Toddler Behavior Jars

Toddlers and Listening.  Let's face it they are getting older and have their own opinions and cannot always voice those opinions to us, so they get frustrated and whining and we get mad and frustrated. It all turns into a scenario I am sure we all know too well. My husband and I are always voicing to our daughter to use her words because we cannot understand it when she is whining about something. Her listening lately has turned into more fits and has been wearing on me.

We recently started doing behavior jars.  For our family this was a slight variation of sleep sticker chart we have been doing for the past month. The sleep sticker chart has been successful with helping with bedtime routine.  Before using the chart it could take up to 2 hours to get her to sleep at night. After a month now she is going to sleep by herself and seldom needs us to come up to her room! It has been amazing and so relieving. We decided to put those same principals to use in our everyday life with things that are difficult when it comes to our daughter. You may or may not have the same problems as us:

Finishing her meals
Brushing her teeth without a fight
Cleaning up toys
No fussing and whining
LISTENING

I went searching on Pinterest for some ideas. I took my ideas from:

http://www.mamamiss.com/2012/10/22/dazzling-deeds-good-behavior-jars/

She has great printables that we used and a trip to Target and Micheal's and we got started.

Here is how we decided to implement the jars.  The jars are all full of fun different rewards.  She gets these rewards if she does the good behavior without us asking. We are reminding her the first week, and letting her know that that behavior doesn't get a reward in her big jar! She has been saying, "Oh oh ok!". So far it has been helping and I sure hope it sticks.  Anything that can make my life less stressful with my toddler is fantastic in my book!

Here is a list of things I bought for the jars:

Jingle Bells

Stick Pom Poms

Pom Poms

Aquarium Gems

Small Ornament Balls

Sparkly Craft Balls

With Christmas here right now, there is a lot of small things at Michaels.

Our reward in the BIG jar has three different levels. A different one for each heart sticker.

1. Orange Tic Tacs (her favorite candy)

2. Small toy at the store                         

3. Zoo with mom and dad (her pick)     

Wishing everyone luck with toddler listening!

Baby and Toddler Busy Bags

Two words...Busy Bags.  These little bags and boxes I have been making have completely changed my life! I have always had quite the packed diaper bag with toys and food and all kinds of stuff, but I do not usually change what is inside the bag regularly.

Babies and toddlers can get bored at almost anything and keeping them entertained is a constant job of parents.  Toddlers are more difficult to keep contained when out and about because they have their own opinions now.  A lot of parents struggle with eating out, going to the mall, and going to the grocery store with their kids.  I am not going to lie I would much rather go to the grocery store by myself than with  my two year old.  But I have found through trial and error and lots of research if I go out with my little girl fully armed and ready for the situation it isn't as stressful as going to the grocery store with a tired and hungry toddler.

Here are some examples of my busy bags.  I hope they inspire some mama's and make for some calm dinner times at restaurants, and quicker grocery store trips!

Busy Bag Ideas:

-Stickers! Never go anywhere without stickers!(Amazon actually sells some pretty cool rolls, or Targets $1section)

-Small books

-Coloring (pads, coloring books, post it notes, pens, markers, and crayons.  Color Wonder is the best!)

-Small handheld toys

-blocks (Lego's, little people, mega blocks, and my all time favorite it Tegu. They are magnetic)

-Stuffed animals ( small or big)

-Polly Pockets

-Stamps (I'm not really sure why these are so excited but they are on the same level as stickers. They even make stamp markers)

-Play doh

-Quiet Books

-Lacing
-Window Clings

You can even do themed busy bags. I have an Elmo, Doc McStuffins, and Minnie Mouse themed bag. Inside of them are just everything I could find around the house for those characters.

Pictures of my busy bags! The beginning was a mess but they quickly came together.

This bag below has: stuffed plush, ball, princess wand and light up stick, crayons, coloring book, stickers, and book.

This bag below has: Light up ball, I Spy bottle, Water color, two little people, clock to tell time, a book, and a little bracelet.

This bag below has: Turtle plush, colored pencils in that black case, princess wand, book, coloring book, a Santa, a monkey, and also squinkies.

