Looks like we’re starting another week with an even fussier toddler who really likes to poop. I mean she poops, sometimes tells me by saying what sounds like pronouncing the letter “p”, I change her, set her down to run around, and 5 minutes later I hear “p” again.
I joke around a lot, but this is not one of those times. We usually have enough cloth diapers to last a good 3 days, but after 2 days, the diaper pail is almost overflowing. It smells good too. Okay, that is me joking around. 🙂
As a stay-at-home parent, I know I need to stop the whining, so that’s what I’ll do….kinda….maybe after this post. Maybe not. Ahhh, who am I kidding? Like I have any clue what’s in store for the near and distant future; I’m sure I have plenty more whining to do.
For our third installment into the world of Vlogging, it’s just Avery sitting with me as I rant about her multiple poops so close together and her moodiness. The unimpressed look on her face throughout the video pretty much sums things up.
These Vlogs make it easier for me sometimes since Avery likes to be included (forget her glum look in what you just watched), so we’ll keep doing these. Please, for those reading, let me know what you’d like to see from us. And no, Gary, there will be no more maiming…..I hope. We did record a couple videos with Going Mom reading to Avery, so be on the lookout for those soon.
Avery still has bouts of cuteness and continues to work on her dance skills, but I miss having a full day of happy Avery. Until then, I’ll cherish any time no crying is involved, like here…..
Wouldn’t having a poop schedule to refer to reduce a parent’s stress ten-fold? I think so!
I bolded the words that stand out the most to me when it comes to potty training. I bet all of you experience parents with plenty of potty training time on your latex-gloved hands are all laughing thinking “just wait”, and I can’t argue.
But, I also bet you agree that potty training is indeed a crapshoot, true?
Honestly, I haven’t looked at one resource on potty training, and we have yet to officially decide when to start attempting to get Avery to sit on the pot. I’m not even sure what age you’re supposed to start, and the more I think about it, it’s just another one of those “each child is different” scenarios.
Isn’t that how it is for almost all of parenting? We get bombarded by advice from what worked for others, but, taking advice from the thousands of internet parents is, wait for it, a crapshoot!
“Oh, my little princess (or DD as most forums call their daughters) was easy to potty train. I just told her to watch me and then she went all by herself! She even wiped, flushed, and cooked us dinner!”
Okay, I might’ve slightly exaggerated, but you get the point. All parents have their own parenting style! It might work for other parents too, but nothing is set in stone.
Anyway, Avery has been somewhat consistent with a morning and evening poop, and every now and then she’ll throw us a curve ball turd with another stinker somewhere in-between.  One morning this week, she was in her Pooping Chair when I heard the poop grunts begin.
It was too late to even attempt to move her at that point since her face was already beet red from squeezing, so I just allowed her to go about her business. Five minutes later, I assumed the deed was done since her normal complexion had returned, and I brought her to be changed.
Diaper off with just a little pooplet (didn’t seem like her normal size), crazy legs in the air, and what do I see? A tiny turtle starting to emerge!! Crap (ha ha), time to attempt potty training session number one! I cradled Avery by holding her back and legs so that she remained horizontal until we made it to the toilet and quickly (but safely) rushed to the bathroom. Almost on the pot and then…..
….the turtle’s head fell off on my arm and rolled on the floor, next to the toilet. Damn. Since she had only two smaller nuggets so far, I sat her on the pot just to see if she had anything else to deliver.
She went from whining, to pointing at the bathroom lights, to crying, to hitting my face as I held her, to pointing at lights, and back to crying. I finally gave up, changed her into a new diaper, and thoroughly washed my pooped-on arm as I thought about how I could’ve approached that better.
Back in the kitchen and living room area, I set Avery down so I could finally cook her breakfast. Of course I get to eat some too, which is why I love using NuttZo as an ingredient and to spread on my creations. But not one minute after setting her down, Avery’s face turned dark red, she let out a grunt followed by her usual “poop shivers” indicating she was done.
Breakfast was put on hold once more as I changed Avery’s massive load. I think I found the body that belonged to that turtle head! I asked her why she didn’t do that when I had her on the pot, but she just pointed to the light in her room and said “Shdlislek” or something like that.
That night, while Going Mom was playing with her, Avery had her round two. Kelley attempted putting her on the pot to finish any unfinished business, but it only resulted in crying.
