The Way It's Supposed to Be

I've said many times that Jeremy and I learned a lot about parenting, about life and about ourselves while Emma was in the NICU.  We would be different parents today if things had gone differently 3 years ago.  For one, I don't think we would be as grateful to have the opposite experience the second time around.  We understand that not everybody gets to 'room in' with their new baby.  We understand that the nurses and doctors don't always bring good news.  We understand that not everyone leaves the hospital with their new baby tucked safely in his or her car seat.  Now that we've had Cate and everything went better than we could have hoped, we understand that this is the way it's supposed to be!

Cate's first bed, right next to mine

Our hospital stay was uneventful.  We all shared a room.  The nurse gave Cate her first bath on my bed.  A photographer came to our room and did a photoshoot of beautiful newborn shots.  (I'm highly bummed that we didn't have the same for Emma!)

 My parents brought Emma to meet her new sister.  My friend, Amanda, a new mom herself, stopped by with some amazing donuts from a new shop nearby. Cate slept ... a lot.  The pediatiricians gave her a glowing bill of health.  Then, less than 48 hours after her birth, we came home ... together!

Meeting Grandpa Don and Emma for the first time. Happy to see Grandma Jane again.

Emma was so excited to see her new baby sister.

 

Mommy and my beautiful girls

Amanda meeting Cate.  We had the same doctors while pregnant so it was fun to compare notes.
 Thanks for the amazing donuts, Amanda!

Stretching out on Mommy's bed.  The little anklet on her leg is a tracking device to make sure babies don't get taken! Crazy! The nurse called her Hospital Arrest anklet.

Giving Daddy some love.

I was a nervous wreck the whole way home since it's a long ride and I couldn't sit with Cate in the back seat.  With 2 car seats, there's no longer room for anyone else.  We all made it in spite of my anxiety.  Cate didn't even make a peep.  Actually, I would've preferred a few peeps so I at least new she was okay.

This hat was Emma's.  It was supposed to be part of her coming home outfit.  For obvious reasons, we didn't wear it home. Guess 0-3 months, doesn't include the first few days.

Ahh real clothes and a soft blanky.  All dressed to come home.  Again, I guess, she doesn't fall into the 0-3 month category just yet. 

Mommy, why don't my clothes fit?

Ready to go home! Less than 48 hours after her birth! 

We were greeted by pink and gray balloons on our mailbox (the colors of Cate's nursery) and a big, pink 'It's a Girl' balloon in the shape of a baby's footprint.  Emma was so excited to see Cate and wanted to help ... with EVERYTHING.  Of course, wouldn't you know that somehow, the girl who is never sick ends up with a cough and a frog in her throat the day her newborn sister comes home.  Much to her dismay, we've had to limit her interaction with Cate.  She still loves her 'cute, little ears' and her 'tiny, piggy toes'.  She loves to kiss her feet and sing to her.  And she has become really good at bringing me diapers and putting the old ones in the trash.  I'd say that so far, she's not resenting Cate's entrance into the world.

Mom made us lunch.  We hung out just holding and adoring Cate.  I enjoyed the Cakebread chardonnay that Jeremy bought me for my birthday, not knowing that I was pregnant at the time!  Andrew made a surprise visit.  We had fillet mignon (cooked medium rare and topped with blue cheese - pregnancy no-nos). It was delightful!

Of course, Cate did sleep all day and then decide to stay awake from about 10 pm - 2:30 am, but we eventually got some sleep.

 Today is proving to be even better.  She's awake a lot more, eating well, had a bath and has been napping well too.  I'm just enjoying every moment!  Yep, this is the way it's supposed to be.

Family of Four

At 6:28 PM, on Monday, July 18, 2011, we became a family of four!  Our newest daughter - Catherine Helen Leghorn, or as we call her, Cate - arrived yesterday.

