Where oh where can my baby be??

Jack is 2.

Its hard to believe that two years ago today, I held him for the first time.  I nursed him for the first time.  My husband and his best friend danced around our hospital room with him, seranading him with Bohemian Rhapsody, and as exhausted as I was, I hadn't seen anything yet.

Jack is still the most amazing creature I have ever laid eyes on, just as he was that first day.

He blew through milestones that first year, crawling, standing, taking steps.  He now has all 20 of his baby teeth and can and does eat just about anything.  He no longer walks, but runs, and talks to us in full sentences.

Having a conversation with someone you literally created is fantastic, mind blowing, every time.

Every month it seems he is doing more.  Every day, his vocabulary gets bigger.  Each "age" is my favorite.  Right now, I want him to never change and yet I also can't wait for what's next.

I love that if you have to wake him from his nap, he is guaranteed to be extraordinarily cranky.  I love that he now says, "no," to almost everything, smiling becuase he knows its the wrong answer.  I love that he insists on standing up to pee, even though his aim is terrible at best.  I especially love that he asks for what he wants, including asking us to tickle him, specifying which foot or arm he would prefer.

In about 7 months, Jack will become a big brother, so when we went today for his 2nd birthday pictures, it struck me that this could be one of the last times he is the only one in those pictures, the sole focus of the camera.  It makes me sad, and while I know, intellectually, that I will love the new baby just as much as I love him, and maybe love them both even more (is that possible?), it is unfathomable that anything could compare to my little Jackaroni and cheese.

For the record, Jack says he wants a sister.  But he also insists alternately that the baby is in either HIS belly, or Daddy's.

Happy birthday, little man.  I hope this year will be just as full of discoveries and happiness as your first two have been.

Confession - my toddler only likes chicken nuggets, despite my best intentions

My son eats lots of veggies.  Sometimes, there are things I have to do when preparing them to make them "edible" (string beans need to be very soft or they get the boot), but mostly I just cook them and he eats them.  Every now and then the broccoli he loved two days ago is unaaceptable for some unknown reason but generally the next time I serve it, he is happy.

My son LOVES fruit.  There is nothing I can do to make him eat less fruit, short of not buying it.  He sees bananas, pears, apples, on the counter and asks for them.  Grapes or pineapple in the fridge = demands when he sees the door open.  The mrere existance of kiwi sents in himto a tailspin.

Dairy is also not a problem.  He loves cheese (so he is definitly mine), and ate yogurt daily for the first 6 months or so of his foray into solids.  Now he eats it often, usually in fruit smoothies.  We like greek yogurt for the protien content.  He is even now thankfully drinking milk, mostly without complaint.  I give him 2% because...well...it's what I always buy.  Whole milk grosses me out, is more expensive, and would end up getting throw away since he is unlikely to drink the entire bottle before it goes bad.

Meat, however, is another issue entirely.  I gave him beans and rice, tofu, eggs, but no meat until about 10 months.  I think in general we eat too much meat so I thought I was doing him a favor by not making it normal early on.  Then we could all enjoy meatless meals without complaint or feeling like something is missing.  I wanted him to like inexpensive protiens as well.

What meat does he like?  Chicken nuggets.  Yes, my son is one of those toddlers who only wants chicken nuggets.  This was the entire basis for my "make-all-the-baby-food-lots-of-veggies-nothing-processed" mentality.  I didn't want the kid that only eats food that is breaded/battered and fried.  Especially since high-quality chicken nuggets are not only hard to find (impossible, in our new town) but also rather pricey.  I have tried making my own with no sucess.

He also loves meatballs.  But meat as nature made it is hard for him to chew.  Why?  He has almost all this teeth (last time he let me look, only 4 were missing). 

So the answer simply must be my delayed introduction.

So I guess this post is mostly a confession that I didn't do everything right, like I thought I did.  At the time it made sense, but next baby will get a more well-rounded diet. For now, I'm going to get bean cakes back into our meal plans and keep on serving up those little cut up pieces of chicken off the grill and not the Tyson bag and hope for the best.

Meanwhile, I have decided that in reality, it isn't the end of the world if my son eats chicken nuggets every now and then.  It didn't kill me, and it won't kill him.

