Joining Like Mother, Like Daughter.
Pretty
Ginger loves having her photo taken at the moment and looking at the resulting image in the camera. I love this moment of pure joy. She had just tossed her comforter or 'comf' as she calls him in the air as I asked her to look at the camera. She thought she was pretty funny.
Happy
Ginger is 2 at the start of April and with baby boy due a couple of weeks later, Mr Provincial and I have been under pressure to get her birthday presents finished just in case he comes early. I can proudly say they are now all complete, wrapped and ready to go.
Mr Provincial made Ginger a play kitchen per these instructions. I made a coordinating tea towel and pot mit. I am not sure if she will be satisfied with the pot mit as she has a preference for the gloves in the kitchen - but this will do initially.
My present for Ginger is a teepee from The Crafty Minx book. I borrowed my copy from the library. Lets just say that I had no idea of the price of dowel rods when I started this project. To say homemade is not always thrifty would be an understatement.
Funny
Ginger has taken a liking to 'stomping outside' (as distinct, from the time I put her in the bath to do it because it was simply too wet) in her 'boots'. The boots are a concession to the fact that her mother is paranoid about all the soil borne diseases up here in the tropics.
The lack of clothing reflects our current potty training stage. More on that in a moment.
Real
Just a warning that this may be a case of too much information, so feel free to end your reading now:)
Ah, the joys of potty training. I don't know if it is the conducive climate but up here in the tropics people seem to toilet train their children very young. I came home a few weeks ago in a total panic because we hadn't even started the toilet training process, and Ginger's compatriots at our children's activities were well on the path.
I bought Kmart and Big W out of their smallest size training pants (Ginger might be almost 2 but the girl is skinny), a potty and a training seat. But, a month on we have made little progress. Someone has brilliant control when out of nappies - Girl can hang on for hours. But actually using the potty is just not happening (and don't even try the real toilet - the screaming and rigid body).
Initially she flatly refused to use it at all ('no potty' and 'no nicks'), and now while she will sit on it when it is evident she really needs to go we can't actually get her to relax enough to actually use it. We have tried bribes - we read to her while she sits, give her stickers and stamps just for sitting and half a teaspoon of icecream for success (though success is a relative term, since she stops herself after a mere trickle). Oh, and we tried the pouring water technique next to her potty.
Regularly she asks for a nappy when she needs to wee and since we are concerned she will end up with an infection if she doesn't go (since she hasn't been for hours) after cajoling with the potty with no success, we end up giving in.
Lately, I have felt like Maudie (of Maudie and Bear - my favourite toddler book). More than once both Ginger and I have ended up in tears over the whole process. I realise late pregnancy is not the most convivial time to toilet train, but neither will the months after the baby arrives.
Gracious, that tea towel and pot mitt are adorable! So is the kitchen, of course, but I was eyeing the fabrics. ;) She is going to love all those wonderful homemade presents.
ReplyDeletethat is an amazing little kitchen! And the teepee - wow. Such fun gifts and so special because they're homemade :)
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the potty training - ugh. My son was born when my oldest was 2.5. We didn't even TRY potty training until we got on our feet after he was born.
The tepee is so cute. I know my little princess would love to have one. I might have to make her one for her birthday. Her birthday is in April too.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the birth of baby boy.
I had a similar experience with-- well, actually 3-- of mine. There seems to be a window around 18 months where some toddlers love the potty, but when I missed it, they refused until later. And then when they were ready it was fast. Don't torture yourself. I promise you she won't still be in diapers in college. =)
ReplyDeleteI think the asking for a nappy when she needs to wee is an excellent solution.
Blessings,
Annie
Yes, just wait. It'll happen.
ReplyDeleteI love the little red boots.
I followed your link from Like Mother, Like Daughter, and just had to leave a comment. You poor thing! Leave it for a few months! I will tell you, when my third child was born my oldest was four, and I had three in diapers at that point. Because it really just Wasn't Worth the hassle of wrestling my son over something that, simply, didn't matter. (I was using cloth, too. That's a lot of laundry!!) My son finally did toilet train. And so did my daughter, and then my youngest as well. He's four now, and I have a baby due in a few weeks, so I'm hauling all my diapers out of storage and thinking "Oh yes, I remember this!" Don't pressure yourself just because "everyone" else is training now, or because that All-Knowing and Ubiquitous "They" thinks your daughter should be trained. She'll train when she's ready. You have enough on your plate. Do what is simplest that works for YOUR family, in YOUR current situation!
