Regression in full swing

Kindergarten starts tomorrow! I am excited. She is finally excited. I am not one of those mothers who hopes my baby stays young forever. I want her to grow. I want her to experience new things. I want her to learn. I want to stop paying for daycare!

I have been working hard at getting her emotionally ready since the beginning of June. She can't leave her school because her teacher will miss her too much. She can't leave her school because she knows where the bathroom is. She can't leave her school because the teachers and staff rely on her to help. She can't leave her school because she doesn't need new friends. But she is now excited and can't wait. Oh I think we will have an early wake up time tomorrow -- just like Christmas.

But it is not all smelling like roses. Literally.

On Sunday morning Ladybug woke me up because she was hungry. She has been hungry non stop. As she walked out of my room I noticed she had on her pj top and panties. Not her pj bottoms. So the next time she walked into the room I asked why. And she admitted it. