Nurse Loves Farmer

Potty Training Thoughts & Summary

2012-05-26T07:34:00.000-06:00

A lot of you have asked me to do a follow-up on our 3 Day Potty Training Method and how Braden is doing. I, of course was going to anyway, but am happy to give the readers what they want!

Firstly my update on Braden:

From day #4 on...he had no accidents. Just like the method says - he learned his cues and would tell us "go pee on potty" and we'd happily take him
On day #8 or so, he had a decent sized accident, he never told me and I never discovered until he asked to go to the potty before nap time! Oops! This was a healthy reminder to me not to take for granted that he's "100% potty trained" and its okay to give him the odd reminder about the potty, especially when he's busy!
Then we had/have a poop issue. He saved his poop for his nap time "sleepy bum" as we call them. Once last week and then again 2 days ago. He didn't nap either days, and as soon as I went in to get him...I could smell why he didn't nap. I did tell him he needs to tell mommy when he has to pee or poop and that he needs to put his poop in the potty
He did have 2 small poops, 2 days in a row after that first incident, but I can see him getting a bit constipated or again saving his poop for his nap diapers
He did ask for "no sleepy bum" once, so I obliged. He didn't nap that day, or have an accident. I think that in his head he thinks that if he doesn't have a diaper on...he doesn't have to sleep! Sorry kid!
I'm working really hard on increasing his fibre among other things in his diet to get him more regular, it would be easiest for PT and also better for his health. I'm trying to cut out some dairy, giving him more fruits (especially pears), and offering him a bit of natural fruit juice with probiotics every morning...hopefully it helps!
Once his jar of M&M's/Smarties were gone, I filled it with natural fruit gummies and told him these new potty treats are only for POOPS on the potty, seems to be working well and he still goes pee in the potty no problem, even without treats
He made his first trip to town (1/2 hour away) last Monday for groceries accident free, but had yet to pee in a public toilet
On Wednesday we all went to the city, he did pee twice on the potty before we left, but still managed to have a huge accident in the car seat - he didn't tell us about it either. I guess I'll have to kind of restrict his fluids for awhile when I know we're going out
He did pee in the public potty twice on our outing though, so I'm happy that milestone was reached!

Some of the things I'm thinking about lately are:

How do we handle our first road trip to mom's (3ish hours away)? Restrict fluids and bring our small potty with us so he can go whenever, wherever are my thoughts...
He doesn't always nap in the car and I do NOT want to get in the habit of using diapers in the car...even if I think he might nap
We are going on a big 8 hour road trip to BC in June...same as above, but hoping he WILL nap
I'm considering training him through his nap time...not 100% convinced yet! But going to at least give it a try, especially with the pooping in the nap diaper thing
He did finally have a nap yesterday with no diaper, slept 1.5 hours and predictably woke up wet. Not a lot though, just a little, and then had a huge pee in the potty after

So am I sold on this 3 Day Method? Absolutely. So grateful for friends and their suggestions and advice! If you're interested here's the gist of it:

You must remember to be positive and patient. This method does not involve discipline or punitive measures whatsoever.
In all honesty, this is NOT for the lazy parent. It takes 3 days of pretty intense focus and dedication to your child. But as I say with sleep training - short term pain, long term gain.
The author states all children are ready at 22 months, verbal or not. For me, I just knew Braden was ready and the timing in our lives was right to do it
As the title suggests, dedicate 3 days to stay at home and be at your child's side
Say goodbye to the internet and "you" time for those 3 days, stick by your child at.all.times. Repeat - at all times!
She suggests training for naps and at nights...but I decided not too, if you want more info on training through sleep, please email me!
Supplies: potty chair (using big toilet is fine too), lots and LOTS of underwear/panties, lots of fluids for your child to drink, lots of rewards/treats
Keep potty chair in bathroom - to associate going to the bathroom...in the bathroom!
Only wear a shirt and their underwear for the training days (them - not you! :)
On the morning of training, take off that diaper and put on their underwear
This is a huge step: PACK AWAY ALL THE DIAPERS (if using cloth) OR THROW THEM ALL AWAY (if using disposables) AND GET YOUR CHILD TO HELP/DO ALL THE WORK!! This is SO key! It really helped Braden make that association and he said "bye bye diapers" and then I could remind him of that if he asked for a diaper during training
I also moved the change table out of his room that morning, another diaper-related association that I wanted gone
For you: get rid of all your "emergency" diapers in the car, diaper bag, etc to avoid temptation of YOU reverting back to using diapers
Do NOT use any type of "pull up" cloth or disposable, no more diapers
Now take your child to the bathroom, show them the potty and explain to them that their "pee pee and poop" now goes into the potty
Tell your child to "keep your underwear dry!" and give them frequent reminders/quizzes throughout the day and give LOTS of praise when their underwear is dry
Frequently say to your child "tell mommy when you have to go pee" as opposed to asking them "do you have to go pee?" we want THEM to tell US when they have to go
Do not take them to the potty on a timed schedule or even to "try"
Offer plenty of fluids, we want them to have to pee lots!
Remember to FOCUS on your child...you want to spot the second they are having an accident, when they do scoop them up, carry them to the potty and say "your underwear isn't dry anymore" and set them on the potty to see if they will be able to finish
Keep reminding them to keep their underwear dry, it may take 20+ times but they will eventually get it - I promise!
One thing I had trouble with - don't remind them "if you pee on the potty - you get a treat!" don't try to coerce them to pee, it's negative and we want to stay positive
When they do pee in the potty - PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE! Remind them that their underwear is still dry, they're such a big boy/girl whatever works for you. Call daddy, call grandma, share the good news and get them really excited
Throughout the day(s) keep asking them if their underwear is dry and to have them tell you when they need to pee. Seriously - I said both these things every 5-10 minutes for 3 days straight! But it really stuck and he loved checking to see that his underwear was dry!
Some kids don't get it until the end of the 3rd day - but they will
As weird as it sounds, accidents help them learn, it finally "clicked" with Braden when he had his 3 small accidents in a row, and then finally released it all and had a big pee in the potty and he was SO proud of himself, and of course I was too!
Try as hard as you can to stay positive, when they do have accidents, even when Braden still does say "Braden, remember to tell mommy you have to pee in the potty, okay? Pee goes in the potty."

From my personal experience with Braden:

don't use any devices to "keep" them on the potty, like I did the first day with the iPad
I found he "got it" when he peed in his little potty - he could literally see his results, whereas when he went in the big potty it's like he didn't know he'd done anything, he REALLY liked to empty his pee/poop in the big potty and flush it away
reading him "The Potty Book" months and months ahead of time, with his learning skills, really helped him to get the idea of the potty down. Luckily he really loved "The Potty Movie" too
the fancy charts I made for him...not worth it. Maybe it's a "boy" thing, but he didn't give one lick about the stickers on the chart!
you can read about my pre-potty training thoughts here

I am no expert, nor am I associated or affiliated with the 3 Day Method. If you would like more info, please visit the website, but I am happy to answer any questions I can too! There are a lot of special circumstances that I have not covered.

I also wanted to note that I update on Facebook a lot so please go on over and like my page! I love to feel the like!

You can also read about potty training day #1, potty training day #2, and potty training day #3.

My Nameless Baby

2012-05-25T07:17:00.000-06:00

Perhaps, much to your surprise, when this baby is born, s/he will not be legally named Squishy. It's an in utero nickname and that's it. We called Braden "Ferris" in utero, and he has NEVER been called that since, under very strict rules by me!

You have 23 weeks left, Sarah! Chill!

[Source]

Is what you might be thinking. I know! But we had had many a discussion on baby names last time around, and our names were locked in at 17 weeks. Now, I'm 17 weeks and we've had about 3.5 discussions on baby names. I just feel so far behind with this baby and this pressure to pick a name already! We have girl names, though Jay keeps bringing up a certain girl name that I have vetoed again & again. We cannot for the life of us agree on a boy name. Not one.single.boy name. But neither of us are really sold on a particular boy name individually. We like a lot of the popular names from last year, but that's the thing. They are so popular. But if we do choose a name in the top 5 or 10, those names aren't necessarily popular where we live and I'll have to just be happy with that. I guess in my insecurities I don't want people to think "oh, another '#1 on the baby boy list name' again".

