Toothbrushes that turn, vibrate, whatever...

Did you know my kids have cavities? Peanut will be 4 in October and Sprout will be 2 in November. To me it seems awfully young to have cavities. I am riddled with guilt about this even though, apparently, it is due to a mixture of things. One of these things is genetics. But another problem is that we have sucked at brushing their teeth more than once a day. Plus, Sprout still breastfeeds and will often nurse throughout the night. So I guess you add all those things up and you get 7 cavities and a really really really expensive dentist bill.

But at this point, all I can do is learn from the situation and try to do better. As Oprah would say, "when you know better, you do better." When I asked the dentist what I could do to prevent decay in the future he suggested:

• Brushing after every meal (darn.)
• Flossing (oh, that will be fun)
• Starting Peanut on fluoride toothpaste even if he still swallows a little bit.
• Trying to wipe down Sprout's teeth with a wet washcloth after he nurses (oh, you mean after he's just fallen asleep?!)

Realizing that two out of these four things might actually happen on a regular basis, I looked to my friends for advice. Surprisingly, the consensus was electric toothbrushes. You know, like a Sonicare for kids. So I took the boys shopping thinking, "I'm going to waste a ton of money on crazy kids' tooth care crap and they still will fight me when it's time to brush their teeth." I was wrong.

Each of the boys picked out a Crest Spinbrush. Peanut, a soccer ball and Sprout, a fire truck. They were about $6 each. I knew things were going well when they started playing with them in the car on the way home, but I was surprised by how willing they were to have their teeth brushed when we got home. Peanut now calls it his "super toothbrush." They are a bit bulky...and ugly...but if my kids are willingly brushing their teeth 2 to 3 times a day, who cares?!


I also bought them kid's flossers and Tom's of Maine natural anticavity toothpaste for Peanut. So far, no swallowing the new toothpaste! I guess it took the dentist telling him not to swallow his toothpaste for it to finally sink in. The kid flossers interested them because of their dinosaur shapes & they weren't afraid of us using them. It's seems like a bit of waste to me, using these plastic dinos once and throwing them away. But hopefully we'll smoothly transition to actual floss soon.



We'll see 6 months from now if any of these new habits and new products make a difference, but I'm crossing my fingers and brushing tiny teeth like crazy.

Dear Kid Saturday: Trains vs. Dinosaurs

Dear Peanut,
Can I just say how happy I am that you are finally into something other than trains?! While I think your fascination and dedication to steam engines is adorable, I was beginning to worry at times. You often live at your train table & ask to eat meals there (not that you do). You wear train shirts, train socks, train pajamas, sleep in train sheets, etc. It's a bit coo-coo.

But recently you have taken a serious interest in dinosaurs. Hallelujah! We've read dinosaur books, bought dinosaur puppets & even visited the dinosaurs at the Pacific Science Center this week. Not that I want you to trade one obsession for another, but it's nice to see that your interests are becoming a little more well rounded.

Love you!
Mommy

Library Picks: Some Great Books & One Bad DVD

I try to take the boys to the library every couple of weeks. Our local library has a great kids section and a wonderful children's librarian. We'll sometimes spend an hour looking through books, DVDs, CDs, playing puzzles, reading, etc. We usually leave with a bag full of books. Some of the books I choose ahead of time and have the library hold for us. Others are picked at random off the shelves.

I thought it would be fun to share our library picks and what we think of them. Because let's face it...when your 3.5 year old is picking books at random some of them really suck. And sometimes I think I've made the Mom's Choice of the Year and it turns out to be a real stinker. So here is our first edition of Peanut & Sprout's Library Picks:

BOOKS
The Winners

Olivia and The Missing Toy by Ian Falconer
WE LOVE OLIVIA! Olivia can do no wrong in our house. Both boys love her, Hubby & I love her. Great pictures along with witty preschooler humor. Peanut giggles every time Olivia's baby brother William says "Wooshee gaga."

Little Trucks with Big Jobs by Robert Maass
This short little book gives props to the trucks that often go unnoticed. Normally overshadowed by firetrucks and dump trucks, in this book little mail trucks, fork lifts & ice cream trucks get a chance to make their mark on any truck-loving preschooler.


The Losers

Dinosnores by Kelly S. DiPucchio
This one starts out cute with all kinds of dinosaurs sleeping and snoring, but then abruptly ends with something like "but then all the dinosaurs died." Odd. I'm guessing we picked this one off of the shelf at random.

Almost Gone: The World's Rarest Animals by Steve Jenkins
A perfect example of Mommy pushing her opinions about environmental issues...a little too early. This might be a good book for older kids that can more easily grasp the concepts of "extinction", "destruction" and "Australia."

DVDs

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins
Quite possibly the worst DVD ever made. It seems to be made by Pixar, but lacks the Pixar pizazz. Not to mention it's VIOLENT! Guns, lasers, "brain pickers" with sharp, shiny blades. We turned it off 5 minutes in and watched Cars instead.

Enjoy more Library Picks!