Thanks for the nice comments on my last post! It made me feel better to read what you all had to say. I always knew it would be very bittersweet to think about weaning and it turns out that it is! M did nurse today a couple of times during his naps, both when he was already asleep. He does this fairly frequently (ie, falls asleep in the car, I bring him in and give him milk before putting him in his crib) so at least that part of our routine is the same, for now. And, now I feel like I've had a chance to have a few last times of breastfeeding him at home, if we are heading towards weaning.
We are quite the group over here. All three of us have the same nasty cold and we are hacking away to beat the band. Sacha and I are quite hoarse and poor little M is, too. He's been miserable, we've been miserable...but at least we all know how the other ones feel!
In addition to that, our little guy managed to burn himself today for the first time. We have a tiny space heater that we use in our bathroom and he somehow backed into it after his bath. He cried but we didn't realize why at the time...and it was only after his nap that we noticed something on the back of his leg. Closer examination revealed that it was a burn in the pattern of the space heater grill. We both just feel awful about it. I really don't think there was anything we could have done, because he knows to stay away from the space heater and only backed into it by accident....but still, we feel terrible. Luckily, it doesn't seem to be bothering him too much and we got some burn bandages to put on it and it's already looking better.
What a day! Here's hoping tomorrow's a little better (and involves less coughing)...
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Breastfeeding blues
We just got back from a great weekend up north, where we visited Sacha's parents and enjoyed a lovely party they threw for us and the gestating little one. I want to write about that, but I'm going to start with something else that happened this weekend. This is going to be a little stream-of-consciousness, because I just want to process it.
Last Thursday, I woke up feeling yucky and it quickly became clear that I had a cold. M and I stayed in and pretty quiet that day, but by bedtime, he was sick, too. Soon after that, Sacha was sick. Good times. He woke up to nurse on Thursday night after just a few hours of sleep, and then woke up again a couple of hours after that. I fed him on one side and he started in on the other side, but then he kind of gagged and spit out my nipple. He does that sometimes when he's really stuffy, so I tried propping him up and latching him on again. He didn't want to and I didn't think much of it. I put him back to bed and that was that.
The next morning, he wasn't interested in nursing when he got up, which is very unusual for him. However, it does sometimes happen. I offered some mama milk mid-morning and he nursed on one side but then didn't want the other. I started to really wonder what was going on, but we had to pack up for our trip and I was rushing around and, especially when he later fell asleep in the front carrier and then nursed both sides before I put him down, I figured everything was fine.
In fact, however, things were about to become quite different. The whole time we were in Washington, he just would not nurse. Every time I sat down to offer him some milk, he would push me away and say "No mama's milk!" very emphatically. The only times he nursed were when I would take him out for a walk, he would fall asleep, and then would take some milk from me after we got back but while he was still totally asleep.
We drove home today and thought that maybe getting back into our usual routine would help. We had an especially soothing time at bedtime and then I sat down in our comfy chair to nurse him. He started to curl up in my arms and then realized what was happening and started saying "no mama's milk!" while trying to escape. He finally cuddled into my shoulder and I rocked him back and forth and pretty soon he was asleep. Wanting to get some fluids into him, as well as immunities for his cold, I tried gently changing positions so I could nurse him. He happily cuddled up into my arms, but touching the breast to his mouth just made him jump and turn his head away - even in his sleep!
Sacha and I have consulted some breastfeeding books and La Leche online and it looks like one of two things could be happening. He could be on a nursing strike, which is when a baby or toddler abruptly stops nursing for a few days or longer because of something - a cold, ear infection, change in routine, etc - and then eventually resumes their routine. Apparently this is pretty common in kids who are still nursing at M's age. We had a weekend away from home when we were all sick with horrible colds. The change, plus the stuffiness and sore throat that we think he has, might have thrown him off. Plus, we've been preparing for the new baby and he could sense that a change is coming.
