Just a note on how we've been passing our time, Tam and me, while learning the PT process.
I've introduced Tam to play-dough. First he tried to eat it. Then he wasn't sure what to do with it. Our latest game was for me to roll snakes and him to contort them into "O" and "M". These are the two letters of the alphabet he recognizes. We also made a game of matching the playdough colors with the correct lids. He now says white pretty clearly and is fairly good at distinguishing red, blue, yellow, and white. I did find out that he has a quick attachment to anything created by the stuff. I made him a (sorry-looking, I mean awesome) cat and a baby. He insisted these remain outside the canister on the couch for the remainder of the afternoon. If I even looked like I was going to squash them to put them away, he actually shed tears. He also has a short attention span. We would play with the play-dough for 5 - 10 minutes and then he would want to put it away. However, 10minutes later he would see the jars and want to play with it again. I've got to learn how to make better critters to keep this thing interesting.
We've started singing rhymes with hand-motions. This is a bit of a poor stretch for my memory to recall the words and movement. Today, I focused on the itsy-bitsy spider. Tam hasn't helped with the singing yet, but he's getting some of the motions and it is so stinkin' cute.
With the rugs up, his cars can go lickety-split through the house...and under furniture. This has aided in many minutes of Tam maneuvering his little lithe body under the table, couch, chairs in the process of retrieving his favorite toys. We only had one badly bumped head when he forgot that the couch has a lip on the edge. Again, seeing his little bum in the air as he is crawling over chair rungs is cute AND funny.
Baby is still a companion. In total, Tam has 3 baby dolls that used to be mine. Two are rag dolls and one is a soft plastic doll. 2 of these 3 are usually around Tam most of the day and he has been insisting that at least one is bed with him at night. He isn't interested in changing the doll clothes or putting them to bed...but more like the baby is a little buddy he can share with. The baby gets a bottle, baby goes to the potty, baby sleeps (eyes actually close on the plastic one), baby watches Cars movie (Tam insisted she sit next to him), baby plays with cars (he gives her one or two in the lap), baby rides on cars, baby gets her heartbeat heard with the doppler. I think it is sweet and hopefully a great indications that he'll make one awesome big brother soon.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Day 3.. . REAL progress!
Let me just mention that this was a hell of a way to spend the end of my winter break...BUT I would rather go whole hog for a week or so than partial for months.
Today was our 3rd day of the PT mission and the first day Brian had to be at work nearly the entire day. My first surprise was that kiddo didn't wake up in the middle of the night screaming because he had wet his Cars underpants. Yep, bladder-of-an-elephant Tam went the entire night dry. I'm cautiously excited but won't be surprised if it was a fluke. So, I bare-butt Tam and ask of he needs to use the potty. He went right over sat down and . . . nothing. I decided Tam and I would stay upstairs until he did the deed. Nothing, nada, zip while I was watching him like a freakin' hawk for the slightest sign that he needed to go. The very second my back was turned to get something out of his closet, I hear "uh-oh." I turn to see the puddle on the floor. I have Tam help me clean it up and we try to potty again (nothing).
Downstairs, I did go ahead and gate all three of us into the kitchen and bathroom only. Less area - easier for me to grab him and place on potty. Later that morning, we calculated that our little one was due for a poo. I picked up our first cues that he needed to do this = he became clingy, wimpery, and wanted to sit in my lap. With a minor accident, he did get the poo into the potty. YEAH! Later, we had poo again in the potty with no misses. Yeah! And I thought to myself, great, I've got the backwards kid that can go #2 but not #1 in the john.
However, in the afternoon we had repeated success. Not only did Tam pee in his potty twice, on both occasions he want to the potty on his own after being asked if he needed to go! (Instead of just me placing him on it). Yeah! We, of course, did the happy potty dance, gave out hugs, bumps, high fives, and watched an hour of the stinkin' Cars movie as rewards. Oh I am a proud mama tonight.
We'll see if tomorrow brings an equal day of success and we might move on to underwear waring in the house and cautious journeys outside.
So where did we stand today?
