The Poopsie Collective

This Stubborn Mom Seeks Help

Written by ERICA 

There are some (ok, fine, MANY) aspects of pregnancy and motherhood that are absolutely terrifying. The obvious: childbirth, your/the baby’s health, the potential pain, the exhaustion, and the unknown. And the less obvious: picking a name, figuring out how to remove poop stains from clothes, keeping your kids entertained at all times and selecting baby gear. The bad news is that some things you simply can’t plan for. Sh*t happens, literally. The good news is, when it comes to prepping your home/life for your nugget, you absolutely CAN and should be informed. And it’s not nearly as painful as you’d think, as long as you seek some help. 

Let me start by admitting something that I rarely do, let alone put in print. I am stubborn. (I immediately regret that confession and I’m pretty sure I’ll never win another argument without an accusation of being inflexible.) Anyway, I’m really only stubborn when I truly think I know what’s best. So I guess the problem isn’t my being rigid when it comes to decision-making, it’s the fact that I’ve convinced myself I know more than I do on several topics.

One of those topics just happens to be motherhood. 

It stated when I was pregnant and I convinced myself that I knew everything I needed to know about baby gear. And it’s not that I knew anything about strollers or cribs or diaper genies. I didn’t. I was familiar with about 2 stroller brands that I had seen other West Village moms sporting and that’s it. But what I was certain of was that I didn’t need to attend any informational events or seminars. They would be nothing but a waste of my time—time I didn’t have since I was working a lot on top of my baby prep. I decided I’d figure it all out in my own way; after all, that’s what friends and online reviews are for. And I did figure it all out, eventually; but it was overwhelming, and exhausting, and on numerous occasions I nearly burst into tears while debating the logic behind purchasing 4 different strollers for one baby.

Turns out, there was absolutely no reason for me to brave the baby world on my own. And it wasn’t until recently when working at the Big City Moms The Biggest Baby Shower Ever in Miami that I realized just how stubborn and wrong I had been.

I was working at the event on behalf of Munchkin Fun, an amazing online kids calendar and parenting directory in Miami. I’m a little ashamed to admit that this was the first mommy/pre-natal event I had ever been to, ever. And I’m not even pregnant. For those of you who don’t know about Big City Moms, and if you’re a mom or mom-to-be, you should, it is a social event group and parenting resource in New York City (hopefully expanding to other markets). Big City Moms hosts everything from meet-and-greets for pregnant women to informative seminars on potty training. All the types of events that I decided to stay away from when I was pregnant but that I wish I had embraced instead.

And after working at The Biggest Baby Shower Ever, I can vouch that their events are AMAZING. Not sure what kind of stroller to buy? Yeah, neither was I. No problem, check out every new model from all the major brands on their stroller test track. Wish you knew more about cord blood banking? (I still have no freakin’ clue what it is or why I spent thousands of dollars on it.) Or car seats? Or stretch mark cream? It’s ALL THERE. Everything you might ever need to wrap your head around as a new mom is in one room. Yes, that room is also filled with an insane amount of estrogen and pregnancy cravings, which might be a turn-off to an outsider; but where else could you enjoy free candy and treats while also booking babysitters for a much-needed mom’s night out? 

Working at the BCM Biggest Baby Shower Ever…Surrounded by pregnant women and candy. 

Here’s what I learned: there is a difference between being so prepared that you don’t need help and being ignorant. I thought I was the first, but I’m starting to think I was the latter. 

And here’s something else I learned that a lot of new moms don’t realize (or choose to ignore): being overwhelmed and totally clueless doesn’t end when you pop that kid out. It’s not unique to stroller shopping or pre-natal skin care. It actually gets WORSE when you have a child. All of a sudden you’re not stressed about find the right stroller, you’re stressed about finding the right place to take that stroller after hours of nothing but tummy time and pooping. 

