Its hard to believe its that time again. Another 365 days as come and gone. You are now 3. Three years since I welcomed you into my arms, three years since you changed our world.
Two was a big year. Your vocabulary exploded! You are quite the talker! You love to tell me things. You talk about school, your friends, things you've learned, stuff you've heard, Woody, Bubby, just about anything. Sometimes I have to ask you to be quiet because I need a moment to think. Then I get sad at the silence and miss your little voice. You can pronounce most things correctly, but still have some unique sayings. Pat-a-piller is my favorite. Followed by Opp-a-pus. The rl sound tricks you up, like in girl and squirrel. It comes out more like ra, so gi-ra; and squr-ra.
You got potty trained this year. You became a big girl and you learned to go potty. Its been pretty easy since. We've had minimal accidents. You are usually pretty easy to take out in public and not worry about having problems. Although you do get shy and have trouble going sometimes in public. You also thought it was fun to show off your panties to the boys at school one day.
You became imaginative. You love to create. You like to pretend to make us food. You like to pretend to read to your friends, or teach school. I enjoy finding you enthralled in your own little world, quietly talking to yourself, playing peacefully!
You love for your brother grew bigger and bigger. There will always be a bond between you two. But this year, I saw you figure out who he is. He's your playmate, and your protector. He's your friend and your hero. You love when he's around and you miss him tremendously when he's not there. It breaks my heart to hear you cry for him. Lord only knows how we will handle college. Bubbie better not go to far!
Two is out and three is in. You were up to 26 pounds at your check up! 36 inches tall. Still petite, and still powerful! My little mighty might is doing just fine. We have a pretty good year (knock on wood) health wise. No major troubles and really only a few sick kid visits. A few sniffles here and there, but nothing major. I'm still hoping you got your Daddy's immune system.
You did something amazing at your check up. You gave up your paci. Going into the appointment, you weren't into it. But when approached by Dr. Hart, you gladly gave it to him. He showed you where he would keep it. He put your name on it and placed it on his desk. We left and it stayed. We didn't talk about it again. Then at bed time, it hit you what you did. You went looking for it in your bed, like you always do, and I told you it wasn't there. We gave it away. We didn't have it anymore. You were devastated. And that's an understatement. I've never seen you so upset. You were heart broken, really heartbroken. And so was I. How terrible of me! I made you give up something you loved so much. I hugged you and let you cry it out. I told you it would be alright and how proud I was of you. I stroked your hair and rubbed your back. Bed time wasn't easy. You did wonderfully during the night. You didn't ask for it once. You woke up happy and not concerned for it at all.
Who knows what the next nights will bring. This all happened last night. I'm hoping it will get easier and eventually you won't remember having on at all.
365 of awesomeness and excitement. 12 months of fun and memories. Two has been great. We've all grown over the last year. But I'm looking forward to three and the new things that three will bring.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Monday, July 6, 2015
No Fear
Abby has developed a strong sense of security when it comes to taking risks. She's not afraid to jump or climb. Although most of the time they are only small heights... she doesn't think twice about doing it. She also has no fear of being twirled and swirled into the air. She loves for Gene to toss her around. She often giggles the entire time, slows to catch her breath, and then sweetly asks, "do again Daddy!" And she would continue until who knows when because we are always the first to make her stop.
This weekend so learned she can flip her own self around. She's been trying to do a somersault and we've been trying to help her, but she just hasn't mastered it. She would put her head down and then flop to the side and think that she did it. On Friday, she would put her head down, straighten out her back, and then try to kick her feet up and over her head. She couldn't just get the power she needed to push them up and over her stiff torso.
Saturday, she tried some more. And more.... and more.
Sunday so told me to come watch her do a flip. So I stop what I'm doing to see her. She gets down on the floor and Blop... she rolls right over. Easy Peasy. I clap and praised her. She pops up and says "I do it again Mommy!" And so she does. Down goes the head, up and over go the feet. One clean roll!
Its been a fun few days watching her try to put the pieces together and keep trying. I was impressed at how easily she got the hang of it. And then could repeat it, and repeat it.
I don't know what trick is next?
This weekend so learned she can flip her own self around. She's been trying to do a somersault and we've been trying to help her, but she just hasn't mastered it. She would put her head down and then flop to the side and think that she did it. On Friday, she would put her head down, straighten out her back, and then try to kick her feet up and over her head. She couldn't just get the power she needed to push them up and over her stiff torso.
Saturday, she tried some more. And more.... and more.
Sunday so told me to come watch her do a flip. So I stop what I'm doing to see her. She gets down on the floor and Blop... she rolls right over. Easy Peasy. I clap and praised her. She pops up and says "I do it again Mommy!" And so she does. Down goes the head, up and over go the feet. One clean roll!
Its been a fun few days watching her try to put the pieces together and keep trying. I was impressed at how easily she got the hang of it. And then could repeat it, and repeat it.
I don't know what trick is next?
Monday, June 29, 2015
Which Witch
Now that Abby has perfected speech, you can never be sure what comes out of her mouth. Or even what any of it actually means. I seem to be the best at putting the pieces together and making sense of the babble. Abby is also very helpful because she insists on repeating things a million times until you acknowledge that she said something.
Lately she has been talking about a witch. Bubbie has a witch, mommy has a witch. It wasn't until she pointed at the object that I understood what a witch was. Its really a watch, but she doesn't think so, its a witch Mommy!
