There comes a moment in most babies' lives when they realize they have a special power: the power to remove their own diapers.
Fear shoots up and down a parent's spine to consider the possibilities that exist now.
The look of realization on a child's face when they realize they can strip down on their own is priceless. This is suddenly a huge step towards their independence. They get to decide if their clothes stay on or not. Lily will brush up against the velcro of her diaper and realize that it has been left uncovered and suddenly her face lights up! She yanks the first one open and the diaper falls to the floor and she starts to run - she knows that I am headed towards her to put it back. The chase is on, full of giggles and ripply, chubby baby bum.
Keeping the diaper covered is a great way to end the streaking. A one piece outfit is a big help. But sometimes even that is not enough to stop a little Houdini. Putting pants over the top can help, but there are some determined little escape artists who need Extra Help. Good old fashioned safety pins can do the trick. A safety pin at the crotch of the onesie is usually enough to keep things tight. But some kids need their pants pinned to their shirts in the back too. I knew one little girl who was an expert at removing her clothes - she needed a pin between every snap of her jammies that snapped down the front. But thankfully, not many kids are that skilled.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
One Step at a Time
Watching a child learn how to walk is fascinating. I recently had the privilege one more time as Lily moved from all fours to running on two legs.
Babies do best learning to walk barefoot. It allows them to use their toes to balance. Often new walkers who are first put in shoes will have a hard time for a few hours as they learn to use their feet differently. Shoes like Robeez allow a baby to have some (very cute) foot protection while still giving them full freedom to use their toes and flex their feet as they should. Gone are the days when doctors recommended still baby boots as first walking shoes!
As my children have learned to walk they have followed about the same progression of skills:
1. Pulling up, some crawl first, some don't.
2. Pulling up and letting go without knowing it. The baby pulls up, and holds on to a toy and doesn't realize that they aren't holding on. When baby realizes he is standing he quickly sits down again.
3. Letting go on purpose to hold on to a toy or something else.
4. Cruising - baby realizes that he can get to a toy on the couch by scooting sideways along it.
5. Step-lunge-fall. These are the first real steps alone! Sometimes it is more like a dive with baby kind of catching himself with a foot as he begins to fall. After practicing this a couple days though, baby begins to learn that moving a foot ahead will help him to get where he is going and suddenly there is a lot less of the lunge-fall part.
6. Slow, tentative steps. Arms in the air for balance, baby really knows that he is doing what everyone else is doing and is excited to practice it.
7. Now baby is a biped! You notice that less and less time is spent crawling or creeping and more time is now spent upright. Then one day, baby stands up in the middle of the floor and crawling is left behind.
Now you have a toddler.
Babies do best learning to walk barefoot. It allows them to use their toes to balance. Often new walkers who are first put in shoes will have a hard time for a few hours as they learn to use their feet differently. Shoes like Robeez allow a baby to have some (very cute) foot protection while still giving them full freedom to use their toes and flex their feet as they should. Gone are the days when doctors recommended still baby boots as first walking shoes!
As my children have learned to walk they have followed about the same progression of skills:
1. Pulling up, some crawl first, some don't.
2. Pulling up and letting go without knowing it. The baby pulls up, and holds on to a toy and doesn't realize that they aren't holding on. When baby realizes he is standing he quickly sits down again.
3. Letting go on purpose to hold on to a toy or something else.
4. Cruising - baby realizes that he can get to a toy on the couch by scooting sideways along it.
5. Step-lunge-fall. These are the first real steps alone! Sometimes it is more like a dive with baby kind of catching himself with a foot as he begins to fall. After practicing this a couple days though, baby begins to learn that moving a foot ahead will help him to get where he is going and suddenly there is a lot less of the lunge-fall part.
6. Slow, tentative steps. Arms in the air for balance, baby really knows that he is doing what everyone else is doing and is excited to practice it.
7. Now baby is a biped! You notice that less and less time is spent crawling or creeping and more time is now spent upright. Then one day, baby stands up in the middle of the floor and crawling is left behind.
Now you have a toddler.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A Toy Question
I received this email from a reader a few days ago, with a question about some of the wooden toys for babies on the CottonBabies website:
Thank you Tara, for the email and the compliments (as well as for your permission to use this here!)
I have the Flori and the Triola of the ones you listed. My biggest worry about these before seeing them was the bells. I worried that the metal might be sharp and a little baby tongue could get pinched in there. So I tried it out to see if I could do it. It sounds crazy but I tried to get my tongue caught in one of those little bells and I couldn't do it!
After getting your email, I took a second look at one of the other ones, the Pipapo (which seems to be my daughter's favorite). Because it is held together with elastic like some of the others, I think I will keep it out of the heat, but I could not even access the knot that connects the elastic to itself. It is secured inside one of the beads.
So yes, they do have some small parts, but I think as long as you watch the condition of the elastic (none of mine seem to be having any problem) there is not much chance of the baby getting the small parts off. I couldn't do it with just my hands and mouth! I have another toy with similar elastic and as the toy wore out, the elastic never broke or seemed to become weaker, it just stretched out and the toy got loose.
