Nancy Wilson handles these hot topics so well here:

http://femina.reformedblogs.com/2007/09/09/salt-and-sugar/

For seven years we've been buying baby products.  Here's a list of some of our family's favorites:

*Graco Pack-n-Play with bassinet (where our babies spend their first several months sleeping)

*Fisher-Price Infant to Toddler Rocker (bouncy seat that converts to a toddler rocker--my kids love it!)

*Kolcraft Universal Infant Car Seat Carrier (lightweight stroller--great for travel and baby stays asleep in the carseat!)

*Any diaper pail that takes regular trash bags

*Desitin ORIGINAL diaper rash cream (the only thing that keeps diaper rash away for our family)

*Gerber NUK pacifiers and any pacifier clip

*Gerber no-spill sippy cups

*Equate (Walmart brand) Infant Gas Drops

*Pampered Chef timer (you can punch in each number to set the timer instead of holding one button that beeps on and on...and it has a "count-up" feature so I know exactly how long it's been since the last feeding)

*Pampers, Luvs, and White Cloud diapers

*Pampers Sensitive Skin wipes

*Lansinoh disposable nursing pads

*Radio Shack Sleep/sound machines for "white noise"; each kid has one!

*Any baby monitor with battery backup

*Sleep Sacks

*Ear plugs!  (Great for drowning out the other kids while Dad has them downstairs but I can still hear the baby next to my room.)

And my favorite baby gifts . . . personalized bibs and burp cloths from www.burpsbibsandbeyond.com  (Our pastor has given us a burp cloth for each baby that says "Itty Bitty Presbyterian".) 

:o),

Moms4Psalms

Usually between 16 months and 21 months my toddlers have begun to drop their morning nap.  Suddenly they stop sleeping as long as usual in the afternoon or else they don't sleep during their usual morning nap.  My fifth child actually started doing this at 14 months!

When this begins to happen we transition to what we call "roomtime" or if still in a crib, "cribtime".  In place of the normal 2 hour morning nap, we leave the lights on and put toys and books in the child's crib (or room) and sometimes play music and give them an hour to rest and play undistracted.  They are still tired and in need of some downtime.  Sometimes they still fall asleep and if so we wake them after the hour and get them up.

This generally means that they are ready for their afternoon nap earlier in the day so we back up that 2p naptime to 1p or even noon.  And it tends to be a two to four hour nap.

This is the most common question I get from other "Babywise moms" after the first year.

Happy Napping!

Moms4Psalms

We use the potty training method "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day."  Saturday I trained my fourth child who is not yet 2 1/2 years old in just 2 1/2 hours!  No More Diapers!  

When searching for toilet training info for my first child I found this book on Amazon.com and read all of the reviews.  Reading how it worked so quickly for literally hundreds of different families convinced me to try it.  Not only the speed but the fact that this method trains the child to toilet INDEPENDENTLY was a main appeal to us.  We do not have to take our children to the potty.  They learn through this method to go themselves without assistance.  This certainly appeals to us as we usually have three children under the age of three.  We cannot easily drop everything to take a child to the toilet!

My first (daughter) took 4 hours to train.  My second (son) took a day and a half (I was nursing and the training was interrupted--I will not do that again).  My third (son) took ONE hour to train and my fourth (son) after 2 1/2 hours on Saturday has been running around the house in "big boy pants" jumping up and down saying "Yay! I tee-teed in the potty!"  

My husband and I call this method "potty training boot camp" and it is the hardest day of my year each year mentally and emotionally.  It is not easy to focus on "potty" non-stop for an entire day but it is so worth it for our family.  

TRAINING DAY:  My husband takes ALL the other kids away for the day so there will be no distractions.  I do not answer the phone.  The child-in-training gets my full attention and we follow the book's method to the very letter.  I have four pages of typed notes from the book (email me if you want to use them) that I refer to throughout the training.  It is grueling for me, mostly fun for the child (they get so many fun snacks and drinks!), and very rewarding once completed.  The hardest part is the practice trials.  With every accident the child has to do nine practice trials from different areas of the house--run to the potty (fast!), pull down pants (fast!), sit on the potty, pull up pants (fast!), and then run to a new spot and practice again.  Dr. Phil McGraw has a method very similar to the one in this book and he says these trials build "memory muscle" in the child to help them remember what to do . . . and it really works!

Now, this is definitely NOT for everyone.  My friends who prefer more child-centered parenting methods do not like (um, hate!?!) this method.  There is much work involved for parent and child (though for a limited time) and for it to work the parent must be 100% determined to follow through and to never go back to diapers.  The good news is that no matter what method you use, your child WILL eventually be potty trained!  :o) This is not an issue worth stressing over! 

The method was originally developed to train mentally retarded adults how to independently toilet (then made into a book in the 1970s to teach children over 18 months to do so).  The author says a main key to success is to not have any attempts at training prior to the Big Training Day.  I do not let my kids even sit on a potty prior to "training day".  My last two sons at age 2 1/2 began asking me to teach them to use the potty.  So I marked a date on my calendar and told them they must wait until that day when I would teach them.  I have learned that it is best for me to not toilet train in my third trimester of pregnancy or while nursing.  The families I know who use this method say that 2 1/2 is the minimum age they would begin this training.

"Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" can be found at www.amazon.com  Be sure to read all of the reviews!

:o),

Moms4Psalms

I have read and realized that it is wise to limit how many big changes occur in a child's life at any given time.  For example, moving, moving from a crib to a bed, toilet training, and the birth of a new baby are all major changes and potentially stressful events for children.  Sometimes the child regresses in a newly acquired skill . . . maybe the stress shows itself in other ways--like misbehavior.

