Baby fights back

Baby D often gets a hard time. He has two older sisters who poke him, prod him, sit on him, whack him, shake him. All in the name of love and affection of course. Rough love.

I keep trying to tell the girls that one day he'll be big and will be able to fight back. They look at me like: "Yeah, whatever."

I think his day of retribution is not far off. I think it's already begun.

Friday Fun - Herbal Essences

A little while ago, Lil-lil told me that she was going to buy me some special shampoo so I could become a rock star. I had no idea what she was talking about but I liked the idea, if only it were that easy! A few days later she pointed at the TV and said that was the rock star shampoo. It was an ad for the Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly range.

Fast forward to now and Herbal Essences are offering The Daze of My Life readers the chance to win two winter hair care packs. They may not turn you into a rock star, but their floral scents will mean you can have a little steamy tropical holiday in your shower.

The packs are worth of $60 and include:

• Herbal Essences Drama Clean shampoo and conditioner
• Herbal Essences None of Your Frizziness shampoo and conditioner
• The entire Tousle Me Softly styling range
• A treatment product
• A Supersized Set Me Up hairspray
• (See images below for what's included in the pack)

To win, comment below and tell me what your favourite song to sing in the shower is. It would also be great (but not necessary) if you could follow The Daze of My Life and like my Facebook page.

The best two comments, judged by me (or someone nominated by me), will win a pack. Entries close, 11.59pm Thursday May 31, 2012. Open to Aussie residents only (sorry). Please include your email address if it's not on your log-in.

Vtech Storio winner

Happy Friday all.

I'm here to announce the winner of the VTech Storio winner. I got my mum to judge the entries as I knew so many of the lovely people and I didn't want to be biased.

So the winner, as chosen by Mrs Daze Sr, is

Sarah of Somerville Lane.

Congratulations, Sarah. Email me your address and your choice of Storio (Cars 2 or Dora) and I'll get it send out to you.

Mothering mums

I know I have harped on about my non-sleeping children, but please, let me write this one last post. Non-sleeping kids is the most boring topic on the planet but, it may just help you, or someone you know.

When Lil-lil was a wee babe she rarely slept, except for short bursts. I remember being in Adelaide hotel room when she was about 6 weeks old, standing an a weird angle in the middle of the room in the middle of the night. They only position Lil would sleep in. I would slowly go to sit down and her eyes would pop open and she'd start crying. How on earth can I stand here?? This is insane. But stand there I did.

That girl, god love her, almost broke me. In fact, sometimes I think she did break me. The severe sleep deprivation was beyond my belief. When she was 12 weeks old, I did a residential stay at Tresillian, a centre in NSW that provides mothers with support and settling techniques. I went there feeling like a total failure, but was the best thing I could ever have done. The nurses there gave me the most amazing support. Lil started sleeping better, not great but better. Even better was the rest that I caught up on, the support and the kindness I received. Those Tresillian nurses are angels.

Over the years and three kids later I have been back to Tresillian a few times, have called their hotline countless times and even tried out their online chat service. I can honestly say, I think that motherhood may have broken me if it wasn't for the support that Tresillian has given me over the years.

A few weeks ago, I was invited by Johnson's Baby to a talk by a leading sleep expert, Dr Alex Bartle, at a Tresillian centre.

As well as Dr Bartle, staff from Tresillian got up and spoke about their history and the services they offer. I burned bright red as little did they know they were preaching to their choir.

There was so much information at the event but the two big things I took away were:

• In a recent international study, Chinese mums were found to have the most amount of sleep issues with their babies. Dr Bartle said he believed this was because Chinese families lived in close quarters and were more disturbed by their babies murmerings than in places where families lived in big(ger) homes. I now call our house the China Syndrome, as I think this has a lot to do with our situation. Five of us in a small 2-bedroom home....
• While talking to one of the Tresillian staff, she said it's not just about helping babie but about supporting mums. Everyone needs a little mothering and a little taking care of,  even mums (ESPECIALLY mums), this is a big part of what Tresillian do. I certainly felt that when I've been at Tresillian. And by mothering I don't mean being told what to do, but being asked if you're ok and being encouraged to have a lie down or a cup of tea while they watch bub. Hell, I've even been literally tucked into bed by a Tresillian nurse.

Unfortunately, not everyone has access to a Tresillian centre, but the Tresillian Live Advice instant messaging service can be accessed on your smart phone or laptop around the world. So, you can have access to a registered Tresillian nurse even if you're pushing your child on a swing at the park. No more having to listen to the Greensleeves hold music. Johnson's Baby have sponsored the Tresillian Live Advice service 100%, which I think is amazing, kudos to them for doing that. [The rest of the Tresillian services are funded by the NSW state government as well as other sponsorship and donations]

If you're a mum who has sleep or feeding issues or any baby issues (and who doesn't?!) visit www.tresillian.net for information about how you can access the mobile Tresillian Live Advice service.

This post was not sponsored. I wrote it purely because I believe in the Tresillian services and wanted to give back after they have given so much to me. 

Mini style stars

Some comments on my post yesterday about Goosey's wig and Goose coming out dressed for preschool this morning clad in a pair of checked shorts and a sparkly singlet, got me thinking.

