Nap Time Drama-Update!

I know most people who read my post on Nap Time drama and have a little one themselves understood what i was going through:-)
I got the most feedback about that post, and i would like to give you a little update on how my nap time drama is going now.

Layla now goes to sleep on her own!  It's amazing and it just took some consistency on my part. I realized i was the one to blame for the nap time meltdowns, because i gave into them.

There were times that i wanted to cuddle with her to help her go to sleep, and while i will not ever say cuddling with your child is a bad thing, you need to know the difference between doing it for them and doing it for you.

I was doing it for me!  I was being selfish and wanted that closeness with her and also didn't want to deal with the meltdown that would happen if i layed her down in her crib and "made" her go to sleep.  Layla was following MY cues.  She knew that if she cried loud enough and long enough Mommy would come back in and  cuddle her until she fell asleep.  But that's when the dreaded transfer i talked about in the last post would happen.  I would try and transfer her into her crib and she would wake up and cry for me to hold her again and as soon as i picked her up she would instantly fall asleep!

How am I, or any mother for that matter supposed to get ANYTHING done, if you are engaging and playing with your child when they are awake and then cuddling with them and holding them when they are asleep.  There are no hand free times during the day to get anything else done.  So i put my foot down.

Layla now knows that when i put her in her crib and cuddle her up with her blankets(make sure your child is old enough and mobile enough to have blankets in their crib) and turn on her soft music that it is time for sleep. I wont say she wont stand up and cry for a couple minutes but the more consistent i am with this process the less time she actually cries.  Every day the crying got less until she finally just stopped.

She sometimes gets up and looks around after i lay her down to see where i am and see if she could get away with some nap time drama and get held again.  But she now knows, and this only took about a week and a half consistently having the same nap time routine, that when Mommy leaves the room it is time to go to sleep.  And she does.

Children are so incredibly intelligent and can pick up on things quickly, but they are taking the cues from you.  If you let them they will continually give you some nap time drama until you give in.  But if you put your foot down and gently ease into a routine that they can grasp and understand, they will feel more comforted and you will get a lot more done during your day!

So here are the Main things i think helped me in this process...

1. Have a Routine.
      -Nap around the same time every day.
      -The same Soft music playing every Nap time.
      -The same lead up to nap time everyday.(Bottle, snack, Sippy cup, show,song...something they can connect with winding down for nap.  We are still using a bottle but this will change when she turn one and we will have to find something else that she connects with napping)
2. Be Consistent.(The crying is hard to hear,I know!  But everyday it will get easier for you and your child, and in the long run your child will feel more comforted and safe by knowing the same thing is going to happen everyday.)
3. Don't rush in as soon as they crying happens. (I may still go in one or two more times with Layla, but it is just to lay her down again and cuddle her up with some blankets and usually after one time of me going in  and doing this she knows there is no point in the fight and just goes to sleep.)
4. Trust your instincts.(Your a Momma and you know your baby way better than I do, do what you feel is right for your little one.)

So Happy to be getting back into the blogging mode:-)
I hope you keep stopping in to see whats happening at Mama's Cozy Corner( and Mama's Cozy Boutique for that matter!)

Layla learned "So Big"....she is getting so big i cant handle it!!!

Cherish Life

I am so incredibly thankful for my family and don't know what I would do if I lost Layla or James.  But, that's what almost happened last night.
James and I were driving home last night, after having an amazing and relaxing weekend at my parents house in Boynton Beach, when we were rear ended on I95.  We were going about 70 and who knows how fast the other car was going.  He rammed right into us and then drove off as fast as he could go.  We are all thankfully all okay and it was late at night so there were no other cars on the road, and we got safely to the side.
James and I have a little back pain but Layla was perfectly fine as well as our Basset Hound, Dude.

There were not enough kisses and "I love you"'s from us when we knew we were safe.  Layla was confused of course why Mommy and Daddy were crying and kissing her little face as much as they could.  She is such a trooper and all of it didn't even face her, even staying awake until after 2am so she could get checked out at the ER.

Family is the most blessed and amazing gift you can have in your life and that is why i am writing this today.  Just stop for a moment today and kiss and hug the ones you love, you have no idea what the next day could bring or take away.

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

Agatha Christie

Cozy and Cozier thoughts

I am so sorry i haven't posted for a few days, i feel awful but life just caught up with me and i got busy...I know all the Mommy's out there will understand.

