Persevering Momma

Taking The Day One Spoon At a Time

Don’t Let Those Tummy Bugs Get You Down During The Holidays

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This is a sponsored post thanks to DiaResQ.

About a month ago I sat on the toilet while watching my son play in the tub. I had been at a loss as to what I should do. The poor guy had diarrhea so bad that his poor little butt and legs were raw. We had never battled something like this before and the cries coming from his mouth were devastating. I could tell he hurt with the diaper just as much as he did without it. It broke my heart knowing he was in so much pain. It was so bad that I called my mother-in-law in a panic not sure what else to do because I was out of ideas.

What I wish I had known that day

I wish I had known about DiaResQ because nothing I had been doing was helping him to rid himself of the diarrhea. I made sure to give him fibrous foods and was keeping his fluid in take up in hopes of keeping him hydrated, but when I searched for diarrhea relief online at local stores I came up with nothing. Absolutely nothing and it devastated me. How was I supposed to help my 2 year old when there were no products out there?

I was wrong. DiaResQ does exist.

I am writing this because I want other moms, other parents to know that DiaResQ exists and it is something that is safe for toddlers to take. DiaResQ is different because it’s not a drug or antibiotic—it’s a food made from naturally derived ingredients that reach the intestine for rapid relief. It does contain eggs and dairy so those with sensitivities or allergies to these ingredients may not be able to use it.  I love that it is has a light vanilla flavor and comes in a powder form.

I do know that it isn’t easy to get toddlers to drink what you want them to drink, but sometimes you just need to use a little bribery to get them to do it. You explain that it will help their tummy and help stop all the poops. If that doesn’t work then find their favorite toy or snack and offer it up as incentive to drink the drink. (at least this is how I get my son to take his medications)

My recommendation is to go and get some so that you have it on hand in case of an emergency like I had a month ago. It’s the perfect time because you don’t want to be caught unprepared the next time diarrhea strikes – stock up on DiaResQ now at CVS! Get $3 off DiaResQ now through November 24th at CVS. No code or coupon necessary.

Finding The Perfect Highchair For Our Family: Stokke Tripp Trapp

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This is a sponsored post thanks to Stokke for the Tripp Trapp highchair with whom I met at the Chicago Baby Show.

Raiden is 2.5 years old now and I have gone through two full sized highchairs as well as two booster seats for the kitchen table and yet I still didn’t feel like I had found the right product for us. I know everyone has their own tastes and likes and apparently mine was much harder to find.

When we moved into our new house at the end of May we had chosen to not use a highchair at the house because we just didn’t like them and neither did Raiden. I wanted meal time to be a nice comfortable time where I wasn’t constantly struggling and fighting with my very stubborn toddler. For the most part this was okay, but he did fall off of the chair a time or two and that made me nervous.

Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair

Our perfect highchair.

I had really given up on highchairs until we went to the Chicago Baby Show I hadn’t really been planning on looking for a highchair until I heard about the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair. This highchair is what we needed for our toddler son. He wanted a chair that made him feel like a big boy, like he was a part of the family and this chair was going to do just that.

Why we love the Stokke Tripp Trapp

We love the Stokke Tripp Trapp because it has adjustability with the seat height and the foot rest. This allows our son to grow with the seat. We received the highchair pre-assembled so I thought that it would be wise to snap a picture with my real life baby doll sitting in the seat like an infant would.

Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair

I didn’t buckle baby in because I will admit that a few features are quite difficult for my hands to manipulate. The buckle itself isn’t impossible with use of my UnbuckleMe, but I cannot manipulate it with my hands when the tray is in place. The tray is impossible for me to un-clip from the highchair. If you can slide your child into the seat with the tray on this would be an option for someone with hand strength issues like myself.

Once my hubby removed the tray we also removed the back padding and only kept the seat padding on since Raiden is old enough to sit in the seat without the full harness.

Adjusting The Highchair

Adjusting the seat and the foot rest is pretty simple. We loosened the legs on the chair ever so slightly with an allen wrench so that the boards can be slide out and back into their new slots. You then tighten the legs back up so that everything is snug and doesn’t move when in use.

We only needed to move the footrest, but I can tell that it won’t be long until we have to lower the seat as well because my little guy is growing like a weed!

The perfect highchair that grows with your child- the Stokke Tripp Trapp.

Car Seat Safety With Chicco

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This is a sponsored post thanks to Chicco for National Baby Car Seat Safety Week.

