Iron Deficiency & Your Child's Sleep

    Until recently I had only heard about iron deficiency in women (due to our menstrual cycles), and had not heard much about how it frequently occurs in children. Obviously I knew it was possible for children to be iron deficient, but I had no idea how common it is and that it often manifests itself with symptoms, as a parent, we wouldn't think are related.
    Some symptoms of iron deficiency are sleeplessness, and chewing on things that are inedible. See the thing is though, babies/toddlers struggle with these two things anyway right (with or without a deficiency)? So when my daughter was having some issues waking up too early, or taking too short of a nap and then putting random things like books or paper in her mouth... I thought oh it's just because she's teething. Come to find out when we went to her doctor's appointment, she actually had a slightly low iron count. The interesting thing is that just a few months prior, they took the same test and her iron count was fine. 
    Since Toddler P's doctor's appointment, I have increased the amount of iron rich foods I give Toddler P. Since I started doing this, I have noticed such a difference in her sleep and that she less frequently chews on things that are inedible. She does still act like a toddler in these things though, so it's not some crazy miracle cure, but the increase in iron definitely has helped!
   Here are some facts about iron deficiency you might not know, and if your child is struggling with sleep or mouthing things that are inedible... consider asking the pediatrician to check your child's iron levels.

• 1/4 of all infants, worldwide, are iron deficient.
• Iron deficiency (IDA) can affect sleep patterns, and can cause muscle spasms... causing your child to wake up multiple times in the middle of the night.
• IDA is linked to cognitive problems, lack of concentration and learning difficulties.
• IDA can cause your child to crave to eat inedible objects like cardboard, paper, dirt...
• Vitamin C rich foods help with the absorption of iron, so make sure your child is getting enough of these foods. 
• Here's a helpful chart of iron rich foods for child:

(Here are the articles that I used for the above information: Sleep & Iron Deficiency, Magnesium & Iron Deficiency).

    Pin it for later.

Why I Read the Bible to My Daughter

     Do you like my posts? Make sure you like me on Facebook so you can see more posts like this one! 
    I try to read the bible to my daughter every morning. I started this when she was about 8 months old. Why? For many reasons! But here are 3 of my main reasons:

1. Training. Scripture says, "Train a child in the way he should go, and he won't depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

• I know this "training" starts as early as birth, teaching my daughter to pray and to read the word is so important. I want her to know the peace of getting to know her Heavenly Father as early as she can in life.

2. Wisdom and Correction. Scripture also states, "and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:15-17).

• Do you notice how these verses actually state "from infancy you have known the holy scriptures?" I want my children to know scripture as early as possible so that they can know how to combat the worries, the fears, and the evils of this world with God's Word.
• These bible verses also mention that the scriptures "are able to make you wise for salvation... that it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." I want my children to be wise enough to accept salvation. I also want them to be taught by the Word and corrected by it, which this scripture says will happen. 

3. Reading Encourages Language. In general, studies have shown that reading to children increases basic speech skills, logical thinking, academic excellence, shows that reading is fun, and creates a stronger relationship with you (see the early moments website for more info). So if reading books in general to your children builds these skills, why not read the Bible as well and increase not only the above listed skills in your child but also cultivate a sense of faith and understanding of the Word in your child?

Want to save this article for later? Pin it here.

Shared at: Grace and Truth, & Faith Filled Fridays. 

Thrifty Monday: Busy Bag for Church

    Yesterday we went to church and typically we would have to leave a few minutes into the sermon because Sweet Toddler P. just gets too antsy. But before church this Sunday I had an epiphany... what if I packed her a busy bag?! Surely at 15 months she's old enough to enjoy one right? Right! So we made our way to the local dollar store the night before, to see what we could find. We found a few items but I wasn't sure what Toddler P. would think when it came down to it.  
    Then came Sunday, and I have to say, my busy bag was a huge success! We lasted almost the entire service, all thanks to snacks and a successful busy bag (filled with dollar store finds)! 
    So what was in my busy bag? I'll tell you:

• First, let's talk about the bag. I decided to use a purse, since Toddler P. is to the stage where she loves pretty things and purses. So I used one of my purses I've always wanted to use, but since I have a diaper bag I have to cart everywhere, I never get to use. This one has flowers all over it and all kinds of pockets for Toddler P. to explore.
• Snacks. Of course I had to pack snacks. So i packed a Gerber pouch, teething crackers (by Happy Baby and Plum), pretzels, and pita chips.
• Water. I brought her My Little Pony sippy cup, full of water.
• My dollar store finds:                             

• A horse. Look at this adorable horse I found! Toddler P. loved it! She was having it prance around all over her seat!

