Ahhh....Toddlerhood

I am truly the mom of a potty-training toddler. I have picked poop off the floor and out of Finding Nemo underwear. We're getting there. Slowly.

A couple priceless examples of Tai's take on this process:

Last week when we arrived at school I asked Tai to tell his teacher about what he did on the potty that morning. He immediately rattled off, "I went pee on the potty and I tried to go poop, but I didn't. But mama did." Thanks for sharing, Tai.

This morning, Tai was watching a show buck naked on our new and very expensive couch. I noticed he was holding his penis so I asked, "Do you have to go potty?" and he said "No." So I asked, "Then why are you holding your penis?" and he said "I'm afraid to get pee pee on the couch." Smart kid. He knows fine furniture when he sees it.

Adventures in Potty Training

In our house, anyone who puts pee or poop in the potty gets to ring a bell. It's very exciting. And loud, so it let's the whole household know what's going on.

Yesterday morning before school, Tai peed in the potty, rang the bell, and then put on underwear. A mere 10 minutes later he peed while standing by the couch in the playroom. We rushed to the potty to see if he could finish there, but he told me that "I peed it all out in my underwear." We put on dry underwear and moved on. I tossed a hand towel down on the wet spot, stepped on it a couple times, and tossed the towel in the washer. A little toddler pee is no big deal, I figured.

That evening, we were all down in the playroom and Minh asked why the floor by the couch was wet. I recounted the story and explained that I must not have cleaned up very well after the accident. Minh grabbed a fresh towel, threw it down and stepped on it. And when that was soaked through he grabbed another towel and did the same. And then another. After he had soaked 4 or 5 towels we decided we either had a kid with the world's largest bladder or there was some secondary source of dampness.

Minh did the Sniff Test and determined that the cats had not taken it upon themselves to mark the spot where Tai had peed (whew!)

Then he went in the utility room (to get another towel) and found water all over the basement floor. Rain was literally streaming in by the bulkhead door. So....after living here for 6 years with a bone dry unfinished basement, we now have a sopping wet finished basement. Awesome.

Minh stayed up till 3am last night using the shop vac to suck up as much as he could, while the rain continued. Due to those efforts, we seem to have contained the wetness to one corner of the playroom. Luckily, the company that did the work "guarantees" it and will come out soon to assess the situation and make a plan to resolve problem. But, somehow, even after living without a playroom for so many years, the thought of living without one for (days? weeks? a month?) is horrifying.

The good news is, Tai kept his underwear dry all morning at school. And the Potty Bell was rung last night before bed and again this morning. We're getting there.....

Places I've Recently Found Baby Poo

on the back of my hand,
on Quynh's foot,
on the sleeve of my sweatshirt,
on the sheets of my bed,
and (occasionally) inside a diaper.

Quynh's Birth Story

I've had two children and two unmedicated births. But I can only take "credit" for the first one. Quynh's birth was so fast that they wouldn't have given me an epidural even if I had bribed the anesthesiologist. Still, her story will be told.

On May 27th, I tucked Tai into bed and said, "stay in your room until your night light turns off" instead of "come find me when your night light turns off" because I had a feeling I might not be home at 6:30 the next morning.

8pm: Minh and I sat down to watch a movie. I was having some short, mild contractions. Not unlike what I had off and on for the previous months. Still, I wondered if I might be going into labor, as I watched a woman die during childbirth in the opening scene of Benjamin Buttons. (Not the best movie choice for the occasion, in retrospect).

11pm: We finished the movie, which ends with a baby dying (again, not the best film choice that night). At this point I was pretty sure I was in labor, though Minh was still not convinced. We discussed possibly needing to call someone to come stay with Tai, but Minh figured we wouldn't need to leave for the hospital until after breakfast the next morning. I disagreed and, in preparation for a long night, I ate a giant bowl of Cheerios and went to lay down and rest.

11:30pm: I got back up, certain I was in labor. Spent a few minutes convincing my husband of this fact. Next I called the doula to warn her that she too was in for a long, sleepless night. Then I got down to serious business -- washing dishes, changing the sheets on our bed, packing Tai's lunch for the next day, and ordering Minh around. Minh, finally convinced this was the real deal, ate a bowl of instant noodles and then opened up the Bradley Natural Childbirth book and began cramming for the final exam.

