Simply Bao

A Lifestyle Blog

Giving Up The Bottle, Cold Turkey!

We are a little over a month now of getting Keira off of the bottle! Woo hoo! I wanted to share some advice on how we we gave up the bottle, cold turkey.  I know it is scary and seems cruel to take away one of your child’s only piece of comfort since birth but in our case we had to.

1. DON’T GIVE UP! It is hard, I know.  Even if it takes you several times.  Just keep trying.  You will succeed! Know that everything and everyone will be fine.  You will be okay and so will your child.  You will have to hear them cry and have multiple meltdowns and as much as it hurts you to know that you’re the one causing them the tears…know that you’re doing your best!

2. DON’T LOOK BACK! I think what really worked for me was not looking back.  I literally counted the minutes that had past from her very last bottle and used that as motivation to move forward.  I did not want to have to restart the whole process.  I did not want to put all of us in the situation that we were before where one of us was trying to soothe her from her tears.  For example, I kept telling myself “okay, we’ve made it past 12 hours” and then it was 15 and 24 and pretty soon we were two days without a bottle.  This really worked for me!

This was about 12 hours after her last bottle. She was eating her peanut butter sandwich from her lunch earlier to put herself to sleep. As much as I wanted to give her a bottle…we had already come so far.

 

3. DO NOT FEEL GUILTY! You know your child more than anyone does.  It’s okay to listen to what other parents have to say but take it for what it is.  I like to say that there is a balance to everything, including parenting.  There is no wrong way or right way to raise a child but a balance of everything that you know and we try to make the right decisions along the way, hoping that it is right.  My point is that YOU know yourself more than anyone.  Don’t feel guilty for the choices that you make as a parent.  No one has the right to judge you or make you feel like you are not trying your best because YOU ARE!

Going cold turkey and taking her bottle away was the best decision for us.  Please do what is best for your family!  I’m just sharing what worked for us.  We had tried several times since her 12 month check up to wean her off the bottle but we would give in after every twelve hours or so because seeing her sad and hearing her cry was hard! Fast forward to her 18th month check up and her labs for anemia came back positive.  After speaking with her pediatrician about the results and what our options were.  Again, this was the best decision for us.

 

 

How to Turn an Old Desk into Something New!

Hello! Today I wanted to share with you a little project that we did a few months ago. We turned an old desk into something new! I am so in love with this DIY entry table that I had John help me with.  We’re on a pretty tight budget around here so even though I can’t buy every thing new I was able to be creative and turn something old, new!

We had an old desk that we were no longer using so I thought that it would be a great idea to make it into an entry table.  I am so grateful that John puts up with my ideas and he always tries his best to make them happen.

We didn’t remember to take pictures of him cutting up the pieces but he pretty much had to figure out the dimensions that I had in mind for the table and then went to work taking the desk apart and cutting it down to size.  I think the only hard part he had was figuring out how to do redo where to put the brackets for the legs but he did an amazing job!

We (more like John) sanded it and I painted it.  I tried sanding but we did not have a little sanding machine so it had to be done by the old school way and I did not like that part so much.  Anyways, I think it turned out great! It will serve its purpose and I love the color as well.  The lighting here is not the greatest so the picture did not turn out so great.  

The finished entry tableSeriously, finishing this table made me want to start something new and I was thinking of all the things I can paint, lol.  Now on to figuring out some nice and cute decor for Spring! For Christmas, I used it to display the gingerbread house and some other decorations that we had and our Christmas cards!

Looks like Santa made a mess eating the cookies before he left!

After we were done in with this little project, I seriously just wanted to find things so that I can paint.

A Fresh Start in the New Year!

I love the idea of being able to have fresh start in the new year.  I believe that we are constantly growing and learning. It’s also important to take the time to reflect and change the things that we want differently in our lives.  It has taken me a while to learn that but we must change the things in our lives that are simply not working out for us.  Otherwise, how are we suppose to grow and change?

While I love that part of being an introvert allows me to be reflective and introspective, it can be paralyzing.  I am going to write a different story in 2018 and I plan on sharing it…even if it makes me vulnerable.

My number one promise to myself this year is to do what’s right for me.  I’ve have always been the type of person to make my decisions based on whether someone else would approve or not.  I am a people pleaser! I want people to be happy so I am willing to do things to make them happy even if I am sacrificing my own happiness.  I am not saying that I no longer want to make people happy…I’m simply saying that it’s okay if I can’t make everyone happy.

