Thumbs, Potty-training, and Father's Blessings

1. Thumbs.

When Daphne was tiny--just two months old, I isolated her thumb and showed her how to put it in her mouth so she could calm herself down.  (I know, what was I thinking?!?) It worked so well for Dallin, that I thought all kids should suck their thumbs.  There were no worries about losing all the pacifers and running out to buy new ones when none could be found, because our pacifers were built in.  :)

 At that point in time, I didn't think about what we'd do, if the habit proved difficult to break.  Dallin, (also an avid thumb-sucker in his earlier years) just decided one day when he was three and a half that he wasn't going to do it anymore, and that was that.  

But Daphne and her thumb forged a relationship that no amount of bribing, teasing from peers, buck-teeth-threats or braces-threats could sever.  

We tried gloves on her hands at night, which backlashed and increased the sucking during the day.  We tried charts, and rewards, but no matter what, she just couldn't stop.  

So one Monday night we had a family night in which we talked about the priesthood and the different ways the priesthood blesses our lives.  We talked about how blessed we are to have a father in our home worthy to hold the priesthood and how he can give us blessings when we are sick or when we need extra help with something.  That night Arthur gave blessings to Daphne to help her overcome her thumb-sucking habit, and Sean to help him learn to be potty-trained.  (I know that sounds silly, but it has become VERY, VERY important for the sanity of Arthur and I that Sean master this basic life-skill.)

Earlier that same day we received in the mail, a very special, very green thumb guard that we ordered on Amazon.  So the next day, armed with her father's blessing and the green thumb guard, she went to school and didn't suck her thumb all day.  After a week or so, she didn't even suck her thumb at night!  Yahoo!!!!  She's been thumb-free for three weeks now and I'm so proud of her.  It's hard to break a habit you've cultivated for over 5 years, and Daphne DID IT!  

What a girl!

2. Potty-training

Sean has been a very hard kid to potty-train.  He just has not been motivated by anything I have thought of to bribe him with.  (toys, treats, movies, you name it.)  I have friends whose children younger than Sean figured it out in a week, and when I think about that I sometimes want to shoot myself.  

My Sean, bless his heart -- We started back in September and it has been a LONG HAUL!  It got to the point that several months ago, Arthur put his foot down and decided that there would be no more children coming to our family until Sean was potty-trained.   

As I mentioned before, we had Father's Blessings one family night, but Sean's blessing didn't kick in right away.   He was hit and miss with peeing in the toilet, but pooping was all MISSES! Eventually the thought crossed my mind to investigate whether you can hire someone to potty-train your kid.  (They have those for animals, right?)  Because cleaning out poopy underwear every day really starts to wear on you.  

So one day I was at good ole' Walmart with the two little boys, and Sean asked if we could go over to the toys.  He fell in love with a Thomas the Train toy that he just had to have.  So I got it and told him he could have it when he went poop in the toilet.  The rest of the day went like this:  

Sean:  Mom?  You open this Thomas?

Me:  I'll open it when you go poop in the toilet.

Sean:  When I go pee in the toilet?

Me: Nope, you have to go poop.

Sean (is quiet for a few seconds and then says): Mom?  You open this?

And we had that conversation almost verbatim maybe 20 times that day.  Well, guess what?  He eventually earned that Thomas, and a little brain light switched on.  He did his business in the toilet again the next day, and Dad brought him home a new Chick Hicks car toy.  So the next time I was at the store, I stalked up on trains and Cars toys, and he went 5 DAYS IN A ROW with NO ACCIDENTS!!!!!  I can't really even describe how elated I felt!!!!!  I'm still feeling elated!!!!!!!!!!  (Sometimes there just aren't enough exclamation points!)

Sean took this picture of his collection.

$75 dollars later, (totally worth it) Sean has earned LOTS  of rewards, and uses the potty by himself most of the time and when he has an accident, he has to turn in his rewards and earn them back one by one.  It really was a matter of him deciding to do it, because I'd had rewards like that in the past, but he just didn't care.  

So with lots of prayers (thanks Mom) and a father's blessing, and maybe a little help from the next sibling waiting to come to our family, Sean is, for all intents and purposes, POTTY-TRAINED!!!!  HALLELUJAH!!!