And Just Like That...

She was potty trained! The title of this post is more in relation to how fast each milestone has come and gone, rather than how quickly she was actually potty trained. I remember putting her bottles up, then her pacis, and now we have a drawer stocked with big girl panties. Watching a little one grow really shows you how quickly time passes. While each moment of raising a child is not pleasant, they are all fleeting and I am thankful to get to experience this journey! So, for the memories...here is her potty training story!

Avery was the very last toddler in her class at school to turn 2. For her this means that she gets to watch all of the other older kids for cues on development. For us, the age difference has brought both good and bad behavior earlier than normal. We are definitely happy about the push it gave her for potty training. Back in May (20 months old), her teachers picked up on when she wanted to go #2 in the potty. She would do this a couple times per week and really liked the praise and silly bands she received as a result. This behavior never happened at home though. We decided we wanted to let her get very used to the idea of using the potty without putting pressure on her to be trained. This led us to buy a ring that fits in our normal toilet and to sit her on it while wearing a diaper. We would talk about how Mommy, Daddy, and other family all wear big boy and big girl underwear and put their tee tee and poo poo in the potty. We decided very shortly after she was born not to buy a separate potty and feel that it was a great decision for us. Our thoughts are that there will never be a separate potty at restaurants, other people's houses, or at sporting events, so why create a dependence on one?

We decided that potty training D-Day would come the first weekend in November (26 months old). Between home games and trips out of town and to conquer it with plenty of time left before baby boy arrives, it was the only weekend that would work. We made a commitment not to travel for at least 4 weekends after the initial training weekend. D-Day for us meant no more diapers (except for naps and night time). So, I ordered gerber cotton training pants that are just a little thicker than normal panties, from amazon. My mom actually used the same ones to train us and we too have been very impressed. Avery likes they way the feel a lot more than just regular panties. They are much softer and she notices the difference. We also had a couple of other packs of regular minnie mouse and hello kitty for back up. Avery's Aunt B bought her a potty stool which really got her pumped. We bought marshmallows and M&Ms for rewards, but didn't buy any other special gifts or treats for training. Lastly, we made a decision to not use pull ups at all. For our household, it is either a diaper or real underwear, no in-betweens. If the training didn't go as expected, we were going back to diapers...


Both Thursday and Friday were spent talking about how diapers were going to go bye-bye and that she was about to only wear big girl panties. We even let her wear the panties over her diaper on those nights. Saturday morning we woke up and immediately put on her panties in preparation for the day. We told her that when she needed to go tee-tee to say it really loud and take off running toward the potty. At the recommendation of a friend, we downloaded the potty training boot camp e-book. Just to document, we also ordered a travel potty for the car (it is basically just a hole that you can put a bag down in if you are at the park or leave open if you have to pull over on the side of of the road) and then a protector for her car seat is there were to be an accident in the car.

She told us a couple of times that she needed to go, but nothing happened. Then she had 2 tee tee accidents in her panties and one with nothing on. After this accident (I think seeing it in the floor really grossed her out) and lots of talk about keeping her panties dry and how awesome it is to put her tee tee in the potty, she started to succeed. Those were the only tee tee accidents we had at home during the three days of training. So, even though it is recommended to stay at home for the three days, we decided to venture out to church on Sunday. I packed her extra clothes and panties and off we went. When dropping her off  in the twos nursery class, I found that she was the only one in there who was starting to train. Because none of the volunteers had any experience with taking little ones to the potty and watching for cues, I had serious doubts that she would make it through church without an accident. Sure enough, she tee teed and had to be changed. Once at home that day, she did great with tee tee the rest of the night and the entire next day

Now on to poo poo! Saturday, she had one accident that night. She went to the bathroom and used it next to the toilet without us knowing. When we found it, she helped us clean it up and we talked about how gross it is when we don't put our poo poo in the potty. Her next accident came on Sunday night in her pants and it was a big one. Again, we made a huge deal out of how stinky and nasty it was in her panties. She helped me dump it in the potty and then since she needed a bath anyways, I stripped her down and put her in the tub so she could help me wash her panties out. Watching the poopy wash off her panties and into the tub really threw her for a loop. She kept trying to back away from the faucet and was worried about it getting on her legs. It was just the event we needed for driving the point home (thanks potty training boot camp). On Monday, SUCCESS, no tee tee or poo poo accidents and when she had her first poopy in the potty, we went for an ice cream cone at Micky Ds! She stayed in her pajama top, but wanted to wear the ballet tutu over her panties! Her eyes are closed in both pictures, but you can see how happy she was herself!

Once back at school on Tuesday, she had one accident and since then no more. The next Sunday at church, she stayed with us during the service and Sunday School and went to the bathroom twice while there. We took her back to the nursery for the third Sunday and she did great with telling them when she needed to go. We were truly amazed at how much she wanted to use the potty. She loved and still loves the verbal praise she gets for going. I am glad we stuck to small rewards (a piece of candy, getting to watch elmo, ice cream cone, silly bands, and verbal praise) as incentive to stay dry. We wanted her to really grasp that this being a big girl means using the potty and to not associate it so much with rewards. We played on the fact that she likes doing what everyone else in our family does.

