3-Day Potty Training

Well, we're finally really potty training.  I thought I would write about it since I have not found too many personal stories about how people have potty trained their kids.  Just how to do it, not how it went.  So here it is.  I will give another update later on.

About 3 months ago, Blue Rock was very close to being potty trained.  Then we went to the States.  After we found out why he was throwing-up, along with having to be on iron supplements, we decided to wait until we were back home, he was almost off iron (which causes black sticky poo), and we were not traveling anywhere before we got serious.  He used to wear cloth diapers until he got sick last year and was throwing up almost daily.  It got to be too much laundry so we went back to disposables.  Cloth is great if you have the time and a good washing machine.

We started the 3-day potty training method on Thanksgiving (6 days ago).  We had to make a few errands so we put him in a pull-up on Thursday and Friday.  Friday was the last day he wore a pull-up during the day.  Blue Rock used the potty out in public both days but had one accident in the pull-up.  At home, he has been bare-bottomed and is doing great!  When he's bare-bottomed he has had no accidents and makes it to the potty every time, even poop, which I was surprised and very happy about.  Yesterday we went to the grocery store and I put underwear and pants on him - I was so tempted to put a pull-up on him, but resisted.  He went potty before we left and had no accidents and I took him twice to the toilet at the store but he didn't need to go and told me he didn't need to go but I wanted him to try.  After we loaded the groceries in the car I asked him again if he needed to go.  He said, "no."  So we drove home and when we got home I took him to the bathroom and he went.  Yeah!  A little while later we went to the park.  He played for about 20 minutes and we came home, again no accidents.  I left his pants and underwear on and he didn't make it to the potty in time.  I read that they should be diaper free at home for 3 months.  That seems like a LONG time!  

Today I started the morning with just his pajama pants on, wanting him to get used to pants since he's doing so well at going to the potty.  He went to the potty twice but then didn't make it in time.  I tried putting underwear on him and he said, "no underwear.  No, no, no!"  So I decided to let him be bare-bottomed again.  Later this afternoon I put just underwear on him even though he didn't want to wear it.  While he was playing he peed in them.  The rest of the day he was bare-bottom and went every time in the potty.  The only time pee got on the floor was when I tripped over the potty trying to get a Kleenex to catch a drip of pee on his leg as he got off the potty.  I made a huge mess!  Pee went everywhere, including the couch which is such a shame since he's been doing so good, no accidents on the furniture, just from me.  I think we're going to rent a carpet/upholstery cleaner.  Thankfully I have some cleaner that I used and our microfiber couch doesn't seem to smell like pee.  I'm just a germophobe and the thought of pee left somewhere grosses me out. 

I am very proud of Blue Rock. He has done much better than I thought.  Everyday he has only had 1-2 accidents since we started.  My plan is to everyday let him try pants and/or underwear. I'd like him to always wear something on his bottom but he has an embarrassed look on his face when he doesn't make it to the potty wearing undies.  So, for the most part, we'll probably stick to bare-bottoms while home, at least for a little while longer.  He does very well with that has had 100% success rate when being bare-bottomed.  I think he's officially potty training and definitely knows how to use the potty.  We are no longer using day-time diapers, not even when we run errands.  However, we are going to keep using them at night, at least for a while.  For one, he's still in a crib, yes, we have a toddler car bed, very cool, that he slept in for a while, but after a while, he wanted to sleep back in his crib.  He's happy, we're happy, and he sleeps 11.5-13 hours per night.  When we travel he sleeps in a regular bed.  Every morning I ask him where we go poo and pee.  He says, "poopoo and peepee go in the potty."  Then if I have to run downstairs to do laundry or something I ask him again and usually while I'm gone he uses his potty.

Here's our potty training set-up.  We have a tall house, 3 stories (4 if you include the basement) and only 2 bathrooms.  So we have a few portable potties.  I keep one in the living room, which we'll probably move to the bathroom.  And one upstairs on our top floor that has no bathroom.  We also have a little potty in the bathroom on our middle floor and a step-up potty to the toilet.  Blue Rock usually sits to pee but in public he likes to stand.  Sometimes he wants to stand at home but I usually ask him to sit.  I'm no longer asking him if he needs to go unless it's been a while or we're out in public or about to leave the house.  He has gotten very good at just going when he needs to go.  I hope this helps if you're about to start potty training your child.

Trees and Mountains Folder Numbers Game

Trees and Mountains Number Game

Here is another folder game I created. I took a cheap folder and cut the inside pockets off.  Then I printed numbers 1-50 and pasted them on the folder. Simply print my template, cut it, and paste it inside a folder.  This is a cheap, easy, portable, and fun game.  My son loves this game too!  To download this game, click here.

To play: 

1. Select a place holder.  We usually use a plastic animal but you could use anything, including a cap off a water bottle.