ReplyDelete(My youngest trained after falling in love with a story about Michael who "is just your age!", who learned to use the potty and got big boy pants. If you put her back in diapers and find a good book about someone she can relate to who uses the potty, maybe you can give it another go in a few more weeks? It sounds like physically she is ready, but not emotionally. A story might help.)
I love the tipi and play kitchen; you did a beautiful job!
Visiting for phfr from LMLD... Just my thoughts from my experience: wait. If the experience is difficult, then perhaps she simply isn't ready. We never "trained". Rather, we waited until the children were ready and they simply did it more or less on their own. Each child was around 30-34 months and there was nothing to it. Besides, it is likely that diapers for both will be WAY easier than constantly running to the bathroom, cleaning up accidents, etc. all while caring for a newborn. We also found that slightly older children could begin using the "real" toilet and the whole potty seat could be avoided.
ReplyDeleteOh, and those birthday gifts are wonderful! That kitchen will get a lot of use and will still look great several children from now :)
Hey there, I am just chiming in with the other ladies-- waiting won't hurt a thing-- If it's frustrating, it's not worth the effort. It can be hard when other kids even younger are potty trained already (my brother's kids were all trained at 1 1/2 yrs. Pffft!) I would so much rather change a diaper than go through excrement drama... but that's just me!
ReplyDeleteThose gifts are absolutely lovely...and just so special as they are handmade! You both did a wonderful job....i have never understood the cost of dowel either....sometimes you can substitute for broom handles as they are cheaper i find!
ReplyDeleteThis was a lovely post and Ginger is so close in age to my 2 that i can so identify with everything you say and the photos you post!
I think you would perhaps be wise to put off the toilet training for a few months as there is every possibility she may regress when bub comes along anyway...it is just what toddlers do. There would be no harm in waiting until the weather warms again and then just let her run free....it doesn't sound as though she is ready yet, i learnt through previous years in child care that the most successful toilet trainers seemed to be those that were a little older than 'everyone' reccomends and found it a little bit more of a novelty!No harm in waiting and you will have enough on your plate soon without the added stress!
I'll be waiting until next summer even though i think i could push Tara to start at the moment!So much easier to do when the weather begins to warm and there are less clothes to contend with!
Love the boots and nappy pics!Hope you get your iron sorted out....let yourself have a break from the toilet stuff and rest up xx
Thanks for joining! Your gifts for your cutie are just. so. awesome!
ReplyDeleteAs to the potty, I agree -- just forget about it for a little while (you are right, she knows something is up with that baby! :)
When you do start up again, try doing the opposite of what you are doing here: Put her in a shirt but NOTHING on her bottom. For at least a few hours a day. When you do get her dressed, have panties only -- those pull-ups/training pants are too like diapers to convince a little one that she can't just be in diapers.
Feeling the air down there, peeing on the floor -- it's all good :)
Don't worry -- as soon as you take your mind off it, it will happen!
I'm here from LMLD. Your gifts for your daughter are beautiful! I'm with you on the whole "handmade is not thrifty" thing, but it's so much better than more made in China (though we have quite a pile of that, too).
ReplyDeleteI'm with everyone else - just give your little one some time with the potty training. Almost 2 seems pretty big, but it's pretty young in the grand scheme of things (my guys were past 3 and 2.5). I don't have anything else to add that others haven't said already. Just take it slow and rest up for the fun to come with your new little one!
I just wanted to chime in and say yes, do leave the potty training for now. A new baby - that's a big change for her, I wouldn't push her. Also it's easier to change a diaper than to run and help with the potty while nursing. My toddlers ALWAYS scheduled their potty breaks when I was nursing the newbie. And "squeal!" that kitchen and towel set, and the teepee - AWESOME! Sweet parents!
ReplyDeleteMr Provincial is very handy there with building, that kitchen is a magnificent creation. I love your teepee and have wanted to make one of these but the girls are too big now to play with it maybe Miss 8 might like it. I hope you are keeping well. :)
ReplyDelete