So I have been thinking a lot lately...I know...dangerous. However, because of some stuff that our family is experiencing, I have been reflecting on what God is doing in our lives at this current moment. To recap, Michael has a second job. It's great financially, but it does take a toll on the family. My sister lives with us and that is a huge help, when she isn't busy working :). I work a part time job and stay home with the kids the rest of the time. We have goals to pay off debt and save (hence the two jobs for Michael) and we are trying to stay involved in church and keep our lives together. Needless to say, the house tends to be the last thing on our list. People keep telling me it's ok to have stuff everywhere when you have little ones, but I look around and there are people who manage to keep their house clean inspite of all the children. That means it's mostly my work ethic at home. I'm ok with that. We have clean clothes and food on the table...the house leaves a lot to be desired. Don't judge :)
Now that you know what has been going on, now I can share my thoughts as of late. And to me they are deep...probably just average thoughts, but that's ok. So when Michael started working, I noticed Sydnee did not respond well. She was used to having her Daddy home each night and could play with him. We would go and do stuff on the weekends and it a fun family time. Now, we see him maybe one night a week and some on the weekend. I'm not complaining about that part because he is doing what needs to be done for our family, but I do see a difference in Sydnee's behavior. I had to start disciplining more and I couldn't figure out her mood swings. She would be doing great for a few days and then...BAM...she would just start crying for no reason (sometimes she was sick) or just be disrespectful to me or Susanna. I couldn't figure out the reason until she would spend about 15 minutes with Michael. It made a world of difference in her behavior. I couldn't believe it! So I started to take her up to the Y to see Michael if he had not spent any time with Sydnee for a few days. It amazed me at how just a few minutes in her father's presence and she would be a whole new little girl. And this is where is gets deep...I kept thinking, this is probably how my Heavenly Father feels. He is doing what needs to be done and taking care of me on a daily basis and yet I get grumpy or I act out and then I realize, I haven't spent any time with Him. And then when I do spend that time with Him, even if it's just praying in my car or singing songs while driving from one place to another, I feel like I have connected and that I can go on. My attitude is better and I am much more pleasant to be around. It makes me wonder how some people go daily without His presence and don't feel alone or just worn down. Maybe they do, but I don't know how they survive. So that's my deep thought for the day.
Now for some humor and a little bit of Sydnee. So at church, Pastor Keith has been teaching on Hope for Parenting. Great sermons on Christian parenting. I'll post the link so you can check them out. But anyway, I felt convicted that I haven't been spending quality time with Sydnee on knowing who God is and what He means to our lives and family. So last night, I was giving Sydnee a bath and we were talking about songs we sing at church and then I asked a deep question. I said "Sydnee, who is God?" and without missing a beat she says, "Me! I'm god!" And I was crushed! I thought, oh my goodness, I have already failed me daughter. She is a little heathen! Fortunately, I realized that she is just living in her natural sin nature and believes the world revolves around her. We obviously don't try and teach her that she is the center of the world, but we are all selfish and she just states it like she sees it. So for those of you who know Sydnee, you know that she isn't shy about her thoughts. I mean, I bought a pair of yoga pants and her comment was, "Mom, you wearing your tight pants today?", so I know that she is just being herself, but that also means I need to prayerfully prepare to speak with her and teach her about the love of Christ. But I can't fault the child on her helpfulness. She is so helpful, especially when I am trying to clean the kitchen or sweep the floor. She just loves to "help". Or when I need to make dinner. She wants to "make" too. I just have to remember she will not always want to pitch in so I should just teach her how I like it done and go with it. That's all I have for now. I'll try and post children's pictures soon!
For sermons: hillcountrybible.org
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
ummm
I really can't think of what to title this blog right now. I guess I will just write it and see what I come up with...maybe. I was informed that my updates on Sydnee are quite funny so I felt I needed to do some more. Sydnee has taken to "watching" movies what she takes a bath. Really, my sister gives her a bath and they play music on her iPhone. She thinks that's movies on the phone. It makes me laugh that the terminology she comes up with we all seem to use. It's not baby talk, it's just how she sees it, if we correct her, we are wrong, so we just use those phrases. But she sings the songs around the house. Recently she has sung "God is bigger than the boogie man" by Veggie Tales. It's hilarious because she will run to her room, sit on her bed and start singing: " When I"m lyin' in my bed, and the furniture starts screamin'". Then she jumps up and runs into the room and then finishes as much as she can remember about the song. She will do this forever. And then she just runs around singing different songs. So funny! I sometimes wonder if that is really my child. I mean I know I was there when I gave birth to her, but her personality just seems so far out. And then I was told today that Sydnee acts just like me...well that they can see where Sydnee gets her craziness from. I don't really run around the house singing Veggie Tale songs...usually. I do see her father in her when it comes to breaking rules. I told her just yesterday, "Sydnee, don't jump from that (the ottoman) to the couch. It will give you owies." She looked right at me, pulled her rocking horse over, stood on it and jumped to the couch. I guess her father can deal with that when she out-maneuvers him...and she will...I can feel it.
She also likes to state facts. For example:
She likes to wake and tell us she is "All done." As if it was a question. In her mind, I imagine she is saying, "I'm all done sleeping. I don't need any more of this. Where is my movie?" But yes, it's the first thing she says, followed by, I want a snack.
