It's Panties Time!

YAHOO!  FINALLY!  Tatum has made the toddler leap from diapers to panties!  Round of applause, please.   Yep, we are two proud parents to one proud pantie-wearing princess!
Tatum had been wearing pull-ups for about six months now, but not as they were designed.  Her use was more for a designer diaper.  Oh well.  As you may or may not remember, we bought Tatum a potty for her Christmas gift in 2009 when she was about 18 months old.  Since that time sitting on the potty was more of a fun past-time than a practical endeavor. When I first went on maternity leave at the end of December I kept Tatum out of preschool for a week with the hope of potty training her.  We went to Target where she picked out two packs of panties - one Dora, one princesses.  The next day we dressed her in a pair of Cinderella panties and let the pea fall where it may.  That morning we decided to make cookies.  While stirring together the flour Tatum peed all over herself and the chair she was standing on.  Her reaction "oh, I went pee-pee."  It was an after-the-fact observation, and we knew then that Tatum lacked the mind-body connection to know when she had to pee or poop.  We stuck to the training and cleaned her up and put on another set of panties.  An hour or so later she pooped in them.  Yep, it was clear, she wasn't ready to make the leap.  She was crying and frustrated, and so were we.  So, just four hours into our first day of training we resolved that Tatum wasn't ready for panties and we put on a pull-up.  All parties were happy. 
During the past few week of preschool, her teachers informed us that Tatum was showing interest in the potty.  Since her best friends were all on the pantie-potty train, Tatum was succumbing to the benefits of peer pressure and she too wanted to wear panties like her friends.  But wearing panties means you have to go pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty.  

One morning I got a text from Andrew that Tatum went pee-pee in the potty and he was sending her to school in panties.  AWESOME!  But wait, did he remember to pack back-up panties and clothes and shoes and socks? Nope.  Oh well.  When I picked her up she was in a pull-up.  We weren't pushing it at all, so any achievements were rewarded and there was no frustration towards her accidents.  So we were back in pull-ups for another week with no expectations, but yet hopeful. 

We created a reward system: one jelly bean for a pee-pee, two for a poopy, and a sticker for trying.  

So, last Sunday we decided along with Tatum that she was ready to put on panties full time (minus sleep times).  We put on a pair of princess panties and turned on her weekend morning DVDs.  After two hours Tatum still had not gone to the potty.  So we stuck in on the potty in the bathroom with the condition that she had to go before we went to the Sunday market.  Forty-five minutes later there was pee-pee in the toilet and a smile plastered across Tatum's face.  YES!  Since that moment we haven't turned back. Tatum has had one accident and the days keep passing by with jelly bean rewards.

"I don't want to go pee-pee on Belle!"  "No, no pee-pee on Belle, that's right Tatum."  "And I don't want to go poo-poo on Belle either!"  "Absolutely not."

We are absolutely pleased.  We'd much rather spend our hard earned money on a case of beer than diapers!

Side story - the other day I was on the potty going pee-pee.  Tatum walks in and exclaims, "Momma, are you going pee-pee in the potty?"  I nodded and smiled yes.  Tatum cheered and clapped "Yeah Mommy, you're going pee-pee in the toilet!  I am so proud of you!  Do you want a jelly bean?"

Back Rubs

Ah, yes, back rubs.  Most of us can remember the days when our moms rubbed our backs.  And if you are lucky, you still have a mom that does!  Andrew and I both remember the nights of our adolescence when our days ended with the gentle caress of our mother's hand on our backs lulling us to sleep.  As we got older, back rubs seemed to disappear somewhere in the puberty years when our bodies were transforming and we no longer longed for our mother's caress quite like that.  But today I would love nothing more than my mom to come and rub my back at night.  Instead I settle with my current dutiful role as a mother to a daughter who recently discovered the love (and need!) of back rubs. 

Recently Tatum started asking for back rubs at night: "Rub my back momma," she spoke gently to me one night.  I smiled and started to rub her back.  "No, not like that.  Like this," she said as she pulled up her night dress and corrected my hand placement from over the top of her nightie to underneath.  I agreed, yes, skin to skin is much better.  And in that moment a new habit was formed.  Now it has become routine each night for her to ask for her back to be rubbed.  Sometimes she requests her hair to be rubbed and in return she rubs mine at the same time.  Her nurturing side is strong, and I adore the moments she chooses to nurture me.  Last night as I tucked her to bed she grabbed my face with both hands and stroked the sides of my face, from my forehead to my chin, over and over.  She said to me, "Momma, your face is SO beautiful."  Oh sweet pea, thank you.  Then a moment later, "I love you so much mommy."  And I love you.  "Momma, your forehead is so beautiful."  Thanks Tatum...now it's time to sleep. Ah!