Sometimes mommy needs a timeout

Today has been a day already-and it's only 8:45am. It started at midnight, when Lexi decided to wake up and just play in her bed until 2:00am, then she was awake at 6:30 and ready to go. Since then, she's been on the move and has just been naughty. She's constantly on the go. If she's awake, she's doing something (usually something she's not supposed to). For the most part, I can handle this fact. It's exhausting, but also pretty fun to see what she's learning. Today was different.

After peeing on the floor, torturing the cat, screaming at me multiple times, and dumping all of our DVDs out on the floor, I decided it was time for a mommy timeout. This doesn't mean that I put myself in a locked room, and just let Lexi have free reign over the house. It means Lexi gets an early morning nap while I remove myself from the situation to prevent myself from getting overly frustrated and creating more bad behavior-kids feed off bad attitude. The thing is, this wouldn't work if she wasn't really ready for a nap. She would normally scream and cry if she doesn't need to sleep, but when I put her in her crib a few minutes ago, she simply laid down and covered herself with a blanket. Let's hope when she wakes up in an hour or so we're both ready for a new start to the day.

I have no idea what creates days like this, but it seems like today is one of the worst that we've had in months. She's had some big changes in the past week, not that I think she's completely aware of what's going on, but I think she's aware that I've been a bit down even though I don't think I let it effect our time together. We've got our work cut out for us the next several months.I'm still learning as I go. A friend on Facebook shared this picture yesterday, and I love it. It rings true for me, especially today:

here's to a better afternoon!

3 day potty training

This Memorial Weekend, Jon is going to be out of town for work. Lexi and I will be doing work of our own.

The past several days, she has been taking her diaper off by herself and doing her business (1 and 2) on whatever surface she is on-grass, carpet, crib mattress...I had stepped back when it came to potty training because she stopped wanting to sit on the toilet and I didn't want to force her especially since she is so young. However, her new preference for being naked has shown me that she is ready to be trained. She will go to the bathroom within minutes of taking her diaper off, and I have noticed certain times when she goes. It'll be tough to catch the BMs since she normally does that at nap time and at night.

And so, on this long weekend, she and I are going to do the 3 day potty training method. It calls for getting rid of all diapers in order to prevent that "crutch" (I will keep them for the reason mentioned above), and for the first 3 days, she is to be pants free at home, and if we go out, she'll wear no diaper, just loose pants. I have to give her lots of crackers so she is really thirsty and she'll drink lots of water and milk. They say to expect somewhere around 20 (!) accidents the first day, then down to 10 the 2nd day and somewhere on that day, something will "click" and she'll just get it. Of course, the first 3 days is just the beginning, I'm not expecting a miracle (nor does the method assure it). She knows what the toilet is for, I don't doubt that Lexi can figure this out. I've got stickers and M&Ms, she loves reading books on the toilet, and she gets such a proud look on her face when she hears that tinkle. I make it a point to mention that feeling. Today I messed up and set the "potty timer" for 10 minutes after she went pee on the toilet, at 7 minutes, she wet her training pants. Friday, I'm going to buy more pairs of underwear for this weekend (even though you aren't supposed to put them on her, I think she needs to feel what that feels like)

With any luck, by her 18 month check up, I'll be able to tell her doctor that we are mostly potty trained. What a relief not to have to buy diapers anymore.

I'll blog as we go through this weekend.

Just a quick potty training update

Yesterday was a very big day! Lexi went potty in the toilet not once, not twice, but THREE times!!! Not bad since that was the first time she'd ever gone. And today, she went another two times and tried really hard several other times.

I'm really hoping this is the turning point and that we don't have too much longer in diapers. I'm going to buy some pull-ups and training pants soon just to see how she does. I'll update again after :)

Growing up so fast!

Lexi is 15 months old tomorrow! How the heck did that happen!?!? Can we just slow time down just a little bit, so I can enjoy all of the (pleasant) moments with her?

Lexi has picked up a number of new words this week, and it is so exciting to watch her connect the pieces to get what she wants. Thus far she uses the following words correctly (I'll probably forget a few): Mama (and the variations), dada, hi, please, up, Llata (grandma's dog, her first word she ever said), Grandma ("amma"), yeah/yes, nice (when she needs to be gentle), night night, book, ow (is this a word?), hot, and attempts to say "how are you" but it mostly comes out jumbled :)...I just think about all of the words she'll ever say throughout her lifetime, and it's awesome to watch and listen to her talk. She also "talks" while we drive and I'm not sure there's a better way to pass the time than to have these conversations.

The other night, Jon and Nevaeh were singing the ABCs and Lexi was watching them so intently, and I could see the wheels turning in her mind and she was trying to imitate them, it's crazy to think that soon she'll be talking/singing more often than not.

Onto potty training. Lexi loves to sit on the toilet now. She signs "potty" when I tell her she's going in her diaper and when I ask if she wants to go potty, she'll run to the bathroom to sit on it. It's cute. Also, this week, she began bringing me a diaper and laid down when she needs a new diaper. She hasn't gone in it yet, but the fact that she's connecting the sensation with the action, I'm hoping it'll be soon. She also went #2 in her diaper this morning while sitting on the toilet, she got lots of praise for that :)

One negative side to her getting older is the temper tantrums! When Lexi is tired/frustrated and doesn't get her way, she can throw a fit that could rival anyone, it's super frustrating for me when I'm just looking at her wondering what in the world I do. Thankfully they don't normally last long, and it's easy to distract her usually, but she has quite the temper! The screaming alone is enough to make me walk away and hide in my bedroom. I wish I could skip over the fits, but I know that it's going to get worse before it gets better. Oh well, you've gotta take the good with the bad. It's just unfortunate that when she's being a little pill, she thinks she can just smile at me and it's all better. I'd like to be able to stay upset with her, and I know that it doesn't do any good when I laugh at her, but I can't help it. I guess life's too short not to smile when your daughter smiles-even if she did just knock all of the DVDs off the shelf for the 10th time!

