Admit it, we all have a favorite time, place, position, and/or style when it comes to pooping. If poop talk makes you squeamish, 1 – you must not have kids or they are so grown you don’t have to clean up after them anymore, and 2 – it’s completely natural and we all do it!
Yes it stinks, and yes, cleaning it is NEVER fun, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun-ny! True?
Going Mom and I have yet to start potty training Avery (we should really get on that!), but we are picking up on her very non-subtle pooping queues. Red face, grunting, brief moment of silence after making a lot of noise, and sitting at your feet are all very strong indicators.
Yes, I did.
For Christmas, Kelley and I decided to limit the toys we got her since she has plenty and we knew family would most likely take care of that, which they did! So, we bought her a mini-armchair with her name embroidered in pink.
She took to it immediately and let us know with her giant grin!
And I’m not 100% sure, but I think that very same day is when she decided her new chair would be a perfect home base when the time came for a good poo. I’m even convinced we captured her as this thought went across her mind..
Yep, this will be the perfect chair for pooping in my diaper.
Fast forward to present day, and she’s been going to her chair almost every day to do the deed.
Busy!!
It gets quiet, sometimes I hear a stressful grunt while in the kitchen, and next thing I know…
Done. Clean me!
Sometimes she doesn’t quite make it to the chair, but she gets close. I think this embarrasses her though…
I tried to make it, but it wouldn’t stop!
And so, this is our first big indicator for when we do start potty training. If she goes to the chair and she gets quiet, it’ll be time to bring her to the pot!
Does your kid have a favorite spot to go poop in the house?
Any other visual/audio cues that they are “making mess” in their diaper……or worse……undies?
Please share all the gruesome details in the comments. Hold nothing back, it takes a lot to gross me out! 🙂
Since she was born, we have only made a handful of trips to spend the night at G-Ma’s (my mom) with Avery. But, G-Ma has come to stay at our house numerous times and we are forever grateful for all of her help. We really appreciate her watching Avery when Going Mom and I have a couple’s night.
With each visit we’ve made to G-Ma’s house, my wife and I always have the same question to ponder; will she sleep? Granted, that’s a daily concern for any parent anywhere, even at home. But, the difficulty level seems to increase three infinity fold (it’s a thing) when we go to G-Ma’s to spend the night.
Last weekend we spent the night there and, as expected, Avery did not go down easily or quietly. I get it, sleeping in a different place with different surroundings is tough for anyone. Plus, having to sleep in a small play yard instead of her crib with solid wood rails that she can kick like a kangaroo only exacerbates the issue. I mean, before I go to sleep, I have to kick something in bed really hard for a while first. My poor wife, huh?
Just as we thought, Avery fought sleep as my awesome, breastfeeding wife stood the front lines and ran the course of nursing her to sleep like she does every night. Lately, Avery will be out cold in her arms, but the moment she goes to lay her down, you’d think she set her on a tack.
Who needs a baby monitor when you can hear the shrill screams reverberate throughout the house and probably next door too? The crying gives Going Mom anxiety, but it doesn’t affect me too much. Must be a motherly bond thing; anyone else experience this?
After going back in to offer the comfort of boob, Kelley nursed Avery to sleep once more. And, upon lying her in the play yard, Avery shot right back up and started crying again. Maybe there is a tack in there? #fail
This time we let Avery run her course of a screaming fit for 30 grueling minutes until she finally succumbed to sleep. G-Ma somehow fell asleep during the long spell, but Kelley and I were wide awake, listening to our daughter’s excellent, ear-piercing vocals.
Despite the sleeping (or lack thereof), we had a great time with G-Ma and Avery even got a “new” smartphone from G-Ma. It was her old, non-working iPhone, but she was adamant about keeping it with her the whole time. Avery spent plenty of time walking around the house to point out things that needed baby-proofing and show off her new walking skills.
Got my iPhone and I can walk….I Rule!!
We were all impressed and scared at the same time since you can’t hear babies as well when they are on their feet vs crawling on their hands and knees. How do they get around so quickly and quietly?!
What? Did you not hear me walk over here and sit right behind your feet?
The next month, April, we visited G-Ma again and were excited for Avery’s increase in activity from only a month ago. She was more attentive to her surroundings and could sit up much better. At this point, it was exciting because we could lay her on a blanket and watch her roll around. Sleep, as my might’ve guessed, was still an issue.