Two failed attempts and probably many more to come. Yeah, it “stinks”, but we might as well try when we can. I guess the first order of business (geez, I keep making myself laugh!) is to get a potty training toilet so we don’t have to hold Avery over our adult throne and risk dropping her in. Stay tuned for more adventures in poopland!
Are you past, in process, or still waiting for potty training with your kid(s)?
To you experienced parents, any tips you care to share?
What age did you start and what’s a good training toilet, method, book, etc?
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The memories keep coming almost daily now that Avery’s walking and is interested in everything! Seriously, how do you parents with multiple kids do it? Just our one is plenty to keep me busy during the day. Staying at home is definitely a full time job life with loads of overtime!
But no complaints here, I get plenty of pay in the form of….
….well, not the tongue sticking outing part, but just loads of love from Going Mom and our sweet (also crazy!) daughter.
I love them both, so dearly, and our current life is working so well! It’s been almost a full year since I left work to become a stay-at-home dad, and I never imagined how fulfilling this life would be. It’s wonderful and I know it will only get better.
That said, it also means I’ll be plenty more busy as Avery is no longer just an idle baby giving me quiet time during the day. Nope, she’s with me most of the day and we’re constantly doing something. Playing, eating, not sleeping, screaming, exercising, etc. Just part of the life, huh?
And now, on with the memories!!
1. Avery, you have become quite the chatter-box lately and “Dada” makes up most of your words. You may not know exactly what you’re saying, but you do know who Dada/Daddy is at this point.
2. Just recently, you started saying “Mama” too, and it’s usually accompanied by whining. I don’t think Mommy is too excited about that part, but it’s still great that you’re saying both Mama and Dada now.
3. It’s been really cold (for Texas), and working out in the garage is becoming increasingly difficult. You won’t accept being in your jumper much longer, but if I give you my weight lifting belt, it keeps you busy for a while.
4. Speaking of garage workouts, you’ve taken to attempting kettlebell training and it’s only a matter of time when you’re working out with me in the garage.
5. I’ve been having fun and keeping busy with making different meals for you and so far you’ve been doing great at eating them. But, some of the more savory items take some work to get you to eat. So as long as we play like you are a kitty eating kitty food, it seems to work….so far. You even make a cute squeak as your way of meowing.
Being a good kitty.
6. What’s more, after eating something and not spitting it out (i.e. being a good kitty), we all clap for your good behavior, even you.
8. Now that you’re more aware of your surroundings than ever, you let Mommy and me know if you aren’t happy with us taking an extended walk. When doing our normal neighborhood loop, we sometimes take a longer way, and immediately after we turn, you start screaming. I guess you don’t like sitting in a stroller in the cold any longer than you have to. Can’t blame you, but hopefully your bear suit keeps you warm and this crying won’t last too long.
9. Surroundings aren’t the only thing you’re more aware of. Your diaper has become a perfect thing to unsnap whenever possible. This is a downfall of the snaps on cloth diapers, but you also tear at the velcro kind, so it’s a lose-lose situation for us. To combat your diaper removing ways, we have resorted to putting packaging tape across the front. So far, this works. For how long? No one knows….
10. Since you are eating a lot more now, and because it’s just good practice, we started brushing your teeth. You don’t seem to mind the all natural blueberry toothpaste and brushing, but you also clamp down on the toothbrush making the “brushing” part extremely difficult. Either way, you are doing better than we expected!
11. You seem to enjoy dancing when and wherever possible, and I’ll admit you’re already better than I will ever be.
12. It’s getting easier to tell when you’ve gone poop. For one thing, they smell a lot worse, but almost every time it gets quiet and you go to your chair, a poop is sure to follow.
13. Bath time used to entail both Mommy and me, but for a while now, just Mommy will bathe you as I clean up after dinner. I could (and should) put off the clean-up, but I get to worked up to have it done ASAP. Regardless, Mommy seems to enjoy her time with you in the bath. How can you not enjoy time with such a cute kid?!
14. You’re finally giving us hugs! Multiple times a day, you will come up and hug my leg as I’m cooking or washing dishes, and you’ll give hugs when we ask you to as well! It’s the best feeling having you come to us with your arms open!
Kissing is the next thing to work on. Sometimes she gives them, sometimes not, and sometimes she opens her mouth to eat our face when we go in for a kiss. Hopefully by 15 months she’ll be accepting of kisses. Things keep getting more and more fun and interesting around here!
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
