All I can say is so far, mostly so good. Gabriela makes regular use of her "potty" sign to let us know she has to go. Sometimes I wonder if it's her sneaky way of getting in extra reading or song time together, since there is a pile of books right next to the potty.
Gabriela will do her book sign and say book. Sometimes, she doesn't want the book I give her. I know this because she pushes it aside and continues to say book and do the sign until I read her mind and give her the correct book (usually the last one I offer). Other times, she signs "more" and then moves her head from side to side like she does when she listens to music. This is Gabriela's made up sign for "song".
This morning, the instant Gabriela opened her eyes, she did the sign for bird and started looking outside for birds. Then she wanted to nurse, so I gave her some milk before taking her to use the potty. I guess I should have taken her the instant she woke up because the second I removed her diaper, she instantly peed on the floor right NEXT to the toilet. I immediately plopped her on the potty while she finished the deed. After she said "all done", I got her down and the next thing I knew, she was doing the potty sign again. So back we went to the toilet where she just wanted to read stories. After a while with no action (and the clock ticking for me to get out the door to work), I decided she was done.
Gabriela was "playing"' in the bedroom while I brushed my teeth. When I came back, you guessed it, she was signing to go potty AGAIN! Quickly, I realized this sign also meant "too late, I already went potty while you weren't looking". So I sat her on the potty while she pointed to the poo-poo in the diaper trying her best to say "poo poo". After I plopped it in the toilet, Gabriela started waving bye-bye to the potty and I explained that the poo-poo goes inside. She just likes to say bye though. Usually, the first thing she does after she gets down is turn around and wave and say bye-bye. So friendly, I tell you!
But then, I took her to the car so we could go to daycare and what does she do when she's all strapped into the carseat, 10 floors down from her special potty??? She does the potty sign, yet again. I don't really know what to do when she does the sign in completely inopportune places. I'm going to order a little fold up potty seat insert to use in public restrooms. But what do we do when we're not near one? I don't want her to learn that I'm only going to respond to her signing when it's convenient for me. Has anyone used one of those potties that you can either use alone or sit into a public restroom toilet? I'm wondering if that's what I should do for when we're not near a potty.
But man, sometimes it's really inconvenient. Like when she's all strapped in her booster seat and we've all sat down for dinner and she's got food all over her tray and all over her body and THEN she wants to go potty. Goodness, gracious baby Gabriela!
We're just glad that she's recognized the feeling and associated it with the sign so quickly. Of course, I'm worried, wondering if will last. But for now, I'm just going to go with the flow.
1 comment:
dude, my almost 3 yr old took off her dipe and handed me a piece of poop yesterday. I'm thinking you're in great shape.
For the inconvenience thing, try teaching her the sign for "wait" or "not yet". Start using it when you know lane will come through the door any minute, when you put something in the microwave, when you wait for the bathtub to fill, etc. then, use the sign when you're not near a potty. when you get there, when the microwave dings, when the tub is full, sign "finally!" or "ready". time is an easier concept to grasp in ASL. she's a smart cookie, she'll figure it out.
Post a Comment