wordless wednesday: crazy smile girl

diagnosis

So our sweet Maren has had some strange breathing/squeaking sounds since about week 2, and we finally were officially diagnosed by the pediatric ENT: moderate to severe laryngomalacia, just a little reflux, and she will start outgrowing it by 6 months. So he didn't tell us much that we hadn't gleaned from the pediatrician and the internet, but he did tell us that her airway cannot become completely closed, and that is what we wanted to know. I thought I would post these videos I made in case we need to know how she sounded and just in case any of you nerdy medical people were interested (also the daytime video is kind of cute although I just missed the smiles because the camera kept dying). This is basically how she sounds:

per my mom II

It was right before dinner and Annie asked me if she could change clothes. I did not want her to at all, but I thought about and then said, "OK."

And she said, "you said no in your head." How did she know????

An oldie but a goodie; June 2010, muddy baby:

big girl's big accomplishment

I married a smoker. I didn't want to marry a smoker, and I made this abundantly clear. Chris avoided the issue for a long time ("I'll quit when I'm ready"). Then we had Annie, and Chris finally quit. Well, that is if you consider quitting sneaking outside behind the boat every time I fed the baby. Like many reformed smokers, Chris is a bit obnoxious; he also feels the need to spill the truth about all his escapades. I don't remember being suspicious, but apparently I didn't trust him. He says I would smell his right hand to see if he was smoking, so he started using his left hand. Anyway, I don't remember most of this, but I am making a point here: potty training is just like quitting smoking. You can't make someone do it - you have to wait until they are ready.

As much as working moms may occasionally struggle with daycare, at least you know that daycare will potty train your child for you! At least, this is what I assumed, until Christ Methodist did nothing of the sort. Apparently you are supposed to reinforce what they are doing in school at home. :) Annie has shown signs of readiness for a long time. She would say things like, "I wear underwear today," and I would say, "oh, not today, let's wait until tomorrow." I just didn't want to deal with it. Then there were pull ups, which are significantly more expensive than regular diapers because you have to have the Dora ones. And so many people told me that Annie would regress with the new baby, so we waited.

Not long after I had Maren, I became sick of changing Annie's diapers. I searched the internet and discovered the "three day potty training method," which involves three days of salty snacks, special drinks, and watching every move they make to teach them the feeling of needing to go. We put up streamers and talked up the "potty party" for days. As a result of this process, Annie aquired a taste for pretzels and apple juice; and, every time I sat down to nurse Maren, she snuck into her room and peed on her rug. Not unlike Chris smoking behind the boat.

Anyway, we gave it two weeks and then moved into the bathroom for two days straight, where we spread towels and blankets on the cold floor and watched kid shows on netflix on the computer. Sitting six inches from the potty for days. And she is doing great! We will be working on naps and nights for awhile, and we visit every public bathroom in town, but we are doing great! Here she is next to her sticker chart:

So, the point of this post? No, not to embarrass Annie someday or to gross you out. I am going to look back on this when Maren is potty training and remind myself to let her take her sweet time! As they say, they won't go to kindergarten in a diaper.

early smiles

As of Sunday, 4/3, I am going to call Maren a smiler. She is, as Chris says, a tough nut to crack, but here she is looking slightly amused. We'll catch the smiles on camera soon!