My second promise is to myself is to define my own success.  Someone else’s dreams for themselves is not necessarily mine.  Not everyone is meant to be a doctor, nurse, or teacher…everyone has their own path and that’s okay.  I am finding my path and trying to stay on course.  I am ready for this journey…I’ve spent too much time trying to stay safe and not take any risks.  I need a little more risk and adventure in my life.

My goal is to put in work on myself.  There are so many goals that I want to achieve and myself is just one of them.  I am ready to do the work! 

My Four Easy Steps Skin Care Routine!

I have been trying to take care of my skin as much as possible lately so that on the days when I don’t feel like putting makeup on, I don’t look so bad.  As I am getting older, I’m using makeup to enhance instead of hide all of my imperfections because I have insecurities just like anyone else.  There are things about my skin that could be better but they’re not so I’m learning to accept the things I cannot change.  For instance, I have a HUGE patch of hyper pigmentation (melasma) on my face that is probably never going to go away.  The only thing I can do is to minimize the discoloration.

It is much darker during the summer!

Ok…back to the point of this post, lol.  I wanted to share my skincare routine and the products that I use help my skin.  They are pretty affordable and you can get them at Target or wherever you shop.

 

First, I take off my eye makeup with using eye make up remover.  I use Target’s Up and Up brand because it’s the store brand of Neutrogena’s and it’s pretty comparable.

Photo courtesy of Target

Next, I use Pond’s Cold Cream to take off my face makeup.  I just massage the cream all over my face and let it break down the makeup.  Then, I use warm water to wet my muslin cloth (made from Keira’s old swaddle blankets ;)) to wipe off the dirty makeup.

Photo courtesy of Target

After that I use Cetaphil with my Clarisonic to really deep clean and make sure all of the makeup is taken off.

Photo courtesy of Target

Photo courtesy of Clarisonic.com

Finally, I pour some witch hazel onto a cotton pad and wipe it all over my face as the final cleaning step.  You’ll find that sometimes there’s still makeup left on your face.  It’s crazy!

Photo courtesy of Target

It takes me like 5 to 10 minutes to complete the whole routine.  It’s easy and as a mom sometimes we don’t have all the time in the world to take care of us but it is so important that we do!

If you want, you can use a night cream after.  I don’t because I feel like the cold cream kind of leaves my face moisturized even though it’s not a moisturizer.  I just don’t like the feeling of my face feeling oily because I already have issues with that too.  The only other thing I use sometimes is an eye cream but I ran out and haven’t bought another one.  If you know a good eye cream, let me know! I would like to try it! I can’t do $$$ but I’m down for $ to $$ ;).

Being Grateful

Happy Thanksgiving! We are getting ready to drive out to San Jose to spend the afternoon with our family there but before we do, I just wanted to hop on here and wish all of my two readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! haha.  It has been a rough few months for me and I want to take a moment to share a few things that I am grateful today.

I am grateful for my family.  The last few months have made me realize a lot of things.  It has opened my eyes to what it means to be a family and what it takes to make our family grow (no, we’re not expanding) in a positive and loving environment.  I am especially grateful for John and our two very beautiful children.  I am so blessed and I thank God every day but more so today than ever for all my blessings.

I am also grateful for my health.  I am not where I want to be but I continue this journey every day so that I can be a better version of myself than I was yesterday.  I am not the healthiest at the moment but I am grateful to have the opportunity to wake up each morning and make better choices.  I went for a 4 mile run this morning by myself and I’m writing my goal for next year now.  I am going to run a 5k or 10K next year as part of the Run to Feed the Hungry here in Sacramento.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? I hope you have a great day surrounded by loved ones…whether it’s  friends or family! Enjoy all the yummy deliciousness that awaits you.

A New Tradition?

Happy Tuesday! I am going to be breaking one of my biggest rules that I have during the holidays! Deep breath…I’m going to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving (gasps)! I mean, the weekend before Thanksgiving is not too bad, right? I have seen people decorate right after Halloween! For years, I have refused to decorate until after Thanksgiving because let’s be honest it is becoming like the forgotten holiday that almost everyone rushes through so that we can get to Christmas.  I mean I love Christmas just like everyone else but Thanksgiving has a special place in my heart.

