Mommy Tip - Diaper Rash

Thomas had a horrible diaper rash last week.  It started last Sunday and was bleeding by Monday morning.  Every time I wiped his bum he cried out in pain.  I felt horrible for our little man and booked a doctor's appointment pronto for Tuesday morning.  Until then, I browsed online (thank goodness for the web!) and found a few tips.

Air time is very important!  Let the babies bum dry naturally while they play.  I know what all of you moms of boys are thinking!  Yes it is a bit of a game against the pee-pee clock but it's worth it for their sake.  Thomas didn't have any pee accidents.  Unfortunately it was a bit dirtier!  He pooed three times in his crib while we were at home and two times on his blanket in Kingston.  I almost lost my s**t but it all worked out in the end thanks to help from Ryan and my mum.

Another tip was to soak the babies bum in a baking soda bath.  It doesn't say how much to use but you can judge for yourself.  Essentially you want to put enough for there to be a bit of a silky coating on your hands when you test the water. I did this twice a day.

The most amazing tip came from my mums colleagues.  Use cornstarch instead of diaper cream or the useless prescription cream (will get back to that in a minute).  After wiping the babies bottom with a warm wet cloth (avoid harsh wipes) put a thin layer of cornstarch powder on the rash zone.  The diaper should be placed under the bottom to catch any of the excess powder.  Close the diaper up as normal.

This last tip is magical and economical!

The doctor visit on Tuesday morning did nothing to help.  They wrote out a prescription and said goodluck.  The prescription was useless (in my opinion).  It did nothing to soothe or protect the skin from further damage.  I wouldn't recommend it but that is my mommy opinion NOT a medical opinion.

Good luck to the moms battling the diaper rash!

Road Trip!

Thomas and I made our way to Kingston this past weekend to spend time with the family.  I love our trips home and I know Thomas does as well.  His favourite part of being in Kingston must be lunch at the pub with Grampa Mike and hanging out in the backyard with Gran.  Not to mention having a few cuddles with his aunts.  Mum and dads is very relaxing.  The time goes by far too quickly.  Mum and I had a chance to get a bite to eat at my favourite restaurant while Dad watched Thomas.  If you're ever in Kingston then I recommend WoodenHeads.  Order the chicken spring rolls and the Nona Mella pizza. You can't go wrong. Then head on over to White Mountain for the best ice-cream in the world!!  They make the waffle cones from scratch.  It smells heavenly.  I'm craving one now!

You can tell from this photo how much my dad (Grampa Mike) loves his grandson!! They are going to be very close.  Thomas already has joined the men in the garage for beers.  He brings his bottle of milk instead. :)

Ah, one of his favourite ways to pass the time is look up at the trees in the backyard.  Thomas is amazed at the light shining through, the rustling sound of the leaves and all the nature he doesn't get in Toronto.  Ha!

Thomas has began to play a little game we like to call drop and pick-up.  I was washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen while he played in his highchair.  I swear I must have picked up those two toys at least 20 times. He would look at me just as he is in this photo, put his hand to the side of the chair and drop the toy.  It was unbelievable.  Not sure if he's doing this on purpose or if he's just learning...

A little glamour shot of mom and Thomas.

Love this photo!  It captures Thomas completely.  I love you little man!

Aunt Kate and Thomas enjoyed a bit of hang time while I repaired Katie's shoes.  Will need to show you my magical skills at shoe design in another post.

Mum and Dad hosted a family dinner on Sunday for the Pentleton side of the family (mums side).  It was fantastic to see everyone and for them to visit with Thomas.  I wish we all lived closer because I really miss them.  

Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of dinner or any with Aunt Meg.  I'm learning to use the camera more but it's a slow process.    

Love you all and miss you all! xo

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

I haven't baked in a long time because I will eat all of what I bake.  However, yesterday I didn't care.  I had a need for chocolate (not unusual)!!  Thanks to Allrecipes.com for the best chocolate chip cookies ever my cravings were fulfilled.  Seriously people, they are the best!  I made 12 very large cookies and froze the rest of the batter for another time - another craving.  


