Tag: Parenting

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Babies Baby Blankets Baby Gear Baby Registry Baby Toys Little Branding Monster Malarkey Kids Review Shopping Toys

Chew on this..

Sometimes, you find a company that blows you away. You know what I mean.. those companies that just seem to hit the nail on the head with their products – and their products do exactly what you expect them to? Malarkey Kids is one of those companies.

Note: The following products were provided to us free of charge. Regardless, this is my own honest opinion.

I was first drawn to Malarkey Kids when I saw their Munch Mitt. My babies all decided that their hands were the perfect “first teether” – and they tended to start this hand gnawing before they were developmentally ready to hold onto a traditional teether toy to chew on.
With my youngest, this constant sucking on her hands exacerbated her eczema. I needed something to protect her hands, and traditional cotton mitts just ended up soaked making things worse. When I heard about the Munch Mitt, I knew I needed it, and for about 3 months, we never went anywhere without it. (You can read more about my love of the Munch Mitt here)
As she began to get older and more coordinated, new products came out. Perfect with her new development, we were sent their Buddy Bib. I SO wish I had this with our other kids. Bandana bibs are not only trendy, but so cute on. Add a removable, chewable teether that doubles as a wrist rattle? MAJOR WIN.
This became our new staple. And the detachable “buddy” was the perfect solution for car rides. It entertained her, it gave her something other than her hands to chew on, and it even attached easily to our baby carriers to help discourage her from chewing on the straps. Bonus that it is adorable.
Once again, Malarkey Kids has expanded their line and we LOVE it. We recently received two of their newest products, the Munch-it Blanket and the Chew Cube. I expected to tell you they were a hit with our little girl, but honestly? Our 3 youngest kids ALL fight over them.
When I first unpacked them, our little girl would NOT put down the Munch-It blanket. She toted it around the house, outside in the snow, in the car. Pretty sure it’s her new BFF. I’m assuming the incredibly soft fabric and snack-inspired print helps. Pretzels are her favorite past time, after all.
You best watch out when her brother sees it and tries to take it for himself. It never ends well. Luckily, I can usually give whichever of them doesn’t have the blanket our new Chew Cube and it will instantly distract them enough to prevent a fight.
The Chew Cube is a great developmental toy, more than just a teether. While the outside is definitely perfect for chewing, the cube itself is so multi-purpose. A toy to roll around or throw -like dice for babies, a rattle to shake, and a sensory stimulating block lies in the center.
With mirrors and bold black and white patterns, it keeps my kids entertained for several minutes trying to free this small block from the confines of the teether cube. (Rest assured, try as they might, that cube has yet to be liberated. It is constructed well!)
Over the years, and between our numerous children, we have come across many teethers.. so trust me when I say these Malarkey Kids products are most definitely worth having. All of them.
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Babies Baby Gear Baby Wearing Kids Pregnancy Shopping Yah Yah Photography

So you want a big family… (or not)

I had a very fun opportunity this past week. I recorded a segment for a podcast!

This all came about a couple weeks ago. I noticed I had been tagged a couple times in a post in the gDiapers Facebook community. I clicked to see what I was being called out for, and I instantly laughed upon seeing the post. They were looking for parents of large families (5+ children) to interview for their podcast.

After laughing, I sat and thought for a minute. I’m really the person my friends think of when asked if they know any crazy people who can’t seem to stop having babies?!? Yep. I am. *insert more laughing*

The focus was a lot about how you know when and if you’re done having babies. There were a lot of questions regarding this.. but one actually made me think. What would I say or what advice would I give to someone trying to decide if they’re done.

