Bring Your Baby Matinees in Lombard and South Barrington

If you're a regular reader of this site, you know how much I love going to see movies in a theater. Love it, love it, love it. 

Photo by jessica@flickr on Flickr.But when my daughter was small, I never took her to a film with me, even though she likely would have slept through the whole thing. I was scarred by the experience of a good friend who tripped in the dark while trying to rush out of a theater with her crying baby -- cutting her foot in the process. Not the relaxing trip to the movies I was envisioning!

But now AMC Theatres and The Bump have partnered to offer Bring Your Baby Matinees on the first Tuesday of each month at noon. They promise a "baby-friendly environment" with brighter lights, lower volume and stroller parking. Breastfeeding and crying babies are A-OK, too.

Participating theaters in Illinois are: AMC Barrington 30 in South Barrington, AMC Yorktown 17 in Lombard, AMC River East 21 in Chicago and AMC Showplace Village Crossing 18 in Skokie. Regular matinee prices apply.

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Baby Makes Four: A Cranial Band for EZ Unleashes the Tears in Mom

We got one of the most wonderful gifts recently: My almost 7-month-old baby FINALLY rolled over! Yippy! I know that 7 months is kinda on the late side but whatever, he did it and if I didn’t write it down I wouldn’t ever remember when this joyous occasion occurred. His sister Ava was late on that stuff too.

EZ getting cuddle time with mom, despite his helmet. Photo provided.The reason why this is an even bigger deal is because EZ rolled over for the first time ever... wearing his helmet. I swore that thing would hold him back but well, well, looky here. I was wrong. For the first time in my life, I was wrong. Imagine that. I think I scared the bajesus out of him when I squealed louder than a hyena. HE ROLLED OVER!!!! EEEEEEEEE HAPPY DAY!

This whole cranial band (aka supa fly helmet) has been a roller coaster for us. When EZ was four months old he was diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly. Basically, this means his head was flat on one side due to us not moving him enough to keep his head from being flat. That makes us sound like horrible parents, doesn’t it? What the heck is wrong with us for never wanting to pick up our baby... jeez. Mommy FAIL.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. EZ was born early and babies who are born early didn’t get a chance to have all their little bones and bits to grow like a full - baby. So this means EZ’s head was super duper soft, easily moldable. Regardless of the position, me wearing and carrying him, his head still became flat. He preferred to lay with his head to one side (don’t kill me for saying this) but EZ sleeps 12 hours a night and that’s a long time to be laying in one position.

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Mom to Mom: A Call to the Fussy Baby Network

He's crying. I'm crying. I thought this Mommy thing was supposed to be all smiles and giggles!

The Fussy Baby Network can help with this. Photo by istockphoto.My son, Aaron, was born at the end of December 2008. He was a beautiful, healthy boy.  He was born naturally, and we were discharged in two days. I wondered what the nurses and doctors were thinking discharging us with this baby that we hadn't a clue how to take care of. 

But how hard could it be? Baby cries when he's hungry - feed him. Baby cries when he's wet or soiled - change him. No one really told me that babies would not always 'sleep like a baby.'  Everyone said, "Sleep when the baby sleeps."  But, what if baby would only sleep for 30-45 minutes at a stretch? Well, I must have been doing it wrong. What a failure I was as a mother!

After driving myself insane with internet searches, parenting books and unsolicited advice, I turned to the Fussy Baby Network. The network is a program of Erikson Institute, a graduate school specializing in child development. I called (1-888-431-BABY) and left a message, trying not to sound too distraught and panicked. 

Marsha called me back within a few hours and listened to my plight. She acknowledged my difficulties and offered some great tips.  I needed a plan of action, and Marsha gave me the advice I needed to get started.  Things didn't improve dramatically, but my attitude and outlook did. It wasn't hopeless! My child would eventually sleep! Marsha gave me the tools I needed to make it to four months (the magic age when we could start sleep training, according to her).

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Baby Makes Four: When Your Brother Can’t Move as Quick as the Cat

Alright, alright, alright, so. Everyone is always asking me how 3-year-old Ava is doing now that she has a new baby brother. The easy answer to “How is she adjusting?” is “good,” but it’s more complicated than that. The first thing she said when she saw Ethan was, “Awwww he’s so tiiiiny!!!” and he was. She hugged and kissed him until mommy said, “Back off woman!”

Ethan wearing a "crown" his 3-year-old sister fashioned from a pink watch. Ava either wants to completely squeeze the love out of him or she totally ignores him. You see, EZ can’t go anywhere yet. He can’t get away from her, unlike our cat. The cat often avoids Ava at all costs and it’s kinda sad. He would get all the lovin’ in the world if he would just let Ava pet him. Anywho, like I said before, EZ can’t get away from Ava, which means I have to have him in my line of sight 100% of the time.

Ava loves to help change his diaper and point out when he pooped and how utterly disgusting and smelly it is, as if I don’t have eyes and a nose for myself. She likes to hold him, which I let her do more and more now that his little neck is getting stronger. She tries to feed him but gets bored after about a nanosecond. And she works out pretty good as a bubby-shove-it-in-the-mouther. She’s a babysitter in the making.

We had a about a few weeks of what-the-hell-is-your-problem kind of tantrums when we first brought EZ home. Obviously we knew what the dealio was with Ava’s fit,. but jeez man this is not what her sleep-deprived parents needed. She was wickedly mean to both J and me, and she could turn it on and off like a light switch. There was only one time where she acted out on Ethan, she hit him with a belt. OK for the record that sounds WAY worse than it really was and believe me, she was fully disciplined for that one.

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She'sWrite: Reveling in my Land of Nod

Greetings and salutations from my own little Land of Nod. I arrived here on Jan. 4 and it’s the best place I’ve been in about five years. I believe you would refer to this dreamy locale as “maternity leave.”

Photo by Eric Lynn Photography.I’m one of the lucky few Americans who has a job waiting for her after taking a maternity leave that’s longer than the 12 weeks granted under the Family Medical Leave Act. I recognize and am soaking up this blessing (and it’s so sad that my situation isn’t more common, but I digress…)

When Logan was born, I took off seven months, and it was needed. He was colicky, I had breastfeeding woes the first three months and despite all of my reading to try to prepare myself, I felt completely inadequate and lost.

This time, it’s been loads easier because Ethan is an easy-going kid and I’ve got second-time-around-mommy-know-how. Plus Logan is still going to daycare, so many days it’s just me and my smiley infant. And it’s perfect.

I spend my days chatting it up with the little guy (he’s a great listener,) lying on the floor watching him play and listening to him coo. When he first grabbed a toy, or rolled over or sat on the floor without tipping over, I whooped it up so much you would have thought Publisher’s Clearinghouse knocked on the door.

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