-I just finished reading Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki, and can I say that I’m dreading this more than any other stage I’ve encountered thus far. The idea of being locked in my apartment with a naked toddler sounds horrible, but I have a couple of friends who swear by this method.
-You may have heard I got a new nephew this week!! Look at that big yawn!
-Emerson is obsessed with her practically preschool class, and I am so happy about all the art projects they are doing. I’m not creative (or very energetic when it comes to crafts), so I love that she’s learning to paint and glue and such.
-We’re a buying washer/dryer for the first time and I don’t know where to start! We’ve always had very basic machines, so I don’t even know what I’m missing out on in terms of all the features. What are the must-haves?
-I’m loving Old Navy loungewear these days. I got these sweat pants and a few other lounge-y things and I can’t get enough of the coziness.
-We had a blast with Emerson and friends celebrating Halloween this year. We went to the Cobble Hill parade, hung out on Ashley’s stoop to receive trick-or-treaters, and took our lion out to a couple of houses – she loved it!
-If you’re local, what is the one restaurant I can’t leave NYC without trying?
Alex
November 1, 2018 at 8:39 pmIf you get front loader machines, make sure you look up tips about each particular brand to keep the doors clean. Some you need to keep the door open to prevent mold and others you need to really wipe the rubber seal dry after using. Visually the look so much nicer but they do require a little extra work to prevent the mold and mildew buildup in some brands
Laura
November 1, 2018 at 8:41 pmThanks! I’d read this from a couple other sources, and was thinking of getting top loaders because of it
Kath
November 2, 2018 at 7:25 amI HATED my front loader!! It always smelled! So team top loader over here 🙂
Laura
November 2, 2018 at 1:54 pmYeah – I do like the one you have!
Sally
November 6, 2018 at 6:52 pmI’m in the UK and we only have front loaders here – I have to say that I have literally never had a problem with smells or mould. The only thing that I do is to leave the door just slightly ajar to allow it to air between washes (tbh it’s on at least a couple of times each day, so it never really fully dries and it’s fine) and every month or so I run it empty on a boil wash setting with either a specific maintenance detergent or just a scoop of normal powder. Job done!
Laura
November 7, 2018 at 1:35 pmThanks!!
Andrea
November 1, 2018 at 9:47 pmWhat an adorable little lion! I like having a pre-soak function on my washer for dirty baby clothes … but not 100% necessary as you can do the same thing in a bucket, it’s just convenient. Yesss, oh crap potty training is amazing! I loosely followed it (I definitely looked away from her and missed some pees) and was super successful with my 27 month old for both pee and poop. She’s going to be three in Feb and is night trained and day trained … she’s had a few regressions with pee accidents that lasted a few days each but overall our potty training experience was very smooth. Other aspects of parenting her have been REALLY hard (e.g. colic, terrible sleep etc.), so I dreaded it as well, but it turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be.
Laura
November 1, 2018 at 10:11 pmThank you! And it’s good to hear from someone else who has used the book!!
Laura
November 2, 2018 at 1:55 pmI hope it’s easier then I’m thinking!
Kat
November 1, 2018 at 10:31 pmWe had to purchase a washer and dryer for our old townhome and inherited the set here – honestly biggest recommendation is to take a look at capacity. Some units have probably 1.5-2x the capacity of others. Of course you will always have some small loads but it is so nice to do a BIG load and not have to deal with laundry again until later in the week.
Laura
November 2, 2018 at 1:55 pmAhh, yes – I do need a big one because I tend to overfill them 🙂
Sharon
November 1, 2018 at 10:48 pmCongratulations on your beautiful new nephew. What a cutie! In regard to potty training, it is for sure a challenging milestone that takes a lot of patience and encouragement. I had specific potty times for my daughter, ie: after breakfast, afternoon and before bedtime. Great advice from your friends about no clothing at home. My sister used the Summer Infant My Size Potty with my niece and she loved being able to mimic her Mommy on her very own toilet. Hope this helps, best of luck…you got this!
Laura
November 2, 2018 at 1:54 pmThank you!!
Brittney
November 2, 2018 at 9:07 amOh Crap Potty Training worked really well for us. It look four days of being locked in the house, which does get monotonous, but after that we were able to leave the house. And about a week after that she really got the hang of it. Good luck!!
Laura
November 2, 2018 at 1:54 pmThat’s good to hear!
Brittney
November 5, 2018 at 10:55 amOh, and we didn’t night train right away. We stuck with pull-ups at night for maybe another six months. Then one night we were completely out of them, so we just pulled the trigger and didn’t look back. We ended up keeping a little potty in her room so she could easily use it at night and that worked really well. There were surprisingly few accidents.
Laura
November 6, 2018 at 1:13 pmThat’s what I’m thinking! There’s no way I’m ready for her to be out of the crib
Sarah
November 2, 2018 at 9:18 amMust try Little Owl, Marc Fiorgione, Locande Verde.
My advice on potty training is not to rush it. Unless she is refusing to wear diapers, very verbally asking to go, wait until 2.5-2.75. We tried to potty train my older daughter when she was 2.3 and it was a disaster (no success in 5 days and traumatic for both of us). When we did it when she was 2.75, she got it within 3 days with minimal accidents and then a few weeks later , wanted to night train. By her third birthday, she didn’t have any daytime accidents and was wearing underwear at night with only occasional accidents and those ended before she was 3.5.
