The Handley Family: September 2012

Friday, September 14, 2012

Weekly Update - Potty Training, continued....

Week Of September 14, 2012

Addie's Weekly Photo

Cooper's Weekly Photo

All about Addie

Potty Training, continued: I have to say, Shane and I felt really lucky last week because things seemed to go really smooth as far as potty training was going. This week has been a bit of a roller coaster. Over the weekend, we had family visiting. I'm guessing that the chaos was too much of a distraction for Addie because she had SEVERAL accidents. It's most frustrating when your child is doing so well with potty training and then takes 10 steps in the opposite direction. Starting the week off, I did my best to get us back on a schedule. She did pretty well with things until we stayed over at Nana's one night... She was sitting in her booster seat at the table, eating dinner and I heard.... drip... drip.... drip drip ..... drip drip drip..... drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip! I look over and see Niagara falls coming from the seat of the chair and pouring down onto the floor!!! Luckily, Nana keeps a drop cloth under Addie's chair to catch food/drink so it wasn't too bad to clean up. It's difficult not to get annoyed with her when she has accidents, but I fight back the urge to scold her.

Little Miss Repeats: Addison will repeat herself over.... and over..... and OVER again! If she's trying to talk to someone or get their attention she will say it 100 times until they respond. Sometimes she will continue to repeat it, even after you respond to her.
Phrases from the week:
"scuse me": She says this when she burps.
"Whaddya doin": she started this when she was really little but has since started it back up again. No matter what I'm doing, she will come up to me and ask "mama, whaddya doin". Even when I answer her, she will ask me several times within a matter of minutes!

All about Cooper

Back on Meds: The first several days of weaning Coop off of Prevacid seemed normal. We had taken him from 1/2 pill in the am and 1/2 pill in the p.m. to onlly 1/2 pill in the p.m. When we got to day 4, he seemed a little more irritable than usual and spitting up a LOT more than usual. I brushed off the cranky mood as gassiness. By day 5, I was starting to see that he was arching his back and seemed to be having a hard time getting comfortable (the same symptoms he had right before starting the meds previously). Our pediatrician warned us that he may end up needing to be on the meds longer than 6 months and that we can try again in a month or two. Poor Coop!! I can't wait to have this little guy off these pills!

Growing Boy: I'm thrilled to announce that my baby boy has rolls!! LOL At our last appointment, the doctor had noted that Coop seems really small and hadn't gained a full pound since his previous checkup. Doc wasn't overly concerned but said he would need to gain a significant amount of weight by his next appointment in order for her to say that he is growing "normally". Since the last appointment, he has gone from size 3mo to 6-9mo clothes and it has only been a month!

More Photos From the Week

Cousins Alexa, Addison and Avryl

Hanging out at Uncle Dillons house

"Aunt" Robin and Cooper

Addie and "Aunt" Stacy in the background

Addie, in training to be a doctor

My Girl!

Uncle Dillon and Cooper having a staring contest

Coop, ready to pass out on Nana

Dada and Addie

My two favorite kids!

blowing bubbles with Nana

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Weekly Update - Cooper 6 Months

Week of September 7, 2012

Addie's Weekly Photo

Cooper's Weekly Photo

All about Addie

Potty Training: Addison is still doing really well with potty training. Of course every day brings new challenges but she hasn't given up yet. Occasionally, she will come to us an announce that she needs to go potty, but mostly we remind her to go. At one point this week, Addison ran in to potty AND poop without even telling me!! I have to say, the only real obstacle that we've faced so far is nap time and bedtime. After the first three or four days of wetting the bed, I was getting irritated and annoyed. I kept thinking that maybe we need to do a diaper at night still. I did some research though and read that most kids her age have immature bladders and are not able to hold urine through the night. In addition, a toddler who is a heavy sleeper will not necessarily wake themselves to use the bathroom. After reading that information, I eased up on Addie quite a bit and decided that it's my job to make sure she gets up several times each night to potty. I also read that it can be confusing to a child to have diapers on some of the time and underwear at other times so I decided to nix the diapers completely. Luckily, bed cleanup is pretty easy. Addie's toddler bed has an outer protector (under the sheet) that does not absorb liquid. Basically, all I have to do is remove the old sheet, wipe the top of the protector and put a new sheet on. I keep several blankets on hand to change out each time she has an accident too. At this point, we're going to continue our routine to get Addison used to everyday life without a diaper. I'm sure the bedtime and nap time wetting will work itself out, but in the meantime, I will have plenty of detergent on hand!