Considering only ONE of our SIX babies were planned, and one was a birth control baby when we thought we were finished, I have no advice to give on deciding whether you’re done or not. We have been blessed beyond measure – but with very little deciding. (Until now, that is..) That said — I do have a lot of insight on having a large family. So, if you’re sitting there, staring at your all-too-quickly growing baby, trying to decide if you want to set out to procreate like rabbits.. here’s a few things to think about:

•On your worst day, how do you handle the chaos? Large families come with a lot of chaos, even on the good days. You often find yourself running in circles. Like you’re in one of those revolving doors and can’t seems to figure out how to get out of it. Round and round you go. Same stuff, different kid. Over and over until you hit the mattress. (And then a couple times after you’ve hit the mattress. Kids, they just KNOW when you’ve attempted to relax!)

•Do you enjoy shopping at Costco? Costco is one of those things that is no longer a luxury. A trip to Costco used to be one of those “Oh! I can buy our entire months worth of groceries!” Nope. It’s basically a necessity just for a week’s worth of feeding 6 kids. Especially when almost all of them are growing boys with giant appetites. (Have you seen how much a preteen boy can put down?!? And WHERE does it go?????)

•Are you willing to size up your vehicle? Our particular dilemma when we found out that number 6 was on the way was that we would require 5 car seats or boosters to be installed. My gripe is that most large vehicles don’t feel the need to accommodate car seats like they should. We upgraded to a full size van just to fit the amount and types of seats we needed to install, plus give room for all the STUFF that going out with 6 kids requires. It also allows us to not fold our giant stroller (Uppababy Vista) so, yay for being lazy! I mean, uhhh, saving time!

•Are you one of those people who loves doing laundry?  Here’s an equation for you. Smelly, sweaty preteen + sticky, snot nosed toddler + slobbery, poop filled infant = A LOT OF LAUNDRY. Along with upgrading the vehicle, you may need to upgrade your washer and dryer capacity. I used to love laundry. I no longer love laundry.

•Cold and flu season.. when one goes down… the entire forest is going down with them. I’ll never forget when I was about 7 months pregnant.. our toddler vomited as we were getting him ready for bed. We thought it was a one off, as he seemed fine after. Put him down to bed and moved on. An hour later, our 3 year old followed suit. Oh no. Okay.. two was tolerable. By 3 am, we had 5 vomiting children and a pile of towels and sheets covering beds and the floor. (Which goes back up to “do you like laundry?” Ha!)

•Are you willing to become best friends with your local baristas? Let’s face it – coffee is my life line. Drink the coffee, do the things. Fairly certain my baristas know what kind of day I’m having based on how many times I roll my giant van through the drive-thru (also a necessity!) and how many children are crying as I do so. They know my drink based on time of day. No joke.

In all seriousness, though..

Do you want a lot of kids? This is probably the only thing that matters. Everything else works itself out. If you want a large family, if you love being a parent and want to keep doing it.. do it! We have our people, our tribes or our villages, whatever you want to call them.. and that’s great. They will all have an opinion on whether you should or shouldn’t have several kids. They’ll probably voice those opinions, too. But as nice as it is to have a support team, this decision is one only you can make, and you shouldn’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.

We love our big family, and our children love our big family. Did we set out thinking we’d have 6 kids? No. It’s been amazing, though. We did make the decision to be done-done (or as done as you can be.. they say nothing is 100%) after baby girl.. We thought we were done after number 5, and she is the whipped cream that topped off our mocha.. We felt ready to make that decision of completion.

Half a dozen kids, one kid, no kids. We all have our ideas of what OUR perfect family is. None of us are right or wrong. Make the decision that works for your family. Also, keep an open mind. Sometimes surprises or tragedies happen and our ideas get changed a bit. Embrace your family, and never apologize for your decisions.

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Babies Parenting Pregnancy

What I hope our daughter learns from living in a house full of boys.

Raising five boys has definitely taught me a lot. I became very accustomed to “boy mom” life. Obviously, as a woman raising 5 future men… I have strived to instill values in them that I feel are important traits to make them not only good humans, but men of integrity who value the importance of women.