Or, he could just be done with breastfeeding. He is 17 months old and he's a busy little guy and maybe he's just onto other things. Interestingly, he's been going down at night more easily than ever, despite being in a new place, since this started on Friday. We thought the middle of the night wakings were going to be a disaster, because he always nurses down to sleep after he wakes up and has been known to cry for two hours if he doesn't get milk. But, everything was fine. I mean, he was already sleeping awfully because he was so, so stuffy. But when he woke up in the night, after he declined to nurse, we put him back down and he conked right back out. Same thing with tonight - he went down incredibly easily with no crying. Does this mean that he's just ready to be done? He is a very strong-willed little guy and doesn't change his mind easily.
From what we've read, it sounds like the next week should tell us a lot. If he's ready to wean, then that will be that and we'll move on into a short new phase of our lives in which neither one of us is breastfeeding. If he wants to start nursing again, we'll follow his lead in that case, too. He's certainly had a longer time breastfeeding than the vast majority of kids and it would be completely fine if he wanted to stop now.
I think I'll probably have an easier time once we know which way this is going, but right now I feel really sad and kind of unsettled. Once we got past our rough start, I have loved nursing him. Especially since he suddenly started nursing off to sleep around 9 months old, it has been a wonderful part of my days and nights. We go into his room and cuddle up and he has milk while slowly drifting off to sleep. Most of the time I put him in his crib soon after he conks, but sometimes I just cuddle him and think about how much I love him and how lucky we are to have this time together. I have loved this part of our lives so, so much.
I've always known that breastfeeding, and M's babyhood in general, would be too short, but I was hoping for a more gradual transition to the next thing! I get really sad thinking of how last week might have been our last week of nursing and how I didn't even know to appreciate it. Although, I've always tried to just be present with him while he's nursing and last week was no exception. In fact, as Sacha was reminding me, last week was a sweet week. Most days, he nursed down for naps, woke up after about an hour, and then let me nurse him back to sleep again. After he finished with his milk, Sacha or I would hold him and snuggle with him until he woke up. It was delicious and a wonderful time. If that was our last week, it was a pretty good way to go out.
Anyway, I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I think maybe I just need to let myself be sad for awhile, until I adjust to wherever this process is taking us.
Last Thursday, I woke up feeling yucky and it quickly became clear that I had a cold. M and I stayed in and pretty quiet that day, but by bedtime, he was sick, too. Soon after that, Sacha was sick. Good times. He woke up to nurse on Thursday night after just a few hours of sleep, and then woke up again a couple of hours after that. I fed him on one side and he started in on the other side, but then he kind of gagged and spit out my nipple. He does that sometimes when he's really stuffy, so I tried propping him up and latching him on again. He didn't want to and I didn't think much of it. I put him back to bed and that was that.
The next morning, he wasn't interested in nursing when he got up, which is very unusual for him. However, it does sometimes happen. I offered some mama milk mid-morning and he nursed on one side but then didn't want the other. I started to really wonder what was going on, but we had to pack up for our trip and I was rushing around and, especially when he later fell asleep in the front carrier and then nursed both sides before I put him down, I figured everything was fine.
In fact, however, things were about to become quite different. The whole time we were in Washington, he just would not nurse. Every time I sat down to offer him some milk, he would push me away and say "No mama's milk!" very emphatically. The only times he nursed were when I would take him out for a walk, he would fall asleep, and then would take some milk from me after we got back but while he was still totally asleep.
We drove home today and thought that maybe getting back into our usual routine would help. We had an especially soothing time at bedtime and then I sat down in our comfy chair to nurse him. He started to curl up in my arms and then realized what was happening and started saying "no mama's milk!" while trying to escape. He finally cuddled into my shoulder and I rocked him back and forth and pretty soon he was asleep. Wanting to get some fluids into him, as well as immunities for his cold, I tried gently changing positions so I could nurse him. He happily cuddled up into my arms, but touching the breast to his mouth just made him jump and turn his head away - even in his sleep!
