Our air conditioner 'crapped itself' this week (Michael's technical term for everything that breaks). On Monday there was a nice surprise of wet stinky carpet in the basement because something was leaking from the a/c. Michael did some investigating and found a hole in one of the coils, called the a/c repair dudes and told them what part to order, and then rigged it up so that we could use it short term while waiting on the part.
I got a call from Michael sometime around 10 and the first thing he said was 'are you dressed?' so I knew right away the a/c repair dudes were on their way. And yes, I happened to be dressed. Morgan wasn't. She was nakey sitting on her potty at that moment. So I had to encourage her to hurry and finish (plus took a picture of her sitting on the potty to text to my best friend Paul to gross him out...), clean the potty out, get her in some clothes, kick the cats out of the way, and get downstairs just in time to open the door for the repair dudes.
Sometime during all of this, one of my doctors called and left an urgent message. The Little C titer is increasing. The antibody levels are getting 'critical.' She encouraged me to call back as soon as possible so we could set up an appointment Monday in Pittsburgh for a special ultrasound to check the baby's brain for blood levels to see if he's anemic yet. I called Michael, freaking out a bit, because that's what I do. Then in the middle of trying to call my doctor back I hear 'Mrs. McCumbers?' from the basement so I had to hang up and go write a $381 check for a/c repairs (seriously?! $381?!? OUCH!!!) and tell them thank you while trying not to inhale the sickening smell of the snuff the repair dude is sucking on.
I spend the next ten minutes trying to call my doctor. That office is always ridiculously busy, like they seriously need to hire more people to answer the phone. During the 5th attempt to call, I had an incoming call. It was the doctor's office! They were actually calling me back.
Wow, I felt important.
This time it was a nurse instead of the doctor, which is unfortunate because I would have liked to have asked some questions. But she told me that my doctor called and talked to the doctor in Pittsburgh and they set up an appointment for Monday at 1 for an ultrasound.
Let me just vent for a moment....
Months ago we met with one of the specialists in Pittsburgh. Super nice doctor! And he assured us that the chance of my levels increasing were VERY slim and we wouldn't have anything to worry about.
uhhhh.....
...that 'very slim chance' is happening.
Not the doctor's fault, I know that. But I'm still irritated. And I'm freaking out a little. Because that's what I DO. Have you met my family? And have you seen my family members in a stressful situation? It's almost comical honestly. One time our chimney caught on fire and while my dad was on the roof checking it out, my mom threw my brothers and me out in the snow in our pajamas with the box full of family photos from the closet while she called the fire department and screamed at them 'I don't KNOW where I live!!!!! Just get here!!'
yeah.....
So I texted all of my friends to give them an update and because I needed their moral support (I really do have some amazing friends) and now I'm on an adrenaline high. I've got to get my house cleaned! I've got to get bags packed! My mom is on red alert. My local friends are on standby in case we need help with Morgan...what if we find out Monday he's anemic and has to be born right away for a blood transfusion? Crazy!
So this weekend I'll be cleaning like crazy. The doctor said he will probably be born next week since the antibody levels have increased. The longer he stays in there, the higher the chance of him becoming anemic. Plus he's already a fatty, he's cooked enough in my opinion. I'm tired of finding new stretch marks every day.
One of my friends texted me with 'boys are a pain in our butts from the beginning' which made me laugh.
All I can say is that Jack had better be the easiest baby ever after he's born.
And I really really want a corn dog. Random, I know.
Friday, June 15, 2012
toddlers are not human.
I'm taking a break from an adrenaline rush induced cleaning spree (thanks to a call from the doctor earlier today, separate blog to come) and distracting myself with a little blog writing.
Last night before 'lights out,' Michael and I were talking about Morgan.
Me: how is it possible for her to run in circles for 4 hours at the pool in the heat and not be worn out?
Michael: she's not human. she's a toddler.
Me: this is true. toddlers have superhuman powers.
Michael is onto something here. Toddlers fall into a different category and join homo sapiens perhaps by the age of 5? Or is it just MY toddler?
I watched her at the pool. She played in the baby pool, then ran over to the 'splash zone' area where she would run circles through all of the spraying water, then back to the baby pool, then splash zone, then pool, the splash zone...
you get the picture.
Lucky for me, it was not busy at all and I could sit in a chair and watch (and get sunburned). After 4 hours I had to drag her away. She cried most of the way home because she didn't want to leave the pool. Wouldn't most 3 year olds be exhausted after 4 hours in the sun at the pool? Not mine. She came home and dragged every toy she owns into the living room while I worked on dinner. She was awake until about 10:00 after an hour of fussing and being down right bratty (because she was tired but couldn't wind down).
It's like watching a windup toy....she goes and goes....and then gets slower....and slower....then stops. The only time she's not moving is when she's asleep.
Superhuman power of extreme energy. Can't they sell that in pill form?
Last night before 'lights out,' Michael and I were talking about Morgan.
Me: how is it possible for her to run in circles for 4 hours at the pool in the heat and not be worn out?
Michael: she's not human. she's a toddler.
Me: this is true. toddlers have superhuman powers.
Michael is onto something here. Toddlers fall into a different category and join homo sapiens perhaps by the age of 5? Or is it just MY toddler?
