On how 3 year olds are geniuses

As most any toddler-mom will know, potty training is divided into two parts: #1 and #2. Most kids get #1 down first and then take a little longer to get #2 in the potty. This is pretty understandable given that #2 is harder to "time" and takes a bit more - shall we say - patience.

With Daisy, pee-pee turned out to be relatively easy, once she decided this potty thing was for her. Poop, however, has been a challenge. Initially she did great, pooping in the actual potty but not on the toilet. However, she gagged hard whenever she saw her own stuff and the wait time did not match her timeline for sitting still. (Toddlers patience tends to come in 30 second spurts, I've found.)

So we've spent months trying, but not succeeding, to get her off of her schedule of pooping in her diaper at bed and nap times.

Finally, I hit upon the jackpot combination of manipulations. A friend with a daughter of a similar age made up a  reward chart for her daughter and each time she did-the-deed, she would get a sticker. This seemed to work for her so I thought I'd try it. But knowing Daisy is my daughter, I intuitively knew that a series of stickers, alone, would not be enough to entice her. There needed to be an end-goal. Something bigger and of higher-value that she was working towards.

In this case, it is the "Big Girl Bed".

With my new manipulation strategy in-hand, we recently began to experience success. Yay! Daisy has not done #2 in her diaper for almost two weeks at this point. However, no victory comes without it's challenges.

Challenge #1: Her body is trained to poop at nap and bed times. This means she has been skipping naps or not going to sleep at night, in order to complete her, um, task.

Challenge #2: As of this evening, we have come to realize, after FIVE stickers in one day, that she has figured out how to, well, ration, her poop into multiple toilet visits in order to win more stickers on her chart.

That's right, you read correctly: the kid is doing more, more-frequent, smaller poops so she can get more stickers. At this rate, we'll be pulling the crib rails down by mid week.

Of course, it really is genius and demonstrates quite the self-control.

Once more, thwarted by someone 1/10th of my age.

The victory smile

 

Almost 3

Well, this is embarrassing: it's been almost 5 months since I last posted on here. In that time, Daisy has gone from two-and-a-half to almost-three. It sounds like nothing if you don't have kids but, if you do, you'll know how much difference half a year can make, especially at this age.

In essence, her personality has pretty much been shaped. All the previous posts on here continue to ring true. Daisy is sensitive, loving, concerned, a little cautious, funny, goofy, strong-willed, and an old-soul. She's a dynamite package that presents as cotton candy.

The major development in the past five months has been her independence. Gradually, little-by-little, she has extricated herself from our arms and our side and has begun to explore the world independently. Practically speaking, this has been a bit of relief. Now we can at least do the dishes without her whining for our attention. I know many moms feel a pang of sadness when their children begin to need them less but not me. I see her inner confidence grow and I feel nothing but pride and satisfaction. Maybe one day I will yearn for these days back again and, certainly, there are times when she puts her little hand in mine or calls me "Mumma" in that sweet little voice, that I take a mental note to bottle the feelings, knowing I will want to relive them at a later date.

No, I would not trade these memories and moments for anything but I enjoy watching the progress of her growing up. Each new achievement, each little footprint in the sand, makes me feel nothing but happiness and joy.

Personally, the past few months have been hard for me with my health issues but it has always been Daisy's sweet smile, goofy antics, and genuine concern for "Mumma's bad back" that have put a smile on my face.

Here are some photos from this past weekend of Daisy jumping on her trampoline in the back yard. The weather, even for Northern California, has been amazingly mild this winter and we never imagined that her Christmas gift would get this much use this early in the year.

For her 3rd birthday we're taking Missy to Disneyland, where there will be an overabundance of Princess-worshipping. I cannot wait!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to be back a bit sooner next time!

Barking Daisy

Sorry to have to post an update after so long with a report on a pretty rotten week over here for Ms. Daisy.