Quick Potty Training Update

Thought I would take a minute to give an update on Jack's potty training progress.  With the move, we expected regression but really never noticed any.  Some days are better than others and with my husband gone on business this week, I can attest that Jack does better with this when Daddy is around, even if he is at work for part of the day.  After he was gone for about two days, Jack started having more accidents.

I suspect this may be due to my lack of male parts.

This seems pretty normal, though.  He is, overall, doing pretty well.  It seems to be, of course, dependant on my memory.  Sometimes when we are running around doing things or even at home if I get involved in unpacking/organizing something and lose track of time a bit, I forget to prompt him frequently.  He does usually tell me he needs to go, but not always. 

I am pleased to report that his fear of public potties had passed, at least temporarily.  We have had no trouble using the fold up potty seat or even being held up over the toilet.  I have been employing the potty-in-the-car less frequently, but I think I will bring it with us today for a trip to the zoo, as the drive is a bit long and we may have to wait a bit before getting inside.

Speaking of today's outting, this is more or less the first recreational (for both of us - Lowe's doesn't count for him, even if I do enjoy a good trip to the hardware store) event I have planned for us.  We are meeting a new playgroup there - one that focuses on learning as its primary goal.  I hope we will find some new friends and have a good time!

Moved, bought a Twilight Turtle. Now you are all caught up.

We closed on our new house at the end of February, so we are still unpacking some. We blew through a large percentage of boxes as fast as we could and now everything for the kitchen, dining room, living room, and Jack's room is unpacked/assembled. Our room is lovely with its new bedroom furniture after a really big trip to Ikea. I'll work on some before and after posts as we get things finished up, or at least more progress. I'd like to get my sewing machine set up, but I've pledged to wait until everything else is done, to motivate myself.

But today I wanted to share a product review. It seems my son is quite fond of green animals, namely turtles and alligators. He has two rather long stuffed alligators that he sleeps with every night, and now he is the proud owner of a Cloud B Twilight Turtle. I have had my eye on this toy for a long time, but I wasn't sure if it would help him sleep, or keep him awake. Then a representative from CSNstores.com contacted me a couple of months ago, asking me if I would like to do a product review for their site. I had heard of CSN stores, but had never shopped there. When they offered me $25 off any item I would like to review, I knew I would pick something for Jack because, well, I'm a mom. It's what we do, right? So I took my time, browsing the site for a couple of weeks before realizing that time and time again, I went back to the Cloud B Twilight Turtle.

Some things I love about this toy:

1. It speaks to my toddler's need to make choices. He can pick the color of his starry sky every night and the buttons are easy to use, so it is very child-friendly. He knows which one turns it on (took about three seconds to figure that out once the batteries were in), and while most nights he wants green, sometimes he goes with blue.
2. There are 8 actual constellations hidden in the sky. While Jack is a bit young to "get" the concept, I look forward to teaching him some basic constellations by pointing them out at bedtime.
3. Auto shut-off! I love that after 45 minutes, the Turtle turns off. Jack is still in his crib (although he did climb out not long ago….) but when we take the side off for full-on toddler freedom, he can easily turn it back on if he needs to in the middle of the night. But unlike many nightlights, this one doesn't stay on all night. Battery-operated, it is also safe for him to play with, unlike a light that plugs in.
4. The light is subtle, as opposed to a blaring plug-in nightlight. The room is just light enough to see that there is nothing to be afraid of, while not suppressing melatonin.
5. It isn't ugly. So many nightlights for kids are appealing to kids, and not so much to their parents, who can't stand the light-up sesame street faces and the like. This turtle is soft and plush, with a soft plastic shell, and looks adorable and innocent sitting on Jack's new LACK bedside table. The zoo print material I made his duvet from has turtles and I plan to include turtles in his room décor, so it's the perfect addition.
6. Not into turtles? This little guy can be had in the form of a ladybug as well!

There is literally nothing I don't like about this toy. I love that it's safe for him to play with. I love that it arrived in time for his first night in his new home, and I believe that it helped distract him from being in a strange room. It has become a lovely addition to our bedtime routine. There's nothing like telling your 21 month old that its bedtime and have him run in his room to turn on his nightlight.

