Another potty debate

The wiping. Yeah.

As you know, I've been reading up on potty training and have pretty much settled on a method (a mix between Gina Ford's and Tracy Hoggs') which hopefully will work . So today, following Tracy Hoggs advice, we bought Emma some "big girl" undies so that she can feel wet and we can simply pull them up after having finished up on the potty (instead of having to get her up on a changing table and put another nappy on which was something I was having a hard time with).

Which brings me to my little dilemma.... after she's done her business on the potty, I need to clean her up and the "how" to that - after pee mainly - still puzzled me a bit.

Too much reading doesn't always help!

Indeed, although practically all the books specify that for hygienic reasons it's important to "wipe girls front to back" I was still sort of puzzled as how to (teach a little one to) do this. And surprisingly, being a girl myself didn't really help on this "front to back" bit if you see what I mean. (Getting a bit graphic here I realize, sorry!)

So, anyway, if you're having similar dilemmas and want an entertaining and informative (and anonymous!) read which shows there are lots of different things going on in the "wiping down there" area, please check this out. Although the videos are no longer available, the comment section is overflowing with a variety of experiences from people potty/toilet training toddlers or not.

As for us, I'm thinking, we're going to use the potty as frequently as possible (asap out of bed, before going to "school" , as soon as we get back home, before dinner, before bedtime...) for maybe another week and then go for the big girl undies during the day. Maybe I'm optimistic, but since Emma has now successfully peed & pooed in the potty a few times and is often dry after naps, I think she's getting it even though she has not so far asked to use it.
I'm still not sure what we're going to do out of the home though... I read about a portable potty and people actually keeping a potty in their car, but hopefully by then Emma will be able to "hold" and will not be too scared about using a toilet.

I'll keep you posted...

Emma's Oreos

the Oreo effect:
Cookies and milk for the first time



and...

Looks like finger-spooning the cream is totally innate

and this is supposed to be summer?

Seriously?

And it's not just gray, it's cold too.
And it's been like this for weeks with the odd sunny afternoon here and there.

I just hope it's nice and warm when we get to Geneva in a month 'cause seeing as it's quite nice there now, I would hate for us to get the autumn coolness and rain in both places if you see what I mean...
Otherwise we'll just have to head to the south of France for a while or catch a last minute to the sun somewhere.

Emma these days

She says "bonne nuit" when we put her to bed and "goûte maman" (taste it Mom) when she feeds me something.

She has chipped her big left front tooth ever so slightly, so it looks like it has a rounded bottom corner.

She'll hold out whatever part of her body she has just bumped/scratched/hurt for me to kiss better.

She carries a coat, blanket or bag around like Linus and says "meine" (mine).

She no longer wants to drink milk from her bottle or otherwise except sometimes if it has some honey in it.

She grabs my hand and pulls saying "komm! komm!" (come! come!) but doesn't always know where she wants us to go once I put down the zucchini I am peeling.

She bellows out "hall-o-o" to whoever we cross on the street or at the park and she always introduces me to whoever she is chatting to by pointing at me and saying "mamâaan" and then glancing back at them to see if they got it. She then sometimes goes on to tap her chest while exclaiming "Emma!".

She likes helping me put the laundry into the washing machine but needs help when pulling her pants (trousers) up over her nappied bum.

At the sandpit, she'll calmly walk away from a child that is scolding or pushing her because she has added more sand to their bucket or borrowed their shovel.

She loves hiding behind the curtains and screaming "ahhhh" when you pretend to be looking for her and she never lets you actually start looking for her when playing hide and seek.

Above all, she loves books - especially pop up ones although she still lacks the "delicate touch" required to manipulate them.

She can repeat "mamâââân" 1000 times without saying anything else when you answer her - as if she were checking you're there (for her).

She still can't put her shoes on by herself and hates having dirty feet.

She's definitely the centre of the world to us.

Parenting style up-date

So... I took the test to determine what is my parenting style and as it turns out here it is:




In case you're squinting at the above: My highest score is Active (43), then Autocratic (34), then Permissive (26).
Well, I was pretty sure I was not permissive and I was hoping I was more Active than Autocratic... Maybe I'll take it again in a while. I'd also like hubs to have a go at it.

Although I have to admit, at the moment I'm finding it really hard not to act autocratic when Emma ignores calls to remove her shoes, wash her hands, come to dinner etc. Sometimes the "kneel down, place hand on child's shoulder and try for eye contact as you speak" works, at others she is already meters away, off to play will her Lego or her mini kitchen and frankly couldn't care less.

Just another phase...

Sitting in the sun and peer pressure at minus 2

As you can see, Emma does not like the sound of drilling. ;-)

At the moment she is rediscovering her water bottle which she had rejected due to kindergarden peer pressure leaning towards the smaller bottles that need to be tipped to drink (i.e. there's no inner straw).

Can you believe it? Not yet two but there is already peer pressure happening! I actually had to buy her one of the "tipping required" bottles because she was constantly borrowing other childrens' and refusing to use her non-tip non-spill one. Go figure...

Anyway, nowadays Emma is increasingly drinking out of a regular plastic cup which is kind of handy.



You've got to love the warmer weather if only because it is great for water sports and experimenting with drinking out of cups -and hopefully toilet training one of these days...

What's your parenting style?

I was listening to yet another podcast of Kids in Mind (downloaded from my favorite English language Swiss radio station's website WRS) which keeps me happily entertained in traffic jams here when I cannot listen to another word of German! and Dr. Rachel Melville-Thomas (child and adolescent psychotherapist who I think is absolutely terrific!) mentioned this website and this quiz about parenting styles.

Interested? Well, I was and am about to do take the quiz... I'll let you know how it goes and what kind of style I have.

If you take the quiz, let me have your thoughts (and your results if you don't mind)!

If you have a bit more time, have a listen to some of the Kids in Minds podcasts which are really interesting ranging from "raising an only child" to "the roles of Dads", "Stepparenting", how to help your kid when confronted with a "new country, new school", aggession, homosexuality, leaving the nest, and many more...

Oh! and if your wondering how the potty training is going... Well, absolutely NO CIGAR (not one!) since my last post because Emma has changed her timing and is doing her business early afternoon when we are usually at the park or on our way back from kindergarden... I guess we'll have to wait a while...