We Suck at Potty Training, or Why Pull-Ups Should Sponsor Me

Last January, that's 2010, we figured we'd better think about potty training the little man. We were planning a trip to Hawaii in April and we thought "Wouldn't it be fantastic if he was trained by the time we went?"

FOOLS. We were absolute fools. On February 22, 2010, I wrote my first blog post ever. I then got very eager and immediately wrote two more, including my first post about potty training. The first of many on the subject.

I called today's post "We Suck at Potty Training," but the truth is if ANY of our methods or tactics had worked we would be touting ourselves as experts in the field and sharing our knowledge with the world. Instead, I am sharing our utter and complete failure.

He'd been in "real underwear" from the beginning of the training, as everyone said never to go back once you'd started. Well, "everyone" hasn't been dealing with trouser bombs every single day for a year. He'd been doing okay, seemingly making good progress on the pee and letting us know when he had to go. The pants grenades were another issue, but we seemed okay with pee. Sure, there were a few accidents here and there but he was even managing to stay dry through the night, most nights.

We've tried bribery. We've tried empowering him. We've tried taking things away. We've been soft and supportive. We've ignored it completely. We've tried letting him go pantsless but quite frankly that grosses me out as he has a tendency towards "sharts" when he's trying his best to hold in his business. Lovely.

It's been over a year. Over the last few months he's gotten worse and worse at letting us know he has to pee, and the accidents have been getting more and more frequent. He will NOT speak at preschool, so occasionally the accidents happened there. In one span of three days he peed his pants eight times, plus of course the daily weapons of mass destruction.

That was it. We were done. We are back in Pull-Ups after a YEAR of potty training. We are not typically prone to throwing in the towel on anything, but we are mentally and emotionally spent. This kid can stay in Pull-Ups until he's thirty if he has to. Do you think Pull-Ups might condsider sponsoring me?!

He turns four in a few weeks and we've been saying that when he turns four he'll be a "big boy" and have to use the potty all by himself. Maybe the stress of that date looming as been the cause of the accidents and his refusal to alert us to his urges. But honestly, I do not know what else to try. We could go back to ignoring it, or I could put sheets over everything, including the carpet and hardwood, and take off the pants again. Shudder.

Part of the problem, I THINK, is that he's just so freaking adaptable. He'll pretty much go along with any situation presented to him. It's like his reality shifts and he moves on - "Oh. I have a poop in my pants the size of an avocado. This is my new reality. Okay. Now where are my trains?"

I just don't know. This seems longer than ANY other potty training saga I have ever heard, but I have noticed that the only people that tend to talk about it are the ones that magically trained their kid in a week or two. I have a note for these people: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. If I am telling you that I have been dealing with puddles and poop for over a year, DO NOT tell me how exceptional your child is at managing his own bodily functions. I don't want to hear it. That was a story for a year ago. Not for a parent that is at her wit's end, envisioning her son going off to college with his Costco-sized box of training pants.

So there you have it. The long-winded update on the continuing saga of potty training in the House of Awesome. Or in this case, Not-So-Awesome.

Seriously, Pull-Ups...call me.

Baby Gourmet - A Review of Some Pretty Awesome Baby Food

I recently had the opportunity to review Baby Gourmet baby food. The little miss is now 16 months old, but with the fact that she's still only got six teeth, purees are really where it's at! We always have a stock of jar baby food in the cupboard for those "just in case" days where we need something quick and easy, or our chosen dinner plan won't blend well for her.

The founders of Baby Gourmet are quoted as saying "Why feed it to your baby if you wouldn't eat it yourself?" I'm not typically one for dipping into my daughter's meals once they're all blended up, especially if it's the jar stuff, but let's call this my "Aha! moment." More like my DUH moment.

Baby Gourmet food is 100% organic, free of thickeners and fillers. It's a Canadian company, started by two busy moms. Every recipe originates in co-founder Jen Broe's home kitchen.

But that's all on the website. What isn't on the website is how our daughter gobbled it up like it was her last meal on earth. Every flavour, every meal. Flavours include Apple Sweet Potato Berry Swirl, Old Fashioned Apple Crisp, Juicy Pear and Garden Greens, our family favourite - Vanilla, Banana and Berry Risotto. Are you SURE this is baby food?

Even if she had a mouthful of chompers, purees will always be an option. I mean, I still like applesauce and I'm 35, right? And this packaging is certainly a lot more convenient than the heavy glass jar option. The package is BPA free. I wish it was recyclable at any facility, but at least the cap is. When we were in Mexico we were able to throw a couple of these in the diaper bag to take on the plane. Super convenient.

You're probably thinking that this organic manna from Heaven is only available at health food stores, Whole Foods, Choices Markets and the like. Nope. This awesome product is available at WALMART. Seriously. It's also available at www.babygourmet.com and they offer free shipping. I have yet to actually check out the pricing at Walmart, so I can't say whether it's cheaper than on the website. On the site a case of 12 (all the same flavour) sells for $33.99, or you can get a sample of three flavours, three pouches each (for a total of nine pouches if you're arithmetically challenged) for $19.99. Yes, it's a little more than some of the jarred food out there, but what organic food isn't?

