... and, maybe, half a step back - but only temporarily!
This has been a HUGE week for our sweet Miss Hattie. She has had a couple of BIG breakthroughs. And I am one proud mama!
First of all, it seems the potty boot camp idea worked. She is doing great! After the initial roughness of Monday morning wore off and we discussed that there was NO going back to diapers, she has only had two accidents. She wore panties to therapy yesterday and even used a big public restroom - although initially freaked out by the auto-flush feature. It only took her till the second trip to figure out how it worked and then she decided it was fun to watch it flush on it's own. Kinda sick if you ask me, so we RUSHED to the auto sink and auto hand dryer. Luckily they were just as fun.
The whole thing is taking a slight toll on her behavior in therapy though - remember that this is why we had to stop before. She is on sensory overload and it is all just so very much to take in. However, because of the therapy, she is able to recover quicker than before. AND, Ms Jeannie - who ROCKS - is undaunted by the whole thing. She says keep up the potty thing, she can handle the meltdowns if she has to.
Thank You, Lord, for Ms Jeannie. She is SUCH a Blessing to us!
The other big breakthrough is this:
Last night Hattie had a nightmare. She woke up screaming in fear. I know that may not seem like a good thing - and, in itself it isn't. But the good thing is WHAT she woke up screaming.
"Mommy! Daddy! Help me MommyDaddy!!!!"
She did not resort to her rote panic speech where she says "open the door", "stuck", "let go", or "ayudame" (spanish for help me). She also did not call for Dora or Diego. This is HUGE. I cannot tell you how HUGE this is. She has always, in a panic situation, reverted to safe words. Words she does not have to think about and process before saying. She though about what she needed, WHO could help her, and she used the proper language. AND SHE WAS SLEEPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can I get an AMEN on this one?
I am crying as I type this, it is that huge!
All I can say is THANK YOU LORD. Thank you Father God, for a glimpse of the girl that she will become through Your mercies and Grace. You are doing such a great work in her. Thank You for allowing me to be her Mommy and the one she calls to for safety. Now, let me help her learn to call to You.
Friday comes way too fast when you have resigned yourself to doing something before the next week and then you wake up and the next Friday is here and you have done NOTHING!!!!!
Have you figured out yet that I STILL have not gotten back into the swing of keeping my food journal up to date?
'Cause it is still blank.
And that aint good.
Not good at all.
However, I have been better at keeping a mental track of what I eat, so I haven't been AS bad as before. But I KNOW I have to do better. Steven (our oldest son) is getting married in November and I am resolved to looking slim and fit for THOSE family pics!!!!! So, I have to step it up. I know I CAN do it. Now I just have to KNOW that I WILL do it!!!
I have lost some more weight - I am up to 12.5 pounds total, so I can't really complain. I just have to focus - really focus.
I don't really have a tip this week. 'Cause, ya know, I am still trying to learn the last one. But I am getting there!
Gonna go get the journal now.
Remember a few months ago when we were gonna potty train but had to stop 'cause it was causing trouble at school? (This is where I would add a link to those posts and, you who are new, would know what I am talking about. But, I am tired, lazy and just plain fried. So, no link. Just trust me on this one!) It seems kids with language issues also, many times, have sensory issues. Since potty training uses M.A.N.Y. senses, the whole thing put our girl on sensory overload. She started melting down at school, so we had to step back.
Now that she is out of school for the summer, we are trying again. And we are going all out.
Welcome to Potty Boot Camp - all panties, all the time!!!!
We started yesterday and it looked like we were gonna be in this for the long haul - and I do mean long. Like in "this is gonna take a reeeeeaaaallllyyyy loooonnnngggg time". Every time she would have an accident - or could it be an "on purpose" - she would ask me for a diaper. I told her no diapers, only panties! She was not amused.
After about the third time we had a chat. I explained that no matter how many times she wet her panties she was NOT going to get a diaper. We talked about how she is 4 years old now and knows HOW to potty, now she needs to learn when and WHERE to potty. I reminded her that she is a big girl and it is time to start wearing the panties that she picked out on Sunday (Little Mermaid!!), and that she was NOT going to get a diaper any more. Then we went to look at the diaper cabinet where I showed her that all of her diapers were gone. Only Sophie's "little tiny baby diapers" and a supply of big girl panties remained. NO MORE DIAPERS!
So about an hour later she came to me and said "I wet". I tried valiantly to hold in my frustration as we walked to the bathroom. We got there and I stepped into a puddle and a soggy mat. She had tried to go to the potty, but had not quite made it. I praised her for trying so hard and told her we would try it again next time.
And next time, she made it.
And she has had dry panties ever since - even when we went to therapy today!!!! We used "night time panties" and "car panties" (aka pull ups) but they stayed dry last night and only got a bit wet at therapy because we couldn't get to the potty in time.
I am so proud!!!!!
And so is Hattie - which is even better :)
Grandma B got the girls some pretty dresses that, apparently, are befitting a "princess dress" title ...
And a TWIRLING princess at that!!
Some of my best friends live in my computer!
