Okay, all you moms out there, help me! This includes all you people who don't have their own kids but want to offer help too, so don't hold back. I've just been thinking about some recent stuff with Bekah and I felt like calling EVERYONE I know to ask them what they do in these situations. So instead of calling, I'll blog and you can give me advice in the comments, okay?!
1) What music do you have for your kids in the house and/or car? Bekah has recently begun bopping her head and bouncing along to music. So cute! I like the idea of having kid songs for her, but I HATE so many of those cheesy CD's with kids music. Ironic, I know. Do you have music suggestions that are fun but NOT so annoying you want to pop your own ear drums with a blunt object? I know any song will be annoying after the 100th time, but at least not the 1st time!
2) How do you make sure your kid is getting enough protein once he/she's off formula or breast milk? Bekah will make this transition in the next two months and I'm afraid that all the protein and nutrients she's getting from her bottles will be hard to supplement. Yes, she's on daily vitamins. Yes, I'll give her milk. But do I give her meat at every meal?! I personally hate meat for every meal. What do you give that ensures balanced protein in other creative ways?
3) How do I help Rebekah be happier in the car? So many people have kids that love car rides and even fall asleep during them--seriously this is so rare with Bekah that I can't believe it happens regularly for the rest of you! She is fidgety and fussy after about 15 minutes in the car. During our long drive to AZ, one of us will sit in the back with her and try to keep her entertained, but she's just so squirrely! And what about the short drives too? Going across town sometimes takes 30-45 minutest depending on what we're doing and she's miserable for much of it. What are your suggestions?
Thank you so much! I know it's a lot to ask about, and your comments might get long, but I really do appreciate it. I would say that I owe you advice in return whenever you need it, but since you already know I give it so freely without being asked, I'll just REFRAIN from giving you unsolicited advice the next time I'm tempted and that will be my way of repaying you! :D
11 comments:
I dont know about your last two questions, but I personally can't stand all those "cutesy" cds of kids music...I like the Disney cds becuase there are usually a good mix of songs that younger kids and adults know and love. It's what I listen to when I drive with my little brothers and sister.
I am not a good mom to ask advice from but I will give it. I probably don't worry enough about stuff. My kids just listen to the radio with me. What ever I am listening to, they listen to. I haven't seen any bad effects from this. I will probably have a say in what they listen to when they get older and understand what the words are in songs. For right now though, they just love the beat of the music, whatever it is. As far as protein, my kids love creamy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They would eat them for every meal if I would let them. This is when I probably sound like a dumb mom. I gave peanut butter to them when they turned 1. They didn't choke to death on it, I watched for allergies to it and that's about it. They love it and it gives them protein. (I think :D) Thats all I can think of for protein besides meat. I can't help with the car stuff though. I was very fortunate. My kids love the car. They love to go for rides and they usually fall asleep. I can only suggest making a quiet book like what you would use to take to church or let her take one of her favorite toys with her in the car. I found that my kids love mirrors. So I just went to walmart and bought a dollar mirror and let them talk to their new found friend for the trip! Thats all I have I hope it helps.
I love your questions... they mean you are a good mom and you care about your baby! 1. I always have, and still do have the same worry about music. It is important that even little kids listen to good music. This point was driven home to me when my son was singing one day and I couldn't make out the words or figure out what song he was singing until he said "H*** yea, Turn it up...!!!" (incase you aren't familiar, these are the words and title to a popular country song) I was mortified...I decided then and there that I wouldn't listen to the radio with the kids in the car anymore. Sure, there a lot of songs that are find, but for me, it is easier not to turn it on at all than to try to pay attention and change the station when questionable lyrics come on. I personally don't mind the kids songs though... I got some cute CDs when my kids were really little and they still like to listen to them. They aren't annoying to me, but if they are to you, you can always shift the balance of your speakers all the way to "rear" and then you won't be able to hear it. I also have the Primary Songbook on CD and some Disney CDs. My kids love these too. They even love my grown-up church music! After listening to the same songs a few times, they start to learn them and then sing along. Janice Kapp Perry's Greatest Hits and Inside Out are our favorites right now! And I would much rather have my son walk around singing "I Love to See the Temple" :)
2. Here are our favorite sources of protein... Peanut Butter (on toast, crackers, or pb&j), yogurt (we love it with granola, but Bekah might not yet :), eggs (scrambled with cheese), cheese ( you can put cheese on anything!), fish sticks, and refried beans. But, with the exception of beans, you should wait until Bekah is one to have her try them. Veggies are also an excellent source of protein, but "plant proteins" are actually harder for children to digest. My big kids also love nuts and they only eat whole grain bread.