New Phrases:
"I Don't Like It": Addison's newest phrase is "I don't like it". There are several instances that she will used this phrase but mostly it will be at the dinner table. If she doesn't want to eat something, she will tell us she doesn't like it.
"No Thank You": I can't Remember if I had mentioned anything about this or not, but Addie will tell us "no thank you" when she wants someone to stop doing something or leave her alone.
"Score": Addie will get a ball in the house and kick it around. Every time she kicks it, she will throw her arms up and yell "SCORE"!!! Cracks me up!
"okay?" : We were playing on the swings outside and as I was pushing Addie in her swing. A few times that Addie's swing came forward, I would slap the seat of the plastic swing making a loud noise like she kicked me. Addison would laugh hysterically. One of the times though, I fell to the ground and pretended to be hurt. Addison didn't laugh and instead asked "okay mama?". She was relieved when I jumped up and assured her I was fine. If Cooper is crying, she will now ask him "okay Cooper" and pat him on the head or shoulder. Super sweet!

To the doctor: Addie had a spot on the top of her head that I've been watching for about a week. It's hard to explain what it looked like except maybe small puss-like lump. Initially, I figured that it was just a wound trying to heal. I looked at it again towards the beginning of the week and noticed a second, smaller spot, a little bit below the first. I finally decided to take her in to see the doctor. Our pediatrician notified us that it is basically cradle cap for toddlers. She said it's not a big deal and just like with infants, it usually clears up on its own but you can speed up the process by using a topical cream. We will keep an eye on things and see how it goes!

All about Cooper

6 Months: Friday marks 6 months old for Cooper. It's hard to believe our little guy is 6 months old already!

Meds: Our pediatrician said that we could try to start phasing Cooper off of his Prevacid at around 6 months of age. Towards the end of the week, I took him down to 1/2 a pill per day. I will keep an update on his progress. The pediatrician also said that some babies need to stay on the pill longer than others. She said we will know to put him back on his regular dose if he shows signs of pain, irritability, spitting up, etc.

Maaaa-Maaaa : Cooper has been babbling more lately but this week started making a little more sense. We were playing in the living room and Cooper was in his jumper when I heard him "cooing" and "babbling". All of the sudden, I heard what sounded like a long drawn out "mama" sound. I kept listening and sure enough, he continued! It's heartwarming to hear a child say "mama" but even more the very first time you hear it.

Mr Grabby Hands: Cooper will latch on to anything that comes within reach now. Anything from hair and fingers, to toys and bottles. Once Cooper has his grip, he does NOT want to let go! The funny thing is that he will latch on to Addison if she leans in to give him a hug or kiss and when she goes to pull away she can't get away!!

Addie loves to help with Cooper

Cooper doesn't look too sure in this picture...

So sweet!!!

Going to the home improvement store to get things

for landscaping the front yard. Addie gets a ride!

Addie trying on daddy's shoes

One of our friends came to hang out with us one day

Here's Randi and Addie coloring and playing with stickers

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Weekly Update - Potty Training....Take Two.

Week of August 31, 2012

Addie's Weekly Photo

Cooper's Weekly Photo

All about Addie

Potty Training....Take Two! We tried potty training a few weeks ago but were completely unsuccessful because of my lack of preparedness. We were definitely more prepared, this time around. I had at least 15 pairs of undies, a portable toilet (to keep in front of the TV), we already have training seats on all of the toilets in the house, a bin full of treats for #1's and #2's. I started off just letting her sit on the toilet first thing in the morning, in front of her cartoons. I put a little stool next to her and placed her breakfast on it to keep her occupied while she sat. I know it sounds crazy to let her sit on the pot while eating breakfast but it seems like she always fills her diaper while watching cartoons in the morning. I checked her frequently and had her look with me to see if anything was in the toilet. After about the 3rd time checking, there was pee!!! I immediately gave Addie a sucker, emptied the toilet bowl and placed her right back on the toilet (in case there was a little more). Again upon checking, there was more pee so we celebrated and put her back on again. This went on for an entire day only letting her off the pot for 20 minutes at a time to run around and play. The few times she was off, she would tinkle in her underwear but would sometimes tell me.
Day one: Peed several times in the portable toilet and had an equal amount of accidents.
Day two: Peed several times in the portable toilet and seemed a bit stage fright on the "big" toilet. Still had several accidents but seemed to notice the accidents as long as she wasn't wearing undies.
Day three: Peed and told me each time she peed (so I didn't have to get her up to keep checking). POOPED once in the toilet after I put a blanket over her so she could "hide". Only 3 accidents!! (at bedtime and naptime we put a diaper on her).
Day Four: Very similar as day before but no poop at all (even in diaper). As of today, we have not used the portable toilet at all!! :)
Day five: Told me several times that she needed to pee, without being reminded. Pooped AND peed on the "big girl potty"!!!! 2 Accidents, and still wore diaper at nap and bedtime.
Day 6: No diaper at nap time and NO accidents!!! I still reminded her several times to use the potty but she went on her own more than once. On this day, I left the light on in the bathroom all day and left the toilet seat up and ready in the bathroom (on the big girl potty).
Day 7: My goal today was to get Addie to recognize needing to pee when she's outside. Before going out, we went potty inside and then proceeded to take the portable toilet out to the patio. I figured if we made it easier to access a toilet, we may not have an accident. After several reminders to visit the toilet, Addie ran over and used it! I nearly threw a party for her!! LOL Naptime was a different story though... I made her go before laying down, but midway through the nap, she had an accident. I wasn't too upset about it though because I was still pretty excited about our success outdoors!! :)