This weekend we were at the sports store and JJ was looking at the nice watches in the case. Abby, of course, was picking out her favorites too. "Look at the blue one Daddy. I like that yellow one". The saleslady at the counter took notice and quietly told Gene that on the aisle display a few rows over, there were several character watches on clearance.
We take Abby over there to take a look. There's a wall of watches with all kinds of cute characters on them. The price is right, at $3, so we let Abby pick one out. She chooses the Doc McStuffins watch that lights up. She doesn't understand that she can't take it out of the box yet. But she is content for a few moments getting to carry it around the store by herself.
She is delighted to get to the car and put it on. "Look Bubbie, Look at my witch!!"
She stops to tell everyone about her new witch, that she picked out herself. It has Doc Muffins on it.
She also can't stop making it light up. Which makes a clicking noise when she does it. So after hearing the click a million times in a row, I have to threaten her to stop or I will take it away.
She proudly wakes up in the morning and wants to put it on. She wore it to school today. I hope it doesn't cause too much of a problem. I told her if Missy makes her take it off and put it away she needs too and she can have it back at the end of the day.
I've never seen her take such ownership over something. She is really proud of it and excited about it. Its fun to see her growing!
Lately she has been talking about a witch. Bubbie has a witch, mommy has a witch. It wasn't until she pointed at the object that I understood what a witch was. Its really a watch, but she doesn't think so, its a witch Mommy!
This weekend we were at the sports store and JJ was looking at the nice watches in the case. Abby, of course, was picking out her favorites too. "Look at the blue one Daddy. I like that yellow one". The saleslady at the counter took notice and quietly told Gene that on the aisle display a few rows over, there were several character watches on clearance.
We take Abby over there to take a look. There's a wall of watches with all kinds of cute characters on them. The price is right, at $3, so we let Abby pick one out. She chooses the Doc McStuffins watch that lights up. She doesn't understand that she can't take it out of the box yet. But she is content for a few moments getting to carry it around the store by herself.
She is delighted to get to the car and put it on. "Look Bubbie, Look at my witch!!"
She stops to tell everyone about her new witch, that she picked out herself. It has Doc Muffins on it.
She also can't stop making it light up. Which makes a clicking noise when she does it. So after hearing the click a million times in a row, I have to threaten her to stop or I will take it away.
She proudly wakes up in the morning and wants to put it on. She wore it to school today. I hope it doesn't cause too much of a problem. I told her if Missy makes her take it off and put it away she needs too and she can have it back at the end of the day.
I've never seen her take such ownership over something. She is really proud of it and excited about it. Its fun to see her growing!
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Aww Crap!
Since most of the parenting milestones with Abby have already been achieved, I felt like I was in the clear on some of them. But I guess it's not off the list until you cross it off, or she goes to college.
This past week, I had two happen! And they both involved poop!
We've been potty training. Its been going better, for me at least, since the formal initiation. Abby is being vocal about when she needs to go and doing great with being able to hold it for a while. School has been giving us great reports on her progress and have become very encouraging about the process.
We still have issues with going #2. She will poop on the potty if you can get her on the potty, but she won't tell you she needs to go until its done. Even pooping in her panties didn't cure this problem. She just didn't seem interested in not pooping in her pants.
Last week we were having bath time. She was enjoying her self chosen colored bath water. She was playing with cups and foam numbers. I heard a few bubbles rumble but didn't think anything of it. Then I heard a few more bubble rumble. Then I looked in the tub and saw the floaters.
Abby has pooped in the tub.
Awesome kid! Luckily Gene was home so he could take her out of the tub and get her dry and in pajamas. Then I got the lovely task of playing catch the poop in the cup. It was not a very fun game. There were several pieces and they seemed to float away just as I got the cup close. I drained some water out of the tub, but I didn't want it all to go out because I didn't want the poop to stick to the mat. I managed to get all the poop out and hose down the tub with Clorox.
Then I hear a little voice tell me, "I sorry mommy that I poopied in the tub".
You can't stay mad at that, so I told her again about tell us when she needs to go. She could have gone back in the tub if she wanted to after going to the potty.
Fast forward a few days.....
Its a crazy Sunday. Church in the morning, followed by a graduation lunch afterward. I thought we made great progress by Abby pooping in the potty before we went to the potty. I was sure we were in the clear for the day. We get home later then usual for nap, but I can tell she's tired so I put her in the crib.
She's hesitant to lay down, but she settles in and starts talking to herself. I go on about my business, doing chores and such like I always do. About 45 minutes into this "nap" I can still hear her in her room babbling to herself. So I go in to investigate.
As I push open the door to her room, I can smell it. Oh no... she's pooped, that's why she hasn't gone down. A typical thing for her to do, and one I didn't think about since she had already gone for the day. But then I layed eyes on her.
She's standing in her crib. Dress hiked up to her nipples. Her bare bottom showing. Pull up is ripped off and laying in the bed. Various toys and blankets are outside the bed. She's holding up her hands at me and whimpering.
Then I see the problem. She has pooped in the bed and decided to become and artist and paint her crib with it. Her hands are covered with poop. Her feet are covered with poop. Luckily the bed and crib aren't too bad. She managed to keep the pile contained.
