Elimination communication to potty training

Ok quick post, race against the clock style. Time is something I don't waste these days, I can't, I don't have enough of it to begin with.
Bottom line at 7 months old I began using elimination communication with Audrey, most of her potty happened on the potty and we were golden.

16 months nearly ready to pop with our little Ethan I began attempting to potty train, as in I encouraged her to tell me she had to potty when I saw her I need I potty face.(Yeah I believe if you're willing to tune in that your baby does give a sign both of mine had an about to potty face, but tune in is required.) The only change was she would make a grunt with her face which was enough to keep her potty habit up while I was in the hospital for two days.

17 months mommy and baby home no regression…still golden :)

19 months my sisters and two nephews come in town for two weeks. Slowly regression happens and by the time my sister left I was so discouraged Audrey was in a diaper with no potty signals in play.

20 months after 1 full week back in diapers we start potty training. Lame details could bore you forever but basically we did the three days naked trick. Kevin agreed to my promise to get the floors cleaned when all was said and done. There were some puddles for sure. After the fact however my house smells nice and you'd never know it was a partial potty for three days. Audrey is now actually potty trained (day time) not just equipped with a potty stalker mommy who hears a grunt, sees a face and throws her on the potty.

I feel at times like my life revolves around the toilet. Im checking a four year old to make sure "is my butt good?", Im running in a hurry to get a 21 month old on the potty when she urgently requests "poop poop" (sometimes having to throw my 4 month old to my 4 y/o to do so) and I'm changing a 4 month olds diaper quite often. Sometime all are in need at the same moment and I'm having to run Audrey upstairs while Karaline is downstairs and Ethan's crying in a dirty diaper. It's truly an adventure and I'm withholding some funny stories I don't have time for now. I'm not going to be potty blogging for a while, although I may still blog in general. We will probably have a life in transition pretty soon so who knows if I will take the time. Thanks for reading and please feel free to contact me if you need any potty training tips or encouragement.

Chaos dot to dot

I LOVE my kids, I love this phase and I am so encouraged with how smoothly everyone's falling into our new world. However, It's a lot to manage, even with the Insane hours Kevin works I still have to get him to team clean with me for the floors and bathrooms on Saturday mornings. Also I so wish my washer dryer closet was on the main level. Ours is in the basement we have to take a four person train down 15 stairs to get to the washer. Also our stairs are wood so I can't wear socks ever and I literally pray every time I walk down them with two kids in my hands that God will protect us. Sometimes I leave Ethan upstairs and listen to Audrey scream while I go get Him. Sometimes I hold Audrey's hand as she walks down and hope she doesn't fall (the steps are tall). Usually I hold one in each arm and have Audrey put her arm around Ethan. Audrey and Karaline are both so sweet to Him. They love holding Him, and petting and kissing his head. Those are the things that melt my heart. Moments of love between all of my kids make it so addictive, I don't dwell in the challenges, I live in those moments. The chaos connects the dots I guess. This week we've all been fighting a sickness of some sort (cold like) and Audrey's been super fussy, she's sick and teething. Karaline my super big helper has been cranky yesterday/today too, I'm running low on groceries. I'm Getting creative, we had bacon and eggs for dinner last night. Not feeling well has landed Audrey in a diaper. and back to taking two naps a day. I had to change my first Audrey toddler poopy diaper yesterday (nap time special), oh I'm so glad we did this potty gig. That was nasty. However, even in the midst of it all I can't help but feel joy (ok some times frazzled) and overflowing love for my little blessings. All in all, no matter how the day (and upcoming night) goes every day does end with all three of my gifts happy and asleep in their room. This phase has its trials, but it is so worth it. I am so honored that I get to have three. Although I am thinking a Friday morning cleaning lady may be the next person in our lives :)