It was the same with Braden. Braden's always a name that I've loved, but working in a children's hospital, it was a name that we saw so so so often. The popularness kind of "ruined" it for me. But then I reasoned with myself that it is not a popular name where we live...so that kind of justified the decision. The other thing with Braden's name...I feel like it was "the" name and nothing else will ever live up to it. It's such a strong, great name paired with James. But also, according to the "most disliked baby names of 2011", anything with "Aiden" in it, is disliked - Braden, Aiden, Kaden, Jayden, Hayden, etc. Whatever - I love it!

I wish I could get really excited about this baby's name. I feel so guilty! But, on the bright side I do have 23 weeks left! But every time I get a little excited about a name, I suggest it to Jay...and "veto". I just feel lots of pressure, especially if we have another boy, to name him as great as I feel we did Braden...as well as to have a name that goes well with Braden. If my feelings and vibes are right...we have a great girl's name that we'll get to use and hopefully that will be the end of that!

And also, if you haven't guessed by now, we don't discuss baby names publicly! Boring, I know! Team Green and no baby names to get excited about for you! All a big surprise and secret!

Did you have a really hard time deciding on your baby's name(s)? How did you and your husband decide?

Seeding 2012

2012-05-24T07:30:00.000-06:00

So the farmer in the title of this blog finished seeding/planting this year on Tuesday! It was a wonderful seeding season, it's not often they're done this early, and especially having so much moisture (including SNOW!) at the beginning of May! They finished Tuesday before lunch, and by supper it was raining, so it was just perfect! In the last few passes, Jay called me out to take Braden for one last tractor ride and to take some pictures. I can't believe I hadn't taken any pictures of seeding yet this year! Talk about last minute!

And I am a little bit, a lot in love with these pics of Braden walking out to the tractor with his Papa!

Three generations of Schultz boys!

Daddy & Braden ready to go seeding!

Braden's first seeding, 3.5 months old:

Rain clouds looming over by our house!

If you look closely, you can see Braden in there!

And one last picture with a vintage effect.

So, seeding is officially done and now I can have my husband back and start taking some shifts at work again!

The Biggest Pregnancy Brain Moment EVER!

2012-05-23T07:10:00.000-06:00

In the history of womankind. I swear. It happened to me. Allow me to entertain you....because this is the only reason why I am sharing this story on the interwebs. (Also, I like to laugh at myself!)

I have sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to my son ever since he was a baby. Every night before bed I sang it to him. It's simple, it's sweet. Little did I know, that Braden heard it so much and had picked up the words and liked to sing it with me! Except he calls it "tickle tickle little 'tar"! Lately he asks for it every night, but only for about the last week or so, he'll actually sing it with me. Well, over a week ago now, there were 2 nights I didn't sing it to him, because...

I FORGOT THE WORDS!!!

Can you even fathom this?!? I could not get past "Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are". For the life of me, for 2 nights in a row, I could NOT remember the words! Then, on the third night, Braden asked for it. Panic! I never usually do, but luckily I had my phone on me, I literally had to ask Siri the lyrics to the darn song. Seriously. Seriously, wouldn't and couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!


Nicely done, Sarah...nicely done!

Have you ever had this bad of a case of pregnancy brain? I dare you to share!

16 Weeks Pregnant

2012-05-21T06:59:00.000-06:00

Plus 4 days if we're getting really specific! I am so not as anal about keeping track of things as I was with my first pregnancy. It's amazing what chasing and potting training a toddler will do for your organizational skills, or lack thereof! Last time I had to take my picture every other week exactly on the day that I turned it. Never a day later or earlier. This was taken yesterday at 16w3d. Still 16 weeks, right?

I think that I ate the bag of chips, over 3 nights mind you, because I thought "if I'm going to gain weight, I might as well enjoy it dammit!" I've been good about not going crazy and caving into all of my cravings, but I'm nowhere near as strict with myself as I was when I was pregnant with Braden. Good? Bad? Who cares! I'm feeling great, think I look pretty darn good too. Round ligament pain has started, mostly on the left side. I do have to remind myself to eat or I still get a bit nauseous and feel gross. There is 100% no hiding the belly anymore....aaaaand I almost have an outie already, especially in the evenings!

I can't even say this pregnancy is "flying by". It's going at a nice pace. Not too fast, not too slow - just right. I'll regret saying this later, but I need the belly to be just a liiiiiiiiittle bit bigger, because my regular t-shirts are too short, but the maternity ones I swim in.

Here's comparison from last time, this was actually about 17 weeks, I'm so much bigger this time, same dress!

And my 16 week bare belly last time:

And this time:

I love being pregnant. I really do. Don't hate me for it! It's such a true blessing.

I also wanted to mention to head on over to my friend Melissa's blog The Mommyhood Chronicles for your chance to win a Britax car seat! These are the ONLY car seats we use for Braden and we LOVE them. We'll be buying more in about a year or so, I'd love to win another!

Cousin Lovin'

2012-05-20T13:40:00.000-06:00

This long weekend has been great so far! Ben, Jess, and Abby made their first road trip together to come see us for the weekend. They spent 2 nights and Abby did wonderful! She slept the whole car ride here and back home. Braden wouldn't stop talking about Baby Abby coming to visit, and he absolutely adored her!

He oh, so gently crawled in next to her, pointed up at the musical star, tried to give her toys, read her the books on the play gym. Heart officially melted. And then he disappeared to return to me like this:

We have been soother-free for over 3 months, he hasn't even mentioned it at all, but we gave Abby a few of his newborn soothers to use and he found them!

Then this was the look I got when I told him to give it back to baby Abby and that he doesn't use one anymore!

I tell ya...these kids are just amazing! Then we went over to the farm for a bit to celebrate Marchella's 5th birthday, so Braden got to see all EIGHT of his cousins in one day!

Sometimes Braden gets sick of being around a lot of people and would rather spend time with the tractors!

A great weekend spent with the cousins! Also, a little potty training update - for the last 2 days Braden has told us "go pee potty" and has not had one accident! He was very happy and proud to show Uncle Ben that he could pee on the potty, wash his hands with his Elmo soap, and get a potty treat. I could not be a more proud mama of how well Braden has adapted to potty training!

Potty Training Day #3

2012-05-18T08:50:00.003-06:00

What a great day, day #3 was. I had my doubts in the mid-afternoon, but in true Braden fashion, he proved his mama wrong and that he handles pretty much everything like a champ. Here's a run down on day 3:

7:00 up for the day with Daddy, Mommy up shortly after
9:00 - 11:00 multiple "tell Mommy when you have to go pee!" and "are your underwear dry?" reminders and conversations...and a few "why hasn't he peed yet?" tweets from me.
I have to break 2 rules today

#1 I had long ago promised Laura I would pick Luke from play school and have him for an hour or two until she got back from her hair appointment (not supposed to leave the house)
#2 We needed to leave our house to go to town shortly after 11:30, so at 11:20ish I had to say to him "you need to pee on the potty before we go get Luke". You're not supposed to remind them or tell them to "try", they need to learn to recognize the signs to go, BUT he did listen and went right before we left. 4.5 HOURS after he got up! And he had 2 little drinkable yogurts, 1.5 sippies of milk too! I had gone 5 times already!

12:15 the boys have lunch
1:00 I get Braden ready for his nap, and he's tired...but I kinda assume he won't settle as Luke is over and he's too excited
2:00 Laura & Luke go home and I get Braden up from his quiet time
His diaper was very wet...so I told him that that's his "sleepy time bum" and if he needs to go potty when he's awake to please tell mommy
I feared that this might be a big regression in training...but we had to see how the day would progress
I pulled out the big guns and gave him a full cup of full strength apple juice to get the pee a flowing
I did tell myself at this point that I wanted him STOP going to the BR simply because I was doing it. Any time he did go when I did, he decided on his own accord "I pee potty" but I didn't want him to associate going to the BR with someone else going too
I wanted him to have some accidents so that his brain would recognize the signs and that he has to get to the potty before he has the accident
3:30 he has a teeny tiny accident, about the size of a golf ball on his undies, good thing I kept asking and checking if his underwear was dry! We ran to the potty, I told him "yucky! Your underwear are wet! You need to pee in the potty!" all the while being very positive and upbeat, and guided him to sit down and finish peeing. He immediately got up and ran to his closet to get new undies
3:45 another tiny accident, repeat above - would NOT sit down on the potty to finish
4:15 yet another tiny accident, but this time he shouts "Need new bum!" ran to the BR all by himself, I helped him get his underwear down, he sat down by himself and had a massive pee! YAY! It "clicked!" I don't know how he had those little dribble accidents, but it took 3 of those for it to click and he finally ran to the BR to finish the job!
6:00 I hear another "Need new bum!" as I'm looking at a recipe to cook for tomorrow so I ran behind him, got him on the potty, he looks down to see the results with the BIGGEST and proudest grin you've ever seen - Mommy! Look! I DID IT!
6:15 this time a very loud "Need new bum! Pee on potty!" I thought it was odd since he had just gone, but he loves his instant potty treats so I figured if he could squeeze out a few drops - good for him! But...he had a massive POOP on the potty all by himself!
Then right before bath he had another tiny poop by himself - yay!

