new baby, new chart

Saturday night, I started re-reading a lot of articles and testimonials about Elimination Communication. I have a renewed interest now, and I feel encouraged and, well, not as silly, after having read what other mothers have done. I even found one story that sounded just like my experience with Rachel! Anyway, I also felt emboldened to go diaper-free with Carly. But, since that sounds potentially messy, I've decided to just go waterproofless. So, during the day today, she has worn just a cloth diaper with no waterproof cover. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, we have had much fewer misses today! So, for old time's sake, here's the potty chart for today, as of 3:00pm:

Potty Report

	potty	diaper
peepee	7	4
poop	3	1

Wow, babies go a lot. I knew she went often, but not that often! Going cloth, and especially going without the waterproof cover has been very enlightening on that end. Knowing that she wasn't waterproof made me much more attentive to her cues. When she fussed, and I knew she was neither hungry nor sleepy, I took her potty. And she's gone almost every time, even though there was a time or two when she had just gone 10 minutes before. Herein lies my biggest consideration when debating about whether to continue with this EC thing: now that I've seen it, how could I not assume that might be the reason behind any efforts to communicate with me? I am learning her hunger cues, and her sleepy cues, and now her "elimination" cues, and I just don't think I could ignore any of the three at this point. After all, what else does a baby do?? Of course, I'm not right every time, but sometimes I also think she's hungry when she's not, and sometimes I think she's tired when she's not (or, conversely, I don't think she's hungry when she actually is, or that she's tired when she actually is), so it stands to reason that I would miss some of her elimination cues just as easily.

With Rachel, I had a definitive goal to be done with diapers by the time she reached 12 months. I moved the goal to 18 months when we "failed" the first goal, and then I gave up on having a goal at all when she wasn't completely done at 18 months. I felt frustrated as she got older and still had accidents. But, after reading a lot of the accounts from other moms, and now being on the other side of it with Rachel (she's been fully trained by day and night for about 5 months now), I know to consider this a process, and I know that it will just "click" with Carly whenever she is mature enough. I know that I am laying the groundwork for future potty learning, and whether we have more catches or more misses is neither here nor there. It is about learning to communicate with my baby about her basic needs, and setting forth clear expectations so I won't have to re-train her from using a diaper when she's older.

I am totally in love with this concept, in case you can't tell, and there is nothing sweeter than the times I have with just her, holding her little dimpled bottom over the potty and seeing her grin up at me after she's gone. She seems to realize what's happening, but, at the least, I can just assume she likes being bare-bottomed. I'm happy for those gummy grins, whatever the reason.

terrible seventeen-months

Rachel has been extremely cranky today, and I think there's nothing really to blame it on, except her age. I got pretty cranky, myself by lunchtime. Rachel had been playing contentedly, and I was taking pictures. After a few minutes, I decided I should tidy up the kitchen a bit and wash the couple of dishes left over from breakfast. Oh, the wails that followed. Rachel bosses me all day, and sometimes I just say, "No, Rachel, I will not sit next to you while you eat and feed your teddy bear his imaginary food and milk, because I don't have to do what you say." So there. Boy, does she get mad. So I'm standing at the sink, washing dishes, and she is literally pushing my legs in the direction she wants me to go. When I tell her "no," she just flings herself around, often smacking her head against a cabinet or the floor, which she really plays up like she's injured beyond repair. It makes me crazy. But I really almost lost it when she was standing there in my feet, having a fit, and she wet her pants. This child has not had an accident in several days (with the exception of her tummy issues, but I mean a peepee accident), so it was all because she was in the middle of her temper tantrum that she wet herself. Thankfully, she haulted, and I got her to the potty for most of the peepee, which was some consolation to me.

