March 5, 2014

Learning to Slow Down.... sort of...

I went to the gym on the weekend and did BodyAttack. About half way through, my round ligament started to feel tight. I tried to take the low options to take a bit of a break from the jumping, but it's so hard to just slow down and be the only one not doing the full workout. I still took it somewhat easy from that point on, but I didn't enjoy the rest of the class one bit. I kept thinking of the pain I was feeling. I didn't want to just leave the class. The pain would just go away right?

It's not in my nature to "slack off", especially when it comes to workouts. My body was telling me to stop though and I didn't listen to it. A huge sign that maybe being 26 weeks pregnant is a good time to start modifying my workouts a teeny tiny bit.

After the class in the change room, another Mom approached me and told me that she regretted not slowing down sooner. She said she worked out too long and ended up having a harder time getting back into her routine after her second baby. She told me that as soon as I start to feel any type of pain, to just stop doing those types of exercises. 


I thought it was really nice of her to reach out to me this way. Even though I had already came to this realization, I don't know if I would have stopped the class entirely unless she told me her story.I would call that denial. I did the same thing last Spring when I hurt my foot. I was in pain, but just kept doing high impact workouts. Well, I ended up tearing a muscle in my arch. I'm still not 100% back to normal. I really am that stubborn when it comes to my workout regime. I like to push myself to my limits and won't accept anything less or I feel like I've "failed".

I'm growing a precious life inside my body and I haven't been even close to doing anything that would put him or myself at risk. Prior to this pregnancy my fitness level was advanced and very used to all the things I am doing to it now. Just because I was used to it and have felt good up until this weekend, doesn't mean I should just keep going this hard every week. I need to slow down...

My problem is just accepting that I need to change what I'm doing now. I need to understand that I won't balloon up like a whale just because I stop killing myself in BodyAttack class. I need to treat myself better.


What is most important now is that I have energy to take care of Carson and that I don't injure myself. I also work 3-4 times a week and need to be able to function there. I only have 3 more months. All of these body changes are only temporary and I haven't gained even half of what I did with Carson at this point. Instead of always looking at the negative, I need to start being happy with what I've achieved. I need to say goodbye to tuck jumps and plyo lunges and hello to a new routine. My body is an amazing thing. My body is growing a human begin and it's doing a great job so far. I need to nurture my body more. Go to a prenatal yoga class. I need to stop trying to push myself so hard and let go of my fear of "being fat" so that I can just enjoy the rest of this pregnancy. I need to embrace my body and the wonderful things it's doing to give me another baby to love and hold. I need to stop comparing myself to the other perfect girls at the gym who aren't pregnant. I am beautiful too.

I need to just stop fighting with myself. I love being pregnant and I'm so excited to meet this baby. I'm doing a great job with my nutrition and keeping as active as I can. Now it's time to also relax more and love myself. I can do this.

March 4, 2014

Big Boy Room

We've had Carson's big boy room painted and pretty much put together for over 6 months now. Making the change to his new room felt like an impossible task. I had many concerns about changing things too soon. With all the sleep problems we've gone through in the past, I just wanted to leave things the way they were.

Our bedtime routine has always started with a bath, followed by pj's and books in our bed. By books, I mean 5+ books. I do enjoy spending that special time with Carson. Books are such an important part of development and learning. My parents saved all the books that they read to me and my 2 siblings and it's amazing to be able to share those same moments with my son now. Thanks Mom and Dad for saving those books for me and for spending so much time with me too when I was little. 


After all the books are read and thrown off the bed (we had to stop this one too... oh boys are just crazy!), Carson turned on his turtle to see the moon and stars and said good night to Daddy. Then I rocked him in his chair and sung various songs. I loved this time with him. Sometimes he's be a bit hyper and kicked me a lot. That was starting to get uncomfortable with the baby growing in my belly, but I still held onto the fact that he was my baby still and I didn't want to let go. 

With the potty training being so successful and the issues we were having with him calling us back into his room at bedtime, we figured that we should move him to his new room. We do need time to get ready for his little brother's arrival in three months time.