This bag below has: A book, a pillow light up small pet, sticker bunny book, some tools, and also a magnet board with stickers.

This bag below is my Doc McStuffins Bag. We took this one to the doctor and it was a hit, because Jules let the doctor give her a checkup.This one contains a stuffed plush, a stethoscope, crayons and a puzzle that can be colored, coloring book, and also an activity book.

Here is the Minnie Mouse Bag. Minnie Mouse plush, stickers, puzzle, notepad and pens, activity book, ears, and also little figurines.

This box contains: Keys, old phone and phone case, book, stickers, light, wallet with old cards in it, and also a sun blocker.

This box box contains book, three cars, a time out timer where you can watch stuff settle, stickers, and a bracelet.

This box contains weebles, tiny doll, train, stickers, book, and a purse full of bracelets.

This box contains: Stacking cups, book, stickers, finger puppet, pretend phone, stickers.

This box contains: Book, stickers, play doh, calming jar, play doh cutters, scissors, and Popsicle sticks.

This box contains: Book, kelly barbie, little box with rubber-bans and post its, stickers.

This box contains: My little ponys, a sticker foam kit to make pumpkins, book, stickers, kaleidoscope.

This box contains: Penguin ring box, stickers, book, linking rings, pig abacus,and zebra.

This box contains, book, coloring pad and colors, little bear and dolls and some seats for the dolls to sit in and an airplane.

This lunch box contains: A tea set and a book.

This one has a magnet sticker dress up board, coloring pad that sings songs when they color on it, stickers, kaleidoscope, and a book.

Here is the Elmo them with an Elmo, Elmo magnet sticker book, and a small Elmo Book, and also a wooden toy.

This bag contains, two little purses, book, stickers, a painting book, and a wallet.

This bag contains a pizza kitchen set with cutters.

This bag will eventually be my vet bag, has a little dog and some balls right now.

This bag is the baby bag with baby, diapers, bottle, pacifier, blanket, and spoon.

This bag contains: Polly Pockets, stickers, bag, and also a coloring pad and pen.

Here they are all organized.  We call them her "SURPRISES" which she loves! And she cannot open them until she is in the car and seated and buckled.

Here she is playing with one of the boxes.

Getting ready for ballet with her Minnie Bag.

They are so cool she can't even stay awake!

Here she is with her backpack she stuck one of the busy bags inside it.

I am in love with the busy bags.  All I did was went around the house and gathered all the toys that she doesn't play with anymore or are at the bottom of her toy boxes and also grabbed some old phones and wallets of ours and started organizing. They quickly came together.  I used wipe boxes, and drawstring bags that I have gotten for free at events. I am also going to purchase some pencil holder bags for smaller busy bags. Good luck at making your own boxes and bags for your little ones!

Baby Sign Language

I get a lot of comments and questions on how to teach your child sign language.  The reason I decided to teach my daughter sign language is I have watched a lot of children who do not know sign language and when they get to the age of, “I want to do everything myself” it can get very frustrating, especially if you cannot understand each other.  So my initial reasoning was to help pre-empt the terrible toddler years.  My daughter has been signing for a very long time now that she is 17 months! Crazy how fast time fly’s by.  She can sign a whole host of words now.  This is what I did to get started and steps I suggest.

First off they say you can start teaching baby sign when a baby can follow your hands.  I started teaching my little one at about three months.  Mostly so I could start figuring it out for myself so I was better at it by the time she was ready.  Since I started so early so did she! My daughter signed to me for the first time at 5 months asking me to change her diaper.  I was shocked and astonished and didn't believe it until she continuously did it the rest of the day.  It took much longer for her to start signing other words; her next word was daddy that she signed.  Just recently she has actually started signing mommy for mommy and daddy for daddy.  For the longest time I was daddy too.  Back to the diaper changing, I think this was her first sign because she did not like her diapers wet and a light bulb went off in her head when I would do that sign for change me and then change her.

