Cherry Blossom Nursery

This is basically my son's old white crib-now accented with pink for my new baby girl. I wanted the room to be feminine, but not over the top pink so I went with pink with mocha accents. My walls are already a subtle golden cream so instead of painting I went with a Cherry Blossom Wall Decal. The Ivory Bowron Sheepskin Shorn Baby Rug  adds a cozy feel. I used mix n match separates for the crib. The bumper and diaper holder are Pottery Barn Petals, the sheet is organic pink and the skirt is a subtle pink stripe from KidsLine. In the corner if you look closely I also added a little Hello Kitty trashcan for fun.



White Wall Flowers
also add a breezy beautiful touch. They come with tacks you can nail into the wall, but I used removable wall putty instead because I didn't want holes in the wall.



For the wall art I just framed beautiful design paper I bought from Michael's.



I also got a new video monitor. It even comes in pink! 

Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor 1.8 It's the same one I got when my son was born. It's been great for almost 2 years and now with an extra camera and monitor I can used it to see both rooms because there is an A and B channel.

Giveaway: Janey Mac Press Wall Decals

My baby girl is due any day now and the nursery is pretty much done. I wanted the new nursery to look nice and stylish, but with my 19th month old son keeping me busy, I wanted decorating to be simple. So I used wall decals. It's perfect- no paint no nails. I decided to go with a Cherry Blossom theme and found the perfect decals on Janey MacPress. They go on easy, look great and are removable. It comes with instructions and even a practice decal. At first, I wasn't sure how it would turn out and didn't put it up for weeks, but once I did I was happy with the result.

Using it as the centerpiece for the room...I went with Pink and Mocha as the main colors. She has dozens of designs and colors.

Now you can try wall decals out too with TZM's holiday giveaway.
These are Lynette's latest creations-Safari Themed Decals (Value $40) Shown in brown, prize in black.



To enter and win:
1. Subscribe to The Zen Mom and let us know you are a subscriber with a comment.
2. Visit Janey Macpress and comment back with your thoughts.
3. Follow The ZenMom on Twitter, tweet about it and comment.
Contest ends December 21, 2009 11:59 PST

Next time I'll feature the whole nursery and show you how I converted my son's nursery into a toddler room.
Contest closed

Holiday Giveaway: Mommy Pads and More

With baby #2 on the way in a few weeks I'm starting to get anxious about all the things I need to get done. And with the holidays there's a lot to prep for besides baby. Gifts, cards, decorations. The internet is my best friend and I order everything online, especially Holiday Cards, which are shipped right to my door.. Another way I save time is by using a return address stamp.


As a Holiday Bonus our friends at Mommy Pads and More are offering a free personalized address stamp and note pad ($50 value) to one lucky TZM reader!

Check out Susie's creations they are creative, fun, and perfect for the fam or for gifts.
How to enter:

1. Subscribe to The Zen Mom and let us know you are a subscriber with a comment.
2. Visit Mommy Pads and more! and comment back with your thoughts.
3. Follow The ZenMom on Twitter, tweet about it and comment.
Contest ends December 18th, 2009 11:59pm PST

Also save 15% on all orders with the code ZEN. Happy Holidays!

CONTEST CLOSED

Angela

Last Minute Holiday Cards

Make a Smilebox greeting

Since I'm due any day now, I'm not sending out formal holiday cards this year. I will probably send out Happy New Year cards with photos of my new addition so they will be like birth announcements too. But if you're in a pinch and want to send out some Holiday photo greetings fast, try Smilebox! I love the site! Free ecards include your photos and videos, plus your own music. It's perfect for holiday e-cards, or if you want to send out photo scrapbooks and montages fast and no stamps involved. I've also used it for Halloween, birthdays, and other parties where I wanted to share special moments. If you use it a lot it's also worth it to become a member. Here's a sample of what I did last holiday. I'm still working on this years. :)

Eat Your Veggies!

Now that my son is 19 months old...he's stopped eating vegetables. So how do you get them to eat a balanced diet if all they want are carbs and pizza bites? I still steam broccoli and carrots and put them on his plate, even though it's a pain when all my hard work ends up on the floor. Sometimes I'll make sure he's real hungry and them give him only the veggies first before dinner and he will eat them, but I can't count on it. So two of my favorite ways to make sure he's getting what he needs are make him drink it or hide it in another form.
1. Amazing Grass Superfood
It has 3 servings of fruit and vegetables per serving, mostly organic. It's a mix of dozens of greens and fruits from wheat grass and broccoli to guavas and blueberries and it tastes like chocolate! I usually mix a spoonful with about 4-6oz of milk, soy milk, whatever liquid you want.