2. Roll the dice and move that many spaces.

3. When you land on a number, say what it is.  Practice counting spaces and saying numbers up to 50.  If your child doesn’t know the number, say it and have them repeat what you say. 

4. There are 4 tree spaces and 4 mountain spaces to add.  You can put these anywhere you’d like.  When the player lands on a number with a mountain below it, the player slides down to the number below.  When the player lands on a number with a tree over it, the player climbs the tree to the number above the tree.

5. The first person to reach the finish line wins.

*If you have an older child playing, you could have them practice saying the numbers in another language such as German, French, or Spanish.

**When assembling the game, it's faster to keep the numbers in a row when pasting, rather than cut each number out individually. 

You may also like: Folder ABC Game

Folder ABC Game

I'm always thinking of games to play with my son.  I came up with something I call folder games.  This is the first game I created.  I took a cheap $0.25 folder, cut the inside pockets off.  Then printed the letters of the alphabet and pasted them on the folder. Simply print my template, cut it, and paste it inside a folder.  This is a cheap, easy, portable, and fun game.  My son loves it!  Of course he loves anything to do with letters. To download this game, click here.

To play: 

1. Select a place holder.  We usually use a plastic animal but you could use anything, including a cap off a water bottle.

2. Roll the dice and move that many spaces.

3. When you land on a letter, say the letter's name and the sound it makes. This is great phonics practice.  If your child doesn't know the letters or sounds, say it and have them repeat what you say.

4. The first person to reach the finish line wins.

A Typical Day as a Stay-at-Home Mom

When my husband gets home in the evenings we talk about our day. Yesterday and today I decided to document my day in pictures.  I'm always telling my husband what my son, "Blue Rock," and I do but I don't usually take pictures to go along with it.  My husband suggested I blog about it. 

First of all, being a stay-at-home mom is the most exhausting job I have ever had.  On the flip side, it is also the most fun and rewarding. While every day is different and doesn't always go as smoothly as I had hoped, here is what a typical day at my house looks like. This is what we did today.

The night before I set out trays of activities for my son to complete the next day.  This is a hands-on and Montessori approach to education.  I just started the doing toddler trays, which I'll explain in a later post.  It basically keeps things organized and allows me to rotate different educational activities for my son to do.  It also helps me rotate his toys better.

Here are our trays of activities for the day

During breakfast we go over our weekly memory verse.After breakfast it's Calendar time.

Blue Rock loves calendar time and is getting really good at it.

Blue Rock picked tracing first today.  He traced two pages.  The more he practices, the better he gets.

Then I traced his hands, then he traced my hand, then I traced his feet.  I wanted him to just draw, but he wanted to trace hands and feet.

Then he went to play with his Mr. Potato Head.  He put the eyes and mouth in funny places and laughed and laughed.

After we got dressed, we met up with some friends and visited a small zoo.  In Germany, it's called a Tierpark.

He loved seeing all the animals and hanging out with his friend.

After lunch we worked on letters.  We played a letter matching game.  He matched capital and lower case letter As to the letters on the tree.  I bought a little curriculum that had this here.

Then we went over the letter J in his Hooked on Phonics for Preschool workbook. 

Next he went over shapes and colors.  This is Lauri Toys Shape and Color Sorter.

Then Blue Rock had free time to play while I got some things done.  During free time, he decided to throw a fit for about 45 minutes.  After trying to console but not giving in, I called my step-mother for advice while trying to decide the best way to handle his tantrum.  I finally decided to continue to ignore him and eventually he came downstairs and I gave him a hug and told him I love him.  I took my step-mother's advice and prayed for him.  That helped calm me and Blue Rock stopped crying.  I should have prayed earlier. Also, he was just fine. It wasn't long after he came downstairs that he was laughing and playing happily again. Sorry, no pictures of the tantrum.

I gave Blue Rock a snack and asked him if he wanted to play downstairs.  Of course he did!  Downstairs is his favorite place to play.  He went to the last activity I had for him today.

He sorted pom poms by color and placed them in rows in this ice cube tray I got for 1 Euro from IKEA.

Then sweet husband took us out to dinner to celebrate our 3rd anniversary in Germany.  We ate at our favorite Greek restaurant.

Being a mom is my favorite job! Lately, my photo shoots keep getting rained out, so I have had more time to focus on learning activities.  Being a stay-at-home mom is not boring. We're always busy, always learning, and always having fun.  I usually only have about 4 educational activities to do per day.  Since Blue Rock is only 2, I allow him to have plenty of free time to play and explore.  We also try and get out of the house at least once per day.  Sometimes it involves errands, other days going to the park, the pool, and visiting friends. The whole idea with the trays is to keep him working on skills I want him to master, allow him to complete an activity, and learn to put it away once he's done. So far this is working out really well for us.    

