Sunday 27 March 2016

The end to co-sleeping?

We have been co-sleeping with C since he was 3 months old, he has been our bedtime sidekick for the last 2.5 years. Few nights ago, while we were cleaning our room to prepare for baby#2, we asked C to sleep in his room while we clean and that we would move him back into our bed when we head to bed.  To our surprise, that never happened and that's how it all began.
It's been kind of strange to not be waking up next to our little man, but at the same time I think C is mentally preparing himself to be a big brother. He has been talking a lot about sharing his room with baby, especially lately how excited he is to get to meet Baby#2 soon. He has been waking up once or twice during the night screaming out loud for me, but as soon as I go into to check on him, he goes right back to sleep. I am guessing that would stop with time, after all, we are all fairly new with this arrangement. Daddy dubs and I were just saying how it is so strange to have so much space in the bed now especially when it used to feel like this in bed...


Do you co-sleep with your child or co-slept at some point? If so, how did you transition them into their own bed and did you find yourself having to take a bit of time to adjust to the new arrangement? 

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Event Review: Gearapalooza 2016 in Vancouver BC

It was so much fun at the Gearapalooza held at West Coast Kids on Main Street in Vancouver BC, presented by Bump Club and Beyond tonight! It's a must for anyone who is expecting, especially for those who wants to learn about all the essentials for the baby.  For me, I found it to be a great refresher on things like what to look out for when it comes to car seat fitting. It was also a great way to learn about the newest products out there!

It started off as a meet and greet with the sponsors of the raffle draw that took place at the end of the show. They were all representatives from the manufacturers themselves so they were all very knowledgeable in the products and were able to answer questions about the specific brands. The highlight of Gearapalooza was of course the presence of Jamie Grayson (TheBabyGuyNYC), the infamous baby gear guru, and the angry baby that he uses to demonstrate the baby products.  Jamie was there to talk about all the different baby gears that are available out in the market. I liked the fact that he didn't only focus on the pricey products out there; he covered products with different price points and talked about what he believed it's the best bang for the buck.  He was super funny and covered mostly on the bigger price tagged items like car seats, baby carriers, strollers, and breast pumps.

         

In terms of the show itself, there were different tickets categories you can choose from when you purchase the tickets. The tickets ranged from $55 to $135USD.  I was a bit hesitant about purchasing a ticket at the beginning because of the higher price points for the tickets comparing to other family/baby shows. 

At the end, I ended up getting a platinum ticket to the show that included a Beco Gemini carrier - which I am now super excited to try out on baby #2 when he/she arrives. The other ticket options would get you either a Beco ring sling (gold ticket) or the swag bag itself. The swag bag itself was stuffed with different interesting baby products, including teethers by Mam and Little Toader, swaddle blankets from Swaddle Designs and Angel Dear, the Halo swaddle change diaper changing pad cover, an Ubbi snack container,  and some utensils by Beaba and BabyBjorn... The only thing I am a little disappointed about the bag was the fact that it was quite gender specific! I wish it could have been a little more gender neutral as they all look like great products to try out on baby#2. Baby#2 is going to be a surprise but almost everything that's in the bag are pink so we will see how that works out!

The other highlight of the show was more personal than anything. I was lucky enough to win a BabyBjorn One carrier at the raffle! Now we just will have to figure out which carrier to keep for Baby#2!

Gearapalooza tours mostly in different cities in US.  The next Canadian city they will be visiting is Toronto in June. If you have the opportunity to check them out,  you should definitely do so because it's well worth it!!

Thursday 17 March 2016

March Break Fun in Vancouver!

I have always had my eyes on the different projects that Home Depot offers kids to build at their monthly kids’ workshops that take place every second Saturday of the month (across Canada) since last summer.  Of course C was way too young back then but I kept telling my husband that when he’s old enough we must make it a daddy and son activity.

This past February, when we made a trip out to Home Depot for flooring tiles for our kitchen, we came across the poster for the upcoming workshop for kids.  At the time, I was still a bit hesitant about bringing C to the workshops as they advertise it as a 4+ activity.  Nevertheless my husband way was too excited about it (the handy man in him) and decided to bring him to it.  I'm glad that he did since C had such a blast.  Partly thanks to Bob the builder for making C super excited about using hammers and screwdrivers.

My husband has been bringing C out to these workshops since and he has always enjoyed it.  It has been such a great bonding activity.  C is always so proud of what he and daddy make at these workshops and can never wait to show the final products off to mommy when I get home from work!




You should definitely check these out with your toddler if your toddler is one who shows interests in using tools or has always wanted to be the little helper at home whenever you take the toolbox out.  The projects and the instructions are simple enough for any adult to follow and is a great way to bond with your kids.  That big smile the finish projects put on their faces makes it all worthwhile if nothing else!

Home Depot now offers these activities for kids everyday during March break (March 14-25, 2016, from 10am-12pm).  Be sure to check the schedule with your local store as we went to a different Home Depot the other day only to find out that they are only offering their workshops in the second half of the break.
 

For their monthly kid’s workshops, you can check the schedule out at
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/ideas-how-to/workshops.html

Let the adventure begin!

I have always been wanting to do this - to blog and share my experiences as a mommy which I never thought of doing so when I was pregnant with C.  This first post definitely checks off one item on my to-do list before the adventure as a mommy of two begins!