Today Eliza had her first swimming lesson. Dad came around to take Daniel to the park so I didn't need to worry about him during the lesson which was great! A very big help.
Our normal lesson with be with a lady called Christine (she has taken Daniel for some lessons when Robina has been away and she has been lovely so am happy to have her) but she is away at the moment so Robina took Eliza's first lesson which was great. I didn't know how Eliza would go. The times she has swum at the beach she hasn't really enjoyed it, but then swimming in the pool at Hervey Bay she has been happy. She really enjoys bath time and doesn't mind water going over her head so she could be fine.
We climbed into the water and Eliza was very relaxed moving around in the water. Doing motor boats she even did some paddle actions which was great to see. It was funny trying to remember how to do the different swimming techniques.
She was quite comfortable with me holding her hips so she needed to hold her body and head above water which was great to see. She also was happy having my arm under her chest to encourage her legs to kick, but they didn't do very much kicking. She did like swishing around in the water using the noodle and swimming to get the balls. Eliza didn't mind having the water go over her head with the bucket which was great. We then did some work 'swimming' to the edge, holding on and doing some monkey movements to get the duck. I was amazed at how she could hold herself up on the wall and instinctively move along it. She did really well. We then did some Humpty Dumpty on the wall. The poor thing was quite cold as it was freezing out so she was happy to splash into the water, just putting her mouth and nose under. She did fine with that so Robina decided that she could have a go being submerged when 'falling off the wall'. She did really well. She got a little bit grizzly when she came up out of the water, but didn't stress out and she settled with a quick cuddle. We did it again and she again got upset so we did some paintbrush movements which Eliza enjoyed and then swam to get the floating toys. Eliza liked that. She was even happy going over to Robina. At the end of the lesson she went to Robina as I got out of the water and Eliza did get upset at that point. She was then so cold out of the water (she was already shivering towards the end of the lesson) that she just wouldn't settle. Robina mentioned possibly getting a little kids wetsuit for her to wear that would help her feel warm and I think I will do that for both kids. We came home and had a nice warm shower but she was again so cold when we got out and dried her and myself. Next week I think I'll put on the bar heater before we go to swimming so the bathroom will be warm when we come home. I am really proud of Eliza and how she went about swimming today. It was also really nice to do something with just her as this is the first time it has happened. I am looking forward to each week, even if I'm not looking forward to the cold water.
Since getting home from New Zealand I have been increasingly thinking about Daniel and toilet training. We have been asking him before bed and bath times if he needs to go to the toilet but he has started to just say 'no' and avoid the toilet. With the thought of him going to preschool next year I don't really want to leave toilet training until Summer because that's such a short window for him to learn but with going up to Hervey Bay I don't want him to be out of nappies because it's easier to fly with him in nappies.
I have been encouraging him to tell me when he needs to do a poo so he could do it in the toilet because I'm getting tired of cleaning him up but he hasn't shown any indication of telling me when he needs to do one or even when he has done one. It has been getting quite frustrating.
Today I mentioned that he is to enjoy having nappies because soon he will just be wearing undies. He then said 'Today I can wear undies'. I was surprised but told him that maybe after nap time he could wear undies but it would mean that he needs to do wees and poos in the toilet. He was pretty excited about it.
After nap time I got him up and took off his nappy and he asked to have undies on. He was keen so I felt that I shouldn't say no and instead see how he goes. He was very keen to wear his blue undies that I got out of the cupboard.
I kept asking Daniel if he needed to go to the toilet while he was playing but he kept saying no. After about 10mins he came up to me saying 'Mummy, I need to go to the toilet'. We ran to the toilet but he had already done a wee in his undies. He sat on the toilet but nothing came.
We changed his undies and he kept playing. He then ran to the toilet saying 'Mummy, come!' so we sat on the toilet but it was a false alarm. Nothing came beside a drip. He went back to playing and about 5mins later he ran to the toilet saying, "Mummy, come!" Again, he had gone in his undies.
