Potty Training Success (for 1 at least!)

Woohooo! Kaylee has been officially potty trained for about a week now. She still wears "Dora pants" (aka easy-ups or pull-ups) when we leave the house just in case, but at home it is all panties from now on! She even wears panties to nap time and wakes up dry! Sometimes she wakes up in the morning dry, but sometimes not, so she still wears Dora pants to bed, but still, she is doing SO awesome and we are so proud of her!

(I have REALLY cute pictures, but I am afraid to put them on here because she isn't fully clothed and I have heard too many bad stories about pictures like those falling into the wrong hands! So, sorry you have to miss out but it's just not worth the risk!)

Here is what worked (and didn't) for us (at least for our daughter--Koltin's still workin' on it!):

1. Marshmallows. Every time Kaylee went potty, she got a large marshmallow. This worked pretty well for us!


2. Chocolate. We used Hershey's hugs, and this is what she got every time she went #2 in the potty. She had this part down in no time at all. Apparently she loves chocolate--Is she a typical female or what? (We have moved on to Starbursts, and that is working too. Basically anything extra tasty that she never gets otherwise).


3. We started using Dora Pants (Pampers Easy-Ups) instead of diapers so she could pull them up and down by herself. (FYI, Pampers Easy-Ups are designed for smaller/thinner babies/toddlers than Huggies Pull-Ups are.)


4. When she was going to the potty more or less on a regular basis, I put her in panties instead of Dora pants. I did this sometime last fall, when Kaylee was somewhere between 27 and 29 months old. I was hoping that when she wet herself it would bother her so much that she wouldn't do it anymore, but instead she would just do a funny walk around the house with wet pants until I figured out what happened. This did not work at all, so I decided that she just wasn't ready.


5. Back to Dora Pants.


6. After another couple of months or so, I starting letting her play around the house with no pants on. No diaper, no panties, nothing. This really helped her recognize when she had the urge to go.


7. When it looked like she had the no pants thing down for a while, I started putting her in panties. No pants, though. If she had pants on, she would pee, but if she had on only panties she would use the potty.


8. Finally, when she was in Dora Pants at church in toddler nursery and still didn't wet herself but asked to use the potty, we started putting putting panties on AND pants at home.


9. Voila! Potty success! Yayyyy!

I know that Koltin will probably not be so easy! With Koltin, he was going potty pretty much every single time in the potty (#1, not #2). But when we introduced Diego pants, he stopped. Personally, I don't think he was ready to be quite that grown up. It was like he was saying, "Whoa! What do you think I am, a big boy? I don't think so! I need to be taken care of thank-you-very-much!" Is he a typical male or what? ;)

The Healing Power of a Kiss

Don't you just love the way that kisses make things "all better"? My kids could have just fallen and gotten a bruise/bump on their head, but if I kiss it, they magically are ok. I hadn't realized though, that all this time the magical kiss was also instilling compassion. Our kids have a little "kid" table that they eat and do crafts at that sits in the kitchen. One day I was in there and somehow I jammed my toe on one of the table legs. I wasn't very happy about it (for some reason this one pinky toe likes to get jammed on a regular basis--it's quite maddening!). Anyway, my son Koltin saw that I was upset and asked, "What do, Mom?" (What did you do?) I told him, "I hurt myself." "Oh," he replied. "Table get you?" "Yea, the table got me." "Oh. You ok?" "Yea. Mommy got an owie, but I'm ok." "Want me kiss it?" My heart completely melted at this point and I allowed him to kiss my "owie". What a sweetie boy I have! And you know what? Kisses really do make it "all better"--My toe really did hurt less after that kiss!

Multiple Birth Freebies

Multiple Birth Freebies

As a mom of twins (or triplets, or quadruplets...), we have twice (or three times or more!!) the expenses as moms of singletons, so it would be nice if we got some extra breaks right? Well guess what? We do! Here is a list of freebies you can get as a new mom of multiples, in addition to all the freebies on the other list. Enjoy!

• BEECHNUT 1-800-beechnut
  
  Call for Beechnut twin or multiple coupon packs. They don’t make you prove multiples unless it is quads or over.
  www.Beechnut.com
• CARNATION FORMULA (NESTLE GOOD START) 1-800-782-7766
  
  To receive coupons towards 4 free cans of formula, you must send copies of birth certificates to the following address:
  
  Nestle Infant Nutrition
  P.O. Box AW
  Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703
  
  Call toll free number above first to get a case number—include number with birth certificate copies.
  
