Potty Training: (Part II) Being Diaper-free!!

Ok, so my 3 year old daughter has been completely diaper free for a long time now.  I just forgot to post about it.

I think a lot of parents would agree with me when I say potty training is the worst... It is, it really is.  We used the method (potty-training boot camp) first mentioned on my blog for her potty training during the day and it worked. But for a while we weren't really pushing her to be without diapers when she went to bed. Well enough was enough, once my second child was born. 

The method we used for her night-time potty training was simple: As they say, just rip the band-aid off! We didn't give her a choice. She wasn't allowed any diapers anymore.  It worked for the most part, except the lovely problem of her not wanting to poop in the potty.  She actually didn't do too bad when it came to peeing her bed. She only had an accident a couple of times; but that darn pooping in the potty was a problem.  She almost went a week without pooping. She was so stubborn.  I was just about to give up a put a diaper back on her, but she didn't want a diaper on and she told me she wasn't a baby anymore.  So long story short, I was getting worried because she was getting so constipated, I wanted to postpone the training, but then she just went and did it! Yay! Potty training for night time was hell for a little over a week, but totally worth it in the end.

Here are some bedtime tips for Night-time Potty Training:

1. Do not give them milk or any liquids right when they go to bed. Our cut-off time was an hour before she went to bed.

2. Make sure you line their mattress with a plastic cover.  We had two plastic covers: a plastic cover and sheet set and then another plastic cover and sheet set over top of that, so in the middle of the night when your little one has an accident, you can just take off the first set and she still has the second set to go to bed in.  It leaves cleaning for the morning and allows mom or dad to go back to sleep quickly.

3. Have nightlights that guide the way to the bathroom, with a nightlight in the bathroom.

4. Don't give up! I know this is probably the hardest part about it, but they will stop peeing the bed, I promise! Normally, they are just about ready the moment you want to give up, so just keep at it.

*Also, if you are having problems getting your child to poop in the potty, here are some things that might help:

1. Prune juice

2. Miralax- we would put a little bit in her milk in the mornings.

3. Lots of fruit and apple juice.`

To Have or Not to Have a baby shower for your second child



 

 



I've been reading up on BabyCenter to see whether or not it is a good idea to have a baby shower for a second child.  Apparently, a lot of mom's think it isn't a good idea unless it is the opposite gender of your first child.  I'd like to say I don't agree.

Before my second child was born, a good friend of mine wanted to throw us a baby shower. I told her it wasn't necessary, but she insisted that this baby get a shower just like how our first one did.

We decided to have the shower a couple months after the baby was born. This was actually a great idea because it meant that we wouldn't have a lot of visitors right away.  I don't know about how other moms feel about this, but I remember when my first child was born, it was very overwhelming having a whole bunch of people visit right away.  I understand everyone was excited for us and they wanted to see our newest member of our family. In my own experience, it was hard to deal with having a lot of visitors while trying to heal from an emergency C-section and having massive sleep deprivation. Of course I wanted everyone to meet our little one but there had to have been a better way of going about it.

Having a baby shower a couple months after having your second child allows you to heal the way you need to and people don't feel like they need to rush to meet your baby. It gives you a chance to be with your baby without being overwhelmed with company.  And the great thing is, everyone still gets to meet your little bundle of joy when you finally have healed and have more energy.  You are able to enjoy being around everyone and not feel stressed.

And as for gifts, don't feel bad that you are putting on a shower for your second child because your friends and family are excited for you and they want to get your little one something special.

6 Steps to transitioning an only child into a loving sibling, THE EASY WAY!

We all get that fear of wondering how our first child will handle a new sibling . We often worry that the child will act out of jealousy. Luckily, there are ways to get your only child excited about becoming a sibling. Some of these steps have obviously not been invented by me, but they are ideas that I have taken from friends who have already been through the parents-of-siblings trenches. I hope this helps you as much as it helped me!

