Chronicles of a Babywise Mom

A Place of Refuge

2013-06-19T10:00:00.000-06:00

People are stressed. They are stressed for time because they have a lot of things they want to do. They have a lot of commitments they have made, little time to accomplish it all, and it brings on stress. There are more good things a person could do each day than could possibly be done, and that can really bring on the stress. I recently read this quote: Many voices from the world in which we

Brinley Baby Summary: 44 Weeks Old {10 Months Old}

2013-06-18T10:00:00.000-06:00

There it is! The double digits. This is a summary for Brinley's 44th week. She was 43 weeks old and turned 10 months old this week. NURSING We continued on the same here. SOLIDS This week, I gave Brinley some chicken that had been cooked in the slowcooker. She loved it! My husband shredded it and I tore it into bite sized lengths. SLEEPING All was well and normal here. SIGNING I

Managing Dinner Prep Time

2013-06-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

Ha! Which is true in your house? Once you have children, prepping dinner has to be one of the most stressful times of day. It is toward the end of the day so people are getting cranky (all people--adults and children), dinner is approaching, which means hungry people, which also means potential grumpy people, patience may be wearing thin...and this is all made harder when you have a baby to

In Action: Planning the Summer Schedule

2013-06-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

I thought I would show you how I planned out my summer schedule. I followed my own advice I gave in this post: "Planning Your Schedule for Multiple Children" I started with this list: You can see I thought through the goals I wanted to work on with each child. I also listed things that needed to happen daily, as well as other activities we could do throughout the summer. Then I

Reader Nap Questions

2013-06-14T00:30:00.000-06:00

Falling Asleep Problems Hamilton's Blog said... Valarie, I just have to say a big Thank you to your blog. It has really helped me try and get this program implemented with our 10 week son Benton. The problem that I am having this week (2nd week of doing this program) is that he DOES NOT "go down" for naps. Meaning that he will scream for over 45 minutes for at least 4 of his naps

The Danger of Over-Correcting {Guest Post}

2013-06-13T10:00:00.000-06:00

I first heard the term “over-correcting” in reference to driving. Imagine driving down the road when you’re suddenly distracted by your toddler attempting an escape from the car seat. You gradually veer to the left as you attempt to keep the fugitive strapped in. When you realize you are heading towards oncoming traffic you quickly jerk the wheel to the right and, instead of the

Call For Articles: BW Success Stories Week 2013

2013-06-12T10:00:00.000-06:00

We are coming up on one of my favorite weeks. This is Babywise Success Stories Week! All week long, I feature posts written by you, the readers. These are posts you have written that share your success you have had with Babywise. With all of the people out there on the Internet who insist Babywise is awful and no good can come of it, I love to have this week where we hear from real people who

Brinley Baby Summary {43 Weeks Old}

2013-06-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

This is a summary for Brinley's 43rd week; she was 42 weeks old. NURSING No changes. BOTTLE Also no changes. That isn't really a good thing since last week she showed she refuses to take a bottle from someone other than SOLIDS This week, Brinley tried bread. And she LOVES it. Mmmm...bread. SLEEPING You know how she does the peek through the crib slats and wave bye to me thing?

Our Chores for 5-8 Year Olds

2013-06-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

Here are our ideas for what we think our kids can do at certain ages for the ages of 5-8 range (as old as my children get right now). To see the years 1-4, see Our Family Plan. I will add this info to that post, as well. These lists are adding to those lists, so if you don't see something you think a five year old should be doing, it might be on those lists. Also, I don't think this is an all

Flexi-Clip Hair Accessory {Gievaway!}

2013-06-07T10:00:00.000-06:00

Today's giveaway is from Katie Jane at Lilla Rose. This giveaway is for a Flexi-clip. The flexi-clip is a high quality hair accessory that does not hurt your head! You can do lots of hair styles with them-- I have ejoyed mine so far! It has been great for doing a quick up-do. I just wash my hair every other day, so I usually put it up on the days I didn't wash it and this has been a

McKenna Summary: 4 Years 2 Months

2013-06-06T10:05:00.003-06:00

This is a summary for McKenna. It was a low-key month. EATING McKenna eats less than she did, say, six months ago. It seems she went through a growth spurt and was eating a ton and is now through it and doesn't need to eat as much food. SLEEPING Sleeping is good. She does not nap in the day and just sleeps a long time at night. She sleeps about 12 hours night. DANCING McKenna took

Poll Discussion: 2-1 Nap Transitions

2013-06-05T10:00:00.000-06:00

Today's poll is on the 2-1 Nap Transition. Here are you questions: 1. What age did you start the transition from 2 naps to 1? 2. What age was your child officially at one nap instead of two? 3. In retrospect, were these ages the right age for your child? 4. What age do you think would have been best for your child to move to one nap? 5. What method did you use to go to one nap?