This time I am home alone. So I hoist her out of the crib and get her in the tub. I don't let her sit because its all over her bum. She thinks its bath time and wants to play. I just want to get rid of all the poop and get her back to a nap!
Once she's clean, I tackle the crib. Thankfully, its just contained to the front rail. I get out the Clorox bathroom cleaner and go to town on the crib. I don't care if it strips the finish off, I want this poop gone! I get the rail clean so I can finally reach into the crib and get the steaming pile. Its so gross and mushy. It smears as I wipe it up. I gag a little. Abby is running around the living room like a maniac, screaming "I not tired, I no nap!"
I get the sheets off the bed. I gather up all the blankets and loveys that were in the bed and shove them into the washer. I remake the bed and promptly drop the "not tired" toddler back in the bed.
I give her a stern talking to about going to sleep and she just bats her eyelashes at me.
15 minutes later, she is screaming she needs to go potty, so I'm not taking my chances again and I get her out of the crib. At this point its late in the afternoon anyway, I give in to "No nap".
Gene gets home shortly after that and is surprised to see her awake. I tell him he must not have seen his text messages. He pulls is phone out of his pocket and takes a look. He gets big eyed and then asks if everything is ok. At this point its all cleaned up and over with.
I thought we were well past the phases of pooping in the tub and painting with your poop. I can only hope now that this was a once and done experience for all of us and its not something I will have to endure again. I certainly don't want two poop tragedies in the same week ever again!
This past week, I had two happen! And they both involved poop!
We've been potty training. Its been going better, for me at least, since the formal initiation. Abby is being vocal about when she needs to go and doing great with being able to hold it for a while. School has been giving us great reports on her progress and have become very encouraging about the process.
We still have issues with going #2. She will poop on the potty if you can get her on the potty, but she won't tell you she needs to go until its done. Even pooping in her panties didn't cure this problem. She just didn't seem interested in not pooping in her pants.
Last week we were having bath time. She was enjoying her self chosen colored bath water. She was playing with cups and foam numbers. I heard a few bubbles rumble but didn't think anything of it. Then I heard a few more bubble rumble. Then I looked in the tub and saw the floaters.
Abby has pooped in the tub.
Awesome kid! Luckily Gene was home so he could take her out of the tub and get her dry and in pajamas. Then I got the lovely task of playing catch the poop in the cup. It was not a very fun game. There were several pieces and they seemed to float away just as I got the cup close. I drained some water out of the tub, but I didn't want it all to go out because I didn't want the poop to stick to the mat. I managed to get all the poop out and hose down the tub with Clorox.
Then I hear a little voice tell me, "I sorry mommy that I poopied in the tub".
You can't stay mad at that, so I told her again about tell us when she needs to go. She could have gone back in the tub if she wanted to after going to the potty.
Fast forward a few days.....
Its a crazy Sunday. Church in the morning, followed by a graduation lunch afterward. I thought we made great progress by Abby pooping in the potty before we went to the potty. I was sure we were in the clear for the day. We get home later then usual for nap, but I can tell she's tired so I put her in the crib.
She's hesitant to lay down, but she settles in and starts talking to herself. I go on about my business, doing chores and such like I always do. About 45 minutes into this "nap" I can still hear her in her room babbling to herself. So I go in to investigate.
As I push open the door to her room, I can smell it. Oh no... she's pooped, that's why she hasn't gone down. A typical thing for her to do, and one I didn't think about since she had already gone for the day. But then I layed eyes on her.
She's standing in her crib. Dress hiked up to her nipples. Her bare bottom showing. Pull up is ripped off and laying in the bed. Various toys and blankets are outside the bed. She's holding up her hands at me and whimpering.
Then I see the problem. She has pooped in the bed and decided to become and artist and paint her crib with it. Her hands are covered with poop. Her feet are covered with poop. Luckily the bed and crib aren't too bad. She managed to keep the pile contained.
This time I am home alone. So I hoist her out of the crib and get her in the tub. I don't let her sit because its all over her bum. She thinks its bath time and wants to play. I just want to get rid of all the poop and get her back to a nap!
Once she's clean, I tackle the crib. Thankfully, its just contained to the front rail. I get out the Clorox bathroom cleaner and go to town on the crib. I don't care if it strips the finish off, I want this poop gone! I get the rail clean so I can finally reach into the crib and get the steaming pile. Its so gross and mushy. It smears as I wipe it up. I gag a little. Abby is running around the living room like a maniac, screaming "I not tired, I no nap!"
I get the sheets off the bed. I gather up all the blankets and loveys that were in the bed and shove them into the washer. I remake the bed and promptly drop the "not tired" toddler back in the bed.
I give her a stern talking to about going to sleep and she just bats her eyelashes at me.
15 minutes later, she is screaming she needs to go potty, so I'm not taking my chances again and I get her out of the crib. At this point its late in the afternoon anyway, I give in to "No nap".
Gene gets home shortly after that and is surprised to see her awake. I tell him he must not have seen his text messages. He pulls is phone out of his pocket and takes a look. He gets big eyed and then asks if everything is ok. At this point its all cleaned up and over with.
I thought we were well past the phases of pooping in the tub and painting with your poop. I can only hope now that this was a once and done experience for all of us and its not something I will have to endure again. I certainly don't want two poop tragedies in the same week ever again!
Monday, April 27, 2015
Pee Pee in the Potty
If the tantrums don't kill me, potty training will.
