For those of you interested in infant pottying, this post is for you... If you don't like "potty talk", don't read :)
Training Steven as a baby ~
With Steven, I started his training when he was 5 weeks old. I put him in a cloth diaper without a cover and stayed close by him for a day. Whenever he'd pee or poo I would tell him "Go pee pee" and "Good boy!", let him finish his business, then put a clean diaper on him. Within that day two things happened. First, I started to see a pattern to his timing of going in relation to eating and sleeping and would start putting him on the potty, telling him to "Go pee pee", in anticipation of him going. Second, by the end of the day he understood what I wanted him to do when when I held him over the potty and said "Go pee pee"; he would try to go even if he didn't need to.
Training Hannah ~
With Hannah, I started just holding her over the potty sometimes after changing her diaper and telling her to "Go pee pee". (With a newborn, you hold you baby in the cradle position with their little potty under their bottom.) The first time I did this she was just over 24 hours old and I caught her first pee and poo. Starting midday Saturday (she was 6 days old), I started doing this everytime I checked/changed her diaper and would check/change her diaper everytime before feeding her. In the wee-hours of Monday morning (this morning) it was evident to me that she understands her cue! During the night she went everytime on her little potty just before feeding, often going pee and poo. She stayed dry for 6 hours - with some poo on two diapers (out of three) in that time.
Dairy-free ~
Because I'm lactose intolerant and don't feel great after ingesting too much dairy, as well as some potential benefits to infants being breastfed, I decided to become as dairy-free as possible before giving birth to Hannah. Another benefit to dairy-free babies, besides avoiding possible tummy issues, is that dairy-free babies need to pee less often as dairy is a diuretic. When Steven was first being trained, he had to pee every 20 minutes or so when he was awake. Hannah seems to need to go about every two hours, which is typical of dairy-free babies, making pottying less time consuming for mommy!
Closing ~
I've enjoyed infant pottying with Steven and am enjoying it with Hannah. I share our experience with you, as I know it's not very common and many of you have expressed interest in following our pottying journey. :) I hope to focus on Steven's pottying starting next week, focusing on him becoming diaper-free. I'll let you know how that goes :)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Hannah Grace
The meaning of Hannah is "grace" - and so, our little double-portion of grace.
Grandma Engel & Hannah
Grandma Carr & HannahOur moms arrived 1 week before Hannah and are on their way home right now. They were so very helpful in tending to Steven, doing housework and making meals, as well as spoiling us a little with buying things for Hannah and Steven and things for the house. I'm so grateful for their time here. It was fun to see Steven bond with each of them. He's going through a little grandma-withdrawal today, as he's a little on the whiney side. Daddy has been great tending to him, though, and he's starting to behave a little better. :)
I'm enjoying being a mommy to our second child immensely. For parents of infants, I highly recommend the video "Dunstan Baby Language". I came across this video when Steven was around 4 months old, I think. It was SO helpful and has made things wonderfully easy with Hannah in knowing what she needs. I found it at the library. It covers 5 "words" all infants make in their cries and what they mean. Hannah has made all of them (except the one for deep gas pain). Here's some links to check out if you're interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ehv5m9gnu0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6CFSGAueyo
For those of you interested in infant pottying or ECing (Elimination Communication), Hannah has gone in the potty (her potty is a little rectangular plastic bowl) - 3 pees and 3 or 4 poos so far. These, of course, were just 'catches', she doesn't know her cue yet. I hope to establish her cue once she has more awake time. For now, I will tell her the cue and give her the opportunity to go when I change her diaper. Perhaps she will pick up on her cue this way, otherwise when she's awake more, I will train her the same way I did with Steven. (Steven has not regressed with his pottying, as this can be common with the arrival of another sibling - to my knowledge, as his grandma's and dad have been pottying him mostly for the past 2 weeks. He still does wear diapers, but has complete understanding of the potty and what to do on it, and, for the most part, prefers to go on it rather than his diaper. The PeeSpeak Documentary that Steven is in is still due to come out - it turned out to be a bigger project than originally planned.)
Steven has just started giving closed-mouth kisses and loves giving them to Hannah. I hope to capture one on camera soon! He likes to "pet" her gently with his closed fist - very precious.
I hope to write our birth story for Hannah soon and will post it when it's ready.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Comparing Steven & Hannah's Baby Pictures
Steven James, Jr.
Hannah Grace
Steven James, Jr.
Hannah Grace
Steven James, Jr.
Hannah Grace Monday, June 22, 2009
Our Baby Girl - Hannah Grace
Hannah Grace Carr
8 lbs. 4 oz., 20 in. long.
Healthy & beautiful, with fuzzy dark hair.
Healthy & beautiful, with fuzzy dark hair.
Born on Father's Day, June 21st at 12:05 pm. 
Happy Mommy, baby & Yolanda (our excellent midwife)
Monday, June 15, 2009
3 Days...
I'm due in three days. Had a good pre-natal today. The baby is positioned perfectly. Had girl heart tones today. Our midwife predicts sometime this weekend. Our moms are in MI, will arrive today sometime. I'm very content. :)
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Scarlet Stitch
For anyone who's in the Grand Rapids area, Scarlet Stitch will be at the Mom's Sale this Saturday - check us out - we've got our Claire Slips, Bloomers, Newsboys, Elora Dresses and more - plus a 10% discount for that day only and a chance to win a $25 gift certificate!
Follow the link for more details:
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Large Diaper Covers
Two Large Diaper Covers with velcro - Finished today for a customer.
Notice the size tag - I'm so excited about those :)A Little About Steven
Steven has started to say "yes" and nod his head and say "no" and shake his head, which has been extremely helpful and fun. He'll let me know when if he has to go to the bathroom when I ask him, which is nice.
He's had a little cold lately, but is getting better.
He's not a climber (for which I'm thankful). Maybe about 3 weeks or so ago he finally attempted to climb up one step at a friend's house (we don't have stairs in our apartment). He got on the step and didn't know what to do and then proceeded to do a belly flop off of them - twice. I think he just got scared and lost his balance. Since then, he's climbed up other stairs - maybe 4 steps - and then started to fuss, not knowing how to get down and not wanting to try to go up higher. I put a little step stool next to our couch and showed him how to climb up on to the couch using it. He seems to be getting the hang of getting down (crawling backwards - instead of diving off).
He loves to give kisses, but about half the time they involve his teeth - sharp little buggers. We're working on that.
He's been sitting much better lately for our daily bible time and family time. He now has his own little new testament we let him hold and a little Psalter for singing. He loves to page through big books. He loves to sing, too, he'll hum or sing and sway back and forth when we sing or play a music CD.
He signs "more" and "please" (and very readily when it comes to getting food).
He loves to laugh and smile and play. He likes to put things into other things or take things out.
When he's pottying, if I ask him if he's done yet and he's not, he'll shake his head at me and swing his arms ("no! don't take me off yet!). He'll do this when he wants to just sit and read, too, even if he doesn't have to go potty!
He likes other kids, but does NOT like to be pushed or pulled around. He'll share with other kids, as long as they aren't trying to take his toys away.
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