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My Baby is 3!!

February 11, 2019 by Katie Haller

I can’t believe that I have a 3-year-old. How did that happen? This year it’s really hitting me that I don’t have a little baby anymore. It really goes by too fast. I feel like the first year I barely remember and then the second year flew by too fast. This past year was definitely the year of the terrible twos. Luckily it’s also been filled with lots of memories that I can look back on and truly appreciate. Jack has really grown into his own little person in the last 12 months. As a first-time parent it’s finally clicking that I need to just stress less and soak in all these days with him while he’s little like this.

There are so many things that I want to remember about Jack right now. He is so full of life. He is always acting something out in his head. I love the way he says “Thank you, mommy, you’re welcome” or “Hello boys and girls” or “hey what’s going on here”. He has so many cute catchphrases that he says right now. He’s really getting good at talking, which makes it a little easier at times. He’s a very sweet little boy. As active as he is, he always stops to give me a hug and a kiss. He’s still a pretty big mommy’s boy. He’s always with me and he watches everything I do, which he sometimes acts out.

Jack has been loving his school this last year. Last year he made the big move from the infant room to the toddler room and it took him a while to adjust, but now he runs the class. He loves learning. His teachers tell me that circle time is his favorite time of the day. He has a photographic memory and if you tell him something once, he remembers it. He’s known the entire alphabet since he was 18 months old. People are always impressed and they ask me what we did to teach him. I tell them YouTube kids. He just memorized the letters from watching videos, plus he has a lot of letter puzzles and letter toys to play with.

Taking pictures with a letter board and a letter obsessed child does not work.

There are still a lot of challenges with Jack. His tantrums are becoming less often, but when he has them now, they are much more intense. I’ve been a lot more patient with him lately because he has more words and can actually tell me what he wants now. I’ve been using a lot of the techniques that I use at work with my preschool children and he’s been responding pretty well to it. All my training in Positive Behavior Support is really paying off. It still is hard for me though. Jack is extremely stubborn and a little OCD. Things have to go just perfectly and if they don’t, he has a complete meltdown and we have to repeat everything from the beginning. One morning he had a meltdown because all week long I wore my blue winter coat to work, and on Friday it was a little warmer outside, so I wore a different coat. He threw himself down on the ground and I had to carry him to the car kicking and screaming. He cried all the way to school. All because I wasn’t wearing my blue coat. Nighttime is when I lose my temper the most with him because he fights me on bedtime sometimes. He wants to stay up until 10 or 11, but I try to get him in bed between 8:30 and 9. I’m hoping once we get him a big boy bed this year he will sleep better. I’m praying he will, because having a child who does not sleep through the night, has been the hardest part of parenting so far.

We are trying to start potty training, but that’s not going so well. Jack wants nothing to do with the potty. I try to get him to sit on it as often as I can, but he fights me. When I ask him if he wants to sit on the potty he quickly responds with “nope”. I’m pretty sure he will learn how to read before he learns to poop in the toilet. I’m praying that when he’s ready it just clicks, but for now, it’s a big frustration for me.

Even though it’s not always easy, I honestly don’t know how I ever lived without this little angle in my life. He fills my world with love. I say this all the time, but there is no greater title I have than being “Jack’s mom”.

My baby is 2!!

February 12, 2018 by Katie Haller

Our first time meeting.

Our first night home from the hospital. I could not stop staring at him.

It’s hard to believe that my little guy is already 2. It seems like just yesterday we were all anxiously awaiting his arrival. My pregnancy with Jack was very healthy and pretty easy for the most part. After I got past the never-ending morning sickness in the first trimester, I felt pretty good. Jack was an extremely active baby though. There was never a time that I couldn’t feel his little feet kicking into my sides. He was always on the go, even before he was out of the whom.

He surprised us all by arriving 10 days early. I had no problem with that because I wanted him out by that time. I remember going to the doctor’s on a Monday and he talked to me about inducing on my due date. I came home that day and discussed it with Kevin and we decided that it would be best to try to get him out by his due date. I had planned to talk to my doctor the following Monday at my next appointment. Little did I know, Jack had different plans. By Wednesday night, my water broke. We headed to the hospital early in the morning on Thursday and by late afternoon on Thursday, February 11th, we had our little boy in our arms. My delivery didn’t go as expected for me. Jack would not come out, so after 3 hours of pushing we decided it was safest for a C-section. At the time I was so upset over this, but now looking back I completely understand why Jack was born cesarean. He probably didn’t think that coming out the natural way was efficient enough, so he was too stubborn and made the doctors come and get him.

Fast forward 2 years later, I have a healthy, active, smart, funny and loving little boy. I’ve said it before, but I’m amazed at how smart my little guy is. He soaks in everything. Right now he is completely obsessed with letters. He has a letter puzzle that my mom bought him when she visited and he plays with it non-stop. He sings the alphabet song all the time and the best part is when he sings “Now I know my ABC’s, Next time won’t you sing with me.” It sounds more like “Now I ABC, Next time won’t you me!” He also knows his numbers 1-10 and loves to count, especially when he jumps off of furniture.

At school, Jack is officially in the toddler classroom. He was such a big boy in the baby room, so it’s fun to see him with the older kids. I can already tell that he is learning a lot from the other children. I’m happy to report that I no longer have to worry about packing a lunch for Jack to bring to school now that he eats with the big kids. This saves me a lot of time and dishes to wash every night. I actually only have to run the dishwasher every other night now!!

Jack has already been showing a lot of the terrible 2’s signs. Tantrums are daily. Some days are worst than others, but I’m hopeful that the more he learns more words he will have less tantrums. Speaking of words, he’s been talking a lot more lately. His vocabulary is growing all the time, now he just needs to put them into sentences so I don’t have to play the guessing game.

Jack is a total mommy’s boy. He always wants me over daddy, unless it’s bath time or time to get his shoes on for school, then he runs to daddy and hides from me. (it’s their new game that I don’t really enjoy, but they are pretty cute when they play it.) Sometimes his mommy obsession can get a little much, especially while I’m trying to get ready for work or make dinner, but to be honest, I don’t mind it at all. I love how he takes my hand and drags me around the house. It’s precious and I know that this stage won’t last forever, so I just enjoy our time together.

It’s so hard to get a picture with this little guy. That’s why our balloon is backwards.

I remember holding Jack in my arms as a newborn and wondering what he would be like when he got older. I wondered what kind of personality he would have and what his voice would sound like. It’s just so fun getting to know your child as they grow. I love learning about Jack each day. I love watching him grow. It’s such a blessing to be his mom.

Gift’s for Second Time Around Mom

January 20, 2018 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || Gifts for a Second Time Mom

I feel like there are so many baby’s due in 2018. It just another year of babies. Everyone that I know who is having a baby in 2018 is having their second, third or even fourth or fifth baby. Expecting baby number one is so exciting. Making your registry can be such fun. Usually, you want to stock up on all the basics that you will need for your first baby. But what do you buy for an experienced mom?

Personally, as someone shopping for others, I think baby number 2 is a little more fun to shop for. You don’t have to worry about the basics as much and you can get creative with your gifts. It’s the perfect opportunity to look into some fun baby/mommy gifts that your second-time mom may not already have.

I’ve put together a list of great baby products that I think would be appropriate for most second-time moms.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means that by clicking and/or making a purchase through a link will result in a small commission for this blog. I am being compensated for this post. As always my opinions are 100% my own.

One || BirdRock Baby Moccasins
I always think that baby’s look so adorable in little leather moccasins. At only $25 a pair, BirdRock Baby Moccasins are the perfect mix of quality and price for leather moccasins. They also have cute cozy fleece booties that are perfect for keeping your little one’s tootsies nice and warm in the winter. If you know someone expecting a little girl, they also have the cutest selection of leather hair bows.

Two|| DockATot
I think that DockATot is a great gift for a second-time mom. It’s perfect if you plan to co-sleep with your baby. It’s also a great safe place to put your baby down to lounge around the house away from the big kids.

Three || Newlie Tote Diaper Bag
Who wouldn’t want a new diaper bag? I know that I stuck with a more traditional diaper bag with Jack. To be honest, I rarely used it. I think that a second-time mom would definitely appreciate a new stylish diaper bag. Something nice and big, because you will need the room once you have 2 or more little ones to pack for. I love the diaper bags at Newlie co. They are so stylish and perfect for a second time mom.

