Thursday, May 28, 2009

Not Intended For Squeamish Readers

Currently on my brain and making me cringe:

-Eli keeps taking his diaper off and bringing it to me. Methinks it's maybe time to potty train? But he's only twenty one months! And stubborn! And squirmy and screamy! I can't even get his diaper changed without an epic battle. Is the diaper removal maybe more to do with the novelty of being able to do it himself and less about his disgust with wearing a dirty diaper? Because honestly the idea of toilet training this young freaks me out a little. There would be SO many accidents and SUCH urgency to make sure he got there on time. We'd have to watch him like a hawk and he's so hard to keep an eye on... Plus he's just now learning to communicate with us and still doesn't have words for needing a diaper change. On the other hand, boy would I love having no one in diapers for awhile before we add another kid. On the OTHER other hand, boy do I not miss emptying the potty chair and soaking gross underpants and setting the timer so I can remember to help a little one try to urinate every fifteen minutes. That was possibly the worst month of my life. Thoughts?

-I have no idea how to delicately broach this subject, so I'll just do it fast like a band-aid. I'm desperate enough for advise to brave the awkwardness of the question. How do you handle it when your toddlers start, um, pleasuring themselves on various household items, like while they're watching TV or whatever? Or even (oh the weirdness!) when they're, say, enjoying a nice piggyback ride and then you realize that they're enjoying it maybe a little TOO much?

-Any advise for dealing with little ones who have seasonal allergies? Both the kids seem to have them pretty bad. Adelay was the only one officially diagnosed with them, but Eli seems to be exhibiting the same symptoms, so I'm just assuming with him. I have some children's Zyrtec the doctor gave me, but I feel really hesitant about drugging them up when they're not even SICK. However, I also feel really tired of wiping noses every two seconds and constantly wiping snot trails off the sofa pillows. And it makes it hard to take them to childcare situations like the gym or church because people think they're sick and that I'm being a jerk to bring them in public, and also I just feel bad about expecting someone else to be constantly monitoring my kids' runny noses.

18 comments:

Lisa @ Lisa Moves said...

my 3 yr old is currently obsessed with his penis. I tell him (every time i catch him with it out) that his penis is private, and he can play with it in his room by himself. Otherwise, put it away. Occasionally he will take me up on the offer to go to his room, but most of the time he puts it away. Its fine with us if he wants to explore his body, but not in front of others.

Hillary said...

Nothing but sympathy for you ...

d e v a n said...

hee. The stuff they never tell you in parenting class, huh?

I probably wouldn't try pt'ing just yet, but I've read "Potty Training in 3 days" and it says the IDEAL time is 22 months. I tried it with O and couldn't figure out WHY that was the ideal time. He now refuses to wear diapers OR underwear, preferring expesive pullups instead. Great.
He does, however, go on the potty. Sometimes. Like, once a day. He's 25 months...

NO clue about #2 or #3, sorry...

Nowheymama said...

Swistle wrote about potty training recently. Might be worth a read.

CAQuincy said...

I started bringing out the potty to the kids around 18-mos--just to see what happened. Nothing. GOOD LUCK.

My oldest daughter was the worst about the um...self-PDA.... We also started to tell her, "Only in your room, please." Distraction sometimes worked (she seemed to do it the most when she was bored or zoned into the TV). She's 9, and I still have to remind her about "privacy" (*cough*) from time to time.

Sarah said...

CAQuincy: Oh thank goodness someone else's daughter is the main culprit! I didn't want to get specific about it in the post- I mean I hope my kids will someday read most of this blog, so I'm not trying to outright humiliate them. But yeah, it's getting a little weird. I know it's totally normal for the age and all, and everybody does it, blah blah blah, but it's just a very awkward conversation, trying to explain to an almost four year old why no one wants to watch her hump the arm of the sofa.

Anonymous said...

We started Zyrtec about a month ago and I'm loving it. Of course I'd rather not drug the kid, but her coughing was getting out of hand, keeping her awake at night and making sleep miserable. Add to that the constantly runny nose and the goopy eyes, I decided to opt for drugs. It worked wonders on her cough almost instantly. Her nose is still a bit drippy through the day, but nothing like the faucet it was. We live in one of the worst allergy locations in the country (or so I've been told by 3 doctors) so I hope to use the Zyrtec through the summer then taper off. We started out at 1/2 tsp, which didn't do much, so we went up to the full does of 1 tsp before bed. It doesn't make her groggy or anything. We got the liquid samples from the doctor but we've also tried the chewables.

Mary O said...

All I know about #2 is what I saw on an Oprah show recently, about how to talk to your kids about sex. You're supposed to say something like, "I know that feels good, honey, and it's totally normal, but please save it for your bedroom..." or whatever. Apparently we are supposed to be talking to our kids about their bodies and sex from a VERY early age. SCARY!

Shelly said...

Yeah, my daughter did that, too. We told her the same thing CAQuincy suggests - that it's something she should do in her own room, not around others.

Pickles and Dimes said...

My friend's 18-month old would bring a fresh diaper to mom when she had soiled the one she was wearing. Maybe you could teach Eli the same: to bring you a fresh diaper instead of his dirty one? :)

mLou said...

Having Eli bring you a clean diaper when he needs it sounds good...or like they do in some other countries, everyone (regardless of age)sits on a little pot after each meal (don't know if anything ends up in it tho!)

About the "itchy" pleasure thing....sometimes,little girls especially, will get infections and such. I would maybe have her checked at the Dr. just to make sure there isn't something else going on other than age related actions. Maybe she's allergic to laundry soap, bubble baths, etc., along with the runny nose and itchy pink eyes...yadayada.

Katy said...

I don't have any good advice--I'm just getting educated for when these problems present themselves at my house.

mamashine said...

My daughter's got that problem too- and has since she was TINY. She's almost six and it shows no signs of stopping... no good advice, but I feel your pain.

Erin said...

I know LOTS of parents who have dealt with the pleasuring issue (mostly with little boys). I don't have advice, just that little tidbit that I think it's really common and normal.

I sometimes give my kids zyrtec. I feel the same as you about giving them medicine when they aren't sick. But my little Emmett gets really bad skin rashes when the pollen counts rises into the red, so it helps. I still use it cautiously even though I know it's really safe.

sitting on the mood swing at the playground said...

Our allergist told us to use children's claritin when our toddler developed seasonal allergies. We've yet to use it but it's on our shelf. He has used zyrtec before and that was great.

Jessica said...

Try some local honey for the kiddos. Since the bees pollinate locally, eating the honey helps build up an immunity to allergens and decreases your need for meds. I can hook you up with some if you're interested. I put a tablespoon in Gabe's oatmeal everyday and he loves it.

Jessica said...

What a coincidence - I just posted in my blog today about how Gabe has started bringing me clean diapers. I just read your other comments and saw that as a suggestion.

Just wanted to tell you that Gabe really enjoys it, so it may be worth a shot for Eli.

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