So, today, I have a two-year old.

I'm still trying to figure out how this happened. I mean, he was just born the other day. Right?

Anyway, since he's been born I've realized I've done things I never thought I'd do, I've learned things I never thought I needed to learn, and I've loved more than I ever thought I could. It's been a joy. It's been a challenge. Above all, it's been wonderful.

Here are some things I never thought I'd do:

Home birth.

If you would've told me four years ago that I was gonna have my baby at home I would've laughed in your face and told you to quit drinking. That's dumb, I thought, and dangerous. Why would anyone want to feel the pain? Bring on the c-section! Well, a little bit of research and an open mind changed all that. I'm not saying home birth is for everyone, but I will say that more women could do it. Trust yourself. Trust your body. Say “adios” to fear. God equipped our bodies to handle the challenges of labor. It's like running a marathon. No one can do it for you, and it is the very difficulty of it that makes it so rewarding.

Co-sleep.

I had an awesome bassinet beside our bed. It was at the top of my list of things to buy. I assembled it myself at seven months pregnant. I gazed lovingly at it in our bedroom. Nothing symbolizes the romanticism of a new baby like a bassinet.

Then Oliver came and would have no part in it. Seriously. I think he spent twenty minutes in it and cried the entire time. After my delivery I was stuck in bed for a few days, and it was hard for me to get him in and out of the thing. In a weird way, putting him in the bassinet seemed like he was so far away. He'd been living inside me for months, and now he's just supposed to fend for himself on the edge of my bed?! What if I couldn't hear him? He was a whole six inches away, so this was obviously not a rational thing.

Having him in bed with us gave us a great start with nursing. He'd wake up, start to nurse, and we'd both fall asleep. It was wonderful. It's amazing how in tune with baby mama is. I'd wake up and a second or two later he'd wake up and start to fuss. Now I get to wake up to a sweet sleeping face every morning. Sometimes I get kicked, the covers get stolen, but I also get lots of cuddles. I'd say that's a fair trade. I know this will have to end eventually, but I also know that when it does I will miss it.

Like, a lot.

Cloth diapers.

This one is probably the most unbelievable. We decided to cloth diaper mainly for financial reasons. I was at home with Oliver, and we were down to one income. It was hard. We made a lot of sacrifices, but it was worth it. I would trade anything to have that first year with him. I learned to save money in a variety of ways, but this one was the most interesting.

I had to do a lot of reading online because I didn't know the first things about cloth diapers. I decided on bumgenius diapers because they have a diaper that goes from 8-35 lbs. Again, a financial decision. I got a sprayer. I made my own clothesline by tying string from one corner of our fence to the other. I'm sure the neighbors loved it. Every other day, when it wasn't raining, I'd hang the diapers out to dry on the line. I felt like a housewife from the fifties. I thought, you totally rock you frugal housewife you, as I paraded around outside with my laundry basket still wearing my pajamas at noon. Hey, I didn't say perfect, I said frugal. Some things took a little bit of trial and error, but eventually I got a system down. They were super easy to use, and they looked so cute. That's really important. Right? Right. Plus, cloth diapering helped us potty train fairly early.

Cloth wipes.

These came along the same lines as cloth diapers, but I started these much later. At first I had never even heard of such a thing, and I wondered why anyone would use them. It seemed like too much work. Disposable wipes are pretty cheap after all. At first I would throw the disposable wipes away, but after a few months I stopped. Out of sheer laziness I began to wash them with the diapers. Then it hit me. That's why people use them. It's actually easier. Weird.

Shortly after Oliver's first birthday I bought a flannel sheet set (on clearance!) and made my own wipes. I went online and got a recipe for a cloth wipe solution. I don't know, I guess I loved the feeling of the self-sufficiency that came with it all. It was nice to know that I was never gonna run out of diapers or wipes. Our budget was happy too.

Get excited when I see a car, a truck, a bus, a tractor, a lawnmover.....

