So my little girl is potty training and I’m finding out a lot of stuff that first time parents probably encounter.  First of all, it can happen quite quickly.  Our little girl has had diaper rash for so long, and the doctors can’t do anything besides give her ointment that doesn’t work.  So my wife and I broke down and did what we agreed to not do – offer up M&M’s for each time she used the potty.  Wow, talk about fast learner.  Put chocolate on the table and she dropped her drawers and could pee on demand.  So we were very excited and we bought underwear, which she was totally into.  Until accident number 1 (poop in the drawers – let the good times roll), then she wanted to wear diapers.  At the sitters she was wearing underwear all day long and didn’t have any accidents, even during nap time – but her poop schedule got all messed up.  She started pooping once a day instead of twice, and in the evening instead of night.  And she went a couple of days with no poop (that’s when I start to talk myself down from freaking out). Well, because we were putting her in diapers – we assumed that she’d feel comfortable going poop (I’m going to try to write the word poop as many times as I can) in her diaper, and also she’d go pee at night while sleeping.  Ahhh – but no, about 5 days ago she woke up every hour crying and we thought maybe it was another one of those infamous ear infections that she’s known to get.  Then at about 3 in the morning she asked to go to the potty, and she pissed like a race horse and went to sleep fine.  But her poop schedule was still off, so I started researching how we could help.  I came across three things that seemed worth trying. 1) Papaya enzymes (I have taken these before and they had helped me with digestion when I was having a lot of heart burn problems) (2) Fiber in general (bananas, oatmeal…) and (3) Flax seed (I have taken the oil in the past and put it in salad dressings – which cloaked the very distinct taste of flax).

So that night (I don’t like to ponder these things too long) I headed out the the store and bought ground flax meal and papaya enzymes.  When I got home I gave her a papaya enzyme and she thought it was Candy – awesome.  Then I took the flax meal and mixed in a teaspoon of it into her morning oatmeal – she didn’t even notice.  That day her poop schedule went back to semi-normal.  At lunch I sprinkled a teaspoon on my goulash and it blended in perfectly.

So I will be giving flax meal to my little darling for two reasons:

1) It’s a good fiber source (but you can’t give too much, because in excess it’s a laxative)

2) It’s an amazing source or Omega 3 fatty acids.  According to webMD, “Recent studies have suggested that flaxseed may have a protective effect against cancer, particularly breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer. At least two of the components in flaxseed seem to contribute, says Kelley C. Fitzpatrick, M.Sc., director of health and nutrition with the Flax Council of Canada.” – http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-of-flaxseed – and it’s also good for the heart. It also contains some Omega-6 fatty acids which are good for infant brain development – so it’s good for breastfeeding mom’s to be eating flax.  If you want more information, here’s another website that talks about the benefits of flax: http://thebest-healthy-foods.com/flax-seed-benefit/

The beauty of flax is you can bake it into things like breads, muffins, cookies – there are a zillion ways to hide it so that you, your friends, your kids are eating them without protest.

If you have any thoughts on this, recipes you’ve made with flax, other potty training stories – please share.  Oh yeah – did I mention that my little girl, besides very quickly learning how to control her peeing – she also learned that she could hold some pee in, so she could enjoy her M&M’s and go pee again in 5 more minutes…  It’s great to watch those not so little minds develop.