There is no pressure to give the best presents but most importantly because it is a time of reflection for me.  I get the opportunity to be thankful for all of life’s blessing with the people I love the most while stuffing my face! Haha.  However, I think with us moving into the townhouse, having a fireplace (first time ever for the kids) and me just being overly excited for this new adventure that I’m willing to break my own rule.  I feel horrible but I am just so excited! The kids are excited, well..mostly Dylan because Keira doesn’t even know what’s going on.

Here we are at Costco while searching for our tree. I made him take a picture because he’s getting too cool for pictures.

Trying on new things at Target!

We have searched far and wide and found our perfect tree which we plan on getting tonight! I can’t wait to share in future posts about how I am decorating our home for Christmas.  Stay tuned!

 

A Little Update!

It’s November and yes, I’ve been failing on my goals for 2017.  I have been struggling.  I have written so many posts but have chosen to not publicly share because I was afraid.  It’s very hard to put yourself out there on a daily basis in “real life” and yet to do it with blogging is even more terrifying.  I get it, it’s not like I get thousands of hits on this little blog of mine but it’s hard to be vulnerable.  Being judged is one of my greatest fear.  However, I am learning to let go.  Let go of the things that I can’t control.  I can’t control what someone says or thinks about me.  I can only control me and know that I have the best intentions with all that I do.

The last few months has consisted of me doing a lot of thinking.  Which cannot be so great at times to be honest.  I have been trying to look for answers and for meaning to things in my life that I would like to understand better.  One of those searches led me to listening to podcasts on my morning walks with Keira.  One of those podcasts was Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations with Brene Brown.  Brene gives the reason for the title of her book and quotes Theodore Roosevelt.  He said:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” 

Hearing it and now having read the quote gave me a push to do something because I want to be in the arena! I don’t want to look back years from now and regret the things I wish I would’ve said or done.  I want to be unafraid of failure.  To know that it is ok to fail because that’s how we succeed…well, at least that’s what they say :).  I don’t know because I have been to afraid to try anything because I have been afraid of failing.

To feel as though my opinions, whether you agree with them or not, matters! I haven’t figured everything out but I’m looking forward to moving on and learning to love myself along the way.  I am ready for this journey!

Keira is One! Rose Garden Party

Keira is ONE! I can’t believe it! It has been such a remarkable year.  I can’t say how much she’s changed our lives, especially mine.  I was terrified of having a little girl and I’m still a little scared.  I know it sounds silly.  I am not the most girly of girls and I think that having a little girl kind of made me afraid of how I would handle it.  The most amazing lesson in all of this and I should’ve realized it sooner was that she was going to teach me just as much if not more than what I was going to teach her.  The most amazing thing about parenthood is that we learn so much more about ourselves during this whole process than anything else.

There are so many firsts that I will get to experience with her.  Things that will bring me out of my comfort zone as with Dylan but I can’t say enough how much I was meant for motherhood.  I look at these two photos and I’m just simply amazed at how much she has grown.

      

For her birthday, I knew I wanted a birthday theme that included her middle name.  So I started brainstorming a few month before her big day and went with a rose garden theme.  I’m not going to lie and say that I planned her first birthday right after she was born because it’s not true.  As much of a “planner” that I am, I work a lot better under pressure.  It’s not the best way about doing things but it’s what works for me.  The only thing I regret was not having enough time to get myself ready so there were no pictures of me with my baby girl.

We had her party in San Jose at the swim and racquet club.  The older kids were able to go swimming even though it was a bit chilly and cloudy.  It was the main source of entertainment that I had planned because the majority of the kids were older than 5 years old so suffice it to say I was a bit stressed that the weather forecast was not what I was hoping for.  However, the weather was not going to prevent the big kids from the pool.  They went swimming and they looked like they had a blast.

Anyways, without further ado, here are some pictures from Keira’s special day!

How To Limit Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing.  I am by no means fitness goals but I wanted to share a few things that helped me not gain an excessive amount of weight while I was pregnant with Keira.  With my second pregnancy, I knew that I couldn’t do the same things that I did with my first pregnancy, like eating for two or in my case for three ;).  I gained fifty pounds with my pregnancy with Dylan and opted for a c-section because he was measuring big.  I think being a bit older and a little bit wiser since my first definitely helped me make smarter decisions the second time around.