12:00am: Minh arranged for our friend Scott to come stay in our bed and take care of Tai in the morning. Then he called the doctor and described the nature and frequency of my contractions. They suggested I stay home a bit longer. Minh dutifully relayed this information to me and then promptly called the doctor back and told them that his wife said we are going to the hospital NOW.

12:45am: Scott arrived and greeted me with a big smile and a "hey, how ya doin'?" (Seriously? Men, I swear.) Minh gave Scott all the necessary instructions and we pulled out of the driveway around 1am. I rode the whole way to the hospital with my eyes closed (partially because I was trying to relax, but mostly because I was scared to see how fast Minh was driving.)

1:20am: We arrived at the hospital (in record time) and Minh endured 4 contractions on the way from the car to the childbirth center. Yes, Minh endured them. For him, this meant letting me throw all my body weight on him and moan and groan, in public, while he was holding two duffel bags, two pillows, and trying to act casual. The folks smoking their cigarettes in the parking lot outside the ER gave us funny looks, I think. But seriously, Minh was a rock star of a hubby during all this, making sure I had whatever I needed. He didn't even piss me off by cracking a stupid joke (this time).

1:40 am: I received the most wonderful news--that I was 9.5 cm along and could pretty much push right away.

1:45am - 2:55am: Lots of messy details no one needs. A grouchy OB, a wonderful husband, a helpful doula, and I somehow managed to get Quynh born. There was yelling and swearing as I attempted to educate the OB on my pioneer valley hippy-dippy views about unmedicated birth while giving birth. And then we forgot to ask for the placenta until after they had cleaned up the room and our doula went running out into the hallway to track it down. The folks at that hospital undoubtedly think we are truly weird.

7:30am: I talked to Scott and learned that, upon waking and finding him in our bed, Tai burst out with laughter. We had been worried that it would be traumatic for him to see someone else in our place, but apparently not. Minh then began to wonder if perhaps that was not the first time Tai has seen Scott in our bed. But Quynh looks decidedly Vietnamese, so no paternity tests have been ordered.

Friday May 30th: As we headed home as a family of four, we stopped at the nurses' station to say goodbye. They said, "come see us again sometime" and Minh promptly replied "hell no!" We are done. This will be the last birth story I write.

All About Tai

Yes, Quynh is a major topic of conversation these days, but I cannot neglect to share all the wonderful Tai stories of the moment. First, to answer everyone's most pressing question these days, Tai is a fantastic big brother and is very sweet with Quynh. He's less sweet with me and Minh--frequently testing limits and throwing tantrums. But he's wonderful with his sister. Some of his favorite activities these days are:

(1) picking out an outfit for Quynh to wear
(2) petting Quynh on the head and holding her hand
(3) winding up her mobile and turning on her swing

The other day on the way home with both kids in the car, Quynh started crying pretty hard. Tai immediately started saying, "It's OK Quynh. We're almost home. Getting closer and closer." it was so sweet I almost melted.

Tai was fascinated with breastfeeding.....until he saw me pump. Now that is his current obsession. I often find my pump bag open with various parts strewn on the floor -- evidence that Tai was "pumping" without me. Last night at dinner he actually got in trouble for playing with his food -- he was pumping by shoving a hamburger roll up under his shirt. And here's a typical Saturday morning conversation:

T: Mama, can we pump now?
K: Yes
T: I'll set up the pumper!!!

But Tai's whole life does not revolve around his sister. He's still going to school 4 days a week and comes home with lots of stories about climbing, swimming, and playing with the other toddlers and even the pre-schoolers. He does appear to be 2 going on 14, however. His new favorite answer to most questions is "nothing" (pronounced "nuffin"). What did you do at school today? nuffin. What did you eat for lunch? nuffin. Who should walk Buttons this afternoon? nuffin.

Puzzles are his new favorite toy. And not those really easy baby puzzles, either. Real jigsaw puzzles. He has one of a farm that he does at least 3 times a day. Faster and faster each time. And when you sit down to do it with him he usually reminds you, "you have to start with the edges."

Finally, the fascination with trucks, construction equipment, and power tools continues, but is now matched by a concurrent obsession with dresses and tights. He's asked for tights a few times now and when we tell him we don't have any he asks us to buy him some. We may just have to. For dresses, size 4T t-shirts have sufficed this far. He likes to twirl around in them. But we are headed to a wedding in September and Tai has already requested that "mama wear a long dress and Tai can wear a long dress and we can dance!" So, for those of you who will be at that wedding, be prepared to see Tai in a dress and tights....with a HUGE smile on his face.