Tag Archives: diaper

Potty Progress…But the Training Continues…

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There has been mucho potty (training) progress in my home over the past few weeks. I can confidently send my 3 year old to school or take him out for the day without having to worry about accidents or bringing pull-ups for just in case.

I’m not quite sure how it came together really…I had to be tough on him as far as diligently asking him to go and sometimes even physically taking him to go, but 9 times out of 10 these days he is taking the initiative to go himself. And — after a few weeks of seeing him stay pretty dry at school, one day I said let’s just go for it and leave him in his underwear. Thankfully it worked and since then I haven’t worried too much about his potty habits, he just KNOWS what to do.

I started potty training with him a while ago…first we got a potty so he would get used to seeing it in the bathroom, did that sometimes after he hit the 18 month mark. Then, we started a routine where he would use the potty everyday at least once before bedtime… When I really wanted to ramp it up, I semi-tried having a weekend where we stayed home and focused on just using the potty. That is easier said than done, especially since I have another younger toddler running around.

Then, with his 3 year birthday approaching, I thought to myself…when is this ever going to happen. I had enlightened “Potty Perspective,” but at this point he knew what it’s for and what he is supposed to do, but chalk it up to being lazy or whatever, he just wasn’t quite there. I will advocate for the experts who advise against forcing the issue and rather letting them take control when they are ready. Ready is so key…and potty training parents have to be careful because you truly do not want regression!

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BTW..I also invested in a potty watch which was great for the first 24 hours, but after that he just loved hearing it sound off as a reminder, but he wouldn’t follow it’s guideline for going to the potty. I think it’s an excellent device for a child that will adhere to the rule of going potty when the “alarm” goes off..but that is not my child.

Now, in the end it’s all about teaching them and guiding them to the potty, but not pushing them too hard. The past few nights he’s stayed dry all night – using an overnight diaper, so my next step will be to take the plunge and let him go commando while he sleeps…eek!! It’ll be fine though, right? I should expect some cleanup and off course cover the mattress with waterproof protectors and even pad it with an extra overnight pad….hehe!

The point is, I can say with confidence my boy is potty trained and there’s no turning back! The focus now shifts to making sure he doesn’t “wait” to go. Disney’s “Nina Needs to Go” is really cute for getting that point across to the kids, he’ll also have to learn how to wipe and then hopefully controlling his aim!! LOL!! And — of course there’s lil bro who still needs to learn, but it’ll be easy, right? He’ll just copy big brother…wish me luck!

Mustache Themed Baby Shower

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One of my baby sister’s BFF’s is having a baby – this actually makes me feel really old, because I’ve known her friends since they were like 5 years old!!! Anyway, in honor of his upcoming arrival, they celebrated with a Mustache themed baby shower! Lots of fun stuff from the decor to the dessert, games, favors and their own unique spin on playing up the “mustache!” The Mom-to-Be, Gaile, was actually sweet enough to give me great descriptions for the photos I’m featuring in this post…as she heads into the home stretch of pregnancy on bed rest…so, enjoy!

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The welcome table. I loved the idea of having a wall of balloons behind the welcome table to separate the space. We used blue, teal, orange colored circles for our guests to “sign in” on, that will be used as balloons for the frame on the left hand side. That way, when our baby boy grows up, he can read the messages, and know who attended his baby shower. We also placed a variety of photos from our baby bump photo session in San Diego. And — we solicited name suggestions and advice with a sign that said, “Edwin & Gaile mustache you a question, advice really and good name suggestions.”

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Table seating. Centerpieces/decorations were the mustache props, a mini-diaper cake, and neckties. Mustache props: I purchased a stencil on Oriental Trading and cut out the mustaches and glued them onto sticks. The mustache bag they were placed in had a note that said “Photo Fun! Wear one!” These mustache props were not only at the eating tables but throughout the venue. Everyone loves taking pictures and the props make for great photo opportunities! As for the mini-diaper cakes, they were a simple set of 7 rolled up diapers, bundled up with a ribbon wrapped around them, and a mustache tag decoration sticking out of the center. The necktie centerpieces were inspired by Pinterest and also cut from a stencil, glued onto sticks, and stuck into floral arrangement Styrofoam, topped with shredded paper and wrapped with paper bag wrapping! The persimmon color table runners were actually used at my wedding so that was a bonus to reuse! 🙂

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The dessert table! The decorative cake design idea was found on Pinterest. The actual cake maker was my Sister-in-Law’s coworker, and it was delicious and moist. She also made the full size cupcakes. I made the mini cupcakes and added a mini cupcake sleeves for decorations. I also made a mango trifle that was a hit! We used mustache food tags to label all the delicious desserts.