• Blocks. Toddler P. loves these blocks. She's at the stage where she loves stacking things and putting objects into other objects. Which leads me to the next find...

• Watering Can. This adorable child's watering can served as a place for Toddler P. to put her blocks. As I said above, she loves putting toys inside other toys. This occupied her for a long time!

• Big Calculator. Mr. Picturesque picked this out and I'm glad he did. Big buttons are a kids dream! Toddler P. kept coming back to this throughout the service!

What toys do you use to keep your toddler happy and occupied during church?

 Follow my blog on Bloglovin

Shared on: Good Tips Tuesday, Titus 2s Day

Toddler Schedule

    If you haven't noticed yet, my articles tend to be written about things that I currently am going through or have experienced with my little one. Well as usual, this article is no different. Ha. 
    Even though my daughter is 14 months and walking/running, I still keep her on a schedule. The cool thing is that any time I wonder if I should alter her schedule, she shows me how much she loves the structure.
    So here's an example of what our day to day schedule looks like, in case you need any ideas for your little one:

• 6:50 or 7:00 am - Baby P. wakes up from her crib.
• 7:00 - 7:20 am - Breastfeed and hang out in the bed.
• 7:20 - 8:00 am - Diaper change and then Baby P. plays in her pack in play while I get breakfast ready and let out the dog/feed the cat.
• 8:00 - 8:25 am - Breakfast for baby and me!
• 8:25 - 8:45 am - Baby P. plays in her pack n' play for 20 more minutes while I clean up and get things ready for nap time.
• 8:45 - 9:00 am - Snuggles and breastfeeding.
• 9:00 - 10:30 am - Nap time. This length depends on when she falls asleep. Some mornings she will play for 30 - 45 minutes before passing out. But usually her morning naps will last for an hour to an hour and a half.
• 10:30 - 10:45 am - Wake up. Diaper change.
• 10:45 - 10:50 am - Breastfeed.
• 11:00 am - 12:00 pm - Watch Sesame Street in her walker and have a snack and water. Watching Sesame Street could come or go depending on what we have scheduled for the day. If we have plans we will use the next 4 hours to go to small group, go out, grocery shop, run errands... Even on days we have plans, usually I'll let her watch 30 minutes or so of this so that I can make lunch for me.
• 12:00 - 2:00 pm - As I mentioned above, this is usually the time frame we get things done outside the house. But some days when we need a break, we stay home. If it is one of those days, Baby P. will watch Sesame Street for a little longer. Then we will go swinging outside, and come in and play on the floor around the house. Usually before lunch Baby P. will have walking time. This is when I let her play around the house and in her room. 
• 1:30 - 2:00 pm - Lunch.
• 2:00 - 2:45 pm - Play some more or snuggle.
• 2:45 - 3:00 pm - Breastfeed.
• 3:00 - 5:00 pm - Nap time. Obviously this nap time varies too in length. 
• 5:00 - 6:20 pm - Floor play time with Mommy or Daddy.
• 6:20 - 7:00 pm - At this point, Baby P. gets a bath every other day... is put in her pajamas and then I set up this octagon gate that she plays in for the rest of the night.
• 7:00 -7:30 pm - Dinner.
• 7:30 - 7:45 pm - Play time with Mommy or Daddy.
• 7:45 - 8:00 pm - Rocking time with Daddy. I typically will take this time to shower, get babies room ready for bedtime and so on...
• 8:00 - 8:10 pm - Breastfeed.
• 8:15 - Bedtime.