I love this outfit Rachel's wearing, but she added the jeans herself. She has figured out how to put pants on, and she drags jeans around and struggles to put them on and then take them off. They often end up backward, and she has trouble walking around and bending over in them, but she's just so proud of herself that she doesn't mind. She finally got these on the right direction, and I helped her get them buttoned, and, ya know what--this outfit is actually cuter with the jeans! Oh, oh, what will she be like as a teenager...

cute moment

When it was time to put cranky Rachel down for her nap, Little Miss Busy didn't want to go to bed. Part of our routine now is that I hold her by her crib and sway her for a couple minutes. She gets really still and sweet, and pats my shoulder a lot, so it's hard to put her down (I think she knows that). Today, she collapsed on my shoulder for a few seconds and then sat up and told me she needed to go potty. "No, we're all finished with the potty--you just went potty." Without protest, she collapsed again for a few seconds more, and then popped her head up and asked for some water. "No, Rachel, you had some water." She lay back down. Then she looked at me and snorted out her nose and pointed to the box of tissues. "You don't need to blow your nose, Rachel." After lying still and thinking of one last delay tactic, she looked back up and asked for a bath. It was hard not to laugh as I refused her last ditch effort.

non-toy toy of the day

CD's...(notice all her teeth!)

where to begin

Rachel has been going full speed ahead for several days now. On Saturday, Jarrad helped our pastor move ALL day, so he was exhausted. Rachel didn't take a morning nap, and only had a one-hour afternoon nap. Sunday, she missed her morning nap as usual, and took a 1.5-hour afternoon nap. After her nap, we went swimming with Aunt Mamber at GiGi and Pop's house, and then Jarrad and I visited our former church in the evening. It was so nice to be back! Rachel and I spent the night at GiGi's house, and Rachel woke up happy and ready to play--at 4:45am!! I thought I had her settled back down enough to sleep some more, until a train came down the tracks right by their neighborhood. The horn scared Rachel, and we were up for the day! We were in the car headed home by about 8:30am, and Rachel quickly fell asleep, and she stayed asleep when I parked the car in our driveway 40 minutes later. Not wanting to wake her, and not caring to get anything else done, I put my seat back and took a nap, too, and we both slept until I heard her say, "mama" at 10:05am. She took a pretty good afternoon nap, and probably would have almost been back on track, but we went to a dinner party last night. Rachel wasn't in bed until 9:00pm, and when she woke up at 6:00am today, she was in the worst of moods. Nine hours of sleep is not enough for this child! She struggled through the day, and managed to take two decent naps, but she barely made it to her 8:00pm bedtime. I was wishing I had put her to bed earlier.

My cousin Andrea came over after Rachel's morning nap, and the three of us met Aunt KiKi and Cousin Tyler for lunch. Tyler has always been a big boy, and, although he is only 7 months older than Rachel, he outweighs her by about 11 pounds. But I am pretty sure Rachel out-ate Tyler today. We had pizza, and Rachel kept asking for more and more and more, until I finally cut her off. The mushrooms seemed to be her favorite. Tyler had just been to the mall to buy new shoes for his growing feet, and, since he was so proud, he insisted on wearing them out of the store, with the store-provided nylon flesh-colored socks sticking out around his ankles.

Progress Report

Rachel has continued to do great with the potty, although her fatigue was clearly affecting her by tonight. She waved her fist and told me she needed to potty (GOOgoo!), but screamed when I tried to sit her there. I picked her up to leave the bathroom, and she'd give me a really serious look and told me she needed to potty. We cycled through this a couple times before I was really frustrated, which upset her even more, which made me feel bad. So she was standing there on the bathroom floor, as naked as the day she was born, and I was hugging her, attempting to console her and calm her down, when she peepeed all over my foot. She needed to potty, alright.

cute moment

Rachel has figured out how to give real kisses, smacking noise and all. She has been handing out big, wet, open kisses for months, but the noise is new. She doesn't get it right every time, but she's learning. Tonight, she went in our bathroom and talked to the potty for a moment, and then kissed the potty lid. Ew.

non-toy toy of the day

Rachel has been playing with lots of non-toys. In this picture, she is carrying a silver gift bag. She kept it for a while this afternoon, putting things in and taking things out, until, finally, the bottom fell through. She didn't seem to mind, though.

product placement

Rachel woke up too early again, so was cranky all day. To keep her from playing out all her energy, I took her on a little field trip to the music store, and just walking around the shopping center. Rachel had a great time, and I was able to hold her off until 1:40pm for her afternoon nap. Both naps were 1 hour today, even though she could really use a good 3-hour nap one of these days. Going to Koen's house also kept her happy this afternoon, and she was in bed and right to sleep at 6:35pm. I am really hoping she will sleep all night and wake up well-rested, sometime AFTER 5:00am.

I didn't take many pictures today, so here's a bonus video from yesterday. Notice her face after she whacks her head on the dresser:

Progress Report

	potty	diaper
peepee	3	4
poop	2	1

Yes, a poopy diaper. Unfortunately, she dirtied her diaper when I put her down for a nap this morning. I felt so terrible that I didn't know she needed to go. When I put her on the changing table, she gave me this look, like, "Duh, mom. Duh." I haven't changed a poopy diaper in a really really long time. Oh well, I guess there will always be accidents!

cute moment

You might remember that Rachel's great grandparents gave her two singing bunnies for Easter. She has grown to love the one that wiggles his ears and taps his foot, so it gets played often. Because it gets played often, I have learned the song he sings. Of course, it's one of those terrible songs that gets stuck in your head, so I find myself singing it aloud. Rachel has also started tapping her foot when she hears the song. Anyway, on the way to Koen's house today, Rachel was really fussy. So I started singing the bunny song. Rachel grinned and tapped her feet!! I sang all the way there, and she stayed happy the whole time. It worked on the way home, too.

non-toy toy of the day

Jarrad's gym bag was in the living room this morning, and Rachel found his deodorant and carried it around for a while.

light as a feather, stiff as a board

Hello faithful blog readers! You probably noticed my blog vacation. Rachel, Jarrad and I had a great time visiting my family Friday and Saturday. Rachel got to hang out with her cousin, Tyler, and they seem to be enjoying each other more and more. But, of course, the grandparents enjoyed the silliness most of all. Poppy got out some of his fun hats, masks, and wigs to entertain the kiddos. On Friday, Rachel decided that her preferred entertainment was walking, holding onto someone's fingers for balance. So, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, that's all the child wanted to do. When we tried to take a break, she'd holler for more. When we tried to sit her down, she gave us the stiff-leg. When she got her way, she was talking, giggling, and grinning the whole time. Aunt KiKi pointed out that Rachel walks belly-first. That's because we can't keep up with her! It's a pretty funny sight. And the funniest thing is that she's not actually going anywhere. She's just walking.

So, this morning, when I got her out of the crib and tried to sit her down, she gave me the stiff-leg, as usual. But, she felt really stable, so I let go. She stood there, giggling, for a long time before she gently sat down. We practiced all day, and she took a step here and there. She finally took two steps in a row before falling forward. When Jarrad got home tonight, she took about five steps in a row! She thinks it's a fun new game. I think it's saving my back. I know what you moms-with-more-than-one-kid are thinking...that I shouldn't encourage her to walk just yet. I know my life is about to get a lot more difficult once she walks, but I can't get over the excitement of watching her develop this new skill!

Rachel had a really great first Easter. Aunt KiKi gave her a princess Easter bucket with cute chicky glasses and some other toys, and two beautiful spring dresses. She also bought her too-cute Easter Sunday outfit (picture coming). Cousin Anthony came over on Sunday and brought two singing and dancing Easter bunnies from MeMaw and GGPaw. Rachel wasn't sure what to think of these. She got adventurous and touched the one that wiggles his ear while he sings, but today she decided he scared her. When I was trying to get her to walk, she kept her eyes locked on that bunny and wouldn't let go of me. Yesterday afternoon, GiGi came over with a fuzzy Easter card and a soft basket with goodies, and, last night, Aunt Mamber came over with her collection of little PoundPuppies for Rachel (remember those??).

On Friday, Rachel and I went with Poppy to see some of his relatives. They all seemed to enjoy Rachel. Saturday, we went to my Aunt Doris's house for my mom's family get-together. We had a great time seeing everyone and visiting. Our friend Koen and his family even got to come, and Bob got to drive Uncle Roy's tractor! We are so blessed to live near so much family!

Rachel was clearly glad to be home today. She took two good naps and did great on the potty. I hope she will sleep well tonight!

Progress Report

I may be ready to give up the potty charts in favor of only reporting how many diapers she used each day. Over the weekend, she used two diapers Friday and Saturday, one diaper Sunday, and no diapers today. She did have one small floor accident right before bed tonight (she stopped as soon as Jarrad yelped at her and swiped her onto the potty), which ruined an otherwise perfect day! She has been very potty-friendly lately, even sitting and playing on the potty for 15 minutes today when she evidently didn't need to go. I kept offering to help her up, but I guess she was having fun. It's refreshing after the few difficult days we had last week. I hope she continues to love it!

cute moment

Rachel's cousin, Tyler, reportedly does not kiss people very often; he prefers to kiss his stuffed animals. However, this weekend, he kissed Rachel several times! I guess they're going to be good pals!

non-toy toy of the day

Her Easter basket, of course!

life lesson

I had a rather emotional weekend, partly due to exhaustion from traveling and not sleeping well. As a result, I have two life lessons. First of all, I have always been an "over-achiever." I am a student at heart, and I am anxious to be the best [insert title here] possible. At the moment, I am obviously consumed with being a mommy. I thrive on the daily challenges and I look forward to the adventures of each new stage Rachel goes through. Because of this, I spend a lot of time with Rachel. Maybe you've thought this in reading my blog, that perhaps I spend an excessive amount of time with Rachel. Does she need me right on top of her all the time? When I was home, I said something to my mom about playing in Rachel's room. She looked at me funny and told me that concerned her a bit. Huh? Why? Am I doing it wrong?? Oh no, am I? She explained that it's a little odd for a 26-year-old to spend most of her day playing in a 9-month-old's bedroom, and that most people have other things they need to be doing. That's true. That's true. I am doing it wrong. I have been telling myself, "I will have only one child only once. I should enjoy her, I should watch her, I should study her." That is what I want to do. But is it healthy? My friend, Carla, and I were talking about self-indulgent parenting and trusting our instincts. Maybe I am being self-indulgent. As of last week, Rachel has become a lot more clingy. She acts afraid of some things (like the dog and the singing bunny), and she doesn't want to let other people hold her. I know it's developmental that she go through this, but how much of it am I fostering by being in her face all day? My mom felt bad that her observation upset me, but I'm glad she mentioned it. At least I can momentarily step outside of myself and try to consider my options and what's really best for Rachel. I imagine I will look back and grieve many parenting decisions I make by the time Rachel is grown. I am glad to have anyone point out anywhere I might be at fault. As I told my mother-in-law once, "Anytime you want to give us advice about Rachel, you go ahead, and we'll either listen or we won't." I just want to be the best mom possible.

Second, last night, Jarrad cautioned me that I need to be careful about how much I talk about Rachel's pottying. Huh? I suppressed potty talk for a long time, because I was unsure if it would work, and I didn't want to get ahead of myself with outrageous claims. But, now that it really seems to be working, I guess I am getting more and more excited about it, and I will talk to anyone who cares to listen, and, apparently, even those who don't. When Jarrad pointed that out to me, I felt horrible. I am afraid I've come across braggy, and I don't mean to. As I told my brother (because if I've been obnoxious to anyone, it would definitely be my brother), potty training Rachel has been my little experiment--something I've found fun and interesting. I don't fancy myself a better mother, or Rachel a smarter baby because of it, and I hope that's not how I've made anyone feel. I try to be honest about my parenting style and not hide when I've discovered a shortcoming. I don't lie and say my cloth diapers don't smell bad and are sometimes tricky to launder. I won't pretend I feel validated every time I choose to let Rachel "cry it out" (or not). And I won't say infant potty training is superior to waiting. For me, it has been a worthy venture, but I know...I'm weird.

knock, knock...