You don’t need to eat for two! I followed a pretty strict diet that my doctor put me on because I am a diabetic.  It’s a diet that pretty much all gestational diabetics are given when they develop diabetes during pregnancy.  I’m not saying that you should follow the same diet but if you eat a nutritious diet and are not literally eating for two you should be able to stay within the recommended guidelines for the amount of safe weight gain for your body type.

Don’t give in to cravings.  Ice cream, pickles, pizza…I get it.  We finally have an excuse to eat whatever we want to eat because it is a lot of work that our bodies go through to create a baby.  However, if we really think about it, how much of these craving is our own needs and not necessarily the baby’s? And does the baby really want half a gallon of ice cream or another slice of pizza?  Probably not.  I will say I ate pickles because they are really low in carbs!! If you’re a diabetic what matters most is the amount of carbs you consume.

Be active! This is so important! I had to stay as active as I could during the pregnancy.  It helped lower my blood sugar and it really made me feel so much better.  I was exercising before I got pregnant so it was not as hard for me during the pregnancy.  I mean don’t go out and run a marathon but something as simple as walking can make a difference.

A good diet and being physically active during pregnancy can not only help you during but after pregnancy as well.  My goal for my second pregnancy was a vbac and I was able to achieve that because I think I had a healthy pregnancy.  I did not gain an excessive amount of weight and Keira was not huge like Dylan.  I really really do believe that when you want something bad enough you’re more than willing to do whatever it takes to get it.  For me that was a healthy baby and a vbac.  My recovery was so much faster! I had such a great pregnancy that I really wouldn’t mind having another one but no, it’s not going to happen!

Whatever your goal is, work for it and be willing to make the necessary sacrifices for it.  You are for the most part going to gain weight.  The weight of the baby is going to add weight to your scale…enjoy the process as much as possible because if you’re like me, you’ll miss being pregnant.  Keeping my blood sugar under control after every meal and going for walks even when I didn’t want to were the things that I had to do to make sure I could achieve my goals.  I noticed such a huge difference with my first and second pregnancy just by really doing these few simple things that I’ve shared.  I really hope they help you too.   Again, I’m just sharing what worked for me.  Every body is different.  Please listen to your doctor regarding what you should do.

2017 Goals

Happy New Year!! I’m not really into New Year’s resolutions only for the simple fact that I’ve failed at so many of them that now I like to focus on small but achievable goals.  I have quite a few this year, both personally and for this blog.  I also thought I would start something new this year and have my word of the the year (see I’m challenging and trying something new already! ;)).  My hope is that I will achieve more than I ever thought I would.  So here are my goals for 2017!

1. The one thing I would like to do more of is put myself first.  I think a lot of times with the many different hats that I wear I tend to put my role as a mom first.  Often I am so busy trying to do everything for everyone else that I forget I need to take care of myself so that I can be present in the moment.  I want to be a better mom, wife, daughter, sister and aunt.

2.  Stop procrastinating.  Ugh! I know I know…I’m really going to utilize my planner this year.  It does help me a lot to have a To-Do List and check things off.  It’s really the only way that I have found to help me work through things.  I’m not going to lie and pretend that I have everything together because I don’t.  I get easily overwhelmed especially when everything needs to be completed at once but organizing my thoughts do work! So yes, more of this please!

3. To challenge myself.  I want to challenge myself to do new things and to put myself out of my comfort zone.  Sometimes I’m so afraid of failing that I don’t even try.  In a way this is for me but also for my kids.  I want them to do things that scare them.  I’m not saying to go jump off a bridge but to take chances and go after their dreams even if it’s out of the norm.  To realize that they have more power over themselves than what other people’s opinions are.  I’m going to try to lead by example is what I’m saying.

4. Create more blog posts.  I know…I only did three in 2016! My goal is to do at least two posts a week.  I’ve put this off long enough because I was doing other doing other things and trying to accomplish a goal that was not my own.  I am excited for what’s ahead.

After reading of few of my favorite bloggers, I thought I too would start a new tradition and share a word of the year.  My word of the year is, BRAVE.  I’m going to be brave this year…whatever or wherever it may bring me.

We are a little over a month now of getting Keira off of the bottle! Woo hoo! I wanted to share some advice on how we we gave up the bottle, cold turkey.  I know it is scary and seems cruel to take away one of your child’s only piece of comfort since birth but […]