    As a note, obviously things happen day to day and I am completely open to change. But I have seen and know that children appreciate and need discipline, so I try to stick to Baby P's schedule as much as I can. Also, this is just the bare minimum of a schedule. There's a lot I don't write about here, like how often we snuggle and I pick her up and so on... Baby P. loves to let me know when she needs some snuggles, and I'm happy to oblige her :D.

    What about you? What does your day to day look like?

Teaching Independence

    

    I consider myself a mix between a crunchy and silky mom. For those of you who don't know... a crunchy mom believes in home births, cloth diapering, baby wearing, co-sleeping, breast feeding and organic eating. A silky mom believes in hospital birth, bottle feeding, disposable diapers, crib sleeping and so on. A scrunchy mom is a mix of the two. 
    I had a hospital birth with medication but delivered naturally, I breastfeed my little one, feed her natural or organic solid foods, use disposable diapers (although I have some cloth diapers), I babywear but also have Baby P. in a stroller (I let her decide what she wants) and I did co-sleep for the first two months but since 4 months Baby P. has been sleeping in her crib. 
    Why am I telling you this? Because many silky and crunchy moms alike don't know where to start or what to do when it comes to teaching a child independence and dealing with separation anxiety. 
    Here are a few things I did to teach my baby some independence which results in an hour at a time of her playing by herself independently!

1. Start with a routine
    I started a routine with Baby P. at a relatively young age. At about 2 or 3 months, I started to get baby girl up at a certain time every morning. After she was changed and ate, I put her in her pack n' play with a passel of soft toys (no less than 6 toys) and would make myself breakfast/coffee. Since she was still waking up, she loved this time of independent play from the get-go. Granted she couldn't sit up, so I usually would prop her up in a boppy pillow and give her a soft toy or do some tummy time. She really started finding independent play time very fun as she was able to sit up easier on her own.

2. Try independent play time in small time slots
    Don't push the independent play time time for too long of a stretch, especially when your baby is younger. As Baby P. could sit-up assisted I was able to start stretching her play times in the morning for a bit longer, because she could see what was going on around because of her mobility and reach for toys easier.

3. Delayed response
    As Baby P. got older, I was able to stretch her play time in the pack n' play. Typically as a baby gets older, he or she starts to realize that they are not a part of you and so sometimes separation anxiety can begin. Usually you can tell when this is occurring because as soon as you put your little one down they  start crying. What I did to move past this is I put baby girl in her play area, gave her a toy and I immediately walked away. I usually waited about 5 minutes to see if she would entertain herself or not. I literally timed 5 minutes on the clock, because when your baby is crying, 5 minutes can feel like an eternity! If my baby was still crying after 5 minutes, I'd come back, comfort her and try again. We did this a few times over and over, and if after a few attempts she still didn't want to play, I'd hold her and move on. However, after a few days/weeks of consistency, baby girl realized what a fun area this was and she started to play on her own for over an hour at a time!

4. Create several play areas
    We have a very small house, so our family room has become Baby P.'s play area. I have a pack n' play for her to do morning play time, a walker and play saucer/bouncer for afternoon play time, and at night I put down a blanket/put up a gate and she plays on the floor. I have found that these different stations mix things up and that way I can rotate her toys so that there is something new and exciting yet familiar about these play zones. Baby P typically loves these areas and will play on her own in each of them for over 40 minutes at time.

5. We still have tons of snuggle time
    I have heard many of my mom friends talk about how they do not want to do independent play time because "my baby needs to be held," or "My baby is only going to want to snuggle for so long, so I need to get the most out of it now" and so on... I want to assure you that you still have many hours in the day to snuggle and hold your baby in spite of the independent play time. At the most Baby P. plays on her own maybe 4 hours out of the day (which gives me a much needed break). But the rest of the day I'm nursing her, rocking her to sleep, playing with her in these play zones, or just holding her. Let's say we are awake from 7 am to 8:30 pm, Baby P. is playing on her own only 4 hours out of that 13 hour span. Meaning she has time with me for 9 to 10 hours. It doesn't hurt her to learn some independence. Besides, I'm always nearby in another room cleaning within ear shot of her.  

What are your thoughts on this subject? Have you tried independent play time with your little one?