Oh Crap is good but you really have to follow the no leaving the house for the first 3 days and then minimal outings until you know she has got it. Don’t do pull ups at all. Too confusing
Laura
November 2, 2018 at 1:53 pmThanks! It’s funny that you would say that, because I’ve had a couple people tell me the opposite. But I know every kid is different so we shall see! Definitely have Marc Fiorgione on our list!!
Suzie
November 6, 2018 at 1:17 pmI agree! I waited until my son was 3+ to train, when he seemed really ready, I was ready, and I felt like he had the verbal skills to understand what I was teaching, and communicate back when he needed to go, and the ability to get his pants/underwear on and off without a lot of help. (I know boys are often later to the game on this than girls).
I just put him in underwear, he had one accident and that was it. He’s 4.5 now and has never had an accident.
Laura
November 6, 2018 at 1:18 pmWow, that’s impressive!!!
Nicole
November 2, 2018 at 1:42 pmSome of my favorite NYC restaurants are Supper, Thai Villa, Land Thai, La Morada (Bronx), and Taverna Kyclades (Astoria)! Also, Khave in Midtown has the best chai lattes, ever, if you’re into that.
Laura
November 2, 2018 at 1:52 pmThanks! Thai Villa has been on my list, and I love a good chai latte!
Jackie
November 2, 2018 at 2:12 pmYour daughter just turned two correct? With all your upcoming changes with moving and such I wouldn’t potty train now. Big events like that tend to set them back, and it might be easier to just wait a few months.
I’m a big believer in waiting until kids are ready and then they basically train themselves.
Laura
November 2, 2018 at 2:18 pmThat’s kind of what I was thinking – which is why I decided it was now or many months from now. Just heard so many stories about waiting too long…
Ashley
November 2, 2018 at 6:32 pmWe used Oh Crap for my son the week after he turned 2. I have nothing but good things to say about the method…. the first 2 weeks were rough, but then we were completely free of diapers during the day and the number of accidents he’s had, I can count on one hand. We night trained about 6 months later when he was waking up dry most of the time anyways. Good luck!
Laura
November 6, 2018 at 1:14 pmThat’s so good to hear!
amanda
November 4, 2018 at 2:09 pmShe will regress with the move anyways! I see it with kids who move/have a family member visit/ mom gets new job, etc any little change usually regresses them (I am a toddler preschool teacher) I would wait. We didn’t start until around 2.7. Unless she seems very interested and ready it doesn’t hurt to try! Just don’t get too frustrated. It is usually easier for girls though!
Laura
November 6, 2018 at 1:14 pmI figured it wouldn’t hurt to try – I’m more worried about my own frustration levels than hers!
Michelle
November 6, 2018 at 10:37 amI second or third no pull ups at all (except at night, we call them nighttime underwear). I used “Oh Crap” for both my boys, worked great for both. The only other recommendation I have is, don’t get a little potty. Get a stool and use the normal toilet, it’ll make life easier all around. I think it made it easier when out and about that the big toilet is just the toilet everyone uses, no big toilet fears. (Full disclosure, our daycare and preschools only had regular toilets so I also didn’t want to confuse the boys.)
Laura
November 6, 2018 at 1:13 pmThanks! About how long did it take?
Michelle
November 7, 2018 at 11:00 amFor my oldest it took two weeks no looking back. For the little guy we did it this past labor day weekend, we’re totally good on the number ones, number twos are almost 100%. I think the issue is he likes to do number two’s around 6pm every evening and we’re usually just getting home from daycare/school so it’s a bit rough, he fights us sitting on the toilet right when he gets home, he wants to play with his big brother. He is a much much more stubborn child than his older brother as well. My oldest was 2.5 when he potty trained, my younger is 2.75.
Laura
November 7, 2018 at 1:35 pmThe number two is so hard! Seems like 2.5 is the magic age!
Molly Nicol
November 8, 2018 at 8:05 amI only read chapter 5 of Oh Crap so did a modified version of choosing a long weekend when my husband would be home three days in a row, having my daughter pick out a bunch of small prizes at this awesome Asian dollar store we have, and making a huge celebration out of every successful attempt on the potty. She was about to turn 3 at the time, is 5 now and has had very few accidents ever. I remember chatting with a mom on a playground who was also a pediatrician and she basically said the sooner you start, the longer you’ll be doing it. I tend to agree that a regression is all but guaranteed from the move (with sleep as well perhaps: prepare yourself!) I had a similar circumstance as you: we did a cross country move when my daughter was 2.7, so I was trying to get potty training done before the move and it just didn’t take. I’m sure it’s obnoxious to get parenting advice from a stranger on the Internet, but I’d also recommend reserving some emotional energy for the move itself and waiting on the potty training (unless your daughter is really verbalizing that she needs to go, wants to sit on the potty, etc.)
Laura
November 8, 2018 at 1:40 pmNot obnoxious – I asked for it:) I think you’re right about saving my emotional energy!
e
November 8, 2018 at 11:01 pmNYC: Union Square Cafe and Craft are my go to occasion restaurants and super popular for a reason! Try one or both!!
Laura
November 8, 2018 at 11:20 pmThanks! I’ve actually been to Craft!!