Miss A is now saying "book" and "bubbles". She also knows where her nose, eyes, and belly are and will point to them when you ask her.
I had some mild cramping and lower back pain yesterday which really had me worried. I was instructed to lay down and rest and apply some heat. But as you can imagine, A would not let me lay down. I couldn't get a hold of Evan at work so I was really stressed and just a ball of tears. So, I called my friend Carrie to send out a prayer request to our church's moms group. She did and then she volunteered to come over with Isaac and play with Audrey so I could rest. I rested on the couch and watched them play. It was just what I needed and by 3:00 the cramping was gone.
Later, my friend, Laurie, volunteered to bring us dinner from California Tortilla because she said she just knew that I didn't want to cook after the day that I had. I also got a few emails and phone calls from friends so I really felt the love yesterday. I have such wonderful friends who have become like family to me...I can truly say that I can call on them at any time and they will drop whatever is going on and come to help me if I need it. Not having any family close by can be very tough at times but having these dear friends who have helped me so much reminds me how blessed I am.
The Life and Times of Our Family of 6
Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Memorial Day and 16 Months Old
I want to start off by saying Happy Memorial Day and wanted to take a moment to think about the numerous men and women who died fighting for our country.
Audrey turned 16 months old yesterday so it's time for some updates on what she has been doing...
Over the weekend, she did many new things...not sure if 16 Months was the magic number or what...
-She started saying "ball", "no", and "thank you". "Ball" sounds like "bowl" and "thank you" sounds like "dake you". She's been saying that here and there but now I know for sure what she is saying.
-Aunt Bonnie said she heard Audrey say "hi" and "down" yesterday too...I can't wait to hear her say those things soon!
-She got a 5th tooth last week...it's an incisor on the bottom. It seems like the rest of her teeth are coming in all at once just as I was warned.
-Now, along with pointing at objects, she also says "dat" to ask the name of the object.
-She lets us know when she wants to get in her high chair now by pulling on the tray and making lots of noise.
-She started climbing onto furniture yesterday...she managed to climb up onto our chair in the living room using the ottoman. She also used her upper body strength to pull herself onto the couch. Later, she used the toys and her toy basket to climb on the coffee table. I thought I wasn't going to have much of a climber but I guess I thought wrong.
We had a fun weekend with plenty of things to do. Friday, we bought her a little bubble machine and when Evan put in the batteries, we tried it out on the deck-
I love her face in the photo below-
We went to Evan's Aunt Bonnie's house yesterday for a Memorial Day cook-out or as they call it around here a Barbecue. When I think of a BBQ, I think of chicken with BBQ sauce on it but around here a BBQ means hot dogs, hamburgers, and basically grilled food. We had a great time at Aunt Bonnie's. Audrey got lots of playing time (and kisses) with their beautiful Golden Retriever, Simon-
Audrey with Aunt Kate (Evan's sis)
For entertainment, I rolled A around in this chair-
After we got home and A woke up from her short nap, we decided to head to our neighborhood pool...only to look out the window and see rain clouds. So, on to plan B! We then decided to hook up the sprinkler in the backyard for A. She was not as into it as we thought she would be and clung to her daddy most of the time-
While she may look like she is having fun here...she is actually holding her arms out for us to go and pick her up-
Back to the safety of the house-
Alas, our fun was cut short by raindrops so we headed inside but A had other ideas. When Daddy opened the front door to watch the rain, she wanted in on the action and decided to experience it fully-
After a while, we ditched the shirt...don't worry...it was really warm outside yesterday!
After the fun in the rain, she came inside and decided to pull her potty out of the bathroom and bring it into the living room and sit a spell-
Ah...there is nothing like the love of a girl and her potty...more fun with the potty from last week-
Miss A carefully tore small pieces of toilet paper and put them in her potty along with the number 6 or 9, depending on the way you view it. At least she knows toilet paper belongs in the potty...not sure what to think about number magnets though-
And on that note, I will end this post. I have a few good videos of her playing in the rain yesterday and will try to post those soon!
Audrey turned 16 months old yesterday so it's time for some updates on what she has been doing...
Over the weekend, she did many new things...not sure if 16 Months was the magic number or what...
-She started saying "ball", "no", and "thank you". "Ball" sounds like "bowl" and "thank you" sounds like "dake you". She's been saying that here and there but now I know for sure what she is saying.
-Aunt Bonnie said she heard Audrey say "hi" and "down" yesterday too...I can't wait to hear her say those things soon!
-She got a 5th tooth last week...it's an incisor on the bottom. It seems like the rest of her teeth are coming in all at once just as I was warned.
-Now, along with pointing at objects, she also says "dat" to ask the name of the object.
-She lets us know when she wants to get in her high chair now by pulling on the tray and making lots of noise.
-She started climbing onto furniture yesterday...she managed to climb up onto our chair in the living room using the ottoman. She also used her upper body strength to pull herself onto the couch. Later, she used the toys and her toy basket to climb on the coffee table. I thought I wasn't going to have much of a climber but I guess I thought wrong.