I would happily recommend the Cloud B Twilight Turtle to friends looking for a safe, fun, and even a little bit educational nightlight for their child. I this this toy would make an excellent addition to a new baby's nursery, helping to create a good sleep atmosphere and fun bedtime routine. The retail price of $30 is not too bad, either, when you consider that this nightlight will fit nicely into a child's bedtime routine for many, many years. You might find yourself switching from Bob the Builder sheets to Batman, but the nightlight can stay.

If you shop at CSNstores.com, you'll find a huge selection of quality products, in addition to Cloud B toys and gifts. While I was perusing the stores, I didn't see a single item I wouldn't buy or consider buying. Brands like Boon, OXO tot, Chicco, Plan Toys, and more. All the brands I know and trust, with competitive prices and many ship free! We are currently looking for a deal on a playhouse for Jack's birthday, and this site has an incredible selection.

CSNstores.com also carries products for your home, kitchen, bathroom, furniture, and more. Check them out next time you are comparison shopping!

Just say no to pull-ups?

If you have read any of my potty training posts, you know that we neglected to buy any pull-up disposable training pants for our son. Oops. It wasn't an accident, of course. I started my potty training plans with big intentions toward cloth training pants, since we used cloth diapers, and spent a fair bit of time poking around my favorite cloth diaper shops online and looking at the training pants offerings. I wasn't surprised at how many options there are, nor that many are pretty expensive. With all the cloth diapering options out there, it stands to reason that there would be a lot in training pants as well.

Months ago I bought a three pack of Gerber training pants, thinking we would try them out and see if we really needed to unload so much cash to get our son potty trained in a eco- friendly way. However, by the time we really embarked on our first full-on potty training week, I had determined that the best course of action was to stick him in big boy underpants and skip any kind of training pant. We bought 10 pairs of character undies and used a few Gerber pants when we ran low. As an aside, I don't recommend the character undies. They were falling apart after a few washes. I have since purchased some from Carters and they are much higher quality. Cuter, too.

Yes, I did a lot of laundry that week, and for another week or so the loads were still more frequent that I would like. Now, we do maybe an extra load but the loads are a bit smaller. He does have accidents and I don't like to leave pee-soaked clothes sitting, but really he doesn't go through enough extra clothing that it's a burden.

But our trash? The same.

When I wander around one of those big club stores and see the giant cases of training pants, I can't help but wonder why people would spend that kind of money on something they are going to HOPE their child won't pee or poo in and so they can throw it away, essentially unused. Best case scenario, you are wasting your money. Worst case, you may as wekk just stay in diapers.

Then I see that they go up to a size 5T.

Now, come on, people! Okay, I get it. I do! I know that when both parents work, potty training the way we did it is not easy. Probably pretty difficult, in fact. Disposable trainers do make it easier by avoiding the mess. But they may just drag it out over months or even years, costing you time, money, and more than a little frustration.

Consider this:

Huggies offers the following training pants features:

1. "easy open sides", which basically means you can continue to lie your child down to change him, which only confirms his suspicions that he is wearing a diaper. Call it whatever you want, it's still a diaper.
2. Nighttime absorbancy. DIAPER. The goal is not for you child to sleep comfortably through nighttime urination.
3. "cool alert". In what universe does it make sense for a child to feel coldness as a result of peeing? This seems confusing and ultimately, since they have already begun to urinate, probably not terribly effective.
4. Character designs that fade away when wet. Presumably, your child is also wearing pants so I'm not sure what the point is, except that they'll be excited to get their diaper changed…

Pampers offers:

1. Claim they hold 25% more than Huggies training pants. Do I need to say it?
2. Claim to help make potty training "make sense". There is no further explanation. I have no idea what this means.
3. "feel and learn" liner. They say that children feel wetness, helping them learn to stay dry. BUT I would argue that this is likely temporary, and not terribly uncomfortable, as the diaper itself absorbs most if not all of the liquid, so the discomfort does not compare to being naked or in just underpants, which leads to pee running down the leg, which leads to self-awareness and an understanding of where the pee comes from. But of course I have never peed in one so I wouldn't know.
4. When you click on "Helpful Hints" under the product description, it explains the basics of…changing diapers.
5. Pampers trainers also have designs that fade when wet. They are located below the cool Diego design that kids like so much. Diego doesn't fade. I think girls get Dora.