5 Colors a Day for 1 Week - Day 7

Dinner - Rotini Alfredo with peas

We have completed Day 7!  For the first time in my life I have kept a food diary and have kept track of eating five colors of food a day for one week. I am pleased to announce that we did it! It takes some planning but I tried to keep the meals simple and allowed room for us to eat out occasionally.

Today was easy.  As you can see below we ate all of our colors by lunch time. When you can combine fruits and vegetables it makes things easier. If you read all of my posts you will notice that everyday we ate dried cranberries. At the moment, that is one of my son's favorite foods. That and almond milk. I hope I gave you a few suggestions for eating different fruits and vegetables in your daily diet.  

A really great book about eating five fruits and vegetables is called Gimme Five! by Nicola Graimes. I bought it at a bookstore in Ireland (it's British) and am not sure where you can buy one in Germany or the States. The book gives a lot of information on the nutritional needs of children, the nutrients found in the different fruits and vegetables, and has some great recipes. An example of something I didn't know - children need 3 fruits and 2 vegetables per day, while adults should eat 2 fruits and 3 vegetables. If you are unable to find Gimme Five! then you could try Five-a-Day Fruit and Vegetables Cookbook by Kate Whiteman or another book like it.

Day 7

Breakfast: cereal and blueberry, strawberry, and banana almond milk smoothie

Lunch: carrot sticks, chopped cucumbers, and cheese pizza 

Snack: goldfish crackers, dried cranberries, and yogurt

Dinner: Pasta with homemade Alfredo sauce, green peas, and baked cheese sticks

Blue/Purple: blueberries
Green: cucumbers, green peas
Red: cranberries, strawberries
Yellow: bananas
Orange: carrots

Read more:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4 
Day 5 
Day 6

5 Colors a Day for 1 Week - Day 6

Lunch - salad with fish sticks

Today turned out good on our food challenge.  We ate lunch out again today. This time we went to one of our favorite places in our small town, a guest house. I ordered a salad. Salads are very popular in this part of Germany and usually include some kind of legumes or meat. While my husband did not order a salad for lunch, he did eat a few bites of mine giving him a small dose of the raw nutrients. My son tried a few bites of my food but only wanted fish sticks and some of his dad's fries. You can't win everyday.

Day 6

Breakfast: cereal and bananas

Snack: strawberry fruit stick

Lunch: Guest Haus Restaurant in town - salad with fish sticks

Snack: cheese, purple and green grapes, dried cranberries, cheerios

Dinner: 7 Bean soup - with split peas, purple, red, black, white beans, and tomatoes, homemade whole wheat corn bread, and rice

Blue/Purple: purple and black beans, purple grapes
Green: split peas, lettuce, cucumbers, green grapes,
Red: cranberries, tomatoes, strawberries, radishes
Yellow: bananas, white beans, corn
Orange: carrots

Read more:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4 
Day 5

5 Colors a Day for 1 Week - Day 5

Beans and Rice

Just two days left and we will have eaten at least 1 of the 5 main colors of fruits and vegetables a day for a week.  Here is what we ate today.

Day 5

Breakfast: sweet potato pancakes, kiwi, and yogurt

Snack: crackers, cheese, cranberries, and dried strawberry fruit stick (all natural)

Lunch: Burger King (not my favorite but we were running errands) - chicken nuggets, cheeseburger, and french fries (they were out of the apple slices)

Snack: banana and rice pudding

Dinner: 7 Bean soup - with split peas, purple, red, black, white beans, and tomatoes, homemade whole wheat corn bread, and rice

Blue/Purple: purple and black beans
Green: kiwi, split peas
Red: cranberries, tomatoes, strawberries
Yellow: bananas, white beans, corn
Orange: sweet potato in the pancakes


Read more:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4 

5 Colors a Day for 1 Week - Day 4

Dinner - Eggplant Parmesan

We are more than half-way done with this week's challenge of eating 5 colors of fruits and vegetables a day.  With just three more days to go, I think we will follow through with this challenge.

Tip for fussy eaters: A friend recently asked me how I get my son to eat such a variety of fruits and vegetables.  Simple, I ask him to eat one bite of this and then he can have what ever it is I know he likes.  After he eats something a few times he usually eats it no problem.  However, there are days that he's not interested in eating certain foods but I always ask him to eat at least one or two bites of everything we're having for dinner.  Up until about 4 or 5 months, he would spit out food he didn't like. Now he willingly will eat new foods even if he doesn't like it. I am never pushy nor do I force him to eat something.  I simply ask him or tell him he can have ___ if he eats a bite of ___ first.  If he down right refuses, I let it go and try again another day. 

Here is what we ate today.

