Tag Archives: sleep

Crib to Bed to Floor & A Cold Pool

We made the transition from crib to bed a week ago with mixed feelings about how our two and half year old girl would take to the change. It wasn’t a huge change since we have a convertible crib, so it just took a little rearranging/removal of the existing crib parts.

crib to bed, cute, kids, toddler

Still the same organic mattress she’s had since birth, but we’ll be upgrading to a brand new full-size Naturepedic mattress in a few weeks. Stay tuned for a review of their top notch mattresses for kids. Safe sleeping material is more important than I ever knew before I read up on how vital it really is.

I made the switch right before naptime with high expectations that Avery would put on a good show through the baby monitor. Much to my surprise, she was excited to get in her big kid bed to read a story before nap time, and never even got off of her mattress after I left. I could see her thinking about it through the monitor, but in less time than she usually takes to finally fall asleep, she was out quick.

crib to bed, sleeping, kids, toddler, cute

Such a precious girl. When she’s out, she’s out! Hence the reason I was able to get such a close shot as she slept. Of course, I couldn’t stop there, this moment called for a daddy-daughter selfie, even if she didn’t know it was happening.

crib to bed, selfie, funny, cute, kids, toddler

The first night went quite well too. She took longer to actually fall asleep, but still kept on her bed the entire time. The next day she started to test the waters more and more and got on and off the bed before finally giving in. Every night since, she’ll wander around her room, put stuffed animals we said were too big back on her bed, and sing aloud restlessly before she sleeps.

Despite wandering all over her room, which I suspect is normal at this stage, she has taken to the freedom of her big kid bed really well. Going Mom, on the other hand is a little more reluctant for the change. Gone are the days of rocking our little baby to sleep as she sings to her, Avery now demands we read to her in her bed and refuses getting rocked. They grow so fast is a cliche saying we find ourselves repeating several times a day. As always, it’s bittersweet.

Apparently, sleeping on her mattress is bittersweet as well. A couple nights in a row, I peeked at the monitor in the middle of the night/early morning to find Avery nowhere in sight. Naturally, I go to check on our missing tot to find her on the floor. No blankets, just face down with legs curled or stretched out. The first night I quickly moved her back to her bed, but the second night, I had to capture the moment first.


Instagram was an obvious outlet to share with the world.

Hopefully she doesn’t start trying to make a break for it by opening her door. We have a door knob cover for her door, but those only last so long until those little hands figure them out. We can’t wait to get her sleeping on the bigger Naturepedic mattress, hopefully that will give her more wiggle room on the mattress and keep her from wandering all over. Hopefully….

It’s been abnormally cooler than usual for mid-May in Texas, but we made several attempts to swim in our recently opened neighborhood pool. The first time we ventured to the pool, the sun was out, but still not that warm. She insisted on wearing her floaties, but only made it so far.

swimming, kids, cute

The timid look on her face says it all. I’m not going a foot further!

I plunged into the cold water in an attempt to get her to join, but no luck. We were in and out of the pool in 5 minutes.

The next trip was sunny, until we started walking down for a swim. As we walked, dark storm clouds rolled in right over us. WTF!? But being the stubborn guy that I am, we went for it anyway. Avery gave another shocked look upon first getting her feet in the still very cold water…

feet in cold pool, swimming, kids, water

But this time I held her to get all the way in and although she was super tense the entire time, we enjoyed a little splashing around together in the kid pool. Then we went over to the adult pool for a daddy-daughter swim with plenty of throwing her in the air. She had fun…..for a few minutes, but the increasing wind and dropping temps had her shivering, so we ended the swim and made our way back home hoping for warmer days ahead. Not sure if it was a sign, but we saw this poor dead snake on the walk back.

dead snake

And if it was a sign, who knows what to make of it. I sure don’t. As a reptile lover, I don’t think it’s a good one though. Poor guy…

The forecast is showing warmer temps are coming, as if there’s any doubt in Texas, so I’m sure our third attempt will yield a successful swim. Although, I don’t mind a nice cold plunge myself.

