Tips for Beating Pregnancy Reflux – Ep. 119
October 12, 2020
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This week, Shanna reports on her toddler’s feisty confidence and tiffs with her sister, and Laura shares tips on how to beat pregnancy reflux. Also, in the segment “Mom Wins!,” Laura tells a tale of her ninja-like instincts that saved her toddler a trip to the ER, and Shanna recounts the time she attempted to chase down the elusive Magical Christmas Truck. Finally, they reveal their BFPs and BFNs for the week. Shanna’s toddler is 21 months old, and Laura’s toddler is 20 months old. Laura is 18 weeks pregnant.
This episode’s show notes – https://bigfatpositivepodcast.com/ep-119/ | Get social – Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/bfppodcast/ | Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigfatpositivepodcast/ | Email – [email protected] | Our mom-tested ultimate baby registry list – https://bigfatpositivepodcast.com/registry/
Show Notes:
- Pink Noise Laura uses this loopable pink noise to soothe her toddler all night long.
- Karaoke Microphone* Hear your kiddos belt Moana and Frozen on this wireless, bluetooth karaoke mic.
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Episode Transcript
Laura
Welcome to Big Fat Positive with Shanna and Laura. This week, we have our weekly check-ins, we have our special segment, Mom Wins, where we talk about trucks and ninja moves, and we close with our BFPs and BFNs for the week. Let's get to it! Hi, everyone. Welcome to the show. This is episode 119. Hey, Shanna. Hey. How are you doing? How old is that toddler of yours? Give us an update.
Shanna
I'm good. Cici's 21 months now. I know. And well, back I was talking about how we were struggling with early morning wake ups with her. She's waking up at like 5, 5.30. And we solved that problem, or so we thought, by encouraging her to eat more food at dinner, right? That's right, yeah, yeah, yeah. Hungry, yeah. So that worked for a little while. And, God dang it, she's waking up so early again this week. I'm just like, no, like. It's parenting right now is hard enough as it is, because it's just like relentless all day, every day, no help. And now she's waking up so early. So the new thing we're trying is adjusting the temperature. So we have a Nest. You have a Nest too, right? Yeah, Nest thermostat. Yeah. Yeah, smart thermostat. And you can program it, right? So I'm like, OK, let's program it so that the AC doesn't kick on.
at like four in the morning and make her too cold because maybe she's too cold in the morning, you know, because she doesn't have a sleep sack anymore. Oh, that's right. Yeah, she doesn't really use her blankets anymore. So that's my new strategy. We just implemented it the other day. I mean, so far it kind of worked a little bit like she slept till 5.30. So that's good.
Oh, my gosh.
Laura
So this explains the mysterious group text I got from you and Steve the other day.
Shanna
Did I accidentally message on the wrong thread?
Laura
Yeah, this happens a lot. And thankfully, we're all such good friends that it doesn't matter. But we'll be talking about like a podcast, something or other. And then I'll get like a random like, oh, did you pick up dinner or whatever? And I got like, I put it at 72 at this time and 74 at this time and 76 at this time. I'm like, sounds like a great plan, guys.
Shanna
No, see what you don't know, Laura, is that I need to run everything by you before I make this big decisions like this in my life. Yeah, no, that was a total accident. It's hilarious. So basically she's, it's like set to 72 or 73 all night, and then it kicks up in the morning. So it doesn't like, her room is also right by the unit. So when it does kick on, it's loud, right? Oh, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, she's in a light sleep state. That might wake her up, too. So it's just a never-ending struggle to figure out sleep problems as a parent. Never-ending. Never-ending.
Laura
Well, and you approach it with such, like, vigor, you know?
Shanna
Oh, God, yes, of course.
Laura
You're like, this is a problem I can crack. I'm going to figure it out.
Shanna
I know. I always do. My life can't go on like this. You know, Steve's more laid back. I think he would just kind of wake up with her every day five and kind of be tired. I'm like, no, must stop. Totally. Let's try everything. Five is too early. I'm sorry. It is.
Laura
Well, you guys got spoiled by Elle being like champion sleeper extra in there.
Shanna
Yeah, so CECE's been a bit of a challenge and we are trying to tackle it. So I will probably have an update next week if this is helping or not. And I would like to know if any listeners have any suggestions of what we could do differently because I'm at a loss.
Laura
But this was happening before you switched to the toddler bed, right? So we can rule that out, right?
Shanna
Yes.
Laura
The temperature thing you think you've already figured out with the nest. So we don't have to worry about that. So the noise thing is interesting. Yeah. An interesting thing. Do you still have white noise going, I assume?
Shanna
Yes. I have a dome, a white noise machine, and I just crank it to the highest level possible.
