Questions For Some Experienced Mommies...

Next week, on Thursday, our precious little girl will be turning 18 months old!!! I've been thinking that 18 months is a good time to introduce her to her very own potty chair. Now don't think I'm disillusioned or expecting any miracles, I realize that just because I introduce her to the potty doesn't mean she is going to immediately take to it and know what it is for and when to use it. I know that she knows where a "potty" is because when I say, "Mommy's gotta go potty" she will take my hand and lead me to the bathroom. I do not think she makes the connection to what exactly Mommy is doing in the potty, hahaha.

So, here are my questions:

1. At what age did you introduce your kid(s) to the potty? I know that boys and girls may be different but I'm still curious.
2. I know that all potty chairs are not created equal, do you have a particular potty that you used and loved or have your friends raved about a certain pot?
3. How did you introduce your child(ren) to the pot?
4. Did you read any books/videos that you would recommend? I know that the methods used in books/videos don't work for everyone and I've learned that some books and their recommendations should be thrown out the window but at the same time I've also gotten some really good advice from other books. I guess I'm just looking to read something and then decide for myself if it's a method that I want to try, so your recommendations (if any) would be appreciated.

Relief

Okay, so I am ever slowly growing more confident in my ability to breastfeed. After taking Yanna to her appointment with her pediatrician and talking with a few friends who offered advice I must say that I feel much better about it. I was very worried and extremely distraught at the thought of not being able to provide the amount of food she needed. However, after going to see her doctor and talking to him about it he explained to me that she is now 9lbs 9oz which would mean that she is gaining an ounce a day which is exactly where she should be. Apparently that's a sign that she is indeed getting enough to eat. He said that as far as her always wanting to be at the breast is probably just a comfort thing and then he told me how to tell if she's eating or just treating me as her personal pacifier. Since the visit I think we've been doing fairly well with it and somehow, by no real effort on my behalf, she takes each side for about 20 minutes and then she's done. And we do this only every 2 hours now!!! I guess typically it should be every 2.5 hours, but hey, I'm happy with whatever I can get at this point. Eventually we will be able to stretch it out to 2.5 hours but for now I'm satisfied. He also asked me about how much I am able to pump at one time and I told him between an ounce and 1.5oz so he explained that she's probably definitely getting enough because she can suck out 2 or 3 times that amount. I also found that very comforting. Since I was so worried and concerned we're gonna go back in 2 weeks and weigh her again to make sure she is still progressing as she should be.

Here is a picture from last weekend which I thought was cute...of Y at least, I could have been better. haha. Tomorrow we're having her blessed so we'll post more pictures from that later.

Soliciting Thoughts and Advice

It's been hitting me lately that I'm not only going to be a mother soon but I'm going to be a mother to a little girl. This scares me! Not only because I wonder if I'll be a good mother or if I'll teach her all the right things but more so because of all those outside, worldly influences. It was hard to be a girl when I was growing up and it's even harder now.

So my question for you and the advice/opinions I seek is concerning what you think is/are the most important things that you feel a mother should teach her daughter.

I've been thinking about this for a while and a situation I experienced helped me form a conclusion. I think the most important thing to teach a daughter is to love and accept herself no matter what those around her say/think/do. I mean, for the most part, parents think that their kids are beautiful no matter what. But it is so important to help our kids know and understand that.

I'll share with you the experience I was witness to that really broke my heart. There were these two females, one was 8 years old and the other was old enough to know better. Well the older of the two began to criticize the 8 year old girl's eyebrows. She told her they were funny looking and that she should do something about them. Well, we initially thought that this little girl just ignored her until days later when someone noticed that there was a patch cut out of this little girls eyebrow. When we asked her what happened she just started to cry, at first we assumed it was because she thought she'd get into trouble, but even after guaranteeing her that she would not be punished and that we just wanted to know what happened, she still continued to cry. I then remembered what had been said to her about her eyebrows and after prodding and asking if that was why she had tried to "fix" them she finally admitted what she had done and why she had done it. The hurt in her eyes as she continued to cry was heartbreaking. It was at that moment I realized that I will have a beautiful little girl and despite how perfect I think she is, there will always be someone somewhere that will find someway or something to make her feel inferior. It is truly heartbreaking.

So now you know what I think, please share with me what you think. It could be anything, I'm really just curious and kind of seeking to start a discussion. Although mostly women read this blog I welcome responses from those few males that read it too. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.