We try to only have one of the above events occur at a time!  Just as we were about to move, our two year old said "Mom, I want to tee-tee MYSELF!" (He is currently still in diapers.)  Though thrilled to hear him say he is ready, I will NOT be toilet training until the boxes have been unpacked and life settles down in our new home (I will blog about that experience then as well...We have had great success with the method found in the book "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day").  He should also soon be moved from the crib to a toddler bed.  But that too will wait.  We will move him a couple of months before we potty train. 

One change at a time.  :o)

Numerous people have voiced strong opinions about the Ezzos and Babywise.  I appreciate most the honest and humble confessions of those who admit they allowed a man-made method to be equal to biblical truth. 

Such confessions serve as a great warning and reminder that everything said by man is Fish and Bones.  We can chew on the good meat, and must spit out the bones!  Where methods are not contrary to the Word of God we can use them to help our families.  But we must spit out any self-righteousness, pride, or belief that those who use some other method are in sin.

I know wonderful Christian families (with well-behaved children) who demand feed, homeschool at different times each day, and sleep at different times each night.  I also know wonderful Christian families (with well-behaved children) who feed on a schedule, have a strict daily routine, and each of their children are in bed at 8:00 each night.  These are just examples of families choosing different methods . . . none of which are necessarily contrary to the Bible!  

Let us carefully pick out the fish from the bones.  May we always pray for wisdom in our decision making.  And in all things we must remember to love one another!

There is nothing new under the sun.  Women have used different methods for raising children for several thousand years.  My great-grandmother wrote in her journal "there were no books back then to tell me how to raise a baby but all the Old Folks agreed on one thing-you should never let a baby cry!"  When I asked my grandmother (who kept me as an infant) if she demand-fed or schedule-fed she said "Lands, Honey, I don't know.  I fed you when The Price is Right came on every day."  My grandmother, great-grandmother, and each of our ancestors did things differently when it came to caring for babies.  A great difference today is that we have so many books on childrearing. 

Here I share what we found that has helped our family bring "order to our days and sleep to our nights."

The first 8-12 weeks of our babies' lives we closely follow the feeding and sleeping routine outlined in "On Becoming Babywise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, M.D.  There is some crying those first weeks as the baby learns to settle himself to sleep and adjusts to the feeding routine.  After those first few weeks we have babies who sleep and eat on a schedule that makes our family of seven run smoothly.  Once the routine is established we bend it as we want to, but we stick closely to the schedule the first few weeks.

Some benefits for us include everyone sleeping all night and the predictable times each day to homeschool while the baby and toddlers nap.  Also, our children all go to bed early which gives my husband and me time together in the evenings. 

We are very thankful for the friends who shared this method with us.  Some other books friends have recommended to me are "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems."  Applying the methods in Babywise has been a tremendous blessing to our family.

Committed to breastfeeding and committed to having an ordered day while sleeping all night?  These things can work together but it may not be easy. 

My "New Mommy" memory . . . .

The first few weeks of trying to breastfeed AND get my first child to eat and sleep on a schedule were very difficult.  I was struggling with recovery from a c-section, not having a clue what to do with a newborn, postpartum crying jags, pain and difficulty nursing, and getting too little sleep.  We were ready to do whatever it took to "bring order to our days and sleep to our nights." 

BUT NOTHING SEEMED TO BE WORKING!  

A.) I thought that I had correctly been following the methods in the book "On Becoming Babywise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, M.D.  My daughter slept great (in her infant seat) and even slept long stretches at night (on occasion).  But nothing was consistent.  I was not sleeping at night and not functioning well during the day.

B.)  When I took her for her well-child visit, she had only gained one pound.  I had read that one pound per month is acceptable for a breastfed baby, but the pediatrician diagnosed her "failure to thrive" and told me to give her infant formula.  Now I was very confused!  Was it the schedule causing her to be too small?  Was it that I had an insufficient milk supply?  I did not want to give up nursing or my attempt to have a routine and sleep all night!  

C.)  On top of all the confusion, breastfeeding was extremely painful.  So I called a La Leche leader for breastfeeding help.  The advice regarding latch-on and proper positioning was invaluable.  But I was so discouraged at being told to nurse on demand when I had already worked out something of a schedule for feeding.  All of the "experts" were telling me different things! 

After much confusion, many tears, and prayer for wisdom as to what we should do, the following helped us:  

1.  We got lactation help.   The technical advice from the La Leche leader was very helpful.  I just did not follow the advice to nurse on demand.  (I curled my toes through the pain while nursing for the first six weeks and then the pain finally went away.)

2.  We got Babywise help.  I contacted a mom who had used Babywise with her children and she gave me a STRICT routine to follow for a few weeks.  She told me to stick to it without deviating until things were established.  My baby and I both cried for several days (and nights) but soon everything clicked.  She was eating on a routine, taking long naps, sleeping all night long, and still consistently gaining one pound per month.

3.  We switched pediatricians.  I got recommendations from breastfeeding moms for pediatricians who are supportive of parents' rights and choices in the care of their children. We found a doctor who looks beyond the growth charts and instead considers my size, my husband's size, and how well our babies are developing.  He does not pressure us to formula feed OR demand feed.  Our babies have all been tall and thin and he does not diagnose them "failure to thrive" when they are developing well and gaining at least one pound per month. 

Our experience has been that we can breastfeed exclusively and follow the Babywise routine.  We experience both tears and pain for a short while, but that soon ends and the benefits to our family have been amazing.

Feel free to email me if you want more details as to the routine that works for us.  My second child screamed most of his waking moments the first year of his life due to undiagnosed food allergies, but he found great comfort in our routine and slept long naps and all night long (almost the only times he was not crying from pain).  More food (the reason for the pain he was in) would have been the worst thing for him! 

We feel abundantly blessed, and we ENJOY His blessings!