How I got my toddler to floss

In many ways I am amazed that this photo even exists. Not long ago, we were fighting every night with Parker just get him to brush his teeth. Fast forward a couple of months later and little man now loves to "floss" his teeth. How the tides have turned! Not every night is this easy but for the most part he is pretty enthusiastic when we play our game of removing the "bugs" from his teeth. Obviously his brushing and flossing is not the best so we do it first and then let him take over afterwards. We use the floss picks instead of string because it's easier. Thanks to Dr. J Shahangian of Scripps Ranch Pediatric Dentistry for his advice and tips.   

Victory! Getting My Toddler to Brush His Teeth

Victory is ours! I think we have finally figured out a how to get Parker to brush his teeth without biting me (he would bite me when I tried to use a finger brush to stop my from brushing his teeth). Three different toothbrushes (one, two and three), a fun pop up book about brushing his teeth and a couple of hours of scouring the internet for tips have resulted in something so simple that I'm kicking myself for taking so long to realize it. Make it a game. Make it fun. Thanks BabyCenter for the advice and for making me realize that we were not facing this issue alone.

Last night as we were going through our bedtime routine, I changed Parker's diaper and then I changed Monkey's diaper. I handed Parker a toothbrush for himself and one for Monkey. I showed him that Monkey was brushing his teeth and he thought it was so funny. Then he voluntarily started brushing his own teeth. Hallelujah! I think he may have even brushed a couple of his back teeth. Every child is different so this strategy may not work for everyone but Parker loves to copy us so I figured he would enjoy copying Monkey too. We'll keep working on this and hopefully one day brushing his teeth will not become such a production every night. If there are any Mamas out there going through this, I feel your pain. Literally. I have the bite marks to prove it.

[Brushing Monkey's teeth]

[Checking Monkey's diaper. This thoughtful little boy amazes me everyday.]

[Brushing his own teeth and smiling about it!]

Toddler Issues: Baby Won't Stop Touching My Boobs

Happy Friday! Ahh the weekend is almost upon us. There is a lot going on this weekend in and around San Diego so make sure you check out the Red Tricycle events calendar to get all the details on the San Diego County Fair, Touch a Truck, Art Around Adams and more. I finally managed to make it to the top of the waitlist for the San Diego Libary's museum pass program so we will be using our free passes to visit the New Children's Museum. 

Moving on to more pressing matters. We are dealing with a bit of a boob problem right now. Parker feels compelled to touch my boobs (or reach his hand into anyone's shirt) when he is hungry. At first it was just when he wanted a bottle but now he also wants to touch my boobs while he is eating his meals. The amount of boob touching he feels compelled to do in order to finish a meal varies but there is always some boob touching that occurs. I'm not sure if this is a normal thing or if my son is a mega boob lover but he makes it very clear when he is hungry or wants to nurse by telling us "buuuu" (nurse in Vietnamese) or "Mum mum" followed by trying to reach into our shirts. Hopefully this phase passes soon. It's kind of embarrassing in public. Has anyone dealt with this problem before? I'd love some advice. He gets really upset when he can't touch my boobs.

I also want to add that Parker totally hates brushing his teeth now. It's become a battle every time so I have stopped trying to brush his teeth with a big boy toothbrush and gone back to the finger brush. Sorry Dr. H, I tried and I failed. Maybe we can try again in a couple of months when he has forgotten how traumatic the first introduction of the big boy toothbrush was.