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1.14.2013

Pee is a Part of My Life

Ahhhh motherhood. So many wonderful moments. Tiny hands cupping the breast while you nurse, going in at night to check on a sleeping baby, big hugs from little people, holding hands with sticky fingered toddlers and sharing a snack and a snuggle. And then it happens- you get peed on. Whether it was a boy diaper change that didn't happen quickly enough or a misaligned diaper getting peed on is jarring. Getting peed on while babywearing? Just plain old gross.

Yesterday I was off to the roasters for the day to work. My husband is just finishing up a stretch of several months where he was working nights. He is readjusting to daytime so I figured I'd bring one of the kids in with me for a short bit while he got up and got ready. The toddler insisted on "staying with Daddy" so the baby won the coffee trainee lottery. The timing was excellent. Naptime was afoot. I strapped her into her Ergo on my back and went about my business. Brewed coffee, scooped beans, filled web orders. Customers commented on how cute and peaceful she was.

Five minutes before my husband showed up my back felt warm.... and then I noticed a puddle on the floor. It was under me but I didn't make it. "Ga-ga- GA." Great. She woke herself up peeing on me. I wiped the floor up with a paper towel under the adorable Sanita clogs I had gotten on clearance (flash back to this post about pee on the post office floor), helped a few more customers and enlisted the help of my now present husband to remove the baby. He produced the only item of clothing he found in our cars that would fit me. A pair of his long underwear that he wore on nights he was on the mountain. They came up to my nipples. The clogs looked ridiculous so I switched to a pair of knit boot slippers my father in law sent me that I had in my car. I swear one of the Kardashian's may steal this rocking look:



On the good side of the battle of bodily fluids the toddler is doing quite well with potty training. She goes in cycles. Treats were getting too complicated (I'd forget them when we went out). Stickers were getting too messy. I refuse to scrape anymore Mater stickers off of various shoe soles and remove goo from items that have gone stickered through the wash. We're not motivated enough to stick to a chart nicely so I took the lazy/I love Sharpies approach. Smiley faces. Directly on the pullup (we were using cloth but she wasn't able to differentiate between her and the baby and kept getting angry about wearing "baby diapers"). This way she gets instant gratification, I get to see how many times she's used the pullup and Daddy can praise her when he sees the smilies. Plus a sharpie is lots easier to remember to bring! She gets a smiley face drawn on whenever she gets to the bathroom dry and goes in the potty.



Win, win. Less pee on me and more in the potty!

9 comments:

  1. oooo! I really like this Sharpie smile idea. My girls are obsessed with me drawing "smiles" on everything, so this might just be perfect motivation once they stop yelling like a hurt banshee every time I mention "potty"! I think that you're rocking a very "Vermont Mommy Chic" kind of look...I'm sure Kim K will be all over it ;-)

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    1. Thanks Christine :) I am proud to report that we are on Day 2 of only underwear and so far so good. She did ask me to draw a smiley on her underpants which I said no too but she loves chapstick so now when she goes to the bathroom she gets to put chapstick on when she's done. We're on a peppermint flavored one right now.

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  2. ahhh, the joys of potty training! I'll be praying for you

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    1. Thanks :) Pee fun can really test ones patience so prayers are appreciated!

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  3. Good luck.....and may the force be with you! :D

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  4. Best of luck with the potty training. It sounds like it is going pretty well.

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  5. What a neat idea to do smiley faces on her pull ups everytime she goes to the potty. I have to re-introduce my daughter to the world of potty training. We tried a few months ago, but it was a complete fail/too early.

    BTW-I found you on the BrandiGirlBlog post about her free social media icon set. I had to right click and select 'Open in New Window' for her download link in order for the download box to show up. http://www.brandigirlblog.com/2012/05/freebie-social-media-icons-update.html

    Hope this helps!

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    1. Thanks! Brandi was so sweet. After I commented she emailed it to me.
      I think every kiddo is different with potty training. We may start really early with the baby - a kind of elimination communication/potty training hybrid. I've noticed that when she comes into the bathroom with her big sister she's going at the same time. Figured I'd just pop her on the training potty and see what happened!
      The toddler is at 10 days no accidents so I think we have it (fingers crossed).

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  6. The sharpie is a great idea!

    I'm not sad that my affair with the letter P has ended ;-)

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