I'm overjoyed that he recognizes the urge to pee and poop. I so feared that he would have major poop issues, but he proved mama wrong yet again. For now we are still using the little green Ikea potty, he really likes to see his results and dispose of the same in the big potty. He really knows the routine of dumping, flushing, washing hands with his special Elmo soap, drying his hands and then potty treats!

He got a BRAND NEW talking Gordon for the big poop on the potty!

I know he might have some regressions and that it's not all figured out yet, but I am so so so pleased with this 3 day potty training method recommended to me by Katie V & Frazzalicious, I am eternally grateful to you both! I will be doing a blog post more in depth on the method itself in the future!

My little sidekick for the last 2 days. He's been very snuggly and I can tell he appreciates all the 1 on 1 time with me. It's nice to be 100% dedicated to him for the last 2 days. No, or very little, house cleaning to worry about...and to tell you the truth he's not as whiny and annoying when I'm available to him! I know why, and I can't do this every day, but it's been really nice...he's just as sweet as apple pie!

An example of how sweet he is! About 30 minutes of staying in his bed and babbling to himself, I told him over the monitor he could go read his books now. He then turned on his lamp, grabbed a few books, climbed up in the rocking chair and read. The sweetest boy alive, I tell ya!

Thanks for following along on our journey, as always, this potty training adventure in particular!

Potty Training Day #2

2012-05-16T20:51:00.002-06:00

Dearest friend Katie V forwarded me the 3 day method in a PDF file yesterday. It was super easy to read through, and asides from the nap and night training, I'm totally doing this. Following it to almost a tea. Here's our day in bullet form:

6:45 AM wake-up, Daddy gets Braden up and Braden is commando with jammie pants on
7:15 AM Mommy's out of bed and gets Braden in his underwear and jammie shirt stays on for the day
I am 100% devoted to sticking to him like glue all day, so he's happy to snuggle on the couch, loving all the mommy attention (he usually plays in the AM by himself and watches shows while I do a few things)
8:45 AM after a Danino drinkable yogurt, 1 full sippy cup of milk, and about 50 million "Braden, tell Mommy when you have to go pee in the potty"'s and "Braden are your underwear dry? Good for you!"'s (very important element to the 3 day method) I pull out the big guns and give him 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 water to try to avoid yesterday's poosplosions
9:45 AM, 3 hours and a lot more "tell Mommy when you have to go" reminders still nothing
Hawk-watching continues, he never leaves my side
10:25 AM still no pee - wow my child has remarkable bladder control! Reading books in his room, my pregnant self HAS to pee. Since, according to the method, I cannot take my eyes of my child, he comes into the BR with me, and on his own accord wants to "pee on potty". He happened to bring a book ("Are You My Mother?") with him.
10:30 AM I am on the big potty, he's on his little green one, I read about 5 pages and he stops....looks down....and pees! YAY, BRADEN!
He actually loved seeing his "results" in the little potty and really loved dumping said results in the toilet and flushing it away. Follow hand-washing, 2 potty treats, and time at the train table
I gave him another glass of 1:1 apple juice:water, and was interested to see that now that the big morning pee was out of the way, what he would do.
11:45 I have to pee again, Braden did NOT want to come in the BR with me as I was watching him play outside on the deck. I told him "you don't have to sit on the potty unless you want to, but you have to stay with Mommy so I can pee!" Again, he says "pee on potty" and we repeat reading a bit and then him peeing again!
12:15 we eat some lunch and I am constantly reminding him to tell me if he has to go and praising him for having dry underwear. All.the.live.long.day!
12:30 watching the very end of a Thomas episode before nap time he suddenly looks up at me and says "need new bum!" I could see his light grey boxer briefs turning darker grey so "I said, let's go to the potty!" as we ran there.
I sat him down on his little potty showed him that his underwear was not wet, not dry, and said "yucky! Your underwear is wet!" He took them to his hamper and then I let him run around just a little bit more before nap time, as I didn't want to associate accident = diaper
12:45 he's out cold. In the meantime I do some Pilates watching Ellen, have a much needed shower, even have time to give myself a mini-pedi minus the polish (yet!)
3:45 epic 3 hour toddler nap!!! This never happens! I guess potty training is wearing him out as much as it is me!! BUT, he wakes up in a flood...AGAIN. So frustrating and it makes him SO upset. He was drenched from diaper half way up his chest. I don't know how he slept through, it but it's like he's traumatized when he wakes up. He just would not pee, like have a really good pee before nap
5:15 he'd had a bit of water and another drinkable yogurt and so I had to pee (as per usual) I didn't say anything to him other than to come to the BR because I had to go potty, took off his underwear, he sat down for 2.5 seconds, left, turned off the light in the BR leaving me peeing in the dark! Told him to please come back and turn the light on, he did, sat down on the potty and peed! With the biggest grin on his face!
5:55 we did a "no no" of the 3 day training and left the house to go for supper at my in-laws. It was a quick supper and we were home by 6:30.
6:30 time for a bath, and he happily peed on the potty AGAIN (that's #4 if you've lost count!) and had his bath.
Lately he's liked to stall after bed time, but I figure I can use this to my advantage now. He DESPERATELY wanted another potty treat before bed, he was clean and naked, so he sat down to pee again. He grunted/strained for 15 seconds or so...nothing. Paced a bit, tried to convince me to give him a treat for trying, sits back down on the potty and has a fart...."good toot, Braden!".....has another, bigger fart...

He pooped on the potty!!!

Oh we have both never been so happy to see poop in our life! I did not anticipate this happening on day 2, especially at the end of the day, but I am so happy and so proud of him!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Katie V for sending me the 3 day method! I am 100% sold! He only had 1 accident, 4 pees, and 1 poop today! His accident wasn't even that big. Here are my thoughts about PT so far, things that will eventually have to change:

all but the last time he peed, I also was peeing on the toilet beside him
I read him a book 2 of the 4 times he peed....but I think he does need to sit and "think" about it a bit and won't pee the minute his butt hits the potty
I LOVE how excited he is when he sees his results in the little potty - Mom, you were right!
He loves calling Daddy to tell him how good he is doing!
The trains are fun to play with, but he is LOVING the M&M/Smartie potty treats he gets immediately after he does his business
I'm hoping in the next few days he'll just run to the potty or tell me that he needs to go, all on his own
He asked on his own accord to watch "The Potty Movie" 4 times today. I can tell he's paying attention because in the movie the character Henry can put his own slippers on...so Braden took me to his closet and requested to wear his Thomas slippers...just like Henry! He also chose for me to read to him "The Potty Book" all by himself!

Thank you again for reading and for your kind words of encouragement!

Also, I just wanted to note that all of my trains for Braden as rewards are 50% off from mamabargains.com, up to 70% off from eBay, or ones that he already has but thinks are new because I took them away a month ago! So he's not reeeeeally a spoiled brat. For those non-Thomas mommies out there, brand new wooden trains in the store cost anywhere from $12-$30 depending on if you hit a sale!

Potty Training Day #1

2012-05-15T21:24:00.000-06:00

Well, we started the day by saying "bye bye, diapers!" He has been very happy to "hep you, Mommy" lately, so he packed away all his medium cloth diapers (minus nap and bedtime diapers)...and happily bid adieu to them.

Then he used his big, strong muscles to help me get rid of his change table. We moved it next door for baby Abby to use and eventually for his baby sister/brother to use. I didn't explain all that to him, he wouldn't have cared anyway. He doesn't seem to get emotionally attached to objects much.

Then, the fun began. Braden rarely gets juice. If I'm grabbing lunch on the go from McD's he'll get an apple juice or chocolate milk. I also have a new tradition that he gets an apple juice box after swimming to keep him entertained while I change. Other than that, I never have juice in our house for him, he loves his water or milk just fine. SO, I knew he would be thrilled to be drinking apple juice all day.

