@MamaSchool....the daily things.

At MamaSchool we look for the learning in the little things...the daily things that happen over and over again, but leave openings for little hands and hearts and minds to grow.

Lunch is one of these times.  Learning to set the table properly.  Taking time to add beauty through the dishes and linens we use.  Handling breakable dishes carefully and learning what to do when one of them accidentally breaks.  Learning to pour tea independently.  Using a knife to spread peanut butter and jam (fine motor!).  These are all niches for learning to occur.  Sure, it might take a little longer to teach a small person to carry our good pottery plates instead of tossing out some plastic ones.  Of course I could have made that sandwich WAY quicker and FAR less messy.  But these are the moments in our day that MamaSchool is most beautiful....when Mama takes a breath and steps back and lets him do things himself...or takes a breath and steps up to show him one more time how to do it carefully and correctly and with his very best effort.  

And no, lunch doesn't always happen this way.  Sometimes I do make his food and it is on plastic...and that is life and that is okay....But we try hard to slow our days enough that being 4, and all the lovliness that involves, can unfold....as he learns to gracefully and kindly and lovingly navigate this world around him.  And me?  I am still learning those lessons too.  So it's MamaSchool for us both!  

Stand-up diapering....the long version. But SO worth it hanging in there for.

When I finished grad school about 5 years ago I took at job at a college lab preschool. The school was used as a teaching model and practicum site for early childhood/child development college students. It was a preschool that ran 2 programs in the same building--a traditional preschool that served infants through preK--and also a Montessori program also serving infants but including kindergarten, as well. I was hired to work in the traditional model, primarily in the 2 year old classroom.

As part of my orientation (I LOVE their model for orientation), I had to spend several hours observing each of the other classes through the two-way glass (and I could listen by wearing some headphones that connected to a microphone in the classroom....it was an awesome set up!). The Montessori program, especially at the infant and toddler levels, instantly amazed me! I was so shocked to see 1 year olds setting their own tables, using silverware, regular cups, and NAPKINS!!! This was just the beginning of my journey....

The toddler class I taught in followed a more traditional philosophy, but it was still highly influenced by Montessori methods. One that was immediately foreign to me was stand-up diapering. When I first observed teachers in the infant and toddler classrooms diapering standing up, I wondered what in the world they were doing....and then when I heard this was the ONLY way any child able to stand could be changed, I was a little nervous whether I'd be able to do it...and why in the world anyone would WANT to do that.

I remained a critic for only a couple of days.  It was easier to master than I had thought. My co-teachers gave me great tips (and I learned a few lessons the hard way.) I quickly saw the reasoning and value behind stand-up diapering....first in the toddler classroom where our children were mastering potty-training, and then later, when I took on some extra hours in the older infant classroom and saw the pre-potty-training stages.

First off, in the Montessori method, there is no such thing as potty training a child over a couple of days, over a weekend, or even over a week. Like most aspects of child development, procedures and skills are taught gradually and methodically--giving the child as much responsibility as they are developmentally ready to handle at each point of their physical, emotional and cognitive (mental) growth.

So....the first step begins even with tiny infants when caregivers explain what they are doing as they change diapers. They explain to the child what's in their diaper (pee or poop) so the infant begins to make a connection that there is a difference...important later on when a child needs to be able to discern if they need to pee or poop in the potty. They may also begin to let the infant hold the diaper or a wipe and hand it to them when they are ready for it.

When a child is able to stand up with help (ie: holding onto something), they are ready to begin stand-up diapering. For us, that was around 10 months with Quinn (our daughter) and Beck (our son). You can tell it's time when they start the "alligator roll." If you've had a baby you know what I mean! The second you start diapering he tries to roll away from me and fight getting changed. I cringe anytime I see a parent in a battle with an "alligator baby" during a diaper change, and I cringe even more when I hear parents tell me they have to spank their child (or use some other form of punishment) to make them lay still to get their diaper changed. Alligator rolling combined with leg strength to stand (with support) equals time for the world of stand-up diapering!!

In a classroom setting, the teacher would sit in a small chair and put the child between her legs, with the child holding onto one leg of teacher to assist with standing (this was in the 2 year old classroom). In the infant classroom the child supported himself on a low changing table that was about 2 feet off the ground (of course....Montessori is all about child-sized furniture!!).
At home we bought two very cheap stools from Ikea (they kinda look like nightstands) for around $12. We kept one upstairs and one downstairs in the bathrooms.

