Preschool!

My baby's so big now! He started preschool this month. I was the paranoid, over-protective mama that stayed back lurking in the shadows to make sure he was ok. My heart was breaking and he just left me standing in the door to go play with all the toys. I was like hey, come back here and love me! I had the most strangest feelings of anger, guilt and pride all at once. He didn't need me or miss me (this made me angry), I just couldn't leave him there with strangers! (guilt) and wow he's such a brave big boy (pride).

Then the second day, ha!. He wouldn't let me leave! The teacher had to distract him while I snuck out of the classroom. But I missed him all day (three very long hours). I kept thinking if he was home we'd be having a snack together now, or he would be playing with his cars now. Then I texted his teacher and she said he's perfectly fine and sent a picture of him engrossed in an activity.

Now a week has passed, and we're all pretty much used to the routine. I finally have a few free hours during the day to catch up on my blog here. Eat breakfast in peace. and just breathe. I don't feel like my little buddy is missing anymore and I know it's good for him to be away from mama for some time. It's also a good way for me to meet other moms in my area and a reason to get out of the house and drive more. Plus, I can give more attention to his little brother. It's a win-win for everyone; albeit a bittersweet win-win.

Terrible 3s?!

I had heard of the 'terrible 2s' and anticipated tantrums and blowouts but my sweety pie hardly misbehaved. Sure he would test his limits and go to the timeout chair on occasion but nothing too crazy. But now as he's nearing 3 years old, he's going all sorts of crazy!

He deliberately bothers his little brother (pulling arms and legs; yelling by his crib when he's sleeping; snatching his pacifier and running away!). He jumps on the dishwasher door and has essentially broken it. And when it gets too quiet I know he's playing with soap in the bathroom.

I know he's bored and try to engage him but he's too attached to me and his dad and he hardly plays on his own for very long. We enrolled him in a summer camp and he would behave like a demure angel but as soon as we return home it's back to the wild antics.

And it's not just that, he has started talking back! All requests and questions are turned down with a big fat NO! Everything must go his way. If it doesn't- tantrum; if it does-tantrum! I'm losing my patience with him. I just want my crazy to be a sweetie again..

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Potty Training Woes

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I've been dreading potty training my almost 3 year old for a long time. I hated the thought of cleaning up after his accidents.  I would go through phases of training/ no training and gave up easily. When I first had the drive to train my son I got the Munchkin training seat ($35) from Target. But it ended up being used as a step stool to get fun stuff off the counter. So that was a waste.

With my next attempt, I purchased the Sesame Street toilet seat ($15). He enjoyed that because he loves Elmo and liked looking at the characters and letters. It made going to the potty fun. But when he wasn't getting consistent, I gave up.

Recently, however, he started getting irritated and uncomfortable with his diaper and made several attempts to remove it. After one particularly nasty diaper change (yuck!) I decided to just take the plunge and let him roam diaper-less. He was happy; I was anxious!

I rolled up the rugs and we already had waterproof mattress pads. I started taking him to the bathroom every hour on the dot. Then I slowly increased the time to two hours and so on. After 3-4 days he got the hang of it but still had an occasional accident. Now after a week of consistency, he's doing much better but I'm still afraid to roll out the rugs again. I'll give him a  few more days (or weeks!)

Pacifiers

I've discovered some things are controversial in the mommy world. There are strong supporters and staunch opponents to various topics. One such topic: Pacifiers! I exclusively bf both my children and I could tell when they nursed for nourishment and when they nursed for comfort. So I didn't believe I was depriving them of anything by giving them a pacifier when they would want to nurse for comfort.

There are so many times when a pacifier comes in handy such as when the baby is teething, not feeling well, you're busy and someone else is watching them and especially when you're out and their cries are turning heads.

Granted, pacifiers can become a habit and they may pass on germs to the baby. But I follow certain guidelines for pacifier use. Firstly, we wash and boil them regularly. Secondly, they're only given when the need arises like I mentioned above. 

The hospital gave us a baby care pack as a send off gift and it included a soothie type pacifier. I hated that as did my son! It was too large and cumbersome and covered the entire face. I then found Avent pacifiers with mouth vents, orthodontic shape, and a cover for the teat. Plus, they come in various sizes for different ages. My baby took to it easily and we were all happy.

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