He probably gulped down 2 half glasses instantly then I stopped him before things got out of control!

Braden has been going diaper-less in the mornings for a few weeks now. It airs out his bum and he can hold his urine for 2-4 hours. He even asked me on the weekend for "new bum" just so he could have his first AM pee in his diaper! That's how I know he's ready for potty training.

One of his rewards is getting to play with his new train table! I assembled the table last night, but thought it would be fun for us to do the tracks together this AM.

Enter accident #1. It was about 2 hours after Jay got him up, so I figured I had a teensie bit more time...but I *should* have just taken him to the potty. Peed in his underwear on the area rug, looked so sad and said "Mommy! Need new bum!" So I whisked him away to the potty, took his wet undies off on the potty and said "it's okay, Braden! Pee goes in the potty! Next time!" He took his wet undies to the hamper, picked out new ones, and came to help me clean up his accident and threw away the paper towels in the trash.

Accident #2. Maybe I should have made him sit on the potty longer when he had his accident...but very shortly after he had his new undies on he had a tiny spot on his undies, just enough to wet the front. I explained to him that they were "wet" and needed to stay dry. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Success #1! At 11:30 on that fine Tuesday morning, my boy peed on the potty! We are using our big toilet, with a toddler seat built into the toilet lid, if that makes any sense at all. I used the iPad and Caillou on Netflix to get him to stay - otherwise he won't. I'll deal with "weaning" him from the iPad a bit later. I hooted and hollered, he happily said "bye bye, pee!" as he flushed the toilet, he was so happy to wash his hands, receive 2 Smarties as instant rewards, and THEN he got to go get a brand new train to play with on his train table. He picked James.

He was really thrilled to use his train table, as I've taken away ALL his trains and he also has time to play on the train table as a reward after he pees.

Accident #3. I should have known better, but it was so nice out and he really wanted to play outside, so I let him...and he had a big pee accident. I didn't keep track of my times as much as I should have, but it seemed really early to take him to the potty! I gave him another 1/2 glass of apple juice, and made us a gourmet lunch of Zoodles and right after lunch....

Success #2! Pretty much the same as success #1. He sure doesn't pee RIGHT AWAY when he sits down, I'd say maybe 5-10 minutes?? Normal? No? But it was a big pee and this time he got to play with Kevin the crane!

Since we were right on the heels of nap time, I let him go nude. He enjoyed playing with the train table a bit more, then suddenly ran to the potty saying "new bum!" Before I could even get up, get came back with his James underwear, so I just assumed he didn't want to be naked and needed his "new bum" on....which formerly was his term for new diaper.

He farted. Boys fart. Braden farts all the time. Whatever.

1 minute later....he had a BIG, wet, ~~fart~~.... poop.

Poop Accident #1. Was totally not anticipating this today. He is a every 3-4 day pooper and he just pooped 2 days ago. The poor guy was SO devastated! He did NOT like having his underwear full of poop. Took him to the potty, dumped his poop in the potty and told him that's where his poop goes, although he does know this from multiple times of me cleaning his cloth diapers. P.S. Thank GOODNESS for diaper sprayers to clean messy underwear!

Nap time. Put on his usual nap diaper and told him it was his "sleepy bum" only for when he goes to sleep. He slept 1.5 hours and woke up screaming. Poor guy was SOAKED from head to toe. Oops, mommy fail. Too much juice. My boy pees like a race horse (whatever does that mean anyway!?) when he has "crap" sugary drinks...which is one of the reasons why I did want to use apple juice!

Success #3! I did put him on the potty once, about an hour after he got up...I figured he probably didn't have that much urine left after the big flood at nap time, and he didn't do anything. Took him awhile later (time is a blur) and he did it! He didn't seem to actually know he was peeing, or he certainly didn't care anyway, but he LOVED getting a brand new Alfie as a reward.

It was by far his favorite prize of the day. He actually switched from watching Caillou to watching old episodes of Thomas with the construction characters in it.

Then by my mommy fail and too much apple juice...he had 2 "poop smear" accidents...really embellished wet farts, if you will stand my disgustingness in talking all that is poop and potty. APPLE JUICE IS A LAXATIVE FOR YOUR TODDLER, SARAH! SMARTEN UP!!! I just clued into that after the 2nd smear. What have I done to my poor kid. I felt so bad, I felt like I failed him! Those little accidents didn't really seem to bother him, but he DID tell me that he was wet so we did the change, clean, new underwear routine and he was really getting it.

Then he had no.more.accidents all afternoon! Mind you, he did only pee that once. I swear we were off and on the potty for an hour, and delayed bedtime by 45 minutes to try and get that last pee out, with no success.

Overall...pretty happy with day #1! I'm not reeeeeeally following a method. Just pointers that I've learned from Laura and my friend Katie. Laura did "less than a day" and Katie did "3 day". Going to review both and pick the points that I like. The thing I don't like about "less than a day" is that Braden has to undress and take himself to the potty. I totally see the benefit and reward...but Braden can't undress himself. He just can't. Not yet.

I feel like I am doing something wrong? I am so proud of him and I know he'll "get it"...I just feel like I should be/could be doing something better for him? I guess children have been potty trained since the beginning of time and I should just stop stressing so much! Also, today I did 4 loads of laundry (not all folded), cleaned my kitchen, vacuumed & washed my floors, and made dinner for everyone...and rotated my sprinklers 3 times. I did a LOT of that stuff during his nap and right after he did have a success...but I need to dedicate myself 100% to him tomorrow and I don't have to worry because my house is CLEAN and I don't have to cook supper!

Well, here's to you...day #2!

Mother's Day & Abigail's Shower

2012-05-14T16:25:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we got to celebrate two wonderful occasions. Mother's Day and Abigail's baby shower! I co-hosted the shower with Jessica's Auntie Roxanne and it was a lot of fun! We had a loose theme of a Mother's Day tea, so almost all the guests brought their moms and it was a lot of fun. Abigail slept through almost the whole thing and was a little angel when she was awake.

But before I get more into the shower. We went to visit GG yesterday morning to deliver her Braden's handmade card which she loved!

It was nice to be with all my "mommies" on Mother's Day, other than my MIL but we did give her her card the day before so it was nice to do that. Then it was off to Beaumont for the shower!

Jess and her mom:

And me obviously making a silly face or noise to try to get Braden to smile...

And me and my handsome little man! I'm just so happy he looked at the camera! And here's a look at Mother's Day's past. Sad I couldn't keep up with the flower frame, thanks a lot Picnik!

15 Weeks

2012-05-13T07:17:00.000-06:00

Technically I'm 15 weeks 3 days, but you get the drift. I'm at this super awkward belly-growing stage where most of my normal shirts don't fit me, mostly because of a rounding belly and a really long torso that doesn't accommodate most "normal" shirts for their length anyway... But I'm absolutely swimming in most of my maternity clothes! Give 'er another month, I guess!

And here's some pregnancy stuff lately...

heartburn + Zantac have found their way into my life again, had a really bad evening last night
I don't drink near enough water, one of the reasons is that I fear I will pee even MORE but I know it's good for me
craving Earl Grey vanilla tea like nobody's business when it's cold/rainy/dreary out
enjoying Sanpellegrino Italian sodas for that fizz without all the crap from pop once in awhile
exercising more, got out on my bike and going for walks
1/2 triathlon in just less than 6 weeks
I think I'm getting the teeny tiny beginnings of little red "spider veins" on my sides that will probably turn to stretch marks. I am vain. I do not want them. I didn't get a one on my belly with Braden, so I really don't want them this time! First world problem, I know.
starting to feel the baby move as of last week! Was thinking it was getting more consistent, especially in the evenings when I'm (trying to) relax a bit, but also after really sugary stuff - like Tim Horton's new frozen lemonade - hold off on SO much sugar Tim's! But it still isn't super consistent movement
it doesn't scare me that I'm 15 weeks...it scares me more that there's less than 25 weeks left!
I am only weighing myself at my every-4-weekly appointments and trying hard not to get pissed off at the numbers...I can feel I'm gaining so much faster with Squishy
my skin is still AWFUL. Must be a girl, only a girl would do this to me, right?
sleeping really well, but still can't get to bed most nights before 10:30-11
nausea is completely gone unless I'm stupid and forget to eat in the morning
I keep forgetting to take my prenatal vitamins and my prenatal omega 3's...meh
starting to get round ligament pain more often
sometimes get cervical pains, not sure why but they don't last long

I think that's about it for my up-to-15 weeks update! I just had to share some pictures for my non-IG friends from our shopping trip to Walmart yesterday. My gangsta Cookie Monster boy! He was SO excited to wear this hat I got for him from H&M.

