How to help a constipated toddler

Momma Bear

This is something that my poor little girl has been battling since we began potty training her. There is something about going number two in the potty that just freaked her out, she would always tell me “mama my poo poo hurts” and it would hurt my soul because I didn’t know what I could do to possibly help her out. I would give her more fiber rich foods and more juices the way the doctor advised but nothing ever seemed to work. I attempted to give her prune juice or even baby food but the prune flavor and that never ended well, just a huge mess everywhere from Luna fighting me away. I was losing patience, I needed answers! We always ended up with my little one in tears because she would be too scared to even try to go potty anymore. One day my husband recommended we try Miralax, it’s an OTC laxative, and I honestly was very hesitant. One day I decided to cave because my little girl had not been able to go potty in almost four days and it was unbearable. I gave her just about 1/5 of the lid that comes on the bottle and mixed it with about a little under a whole cup of water, just enough for her to actually drink. AND IT WORKED! I was a woman on the moon! I was so happy! It was short lived, however, when I realized I couldn’t be giving my baby this medication every single time she was constipated. So my panic kicked in again. Then it hit me, my mom had told me a long time ago that pink salt mixed with water and a little bit of lemon was the best remedy for not only constipation but for relieving headaches! The next time my little one was having trouble going to the potty I was actually excited to try my mom’s home remedy. I filled her little sippy cup with a combination of warm and cold water, mixed in a pinch of pink Himalayan salt, and squeezed a lemon in there. I gave it to Luna with caution and a straight face because she is way too intelligent for her own good and if she saw any doubt in my eyes she wouldn’t drink it. She chugged it down and said it was so yummy thank goodness. Well, within the hour I saw her hurry over to her little potty and she was so excited that she was able to go without any pain or problems! I was soooo happy and it’s been a couple months now that I have been sticking to this remedy and I could not be more grateful to have listened to my mother! I also really upped my little girls water intake as well as fruits such as grapes, blueberries, and apples. (Just a few of her favorites) Oh and by the way, apparently bananas are not helpful with constipation at all. As a matter of fact, they make things worse! I had no idea and I definitely cut out bananas at least for a while.

Why I chose to stop drinking.

Momma Bear

This isn’t one of my favorite topics to write about because it’s very real for me…but I feel like it’s necessary. Alcohol has never brought me anything good, it has always led me to some sort of problem in the past. Well, ever since I met my husband and we started building our little family I definitely slowed down and even cut out liquor altogether just because I noticed that it wasn’t even worth it anymore, I needed to be 100% for my kids. Well ever since I had my second baby, Noah, my alcohol tolerance has shot down to zero basically. I had been sticking to wine only lately because it seemed like that’s all I could handle but recently, that’s been changing. I noticed that if I ever surpassed my two glasses of wine I would get a strong buzz and would wake up with really bad headaches the next day. If I had a headache then I felt like I couldn’t be the best me I could be with the kids and I didn’t like that. Well, this past weekend my husband and I were able to get away with the kids and my mother in law and we took everybody to the beach. We had the best time but I feel like because I had a couple drinks it led up to probably THE dumbest fight of my life. I ended up getting overly upset because my husband gave our dog, Bunny, the last of my two year old’s beef jerky sticks when we got back from dinner. It had definitely been a stressful day with the drive, the kids, & the dog and I think that one little thing made me just blow up. I ended up making a huge deal out of something that honestly should not have been that big of a deal. I made a mountain out of a mole hill as others would say. Well, anyway, thankfully I quickly realized that the reason I felt SO angry and annoyed was mostly because of the alcohol intake. I hated myself for a moment, I felt like I had ruined the night, the weekend! My husband and I sat quietly in the dark and I gathered myself and put my ego aside, I sincerely apologized to him. I thanked him for being so patient and loving with me, he truly has been such a good partner throughout all of this and I refuse to lose him or my family because of my old ways. I had an epiphany that night that showed me that everything bad I ever got into when I was young, was because of the alcohol. I could keep putting the blame on others or I could start taking responsibility for myself. It was time to make a change, a change I could not bring myself to do before. I really disliked myself that night because that is not the type of person I wanted my children to grow up with so I made the decision to just cut it out of my life. Thankfully that night did not turn out as bad as it could have and I was able to salvage the weekend. I know it has only been a week but I am serious about this next step in my journey. I even read that some people are allergic to alcohol and it causes their hair to fall out, so maybe it will even help in my case with alopecia. Every day is a battle but my family is worth the fight. They are my reason. “One is not enough and two is too many.” , is a quote that always stuck with me…& I intend on sticking with this decision. Someone once told me that alcohol is meant to celebrate something, not just drink it simply just because, and that’s the level I aspire to get to. I will only, MAYBE, enjoy a drink when I have something to celebrate such as my birthday or an anniversary; other than that hello sobriety!

