My previous post about how Lana is such a stubborn, slow to transition kid was a tad bit whiny, I know. I think Lana is trying to prove me wrong--no not about the sleeping thing, she is still Miss Stubborn about that, but she has been making some serious forward movement with the potty with very little pressure from me. Bribes, yes, pressure no. M&Ms for pee and the coveted "licks" Tootsie Pops for poo. I realize many kids at 2.5 are already potty trained and a bunch are not even interested and its all good, either way. Lana has been peeing on the potty for a while now, but very inconsistently, probably b/c if she is wearing a diaper or Pull-Up she will just go in it. If she is nude or in panties, she will ask to go or just go in the potty by herself. The big holdup has been that she will not poo in the potty b/c she says its scared even though she looks at the Tootsie Pops, unwraps them, smells them and says, "These are for poo poo in potty". The other issue is that she will only go on the little Bjorn potty, not the big potty, which pretty much means we are not going in any public bathroom, unless I find a way to fashionably turn a Bjorn potty into a purse. Just this week, as I am complaining away about sleep and sippy cups, she told me she wants to wear panties at night. I agreed, but I pulled out spare sheets and jammies, just in case I had to do a middle of the night change. She did great--stayed dry all night, peed in the little potty in the AM. She has been doing this for about a week with no accidents! Then just today she climbed up on the big potty (we have a cushy ring thingy for her) and she peed--twice! And the first one was when Bill was home so we did a huge happy dance of congratulations. It was very exciting. Okay, that sounds weird, to be so excited about potty training, but like I said it came during a week where I was feeling like every transition was a battle, Lana totally surprised me.
To update you all on the sleep issue (I know, the excitement never ends). We got a CD player in her room and the new routine is 3 books, 2 songs for me to sing. Then lights out, CD of classical music on and I leave the door open while I sit in the hallway where she can see me. No talking, no requests. She has been doing pretty great at getting to sleep by herself, although when the lights first go out, she tries every request in the world, "Mommy, I got a BIG problem", "Mommy, I dropped something" "Mommy sing one more song". I just say nothing. I think its progress in that she is getting to sleep by herself, and there is no crazed screaming. But I am still killing a lot of my time sitting outside her door. In a few days I hope to not be sitting outside the door, but I suspect there will be a good amount of protest. Hey, at least the potty training seems to be going well.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Slow transitions
Lana has always been not too thrilled with change. When we tried to transition her from bottles to sippy cups, it was a battle. She was so stubborn and dehydrated b/c she was going to prove to me that she would drink from a bottle or not at all. She is still so picky about sippy cups--she will only drink from the straw ones, no spouts.
Now we are embattled in sleep training, part II. Part I occurred when she was about 3-4 months old and we did CIO. It worked, but not in a week, like all the books said. It was more like a month or two, or something like that--I didn't blog back then, so I have no data except my foggy memory. When we transitioned Lana from the crib to the "big girl bed", she decided she did not dig sleeping by herself anymore and I made a HUGE mistake to lay down in the bed with her. Now I am screwed. I spend a large amount of time singing songs, reading one more book, holding hands, scratching backs. Its ridiculous. I never should have done it in the first place and now, months later, I am still here laying next to her wishing I could just give her a kiss and get out of there so I can maybe watch some tv or hang with Bill. Plus, I really hate cosleeping--she is a kicker and her bed is not as comfy as mine, plus I miss sleeping with my husband. A month ago, I told her that she is a big girl, big girls sleep by themselves, etc. and I lay on the floor next to her bed instead of in the bed. It went pretty well, so I moved outside of her room and lay in the hallway, where she could still see me. Then she got a cold and I was back in the bed with her giving comfort so we could all sleep. Then we traveled back east, so essentially I was back to square one. Now I am back to laying down in the hallway. I know so many kids who just get the big bed and climb right in, no problemo. They get the sippy cup and fine--no biggie. But not Lana. Bill thinks we should CIO again. We tried tonight and it lasted 2 minutes before she completely lost her mind (and her voice) and I ended up on the floor again in the hallway. My plan is that hopefully at some point she won't care if I am in the hall or not, but knowing her it won't happen--she will always be looking for me and we will have to CIO anyway. Please don't hammer me about CIO being evil and will ruin her, etc. I have heard it all before. Its not my favorite approach, but if the gentler approaches don't work, I have no other choices. This kid is never going to get a sibling if I am sleeping with her all the time, plus its just not good for our marriage. If you made it to the end of this post, thanks, I know its long and rambly, but I am feeling quite frustrated. There is nothing like a slow transitioner to make you feel inadequate. I just so miss the days where I could plop her in the crib and walk out.