Ahhh, the times of having control of where our baby could go! Now, on our last trip, she had us moving from room to room and picking up debris along the way. What a destructive little girl!
Good thing G-Ma is very, VERY patient (she raised 2 boys after all) and didn’t mind Avery’s rearranging of the house. That, or this is just a forced smile…..nahhhh
We aren’t sure when the next time we’ll be spending the night at G-Ma’s is, but one thing’s certain, we’ll still fear nighttime!
Do you have trouble staying the night at your relatives’ house with your kid?
Any advice on how to make it easier; for the kids and parents?
Time shows no mercy for us parents, huh? It feels like we should still be planning her first birthday, but that’s already whizzed by a month ago!
Over the course of just one month, we’ve seen Avery transform from a crawler into a tiny, wobbly walker. Things get more interesting every day now and we love watching her learn and react to her surroundings.
This girl is developing quite the character and I can already tell she’s going to be stubborn about certain things just like her mom and dad. Yeah, we’re in trouble! But no worries, we’ll go with the flow and ride the wave of craziness the best us parents can do and learn from mistakes (probably a lot) along the way.
With that, I have 13 memories, some mistakes, some lessons, and some just purely memories to share with our sweet little devil girl.
1. For your 1st birthday party, you were not the happiest in the beginning, but you finally warmed up to all of our friends and family that came over.
Even Nana couldn’t console you.
2. I held you for a little while as Mommy unwrapped your gifts and you decided to give a gift of your own….Poop!
It’s confirmed, Poop!
3. I made chocolate pumpkin brownies for our guests and to make your birthday cake which was the first time you had anything with sugar. It was hard for me to get over, but I’m over it now.
4. Your icing was simply plain Greek yogurt with blueberries forming a “1” on top. Apparently, you weren’t impressed with Mommy’s icing and blueberry work…
You spend hours creating my cake, I’ll reduce it to rubble in under a minute!
5. You received some pretty good gifts for your birthday, but a plastic flashy wand grabbed your attention the most. It wasn’t even the gift, it was just something extra placed on top!
Seriously, anything that lights up is an instant win!
6. Another toy win was the Catch-Me-Kitty one of our friends gave you. It moves around similar to a Rumba vacuum singing a taunting song until you catch it. And catching it you do, very well…followed by body slamming it multiple times!
7. I’m not sure how you grew so fast, but now you can reach the refrigerator doors and shut them when I have them open. It’s a nice thought, but does make it harder when I’m not done getting in there. Also, I really need to watch when I open/shut the doors as I might of bumped your head a few times. Sorry.
Just grabbing a beer for naptime….
8. Mommy worked hard to clear out our front room so you have an awesome room to play in. We’ve been enjoying playing with your blocks and other toys ever since. Which means Mommy and I will build something and you knock it down.
Hmmm, a structure someone put effort into making…..DESTROY!!!
9. I’ve been cooking a lot of different foods for you lately and some you like, some you don’t, but we’re having fun seeing you try new things. Omelettes, both sweet and savory, are my specialty and I’ve made ones with mixed veggies, chocolate and spinach, as well as butternut squash and cinnamon that have been a big hit.
Chocolate + Spinach with a little stevia makes a perfect omlette. Daddy doesn’t mind leftovers!
On the weekends, when I usually make pumpkin teff porridge for Mommy, I’m now making extra for you and Mommy feeds you. It makes me happy seeing both of my favorite girls enjoying the healthy food I cook!
Well, it’s not mommy’s milk, and it definitely didn’t come from her boob, but it’s good!
10. You’re getting smarter every day which is wonderful, but also means you’ve become very difficult in some areas. For instance, you found out how to take off your diaper by pulling at the snaps in front.
Yes, can I help you?
11. You recently decided to undo your diaper just as you went poop with your footie pajamas still on. This resulted in poop all the way down your leg and smashed in your foot and some in your belly button. It was the biggest poop-tastrophe we’ve had yet, and called for an emergency bath time. You enjoyed the bath. Me? Not so much. Lucky for you, I have not pictures of this.
12. And FINALLY, you are walking!! I’ve only been making “bets” since just before your 10 month mark, and now you’ve made it! Mommy and I have to constantly keep an eye on you now and even that doesn’t work sometimes. You’re a sneaky and quick little girl on your hands and knees, and now just your feet too!
The mounting stress aside, we’re very proud of you dear, and love how lively you’re becoming. Every day is an adventure with you and you are growing to be very smart and strong!
