Potty Milestone

The ambitious undertaking started quite a while back- in June 08 actually- right after we came back from our Bali trip. But then Arissa didn't seem ready for potty training so I shelved the idea (and her toilet seat) for awhile.



When Mum got a new neighbour whose 2 year old daughter is fully toilet-trained, I got anxious. Really anxious. My mother didn't seem keen though, she was more afraid my daughter would soil her carpets in those unavoidable accidents that precedes any success story "Dorang tak sembahyang," she would say "Nanti tempat sembahyang kena najis pulak!" Hrrrr...

But try Mummy must as Arissa is already 3 months into her 2nd birthday (do I hear 'kiasu' being muttered there?). The signs were not all there- she was dry only at times, she would say 'poo' although she actually needed a tinkle, she can pull her pants down only after much struggle- but I was still convinced that I needed to get her in the mode first. And I didn't want to be buying diapers for 2 babies come July either, it was a cost-saving measure in these recessionary times (';').

The transitional strategy I had formulated is simple, I don't know if they're proven but it made sense to me. Firstly, I should get her to recognise what potties are used for- by sitting her there 5-10 minutes after every meal/milk feed. Stripping off the diaper should come a few weeks later, first with training pants then without.

So off I traipsied to Seiyu and Ikea to get her training pants and several potties. It took a few days of getting her to sit on the potty during bath time, she used it as a pail for her bubbles at first but then the breakthrough came one night when after 10 mins of me going "Icha, please pee in the potty" she actually hunched over it and squeezed in her belly in an effort to expel whatever was in there. She didn't actually pee in the damn potty that night but I thought it was a great advancement as it meant she knew what the actual purpose of a potty was (ie. not a bubble tub)!!

And this morning at bath time, without me urging, she suddenly grabbed her potty while mumbling "PooPoo", sat on it and pee-ed a bucketful! I clapped my hands and praised her as though she had just won the 100m dash in the Olympics.. that was how elated I was.

OK Spocko, granted it was potty timing, not training because she had just drunk a full bottle but a) she knew it was coming and b) she knew where it should go. No matter, one baby step at a time.. I still have 3 more months to de-diaper her. Erkkk..

Singapore Ghost Stories

In this modern day and age, one may be inclined to to diss anything resembling the supernatural. I, for one, admit that my 1st reaction to any ghost story is "pfffft..maybe its just your imagination!?" although I listen with fascination!

When I got pregnant with Arissa, my superstitious MIL gave all sorts of advice to protect me and my foetus from hungry ghosts, cheeky goblins and other species of the supernatural kingdom. She even made me carry a little cloth packet with onions and garlic and what-have-yous in it (I remember it smelled really rotten by Month #9, maybe the rotting herbs puts off the ghostly appetite?)

But then the supernatural really happened to me. And I was stumped for an explanation because any way I looked at the experience, I could not rationalise it.

In Tioman Island, our scenic beachfront chalet hid a village graveyard unbeknownst to me. Hafidz and I were walking to the restaurant at 730pm when in a distance, I see a large white satin cloth fleeting purposefully from the top of one raintree to another. Too big to be a bird and too small to be a kite, I simply looked away and started praying under my breath. I only told the husband after we've left the island at which point he said "Oh yea, there's a graveyard behind our chalet". Thank God it was not such a scary experience!

8 months and at my mother's house. Insomnia is my best friend at this late stage of pregnancy and the nesting is something I need to do even though its 3am and the husband is in JB. I was cleaning up in the kitchen when I hear very distinctly my (late) grandmother's voice calling out my name from the silent and darkened dining room. I stopped what I was doing for a moment and the voice in my head echoed out loudly "pfffft..maybe its just your imagination!?" So I stepped into the toilet to wash my mop and saw, with utter and total disbelief, a black shadow on the wall of something/someone tall and HUGE walking past the toilet door- head, body, everything! My head spinned from fear and goosebumps racked my whole body. This is the most scary experience by far.

In this pregnancy, I encountered another startling phenomenon of a little child calling out "Muuuuummy!" from behind the sofa at home. When I turned I saw no one (but of course) and I knew Arissa was fast asleep and the room door was closed so even if she had called out to me it would not have sounded so clear and succinct. This was in the bright of day too but I brushed it aside in my mind otherwise I'd go insane wondering who it was.

So there we have it, my supernatural experiences to date. I hope for no more over my lifetime please.