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O N E
A plea to parents who have had some sleep issues: what do you do when your child won't sleep away from his/her primary crib? I mentioned after Christmas what a difficult time we had with Camille sleeping, even to the point of cutting our holiday family visit short. Last night, our first night in the mountains, SAME thing. Screaming ... screaming bloody murder starting at midnight. Not a great way to wake up after only being asleep an hour! I ended up pulling her into bed with me and Ian went into another room. Camille stayed awake most of the night as did I -- it was a "fun sleepover" to her. She was singing, giving me her pacifier, bouncing around. And I don't want to set up any long-term habits that will be hard to break. I would love any insight from parents who have been in these shoes!
T W O
Recently I needed some help with vinyl lettering for a sign I wanted for our front door. We have had a few incidents of sketchy solicitors in our 'hood, and now that Camille is doing all naps at home, I want to keep her asleep if we have a package delivered (I'm side-eyeing you, UPS man). I searched through dozens of Etsy sellers and ended up deciding to use Gifts With Memories. I saw that the owner, Renee, works out of Columbia, my hometown -- so I was slightly biased in my decision. :)
I purchased the metal sign with a 40% off coupon at Michaels, then gave Renee the sign dimensions and the basic concept I was looking for. She took it and ran with it. It only took a few edits, which were all done with a really quick turn-around time, to get the lettering exactly how I was envisioning it. She shipped it to me along with application instructions, and putting the vinyl letters on the sign was a breeze!
If you are looking for vinyl lettering for anything, I would definitely consider working with Gifts With Memories. Renee has so sweetly offered you all 20% off your purchase through 2/29/16 with coupon code ALIZADVENTURES20. She even has the wall monograms that look adorable in nurseries or in home offices!
I shared this Old Navy find on Snapchat (@alizadventures) earlier this week but wanted to post here, too. I purchased these maternity compression pants right before Christmas and they are great lounge/exercise pants. I ordered the XS and sort of wish I'd gone with the S, mainly so the tummy panel would go just a little higher. I ended up just rolling it down to my hips, anyway. They have a few different patterns but I went with the black and gray.
F O U R
Last night I posted some really cute Valentines Day bows on my Instagram page. The Lilly pattern sold out first, followed quickly by the mixed pink bow in the bottom right. There are still three pink/red quatrefoil bows that remain and I thought I'd offer them up here! If you are interested, just let me know in the comments below and leave your Paypal email address. All orders that are paid over the weekend will be shipped out Tuesday.
F I V E
TGIF y'all, and hope you will join in on Five on Friday this week! Cheers to the weekend!
I have been living in this ON Maternity pants. Crazy comfortable! I don't have that black and gray print though...ahh...need...;)!
ReplyDeleteI just bought five pairs of ON compression pants...they're my winter wardrobe with my Hunters! :) Good luck with the sleeping...I have no tips because we pretty much had to do the same thing!
ReplyDeleteWe have been relatively lucky with the "pack n play" sleeping situation but we started our son out early, like 6 months. Also we made sure that everything else was the exact same in his travel bed. Same white noise, same nightlight in the room, same lovie and blankets. Maybe you could go to a friends house one day during nap and set it up in their guest room? Maybe its the dark coupled with the unfamiliar territory that's messing her up. If she could fuss and figure out the travel crib is ok during a daytime nap-maybe she would be able to self soothe during the night? I feel bad for you though-they simply don't get the "please sleep in mommys bed so mommy can sleep" argument. Been there, done that.
ReplyDeleteWe don't travel TOO much, but when we do, our younger daughter (will be 2 in March so close in age to Camille) sleeps in a playpen, to which we added an extra foam mattress for comfort. She doesn't always do well, but we find she does better in it if her bedtime routine is EXACTLY like it is at home, and we bring her white noise machine with us, all of her usual blankets and animals, etc...we try to make everything about it as close to home as possible. I'm sure you have already done all of that but just in case, I wanted to share what has worked for us :)
ReplyDeleteGirl if you find some tips with that whole sleeping thing, fill me in please. My babe hates sleeping away from home & its a real problem!
