"My Child Mastered The Potty In A Day" - Oh Feck Off!

Looks so easy doesn't it?

Today has been a somewhat distressing day in our household.

For those of you who don't know, I started properly toilet training Mini Cheddar on Monday so we are now on day 4. It all started out so well with 2 great successes Monday (even a poo!) and another one Tuesday...yesterday we had nothing and today was just a constant battle.

I've tried toilet training her a couple of months ago but she was a bit constipated so I stopped.

This week was going to be different. No constipation. No play school (half term). No engagements. Just me, my daughter and the potty.

I thought training her would be a doddle, she knows when she's going, she knows she needs to do her "wee wee's and poo poo's" on the potty, she has great communication and she's intelligent.

I was so naive.

After the successes earlier this week, MC has now resorted to jumping up and down getting all stressed and shouting "Mummy! Mummy!" when she wants to go. I tell her it's time to get the potty out and she starts getting upset. She eventually sits on it for 5 minutes, says she doesn't need a wee wee anymore, pulls her pants up and then urinates. Everywhere.

It's so hard to try and not get frustrated.

"Maybe there's a 'potty whisperer' we can pay to come and help us" my husband jokes this evening as he looks at how knackered I am.

"Haha, yeah maybe" I fake laugh "Be back in a minute".

Obviously I jump straight on the laptop. Hey, don't judge me - desperate times call for desperate measures and all that! Besides, I'm sure I've heard the term 'potty whisperer'* used before. I think I'd pay £1000 right now to get someone in to train MC, that's how bad today has been.

Thanks for those of you who offered your support on Twitter earlier today when I sent out a tearful tweet (Husband had taken MC to the post office for 10 minutes so I could have a frustrated, knackered cry to myself). So glad none of you tweeted back how your child picked it up in a day. I had that last month and I wanted to scream in the persons face! Think they are the same breed of person who tell you how their 2 week old sleeps through 12 hours a night when your 1 year old has you up every few hours.

If you have any pearls of wisdom then I'd love to hear them, if you're one of those people above then move along...nothing to see here!

Here's to the on-going potty saga.

It wouldn't be so bad if I could have a few glasses of wine at night to ease the pain. Guess I'll just have to slope off and weep into a glass of orange juice. Remind me again why I'm having another baby?


*The potty whisperer is a technique that you start on newborns by making a "pssss" noise in their ears when you want them to 'go'. My Sister who has travelled to some pretty remote places in the world says they use it in places they don't have nappies for their children.

You Know You're Pregnant When...*

You can't walk around Asda for 15 minutes without gagging at certain foods.

Open my food cupboards and these fall out...
I'll be looking like a Fruit Mento soon

You are addicted to eating fruit Mentos.

You drop a fruit Mento in the footwell of your car whilst driving and almost cry.

People keep telling you how big you're getting and you don't (most of the time) feel like punching them in the face.

You think nothing of putting chilli jam on a roast beef sandwich.

You sit and eat pickled onions straight from the jar.

You put the butter dish in the bin and some rubbish in the fridge.

You're in bed before 8pm on a Friday night.

You're still in your dressing gown at 11am and don't feel guilty about it.

You see some gorgeous Autumn outfits in the shop just because you know you can't buy them.

You have to have a lie down after doing anything that involves standing up for more than 30 minutes.

You can't watch a game show without getting emotionally involved with the contestants and sobbing like a baby when they win/lose.

You find yourself standing by yourself looking down and wondering if it's the last time you'll see your feet.

Your husband surprises you with a plan to go to Florida on holiday 3 months before the new baby arrives and you aren't sure you want to go.

You scream hysterically at your husband if he gets himself a chocolate/biscuit/cake without getting you one.

Your craving for meat is that bad that you can't drive past a McDonalds without using the drive thru to just grab a Sausage McMuffin or Big Mac.

Your craving for meat is that bad that you make your husband go to the 24 hour McDonalds at midnight.

You don't really care that there are actually 565 calories and a shit load of salt in a Double Sausage McMuffin as long as you get your fix.

Your chin resembles that of a 15 year old McDonalds worker because of all the crap you're eating.