Four || CoCo + Kiwi Clutch + Changing Kit

I think any mom would appreciate a cute changing kit clutch like this one from CoCo + Kiwi (HERE). I like how convenient it is to just throw a little changing kit in my purse or diaper bag.

Five || Cardimom from Multiwear
I’ve heard that nursing the second time around is not as easy as you would think it would be as an experienced mom. The Cardimom can help make nursing a little easier on you. You can wear it as part of your outfit and when it’s time to feed your baby you just use it as your cover-up. It’s perfect for nursing in public or if you don’t want to expose yourself to all your family members.

Six || Clothes
Yes, who doesn’t love to pick out cute baby clothes? It’s so fun shopping for babies. Clothes are always a good gift for any new parents. My advice if you’re baby clothes shopping for someone else is to keep in mind the seasons and climate of where they live. I had a lot of winter clothes for Jack in newborn and 3-month size, but he never got to wear some of them, because it was 80 degrees when he came home from the hospital. Also, buy clothes in all sizes. It’s always nice to have a variety of clothes because you will need them.

Seven || Honest Company – Baby Arrival Gift Set
If all else fails, you can always help the second time mom restock on all the baby essentials. My friend sent me a care package from the Honest Company right after Jack was born and it was so nice to have. The baby arrival gift set is perfect, because it comes with diapers, wipes, diaper creams and other useful baby products. Without a shower, a second time mom might be lacking in some of the basics, so this is a great gift!

Hopefully this is helpful guide for everyone needing to buy for a second time mom. And if your expecting this year, congratulation!

Baby Update- 20 Months

October 11, 2017 by Katie Haller

I’ve been really bad at keeping up with Jack’s baby updates. I meant to do a post for 15 months, then I didn’t get to it so I thought I’d do it at 18 months, but that didn’t happen, so now I’m trying for 20 months. I really love sharing updates on Jack, because he’s the light of my life. Plus, I like to use my blog as a way to look back on memories. I don’t scrapbook anymore, so this is my way of making a scrapbook.

Jack is 20 months and I would like to know where the time went?? I can’t believe that he will be 2 before I know it. Jack is really developing into his own little person lately. He has a great personality. He’s very smart, very serious at times and he just soaks in everything around him. He also loves to laugh, he’s funny, playful and he can be super sweet.

Currently, Jack’s favorite toys are his puzzles, cars, foam letters, books, train and oh yeah… the iPad. I know a lot of people have different opinions on children under 2 having screen time, but I don’t mind it at all. Jack has learned so much from the YouTube shows that he watches. He knows almost all the upper case letters, his colors, shapes and numbers 1-10. I am so impressed with his learning abilities. He catches on so quickly.

Jack has been in child care full time for almost a year now and he loves it. We have had such a great experience with his school. He loves his teacher, his friends and I’m pretty sure that he likes the toys there more than his toys at home. I feel like it’s been so good for him to spend time around other children his age. Although, I am learning that he is really bad at sharing. Apparently he doesn’t like it when the younger baby’s in his class play with the toys incorrectly.

As for sleep, Jack has been sleeping through the night for about 6 months now. Halleluiah!! It was a long first year of getting up almost every 2 hours, but as soon as we got rid of bottles, Jack stopped waking up. Now mommy and daddy can finally sleep soundly, besides the few occasional nights when he’s not feeling good or teething.

Over all Jack is a good eater, but it definitely depends on his mood. If he’s in a bad mood, he throws his food at me, if he’s happy he eats it. He really loves cheese, macaroni and cheese, pears, oranges and milk. He loves his “ma” as he calls it.

Jack is talking up a storm lately. I swear he adds 3 new words to his vocabulary everyday. He says “dada” all the time. He says “mama” when he wants something or is crying. My favorite word that he says is flower “fow fer”. He loves listening to music and dancing. He’s even starting to sing, which I think is hilarious. He sounds like a dying whale or something, but it’s just too cute.