We had a fun weekend with plenty of things to do. Friday, we bought her a little bubble machine and when Evan put in the batteries, we tried it out on the deck-
I love her face in the photo below-
We went to Evan's Aunt Bonnie's house yesterday for a Memorial Day cook-out or as they call it around here a Barbecue. When I think of a BBQ, I think of chicken with BBQ sauce on it but around here a BBQ means hot dogs, hamburgers, and basically grilled food. We had a great time at Aunt Bonnie's. Audrey got lots of playing time (and kisses) with their beautiful Golden Retriever, Simon-
Audrey with Aunt Kate (Evan's sis)
For entertainment, I rolled A around in this chair-
After we got home and A woke up from her short nap, we decided to head to our neighborhood pool...only to look out the window and see rain clouds. So, on to plan B! We then decided to hook up the sprinkler in the backyard for A. She was not as into it as we thought she would be and clung to her daddy most of the time-
While she may look like she is having fun here...she is actually holding her arms out for us to go and pick her up-
Back to the safety of the house-
Alas, our fun was cut short by raindrops so we headed inside but A had other ideas. When Daddy opened the front door to watch the rain, she wanted in on the action and decided to experience it fully-
After a while, we ditched the shirt...don't worry...it was really warm outside yesterday!
After the fun in the rain, she came inside and decided to pull her potty out of the bathroom and bring it into the living room and sit a spell-
Ah...there is nothing like the love of a girl and her potty...more fun with the potty from last week-
Miss A carefully tore small pieces of toilet paper and put them in her potty along with the number 6 or 9, depending on the way you view it. At least she knows toilet paper belongs in the potty...not sure what to think about number magnets though-
And on that note, I will end this post. I have a few good videos of her playing in the rain yesterday and will try to post those soon!
Friday, May 22, 2009
May 22nd
May 22nd is always a memorable day for me for a couple of reasons. It was 13 years ago today that I graduated from high school. It was also 2 years ago that I got my first positive pregnancy test and I found out I was pregnant with Audrey! I posted about this last year here.
Earlier this week on Tuesday, the 19th, it was 8 years ago that I walked across the stage at Louisiana College and received my B.A. in Elementary Education. So, it has been quite the week of memories.
Back to the positive pregnancy test...it's hard to believe it was 2 years ago that this little lady looked like this inside my belly:
and now she is this little lady trying on her mama's oven mitt and playing in the cabinets while putting her goldfish crackers into different containers:
Earlier this week on Tuesday, the 19th, it was 8 years ago that I walked across the stage at Louisiana College and received my B.A. in Elementary Education. So, it has been quite the week of memories.
Back to the positive pregnancy test...it's hard to believe it was 2 years ago that this little lady looked like this inside my belly:
and now she is this little lady trying on her mama's oven mitt and playing in the cabinets while putting her goldfish crackers into different containers:
Monday, May 18, 2009
Not Me Monday!
Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
This blog is about confessing the things that we have done but don't really want to confess.
-I have NOT forgotten to brush my toddler's teeth for a couple of days before I remembered again. That's just gross!
-I did NOT switch my B Complex vitamin 2 weeks ago with Audrey's cheese and give her the vitamin and give myself the cheese. I would NEVER do that with pregnancy brain. My toddler did NOT then proceed to spit the vitamin out because it tastes disgusting. I did NOT then realize to my horror that I was about to swallow cheese and she almost swallowed my vitamin.
-I also did NOT look out the window two weeks ago around 6 p.m. and exclaim to my husband that our trash had been forgotten yet again by the trash men...only to find out that trash day was the next day and my husband had just put the trash out. Pregnancy brain would NOT strike twice in one week.
-I did NOT let my toddler kiss the mirror over and over again in the Pea in the Pod dressing room on Saturday just so I could try on some overly priced but very cool maternity jeans for my belated Mother's Day gift. I would NEVER do that just to buy some time.
-My toddler has NOT fallen off of our bed 4 times during her 16 months of life.
-I do NOT envy women who give birth to a baby and then 2 weeks later look as if they had never been pregnant. Why would I envy a woman with a flat stomach who can wear a tight t-shirt 2 weeks post-partum??
-I do NOT envy women who say that breastfeeding never hurt and their baby just latched right on.
-I do NOT envy women who say they never had any tearing or episiotomies with their labor and delivery because I know envy will get me nowhere.
-I do NOT count the days till each prenatal appointment.
-I do NOT worry about not having felt the baby move yet because I thought I would feel it sooner this time.
-I do NOT read too many blogs about baby loss and worry myself to death.
-I did NOT call the midwife on call on Saturday night just to ask what cough medicine I could take for my incessant cough caused by allergies.
-I have NOT gagged at least 10 times from coughing so much from said allergies.
