"Pacifiers Make Great Babies..What About Toddlers?"

Both of my children are/were "noonie babies". My 5 year old gave up his paci a little after 2 and my 23 month old still enjoys hers while in her crib only. She asks to go "night, night" just to have a moment alone with her noonie! I know that the time is coming when Adam and I will have to endure some sleeplessness and crying due to the absence of that colorful, vanilla scented, plastic contraption!


Some moms are able to get their little ones to break the habit before they are a year old....yay for you! Some start trying before they are 2. Some, myself included, prefer to wait until their little one sort of understands what's going on. Some skip this stage all together because their little angel never took one! (Lucky ducks!)

Here's my take on it and what what worked for Mason, my oldest. I did not want to have to cut his pacifier, make it float off into space, or give it to the "Noonie Fairy". I could not see Mason buying into any of those very clever tricks. A good friend of mine passed her unique strategy on to me and here's what I did.

When Mason wasn't around I lightly coated the nipple part of his pacifiers with a product called "Stop the Bite". (It's safe! It's usually used for thumbsuckers and kids who bite their fingernails.) Basically, it created a safe, nontoxic nastiness on the noonie. When it was naptime Mason got into his crib, grabbed his blanket, and one of his noonies. (You know your child has a stash in there too! We all got tired of having to find the lone binky at 2 am!) When he put it into his mouth he discovered that it was "yuck". He took it out and tried another one. That one was "yuck" too! He did cry and fuss when he found out that all of them were "yuck". I calmly explained to him that maybe "noonie" was old and it had just gotten yuck. I played along and made like I believed my own little "white lie". I also explained that I did not have anymore. Albeit hard, I closed the door to his room and he had to "cry it out" for a few minutes. At that point, he decided to just hold his pacifier while he slept. This went on for about a week. Mason realized that the "yuck" was not going away and no longer wanted to hold them. One morning he woke up and asked to throw his noonie away. His explanation, "It's yuck! Throw it away! Yuck!" Happily, he pitched it in the trash himself. He did this with all of the pacifiers. I was relieved that technically "I" didn't have to get rid of them and break his heart. He did it on his own! I really believed that approach worked for us because Mason was old enough to understand that he didn't want that "yuck" in his mouth and all yucky things go in the trashcan. I also think that letting him "own" that situation went far....he never asked for it again.

Addie will be 2 in February. I'm starting to teach her that yucky things go in the trashcan and I'm letting her help me throw things away. I suppose one day her noonie will "magically" become yuck too! I just hope she takes it as well as Mason did!

Are "best kept secrets" best kept a secret?

We are all guilty...spewing advice at new/expectant mommmies, overwhelming them possibly on an already stressful or busy day. Why does it happen? Do we really mean to do it? Personally, I think we get so proud of what we figured out for ourselves that we don't want anyone to take 10 months to figure out our number one trick. I mean, wouldn't you have liked to know what worked for your baby before it was time to figure out the next stage?
Unfortunately, I feel like I did this to a very dear cousin yesterday. Poor thing, she's only five months along and I'm over here erupting with advice about diapers, sleep, child care expenses and the list goes on. What's wrong with me??? Granted, she said thanks for the advice and seemed really appreciative. However, I think I may need to start blogging more. That way the advice is there if it is WANTED and I'm not taking up anyone's few free moments in their day.

The bad thing is, this is not my first offense. Some of my other cousins would tell you...not only have I spewed advice, but they've also left my house with samples of stuff!! I'm no expert, but I think I really love this mommy stuff and finding things that work. Perhaps this blog should fulfill that purpose instead of innocent bystanders!