Oliver is all boy. I mean, totally completely into all boyish things. He loves things that are dirty and dangerous, and if it's a combination of the two then he's downright giddy. When I found out I was having a boy I felt like I was lost. I had a brother growing up, but for fun I dressed him in girl clothes (sorry Daniel). That's probably not a good strategy for parenting. The thing that I've learned is that even though we share no common interests (construction sites anyone?) I still love being with him. He makes me laugh, and I'm amazed at how much he's learned, at how much he's grown, and the person he is becoming. He is brave, and he is joyful. I am neither of those, but he's teaching me how to be.

Need self-improvement.

I always thought of myself as a patient person. Patient until I had Oliver anyway. Lots of sleepless nights, lots of trying to play with electric outlets, and lots of putting random objects in his mouth taught me otherwise. It's funny how kids will teach you things you never thought you needed to learn. He showed me my shortcomings. Not intentionally, although I'm sure that day will come. He made me want to become disciplined, to become more spiritual, and to become the person I always wanted to be.

So, it's been two years of learning. Two years of growing. Two years of laughter, tears, and a little bit of screaming.

It's been two years of Oliver. It's been awesome.

Potty in the House

Four weeks ago my son made the jump from babyhood to toddlerdom. Well, actually I pushed him and told him I'd try to catch him on the other side. We started potty training, and things got crazy pretty fast.

I read a book on potty training, so you know, I thought I was an expert. My plan? Let him wear thin undies and take him to the potty throughout the day. Without fail, he went to the bathroom a few minutes after he got up from the potty. All. Day. Long. I mean, Day 1 was just laughable. 

So was Day 2.

I went back to the drawing board, a.k.a. google, and did a little research. Babies who were cloth diapered, on average, potty trained a year earlier than babies in disposables. I think that has less to do with the kid, and more to do with the fact that mama is tired of diaper maintenance. Don't get me wrong, cloth diapers today are super easy to use, but having your kid use the potty on their own is even easier.

Cloth diaper kids are used to feeling wet. Oliver would pee, and he wasn't even phased by it. He just kept playing despite having pee pee pants. He'd pee, and I wouldn't realize until I saw giant puddles on the floor. On Day 3 he went naked from the waist down. We have hard wood floors, so I could hear him going to the bathroom. As soon as I heard that little splashing sound I'd drop whatever I was doing and run to him. Usually the terror of seeing me charging towards him would be enough to stop him midstream and he'd finish in the potty. 

Day 4 I was tired. We went through a 12 pack of paper towels like they were dollar bills. I thought I should give up. He wasn't making any progress. Surely this entirely new concept should be easy to grasp for a twenty-two month old. Right? Out of desperation we bought him a new potty that looked like a car. He called it a "bus." Everything with wheels and an engine is a bus. I say if he pees in it, then he can call it whatever he wants.

Day 5 he said, "pee pee potty." And you know what? He actually did. He loved his "potty bus." It was awesome. I cried a little bit. He peed in the potty a second time that same day. He pooped beside the potty. Yay for progress.

Poop. I mean, I hate poop. It smells like poop, and it was making me crazy. It was our biggest challenge in this whole process. The book I read told me to stay calm. When they have accidents simply put them on the potty and tell them to do better next time. What books say and real life are different sometimes, okay? Oliver didn't want to sit on his potty long enough to poop. He'd rather poop while he played. Who wouldn't really? He'd poop on the floor, and yell "yucky!" I think that's toddler for, "That smells. I wonder who put that there?!"

You did. And you know it.

After cleaning up poop #15,087 I just screamed. I just let it out. Oliver started screaming too. We screamed together, and then we laughed.

One day, I forget which one, he sat on his potty bus for longer than usual. He stood up, pointed in the potty, and shouted, "airpane! airpane!" Which translates into, "Look Mom! I pooped in the potty! I'm so excited!!!!!" Or maybe it was shaped like an airplane. Not sure exactly, but it was awesome.

Here we are a few weeks later. Poops mostly go in the potty. Oliver stays dry at nap time and bedtime. We celebrate his successes by waving good-bye to them as they flush. He looks at me, and I can see it. I see how proud he is. He feels a sense of accomplishment. It's funny, because I do too.