We've begun more earnestly potty training in our house. Alanna started to show interest in the potty over last summer, so we brought home a little training potty. She'd sit on it and sometimes go, but for the most part was more interested in the novelty of it than really using it.
After she turned two, I bought some Dora Pullups which she really likes to wear because they're like big girl panties. So, we turned that into a reward as well. If she'd try to use the potty, she could wear her Dora pullups rather than her regular diapers. It works fairly well, but she's still not all that interested in the potty on her own--she has to be prompted.
Then she lost interest completely in the little potty, so we went and got a Dora soft potty seat for the big toilet to use as she needs it. She thought that was pretty neat, but again has to be prompted to use the potty. I even put a little basket of potty books in the bathroom that she can read when she's sitting there.
Now, we've moved on to the Potty Chart. This is a posterboard chart that I created Sunday with little squares for stickers for each time she goes peepee and big squares for bigger stickers each time she goes poopoo. She really likes the sticker chart. She's already gotten 4 peepee stickers and is excited to get more...so hopefully now we're making a bit more progress. Heck, last night she even told Jeb "Goooo poo poo!" with the go having this upward lilt to it. It was really funny to hear from the other room. Of course, then she proceeded to sit on the toilet for 10 minutes with nothing happening, then got off, got a diaper on and promptly made a stinky. Ah, one step at a time.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Where do they get these ideas????
So, Sunday I was trying to get a few things done downstairs and watching Alanna at the same time. She darted off for a moment from where she had been coloring next to my computer desk. It got too quiet....a mom instinctively knows when it's too quiet. Too quiet means something is going on that shouldn't be. All of a sudden I hear this "splish splish". My immediate reaction is to stand up and say, "Alanna get out of the toilet." She's been helping a lot around the house lately and really enjoys it, even saying "I help!" When we clean the bathroom, she likes to help scrub the toilet with the scrubbie thing so I figured she had the handle in there again (the scrubbies are flushable so there wasn't one on it).
I round the corner and she comes running out gleefully with this guilty smile on her face. She had DIPPED HER HEAD IN THE TOILET!!!! Ok, I admit it--I laughed, a lot. I tried really really hard to keep a straight face, but my god the child had given herself a swirly!
It's truly not funny, it's actually rather dangerous. I dried off her head and turned to tell Jeb what had happened. She spins around runs back into the bathroom, splish, and comes out again with wet hair dripping in her face from toilet water. This time, I did not laugh, but explained that we don't put our heads in the toilet and dried her off again.
Next came the trip to Target to pick up the toilet locks. They're these suction things you put on the back of the toilet with this plastic arm that swings over and holds the lid down when the toilet is not in use. The package is what really got me though...It said that the toilet lock will keep out kids, pets, and toys. My question is this: If the kids and pets are not playing in the toilet, how do the toys get in there? I had this visual of the toys from Toy Story playing in my toilet... a little diving board...ok maybe my imagination is a wee bit too active.
I round the corner and she comes running out gleefully with this guilty smile on her face. She had DIPPED HER HEAD IN THE TOILET!!!! Ok, I admit it--I laughed, a lot. I tried really really hard to keep a straight face, but my god the child had given herself a swirly!
It's truly not funny, it's actually rather dangerous. I dried off her head and turned to tell Jeb what had happened. She spins around runs back into the bathroom, splish, and comes out again with wet hair dripping in her face from toilet water. This time, I did not laugh, but explained that we don't put our heads in the toilet and dried her off again.
Next came the trip to Target to pick up the toilet locks. They're these suction things you put on the back of the toilet with this plastic arm that swings over and holds the lid down when the toilet is not in use. The package is what really got me though...It said that the toilet lock will keep out kids, pets, and toys. My question is this: If the kids and pets are not playing in the toilet, how do the toys get in there? I had this visual of the toys from Toy Story playing in my toilet... a little diving board...ok maybe my imagination is a wee bit too active.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Yahtzee
So yesterday while Alanna & I were at Menards there was a radio promotion there for Kool 108 FM. It's a cities station that plays 60's & 70's music that honestly, I've never listened to. On our way out of the store, they had this little table set up. The guy was explaining to some lady in front of us that she needed to roll yahtzee in 3 rolls or less and she'd win a prize, but that no one had won yet.
I picked Alanna up and the guy handed her the cup. I told her "roll it like at home honey, pour out the dice". She dumped them out and to everyone's amazement got 5 1's!!! The guy was like "She won, she won! And on one roll!" They gave us a t-shirt (I think yahtzee was worth more than a t-shirt, but oh well) and took our picture. Alanna even said "I won!" and was not really sure what she'd done, but was grinning anyway.
Need to take her to Vegas.....
I picked Alanna up and the guy handed her the cup. I told her "roll it like at home honey, pour out the dice". She dumped them out and to everyone's amazement got 5 1's!!! The guy was like "She won, she won! And on one roll!" They gave us a t-shirt (I think yahtzee was worth more than a t-shirt, but oh well) and took our picture. Alanna even said "I won!" and was not really sure what she'd done, but was grinning anyway.
Need to take her to Vegas.....