HELPFUL TIPS FOR POTTY TRAINING
Timing: Of course everyone says they will train when they are ready. That's rule number one but something else I realized is that the time of year might be a big factor. In the summertime, we let our kids run around the pool with wet shorts and swim bottoms on all day long and they get used to being "wet". I think that was the case with Addie and she didn't seem to mind when she peed in her diaper, or undies. Once I left everything off completely and she realized what she was doing, she seemed more likely to run to the toilet.
Toilet: I highly recommend the Safety1st 3-in-1 toilet/stool. The seat is cushion (and not like the plastic coated cushions on most toddler toilets) and made it much easier for her to sit for long periods of time without hurting her bottom.
In addition to the Safety1st 3-in-1, we have 2-in-1 toilet seats throughout the house. They are normal adult toilet seats with a magnetic toddler seat that pulls out of the lid (see pics below).
Training Pants/diapers/undies: I bought toilet training pants and diapers and she seemed to still pee in them. As long as there was something on her, she would pee in it. Once I took everything off and let her run around in the nude (usually with a t-shirt), she seemed to recognize when she would pee. Of course all kids are different and it's something you have to just trial-and-error. A lot of moms suggested that we potty train outside so you don't have accidents on the carpet. We just pretty much sectioned ourselves off in the kitchen and dining area so we had easy cleanup.
Rewards: Again, all training can be done differently but I knew that if Addie had an incentive, she would be more likely to want this potty training in the bag as much as mommy! I went to the store and stocked up on a bag of $1 toys and several varieties of candy ("fun size" and mini candy bars, twizzlers, starburst, etc.). The toys were ONLY for going #2 in the toilet and candy was for any time she went #1. Another way to reward is if they get up from a nap and they haven't peed the bed. We've been training now all week and slowly phasing out the treats. I find ways to distract her from asking for the treat right when she gets done going #1 (brushing teeth, playing a game, "run and tell daddy you went potty").
Privacy may be needed: You've heard of kids that "hide" when they need to pee or poop. Well Addie only did it when she would have to poop so I was pretty sure we would have a problem there. Fortunately we found a way to conquer her fears a bit. We started off by covering her up with a blanket (a very thin receiving blanket). At first it was fun for her and she would giggle, then she would request it every time she wanted to "go". Once the "big girl toilet" became a staple, I knew it was time to phase out the blanket. The first time I told her it was being washed and she would have to go without it. The next few times I would just walk out and say "I'll go find it" and by the time I came back (without the blanket), she would have already went potty. She still asks for it from time to time, but I now tell her she doesn't need it and she stops asking.
Try closing the bathroom door, turning away, looking in the bathroom mirror and looking "uninterested" in what he/she is doing on the toilet. Sometimes turning on the water helps but then it's hard to hear them "tinkling".

All about Cooper

Tries to find paci: Coop is getting better about pacifying himself lately. He will find his paci usually if it's within reach and put himself back to sleep. It's a huge relief for a very exhausted mommy that he can somewhat pacify himself from time to time! :)

Reaching for things: We've found Cooper reaching for just about everything now. If he is in his Bumbo seat, his jumper or just laying around during tummy time, he is likely to reach for anything around him. Time to re-baby-proof the house!!

I'm Full: Before now, Cooper seemed like he would eat his weight in food and never really knew when he was full. Of course then he would spit up/throw up all of the excess food. Or pediatrician said the over eating was more likely because of the acid reflux and colic. Some babies over eat mistaking other pains for hunger pains. In the last week or so, Coop has been more likely to push the bottle away or stop opening his mouth to solids when he's "done" eating. I LOVE that he does this now because we can actually rely on him more and not be overfeeding him or be afraid we're underfeeding him. Coop is still on the Prevacid pill but I'm now thinking we might be able to slowly wean him off of it!! We shall see!

More Photos from the week:

3-in-1 seat
Stool