Tips for Baby's First Christmas with HEINZ BABY

As I get ready to watch Toronto’s Santa Claus parade today, it’s hard to believe Hannah will be celebrating her third Christmas this year. As a January baby, the first time Hannah experienced the festive season she was almost 11 months old. Here’s a list of the top 5 things I wish Santa had told me to prepare for Baby’s First Christmas.

Preschool Confidential

A few weeks ago as I was approaching Hannah's preschool playground I heard some crying. As I got closer, I recognized the crying and saw my daughter with one of her best friends and a teacher close to one of the trees. Part of me wanted to run to Hannah, but another part of me wanted to stay back and watch the situation unfold to see what happens when I'm not there.

I decided on the later, and my appreciation for her centre - and the amazing people who take care of her - improved even more, which to be honest I never thought it could.

Adventures in Preschool

Considering the last preschool I was in was my brother's in the late 80s, the only recent knowledge of preschool I had was Sesame Street's ear worm parody "Preschool Musical" (based on Disney's High School Musical, of course). There's a snippet from Sesame Street's YouTube channel below, you can watch the full video on the Sesame Street website.

So about six weeks ago when Hannah became a "Preschooler" while she checked out the room I did too. I was ecstatic to see there was indeed "Block Corner" (they don't have "Dress Up Corner", but they do have a dress up box near the toy kitchen).

A Tale of Two Tees

Yesterday Hannah wore her Thomas shirt to school. The one I purchased at Walmart. In the boy's section. (The girl's section had no Thomas).

Since she's a preschooler now, I couldn't help but wonder if other kids would notice that she was wearing a boy's shirt. Some of the kids she's with now are 4 years old. When you're only 2.5 you don't notice much of fashion (OK, my kid doesn't). She just notices the characters or colours. She doesn't care what section it was purchased from or who it was "intended" for.

And obviously, since I made the decision to purchase it, deep down I don't care either. Thomas is a non-offensive show that she enjoys. There are two Thomas backpacks in her new coat room - guess what she shows me every day?

But a part of me couldn't help but wonder if the older kids would pick up on it. Would they think she's cool for liking Thomas? Would they question her as to why she's wearing a boy's shirt?

The Busy Parents Guide to Dating - Hospital Styles

Yesterday I was in the ER. I'm a migraine Mommy, and this "summer" weather (pft) has not been kind to my head.

On Tuesday evening I couldn't feel my right leg. Sometimes my limbs go numb, but usually after a night's sleep I feel normal again. Not the case Wednesday morning.

So Chris dropped me off at the hospital, drove Hannah to daycare and then came back to meet me. He arrived after my blood had been drawn (can you believe that still freaks me out after having given HOW much blood during my pregnancy?) and right before the coolest ER doctor ever saw me. This guy needs his own reality show. He was really just that cool of a dude. You would have thought we were just conversing like old friends at a party instead of him attempting to diagnose me in a busy Toronto hospital.

4:35 p.m. - formerly known as the best time of day

Some days it was earlier, rarely it was later. But since August, on any given weekday, 4:35 p.m. was my favourite time of the day.

Hannah's daycare is approximately a 7 minute walk from my office. Save pedestrian traffic, GO and TTC buses, most days that landed me in the toddler room at 4:35 p.m. That magical part of the day where I finally got to see my daughter after missing her for 8 hours straight.

At first, she felt it too.

She would yell, "Mommy!" from across the playground in the summer/fall, across the room after Thanksgiving. She would run to me and give me a big bear hug. In fact, if I fumbled with things in her cubby for too long she thought I was leaving her there and would start to cry.

And then in late January she turned 2. I brought in ice cream to celebrate. If I had only known I was celebrating her daycare independence, I might have not been so joyous of the occasion.

Top 5 Reasons I'm Jealous of my Cat

My jealousy for felines first occurred many years ago. I wanted to avoid a test at school and told my Mom I wished I was a cat and never had to leave the house. She then told me I would live a very boring life and I wouldn't be able to go to the movies, amusement parks, any general places of fun. I saw her point, but remained jealous.

Now that I'm a Mom I'm even more jealous of cats. Enter Booyah and my five reasons below.

Everything lame is super cool again at 123 Sesame Street

With the wonderful ice storm kicking us out of our home for a week, the main highlight of my holiday break happened downtown at the Sony Centre. We took Hannah to see her first-ever show - Sesame Street Live.

The last time I saw Sesame Street Live was in the early 1990s. I was 8 or 9 years old. And I gave my Mom a really, REALLY hard time for taking me and my brother (who at 5 or 6 was still prime Sesame age). I complained the whole way down to the O'Keefe (at least that's what I think 1 Front Street East was called at that point.) Living in Scarborough and taking the TTC, that was at least an hour. In an attempt to shut me up, my Mom bought me some sort of flashy light toy. Once the show began, I was still making snide comments from my seat about how I was so happy no one from my class would see me at a show for babies. But when Grover came out and danced to the Beverly Hills Cop theme song complemented by strobe lights that shut me up for the rest of the night.

