Mommy Review - Parum Pum Pum Drum

Earlier I posted photos of Monster's first reaction to his awesome new toy the Parum Pum Pum Drum from B. toys this post is my mommy review!

The drum itself is hollow so you can pack all your instruments inside and has a strap, and handle for easy carrying for your baby/toddler. It's also y clean up and storage since the drum comes with 7 pieces. Once the lid is on the drum, you use the centipede drum sticks to parum pum pum on your drum.

The first piece is the Jingle Bell Ant. The ant is on top of a soft plastic A, perfect for teething pain relief. The jingle bells provoke feels of anxious excitement because they sound just like Christmas jingle bells! The toy itself is easy for Monster to hold and use.

The second piece is the Busy Bee Maraca and Clacker. This instrument actually makes three sounds! Shaking, "raining" and clacking all which are easy to do! The letter B is the wings, I think we have found a trend. The third piece is the Cute Caterpillar Tambourine! The cute caterpillar is in the shape of the letter C, the over all circular shape is perfect for the little hands expected to hold the instrument.

Finally last but not least are the two Shaka-Shaka Eggs! When Monster and I play these are my instruments of choice for two reasons. Reason One: I absolutely love the sound that comes out of this tiny, perfectly egg shaped, amazing instrument! Reason Two: The Parum Pum Pum Drum is recommended for 18 months - 3 years and I'm sure one of the reasons is the size of these eggs. They almost fit into Monsters mouth and since he still investigates by putting everything in his mouth, the eggs are Mommy's for the time being.

Overall family consensus: The toy is well worth it's reasonable cost because it's 5 instruments in 1, literally. It's also fun to play with for more then one person making it easy to have family play time with your baby/toddler. Go on, B. You! Start your own family band! ;)

Parum Pum Pum Drum! B. toys Photos!

Yesterday Monster received his gift from our lovely new friends over at B. toys! Here are some photos of Monster's first reactions to his Parum Pum Pum Drum!

Here is Hubbs helping Monster open up his Drum full of other instruments!

Checking out his Jingle Bell Ant and Cute Caterpillar Tambourine!

Now that all the toys are free from their packaging, Monster is reaching for one of his Shaka-Shaka Eggs!

Some of the toys standing proudly in their new home!

Typical or Genius?

I'm at a crossroads... Something happened yesterday and I'm not sure if it's evidence of a typical baby or a supremely genius baby?

Let me set up the situation. Hubbs and I are in the living room eating breakfast, Monster had already eaten his so he was playing on the floor next to me, and Lola (our pug kid) was begging for scraps as usual. I decided to toss a bite of toast for Lola and it landed in the center of the base of our exersaucer.

This presented a dilemma for Lola because the base isn't flat so that it can rock around while your baby is playing in it. Every time she put her paw on it, it rocked forward so got scared. After about 5 minutes of her surveying the situation and trying different angles she still hadn't been brave enough to get the toast.

Monster watched as Lola struggled and decided he could get the toast for her. He bum scooted closer and attempted the same feat fearlessly. His arm length was the only thing that kept him from achieving his goal.

I am surprised and amazed at the thought processes it must have taken in order to see Lola failing and decide that he would give it a shot. I'm not sure if this behavior is typical "I want what she wants!" or if it's genius baby problem solving?

I know Monsters behavior is evolving everyday but what is typical for a 7 month old in terms of problem solving?




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What to Expect... In the 7th Month

Last month I decided to blog about Monster and how he's hitting hit monthly milestones according to the book What to Expect in the First Year. I'm a creature of habit, so here goes the 7 month milestone blog! It's just a few days late. Just a reminder that the milestones are separated into sections with different headings.

By the end of this month, your baby...
...should be able to:

• Sit without support - Check! For over 2 months now!  
•  Feed self a cracker - Check! Well, I've never tried a cracker but he really likes Mum Mums
• Razz - Check! He stared around 5 months, but then stopped after he mastered the skills. Now he does it every so often... Usually when we're trying to feed him something.