It's important to have all your supplies ready at hand. We kept a basket under the stool with diapers, wipes, bags for dirty diapers, and diaper cream.

Before changing the dirty diaper, we would get the new diaper and unfold it and actually turn it inside out, so that once it's placed on the child the leg flaps (that contain the pee) are not tucked under.

At this first stage the child is encouraged to help with removing clothing--ie: show them how to loop their fingers in the waistband of their pants and use a downward motion. We often sang the song "Quinny's pants are falling down, falling down, falling down." to the tune of London Bridges.

The child is also asked if they have pee or poop (even if they don't have the words to answer yet.) The caregiver checks, and notifies the child. If it's a pee diaper the child can be taught to remove it themselves. We started teaching Quinn how to open the tapes on her diaper. If it's a poopy diaper, the child needs to learn that the caregiver removes it, so it doesn't get everywhere! It's important to teach the child to differentiate between poop and pee because when they are starting to use the toilet they need to know if they are peeing or pooping. Seems simple to us, but initially kids don't know the difference. They will be taught that if you need to poop sometimes you might need to sit a little longer, and you wipe differently, etc. Also distinguishing between pee and poop is helpful later on, as you can encourage the child to come to you immediately for a change if they have poop.

The child can be in charge of getting a bag for the dirty diaper. They can also be taught how to open the wipes and take them out one at a time, handing them to the caregiver. Of course all of these skills are introduced one at a time, with lots of practice for each skill. For a pee diaper the child is asked to "clean your body" first (use a wipe on themself). The caregiver can follow up with a second wipe, if needed. If it's a poopy diaper, the caregiver cleans first, and the child can have a turn when the caregiver's finished.

People always freak out the most when they hear about stand-up diapering when it's a poopy diaper. I actually learned it's much easier standing than doing it laying. First off, often it doesn't get smashed all over the place onto the child's body because the child layed on their bottom. The poop stays more solid, making for easier clean up. The child can either lean forward, over the leg of the caregiver, or one of the child's legs can be lifted to access all the areas that need wiped. The child can switch over to holding onto the caregiver's other leg if the caregiver needs to wipe the front of the child.

For my two, we used the stool, so we were actually behind them when we changed her. Initially we had to work with on remaining standing--they'd want to sit back down and crawl away. We would let them take the wipes out or put a small toy or book on the stool top to keep interest (for about a month, until they figured out what was going on and had no problem remaining standing).

The caregiver explains what they are doing as they help remove clothing, clean the child's body, and help the child redress.

Another facet of this method is that once the child starts standing, diapering is relocated to ONLY occurring in the bathroom. This is for obvious reasons--the place where we take care of toileting needs is in the bathroom. We kept our "changing stool" in the bathroom. We also purchased a small toilet seat (that fits on the bigger one) and stool, so she could begin to learn about using the toilet. In our school's program parents were encouraged not to place little toilets in any other locations (living room, etc.), because children need to learn to go to the bathroom to handle all toileting needs. It's important to diaper in the bathroom (ding--one of those early "pre-potty" steps that leads along the path to potty training....) to help the child make the connection that potty stuff happens in the bathroom! I think one of the first reasons many parents resist stand up diapering is because it's a little more work--you can't just change the child right where you happen to be...you have to get up and go into the bathroom every time. But it'll pay off....it will....it will! If you are saying, "But our bathroom is too small to fit a stool in there," you can use the toilet to support the standing child. Close the lid and wipe down surfaces that will be touched with a clorox wipe, or throw a towel over the closed lid so the child touches that, instead. You can also use a child-sized chair or even a door frame to support your standing kiddo.

We started out by letting Q explore the toilet--flushing many times, opening and shutting the lid, and unrolling the toilet paper. We didn't allow her to put her hands in the water, though. We taught her that it was "yuck." We showed her how to climb up and sit on the seat. So, for a couple months after every diaper change we encouraged her to sit on the potty for a second. She didn't do anything....just sat for a couple seconds. This was fine! She was learning some important skills--how to get on the toilet, primarily. So, to recap, every time we changed her diaper, it was ALWAYS in a restroom. And if we were at home, we always encouraged her to climb up and sit on the potty after a diaper change.

