Polite or Liar?

Eve says ( often!) "I lika [blank]" (lika = likah... as in the word like with uh at the end, it makes anything she says absolutely adorable unintentionally).
She's already caught me off guard while yelling at her by grabbing her forehead to crinkle her eyebrows in anger... mimicking mine, "I lika your brows mommy!"
Today, first thing in the morning, Evie tugs on the ringer sleeve on my shirt to untwist it while saying, "I lika your shirt. Its really nice." I like this shirt - its hilarious that I am wearing my uncle's Tshirt from when he was in his teens... back in circa 1983! My entire family worked for Jeep and the shirt is a UAW shirt from "Solidarity Day - Local 12". Apparently they had big summer picnics where the whole family would come and join in the fun that the union provides (*snicker*).
So, the Tshirt is great vintage wear but its also nearly transparent after millions of washings. The white is about as dense as a piece of kleenex. I wore this shirt in public while in my 20's but I can't do that anymore. My point is - its really not a nice shirt.
So, the lingering question: Are we raising a polite kid or a liar?
But then again, isn't politeness often comprised of false commentary we exchange to one another to be polite? Hmmm....

Morning stealth.

Lately (like in the last three mornings), Evie has figured out that she can climb out of bed (again, we have a day bed turned around facing the wall to act as a kiddy cage), walk down the hall and then walk around our bed to my side (also, again, we have a VERY tight bedroom... like 9.5" x 12" with a queen bed and two dressers... some strategic slinking is required to navigate).
All the while... silent.
On Sunday morning I rolled over thinking I heard her walking around only to find her... Right. In. My. Face.
Wha! SHIT!
That kid was like poltergeist just staring across at me. She's right at eyeball height, too.
I didn't know if I should wet the bed or grab Rob's face as I lept onto his side.
Monday morning I was made aware of Evie's pending presence when her Moo-Cow (blankie with rattle-filled head) made a sorta *scha-shink* sound as she made her way down the hall. Still, is this the new morning routine? I'm not sure I like this.
Visions of millions of midnight wake-ups I did with my mother come flooding to mind... will that be next? Middle of the night wake-ups?
I need to get this kid a kitty collar with a bell.

Poop.

Yup, Evie went "Poo-poo on the potty!" (M&M's and stickers! This is the phrase Evie know consistently shouts out after every single pee-pee on the potty experience... cracks us up!)
So today is what... day 12 (oh, yes, duh, we started on January 1!) of potty training! So, 2 weeks in and she had zero accidents today (she even wore pants with a button and zipper today... no cheating elastic-waited bands) and a poo-poo on the potty! Now, I can't say we are 100% potty trained but MAN, pretty darned successful I think!!!

At last post, we gave Evie Magnesium Citrate on the 7th, after 4 days of no poo-poo's. She went twice that night.
On Saturday, the 9th, I caught her going in her panties while at a friend's playdate -YIPE! Let's NOT go into what a freaking mess that was (oh, the utter embarrassment that is being a mother... I've learned to quickly get over such disasters knowing that a bigger one will be on my near horizon). She pooped 2 MORE TIMES that Saturday (making up for lost time I s'pose) and each time I tried to whisk her to the potty. On the third poop she did announce, "Uh Oh!" moments after it happened but we didn't make it on time (I had learned from the panties incident earlier that morning and she had a pull-up on for the remaining 2 poopies of the day... thank goodness).
Sunday and Monday were.... poopless days. So, as a result of 3 days of constipation, tonight's adventure was met with many, many, many, I honestly cannot exaggerate the stress-levels of many, many tears while telling me "it hurts." It was awful. When I gave her a pull-up to go in she insisted on a diaper... but we have none! So when I offered to lay her down and try to somehow 'help out' in some capacity she cried even more hysterically, "NO! Go poo-poo on the potty!" So, there we sat and watched, cheering her on, and coaching 'cause, as stupid as this sounds, kids don't freakin' KNOW how to poop while sitting down! They've never done this before! So, we told her how to push, wait, count, try, breathe, lean forward... then voila!
Quietly Evie said, "poo poo in the potty."
And there it was!

