ILX Parenting 3: Back In (Potty) Training

My daughter shares a birthday with Jon Bon Jovi. It's okay. Maybe someday, someone will be able to brag that they share a b-day with The Beeps.

My daughter did a massive wee wee on the floor in Thornton's this morning. Ha ha ha Yay my family. Apart from that, she seems to be getting the hang of this potty business.

howdy everybody, hope you all had an excellent yule! here's one of the gals testing out their new wheels on christmas morning. I reckon with a seat adjustment and a growth spurt lulu may be able to reach those pedals by spring.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2150/2141850933_34d1239241.jpg

Here's a little video of Ben and Owen cracking each other up over lunch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVYh2FsJolA

So both the boys got the Croup this week. Man, that's some scary shit, considering how basically it's pretty harmless. The coughing and wheezing is gnarly, and it's so sad when they start sobbing after they cough. We thought maybe Ben avoided it, but sure enough (maybe it was the... EVERYTHING that they share), he got it yesterday.

I am so in love with Edith after watching that librarian video.

I think it's appropriate that there's no sound cos, like, it's supposed to be a library, yeah? I love the way she lingers over the last one - "now, am I really going to let you take this one out?"

are ben and owen still suffering? hope they're feeling better soon, a friend of lulu's got croup while on holiday and it sounded miserable for both babe and parents alike. ava and lulu are full of cold again, the old snot faucets are on full power at the moment!

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It took my mother to convince Ophelia that the step is actually a lot of fun.

The boys are still a bit sick, but they are on-the-mend. The bummer of it is that this may push back an MRI that was scheduled for Ben next week, which would mean a bunch of doctor meetings and possible surgeries could also get pushed back.

I haven't talked about it on here until now, but Ben is going to probably need brain surgery to remove the area of his brain that caused seizures about a year ago. He hasn't had any since then, thanks to the meds, but the MRIs have shown that the area MAY have changed in the last few months, which would suggest that the area is not a developmental anomaly, but possibly a benign tumor. This MRI should hopefully settle the issue, but either way, he should probably get it taken out. Luckily, it is in a very operable area of the brain (right temporal lobe), and taking it out should have little-to-no lasting effects. The temporal lobes (especially the right one) are almost 100% redundant with each other, and people have had huge portions of temporal lobes removed without any perceptible change in their cognitive abilities or personalities. Still, it's frickin' scary, and we're not looking forward to it.

My thoughts are with you and Ben. A co-worker's young son (not quite 2) had similar surgery (softball sized tumor in left temporal lobe) in November. Very scary days for them, but all is right as rain now. The little guy was back to himself in about 2 weeks, vocalizing and running about and happy.

Wow, that sounds very scary for Ben AND for you, schwantz. I am sending good thoughts your way! It sounds like it should be fine in the long run, but still - so scary.

Good luck Ben.

On a more ludicrous note, today I braved Cheeky Cahrlies, the germ-infested indoor play area, with Edith. She had a wonderful time, and I made her wash her hands with some "kils 99% of germs" handwash stuff that I have taken to carrying around with me.

I think Edith picked up that lingering over the last book thing from the real librarians, because they always hover around enough to make you think you're about to get a fine or something.

Today I got two British Museum books JUST BECAUSE and the winner of the Costa Gravas Coffee Prize for first novels, which is about CCTV or something.

I really must visit I Love Books.

After 4 years, one miscarriage (sp?) its happened. Possibly with two!

Congratulations! Possibly TWO?! Whoa.

I hope you are feeling well and not too exhausted. :)

Oh wow Chris that is great news, congratulations!

woha congrats! Twins!

David i have been thinking of you and ben, wondering how it was. How scary but then it seems low risk. Still it must be frightening. Good luck!

Chris, that's fantastic news!!! Will there be an early scan, so you know for sure whether it's one or two?

Hope everything goes well for Ben.

Hurrah for all the potty training going on!

I'm generally pooped these days. Aidan's been feeding every two hours at least at night (and during the day) and he's not ready for food yet (just turned 5 months), as I've tried. it's a good job he's so damn cute so it's easy to forgive him!

He's rolling over like a pro and trying to commando crawl to get to things but it's not happening quite yet. We start swimming lessons tomorrow!