Thinking about how we raise our boys and the example my husband sets for our boys made me think about raising our baby girl. The differences, the priorities.. She’ll be a little girl in a boys world — which, I’m hoping, prepares her for being a woman in a man’s world.

I want her to grow up knowing that she is not weak. I hope that if her brothers tackle her (and they will!) — she gets up, brushes off her tutu, and pins them to the ground. Stand up for yourself, baby girl!  On that same note — I also want her brother’s to know that it’s perfectly okay when she wins, and ONLY encourage her to try to do so! While I do want her brothers to feel protective and defensive of her, I also want them all to realize she needs to be confident enough to hold her own.

I want her to know that she deserves just as much respect and equality as her brothers, and she should not hesitate to go for it! At the same time, however, I want her to realize that she is not entitled to anything simply because she’s a girl – just as her brother’s must also understand that they aren’t more deserving of anything based on their anatomy.

I hope that having all of these brothers helps her realize that she has value much greater than her looks. As a girl, people will surely remark on her outward appearance – and I don’t want her to focus on that. Be them positive or negative comments. Strive for strength and confidence before beauty.

I hope she challenges and encourages her brothers to continue to grow their views of what “masculine” and “feminine” mean. Showing that she can pretend to be Darth Vader and they can sit down in pint sized chairs for tea parties and both are entirely acceptable!

My biggest hope for her? That she realizes that even though everyone keeps calling her “The Princess” (Ugh…) there are MANY variations of “Princess.” I hope that living with these boys is empowering for her. I want her to see that Queen Amidala battled right alongside the Jedi. Princess Leia became General Organa. Mulan saved her country. Merida challenged tradition and chose her own path. I want her to see that she is more than capable of conquering whatever she wants. She can be strong, be confident, be brave — and she can do it all in a crown if she wants to.

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Announcements Babies Pregnancy Yah Yah Photography

Our Combined Pregnancy and Gender Announcement

When we found out we were pregnant with baby number 6, there was one thing my husband and I were sure of. We were going to wait to announce our pregnancy until after we knew the gender of our baby. Quite honestly, I didn’t want to hear what people thought I must need/want/be having.

Waiting 16-20 weeks to announce a pregnancy is not always easy. Especially when it’s number 6. You tend to be showing much earlier and if children notice — children talk. This meant we also had to keep it a secret from our kids. There were a few “mom, you’re belly is kind of getting a little big..” from our very blunt 5 year old.. but overall my boys were oblivious.

The day came. As I sat in my OBGYN’s office 16 weeks pregnant, he wheeled in the ultrasound machine and declared “we’re going to look..” and look he did. Very closely. As the words came out of his mouth, there was a pause. I honestly was waiting for “and there’s another boy!” — but that is not what he said. “You know, It’s not what I am seeing, but rather what I’m not seeing.. ” Then, we stared intently for more than 10 minutes. Poking, prodding, getting images of every angle baby would cooperate for. We knew his verdict wasn’t 100%, but because hiding it was getting increasingly difficult as each week came, we decided that his “95% positive” was assuring enough to do our announcement. We could always amend our photos later if our 20 week anatomy ultrasound happened to show something otherwise. Haha.

We messaged back and forth with our family photographer, Olivia of Yah Yah Photography here in Portland, Oregon. She has been photographing our family for over 10 years and her excitement over this uncharted territory was equal to ours. Together we knew we needed to do this big and obvious. The photo shoot would not only be telling the world we were pregnant AND having a girl — but the shoot itself would tell our boys they were going to have a baby sister. Something they have begged for. She invisioned a lot of pink – and together our Pink Tea Party “Baby Sister Boot Camp” came to fruition.

We were a little worried our boys would figure it all out before we captured it.. but lucky for us, our kids don’t think twice about the color pink or the random things we do for photo shoots. As the pink treats and balloons came out, they just assumed it was for Spring. Olivia set up the tea party at a park and then she waiting as we all walked over to join her. It was the perfect way to get the little details captured before making the announcement obvious. She then proceeded with a seemingly normal photo shoot at first.