The Zoo Zoo Zoo

2012-05-12T07:09:00.000-06:00

I love the zoo. I always have. When my family went to California to go to Disneyland when I was 13 I begged and pleaded to go to the San Diego Zoo, but I was outvoted and ended up going to Sea World. Not a bad compensation, but I LOVE THE ZOO. I always asked Jay to take me to the zoo for dates, but I think we ended up only going once when we were living in Edmonton. This will mark the 3rd time that I've taken Braden to the zoo, and this year I decided to get a season's pass! Braden is free until next year, so I hope we'll have lots of fun at the zoo this year!

Our token giraffe picture!

Look at this gorilla! He looked so cozy yet so uncomfortable at the same time!

And quite possibly the best part of the zoo trip was Uncle Craig pushing the boys in the wagon. The belly laughs from these two had everyone smiling as we passed them!

Oh...but then the playground was pretty amazing too!

I am loving the colors of this tunnel! And also, my child always has his goofy tongue hanging out of his mouth now too!

And then my big boy decided to play in the "recommended for ages 3-5 play ground" ooooh! He had so much fun! Most of the animals were sleeping like lumps on a bum, so hopefully next time we go they'll be a little more active. But, if anything...he loved the playground! Next time I'm going to park at the mall and take the train to the zoo - double the enjoyment!

Look at the boys last year!

And here's a collage of mommy, Braden, et giraffe for the last 3 years! He was 4 months, 16 months, and 2 years 3 months.

My First Garden

2012-05-10T01:14:00.000-06:00

My very first garden! Jay rototilled me a garden last fall and then did it again this spring and had it all fertilized ready for me to plant. Since the guys were back out seeding on Tuesday, I decided it was a great day to seed too! (This picture is actually BEFORE I planted!)

Braden really loved being outside and he stuck close by for almost an hour...then got bored and decided to go up to the house.

Don't mind our patchy grass, it's coming slowly but surely!

This year I planted corn, peas, carrots, green beans, romaine lettuce, red potatoes, & some parsley! We will soon have a tomato plant inside...but I think our weather is too fussy, and so are tomatoes, I'd kill them if they lived outside!

Braden actually had his first nap, all on his own that day, so when he was asleep, I took the monitor outside with me, finished up my planting, came in and had a shower all before he woke up super happy! It was such a great day. And as one of my IG friends pointed out, not but 3 days earlier we had a snow storm. Now we were outside in shorts and I even got some color on my shoulders & arms when I was wearing my tank top. Thanks for the great weather, Alberta!

Happy Nurse's Week!

2012-05-09T06:55:00.000-06:00

If you didn't already know, or couldn't guess by the title of this blog, I'm a nurse. Why am I a nurse? I wanted to be like my grandma. So much like my grandma that I ended up marrying a farmer too! I think it's why I've always had such a special bond with her. As I was nearing the end of high school and childhood dreams were left behind, just as that - a dream...I had to become serious as to what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to go to university and I wanted to have a good, steady job. I knew I wanted to work in health care, also encouraged by my grandma. In high school I had my heart set on pharmacy. After acing chemistry 10...and struggling a bit with chem 20, I decided that I had better focus my energies on a different career path! After challenging my grade 12 bio and social studies diplomas to get even better grades, my hard work paid off and I got into nursing.

I actually did my first 2 years of school in a rural program (it was meant to be!) made life-long friends, and then transferred to the University of Alberta to finish my degree. I like that Nursing Week is in May. It always reminds me of my nurse-iversary! I graduated and have been working as an RN for 7 years already! How is this possible?! I was in shock that it was my 10 year high school reunion last year, well 7 years working seems a lot more unreal than 10 years out of high school! I could not imagine myself in another career. Seriously. I don't know what, or who I'd be, if I wasn't a nurse. I'm very proud of it, and absolutely love my job.

I get the best of both worlds, you see. I get to work part time as a nurse in my dream job in ER, and part time as a stay-at-home-mommy. I'm a nurse for the stereotypical reasons, you could say. I love to help people, I love to teach my patients, and I have a very soft spot for the pediatric population. There's many moments where I do not like my job as a nurse, but the good always outweighs the bad.

Here's some funnies I found to celebrate Nurse's Week!

Source: someecards.com via Sarah on Pinterest

For my ER girls:

Source: someecards.com via Sarah on Pinterest

The truth:

Source: Uploaded by user via Sarah on Pinterest

And...sorry my children, but it's true!

Source: sn123w.snt123.mail.live.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Happy Nurse's Week to my friends & family who are nurses and to my wonderful blogging friends who also share this profession!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Favorite From April

2012-05-08T07:08:00.000-06:00

I haven't participated in awhile, but this was my favorite picture from April...as you might have been able to tell from the new sidebar picture of Braden and button that I made!

Linking up with The Paper Mama.

One Week In

2012-05-07T06:37:00.000-06:00

Yesterday at church, the lady leading the service asked us if we wanted to share any praises or good that we had witnessed or that had happened to us the last week. I was very close to standing up to say:

"A week ago today, I stood here in tears. I was emotional (and probably hormonal!) and was so sad to see my "baby" growing up so fast. He sprung this milestone of getting rid of his crib and moving him into a toddler bed that day, and I felt like I wasn't ready. It seems so trivial and insignificant, to the bigger battles people are facing in this room and in the world today, but it scared me and all I could think of were the bad things. That he wasn't going to be a good sleeper anymore, that he'd wake up at night, that it would be a mess. But God provides. Even in the smallest and seemingly most insignificant moments in our lives. I leaned on Him, I prayed a week ago today as I held a sleeping Braden in my arms, that God would be with him, to give us both strength so that we could get through this new time in our lives. It was such a big change, but God provided, and this last week went better than I ever could have imagined."

But I didn't. I know the people in our church would welcome any story of praise, or any story that we wanted to share, but I just kept it to myself and silently thanked Him for comforting in my time of need. Braden has been sleeping wonderfully. The first 3 nights I stayed with him until he fell asleep, but ever since then, he has fallen asleep on his own. Last night he was so tired, it was the first night that he went to bed, stayed in bed, and went right to sleep.

Naps. Are a different story. He's only had 2 naps this entire week, and only because I've stayed with him and rubbed his back until he fell asleep. This is NOT a habit I want to get into, so from now on I'm going to leave him to his own devices and just pray that he is tired enough to learn to nap on his own. Has NOT happened yet, even on his most tired days, he just won't settled. Still hoping the novelty of his new freedom will wear off, like it has at night, and he will just want to and need to nap eventually. I know he's not ready to give up naps, but maybe he will just "make" himself not need to nap? Oh well, no other solution really

I am still thankful every day that we sleep trained Braden. I know it's not for everyone, but without good sleep, me, Jay, & Braden would NOT function well together.

A Day "With" Thomas

2012-05-06T15:16:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was supposed to be grand. It was supposed to rival the best day of his life. I had been looking forward to taking Braden to "A Day With Thomas" for over 6 months. Pretty much as soon as his Thomas obsession started I was scouring the internet looking for Thomas activities and hoping that he had a live show or something I could take Braden to one day. Enter: A Day With Thomas. They transform various railway parks around Canada and the US into the "Island of Sodor" so that kids can enjoy their day with Thomas. A life size Thomas can take your kids on a 20 minute train ride, there are sing-a-longs and activities, and you can even meet Sir Topham Hatt!

Friday's weather was gorgeous. We were sitting around outside at a friend's house Friday night while he finished up on the BBQ. The forecast for Saturday...stank. It stank all week. And it didn't change. And today? Gorgeous. Windy, but the sun is out and it's a far cry from yesterday. Two nice days sandwiched a snowy, rainy, mucky day. Yes, you read that correctly. SNOW. May 5th, Cinqo de Mayo, snow. Even living in Canada all my life, I could not believe it. This was the scene as we entered the park:

It might not "look" that bad, but it was. It was awful and unbearable. I was prepared for rain, but not for snow and slush. As we entered the park, I handed the guy our tickets, and when he asked me how I was, I replied, "wet, cold, & miserable". Poor guy.

