Book of the Month: Once Upon a Potty

This week I introduced Freida to one of the most classic female childhood characters - more practical than Cinderella, and less mischievous than Madeline - this little girl is quite the toddler role model: Prudence, from Once Upon a Potty. I learnt about the potty from Prudence when I was about the same age, and I fondly remember those tight black curls and rosy red cheeks; she lovingly taught me about my body and about its' functions.

The author, Alona Frankel, fled post-war Poland and settled in Israel where she wrote this book for her son, Michael. Once Upon a Potty was first published in 1975, and gained international popularity and recognition with the release of the English publication in 1980. She has now sold more than 4 Million copies!!

Charming, straightforward, and humorous; this classic book is a surefire way to ensure your child develops a love for this new and possibly high-stress stage in life. Keeps things smart and simple, and even has a way of making Pee-Pee and Poo-Poo almost beautiful.

P.S. I think it is so funny that her name is Prudence when she is so very far from prude! :)

Happy (Solar) New Year!!

Wishing you all the happiest of new beginnings, and a fresh start to one of the most important aspects to a mom: the Calendar. Be it a life-sized family-shared wall calendar that keeps track of ballet recitals, soccer practice, PTA meetings, and the birthday party that you thought was this Sunday but was (oops!) last Tuesday, or your own personal planner filled with weekly meal plans, an abundance of "to-dos", preschool performance dates, a year's worth of work meetings, and way too many lists... 2011 is bringing us a fresh page, making us feel (even just a teeny-tiny bit) more organized than yesterday.

Just don't forget to squeeze yourself into all that family planning!! From a simple pedicure, to a girls weekend beach getaway, to unwinding after bedtimes with a glass of red wine; taking care of ourselves is an integral part of being a good mother and a good wife. A bit of tweaking to the scheduling and you won't believe how much you can fit in for you!

Dr. Christiane Northrup is most famously quoted for having said, "Healthy caregiving absolutely must include the mother herself.", and I think that is the most timeless of advice.

Here's to resolving in setting aside time for us this year...!

Rounds of Humidity

I don't know if it's my asthma acting up again, or just the common cause of an ongoing winter cold, but I feel like I'm breathing in dry desert air! Waking up parched in middle of the night to chug down water doesn't quite make for peaceful sleep... After a bit of a coughing fot, I finally ended up crashing in Freida's room last night - to get the benefits of her humidifier. Craving this beauty of humidity from PlusMinusZero, designed by the same team behind Apple's sleek creations, for my bedroom... Fukasawa Humidifier by PlusMinusZero

But at close to $400, I think I'll opt for this $45 one.

Dangerous Dress-Up

These images are part of a photo shoot editorial in the latest issue of Vogue Paris. Seriously, what ever happened to little girls?!

Maybe I'm overreacting - are these photos meant to be cute?? The make-up is heavy, the necklines are plunging, and the body language/facial expressions are not what you see when little girls play dress-up! These images are obviously adult-staged and adult-choreographed... Personally, as a mom of a little girl, I find this even more disturbing than appalling.

Welcoming any thoughts on the subject from all you other moms out there...!! Want to know I'm not alone in shock here....

I'm thinking:

- What happens subconsciously when people look at these pictures?

- Can these images make people associate young girls with adult sexuality?

- Can these possibly make us perceive kids as more sophisticated than they really are?

- Will photos like these put inappropriate and unfair pressure on little girls to grow up?

Baby, Bye Bye Bye

Yesterday we said goodbye to Freida's bottle.

Freida was born a mere 4 pounds 8 ounces, and was consistently below the curve ever since. Nursing her seemed to at least keep up the chubby-baby look - I felt good enough knowing she had plenty rolls, and I would be ecstatic when people would comment on how "fat" my baby was. Once she randomly decided to self-ween, her weight began to drop. I was planning on nixing the suckling altogether, but she didn't down milk from a sippy cup very well at all so I  transitioned her to a bottle, and sure enough the fat and calorie content delivered by 12 oz. of daily milk kept her pants up! :)

I know Doctors generally recommend giving up a bottle at around the first birthday, but I decided to keep her on it for as long as I had intended to breastfeed her: 2 years. At our most recent visit to the Doctor (for her first vaccination), he pronounced her weight and height "healthy". Took that as a sign to get on the road to banning the bottle...

This past weekend my husband and I made a point to speak to Freida about certain things being only for babies, and about the concept of growing up. I went on to name different (slightly older) cousins, friends etc. that don't drink from a bottle because they are "growing up" and not "babies" anymore. She seemed to like that bit, and later asked me "does Sima have a bottle? No. Does Dovi have a bottle? No." etc. That's when I figured she fully got the idea.

Yesterday morning I brought out a stack of old pregnancy/baby/family magazines, and we sat together leafing through the pages to spot pictures of babies and cut them out. Once we had a nice selection of "babies", I gave Freida some glue and an old cardboard box (I think it was from our esrog...), and had her glue the pictures all over the "baby bottle box". We added some tissue paper (can't hurt to bring some prettiness to a painful goodbye!), and Freida said goodbye to her bottles - for good. Once boxed up we gave it to the mailman - she loves the mailman! - (I obviously had him put it back in my mailbox so I could sterilize and store them away), and said farewell!

She went to bed last night without it, and was able to easily verbalize "gave my bottles to the babies", and woke up this morning sans bottle as well! She asked for it this morning, but she proceeded to tell me where it went... she definitely wasn't stoked about not waking up without the bottle relaxation, but with a bit of distraction she got up and had breakfast really easily.

Seems to have been a successful transition - thank God! - and I would definitely suggest using this method for getting rid on bottles/pacifiers/blankies etc. It involves the kids in such a hands-on way, and makes them feel like they are really part of the process - which is key to all successful good riddance! Good Luck!!