Hurricane Mia strikes twice

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Hurricane Mia struck two mornings in a row this week. It wasn't as severe as the storm up in the islands, but from a domestic point of view the house was turned upside down. My wife was away for work and I was home alone trying to get Mia to daycare before making it to work at a semi-decent time.

I know, I know, I've only got one little girl so what am I moaning about? The thing is, it's not usually this bad - and mad.

What's making the regular morning hurricane of dolls, books, teddies, pillows, and outfit changes more intense is that Mia is no longer wearing nappies.

That means we have to put her on the throne (she won't have anything to do with the potty) and wait while she very diligently does her thing. It's the frequency of the wees - including a few false alarms - that's the time consuming thing which leaves no time to tidy up or do much at all before we get out the door.

Adding to the maelstrom is the fact she's far more active too, which I'd imagine has a lot to do with the new found freedom of not wearing naps. She's ever so proud of her many pairs of undies.

I'm sure the storm will settle - and besides, it's worth it. Every successful toilet stop in the last week has been a triumphant celebration because anything is better than wearing - and changing - nappies.

We took the plunge to ditch them after she got a severe case of nappy rash. It was one of those instances where the rash - or burn, as it turned into - was in the shape of the nappy. Ouch.

After two days without nappies, where she was either "nudey rudey" or in undies, it started healing and she was doing so well with few accidents that we kept it up.

Number twos has been a little longer coming, and it's still a work in progress, especially at day care where there are too many distractions.

But at home, thanks to the right encouragement such as a toilet chart and the occasional jelly bean reward, she hopped on the loo yesterday morning and did a poo. Woohoo.