Going Strong: Peek-a-Boo Push-ups

02/27/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

I am always trying to figure out ways to fit in exercise should the time come when I can’t actually do as laid out in my current routine. With Avery, this happens more often than before, and it can just be difficult when you’re a tired parent to baby.

Being my stubborn self, I will be sure to find a way to work something in for the day. And hey, when there’s a will there’s a way; right?

That said, I wanted to share a pretty simple, but fun way to get some exercise and entertain your kid or kids. We all know the game Peek-a-Boo where we cover our face, ask “Where is (insert name or daddy/mommy)?”, and then uncover our face saying “Here I am!”

Sure, it’s fun for the kid (usually), and us parents/friends/relatives love to see their smiling faces. But, why not try to make it more fun for the both of you and get a little a exercise to boot? Enter “Peek-a-Boo Pushups”.

The thought just came to me today, and although I’m sure it’s not hard to figure out what to do, I made a little video to demonstrate with Avery…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBZ6KZ5WgMc?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

Yeah, I’m great at cutting my head off, huh? I could say I planned it like that, but I’d be lying. Hey, at least you get to see the cute baby. Avery is still not too sure about peek-a-boo, so hopefully her lack of enthusiasm will change as she ages.

Doing just push ups may not seem like much to some of you, but at least it’s something, and that’s better than nothing. Plus, with a little creativity, you can put together a good routine to work your whole body.

Try making it a great learning and playing time for your child, and a full body workout for you by doing burpees, lunges, push ups, and thrusters together.

Here’s a sample routine that includes burpees and baby thrusters as I demonstrated in videos from a past post.

Do 3 – 5 rounds (however many your kid will allow) of:

Burpees x 10 – counting out loud to teach numbers
Lunges x 10/leg – while holding your kid or having them watch
Peek-a-Boo Push ups x to failure or however long your kid keeps interest
Baby Thrusters x 10

There, by counting your reps you can teach your kid numbers and how to count, and playing peek-a-boo provides entertainment. I get this a very dependent on your kid being cooperative, but I am sure most will get a kick out of this. Plus, they’ll see their parents being active which will hopefully wear off on them!

Would you be willing to give this a try? Let me know your thoughts if you do or don’t do it, I’d love to hear results!

Parenting

Humming in Harmony

02/26/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Do you have a certain way of putting your baby to sleep? Maybe a song, using a deep hum, or a soft “shhhh” sound?

humming, baby, babies, parenting, Sleep=Good — Sleep = Good

I normally sing random, made up songs using her name and a lot of rhyming. Sometimes the words I use to make the rhyme aren’t even real, but it works! Kelley sings as well, but she uses real lullabies; I should look into that. Nah, I love making things up on the fly. I just wish I could write some down, I’d make……….ummmm….probably $10 at the most.

Kelley and I also use humming as a sleep tool. The humming usually comes second after our singing did most of the work and Avery is mostly asleep. But, what if we are mostly asleep and trying to get Avery to go back to sleep?

It just so happens this dilemma occurred last night. For bedtime, Kelley will feed Avery one last time and lay her down to sleep in her crib right after her bath. Lately, Avery has been sleeping pretty long in her crib and when she wakes up hungry, I will get her and bring her to our bed so Kelley can feed her. Once she’s had enough, Avery usually will just go back to sleep with us in bed until Kelley gets up for work. Keyword, usually.

Last night, Avery woke up earlier than she has been and I brought her in to feed like normal. After she finished, though, she just laid squirming around with eyes wide open. Not too fussy (yet), just moving and awake. Us, on the other, ready for more sleep!

This happened once before, several weeks back, and Kelley and I both started humming in bed trying to get Avery to go back to sleep. We were both using our deep voice hum, but since we were half asleep, we were trailing off at the end. After 5 minutes of the both of us humming in harmony (we’d make a great barbershop ~~quartet~~ duo), we both just started laughing out loud. Ahh, just 3 months into it and parenthood is already making us crazy. Or maybe we already were crazy…..meh.

