The Potty Training Game

The other day I was at Target in the baby section getting formula for Mason. I had Leah with me and she took great interest in the 'potty' section. She was drawn to one little potty in particular. This potty was a princess potty that played music. She kept pressing the button for it to play music and asked if we could get it. (We already had a little potty at home, but the potty training hasn't been going so well and I am starting to feel hopeless). If Leah is interested in this pink princess toilet, I would be willing to get it for her. I asked her if she would go peepee on the potty if I bought it for her. She said yes and we put it in our cart.

We came home and opened up the box. She was more interested in pushing the button that made the music play. I asked her if I should go set it up in the bathroom. She said no and told me to put it in the family room. I wasn't going to argue with her. If she wants the potty in the living room where she is comfortable and she actually uses the bathroom - I'll take it! I asked her if she wanted to try the potty, she told me "No, I am too tired. Let's do it later." I was beginning to think I just wasted $30 on this new potty.

Rob has been telling Leah for weeks now that if she goes peepee on the potty, we would take her to Chuck E. Cheese. She sees the commercial every day and always gets so excited and tells us she wants to go there as a family. I reminded her that if she went pee, we would take her to Chuck E. Cheese. She got excited, but still told me she was tired and didn't want to do it now. I didn't force the issue and we all went on with our evening. Awhile later, Leah told me that she wanted to play with her Play-Doh and I thought this might be an opportunity to try to get her to go. I said, "Leah if you go peepee on the potty, Mommy will play Play-Doh with you." She got excited and said okay. She took off her shorts and asked me to take off her diaper. She sat down on her pink potty and she sat, and she sat. She said it wouldn't come out. I was sitting right by her, encouraging her to go. She then asked me if I could 'go away.' Maybe Leah just needed her privacy. I stepped away into the other room and a few minutes later, I heard the sound of the music coming from her potty. (When you pee in the potty, the music automatically plays). Leah came running into the room and was SO excited and very proud of herself. She said, "Momma, I went peepee!!" We were all so happy! We danced around and told Leah how proud we were of her. (If someone was looking in at us, they probably would have thought we were nuts at how excited we got). Before, Leah wouldn't even go near the other potty we have in our upstairs bathroom.

The next morning, I wanted to continue with the momentum and see if she would go on the potty again. This time she was more reluctant and said she didn't want to. I'd ask her every 20 minutes or so if she had to use the bathroom and each time she said no. Eventually, I asked her if we could just try. She agreed and we took of her pants and her diaper. After a short while, nothing was coming out and she started to get upset and cried a bit asking me to put her pants back on. She agreed that we could leave the diaper off though and just put on her shorts. Ten minutes later, she came running out of her playroom crying. She had an accident and she was upset about it. I didn't want her to feel bad so I made sure she knew it was okay. I cleaned her up and put on a fresh pair of shorts. I continued to ask her if she had to go potty. I told her to tell me when she had to go. A short while later, she had another accident again and she got just as upset. I took off her pants and told her we should just leave them off for awhile. She was a little resistant, but finally agreed. She ran around the house playing with a bare butt. After about an hour I asked her to come into the living room and see if she could try going potty. She was fighting me on it and told me she didn't want to. There was some back and forth of me trying to get her to sit down and the next thing I know, pee is dripping down her leg. By now, I wasn't feeling very confident that this was going to work out. Maybe now was just not her time. She was visibly upset and I didn't want to push it any further. We put a diaper back on and got a new pair of pants. I didn't bring up the potty the rest of the day.

Later in the afternoon, Leah and I were sitting on the couch watching cartoons. Out of no where, she said, "Mom, I think I should try to go potty." I was ecstatic and said okay and we marched into the family room. She took off her pants and sat down. She sat there for a minute and then asked me if I could leave her alone. I agreed and left the room. Within a minute, I heard the music coming from her potty. My little girl did it again! She was so happy and we once again danced around the house. We called her dad at work and gave him the good news. She was proud of herself. Her dad told her she did a good job and that we were going to take her to Chuck E. Cheese that night. She just about lost it, she was SOOO excited. She had been waiting weeks (if not months) to go there. We've never taken her there before.

