Mia Gordon
Reporter, Host, Content Creator, Blogger

My top tips for camping with a toddler

Living in BC I have always loved exploring the beautiful outdoors. Whether it be hiking, biking, ski touring, or camping. But now I have a little sidekick that makes heading out on some of these adventures a little more challenging.

I decided this year I was going to try camping with my little guy for the first time. I turned to my Squamish Mom Hive for the best tips and tricks ahead of the trip and also learned a lot while we were there that I wanted to share with you in case you are thinking of planning a camping trip with a toddler.

Tip #1 Think about logistics

 

This is something completely new and different and it could of been a total disaster – I mean toddlers barely like going to sleep a half hour later than usual – how about going to sleep in a completely different environment, outside, without any comforts of home. So wit this in mind I decided our first camping trip would be short and sweet – just one night as a sort of test drive. I also decide to keep it close to home in case it was a disaster and we had to abort the mission.

Also, something I learned the hard way is really check the weather ahead of time. We were having a heat wave in BC but of course the day we went camping it was cooler and raining and not something we prepared for.

Tip #2 Make sure you have the right gear

You know how when you are packing for vacation with your baby and somehow you have 3 extra suitcases somehow – well camping is no different it seems. There is so much extra gear that you need to think of brining for someone who is a quarter your size. Here is the gear that was a must have for us on our trip.

  • Pack and Play:If you are car camping I would suggest bringing a tent big enough that you could fit your pack and play. It creates a sleep space separate for your baby. Another great tip was to bring a blackout cover. Lot’s of people suggested the slumber pod but we just went with a blackout cover from amazon and it worked great and was half the price
  • Find the perfect toddler sleeping bag: I did a lot of research, and I mean hours worth of research trying to find the perfect sleeping bag and I landed on the Deuter Littlestar. Firstly I loved how cute it was with the little ears, but the material was also so soft. Then it had so many additional bonuses. It had zippers on both sides so easy to transfer Max. I loved that it was expandable and so it could grow with Max – since he is such a big kid and grows out of everything so quickly. I also loved that it was quick dry – which was a bonus on our first camping trip since it did indeed rain.
  • Bring the comfort items: One of the biggest tips I got was to make it as close to home as possible. So we brought along his sound machine and bunny.
  • Bring a carrier:We didn’t have any hikes planned but everyone kept telling me to bring a carrier and I am so glad we brought our Deuter Kid Comfort. We used it to help out with nap time (Max always falls asleep on walks) but also if there were any areas I didn’t want him running around or wasn’t safe I would leave him strapped in
  • Bring the basics: You are camping, you are outdoors, you are in nature – you need to bring the essential – extra clothes, kid sunscreen, baby safe bug spray , a first aid kid, and all of the snacks

Safety first

You are stepping out of your comfort zone and into a new environment and so all those baby and toddler proofing that you have done at home don’t exist out here so it is important to follow some safety tips.

  • Book with your toddler in mind: Check out the campsite’s location before checking. Is it near a busy road or a fast moving body of water? Maybe better to save it for an adults only trip.
  • Baby-proof the campsite: Before setting up your tent take a walk around your campsite looking for any dangerous items like sharp sticks or broken glass.
  • Keep child away from fire: I mean this one is pretty obvious ( I hope) but don’t leave your child unsupervised near the campfire
  • Write your campsite on your child’s hand: In case your toddler gets separate write down your campsite so it is easy for them to find you.

Have fun with it

Listen, this is a completely new experience – it isn’t going to be perfect but I promise it will be fun. Being outside in nature will be such an amazing time and enough to tire a toddler out but if you still need some activities why not try a scavenger hunt with items you find in nature, or better yet get your toddler to help you with tasks – Max loved trying to bang the pegs into the tent.

 

Happy camping my friends,

xo

Mia

Find out more about my new favourite skin care product from VIIcode

As an on camera personality I am always trying to look and feel my best, as a new mom that isn’t always easy. I am tired ALL…THE…TIME. So in order to fake it until I make it I rely on good beauty products.

