Being the good mommy that I am, I threatened my daughter last night to get her to stay in bed. She can come up with ten different excuses to leave her brothers' bedroom at night, usually involving needing to use the potty. How can you refuse that? Well, when you put her to bed at 7 and it's 8:30 and she's still screaming "I have to poop!" at the top of her lungs after having gone to the potty THREE separate times since seven o'clock, it gets a little easier.
So last night I made sure she understood the consequences of screaming for Mommy or Daddy to come and take her out of the Pack and Play (where she chooses to sleep in her brothers' room while she has her sleep-over) for any reason. She even was able to parrot it back to me.
"So J, let's make sure you push out all the pee and poop right now, because once you go to bed you're not allowed to call for us. Why not?"
"I going to be quiet. If I yell I go sleep in my room," J explained.
Yes, the ultimate threat: isolation.
Anyway, it worked. But it was only now when I attempted to put her down for a nap that I realized how well. When I lifted J's Mine (yes, she calls the stuffed bear/blanket that she has slept with every single naptime and bedtime since she was born "Mine" - anything unusual about that?) out of the pack and play, I felt something wet on it. After closer examination I learned that sometime during the night, J had thrown up. Not a lot, but enough. And, fearing isolation, she did not call us. She had cried once in the middle of the night (probably when it happened) but then went back to sleep. In the vomit. Lovely.
And to make it even worse, I had to explain to her that she couldn't have her Mine for this nap because he had to take a bath. So she laid in bed whimpering, "I want my Mine, I want my Mine." ARGH! I finally found a soft blanket for her to hold that was clearly a poor substitute, but would do. And I believe she has fallen asleep, finally.
I better get Mine in the washer so we don't completely traumatize this child in case it's not dry by bedtime!
5 comments:
YOu aren't a bad mommy because we've all done it. Luke has wet his pants for the same reason. There is no way you could have known!
So I guess now you have to tell her she can call you if she has thrown up!
You're not a bad mommy. It is good for a child to learn consequences. Nothing like a little vomit in the face to learn a big lesson. Just think of the consequences of not learning these little lessons. If you forget what they could be, dig up a copy of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Being eaten by a wolf is seriously more bad than a little puke on Me, er well not on me but on her Me. PS - sleeping in a bedroom by yourself really isn't the same as being put in isolation, but you know that. Unguilt those mommy thoughts.
I hate it when things like that happen... but I'm sure she won't be too warped! :)
You're not a bad mommy! I read where "lucy t" reminded you about The Boy Who Cried Wolf. I agree! Maybe you two should read that book...a FEW times til she gets the point.
Oh no! We had nearly the same situation when we were potty training Monkey. When he wanted to get out of bed he would yell, "Pee pee, hurry, hurry." The one time we got frustrated and didn't let him get up is the time he peed himself.
Away, Mommy Guilt! We all make mistakes. You're still a good mom.
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