Laura
What I would say is that what we do is we have two white noise machines going at once. Wow. Surround sound. Yeah. Well, so what we have is we have like a it's actually electric. We had a dome, but it got it like it started making a rattling noise. So we got rid of it. I think we dropped it or something. Yeah. And so we have this like electronic one that was a hand me down and it's fine. It just makes white noise static, you know. So we have that and it's kind of like under his crib. Like it's so it comes up from underneath. And then on our sonos all night we loop this track called Deep Pink Noise for Baby Sleep. which I found. What makes it pink? I don't know. I don't know the difference between white and pink noise, but it's like a thing. If you if you Google it there, if you look on Spotify, there's pink noise. Anyway, months ago, I found this particular track and it's like a low hum.
It's like it's almost like an airplane engine, you know, like that level. And it's so we run that on a loop without it doesn't have any, you know, you can set it up so there's a little bit of an overlap and it doesn't have any break. And that's how we do it. And the nice thing, too, is that if something happens to one of them, the other one's going. So it's probably overkill. But why mess with something that works is what I say.
Shanna
Well, this idea of a deep noise, pink noise, I guess, as you say, sounds very calming. Just thinking about it makes me feel centered.
Laura
Should I play it? Oh, yeah, I do. I'm going to hear it. Okay, so this particular album is called Pink Noise Babies, and the track is Deep Pink Noise for Sleep, Bloopable with No Fade. And we'll try to link it on our show notes, but here, let's see.
Shanna
Yeah, that's soothing. Well, that's very womb-like.
Laura
Yes, exactly. You can almost feel the blood running through the placenta. Yes.
Shanna
But it does have a nice layering effect. The jiggle of the amniotic fluid rushing in through my ears. Because, you know, I remember all of that in great detail from when I was a fetus. Of course. All right. So I will try that. The other update this week is I've mentioned CeCe's becoming very independent with what she wants to do by herself. And something that's coming along with all of that is a very sassy, strong-willed nature, especially when it comes to like sharing toys and stuff with Elle. Oh my god, so if you know she's playing with something and Elle tries to take it out of her hand, which she used to be able to do easily, right? Because Cece was a baby. She's like, oh, I want that toy. And Cece's like, okay. Now it's like, and like, it's a huge tug of war and they're screaming and the two of them together.
Oh my God, they're screaming and they're crying and just yanking back and forth and Cece like grabs hair, even though I don't think she's doing it to hurt her L. more just like there's something there I can grab and it gets in her fingers and gets a reaction and then she thinks it's hilarious and I'm just like oh boy here we go with like the sibling tiffs and fights and stuff but I mean they do still obviously love each other they have lots of loving moments but this kind of like strong willed you will not take that from me is really kicking in now that she's getting closer to two.
Laura
Yeah, she's like, wait a second, I have agency here. I can keep this. There's a, like I don't know if it's apocryphal or what, but the story that my mom tells about my brother and me is that, so we're 21 months apart or something, right? It's really close in age. And he's just like a super nice guy. And the story goes that like when I was, I don't know, eight, 10 months or something, I grabbed a toy out of his hand. And my mom said, Laura, please don't steal from your brother, Jeffrey. Jeffrey was playing by that toy. And my brother apparently turned to my mom and said, it's okay, baby, have toy.
Aw.
Shanna
So sweet. And so, Jeff, I mean, such a sweetie.
Laura
So Jeff, he really is. He's very generous and giving. And yeah, so apparently we didn't have those kinds of interactions. And I think it's 100% because my brother is just a super nice guy. Although I know we had conflicts growing up. Yeah. Yeah. But it's, I think a sassy toddler is like hilarious though.
Shanna
It is, yeah.
Laura
Just so funny to watch them have like their own little personality and opinions and strong opinions. It's hard not to laugh at them. That's the problem.
Shanna
Yeah, it's really hard when she's just got a fist full of Elle's hair. And I'm like, no, no, no. Let go. I can't let you pull your sister's head. You know, trying to be all calm about it. And she's just like, hee, hee, hee, hee, hee. And Elle's like, ah. And I'm just like, stop laughing. It's not funny. But it's like, oh my god, her devious little cackle. Oh man, yeah. Steve and his sister had that same very sweet sibling relationship. You know, that's all the stories I've heard. Steve's sister is the older sibling and just like loved him and took care of him. And oh my gosh, doted on him. It just sounded like they never had a fight ever in their life. And I'm like, well, Then Shanna comes into the picture and has these fiery kids that just scream at each other and play to their hair. It's like, clearly that's my influence. Sorry, everybody.
Laura
I do think that my experience and Steve's experience are outliers, though. It's not. common for siblings to not fight.
Shanna
They're also only two years apart, the same as you and Jeff. So I wonder if that has something to do with it.
Laura
Maybe. I don't know. I don't know. Well, we're going to find out, I guess, because mine are going to be exactly two years apart, like 25 months, but whatever. Yeah. So we'll see.