  1-800-524-0077 (magazine, The Verybestbaby)
• EVENFLO CO. 1-800-356-BABY (356-2229)
  
  This one’s great. They send you brand new bottle and nipple sets and sippy cups. Send copies of birth certificates and short letters requesting to become members of their Multiple Birth Programs:
  
  Evenflo Co.
  Attn: Multiple Birth Program
  1801 Commerce Dr.
  Piqua, OH 45356
• THE FIRST YEARS 1-800-533-6708
  
  Send copies of birth certificates and short letters requesting to become members of their Multiple Birth Program:
  
  RC2 The First Years
  100 Technology Center Dr.
  Suite 2A
  Stoughton, MA 02072
• GERBER Super Twins Program 1-800-4gerber
  
  They don’t make you prove multiples unless it’s quads or over. They will send 2 coupons, and more.
• HUGGIES 1-800-544-1847
  
  For multiple births, Huggies will send a one-time gift of coupons.
  
  Send copies of birth certificates to:
  
  Kimberly Clark Corp.
  Attn: Dept. QMB
  P.O. Box 2020
  Neenah, WI 54957-2020
• LUVS
  
  Participants receive a one-time gift of valuable coupons for Luvs baby care products. Just send your complete name and postal address, along with photocopies of the babies’ official government birth certificates, to:
  
  Luvs Multiple Birth Offer
  The Proctor & Gamble Company
  P.O. Box 599
  Cincinnati, OH 45201
  
  If the birth certificates contain sensitive personal information, such as social security numbers, please black this information out before sending.
• MEAD JOHNSON (ENFAMIL)
  
  For multiple births, Mead Johnson Multiples program:
  
  Not a toll-free number 1-812-429-6321
  Toll-free 1-800-422-2902; 1-800-222-9123
  Not a toll-free number 1-812-429-5000
  
  Physician must contact local sales rep. One-time shipment of free formulas. One case per child. Call for coupons, too.
• OSH KOSH B’GOSH 1-800-692-4674
  
  Osh Kosh B’Gosh offers the Multiplicity Club. The Club Card, available at Osh Kosh B’Gosh retail stores, offers a 10% discount off your purchases for the multiples only.
  
  consumer@bgosh.com
• PAMPERS
  
  1-800-PAMPERS (726-7377)
  
  Call their customer service representative to receive a special, one-time set of coupons for parents of multiples.
  
  
  
  
  For triplets or more only:
• Ansa Bottle Co., 1-800-527-1096
• Mother’s Little Miracle, 1-310-544-7125
• One Step Ahead Catalog, 1-800-274-8440 or 1-800-950-9120
• Proctor & Gamble
  
  Free diapers triplets or more only. They give you a jumbo package of diapers for each child. Send copy of birth certificates to:
  
  Michael Hass
  P.O. Box 599
  Cincinnati, OH 45201
  
  

Freebies for New Moms

FREEBIES FOR NEW MOMS

Let's face it: being a parent can get expensive!! Here is a list of free stuff you can get every time your family has a new addition (inlcuding through adoption, as long as the baby is under 1 year old):

• American Baby Magazine www.americanbaby.com
  On lower right, sign up to receive a free subscription
• Enfamil Lipil Breastfeeding Support Kit www.enfamil.com/breatfeedingkit/
  Print certificate off which you can take to your baby’s doctor (or your doctor) to request a free Enfamil Lipil Breastfeeding Support Kit
• Enfamil Lipil Formula www.enfamil.com
  On the lower right, sign up for Enfamil Family Beginnings and receive full-size cans of formula and coupons
• Gerber www.gerber.com
  Sign up and they will send you coupons
• Huggies www.huggies.com
  Sign up to receive coupons and free samples
• Johnson & Johnson 1-866-565-2229 or 1-800-526-3967
  Call to receive a free new parent gift pack.
• Nestle Good Start Formula www.verybestbaby.com
  Sign up to receive money-saving checks towards Good Start formula
• Pampers www.pampers.com
  Sign up to receive coupons and free samples
• Upromise www.upromise.com
  Sign up and register your debit/grocery cards and receive cash back for college