18 months seems really young to most people, but this is actually a great age (for some children it occurs even sooner....) because they are first starting to notice the toilet and what goes on with it--and that parents are using it. Once the child first shows interest/curiosity is the perfect time to add toilet skills to the "potty training" schema. Sometimes waiting until the child is older (2 or over) actually skips past the window of interest (and also coincides with the "NO" phase, which does not help acquire toilet skills!)

Sometimes we knew times of the day Q would always seem to pee. We tried to take her to sit on the potty before she peed/pooped in her diaper, and occasionally we'd get her there in time and she'd pee in the potty. We'd make a big deal and clap and say, "yeaaaa!"

After a while of just sitting and practicing, Q peed in the potty a few times and started making the connection. A little bit after she turned 2 years old, we started encouraging her to sit on the potty and "push out your pee" every little bit during the day. From that point on she did great and was fully potty trained shortly after her 2nd birthday.  Same thing for our son.

From a teaching standpoint I was shocked how easily ALL of our children potty trained using this method--even the boys, which many people argue are so much tougher. I love that potty training was never an "issue" or an "obstacle" or even a frustration. It was just part of our every day routine.

As a mom I loved that I could change diapers anywhere easily--no changing table needed. In the truck--easy! Standing up on the seat worked great. In public restrooms--no problem, she often just held onto my legs and I bent over and helped her (or him). I also loved that it wasn't ME CHANGING HER.....the older and more capable she got, the more she was expected (and excitedly willing) to do because that was just the way we had always done things.

I could go on and on about how great I think stand-up diapering is. And also how important it is to teach toileting just like any other skill--in small pieces as the child is able to do more.  We would never say to a child "This is the weekend you are going to learn to eat.  We are not leaving this house until you learn to eat."  Yet often this is done with potty training....

Both of my kiddos moved along the process so smoothly and with no resistance.  I saw the same thing in the infant and toddler classrooms where I taught.  The only "things" with stand up diapering is that you have to be committed to following the same procedure every time and give as much of the process over to the child as they are ready for....if you can do those...you've got it made!

**Updated....read more about our diapering journey at THIS POST.It has a step-by-step breakdown with pictures of our Little Man and stand-up diapering.  :)

On Infants and Eating

So we are totally immersed in the beginning stages of eating with our little guy! What fun! Here is just a general overview of how we introduce solids based on my experiences in a fabulous infant Montessori class a few years back...and how we adapt these things to use at home.

First off, two books I highly recommend when it comes to Infant Feeding are Super Baby Food by Ruth Yarrow and Babywise by Gary Ezzo (the chapters on eating). I think both of them are a little extreme in their views and I tend to draw from what they believe and not use it as a the final word...but it's good background info to have--especially Ezzo's information on how we train babies in response to hunger.

Moving on......
It's important to note that our feeding procedure is what we follow MOST OF THE TIME. Sometimes it's just too cold in our house to feed the poor boy shirtless, so of course I keep him clothed and use a bib. And naturally we don't undress him in restaurants. Sometimes I give him his water in a sippy cup, just to keep him familiar with how to use it (or because, face it, I haven't unloaded the dishwasher that day and have no clean shot glasses.....) But the following is the procedure I learned in my Montessori experience and what we typically follow.

First off, we feed Beck during our mealtimes--the same place and time as the rest of us eat. OF COURSE there are sometimes exceptions--like if he gets off his nap schedule and is asleep during a meal, etc. But we are trying to teach him the concept of "meal time" and to become a participant in the social aspect of eating. He sits with us while we thank God for the blessing of food. He sees how we all sit down together and stay seated during mealtime. He "interacts" with us in our dinnertime/lunchtime conversation (obviously right now it's a little one-sided...). He is taking in so many concepts of "mealtime" and what this means that he wouldn't be exposed to if we fed him separately at another time.

We typically put Beck's food in a clear container. I love the little glass jelly jars for the portion he's eating right now with these fabulous screw-on plastic lids! The reason for the clear container is to begin teaching him the concept that as he eats his food, the amount in the dish decreases and is eventually gone. This is a very basic math skill in volume, and also a cause-effect relationship. It also allows him to begin to observe the properties of the foods he eats--the color and texture as he sees it in the dish (early science skill).