Shanna
Yes. Yes. I'm curious.
Laura
But also, Steve and his sister and me and my brother, we're opposite sex siblings. So that's a difference too.
Shanna
Very interesting. But that's all for us this week. Otherwise, it's just been kind of same old, same old.
Laura
As long as Elle still has all her hair. No chunks have been torn out.
Shanna
No chunks have been torn out yet. Luckily, she has got a great set of hair as she inherited from Steve. So I think she's fine.
Laura
She does have good hair. Oh my God. She's had great hair since she was really little and it's just envy inducing and my favorite thing that she does. I remember when she was about two that she started doing this the way she would like sweep it out of her face. So dramatic and like so cute.
Shanna
I know she still does. The other day I was like Oh, I need to give you a hair cut, you know, because it's been forever, and it's just getting so tangly. And I just meant like a trim. And she was like, no, my hair is beautiful. I love my hair. I was like, oh, honey, I know. We're not going to mess with your hair. I just need to take a little bit off. Just trim it up. Keep it healthy. Just to trim it up. Yeah. So, well, that's what I'm going to endeavor in the next couple of weeks. Good luck. I'll report back on that.
Yeah. God.
Shanna
So that's us. What about you? How are you guys doing? And how old is your fetus and your toddler?
Laura
Okay, the fetus is 18 weeks, which we're heading. I know heading towards halfway. Wow. I know. It goes fast. And I was thinking about this actually recently because I was like, wow, how am I already 18 weeks? And I realized the first four weeks don't happen. True. So I've only known I'm pregnant for 14 weeks. So that makes it a little bit more comprehensible. True, yes. That still drives me crazy. One day I feel like I want all the OB's in the world to come together and just stop doing that because we know now.
Shanna
Is it because of ultrasound dating we know for sure, but I'm just thinking why did it come to be that way? Is it because exact ovulation days are not predictable, but the day of your period is.
Laura
Yeah, you know what day you started bleeding on your last period, but that's about it. I mean, before, but now we know so much more. And then like with you having IVF, it's so silly. They were like, you know, you get implanted at what, two or three weeks already, right?
Shanna
Yeah, the day I got my embryo transfer, I was three weeks pregnant.
Laura
Already exactly my point has been made. Okay. I hear you. Yeah. So anyway, I am 18 weeks Whatever that means and I so this week my heartburn has gotten really bad like it's really kicked up I always have had bad heartburn. I have to have talked about it on the show, right?
Shanna
Yes. I remember you had a lot of problem with that last time around.
Laura
You got a big triangle pillow of sorts. Oh yeah, the wedge pillow, part of my pillow strategy. My pillow strategy is back. I still have the wedge.
The problem is that it's It's physical. I already have heartburn. When I'm not pregnant, I have heartburn. I can take all kinds of meds for it and keep it under control. But when you're pregnant, you have the additional problem where the relaxes and relaxes all your muscles and joints and all that stuff. sphincter, which is, you know, the term, the valve at the top of your stomach, relaxes. And so it's, it just, it makes it so much easier. And you know, the baby's pushing on your stomach and stuff. So yeah, it's really ramped up this week. So I am just like taking pepsid and Toms as much as possible. Pepsid, I think is famotidine, famotidine.
Shanna
Yes, it is.
Laura
Yeah. And so just trying to keep it under control. That's by the way, the pepsid is fully endorsed by my doctor for me. So I know they try to start you. They do this thing where they start you with food changes and then they then tums you know, just like over the counter. Well, everything's over the counter now, but you know, Tums, and then if that doesn't work, then you start going up the ladder and pepsids like the next one. Oh, okay. So yeah, but what I've realized though is that, you know, you think they tell you to eat like lots of small meals rather than one big meal. So I've been trying to do that. And then it occurred to me though that it would get really bad, like right before lunch. and right before I was going to bed, and I was like, wait a second. It seems to be correlated with my stomach being empty.
So my new method is to have a stack of Ritz crackers by my bedside, and just eat a Ritz cracker any time it starts to flare up, and so far so good.
Shanna
Oh nice.
Laura
In theory it shouldn't work because it's like buttery and whatever but I think what it is is that my stomach when it was empty was creating a bunch of extra acid or the acid like it just felt terrible so that's my new strategy so I think it's working pretty well so I want to share that for other people. Yeah. So yeah, I've been like eating a Ritz cracker when I wake up in the middle of the night to pee.
Shanna
So I was going to ask you if you've done any dietary changes and I would not have expected added a stack of Ritz crackers to my bedtime table. No, no.
