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The Pit Parenting Thread

As for the whole "crying it out" thing, we did that using the Ferber method at about 5 months. The Munchkin was a pretty good sleeper from the start, but then hit a wall over the holidays last year and refused to sleep. The first two nights sucked, but it worked wonders. Chic was just about at her breaking point from lack of sleep when we tried it. Still have to reinstitute it every once in a while when we coddle him when he's sick and he then tries to continue that once he's healthy again.

It's pretty amazing how smart and manipulative even babies can be. You hate to say that about your own kid, but it's true.
 
Learn the difference between crying for attention and crying for need. If you want him to sleep through the night, you have to ignore him at night when he isn't wet/hungry.

CIO methods ARE NOT RECOMMENDED for babies younger than 4-6 months. I know it's a highly inflammatory topic, but even the biggest proponents of it, would never tell you to ignore the cries of a 2 week old baby..
 
It's great that he can whip a ball at me (future lefty specialist out of the pen, I'm thinking), but we're really trying to teach him that he can't just chuck stuff and then ask for it back.

Didn't realize E was a lefty as well.
 
CIO methods ARE NOT RECOMMENDED for babies younger than 4-6 months. I know it's a highly inflammatory topic, but even the biggest proponents of it, would never tell you to ignore the cries of a 2 week old baby..

We followed what our pediatrician told us to do and it got our son sleeping through the night. :noidea:
 
We followed what our pediatrician told us to do and it got our son sleeping through the night. :noidea:

wow, I mean, whatever works but all the books I read/peds I consulted, etc. Said DO NOT unless baby is 4 months or older. You know your kid though and if you are comfortable with it I guess that's what is important.
 
As far as potty training, we instituted a "Brownies for brownies" program with LJF. He likes to make brownies, so if he went on the toilet, he got to make brownies. It eventually worked and he's been fine for several months now. It took him awhile to get with the routine, but once it did, it stuck.

BJF (because he looks just like his big brother did at this age) is a champion sleeper at near 6 months. After the first few weeks, he slept in nice 4 hour chunks and went right back to sleep after feeding. Now he either sleeps through the night or wakes up once to eat and goes back. I think the big thing we did right was to skip the bassinet and go with a portable crib. He had plenty of room. Now he's getting too big for the portable crib so we may have to pull out the regular crib again. Problem is he's in our bedroom now and LJF is too feisty to share a room now. Using the guest room would require a ton of work.
 
Congrats to the new parents. We have a 17-month-old son, who we commonly refer to as "The Munchkin."

I think I've put those first few weeks out of my mind in terms of sleep. We did have some success with a giraffe that played white noise and seemed to help with the sleeping, I think. Mostly I feel like he was either hungry or needing to be changed, and feeding or changing, followed by some holding/rocking, would do the trick.

The current thing we're struggling with is him throwing stuff or generally having a tantrum. Tossing the sippy cup or food from his high chair, throwing the remote, pretty much any toy. It's great that he can whip a ball at me (future lefty specialist out of the pen, I'm thinking), but we're really trying to teach him that he can't just chuck stuff and then ask for it back.

When our munchkin was that age, if he threw it, he didn't get it back (at least for a while -- say a minute to start). The screams! But he learned. Eventually, he learned.

And congrats, new parents!
 
Yeah, "they" say you can't tell until around 2, but he has a definite preference for the left hand.

There is zero doubt on our end. Webb is a lefty and can wing a remote across the living room. He's dangerous.
 
As far as potty training, we instituted a "Brownies for brownies" program with LJF. He likes to make brownies, so if he went on the toilet, he got to make brownies. It eventually worked and he's been fine for several months now. It took him awhile to get with the routine, but once it did, it stuck.

BJF (because he looks just like his big brother did at this age) is a champion sleeper at near 6 months. After the first few weeks, he slept in nice 4 hour chunks and went right back to sleep after feeding. Now he either sleeps through the night or wakes up once to eat and goes back. I think the big thing we did right was to skip the bassinet and go with a portable crib. He had plenty of room. Now he's getting too big for the portable crib so we may have to pull out the regular crib again. Problem is he's in our bedroom now and LJF is too feisty to share a room now. Using the guest room would require a ton of work.

that sounds like an awful lot of brownies. do you have a way of making a single brownie at once? or do you really make an entire pan every time he uses the bathroom?
 
Theoretcially yes, but have you ever tried to wipe someone else's ass while they are sitting on the toilet, especially when that person doesn't have the greatest stability to begin with?? You definitely want to keep the motions to a minimum. Having to change angles and operate the footpedal of the diaper genie would just be a recipe for disaster. We're just going with the wipe and drop.

Dude, I never flushed one of those wipes down the toilet. Have the kid stand up and wipe their ass with a wipe. Throw the wipe in the trash or the diaper genie. No big deal.
 
that sounds like an awful lot of brownies. do you have a way of making a single brownie at once? or do you really make an entire pan every time he uses the bathroom?

He wouldn't ask for brownies every time, but if he asked and had gone on the toilet, he got to make them.

Oh and now that he goes, he seems to be able to pitch perfect loafs that don't need to be wiped.
 
that sounds like an awful lot of brownies. do you have a way of making a single brownie at once? or do you really make an entire pan every time he uses the bathroom?

My friend did it with stickers (fun fact: ALL kids love stickers). The problem was that his daughter would sit on the toilet, make a splash noise with her mouth and demand a sticker.
 
My friend did it with stickers (fun fact: ALL kids love stickers). The problem was that his daughter would sit on the toilet, make a splash noise with her mouth and demand a sticker.

this is the best thing i've read today.
 
Oh and now that he goes, he seems to be able to pitch perfect loafs that don't need to be wiped.

That is the next step in human evolution, dude. I think your kid might be a real life candidate for the X-Men.
 
My friend did it with stickers (fun fact: ALL kids love stickers). The problem was that his daughter would sit on the toilet, make a splash noise with her mouth and demand a sticker.

Stickers and food coloring in the water worked for pee.
 
There is zero doubt on our end. Webb is a lefty and can wing a remote across the living room. He's dangerous.

Apparently you are letting him watch Wake sports? I'm calling Social Services. :rulz:
 
First thing I'll throw out there and hopefully it will lead to more conversation/stories: What worked best for you when you were potty training? We've got one of the toilet seats that fits inside of the normal one and have been trying to bribe with M&M's. Right now, we can't get her to tell us when she has to go or even that she needs to be changed. Just doesn't seem to mind running around with a wet diaper.

We made a homemade grid - like a calendar- and everytime she successfully went, she would get to put a sticker in one of the squares. At the end of the row, we had a special sticker that entitled her to a treat of some kind. She took to it like a champ and it was a pretty easy process.

Now, she likes to sing when she's pushing product, so as I sit here typing this, I hear, "Shine bright like a diamond ...UUUNNNGH ..splash... Shine bright like a diamond."
 
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sleeping has also been a challenge since christmas. i'm not even convinced she's truly waking up, more like she's in some sort of semi-conscious stage where she wants to fuss, get out of the bed, and go turn on the lights. she's mumble some incoherent stuff and we'll have to calm her down and get her back in the bed. been happening 2-3 times a night for the last two weeks.

i'm hoping it's just a phase and she'll get back to normal on her own because she was a bomb-ass sleeper for the majority of the last 2.5 years.
 
i'm hoping it's just a phase and she'll get back to normal on her own because she was a bomb-ass sleeper for the majority of the last 2.5 years.

Every time our daughter starts doing something new/challenging, I keep telling my wife "it's just a phase, give it a few days and it will change." So far, I've been right, but I think these phases are going to start lasting longer.
 
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