The Doctors are Coming! July 16, 2008

I am very pleased to announce that I’ve just agreed to appear on an upcoming episode of THE DOCTORS, a new show from CBS!

I will be discussing early potty training and demonstrating communication through sign language with my 14-month-old son, Noah. I will also share my experiences of potty-training my three-year-old, Joseph, using the conventional “pull-ups” method. 

You can read about our journey using the  Baby Signs Potty Training Kit in these blog entries: 
1. Potty-Training at 13 Months
2. Potty-Training = Green Baby
3. Early Potty-Training Success
4. June is Potty-Training Awareness Month!
5. Infant Potty-Training–Er, Mommy-Training
6. Potty-Baby: Almost Trained at 14 Months

Want to know more about this new television show? They say it best:

From the creative team behind the long-running hit series “Dr. Phil” comes THE DOCTORS, a new, one-hour syndicated daytime talk show. For the first time on daytime television, viewers will have a source of reliable and fascinating medical and health advice, dispensed daily by a distinguished panel of five “on-call” professionals. THE DOCTORS will premiere nationwide in September 2008 (Check local listings for station and time). 

Story-driven, dynamic and interactive, THE DOCTORS does for health care what DR. PHIL has done for down-to-earth discussions of emotional and psychological issues. The series’ experts will focus on the compelling, real-life experiences of the show’s guests and then weigh in, disseminating valuable information about health, medical care and drugs in a compelling, informal, easy-to-understand and entertaining format. 

The team of doctors are five top practicing professionals, each with a different specialty — ER physician (and former ABC “Bachelor” in Paris) Dr. Travis Stork; psychologist Dr. Tara Fields, Ph.D., M.F.P.; obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Lisa Masterson; plastic surgeon and reconstructive surgery expert Dr. Andrew Ordon; and pediatrician Dr. James Sears. 

Viewers are also encouraged to “Ask the Doctors” by submitting their questions and experiences to the show’s website about the health care issues that matter the most to them. Answers may be delivered on-air, or become the basis for a larger, produced segment. With its fluid format, THE DOCTORS covers a broad range of subjects, especially news-breaking, topical issues. The show features on-set medical procedures, either directly in front of the studio audience or in its backstage examining room, and off-site “house calls.”  This medical dream team will be the “must-go-to” source for information on the latest medical breakthroughs and cutting-edge practices and procedures, providing a valuable resource for viewers who might not have access to the most updated medical advances.

Five medical practitioners, with five different specialties, five days a week, discuss what people need to know to live their best lives. If it matters to you, it matters to THE DOCTORS.

THE DOCTORS, taped in front of a live audience in Hollywood, is produced by Stage 29 Productions and distributed by CBS Television Distribution. Jay McGraw, Carla Pennington and Dr. Phil McGraw are executive producers.  CBS Television Distribution is a unit of CBS Corp.

If you are willing to teach your little one to become diaper-free (and help the environment by decreasing the impact of disposable diapers on landfills!) please purchase your Baby Signs Potty Training Kit through my Amazon store. The wee kickback I get pays for the environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies I use for cleaning up Noah’s “accidents” along the way. Thank you!
If you have attempted (or succeeded!) at early potty-training, I would love to hear from you!

Potty Baby — Almost Trained at 14 Months July 5, 2008

Sixty percent of the time, my baby uses the potty every time.
(–with a nod to Anchorman, The Legend of Ron Burgundy, for all you now questioning my logic.)

Frankly, it’s as true as it can be. Everywhere I go, women smile admirably at me, gasping in wonder at my infant in big-boy undies (He has ones with the Superman “S” emblazoned on his booty), and while Noah does use the potty about 60% of the time, these admiring gaspers already consider him ”potty-trained.” Why? He is not entirely out of dipes, but he is able to go out of the house in honest-to-goodness underwear—and that’s a whole lot more than most mothers training 2- and 3-year-old preschoolers can say. Trust me, I’ve been there. Earlier this year, in fact.

We just completed our 2-week bare-bottom adventure. Noah absolutely loves the freedom; putting him in a diaper for bedtime is now met with much protest. (When he is able to stay dry through the night, I will gladly give our diapers away.) Because I must always be on the lookout for Noah’s signals, and women are always approaching me about my baby’s lack of diaper-age, the topic of early training is always on the tip of my tongue. This formerly quiet writer who generally keeps to herself has become quite the passionate advocate: My mommy’s group has asked me to speak on the topic; I was recently toasted for my efforts at a baby shower; and I can’t count how many times in the last 14 days I’ve commented, ”it’s a HUNDRED times easier to do it with a baby,” combined with, “do you realize the average baby uses 5000 diapers? Consider the impact on the environment!” (My husband Joseph, burdened with the unpleasant task of changing the diaper pail, would also like me to add how relieved he is.) I’m fanatical, and if you’re a SAHM with little one still in diapers and zero time to chat with adults, early training may be all the conversation-starter you’ll need at the checkout.