After an especially uncomfortable weekend (swelling, pelvic pain, tiredness), I headed to my bi-weekly non-stress test appointment Monday morning.  It marked 37 weeks exactly, making Cate a 'full-term' baby inspite of the fact that she wasn't due for another 3 weeks.  My blood pressure had been especially high all weekend and hit a whopping 178/104 at home.  I went to the appointment having a feeling that I'd be heading to labor and delivery that day.  Call it mother's intuition, I guess.

My blood pressure was still elevated in the office and although Cate was doing well on the monitor her basline heart rate was higher than normal.  Halfway through my normal 20+ minute NST, the doctor came in to ask how I was feeling.  I told her I hadn't felt very well all weekend.  She said I would need to go to the hospital lab for blood work and then up to the L & D triage area for assessment.  After deciding to check my blood pressure one more time and getting a reading of 170/104, she said to forego the lab and go straight to L & D, suspecting pre-eclampsia on top of my chronic hypertension.

I raced home to get bags, my parents and Emma, called Jeremy to tell him to head home from VA, and headed to the hospital.  We sat in triage for 40 minutes or so before the doctor on call determined that we would indeed be inducing regardless of the presence pre-eclampsia.   At 37 weeks, pre-eclampsia or not, it wasn't helping my blood pressure to stay pregnant.  The triage doctor said I was only 1 cm dilated and not super ready to deliver, but that it wasn't really a problem.  I expected a long labor because of it.

Mom sent Dad and Emma home.  I was put in a Labor and Delivery Room and pretty soon we got the ball rolling.  Almost immediately, they told me that my blood work came back totally normal, so pre-eclampsia was not an issue.  Just rising blood pressure which meant a much less stressful delivery for me!  When my doctor came in, she checked me again to find that I was actually 3 cm dilated.  Either the first doctor was wrong, or I was progressing on my own.  I guess we'll never really know.

At 2pm, I was started on pitocin and the doctor broke my water.  I had my epidural about an hour later at which point I had progressed to a 5 or 6.  I was moving much more quickly than I had expected to.  Jeremy was on his way and was due to arrive around 6:35.  The doctor suspected that his timing would be perfect and I would deliver shortly after. 

Mom and I spent the time watching sitcoms. Thank goodness for televisions in LDRs! I was pretty comfortable from my epidural feeling relieved I would soon meet my new little girl and start to feel better.  (Pregnancy was not agreeing with me at all!)  Around 5 or 5:30, I started to feel more pain even through my epidural.  I kept trying to push the button to give myself more medication and in turn more relief, but my contractions were rapidly getting worse.  Before I new it, I was feeling the pressure that the nurses and doctors had asked me to tell them about as soon as I felt it.  I called the nurse who asked if I wanted to be checked or re-dosed.  I said, 'Both!'  Soon the doctor came in and I was a full 10 cm dilated!

Before beginning to push, we called Jeremy to see where he was.  He was scheduled to arrive shortly, but the doctor said there had been a lot of traffic on the turnpike when she drove through early in the day.  We determined that he was further than we thought and we couldn't stall.  I wanted him there, but I knew there was no way I could wait.  The baby was coming and she was coming right then.

Mom stepped up to the plate and got ready to help me push which I know was not where she wanted to be.  Seeing me in all my glory and in pain was not something she was comfortable with, but she took her place holding my left leg and helped me push.  I did a few practice pushes and I was making a lot of progress.  The doctor had gone to change into scrubs, but by the time, she got back, there was no question that Cate was coming fast .  I was afraid I wasn't pushing hard enough, but after a few more pushes, I could see the top of her head in the mirror above me.  It was amazing how seeing that helped me focus my pushing.  I few more pushes and they told me to stop so they could take the bed apart.  Eventhough I wasn't pushing, I could see her head sliding out even more.  A few more tiny pushes and there she was! 

Happy Birthday, Cate!