Everyone says its easy, you can do it in a day. Just wait till she shows signs, and give it a go.
So, Abby was showing interest. She will go on the potty when you ask her to. She asked me the other day if she could wear panties. I thought all of these were signs and decided to jump in and give it a try.
We haven't had a free weekend in a while, and didn't have many coming up soon, so I jumped on the chance to give it try now. I feel like I've been the one holding back. I wasn't (and probably am still not) ready to be tied down to finding bathrooms all over the upstate. But a friend suggested I get a portable potty for my car. I ordered one and realized it probably isn't too bad, I can keep this in my car, and if she needs to go when we are out (ie... soccer games), I can just pop the back, plop her on the potty, hang a drape while she does her business, and WOW... no public potty germs!
So with my new portable potty and potty supplies ready to go, I got up the guts to train her.
I had a plan. After all, I always have a plan. I am and offspring of two planners. I prepped with getting salty snacks, lots of M&M's for rewards, and a special sippy cup that lights up.
Saturday morning, after breakfast, we began the potty adventure. Panties on. Timer set. 15 minute intervals. We put The Little Mermaid on and hunkered down with drinks and snacks. When the timer went off, up to the potty we went.
Initially, Abby did great. She had one accident early on. But we cleaned it up, got dry panties on and began again. Several hours went by and I was impressed that she was doing so well. She would cooperate with going potty when I took her (sometimes I had to go too, but Mommy got M&M's too). At lunch we had another accident. I was trying to wait till we were done eating and pushed the timer back a few minutes. That was my mistake. She settled in for a nap, with a pull up on (because I'm not stupid, I know naps and night times will take longer). I gave myself that time to regroup and plan for the afternoon.
She woke up and she had stayed dry. She didn't want to potty right away, but after waking up and some convincing she pottied and we got on with the day. I told her if she could stay dry till after dinner, we would go get a special dessert. I thought I would throw it out there to her, not holding high expectations.
She wasn't as eager with the potty timer in the afternoon. She would get mad at me and tell me she didn't NEED to go. So I went with it, but all the while, stalking her like a hawk for the first signs of peeing.
We didn't have any accidents in the afternoon, so we went to get doughnuts after dinner. She enjoyed eating her sprinkle doughnut. Praise, Praise, Praise!
After day one, I was exhausted. It was hard to bribe her, drag her, coax her, watch her, every second of the day. I didn't think I had the energy to continue to day two. But I'm not a quitter. So I went to bed, ready to persevere the next day.
Day two, similar story. Get up, get acclimated. Get out of wet pull up and into dry panties ASAP. I told her if she kept them dry all day that we would pick out princess panties. I also didn't hold high hopes for that, but figured if she did it, I could uphold that end of the deal with an afternoon trip out to find princess panties.
But, unfortunately, it didn't last long.
Sunday she didn't want anything to do with the potty timer. She didn't want to be dragged to the potty. And she had an accident. Which she acknowledged right away. At least we were outside, so no mess to clean up. Just take off the wet panties and put on dry ones. Ok, time to be more vigilant mommy.
We head up to MaeMae and Poppies for a visit. A change of scenery for everyone. Abby enjoys showing off her new accessories and trying out their potty. We have several round of success and then... accident. I try to pick her up to rush to the potty, but she then pees all over me. I strip her down and get her dry, but I'm left covered with pee.
At this point MaeMae is making us lunch, so we are stuck there for a while. I just want to go home, back to our environment where I was making it work. Chasing Abby around the yard isn't working.
While we were riding bikes at the barn, I heard her toot. I pick her up and rush her to the potty. She's screaming "Hurry Mommy, Hurry". We get to the potty in time for her to poop! I'm so excited! What a breakthrough. I finally feel like I accomplished something.
Then we sit for lunch. Apparently, I let Abby sit for too long, because she peed in her seat. At this point I get mad. I don't have any dry underwear left. I didn't want to be there anymore. I wasn't getting any help or support. I slapped a diaper on her bum and took her home for a nap.
Thankfully, she went down without a peep. But I felt defeated. This wasn't working. She wasn't getting it. I don't know what I was doing wrong. I called my mom. She offered some tips (many of which I already tried), but she insisted I needed to stick with it. She will get it, it will click, just keep trying. I cringed when nap time was over, not ready to try again, but I knew I needed to keep on.
Back into panties we went. We went outside to play. I decided to bring out the travel potty so we didn't have to go inside all the time. I set it up and told her when she needed to pee pee, we could do in it. She started playing and I saw her holding herself. I asked her if she needed to potty, she said yes, so to the potty we went. (right there in the driveway) And, she peed!
Lots of praises!!!!
Ten minutes later, I see her doing the same time. Back to the potty... and she peed! I explained to her that when she's holding herself, that's the feeling of needing to go and she needs to tell someone.
Small steps, but big steps.
Then I get a text from her teacher. I had texted her earlier in the day to tell her we were training and what can I do tomorrow to help with the transition. I felt we made good progress and I didn't want to lose it. She told me consistency is key. But she felt Abby wasn't really showing signs of readiness because she wouldn't verbalize when she needed to go. She suggested wet shaming (staying in wet undies, but I tried that earlier, and Abby didn't care). I didn't know how to proceed. I thought I would send several pairs of undies and outfits and hope for the best.
