Potty Training Chronicles

About a month ago Y began to take her diapers off after she had gone potty in it.  She didn't discriminate either, it could have been a drop (which you knew based on the absorbency of the diaper that she didn't "feel" wet) or it could be a lot.  Quantity didn't matter, what mattered is that she knew she had gone potty and she expected a new diaper because of it. 

Well I love Huggies Supreme's because they are SUPER absorbent and at $19-25 a box we were not about to throw away a diaper just because she did a minute amount of #1 in it.  And so it was time to end my procrastination and finally potty train her.  I was really bad at procrastinating, I honestly feel like she was ready to be trained at 2 - over 6 months ago - and we've had her potty chair for over a year so I just needed to kick it into high gear and get it done.  Plus I wanted her out of diapers before Q arrives.

A friend recommended a method that she has used and her mom had used before her which I researched and found both good and bad reviews about - Toilet Training in Less Than a Day.  Even though the negative reviews that I found were REALLY negative, some even saying that it scarred their kids, I decided that I'd give it a shot and if it didn't work then I had only lost a day in the effort.  Besides, what did I have to lose, I was completely clueless on how to potty train a kid. 

So I prepared everything, read the entire book over again, took detailed (10 pages) notes from the book, typed up all the charts, and taped all the notes and charts on the wall as a "quick reference guide" so I would have the info if I needed it quickly.  We started after breakfast and it was intense to say the least!  Five hours later I was frustrated and in tears because I felt like she was really having these "accidents" on purpose.  I called my mom in complete frustration and cried it out to her and she was positive and tried to lift my spirits and encouraged me to keep trying but do things the "old-fashioned way" this time.  I should point out that the bulk of my frustration came from the fact that all of the accidents Y had that day were either right next to the potty chair or within a couple feet of it.  She would either just stand there or squat and just let it all loose on the kitchen floor (the book recommends training in the kitchen because the floor is a lot easier to clean than carpet).  So after those 5 hours I decided I was done, put her in a pull-up and just let her go play for the rest of the day - I felt like a failure.

Sometime later that night I got my resolve back and I decided that I was NOT giving up and that I was NOT going to do it the "old-fashioned way" either.  I decided that we would have Potty Training Day 2 and we would pick up exactly where we started off!  And boy am I glad that I did, it was like something clicked for Y overnight!  We still had a couple accidents that day but I could tell that she had figured out that she was never going to wear another diaper and that going to the bathroom in the potty is what big girls do!

She wears cotton training pants during the day and pull-ups at night to bed.  This week (we are in our second week) she has either only had a single accident or none at all during the day.  When she has to go to the bathroom you can hear her saying, "Y no wet-wet on the floor" as she runs to the potty.  Each day she seems to wake up with a drier Pull-up than the day before so I am hoping that we will soon be done with those as well.  When she can go a week without having an accident she will get to upgrade to her Dora the Explorer underwear.  She's doing great!

And if you're wondering whether I'll use the same method next time around...I certainly will!  It may have taken us 2 days (total time of about 8 hours) of dedicated potty training instead of what the book says is typical but I'll take 2 days over 2 months or more any day of the week!  And I don't think it scarred Y in the least!

Why Quinn??

Ever since we found out the gender of our baby everyone wants to know what we're going to name her.  I always respond with, "Quinn."  We knew shortly after finding out we were pregnant that if the baby was a girl, her name would be Quinn, so there was no big surprise or hesitation on our part.  However, after hearing what we plan to name her I typically receive a second question:  "are you naming her after the girl from Glee?"  This question always caught me off guard no matter how many times it was asked, mostly because I had never watched the show and had no idea there was a girl named Quinn on the show!  But the question peaked my curiosity and so I turned on Netflix and started watching.  I completed the entire first season in just under a week - I loved the show.  But...I would never name my child after a character on a TV show and certainly not one who found herself pregnant in high school by her boyfriend's best friend and then spends half the pregnancy lying to the boyfriend about it.  But I must add, I really did like the show which is evident because I finished 22 episodes in less than a week!

