Our bedtime routine with JOHNSON’S® NATURAL® #JohnsonsNatural

When I just had one child, bedtime was a simple thing. We had our routine of potty, bath, tooth brushing, pyjamas, stories and cuddles down pat.

With two, it gets a little more complicated, especially while Baby D is still so little. He needs to go to sleep around 7:00 pm, while my daughter's bedtime is 8:00. He needs about half an hour of quiet nursing and cuddles to fall asleep - and my daughter has Crazy Time right before bed when she is full of beans and noisy as anything.

On good nights, however, we do manage to coordinate bath time so they can have a bath together (it's usually a two-parent job at our house!). My daughter adores the bath, and my son is starting to really enjoy splashing and relaxing in the water (though coming out of the bath is his cue to WAIL!). Even if my daughter is tired and getting whiny, the promise of a bath is enough to get her to behave and change her attitude. And a cranky baby is always soothed by warm water!

She loves "helping" by pouring water on him, and we're extra careful to explain that splashing is fun, but we don't splash each other in the face! 

Bath time, while they're small, is a time for them to play together and relax after busy days. We are still using JOHNSON’S^® NATURAL^® baby products at bath time which I feel helps keep things consistent. The familiar smell is a part of the routine, and they associate it with sleepy time. And as an informed and concerned parent, I appreciate that they are paraben-free, dye-free, and phthalate-free.

I think if there's one thing that is a must for bedtime, it is story time. I strongly feel it's important to instill a love of reading in our children. Reading to kids is such a wonderful way to share time with them, explore language, discover new worlds (real and imaginary), and set them up for a lifetime of enjoyment and education through books. The only times our little ones go to bed without a story is if we've been away on a day trip and they've fallen asleep in the car - or if they've lost the privilege of story time by being naughty (my almost-three-year-old is very aware of her behaviour near bedtime so that she doesn't lose story time!).

We always let our daughter choose her two stories, and it's fun to see which ones she chooses to hear us read each night. Sometimes it's a streak of one thing or another (currently, Dr. Seuss is on heavy rotation), but sometimes she surprises me by pulling out an old favourite. It's also fun to watch our son as we read the stories aloud - he looks carefully at all the pictures and is fairly patient (for a four-month-old!) as we read through two books.

After story time, lights go out - we have a star projector for my daughter's room, and a night light for my son. Darkness helps cue the brain to sleep, and we try to keep things pretty dark without a complete blackout. 

With a consistent bedtime routine, soothing all the senses, little ones can drift off to dreamland easily.

Disclosure – I am participating in the JOHNSON’S^® NATURAL^® Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada on behalf of JOHNSON’S^® NATURAL^®. I receive compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Yes, I know my baby's crying.

It happens every week. A morning grocery trip turns into a spectacle as my three-month-old son screams. I know you've seen and heard babies crying at the store before. Maybe you're a parent and you've been there. Maybe you're not and you think you have something to offer.

I've had comments of all sorts from people who surely mean well and aren't implying that I don't know why he's crying or what to do about it.

Believe me, I KNOW he's crying. I do.

I've had people offer to unload my groceries onto the conveyor, pack my bags, random offers of help like that.  That's kind - and sometimes I do take people up on it - if it's gotten to the point where he's so upset I need to take him out of his car seat and bounce him to soothe him.Then, I don't have enough arms to get us out of there fast and hold him and unload groceries.

I've had the dirty looks too - like I'm a terrible mother for "letting" him cry and not doing something about it immediately. Or maybe it's for the way he's interrupting their blissful grocery shopping trance.  Or conflicts with their idea of what a mother should be doing.

Here's what I am actually doing:

I'm buying food to feed my family, just like you. I happen to like spending time with my husband on evenings and weekends, so weekdays it is. Afternoons are nap time for my toddler, so I'm there in the morning. I need to get out of the house and see adults - even if the only adult conversation I have all day long is a mundane exchange with the cashier.

You'll see me hastily shoving groceries into my cart as we make our way through the store, trying to get everything on our list while comparing prices and using coupons as I try to also save money for my family. You'll hear me talking to him, trying to reassure him that we're almost finished. You'll hear me asking my toddler to sing to him and make funny sounds to try to flip his mood. And you'll see the stressed-out look on my face as I try to manage a heavy cart, my coupons, my purse, my toddler and this crying baby. 

I'm making silly sounds. I've even nursed while shopping - one arm full of baby, one arm wrangling a big and awkward grocery cart down the aisles. So sorry if I got in your way.

