Sometimes Mommy Needs to Chill Out

Ellie is doing really well. I'd say she's basically potty trained during the day, with only an occasional wet accident. She seems to have no issues going #2 and I couldn't be happier about that. She still wears diapers at naptime and bedtime but is just wearing undies during the day.

I am a little paranoid about accidents. I've found myself asking Ellie, "do you need to go potty?" much more than is probably needed, to the point that I think I'm obviously annoying her. She started throwing fits and crying when I try to "force" her to go if she doesn't need to, so I'm learning to back off and only ask occasionally. She obviously knows when she needs to go and is frustrated when I bug her too often. If that's not a clear sign that I'm a nagging mom, I don't know what is. This is a learning process for me too.

One of the most surprising parts about this is how rarely Ellie actually has to use the potty. I guess I assumed that when wearing a diaper a baby is just wetting it constantly. Now that we've trained Ellie she usually goes 2-3 hours no problem. Me asking her every 20 minutes is getting old for her and for me.

So, I'm working on waiting for her to tell me, although I still ask her when we hit the 2-3 hour mark. This morning she had an accident only a few minutes after sitting on the potty (with nothing to show for it). I'm not sure why that happened. I think because we were about to "exercise" (P90X on video) and she was very excited about it, but after that she came to me twice on her own to use the potty successfully, so I know she's still getting it. I have accepted the fact that there will be occasional accidents for awhile.

The best news is she has had zero accidents when we've gone out. She almost seems to do better when we're out. She has no issue sitting on toilets in public restrooms or at other people's houses. We went to a baseball game and she did great! Granted, I asked her about the potty and took her every half an hour, but she did go twice out of the five times I took her. Yes, I know I was paranoid, but the bathroom was far away and I have no idea how long she can hold it after realizing she needs to go. I'm sure I'll get better as I get more comfortable with her schedule and only going every couple of hours.

First family baseball game. Go Grizzlies!

And now to move on past the bathroom habits of Ellie.
Here's a glimpse of what our house looks like these days:

Hazel having tummy time while Ellie does puzzles next to her.

Ellie's reward for going #2 on the potty: watching "Monkey" aka Curious George on Daddy's I-pad.

Below: Ellie's baby often does the same activities that Hazel does. She goes potty, sits in the bouncer, sleeps in Hazel's bassinet, and even lays on the mat with Hazel.

And, a random video of Ellie.