Abram - 2 Months

At his two month appointment Abram weighed in at 13 pounds 3 ounces.  He was 23 and 3/4 inches.  That put him in the 80% percentile for height and 80% percentile for weight.  His head circumference was 16 inches, or 60% percentile.  He is one big boy! 

Abram received his first round of shots, including his first Hepatitis B vaccine since we opted out of this in the hospital at birth.  We completely opted out of the Rotavirus vaccine for a variety of reasons.  First, the vaccine has a bad track record with several brands of the vaccine being recalled for various reasons over the past ten years.  Second, Rotavirus is typically more serious for low-income families with a lack of knowledge and lack of good healthcare.  Rotavirus primarily causes diarrhea and dehydration, and since we have good health insurance and since we live less than five minutes from the children's hospital, I'm not particularly worried. 

At his appointment we discussed Abram's plugged tear tuct.  His right eye has been oozy and watery since he was born.  Now that he has gained limited control of his hands I often catch him itching his eye.  Unfortunately, there is nothing much we can do about it.  Most kids grow out of it by one year.  The doctor recommended using a warm wash cloth on the eye, massaging the duct, and vaseline around the eye to keep it from getting too raw.  Other than his eye, everything checked out.  The doctor said Abram looked great!

Abram started smiling a little at 5 weeks and was all smiles by 6 weeks.  He started cooing a little between 6 and 7 weeks, and he will sit and have a whole conversation with you by 8 weeks.  He has the sweetest little voice.  I forgot how much I loved to hear Chloe's coos.  He mostly says "agoo" and "gaaa."  A few days ago he got really excited and exlaimed "WOW."  Chloe and I looked at one another and started cracking up.  I asked Chloe what he said and she said, "Baby Brother said WOW!" 

We are trying to squeeze Abram into the last of his size 1 diapers, but he is starting to pee through them and they are getting really, really, really tight.  He has yet to pee on me when I change his diaper.  Good boy!  He is wearing size 3-6 month clothing.

Abram loves his pacifier.  If he ever attempts to cry (which is rare) we just jam that paci in his mouth and he stops.  He likes to suck on it as he is falling asleep.  Abram hates getting a bath.  This is a baby who rarely cries, but if you stick him in the bath tub he WAILS.  This all started about a week ago.  Prior to that he really didn't seem to have a preference. 

Abram's bedtime routine for the past month has been for us to swaddle him up in a cozy blanket and sit him in his bouncy seat with his pacifier in his mouth.  We do this while we are downstairs watching television.  He falls asleep downstairs, and then we bring him up to our bedroom and put the chair in the Pack n' Play, which is sitting next to our bed.  Typically, we put him to bed at 8 or 9 and he wakes up to eat at 2 or 3.  The big change this month is that he falls back asleep right after he eats.  He sleeps until 6 or 7 after that.  Also, I am back sleeping in our bed, which has been really nice. 

During the day Abram mostly just eats, sleeps, and hangs out.  He is such a good boy.  He only cries when he is hungry or when Chloe is trying to smother him (and even then sometimes he doesn't cry).  He doesn't cry when I change his diaper.

Potty Training: Update

Day 7:  Today Chloe woke up dry at 6:00 a.m. and ran to the bathroom.  She peed on the potty right away.  She was home with me and the new nanny all day, and every time she had to use the bathroom she would say, "I have to go poop!"  I would run her to the bathroom and she would either pee or poop.  She didn't have a single accident all day.  It was amazing.  Now we just have to teach her how to take down her own pants and get on the toilet herself.  I just can't believe she was potty trained in less than a week.  I'm so proud!!

Day 14:  For the past few days Chloe has been making a beeline for the bathroom whenever she senses nature's call.  She doesn't even tell us what she is doing anymore.  It is so crazy to peek in on her and see her propped up on the toilet going all by herself.  The problem now is that we don't always know when she is going, and I fear that it is going to take a while before she masters the art of the wipe.  She only wet the bed once since we started potty training, and that was because she refused to go potty before bed. 

Chloe got to use a public restroom over the weekend.  She thought she was so cool and she wanted to go again once she was finished.  It is a little stressful to bring her out of the house now that she is potty trained.  We were at Hobby Lobby and we asked her maybe four times if she had to go potty, but she kept saying no.  We were in the car for maybe three minutes after we left when she said she had to go potty.  Of course.  We pulled into Home Depot.  When I walked in with her I asked where the bathrooms were located.  The greeter said, "Aaaaall the way down to the end and then aaaaall the way back."  So, pretty much the furthest they could possibly be.  Super convenient.  I ran/walk frantically all the way to the back of the store.  Chloe talked about how she had to go "poop" (pee and poop are both "poop") the whole time.  When we finally go to the toilet she peed for probably 20 seconds.  Phew!!  As Chloe would say, "Yaaaaay Towie!"  She is really an all star. 