And here's why he's crying:

He's tired. He naps in the morning, and while ideally he would sleep through a grocery trip, the store is so big that it takes me a while to get through it, especially with a toddler who is curious about everything she sees. I've taken the time to talk to her and answer her questions as we shop, showing her interesting vegetables, and discussing where food comes from, and the different kinds of things we eat, and how we try to save money with coupons and sales, and answering a thousand "Why?"s. Perhaps I should do that at home to speed up the trip. But, then how could she touch a dragonfruit, or wrinkle her nose at the spices? How could she see the crabs and lobsters in their tanks? Would we get into a random discussion about coconut jelly? So, I cross my fingers and hope he'll sleep most of the trip, that the motion of the cart will lull him to sleep and nobody drops a can or my little girl doesn't poke him awake.

He's hungry. Although I always nurse him before we leave the house, he's a little guy and he eats often. So I can bust the boob and try to steer the cart (near impossible, tried it, had the awkward convo-while-nursing with the bakery staff); I can steer my full cart back across the giant store to spend twenty  minutes sitting in the pharmacy waiting area and nurse him while attempting to entertain a bored and hungry two-and-a-half-year-old with a pen and a brochure (done it). Or I can rush through the check-out line - inevitably busy - while he cries loudly - and nurse him in the passenger seat in the parking lot, while my daughter reads one of her books in the back (that's what I usually do).

He's hot. Car seats just are hot. My daughter was always sweaty in hers, and he's no different. I can't do anything about that. Carrying him throughout the trip is just not on - he's too heavy, and it's too awkward. He can't sit up on his own yet. So while I can take off his blanket, I can't really solve the problem any other way. He's got to be in there. Yes, I will pull him out and bounce him in the parking lot before buckling him back in and driving away.

He's ill. My healthy looking, chubby and mostly happy little guy has tummy troubles. We've got a specialist, and we're giving him medicine for it. But the medicine doesn't completely solve the problem, and it's at home as it's a big bottle and needs to be measured out. I can't bring it in my purse. So if that's the trouble, he'll just have to wait until we're home. Home is less than 10 minutes from the store. And you can bet if that's what's wrong, I know - I can tell by his cry - and I'll be the one standing in the bathroom in the dark with the fan on, bouncing him and holding him up with his head back, the only combination of things that will eventually calm him down.

So yes, I know he's crying. Yes, I know why. Yes, I know what to do about it. One of the best things I can do is get out of there fast - but I still need to finish the job. Because we need to eat too. So if you don't mind - just be nice, don't say anything and trap me in a polite but unwelcome conversation, smile, and... get out of my way :)

Meet the new baby, and an interview with Dad #SearsBabysRoom

I'm thrilled to say - our new little baby is here! We are thrilled to welcome Dexter to the family, born Tuesday morning. At just shy of 39 weeks along, he was 8 lbs, 5 oz and 21" - a solid 90th percentile baby. So far, so good! 

Mia's proud to be a big sister, though it is hard on her to have to share our attention. Although we did our best to prepare her, it's got to be a hard concept to grasp for a toddler before a new baby actually comes. I think he's much less fun, and taking up much more Mummy and Daddy time than she expected. 

Here she is holding him for the very first time Tuesday afternoon!

And here's my husband, what a proud Daddy he is! I love this photo - everyone smiling (okay, Dexter was sleeping) and happy. Mia's cuddled up right next to her Dad, and Dad's holding on tight to his newborn son. Cadbury, our 9-year-old chocolate lab, was pretty excited too - he's great with littles though was a little anxious about us being gone overnight! What a great first day for our little guy.

I asked him what his favourite part of being a Dad was, and here's what he had to say: "Watching our kids learn is pretty cool." Definitely! It is amazing to see how they process new experiences.

He also had some tips to pass on. Baby #2 has got to be easier than Baby #1, right? Even though they all come with individual challenges, you kind of know what to expect in general. So here are some Dad tips from Dexter's Daddy:

• Hold that baby! Babies love to be held and it doesn't always have to be Mum - the heat, heartbeat, movement and cuddles from Dad are great for soothing little one. 
• You get used to poop. Yeah, you never thought you would - but eventually (and with babies pooping all the time, that 'eventually' comes pretty quick) you have seen so much poop that another one just doesn't faze you. 
• Let Mum get some rest when you can help out that way. Seriously, happy Mama = happy family - and an exhausted Mum means grumpy Mum, kids who are clamoring for attention and unhappy babies (not to mention a Mum who's too tired is not going to accomplish those tasks that used to be priorities, like cleaning, laundry and cooking!).

I know Father's Day is technically over - but is there really a day as a parent when you're "off"? Not in my mind! So if you're thinking of picking up a little treat for Dad (or, hey, for yourself), check out Sears Days - on now until June 23rd, at Sears Canada locations and online at sears.ca which includes brands in The Baby's Room. Spend $50 between June 21-23 and get $10 in Sears Bucks to spend on your next purchase between June 24-27. Also - free shipping almost anywhere in Canada until the 23rd!! See in store for more details!

Disclosure: I am part of the Sears The Baby’s Room Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.