I see this time as a period of understanding the feelings prior to going. I told him that it was ok and that accidents happen. We changed his undies again and he continued playing. Pretty soon he called 'Come Mummy, quick!'. He had opened the toilet door and was ready to go. He needed to do a wee. He had leaked a little bit but sitting on the toilet he did a massive wee! We were both so very excited. I was really proud of him.
After his wee we changed his undies again and then he continued to play. About 5mins later he ran to the bathroom and called out 'Mummy come!!' I asked him if it was for a wee and he said 'No, a poo'. This was very impressive as he hasn't done a proper poo in the toilet. We got his undies down (clean ones this time) and he sat on the toilet and did a massive poo. I was so proud of him. We did lots of cheering and clapping. Such a brilliant job. He was very, very, very proud of himself. James wasn't home yet and was on the train so we sent him a video message telling him the exciting news.
He then had another false alarm while eating dinner and another accident just before getting into his pajamas but on the whole I am very proud of him for doing 1 wee and 1 poo in the toilet tonight. We might do undies after nap time each day because we tend to stay at home and then after Hervey Bay try undies during the day. I will wait and see how he goes for night times and nap times. At the moment his nappies are quite wet each time so that probably won't be any time soon but that's ok. It's a start and I'm very proud of him for today!!
On Sunday we had Eliza's Mothers' Group 1st Birthday Party. Timing was pretty tricky as the party started at 2:30pm, during nap time. Eliza had a nap in the ergo at church as it was a combined service to say bye to Louise, our Pastoral Care Pastor. We came home and had lunch and then we put the kids down for a nap. Daniel slept well but Eliza wasn't keen for a sleep because she only woke at 11:15am.
At 2pm I got the kids ready and we headed to the party. It was a lovely time hanging out with the other mums and kids and both Daniel and Eliza enjoyed playing with the other bubs, the toys and especially the balloons.
One of the mums made the birthday cake and it was amazing!
This is a nice group of mums who I have enjoyed journeying with. I hope that we can continue to catch up with the mums and bubs.
Since being home Eliza has looked like she is ready to walk but she chooses to crawl. On Monday night I was preparing dinner and noticed that Eliza was cruising along the draws. I decided to step away and ask her to walk towards me. She thought about it, hesitated and then let go on the draws and did a little shuffle towards me. She probably took 2-3 steps. Clever girl! She was then kind enough to repeat it for the camera slightly.
When James got home I held her up and asked her to walk to Daddy and she did a couple of steps to him too. I'm so glad that he got to see it.
Since then she hasn't really taken steps again. She prefers to crawl which is fine but we will keep encouraging them.
While we were away Eliza spent a lot of time in the ergo and not much time moving around. She loved the afternoons where she could crawl around. She started to walk holding with just one hand while we were in Dunedin and Queenstown. She looked like she wanted to move her legs and walk on her own but didn't have the confidence to do it.
When we got home she was very happy to see her walker again. She is a lot more confident in pulling herself up and walking but she doesn't do very well with steering. I guess that will come over time.
She pulled herself up onto her pony and so I put her on it. Daniel initially helped pull her along but then he wanted to ride his bike so she was on her own. Her legs are now able to reach the ground and she slowly worked out how to push herself along.
Daniel was very patient riding behind her and around her. I have a feeling they will be riding around the house pretty quickly in no time.
When we got home, Daniel wanted to do some drawing. He pulled out his crayons and sat at his table. Eliza crawled over and pulled herself up. She wanted to join in so I put her on the chair and gave her a new piece of paper and a crayon. She did pretty well with drawing on the paper and only occasionally ate the crayons. She drew scribbles, lines and dots which was impressive.
Pretty
Today at library the kids did a craft and I decided Eliza could do her own one. She ended up colouring in more than Daniel did. Haha. Looking forward to seeing her creativity come out as she grows up.