The Baby Signs Potty Training kit is only 40 bucks–less than the price of a case of diapers. Actually, I think Amazon has it on sale right now… yes! $26.37! Consider how much you spend on diapers and wipes, then calculate that by 5,000 (that’s if your baby uses 5 diapers a day and is trained by 2.75 years.) Let’s see, Amazon has cases of 140 Pampers Cruisers Size 4 for 39.99. You would spend $1,400.00 by the time your baby was trained. Wouldn’t you rather take 2 weeks and $26.37, and open the lines of communication through sign language with your little cherub, put the extra cash in savings, help the environment, and facilitate your child’s confidence and independence by using the toilet? And I won’t even ask what could be cuter than seeing your own child’s bare butt wriggling about every day for 2 weeks?

Here is our Progress Report: The first few days were not unlike the first 3 months of new motherhood–getting out of the house was a logistical feat involving the potty, multiple outfits, a cover for the car seat, diapers in case I chickened out, wipes, and toys to keep him interested during potty breaks. We soon figured out what we needed and what we didn’t. I got into the practice of putting Noah on the potty in the back of my SUV when we arrived and departed from our destination, and he got the message quickly to wait or do the potty sign on the road.

This is a really important point because, as my husband points out, the “potty-training relationship” we’ve built with our son is not the traditional concept of self-control (at this point) so much as taking turns telling each other when potty time has arrived. For instance, Noah knows he will use his potty when he gets up in the morning and grunts his word for it and does the sign until I place him on it. After breakfast, he will point at it from his highchair, or I will simply place him on it, knowing what will come next. Our day goes along as such, with Noah holding for potty visits he knows are imminent from experience, or with me putting him on and entertaining him until he goes. We are so very pleased with his success, and of course as parents we make note of our son’s uncommonly superior intellect.

This experience has created a bond of trust, love and communication I never thought possible. Teaching only a few sign language words has also opened the door to my son’s vocabulary; he is an enthusiastic repeater of words and phrases, and we are just as enthusiastically encouraging him. Can I draw a connection between my son’s toilet habits and his ability to say letters and make their sounds at 14 months? I am willing to say that when you become as engaged to your child as early training requires, your baby will certainly surprise you.

If you are willing to teach your little one to become diaper-free (and help the environment by decreasing the impact of disposable diapers on landfills!) please purchase your Baby Signs Potty Training Kit through my Amazon store. The wee kickback I get pays for the environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies I use for cleaning up Noah’s “accidents” along the way. Thank you!
If you have attempted (or succeeded!) at early potty-training, I would love to hear from you!

Infant Potty Training—Er, Mommy Training June 25, 2008

Today was the toughest day yet in our effort to become a diaper-free household. It has been exactly 20 days since we started, and if you’ve been reading along, you know how thrilled I’ve been with our success with the Baby Signs Potty Training Kit. Noah has taken quite easily to the potty and while I was nervous about embarking on a two-week “bare-bottom” period last Thursday, we said a prayer and leaped. And boy, have we learned, oh how we’ve learned.

It is important that I reiterate that this adventure is coinciding with weaning. I cannot imagine a more powerful and dramatic substitute for the inherent bonding breastfeeding allows. And for all you mommies who weren’t able or chose not to breastfeed for whatever reason, I absolutely must impress upon you that if you’d like a taste of the fairytale bonding of which nursing mothers always sing the praises, by all means try early potty training. It is bonding to the nth degree, my lovelies. And the end result may be comparable in the long run, especially at school; I argue that babies who are extremely well-tended-to are more confident and comfortable with themselves and their immediate world, and therefore more willing and eager to be open to new challenges, socializing and learning experiences.

