Yay! It's time for crib time!

When it comes to kids (and having them or raising them) I have gotten two solid pieces of advice.

*(as it relates to having just had a baby)- Make sure you get a shower each day. No matter when.. at some point, no matter how tired you are.. it WILL make you feel so much better and halfway normal.

*(as it relates to raising children)- Make sure you establish crib time.

Oh how much I love the wisdom of both. Therefore, today I will show you crib time. It starts at the time a baby can sit up unassisted and has enough motor skills to grab a toy and/or crawl: generally by 8 months. sometimes before: depending on the child.

You take the precious lamb and place them in their crib with some fun toys that are obviously baby appropriate. And you build up time. If the first time you do it, it only lasts five minutes before baby is yelling at you: stretch it another five the next day. As with anything: consistency is the key. Here let me show you..

Jorge was my first one to test it out on. He LOVED crib time (as you can see). He would actually stay in there for an hour.. an HOUR people, happily playing with his toys and listening to music. Lots got done: a shower, laundry (dare I say: a rest on the couch while growing human baby #2.. gasp). It was heavenly.

Next was Alex (as shown in the, also handy, pack n play) for that social baby that just can NOT handle being by themselves no matter WHAT toy you put in there with them. I think Alex was good for about 40 minutes and then he was d.o.n.e. And be warned. If an older sibling is old enough to climb in there too, you WILL have to maintain a constant visual to make sure everything is safe. Eh hem.

Next we have "baby girl," aka Eva. Not surprisingly, she was less interested in "crib time" as her brothers were. Likely because she is a girl and we are just diva's that way. I think her top time was 20 minutes. But hey.. I'll take it.

And here we have numero quatro, Isaac. Who enjoyed his very first (of many) crib times today. Contrary to his facial expression in this picture, he very much enjoyed his crib time. But when I came in to take his picture, he was very much ready for me to pick him up. His first total time: 20 minutes. Not bad.

*it is also important to note that crib time is a great way to help a child (with many older siblings) to get some down time when he/she is way over-stimulated, but isn't sleepy. it gives them a great, contained place to play, without all the hoopin' and hollerin' going on around them.

well, that's it. I hope you've enjoyed my tutorial of sorts. Now.. lemme go see about crib time for my five and four year olds. ;-)