Wow, Rachel had lots of visitors today! Miles (who is 2 months older than Rachel) and his mommy, Karen visited at lunchtime, then Poppy came, and then PopPop and Uma came! Rachel had a full day, so it was convenient that she had a good sleeping day as well.

We had terrible weather last night, so, at GiGi's urging, Rachel slept in her Pack 'n' Play setup in the hallway outside our room for most of the night. She woke up around 4:15am. Jarrad checked the radar online, and it seemed the worst weather had passed. I took Rachel to her room upstairs and rocked her back to sleep. She must have been happy to be back in her crib, because she slept until almost 7:45am! She took a late 1.5-hour morning nap before Miles came to play, and a short afternoon nap.

Poppy, Rachel and I went for a stroll around the neighborhood, but Rachel got antsy and we had to return home quicker than usual. She did not enjoy being strapped in that stroller today! When we got back home, Rachel played and played. Poppy took lots of great pictures (I'm hoping he'll send us a few). PopPop and Uma came for about an hour before Rachel's bedtime, and Rachel entertained them with silly noises and funny faces. Overall, we had a great Friday!

Progress Report

	potty	diaper	floor
peepee	5	5
poop	1	0	1	I guess I should throw a diaper on her before I answer the phone. oops!

cute moment

Rachel enjoyed playing with her new friend Miles. Since Miles is a little older, he seemed to know he was more in control. When Rachel picked up a toy, he wanted it, and he came over and got it. Rachel doesn't know to care, so she just looked at him with a confused expression on her face. Eventually, he'd drop the toy, and she'd pick it back up and continue to play. Miles and Rachel found each other very interesting!

non-toy toy of the day

When she gets antsy on our walk, I try to find something to entertain her. She loves a leaf. She crunches it and stares at it. I can only give her a leaf when she has her paci in her mouth, though, or she'll try to eat it. Yuck!

to sleep is divine

Rachel's afternoon nap lasted 1 hour 45 minutes! This, after waking this morning at 5:45am and taking a short 40-minutes nap at 9:00am, was a big relief. To make it even better, her diaper was dry, and she was clearly requesting a potty-sit when I got her out of her crib. I had a tummy ache this morning from eating too much Mexican food last night, but I felt much better by lunchtime. What started out as a rough day turned out great!

Usually on Thursdays, Rachel and I go visit our friend Koen. I worked with Koen in the school system last year, and his mommy has graciously allowed me to stay a part of his world. Today, Koen and Carla came to our house! Rachel showed off all her tricks, and Koen walked around and explored. He even found Rachel's Adidas cheerleading uniform and put it on his Stitch stuffed animal! Chris, Carla, Koen, and his brother Bob have become good friends.

Progress Report

	potty	diaper	floor
peepee	5	5	2	I never pay attention after bathtime!
poop	1	2

cute moment

Rachel's paci is as much a toy as it is a pacifier. She likes to drop it and pick it up, chase it around on the floor, throw it over the side of her crib, trade one paci for another, bang them together, and whack other toys with it. She also likes to spit it out. Tonight, she was lying on her back with her paci in her mouth, when she decided to spit it out. It flipped straight over her nose and landed between her eyes, where it stayed until she shook it off. Aunt Mamber was here to witness this amazing feat!

non-toy toy of the day

Rachel likes to chew on...everything. Today, she especially enjoyed gnawing on her paci strap (the one that attaches to her clothes so she doesn't lose her paci when we're out). She loved it so much that she didn't want to let go when she was ready to crawl; so she just kept it.

to bathe is divine

Bath day! Rachel loves taking a bath. She has two CareBears bathtime bubble books, which I alternate in the tub. She likes to hold onto the book with one hand and a washcloth with the other, and her favorite part of bathtime is dripdry. Ever since she started taking tub baths, I made a habit of picking her up when we were finished, holding her high over the tub, shaking her gently from side to side, and saying "dripdry dripdry dripdry." She always grins so big--I think the cool air feels funny on her skin, and the sound of "dripdry" over and over is kind of amusing too. Then I wrap her in a cozy hooded towel and we have some cuddle time. The doctor recommended that we use Cetaphil brand cleanser and cream (not lotion) for her dry skin, and it has done an amazing job getting her skin back to baby soft!

