#18- Some days are all about the potty

potty

A few different days this summer I brought my kids with me to get my classroom ready.  It was easier to make a few short trips rather than make a day of it because of their limited attention spans.  One memorable visit was the usual 90 minutes, but I think we spent more than half that time using the potty.

I sat them down with a movie and some lunch as I tackled a new bulletin board.  After their first course, the bathroom parade began.  First Sweet Boy decided he had to pee.  When we were there, Girlie decided she wanted to try to go tinkles too.  She spent about 10 minutes trying to poop too, but was really uncomfortable without a potty seat.  We washed up and headed back to my classroom.

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A crappy situation

The kids returned to their lunch and then I noticed Girlie hiding behind the piano.  I knew what was coming.  A few moments later, I could smell that Girlie had gotten much more comfortable with her pull-up on.  I cleaned her up, ran to the bathroom to drop off the offensive diaper and went back to my bulletin board.

Literally two minutes later Sweet Boy was running down the hall.  I asked him where he was going and he yelled for all to hear, “I have to poop, Mommy.”

He went straight into the ladies room because, “I need you, Mommy.”

I scooped up his sister and followed him in.  For 15 minutes we talked about the door locks, how people usually want privacy in the bathroom, the sanitary napkin box, the handicapped stall, and a bit about world peace.  He finished up. We went back to my room.   I put up the last few pieces in my classroom and we left.

I know when they are older, there will be many things I will miss about this age.  I don’t think life revolving around the bathroom will be one of those things.

Photo by thejbird

Let’s Talk Diapers

diapers

For any mother, diapers are a part of life.  (The alternative would be unthinkable.) We are a disposable diaper family.  We’ve been through a few brands and styles with our kiddos.   After 4 1/2 years of diapering, we’ve finally got our diaper management down.

With Sweet Boy, we started off with Huggies.  I started with size one because the doctor had told us he was going to be a really big baby.  Then he arrived early.  We scrambled to get the newborn sized diapers delivered while we were still at the hospital.  Here’s what I learned about the newborn diapers- they have a U-shaped cutout that doesn’t rub against the umbilical cord.  Seriously, nobody ever told me that when I was pregnant.  We continued with Huggies for the first months, because we really liked the wetness indicator.

I would buy the cases at the local discount stores.  I could never figure out how to make the coupons work so the small packs were cheaper.  I’ve read a bunch of articles on saving on diapers, but it just didn’t work out for me.

As Sweet Boy got older, we switched to Luvs.  I learned from Baby Bargains that Luvs are made by the same company as Pampers.  They have fewer features and no featured character on them, but the absorbency is the same quality and they are much cheaper.  Like $10 a case cheaper.  And they have coupons available in the Sunday paper too.  We never went with the store brands because several daycare providers had told us that they are not as absorbent and can cause diaper rash.


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When Girlie was born, the newborn size was not an option for us.  She was nearly 10 pounds and they just didn’t fit.  We went right to Luvs for her.  With the second child, the wetness indicator wasn’t as necessary.  Momma just knew.

We continued shopping in stores for diapers.  Our daycare provider joked with me one day that I seemed to stop at the store 2-3 times a week between Girlie’s diapers, Sweet Boy’s Night-time Pull-Ups, wipes and other baby needs.  It became too much, so I switched to the Amazon Subscribe and Save program.  We already had Amazon Prime for streaming and shipping savings, so it made sense to take advantage of the Subscribe and Save program.

Subscribe and Save

If you are not familiar with Subscribe and Save, they offer 20% off your order of diapers and 5-15% off other items, like wipes.  So now, every month we get a case of diapers for Girlie delivered to our front door.  It is very easy to change your order when they grow into a new size and it’s 5-20% off.  We get Sweet Boy’s Night-Time Pull-Ups every other month, for 5-20% off.  The case of wipes seem to last me every month and a half, so I set it up for a monthly delivery, and skip a delivery when I don’t need it.

I have a few other items on my Subscribe and Save list – protein powder, baby soap, cleaners.  I try to schedule those items so that I have five items delivered each month, so I get my maximum discount.  And it is so easy to reschedule a delivery as long as you do it with a week’s notice.  If I can’t get five items in a particular month, I still save a few dollars off the store price, and it gets delivered straight to my door.