You have to run out to the shop to buy a cabinet full of spot treatment.

You visit the toilet for a pee more than 7 times in a couple of hours during the night.

You are tempted to take your pillow and duvet into the ensuite and sleep on the loo to save getting up.

You use the fact you have a pregnancy related 'illness' to get out of having sex.




* Okay, so these are all ME but I just had to share

Pregnancy Patter - 16 Weeks And Still Sick

Yes, I know my bump is huge already
(At least MC's hand makes it look a little smaller)

It was about time I got around to blogging about my pregnancy. I didn't really take any photos of my bump (apart from a couple) when I was pregnant with Mini Cheddar so I have nothing to look back on.

I've decided this time it's going to be different. Now I have this blog to use as a diary too. I'm not going to blog about it every week but just when I have some news.

I was 16 weeks yesterday. The time I'm supposed to be 'blooming'.

Yeah right!

I'm off blogging again as I've been feeling a bit rubbish this week.

Yesterday I spent most of the day on the sofa, unable to move without feeling sick or my head pounding. I was that poorly that when one of my friends rang me to see how I was I started crying as I felt so sorry for myself. I honestly thought that I was over it but no, I don't know what my body is playing at but some days (thankfully most) I feel fine but then others I'm of no use to anyone.

Matt found me curled up on the sofa at 5.30pm yesterday, no dinner prepared, nothing. I didn't have the energy to interact with my daughter, let alone tidy the house and I felt awful about it all. Luckily I have a superb husband who, despite being out at meetings all day and driving a few hundred miles, came in and ran around the house like 'Super Dad', tidied up, sorted out Mini Cheddar and the dog, got me some water, nursed me and then...rang up Dominoes Pizza who delivered our dinner in 30 minutes. What a star!

Today is a totally different day. Today I feel remotely human again. I've done some freelance work, been to a play school meeting, been to see my midwife, done some more work, tidied up and organised dinner (left over pizza yes, but hey at least I thought about it!).

The trip to the community midwife went really well and, as this is my second baby, I don't have to go back until I'm 28 weeks. I have my 20 week scan at the hospital booked for the 15th November so looking forward to that. Matt wants to find out the sex of the baby but I'm not so keen. I guess it will be a last minute decision.

I have been feeling the baby move for the past couple of weeks now, in fact I'm convinced it was after the MAD Blog Awards in London whilst I was in bed in my hotel room that I felt the first movements - must have been all the excitement! The midwife even said she saw the baby move when I was laid on the examining table. I got to listen to the baby's heartbeat today for the first time too - I remember this so well with Mini Cheddar and it would always get me really emotional.

So, that's it in a nutshell. I have to say I've felt a lot more sick this time than I did with MC and a lot more zapped of energy. The lovely people at mywaterbaby.com heard my moaning about sickness last week on Twitter and very kindly sent me a box of their folic acid hydration drink which arrived yesterday - perfect timing! It's early days yet but maybe that's why I am feeling much better today. Who knows? I will report back soon on my findings.

MC is loving the pregnancy so far (we told her at 12 weeks) and she regularly talks about her "baby in Mummy's tummy" and talks to the bump or puts her hand on it. She seems excited and keeps asking for "baby to come out now". Let's hope she's as excited when her new sibling enters the world.

24 weeks and counting.

Silent Sunday #37

My Birthday Competition - Win My Dress With Ellos!

Photo credit: MAD Blog Awards

Well okay, not my actual dress as that would be a bit wrong but you can win a dress like the one I wore to the MAD Blog Awards OR choose any one item up to the same value of £39.00.

I thought it was about time that I offered you, my dear readers, a chance to get something back from my blog (other than my genius *cough* writing) and I didn't want to wait until my blogoversary as that's New Years Eve and you'll all be busy quaffing champers and celebrating. It's my birthday today though so what a way to celebrate my birthday and share it with you all!

So, the lovely people at Ellos and I are offering you a chance to win an item of clothing for your Autumn/Winter wardrobe.

Ellos are a brand new retailer in the UK but they've been established in Scandinavia for many years. As they say on their website, they bring Scandinavian spirit to their lines and their clothing is stylish, natural and sophisticated. They offer a great selection of womenswear, menswear and children's clothing in a range of different sizes.