We then walked our boys over to the table, where they began to get confused by the tiaras on the table – but brushed it off fairly quickly. I mean, there were cookies, cupcakes and jellybeans to be had.

After a moment, Olivia declared that she had forgotten something in her car and needed Dad to go retrieve it. He came walking back with “It’s a Girl” balloons and two chalkboard signs. One said “Baby Sister Boot Camp” and one was adorned with baby sister’s name. That’s when it hit them — and we captured their reactions both on video and in these amazing photos.

The hardest part was the week after we did this photo shoot, having to keep our children away from anyone they may spill the beans to. Hahaha. Proud to say, we managed that nicely and it was a very successful surprise for everyone.

By the way — We have since had 2 more ultrasounds, with a total of 5 people in all telling us she is, indeed, a girl. I guess I’ll believe it. Hahaha.

How and when did you announce your pregnancy and/or the gender of your baby?

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Babies Baby Gear Baby Wearing Lillebaby Nook Sleep Stokke

#growbabygrow – Our journey through failure to thrive and NG tube feeding.

When I was pregnant with baby number 5, we had already started the conversations with our doctors. The plan of action for the seemingly inevitable battle with Failure to Thrive. (FTT) You see, each of our kids has fought this battle and to this day, no one has a definite answer as to why — just some observed solutions and suspected causes. As my due date approached, I knew this situation would be no different. Call it mom instincts (or just common sense based on the fact that I was 39 weeks pregnant and looking more like 33 weeks) but I knew he would be born small. Each of my 5 kids has been born smaller than their previous sibling. Small for Gestational Age is a term we are familiar with. He was born small.  We (with the guidance of his medical team) decided to see where time got us. My milk came in quickly and with abundance and he was nursing well (despite a fairly significant tongue tie that was examined by no less than 6 doctors and feeding specialists and determined not an issue at all!) However, as each of his first 4 weeks of life flew by, his weight gain was not enough.
This is when the fun really started. He was gaining, just not enough. We began playing with equations. Could we still let him be EBF but increase the calories? Didn’t work. Could we supplement a few feeds per day? Didn’t work. He kept plugging along the same ever-so-slow weight gain pattern. So, we turned to the amino acid based elemental formula that had worked for his brother and then upped the calories with what is essentially an emulsified liquid fat.
As we approached 3 months, things were still stagnant. We now had a scale at home and were weighing him once or twice a week. It was stressful. My heart would race every single time I had to put him on that scale. Would it yield a better result? Would things be worse? What will his doctor say after I email it to her? Then it happened. At 15 weeks old, things weren’t improving and his lab results were starting to show signs of a malnurished body. As a mom, I saw those words and felt like a failure. (If you are in this situation, it is natural to blame yourself.. but if you are doing everything in your power to help your baby gain weight and these diagnosises are still in front of you.. STOP blaming yourself!) Here I was, feeding my baby as I was told. Breastmilk is supposed to be the best thing for babies. My supply was fine, I could feed him and pump like no ones business. We had turned to formula. We turned to a crazy concoction of a food solution and “extreme protein malnutrition” and “failure to thrive” were still front and center on his medical charts. We ended up in another specialist office and that’s when it was decided. He would be admitted to the hospital and put on an NG tube. I spent the next day sobbing in self pity.. I knew why this decision was made and my husband and I both agreed with it. We knew it had to happen if we were going to have any hope at helping our baby grow and possibly finding out why he wasn’t. That didn’t mute the hurt, though. I sat there the morning before we checked into the hospital nursing my baby for what I knew might be the last time and I cried. I felt mad that my baby would be taken off of breastmilk at 3 months old. I felt nervous about what an NG tube would entail. I felt so many emotions.. I can’t even describe what it felt like. As I sat and held my baby, though, I forced myself to breathe and my husband helped remind me that I would do anything for our baby and this was no different. So off we went.
They insert his NG tube immediately upon our arrival. I was somewhat overwhelmed and a little traumatized. They took a LONG tube, lubed it up, held down my screaming baby and proceeded to feed it down his nose. I watched it get shorter and shorter and my baby get more and more angry.. and then one of the nurses looked up at me, smiled, and said “It’s okay, mom. We’re going to make him better!” I was calm.
While he was admitted, I continued pumping. I don’t know why. I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I hoped they would tell me that he would be able to nurse again.. or that he could have breastmilk in his tube.. something. My entire baby raising experience has been filled with people telling me breastmilk is best for baby. If there was any chance that he may be able to have it again, I wanted to make sure I was prepared to make that happen for him. He was in the hospital for 8 days. The first 4 days yielded no change.. but the last 4 showed wonderful progress! I’ll never forget the nurse coming in right before rounds to ask if there was anything I wanted to make sure they bring up to the doctor.. I mentioned that his legs were swollen. He had socks on (he has trouble with temperature regulation) and his once-too-big socks were now tight on his calf and leaving indentations. She pushed on his leg, looked at me and smiled “He’s not swollen.. That’s fat!” We celebrated. Those nurses were almost as invested in his health and well being as I was.
When we came home, he came home with the NG tube still in place. This was a whole new experience. It was definitely overwhelming to think about.. and the first week was a balancing act for sure. He was not only on the tube, but a high calorie density. I swear, those first two weeks — my life was measuring and mixing specific caloric recipes for formula, pumping, and attempting to keep his hands off of his tube.  There were definitely some tears as we adjusted, but life adapted quickly as we got used to our new normal. Ultimately, after 3 weeks, I decided to stop pumping. I cried almost as much then as the last time he nursed, but I was also oddly okay with it.