ReplyDeleteI have two pairs of the Old Navy maternity compression leggings and live in them!! Hope you have a wonderful relaxing weekend with your precious family!!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter Daphne and Camille are almost the exact same age and we have the same problem with travel sleep. I have zero advice but you are certainly not alone in this issue. I hope you get some good advice!
ReplyDeleteCheck out the book "health sleep habits, healthy child" by Weissbuth. It is AMAZING at solving sleep problems. Essentially you can pick up the book, open it to your child's age and he tells you how to fix it TODAY...or actually in two days if you have to get it via Amazon Prime. Well worth a trip to Barnes and Noble to get it right away though! It changed sleep in my house with all three of my kids and we have ZERO problems sleeping through the night now. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy little guy is just a few months younger than Camille and we travel quite a bit. We bring as much as we can to imitate the same type of sleeping environment he has at home. His blankies, pacifiers (only 8 of them spread throughout the crib, ha), white noise machine, etc. We make sure it's super dark in the room and if we're using a borrowed pack and play and the mattress isn't as soft as what he is used to at home, I will wrap it super tight with a thick blanket to make sure he's comfy. You may be doing all of these things already, but just wanted to share what we do.
ReplyDeleteApril, we are currently going through the same thing with our 19 month old Mary Mac. Literally the exact same scenario. It's so exhausting and makes me question if it's even worth staying anywhere overnight. Of course this isn't realistic since both sets of grandparents live out of town as do many friends--but it sure makes for s stressful visit! Please keep us posted on any tips/tricks you find helpful!
ReplyDeleteI had a horrible sleeper but found that before we would travel if I set up the pack n play in her room, right beside her crib, she would transition well. It hasn't worked every time but it helped us survive a week at the beach! I usually set it up 3 days before we leave and start with her napping in it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the GD diagnosis. That is no fun! I had to go dairy/soy free while nursing in the beginning and even though eating restrictions aren't the end of the world they are still a tough adjustment. Especially in our society where food is such a social aspect of our lives.
Have a good weekend!
Playing blog post catch up, boo on your gd diagnosis. What a bummer! But like you said, it's nothing you can't handle for few months, and that's awesome that you have such a great support team who will be good resources for you! I have those maternity compression leggings in the green and black and am loving them too!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the poor sleep everyone is getting! That's rough. We do our best to keep as many things the same as possible when we travel. I bring her pillow, blanket, bunny, paci, favorite book and glow worm that she sleeps with at home. We do our best to replicate her bedtime routine and she usually sleeps well. It's a pain to bring all that stuff, but worth it for us if she's sleeping. Olive does usually go to bed later when we're out of town, but the routine is the same. I've been known to give her a sippy cup of milk or a few books in her pack in play to help her go to sleep. It also seems to help if we're not in the room while she's falling asleep. I sit outside the door until she's quiet. Good luck!! Hoping you could call nap today :)
ReplyDeleteOhhh I hear you loud and clear on those sleep issues - we had the EXACT same problem starting around the time Carrington turned 1. Before that, she would happily sleep next to our bed in a pack n play when we were traveling -- then, all of the sudden, it turned into an up-all-night, crying (for both of us) fiasco!
ReplyDeleteSo here's the ONLY thing (combo of things) that has worked for us: when we travel now, we either rent a wooden crib or request a wooden crib wherever we are. We realized that the pack n play was just too different from her usual sleep environment (where she sleeps like a champ and always has) with its net siding, thin mattress, and low-to-the-ground position. We also ALWAYS put her out of sight from us. If it's a hotel room and we have no choice but to all be in the same room, we try to find a tucked away wall or corner where she can't spy on our every move, because she'll be distracted and clingy if she can. Like many of the other moms said, in addition to these two things, we bring all of her things from home: her sheets, her pillow, her stuffed animals, her exact nightlight, her blanket. And we keep the bedtime routine exact to home.
