Archive for Toddlers
Quick twin potty tip
Posted by: | CommentsIf potty training twins, make sure you have TWO potties! And try to get the same ones. Inevitably, when one has to go, the other does too! Also, have a small portable one that you can take ANYWHERE! This helps when traveling to parks, etc.
Aren’t we BIG KIDS now??!!!!
Posted by: | CommentsSo, yesterday, on a whim, we decided to move the kids to toddler beds. We had been given 1 toddler bed and a twin bed, when I was pregnant. I almost didn’t take them, but did in the end. My theory, if it is something you will have to use in the future… and it is FREE… might as well go ahead and take it, then save your money later!
Anyway, we got the wooden toddler bed set up in Zane’s room. We started to set up the twin in Bree’s, but decided it might be more trouble to get a twin mattress and box springs than it would be to just get another toddler bed. Online, Walmart and Target have some for $50 and up. However, since they would only be in it for a short time, I decided to try elsewhere first.
I checked on our local craigslist. I found quite a few car beds (Zane would have LOVED one of those) but they were about $50. That’s a huge discount from what they normally cost, over $200. But it was more than I wanted to spend. I started calling people who had cheaper beds and had posted their number. I found a lilac princess bed for $15!!!! I called and she said we could pick it up in the afternoon.
When 4:00 rolled around, Brett packed Bree up in the car and they set off to get her “Big Girl” bed. When he arrived, the woman had found a little crack (I still can’t find it). So, she insisted on only charging him $10!!!!! What a DEAL!!!!!
Both kids went to bed fine. They talked in their beds for about 1-2 hours, but didn’t get up. This morning they made noise until we came to get them out of their beds. They slept until about 7-7:30. I’m so proud of them!!!!
What a month it has been for us!!!! Potty training (only about 1 accident a day now!) and BIG KID beds!!!!!! Where did my babies go???!!!!!
Beads and bottles- working on fine motor skills
Posted by: | CommentsThis is an easy one. You could use small cereal pieces if you don’t trust your kids with beads. However, since I was right there, I felt fine with it. I just gave each child a small bowl of beads and an empty/clean bottle. I asked them to put the beads in the bottle. When we were done, we added glitter and some water. It made a fascinating piece for them!
Potty training on the go!
Posted by: | CommentsSo, my kids have been potty training over the last few weeks… and are OVERALL doing AWESOME!!!! I really think having been in cloth diapers instead of disposables made a lot of the difference.
Anyway, we have finally been going on a few outings. At home I just dump the potty chair in the toilet or bushes and give it a rinse. I hadn’t thought of being out somewhere and having to dump it. You can’t just dump it in the parking lot! (or I don’t think you can anyway ;))
So, I read a tip somewhere and thought I would try it out! When you are out on the go, carry some of your old disposables with you. When they have finished going, put the diaper, inside down into the diaper to soak up the stuff. You could use cloth diapers too! Then, you can just wrap them up and handle them how you normally would.
I tried this and it works WONDERS!!!!!! I’m so glad I found this out in the early stages! No pee/poo sloshing around in my van!!!!!
Thrush in baby or while breastfeeding
Posted by: | CommentsThough I quit breast feeding months ago, I still remember the period when we had thrush. Zane never got it, but Bree had it on and off for about 6 weeks. I also got it. It basically felt like someone stabbing a shishkabob skewer in my nipples. Not a pretty picture! Nor a pretty memory. Anyway, This is what I finally found that works. Hopefully, it will help you, if you are experiencing the same.
Wipe the baby’s mouth out with white vinegar on a cloth a few times a day. It nuetralizes the yeast beasties. Also, wipe your breasts, if you are breast feeding. She won’t like either, but it is safe. Try to wear breast pads to avoid contact with your bra. Wash the bra you wear for the day in hot water at the end of the day. You can also add a bit of grapefruit seed extract to help kill yeast from your bra.
Take acidophalis a few times a day. This is what is in yogurt. It will also help nuetralize.
On you breasts, put a mixture of hydrocortizone cream, monistate (or some yeast infection cream), and bacitracine. Put it on after feeding.This will soothe and help kill the yeast. You can wipe it off with white vinegar before feeding, though it won’t hurt the babies. I used this triple concoction every time my breasts would start being sensitive at the nipples. This is a safe triple mixture and helps when EVER you start having nipple pain while breast feeding.
My lactation consultant gave me these tips. You want to do what you can immediately before the yeast gets out of hand. We battled it for about 6 weeks. It was excruciating! I don’t want you to get to that point.
Good luck! If your boobs are sore, then there is little doubt that you both have it. For babies, you will see a white coating on the tongue or spots of white on the throat, gums, or cheeks. Hopefully, these things will help cure and prevent further problems.
Stringing cheerios
Posted by: | CommentsThis is an alternative to stringing beads. Pipe cleaners make a more stable instrument that is easier to grasp. Cheerios can be eaten like a candy necklace after stringing!
Simple/cheap bedrails!!!!!!
Posted by: | CommentsDee moved R to a toddler bed. The first night R fell out of the bed REPEATEDLY! She bought rails, but found they didn’t fit. So, I suggested she get 3 swim noddles, tape them together, and insert them under the sheets. She found some 3 for $5 at Kroger and did just that. It worked like a charm!!!! R no longer falls out of the bed, she can climb over them to get out in the morning, and they can take them, easily, when they travel!!!!!!!
On the way to being potty trained!!!!!
Posted by: | CommentsSo, the Wondertwins are 27 months. A little early for potty training, for the average here in the USA. However, one of the many advantages of cloth diapering is that kids potty train on average of 1-2 years before others! We have had the potty chairs out for awhile now. Then last week my friend, who has 2 1/2 year old twins, said she was ready to start training. So, we decided to jump on the band wagon.
Zane started by going pee in the potty several times on Monday. So, I sent him and DH to the store to get some “Spiderman” underwear. Right after they left, Bree started crying that she wanted princess panties.
So, on Tuesday we went back to the store to purchase more for both… and they have been in panties/underwear since! We are still doing diapers at nap and bed, but the rest of the day, we are out of diapers.
They have been doing pretty good. Bree is best at pooping in the potty, but doesn’t really care to pee in it much. Zane can pee in the potty just about any time he is asked to sit down. Yesterday he just had 1 pee and 2 poop accidents… he isn’t much for pooping in the potty yet.
My opinion… if you want to potty train, SKIP the pull ups!!!! They are just diapers you can pull up and down! They still don’t really feel the pee. Why am I starting my kids so early? They were cloth diapered. They are use to feeling that wet warm feeling and know what it means. Disposables wick away the moisture… So, kids don’t really feel it.
While we won’t be fully potty trained for a bit, the kids are doing AWESOME!!!!! We are giving chocolate graham bears from Whole Foods as a treat (though DH found them last night and took care of about 3/4 of the bag 
). They are excited an have been making it to the potty more than not. We also have a little b’jorn potty that we move around. So, the potty is always really nearby, making less chance for accidents!
It certainly isn’t SIMPLE with twins, but it is going much easier than I thought. Anyway, wish us LUCK!!!!!
Wordless Wednesday
Posted by: | Comments
This is one picture from many… They were taken by Sarah Null www.sarahnullphotography.com
She is amazing!!!!!
Wordless Wednesday
Posted by: | Comments