Perhaps that’s why I’m so exhausted today (the “extremely well-tended-to” part), or it could be the hormonal roller-coaster I’ve been on since I stopped breastfeeding. I’m also wrestling with some recent comments from my neighbor and the pediatrician I mentioned in June is Potty-Training Awareness Month.  My neighbor is a good and trusted friend who has two kids roughly the same ages as Noah and Joseph. She is eager and excited to hear all the details about how to potty train her 9-month-old infant, but she wants to wait to see if “it’s really worth all the trouble.” An environmentalist, she does use cloth diapers, and is happy to do so until her little guy gets old enough to pull down his own pants to use the potty. So I keep asking myself: is it worth it? (and my answer remains the same. Yes! It took 15 months to complete potty-training with my toddler Joseph and never once was it easy. Training Noah, for the most part, is as simple as putting him on the potty when it’s time to go.) The pediatrician, on the other hand, insists on calling early training an “alternative to diapering.” What she means, in general, is that an infant is too young to understand the concept of potty training and so it is actually the caretaker who is trained, watching the baby’s cues and offering the potty at the appropriate time. However, there is a hole in her theory; Noah is holding his number two’s until he can get to the potty! Maybe it’s time for a Potty-Training Report Card:

• The obvious worry about going bare-bottom is cleaning up accidents. What I was amazed to find is that Noah is already aware when his diaper is off and will stay dry for an hour or longer. I make sure to place him on the potty about 2 or 3 times an hour, and he will sit there as long as we are engaged in something fun: a song with hand gestures, reading a book, practicing our American sign language, playing with stacking cups, etc., usually 3-5 minutes is all that’s necessary.
• As I mentioned, Noah is holding his poops until he gets to the potty. This is the heart-breaking part for me—there have been two times (and two is plenty, I can assure you) when I misread his cries for something else (e.g.: he was tired or hungry) when really he was desperate to get to the potty. When I finally figured it out and placed him on it, he did his business successfully, but I felt horrible for not understanding. Looking back, he had been frantically gesturing a crude interpretation of the ASL sign for potty and I didn’t recognize it. The child is working so hard to communicate with me, he is trying to put his two’s in the right place, and I’m this blind dolt. The worst-case scenario is that he becomes afraid of not having his potty needs met and becomes a chronic “holder.” Bad mommy!
• To repeat myself, yes, he is now doing more signs. He really likes “more”, especially as it applies to milk. He also does the “milk” sign, and–ta da!–the “potty” sign! He is saying the word potty, too. Oh, and “choo choo!” like in the kit’s DVD. However, he also has a special cry for having to use the potty, thanks to those two occasions listed above. But I know it now and I promise to do better!
• I must never leave the house without the potty. He is not interested in using a big toilet. If I have the potty with me, he will stay dry through the car/stroller ride; I take him to the bathroom as soon as we arrive at our destination.
• He has not yet stayed dry during naps or overnight, and the resulting laundry is nothing short of depressing. It doesn’t help that he likes to have a bottle just before bed, either. At this point, we are keeping him in a diaper for sleep. I don’t want to confuse him, but I also want him/us to get some sleep!

I have to say again that the closeness between my son and I as a result of this program is awe-inspiring. To be successful, I really must be at his side at all times. I watch his cues, listening to his sounds, interpreting his hand gestures, keeping tabs on what and when he eats and drinks—we are connected at every level. He depends on me in a way he never has; as a newborn, he nursed for all his sustenance and we were inseparable. This is so much more intense bonding because our trust is already established and now he communicates with me, he seeks my help to accomplish a shared goal. We are partners, yet I am his guide. During our many, many potty visits throughout the day (he uses the potty about 4-10x daily), those visits are periods of complete and uninterrupted interaction. He has more quality time with me than I even thought humanly possible.

So, as I began, today was our hardest day yet. For whatever reason, little Noah wet himself (and the floor) all day long. Typically, we might (might!) have one accident a day. What happened? It could have been the pesky hormones, but in the middle of the afternoon, I actually cried because I just wanted to put him in a diaper for the rest of the day and start again tomorrow. He was miserable being wet, I was miserable cleaning it up. He still did all his number two’s in the potty, however. We’d been making such wonderful progress, getting better and better every day, I really hadn’t seen this coming. I wonder if it was just a random blip? Tomorrow, we will start fresh.

If you are willing to teach your little one to become diaper-free (and help the environment by decreasing the impact of disposable diapers on landfills!) please purchase your Baby Signs Potty Training Kit through my Amazon store. The wee kickback I get pays for the environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies I use for cleaning up Noah’s “accidents” along the way. Thank you!
If you have attempted (or succeeded!) at early potty-training, I would love to hear from you!

Curious about how we’re doing? Read about it in the next installment: Potty Baby–Almost Trained at 14 Months

June is Potty-Training Awareness Month! June 17, 2008

The potty party keeps on rolling! My 13-Month-Old Noah is now on Day 10 of his potty-training adventure with  Baby Signs Potty Training Kit. He has happily made a “deposit” in his potty between 1-5 times each day from the first day. (If you would like to read about our auspicious start, please refer to 1. Potty-Training at 13 Months; 2. Potty-Training = Green Baby; and 3. Early Potty-Training Success.) I believe he would do it more frequently if we were more diligent during outings.