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Have you made the transition from crib to bed for your kiddo? How’s it going?

How do you feel about cold swims?

Routine Maintenance As A Stay-at-Home Parent

Search the web or ask other stay-at-home parents around you and one of the first bits of advice you’ll hear is “Find a routine!” This doesn’t just apply to at-home parents, of course, it’s absolutely vital for all parents.

As I moved away from my full-time job at the office into my new role as a stay-at-home dad, finding a routine was high on my list of priorities. It’s been two years now and I have been pretty good about sticking to a routine and not straying from my schedule. But, that doesn’t make it a good routine.

For one thing, this created havoc on my brain when the weekend rolled around and Going Mom was home. Of course I love my wife through and through, but I was thrown off and would find that I had trouble managing this for a while….a long while. Some days I’m not sure how she even put up with me, and some days she didn’t. I deserved it.

The weekends were bad enough, but going on a trip was even worse sometimes. Yeah, it was vacation, a time to cut loose and relax, but I had so much trouble enjoying the time because it simply was not my routine. There were other factors like finding acceptable food and whatnot, but getting out of my comfort zone (i.e. routine) was the big culprit.

I’d fight with myself saying to just enjoy time with friends and family, as that makes sense, but I’d still have trouble. As time passed, my stress management from daily, weekly, and monthly changes had me on an emotional rollercoaster. I made myself miserable.

If I couldn’t workout at the same time, go on walks at the same time for the same distance, cook meals for my family, vacuum the house, get Avery down for a nap at the same time, prepare dinner, and then kiss the girls goodnight as I sat up too late on the computer, there would be a stress bomb exploding in my head. All because this “sacred” routine was broken. As a result, I’d be cranky, snap at my wife or daughter for petty reasons, and simply no fun to be around.

I would talk to my wife about it every now and then, but never letting out all of my feelings. Finally, I broke down and let it all out telling her how everything got to me and how much I hated being like this but didn’t know what to do. Being the loving, caring, and pretty much always right wife that she is, she gave me an ultimatum.

Start meditating, doing yoga, or something to better manage my stress, or within three weeks, I would need actually seek help from a doctor about my stress. Whoa, doctors? No thanks, seeing enough of them for my shoulder as is, and I refuse to resort to prescription meds as a way to cover up the stress and anxiety.

We’ve had similar talks before where I said I needed to change, but they rarely lasted longer than a month. But this last time was different, and everything had built up more than ever, so I committed to make changes for the better.

I used to start my day by waking up right as Going Mom left for work. I’d then get Avery up and fed as I prepared dinner for the night and lunch for my wife to take to work the next day. Most of the time, I’d fail to get much food for myself, and then proceed to try and get in a workout with Avery in the garage. Trying to perform a set of heavy squats with a screaming toddler behind you is enough to drive monks up-the-wall-insane, which only further exacerbated my already high stress levels.

I’d finally eat after Avery went down for a nap and then plan on eating mostly late at night when everyone went to sleep. This meant staying up late and getting little sleep for myself. Thanks to my wife and the help of Shawn Stevenson’s book Sleep Smarter, I find the main cause of my routine stress; SLEEP.

Going Mom had a simple solution, try going to sleep earlier. Whoa, mind blowing! I’ve thought of doing it before, but held on so dearly to “my time” at night and just didn’t want to change. Well, I pushed my selfish thoughts off to give it a try.

Instead of staying up to stare at the computer for a couple hours at night, I went to sleep the same time as my wife. Here’s the kicker, I woke up earlier feeling better than before, had some tea/coffee, and got my workout in before Avery woke up. The fear of missing a workout is a big concern for me, so taking care of that right off the bat immediately puts me in a more relaxed state.

From there, I have a just enough time to prepare breakfast for Avery and myself before I get her up. Then we eat at the same time and have time after to actually do more without me stressing out so much. This has been going on for just over a week and I notice I feel much better/happier than I have in a long time.

