Chronicles of a Babywise Mom

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

Medisim TempleTouch Premium Thermometer

2013-05-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

Today you are entering to win a TempleTouch thermometer from Medisim. The world’s only combined thermometer for both forehead & underarm measurement in a new innovative design. Another breakthrough in thermometers, the TempleTouch™ premium. Offering a unique design & technical capabilities, which enable parents to receive quick and accurate temperature measurement by just touching the

Older Children While Baby Naps

2013-05-16T10:01:00.001-06:00

source I think a big challenge with a baby is what to do with the older children while baby naps--or in other words, how do you keep the older children quiet while baby is napping? This is the most challenging while baby is young and taking four naps a day. From the time Kaitlyn was born, I had two goals I tried to marry. One is that I didn't want us to feel like we had to tip-toe around

National Learn to Swim Day

2013-05-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

One day at the pool, a woman told me how she didn't have her kids in swimming lessons since we didn't live near the ocean. Her children were all over the age of ten. I kind of found that funny since she was telling me this at the swimming pool...but anyway, as a child, I never took swimming lessons and it is definitely something I wish was different in my childhood. Even if you don't live by the

Brinley Summary: 39 Weeks Old

2013-05-14T10:00:00.000-06:00

This is a summary for Brinley's 39th week; she was 38 weeks old. Exploring the outdoors NURSING My sister is getting married in a month and a half in Las Vegas. We decided to just fly down and leave our kids with my in-laws. We will be gone overnight...well...this is fine and dandy until you remember the Brinley who will now take a bottle from me (yea) but not anyone else (boo). So I

Getting Children Actively Engaged in Household Responsibilities

2013-05-13T10:00:00.000-06:00

source If you lived on a Western farm in the early 1900s, your child would be in charge of gathering the eggs at 18 months old. Can you imagine trusting your 18 month old to that task! In order to survive, literally, the family all had to pitch in to help out. If a child in the early 1900s could help around the farm, surely our children today can help around the house. Why would we want our

Albion Fit WINNER!

2013-05-13T09:30:00.000-06:00

The winner for the Albion Fit gift card is... Lauren Harmon said... I love this swimsuit I pinned on pinterest! :)http://pinterest.com/pin/223491200230907887/ Please email me at valplowman@gmail.com to claim your prize. You have one week or another winner will be chosen. Congrats!

LDS Temple Passport App {Giveaway!}

2013-05-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

Today's giveaway is for the LDS Tepmple Passport App. See the website here: http://ldstemplepassportapp.com/ The LDS Temple Passport App: Collect Temple Passport Stamps for Current and Previous Visits Keep Track of Temple Attendance Journal Your Temple Visit Access Temple Schedule Get Directions to a Temple Share Your Visit With Social Media Take and Upload Pictures Learn Cool Temple

Surviving Sundays {Guest Post}

2013-05-09T10:00:00.000-06:00

by Emily Parker from http://www.journeyofparenthood.com/ Attending church services on a regular basis is very important to my family. However, keeping my children on their schedules is also a top priority to our family! We knew when we decided to follow Babywise techniques that we would have to make some sacrifices but that attending worship wasn't something we would sacrifice. I now have

McKenna Summary: 4 Years and 1 Month

2013-05-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

"They" say that at birthdays and half birthdays, children become challenging. Something comes up, usually in a discipline area. For McKenna, this month she really started to push limits. She tried just about each rule to see if it was still enforced. I have a phrase I use with McKenna, "No means no." I use this when she argues when I have said now (or when she simply continues doing something

Importance of Teaching Morals

2013-05-07T10:00:00.000-06:00

When parents encounter a problematic behavior with their child, they usually want a quick list of "how-to" so they can quickly fix the behavior. Sometimes those lists can be helpful, and I know my posts with those lists are some of the more popular posts on this blog. source Here comes the BUT. BUT you can't rely on these posts alone. Maybe these lists can help you see some initial

Meeting Needs of Each Child

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

A big concern parents have as they add children to their family is "how will I give my children all the time they need?" I know a lot of people consider finances in determining family size--that isn't something I ever think about. I have full faith that the Lord will help supply our needs. The consideration I really have is "how many children can we support emotionally?" Sometimes, this might

May Blog Sponsors

2013-05-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a little spotlight on our sponsors for April. You can see their ads on the right of the blog--clicking on them will take you to their websites. Egg Donor Solutions and Surrogate Solutions work to match intended parents with compatible egg donors and surrogates. We create happy families one baby at a time! Egg Donor Solutions is an egg donation agency that is always

Fitness/Swim from Albion Fit {Giveaway!}

2013-05-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

Today we have a fun giveaway! This giveaway is sponsored by Albion Fit. Albion is a company that specializes in women's fitness and swimwear and workout clothing. Here are some of my favorites: This swimsuit is called a "Blousy Suit"--it is what I got. I haven't swam with it yet, but I LOVE it. It is so great and perfect for me right now since I still have the post baby look

Picky Eaters: Born or Made?

2013-05-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

Now this is a hot topic in the parenting world. Most parents who do not have picky eaters will adamantly cry out that picky eaters are made, while those with picky eaters will usually declare picky eaters are just born. So where is my stance? source My stance is complicated, but I have to say if I were forced to pick just one side, I would lean to "made." My reason for this is that no matter

Brinley Summary: 38 Weeks Old

2013-05-01T10:00:00.000-06:00

This is a summary for Brinley's 38th week. She was 37 weeks old. NURSING Nursing is same old same old. Good. I am pumping some nights, but not all. I seem to cycle. I pump a few nights in a row, then I don't for a few nights, then I do... SOLIDS This week, I gave Brinley cheese. I just cut it up into little squares. She LOVES it! Super loves. It is her new favorite food. We also

Brinley Summary: 37 Weeks Old

2013-04-30T10:00:00.000-06:00

This post is sponsored by www.chapters.indigo.ca--go to their website to check out their Lego Store. This is a summary for Brinley's 37th week; she was 36 weeks old. HAIR CUT First big news--Brinley had her first hair cut this week! Kind of crazy--my other girls were 2.5 and 3 when they had their first hair cut. Brinley's baby hair hadn't all fallen out, so she had some massively

Three to Four Child Transition

2013-04-29T10:00:00.000-06:00

The business that three children bring to life can often make people a little leery of going for that fourth child. Maybe you have three and are wondering if you could handle four. Maybe you are having that fourth, ready or not, and want to get real and know what you are in for. Hopefully I can address both of those groups of people (plus you "rubberneckers" who are just curious). I have

Not Less Painful--Just Better At Handling It

2013-04-26T10:00:00.000-06:00

A couple of months ago, a friend of mine was speaking in church about the death of her father. She said that over time, the pain hadn't lessened, but she had gotten better at handling it. I clung to her statement so tightly in my mind that I basically didn't hear another word she spoke that day. It struck me as so true! As many of you know, between Brayden and Kaitlyn, we lost a baby boy,

Kaitlyn Summary {Six Years Old}

2013-04-25T10:00:00.000-06:00

For the last couple of years, Kaitlyn has had some fear creep up for no apparent reason. At age four, it was the wind. At age five, it was fear of me leaving her sight. I wondered what might happen at age six... So far nothing huge! I hope that continues. HAND PINCHING The thing that did creep up, however, is hand pinching. This is something she did from a baby on up to about age five