4 1/2 hours from the start of pitocin, I was a mother of two! Absolutey amazing!  She looked so tiny, though she weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz - just 4 oz smaller than Emma - and was 20 1/4 inches long - the exact same length as her big sister.  (Despite the almost identical size, we all think she looks tinier than Emma did at birth.)  Jeremy arrived about 20 minutes later.  He was bummed he missed the birth, but we could never have expected that I would only have 4 1/2 hours of labor! He was very happy to walk into a healthy me and a perfectly healthy baby girl!

Happy Mommy

Jeremy was beaming from ear to ear when he saw his new little princess.

Grandma Jane got to hold Cate soon after her birth too.
 After all she did, she deserved it!

Andrew was able to stop in for a little while shortly after since he was at school a few blocks from the hospital.  He was amazed that I was just calmly sitting there after giving birth and said I was supposed to be exhausted and looking awful!  I guess I'm just good at giving birth!

Uncle Andrew adoring his newest neice.  He was so excited to see her right after birth especially since he didn't see Emma for at least a month after her birth. Thank goodness he was at school just a few blocks away!

We only spent a little while after Cate's birth in L & D, a stark contrast from Emma's birth when I stayed in L & D for almost 12 hours after her birth.  I rode in a wheel chair, holding my bundled little newborn the whole way.  Jeremy, Cate and I settled into our new digs and enjoyed our first few hours together.  While this pregnancy was by far worse than my pregnancy with Emma, delivery was much different.  I really couldn't have asked for a better labor or delivery.  Of course, the best part is having a perfectly healthy little girl in the end! (And a healthy mommy!)

Catherine Helen Leghorn

Happy 3rd Birthday, Emma Bean!

'Tap Dancer Emma' playing dress up at a friend's house

My Darling Emma,

Today is your 3rd birthday!  I can't believe how time has flown and how much you have changed over the last 3 years.  Sometimes I don't even realize how much you've changed until I look back at pictures from a year ago or even just a few months ago.  You amaze me everyday.

When I think about what I was doing at this moment 3 years ago, I remember finally getting out of my labor and delivery room so that I could see you in the NICU before I was taken to my postpartum room.  I'd been waiting for 10 hours since they took you away from me to be able to see you again more than just on the video that Daddy kept bringing to me after visiting you.  I was thrilled to see you, but realized for the first time, that you wouldn't be coming right down the regular nursery to be close to me.  You were perfect and beautiful though and I didn't want to let you go!

Your first day
As much as you've changed, when I look at you, I still see this little baby.

Your 1st birthday party
I thought you were so grown up on that day, but looking back, you were still such a little thing.

 

Visiting the Children's Museum of New Hampshire on your 2nd birthday
What a special day.  My sweet little baby was really becoming a little girl!

Your 3rd Birthday
We've been celebrating since the end of June when Grandma Helen and Grandpa Barry came to visit, but today you really turned 3!  Now you are a big girl and 2 weeks or less you will become a big sister!  So very hard to imagine that you won't be my only baby.  I can't wait for you to meet your sister!

You are so grown up today.  You use the potty (most of the time), sleep in her a big girl bed (most of the time), go to camp, know your letters and numbers, use big words, sing songs, dance, love to play dress up, like to make us all laugh, love to say 'SURPRISE!' ... the list goes on and on.  Today you even got your first bike!  Look how big you've gotten! 


Riding your new 'Pinkalicious' bike from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Don

 I know you've had a lot of changes in your life in the last 3 months.  Moving to Grandma and Grandpa's house is a big change! I know you love being here, seeing them everyday, and seeing Aunt Jen and Uncle Andrew a lot, but I know you miss your other grandparents and uncles and, of course, your friends from New Hampshire.  Daddy's not with us all of the time either which is hard, but you have adapted well. You've given up your crib and your diapers.  It hasn't been easy, but we are very proud of how far you've come.  You've had to adjust to Mommy not feeling well and not being able to do as much as I used to because of the baby in my tummy, but you are very patient and loving.  You are going to be a wonderful big sister to Cate!