Potty Training: Days 6 & 7. Poo Poo on the Potty

Really?!. Has it been a week already????
Well, we've survived the first week... and its not w/o its share of hic-cups. I do consider us "cheaters" in this first week struggle, though, since we have sent her to the sitter's house for days 4, 5, 6 and 7..... soon to be 8 tomorrow.
On day 6, Evie did well but was sent home in a spare pair of pants apparently after having gotten some pee-pee on her pants (didn't quite pull them down in time?). Also, no poops. Still.
On the morning of day 7, mom decided to begin her freak-out that Evie was into day 4 with no poops. After calling the pediatrician and hearing all the tricks she had already been doing (fruit juice, fiber, stool softeners, open-door policy so she can watch me, etc. etc.) it was apparent that she was OK and would be OK.... poops or no poops. But, after no poops by 5PM we decided to jumpstart things with a little magnesium citrate. Rocket fuel, if you ask me.
We gave Evie a glass and let her sip, sip, sip away at 2.5oz of magnesium citrate. I began wringing my hands anxiously wanting her to finish so I could put a pull-up on her. I drank this stuff after having NOT POOPED FOR 8 DAYS (yes, can you friggin' believe that? It was after my C-Section and I just couldn't go, it was truly one of the more miserables points in my current life...) and this stuff makes you blast off within mere minutes.
Evie finished sipping and I whisked off her pants right there in the living room. On with the pull-up and wait. I didn't wait long - I saw it -THE FACE...
I scooped up Evie with her crying hysterically, "No mommy! No mommy! No potty! Clean up!" This was basically her way of saying she preferred to poop in the pull-ups. I dunno, maybe it was a wrong choice by me but I wanted to harness this perfect moment by plopping her down on the potty.
I pulled Evie's pants down and *ahem* a mess hit the floor. She. was. hysterical. So hysterical, in fact, that she began to do that deep regurgitation burp that sometimes happens right before vomiting. It was nuts. I did everything from soft soothing voices to telling her it was all OK (smile!) and trying to pet her legs.... all of it was terrible. I finally screamed for Rob to bring a small trash bag and wipes to begin cleaning up for fear she would throw-up all over me from the emotional meltdown she was bringing upon herself...
I had Evie stand up and there was a poop in the potty. Now, how it got there is it prolly fell in the process of taking down her pants, but still,... it was IN THE POTTY! We praised, and praised, and hugged her! We had her flush the toilet and wave good-bye! We told her how proud she should be and how she "did it!" Rob then took her hand and ran her down the hall for m&m's and sticker rewards. I was left with the half-poop on the floor and what was left of my dignity.

Potty Training: Day 4 & 5 (at the Sitter's)

So, Evie went back to a routine of going to the Sitter's house this past Monday (yesterday).
I gave the Sitter a heads up that we were in training... supplied her with M&M's, sticker, sticker chart, directions on how we praise... to be honest, I don't think she did any of it. That's cool. To be realistic, she's raised 8 kids of her own and currently watches around 5 kids (3 of which are babies).... who has time to offer the undivided attention we shower on Evie?
All this being said - I do hope Evie is still feelin' proud, in charge and very in control of her new situation. I feared backsliding when Rob dropped her off on the morning of Day 4.
I called the Sitter near the end of the day on Monday and she paused, "Well, ... its going OK." OK?!. OK? What does that MEAN? She had her hands full and I really couldn't take up too much of her time on the phone so all I got was that Evie had had an accident and spent the rest of the day running around in panties. After Rob picked her up, it was more clear - Evie had started to pee before completely making butt contact with the seat. Ha! That's nothing but a success as far as I am concerned!
Today, Day 5: ACCIDENT FREE and all Pee-pee's on the potty! Who-hoo! (OF course the Sitter said Evie wanted to pee-pee every 40 minutes but HELL, no accidents and all reminding herself? Pretty awesome, I think! I love her enthusiasm, that little girl of mine!)

