Mommy By The Book » clueless

The good news

Rachel — Mon, 30 May 2011 20:00:52 +0000

In my last post I alluded to some good news and then disappeared for a week. I know you’ve all been on edge and just dying to know, haven’t you?

*crickets*

Ok, well, even if you’re not, here you go:

My kid is potty-trained! Yay!!!!!

We haven’t changed a diaper in almost a month. It’s practically like getting a raise, not having to buy diapers anymore.

This might seem odd, but ever since she was an infant I stressed about potty-training. I mean, how in the world do you train a completely irrational and easily distractable little person to do their business in a wee potty? No one trained me on how to train someone to do this, and I certainly don’t remember my own training! The whole set-up seems rather preposterous.

There were a few basic tidbits offered by our pediatrician and the interwebs:

- Let her observe us using the bathroom. I realize that sounds disgusting and strange, but her doctor said at her 1 year appointment that this would lay the building blocks for potty training.

- Make it sunshine and rainbows and one big party all the time! Negativity is a big, fat no-no.

- Bribes are awesome

- It only works if the kid is ready

Over the last several months we’ve toyed around with potty training a bit, thinking she was ready, but then quickly realized she was NOT ready so we backed off. This time around though, I knew she was ready and declared that it was time and come hell or high water, we were jumping in and not looking back. We hid the leftover diapers (because if she knew we still owned any she would simply insist she wear the diapers instead) and stocked up on tiny underpants and carpet cleaner.

It was a Tuesday. The diapers had been stashed away, the M&M’s had been purchased, the towels were draping the couch, and our schedule had been cleared for the next several days. That morning, after a few brief tears of not wanting to grow up quite yet (I may or may not have shed some myself), the little potty was put to use and everyone rejoiced! But then, that very same day, The Great Hand Catastrophe occurred and I thought for sure the whole thing would go right out the window. But wouldn’t you know it, my little champ of a child persevered and through all the tears and trauma she stuck with it. I couldn’t have been more proud.

So here we are, four weeks later, and I haven’t changed (or purchased!) a diaper in ages. Overall, things have been going well. At first I thought she had it down within just a few days, but then she kind of regressed a little bit? Now we seem to be dealing with little accidents here and there, so instead of being all MY KID IS POTTY TRAINED, EXCLAMATION POINT! I’m kind of like, MY KID IS POTTY TRAINED, QUESTION MARK? I’m kind of at a loss of how to get her 100% there. Suggestions? Is this something she just has to do on her own time? Seriously, I have no idea what I’m doing here, people. Teach me.

Either way, the whole thing is pretty fantastic, if you ask me.

P.S. In other good news, her hand is healing up very nicely, finally! Just one little band-aid left on the most mangled finger, but she is using her hand like normal now and all is well. HALLELUJAH!

Feeding frenzy

Rachel — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 03:34:45 +0000

While I was pregnant one of the last things I worried about was feeding my baby. Surely keeping her healthy/comfortable/clean/breathing/alive would be more difficult, right? Wrong. While feeding hasn’t been the most difficult thing we’ve encountered (sleeping has been FAR more troublesome, but that’s a different post entirely), it’s been something that has proved to be challenging.

First off, nursing did not go as planned. I read everything I could about it, met with the lactation consultant, and tried, tried, and tried again. But alas, my little baby was not interested in learning to latch properly and I endured weeks of toe-curling pain. Add to that the fact that I discovered my body hardly produced any milk at all and it was a recipe for disaster. So after two months the nursing/pumping ended entirely and we turned to formula which made for smooth sailing for a while.

Then came the time to introduce solid foods, and I realized I was completely clueless. What solid foods are best to try first? How much should she eat? How many bottles should she still drink? Do I need to worry about creating a “balanced meal” each time with something from fruits, veggies, protein, dairy, and grains? Or is a jar of strained peas ok for a small meal? And now that she eats mainly solid food, how much should she be eating a day? She is a small thing, on the low end of the weight chart, so I worry about the fact that she really can’t afford to miss out on any calories lest she waste away before my eyes. In short, I had no idea what I was doing.

Luckily, I read some articles on good finger foods for baby and that seemed to help for a while. There are plenty of foods she seems to enjoy: avocado, tomatoes, buttered toast, Goldfish crackers, watermelon, green beans, corn, cheese, sweet potatoes, etc.

One thing I’ve noticed she’s not fond of though is meat. I’ve determined that it could be because she’s a) aiming for a healthy lifestyle by limiting her red meat intake b) a future member of PETA c) purposefully aggravating her father who thought in his bachelor days that every meal should consist of steak in some form, or d) just doesn’t like it. It’s hard to say. Most meat we try to give her ends up on the floor, much to the delight of the waiting dog. Being the worrier that I am, this concerns me that she isn’t getting enough protein. How do I get this kid to eat meat? I suppose I could feed her tofu, but…ehhh….

At this point Claire has graduated past having a few noodles or pieces of avocado to eat and would like an actual meal that will fill her up for some period of time. See, there are so many things to do an explore that she really doesn’t have time to stop and eat, so we need to make the most of the few moments I can confine her to a high chair. I don’t think she can subsist on a diet of Goldfish crackers for much longer, and I’d like to have something to give her that she won’t choke on and she can feed herself as she seems to enjoy that more. An added plus would be if it didn’t make a massive mess each time either. Mama doesn’t have time to draw a bath three times a day, ya know?

So, this will be the topic of study over the next little while. As evidenced, I don’t quite know how to approach this problem, so I’m hoping to find some people that do. Expect to see a “review” of sorts soon on a book about feeding your baby. We’ll see what sort of chaos may ensue. Fun!

Hi, Internet!

Rachel — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:32:18 +0000

So. I have a blog now. What fun! We’ll see what comes of this whole thing. I figured hey, everyone else is doing it, why don’t I own a piece of the Internet? Because if everyone else is doing it, surely I must as well, right? Right. So here I am. Can’t wait to . . . → Read More: Hi, Internet!