I am keenly aware though that because they are two, certain things that they do should be stopped. Right off the top of my head,
1. Both need to stop with the comfort devices.
Jordan with her pacifier and Evan with his duck and thumb. It is more imperative for Jordan because pretty soon she's going to be able to whistle through the gap of her front teeth. And the dentist did warn that excessive pacifier-ing will cause her top and bottom teeth not to meet. I worry that it'll cause her teeth to rot. And the girl is incredibly dependent on it to console herself and to sleep. It annoys me to no end that she's so conditioned to have it. There are many triggers, the minute she gets into the car, she asks for it. She'll touch her lip and ask for her "pear". When she sees her stuffed bear/elephant, she'll ask for it. The moment she's bathed after she gets home from school. And sometimes, while she's sleeping and I've unceremoniously yanked it out of her mouth, she'll cry for it. It's like a drug to her. She whimpers very specifically for it and is the first thing she looks around for when she wakes up. I've just managed to get her to give it to me by telling her that it is "chou chou" (stinky) and I need to put it into the basin for a wash.
Evan's attachment to the duck is just as strong. He misses it when he is at school. I know this because the first thing he'll ask for in the car, on the way home is "Duck Duck". And duck must be paired off with his thumb. I'm less perturbed about his little thumb fetish because he stops sucking it once he's asleep. And even though he does that, he has a raisin sized callus on his thumb.
2. Waking up for feeds.
The Nazi sleep trainers out there will be aghast that my almost 2 year-olds still wake for feeds. More Jordan than Evan. Most nights, he's happy to sleep from half 8 till 6 before he wants a feed. Jordan will do the unceremonious 3 am wake up call which I hate and growl at once it cackles over the baby monitor. So two nights ago, I decided enough was enough, traipsed right over to her room and told her in no uncertain moments that she wasn't going to get milk till 5 am and she could have a drink of water and then had to go back to bed and wait for 5 am to come. Whimpering alternated with howling for a good 90 minutes ensued within which Evan woke up and joined in the festivities. The books tell me that I need to do it for a few nights to really train their tummies to not wake up for a tiny midnight feed. But when she cries for milk, all on our floor will hear her and Ah Ma will wonder what cruel thing is being done to her darling grandchild.
3. Toilet Training
Not that it's a bad habit. In fact, the converse. We've been trying to get them to sit on the potty. To do it on the potty. They won't. Sometimes, Jordan will sit on the toilet seat and occasionally poop and pee in it but it's not a regular thing. They do however know to tell us that they have poop in their diaper. But usually only after the deed is done. The trick is for them to let us know ahead of time. Evan however, uses poop and the need for the potty as a get out of jail free card. When he doesn't want to be in bed, he ask for the potty and he'll declare in all faux earnestness that he needs to poop. One day, I shall tell the boy the story of the boy who cried wolf.
Of the three, No. 2 is the top on my list. And even despite my complaint about money, toilet training sits prettily at No. 3 because it doesn't interfere with sleep and it doesn't have potential ill dental effects that will cost thousands of dollars down the line. So, I will tackle one at a time and hopefully resolve at least one of them by the time they blow out their candles.
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