Friday, February 5, 2010

"Mommy, I go potty!!!"

Yes, I hear those words alot these days. I've spent a good part of this week following Jadyn around saying, "OK, time to go potty." She's doing great about taking care of business on the potty. You should see her sticker chart! She has enough stickers on there to supply....well, I don't know what it could supply, but she definetely has earned a lot of stickers! We have already filled up the chart with pink stars that came with a potty book we bought when we started this process. We have since had to dispose of the book when, ironically, one of the cats peed on it while we were away on vacation. But, who needs a book when you've read it so many times you now have it memorized! And speaking of the chart that came with that book, what were the publishers thinking? Four rows of 10 stars would be enough to say a child is officially potty trained? Not! We have filled up the chart and are not fully potty trained. Yes, Jadyn does good about going on the potty, but she's also still really good about going in her pants and doesn't at all seemed bothered by a wet diaper, pull up, or panties! So, we are 'recycling' the chart and are now putting new pretty foil word stickers OVER the pink stars every time she goes potty. Jadyn loves it and doesn't seem to mind that she's covering up her previous accomplishments! :-)

Little Miss Pigtail Pie is becoming quite the independent. These days, she's taken to saying, "No, mommy, I do it!" She continues to amaze me with the sentences coming out of her mouth. Here are some of the things I hear from her these days:
  • "I want suh-um, mommy! I want suh-um!"
  • "I hungee, Mommy. I hungee."
  • "Jadyn's cup. Jadyn's cup."
  • "I pee pee in the potty!"
  • "Eeee-Li!"
  • "Eee-li wake. Eee-li wake, mommy."
  • "Eee-li hungee, mommy. Eee-li hungee."
  • "Go outside? Outside?"
  • "Pay wid pay-dough? Pay wid pay-dough?" (Play with playdough)
  • "Big girl bed? Big girl bed?"
  • "No, no, No! (tone change) No thank you"

It's funny how she has to repeat everything she says twice. I guess she's concerned I won't understand it if she says it once. Or maybe, mommy repeats everything she says to Jadyn and that's where she learned it. Hmmmmmmm.

It's been a rather trying few days this week as Jadyn is learning and exerting her independence. She's testing boundaries and patience. Bed/Naptime have been battle grounds the past couple of days. She's not staying in bed and it's been a battle of the wills. Jay and I have been trying out different discipline methods to see which fits best for Jadyn and for us. Spanking seems to have lost its power. I've realized that I use it too much and am changing tactics up a bit. When it comes to going to bed, we do the same routine we always do, but now when she disobeys and gets out of her precious and oh-so-neat big girl bed, we pop out the pack n play in the middle of her room and put her in it with just a pillow and a blanket. No snugglies, no stuffed rabbits, no baby dolls, nothing of luxury. We then say good night again and leave her to wail her complaints out. Once she calms down from the injustice that's been served her, one of us goes back in. Her first words uttered tonight were, "Big girl bed?" I put her back in the 'big girl bed' with all her luxuries, and reminded her it's time to go night-night and no getting out of bed. I left the pack n play set up as a reminder. I didn't hear a peep after that, and upon a recent check on her, I found her to be sound asleep! Yes!

I tend to want her to catch on to things the first time or in a day or two. I have to remind myself to be patient and it may take more than one time. The pack n play seems to be working though, and she seems to be getting the message. As for other discipline issues during the day, we still use spanking some, but also use time outs as well. She's learned that time outs aren't fun places to be. But, no matter what, she's always quick to say, "Hug? Hug?" when it's over. My sensitive little girl...melts my heart to see her cry in sadness! Parenting sure pulls at the heart strings!!!

Well, this post took me only 2.5 days to write. :-) I'm hoping to post some more sooner. More stories to share, like Jadyn's not the only one getting bigger around here. Eli and his oh-my-those-are-some-big-cheeks has now been officially promoted tonight to a bigger carseat (still rear-facing, though). Good times, good times! :)