Cold Weather, Snow, and Ice - #6

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa or whatever holiday you may be celebrating this week. Also, for next week, Happy New Year!

This is going to be a special year for us. Not only is it our youngest daughter Janika’s first Christmas, it is the first Christmas where Lenka, our two-year old, is looking forward to a visit from Santa Claus. After visiting Santa and letting him know what she wants for Christmas, she has been getting even more excited. We have had to threaten her many times about Santa putting her name on the Naughty list. To make this list more legit, I going to show her this list; which is online at http://www.claus.com. It not only has many games kids can play, but you can type in your name and see what list you are on. It also gives you tips on how to stay on the nice list and what Santa thinks you need to do to improve.

A real treat for most of the United States this year is the bonus of a white Christmas. Of course with this snow comes ice and very cold temperatures. Make sure that when your kids go outside that they are bundled up and no skin is exposed. In our part of the country we’ve had days where the temperatures have peaked in the single digits. Most importantly, make sure you use caution when driving on ice. Even the biggest of vehicles with 4-wheel drive can slide off the road. You might have an easier time recovering after you’ve slid into a snow bank, but that is about it. Also, make sure your kids are buckled in securely. The law states that a child must be in a car seat and in the backseat until 80lbs and under 4’10”. If the child is under a year old, they must be rear facing. This will save you if you ever cause an accident, but what about the other guy? To keep your kids safe from other drivers, be sure to have your car seats professionally inspected when installing them. This can be done at various locations around your city. To find out where, just give you local police station a call. I’ve posted a story below about how an accident,caused by another driver, caused a toddler to be critically injured.

Finally, I want to end on a positive note. People are starting to notice our little blog and the readers are starting to grow. To keep this increase going, pass the website onto three of your friends. The more readers we get the more tips Angie and I will get from other parents and we’ll be able to share it. Also, pass along your holiday pictures and if you want, we’ll post them on our site. Parenttoparent00@yahoo.com


Driver Sought In Crash That Injured Toddler

Police are still looking for the driver involved in a hit-and-run crash that critically injured an 18-month-old girl on Sunday.
Silvia Arambula-Gonzalez was riding in a Toyota Camry that was hit by a Dodge Stratus at 24th and Poppleton just before 2:30 p.m.
The girl is listed in critical, but stable condition, suffering four fractured vertebrae. Her mother, 36-year-old Ernestina Gonzalez, suffered minor facial injuries and was treated and released.
Police say the driver of the Stratus continued west on Poppleton and struck a parked car at 25th Avenue and Pierce where he got out and ran off.
The investigation has determined that the man failed to yield as he turned left in front of the mother and baby. Contributing to the girl's injuries was a child restraint improperly secured to the vehicle.
Anyone with information regarding this accident or the whereabouts of the missing driver should contact police at 444-5627. There is a $2,000 reward for a tip that leads to the suspect's arrest and conviction.

Tis' the Season - #5

With the holiday season here and the stress of mounting credit card bills, screaming kids, and all the crowds, Angie and I thought we’d blog about something else to give our readers a break. It is very easy to take for granted this time of year all of the things we have and the opportunities. We are lucky enough to live in a nice home, have enough food, and have family around us for support and to spend the holidays with. There are other people who do not have this and it is them we should add to our ‘to do” list. The next time you are about to head into a store, take out some change and drop it into the Salvation Army bucket or maybe buy an extra toy to drop off at Toys for Tots. You may be lucky enough to take part in an organization that adopts a family. This is something my brothers and sisters started last year and Angie and I have been honored to give. We donate funds to a family who can use it for Christmas gifts, Christmas dinner, or anything else they need to get through the holidays. So hopefully now that your Christmas shopping list is dwindling down, maybe it is time to start a new one.

To celebrate the week before Christmas, Angie and I have decided to post two of our favorite stories that we’ve received in the past. One is a poem about being a mom and the other is a heartwarming story about being a dad. Enjoy!

Mean Moms


Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent,
I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:

I loved you enough to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room;
a job that should have taken 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes.
Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.
I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the
penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say
NO when I knew you would hate me for it.
Those were the most difficult battles of all.
I’m glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents,
you will tell them:
Was your Mom mean?

I know mine was...

We had the meanest mother in the whole world!

While other kids ate candy for breakfast,
we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.

When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie
for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.

And you can guess our mother fixed us a
dinner that was different from what
other kids had, too. Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison.

She had to know who our friends were,
and what we were doing with them.

