My muscles are pleasantly achy and tired as I force myself from my warm nest on the couch. My belly is pleasantly full of delivery (I love NYC!) burrito and I should go to bed. But my heart is full, too, so I'm taking a moment to remember this moment.
This was my first full year with Calliope. I remember a lonely and quiet New Year's Eve two years ago, stranded at my mother's house because of a blizzard, perpetually cold and tired at 17 weeks along. I went to bed early, but took a moment to whisper to my belly, "next year, I'll be celebrating with you."
And indeed, though my home movie date fell through at the last minute, I was happy to spend the day with my girl, and my evening at home. I gave her ice cream for dinner as a special treat (and if a fully belly helps her to sleep longer, so much the better). I'm going to miss her when I go back to work, the day after tomorrow. Once we stopped the potty training, it's been wonderful being home with her. She's changing every day. Today's word of the day was "baa."
After she went to bed, I watched What to Expect When You're Expecting. It was plenty stupid, but the birth scenes made me choke up, and the adoption scene had me outright teary. There's also a scene where one woman publicly denounces pregnancy and all the various ways it sucks. That made me realize, hey, pregnancy really does suck! Why has no one ever said that before? Yes, it's miraculous that there's a baby in there, growing and developing... but that doesn't mean it's pleasant for the baby's personal incubator.
I don't know why, but this was a revelation for me.
So, my goals for 2013 are simple. I'm pretty anti-resolution. So I have two experiments to try. One is to try working out in the evenings. I have a fair amount of time to myself after Calliope goes to bed at 6:30 or so. If I could take advantage of that time to exercise, I could sleep significantly later in the morning (by not having to get up early to work out before work).
The challenge will be to transition quickly from her bedtime routine to my workout, despite being tired from a long day. That will be essential if it is going to translate to more sleep. And quick transitions to working out are never my best skill... especially after work. I'm not at my best at the end of the day.
The other goal is to get up fifteen minutes earlier in the morning than I otherwise would to tidy up. A neat and organized home makes me happier. A lot. And I don't have energy at night to organize. I'm a morning person (but exercise doesn't feel as good in the morning) so getting things set for the day seems a natural fit for the morning. Assuming the evening workouts, well, work out, I think this should be an easy win.
Oh, and after being off work all week, I have observed that I seem to naturally sleep nine hours at night. Call me greedy. Probably the increased workouts -- I've done great with them over the break -- have something to do with it, and my sleep needs may die down a little, but I'd love to get more sleep during the week. I don't know if I can realistically get nine hours... but it's a good goal.
And finally, I'm hoping and praying that my mama is healthy and strong to ring in 2014. So far she has survived her first round of chemo and now that the nurse practitioner tweaked her meds to troubleshoot anticipatory nausea and migraines, it seems like the next round will be easier for her.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Potty Training 2.0
Today I'd adequately recovered (emotionally) to let Calliope have some diaper free time, which seems almost normal now, after three days of total diaper-free time.
But for some reason, it doesn't seem stressful anymore. I'm pretty sure, after observing her patterns, that she won't poop on the floor. And she seems to go an impressively long time between pees... unless she pees on the floor, in which case it stops as soon as I grab her and try to transfer her to the potty (with one exception, where she was able to start going again after a momentary pause). And thus will have to pee again shortly thereafter.
So I don't think she will necessarily successfully use the potty while diaper free (only happened twice, I think, in three days... ten minutes apart, separated by nursing, or maybe three times, total), but it feels weird to keep her wrapped in a diaper all the time after investing all that energy into teaching her about the potty. And it's pretty cute to see her climb onto the potty. Though she's happy to do that with clothes on, also. The other night, I came back from washing my hands to find her sitting on the potty, "reading," wearing both her pajamas and her sleep sack.
Regardless of what happens, I'm feeling very low pressure about it. I need to re-read Potty Training Before Three to review her method.
Last night as I was cleaning her face and hands in the high chair, she started to cry, "Pah-Ee! Pah-Ee!" (that's "potty" for the uninitiated.) She'd never done this before. I whisked her out of her high chair and rushed to her potty. Where she had a little gas. And then pooped in her diaper maybe twenty minutes later.
But I recently read that knowing the difference between gas and poop is a learned skill (though I don't remember what age we learn this). So perhaps she was feeling gas, or perhaps she was feeling that poop that didn't come for another twenty minutes. Either way, I'm confident that she was feeling something, and more importantly, communicated that to me.
