This has been something Emilie has been saying a lot lately. It's almost like the more she asserts her independence and becomes more like a big girl she needs to reassure both of us that she is still my baby.
My little big girl will be three years old in just two weeks. THREE years old!! Where did the time go? Where is my pause button?
About a month after her second birthday she decided enough was enough with the cloth diapers and wanted to wear her big girl underwear. That went great and she basically potty trained herself in one day. To be honest I miss the diapers. I never minded the two extra loads of laundry a week and always thought her fluffy little bum was so adorable. Not to mention it helped to keep Emilie's pants from falling down! I loved seeing all the bright colours and designs drying on the clothesline in the summer, and I loved that I could reuse them and not have to throw them out. It kills me every time I have to buy yet another box of Dora Easy Ups for Emilie to wear overnight. She will only wear disposables now since her cloth diapers are too thick for her now that she's used to underwear.
Over the last few months nap time has become less and less. "Mama, I no need a nap" and "Mama, I just sit on my bed. I not tired." are things I hear on an almost daily basis. Those rare days when she does nap are a special treat for Andre and I.
On New Years Day we converted Emilie's crib to a toddler bed. The potty training had lead to what we referred to as "Poop Emergencies". All I will say was there was poopy pull ups being hurled out of the crib. I will leave the rest to your imaginations. After the first incident we started talking to her about changing her crib to a big girl bed. After the third emergency I took the front off. Surprisingly Emilie was all for it. She offered to get the screwdriver and hammer and help! From the first night she was excellent in what she now refers to as her "big girl crib". She will occasionally get out of her bed to play when she should be sleeping, but overall the transition has been great. Much better than we expected.
With all of these new firsts have come regressions. Some days she will speak in baby talk instead of using her big girl words. Others she wants to be with me everywhere I go. She will have weeks where instead of getting out of her big girl crib to use her little potty during nap time she will go in her pull up instead. Most of all this has meant cuddles. Lots and lots of cuddles. I guess every stage has a silver lining right?
Some days these regressions are hard, and add another struggle to our routine. Others I'm more than happy to put down whatever I'm doing and cuddle with my little girl.