3. Riding in the car can be tough. Especially when they get old enough to unbuckle their carseat because they are bored and have nothing else to do! But, I would suggest having toys in a special bag that are ONLY for playing with in the car. And leave them in there all the time. I love the mirror idea! Some other fun things are toy keys, a toy cell phone(or an old one that doesn't work), or toys with moving parts that they have to manipulate with their hands. Yummy snacks also do the trick!
I hope my thoughts help... sorry this is sooooo long!!
Your first question made me laugh! I can't STAND most of those silly kids' CDs, especially if it even comes close to resembling Barney music! GAG! However, I did long ago find an artist that I found quite clever and fun to listen to -- I have 4 of her CDs and my kids have loved her! http://laurieberkner.com/
My kids also listen to my music though -- Shaun loves Josh Groban and Sting now because he listens to them on my IPod... I used to turn on jazz instrumental music for them... they've always listened to classical of course... and now that Shaun is a little older, he even likes our classic rock and some of my 80s stuff, as well as an occasional song from Nickelback or Daughtry or something! ;-) Although there are sometimes things on the radio that are offensive, we have always just discussed them when he noticed and decided together whether to turn it off... and now I've found that he has quite the discriminating ear! He even lectures me about some of the stuff on my IPod simply because it doesn't sound "pleasing" to him! ;-)
Your second question -- Shaun was always dipping off the charts on weight once he turned 1, so this was a big concern of mine. As a result, all of my kids eat a LOT of yogurt, cheese and peanut butter! At the recommendation of a nutritionist, I also always gave them a daily Carnation Instant Breakfast with their milk from about 1 to 3 years old... in fact, Shaun is STILL on a CIB every day because he is such a lightweight! :-)
Third question -- can't help you there... Shaun was a BEAST in the car and just had to grow out of it... Ryan and Brycen have always both loved the car! No magic solutions from me there! ;-)
I was going to post my own answers, but luckily I read everyone else's first. So before I answer, I have to say DITTO to everything Marianne said, and I'll just add a few ideas to hers.
1. I do still let my kids listen to the radio, but we only listen to songs I am familiar enough with to know whether or not it is appropriate. I have radio controls on the steering wheel, so it's easy for me to change it if I know a song doesn't have appropriate lyrics. If I'm not familiar with the song, I change it. I would go with Disney or church CDs if you have to reach to turn your radio station. We have Dinsey Radio on almost all the time, which gets on my nerves, but not as much as children screaming in the car.
2. I do all of Marianne's protein suggestions. My kids love yogurt with ANY kind of cereal. Gogurt and Fizzix yogurts are very popular snacks at our house. PB & J is definitely a favorite for my kids as well. A big treat at our house is sandwich cookies made from peanut butter and vanilla wafers. In the winter, I frequently make Ramen into Egg Drop soup just to give them more protein- just stir in a beaten egg while it is still boiling and after you've added the seasoning packet. The egg cooks almost instantly, and the kids love it. Since Matt went to Brazil, we have rice and beans about once a week, and Alex can't get enough of it.
3. The car is a tough one. It's easy to keep my older ones distracted looking for landmarks and such, but Alex is tough. For long trips, a DVD player is invaluable, even though she's so young. Just something interesting to look at seems to help a ton. Portable ones can be found pretty inexpensively. You'll also find that she'll be a soooooo much happier once she's old enough to be forward-facing. I was always counting the days (through the screaming) until we could turn them around, and you may just have to hang on until then...
I have nothing else to add. I agree with the Disney or church cds. Ky made cds with a mixture of our favorite songs, that is what we listen to in the car.
I loved all of the suggestions for protein. As long as she sleeps through the night, she is most likely getting enough protein.
As for riding in the car I would like advice on how to stop older children from fighting.
So Bekah might be a relative to my kids. Katrina and Taylor both hated the cars, and Caroline and Mason didn't make it too easy either.
Around 2 months we bought "The Backyardigans" for the kids to listen to in the car. The songs were varied and Mark and I didn't go crazy listening to them, and BONUS It actually put Taylor to sleep in the car for the first time. For the first year of his life, we had that and "Vivaldi" playing everytime we went anywhere. And it could only be those two. Katrina was Vivaldi at home, and we didn't figure out the music in the car thing until Caroline. Yes, with Caroline, I had to sing "Sweet Caroline" in the car until she would calm down. But it was only when she was in the dark after a long day driving home.
The Backyardigans are still a staple, we bought the second CD so we could add to the repitore. So there is two birds in one stone. Car and Music :)
About the worried about nutrition, some very wise pediatricians (and grandmas) told me that they will eat when they are hungry, and they will usually get all the vitamins and good stuff they need as long as you feed them from the basic food groups. You can give a good multi to them, but other than that, they are going to get enough of what they need.