She also tells us when RJ poops. It's no longer shooey...It's poop. She asked today if he got it on his butt. I told her we don't use butt in this house but bottom. Her exact words were "Oh sorry, bottom". But when she does say poop it sounds hilarious because one of my co-workers who helps take care of her is from Mexico and so Sydnee mimics how she speaks and Syd says poop with a Spanish accent. It's great fun to be around Syd. (On a side note, Buzz Lightyear flies like Dumbo...she has informed me of that).
Sydnee knows our names. She frequently yells out. "MICHAEL! He spit up!" Or "MICHAEL come here!" She does call me Tabitha sometimes. It sounds like Tabta...I just keep telling her I'm mom. She says...oh sorry Ms. Mom...I guess that is my name now. She calls out Susanna's name at dinner. We will be sitting down and she will yell out: "SUSANNA! Come eat!, Susie, time to eat!" Sadly, most of the time Susanna isn't here. She just likes yelling it I guess.
OH and some updates on RJ. He is a growing boy! I had to take him to the dr. 2 weeks ago because he had some redness in his...well you know and I was worried. So I took him in. They weighed him. 13lbs 10oz. He is only 3 months. That means he has gained 5lbs since birth. Nothing was wrong with him by the way. Just some irritation. He is currently in a growth spurt. He just eats and sleeps and whines when he is awake. I think he has a latent giant gene. He will be huge! Lol. He has a new nickname thanks to those I work with. He is now called "hit man". He can hit anyone with spit up. It's an art really. I think he is ready for food too. He watches us eat. I have given him a little cereal and he likes it but I think it gives him gas and makes him poop a lot! He also had a new hat. We are trying to prevent the helmet and we bought a tortle. It is a stocking cap that has a ridge so he is forced to keep his head going the other way. We call him tortle-head. It's really cute. I'll try and get a picture.
That's about all I have for now. In the words of Sydnee: "I gotta get out of here!"
She also likes to state facts. For example:
She likes to wake and tell us she is "All done." As if it was a question. In her mind, I imagine she is saying, "I'm all done sleeping. I don't need any more of this. Where is my movie?" But yes, it's the first thing she says, followed by, I want a snack.
She also tells us when RJ poops. It's no longer shooey...It's poop. She asked today if he got it on his butt. I told her we don't use butt in this house but bottom. Her exact words were "Oh sorry, bottom". But when she does say poop it sounds hilarious because one of my co-workers who helps take care of her is from Mexico and so Sydnee mimics how she speaks and Syd says poop with a Spanish accent. It's great fun to be around Syd. (On a side note, Buzz Lightyear flies like Dumbo...she has informed me of that).
Sydnee knows our names. She frequently yells out. "MICHAEL! He spit up!" Or "MICHAEL come here!" She does call me Tabitha sometimes. It sounds like Tabta...I just keep telling her I'm mom. She says...oh sorry Ms. Mom...I guess that is my name now. She calls out Susanna's name at dinner. We will be sitting down and she will yell out: "SUSANNA! Come eat!, Susie, time to eat!" Sadly, most of the time Susanna isn't here. She just likes yelling it I guess.
OH and some updates on RJ. He is a growing boy! I had to take him to the dr. 2 weeks ago because he had some redness in his...well you know and I was worried. So I took him in. They weighed him. 13lbs 10oz. He is only 3 months. That means he has gained 5lbs since birth. Nothing was wrong with him by the way. Just some irritation. He is currently in a growth spurt. He just eats and sleeps and whines when he is awake. I think he has a latent giant gene. He will be huge! Lol. He has a new nickname thanks to those I work with. He is now called "hit man". He can hit anyone with spit up. It's an art really. I think he is ready for food too. He watches us eat. I have given him a little cereal and he likes it but I think it gives him gas and makes him poop a lot! He also had a new hat. We are trying to prevent the helmet and we bought a tortle. It is a stocking cap that has a ridge so he is forced to keep his head going the other way. We call him tortle-head. It's really cute. I'll try and get a picture.
That's about all I have for now. In the words of Sydnee: "I gotta get out of here!"
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Ryne 2 months
Our baby boy is growing up! I can't believe how fast it has seemed to go this time around. Probably because I am chasing after Sydee on a daily basis and am missing some of his littleness. He had a good visit but we did find out he has a small case of torticollis. His forehead is growing out crooked because of it. However, he has gained his weight back and then some!
Head - 40 1/2 cm - 61%
Weight - 12.5 lbs - 64%
Height - 23.5" - 69%
Yeah R.J.!!
So back to the stuff we found out. He had to have a hip ultrasound because he was breech during most of the pregnancy. Being breech might have also caused his torticollis issue as well. But he had a clean bill of health after the ultrasound!! Go God!! I had called my friend Mel in regards to his torticollis and tried to get some ideas on how to fix it at home. She gave me some stuff to do and it worked wonders! By the time we got to the physical therapist he had already shown much improvement. The PT thought it would have been much worse since she was seeing him at 2 months but she said what we were doing at home was helping. I am so thankful! Our son is in the 20th percentile of babies with torticollis as for how he leans and looks. She also said that his torticollis is most likely caused by this head having a flat spot, not his head having a flat spot because of the torticollis. He had to be backwards in this too. But we have what we need to do and we are hoping and praying that we can avoid the helmet!
