I am finding that growing up is hard. It's hard for me, and it's hard for my little Rosie too! There are those of us that are born to grow up, and then those of us that have no desire at all. Meritt Rose is one of those kids that has no desire to grow up. I am pretty sure that she would be happy being a baby forever... and while I'd like to keep her that way for as long as possible, it's time for us both to face facts and realize it's time!
Meritt's daddy and I have struggled alot with how to handle her lack of desire to grow up. We've tried to lay down the law. We've tried letting her be, so that she could go at her own pace. We've tried incentives. We've tried talking... and talking... and talking... about how fun it is to be a 'big kid'. Nothing seems to work. Here we are two months away from her 4Th birthday, and we're facing giving up things that should have been long gone by now. A crib. The Binky. Nighttime diapers. Hard stuff for a little one who wants none of it!
We started with getting rid of the crib. We had tried about 6-9 months ago, putting her big girl bed in her room, and her crib right beside. Hoping when given the choice between a big girl bed and a crib she would choose the bed. No luck, so after months of trying to let it be her idea, a few weeks ago, we made a trip to Ikea. A special trip to Ikea, to buy a big girl bed. (a bit smaller and more sized to her than the previous one) We also purchased her very own CD player (just like big sis) in hopes that listening to music (one of her favorite things) would help soothe the transition. So far, besides getting her to stay in her bed at bedtime, it is going well. We had a few nights of her getting up, and she is up really early... but nap time is going smooth (when I'm home) and she is sleeping without freaking out, which is a plus!
Since finding out about her speech issues, I have made it my personal mission to absolutely put my foot down about the Binky... Oh, boy this one has been hard!
She still gets it, but only at nap and bedtime. The minute she wakes up it goes high on the shelf. (unfortunately because she's part monkey, she has figured out how to climb to get it) So, now I am looking for a new hiding place! Yes, I know I should have taken it away a LONG time ago. I know I am probably a terrible mother. I know that this whole speech issue could be completely my fault. But, in the heat of the battle raising a possibly harder than usual baby and toddler, you do what you got to do. There I said it...
Last January I made it my mission to get Meritt potty trained before she turned 3. (since we had been trying since two and she wanted NOTHING to do with it) We spent about a week maybe a week and a half working on it, and she did really good... except for one little thing. She absolutely REFUSED to poop on the potty. At first she pooped her big girl panties, then with time, she realized if she held it until nap or bed, she could do it in a pull-up and then get changed. Well, of course we tried to nip it in the bud by taking the pull-ups away, but that just led to bigger issues. The bigger issue being she held it for TEN LONG DAYS... until finally her misery and ours led to us giving her a pull up. After talking to MANY people, the advise was, she'll do it when she's ready. Well, that was almost a year ago... and she still isn't choosing to do it on her own. So, here we go, trying this good-bye diapers/pull-ups deal all over again. It's definitely easier now that she's in a bed and not a crib. She has stayed dry now for nap and bed time for 3 almost 4 days. Only problem, we're on day 3 almost 4 of no pooping. I'm sticking to my guns this time. The diaper fairy has come, she's run out of money for diapers, and her SHIP HAS SAILED!!! So now the question is how long can she go? How ugly will this get... and why does this growing up thing have to be so hard on all of us? I am really ready for this stage of our lives to be OVER!
2 comments:
Uggghhh I so feel for you! Aziza is in the midst of potty training as well. It is so hard when they just don't have the desire to do it. THe whole pooping thing scares me. I have a friend whos little guy went days without going & he ended up having to go to the hospital & have numerous enemas. He held it for so long that his intestines stretched out to make room for the poo. The doc said it takes months for the intestines to go back to normal size. This parenting thing is definitely the hardest job EVER!!! With the binky thing, I have a friend who took her little guy to Build a Bear & had the binkies sewed up inside his new bedtime buddy. So nice hearing what works for others because sometimes us moms just don't know what will work & options are always good LOL.
The potty training is a tough gig, especially with a strong minded child. I followed my sister's advice-who has p/t'd countless children through her preschool teaching career-and went with a reward system. But each child is so different and what works for one may not work for another, not even full blood siblings!
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