To be out numbered

So I'm a little over three weeks into this mom of three gig. Week one my mother in law was here, week two I was w/o a helping visitor, but my friends kept me fed and week three my mom was here. So yesterday was the first day that I had to venture to the pool for Karalines swim lesson with all 3 by myself. I was nervous for sure, with 2 kids you have two arms but a third arm doesn't grow with the third kid so I felt out numbered. Anyway I prepped for the event, timing everything down to the last minute. Breakfast, followed by play with girls for an hour, nap Audrey, get ready, nurse Ethan, load Ethan (we have a garage, which makes this easier), wake and load Audrey then head out. We get to the pool and Karaline leads us In with me holding Audrey on one hip carrying Ethan's car seat in the other hand with our pool back pack on my back. Phew we made it :) ..... Just in time for them to say "no one called you?....I'm sorry the swim instructor called out sick". Well, we were already there, so I put all of our suits on and brought them swimming while Ethan slept on the side lines. Everything was going great and as soon as I began to feel like wow I can do this Audrey slipped and hit her head. Well, an ice pack and a cuddle fixed that, then Audrey had to poop which meant a parade to the bathroom and back, but she didn't mess in her swim suit so I'm happy.
When swim time was over we headed out and immediately Karaline had a melt down in the vehicle, but I was simply so happy the pool process went well that her melt down wasn't even stressful (plus all kids were contained at the time). So, there you have it, first outing down :) we all lived to tell and we even had fun, smiled, and even laughed. I am truly overjoyed with my little blessings, but I've certainly had moments that I'm not sure I can make it through the day. Ethan's ready to go back to sleep now so I'm going to take advantage of it. Happy thanksgiving.

Birth story

So several months ago Kevin's dad said he wanted to go to the penn state Ohio state game in state college. This game fell on October 27th my 38 week gestation date. Now pregnancy is technically 40 weeks, but any time past 37 weeks you're supposed to be prepared for a baby right. So, to make a long prefix to a story a little shorter I didn't want Kevin to leave town, then found out if he didn't he would be pretty much just as unavailable to me on the 28th due to work. So I encouraged the fun option. Then an hour and a half into the game with Kevin out of reach and 5+ hours away my water broke. I was quite nervous, but I put the kids to bed, prepared my help and went to bed to pray for no labor. Labor didn't come..,phew and Kevin got home at 11 am Oct 28th with still no labor. Kevin's mom got into town at 3pm....still no labor. So, we headed to the hospital. At 4:30pm they started my pitocen drip and we began our slow acceleration into labor. I was dancing next to the bed doing squats anything to get this party started and at 6pm the party turned to breathe, relax and progress. My nurse was amazing, she had 9 children of her own all delivered w/o epidural and she was so helpful. She continually gave me new positions to help progress my labor and even taught Kevin proper counter pressure. It was an amazing difference with the counter pressure it almost completely relieved the discomfort. Also thanks to some hypno birthing techniques the "pain" of the contractions really did just feel like intense pressure and I was able to stay in a much more relaxed state physically and mentally. Another thing that made this time around easier was that I knew how to tell I was in transition so instead of the signs bringing fear they brought hope. Then my neighbor stopped by to bring dinner expecting that we would be in the beginning stages of the game, but instead she walked in right as I said I was having some involuntary pushing followed by me screaming "I feel like I have to take the biggest shit if my life!" So, Juli held my right hand; I was on my left side as Ethan crowned and that's when my serenity left and I began pushing while screaming. Then they told me if I wanted to pull him out to lay on my back so I rolled to my back and pushed/pulled him out onto my stomach (I'm pretty sure he was delivered in three contractions) Ethan Wiley was born at 7:28 pm. I'm much more wounded than I was with Audrey, but much less than I was with Karaline. Ethan is nursing well and we are all adjusting well to our new life. Also big bonus Audrey's still 98% potty trained :D and I'm still in shock I'm not pregnant.

Party on

I'm two weeks and two days from my due date. This final trimester of pregnancy has left me super tired, my body is now at the point of continual discomfort, I'm super excited to meet this little man despite the challenge the new born phase will be......but, I am two weeks into a potty trained Audrey and so I would like a little more time to ensure it sticks before I bring a baby into the mix. Oh well, whatever will be will be. Bottom line I'm happy to report that except for an accident or two when we can't get to the potty on time all waking hours potty happens on the potty. Audrey even tells me when we're shopping or at friends houses :D.. Although the last time I left her with Kevin she peed on him twice, so who knows what me in the hospital for two days post delivery will bring. Only time will tell. On a side note before I go, my right leg was seriously hurting today, no clue why. However, I could only laugh at myself limping while nine months pregnant and Waddling with a one year old and four year old in tow just to get a few veggies in the grocery store. It ended up taking me nearly 40 min. These are the little adventures that make life more entertaining. Oh yeah and I almost laid out my comfy pants to wear again tomorrow and then remembered that when I couldn't waddle/limp to the bathroom fast enough one time Audrey peed on me a little. Ok enough randomness from me, I have a nice comfy bed waiting for me.