We love you so much!  We are so very proud of you.  You are smart, funny, polite, talented, beautiful inside and out!  You really do amaze me everyday!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!  I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Love,
Mommy

Birthday Girls!

 July is a month of many birthdays in our families.  Perhaps we'll even be adding another if Cate decides she doesn't want to wait much longer.  We celebrated Daddy's birthday last weekend.  He doesn't like the fanfare.  Just make him some good food and a pecan pie and he's a happy birthday boy.  We celebrated two other birthday girls with a little more flare though.  We had a beach party for Emma and Jen last Saturday.  Emma's been saying that when she turns 3 she's going to go to the beach.  Knowing that wasn't actually going to happen, I decided to bring the beach to her.  Jen's birthday was Sunday so we thought it would be perfect to have a party for both of them! Then we headed to Moraine State Park for a picnic, scoping out sailboats for Dad and Andrew, and swimming in the lake.

The Birthday Girls

Aunt Jen found this adorable grass skirt.  Has anyone ever looked cuter in a grass skirt?  I think not.

Emma said she wanted a sand castle cake ... so I made one. Along with some cupcakes adorned with Swedish Fish.

We tried opening presents in the yard since the party guests were having so much fun on our beach (the sandbox) and our ocan (the baby pool).  We soon realizzed it was really hot and everyone had made their way onto the deck leaving us alone in the yard.  We relocated to the porch.  I will say though, having your 3 year old open presents in front of all their guests is both really boring and really stressful at the same time!

Emma's cake with her 3 candles



Jen's cake ... which I did not make (it was AMAZING, by the way!) ... with a few less candles than her actual age

Dad and Jen enjoying the picnic of party leftovers that Mom packed.

My happy girl

Emma got a new 'Pottette Plus' for going potty on the go.  It's a little seat that has collapsible legs.  A bag with an absorbent pad in the bottom attaches to the seat so that you can catch the 'waste' tie it up and throw it away.  Much better than a Porta John when dealing with a newly potty-trained toddler.

Emma got to go to the beach for her birthday afterall!

Wading in Lake Arthur.  She said she was 'feeding the sand to the fishies'.

Cuddling with Uncle Andrew

It was very hot so Emma enjoyed her very first Push Up Pop.  What a childhood memory for me! Nothing better than a Push Up Pop!

Mommy decided to leave her pull up on with her bathing suit instead of putting on a swim diaper.  What I didn't think about was how much water those things really suck up.  I don't think you can fully appreciate how big her little bum looks in this picture.  She looked and walked like a duck!  Oops!

Said pull up after being removed.  I'm pretty sure it weighed a good 5 pounds.  Thank goodness she didn't sink in the lake!

The funniest thing about it was that the pull up had started to explode in her suit.  I reached in and got a hand full of the absorbent core of her pull up made of beads that turn into gel when wet.  It looked like a snow cone exploded in her bathing suit.  We may have left a bit in the grass.  Oops!

A great weekend of birthday celebrations!  I could hardly walk at the end, but it was worth it!  Hard to believe my little Emma Bean will officially be 3 in two days! Mom's birthday is on the 30th and maybe our little Cate will make an appearance this month, too!











36 Weeks and Counting (UPDATED)

36 weeks was on Monday.  I haven't been here before.  If I compare this pregnancy with my first, Emma would have been born by this past Friday.  So, all things considered, I consider this a success. 

I had an NST on Monday.  All was well as usual.  Cate 'looks beautiful' according to the doctor based on her heartrate and activity level.  I have an ultrasound next Tuesday to see how big she is ... if I make it that long.