Dear Jenni,I've been reading the Cloth Diapers blog and enjoying it a lot--thanks! I really love my bumGenius diapers, and I am interested in some of the wooden toys you recommended on the blog that are sold on the Cotton Babies site. My only concern is that some of them appear to have very small pieces, either wooden balls or bells. Without seeing the toys in person, I was concerned about a possible choking hazard if my small daughter were to chew on them or tug on them. Do you have any insight into this? (I'm particularly interested in the Flori, Pixie's World, Piro, and Triola.)Thanks for any thoughts you have if you have the time to respond!And thanks for the blog--I always enjoy it!Best,Tara
Thank you Tara, for the email and the compliments (as well as for your permission to use this here!)
I have the Flori and the Triola of the ones you listed. My biggest worry about these before seeing them was the bells. I worried that the metal might be sharp and a little baby tongue could get pinched in there. So I tried it out to see if I could do it. It sounds crazy but I tried to get my tongue caught in one of those little bells and I couldn't do it!
After getting your email, I took a second look at one of the other ones, the Pipapo (which seems to be my daughter's favorite). Because it is held together with elastic like some of the others, I think I will keep it out of the heat, but I could not even access the knot that connects the elastic to itself. It is secured inside one of the beads.
So yes, they do have some small parts, but I think as long as you watch the condition of the elastic (none of mine seem to be having any problem) there is not much chance of the baby getting the small parts off. I couldn't do it with just my hands and mouth! I have another toy with similar elastic and as the toy wore out, the elastic never broke or seemed to become weaker, it just stretched out and the toy got loose.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Elimination Communication
In hanging around with moms who tend towards natural ideas, I had heard whispers about EC, but I quickly wrote it off as something that was a little over the edge for me.
Elimination Communication is sometimes called Infant Potty Training, but it really is a little more and a little less than that. The name Elimination Communication sums up exactly what it is about, communication with our very young children about their elimination needs. Think about it, your child found ways very early on to communicate with you about other needs like being tired or hungry. Their elimination is really no different.
Babies are born with the instinct to not want to lay in their own waste, just like other mammals. By being kept in diapers, we train them to tune out that instinct.
I stumbled into EC this time around kind of accidentally. My 3 year old was potty training, so I had a few potty chairs littered around my house. One morning a few weeks ago when Lily woke up I was changing her diaper right next to one of the potties and I wondered if I might be able to get her to poop on the potty since she usually goes within minutes of waking up. I put her on the potty chair (the one we have is small enough for very young babies) and she peed almost right away. Throughout the next few days I caught several more, usually when she was waking up. I figured it was time to read up on this a little bit to make sure I wasn't just confusing her.
I read most of the info at Diaperfreebaby.org and checked out Diaper Free Baby from my library. I was very relieved to learn that Elimination Communication is not an all or nothing proposition. The goal is not to have your baby out of diapers before all of your friends' babies. The goal is to help your child stay in touch with their body's signals. For some families it will be simple to focus on this intently and really have a diaper free baby. For others (like mine) catching a pee or poop every now and then is a great start.
We had a string of days where Lily barely wet a diaper at all. I was able to catch most of her pees and poops. At nine months old, she is already learning the sign language for "potty" and uses it every now and then. There was even a whole week where I caught ALL of her poops in the potty. The last few days however have been busy and we have spent a lot of time on the go and at others' houses, and we have only caught after morning wake-ups and after naps.
As with all child development, there is a little of two steps forward, one step back. I have no intention of trying to get her out of diapers especially early, but in using EC part time like we are it has been much easier to keep her dry most of the time.
Elimination Communication is sometimes called Infant Potty Training, but it really is a little more and a little less than that. The name Elimination Communication sums up exactly what it is about, communication with our very young children about their elimination needs. Think about it, your child found ways very early on to communicate with you about other needs like being tired or hungry. Their elimination is really no different.
Babies are born with the instinct to not want to lay in their own waste, just like other mammals. By being kept in diapers, we train them to tune out that instinct.
I stumbled into EC this time around kind of accidentally. My 3 year old was potty training, so I had a few potty chairs littered around my house. One morning a few weeks ago when Lily woke up I was changing her diaper right next to one of the potties and I wondered if I might be able to get her to poop on the potty since she usually goes within minutes of waking up. I put her on the potty chair (the one we have is small enough for very young babies) and she peed almost right away. Throughout the next few days I caught several more, usually when she was waking up. I figured it was time to read up on this a little bit to make sure I wasn't just confusing her.
I read most of the info at Diaperfreebaby.org and checked out Diaper Free Baby from my library. I was very relieved to learn that Elimination Communication is not an all or nothing proposition. The goal is not to have your baby out of diapers before all of your friends' babies. The goal is to help your child stay in touch with their body's signals. For some families it will be simple to focus on this intently and really have a diaper free baby. For others (like mine) catching a pee or poop every now and then is a great start.
We had a string of days where Lily barely wet a diaper at all. I was able to catch most of her pees and poops. At nine months old, she is already learning the sign language for "potty" and uses it every now and then. There was even a whole week where I caught ALL of her poops in the potty. The last few days however have been busy and we have spent a lot of time on the go and at others' houses, and we have only caught after morning wake-ups and after naps.
As with all child development, there is a little of two steps forward, one step back. I have no intention of trying to get her out of diapers especially early, but in using EC part time like we are it has been much easier to keep her dry most of the time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)