The Anti-Diaper

Like I said a few posts back... this is a very fun age. The little man is over 19 months now and is like a little sponge soaking up every word and motion he sees. There are a couple things, however, that I have no idea why why he does them.

The most interesting is his pinching and pulling his own nipples. It's so bizarre. He just stands there, notices these little bumps on his chest, and pulls away. It almost looks like he grabs onto them for security. Well, after this started becoming an all-the-time-thing, we tried to put the kabash on it. It was just weird. He'd walk around when we're in public, pinching away. I can just hear it now, "where did that child learn THAT?!"

Luckily, the fascination with this interesting new body part only lasted a few weeks. He hasn't quite found his other "interesting" part, but I'm sure when he does, he'll be pulling and pinching even more. The kabash will be put on that way sooner. He has many, many years to learn what that thing does!

My new dreaded favorite activity, is coming up to get him up from a nap or in the morning. Nine times out of ten, his diaper is on the floor and there are little pee spots all over his bed and the floor. I told our sitter to be on the look out during the day because he now has the skill of diaper removal. She said he even takes them off when he has a little one-piece outfit on. How did he figure that out!? Well, apparently it's very easy. He sticks his arm up the leg, undoes one side, then lets the other side slide down his leg. Very crafty for a one year old. Thankfully, this hasn't happened with any poopie diapers, I think he's smart enough to know that poop is yucky and he shouldn't get it all over his bed. For example:

One beautiful morning, I went into his room to wake him up. He was awake, bright-eyed and bushy tailed.  His arms were held out and he enthusiastically greets me with "eew!" Great... The diaper had sprung a "leak" and he clearly didn't like having poop on his hands. This is okay with me, though. Please, anytime you get poop on your hands, just stick them out, don't touch anything, and wait for mommy to clean you off!

I'm just waiting for the day when there actually is poop in the diaper that's been thrown out of the crib... That will be a great day...

I'm No Photographer

So my little man is 18 months now... Well, actually he's almost 19 months. Time is flying so fast! He's a very active boy, constantly on the go! This age is so much fun. He's learning something new, it seems like everyday. As he's growing out of his baby looks and beginning to look more like a little boy, I try to take so many pictures.

Looking back, I probably have hundreds of pictures from birth through about 11 months. After 11 months, he got really good at running. Therefore, I have very few photos of him actually looking at the camera. Something always grabs his attention. Such a little explorer. We've tried fun noises, toys, and practically everything we could think of to get our guy to smile for the camera. Nothing has worked. He holds a smile for a millisecond, then by the time the camera snaps the shot, he's looked away. This results in many, many photos like this one:

While of course I still love the pictures, it sure would be nice to capture one with him looking at the camera. I want to see his smile with those big blue eyes all lit up. The only pictures I have of him at my desk are from when he was 11 months and younger. I see the side of his head all the time. I want to see that smiling face when I'm at work.

This same problem holds true for my video camera.  While I'm not trying to capture him in a still position, he's quite intrigued with the camera itself. He did the cutest thing today, so I whipped out the video camera. He realized this right away and stopped talking on the phone (well, he thought he was) saying "hi, Daddy!" But of course he stopped right away and I have nothing to show my husband when he gets home from work :(

Hopefully he'll grow out of this soon so I can take lots and lots of pictures of that adorable smiling face!

Intolerable Toddler Tantrums

You may recall a fairly recent post detailing my troubles with my son becoming a "hitter." This must be the age where everything starts coming together: realization of physical abilities, paired with improving communication, and topped off with explosive emotions. Nothing feels better that Josh throwing his arms around me to get a hug. With this "big" love also come other "big" emotions.

Naturally, being the paranoid mother that I am, I start wondering- is this normal? Are all 16 month old babies this emotional? Before I jumped to any conclusions and put a call into the doctor (which I was only moments away from doing), I hopped on the Internet, researched and chatted with other moms who've had similar experiences. Yes, this emotional stage is very normal. Just like my 'mommy instincts' told me, it's just a lot coming together all at once. After reading countless articles and all kinds of advice, I finally found techniques that work!

1. The Warning Signs
The first thing I try to do to avoid the tantrum is to identify the triggers and the warning signs. These, I'm sure, vary from child to child. My son's tantrums either result from him not getting his way or out of frustration. The moment his tantrum starts to brew, he usually waives his arm(s) in a hitting motion. This happens before he hits me, screams, or starts his fit. This is the first warning sign.

2. Using the Right Language and Set the Boundaries
After the arm(s) flail and I see him coming my way in an attempt to unload his anger and frustration on me, I tell him that I understand that he's upset. "No," just doesn't cut it. I believe he needs to know why I don't want him to have these outbursts. Telling him "no" or to just "calm down" won't help him communicate his emotions, therefore, he feels he can't stop.