Do I still get stressed? Of course, it’s completely normal to get stressed, in fact, it’s part of how we as humans have survived, but chronic stress can literally kill us. Not because of a saber tooth tiger, but from work, family issues, body image, traffic, etc.

Needless to say, making just one change in my routine has lead to having a more fulfilling day with my daughter and wife. I have plenty of minor details to work out, but sleeping earlier and smarter has solved the bulk of my issues. Having that stress-free time in the day to have genuine fun with my wife and daughter is something I will cherish forever.

routine, stress, happy, family, changes, stay-at-home

That’s what really matters. Missing a workout is no big deal, and I know it, so hopefully I’ll work on fully accepting it when that time comes knowing I’ll be able to jump right back on board soon again.

If you’re having trouble with your current routine, try and find the one thing that will lead to many more positive changes throughout the course of the day. For me, sleep was the big one, maybe it is for you too. Whatever the case, seek it out and change for the better. Trust me, you and your friends and family will be happy you did.

Magnesium Salt Baths: Our Family Routine

Almost every day for the past two weeks, Going Mom has been making a magnesium salt bath for us to soak our feet in at night. Our family has been well-informed of the benefits magnesium has to offer for a while, but only recently started the magnesium salt bath.

Most of the general population is deficient in this vital element; yes, that means you probably are lacking! Poor food quality from low-nutrient soil, excess caffeine, chemicals like fluoride and chlorine, and stress all play a role in depleting our magnesium levels. Do you have any of the signs in the graphic below? If so, magnesium might be all you need to relieve your symptoms.

magnesium, deficiency, anxiety, salt bath

Finding a natural source of magnesium is better than resorting to medicine which only masks your symptoms and never cures the problem. My wife and I were taking an oral form of magnesium from Natural Vitality called Natural Calm.

We like the unflavored version, but they have Lemon, Raspberry, Orange, Cherry, and Raspberry Lemon flavors as well. All Non-GMO and free of sugar. Whatever you choose, all you do is add 1 1/2 teaspoons of powder to a small 4 ounce glass of water, let it fizz, then drink. Just be careful, if you up the dose, you’ll have a little….eh hmmm, gastro issues. I speak from experience. 🙂

The thing is, is that magnesium taken orally may not be the best way for our body to absorb the mineral. Poor gut health and the aforementioned stress (I know we all deal with it!) are the major reasons for this malabsorption.

Plus, since our skin is our biggest organ, it has a super ability to absorb nutrients and deliver to the body, and rid the body of toxins from the environment or the vast array of cosmetics that people use. Thus, we’ve created a new nightly routine of magnesium salt baths.

magnesium, deficiency, anxiety, salt bath

Every night, while I prepare dinner, Going Mom, prepares a magnesium salt bath using Epsom Salt (which becomes magnesium in water) or Magnesium Flakes. There’s a long list of benefits, but here are a few of the most important ones.

Magnesium Epsom Salt Bath Benefits

As much as I hate to face the fact, we are all getting older, and kids sure can put a toll on us from playing with and caring after. Giving our body a break with a simple magnesium bath just might be the answer to rejuvenate us and prepare us to face a new day of kids, work, and life in general.

While I don’t have any quantitative measurements to give you, I will say that our family of three have all been sleeping better lately. Yes, even our crazy toddler sleeps fairly soundly all through the night. Soaking our feet for around twenty minutes (unless someone has an unexpected potty break) sets the tone for a peaceful dinner (usually) and an overall calming night (again, usually).

I’m no doctor, so I can’t promise your ailments be relieved when you introduce either oral, topical, or both forms of magnesium, but I am confident you will notice some form of beneficial change. The best thing is that there little to no side effects for at least trying, so give it a shot and see how your life improves. It certainly has made us a happier family!

magnesium, deficiency, anxiety, salt bath