Which makes me feel like those three days were not totally wasted. And makes me want to continue.
Another semi-success... After her nap today, I left her without pants or diaper because I was getting in the shower and thought she might want to join me. Afterwards, I was getting dressed and let her wander off (I've gotten much more zen, suddenly, with the idea of mysterious puddles and pee on the carpet... her pee is pretty dilute so I'm cautiously hopeful it won't stain). Anyway, I was getting dressed in my bedroom when I heard a sharp cry of distress, that "I need help!" cry that doesn't make your heart pound but does make you come quickly. I came into the living room and found an anxious Calliope, crouched on one of her new toddler chairs, hands full with an old cell phone in one and Baby Annie, the potty training doll, in the other. On the surface of the chair, underneath her, was a puddle.
"Pee!" squeaked Calliope.
I rushed to rescue her -- she couldn't figure out how to move with both hands full -- and quickly determined that the pee in question was not from Calliope, but from Baby Annie, who was feeling a little waterlogged, still, after her bath a couple of days ago.
So I was very pleased that Calliope was aware of the puddle, and also that it was, sort of, pee.
So I gently chided her, "Oh Baby Annie, pee pee goes on the potty. Next time you'll get it."
But for some reason, it doesn't seem stressful anymore. I'm pretty sure, after observing her patterns, that she won't poop on the floor. And she seems to go an impressively long time between pees... unless she pees on the floor, in which case it stops as soon as I grab her and try to transfer her to the potty (with one exception, where she was able to start going again after a momentary pause). And thus will have to pee again shortly thereafter.
So I don't think she will necessarily successfully use the potty while diaper free (only happened twice, I think, in three days... ten minutes apart, separated by nursing, or maybe three times, total), but it feels weird to keep her wrapped in a diaper all the time after investing all that energy into teaching her about the potty. And it's pretty cute to see her climb onto the potty. Though she's happy to do that with clothes on, also. The other night, I came back from washing my hands to find her sitting on the potty, "reading," wearing both her pajamas and her sleep sack.
Regardless of what happens, I'm feeling very low pressure about it. I need to re-read Potty Training Before Three to review her method.
Last night as I was cleaning her face and hands in the high chair, she started to cry, "Pah-Ee! Pah-Ee!" (that's "potty" for the uninitiated.) She'd never done this before. I whisked her out of her high chair and rushed to her potty. Where she had a little gas. And then pooped in her diaper maybe twenty minutes later.
But I recently read that knowing the difference between gas and poop is a learned skill (though I don't remember what age we learn this). So perhaps she was feeling gas, or perhaps she was feeling that poop that didn't come for another twenty minutes. Either way, I'm confident that she was feeling something, and more importantly, communicated that to me.
Which makes me feel like those three days were not totally wasted. And makes me want to continue.
Another semi-success... After her nap today, I left her without pants or diaper because I was getting in the shower and thought she might want to join me. Afterwards, I was getting dressed and let her wander off (I've gotten much more zen, suddenly, with the idea of mysterious puddles and pee on the carpet... her pee is pretty dilute so I'm cautiously hopeful it won't stain). Anyway, I was getting dressed in my bedroom when I heard a sharp cry of distress, that "I need help!" cry that doesn't make your heart pound but does make you come quickly. I came into the living room and found an anxious Calliope, crouched on one of her new toddler chairs, hands full with an old cell phone in one and Baby Annie, the potty training doll, in the other. On the surface of the chair, underneath her, was a puddle.
"Pee!" squeaked Calliope.
I rushed to rescue her -- she couldn't figure out how to move with both hands full -- and quickly determined that the pee in question was not from Calliope, but from Baby Annie, who was feeling a little waterlogged, still, after her bath a couple of days ago.
So I was very pleased that Calliope was aware of the puddle, and also that it was, sort of, pee.
So I gently chided her, "Oh Baby Annie, pee pee goes on the potty. Next time you'll get it."
Friday, December 28, 2012
Potty Training Boot Camp: The End
Despite the fact that a friend came over during the afternoon of Day 2, and spent the night and stayed until naptime on Day 3, I was going crazy by Day 3. Just waaaaaay too much time spent in very close proximity to Calliope, constantly asking, "want to sit on the potty? where's the pee-pee?"
