"The Big Time"

Thats right kids, E is now in a BIG GIRL BED. No more cribs in this house. 

(4-in-1 crib to toddler bed)

[Yes. I . Cried.]

[you would've too, don't judge me]

This is a HUGE step. A step that basically happened overnight.

It didn't happen b/c she was climbing out of her crib or b/c I couldn't get her in there b/c she was too heavy (E is a peanut weighing in at 24lbs), she was actually quite content in her crib. 

It happened b/c we like to go visit Aunt Hayls & did frequently when E was small enough for her PNP. We used the hell outta that thing (THANKS JoLynn & Aunt Dottie!). We used it until she was oh IDK 17/18 mons and she was just so uncomfortable in it & wasn't sleeping well b/c she was too BIG! 

We couldn't visit HK anymore. Tear. 

While I was in PA I missed HK so much & so did little E, once we moved back Hayls was visiting us (catching up for lost time). A lot. I felt bad, and frankly I missed going to see her. Getting away for a weekend. I used to live in the city Hayls lives in, as we both attend(ed) the same college. I miss it [the city], sometimes. 

So I started searching out travel sleep options for toddlers and after reading countless reviews, I had found one. I had seen it in a catalog before I left PA but just briefly looked it over. When I finally decided to order it I got it on sale. Thats how I knew I made the 100% right decision. 

It came quickly, I wasn't ready for it to come so quick, but we did have a trip to see HK planned. I waited a day or two to introduce the travel-bed to E. I wanted to let her "try-it" before the trip. I wanted her to be comfy and familiar with it. I also didn't want to get 2hrs from home and her freak out, b/c shes never seen this thing before. 

I made a big deal about the new [travel] bed and what not. She loved it. She actually had about an hr of quiet time on it. Score!

(quiet time on her new travel bed)

(shes growing-up too fast)

So I threw it in my car, for Hayls house. E slept like a champ for 3 nights & 3 days worth of naps, no problems. Almost too good. 

(snuggles w.my pretty on her travel bed)

I didn't think much of it, except how great E did & that we would def. be visiting again. Soon.

Well E had a different thought. She thought that since she slept in a 'big girl bed' for 3 nights that meant she got to sleep in one at home too. 

Once we got home and I tried to lay her down for a nap, in her CRIB, she screamed "NO CRIB, Me want big-girl bed!! I a big-girl!" It was a fight it get her to take a nap. Promises of a big girl bed got her to lay down in her crib that she normally loved. 

I hoped that she would forget about my promise of a new bed, before bedtime that night, she didnt. 

Her crib was a 4-in-1 but we never bought the conversion kit and the company who made her crib went out of business, so after a week of promising my begging little, a big-girl bed, M & I went toddler bed shopping. Hoping to find one that day to take home with us. Unfortunately, since we needed cherry wood, it would have to be ordered. That was not going to work.

I promised that she would sleep in a big girl bed THAT NIGHT. I couldn't lie to her anymore. Frantic I called my mom we decided to use the 4-in-1 crib from PA, we had the conversion kit for that and it was cherry and matched the furniture in "E's room" at my parents house. I will just have to buy her an actual toddler bed when I move (soon).

So M & I disassemble her crib in about 20 mins no problem. The problems came when we didnt have the instructions anymore for the PA 4-in-1. It took us an 1.5 hrs to put together, but the look on E's face when she saw it was worth it!

(looking at her new bed for the first time)

(Laying in her bed for the first time)

...

I can't believe she is in a real bed now. They grow-up so fast. Whats next? 

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Day from Hell"

So everyone has bad days. Well I had the day from HELL yesterday, the LAST day of my first semester of GRAD school, it started it the wee early, still dark, you think its NIGHT time, hours of Wed.. Started TUESDAY. Tuesday never ended. Because I never slept.

First off I was running on a little less then 3hours of sleep, if you can call what occurred, sleep. No it wasn't because I was out parting or up late cramming for a final. It was b/c my baby girl who is usually jubilant was up all night screaming with a fever and throwing up.