I watched her at the pool. She played in the baby pool, then ran over to the 'splash zone' area where she would run circles through all of the spraying water, then back to the baby pool, then splash zone, then pool, the splash zone...
you get the picture.
Lucky for me, it was not busy at all and I could sit in a chair and watch (and get sunburned). After 4 hours I had to drag her away. She cried most of the way home because she didn't want to leave the pool. Wouldn't most 3 year olds be exhausted after 4 hours in the sun at the pool? Not mine. She came home and dragged every toy she owns into the living room while I worked on dinner. She was awake until about 10:00 after an hour of fussing and being down right bratty (because she was tired but couldn't wind down).
It's like watching a windup toy....she goes and goes....and then gets slower....and slower....then stops. The only time she's not moving is when she's asleep.
Superhuman power of extreme energy. Can't they sell that in pill form?
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Fat Boy!
Five hours at the doctor today. Five hours!!!
Ultrasound at 9, appointment with doctor at 9:45. Of course even though it was early in the morning, they were already running behind. I'm glad I dragged myself out of bed to get there on time, and I was really queasy this morning and had to sip Gaterade on the way there. While I was waiting I saw both the ultrasound tech and doctor arrive so I knew it was going to be a long morning.
Oh well.
Thank goodness my mom happened to be visiting and kept Morgan while I went to the doctor.
Ultrasound tech squirted the goop on my stomach and started to work her magic and immediately said 'oh wow, he's big!'
What? I don't have big babies. That's not mine.
At 35 weeks pregnant he's already weighing 8lb 5oz!!!
Uhhhh....I'm supposed to last another 4 weeks before the c-section. So he might be 11 pounds?
Morgan was 6lb 13oz and 19 inches long when she was born. She wore preemie clothes the first week, then wore newborn clothes for 5 weeks. Jack is going to be wearing 3 month clothes at birth and size 1 diapers....maybe he'll be big enough to go on to preschool too.
And I thought he was breech like Morgan and I kept rubbing his head, under my left ribs, same position as Morgan.
Turns out that's his big butt.
Oops.
The doctor told me to try to rest and keep my feet up so I don't go into early labor. Apparently a fatty baby takes up so much room that my body might try to get rid of it early.
Rest and keep my feet up....so the 7 hour shopping trip with my mom and Morgan yesterday wasn't a good idea? Of course it was. We found Babies R Us, Burlington Baby Depot, and Trader Joe's! I bought this awesome body pillow called a Snoogle that takes up half of the bed. Michael has about 5 inches of space to snooze in. But I can't help it that his son is a fatty and takes up so much room!
So then they wanted to do a nonstress test. I'm surprised they haven't scheduled any sooner. I'm diabetic and they usually want to do nonstress tests once a week starting around 32 weeks. I had to do them when I was pregnant with Morgan. They put straps around my stomach and hook me up to a monitor to keep track of the baby's heartbeat for 20 minutes and I have to push a button every time the baby moves. I get to lounge in a recliner and watch tv and play on my phone and listen to the heartbeat. After the 20 minutes, the nurse looked concerned and came back with orange juice telling me to drink it. She said the baby wasn't moving enough. Then the doctor came in and told me to go eat and come back to do it again.
What?! It was after 12, I had been there since 9. I had a babysitter and I'm spending my precious kid-free time stuck at the doctor?! Yuck.
So I went to get some lunch, and a big iced tea, hoping the caffeine would help. Then I drove back and waited to be hooked back up. Everything was fine. Fat boy was just hungry. Finally at 2 I was finished and could go home.
At least I got a free glass of orange juice out of all that...
So my son is going to be huge. Maybe he will be fat and happy and will be an easier baby than Morgan was.
Ultrasound at 9, appointment with doctor at 9:45. Of course even though it was early in the morning, they were already running behind. I'm glad I dragged myself out of bed to get there on time, and I was really queasy this morning and had to sip Gaterade on the way there. While I was waiting I saw both the ultrasound tech and doctor arrive so I knew it was going to be a long morning.
Oh well.
Thank goodness my mom happened to be visiting and kept Morgan while I went to the doctor.
Ultrasound tech squirted the goop on my stomach and started to work her magic and immediately said 'oh wow, he's big!'
What? I don't have big babies. That's not mine.
At 35 weeks pregnant he's already weighing 8lb 5oz!!!
Uhhhh....I'm supposed to last another 4 weeks before the c-section. So he might be 11 pounds?
Morgan was 6lb 13oz and 19 inches long when she was born. She wore preemie clothes the first week, then wore newborn clothes for 5 weeks. Jack is going to be wearing 3 month clothes at birth and size 1 diapers....maybe he'll be big enough to go on to preschool too.
And I thought he was breech like Morgan and I kept rubbing his head, under my left ribs, same position as Morgan.
Turns out that's his big butt.
Oops.
The doctor told me to try to rest and keep my feet up so I don't go into early labor. Apparently a fatty baby takes up so much room that my body might try to get rid of it early.
Rest and keep my feet up....so the 7 hour shopping trip with my mom and Morgan yesterday wasn't a good idea? Of course it was. We found Babies R Us, Burlington Baby Depot, and Trader Joe's! I bought this awesome body pillow called a Snoogle that takes up half of the bed. Michael has about 5 inches of space to snooze in. But I can't help it that his son is a fatty and takes up so much room!