2. I make super nutritious muffins. Pumpkin, Apple, and Banana are great, but to get some greens into my son I like this recipe. I took a recipe from the book Super Babyfood and added even more goodies. Yes, they are superhealthy, not as tasty as regular zucchini muffins I would make for myself, but my son loves them. I freeze the batch and reheat them for a healthy snack.

-Super Zucchini Spinach Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix in this order:

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
(add 1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast and 2 Tablespoons Soy Flour for Super Nutrition)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 c melted butter/oil
1 8.75 oz can of crushed pineapple not drained
1/2 cup plumped raisins
1/2 grated zucchini (1 cup)
(chopped spinach, 2 Tablespoons wheat germ, 1 Tablespoon molasses)

Pour into greased muffin tins and bake 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

If I Go On Vacation, Will My Baby Forget Me?

When I tell people I just left my baby for almost 2 weeks to go to Italy with my husband they either think- “how could you leave for that long” or they can’t wait to start planning their trip.

Believe me it wasn’t easy. My son will be one this week. We had planned it when he was only a few months old. Our friends with kids kept telling us you have to go on a trip alone, before it’s too late. Going on vacation was the last thing I was thinking about when I was just getting the motherhood thing figured out. But when it was time to go, I was glad we had planned it.

Leaving for the trip was actually harder than being gone. The weeks before I left were filled with anxiety. I was nervous about leaving him even though I knew he would be perfectly fine with my mother in law. I felt guilty. While I deserved some time with my husband, it felt strange to leave him. I didn’t even pack until the night before because I wanted to make sure he had everything he needed, that laundry was done, food was prepared, and everything was in order. I even weaned him off breastfeeding.

While I missed my son, I have to admit it was nice to not wake up at 6:30 AM, to not have to breastfeed and worry about what he was going to eat or not eat that day. It was just me and my husband and a bottle of wine.

I was able to forget about missing him for moments throughout the day, but as a mom you can’t help, but think of your baby every time another baby or child goes by. But technology made it easier. With Skype we could not only talk to my son, but we could see him on the computer. I’m not sure he understood exactly what was going on, but he waved and blew kisses. We watched him eat his lunch and throw food...nothing had changed.

For you moms out there that are considering it. He didn’t forget me. The morning I went to go get him out of the crib he did stare at me a little longer, but once I picked him up it was like not a moment had passed.

Baby Needs A New Pair Of Shoes!

Well the time has come, my baby took his first steps. I know it's a milestone, yeah for my baby or should I say toddler now, but I was in no hurry. I've seen the parents that have to chase their children through the mall. (I have to admit it cracks me up when the child can outrun the parent.) But soon that could be me. Scary.

So now that he's walking the search for shoes begins. While I loved how cute Robeez were, I only had one pair. Since he was only crawling it was more for fashion so I just kept them in his Trumpette Johnny Sneaker Socks. I love these. They are a must have. They stayed on and they looked like little shoes.

But now he needs support. I didn't realize that there we so many kinds. Robeez, Pedipeds, Preschoolians and great old fashioned Stride Rite. I'm starting with Stride Rite level one which has a little more support than Robeez and then I also bought a level 2 (with a full sole) when he starts to walk more. Which ones worked for you and your little one?

If your on your search for baby's first pair of shoes here are some tips.

MomLogic.com Guest Blogger

I know there are a lot of Mom focused websites out there, but you need to check-out MomLogic.com
Not only because it's a cool site, but because I'm a guest blogger today. Check it out.

"It's All Chinese To Me"

Momlogic (mom-'lä-jik) n.
The logical (or, at times, logically illogical) thinking patterns
all mothers seem to share.

Momlogic is the ultimate destination for Moms who want to know a little bit about a lot of things, but have very little time. We understand the challenges of keeping up with your family, your home, your world ... never mind finding time for yourself. At momlogic, we believe that being a mother is not an exact science, but a perfectly imperfect experience.

As Moms ourselves, we recognize that while being a mother may be the most important aspect of our lives, it is not the only aspect of our being.

Momlogic is a community where Moms from all walks of life and in all stages of motherhood come together. Whether you are a Mom-to-be or a mother of five, momlogic offers a safe place to get information, join the conversation, and share your own experiences. Come share your momlogic with us.

You Know You're a New Mom When.........

My son is now 10 months old and I seem to have the motherhood thing more under control, but I remember going thru the first 4 months going what the hell?

Here are few things maybe you can relate to looking back on your journey.