I have shared some of my favourites here before but recently I did a big haul. I wanted to make sure that anything going on my face is high quality with trustworthy ingredients. Out with the old and in with a new they say. And one area I am really focusing on lately is my eyes – because as many moms know, that is the first place to give away how tired I really am. It is also a really sensitive skin area and so I wanted to chose my product wisely. I have recently fallen in love with VIIcode’s latest T2 Oxygen Eye Cream.

About the product

This eye cream is created to regenerate skin cells near the eye  with the help of some true superheroes aka natural ingredients which include

Elderberries

This product is filled with antioxidants. It helps maintain the cells around the eye to keep the skin firm and glowing

Jojoba oil

Another oil filed with antioxidants that helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

Evening Primrose oils

Primrose is great for boosting blood circulation, helping give those tired eyes life.

What I love

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bottle was the smell. It smelled really fresh and earthy. I also really loved the texture. I have tried a lot of eye creams over the years but have never felt one quite this smooth before. I have been using the cream at night for the past few weeks and I am already noticing a softer texture around my eyes.

There you have it my friends, my latest beauty secret for you all.

xo

Mia

 

 

Mom life: Returning to work after mat leave

While the first few days feel like I blur I still remember the feeling. The feeling of utter joy to have my new baby in my arms but I also remember just feeling so overwhelmed, anxious, scared, and of course tired. I remember wishing away the early days. I can’t wait until he sleeps through the night or I can’t wait until he no longer has to feed every two hours.

But then the days started to fly by, and those early sleepless nights were a distant memory. As someone once told me “The days are long but the years are short.” And it’s so true – this year flew by in the blink of an eye. And 13 months since I said see ya later to the Weather Network to embark on this incredible new journey as mom – it is time to head back to work.

This year has been my biggest year of growth yet. It has taught me patience, kindness, love (like I have never known before) and what is truly important to me. It has been a year full of memories, laughter, tears, and now it is time to turn the page on the book again and start a new chapter.

I was speaking with my therapist the other day about the anxiety I am having around finding the perfect balance. A balance between work and life they say but it is so much more than that, work, life, family, friends, my baby, and myself. It sounds like something only a superhero could do. I was feeling so overwhelmed that this wasn’t possible. And you know what – finding that perfect balance might not be humanly possible -but we decided I would just take it one day at a time.

Before having Max my life was my work – I had worked for 10 years to get to where I am and I finally found a job that I actually saw as a career that I love. After years of working part time, freelance, hard news and all the in between moments. At the Weather Network I have finally had a chance to tell real stories, ones that matter. Bringing important information to people, while also focusing on climate change and sustainability – which is something I care deeply about. I have had a chance to even create my own documentaries on these topics. I love my work – it has allowed me to travel and explore. I have seen the Northern Lights in the Yukon, the glaciers that tower over Whistler, the grizzlies of the Great Bear Rainforest. I have been given so many incredible opportunities and I am truly excited to see what comes next as the videographer and bureau chief for the Weather Network out here in British Columbia.

But now I have this new priority in my life. Gone are the days where I can just pack a bag and go. Gone are the days where I can just drop everything and run out to cover active weather. It is going to be a new balancing act for sure – one that I am nervous to try and conquer, but also one that I am excited about. I am excited to write this next chapter of my life – of our lives.

I know it isn’t going to be easy, there are going to be hiccups, and bumps and challenges – but that is the world we live in, and now I know just how challenging it is to be a working mom, but I want to be a mom that my son is proud of.

So mommas I see you, I feel you and I am here with you as you start to write new chapters of your own lives.

xo

Mia

Our winter one-derland birthday party tips

Oh the joys of having a baby born on Christmas Day – every birthday will have a winter or holiday theme for the rest of his life ( I mean we already have all of the decor out right?). And so for one we just had to go with a Winter One-derland. 

The wanna be Martha Stewart in me looked up 25 different holiday snack ideas and decided I was going to make all of them – my friends talked me off that ledge and told me to focus on a few key items. A good combination of savoury and sweet and both adult and baby friendly ( I mean it was Max’s birthday after all).

Then came decorations – I favourited a million things on Etsy, but realized a first birthday party should not cost us hundreds of dollars. I also have been focusing on reducing waste – so decided on a few key items and also tried to make a lot of them with items around the house

The icing on the cake for me though was the idea of a hot coco bar. What kind of winter one-derland would be complete without one right?