Over the years so much has changed in regards to safety in vehicles. One thing that is constantly changing is car seat safety for children. There are now many laws and recommendations on how to keep your child safe while traveling in the car.

The new American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendation for keeping children rear facing until they max out on height and weight for their current car seat. I do believe in this philosophy and made sure that my son was rear facing past two years old (while it wasn’t as long as I really wanted I was pleased to have him rear facing until 2.5 years old). No matter what car seat or booster your child is in it is important to make sure that the car seat is installed properly and that your child is buckled in properly as well.

Car seat safety

Secure Car Seat Installation

Using LATCH vs Seat Belt

When you installing a car seat in your car you have to choose between two options for the installation; you can use LATCH (LATCH stands for “lower anchors and tethers for children.”) or the seat belt for the installation. Both are great options, but there are a couple things to note. Most car seats only allow LATCH installation for children 40lbs or less which means that you must use the seat belt installation if you child exceeds this limit. Another thing to note is that it is not safe to install the car seat using both the LATCH and seat belts at the same time.

Both of these options are equally safe, but you will want to choose whichever option works the best for your vehicle. This means that you should have a tight install and your seat should be level. If your seat is forward facing you will also need to secure the top tether which means placing it in a seat that has a top tether anchor available. (This is not something that is always set up for every seat in your vehicle. You will want to check your car manual to see where your available top tethers are located.)

The Inch Test

You may have heard people reference the inch test. This test is very important in making sure that your car seat install is done properly. In order to perform the test you will need to install the seat and with your non-dominant hand you will grab the belt path on the seat. You will then give the seat a gentle tug (like that of a firm handshake) and if the seat moves less than an inch then you have a good install. If the seat moves an inch or more then you will want to continue to tighten the seat into place.

Having a seat installed tight enough is very important if you were to get into an accident. This will ensure that your child is the safest and will help to reduce the motion of the seat during an accident.

Getting Help

If you have questions or want hands-on assistance, SafeKids.org can help you find a car seat checkup event in your area or contact a local child passenger safety technician (CPST). You can also get in touch with a nearby CPST via www.nhtsa.gov.

Car seat safety

Car Seat Expiration

Car seats often have their expiration dates in similar locations on the seats. I have snapped pictures of the expiration dates on a variety of car seats that we own to show you just where the expiration date is located so that it may make it a bit easier for you to find on your car seat.

Car seat safety
Graco Extend2Fit manufacture label on the back of the seat. Car seat manual states that the seat expires 10 years from date of manufacture. Nice and easy math!

If you are still struggling to find the expiration date on your seat you should check your car seat manual because they will show you where the date is on your seat.

The Chicco MyFit Harness + Booster Car Seat

We have used a variety of different car seats and car seat brands with our son over the years and Chicco is included in that bunch of car seats. My sons newest seat is the Chicco MyFit Harness + Booster Car Seat. This was an upgrade from an old seat that got damaged during our move a couple months ago.

I was unsure about switching to a Harnessed Booster, but he was just turned forward-facing and exceeded the minimum requirements for this seat. I love that this seat is an easy install in my 2016 Ford Escape so that if it needs to be loved it can be without much difficulty. My son also loves the attached cup holders and the arm rests.

Previously in my car we had a Diono Radian with one hanging cup holder that always got detached by my lovely son. It also had no side which was nice for me, but he disliked that he had no arm rest to use. He now has arm rests and two cup holders.

Chicco MyFit Harness + Booster Car Seat shown with the folded (collapsed) cup holder.

One thing that many people like about the Diono is the fact that without the cup holders the car seat is slimmer than others and can fit 3 in a row much easier. This Chicco Seat has cup holders that fold in so that you can save space and fit more seats in one row than you can with other seats. This definitely is a perk for large families. The fact that this seat is also lighter than some seats like the Diono is a huge perk to me because I could barely lift the Diono seat to love it if needed.

Overall I would say that this seat really makes me feel like my son is safe and is accessible for him as well as for me! A huge perk for someone who struggles with car seats on a regular basis.

How do you keep your child safe in the car?

Coping With Parenting Guilt

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Mom guilt is real; parenting guilt is real We all deal with it to some extent, but god some days are hard. We feel guilty about working or not having enough time for our children. In those moments we hold our babies close and shower them with our love and affection, but what do you do when you can’t shower your child with affection when you feel guilty?