Head - 40 1/2 cm - 61%
Weight - 12.5 lbs - 64%
Height - 23.5" - 69%
Yeah R.J.!!
So back to the stuff we found out. He had to have a hip ultrasound because he was breech during most of the pregnancy. Being breech might have also caused his torticollis issue as well. But he had a clean bill of health after the ultrasound!! Go God!! I had called my friend Mel in regards to his torticollis and tried to get some ideas on how to fix it at home. She gave me some stuff to do and it worked wonders! By the time we got to the physical therapist he had already shown much improvement. The PT thought it would have been much worse since she was seeing him at 2 months but she said what we were doing at home was helping. I am so thankful! Our son is in the 20th percentile of babies with torticollis as for how he leans and looks. She also said that his torticollis is most likely caused by this head having a flat spot, not his head having a flat spot because of the torticollis. He had to be backwards in this too. But we have what we need to do and we are hoping and praying that we can avoid the helmet!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Yep! You drive me crazy!
So this last week I have really seen part of Sydnee's personality come out. Or maybe I just notice when some things she does are just absolutely so funny that I can't help but wonder, whose child is that? I love how she says "love" or any word with an L in it. Her love kind of sounds like "lub" but with more of a long "u" sound and she somehow rolls her L's. So we really like it when she says "I'm going to see Uncle Alan in a little bit." It sounds like "I'm seeing luncle lalan in a lolttle bit." It can be fun having a kid! Sometimes.
Sydnee likes to say, "Yep"
Me: Do you want some orange juice?
Syd: Yep. Blue cup
Me: You want it in a blue cup?
Syd: Yep.
Me: Did you go teetee in the potty?
Syd: Yep. Now I get chocwate (chocolate)
And the conversations never end.
She hasn't figured out the thought process of "why" yet. So we aren't at the stage where I know I will end up saying: BECAUSE I SAID SO! but we are at the discovery stage.
In the garage with her daddy:
S: What's that?
M: A lawn mower
S: What's that?
M: A weed-eater
S: What's that?
M: A lawn mower
S: What's that?
M: A weed-eater
It's a good thing he is patient because they did that for about 5 minutes. She knows what they are now. And she asks what everything is called! At least she is learning and remembers!
Other Sydnee-isms that make us laugh:
Going to the potty.
Syd: Can lion come?
Me: Sure, lion can come
(in the bathroom)
Syd: Ok lion, you watch shower curtain
(lion faces shower curtain while Sydnee goes potty)
At dinner waiting for everyone to finish.
Syd: All done!
Michael: Aunt Susie's not done
(15 second pause)
Syd: All done now?
Me: No, she's not all done
(15 second pause)
Syd: All done now?
Susie: I'm almost done
Syd: All done!
Me: No, she has a few more bites
(Syd peers around the tea and looks at her plate, it's empty.)
Syd: All done
Me: We need to ask Aunt Susie if she is all done
Syd: Please Susie all done? (emphatic use of hand signs as well)
Moral of the story? Sydnee does not like to wait to be done.
But the real kicker is when I realized how much she listens and repeats what is said. It is very humbling.
Getting in her booster seat. Her brother is crying in his bassinet. I haven't had any coffee yet and she needs to show her independent streak.
Syd: I do it myself
Me: Please Syd, let me help.
Syd: No, I do it!
Me: Oh Syd!
Syd: You drivin me crazy
Obviously I say that last part too much. I keep thinking it's better than telling her how frustrated she is making me, but I guess anything comes across as frustration. So "Yep", my kid know that she "drives me crazy!"
Sydnee likes to say, "Yep"
Me: Do you want some orange juice?
Syd: Yep. Blue cup
Me: You want it in a blue cup?
Syd: Yep.
Me: Did you go teetee in the potty?
Syd: Yep. Now I get chocwate (chocolate)
And the conversations never end.
She hasn't figured out the thought process of "why" yet. So we aren't at the stage where I know I will end up saying: BECAUSE I SAID SO! but we are at the discovery stage.
In the garage with her daddy:
S: What's that?
M: A lawn mower
S: What's that?
M: A weed-eater
S: What's that?
M: A lawn mower
S: What's that?
M: A weed-eater
It's a good thing he is patient because they did that for about 5 minutes. She knows what they are now. And she asks what everything is called! At least she is learning and remembers!
Other Sydnee-isms that make us laugh:
Going to the potty.
Syd: Can lion come?
Me: Sure, lion can come
(in the bathroom)
Syd: Ok lion, you watch shower curtain
(lion faces shower curtain while Sydnee goes potty)
At dinner waiting for everyone to finish.
Syd: All done!
Michael: Aunt Susie's not done
(15 second pause)
Syd: All done now?
Me: No, she's not all done
(15 second pause)
Syd: All done now?
Susie: I'm almost done
Syd: All done!
Me: No, she has a few more bites
(Syd peers around the tea and looks at her plate, it's empty.)
