Tag Archives: growing up

Dear Daughter, Hold Your Bottle! Please?

02/21/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

I don’t know where we went wrong, but our toddler simply won’t hold her own bottle.

Okay, let me rephrase; she won’t hold her own milk bottle.

Dammit! Let me re-rephrase; she won’t hold and drink from her milk bottle. There.

Some of our neighbors with kids around the same age said their little ones have been holding their own bottle and drinking without a problem. I don’t know where they all are with breastfeeding and if that matters, but Going Mom is still breastfeeding so maybe that has something to do with it. If that’s the case, so be it, breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for our kids, even as toddlers, and I’ll support my wife as much as possible!

But still, Avery has no problem with holding, grabbing, and throwing things. She’s even becoming a pro at kettlebell swings!

So why won’t she just tilt the bottle up to get what’s inside? We have a sippy cup with a straw that she drinks water out of just fine, but a lot of it ends on the floor too, so we’re reluctant to give her Mommy’s milk that she works so hard to produce.

I’ve tried bottle “training” by just putting water inside and letting her do whatever, but nothing good came of it. Just confusion and spilled water.

If that was milk, we’d have a sticky mess, and I don’t feel like cleaning the floors more than I already have to.

Kelley and I have attempted to let her hold the bottle with milk inside while we stood guard, and she just tried to drink from the nipple as if it were the straw on her sippy cup.

We try and correct her by making a motion of tilting something up and drinking, but that only seems to confuse her.

And then, after several repeated attempts at explaining what to do with the bottle, she gives us this…

I mean, what the crap?! How do you not just smile, hug, and kiss this cute girl? After holding the bottle so she can drink, that is.

Anyway, we’re talking about weaning her from the bottle all together soon, and then she’ll have to use the sippy cup. Our cup has a spill proof nipple or a straw attachment, and she’s kinda getting that nipple down, but still just spits out the water as she drinks. I picture milk being in there and it sends shivers down my spine. Not out of fear, just because I don’t like cleaning, and I know how hard my wife works to make that milk.

The time to nix the bottle is fast approaching, and hopefully she’ll get the “big girl” cup down good enough to have milk in there.

Do you have a special “go to” sippy cup that you use for your kids?

What age did your little one start holding and drinking from their own cup/bottle?

Going Healthy, Life, Parenting

Personal Training From Our 1 Year Old

01/21/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Gone are the days of Avery sitting idle as Going Mom and I workout. From sitting in a swing, to bouncing in her jumper, our baby turned toddler has transformed into our personal trainer.

Not long ago, we used to only be concerned with keeping Avery entertained as we worked through an exercise routine either inside or in the garage, but now she’s part of the action and helping to increase intensity! I still remember having her watch us from her swing as we sweat it out with a workout video.

Or bringing her to the garage for first time and how worried I was to do anything.

And for the longest time, she’s been happily (for the most part) bouncing in her jumper as we lift in the garage.

babies, parenting, family, workout, fitness — Eager to workout with Daddy!

But now, with her walking and wondering all over, she prefers to get in on the action when and where ever possible. My wife and I were doing a quick body-weight routine consisting of 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off working through squats, push-ups, lunges, and planks for a total of 4 rounds; making it 16 minutes total. Short but intense and perfect for those with limited access to equipment.

Apparently, Avery didn’t think it was intense enough and she made sure to let her Mommy know to work harder!

push-ups, workout, fitness, parenting — C’mon, faster, Mommy!!!

And I guess Kelley looked like she needed a little extra weight as she doing push-ups, so Avery helped increase the intensity by adding her own weight.

fitness, workout — I’d say this isn’t fun, but I”d be lying.

Of course, I think Avery went a little too far with the intensity at one point. I’m not sure, but something tells me Kelley would agree….

What? Having trouble, Mommy? Can I have milk soon?

This happened with the plank hold too, and Avery would venture over to me every now and then to check in. I think my wife got the worst of it though, but she ripped through the 16 minutes; “baby weight” and all!

In the garage, we just hit a milestone by removing the jumper to make room for a play yard/pen (really looks like a place for a dog) that Avery can move around in as we lift weights.

I even had a second of feeling sad since it’s bittersweet to take it out. Our little girl is growing too much! Common saying from parents, and I completely understand! But there wasn’t much time to sit and ponder on the past, Avery let me know it was dead lift day and I needed to take my weight belt (she advocates lifting safely) and get to it.

Here, dad, you'll need this. — Here, dad, you’ll need this.

She looks pretty content in her new ~~cage~~ play yard, right? She seriously loves playing with the weight belt, so I know as soon as I’m done, she gets it back. It’s a good relationship though, she behaves and helps motivate me to lift heavy and keep focused, and I give her my belt once I’m done. Instant happiness….

I’ve had this mini kettlebell for kids in my Amazon cart for too long, and now I have motivation to finally buy it. Soon, you’ll see our daughter swinging her very own kettlebell with mommy and daddy!

How cool is that?

Whether inside or out, Avery’s keeping her Mommy and Daddy in tip top shape around here. And why not? Shouldn’t all kids want to have their parents be healthy so they are healthy enough to go play and run around with them?

