Signs Your Baby Girl Has Two Big Brothers

 

1. She loves playing with cars.

2. Her Pampers® Easy Ups training pants have a picture of Diego on it.

Dora's I Spy Game

People often ask how to get started with potty training. I advise Moms and Dad to start by talking. Talk about the potty, read books about potty use and begin introducing kids to the concept of the potty before attempting your first bathroom trip.

One way to do that is to use the Dora's I Spy game. This simple fun game asks kids to circle the items that don't belong in the bathroom. Print it out and begin the conversation in your home!

Potty Teaching

I had a history teacher in high school who would say that she learned the material as she taught it to us.  I remember thinking, “wow, she really should’ve learned about The Civil War before she gave us a lecture on it.”  

But now I get it. Teaching a subject helps us learn it better, as we see it through the student’s eyes.  

How does this relate to potty training?

Well, I’ll tell ya…

(No, it’s not that I learn how to use the potty better by teaching my kids! I think I’ve learned all I can on that front.)

My 21-month-old daughter just started wearing Pampers® Easy Ups training pants.  And now she’s putting them on her teddy bear. (BTW, the bear’s name is “Bear.”  We haven’t taught her about naming stuff yet.)

The other day, I saw her taking off Bear’s Pampers® Easy Ups and putting Bear on her potty. And she said “Bear go pee-pee.”

I was so proud...of Bear! And of my daughter. She’s not even using the potty yet herself, but she’s teaching Bear to go. So, I know she’ll be ready soon.

She’s learning as she teaches.  

Still in training pants and she's already a teacher!  

The Backslide

Parenting is a lot like pushing a giant boulder up a steep hill.

It's difficult, it's challenging and there are bound to be moments where you slip up and things just kind of roll away from you:

• just when you think "Hooray the baby is finally sleeping through the night!" you'll find yourself dealing with hourly wake-ups all over again

• the moment when it occurs to you that homework battles seem to be easing up you find yourself  pulling teeth for an hour over a spelling handout

• after a week of peaceful mealtimes you're all of a sudden battling to get that fussy eater to JUST! EAT! THE! PEAS! ALREADY!

and potty training? It's bound to have similar setbacks.

Lately in our house my three-year-old has been vexing us mightily. I mean, this kid had the potty thing DOWN. He was putting his big boy underwear without complaint. He was using the potty without prompting. People, he was even staying dry at nap time!!

And then, out of the blue, he had a backslide. 

One afternoon we were playing in the park and he had an accident. The next morning he was asking for training pants in the morning. That evening an accident before bed. It wasn't quite Square One - but it was pretty darn close.

I panicked. 

I took to the Internet. I attempted to identify "triggers" that could be causing this unexpected step backwards. I broke out my potty training books and read them late into the night. All my research told me the same thing -- setbacks are totally normal and the best approach is to go back to the basics. 

So that's what we did. I paid extra attention to my son and gave him lots of positive reinforcement. We went back to visiting the potty on a schedule. We even went back to our sticker system. In a matter of days we were back on track.

So I urge you to remember what is true about potty training and all other aspects of parenting. It's not a straight line but if you just keep moving forward you'll get there eventually.

Oh and also? Don't throw out those stickers just yet….

Sing It!

 

Whoever invented the clean-up song deserves a jillion dollars. I mean, they should be cleaning up! (haha).

You know, “Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share…”

If you don’t know it, go look it up right now and start singing it while you get your kids to pick up their toys.

It’s not necessarily my kids’ favorite song, but man, it works!

I sometimes forget to sing it, and stupidly ask my son to clean his room in a normal voice. Then I end up begging, negotiating, crying... nothing works. But if I sing the clean-up song, even my daughter toddles in and helps put train tracks in their bin. Everybody does their share!

Music is your best friend when you have little kids. I’ve made up a few songs of my own, like the very popular:

“Holding Hands While We Cross The Street” and “Pee Pee Goes In The Toilet.”

If you want to get your kids to do something, make it into a song.

You can even borrow mine.

(Maybe I should be a jillionaire!)

Built in Accountability Partner

 

The experts say that if you want to have success in your weight loss/fitness journey, you really need a buddy to keep you accountable. Well, I have mine! She's very good at reminding me I need to workout and it's an extra bonus that I'm setting a great example for her. I hope she grows up to appreciate her strength (physically and mentally) and has a healthy relationship with exercising.