Here's a Cozy thought to Hold everyone over...Also Please check out the survey on the right side bar so i know what everyone is really interested in hearing about:-)

COZYTHOUGHT:
"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the Other, wings."
                                                                                                      -Hodding Carter

oh the joys of motherhood:-) haha!!!!

5 Things You Should Do With Your Child DAILY!!

1.Tell them "I love you"
2.Laugh with them.
3.Read them a book
4.Hug Them.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...
5.Listen to your children!!!!!

COZY THOUGHT:
"CHILDREN NEED LOVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY DON'T DESERVE IT."
                                                                                                                                        -Harold Hulbert


(can you tell i have been watching a lot of Nanny 911 today?) 

Cozy Thought 1

COZY THOUGHT:

"THE MOST IMPORTANT THING A FATHER CAN DO FOR HIS CHILDREN IS TO LOVE THEIR MOTHER"
-UNKNOWN

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS QUOTE AND ALL THE TRUTH IT HOLDS!

Another Cozy Thought

COZYTHOUGHT:

"We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another."
 - Lucretius

Cozy Thoughts

COZY THOUGHT

When babies look beyond you and giggle, maybe they're seeing angels.
                                                                        -Eileen Elias Freeman

Signing Baby

     I know most mothers want to use sign language with there babies, it's on your To Do list of awesome mothering techniques your are going to use once your baby is born.  Then you have your baby, and in between diapers, feedings, spit up, crawling, walking, reading and everything else that happens in a babies life, you kind of get side tracked, and that baby sign language just doesn't seem as important or as easy to do as it did before your little munchkin actually arrived. 

I am here to say that it really is so much easier than you probably think.

All you really have to do is learn a couple signs for words you use pretty often and then when you are saying these words aloud implement the Sign along with it.

One of my FAVORITE websites for Baby Sign Language is...

http://www.babysignlanguage.com/basics/getting-started/

This is where i have learned all the sign i use with Layla and all the basics for starting to use sign on an everyday basis.

Start Simple. With about 5 Signs.
What words do you say most often to your baby during the day?

1."Bottle" or "Milk", I use the sign for "milk" for bottle and you can also
 use it when you breastfeed, and when your baby starts
drinking actual milk, they already know the sign.


2. "More"-  This is most kids favorite signs and it is a very simple one, you can use this when you are giving them food or reading them a book.  Whenever you are giving them the option if having "more" of something!




3. "Finished" or "done"- This one is one of my favorites,
you can use it at all the same times you can use "more",
when your asking if he is "finished" eating.  Or if he is "done"
reading that book.

4. "Mommy"- Of course this is going to be one of the first signs you want your little one to learn, it was the first one i taught to Layla!

5. "Daddy", is very similar to "Mommy", most female and male signs are the same sign, the male sign is just done above the nose and then female below.  So the sign for "Daddy" is the same as the sign for "Mommy", just above the nose:-)





     Those are 5 Great signs to start off with.  As your Baby grows then you can teach them more and more signs.  I recommend always saying the word along with signing it.  The website i use has many more signs and even video showing you how to do the signs if it is hard to tell exactly from the picture!

Later This Week I am going to go into why signing with your baby is so beneficial, and maybe even show you a couple more fun signs to use throughout your Day!

I hope you all enjoyed this Post, Layla is up from Nap now though, so it is time for me to go:-)

Have a Wonderful day and here is your Cozy Thought.


COZYTHOUGHT-
 Babies are a link between angels and men.

                                         -Unknown

   

Happy mothers day

I hope all you mother out there had an amazing Mothers Day!!

Tell me About what YOUR family did for you that was special this year!!!

I got breakfast in bed and a sweet card. We went to the beach and mom got a relaxing afternoon reading and napping:). And champagne of course:)

Here's your CozyThought for this wonderful day...

COZYTHOUGHT-
If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go that a prayer has not already been. -Robert Brault

Cozy Thoughts

COZYTHOUGHT-
“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” 
― Dr. Seuss

Mama's Cozy Boutique

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MamasCozyBoutique

                                                                                                                                                                  I started Mama's Cozy Boutique about 6 months ago, honestly only learning how to knit a small time before i started my business.  The name was originally MommyMade but was recently changed to the ever charming Mama's Cozy Boutique that goes oh so sweetly paired up with Mama's Cozy Corner.  I started small creating baby scarfs.