A mom from a local moms' group offered to host a playdate on the afternoon of day 3 and I decided to take Calliope, even though we were only "supposed" to go out for an hour, per the potty training methodology. I took two sets of dry pants, a dry shirt, dry socks, the potty, three cloth diapers (for clean up), and two disposable diapers plus a pack of wipes.
She had peed on the floor (with the last few drops caught by me "whisking" her over the potty) right before we left. I put her in dry pants with nothing underneath (no training pants or underpants as well as no diaper) as per Babycenter's instructions. She stayed dry on the way over... but wet her pants shortly thereafter. I mopped up the puddle with her wet pants.
She passed gas while playing so I grabbed her and put her on the potty. She lunged off. I put her back. She lunged off again. And suddenly, seconds later, we all smelled something. Each mom sniffed her toddler's diapered bottom, but no one could find the culprit. And then in one horrible moment, we all realized that Calliope had let go a few drips of very liquid poop on the sissal rug.
Ouch! So embarrassing. I was trying to be so careful! And the host is a woman who makes me a teensy bit insecure anyway, in her apparent perfection -- just bought a beautiful Victorian house AND a car, despite having decided recently to stay home for another year with her daughter (she has a husband). Oh, and I did I mention she bears a striking resemblance to the character of Charlotte from Sex in the City?
So it sucked. And I was just DONE.
It's clear to me that Calliope knows how to hold the contents of her bladder... just not how to release on command.
She was remarkably good natured about the whole endeavor. I would have found it annoying to be constantly pestered about sitting on the potty, but she cheerfully clambered on each time I asked. She was very, very interested in the idea of pee, and kept checking the potty to see if any had landed there (one reason I think she wasn't ready is that she couldn't tell if she had peed or not). And now we have been talking about poop more (she says it as "pppp" or "pooh") and I have been showing her the dirty diaper because I read somewhere that if they've never seen it, it can be scary when they see it in the potty.
I was a little mad at myself yesterday for wasting so much of a perfectly good vacation on a rather miserable and of course unsuccessful endeavor... but I'm mostly over that now. It was an interesting experiment.
And now I'm very grateful to be back to diapers! Calliope and I had a very low key day today, with a visit from our downstairs neighbors this morning and a trip to the chiropractor (for me) this afternoon. Her bedtime has been creeping later as she's been really amped up in the evenings... but the lovely side effect is that she's been sleeping later, too. Past 8:30 this morning! I know I need to nip it in the bud because we go back to our old schedule in a few more days... but today never seems to be the day! Maybe tomorrow I'll get her to bed on time.
Oh, and one more thing. About poop. She had a stomach bug maybe two-three weeks ago? Only threw up once, the rest of the time was diarrhea. She finally started eating more and seemed better. But now she's having really frequent loose stools. I think 5-6 times today. But they don't smell particularly bad like diarrhea. But her diaper rash can't heal as a result. So diaper changes are painful for her. Even though I change her diapers right away. So I'm wondering what is going on. She's not acting sick, but I wonder if something she is eating isn't agreeing with her? She mostly eats a somewhat constipating diet these days, so I don't really get it. I've been giving her probiotics since she was sick and I'm wondering if they could be the culprit?
Her diet: cheese (lots), banana, apple, toast, crackers, peanut butter, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes (lots). Oh, and she's breastfeeding. No other dairy at the moment except she has had ice cream a couple times in the past week.
Could the cherry tomatoes be the culprit? I only let her have them once today. She's obsessed with them so it's not easy. I bought the yellow ones which are supposed to be low acid, in case that makes a difference?
If anyone has any insight, please let me know!
A mom from a local moms' group offered to host a playdate on the afternoon of day 3 and I decided to take Calliope, even though we were only "supposed" to go out for an hour, per the potty training methodology. I took two sets of dry pants, a dry shirt, dry socks, the potty, three cloth diapers (for clean up), and two disposable diapers plus a pack of wipes.
She had peed on the floor (with the last few drops caught by me "whisking" her over the potty) right before we left. I put her in dry pants with nothing underneath (no training pants or underpants as well as no diaper) as per Babycenter's instructions. She stayed dry on the way over... but wet her pants shortly thereafter. I mopped up the puddle with her wet pants.