So then they wanted to do a nonstress test. I'm surprised they haven't scheduled any sooner. I'm diabetic and they usually want to do nonstress tests once a week starting around 32 weeks. I had to do them when I was pregnant with Morgan. They put straps around my stomach and hook me up to a monitor to keep track of the baby's heartbeat for 20 minutes and I have to push a button every time the baby moves. I get to lounge in a recliner and watch tv and play on my phone and listen to the heartbeat. After the 20 minutes, the nurse looked concerned and came back with orange juice telling me to drink it. She said the baby wasn't moving enough. Then the doctor came in and told me to go eat and come back to do it again.
What?! It was after 12, I had been there since 9. I had a babysitter and I'm spending my precious kid-free time stuck at the doctor?! Yuck.
So I went to get some lunch, and a big iced tea, hoping the caffeine would help. Then I drove back and waited to be hooked back up. Everything was fine. Fat boy was just hungry. Finally at 2 I was finished and could go home.
At least I got a free glass of orange juice out of all that...
So my son is going to be huge. Maybe he will be fat and happy and will be an easier baby than Morgan was.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
pool season
I love the pool. I love the sun. I love to tan. No lectures please, I know the hazards of basking in the sun. Did you know that new research shows you can actually become addicted to tanning? So there ya go, I can't help it, I'm an addict.
The summer after Morgan was born we went to a pool once and it wasn't a success. Morgan was cranky. Big shocker. She was about 5 months old and lasted maybe 10 minutes in the pool.
The next summer she was 15-18 months old during 'swim season' and she enjoyed the pool much more, but that's a tricky age at a public pool. There is a nice pool over in Weirton that we go to, and we would go about once a week. Morgan would stand at the edge of the baby pool, taking it all in. I could see in her eyes, the wheels churning in her head....'hellooooo babies....all of your toys are now MINE....and I will get away with it because I'm one of the youngest here...mwahahahahaha.' And that indeed is what I had to deal with; Morgan stealing all of the toys. She was the pool bully, making other babies cry. And she knew she could get away with stealing a plastic watering can from a 2 year old because the other mother would always say 'now now, she's just a baby, don't cry, let her play with it...' and I was slightly embarrassed and amused; ashamed my cute little chubby baby in her pink ruffle butt bathing suit was making other babies cry, but couldn't help laughing at the little pool punk. We usually lasted 2 hours at the most before Morgan was ready to fall asleep after all of the sunshine and thieving.
Last summer Morgan was 2 and it was a little easier to be at the pool with her. I could actually sit on the side while she played, whereas the previous summer I had to be with her constantly because every time she got knocked over (seriously, why do 3 or 4 year olds try to pick up babies?!) she would fall into the water and flail like she was drowning and then I would have to calm her down so she could go back to stealing toys. But when she was 2 she was a little bigger, a little more sturdy, and sadly, a little more mean. Not only was she stealing toys, but she was old enough to know better, and she would fight the other kid for a toy that wasn't even hers. The battle usually ended up with both toddlers screaming and Morgan trying to beat the other kid over the head with a ball or water gun or plastic shovel. And yes, I would take toys for Morgan to play with. She didn't want HER toys, she wanted the other toys. However; whenever another baby would touch any of her toys she turned into a Chihuahua guarding a food dish, complete with growls and biting. After 2-3 hours I would gracefully make my exit with my rabid toddler and the other mothers would sigh with relief.
This summer....Morgan is 3. Since she's turned 3 she has been a much more cooperative human being. Half of her previous issues can be blamed on her speech delay. It's hard to rationalize and reason with a human that can't communicate. Now she understands pretty much everything we say, even if she pretends she doesn't (we had a ten minute ordeal this evening where I tried to get her to pick up a pillow from the floor and put it back on the couch and she tried everything in her power to distract me from it, pretending like she didn't understand what I wanted her to do). I took her to the pool yesterday for the first time this season (it was also my first time ever wearing a maternity bathing suit....which is uber sexy...it even has a skirt). What a great day! Not a cloud in the sky, unusually hot weather for this area (the main pool is heated in the summer if that tells you anything about what sort of summers we usually have), and the pool was packed. Morgan mostly wanted to stay in the baby pool and the 'splash zone' area, and I realized for the first time I could just sit and watch and she could play and be independent. She can't swim, but she can play in the baby pool without any problems, and run through the splash zone. I had to use my 'teacher voice' a few times...I have zero tolerance for splashing, especially when a kid is splashing my kid in the face over and over. And there were some little pool punks with this huge water gun and they were spraying it everywhere, getting all of the 'mommy bags' wet so I had to say something. And there were some bigger kids randomly running through the baby pool knocking all of the little ones down. I don't know where the parents of these children were, I really wanted to congratulate them on raising animals. I know that Morgan has been a pool bully in the past, but I intervened every single time. And now she's so different! Yes she played with abandoned toys, but as soon as the owner came to claim it, Morgan gave it right back. I was so proud. And she ran over to every new kid in the pool waving and saying 'hi!' She had so much fun. I took her to the 'big pool' a few times and tried to work with her swimming skills but she's the laziest swimmer I've ever seen. She barely moves. Some parents just throw their kids in the water and wait for them to swim; if I did this, Morgan would just sink to the bottom. The big pool has several small slides and Morgan kept asking to go on them, but I kept telling her they were for big kids. So after a while she would ask 'I'm a big girl?' and I would answer 'yep!' and she trapped me. 'I can go on the slide? I'm a big girl!' Dang it Morgan!! So I let her go on the slide. I waited at the bottom to catch her since she can't swim. She climbed up, put her feet down, panicked, backed up, and all of the kids on the ladder had to get out of her way while she climbed back down. I knew she would chicken out. She always does that to me when it comes to water slides. Last summer there was an incident with a water slide in the shape of an elephant. I had to climb over about 13 little kids to get to my kid blocking the top because she was crying out of fear and refused to go down the slide, but the stairs were packed and nobody would move to let her back down.