After work, we headed to Chuck E. Cheese and Leah could hardly contain herself. It wasn't very crowded, which was good. I can't say that I was a huge fan of the place and the pizza was terrible, but Leah was having a great time and that is all that mattered. Chuck E. Cheese himself was there and she was happy to see him. She loved putting tokens in the games and watching all of the tickets come out. We had a hard time getting her to leave and she asked if we could come back. We told her if she keeps going potty on the potty, we could come back. I felt like we had made some progress!

When we got home it was almost bedtime. I asked Leah if she wanted to go potty, but she told me that she already did (in her diaper). I asked her if she wanted to wear a pull-up to bed and she got upset and told me no. I didn't want to force her, so we put a diaper on and then her jammies. I told her to come wake me up if she had to go to the bathroom. Of course that didn't happen and she woke up with a wet diaper (which I expected). Leah didn't want anything to do with going to the potty this morning and got pretty upset about it. I texted my daycare and asked her if it would be weird if I brought the potty with me when I dropped Leah off. She thought it was a good idea. When I pulled up this morning and started taking the potty out of the car, Leah got mad and said she didn't want me to bring it. I brought it anyways. My daycare definitely has a special touch with Leah. She told Leah how excited she was she went to the bathroom on the toilet and gave her so many encouraging words. She asked her if it was okay if they put the potty in her bathroom and Leah agreed and seemed to lighten up about the topic in general.

A few hours later, I got a phone call from daycare and Leah had gone to the potty all by herself and she even got her to wear a pull-up! Melissa said all she did was tell Leah she should try to go potty before she went outside to play with the water table and she went and took care of business. However, after Leah's nap it was a completely different experience. Melissa asked Leah if she had to go to the bathroom and Leah got so upset and was crying uncontrollable. She didn't want anything to do with going on the potty. She said it took her quite awhile to calm down. When I picked her up, she did tell me that she went on the potty earlier. I don't get it - one minute she is super excited about going, but then the next minute she is an emotional wreck. 

This potty training business is tough work. I know Leah can go to the bathroom on the potty and she is completely capable, but I just don't know why she gets so upset at times. She flat out does not want to do it. Maybe she just isn't ready or maybe she is just being stubborn. There has been lots of change in her life with me being home and Mason joining out family. I don't want her to force her to use the potty. Maybe I should back off and let her tell me when she is ready (since I know she can do it) and be encouraging. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips on potty training? We've tried sticker boards, books about going potty, having her wear no diaper, Princess underwear, taking her to Chuck E. Cheese and other types of rewards. I bought her a present today (a new play-doh set) and told her if she went on the potty she would get the present. She hasn't bought into it yet. Sigh......I don't want to get mad or frustrated with her because that would be give us an even bigger set back. I guess I have to remember she is only 2 1/2 and we still have some time.

Since we got home today, I did get her to agree to wear a pull-up. I've continued to ask her if she has to go and she tells me she is too tired or she doesn't want to. I guess where we are is a start and all I can do is keep working at it! We'll see what the rest of the weekend holds and maybe I'll have better news to report.

First Solo Mission

It is definitely a lot more work taking care of two kids now and at times it can be a bit challenging. I was not exactly thrilled when Rob told me that he had to go out of town for three days for work. He left the house yesterday morning at 5:00 am to catch his flight to Ohio and my first solo mission officially began. I guess this is gearing me up for the week long business trip he needs to take in September. (Luckily, I will still be on maternity leave. It would have been much harder if I was back at work and needed to do everything on my own).  I will be happy when Rob gets home on Wednesday.

Leah still goes to daycare on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays which is a big help to me. After I dropped her off yesterday, I came home to get myself and Mason ready. I had my 6 week follow-up doctor's appointment. Usually, Mason is so good when we are out and about (he usually just sleeps), but yesterday was a different story. He cried almost the whole time we were at my appointment. The nurse popped her head in during my time with the doctor and volunteered to walk him around the office to help calm him down while I did what I needed to do with the doctor. I did let her take him and he did stop crying. My doctor said that happens all of the time and not to worry. It stressed me out though. After my appointment, I had made plans to stop into my office to see some coworkers. Luckily, Mason was much better when I went into work. I was there almost 2 1/2 hours and he did pretty good. We had lunch with 2 of my good friends and then spent some time visiting with everyone else. I miss everyone at work, but I can't say I miss the work :) My maternity leave is half over and it sure has gone by fast. Six more weeks and I will be back at work. I am going to try and enjoy the rest of my time and not get too sad about it.