She passed gas while playing so I grabbed her and put her on the potty. She lunged off. I put her back. She lunged off again. And suddenly, seconds later, we all smelled something. Each mom sniffed her toddler's diapered bottom, but no one could find the culprit. And then in one horrible moment, we all realized that Calliope had let go a few drips of very liquid poop on the sissal rug.
Ouch! So embarrassing. I was trying to be so careful! And the host is a woman who makes me a teensy bit insecure anyway, in her apparent perfection -- just bought a beautiful Victorian house AND a car, despite having decided recently to stay home for another year with her daughter (she has a husband). Oh, and I did I mention she bears a striking resemblance to the character of Charlotte from Sex in the City?
So it sucked. And I was just DONE.
It's clear to me that Calliope knows how to hold the contents of her bladder... just not how to release on command.
She was remarkably good natured about the whole endeavor. I would have found it annoying to be constantly pestered about sitting on the potty, but she cheerfully clambered on each time I asked. She was very, very interested in the idea of pee, and kept checking the potty to see if any had landed there (one reason I think she wasn't ready is that she couldn't tell if she had peed or not). And now we have been talking about poop more (she says it as "pppp" or "pooh") and I have been showing her the dirty diaper because I read somewhere that if they've never seen it, it can be scary when they see it in the potty.
I was a little mad at myself yesterday for wasting so much of a perfectly good vacation on a rather miserable and of course unsuccessful endeavor... but I'm mostly over that now. It was an interesting experiment.
And now I'm very grateful to be back to diapers! Calliope and I had a very low key day today, with a visit from our downstairs neighbors this morning and a trip to the chiropractor (for me) this afternoon. Her bedtime has been creeping later as she's been really amped up in the evenings... but the lovely side effect is that she's been sleeping later, too. Past 8:30 this morning! I know I need to nip it in the bud because we go back to our old schedule in a few more days... but today never seems to be the day! Maybe tomorrow I'll get her to bed on time.
Oh, and one more thing. About poop. She had a stomach bug maybe two-three weeks ago? Only threw up once, the rest of the time was diarrhea. She finally started eating more and seemed better. But now she's having really frequent loose stools. I think 5-6 times today. But they don't smell particularly bad like diarrhea. But her diaper rash can't heal as a result. So diaper changes are painful for her. Even though I change her diapers right away. So I'm wondering what is going on. She's not acting sick, but I wonder if something she is eating isn't agreeing with her? She mostly eats a somewhat constipating diet these days, so I don't really get it. I've been giving her probiotics since she was sick and I'm wondering if they could be the culprit?
Her diet: cheese (lots), banana, apple, toast, crackers, peanut butter, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes (lots). Oh, and she's breastfeeding. No other dairy at the moment except she has had ice cream a couple times in the past week.
Could the cherry tomatoes be the culprit? I only let her have them once today. She's obsessed with them so it's not easy. I bought the yellow ones which are supposed to be low acid, in case that makes a difference?
If anyone has any insight, please let me know!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Fitness Update
I started Week 6 (aka Level 6 -- it would be impossible to increase to the next level on a weekly basis as suggested) on Saturday. I'm really proud of this!
Week 6 is waaaay harder than Week 5.
It's funny, the stuff that is hardest for me is all chest -- mainly, being in a full plank and having to bring my knees to my chest (with my feet suspended in the straps)... so tough!
Whereas my brother finds the cardio hard -- the jumping jack sequences got much more challenging this week, with jumping both feet together side to side accompanied by traditional jumping jack arms, for example. These are challenging, no doubt about it, and my calves are aching by the end, but it's not nearly as unpleasant as the plank-based exercises.
I also tried a new work out that my cousin Tom suggested, called Tabatta. The basic gist is that you warm up for a few minutes on a piece of cardio equipment -- I use the elliptical -- then you alternate twenty seconds of 100% effort with ten seconds of rest. The goal is to get to eight sets. I tried this two days ago and did five sets.
The limiting factor for me was my lungs. I felt like I had knives in my chest. So painful!
My heart was racing, of course, and my legs burned, but that went away almost immediately. But my chest was still fiery pain ten minutes later. And about thirty minutes later, I suddenly started coughing up mucus. That lasted about 30-60 minutes, then disappeared again. I'm not sick, and I don't have allergies. But I was diagnosed with asthma a few years ago, though I haven't had any symptoms in ages, so I'm wondering if that is the problem? If it happens again, I will call in prescription for myself for an asthma pump to use beforehand.
