How I Plan on Wearing My Baby in the Heat

04/28/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Do you live where there’s hardly a transition from Winter to Summer? Sure, there’s the season we call Spring, but here in Texas, it seems likes it’s either cold and miserable or just plain hot.

Yes, I’m exaggerating a little, there are some nice days, but Texas heat turns on rather quickly around here. It doesn’t help when humidity is thrown into the mix; ugh.

But I am a lover of the heat and will take drenching my clothes in sweat over shivering in layers of clothes any day. Go for a run early in the morning? Not me, I prefer early afternoon with the sun beaming down on me.

I know my performance would be better in cooler weather, but I love the drained feeling after a hot workout. That said, I need to be more mindful now that I have a baby to bring along wherever I go.

Lately, I have been running with Avery in our B.O.B. stroller and using a weather shield because I thought she’d get too much dirt blown in her face. Well, Going Mom set me straight and told me how you shouldn’t use the weather shield in great than 65 degree weather; it’s only for precipitation anyway.

Admitting mistakes is not my strong point, but I’m admitting it now, I’m a doofus for subjecting our beautiful girl to the shield. Next run, I’m make sure it’s open to the fresh air! Sorry, Avery, and thank you, Kelley, for showing me the light!

Good job, Daddy, way to admit your stupidity! I love you!

Since I’ll also be wearing Avery when we are outside, I need to have a plan to keep her cool and comfortable. Thankfully, Onya Baby has a very simple solution to keep your baby cool when wearing them in hot weather.

All you need is a baby carrier with front pockets (such as, say….the Onya Outback!) and a freezer/ice pack. I’m sure you know what’s next, just put the ice pack in the front pocket of your carrier and now you’ll have a one cool baby!

I did this when wearing Avery in the Onya while reel mowing with our Fiskars mower on a hot day and she kept cool and calm the whole time. Actually, she took a nap like she has before!

So, it’s that easy, use one or two cold packs when wearing your baby under the scorching sun and keep them safe! Onya Baby wrote a post on their blog about using the ice pack and included these additional tips:

– Dress yourself and your baby in loose, lightweight, natural fiber clothing
– Carry an umbrella to provide portable shade for both yourself and your baby

– Place a lightweight cloth or flat diaper between yourself and your baby
– Remove your baby periodically from your carrier to allow both of you to cool off
– Check your baby often by touch and sight to be sure he’s not overheating.

Click here for Onya’s original post.

I’ve used an umbrella several times and it works great, but if it’s windy outside, it can be a hassle. That’s when I recommend and giant brimmed hat with a neck strap!

Overall, be mindful of the weather when bringing your baby outside. I admit to being slightly stubborn/ignorant of this and have my lovely wife to thank for snapping me out of it. Again, thank you, Kelley!

Do you have to deal with heat where you live?

Any tips of you own on keeping baby safe in the sun?

Parenting

The Best Baby Seat in the House that We Almost Returned

04/26/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

As rookie parents, we bought and/or registered for a lot of unnecessary baby items, or we bought too many of something. Like changing pads for example, yeah they get poop on them, but I don’t think we’ll go through 12 before washing them!

If you’re a parent, you know what I’m talking about, we all have those certain items still in their box collecting dust. Or maybe you simply returned it like we’ve done after “seeing the light” at the end of the nursery tunnel. To avoid losing track of what you’re doing with each item, separate the things to return from the things to keep like anything from Nuna, Premium Car Seats, Pushchairs, and Baby Gear AU so you don’t get rid of something on accident.

Like us, for example, we almost messed up and returned one of the items we now use daily; our Mamas & Papas infant positioner. We tried having Avery sit in it about 2 months ago and she was not a fan!

We tried maybe only a few times after that with no success, so we gave up. Kelley and I both agreed it was one of the useless items we had and were going to return the seat. Glad we kept that box!

Avery’s seat of choice up until recently has been the chair for her swing. We would lug it around and have her sit/lay in it wherever we were and she stayed mostly content.

Of course she’s a baby, and like all babies I know, she still had her moments…

But it’s what worked best and that’s what we stuck with. Then we bought a jumper and although it took a while for her to warm up to it, she eventually caught on.

She started turning full circle to play at each station and kept herself busy while I kept busy.

But time would pass and she would become aggravated, hungry, or in need of attention and she’d make sure everyone knew! And of course, she would simply be unimpressed with the crazy contraption at times.

After struggling to keep her happy, Kelley decided to put the Mamas & Papas (M&P) chair on the island one day and try it out. At first, it seemed like another failed attempt….