After about 4 hours I noticed Morgan's cheeks were getting really red....and the tops of my legs were stinging. I had a really hard time getting Morgan to leave. i finally told her if we stayed too much, the sun would make us sick. She cooperated and followed me to the car, wailing the entire time. And then she cried all the way home. When we got home I realized how sunburned we were. *high five* to myself for an awesome mommy moment - I forgot to take the sunscreen to the pool so there was no reapplying. The bottle was still sitting on the kitchen counter when we got home. Morgan's shoulders and back are so red and painful. My back and the tops of my legs look like bacon. We've been lubing up with lots of after sun lotion....and Tylenol. We have to heal so we can hit the pool again soon!
Here's a picture of my little pool diva...she's learned the 'duck face pose' at an early age....sigh....
The summer after Morgan was born we went to a pool once and it wasn't a success. Morgan was cranky. Big shocker. She was about 5 months old and lasted maybe 10 minutes in the pool.
The next summer she was 15-18 months old during 'swim season' and she enjoyed the pool much more, but that's a tricky age at a public pool. There is a nice pool over in Weirton that we go to, and we would go about once a week. Morgan would stand at the edge of the baby pool, taking it all in. I could see in her eyes, the wheels churning in her head....'hellooooo babies....all of your toys are now MINE....and I will get away with it because I'm one of the youngest here...mwahahahahaha.' And that indeed is what I had to deal with; Morgan stealing all of the toys. She was the pool bully, making other babies cry. And she knew she could get away with stealing a plastic watering can from a 2 year old because the other mother would always say 'now now, she's just a baby, don't cry, let her play with it...' and I was slightly embarrassed and amused; ashamed my cute little chubby baby in her pink ruffle butt bathing suit was making other babies cry, but couldn't help laughing at the little pool punk. We usually lasted 2 hours at the most before Morgan was ready to fall asleep after all of the sunshine and thieving.
Last summer Morgan was 2 and it was a little easier to be at the pool with her. I could actually sit on the side while she played, whereas the previous summer I had to be with her constantly because every time she got knocked over (seriously, why do 3 or 4 year olds try to pick up babies?!) she would fall into the water and flail like she was drowning and then I would have to calm her down so she could go back to stealing toys. But when she was 2 she was a little bigger, a little more sturdy, and sadly, a little more mean. Not only was she stealing toys, but she was old enough to know better, and she would fight the other kid for a toy that wasn't even hers. The battle usually ended up with both toddlers screaming and Morgan trying to beat the other kid over the head with a ball or water gun or plastic shovel. And yes, I would take toys for Morgan to play with. She didn't want HER toys, she wanted the other toys. However; whenever another baby would touch any of her toys she turned into a Chihuahua guarding a food dish, complete with growls and biting. After 2-3 hours I would gracefully make my exit with my rabid toddler and the other mothers would sigh with relief.
This summer....Morgan is 3. Since she's turned 3 she has been a much more cooperative human being. Half of her previous issues can be blamed on her speech delay. It's hard to rationalize and reason with a human that can't communicate. Now she understands pretty much everything we say, even if she pretends she doesn't (we had a ten minute ordeal this evening where I tried to get her to pick up a pillow from the floor and put it back on the couch and she tried everything in her power to distract me from it, pretending like she didn't understand what I wanted her to do). I took her to the pool yesterday for the first time this season (it was also my first time ever wearing a maternity bathing suit....which is uber sexy...it even has a skirt). What a great day! Not a cloud in the sky, unusually hot weather for this area (the main pool is heated in the summer if that tells you anything about what sort of summers we usually have), and the pool was packed. Morgan mostly wanted to stay in the baby pool and the 'splash zone' area, and I realized for the first time I could just sit and watch and she could play and be independent. She can't swim, but she can play in the baby pool without any problems, and run through the splash zone. I had to use my 'teacher voice' a few times...I have zero tolerance for splashing, especially when a kid is splashing my kid in the face over and over. And there were some little pool punks with this huge water gun and they were spraying it everywhere, getting all of the 'mommy bags' wet so I had to say something. And there were some bigger kids randomly running through the baby pool knocking all of the little ones down. I don't know where the parents of these children were, I really wanted to congratulate them on raising animals. I know that Morgan has been a pool bully in the past, but I intervened every single time. And now she's so different! Yes she played with abandoned toys, but as soon as the owner came to claim it, Morgan gave it right back. I was so proud. And she ran over to every new kid in the pool waving and saying 'hi!' She had so much fun. I took her to the 'big pool' a few times and tried to work with her swimming skills but she's the laziest swimmer I've ever seen. She barely moves. Some parents just throw their kids in the water and wait for them to swim; if I did this, Morgan would just sink to the bottom. The big pool has several small slides and Morgan kept asking to go on them, but I kept telling her they were for big kids. So after a while she would ask 'I'm a big girl?' and I would answer 'yep!' and she trapped me. 'I can go on the slide? I'm a big girl!' Dang it Morgan!! So I let her go on the slide. I waited at the bottom to catch her since she can't swim. She climbed up, put her feet down, panicked, backed up, and all of the kids on the ladder had to get out of her way while she climbed back down. I knew she would chicken out. She always does that to me when it comes to water slides. Last summer there was an incident with a water slide in the shape of an elephant. I had to climb over about 13 little kids to get to my kid blocking the top because she was crying out of fear and refused to go down the slide, but the stairs were packed and nobody would move to let her back down.