Our first long car trip was December 15th and she let us know throughout the trip when she needed to go. Between the two of us, I think we stopped about 6 times on the 4 hour drive to Haleyville. Levi was about to lose his mind! Who knows when we will move out of diapers at nap and at night...I am sure it will come developmentally at some point. Our main goal was to have her trained before little guy gets here and that is accomplished. I am interested to see if she will regress once he is here. We will deal with that when it comes!

Levi and I were at home together Saturday and Sunday and wow, did we need each other's support throughout the process. At different times we gave each other encouragement for how big this step really was and to ease up on ourselves and the expectations we had. We made sure to make the house seem as loving as possible and asked God to shower us with grace and strength to help Avery achieve this milestone. We also prayed for Avery. That she would be willing to yield to our encouragement and believe that she could do it. After doing this, we decided that if after three days there was no progress, we would pick it back up at Christmas. We really did try to take the pressure out of the process. In the end, Avery's journey was pretty short and a success. I will be interested to see what it like to train a little boy. We know everything could be different and hope to compare their development as little as possible.

The funniest moment so far came during December. When getting ready to leave for school, she told me her tummy was hurting. I asked if she wanted to go to the potty and she said "no, I want to wait till I get to school." Basically, she was holding our for a silly band reward :) Such a little mess she is!

9/1/09: The Day the Journey Began

I want to write about the day Avery was born. Not so much for the blog world, but for us, so that we will not forget the details. It was a lengthy event, so it is a long post. Levi's comments are in blue. The pictures are from the very end of the pregnancy.


At 3:00 on Monday, August 30th I had my 40 week Drs. appointment. Dr. Smith checked and I was still right at 3 cm and 90% effaced. Avery had moved down a little more and was sitting right on top of my cervix, ready to come at any point. The week before we had talked about inducing and he had said that if all was well with this appointment, he didn't see any reason we couldn't go ahead with it. The 30th, we talked about it again and he felt like she was perfect and that Tuesday would be a great day to for us to welcome her to the world. As we left the office, we let the idea of being parents within the next 24 hrs. set in, called all of our family, and ended the night with final packing and Captain D's. When we laid down, Levi said a prayer for our new family and we got the last night of straight 8 hr. sleep we will have for a long while! Avery moved around lots that night, which made me very sentimental and happy. I think it was a gift from God to feel her move that much, one last time before she entered the world!

At 6:45, on Tuesday, September 1st, Levi and I arrived at EAMC to begin the process of meeting our baby girl. Before we got there though, I had to have an egg and cheese biscuit from Hardees. That was my favorite breakfast treat throughout pregnancy! Levi ate a few bites of my biscuit, but was a little too nervous about the day to eat one of his own that early :) When we got there, it was cloudy and it looked like it was going to rain. They got us set up in room 3129 and my nurse, Sharon, came in to explain the process of induction. I had hoped I would be able to walk around some during labor to help with the contractions, but soon realized, that hooked up to Pitocin I would only be able to walk to the bathroom and sit some in the rocking chair. That was a little disappointing...but I was still excited that we were on our way. Just as I was about to begin having my first child, on the Today Show, the Dugger's were announcing they were having their 19th...Crazy People!

At about 9:00, Dr. Smith came in to check me and do insert a Foley bulb to help effacement along. Right about the time he started to insert the bulb, my water broke on its own! (It was like Emily was sitting in a kiddie pool. I thought the ceiling might have started leaking right above the bed.) So it turns out we would have been there that day any ways! At this point it was raining really hard and steady. Dr. Smith said that rain makes for a perfect day for delivering babies and that all our room needed was a faux fire place to make it a completely cozy environment! When he starts to design delivery rooms he is certainly going to make that standard! It wasn't long until I was hooked to the Pitocin and waiting for the contractions to begin. Every 30 minutes, Sharon would come in and up the dose I was receiving, which increased the duration and intensity. By 11:30 I was practicing my breathing exercises and experiencing "Active Labor."

At about 11:45 Levi's parents arrived at the hospital and came in to see us for a little while. My family all arrived in the waiting room a short time later. Levi and I decided that we wanted the whole experience to be between us, so I did not have any visitors back in the delivery room after Levi's parent left. It was lunch time and although I couldn't eat anything solid, one of my family members went to get Levi Jim Bob's. (Possibly the best chicken fingers I have ever eaten. I skipped breakfast, remember?) The smell made me a little nauseous and I was glad when he finished eating. I had some orange jello, Sprite, and CranGrape Juice.

As my contractions started to get more consistent and regular, Avery's heart rate began to drop. It would go from 145 to 75 or lower without any warning. The nurses monitor your progress from their desk and come in when they see a problem. Upon seeing this they came in and first put me on my left side to see if it would stabilize. This worked for a little while, but then it happened again. You could see my contraction level go up, and then her heart rate immediately dip. This time, they stopped the Pitocin and put the oxygen mask on me. For the rest of the labor, she was completely intolerant of me laying on my back or right side.

