I am a stay-at-home Mom of two little amazing kids. I have a very active three-year-old little boy and a beautiful one-year-old daughter. I am often still trying to figure things out with two little ones. I am married to a Marine, I cook, clean, craft, and everything in between. Not to mention try to manage my Bipolar Disorder. This Blog is just about everything. I hope you can take a few things from me and I can learn from you!
Caleb Hunter Vaughn Dec 21, 2011 Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
On December 21, 2011 my life changed forever! I gave birth to an amazing little boy who was in the making for almost 6 years. My husband and I fought long and hard battle of infertility for almost 6 years when I became pregnant via an IUI with injections. I was high risk with Caleb due to the way Caleb was conceived and developing gestational diabetes (thank you PCOS) but there were complications in my last trimester. Caleb was not due until January 13 but decided he was going to break my water late on December 20th and because he remained breech the entire time I delivered him via c-section. Caleb was 8 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches and even though though he was an average size baby he was an early average size baby that needed help breathing. It would be almost 48 hours before I could hold my son for the first time and it had to be one of the hardest times of my lives with my husband being deployed and having Caleb in the NICU. However, his NICU stay would not be forever and Christopher would be home from deployment.
Caleb in the NICU Dec 2011: Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
Holding my son for the first time Dec 2011 : Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
He is such a mini me of his father! His mannerism, sense of humor, and temper all remind me so much Christopher. He loves to be by his father's side and helping where ever he can! He watches, observes, figures things out, and often goes by itself. He is stubborn, hardheaded, imaginative, and thinks he is right just like his father. I feel like I am raising my husband sometimes. I wonder what it will be like when he gets older... only time will tell on that one.
Caleb meeting his daddy for the first time: Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
So much faith...LOL: Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
24 Books of Christmas and Corona : Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
Turning 3...
It is very hard to picture Caleb as this tiny baby even though it was only three years ago. He is such an adventurous and strong willed child. From sun up to sun down he is a ball of pure energy that has me catching my breath most days. I have learned the whole new world of boys and it is filled with cars, super heroes, rough housing, and getting into things more than once after he was told no. Even with this rough tough boy he still loves to come up an sit on my lap and snuggle a little. He loves to give me kisses and hugs! He also still loves his special kiss on his forehead!!! We have discovered as fearless as he is though bugs stops him right in his path... taking after his Uncle Joshua in that matter. Hopefully this is just a phase or it will just narrow down to just spiders like his Uncle.
Bonding with his sister has been a truly unique and amazing experience to see. They truly do love each other, playing, and getting into trouble. He is so protective of her when they are outside or in unknown surroundings it is very heartwarming. I hope this continues to grows because to have a brother or sister so close in age is something special! Please do not get me wrong there are days they fight like cats and dogs but to know most days they love to be in each other company makes me feel like I have done something right in this thing called parenting.
Caleb and Caydance: Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
Caleb and Caydance: Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
Caleb and Caydance: Property Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
Caleb has faced a couple of challenges in his short life already but I have discovered very early on he very much a fighter! I also discovered that it is very much on his time as well vs anyone else time schedule. He fought in the NICU and overcame that be overall healthy and loving little boy. He also is fighting and conquering his speech delay! It has been the most amazing, honoring, and humbling experience to trying to figure out what he wants or is trying to say to signing and saying more. Now he says more and more words, small phrases, and keeps on expanding! We still have a long way to go but knowing he is so smart and seeing his eyes light up when he learns a new word! I cannot wait to see what the next chapter holds!
Caleb turning 3 also holds great new adventures for him! With him turning the big 3 he transitioned out of his in home speech therapy to in school setting. So in the middle of November we started testing and to see what "services" Caleb qualified for and starting January my little man will be starting preschool with speech therapy! He will also be riding the bus! I am sure this will be filled of unknown times but as one mom told me he is on the right track built just for him.
My son is no longer a baby but turning into a little boy who I could not be more proud of!
LOVES: Cars, Transformers, Salad, Tacos, Helping Mom Cooks
DISLIKES: Bugs and Going to bed on time
COMPLETED: In Home Speech Therapy and pointing out body parts
WORKING ON: Speech and Potty Training
Caleb 2014 : Property of Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
Caleb 2014 : Property of Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
Caleb 2014 : Property of Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
Caleb 2014 : Property of Bipolar Mom and Her Daily Life
I love this little guy more than anything ~A Bipolar Mom~
Now I usually stay away from parenting advice topics but I thought this is a fun one for me and pretty non conterversial. I mean we all want to have healthy teeth and good oral hygine and this is how I go about it!!! If you go in my children's bathroom there are three child toothbrushes to one toddler. No my kid does not have three mouths but rather learning how to brush his teeth. Now you would think my son would only need one toothbrush like most adults. However, teaching and brushing his teeth became a battle and something needed to change. I had to think...How am I going to ge this cute but very stubborn strong willed toddler to learn and want to brush his teeth? Well th first part of the problem was to make it fun I mean a lot of things become more enjoyable when they become fun...don't you agree?
Say Hello To Caleb
Toothbrush Fun
The first area I tackled or changed to help my son learn and want to brush his teeth was the toothbrush or should I say toothbrushes. I took Caleb with me to the store with me and the first toothbrush he picked out was a transformer toothbrush. I mean just like picking out big kid undies for potty training I felt like this was an important milestone for my child. I just made sure the bristles were soft or extra soft like our dentist recommended. It helped a lot because it was his toothbrush and he wanted to brush his teeth with it. However, my husband gets ready for work in that bathroom in wee hours of the morning so his toothbrush is in there as well and he has a spinbrush and Caleb was just fasicnated by it and always wanting to use it. So one day while I was out I came across a child's spin brush on sale it has a smaller head on it and designed for little mouths and hands. I also came across a light up toothbrush in the shape of a lightsaber and the reason I bought this was because it stays lighted for two minutes. Now bare with me I will explain in just a minute why he has three toothbrushes. I also keep a couple toothbrushes on stock for travel for him and just in case something happens to one of this toothbrushes.