Laura
And I'm also, I mean, to be fair, I'm really bad at dietary changes. I don't want to give up my like, you know, when you're pregnant, there's not that much you can eat anyway. And like, I don't want to give it up. Like I don't want to give up. the few things I'm left to eat. It's such a bland freaking diet, but we'll see. We'll see. And then the other update with pregnancy is that like after talking about it, I've actually been doing my SPD exercises pretty much every night. Oh, good. That's awesome. Has it made any difference yet? Yeah, I think so. It's definitely not as bad during the day. And what I've noticed is that so, and what I did was I got a yoga block and I put it next to my bed. And that's how I remember it. So now it's just part of my bedtime routine. I lie back and do my yoga block exercises between my knees to help reset my hips. And then it's over.
And then I sit with my feet together and my knees apart while I read. And that seems to be helping. So I'm going to keep trying with that. But OK, so the toddler is 20 months and one week.
And this week, we had a fun week because we actually went on a trip. Ooh, no fair! So jealous, where did you go? Well, okay, we were supposed to go to Big Bear, which is in the mountains up by us, like in Southern California. Ah, right, yes. And the day we woke up to go, the mountain had caught fire on the way up to Big Bear. And it wasn't in the way. It wasn't close enough to Big Bear that it was going to threaten it. And it wasn't closing off the road or anything. But I was just like... I don't know if I want to do this. The smoke was probably going to be pretty bad. And then on top of it, my doctor had actually given me a warning. Every time I visit for my prenatal visits, he asked me, do you have any trips planned? And I had said, oh, I'm going to go to Big Bear. And he had actually said, OK, that sounds great. I'm not worried about the elevation or anything.
He's like, one thing I do want you to recognize that's fire season and fires can happen really quickly. So make sure you have a map and you know two different ways out at any given point. And he had given me this talk about it, which I think is actually very responsible of him. And I had that in my mind. And I'm thinking, OK, this is the hottest weekend on record ever in Southern California. One fire has already popped up. Am I just going to spend the whole, we were going Monday through Thursday, the whole half of the week being paranoid and waiting for an alert that we have to quickly evacuate, you know?
Shanna
Yeah, that's not a relaxing vacation.
Laura
It's not. The Airbnb we had rented in Big Bear had a 24-hour cancellation policy where you get full refund if you are within 24 hours. So we had until 3 p.m. the day before to decide. I spent all day having and buying and then finally I was like, you know what? Let's go to Santa Barbara instead. Nice. Good choice. Go the opposite direction towards the coast, get it somewhere cool. Fresh air. Yes. So that's what we did. And I'd say it was me and Cory and the toddler and my mother-in-law came along.
Shanna
Fun.
Laura
We all got COVID tests before we went just to be 100% sure we were safe. So that was good and it was nice to be able to hang out. be not masked together we know we're just in the house together but we found this super cool airbnb that was like kind of up in the hills of Santa Barbara and it was like misty and cool and these huge oak trees were around and it was just a lovely. Lovely trip.
Shanna
That sounds nice.
Laura
So one thing that I think you will appreciate is that this house had an in-text pool. Oh, yeah. Which we got in once because it was kind of chilly actually. It was like 65 degrees in the morning. It's not pool weather necessarily, not unheated pool weather. But I still braved getting in because I knew that my toddler was going to love it. And he did. I mean, I have this video of him. He's just laughing hysterically about being in the water. So happy. And then we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, which was super fun. Got some giraffes. And then we also stumbled upon the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. It was like right around the corner from where we were staying. And we just went to go because they have this big display of a whale, like whale bones out front, like a reconstructed. So we were just going to go out front and look at it. And then we realized like,
someone talked to us and they're like, they said it's all outdoor and so there's a lot to see still. And we're like, okay, sure, let's go. So we went into the Natural History Museum and they had a butterfly exhibit. Like, you know, one of those ones where you walk in and they all flutter around you. So yeah, it ended up being just a really nice trip. And my toddler was just so stoked to be somewhere new. He loved looking in every cabinet, like, you know, just getting into everything in this Airbnb. And yeah, it was just a great time. So we was a much needed break and he got some really good grandma time with Corey's mom. So they were both very happy about that.
Shanna
That sounds lovely. I'm glad you guys got the chance to get away, especially after the last six months. It's just been a grind. So sounds awesome.
Laura
Yeah. Highly recommend.
Shanna
Cool.
Laura
But anyway, that's it for me this week. Should we move on to our special segment? Yeah, let's do it.
Shanna
We're back and this week's special segment is Mom Wins, where we celebrate some wins that we've had since being parents. Laura, you're a burst. What's a mom win you've had recently?
Laura
We've talked about how I have a learning tower multiple times on the show.
Shanna
For some reason, when you said learning tower, I thought leaning tower. And then I imagine the leaning tower of pizza. And I was just very confused for a second.
Laura
Learning. It's learning. And it's straight up and down. People also call it a activity tower or a.