No sooner had I returned from my business trip to Arizona and Missy fell sick. It began with a fever and early wake-up call on Monday night, seemed to dissipate, and then resurged on Wednesday when the school called to  tell us she had a 101 temperature again. By the time Thursday morning rolled around, Daisy had a cough, continued fever, and was more lethargic and unhappy than I have ever seen her. :( As Thursday progressed, it was pretty obvious that the cough was nothing like anything we had ever heard before. Diagnosis: Croup.

A liquid steroid came to the rescue by Thursday night and, by Friday, she was 75% better. But it sure was hard to see her like this...

Thursday morning early: movies on her DVD player, pillows, and blankets...


The barking and the wheezing made it hard for her to sleep laying flat. She couldn't really eat either, since the mucus just caused her to vomit. To the rescue: Nan.


Daddy was also a favorite for comfort. He shared his favorite "sick food" with Missy: cheerios and milk.



Today (Saturday) she is a ton better already and was back out on her trike this morning, pedaling around the neighborhood.



In other news, I have been a little freaked out this week by a leaflet I saw in my Physical Therapist's office about Sensory Processing Disorder in children.

I was waiting to pay my co-pay at the last appointment for my injured knee and, right beside the counter, was a poster about symptoms of SPD. There were stick figure drawings of two kids and, next to them, a list of symptoms. What pulled me in initially was the "Overly sensitive to sun and bright light"; Daisy screams her head off like she is being poked with a hot rod when we're in the car and the sun is on her. Once I was pulled in, to my horror, I began to recognize a number of the symptoms on the leaflet:

• Doesn't like having her hair brushed/touched
• Sits in a "w" position
• Picky eater / doesn't like to try new foods
• Selective hearing
• Highly sensitive to everyday loud noises like the vacuum or hair dryer
• Complains about tags in clothing
• Walks on tip-toes a lot
• Poor coordination gross motor skills (things like running etc..)

This was about 50-60% of the items on the list, so obviously, for a few days, I was convinced Daisy had SPD.

After further research, however, I realize that this leaflet was grossly misleading and overly general in nature. The symptoms of SPD are much more complex, varied and yet specific than those on the leaflet, which mixed many different types of dysfunction. If you're interested, you can read more by clicking on this link.

Although, I have to say, Daisy has a few of the characteristics on the website checklist in multiple categories, I'm going to guess many children do? I'm not sure this means she has a problem but then I'm not sure it means she doesn't either. I mean, she's 2! She's still learning to "be", right?  I'd love to hear other moms' perspectives.

The small things

This morning as I was getting Daisy dressed for preschool, she asked to dance around the living room to her favorite songs. I pulled up iTunes, blasted "Jump" and "Pumped up Kicks" and rocked-out with her for as long as my back and knee could muster.

Then, when I sat down to watch her, she stopped and walked slowly over to me with this pouty little mouth. She stopped a few feet away from me, kind of sulking although she didn't say a word.

I got down on my hands and knees and went over to give her a hug. She put her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. I expected the moment to last a couple of blinks as most everything does with a toddler, but we stayed there for five minutes, swaying to the beat of a couple of songs, her arms wrapped around me and my head buried into her sweet-smelling, messy hair.

It was one of those moments I wish I could have bottled; when I wished I had a fellow photographer close by to freeze the moment in time or one of Dumbledore's Pensieve bowls like in Harry Potter. I suddenly saw myself twenty years from now, picking that moment out of my head randomly, and wishing I could go back to its innocence and sweetness, trying to remember the songs of the day and failing.

I don't have pictures or a pensieve but I do have words and this blog; which is why I keep it going even though I don't post as often as I used to. Some day I can print all these small moments up and remember them with clarity and fondness.

So, to the future me:

• The songs were (of all things): Bow Chicka Wow Wow by Mike Posner and Last Friday Night by Katie Perry. 
• She was wearing her yellow school polo, some khaki shorts, and her favorite, pink and white animal print grippy socks. 
• Her hair smelled like vanilla and strawberries and it was a tangled mess (because she never lets us brush it, and when we do she purposefully messes it up afterward.) 
• She stroked my back absentmindedly as I rocked back and forth and, when her Dad came down the stairs, he came over and joined in the hug. When we parted, she kissed me square on the lips.

Motherhood heaven.