It's funny how more than two decades later I think Sesame Street Live is the hottest ticket in town.

Daycares are like dating - Trust your gut

I went back to work in January. Hannah started at her third daycare this week.

With the unfortunate news of the toddler who died at a home daycare with 27(!) kids in the GTA, a lot of parents are questioning how other parents could have left their children in the sketchy situation being described by media outlets.

I'm not here to judge anyone - a toddler has lost her life, parents have lost their daughter.

Growing up, my Mom had a gold star next to her name at my elementary school after making a stink about multiple things on multiple occasions. She was nice until she had a reason not to be. I am my Mother's Daughter.

As anyone who knows me in real life will attest to, I wear my heart on my sleeve - or more accurately my anger on my face (and in my voice, over the phone).

Hannah is the most precious gift I have ever been given, and she is the one thing in this world I am most passionate about. I'm a protective Mama Bear who growls if anyone tries to mess with my cub.

On Gender (AKA Why I Let My Daughter Play With Any Type of Toy)

Hannah wears pink, likes bracelets and enjoys brushing my hair.

She also loves Thomas & Friends, playing with Duplo (the regular, primary colour kind) and pushing around toy cars.

I will never tell my daughter that she can't play with something. And I will tell my daughter never to make fun of what anyone else chooses to play with.

When Honour Roll Students Attempt to Parent

Today was Hannah's last class for her spring swimming lessons. Since we moved this past winter, it was the first session at a new pool, and we took the classes through the City of Toronto.

In our private lessons, we didn't receive anything at the last class.

Today Hannah received a "progress report". She did not pass. However, she can't move up to the next level until she's 3 anyways. So why am I so upset? Why do I feel like I let her down? And why, when Chris saw us getting the report did he hope she had passed too?

Definitely MY Daughter

I'm on a few mom groups on Facebook. Sometimes I find these groups very helpful, sometimes I find members to be a bit neurotic, but I always find being a part of these groups entertaining.

The other day a mom posted about how annoyed she was about constantly being told that her children look exactly like her husband and look nothing like her.

I know the feeling well.

Chris has brown hair, brown eyes and olive skin. Hannah has brown hair, brown eyes and olive skin. I have light brown hair, blue eyes and paler skin. A lot of people can't see past Hannah's colouring. But there are a few who can, and a distinction was made officially mere minutes after her birth.

The Bite

It's never a good thing when the daycare calls.

Just before the end of my work day on Monday, my cell phone lit up with the name of Hannah's daycare. She had been bitten. She was OK, but she cried. It happened during snack time. The Biter was sitting next to Hannah. Now, the Biter will never sit near Hannah again.

What to Do with Kids Artwork

My favourite thing about Hannah in daycare is the huge smile I receive when I pick her up. Sometimes, she can't stop hugging me. Other days she'll sing "Mama" over and over again. On a few occasions, we've even cuddled in the car before she'll let me go up front to drive us home without tears.

I've also mentioned I like the little reports the daycare gives us, but a few weeks ago something amazing was waiting for me in her cubby (well, anything is amazing compared to what I usually get- soiled clothing). Alas, the truly amazing items? ARTWORK.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

When I found out I was pregnant, I assumed I would be the "bad" cop when it came to disciplining our child. Years of teaching recreational gymnastics and being a camp counsellor during my high school summers taught me how to deal with kids. When they are upset, distract. When they fall, act like it's not a big deal so they don't freak out. If a child was misbehaving, I was the usually the one who sat down with them and explained to them why they were yanked from the "Red Light, Green Light" game for tripping a fellow camper.

However, when it comes to my own daughter, she is has me wrapped around her super tiny little finger. When she yelps just slightly her distaste about my taking away a toy, it's immediately back in her palms. She even looks at something in the store, and I already have it in the cart to purchase. (However, my Mom is a lot worse...when Chris and I try to convince the other that Hannah doesn't need something my Mom offers to buy it...this is what we call being "Grandma'd"...and why Hannah has an Elmo book about sleeping in a big bed even though thats months away and why she has a toy guitar).

My Daycare Progress Report

Hannah has been in daycare for six weeks now, so on Friday we received an Infant Progress Report. I was ecstatic to learn that when other kids and the teachers ask her for a "high 5" she now delivers. As mentioned previously, I was already in the know and very excited that "Hannah can remove her own shoes and socks." These reports are awesome, and much more detailed than Hannah's baby book. Because, as previously mentioned, most of the pages of Hannah's baby book remain blank.