1. Give Notice.
Your belly is getting bigger, you will need to tell your child at some point. Talk about how much fun it will be once they have another sibling to play with. If you have a sibling, tell the child about how great it is. There are many children's books out there on becoming a big brother/ sister.
2. Big Sister/ Brother Day
This is the day your second child is born. Hype you first child up about it saying this is a very special day for her because it is the day she becomes a big sister. You can have a cake (or cupcake), balloons and a present waiting for your first child when she comes to visit you at the hospital. It would be a good idea to say the present was from the younger sibling.
3. Have small presents for the child when the baby gets gifts.
I'm not saying go to babies r us and buy your child a bunch of expensive toys, you can easily go to the dollar store and pick up some coloring books and small toys that she can play with. She won't get jealous of all the baby's nice new things because she received something small too.
4. Give your older child the attention she/he needs.
Spend time with her. Let her see she is a priority. Even if it is just for 15 minutes a day dedicated solely to her, she will feel loved and she will be less likely to act out.
5. Let her help you with the baby.
Diaper changes, bringing a blanket to the baby, helping with bath time, or getting her binky, she will like feeling that she has a helping role to play for her younger sibling.
6.  Let her love the baby in her own way.
If she wants to lay beside the baby on her play mat during tummy time, let her. Or if she wants to be in the crib with her for a few minutes, why not? This is her time to bond with the baby and be close with her. You could even allow her to hold the baby (obviously make sure they are both supported). Let her hold hands and give kisses.

Dealing with Monsters



For the past couple of weeks, my daughter has been scared of monsters during both day and night. She would wake up screaming at 4am saying there are monsters and dinosaurs in her room. It was starting to get out of hand when she believed they were in our backyard.

The other day we watched the 80s movie, The Last Unicorn, and she saw how a small unicorn was able to defeat a massive flaming bull. Using that idea, we decided to dedicate a small toy of hers that resembled the unicorn (it was a little pink and white Pegasus stuffed toy) and told her it would protect her from any monster by putting it to sleep.  We named him Glidicus.

She now takes him with her anytime she feels scared.  She has more confidence and now she can sleep through the night again. There are no longer monsters outside because Glidicus has put them all to sleep ;)

Baby-Got-Gas!!

A little laughter for the day:

I don't know if other parents do this, but my husband and I sure do; We normally take big name songs, change the words around so they relate to our kids, then sing it to them. Yesterday I was burping my infant and the rhythm to that "Baby-Got-Back" song got in my head for some reason, so I sung it to my baby using my own words.

Here it is:

Baby-Got-Gas
We like BIG BURPS and we cannot lie.
No other babies can deny,
When your mom picks you up to give you white stuff, you gulp it down, without a frown
We get gas!
Gotta burp it upwards
or send it downwards.
Bubbles they keep coming,
And the gas is quite alarming!
Baby Got Gas!

PS: I know it's not the whole song...but it still works :)

How to get a toddler to brush her teeth

Ok so brushing my toddler's teeth is literally like pulling teeth. Anytime I would tell her to brush her teeth she would run into different bedrooms screaming, "NOOOOO, NOOOOOO" and hide. My daughter is a huge Elmo fan and luckily my husband found that Elmo has a brushing teeth song on YouTube. I showed that to her and now it's hard to take the toothbrush away from her! Of course, she needs to watch that video every single time she brushes her teeth, but at least she is brushing!
If anyone else needs the song you can find it here:
Elmo Brushes Teeth

You're Welcome!

The MONSTER is OUT

I don't know if anybody else has experienced this, but the other night my 2 year old daughter decided it was a good idea to get up at 3:00am and run up and down our halls, in the dark screaming, "MONSTA EMMY, MONSTA EMMY!  ROOAAAARRRR!" I got up in my completely out-of-it tired state (because I just finished putting my infant back to bed) and asked her what she was doing and she would just repeat herself, "MONSTA EMMY! ROOOAAARR!"

Hmmm, no Little Bear before bed I guess? I hope this is only a one night thing...