Sacha and I have consulted some breastfeeding books and La Leche online and it looks like one of two things could be happening. He could be on a nursing strike, which is when a baby or toddler abruptly stops nursing for a few days or longer because of something - a cold, ear infection, change in routine, etc - and then eventually resumes their routine. Apparently this is pretty common in kids who are still nursing at M's age. We had a weekend away from home when we were all sick with horrible colds. The change, plus the stuffiness and sore throat that we think he has, might have thrown him off. Plus, we've been preparing for the new baby and he could sense that a change is coming.
Or, he could just be done with breastfeeding. He is 17 months old and he's a busy little guy and maybe he's just onto other things. Interestingly, he's been going down at night more easily than ever, despite being in a new place, since this started on Friday. We thought the middle of the night wakings were going to be a disaster, because he always nurses down to sleep after he wakes up and has been known to cry for two hours if he doesn't get milk. But, everything was fine. I mean, he was already sleeping awfully because he was so, so stuffy. But when he woke up in the night, after he declined to nurse, we put him back down and he conked right back out. Same thing with tonight - he went down incredibly easily with no crying. Does this mean that he's just ready to be done? He is a very strong-willed little guy and doesn't change his mind easily.
From what we've read, it sounds like the next week should tell us a lot. If he's ready to wean, then that will be that and we'll move on into a short new phase of our lives in which neither one of us is breastfeeding. If he wants to start nursing again, we'll follow his lead in that case, too. He's certainly had a longer time breastfeeding than the vast majority of kids and it would be completely fine if he wanted to stop now.
I think I'll probably have an easier time once we know which way this is going, but right now I feel really sad and kind of unsettled. Once we got past our rough start, I have loved nursing him. Especially since he suddenly started nursing off to sleep around 9 months old, it has been a wonderful part of my days and nights. We go into his room and cuddle up and he has milk while slowly drifting off to sleep. Most of the time I put him in his crib soon after he conks, but sometimes I just cuddle him and think about how much I love him and how lucky we are to have this time together. I have loved this part of our lives so, so much.
I've always known that breastfeeding, and M's babyhood in general, would be too short, but I was hoping for a more gradual transition to the next thing! I get really sad thinking of how last week might have been our last week of nursing and how I didn't even know to appreciate it. Although, I've always tried to just be present with him while he's nursing and last week was no exception. In fact, as Sacha was reminding me, last week was a sweet week. Most days, he nursed down for naps, woke up after about an hour, and then let me nurse him back to sleep again. After he finished with his milk, Sacha or I would hold him and snuggle with him until he woke up. It was delicious and a wonderful time. If that was our last week, it was a pretty good way to go out.
Anyway, I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I think maybe I just need to let myself be sad for awhile, until I adjust to wherever this process is taking us.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Big boy day
M and I went to get his hair trimmed today and we had quite the fun time. He got to hold a little Nemo fish that inexplicably had, attached to its tail, a little koosh toy with glasses on it. That kept him occupied for quite awhile. I'm sure that he'll expect to see fish with glasses trailing behind them now if we ever take him to an aquarium.
There was an older lady also at the hair place, getting her fluffy white hair coiffed. When M got turned in her direction, he immediately pointed at her and said, "CAT!" I just thanked my lucky stars that she seemed to be very hard of hearing (or just good at ignoring small children) and I loudly said, "Oh honey, are you thinking about a cat? I don't see any cats..." In truth, her hair was quite fluffy.
When we got home, we went to the park to enjoy a gorgeous day and then came home to play with M's auntie and his two cousins, whom he adores. You can tell that he just thinks they hung the moon. It is so sweet. Here's a photo of his auntie reading to him on the couch, and then him with his favorite two big kids:
There was an older lady also at the hair place, getting her fluffy white hair coiffed. When M got turned in her direction, he immediately pointed at her and said, "CAT!" I just thanked my lucky stars that she seemed to be very hard of hearing (or just good at ignoring small children) and I loudly said, "Oh honey, are you thinking about a cat? I don't see any cats..." In truth, her hair was quite fluffy.