The weight stuff is not going so well. I was doing better, a bit, with eating, and wasn't gaining, and then, well, Christmas and cookie dough happened. But I haven't been able to get back to actually losing weight. And I'm quite a bit over where I was at my low point in October.
I'm trying not to beat myself up, and my goal now is to cut out the easy cardio on the elliptical and just do hard workouts 5-6 days a week, a mix of Rip 60 and Tabata. But it's frustrating. I see other folks that are trying to walk more and just eat healthy as a way to lose weight. Oh, how I wish that would work for me! I feel like I have to work so much harder than anyone I know. And the recent stall and subsequent weight gain makes me wonder if I will ever successfully lose weight and keep it off. It's like my metabolism wised up on me.
I'm trying to not get discouraged but it's not easy sometimes.
I read pat of a diet-oriented book the other day, and I think that has something to do with the cookie dough (which I have since thrown away) incidents. The very idea of restricting my diet puts me into "last supper eating" -- eating lots now to compensate for the diet that will be starting. That and also getting too damn hungry. So I have to back off on that, and hope that what I was doing before will somehow work again -- lots of sleep, lots of fat, moderate protein, limited but not too little carbohydrate. And making sure to not get too hungry.
And now, after a day of rest (if you can call potty training and being stuck at home, rest!), I'm off to work out again. Hoping that Rip 60 is easier today!
Week 6 is waaaay harder than Week 5.
It's funny, the stuff that is hardest for me is all chest -- mainly, being in a full plank and having to bring my knees to my chest (with my feet suspended in the straps)... so tough!
Whereas my brother finds the cardio hard -- the jumping jack sequences got much more challenging this week, with jumping both feet together side to side accompanied by traditional jumping jack arms, for example. These are challenging, no doubt about it, and my calves are aching by the end, but it's not nearly as unpleasant as the plank-based exercises.
I also tried a new work out that my cousin Tom suggested, called Tabatta. The basic gist is that you warm up for a few minutes on a piece of cardio equipment -- I use the elliptical -- then you alternate twenty seconds of 100% effort with ten seconds of rest. The goal is to get to eight sets. I tried this two days ago and did five sets.
The limiting factor for me was my lungs. I felt like I had knives in my chest. So painful!
My heart was racing, of course, and my legs burned, but that went away almost immediately. But my chest was still fiery pain ten minutes later. And about thirty minutes later, I suddenly started coughing up mucus. That lasted about 30-60 minutes, then disappeared again. I'm not sick, and I don't have allergies. But I was diagnosed with asthma a few years ago, though I haven't had any symptoms in ages, so I'm wondering if that is the problem? If it happens again, I will call in prescription for myself for an asthma pump to use beforehand.
The weight stuff is not going so well. I was doing better, a bit, with eating, and wasn't gaining, and then, well, Christmas and cookie dough happened. But I haven't been able to get back to actually losing weight. And I'm quite a bit over where I was at my low point in October.
I'm trying not to beat myself up, and my goal now is to cut out the easy cardio on the elliptical and just do hard workouts 5-6 days a week, a mix of Rip 60 and Tabata. But it's frustrating. I see other folks that are trying to walk more and just eat healthy as a way to lose weight. Oh, how I wish that would work for me! I feel like I have to work so much harder than anyone I know. And the recent stall and subsequent weight gain makes me wonder if I will ever successfully lose weight and keep it off. It's like my metabolism wised up on me.
I'm trying to not get discouraged but it's not easy sometimes.
I read pat of a diet-oriented book the other day, and I think that has something to do with the cookie dough (which I have since thrown away) incidents. The very idea of restricting my diet puts me into "last supper eating" -- eating lots now to compensate for the diet that will be starting. That and also getting too damn hungry. So I have to back off on that, and hope that what I was doing before will somehow work again -- lots of sleep, lots of fat, moderate protein, limited but not too little carbohydrate. And making sure to not get too hungry.
And now, after a day of rest (if you can call potty training and being stuck at home, rest!), I'm off to work out again. Hoping that Rip 60 is easier today!
Potty Training Boot Camp: Halfway Through Day Two
 |
| What the well dressed potty training hopefuls wear when it's chilly |
 |
| "This would look amazing with my current ensemble" |
 |
| If I can just land my tushy on Baby Annie's potty, maybe the pee will come out! |
And... nothing.