But I'd say the biggest game changers for us were the wooden crib that felt like her crib at home, and being out of sight. It was a 180 - with those two things, it might take her longer to settle down at night, but she does and then sleeps normally through the night! Good luck!!! :)
Those compression pants look amazing! I wish I had known about them when I was preggo two years ago!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
I hear you on the poor sleep... I just worked a night shift and yet here I am wide awake after 5 hours of sleep. I think I need one of those do not distrub signs too! I just read your GDM post from yesterday. I can say that totally sucks but you can do it for three months! We will support you!
ReplyDeleteMy oldest son (now 6) was like this. After a 2nd miserable ski trip with him at 18 months, I told myself I would figure this out!! Like everyone else said, we always made sure that he had his normal lovie, blanket, etc... And we tried to use the pack n' play as much as possible! Sometimes I even had him nap during the day at home in it. We would also take it over to friends houses when we would cook out (luckily he transferred like a champ!) Also...I got the padded bottom for our pack n' play. That seemed to really make a difference for him. Much more comfortable and more like his crib. I always gave him a little pep talk before we went anywhere. I know some people say it's dumb to try and reason with a 1, 2 or even 3 year old. But I always did with my kids and I swear it helps! :) Good luck!! This too shall pass.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so sorry to hear about the GD diagnosis. Prayers that all goes well!
I feel your pain with the sleeping. It will get better as she gets older. I just make sure to bring a few lovies and blankets that smell like home and keep them in the pack n play so that it smells like home as much as possible. hope you get some sleep this weekend!
ReplyDeleteOur son, Walker (2), has really started to dislike the Pack 'N' Play when we're traveling…especially now that he's in his big-boy bed since Baby #2 will be here in May. He'll scream bloody murder when we try to lay him down and it kills me to let him cry it out (but I do). We are definitely THOSE parents and give him a little bit of Children's Benadryl (okay'd by our pediatrician) before bath time wherever we are, then do our regular bath and bed routine. It seems to help him doze off a bit easier, but he is up at the crack of dawn. We're about to start experimenting with a sleeping bag when we travel, since he sleeps in one at Mother's Day Out once a week. I hope Camille's sleeping gets better for you!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I NEED that sign. Our postman always rings the doorbell in three succinct rings when he's dropping off a package and it makes me want to SCREAM.
I lived in ON compression pants with my second pregnancy! DH was the same way with pack and play sleeping. I think she just found it uncomfortable. I mean, it is cardboard. Have you looked at folding travel cribs? And just keep them places!
ReplyDeleteWhen we travel and keep our kids in Pack n Plays we have always put foam mattresses in the pack n play. Also a mattress pad over that and a sheet. Basically make it as "crib-like" as possible. Does she sleep with any stuffed animals? Try putting some in there too. White noise is key too. A loudish fan is always good. Noise cancellation and good air flow in the room. Hope things get easier! Traveling can be so stressful. All you want is for bedtime to go fine.
ReplyDeleteDream On Me Foam Carina Collection Pack N Play Mattress, Wave Pink, 3" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SOLRIRU/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awd_pEBMwbB7YSPC4
I think someone else said this but we had the same problem until we started setting up the pack and play in her room before the trip for a few days and having her sleep in it at home for 2-3 nights before we leave. Seems to work well and we haven't had any middle of the night screaming/up all night antics since we started doing it this way! Good luck!
ReplyDeletewe found that keeping some things familiar helped Bear sleep in his pack and play better at visits. Meaning if we needed to pull the sheet from the crib and fold it to fit the pack and play then that's what we would do. I also tried to put him in the pack and play the night or two before a trip. Its a bit of a pain but it seemed to work for him. I put it in his room to he had the same noises and smells just a different bed. He eventually grew out of it. Sleeping anywhere is easier now.
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