Now we are embattled in sleep training, part II. Part I occurred when she was about 3-4 months old and we did CIO. It worked, but not in a week, like all the books said. It was more like a month or two, or something like that--I didn't blog back then, so I have no data except my foggy memory. When we transitioned Lana from the crib to the "big girl bed", she decided she did not dig sleeping by herself anymore and I made a HUGE mistake to lay down in the bed with her. Now I am screwed. I spend a large amount of time singing songs, reading one more book, holding hands, scratching backs. Its ridiculous. I never should have done it in the first place and now, months later, I am still here laying next to her wishing I could just give her a kiss and get out of there so I can maybe watch some tv or hang with Bill. Plus, I really hate cosleeping--she is a kicker and her bed is not as comfy as mine, plus I miss sleeping with my husband. A month ago, I told her that she is a big girl, big girls sleep by themselves, etc. and I lay on the floor next to her bed instead of in the bed. It went pretty well, so I moved outside of her room and lay in the hallway, where she could still see me. Then she got a cold and I was back in the bed with her giving comfort so we could all sleep. Then we traveled back east, so essentially I was back to square one. Now I am back to laying down in the hallway. I know so many kids who just get the big bed and climb right in, no problemo. They get the sippy cup and fine--no biggie. But not Lana. Bill thinks we should CIO again. We tried tonight and it lasted 2 minutes before she completely lost her mind (and her voice) and I ended up on the floor again in the hallway. My plan is that hopefully at some point she won't care if I am in the hall or not, but knowing her it won't happen--she will always be looking for me and we will have to CIO anyway. Please don't hammer me about CIO being evil and will ruin her, etc. I have heard it all before. Its not my favorite approach, but if the gentler approaches don't work, I have no other choices. This kid is never going to get a sibling if I am sleeping with her all the time, plus its just not good for our marriage. If you made it to the end of this post, thanks, I know its long and rambly, but I am feeling quite frustrated. There is nothing like a slow transitioner to make you feel inadequate. I just so miss the days where I could plop her in the crib and walk out.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
There are no good people left in the world
I am in a bad mood. We had a travel day from hell yesterday. We returned from VA (a great visit with my dad, but that will be another post) and all I can say is that we are alive and healthy, which is a lot to be grateful for. But still it was a freakin miserable day and it had nothing to do with traveling with a toddler. Lana, in fact, was wonderful--she rolled with the punches and her behavior was nothing short of stellar. I swear to you, after many painful flights with her as an infant filled with nonstop screaming and me sweating with embarrassment and apologies, I never thought I would write the previous sentence!
So this is what happened. Our flight from Richmond to Chicago was delayed oh, about 6 hours due to a broken plane. If we waited, we would never make our connection and we would probably still be in Chicago, in a hotel. So we quickly boarded a different plane headed for Dallas, where we could catch a connection back to Seattle. This added about 2h to our already long itinerary, but hey--at least we made it onto a non-broken plane. So we finally get to Seattle and it feels like about 11pm, even though it was only 8pm PST. We gather our bags and I check 3 times the seat pockets in front of us to make sure we have everything. We then stop at Customer Service b/c our suitcase did not make it onto our plane and was likely somewhere in Chicago. Then I freakin realize I left a little backpack on the plane. I NEVER EVER carry anything else other than my big ol diaper bag as a carry on, but my dad and stepmom gave me a handy little backpack that I could use as a purse. Yeah, I left my purse on the plane. The American Airlines people called the plane, which had been towed to storage, but they would send someone to check and retrieve our bag--it would take 10 min max. When we got my bag back, it was ransacked and our brand new camera and our GPS was gone. We were the last ones off the plane--no passenger took it. Someone who works for American Airlines clearly saw an opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I am blaming myself up and down for being such an idiot not only for leaving the bag, but for carrying it in the first place. However, I am super duper pissed that an airline employee stole from us and they have our address (in the GPS) and photos of us. I am also pissed b/c this is the THIRD GPS that was stolen. Our first two were stolen from our car. Ugh!!! I have found countless personal items in my life and I have always always turned them in and I would never ever look inside a lost bag, let alone steal from it. I know people are desperate in todays world, but still it feels like an invasion and I am kicking myself over and over for making such stupid decisions. Bill kept telling me last night the day was cursed from the beginning, but at least we didn't get on that broken plane b/c who knows how bad the day could have ended in that case.
