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I just went away for 2 days and 2 nights for a trip for work. It was the first overnight trip I’ve had without my daughter in well over a year. As the one who is responsible 99% of the time for child care drop-off, pick-up and bedtime routine, I was worried about how my 2 ½-year-old daughter would react. Well, she did great with bedtime and 1 of 2 morning drop-offs with Dad. However, she stopped using the toilet. She had four accidents the first day I was gone, and something like eight (I stopped counting after awhile), the day I came home. It’s clear she hasn’t so much lost control, but instead that she’s deliberately having the accidents – she essentially told me as much. Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing?
--News Mom
I’m considering using cloth diapers on baby #2. I attended a workshop over the weekend at a local store that specializes in cloth diapering and was totally sold on the concept. The owner reviewed all the different types of diapers available, how to launder them and the pros vs. disposable diapers. I really liked the way she presented on the topic. She wasn’t judgmental of those moms that choose to use disposables (in fact, she still sends disposables with her children to child care in case the provider is having a particularly tough day and can’t deal with the cloth). The problem? My baby will attend child care and I’m afraid to ask them if they’d be willing to cooperate. Cloth diapering will be a big up front expense for me since we’ve only used disposables on my first. Because of this, I’m hesitant to use cloth just during maternity leave, then switch to disposables when I go back to work. I know I have to set up a meeting with the director to discuss my options, but for some reason, it feels like asking your boss for a raise or more vacation time. You know it needs to be done, but it’s an awkward situation. I’d love some advice on how to bring up the subject. Do any of you have experience using cloth diapers in a child care center situation? --Green Mom
 Here is another Apple iPhone application that will help to make the world of parenting easier for Moms (and Dads) everywhere.
Cost: Free!
For any parent who plans to drive any considerable distance (or any distance at all!) with their child, there is no question: this app is essential. The Sit or Squat app is a brilliantly simple concept: just enter your location, and the app will point out all of the nearest bathrooms to where you are. With thousands of registered bathrooms, the search against time for the nearest restroom just became a lot simpler. Simply choose a location from the list and map it out. The app will also tell you information on changing table availability, handicap access, and if the location is open at the moment you are searching. You will also find cleanliness ratings by other users (determining whether it is a “sit” or “squat” location), and some locations even have images of their facilities.
I can’t be the only who’s faced this, so I’m looking for some advice. Our daughter has been testing the limits of bedtime on and off for the last few months. One more book, one more song, refusing to brush her teeth when she should and then announcing she needs to just as we’re about to turn out the lights. We’ve tried very diligently to nip all of this in the bud and set firm limits and expectations at bedtime, and we’ve been pretty successful. At the same time, she’s close (I think) to really potty training. She’s been using the potty occasionally, when asked, for several months, but has only recently been telling us or her teachers when she needs to go – not every time, but sometimes. I ask her every night before she gets her pajamas on if she needs to use the potty, and sometimes she does. But what do we do when, after telling us she does not need to use the potty, 10 minutes later, conveniently close to lights out, she announces she has to go? I feel it’s wrong to tell her she missed her opportunity to go to the potty, and I always take her. My husband leans more toward the “cut the excuses” side of things. Half the time she produces, and half the time she doesn’t. Then last night, 15 minutes after we had put her to bed, after a marathon of efforts on her part to extend bedtime, she announced from her crib (a first) that she needed to use the potty. My husband did take her, and she did pee a very little bit, and she did finally go to bed sweetly – nearly 30 minutes after her normal bedtime. What’s the right thing to do? Does potty training supersede bedtime discipline, or are we being taken for a ride?
I never thought I’d be the mother that would consider using cloth diapers. However, now it seems like the cloth vs. disposable debate is the new mommy war. I was recently made aware of a type of hybrid diaper with a cute cloth outer layer and disposable inner layer. The whole idea behind gDiapers is that you can flush, compost, or throw away the insert and they will decompose either immediately (flushing) or within 100 days unlike the 500+ years it takes regular disposable diapers. After hearing the statistic that the average baby will use 10,000 diapers before age 2.5, and convincing my husband they wouldn’t be hard to use, I decided to give them a try.
They are actually pretty easy to use, but can create a mess at times. They are definitely not for the squeamish as you tend to get more, um, poo on your hands than you do changing a disposable. Flushing does create less trash and a less smelly diaper pail and think of how nice the lawn would look if you composted the wet inserts. Given the higher cost, they might not work for everyone, but it’s nice to know there is another option.