Shanna
But it's like a step stool, like an enclosed step stool for the kitchen, right?
Laura
Essentially, yeah. It's like a platform that's enclosed on three sides for you to be able to plop your toddler down so that they can be like counter height so they can stand there and do, you know, have snacks or play with Play-Doh or whatever you, you know, need them to do. But they can be a little bit more independent or help you cook is sort of like the thing it's always advertised for, right? Like he would really not, you know, like I could give him a cup of flour and he wouldn't dump it immediately on the floor. But we love our learning tower. A learning tower has been great. I think it was my BFP one week, like, love it. And it's been great to be able to, like, put him in the learning tower and then, like, be able to, you know, he'll be playing with his Play-Doh or whatever and I can get lunch together or I can cook something for myself or whatever.
So that's changed a little bit with this current situation, which is okay. So recently we were doing our normal routine where I put him in the learning tower for a snack or something. And the way we have it, he's on the island in our kitchen and behind him is like, you know, our microwave and drawers and stuff is like the counter, right? But it's a good couple feet, like you can't reach the other counter from the learning tower. But I made the mistake of opening the junk drawer, which was right on that counter surface. So I opened the junk drawer and he saw that there were some pens inside the junk drawer.
Shanna
What is with toddlers in junk drawers and pens, Mike? I don't know. It's like the strongest attractor for these little ones.
Laura
The pen, he was just like, by the way, I think we were playing with markers at the time, but no, he needed the Muji pen that I had in the junk drawer. which is like probably the super fine one that's like going to poke his eye out immediately. Yeah. And so I had opened it to grab something and close it. I was like, no, baby, the the junk drawer is off limits. You know, you can't have the pen. You have you have markers here. You don't need that pen. And, you know, it's probably getting close to lunchtime and he was getting a little tired and he started saying pen, pen, pen. And he's like throwing himself around. And this is all I remember. One moment he's like, pen, Pen, pen, kind of reaching for it. The next moment, I am holding him by his shirt upside down with his head an inch from the ground. Oh my God.
He levered over the edge of the learning tower and started plummeting to the ground.
Shanna
Oh my God, head first. Head first. How far away were you from him when that happened?
Laura
I was literally right next to him, thank God, because what I must have done in my complete ninja mom move is just shot my arm out and grabbed him by the shirt in an instant and caught him.
And then I was able to gently lower him to the floor.
Shanna
Was your heart just racing?
Laura
Oh my god. Well, at that exact moment, no, because I was just like, it was total instinct, right? And then I was just like, oh my god.
You almost cracked your skull open just now. In retrospect, I realized it's not as high as I thought it was. He probably would have been okay, but I was like instantly like, oh my god, you almost just died. Like, literal headfirst towards the hard floor, you know? How did he react?
Shanna
Did he freak out or did he think it was funny?
Laura
Oh, no. Well, here's the thing. So when you are a toddler who is super top heavy, which you hear about, right? Like you hear about how that's how toddlers can drown in like an inch of water because they like lean over the bathtub and then they like, they're giant noggins, you know. get them into the water and they can't write themselves, that sort of thing. So I knew that was a thing. I had never seen it demonstrated so well. Like he just flipped, right? And in doing so, he slammed his nose against the side of the learning tower. He smushed it. So he had like a bruise all along his like, like the tip of his nose and like around the side. Thankfully no nose bleed or anything, but it must have hurt. So he just instantly just started crying hysterically. And I was just, I know. And I was just like, Oh my God, I scooped him up and I did what I did the other time.
He had a major bonk, which I talked about when he like ran into the side of the coffee table. Oh yeah. Which, update, I don't think I ever mentioned this, is that we actually just like took it to storage finally and got a soft storage ottoman. Oh good. I think just like you had for the longest time. Yes, that helps. Yeah. But when that happened, I like scooped him up and rushed him out back to see Corey to get like dad's second opinion, basically. So like, I knew he was fine, but I was just like, let's go see daddy. We need to go see daddy. And so we went out and, you know, he poor little buddy was just sobbing. You know, when they're really hurt, they're like, Oh, God, I know. It's just heartbreaking.
Shanna
Oh, the silent cry. And then there's like, are you done crying? Are you going to cry harder? What's happening? Did he replay this incident like he does with his other bonks?
Laura
You know he did, which, of course, was freaking me out. So, OK, I was ready to throw the learning tower in the trash, but then I realized I just need to be right next to him now when he's using it. We're gonna lower it. There's actually one lower rung it can be on so it'll be more like chest height for him But you know you have to get screws out and like really do it so we haven't done it yet So I'm just like I can't walk away from him really with it, but I did have a talk with him about like You know, you this is dangerous. You can't you can't try to climb out of it. You can't try to like reach for things out of it. That sort of thing. And he actually think I think it's sunk in. But yeah, the next time I put him in it, he walked over leaned over the side and pointed down. Wow. I was like, yeah, that's where you took a nosedive out of the learning tower, kid.