After my work visit, I picked Leah up from daycare. We came home and Mason was in a really good mood. He was a happy little baby. We all spent time playing on the floor. Mason got some tummy time in, which he doesn't seem to mind at all. It was pretty relaxing at home for the time being.

Typically, between 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm things can get a bit hectic around here so I was not looking forward to doing the night time routine by myself. Dinner time, play time, bath time and bed time all occur during this two and a half hour window. Although it may not sound like a lot, it can be tiring. Mason is still little and can be pretty needy. I feel like I am always feeding him, burping him and changing him. Leah is pretty self-sufficient and is a good helper. While I am tending to Mason's needs, she plays great by herself. I felt like I never sat down to breath last night. I was always doing something. The night was a bit challenging. Mason only sleeps for 3 - 3 1/2 hour stretches. I was up with him 3 times for 30 minutes each time to feed him. Leah also woke up twice during the night crying (of course after I had dozed back to sleep after I put Mason down). This is very unusual for her, but I think with her recent transition to her toddler bed she is used to having her Dad in the room with her. Last night, she was a big girl and slept all by herself. The morning came way too quick!

Today has been good so far (besides being tired). I have both kids home with me today. It's noon and we are all still in our jammies having a lazy day. Mason has been good and Leah is being a total goof. She can definitely entertain herself. She put on a magic show, played house and played with her playdoh. I think I might join the kids during nap time today! I could use it! Only two more days to go!

Leah's New Bed

The sleeping arrangements in the Held household have been less than ideal for the past couple of months (and I'm not proud of it). A while back, we moved Leah out of her room into her new 'hot pink' big girl room. We already had a queen size bed in there and decided just to keep it. We went back and forth if we should get her a toddler bed, but decided against and figured we would get some side rails and have her sleep in the big bed. Leah loved her room, but we had trouble getting her to sleep in it. She always wanted to come and sleep with me and Rob. I think the queen size bed is just too big for her and she likes having the comfort of us being there. (She would sleep great when she was in our bed though and I think that is why we tolerated it). Then to add to our sleeping mayhem, Rob started sleeping in the other room (Leah's room). When I was further along in my pregnancy, I started snoring really bad and he couldn't take it. Then after Mason was born, Rob continued to sleep in Leah's room. We have Mason in our room in a bassinet  and since he gets up a few times during the night, Rob has been in the other room (because gets up so early for work). Leah would flop back and forth between sleeping with me or sleeping with Rob.

We figured this had to stop - we can't have Leah sleeping in bed with us. We need to break this habit or else she will always want to sleep with us! We decided to go get Leah her very own toddler bed. We picked out a new Minnie Mouse comforter set and set up her bed in her room. (We pushed the existing queen bed over along the wall and made room for her bed. We didn't want to move the queen bed out since Rob still sleeps in there). Leah was SO excited about her new bed and couldn't wait to sleep in it! I'm happy to report that the toddler bed has been a huge success!! She has slept every night in her new bed and goes down easily for naps! She hasn't asked if she could crawl in with one of us. We should have gotten the toddler bed from the start!

So, for now Rob and Leah have been roommates. She sleeps in her toddler bed and Rob sleeps in the queen bed. Hopefully Mason will start sleeping through the night soon so Rob can finally move back into our room. (Mason has good nights and bad nights, but has been showing improvements). I am looking forward to when we can have 'normal' sleeping arrangements once again!

Leah's Half-Birthday

Today Leah turned two and a half years old! It is her half-birthday and we celebrated her 2.5 year milestone with cupcakes!

My little girl is growing up so fast. I am so proud of her. She is such a smart little girl and she has the biggest personality. Leah is so witty and makes us laugh with some of the things that come out of her mouth. By the way she talks, you would never guess she is only 2 1/2. She knows all of her colors and shapes and loves to do any type of art project (luckily she gets to do a lot of them at daycare).

She loves all animals and says when she grows up, she wants to be an animal doctor. She's been a great big sister to her little brother Mason. She has a big heart and loves her friends and family. She is definitely a daddy's girl!