We told him that he was going to sleep in his new big boy room in the morning and made a big deal about it all day. He seemed very excited. We hung up some of the pictures and changed the bedding again since our dog Arlo has been using it as his bed over the past few months. 

We bathed him and put his pj's on him in his new room. We had moved everything in the new room. Even the books. He kept saying he was going to sleep in his new room. When I had spent about 25 minutes reading books, I told him it was his last book. He still wanted more. I figured he was just a little nervous about a new room, so I read him about 2 more books. Then he turned on his turtle and turned off his light. I tucked him in and he wanted some songs. After a lot of songs, I left. I sat outside in the hall and waited. This day he didn't nap, so we thought he would be really tired out. He asked for me again, so I went back to sing to him again. I went back to the hall and waited.

Sure enough, he got out of the bed and came out crying saying he wanted his crib. He was really upset. I hugged him and tried to calm him down. We both talked to him and told him what a big boy he was. We told him how much more room he'll have in his new room. We also said that his new baby brother needs the crib and that he wasn't a baby anymore. He calmed down and we tucked him back in and I sang even more songs. Then he went to sleep and slept for 12 hours without a peep!


The next two nights were a bit harder. One night he woke up 3 times just saying he needed me. I had to just sing to him and then he was fine, but I was getting pretty burnt out. He also fell out of the bed twice one night. I just had to put him back in and he went back to sleep, but it was still exhausting. I learned to pull the sheets a lot tighter and tuck them into the mattress. He hasn't fallen out since.

So, it's been over a week now and Carson has been sleeping through the night for almost 12 hours in his new room. He wakes up by himself and comes into our room, sometimes without pants on because he has to pee! 

What a relief! In 3 weeks, Carson went from sleeping in a crib and wearing diapers to real underwear and a big boy bed! Crazy. I never would have believed anyone if they told me it would have been this simple. We had a couple challenges, but from what I've heard from other parents, we've had it pretty easy.

I haven't had a lot of time to reflect on these huge changes. I know people always say that kids grow up so quick, but it's true. Carson will be 3 years old in June. So much has changed. We've passed through some major milestones. I really owe a lot to my amazing husband too. We're a good team together and I wouldn't want to be doing this with anyone else. He's always there to support me and help me. We talk about everything that goes on and how to deal with any challenge we're faced with. I believe communicating and working together as parents really makes a difference. 

One other new thing is that we decided to take away naptime. Once we did that, Carson fell asleep much easier and slept longer at night. It means less fighting with him to get to bed. There were many nights that he still was awake at 9-930 and that was way too late. He would still wake up at 6-630am... way too early! Now bedtime is before 8 and he's waking up around 7-730. Perfect :)  Austin and I have more down time and are getting to bed earlier and I get to sleep in more or get up and have some time to myself if I need it. 

All these changes were so scary a few months ago, but everything has happened easily. I'm so impressed with Carson and how independent he is. He will always be my baby and I already miss our cuddles in his rocking chair, but I will never ever forget those precious moments we shared.

Hurray for Potty Time!

When Carson was around 19 months, he showed an interest in going on a potty while we were in Dominican on vacation. I instantly went out and bought him his own little potty when we came home. He used it from time to time and liked it, but it wasn't consistent. When we asked him if he had to pee or if he wanted to go on the potty, he'd always say no. We didn't push it... too much. We did leave him without a diaper during the summer sometimes and he would pee on purpose on the carpet and thought it was funny. He wasn't ready for sure! We eventually just let it go and knew that when he was ready to use the toilet we would know.

A year later and he was still in diapers. I was getting really tired of chasing around a 32 pound boy and changing really disgusting poopy diapers. He also had started taking off his diapers at bedtime and throwing them out of his crib. Things were just not going well. We'd have to go in multiple times to put the diaper back on.  My husband and I were slowly going crazy. There's something so stressful about sleep. We had issues with Carson from 4 months to about 11 and every time some sort of challenge appears, we just loose it. I'm just being honest. It's the most frustrating thing I've ever gone through. We knew something had to change. 