We usually use a metal baby spool because metal responds to the heat of the food being eaten--a metal spoon dipped in refrigerated yogurt turns cold. A metal spoon dipped in warm squash heats up. Beck can begin sensing these differences on his tongue and lips as he eats. A plastic spoon is less responsive to the heat of the food and provides less sensory input for our little eater. Obviously I sometimes use a plastic spoon if the others are dirty or something, but I TRY to stick with uncoated metal spoons.

We introduce sign language with eating. We sign "eat" before giving him any food by asking "Do you want to eat?" and sign "eat" as we say the word. Sometimes he doesn't even look at us at all while we do this, but other times he does. It doesn't matter if he isn't crazy attentive to this--it's a process and exposure to signs matched with speech and action will build up to create understanding over time.

We also sign "more" between bites. Sometimes not between EVERY bite--if he's hungry we don't torture him like that. :) But I do pause occasionally to give him the chance to request more. He'll usually reach for the food or grunt or even scream. At that point we say, "more" and do the sign. We are modeling for him how to request more and providing opportunities for him to have to make the request (early opportunities for independence--even in a 6 month old!!). We also say/sign "water" before giving him drinks, and we sign "all done" when his food is gone or he has shown us he doesn't want to eat anymore. I have seen mealtime signing to be so successful in both infant and toddler classrooms and also in our home setting with Quinn. It's so helpful to know if your baby is full (all done) or wants a drink (later we'll teach "milk") or even needs more Cheerios or strawberries or whatever. It helps reduce mealtime conflict and really adds a strong sense of personal responsibility and independence for infants and toddlers.
We totally go off Beck's cues to not "overdo" the signing and letting it become obtrusive--we use gently when it fits in at appropriate times, and also build it into our routine.

Here is Beck reaching for his yogurt/sweet potato lunch--in a clear glass jar with a metal spoon. We use shot glasses for his water.

At each meal we also offer water--between a series of bites and at the end of the meal. I love small shot glasses. They are the perfect size and the taper makes them easy for little hands to hold while the wide mouth helps get the liquid in baby's mouth.

I sign and offer water by holding the glass slightly out of Beck's reach so he puts his hand(s) out for it. I wrap his hands around the glass so he is holding it himself with me helping to support. He usually is able to tip it himself with me helping as necessary. Allowing him to sip his water without a shirt on provides immediate feedback when he spills or tips too quickly. He will gasp when that cold water hits his chest! Babies can learn to master open cups very quickly--it's surprising! I remember the first time I went into an infant montessori class and saw the older infants drinking from open cups so efficiently!
Open cups teach babies the cause/effect relationship of spillage, allow for personal responsibility, and are nice to use because they hold very small amounts of liquid that can be totally consumed in one setting (again--the cause/effect relationship of liquids decreasing in volume as they are drank).

Feeding shirtless is for the same reason--so the child can get IMMEDIATE feedback when food is spilled/dropped from the mouth onto the chest.

Also, at every meal (or the majority of the time) we give Beck a food he can feed himself. This is important for building personal responsibility/independence and for helping to hone his motor skills in the practical life area of eating. We often use small pieces of bread we've pulled apart (to practice the palmar grasp and later the pincer grasp), a piece of toast, a hard cracker, a steamed large broccoli floret, a whole steamed carrot, a whole banana (with the peel pulled down half way--keeping the peel on makes it easier to hold--bananas are slippery!) and later we'll add in more finger foods. Allowing him to feed himself also gives us time to get our food eaten!

Yum!!

Infant Mealtime Basics

Much of these procedures come from the Montessori philosophy are used in Montessori infant and toddler classrooms.

When babies start eating solids (cereal, purees, fingerfoods, etc.), they are offered water at each feeding in a cup just their size. We liked these small plastic shot glasses. I bought them at Ross and they were the perfect size for Q's little hands to reach around, and I also liked that she could see through them so she could see the level of the water change (an important science and math skill--basic measurement!). I bought the little pitcher in the coffee department at Sur La Table (it's for espresso).

Initially at about 5-6 months we would put a very small amount of water in the cup. We signed and said, "Water," and held it up to Q's lips so she could take a drink. Eventually she started reaching for the cup, and at this point we knew she was ready to "drink" herself. We always put a very small amount of water in the cup because of course she was going to spill it or dump it on her highchair tray or the floor. We kept the pitcher close to refill (always signing and saying "more") when the cup was empty.

I also kept a small washrag close (the pile pictured above looks a little ragged from all the Quinny meals they survived!) and if she did spill water, I placed her hand on the washrag and let her help me "clean up!"