Syd: All done
Me: We need to ask Aunt Susie if she is all done
Syd: Please Susie all done? (emphatic use of hand signs as well)
Moral of the story? Sydnee does not like to wait to be done.
But the real kicker is when I realized how much she listens and repeats what is said. It is very humbling.
Getting in her booster seat. Her brother is crying in his bassinet. I haven't had any coffee yet and she needs to show her independent streak.
Syd: I do it myself
Me: Please Syd, let me help.
Syd: No, I do it!
Me: Oh Syd!
Syd: You drivin me crazy
Obviously I say that last part too much. I keep thinking it's better than telling her how frustrated she is making me, but I guess anything comes across as frustration. So "Yep", my kid know that she "drives me crazy!"
Thursday, August 8, 2013
All before Noon
We have had an exciting day to say the least. I am hoping this afternoon isn't so crazy. To start off, we were up by 7 am. This means my children had 5 hours to make my life crazy. But it wasn't my children who started the crazy off. No, it wasn't even my husband. It was the ANTS! I am really starting to dislike this insect. They are everywhere! We clean, we spray, we clean, we spray and they still show up! Last night Michael sprayed the whole living and kitchen area to kill the ants and I cleaned the floor with enough bleach to make you feel woozy. And then we found them in our bathroom this morning. Right on the other side of the kitchen wall is our bathroom. They were everywhere. Mostly in my wet bathing suit which was on the bathroom counter. I mean, I know Michael said he wanted the bathroom organized so we could use the whole counter, but I mean it didn't have to get to this extreme! He didn't really plant the ants there, but the bathroom is clean. Maybe it was just bad karma because I didn't respect the double sinks. I mean, we have never had two sinks before and I used mine to store all my stuff until I could organize as I see fit. So maybe it's my fault? Well I left the ants until the kids would take a nap. No use poisoning my children.
So back to when they get up. I have to BRIBE my daughter with food and movies just to use the potty. So I said no orange juice until you try to potty. And boy did she potty! She had so much pee because she woke with a dry diaper! I was so proud of that and I feel like we have been pretty successful in the potty training area. Then we had breakfast and she wanted to go outside. So we played outside. Then we came in and she played inside and finally go bored and I turned on her favorite...the lion movie AKA The Lion King. So we watched the movie. RJ was playing and sleeping and just being great. In fact, he is a great baby. He has really taken to sleeping in his bassinet. Another small victory! But Sydnee finished her movie and wanted to have a snack so I let her snack and then I needed at least an hour of activity to keep her focused before lunch and nap time. Swimming wouldn't cut it because my suit had ants all over it and hers was still dirty from yesterday. So I said let's paint! She helped me get out all the paint and the table cover and her cardboard to paint on and I gave her the palette of paints and started to make dinner. We are having twice baked potatoes by the way. Well after I put the potatoes in the oven and got RJ up to feed him, I thought, she can do this by herself. She is doing great. Her hands are covered in paint but that's not a big deal. And then she said, "All done!" I asked her to wait until RJ finished eating (at least finish nursing one side) and then I got up to clean off her "hands"
So back to when they get up. I have to BRIBE my daughter with food and movies just to use the potty. So I said no orange juice until you try to potty. And boy did she potty! She had so much pee because she woke with a dry diaper! I was so proud of that and I feel like we have been pretty successful in the potty training area. Then we had breakfast and she wanted to go outside. So we played outside. Then we came in and she played inside and finally go bored and I turned on her favorite...the lion movie AKA The Lion King. So we watched the movie. RJ was playing and sleeping and just being great. In fact, he is a great baby. He has really taken to sleeping in his bassinet. Another small victory! But Sydnee finished her movie and wanted to have a snack so I let her snack and then I needed at least an hour of activity to keep her focused before lunch and nap time. Swimming wouldn't cut it because my suit had ants all over it and hers was still dirty from yesterday. So I said let's paint! She helped me get out all the paint and the table cover and her cardboard to paint on and I gave her the palette of paints and started to make dinner. We are having twice baked potatoes by the way. Well after I put the potatoes in the oven and got RJ up to feed him, I thought, she can do this by herself. She is doing great. Her hands are covered in paint but that's not a big deal. And then she said, "All done!" I asked her to wait until RJ finished eating (at least finish nursing one side) and then I got up to clean off her "hands"
She got to take a bath in the sink and in the tub. There is still paint in her hair and in her eye lashes. I think she had fun. That's the important part right?
So then she had her lunch and I finished nursing RJ and she went down for her nap. I ate my lunch and put RJ down so I could clean the bathroom. Well I remembered the potatoes in the oven. There is a reason you poke holes in the potatoes. I just didn't realize how important that was until now.
They explode...in case you didn't know. But I had cleaning to do so I will deal with those later. I went into our bathroom and I cleaned and organized and washed all the towels and floor mats. And then I sprayed. I am sure I sprayed too much for such a small space because it smells in there now, but I wanted to kill any and all ants. I have started to feel like a story I read in high school. Leiningen vs. the Ants. Now granted, these ants are not flesh eating, but I feel like they have taken over the whole house. Hopefully we will have killed a lot and my plan is to spray once a week for several weeks to make sure we keep them away.
Well now I'm off to fix my potato mess! Wish me luck!
