cuba was great, the only thing was that I am not used to being the one who misses things...I'm usually the one that's right alongside everyone, but this trip had to be different.  I was so thankful to have my mom along to help out, but still at the end of the day I wanted to go to bed early because I knew I would be up through the night, and up early in the morning.  Kai needed naps, and I couldn't just hand him over to grammie every time he needed to sleep.  So things were a bit different this time around. Jet lag hit us both pretty hard and we were in bed most of yesterday!  Overall I think it went really well.  The wedding was beautiful, the weather gorgeous, and the company awesome.  Just getting used to travelling as a mama, and not a single woman anymore. 

So glad though that Kai did so well for the trip.  What an awesome memory!

 

 

Getting Older: Birthdays and Life Lessons

Yesterday I turned 29, and after a lovely relaxed evening with friends and little ones, I though about how different I used to view birthdays.  Over the years my feelings have changed gradually towards birthdays.  As a child I boiled over with excitement for my birthday party!  I always had tons of friends over to help celebrate, and my parents went all out! 

Things started to change a little around my 13th birthday.  By this time I had a few different groups of friends: I was going to a new school, so I had new friends, had my good friends from my old school, friends that were home schooled and my dance friends.  It was too difficult to keep everyone happy and getting along, and in the end I was the one who was unhappy :(  Gradually over the course of high school my birthday celebrations got a lot more low key.  Less people and shorter parties. 

As I got older I had a harder and harder time hosting parties, even though I loved being a host, because I would always want things to go a certain way, and I'd get stressed if it didn't live up to my expectations.  in 2010 I spent my birthday alone, because I just wanted it to be a day where I did what I wanted to do.  I went to my favorite restaurant, bought a little cake from my favorite bakery, had a glass of wine and relaxed in a bubble bath.  Last year I spent just with my family where we went to Nelson for the day and out for dinner.  This year I think might have been my favorite so far!  It was my first birthday as a Mama, and I decided I just wanted to invite a few close girlfriends over to visit.  I told everyone it was pot luck style, so we all contributed, and we spent the evening chatting, laughing and playing with the kidlets.

Over the past 3 years I have definitely become more relaxed and layed back in general.  I think that this is the most important thing when looking at hosting any kind of event.  Remembering that no one is ever in FULL CONTROL of how an event will turn out, so that you can relax and just enjoy the moment.  Don't worry about being late, or other people being on time.  Don't make rigid plans, because when there's more than just you involved things change minute to minute!

Over all... I am really enjoying getting older!

Single Mama Artist And That Dreaded Thing Called MONEY...

I moved back to the Kootenays for many reasons (top 3 being):

1-I utterly missed the Mountains

2-Small town life

3-To start working my way out of DEBT

City living was a hard hit on my wallet.  Not only was the cost of living high in Chicago, but the zillions of restaurants were almost an addiction to me.  I ate out probably at least one meal a day, and that takes it's toll on the monthly income.  I also had student loan debt and credit card debt up the wazoo, so it was difficult to make ends meet.  So difficult, that in January 2010 I was looking for options for a second job, and somehow stumbled into Mary Kay.  It was definitely an experience, but it didn't turn out to be the job for me.  I decided around May that at the end of the summer I would make my move back to beautiful BC.  I worked hard at making sure I had jobs lined up before I moved, and my parents agreed to let me stay in their basement until I could save up enough money to rent the log house in Fruitvale.

Fast forward to September 2010...back in BC, working 3 jobs to keep up with my debt payment and trying to save a little.  I was teaching dance and musical theatre at Steps Dance Centre, Acting classes through the City of Trail, and also working as a barista at The Alpine Grind.  I went to my Credit Union and got a personal loan from them in order to consolidate my debt, lowering my monthly payments of $900 to around $525.  That definitely helped out.  

In January 2011 I found out I was expecting a baby in September...and was thrilled beyond belief!  The only stresser was the money issue...the fact that my partner had been out of work since the previous April, and didn't live in Canada.  My parents have been super generous and offered to make the basement into a mini-suite by adding a kitchenette, and converting the guest room into a nursery for baby.  

