Starting School guide. - 4 weeks to go

There are only four weeks until excited children and nervous parents start the preperation for the first day of school and kinder and whilst it might still feel like a long time to go, there are some important things you should be doing now to help with the transition.

- it's all about the Food

Food is so important for them when they start school, they need to eat the right food to have energy to get through the day.

Seems simple, but there are a few things you should check now, four weeks out.  Can your child open and close there lunchbox without help. Often kids can open there lunchbox but then struggle to close it unassisted. This means you end up with a great mess in the bottom of the school bag, 

Also how long will they have to eat, pack meals accordingly

My son is a very slow eater and in prep he was often coming home with most of his snacks still intact. I worked out that the snacks I was giving him were taking to long for him to eat, so he was coming home tired and hungry. Once we changed a few things, like tub yoghurt to reusable pouches. Cut up fruit over whole fruit he began eating more.

Best way to work this out is to do what we do, we start packing lunches now, 4 weeks before school starts that way I know that the kids can work there new lunchboxes. I know that they can eat the food within their designated eating time, and I work out how long I will need each morning to pack lunches with two toddlers helping.

Nowadays most schools have a strict no nut policy so work with that aswell. If your child only likes peanut butter sandwiches start exploring other options now. 

Does it have a nude food policy, if so then what lunchbox are you going to use, do you need to buy reusable pouches.

Drink bottles, do they know how to open them and refill them if required?

Elfie's adventures

This year Elfie came to visit, however after watching on Facebook all the messy, cheeky things other Elves got up too, I firmly told our Elf,

There would be no shenanigans, no elaborate time consuming pranks, Elfie had about 15 minutes each night to execute his adventure, as any more than that and the magic would wear thin for this sleep deprived mum of four.

Here are some of my favourite ones, that didn't take Elfie and his helper much time or effort to do, but the end result was magical and resulted in very little cleaning up.

 

 

to see more of Elfie's adventures, check us out on Instagram

 

www.instagram.com/bubsandbeans

 

 

 

When your baby not sleeping is more than a bad habit.

I remember vividly back to the first time my oldest child 'slept through' she was 5 weeks old. We popped her down about 8 and I woke up in a panic at 6am and she was still asleep. This was her routine, each night from then on. 

 

So naively when my son was born two years later, feeling like I knew what to do I expected it to be the same and I waited as the weeks went past then the months, However despite my best effort I could never get my son to sleep through, I tried everything, deep down I knew that I was doing the "right thing' with his sleeping however nothing was working. Dispite my best efforts he would wake up every hour and a half all night long. He would wake up thirsty have a sip of water and go back to sleep.

 

I started blaming myself was it because I demand fed him when he was younger, should I have used CC, maybe it was because he was hungry (he was also a very fussy eater) should I be giving him water, milk? Was that making the problem worse?

As a mum though you just press on, you don't complain, you just learn to cope with the sleep deprivation. 

One day when he was a little over 3 as I was brushing his teeth I happened to look at the back of his throat and in shock I saw that his tonsils were enlarged, I couldn't see any gap at the back. It was a scary moment, I wondered how he was even breathing, I rushed him to ER as I assumed it was a severe case of tonsillitis. 

Imagine my surprise when the ED doctor said that they weren't infected, they were just naturally enlarged and to see a doctor about them.

 

Now I had been to doctors with him before, I had gone to all the MCHN appointments, no-one had ever said anything about it.

 

I had mentioned the lack of sleep, fussy eating but as he had always been within the norm's I was never asked any more information.

 

The next day I went to our local GP who said they were enlarged and she recommended a ENT appointment.

 

We talked to friends who told us that when there son was about the same age he had his tonsils and adenoids removed as they were enlarged and they told us the change was remarkable. I didn't really appreciate what they were telling me at the time, but I do now.

 

A few sleep deprived weeks later we got in and after the ENT looking in his throat and going through symptoms.