How to make the best grapefruit pie!

Momma Bear

I have this really annoying habit of craving the sweetest things when I’m on my period. If you’re anything like me, you may like a little sourness within the sweetness as well. When I first met my husband, he took me to this really cute bbq place and he introduced me to something amazing, GRAPEFRUIT PIE. I know, it sounds weird, but trust me; it is SO good! I took one bite of the delicious pie with a little dip of whipped cream my husband had lid out on the side, and I was hooked. The only little problem was that it was a little pricey, close to $20 and unfortunately I couldn’t just go buy a $20 pie every time I got my period. So, I decided to make my own! Not to toot my own horn or anything but I personally think that it tastes better than the one at the restaurant. Why? Because I made it with love! No, honestly I don’t know why but I just like the way mine tastes better! Anyway, some people like to add marshmallows to their grapefruit pie and that’s totally cool too, but, I’m going to share my little recipe for my grapefruit pie.

Grapefruit Pie
Ingredients
-5 or 6 ruby red grapefruits peeled and sectioned off
⁃ 1 cup of sugar
⁃ 1 1/2 cups of water
⁃ 1 strawberry gelatins box
⁃ 3 tablespoons of cornstarch
⁃ Pie crush 9inch (I get graham cracker)
⁃ Cool whip tub

Instructions:
1. Peel and section grapefruit into slices without any white peel, place in fridge
2. In a medium size pot mix in the 1 1/2 cups of water with 1 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of corn starch and continue stirring on medium/high heat until liquid becomes thick.
3. Once liquid is beginning to thicken, stir in the strawberry gelatin box, continue stirring until completely dissolved.
4. Remove pot from heat and let cool for 2-3 hours
5. Once the mix is cool, carefully add grapefruit slices from fridge into the mix
6. Add the new mix carefully and evenly into the pie crust and set it in the fridge for 4 hours minimum
7. Enjoy with whipped cream!

Now, I have a little secret. I have two babies so I don’t have the time to be cutting and peeling grapefruits perfectly. I go to Costco and get these super cool little cups of already peeled and ready to go grapefruit slices! I drain the juice from the cups, I use about 5 cups, and just use that! You’re welcome.