Time is ticking away

So in my experience having one two year old and moving into a two level apartment town home with plenty of closets, takes two weeks to get organized to my standard. However, being pregnant, having a one year old and four year old while moving into a three level (ugh) town home with very little closet space, takes five weeks to get organized to my standard. Tomorrow is the five week mark :D
I can't believe how quickly the weeks are passing. I'm blown away. Between putting my energy and focus into my girls, managing our home (including grocery shopping and food prep which are huge time tasks), doctors appointments (including chiropractor, because pregnancy rocks my lower back), Karalines' swim lessons; gymnastics and the daily routine of nap time/rest time, along with mommy/Karaline preschool hour, and meeting up with friends (I still haven't seen everyone I know in this area), all starting with my mommy Pilates and prayer time at 5:45 (because if I wait til after 6am I can't creak down the stairs w/o waking the girls up), the days pass into weeks so quickly I'm stunned. Ok, I said all that to lead up to the fact that somehow Audrey has already been in training panties for 3 weeks. She's doing great at home, but I haven't attempted it outside the home (she will at least use public potties). She still doesn't always tell me she has to potty at home, mostly I just put her on the potty often enough that she doesn't have to. Although there are times I'm to busy and she ends up wet, but more often than not she's dry. Karaline has now learned Audrey's I've gotta poop grunt which is helpful. Oh the other day Karaline says "mommy Audrey's said uh but I have to poop super bad" then she runs to the potty and hops on. Audrey chases after her then stands by the potty rocking her hips and signing please. They are often on the same schedule, which also helps. I'm glad that I started this so young with Audrey because it's helped me to continually be aware of my need to focus on her and teach her things, but from a potty training stand point I still think that 16 months (when I started with Karaline) is the best potty training age. Although, because of our potty breaks Audrey knows a lot of her body parts and can answer yes and no to my questions. We spend potty time showing her lots of things. Karaline has also gotten very in tune with teaching Audrey and reading Audrey's needs. I'm sure there would be other ways to make a point of this type of investment, but potty parties have been our way. So, the task is still a work in progress, but we are at least making progress. In the meantime I'm moving on from move in organizing to gonna have a baby in about six weeks prepping mode. Here's to the adventures of mommy hood.

Keep on keeping on

Is this square one? Maybe....right before our move Audrey was doing great telling me when she needed to go potty. It was more of a run to mommy grunt three times then I put her on the potty and there you have it. Now three weeks later we've moved, Kevin's started working super long hours and Audrey hardly uses the potty. However, I think this is not square one because two steps back don't eliminate the previous steps forward. So, I'm still morning my inability to use cloth with Audrey and I really wish I could use cloth when our baby boy comes. Although, I have come to understand that (due to research, mommy conversations and my own experience) purchasing a HE washing machine was the end all of my cloth diapering.

So now where to go from here? I could do the naked baby route, I could put her in panties or I could keep diapering and putting her on the potty. I'm gonna start with panties, can't hurt to try. Although I was surprised to read that some people think your kid will have issues later in life if you potty train to early. I personally doubt that, but figure you're gonna run into opinions on everything so, to each their own. Speaking of to each their own, I read a blog the other day where a mon was talking about life as a stay at home mom. She was saying you're going to have chaos, stress and disorganized living so get used to it and get over it. Man, If my house is chaotic, disorganized, or my life isn't structured I can't relax. My big thing right now is trying to figure out the best way to invest in Karaline individually (daily), continue potty time in a relaxed manor, re-establish a yoga/Pilates routine, take walks with my girls nearly daily, maintain a clean well organized home, continue to prepare and plan healthy tasty meals, including quality lunches for Kevin and bring Karaline to her weekly gymnastics and swimming all without taking a nap (nap is something I long for daily and get a few times a year). These things can be done and done well, but I have to remember my key, the key is early to bed early to rise so that I can start my day off alone with God. God created me for this and I won't make agreement with "ah it can't be done well so just relax". Ok having said all that let me also say, if and when these things aren't all in line it is hard for me to leave my home for a play date or something social. So, I do know that a certain level of balance must be achieved, I do need to allow myself a little slack. I'll get there again, I had a balance in Pennsylvania, I will find it again in Virginia. You know there were two days last week that ended with me being so tired my body hurt, one day that ended with me in tears simply because I was so tired, one day I wished for a reset button on my day and actually used the tv sitter for an hour of escape ( i seriously limit and dislike tv) and all but one day I wondered how my energy would last through bed time, but at the end of the week I know that my girls are healthy, happy and growing so life is well lived. I'm excited about this phase of mommy-hood. I can't wait to tell you more of the adventures this panty party will hold, but for now I have a few organization projects to take on. Oh yeah I got a nap today for the first time in a long time, I feel almost normal :)