Did I mention that TUESDAY we were at the peds office, b/c Monday night we had the same problem, with the screaming and fever. So I called first thing and got her in at 10:15- and she has ANOTHER double ear infection! Shocker.

They gave me a RX for her and I got it filled as soon as I left there, while we were waiting she had a fever so I got some generic Motrin, as instructed b/c the PA, due to the Tylenol & Motrin recall & gave it to her. I had to do lots of bribing, as giving E oral meds, you would think is a form of torture. I even let her pick the flavor. I thought to myself, okay this is going to break her fever and then her antibiotics will help her feel better and then we won't have to do Motrin again b/c she will have the RX in her system. FTW. Got home, more torture gave her her antibiotics, then laid her down for what I was hoping would be at least a 2 hour nap. She lays right down, good start. Ha. I start on the last leg of my final project... not even 45 mins later... screams.

[THIS WAS HOW ALL DAY WENT].

She spiked a 100.2-101 fever every5-6 hrs (when the motrin wore off). Um was her antibiotic not working at all? This is her 4th E.I. in 5 mons (Dec, Jan, Mar/April, NOW-May) and all the other times her antibiotic seemed to work- INSTANTLY.

Like previously mentioned E was up ALL night and when she spiked yet another fever (100.7) she threw-up while I was trying to give her motrin. I wiped her down, changed her jammies, gave her some juice and laid her back down. She was up and down until finally at 3a she went to sleep. She was up at 6a.

Back to WEDS. Its in the 40's and raining out. I am now BEHIND on my final project that is due in a few hours, all semester I hadn't been behind once. Not even when I had family in town and was planning E's 2nd birthday party- ALONE. I had a huge project due then and I was still ahead.

I was on the verge of tears, all day, with a Migraine. I had all of maybe 3 hrs of sleep in 48+hrs and a very sick toddler, that I was doing all I could and its still wasn't good enough. She wouldn't eat, she was barely drinking. All I could think was if she gets dehydrated, shes gunna end up in the hospital with an IV in her little arm. I was begging her to drink. We watched the same Veggie Tales video 3 times in a row, it got her to drink.

I needed a binder for my project, but was not going to take her out, as sick as she was in that weather. I called M and asked him to come home early, like 30 mins. He lectured me! Telling me I should be ahead of the school work, not behind. I lost it & hung up. How dare he. E wouldn't nap, but she would relax in the recliner. So, thank God I got the last bit of my project done while she relaxed.



My poor baby let me check her temp, every couple of hours- she didn't spike any fevers during the day. She seemed to be declining, not improving. She wasn't throwing up but it was coming out in a different form (TMI?). At this point, I started to think it was from the motrin.

Finally around 4:21 she fell asleep in her crib, my FIL got home around 4:45. I left for school to turn in my project, my Prof told me in an e-mail earlier in the day to just give my presentation to her and then I could leave, I didn't need to stay. LOVE HER!

I get home and E is awake. M said she had another 'diaper'- /sigh/. She seemed to have more energy, I was thankful. As the evening wore on, so did E. She ate all of 6 small cantaloupe chunks and a few sips of juice, she was begging for milk, but not with her getting fevers. After dinner E tripped and fell and busted her lip open, around this time I started feeling nauseous, M told me to lay down while he bathed her, she had another 'diaper' at bathtime, after bathtime I see that she has horrible diaper rash and then she wouldn't go to bed- she wanted MILK.

Around 1130 she spiked ANOTHER fever, glad I didn't give her milk. At this point I was convinced that I WAS CALLING THE PEDS OFFICE FIRST THING! We got some motrin in her (we never exceeded the amount recommended in a 24hr period, I know it sounds as if we did but we didn't). Midnight/130ish idk what time it was... I was delirious. She started screaming and kicking her legs. She didn't want to be held or touched. Just wanted to scream. M tried to help but she kept screaming "NO DADA NO! MAMA" I was right in front of her. That lasted for about 20 minutes. Then she passed out & slept.