How to survive with a toddler and an infant

Momma Bear

Let me just say something right now, it is NOT going to be easy juggling a sassy toddler and a newborn baby, its just not. Unless you are super rich and have the money to have nannies then it just definitly will not be a walk in the park. However, I have been blessed to be doing this for nine whole months now and I am just going to give you guys a few tips and pointers from what we do in our daily lives. My little girl is two years old and I swear she is the sassiest little thing I have ever met and my baby boy just turned nine months and he is the sweetest, most loving baby ever. Before Noah was born we really focused on getting Luna prepared for the big change. We would always read books to her about being a big sister and how much fun they were going to have together. Another thing that really helped was we would play with her with her toy babies and pretend it was her little brother Noah. We showed her how to rock the baby, change his diaper, sing to him, etc. Luna was very little at the time she had just turned one year old but she is so smart she understood what was going on. Also, make sure to enjoy and savor every single moment you have left with your first little one because believe me, those moments are going to change and you will miss spending more time with just that little one. Once Noah was born the day came for little Luna to meet her baby brother at the hospital and we made sure to have a present ready for her when she came in. It may sound ridiculous, but make sure that anyone that comes to the house to see the new baby brings something for the older sibling, anything at all! Just make sure they bring a gift for the brother/sister so they do not feel left out or jealous. Another really important thing is to make sure that you or your partner are not carrying the new baby when the older sibling comes in for the first time because it could instantly set the tone for jealousy or resentment. Make sure the baby is in the little crib or even a car seat, however you want to go, just do not let them see you holding them as their first memory of their sibling. As soon as I saw my little girl walk through the door it took everything in me not to break down and cry. I missed her SO much and I knew that her young life was about to change forever, OUR lives had changed forever. Her daddy picked her up in his arms and showered her with hugs and kisses and brought her over to me to say hello and I just hugged her with all of my might. Our little baby princess had instantly become a big sister and it was no longer just three of us, there were now four. Her daddy carried her over to where Noah was sleeping in his little glass crib from the hospital and introduced them. It was such a tender, loving moment because she saw him and said “awwww how cute”, and tried to stroke his baby soft cheek. We were so relieved! The moment was over quickly because she soon became more interested in the hospital room and exploring and of course she wanted to go look for some pickles down in the cafeteria because they are one of her favorite snacks. It was not until we came home that the tough stuff began. Luna was so used to it being just her and it took a while for her to get used to sharing her mommy and daddy. There were many nights where we would ALL cry because it was so hard the first month trying to give Luna as much attention as we could while also making sure the baby was ok. To make matters worse my husband ended up getting sick, TWICE. Before we even left the hospital he ended up getting gastritis somehow and I had to go to my moms with my newborn baby and my Luna, it was THE toughest thing I ever had to do. It didn’t end there though. A couple weeks later he ended up getting the FLU!! So there we go, my kids and I, back to my mother’s house to hopefully avoid getting sick as well. Unfortunately, Luna ended up also getting the flu and Noah, being only less than two months old, got bronchiolitis. Craziness! Keep in mind this was all in December, so we spent that Christmas and New Years without him and it was very tough on all of us. Anyway, thankfully we made it through and everybody was ok in the end. Things I did learn were that babies cry, they are going to cry, its normal, DO NOT freak out. When they are both crying and freaking out I just take a deep breath and count to three, then I attend to whatever is the most urgent and then on to the next one. For example, if Luna is screaming because her YouTube Kids is not working and Noah is screaming because he wants a bottle or he had a blowout then I will probably tend to the baby first because his condition is a little more drastic. Also, it will take a while, probably a month or two, but I promise things will get better. You will be able to figure out their little sleeping schedules and try to synchronize them around the same times so you can give yourself some time to do whatever you need to do. SNACKS! I can not stress that enough. If going out with two babies for sure snacks are a necessity. I always pack two or three of Luna’s favorite snacks and a couple Mum Mum cookies for Noah, he LOVES those. When packing the diaper bag make sure that you pack EXTRA, even if you think you aren’t going to need something, you will. I also make sure to carry around some crayons and a little sketchbook for Luna because she loves to draw pictures so if she’s getting crazy in the car I just give her that and she just starts drawing and I would much rather her do that than watch YouTube all day. Now, I told myself that I was not going to let her watch YouTube and all that etc but girls, believe me that it will be necessary every now and then when everyone is losing their minds or for example in the mornings when I need to make breakfast I will put something on the TV for Luna like Blippi or Frozen, whatever and it gives me the time I need while Noah is in his bouncer just watching me. He is happy to be in the bouncer or the Mamaroo as long as he can see me, if he can’t see me then he will start losing it. Since Noah was born he was a little bookworm, his Nana would always give him those little soft books for babies that make crunchy sounds and they can chew on them. He LOVES them. I also make sure to make time in the day, if not every day at least every other day to read to the BOTH of them. Just because they are new babies it does not mean that they do not like to hear you read and it will help them develop their vocabulary quicker. When the pandemic hit, things got harder of course because we can’t really take the kids out anywhere cool so we had to find ways to entertain them at home. Luna really likes hands on things like Play-Doh or water painting, also they have little craft kits like at the dollar store and her and her daddy made a super cool wind chime and Luna got to paint it herself, it was so cute we still have it outside. They also made a really cute bird feeder that Luna keeps outside her window and every day she goes to her room to check if any birds ate the oof and something always does, she gets so happy. We also picked up the sport of lizard hunting. If it’s nighttime we give her a flashlight and she goes exploring the night for bugs and lizards and she has such a blast. Noah is the best baby because he never gets fussy or needs too much attention. As long as he is fed, clean, and not sleepy then he is golden. A bouncer is a must for the newborn stage and as they get a little older I highly recommend a walker or the walkers that stay in place. Get it or you will never get anything done. Do you like to shower? Get it. I also figured out that if I put Noah in the bouncer then I am able to shower with Luna and it is such a big help because that way we both get to shower and she gets a little one on one time with her mommy and that really makes her so happy. Which brings me to my final point, make sure to give the older sibling individual attention every day. Even if it is fifteen minutes a day, make sure to do something with just the older one because believe me they miss their mommy and daddy being only theirs even if they do not show it. That one on one time is gold for them. Last but not least, try not to stress too much and do not let anyone else’s advice get to you. You are a great momma and you are doing amazing. Do not worry! Everything always gets easier I promise. Just enjoy every single moment with your littles, “they will never be this little again.”, as my husband always tells me.

