Positive talk can conquer mountains (and neighbourhood trail systems)

I could see this afternoon morphing into one of those days where the kids are grumpy, climbing the walls (my 18-month old figured out how to scale the pedestal sink in the bathroom!), refusing naps, and just being irrational in general.  I'm sorry to admit, but these days more often than not result in a grumpy mommy.  No one wants a grumpy mommy!

I decided to get out of our postage stamp existence and hit the trail that we're lucky enough to have in our neighbourhood.  There was no way I was taking two semi-insane children to the climbing apparatus at our local park, as the last thing I needed was a broken limb due to lack of mental sanity on all our parts.  So we set off, like three hobbits on an adventure after second lunch.  The 18-month old strapped into his stroller, the 3-year old on her balance bike, and me attempting to corral the gong show along.

B & her balance bike

When it became apparent that Will was not going to fall asleep in his sweet ride (c'mon, I'd love to have someone push me around while I sleep!), I released the hounds and let him join his sister in some trail craziness.  Honestly, it was fun!

The trail is a great place for the kiddos, with a lot to explore and interesting flora and fauna along the way.  It completes a rather large loop (large for a 3-year old on a balance bike), which normally would take 45 minutes for me to walk.  Today, we took over 2 hours.  But it was fun.  And we travelled S L O W L Y.  This is key to any successful outing with a wee one, no matter the duration.  Move at their pace and everyone will be happier.

With me being the biologist mom that I am, any outdoor activity is destined to be educational.  We discovered that sumac branches are fuzzy; white pines shed a lot of needles in the fall, exposing many abandoned bird nests; bike brakes are rather ineffective to use while climbing hills; mastered the art of coasting safely and quickly down hills; found two different species of ladybug with no help from me (proud entomologist mom moment); identified different cloud formations (technically and imaginatively); unearthed earthworms; searched for salamanders and snakes; befriended a local cat out for a walkabout; and truly enjoyed ourselves.

Eventually, the wee man succumbed to the soporific effect nature and a stroller have on a tot.  With him asleep, the final obstacle was keeping it in B's head that this was fun and she could make it all the way on her bike.  Sounds easy?  HA!  In reality, sometimes I feel as though I can't complete the trail loop.  Add to the equation that I inadvertently left he water bottle and snack on the front porch, and it could spell disaster.  So I continually encouraged her to keep on truckin'.  I'd recall the next landmark we were approaching, and get all excited and make a big deal about seeing it.  To call these things landmarks is really stretching it; there's the "silly tree" that grows vertical for a foot, then does a 90 degree turn and shoots out sideways for 15 feet; the storm water retention pond that we like to check out for frogs in the summer and skate on in the winter; random backyards (B loves this, I think she thinks she's spying on them, even though they back onto a trail); grassy knolls to sit on; rock gardens to inspect for critters; the "bendy forest", full of cedars that twist skyward; "dog forest", where we're bound to pass at least one canine out for a stroll; and numerous other oddities that most adults wouldn't think twice about.

Eventually B completed her first full loop of the trail on her own!  I was so impressed and proud of her.  We celebrated with a granola bar and glass of milk, acknowledging her accomplishment.  I sat back in awe and watched as she recalled her journey to her dad, detailing every plant and animal we met along the way.  It's experiences like these that shape the people we are, nurture a love and respect for nature, and set up our children to deal with challenges in their future.

Inspecting some sort of critter on a recent hike

magician, position, same same but different.

"I'm going to do first magician with my feet!"
~ B, en route to ballett class, referring to first "position".

Ah, from the mouths of babes.

The joys of dressing a 3-year old

"THOSE AREN'T MY ROYAL PANTIES!!!"

... come again, now?  Just put on these panties and go to bed, already!

The Zoo, kid-style.

We hit up the Toronto Zoo this week.  Great time of year to go, as the weather is cooler (more active animals) and everyone is back in school (no crowds).  Earlier in the summer, we met good friends at the zoo.  A fantastic outing for young families!  The key to a successful day is travelling at the pace of the slowest member of your group.  In this case, it was the two preschoolers on foot.  Plenty of snacks, hats, water, variety, and freedom to let their imaginations run wild made for a great day!

Kai sported her red rain suit, which, apparently, drove the animals crazy!  At one point she had lynx attempting to dig their way out of their enclosure to get her.

She also spent the day pretending to be a jaguar, walking around on all fours (of course).  She'd randomly curl up in a ball on the ground when passing large animal enclosures, such as the cougars, since "jaguars are afraid of cougars".  We'd then have to go pick her/jaguar up and carry her/jaguar to safety.

Will had a blast running all over the place.  Since we had practically the entire zoo to ourselves, we could let him run free.  He enjoyed darting from one exhibit to the next, laughing hysterically at the otter swimming and howling back at the arctic wolves.

We saw the african elephants one last time, since they're heading to California to an elephant sanctuary next week to escape harsh northern winters.

