Getting Rid of Pacifier
When trying to get the pacifier from my 2 yr. old son I told him a story. The "Binky Fairy" would come and take his pacifier and give it to a tiny new baby, and in exchange would leave him a toy for his donation. Within days he came to me asking to ?donate? his binky. We left it out that night and the next morning a shiny new excavator was on the coffee table?.he was thrilled. Only once after 2 days did he ask for his binky. I told him it was gone and he would have to give up the ex-cavator to get it back. He hugged his excavator tightly and said ?NO!? The pacifier is gone forever (It dwells in the depths of my dresser!)
Submitted by Susan www.sweetpeasmaternity.com
Potty Training Tips
Potty Traveling: Tip part 1: Bring the potty! Line it with a plastic bag and you can stop anywhere on the road to let your child go. Remove the plastic bag,
tie it up and drop it in a roadside trash. Line the potty again and you are set. Tip part 2: Be sure your bags are sealed. On an extremely windy day, I don?t
think I ever laughed so hard watching my husband, who was the one emptying, struggle in the wind with a leaky bag! Despite his smiling too - it really was no fun!
Submitted by Tracy Foote, author of My Potty Activty Book TracyTrends.com
Sleeping Tips For Baby and Child
Find a soothing tape or CD preferably instrumental (gentle classical, lullaby's, etc.) that you will be able to stand listening to a lot and put baby to sleep with the tape on very low each time she goes to sleep. For my son, a certain lullaby tape became our favorite and he never went to sleep without it. Soon he had almost an immediate reaction - he would hear the tape and close his eyes. In the middle of the night when he would stir and wake, all I had to do was go in, turn on the tape and he would go back to sleep. When he was older and napping and sleeping other places (in grandma's, the car on a long vacation drive, at a baby-sitters), having the tape meant all the difference between him fighting sleep and gentling sleeping anywhere we put him.
Sent in by Cherie www.CuddleBugBaby.com
Very early on, when baby is only a few months old, begin to keep his bedtime ritual exactly the same (as much as possible). Whatever your routine is (putting his Cuddle Bug Blanket in the crook of his right arm, his teddy in the crook of his left, rocking and singing, turning on his tape, saying a prayer, reading three books, saying good night to the moon, using the same words to say goodnight, whatever) all reinforce and remind baby that this is sleep time. The regularity reassures and relaxes him. We also found keeping a very regular schedule and putting him down for naps and sleep at the same time helped a great deal. The times we have trouble getting our son to sleep are the times we deviate from our own routine. Those are the nights he fights sleeping and wakes multiple times a night.
Submitted by Cherie www.CuddleBugBaby.com
Tooth Brusing Tips
As a dental hygienist, I have encountered every excuse in the book why children (and adults) don't have time to brush. It's only 2 minutes out of our busy schedules (see a problem there?) and yet it feels like forever so digging deep into an old board game box for the 2- minute timer could help. Leave it on the bathroom counter and tip it over everytime your family members go to brush. It gives children something to focus and and shows adults that 2 minutes really isn't so long. If you don't have the hour glass type, a wind up egg timer works too! Good luck!
Submitted by Aimee Connors, RDH
When your young child is learning to brush their own teeth put them in the highchair to avoid them running and falling with the toothbrush in their mouth. Help them out of the highchair when it's time to spit.
Tough Transitions
Introducing a new babysitter was tough. We decided to have our new friend come over to do crafts one day. Abbigail came bearing a fun craft project (we provided) that she and the kids sat at the kitchen table doing for over and hour (for which she was paid). We did this several times, and when the first evening out came she arrived with yet another fun craft. Our departure was a non-event and the kids spent time doing something fun instead of watching televison.
Submitted by Susan www.sweetpeasmaternity.com
Getting baby to drink milk from a cup was nearly impossible. Funny how it tastes good from the bottle but not from the cup?! We put either a splash of chocolate or strawberry syrup in the cup, and down the hatch!
Submitted by Susan www.sweetpeasmaternity.com
In an effort to ease the arrival of a new sibling, we had the baby "select" a lovely gift from the gift shop for her then 4 ½ yr. old brother. When my son arrived to meet his new sister the first order of business was to give him the shiny decorated gift bag that Lily had for him. The big brother was surprised and overcome that the new baby had been so kind! He then walked up to the clear rolling bassinet and pressed face up to see the new little one, exclaimed, "Thank you so much baby Lily". To this day he still says, "I can't believe Lily gave me that gift!"
Submitted by Susan www.sweetpeasmaternity.com
Outings and Travel
Use an empty tissue box and stuff it with the plastic grocery bags you get from the store. Keep this in your trunk or inside the car (away from Children) and you'll always have empty bags for dirty diapers, wet clothes, or trash.
Keep a duffel bag stocked at all times with an emergency kit--be sure to include Benadryl for allergic reactions, Tylenol, assorted bandaids, and a Bee Sting Kit--sweatshirt for each child, pair of extra socks and shoes, hat with brim, sunscreen, antibacterial cleaner, wipes, paper plates, napkins, utensils, cups, and a blanket.
Submitted by Hedy www.whimzzz.com
Lapdesks are great for in the car with a pad of white paper or coloring book and colored pencils (crayons can melt in warmer weather, markers are a mess without supervision). Other fun items: kids love pipecleaners.
Submitted by Hedy www.whimzzz.com
|