We only put water in the small cups until around a year when we also offered milk. Just using water initially helps to not confuse babies who may be doing some initial introductions to water, and later around a year when they are discovering whole milk. As a general rule at mealtimes we ONLY used small cups--no sippy cups at mealtime. Milk was given in a bottle and later in a sippy cup if it was used (either before or after the meal.)

Using a cup and being able to drink with very minimal spilling is a 1 year milestone. Obviously it takes LOTS of practice to build up to this point! Drinking from a cup encourages body awareness, hand-eye coordination, balance and also promotes cause and effect relationships ("if I turn the cup upside down water spills out!"), and it fosters independence.

We also conducted mealtime (at home) with Q only in her diaper (this is a Montessori procedure as well). This enabled Q to have immediate awareness anytime she dropped food or spilled water because it landed on her bare skin. Clothing and/or bibs prohibits the food/water from touching the child and often they don't even get the cause/effect relationship that they spilled something because they don't even notice.

After a year, Q could drink successfully with a cup. Some modifications we made were letting her pour water from the pitcher into her own cup (just make sure there isn't too much water in the pitcher to overflow the cup, because at this stage they don't know to stop pouring when the cup is full), using a larger cup, and also drinking milk from a cup. Now at 2 years Q only drinks from regular cups (except her water bottle in the car) and at meals uses even glass cups (glasses) successfully.

Sponge Work

One great Montessori-inspired activity I love is sponging water from one container to another. I set out a little tray with 1 bowl full of water and 1 empty bowl, as well as a small sponge (I cut the regular ones in half). Q then submerges the sponge in water, holds it over the empty bowl and squeezes. We always work from left to right (print awareness--the way words and letters run). This promotes fine motor skills, hand and wrist strength , concentration, practical life skills, sensory and tactile exploration, and arm strength.

Sometimes I add a little bit of peppermint or lemon extract to make the water smell nice, and I always let Q choose if she wants warm or cold water in the bowl.

In Q's dish cabinet I put out a little container of sponges. She puts one on the table when she eats to clean her fingers, face, or any spills that may occur. Sponges are more managable for toddlers because even if they are sopping wet they aren't drippy, and they fit better in small hands. They also hold more liquid for cleaning spills.

Washing Baby

Doll washing is a classic toddler/preschool montessori activity that is a big hit with little ones. Q was gifted with a hand-crocheted washcloth (it is actually a potholder for her little kitchen, but she decided it was for washing pink baby...works for us!) and she wanted to give Pink Baby a bath with it. I put about an inch of water in the bowl of her sink (or any bowl would work). We get a towel for drying ready and then a washcloth. I love this crocheted cloth because it doesn't soak up too much water. Regular washcloths get too soppy for my little one, who doesn't know how to squeeze out excess water yet. She LOVES this activity.

For older infants, give them a moist washcloth or a wipe and let them wash their baby.

For preschoolers you can add more elements. Provide a very tiny bottle of soap. Teach them to pour out one drop into the bowl of water, mix to create bubbles, and then wash and dry baby. They can be in charge of filling and emptying the bowl themselves, if taught the steps. I often drew a line on the bowl for my preschoolers so they knew how much water they could put. They always got to pick if it was hot or cold. Big decision. :)

This activity teaches direction following, practical life skills and enhances sensory exploration as they play in the water.

Trucks, toy dishes, and plastic animals also like baths! And the best part--it's just water. Even if a mess is made, a quick sponging takes care of it!

Healthy Hummus

One healthy food I have been giving Quinn since she was a baby is hummus. It's made of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), so it's a great source of protein. It has a thick consistency, so it was wonderful for self-feeding when she was learning to use a spoon--at first I'd put a glob on her spoon, hand it to her and let her lick it off, holding the spoon herself. For younger infants you could thin it a bit with some breastmilk or water.

Now I like to make "porcupines" for Q for a snack or for lunch. I put a big glob of hummus on her plate and poke stick pretzels into it all over it (unfortunately today we only have the other kind of pretzels). She loves this!

Q would gladly be a vegetarian (with the exception of milk) if we'd let her, so I am constantly working diligently to get enough protein into her meals. Hummus is a nice variation to the cheese, turkey, yogurt, nuts, and peanut butter we lunch/snack on!

Sabra is my favorite brand and Walmart and Sams carries it.