We are still working on the potty training 'business.' We bought her a little potty, a seat for the big potty, a sticker chart to reward her for her progress and a book about going potty, but nothing has really worked yet.

 

I know she is smart enough to tackle it, but I don't think she is mentally ready. She tells me she has to go after the fact. I've read a handful of blogs about 'how' to go about the potty training (http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/05/how-i-potty-trained-my-daughter-in-3.html). One of them suggested just putting her in underwear and see what happens. The thought is that after a few accidents, she would figure out that she doesn't want to be wet and will want to go on the toilet. This method did not work for us. After 5 accidents, she was so upset and was insistent that she wanted her diaper back on. She hates not wearing pants and cried until we put them back on. When she is ready, we will try again. My daycare said she is willing to work with her too, which is great! She'll get it!

Overall,  Leah has brought us so much joy and we can't imagine life without her. Happy half-birthday sweet girl!

Happy One Month Birthday, Monkey!

Our little Mase Man turned one month old today! It seems like he was just born yesterday! Mason's doctor said it wasn't necessary to bring him in for a 1 month checkup since he did great at his 2 week appointment (so he won't go back until his 2 month well baby visit). At one month old, Mason weighs 8.5 lbs. I'm not sure of his length. I'll have to have the doctor measure him at the next appointment. He drinks 4 ounces of formula at each feeding and is in a size 1 diaper. We haven't gotten the whole nighttime sleeping routine down yet, but have definitely shown improvement over the past 3 nights. He has been more consistent, waking up twice during the night after 4 hour stretches of sleep. I hope we are on our way to sleeping through the night!

Mason has been an amazing addition to our family and it feels like he has always been here. He is sweet and loves to be held. He has already developed a little personality. He 'grunts' when he is upset or wants something. He is a bit more vocal than Leah ever was when she was his age! It's interesting to see how different (and similar) Leah and Mason are to each other. While I knew it wouldn't be super easy transitioning from one child to two, it has been a pretty smooth ride. I am enjoying every minute with my babies!

We love our little Mason! Happy One Month!!

Mason's Second Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago I mentioned that we had the opportunity to do a second newborn photoshoot for Mason just a week after he was born. I received the images back today and am thrilled with the way they came out. I am so happy we decided to do it!

This session was completely last minute and was not planned. When I was still in the hospital, I received a message on FaceBook from a friend (who does photography) and she asked me if I was interested in doing a newborn photoshoot with Mason. She was attending a workshop and the facilitator was looking for newborn models that were between 5-12 days old. I was a little hesitant considering Mason was just born and had arrived 3 weeks early and the session was going to be held in Lincoln Park downtown. This means we would have to truck it to the city with a brand new baby who was 7 days old. Plus, Mason had already done a newborn session the day before at our home.

I reached out to the photographer for more information (http://jaciforshtay.com/). Basically, she conducts these mentoring workshops where she has a group of photographers who learn how to conduct a newborn session from beginning to end. She goes through set-up and preparation and reviews camera and shooting techniques. She also teaches different soothing methods and her posing techniques. Each of the participants at the workshop would have an opportunity to photograph the babies for their own website/portfolio. The session would be completely free to me, and as a "thank you" she would edit 10 of her favorite images from the session and give them to me on a CD. (If you've used a professional photographer in the past, you know they can be quite expensive so this was definitely appealing to me)!

The photographer already had 2 baby girls lined up and she was looking for a newborn boy. After giving it some thought, we decided to go ahead and do it. We didn't have anything to lose!  We needed to be in the city by 10:00 am. This would be our first time venturing out of the house as a family of 4 and I was bit nervous about making it on time. After feeding, changing, and getting everything together - we were on our way. My brother agreed to watch Leah for us so we didn't have to bring her along. We dropped her off at his house. Leah was super excited to play with her cousin Annabelle. We made it to the studio just before 10:00 am. It was a very hot day and when we walked in, it was even hotter inside! They had a small space heater running. I didn't understand at first, but learned that the warmer it is, the easier it is for the babies to cooperate. The babies would be photographer naked (with no diaper). The warm temperature helps keep them in their 'sleepy' mode. It definitely worked for Mason. He was a perfect little angel for the entire session. He didn't even pee (although he did poop once - whoops)! We were there about 3 1/2 hours. I give photographers so much credit. It takes a lot of work, time, skill and patience when working with newborns. Overall, I was very pleased with the results and am so happy we did this! It was very interesting to sit through the workshop. Take a look!