Then I got another text. Abby wouldn't be allowed to wear panties until she could verbalize the need to go pee and poop for one entire week.
WTF!
At that point I broke down. I felt I had worked so hard all weekend. I gave up the entire weekend to stay at home and be on pee pee watch. I felt that putting her back in a pull up wouldn't work. She's been wearing pull ups, but treats them like diapers. So how is she going to tell you she needs to go, when she knows she can just go in the pull up and it's no big deal.
I felt that I was being punished. The guidelines and rules weren't shared with me. In September they said they would handle the potty training. I was a little upset because I felt it was right of passage to do this as a parent. But I haven't seen any attempts (other than taking her a few times a day, we reports that she usually goes pee), that training was taking place. One classmate is trained and several others are in the process.
I also felt defeated because the brand of pull ups I had purchased didn't fit in with their outine. Apparently the pampers brand do not have sides that can open and close like diapers. Only the huggies brands do. So I was told the very large pack I sent (in December) wasn't usable because they didn't have the time to take off her shoes and pants every time she needed a clean one. So last night, at 6pm, I'm being told all my hard work is wasted and I can't use the supplies I have at my house.
I'm a mess at this point. Tears, snot, pee covered, exhausted.
I head to the store to get the proper pull ups. (I can't send Gene because there are so many brands, I don't want him to get the wrong thing). I take the short drive to calm myself, get a moment alone. Regroup and think of the ways we can make this work.
Huggies pull ups happen to have the Little Mermaid on them. I bring them home and tell Abby about her new pull ups for school. And how if she can keep them dry all week at school, we can go pick out real princess panties to wear next week. I just kept telling her to tell someone when she needs to go. She needs to keep herself dry.
I left the pull ups and a note saying to not use any diapers. I don't know what's going to happen today. I'm anxious. Really anxious. Almost panic attack anxious. I want this to work. I don't want to feel defeated. I don't want to try again another time. This was our moment, we need to make it work.
I can only hope they are observant today. But I don't have hope. Yesterday she wouldn't speak up. I would just notice her stopped and standing, holding herself. I would hope that something clicked and she would speak up.
I just have to wait and see.
Everyone says its easy, you can do it in a day. Just wait till she shows signs, and give it a go.
So, Abby was showing interest. She will go on the potty when you ask her to. She asked me the other day if she could wear panties. I thought all of these were signs and decided to jump in and give it a try.
We haven't had a free weekend in a while, and didn't have many coming up soon, so I jumped on the chance to give it try now. I feel like I've been the one holding back. I wasn't (and probably am still not) ready to be tied down to finding bathrooms all over the upstate. But a friend suggested I get a portable potty for my car. I ordered one and realized it probably isn't too bad, I can keep this in my car, and if she needs to go when we are out (ie... soccer games), I can just pop the back, plop her on the potty, hang a drape while she does her business, and WOW... no public potty germs!
So with my new portable potty and potty supplies ready to go, I got up the guts to train her.
I had a plan. After all, I always have a plan. I am and offspring of two planners. I prepped with getting salty snacks, lots of M&M's for rewards, and a special sippy cup that lights up.
Saturday morning, after breakfast, we began the potty adventure. Panties on. Timer set. 15 minute intervals. We put The Little Mermaid on and hunkered down with drinks and snacks. When the timer went off, up to the potty we went.
Initially, Abby did great. She had one accident early on. But we cleaned it up, got dry panties on and began again. Several hours went by and I was impressed that she was doing so well. She would cooperate with going potty when I took her (sometimes I had to go too, but Mommy got M&M's too). At lunch we had another accident. I was trying to wait till we were done eating and pushed the timer back a few minutes. That was my mistake. She settled in for a nap, with a pull up on (because I'm not stupid, I know naps and night times will take longer). I gave myself that time to regroup and plan for the afternoon.
She woke up and she had stayed dry. She didn't want to potty right away, but after waking up and some convincing she pottied and we got on with the day. I told her if she could stay dry till after dinner, we would go get a special dessert. I thought I would throw it out there to her, not holding high expectations.
She wasn't as eager with the potty timer in the afternoon. She would get mad at me and tell me she didn't NEED to go. So I went with it, but all the while, stalking her like a hawk for the first signs of peeing.
We didn't have any accidents in the afternoon, so we went to get doughnuts after dinner. She enjoyed eating her sprinkle doughnut. Praise, Praise, Praise!
After day one, I was exhausted. It was hard to bribe her, drag her, coax her, watch her, every second of the day. I didn't think I had the energy to continue to day two. But I'm not a quitter. So I went to bed, ready to persevere the next day.
Day two, similar story. Get up, get acclimated. Get out of wet pull up and into dry panties ASAP. I told her if she kept them dry all day that we would pick out princess panties. I also didn't hold high hopes for that, but figured if she did it, I could uphold that end of the deal with an afternoon trip out to find princess panties.
But, unfortunately, it didn't last long.
Sunday she didn't want anything to do with the potty timer. She didn't want to be dragged to the potty. And she had an accident. Which she acknowledged right away. At least we were outside, so no mess to clean up. Just take off the wet panties and put on dry ones. Ok, time to be more vigilant mommy.
We head up to MaeMae and Poppies for a visit. A change of scenery for everyone. Abby enjoys showing off her new accessories and trying out their potty. We have several round of success and then... accident. I try to pick her up to rush to the potty, but she then pees all over me. I strip her down and get her dry, but I'm left covered with pee.
