Tag Archives: walking

A Walking Revelation, Darth Vader Sweat, and Avery in a Zippy

03/21/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

So, I had a revelation while walking with Avery and Abby. Since Avery never has much input and Abby is just looking for a place to poop, I’m usually alone with my thoughts during the 1+ hour long walk. Today, I thought of how much I used to dread work and couldn’t stand to be sitting (ha ha, that’s funny) inside. Poor Kelley, she had to listen to me complain about the same thing almost on a daily basis! Sorry, Kelley.

But now I’m here, raising our precious daughter and staying out of an office setting. Sure it’s hard work, but one look at Avery and I know it’s well worth it. Plus, I’m really hoping she’ll be nice and not put Kelley and me in a crappy nursing home one day.

Then, in thinking of the future, I realized I need to cherish each and every walk I take with Avery in the carrier and everything else we do together. Because one day, she’ll suddenly be fully grown and off doing her own thing. It’s the bittersweet fact all parents know is inevitable; our babies grow up.

Sometimes it takes deep thought before you realize the obvious, and today it just hit me. I know I’ll have to remind myself many more times, but as parents, we should make it a point to enjoy the time with our little ones as much as possible. That’s the best advice I’ve ever received and will ever give. I love our little family and will forever hold it dear to my heart!

Today’s walk was very warm with the high in the 80’s, and windy too. I sweat a lot, and poor Avery had to be right up against my stomach and chest. But, I made good use of the handy hood on the Onya Outback and she didn’t mind one bit. As a matter of fact, Avery slept almost the entire walk which lasted over an hour today.

Once we returned home, Avery was startled awake by splashing sound while I used the restroom. Hey, it’s a part of life, and I like to share it! I took my well rested but slightly damp with sweat daughter out of the Outback and went to the sink to splash my face with cool water. But, before I turned on the water, I was surprised to see my giant sweat mark from carrying Avery beared semblance to Darth Vader.

The force sweat is strong with this one. — The ~~force~~ sweat is strong with this one.

Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, just about as cool as my Dos Equis bike socks I wore for the walk….

Despite her mobile slumber, Avery didn’t last too long before getting cranky again. We just received a swaddle transition blanket called a Zippy from the very kind Stephanie at Zipadee-Zip. Stephanie sent us 2 beautiful Zippys to use for Avery and I will post a review in the near future.

Kelley has been pushing to stop swaddling Avery, but I’ve been reluctant since I worry her constant arm movement will disrupt sleep. But, Kelley is right to want to transition Avery out of the swaddle since she’s starting to roll over now.

Anyway, I decided to give a shot for a quick afternoon nap. I couldn’t help but do a photo session before trying to get her to sleep though. Isn’t she just even more adorable in this thing?

After rocking with Avery for about 20 minutes, she finally dozed off and I laid her in her crib.

30 minutes later and she was awake, but that’s how most of her afternoon naps are anyway. We aren’t using the Zippy for nighttime quite yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as we do.

Our neighborhood friend has one for his little girl and nicknamed her “Patrick” from the Sponge Bob cartoon. Now I get why, they look like starfish! I love it, and Kelley didn’t want to take it off of her when she got home.

I’m thankful the weekend is hear and my faithful companion, Going Mom, will be here with us for 2 full days. I’m looking forward to spending quality time with my two girls as usual, and I hope you enjoy your time as well!

Total time in the Onya Outback = 1.5 hours / ~4.5 miles

Onya Notes: today I used the chest clip instead of crossing the straps and am not sure how I feel about it. Crossing the straps feels more secure, but I do like putting Avery in the carrier better when the chest clip is used. I’ll have to test this more and report back.

Do you ever have to remind yourself of things more than once?

Have you tried the Zippy or another swaddle transition alternative?

Parenting

Our Visit to Mommy’s Work and What to do Without a Swaddle

03/07/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Avery is 16 weeks old today! Where did those other weeks go? I know I am impatient wanting her to grow so we can play and interact more, but geez, time flies! All of those experienced parents telling us how fast time goes with your baby weren’t kidding!

Today we made a trip to Kelley’s work, my old employer, just to see her and old co-workers. After her long morning nap and finishing a bottle, we were off to work….I mean Kelley’s work. That’s so fun to say; being a stay-at-home parent is world’s better in my opinion!

Mommy greeted us at the entrance and I wore Avery in the Baby Bjorn until we were inside. Kelley couldn’t wait to hold her baby and she immediately took her from me once we were in the main area. So, I was looking pretty cool with an empty Baby Bjorn dangling across my body. Not that I really cared, it was casual Friday!

Going Mom and Avery happy to be together!