TODAY... She seems better. No fever. Still won't eat. But she is drinking more. She has more personality and not as sluggish. I just tried to lay her down for a nap (30 mins past her normal 1030 naptime), So we shall see how that pans out. I haven't felt the need to call the peds office, we just had our first 'diaper' though. I think its the motrin. I am hoping we are done with fevers.

**THIS IS WHY SHE ISN'T POTTY TRAINED. Every time we make some leeway on the potty training, she gets sick again. We started in FL right around Thanksgiving and with the Holidays I laid off, I said when we move to PA I will pick it back up. Well since we've moved EVERY OTHER MONTH she's been sick. 2 steps forward 9 steps back.

I start packing tomorrow. That dang potty seat might be one of the 1st things packed.

I had some fun stuff planned this week. But LIFE happens. Like this post? Was supposed to be in bullets... IDK how this finger diarrhea happened. Don't stop reading me, everyone has off days...

Next week I will be doing my FIRST guest post over on Blue Eyed Blonde's blog while she is "On a Boat", Yah I just said typed that /sigh/. Oh God I am going to stop this right now before this gets any worse!

...

I officially withdraw from my college next week. It will be bittersweet; I LOVE LOVE LOVE my college. I will def. miss it & my Profs. But Im happy to be going home. UCF are you ready for me?

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo
-Kandid Kelli

"Co-Sleeping"

E & I NEVER co-slept.

I never let her sleep with me & M*, not even when she was a few days old.

I think it is horrible habit for infants & toddlers; and It is a hard one to break. I believe strongly in building their independence & self-esteem.

We slept in the same room until she was about 6 mons old but never in the same bed. She started sleeping, all night, at 3 weeks old. So I never worried about getting enough sleep, thus giving into letting her sleep with/on me, as most do. I was very blessed as I was a full-time senior in college, in my last semester.

As a new mother of course I LOVED when my newborn fell asleep on my chest like a little froggy while I rocked her, or while I watched TV but I would only let her sleep there for so long before I laid her IN HER CRIB/bassinet. I wanted her to wake up in her own space. I wanted her to be familiar with that space, starting out young.

I never had an issue with laying her in her bed and getting HW done or a shower in, b/c she was used to sleeping in there. So if I needed to do a test or was in desperate need of a shower and tummy time/ swing/ bouncy seat wasn't going to cut it the crib was always her comfort zone. I think that is partially why she is such a wonderful sleeper now. She sleeps 12-13 hrs a night and takes 2, 1.5-2hr naps A DAY! EVERY DAY. That wonderful sleeping started at 3wks old.

I think they should sleep in their own bed, for many reasons. Not only does it help build self -esteem & confidence it gives them a since of "this is mine" & comfort, as well as independence.

Don't get me wrong. I am not ice cold. We have our AM cuddles- E-V-E-R-Y single AM. I get her up change her and then we cuddle in mama & dada's bed. Sometimes w.a movie or NickJr... Sometimes with a book. Sometimes we just talk and I let her drink her milk. She is a super cuddler though, I would lay there forever if I could, but I have school and (event hough I am temp. staying with the in-laws) house work as well as lots of playing.

Co-Sleeping also takes away from intimate (not just sex) time from mommy & daddy. It also endangers the child, no matter how "withit" you are, you can accidently roll over on your child, etc.

I am against co-sleeping for many reasons.

I have raised a well adjusted, happy, healthy, INDEPENDENT 2 year old (in 4 days- ek!). I am happy with the decision I made to no co-sleep & when M & I decide to have another child I will no co-sleep with him/her either.

...

*She sleeps with M & I every now and again (she is almost 2) for a few hours if she is having a rough night or isn't feeling well- never all night. She STARTS in her own bed & ENDS in her own bed. I can count on ONE hand the # of times this has happened.

see ya tomorrow for "Convo w/a Toddler"

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , are we friends?

xo

Kandid Kelli

"Not Me Monday"

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. You can also check out Hailey @ Be Serious & see what she has not been up too.

-I did not hear E, AWAKE through the monitor & look at the clock and see that it was only 650a & tell my toddler "10 more mins mama's tired", through ESP of course. It totally DID NOT WORK. Blues Clues isn't even on then... Ugh.