Why do I say that?  Well, my blood pressure was a wee bit high on Monday so the doctor suggested I start taking it at home again.  I'd had a busy weekend so I figured I was just anxious and tired. So yesterday morning, I got out my bp cuff only to discover that even straight out of bed, my blood pressure was really high.  I took it a few more times since, I hadn't had a great night of sleep ... we had a blackout and I had a tiny furnace sleeping next to me ... and we'd had a stressful evening overall. 3 more times, all high.  Not as high, but still over the benchmark they asked me to look for.  I called the doctor to report the numbers.  She wanted to 'investigate' so I went to the office in the afternoon.  My blood pressure was high there too.  I took my cuff to compare it to the one in the office and they matched so my readings in the morning were right. The good news was that I didn't have an protein in my urine which is a sign of pre-eclampsia. She sent me off for blood work with instructions to rest a lot and come back in the morning.

My appointment this morning is at 8:30.   I don't know what's going to happen or how much of my bloodwork will be ready, but my bag is packed just in case.  The thing that has me a little worried is that I didn't have protein with Emma either.  Just high blood pressure.  My blood work didn't look good though.  My guess is that I will at the very least, be on bed rest until Monday when I am 37 weeks and the baby would no longer be considered pre-term.  Who knows though.  I'll keep you updated.

*** UPDATE***

I went to the doctor this morning.  All is well! My blood pressure was still high, but the doctor I saw today said the numbers alone aren't a concern.  The numbers are high, but not dangerously high.  My blood work looked great, so for now I'm in the clear!  He suggested the higher numbers were a combination of stress and being further along in my pregnancy.  When I got home, I took my blood pressure and it was back to normal.  I guess it really was stress.  He did say that since I'll be 37 weeks on Monday if my blood pressure continues to rise, he won't worry about delivering.  He felt it would be totally reasonable to deliver next week if neccessary. So no baby today.  I'm feeling very confident that I can make it through the weekend (or longer) and that I won't have a preemie! Either way in 3 weeks or less, we will be a family of 4!

June

June has flown by.  I can't believe it's already June 24th.  Jeremy came home at the beginning of June after a mini family vacation to Bedford Springs Inn, a resort in Bedford, PA.  Since Jeremy has been around and hasn't had to work, we've been busy.

Emma and Ellie on the porch outside our beautiful room at Bedford Springs.

Enjoying a little of the evening on the swing in Bedford.

Getting ready to make S'mores.  We ordered kits through room service and then they set up a fire just for us!

The S'mores were delicious, but the activity was short lived.  Emma was not as into as we hoped she would be.  Plus it was a little weird with just the three of us around this huge fire.

The beautiful Bedford Springs Inn - I enjoyed an amazing prenatal massage at the spa!  Jeremy surprised me with the Mommy To Be Massage as a belated Mother's Day present.  It was heavenly! I can't believe I've never been to a spa before or had a massage!  I'm definitely going again!

After our little trip, Emma went to Children's Corner at our church.  It's kind of like school, but for kids under 3.  It's run by the pre-school she will attend in the Fall.  She loved it!  I'm not really surprised.  She's very social and loves learning.  I did think she might have a little trouble being away from me for 2 or 3 hours since she's barely ever even had a babysitter, but my fear was unfounded.  She barely said goodbye to me.

Since Children's Corner went well, I decided to give Tiny Tots camp at the Y.  She went Tuesday and Thursday for the last two weeks and again had a blast.  If it weren't for wanting to focus on potty training this week, I would sign her up again.  Maybe at the end of July when I'm exhausted and we're waiting for Baby Cate to arrivek we'll five it a whirl again.

Speaking of Baby Cate, Emma went to a Sibling class at the hospital where I will deliver.  It was just for 2 and 3 year olds.  They learned to diaper and feed baby which I'm sure she'll be able to do all by herself as soon as Cate arrives!  They also took us onto the Postpartum floor so they could see the room Mommy and baby would be staying in before coming home.  I don't know if it helped her at all, but it was cute.

Here she is giving her pretend baby sister a bottle.  She also helped me put the little diaper on.  She seemed to love the baby, but wanted nothing to do with the baby doll she brought with us

This past week, Jeremy's parents came to visit for a few days.  Since they probably won't make it back for Emma's birthday due to the fact that they will be back shortly after that to see Cate, we decided to do something special to celebrate with them.  Last summer, we took Emma to Idlewilde Park and Story Book Forest.  She loved it and has been talking about it for a year! So we decided to take her again there while Grandma Helen and Grandpa Barry we're in town.  It was hot and tiring, but Emma was in heaven!