When we got home, we went to the park to enjoy a gorgeous day and then came home to play with M's auntie and his two cousins, whom he adores. You can tell that he just thinks they hung the moon. It is so sweet. Here's a photo of his auntie reading to him on the couch, and then him with his favorite two big kids:
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Music
Wow, what a difference a new teacher makes.
We started Mateo in a very popular music class last semester. It's a national program and the Portland affiliate has something like 900 families participating. That's a lot for a city this size. Literally almost everyone we know who has a kid goes to this music program. We tried it for the first time this past fall. He seemed to like it okay, but we had a brand-new teacher and I think he picked up her on lack of confidence or something. The classes involve a lot of singing and movement and dancing around, but he never wanted to leave my lap or my arms. It ended up being a good workout for me, because I carried him around through all the movement parts, but pretty challenging for our little guy.
This semester, we switched class times and got into a class with a much more experienced teacher. One of Mateo's good buddies is also in the class. We had our first session today and I can't believe how well it went. He spent the first few minutes camped out on my lap, but then was up and running. He ran around and played and explored some musical instruments and giggled and generally had a great time. (He even held onto his good mood after a rather spectacular collision with his buddy, in which they crashed into each other at a full run.) It was really amazing to see. I had a lot more fun, too!
When we got home, he wanted to talk all about music class and the kids in the class and how he got to use a shaker. Even when he was nursing before his nap, he popped off to say "music class" over and over. I love it! I think we're both looking forward to the rest of the semester.
(My grandma gave Mateo this semester of classes as his Christmas present, so we just wanted to send out a big thank you to her. It looks like it will be a really great gift!)
We started Mateo in a very popular music class last semester. It's a national program and the Portland affiliate has something like 900 families participating. That's a lot for a city this size. Literally almost everyone we know who has a kid goes to this music program. We tried it for the first time this past fall. He seemed to like it okay, but we had a brand-new teacher and I think he picked up her on lack of confidence or something. The classes involve a lot of singing and movement and dancing around, but he never wanted to leave my lap or my arms. It ended up being a good workout for me, because I carried him around through all the movement parts, but pretty challenging for our little guy.
This semester, we switched class times and got into a class with a much more experienced teacher. One of Mateo's good buddies is also in the class. We had our first session today and I can't believe how well it went. He spent the first few minutes camped out on my lap, but then was up and running. He ran around and played and explored some musical instruments and giggled and generally had a great time. (He even held onto his good mood after a rather spectacular collision with his buddy, in which they crashed into each other at a full run.) It was really amazing to see. I had a lot more fun, too!
When we got home, he wanted to talk all about music class and the kids in the class and how he got to use a shaker. Even when he was nursing before his nap, he popped off to say "music class" over and over. I love it! I think we're both looking forward to the rest of the semester.
(My grandma gave Mateo this semester of classes as his Christmas present, so we just wanted to send out a big thank you to her. It looks like it will be a really great gift!)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Long night
(Edited to add: I changed the title to this post because I started thinking about all the things that could have happened to make it a really terrible night. Like having to take a trip to the emergency room or someone having a stomach virus or any number of other things. I decided I should save the dramatic title for something other than yet another post about sleep problems...)
We had a horrible night last night. Awful. I mean, freaking awful. And it had nothing to do with Mateo. He slept until 3 am and woke up to nurse, as he does about half the time these days. No problem, right? I got up to nurse him and put him back down around 3:30. That's when the trouble started. When I got back to bed, Sacha said she'd been having a hard time sleeping. I commiserated and then we laid down and closed our eyes...and neither one of us went to sleep. For hours. We could not get back to sleep for anything. I don't know if we were keeping each other up with our shifting around or if my incredibly frustrated vibes (being up for no reason these days just makes me crazy because I know how I'm going to pay for it later) were making us both feel agitated.