She insisted that if we said we would be gone for
an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less. We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws
by making us to work.

We had to wash the dishes, make the beds,
learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry,
empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs.

I think she would lie awake at night
thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head.

Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.

While everyone else could date when they
were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16. Because of our mother, we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced.

None of us have ever been caught
shoplifting, vandalizing other's property,
or ever arrested for any crime.

It was all her fault. Now that we have left home,
we are all educated, honest adults.

We are doing our best to be mean
parents just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean Moms!

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?'

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?'

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh. 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?' The father was furious,
DAD: 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities. '

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

DAD: 'Are you asleep, son?'

SON: 'No daddy, I'm awake,'

DAD: 'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling.

SON: 'Oh, thank you daddy!'

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

DAD: 'Why do you want more money if you already have some?'

SON: 'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' 'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness. It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love. If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

What They Didn’t Teach Us - #4

In this entry Angie and I thought we would make a list of things that we learned during the summer of 2006, the months after Lenka was born. We heard all the stories and went to all the classes about dealing with an infant, but there were things that we weren’t told and had to find out for ourselves first hand. For this week, Angie made a list of things she learned as a mom and I put together a list of things I learned as a dad.

Angie

- It is okay to let your baby cry.
- If you need a break from your baby, put them in a safe spot, like the crib, and walk away until you are ready to help your baby.
- Cut your baby’s fingernails while they sleep. The nails are soft, so you can bite them if you are scared to use a nail clipper.
- Books are the best “toys” for baby. Read to them often!
- Establish a good sleeping routine.
- The housework can wait! Enjoy your baby while you can.
- Accept help when offered from friends and family.
- If possible, make dinners all at once and stick them in the freezer to cook at a later time. This will save you time and energy later.
- Relax – babies can sense if you are tense!
- If you are able to breastfeed, stick it out!! The bond between a child and breastfeeding mother is amazing! (and it will save you lots of money from buying formula)
- Invest in a good breast pump. Again, it will save you money on formula when you go back to work.
- Working and being a mom is a difficult challenge! Leave work at work and enjoy your family.
- Cloth diapering can also save money. It is fun to see the different colors of the diapers and it is actually kind of fun washing them. It is also better for the environment. I have a lot more information on cloth diapering, where you can buy them, how to care for cloth diapers, etc. If you would like more information, shoot me an email at parenttoparent00@yahoo.com.
- Do not use q-tips on your baby’s ears. Using q-tips pushes the wax further into the ear canal and can cause issues for your child.
- If you think your baby is sick, your intuition is probably right. Get them checked out at the doctor.
- Take lots of pictures for the baby book.
- You and your significant other need to be on the same page regarding discipline.
- There is not just one way to be a good parent. Do what works for you and tweak your style as necessary.

Eric

- If one parent isn’t constantly feeding, playing, or giving as much attention to the baby, they will look at you as a stranger
- Babies like to be tossed in the air. (Not too high and of course caught right away)
- You can go from completely frustrated and on the verge of giving up one moment to having your heart melt and on the verge of happy tears the next. All a baby needs to do is smile at you.
- A bottle, or maybe a pacifier, can be a saving grace to a crying baby.
- Baby Einstein DVD’s can be great when you need to take a quick shower.
- Babies like to be entertained, when in doubt, dance
- Changing a poopy diaper isn’t as bad as they say it is on TV
- A baby is like a sponge when it comes to learning new things.
- Babies sometimes don’t know when they are full and have a tendency to “overflow”.
- Tummy time is important
- If you hold a baby all the time, they will want to be held all the time. Letting a baby play by themselves is great teaching tool.
- Babies really do grow up too fast.

Cough, Cough - #3

For a moment there our household was on the verge of being treated for Whooping cough. For those of you who do not know what that is, basically it is a highly contagious disease that can be fatal if not treated. Now there is a vaccine for Whooping cough and I personally have had it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get it, you just won’t necessarily die from it. Our two year old, Lenka, had been coughing for about six days, so we decided to take her to the doctor over Thanksgiving break. We noticed a sign on the front door of the doctor’s office about an outbreak in Whooping cough in the area. After our doctor looked at Lenka, he said it was either a cold or the dreaded Whooping cough. So we were off to the hospital for her to get tested. When we took her to the hospital she had to wear a surgical mask as to not infect any one. It was a little sad for Angela and I to see her looking like a diseased child, but I tried to look at it as this is what she’ll look like when she is older and is a doctor and making tons of money and supporting her mom and dad. She took the painful swabs up the nose and after a few days we found out that she did not have Whooping cough. If the tests did come back positive our whole family would have to start treatment for the cough and Lenka would be out of daycare for two weeks; quite a hassle for two working parents and a six month old.

