Potty-Training Woes (A looong post about POOP!)

Hayden is 2 years and 3.5 months old. We started potty training right around his 2nd birthday. Now this may seem a little late to you seasoned mommies but we had good reasons.

Hayden was only 21 months when the twins were born. At his 18 month check-up our pediatrician, who also has twins, told us to hold off on potty-training and any other major adjustments until after I delivered. The logic behind this is that he would most likely regress once the twins were born in order to reclaim lost attention. So we waited.

At first, he was very excited about his new potty but only went once or twice and then totally lost interest. I've been pushing the potty a lot more lately and so far, it's only at an "ok" status. If he is over-tired or more interested in playing, he screams when we put him on. If he is in a good mood and being my sweet boy, he will go pee-pee with no fuss. These trips to the potty are celebrate with lots of clapping and loud "YAY!"s and telling him how good, big, wonderful, smart, etc. he is.

Then there is poop. He always tells me after he has pooped. 99% of the time he finds a quiet spot all alone in order to handle his business and then he promptly tells me of his dirty deed and requests to be changed. Friday morning, I put him in the bath tub and let him play for a few minutes while I tended to Cooper and Lucas. I went back to check on him and he says, "Mommy, poop." I asked if he needed to go, and he said yes. I told him to get out of the tub, and he said no. I asked where his poop was, he told me butty (in Hayden language, this means he hadn't gone yet... you get the drift). So I casually swish the bubbles around only to find a nice pile of poo. He sees it and freaks out! The kid is terrified of poop and always says "Yuck" and "Shew!" when I change him.

We had a long talk about not pooping in the bathtub and only pooping in the potty (something he has yet to do even once). Fast-forward to Monday. Again, morning bath. Suddenly I hear him scream for me. I go in to see what the fuss is about and he points at the water and says, "POOP!" There is no poop in the tub. He has to go, so he thinks the water is dirty. I put him on the potty and he tells me "No. Dipey." He refuses to poo on the potty and actually requests that get him a diaper. This defeats the whole purpose of potty-training.

What the hell am I going to do?

I'm torn

I LOVE being a SAHM. I love spending all day, every day with my kids. I know that this life isn't for every Mom and I completely respect that. I feel very blessed that we are able to this because I think my kids truly benefit from it.

Now, that being said, I miss my job. I miss my freedom and my independence. I'm having a really hard time being just a SAHM. I know, I know. Taking care of three kids is a full-time job all on its own but it doesn't help pay the bills. Maybe it's because Michael and I aren't married, but I feel like I'm just living off of him and not really giving anything back.

Financially, we are ok. We have to live within our means, but who doesn't these days? I just wish that I could contribute somehow. I miss having my own income. I loathe asking Michael for money whenever I need something. I may as well take a knife and jab it straight into my pride whenever I have to do that.

The bank that I used to work for has a full-time position open. It isn't the same branch that I was previous at, but it is the same region. A big part of me wants to go back, but I would miss my kids terribly. I just don't know what to do. Michael doesn't want me to go back to work, and honestly, I don't think I do either.

It may sound petty, but to sum it all up, I just want my own income. How selfish is that?

Mayhem

Cooper was my peanut when the twins were born. He weighed in at 1lb 3 oz less than Lucas, but has since surpassed his younger twin in height, weight, and now milestones. He can roll from his back to his belly with no problem, but when he is on his belly, he won't roll back. Now, it's not that he can't roll back over, because he can. I've watched him do it. He just prefers to cry and have me do it for him I think. He can sit up on his own for a few seconds before falling over. He can scoot around on both his back and his belly. He can find toys that he's dropped and he can pick them up and chew on them.


Lucas is a slug. He can roll from his tummy to his back, but like Cooper, he just won't. He is close to rolling back to tummy, but he's too lazy to give himself that last little push. He can sit for a few seconds, but gets mad while doing it. He loves his feet and always wants to hold them and sometimes even bite them. He is pretty good at grabbing for toys, but can't find them once he's dropped them. Overall, he is my lazy baby. He startles so easily, and gets scared by everything. Loud noises, strangers, Hayden growling... you name it, he's scared of it. He rolls that bottom lip out and starts screaming. He is a baby baby.

On the collective twin front there are solid foods. I hate feeding them solids. Those 3 times of day are my absolute worst. It is messy and requires so much patience. There are days where I can't feed them fast enough, and others where they would rather spray me with food than actually eat it. Breastfeeding two babies is 100 times easier than spoon-feeding two babies.

Hayden is all over the place. He has decided that his time is best spent playing alone in his bedroom with the door closed. During the short periods of time he exits his room, he loves to lay on the floor with his brothers. He can make them laugh easier than anyone else and love to watch him run around. He thinks they are awesome and gives them hugs and kisses all the time. He is learning new words every day. We have pictures throughout the house and he thinks it's fun to point out who all the people are. He has learned to shoot the basketball instead of dunk it and can actually make it about 1 shot out of 5. He is also learning to hit a ball with a bat when it is tossed to him. The tee-ball bit is old news to him. He wants more of a challenge. He is utterly defiant but at the same time, he loves his Mommy. One minute he is getting in trouble for hitting and telling me "no", and the next he is asking for "big hugs" and giving me sweet kisses. Potty training is a work-in progress. That's a post for another day.

I love my kids. They really are my life.

Welcome!

Jumping on the blog bandwagon. Hopefully this will let me clear my head as well as keep up a nice "journal" on my kids and their shinanigans.

Enjoy :)