At this point MaeMae is making us lunch, so we are stuck there for a while. I just want to go home, back to our environment where I was making it work. Chasing Abby around the yard isn't working.
While we were riding bikes at the barn, I heard her toot. I pick her up and rush her to the potty. She's screaming "Hurry Mommy, Hurry". We get to the potty in time for her to poop! I'm so excited! What a breakthrough. I finally feel like I accomplished something.
Then we sit for lunch. Apparently, I let Abby sit for too long, because she peed in her seat. At this point I get mad. I don't have any dry underwear left. I didn't want to be there anymore. I wasn't getting any help or support. I slapped a diaper on her bum and took her home for a nap.
Thankfully, she went down without a peep. But I felt defeated. This wasn't working. She wasn't getting it. I don't know what I was doing wrong. I called my mom. She offered some tips (many of which I already tried), but she insisted I needed to stick with it. She will get it, it will click, just keep trying. I cringed when nap time was over, not ready to try again, but I knew I needed to keep on.
Back into panties we went. We went outside to play. I decided to bring out the travel potty so we didn't have to go inside all the time. I set it up and told her when she needed to pee pee, we could do in it. She started playing and I saw her holding herself. I asked her if she needed to potty, she said yes, so to the potty we went. (right there in the driveway) And, she peed!
Lots of praises!!!!
Ten minutes later, I see her doing the same time. Back to the potty... and she peed! I explained to her that when she's holding herself, that's the feeling of needing to go and she needs to tell someone.
Small steps, but big steps.
Then I get a text from her teacher. I had texted her earlier in the day to tell her we were training and what can I do tomorrow to help with the transition. I felt we made good progress and I didn't want to lose it. She told me consistency is key. But she felt Abby wasn't really showing signs of readiness because she wouldn't verbalize when she needed to go. She suggested wet shaming (staying in wet undies, but I tried that earlier, and Abby didn't care). I didn't know how to proceed. I thought I would send several pairs of undies and outfits and hope for the best.
Then I got another text. Abby wouldn't be allowed to wear panties until she could verbalize the need to go pee and poop for one entire week.
WTF!
At that point I broke down. I felt I had worked so hard all weekend. I gave up the entire weekend to stay at home and be on pee pee watch. I felt that putting her back in a pull up wouldn't work. She's been wearing pull ups, but treats them like diapers. So how is she going to tell you she needs to go, when she knows she can just go in the pull up and it's no big deal.
I felt that I was being punished. The guidelines and rules weren't shared with me. In September they said they would handle the potty training. I was a little upset because I felt it was right of passage to do this as a parent. But I haven't seen any attempts (other than taking her a few times a day, we reports that she usually goes pee), that training was taking place. One classmate is trained and several others are in the process.
I also felt defeated because the brand of pull ups I had purchased didn't fit in with their outine. Apparently the pampers brand do not have sides that can open and close like diapers. Only the huggies brands do. So I was told the very large pack I sent (in December) wasn't usable because they didn't have the time to take off her shoes and pants every time she needed a clean one. So last night, at 6pm, I'm being told all my hard work is wasted and I can't use the supplies I have at my house.
I'm a mess at this point. Tears, snot, pee covered, exhausted.
I head to the store to get the proper pull ups. (I can't send Gene because there are so many brands, I don't want him to get the wrong thing). I take the short drive to calm myself, get a moment alone. Regroup and think of the ways we can make this work.
Huggies pull ups happen to have the Little Mermaid on them. I bring them home and tell Abby about her new pull ups for school. And how if she can keep them dry all week at school, we can go pick out real princess panties to wear next week. I just kept telling her to tell someone when she needs to go. She needs to keep herself dry.
I left the pull ups and a note saying to not use any diapers. I don't know what's going to happen today. I'm anxious. Really anxious. Almost panic attack anxious. I want this to work. I don't want to feel defeated. I don't want to try again another time. This was our moment, we need to make it work.
I can only hope they are observant today. But I don't have hope. Yesterday she wouldn't speak up. I would just notice her stopped and standing, holding herself. I would hope that something clicked and she would speak up.
I just have to wait and see.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Its only a phase, right?
Things have been just moving along. We've managed to make it through several months into the terrible two's without much trouble. We've had ups and downs, but nothing life shattering.
Until last Friday.
Abby has become very demanding, and very resistant to someone telling her she can't have her way. This usually involves getting dressed, or wanting snacks. It hasn't been a big problem. She could be easily redirected or distracted.
But it appears, all other tactics have failed.
From the moment we got home at 5:00 on Friday, she whined. "I want this snack, not that snack. I want this cartoon, not that cartoon. Daddy went out, I want to go with daddy. But I don't want to go with Daddy and ride, buckled in my seat. Daddy came back. Woody went out and ran away. Daddy is mad at Woody, Abby is mad at Woody. I want another snack, I don't want to go out to eat with friends. No, I don't want that salsa, I want that one. But, that salsa is too hot. I don't want to sit in this chair, I want to sit in that chair. I don't want to sit at all, I want to run around. I don't want to wear my buckle on the way home. I don't want to listen to Daddy. I don't want to get my jammies on."
Boom.......
That was the sound of our household blowing up.