After about 4 hours I noticed Morgan's cheeks were getting really red....and the tops of my legs were stinging. I had a really hard time getting Morgan to leave. i finally told her if we stayed too much, the sun would make us sick. She cooperated and followed me to the car, wailing the entire time. And then she cried all the way home. When we got home I realized how sunburned we were. *high five* to myself for an awesome mommy moment - I forgot to take the sunscreen to the pool so there was no reapplying. The bottle was still sitting on the kitchen counter when we got home. Morgan's shoulders and back are so red and painful. My back and the tops of my legs look like bacon. We've been lubing up with lots of after sun lotion....and Tylenol. We have to heal so we can hit the pool again soon!
Here's a picture of my little pool diva...she's learned the 'duck face pose' at an early age....sigh....
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
getting peed on for medicinal purposes
So today Morgan and I woke up and did our morning routine. She sings in her bed for a few (or 20) minutes while I work up the energy to drag myself out of my bed. While she drinks her Pediasure Good Starts (or the Kroger equivalent) I make my bed, get dressed, trip over cats, decide between Cheerios or oatmeal, and open my computer for what possibly be the only time all day. Morgan has been doing fabulous with her potty training. We are so proud of her. This morning she woke up with a dry diaper and went straight to the potty, yelling 'mommy I'm on the potty!!' (I'm learning that will be a phrase in my life for a long time) so I abandoned my Cheerios to go help her. Her potty is located in the living room because that's where she wants it. Whatever works. I wiped her and then took her little potty to the bathroom to dump and clean and she followed me crying that I 'wiped her too hard' and I was like 'nuh uh!'
She tends to have a flair for drama.
But she cried for about ten minutes. And then asked for a 'botsie' which is a pacifier we keep in the fridge for when she is hurt (especially busted lips). We still also have teething rings in the fridge because...well....who knows. I just haven't cleaned it out and what's the point now with Jack's eviction date about 7 or 8 weeks away.
She took the teething ring and put it on her naked backside saying 'ahhh that makes my booty feel better.'
What is UP with my kid?!
But she stopped crying.
Oh and I gave her a dose of ibuprofen, because when she is throwing a fit, chances are some sort of drug will help....ibuprofen, claritin, tylenol, zantac, morphine...
Then she asked for a diaper, which is really strange, because she has been wearing 'potty pants' all day every day and only wears diapers at night.
Then she got on her potty to pee....and wouldn't get off.
I kept saying 'okay Morgan let me wipe you and clean the potty' and she kept saying 'not done yet'....but she wasn't even doing anything other than sit on the potty and play with whatever Little People were within toe grabbing distance.
She sat there for over and hour and that's when it hit me...
somethin' ain't rite.
I texted my friend that works for a pediatrician and she said yes it sounded like a possible UTI and to call her doctor. I tried to called Morgan's doctor but they were out to lunch for another half hour. I paced the living room, called Michael, texted my mom, and finally decided to not wait for her doctor; because honestly they would have to 'work me in' and they are always so busy. I don't feel like sitting in a waiting room for 2 hours. I persuaded Morgan to abandon the potty with promises of getting to pee in a cup.
She was uber excited about that.
Plus she loves going to the doctor.
I took her to EZ Care, which is an urgent care sort of emergency place. I love it there. It's never busy and the staff is so nice. I packed sippy cups and bottles of water and explained to Morgan on the way there she needed to drink a lot so she could pee in a cup for the doctor. She drank and drank. When it was time to go to the bathroom I took a deep breath and gave myself a pep talk. I could do this. I had dressed Morgan in a sundress to make the event easier. I took off her pullup and she had peed. A lot.
Dang it.
She really couldn't help it; she had drank a lot of water and whatever was going on with her made her feel like she constantly needed to go to the bathroom even when she didn't need to.
But we needed some pee in that cup.
The alternative to the cup is using a catheter to extract some urine. Or a needle into the bladder.
Yeah, THAT sounds fun for any age.
I explained to her that she needed to try really hard to pee in the cup. I had her stand with her legs apart and put the cup in place and waited for some action.
She couldn't do it.
She wanted to sit on the potty. So I put her on the potty and had to put my hand holding the cup down under her, but she didn't like the feeling of the cup against her so I have to hover and wait.
She peed. And I had to play 'catch the pee' before the sprinkles stopped. I got pee on my hand. My hand touched the inside of the toilet.
Sigh.
But we got a little pee in the cup!!! Victory!
Then I had to wash my hands (about 14 times). And clean Morgan up and wash her hands. And put the lid on that precious urine in the cup and then wipe it down before handing it to the nurse.