It was when we first moved to Miami that I realized I had NO IDEA what to do with my son. The days of him finding me, and just me, entertaining were gone. And I was in a new city, desperate to meet new people and even more desperate for activities to keep us both busy and not missing our NYC life. Luckily for me (and for you) I soon discovered the coolest resource for families in Miami. 

Munchkin Fun is the answer to the “I’ve had a kid, I’ve figured out how to change a diaper and I’ve mastered feeding time, now what?” dilemma. It is the answer to the “ugh it’s raining out and our playdate cancelled and I literally cannot be stuck inside with my kid for one more minute before I implode” problem. 

This online kids calendar/e-newsletter was created for one simple reason–-to help you discover things to do with your family. The founder, Valerie Schimel, knew there were fun things to do with her kids, she just didn’t have the time or patience, like so many moms (guilty!), to sort through 30 websites and make 15 calls to find out where and when to hang out with her kids. And since there wasn’t a go-to resource with everything a Miami mom might need to know, she created one. And thank god she did, because I literally cannot plan my week without it. 

Moral of the story? There are resources out there. Check them out and let them help you; don’t be stubborn like a certain Poopsie writer who learned this the hard way. Because trust me, with the right advice, ideas, inspirations and help your day as a mom can go from awesomely stressful to, well, just plain awesome.

CLICK HERE for more information on Big City Moms and their upcoming Biggest Baby Shower events (next up, NYC on May 9th).

And if you’re in the Miami, Broward or Palm Beach areas, CLICK HERE to learn more and sign up for the Munchkin Fun newsletter! You won’t be sorry!

Poops and Poo-Pooed at St. Peters

Written by GWEN

Yesterday I took Izzy to church. Nah, not like that. St. Peter’s Church, around the corner from us, opens as a play center on Wednesday mornings with a two pound entry fee. We figured why not. Surely, Jews must be welcome. Izzy had a ball interacting with all the other kiddies, checking out the new surroundings, and most importantly, the NEW toys. In fact, he was having such a great time, that he pooped about three minutes after we arrived. He didn’t seem to notice, so I pretended not to as well. I mean, isn’t it like sacrilegious to change a diaper in a church anyway? Did I just sound like I knew what I was talking about??  

Like I said, we were having a fab time, me chatting with some local mom friends, while I kept one eye on Izzy making the rounds. At one point I spied him walking past two women who looked like a nanny and a grandmother. Izzy gently laid his hand on the grandmother’s knee to steady himself as he toddled by. I love it when he does that to strangers—totally uninhibited and delightful. The grandmother, however, seemed to feel differently. She glared at my child and his misplaced hand as if to say, “Excuse me. WHAT is going on here?”

What’s going on here, lady, is that you’re in a church filled with about 100 babies and toddlers. And one of them, who just so happens to be the cutest and sweetest of them all, needed a little support from the nearest leg. I mean, if you don’t like kids, I think you’re in the wrong place. Typically, Izzy leaned on the same woman again about ten minutes later. That time she just ignored him altogether. 

Anyway, just thought I’d share, because people never cease to amaze me. 

And on a side note, I would like to dedicate this post to my Mister whomI love very much and who never ceases to amaze me, but in a totally different way. The other day when I asked him which shoe went best with my outfit, instead of saying, “the left one” or “the red one” he looked me up and down carefully and replied definitively with, “The Miu Mius.”

And you can bet your ass he knew the ones on the right were Vanessa Bruno.

My boys!

Toddler Activity: Creative Crates

written by STEPHANIE

Boxes are piled on my desk: Aamzon, Zappos, 6pm.com, Wag… I’m a bit of an internet shopper. I find catharsis in loading up my “cart”, and from time to time, the goods actually make it through the checkout process, finding their way into my home.