Yeah, and in retrospect, I just like replayed it and was like, oh my god, Lynn, but I just how did I grab him? I still don't know. Yeah.
Shanna
It's a total instinct. It's amazing. Or you're a ninja. Am I? Are you? I'll never tell. Let's find out after the break.
No.
Laura
The answer is no. I'm not. I have no martial arts skills. But yeah. So I was pretty proud of that. Yes.
Shanna
Congratulations. Good job. Mom win. Thank you.
Laura
And I'm really hoping for no more death defying stunts for a while. I'm set. My quota is filled for a while.
Shanna
Don't hold your breath. You do have... toddler with another baby on the way.
Laura
I know.
Shanna
Anyway, Shanna, do you have one for us? This takes place a couple of years ago, actually, when Elle was a baby before CECE was in the picture. But it's very memorable to me, and so I wanted to share it. It was Christmas time. Elle's first Christmas. She was probably like 11 months old. And we were living in North Hollywood at the time. It's another neighborhood in Los Angeles. I'd been part of a parents music group and had learned that on Christmas Eve, like for the last 34 years in this area, there was a magical Christmas truck that would drive around North Hollywood to Luke Lake and parts of Burbank, which were all little neighboring neighborhoods. And spread cheer and joy and music.
on Christmas Eve and I was like oh my god right I had no idea this is like the kind of thing I think at least like when you're not a parent you have no clue about right I had no clue I'd been living in this area forever and had no idea there was a magical Christmas truck So what it is is like 34 years ago, I guess a couple of people bought an old dump truck and decorated it with lights and just drove up and down the streets of the neighborhoods and you know, singing and playing music and stuff. And it just got bigger and bigger and grander and grander and became almost like a bit of a parade. And I was like, I need to see the Christmas truck. It was first Christmas. So that was my mission. And it was not quite as easy as you would think. They do put out a general map of where the truck is going to be at certain times. It starts at like 4.30 and ends at like 10.
But it goes a couple miles zig-zags in and out of the neighborhoods and stuff like that. to top it off, I had forgotten about it. It was like, I guess, Christmas Eve was like a whirlwind, you know? My mom was in the town. My mother-in-law was in town. And we heard it, like ding, ding, ding. We heard it going by on a street nearby. And I was like, oh my god, the Christmas tree truck. We got to get the Christmas tree truck. And this is like 6, 10 PM, which is like when Elle should be like getting, starting to get down from bed, taking her back and stuff. It's like, no, we got to go see the Christmas truck. So it's like, you know, me, how I am when I like get fixated on something. It's like, it has to happen. So it's like, mother in law, Steve, we got to get in the car now. We usually took the dogs. We lived in an apartment.
So we'd have to take the dogs out to go potty around this time of day. And they hadn't gone out yet. So I was like, well, we don't have time to take out the dogs. Let's bring them with us. So it was like, All five of us piled into like Toyota Camry with dogs in the back seat on the laps of the mom and the mother-in-law. And it's like, I'm looking on my phone, where is the Christmas tree truck right now? Okay, so it's about six o'clock. I think it might be over on Camarillo or whatever. And so we're driving around, driving, trying to find this Christmas tree truck. And we just could not find it. And finally, we turn a corner and we see some lights. We're like, oh, OK, let's park here. And then if we run down there, we might be able to catch it. So we parked, and we all got out of the car. The mom, the mother-in-law, chili, Sasha, get the baby out of her seat.
I'm just holding her in my arms, running, trying to catch this Christmas tree truck, and get it as it comes up another street. We get there, we missed it. I was like, no. Back in the car. Trying to strap L in. She's getting tired. The dogs are like, what's going on? So it's a packed car and we're still zigzagging, zigzagging in and out of this neighborhood in Toluca Lake. And finally, we catch the end of it. And I'm like, that's it. Park here. We'll just run after it and run ahead of it. Everyone's like, OK. Mom, mother-in-law, Chilly, Sasha, Steve, me, the baby, we all come out of the car again. And I'm like running again. I think my mom has Sasha, who's a spry little dog. My mother-in-law got stuck with Chilly, who's just like a slow poke. So she got stuck behind us, you know, because he won't giddy up. So he's there. He's not going to giddy up.
I'm gonna giddy up for no Christmas tree truck. So like our group gets separated and I'm just like, sorry, see ya. I'm running with the baby. And we finally catch the tail end of this parade, which is, you know, a bunch of neighborhood people kind of like walking after, after it. And there's like a Santa sleigh is like ho, ho, ho. And I didn't know exactly what to expect from this Christmas tree truck, like is it just gonna be like some old dump truck or what? But it was pretty magnificent. Okay, so what it actually is, it was a six, this is from their website, a quote, 62 foot tractor trailer. Adorned with magnificent Christmas scenes. They were magnificent. I mean, it was incredible. Thousands of sparkling lights. There was like a big lit up wreath on the front of this semi truck. There's sink like 200 singers and dancers. A lot of them are on the truck.