It’s 2:10 p.m. on Friday. The office is quiet, as it tends to be on Fridays this time of year. I have a ton of work to do, but all of it requires returning phone calls and e-mail responses from people who are probably frolicking at the beach, enjoying the local pool, or otherwise taking advantage of summer vacation. Meanwhile, I’m trying to fill the 17 minutes (I’ve already killed three since I started typing!) before my 2:30 p.m. conference call. Because, once I wrap that up, I can get out of here myself and accomplish the most important goal of the day…buying a potty seat! You see, we had a near disaster last night in the bathtub, which New Girl is apparently unable to distinguish from the toilet.
It’s the second time she’s had such an accident, but in all fairness, the first time she was suffering from a real stomach bug. This time, she announced “poop” plain as day, which I dutifully ignored until I saw the undeniable look of concentration on her face. At that point, I scooped her up with lightning speed and held her over the toilet. With that, her look of concentration turned to utter confusion and a bit of fright, as if to say “Why are you dangling my very little butt into this very big hole? I thought you were my mother and that I could trust you. Now I just think you’re strange.” Needless to say, she produced nothing until five minutes later when, squeaky clean from her tub and now wrapped in a fluffy white towel, and without a diaper, she completed her business. I know she’s not ready to toilet train quite yet, but I am thinking a potty seat may minimize the chance of another such disaster. It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?
Finally. My daughter has indicated her interest in potty training, which, according to my pediatrician, is our green light to put her in underpants. I discussed it with her preschool teachers and they seem more than ready for the challenge. They told me that they trained 10 kids in one week a few months ago. I was delighted to hear that; if they could do 10 in one week, they could probably do my one in a day (can’t hurt to dream)! So this morning, we took our first ride to school with my daughter in her panties, and wouldn’t you know it, we got stuck in a major traffic jam. We were stalled for about two minutes, when I heard the words I was dreading from the back seat, “momma, I need to go poop.” There was no turning around, and no way to get out of the traffic line. So I tried to cajole, to reason, to guide, and to bribe my daughter to wait until we got to school. And it worked! We ran into school where I deposited my daughter, four extra changes of clothes, and six pairs of panties. And I have to admit, this is one day when I am glad she’s in child care. I can’t wait to see how much progress she makes during the day…I hope it’s enough so that our ride home is stress…and mess…free.
CommuterDad and I had a milestone moment with CommuterGirl today. We went shopping for big girl underwear. CommuterGirl has been using the potty every once-in-a-while. She has been pretending to wear a pull-up like some of the children in her class – she tries to take off her diaper without undoing the tabs. Over the weekend I talked to her about how she could wear big-girl underwear when she started to use the potty. Well, this morning, she said she wanted underwear. Of course, we had none. So, after school today we went to Target and she got to pick out whichever pair she wanted. The first pair that caught her eye was the “choo choo” underwear. But, unfortunately, they don’t make train underwear for girls. Luckily, she then spotted her favorite, Curious George. Underwear in hand, she walked through the store and told anyone who would listen (and some who didn’t) “I have underwear.” I’m really nervous about potty training, but her teachers are wonderful and are very open and willing to have her come to school in underwear and work with us to get her out of diapers entirely. Thank goodness they aren’t afraid of accidents. Of course, they recommended that we send LOTS of extra clothes – including a change of shoes. On the one hand, I’m thrilled the end of diapers is nearing. On the other…my baby girl is growing up. Next thing you know, I’ll be taking her to pick out her first bra.
CommuterGirl is very interested in the potty. At school she goes with the older toddlers in her class to the potty every day…she sits…she “tries”…but nothing yet. At home she likes to follow me to the bathroom and see what’s going on. I really think she just likes to pull the toilet paper off of the roll. So, now what? CommuterGirl is 22 months old. We bought her a potty seat; do we keep sitting her on it and just wait until she does something? How long do we let her sit there doing nothing? Five minutes, 10? Do we wait until she asks to go potty or do we decide when she goes potty? I’m going to have to make a visit to the bookstore sometime soon to do some reading. Maybe we should have tried to raise a diaper-free baby. Although, as a working mom, I have no idea how we could have attempted that one. Talk about an unrealistic request in a group care setting!
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