She slept very late, until 8:20 am, presumably because of our late night on Christmas Eve.
Woke up soaking wet (and dirty), which had never happened before, literally soaking her PJ's, until the previous night the same thing happened.
But she was in fine spirits, and the rash seemed slightly better after starting the ketonazole (again) last night.
We spent the whooooooole morning oh-so-very-together, sitting on the potty every thirty minutes, plying her with crackers (salty), to make her drink, and apple (wet) to encourage urine production. A lot of the time was actually spent sitting on my lap, for example, whenever she was eating, because I was pretty sure she wouldn't pee on me, but after peeing in the high chair yesterday, I decided to avoid it until she's got this concept down better.
She was such a good sport, and never got impatient with all the time on the potty, and got up good naturedly each time to peer into the potty and ask, "bay?" (pee)
But it was dry. Every. Single. Time.
I wondered if I should put a couple of drops in the potty just so we could have something to celebrate, to remind her why it's so great to pee on the potty... but I thought that would be confusing, since she wouldn't have felt any pee come out of her body.
So I didn't do anything.
And she went back to her crib for a nap more than four hours after I took her diaper off, with never a pee.
I don't know if that's great -- look, she can really hold her pee! and has learned that we don't pee on the floor! -- or bad -- now she doesn't know how to let go and pee when she needs to.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Potty Training Boot Camp: End of Day One
 |
Getting ready to go to our friends for the Feast of Seven Fishes
(we don't celebrate Christmas, but we celebrate friendship)
|
 |
Putting the new"Baby Annie" on the potty.
Baby Annie's ability to pee makes quite a mess so her talents
will be restricted to the tub from now on!
|
Well, after a morning filled with accidents (plus the second half of one pee, caught on the potty), I was a little discouraged.
Calliope woke up from a nice long nap (thank you!) with a dirty diaper and a worsening diaper rash that looks fungal. So that was a good motivator to keep her diaper free this afternoon.
And then she didn't pee all afternoon! Granted, we took a long bath together during the mid-afternoon (she wouldn't get in without me, not sure why, given that she was begging for the bath), which was kind of cheating, since I obviously can't tell if she pees in the tub... though to be fair, she is standing up most of the time so maybe I would be able to tell. Regardless, I didn't see any pee.
After that, she stayed accident free until dinner, when she peed in her highchair. Luckily I had lined it with a dishtowel. I realized it was damp when I had to get her out of the highchair to pick up some food she had thrown (luckily this is relatively rare nowadays, after months with it being a regular occurrence) but I decided to let her keep sitting on it, as a valuable lesson on why it's better not to pee just anywhere. In hindsight, that might not have been the best thing for her rash. Oh well. She didn't complain, anyway.
After dinner, we were winding down for an early bedtime when she started with a little gas. I was very nervous about her pooping on the rug. She popped up a few seconds later but then broke wind again so I put her back on the potty. (I am extremely grateful that she is quite willing to sit on the potty and often initiates, though not this particular time.) Anyway, this second time, she peed!!!
Hooray! Much rejoicing. I sang her potty song with good cheer and wild clapping. She loved that.
We then nursed with her bare bottomed, mostly because she didn't want to wait, and not because I wanted to potty her one more time. But after nursing, I decided what the heck, and tried one last time.
And she peed again!!!
Cue joyful singing and raucous clapping again!
This last pee was a little tiny one and so I think she eeked it out just so she could hear the song again. After all, it had been, what, ten minutes? If that. But I don't care!
I had been hoping to have just one success, to make me feel like today was worth the sacrifice of my sanity. But two successes made me feel like a rock star!
Just praying that tomorrow builds off today's wins. I know the odds are good that there will be many more setbacks. But at least the first day is over. I know that I won't go completely crazy -- I sort of found my stride in how to mentally cope with the tedium. It was actually sort of nice to be one hundred percent focused on Calliope. She certainly loved having me at her beck and call!
The salty snacks (crackers) were definitely a win -- she drank tons of water as a result. Popsicles were a big loser -- she refused to try them and sobbed desperately when I had the gall to restrain her and brush one against her lips (am I wrong to do this? to force her to try something I know she will like? there are so very many things she refuses to ever taste).
Tomorrow afternoon, my friend and Calliope's pseudo godmother (one of my two friends present at her birth), Auntie Salt Lick, is coming to keep us company. She will spend the night and much of the next day. I am very, very grateful for the reinforcement!