So in light of Hannah's Progress Report, I think it's a good time to do my own self-report.

Mama I'm a Big Girl Now

OK. So Hannah can't actually say, "Mama I'm a Big Girl Now," but as I continually stress to Chris actions speak louder than words.

Last week Hannah turned 1. I have been fighting a nasty cough/cold since I returned to work and on her actual birthday I was so sick I had to stay home from work and only saw her for like an hour. I know she didn't realize it was her birthday, but I still felt a lot of Mom guilt. Especially when she wanted to cuddle and I kept leaving her to cough loud enough our neighbours could probably hear.

One of the things I really wanted to do is write a list of all the awesome things she can do at 12 months. She's mastered 7 words. She can eat bigger pieces of food, and bites things herself without us having to break it up for her (as proven when she devoured one of her customized Elmo birthday sugar cookies). She crawls to whatever she wants and is becoming a very independent little lady (although, the grunting and pointing thing is becoming a little old...).

My personal favourite skill that has been perfected over the last couple of months is the removal of her socks. As soon as we get home from daycare and I remove her outerwear, she pulls off her socks almost right away. It's my favourite, because shortly thereafter I do the same. (I hate socks...but I also hate feet. Go figure?)

I hope at some point, when I'm feeling better, and have work and this blog under control, that I can sit down and recall all the things she can do at age 1, and all the amazing things that came before that. Thankfully my Mom keeps very detailed photo albums (yes, plural, I think she's on number four) and our daycare gives us weekly report cards of all the things that fill her days. My goal is to finish her baby book that follows her first year before Chris' birthday in May...when Hannah will be 15 months old. Maybe I should change that to her 2nd birthday. Time is flying way faster than I could have ever imagined...

© 2013 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.

Happy Blogversary to YYZ Bambina!

Today, my blog turns one. It's hard to believe how far it has come in a year (just like how, on Hannah's birthday, I will be in shock about how far she has come as a person and I've come as a Mom).

We've come a long way from my first post about being an uncomfortable 40 weeks pregnant and watching too much Dateline (Editor's Note: There can NEVER be enough Keith Morrison and Dateline).

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my adventures in Mommyhood so far and will continue to read what I post.

I have made some AMAZING Mommy friends and Blogging friends (and some are BOTH at once) and feel so lucky to have such awesome folks in my life due to this blog and the not-so-tiny-anymore person who is the reason I started it.

Here's to the year ahead...

P.S. Do blogs get birthday cakes? :)

© 2013 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.

All Moms Should Go to Circus School

It's Sunday night. Tomorrow will begin a new work week, my second in the last 54 weeks. The mat leave is over, and in some respects, so is the party.

Everything has changed. Routines have to change. Alarm clocks have to change. How I manage my time has to change. I need to learn to juggle my priorities and therefore focuses in life. I need to learn to juggle.

I made it through my first week OK. There was no crying in the bathroom. There were lost passwords and new ideas at work.

There was no Sesame Street. No finger foods. No cuddles. No baby giggles.

There was also no Caillou. No messes. No pinches. No tantrums.

I could get up to use the washroom whenever I pleased without securing anyone or singing to them while I did my business.

If someone wanted something from me, they would just ask - in English. What a revolutionary way to communicate!

Once we get in to grooves and all adjust - Chris to dropping Hannah off at daycare, Hannah to spending all day at daycare, and me to work and daycare pickup (which, is seriously the BEST moment of my ENTIRE day) I think I will be happy to be back at work.

The phrase "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" could not be more true in this case. Being away from my daughter all day gives me extra patience with her in the evening and I can't get enough of being with her (well, save poopy diapers - the daycare can have ALL of those!).

So if my blog posts are a little sparse for the next few weeks you'll know why - I've run away to join the circus and learn how to juggle.

How did you learn to juggle?

© 2013 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.

My New Year's Resolution

Next week at this time, I will be at work. Hannah will be at daycare. And Chris, depending on his commute, will also be at work. Booyah, our cat, will probably be sleeping after meowing at us all morning.

Because Hannah has already started daycare, I have already slowly adjusted to not being with her all day. I hope this makes spending my day at work at lot easier. I hope at work I'm distracted and don't miss her as much as I currently do.

So, my New Year's Resolution is to spend at least one quality hour with Hannah a day during the week.

That doesn't seem like a lot, but she will be sleeping when I leave for work. I won't get to her at daycare until around 5:30 p.m., so we probably won't get home until 6ish. That gives me three to four hours to spend with her before she goes to bed. Factor in dinner and bath time, and one hour of quality time seems almost seems frivolous, especially since Chris will want to spend time with her too.

Did you make a New Year's Resolution? Does it deal with parenting?

© 2013 YYZ Bambina. All Rights Reserved.