Since putting together my first list of toddler essentials last year, I wanted to share a little update of 10 things I've found helpful in the past year for the 2 to 3-year-old set. 01. Nap mat by Little Bean - Ruby starts preschool in a couple months, and I've been searching high and low for a nap mat/toddler sleeping blanket with simple (not too kiddy) patterns. It's been really tough to find ones I like until these came out recently. They are a little more expensive than other mats, but they are all organic which I love. 02. Honest sunscreen stick - We've been hitting the beach regularly this summer, and this stick is super convienent for applying sunscreen to Ruby's face especially when she's in the middle of playing and needs a new layer of coverage quickly. 03. Water Wow books by Melissa & Doug - My friend, Naomi, gave one of these to Ruby, and she loves it. It's perfect for keeping her busy at restaurants or on a long flight. 04. Little Looster potty stool - This might not look like anything special, but I love that it wraps around the base of any toilet making it so much easier for a potty-trained toddler to reach the toilet and to rest their feet (which is super helpful when potty training).
05. Melissa & Doug child-safe scissors - Ruby is obsessed with cutting paper right now, and I love that it helps develop her fine motor skills while giving her a crafty activity to work on. 06. Pons Avarcas sandals - These are pretty much Ruby's go-to shoes. They're cute, comfy, have great grip for sandals, and hold up well in sand or on the beach. 07. Juice-in-the-Box drink cup - One of my recent missions in life has been to find a non-leaking sip cup. This one is the best I've found so far and is easy for a toddler to open and close on their own. 08. Primo folding potty - When they're little butts are too small to fit on a real potty, these are super helpful when using public restrooms. I keep one in my bag wherever we go. 09. Magic Bumpers for a toddler bed - Since Ruby's big girl bed isn't against a wall, we added these bumpers underneath her sheets and they're perfect for preventing her from falling off. 10. Custom trail mix - For a high-protein snack with lots of good fats, I love making my own trail mix for Ruby filled with nuts, dried fruit, and Greek yogurt chips.
What are some of your toddler must-haves? {Top photo by Bob Cho} Claire Keeler, RN, CPNP, CDE is a pediatric nurse practitioner and a diabetes educator currently based in Austin, Texas.My mom and nana hadn’t even been here for 24 hours before they had potty-trained our child. It was like it was no big deal, and right before my eyes, she went from a baby in diapers to a KID who will tell me she needs to go potty, go, and then ask for jelly beans. I’m still in shock. For quite a while, we’ve been casually approaching the potty training thing. I figured when she was ready it would happen, I bought her a cool potty seat with princesses on it, and some organic jelly beans from Whole Foods (chocolate chips and natural mini marshmallows work well, too). We would ask her occasionally if she wanted to sit on the potty, and afterwards, she got one treat for trying and three if she went. (Pre-kid I would have scoffed at the idea of using treats for potty training. Now I know that it totally works.
Apparently we weren’t consistent enough about it. I had read things about the 3-day method online, and to be honest, the thought of her running around the house naked with the ability to erm, relieve herself on the rugs made me break into hives. So I decided not to roll with that method, keep it fun and casual, and trust that Liv would tell me when she was ready to really start potty training. Because, the nanas aka potty wizards swooped in and made it happen. It just one day! My nana handed Livi a small wrapped package and when she opened the pack of Minnie Mouse panties, she was ecstatic. She handed them to me and asked me to wash them so she could wear them 🙂 After they were clean (plus some more cute ones that the nanas got her at Target), we’ve been diaper-free ever since (except for nap and bedtime). We’ve even gone on outings and knock on wood, no probs at all. I Here are the potty-training tips from my mom and nana since they’ve been through the wringer (seven kids between the two of them + six grandkids).
Set up a routine. Take them to the potty first thing when they wake up to start the day. They’ll also need to be asked during meals since their little digestive system starts working, mid-morning, before and after nap, mid afternoon and before bed. Ask them ALL the time if they have to go potty and give them the opportunity to go. The first day, I’m sure this is why we had no accidents because they may have asked her a thousand times if she needed to go potty. Consistency makes a huge difference. nce they’re occasionally going in the potty, give them chance to go in the morning and put them in underwear the rest of the day (except for naptime). Ask them all the time if they need to go, give them lots of liquids, and give them the opportunity to go often throughout the day. When they’re successful, make it a huge party. I may or may not do the most ridiculous potty dance when we have success. I’m already embarrassed typing this post so I might as well put it all out there.
When it doesn’t happen, no big deal. You try again later. My mom said today that we need to get a little timer so that if the timer goes off and she hasn’t gone yet, we’ll just try again later. She’s already noticed that it can be a huge delay tactic. Keep an extra set of clothes and a ziploc bag in the car, just in case. If they have an accident, don’t make them feel badly about it. Just tell them “pee pee goes in the potty” and leave it at that 😉 Don’t force it. We kept things lighthearted and fun, and never made it feel like it was something she HAD to do. We gave her lots of praise when she wanted to give it a whirl. Get a potty seat they like. We also have this Baby Bjorn one, but the princess one really got the ball rolling. They also have the little potties that are more convenient for the kids to get to, but I didn’t want something extra to sanitize throughout the day. It’s been an exciting week over here 🙂 Mamas: any tips or tricks that worked well for you? Ple