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.

Another Project Complete

So it's been quite some time since I have posted any of my knitting projects, mostly because they were all similar to ones I had done in the past and none of them were for me.  This one is different!  It is actually the first project that I have knitted with the intention of keeping.  That's right, it's the first thing that I've ever knitted for ME!!!  And well, I LOVE it!!!  Here are a few pictures!

A Day in the Life of...

I cannot seem to keep Y dressed in actual clothes these days!  I put them on her, and she takes them off.  Wondering what she puts on?  Just take a look at the pictures below.  She started pulling out all of my shoes too, that explains my flip flops in the background.

Relief

Today I sent B to work with some information (including questions) to fax to my doctor.  I seriously lost sleep last night stressing over our "96th percentile" little girl.  Fortunately, around lunch time I received the much needed call from my doctor and there was such a huge amount of relief felt after the phone call ended.

My after dinner blood glucose readings have been higher than they should be, not extremely high but enough to make me concerned.  I asked him if maybe he thought I should take medication to lower those levels.  He reassured me that my numbers are okay, in fact he said he's surprised by them.  I've told you before that we agreed to just treat me as a diabetic during this pregnancy but he is now thinking that I am not a Type 2 Diabetic at all because my blood glucose levels read like those of a gestational diabetic.  Apparently they are far too low to be considered a Type 2 Diabetic.  So he assured me that not only do I not need to be placed on any medication but that I also just need to give myself a break because my numbers aren't at a level that I should be stressing myself out about them.

The other big question that I had was of course regarding Baby Q being in the 96th percentile.  To this he had a very simple and relaxed answer:  "it's a big baby."  Needless to say his response, aside from being blatantly obvious, caught me off guard.  I'd been stressing about it for the previous 22 hours and he was as cool as a cucumber about it.  He went on to reassure me that 1) it's nothing that I'm doing wrong, 2) there's nothing I can do to change it.  I asked him if he was due to the diabetes or if I was just prone to have big babies and he told me it was the latter.  I did ask him what percentile Y was at 20 weeks and after finding out that she was 95th percentile at this point that was really all I needed to know.  I was then cool as a cucumber after that.

I'm not totally satisfied because my best hope of a successful VBAC is having a smaller baby this time around but my relief comes from knowing that I'm not doing any "harm" to my unborn child.  And knowing that, I'll sleep much better tonight!

It's A...

Today was the big day, we went in for our ultrasound!!  We got lots of good news as well as some news that I find slightly frustrating, but the good definitely outweights the frustrating!

We are very, very pleased to tell you that we're having another little GIRL!!!!!  I've really felt it was a girl from the beginning but over the past few weeks the doubts did begin to creep into my mind.  Either way we would have been overjoyed just to have a healthy baby but for practical reasons we definitely wanted another girl.  With Y being a September baby and this baby being due in August we obviously wanted a girl because of the seasons; all of the clothes we had for Y we can now use with our new little girl, Baby Q!  I was just a bit bummed by it but only because I wouldn't have minded having an excuse to go shopping more for a little boy, but I'm more than content to know it's a girl. 

I received a call shortly before my scheduled appointment time and I was told that the doctor was out sick today so I didn't get to meet with him after the ultrasound.  I was slightly disappointed by this because I had some questions that I wanted to ask my doctor but I'm thinking that I'll just fax them in and have him call me with the answers.  I met with the other doctor in the practice but I don't really feel like I got the answers I was looking for from him.  I guess maybe it's just knowing that my doctor knows my background, and more specifically, he knows ME and can answer my questions in a way that leaves me satisfied.

According to the ultrasound technician Baby Q looks great.  The bit of news that I find frustrating is that she is measuring in the 96th percentile for her estimated fetal weight.  I failed to ask what she was exactly measuring at but after doing some research online I have discovered that for 20 weeks gestation the 90th percentile is 387g, so about 13.65oz.  So my best guess puts her just above that, maybe around 14oz. 

I know it's fairly early on to really be concerned with birth weight but I do believe it will be a major factor in determining whether or not I will have a successful VBAC.  So it's been weighing heavy on my mind today but I am trying hard not to let it get me down.  I cannot recall what Y's measurements were estimated to be at this point but it will definitely be a question to ask the doctor. 