Co-creator of the Baby Signs program, Dr. Linda Acredolo, Professor Emeritus, UC Davis, has kindly lent her expertise to our efforts.

Rebecca: Currently, I’m offering the potty at times when I know or can guess when Noah will need it (after meals, etc.) Should I transition to offering it at regular intervals, gently teaching him when he can expect it? My goal is that he will hold it until the time he knows he can relieve himself. He is entering an age where he is learning to anticipate routines; it seems like that would be the appropriate thing to do. 

Linda Acredolo, PhD:You make an excellent point about the increasing salience of routines at this age. What I might suggest is a compromise between the two approaches; That is, by maintaining the most obvious times (upon waking, after meals)—but perhaps gradually lengthening the time span a bit before you take him, and adding visits at other times that make sense in another way (e.g.: for your convenience, such as before leaving the house and before bed.)

Rebecca: I’ve still got him in disposable diapers, and my landfill guilt is mounting. Would it speed the process if I put him in cloth diapers, so he can feel when he is wet and be impelled to use the potty to ease his discomfort? 

Linda Acredolo, PhD:  Yes, that’s an excellent idea. Now that the weather’s warm, you might try even letting him spend some time naked. That’s one reason children train more easily in the summertime.

For Noah, the process of potty-training has produced a disdain for diapers. He will gladly cruise about in his birthday-suit and puts up quite a fuss when I try to diaper him after a potty visit. So far, however, this has meant that mommy has to remain on standby with the environmentally-friendly disinfectant. I’ve begun to wonder if and when Noah will begin to “hold it” between visits. He hasn’t yet performed the American Sign Language gesture for potty, so I don’t get a lot of fore-warning. It’s really amazing; the child can say a handful of words and phrases including “good morning”, “backpack”, and “garden”—but he won’t say or sign ”potty” even once?! I guess I’ll just have to wait.

*We were recently playing at a local learning center for children aged 0-5 years when I questioned the teaching staff about early training. They were startled to hear that little Noah is potty-training (which I chalk up to a limited “Western” view), suggesting it may be a hopeless venture—a point I politely ignored. The proof is in the potty, after all. Interestingly, they also assured me that it is “physiologically impossible” for a child Noah’s age to hold or control his ones and twos.* I brought it up with Linda, and this is what she offered:

Linda Acredolo, PhD: The fact that before the invention of the disposable diaper in the 1960s, children in the United States were routinely potty trained by 18 months is clear evidence that these abilities are available at least by early in the second year. Moreover, even today, parents in over 50 other countries seem to have no trouble figuring out how to potty-train their children by 18 months. American children simply can’t be that biologically immature in comparison to children from other countries. Of course, there’s great variability in when children develop the ability to hold their pee for a reasonable length of time, but, like any physical skill, acquiring a sense of what muscles are involved helps—and that’s what gradually happens as children use the potty. They begin to assume that pee belongs in the potty and the stronger that assumption, the more automatic it becomes to work on holding in the pee until they are in the right place. It’s clear that there’s still a very strong prejudice out there against early training. It will probably take word of mouth between successful parents (via blogs these days!) to gradually shake those old assumptions. You’re certainly doing your part!

*At our next visit to the learning center, the head teacher had discussed the topic with the learning program’s pediatrician. The pediatrician made it clear that we should call this an “alternative to diapering”, not potty-training, because kids under two “can’t” potty train. (Sheesh! Come to my house already!) What I find ironic is that the pediatrician also noted that her friend recently adopted a baby from China who is already potty-trained (or shall we say, chooses a “diaper-alternative lifestyle”), noting that the window for potty-training in China is between 0-6 months. Even more puzzling, the adopting mother has opted to put the infant in diapers rather than continue with using the potty. (Even as I write this, I feel saddened; a) the baby now has to sit in her own pee and poo for the first time in her life, and b) she’ll have to potty-train all over again with someone who isn’t willing to learn how to manage a child’s toilet habits.) Is this progress?

Read the next installment, Early Potty Ttaining—Er, Mommy Training, click here.

If you are willing to teach your little one to become diaper-free (and help the environment by decreasing the impact of disposable diapers on landfills!) please purchase your Baby Signs Potty Training Kit through my Amazon store. The wee kickback I get pays for the environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies I use for cleaning up Noah’s “accidents” along the way. Thank you!
If you have attempted (or succeeded!) at early potty-training, I would love to hear from you!