Living with Alopecia Areota

Momma Bear

Today I am going to write about a topic that is a little sensitive for me, and not many people even know that I am going through something like this. When I was about to turn 21 years old all of my hair started falling out like crazy and I had no idea why. I was mortified of course. Well, I started self diagnosing on the internet and holy crap, I must have some incurable disease! This was the year I was supposed to finally start living my life and having fun but I ended up freaking out and going to the doctor to get every test imaginable done, I thought I was literally dying. When all of my test results came back normal I was so happy but at the same time I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed because now I was back to square one, I knew nothing. A friend told me about her dermatologist, she highly recommended I set up an appointment as soon as possible. I was willing to try anything at that point so I had to wait about two months for my chance to see the doctor and as you can imagine a BUNCH more hair fell out to where I now had tiny bald spots! I could not handle it, I fell into a weird funk and I did not want to go anywhere or see anybody. Finally, I was able to see the doctor, Dr. Newton, and he was so great! He was so understanding and he seemed to know exactly what was going on. He called my situation Alopecia Areata and there are many cases similar to mine but sadly there is no cure for it. Dr. Newton started me on a treatment where I would go every few months and get injections in my scalp, they are called corticosteroid injections and they are supposed to accelerate the hair growth in the areas that need it the most. Unfortunately, nobody really knows what causes this to happen. Some people say stress brings about flareups but I mean, how can someone NOT stress? From what I understand its my own immune system attacking my hair follicles for whatever reason. Anyway, this continued on to present day and thank God my hair did grow back but it has never been the same as what it used to be. In the past three years I met my husband, got married, and had two kids so I guess it’s safe to say my body has been going through some changes and because of the pregnancies I was not able to continue my treatments. I have recently experienced significant hair loss and I am about nine months postpartum with my baby boy so I set up an appointment with the dermatologist again. Now, there is a pandemic going on and the last place I would like to be is in a doctor’s office but believe me, it was getting crucial the spots came back! Anyway, my husband and I went to the dermatologist on Friday and I was thankfully able to restart my treatments again and hopefully things begin to get back on track. Dr. Newton said its absolutely normal and the hair should definitely start coming back…Now, this whole experience has really changed me as a person. I don’t know, I feel like its caused my anxiety to go up a lot because I don’t always feel as confident as other girls. I am very grateful that I found a man as wonderful as my husband. He always goes out of his way to make sure I feel beautiful and he has always been so supportive. He always keeps me from letting myself fall into some sort of mini depression. My next appointment is in October so I will definitely be updating everyone on how that is going. I never opened up about this before because I would always feel embarrassed but if I can help someone like me get through a similar situation, I’m all for it. This has been a tough journey, but its my journey… until next time!