Brinley Baby Summary {42 Weeks Old}

2013-06-04T10:00:00.000-06:00

This is a summary for Brinley's 42nd week; she was 41 weeks old. She loves the kitties "Kee-Kih" He looks so pleased right? He is a good sport NURSING No changes here. BOTTLE We went out one evening with friends. We left a bottle with the babysitter...and Brinley REFUSED to eat it. We got home and the babysitter was trying to give it to her and she had her lips pursed and she was

Brayden is Baptized!

2013-06-03T11:07:00.000-06:00

source So...I am late in posting today. I have a lot of good reasons! Number one is my kids...but here is the story. The shingles on the roof of the house we bought almost four years ago were so bad they were literally blowing off the house in the wind. So it was time for new shingles! We are do-it-yourself types (especially since doing it yourself in this case saved us over $4,000), so we had

Adobe Photoshop Elements

2013-05-31T10:00:00.000-06:00

source I love pictures. I love to take pictures of my children. I also love professional pictures...but getting constant professional pictures can be expensive, and it can't capture every day life. Several years ago, I bought a DSLR so I could take better pictures of my children. It was amazing! But I knew I could do more. I decided to purchase Adobe Photoshop Elements to help me with some

Brayden Child Summary: 8 Years Old!

2013-05-30T10:00:00.000-06:00

Brayden is now 8 years old! That means we enter a whole new BW book: On Becoming Pre-Teen Wise. Can you believe it?!? I guess that means his next summary will be in a new category--Pre-teen Summary! Ack! Brayden at his piano recital EATING Brayden seems to be going through a growth spurt right now. He is eating a lot more at meals. SLEEPING Sleeping has been great. We now let him read

You Are a Good Parent

2013-05-29T10:00:00.000-06:00

source With this being a parenting blog, my posts obviously consist primarily of advice. Advice can be helpful, and that is obviously what you are looking for when you come here, but sometimes you just want to be told you are good enough. I wanted to take a moment to just encourage without parenting advice added to it. You are a good parent! I am sure you make mistakes sometimes, because

Brinley Summary {41 Weeks Old}

2013-05-28T10:00:00.000-06:00

This is a summary for Brinley's 41st week; she was 40 weeks old. NURSING Same old same old. BOTTLE She took a bottle from Kaitlyn this week! Hurrah for more progress! SOLIDS This week, she tried watermelon. MAJOR love. She super-loves watermelon. SLEEPING Brinley started a new thing at nap and bed time. I put her down for her nap, then walk to her door, and she rolls over and

Happy Memorial Day!

2013-05-27T10:00:00.000-06:00

I hope you all have a great day remembering those who have gone before us!

Book Review: Raising Cain

2013-05-24T10:00:00.000-06:00

Brayden can be hard to get to talk. If you spend several hours with him one-on-one, he will start to jabber on and on, which is great, but with four kids, it is hard to find several hours where he and I can be alone on a consistent basis. I wanted some strategies for getting boys to open up, so I turned to Amazon and looked at reviews on books about boys. One of the most popular books I

Simple Life {Musical Musings}

2013-05-23T10:00:00.000-06:00

Music is a huge part of my life. Really huge. I like most genres of music and really love the impact a good song can have on me. I think music is amazing because it touches and has appeal to people who are both right-brained and left-brained. Here are some quotes that speak to me on music: After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. Aldous Huxley I

Poll Results: Rolling in Crib

2013-05-22T10:00:00.000-06:00

Here are the results for the poll on rolling in the crib. Here are the questions: 1. When baby started to roll in the crib, were there sleep disruptions? 2. If yes, how long was it from start of disruptions to back to normal sleep? 3. Did you do anything to help with the disruption to sleep? If so, what? 4. Any words of advice/wisdom? Results Total Votes: 22 1. When baby

Brinley Summary: 40 Weeks Old {9 Months Old}

2013-05-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

This is a summary for Brinley's 40th week; she was 39 weeks old. Brinley turned 9 months old this week! I got this idea...this idea that it would be super cute to do a picture with her holding a flower. She isn't the type of baby that puts everything in her mouth, so I wasn't so worried about that. Welll...she put this in her mouth! It shouldn't be surprising. Note to self--fake flowers.

Occupying Children During Summer

2013-05-20T10:00:00.000-06:00

Add caption Summer is coming! Summer break is great. You no longer have paper after paper coming home with your child each day. There is no more homework to check. There is no driving kids to and from school. There is no packing lunches in the mornings. There is no clock racing morning after morning. But of course, that means there is less built in structure, and children thrive on

Reader Weaning Questions

2013-05-17T15:26:00.000-06:00

Weaning From Bottle: mommytoisabella said... For some reason I am having a problem posting this question under the appropriate title and this is the only place on the blog where I can get it to work.My question is in regards to weaning from the bottle. I read the article you posted. I was wondering at what age did you wean Brayden from the bottle to a sippy cup. Isabella will be 11 months next