...will probably be able to:

• Bear some weight on legs when held upright - Check! His love for standing predates his love for sitting.
• Object if you take a toy away - Meh.. I'm not sure if this milestone is accurate? What if you have a passive baby who doesn't really care? He fusses about it sometimes, but a lot of the time he doesn't mind.
• Work to get a toy out of reach - Check! About a week ago the little Monster used a wooden spoon to reach for a toy I put a foot away from him. I was attempting to get him to crawl to get the toy.
• Pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other - Check!
• Look for a dropped object - Check! One day that whole exersaucer is going to topple over!
• Rake a raisin and pick it up in fist - Check! Only sub Cheerios for raisins
• Turn in the direction of a voice - Check! Wasn't this on the 4 months check list?
• Babble combining vowels and consonants "ma-ma-ma", "da-da-da"- I'm sad to say no. He doesn't babble he shoots out combinations that sounds like he's trying to say words. We've heard "Hey", "Hi", "Yeah", "Dad", but the only babbling he does is "mmMmMmMmmmMmm" at meal times.
• Play peekaboo - Check, kind of. If I put a receiving blanket on his head and ask "Where's Monster?" he will pull it off and that's when I say "Peekaboo!". Is that close enough?

...may possibly be able to:

• Stand holding on to someone or something - Check! Once we master crawling we will start practicing cruising.

...may even be able to:

• Pull up to a standing position from a sitting - Check, but only with mommies hands. He hasn't pulled up on anything else.
• Get into a sitting position from stomach - He has only done this once, so I'm not going to count it.
• Play patty-cake or wave Bye-Bye - Check, kind of. He's waved a handful of times without coaching. The rest of the time it's hit or miss. He might wave, he might play shy. No patty caking around here though.
• Pick up a tiny object with any part of thumb and finger - No, Monster has not mastered the pincer grasp. He tries desperately, can make the motion but has not actually picked anything up.
• Walk holding onto furniture - No. He walks while holding someones hands though.
• Say mama or dada indiscriminately - No. Boo.

Giving Thanks

In the last year I've grown a healthy baby in uteri, birthed that healthy baby boy (unfortunately I'm not thankful for the c-section delivery but that's a whole other blog!), and kept that beautiful, healthy little boy just that, happy and healthy!

I am clearly so thankful for him! Thankful for Monster, and for Hubbs because he helped me create, grow, and love Monster!

I am thankful for my support system of family and friends near and far, and I am thankful for those of you who read this and support me with helpful comments!

Cheers to more happy and healthy years!

Remember to say "I love you" and "Thank you" when you feel it whether the time is right or not because we might not always have the opportunity to. :)

Thanksgiving Dinners!

Yesterday was the first of our two family Thanksgiving dinners. Unfortunately because of the compressed shift Hubbs is on, Monster and I ventured over to my parents alone.

My mom tries her hardest to work her holiday meals around every ones work schedules, but unfortunately it doesn't always work out. This year our dinner was my parents, grandparents, soon-to-be-brother-in-law, Monster and I. I am slightly heartbroken that Hubbs didn't get to witness the first time Monster tried turkey, stuffing and a bite of cranberries.

Ok, you can slap me on the wrist for not only allowing Monster to try ONE new food. I couldn't help myself! Reasoning: He's tried chicken without an allergic reaction, chicken vs. turkey? Same thing! The only part of the stuffing he tried was soft bread hunks. He's had toast, turkey flavored break hunks vs toast? Same thing! He did fantastically! He LOVED Thanksgiving food!

Side note for Canadian moms: Why is everyone so absolutely obsessed with smothering everything in gravy? When I tell people Monster hates potatoes, they suggest gravy. You know what? I don't think smothering a carb with animal fat and salt is the right way to get him to eat something he hates! Ew. Monster is HUGE for his age and has gotten that way just from infant formula, fruit, veggies, lean meats, and infant cereals. He does not need any help gaining weight, especially from a food that is purely animal fat!

Ok, I'm done ranting...

Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving dinner number two at my in laws house. Normally they're pretty set on having Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday but since this is Monsters first Thanksgiving and Hubbs would be missing it completely they changed it for us. We are incredibly grateful! Mostly because turkey is fantastic! It's really no wonder Monster liked it so much, I think he had it 8 times while still in uteri. MmMmM Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!