I learned most of my baby sign by watching YouTube videos for free!  I would watch them with her while she nursed, and I would teach myself about 5 new signs a day, and before I knew it I had quite the vocabulary. Here are some of my favorite YouTube videos I watched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jb4ukOymmI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5Grg4WVHpA

Patty is funny to watch, but my daughter actually loves watching her! Now she will sit and watch her videos and sign along with her. It is the most precious thing to watch.  Baby Signing time has a whole bunch of videos you can watch short bits of for free, you can also rent them from the library.  They do take a long time to get from the library for the wait. 

I also took a baby signing time class, which I felt was beneficial in the fact that it got me going and kept me going, but I do not think I learned a whole bunch of words from the class, it was just fun.

The science behind it:

·         reduces frustration, biting and other aggressive behaviors.

·         helps parents and teachers be more observant and responsive.

·         builds trust between babies and their parents and caregivers.

·         allows babies to share their worlds revealing just how smart babies really are.

·         promotes positive emotional development.

·         results in better language development.

·         results in better motor skills.

·         reduces stress levels among center staff.

·         increases a mother's feelings of self-efficacy.

·         boosts babies' self-confidence and builds self-esteem.

·         helps mothers become more "tuned in" to their children's emotions.

·         increases the children's attempts to communicate with their mothers.

·         decreases the number of expressions of distress from the children.

Here are some of the most important words:

More

Milk

Diaper

Mommy

Daddy

Eat/Food

Water

Hot

I love you

Thank you/ You’re welcome

Please

Hurt

Help

All done

Nice

Gentle

Again

Sorry

I sign and speak just about everything I do for my little one, at first it seemed a little crazy when she was three months just staring at me, but now I feel like we have conversations and she just understands me and sometimes understands more than I think she does.  Don’t forget it can be months before your baby signs back to you.  Continue with repetition and soon they will understand and sign back!

Some important notes make sure if they start signing you sign the correct version, their little hands will get the hang of it as they get older. REPETION, REPETION, AND REPETION.  Oh and don’t forget patience.

Whether or not it’s for you, you can start small and keep adding words as you build your vocabulary. The two things I love most coming from my signing tot are I love you and please and thank you!

Research taken from babysigns.com and baby signing time.

Traveling with a Toddler

Traveling with a toddler may not be as scary as it seams.  I have flown by myself with my daughter probably about 10 times now since she was born.  She is a really good traveler.  I do take a lot of time into packing the diaper traveling bag.  The diaper bag is very important to our success I believe.  Or maybe it is my optimism that my child is the best traveler!  We constantly get comments, "she is so happy", "she is so good", oh and my favorite, "I didn't even know there was a baby in front of me".  It also amazes me when I travel alone with her, how helpful people can be. Here is a list of my secret tips and tricks for traveling with a baby or toddler!

Must Haves:

1. Be prepared
2. Try and not be tired (Haha, I say this as I only got 5 hours of sleep last night!)
3. Patience
4. Diaper bag
5. Dress comfortable and light (bring a sweater just in case)
6. Dress little one comfortable
7. Snack for you
8. Stroller(check at the gate, so much easier to have with you)
9. Wear your baby ( Helps with security)
10. Try and carry on only you, your baby, diaper bag, and the stroller( less is more here so you have more hands to hold your baby)
11. Camera (carry or check (if large))
12. Car seat and all other luggage (They make a bag for your car seat, buy it, its fantastic. Your car seat will stay clean and not get ripped)

13. Birth certificate for lap child

Diaper bag or better known as my Marry Poppins bag:
1.Diapers (extra)
2. Wipes
3. Teething tablets ( we are still in this stage and you never know when she might come down with the grumpie's from her teeth, she is old enough to tell me they hurt now so I always have them).
4. Outfit change
5. Light sweater for baby
6. Calculator (real one to play with)
7. Old TV remote
8. New book(s)
9. New small toys ( Target $1 section is great, also Squinkies)
10. Favorite special toy
11. Coloring pad and paper ( Crayola has a whole bunch of mess free products, this trip I am taking the water coloring stuff)
12.Old non working cell phone ( the real stuff is the best because they usually are not supposed to have it)
13. Empty Sippy Cup/Bottle ( I always buy a water once I get through so you don't have to deal with security)
14. Stickers
15. Hand Sanitizer
16. Fork/Spoon (for baby)
17. Favorite movie and Ipad with new and favorite games
18.Small Etch in Sketch ( Target has these cheap)
19. Other tiny handheld toys
20. Old wallets filled with credit cards (they can put in, take out, over and over again)
21. Bracelets in a zipper wallet
22. Pez Dispenser
23. Don't forget the headphones for the Ipad (they make kid ones that are not loud)
24. Changing pad
25. Teething toys/ Pacifiers
26. Snacks- Be prepared and don't let them get hungry!

