Practical & Conscientious Parenting
Thoughts
Surprise Potty ‘Training’
14 years
Note: Edie is probably going to ask me to remove this post when she’s older…
So, in a previous post I wrote about how we picked up a BabyBjörn Little Potty for Edie when we were in Seattle. We got it thinking it would be nice to have for when she’s older, or maybe for the summer when she can run around with just a diaper on and no diaper cover. We decided to give it a try, though, just for kicks. And…
We have not had a poopy diaper in four days!
We had been noticing that Edie has mainly been pooping in the morning, so we’ve been sitting her up on her Little Potty as soon as she wakes up. She actually seems to enjoy sitting on it a lot, I think because she has a little longer reach into her basket of toys. And like clockwork, about 3-5 minutes after sitting on her Little Potty, she puts it to good use.
Now, I know we don’t have Edie potty trained by any means, but we sure are getting closer to getting ourselves potty trained as parents! It kind of makes me wish we had tried elimination communication earlier, but I feel like Edie is just now falling into a schedule, with her sleep and everything else. It almost feels like it’s been too easy to get her using it. Ashley has started putting her on it after she wakes up from her naps to pee, also, which I think I’ll start doing as well. I’m not confident it will last, but for now it’s pretty fun, and it’s really nice to know that she doesn’t have to sit in poopy diapers!
There’s a Nooth Grush
Edie’s first two teeth came in when she was just over three months old. She actually cut her first tooth on my finger while we were at an event at Ashley’s school! It’s always been a fun and exciting thing for me, although they came with mixed feelings for Ashley since she’s the one breastfeeding.
I mentioned it to my dental hygienist around the same time, because I thought she’d be surprised that Edie had them so young. She was, and she immediately gave me a children’s toothbrush for Edie. Even though Edie wasn’t eating anything other than breast milk at the time, my hygienist said that plaque can start to build up.
Anyway, she absolutely loves playing with it, even if she uses it backwards. She’ll chew on it for half an hour if we let her. We’re going to be two lucky parents if she keeps up her joy of tooth brushing.
Busy weekend
On Friday, an old coworker of mine was in town with his family. They decided to stay the night, because they were too tired to drive home. Ashley’s sister and her boyfriend also came to stay with us for the weekend. It was a fun-filled weekend, and I’m exhausted, as is Edie. She is always quite a trouper, and even when her sleep schedule gets messed up, she stays pretty smiley. The only thing I’ve noticed so far (and today was a prime example) is that whenever she gets low on sleep, it gets harder and harder to get her to sleep. But she’s in bed resting now, and I’m ready to get some rest before the week as well.
But I am thankful everyday to have such an accommodating, happy, people-loving little one. I love you, Edie!
Staying On Task
14 years
Part of the web work I do is for a company my mom works for called Wings Seminars in Eugene, Oregon. I’m a very strong advocate for the work they do, which is personal development seminars. I’ve had a very supportive family growing up, and I’ve always felt that I am capable of living the life I want to live because I have a such a strong support network. But being capable doesn’t mean that my actions always reflect my values. One of the things I’ve appreciated about the training I’ve participated in at Wings Seminars is the group interactions, which support me in being accountable for my actions.
Since I’ve started blogging, I’ve felt a similar sort of support in being accountable for how I show up as a parent. Taking the time to write about the decisions I make as a parent helps me reflect on my choices as a parent, and stay aligned with my beliefs and values. I find it’s helping me stay on task with what I want to do with my life as well. When I think about what I can write about that will hold some interest for any readers out there, I remember that I want to live a life that I enjoy writing about. Writing supports me in living the life I want to write about.