by Heather
I love Holden’s preschool and have to credit them with getting him pretty well potty-trained and conversant in choices and consequences. When the kids are in the 2-3 year old group, at a certain point, they are given the choice of underwear or diaper. Many — like Holden — will change their minds according to their moods and whims.
A side note: at home, he never ever chose underwear. I suspect that he wanted to be fully master of his domain before risking it. I don’t know why, but that’s how it went.
So, right after his third birthday, when his school went on a one-week recess, Holden announced that he was done with diapers. Hooray. He pretty much had the whole thing mastered and we had very few (daytime) accidents. Cool.
For the next few nights, we noticed that he would still use his nighttime diaper if it was on. So, that’s when I made my fatal mistake: I asked him, “Holden would you like to sleep in diapers or underwear?”
I had wrongfully assumed that he would continue to choose diapers at night until he had the whole deal well mastered. Nope. He chose underwear. And that means that we change the sheets and his clothes at least every other night.
Operation Diapers at Night has been in progress for about two months now. When he has a dry night, we reward him with a glow in the dark sticker for his ceiling (he has about 20). When he has an accident, we try not to pressure or shame him by saying nice things like, “it’s ok, we’ll just clean you up” or “put the rest of your pee in the potty and we’ll get you into a nice warm bed.”
It feels like the last week we’ve had more wet nights than dry nights. Furthermore, he cries and fusses more each night (like he’s trying to wake Milo and piss us off)… is it a really bad idea to move to pull-ups at night?
by Whitney
Apparently our theme for the month is frugality. We didn’t plan this, but it keeps coming up.
My new friend Greg told me that it’s one of his secondary missions in life to be mentioned on my web site. If it doesn’t happened, he threatened, he’s going to start his own site called “CheapAssDad.com.”
I ran into him during lunchtime the other day at a fancy European-style market hall, where most folks are tempted to put together a delicious lunch at a salad bar, for a pretty high price per pound. Greg was proudly toting a bag of green beans and a whole carrot that he selected from the regular bulk produce area of the store.
“Why should you pay salad bar prices for these vegetables?” he questioned.
Hopefully this question is rhetorical because I would be embarrassed to tell him that the salad bar just feels more inviting than his big unwashed carrot and unsnapped green beans. More than anything, however, I was just pleased to see a man choosing raw vegetables to go with his lunch over a bag of chips. Congratulations to Greg’s mom for raising such a good boy.
by Whitney
From postpartum body image to colic, From the Hips touches on every aspect of pregnancy, birth and becoming a parent that has ever crossed my consciousness. Packed with quotes from real moms and dads, this reference guide brings each topic to life with honesty and frankness. Plus, the design is cool.
From the Hips comes out at a time (33 weeks) when I have entirely lost interest in the contents of
Your Pregnancy Week by Week. I think I’m a fairly intellectually curious person, but I really don’t want to read about how my fetus’s eye nerves are developing, and I don’t care too much about her kidneys and liver right now, as long as they’re fully baked by the end of my pregnancy. I certainly don’t want to read tips for “dad” that imply that he might not know how to go to the grocery store without a cell phone to call me.
Authors
Rebecca Odes and Ceridwen Morris address the issues I really do care about, such as “bodily byproducts of birth” (drug hangovers, sweating, hot flashes, lots of peeing) and “the time warp” (Time with a new baby can move s-l-o-w-l-y). Their approach is to be a helpful guide, not an authoritative voice of warning. In the introduction they explain their inspiration:
We were shocked to discover that every piece of media we encountered on the subject of having a baby made us feel pressured to act in one way or another, rather than encouraging us to find our own voices as parents.
This book is fun to page through, and I think I’ll keep it out for the next three months as we move from pregnancy through birth and newborn care. However, it is overwhelming in terms of the density of information. Every page is packed with tons of text. Props to the designer who used lots of speech bubbles and sidebars to help us navigate the topics. And to Rebecca Odes, co-author, who illustrated the diverse group of moms and babies who punctuate the design.
I would certainly buy this book for any pregnant friend. It offers the voice of a friend who’s been there and isn’t afraid to talk about the hard topics.
> Visit FromTheHips.com to see sample content.
> See what others on the Mother Talk blog tour are saying about From The Hips.
by moms
Whirlpool has announced a “Mother of Invention Grant” of $20,000 (plus appliances and a trip to “business bootcamp”) for the winner of their little contest.
To recognize this motherly ingenuity, the 2007 Whirlpool Brand Mother of Invention Grant will provide moms with the necessary business resources, such as seed money and expert advice, helping to make business dreams a reality.
If you are (1) a mom with (2) a great idea, then you can (3) fill out the questionnaire at whirlpool.com/moms. Contest ends June 30, 2007
by Whitney
“Is today your due date?” a woman called across the park this morning.
“No,” said my husband, laughing.
I chose to ignore the exchange, instead helping Julian with his sand toys.
“Must be soon,” she concluded.
“Not really,” said Ryan. “Two months to go.”
“Wow,” she said. “Oh, wow.”
I just stood there like the stunned whale that I am.
Happy Mother’s Day to me!
Picture taken at 32 weeks 0 days, aka 7 months for you non-birth-mothers.
by Heather
Check it out folks, Whitney was featured in the current issue of the adorable Peekaboo Picks.
by Whitney
I flew from LA to Oakland tonight (by myself!) and saw celebrity rookie mom Brandi Chastain chatting up some soccer fans. She caught my attention because she is super fit, exuberant, and was pushing a jogging stroller in the airport (A BOB Revolution for you stroller junkies).
Chastain’s baby Jaden is 10 months old.
As exciting as seeing say, Kate Hudson or Gwen Stefani? Maybe not, but a nice thrill for a Sunday night regardless.
by Whitney
I just discovered this web site, a place for you to browse other mommy’s secrets. Ideally you will feel less alone when you read that others have done or thought what you’ve done or thought. You might just feel like the world is going to hell in a handbasket and that our generation of moms is a bunch of whiners. I really don’t know where I stand. Because issues change so much from babyhood to toddlerhood to grade-school-hood, don’t expect to relate to everything.
You can’t help but judge when you read these confessions, but the whole thing’s anonymous, so judge all you want. Just a little fun to talk about on the playground later. Seventeen people claim to have used their vibrator in the parking lot of Whole Foods. Hmmm. I was just there today. I didn’t realize I was supposed to bring any *toys* with me.
The quote of the day on True Mom Confessions is
“My son threw up all over the carpet the other night. I left it there hoping the dog would eat it.” If you’ve thought about it or done it, go ahead, confess it.
by Whitney
My Kindergarten teacher emailed me and asked me to spread the word about this event. If there’s anything I can do to help decrease domestic violence and increase awareness of the danger of guns, count me in.
The Alameda County Domestic Violence Collaborative (ACDVC) is pleased to announce its first training seminar of the year. This year’s first topic:
GUNS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP
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