Adventures in Pottytime

Bea has started the potty adventure. You can stop reading here if you don't have any interest in poop and pee talk. This topic shifted from gross to completely fascinating when I had kids of my own. Without the personal experience of changing stinky diapers and the motivation to one day live in a home without a diaper pail... I wouldn't have had much interest in the subject. So, if you keep reading... I'm going to talk about gross things. Turn back now if you need to. You have been forewarned!

The Preparation:
Bea has been doing morning poops on her little potty for several months now. I started putting her on her potty while she eats breakfast and that developed into a pretty regular routine. I had noticed that she usually pooped after or while eating and breakfast was a motivation for her to be still for long enough to sit on a potty. During this time she also started noticing when she would pee into the potty too.

A few months ago, I tried a stint of no diaper to see what would happen. She didn't catch on to the whole thing very fast, so I decided to go back to diapers and try again later. But, one thing that came of that time was her ability to stop her pee.

Recently she had also been very proud of the fact that she can pull on her pants by herself. She practiced for about a month and really had to work at figuring out how to reach behind her and pull her pants up over her bottom. It was quite amusing to watch her tug with all her might, determined to do it on her own. Whenever anyone would offer to help her she would yell, "No. By sef!"

With good language skills, an awareness of poop and pee and some experience controlling her poop and pee, and the ability to pull up her pants, I thought she was ready for another try at no diaper.

My goals were:
1. Not to make a big deal about it. Be comfortable with where she is in her learning.
2. Make a clear distinction that there are no diapers while awake so that she can truly learn the potty skills she needs whenever the urge arises!
3. Be willing to work with her, dropping other tasks to help her get to the potty quickly.

After a month of experimenting, I think Bea has done great. She knows how to tell us when she needs to pee and if we encourage her to do her morning poop, she is usually fine for the rest of the day. There have been some moments... but all in all, Bea is on her way and mom prefers a few wet clothes to constant diaper changes.

Working on a Thanksgiving Pie

Soundbites

• "Mommy, you good friend." (Beatrice)
• At the kitchen table... B: "You done?" N: "Yes." B: "Go play."
• "You like creamy. I like plainy." (Beatrice about noodles)
• Nathan has seen me leave little notes of encouragement around our house lately. One morning he wanted to make some too. He taped a paper onto Bea's chair, one onto his chair and one onto his Dad's chair. "That's all my love to Bea. This one says Bea loves me. These are my love to Daddy."
• "I want to have a snack because I'm a little snacky." (Nathan)
• N: I want a refrigerator. K: Like the one you play with at school? N: No. K: Like the one outside? N: No, like that. (points to an almost empty egg carton). K: Oh. Okay.
  
• Beatrice saying prayers: "Tank Papa (Thank you for Papa). Tank Mama. Tank Daddy. Tank Papa. Tank Mimi. Tank Nana. Tank Papa. Tank Dedi (Thank you for Jedi, the dog). Tank NayNay. Tank Papa."
• After Zen and Bea started sharing a room for naptime: "Z: loud moaning. B: Zen! You too loud!"
  

Happy Birthday Beatrice!

Bea, blowing out 2 candles on her puppy cake (made by Mimi Martie). After finishing a sizable slice of cake and a peanut butter cup "eye" she proceeded to quietly scoop the frosting off with her finger, one long swipe at a time until the cake was moved out of reach.

A Birthday for Bea

"Mom, look! I made a birthday for Bee-trice!" Nathan was so excited to show me what he had worked on for quite some time. Included: Marble birthday cake (center), truck and car presents (lower), roller skates presents (right), rain boot and truck presents (top), more car and knee pad presents (left). About ten minutes later the party grew even more elaborate with almost all the toys from his room covering this display. What a party!

So Mature

Bea's birthday is almost a week away, but it often feels surprising to me that she will only be 2 years old. She is so advanced. Yes, I am one of those parents who really believes my kid is incredibly unique. Here is just a little evidence for why it is indisputable that she is a very mature almost-2-year-old.

• Today she counted to ten twice while practicing jumps off the bed. The jumps could use a little work, they're more like a falling tumble, but the counting was amazing!
• She can speak in long sentences, paragraphs and even shows teen-age speech patterns such as, "like... um" and "I'm good."
• She has an incredibly developed social awareness, especially regarding hosting skills. At meals or snacks she often asks each person: "Enough? More?" and serves them more if they request.
  
• Her emotional awareness is also right up there. She seems to feel the sentiment of the room and often gives pats on the back when people need it and has been known to pull mom and dad's heads together for a kiss when that is what's necessary.
  

Candy Magic

I think we stumbled on a great Halloween candy routine... at least for this year. I think we got lucky because we had definitely not planned it out ahead of time. As Nils and I were watching our kids run from door to door collecting gobs of sugary cavities, I mean candy, our conversation went something like this:
K: So, I remember counting out 20 pieces and giving away the rest of our candy to my dad's office. I liked the whole sorting process and I think 20 pieces was plenty.
N: Oh, that wasn't my experience. We always kept it all and we ate as much as we wanted.
K: Did you get sick?
N: I think getting sick was its own lesson... but I don't think I ever got sick. I rationed my candy so it would last all year.
K: Oh.

When we got home they both poured their candy on the floor. We all ate a few candies, we enjoyed a little sorting and Bea quizzed us on the names of each candy while Nathan asked what was in each one. Then in a moment of divine intervention... we had them each chose one last candy and we put all the candy away before we opened our last treats. Now our nightly ritual is:

1. Near the end of dinner, Bea reminds us, "Af-er din-er, can-dee."
2. We wait until we're all ready and then Nathan pours out the entire candy bag on the floor.
   
3. We all squeal.
   
4. We sort and talk candy until we all pick one.
5. We all put the extras in the bag and the bag immediately goes out of sight in the cupboard.
6. Candies are opened and enjoyed!
   

I know this system will not last forever, but for now... they seem content to choose 1 candy, even our sugar-lover, Bea. And, I think this system works for both Nils and I. Nils gets to pass on the fun experience of seeing gobs and gobs of candy and being excited about mass quantity and I get to pass on the fun of sorting and planning a special pick and we all experience kids that are not sick or excessively high on sugar.