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Movin' On Up
I never thought I'd be so happy about a toilet, but I must admit I'm rather proud of myself. We now have a snazzy push button flush toilet upstairs. I went to Menards this morning with Alanna and found the regular handle and the spiffy push button and thought "Well, how much harder can it be?". Sure enough it wasn't tough at all and our toilet is now all top of the line with a push button on the side. Jeb swears it flushes faster and more powerful too...I'll take credit for that as well even though not sure I really did anything to impact that :) So, we've flushed the toilet several times tonight just to marvel at how it works--guess we really don't need much to stay entertained after all.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
MRI Followup
This morning was Alanna's MRI follow up appointment. I think I will sleep well tonight :)
The MRI showed that the cystic mass on her cheek is indeed a lymphatic malformation (which was what the dr was leaning towards for diagnosis.) The mass is very unusual in a good way in that it is completely contained. This is fantastic news! Most lymphatic malformations spread out and have very undefined edges making removal difficult and often unsuccessful...they typically can only get part of it. The likelihood of a full removal is very very good in Alanna's case. We're working with a well-known and respected cranio-facial pediatric surgeon and his recommendation was to wait a couple more years to do the surgery. The likelihood is that it will eventually enlarge, but hopefully not before she is 4 years old.
At that time, they will do surgery. He will be able to come in just in front of her ear, so there should be no scarring on her face, and remove the sac and fluid permanently. In the event that it swells or changes size before that point, we simply have to call him to schedule the surgery earlier since we have already done all the prep footwork and proactive steps that are necessary. So for now, it's just a matter of seeing him every 3-6 months for a re-evaluation.
Good news! :)
The MRI showed that the cystic mass on her cheek is indeed a lymphatic malformation (which was what the dr was leaning towards for diagnosis.) The mass is very unusual in a good way in that it is completely contained. This is fantastic news! Most lymphatic malformations spread out and have very undefined edges making removal difficult and often unsuccessful...they typically can only get part of it. The likelihood of a full removal is very very good in Alanna's case. We're working with a well-known and respected cranio-facial pediatric surgeon and his recommendation was to wait a couple more years to do the surgery. The likelihood is that it will eventually enlarge, but hopefully not before she is 4 years old.
At that time, they will do surgery. He will be able to come in just in front of her ear, so there should be no scarring on her face, and remove the sac and fluid permanently. In the event that it swells or changes size before that point, we simply have to call him to schedule the surgery earlier since we have already done all the prep footwork and proactive steps that are necessary. So for now, it's just a matter of seeing him every 3-6 months for a re-evaluation.
Good news! :)
Sneaky Sneaky
Miss Alanna decided to be mischevious this weekend while Mommy was trying to finish taxes. Let's just say it involved kitty litter, kitty litter deodorizer, and toilet paper. I'll leave it to your imagination and add that the cleanup involved a lot of laughter, a very proud looking little girl, and a vacuum cleaner.....
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Alanna's MRI
Yesterday morning was an emotional roller coaster. I got Alanna to the Children's Hospital at 6:45am for her appointment. We were brought back into a room by a nurse and the procedure was explained to me as we went over the health history. Then she came back into the room with a second nurse to insert the needle for Alanna's IV.
Alanna was such a trooper and it just broke my heart to see her uncomfortable at all. The nurse tried to insert the needle, got the vein and then went to test the flow and the vein collapsed. During this Alanna whimpered "Hurt, Ouch, Done Now" and cried, but didn't scream or push at the nurse at all. So, the nurse tried again on the other arm and the same thing happened. By this time, I wanted to cry I felt so badly for her. The second nurse decided to try and went very very slowly. I cringed the entire time she was digging for the vein as Alanna cried. She did get it though and then they taped up Alanna's hand so that the needle wouldn't move at all. She was such a good girl and wiped her tears and even told the nurses "Thank you".
We went into the MRI exam room and the dr explained how the sedation would work and told me that the Propofal would act very very quickly, within seconds once the drip was started. They began the drip and I figured that she would flutter her eyelids and just kinda pass out similar to a fainting spell. Not at all, it was near immediate. They began the drip, she whimpered when the sting started and then her head dropped to the side and she was out completely.
It was so strange to see my little girl on the table in front of this HUGE machine. They hooked her up to what seemed like a thousand monitors (for which I'm thankful) even putting one on the bottom of her feet, but she just looked so tiny and helpless and I can't get that visual out of my mind. I can't even imagine how a parent or child goes through this when a child has a chronic illness...I suppose they just do because they have to like we did yesterday. But it can't be easy and that visual of her in front of the MRI after I kissed her forehead and had to leave to the waiting room will always bring me tears I think.
After an hour of waiting and reading 60 pages of my book that I will have to reread since I can't remember them, they brought me into Short term recovery where she was sleeping on the bed. I sat next to her to be there when she woke up. She woke up after about 10 minutes and wanted to be cuddled and have a drink of juice, but was in a good mood and aside from the uncomfortable process of taking the tape off of her hand she was just fine. I think the Bugs Bunny sticker (bandaid) helped.
