Well, I've only been up for an hour but so far this is turning out to be a really nice morning. :D Rain is pouring outside. Myra and I slept in till 9 am! Then I had the perfect cup of coffee for breakfast.....mmmmm! Plus, I'm in a blogging mood, which hasn't happened in a long time - so that's fun :)
Myra is growing and growing. Last summer I found a really cute pair of jeans for her at a consignment store for $8 and decided to buy them even though they were much too long at the time. I used to roll up the bottom of the jeans a total of 3 or 4 inches for her to wear them. A few weeks ago I was still needing to roll them up. This morning they fit her perfectly. Wow!
A few mornings ago Myra was eating breakfast and we were watching some morning news. Suddenly Myra started pointing to the tv and yelling something but I wasn't sure what. I looked at the screen and realized she was saying "hockey! hockey!" (they were showing hockey highlights). I didn't know she knew that word! Made me feel proud and Canadian - my toddler knows what hockey is. :D. Her new word this week is "empty". She'll finish her milk and say "oh, oh...empty!" She's also taken to fake sneezing into her arm and then saying "bless you". (So CUTE!) Not so cute is when she picks her nose and brings me the booger on her finger and says "look mommy" expecting me to clean off her finger.
So far I've been avoiding potty training - it's more like "mommy training" - having to be so diligent in putting her on the potty regularly and all the dirty laundry. I guess I'm more lazy than anything. A few mornings in the past few months I would start with cloth underwear and by lunch time it would be "Come here Myra - mommy's going to put a diaper on you - I'm all done potty training today." Plus, I love the convenience of going on long errands and not having to think were the nearest bathroom is. I figured the longer I would wait, the easier it would become. She's definitely showing signs of readiness these past few weeks. She pees on the potty every morning and often her night time diaper will still be dry. She tells me when she needs a diaper change and she seems to be able to hold more in her bladder for longer stretches of time. So, I foresee the transition from diapers to underwear in our near future.
When I started working nights in January a few things happened - I started weaning Myra and she started coming into our bed in the middle of the night to sleep. At first I really couldn't sleep with her in our bed but I was absolutely supportive of the practice when I was at work because then both Tim and Myra would get a better sleep. Well, a few nights a week turned into every night of the week and I noticed, that while Myra was in our bed she would sleep through the night. Some nights, I was so tired, I would just bring her into bed at the beginning of the night so I wouldn't have to get up half way through. Now, I feel I need to help her sleep in her own bed through the night and it makes me kind of sad. I've really come to love having her sleeping with us. Tim is going to Paraguay for 3 weeks in July and I'm not sure that my friends who will be watching Myra for me when I work will be as keen to have her sleeping with them. :D
When Myra's having a hard moment, she'll sometimes come up to me and ask to go to "mommy's bed". So I take her to our room and lay her in our bed and lay down beside her. She sucks her soother and puts her hand on my face and I rub her back and tell her I love her. Then after about 3 minutes she sits up and is ready to play again. I guess she just needs some cuddle time sometimes. :D
For the most part, I can trace almost all "negative" behaviors she displays to being too hungry, too tired, or needing my attention. The one thing I had been struggling with was how she seemed to constantly turn her sippy cups upside down on her high chair to make a puddle of milk or water. I tried everything....ignoring it, calmly saying no, forcefully saying no, and a few times in anger I slapped her hand which had no effect except leaving her very offended and me feeling guilty. After chatting with some other moms on Kellymom.com I decided on a new strategy. I started by explaining that we don't spill our drinks and then handed Myra a washcloth and asked her to clean up her mess. She eagerly cleans whenever I do this and the behaviour has almost disappeared. Was it just a phase? I don't know but I figure anything that helps me not react with anger is worth it.
I've also discovered that many meltdowns can be avoided by ensuring that Myra knows I have understood her. For example: we have conversations like this regularly:
Myra: "Gigi! Mini! poo! pleeze! mommy poo pleeze!"
Me: You want to go to Maggie and Miriams house and play in the pool?
Myra: "YAY!" (clapping hands and running around with excitement)
Me: Not today. We'll go visit Maggie and Miriam tomorrow.
Myra: moves onto another activity.
It seems kind of cruel - like I'm stringing her along, but if I don't acknowledge her original request, she seems to keep repeating it and is unable to hear my response. It often works when she's in the middle of a tantrum too.
Myra: crying/yelling in frustration
Me: You want to keep going down the slide
Myra: stops crying to say yes
Me: Myra says 'More slide' ' More slide' but mommy says "all done slide"
Myra: "more slide pleeze" "more slide"
Me: all done slide. We'll come back again another time.
Me: say bye bye slide
Myra: bye bye slide - (still crying a little but settling down)
Anyways....it will be interesting to see what kind of personality this next baby will have - seems parenting is all about finding what works for you and your child and each child can be so different.
Another strategy I've been trying to implement is "Time-In" instead of "Time-out". So, when she's frustrated and acting out - I move close to her and give her ALL my attention. Sometimes, just acknowledging that she's frustrated will change her anger into tears and I can cuddle her and help her try again or move onto something else. I'm amazed at how effective this is but I often forget to try it. In the moment, I tend to have an initial reaction of "oh my word!" and wanting to just not deal with it or get her away from me.
Anyways....that's what's happening in my life as Myra's imperfect mommy. :D
I've been feeling better nausea-wise. Yay!. I'm still finding it hard to figure out what to eat since with this pregnancy my tastes keep changing. One week, all I wanted was fruit, now it still doesn't appeal to me. For a few weeks, taco salad was the best thing - no desire for taco salad or meat anymore. Next time, I craved fresh veggie sandwiches and now I'm all sandwiched out. So most times I feel hungry but don't know what to feed myself. I have an ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow which is exciting.
Okay....that's all for today....Thanks for reading all my ramblings :)
Here's Myra posing in front of her "fort" (crib frame with mattress taken out).
