Being more Green

So we are on our second bottle of sodium laureth sulphate free shampoo.  I am not sure if it is just that the second bottle isn't working well but my hair is NASTY!!  Here I was thinking I might try no-poo (using baking soda and vinegar), but now I am too scared.  

So I thought I would try Lush's shampoo bars, because there is no packaging.  I got them home and was all excited until I read the ingredients and saw they have SLS in them!! UGH!  I just can't win.  I don't like to be wasteful so I will use them up, and hopefully next time around I can find one that is both SLS-free and comes in a bar.

FYI why SLS is bad (without getting into details - you can do a search):

1: Can penetrate eyes and tissues and can stay in the tissues... especially children and babies

2: Strips moisture & oils away = damaged hair and skin

3: Can apparently cause damage to DNA in cells according to Japanese studies

4: Forms Nitrates - carcinogen 

5: Produces Nitrosamines - carcinogen

I have also started using the popular Dr. Bronner's soap.  I am loving it!  It smells so nice and seems to do a great job.  People use it for everything.  I am thinking we will need to go on a monthly trip to The Big Carrot (great natural product/ food store).

We have been using green versions of every cleaning product and I only use vinegar and water to clean with now.  I am a bit of a neat/ clean freak and I am very happy with all these products.   I really got into this before I started TTC because I wanted to avoid exposure to toxins as much as possible.

EC - graduation in sight?

Pookie has been doing SO well with using the potty. It has been 3 weeks and I think we have had one accident - when she had a tantrum and lost control. She is even in undies while she is with my mom!! I think the next step is for me to let her have a chance to tell me when she needs to go. To get back on track after the holidays I had to remind her a lot, but now she seems to want to tell me. She will race over to me saying "poo poo, poo poo" (her word for both #1 and 2). I am just fearful of accidents. It feels so good to go so long without one, but perhaps one step back will = more steps forward.

She is still waking up with a very wet diaper in the morning, but she nurses a lot at night. I could put her on the potty, but with sleep being so poor lately I am just not interested.

Reading

"A recent study commissioned by Reach Out and Read revealed that the majority of young children — 52 percent — are not being read to on a daily basis. That's 13 million children under 6 years old who are going to bed every night without a bedtime story — without the undivided, loving attention that comes with sharing a favorite book with their parents"
Dr. Barry Zuckerman, Reach Out and Read

I pulled this from someone's post on MDC. I read to Pookie everynight before bed. Usually for 30 minutes. I think should would like it if I read for an hour! She loves her books. I also try to read to her througout the day. She insists on being read to while on the potty as well.

We also are back to going to the library once a week for "Toddler Time", and while we are there we get out new books.

I think it is so important to foster a love of reading. I remember curling up with a book as a teenager and finishing it in one weekend. I loved being transported to another life. And as a little girl I looked forward to my mom reading to us everynight. I especially loved when she would read chapter books to us.

I try to read all kinds of books to Pooks. She still likes her "baby" books, with very simple pictures and text, but she also enjoys Dr. Seuss and books with fairly complex stories like "The Paper Bag Princess". I also like to find books with interesting art work. She likes "Where the Wild Things Are" and also one called "Tis a Gift to Be Simple" which has really complex artwork. She likes trying to find the animals in the pictures which are quite abstract. Her current favourites are nursery rhymes. She really enjoys those.

I am going to make a new goal of reading to her first thing in the morning and before or after her nap. She just enjoys it so much, and sometimes I feel guilty that I don't read to her more... even though she usually gets at least 45 minutes/ day.

Learning

Now we are back to normal after the holidays I have been making sure we do some of her Montessori activities each day.  I pulled out her mug and popsicle sticks and she did that one about 7 times in a row!  It isn't challenging for her but she really enjoyed it.  I have now set up open shelves with puzzles, etc. on them on the main floor and on the second floor.  The basement houses all the more open-ended dramatic play toys.  

I have also been making an effort to work on her ABC's.  I have stapled foam puzzle ABC's on our basement wall and each day I try to do those with her.  She can now recognize P and she knows "P is for Potty or pee pee.  E, M & N she can also recognize, but not consistently.  I try to keep it fun and when she is done with it we move to whatever she wants.   We also play "What is D for... " and she will answer by saying the D sound or saying Daddy.  She can do that for a few letters.

I tried doing shapes with her but she seems more into the ABC's for some reason, so that is why I chose them.  Even colours she isn't too into. 