This product is great. It's Canadian, it's organic and it's a company founded by moms. And the little miss LOVES it.  This was absolutely one of the easiest reviews I've ever written.

Now get down to Walmart and get some!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

So a year ago (actually a year and 12 days ago – oops), I signed up with Blogger and started this blog. I had never blogged before and didn’t know much about the “blogosphere,” the incredible community that exists out there on the Internet. The amazing people I’ve connected with – bloggers, readers, followers, friends – have made me better. A better writer, a better mom, a better wife, a better person.

I called the blog Finding My Weigh because a large part of this blog has been about my weight loss journey. Making the process public made a huge difference to my success, keeping me accountable to myself and my readers who were looking to me for inspiration. I never felt I had to only post about successes, because the very act of admitting I was struggling brought me closer to others. We could share the challenges and celebrate the successes when they did happen.

And speaking of challenges…

This past week has been extremely challenging, being at a work conference centered in a hotel with seemingly never-ending food. Literally, every time we left the session rooms for breaks there would be a huge array of pastries, breads, and yummy treats. The lunches they served were fairly healthy, but right next to the lunch buffet was always THE most ridiculous display of desserts, mostly cakes. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Not to mention the fact that I was jet-lagged and busy the whole week so my good intentions of going to the gym every day turned into only going twice. Yes, that’s still decent, but I was sitting most of the day and really needed that physical activity. Unfortunately the excuses were coming fast and furious and I wasn’t very good at fighting them off.

I am currently on the plane on my way home. I feel fat. I have been congested and feeling “off” all week because of the hotel’s air conditioning. I know I’m coming close to that lovely time of the month, but I cannot explain away the bloated, puffy feeling with these excuses. I am pretty sure I gained at least five pounds. The problem with gaining such an intimate understanding of my weight and body is that I have immediate, very real feedback on my poor choices. (Actually, I guess that’s not really a problem!) My jeans aren’t as loose as they were. My waist isn’t as flat as it was this time last week. I made fairly smart choices most of the time, eating smaller portions and lots of veggies, while watching others eat pastries, slather butter on buns, take two servings of dessert at every meal, etc. But I wasn’t as good or as on track as I could have been.

A few months after starting Weight Watchers, something went “click.” I came to the realization that I will have to live and eat mindfully, consciously, every day for the rest of my life if I want to stay in this new body. I can get lazy and go back to the way I lived before, but I know that pretty quickly I would be in a body I wasn’t happy with. It almost feels like I forgot that realization for a few days, or at least ignored it.

I have had trouble finding time to blog lately, unable to manage my time to make it a priority. I can’t help feeling that there is a correlation between my not writing and my lack of will power this past week. Blogging keeps me honest. My readers keep me honest. And I obviously need that on a regular basis to stay on track.

I dread getting on the scale tomorrow morning but I will do it. I’m looking forward to getting back to “normal” food, and regular exercise. And feeling better in my body.

And blogging. I’m looking forward to blogging. A year and twelve days ago I started something really amazing. I’m certainly not touting my success as a blogger, saying that I’m amazing at what I do. What IS amazing is the connection I’ve made with others, and the self-awareness I’ve gained through sharing my thoughts and experiences. Blogging has truly changed my life.

Thank you for sharing this with me. Whether you’ve been around for the last 377 days or just started reading today, thank you.

Wish me luck on that scale.

Oh Right! I Have A Blog!

I am so sorry. I have let life get in the way of blogging. Forgive me.

We went to Mexico for a week and I specifically took along my trusty little netbook with every intention of writing some blog posts while there. Not a chance.

We got back and I swore I would post in time for my one year "blogaversary," February 22. Nope.

I have a review planned of some AWESOME baby food (Baby Gourmet) but I didn't want that to be the first post after being away for so long so I procrastinated and postponed once again.

I am currently in Toronto on business and for the last three days have been swearing up and down that I would write something. Then today I met a colleague from across the country that I had never met before. Our jobs never intersect so we'd never even emailed each other but it turns out she is a reader of this blog (Hi Kirsten!). Small world, and she mentioned that she'd noticed I'd kind of dropped off the face of the planet.

Again, I'm sorry. Blogging is like weight maintenance. It's a commitment and if you don't stick with it things can go a little off the rails!

I have several posts percolating and I promise I will get to them, but for now here's the scoop:

- After a year of potty training we have taken the little man back to Pull-Ups. This is a blog post all its own, so I'll leave it at that and post this story in its entirety soon.

- I'm having some challenges with maintenance but no real slip ups to speak of. This week of conference food ismaking it increasingly difficult but I will get through. I actually LOST weight in Mexico (and no, not because of bad water) because we walked up and down a 75 degree hill at least twice every day.

- I would still like to write a post about my blogaversary as this past year of blogging has had an incredible impact on my life. It may end up being a "Happy Year And 12 Days" blogaversary but it will get written.

For now, that's the catch up. I will be in touch again shortly but for now it's bedtime. Our hotel room is sweltering and the thermostat is already as low as it can go, so maybe I can sweat off some of the delicious food they've been plying us with since Wednesday.

Sweet dreams!

G.