Day 4

Breakfast: whole wheat pancakes and blueberries

Snack: peanut butter crackers

Lunch: broccoli macaroni and cheese

Snack: green and purple grapes, cranberries, banana, cheese, and Cheerios

Dinner: Eggplant Parmesan, tomato sauce, carrot sticks, and fresh garlic bread

Blue/Purple: blueberries, purple grapes, eggplant
Green: broccoli, green grapes
Red: cranberries, tomatoes
Yellow: bananas
Orange: carrots

Read more:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

5 Colors a Day for 1 Week - Day 3

Fun smiley face for my son - kids love silly faces

We have completed day 3 of our 5 colors a day fruit and vegetable challenge.  We seem to be eating a lot of green foods lately.  I think that is okay since we're rounding it off with a lot of other colors.

Occasionally, I make my food presentations fun. Today I made a smiley face for my son.  I gave him his whole wheat crackers and 2 corn tortilla chips on the side after he ate his vegetables. 

Day 2

Breakfast: Whole wheat pancakes, sliced pears

Lunch: Nachos with tomatoes and avocados

Snack: blueberries, green grapes, oranges, cheese, and graham crackers

Dinner: Sausage, veggie sausage (for me), broccoli mac and cheese, and banana pudding

Nachos for the rest of us

Blue/Purple: blueberries
Green: avocado, green grapes, broccoli, green pear
Red: tomatoes
Yellow: banana
Orange: oranges

Read more:

Day 1
Day 2

5 Colors a Day for 1 Week - Day 2

My son enjoying his snack

Day 2 was successful!  We ate out for lunch so I ordered spinach ravioli that I shared with my 2 year old.  It was an easy way to get spinach in our diet. We had tacos for dinner.  If you are eating meatless, stuff the tacos with beans and rice instead of the meat and top with any additional items.

Day 2

Breakfast: French toast, sliced apples

Snack: Green and purple grapes, sliced cheese, crackers

Lunch: Spinach ravioli with alfredo sauce, carrots, tomatoes

Snack: dried cranberries, graham crackers

Dinner: Avocado, Tacos with beef, rice, beans, and corn

Blue/Purple: purple grapes
Green: spinach, avocado, green grapes
Red: red apple, tomatoes, cranberries
Yellow: corn
Orange: carrots

5 Colors a Day for 1 Week - Day 1

Bison, corn, and carrot mashed potatoes

Eating healthy is a priority to me (although rarely will I turn down a good dessert). When my son was first starting to eat solids I tried to offer him five different colors of fruits and vegetables a day.  The past few months I have not been doing as good of a job as I had in the past. So now I'm back for a challenge.  I am going to document the different color fruits and vegetables we eat for a week.  Since I am a flexitarian and don't eat a lot of meat, some of my dishes will be meatless while other dishes will have meat in which I may or may not eat.  By starting in the middle of the week, I will hopefully stick with this as the weekend is usually the hardest since we eat out more.  I have never kept a food journal before so this will help me keep track of the different foods so I make sure we get a variety of each color. I hope to give you a few ideas as well.

Day 1

Breakfast: Cheerios, dried cranberries, cherries, blueberries, and prunes

Lunch: Blueberry/banana almond milk shake, peas, tomatoes, pizza, and crackers (my son ate some sliced turkey and yogurt as well)

Dinner: Bison, carrot mashed potatoes, and corn

Blue/Purple: blueberries, prunes
Green: peas
Red: tomatoes, cherries, cranberries
Yellow: bananas, corn
Orange: carrots

Your child will fall asleep on their own

Almost every parent at some point will ask themselves, "when will my child fall asleep on their own?"  It's been a little over a year since I wrote about Our No Cry Sleep Solution.  Every parent has the right to choose what works best for them when they are raising their children.  When it came to getting our child to sleep it seemed like most people tried to convince us to let our child cry himself to sleep.  We can see why some would choose this method, however, my husband and I never felt comfortable doing this.  It was frustrating trying to find personal experiences of people not letting their child cry it out.  Being more of an attached parent and not letting your child cry it out can be stressful and tiring at times.  However, your child will eventually learn to put him or herself to sleep.  Having your spouse or a close friend who can help you makes things a lot easier.  Thankfully, my husband and I worked as a team and when one of us was too tired to sit in the room with my son, the other one would step in.  I know of several single parents who ended up co-sleeping until their child was ready to sleep on their own.  I also have a few married friends who did the same.  You have to do what works for you.  After almost two years of  helping my son fall asleep (first nursing him to sleep, to rocking him to sleep, to putting him in his crib and staying in his room until he fell asleep), I am pleased to say that my son now goes to sleep on his own.  

About a month ago (right before he turned two), we were able to put him in his crib and leave the room.  Since I breastfed him his first year of life he typically fell asleep during the last feeding.  Who was I to wake him up?!  I went against the advice of others and gently laid him in his bed once he fell asleep trying NOT to wake him because if I did he would be up for another hour or two. Also if he woke up at night (which didn't and still doesn't happen that often), we will change his diaper and usually bring him to our room.  Sometimes my husband will take him back to his bed once he's asleep, other times he stays with us until the morning.  If I tried taking him back to his bed, he'd wake up.  And no, he never developed a habit of waking up in the middle of the night or demanding to sleep with us.