She is saying more and more words now and can clearly say "mommy" instead of "mama".   I think she is starting to catch up with her language.  Although I don't think she was ever behind... just on the lower end of normal.  The other day she even said "mommy poo poo", which was a big deal since she never has put two words together like that. 

I am trying to not underestimate what she is capable of understanding and learning, but at the same time I don't want to push her or set unrealistic expectations.  I just want to create an environment were she can thrive.

Zoo Day, great EC day

Yesterday is was -18 celcius (0F) when we arrived at the Zoo to meet our friends and their 1 & 3 year old daughters.  We haven't seen this family since Pookie was a few weeks old.  They are also an AP family, so I was really looking forward to having someone to talk to that was on the same page.   I was also excited to see their youngest who we have never met.

We ended up having such a nice day.  Pooks was into some animals more than others.  I actually thought she would be more excited than she was.  Her favourite animals were definitely the Gorilla's her and the 3 year old "B" really enjoyed watching them for quite some time.   I am pretty sure Pookie had the most fun holding B's hand and walking around.  Seeing the two of them made me so excited for having another baby, and seeing our friends two little girls also did.  I think it also got Jeff more excited about baby #2.  He made a comment about wanting my sister to hurry up an decide on her wedding... so presumably we can figure out when we can start TTC.  YEAH!

During lunch Pooks asked for some "boo boo" -  what she has started calling nursing.  It was nice to be able to nurse her and not feel awkward.   The one year old also had some "boo boo" and chowed down. :P   

I put Pookie in a pullup because I didn't want to chance an accident in the freezing weather.  As it turned out she didn't need one.  After lunch I took her pee and her diaper was still dry.  And at 3pm when we were leaving she kept saying she had to go.  She was all bundled up so I didn't bother taking her.  I thought for sure she would just pee in her diaper, but when we got home her diaper was still dry!!  This is almost 2 weeks with no accidents (except at night and at my mom's).  Even at my mom's she is starting to wear her underwear and has only had accidents when waking up from naps.  I am thinking... hoping she will be potty learned by 2!

Swimming and other activities

Mon, Wed, Fri are my SAHM days, so I have been trying to do something with Pooks each day.   This week we went to an indoor playground on Mondays.  She had so much fun!!  She could climb up to the area where the big slides were and she went down all the slides.  She was so adventurous and independent.  She didn't get in any fights or get upset.  Every so often she would run over to me to check in for a hug or to take me to another section, but mostly she was happy on her own while I watched.  I felt so proud... seeing her in a different situation like that and seeing her handle it so well felt really good.   I think I might get a pass for 10 visits which should last until winter is over.  Then we can start going to the park again.

Wednesday my mom came over, but usually my plan is to take her to the government run play centre.  It is a great place, they have all sorts of toys and activities.  All the toys have a purpose... whether it is dramatic play, arts and crafts or learning, numbers etc... The focus is on early learning.  Pookie loves it there too.

On Fridays I have been taking her swimming in the morning which she LOVES.  She got so excited today and couldn't wait to get out of the house.  Today she put her face under the water a bunch of times all on her own... and she liked it!!  She HATED being dunked when we did swimming with her as a baby, so I felt glad that I trusted my instincts and knew she would do it on her own time.  The pool and it's deepest is not even over her head, so it is great for little kids.  

On Mondays there is also booktime at the library.  She loved it up to about 16 months and then she wasn't interested, but I think we will try again now she is in the older kids group.  She definitely prefers being with big kids.

ECing is back on track

Over the holidays we got really lazy with ECing.  I stopped offering the potty, I kept her in diapers and we pretty much only got her on the potty once a day.  Now I am getting more sleep and we are back to our normal routine, she is back in undies during the day.  Within a couple days of being in underwear she had her first dry day!  She still needs me to tell her when to go, but if the past predicts the future she should start taking the initiative again.  She told my mom she had to poop when she was over there, and before bed she usually tells me she has to go.  She also has woken up in the night and asked to go, and today she woke up from her nap to go.

She is 20 months now so I have changed my mentality a bit because I feel like the end could be in sight.  I want to do all I can do to get her potty learned sooner than later, without putting pressure on her.  For me that just means not being lazy about reminding her, and not using diapers at all during the day, even when we go out.  Today I took her out in underwear.  We went swimming and she peed before and after, and then we went grocery shopping and I never worried.  I am hoping tomorrow will be a dry day.

The one thing I must not let myself do is get angry if she does have an accident.  I am never mad at her, but I do get mad at myself, and it does no good to show that.  I just have to remember that if she does have an accident she is still learning and gaining understanding of how it all works.