Ways you can get through quarantine with two babies!

Momma Bear

During the end of June my husband was diagnosed with COVID-19 as a lot of you may know, and it was the scariest time of our lives. When all of this pandemic chaos began we were all super freaked out because we have two babies under three years old and we had no idea how to keep them occupied. Well, the poop hit the fan when my hubby got sick because now it was all on me to make sure the kiddos stayed alive, healthy, and entertained. So, for sure one thing that was a must, DANCE PARTIES. During the day when the babies were losing their marbles and I was about to lose it, I would bust out some cool music and we all just start dancing. We all would end up having so much fun and it really helps lighten up the mood! Another thing that is a for sure necessity is, taking them outdoors! Taking the little beasts outside can really help drain their energy a bit and some vitamin D never did anybody wrong before. Now, we have an apartment so it can get a bit difficult to let my little one run around but we thankfully invested in a little pool, and a water activity table Step 2 Archway Falls Water Table from Costco, and that thing worked wonders for us. Our little one would get so entertained for a couple hours at least and that gave me time to not do absolutely anything other than continue to watch the babies. BUT at least my two year old princess was content and she always had such a blast, so I was more than satisfied. Now, the number one thing ABOVE ALL that kept our little family feeling close even though we were forcefully separated was FaceTime dates with daddy. Every day my husband and I FaceTimed each other as often as we could so that we felt like we were together, even though he was in the same apartment I still felt like we were so far apart and that really helped us get through the day. He would help lessen the stress for me from being alone with the kids. At night we would make sure to pick a movie that we could all watch and we would FaceTime each other so we could watch it together and still be able to watch each others’ reactions and it was honestly the best and closest we could feel to a ‘date night’. Lots of arts and crafts helped us a lot as well, our little girl loved to play with Play-Doh and she discovered her love for painting also. She even learned how to put small puzzles together which is something a four year old should be able to do and Luna is only two, so we are very proud. These are just a few of the things that really worked for us but please fell free to drop a comment and let me know if you have any suggestions!

How to Stay Healthy When One of Your Family Members Has COVID-19

Momma Bear

So, we all know that we are currently living in probably one of the craziest time periods, like ever. Everyone is getting sick, people are dying and things are just going absolutely nuts. How can a momma protect her little ones from something that seems to be taking over everything? Well, I am going to quickly share our experience and hopefully this helps you guys out a little. My husband unfortunately ended up contracting the virus at work back in the end of June and our world got turned upside down. It’s a pandemic and everyone has someone they need to look out for so it did not come as a surprise when nobody wanted the kids or I to stay with them while my husband quarantined here at home, so I quickly realized that we were going to have to tough this out together…in the same apartment. Now, don’t get me wrong, we have a good amount of space but the chances of us getting sick too seemed extremely high and that terrified all of us because of our babies! Well, we decided on quarantining him in our master bedroom while the kids and I stayed in the living room. Anyway, he ended up testing positive for a little over a month and let me tell you; that was probably one of the most difficult times we had to go through. Thank goodness and to everyones’ surprise, nobody else in our household got sick! What did we do, you ask? Well we decided to keep the door to our bedroom closed at ALL times, he rolled up a towel and stuck it under the door. No kidding, if he wanted to go outside to the backyard, he would have to go out the window. We would also make sure that the air vents in his room were always closed so there was no air flow in there, which meant he had to have his windows open. Oh, and he made sure to invest in a good fan since he can not stand to be warm. Any food, water, or medication I would place by the door and he would, as quickly as he could, grab it and spray lysol as he closed the door. We made sure he had disposable silverware, cups, plates everything. Thankfully after one more positive COVID test he was able to test negative a few days ago and we could not be happier to have him back out here with us. Even though we were in the same home, we all felt so far apart and it was tough for us. Thankfully, however, my husband’s case did not lead him to the hospital but it was pretty rough on him. I think the worst part about it all was his high fever for about three days and the terrible cough he developed. As for the medications he took? We used a LOT of Theraflu Severe, XL3, and we purchased a Vicks humidifier which worked wonders for us.