Snacks:
1. Edamame
2. Plums cut up
3. Yogurt melts
4. Yogurt covered raisins
5. granola
6. Puffs or Cherrios
7. Squeeze applesauce
8.Whatever else non messy favorite snack they may have

OH and a tip so you are not caught off guard! If you are wearing your baby in a Moby, Ergo, or any other carrier, they are going to pull you aside and swipe your hands for bomb making residue.  I am not really sure why a mom carrying her child is a threat. However, I have been checked every time and use to be frustrating until one of the TSA let me know why.  Make sure to familiarize yourself with security policies before traveling also.  Put your liquids under 3 oz inside a plastic baggy and have handy so you can easily put it in the bin when you get to security so your not fumbling around with everyone waiting for you to get out of the way.  Make sure to wear slip on shoes, makes it much easier when holding a baby.

New toys that they have never seen always seem to be a hit.  I usually buy at least 3-5 new toys and one bigger toy.  I don't give all at once. I try and keep them coming at a steady pace. I save the best for the most critical moment, which is usually on the plane when they want nothing more than to bug the people around you.  Sometimes I can get a solid thirty minutes out of a new toy.

One of the biggest tips I give is to try and plan your flight so it will be nap time, there is nothing better than sleeping on the plane with your little one and waking up when you arrive at your destination.  This can be risky playing with nap time and grumpy babies. But hopefully you have enough amo in your Marry Poppins bag to deal with war in the airport and plane! Here's too hoping we have a successful trip to Richmond today!

You’re still breastfeeding?

As a parent you tend to hear more of people’s opinions than you wish, especially when it comes to parenting advice.  How about you raise your child and I will raise mine.  Some of the comments that I have heard about breastfeeding put me in awe how closed minded people can be.  Breastfeeding is very natural and I don’t think the amount of judgment that comes from it should have.  Even my own mother I have seen stand in front of me to block the view of people starring while I breastfeed my daughter. I don’t use a nursing cover; mainly because they are hot and uncomfortable and such a distraction. I notice now that my little one is getting older, 16 months now, that the stares are starting to become more noticeable.  I get more comments from men, “Yum I wish I was there” or “I’m jealous”.  It is comments like these and the way people act in regards to breastfeeding that I think is a big Booby Trap, which deters moms from breastfeeding at all, let alone extended breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding beyond infancy (1 year) has many health benefits for baby and you.  As Dr. Sears states in one of his articles “the incidence of many illnesses, both childhood and adult, are lowered by breastfeeding  -- diabetes, heart disease, and central nervous system degenerative disorders (such as multiple sclerosis) to name a few”.  If I can breastfeed my child past one and all the benefits are for her that is enough for me. Making her smarter, making her less susceptible to illness and diseases, more sociable, and less likely to be obese, I would say, “where do I sign up?” Not to mention all the good things it does for me, the mom. It also reduces the risk of uterine, ovarian and breast cancer, and Dr. Sears says extended breastfeeding has some opinion on our side also, “The World Health Organization (WHO) officially recommends mothers breastfeed until three years of age. (Yes, you did read that right!) Even the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends mothers should breastfeed at least until one year of age and then as long as baby and mother mutually want to.”