Anyway, that first time, Avery did go back to sleep, but last night she wasn’t having our hum. Kelley tried holding her to no avail, and after several other attempts, I ended up on the recliner with Avery in the front room. Mommy needs her rest for work!

From there, Avery just squirmed for about 20 minutes and fell asleep. Then she woke up and screamed and thrashed for a good 5 minutes; then back to sleep. This happened one more time and finally it was time to get up. Yay.

I love holding our little girl and have learned to just appreciate the screaming while holding her (she has great lungs!!!), but man is she getting strong. Soon her kicking might hurt daddy in certain ways that are worse than others; gotta figure that one out.

Let me leave you with the reward of a good night’s sleep…..

I'm smiling because I pooped. — I’m smiling because I pooped.

Do you or your spouse ever have to take your baby to another room?

Any tips on how to handle these situations differently, or do we just need to deal with it?

Going Reviews

Going Review: The Art of Cure Amber Teething Necklace

02/25/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Before we had Avery in our lives, I had never heard of amber necklaces or their benefits to ease a teething baby’s pain. But, while researching baby related products as I do almost daily now, I found The Art of Cure Amber Teething Necklaces.

I then noticed a friend who had one for her daughter and also saw several babies wearing them while grocery shopping. Being my curious self, I would ask the parents how they liked them and they were all happy and their babies seemed content too. With praises from all of the parents I spoke with, I wanted to make sure our Avery had a necklace for that looming terror we all fear; Teething!

Here is an explanation of Baltic Amber Teething Necklaces from The Art of Cure Website:

What is an authentic BALTIC AMBER TEETHING NECKLACE? The Art of Cure Brand AND Trademark is dedicated to providing the highest quality for Teething Babies. Baltic amber necklaces are made for wearing (not chewing) when a baby is teething to reduce inflammation in the body. The warmth from the skin releases the active ingredient in the Baltic amber, succinic acid. Recent scientific research has proved that succinic acid has a very positive influence on the human body. It improves immunity and the balance of acids when absorbed into the bloodstream; it stimulates the thyroid glands to help reduce drooling when used for teething and soothes red inflamed cheeks. Amber’s anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are recognized by allopathic medicine as a natural analgesic, which will help to relieve teething pain and calm a baby without resorting to drugs. The skin’s warmth releases healing oils from the amber, a resin, which is absorbed into the bloodstream. Parent supervision is recommended at all times. They are 12-12.5 in. Packaging is custom from The Art of Cure™ and comes with a Keepsake pouch. The Art of Cure™ Baltic Amber is guaranteed to be of the highest quality and made to the best standards. Authenticity documents like a certificate of authenticity, testing and safety documents available upon request.

After a quick e-mail to Jennie from The Art of Cure, she happily agreed to send one for my Avery’s review. I spoke with Jennie on the phone and she was very kind and it was easy to tell how passionate she is about her product. I love businesses that actually have passion and care about what they are offering.

Today we received our Amber Necklace in the mail and I hurriedly opened the package to put it on Avery. Of course, Avery is not teething yet and I know each baby starts at a different time, but it looked beautiful on her. Taking pictures of a squirmy baby without assistance was challenging, so pardon the blur.

She had it in her mouth with my help, but lacks the ability to put thing in her mouth yet, so it didn’t last long. The time she figures out those arms with hands at the end are hers and she can do as she pleases with them, I am sure the necklace will find its way to her mouth. Right now, she just puts her fist in her mouth; so cute.

Update: Just want to make it clear that the necklace is not for chewing. The benefits come from the healing properties of the amber.

Since we are unsure of when the teething process will begin for our little pig / pterodactyl, I will be sure to give my full review of the Amber Necklace once it comes. Until then, I will give updates along the way and answer any questions the best I can.

Check out The Art of Cure for yourself and get one for your baby. There are many colors to choose from and are available on Amazon. As you can see in my picture at the top, each necklace comes with a certificate of authenticity, so you can rest assured you’re getting the real thing.

Have you heard of amber teething necklaces before?
Do you or have you used them?