Rachel woke up this morning at 4:25am. Rub your eyes and read it again: 4:25am. I was terrified that she was up for the day. She was sitting up in her crib, crying because she couldn't fold herself in half to go back to sleep (I figured out her zip-up blanket won't allow that maneuver). I tried to put her back down a time or two, but she screamed. I rocked her a few minutes and calmed her down, then put her back in the crib, vowing to leave her alone and let her figure out what to do next. By 5:15am, she was back to sleep, and she slept until 7:20am. And so did I. Finally, she is well-rested, and, as a result, took a good 1.5-hour nap this morning, and a 1-hr nap this afternoon. We enjoyed some fresh air before dinner, and Rachel was in a great mood when Daddy got home tonight!!

Progress Report

	potty	diaper	floor	highchair
peepee	7	4	1	1
poop	1	0

Today's pottying was...haphazard. Feeling really [over]confident, I let Rachel go diaperless, sure that she would let me know if she needed to go. And maybe she tried. How in the world would I know??--she doesn't have a set sign for potty yet. What was I thinking? I guess, as most parents, that my child is more advanced than she actually is. At lunchtime, I decided to take her down to the kitchen, no diaper, and bring the potty with us. I set it within her line of sight, so she could show me if she needed to go. I put a doubled diaper on the seat of her highchair, just in case. Rachel was thoroughly amused by the potty being in the dining room. She laughed at it and waved and squealed. So, when she might have been telling me she had to go, I disregarded it, and she wet her chair. Then, don't you know she was whining and showing me the potty! It'll be awhile before we try that stunt again. So, my wet, carrot-stained baby got her bath, after which she was crawling around her room as naked as the day she was born. She crawled over to me, but I was trying to pick out her outfit and I didn't pay her any mind. So she peepeed on the floor! Man, we were off today!

cute moment

Rachel LOVES her daddy. Tonight, she was in an especially good mood, and she and Daddy played and played. When we were getting her ready for bed, Rachel lay patiently on her back for us to dress her. Jarrad, standing above her, started dangling one of her garments and then lowered it to tickle her face. She burst into squeals and laughter. He kept pulling it back high and she would look at it, then at Daddy, and grin and tense up in anticipation. Then Daddy dropped it down, and she kicked her feet and flailed her arms all around, laughing hysterically. Sometimes she grabbed it, and Daddy shook gently and said "Gimme that, gimme that." She found that even more laughable. Rachel has the best Daddy in the world!

non-toy toy of the day

Yes, it's the same award-winning "toy" as yesterday, but isn't this a cute picture??

how 'bout them peas??

Rachel woke up at 5:00am today. I had hopes that she would go back to sleep. She didn't. And, even though I slept horribly last night, I somehow didn't feel too tired. I think my sleep has lapsed. She went to sleep easily for her morning nap (1 hr 15 mins) and woke up with a dry diaper, and then slept as pictured this afternoon for a whole hour. (I didn't put the doll there--that's how these two were when I peeked in!) We went for a walk outside today before dinner...

And, yes, how was dinner? I tried giving her the peas. She liked them, I think, more than the carrots, but not crazy about them. After a few bites, it was clear I should break out the pre-packaged Gerber peas. I will be trying again, but with dried peas I think. I used fresh-frozen--maybe not the best choice.

Aunt Mamber came over for a visit late this afternon. Rachel was so excited to have another person to climb on!