-I did not [dig out of the back of the closet &] wear a maternity shirt b.c its one of my all time favorites & b/c I was feeling lazy [& tired] on Friday and love it b.c of how soft [and worn in] it is.

-I did not go to bed before 9:00pm friday night. I am not that lame. I just got under my snuggie & Ms fleece blanket to warm-up for a few minutes the next thing I knew it was 10:45 & E was fussing. I went & calmed her down got some icecream ate it asked M to come cuddle w.me...he said okay he had to make sure the fire was out (close the fireplace doors) & in 10mins "SwampLoggers" was over, I said okay... The next thing I knew it was 6:00a and his alarm for work was going off. Oh well, I needed it & IT FELT GREAT!!!

-I did not open every single drawer in our bedroom, bathroom & kitchen when my sweetie was 5mins from being home to make a point that HE NEVER SHUTS a drawer or cabinet when hes done. I wouldn't be that immature. Did I make my point? No. He thought "I was cleaning" Ugh. men boys.

-I did not forget that it was 19* outside, b/c it was BEAUTIFUL & SUNNY, when I went to check the mail, BAREFOOT & with out a jacket in just a shortsleeved shirt.

-I did not go to the grocery store not once NOT twice but THREE times w/a list EVERYTIME, as to not forget anything & still forget something, each & every time. I still need a pack of pull-ups!!! But we're good in the cracker & granola bar dept. :)

-I did not lie to lil miss sassy pants & tell her that her raisins were candy so she would eat them. They are "natures candy".

-I did not ask a non-pregnant woman when she is due as I was leaving the convenience store of a gas station. She replied with "my ass of a 6yr ex-husband didn't want kids, Im not pregnant, but thanks for reminding me that I'm THAT fat." As I tried to apologize, she cut me off and said "You're probably one of those damn girls who can eat whatever you want & don't have to diet..." (I had stop to get M some chips for his lunch for the next day) She got in her car & left. If she only knew...

...

I hope everyone had a fab weekend & has a wonderful week ahead.

**I have a great week planned!!**

Can't wait to see you back here tomorrow @ Kandid Kelli...!!!

Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , do you?

"Silence is NOT Golden"

I like a loud home. One where my doodle is laughing and playing. Talking and babbling. I like hearing the pitter patter of her tiny feet running through the house.

The minute it gets quite, it better mean ONE thing- SHE IS ASLEEP.

If its not 10:30am, 3:00pm or 8:15pm- all 3 of which are sleepy time in my house hold- It usually means she is into something they are not supposed to be into.

E is small for being almost 2, she is TALL & LANKY (unlike me, I am short), but VERY flexible. She seems to be able to maneuver herself into some tight spots, "to check stuff out". Usually after I have told her a firm "No". she gets two tries before a timeout.

Not to mention the climbing, all over EVERYTHING & the jumping off. [Insert Heart attack, here.]

I am all about exploring, thats how children learn & grow. That helps them feel independent and what not but I worry about things that could hurt her.

I am not a hoover mom, by any means. I never have been. But I do go into her room or the living/family room after a few mins & peek in just to see what she's doing- she doesn't always want to play with mom. She is content playing with her toys and her "friends" (dolls & stuffed animals).

We moved from a 2 story death trap house were Doodle was only permitted to play in the bonus playroom [above the garage that was babygated off], Unless she had a chaperone to watch her every move downstairs.

To a one story, well the master is upstairs but a babygate blocks the stairs, so its mostly a 1 story (minus the basement) house; Where doodle is free to roam about everywhere, no chaperone needed.

E loves her newfound freedom, she also loves all the new stuff there is to get into. The house is pretty much baby proofed, but not really.

Lets just leave the major exploring to Dora & unless my doodle is asleep I want loud laughs & gut giggles. None of that quite stuff.

----
OKAY FREADERS, I have BIG, AND I MEAN MONUMENTAL NEWS:

Coming SOON there will be a NEW NAME and LOOK here @ The Urban Cowgirl. So keep your eyeballs peeled.

Have a good weekend yall.

-Kelli-Sue

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