On Potty Training, and Worth

Today is day 3 off potty training.  Day 1 was awful.  Mostly he got to the potty, but there were some accidents, of course.  The best thing about day 1 was that he pooped in his potty without any prompting.  I'd read about several different methods and went with a "Potty Training in 3 Days" one.

The one I was going to use is very strict.  You throw all the diapers away on day one.  (We use cloth, so I didn't do that).  You put the kid in underwear and only have their potty in the bathroom.  Then you say "Tell mommy when you have to go potty" about every 10 seconds.  When you see they start to pee, you whisk them off to finish on the potty.  You stay by their side EVERY SECOND.  Then praise them all the time.  At nap you tell them to call for you when they need to pee.  Then for night time, you stop liquids 3 hours before bed time.  Then wake them after they've been asleep for an hour, and once again in the middle of the night.

So I started with that one, but I modified it.  I have two potties, one in the living room, and another nearby.  And I started him naked.  He mostly got to the potty.  But rushing him there once he's started was not an option, as the flood gates opened.  Bertram is a very independent child, he likes playing by himself, and wasn't happy that I was glued to his side, asking him to tell me when he needed to go.  He also wanted to dump the pee in the toilet every time.  But he got a little too excited some times, and threw it all over the place.  Nap time was non-existent.  He called me into his room at least 5 times, he did pee a few of those times.  But in the end, didn't nap, and wet the bed.  After "nap time" I put him in underwear.  That was a huge failure.  I think he equates underwear to diapers, so he peed in them constantly, which was a much bigger mess.  I had already decided after this first day that this plan was not going to work for us.  The thought of waking Bertie up AN HOUR after he fell asleep would be awful, because he's not likely to go back to sleep, and he would be in a foul mood (same for waking him in the middle of the night).  I put him in a diaper for bed.
Day 2 was much better.  He made it to the potty all but one time.  He was start to dribble pee, and tell me, then I'd tell him to run to the potty and finish, which he did.  He stayed dry in a pair of underwear for an hour or so.  Day 2 was 80% better than day one.
Today is day 3.  No pee accidents so far.  He's pooped a few times (I think because he didn't sit long enough).  Two times, he was grabbing at his bum, and I could see the poop had already started.  So he made it in time.  One time he was standing in the chair at the table, and just pooped.  I scooped him up and set him on his potty and told him to wait while I cleaned.  While he was sitting he pooped a little more.  But he did a 45 minute visit to his grandparents without incident.
I told Aaron maybe once he has a decent handle on it, then maybe we can try the 3 day blitz.  But at this point, we will likely have to take him to church in a diaper.

Today is day 75 (out of 90) of the Bikini Body Mommy Challenge.  I was feeling a little disappointed.  My weight has not changed much and my measurements are relatively stagnant too. That gets me down, of course, because it feel like a lot of work going unrewarded.  Which isn't true, of course.  I am getting stronger, and the numbers on my fit test show it.  So I think about my body.  I though I was fat at 160 before I got pregnant (as the weight I used to sit at was around 143).  But here I am, 3 years after conception and still at 180, a size 14 (when I used to be a 10).  Then I think about my worth.  Am I worth any less at 180 lbs?  Am I a worse mother, wife, sister, Christian, or daughter? Is there anything I can't do now, that I could do 40 lbs lighter?  (Aside from wearing pre-pregnancy clothes?)  No.  My body conceived a child (something I wasn't sure it could do).  My body kept that baby safe, and healthy as he grew.  By body nourished that little boy for 18 months, and he thrived.  So, weight and sizes are numbers, but there are better things to be concerned with.

The Whole30 lasted 6 days.  I cheated a little most days.  But it started to really mess with my stomach, in a crohns sort of way.  So I stopped.  We had pizza for dinner tonight.  So long Whole30.