Tomorrow, Day 6: To poop or not to poop (Evie has NOT pooped in 2 days, what's a parent to do? I'm thinking coffee in tomorrow's milk....)

Potty Training: Day 3 (Have poopie will travel)

OK, we didn't have to travel with a poopie situation at hand... but we did have fun experiences in both areas today.
Rob lemme sleep in again (two days in a row, score!,) since I had taken the brunt of at-home-child-care on Saturday. I awoke at 9:30AM after they had been up since 8AM.
Evie had a full overnight pull-up but wouldn't pee when she woke up. In fact, she hadn't pee'd by the time I got up (but daddy tried at every 15minute interval). Around 9:45AM, we had an accident. We cleaned her up and put on fresh panties. I think she just lost track while playing and I'm gonna put in an analogy here---> I think potty training is a lot like learning how to drive a stick shift car. Once you get on the highway and you cruise along for a long time w/o having to shift, you forget that you need to shift again when you get the side roads. And you, inevitably, stall. Evie seems to have her *oops's* after night-time routines and naptime routines. Its easy to understand and the pee really is never that big a mess, so we simply strip her down and clean her up. Clap, clapping of the hands, ... all done!
The potty time continued all morning long without her really needing me to remind her. I did, of course, ask often, "Do you need to go pee pee?" and she'd replay, "noo!" Soon thereafter she'd announce, "Potty mommy! Go pee-pee on potty!" and we'd meet at the potty where'd I'd help pull things down and listen for the pee's to happen. Evie did this almost all day - her announcing and me following.
Evie took a nap with a pull-up (again, we have explained we put on pull-ups during sleeps for those just in case moments and she doesn't seem to mind or fight it). The pull-up was wet when she awoke.... I know they wake them in daycare to pee but I haven't a clue how we would then get her back down again if we did choose to wake her....
The afternoon continued but this time... with a lot of farts. We asked, "You need to go poo-poo?" and Evie was mortified. Hell, I'm STILL mortified that I, as an adult, have to ask such a question over and over and over again. Its awful for all parties involved, really.
At one point I put Evie's potty behind daddy's desk (a particularly favorite pooping locale) and asked her to sit while I read her a potty time story about a little girl named Prudence that learns to go poo-poo in the potty. Evie loved the story and nodded enthusiastically before standing up and demanding I pull her pants up.
Finally, after having made taco soup for dinner (Evie had a bowl) and stepping out in the new addition with daddy, did we then notice Evie making THE FACE next to the stove. I both ran in to "catch" her in the moment and tried to be casual when I wisked her off to the big toilet. Again, mortified. she kicked and begged, "no mommy! no mommy!" Its awful. Why this kid fears going poop with extreme embarrassment is beyond me cause our household has never been one filled with secretive bathroom moments. We are a rather open household (then again, maybe our openness is what has her embarrassed, lol!).
I pulled down Evie's pants and put her on a kiddie seat that locks onto the big toilet. I think this really freaked her out, but I wasn't about to play with the plastic potty in daddy's office when she has a full (of sh*t!) diaper. She had panties on and when I pulled them down... out plopped a poop. Yes, I said it. A poop plopped itself onto the middle of the bathroom floor while I put her on the seat. I had to then put it in the toilet while taking care of her... and lets cut to the chase... the whole thing was a fiasco I would have never seen myself doing if you would have told me about this moment just 3 years ago. But, you gotta save face and act like its all totally cool when you have a totally freaked out potty-trainer on your hands.
I gave Evie 5 peanut m&m's and biggie stickers for having at least undergone the whole poopie experience (even though it was IN HER PANTS and not ON THE POTTY. I'm thinking the excitement and motivation in seeing how big the reward is for going poopie ON the potty will result in more attempts to make it for the week ahead... we will see...)
Our acroos-the-alley neighbors asked us over for a beer tonight. It was the hour before Evie's bedtime so we weren't sure what to expect... but I did pack "The Potty." I warned the neighbor we are in potty training and thank Gawd they understood (or at least they told me they did) cause here I was at the backdoor with potty, wipes, back-up clothing, stickers and m&m's all in tow).
I set-up the potty in their downstairs bathroom, showed Evie (like a dog) where the potty was and off we played! Within the hour, Evie came asking, "Potty mommy! I go pee pee!"... and off we went... off she went. Everything went great! We did this 3X's total and on the 3rd time, the neighbors 1.5year old wanted to sit on the potty with me and pretend to pee-pee. It was great!
Phew! So, I think Evie's "got it" and its just going to be a matter of time to see if this winning streak continues at the sitter's house all this week. Also, I wonder what will happen with the poop situation.... will she go in her pants or in the pull-up? But so far... I think we are batting a GREAT average and my confidence (and Evie's) abounds!