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Gametime! We had several games on tap for our guests to play… “Guess when Little Man will be born Calendar,” we placed a heart on the due date, 05/13/14, and guests used stamps to stamp their guess with their name. “Guess how many M and M’s in the Jar,” using two Jars of peanut M and M’s. A “Bib and Onesie” drawing contest…surprisingly this game was very popular! Everybody used up each bib and onesie and came up with some really good designs. We did “Don’t Say ___ Game” with clothespins…. We did the “how big is the belly game” with a ribbon, my aunt was dead on! It was incredible!. Then we had a lullaby written game we began, but it was way too difficult to start and stop people. So, after handing out the paper, we collected them ten minutes later and tried to pick out a winner. Other games we did have but weren’t able to play were two more written games: word scramble and word jumble.

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Pin the Mustache on the baby. Unfortunately this game wasn’t actually played at the baby shower. There were so many activities and a ton of people, that it was difficult to gather people to play. I would have enjoyed people playing this. My brother got creative and actually used a baby photo of Edwin, drew it, and used my skin color! Then, I cut out mustaches to stick onto the poster. I thought it was the cutest idea, and I actually kept it because I like it so much.

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Party Favors! We decided to give out favors of pint glasses with vinyl mustache decals. I searched online and it was going to be a pretty pricey guest gift, but luckily I came across a great deal at the dollar store for mustache glasses! However, a couple days later I ended up receiving an email stating the dollar store cancelled my order because they didn’t have enough in stock. Poop! I didn’t know what other favor I wanted, so as I then started searching DIY glasses and found vinyl mustache decals that stick to glasses, and discovered webstaurantstore.com that sold pint glasses for relatively cheap, I ended up purchasing both and making the favors myself. It worked out beautifully because the Dollar Store mustache glasses actually had a different look… so I was completely satisfied with the purchase. It came out to almost the same price as the dollar store, minus the effort of having to make them. The tabled was labeled with a sign stating, “You’re Fanstachtic, Thanks for Combing By.”

Looking back at the baby shower, I had so much fun. Time went by so quickly, and the set up and break down of the decorations was an event in itself, but well worth it.  Thanks to our great support in our family and friends we definitely could not have had such a perfect baby shower celebration.

Diaper Bundle

I was looking for a cute gift idea for a baby (diaper) shower (sprinkle), but I was a little short on time and hesitant to go all out with a multilayer diaper cake…so I did some online searching and found out how to create a diaper bundle! I’ve also seen it referred to as a stork bundle…imagine the top being where a stork would carry it in its mouth. The great thing about it is that it doesn’t take a ton of time, diapers or a whole lot of “know how.” Anyone can do this…in minutes!!!

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So the first thing I did was go out and purchase all the necessary items – diapers, rubber bands, blanket, cute toy an some ribbon. I went with size 1 diapers because the newborn size tend to be small if it’s a bigger baby and since the gift is “diapers,” I don’t want them to go to waste! You’ll need a minimum of 15 diapers to make it work..I squeezed in a few extra! 😉 The rubber bands are to hold the rolled diapers together, a blanket to “bundle” it up and a toy like a rattle or teething ring work great as a decorative piece up top!

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Once you’re ready to begin, simply roll the diaper and secure with a rubber band. I chose to roll mine so the size  and print at the top would show.

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Then bundle sets of 3 diapers in a triangle formation, and put a rubber band around them.

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After that, you’re ready to build the bundle. So take your blanket (I used a good size Muslin blanket) and fold it over a couple times lengthwise and lay it flat, then stack diapers accordingly (make sure it’s centered) to make your pyramid. Also make sure to fold the blanket so it’s a bit wider than the length of your rolled diapers. Since I had extra diapers I placed a couple of them flat at the bottom to help it hold the shape. Another idea would be a take a packet of travel wipes and lay those at the bottom to create a base.

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Once you have it all stacked, simply take either side of the blanket and wrap it up top with some cute ribbon and secure the toy! Voila…a super cute diaper bundle! 🙂