There really isn’t anything you can do. We are only human after all. It doesn’t help to just say it happens to everyone so let’s just brush it off. We can’t say this because we can’t always just brush it off and keep living. Instead we dwell on our fear and start to view other parents as being the perfect parent when really no one is perfect. That is why I have started to trick my mind.

Make that parenting guilt run away!

When that parenting guilt really starts to sink in and I cannot think of anything other than how I am a terrible mother because of a million different reasons, I just take a moment to breathe. I have an Apple watch and I use the Breathe app to take a minute to just focus on my breathing. After this minute I sit there and think about all the things that make me a great mom.

I think about how I …

  • helped teach my son to crawl, and walk
  • have bouts of crazy laughter and fun with my son
  • help him to grow and become a strong little boy
  • am not perfect, and that is okay
  • am stronger than I ever knew I was

All of this and so much more reminds me that I am a good mom and it helps to ease my mom guilt. It helps me to realize that we all deal with parenting guilt and that it can build us up if we let it instead of knocking us down.

How do you deal with parenting guilt?

MommyCon Chicago- 2018 Must See Sessions

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For the third year I am a MommyCon Blogger Collective member and for the second year I am a MommyCon Parent Squad member and I want to share with you my top picks for this years MommyCon Chicago event! The event is only days away and I can’t be more excited. Grab your tickets at MommyCon.com now before they are gone! Of course make sure you use my discount code: PRESERVINGMOMMA18 as well. Now on to the good stuff!

MommyCon Friday Sessions (only accessed with VIP or the 3-day pass)

When you look at this session list for Friday you will see that there are two VIP sessions. If you purchase(d) a VIP ticket then I highly recommend you going to both of these sessions because they are special sessions that you won’t want to miss out on. With that being said I will now go into my picks without VIP tickets.

Session 1:00-1:45pm

There are two top picks for me. I would say that my top pick would be Building Community through Facebook Groups with Xza Higgins. I would choose this because I am always looking to meet new moms and learn ways to keep in touch with my community. Xza is also the founder of MommyCon and I love hearing her speak. So, if you are a mom looking to get involved with your community like I am then you might want to select this session.

My second pick for this time slot would be Got 6 Minutes? Let’s Make Dinner! This is my second choice because if I wasn’t struggling with community so much I would say the next biggest struggle I go through is figuring out fast meals to make that are healthy. I am always down to learn more about good dinner routines.

Session 2:00-2:45pm

As much as I love Matt York I would select Let’s Talk about Sex (after) Baby. This would be my choice because I feel like so many people are scared to talk about sex after having a baby and it’s an important topic to discuss. MommyCon is also a safe venue where if you have questions you can comfortably ask them without being judged.

Session 3:00-3:45pm

While you usually wouldn’t catch me suggesting a session like this I will say that I would select Parent and Child Yoga. I selected this because I think it’s healthy to create a fitness routine with your children. Yoga is often difficult for someone like me who is physically disabled, but I like to challenge myself and work on my flexibility and balance even when it’s difficult. I also know my son will never judge me or hurt my feelings when I struggle.

MommyCon Saturday Sessions

Session 10:00-11:00am

I chose my topic based on the age of my son and the fact that sometimes you need some me time. I would choose Turning Red to Green because it is a topic I don’t know a lot about, but feel is important. I would love to learn to use reusable menstration products.  I know they will keep me healthier and they are better for the environment.  Before disposable pads and tampons existed women used reusable products and I feel like I’d like to get back into that.

Session 11:15-12:00pm

This next topic is one I feel is necessary for me. I chose the From Weaning to Nursery School.  My son is 2 years old and we are discussing preschool in the fall.  There is so much that needs to be done in order to get him to that point and I believe that this session will really help me to know what steps to take to get him there.

Session 1:00-2:00pm

This one is tough for me to choose I always want to sit in with the Sleep Consulations because my son has sleeping problems and I love learning as much as I can to help aid him in better sleep.  The problem is that the Potty Training session is happening at the same time and that is a must have stop for us.  We will be potty training this year and I am a nervous wreck about it.

Session 3:00-3:45pm

Crouching Mommas, Hidden Cameras is my final stop in the sessions. I seem to get terrible photos or no photos at all and I really want to change that. I can’t afford to constantly get professional photos taken and I want to step up my mom photo taking game.  I think this session will be a game changer for me.

What sessions are you planning on attending?