-I have NOT coughed so much at night that I have caused my husband to roll over and put a pillow over his head to drown out the noise.
-I have NOT been coughing so much that I have to sleep upright in the bed.
WOW-so many things I have NOT done! :-)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
May 15th: Awareness Day for Hemangiomas
Awareness Day for Hemangiomas and Vascular Birthmarks was Friday, May 15th. (Evan said there is an awareness day for everything and I would have to agree but that's not really a bad thing, is it? Unless it's something like "I Stubbed My Toe Awareness Day".) Many of you know Audrey has a hemangioma on her back. I like to call it her tattoo. From birth, it looked like a a tattoo of a key. Here is a photo of her birthmark last July. You can see it on the right side of her back (along with her balding patch of hair on the back of her head from sleeping on her back):
It grew rapidly after she was born. It became raised and very red and then it started to flatten out and become less red. It has already started involution. Here is her hemangioma now, as of yesterday:
I like her hemangioma and thankfully it was never in a place that caused her any issues. But as a female, I know that as she gets older, she will not like it. Hemangiomas do usually go away on their own as long as they are not in a place that can cause problems such as on the eyes or mouth.
For your interest-below I have copied and pasted some info from a site that has tons of info on hemangiomas and other birthmarks. From the info, you will see that Audrey's hemangioma is rare in the fact that it was on her when she was born and did not show up a couple of weeks later and the fact that it's on her back and not on her head or neck.
Taken from http://www.birthmark.org/hemangiomas.php :
Approximately thirty percent of all hemangiomas are visible at birth. The remaining seventy percent become visible within one to four weeks after birth. Hemangiomas occur 5 times more often in females than in males and occur predominantly in Caucasians. Low birthweight infants (less than 2.2 pounds) have a twenty six percent chance of developing a hemangioma.
It grew rapidly after she was born. It became raised and very red and then it started to flatten out and become less red. It has already started involution. Here is her hemangioma now, as of yesterday:
I like her hemangioma and thankfully it was never in a place that caused her any issues. But as a female, I know that as she gets older, she will not like it. Hemangiomas do usually go away on their own as long as they are not in a place that can cause problems such as on the eyes or mouth.
For your interest-below I have copied and pasted some info from a site that has tons of info on hemangiomas and other birthmarks. From the info, you will see that Audrey's hemangioma is rare in the fact that it was on her when she was born and did not show up a couple of weeks later and the fact that it's on her back and not on her head or neck.
Taken from http://www.birthmark.org/hemangiomas.php :
Approximately thirty percent of all hemangiomas are visible at birth. The remaining seventy percent become visible within one to four weeks after birth. Hemangiomas occur 5 times more often in females than in males and occur predominantly in Caucasians. Low birthweight infants (less than 2.2 pounds) have a twenty six percent chance of developing a hemangioma.
The cause of hemangiomas has not been determined, and neither parent should bear guilt over the occurrence or appearance of one of these birthmarks. The important thing to remember is that accurate diagnosis and early intervention is key. Hemangiomas, like people, come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small and hardly noticeable, while others are large and disfiguring.
Approximately eighty three percent occur on the head and neck area. The remaining seventeen percent appear throughout the the rest of the body (both externally and internally). In the early stages some appear either as bluish or reddish spots or flat patches. Rarely is a hemangioma fully grown at birth.
Hemangiomas that are flat and appear reddish in color are called "superficial" and those that are deep beneath the skin and appear bluish in color are called "deep" hemangiomas. When a hemangioma is both deep and superficial it is called a "compound" hemangioma. The correct diagnosis is critical for proper treatment.
Hemangiomas can grow for up to 18 months and then begin a long slow regression known as involution. This involution can last from 3- 10 years. While all hemangiomas eventually 'involute" the result is not always cosmetically acceptable. Early intervention has been shown to reduce the need for corrective surgery after "involution" has occurred; or to, at least, minimize extensive corrective surgeries in the future. Psycho-social scarring which occurs when a child has been forced to live with a facial deformity until "involution" has been completed can be avoided by early, aggressive intervention.
In some cases, hemangiomas can be life threatening or severely problematic (interfering with eating, breathing, seeing, hearing, speaking, etc.) and require immediate aggressive intervention. Hemangiomas that grow internally can be very dangerous. They are difficult to detect and when they are detected, the infant is often in need of immediate intervention. Internal hemangiomas (referred to as visceral) occur in the liver, intestines, airway and brain. Infants who have what is referred to as hemangiomatosis ( multiple hemangiomas) are suspect for internal lesions. When an infant has more than 3 hemangiomas, an ultrasound should be done of the entire body to rule out internal lesions. Jaundice may be a sign of liver hemangiomas, blood in the stool may be a sign of hemangiomas on the intestines and stridor (croupy cough and difficulty breathing) may be a sign of airway hemangiomas.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Roseola and other tidbits
So...we have a diagnosis...Audrey has/had Roseola! I had to take her to the doctor again yesterday afternoon because she came down with a rash over the weekend! It turns out that it's Roseola. Thankfully, her fever is gone, the runny nose is gone, and the cough is lessening. She isn't as fussy or as clingy as she was and she is taking only 1 nap today. Now that the rash has started, she is no longer contagious so she can be around other children now-yay! I was getting so stir crazy having to stay in so much.