I can tell that 2 is right around the corner, because my little baby boy is turning into a toddler monster at times. He has started these dramatic tantrums when he doesn’t get what he wants. He screams, throws himself on the floor, kicks his legs and throws things. It’s all a show to see how far he can go. I’ve even caught him watching himself in the mirror during one of his fits. It’s pretty entertaining, but also a little frustrating when you can’t reason with your little human.

Over all it’s been an amazing 20 months! I love everyday of being Jack’s mom. With each age, I feel like somethings get a little easier and other things get harder. I only wish I could slow him down a little bit.

Bedtime Routine- Favorite Products

May 22, 2017 by Katie Haller

*This post contains affiliate links.

My evening bedtime routine with Jack is a very important part of my day. For the first year, Jack had a very hard time sleeping through the night. I tried everything to get him to sleep. During that time, I did a lot of reading for advice, and the one thing that seemed to be consistent in my research was to set up a daily bedtime routine. This was something I did right from the start. I feel that it’s so important for young children to have a predictable and comfortable evening routine. Not only does our nightly routine calm down my little guy and prepare him for bed, but it’s also a special time for us. It’s the time of the day that I get to spend the most one on one time with him.

Today, I wanted to share with you some of our favorite products that we use during our evening bedtime routine.

1.) Honest Company Bubble Bath– My friend sent me a care package from the Honest Company with some of her favorite products when Jack was born. My favorite product in the box was this bubble bath. I love the smell and how gentle it is on Jack’s skin.

2.) California Baby Shampoo and Lotion– I got this set as a gift at my baby shower and I love this brand. The shampoo is super genital with no fragrance and so is the lotion. Living in the desert makes it hard to keep Jack’s skin from drying out, but this lotion does a great job of keeping his skin nice and soft.

3.) Foam Bath Letters and Numbers– Jack got these foam letter bath toys for his birthday and he loves them! They are perfect chew toys for babies and great for older toddlers and preschoolers who are learning their letters and numbers.

4.) Skip Hop Zoo Bath Stack and Pour Buckets– These are another one of Jack’s favorite bath toys. He loves filling the cups and listening to the water. He loves these cups so much that he plays with them around the house and outside too!

5.) Blanket Animal- Jack loves sleeping with his little blanket animal. He loves how soft it feels. He calls it “ni ni” because he knows that he sleeps with it. It helps soothe him at night, and as a mother of a child that could not self-sooth themselves for 12 months, I love his little blanket animal too.

6.) Carter’s 2 Piece Pajamas– I just love freshly bathed babies in their jammies. There is nothing better. I love the 2 piece pajama sets. They are much easier for diaper changing. I’m a big fan of Carter’s clothes because they seem to hold up pretty well and their sizing is pretty true to size. Jack has this pajama set with dinosaurs, but obviously, we would love to have the airplane set!

7.) Huggies Overnite Diapers- I can’t lie, I buy a lot of generic brand baby products, but sometimes there are just things that you need to buy name brand. One of them is overnight diapers. These diapers have been a game-changer for me. Around 12 months Jack finally started to sleep longer stretches through the night, but he would still wake up around 3 am with a soaked diaper that had leaked through. As soon as I started using Huggies Overnite Diapers, he started sleeping through the night without the 3 am wake up. This makes me a very happy mama!

8.) Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See?- You always have to have a good bedtime book. This is one of Jack’s favorites. This series of books are perfect for toddlers because they are repetitive and do a great job keeping your little busy body’s attention.

That’s my list for my favorite products that are apart of our bedtime routine. What are your favorite bedtime products?

The Pros and Cons of Child Care

April 10, 2017 by Katie Haller

I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while now because I’m sure that there are a lot of new parents out there struggling with the idea of daycare. It’s never easy to think about leaving your baby in someone else’s care, but many parents do it every day. I have been working in early childhood settings ever since I graduated from college with my degree in child development. I’ve been an infant teacher, toddler teacher, and administrator at child care centers, so I know what it’s like to work in a child care center and take care of other people’s children. It’s not always easy. I also understand now just how hard it can be from a parent’s perspective. I dropped off Jack for his first day of daycare when he was just shy of 8 weeks old. It was not an easy day for me. I remember that feeling of having to trust a complete stranger with my precious baby. This is why I feel like I am the perfect person to write a post on the pros and cons of daycare.