The shipping boxes have a second life of their own. They become Creative Crates, offering endless entertainment for my daughter. She loves pulling items out of the boxes, or putting new objects inside. She stacks the boxes on top of one another, lines them up in neat rows, sits atop them, and loads them on top of the dog. Sometimes I preload the boxes with items I hope she will find interesting, like wooden blocks or measuring cups. And I try to change the contents every few days to keep things fresh. This type of play is important, as it allows your child to explore and use his/her imagination freely. Too often during the day we have to tell them “no”. So filling the boxes with safe items is a lovely way to give them an opportunity to play without limitations. This activity is one that grows with your child, as you can change the boxes’ contents to be age appropriate, filling it with art supplies and such as your child gets older. Plus, this can be FREE! There’s no need to buy anything. 

Here’s how you can make your own Creative Crates:

- a box (or more)

- household items like socks, books, empty toilet paper rolls, rubber ducks, spoons, plastic bowls, etc. It’s nice to fill a box thematically to help your child find similarities in the items. For instance, all red items, or plush items. 

Have fun!

Product Review: Fisher-Price Apptivity Case

Fisher-Price Apptivity Case for iPhone and iPod Touch. Available starting from $19.99.

Try as we may to keep our kids unplugged, this is 2012. The effects and influence of technology and communication are practically unavoidable. If your children are anything like ours here at the Poopsie Collective, then they are constantly after your iPhone. After having two Blackberries broken by one of these little monsters, we decided to be a bit more proactive with the new iPhone (which, we learned recently, has more power than the computer used to send the first space shuttle to the moon! Something to think about the next time you are playing Hanging with Friends…).

Anyhoodles, we searched high and low for a case that would be protective yet allow the children to engage. There aren’t many options out there. A few cases, like the Otterbox Defender, offers a high level of protection. But, who wants to carry their beautiful, streamlined iPhone around in a high security prison of a case? We found an interesting solution: Fisher-Price’s Apptivity Case. This colorful plastic case allows you to drop-in your iPhone or iPod Touch, lock the back (save your fingernails and use a coin to open and close the lock instead), and your little one is ready to play safely with your device. The phone can’t be used while inside the case (the microphone and ear piece are covered), but otherwise the device is completely functional.

Another plus is that it looks like a toy to the kids. It is easy for them to hold onto, and we like that it signals to the kids that the phone is ready for them to enjoy. We’ve already noticed that they are far less interested when the phone is in mom’s plain black case. File this comment under ‘Things Yuppies Say’: We had an iPod Touch laying around, so we synched it to the iCloud, locked it up in the Apptivity Case, and now the kids have a device all their own! Problem = Solved. 

*Poopsie Collective was neither solicited nor compensated for this review. It is an unbiased product review from one parent. If you have your own review of this product, ideas for other product reviews, or products you would like us to review, please comment here or email us at poopsiecollective@gmail.com

Activities for Toddlers: Sorting

written by STEPHANIE

My 16 month old daughter is high energy. She is quick, she is busy and she wants to be stimulated all the time. I have felt at my wits end with her the last few weeks looking for activities to keep her occupied. Here is the latest that I have to say was a pretty big hit!

What you’ll need:

- Cheerios in a large bowl

- Muffin tin

- Measuring cups

- Tupperware containers (very small)

I set her up on the coffee table because it’s her height and allows her to move around. She doesn’t like being in a chair. She first sampled the goods, happily munching on her favorite snack. Then I showed her that the Cheerios could be scooped up with the measuring cups and dropped into the muffin tins. She got it from there and went to town meticulously moving Cheerios between containers and eating a few more along the way. Then she stuck her hands into the bowl of Cheerios and giggled while she gripped them in her fists. 

After about 20 minutes, she expanded the game from the table and onto the floor, dropping Cheerios first one by one, then by the handful. The dog sat nearby waiting for her turn to clean-up. When my daughter then picked up what was left in the bowl and started to take it away from the table, I steered her back, at which point she lost interest and wanted to play with the kitchen towels that she carts around the house in her doll stroller. 

I picked up the containers on the table, asked the dog to take care of the floor droppings and we were done! Easy set-up, easy clean-up, and my daughter was delighted by the game. 

Next time? I will use multi-colored snacks to introduce an additional sorting element.