I also wanted to share a few random pics:
Miss A went in to the bathroom and tried to sit down on her potty all on her own and started doing the "potty" sign with both hands...I was able to catch a photo before she got up. Notice how her foot is in the potty...we're gettin' there! (She is wearing her "Future Driver" shirt that her daddy got her from VW.)
We had a visit from Cliff/Grandpapa/Evan's dad this Saturday so Miss A got some quality time with him-
Grandpapa thought we should let A sit on his cycle so it was a perfect photo op:
My mom sent a whole box of great stuff to us for Mother's Day and it included clothes and toys for Audrey and clothes for the new baby. Here's Miss A checking out some of the goods-
On Saturday morning, E held Miss A while he caught up on the Mets:
Last week, when she wasn't feeling so hot, I decided to give in and let her have free reign with her dinner. Here she is enjoying it-
Two spoons are better than one spoon:
Okay, forget the spoon-
So yummy-
I also wanted to share a few random pics:
Miss A went in to the bathroom and tried to sit down on her potty all on her own and started doing the "potty" sign with both hands...I was able to catch a photo before she got up. Notice how her foot is in the potty...we're gettin' there! (She is wearing her "Future Driver" shirt that her daddy got her from VW.)
We had a visit from Cliff/Grandpapa/Evan's dad this Saturday so Miss A got some quality time with him-
Grandpapa thought we should let A sit on his cycle so it was a perfect photo op:
My mom sent a whole box of great stuff to us for Mother's Day and it included clothes and toys for Audrey and clothes for the new baby. Here's Miss A checking out some of the goods-
On Saturday morning, E held Miss A while he caught up on the Mets:
Last week, when she wasn't feeling so hot, I decided to give in and let her have free reign with her dinner. Here she is enjoying it-Two spoons are better than one spoon:
Okay, forget the spoon-
So yummy-
Monday, May 11, 2009
Not Me! Monday!
Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
-Today, I am NOT having to take my daughter to the doctor for the third time in the past 6 days because of a rash that has now developed.
-I am NOT afraid that she could have fifth disease and that I could be at risk because I am pregnant.
-I was NOT worried at all that she might have swine flu...no, not me...I would never let the media and the CDC website get in my head like that.
-I did NOT give my daughter French fries repeatedly yesterday to keep her happy during our Mother's Day lunch yesterday
-I did NOT give my daughter a huge chunk of bread for her to gnaw on also while trying to keep her happy.
-I have NOT been letting my daughter watch TV/The Today Show/children's programs in the morning while in her pack and play when I am showering just so she won't cry the entire time...not me...I know that children under 2 shouldn't be watching any TV at all.
-I am NOT reading another natural childbirth book because I want to go through natural childbirth again because I am certainly NOT still afraid of huge, painful needles going into my spine.
-I did NOT have a nurse show me how to take my daughter's temperature in her bum because I have definitely NOT been too afraid to do it since she's been born.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mama's Day
I want to start off by saying Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in our life.
To my mom, Because you are in Louisiana and we are here, I wanted to send a special Happy Mother's Day to you! We love you so much and can't tell you enough how much we miss you and appreciate all the wonderful, fun things you send for Miss A and for all of your kind words of encouragement and prayer.
I also want to take a few lines to say Happy Mother's Day to all those mothers who do not have children on this earth. If you know of a mom who has lost a baby through miscarriage or a stillbirth, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers today.
Today, I want to say how thankful I am to be a mother and to have another on the way. Miss A is our sunshine and she constantly amazes us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Mother's Day, E let me sleep in this morning! He fed Miss A breakfast...or tried to anyway. Since she's been sick this week, she's hasn't had much of an appetite. Then he got her dressed and he took her to the grocery store. They came home with flowers, a latte, a muffin, and 2 cards...all for me! What a wonderful way to start the day! Because Audrey's been sick and my allergies kicked in yesterday, we didn't make it to church today. So, A took a late morning nap which she needed. Then around 1:00 we took E's mom to Bonefish Grill and had an exciting lunch...I say exciting because all lunches with toddlers are exciting and never boring. A dined on a lunch of mac and cheese (really penne and cheese), fish with tartar sauce, and French fries.
After we returned to our abode, we took some photos out on the deck because it's a gorgeous day today.