Friday, August 2, 2013
It's Potty Time with Sydnee!
Well let me start off by saying that I have given potty training a half-hearted effort since she discovered the potty and wanted to try to go on it. I started putting her in pull-ups in November of last year and thought we would eventually work our way to the potty and it would be super easy. Then I started working and it just never came around and I let it get away from us. We did try one weekend and she held her pee in for so long that when she went to bed that night she peed through a diaper, her clothes and had a large puddle on her bed. I didn't even try the next day. Then we had RJ. Well I had to buy diapers for him and her at the same time. I looked at the total and I thought, I have to do something about this! This is so expensive and crazy. And then two weeks ago, I found a blog on Pinterest about potty training and how to go about it. I had heard other ideas and I thought, "I can do this!" And yes, we are potty training with a 5 week old in the house but I was determined to go back to work next week with a fully potty trained kiddo. So here is how our week has progressed in potty training.
At the bottom I will post the site I took my potty training ideas from but here is what we started with on Monday. I had 5 pairs of little girl panties, 1 bag of Pretzel M&M's ( why pretzel? they were on sale), 3 "poop" prizes", 1 package of stickers, 1 kid potty and a lot of prayer. The weekend before, we talked to Sydnee about being potty trained. She has the Elmo Potty Train book and we read that a few times and she told people she was going to be potty trained next week like Elmo. She was very excited. This is an idea I took from the blog I read. So when Monday rolled around I got up and had everything ready. I showed her the prizes and told her when she had to go potty to tell me or just go use her potty.
Monday:
Sydnee wasn't too thrilled about having to go without a diaper. She kept asking to have it put on so she could run around. I told her big kids don't wear diapers and she was going to be potty trained. No more diapers. I tried to keep her in the kitchen because I didn't really want to chase her around the house and worry about pee in a corner or anything like that. And it worked for the most part. Then she had her first accident. She didn't even try to go potty in the potty all morning. Around 9 she peed all over the laundry room floor and cried. She did not like the feeling of pee running down her leg. I mean, who could blame her! I cleaned it up and told her that feeling is when she needs to use the potty. And then we went on with our morning. By now she was tired of all the stuff in the kitchen and wanted to watch a movie in the living room. It is right off the kitchen and I told her, if she goes in there, she has to sit on her potty. So for the next hour or so, she sat on her potty and watched a movie. Then she "accidentally" went potty in the potty. She was so excited! She ran up to me and said "I went potty! I get chocolate!" So I praised her and gave her chocolate and we cleaned her potty out. And that was pretty much all the I had to do for her. She knew the feeling and the whole rest of the day she used the potty when she felt the urge. We had a few problems when Daddy came home because he was distracting, but she would start to go, stop herself, run to the potty and then finish. We were very proud of her. So if she went the whole time without accident she got 2 M&M's and if she started somewhere else and finished in the potty she got 1. She gets 4 if she poops but she didn't want to even try that. So she only wore a diaper for nap and bedtime. She wet a little during both so I am glad we kept those on her.
Tuesday:
We got up and I tried to get her to potty. She didn't want to but I told her she needed to try. So she sat for all of 2 seconds and was done. OH well. I let her put panties on around 10 because I wanted her to get used to taking them off when she went potty. The blog I read said to do naked baby for 3 days because they still have lots of accidents. Well we only had 1 real accident on the first day and I thought, ehh...what's the big deal. I will get back with why I should have followed that plan. But she had a minor accident in her panties the first time she went potty. She started to go and stopped leaving a few little drops in her 'drawers' as her daddy likes to call them. So she went without for a little bit and then I put some new ones on her. I followed the advice on that one. She went all day without any more accidents until her daddy got home. She just didn't get her panties all the way down before she started to go and we were quickly running out of panties! The only downside was that she hadn't pooped in the potty yet. She hadn't gone in 2 days because she didn't want to! I was hoping for a successful poop on Wednesday so I could run some errands and try out our new potty training! I really needed to go to Target!
Wednesday:
With the last of our panties, these are the Gerber training kind, we set out for another successful day. She goes on her own. She doesn't need reminding. She actually says "Uh Oh I need to go potty!" and goes by herself. Then announces she 'needs chocolate', like the she "needs" another whole in her head. But she played and didn't have any issues that I could tell. And then IT happened. Right in her Gerber panties. She had been running around like some Risky Business character (t-shirt, white undies and sunglasses - Thanks Uncle Alan!) and I smelled it. We cleaned her up and I made her go without for a half hour. This is where the naked baby would have played out well if I would have followed that advice but that is in the past now. Oh well. She still wanted to sit on the furniture. No panties=no furniture for her so she waited it out and then we put some back on. Needless to say, my Target trip was postponed until the evening. She had another poop accident that night and I thought, well she might have to do naked baby all over again. I feel kind of like I messed that whole process up. However, I have talked to several people and read that sometimes that is the hardest part because they are scared to do their business and it will eventually come. I guess I am taking that approach because a crying and kicking and screaming two year old is just not that fun to be around, especially when all you ask them to do is sit on a potty. She just didn't want to be forced. It will be a battle for another day. So 2 accidents today.