A few short months later, my partner was still in Chicago, jobless, when he said he was going to be back in about 3-6 weeks, and I had just had a horrible first trimester.  I finally realized that part of the reason I was so stressed was that I was worrying about taking care of two children (one being my partner).  So I cut the ties, and realized I would be better off on my own.

When I found out I was getting $600 back from my U.S taxes I was thrilled because I knew I could put that directly toward my debt, and that's what I did.  I did my research about going on Mat leave through EI, and Child Tax Benefits, and so on, and came up with a monthly budget i could live with for the first year of my baby's life.  My parents have been a steady support, and are always willing to help (even though sometimes I find it hard to actually ask them for help).

September 2011: baby Malakai is born!!!!

I applied for sick leave in August and then had it transferred to Maternity, then Parental of course.  Dealing with EI has been quite a hassle.  Every time they say they are going to do something, they don't, and i have to re-do it, and then over the past couple months they've been so backed up that they don't even put you on hold anymore...they say to try again later.  I tried for 2 months to get through, and finally when my bank account was severely suffering from not being paid in 2 months, I called my local MP's office to try and get some help.  They were awesome and within a week i was paid for the past 3 pay periods!  I honestly don't know how minimum wage employees make it on maternity without the support of someone else.  If i wasn't living rent free, id have to be on welfare!  I was worried because I also realized that I was receiving "extra" money from Child Tax Credit and Universal Child Tax Benefit and was worried because I hadn't been reporting that.  While looking on the website to try and find out if I was supposed to be claiming that as income I noticed something about Family Supplement for families with low income.  This would raise your weekly wage if you qualified, and  I had never heard of it!  Yesterday I made my way into Service Canada to ask my questions.  THANK GOD!  I don't have to claim my tax credits/benefits, and they automatically changed my wage on my last few pay periods (I obviously didn't check the numbers)!  So yay!

At the beginning of January I received a letter from the IRS stating that I owed $850+.  I was furious!  My dad helped me check everything over, and they were actually correct, man that stings when they gave you $600 eight months before, now they want it back PLUS!  I am having a really difficult time with this whole U.S. thing.  Now they are saying that every U.S. citizen has to file taxes in the States, even if they live in another country and file taxes there.  They are just trying to squeeze money out anywhere they can! Thankfully I have done my taxes in the states every year since I applied for citizenship, so I don't owe anything there, but this year I have to file taxes in the States and Canada, even though I did not live OR work in the states at all in 2011.  Stupid if you ask me.

I just want to remind you that the government (in Canada OR the U.S.) doesn't want to just hand over money to you.  So if you are having to jump hurdles to get it, don't give up.  That's what they want you to do.

Healthy Mama...and other tid bits.

After having a baby in September and having a rough post-partum, by mid October I had actually gained 4lbs, even with breast feeding.  I was back to emotional eating and was eating everything in sight, and a lot of it!  I was a little discouraged to say the least, but it was a wake up call.  In the fall of 2010 I had lost 12lbs using myfitnesspal on my iPhone.  This app enables one to input their calorie intake and exercise, and the amount of weight you want to lose per week (or if you just want to maintain).  So it calculates the caloric intake you should be having each day.  It really helped me see the amount of food I was putting in my mouth.  So, in November 2011 I decided to get back on track.

In 2 months I lost 15lbs!  I know most of you are thinking "what a hassle! I don't want to input everything I eat!".  Well I'll just say that it does take commitment, but if you start recording everything you eat, you become aware of how much you should be having.  I don't by any means limit the types of food I eat, because let's face it, it's unrealistic to say "I'm NEVER going to eat ____".  When I started in November my caloric intake was pretty low, but once a week I gave myself a free day where I could eat whatever I wanted.  Free days were a learning curve too.  If I looked at the amount of calories I used to take in on a normal day, my free days were actually less than what I used to eat EVERY DAY!  Now, I have mostly eliminated my "free" day, (since having a free day every week is really unnecessary) and upped my daily caloric intake by about 200 calories.  Now I realize that breastfeeding is having a huge impact too, but it feels so good to lose weight gradually.

I highly recommend checking out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ if you are looking for a "nudge" in your weight loss or if you are simply having a hard time maintaining.  It works similarly to facebook in that you can add friends, and be connected to different groups for accountability and encouragement.