Braden could not handle the slush in his Thomas rain boots. He slipped after we went into the bathroom and his fleece-lined jeans were absolutely drenched and frozen. I felt like the Worst Mother Ever. As we approached the train, he looked up at me and said (for the first time) "I cold, Mommy!" He never complains about the weather. He'd live outside if I let him. Again - Worst Mother Ever. Then as soon as he saw this:

He shouted "T'as! T'as! T'as!" And was so thrilled. We didn't even stay for our train ride, it was that miserable and gross out. Plus, how could I let him walk around in frozen, wet jeans for any longer than I did?

I am so disappointed. He would have had so much fun. I'm debating going back next weekend after swimming lessons...but there's no guarantee we'd get a train ride because we didn't buy our tickets in advance. The train is always there, so we will go back on a nice day this summer, but Day With Thomas is only here today and next weekend. I guess my saving grace is that he didn't "know" all that was to be that day. I couldn't prep him in advance of the day that was supposed to be. Hopefully he still likes Thomas next year and we can try again!

No Swimming For You!

2012-05-04T08:48:00.002-06:00

So I was a "bad" mom and didn't but Braden in swimming lessons the last 2 sessions. I did 2 in a row, when he was 4 months old and then just over a year old, so he repeated the same class twice. Well, now that I've waited a full year to put him in swimming again, he's the "old guy" in his class full of little babies! But that's okay! He will pass with flying colors, so it's okay to miss one lesson...right?

Why are we missing class? I've waited over half a year it seems to take Braden to A Day With Thomas, which happens to be tomorrow! We are going with Laura & Luke and those little boys are going to FLIP OUT when they see Heritage Park transformed into "The Island of Sodor"! Okay...maybe I'm more excited than they will be?

So for now...swimming will have to wait until next Saturday!

Oh, and also...today the sun is finally shining, we're praying that it will stay so that the fields will dry up and the guys can get seeding again. But with the rainy weather, I took advantage of it, got my hair colored and cut yesterday...which also happened to be 14 weeks for me and Squishy! Crazy hey!?!?

So, Video Monitors are HILARIOUS!

2012-05-03T08:22:00.001-06:00

...and a necessity for toddler bed training! I never used a video monitor up until this point. Just for me and my family, I didn't see the point of one...really ever. When they're newborn all they do is lie there and cry, you go in. As they get older, I can see why it would be neat to have one, to see if they're actually awake or if they're just unsettled, to see if they're standing up in their cribs, etc. But I still didn't see the need to buy one. Well, God must have known that I would need one one day, and it just so happens that last year I won this awesome Tommee Tippee monitor from a blog giveaway, and I can't see getting through toddler bed training without one! And this is why:

EPIC. NAP. FAIL.

I was SO MAD when I found this. This was "nap" time on day #2. I knew he wasn't going to sleep but he wasn't being that noisy, so I didn't think much was going on. Plus, day #1 he took about 6 books off his shelf and quietly read them for the hour of quiet time. Well I wasn't prepared for the above, that a Toddler Tornado would take over my son during his supposed "nap time". I know I got tons of belly laughs from the people I shared this with. My I can just picture my brother Ben and my best friend's husband Steve with big belly laughs saying "wayta go, buddy!" And I do laugh now, I even laughed an hour later, but mommy lesson learned!

So I set up that video monitor pronto and used it for the first time for the designated nap time the next day. I gotta admit, looking into the screen I kept waiting for one of those scary ghosts to pop up and scare me.

The really cool thing about this monitor is that you can talk to your child through the baby unit. It worked really well! Laura was over that afternoon and she caught him climbing up on his change table. So I spoke to him through the monitor for the first time and said "Braden! You get down from there please!" He suddenly stopped, looked around and had this "how did she know!?" look on his face. Then he figured out that my voice was coming from the baby unit. Actually....he didn't think it was my voice at all....

He totally, 100% thinks that it's my mom when I talk through the video monitor! It's quite hilarious and we're all getting such a kick out of it! I'm really enjoying the monitor and I can calmly reassure him in the morning that "Mommy's coming soon!" so he knows it's okay. It was time to start sleep training again, this time for the toddler bed.

Daddy read him stories last night and I came in to sing a song with him. I told him that he had to go to bed by himself tonight and that I loved him. He cried not even the 30 seconds it took me to leave his room and go turn on the monitor. It took him quite awhile to even get out of his bed, he was so distracted/entertained by his new Thomas decals we put on his wall yesterday I could hear him talking to his trains. He ended up getting out of bed twice, running to the door, but all the while remaining calm and happy. I think it took between 1/2 hour and 45 minutes for him to settle and fall asleep. My boy has ALWAYS liked to be very comfortable, so I couldn't imagine him falling asleep in front of the door or or on the floor anywhere....this is how I found him:

How did I get so lucky? I was so nervous and anxious about this transition, but he has made it so easy on not only himself, but on me too. I'm so proud of him! I think with his history of sleep training, he just knew it was bed time and that he'd eventually have to fall asleep. There was no crying, kicking, screaming, he didn't fight it at all. And as my Mom says, I think the novelty of the freedom of the toddler bed will soon wear off and he'll just want to sleep there.

I know nap times will take awhile, as he was pretty inconsistent with them before the bed, as my friend Katie told me, it takes awhile for them to learn the toddler bed nap! But at night, I couldn't ask for better. He sleeps his usual 12ish hours a night, straight through, we did decide to keep his door locked, he knows he needs to stay in his room when the door is shut and there's no fussing, crying or fighting it. He just calls out for me when he's done and that is that! Thanks for all your support and kind words this week!

*Note: This was not an official review for Tommee Tippee, nor am I affiliated with them, I do love their products though!*

Braden's Big Boy Room

2012-05-02T14:48:00.003-06:00

I've had a few people ask me if I plan to keep the jungle theme in Braden's room. In light of his love of Thomas, I have decided to mainly do a Thomas room for him. I found the toddler bed on Kijiji a long time ago and snarfed it up because it was only $50, mattress included. My mom's friend bought him Thomas toddler bedding in the States for $30, that kind of thing is unheard of and unavailable in Canada - so I'm very thankful for friends of friends who travel to the States!

Today Braden was very excited to see that I had Thomas "steekers" (decals) for his walls above around his bed! So he helped me with that and really enjoyed it!

I just ordered 2 Thomas valances off of Etsy, but instead of doing all Thomas, I'm doing a "mutt" room for him. I'm keeping his jungle decals on the wall and I will keep an "ode to his nursery" on that side of the room. Other than that, all my Zoofari nursery items will be gone! I ordered these prints off Etsy:

[source]

And even though Braden doesn't know of Star Wars yet, you have to start them young and how could I resist getting him these ADORABLE prints, also from Etsy? I've been coveting them for over a year!

[source]

I would have loved to get all 8, but I chose 4 because of the price. I chose Luke, Chewie, Yoda, & R2! I'm trying to find some Thomas prints, but it's just not really working out for me! The ones on Etsy are too expensive, maybe I'll have to just print some and frame them myself? But maybe the decals are enough? His room just seems so BIG without his crib in in, we have 10' walls so I feel the need to FILL his room....but maybe less is more? Once I take down the wooden animals off his wall it's going to seem so bare! The only thing I can think of his hanging this from the ceiling and putting his stuffies in it:

[source]

What do you think? I'm not sure...can't decide! Anywho here's a few more pictures from today of my "big boy".

Oh...and just this happened today:

Braden is having his first nap in his toddler bed as I blog this!!!

Braden's First Night in his Toddler Bed

2012-04-30T07:51:00.000-06:00

Before I get to talking about how bedtime went, I'll talk about nap time. Firstly, my boy who usually gets 12 hours of sleep per night, only got 9 the night before. We went to church and he was more fussy and impatient than usual, but stayed awake on the ride home. We let him play a bit on the deck outside, while I scrambled to get his "big boy" room ready! He helped get his crib out of his room, and I'm so happy that he wasn't mourning the loss of his crib at all. I know that he loved his crib, but I'm very happy that he obviously didn't form a special "bond" with his crib and wasn't sad to see it go at all. We enjoyed playing in his room, I said excitedly "look at your big bed in your room! Wow!" and he seemed truly happy about it!" Look how big his room is without that crib!

