eating and pooping

Pleione

Amateur questions coming up - been on vac for two months, and it's been impossibly hard on feeding, sleeping, you name it. LO decided she wasn't going to eat the first week away and the grandparents managed to get her to eat by bribing her - eat a mouthful and I'll show you a gecko sort of thing, and they would carry her around to distract her. So now we're having to retrain her, get her back in the feeding chair, etc.

- So my first question is: how are your kiddos eating? Do you feed them? Are they eating with fork/ spoon, etc? A combination? Mine really wants to use a spoon but turns it upside down and hardly anything gets in - I'm finding the mess really difficult to deal with even though I know she needs the practice.
- Second, how exactly are you dealing with potties, if you're using one? It just seems messier than diapers.... an extra thing to clean out... am I supposed to have separate brushes, sponges, to clean out the crap?? Or line it with saran wrap? Oi.

On a brighter note, the kid's talking. I remember complaining a few months ago that she wasn't even babbling. Now she's saying "tuk-tuk" and "see-saw up and down" amongst other odd things, so there's that.

lewispm

Kellen started getting the hang of the spoon with some stickier foods like mashed potatos, oatmeal, etc. It sticks to the spoon better and helps them learn. Then we moved on to things like yogurt and rice, which he often still struggles with spilling, but is getting much better. As far as the fork, things that are easy to poke are good like bananas, scrambled eggs, soft meats and cheese.

As for the potty, I would 100% recommend getting the little seat that you put on top of your real potty with a step stool and handles to help them climb out. It leaves no cleanup other than what you do to a toilet anyway and it cuts out an entire step (transitioning from kiddy potty to real potty). K ahs done ok with his. He has pooped in it a handful of times and pees almost every time I set him on it.

I'm glad to hear she is moving along language wise!

aylafsu88

LO is getting the hang of using a spoon and fork. She makes a huge mess on herself and the floor but I figure it is part of learning and she has to develop her coordination.We only use a spoon/fork at home where it is not a big deal if she makes a huge mess. When we go out to eat I always bring easy finger foods to avoid the mess.
As for the potty we are not doing it yet. We have a little potty that we will use. She mostly sits on it before bath time and plays. I will probably start thinking about training at 20 months are really start doing it at 24 months.

pinkangelmoon

We do a combination. If we're eating out, we usually feed them, unless it's something not too messy they can grab from a placemat or plate.  At home, we give them utensils for them to use but it's hit or miss. Emma has gotten really good with hers but Liam still struggles a bit. We'll end up feeding them ourselves if they haven't been successful on their own.

As for the potty, I dump the contents into the toilet and use a diaper sprayer (attached to toilet) to spray off the rest. Then I just wipe the seat with a clorox wipe. 

Pleione

Good to know, thanks for sharing everyone. Lewispm, I'm leaning towards the seat that goes over the toilet now. Glad your LO has done well with his.

Shortcake2675

My daughter waited until 3 to potty learn, so I'm nowhere near starting Kevin now at 18 months.  But we have this seat for the potty in the kids bathroom and it made using the big potty less work for sure.  https://www.homedepot.com/p/BEMIS-NextStep-Elongated-Closed-Front-Toilet-Seat-in-White-1583SLOW-000/202721314?N=5yc1vZbzay