We got McDonald's breakfast on the way home and she ate a LOT--eggs, pancakes, sausage, hashbrown and cinnamon roll. Of course, I also bought her a little pony happy meal toy which she thought was pretty neat. We spent the day doing a lot of snuggling. She seemed to feel fine, but was very needy/clingy yesterday which was ok because I think I was too.
We'll get the results next Tuesday morning and see what the dr recommends then.
Alanna was such a trooper and it just broke my heart to see her uncomfortable at all. The nurse tried to insert the needle, got the vein and then went to test the flow and the vein collapsed. During this Alanna whimpered "Hurt, Ouch, Done Now" and cried, but didn't scream or push at the nurse at all. So, the nurse tried again on the other arm and the same thing happened. By this time, I wanted to cry I felt so badly for her. The second nurse decided to try and went very very slowly. I cringed the entire time she was digging for the vein as Alanna cried. She did get it though and then they taped up Alanna's hand so that the needle wouldn't move at all. She was such a good girl and wiped her tears and even told the nurses "Thank you".
We went into the MRI exam room and the dr explained how the sedation would work and told me that the Propofal would act very very quickly, within seconds once the drip was started. They began the drip and I figured that she would flutter her eyelids and just kinda pass out similar to a fainting spell. Not at all, it was near immediate. They began the drip, she whimpered when the sting started and then her head dropped to the side and she was out completely.
It was so strange to see my little girl on the table in front of this HUGE machine. They hooked her up to what seemed like a thousand monitors (for which I'm thankful) even putting one on the bottom of her feet, but she just looked so tiny and helpless and I can't get that visual out of my mind. I can't even imagine how a parent or child goes through this when a child has a chronic illness...I suppose they just do because they have to like we did yesterday. But it can't be easy and that visual of her in front of the MRI after I kissed her forehead and had to leave to the waiting room will always bring me tears I think.
After an hour of waiting and reading 60 pages of my book that I will have to reread since I can't remember them, they brought me into Short term recovery where she was sleeping on the bed. I sat next to her to be there when she woke up. She woke up after about 10 minutes and wanted to be cuddled and have a drink of juice, but was in a good mood and aside from the uncomfortable process of taking the tape off of her hand she was just fine. I think the Bugs Bunny sticker (bandaid) helped.
We got McDonald's breakfast on the way home and she ate a LOT--eggs, pancakes, sausage, hashbrown and cinnamon roll. Of course, I also bought her a little pony happy meal toy which she thought was pretty neat. We spent the day doing a lot of snuggling. She seemed to feel fine, but was very needy/clingy yesterday which was ok because I think I was too.
We'll get the results next Tuesday morning and see what the dr recommends then.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Preoccupied Mind
Tomorrow is Alanna's appt at Children's for her MRI . Alanna was born with a cyst on her right cheek near her ear and just back and below her eye. This was discovered when I was 6 months pregnant on her ultrasound. Short version, 8 ultrasounds and an MRI later they determined that she would not have brain damage, be blind or deaf on that side, but that they didn't know what it was or what damage it could do in the future. When she was born, we were told that so long as it didn't change in size or shape and wasn't causing her discomfort to wait until she was about 2 to have it re-evaluated. That's where we're at now.
The cranio-facial pediatric surgeon that we're seeing is unsure as to what it is and is leaning towards calling it a lymphatic malformation but wants the MRI to determine more.
She's a beautiful little girl, the cyst is really not overly noticeable and I feel a bit like a selfish, superficial person for wanting it taken care of. I keep asking myself if this is really necessary, after all it's just a bump. But I keep coming back to the fact that they really don't know for sure what it is and it's very close to her eye and ear so what if it enlarges and puts pressure on those nerves or what if it ruptures? And from a purely cosmetic point of view is she going to want a bump on her cheek for the rest of her life? Would a tiny scar that could be covered with a dab of concealer or that would maybe fade in the years to come be preferable to her?
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter who is happy and healthy. Am I doing the right thing? I guess every parent has to battle that question.
All I know is the what ifs of not knowing for sure what it is and what damage it could do are far worse than the MRI and sedation we'll have to go through tomorrow. If something were to happen and we hadn't taken the opportunity to investigate it further, I'd be shattered.
The cranio-facial pediatric surgeon that we're seeing is unsure as to what it is and is leaning towards calling it a lymphatic malformation but wants the MRI to determine more.
She's a beautiful little girl, the cyst is really not overly noticeable and I feel a bit like a selfish, superficial person for wanting it taken care of. I keep asking myself if this is really necessary, after all it's just a bump. But I keep coming back to the fact that they really don't know for sure what it is and it's very close to her eye and ear so what if it enlarges and puts pressure on those nerves or what if it ruptures? And from a purely cosmetic point of view is she going to want a bump on her cheek for the rest of her life? Would a tiny scar that could be covered with a dab of concealer or that would maybe fade in the years to come be preferable to her?
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter who is happy and healthy. Am I doing the right thing? I guess every parent has to battle that question.
All I know is the what ifs of not knowing for sure what it is and what damage it could do are far worse than the MRI and sedation we'll have to go through tomorrow. If something were to happen and we hadn't taken the opportunity to investigate it further, I'd be shattered.
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