Browsing Category: Parenting

How I finally weaned my toddler (with minimal crying)

I was so super proud to be able to breastfeed Harley throughout her infancy. It was incredible to know that my body sustained her’s and helped her to thrive. Despite being born so early, despite all the hurdles, she became a chubby baby and a healthy toddler. But then I was faced with the dreaded question – how do I wean my toddler?

Not that I think weaning is easy at any age. No matter what there will be tears as the little ones don’t get that thing they want so much. Boob is more than just milk. It’s cuddles and love and a way to relax or calm down. And as much as I loved breastfeeding for a long time, I was really REALLY done. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t much information out there on how to wean her off. Continue Reading

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2 Comments Breast feeding, Parenting, Rambling

Harley the Two-Year-Old

Harley the two-year-old

Harley is now a two-year-old. I honestly can’t even wrap my head around it. I mean, I can, but I can’t. On the one hand, I look at old pictures of my little monkey and I hardly even recognize that squishy face. She has lengthened and grown and become a real little girl, capable of so much more than I ever thought a two-year-old could do. On the other hand, she is still my baby, my tiny human who seems to take up a huge amount of space in my heart and my home compared to her size.

Harley turned two a couple weeks back, and I kept promising myself that I would write about it. There isn’t much to write about the day itself because we don’t know many people here and decided against trying to do any kind of big shindig. Instead, her school had a small celebration for her with cupcakes I sent in, we gave her a whole bunch of presents from us and her South African grandparents (more on that soon) and saw my mom the next day to celebrate together (and give her even MORE presents) over sushi and soup thanks to the plague Harley gave all of us from starting a new school. Continue Reading

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2 Comments Parenting, Rambling

How to keep your kids safe when travelling

car seat

Car seats haven’t been a topic for debate in our family. I was adamant about getting a fantastic car seat for Harley when she was an infant, and when it was time for her to get something bigger, I was lucky enough to get a Volvo Britax seat for her that lets her rear face until she is 4-6 years old. Harley has never been in a car without a car seat. It simply wasn’t an option. If we had to go somewhere, she was in her seat – if we didn’t have a car seat, she simply couldn’t go.

Moms often feel isolated with kids, like they can’t leave the house, let alone travel to cool places, with their tiny person. I always encourage parents to just keep living their lives, with little ones along for the ride, but sometimes this is an easier task than other times. It’s always easiest when we drive in our car. The car seat is installed, and it is quick and easy to just pop Harley in and out. Things get trickier when traveling, but it’s still totally doable. Here are the ways and means that can help you still see the world, even if you aren’t in your usual vehicle. Continue Reading

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4 Comments Parenting, South Africa

Weaning

I started weaning Harley about two weeks ago now, and it’s actually going surprisingly well. After reading a ton of other moms’ experiences, and also knowing the parts of breastfeeding that I was truly tired of, I decided that I would still give her boob for sleep. It doesn’t bother me to nurse her in bed as a way to help her fall asleep. It’s sweet to spend those moments together, in between wakefulness and sleep, when she drifts off in the comfort of my love and boob. The first few days she’d ask for boob at other times, but pretty quickly she learned that boob was for sleep and only to be experienced in bed. Sometimes she still manipulates and says she tired and wants to sleep when all she wants is the boob, and then gets up and plays, but mostly, she’s pretty good with this first step towards weaning.

This was going to be a whole post about weaning Harley, about how the fact that I’m ready to wean her a bit means she has to be ready and I’m not going to feel guilty. But I’ve realized that it’s also all about my weaning. Sure, I’m doing without the hormones, without the bonding, but it also feels like with so much upheaval, I’m being involuntarily weaned off all the things that usually give me comfort. Continue Reading

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1 Comment Parenting, South Africa, USA

Mom judging and what Baby Dove got right and wrong

my mom judging face

You all may or may not remember a while back I was talking about how everything felt like hurry up and wait. That there was a rush of activity, and then nothing. Well, ever since we heard congratulations at the consulate, it’s pretty much been 100% rush and a whole lot of stress. I will write about all of it soon, I promise, but first I want to talk about mom judging and Baby Dove. You see, only a couple days after we heard “congratulations” at the consulate, I was flown down to Cape Town like a celebrity for the South African launch of Baby Dove. It was a wonderful event that allowed my amazing mom tribe to all be in the same room for one last time before we disperse around the world.

It was also special because of the actual launch. And no, I’m seriously not just saying that because they flew me to Cape Town. In fact, I was totally prepared to be super snarky about the event, mainly because I’m a naturally sarcastic person, but also because I’m so jaded by gaming events that I figured a silly event about soap for babies couldn’t possibly be meaningful. But it was. In fact, you can see my movement from excited but still totally sarcastic, to moved and tearful, back to sarcastic (because let’s be honest, I was never going to live without my jaded view of things for long) on social media, which I Storified for you. Continue Reading

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7 Comments Breast feeding, Parenting