10+ times we placed Tam on the potty
3 times Baby peed in the potty
3 times Tam peed on the floor
3 times Tam hit the potty for #2
2 times Tam peed in the potty
0 times we had a wet bed at nap or bedtime
0 diapers used!
Today was our 3rd day of the PT mission and the first day Brian had to be at work nearly the entire day. My first surprise was that kiddo didn't wake up in the middle of the night screaming because he had wet his Cars underpants. Yep, bladder-of-an-elephant Tam went the entire night dry. I'm cautiously excited but won't be surprised if it was a fluke. So, I bare-butt Tam and ask of he needs to use the potty. He went right over sat down and . . . nothing. I decided Tam and I would stay upstairs until he did the deed. Nothing, nada, zip while I was watching him like a freakin' hawk for the slightest sign that he needed to go. The very second my back was turned to get something out of his closet, I hear "uh-oh." I turn to see the puddle on the floor. I have Tam help me clean it up and we try to potty again (nothing).
Downstairs, I did go ahead and gate all three of us into the kitchen and bathroom only. Less area - easier for me to grab him and place on potty. Later that morning, we calculated that our little one was due for a poo. I picked up our first cues that he needed to do this = he became clingy, wimpery, and wanted to sit in my lap. With a minor accident, he did get the poo into the potty. YEAH! Later, we had poo again in the potty with no misses. Yeah! And I thought to myself, great, I've got the backwards kid that can go #2 but not #1 in the john.
However, in the afternoon we had repeated success. Not only did Tam pee in his potty twice, on both occasions he want to the potty on his own after being asked if he needed to go! (Instead of just me placing him on it). Yeah! We, of course, did the happy potty dance, gave out hugs, bumps, high fives, and watched an hour of the stinkin' Cars movie as rewards. Oh I am a proud mama tonight.
We'll see if tomorrow brings an equal day of success and we might move on to underwear waring in the house and cautious journeys outside.
So where did we stand today?
10+ times we placed Tam on the potty
3 times Baby peed in the potty
3 times Tam peed on the floor
3 times Tam hit the potty for #2
2 times Tam peed in the potty
0 times we had a wet bed at nap or bedtime
0 diapers used!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Day 2 of mission impossible
I'm cautiously giving today a tentative forward step in our PT adventure...
I introduced a baby doll that drinks and wets today (Thanks to my ol' Lucy doll). Tamlin immediately took a shine to the doll; I think this was because it was new, and the eyes open and shut, and the legs were posable so she could sit upright. Together, we gave the baby water. Then we listened to baby and she told us she had to potty. Then Tam sat her on the potty and she "peed." We then clapped and hugged in celebration. Oh and baby got 2 m&m's for her good deed too. I'm hoping the visual cues help him recognize what he needs to do.
Here are today's stats:
15+ times we sat kiddo on the potty with no outcomes.
5 times kiddo peed on the floor.
4 times baby peed in the potty.
2 times kiddo pooped on the floor...though he went over to the potty or told daddy about it afterwards.
1 time kiddo woke up last night wet.
1 time I caught kiddo midstream, startled him, BUT HE FINISHED IN THE POTTY!
0 times kiddo wet the bed during his nap.
I think we'll cut down on the open space that we are allowing him to run around in so that we have a better chance of getting him to the potty in time. At least we know he isn't afraid of the potty or constipated by holding it all in. Patience...
I introduced a baby doll that drinks and wets today (Thanks to my ol' Lucy doll). Tamlin immediately took a shine to the doll; I think this was because it was new, and the eyes open and shut, and the legs were posable so she could sit upright. Together, we gave the baby water. Then we listened to baby and she told us she had to potty. Then Tam sat her on the potty and she "peed." We then clapped and hugged in celebration. Oh and baby got 2 m&m's for her good deed too. I'm hoping the visual cues help him recognize what he needs to do.
Here are today's stats:
15+ times we sat kiddo on the potty with no outcomes.
5 times kiddo peed on the floor.
4 times baby peed in the potty.
2 times kiddo pooped on the floor...though he went over to the potty or told daddy about it afterwards.
1 time kiddo woke up last night wet.