Ok, done venting. Happier posts on the way, but sadly no photos for a while.
So this is what happened. Our flight from Richmond to Chicago was delayed oh, about 6 hours due to a broken plane. If we waited, we would never make our connection and we would probably still be in Chicago, in a hotel. So we quickly boarded a different plane headed for Dallas, where we could catch a connection back to Seattle. This added about 2h to our already long itinerary, but hey--at least we made it onto a non-broken plane. So we finally get to Seattle and it feels like about 11pm, even though it was only 8pm PST. We gather our bags and I check 3 times the seat pockets in front of us to make sure we have everything. We then stop at Customer Service b/c our suitcase did not make it onto our plane and was likely somewhere in Chicago. Then I freakin realize I left a little backpack on the plane. I NEVER EVER carry anything else other than my big ol diaper bag as a carry on, but my dad and stepmom gave me a handy little backpack that I could use as a purse. Yeah, I left my purse on the plane. The American Airlines people called the plane, which had been towed to storage, but they would send someone to check and retrieve our bag--it would take 10 min max. When we got my bag back, it was ransacked and our brand new camera and our GPS was gone. We were the last ones off the plane--no passenger took it. Someone who works for American Airlines clearly saw an opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I am blaming myself up and down for being such an idiot not only for leaving the bag, but for carrying it in the first place. However, I am super duper pissed that an airline employee stole from us and they have our address (in the GPS) and photos of us. I am also pissed b/c this is the THIRD GPS that was stolen. Our first two were stolen from our car. Ugh!!! I have found countless personal items in my life and I have always always turned them in and I would never ever look inside a lost bag, let alone steal from it. I know people are desperate in todays world, but still it feels like an invasion and I am kicking myself over and over for making such stupid decisions. Bill kept telling me last night the day was cursed from the beginning, but at least we didn't get on that broken plane b/c who knows how bad the day could have ended in that case.
Ok, done venting. Happier posts on the way, but sadly no photos for a while.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Language of Mom
Lana talks nonstop. Sometimes so much that I can barely get a word in edgewise. However, lately when I actually say something, I find myself saying strange things that I never thought I would say. All the old-school things like "Knock it off." Or if we are trying to leave somewhere and Lana is intent on staying, "Goodbye Lana, Mommy's leaving..." and the ever-popular "What do you say (to that nice lady who just gave you a balloon)?" Oh, there are all the newfangled mom phrases like "Where are your listening ears?" "Do you need a time-out?" "I like how you were so nice/shared with that kid/so polite" and "That's a warning" or "you two need to work it out". Its so bizarre all these things I have been saying (and singing, but don't get me started on that topic). I wonder if I went back to work I may try one of these "where are your listening ears?" on a coworker.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The hockey game
The docs in Bill's practice are the team doctors for a professional youth hockey team here in town, so periodically he has to attend the games in case any of the players injure themselves. Bill is a big sports fan, but hockey is definitely not one of his favorites. Last year, he went to several games solo, which is really boring for him. I went with him a few times while the inlaws watched Lana overnight and he took his parents a few times. I don't mind going, as I grew up in a town where hockey is super big. But I am not exactly into sports--watching or playing, so I feel like if we are going to go on the rare night when we are without Lana--its our date night and let me tell ya, I can think of a thousand other ways I would like to be spending my date night. So this year, we thought we could bring Lana and make it more of a family outing. After all, she goes to bed so late, it should totally work out. Plus, she has never done something like this before, I bet it would be thrilling for her. The only thing I was worried about was the noise. I spoke to her all week about how it was going to be very loud, but we would have a great time watching the big boys ice skate and there would be music and yummy things to eat.
When we got there, she was so excited. We found our seats and she loved how the bottom part of the seat moves up and down. She examined that for a good 10 min. Then the lights went out and they had spotlights going all around the crowd--she was mesmerized. Just watching her brought tears to my eyes (lame, I know) because of her sense of wonderment, like this was something really exciting and NEW! Something big kids do! Not two seconds later, it all fell apart when the foghorn went off (you know, like the one that sounds when the home team scores)--OMG, she lost her mind. I mean, it is freakin loud--even Bill covers his ears (delicate boy). I am holding her and she is hugging me so tight, sobbing into my ear, "I WANT TO GO HOME! LET'S GET OUT OF HEEEERRREEE!" She wanted nothing more to do with the hockey game. Boys on ice skates? Who cares? Big bear mascot? Unless he is giving me a hug--don't even try to distract me. I ended up spending the entire game outside of the area--like where the concessions are sitting on the floor with Lana while she danced and pranced on the concrete floor. We briefly went inside again during the intermissions for her very very special surprise snack.