Of course, this whole process has not been without its hiccups.  We were letting Chloe choose the big potty or her small potty at first.  That all ended last weekend when Paul decided it would be a good idea to "give her some privacy" while she pooped.  When he walked in he caught her red handed (or should I say brown handed) with a friggen terd in her hand!!  She was taking it from the small potty to put in the big potty.  He brought her upstairs to me where I was taking a shower.  I said, "Please tell me that is chocolate on her fingers!!"  No such luck.  Later that day she peed on the little potty, and before I could even bend down to grab the chair, she had picked up the chair and was attempting to dump the pee in the toilet.  Since she is two, however, she missed completely and slung pee all over the bathroom and all over my legs.  I was SOOOO furious that I grabbed that little toilet and banished it to the back of my car in case of emergencies only.  You served your purpose, little potty, but it is time to move on!

Potty Training

Last week I thought it would be a grand idea to meet my friends at the library for a play date.  As I chased Chloe through bookshelves, up the stairs, down the stairs, and past the vending machines, I quickly realized that leaving the house was a terrible idea.  Chloe wanted to play with anything that wasn't a toy.  It wouldn't have been so bad, but I had to chase her around with a baby in tow. 

About 20 minutes into the play date Chloe made herself a very poopy diaper.  Worst.  Possible.  Scenario.  Chloe hates having her diaper changed - especially poopy ones.  Most poopy diapers end with both of us in tears, because the whole event is just so horrible.  Sometimes I manage to talk her through it with a game or a song, but most of the time poopy diapers mean kicking, thrashing, screaming, and crying.  For me, it meant leaving the room to recharge my patience, and questioning whether 9:30 a.m. was too early to pour myself a heaping glass of red wine.  Anyway, so after 15 minutes of chasing my poopy pants toddler around I was sweating, nearly crying, and feeling defeated.  The other parents were giving me the stink eye or the oh-dear-I-have-been-there-and-I'm-so-glad-it-is-you-and-not-me look.  Assholes.

When I finally managed to get Chloe and Abram into the bathroom I realized I had grabbed Abram's diaper instead of Chloe's.  I sprinted to get Chloe's diaper.  The second I got the dirty diaper off, Chloe popped up and flipped over, effectively smearing poop all over the changing table and wall.  This is why we never touch anything in a public restroom.  She proceeded to throw the world's greatest temper-tantrum.  I strapped her down to the table and changed her diaper with fury.  When we were done we both needed a hug, but not from one another.  I told my friends I had to go.  I'm not cut out for this stay at home mom business.  I don't know how they do it. 

That day I told Chloe that was the last poopy diaper of hers I was ever going to change.  And I meant it.

Day 1:  Epic fail.  The day started out at 5:00 a.m. since this is the time Chloe is waking up again these days.  Paul kindly woke up with her and let me sleep in another hour.  We decided on going cold turkey with the potty training.  Maybe it isn't the best method, maybe it is.  But it is certainly our style.  Just take it away.  No remorse.  Except there was remorse.  The day was full of remorse.  First thing in the morning Paul had Chloe throw her diapers away.  She was really excited to throw them out and wear big girl underwear.  He gave her a "potty watch" to wear, and she was thrilled.  A potty watch is an as seen on tv thing.  The watch is shaped like a little toilet and plays music and lights every 30, 60, or 90 minutes to remind her to try to go potty.  We set the watch to 30 minutes.  When I came downstairs at 6:30 with Abram the first thing Chloe did was run over to us, squat down, and pee on the rug.  Fail.  We brought her upstairs to take a bath.  Now if there is one thing Chloe knows is that you are NOT to poop in the tub.  Paul and I were both in Abram's room, which is right next to the bathroom (our house is really small so you can pretty safely walk to the next room and still hear everything that is going on) and were checking in on Chloe intermittently.  Maybe 30 seconds had passed before Chloe fell quiet.  When I walked in the bathroom the bathtub water was brown with poop.  Fail.  After that Chloe peed on our bed.  Fail.  Later she peed in Abram's jumpy seat.  Fail.  She peed her pants another six to eight times.  Fail, fail, fail, fail, fail, fail.  There was a whole two or three hours where she just screamed bloody murder from the toilet.  It was the serious hyperventilating type of crying.  I told Paul I feared we might scar her for life.

Chloe on Day 1 of potty training.  If she could give me the middle finger, she would.  She chose to wear her potty watch/tether on her ankle Lindsay Lohan style. 

The only victories of the day happened after her nap and before bed.  After her nap I banished her to the toilet where she screamed and cried.  She wanted to get off the toilet, because she had to pee.  I realized that this process would go a lot better if she were given a choice.  I had Paul bring down her little potty chair and let her choose to go on that or go on the big potty.  She chose her little chair and said "Chloe potty."  She pointed to the big potty and said "Mommy potty."  Two seconds later she peed.  YAAAYY!!!!!  Later that day I bought some jelly beans for a reward.  She saw them just before bed and threw a temper tantrum because she wanted them.  I told her to go on the potty and she could have them.  Sure enough, she whipped down her pants and peed on demand.  Then she pushed out two more little pees before bed because she was so excited about peeing on the potty.  We decided it was all or nothing and put her to bed in underwear.  The Pull-Ups just look too much like diapers, and we thought it would be confusing.