Progress Report

	potty	diaper	floor
peepee	4	7	1
poop	1	0

Rachel was very obstinate when it came to pottying and diapering today, and I'm pretty certain we had our first protest "accident." She hopped off the potty and, before I even had a chance to hold her down and diaper her, she scooted under her crib, where she peepeed on the floor.

cute moment

Rachel rediscovered Monkey today. Monkey was given to her by Aunt Julie at Christmas. He wears a lovely red NC State shirt, and Rachel LOVES him. He's been away for a few days (out of toy rotation), and when she found him, she could not stop giving him kisses. She laughed and kissed and laughed and kissed. It was a happy reunion.

non-toy toy of the day

Rachel played with one of her BabyLegs socks for a really long time today. It stretches nicely, so she could pull it and sling it around. What great fun!

what's in these carrots??

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PopPop!! In honor of PopPop, I tried to cook carrots for Rachel again. My first several attempts failed, even though she likes the Gerber carrots. When PopPop and Uma were last here, I tried again, this time cooking the things to death, hoping that was the problem. Of course that wasn't the problem at all, and Rachel entertained us with various crazy faces. Believe me, the video camera was out. PopPop suggested I use baby carrots (which are sweeter) instead of the big kind I'd been using, so, today, I did. And Rachel still refused them. She still likes Gerber carrots though. Tomorrow I'm trying peas, which she's loved coming out of the little plastic Gerber pack. If she doesn't like those, I'm contacting WRAL 5 on Your Side to investigate...what in the world is Gerber doing to that food?? The ingredients say: "carrots, water." There must be something else in there, or they'd taste like carrots. And, here I am again, regretting I didn't start doing what's healthier from the beginning instead of putting it off. Sheesh.

As for sleep, last night was great until about 5:45am. She went down relatively easily for her nap this morning (1.5 hours), and then took over an hour to go to sleep this afternoon. I'm trying hard to let her figure this out, but after an hour, I had to help her along. I finally put her down, asleep, around 3.

Progress Report

	potty	diaper	floor
peepee	7	6	1	oops!
poop	1	0

I tried two potty experiments today (are you figuring out that this is not really work for me, but more like a project?). Late this morning, I put Rachel on the potty as usual, and she pooped. I was very happy because it's been several days since she pooped on the potty. I knew peepee was coming shortly, but I didn't have the heart to make her stay seated until it came. So I dangerously left her diaperless, wondering what she'd do. She pulled herself up at the window, so i shoved a towel between her legs on the floor (just in case). Sure enough, a couple minutes passed and she looked away from the window, gazed over at the potty, and peepeed. She gets it! Am I going to throw her on the potty now every time she looks at it? No--she also loves to play with the potty. But at least I know she's aware of what her body's doing (something toddlers often have trouble with after ignoring it for so long), and I know, eventually, she'll be able to communicate that to me with the sign for potty or whatever.

The second experiment was this afternoon. I put her on the potty and she protested even more than usual (she was sleepy). I set her on it twice and she got up without trying both times (believe me, I do know when she's tried). So, on a whim, I put her Eeyore stuffed animal on it, made the psspss noise I usually make when she goes and to signal her to go, got him up and said, "Yay, Eeyore peepeed on the potty, yay!!" as Eeyore jumped up and down. I sat her back on there, and she went, no hesitation! Weird!

cute moment

Rachel has decided it's more interesting to play with her bib than eat (especially my home-cooked carrots, of course). She yanks on her bib and pulls it up over her face. She puts it in her mouth (Aunt Mamber says she's wiping off her tongue), and she finally pulls it off and waves it around. Really, the bib has become more of a mess-maker than a mess-preventer. She also found the bear on the back of her highchair, and she turned often to give him a kiss or to wack him and laugh.

non-toy toy of the day

Rachel played by the windows a lot today. She has two sets of windows in her room. One set is really tall, starting almost at the floor, so it's the perfect place for Rachel to pull up and look outside. There she found a little plastic piece that is supposed to attach to the blinds so you can twist them closed or open. It had fallen off, and it was the perfect size for Rachel to pick up and hold tightly in her hand, which she did for a loooong time. Even when she wasn't actually playing with it, if she dropped it, she immediately looked to pick it up again. I stayed close by her, but I only had to keep her from putting it in her mouth a couple of times. I think she just enjoyed having it in her hand.

Here is Rachel, concentrating on the task at hand.