Bedtime Love with Spirited Toddlers

Every couple of months or so Damien will cycle through his bedtime habits and go through a phase where he needs some help falling back asleep in the middle of the night. Typically, when not in this phase, he does awesome. Then comes that dreaded night when he wakes up and comes crawling into mom and dads room and we regretfully neglect to get up and place him back in his bed. I'm not going to sugar coat it - I LOVE having both boys in bed cuddling - until night 3 when my sleep is lacking and I am fussing about how I need to start putting him back in his bed when he wakes up. This continues for a few weeks and then we sleep train him again. Man, what a vicious cycle this becomes.

Needless to say when I was offered to review a "Cloud b Glow Cuddles" through the resident mom program I was a little excited. Doo has had night time soothers before (night lights, glowing sea horses, teddies) but maybe this one will be different and much needed during this crazy month of no sleep we have been in.

For those who are unfamiliar with this cool new soothie (no worries since I was clueless prior to this) the "Glow Cuddles Bear" is a plush bear - or rabbit - whose belly glows when your little one hugs it. Pretty basic right?! Well this bear also has a soothing heartbeat and features which allow you to set timers and turn on and off the pulse. Also for those car riding babies the pulse features an option for car ride or for heartbeat!! Amazing, I know! since the prior soothies have not offered these wonderfully customizable features.

Pushing through the next few days sleep deprived and with a burning secret (I didn't tell him he was getting the bear) the package finally arrived. With much excitement Doo opened it and ripped right into the box, taking a small peek at the prize inside and then getting right to the bonding and loving session. FYI this bear with so many options is also extremely soft and huggable so props for getting it all right. For the next few days Doo loved the bear. Come to think of it I should have kept it as an "in bed" only toy to continue to get him to sleep in his bed.

All in all though I was impressed with this product and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a soothing product for their little one.

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The writing and views of this product are my opinions only and while I took part in an ambassador program I in no way was told what to write or how to review the product. 

Lessons Learned while Potty Training

I must say that potty training is the only time in my 30+ months of parenting in which I enjoy Doo heading off to daycare. No I am not one of those moms that would rather my toddler be in daycare instead of sitting home bursting with unsurmountable energy followed by loud screams, hits, and sprints - its just that they tend to know a little more about toddler mentality that I do.

It's been about 6-8 months that we have been progressively potty training and the last month Doo's training has been phenomenal. While at daycare Doo is averaging 1 accident a day and 5-6 potties - which in  my newbie mom mind is a great ratio. At home I can get 1-2 potties out of him and at least 1 accident a day which is a far worse ratio than daycare has and which I also blame on my weak mommy structure unconditional love and lack of consistency.

While trudging up the potty mountain continuing to hope that my toddler does not head into kindergarten with a diaper (at least he can successfully change that himself) I have learned some valuable lessons.

1. Don't ever ignore the "Potty" word when it comes from a child. We have gotten to the point where Doo says potty just to check and make sure that I am going to go rushing into the nearest bathroom and throw him up on the toilet. I am not sure if this simple act amuses him or if he is just testing the water to see what the term "potty" actually gets him. Rest assure however that cause and effect is a legitimate thing - especially to a toddler. 
2. Following along the lines of the above - be consistent. I quickly learned that at daycare (again where Doo is most successful) he is put on the potty every hour and always wears underwear. Doing these two simple things makes a toddler feel secure and comfortable, of course they thrive when they know what to expect next. I feel as though one of our biggest inconsistencies at home is being lazy and allowing him to wear a diaper while patiently waiting for him to come to us telling us he would like to pause his movie and head into the potty.  
3. Have a game plan. Know that everyone, including you, is on the same page with techniques and ready to persevere through every pee on the floor and every visit to a public restroom - regardless of whether we need to use it or not.  
4. Keep positive. We so far have had several set backs  however we remain positive about it. The bathroom has became public domain at our house fully equipped with books. Everyone uses it and accidents happen so remain positive, calm, and remember it will happen one day. 

While everyone has their own methods to potty training I feel as though the above lessons can become the base to any method you decide to use with your family. A few other tricks are to get them used to having their own portable potty, to put food coloring in the toilet water to increase excitement when it changes colors, get them their own undies which they pick out, get stuffed animals/dolls involved, and to set up a reward system - all of which have helped us out.

While I of course am not an expert on this topic or parenting in general I think these few simple techniques can lay a great foundation for the wonderful journey ahead. Please feel free to add some additional tricks or insight that have helped you along the way since I am a firm believer that in motherhood the best help is each other. 

Introduction to Sensory Play

I have always been intrigued by Sensory Exploration and Sensory Play, but for some reason I never got into it until recently. It's such an easy way to keep the kids entertained while also teaching them (two things I am so very found of!)

Sensory Play allows the children to develop fine motor skills by allowing them to manipulate the objects in front of them. It also helps with concentration. Want some proof? My highly active son spent a half hour straight playing with his sensory bag tonight, which took only seconds for me to create. He was squishing it, checking out the objects in it, and playing with it - until it popped (remember duct tape all around.)

Sensory play also allows problem solving skills and language skills. For example, the sensory bin below is geared towards teaching toddlers all about the letter "B" and was easily assembled using common "B" items that you already have on hand. Such as blocks, a bear, some beads, ect..

Along with letters, sensory play can also teach colors. This is the same idea as the letter bin, it's just with a common color instead of a common letter. This blue would look lovely in a beach or water themed bin. 

UnReal Candy Review

I recently had the chance to try UnReal Candy: UnJunked - which for those of us who are a little behind on the healthy living (no fears I was until this opportunity) UnReal Candy is a company that has managed to take the junk out of our favorite chocolate candies and replace that junk with real ingredients.

To be more specific, this wonderful company replaced the corn syrup, hydrogenated fats, GMOs, artificial colors, flavors and preservatives that we find in our everyday Ressees, M&M's, Snickers Bars, ect.. with real cane sugar, real milk, natural oils, real peanuts, and real cacao. Better yet is that the company only operates in the US and in Canada so not only are you are buying healthy chocolate but your also buying home grown candy (another thing we are big on at my house).

So healthy junk food.. ok we made it that far, but what about the taste??? Again you're reading my mind and my initial thoughts on this was that  most healthy food does not taste nearly as delicious as the unhealthy version (especially when you are discussing chocolate and other "really bad" foods.) However, since UnReal Candy still uses oils, cacao, and sugar the candy is just as delicious as the unhealthy junkie versions. My taste-testers (my husband and my toddler) both loved all of the different varieties we were able to try and the end result was that it wasn't sticky nor was it syrupy.

In our sample pack we received 5 different types of UnReal Candy including Chocolate Caramel Nougat Bars (similar to Milky Ways), Peanut Butter Cups, Candy Coated Chocolates with Peanuts (like Peanut M&M's), Chocolate Caramel Peanut Nougat Bars (similar to Snickers), and Plain Candy Coated Chocolates. Again all of which were tried and passed by myself, my husband, and our toddler (and boy do I have picky eaters in my household!)

So, yes in one since all candy is unhealthy and should be ate as a treat, however when enjoying that treat why not avoid the junk and eat a healthier version.