Day 2:  Chloe woke up at 5:15 a.m.  I practically flew out of bed to intercept her.  I was amazed to see her pants were dry.  I practically threw her on her potty.  She sat there all sleepy-eyed, and we read a book.  About five minutes later she peed on the potty.  She was super excited, and so was Mommy!!!  I did feel sad for Chloe shortly after when she ran over to the wipes on the floor and said "I want my diaper now."  I told her we threw them away, but she said "NO!"  She cried a little.  I asked her if she needed a hug and she said yes.  I told her I understood that she missed her diapers.  I called in the reinforcements (my Mom) for Day 2.  We spent most of the day in the bathroom with Chloe sitting on the potty and me and my Mom thinking of different ways to entertain/bribe her.  Despite our watchful eyes, she somehow managed to pee her pants in the ten combined seconds of the day that she wasn't being watched.  Both times, however, we caught her mid-pee and stuck her on the potty to finish.  Later that night our friends, The Klassens, brought us dinner.  Chloe loved playing with Harper, and she even stopped playing once to go potty.  Unfortunately, as the night progressed Chloe drew out one pee over several "accidents."  I think she peed herself five times in a row while playing with Harper.  Later that night she went potty on the toilet and we put her to bed.

Day 3:  Chloe woke up at 5:00 a.m.  She came in my room.  Again, I flew out of bed, but it was too late.  She was peeing while standing up, which is better than peeing the bed.  Despite a rough start to the day, peeing on the potty seemed much easier. We only had a couple of accidents and we didn't have too many full-on temper tantrums about using the toilet.  We took a two hour car ride back home and Chloe peed on the potty before we left and when we got there.  By the evening Chloe was peeing on demand (yes, just like a dog). 

Day 4:  Chloe woke up dry at 6:00 a.m. and told Paul she needed to go potty.  Chloe had a big day playing with her Papa and Grammy and her cousin, Andrew.  She didn't have any accidents.  Later that day she went to her Aunt Kendra and Uncle Chad's house.  She had a great time playing with her cousins Oli, Avery, and Tay.  Paul and I went out to dinner with our friends, Kellie and Jeff and Ryan and Kylee, and Chloe and Abram stayed with Kendra and Chad.  Over that time Chloe pooped on the potty.  Kendra said she started to pee her pants a little on two occasions, but quickly ran to the potty to finish.  She slept all night with Oli and Tay in a twin bed, because she is a big girl.

Day 5:  Chloe woke up dry at 5:00 a.m. and told Paul she needed to go potty.  We went to church that morning and then went to spend the day at Doug and Bob's house.  Chloe had only one accident that day where she started peeing her pants.  We caught her and she ran to finish on the toilet.  The biggest victory came when Chloe ran up to me and said, "I need to go poop!  I need to go poop!"  We ran to the potty and, sure enough, Chloe went poop!  I don't think I have ever been more excited about poop in my whole life!

Day 6:  Chloe woke up dry at 6:00 a.m. and told me she needed to go poop.  She still has a hard time distinguishing between pooping and farting.  So she tooted on the toilet and peed.  Big girl.  I took her to daycare today so that the other kids could cheer for her when she went pee on the potty.  This is going to be her last day at daycare.  Sad face.  More on that later.

For the most part we are just taking Chloe to the toilet every 2-3 hours.  Sometimes she doesn't go, but most of the time she does.  If she really doesn't have to go she gets pissed.  Yesterday she told Paul she didn't have to go then she said, "I'm not a baby, Dada."  We still have to pull her pants down and sit her on the potty, because she is kind of little to be doing that.  She has yet to tell us she has to go pee herself, but we hardly let her get to that point. 

When Chloe is peeing on the potty she gets the most hilarious look on her face, because she is really concentrating and listening for the pee to tinkle in the toilet.  She gets a huge grin on her face and exclaims "Yaaaaay Chloe!!"  She also says "Yaaaaay ____" to whomever is peeing on the potty.  She gives "knuckles" then "five" then some sort of chicken wing maneuver that the kids must have taught her.  It is so cute.  She flushes by herself and runs to go play.  No more horrific and embarrassing diaper changes.  THANK GOD!!

I am so so so proud of Chloe for being such a big girl.  I feel so happy to have accomplished potty training before I have to go back to work, but I also feel so sad to know that my little baby is getting so big.  I felt so sad for her knowing that she missed her diapers, but now she seems really happy to be done with them.  She is always talking about how she is a big girl.  And she is a big girl... but I think she'll always be my sweet baby.