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Chris that's the best news I've heard in months! Are you able to tell us any more?

vicky, aidan has the most beautiful glowing happy face ive seen on a baby. wow. 5 months is early for the commando crawl, no?

beeps turned 10 months last week. so old. she's at the stage where when she pulls herself up to a standing position she lets go and stays upright for a few seconds then plonks down on her butt. i think she's close to standing for real. i wonder how long after that she will start walking. exciting!

congrats chris! i want twins next time just because i think ill be too old to go for round 3. you got any fertility pills you want to sell me?
actually, a guy here at work said he and his wife tried for about that long then after they had the baby BAM she got pregnant again straight away.

schwantz, i hope everything goes well with Ben. It looks like Beeps will have to get tubes in her ears, after getting one ear infection after another for the past 5 months, and I'm freaking about it so I cant imagine what you guys are feeling right now. on a lighter note I'm impressed by you're ninja like spooning skills in that video of b and o eating.

ava and lulu and ophelia looks gorgeous as always. how old do kidlets have to be before they start triking?

and nath, that step thing is brilliant!

well, we were so used to disappointing news over the past 4 years we didn't have our hopes up as they only retrieved 2 eggs from my wife. which meant that basically our chances weren't too good. this was the 4th time we did IVF (luckily insurance covered it all). So they put the two fertilized eggs back in my wife on Christmas morning...and well needless to say we had a miracle.

We got the call on Saturday afternoon after the wife had gone for bloodwork at 7am. Nurse said we had a postivie with a really high beta of 221...which means a very real possibility of twins. She goes back tomorrow for more blood.

actually we have a ton of fertility meds lying around....we basically have tried and used everything....they are all injections though...

BRING IT ON

That's amazing! Was the protocol any different this time? When's your first scan, 6 weeks?

Thanks sunny! I need to remember your comment to help me feel stronger when people tell me he needs be eating solids (my as yet childless little sister being one of them) Aidan's always had good mucle tone and never hated tummy time, he first rolled over from back to front on 30th of Nov, so he's starting to get a bit frustrated I think! I think it'll be a while yet before he actually manages to do any kind of crawling, he's stuck with going round in a circle forr now!

Poor Beeps! Still, I guess if it resolves the constant ear infections it'll be worth it. Exciting about standing on her own, have you got the video camera poised and ready?!

SS, our salesperson's kid also had tubes. The operation is only an hour or so. Apparently the first time they fell out. Second time they stayed in. Although they also told us we might need'em for O which freaked me out, I did realize and wanted to tell you that it's actually a very common operation and nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about? I know, those words don't fit in the parents' book. :-) We *always* worry. :-)

SS, I also want to recommend you to have two kids. ALthough it's much more tiring - wait till you have a second one, then you know how "easy" one is - it's the *bestest* thing in the world. Elisabeth is all smiles already. Such a cutie.

Elisabeth only needs one "meal" a night now, but it's usually around 3/4ish and she mostly wants to be on my arm until 5 or so. Otherwise her tummy is too upset. But I'm rooting for a long night in the upcoming weeks. :-) According to Kind & Gezin we Belgians are a wee bit strict when it comes to night time feedings. Most babies sleep through from around 2 months. Ophelia only did this from four months. So if all goes well/the same, I have two more months to go. *urgh* :-)

Ophelia's vocabulary is advancing at a rapid pace. She's already conjugating verbs. It's so weird to hear her talking so well. Alas she also notices our "shits" 'n' "fucks". :-( We really do need to keep ourselves in check.

Has Sunny ever mentioned that we also have three cats and a Great Dane?

And you should've seen what that Great Dane did to the carpet this morning.

I haven't kept up with this thread for a while, but good luck Ben and the whole Schwantz gang, and congrats to Chris. And to the rest of you, uh, keep up the good work! Except for you, Nath, watch your language!

Yay for possible twins! My friend has a boy and girl and they rock.

Vicky, you are totally doing the right thing by waiting to wean. It is tiring (I remember the 2-hourly feeds well) but it does pass!

Howie is climbing on everything and can't sit still for a second. He can't stay upright though, I am constantly scooping him up off the floor.

I also have a friend with boy/girl twins and they are absolutely great, up with twins! twins or no twins, congrats to chris on such a festive result!

hope ben's surgery goes well, good luck, schwantz! same goes for beeps' tubes. it is uberstressful to think of any of our younguns going through an operation but these doctors know their stuff. my cousin's little boy had tubes put in his ears when he was two and like nathalie says, it didn't take long and it hugely improved the quality of his life.

ava and I are starting swimming lessons tomorrow too, and lulu's first lesson is on thursday. I'm so tired and out of shape that I may sink us all. good luck with aidan's lesson, vicky!

Count me in for another "yay!" for the twins news, but also an under-the-breath "you're in for it now..."

;)

Sunny, just some more reassurance on the tubes - my son had constant ear infections from early early days. We tried every antibiotic available, for 2 years. Which was too long, as it delayed his language development. I was terrified at the thought of him having surgery, but it was very fast and the difference was so immediate. It was so wonderful for him not to constantly be dosed with meds (and the nasty things they did to his tummy).

Chris, I'll echo everyone else in cheering your joyous news!!

I guess I haven't been contributing much to these threads besides pictures, but I do read 'em. Alice has particularly stolen my heart, the smiley little thing! and omg, worried for little Ben. He and Owen bring a smile to my face too, without fail! Best wishes there.

