Small Things 2-5-13
1. Hen’s been having a hard time sleeping in the morning. Part of this is tummy upsets–yogurt really isn’t working for him, even after a break and reintroduction, which is a shame–he loves it so. And neither, I suspect, are his new afternoon snack of a granola bars. And sadly, even once we figured out what was causing the early morning this-diaper-needs-changing-right-NOW situation, he’s now gotten a bit accustomed to a 4:30 wake up, and since he knows he CAN roam free in the house, he WANTS to roam free in the house.
Oi. He’s not being bad, just very very two.
And I am very very tired.
2. Potty training? Ugh. He’s fascinated by the idea. He understands and can enunciate exactly what hes supposed to do. He’s more than happy to act it out with his lovey–Real Bunny gets diaper changes, wears Big Bunny underwear, regularly sits on the Bunny Potty and even gets imaginary bunny treats for successful potty time. Hen on the other hand? Not so much. He’s actually fantastic at the ‘staying dry’ part. His diapers are very often pee-free now, but he’s still had no luck on the potty. It’s the going-on-command bit that has him worried, I think, and I have no idea how to address this other than to give him time.
Honestly, it seems to me like–as with so many of his milestones–the kid is waiting till he can do something well before he attempts it at all.
Not being much of a perfectionist myself, this attitude drives me crazy and makes me worry a bit for his future happiness, but there it is.
3. I think I found a design for making tomato trellises out of electrical conduit that should be affordable, very strong/durable, and easy to put together. More on this later. When it’s not 20* out there. Brrrr.
4. Huddled by the wood fire, really loving the warmth coming off this little stove. Yay for cast iron.
5. On the home stretch (button band & collar) of the Neverending Christmas Cardigan. Next up, a hat for me that will contain–adorably, I hope!– my long hair which is usually bundled up in a bun at the back of my head, making most winter hats pretty useless for me. Unless I make them myself and find a pattern that looks like I won’t end up looking like an alien or a Greek goddess is going to hatch out of my skull. Oh Ravelry.com how I do adore thee. I can waste at least as many hours browsing patterns on that site as I can on Pinterest!
My Hen showed ‘interest’ at 18 months and actually and fully potty trained (over one 3 day weekend) when he was 38 months). We tried before and the school was on us as they wanted to move him up to the 3 yr old room. For a year they took him to the potty hourly and for a year he did NOTHING. Then, we decided it was time, we knew he basically understood that peep and poop go in the toilet so we hunkered down and taught him the connecting between the urge to go and making it to the toilet (we followed a program). And, voila, once he got that connection we were 100% diaper free and he never had an accident. He just simply wasn’t going to do it beforehand.
Good luck with it…boys can be tricky.
Susan Reply:
February 5th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
Can I ask what program you used?
LG is one of those kids. Never practiced walking. Just did it when she was ready to do it well. Pretty much the same thing with reading. And most other things.
The skills that do require practice–not to mention patience–like riding a bike. Well…we’re still waiting for that one…
Oh, how I hate and dread potty training… George is very, VERY excited about underware, and can stay dry for quite long stretches of time, but he is confused about the sequence of actions, he says he has to go and actually makes it to the loo, but by the time he gets there it is too late. And then he does the robot walk, because he hates being wet. He can hold it until he sees the bathroom door – and then it is too late.
I intend to do the three days potty training thing – and see what comes of it.
As for early waking ups, I fought it as much as I could for it NOT become a routine. Once it is a routine, I’d rather go wash dishes by hand to my entire neighbourhood than try to make George do things differently. I hope Hen is more malleable.
All four of my boys were at least 3 before they were fully potty trained. With the first 2 I started at two years old (when everyone told me I should) and we suffered through at least a year of training, frustration, lots of messes, etc. With the twins I waited until they were 3 yrs 3 months and spent one weekend on it and BOOM potty trained! It was so much less stressful for all of us that way. I think boys just have a harder time with the different sensations of having to “go” than girls do.
I’ve raised three boys to manhood, Ha! and none of them really “got it” till almost three. Sometimes boys just take a while to understand the connection between the urge and the muscular control. But then when they get it that late, they really get it! I know you’re ready, but he’s just not. Good luck!