Potty Training

Last Monday, the day after Labor Day, we started potty training Collin. I had ordered a book called, Potty Boot Camp, that I've heard lots of good things about and Trav and I both read it over the weekend (it is really short). So kind of spur of the moment, I decided Monday night that we would be starting the next day. When Collin woke up we told him he was done with diapers and he was a big boy wearing big boy underwear. Then started the "regimine". 5 minutes on the toilet, then 10 minutes off, drinking and playing. 5 minutes back on the toilet, and if there is success... then 20 min. off.  And so it went. If he informed me he had to go on his own, then he got a treat. If he had an accident he had to do drills, or practices, as we called them. Which means you take them back and forth from the toilet to another room, 10x. Each time, you pull down their underwear, sit them on the toilet, then pull them back up and walk back to the other room and start over. You reemphasize that you are doing practices because they went potty in their underwear. I guess the idea is that they will connect the thought that you walk to the toilet to go potty and they will get tired of practices and figure it's just easier to go in the toilet the first time around. Well Collin had 6 accidents the first day. So 60 times from the toilet to another room and back again. Ya... bad day. I was haggard. AND, I had refused to buy a kiddie toilet because I think they are disgusting. Turns out, we needed one. He was getting too tired of holding himself up on the toilet. Trav to the rescue! He had the car, so on his lunch break he ran to Target, got a Cars toilet (so cool) for Collin, and a Chipotle burrito for me. I needed a treat too. The next few days gradually got better, but still multiple accidents a day. Friday was bad news and Sunday was pure trama with constant trips to the bathroom during nursery, but since then he has been accident free! When he has to go #2 it is drama, but he has #1 down pat and even wakes up from naps and bedtime with dry diapers.

(I cropped the {poo} out of the pic, but this was taken after his first successful attempt! We jumped, we cheered, we got treats and praise. And then 2 minutes later he pooed massively again in his underwear. Loooove it.)

I basically stayed home all week last week because of potty training and then due to many different reasons, we have stayed home all of this week too... minus some walks to Gavin's house and a doctor's appointment. It's been a hard couple of weeks on me. My exhaustion is catching up to me. It's like the way your body feels after pulling an all nighter... all shaky and {on the edge}... but even worse. My eyes constantly burn. I am so tired of nursing through the night, but Weston is so tiny (off the charts now) that I don't feel like I can make him cry it out. I feel like he's probably truly hungry at night. (but who knows?!) He had another weight check this week and he only gained 4oz in 3 weeks. That's what he should be gaining in one week. Since he won't take a bottle, the doctor said to try formula in a cup. I have tried different nipples on bottles, rice and oatmeal cereal, and he spits it all out. I will keep trying though!!! I am supremely motivated now to give my future babies bottles from the start. I have started giving him yogurt and baby foods and hopefully that will help. I just really wish he would sleep through the night. 7 months of never getting a good nights sleep is simply awful. I am definitely not one of those people that is good on 6 or 7 hours of sleep. It can be done for a while, but not months at a time. I have no energy to get anything done and that makes me cranky! I can be wiped out at the end of the day, but if I've been productive and gotten lots of stuff done, I am happy. I just don't have the will or energy anymore to tackle those "to do" lists... and they just keep getting longer. I've decided that sleep is like a drug... it can make you feel invincible. With sleep, everything is better. And without it, everything is terrible. I yell more, I cry more. I'm just a bad mom. I remember growing up and wondering why my mom always took naps. I really thought it was the strangest thing. Why did she need to sleep so much?! It never even entered my mind that she was up late getting things done, and then woken up through the night by babies. I GET IT NOW! Except that it is getting harder for me to take naps. Take now for instance... both my boys are sleeping. I laid down for about 10 min. and knew it wasn't going to happen. My mind wouldn't quit... I have too much I could be doing to sleep! How do you turn your mind off??

I realize life is much like a rollercoaster, so I'm hoping that a couple weeks at the bottom is enough before I'm ready for some time at the top. It doesn't help that the weather is turning colder and fall is here. I LOVE fall.... but not right now. I didn't get enough summer. I need more sun. I need it. I don't like waking up and needing a long sleeve shirt and flannel pants and hot chocolate to warm up. And even after that I'm still cold. After fall comes winter and I most certainly don't need any of that nonsense. And usually I love that this season brings holidays and fun, but right now that just sound like more things to add to my to do list. I am tired of being in survival mode. I like being on top of things. The only good part about time marching on, is that it will bring me closer to my trip home in December!! Yippee! I booked our flights a couple of weeks ago, and it may have been a bad move to do it so early because I can't stop thinking about it. Really.... like every day. I picture the sun, my parent's pool, holiday parties, eating with family, Collin with his cousins, me with my sisters, and nummy Mexican food! Ahhh, I want it all.

OK, this has been quite the downer post, but there is always some silver linings amongst the clouds and those were in the form of a couple girls nights....

The night of Collin's potty training I got to escape to our last night of Bunco! Whitney hosted and made some amazing food. It's been a fun, two year run... but I think we're retiring the dice. Bishop said.

(Just kidding!)

We might still do the occasional bunco party, but not a regular monthly thing. Good times, girls!

There was also such a pretty sunset that night, I had to take a pic. Don't see this much out here... reminded me of home!

Briste also came to town, so we hit up Panera with her and watched the Bachelor Pad finale on Monday. Gotta say, a little disappointed in the new Bachelor for next season. It's a little mean... ( but since I'm pretty confident he'll never read my blog :) it's hard to get past his whole {Geicko caveman} look. Ah well, motivation to do something more productive with my time on Monday nights.

Then last night I went with some fun ladies to go see The Help. Um, LOVED it. That doesn't happen very often with a book turned into a movie. I teared up so many times... but that's not surprising, given my emotional state as of late. And the shakes and fries we got at Red Robin beforehand helped make it a good night.

Also, last Saturday we had some fun as a family out at an open house for Mercy Flight. We watched some planes land and take off while eating lunch and there were several bounce houses that the boys had a ball in. They also had a helicopter you could sit in.

Thank goodness for husbands. Poor Trav has been helping out tons, and then going to the lab later at night to get his work done. I would truly go crazy as a single mom. Remind me why we want more children??!! Oh ya, because eventually I'll be getting more sleep and then I'll think I could handle more. That sleep... its wonderful, but a deceiver!