I seriously think I deserve some special mother award for all that. I got my 3 year old to pee in the cup. And I touched the inside of a toilet at a doctor's office.
They tested her sample and there was evidence of some sort of infection. They are sending it to a lab to find out exactly what's going on. They went ahead and gave her a prescription for a UTI/bladder infection. We went to Kroger to fill it and I bought her a new My Little Pony (Applejack) for her cooperation. And then I looked longingly at the wine and beer aisle.
But I'm pregnant so I settled for a Snickers bar. I think I earned it.
And by the way, we have no idea how she got this infection. Could be the fact that she's naked way too much. Or that I used something new in her bath last night. Or that she used toilet paper over the weekend instead of baby wipes. Or all of the above. I just hope she feels better soon.
She tends to have a flair for drama.
But she cried for about ten minutes. And then asked for a 'botsie' which is a pacifier we keep in the fridge for when she is hurt (especially busted lips). We still also have teething rings in the fridge because...well....who knows. I just haven't cleaned it out and what's the point now with Jack's eviction date about 7 or 8 weeks away.
She took the teething ring and put it on her naked backside saying 'ahhh that makes my booty feel better.'
What is UP with my kid?!
But she stopped crying.
Oh and I gave her a dose of ibuprofen, because when she is throwing a fit, chances are some sort of drug will help....ibuprofen, claritin, tylenol, zantac, morphine...
Then she asked for a diaper, which is really strange, because she has been wearing 'potty pants' all day every day and only wears diapers at night.
Then she got on her potty to pee....and wouldn't get off.
I kept saying 'okay Morgan let me wipe you and clean the potty' and she kept saying 'not done yet'....but she wasn't even doing anything other than sit on the potty and play with whatever Little People were within toe grabbing distance.
She sat there for over and hour and that's when it hit me...
somethin' ain't rite.
I texted my friend that works for a pediatrician and she said yes it sounded like a possible UTI and to call her doctor. I tried to called Morgan's doctor but they were out to lunch for another half hour. I paced the living room, called Michael, texted my mom, and finally decided to not wait for her doctor; because honestly they would have to 'work me in' and they are always so busy. I don't feel like sitting in a waiting room for 2 hours. I persuaded Morgan to abandon the potty with promises of getting to pee in a cup.
She was uber excited about that.
Plus she loves going to the doctor.
I took her to EZ Care, which is an urgent care sort of emergency place. I love it there. It's never busy and the staff is so nice. I packed sippy cups and bottles of water and explained to Morgan on the way there she needed to drink a lot so she could pee in a cup for the doctor. She drank and drank. When it was time to go to the bathroom I took a deep breath and gave myself a pep talk. I could do this. I had dressed Morgan in a sundress to make the event easier. I took off her pullup and she had peed. A lot.
Dang it.
She really couldn't help it; she had drank a lot of water and whatever was going on with her made her feel like she constantly needed to go to the bathroom even when she didn't need to.
But we needed some pee in that cup.
The alternative to the cup is using a catheter to extract some urine. Or a needle into the bladder.
Yeah, THAT sounds fun for any age.
I explained to her that she needed to try really hard to pee in the cup. I had her stand with her legs apart and put the cup in place and waited for some action.
She couldn't do it.
She wanted to sit on the potty. So I put her on the potty and had to put my hand holding the cup down under her, but she didn't like the feeling of the cup against her so I have to hover and wait.
She peed. And I had to play 'catch the pee' before the sprinkles stopped. I got pee on my hand. My hand touched the inside of the toilet.
Sigh.
But we got a little pee in the cup!!! Victory!
Then I had to wash my hands (about 14 times). And clean Morgan up and wash her hands. And put the lid on that precious urine in the cup and then wipe it down before handing it to the nurse.
I seriously think I deserve some special mother award for all that. I got my 3 year old to pee in the cup. And I touched the inside of a toilet at a doctor's office.
They tested her sample and there was evidence of some sort of infection. They are sending it to a lab to find out exactly what's going on. They went ahead and gave her a prescription for a UTI/bladder infection. We went to Kroger to fill it and I bought her a new My Little Pony (Applejack) for her cooperation. And then I looked longingly at the wine and beer aisle.
But I'm pregnant so I settled for a Snickers bar. I think I earned it.
And by the way, we have no idea how she got this infection. Could be the fact that she's naked way too much. Or that I used something new in her bath last night. Or that she used toilet paper over the weekend instead of baby wipes. Or all of the above. I just hope she feels better soon.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
public potties
Yesterday was our 'monthly outing' to Robinson Township, a shopping area near Pittsburgh. Morgan and I REALLY needed out of the house. Plus it was time for another round of Little C lab work so we started our day date at Weirton Medical Center where I have enough blood taken to make me a little woozy. The ladies in the lab are getting used to seeing me, and unfortunately, they might be seeing me even more often since the antibody levels are starting to rise.
Afterwards, we were all starving. Poor Morgan was saying 'I need food in my tummy, it would make me happy' because whenever we know we are going out to eat, we pretty much starve her so that she will eat while we are at a restaurant. She had her breakfast sippy and that holds her over for a while but it was creeping up on 2:00 and that's a long time since breakfast for all of us. We went to Longhorn Steakhouse (pretty darn tasty!) and she actually tried the bread and ate it! See...starving her works...it makes her try new stuff. Then she ate most of her mashed potatoes and even 2 bites of chicken tenders after a LOT of encouragement. We were happy! I asked her if she needed to potty and she said yes.