As I mentioned before, A has been sick this week. She came down with a fever on Wednesday and has had one every day and night since then. Thursday night it got up to 103.8 around 1:00 a.m. I took her to the doc on Wednesday and they said to bring her back if she had a fever 3 days later. So, we took her to the doc yesterday on Saturday. The doc thinks it's a cold and the fever should be gone by today or tomorrow. The last 2 nights her fever hasn't been quite as high as Thursday thankfully. But she has been super cranky, fussy, and clingy all week. We are so thankful that as of today, she hasn't had a fever since around 3:30 this morning and it was a low fever then. She has still been clingy and tired though and has needed 2 naps. The doc is afraid this may turn into the croup again because of the cough that she has so we are keeping a close eye on that and have medicine if she needs it. She also has a runny nose and as the doc said-it must be so frustrating to not be able to blow your nose and have this adult running around after you trying to wipe your nose every 5 minutes. She also has a slight diaper rash and is back to not enjoying her baths again. :-( She also has a very slight rash on her chest and we are hoping that is not related to the cold as the doctor had asked us if she had a rash and as of yesterday morning, we thought that she did not. Having a sick toddler is very stressful and I just feel so badly for Miss A because she's the one who has been so miserable.
To my mom, Because you are in Louisiana and we are here, I wanted to send a special Happy Mother's Day to you! We love you so much and can't tell you enough how much we miss you and appreciate all the wonderful, fun things you send for Miss A and for all of your kind words of encouragement and prayer.
I also want to take a few lines to say Happy Mother's Day to all those mothers who do not have children on this earth. If you know of a mom who has lost a baby through miscarriage or a stillbirth, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers today.
Today, I want to say how thankful I am to be a mother and to have another on the way. Miss A is our sunshine and she constantly amazes us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Mother's Day, E let me sleep in this morning! He fed Miss A breakfast...or tried to anyway. Since she's been sick this week, she's hasn't had much of an appetite. Then he got her dressed and he took her to the grocery store. They came home with flowers, a latte, a muffin, and 2 cards...all for me! What a wonderful way to start the day! Because Audrey's been sick and my allergies kicked in yesterday, we didn't make it to church today. So, A took a late morning nap which she needed. Then around 1:00 we took E's mom to Bonefish Grill and had an exciting lunch...I say exciting because all lunches with toddlers are exciting and never boring. A dined on a lunch of mac and cheese (really penne and cheese), fish with tartar sauce, and French fries.
After we returned to our abode, we took some photos out on the deck because it's a gorgeous day today.
As I mentioned before, A has been sick this week. She came down with a fever on Wednesday and has had one every day and night since then. Thursday night it got up to 103.8 around 1:00 a.m. I took her to the doc on Wednesday and they said to bring her back if she had a fever 3 days later. So, we took her to the doc yesterday on Saturday. The doc thinks it's a cold and the fever should be gone by today or tomorrow. The last 2 nights her fever hasn't been quite as high as Thursday thankfully. But she has been super cranky, fussy, and clingy all week. We are so thankful that as of today, she hasn't had a fever since around 3:30 this morning and it was a low fever then. She has still been clingy and tired though and has needed 2 naps. The doc is afraid this may turn into the croup again because of the cough that she has so we are keeping a close eye on that and have medicine if she needs it. She also has a runny nose and as the doc said-it must be so frustrating to not be able to blow your nose and have this adult running around after you trying to wipe your nose every 5 minutes. She also has a slight diaper rash and is back to not enjoying her baths again. :-( She also has a very slight rash on her chest and we are hoping that is not related to the cold as the doctor had asked us if she had a rash and as of yesterday morning, we thought that she did not. Having a sick toddler is very stressful and I just feel so badly for Miss A because she's the one who has been so miserable.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
I might take the challenge...sort of...
As many of you know we've been ECing Audrey since she was about 6 1/2 months old:
Since we started, we've been very part-time about it and we put her on maybe once or twice a day...usually right when she wakes up in the morning or after a nap. Lately Miss A has been showing more and more interest in the potties (we have one on each level in almost every bathroom). She's been going in and sitting on her potty with all of her clothes on and signing "potty" when she is sitting there. Sometimes, I can tell that she is actually "going" while she is sitting on the potty in her clothes and diaper too. She has also been coming to me when she has a dirty diaper because she doesn't want to hang out in it and wants to be changed. She will go into the pantry and close the door or go away from people to be by herself when she needs to poop. Audrey loves putting things into her little potty such as toys or her own feet and she enjoys flushing the big commode. Almost any time Evan or I go in to the bathroom on the main level in our house, she goes in also and sits on her potty. It doesn't matter if we are going to the bathroom or not. Here is a photo of this evidence in which Evan is NOT using the restroom but Audrey wanted to sit on her potty so we removed her diaper for her: (Don't worry-I blurred out the side of her bum.)