Early Potty-Training Success! June 10, 2008

We are on Day 6 of using the Baby Signs Potty Training Kit, and my 13-month-old son has used his potty faithfully at least once every single day from the day we received it. Today, in fact, he used it four times! Over the weekend, he even did his twosies on the full-size toilet, supported by my husband. I am not just typing this post, I am gushing it. Honestly, I can’t stop talking about it. (You can read my first impressions in these posts: Potty-Training at 13 Months, Early Potty-Training = Green Baby.)

The reason I’m so thrilled is because we just finished training my older son, and this new experience is roughly, oh, 100x easier. Beginning a few months shy of his second birthday, Joseph was trained in the “generally-accepted” method (pull-ups until the child shows signs of being “ready”, then stickers and rewards). He only used his potty sporadically for nine whole months, and wasn’t out of pull-ups until a few months past his THIRD birthday. Consider the expense and landfill impact of that potty-training experience–let alone the frustration for all parties involved. We consistently smiled and cheered him on, however, and I believe I am a better mommy for this extended lesson in patience. 

There are several reasons why the Baby Signs program is working so well for us:

• While we have always showered Noah with love and attention, our baby is glowing from all the additional interaction and praise
• Learning when to offer the potty was similar to learning when my baby is hungry, or how  he likes to be put to sleep
• I’m weaning him right now, and potty-training seems to be replacing nursing as a bonding activity between us. We are very interconnected: watching each other’s signals and making plenty of eye-contact and cuddling. Potty-training is most assuredly a trust-building activity.
• He isn’t frustrated by unmanageable emotions, like a two-year-old who typically reacts with tantrums 
• He loves to mimic whatever we say and do
• When I say, “where is the pee-pee?” and look into the potty, Noah smiles at me and climbs on the potty, finishes, and then looks back in and then at me, as if to say, “there it is!”
• There is no need for stickers or other rewards. Hugs, cheers and dancing about together are prize enough for him.
• While he hasn’t yet made the recommended sign language gestures, he does try to speak the related words (”potty” (Noah says “paw-ee”), “all done”, etc.)

The consistent success of this adventure has motivated me to try to complete the process as quickly—yet painlessly—as possible. I cannot wait to have my little guy in big-kid undies–he’ll be the toast of the playground! (Sippycup toast, that is.) In order to do this, I have a few questions:

• Currently, I’m offering the potty at times when I know or can guess when he’ll need it (after meals, etc.) Should I transition to offering it at regular intervals, gently teaching him when he can expect it? My goal is that he will hold it until the time he knows he can relieve himself. He is entering an age where he is learning to anticipate routines; it seems like that would be the appropriate thing to do.
• I’ve still got him in disposable diapers, and my landfill guilt is mounting. Would it speed the process if I put him in cloth diapers, so he can feel when he is wet and be impelled to use the potty to ease his discomfort?Want to see answers to these questions and read more about our early-training adventure? Read the next installment at June is Potty-Training Awareness Month!

If you are willing to teach your little one to become diaper-free (and help the environment by decreasing the impact of disposable diapers on landfills!) please purchase your Baby Signs Potty Training Kit through my Amazon store. The wee kickback I get pays for the environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies I use for cleaning up Noah’s “accidents” along the way. Thank you!
If you have attempted (or succeeded!) at early potty-training, I would love to hear from you!

Early Potty Training = Green Baby June 6, 2008

The funny thing about potty-training: either a lot happens very quickly, or nothing happens for days… weeks… or months, sadly.

We are only on Day 3 of our adventure with the Baby Signs Potty Training Kit, (read about our triumphs and struggles of day 1 and 2 here!) and I’ll admit it’s been an eye-opening experience.

Yes, Noah used the potty again today, and while good parents don’t compare their children, our success rate this time around is, ahem, noticeable. I’ll give the credit to Baby Signs for even convincing me to start at 13 months, and also to Big Brother Joseph’s help. Not only has Joseph asserted himself as household spokesmodel for potty-training, he is poised and ready to demonstrate the American sign language taught on the kit’s DVD. While only yesterday he was determined not to share his old potty with Noah, today he insists Noah use it.

As you can see, toilet activities are on everyone’s mind at our house. In my previous blog entry, I nicknamed this program, “antique potty-training” because never in history have mothers trained their children so late. With many countries beginning the first month, and several others completing the process by 18 months, it would seem the biggest obstacle barring cherub’s little tushie from big-kid underwear was the advent of disposable diapers. This, in turn, causes me to ponder whether the whole process might go faster if Baby Noah were wearing old-fashioned cloth diapers: the discomfort of wetting himself would encourage his use of the potty, and the poopy laundry would keep me consistent with my support of him.  