Potty Training: Day 2

So, today was bumpy but picked-up quick speed and ended VERY (and I do mean, VERY) smoothly!
Rob lemme sleep in today (if you can call fitfull sleeps in between a toddler shouting for the 45minutes you get to lay in bed, "sleeping in"). Rob tells me her Pull-up was very full from last night but that he threw her on her potty (still in the living room) and she went no problem first thing from waking up!
When I got up, Evie had on her Elmo-themed panties and some fleece pants. We ltried to get her to pull 'em down and just "try" but we had many adamant "no! no no!'s" in response. I think she was just kinda scattered and wild with me having just gotten up and maybe feeling like she was in control. You can't ask potty-trainers if they want to go pee... well, sometimes I do. Its all so new to her that asking is still considered a fun invitation to trying. I can see where after she realizes this is her new way of LIFE... this, having-to-stop-having-fun-to-go-pee-AGAIN routine, is really going to bite it soon. We more often choose the, "OK, its been half an hour, let's pull down the pants and try!" routine.
The morning quickly resulted in an "oops!" moment (we call them "oops's!" but always try and still congratulate her for still overall trying). Oops's do happen after all, right? No need for reminders or rubbing her nose in it... pee running down your leg is shame plenty, right? (Right, Fergie?). She had yelled out "Potty!" and sprinted the 10 foot distance to the potty in the living room, but it was too late. Those super fuzzy fleece pants soaked up all the mess (thanks Old Navy!) and her socks caught the rest. We cleaned her up while she sat on the potty. No stickers or m&m's but plenty of hugs and encouragement to not give up.
We then had a l-o-n-g dry spell and I was getting worried. I kept putting her on the potty and she got plenty frustrated with me. But I had to keep smiling and spin things, "Well, we just gotta see if there are any pee-pee's in there, ok? Remember what happens when you go pee-pee on the potty?!." She then will suddenly smile and be excited to play the game again. Evie did, after 20 minutes, suddenly yell out, "Potty!" and run to the seat for me to pull her pants down. She squatted and announced, "I did it!" It was awesome, she experienced the sensation of having to urinate ALL ON HER OWN (with no reminders), ... this is a GOOD moment!
We did put a pull-up on for naptime, and I'm glad we did, because I think it also gave her the freedom to poop. Getting kids to poop on the potty is step #2 as far as I am concerned. Pee is the first challenge, then poop, then naptime, and then bedtime. Its gotta have stages of you can make your kid feel less-than-good-enough if you try to do it all at once (as far as I am concerned!)
Evie did poop in her pull-up (she never did go yesterday) and she seriously looked humiliated and mortified. She sobbed and begged me to not check her. I had to hold her and console her before changing it. The exhaustion this kid from this small set-back did help lead to a great nap. I put another pull-up on her explaining that pull-ups are for sleeps. She fought me at first (she's starting to view them as diapers after only one day in panties!) and I had to tell her it was ok for sleeping... who knows what I'll do when we go out-and-about on the town someday in the near future...
While Evie napped - I escaped the house. Rob said the pull-up was wet when she got up but she wanted panties on and we picked up where we left off!
Evie will sometimes argue with her when we suggest "trying" but for the most part seems to understand we have her own best interests at heart. Successful pee-pee's are announced with aLOT of fanfare, "I did it!" followed by putting it in the big toilet and Evie flushes it away. We get 2 m&m's, a sticker for her shirt and a sticker on a chart I have broken down hourly. She actually LOVES seeing how many stickers appear on her chart. We computer call grandma's to show off the chart and we frequently look at it and count all the stickers...
Up tomorrow: Day 3. I feel good about it but I am beginning to get nervous with how things will go at the sitter's all week given that Evie's is the oldest and most are babies. I bought the sitter a set of stickers and a bag of m&m's (plenty to share with the other kids should they wonder why they can't get in on the action) and I'll make a chart for her to fill in, too.
More overall stance at this point --> Evie seems to be finding a lot of confidence in this, we all seem very happy & patient so far and I'm "worried" about what to do when we have to LEAVE the house.... erg, travel to the store or a friend's house will be our biggest hurdle I think.