I knew that I wanted to start being more serious about it once she turned 18 months or when she started showing more signs. So...now that she's showing more signs I am ready to move to the next level which would be giving her diaper free time during the day. We have hardwood floors on our main level so we have some nice areas to try this out. (I tried this for a couple of hours one day early on but I wasn't very good about keeping an out for the time or her cues.) Yesterday morning, I gave her diaper free time for about an hour. She had on a long-sleeve shirt and babylegs to keep her warm. I put her on the potty right after breakfast and she went. But 20 minutes later, I missed her cue-she squatted and she made a nice puddle by the fridge. Oops! Then when I tried to put her on 20 minutes later she did nothing but she at least sat happily on her potty. This all brings me to the title of my post.
The diaper free baby website suggests this-
Take the DiaperFreeChallenge! The DiaperFreeChallenge is inspired by the phrase "I tried it and I was hooked". For many people "trying is believing". So, we are "challenging" parents and other caregivers to try EC for just one day. For those already ECing the "challenge" is to pick a day to let your child go completely diaper-free- if you haven't already. Others not ready to "take the plunge" will be "challenged" to find out more by reading a book or attending a meeting.
I don't know if I am ready to go a whole day without diapers for her but I would like to start giving her diaper free time either in the morning or in the late afternoons after her naps before dinner. I also just ordered the cutest pair of XS trainers from etsy.com. I just bought one pair in case I don't end up using them much. I would like to have something to put on her when we we are here at home so I can better about remembering to put her on the potty and something to catch a miss or two.
My goal is to have Audrey out of diapers by the time she is 2 or by the time this new baby gets here. However, I will not beat myself up if that doesn't happen. I am not going to rush Audrey but I am going to be better about listening to her cues and give her more time and "pottytunities" especially now that she is showing so much interest. EC is about listening to her cues and communication and not about training her or me. If there is anyone who happened to read this and got this far (Yay!) and you have done EC with a toddler, I would love to hear your success stories and how you made it work.
For those of you that think I am doing this too soon, there are several websites on ECing but if you want a list of traditional signs that a toddler is ready to "potty train", then to go to this site: http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,24422,00.html
and you will see that Audrey shows most of the signs.
On another note: Audrey is sick. :-( She came down with a fever and runny nose yesterday after her nap. It came up all of a sudden so I took her to the doctor and her ears and throat looked fine. She's been very needy, fussy, and cranky. She went down last night around 6 and slept till 3:30 a.m. I checked her temp then and she had a fever so I gave her Motrin and we gave her some milk and she slept till 7. She has had a fever today and has been very unhappy. She is napping right now and has been down for almost 2 hours. I hope she naps well and gets well very soon. It's so awful having a sick little one!!
Since we started, we've been very part-time about it and we put her on maybe once or twice a day...usually right when she wakes up in the morning or after a nap. Lately Miss A has been showing more and more interest in the potties (we have one on each level in almost every bathroom). She's been going in and sitting on her potty with all of her clothes on and signing "potty" when she is sitting there. Sometimes, I can tell that she is actually "going" while she is sitting on the potty in her clothes and diaper too. She has also been coming to me when she has a dirty diaper because she doesn't want to hang out in it and wants to be changed. She will go into the pantry and close the door or go away from people to be by herself when she needs to poop. Audrey loves putting things into her little potty such as toys or her own feet and she enjoys flushing the big commode. Almost any time Evan or I go in to the bathroom on the main level in our house, she goes in also and sits on her potty. It doesn't matter if we are going to the bathroom or not. Here is a photo of this evidence in which Evan is NOT using the restroom but Audrey wanted to sit on her potty so we removed her diaper for her: (Don't worry-I blurred out the side of her bum.)
I knew that I wanted to start being more serious about it once she turned 18 months or when she started showing more signs. So...now that she's showing more signs I am ready to move to the next level which would be giving her diaper free time during the day. We have hardwood floors on our main level so we have some nice areas to try this out. (I tried this for a couple of hours one day early on but I wasn't very good about keeping an out for the time or her cues.) Yesterday morning, I gave her diaper free time for about an hour. She had on a long-sleeve shirt and babylegs to keep her warm. I put her on the potty right after breakfast and she went. But 20 minutes later, I missed her cue-she squatted and she made a nice puddle by the fridge. Oops! Then when I tried to put her on 20 minutes later she did nothing but she at least sat happily on her potty. This all brings me to the title of my post.
The diaper free baby website suggests this-
Take the DiaperFreeChallenge! The DiaperFreeChallenge is inspired by the phrase "I tried it and I was hooked". For many people "trying is believing". So, we are "challenging" parents and other caregivers to try EC for just one day. For those already ECing the "challenge" is to pick a day to let your child go completely diaper-free- if you haven't already. Others not ready to "take the plunge" will be "challenged" to find out more by reading a book or attending a meeting.
I don't know if I am ready to go a whole day without diapers for her but I would like to start giving her diaper free time either in the morning or in the late afternoons after her naps before dinner. I also just ordered the cutest pair of XS trainers from etsy.com. I just bought one pair in case I don't end up using them much. I would like to have something to put on her when we we are here at home so I can better about remembering to put her on the potty and something to catch a miss or two.