I can confidently say we are greener than most households, yet I’m embarrassed to admit we’ve always used disposables. This potty program has made it glaringly clear to me that the sooner Noah is out of diapers, the less impact we’ll make on landfills. According to John A. Shiffert, executive director of the National Association of Diaper Services, the average baby goes through 5,000 diapers before being potty-trained. The EPA reported nearly 3.4 million tons of diaper waste, or 2.1 percent of U.S. garbage, in landfills in 1998. Diapers in landfills in underdeveloped countries are especially problematic because they often aren’t properly disposed, and excrement leaks into the local water supply. 

However, no one can say definitively whether cloth diapers are better for the environment. A new study released in England by London-based Environmental Agency concluded that disposable diapers have the same environmental impact as reusable diapers when the effect of laundering cloth diapers is taken into account. (Not to mention washing extra outfits, and laundering bedding more frequently.) 

Before I calculate wasted water, environmentally-friendly detergent, and electricity from using cloth diapers, I still have to wonder if it might be the right path. My son uses approximately 5 diapers a day currently. That’s 35 a week, or 1820 yearly. If he finishes training by 2.75 years old, he will have used 5,000 diapers. Gasp!

If I can complete his training by 18 months, as Baby Signs contends is possible, we would only use 700. (That still seems outrageous.) Perhaps it would be worth it? Is our biggest obstacle to getting him out of diapers merely the comfort of a stay-dry lining?

Read more about our adventure: Early Potty-Training Success!
If you are willing to teach your little one to become diaper-free (and help the environment by decreasing the impact of disposable diapers on landfills!) please purchase your Baby Signs Potty Training Kit through my Amazon store. The wee kickback I get pays for the environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies I use for cleaning up Noah’s “accidents” along the way. Thank you!
If you have attempted (or succeeded!) at early potty-training, I would love to hear from you!

Potty-Training at 13 Months June 4, 2008

That title was enough to grab your attention? Yes, it’s true. Having just completed potty-training my 3-year-old son only this Spring, you would think I must be crazy to take up the mop and (environmentally-friendly) disinfectant yet again for my baby Noah. I like to think of it as “Antique Potty-Training,” thanks to the Baby Signs Potty Training Kit, which takes a global, historical, environmental and developmental perspective on early training. The more I learn about the program, the more I feel like I would be doing my son a disservice to wait until he’s older.

The kit, which includes a highly-informative and engaging manual, a DVD to watch with your child, reward stickers, a short storybook about riding the “potty train”, and a train whistle to round out the train theme (unfortunately, the attractive wooden whistle in my kit did not work at all. I may have to hunt one down, because both the kids are quite excited about it.) The concept purports that the one-year mark is the ideal time to begin potty-training. I’ll admit that while we were potty-training big-brother Joseph, baby Noah greatly enjoyed observing the process and wanted very much to be part of potty-world. We smiled wistfully (if only!) and held him aside, allowing Joseph his time to shine. However, according to Baby Signs:

• up until the 1960s, 95% of all children were potty-trained by age 18 months. It was a matter of sanity and practicality, I’m sure, for many moms. Consider that until the 1960s, there were no disposable diapers, and before the 1950s, moms didn’t have washing machines. So, you’ve got 5-15 dirty cloth diapers every single day to hand-wash? And what about, only a few decades before that, homes without running water and proper sewage? Those conditions would certainly make early training a no-brainer.
• Baby Signs lists 50 countries worldwide where babies are trained to do their ones and two’s “when prompted” beginning as early as 2-3 weeks of age, who remain mostly dry night and day by 4-6 months. Their mothers help them to relieve themselves in the appropriate place, taking nonverbal cues from baby—just like we Western mothers very quickly learn which sound or gesture means tired, and which means hungry, etc., we can also attune ourselves to baby’s evacuation habits.
• Today, with children in diapers until 37 months on average, the impact of disposables on landfills is enormous–approximately 2000 diapers per child, per year!
• Significantly, the emotional stress of training is greater as the child gets older. In our experience, potty-training during the “terrible two’s” made the issue an ongoing source of control for my son. His relationship with the potty fell alongside the arrival of his brother, beginning nursery school, and the onset of discovering himself as an individual apart from us. Baby Signs points out that a one-year-old, meanwhile, is happy to do whatever brings a smile, isn’t as mobile and therefore less likely to run off the second he or she sets booty upon potty, and hasn’t discovered the Total Meltdown parents of two’s are so familiar with. It’s also important to note that an infant hasn’t yet learned shame or embarrassment, the two things we would never want to impart to our child, even if by accident. (Sorry for the pun!)