 After my creating quite a few baby scarves, people started requesting headbands.  I didn't think i was going to be able to deliver the kind of product people were looking for.  To my surprise, i loved creating the headbands and couldn't wait to show them off on my baby girl.  As soon as i started showing them off, people started to show more interest and i decided to add them to my Etsy page and make them part of Mama's Cozy Boutique's regular inventory.            



After the Headbands came The scarf and Headband sets, which are one of my personal favorites as well as beanies.

And Mama's Cozy Boutique decided not to stop at knitted items and expanded to Custom hand painted wine glasses.

And Now candle holders/vases.

Some new items from Mama's Cozy Boutique include headbands with removable bows that can be worn with or without the Headbands!!

Check out the shop and Remember i can Custom Make any of the above Items:-)  Have a wonderfully Fantastic Day and here's your Cozy Thought for the Day! 

COZYTHOUGHT-

Kids go where there is excitement. They stay where there is love.

-Zig Ziglar

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Nap Time Drama

Anyone Else have Nap Time Drama with there little one?
I get all Cozy with Layla and give her a bottle and she falls peacefully asleep and THEN the dreaded Transfer happens.  I want to lay her in her bed so that i can get some things done...like writing this blog for instance, but she has other plans.  As soon as i lay her down her cute little head pops up and she is reaching for me with all the strength her tired little body can muster.  Here wherein my problem lies..

Do I pick her up?
Do I cuddle with her again until she falls back asleep? and then try to transfer again?
Do I leave her in her crib and let her cry it out until she falls asleep?
If I choose to let her cry, for how long? When is enough enough and instead of laying down the law i am actually traumatizing the poor girl?
AND if i let her cry and it gets too much for me and I go back in and pick her up am i undoing all the progress i 'thought' i was making?

I was not planning on writing a Blog about this today but it seemed so appropriate when i was standing outside my daughters door while she was screaming her little head off and I couldn't help but thinking I was traumatizing her, and on the other hand not wanting her to think she can pull one over on me and cry until i get her out of her crib and she gets what she wants.

Eventually, after about 30 minutes of letting her cry, i went back in and rocked her back to sleep and made a successful transfer!  I struggled with this decision but it obviously worked out for the best.

I believe Children cannot really be spoiled at such a young age, they need to know that there parents are there and will be there when they need them.  At Layla's age babies are learning cause and effect, when i cry and I am upset then Mom will come and comfort me.  I also believe there is a balance to this.  You have to judge for yourself and use those motherly instincts to know whether or not this is a cry that means she really does need you or she is just trying to get what she wants.  Mothers Know there babies and know their cries, Trust yourself and do what you feel is right.  Motherly instincts are AMAZING in this area!

That is why i went back in and cuddled with my baby girl.  I know she needed the reassurance that i am still there and that it is OK to go back to sleep because i would be there when she woke up as well.  I stayed In her room and kept telling her over and over again that it was nap time and she needed to rest.  You may not think that a 9 month old can understand something like this but when it is put into context over and over again, day in and day out, she will soon understand that nap time means i am not leaving this room until i fall asleep and leave Mommy alone for a little while :-)
The really Amazing thing is....she's still asleep and i am done writing this blog:-)  Just a little more quiet time to get things done before she wakes up and plays for a little while and we have to start the whole Nap Time Drama all over again:-)

I Love being a Mom!  Best Job Ever!

And Here's Your COZYTHOUGHT for the day-
"A mother understands what a child does not say."  ~Author Unknown

Get Caught Reading Month!

       MAY IS GET CAUGHT READING MONTH!!!!

Layla and I have already Read These Books today:-)

                                    WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU GOING TO GET CAUGHT 

                                                           READING TODAY??????

                                                      http://www.getcaughtreading.org/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MamasCozyBoutique

Read to your Baby often

Every Mother knows That reading to their children is one of the most important things you can do, but it's hard sometimes when you cant even get your little one to sit still long enough for a diaper change let alone Story time.  

Then Don't make them.  Really, your little love bug does not have to sit completely still for multiple books to still get the benefit of you reading to them.  Babies(once they started crawling) are on the move and want to explore and by exploring they are learning more than you know, so trying to get them to sit for long periods of time is basically a no go.

Try these simple little tips to help you and your baby get the full benefit of Reading together...

#1. Don't make them sit still.

When you are playing with them on the floor, have a book ready and when your little one comes by and sits for a little while near you, read them a few pages.  It may not be the entire book, but when they are young content is not the concept of reading anyways(Not all the time at least).