So this is what we ended up with:

Food: We went with some winter wonderland themed treats

A veggie snowman

Every party needs a healthy snack tray and so took a wintery twist and used the veggies to make a snowman. As dog owners we know there is always some yellow snow to avoid so we added in some yellow peppers

Cranberry brie bites

Is there anything that says the holidays more than cranberry brie bites. Super simple to make and absolutely delicious

Christmas tree pull apart cheese balls

This was the bread and butter of the day. I had a vision to create cheese balls from pizza dough and bake them in the shape of a Christmas tree – this one took the most time and effort (remember a friend telling me to focus on one big item) well this was it and they were worth the effort.

snowflake cookies

Sugar cookies are always a delicious treat to add to the dessert table and so I baked and decorated 50 sugar cookies – we had left overs for Christmas so that was great.

We also set up

Hot chocolate bar

It was my dream to have a hot coco bar and wanted this to be a highlight feature.

We made the hot chocolate in an instant pot so it would stay warm throughout the evening and had some toppings like marshmallows, candy canes, chocolate chips, and some Baileys for the adults.

Decorations: It is easy to create a winter one-derland with decorations we already had

We kept everything simple and winter themed but there were a few highlights that I absolutely loved that really personalized the decorations.

We created a personalized banner with pictures through the months. Another favourite for me was we create a Max’s First Year poster, showcasing some of his accomplishments in his first year.

Overall it was honestly the most special day and to see our little one so excited to smash his cake, play with friends, and open gifts was incredible. But I my top tip for planning the best birthday party is don’t stress it mama. I was so nervous and stressed leading up to the big day. Did we have enough food? Were his friends going to have fun playing with the toys in the house? Were there enough decorations?

And then I realized that none of that mattered. It was all about friends and family coming together to celebrate Max. So just enjoy this special day mama’s, because after all your first baby only gets one first birthday.

xo

Mia

 

 

 

Mia’s Mom-alogue Chapter 3: The dreaded diabetes and more from past 20 weeks

Well if this isn’t where things start to get exciting during a pregnancy. In fact this chapter of my mom-alogue involves a bear encounter, a fight with a pair of socks, and a leaky lady part. Here we go 20 weeks and beyond, and by beyond I mean when somehow despite your stomach being the size of a small planet it just keeps expanding.

The dreaded Gestational Diabetes test 

I remember going into my gestational diabetes test with extreme confidence. I am a former pro athlete, I lead an extremely healthy lifestyle, there is no diabetes in my family. I chugged that disgusting orange drink like a champ and left with a skip in my step. But alas I got the call from the doctor just a few hours later – I had gestational diabetes and oh my iron levels were very very low ( I guess that explains the extreme fatigue). I remember sitting on the couch yelling at my poor unborn child that I really hated him at this point ( I feel very guilty of that now) but at the time where I had yet to enjoy much of my pregnancy this was just icing on the cake (cake I wasn’t allowed to eat). This is hard for me to admit,  and looking back at it I actually had a really easy pregnancy, one without too many complications and issues, but I wasn’t able to see that in this moment of disappointment – and guess what momma’s, it is ok to feel all the feels when you are pregnant.

I got the news just as I was about to leave on my baby-moon, and by baby-moon I mean the trip my husband had to cancel and I was now travelling on a few close friends. I remember showing up to the airport with my new meter and lancets on hand pricking my finger to test my sugar levels.

We were traveling to the Yukon in October, which meant beautiful fall colours but a crisp air, early darkness, oh and grizzly bears getting ready for hibernation. And so while all my friends were eating their homemade dessert I had to go out in the dark with two bear sprays in hand to get my 15 minute walk in post dinner and avoid the sugars that I wasn’t supposed to eat. After a night of singing to myself at the top of my lungs to hopefully scare of the grizzlies I decided to instead walk around the dinner table for 15 minutes watching my friends eat dessert. It was the ultimate form of torture. In fact if you ever need to get information out of someone – just make them watch their friends eat warm apple pie while they have to smell it and look at it but can’t eat it and on top of that they have to walk in the room with the pie for 15 minutes.