The second area I tackled or changed was making brushing his teeth fun or ways to keep him wanting to brush his teeth. So I thought of fun and creative ways. The first thing I let my son do is pick how he will brush his teeth by picking a toothbrush. Each toothbrush has its own game or way of brushing his teeth. If he picks the basic toothbrush it is a copycat game and he must copy cat everything I do. Sometime I clap or raise my hands, sing (badly) and then making brushing movements and brusm my teeth and he copies. I do suggest though if you use this game you do not make the child move like jumping or running because if the child has the toothbrush in their mouth they could trip your fall and really hurt themselves. If he picks the spinbrush he has to act like a big boy because his Daddy is a big boy. This one is not so much as fun but as a lot of positive reinforcement. He moves the stool by himself, puts the toothpaste on the brush, brushes his teeth by himself, rinses his brush, an wipes down the sink all by himself. In the meantime I am telling him what a big boy he is and reminding him of the routine and there to help just incase. I just cannot explain the smile on his face when he has all done!!! Finally if he picks the toothbrush that light sup we brush are teeth in the dark for two minutes. We put his stool up to the sink turn off the lights (the night light comes on and you can see the sink and have visibility if not it could get kind of messy). He has a blast brushing his teeth with a green light!! When I let him pick this toothbrush I stand right behind him on the stool so he cannot fall and I reinforce the importance to him about him not to run or even walk with the tooth brush in his mouth.
I found it amazing that sometimes he wanted nothing to do with light up brush or switches daily but it keeps him engaged which I love. We also engage the frequencey of brushing his teeth. I usually like my son to brush his teeth at least twice a day we sometimes do more depending what he been eating and because he is still learning. Once I am confident that I know he knows how to brush his teeth properly I am sure it will go to about two times but we are still a bit away from that goal. I noticed the more thrilled about making brushing teeth exciting so is he! Often times when I tell him it is time to brush his teeth he makes a bee line to the bathroom!
Other Little Tidbets
I focus on routine and skills with my children i often find tools to aid with that. After Christmas I found this FAST TRACK SMILES HOTWHEELS SET (I think I paid $2 for it in the after Christmas sel at Walmart I even bought my 4-month old daughter at the time a Tinkerbell one and have it stored away for when it is her time to start brushing so hopefully she likes faires). His set comes with a lillte cup, toothbrush holder,cheap toothbrush (which I snagged for a cleaning brush) and has a whotwheels decoration on it. The only thing I do not like about it is the car likes to pop off it so I am going to have to glue it on there! Caleb understands where the toothbrush goes when he is done brushing his teeth as well as other basic routine steps in his brushing teeth routine.
I purchased this at Walmart after Christmas so I am not sure if it is seasonal or if they will bring it back next Christmas season.
WHAT I AM WORKING ON
Now there are still a couple of things I am working on. With all thins this is a constant learning process and I am sure when he is older I will learn about and try to conquer other dental challenges
One of things that I am working on is teach Caleb how to brush his teeth properly and with him being two and trying to explain it to him about getting the front, back, side, and even the tounge has hit a road block. I mean you can show him or have him copy you show much. Some of the ideas that I have come up with envolve around the concept of mimic. Most children will watch what you do then proceed to mimic what you have done. I have thought about getting two sets of chattering teeth or making something in my crafting mind of fake teeth and sitting down with my son and teaching him how to brush the teeth of these items or even a doll with teet. The only problem is Caleb does not like to sit to sit down very long so I am not sure if it will capture his attention but I am going to have to try.
The second thing I am trying to teach my son is how to spit. I would have never thought it would be this hard to teach a boy how to spit!!! I would think this is something he would want to do but none the less we are still working on this and I can only assume will come with time and practice. With this being said we are using a fluoride-free training tooth paste which is safe to swallow. Now I know there are many opinions on what toothpaste for your children and family to use all I can it is personal choice and research the right tooth paste for your little one.
An example of trainging toothpaste on the market to day. You can find it at most supermarkets, drug stores, and online.
Once he learns how to spit we are moving on to flossing, rinsing, and swishing (with water and mouth rinse if need be). There are tons of items out there. Please reserach all items and figure out what is best for your family and what may be right for my family may not be right for yours.
The third thing is routine. My son loves routine and does respond to visuals like charts but because we are still working on several milestones I do not want to overwhelm him with charts so that is for a later time. I have included some pictures of examples of routine and brushing charts. If you google or on pinterest you can find tons of printables. If you are crafty there are tons of ideas on making routine charts and so on...
and this is my world of teaching my toddler how to brush his teeth...
THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON HOW I TACKLED TEACHING MY TODDLER BRUSH HIS TEETH I STRESS WHAT HAS WORKED FOR ME MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU. THE METHODS THAT I USE MAY BE SOMETHING THAT YOU DISAGREE WITH BUT ARE IN NO WAY MADE TO OFFEND YOUR PARENTING STYLE. I MAY DISAGREE WITH YOUR PARENTING STYLE OR PARTS YOUR STYLE BUT I RESPECT YOUR CHOICES AND ASK YOU TO EXTEND THE SAME RESPECT TO ME. HAPPY READING!