Behind the scenes of Mason's photoshoot

WW Starts Tomorrow

I had joined Weight Watchers (online) after I had Leah and had some success with it. I decided that I am going to give it another try. I really like the program and it is pretty easy to follow (for the most part), as long as I commit to follow it. They have an app for the iPhone, which makes it convenient to track and log my points.

Luckily, I didn't gain as much weight as I did when I was pregnant with Leah, but I definitely still have several LB's I need to shed! I gained 50 lbs this time with Mason, but over the past couple weeks 40 of them have dropped off. (I think a lot of it was water weight. I had TONS of swelling and developed preclampsia towards the end of my pregnancy). Even though I am only 10 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight, my clothes are not fitting how I would like them to fit. I think some of my weight has shifted to other areas of my body - ugh! I definitely need to fit back into my clothes by the time I go back to work. I refuse to buy new clothes that are a size bigger. (If I had to buy a size smaller, I would be happy, ha!)

Once I get the all-clear from my doctor in a few weeks, I hope that I can start making it back to the gym. Also, I bought a Groupon for 20 Zumba classes in Plainfield. I've never done Zumba, but I think it is something that I would like. Some of my friends have done it and have said they enjoy it. We'll see!

Life is Busy

Life sure has been busy lately. Between wrapping things up at work before my maternity leave, to taking care of my new baby (who hasn't quite figured out his night and days) and my family, trying to be there for my dad after his intense surgery, and dealing with the daily hustles and bustles of life - I haven't really had time for much of anything else. However, late last week I had a brief moment to sit back and think. I had a chance to think about my mom and how much I truly miss her. Of course I think of her daily, but I've been so busy I haven't had the opportunity to 'really' miss her because I have been going through the motions of day to day life. (I hope that didn't come out the wrong way).

Last Friday, we had a cleaning service come over so I needed to get out of the house for a little while. Leah was due for a nap and I wasn't quite sure where I would go with her and Mason. It was about 95 degrees outside and it was way too hot to go for a walk or take them to the park. I decided to take a drive out to the cemetery and visit my mom. I haven't been to see her in months. It is not intentional that it has been so long for me to visit, but as I said before life has been busy. I guess I've pushed my feelings to the back of my mind and haven't dealt with them for awhile. I guess everything that has been going on with my dad has put things in to perspective. If anything were to happen to him, it would just be devastating.

Both kids fell asleep on the ride there, so when I pulled up to my mom's grave I left them both in the car and left it running. I only spent about 10 minutes visiting, but they were a good, much needed 10 minutes. I haven't 'talked' to her for awhile, so it did me good to get some things off of my chest. I sat down on the grass and I couldn't help it, but tears just ran down my face. I introduced her to Mason and told her all about him. She would have fallen in love with him the instant she met him. He is the first grandson on our side of the family. I wish she could have been at the hospital the day we welcomed him into this world. All girls want to have their mom with them. I asked my mom to continue to watch over me, my family and my dad. I know she is with me everyday. I've had constant dreams about her and each time she was the mom I used to know, not the mom that had changed before our eyes. It breaks my heart that my kids will never know her. It felt good to talk to her and let her know she is always on my mind. I know I've said it before, but it just isn't fair that she was taken from me (and my family) and the road she had to travel. She must have been needed more in heaven.

Update on my Dad

As most of you know, my dad had surgery last Thursday to remove the tumor on his lung. He had eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy prior to the surgery. The chemo and radiation were very rough for my dad. He did have a few setbacks and even wound up in the hospital. Overall, it was physically and mentally draining on him. After this treatment he developed radiation pneumonia, where he had spots all over his lungs (from the radiation). The doctor was unable to perform the surgery until all of the spots cleared up. My dad was put on medication to help make them go away. After a few weeks they finally cleared up and the doctor decided he would be able to do the surgery. The doctor said there is only a 5% survival rate if my dad did 'not' get the surgery. Obviously the surgery was necessary, but the timing was not great. I just had a baby and my brother just started a new job. (I was hoping he could have had the surgery prior to Mason being born). Not only was the timing bad, but he was also going to be at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (in Chicago) which would make it slightly more difficult for me to go and visit him (considering I had a newborn at home). He had been referred over to a top specialist at Northwestern because he had an extremely rare tumor and where it was located, it was wrapped up in all of his nerves. The surgeons at his hospital (Good Sam) did not have the expertise to perform the surgery.

