Every parent and grandparent knows how hard it is to put clothes on a fussy, squirmy, angry, wiggly, indignant, and grumpy naked baby. The first time you try it, you might think it isn't possible. As fast as you can get the shirt on him, he's throwing it off! The legs are kicking like two little pistons in a locomotive. One leg goes into the pajamas and the other is husking it off in the blink of an eye, like an ear of corn in a corn shucking contest! You've got him on his back, but he is determined to twist out of your grip and crawl away to anywhere else. He's screeching like a chimpanzee all the while. You're bound to get frustrated.

Usually this scene takes place after a nice warm bath, prior to bedtime. You've got him cleaned and lotioned, and he's fighting to stay naked. He's got his second wind right before bed and he wants to play. What he doesn't know is that he really is tired and ready to hit the hay, you are too. He can play all he wants to - in the crib.

I've got some great tips for you to make your dressing routine a little easier. With our third wiggly, highly mobile and motivated little rugrat in our charge, I can say that these tips have worked well nearly every time!

1. Take the baby, diaper, and clothes to a quiet spot in the house, free of distraction. I like to use our bedroom. I put him on the bed. This is a "shock and awe" technique which pulls him out of his familiar surroundings, makes him more cautious about trying to get away from you (due to his new elevation) and makes for a comfortable working height for the parent.

2. Tickle him. If he's crying a lot, just tickle him some more in all the places that always make him giggle. For Bodie it's rasberries on his tummy. I hold his hands above his head  and go to town on his armpits and bellybutton. After a few seconds of this he's usually in stitches. I like to get him laughing so hard that he's nearly out of breath. You can transform your baby from "angry/fussy" to "jolly/delighted" in a matter of seconds with a little practice. If his mood really stinks, the disposition will transform right back to "infuriated" just as fast. So quickly proceed to the next step!

3. (Skip this step if you are using footed pajamas) The first article of clothes to apply are the socks. You may be thinking "Socks?"  Yes, socks. They provide a nice sheathe for the baby's feet, which as you know by now can be his most formidable weapon. His sprawled little toes won't be able to grip and tear at the diaper or pants, like a set of eagle's talons. You'd be amazed how much easier it is to slip his little jack hammering legs into the holes once the socks are on his feet.  As a side note: We put Bodie in size 4-5 pullups at night. They hold more, leak less, and provide a some breathing room for his cheeks. He's about 25 lbs now, and they fit fine. They're just harder to get on than his regular diaper due to his kung fu feet and vivacious will to be nude. Hence the socks. So grab those little feet and get the socks on as soon as you can.

4. Tickle some more! My specific technique is to use short bursts of tickling (4-6 seconds) followed by a pause. Repeat this a few times, getting the child used to the rhythm of it, like a game. You will note that the baby will hold perfectly stationary for a moment as the laughter subsides, eyes transfixed on your face, waiting for the next tickle assault. Don't waste time now, get to step 5!

5. Now you have the upper hand! Take this window of opportunity and get that diaper on now! Then stuff a leg into the pants! You may only be able to do one appendage at a time before he needs more tickling, but that's okay. When he starts to fuss again and fight you, you know what to do: more tickling. Remember to use short bursts, then randomly pick a time between the blitzes to unite the correct arm/leg/head with the corresponding hole. If he winds up on his tummy, don't try to force him to roll over again, just tickle his back. I like to go after the ribs and neck, which usually makes him roll back over for me. I have kind of a scruffy goatee, which probably feels pretty funny on his skin.

By the time you reach the end of this dressing routine, you and the baby will be more friends than enemies. Instead of being angry and frustrated with each other, you've had a fun and positive episode! This method works almost every time, even (sometimes) on a colicky baby! Gavin had colic, and almost nothing would make him happy, much less go to sleep. I have some kind of permanent strain in my left arm from carrying him around the house for hours. No kidding! Colic is no joke. The only way we could get him to sleep was to put him in his car seat and drive around the neighborhood, then very carefully move him in his car seat from the car to the top of the (running) dryer! Anyway, I remember he did love it when I would hold his arms up over his head and tickle his little ribs while trying to get him dressed. Take my advice the next time the baby is putting up a battle against you! Attack him with tickles and you will both be happier in the end!

As the parent of a newborn baby, its natural to feel apprehensive about all the chemicals contained in laundry detergents and stain removers these days. You've got good reason to be worried. Those chemicals can cause bad rashes and skin irritations on your little one's sensitive skin. It seems like every other week there's another warning about the harmful chemicals in baby items. The focus here is on laundry, something I'm terribly familiar with as the mother of two boys, aged 4 and 2. My oldest, Gavin, was diagnosed with Autism at 13 months old. It was a life changing wake up call to my family that we needed to pay better attention to what chemicals surround our children everyday. Some kids' bodies are better than others at flushing out the toxins and chemicals that are presented every day through plastics, detergents, preservatives, artificial coloring, fragrances, etc. We can reduce and eliminate some of these perils cheaply and easily just by doing a little homework.