 

- Broken Sleep

- Snoring or loud breathing

- Sleeping with mouth open

- Fussy Eating (Extremely) our Son would struggle to eat food and would rely on milk as sustenance 

- Broken Sleep

- Extreme thirst at night

- Trouble with Clarity of speech

 

he was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. I was shocked, that was something I expected an adult to have not my cheeky 3 year old.

 

 

 

The ENT surgeon let me know of the severity and recommended he get them removed ASAP as well as his adenoids, he informed me that he was not waking up every hour and a half by coincidence, instead he was being woken as, the minute his body attempted to get into deep sleep and the muscles relaxed, his adenoids were blocking his airflow as they were relaxing over the already small gap and he was stopping breathing and that was waking him up.

 

In his 3 years of life he had been in a permanent state of sleep deprivation. We booked him in to get them both removed, however had to wait to see a Haematologist due to a family blood condition and the eight weeks it took to get everything finalised, was horrible, I worried each night that he would stop breathing and not wake himself up.

 

Finally the day arrived for his operation and whilst I wont go into detail here, (will save it for another day) after the operation the transformation was amazing.

 

He slept through 6 hours only 2 days after the operation, and within ten days was sleeping from 7pm - 6 am. Not to mention the change within himself it was like he had finally awoken. He had so much more life, energy, spark. His brain was sharper, his appetite increased.

 

For all his life he had learnt to function at 60% and all of a sudden he was at 100% energy and it was amazing.

 

 

 

Now when I talk to mums struggling with sleep deprivation I begin to sound like broken record, I urge them all to ask there GP to just take a look at there tonsils and adenoids. I tell them like our friends told us that if the ENT does recommend their removal, don't worry, That the change was remarkable and it was the best decision we have made for our brilliant, bright, energetic child.

 

www.bubsandbeans.com.au

Suppori Sling - my review

I headed out today with my new Suppori sling in my handbag, and how I wish I had this when my older 3 were younger. It was so handy to use the sling when I headed to the school, as it took my sons weight off me. Normally I am balancing my ten month old on my hip, and trying to keep a 2 year old occupied, by the time the big kids are finishing school I am normally really uncomfortable, But not today. The sling spreads the weight of bub over your whole body and makes it more comfortable.

After the school pick up, I decided on the real test the grocery store at dinnertime.

You see If i ever have to go shopping late in the afternoon, I normally I pop my son in the trolley and then 'try' to get my two year old to help me shop trying to make sure she doesn't get distracted, doesn't want to help choose food, and normally walk out slightly more stressed than when I walk in. A hungry and tired toddler and grocery shopping is not normally a good mix. So it was with a slight level of apprehension today when I realised I had ran out of wipes. Then I remembered, the Suppori Sling in my handbag, so I made a new plan, I popped Miss 2 in the trolley and grabbed my Suppori Sling, and Headed into the shop. It was so much easier as Miss 2 was happy, My ten month old was very happy (What bub doesn't love cuddles) and I walked out so much more relaxed than when I hopped in. 

The Suppori sling is designed for children that can sit up. It is designed for children to sit on your hip so from about 6 months to 2 years. (I tried Miss 2, and she still fits and thought it was a lot of fun) It is built in Japan, is very lightweight and fits nicely in your nappy bag. Its waterproof (not that I have much use for that at the moment in winter, but I will happily try it out come summer). It weighs less than an iphone, so I barely noticed it in my bag.

I choose the dark blue Sling, but there is so many colours to choose from.

http://www.bubsandbeans.com.au/products/536/Baby-Carriers-_-Slings/Suppori-Baby-Slings

5 things I have learnt about my mum since having kids.

I am very lucky and have an amazing mum who is, and always has been there for me and my siblings.

But as I grow up and have my own children I am starting to learn things about her that I never realised.

1- she does not have OCD.

When I was growing up my mum used to vacuum our house 2-3 times a day and I used to always joke she had OCD about vacuaming. As I sit here tonight after vacuaming the house four times today. I realise that no she wasn't over the top, no she wasn't OCD, but unless you want your ten month old to fill up on a mix of cut paper, old food, dirt and whatever else your older kids have dropped, vacuuming becomes your best friend. 