Do you have an activity your toddler enjoys? Please email us at poopsiecollective@gmail.com … We’d love to share it with all our readers. 

The Hunt for a Good (Not Annoying) Teacher

Written by ERICA

Humor me here, and think back in High School/College for just a minute. Now try to filter out the parties and hookups and soccer games (or if you grew up in Dillon, TX look past the Friday night football games, ah Tim Riggins, I love you…) and think about your classes. When you think of all the courses you ever took, which ones stick out? I’m willing to bet my Baby Bjorn that the only classes you remember, or at least remember fondly, had one of two things going for them: 1) interesting subject matter or 2) amazing teacher. 

For example…interesting subject matter = Human Sexuality. A nursing class at the University of Pennsylvania where we learned about gay porn and nipple clamps and where my friend and I unknowingly went on a field trip to a guest speaker’s sex dungeon in center city Philadelphia. Traumatizing, sure, but memorable? ABSO-FREAKIN-LUTELY.

But despite the fact that I will never ever (ever) forget or stop talking about that class, the courses I remember more and with more affection are the ones with the amazing teachers. I minored in psychology at Penn 100% because I had a crush on the professor. He was Australian, super engaging, insanely funny, smart, and although unattractive by conventional definitions, he was dreamy to me. I took every single class he taught and actually looked forward to his lectures. 

Anyway, after graduating and leaving my academic life behind, I didn’t expect this idea of finding the best teachers to come into play again until Owen was at least entering school. And yet, here I am, with a 14 month old, silently judging people as I sign Owen and I up for mommy and me.

Because we moved from NYC to Miami a few months back we’ve witnessed our fair share of teachers. We’ve seen a total of about 8 “teachers” between the baby yoga, music, Gymboree etc. And thankfully, most of them have been great. Some more amazing than others, clearly, like our music teacher in New York who I still have a crush on. She was just so great with the kids and equally relatable to the moms. She had voice like an angel that was actually enjoyable to listen to (sadly, most are not). And she was fun. Everyone was mesmerized, and the babies liked her too. See? Girl crush. And then there is another teacher here in Miami, who is just the sweetest damn woman you will ever meet. She is smart and able to connect with the kids in a way I may never understand. And she gets silly with the babies without annoying the adults. This is no easy feat. 

Owen and I in his most favorite play-class. He’s mesmerized and I think I’m having a little too much fun with those eggs.

Which, I have learned the hard way, after our most recent class experience. This teacher is the WORST. Her voice is abrasive. Like, LOUD. But not the kind of loud where it’s just a matter of using a lot of volume so the kids pay attention. Nope. She screams. Abruptly. And bangs on things at the same time. Now I’m all for teaching quiet and loud, because that quiet indoor voice might come in handy one day. But the way she does it just frankly scares me. It’s so harsh. It’s sort of like she has turrets. Which, maybe she does, and then I’ll feel really bad about this post.

Moving on to her face. Oh man, her face. I know; I’m SO mean. But I have to be honest. It’s not that she’s unattractive, that’s not the issue. She’s actually not. It’s just her expressions, and the fact that she doesn’t really have any. She has a blank stare most of the time, which makes it so much more shocking and creepy when she yells out of nowhere. And her singing…Now, I’m no Beyonce, but I’m pretty sure that me, wasted and sloppy at a karaoke bar, belting out Single Ladies would sound better than her rendition of The Itsy Bitsy Spider. I can actually feel my face tensing up in disgust every time she opens her mouth. 

But here’s the worst part… as much as I can literally see the grown ups wanting to blow their brains out as they watch, I can also see the kids absolutely loving it. Maybe it’s the giant slides and ball pits that distract them from her tone, but whatever it is, they adore this class. And when it’s over, they sleep for about a year. 

So, I guess I have to suck it up. It’s only one hour out of my week. And while my mom friends and I sit there laughing at how god-awful the teacher is, our kids are in heaven. And like so many things I’ve already learned about motherhood, Owen’s happiness is way more important than mine. 