So the surgery was set and scheduled for Thursday, July 26th at noon. Luckily my uncle was able to take my dad to the hospital in the morning. I felt awful that I couldn't be there, but with a one and a half week old at home, I would not be able to make it to the hospital. My brother was able to be there the whole time. The surgery itself lasted 6 hours and then he had to go to recovery for a few hours. The surgeon said it went as good as it could have, but he would need to focus on rest and recovery. My dad was in a lot of pain afterwards. He was in and out of sleep but had a general sense of what was going on (he was very heavily medicated). The short version of the story, the days that followed were extremely tough on my dad. He said this surgery was far worse than his quadruple bypass. He was having significant breathing issues and had to receive several daily breathing treatments (and he almost wound up back in ICU). He was on morphine. They had to reduce his pain medication because his blood pressure was getting extremely low. It was VERY difficult for him to move around, but the nurses made him get out of bed to sit in a chair or go for a short walk. I could see how much pain he was in and it killed me to see him like that. It probably didn't help that I am already emotional as it is just having Mason. If you know my dad, he is always Mr. Tough Guy, but this surgery truly beat him down. I definitely wasn't able to go see him as often as I would have liked and I feel awful, but my dad understands. My dad had AWESOME nurses and we are so thankful for them! As the days went on, he started feeling slightly better and his breathing improved (it is still not great, but it is better). He is still in pain, but it is being controlled with medicine.

I talked to my dad earlier today and he said the initial pathology report came back and he is cancer FREE (for now). The surgeon was able to remove all of the cancer, but they still need to determine if he'll need any follow-up chemo or radiation treatments. He also said there is a 75% chance that it will not return. Today, they also unhooked him from all of the IV's, tubes and machines (oxygen, catheter, etc.) he was connected to. He is able to get up on his own (with some assistance from the nurses). Overall, this was great news! As of now, he thinks he will be able to go home on Friday. We weren't sure if he would be going home or going to an inpatient rehab center, but it looks like he will be going home. He will still need a great deal of help once he is there though. He said they may send a nurse to his house daily to check on him. Once he is home, it will be much easier for me to go see him and help since he is much closer.

Thank you everyone for your kind words of support and prayers. It's been a difficult week, but hopefully my dad is on the road to recovery and will remain cancer free!! We need him to be healthy for his grand babies!

Two and a Half Weeks

I can't believe little man Mason is already two and a half weeks old. And to think, Monday was supposed to be the day he was born (if everything went according to plan with my scheduled C-section). I am glad that we got to meet him sooner than later. I am thankful everything was okay even though he was born 3 weeks early! He has been such a blessing to our family. Leah has definitely come around and you can tell how much she loves her little brother. It melts my heart. She always gives him kisses and is very protective of him.

I took Mason to the doctor for a follow-up appointment on Monday. The doctor wanted to check his weight to make sure he was gaining. Our little champ put on 10 ounces since his last doctor's appointment. He weighed in at 7 lbs 7 ounces (he was 6 lbs 13 ounces) at his last appointment. The doctor was pleased and we don't need to go back until his 2 month check-up.

Mason is eating just about every 3 hours and is taking 3 ounces at each feeding. He is pretty laid back (most of the time), but is waking up about 3 times during the night. I am one tired momma. Usually, he will eat and go right back to bed (which I am thankful for), but there are other times he is wide awake and wants no part of going back to sleep. As I mentioned before, Leah was fully sleeping through the night at 3 weeks old. I told Mason he only has a couple of days to get his act together to keep up with his big sister. I know I was really lucky with her, but I am hoping he follows suit soon! If I can get him to do 4-5 hour stretches, I would be happy. (Right now he is like clockwork - every 3 hours). He has no problem getting his zzz's in during the day. This kid poops more than any baby I know. I am constantly changing dirty diapers.

I am definitely enjoying my time home with him!