Camping While Pregnant with a Potty Training Toddler

I was a little nervous about our camping trip last week... both due to the fact that I'm 6 months prego, that Emily was only one week into potty training, and that it was forecast to be roughly 90F throughout the weekend.  But, we had the reservation, so we went for it.  And, for the most part, I'm happy to report that it went very well!

We went up to Camp Dakota.  Jacob had a Groupon for some of the activities.  Since I'm not really able to go ziplining, rock climbing and paint balling, he invited his brother to go along.  Emily had an absolute blast hanging out with her cousin Sophie! (It would be cool to go back sometime when the kids are older and I can actually DO some of the stuff!)

So, the key things to note before I overwhelm you all with pictures:

1. Emily didn't have a SINGLE accident!  She "went" the whole weekend in her little potty!
2. The air mattress that I slept on was almost more comfortable that my Tempur-pedic bed... had a lot more "give" to it.
3. We were at a higher elevation, with more trees... so it only got in the 70s or so.  Great weather.  Though, still 6 months pregnant and over heating.  =)
4. Holding a potty training toddler over a porta-potty in the heat while pregnant is really, really gross.

OK... now for some photos.  =)

Perfect combo: One cousin learning how to read, another cousin who loves to be read to!

Emily would fall asleep each night on her air mattress in her sleeping bag, but every night she ended up squeezed between Jacob and I.

Our "indoor plumbing"  ;)

Learning Frisbee Golf!

She's got quite the arm!

Jacob and Sophie working their way to the top!

Our tee pee.  It was too hot to actually use, but cool to look at.  ;)

She LOVED this tire swing.  Scared the crap out of me though!

Making a fire in the tee pee while we hang out outside.  =)

26 Weeks!

26 Weeks

Size of baby: According to BabyCenter, you’re about the length of a scallion!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I haven't been as focused on my weight gain this time around.  I know that I'm gaining more quickly than I did with Emily, but I"m not stressing about it too much.

Maternity Clothes: Pretty much all maternity.  There's a couple of things that I can still wear that aren't, but I'm trying not to stretch out my "normal" clothes.

Gender: It's a BOY!

Movement: Definitely moving and kicking up a storm!  You'll even kick your sister when she's sitting on my lap.  She seems to be a bit oblivious to it, though!  ;)

What I miss: Not being in pain... back, pelvic, it's always something.

Sleep: Sleep is reasonably ok.  Last night was not good at all, but, for the most part I'm making it through the night with (at most) one bathroom break.  =)  Some nights I actually make it all the way through!

Symptoms: Just the back/pelvic pain.  If it's not one, it's the other.  Seeing a chiropractor and massage therapist regularly to try to help with it.

Cravings: I'm still really loving my hamburgers and BBQ'd meats.  Love sweets, but I'm not really craving them that frequently.  Prior to pregnancy I never really desired I big juicy hamburger, but now it sounds SOOO good.

Best Moment this week: Hmm... got the rug for the new nursery.  =)  We're having a garage sale this weekend to try to get ride of some stuff and make some cash to help with nursery/Emily's room decor and in a couple of weeks we're going to do the "remodel".

What I am looking forward to:  Doing the nursery/"big sister" remodel.  My parents are going to take Emily for a week at the beginning of August, so we're going to use that time to paint, rearrange, and decorate.  =) 

Boot Camp: Day Four!

Yesterday was the last day of potty training boot camp... and it went just as well as the other three days.  =) 

Emily had one number 2 accident, but I think it was a fart turned wrong and she surprised herself as much as us!  I also took a risk and chose not to put her in a diaper for her nap (since she'd been dry the last two days during nap and went potty right beforehand)... but it was a Murphy's Law situation and she wet the bed.  Oh well.  No harm, no foul.  =)

We also ventured out of the house again, went to a splash pad to cool off and then went to Target to buy some more little underwear (apparently I didn't have as many on hand as I thought I did). 

She still isn't really TELLING us when she needs to go, but if we mention it to her, and she needs to go, she will (otherwise she says "no potty" and we move on).  I'm hoping that this will get better and she'll start doing it herself and/or vocalizing the need to us more.

Today I dropped her off at daycare with a couple extra sets of clothes, a sticker potty chart, stickers and some treats.  I felt bad dropping her off in underwear when she's not 100% reliable yet, but I have to remind myself that her daycare provider has much more experience at potty training than we do! lol  Sounds like she had another number 2 accident today, but otherwise used the little potty at daycare.  After dinner tonight she went into the bathroom to (I thought) wash her hands and face (our routine), but soon I hear "Mommy potty!" so I go in there and she's sitting on her little potty with a smile on her face pointing between her legs. lol  Sure enough, she'd gone potty without prompting!

Next weekend we're going camping, so that will be interesting.  =)  On the advice of some other moms, we just ordered a Potette Plus potty.  It won't be here in time for this trip, but I think it will be useful to have something to easily travel with.

Over all, I think our potty training boot camp was a success.  And I'm really looking forward to that last diaper!  =)

Boot Camp: Day Three

Day three of potty training boot camp started at 9:30!  Emily was up late watching the fireworks last night, and actually slept in!  Though, I think the fact that she's still not feeling 100% probably added to that (did I mention, she's been taking 2.5 hour naps these last few days?  That's, like, an hour longer than I usually get out of her!).