Owen in class, loving life and ready to cause trouble. Is it just me or does his expression look like he’s up to no good? 

Confessions of a Future Soccer Mom

Written by ERICA

Years ago, I didn’t think I’d be one of THOSE moms. You know, one of those women whose entire existence revolves around her kids’ activities. A woman who bounces from playgroup to the supermarket to music class to the drugstore and then back again. A mom who counts down the years until she can cut up oranges for sports games. A mom who rocks the minivan (the ones with the double DVD players). A soccer mom. That was just never going to be me. 

Keep in mind that I was judging other moms long before I was a mom myself, and I was speculating on my future while I was glued to my desk or up the butt of some client. And in between meetings and events and drunk nights out with my friends I would picture my future family and not once did that picture involve baby yoga.

Until I had Owen.

And then all bets were off. People always say that having a baby changes everything (your body, your lifestyle, your attitude, your priorities…), and they’re not lying. In my case it really did trigger an avalanche of change. We were no longer a family of 3 (yes, the dog counts), we no longer could come and go as we pleased without having to either load up the stroller or commission a trusted sitter, we were moving to Miami, and in my case, I was not going back to work. 

At the beginning, motherhood is a lot of sitting around. It’s a lot of feedings (ugh and pumping) and diaper changes, and wardrobe changes and snuggling. And I loved every second of it. Except the sitting around part. Somehow, despite my 8 million visitors a day, my hubby, my baby nurse and my mom, I was still a little lonely. Maybe lonely is the wrong word, but a little under-stimulated. A little bored. There I said it. At the beginning, having a baby is boring. It’s exhausting and hard and insanely rewarding, but also a bit boring.

3 weeks old and in our typical position: mommy looking haggard and baby looking adorable, tiny and asleep.

I’ll never forget when I had my 8-week checkup at my OBGYN and I was literally bursting with excitement as I took that subway ride uptown with nothing but my iPod and thousands of other commuters. It was liberating leaving the apartment and having an actual destination other than Babies ‘R Us. And it was on that subway ride, when I was beyond ecstatic to have someone inspect my battered lady parts, that I realized I was totally messed up, and I needed some activity in my life. 

Enter my mommy group. Yes, that same group I swore I’d never be a part of. I never thought I’d be one of those moms. And it took 8 weeks of child rearing/boredom and an amazing group of new friends to realize I AM one of those moms.

I was lucky to have an already close friend of mine pop out a kid 2 months after Owen was born (Owen’s girlfriend Lily.) And even better, Lily’s mom Sara happened to have another friend who also had recently had a baby. And she had a friend…and she had a friend…and she had a friend… 

During our very first play group…back when you could leave your kids on a blanket and know without an ounce of doubt that they physically could not get into any trouble.

Before we knew it, there were 8 of us in the group, all with delicious babies and all with stories to share. So we’d meet every week to play, eat, and gossip about all of the weird stuff happening to us. We’d compare notes, we’d make fun of ourselves/our kids/each other, we’d sign up for play classes, and we’d go to the zoo together. It was fun, it was comforting and it was anything but boring. 

And now that we’re living double lives in New York and Miami, I get to have TWO mom groups—two groups of friends that I can bond with. Two sets of fellow moms who can confirm that I am not a terrible mother if I let Owen sit in a crap-filled diaper for hours. 

I realize now that back when I used to make fun of mom groups and music classes and baby yoga, I was (wrongly) thinking those activities were for the kids. And really, what 4-month old baby needs activities? Pooping is enough of an activity. Sometimes after a really good crap Owen would sleep for, like, HOURS. He certainly didn’t need any more stimulation. But now I see that all the mommy and me action wasn’t really for Owen. It was for me. I needed it. I still need it. I guess I’m a soccer mom at heart—just don’t expect me to get a minivan anytime soon…or ever.

Our NYC play group (almost all of us, missing Judith and Avery) during a trip to NYC for the marathon in November. 

Part of my Miami play group…gazing longingly at my new lady loves.