 

The first review that came up when I clicked on the tab at the Pampers site stated that the writer loves the product, thinks it is awesome, and wishes they came in a size 7. The second reviewer only bought them because a coupon made them cheaper than diapers and she recommends skipping them and going right into underpants because her child would rather use the training pant than the potty. She also says they look and feel and work just like a diaper, only with tear apart sides instead of tabs.

At the Huggies website, a rather annoying song plays that repeats itself in my head while I try to go to sleep at night. You know the one.

Yes, potty training is messy and messier if you skip these products. But it's cheaper and faster if you just grin and bear it, and the earth will thank you. Kimberly-Clark and Proctor & Gamble probably prefer if you keep your child in diapers until they outgrow the biggest size. Can you blame them? The price per diaper for training pants is much higher.

Both sites have long lists of things to look for for potty training "readiness". Ignore these. Your child does not have to be able to do the entire potty process without any assistance before he can be potty trained. You will be wiping bums for a while, so you may as well help pull clothes up and down, too. It isn't as gross as changing diapers, I promise. Especially when the tradeoff is getting rid of a stinky diaper pail.

Not a stay at home parent? Consider taking a week of vacation, and if you have a partner, have him or her take a second week following yours, and potty train with just underpants. Use whatever method makes sense to you, but be consistent. Then stick with undies as much as possible, using disposable pants only if your daycare requires it. Make sure to ask. It's possible that yours expects it, but understands that they prolong the process and they may be happy to skip them, too. If not, consider a greener option. Seventh Generation makes training pants, or your daycare may be willing to work with waterproof cloth trainers. Cloth trainers have excellent resale value!

I LOVE automatic flush toilets and so does my toddler!! Yeah, right.

I thought it might be interesting to share how our potty training has been going. It only took Jack about a week to really catch on and he was even starting to tell us when he needed to go by the middle of the second week.

 

Being cautious, I was skeptical that this would really stick so quickly, so…well…easily. But he has really been doing great. Yes, we do have accidents but he is at about 85-90% accuracy and almost always lets someone know when he needs to go. We have to closely monitor Yo Gabba Gabba time because frankly, he would rather pee himself than pause it for two minutes to use the potty. But can you blame him?

 

So things were going great after the first two weeks. He was even using public toilets like a champ!

 

And then we went into a bathroom at the mall, armed with a cushy fold up potty seat, and dared my happily-peeing-in-public-potties toddler to get through two rather harrowing experiences. The first was incidental. The second was entirely my fault.

 

See, there was a young mother in there changing her tiny daughter's diaper. On the counter, obviously, because there was no changing table. She had, of course, every possibly piece of baby gear with her and since the bathroom was small, it took up most of the room and blocked us in. I watched in horror as she not only changed the baby without a changing pad under her, but also piled up used wipes on the counter. All the while, she apologized and told us indignantly that, "there's no changing table! So I had no choice," and not moving a muscle. I admire her commitment to changing that diaper in a timely fashion, but that's about it.

 

Now, new mommas out there, I GET IT. I have been there. I have needed to change a poopie diaper and been unable to locate a bathroom with a changing table. In such cases, I have:

1. Gone back out to our car and changed him on the seat.
2. Continued to look for a family restroom (which, by the way, was only about a two minute walk away from this one).
3. Used the stroller, though this is awkward.

So I implore, please consider these options first. Now, I digress. Back to my story.

 

So while we tentatively waited for New Mommy to make some kind of attempt to move something out of the way, Jack backed up and stood under the automatic hand dryer.

 

Yes, the automatic hand dryer.

 

Those of you with toddlers know what happened next, but I'll indulge those without. The dryer turned itself on and scared the bejeezus out of my son, who all but leapt out of his pants. After seemingly soothing my little guy, I quickly told New Mommy that my son needs the potty, can I move her things? She suddenly seemed to realize that we had come into the bathroom in order to use it's facilities, rather than in search of an adorable little 10 week old baby girl to oogle. Though, admittedly, she was pretty cute. But what baby isn't? She said something along the lines of, "omg, of course!"