"So much more room for your activiites!" Said Jay (for all you Step Brothers fans out there!) We spent extra time in his room and read extra stories. Had our snuggles and I sang to him and rocked him. I told him I was going to sing to him one more song, and then it was time to rest in his big bed. He seemed fine with that. But...then he didn't like being in his bed at all. Great! I sat on the floor by his bed, encouraging him to lie down and rest and Mommy would stay...but he started kicking his feet in protest. After about 10 minutes I told him Mommy had to leave now, but it's time to stay in your room and rest until Mommy comes to get you. I left his room, locked the door, and he cried/fussed for a few minutes and then there was complete silence. He was quiet and babbled at times off and on, I left at 2:30 and planned to go get him at 3:30. I got a bit caught up in my PVR episode of Grey's Anatomy, looked at the time and it was 3:37, he was starting to knock on the door and get a bit ticked. So I went it, told him he did a great job staying in his room! Then came bedtime routine.

He had tub time as per usual...and then he read stories with me...(I was too lazy to use my good camera, bear with the cell phone pics!)
And then we had some nice snuggles...Mommy was very tired too! I rocked him and sang to him one song, and unintentionally on my part he fell asleep. poor little guy was so tired. I really wanted him to fall asleep on his own, but on the other hand, putting him down asleep in his toddler bed wasn't such a bad thing because he would wake up in it and hopefully realize that it's not such a scary change afterall.

So there's my big boy in his big bed. It was a rather heart melting moment seeing him there all snuggled into his bed. He did stir and start to whimper at about 10:30 last night, but settled himself and slept right through until about 6:45 this morning! Yay! Almost 12 hours straight through! I couldn't ask for a better first night. I am not going to get in the habit of rocking him to sleep every night. It's not our style and it's just not feasible for me with a baby on the way, and plus he will not be that tired every night to just fall asleep on me. So I just hope that now that he's slept in and woken up in his bed, that he will be able to settled on his own.

I feel really good about locking him safely in his room, and by your comments here and on IG and FB it doesn't seem that I'm alone in doing that either. Thanks for all your support, it sure means a lot to me!

I just showed Braden that picture of him sleeping and I said "look, Braden! That's you sleeping in your big bed last night, you did it!" He was so proud, tapped his chest and said "'Den! I did it!" And here's a video I took this AM about going in to get him:

And no included for your weekly TAT read! This is our same bedtime routine...there is just actually a bed involved! Thanks for stopping by, stay awhile!

Another Milestone Found Us Early

2012-04-29T08:47:00.003-06:00

That's my boy. Standing on a chair, clinging to my leg as I'm doing my spring cleaning in my kitchen. Mind you, his intentions were good "I hepping Mommy!" he excitedly stated! One might call him a stage 5 clinger, right about now. I don't know if it's because I've been home with him pretty much every day in the last 2+ weeks other than to go to the odd appointment, and for a little 4 hour shift the other evening...but this boy wants his mommy. The good news is, he happily still loves all the other people in his life, but I am his "person". It seems that I have to put him down for naps, I have to put him to bed, and his new thing lately...I have to put him back to bed, after he climbs out of his crib so I can rock him and sing him to sleep. I haven't done this since he was 5 months old, I'm not even kidding. It's like he senses his impending doom of becoming a big brother in less than 6 months and he's soaking up every bit of mommy time that he can. I am cherishing these moments, my busy boy often doesn't have time to snuggle during the day, other than if an owie occurs and he needs me to kiss it better... But then last night happened. Or what I would like to dub.

"The worst night of my life as a mother, bar none."

No, it didn't end in injury, a trip to the ER, or anything worse. No one was hurt, except maybe Braden's feelings, and mine. I realize I ~~might~~ will get judged on this one from a lot of you, but we've done it with him ever since he's had a steady nighttime routine of sleeping for hours and hours in a stretch. Here's how our evening went:

7:00 PM Braden is in bed
7:45 PM Braden still awake, quietly babbling to himself as he often does
I really wanted to go for a walk with Jay and the dog, so my instincts told me to lock up the house, "just in case" Braden climbed out of his crib at night for the first time. He now likes to try to escape out the front door and garage door to be outside, fun. So I did, I locked up the house and we took the dog for a walk like we always do
8:10ish PM get home from our walk to discover that, yes indeed, Braden did get up. MOMMY FAIL. WORST MOMMY OF THE YEAR.
Thanking God that he's safe and that he wasn't upset in the least to not find us when he got up. I have no idea if he had just gotten up or had been up ever since we left
8:15 PM snuggles and hugs in his room, rocking and singing...not asleep but lay him down in the crib
8:17 PM thump.....pitterpatterpitterpatter down the hall and into the living room he comes as proud as can be that he can now escape. Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy! (he was SO cute)
8:20 - 9:50 PM various attempts at different techniques of putting him back in his crib so he'd stay there. "Super Nanny" of quietly and calmly walking him back to his crib about 10+ times did nothing. He was upset every time I left.
In different intervals I'd try rocking him to sleep and singing, no dice.
I finally resorted to putting a lever lock on the outside of his door so he'd learn he had to stay in his room. BAD IDEA. Panic instilled and it scared him so bad. ANOTHER MOMMY FAIL. I bought an extra one of these locks in anticipation of this very situation, for that when we moved him to a toddler bed, if he started getting up in the middle of the night that he couldn't wander and hurt himself and/or get into trouble - to keep him safe in his room.
at 9:50 PM after lots of crying from him, he was finally exhausted enough that I rocked him to sleep as warm, wet tears rolled off my cheeks and onto his chubby little hands that were hugging my neck

ETA: As one of my readers commented, that I hadn't stated, we live in quite a remote rural place, we can see our house at all times on our walk.

I don't know why, but last night was so hard for me as a mom. In all honesty and truthfulness, I was not frustrated or angry at Braden at all. I felt awful for him. If he felt distrust in us because we weren't there when he got out of his bed the first time...I can't blame him. I think that's why when we locked him in his room, he panicked. I only did it for 5 minutes and couldn't take it, and regretted that decision. I have never wanted bedtime to be a "torture" or to be seen as a punishment. Which is why spanking to stay in bed, is just not an option that will ever work for us. His crib/bed should be a happy and safe place to be, like it always has been. That's why I've personally chosen to never use the threat "do you want to go to bed!" because I do want him to go to bed, when the time is appropriate, and up until now he's always loved going to bed.

I am not coping well with my little boy transitioning from toddler to this supposed "big boy" he has to become. Also, I feel that all my hard work sleep training him will be thrown out the window and that he will have major regressions when we put him into his toddler bed. Gone are the days of "night night Braden" as I lay him down in his crib and he drifts off to sleep like he has since he was 5-6 months old. I saw it happen with my nephew Luke, and it's had me terrified for this milestone because of it. At no fault of my SIL, who sleep trained him like I sleep trained Braden, it was just "freedom" for Luke and I see it being the same for Braden. It turns into a game of getting up multiple times from the new toddler/big bed at bedtime, and then it can turn into getting up in the middle of the night, or waking up and getting up at the crack of dawn every.single.day.

I was hoping to transition him at the end of the summer, when he was more mentally mature and would hopefully "understand" better that he has to stay in his bed because it is bedtime. He's been going through such a whirlwind of changes that I really do not want to lay this on him now, but I feel like I have no choice but to put him in a toddler bed, starting today. I plan on reading my SleepEasy book again today for their tips on getting him into a toddler bed, and I know I'm not supposed to do it when he's teething or when he's going through a big milestone, such as a language explosion, which he is...but I don't think it's safe to have him climbing out of his crib all the time.

Big changes are upon us and in all honesty, I am not looking forward to them at all. I'm a firm believer that our children feed off our moods a lot, so I will put on my brave face and stay positive for Braden, I really will. But I don't want to let go of toddlerhood just yet.

In light of this new milestone and with upcoming plans to be gone for Mother's Day, at least we can put off potty training until the third week of May.

Again, I ask you for help. How did you make the transition from crib to toddler/big bed? Was your child an escape artist like I think mine will be, how did you handle it?

P.S. I have wonderful readers who are always kind and supportive. I'm not looking to be judged at this time about leaving Braden to go for a walk last night, so please hold back those comments if you wanted to make them. Last night was seriously one of the hardest nights of my life as mom.

Getting Serious About Potty Learning/Training

2012-04-28T14:28:00.001-06:00

He's 2 years and 3 months old today. Time to grow up, kid!! As much as I love my cloth diapers, mama is SO ready to have a break from diapering and doing all the laundry that comes with it. A 5+ month break would be just AWESOME, okay buddy?