So there's the rundown of our appointment today and here are the pictures which you've probably been wanting to see.  We have some video of her moving around but they have my full name written across the top of them so I'm gonna skip posting those but if you really want to see them I can email them.  I was able to blur out my name, etc. from the pictures.

Pictures:

Pure Bliss

That's really the best phrase I can think of to express the feeling that arises when you start to feel your little one moving about inside of you. This is the moment I have anxiously awaited since finding out we were pregnant, and it has finally arrived! It is truly indescribable to explain what it feels like as well as how much joy it brings.

I first felt movement two nights ago as I was just laying down for bed and for the past couple days that was really the only situation in which I could feel him/her. However, today while laying on the couch I felt more distinct movement and I immediately remembered how those first nudges and flips feel from my pregnancy with Y. I was beyond happy! And finally today after dinner I have been able to feel the movement while sitting upright.

I've been anticipating this day for a while now. With Y I first felt her move at 20 weeks and I know that they generally say you can feel it earlier with your second pregnancy simply because you know what the feeling feels like. Now I just can't wait to take Y's little hand and place it on my belly so that she can feel her sibling kicking and moving. But I realize that is still a few weeks away, but I'll be patient.

This is truly one of the best feeling in the world, second only to holding that precious baby for the first time!

Intermittent Exotropia

Our baby girl is 2½ now!!!  Well she's been 2½ for almost a week now but was waiting until her 30 month well baby visit to write a post about it.  She weighs 31½ pounds fully clothed on the doctor's scale, 30 pounds if you prefer to rely on the Wii Fit while wearing pajamas.  She is 36½ inches tall.  She's extremely healthy, eats most of her veggies and all fruits that grow under the sun.  She is TONS of fun, I really can't express how awesome and entertaining she is.  I love being her mommy, especially at those moments when she tells me that I'm her best friend or when she wraps her arms around me and says, "I love you too, Mommy!"  She is a lot of fun to be with most of the time but there are also those very trying moments, especially now that she has started telling me what she doesn't want to do.

While at the doctor I finally thought to mention something to her pediatrician that I have never thought to mention before.  You see, ever since I can remember (definitely as early as 3 months) when Y wakes up she sometimes has a lazy eye.  Now I never mentioned it to the doctor because I always thought it was typically something that babies experienced and that she would eventually grow out of it.  Well I realized a few weeks ago that she hadn't just "grown out of it" and decided that I would talk to her pediatrician about it, just to make sure it wasn't something I should be concerned about.  Upon describing it to him he immediately told us that we should definitely go and get it checked out.  He referred to a name for it but it was medical speak and I didn't really catch it.  So last night after dinner I sat down to do some research (I couldn't imagine being a parent without the internet) and I found that it is called Intermittent Exotropia.  It's "intermittent" because it doesn't happen 100% of the time, in fact the only time it seems to happen is when she wakes in the morning.  We have scheduled an appointment for her to see a Pediatric Ophthalmologist at DMC Children's Hospital in May.  We're not overly worried at this point, mostly because it's not something that happens all the time.  But the doctor expressed concerned that as she gets older it could worsen and it's often easier to correct at a younger age than it is as they grow older, the muscles can become more stubborn I suppose.  Best case scenario it will be something that can be "fixed" through Vision Therapy.  Worst case scenario means surgery but for many reasons this isn't an option for me at this point.  Mainly because she is so young and because it's not really a severe case.  I should also mention that there are a few options which fall between the best and worst case scenarios but if you read the information at the link above you can find more on the other options.

As of now we're staying positive and not worrying too much about it!

Why is it...

...that I can give Y a cup of water to drink and it will sit all day without her taking a single sip from it.  But if I put her in a bath with anything that even slightly resembles a cup she will inevitably fill it with water from her bath and drink it?!?

Any insight into this is welcome!

I think that it is a great disservice to parents (and to our kids) that we cannot remember our toddler years.  I'm sure if I could recall any of the mind boggling things I did as a toddler and/or preschooler then I would have abundantly more patience and understanding than I currently have.