Look at how delicious they look!  Trust me when I say it's pure cookie heaven. :) 

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Happy baking! 

A night out with Thomas

Before Thomas was born I was determined to set a routine and get him sleeping through the night as early as possible!  I told everyone I knew about a book (recommended by my friend Jane of triplets - let's be honest, if it worked for her it will work for anyone!) called Twelve Hours of Sleep by Twelve Weeks by Suzy Giordano.  It was a quick 1 hour read and got me on the road to pure sleep bliss!  Thomas began a bedtime routine around 11 weeks and was sleeping through the night (7pm-7am) by 15 weeks.

The entire point to that story is that for the last 3 1/2 months we have had a strict bedtime routine.  Refusing to break it as we love our free time at night and LOVE sleeping through the night.  However, this does prevent us from going anywhere together past 6pm.  Saturday night was the first time we attempted to put Thomas to sleep at a friends house (they hosted a BBQ) and move him to his own bed later in the evening.  It went perfectly!  Thomas was asleep in the playpen by 7pm - as usual.  He started to toss and turn around 10:30pm so we decided it was the perfect opportunity to move him into his carseat and head home. He loved this sleep intermission.  Wide awake and smiling the entire way home!  I was nervous he wouldn't fall asleep again BUT he did! :)

Thanks mom for giving me the push I needed to do this.  We won't make it a habbit but it's good to know he can fall asleep somewhere other than his crib.  Yeah!!

On another note, here is a video of Thomas.  He spends about 20 mintues in this a day and loves every minute of it!!  I try to limit it so he works on his crawling.  The exersaucer is a treat. :)  Sorry about the quality of video.

 
Here is Thomas with his cousin Stella today.  They adore one another.  As soon as we sat them down Thomas reached out to touch Stella.  It was adorable!

That's all for tonight folks.  My internet and computer are very slow so I'll update more tomorrow.  xo

Pinterest

I have discovered Pinterest thanks to my SIL Aaren.  I'm now hooked.  It's a great way to quickly get inspired, find gift ideas and just waste time.  :)  I was quickly browsing on my iphone (the most essential tool in my life) and found a quote that made me laugh really hard!  I can't seem to find it now that I'm on the computer but essential it went like this...

~ At weddings, I'm always poked by older aunts and grandparents saying "you're next".  So I started saying the same to them at funerals. 

It reminded me of one of my sistsers who has a very dry sense of humour that not everyone gets.  Luckily I do and love it.  Don't get me wrong, she would never actually say something so crass!  She would certainly laugh at this though. Love you sis!!   

Can I eat that?

Thomas is all over anything he can get into his mouth - including my toes (a failed attempt).  Here he is taking a bite out of the V8 can.  At least he doesn't mind the veggies!

We swapped the can for a frozen teether.  Just as good in Thomas' eyes.  

Starting solids has been a fun experiment.  Thomas gives everything a chance.  He doesn't immediately spit it out.  He waits until about the 10th spoonful.  At that point he just lets the food fall out of his mouth dripping off his chin and then looks at me with a disgusted 'mom, what was that???!!!' face.  Yesterday we tried chicken, carrots and parsnips.  This is the reaction...

So we switched it up and gave him apples and cereal.  Much better!

Now that he's done eating food he's back eating his fingers and hands.  

'oh Mama I love you!!'

It's up!

I'm back in the blogging world but this time it's about raising my son and life as a family.  Some of you will know me from my original blog White Blossom.  To my new readers, welcome.  I'm Sarah, my husband is Ryan and our baby boy is Thomas.  He is six and a half months old and the cutest little love bug alive!  Love Bug is one of his many nicknames that I know will be short lived because I can't picture Thomas loving them all once he's in school.  But I can have my fun until then. :) 


Follow me along as I write about life as a mom (best job in the world!), what interests me and what Thomas and the family gets up to.  I hope you'll enjoy it.  I know I'll enjoy recording our precious moments of life with Thomas.