1 time I caught kiddo midstream, startled him, BUT HE FINISHED IN THE POTTY!
0 times kiddo wet the bed during his nap.
I think we'll cut down on the open space that we are allowing him to run around in so that we have a better chance of getting him to the potty in time. At least we know he isn't afraid of the potty or constipated by holding it all in. Patience...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
A potty training start...
Today we rolled back the rugs, cranked up the heat, and let Tam have the run of the downstairs bare-bottomed. Are we on the verge of becoming nudists? Well, maybe. We would save on laundry bills that's for sure. However, it was the first day of our potty training adventure.
Now that the day is over and Tam is in bed, I can tally the score.
15+ times we sat Tam on the potty...about once every 20-30minutes.
12 different books Tam read while on the potty
3 times Tam peed on the floor or his cars after getting up from the potty.
1 time Tam peed in the middle of his nap.
0 times we put Tam in diapers today.
0 times Tam actually did ANYTHING in the potty.
I think I'll call that a draw. We did learn that the reason Tam pees like a racehorse is that his bladder is equally as large as said animal. He had no problem going 2.5hours before going pee. (We had known this previously from his dry diapers for that stretch of time). We also learned that he hates wetting his underwear and I'm hoping that helps enforce the idea that pee goes in the potty. On the upside, he doesn't seem to have any fear of the potty and will quite willing sit on it for a good stretch of time.
Well, we'll see how tomorrow goes, especially since Brian will be mostly in charge since I have to get into work to get ready for Monday.
Wish all of us luck.
Now that the day is over and Tam is in bed, I can tally the score.
15+ times we sat Tam on the potty...about once every 20-30minutes.
12 different books Tam read while on the potty
3 times Tam peed on the floor or his cars after getting up from the potty.
1 time Tam peed in the middle of his nap.
0 times we put Tam in diapers today.
0 times Tam actually did ANYTHING in the potty.
I think I'll call that a draw. We did learn that the reason Tam pees like a racehorse is that his bladder is equally as large as said animal. He had no problem going 2.5hours before going pee. (We had known this previously from his dry diapers for that stretch of time). We also learned that he hates wetting his underwear and I'm hoping that helps enforce the idea that pee goes in the potty. On the upside, he doesn't seem to have any fear of the potty and will quite willing sit on it for a good stretch of time.
Well, we'll see how tomorrow goes, especially since Brian will be mostly in charge since I have to get into work to get ready for Monday.
Wish all of us luck.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
2nd peak at Peanut
We had our 2oweek ultrasound today to check in on the little one. Since about week 16, I've been feeling movement in there. Faint at first, like little pokes. However, this past week the wee one has been grooving up a storm, like popcorn on the stove. There have been strong enough kicks that Brian has felt the movement too. I just can't wait until I'm holding Tam on my lap and his baby sibling gives him a surprise kick.
This time around, I again had a Quad screen, but unlike with Tam, the results came back extremely negative for any genetic problems in screens for. This good news meant less worrying for us, but also we won't need the extra consultations / ultrasounds with the genetic specialist. So the ultrasound this week might be our last glimpse of the little one before the big day.
Today, we bundled up, braved the wind and snow, and trucked over to the women's clinic as a family. Our ultrasound specialist was a young thing that was extremely happy, talkative, and nice. Right away, she said the peanut looks great and then asked if we wanted to know the sex. With just a glimpse at the scream, there was our unbashful little dude with knees spread and displaying prominent junk.
Yep, we are in for another little boy :-) I'm still tickled that Tam will have a little brother to play with and that I don't have to deal with pink / pretty princess stuff...but I'll miss the chance to use the name Iris Louise.
Over the course of the next 45minutes, the tech took us on a detailed tour of our little one from the top of his head to his sweet little toes. Peanut was being very cooperative and photogenic by waving his oh-so-cute hands all around. It was only a little odd to see him moving on the screen and feeling the poke from the inside at the same time. Overall, each measurement fell right within the normal range, the heart was beating well at 150beats per minute (very cool to see), and he had the right number of all limbs.
