Bubba

Last night, Kellie laid her face on my belly, gently rubbed it, and whispered, "Hi baby. Hi bubba."

This morning, she got a little too kicky in bed, stopped herself and said, "Oh. Be gentle with the baby!"

Kellie's awareness is the most fun part of this pregnancy thus far. :)

Nude Trained

When it comes to potty learning, I've heard of day trained.
I've heard of night trained.
I've even heard of home trained.

It appears that Kellie is nude trained.

The three accidents she's had since calling quits on diapers have been while wearing panties. Poor kid. Those panties sure do confuse her. It's made it hard to leave the house. She doesn't pee on command. She only goes when it's her idea and she doesn't understand the concept of "this is your last chance until we get home." Fortunately, she's not too freaked out by the puddle at her feet. She actually enjoys mopping up her pee.

I'm hoping tomorrow can be a panties-at-home day so we can work on training while clothed. Then we'll have to work on public training. The public restroom is too fascinating to focus on pottying.

Nevermind her bladder is full-to-bursting.

Did the lady next to us just go poo poo in the potty???

"Good job! Mom! She did a good job!"

And I Cried

Keeta went home with a new family.
I thought I would be fine.
Until Kellie got down on her hands and knees,
put her face right up to the kennel, and whispered,
"I love you Keeta."

And I cried. Oh how I cried.

At Least You Didn't Bonk Your Head

Kellie is pushing her baby around in her shopping cart.
She runs into a chair.
This is what she said to her baby.

"Oops! Oh. Well. At least you didn't bonk your head."

She kept on pushing the cart.

One Accident

In 24 hours! Not too bad for her first day, huh?

Dry Day

Yes! With three poops in the potty - too!

Dry Morning

WOW!
She even woke me up from our joint nap to tell me she needed to go potty.

This sure feels funny...

Dry Night

Seriously!

Potty Time

I think we are on the cusp of potty learning.

Kellie was playing with Nora when she grabbed frantically at her privates and ran to me saying, "MaMa! Poo poo coming!"
I said, "Oh! Do you want to sit on the potty?"
"Yeah!"
We run to the potty and Kellie pee pees it up.

And another time before bed.

Then, after she'd gone to bed, but had not fallen asleep - She asked again for "Potty please?"

She woke up not a half hour ago asking for the potty. She peed in her little potty in her room and promptly went back to sleep. After the ceremonious dumping the pee-pee into the big potty routine, of course.

Kellie wears cloth diapers, so panties feel a lot like the security of cloth to catch the pee-pee. When she shows interest in the potty, I keep her bum bare so she's not confused and wetting her panties. Since that first instance while playing with Nora - Kellie has not wet a single diaper. That was around 7:30 or 8:00 and now we're coming up on 1:00 am.

Having trained kids in the day care center where I worked, I know 5 hours of being dry is a big sign she's ready. So it looks like a few naked days at home are in store for us. From there, we'll branch into panties and then even further into outings and public potties. I just can't believe this time is NOW. Ya know? And so suddenly!

But for those who know Kellie - you know that once she's made up her mind about something, there's no turning back. I have a feeling we're about to wave bye-bye to diapers until this new little Muffin is born. Wow. Just WOW!

Hey! You Scared Me!

Kellie is in the bath.
She almost topples while trying to drink from her rinsing cup.
I lunge forward to catch her.
She catches herself.
She says, "I almost fell over!"
I say, "Yeah you did! I was worried for you!"
She says, "Hey! You scared me!"

Strength

I talked to Ruthie today and continued to say "If you come to Alaska..." throughout our phone conversation. When I finally explained my "if" attitude - that Dad had kept his commitment in reserve - Ruthie said "Oh - your Dad! There's no if!"

With the upcoming arrival of this new baby, I need maternal support.

I'm such a lucky girl - I've got two mothers!

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it many more times before my journey is through:
Having four parents has been a blessing in every single aspect of my life. I wish I could share my good fortune. For I have four parents who love me, have raised me well, and have respect for me as a person.

The only time I ever feel like having four parents is a burden is when I have one spot to fill and four eager folks to fill it.


Enter Mom and Ruthie. :D

Thinking ahead on this baby and what I want and what I need and who I need to be here - I realized that I want very much to have this life-altering experience with both my Moms. Kellie came so early that my Mom's presence was a much-needed calm after a storm. We'd missed out on the experience of shared childbirth but her soothing words and motherly wisdom were a welcome buoy in the raging storm of early parenting.

Then Tara and her loving nature brought us that experience we'd missed. We were blessed to be able to share Isabella's birth through the generosity of my little sister. Isabella's labor and delivery was such a warm and happy time. I'm overjoyed that I was able to be such a big part of those moments with my Mom and Tara.

All this got me thinking about childbirth. See, I have two Moms. One by birth and one by choice. Ruthie has been a Mom to me for more than half my life. The connection one feels when a new life is brought into this world is overwhelming. Joyous. Monumental. Unforgettable. I got to have that with my Mom. I want that with my Ruthie!

My Mom and I talked about all of this - as we tend to talk about everything under the sun. My Mom is gracious. Her support and understanding in my strong desire to share my childbirth experience with Ruth is astounding. I am grateful for her open heart. I do not feel as though this time sharing is begrudged in any way. While I know for a fact that she would love to be by my side through all the ups and downs labor and delivery can bring, I also know that she sees great value in my growing personal strength. Having a stronger relationship with Ruthie will not break anything we've spent a lifetime creating.

It can only make me stronger.

Us stronger.

All three of us - me and my two Moms - stronger.


Man. Now I'm crying. Lame-oh hormones.

BallerinaHandyWoman

What's more fun than dress-up?

Combining two roles for the ultimate BallerinaHandyWoman!

Daddy taught her how to dance like a Ballerina. :)