Potty Training Boot Camp: Mid-Day on Day One
Sigh.
We've had zero true successes.
We had about five accidents on the kitchen floor. In at least two of them, we got at least one drop of pee, purely accidentally, in the potty as I snatched her up and quickly transferred her to the waiting potty.
In another accident, she actually started to pee again after being seated on the potty! But that was mid-morning, and she had at least two more accidents after that. So while it was exciting at the time, I'm a bit discouraged again.
I made up a potty song, if not a dance, as instructed by Babycenter.
I plagiarized the tune from some old ditty that I can't quite name but it's very familiar:
Calliope did a pee on the potty, doo dah!
Calliope did a pee on the potty, doo dah doo dah day!
Doo dah doo dah day,
Doo dah doo dah day,
Calliope did a pee on the potty,
Doo dah doo dah day!
I'm extremely clever and plan to substitute in "poop" for "pee" in the song, should that exciting event ever come to pass.
Anyway, I sang the pee song, with much enthusiastic clapping, whenever a drop of pee managed to land in the potty, and she totally loved it. I think it's good to heap on the praise, even for purely accidental successes, because that's what will motivate her to succeed.
Whether or not she's capable is another story.
I'm drawing comfort from my friend Emily, who successfully potty trained her daughter at this age, though with a more gradual approach. She is more zen than me.
As annoying as this approach is, I like the idea of being done in three days, more or less, one way or the other.
But I'm definitely irritable from sitting on the floor within arm's reach of Calliope all morning long, not to mention mopping up puddles. And it's possible I just ate a bunch of peanut butter cookie dough (stupidly purchased from middle school students who were raising money for victims of Hurricane Sandy... why I didn't just give them the $10, I'll never know) to comfort myself. I tried to just work out to make myself feel better, but I'm sore from workouts earlier in the week, and I think I need to take today's planned day off from exercise.
Oh well, due to napping (hooray for naps!!!), the afternoon session will likely be shorter than the morning's. Hoping for at least one (but more would be even better!) success to convince me to stay the course. Though I'm re-reading the SMC boot camp thread and am reminded, thankfully, that lots of initial accidents don't necessarily mean you can't have great success by the end of three days. Fingers crossed.
We've had zero true successes.
We had about five accidents on the kitchen floor. In at least two of them, we got at least one drop of pee, purely accidentally, in the potty as I snatched her up and quickly transferred her to the waiting potty.
In another accident, she actually started to pee again after being seated on the potty! But that was mid-morning, and she had at least two more accidents after that. So while it was exciting at the time, I'm a bit discouraged again.
I made up a potty song, if not a dance, as instructed by Babycenter.
I plagiarized the tune from some old ditty that I can't quite name but it's very familiar:
Calliope did a pee on the potty, doo dah!
Calliope did a pee on the potty, doo dah doo dah day!
Doo dah doo dah day,
Doo dah doo dah day,
Calliope did a pee on the potty,
Doo dah doo dah day!
I'm extremely clever and plan to substitute in "poop" for "pee" in the song, should that exciting event ever come to pass.
Anyway, I sang the pee song, with much enthusiastic clapping, whenever a drop of pee managed to land in the potty, and she totally loved it. I think it's good to heap on the praise, even for purely accidental successes, because that's what will motivate her to succeed.
Whether or not she's capable is another story.
I'm drawing comfort from my friend Emily, who successfully potty trained her daughter at this age, though with a more gradual approach. She is more zen than me.
As annoying as this approach is, I like the idea of being done in three days, more or less, one way or the other.
But I'm definitely irritable from sitting on the floor within arm's reach of Calliope all morning long, not to mention mopping up puddles. And it's possible I just ate a bunch of peanut butter cookie dough (stupidly purchased from middle school students who were raising money for victims of Hurricane Sandy... why I didn't just give them the $10, I'll never know) to comfort myself. I tried to just work out to make myself feel better, but I'm sore from workouts earlier in the week, and I think I need to take today's planned day off from exercise.
Oh well, due to napping (hooray for naps!!!), the afternoon session will likely be shorter than the morning's. Hoping for at least one (but more would be even better!) success to convince me to stay the course. Though I'm re-reading the SMC boot camp thread and am reminded, thankfully, that lots of initial accidents don't necessarily mean you can't have great success by the end of three days. Fingers crossed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)