Some of them are like trailing behind singing carols. There's a 20,000 watt sound system. It's just like bump in Christmas cheer. It was freaking amazing. So like we ran ahead so we could kind of watch it all go by. And oh my God, I was on cloud nine. I was like, this is the cheeriest freaking Christmas thing I could have ever imagined doing on Christmas Eve. Elle was into it, but, you know, she was also tired. So I have a video for just kind of like glassy. I'd like, what? What are we looking at? I think I'm supposed to be in bed right now. But, you know, we've got the memories. I achieved my goal. It really was for her. I mean, it was for me, too. But it was for her because, you know, she was like 11 months old. I thought that'd be so fun for her.
It was just, yeah. It was a great time for all.
Laura
A total mom win because I feel like it's so easy to just be like, it's too hard. It's bedtime. Let's just stay in. But you had one messed up bedtime so that you could have this fun memory. And I mean, the piling in and out of the car thing is almost as fun as the actual thing. It's something you'll all remember. Oh, yeah.
Shanna
It was so great. I'll have to share some pictures. This thing is magnificent. It's something I miss about not living in that neighborhood anymore.
Laura
Now I want to try to go find it.
Shanna
I know, right?
Laura
I mean, because I'm not that far from Burbank and North Hollywood. We could do it.
Shanna
Yeah, totally. Although I guess the original crew who was running it stopped. Like I think I caught it on the last official year it was running. Yeah, and like someone maybe like the North Hollywood community council or something is trying to take it over and. fund it and keep the spirit alive because it's such a wonderful neighborhood event. So we'd have to check and see if it's still going on.
Laura
Got it. Well, that is so fun. Yeah. It's getting me in the Christmas spirit. I want to like do Christmassy stuff now. It's a little early.
Shanna
I know me too. And you know, I love Christmas Caroling. You and I have gone Christmas Caroling with our choir before. And oh my God, I just love that stuff so much. Laura, can we Christmas Carol over Zoom this year? Absolutely. Yes. Maybe our listeners want to join in with us. We'll have a big BFP Christmas Carol Zoom. Oh my god. So great. So excited. All right. So that's my mom win. Shall we move on to our BFPs and BFNs? Yeah, I think we should. OK.
We're back. Laura, you're up first. Do you have a BFP or BFN for us? I have a BFP.
Laura
OK. And I'm actually surprised I've never done this as a BFP. I had to go search our archives because I was like, for sure I've talked about this before. But mine is a product called the Inglisina Fast Table Chair. What? Have I ever told you about this?
Shanna
No, I can't even picture what you're talking about.
Laura
Okay, so it is a high chair that clamps onto a table. So it was a hand me down that I got from my very generous cousin, Ashley, who just gave us so much good stuff when we were pregnant. And it's what it is. So it's like a high chair. It's like a padded high chair. and it folds down so it's like completely flat and you can bring it to like restaurants if you know that's the thing you do these days and you unfold it and it like has a arm that goes out over the table and then underneath like a clamp that comes up that you screw onto the tape like not screw in but you know like it rubber on both sides and it like grips the table and it creates a super sturdy high chair that you can basically put anywhere, like almost any table. And it came in super handy this week because we took it to Santa Barbara with us.
So it packs up super small and we were able to just put the high chair right onto the dining table in the Airbnb we had had. I didn't know they had it. It turns out they had a high chair situation. Like they had a, I think it was one of those like cheap IKEA high chairs that people love. I've just never used them. But my guy is used to being at the table with us now, pushed right up to the table. And so this allows you to do that without having to like lug your giant high chair with you. Yeah. Love and it's they come in all kinds of cute colors We have black which actually I wouldn't recommend black because the food actually shows up a lot on it You know like see eating a lot of black food That would be the opposite Sorry, it's just like I don't know avocado. I don't just all just all shows up so but they have like a bunch of different colors that are super cute and I It's $69.
So it's not the cheapest thing, but also you don't necessarily want the cheapest thing, but it works all the way up to... Okay, so you can use it as soon as your kid can sit upright on their own. So, you know, six months onward. And it goes up to 37 pounds. That's great. Yeah.
Shanna
That's really cool. I would be tempted to get something like that, but CeCe's starting to reject tight chairs in her booster altogether. She just wants to stand on the bench and just eat with us. So I don't know if I would have any life left in that.
