Sunday, January 1, 2012

Cold Turkey

First off, I want to wish you, the reader, a very Happy New Year!  Wishing you and your family the very best this upcoming 2012! (I know this is a few days or so into the New Year, but better late than never!)


The holidays have been pretty busy in our household, hence the lack of blog posts over the past week and a half since my last. I'm trying to better myself in writing posts, but it's pretty hard as I'm into my 3rd trimester and Ericka keeps me on my toes.  None the less.. I've found time to write one!

As the blog title may suggest, this post isn't about eating cold turkey. More about going "cold turkey" on some (bad) habits for Ericka.

The first (as mentioned in a previous blog post):  the transition from crib to toddler bed has been amazing! Better than expected!  She has really embraced the freedom of climbing in and out herself. She reminds me so much of a big girl rather than a toddler!!!
The first few nights she didn't have a stool to help her climb in or out.. so she'd make a big thump. But we gotzzzz smartzzzz and bought her a little stool. She is so cute using it.
Plus, there is NOTHING cuter than her coming into our room in the morning when SHE is ready to come see us. It gives hubby and I more time to lay in bed and rest without the hassle of wondering if she's ready to come out of her crib. BONUS!

Next... since Ericka is getting out of the bed herself.. she had to eventually give up the gro-bag. Yes, those first few nights when she didn't have the stool and we heard the 'thump' after she climbed out of her bed was due to her not having full mobility because of her gro-bag. So, after having the stool and realizing she still wasn't getting out of the bed properly.. we decided it was time for her to use a blanket. The gro-bag was great when she was an infant.  The idea of her suffocating or getting wrapped up in a blanket when she was younger was frightening.. so the gro-bag was perfect in keeping her warm and controlled to cover just her boyd.  But lets face it-- Ericka is almost 2.. she is MORE than ready to be out of a gro-bag.
The first day we didn't put her in it and gave her a blanket, she freeeeaked out. She wanted her gro-bag!  Ericka is the type to want what she knows and doesn't adapt well to new things or ideas. She really lets mommy and daddy 'hear it'!  Giving her a blanket to sleep with was definitely something she didn't want to adjust to, just yet.  It took about 2 days to get her use to the idea. She doesn't love the blanket but doesn't hate it, so that works for me. She'd rather sleep without one than with one so we make sure her room is a decent temperature, and that her 2-piece pajamas are warm and she's wearing socks incase she kicks off her blanket (which she does every night).  So far, so good. There's no turning back on this idea really. We'll eventually have to get her use to sleeping with the blanket that came with her bedding. But for now.. she has something just as warm and comfortable to get use to.

The next big thing we went "cold turkey" on was the soother! We tried to take it away from her after year one after her pediatrician recommended it... but that was just a nightmare. She didn't get  or understand why she couldn't have a soother to help calm her to sleep. She was so use to having it, taking it away from her was traumatizing to her. So, we figured we'd try at the very latest by the time she turned 2. I didn't know how we were going to do it.. Were we going to talk some sense to her and tell her the 'suckie fairies' were taking them away? Were we going to poke hole or cut them so she didn't enjoy sucking on them anymore? Or ask her to give them up and throw them away? Yeeeaaaahhh right that last one was happening.  But I had chilling thoughts of Ericka as a 3 or 4 year old, still sucking on a soother. Not going to let that happen...  So, we just took them away from her.
It's been about 2 weeks since she had her last suck on a soother, and yes, the first couple nights were hard because she had to find a new way to sooth herself to sleep.. but she really hasn't asked for them! It has taken her a touch longer to fall asleep but really, not too much longer? Either hubby or myself have to go into her room to reassure her it's time for bed and time to sleep.  After a couple of visits, she's sleeping.
I think in the long run, taking her soother away now is better than later.. and this will only benefit herself and her teeth! lol

Lastly, potty training!! It's not like we have taught her out of the blue what going on the potty means. We've read books to her and she watches mommy and daddy use the 'big white thing that flushes'.  Before the holidays, she'd point at the toilet and say "pee peeee".. I took it as a hint she's ready to try. I've plopped her on the toilet to see if she would go.. but she would whine and want off. So, on boxing day, we took a trip to Toys R Us and surprised her by letting her pick out her own potty!!!! She loved the idea! We spent about 10 mins letting her look at the different colours and designs, but I think she knew after the first minute which one she was going to pick: the pink princess-y one that makes a cute sound when you 'flush'. You could see the excitement on her face when she was testing it out. So once we got home, we opened it up for her and she sat on the seat, fully clothed, and loved that she had her very own potty.. but that was the first big step to potty training, right?
The next step was getting her to actually GO pee or poop in the potty.  It's still a work in progress but we try everyday. Ericka just enjoys taking the diaper off and sitting on it.. then going through the routine of wiping, flushing, and washing her hand!  It's cute but I'd like to see some pee action by now.
I've tried a few tips I've read on getting her to go pee... such as giving her lots of water to drink and then trying to get her to pee after. Nothing. I even tried to put her back on the adult potty because she has shown interest in sitting on it. Nada. I'm curious if any one else has any other hints or tips on getting a child to actually pee (or poop) on the potty?!?

Wow, such a long blog post but I've been meaning to write about these big milestones (to us at least) for a few days/weeks.  I'm really proud of Ericka's progress transitioning into a 'big girl'  :)



2 comments:

  1. Sounds like you've crossed some pretty big milestones with Ericka. What a great start to the year! Good luck with the potty training and Happy New Year!!

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  2. Thanks Janet! And hope you're having a great start to your new year too! Love reading your blog, and I'm going to have to try some of your food recipes on your other blog too!

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