Once I started weaning my son, my husband stepped in to help put him bed.  At first my husband would read to him and then rock him to sleep.  The first few nights he'd cry some for me but my husband stuck with it and gently reassured him that he was fine.  After several months we would take turns putting him sleep because we needed to make sure he'd go to sleep for both of us.  Then we transitioned to after story time my husband would put him in his bed and sit in his room until my son (and sometimes my husband) fell asleep.  Once he seemed comfortable with that, we started putting him in his bed and saying something such as "goodnight, love you.  I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes, please lay down and go to sleep."  And half the time he would say, "Mommy will be right back?" or "Daddy will be right back?"  We would say yes and would come back into his room to check on him after a few minutes.  By this time he understood the concept of us returning so he didn't cry for us.  If he was standing or sitting up in his bed, we'd gently ask him to lay down and tell him "goodnight" again.  During this time we also added a nightlight which seemed to help him.  This phase didn't take very long because he ended up falling asleep before he came back to check on him.  Now we are able to put him to bed and say goodnight and leave. 

I want to encourage you that if you decide to not let your child cry it out that they will naturally learn how to self-soothe and go to sleep on their own when they are ready.  Don't give up.  It took us almost two years to get where we are.  It may take you less or maybe more.  And, it's okay to bring them to your room on nights you are too tired to stay with him until they fall asleep, if you choose to do so.  While you should be consistent for the most part, it's okay to vary your routine some if you need to.  They are adaptable and will eventually not need your help to fall asleep.  It was worth the sacrifice to us and our son has adjusted very well.  He even falls asleep in hotel beds with no fuss - I think that is partly because we waited until he was ready to fall asleep on his own.

I'm curious, if you did not let your child cry it out, how long did it take your child to naturally be able to fall asleep on their own?

You Don't Have to Yell at Your Kids

Are you tired of yelling at your kids?  If so, read this book.  Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood, by Jim Fay and Charles Fay, Ph.D. is a wonderful parenting book.  This book is geared for parents of children from birth to age 6.  They have other books if your child is older and you want to try the love and logic approach.  However, if you start young, you will save yourself a lot of grief later on. 

My son is almost 2 and I have been researching and reading parenting books like crazy.  A few months ago he started the "terrible two's" and having fits of rage.  This was very frustrating and my natural tendency is to yell at him to stop that..  But that's not how I wanted to parent.  Which is why I set out to find other ways.  Can I be a parent who speaks softly to my child?  Will my child listen if I don't raise my voice?  I will be honest, this approach was not the most natural for me.  I grew up in a home where yelling was the norm.  I didn't like it and yet it is so easy to go back to how you were raised.  However, after some practice, not yelling becomes very easy.

I love how the love and logic approach works.  No more yelling, no more repeating yourself.  One of the first steps to this approach is making deposits in your child's life by giving them lots of choices.  This way they gain healthy control over their lives and learn to think for themselves.  The choices you give them do not hurt anyone else, are choices you approve of, and can be fun.  Such as, "would you like to go to the park or stay home and play."  "Would you like milk or water to drink for lunch?"

When you need your child to do something, such as clean up their toys, give them one chance.  If they choose not to obey, then there is an age-appropriate consequence.  First show your child empathy by stating something like "how sad" or "bummer" then state the the consequence. Such as, "feel free to pick up the toys you want to keep."   Then the toys that your child doesn't pick up, you take their toys away and say, "how sad, how would you like to pay for your toys?"  If they need help deciding offer some suggestions.  Then they earn back their toys by helping you with chores.  Obviously, this example is for older toddler/preschooler, but you can start teaching your child how to pick up their toys early on by helping them and gradually letting them do it by themselves. Then once you are consistent with the consequences you will naturally eliminate many of the problems you are having.  What kid wants their toys taken away?  If they don't care or don't want to earn them back then get rid of them.  Also by only asking once and giving them one chance you are preparing them for the real world.  Most of life you only get one chance.  If you take your eyes off the road for a few seconds to look at your phone and a tire in the road comes flying at you, you may have lost your chance to safely get out of the way.  The police officer who pulls you over for speeding usually will not give you a warning but will write you a ticket, and so on.

If your child whines or yells at you, simply teach them that you do not listen to whining or yelling and will listen to them when their voice is as calm as yours.  Then ignore their behavior until they use a calm voice like yours. This also teaches your child self-control.  Because honestly, who enjoys hearing a person whine?

