Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Updates!

Here are some updates of things I was fretting over in past blogs...

Update on Charlie's potty training:

Recently Charlie hit a big milestone in the potty training department. It looks like he might not have to pack those pull-ups when he leaves for college after all. Thanks to my friend Robin’s excellent advice I finally made some potty headway with Charlie when I figured out what his “currency” is. Robin said you have to figure out what a child’s currency is and then offer it as an incentive. Well, Charlie’s currency is clearly cars. So, I fashioned a potty chart on the bathroom wall and then told him that he could get a new race car when he got 10 stickers on his potty chart. That seemed to really motivate Charlie to go #1. One week into the potty chart, and #2 was still not seeming likely. I resigned myself to Charlie never learning this skill and possibly never dating because of it. I was okay with this. That is, until we were at Target buying his 10-sticker race car potty reward and he saw the new Mach 5 Speed racer car. At $27 and change, this was a little steep for a potty reward, but at least then I knew what would really motivate Charlie to take his potty training to the next level. About a week later, my bribery worked. Charlie held up his end of the bargain and he is now the proud owner of a Mach 5.

We are by no means out of the potty woods, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (sorry for the mixed potty metaphors). The fact that we are on Day 16 of the potty chart tells me that the Potty Train Your Child in One Day book can safely be put in the Goodwill pile.




Update on Emma’s eating/ Why I love V8 juice

Emma has been doing better with her eating. She’s still not an adventurous eater by any means, but dinnertime is not nearly the tearful soap opera it once was. Maybe I have loosened up a little? That’s likely part of the equation, but I think Emma is changing too. Maybe it’s just a maturity thing, but I also think we’ve made some changes that have helped. Here’s what I’ve done that’s worked:

  • No snacks/milk after 4 p.m.
  • We all eat dinner together at the “big table” and we all eat the same thing. (By “we” I am generally referring to the kids and me. Brandon usually has to work past our 6 o’clock dinner time unfortunately.) Emma certainly doesn’t eat everything that I serve, but she picks and chooses from what I’m offering. I try to offer something that she likes at each meal (usually some kind of fruit, peas, carrots or bread). A few times a week I make a main course that I know she likes (tortellini with tomato sauce, quesadillas, pizza) Between cooking for Emma and my weird pregnancy-related aversions, my cooking has become sort of weird. We eat a lot of pasta and beans lately and guacamole (this baby can’t get enough beans and guacamole). But I think we’re doing okay in the nutrition department.
  • I have a new secret weapon. I don’t have the patience or the energy to sneak vegetable purees into everything I make like all those sneaky chef cookbooks recommend, but my one sneaky thing is to give the kids V8 Fusion juice. I sound like a commercial, but this stuff is awesome! It’s supposed to be one vegetable serving and one fruit serving “fused” together in an 8 oz. serving of juice. It sounds gross, but it tastes like fruit punch. And it’s not thick like original V8 juice. There is no sugar added and it’s just chock-full of veggies and fruits. The kids love it and so do I. I’ve been drinking it with a little lemon/lime seltzer to give it some fizz and cut the sweetness a little. I know drinking juice is not the same as eating your fruits and veggies, but this is pretty close and it’s a great way to sneak in some nutrition.*

    *This blog sponsored by V8 Fusion juice.

Lastly, I have a question: should we find out the sex of the baby? I'm just curious to find out how everyone feels about this topic. I was pretty positive I wanted to know, but now that the big sonogram date is approaching, I'm having my doubts. Please let me know what you think!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wanna know, I wanna know!! Plus, I think it helps the kids (aka Emma and Charlie, plus all their cousins...) to start to imagine the new sibling/cousin in their lives when they know the sex ahead of time. I think it helps with bonding. Also, if anyone (Emma or Charlie, specifically) were to be disappointed by the results, better to handle it with plenty of time before baby arrives and Mommy and Daddy are too tired to talk about it and sympathize.

SO EXCITED, either way!!!

Jennifer

mdm said...

I think you should always know the sex of a baby. The question is when.

Sorry. I'm no help.

Anonymous said...

I found out with my two kids but recently overheard a pregnant lady (on 3rd round) is not finding out this time since she has one of each. I would love to have not found out with my last pregnancy but my husband wanted to so I figured he couldn't know and me not know.