Thursday:
Today I had to go to the doctor. I put Sydnee at the YMCA for off-site so I could go with only 1 child. I told them she was going potty. In fact, when we got there, she wanted to go right away and I took her and she went and then I dropped her off. I told them she does really well but will need to be asked to go about every half hour or so. She had 1 accident. She started to go, stopped and finished in the potty. I thought that was pretty good considering it was her first outing away from her little potty. Then she slept all through her nap in just her panties without an accident. I think we are about done with diapers during that time. I will do a few more nap diapers just in case but she hasn't wet at all since Monday. Her bedtime diapers are less and less too. That makes for a happy mommy! We went out last night to the AT&T store, Rosas, and HEB. At the AT&T store she asked to go potty and they let us use the employee potty. She made it the whole time there without messing up even though we had to go a ways to get to the back of the store to use the potty. Then she didn't want to try at the restaurant or at HEB. I think the restrooms that have auto flushes or auto dryers scare her and she doesn't want to stay in there. But she came home and went on her own. The downside was that she held it for so long she didn't quite make it all the way with her shorts coming down. Better luck next time.
Friday:
She woke up with a dry diaper! She went potty on her own and is now playing. I am so thrilled. I can do this. She can do this! Now just to get the full potty train effect. I know we can get it all squared away and NO MORE DIAPERS!! We also have very little chocolate left. I did go buy her more panties so that when we have accidents we have another pair to put on. By the way, children will go through underwear quickly. I thought have a small supply was ok. It's not. You need a large supply and then you cut back through the years. She hasn't received any of her poop prizes and our stickers are still on the counter. However, I feel confident in what we did to get her potty trained. I am hoping to get the last part down soon but I don't want to stress her in the process and make her regress. We are committed at this point!
And for those of you who want to know how RJ is doing, he is great. Sleeps about 5-6 hours at night. He eats well. He peed on me this morning (oh the irony). I think he has grown some more. He definitely weighs more. He has slept two nights in his bassinet and we are hoping this is going to be his new trend. He actually went to sleep in it last night so that is a plus. Now to get him to sleep longer and to possibly go to bed earlier. I am working on his morning wake time since he likes to sleep late but I have a feeling that will come next week as I start work!
Thanks for reading!
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/05/how-i-potty-trained-my-daughter-in-3.html
At the bottom I will post the site I took my potty training ideas from but here is what we started with on Monday. I had 5 pairs of little girl panties, 1 bag of Pretzel M&M's ( why pretzel? they were on sale), 3 "poop" prizes", 1 package of stickers, 1 kid potty and a lot of prayer. The weekend before, we talked to Sydnee about being potty trained. She has the Elmo Potty Train book and we read that a few times and she told people she was going to be potty trained next week like Elmo. She was very excited. This is an idea I took from the blog I read. So when Monday rolled around I got up and had everything ready. I showed her the prizes and told her when she had to go potty to tell me or just go use her potty.
Monday:
Sydnee wasn't too thrilled about having to go without a diaper. She kept asking to have it put on so she could run around. I told her big kids don't wear diapers and she was going to be potty trained. No more diapers. I tried to keep her in the kitchen because I didn't really want to chase her around the house and worry about pee in a corner or anything like that. And it worked for the most part. Then she had her first accident. She didn't even try to go potty in the potty all morning. Around 9 she peed all over the laundry room floor and cried. She did not like the feeling of pee running down her leg. I mean, who could blame her! I cleaned it up and told her that feeling is when she needs to use the potty. And then we went on with our morning. By now she was tired of all the stuff in the kitchen and wanted to watch a movie in the living room. It is right off the kitchen and I told her, if she goes in there, she has to sit on her potty. So for the next hour or so, she sat on her potty and watched a movie. Then she "accidentally" went potty in the potty. She was so excited! She ran up to me and said "I went potty! I get chocolate!" So I praised her and gave her chocolate and we cleaned her potty out. And that was pretty much all the I had to do for her. She knew the feeling and the whole rest of the day she used the potty when she felt the urge. We had a few problems when Daddy came home because he was distracting, but she would start to go, stop herself, run to the potty and then finish. We were very proud of her. So if she went the whole time without accident she got 2 M&M's and if she started somewhere else and finished in the potty she got 1. She gets 4 if she poops but she didn't want to even try that. So she only wore a diaper for nap and bedtime. She wet a little during both so I am glad we kept those on her.
Tuesday:
We got up and I tried to get her to potty. She didn't want to but I told her she needed to try. So she sat for all of 2 seconds and was done. OH well. I let her put panties on around 10 because I wanted her to get used to taking them off when she went potty. The blog I read said to do naked baby for 3 days because they still have lots of accidents. Well we only had 1 real accident on the first day and I thought, ehh...what's the big deal. I will get back with why I should have followed that plan. But she had a minor accident in her panties the first time she went potty. She started to go and stopped leaving a few little drops in her 'drawers' as her daddy likes to call them. So she went without for a little bit and then I put some new ones on her. I followed the advice on that one. She went all day without any more accidents until her daddy got home. She just didn't get her panties all the way down before she started to go and we were quickly running out of panties! The only downside was that she hadn't pooped in the potty yet. She hadn't gone in 2 days because she didn't want to! I was hoping for a successful poop on Wednesday so I could run some errands and try out our new potty training! I really needed to go to Target!