You Know You're a New Mom When....
-The highlight of your Friday night is watching your baby sleep on the video monitor while eating take out.
-You don't care that the neighbors can see your breasts if you leave the curtains open while breastfeeding.
-The My Breast Friend or other nursing pillow is your new permanent fashion accessory around your waist.
-The most complicated part of your day is no longer work deadlines or spreadsheets, but figuring out when your baby ate last and when he needs to nap.
-You panic if you leave the pacifier at home.
-You really proud of the first time you were able to run and errand get baby in and out of a car seat and get back home all by yourself.
-You're elated to have 2 hands back once you discover the sling or Baby Bjorn.
-You get really good at one handed typing with your baby on your lap.
-Once your baby starts to sleep through the night you can't help but check on your baby and hover over the crib to make sure they are still breathing.
-You no longer blowdry your hair.
-You say do you have a poopy diaper more than 5x's a day.

Are there any you would like to share?

Spring Forward-Time Change Again?

I just got over the Fall time change, now it's time to spring forward. How's the time change going for you? I usually know a few days ahead and start shifting my baby's schedule gradually. This daylight savings time caught me by surprise. In the U.S. and Canada, the time changes on Sunday, March 8, 2009.

So my baby is on 6:30am wake 6:30 pm sleep schedule. So the good news is if I don't do anything with his schedule, I get to sleep in until 7:30am -which is really still 6:30 in my mind since the sun is just coming up. But I'm not sure what I want to do? I kind of like the 6:30 to bed schedule. Which gives me time to have some quiet time and dinner with my husband at the end of the day. While I don't like getting up at 6:30 or even earlier every morning I've gotten used to it.

So I decided to take the middle ground. A 7:00am wake to 7:00 sleep schedule. I just started moving his schedule by 1/2 hour today. So everything is 30 minutes later. In a few days I may move him back to 6:30, but I enjoyed the extra half hour of sleep today. Here are some other tips I found useful on the internet.

Spring Forward Sleep Strategies

Your first option is to not do anything. If your baby or toddler or young child is going to sleep at 7 p.m., he will wake up at 8 a.m. the next day. Yay! You get to “sleep in” and all is right with the world. If you want to keep this schedule, you will put him down at the same times you always do and bedtime will be one hour later.

For some, the first option isn’t really an option because they need their child up by a certain time or don’t want to have an 8 p.m. (or later) bedtime. Maybe your child is already going to bed too late and the time change will make her go to bed even later, which has you wondering just when you will spend any time with your spouse or partner or clean the house or relax or whatever.

If you don’t want this schedule, your second option is to wake your baby one hour early the day of the time change whereby he will nap one hour earlier and go to bed one hour earlier, normal time on the clock. There is only one caution. Some people’s internal clock is so strong that no matter what time they wake up, they won’t get sleepy until their “normal” time. That means even if you wake your child an hour earlier, he might not nap early or go to sleep early at bedtime. Imagine you get up at 5 a.m. one day to catch a flight or to get to work for an early meeting. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you will go to bed at 9 p.m. just because you usually go to bed at 10 p.m.

Your third and final option, just like in the Fall, is to split the difference and wake your child just half an hour early and move his schedule slower over the course of 2-3 days. This is option I'm doing.

Whatever the path you choose to take, some kids will just take a few days to even a week or longer to really adjust. Your best bet is to keep to the schedule you make. The light stimulating our eyes and your morning and night routines will be most what drives your kids’ schedules. The same internal clock that drives our sleep schedules also drives our appetites. If you typically have dinner at 5:30 p.m. and bedtime is 7 p.m., it will probably be difficult to maintain a 6:30 p.m. dinner and 8 p.m. bedtime. Whatever drove you to have the 5:30 p.m. dinner in the first place likely has not changed. Just remember to be realistic and not to just focus on one part of the schedule (i.e. just bedtime or just lunch) and set the whole schedule accordingly. The rest will follow.

To Pump or Not to Pump?

I know pumping is worth it for our babies, but it can be a royal pain! My son is 10 months old and I'm starting to wean I'm down to two feedings which is good, but I'm still pumping if I'm not around for his feeding. Which was the case last night. I was working all day and went to dinner, but I forgot to pump before I got to the restaurant and I was out town so it would be hours before I got home. So what's a mom to do? Skip it because that's what I want to do or go get my pump out of the car, leave the dinner table and hide in the bathroom for 15 minutes? Of course guilt set in so I did the latter.

So there I am at a Hollywood hotspot catching up with my single friends for the first time in months and I leave to pump. With my Medela Pump in Style in hand, (luckily it looks like a purse). I walk past the singles at the bar thinking, "wow these people have no idea". I open the door to the women's room and it's only a single room, which is great for privacy, but sucks if someone is waiting for you, luckily it wasn't too busy.

So I pull out the tubes and portable charger and I wasn't saving the milk since pumping in a public bathroom sort of grosses me out so I just pumped right into the sink and dumped it. Ahh now that's sexy! I'm in this hip bathroom with crazy art and mirrors hovering over the sink holding my breasts hoping the people outside can't hear the whooshing of the pump and say what is she doing in there? So I rinse everything off, put it back into the bag, put my bra back on, touch up my lipgloss and back to the party. Anyways just another day in the life of a mom.

