Hot Weather and a Wheaton-Pavlik Harness

     Life continues on for us. The heat is finally gone for a few days and I could not be happier!
     We attempted to spend time in the pool and out wandering the mall where it was cooler but there's only so much you can do before battling the heat becomes inevitable. Bed time was probably toughest for us. At first we tried fans but that just gave everyone sore throats, coughs and sniffles and made the heat seem worse.
     We pushed lots of liquids for everyone, though I must admit that sometimes I forget to make sure I get enough. Especially when I have a sore throat from sleeping under our fan! Despite our efforts to keep the kids cool, Froggie still ended up with heat rash on her back which we fought off with a cool bath last night. This prompted me to explore Hip Dysplasia Support boards and pages on Facebook. I posted requesting input as to how to keep a child in a harness cool when air conditioning may not be an option. I got one response.

    "Corn starch helps keep them dry when they sweat...."

     This did not answer my question... The information was helpful and I will probably use it at some point considering Froggie wont even be having x-rays to evaluate the effectiveness of the harness until August. So here is what I've come up with in our last 3 days of nearly 90 degree weather:

    * Spend as much time in Air Conditioning as possible in order to stay cool.
    * If that's not an option, open windows and run fans.
    * If that doesn't work, invest in a kiddie pool/go to the beach/find a creek (this only really works if you can have out of harness time).
    * Aside from the harness put baby in a few clothes as possible
    * Cool baths at night before bed!

My blogging partner

Free feet and blog writing 

Hanging out on the couch during free leg time

Beat the heat

We caved and broke out the bathing suits for the kids and put some water in our "kiddie pool". Here are some pictures of Froggie beating the heat during out of harness time.

Fundraising Idea

     June is Hip Dysplasia Awareness month.
     To show support for Froggie and raise some funds for the International Hip Dysplasia Institute (IHDI) I was thinking about ordering wrist bands. This idea came after finding out that IHDI discontinued their distribution of wristbands to individuals for the foreseeable future due to an inability to meet demand because of funding.
     They would be Blue & light yellow swirled (the IHDI colors) and say "I love a Hip Baby" possibly with the IHDI website on the opposite side and would cost $5 per band. This would cover the cost of production and shipping as well as allow for a portion of the cost to be donated to IHDI.

     Please contact me if you would like to purchase a wristband. The more we order the bigger the donation for a cause that's become very close to my heart.

Hopping into the week

     Happy Monday from a very sleepy Froggie! I think all of our weekend activities caught up with her.

Another Day in the Life of a Froggie

     Today was another beautiful day and we spent most of the day outside. Froggie got her harness dirty during a morning feeding session and spent the rest of the morning harness free while it was cleaned and dried. While she was out of her harness she got to do some tummy time and rolled over a handful of times while having a stare down with the dog!
     We spent some time outside rinsing off the cars and playing around both before and after nap time. It never amazes me how quickly infants heal. One of our dogs ran towards the door while Froggie was on the floor and scratched her cheek and the scratch is almost completely gone now only a few hours after it happened. After nap time we decided to try Froggie in a stroller again. Her first experience in the stroller (our double stroller) was not so great and she ended up being carried during that walk. I decided to see if she would be content in our jogging stroller with the seat reclined.

     She seemed pretty happy for a little bit but quickly became bored with the stroller. This may also have been due to the fact that Big Brother kept poking and pushing her.

I think I've got my hands full...

     We decided to conclude the weekend with some S'mores for dessert. This was not the first S'more he had ever had but it was the first time that Big Brother had made a S'more on his own (with Hubby's assistance).

What a marshmallow SHOULD look like

   

Sweet Saturday

     Today started off pretty slowly. I had taken for granted the value of a second set of hands while dealing with Froggie and Big Brother. Hubby took Big Brother when he woke up and dressed and entertained him while Froggie ate and fell back to sleep. Big Brother got to have breakfast with Hubby and I while Froggie slept and got the undivided attention of both of us at once, which rarely happens anymore.
     Once everyone was up and dressed we decided to hit up some yard sales. There weren't many today but we made out pretty well. At our first stop we picked up a set of Step2 chairs for $8 and a bag full of matchbox cars for Big Brother. At our next stop we got a Step2 lego table that matched the chairs PERFECTLY for $5 as well as a dress for Froggie and an old school Ninja Turtle.

Big Brother and our yard sale finds

  

     While Big Brother was supposed to be sleeping under the watchful eye of my mother, Hubby, Froggie and I went to run other errands. I got my new drivers license photo taken and it looks awful, though I think that's pretty standard for license photos. We stopped at Target and wandered the aisles for awhile, picked up some Starbucks and headed for home.
     We arrived to see my mother and Big Brother outside, needless to say he hadn't napped. We spent the rest of the evening outside in the beautiful weather we had today.

Froggie enjoying the warm weather.

Froggie and I hanging out.

Hubby and Big Brother working on the lawn mower. 

15 Weeks old!

Froggie is 15 weeks old (as of yesterday) so here are some of her weekly snapshots.

Admiring daddy

Cheesin'

All dressed up

Isn't she cool?