My goal is to have Audrey out of diapers by the time she is 2 or by the time this new baby gets here. However, I will not beat myself up if that doesn't happen. I am not going to rush Audrey but I am going to be better about listening to her cues and give her more time and "pottytunities" especially now that she is showing so much interest. EC is about listening to her cues and communication and not about training her or me. If there is anyone who happened to read this and got this far (Yay!) and you have done EC with a toddler, I would love to hear your success stories and how you made it work.
For those of you that think I am doing this too soon, there are several websites on ECing but if you want a list of traditional signs that a toddler is ready to "potty train", then to go to this site: http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,24422,00.html
and you will see that Audrey shows most of the signs.
On another note: Audrey is sick. :-( She came down with a fever and runny nose yesterday after her nap. It came up all of a sudden so I took her to the doctor and her ears and throat looked fine. She's been very needy, fussy, and cranky. She went down last night around 6 and slept till 3:30 a.m. I checked her temp then and she had a fever so I gave her Motrin and we gave her some milk and she slept till 7. She has had a fever today and has been very unhappy. She is napping right now and has been down for almost 2 hours. I hope she naps well and gets well very soon. It's so awful having a sick little one!!
Monday, May 04, 2009
Not Me! Monday
Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
Here are a few things I did NOT do last week and this weekend:
-I most certainly did NOT let my daughter splash around in the toilet a little longer just so I could take that snapshot I posted yesterday.
-I did NOT let Audrey eat a few vanilla pudding covered strawberries from my most delicious dessert on Saturday while NOT feeding Evan and myself from the same spoon.
- I did NOT watch Audrey take her diaper completely off yesterday and not do anything about it just so I could see how long it would take Evan to notice.
-I did NOT have a terrible dream about Audrey going blind and cry in my sleep loud enough to wake Evan up on Saturday night.
-My little princess did NOT finally sleep through the night again last night and did NOT make it a whole week in her crib all night long.
-The nurse practitioner did NOT tell me that Audrey's back gums are swollen where molars will be coming in because I know that my daughter will NOT be getting all of these teeth at once!
-I did NOT go and smell a pitcher of sangria twice on Saturday night just to torture myself.
-Miss A did NOT scream at the top of her lungs for just any reason several times at small group last night and today at Michelle's.
-Evan did NOT go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth between having a patio put in or redoing our master bathroom.
-Audrey did NOT go and sit on her potty with her clothes on and wait till I took her diaper off so she could then pee on her little potty.
-Audrey did NOT come to me whining each time she pooped last week so I would change her diaper right away and then proceed to whine and twist and turn while on the changing table.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
What Princesses like to do...
Before we get to the princess part: Audrey's other top tooth broke through last night! Over the last week, we've been working on keeping Audrey in her crib all night long. Being that my belly will be too big eventually for her to be in our bed, we had to stop taking the easier-to-just-get-more-sleep routine and stop bringing her in our room when she woke up in the middle of the night. The past few nights, she has woken up once a night. Sometimes it's been around 5 or 6 in the morning and if it's light outside, then she can come in and cuddle up with us but that's the new rule...it has to be light outside. Anyway, she woke up around 5:45 this morning crying...in case you didn't know...Audrey always wakes up crying...seriously...always. I hear this will continue till she's about 5! So we went in and gave her Tylenol...that didn't do the trick...so I sent Evan for milk...that did do the trick! Back to bed we went until she woke up at 7:30 which was fine. I didn't even think to check for the tooth till lunch time and there I felt it...so we may not have a snaggletooth princess after all but she is still our princess.
Would you like to know what princesses like to do in their spare time?
Well, they like to search for new bathing facilities where they can take long luxurious baths. But of course they have to test the water to make sure it's warm first:
They also like to sit in pretty pink thrones and ponder the complexities of life:
They like to check out different materials to use to build their very own castle:
Sometimes princesses enjoy taking to the open road on their own and like to try out their own independence:
But other times they prefer to have a handsome gentleman drive them around town in a nice large SUV:
(The last 4 pictures were taken last night at Lindsley's shrimp boil and the food was delicious! We had lots of fun and Audrey fell asleep as soon as we left. The handsome gentleman above is L's son, Zaden.)
(The first photo was taken the other day when I heard the toilet lid hit the back of the toilet. I went in to investigate and saw Miss A just splashin' in the water.)
Would you like to know what princesses like to do in their spare time?
Well, they like to search for new bathing facilities where they can take long luxurious baths. But of course they have to test the water to make sure it's warm first:
They also like to sit in pretty pink thrones and ponder the complexities of life:
They like to check out different materials to use to build their very own castle:
Sometimes princesses enjoy taking to the open road on their own and like to try out their own independence:
But other times they prefer to have a handsome gentleman drive them around town in a nice large SUV:
(The last 4 pictures were taken last night at Lindsley's shrimp boil and the food was delicious! We had lots of fun and Audrey fell asleep as soon as we left. The handsome gentleman above is L's son, Zaden.)
