I am proud that I can finally tell people; if they ask, that I have a 2 year old son at home. It’s a lot of work and the past few weeks have been some of the hardest since he was born. Mainly because potty training started and when he eats, he throws food.
Unlike last year and when he was born, where he had no clue what the hell was happening, this year, he knows something special is happening and it’s going to involve cupcakes with sprinkles, watermelon, corn on the cob, and lots of new toys to open. Yes, we got him a Moana talking doll!
To celebrate his birthday today, I am taking today, tomorrow, Friday, and Monday off from work. I need a vacation and even though it won’t really be a vacation, we are planning on doing fun kid things with Niko and of course, I will tell you how it all went down on Sunday. The children’s museums in San Antonio and New Braunfels are definitely on our list and maybe the San Antonio Zoo. We were actually thinking of going to a “all inclusive resort in Galveston” but decided to do things close to home instead of somewhere that is 5 hours away. I know we could’ve done it, but it will be cheaper and better because the naps and nighttime won’t be affected. I have a feeling that when we finally do decide to take him on a long trip, it will be a cruise next March for my parents 50th Anniversary. And, that will be nice because we will have other adults with us.
For about a week several weeks ago, Niko peed everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! On the leather sofa and leather chair; hey, it was easy to clean. In a bookcase; ok, that was not fun to clean since it got underneath. On the storage ottoman; it was easy to wipe since it’s cheap vinyl. On the floor; it’s tile so again easy to clean. I think he was doing it because he thought it was funny and he probably liked my annoyed reaction. Something I have been doing with Niko for a long time is we always clean-up the play area and when he had pee accidents, he helped me clean.
Oh, he also likes crayons and drawing on stuff other than a piece of paper. Luckily, the crayons are washable so whatever graffiti he does on the window sills, stairs, walls, and the floor wash away with a diaper wipe; and of course, he helps clean.
Like I said before, you can’t punish a baby for throwing food and we can’t deprive him of eating. When he throws food, we take the food away but we always eat again a few minutes later. Lately, though, it has been getting a little bit better as we tell him food stays on the tray and not on the floor; and, sometimes he tells us when he is done. For the past few weeks, I have been eating while he eats and we share a plate of food; that helps also from throwing. Recently, he learned the word different and preaches that when we eat, so it’s very hard to get him to eat what we want him to eat. The other day, he kept saying different so I offered a bowl of cereal and that was a success; 2 spoons for us with milk, corn chex, and a banana! He slurped the milk like it was a bowl of soup. Sometimes, he knows what he wants and we have to keep asking till he says yes in a very excited voice; that happened a few days ago with frozen blueberries.
Since last April, Nina has been bathing Niko and feeding him breastmilk in the tub. After they are finished which is usually 45 minutes to an hour later, I get him dried, dressed for nighttime, and put him down for nighttime. We have a good time laughing, singing, and dancing together in his room before I get kisses and hugs from him.
But, for the past several weeks, I have been bathing Niko and afterwards, Nina feeds him breastmilk in the chair in his room. I still get the fun duty of drying him, dressing him in his red pajamas, and putting him down for nighttime. Nina is kind of slowly trying to wean him off breastmilk; he only gets it before nap and nighttime. When he is really sleepy, I often think of not giving him to Nina, but he somehow asks for mommy milk and I know I can’t say no to that; especially when Nina is standing outside the door waiting for some sort of signal.
The other night while Nina and I were in bed and he was sleeping in his room, I told Nina that he doesn’t stop talking and I think it’s funny. His vocabulary is increasing and he repeats stuff we say. His sentences contain 5 or 6 words. This week, he stops mid sentence to make sure he gets the right word out. I am going to brag now and tell you that my son is smarter than your honor student.
Something else he has been doing is holding our hands when we go outside for walks or go out somewhere.
Oh, I need to write an update to potty training…
A few weeks ago, we returned 3 boxes of diapers to Amazon. Yes, we order diapers automatically along with paper towels, toilet paper, and diaper wipes from Amazon because it’s easier and cheaper for us.
He likes peeing in things; whether it be the potty, a cup, the big toilet, or even outside on my car or on the grass. We haven’t had any pee accidents in a few weeks.
As for poops, he is still trying to figure it out and it hurts me so much when I know he has to poop and he either asks for help, holds his butt, or just keeps saying big poop. Now, despite that, when he does eventually go, he does make it to the potty or big toilet. He has done a few in diapers during naps or nighttime.
I actually want to start nap potty training him tomorrow. I need to make sure I have extra clean baby sheets on stand-by!