Alas I did not run into any grizzlies in the Yukon – but once I returned home to Squamish on a very cold, very dark, very wet post dinner walk with my dog Huey he started growling at something and when I looked up there was a giant black bear no more than 10 feet from me. Thankfully the black bear was nose deep in a garbage can and I ddi what you are never ever supposed to do if you do encounter a bear… I ran.

The GD brought on a whole other medical issue for me – one that I found out is called white coat syndrome. Every time I stepped into a doctor’s office from this point on I was so afraid I was going to get more bad news that my blood pressure would escalate. I was told to go into the room early before each appointment and meditate, the most tranquil setting let me tell you. Needless to say that did not work and I was sent off three times to check my urine for preeclampsia. They officially knew me by name there. Oh here is Mia back again for a urine sample let’s just try and keep her as cool as a cucumber.

Because of my GD I was scheduled in for two extra ultrasounds at 34 and 37 where I found out my baby was measuring large and I mean I was on pace to have an 11 pounder. Oh and also my water was normal but low – don’t ask me what that means. I was now petrified of what my body was going to have to do. I kept begging my doctor to induce me early, while he was still a manageable size, but she just kept telling me I was able to control my GD so I was creating a baby the right size for my body – I tend to disagree – no one’s body is supposed to deliver an 11 pound baby.

I decided I would take things into my own hands. I did every old wives tale in the book – spicy food, raspberry leaf tea, acupuncture, alas nothing worked and I ended up delivering 3 days late, on Christmas, a 9 pound 9.6 ounce baby but that story is for another day.

A fight… with a sock 

I was lucky that for most of my pregnancy my actual body felt great (aside from the acid reflux I have spoken often about). I was working out daily, spinning, hiking, I had a lot of energy (most days in my second trimester at least). And I was carrying pretty well if I do say so myself. But then that all changed once I hit 30 weeks.

It seemed that every single morning my belly grew. It was like the poor girl who turns into a blueberry in the chocolate factory. I thought I was literally about to pop – but somehow it just kept expanding and expanding.

Then it happened, I could no longer reach over my belly to my feet. It happened on a cold November day when I had to go out for my post dinner GD walk and I was trying to put on my socks, but I could’t reach. I tried everything. Rolling around the bed, kicking my leg high in the air, crawling up in the fetal position on the ground. I eventually had to accept defeat and call in reinforcement, aka my husband. He also then had to tie my shoelace for me before I walked out the door. It was one of the more humbling moments of my pregnancy.

The weird, whacky, and the eww 

What I also learned in the later stages of my pregnancy is all the weird things that happen to your body that no one tells you about and that just don’t make sense. I remember getting on the phone with my doctor when I thought my mucus plug fell out (if you don’t know what that is do not google it). She told me not to worry, it may just grow back.

I also remember one day where I barely felt baby move – unfortunately my husband was a few drinks deep hosting some friends so a girlfriend came to the hospital with me. We didn’t have the heart to tell the sweet nurse that we were not a couple and my deer friend came for moral support since my husband was a little tipsy and couldn’t drive me. We had to finally come clean when she asked my friend how to spell her name to put her on my medical file.

Oh and then there was Christmas eve morning when I was convinced I was leaking amniotic fluid and so another trip to the hospital – only for the results to come back negative for amniotic fluid and so now on my medical file it says, and I quote, I came in for a ‘leaky vagina’. Oh joy. We did do a sweep though and less than 24 hours later my amniotic fluid didn’t leak – it poured. My water broke at 12:01 Christmas morning but again that is a story for another chapter.

But the moral of this story mommas is if you feel like something is off, or wrong, or different trust your instinct. In fact the moment we left after my none stress test the nurse told me if I got to the parking lot and was worried about something else to just come back. It is better to be over cautious and get something checked when the resources are available – especially when you are going through this completely new completely overwhelming  experience. You are not alone and you have a whole team behind you. I am so thankful for not just the team of my friends and family, but the amazing team of nurses, doctors, and hospital staff that helped get me through my white coat syndrome, GD, large baby delivery, pregnancy.

No matter what your pregnancy throws at you momma just remember you are strong as a mother and you can do this.

Next up L&D – the real fun stuff.

xo

Mia