I do have new ones of little Julia:

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/grimstitch/pinky2.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/grimstitch/pinky.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/grimstitch/puppydogeyes.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/grimstitch/treetopper.jpg

whoops, forgot the image tags- should be
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/grimstitch/pinky2.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/grimstitch/pinky.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/grimstitch/puppydogeyes.jpg

omg that naked xmas tree one! gorgeous!

yeah, those eyes sure are going to be hard to say no to, once she starts asking.

on second thought though, i guess i should take that one down soon - probably not a good idea to post public links to naked pics of even tiny babies these days. =(

but this is one of my favourites too

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/grimstitch/yellowbean.jpg

ophelia just did the worst hacking cough in the middle of the night again. :-((((( it's weird and worries me. but eventually she asked to be put in her own bed. we begged if we cld put her in our bed but she didn't want to. so whatever makes her happy, right? i think i'll go check on her again after elisabeth decides to fall asleep. it's 3:42 am. *sigh*

oh, kim nekkid xmas baby: so so so cute!!!!

I love all of the Julia pictures. So cute!

julia's eyes haven't gotten any less amazing since the last photo you posted, what a cutester she is!

one nipper first swimming lesson down, one to go. ava only shouted 'out! get me out!' for about a minute yesterday and then she had a great time. it's lulu's turn tomorrow.

lulu today discovered the joy of climbing, and the hurty sadness of falling off a record box and banging her noggin. it happened so quick, she's never hefted her linebacker form up onto anything elevated before! we're going to have to watch that one like a hawk and childproof anew. I saw one of the twins at playgroup this morning scaling tables and cabinets like I'd never seen and I think lulu must've been taking notes!

Our guys have fallen and hit their heads so much, it doesn't even faze us anymore. They've fallen off the sofa, the chairs. We've been catching Owen scaling the baby fence, or standing up on top of his toys. Luckily our house is wood an carpet (no cement), so they bounce back (har har) pretty quickly.

i think sleep deprivation is making me go "red" as my japanese friend used to say. i'm very close to frothing at the mouth when someone mentions sleeping late. heh.

we're going for liesje first immunization shot tomorrow. scary.

We got some great news yesterday. The "area" of Ben's brain is unchanged, which points more to a developmental anomaly than to a tumor. We'll probably end up still going with surgery at some point, but this means that the urgency is lower, and that the potential for any kind of re-occurrence or other growths is VERY low. Yay Ben!

Yay!!

Also, thanks for the tubes reassurance, guys. :)

best news ever, schwantz!

That's awesome news!

One more update - We went to Stanford for a second opinion, and the surgeon there (who's like top guy in the field) thinks we should NOT do surgery unless Ben is having seizures, or if the area is growing. He is unconvinced that it is growing. So, for now, it's looking more like we will hold off on any surgery, at least for a year or two, unless the seizures come back, or if the area starts to grow.

Having said all that... PICTURE TIME!

Owen gets some air time:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2005/2204617119_f5cf147475.jpg

Owen at the park:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2256/2205413326_546b053dd6.jpg

Ben in his froggy PJs:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2202/2205414342_eb92fd3427.jpg

Potty training update: Edith decided to skip the potty and go straight to the toilet. She is doing very well. I would say it is all done and dusted if I didn't suspect that was tempting fate.

We've *introduced* the potty to Ophelia as well. I place her on the potty after a nappy change. The same day she asked for it, she had told me she had done *poopoo*. Later in the day she asked my mother to sit on the loo. She peed and then freaked out wanting to be taken off. hah!

Eating is a disaster however. She just refuses to eat veggies. We're consciously ignoring it. Also, she's definitely in her terrible twos. She's not really bad, but she has her tantrums. We also decided to step up a bit in regard to disciplining her. We don't care much for "free raising" (as we call it here in Belgium). The other day she just tested us and I simply had it. We decided to be strict again. I simply do not want a screaming kid who refuses to obey her parents. F*ck that. :-)

The kindergarten was a big success. We went back to enroll her and took her along. She loved it! She played with the other kids... and then cried when we left. YAY. And the other day we invited a girl over. It was great seeing her interact. She does this as well in the crèche but this was a one-on-one thing. Obv she cried when she had to share things but that was what I wanted: to let her discover what it's like to play 'n' share.

How do you guys feel about disciplining your kids? How do you do it? Are you rather laissez-faire laissez-passer?

Elisabeth's routine is pretty okay. She wakes up one time in the night for a feeding. Me? I am feeling crap. My immune system is in the dumpster. So why am I sitting here at 11:30? Who knows. :-)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2060/2197850886_87b3904a0e.jpg

Elisabeth with granny. :-)

Third and final post: I knitted both items. Proud? Nah. :-)