Here we go...public potty training.
I went to the 'family restroom' because it seemed less used. I lined the side of the potty with about 500 sheets of toilet paper and helped Morgan get situated. The very first thing she did was put her hands on that dirty nasty toilet and I wanted to scream!!! I told her to hold on to my pants....which she did...and then I realized that after touching that dirty nasty toilet she was touching my dirty nasty pants.
sigh.
But she used the potty! And then I scrubbed her hands until they were red! And her face, arms, feet, and all other exposed skin, just in case.
She ran back to our table yelling 'daddy I pee peed in the potty!!!!' and we received a lot of dirty looks from people diving into their steak. Jeez people, she's THREE years old! It's not like I encouraged her to run through a restaurant yelling about her potty success....
...or maybe I did.
just kidding...
Then we went to IKEA. We LOVE IKEA. It's such a fun place to go browse and find neat stuff you never knew you needed. Yesterday we bought Morgan a new dresser (white to match her new IKEA bed) and a tall skinny shelf for our bedroom, plus I ran across these awesome washable fruits and vegetables for Morgan to play with. While at IKEA I asked Morgan twice if she needed to potty...and of course she did. Sadly, the bathrooms at IKEA were not clean, but that's just how 99% of public restrooms are. Morgan is too young to learn the 'hover' maneuver. Thank goodness IKEA offers toilet seat covers. I pulled about 20 out and formed a protective layer of tissue paper worthy of Princess and the Pea. Then we took birth baths in the sink to try to rid ourselves of all potty germies.
We survived our first day of public potties!
And we also managed to cram 3 long IKEA furniture boxes into our short Land Rover...I'm still impressed.
Afterwards, we were all starving. Poor Morgan was saying 'I need food in my tummy, it would make me happy' because whenever we know we are going out to eat, we pretty much starve her so that she will eat while we are at a restaurant. She had her breakfast sippy and that holds her over for a while but it was creeping up on 2:00 and that's a long time since breakfast for all of us. We went to Longhorn Steakhouse (pretty darn tasty!) and she actually tried the bread and ate it! See...starving her works...it makes her try new stuff. Then she ate most of her mashed potatoes and even 2 bites of chicken tenders after a LOT of encouragement. We were happy! I asked her if she needed to potty and she said yes.
Here we go...public potty training.
I went to the 'family restroom' because it seemed less used. I lined the side of the potty with about 500 sheets of toilet paper and helped Morgan get situated. The very first thing she did was put her hands on that dirty nasty toilet and I wanted to scream!!! I told her to hold on to my pants....which she did...and then I realized that after touching that dirty nasty toilet she was touching my dirty nasty pants.
sigh.
But she used the potty! And then I scrubbed her hands until they were red! And her face, arms, feet, and all other exposed skin, just in case.
She ran back to our table yelling 'daddy I pee peed in the potty!!!!' and we received a lot of dirty looks from people diving into their steak. Jeez people, she's THREE years old! It's not like I encouraged her to run through a restaurant yelling about her potty success....
...or maybe I did.
just kidding...
Then we went to IKEA. We LOVE IKEA. It's such a fun place to go browse and find neat stuff you never knew you needed. Yesterday we bought Morgan a new dresser (white to match her new IKEA bed) and a tall skinny shelf for our bedroom, plus I ran across these awesome washable fruits and vegetables for Morgan to play with. While at IKEA I asked Morgan twice if she needed to potty...and of course she did. Sadly, the bathrooms at IKEA were not clean, but that's just how 99% of public restrooms are. Morgan is too young to learn the 'hover' maneuver. Thank goodness IKEA offers toilet seat covers. I pulled about 20 out and formed a protective layer of tissue paper worthy of Princess and the Pea. Then we took birth baths in the sink to try to rid ourselves of all potty germies.
We survived our first day of public potties!
And we also managed to cram 3 long IKEA furniture boxes into our short Land Rover...I'm still impressed.
Monday, April 30, 2012
potty this and potty that
oh potty training, how I loathe thee.
Yes, this blog is about the woes of potty training. Click 'exit' now if you are squeamish; otherwise, proceed.
Morgan turned 3 in February and we've been working on potty training for over a year. Her speech delay has made it difficult; it's hard to potty train when you can't really communicate with your kid. She's also very stubborn and strong willed. Her pediatrician basically told us that the 2 things a toddler can control in life are 'what goes in and what comes out.' So it's been a power struggle to get Morgan to eat new foods (or sometimes just to eat at all) and to want to go on the potty.
This past week all of a sudden Morgan has decided that the potty isn't all that bad! For a solid week we've basically done no diapers or pullups during the day while at home. She has spent half of the time running around naked or wearing 'potty pants' (underwear) and her little potty has ended up in the living room...which is where SHE wants it, so I'm not moving it. I spend most of the day asking her if she needs to potty...and the other half of the day watching her potty.....then cleaning her potty.
And yes, I know they make inserts to fit on a regular toilet so that toddlers can go on the big potty. We have one. It's pink and says 'princess' on it. She rarely uses it. She prefers this little potty from Toys R Us that is almost too small for her. Going in the big potty would be too easy of course; she would rather use the little potty and then watch us clean it out.