Of course, it is not just all about the food you eat, it is about how much you move.  All we have to do is "EAT LESS and MOVE MORE"!  It comes in handy to be a dance teacher!  So I am getting a bit of exercise 5 days a week at least, and try to do more.

ABOVE ALL...it's a complete lifestyle change.  It's not a DIET.  I'm changing the way I think about food and exercise.  I am blessed to have awesome support in my best friend, who has changed her lifestyle slowly over the last couple of years, and is living a super healthy life now.

Other tips for living a healthy life:

1. Keep stress to a minimum

2. Do something for your mind, body and soul EVERY DAY! (-Marissa Chastain)

3. Nourish your body

4. Laugh daily

5. Drink lots of water

6. Do something active instead of watching TV (even if it's just playing Wii)

7. Spend time with family

8. Do something creative

9. Do something nice for someone else and expect nothing in return.

10. Do something out of your comfort zone.

Well folks, that's it for now.  Next blog to come will probably include information about taxes, maternity leave, and child tax benefits.

Peace, Health and Love...

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

The Creative Mama...

So, I have been back teaching now for 3 weeks, and let me tell you it is stretching m creative brain.  I have never choreographed so many dances at once, and on top of that, many of them I am only choreographing the second half, as the first half was done while I was on Maternity.  So I have all of these songs and steps swimming around in my brain, and I'm trying to make sense of them all!

I quite enjoy getting to dance and choreograph for the students, but when a class thinks that it's social hour instead of dance hour, I get really frustrated.  I have less of a problem being away from my darling boy, if the kids are actually learning, and want to be there to dance, but when they seem uninterested I feel like walking out and telling them I could be spending time with my son!

I'm looking forward to the day that all of the choreography is done and I can concentrate on getting them ready for performances.

Another plus side is that I get to get a little bit of exercise while I teach! 

Learning As I Go

So if you read my last post it sounded like I was really trying to get Kai on a schedule and sleeping on his own...like I said earlier, I am reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and so far it has been helpful, the only problem is, I decided to try some techniques before I read through the whole book.  

Kai had Colic early on, and after reading more into the book, it clearly says that babies that had colic develop their ability to fall asleep on their own a lot slower than other babies.  It also suggests that although you may allow a normal baby to cry for up to an hour, you shouldn't if your baby had colic.  So I was a little frustrated, but also relieved I guess.  I'm not really the type of person that needs a rigid schedule, but because he only sleeps 30 minutes at a time during the day, and is up every 2-3 hours at night, if I try to get anything done I have to stay up later than him, and then I'm in the deep pit of exhaustion.  I know that this is part of being a mother, and I'm not complaining.  Just trying to figure out what works best for my family.  I do NOT like to hear my baby cry, but sometimes there is NOTHING I can do to comfort him.  Of course it's our natural instinct to want to comfort our children, but sometimes we just have to put him or her down and walk away for our own sanity.

Most people say that babies should be getting 12-14 hours of sleep every night, and then about 4-5 during the day.  But what I didn't know is that some babies just sleep less.  And that's OK!  I was worried that Kai wasn't getting enough sleep, so I was trying to make sure if he was only sleeping 30 minutes, that he was only awake an hour in between.  Once I started doing this, he wouldn't go down for the night until 8 or 9, and be up at 5:30 or 6.  So now, I'm trying to give him longer awake time in the afternoon, so that he can go to sleep by 6 or 7 for the night, because no matter what time he goes to bed he's up between 5:30 and 6:30.

It is so comforting to have my parents around to confirm that I'm not doing an awful job of parenting Kai.  I just need to keep trying different things and see what works for us.  This is hard too, because small babies change their own routines so often that it's hard to keep up.  The biggest thing is just to be flexible and not so stuck in "My baby HAS to do it this way". 

So I am not going to worry about a nap routine till at least 6 months, and who knows, by then he might have fallen into his own routine by himself.

I learn new things every day...like mamas should :) 

I love you my little Malakai

Sleep Training and the new mama...