So for anyone left wondering, "Why Quinn?" here goes.

When we first moved here to Metro Detroit I discovered a road named Dequindre (pronounced: Dee-quinn-der).  It's a fairly busy road which covers a lot of ground around here, but that's neither here nor there.  Basically B and I were driving one day and upon passing the street sign on the highway I told B, "if we ever have a little boy I'd love to name him Dequindre."  B's reply was simply that he liked the name "if we didn't live here."  I agreed that it probably wouldn't be a good fit because everyone would probably ask him why he was named after a street or find some way to make fun of him because of it.  (With that said, if we ever move Dequindre would definitely be an option.  Well, maybe not with a sister named Quinn.  Bummer!)  And so since Dequindre was out I set my eyes on Quinn for a little boy but over time I decided that I loved the name for a little girl too.  And so began my petition to convince B that we should name one of our children Quinn.  And if you're wondering, yes this was decided long before Y was born but Y's name has been on my list since I was a teenager and I knew that the first little girl I had would get that name in case I never had another little girl.

I must be honest and admit that TV may have had a partial role in assuring our little girl will be named Quinn though.  B was never big on the name until a female character named Quinn was introduced on one of his favorite shows, One Tree Hill.  Even after that it took a little convincing, but he finally agreed that it was okay for a little girl.  For a boy he wasn't having it, he wanted either Quinten or Quincy which both happen to be names that I don't like...go figure!

Fetal Echo & 22 Week Appointment

Today was the Fetal Echo where we went to Children's Hospital to have a specialist look at Baby Q's heart!  I am very pleased and relieved to say that her heart is absolutely perfect!!!  They found no abnormalities and were able to reassure me that since the heart is fully formed at this point of gestation, no abnormalities will develop between now and birth!  Knowing that is both comforting and reassuring to me. 

They perform the test via ultrasound and it took almost a full hour for them to get all the views of the heart which they needed but I didn't mind at all, I loved it actually.  I was able to lay there and watch her move around for that entire time and I honestly feel that maybe I got a little peek into what her personality may be like.  I saw, very clearly, that she loves to suck her thumbs and is very active with her hands in general.  She is apparently very shy (and aware) because when the technician first placed transducer on my belly she was stretched out.  But then, as if she knew what was going on, she quickly moved to the right side of my uterus and balled herself into a ball - she was in that same ball 2 weeks ago when we had the anatomy ultrasound.  Each time that the doctor and/or technician would zoom in close and found the perfect position to get a picture of the angle of the heart that they needed, she would flip her body around and make them search for it all over again.  Now you see why it took almost an hour!  Babies do not breathe while in the uterus but they eventually begin to imitate breathing and you will see their chest moving up and down.  Well apparently they don't normally do this at 22 weeks so the technician was very surprised to see that she was already doing that.  She said that it was, "good for her but bad for us."  Basically meaning that it's good for Q because she should have some really strong lungs by the time she is born but bad for them because the movement often made it hard for them to get some of the pictures which they needed.  We also saw moments when she was clearly opening and closing her mouth as if she were yelling at us to leave her alone so she could rest, but the absolute BEST part of it was that at one point she stretched and yawned!!!  I didn't know babies yawned while in there but if you think of the actions that you do when you yawn, stretch the body, open the mouth, etc.  that is exactly she she did!!!  I was amazed.  Oh yeah, and did I mention that she's perfect?!?!  And that I am completely in love with this child already?!?!  I guess that's no surprise to me because I remember feeling the exact same way towards Y...and it only gets better from here!

I also had an appointment with my OBGYN today and that too went really well!  I actually lost 2 pounds since our last visit.  And since I had gained no weight prior to that, I guess I'm in the negatives already!!!  Pretty good considering the couch and I have become really great friends the last few weeks.  But hopefully it will get warm out soon (and stay that way) so that we can get out more often.