Laura
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. I think it's something that if you are, you know, let's say you have like a newborn or a young infant, definitely worth investing in or if you're going to have another one. But yeah, it's been really, really handy for us. So it's also handy for if you have like a play date and you have a friend over and you don't have two high chairs.
Shanna
Oh yeah.
Laura
You know, it's like a backup high chair and it really does store flat so that's very cool. I used to just always keep it in the back of my car so if we'd like ended up at a restaurant I wouldn't have to worry if they had a high chair or not.
Shanna
And also high chairs at restaurants are often a little grody.
Laura
Yeah, or like the straps are always broken. Oh, yeah. Like how many times do you have to like go back and get another one because the strap is broken. So yeah, really like it. Nice. So that is mine. That's my BFP. Shanna, do you have a BFP or a BFN for us? Oh, I have a BFP also. Yay.
Shanna
I also can't believe I haven't talked about this. But I guess this is a product that's being used a lot more in my house now, so it's even more fun. Last Christmas, my brother got a karaoke microphone. which I don't know if you've seen these, but they are so cool. It's like a big microphone with the speaker built into the microphone, like towards the top of where you sing into. Okay. So you can sing into it and just have like a microphone and amp basically anywhere you go. Which is very good. This could be good or bad. It's true. It really is. But yeah, at first it was kind of like cool and fun, but Cece loves it. She like, at the beginning she liked it. It was so cute. She was kind of nervous to hear her own voice so loud and she would just like put her mouth on it and go da-da and hear it, you know, and you can put the volume up and the reverberation up. So it's like da-da-da-da-da.
And it's so cute. And now she's just a lot more confident with it. She knows how to turn it on and off and turn the volume up. And her new song is Let It Go, which is funny because I don't even necessarily play her that song very often, but she... just heard it and like locked on to it.
Laura
So it's like, it's so weird because she's like the only kid in the world who likes that song. I know, right? Weird. If only it were a big hit.
Shanna
There really is something about that song. I mean, if you write a song that gets into the head of a one year old, that's pretty remarkable. So it's just so cute. to see her sing and Elle sings in it too. And I love it, you know, I like microphones and hearing my own voice louder and you can also like connect it to the TV and do legit karaoke and follow along the words. And it's really great for announcing their activities. Like if I play announcer, it's always extra funds. Like if they do a fashion show, I'm like, next is, you know, just like, yeah, announcing and being goofy and stuff. So it's, it's fun. It's a great hit. It's not too expensive. It's just all in one little thing.
Laura
And yeah, it's a good time. That's not, that does sound really fun. Plus, I mean, you know how I love karaoke. Mm-hmm.
Shanna
Get one.
Laura
Have you ever used it without, like, after they've gone to bed, just done some karaoke on your own?
Shanna
No, the funny thing is just the other day Steve realized that you can, like, connect it via Bluetooth to the TV and, you know, and do the words and, you know, do karaoke stuff with it. Because it's always just been kind of a kid's thing. So now that we know. Maybe we will. Maybe we'll have a karaoke night.
Laura
You should. Zoom karaoke night. You know, even if you don't connect it to the TV, if you just go to YouTube and search for any song you like plus the word karaoke, it's there.
Did you know this? I discovered this. I had no idea. I discovered this back in the days before children when I would have alone time in my house and I'd be like, wait, I can just sing karaoke by myself. Oh my god, I love that you sang karaoke by yourself. That's so great. I mean, why not, you know?
Shanna
Why not?
Laura
It feels good to sing. Yes, it does. Belt it out. Yes.
Shanna
Oh man, that sounds therapeutic.
Laura
But I didn't have a mic.
Shanna
I didn't have a mic, so this is even better. Oh my God. Laura, I know what I'm getting you for Christmas.
Can't wait. Christmas is just getting me very excited for all kinds of reasons now, but it's still far off. Shanna, we haven't even made it to Halloween yet.
Laura
I know. We need to cool our jets.
Shanna
Oh, my God, I know. I just want to make the most of every holiday this year, you know, just really try to play it up and bring joy and stuff to the season. So I'm getting excited. Good. Good for you. Thank you. Own it. Yeah. All right, girl, well, I think that's our episode. Yep, yep, yep. Listeners, if you have any mom wins you wanna share with us, please let us know. We love hearing all of your successes and fun stories. Laura, where can listeners reach us?
Laura
We are on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at BFP Podcast. You can also find our website, bigfatpositivepodcast.com, or send us an email or voice memo to contact at bigfatpositivepodcast.com. Finally, you could join our Facebook community group. It's a If you love our show, please rate and review us wherever you listen. That's so helpful for us. And spread the word. Let your friends and family
Shanna
Hey, maybe even strangers on the street. I don't know. Let everyone know about Big Fat Positive. Big Fat Positive is produced by Laura Birek, Shanna Micko, and Steve Yager. Thanks for listening, everyone. Bye. Bye.