OK, so I’ve already put the manual down and swung into action. Day 1: We began teaching Noah the recommended American sign language to establish communication about the potty. He loves itsy-bitsy spider and such, so he is game. We watched the DVD and I sat him on Joseph’s old potty and he was thrilled. I mean, he thought this was the best thing in the world. When Joseph arrived home from preschool and saw his old potty had returned to the bathroom, he was puzzled. I asked him if he would help me teach Noah to use the toilet and he agreed.

Day 2: Joseph loves the potty DVD and wants to see it again and again. Noah doesn’t care and would rather play with his toys or snuggle. When I was about to give Noah his first diaper change after breakfast, I set him on the potty and he went pee-pee!! He didn’t know what he was doing , but he did it!

The rest of the day, Joseph refused the toilet and did all his business in the potty. I tried to capitalize on it by making sure Noah was watching and making sure Joseph understood that he was “helping.” We went out to get a smaller potty, because Noah is only a baby, and then the trouble started. Joseph did not like that Noah was getting something and he was not. He wouldn’t let Noah near it and was screaming to be able to do his business in it. Maybe I shouldn’t make such a big deal, but I think Noah should be the first to, well, christen it. However, every time I tried to let Noah sit on it, Joseph would start howling to use it, and start pushing and shoving. I finally had to give him a timeout, only to have him come out and do it again. So, Noah was stressed out, and Joseph is having a negative experience with –what? Not training, because he’s already trained. With not having enough attention? I’m not sure what to do about this.

Tomorrow is another day. I think that if Noah can learn the sign language for potty, we will go straight to putting him on the toilet and take the new little potty back. I think he was more interested in using Joseph’s old potty anyway, because of what it represents to him–his adored older brother.

I’m very hopeful about this method and promise to be consistent, cheerful and supportive. For some reason, I also need to remind myself that now is the perfect time; I wonder why that is? I guess because with older children, we can tell them to walk over and sit down, we can negotiate. Training Noah is also going to involve a lot more messes because, at his age, he is much more wobbly and he doesn’t realize yet about what’s going on down below. So basically, I guess my parental urge to wait comes from wanting to put more of the potty-training responsibility in the child’s hands. Well, I can redirect that thought right now. This is a great opportunity for my son and I to work together as a team, just like we did when we began nursing. We paid attention to one another’s signals, we occasionally made mistakes, and even when it was 4am and I was exhausted and it was our hundredth feeding that night, it was worth it and we were connected and love was our goal.

Keep track of our success! Read Early Potty Training = Green Baby.
If you are willing to teach your little one to become diaper-free (and help the environment by decreasing the impact of disposable diapers on landfills!) please purchase your Baby Signs Potty Training Kit through my Amazon store. The wee kickback I get pays for the environmentally-friendly cleaning supplies I use for cleaning up Noah’s “accidents” along the way. Thank you!
If you have attempted (or succeeded!) at early potty-training, I would love to hear from you!

Product Review - Theo Chocolate 75% Blend May 30, 2008

I’ve been curious about Seattle-based Theo Chocolate. I’ll admit that attractive packaging can pique my curiosity, and Theo’s enthusiastic commitment to green initiatives, organic farming and fair trade make a product purchase an act of moral justice. (One can never be too dramatic when justifying a chocolate obsession.) The company is the first North American roaster of organic fair-trade cacao. Founder Joseph Whinney pioneered the manufacture and supply of organic chocolate products, importing organic cocoa beans into the US in 1994. Notably, every product is made with “Fair Trade certified cocoa beans,” according to the company’s website.

The packaging is indeed alluring. In April 2008, Theo’s array of gorgeous packaging made Time magazine’s Design 100.

I selected the Ghana-Panama-Ecuador 75% Cacao bar (3oz), a combination of Ghanese cacao, Panamanian cacao from the remote rainforest of Bocas del Toro, and Ecuadorian Arriba cacao. Theo’s Ivory Coast bar sat next to it on the shelf, and when I compared the two, the Ivory smelled infinitely more intriguing; I chose the blend because there were very few left and I felt it was time to break my single-origin habit.

I shouldn’t have. The blended bar seemed fresh, it had no signs of bloom and had a good snap, but the scent and flavor fell flat. Subtle to the point of uninspiring, the bar lacked personality and the finish was uneventful. A beautiful chocolate keeps me ooh-ing and ah-ing long after I’ve finished a single bite. There was nothing to savor with this bar, although searching and hoping I tasted and tested longer than necessary.

I ought to have known better. One of my benchmarks for chocolate tasting is how long it lasts in the pantry. If it goes fast, I note its “Mediocrity Paradox”. Seem contradictory? Therein lies the paradox: more bites than necessary are taken while chasing an expectation of flavor, of satisfaction, a gustatory reward, but the product’s poor quality fails to deliver. Anyone who has eaten a large portion of “fat-free” anything, only to be left stuffed and unsatisfied, understands. I’m willing to argue that all foodies agree that a few bites of something sublime always surpasses a larger portion of any mediocre dish.