Whatever the reason, I finally staggered out to the couch around 5 am, reasoning that maybe I needed a change of scenery and Sacha needed me to stop fidgeting around. I did finally fall asleep for about 15 minutes, when I heard Mateo wailing. I went back into the bedroom to find that Sacha was sitting up with him on her chest and that he had woken up almost immediately after I left our bedroom, but she didn't want to wake me up.
Putting him back to bed only led to him crying until just before six. Sacha had finally fallen asleep, so I got up with him. I was in such a terrible mood. I stomped into his room, yanked down the side of his crib, and picked him up. I mean, I had been up since 3 am.
Then, the most amazing thing happened. He said "Hi!" in this incredibly happy voice and leaned in for a cuddle. Then he started soothingly patting me on the back. It was so sweet and pretty soon tears were rolling down my face. After that, things were okay. We stayed up for awhile to let Sacha sleep and then she took him for a long walk while I crashed. As unpleasant as being up that early was, it made both of us realize that we still can function on very little sleep, which is good to know before baby #2 makes her appearance.
We've had a wonderful spring break and are a little sad that Sacha's going back to work tomorrow. But, as we were discussing earlier, each new work day (and weekend day) brings us that much closer to our new baby. Happy 30 weeks!
We had a horrible night last night. Awful. I mean, freaking awful. And it had nothing to do with Mateo. He slept until 3 am and woke up to nurse, as he does about half the time these days. No problem, right? I got up to nurse him and put him back down around 3:30. That's when the trouble started. When I got back to bed, Sacha said she'd been having a hard time sleeping. I commiserated and then we laid down and closed our eyes...and neither one of us went to sleep. For hours. We could not get back to sleep for anything. I don't know if we were keeping each other up with our shifting around or if my incredibly frustrated vibes (being up for no reason these days just makes me crazy because I know how I'm going to pay for it later) were making us both feel agitated.
Whatever the reason, I finally staggered out to the couch around 5 am, reasoning that maybe I needed a change of scenery and Sacha needed me to stop fidgeting around. I did finally fall asleep for about 15 minutes, when I heard Mateo wailing. I went back into the bedroom to find that Sacha was sitting up with him on her chest and that he had woken up almost immediately after I left our bedroom, but she didn't want to wake me up.
Putting him back to bed only led to him crying until just before six. Sacha had finally fallen asleep, so I got up with him. I was in such a terrible mood. I stomped into his room, yanked down the side of his crib, and picked him up. I mean, I had been up since 3 am.
Then, the most amazing thing happened. He said "Hi!" in this incredibly happy voice and leaned in for a cuddle. Then he started soothingly patting me on the back. It was so sweet and pretty soon tears were rolling down my face. After that, things were okay. We stayed up for awhile to let Sacha sleep and then she took him for a long walk while I crashed. As unpleasant as being up that early was, it made both of us realize that we still can function on very little sleep, which is good to know before baby #2 makes her appearance.
We've had a wonderful spring break and are a little sad that Sacha's going back to work tomorrow. But, as we were discussing earlier, each new work day (and weekend day) brings us that much closer to our new baby. Happy 30 weeks!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Spring break
Sacha's off work this week for spring break and we're having a great vacation at home. We've been doing some projects around the house and eating out a bit more and generally enjoying ourselves despite the weather. Today, it's in the 40s and rainy and gray. I thought spring in the northwest was at least supposed to be slightly warmer than winter!
Anyway, we probably won't be posting too much this week, but I wanted to write down a few new things M has been doing and also post a video.
This week, he's learned what cuddling is. If he wants to cuddle, he will actually say "cuddle!" as he leans in to cuddle one of us. He also knows how to cuddle his stuffed Cal bear and his stuffed puppy dog. He's been showing signs of actually playing with his stuffed animals recently. This morning, Sacha said he was walking his puppy dog along the floor saying "woof! woof! woof!".