You would think that after years of changing poop diapers, poop in the potty wouldn't phase me. I can't stand it. I dry heave and try to hide the disgusted look on my face as I'm carrying a little plastic bowl full of a toddler poo to the bathroom; I don't want her to think she's done something bad. As I gasp for air in between dry heaves I try to tell Morgan what a good job she did and how she can have a 'treat' of chocolate chips as soon as mommy cleans up and composes herself. If Michael is home, I beg him to do the dirty job, but he's not home very often. And I swear Morgan times her poops for when he's at work.
And she poops ALL THE TIME now. It's like she feels that whenever she sits on the potty, she has to work on a poo. So she sits and sits and sits. So I sit and sit and sit and wait for her to be finished. No way am I leaving a pooping toddler unsupervised on a potty on my living room carpet. Then I have to catch her before she tries to pick up her potty to go empty it herself. I have nightmares about the contents of the potty spilling out onto my clean floors. Then I have to catch her and get her cleaned up with potty pants back on before she climbs onto my couch.
It's stressful I tell ya.
And she's not completely potty trained yet. We are still working on 'out of the house training.' Whenever we go somewhere, we put a diaper on her. We went to dinner the other evening and every time she peed in her diaper, she loudly announced it...'Mommy, I just pee peed in my diapy again!'
...ummm okay kid, be quiet and eat your mashed potatoes. Today I decided to try her outside with no diaper. I took her potty out on the porch and we enjoyed the sunshine for 4 hours while she used the potty on the porch. I'll just have to remind my neighbors that I'm from WV and don't know any better.
She still wears a diaper at night and usually wakes up with it dry (woo hoo! she hopefully won't be a bedwetter!) but she doesn't want to take it off and use the potty when she first wakes up. She usually pees in her diaper and then comes to tell me (or takes it off and throws it away herself...ridiculous, I know). But we are getting there!
Do I have any advice on potty training? Yes - wait until they are ready. Don't force the issue. They will eventually be ready. I'm just thrilled that Morgan was ready before she started kindergarten.
Yes, this blog is about the woes of potty training. Click 'exit' now if you are squeamish; otherwise, proceed.
Morgan turned 3 in February and we've been working on potty training for over a year. Her speech delay has made it difficult; it's hard to potty train when you can't really communicate with your kid. She's also very stubborn and strong willed. Her pediatrician basically told us that the 2 things a toddler can control in life are 'what goes in and what comes out.' So it's been a power struggle to get Morgan to eat new foods (or sometimes just to eat at all) and to want to go on the potty.
This past week all of a sudden Morgan has decided that the potty isn't all that bad! For a solid week we've basically done no diapers or pullups during the day while at home. She has spent half of the time running around naked or wearing 'potty pants' (underwear) and her little potty has ended up in the living room...which is where SHE wants it, so I'm not moving it. I spend most of the day asking her if she needs to potty...and the other half of the day watching her potty.....then cleaning her potty.
And yes, I know they make inserts to fit on a regular toilet so that toddlers can go on the big potty. We have one. It's pink and says 'princess' on it. She rarely uses it. She prefers this little potty from Toys R Us that is almost too small for her. Going in the big potty would be too easy of course; she would rather use the little potty and then watch us clean it out.
You would think that after years of changing poop diapers, poop in the potty wouldn't phase me. I can't stand it. I dry heave and try to hide the disgusted look on my face as I'm carrying a little plastic bowl full of a toddler poo to the bathroom; I don't want her to think she's done something bad. As I gasp for air in between dry heaves I try to tell Morgan what a good job she did and how she can have a 'treat' of chocolate chips as soon as mommy cleans up and composes herself. If Michael is home, I beg him to do the dirty job, but he's not home very often. And I swear Morgan times her poops for when he's at work.
And she poops ALL THE TIME now. It's like she feels that whenever she sits on the potty, she has to work on a poo. So she sits and sits and sits. So I sit and sit and sit and wait for her to be finished. No way am I leaving a pooping toddler unsupervised on a potty on my living room carpet. Then I have to catch her before she tries to pick up her potty to go empty it herself. I have nightmares about the contents of the potty spilling out onto my clean floors. Then I have to catch her and get her cleaned up with potty pants back on before she climbs onto my couch.
It's stressful I tell ya.
And she's not completely potty trained yet. We are still working on 'out of the house training.' Whenever we go somewhere, we put a diaper on her. We went to dinner the other evening and every time she peed in her diaper, she loudly announced it...'Mommy, I just pee peed in my diapy again!'
...ummm okay kid, be quiet and eat your mashed potatoes. Today I decided to try her outside with no diaper. I took her potty out on the porch and we enjoyed the sunshine for 4 hours while she used the potty on the porch. I'll just have to remind my neighbors that I'm from WV and don't know any better.
She still wears a diaper at night and usually wakes up with it dry (woo hoo! she hopefully won't be a bedwetter!) but she doesn't want to take it off and use the potty when she first wakes up. She usually pees in her diaper and then comes to tell me (or takes it off and throws it away herself...ridiculous, I know). But we are getting there!
Do I have any advice on potty training? Yes - wait until they are ready. Don't force the issue. They will eventually be ready. I'm just thrilled that Morgan was ready before she started kindergarten.
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