Tonight, Maya was taking a bath, when she stood up and said, "Pee, pee." I asked her if she needs to go potty, and she replied, "Uh-huh." Then, she said, "Pee. Waher (water)." I asked her if she already peed in the water, and she again said yes. She remained standing and said, "Bye, Doe-da (Dora)." I asked her again if she needs to potty, and again she said, "Uh-huh" and started climbing out of the tub. I helped her out, put on her Dora towel, dried her off a little, and assisted her onto her little potty. As she sat there, we sang the "ABC's" (with special emphasis on the "p", which is her favorite letter that she sings right on cue every time), and at the end of the song, she made a little bit of a "straining face", which she often does when she sits on the potty. I didn't think much of it and just assumed that this was another good "practice" potty. She raised her hands, palms out, and shook them back and forth, while saying, "Deee!" (This is her sign and word for "done.") Anyway, she stood up, and to my shock and surprise, there was pee in the potty!!! Not just a couple of drops like she left last week right before she peed on the carpet, but she has actually drained her bladder into the potty! YAY!!! I gave her a huge hug and kiss, told her I was so proud of her, and then, like any enthusiastic mom, I broke into song and dance! I sang her favorite Dora song, "We did it!", replacing the "we" with "you." Then, I switched it up and started singing, "Pee-pee in the pot-ty! Pee-pee in the pot-ty!", while dancing and bouncing her all around the bathroom and in front of the mirror. She had the biggest smile on her face! I think her excitement came more from my enthusiasm than actually peeing in the potty, but I'll take what I can get! After making a couple of phone calls to announce her accomplishment, we eventually made it through the rest of her bedtime routine.
She was so cute at bedtime, too. She has a Disney Princesses Seek and Find book, and there's a certain page that has the Cinderella ball scene on it with several princesses dancing around in beautiful ball gowns. She took the clip out of my hair and had me put it in hers (another obsession of late... "pri-ee" (pretty) she'll say). Then, she took my hands in hers and said, "Up! Up! (as in "stand up") Da-ss (dance)!" We dance around in a circle, around and around. She loves it, and I soak up the moments I get to spend holding her little hands in mine. I know she thinks she's a princess while we dance, and I assure her that she is a very beautiful princess. Shouldn't every little girl believe that?
After settling Maya into bed and feeding Liam, I called Janet, my next-door neighbor, to see if she could come over and sit with the kids. I told her about Maya peeing in the potty, and that I really wanted to go out and get a special potty, a book about using the potty, and some sort of reward chart, snack, or something. She had just got her kids into their jammies, and she said she'd be right over. About 5 minutes later, the doorbell rang, and my neighbor was ready to stay with my babies while I ran to Target. I was so happy to get out of the house and go shopping for my little pottier! I can't tell you how thankful I am to have such great neighbors. It's so nice to have someone I trust to take care of Maya and Liam living right next door! What's better is that I can call her on a whim when I need help, and she's always right over within minutes! What a blessing.
I ran up to Target, and about 45 minutes later, I walked out armed with 3 different potties (one that sings, one that looks like a frog, one with Dora all over it), a book, a reward chart, stickers, and M&M's! I may be way ahead of myself (Janet warned me against being disappointed if there are set-backs), but since Maya initiated it, I thought that I better take advantage and run with it! If it doesn't happen now, I won't be disappointed, but I'm definitely going to give her the opportunity to try. Even if she just goes in the potty after her bath at night, at least she's getting used to the sensation of controlling her pee. That's something! Anything I can do to encourage her practice, I'm willing to try. I'll keep everyone updated on the status! I can't wait to see her reaction to the singing potty! Hahaha...
Maya climbed onto Liam tonight and made a sandwich, just as she had done with Erin and Ashley earlier this week. Liam didn't seem to be phased. He just laid there, looking like, "What the heck is going on? Did someone say 'sandwich'?"! I can't wait until Liam is able to crawl. By then, he'll out-weigh Maya, and if he can catch her, she's sure to become the bottom layer of the sandwich!
Tonight, Maya was taking a bath, when she stood up and said, "Pee, pee." I asked her if she needs to go potty, and she replied, "Uh-huh." Then, she said, "Pee. Waher (water)." I asked her if she already peed in the water, and she again said yes. She remained standing and said, "Bye, Doe-da (Dora)." I asked her again if she needs to potty, and again she said, "Uh-huh" and started climbing out of the tub. I helped her out, put on her Dora towel, dried her off a little, and assisted her onto her little potty. As she sat there, we sang the "ABC's" (with special emphasis on the "p", which is her favorite letter that she sings right on cue every time), and at the end of the song, she made a little bit of a "straining face", which she often does when she sits on the potty. I didn't think much of it and just assumed that this was another good "practice" potty. She raised her hands, palms out, and shook them back and forth, while saying, "Deee!" (This is her sign and word for "done.") Anyway, she stood up, and to my shock and surprise, there was pee in the potty!!! Not just a couple of drops like she left last week right before she peed on the carpet, but she has actually drained her bladder into the potty! YAY!!! I gave her a huge hug and kiss, told her I was so proud of her, and then, like any enthusiastic mom, I broke into song and dance! I sang her favorite Dora song, "We did it!", replacing the "we" with "you." Then, I switched it up and started singing, "Pee-pee in the pot-ty! Pee-pee in the pot-ty!", while dancing and bouncing her all around the bathroom and in front of the mirror. She had the biggest smile on her face! I think her excitement came more from my enthusiasm than actually peeing in the potty, but I'll take what I can get! After making a couple of phone calls to announce her accomplishment, we eventually made it through the rest of her bedtime routine.
...Maya got her baby brother in the tub! Big sister, Maya, helped with Liam's bath today. He really loves the bath, so he was game to kick back and let her scrub him down and splash him with water. Maya got a kick out of cleaning him up, but mostly, she enjoyed playing in the water. When Liam was done with the bath and laying in his towel, waiting to be dressed, Maya stood up on the table and declared, "Bat! Yiya, too!", which translates to "Bath! Maya, too!" She was determined to strip down and hop into the little bathtub. I didn't let her, only because she actually had a dirty diaper on, and I didn't have anything to clean her up with at that moment. Next time, I'll let her into the tub, mainly because I'm dying to see what exactly she thinks she's going to do in there! I found that giving Liam a bath is a great activity for Maya because it takes up a good chunk of time, keeps her busy and happy, and gets Liam smelling squeaky clean. Yummy!