B directing C.  Too bad he can't see through the map!

I love letting my kids get up close and personal with animals of all forms, but it's getting more and more important to teach them to respect the animal's personal space.  A tricky thing to teach a youngin!  As you can see, B has no fear of animals and animals seem to have no fear of her (a good and a bad thing).

B, way too close to this bird.

And our favourite exhibit of all, the elusive floating arm!

How to nap like an 18-month old

How to nap like an 18-month old:

1. Realize you're tired.

2. Ask for yogurt.

3. Smear yogurt all over every surface within reach, ensuring at least half of it goes into left eye.

4. Rub eye repeatedly, 'cause, oh ya, you're tired.  And you have yogurt in your eye.

5. Get hosed down in skin, cry until you realize you can spray water everywhere.

6. Freak out when removed from sink, hold onto tap for dear life.

7. Oh no, she is NOT going to try to change that diaper!  Initiate roll/squirm sequence.

8. F-ing clean diaper ... WHOA is that a clean shirt mom's trying to put on? I don't think so!  Time for some sweet back arches, head banging, & spaghetti arms.

9. Victory, still half naked.

10. NO!  Mom's picking me up again!  Can't she see I'm busy having a temper tantr ... uh ... oh ... zzzzzz.

Altitude sickness and children

Small children are more prone to altitude sickness than adults.

A note on baby travel to regions at high altitude (over ~2500m, or ~8000ft).

I never thought about this before until a friend, who happens to be a guide in Ecuador (with notoriously high-altitude areas), gave me the heads-up about the hazards associated with bringing B to Cotopaxi volcano that would involve a hike to base camp at 4800m (~15780ft).  Quito itself (the country's capital where the airport is) is at 2800m (~9350ft).

To summarize a lengthy report I found online and details received from our friend, children experience far worse symptoms of altitude sickness than adults.  Deaths have been reported on occasion.

This link from the Wilderness Medical Society based out of Utah states that a slow, graded ascent allows acclimatization among children, with a recommended rate of 300m/per day for elevations above 2500m, and a rest day every 1000m.
High Altitude and Children - Wilderness Medical Society based out of Utah

and an actual scientific journal examining infants and altitude:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17584005

This would explain B's rosy cheeks at the Columbia Ice Field, 3000m (~9850ft), in the Canadian Rockies at 3.5 months old, and her rosy cheeks and fussiness at Papallacta hot springs, 3300m (~10850ft) in Ecuador at 5.5 months old.

B & C at base of Columbian Ice Field, AB (3000m)

Free Day Out! (aka: Ooops I forgot my wallet at home)

After packing up kid 1 and kid 2, snacks, water, stroller, extra diaper, merchandise to be returned, and self, we headed out for the mall.  As a side note, those who know me realize that this is a huge effort.  I really don't enjoy the whole mall scene.  It's dry, crowded, and I spend most of the time there wrangling my children (exhausting) or spending money (I'm cheap).  Not exactly my idea of a good time.  But today was a rainy one, so I figured it'd be a good opportunity to head indoors & be productive.

It wasn't until we got to the store counter to return some merchandise (that had arrived to my doorstep via an internet order ... praise be to internet shopping!) that I realized I was missing my wallet (& credit card), and was therefore unable to return my order.  Awesome.  So there we were, in the middle of the mall with no cash, ID, or ability to waste funds.  No biggie, scratched "being productive" off my list & explored the mall from a 3 year old's perspective ...

1st stop:  elevator!  As a bonus, it's a glass one that, when descending, you feel as though you're going into the fountain ... which brings us to the next stop ...

2nd stop: water fountain!  Who knew staring at a water fountain could be so much fun!  Had I actually had my wallet and all the no-long-in-circulation pennies weighing me down, we could have kept busy making wishes, but instead we practiced counting to see how long it'd be before the next blast of water would shoot skyward.

3rd stop:  mall rides!  You know, the ones that you feed $ into and they turn into noisy, bucking machines?  Having no cash is actually rather ideal in this situation.  Kid 1 is terrified of such craziness, but more than willing to get lost in the land of make-believe while riding on the unactivated safari car.

4th stop: vending machines!  Situated conveniently next to the rides are a bunch of shiny, flashy buttons on some huge machines.  So much fun to push.

5th stop:  photo booth!  Superman's booth?

6th stop:  halloween store!  Conveniently, t'is the season of spooky halloween stores.  It's like travelling to a free funhouse with a 1- and 3-year old.  Not only go some sweet costume ideas, but had the pants scared off of us!

7th stop:  Chapters!  The kid's section of this book store is fantastic, with toys out to play with, chairs to sit on & read, and books, books galore!  This actually worked well & saved us a no-wallet/library card trip to the library.

8th stop:  Jewellery store windows!  Seriously, what 3-year old girl doesn't love shiny things?

9th stop:  Lush handmade soap store!  Staff in this store is super friendly, and if you time it right they'll let your kids play with a bath bomb in a bucket of water.  Messy fun!