He's also become fascinated with a shape sorting play set that his aunt and uncle gave him. It has fun rubber shapes of all different colors. He's just starting to learn the names of shapes and currently thinks everything is a blue triangle. Once we get out the shapes, he excitedly says "twi-gal, twi-gal, bwu, bwu!"
When we read to him, he's started to be able to fill in the words of some of his favorite books. One of his current favorites is a Goat ABC's book that he got from his great-grandmommy. Thanks to that book, he now knows that goats can nibble your nose and loves to talk about it. This video shows him with another big favorite - Moo Baa La La La - right before bed last night:
Also, our new baby is growing and becoming quite the little acrobat! She's very busy with things in there, especially at night time. She's either having a party or arranging everything just so. We both love feeling her. Our birth class is going well, too. We have homework every week to practice and last week's assignment was to give Sacha a massage every night. She liked that one! This week, we're working on finding relaxing memories and visualizations that will help her focus during labor. We're both enjoying her pregnancy, although she has to deal with a lot more aches and pains than I do! She's doing such a great job and I am in awe of her strength and grace.
Ok, off to enjoy our vacation!
Anyway, we probably won't be posting too much this week, but I wanted to write down a few new things M has been doing and also post a video.
This week, he's learned what cuddling is. If he wants to cuddle, he will actually say "cuddle!" as he leans in to cuddle one of us. He also knows how to cuddle his stuffed Cal bear and his stuffed puppy dog. He's been showing signs of actually playing with his stuffed animals recently. This morning, Sacha said he was walking his puppy dog along the floor saying "woof! woof! woof!".
He's also become fascinated with a shape sorting play set that his aunt and uncle gave him. It has fun rubber shapes of all different colors. He's just starting to learn the names of shapes and currently thinks everything is a blue triangle. Once we get out the shapes, he excitedly says "twi-gal, twi-gal, bwu, bwu!"
When we read to him, he's started to be able to fill in the words of some of his favorite books. One of his current favorites is a Goat ABC's book that he got from his great-grandmommy. Thanks to that book, he now knows that goats can nibble your nose and loves to talk about it. This video shows him with another big favorite - Moo Baa La La La - right before bed last night:
Also, our new baby is growing and becoming quite the little acrobat! She's very busy with things in there, especially at night time. She's either having a party or arranging everything just so. We both love feeling her. Our birth class is going well, too. We have homework every week to practice and last week's assignment was to give Sacha a massage every night. She liked that one! This week, we're working on finding relaxing memories and visualizations that will help her focus during labor. We're both enjoying her pregnancy, although she has to deal with a lot more aches and pains than I do! She's doing such a great job and I am in awe of her strength and grace.
Ok, off to enjoy our vacation!
A one diaper day!
Before Alayna and I had M, we used to live in the Bay and work for two different non-profits. One day, she emailed me a link to this group called elimination communication (EC), which claimed that babies could use the potty. Well, A emailed it to me as a joke - like look at how crazy some people are. And that is what I thought. Wow, only in the Bay.
Fast forward three more years, and a bit before M was born. I remembered the whole EC thing, and thought, well it does sound totally crazy, but also interesting. I found a book at the library called "Diaper Free Baby," and read it. The premise is that babies can communicate when they need to eliminate and that if we listen to them, they will continue to communicate.
I could see that it made some sense. Back in prehistoric times, it seems like it could be a threat to survival if you were constantly wet, and therefore cold. And I had heard that babies like to pee on whoever is changing their diaper. The book claimed that peeing when the diaper came off is normal and it is like we are saying, ok it is time to pee now, by taking off the diaper.
The book also claimed that it is confusing for kids to teach them for the first three years of their life that you should go in your diaper, and then, suddenly, three years later say that no, you should go in the potty.
After M was born, like the book said, he tended to go pee as he was getting his diaper changed. We starting making a "ssss" sound when he would pee, and started giving him "pottytunities." We gave him the opportunity to potty, and if he took it great, if not, that was fine too!