You do not have to yell or raise your voice to get your child's attention.  Using a soft voice works wonders. Not losing your temper makes parenting a lot easier.  And you know what?  Your child will listen.  I have been using the methods in this book for a about a month and it is amazing how well it is working on my 22 month old.  If you want to learn more, read this book.  It is probably one of my favorite parenting books. Simple to use, loving, it builds responsibility in your child, and it works! 

While this book is not a Christian book, one verse in the Bible kept coming to mind when I was reading about keeping calm when dealing with my child.

Proverbs 15:1 (NIV) - A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Mamapedia Voices Cloth Diapering Article

Back in October, Mamapedia Voices published one of my articles, "Is Cloth Diapering For You?".  Mamapedia is a great resource for mothers of all walks of life.  Since it has been a while since I have blogged about cloth diapering I thought I'd share some of my current thoughts on the subject.

Cloth diapering is time consuming.  Our washing machine in Germany takes an hour to wash one load of clothes.  If I put the diapers in the dryer it usually takes about 2 hours to dry.  The dryer is not the most environmentally friendly appliance so I try and hang the diapers to dry when possible.  Sunshine is the best  natural dryer.  However, in the winter it rains and snows a lot so it takes 1-2 days to air dry them because there is not a lot of sunshine.

I have honestly stopped using cloth diapers when I go out unless it's just a quick errand where I would possibly only need to change a diaper once.  I don't know if it is just because I have gotten so busy or because of the convenience of disposable diapers but primarily when I leave my house I put a disposable diaper on my son.  When we travel we only pack disposable diapers now.  

My son no longer sleeps in cloth diapers except for naps.  His winter pajamas are tighter than summer pajamas and I am unable to zip his foot pajamas up when he's wearing a cloth diaper.  Not to mention the fact that it is challenging to cloth diaper at night.  It's not impossible but even hemp sometimes leaks if your child is a heavy wetter.  Also I have found that Pampers Baby Dry keep his bottom dry at night and they are less bulky.

Other than that cloth diapering is great.  I think if I didn't have to walk two flights of stairs to my basement to do laundry and my washing machine and dryer were faster it would be less of a hassle.  

If you are a cloth diapering mama I'd love to hear from you.

Paris with a Toddler

We spent this past Thanksgiving in Paris.  Thanksgiving morning we woke up to a nice snow fall.  Thankfully our neighbor offered to drive us to the train station in what he called a "Blizzard."  We took the ICE (high speed) train from Germany and it took around 3.5 hours to get to Paris.  The last time I went to Paris was when I was pregnant with one of my friends who came to visit.  It was a girls getaway and a lot different than traveling with a toddler in tow.

 Train

Snow covered ground on Thanksgiving.  Taken from the train.

I am so blessed to have such a great husband.  Collin mapped out our destinations and lead the way.  We spent 4 nights in a 3 star hotel.  We had a suite on the top floor (6th floor) with two balconies.  We had three beds and a crib.  They gave us that room because they didn't know how old our son was when we booked our room.  It was a nice hotel except we didn't have a shower but a bathtub.  That was interesting!  Worked out nice for our boy but was not so nice for us.

During our four nights, five days we went to Museum d'Orsay, the Louvre, Montparnasse Tower, Arc de Triomphe, walk along the Champs Elysees, night walk along the Seine River, sunset cruise along the Seine River, toured the Eiffel Tower, ate at Restaurant Tour Eiffel 58, located on the first floor of the Eiffel, did some shopping, and had a wonderful time with my husband and son.

Travel Tips for Visiting Paris with a Baby or Toddler:

The Metro: The Metro is great for getting around but is NOT stroller friendly.  Make sure at least two people traveling are able to carry the stroller up and down many flights of stairs.  We never saw elevators and the few escalators were either not working or going the opposite direction we were.  At night, many of the stroller entrances are closed which makes getting into the Metro very challenging.

Eiffel Tower: You can take your stroller up the Eiffel Tower.  However, to get to the top level you have to carry it up stairs.  The top level is very small and crowded.  Since I had already been to the top I stayed with my son on the second level (which has better views).  I do, however, recommend going to the top at least once.  Once at the top you are able to buy champagne and toast your time in Paris.  Expect to spend at least an hour going to the top level and coming back down to the second level.  There are several fast food options, sandwiches, pizza, etc. on the 1st and 2nd floor.  There are also two nice but expensive restaurants in the Eiffel.  We ate at the Restaurant Tour Eiffel 58 for lunch and spent 50 Euros for two meals.  It is much cheaper to eat during lunch than dinner and the food was very good.

 Restaurant Tour Eiffel 58

The Louvre: There are elevators in the Louvre but expect to spend more time trying to find them than enjoying the museum.  It is quite a maze when you are unable to use the many stairs.  It is worth it and if you have a young child that naps and can nap in the stroller this would be a good place for them to do so.  The best way to enter the Louvre is downstairs through the mall under the pyramid. The mall under the Louvre is also very nice, there is a food court with a good selection of food and a few stores that sell toys if you want to buy your child a gift.