With her buddy, X the Owl.  We got him last year at Story Book Forest, but she had to take him this year on her ride through the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

Trying out a desk in the little school house.  Doesn't she look like the perfect little student?

Trying to remove the sword from the stone

Making some wishes in the wishing well

After a long hot day, Emma enjoyed her first - very large - bowl of chocolate soft-serve. So yummy!

In baby news, I will be 34 weeks on Monday!  I can't believe I'm getting so close, but at the same time, it still seems so far away. I have begun going to the doctor twice a week for Non-Stress Tests.  I just sit on the exam table for a half hour or so with a monitor on my belly to check the baby's heartrate, movement and to make sure I'm not having contractions.  So far so good! I did have to have a biophysical profile last week because Cate was very sleepy and not moving much.  Once they did the ultrasound, she woke up and past her test with a perfect 8 out of 8!  I had another ultrasound on Wednesday to check growth.  They estimate that she weights about 5 1/2 lbs!  Above average for sure.  I'm not surprised though. 

Overall, I'm feeling better than I did in the first two trimesters, but my pelvis hurts ... a lot.  I'm starting to get into nesting mode.  In fact, at the moment, I'm boiling bottle nipples and pacifiers!  I know she'll be here before we know it.  I'm just hoping Emma's 3rd birthday comes and goes before she makes her entrance!

Me and my belly and 33 weeks

On a final note,  just a little update on potty training.  We are progressing well with the use of the potty!  When at home or running errands with us, Emma wears underwear all day with the exception of nap and bedtime.  When she goes to camp, Children's Corner or the nursery at church, she wears a Pull-Up.  Telling us that she has to go is not her strong suit, so if we're not around, we take precautions.  She hasn't had a pee accident in at least a week, although pooping is a bit of an issue.  I know it will come with practice though.  She even wake up dry many mornings!  We're not quite there, but feeling good about where we are after only 2 weeks.

Potty Training Boot Camp

It's Saturday morning.  My parents are on a flight to enjoy a week in Napa Valley.  Jeremy is here until July, and the 3 of us are in the unfinished, carpet free part of the basement starting our version of potty training boot camp.  I know, I know ... I'm supposed to wait until she shows interest, wait until she shows me that she's really ready, not supposed to force it but guess what, I don't have time for that anymore.  I have a baby coming in just over 8 weeks, a husband that will be gone in July and then leaving for a year in less than 3 months, and a soon-to-be 3-year-old daughter who is registered for a 'diaper-free' pre-school in September.  She, and I, really need the preschool so I can't give up her slot (she'll never get back in) because I was sitting around waiting for Emma to tell me that she was ready to get rid of the diapers. So here we go.  We'll spend the next week in the basement, outside or in my parents GIANT bathroom keeping her entertained on wipeable surfaces while she learns that 'Pee goes in the potty!' instead of peeing and pooping in her underpants. My mom said she did it with me, so lets hope Emma can follow in my footsteps.  With any luck, Grandma and Grandpa will come home to a diaper free Emma!

9:00 AM - We have just gathered our potty chair, clean underpants, M & M's for reward and incentive, wipes for messes, and laptops to keep Jeremy and I entertained.  Emma has picked a pretty pair of big girl underpants the color of orange sherbet.  Happily she plays with her Play-Doh.

9:20 AM - I've set my online timer as a reminder to try the potty.  She sits for a few minutes, but nothing happens. Good try!  Jeremy decides to influence the peeing process by giving her some juice and a bowl of cereal.

9:40 AM -Timer goes off, but still nothing.  I'm not sure if she's holding it in or it she really just hasn't had the urge to go.  She's starting to get annoyed with the timer and scheduled potty breaks.  I'm beginning to think I should perhaps just let her go and see what she does. 

