Beware Nursemaid's elbow!

Just a quick warning about something we didn't really think would happen to us.  We ended up at the urgent care clinic this weekend with Isaac because of something called nursemaid's elbow.  In short, it's when the a baby's elbow becomes dislocated after being twirled, or pulled by the wrists or arms.  Isaac LOVES (loved now,) to have daddy or mommy spin him in the backyard, or swing him up when we're both holding his hands, etc.  But this weekend, we learned the hard way that we really shouldn't be doing that.  He's totally fine now, but the doctor had to pop the bone back into place and he was pretty crabby the rest of the afternoon.  A dose of motrin later, and he's totally back to normal, but I just wanted to let you guys know about it.  We can still swing and twirl him, but it has to be with us holding him under his armpits.  Hope everyone is doing well!  http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/bones/nursemaid.html

transitions

We have officially made the transition from crib to "big girl bed"! I am pleasantly (surprised and) pleased to say that it was almost entirely drama-free. We got Laine an Elmo book called "Big Enough for a Bed" which we read a lot in the days leading up to the big change, and we made sure to talk a lot about her sleeping in her big bed that day. We had already moved all of her toys, her table, and pretty much everything else into her new room (we are keeping the nursery the same and Laine gets a new girly room!), so she already identified the room as "hers". We decided to let her try her first time in the bed at night rather than nap time. I had her get her important night time stuff out of her crib and bring it to her new bed (she sleeps with a blankie, a pacifier, and her special bear) and then we followed all of the same bedtime routines, just in the different room. She was up singing and talking to herself for a while, but stayed in bed and slept until 8 the next morning! She took her nap in bed the next day and then slept another full night last night. So far it has been easy and seamless and I could not be more relieved or thankful.

Next big step... more aggressive potty training. We have a potty in the bathroom and she has used it a few times, but it has in no way been consistent and we haven't pushed her to do it. A lot of times she just wants to sit on it but not take off her diaper. Anyone else looking at starting any potty routines? I think it's kind of an intimidating process, but after having an easy time with the bed move (so far) my confidence is a little bit boosted.

How are all of your "big kids" doing???

Greer

How do you spoil your baby?

We all spoil our babies in one way or another. Obviously I do, because, as you can tell from the heading, I still call Hadley a baby even though she is 1 1/2 years old now! I also have to admit that I still rock her and listen to a few lullabies before putting her down for the night. It is my absolute favorite part of the day! So I am spoiling her a little bit with that--but the good part is I rarely ever have trouble getting her to go to sleep at night. How do ya'll spoil your babies?