Reading Aloud

-teaches a baby about communication

-introduces concepts such as stories, numbers, letters, colors, and shapes in a -fun way

-builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills

-gives babies information about the world around them

(http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/all_reading/reading_babies.html)

 #2. Use Touch and Feel Books. 

Layla LOVES Touch and Feel Books and usually only sits still if that's what we are Reading.  Touch and Feel books engage Multiple senses which make it more interesting for the knowledge craving little one and more fun because it physically gives them something to do besides just sit and listen.

(These are just 2 of her favorite Touch and Feel Books, that i got at a consignment shop for a dollar a piece! http://www.classykidssusie.com/)

#3. Be aware of Their Moods. 

Sometimes babies just do NOT want to be read to at that moment in time.  They have too many other things that need to be explored and they need to do it RIGHT NOW.  At some point during the day they will want to sit and listen to a story and when they are, Be ready! and read to them as much as you can.

#4,  Have a toy on hand as well as a book.

It gives them something else to keep their attention and help them sit in one place while they get to hear your voice and start understanding the concept of sitting and listening to a story time.

#5. Use a Prop at Story Time.

I like to use Layla's sock Monkey while reading her books about Body parts and then have her point to the different body parts while i read the book.

This also incorporates #4 because it gives her something to pay attention to as well as the book.

#6. Let THEM turn the pages.

Layla's favorite thing to do is turn the pages in books.  I started helping her when she was only a couple months old and by the time she was 5 months old she would turn the pages on her own.  It's amazing to watch her wait until i stop reading a page and then comprehend that its time to turn the page and then do it..

#7. Use Funny Voices.

When Layla starts to lose focus on a book, i switch up my voice and most of the time i get an automatic head turn and she is interested yet again.  Change your voice multiple times while reading a book and give different emotions to different characters.  This helps their social and emotional development as well as give the other adults around you a little chuckle.

That's all for Today.  I hope these tips helped, i know they work for me:-)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MamasCozyBoutique

"COZY THOUGHTS" are going to be a Daily sweet thought, quote, saying...anything that could make you feel just a little cozier inside:-)  Today's COZY THOUGHT...


COZY THOUGHTS-
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.
Rabindranath Tagore

Just the start...

I want to introduce myself, my name is Carrie Mae Holliman and I am the owner of Mama's Cozy Boutique.  I started up my boutique(original name, MommyMade) when Layla was around 3 months old and i wanted to dress my baby girl up:-)  What Mother of a cute little baby girl doesn't want to accessorize with every tiny and adorable little outfit they have?!

Well I did!!! And since learning to knit from my sister-in-law a couple years ago and going through the trial and errors that come with starting any new venture i found a passion in Knitting accessories.
Creating something beautiful out of something so simple was amazing to me and once i started i just couldn't stop.
Thus became my business. i asked through trusty old Facebook if anyone would be interested in purchasing my baby scarves and when i got more than 10 responses of people basically ordering custom scarves i decided to make an Etsy page and start it up for real.http://www.etsy.com/shop/MamasCozyBoutique

I am still in the beginning stages of this business venture and that's extremely exciting to me!  I have grown and now also make custom wine glasses and soon i will be making candle holders and painted vases.

This Blog is going to be SO much more than just a blog about my business.  i want to talk about motherhood mostly because i believe it is the most amazing adventure than anyone can go on and it's something i would talk about constantly if i could.  How to teach and inspire our children while they do the same for us i believe is the basic wonderment of life...what could really be better?!

I have a lot of ideas about what to talk about on here but if you have any ideas that you would like to share with me i would be GLAD to touch on the subject!
I was a preschool teacher for about 10 years and have always been a mother at heart(so extremely ecstatic that i really am a mother now).  If there is something that i don't know the answer to, i can always find it!

Thanks so much for following my Blog and please just stick around and wait for whats to come...i have oh so many ideas:-)

Check out my Etsy page if you would like to see more of Mama's Cozy Boutique Items, and Remember Custom making something special for you or your family is one of my favorite things to do so please private message me if you would like to order something different than what you see in the shop!http://www.etsy.com/shop/MamasCozyBoutique

Topics to look forward to...
-Reading to your Children
-Crafts fir Kids
-Routines for kids'
-Everyday aspects of motherhood/small business owner
-Easy Recipes
-Sign Language for the kiddos.....
........and much more!