Potty Training-Tales from the Potty

My son is now 2 1/2  and is potty trained.  Yea!  Moms keep asking me how I got there.  So now that it’s been about 4 months since I did 3 day potty training, I think I have a better perspective to share the good, the bad and the poopy.  

There is no one right way.  I think it really depends on your child, how much time and commitment you have, and if you have other children.

Here are few links to help you find what is best for you and your child.
Baby Center Advice
Dr. Sears Advice
3-day Potty Training

I did 3 day potty training-which is basically going cold turkey!  No more diapers-not even at night.   Here is the basic rules-you throw away all the diapers in the house, dress you child in big kid underwear, give him liquids, and rush him to the potty when you catch him in the act. Within those first three days of staying home and being positive and focused on your child, something is supposed to "click" and your child will just get it.

This week  I am going to share my potty training diary.  Follow me on my journey.

3 Day Potty Training Diary-The Day Before:

So after putting it off for months, I have decided to do 3 day potty training this weekend.  My son has been ready,  but I wasn’t ready.  With a 9 month old I didn’t have the time or the commitment, but this is the time.  He is 2 1/2 and has all the readiness signs.   I have been gradually getting him ready since he was 18 months old.  We got books, had pottys in the bathroom, showed him how to use it, had stickers and rewards but I never pushed anything and didn’t use any particular method.  I hoped eventually he would just get better, use the potty more often and stay dry.  Didn’t happen.  In fact he got worse.  Not only did he not use the potty, he wouldn’t even tell me when he had a poopy diaper.  We were going backward.  It was time to take away the diapers and let him have a chance to be a big boy.

I was anxious.  I told him soon there would be no more diapers and we would be wearing underwear.   He was excited. He said," Like Calliou and his friend in preschool!"  I said, "Yes, you are a big boy now".  So we made it fun.  We went to the store and bought dozens of pairs of underwear.  Trucks, Elmo, Dinosaurs, Thomas. you name it.  Then I bought stickers, poster board for a reward chart, and a few inexpensive prizes and lots of books and games to keep us busy for 3 days without leaving the house.

I lined the couch where he sits and his crib with a waterproof mattress pad, stocked up on rags, carpet cleaner and clean pants and pjs. Tomorrow it is go time!  See you then.

Kids Garbage Truck Videos

If your 2 year old is like my son, trash day is a major highlight in the week.  Who knew?    He can hear them miles away and starts screaming with joy.  "Garbage truck!  Garbage truck!  Hear That? " Then he's so excited his whole body shakes as he clenches his fist when he smiles with joy.

I'll have what he's having please.: )

Since the garbage man can't come everyday, we've resorted to YouTube videos on the day we miss him.  I know, I don't like my son watching too many videos, but a few minutes of pre-screened videos can really get you through the day.  I'm amazed that my son can be so entertained by dumpsters and trash cans.  Side-loaders, Front-loaders, etc.

Here's a tribute to our friendly neighborhood garbage  (recycling) man.  Now we can watch our own video over and over.

Enjoy.

Giveaway for New Moms!

I wish I had one of these when I was a new mom.   It's called my bum book.  It was created by mother of 2, Cory Kingston. It's basically a baby journal and keepsake that helps you track your baby's feedings, dirty diapers, nap times and other milestones. 

This would have been much better than the little worksheet grid that the hospital gave me and then the random notebooks and sheets of paper I used to track all my baby's sleep, eat, pee, poop schedules.  I still have them in the corner of my office if you can believe it.   They are a mess of chicken scratches on paper that I haven't gotten around to throwing away yet.   I will probably not keep them since they are not very organized, but if I used this book I might have kept it as a keepsake.

It's actually very simple.  The first few pages help you keep track of basic information-pediatrician, poison control, emergency information, immunizations, and growth stats.   Then it's basically a 2 month 24/7  grid to help you track your baby's schedule all in one place.  The simple layout allows you to see trends and patterns. It helps keep you neat and organized which is what a new mom needs.


Enter the giveaway and Win a Bum Book!
1. Subscribe to The Zen Mom and let us know you are a subscriber with a comment.
2. Visit Bumble Stuff and comment back with your thoughts.
3. Follow The ZenMom on Twitter, tweet about it and comment.
Contest ends October 22, 2010 11:59pm PST

Hilarious Video!

Happy Friday!  I love my mom friends, but sometimes we just can't stop talking about our kids, right?  This video is so funny I just had to share.  Take a look!   It's from this webseries Mompetition on a new site xtranormal.com.  Xtranormal videos are digitally animated and voiced by a type recognition system.  Take a look. 