We did run into one issue with diapers for Girlie.  For a few months, Huggies were on a super discount on Amazon.  I think they were changing the packaging or something.  We started getting the Huggies for Girlie.  She had the worst diaper rash I have ever seen.  We brought her to the doctor about five times before we realized that the diapers were the problem.  We switched her back to Luvs and the rash went away.  Sweet Boy never had a problem with Huggies, but kids are going to react differently to different products.

What Works for You?

This is the system we really use.  It saves us time and money, both of which are precious when you are a working mom with kids in daycare.  If you have any ideas that work for you, please share in a comment to help other moms.

#15-New Car Seat Regulations

car seat regulations

Starting October 1, 2017, the state of Connecticut will have new car seat regulations.

  • All children must remain rear facing until they are 2-years-old and weigh 30 pounds.
  • All children must remain in a 5 point harness until they are 5 and weigh 40 pounds.
  • And, all children must remain in a booster until they are 8 and weigh 60 pounds.

I’m sharing this information for my Connecticut friends and family, but also for my friends and family who drive through Connecticut from time to time.

My displeasure

I’m going to admit that I have an unpopular opinion of this new law.

As the mom of a 50-pound, 4 1/2 year old (tall and solid, not chunky at all), I find this law to be a major hassle.  We knew he was a big boy from the beginning, so we got a Britax Boulevard that will hold him up to 65 pounds.  He uses that seat in my car where he probably does 90% of his car time.


Sweet Boy is in a booster seat in my husband‘s car.  He is strong enough and tall enough to sit comfortably with the seat belt in the proper position, and we wanted to get him used to the new style of seat in the car where he does a small percentage of travel.  And according to the current law, it is safe for him to do so.  But the Connecticut lawmakers seem to want me to buy a new car seat for the five months he will not meet the new regulations.

I’m sorry, but the 5-point harness car seats for a child over 50 pounds are expensive.  Christmas is coming.  Birthdays are coming.  I have better things to do with my $250.  And most importantly – I know my kid.  He looks more like a first grader than a pre-schooler and he’s very strong.  My pediatrician is also aware of our car seat choices and he seems to think it’s okay for our child.

So, for five months we’ll be switching the one car seat between our two cars.  The booster seat goes away for a few months.  I’m following the regulations because I don’t want to pay for a ticket just as much as I don’t want to pay for a new car seat.

Mother knows best?

But really, I think the whole new law is more about taking away a parent’s personal judgment.  If my child were smaller, I wouldn’t have put him in a booster seat, but he’s not.  And the state of Connecticut seems to know what’s best for my child more than I do – his mother.

Photo by yourbestdigs

#8 – ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE

advanced maternal age

 

#2 did not take long to join us (much like her brother).  As an older mom, I am eternally grateful that I did not struggle with fertility issues.   And I’m always sending prayers for those of you who are struggling.

We had a date night scheduled and I decided to take a test a few days early.  Really, I wanted to know if I should have some wine or not.  I looked at that stick, and there she was.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Advanced Maternal Age

For this pregnancy, I was definitely on the ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE track.  Sweet Boy’s early arrival also added to the extra care I received.  There was no medical explanation for my water breaking early, so the doctors watched for everything.  I was at the office at least 3 times a month.  Some parts of the extra care were wonderful, but some were not.  I loved being eligible for the 13 week DNA blood test.  It was so cool to tell people that we were having a girl right away.  The weekly hormone shots in the bum–not so cool.

My husband was the one to administer them. As much as I didn’t like getting the shots, I’m pretty sure that, joking aside, he liked giving them to me even less.


Having an ultrasound every two weeks to watch our baby girl grow– awesome.  Cervix checks every two weeks–not so awesome.

Honestly, being pregnant with a toddler in tow was not as tough as you might think.  Sweet Boy had such an easy going temperament.  He sat quietly in his stroller during all my appointments with nothing more than PBS kids on my phone and a few goldfish.  His asthma did start to show up that winter, but he was so cuddly when he was sick that I didn’t mind.  Plus, he was excited for his new sister to arrive.  I could already tell what a good big brother he was going to be.

Thankfully, there were only a few minor issues with my second pregnancy.  I needed a C-section because you just can’t fit a 15 cm head through a 5 cm hole, but Girlie arrived safely and healthy at just under 10 pounds.

I didn’t feel like an old mom at all.  Yeah, I could totally handle this.   (Can you hear 41-year-old me laughing at 39-year-old me?)