I'm going to start potty training Bertie in earnest on Wednesday.  I was nervous, but he's actually been doing really well.  He's peed in his little potty a few times.  Today he wanted to use it before we left for the store.  He did.  It was nap time when we got home, so I went to change him before he went to bed.  He asked to use the potty again, he peed.  Then I noticed his diaper was dry!  So he stayed dry for the 90 minutes we were out and about.  He didn't nap, and went to play with his grandparents. I did laundry and mopped the kitchen.  He had been playing in the paddle pool and came home sopping.  So I stripped him down, and asked if he wanted to use the potty, he said yes.  I turned on Nemo for him.  And he peed again.  He is so proud of himself, it's very cute.  He was naked from about 4 until 6 (when he got in the tub), he refused undies and diapers.  He went potty several times, without me asking.  And he didn't have any accidents.  So maybe potty training won't be too bad.  He's a month away from two-and-a-half.  Fingers crossed.  (It would be so nice to not have to wash diapers).

On Saturday I chopped off all of my hair.  It was long enough to donate to Wigs for Kids.  Now I have a pixie that is blue.  I'm still getting used to it, but mostly I love it.

The Whole30, and the whole other stuff

Bertie finished swimming lessons today.  We did 8 lessons through parks and rec.  He loved it.  He is more independent than he should be.  He is over-confident of his abilities.  Which is a little scary, but he's not afraid, which is good.  He's not actually able to swim, but we have some good foundation stuff (blowing bubbles, wall crawl, tummy floating, kicking etc).  Next week we're starting a tumbling class.  I somehow, stupidly signed up for a class at nap time, but it's only once a week.

I got a new bible.  The bible my church uses is KJV.  And, in all honestly, I don't like KJV.  It's too hard to understand.  So my mom bought me the NIV Once a Day Bible for Women.  It has daily readings from the old testament, new testament, and psalms.  I'm enjoying it.  I'm trying to read the book of mormon daily too.

I think I'm cutting all my hair off on Saturday.  Time will tell.

I'm on day 3 of the Whole30.  I hate it.  It's hard, and I hate it.  And today I cheated a little.  I had a diet coke, and a bacon cheeseburger from Wendys without the bun.  (Cheese is a no-no, and I'd guess their mayo is non-compliant).  But I think I'll try to finish out the 30 days.  But I'll need to adjust a little here and there, otherwise it;s not going to work.  Eating that many eggs is hard.  I have a hard time eating as much protein as is required.  I made myself chia puddings for breakfast.  This morning I tried a sweet potato and fruit thingy.  I don't like sweet potatoes enough.

I've been tired lately, been going to sleep before 10 most nights.

I met my new GI last week.  I like him a lot.  He ordered some vaccines for me.  Hep A&B, meningitis, and pneumonia.  One of them hurt a lot, but I have no clue which.  I'm pretty excited though.  I like having extra protection, especially since Humira makes me immeunosuppressed.

Not much

Not too much is going on.  I feel like I've been floating along.

I got a filing last week, it wasn't too bad. Especially since I hate going to the dentist.  I have three more sessions in August, since my cavities are all over the place.

I've been eating like crap, but keeping up the exercise.  So I'm not feeling too bad.

I've been having some insomnia.  Mostly waking up and not going back to sleep.  I don't mind this much though, I like being up early, and I get tons done.

I had to get four new tires on Friday.  That sucked, tires are expensive, and we don't have a lot of money. I should probably see if I can find a job that might work.  I kind of miss working, but I kind of like being home all the time.

Bertie has been a handful,  But I think he always is.  He is a good kid, and I love being with him.  He works on my patience though.  On Thursday I took him to Happy Hollow.  He is just barely talk enough to ride all the rides.  He decided he wanted to go on the roller coaster. It's a small one, but big for him.  So we rode on it, and as it started he said he wanted to get off.  He wasn't happy on it, but he didn't cry.  Once it stopped and we got off, he said he wanted to go again.  We didn't though.  The other ride he went on was the little train that goes around the park.  So he went on the scariest ride, and the least scary.  But he refused to go on anything in between.  Funny guy.  We have a season pass, so we'll go again in a couple weeks.

Bertram starts swimming lessons tomorrow.  It's mommy and me.  I love swimming, and he likes the water, so fingers crossed, it will go well.  After that we're doing a gymnastics class.  Swimming is a necessity, but we'll do other things to see what he likes.  I asked a lady at church about piano lessons (she's a piano teacher), she said she doesn't start teaching kids til 4-5.  So we'll have some time on that.