 Why I Can't Make Mom Friends

Making Play dough!

NeatReceipts Mobile Scanner and Digital Filing System

Play dough Fun!

When I saw homemade play dough at my son school, I thought "How cool!" and the teachers said it was so easy to make.    Unfortunately, I never got around to making any, until today.     My son helped me mix all the ingredients and pick the colors he wanted.   It only takes a few minutes to make a batch.   As you can see we made three-(blue, red, and green).  The only thing is you have to cook it for a few minutes, so make sure you keep your toddler away from the stove.


There are variations of the same recipe out there.  Cream of tartar is what really makes it thicken.  I tried just mixing flour and water without a recipe once.  It didn't work so well.  There are ones that use cornstarch or even kool-aid.  If you want to be earth-friendly just leave out the food coloring.


Here's a simple recipe I liked:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1/4 cup salt
• food coloring

Pour all ingredients into pot, except water.  Then add food coloring to the water and pour into pot.  Stir over medium heat.  It will start off kind of mushy and slowly turn into a ball of playdough.  Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth. Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled.

Making Baby Food!

Beaba Babycook

I just started feeding my 2nd solids. This baby food maker makes it a breeze.  It steams, purees, and reheats all-in-one, so no need to use several appliances which means less dishes. :)

Even though I knew about it a few years ago, I heard it had BPA.  So I went the steamer and cuisinart route instead. First I steamed, then pureed, then froze the left overs and I don't like using the microwave for baby so to reheat I used another dish and steamed again.  Yikes! Seems like a lot of work and it was, but my baby was worth it right?  I wanted to keep him BPA-free.  Well turns out the Cuisinart may have BPA in it afterall.  Great? But now a few years have passed and the research I found says The Beaba Babycook is BPA Free and even says so on the box. 

So this time around I'm using the Babycook.  

How To Use 

There's level 1, 2 or, 3 which measures how much water you use.  For example pears are 2, squash is 3.  You fill it up to the line and pour the water into the other side.   Put your fruit or veggie in the basket.  Twist the lid shut and put it on the steam icon.  The light goes on, when it's done the light will go off.  Turn off the steamer, open the lid, remove the basket and put the food in the mixer, shut the lid and put it on the blend icon.  Voila-baby food!

It takes roughly about 10-15 minutes to cook something and about 7 minutes to reheat a frozen cube so I've found I've been making more fresh food each meal rather than freezing large batches.  When you reheat food it needs to go in another container that you place in the basket.

Observations about Starting Solids

-There's no rush.  (I couldn't wait to feed my first, second time around I wasn't so anxious.  Who needs more to do and clean with 2 kids. She was fine on just breastmilk.  I waited until 6 months.)

-Rice Cereal is constipating.  (Even though it was both my kids first food, I think if I were to do it again I'd start with veggies.)  

-Make sure you have bibs and supplies ready.

Here's what I used:

-Washable Bibs,

-Take and Toss Disposable Spoons,

-First Food Serving Bowl-I love this serving bowl-it comes with 2 sections for puree and cereal and a soft spoon.

Here's more about starting solids and homemade baby food.

Giving Back!

I know most of us have the best intentions to donate our time or to give back, but sometimes we get so caught up in our daily mom lives we forget or just run out of energy and it gets pushed to the bottom of our "to do" list.

But now it's time to take action. What do you believe in? How can you make a difference?

This week I asked myself that question. I have been meaning to donate to a charity, not just going to some fundraiser, but actually finding out about the organization, its mission and then help.

I decided to dedicate my energy to Fresh Start Surgical Gifts. An organization that provides free reconstructive and plastic surgery to children and young adults in San Diego. Giving them a Fresh Start.

My son was born with a cleft lip.  He had surgery at 3 months. 

He is now a healthy, happy, active 2 year old and I am grateful for that.  It was hard in the beginning, first discovering he had a cleft when I was in my third trimester, then going through the surgery and the healing process. But imagine looking at your child and not being able to give them what they need. We had insurance and were able to give him the surgery, but many kids don't have that chance.  Everytime I go to Rady Children's Hospital  I get emotional.  I see children and their families, each one has their own story.  I hope each one will get their own happy ending.

All the money donated to Fresh Start goes towards helping kids during surgery weekends, which happens about 7 times a year. The next one is in a few weeks and will give more than 80 kids what my son got, a fresh start, a chance to be himself, not affected by what he looks like.

So that is why I chose this organization.  But there are hundreds of organizations that need your help.  Take a little time today and give back.