When choosing your language, remember that this kiddo is just coming to grips with the fact that he's an entirely separate person from you. After I let him know that I'm aware of why he's upset, I tell him how his behavior is making me feel. For instance, when Josh threw his au gratin potatoes at me the other day, I responded with, "you're not allowed to throw your food." He instantly stopped. Of course this lasted a split second before he was winding up for round two. "It makes me angry when you throw your food." That was the end of that.

3. Encourage Verbal Communication
You've stopped the tantrum. This, in itself, gives you quite a feeling of accomplishment. Don't stop yet! This tantrum may be over, but the overall goal should be to help your learn to effectively communicate his emotions. Or maybe the tantrum isn't quite over but you've settled your kiddo down enough to listen to you. This is when I tell my boy to use his words. I'm completely aware of the fact that he can't just come right out and tell me how irritated he feels when he can't take the toy home from the sitter's house, but I help him along. I want him to be able to identify his feelings and communicate them to me.

This may seem like a lot of fluff just to get through a tantrum - especially when you're at your wits end after a long work day and all the child wants to do is scream and hit you. I've found that after just a short while of using these techniques, the tantrums have tremendously shortened in length and severity. Further more, perhaps this is just coincidental, Josh has been saying more words and using language more to communicate.

I'd love to hear any feedback, stories, and other tips you may have to offer fellow readers!

Designated 'Hitter'

My 15 month old son has adopted the ever-irritating habit of hitting. He winds up, looks you in the eye, and boom! Smacked right on the face, arm, leg, or whatever is closest. After the initial swat, he keeps going. He don't hit, the baby sitter doesn't hit, and I'm not sure where this behavior came from. And for whatever reason, I (his mother of all people) am the only one he hits. Luckily, he hasn't been hitting anyone at the sitter so I don't have to deal with that yet.

I thought the was just trying out his new-found skill, not realizing it hurts people. So the first few times, I would make a big dramatic scene and say "Ouch!" which was followed by fake crying and exaggerated sad faces. My dramatic performance did demonstrate that this hitting, indeed hurt someone. He'd bury his face in my side and look up at me, sweetly saying, "Hi." This was his way of saying, "sorry Mom!"

The next day, we go through this charade again. And the next day. And the next day after that. After a few days, I resort to, "No, that hurts!" This has the same result.

I don't want my kid to be the 'hitter' unless they're talking about his baseball skills. At 15 months, I thought it'd be a while before I had to deal with behavioral issues. Has anyone else had an experience like this? How did you get through it?

Boys Get Yeast Infections?

The one reason I was scared to have a boy was because I didn't know what to do with their little weinies. I'm oneof three girls. I didn't have any little boy cousins to babysit or anything so the first time I saw one it wasn't in a diaper.

Well my son has a little stomach bug. He's been pooping like crazy! Luckily we already had an appointment scheduled for the doctor today - his 12 month check up. The doctor said (exact words)- "no matter how clean you keep him, diarrhia will eat yer booty." We love our pediatrician... :) Poor guy has developed quite a nasty rash that we just can't get rid of.

My son would cry and cry all day. Everytime he moved the wrong way he'd clench his little butt cheeks, tense up and let out a big yell! I felt so bad for him. Poor little guy. Good old Desitin just wouldn't do the trick. The pediatrcian perscribed Nystatin which has seemed to do the trick.

Little did I know, the real trick would be to give him an oatmeal bath. Good advice from my mom. After all, a mother knows! My son is a little swimmer in the tub! He loves to splash around and ultimately ends up swallowing a lot of bath water... unfortunately. I didn't think it'd be a good idea to just throw him in with a store bought oatmeal bath solution so I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the good old fashioned quick cook oats!

Little guy was clinging to me all day so I knew it'd be a challenge to get him into the tub. As soon as his feet hit the cloudy, oatmeal water he screamed and reached for Mommy! Of course, as his mommy, it feels good when your baby wants you to "save" him. But he needed this bath! So, I stripped down to my tank top and undies and hopped into the bath with him.

It was really gross. That oatmeal bath eventually turned into a shower for mommy to get all of the oatmeal out of places where there shouldn't be oatmeal. But hey, a mother's gotta do what a mother's gotta do!

After the bath he was happy as a clam and the rash has almost completely cleared up! The Nystatin has really helped. If your baby seems to be getting a diaper rash, no matter how bad or if they have some minor skin irritation elsewhere, I definitely recommend tossing them in the bath with some good old fashioned quick cook oats!