Blog

I know that kids generally dislike brushing their teeth, but Ari has an extreme aversion to it. When I tell him to brush his teeth, he takes the brush, opens his mouth, eats the toothpaste, turns to me and says "All done!"Well, that's not my version of "All done." He won't dare let me brush his teeth. When I ask him to open his mouth he says:"NO! I wanna do it! It's my turn!"I've tried to force my way into his mouth, but this ends with him screaming and me crying out of utter frustration.This is a big problem. I was concerned that his teeth were going to rot out of his head the way he "brushes" them, so I made him a pediatric dentist appointment, which Wil took him to today.Like many health care professionals that I've lost faith in over the years, the dentist had no real advice. She offered the following suggestions:1. Get a smaller toothbrush.Yeah, his toothbrush is pretty damn small.2. Brush them while he's in the bathtub.What a great idea, if only he'd let me brush them!3. Get a tastier flavored toothpaste.Right...so he can eat the entire tube!Do your kids brush their teeth without a [...]

Lately I've been feeling anxious and ready to have this baby.My doula and friend, Cori, gave me some words of wisdom. She said I should think about the baby coming late as opposed to early. That way, if the baby happens to come early, it will be a pleasant surprise. Otherwise, she noted, I'll keep thinking I'm in labor every single day, which (because I'm neurotic) I already do.I'm 37 weeks now. I'm going to do something I never do, be patient.

It's January 14th and I'm still pregnant. Technically my due date is February 1st, but Ari was three weeks early, so it is possible that this baby will choose to come early too...or not. Now, the important question to ask: will this baby be a Capricorn or an Aquarius?If I give birth from today up until January 20th, I'll have a Capricorn girl. If I go into labor after the 20th, I'll have an Aquarius.What do you guys think? Predictions?

A long long time ago, in a village called Brooklyn, lived a new mother named Sarah Fader. She had a newborn named Ari and Pre-School was the furthest thing from her mind. She nursed her son, took walks with him, and enjoyed his smallness.As he got older, she began to become more aware of Pre-Schools and how unaffordable they were.Almost exactly two years after the birth of her son, she was with child again, and the idea of Pre-School returned to her mind.Ari was no longer a sedentary being and craved social interaction. But alas, she did not have the financial means to tackle this Pre-School conundrum.Then, she had a thought. She remembered that she wrote a blog. She thought that perhaps her readers might be able to suggest an affordable Pre-School option for her son who was growing bigger and more verbal by the minute.So she turned to her readers and begged them to clue her in. Where should Ari go for Pre-School when he turns three?

I was having contractions last night, and (just for fun) I asked Ari:"Ari, is the baby coming now?"He replied: "No. In two hours."This alarmed me so much that even though I've been on a good streak with regard to getting Ari to bed at a reasonable hour, I was so freaked out that I allowed him to stay up an extra two hours (watching Disney's Robin Hood) to make sure his oracle-like prediction didn't come true.Thank goodness, he was wrong. The baby is still happily in my uterus.

I previously wrote about the issues I've had getting Ari to sleep and my fear that he may be an insomniac. Since that time, I received many wonderful suggestions from parents on another site that I write for, 5 Minute for Parenting.I thought a lot about the sleep situation. I decided a few things:1. Ari is definitely manipulating me into allowing him to stay up later and later.2. Because he is being manipulative, he needs firm boundaries at bedtime.3. He needs some kind of white nose to go to sleep.So I took matters into my own maternal hands, and right before bedtime, I told him:"Last chance! If you're hungry or thirsty, let me know now. Once you get into bed, no food and no drinks.""Okay." He said benignly.I warned him that I was going to read him three SHORT books, he could choose them himself, and then he would listen to some books on tape. We read the the books, but it was a struggle to keep him sitting still. He began jumping up and down on the bed during story time. I let him know if he was going to behave that way, there would be no more stories. [...]

I've often heard people equate two-year-olds to adolescents, and now I'm starting to understand what they mean. Much like a teenager, Ari has pronounced likes and dislikes. For example, he has decided that he hates jeans.This becomes a major battle when we are attempting to get dressed and leave the house. As a result of his denim hatred, I've purchased several pairs of non-jean pants such as fleece pants, sweatpants, running pants, corduroys, you get the idea. The only trouble is when we've gone through all the "comfortable pants" (as he calls them) all that's left are these:They are the enemy. If I try to put them on his little legs, he'll scream "NO JEANS!"But when they are the only option, I have to force him to wear them!Anyone else's kid have fabric preferences?

Happy New Year everybody! In honor of the new year, I'm co-hosting a $20 gift certificate giveaway with Little One Books.I did a previous giveaway with this fantastic grandparent owned company here.But before I get to the giveaway, I want to talk about a DVD based on a classic children's book: Corduroy.If you don't know the story, it's about a little girl who falls in love with a stuffed bear in a department store who is missing a button on his corduroy overalls. It's a wonderful story where, in the end, she saves up enough money to buy the bear, who she appropriately names Corduroy, and fixes his missing button.Ari just heard Corduroy at a weekly story time at the Brooklyn Public Library and he loved it.Recently, I was perusing the Little One Books website and found this:It's a live action version of the classic book and it also has six other stories on it narrated by Laura Dern, Mia Farrow and others.At first, I have to admit, I was a little scared of how they would pull off a "live action" version of Corduroy. In the book, Corduroy (the bear) comes to life and runs around the department store [...]

If only you knew what was inside...

I've dreaded writing this, because if the words come out they make it real, but I can't take it anymore, I have to let it out. My child is an insomniac.There have been several nights that he's been up until midnight and slightly beyond.Now, before you judge me, hear me out. We have a bedtime routine and it starts out around 6:30pm. We have dinner, we watch one episode of the insidious Max and Ruby or Blue's Clues (his choice), he has a bath, we read 1-3 books at which point he appears to be sleepy. But then...as he's lying in bed next to me (because as I've mentioned in previously, we co-sleep) he starts off whispering:"I hungry."It gets progressively louder until he is audible and finally loud.Then he says:"Sandwich."I've tried both giving him the sandwich or ignoring his pleas. But both result in further sleep rebellion.In addition to saying he's hungry, he also demands to switch sleeping locations. He'll be in the bedroom and demand to sleep in the living room on the couch with me. I've recently flat out refused, made him stay in the bed.He also will try to stay awake by demanding more and more books [...]