There are many difficulties that come with extended breastfeeding aside from the stares, rude comments, and opinion’s.  Nursing a toddler is definitely different than an infant. A toddler is exploring everything around them especially you! I love my daughter to death and wouldn’t stop nursing her even if I was told to; I am waiting until she is ready to stop.  She has learned quite a few habits that make nursing in public more difficult the older she becomes. She likes to play whether it’s with my other nipple while she is nursing or with the one she is sucking on. Both can be difficult to deal with when holding a 25 pound toddler in your arms grocery shopping. I have found that giving her something small to hold in her hands and to look at, or to engage her in conversation tends to work best in distracting her.  It also helps with all the distractions in the world around us.  There are not many places that have a nice quiet room for us to sit while she nurses, and I would never nurse her in the bathroom, because I wouldn’t eat lunch there, so why should she? Also with extending breastfeeding comes older babies, older babies have teeth.  I have read many articles that say if the baby has the proper latch you have nothing to worry about because your breast is far enough in their mouth they cannot bite. Biting was the one thing I was most nervous about when breastfeeding as my daughter got older.  She generally does not bite while she is nursing, it is when she is unlatching, or when she is bored she will bite to see if it gets a rise out of me. There are a couple things I have found that help with biting.  One, don’t get excited, because then your baby will get excited. I calmly let her know that she is not being nice and she’s hurting mommy. My daughter uses sign language so I sign and speak to her with most things.  When I say/sign “nice” and “hurt” to her I generally get her attention and she will say sorry and give me a kiss and then the biting will stop.

The difficulties are far easier to get through during breastfeeding than peoples comments can be, sometimes they can stick in your head more than anything. Lack of education may be the number one reason why people act the way they do when it comes to breastfeeding.  I have found passion in trying to teach and people, maybe just one person at a time will help spread the word and help another mom that is breastfeeding. The thing I try to remember is I am doing what is best for my baby and me. No one else’s opinions matter when it comes to mine and my baby’s health.

Sears, Dr. "Ask Dr. Sears: Extended Breastfeeding -- Handling the Criticism."Parenting.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2013.

Classes Have Begun

First day of classes for my husband, and a sick baby.  Man what a day! It is now 7 pm, husband at school studying and Jules asleep. Today has been interesting with all the emotions of my husband starting school and will also be working this semester and Jules whining and crying all day and nothing I can do to help her.  Very draining. One of the biggest things that gets us through this process is communication.  It really is key! Today we sucked at it...  I dropped my husband off at school and forgot to ask when he needed to be picked up, and with 1 car we always try and make sure we know whats going on.  I text him asking when I pick him up today and he tells me 30 minutes.  Just had got Jules down for a nap and was going to take her to the park today, but ended up losing the car all day due to my husbands interviews.  Luckily got to spend lunch and dinner as a family.  I think I'll be asleep before my husband gets home tonight.  I have been so prepared for the last two semesters, but this semester just snuck up on us.  We had an amazing summer.  Husband was always home by 6 pm and we had our weekends.  We ate a lot! Visited family, they visited us and we had a small San Diego trip. It was fun and flew by.  Now school days where he won't be home every night anymore. Next week will be better because he won't have interviews anymore and will free up so much of his time.  I need to get my mind set on the positives because a sad, and unmotivated mind will get me no where and drag out this process.  Two years left! We are very blessed to have this opportunity for my husband to be at such a great law school, work for a good firm and have so many firms interested in him. Another day tomorrow will bring us one day closer to our goal. I think an early bedtime is in store for me today.

My first Post...

I am starting this blog in hopes to connect with people and an outlet for myself. My husband is a second year law student and starts class tomorrow. This summer has been so nice with him just working and no school. I feel like when he is home, he is really home. During the school year it feels like everything is always in a rush and we never can quite have enough time together. There's not much we can do about that, he has a lot to do, and this year he is adding working on top of that! Oh man! I love how ambitious he is, and how all he wants to do is provide for us, so I can be with our little girl as much as possible. I love the way she is molding into her own person, sweet, sassy, polite, and full of humor. We really do not know what the heck we did with our time without her. Time that now is spent completely doting on her.  Here I am writing a blog for me time, and I am writing about her.  She has transformed our lives into such an amazing thing. It is great to be able to teach her and spend time with her. More about me. I love to write, have considered writing a couple books, but where to start, which topic to pick, and start and outline and focus! I figure Ill blog for a while instead, maybe build up enough confidence to dive into writing a book.  Maybe this will be my fix, and writing a book will become unnecessary.