Giving the potty another shot

So things have changed again since my last post. Lynsey has been showing interest in the potty again. For the last week, she has been going to the potty every evening before bed, and has shown considerable improvement from our last attempt - we no longer have to read her books for half an hour before she pees. She sits down and pees within 30 seconds every time. She definitely understands how to release, because even if she barely has to go, she still squeezes out what she can (sorry if this is too much information!).

We weren't sure if we should just let things take a natural course or bring out the panties again - I've been a bit mixed on it. A part of me really just wants to stick with diapers and let her become more ready, and a part of me thinks she IS ready and with just a bit of encouragement, we could nail this thing. Well, this morning, I decided to try the panties again. Call me crazy, but I just couldn't resist seeing how she would handle it this time.

She wore them all day with the exception of her nap, and she did really well considering. First three hours - two pees on the potty, no accidents. At this point, I'm feeling pretty good about myself! She had a lot of water and some juice in the morning, and from 11 - 12, we went through a rough patch. A lot of pees in the panties, a few pees on the potty. A touch discouraging, but she did pee on the potty a few consecutive times before naptime so I was revitalized. After the nap, no accidents until after dinner, and even then, she couldn't be blamed for one of them, and one of them was pretty minor (didn't even produce a puddle - thank goodness for training panties!). Right before bed, she actually climbed onto a regulation sized toilet by herself, settled herself in near the back, and peed with absolutely no help from me at all. I couldn't believe it! She did make a comment at some point about falling in, but she steadied herself and didn't freak out and ask for help or anything. That has got to be a sign that she is at the very least fast approaching readiness! We'll see how tomorrow goes. I can't be home all day tomorrow like I was today, so that might disrupt things, but I'm determined not to grow weary. It was a long day today, and my pregnancy hormones are not helping how easily I can get discouraged, but I'm just trying to look at all the positives of today and see that she really did quite well for her first day in panties. I can definitely see how it could turn into a power struggle, and am trying to really be on the lookout for signs of that - from what I've heard, no good comes from a power struggle, in this area in particular. So stay tuned! I will say right now that there is definitely a chance that this will not work, and I will not be too proud to admit it:).

In the area of talking - she continues to amaze me. She picks up everything that is said around her, and frequent exclamations of "Oh my goodness" and "Oh dear" make me thankful I've never had a dirty mouth lol! There definitely are worse things she could be saying as she remembers that she forgot her doll downstairs:). She remembers things I tell her from one day to the next, and communicating is getting easier all the time. I was actually able to tell her last week on the way to my morning Bible Study that she would be going into the church nursery, and that Mommy wouldn't be there because I was going to Bible Study, but that it would be okay and she shouldn't cry. She didn't cry when I dropped her off for the first time in forever, and although she wasn't happy about it, let me go without a fuss. When we went to my Mom's group on Friday, she asked me if I was going to Bible Study, and I was able to tell her that no, this time Mommy would stay with her - she definitely liked that answer better:). What a good girl! She is also doing fantastic in her bed, even settling into her naps better and better all the time. She knows she's not supposed to get up from her bed, and I hear her telling herself that on the monitor sometimes ("Lynsey stay in da bed"). I am so thankful for a little girl that adjusts so well to new situations - she always has!

In a big girl room now!

Since my last post, the potty training has pretty much come to a halt. She seems to have lost interest in peeing on the potty almost completely. Oh, well - we'll leave it for now and pick it up again in a month or two. She continues to become more conversational, and it still amazes me what she remembers sometimes! I love it that she can articulate more what she wants, although there's still a way to go. At least she tells me now when she wants Mini-wheats versus Cheerios for breakfast, saving me from wasting a bowl of cereal:).

The biggest news is how beautifully our little girl has transitioned to her toddler bed! Last weekend we painted her new room (the old spare room) and set up her bed. She loved it right away. She's been in it for a week, and we have had very few problems. She seems to take a similar amount of time to fall asleep at night as she did in her crib, and she wakes up about the same time. She also stays in her room playing for a long time in the morning before she calls for us, just like she always did in her crib. Naptime is coming, it's a bit more frustrating. Yesterday she didn't fall asleep for an hour and a half. After an hour and fifteen minutes of just messing around in her room, I heard her saying that she had pooped so I had to go in there and change her. She could tell I wasn't happy that she wasn't sleeping yet, and she fell asleep shortly after I changed her. She sometimes took that long in her crib, too, so I don't know how much of this is the distraction of the bed and how much is just her not being sleepy yet. Despite naptime being a bit of an issue still, I would call her transition to a bed pretty much seamless. Apparently she was ready! She doesn't seem to have any attachment to the nursery or her crib, which will hopefully bode well for the little intruder that will take them over in a few months:).

There was snow on the ground this morning, and I tried to take her outside to play in it, but she didn't last very long out there before wanting to come inside. I will keep trying - I'm sure she will get used to the cold and the snow.

On the non-Lynsey front, we finally got the shower finished in the basement bathroom, and the laundry cabinet assembled. The bathroom is pretty much done, finally! We also found a suitable portable bed option (double high queen air mattress with a 3 inch memory foam topper) so that guests can still be somewhat comfortable when they come for night:). Becky slept on it last week for a few nights and said it was comfortable. One more thing I can check off my list of pre-baby things to get done! Pregnancy is going well still - I have been growing exponentially it feels like. Two thanksgiving dinners in one weekend didn't help that feeling! The baby is incredibly active - I wish I could remember if Lynsey had been this active. I certainly don't THINK she was, but I might just be remembering wrong. He just goes crazy in there sometimes! I've also had a cough for the last month which has been a real pain. I am resisting going to the doctor, but have decided that if it persists until the weekend, I'm going. I don't know when I've had a cough that's lasted this long.