Pregnancy updates

I am now 33+ weeks along, and my tummy has grown so much over the last month that it's getting uncomfortable to sleep, eat and walk (or should I say waddle). Oh, I've also stowed way my rings as they are getting too snug to fit my swelling fingers. In fact every part is swelling up: my nose, my arms, my feet, my hips, just to name a few. Not forgetting to mention the numerous trips to the bathrooms in the middle of the night. Ah...the joys of pregnancy.
On another note, baby girl has been so active especially during the nights when I am trying to go to sleep. The feeling of her moving, dancing, somersaulting, hiccuping (yes, she hiccups a lot!) in my tummy is AMAZING! Though it can be a tad painful sometimes when I feel her sudden jabs whereupon her brother will say to her: "Don't kick mama, Sophie.." My own little protector, and yes, that's the name we are planning on giving to baby girl :)

Potty training - check!

I am so proud of Josiah. In just 3 days (of serious full on potty training mode), he has been successfully potty trained! He is able to tell when he needs to shee-shee and when he wants to pang-sai. Sometimes, a little bit of wee-wee and stool stain his pants but I am confident that with a little bit more of practice and self-control, he will be fine. Of course, he still wears diapers when we take him out and when he sleeps, but other than that, he is diaper-free. He does not even wear diapers in school and so far he has never wet himself. Here are a few pointers to potty training as a reminder to myself for future use with our baby girl :)
The key to successful potty training is that the parent/caregiver must regularly ask the child whether he needs to relieve himself. More often than not, Josiah's answer is no. But when I bring the potty to him, he wees almost every time. Secondly, have the potty nearby at all times and make sure the child can see it. This is to get him into the habit of telling when he needs to relieve himself and a reminder to him that that is the place to go to when he needs to. On the flipside, if there is no potty within range, he is most likely to wet himself because by the time you actually bring to potty to him or take him to the toilet, it would be too late. Finally, I believe that there is no point in forcing your child to sit on the potty if he is not ready. At 2.5 years old, I know that Josiah has reached a certain level of maturity where he understands the concept of wee-wee and doing big business in the potty. Instead of scolding him for still wearing diapers, I encouraged him to use the potty. Even when he wet himself on a few occasions in the past, I do not yell at him but encourage him to do it in the potty next time. No doubt it is frustrating when he wets himself and the cleaning up that follows, but when you see results, it is well worth the extra mile and patience.