All you have to do to enter is visit the Ellos UK website by clicking here and choose which item you would pick (up to £39.00 value) and leave a comment below with the item you would choose and a link to it.

For some extra bonus entries:
* Follow my blog/feed (click the link/s on the right, sign up to email if you would prefer.)
* Follow @SAHMlovingit on Twitter
* Like my brand new SAHMLovingit Facebook page
* Follow @ellosUK on Twitter
* Like Ellos UK on Facebook
* Tweet the following "I want to win something fabulous for my wardrobe with @EllosUK and @SAHMlovingit http://goo.gl/5JiSd"

This gives you so many more chances of winning! If you take advantage of the extra entries, please leave a separate comment to let me know what you have done.

Competition is open to UK residents only.

Competition closes at 8pm Wednesday 2nd November 2011.

Entries will be drawn at random that evening and notified by Twitter/Email as soon as possible.

Winner can choose any item from the Ellos UK website up to the value of £39 and subject to availability.

Make A Will, Make A Difference.

I turn 37 this Wednesday. I know I'm still young (ish) but I'm starting to freak out a bit that I haven't organised a will. It's something you don't really think about when you're younger - you generally associate wills with 'older' people.

It's something that Matt and I said we would do as soon as Mini Cheddar was born as we hadn't already organised one but it's something we never got around to sorting.

Big fat fail.

Not only do we need to sort out where our savings etc. would go, it also needs to include who would have MC if anything were to happen to us both. It's quite an awful thing to think about and maybe this is the reason I've been putting it off.

The thing is, in November there is no excuse. When I started volunteering for Save The Children back in February I found out about something called 'Will Aid' that I'd never heard of before. Basically, each November a selection of Solicitors in the UK will waive their fee for preparing a will and that fee goes to Will Aid. Then all the money raised is divided equally between 9 fantastic charities, Save The Children being one of them.

We decided back in February that I would wait until November to organise our wills so we could take advantage of donating to charity rather than see it go into a Solicitors pocket.  I think the fee is roughly around £85 for a single will and £120 for a pair of mirror wills - depending on the Solicitor.

By visiting the Will Aid website you can search for you nearest Solicitors and contact them direct to make an appointment.

If you haven't made a will yet and, like us, have been putting it off I think this is a great opportunity to support worthwhile causes whilst sorting out your finances and future.

I'm ringing my Solicitor this week to make my November appointment.

To find out more, visit www.willaid.org.

Make a will. Make a difference.

Silent Sunday #36

I'll Never Eat A Dried Strawberry Ever Again

My blog became slightly legendary (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a lot there but it did develop a bit of a reaction at the time) a while back because of a couple of poo blog posts. If you're feeling a bit strange, a bit sick or fancy a giggle and haven't read them then please feel...you can find them here:

What's On The Specials Menu Today Then?
Revenge Is Sweet

Well, it seems that more poo hilarity has ensued in the Lucas household today.

I honestly thought Mini Cheddar would be a doddle to potty train. For a two and a half year old, her speech is fantastic. I'm not just saying that because I'm her Mummy - everyone we meet can't believe how well she speaks for her age.  She fully understands that the potty or toilet is where we do our 'wee wees and poo poos' and she knows when she's going etc.

See how I thought it would be easy. Well, how naive was I?

When I started to introduce it to her the other month she did great. In fact, by her second day she even asked for the potty, waited for me to get her on it and did a wee straight away.

I don't know what happened but she's regressed totally. Maybe it's because she's started play school (although she does go to the toilet at play school!) or maybe it's because she now knows I'm expecting another baby.  Who knows?  I can tell she needs to go so I get the potty or get her to the toilet and she goes mad. She will scream the place down and say she doesn't need to go. Then a minute later she's wet herself.

To say I was totally at the end of my tether the other day is an understatement. Let's just say, out of sight of MC I sobbed my heart out with pure frustration. Yes, it was that bad.

Mmmm strawberry poo

So, trying not to be defeated, I turned to my old friend Google. I found an article that said I should try and introduce a doll and get the doll to 'go potty'. I actually bought one of those dolls that drinks and will wee (lovely). It even came with it's own potty.

