Don't Ask!

Nap-time Chat.

This just happened and made me laugh. I heard Dylan walk past the office door on his way, I thought, to the bathroom. Next I see him laying on top of Turtle. I say, "I thought you were going pee pee", to which he replies "No, my butt is going poopy". I say,"then why don't you get you butt on the potty". He replies, "Ok, Daddy", like I've taken all the fun out of the bathroom adventure.

This has been a main component of our bed and nap time schedule of events for a few weeks now, the "I gotta go potty" trip to the bathroom. Where he typically leaves enough pee to cover the bottom of the potty chair or nothing at all. It's all a stalling technique...but sometimes, like today, he tells the truth.

"Daddy, come look at my poopy and pee pee!" Dylan yells from the bathroom. After the potty chair was emptied, cleaned, and sanitized, I enter his room, he informs me that he will be sleeping with a football. So I tuck him back into bed, tell him that I love him, and kiss him goodnight.

No baby news! Damnit!

The day before the "due" date

I'm Nervous. Not outwardly but I'm doing nervous things. Like going down to the basement to look for a project and when I find one it takes me up to the baby 2's things and I begin another, in a long line, of "nesting" activities. It started innocently enough with refinishing a rocking chair of my grandfathers, which took alot longer than anticipated, but it turned out great. Then it moved to fixing a sink, no wait, replacing a pedestal sink with a vanity and different sink altogether. With the household projects almost done it's driven me to keep "extra" tidy so I don't get overwhelmed during the first few days.

A normal day consists of all or some of the following. First, it was keeping the hospital bag packed with the correct clothes, since we packed it two months ago, I've got to include some short-sleeved shirts and maybe shorts. And depending on the forecast, I change that too. I'm 50% sure that I've gone nuts with anticipation. Since our friends are so generous and keep giving us really cute things for baby2, I've had to add another bag to the Hospital luggage, we have three - mommy, birthing aids(including champagne), and baby clothes. Every few days I rearrange baby2's towels, bibs, burp wipes, lotion, hats from one location to another...I would keep myself busy reading or something quiet or stationary but I really can't keep still.

Oh, and our washer is doing funny things. (We bought it last year, so it's new, maybe it's nervous too) It likes to leave the clothes sitting in water when the cycle is complete. At this point, it just adds another step to my neurotic pattern of daily tidying activities.

To make matters a bit worse, Tricia is now home until the baby comes. Judging from the doctor appointment, yesterday, it could be at least another week.

I don't have enough money to medicate appropriately, so I have to keep moving.

So today, I'm thankful for a toddler or two who keep my house scattered with toys and messes that keep my mind off of baby2's arrival.

No Accidents

I'm very happy to report that no accidents, besides the occasional aiming problem, have happened in the last week. Dylan has continued to demonstrate both the awareness and ability to hold "it" in during the evening and/or wake up during his afternoon naps. The newest development is a need to "go" at every stop we make; he doesn't always go but likes to check out all the different bathrooms. It's fun when the bathrooms aren't nasty. I try not to make a big deal of the nastiness because he'll be exposed to chemical or pit toilets this summer while camping and I don't want a huge scene.

On a different front, a new bedtime game has started. We tuck Dylan into bed, say "goodnight"with a kiss and a "I love you", and go to bed ourselves where we usually read or watch baby2's movements. After a few minutes we hear movement then breathing and see a head peer around the corner. "Dylan what's wrong?" we say. He responds with, "I gota burger for you" (This is actually a booger) I take the booger put it in the garbage or sink or where ever is convenient, and walk him back to bed, use the above tucking procedure, and return to my previous activity. This goes on for a two or three more cycles until he gets tired of it or can't find anymore boogers. Then we all are able to drift off to sleep.

Sleep. I love sleep. Currently, we sleep from 9ish to 6ish relatively uninterrupted. We know we're very spoiled and in the next few weeks our world will be turned upside-down, shaken, and dumped on it's head. Taking the upheaval of our cosy pattern into account, the best part about the first few weeks will be the napping. Family naps should be great except for the whirling dervish, but we'll see how it goes, Dylan may have to sleep in a different house. After the novelty of napping wears off, it will become necessary to my mental state and ultimately every one's well-being that night-time roles be defined. Since I'm the SAHP, I will be the human rocking/walking/entertainment machine while mommy will be the sleeping, nursing, human pacifier. Hopefully, after the first few weeks the crying, walking, rocking will subside and the ol'fashioned mommy pacifier will be all the coaxing baby2 will need to be comforted and return to sleep.

I'm hopeful that part of Dylan's fantastic disposition and sleeping record is passed on to Baby2. I'll also admit that I might be crazy enough to assume this will happen.

Success!!

I'm reporting to you a very important milestone. Dylan has worn his big boy underwear for a full 48 hours with no accidents, including through the night twice and during nap time. I'm so proud of this little boy. I don't feel like we pushed him into the nighttime or nap time elimination of diapers; he asked not to wear them and to keep his underwear on.

28 days and counting til the next little one arrives.....I'M SO EXCITED I CAN HARDLY SLEEP AT NIGHT, but I know I do, probably more than a few friends of mine, both with kids and without.

Get in your bed and....wait

Man, I should have followed my instinct on this one and not let the boy wear big-boy pants during his nap. I walked into the room and thought there was a familiar yet unpleasant smell. He was squatting on the floor drawing on his etchasketch. So I asked Dylan to get back in his bed. He started mumbling something that I couldn't make out because he still wears a pacifier when he sleeps. I found out the source of the smell, and what he was trying to enunciate through the popo, with my hand.

So we walked/waddled to the bathroom. We started taking his underwear off and "it" fell on the bathmat. He finished going to the bathroom, got cleaned up and went back to his room to make another attempt at a nap.

I didn't learn my lesson. I'm hoping that by putting on a new pair of big boy pants it will give him confidence to keep trying. The rationale being, he's already pooped, how could he possibly poop again.

Since the last post he is only wearing diapers during naps and at bedtime, and the results have been very good. I'm thinking since the 12th maybe 5 accidents and of those primarily #2's are the issue.

The Potty Update

The last week has gone very well. We're still having the occasional accident, usually once a day, and he's getting much better at communicating the need to go potty. More times that not, he realizes he has to go potty because we ask him and from what I've read and found out through conversation, that's the way it goes for awhile. Does that mean we are rushing?


Today marks the first day that we ventured out of the house without a diaper on. We went to the grocery store, delivered Trudi's grocery order and went to open gym without an accident. We just finished lunch, went peepee in the potty and went to sleep with a diaper on.

Success!

I feel alittle like I'm pushing him. I'm not sure who's more nervous about an accident. I'm nervous for him and don't want to be looked at as a novis parent(which I am). But, he definitely doesn't like going in his pants. So, who really needs there expectations checked? It comes down to the fact that I don't trust him to communicate when he has to go, so I probably ask him too often.

At one point at every destination Dylan said he had to go potty. He only went at the Warner Park Rec center and at home before his nap. I'm beginning to think, because I ask him so much, that he is confusing his own signals. Mostly because I'm becoming neurotic about the first public accident.

For the most part, I'm overreacting and going through normal parent anxiety. I'll probably take a picture or cry when it happens.