Update: Where Have I Been Hiding?! #busymom #happyholidays

Brianna, © 2016 aspicyboycatandmyfatass.com

For the regular readers of my blog, you may have been wondering where I've been hiding the last couple weeks. Well, I've been settling into the new place... yes, I finally moved to the new condo after all these years. The place is all set up, painted, wallpapered, and feeling like a home. The only things that I still need, are to purchase window treatments for the entire place, as well as an area rug for the living room. I have also been getting ready for the holidays, and I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas day. Where does the time go?!

Another thing that has been keeping me busy, is my daughter had surgery a couple days ago. She finally had the dermoid cyst removed from her temple... which I was terrified for her to have surgery. The surgery itself was a piece of cake, but having to put her under anesthetic is what's scary. She did well, and is home running around terrorizing the place! I'm writing this post while at work, so I'm keeping it short... Happy Holidays everyone!

Baby Milk Chart #babymilkchart #infographic

Brianna, © 2016 aspicyboycatandmyfatass.com

A Parent's Guide to Fevers #fever

Is Coconut Oil Safe For Your Baby? #coconutoil #coconutoilbeauty

Brianna, © 2016 aspicyboycatandmyfatass.com

I have been using coconut oil for many years now, for both cooking as well as beauty purposes. Have you ever thought about using coconut oil for your baby? Well, after spending some dough on baby products on a regular basis, using coconut oil as a replacement is a good way to save some money. Not only is it a cheaper alternative to the daily products out there, but it's a perfectly natural product that you'd be using.

There's a couple types of coconut oil available...

The oil that comes from the fruit of the coconut trtee is known as coconut oil. There's a few different types that you can buy. Virgin coconut oil refers to the type of coconut oil that isn't process, and is refined. Cold pressed is a variant of coconut oil that refers to the process, where the oil has been pressed out of the coconut fruit.

Coconut oil has many benefits... it can help cure or improve conditions such as diabetes, heart diseas, thyroid conditions, fatigue, improving immunity, crohn's disease and even irritable bowel syndrome. You can use the oil for many beauty purposes, as a moisturizer and apply it to the skin to reduce sypmtoms of psoriasis or eczema.

How To Overcome Separation Anxiety With Your Little One #separationanxiety

Brianna, © 2016 aspicyboycatandmyfatass.com

My daughter turned 1 a couple months ago, and I can't believe how much she's grown in such a quick time. It feels like just yesterday she was born, and now she is continously reaching for her momma. My baby is at the stage where she's experiencing major separation anxiety, and it's the main issue that we're trying to tackle at the moment.

From a scale of 1 to 10, how much does your little munchkin freak out when you leave the room?

Is she a 1?

I'm totally enjoying bouncing in my Exersaucer mom... I will let you know when I'm hungry or if there's a stinky poopoo in my pants!

Or is she a 10?

Momma... you turned around. Are you leaving me? Where are you going... waaaaah!

My daughter is pretty much around a 9, and it's quite challenging at times. She had a little anxiety in the past, like when I would put her to bed and walk away. I noticed a huge increase when I went back to work. Some days are good, and others bad... there's weeks that are high, and others low.

Teething Chart: & Orajel Coupons!

I came across this awesome teething chart this evening, since I was looking for a coupon for Orajel. My little monkey is almost 14 months, and she already has four teeth. I believe her next set of teeth are trying to pop through, and I'm all out of the Orajel Teething Pain Instant Relief gel. I was super excited to find this chart, and I must say that's it's true so far. It looks as though her upper lateral incisor's are ready to come through any day. I wanted to share this chart for all those moms out there!

Five Ways You Can Save Your Baby's Life

The Color of Baby Poop and What It Means (Infographic)

My daughter is almost eight months old and was started on solids as of four months. She's now migrated into eating baby food containing meat, and enjoys some of mommy's favorites... greek yoghurt, poached eggs, etc. Every step of the way I noticed a change in her poop and wanted to share with you a poop guide!

You can tell a lot about you baby’s health by what’s in his or her diaper. It’s normal to see a number of changes in your baby’s stools as he or she grows, drinks breast milk or formula and starts eating solids, but there are cases in which color and consistency may indicate infection. Use this baby poop guide to distinguish natural changes from warning signs that require a visit to the doctor’s office.

How to Teach Your Baby to Soothe Herself to Sleep

You can't really teach your baby how to self soothe, but you can provide her with opportunities to learn how to teach herself. With the right circumstances and the right stage of development, normally between the third and six months of age, it will happen on it's own. It's like learning how to crawl... if you always carry your baby, she'll never have a chance to discover on her own, since she'd never be on the floor long enough to figure it out. Well, it's the same thing with self soothing. If you always nurse and rock your baby to sleep, she'll never have a chance to learn how to soothe herself to sleep.

How can you help your little one to do this? First, you need to set a regular bedtime and be consistent with it. A bedtime that occurs at the same time every night helps set your baby's internal clock, so that she's naturally sleepy at a predictable time. The bedtime routine should happen in the room that you want your baby to sleep, and make sure to include some soothing activities. Activities such as taking a bath, reading a story while cuddling, which helps let her know that it's time for "night-night". When the routine is finished, it's best to put her to sleep in bed while drowsy, but awake.