I also offer carrot sticks, broccoli, cauliflower, whole wheat crackers, or whole wheat toast strips for dippers.

Hummus is also great for scooping practice--Q can scoop it into her bowl on her own. We are working on the skill of GENTLY tapping the spoon on the side of the bowl to get all the hummus off into the dish.

Potty Training Book

I'm sorry, but there are a lot of hokey potty books out there for toddlers, in my opinion. Plus most of them have WAY too many words for most toddlers to listen to. I LOVE this book! It goes through a variety of animals that live at the zoo and how they poop (in a toddler-appropriate manner, of course!). My little one has recently gotten very interested in the dog poop in the yard and announces each instance of it, so this book was perfect for her! And...if you have taken your kids to the zoo, you know the poop is just about the most interesting item there! Forget the tigers and bears, check out that pile of dung! :)

At the end of the book it has a little boy sitting on the potty and talks about how people poop in the potty. Q loves saying "Poop in poppy" and pointing out the "flush," stool (as in step)," and toilet paper.

We got this at the library, of course!!

Shoe organization

Love this---great way to teach toddlers and preschoolers how to match their shoes and keep them organized. A small shoe rack or shelf and some clothespins are all you need. Teach the child to clip matching shoes together (you may have to help with the clothespin for a while).

I am thinking this would also be a great tool for clipping pajama tops and bottoms, sock matches, etc. together. Including children in laundry time teaches great practical life skills as well as early math skills (one-to-one correspondance, matching, odds/evens, counting, size, etc.)

I think one problem we have as parents is that we have "too much" of everything. For some reason I think my daughter needs 10 pairs of pajamas and 8 pairs of shoes and a gazillion socks. Paring down to a small number that the child can have control over and keep neat is a much better method, developmentally. This challenges me to put up a few of the pj pairs and even some of the shoes until we need them, and just keep out the most-used so that Q can take more control over her belongings.

I also love the low stool next to the shoe bench. A pretty rug, overturned flowerpot or bucket, or even a folded up blanket would serve the same purpose and provide a sense of boundary for children when they are putting on shoes or taking them off.

More self care...shoes and standing diaper changes

As we are starting to give Q more responsibility in her self care, I have added a "shoe shelf" to her bedroom. We have an area where we keep all of her diapering items as well as shoes and socks on shelves. Her many pairs of shoes are stored in a small basket, but I wanted to start allowing her to put her shoes away when she undressed for nap or bedtime. For very young children, baskets aren't always the greatest methods for putting their own items away. In this case, if we asked her to get a pair of shoes out, she isn't quite able to find a matching pair and would get distracted by too many choices. When it was time to put them away, throwing them in a basket would also be difficult for her because she would be soooo tempted to play with all of them. She's a shoe girl! Also, another thing about baskets for storing items is that often times it's not a neat storage solution but rather a "dumping place." Think about the baskets you have in your home and whether they are neat and organized, allowing you to see every item inside (the visual is Sooooooo important for little ones who cannot yet categorize items to know everything that will be in that basket, even down at the bottom....you know that if it's a shoe basket, your red shoes will be down there at the bottom because, after all, they are shoes! Little ones can't yet put items into compartments like that and if they can't see the red shoes, to them they aren't there.) Obviously this is a skill they acquire more and more over time, but initially it's usually best to provide storage that allows for all items to be seen.

So.....we are still going to keep her many pairs of shoes in the basket on one of the higher shelves that only Mommy and Daddy can reach. However, on the bottom shelf I have put two little feet cutouts. I will set out the shoes she will wear that day on the feet and she will go get them from there. When it is time to take them off, we'll teach her to return them to the feet. Older children do great with a shoe rack or even one of the over-the-door shoe pocket systems.....

Older children can also start learning left and right feet and can be taught to put the left foot on the left cutout and same with the right. For now, we will just focus on Q getting each shoe on a foot. Sidenote...this also reinforces the math skill of one-to-one correspondance, an important counting and division skill.

So....onto diapering. We practice stand-up diapering. I know, you can pick your fainted self up off the ground right now. :) I too, was an unbeliever when I first found out about it. I began working at a Montessori who diapered strictly standing once the children could stand assisted. At first I thought it was sheer madness and that I would NEVER master it. Then I worked in a toddler classroom for a year and saw the ease with which these children were potty trained. No "potty training boot camp" no crying from kids or parents....Just calmness and the acquisition of toileting just like any other skill. Little by little.