2. She wasn't blonde, just sleep deprived. We used to joke that my mum was blonde, there were many stories that bought tears of laughter to our eyes, of wallets in fridges, orange juice on cereal,  to my favorite paying for drive thru food and driving off, but now I sit here with a growing list of my own embarrassing stories and I realise that sleep deprivation causes you to do crazy things.

3. Why she helped us clean our room.

Now growing up mum used to always ask us to clean our room, and often after us attempting to clean our room and ending up with it still messy a week later we would come home from school to a clean bedroom. As a child I used to think mum liked helping us, that she got pleasure from cleaning, and whilst there may be so people out their that do. I think there is a much simpler reason. Trying to clean with young kids is hard work, they don't want to throw anything out, all of a sudden they need to go to the toilet repetitively, not to mention there level of clean is not the same as yours. 

4. Washing. 

It's evil.

Enough said.

Seriously though your washing pile is never ending, and even if you do wash, dry and put your clothes away that moment of satisfaction will last 1-2 minutes max before your kids get changed, spill something and it starts all over again.

5. How much work went into our birthdays. 

I am one of 5, and whilst we didn't have parties each year, mum would always make us a cake - (gotta love the women's weekly birthday cake book)

My oldest sister would start the year with the first birthday mum would make her favorite meal there would be Presents, decorations. Then five days later she would do it all over again for my twin sister and I. This time there would 2 cakes and 2 favorite meals.

There was the year she let my brother invite all the boys in his class over for his birthday. I think 20 eight or nine year old boys. 

Now as our birthday season is upon us and I spend late nights continuing the tradition of homemade birthday cakes and favorite meals I really appreciate the time and effort she put in

Bbox essential nappy Wallet.

So over a month ago we were planning our trip overseas for my brothers wedding.

Now with four children, 2 under 2, you have a fair amount of organising. 

The 1 thing I decided I "needed" was an essential nappy wallet.

(This is how I sold it to my husband) just think about the plane trip over they would be the perfect, a great way to store nappies, wipes and plastic bags. It 

comes with a portable change mat, so really hygienic. 

I was excited I had my sale pitch on, he looked at me and then I realised as it was about nappies and nappy changes he wasn't as enthused as I was :-) he was more than happy for me to get it, just not as excited as I was.

I have to say I love it. It did all that I wanted it too. It fit 2 huggies toddlers nappies, heaps of wipes and they didn't dry out. As well as a couple of plastic nappy bags, the change mat was so practical in the plane. 

It was nice to just grab the wallet and head into the cramped toilet without having to squish the nappy bag too

http://www.bubsandbeans.com.au/products/482/Nappy-Change/Nappy-Change-Accessories

My thoughts on breastfeeding

Now I want to start this post saying I am not a medical expert I am just a mum that has been very lucky that I have been able to breastfeed all my four children. I am still feeding my fourth child :-)

There have been times when I have struggled through low supply there have been times when I have expressed, times when I have had to mix feed, and I have been lucky to have had support from my family to breastfeed.

I understand their are some people who medically can't breastfeed and I have family and friends in that boat, there is no shame, no condemnation. I understand their are people that do not want to breastfeed. Once again there is no shame, no condemnation from me. I am writing this purely for the mums that want to read about my experience breast feeding.

I was very lucky that before I had children myself I grew up with people around me that BF there children, they were not embarrassed to talk around me about any struggles they had, I remember seeing photos of my mum feeding, but also she wasn't embarrassed to talk about having to change my twin sister and I onto Goats milk at six months old.

I remember people telling me that whilst it's a natural thing it isn't always a natural thing. 

When my first was born (almost nine years ago) I never doubted that I wanted to BF. I went to all the classes and was extremely happy when my daughter fed straight after birth. What I didn't expect was the discomfort (pain) that you can experience in the first few days. People talk about a bad latch, engorgement and until it hits you, you really do have no idea.