After M was born we had him in disposables, using EC when we changed his diaper, and after he woke up from naps. But then with all of the diaper rashes, around 2-3 months, we changed to cloth diapering and found that worked better for him. With the EC, he would frequently go right before we put him in a new diaper, keeping him dry for longer. This honestly made cloth diapering soooo much easier.
Around 11 months, though, he started walking and became less interested in sitting on his little infant potty. He would go pee now and then, but overall was less interested in the whole process.
Recently, though, M has been showing some renewed interest in the potty, so we got him his own "big boy" potty to sit on. For awhile now, he's liked sitting on it but not really gotten the concept of using it for its intended purpose. Then, suddenly, in the last couple of days, he's started to get it. When he wakes up from his nap or if his diaper's been dry for awhile, we'll sit him on it and sometimes he goes right away.
So, yesterday was quite the successful day! He only used one diaper all day. Every other time he needed to go, he used his potty! And then, to top it off, he slept till 4:30 am last night before waking up and had a dry diaper when he woke up. Alayna took him to the potty when he woke up and he used the bathroom in the middle of the night! Go M.
He is also really into flushing from his potty! He goes around saying, "flush it, flush it." It's very cute.
I would not say that we are potty training our son, just that we are giving him chances to use the potty and gradually he's wanting to use it more and more. Yesterday was quite the breakthrough day, although other days he mostly uses his diapers. It is amazing, though, to see him become more and more aware of himself. And, just having to wash one diaper yesterday was fabulous!
Fast forward three more years, and a bit before M was born. I remembered the whole EC thing, and thought, well it does sound totally crazy, but also interesting. I found a book at the library called "Diaper Free Baby," and read it. The premise is that babies can communicate when they need to eliminate and that if we listen to them, they will continue to communicate.
I could see that it made some sense. Back in prehistoric times, it seems like it could be a threat to survival if you were constantly wet, and therefore cold. And I had heard that babies like to pee on whoever is changing their diaper. The book claimed that peeing when the diaper came off is normal and it is like we are saying, ok it is time to pee now, by taking off the diaper.
The book also claimed that it is confusing for kids to teach them for the first three years of their life that you should go in your diaper, and then, suddenly, three years later say that no, you should go in the potty.
After M was born, like the book said, he tended to go pee as he was getting his diaper changed. We starting making a "ssss" sound when he would pee, and started giving him "pottytunities." We gave him the opportunity to potty, and if he took it great, if not, that was fine too!
After M was born we had him in disposables, using EC when we changed his diaper, and after he woke up from naps. But then with all of the diaper rashes, around 2-3 months, we changed to cloth diapering and found that worked better for him. With the EC, he would frequently go right before we put him in a new diaper, keeping him dry for longer. This honestly made cloth diapering soooo much easier.
Around 11 months, though, he started walking and became less interested in sitting on his little infant potty. He would go pee now and then, but overall was less interested in the whole process.
Recently, though, M has been showing some renewed interest in the potty, so we got him his own "big boy" potty to sit on. For awhile now, he's liked sitting on it but not really gotten the concept of using it for its intended purpose. Then, suddenly, in the last couple of days, he's started to get it. When he wakes up from his nap or if his diaper's been dry for awhile, we'll sit him on it and sometimes he goes right away.
So, yesterday was quite the successful day! He only used one diaper all day. Every other time he needed to go, he used his potty! And then, to top it off, he slept till 4:30 am last night before waking up and had a dry diaper when he woke up. Alayna took him to the potty when he woke up and he used the bathroom in the middle of the night! Go M.
He is also really into flushing from his potty! He goes around saying, "flush it, flush it." It's very cute.
I would not say that we are potty training our son, just that we are giving him chances to use the potty and gradually he's wanting to use it more and more. Yesterday was quite the breakthrough day, although other days he mostly uses his diapers. It is amazing, though, to see him become more and more aware of himself. And, just having to wash one diaper yesterday was fabulous!
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