Most parents I know start out with having set clothing style for their babies. Often it's an extension of their own style or something they wished they wore as kids. As the babies turn into kids they start to develop their own style and sometimes the battles begin.

From a really young age, Lil-lil has been very particular about what she wears. It must be "beautiful", it can't be pants and it must be pink, purple or another occasionally another beautiful colour. This started around the age of two and has stayed strong ever since. I can't for the life of me get her in jeans, "Jeans are just yucky, Mum" so last winter it was skirts/dresses and tights. She won't wear sneakers, just beautiful ballet flats or mary-janes. She likes to accessorise. The only time she will wear pants in when she goes to get an early coffee with her dad on the weekend, but she'll change out of them as soon as she gets home. She looks really cute in pants and she also looks amazing in blue, but it's not a beautiful colour apparently.

Goose will pretty much wear anything but it's dependant on her mood. Like this morning, she decided it was a checked shorts and sparkly singlet kind of day, despite being freezing cold. Once she's made up her mind on an outfit, it takes some convincing. In the end a compromise was made, she wore jeans and a long top under the sparkly singlet. She looked pretty ridiculous, but she thought she looked great.

Lil-lil tells me she wants to be a 'fashion star' when she grows up. Well, actually it's a fashion star vet, but we're talking fashion today. She loves to put outfits together, most of the time they are mismatched and clash, but she's over-the-moon with her creations. As she has to wear a uniform during the week and spends Monday to Friday being told what to do, I figure her outfits on the weekend give her a choice, freedom and creativity. Even if I do have to bite my tongue at some of the things she wears. Sometimes I make a suggestion, but if the clothes are weather and occasion appropriate, I let it slide.

One of Lil's friends is a complete tomboy, she only wears her brother's hand-me-downs (including school uniform). Her mother is very stylish and always looks put-together. I asked the mum this morning how she felt about her daughter not wanting to wear pretty or nice clothes, she just shook her shoulders and said: "That's just her."

I know that this would kill a lot of parents, who feel their kids' appearance reflects upon them. I know parents who feel it's really important to dress a certain way, which is fine and I understand that. For me, I'm not too bothered, the only thing I don't really like is kids dressing like adults.

In saying that, one of Goose's friends dresses like a miniature of her mum - skinny jeans, cropped cardis, ballet flats, maxi-dresses. I always thought it was strange, until her grandmother told me it was the little girl who insisted she wear the same type of clothes as her mum, not the other way round.

There are those kids who wouldn't think twice about clothes and will happily put on whatever is laid out for them. Then there are those who want to be a fireman or a fairy, all day, every day. Or want to wear their PJs to the park or only wear a certain colour (I knew a little boy who would only wear purple) or a certain item of clothing (or won't wear a certain item of clothing as in Lil's case). Often it's just a phase and another odd fashion phase will come along soon. Sometimes it's long-lasting, just like Lil's pant aversion.

Yesterday, Lil got mud all over her winter tunic and so I said she had to wear trackies. She put them on and when I asked how she felt, she said she was worried her teacher wouldn't recognise her. The tunic went back on today, but I think she just might wear trackies again. The world didn't end after all.

Do you like your kids to wear certain clothing or have a certain style? Do you enforce it? Do you let  your child go out in clothing of their own choice, even if it looks odd? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Wigging out

I'm not an attention seeker. I'm the kind of person who really quite enjoys flying under the radar, blending into the background. For example, I recently was at a party and met a mother from Lil's school, she said that I mustn't do the school run because she'd never seen me before and she knew everyone. She was shocked when I said I'd been their every morning and afternoon.

My kids are the complete opposite. From babies they've loved attention. They will talk to anyone and everyone they come across in the street, which is incredibly painful for me. They love to create a scene and be at the heart of the action. They make sure that everyone knows who they are.

Today was just another example. For the past six months, Goose has been tying toilet paper to her hair, she thinks it makes her look like Rapunzel. It drives me bonkers. In an effort to cut down our toilet paper consumption I went to the $2 shop and bought her the longest, out-there wig I could find. It was love, a complete success. Except..... she now won't take the bloody thing off. She wears it to the shops, to preschool, to Lil's school, she even wears it to bed.

To say she attracts attention in it is an understatement. She had the playground at Lil's school alight this morning as the kids and the parents laughed and watched this mop-headed child run around. Even the mum who swore she'd never seen me nodded an acknowledgement.

I wonder how long this attachment is going to last?!

Flying solo

If you've been reading the past few days, you'll know that I'm solo parenting this week.

That dinner/bath/bed hour is chaotic and even more so when you're doing it on your own. D's at that age where he's hungry and tired and just cries for an hour or more. The girls are loud too. Juggling baths and meals and getting them all into bed is exhausting.

I also miss that adult conversation. Sharing what went on in your days.

But... as with everything, it's not all bad. So to focus on the positive and get through another week, here are the positives about being the only adult in the house.

• I make dinner and bed earlier, so I can dinner and bed earlier too
• I can make simple meals. Beans on toast, if need be.
• I can have complete control of the remote and watch shows like The Voice or Wife Swap without judgement.
• I can sleep diagonally in bed and hog the doona.
• I don't have to share the Tim-Tams
• You get a chance to miss each other and appreciate him when he comes home. 

What's your favourite thing to do when you've got the house to yourself?