So, one weekend we just decided to take the diapers away and use pull ups. Previously, if he had the choice, he always wanted his diaper and not a pull up.  It took him about 10 seconds to rip the pull up off. This left us with no choice but to go right to his big boy underwear, or nothing around the house. The entire weekend was just basically Carson running around with no pants on. He had a handful of accidents over 3 days. 

When he did have an accident, we took him to the potty and said this is where he should go. He tried to finish his pee there and negotiated with us for a potty candy. I gave in and gave him one just for finishing his pee there.
 
As far as how we decided to motivate Carson to want to pee and poop on the potty, we used a candy jar. I did choose to buy organic jelly beans and zoo animals. At least there wasn't any food colouring. Still, a lot of sugar, but it worked!If he didn't ask for a potty candy, we just didn't give him one. He got the zoo animals for poops. He always wanted 2 jelly beans too. He's a good little negotiator already! haha! I told him that once the jar was gone, there was no more potty candy. He didn't get upset or ask for more candy once it was gone. Another surprise to me.

That same weekend, I had plans with a friend of mine that involved me bringing Carson. Great, in the middle of potty training and someone else's house! I was just hoping for the best. When we got to her house, I showed him his potty seat and where the bathroom was. I told him to tell me when he had to use the potty. After about an hour, he told me he had to pee. He ended up doing a pee and a poop. I can't believe how excited I was about this!! I pretty much danced in the bathroom! My friend had a cupboard full of different treats, so Carson got something special for this. It was such a big deal to me that he went at someone else's house and told me about it. Especially the poop. That was his first poop on the potty.  Later that afternoon, he did have a small accident in his underwear. Another tiny poop. I didn't get mad at him. He was trying to come back up the stairs to get me. Nature just called... 


One morning, about 5 days into this whole change, I was getting him ready to go to the gym and wanted him to wear a pull up, he refused. I kept him in underwear and brought lots of clothes with me in case he had an accident. I was so nervous!! This was the first moment in his life that I've had to let go of control and trust him to lead the way. I had no idea if he was going to actually tell me or the girls at the daycare if he had to pee. 

I set up my bike for spin class with him and brought him to daycare. I think I asked him 20 times if he had to pee. A little paranoid. I just knew how much water he had before we left. I showed him where the bathroom was and who to ask to use it while I was in the spin room. He seemed to understand, but I had no idea what was going to happen.

I went back to pick him up with sweat still dripping all over me. I was so anxious about how things went. He surprised me, no accidents! So, I asked him if he had to pee again. He said he did. I took him to the bathroom and once we sat on the big toilet he said he didn't have to anymore. I had promised him a visit to Toys R' Us if he had no accidents, so I had to follow through with that.

Off we went. I was still very paranoid that he was going to have an accident, and this time at a store! I tried to make him pee, but he said he didn't have to. I showed him the bathroom, but all he wanted to do was go play with all the cars. After 30 minutes I convinced him to leave by bribing him with a cupcake treat. We made it all the way home with no accidents. 

Ever since this day, he has been in underwear and has maybe had a few dribbles of pee when he's really had to go. I can't believe how easy it was. Yes, it was more to think about for the first few times, but once I realized that he was going to tell me when he had to pee, I was able to relax and trust him. 

The other thing that has surprised us is how much he loves to poop on the potty. He's so proud of himself and likes to see it. Hahaa! Boys will be boys...

We have night time pull ups for bedtime. At first, he didn't even want to wear those, but now it's fine. He took them off too and said they hurt him. We just told him that all big kids need to wear these at night in case they need to pee. Eventually, he was ok with it and didn't fuss. 

I still can't believe it only took a few days to really say that we're confident leaving him in underwear. A few accidents at home and that was it. It's so much easier!! Especially not using the little potty. He's even graduated to the big toilet at home with his potty seat. No more wiping out poop... gross..  Going out has been great too. Carson will always tell me when he has to go potty and we've had no accidents. I'm so happy that this whole transition was easier than we expected. We didn't even read a thing about potty training. We just went with it. 

NO MORE DIAPERS!!! We have a few months to save that money until baby boy comes in June :)