That said, the very scent of the Ivory Coast bar, (even through the packaging!) was memorable enough for me to give Theo another shot. And, the next time I’m in Seattle, I will certainly stop by for a factory visit.

If love good food as much as I do, check out my other blog, the Unnassuming Foodie!

Wash my own dishes! What would the neighbors say? May 23, 2008

Have you seen that new commercial for Dixie paper plates? It begins with a mother smiling, “I won’t be defined by the number of dishes I do!”

What the?! How could any person be defined but such an arbitrary activity?
What on earth could this possibly mean? In what situation could this make sense?

At the Mommies Group:
—”Oh, there’s Jane. Did you hear that she does 17 dishes?”
—”I heard it was more like 24! Can you believe it? She must be…”

Be what? Managing a household? Living her life?
Really, who judges someone for cleaning what is soiled?

Maybe what Dixie is trying to infer is that doing dishes means you must be too “poor” to have a dishwasher—and who wants the shame of admitting economic struggle?

Or perhaps what Dixie is getting at is that people who can be defined by the sheer volume of dishes they must wash are fat. After all, how did all those dishes get dirty?

Later in the commercial, another mother shares her relief about how using paper plates allows her more time with her kids. Wouldn’t a mother who has her kids’ best interests in mind prefer to teach them about the environment, recycling and reducing waste? Not to mention the cost saved from not throwing away plate after plate, or the impact on landfills, you would think she’d be more relieved to know she’s protecting her children and grandchildren’s future by also saving some trees.

I’m not anti-paper plate. But I won’t be defined by them, either. And I’m confident that, unlike another one of the ad’s moms, I am stronger than even a Dixie paper plate.

I’m Not Afraid of Fearless Chocolate May 14, 2008

Want to put a smile on my face? Hand me a dark-chocolate bar I’ve never tried before. Better yet, a quirky raw, organic bar like this 72% Midnight from Fearless Chocolate. That’s just what my husband did when he returned from a business trip to Vegas, where he enjoyed lunch at GoRaw Cafe, purveyor of Fearless Chocolate.

Company owner Jordan Schuster founded Fearless Chocolate only a few years ago, in San Francisco–a neighbor to our beloved Scharffen Berger and the popular Ghirardelli. What makes Fearless Chocolate different is that it is made with raw cacao—aka unroasted. The package states that the cacao is prepared at a low heat (under 118 degrees), “preserving the natural nutrients, enzymes, amino acids and antioxidents.” It is also sweetened with rapadura, essentially pure dried sugarcane juice, a traditional sweetener common in Latin American countries such as Brazil and Venezuela (where it is known as papelón) and the Caribbean.

What’s odder (and irresistibly charming) is that the packaging (and website) appear as nothing fancier than chalkboard drawings, underscoring the bar’s back-to-basics organic nature.

When I opened it, I noticed the bar is die-cut to suggest a bite has taken from it. The idea behind this is explained as follows: ”this bite is given to folks who need to eat chocolate as much as you.” When I checked the website, it would seem that no giving has been done to date, although the company requests recipient nominations. Hmm, maybe locate pre-menstrual tension sufferers who would/could never pay $5.98 for a single chocolate bar? (Yes, you read that correctly. SIX bucks!) Or maybe package up those little bites for wee trick-or-treaters on a raw diet, who are never able to enjoy even a fraction of their loot?

But what does it taste like? It tastes like raw cacao, folks, and that’s a big compliment. My bar had no signs of bloom. It did not snap as sharply as a fine, roasted counterpart might, however. Its scent is earthy and nutty, and I could detect its included cinnamon, sea salt and vanilla. The texture is very grainy, from start to finish; This is to be expected, considering its production process.

Only a few squares in, and I am delighted by its wholesomeness and balanced composition. I am a person who keeps a bag of raw, organic cacao powder in the fridge, stirring it into plain yogurt with agave nectar at alarmingly frequent rates, so perhaps I am biased.  My overall impression is that is a wonderfully delicious and nutritious treat. Surprisingly low in calories and sugar content, I daresay it’s pretty low-glycemic, although bars sweetened with agave are available by special order. Fearless Chocolate also offers the following varieties: Nice Rice Milk, Mynt, and Baanaanaa Waalnut, but for some mysterious reason, you can’t order from the Fearless website! And, it’s worthwhile to note that the company blog is powered by WordPress.

If love good food as much as I do, check out my other blog, the Unnassuming Foodie!