The reason why I had a goal of 2 years, 3 months in mind to seriously potty train Braden is because that's when my nephew Luke was trained, and they really seem to be developing on pretty much the same curve. Up until now I've been using the term "potty learning", but now...I'm going to do my research this week, and I'm hoping by the beginning of next week we can go into hard core potty training. I am a firm believer that kids CAN be trained. Touchy subject to some, I know...but I sleep trained my baby, and look how awesome that went! I know, and it is not my intent, to push potty training on him. I do not want him to have a bad experience, make it negative in any way at all....but I want it done. I feel like I know he's ready by things he says and the interest he does have in the potty now. He loves to sit on the potty, but as soon as his naked little bum hits the toilet seat he says "done!" He does understand and say to us "Pee on potty! Get potty treat!" but then he doesn't actually do it!

So here's where my week approaching of research comes in. We've been reading this book for months with Braden:

It also came with a little boy doll and potty so that Braden can "teach" the doll how to use the potty and it comes with this DVD, which I will start showing to Braden this upcoming week, every day.

Laura trained my nephew Luke with this book:

It sounds too good to be true, but I think with whatever method I use, if I'm just consistent and have the determination to do it, I will, and so will Braden. One of my Twitter friends saw some of my tweets about potty training and says she swears by the three day method. I will use this week to review which method, or a combination of the two???, will work best for us.

For my mommy friends who have potty trained your toddlers...here are some concerns I have, and points I wanted to make, and if you could comment with suggestions or advice, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Braden typically doesn't care if he is soaking wet or even if he has a poopy diaper...does this mean he's not ready?
He is holding his bladder longer every week, and seems to have one big huge pee a few times a day
I leave him commando (sans diaper) in the morning for up to 2 hours and he doesn't have an accident
He shows great interest when me or Jay go to the potty
Knows he gets a "potty treat" (I have a jar of M&M's) if he goes...but doesn't seem motivated on his own enough to pee to actually get said treat.
When I see Braden pooping, I have asked him in the past "do you want to go poop on the potty?" he says "no"
Has been quite upset, even seems "devastated", when I have changed his poopy diapers lately
He only poops every 3-4 days...will that be really hard to train?
Do I go right into night training too? I really don't want to just do a load of 3 cloth diapers every 3 days only for nighttime use...know what I mean?
We will not be using cloth "pull ups" only underwear
What do you think of this reward system:

As far as rewards go...I have this free potty chart that I'm going to put in our bathroom, and he can put a Thomas sticker whenever he does each of these things:

I am also going to take away all of his toy trains...seriously! And make a very visual chart so that when he pees once, he will get a sticker and then get "Thomas" back. Then when he pees/poops twice, he will get to put the stickers on his chart and get "Percy" back, and so on and so forth. Mean mommy? I don't know, in my head that as a reward system will probably work better than the M&M's, his face lit up like a Christmas tree when my Mom gave him a bunch of new trains last weekend! So why not take them away and give them back? Plus I have brand new trains, some of the "big" ones that he will get once he's farther along in training. I also will be telling him that he will get a train table in his room once his diaper change table is gone. I'm not 100% sure he will understand that...but it's worth a shot. We do have a train table for him, was going to save it for Christmas, but #1 he won't actually get to "open" it at Christmas...we'd have to set it up and leave it at home anyway, and #2 if it's a big motivator in helping my boy get potty trained, it's worth the early present!

I'd love to hear your encouraging stories and helpful advice, friends!

Hello, 2nd Trimester & Thoughts on NT Scans

2012-04-26T10:02:00.002-06:00

13 weeks down, approximately (but not accurately) 27 weeks to go. It some ways this has seemed to take forever, as I've known I was pregnant since 3w2d...but on the other hand...WHAT!? It feels good to be out of the first trimester. The second is the best. You start to get your energy back, hormones are leveling off, less pressure on the bladder...for awhile! Then comes the third trimester when you're bigger, uncomfortable, sleep goes out the window, pressure on your hooha, all the gloriousness of the last trimester.

So you got to see Squishy yesterday! In Canada, we typically don't have an early first trimester ultrasound. Only if something is wrong, like last time I had spotting so they just wanted to check things out, or if you have no idea of your dates...which I never will because I'm so Type A. But, if you opt to have the nuchal translucency ultrasound...then you get to see your babe between 11 weeks and 13 weeks 6 days.

So what is it? In layman's terms, between that age a fetus has a space in their necks called the nuchal space. That measurement combined with blood tests from moms can help determine your risk of having a baby with chromosomal defects such as Downs syndrome. I truly did not care about the results of this test, I just truly wanted to see my baby before my 19 week anatomy scan. But, they did go over my results which look something like this:

Trisomy 21 - Risk went from 1:726 to 1:4983
Trisomy 18 - Risk went from 1:1774 to 1:35474
Trisomy 13 - Risk went from 1:5564 to 1:94108

My risk was low before from being younger than 35 and my risk went lower with the combined results from my bloodwork and ultrasound. Like I said, even if my odds went up, it wouldn't determine anything. It's God's will for me to have and love this baby, no matter what test results indicate.

And that's the thing...it's a test. It's not final, they aren't 100% accurate and I feel they make women worry unnecessarily. I recently got into some hot water over on my due date forum. One of the moms in my due date had her NT scan + blood test and was very upset that her risk of Downs was 1:77 or something to that effect, I cannot remember her exact risk number. I commented that this wasn't a statement towards her, but rather a generalized statement about NT scans and genetic screening:

"Why do women have the tests done if they are scared and going to worry about the results?"

I got held under rapid fire. I can see why, I certainly didn't mean to be insensitive to this women in her time of worry and did promptly delete my comment. But it's something I've always wondered. Why do the test if all it's going to make you do is worry & not enjoy your pregnancy? Her response was "I want to be as prepared as I can". Again, especially as a nurse and a mother...how do you prepare for the "what ifs"? There are SO many. Many Downs babies are born with medical issues with their heart and lungs...but how do you possibly wrap your brain around all the possibilities? I'd go absolutely insane.

A dear friend of my mom worried through her whole first pregnancy because she was told she was extremely high risk of having a Downs baby. She had a perfectly healthy baby boy and had another one after that. How do you enjoy your pregnancy at the mere risk of having a baby with a chromosomal defect? I don't know...that's not how my brain or morals operate. I would never abort a pregnancy on the risk of having a baby with a "defect". There's a heck of a lot worse things in this world than Downs syndrome, let me tell you. Unfortunately trisomies 18 & 13 often aren't compatible with life, for example.

I don't know...am I out to lunch? Please comment and tell me your thoughts on this kind of prenatal screening. If you've had it done and have had less-than-favorable results how did you handle it throughout your pregnancy?

This one was a few days ago taken in the evening...Squishy gets BIG in the evening....or my bloatness does anyway!

Everyone...Meet Squishy!

2012-04-25T06:51:00.000-06:00

Oh my gosh! I am so in love and it is so real now. I never seem to hear my babies heartbeats early, like some ladies do...so until I get to see it...pregnancy never really feels real to me. I wasn't worried at all when the nurse couldn't find Squishy's heartbeat at my appointment last week, even though I was almost 12 weeks, that's what I anticipated. Didn't find Braden until almost 14 weeks. Anterior placenta, tilty uterus, you know. Well...there is no mistaking that there's a real, live baby in there! With a heart rate steady and strong at 163:

The baby actually was very chill almost the whole ultrasound. I'd see a hand wave here, a little kick there...but nothing like big brother was! The hand was up by the face almost the entire time.

Two tiny legs

Two bitty feet

Two little arms

High 5!

Alien face...the longer they cook, the cuter they get!

Measuring right on time at 12 weeks 5 days. Such great pictures compared to my early ultrasound with Braden. I'm tempted to book my anatomy scan at this place instead of where I am booked as they just give a little, poor quality picture printout. This place was actually quite swanky for what I thought it might be!

Also, can I just say...how is anyone supposed to hold 1 litre of water in their bladder for over an hour...especially if you're pregnant??? Seriously, first world problem I know, it was so uncomfortable and unpleasant I wanted to pee so bad I would have peed my pants if it was socially acceptable. But I'm so thankful and blessed to have seen Squishy healthy as can be at this stage in the game. My big anatomy scan is June 8th!

In other news, this was technically my NT scan. As I've mentioned before, I didn't care about the results, but since they give them to me anyway I was low risk to begin with, but I am extremely low risk for Trisomy 21, 18, & 11. My scan was negative and this is wonderful news! More on my thoughts on NT scans later to come...!