After several hours of active, painful back labor, and only progressing to 6 cm, I decided to get an epidural. I asked for it at about 3:15 and struggled through contractions every 2 minutes until 4:00 when they finally got there to give me the shot. It was so quick and easy. (Apparently they call the anesthesiologist "Hurricane." I have never seen a medical procedure performed so fast. I thought Emily would never walk again.) I didn't have a contraction during it, which made me very thankful. Right before he got there though, I had a small breakdown. Levi was standing in front of me for support and I had a terrible contraction. I think I nearly pulled his shirt off and after it the tears just began to pour. (It would have been really akward for the doctor to enter the room and catch me shirtless...) I didn't think he was ever going to get there to give the epidural! For about an hour after though, all was great...then the shaking started.

I shook uncontrollably pretty much the rest of the the delivery. The oxygen would help to stop it for short periods and then it would return. It made me terribly sick to my stomach. They started the Pitocin again and my contractions started to get a little more normal. Avery's heartbeat continued to drop intermittently and I continued to get more sick. At about 7:30 I had progressed to 8 cm. Dr. Smith though was worried that she wasn't dropping more. He felt that if my contractions were as strong as the monitor was showing that she should be coming further down. He told me that there was a possibility that she may not fit through my pelvis and that we might have to do a C-section, but wanted to try a couple of things first. So, they did an Amnio Infusion, which involved putting more fluid inside my uterus to help cushion the baby. They also started monitoring my contractions and her heart beat internally. From here until she was born, the room was pretty much silent. I couldn't talk because I was so nauseous (I was nauseous because America's Got Talent was the only thing on TV that night) and Levi didn't talk because he was so nervous about everything that was going on. I cried a little more and Levi did what he does best, comforted me.

At 10:15 Dr. Smith came in and at long last declared that I was fully dilated, the baby was in perfect position, and that I could start pushing! We were not going to have to have a C-section afterall! My nurse, Beth, who was amazing, started preparing the bed and getting everything ready for the baby to arrive. Because I couldn't feel my legs, she and Levi held them while I pushed. (I remember thinking that I did not sign on for this!) I was nervous that I wouldn't push correctly, but apparently I did really well for being completely numb. Levi watched the whole thing and only got a little light headed a couple of times. I didn't look, but I will take his word for it on how amazing it was. (I guess the adrenaline started flowing at some point. I swore through the whole pregnancy that I did not want to see any of the action on that end of the bed and I would stay near Emily's head. The problem is that there is no escape and once I allowed myself to look I couldn't turn away.) Who could blame him, it was really intense! After 45 minutes of pushing and throwing up once (on Beth and me)...Dr. Smith arrived to deliver. I think I did three sets of pushing and then her head popped out. He suctioned her and then she just came on out without another push. She was born at 11:12 pm. We later learned that our families had started taking bets on if she would make before midnight!

As I relaxed from the hard work, I waited to hear the sound every mother is desperate for; her cry. At first it sounded like a little kitten, not very strong, which made me worry. I asked if she was OK and Dr. Smith said she was perfect, just to give her a second. Sure enough before long, she was screaming. Levi and I both agree that it was the sweetest sound! Finally I began to tear up. Levi cut her cord and then they laid her on me. (This was much easier than I thought it would be also.) I kissed her forehead and then Levi. Wow, such an overwhelming moment and representation of God's goodness! They took her and finished cleaning her...Levi followed to take pictures. He said it was when she grabbed on to his finger that he started to tear up. Dr. Smith finished with me...I didn't have to have an episiotomy and tore only a little. I just had two tiny stitches. (Somehow I turned around just in time to witness the stitches and afterbirth too...)

A few minutes later we attempted nursing for the first time...not much success but sweet none the less. Levi then went to get our family and the fun really began. Of course they didn't know her name yet, so they were thrilled to finally meet Miss Avery Caroline and then proceeded to pass her around joyfully to one another. I was starving and my awesome brother sacrificed his initial time to hold Avery and volunteered to go on a food run for me. Since it was mid-night, my choices were limited, but I finally settled on popcorn chicken from Sonic. Like Levi's chicken fingers from earlier, this could have been the best meal I have ever had.

Overall, I have never felt so many different feelings all at once. I was excited, scared, happy, nervous, overjoyed, nauseous and anxious. I was completely in love with Levi the whole time. When she was born, it was the most precious thing I have yet to experience with him. Our love and marriage reached a new depth and now has an even greater purpose...to see this beautiful gift from God grow to love Him with all of her being. People have asked, "Was it worse than you expected?" and the answer is yes...much worse! But it was worth every minute of pain, sickness, and effort it took to get her here. After only three weeks I can definitely say I look forward to doing it again...Some Day...but definitely not 9 months from now for sure!