Where's the strangest place you've pumped? What about breastfeeding?
Check out this latest news headline
"Women Breastfeeds While Driving."

Eat Dirt! It's Good For You.

So what kind of mom are you? Do you let your child pick things off the floor and eat dirt because that's what kids are supposed to do? or Do you chase your baby around making sure they don't lick everything in sight and secretly wipe off the saliva covered toys at music class with antibacterial wipes before they play with them?

Maybe you're a little of both or somewhere in between. It's hard. Who wants their child to get sick? While some say,"it's good for them to get sick, it builds their immune system", but doctors say there are hundreds of different viruses, just because your child got sick already doesn't mean he won't get sick again. And when your baby gets sick, you may get sick and then your husband. It's a vicious cycle. Yuck!

But then again we can't be overprotective all the time, can we? And if it's your 2nd or 3rd child who has the time?

But check out this article from the NY Times
"Babies Know-A little dirt is good for you"

It basically says when babies put things in their mouth it is instinctive and all instinctive behaviors have an evolutionary advantage that helped us survive as a species.
In studies of what is called the hygiene hypothesis, researchers are concluding that organisms like the millions of bacteria, viruses and especially worms that enter the body along with “dirt” spur the development of a healthy immune system.

Hmm! Food for thought. So in the meantime maybe dirt worms are ok, but I'm still not so fond of viruses.

Preschool? Are You Kidding Me My Son Is Only 10 Months Old.

Is it too Type A of me to be jealous that another mom's baby got into a preschool and my son didn't. Well it's not exactly that he didn't get in, we hadn't formally applied yet. But who knew acceptance letters start going out before they are even a year old.

I guess some schools start Parent/Toddler programs at 18 months. Pre-school doesn't really start until they are 2 1/2 years old, but here's the problem. If your not in the Parent/Toddler program, you may not get into the pre-school and get waitlisted for who knows how long.

I heard the stories when I was pregnant. Moms saying," You should get on a waitlist for pre-schools, before it's too late." I'm thinking, let me figure the birth part first, then I'll think about school. Now that my son is almost a year...I'm starting to think about pre-schools, but for some that's too late. Good thing for all moms is that not every pre-school requires such an early start. Some won't even give you a tour or consider you until you are 18 months to 2 years old. So I guess there's still time.

But it's tough not getting an acceptance letter to your schools of choice. What is this senior year in high school again?

So I better get on my research. Here's a site that's helpful. You just put in your zip code and it gives you an overview of preschools in your area with reviews.

www.thesavvysource.com

Sleeping On A Plane

We just got back from Oahu and the plane ride wasn't as bad as I thought. While this wasn't his first trip, he's now 9 months old and getting him to sleep is a different story compared to when he was 3 months old and slept in a sling. How was I going to get my son to sleep on me after I had trained him to sleep in the crib?

Well it all worked out. I discovered for my son who likes to sleep on his stomach, he wouldn't fall asleep if I held him, but did eventually after about 10 minutes of crying and whining if I put him stomach down on my lap. I used a soft blanket on my lap and then used a light muslin blanket as a tent to block out light and other people.(my son gets really distracted and wants to play and then will breakdown crying because he's overtired.) So the tent worked, but it was funny to watch him bob around in there until he settled and finally fell asleep.

Tip #1 Go to the lavatory before he goes to sleep because you won't be able to get up after he falls aleep
Tip #2 Tuck the blanket into each side of the tray table in front of you and then either hold the other two sides, tuck them under your bra strap, or pin them to the headrest behind you. Voila! instant tent.
Tip #3 Keep a sippy cup and bottle in arms reach for landing and take-off. Sucking helps equalize their ears.
Tip #4 Plan the plane rides to thier nap times and sleep times as much as possible.
Tip #5 Ignore the crying. All babies cry.

Refusing the Bottle

When does the training end? My son who is now 8 months won't take the bottle. I first introduced the bottle at 3 weeks, but for the last few months I have been exclusively breastfeeding, because my supply was going down and It was just easier to breastfeed then to pump. Now he'll take a sip and then stop, push the bottle away fuss. I'm worried because I'm starting to wean him, he doesn't even take formula. So here's my plan start with feeding bottle once a day, which he used to take with just breastmilk...worked so I moved onto 75% breastmilk and 25% formula. So it's been a few days and usually will only take an ounce or 2 then stop. So do I feed him solids or withold until he drinks more? I've been mixing it into his food.
My mother in law tries, my husband tries and I hide. Its more work then just feeding him, but I have to do it sometime. It's exhausting, but he knows what he likes and won't budge. So I'll just keep doing the same thing everyday until he takes it.