The Mommy Slacker

Ok, so Addie is not my first child. I have been through the training and checklist: outlet covers, cabinet locks, dangerous stuff is placed where children cannot reach it and it cannot fall, close the door to the bathroom to prevent anything from getting into the toilet, lower the crib mattress, etc. etc. etc. Well it is inevitable that something will happen that you could have prevented but at the same time you did not know you needed to prevent it. (Before I tell you what I did, I must inform you before hand that no one was even remotely hurt.)
Yesterday was a typical afternoon. The kiddos and I were hanging out in the den trying to occupy ourselves until it was somewhat cooler outside. "Gammie" came over for a visit and we were chit chatting while the kids did their own thing. Addie was being extremely quiet, so Mason was sent to see what she was up to. Addie managed to get into the plastic cabinet (You know you have one too! Where else do you store containters for leftovers, crawfish trays, and leftover party supplies that you'll never ever use again?) That cabinet is the one safe place for her....so I thought. Mason comes back into the screaming, "Addie has a knife! A blue knife! She's holding it like this!!" My heart dropped, the panic set in and worst of all I had just shown my mother-in-law that I was a bad mom! I ran the 10 steps into kitchen to retrieve the offensive object and checked Addie all over. She was holding it by the handle and hadn't taken a step. Everyone was safe.
In my defense, that knife had been missing even before Addie was born. I had no clue that the blue paring knife had made it's escape out of the back of the draw and fell into my baby's one safe cabinet to explore. I was so thankful that nothing bad had happened, because it really could've been bad. I then made a vow to count my knives every night to make sure that I wouldn't put my baby in a such a dangerous situation.
Ok, let's fast forward to this morning....I walked into Addie's room to get her out of her crib. She'd been talking and babbling for at least 30 minutes and I was waiting until she really started fussing to go get her. I was trying to squeeze as many "z's" into this Saturday morning. I walked into her room and noticed that I had left the side of the crib down....good enough for her to attempt to climb out or fall out.

No comment.....


Anyone know when there will be a "Baby Safe" workshop in town?

Adelyn and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day!

Lions, tigers, and Addie....oh my!!!! My babbling 16 month old has figured out that I don't really understand her when she speaks and has resorted to throwing temper tantrums! Let me tell you, they are quite a display coming from someone so little. I understand that at this age these fits of rage are not because she's trying to make me upset, but it's because I don't "get" her.
Yesterday afternoon, Addie woke up from her nap and was asking for "bites" the minute she left her crib. When we got to the kitchen, I gave her a mini ice cream sandwich. She ate all of it. Then she started waving her hands and squealing. I figured she was still hungry, so I gave her some crackers. Well, she seemed content after that and did her "gone,gone" sign...that usually means that it's okay to remove her from the highchair. She was happy to be out and to play with her brother and her daddy. Well, not even a few minutes later she found a wrapper that her daddy had left out. She started flinging that thing around and squealing. Her daddy and I thought she was trying to play with the wrapper.....long story short......she wanted whatever had been in the wrapper!!! Yes, after eating all of the previous things, she wanted more! I ended up giving her some of her favorite yogurt and that solved the problem immediately! She threw the fit because she decided she was still hungry and I didn't catch on to that fast enough.
Of course, this is not first time I've seen her have a meltdown. However, I'm just so shocked when they happen and I feel so helpless! I know this is part of the age and I'm sure my son went through this too...I just don't remember it in vivid detail. Going through it is also so scary because part of me thinks that this is the way my child will be from here on out! Parent guilt sets in and then the thought of calling my own parents fades when I realize that I'm not as perfect as I remember them being. I mean come on, if I threw a fit like that my parents would've....etc...etc...etc.
Then reality hits, guilt fades away and life is good again. I look at my baby who's belly is finally full and who is playing happily with her toys and think to myself, "Tomorrow's mission: Teach her how to say she's hungry!"

**Check out this article from Baby Center. It's all about coping with your toddler's temper tantrums!

"Night, Night"

As much as I love my children, I have to confess, I LOVE bedtime! Lately it seems like the only time that I can get a minute to slow down, turn my brain off, and just be quiet. I love having time to type a few thoughts, catch a few minutes of television, or sometimes even catch up on stuff that needs to be done around the house. No matter what it may be, I love not having to hear my name over and over again! Sometimes I think that it would be a great idea to change my name and not tell anyone what it is! But then I sit back, count my blessings, and I am so thankful that I have little ones (my children and students) that want to call out my name and want my attention.

Does "Mommy's Little Helper" = "Mommy's Big Helper"?

Over the weekend Addie,a.k.a. "Dooptie", discovered helping. As I was transferring a load of clothes from the washing machine to the dryer, she toddled up to my side and started babbling. I then proceeded to give her a wet sock to toss into the dryer. She thought that was the best thing in the world! She started babbling even more and then her little hands popped out of the dryer wanting more. I let her put each article of wet clothing into the dryer just to watch her eyes light up and to hear her echo my praise of "Good Job!" in her own little language.
I'll have you know that it took about 10 minutes to transfer that load of clothing, but it got me thinking. If I encourage her to "help" at the young age of one, will this lead to her wanting to help when she gets older? Will this help tone down the "Battle Over Chores" in the future?
I suppose only time will tell. However, when the dryer buzzes or the washing machine comes to a screeching halt, Addie is ready to help!

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