The NG tube definitely comes with its difficulties and learning curves. Priming the pump, making sure you’ve mixed enough formula to last the entire feed. (In our case, when he came home.. he was on a continuous slow feed for 10 hours overnight  so that he could do bottles during the day to keep up his oral motor abilities) Our baby also loved playing with his tube. So much so, that he managed to pull it out no less than 8 times. We quickly learned some hacks to keep it out of his grasp, and I even learned to reinsert the tube myself. (This was a whole new level of nervousness and self doubt! Eep!)
Life with the NG tube, for the most part, proceeded as normal! It was more work, as I mentioned above, but for him.. business as usual. It wasn’t invasive for him at all. He was just as happy and content as he always was.. he just now had a tube in his nose.
As he approached 4 months old, you could finally see the progress he was making. I finally felt like it was doing its job and things were working. Like our baby could actually thrive. How long he would need the tube, however, was still not clear. Day by day, week by week. 
He also began meeting more developmental milestones. This was huge for us!! Our previous two kids had gross motor and developmental delays — this was a concern for us and his doctors.. as he grew and began doing things typical babies his age were doing, I was even more confident that this was the right decision for our little man.
We have been, and will continue, to document his progress on our social media channels. I was hesitant at first, but as I began posting, more and more moms either facing FTT diagnosis or with tube fed babies began reaching out. Whether it was looking for support and comradeship or to offer support and reassurance. I knew then that using our voice was a good thing. If you’re reading this to follow our journey, our little man is 5 months old now. He’s made amazing strides in his growth. He’s still very small for his age (well below 3%) but compared to where he was, he’s doing amazingly well! I don’t know what the future holds for him. He has an amazing medical team that we trust (this is critical!!) and I finally feel like he is thriving.

If you’re reading this because you find yourself in similar shoes.. about to climb the Failure to Thrive mountain and unsure of what it means, blaming yourself, or just looking for someone who understands — I hope our journey offers some support and reassurance.

“I’ll never reach my destination, if I never try. So I will sail my vessel, until the river runs dry” — Garth Brooks “The River”