(The first photo was taken the other day when I heard the toilet lid hit the back of the toilet. I went in to investigate and saw Miss A just splashin' in the water.)
Friday, May 01, 2009
15 Months and still just 3 teeth
Audrey turned 15 months last weekend. She still has only the 2 bottom teeth and one top tooth. Yes, she may soon be our little snaggletooth princess. At her 15 month appointment yesterday, she was 21.8 pounds and 31 1/2 inches long. She's a little over the 25th percentile for weight and in the 25th percentile for height. Her head is in the 50th percentile...hmmm...does that say anything about her future ego??
She's still having issues with her digestive system but we are hoping that we will be getting a handle on that soon with some suggestions we received at the doctor's office yesterday. We have also been working on Audrey sleeping in her bed all night long. We have been working on it since last Friday. Friday night was the worst night and each night after that has been better. She still hasn't gone from "7 to 7" without waking up yet but she's been waking up less each night and sleeping much longer stretches before waking up.
She is doing typical 15 month old things:
-Arching her back, standing up, and crying when I try to put her in her carseat...oh what fun!
-She has developed an opinion as you can see above...she also screams when I try to take something unsafe or breakable from her such as a thermometer or my glasses.
-She understands cause and effect: she will point the remote at the TV and then look at the TV to see if it does anything and when she turns on or off a light switch she looks around to see how the lights are different.
-She enjoys hide and seek: she will hide behind a curtain and loves it when we come up to her to ask "Where's Audrey?"
As for an update on my heart: the doctor's office finally called back yesterday and they said that the results were normal and there was no arythmia which is such a blessing. But I was surprised that they didn't find anything wrong considering all the pounding/racing/fluttering my heart was doing during the 24 hours that I wore the monitor.
Now for some pics for your viewing pleasure:
Doing one of her fave things...notice the little foot sticking out from under the door-
Last Saturday, at an outdoor Rocknocerous concert-
At her Grammy's house, after church last Sunday-
Another new fun place to hide-
Just being a cutie-
Playdate at Julie's house: Audrey and Chaya (Tiffani's daughter) in the playhouse-
First informal tea party-Chaya, Allie (Julie's daughter) holding Jovie (Tiff's other daughter) and Audrey-
Audrey following in her daddy's footsteps:
Audrey and Jovie watching the singing and dancing Christmas tree on the shelf-
Backyard of Julie's-
Audrey trying out a spoon and bowl of oatmeal-
If you've ever wondered why I don't just let my daughter cry it out (CIO), it's because this is what she looks like after 10 minutes of doing that in her crib and then being taken out-
We hosted an 08er's playdate at our house today-Audrey and Isaac-
Isaac, Kyle (Cheryl's son), and Audrey-
She's still having issues with her digestive system but we are hoping that we will be getting a handle on that soon with some suggestions we received at the doctor's office yesterday. We have also been working on Audrey sleeping in her bed all night long. We have been working on it since last Friday. Friday night was the worst night and each night after that has been better. She still hasn't gone from "7 to 7" without waking up yet but she's been waking up less each night and sleeping much longer stretches before waking up.
She is doing typical 15 month old things:
-Arching her back, standing up, and crying when I try to put her in her carseat...oh what fun!
-She has developed an opinion as you can see above...she also screams when I try to take something unsafe or breakable from her such as a thermometer or my glasses.
-She understands cause and effect: she will point the remote at the TV and then look at the TV to see if it does anything and when she turns on or off a light switch she looks around to see how the lights are different.
-She enjoys hide and seek: she will hide behind a curtain and loves it when we come up to her to ask "Where's Audrey?"
As for an update on my heart: the doctor's office finally called back yesterday and they said that the results were normal and there was no arythmia which is such a blessing. But I was surprised that they didn't find anything wrong considering all the pounding/racing/fluttering my heart was doing during the 24 hours that I wore the monitor.
Now for some pics for your viewing pleasure:
Doing one of her fave things...notice the little foot sticking out from under the door-
Last Saturday, at an outdoor Rocknocerous concert-
At her Grammy's house, after church last Sunday-
Another new fun place to hide-
Just being a cutie-
Playdate at Julie's house: Audrey and Chaya (Tiffani's daughter) in the playhouse-
First informal tea party-Chaya, Allie (Julie's daughter) holding Jovie (Tiff's other daughter) and Audrey-
Audrey following in her daddy's footsteps:
Audrey and Jovie watching the singing and dancing Christmas tree on the shelf-
Backyard of Julie's-
Audrey trying out a spoon and bowl of oatmeal-
If you've ever wondered why I don't just let my daughter cry it out (CIO), it's because this is what she looks like after 10 minutes of doing that in her crib and then being taken out-
We hosted an 08er's playdate at our house today-Audrey and Isaac-
Isaac, Kyle (Cheryl's son), and Audrey-
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