 Above the Louvre

Inside the Louvre in the mall

Museum de Orsay: This museum is smaller than the Louvre and easier to see everything with a stroller.  There's a side entrance for handicap and families with strollers. Our son was asleep and they did not make us take him out of the stroller to go through the medal detector.  It was a great way to avoid the long line to get into the museum.

Seine River Cruise: We took a one hour sunset cruise along the Seine for 11 Euros a person.  Children under 3 are free.  Dinner was available.  There are several boats and tour companies located along the Seine near the Eiffel Tower.  You can take your stroller on the boats.

 On the Seine River Cruise

 Notre Dome

 Eiffel Tower glowing at night

Montparnasse Tower: The best views of Paris are found from this tower.  This was super easy to get to with a stroller.  The elevator was fast and stops in a climate controlled room that gives you 360 degree view of Paris.  Here you can see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe, and many other wonderful views of Paris.  There is a small restaurant that sells sandwiches, coffee, and desserts.  There is also a mall nearby that has a few restaurants as well.  If you want to go to the top, you can leave your stroller by the entrance upstairs and walk the two flights of stairs to the roof.  The views are nice from the top but are better a few floors below inside.

Picture at the top of the Montparnasse Tower

Arc de Triomphe:  There is an elevator that is stroller friendly to get to the top.  However, it takes you to the inside part of the museum and you have to walk the stairs to get to the roof.  There are nice views from the top of Arc de Triomphe as well but the views from Montparnasse Tower are better.

Highchairs: Very few restaurants have highchairs.  We have a Jeep Travel Anywhere 2-in-1 Sport Booster Seat and Everyday Bag that is great.  We used the bag part to carry diapers and food and it fit nicely under the stroller. 

Language: When traveling to another country it is always helpful to know a few key words and phrases.  However, most people we encountered in Paris spoke some English. 

Disneyland Paris: We decided not to go this time because of the rain and snow.  However, we did find out that there is a train from Paris that goes to Disneyland Paris for 8 Euros each way.  You can purchase cheaper tickets from many Parisian hotels or visitor locations for less than you would pay at Disneyland.  Children 3 and under are free and many hotels offer tickets where children 3-12 are free with the purchase of an adult ticket. 

Comparing Children

By nature I am a competitive person.  Thankfully I am also pretty compassionate.  What I find challenging is not comparing my child to another child.  I love parenting books, however, do they sometimes create an unnecessary competition?  I have heard it's common to wonder if something is wrong with our child if they are not crawling, walking, or talking by a certain time.  So we tend to push our children sometimes to the point of tears.  In some ways I think encouraging them and teaching them is good but when it comes to comparing them to our friends' children or a child in a book it is not. 

I love having friends with children close to my son's age.  I do not, however, like the comparisons that go along with it.  I have one friend who has an older yet smaller child than mine.  A new family who moved to the area committed on how much bigger my child was than hers and that it looked like my son ate her son's lunch.  I was insulted.  Not that I'm worried about my son's size, I think he's the perfect size for him, but that a stranger would point out an obvious difference in our children and make both of us worry.  Is her child really too small?  Or is my child really too big?  This happens with older children and sadly eating problems can form from this because the children understand what someone else is saying about them.

My main point, however, is not about a comment someone made about my child several months ago.  But rather it's reflecting on my self.  I think it's natural to want a healthy, smart, and beautiful child.  Thankfully that is what most people have.  But just because your child is not walking at 8 months does not mean she is behind.  Children like adults have different temperaments and personalities.  There is a range of normal milestones each child reaches.  Instead of pushing our children to be more like another child we should give them love and help them grow at a healthy pace for them. 

Our No Cry Sleep Solution

Before having a baby I thought putting a baby to sleep was a pretty simple and easy process.  However, once my son was born I quickly found out that it was a lot harder than we imagined.  As an infant he would fall asleep on almost anyone who was holding him but once they tried to put him down he'd quickly wake up crying.  He seriously was sound asleep but even the motion of putting him down startled him such that he'd wake up.  I'm a big researcher and try and seek advice when I don't know the answer.  

Since I wanted to breastfeed at least the first six months we had our son sleep in a bassinet in our bedroom for the first 3 months.  During the day I would try and put him in his crib for his naps and sometimes I would hold him while he napped and read a book.  It wasn't too long before I realized I had to put him in his crib to nap at least part of the time because there is so much to get done at home.

While I was pregnant, I discovered The Happiest Baby on the Block and we swaddling him.  That worked really well and we swaddled him at night for the first 3 months.  Some days I would swaddle him for his naps too.  As he got bigger he started preferring to sleep without being swaddled. 