10th stop: Apple store!  The staff probably dislike me immensely, but the kids just love touching every single device in the store.

So there you have it, an easy way to spend a few hours in a mall with empty pockets.  Kids get exercise, you get social interaction with other humanoids, and no funds lost!

Baby Carriers part 2

A few pregnant friends have been picking my brain about baby carriers.  I thought I'd update this blog after a few years of baby wearing!

In terms of carriers, some may say that I have too many! I suppose I do, seeing as I really only use 1 or 2 of them.

To summarize, here's my latest view on baby wearing devices, in order of preference...

Ergo - My go-to carrier. It buckles on easily, can do a front or back carry, and holds up to 45lbs (I think ... I still put Kai in it occasionally if she's melting down on a walk).  Has a built-in hood to hold their heads up while sleeping & protect from sunlight. note:  you need an insert if you want to use this with a newborn (to life them up so they sit properly in it).

Mei Tai - my fave newborn/wee baby carrier (and all around one, although not as quick as the Ergo).  It's essentially a square panel of fabric with 4 really long straps that wrap around your waist & shoulders.  Front, back, side carriers all possible.  Major drawback is that the long straps tend to drag through ground slop in the winter if you're trying to put it on in a parking lot, etc.

Ring sling - I have one, it's a super quick in/out thing that is handy if you're running into & out of the car quickly (Ergo is also good for this), or if they're napping on you & you don't have extra hands to strap you into the other more complicated carriers.

Pouch sling - meh, I have one but never really used it.  Just wasn't the right fit.

Wrap - never had one (due to my overabundance of other carriers I had a hard time justifying one), but I've never heard a bad thing about them!!!

Structured backpack carrier - we have one from MEC.  Handy, although doesn't pack down well for long-haul trips.  Cooler in hot weather.

A good carrier should hold the babes legs up in a frog position, so they're sitting with knees higher than hips.  You should also have the baby high enough that their head is "kissing height" (trust me, that's all you'll want to do when they're on you!)

While these carriers seem expensive, you can totally sell them on kijiji when you're done with it!  I actually found my Ergo on kijiji!

Happy baby wearing!

Cloth Diapers

Ahhh, the baby stuff hunt.  It's near impossible to make a decision on which diapers / stroller / carrier / carseat / etc. to buy when you've never used one before, and thus really have no idea what features you'll actually find useful!

Alrighty, here's my not-so-concise-but-very-informative review of things that will probably seem overwhelming.  A google search of any of these items will unearth a whole new world of things you never thought existed ...

Cloth diapers are really a personal thing, I recommend getting your hands on one of each of a few styles (kijiji, online, diaper shops, etc) & going from there.  We used disposables for the 1st few weeks with both kids (less laundry during the crazy month or so), but you can totally do cloth if you're gangbusters. 

There are basically 3 styles of cloth diapers (give or take a few, if you count G-diapers and other hybrids):

- "Prefolds" = a square of cotton that's been folded over on itself 6 or so times & sewn together, you then fold it and put in on the bum & then put a diaper cover over that.

- "Pocket" diapers = essentially a cover that has a lining (cotton, bamboo, etc.) & has a "pocket" opening in the back where you then slide a "liner" (cotton, bamboo, hemp, micro fibre, etc.) into.  

- "Fitted" diapers = a diaper that's cut to fit the bum (just snap 'er on), but you need a cover to put over it

In my opinion, pocket are the easiest, followed by fitted (most daycares are game for these either). There's the option with pockets of getting all-natural ones, or micro fibre.  Depends what you want against baby's skin.

We went with BumGenius (made in USA) one-size pocket diapers with our 1st child, mainly due to simplicity (hubby didn't want to fiddle with folding things, etc.).  They were awesome, although after a year or so the velcro & elastics started to go.  I probably spent ~$500 on them, they paid for themselves within 5 months, & I sold the lot for ~$200 after we trained Kai.  We didn't think they'd last through our 2nd child's diaper years, so we opted for knock-off bamboo (Giggle Life, made in China) pocket diapers for him (work good, not as great as the BGs) & at night he's in MotherEase Sandy's or MotherEase one-size (made in Niagara).

Flushable liners ... they tend to be pricey, and aren't necessary until you've introduced solids (formula included, breastmilk is water soluble so you don't have to get rid of that poop, just toss it in the washer).  Personally, I don't bother with them.  Just rinse the dipe in the toilet (you can get fancy sprayers if you like), then into a dry bag or bucket, then into the washer every 2 days or so.

Beware diaper creams ... don't use them with cloth diapers.  EVER.  They coat diapers in a layer of oil that is hard to remove & eliminates absorbency.  I use cornstarch & coconut oil when needed & it works like a charm.  

Just fyi, no matter what detergent combo you use to wash them with, line drying in the sun works wonders to eliminate stains & smells :)