I might joke about Avery being our personal trainer, but in a way, all parents should have their children act as personal trainers in the sense that they should want to get and stay healthy for themselves and their kids. I don’t want to be one of the parents sitting on a bench as my kid runs around playing on the playground, I want to be out there playing too!

Please, if you can’t find being healthy and fit for yourself being reason enough, do it for your kids’ sake. From chasing them on the playground as toddlers, to playing sports when they’re older, to helping them move out of the house when they’re fully grown, parents need to be there for their kids, physically and mentally.

Going Mom and I choose a healthy, active lifestyle, and I hope you do or will too. As and aspiring personal trainer (when Avery is older), I’d love to offer tips/advice to anyone who is serious, free of charge. In fact, if just one person reaches out to me, I would do my best to help you achieve whatever goal it is you have in mind.

Don’t limit yourself by thinking you can’t do something. Stay positive, set your goal, and get to it! Just like you are what you eat, you are what you think too!

Do you workout with your kids?

Any fun exercises or stories you care to share?

What goals do you have for yourself and how are you working to get there?

Monthly List, Parenting

14 Memories From My 14th Month Since Going Dad

01/15/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

The memories keep coming almost daily now that Avery’s walking and is interested in everything! Seriously, how do you parents with multiple kids do it? Just our one is plenty to keep me busy during the day. Staying at home is definitely a full time ~~job~~ life with loads of overtime!

But no complaints here, I get plenty of pay in the form of….

….well, not the tongue sticking outing part, but just loads of love from Going Mom and our sweet (also crazy!) daughter.

I love them both, so dearly, and our current life is working so well! It’s been almost a full year since I left work to become a stay-at-home dad, and I never imagined how fulfilling this life would be. It’s wonderful and I know it will only get better.

That said, it also means I’ll be plenty more busy as Avery is no longer just an idle baby giving me quiet time during the day. Nope, she’s with me most of the day and we’re constantly doing something. Playing, eating, not sleeping, screaming, exercising, etc. Just part of the life, huh?

And now, on with the memories!!

1. Avery, you have become quite the chatter-box lately and “Dada” makes up most of your words. You may not know exactly what you’re saying, but you do know who Dada/Daddy is at this point.

2. Just recently, you started saying “Mama” too, and it’s usually accompanied by whining. I don’t think Mommy is too excited about that part, but it’s still great that you’re saying both Mama and Dada now.

3. It’s been really cold (for Texas), and working out in the garage is becoming increasingly difficult. You won’t accept being in your jumper much longer, but if I give you my weight lifting belt, it keeps you busy for a while.

4. Speaking of garage workouts, you’ve taken to attempting kettlebell training and it’s only a matter of time when you’re working out with me in the garage.

5. I’ve been having fun and keeping busy with making different meals for you and so far you’ve been doing great at eating them. But, some of the more savory items take some work to get you to eat. So as long as we play like you are a kitty eating kitty food, it seems to work….so far. You even make a cute squeak as your way of meowing.

baby food, feeding, parenting — Being a good kitty.

6. What’s more, after eating something and not spitting it out (i.e. being a good kitty), we all clap for your good behavior, even you.

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A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

7. Of course, even if you like the food, it’s still fun to play kitty. You even come running for my NuttZo Pumpkin Protein Pancakes.

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A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

8. Now that you’re more aware of your surroundings than ever, you let Mommy and me know if you aren’t happy with us taking an extended walk. When doing our normal neighborhood loop, we sometimes take a longer way, and immediately after we turn, you start screaming. I guess you don’t like sitting in a stroller in the cold any longer than you have to. Can’t blame you, but hopefully your bear suit keeps you warm and this crying won’t last too long.

9. Surroundings aren’t the only thing you’re more aware of. Your diaper has become a perfect thing to unsnap whenever possible. This is a downfall of the snaps on cloth diapers, but you also tear at the velcro kind, so it’s a lose-lose situation for us. To combat your diaper removing ways, we have resorted to putting packaging tape across the front. So far, this works. For how long? No one knows….

10. Since you are eating a lot more now, and because it’s just good practice, we started brushing your teeth. You don’t seem to mind the all natural blueberry toothpaste and brushing, but you also clamp down on the toothbrush making the “brushing” part extremely difficult. Either way, you are doing better than we expected!

11. You seem to enjoy dancing when and wherever possible, and I’ll admit you’re already better than I will ever be.

12. It’s getting easier to tell when you’ve gone poop. For one thing, they smell a lot worse, but almost every time it gets quiet and you go to your chair, a poop is sure to follow.

13. Bath time used to entail both Mommy and me, but for a while now, just Mommy will bathe you as I clean up after dinner. I could (and should) put off the clean-up, but I get to worked up to have it done ASAP. Regardless, Mommy seems to enjoy her time with you in the bath. How can you not enjoy time with such a cute kid?!

14. You’re finally giving us hugs! Multiple times a day, you will come up and hug my leg as I’m cooking or washing dishes, and you’ll give hugs when we ask you to as well! It’s the best feeling having you come to us with your arms open!

Kissing is the next thing to work on. Sometimes she gives them, sometimes not, and sometimes she opens her mouth to eat our face when we go in for a kiss. Hopefully by 15 months she’ll be accepting of kisses. Things keep getting more and more fun and interesting around here!

An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.