When we got home she told me that hockey games are "for bigger girls". Duly noted.
When we got there, she was so excited. We found our seats and she loved how the bottom part of the seat moves up and down. She examined that for a good 10 min. Then the lights went out and they had spotlights going all around the crowd--she was mesmerized. Just watching her brought tears to my eyes (lame, I know) because of her sense of wonderment, like this was something really exciting and NEW! Something big kids do! Not two seconds later, it all fell apart when the foghorn went off (you know, like the one that sounds when the home team scores)--OMG, she lost her mind. I mean, it is freakin loud--even Bill covers his ears (delicate boy). I am holding her and she is hugging me so tight, sobbing into my ear, "I WANT TO GO HOME! LET'S GET OUT OF HEEEERRREEE!" She wanted nothing more to do with the hockey game. Boys on ice skates? Who cares? Big bear mascot? Unless he is giving me a hug--don't even try to distract me. I ended up spending the entire game outside of the area--like where the concessions are sitting on the floor with Lana while she danced and pranced on the concrete floor. We briefly went inside again during the intermissions for her very very special surprise snack.
When we got home she told me that hockey games are "for bigger girls". Duly noted.
Halloween
Pumpkin carving was a bit of a bust this year. Last year she was totally into it. This year Bill came home with a bag of candy from work which included a lollipop, which she refers to as a "lick" and she HAD-TO-HAVE-IT and yes, there goes any hope of eating dinner. Anyway, here they are carving the pumpkin. Lana is like, "Pumpkin? What pumpkin? "
She refused to get her hands in the inside of the pumpkin guts. Ah yes, this is called genetics and I apparently did give her some of my wonderful traits--like the "ick--i do not like to get my hands dirty" gene. Oh well, here she is again enjoying that "lick"
And here with her Baba. Nice pumpkin faces, eh? I sometimes forget that Bill did not grow up in this country and all of these kid holidays are new to him too.
The strawberry costume. She picked it out after a very traumatic trip to the Halloween store that had many scary skeletons, goblins and ghosts that moved and made noise. She picked the costume and even though it wasn't returnable, I bought it just to get the hell out of the store.
Lana is super duper happy to see what is inside her Elmo head of treats.
She went trick or treating with Bill while I stayed home to hand out candy and apparently she kept saying, "Lana tired. One more house." After the next house she would say it again. " Just one more house." When she got home even after her bath, every time the door bell rang she got so excited and ran to the door to hand out more candy. She looked so cute standing there in her jammies and wet hair holding a ginormous bowl of candy out to all the big kids.
Now the trick is to properly ration the candy intake now that the holiday is over. We didn't get nearly as many kids this year so we have tons left over. I admit I have been walking by the bowl and sneaking little yummy bars of goodness. Don't tell her.
She refused to get her hands in the inside of the pumpkin guts. Ah yes, this is called genetics and I apparently did give her some of my wonderful traits--like the "ick--i do not like to get my hands dirty" gene. Oh well, here she is again enjoying that "lick"
And here with her Baba. Nice pumpkin faces, eh? I sometimes forget that Bill did not grow up in this country and all of these kid holidays are new to him too.
The strawberry costume. She picked it out after a very traumatic trip to the Halloween store that had many scary skeletons, goblins and ghosts that moved and made noise. She picked the costume and even though it wasn't returnable, I bought it just to get the hell out of the store.
Lana is super duper happy to see what is inside her Elmo head of treats. 
She went trick or treating with Bill while I stayed home to hand out candy and apparently she kept saying, "Lana tired. One more house." After the next house she would say it again. " Just one more house." When she got home even after her bath, every time the door bell rang she got so excited and ran to the door to hand out more candy. She looked so cute standing there in her jammies and wet hair holding a ginormous bowl of candy out to all the big kids.Now the trick is to properly ration the candy intake now that the holiday is over. We didn't get nearly as many kids this year so we have tons left over. I admit I have been walking by the bowl and sneaking little yummy bars of goodness. Don't tell her.
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