Since this disease is so contagious and overall very dangerous, here are some symptoms to watch out for. Be sure to check with your doctor as soon as you think your child, or you, might be suffering from Whooping cough.

• A runny nose


• Nasal congestion


• Sneezing


• Red, watery eyes


• A mild fever


• Dry cough


• General feeling of being unwell and loss of appetite

After a week or two of the above symptoms things seem to just get worse if left untreated.

• Severe coughing attacks that bring up thick phlegm


• Coughing attacks — up to 15 coughs in a row — that end with a high-pitched "whoop" sound during the next breath of air


• In children, severe coughing that leads to vomiting or causes a red or blue face from the effort


• Fatigue from the exertion of coughing

*In adults, signs and symptoms of whooping cough may resemble those of bronchitis, a respiratory infection that causes a nagging cough. Babies and infants with whooping cough may not whoop at all, or at least not as loudly as older children do. Some children with whooping cough may experience choking spells and turn blue in the face as they struggle to breathe after extended coughing. Severe coughing can result in tiny red spots caused by ruptures in blood vessels at the skin's surface in the upper body, as well as small areas of bleeding in the whites of the eyes. You may even bruise or break a rib if your coughing episodes are severe. Coughing may be worse at night.
*From MayoClinic.com

Sleep? What's That? - #2

Sleep, how important it is. When Lenka was born she was pretty good about sleeping through the night; unlike her little sister Janika. For the first few months of her life she would wake up all the time in the middle of the night and Angela would get about 2 to 3 hours of sleep. Not only did it affect her daily life, but it affected our relationship too. Something had to change, we had to take control of Janika’s sleep pattern and we had to do it now.

This was going to be the first time we actually had to do some sleep training. Lenka was really easy, we kept her awake from 7pm to 9pm every night and when we put her to bed, she was basically fine until morning. That technique just wasn’t working with Janika. Parents with more than one kid will know that even though they are siblings, they are completely different. What works for one, will not necessarily work for the other. Angela started reading a book by an author that was against the cry out method. Since the girls were sharing a room crying it out wasn’t an option. The book suggested that when the baby cries we go and get them so they don’t feel abandoned. Also, make sure when you put the kid to bed, make sure they are awake so they don’t wake up in a strange place. We tried all of this, but it wasn’t working. We needed another idea and Angela turned to her fellow moms and the idea she got worked like a charm.

Separate the girls; at least for awhile (We put her in play pen)
If she starts crying; let her cry and after 5 minutes go check on her and comfort her and talk to her for 1 minute. (Do not pick her up or feed her)
If she continues to cry wait 10 more minutes and then comfort her but do not talk to her for 1 minute.
If the crying continues wait 15 minutes this time and then comfort her for 1 minute.

We just repeated this going up 5 every time and so far she has not lasted longer that 20 minutes. She eventually realizes that no one is coming and she went to sleep. And the biggest thing was, she still loved us the next day. No sign of trauma in any way. We realized the first time around with Lenka that crying for a baby is just the way they communicate. The do cry when they are in pain, but that is a different type of cry and being a parent you should hopefully know what each one means or at least trying to figure it out. (Not that I really know or anything)

So to wrap up this second entry I want to stress how important it is for not only your baby to get some sleep, it is even more important that you sleep. What good are your kids if you are not conscious to enjoy the time you have with them when they are a baby.

WELCOME!!! - #1

Welcome!

You have just found a brand new website entitled “Parent to Parent”.

The purpose of this blog is to be used as a resource for parents dealing with kids in all aspects. With every entry you’ll find insightful information and tips to use that we hope you can share with others and also put into practice. So who are these experts that run this blog? We are parents just like you. We aren’t doctors, therapists, or even daycare providers. We have the best experience there is, we have two daughters who we love more than anything. Since we want the best for them we learned early on that you can’t learn everything you want from professionals. Another way is from people who have been there and done that. Will you find opinions in this blog? Yes. But you will read facts and figures that will help you during those times where you think that you just can’t take it any more. If you would like to contribute to the blog, just email us at parenttoparent00@yahoo.com. You can send stories, blog topics, questions, comments, pictures, videos, basically anything relevant to parenting.

So be sure to bookmark this site and check back as we plan to keep it updated at least once a week.

Thanks for reading!

-Eric and Angela