Avery got to meet a lot of new people that mom works with and used to work with me too. They all took turns “ohhhing” and “aaahhhing” while passing her around. Avery did much better than I expected with all of the new people and she was hardly fussy at all. Go Avery!

We spent about an hour making our rounds and visiting friends/co-workers until it was time for us let mommy get back to work. It was an overall good trip and I was happy to be able to bring her to Kelley since I know how much she misses our darling little girl.

It felt weird wearing this, but a good weird.... — It felt weird wearing this, but a good weird….

Before leaving the campus (it’s a rather large area), I took Avery for a mile long walk around the dirt trails that surround the building. This loop is a walk Kelley and I would take together every day before having lunch, and it was nice to take Avery around.

She seemed pretty alert and interested in the new surroundings, but then fell asleep half-way through. I always hate waking her up to put her back in the car, but since I was in a Fire Lane, figured I shouldn’t press my luck any longer. Oops!

Taking my time before putting her the car seat.

Up to this point, Avery was oddly calm and she just felt like a ticking time bomb for when her major fussy time would blow! Once home, Avery ate a little and showed signs of tiredness setting in. At this time of day, I am usually laying her in her crib for an afternoon nap, but CRAP, her Woombie was wet in the wash and there is no way she can sleep alone without it. We’ll work on that, but not yet.

I put Avery in the carrier and went for another walk with our dog, Abby, since Abby usually gets a walk anyway. I usually have luck getting Avery to sleep while walking, but she squirmed forever while trying to what seemed like climb my chest to get out of the carrier. Finally, she fell asleep as I was half-way through again. I sense a pattern here…. I tried to extend the walk while she slept, but she ended up waking anyway. Is 20 minutes a good nap?

Short answer, no. That time bomb went off not long after coming inside. I offered her more bottle and she finished it fairly easily, but continued to wail and fling her arms about. Still without a swaddle, I just held her close and tried swaying with her. 30 minutes later and her eyes were heavy but still open and she was still crying. Ugh.

At this point I was just desperate to get her to have a little nap before night time, so I brought her to the recliner. With my arms wrapped around her and my hands holding her arms from moving to her mouth (a human swaddle!), I rocked the screaming beauty to sleep. And this is what Kelley came home to….

Kelley washed up and came back to get Avery for a feeding. The nap was successful and held Avery over until laying her down to sleep tonight. Phew, what a day! Poor girl was exhausted!

Aside from the tiring day, I do have great news! I spoke with a nice person from Onya which makes great baby carriers and they agreed to send one to us to review and write about! I can’t explain how happy I am and can’t wait to wear Avery all around with it. Stay tuned for constant updates on where we travel in the Onya Outback!

Have you ever had to make yourself a human swaddle to get your baby to sleep?
Do you or have you used a baby carrier? If so, what kind?

Parenting

Our Bear Came Out of Hibernation

03/03/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

Thanks to the below freezing cold here in Texas, we had to bring out the bear for our walk today. I don’t have a problem with the bear, just the reason we have to bring it out.

I love putting Avery in this thing, I just want to pick her up and hug her tight (but enough to breathe) forever! Just look….

She didn’t mind being stuffed in her bear suit and the Baby Bjorn (really need a better carrier and can’t decide on the Ergo, Boba, or Onya) with my winter jacket zipped over her, she just chewed on my coat for a while and finally fell asleep. I find it hard to stop walking if she’s still sleeping, so after a quick pee break at the house, I journeyed back outside to “bear” the weather. See what I did there? Ha.

Seriously, no more pictures... — Seriously, no more pictures…

Today was going pretty well until later in the afternoon when Avery started having bad gas and screaming fits. I know it was gas since she was busting out burps and farts that put me to shame! I feel it has to do with how she takes the bottle sometimes and I’m trying to make sure she gets as little air gulped in as possible. But with a squirmy baby, this is not an easy task.

After nap time in her crib was disrupted, I ended up holding her in the rocking chair until she fell asleep again. She was in and out along with the audible gas passing through our poor baby, but at least she got a little more rest.

Once Kelley got home, she took her and was able to feed her the good stuff sans bottle, which helped with the gas problem. I also gave her some Tummy Calm which I’m not sure if it helps or not, but it doesn’t make things worse.

So, I guess Monday’s can suck for the At-Home crew just as much as the working force! It’s Monday night as I write this and we’re hoping for a peaceful, gas-free night. Crossing fingers!

Have you ever used Tummy Calm or another homeopathic for your baby?
How’s the weather in your area? Do you like it hot or cold? I’m a heat lover way more than a cold lover; let me sweat!