By the way, I have learned to ask her to go potty BEFORE I start my workout, otherwise I have to pause my DVD and take a break to help her. Otherwise, without fail it will happen during every workout!

What kinds of ways do you encourage healthy habits in your children?

Dora's "We Did It!" Certificate

You've used stickers, charts and, yes, good old-fashioned pleading and FINALLY you and your little one have achieved potty training mastery!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Don't forget to celebrate the end of the road with a "big girl toy"or a favorite meal - a perfect time to present your little one with a Dora's "We Did It!" certificate to make it fun and more importantly - to make it official!

Just the Girls

Okay, I have to admit it. I have been a slacker mama. I haven't been spending enough one-on-one time with my girl and it's starting to show in her actions. She's been acting out for attention just a little bit more lately and getting a little more physical with her baby brother. Of course, he's getting A LOT more dramatic about it, but it still makes me feel guilty.

So, I put my foot down this past weekend and made it all about us girls. What did we do? Went shopping of course! She loved helping me pick out things we needed for the house and I loved how chatty she was with everyone. She has such a spunk about her. I need to definitely make sure I do this with her at least once a week.

Do you make sure to spend one-on-one time with each of your children? What things do you like to do with them?

"Accidents"

 

When we were potty training my son, I was so worried about how I reacted to accidents.

Whether you call it an “accident” or an “incident,” poop on the floor is a buzz-kill.  I know it’s not the child’s fault, but it’s still aggravating after you’ve asked him five times if he has to go potty and he says “no,” and then goes on the floor.

Of course, you don’t want the kid to know you’re aggravated, so you put on a fake smile and say “ok, next time we’ll use the potty!” (Saying “we” instead of “you” is inevitable for parents, no matter how much we despise ourselves when we hear it come out of our mouths.)

But here’s the thing.  Isn’t there a limit to how much fakeness and tiptoeing we should do around our kids?  

We have to accept that we’re human.  We have to be able to feel things.  I think kids can sense it when you’re trying to hide your negative reactions.

Someone once suggested to me that I have my son help clean up any messes he makes, even if they come from his own body.  That sounded cruel at first, but then I tried it and it really helped.  

I just said “ok, you made a poop on the floor.  Now let’s clean it up.”  It became a consequence, not a punishment.  And over time, the “accidents” stopped.  I even felt less angry, because I didn’t have to clean it up by myself.)

Of course, having a toddler help you clean can be a chore unto itself.  But that’s another story...

Cuddle Time

Cuddle time is the perfect example of the mom-battle I have in my head on a daily basis. See, I have two mommy personas in there. One who wants to give my kids as much love as possible and make them feel comfortable at all times, and the other who says “don’t be a sucker!”

And they come to battle at cuddle time. 

I’m not sure if my son even likes cuddle time, or if he’s just using it as a way to test limits. Usually, when I put him to bed, we’ll have a few minutes of “cuddle time” before I get up and give him a final goodnight kiss.

Lately, he’s been asking for “one more minute of cuddle time.” If I give him one more minute, he’ll ask for another minute after that, and another after that, and so on…

So, yes. I’m a bedtime sucker. I’ve been giving in. (“Okay, but just ONE more minute…”) It never ends well. When I finally say no more, he gets upset. He yells and screams, occasionally even waking up his sister in the next room. And I say to myself, “why didn’t I just stop when I had the chance?”

I’ll tell you why: Because WHAT KIND OF MOTHER SAYS NO TO CUDDLE TIME? It feels so awful to say, “No, I’m not going to cuddle with you anymore.” I mean, isn’t that in the category of withholding love? It’s right up there with spanking, right?

But I’m realizing that every time a kid wants more of something, even if it’s cuddling, it’s our job as parents to set the limits. It’s—I can’t believe I’m about to say this—for their own good. They need to know we are in control. We need to know we’re in control.

So, I’ve decided on an exact number. 5. Five minutes of cuddle time, then a goodnight kiss. No exceptions.

I may be turning into a drill sergeant. But I’m a cuddly drill sergeant. (For five minutes, at least.)