The Nail Biter

When Gabbi was little and learning how to use the potty, we often used painting her nails as a distraction to have her wait.  It was great.  She grew to love her nails painted.  We would paint our fingernails and toenails.  I loved having her pick colors at the store and now out of our stock pile of colors.

Then she developed this nasty habit of biting her nails.  It drives me crazy!!  I know there are worse things she could do, but come on!  She saw it as her nightly duty to scrape all of her pretty polish with her teeth.  Then there are the hang nails.  Uggg.  She would tell me that she would try really hard to not chew on them, but every morning there were just these little scraps of nails.  Where did she get this?  I have my theories, but will not know for sure.  I know that I don't bite my nails, nor does her dad.  So who knows.  I asked her one day when/why she did it.  She said she did it when she would lay down for her naps and night time.  And she said it was because I wasn't looking.  Granted she may be the smartest kid I know, but this also told me she knew she wasn't suppose to chew on her nails.

One day after she had gotten ready for bed I noticed her toe nails were also looking shaggy and it occurred to me that we hadn't done a pedicure in awhile.  I asked her if she bit them, "Yep" said with pride.  I asked her how.  "I bend my leg."  Well, that makes perfect sense.

So it is now our daily job to work on not biting her nails.  It has only been a week and I am so very proud of her.  Many folks suggested the gross tasting polish for her.  But every where I looked didn't have it, plus I wanted her to learn by doing, not by conditioning.

Then we came across the Berenstain Bear's book, Bad Habits.  It was about how Sister Bear chewed on her nails.  Part of her plan was to tape her fingertips to remind her not to bite them.  Gabbi liked this idea so we tried it.  She was excited to help me buy tape at the store and liked our new ritual of putting it on.  She played with them at first, but she ended up doing great.

Even after two nights of tape and no chewing, we saw nail growth.  Gabbi was so proud of herself, and so I was I!!  She loves that she is getting nails.  We decided that her reward for growing her nails will be a special manicure with Mommy.  I can't wait!!

To Nap or Not to Nap

I think we are approaching a huge hurdle in child raising.  I think my little kiddo is growing out of naps.  I was afraid this day would come.  She is one of the last few in her class that actually still take naps.

Lately though she has been only sleeping for an hour or even less.  If she takes her old 2 hour nap she tends to struggle more at bedtime, just takes a long time to fall asleep.

There is part of me that is kind of relieved to be past naps.  It would mean that we don't have to plan our weekend adventures around a nap.  Not that it interrupts us too much but it can be inconvenient.  Then there is the other part of me that is very sad to say goodbye to naps (when it finally happens).  I love how it  allows her to be rested and refreshed midday.  I like that it gives me a couple hours to get stuff done around the house, check email, take a nap myself or work out.

I am still trying to decipher Gabbi's cues if she really is ready to stop naps.  According to her she will always chose to skip her naps.  According to her dad he wants her to take naps for another couple years.  How do you know if they have out grown naps?  What if I am wrong and am rushing this?  What if I miss the cues that she needs to go back to taking naps?  All of a sudden I think I skipped a chapter in "What to Expect - the Toddler Years".

I am confident that I will figure it out, but it will take some time and I am sure some rough afternoons/evenings.  I feel like I need to prepare some sort of ritual to say farewell to naps.  Perhaps a farewell party, with no chance for a reunion tour.

What's your sign?

Sign language is a blessing.  It was my guide past the terrible two's.  It was our early entertainment and fun activity.  It continues to be useful even as Gabbi nears four years old.

Even before Gabbi was born I decided that sign language was going to be a tool we integrated from very early on.  I grew up with a grandmother and grandfather who were deaf and still remembered some sign.  I had also read that teaching American Sign Language (ASL) to babies and toddlers help them communicate their needs before they can talk.  This was proven time and time again with my little one.

Before Gabbi could talk we started to sign.  Her dad and I would sign as much as we could at all times. We also received a great gift of Baby Signing Time by Rachel Coleman.  My stepmom got us the first volume and we nearly wore out the dvds.  I admit I would pop one in to give me a chance to shower and get ready.  It gave me 25 minutes to get ready and educated Gabbi.  Most of the time we did watch the show a few times in a row and we would practice the signs.  We continue to watch Signing Time on occasion and we practice everyday.

Gabbi picked up ASL very quickly and used it a great deal before she could talk and after.  She used it to tell us when she wanted more food, bottle, developed manners like saying please and thank you, identify animals, and all sorts of things.  She also was able to learn the sign for potty to let us know when she had to go.  We still use this sign, it allows us to ask her if she needs to go without letting everyone else know what we are talking about.

I noticed today that ASL continues to help me care for Gabbi.  At her gym she plays/dances in the room and I get to watch on the other side of the glass.  (Sounds odd but it works)  If she starts to get distracted and looks at me I can sign to her to listen, ask if she has to go potty, and tell her good job with out shouting or disrupting the other parents.

I love that ASL continues to used in our household.  We will continue to learn our signs, watch our videos, and develop our signing skills.  She has forgotten some of the signs but picks them up quickly.

My favorite sign that Gabbi did is actually one that she made up herself.  When she was about 18 months old she was really into Disney's Cinderella movie and she made a sign for Cinderella.  It is basically the ASL sign for applause but it's her sign for the movie.  Too darn cute.  Much like Gabbi.

So my advice is teach your child sign language, at any age.  There are a lot of resources out there to help. Visit your library and get some board books and videos.  Visit the Signing Time website and think about getting some of their items.  It is an investment into your little kiddo.