It all started so well. MC fed the doll, the doll went to the potty and we celebrated with a tea party - we blew up balloons and ate some sweeties.

Then MC said the dolly needed a poo. Wanting to be as realistic as possible I grabbed a few dried strawberries (I'll never eat another one ever again!) from the cupboard and when MC wasn't looking I put them in the potty under the doll.

MC was delighted when she checked if dolly had 'been'.

She wasn't so delighted when our dog, Betty, came into the lounge and ate the fake poo.

Last Night I Asked My Husband To...

I can't put into words how tired I was last night. When you're in bed by 8pm on a Saturday night you know something is wrong. You also know something is wrong when you're that tired that you say the totally wrong word in a sentence and shock your husband!

So, why was I so tired?

Photo thanks to
Mad Blog Awards
and taken by Lindy 

I'd spent Friday night down in London to attend the amazing MAD Blog Awards where I was a finalist in the 'Best New Blog' category. It was a glamourous evening and I tried my best to scrub up for the occasion thanks to Ellos and the outfit (right) they very kindly gave me to wear.

Did I win?

No I didn't. However, I lost to the person I'd said from the start would win it - the fabulous Lexy aka Mammy Woo. It was fantastic to finally meet her and I was genuinely really chuffed she won as it means the world to her.

Did I meet some amazing people?

Yes, of course. Everyone at the awards was totally amazing. The atmosphere was fabulous and there was no jealousy over the winners at all, that I witnessed, which just goes to show how wonderful all the finalists were. It was also fantastic to spend quality time with bloggers and friends Alex (my room mate) from All For Aleyna, Lou (my travel partner) from Bloggomy and Michelle from Mummy From The Heart. I also got to make new friends with the lovely Clare from Seasider In The City and I met so many other lovely bloggers and talked to so many that I've met before I can't possibly name you all (sorry) but you know who you are!

Did I party like mad?

No, not really. I was drinking orange juice all night! Having my husband knock me up 3 months before the awards ceremony was seriously bad planning. I ended up back at the hotel at 11pm. I didn't sleep though, I spent the first 3 hours going to the toilet (damn that orange juice!) - I actually lost count after the 9th time! I think the whole headache/hospital drama last week had taken it's toll on me a bit if I'm honest. I didn't mingle as much as I would have liked.

Annoyingly I woke up the following morning at 7am with a banging headache. I honestly felt like I was hungover. Then came the sickness. Alex was lovely and looked after me, got me some water and took me for breakfast. I should also mention that later on the Saturday I ate McDonalds for lunch and went to Pizza Hut for dinner - a pregnant lady has to eat...that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Would I change anything about the night?

Yes, I'm going to be totally honest here. Sally and Jen did an absolutely amazing job with the night (and everyone else involved, I know I've tweeted you) - it was fabulous. From the red carpet photographed entrance to the Talk Talk X-Factor singing booth. They really added the glitz and glamour and the fun of the evening. However, there are actually two things I would change and that would be the seating (there wasnt really anywhere to sit down). Maybe it's because I was pregnant and wearing heels but there were lots of people I saw walking shoe-less before 7.30pm.  The other thing I would change would be the people talking loudly whilst the awards were taking place. We were right at the front and we struggled to hear the gorgeous Muireann at times. That's the only thing that let the night down a little for me.

So what exactly did I ask my husband last night?

Even though I managed to catch an hours sleep yesterday when I got back home, I was utterly exhausted. I think because I'd been so ill the week before I was still feeling the effects. I still had my headache.

My husband sat in bed next to me saying he wasn't tired.

"That's good then", I said "You can rub my cock for me".

"WHAT?" the immediate shock and horror in his voice

"My HEAD! You can rub my HEAD for me!"

Needless to say Matt was a little taken aback.

I do have to point out that
a. I do not have a cock
b. I have never had a cock
c. I was not thinking about cocks

It's official. Tiredness really doesn't agree with me.

*For more info on the night and some more photos 

(so gutted I didn't really take any!) visit The Mad Awards Blog*