For protein foods, we did little vienna sausages, cheese, milk, (Katrina we had to add Chocolate to get her to drink it) and I also did Peanut Butter around a year, year and a half. Can't exactly remember.
I also know I never wanted to go to "real foods" because once they do, they gag on baby foods. So you could do the baby food meats mixed with veggies and the such.
I ment Taylor at 2 months.
OK you've got lots of great ideas here, but for what it's worth...
1. We listen to about 1/2 Primary songs or Radio Disney, and the other 1/2 of the time my boys love the narrated stories on CD. Sometimes there's a read-along book to go with it. Sorry that doesn't help too much for music, but it's a thought for the future?
2. For that age, I used a LOT of cottage cheese and vienna sausages. The Carnation Instant Breakfast is great too, for added nutrition and calories. My pediatritian (who is different from Leslie's) said the same thing! It couldn't hurt, it's yummy, and much cheaper than PediaSure.
3. Try, try, try to hang on until she's forward facing. It helps, A LOT. In the meantime, try setting aside some original toys to have a new "surprise" anytime you have a long-ish trip. The mirror was a great idea, try a few pennies in an empty water bottle, or an old set of keys attached w/ links to her belts so they can't fall too far. Have you seen those spill proof snack cups? They let little fingers reach in for a treat, but won't spill if they get tipped. I was wanting to try those in a few months.
Good luck! And be sure to share in a post if any of these comments work for ya!
Hi Lindsey, I know I have never really written on your blog, but Amy was telling me about your blog post and how she was typing out advice. I didn't really get much of the experience that you are getting with Bekah, but I do have some little babysitting experience with the niece and nephews. I would vote for investing in a cheap childproof video player for the car, they go for about 20 dollars ish for a VideoNow machine I believe and that's just something for her to stare at more than watch anything on. You can also invest in one of those bouncy balls that have the rubber fur around them, they are like little fingers that are soft and rubbery. they have a little hole area you can put her hand through and it can entertain her for hours I am sure, because of the texture and the bounciness of it and the color. Car toys can be fun too, or take a bunch of picture collages or designs, get them laminated and stick some velcro to the back of them and the seat in front of her, change them out every couple trips. The images can get her interested, especially when they are designs, and they are safer in case an accident happens because they wont fly off or hurt her. As for the music thing, I would recommend asking different people for compilation cd's they use for their kids. Disney music is great. I have tons, and I made a special collection cd for kids road trips that I was gearing toward Amy's kids. They are just a bunch of songs that are fun, adults like them, and appropriate, and they come in like 5 or 6 cd's so they can last a while. I call it kid friendly road trip music. I should send them to you.
Food wise, there are lots of things. Most dairy products work, she is going to be 1, she needs less than 20 grams of protein a day, and that itself stacks up quick. One cheese stick, a glass of milk, 2 pieces of bread and some cereal covers that already. And thats just her snacks probably. I would say buy cheese. cut in small bite size pieces and she can just snack on those. Also baked potatoes are a great form of protein, you can do them with some cheese, sour cream and chili and thats a full days protein right there. But just smashing some baked potato with cheese is most child friendly. Most of the food she will be eating that isnt meat covers protein, her milk itself is going to be a lot. Don't fret too much, usually she will get more than enough as long as she eats balanced meals. I hope this helps, I am not supermom in the slightest, but I have some auntie experience and a lot of parenting book reading when I was preparing for my little one. Hopefully this works, and I will send the cd's your way.
Anything where kids sing. They love to hear little kids voices.
To make sure she gets enough of what she needs just follow her diet like that of an adult just with smaller portions. fruits veggies and whole grain weat bred. Water is also good to put in her sippy cup a few times a day. you can't usually fit every food group at one meal because of small tummies so make sure he snacks in between meals are good. I give David wheat thins, he just decided he likes celery, etc. don't be afraid to let her choose her favorites. Cramming something forcing food into her mouth like. "I think she should eat green beans" and you shove the spoon in could make her not trust to try new things from you. She would refuse everything then. Put a veggie on her tray and let her touch in and squish it and throw it on the ground. She might taste it and if she likes it, even one bite, put it on the lets try tomorrow list. there is a lot of cool info about letting your todler interact with food, touching etc. It helps them be good eaters. seriously. Our cousin had her baby on a feeding tube for the first 3 years. she is fiveish and still having a hard time eating real food because she didn't go through all those touching stages. very interesting. PB and J is a no brainer for protein. Thats what David is eating right this second.
For the car, anything that will sit on her lap with lights and buttons. We have vtech little baby looking laptop that is his car toy and man he loves that thing, and the sounds aren't that annoying for the parents. its 10 bucks. try that. the music will help too.
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