It’s often a personal or a financial decision to continue to work after having a child. For me, it was a mix of both. My husband and I felt that we weren’t at the financial place we wanted to be at to support our family with just one income, so I continued to work. Plus, I actually like my job. It has been the best job that I’ve had since I graduated college and I wasn’t ready to give that up yet, so after a short maternity leave, I went back to work. I’m grateful that I don’t work too long of hours and I do have a lot of flexibility with my job if needed, plus it was nice knowing that my husband was able to be home with Jack most days in the beginning. For the first 9 months, my husband stayed home with Jack 2-3 days a week, which was nice. We found a small Christian child care center close to our home that had the right price. At first, I had my concerns about leaving him, but overall I’m happy with the setting and Jack seems to love it. His teachers are very sweet and I can tell when I drop him off that he’s in good hands.

So what are the cons of starting your baby in child care? Here is what I came up with.

1.) It’s not you

If you are planning on heading back to work after having a baby, one thing that you have to accept is that no one is going to take care of your baby the same way that you will. I knew that things would be different if it was just me taking care of Jack. It’s hard for teachers to care for your child the same way that you would because it’s a different setting and there are other children that need their attention too. You have to accept that your baby will eat differently, sleep different and play differently while they are away from you and that’s okay.

2.) Child care staff turn over

Child care jobs are some of the lowest paid jobs out there. Many places require the bare minimum qualifications of their teachers and pay them minimum wages, while other higher quality programs have higher standards for their teachers and still only pay them a little over minimum wage. This is why many child care centers are a constant revolving door. Just in the first few months that Jack was at his center, he had a number of teachers come and go. As a parent it makes you question what is going on behind closed door. All you can really do is trust that anyone who takes a job to work with young children has there heart in the right place.

3.) Germs and Illness

Unfortunately, children can carry lots of germs and with germs comes illness. I’ve seen lots of children start in a child care settings and then get sick quickly, because they have never been exposed to the foreign germs. My best advice for that is to start your baby early. The earlier you expose them to the germs the more their little immune system can build up a tolerance. I’d also recommend breastfeeding. Breastmilk has antibodies in it that help protect against infection. The month that I stopped breastfeeding Jack, he got his first ear infection. He never even had a runny nose before that.

4.) No one-on-one care

Most centers have a 1:4 ratio in the infant room, which means that your precious little one and only is going to have to share the attention. It’s impossible for the teachers to attend to your baby perfectly, so in some cases, they might have to cry and not be held and comforted right away. They might have to wait for their food longer than at home. It’s just the reality of not being the only one to care for.

After listening the cons, I have to end on a positive note and tell you the pros of child care.

1.) SOCIALIZATION!

It is so cute to see Jack start to interact with his friends. He’s the first child in our family, so he doesn’t have any siblings at home to interact with and learn from. I love that he can go to school and play with his little buddies. You would be amazed with how early children start to engage with their peers and learn from each other.

2.) Helps build up their immune systems

I mentioned that illness is a con of daycare, but on the opposite side of that, the germs that they are exposed to can also be a benefit of child care. It definitely helps build a child’s immune system. Parents who keep their kids at home until preschool or kindergarten often find that their kids get sick all the time. As I said before, the earlier you expose them to germs, sometimes the better.

3.) Curriculum

Most child care centers have a curriculum that they follow, even with babies. They do learning activities with them throughout the day. They paint, read books, dance, do sensory exploration, it all helps meet their developmental needs. When choosing a center, I would ask about the curriculum and find out how they implement it with the infants and toddlers.

4.) Cheaper than a Nanny

My husband and I had thought about getting a nanny who could be flexible with our schedule needs, but after doing the math it was just not worth the cost. It was much cheaper for us to pay for full time care at a child care center than it was to pay for part time care with a nanny. When looking into child care, look at the price and see what they offer, but you are almost always going to find that a child care center is cheaper than a private nanny.

Honestly, child care can be a really great thing for you and your baby, but you really need to decide if it’s the right fit for you as a parent. It’s a personal decision that you have to make as a parent.

Are you a parent looking to enroll in child care? I’d be happy to answer any questions from a parent or teacher’s perspective.

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