And we're done?

Well, I think I can safely say that we're done with diapers in our family for another season! Or at least during the day time. Kayden is still in diapers (disposables) at night - I plan to just let her sort that whole night-time training thing out for the next month or two and see if it happens on its own. But yeah! During the day, I'd say she's trained! We started a week ago yesterday and, while we still have the occasional accident, we usually get the pee on the potty! How exciting :)

Now what else is going on? We've been spending more time outside lately. I'm NOT an outside person in winter. And the more kids we have, the less I like spending time out there. If I'm going to be outside in the snow, I like to have something to DO! Something like shovelling snow (which has been banned for me this year), or...shovelling snow. I don't enjoy playing in the snow. I know I should. Especially since I have young kids and they like it. What better excuse to play in the snow, right? But I just.don't.like.it. But that said, it's +5C in January so how can we not be out there? Frankly, this weather just feels like a tease to me. It's warm enough to not burn your lungs and freeze your face, but still cold enough that there's snow and nothing is growing yet and we're not wearing t-shirts and shorts. It's wet so you have to wear ski pants and jackets but they all get soaked in 30 seconds flat. You KNOW that winter is still coming back because it's only January and spring never arrives (to stay) before April. So yeah...at least it's not -40C?

I've been in an organizing mood lately. Not sure if it's a spring-like weather thing or a January thing or what but I've been trying to organize everything. Our finances. I've been thinking about making more of a menu. I've been tidying and organizing parts of the house that haven't been officially tidied in months. It feels good to put things in order. Today I even took out a couple pails of paint and did some touch-ups on doors/frames and where we'd filled holes in walls last summer but never re-painted. Could it be nesting already?? Hmm...

Well, I guess I don't actually have much to say and since it's almost time to get Kayden up from her nap, I guess I should go. Here's a pic, just because every post is more interesting with a pic!

More potty talk

Well, here we are at the end of day 4. I feel like we've made some progress, though we're still definitely not accident-free!  When she only goes 2-4 times a day, there aren't that many opportunities to practice!

Monday, the first full day, was spent watching Kayden constantly. Poor Levi kept asking to play games with me and I had to tell him that I needed to watch Kayden and not be distracted in case she peed. He was very mature about it but I could tell it was hard for him. Sometime on Tuesday I decided to put a little soaker in her underwear and let her play wherever in the house she wanted - not just on vinyl/laminate floors - and without being under constant supervision. It was a far more relaxing day for me and I think more fun for both kids. Then today was our first outing without a diaper! We were gone all morning. Yes, there was an accident. And yes, there was another one. And no, I didn't bring enough changes of clothes. BUT, there was nothing that needed more than a fresh pair of underwear and dry pants. Whew! I'd call that a success!

Tomorrow we have another home day and I'm hoping that we make some good progress since we're headed to the city on Friday. I really don't want to put her in a diaper and potentially undo everything we've done this week. But I'm sure it would be a mistake to just have her in underwear with no leak protection (unless tomorrow goes VERY well!). I'm sure I'll be able to come up with an in-between option that will keep the car seat dry and also not confuse her.

Speaking of the city, it's time for another prenatal appointment. I'll be 18 weeks on Saturday! And that means it must be almost time for another ultrasound! It feels like I "popped" early this time so I felt huge by 8 weeks for being only in the first trimester. But now I feel like I'm not huge for being almost halfway. I'll have to dig out some pics from my other pregnancies and compare. That's always fun :)

Top left - first pregnancy - 17 weeks
Bottom left - second pregnancy - 15-16 weeks
Right - third pregnancy - 17.5 weeks

 

These pics are why I usually just shake my head when people look like this at 38 weeks and say they are "ready to pop." Um. Please imagine being this big before you're even halfway. :) That said, I am feeling quite good most days. I don't FEEL huge and uncomfortable. The second trimester has been more difficult for me so far than the first trimester, though, as far as tiredness and sickness goes - seems backward as it's usually supposed to be easier once you hit 13 weeks. BUT, I still have it fairly easy compared to some so I can't complain. Still seems a little surreal that baby #3 is on their way. Who is this little person going to be and how are they going to change our family? What is their name going to be?! And how is it that at this point I can't imagine who is inside and by this time next year I won't be able to imagine NOT knowing this person?

Potty training - take 2

Well, I've felt for a while that Kayden has been ready for potty training attempt #2. But between bed rest in December, then Christmas, then having my sister out for a visit which was followed by a week away with her...well I just simply haven't had a good chunk of time! But today was the day. Kayden has been holding it for long periods of time, she can say "pee," and she hasn't pooped in her diaper in quite a while (her bout of sickness excluded!), usually telling us that she has to go #2 before it happens.

We went to church as usual this morning and the plan was to start training after naptime. She was a grump after nap but I started anyway and the undivided attention really turned her afternoon around! We said "bye" to the diapers, which went to the basement to be washed and packed away until they're needed again in June/July. We stripped off her pants. And then we started pumping through juice boxes and oranges and anything else juicy that I could think of! Sidenote: I would normally caution against the use of oranges during potty training as they can be quite effective in getting things going, making poops less predictable and more messy than normal BUT they don't have that effect on Kayden so we're safe. :)

Now, I'm sure you're all wondering how the afternoon went! Well, we changed a fairly wet diaper after church and put her in a dry one for lunch and her nap. She woke up dry. We took the diapers away and she has had no accidents since! But before you start cheering and jumping up and down, you must know that she also hasn't peed on the potty. She just hasn't gone in, oh, the last 6.5 hours. (This is crazy since I, pregnant, can't imagine going that long between bathroom visits!) This is fairly normal for Kayden, though, ever since our first potty training attempt, but it sure doesn't make for that many teachable moments! Oh well,  fewer messes to clean this way! The cutest part of the afternoon? I have been reminding Kayden to tell me when she needs to pee every few minutes all afternoon and at one point she started answering back in her sweet little voice, "ok." Gah! She's just the cutest thing ever.  Along with her brother, of course. He's pretty sweet as well. Love those two!

Kayden sure seemed to enjoy the one-on-one attention this afternoon! Nathan took Levi outside to play in the snow for about an hour and the two of us had lots of fun. It doesn't happen much that I get uninterrupted one-on-one time with either of the kids so it's always special when I do. We read lots of books and I set up the baking soda and vinegar activity for her for the first time - she loved it!

Well, I'm curious how the next hour before bed will go. Either we will have a massive "uh-oh" during night snack, a massive pee on the potty, or a very wet diaper in the morning! The three day potty training method says not to use diapers at all once you start the process but I learned from doing this three dsy process with Levi that it totally isn't worth the multiple night wakings and sheet changings when they aren't wearing diapers at night before they're ready. We found that Levi wearing absorbent padding at night didn't hinder his training and before a month was past, he was waking up dry on his own anyway.  So I'm not putting myself through that again; I'll just go with night diapers right from the start and be well-rested for the days of training. 

Well,  looks like snack time is over and no accidents yet! Time to put these kiddos to bed. G'night all!