 

So I shoved her stroller, topped with an infant seat and with at least one shopping bag from every store in the mall strapped, tied, and piled on top of it out of our way. Immediately upon entering the stall, I noticed (as any over-read mother would) that the toilet had an automatic flush. I deftly placed the fold up seat on the potty, pulled down my son's now-too-big pants and undies, scooped him up, and threw one hand over the sensor while placing him delicately on his throne, where he kicked his feet around contentedly and wondered why I had responded to his repeatedly saying, "potty? Momma, potty?" by taking him to a potty. Silly Momma.

 

Before I continue (and, again, at least the novice moms out there know where this is going), I should mention that only the day before I had purchased, for this very occasion, a roll of black electric tape. I, over-read that I clearly am on relevant parenting topics and most recently on potty training, knew that savvy mommas carry a roll in their diaper bag to cover the sensor so the automatic toilet does not flush and scare the living poopie out of their skeptical-about-public-potties-already toddlers. But you see, my toddler was already using public toilets like a pro, #1, #2, whatever. He was golden. So I figured, since my own mom was there wielding the somehow heavier diaper bag, that I should go ahead and have her dig out the tape for me so I can tempt fate a little and free my numb finger from its rather uncomfortable and weird angle. Because, you see, that's what I was supposed to do.

 

While reciting, by heart, "Hippos go berserk!" to keep my son entertained, I used my teeth and free left (aka useless) hand to rip off a piece of electrical tape, which I then slipped in place, sliding my finger out of the way.

 

Oops. Turns out I'm not so deft. It flushed, Jack cried out and flew off the potty. And he has not used a public toilet since.

 

Okay, so it's only been a few weeks. But I should mention that, again, being waay over-read, I knew that some savvy moms also keep a spare potty in their car and just let their kids use the potty before going in the store or before getting buckled back in. I have no idea where I read this, but some clever mom out there paved the way and now I barely even look around to see if anyone is watching before I dump pee on the parking lot and sing our new favourite song, "Pee Pee in the Potty," which literally goes:

Pee Pee in the Potty!

Pee Pee in the Potty!

Pee Pee in the Potty!

 

So I didn't exactly invent the wheel there, but since I'm not a fan of pre-sliced bread, I will go ahead and pat myself on the back for my potty training prowess and pretend that whole ugly mall incident wasn't my fault.

Looking forward to playground weather!

This year, spring is going to mean a lot to me and my family.  Spring is meant to be a rebirth, and for us it really will be.  We will be closing on our first house and moving in.  I'm planning to start my garden, and hopefully my son will be finding his way into a new playgroup.  I think every parent kind of dreams that her house will be the one all the kids want to come play at.

With having our own yard looming in the near future, I cannot help but dream of filling it with amazing kid attractions.  I always wanted a swing set in my yard when I was a kid and I kind of want Jack to have one.  But with the garden, adding a fence, and planing some fruit trees, I'm not sure we will have room.  If we are to get one (probably as a bithday gift), I want to be sure it will last for many years, and be something we can move with us again when we relocate.  I want quality, but I don't want to spend a ton of money.  Another option we have been considering is a nice playhouse.  I can't decide which ill get more love and use over the years.

I was looking for wooden playhouses and swing sets online just now and discovered that there are about three million options out there.  Wooden? Plastic? Metal?  Small and understated, or massive enough to make your yard cooler than the playground?  I was actually kind of surprised that you can even buy really nice swing sets and playhouses online, let alone get free shipping, but CSN Stores offer a huge selection of both, plus bikes, trikes, trampolines, and even play kitchen sets.  Suddenly, my son's birthday wish list is growing and growing... And I don't think he even really knows what his birthday is yet, let alone that it's in about 3 months and that he can ask for something he wants.

Of course, if I ask him what he want's he will probably just ask to watch an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba.

I'd love to go bundle my little guy up and take him to the park, but it's just flat out too cold.  So for now, I'm going to have to settle for some online day dream shopping...  If I start now, maybe I can narrow it all down by the time we are ready to plan his birthday!