 | Diary Navigation:
|
April 13, 2004
How could I have forgotten to record this momentous occasion?! While I remember very publicly and proudly declaring when we had weaned Ella off her binky in the car and stroller months ago, what I quietly failed to mention was that she was still using it at night. I knew it had to go, I really did, but never wanted to deal with crying nights and whatever kind of deception we would have to use to tell her that the binkies were no more. Not only that but, even as I admit I was embarrassed that my big girl still used this plastic plug, I also really didn’t see what the problem was, aside from a general public feeling that a child nearly three was definitely being neglected if she still used this crutch. I have heard that it can impede speech but Ella’s speech has always been very advanced. Who knows if it would have been even more through the roof if we had tossed the sucker years ago but she certainly hasn’t suffered so that it’s noticeable. In any case, for months (years?) after it was generally thought of as wise to keep this thing around Ella had a friend that she loved at night and we had another weapon in our arsenal of comfort items, and I’m glad for that. All in all, no regrets, but mind you this is now that it is done and I don’t have to worry about crying nights of binky weaning or binkies in kindergarten.
So how did we do it? We didn’t. For once, procrastination actually paid off and Ella was allowed to do naturally what many of the baby (toddler) books said she would and she gave it up naturally. It was really only after a few nights that we noticed that her Binky had been laying on the night side table untouched every morning. After a week of this I just took it away and she never said a word. How easy. I never would have imagined. Then later, when we finally broached the subject of her missing binky, she listened to my explanation that we had put it away “Yeah, for the babies”, she calmly agreed. What a relief. Now, when is she going to up and decide she is potty trained? Soon, I hope….
Easter
Easter was wonderful. We were down on the Cape where the weather behaved enough to have an outdoor Easter hunt. Jamie’s parents came over to my mom’s house, which was great so we could have everyone together (and not feel like we were picking sides or someone was missing out), especially since they are usually pretty reluctant to do ‘new’ things and this was not within their everyday comfort zone. Jamie and my mom seemed to think I had gone overboard but I didn’t think so. Determined not to go candy crazy, I had gotten a bunch of little Easter gifts (egg sidewalk chalk, bunny sunglasses, finger puppets, stickers, stamps, etc.) last year at 75% off (you would expect any less from me?!?!) and I wrapped them all in bright foil wrapping paper and hid them, along with colored eggs, plastic eggs (with one jelly bean in each, which she never even discovered) and a basket. Similar to last year, Ella didn’t so much hunt for them as follow around and overeager Grandpa Mike who couldn’t wait to point out each and every one to her. Oh well, a good time was had by all. Afterwards we all went out to brunch and Ella was kept amused the whole time playing with her stickers and stamps with Grandpa. It really solves two problems having Grandpa Mike along, since he gets restless to go even quicker then Ella; the two of them could amuse each other while we stuffed ourselves on way too many plates of buffet. It was very nice.
From there, Jamie, Ella and I packed up and headed straight up to Boston because we had tickets to see the Red Sox that day!!! My baseball obsessed husband got a Red Sox credit card and they sent him the tickets for free as a thank you, otherwise I don’t think we would have chosen Easter to go. This was actually Ella’s third game and she did fairly well. She was only interested in the game for about five minutes then amused herself climbing all over Jamie and I and singing “Take me out to the ball park”. Her least favorite moments were whenever the Red Sox did well and the crowd went crazy cheering. All the same, she was very pleased to have gone and told me the next day she had dreamed about the game that night. Awwww… (By the way, we ended up leaving after the ninth inning when it became apparent they were going into overtime—how could you explain to a toddler that we were staying indefinitely after counting down the innings with her since the sixth when she first asked to leave—in which they eventually won in the 12th inning. Go Sox!)
The ever present topic… potty training.
Is it just me or is there a period of time, starting at about age 2 ˝ (okay, earlier, I admit it) when you are literally obsessed with wondering how and when your child will become potty trained?!? Every pee, every poop is monitored and I am constantly wondering if I am pushing the issue too hard or not enough. I really was hoping she would just ‘get it’ one day and things would go quick and easy but now I have started to worry that my laissez faire attitude might not be enough and I have missed some critical signal. At 31 months, I know I still don’t need to go nuts worrying, but it is definitely on my mind. Although success on the potty is few and far between (maybe once a week) one thing that is interesting (is this TMI?) is that she is generally just as successful doing BM as with doing pee. So at least, once things come together better, I don’t anticipate a period of having mastered one but not the other. My newest plan (we will see if it happens) is, if we are still on this track, to try one of those ‘no diaper’ periods that can supposedly train a kid in a weekend. I have a period of five days off between my spring and summer semester starting May 12th so if the weather is warm we might try then. *** I would LOVE to hear any tips or advice from people who have used this method, I know I have seen it here before but am not familiar with the intricacies of how it works (aside from no pants, hourly sits, lots of fluids, and no leaving the house, is that right?).***
Boston Accent Already?
Despite living less then five miles from Boston city proper, Jamie and I have both (smugly) managed to retain all of our R’s in our lexicons. This is no small feet considering we come from the land of “Pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd” but I have to say I’m pleased, as the accent is very distinctive and frequently mocked and doesn’t always sound all that… how can I say this delicately… smart. Sigh, it is what it is. Anyhoo, I didn’t really think we would have to worry about Ella since she was being raised, of course, by two very definite “R” pronouncers. So I have been absolutely baffled lately as her speech improves it seems to be becoming more and more obvious that Ella most definitely DOES have the distinctive Boston accent. We are still holding onto the hope that this is still speech developing but she very distinctively counts to “Fo-ah”, asks for “Mo-ah”, and “Mommy, when ah we going to the sto-ah”. Is this normal? People from other areas of the country, has your toddler gone through this speech development phase and come out unscarred? Is there hope? Input, please, input….
Bonnie’s Book Reviews—
Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift)—I think I had read the first part of this in high school but decided to go ahead and listen to the whole thing. Pretty interesting, it is a fairly scathing satire of Swift’s English government back in the 1700’s as well as basically all of humanity in general. There were some obvious period mockings that I didn’t fully understand but I definitely got enough to know this must have caused quite a stir back in it’s times. Interesting, for certain.
As always, thanks for reading.
Bonnie
PS—would just like to voice a little support for all those unfortunate diary writers out there that have been unable to access their TTM boards (or diary pages at all) for months now. We are all too familiar with iParenting neglecting the upkeep of the boards but, as someone who loves to get feedback on my board, I know how acutely frustrating and disheartening it must be for all these wonderful writers. IPARENTING!!!! GET ON THE BALL!!! IT HAS BEEN WEEKS FOR SOME, MONTHS FOR OTHERS!!!!
 |  |
|
want to keep a diary on iParenting?
Authoring a diary on the iParenting network allows you to chronicle your family's story, preserving it for years to come. It's also a great way to get the most out of the iParenting community. Click here to start...
|
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