I know this is a lot of rambling, but I'm a mom now, my brain doesn't function like it used to. I'll update her weight and length on Monday after her appointment

All Aboard the Potty Train! (toot toot)

Yes, I am *officially* potty training Lexi! Yeah, yeah, yeah, she's "young" but I have climbed aboard the Potty Train, and it's going very well thus far. She picked up the signs for "potty" and "wash" in less than a day, she'll sit on the potty for a long while (with the reward of an M&M) and she is interested in her toilet(s). When she's going to the bathroom in her diaper, I reinforce the potty sign and she acknowledges it and this morning she walked into the bathroom and placed her cushion on the seat as she was going #2. I don't know how long before she actually goes on the toilet, but I'm so happy that she's sitting!

The Potty Train kit that I received came with a book for parents, a board book for the child, and a cartoon DVD that introduces the signs necessary for communicating during training. Lexi *loves* the book and the DVD. The first time she watched it, she was in awe! This is the child who cannot sit still long enough for anything! And she wouldn't move when we played it for her, and she gets mad when I try to take away her book. In the book for me, it says that in the 1960s, 98% of children were potty trained by 18 months, now the average is 37 months and that Huggies just came out with a size 7 diaper! Of course, early potty training isn't for everyone, an if Lexi didn't seem interested, I'd back off, but she is picking up some small steps quickly and I'm hoping that she will be potty trained by age 2. With some changes that are coming soon, it shouldn't be a problem.

Discipline

Lexi had a full blown temper tantrum tonight, because I told her to tell grandma good night. She laid face down on the carpet and cried and screamed. I laughed at her, mainly because of how absurd she was behaving. Then I ignored her, I walked away and didn't acknowledge her in the slightest. I watched her though, and as she was settling down (meaning she was doing her fake cry) she was looking around to see what reaction she was going to get. When she realized she wasn't getting one, she walked towards me whining and wanted up, I said "no" and finished getting myself ready to go upstairs and then I started going toward the steps-when she didn't follow I asked if she wanted to go on her own or be carried. She plopped down so I picked her up and we got ready for bed. I know she was acting this way because she was exhausted, but it just reminds me that she is her own independent entity, she has her own desires and is separate from me. She no longer depends on me for her every NEED, she can get places on her own. When our goals don't mesh, we are going to have conflict-this is going to happen for the rest of our lives together. I want a strong and independent daughter, but I don't want a rude and rebellious daughter. And that brings me to one of my greatest fears: Discipline!

Everything I read tells me to "be consistent and follow through". I don't want her to laugh at me when I tell her to do something "or else", I want her to know that I'm serious, if she doesn't behave or follow the rules, there will be consequences that fit not only her age but the severity of her disobedience. I am afraid that if I don't start off strong now, she's going to think I'm a pushover and constantly push the limits. I'm going to struggle with discipline forever, I can only hope that I'm doing the right thing when it comes down to it. If Lexi is anything like me, she is going to be extremely hard headed, and that's okay. As long as she knows that I am the adult and that I have her very best interest at heart, we'll be okay. However, I know that though she may know those facts, she won't always like them. Gosh, I'm not ready for the terrible twos, tween, and teenage years! What was I thinking!?

Early Potty Training

One of my goals this year is to begin potty training Lexi early. I have been doing research and I feel as though she could pick it up easily. She's showing some of the cues that indicate readiness: She has picked up on sign language quite easily the past 3 weeks, so she can communicate her need to go to the bathroom that way; she is also able to walk; and she has obvious "tells" when she's going to the bathroom that I can watch for. I am going out tomorrow to pick up either a potty chair or one of those cushions that goes onto the big toilet. I'm going to start out by putting her on there right after she wakes up in the morning and after nap times (on the weekends) and also before bath time with the water running. I have no illusions that she is going to be potty trained  in a week, but I would like her to be able to tell me by the time she is 18 months old.

I'm not sure what they're going to do at work since her class doesn't have a potty in it, and the next step up is my room (and I cannot have her in my class since I'm the only teacher in there). But I guess that's something they'll have to deal with. I have a few reasons for wanting to potty train early-1. Diapers! So expensive for something you throw away. 2. I believe it can be done this early, and given how she has picked up on other things, I'm hoping she'll be open to this. 3. I have seen so many parents struggle with their children when they have waited past the child's 2nd birthday, I don't want Lexi to be afraid of the bathroom, I also don't want her to resist this. I figure if I introduce her to it now, it'll be easier.

One of the most important thing I've read is not forcing her. If she's scared or nervous the first time, then I'll just take her off and we'll try again. Maybe a bit TMI, but I have been bringing her into the bathroom with me since she was a newborn and I'm hoping since she's familiar with the toilet, that'll help

I will update next week with how the introduction has gone