Wednesday:
With the last of our panties, these are the Gerber training kind, we set out for another successful day. She goes on her own. She doesn't need reminding. She actually says "Uh Oh I need to go potty!" and goes by herself. Then announces she 'needs chocolate', like the she "needs" another whole in her head. But she played and didn't have any issues that I could tell. And then IT happened. Right in her Gerber panties. She had been running around like some Risky Business character (t-shirt, white undies and sunglasses - Thanks Uncle Alan!) and I smelled it. We cleaned her up and I made her go without for a half hour. This is where the naked baby would have played out well if I would have followed that advice but that is in the past now. Oh well. She still wanted to sit on the furniture. No panties=no furniture for her so she waited it out and then we put some back on. Needless to say, my Target trip was postponed until the evening. She had another poop accident that night and I thought, well she might have to do naked baby all over again. I feel kind of like I messed that whole process up. However, I have talked to several people and read that sometimes that is the hardest part because they are scared to do their business and it will eventually come. I guess I am taking that approach because a crying and kicking and screaming two year old is just not that fun to be around, especially when all you ask them to do is sit on a potty. She just didn't want to be forced. It will be a battle for another day. So 2 accidents today.
Thursday:
Today I had to go to the doctor. I put Sydnee at the YMCA for off-site so I could go with only 1 child. I told them she was going potty. In fact, when we got there, she wanted to go right away and I took her and she went and then I dropped her off. I told them she does really well but will need to be asked to go about every half hour or so. She had 1 accident. She started to go, stopped and finished in the potty. I thought that was pretty good considering it was her first outing away from her little potty. Then she slept all through her nap in just her panties without an accident. I think we are about done with diapers during that time. I will do a few more nap diapers just in case but she hasn't wet at all since Monday. Her bedtime diapers are less and less too. That makes for a happy mommy! We went out last night to the AT&T store, Rosas, and HEB. At the AT&T store she asked to go potty and they let us use the employee potty. She made it the whole time there without messing up even though we had to go a ways to get to the back of the store to use the potty. Then she didn't want to try at the restaurant or at HEB. I think the restrooms that have auto flushes or auto dryers scare her and she doesn't want to stay in there. But she came home and went on her own. The downside was that she held it for so long she didn't quite make it all the way with her shorts coming down. Better luck next time.
Friday:
She woke up with a dry diaper! She went potty on her own and is now playing. I am so thrilled. I can do this. She can do this! Now just to get the full potty train effect. I know we can get it all squared away and NO MORE DIAPERS!! We also have very little chocolate left. I did go buy her more panties so that when we have accidents we have another pair to put on. By the way, children will go through underwear quickly. I thought have a small supply was ok. It's not. You need a large supply and then you cut back through the years. She hasn't received any of her poop prizes and our stickers are still on the counter. However, I feel confident in what we did to get her potty trained. I am hoping to get the last part down soon but I don't want to stress her in the process and make her regress. We are committed at this point!
And for those of you who want to know how RJ is doing, he is great. Sleeps about 5-6 hours at night. He eats well. He peed on me this morning (oh the irony). I think he has grown some more. He definitely weighs more. He has slept two nights in his bassinet and we are hoping this is going to be his new trend. He actually went to sleep in it last night so that is a plus. Now to get him to sleep longer and to possibly go to bed earlier. I am working on his morning wake time since he likes to sleep late but I have a feeling that will come next week as I start work!
Thanks for reading!
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/05/how-i-potty-trained-my-daughter-in-3.html
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Crazy June...Crazy July?
Well Baby Hull #2 was set to arrive June 26th. I thought he would come early. I mean, what mom doesn't think their baby will come early? At that point you just want to have the baby. Well I made it to 39 weeks and my doctor decided we could induce on June 25th. I was ok with that. We had planned it, called the family and decided that was a good idea. Then the nurse called, they couldn't get me into the hospital until the 27th. I thought, ok, 2 more days, no biggie. What I was secretly hoping for was the Super Moon to put me into labor and I wouldn't have to be induced at all! The moon had other plans and I was still preggo on Monday. I worked Monday night and had the rest of the week off. My mom was in town and I thought, hey, mom and I can get ready for the baby, do some last minute shopping wit Sydnee and then on Thursday welcome our new little boy.
