Things I’m Loving Friday
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Surprising Callie!
Surprise! I’m in Florida! I headed south with the boys on Wednesday afternoon as part of a grand plan to surprise my niece Callie (and my sister and brother-in-law) on Thursday for Callie’s FIRST birthday!!!
I cooked up this little plan a few weeks ago and, with my parents’ help, was able to execute it to the fullest! Chase, Ryder and I hung out at my parents’ place until Thursday evening when my parents were planning to go over to Leslie and Ross’ place to celebrate Callie’s birthday. The boys and I hid around the corner in their front yard and ran out to say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” and it was just the best!! I absolutely hate that we don’t get to see Callie on a daily or even weekly basis and any chance I get, I find myself thinking of ways for us to make it down to Florida to see this precious little girl!
The boys clearly love their only cousin and Callie is such a trooper about happily accepting a lot of Chase cuddles and grabby Ryder hands.
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Beach + Pool Time
What would a trip to Jacksonville Beach be without lots of beach and pool time!? Considering the fact that both boys are 100 percent water-obsessed, you better believe we’ve been spending our fair share of time splashing in the pool and ocean.
This is actually our first trip to the beach since Ryder learned how to walk and it definitely feels like all hands on deck with both boys running and splashing and playing. Ryder was a little timid around the crashing waves for the first five minutes of our first beach trip but he soon found his courage and now he beelines for the surf. It’s keeping me on my toes, that’s for sure!
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Maple Sea Salt RXBar (+ My RXBar Power Rankings)
I almost always have an RXBar in my bag for emergency snacking purposes. I’m not sure if the maple sea salt is a new flavor or if I’ve just never seen it available in my area before but I picked up a couple of them at the grocery store two weeks ago and they’re awesome!! I have a continually-updated RXBar power ranking in my mind and this flavor just made its way into my top five. My current favs (in order): Chocolate Coconut, Gingerbread (seasonal and SO GOOD), Chocolate Sea Salt, Pumpkin Spice (another seasonal find) and Maple Seat Salt.
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Well Rested Mama Giveaway: Customized Sleep Training Plan
If you are on the struggle bus when it comes to sleep with your infant, baby or toddler, I think you are going to be all about the giveaway I have for you guys today! I know how hard and defeating it feels when your baby is up all the time and you feel like you’ve exhausted every single baby sleep training trick in the book. When Chase was a baby, I felt like I read just about everything there was to read to help him sleep through the night and it just didn’t happen. Now it seems like there are a lot more resources for baby sleep help for those struggling and my friend Cara, founder of Well Rested Mama, is one of those fabulous resources!
Cara is an elementary school teacher turned certified sleep consultant and works with parents to create customized sleep training plans for infants, babies, toddlers, twins and young children. (If you happen to be in the Tampa/Clearwater area, she also offers in-home sessions.) She believes there is no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to sleep training and creates plans that align with your specific parenting philosophy and values.
If you think you and your infant, baby, toddler or little one would benefit from help from Well Rested Mamas, check out Cara’s services (there are packages at all price points) and definitely enter today’s giveaway!
One blog reader will win a customized sleep plan from Well Rested Mamas ($189 value), a Starbucks gift card and a Zipadee-Zip sleep swaddle!
To enter this giveaway, simply follow @WellRestedMama on Instagram (if you have an IG account) and leave a comment on this post telling me about your biggest sleep-related struggle. (My answer: With Chase, his small size made me feel like he needed lots of nighttime nursing sessions and that bled into a lot of other sleep-related struggles. My sleep-related struggles with Ryder all centered around the four-month sleep regression.) I will randomly select a winner next Friday morning. Good luck!!
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Around the Web
Food: Kid-Approved Crockpot Meals / Vegan + Gluten-Free Granola Bars / Raw Brownies / Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad
Fitness: 30 Minute Boot Camp Style Workout / Leg + Booty Blast
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Friday Flashbacks
Crock Pot Coconut Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Stew (A delicious veggie-packed recipe that tastes great as leftovers, too!)
High Protein Hemp Oatmeal (Dairy-free with 14 grams of protein and 14 grams of fiber per bowl.)
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My 4 month old has just started waking up 2-3 times a night again. (The beginnings of the sleep regression, I’m sure.) My 2year old still wakes up at least once per night (although sometimes it’s more) for seemingly no reason. Although it’s definitely better than it was a couple months ago.
My 7 month old wakes up several times during the night and usually is challenging to get back to sleep in his bed. Most nights I am averaging about 4 hours of sleep. I’ve tried different sleep training tips but nothing seems to help!
My struggle is my almost 4 month old has now decided to wake up every 2 hours at night! He was a good sleeper when he was born/in swaddle but ever since we transitioned to sleep sack he wakes more frequently and this week kts been every 2 hours. We can usually get him back to sleep with pacifier but I still nurse him to sleep twice each night. It’s our first baby so I really want to make sure we teach him good sleep habits!
This is an awesome giveaway! I have a sweet 10 month old whom seems to be going through a sleep regression ALL.THE.TIME. And mama is exhausted. He can put himself to sleep, but wakes up several time through the night and the only thing that will Calm him is to nurse him. He is small for his age, so feeding him is always good but then he doesn’t eat well during the day. I can’t help but think that there has to be a way for him to both be calmed during the night without feeding so we both are better rested. Poor little guy is so tired from not sleeping well!
After some introspection, I’ve come to realize that my guilt as a working mom has led me form bad habits when it comes to teaching my daughter how to sleep through the night. The story I tell myself is: You are working during the day, so be with her at night when she needs you. This has led me to respond to every whimper or cry, no matter the time of night. She just turned 1 and I thought she would magically sleep through the night at this new stage. Golly, I was wrong and could perhaps use some coaching to help get us on the right course.
Consistency! My LO is 6 months old he’s all over the place. He’ll wake up & cry sometimes around 1-2am, or he’ll sleep until 4am and then wake up and cry. Every now and then we’ll get a full nights sleep but it never sticks!
My challenge is my 18 month old waking up around 5:15-5:45 every morning! Can not get him to sleep till 6 no matter what I do!
I have a toddler that struggles with separation at bedtime…and mainly from her mama. I’ve just started going to bed when she does in order to avoid the fight…this leaves no adulting time :/
My three year old was a great sleeper until we moved him to a big boy bed and the lack of enclosure has led to him waking up frequently and requiring us to lay with him until he falls asleep! This momma has an (almost!) 1 year old, too and could DEFINITELY use some consistent (or let’s be honest, any!) sleep!
My 4-month-Old baby girl will go to sleep exhausted at night and then for the next two hours, wakes up every half hour and screams like crazy until we rock her back to sleep. Our nighttime routine is crazy, especially with our 2-year-Old trying to get to sleep at the same time.
With my daughter, all of our issues centered around the fact that we were living with my in-laws and I wanted to make sure she didn’t wake them up ever by crying. ?Now, with my son (3 months old), we are struggling because we just keep on running in to what seem like sleep road blocks… Jaundice, colic, amd now teething (he has one tooth that has already cut through and one working it’s way there).
Our five year old is the delay tactic queen. She needed a feeding tube for the first 4 years of life, so she know a perfect way to get out of bed is to say she’s hungry. Bedtimw can take a really long time at our house and we don’t know how to break the cycle.