One thing that a lot of moms don't consider is that nifty little stain remover they just dab on the onesie before a wash. It sure is handy, isn't it? Well, think about it for a minute. If you're taking every precaution with your child's health, e.g. using BPA-free bottles, natural detergent and organic food, why would you put something on your baby clothes that is nothing more than an ultra concentrated form of the same toxins you are trying to avoid? Petroleum-based detergents used in pre-wash stain removers can be acutely harmful to babies. Babies can be afflicted with an allergic reaction of the skin, lungs, sinuses, and eyes. Solvents in some pre-wash stain removers cause brain damage at high doses, and have been linked to infertility and miscarriages.

So, how can you get those stains out without compromising your baby's health? As the owner of Snugfits™, an online baby clothing boutique, and 2 messy little boys (with one on the way!), I live and breathe baby clothes. These 2 rambunctious rough housers love playing in the back yard, which provides me with plenty of practice taking out the grass and mud stains they acquire daily. I've got some solutions for you, none of which require too much elbow grease.

- Always treat the stain as soon as possible. The longer it sits, the harder it is to get out.

- For a fresh stain, run cold water over it and try to work it out right away. Sometimes this is all you need to do.

- For more stubborn stains, soak it in milk overnight, then wash as usual the next day. This works well on a lot of stains including chocolate, ink, and blood.

- For oil/greasy stains, rub corn flour into it and let it pull out the oil for about 20 minutes. It works great. It has been said that you can hasten the process by putting a paper towel over and under the corn floured stain and ironing it. I've never tried that method because I've always believed that heat makes a stain set into the fabric. I never wash stained clothes in hot water, either.

- Really tough stains might need the old fashioned vinegar/baking soda trick. Just make a thick paste in a small bowl out of vinegar and baking soda and work it into the onesie or baby shirt with an old tooth brush.

- Let the baby clothes sit in the (full) washer for an hour or so before running the cycle. Newer washers have an option to let you do this. If you have an older washer, leave the lid open until it's had a good soak. I think this is a good practice on all laundry loads, not just stained baby clothes.

- When I do break down and use a soap on a stain, I use a natural dish liquid. Just rub some of it onto the stain with an old toothbrush and let it soak in the water.

- Don't ever dry the clothes with the stains until the stain has been eliminated. Once it goes through a hot dryer, it may never come out.

- Another good piece of advice for taking care of baby clothes is to add a half cup of white distilled vinegar to each load during the rinse cycle. The clothes come out fresher because the vinegar breaks down the alkaline and soapy residue, allowing them to be rinsed completely.

One final note on keeping baby clothes non-toxic is to consider washing them separately from your own, especially if you work in an industry where your clothes may be contaminated. Chemists, lab techs, mechanics, and painters are all exposed to chemicals that can harm a sensitive baby. Carpenters working with treated (arsenic) wood should be especially cautious about keeping their clothes apart from baby's. Think about the toxins that might be in your clothes and consider washing them in a separate load.

Take care of those baby clothes! You might be using them again (and again!)

On the subject of potty training, I am really mystified. Gavin was using the toilet for about a week. He loved it! It was his favorite thing to do.

"Gavin, do you have to pee pee in the potty? Yes or no?" I'd ask.

"Yes!" he would shout with great enthusiasm.

Now, when I ask him the same question, he pretends not to hear, or runs away. What's the deal? Since he has autism, I'm thankful to get any kind of response to a question. Being able to ask "Yes or No" is extremely valuable. But why now is his standard reaction a nonverbal vamoose?

I think the answer is that the novelty of using the potty is gone. The honeymoon is over. It was fun for a week, but he's found that it is much easier to just let it go, on the go. Dirty pullups don't seem to bother him at all. We've tried the cool alert pullups. They haven't had an effect that I can measure, and I have reservations about the chemicals in them. There is one thing that motivates him like no other, and that is the "Cars" movie. Gavin absolutely loves the extra film that comes on the dvd called "Mater and the Ghostlight." We've turned that into a huge bonus prize for him to earn only if he poo poo's on the potty. He knows that the only time he gets to see Mater being chased all around Radiator Springs by the Ghostlight is after he does a number two. So far it's worked pretty well. One of us has to remind him that there is a great prize waiting in the dvd player if he succeeds. When he doesn't remember (which is most often) and I have to change his pullup, I remind him then that Mater is going to have to wait. He's always very regretful.

I love the way his brain works sometimes. He can be so funny. When he's sitting on the potty, just looking around and humming to himself, I remind him of the task at hand. I'll say "Get that poo poo in the water, so we can flush it away!" (He loves to flush the toilet) He looks at me thoughtfully for a moment, then coaxes "Come on poo poo, take a drink!" As if the poo poo is hiding, not wishing to be flushed. What a kid.

Gavin goes to a great little pre-school where they are working with him on this subject as well. They take him to the toilet every hour, and he has very few accidents. When Garrett is potty trained, I hope his older brother will finally catch on. Garrett seems ready now, so I guess we should be concentrating our efforts on him? Sometimes peers are the best teachers, I think. I just hope they're both in regular underwear by the time the third ankle biter arrives! Three rounds of diaper changes would be more than I could handle. God bless you parents of multiples! I don't know how you do it!