After a month of being home with him we started getting on a pretty regular bedtime routine.  Bath, baby massage, story time, feeding, bed.  However, if he wasn't asleep he'd cry.  My husband and I felt bad so we'd pick him up and hold him until he fell asleep.  Many books and people tell you not to do this.  But we honestly didn't have the heart to let him cry it out.  Also being our first and only child we tirelessly took turns when he was having difficulty falling asleep.  Several books say it's important for your child to fall asleep in their crib and on their own.  Some suggest at 4 months they are old enough to "cry it out" and others suggested between 6 and 8 months.  But like I said we were never able to do this.

Now that my son is a year and I want to start the weaning process, we decided about a month ago it was time to do more research on getting your child to fall asleep.  There are not many books that promote no cry solutions so I wanted to share what has and is working for us and hope it can be of help to you.

First of all, our son was able to sleep through the night (5+ hours) from about 3.5 months.  He had only had breast milk, no formula.  So despite what some say, a breastfed baby can sleep through the night.  We did not introduce solids until he was 5.5 months.  Also, when I was still feeding him at night half the time after the middle of the night feeding I would bring him to bed with me.  I was exhausted and like I said he was easily startled.  He'd fall asleep but wake up when I put him down and I didn't always feel like re-swaddling him after we changed his diaper.  There are a lot of great resources that say co-sleeping can actual reduce the risk of SIDS if you're breastfeeding.  However, you should talk to your doctor before deciding to do that because there are also risks.  Especially if your husband moves around a lot.  You don't want to put your baby in harm's way.  But for us, it worked out fine.  Even up until he was a year old if he was having a bad night, he sometimes has night terrors and will wake up screaming, we'll bring him to bed with us.  When we travel, usually the first night or two it's easier if he falls asleep with us.  However, once he is asleep we usually transfer him to his crib because neither my husband nor I get a good night's sleep if our son is sleeping with us.

Which reminds me of another thing.  I've read countless stories of people saying if they fall asleep somewhere besides their crib they wake up scared.  I think if you are consistent in them sleeping in their crib it won't be frightening for them when they wake up.  Also according to the Baby Whisperer (Tracy Hogg's books are great), it's important to let them play everyday in their crib.  That way it becomes a familiar and fun place to be.  Our son usually now wakes up happy and talks.  Also considering the fact that he never "learned" to self-sooth at night, he knows how to put himself back to sleep for the most part in the middle of the night.  I sometimes hear him babbling two or three times a night.  If he starts crying I go in there immediately, but more often than not, he goes back to sleep.

Now back to getting him to sleep through the night.  The Baby Whisperer says we did "accidental parenting" because I nurse him and then rock him to sleep.  Honestly, I wish I would have read her book earlier.  Because if he's not close to being asleep he will stand up in his crib and cry.  Therefore, we had to change our ways.  The past two days we have gotten him to fall asleep on his own.  We continue with the bedtime routine, bath, lotion, story, nursing.  Except now when either he seems like he's about to fall asleep or the 10 minutes are up, I remove him and immediately put him in his bed.  I always kiss him and say "night, night."  He usually turns to his tummy so I pat his back and say, "night, night, Mommy loves you."  Then I hold off and stand a minute or two where he can't see me.  If he looks like he's going to get up, I pat him again.  If he does stand up, I pick him up, tell him I love him again and night night, then put him back down.  We've been doing this for a few weeks.  But the last two nights have been easier.  Two nights ago I put him down, he babbled some then fell asleep.  Last night I left the room and heard him give a little cry so I went back in his room.  He was standing up.  I picked him up, sat in the rocking chair for two minutes, then put him back to bed saying "night night" again while he was still awake.  He rolled over to his tummy, I patted his back, waited about 30 seconds then left.  He fell asleep again.

Now I know two easy days does not mean we have successfully taught him to fall asleep on his own yet.  However, we have come a long way.  At least there is not more loud crying.  Even though we did everything "wrong" according to a lot of baby sleep books, I think it's going to work out fine.  Obviously, every parent and child is different and your family has to decide how they want to teach their child to sleep.  My husband and I parent like what Dr. Sears calls "attached parenting."  Except, I don't plan on nursing my child until he's 3 or 4 and we don't really co-sleep.  However, if it's a bad night, we are not opposed to our son coming to our bed with us.  We just never felt right about letting him cry himself to sleep.  If you heard his cry, it would be hard for you too.  I hope this helps anyone who is in a similar boat that we are in.  It is okay to go with your motherly or fatherly instinct on parenting.  Also, some books said that naturally many children cannot put themselves to sleep until they are 3 years old.  I think with our child, if God blesses us with another one, we will try this earlier.  As our no cry sleep progresses, I will let you know how it goes.  

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  If you have any suggestions on getting your child to sleep on their own without crying, please feel free to share.