We started out by buying two cheap wooden stools at Ikea. Plain ole chairs would work, too. We had a spot upstairs and downstairs equipped with a basket of diapers, plastic bags, wipes, and creams. When Q could stand holding onto the chair, we stood her up, we sat on the floor behind her. We removed her pants. Removed her diaper. If it was wet, no problem, just took it off, got out a new one, unfolded it all the way and put it between her legs and refastened the closures. Sometimes at first we had to do a couple readjustments to get it the right tightness. After about 10 times we were experts and could judge the tightness just right the first time. We also made sure the little elastics around her legs were out. Put her pants back on and that was it! If she was poopy, we got out lots of wipes ahead of time and got the plastic bag opened wide and lying beside us and the diaper all opened up and ready to go. Then when we took the diaper off we used it to wipe as much poo as possible. We then used the wipes to clean the back of her, then we lifed her leg enough to get the front. Easy peasy!

As she got bigger, we started including her more and more. Every time we change her we talk about whether she has poop or pee. This is important to know once you start sitting on the toilet so you know how long you'll be there! Not something children acquire automatically, so an important step. We then taught her how to remove her own diaper if it was wet. Somewhere around this time she started becoming mobile, so we had to introduce "wait, please" and teach her how to stay standing at the stool until we are all finished. We started allowing her to open the wipes and hand them to us...of course she always gives way too many, but they're easy to put back....Then we started letting her help take her pants down (by hooking her fingers in the top and gently tugging on her hands) and put them back on (we talk about "one leg, two legs!"). Now she throws her own diapers away and we wash her hands in the sink after. She also gets us a dry diaper before we start the diaper change. As you can see, we keep the dry diapers on a shelf she can reach. We've also started asking her to "clean your bottom" with a wipe after we finish cleaning her. She loves each step and enjoys taking part. She is also learning the steps of using the toilet gradually.

The next steps will include letting her sit on the toilet as soon as her diaper is removed if she wants. If not, okay. We'll let her go nuts with the flushing and put a small amount of toilet paper on the roll for her to experiment with (until she gets it out of her system and learns how the flushing and tp things work)....

Reasons I love Stand-up diapering:
-When she doesn't lay down on a poopy diaper, it doesn't squish all up in her butt cheeks and is MUCh easier to clean up
-She gets to take part and she is learning how to use the toilet step-by-step, which is developmentally appropriate
-she participates in toileting the same way we do on a real toilet--in an upright position
-she is active in participating and not just laying there watching me
-it's great when you are somewhere without a changing table--especially nasty gas stations on road trips!
-we change her standing in the back of the car trunk when we don't have access to a restroom

Be brave...give it a try!!!!

Introducing self care

Self care is an important skill for children to acquire at a very young age. It gives them pride and independence, and it also lessens Mom and Dad's role, as the child can begin to take on simple tasks themselves. One of the first tasks you can introduce is combing hair. We have a low wicker chest (that I got in college at a garage sale for $1....definitely got my money out of this bargain!) that holds a small tray (.49 at the Salvation Army...it's handpainted wood with peacocks on it....EXACTLY my cup of tea!!) and a comb and brush. I bought a cheapo ($5) mirror at Big Lots, stapeled on some cute ribbon with an upholstry stapler, and hung it from a robe hook bought at Lowe's. It makes the perfect little dressing table for Q. For now we just encourage her to comb and brush her own hair (which for her doesn't take long!!). Later on we will add a box of tissues so she can wipe her own nose. At another point we may add a small jar of her hair things so she can choose which item she will wear in her hair that day. We may also include a small jewelery box with a few items inside it. The key is to gradually add more responsibilities as the child shows readiness for it. However, you also want to be sure not to put out "too much." Q already has about a zillion hair thingys (wishful thinking, huh!) and if (in a few months) I put them all out in a jar that would overwhelm her and also be a huge mess to clean up if dumped...AND be very difficult for her to make a decision which to wear. I would just put out 4-5 at a time and let her choose from those. I could rotate them over time. Same thing with the jewelery.

Other items that could be put out as the child seems ready:
-small container of lotion
-hair gel (for boys)
-chapstick

Note that it is key that these items are available at the child's level so that they can accomplish the task on their own (after you have taught them how and practiced with them many times).