Then Avery surprised us and acted as if she were, dare I say, happy!

Ahhh, she likes to be the center of attention! Silly rookie parents that we are had her off to the side all the time. Sorry, Avery, now we know!

Now Avery will sit in her chair on the island while Kelley eats or just hangs out and she keeps much happier. I try putting her in the jumper some times, but it doesn’t last long, and forget about the swing chair. She starts out in a normal position like so…

…and a minute later she’s found a way to reposition into this….

Maybe just to get a better look at her feet?

Regardless, the M&P chair trumps all other seating arrangements in our house, so it stays! Plus, it’s not as bulky as the swing or jumper, so it can be transported with ease. We even take it to G-ma’s when we visit.

When I workout in the garage, now the M&P chair goes with. I would always count on the swing to keep her happy, but that’s long gone.

Or if I workout with a video inside, she’s center stage.

Shhh, I'm learning how to work my core! — Shhh, I’m learning how to work my core!

Well, you get the point, the chair goes anywhere we need a place to let Avery sit and be happy. The key is to try and keep it at a higher level so she’s not struggling to look up at us.

I’m forever grateful that we procrastinated on returning this chair, as it is now a major necessity in keeping our sanity…..kinda. If you’re thinking about returning something you haven’t used or your kid didn’t like, why not try one more time to be sure? You might be glad you did!

Do you have a Mamas and Papas or Bumbo chair like this? Good or bad for you?

What items did you return after realizing they were pointless?

Life, Parenting

Beers with my Brother and Avery with Her Mother

04/25/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

Hey, hey!

Friday has arrived and even as an at-home parent, I’m still excited for the weekend! With no travel plans, it means our little family trio can enjoy time together!

If the title scared you a little by making you think Going Mom and I are in a situation where we are sharing Avery, don’t worry, I just like to make rhymes. Really, I just went out to meet my little brother (Uncle Preston) for a couple of good beers while Kelley was home alone with Avery.

I made sure she was okay with this before making plans, and of course she was happy to set me free…..for a few hours at least. It helps that she’s going to be hanging out a with a group of other girls tonight and I will be the one home alone with Avery.

This could be scary having just me at home with our daughter……Oh wait, not much of a difference from every other day!

We both need our time out and thankfully we understand and work with each other on this. Great communication is key to a great relationship! Write it down, remember this, and never forget! I sometimes do forget and it gets me into trouble…..oops.

Preston and I went to a bar called The Flying Saucer which holds over 200 beers at one time. I’ve been a member, “beer knurd”, for 6 or 7 years now and once you reach 200 different beers, you get a saucer with your name and whatever quote you want on their wall.

After Wednesday night, I now have 53 beers. Yeah, I won’t have that saucer for a while, but I’m okay with that. I do love the occasional drink, but I hardly actually drink. When I do, I might split a good beer with Kelley or sip on bourbon, but that’s it.

Having not had dinner yet, I was feeling pretty good after two draft beers on Wednesday night, and then Preston and I shared a Belgium beer flight. I am confident in saying that Belgium and trappist style beers are my favorite!

Every Wednesday night, The Flying Saucer has a special brewery night where you can get the beer and the keep the glass. I used to do this every Wednesday when I worked late and have a nice collection. I even asked about the prior week’s glass and our nice waitress gave it to us. That glass was a “420” glass from Stone Brewing Co, and although I’m not into that kind of thing, it was still cool.

Here’s the 420 glass..

I hardly ever go out, and when I do, I will not eat at the places we go. I’m a picky person who has to know exactly how my food is prepared, so I tend to do it myself. That said, I can enjoy a few beers as long as it isn’t too expensive, and I had a great time just hanging with my brother.

We don’t get to see each other enough, so we were able to just talk about everything in our lives. For me, that’s Avery, but he had a lot of fun stories to share. Hopefully we’ll plan another outing in the near future and maybe I’ll make it to 55 beers!

It’s Preston’s 22nd birthday on May 1st, and I tried to get a free beer from the waitress; only problem was that I already paid. Dummy! Yeah, I don’t think things through sometimes, just ask my wife.

Oh well, like I said, it was a great time, and we were even treated to this as we were leaving….

The van had a handicap sticker, but hopefully this isn’t a seeing drive dog!

Meanwhile, Kelley had a pleasant evening with Avery and even took her for a short walk in the Onya Outback. Everything was peaceful with Avery sound asleep when I arrived home. I can only hope for the same when Kelley comes home tonight!

Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Ever enjoy the simple things like just have a beer or two with friends or family? I feel I don’t do this enough!