Yelling and screaming. Doors slamming. And crying, lots of crying.
I took myself outside. I couldn't handle it anymore. Everyone was on edge and just tired of the whining and it just exploded. And then I collapsed. And I cried. And I cried.
Gene and I don't argue. We don't yell at each other. We don't fight. I've always been proud that we can read each other well enough that we don't have to have confrontation like that. But I had had enough and I yelled. And I got mad. And it hurt.
I stood outside, in the darkness, and just let all the emotions out. It came from deep within. It was loud and it was strong. I couldn't stop it. I don't remember ever crying like that. A true, deep, painful cry.
Parenting is the hardest job I've ever done. There are no rights and no wrongs. And its all about compromise and communication. And that evening, we all failed. It was a spiral, and one I hope we don't have to go down again, but I'm sure we will. I think we've just touched the edge of the terrible two's and its only going to get more complicated.
But I think I learned a few things. I learned I need to step away when it gets too much. Just take a breather. Let Gene handle it, and handle it how he sees appropriate. Don't undermind his decisions and override them. I learned that raising my voice doesn't help anyone, it only hurts, and mostly it hurts me. I learned that all the patience I did think I had, its not enough. A two year old has more willpower that you could ever imagine.
That evening, after the sonic blow up at 922, I snuggled in the bed with Abby. She laid next to me and touched my face. She was charming and sweet. She smiled and laughed at me. Its like she knew she had hurt me and she was sorry. She cuddled with me and told me she loved me. It was at that moment that I was thankful to be a parent.
Until last Friday.
Abby has become very demanding, and very resistant to someone telling her she can't have her way. This usually involves getting dressed, or wanting snacks. It hasn't been a big problem. She could be easily redirected or distracted.
But it appears, all other tactics have failed.
From the moment we got home at 5:00 on Friday, she whined. "I want this snack, not that snack. I want this cartoon, not that cartoon. Daddy went out, I want to go with daddy. But I don't want to go with Daddy and ride, buckled in my seat. Daddy came back. Woody went out and ran away. Daddy is mad at Woody, Abby is mad at Woody. I want another snack, I don't want to go out to eat with friends. No, I don't want that salsa, I want that one. But, that salsa is too hot. I don't want to sit in this chair, I want to sit in that chair. I don't want to sit at all, I want to run around. I don't want to wear my buckle on the way home. I don't want to listen to Daddy. I don't want to get my jammies on."
Boom.......
That was the sound of our household blowing up.
Yelling and screaming. Doors slamming. And crying, lots of crying.
I took myself outside. I couldn't handle it anymore. Everyone was on edge and just tired of the whining and it just exploded. And then I collapsed. And I cried. And I cried.
Gene and I don't argue. We don't yell at each other. We don't fight. I've always been proud that we can read each other well enough that we don't have to have confrontation like that. But I had had enough and I yelled. And I got mad. And it hurt.
I stood outside, in the darkness, and just let all the emotions out. It came from deep within. It was loud and it was strong. I couldn't stop it. I don't remember ever crying like that. A true, deep, painful cry.
Parenting is the hardest job I've ever done. There are no rights and no wrongs. And its all about compromise and communication. And that evening, we all failed. It was a spiral, and one I hope we don't have to go down again, but I'm sure we will. I think we've just touched the edge of the terrible two's and its only going to get more complicated.
But I think I learned a few things. I learned I need to step away when it gets too much. Just take a breather. Let Gene handle it, and handle it how he sees appropriate. Don't undermind his decisions and override them. I learned that raising my voice doesn't help anyone, it only hurts, and mostly it hurts me. I learned that all the patience I did think I had, its not enough. A two year old has more willpower that you could ever imagine.
That evening, after the sonic blow up at 922, I snuggled in the bed with Abby. She laid next to me and touched my face. She was charming and sweet. She smiled and laughed at me. Its like she knew she had hurt me and she was sorry. She cuddled with me and told me she loved me. It was at that moment that I was thankful to be a parent.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
730
Its been 730 days or 104 weeks, since Abby was born. That calculates to 2 years. Yes 2 years!!
Where has the time gone. I would have never thought it would have gone this fast. It really does seem like yesterday that we were riding home from the hospital. Although, I really do love this stage more than any of the infants stages.
Abby is still petite. I don't have an exact weight, but she was recently weighed in at 22.5 pounds. She wears 18 month clothes. And pants are too big if they don't have tabs. I don't know height yet, but we get measured next week when we go for her check up. She's my petite peanut and always will be.
She has 14 teeth, with two more canines coming through soon. She looks so cute with a mouth full of teeth. All that will be left is the two year old molars. I don't suspect those for a while, given the delay in all the other teeth. Once all the teeth are in, I will take off the amber necklace and put it away. I can't say that it has or hasn't been helpful. She hasn't had too much trouble with teeth, so I don't know if that's why or if that's just her. I wasn't going to take it off and see what happens!
She's still a good eater. Although recently she will push her plate away and say she doesn't like something. At which point she is fine not getting anything else to eat. I'm not worried she is going to starve. And sometimes, she comes back around when she seems one of us eating it. Her favorites are still cookies. She loves pizza, spaghetti, green beans, pancakes, peanut butter, chocolate milk, apple juice, cheese, yogurt, hamburgers, french fries, ice cream, toast, and M&M's. She never eats a large amount, but you can tell when she really likes something because she will eat it quickly.
