The Veggie Delima

I used to brag on my son because he was NOT a picky eater. From the moment he started eating table foods, he has eaten every single thing that was put in front of him. He had his favorite fruits (grapes, kiwi, mango, and bananas), his favorite veggies (sweet potatoes, broccoli, and zucchini fritters), and his favorite "side dishes" (organic mac n cheese, boiled eggs, cheese cubes, and mashed potatoes). And he would even eat asparagus and beets from time to time. Barf.

So needless to say, we did not have trouble getting this child to eat. (Maybe that's why my 18 month old weighs as much as a 2 1/2 year old. :)

Well, until now.

For some odd reason, for the past month, Zachariah has been getting pickier with his veggies. He will eat his fruits no problem. But the veggies are becoming difficult to get him to eat. I have tried to give him more or a variety by giving him veggies he hasn't had in a while, I have tried to give him his favorites... and neither of those are working. I have even tried to put some veggies on the spoon with his mashed potatoes or something, but he has a built in radar and knows when I am sneaking them. So he just picks them out. The stubborn kid.

So this is where I need your help. I would appreciate suggestions of creative ways to feed toddlers veggies. I am going to start fixing more casseroles, because he LOVES broccoli casserole. But my kid cant live off of broccoli casserole. So I am in need of some other ideas.

Has anyone else out there had this problem?

Help Needed

The Facts:
Zachariah eats dinner at 5:30 or 6:00 pm.
He drinks about 8 ounces of milk with his dinner. Sometimes less.
He does NOT drink anything after dinner.
He goes to bed in between 7:30 and 8:00 pm.
He wakes up in between 7:45 and 8:30 am.

The Predicament(s):
1) For the past couple weeks, he has been SOAKED with pee when he wakes up. I am not talking about a little damp. He is drenched from his thighs to his armpits. It is so gross.

2) For the past few nights he has been waking up two to three times a night, and I am pretty sure its a combination of teething and sleeping in a puddle of his pee. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get my required 8 hours of sleep.

The Question(s):
What the heck do I do?? Has this happened to anyone else?

When his diapers have started leaking before, it meant that it was time to go up a size. But we JUST went from size 3 to 4. Those fit him wonderfully. So that isn't the problem. I am just so lost. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Question For Ya

Ever since Zachariah was six months old, he has been a FABULOUS sleeper. He sleeps from 8pm to 8am without waking up AT ALL (unless he is sick). The only sleep aids he needs are a paci and his favorite blanket/stuffed animal. He has never had to be rocked, bounced or sung to sleep. Oh. He also takes two hour and a half naps during the day. Needless to say, he loves his sleep.

The past four nights or so he has been waking up at pretty much the same time every night. Any time between 11:20 and 11:40 PM he will wake up crying. It is very unlike him, and he doesn't really seem to need much when I go in there. He calms down immediately, lets me lay him back down and eventually falls back asleep with no problem at all.

I am about to google it... but I figured I would go ahead and call on all of you people with kiddies just in case I didn't find anything. :) Did your kids ever do this? Do you know why? And do you know a solution to it?

Thanks!!

Immunizations

Zachariah's 15 month shots are coming up. Naturally, that has caused me to do some thinking about vaccines. There is a good bit of controversy going on about vaccines now days, and I am just now starting to do some research about it. So in the meantime, I want to know what all of you think about children getting vaccines. Do you think it is a good thing? Bad thing? Have your children been vaccinated and have you had any negative results from that?

I will post info as I do some more digging. But I really do want to hear what you think about it!

Need Your Input

I am looking for a booster seat for when we go to the beach this summer (because who really wants to carry around a highchair?). I have found this one, this one, and this one that I am interested in. But I cant really make up my mind. So I was wondering if any of you moms out there would help me out.

What booster seat do you recommend?