With today's training, we added underwear.  We've been reading this book a lot about a "big sister" and the differences between her and the new baby in her family (in preparation of Em's baby brother coming), but it also talks about how big girls wear underpants, so, I was able to relate back to the story to explain them to her when she kept calling them "shorts" and didn't understand why she'd put another pair of pants on over them. lol

After getting up and getting breakfast, Emily and I went to the farmer's market.  She told me once that she needed to use the potty, so I we made a bee line to the porta-potty.  I got her up on the seat and she said "done".  I think I've got a potty snob on my hands.  ;)

I've also been a little concerned about her as she hasn't been eating much the last few days and hasn't yet pooped.  I've been urging her to try to go number 2 a lot, and I think that I may have been over doing it.  She held EVERYTHING for about 8 hours.  Right around the 6 hour mark I told myself that I wasn't going to say anything else to her and, if she had an accident, then she had an accident.  Wouldn't be the end of the world.

We went to the park and played for awhile (I was hoping to run the poop out of her. lol), and then we headed back home to cool off and make dinner.  We went outside to water the garden, and she did, indeed have a (wet) accident.  I had her take off her shorts and underwear, hosed down the area where she peed, and then asked if she had to finish up on the potty.  She said yes and went inside.  I finished up with the watering and went to check on her.  She was sitting on the potty going number 2.  =)  It's amazing how much a little poop can make a mom feel better about things! lol

Tomorrow is the final potty training boot camp day, and I'm feeling pretty good about it.  I'm going to try to lay off on the potty nagging and see how well she does on her own.  I've been really proud of my little girl (and excited to give up diapers for awhile!**).


**Still doing diapers and nap and bedtime, but the past two days she has been dry after her nap, so may pull that diaper here soon as well!

Boot Camp: Day Two

(Posting late!  Went out to celebrate the 4th last night and just getting around to finishing this one!)

Day two started much earlier than expected. Emily was pretty violently crying at 1am. I went in to check on her, thinking that she'd had a nightmare. I picked her up, sat down in our glider and BAM! She heaved a mixture of hot dog and watermelon all over my bare back. Let me tell you, I was wide awake at that point! 

After getting Jacob's attention, I was able to hand off the kid and go jump in the shower to rinse off.

Emily had a fever, so we gave her some Tylenol and everyone tried to go back to bed... But that's when baby decided he most wanted to practice his amnio-aerobics, so I was up for a bit longer dealing with that and stressing about potty training while sick.

Em woke up at about 7:30, still with a fever. But, by 8:30 the fever had broken and she'd gotten her first potty sticker of the day, so, decided to venture on! She'd been complaining about her teeth yesterday, so I'm hoping it's teething issues and not some bug!

Today was pants (but no underwear day), and it went well!  Day 2 of no accidents!  Also, day 2 of no number 2... curious how that's going to pan out. lol

I've been asking Emily every couple of hours or so if she needs to go potty.  When she tells me "no" I listen.  For the most part, she's been pretty good about going when she needs to when I ask her, but she hasn't yet initiated it on her own.

This evening we went to my in-laws place for a big Fourth of July BBQ event and to watch the fireworks from their houseboat.  Emily hasn't been eating much today (which wasn't a surprise to me if she did have some stomach something or other), and dinner was the same.  She ate some pretzels, but that was about it.  She also started to look kind of queasy during dinner and had a bit of a fever, so, after eating my share of the awesome food, and giving her another dose of Tylenol, I excused us and went back to sit in the house.   She fell asleep for about an hour or so.  Woke up, went potty, played for a little bit, and then was looking exhausted again.  When I asked if she wanted to put on jammies, she pretty much jumped at the chance.  And, after jammies were on, she grabbed a blanket and curled up in bed.  So, I left her sleep.  She probably slept for another 30 minutes or so and then was awake.  Since she's had such a late nap, we decided to let her try to stay up for the fireworks and play with her cousins.

I was a bit nervous about having her out of the house during potty training, but she did really really well.  And, like I said, no accidents!  So far I've been really happy with the experiences.  She's doing such a great job!  (And she's really digging the stickers! lol)

Boot Camp: Day One

No, I'm not participating in a 6 AM exercise regimen... I'm doing something just a little more scary... potty training a toddler... in four days. ;)

I've known for months that this weekend was going to be potty training boot camp weekend... put it on the calendar and everything.  Our daycare was closed today and tomorrow for the holiday, so I have a 4-day weekend home with Emily.  Since I knew that I was going to have such a great block of time to focus on it, I decided to give "Independence Day" weekend a new meaning.  ;)

Last night after work I stopped by the Dollar Tree and picked up some stickers and cookies.  After Emily went to bed, I made up a sticker potty chart to put in the bathroom.  After reading up on potty training methods over the last few months, I came up with a plan: day one = naked day, day 2 = clothing (no undies) day, day three (and four): clothing with undies days!  

*Side note: I'm not planning to attack potty training during sleeping hours quite yet... just when awake.  I'll still put her in pull ups/diapers for naps and bed until I start to see some dry nights/naps and then I'll reassess.

Emily has always done pretty well at avoiding accidents when she's naked, so I wasn't too concerned about today.  And she did really well!  (Though, pregnant me peed about 3 times to each of her single trips. lol).  She went "pee pee" in her potty three times today... and added a sticker to her chart for each successful trip.  =)

 

The reward plan is that for every 5 "pee pees" she'll get a cookie, and every time she goes "poo poo" in the potty she'll get a cookie.  She's two stickers away from her first incentive.  =)

She's in bed now, I'm feeling pretty relieved at her first no-accident day, but still a little on edge about tomorrow. lol  She never actually TOLD me today that she had to go... it was all on my urging (bribing), so, I'm just hoping that tomorrow she'll take a little more initiative.  But, I'm going to have several pairs of shorts ready just in case.  =)