9:50 AM - Jeremy notices some 'wetness' on her pretty organge panties.  Emma doesn't.  Oh well, we say.  Let's try to get the rest out in the potty.  Jeremy shows Emma her wet underpants to explain that she peed in them.  She seems unimpressed.  She's puts on a new pair of underpants - white with flowers this time - and off she goes to playing again.

10:05ish AM- Emma and Jeremy are happily dancing away on her new alphabet mat when I hear, 'Oh no, I'm peeing!'  It's a full stream, but she does manage to hold a little in until she gets herself on the potty chair.  Sure it was another accident, but this time she noticed it and even got a  little in the potty. Success, I say! I head upstairs for more underwear, paper towels so she can help clean it up, and a camera to take a picture of the little bit of pee that made it into the potty.

10:50 AM - The timer goes off, so Emma reluctantly leaves the computer game she's been playing - 'The Puppy Show' as she calls it.  She pulls her new cupcake underwear down and sits on the potty while I read her a book.  She seems much more willing to sit there if she's being entertained at the same time.  We sit there for the length of the book.  No pee this time.  I wonder if I should give her something more to drink to get her to pee more?  She pulls her underpants up, goes back to the computer and happily accepts her one M & M for trying.

11:05 AM - Jeremy and I are contemplating a change of venue.  As great a play area the basement area is, after 2 + hours down here, it's getting old.  The plants have to be watered anyway, so maybe it's time to head outside.  Just as we are planning what to do, Emma shouts for her perch at the computer desk that she has to go potty! Hooray! Could this be it? Could this be the first time she's going to make it to the potty?  On the way over, she says, 'Then I can get another M & M!' Ahh ... she's just 'gaming' us.  Oh well, I don't care.  The more time she spends on the potty, the more likely it is that she gets a 'hit'.  She ends up sitting there for a few sips of water and 3 books.  Nothing.  Ugh! Well, at least, we haven't changed underpants in about an hour.

11:25 AM - Time to head outside! Maybe using the hose to water her garden will give her the urge to pee!

4:35 PM - Almost 8 hours into our potty training experience and we've been through about as many pairs of underpants.  Shortly after getting outside, which was just a few minutes after trying the potty inside, she peed.  Changed the underwear, watered the garden, and while on a trip up on the deck to get some toys out of her playhouse, we heard, "Oh no, I'm peeing!" Once again, we cleaned her up, this time just putting her pj pants back on sans underwear since naptime was close.  Nap time was spent in a pull-up.  Of course, it was wet when she woke up.  Andrew and Jen came over to hang out for awhile.  While she was happy to show off her underpants, she was not as happy to try sitting on the potty again. Reluctantly, and with some coaxing from all of us, she tried.  Nothing.  10 minutes later, Aunt Jen heard and 'Uh oh' and noticed the pee running down her leg.  Change number 7 (I think) turned into change number 8 soon after when we realized she had her first poop accident.  So much worse than her pee accidents, but the first one is behind us now.  She's starting to get highly annoyed when asked to try the potty.  I'm not giving up, but starting to wonder if this is helping or hurting our cause.

5:14 - Jeremy has been searching the internet for potty training videos that Emma can watch.  He stumbled up on an Asian cartoon of a tiger learning to go potty complete with illustrated 'Pee' and 'Poop' characters. That is the one, of course, that Emma wants to watch on repeat.  Can't understand a word of it, but she just wants to keep watching it. Oh well, if it helps, I'm all for it.

7:36 PM - Ahhhh.  Emma is in bed in a diaper until morning.  She didn't want to try the potty after dinner, but she also didn't have another accident after the poop so I didn't really mind.  I'm sure she's not thrilled about Day 2, but I can't say I am either.  She did like wearing underpants though and I was proud of her for doing it all day.

Wish us luck tomorrow!