Her personality is still emerging and its a joy to watch. She is so much like Gene and me its crazy! She is creative. She is intuitive. She is a quick learner with a sharp memory. She is easy going (most of the time... she does like routine.. and does have moments). She is loving. She is not shy around those that she knows. She is always a hit a soccer games because she just travels from parent to parent. She is inquisitive and recognizes when things have changed. "What dis" "What dat" I know "Why" is not too far off in her vocabulary.
Her stuffed monkey, Mimi, and her blanket are still prized possessions. Paci is a strong contender at home. I think soon, we will do away with all the paci's. I think they have helped soothe her while teething, and once that is all done, we will say goodbye to the pacis. I have heard several ideas on how we can do that, I just need to decide what's best for Abby.
She is almost potty trained. She will sit and peepee on her potty. She knows she gets a treat for pottying. And no treat when she does nothing. She loves to celebrate her pottying and is a big fan of streaking through the house to tell you so! I feel that very soon we will be done with diapers and into panties. Its one last bit of babyhood that I'm holding on to.
She is very vocal. She loves to talk to you. She carries on conversations with you. She can tell you things about her day, her friends, events that have happened. She can count to 10. She can say the ABC's. She knows nursery rhymes. She uses sentences.
She sleeps well. She goes down to bed easily at night. I think forming a routine has helped. She mostly sleeps through the night. Sometimes, if she hasn't felt well, she will wake up and need to be held for a minute before going back down. She always gets up with a smile on her face. Its nice to hear her babbling on the monitor on the days we don't have to get up early.
She loves her brother. She thinks he is the best playmate. They enjoy playing soccer. They play hide and seek. They read books and play computer games. I love watching their relationship flourish and grow. She doesn't understand why he isn't there sometimes. It doesn't seem to bother her yet, but I know there will come a time when it hurts her.
Shes come a long way in 730 days. She is still a joy and I love her with all my heart. I am thankful for having her in my life and amazed every day that I made her. She is my blessing and miracle.
Where has the time gone. I would have never thought it would have gone this fast. It really does seem like yesterday that we were riding home from the hospital. Although, I really do love this stage more than any of the infants stages.
Abby is still petite. I don't have an exact weight, but she was recently weighed in at 22.5 pounds. She wears 18 month clothes. And pants are too big if they don't have tabs. I don't know height yet, but we get measured next week when we go for her check up. She's my petite peanut and always will be.
She has 14 teeth, with two more canines coming through soon. She looks so cute with a mouth full of teeth. All that will be left is the two year old molars. I don't suspect those for a while, given the delay in all the other teeth. Once all the teeth are in, I will take off the amber necklace and put it away. I can't say that it has or hasn't been helpful. She hasn't had too much trouble with teeth, so I don't know if that's why or if that's just her. I wasn't going to take it off and see what happens!
She's still a good eater. Although recently she will push her plate away and say she doesn't like something. At which point she is fine not getting anything else to eat. I'm not worried she is going to starve. And sometimes, she comes back around when she seems one of us eating it. Her favorites are still cookies. She loves pizza, spaghetti, green beans, pancakes, peanut butter, chocolate milk, apple juice, cheese, yogurt, hamburgers, french fries, ice cream, toast, and M&M's. She never eats a large amount, but you can tell when she really likes something because she will eat it quickly.
Her personality is still emerging and its a joy to watch. She is so much like Gene and me its crazy! She is creative. She is intuitive. She is a quick learner with a sharp memory. She is easy going (most of the time... she does like routine.. and does have moments). She is loving. She is not shy around those that she knows. She is always a hit a soccer games because she just travels from parent to parent. She is inquisitive and recognizes when things have changed. "What dis" "What dat" I know "Why" is not too far off in her vocabulary.
Her stuffed monkey, Mimi, and her blanket are still prized possessions. Paci is a strong contender at home. I think soon, we will do away with all the paci's. I think they have helped soothe her while teething, and once that is all done, we will say goodbye to the pacis. I have heard several ideas on how we can do that, I just need to decide what's best for Abby.
She is almost potty trained. She will sit and peepee on her potty. She knows she gets a treat for pottying. And no treat when she does nothing. She loves to celebrate her pottying and is a big fan of streaking through the house to tell you so! I feel that very soon we will be done with diapers and into panties. Its one last bit of babyhood that I'm holding on to.
She is very vocal. She loves to talk to you. She carries on conversations with you. She can tell you things about her day, her friends, events that have happened. She can count to 10. She can say the ABC's. She knows nursery rhymes. She uses sentences.
She sleeps well. She goes down to bed easily at night. I think forming a routine has helped. She mostly sleeps through the night. Sometimes, if she hasn't felt well, she will wake up and need to be held for a minute before going back down. She always gets up with a smile on her face. Its nice to hear her babbling on the monitor on the days we don't have to get up early.
She loves her brother. She thinks he is the best playmate. They enjoy playing soccer. They play hide and seek. They read books and play computer games. I love watching their relationship flourish and grow. She doesn't understand why he isn't there sometimes. It doesn't seem to bother her yet, but I know there will come a time when it hurts her.
Shes come a long way in 730 days. She is still a joy and I love her with all my heart. I am thankful for having her in my life and amazed every day that I made her. She is my blessing and miracle.
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