Surprise! Surprise! The doctor and hospital called Tuesday morning, said we have an opening and to come when we could to have a baby. I called Michael, had him leave work. I took a shower. My mom showed up to hang out with Syd and I called my boss to let her know. Then we packed up and headed to the hospital. They got us all hooked up. I wasn't dilated far enough to break my water so they started the pitocin. YUCK! I was already have contractions, just not regular ones so they tried to help. All this was done by 11AM...so that means I was 3 hours behind our predicted schedule the doctor had originally wanted. I was supposed to be induced at 8AM on Thursday and Michael and I were hoping to have the baby by mid-afternoon and be done with it all. By 3, they finally broke my water. I wasn't interested in an epidural because it hurt so bad the last time and part of it didn't work and I was miserable. However, I went 1 hour with contractions 2 minutes apart because of the pit that I asked for one. The very nice nurse said I had to wait 30 minutes and have a bag of some fluid before I could get my pain killer. Well that was a very not fun half hour and it took longer than the 30 minutes but I finally had my epidural and was good to go. (I forgot to mention in all of this, two of my nurses had lived in Lubbock and it felt kind of like home. One was a huge Tech fan! Oh and Pinterest while in labor is really pretty fun. Michael and I had a pretty relaxing time and chatted about all sorts of stuff...like trying to find a house to live in and my little sister moving in with us. More on that later...) So back to my labor story. Not 45 minutes later, my doctor came in, checked me and I was around a 6. Things were moving faster but she said it would still be closer to 9 before we met our little man. We called the family in and sent them all to dinner! Ha! About 45 minutes after that I told the nurse I felt a lot more pressure and pain - that's when she gave me the magic button to push to give me more pain killers - and she said I was at a 10 and started to prep the room. Michael sent off texts that we would have the baby sooner rather than later and he would keep everyone posted. Then the fun began. 15 minutes after that, a new nurse came in and was helping prep the room and I said I really felt like I should be pushing...I was close to being right. It was about 7PM, she called the doctor. The doctor came, had me do some practice pushes and then said here we go! So a few more pushes later we had a baby boy! Ryne Justus Hull. 7:29PM, June 25, 2013. 8lbs 12oz. and 19in. At this point the doctor asked me why I wasn't begging to be induced earlier. He was happy, healthy and finally here. I didn't think he was that heavy inside, but I was wrong. He was HEAVY! Then we started joking about all the baby movies, like Baby Mama and What to Expect When You Are Expecting. It was surreal. I didn't feel like I had just had a baby. But we are super glad he is here!
Surprise! Surprise! The doctor and hospital called Tuesday morning, said we have an opening and to come when we could to have a baby. I called Michael, had him leave work. I took a shower. My mom showed up to hang out with Syd and I called my boss to let her know. Then we packed up and headed to the hospital. They got us all hooked up. I wasn't dilated far enough to break my water so they started the pitocin. YUCK! I was already have contractions, just not regular ones so they tried to help. All this was done by 11AM...so that means I was 3 hours behind our predicted schedule the doctor had originally wanted. I was supposed to be induced at 8AM on Thursday and Michael and I were hoping to have the baby by mid-afternoon and be done with it all. By 3, they finally broke my water. I wasn't interested in an epidural because it hurt so bad the last time and part of it didn't work and I was miserable. However, I went 1 hour with contractions 2 minutes apart because of the pit that I asked for one. The very nice nurse said I had to wait 30 minutes and have a bag of some fluid before I could get my pain killer. Well that was a very not fun half hour and it took longer than the 30 minutes but I finally had my epidural and was good to go. (I forgot to mention in all of this, two of my nurses had lived in Lubbock and it felt kind of like home. One was a huge Tech fan! Oh and Pinterest while in labor is really pretty fun. Michael and I had a pretty relaxing time and chatted about all sorts of stuff...like trying to find a house to live in and my little sister moving in with us. More on that later...) So back to my labor story. Not 45 minutes later, my doctor came in, checked me and I was around a 6. Things were moving faster but she said it would still be closer to 9 before we met our little man. We called the family in and sent them all to dinner! Ha! About 45 minutes after that I told the nurse I felt a lot more pressure and pain - that's when she gave me the magic button to push to give me more pain killers - and she said I was at a 10 and started to prep the room. Michael sent off texts that we would have the baby sooner rather than later and he would keep everyone posted. Then the fun began. 15 minutes after that, a new nurse came in and was helping prep the room and I said I really felt like I should be pushing...I was close to being right. It was about 7PM, she called the doctor. The doctor came, had me do some practice pushes and then said here we go! So a few more pushes later we had a baby boy! Ryne Justus Hull. 7:29PM, June 25, 2013. 8lbs 12oz. and 19in. At this point the doctor asked me why I wasn't begging to be induced earlier. He was happy, healthy and finally here. I didn't think he was that heavy inside, but I was wrong. He was HEAVY! Then we started joking about all the baby movies, like Baby Mama and What to Expect When You Are Expecting. It was surreal. I didn't feel like I had just had a baby. But we are super glad he is here!
So back to my crazy June and July. We had to move out of our apartment and we were struggling to find a place that we could afford, had more room and yet was not in the dumps. Then my sister called a week before the baby was due and said she was thinking of moving to Round Rock. That's when crazy happened. She decided later that week that it was a go and would help pay rent. So we could increase our limit and had a lot more houses to go look at. This is where crazy happens. I got out of the hospital on Thursday, went to the doctor for RJ on Friday, after the hospital, met the realtor that afternoon and put an offer in on a house that evening. We had to wait all weekend and were finally approved. Then we decided to move when he was two weeks old. Thankfully we had friends help! So we are now in a new house. My son is 3 weeks old today and I am taking a break from unpacking and organizing. It is only July 16th and I have a feeling a lot more crazy will happen before the month is over!
An update on RJ: At his 2 week appointment he was given a very clean bill of health!
Length: 22in (he grew 3 inches in two weeks!) - 90%
Weight: 8lbs 10.5oz (46-47%)
Head Circ: 36%
So happy to have him in our family. He is so good!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)