Oh, it is such a wonderful experience to see such a little one on the screen and realize that is OUR little one :-)
Here are the photos from the second glimpse of our newest little peanut.
Photo 1: Face shot...yes, still slightly alien because the machine is picking up most of the skull bones.
Photo 2: Head shot 2, but from the side. Umbilical cord near belly, knees pulled up near belly too.
Photo 3 : Money shot; yes, definitely a boy
Photo 4: Another shot from the side, but you can see the hand waving at us
This time around, I again had a Quad screen, but unlike with Tam, the results came back extremely negative for any genetic problems in screens for. This good news meant less worrying for us, but also we won't need the extra consultations / ultrasounds with the genetic specialist. So the ultrasound this week might be our last glimpse of the little one before the big day.
Today, we bundled up, braved the wind and snow, and trucked over to the women's clinic as a family. Our ultrasound specialist was a young thing that was extremely happy, talkative, and nice. Right away, she said the peanut looks great and then asked if we wanted to know the sex. With just a glimpse at the scream, there was our unbashful little dude with knees spread and displaying prominent junk.
Yep, we are in for another little boy :-) I'm still tickled that Tam will have a little brother to play with and that I don't have to deal with pink / pretty princess stuff...but I'll miss the chance to use the name Iris Louise.
Over the course of the next 45minutes, the tech took us on a detailed tour of our little one from the top of his head to his sweet little toes. Peanut was being very cooperative and photogenic by waving his oh-so-cute hands all around. It was only a little odd to see him moving on the screen and feeling the poke from the inside at the same time. Overall, each measurement fell right within the normal range, the heart was beating well at 150beats per minute (very cool to see), and he had the right number of all limbs.
Oh, it is such a wonderful experience to see such a little one on the screen and realize that is OUR little one :-)
Here are the photos from the second glimpse of our newest little peanut.
Photo 1: Face shot...yes, still slightly alien because the machine is picking up most of the skull bones.
Photo 2: Head shot 2, but from the side. Umbilical cord near belly, knees pulled up near belly too.Photo 3 : Money shot; yes, definitely a boy
Photo 4: Another shot from the side, but you can see the hand waving at us
Monday, January 3, 2011
Last chance for gender bets
So my New Year's resolution is to blog religiously this year...even if that means only one sentence an evening. I'm usually so good about this in the first half of the year, but fall semester usually kicks my butt with it massive amounts of grading / time sinks.
Today is the last day for friends and family to post their thoughts on the gender of our newest member. Tomorrow is our scheduled sonogram for checking out the workings and finding out the sex.
Me = Boy with 75% confidence
Brian = Girl just to be contrary to me
Sister, moms, aunts = Girl because they desperately want to buy / make little dresses
My botany class = 41% boy and 59% girl
On our drive home from the holidays, Brian, Tam and I disscussed potential names for the new wee one.
Highly popular boys names were:
Tiberius - as in James Tiberius Kirk
William - popular on both sides of the family
Jude - both for St. Jude and the Beatles
Lyle - a name from Brian's family
Adair - meaning oak tree
On the girl side, we have:
Louise - Brian's side of the family
Rosilyn or Rose - my side of the family
Irene - my side of the family
Iris or Irys - love the flower
Lydia - the tattooed lady
Today is the last day for friends and family to post their thoughts on the gender of our newest member. Tomorrow is our scheduled sonogram for checking out the workings and finding out the sex.
Me = Boy with 75% confidence
Brian = Girl just to be contrary to me
Sister, moms, aunts = Girl because they desperately want to buy / make little dresses
My botany class = 41% boy and 59% girl
On our drive home from the holidays, Brian, Tam and I disscussed potential names for the new wee one.
Highly popular boys names were:
Tiberius - as in James Tiberius Kirk
William - popular on both sides of the family
Jude - both for St. Jude and the Beatles
Lyle - a name from Brian's family
Adair - meaning oak tree
On the girl side, we have:
Louise - Brian's side of the family
Rosilyn or Rose - my side of the family
Irene - my side of the family
Iris or Irys - love the flower
Lydia - the tattooed lady
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