Sick as a Mother!

I'm still grappling with the concept of mothers getting sick... can't seem to come to terms with the fact that this is a normal part of life. At the moment I have only one little tot to care for, and yet my experience during these past few sick days have forced me into complete and utter fear of what goes on when mothers of multiple children come down with the flu! The feeling of climbing out of bed to collect my early-rising cheerful child while feeling like I've been hit by a bus is downright dreadful. Watching her as she tries and tries again to engage me in playtime has been painful. "Dance Mommy! Common Mommy, dance with me!", "Sing with me Mommy! Twinkle, twinkle - your turn Mommy!" etc. At least I know she's got some form of advancing leadership skills!

It's just the idea of a sick "nurturer" that has me thinking it's a twisted concept. Not having the option to "call in sick", or "take the day off" just has a way of making things feel impossible. Even with the amount of help a working husband is able to provide (thank you so much, love!!), it's the everyday tasks that have got me down. Simply put, I don't believe mothers should be allowed to go out-of-commission. It totally bites!

On a happier note, there are some things about living with this viral cough and cold that have been absolutely delicious: living day-in day-out in thermal leggings and my husbands cotton-knit crew neck sweaters, consuming cup after cup of steaming TM teas with spoonfuls of honey and fresh lemon, and my new favorite part of our daily routine; joining Freida in her bath! I'm so jealous she gets to do it every evening - now I too go to bed smelling of french lavender and chamomile bubble bath... I guess being sick brings out some of the simplest pleasures in life - in those moments, lying in a warm tub full of bubbles with my precious little girl in our small and cozy apartment, I honestly can't think of anything better! Except maybe feeling well... :)

Hot Trend: Matryoshka

This Babushka sure got a modern makeover!! Being seeing an overload of Matryoshka themed gimmicks on the market - some may be a bit more cuter than the next, but either way, these are most definitely not your Bubby's russian nesting dolls! 1. Ninja/Robot 2. Play Quilt + Wooden Teether 3. Babushkups

4. Bento Box 5. Bath Mat 6. Measuring Cups

7. Tape 8. Modern Graphics 9. Crochet Pattern PDF

10. Stamps 11. DIY 12. Gift Tags

13. Throw Pillow 14. Pantone 15. Buttons

16. Tea for Two 17. Nesting Birds 18. Pepper Grinder

I think the whole theme is really fun and charming, don't you?

(For those of you ladies skilled in needle-work - those crochet PDF's would be so lovely made with a rattle inside. What an adorable handmade baby gift!!)

Baby, Bye Bye Bye

Yesterday we said goodbye to Freida's bottle.

Freida was born a mere 4 pounds 8 ounces, and was consistently below the curve ever since. Nursing her seemed to at least keep up the chubby-baby look - I felt good enough knowing she had plenty rolls, and I would be ecstatic when people would comment on how "fat" my baby was. Once she randomly decided to self-ween, her weight began to drop. I was planning on nixing the suckling altogether, but she didn't down milk from a sippy cup very well at all so I  transitioned her to a bottle, and sure enough the fat and calorie content delivered by 12 oz. of daily milk kept her pants up! :)

I know Doctors generally recommend giving up a bottle at around the first birthday, but I decided to keep her on it for as long as I had intended to breastfeed her: 2 years. At our most recent visit to the Doctor (for her first vaccination), he pronounced her weight and height "healthy". Took that as a sign to get on the road to banning the bottle...

This past weekend my husband and I made a point to speak to Freida about certain things being only for babies, and about the concept of growing up. I went on to name different (slightly older) cousins, friends etc. that don't drink from a bottle because they are "growing up" and not "babies" anymore. She seemed to like that bit, and later asked me "does Sima have a bottle? No. Does Dovi have a bottle? No." etc. That's when I figured she fully got the idea.

Yesterday morning I brought out a stack of old pregnancy/baby/family magazines, and we sat together leafing through the pages to spot pictures of babies and cut them out. Once we had a nice selection of "babies", I gave Freida some glue and an old cardboard box (I think it was from our esrog...), and had her glue the pictures all over the "baby bottle box". We added some tissue paper (can't hurt to bring some prettiness to a painful goodbye!), and Freida said goodbye to her bottles - for good. Once boxed up we gave it to the mailman - she loves the mailman! - (I obviously had him put it back in my mailbox so I could sterilize and store them away), and said farewell!

She went to bed last night without it, and was able to easily verbalize "gave my bottles to the babies", and woke up this morning sans bottle as well! She asked for it this morning, but she proceeded to tell me where it went... she definitely wasn't stoked about not waking up without the bottle relaxation, but with a bit of distraction she got up and had breakfast really easily.

Seems to have been a successful transition - thank God! - and I would definitely suggest using this method for getting rid on bottles/pacifiers/blankies etc. It involves the kids in such a hands-on way, and makes them feel like they are really part of the process - which is key to all successful good riddance! Good Luck!!

Sippy Cup: Roundup

Now that Freida has learned how to open and close her Crocodile Creek water bottle (which, by the way, dents annoyingly easily!), I'm chucking/storing some of our old sippy cups. Thought I'd give a little roundup of the best (and worst) of the bunch...

1. Weil Baby Training Cup $9.99 - Featuring Dr. Weils award winning BPA/EA free with AirWave™ technology, the design makes this cup nice to carry, the cap makes it sanitary.

2. Playtex My First Sipster $5.99 - Hands down, the most efficiently leak-free cup on the market, be it rolling around the back seat of the car, or neglected upside down at the bottom of my diaper bag!

3. Thermos Foogo Sippy Cup $16.00 - Vacuum insulation makes this cup perfect for keeping milk cold, and keeping tea warm.

4. mOmma Sippy Cup $13.25 - This little digit is definitely the Maserati on the playground; it's wobbly nature means the spout remains upright even when chucked into the sandbox! Plus, all cups/caps/spouts are interchangeable making bottle to cup transition that much easier.

5. Boon Fluid Sippy Cup $5.99 -  This one is surely more about the cup than the "sippy"; the spout leaks easily. And while it looks like some futuristic ergonomic design...it is actually quite difficult to grasp.

6. Munchkin Mighty Grip Training Cup $4.00 - The most frustrating "leak proof" cup out there!! This cups spout is so soft, than when you bend it slighty, it's contents pours out! Took soaking through a bed sheet, and finding puddles on my floor before I finally caught Freida in the "bending" act.

Feel free to let me know if I missed any other great/awful sippy cups out there... Which cups work best for you and your brood?

For the Love of Winter

Though it feels as if winter is deeply upon us, today is actually the very first day of the season... While the miserable rain and sleet continue to fall (don't mean to offend you snow-out folk - but this is winter to us!), I thought I'd post some wonderful wintery reasons to love the freezing season!

- Cozy winter tea times like this one.

- Treks up the mountain for some flurry family fun with this Zipfy snow sled.

- Living chilly weeks on end in your favorite hoodie.

- Lots of rainy-day warm chocolate cookie batter licking!

- Cozy-up couch time with a new-for-winter cotton cable knit throw.

- Break out the adorably snuggly and charming baby bundles!

- Epic outdoor skating rinks - be it with palm trees or Prometheus.

- Hot doses of wintery bone-warming soups like this one.

- The arrival of good-looking snow boots!

Either way, wishing you a happy winter all around!

(Also, check out last year's winter round up...)