Well...here I sit watching a cheezy teen rom-com (a guilty pleasure of mine), after a tiring evening of sleep training Kai.  I was away all day today, but Grammie and Pop Pop did an awesome job of keeping Kai in his crib for his naps :)  As the little guy was up at 5:45am this morning, I thought an early bedtime was on the menu.  I took my sweetie downstairs for a diaper change, song time and story time.  I lay down with him as per usual (bedtime is the only time now that he gets to fall asleep at the breast), and after a full feed he just wanted to talk and giggle.  So, I decided that I better leave him alone if he wasn't sleeping while eating.  He cried for a painful 35 minutes and then fell asleep on his own!  Grammie is a little paranoid and wanted to make sure he was still alive, even though I though it best not to.  I listened in on the monitor while she went down to "peek" in on him and of course...he woke up screaming (which I knew would happen after only 10 minutes...he needs 20 or 30 before he's in a deep enough sleep).  Now I'll admit I forgot to mention the reason I knew he would wake up is because my bedroom door is squeaky.  So anyway, my excitement was quickly squished and hoping he would go back to sleep in the next 15 minutes even though I was doubtful, I sat by the monitor and listened to him scream.  Finally I joined my little fella in bed an nursed him to sleep in ten minutes. The whole process took almost 2 hours.  Ugh.  I know it could be worse.  I hope from here on out he falls asleep on his own easier each time.  I'm hoping that his naps will get longer during the day so I can get things done during the day and get to go to sleep when Kai goes to sleep.

I really wish sleep training was easier...

Ramblings

My darling boy is tucked quietly away for the night, and here I am...I now have to start staying up later than him to get everything I need to get done done. 

This week is my second week back to full on classes and  I'm a little stressed!  I love what I do, but man is it a lot of work after not working at all for 5 months (if you don't count mama hours...lol)!  So I have 7 dances to finish choreographing, and 2 musical theatre montages to set.  My brain is having a hard time fitting all of the steps and sequences in!  I know all will be fine, but it's just getting all the pieces done before festival.  Plus I am coming in after someone else choreographing the first half of everything so that's difficult.

So every day I try harder to really figure out Kai's natural rhythm.  I've been reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", and for the most part it has been helpful.  Kai had colic, and is still only sleeping 30 minutes to an hour at nap times.  When he sleeps only for 30 minutes he's only up for about an hour before he needs to go take another nap.  This is pretty draining, but everything I've read says that we can't teach babies to sleep longer, but we can teach them when and how to fall asleep.  So, try try and try again is all I can do.  I'm hoping his 30 minute naps will all turn into hour naps eventually, but for now I'm just gonna have to deal ;)

And now for a little rant about EI...
So I started teaching again in November, and had to fill out a self-employment questionnaire so that they know how much I may or may not be working.  The last time I filled out my report online it said they needed more information and to call to complete the report.  Well, that report was for the last 2 weeks of November, and since then I have been trying to get through to EI over the phone.  Every time I call it says "Call volume is very high.  We cannot connect your call.  Please try again later."  (THEY DON'T EVEN PUT ME ON HOLD!)  I called my MP's office today because basically I haven't been payed since then because my reports aren't getting done.  I was told that someone took care of it, but now when I go online my claim has been deactivated because my report wasn't filled out in time!  WTF?!  I'm hoping that by tomorrow it will all be worked out, but something needs to change.  They need to hire more people at EI to help with the high call volume!

So now, I must fold some laundry (and by some I mean about 4 loads!), and get to bed at a reasonable hour seeing as my 4 month old likes to wake up at about 6am.

Until next time...peace.

Welcome!

I'm inspired to start writing again!

I just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy in September 2011, and am thrilled to be a mother (although exhausted)!  I hope that this blog will give me the opportunity to release my joys and burdens into the world and off my shoulders.  I have always found writing very therapeutic, but usually lose my way somewhere along the road.  So here I am once again, beginning a new chapter in my life! 

My goal:
To always strive for a healthy, balanced, energetic and creative life for both my self and my son.  This means watching what I eat and making sure I exercise, taking time to get outside and enjoy the fresh air with my baby boy, doing something creative for myself once a week at least, taking "mama" time to re-fill my well, and watching less TV.  I think the TV is going to be the only hard thing.  I know I don't watch even half what I used to, being a busy mama, but I would like my son to grow up without a TV addiction!

My son is now telling me it's time for me to get off the computer, so that is all for now.

Peace and Creativity