Potty Training Boot-Camp: Day One

We have off/on tried pull-ups and goading Evie to try the potty before bathtime. She is familiar but not a fan. She thinks its more entertaining or annoying but not something she's going to have to eventually DO and do her whole life.... so today I decided to push up my sleeves and really get this thing going while I have a 3-day weekend. So much for time-off, I'm on potty doodie (um, duty).
We started the day by watching a Potty Training video as a family. This movie was stupid. It was by the Pull-Ups company and basically said it was OK for this to go on and on has long as it must til she gets it. Yes, yes, I sgree... but this commentator was a little too relaxed in her reminding you to buy more and more Pull-Ups..... more infomercial than information, I think I'll chuck this disc.
So, we started with Pull-Ups and a sticker chart. Evie must sit on the potty every hour throughout the day. Each time she *goes* she'll get a sticker on the chart. She will also get a sticker on her chest and 2 M&M's.
First time on the potty - nada. An hour later, a wet pull-up and nada on the potty. I change the pull-up.The next hour, nada on the potty and again a wet pull-up. OK, I'm all about patience but I'm also about "getting it" so I take off the pull-up and put her in panties & a shirt.
About 20 minutes later Evie runs backward to put her butt on her potty seat, "Uh oh! Pee pee!" A trail of pee from the TV to the potty seat (which I put in the middle of the living room after putting on her panties). I laugh and clean it up.
About 20 minutes later (and a fresh pair of panties on), Evie squeaks across the kitchen floor, slips and falls. She was trying to run to the potty but slipped and fell on her own trail of pee. Wet footprints led all through the dining room and to the toilet in the front room. Rob and I laugh at how its a good thing I never mopped the floor the day before.
OK, we are going to FLY through the 8 panties I have on hand if we continue on this path. So... off with the panties!
We shared house a bare-assed kid for most of the day.
And you know what? It freakin' worked.
We have this waterproof mattress pads we put on the couch and we put towels on the kitchen chair. But we never had a single accident. This isn't to say there won't be some, there might. But today went great! She went 13 times, yes 13 times!
We did have to resume pull-ups when B&D came over with Charlie for a little over an hour... but instead of slipping back that slippery slope... she still announced Pee-pee's and went! In fact, she went 3 times in one 15minute interval (I guess the additional adult approval was motivation to do repeat performances!)
So, now its bedtime and I put a pull-up on her for overnight. I am WORRIED that it won't be strong enough to hold the amazing overnight pee's this kid has but I also fear putting on an overnight diaper at this point in the game. Eh, I guess its a cheap mattress and we'll finally see if the waterproof mattress liner does, in fact, work.
Up tomorrow, Day Two: More of the Same.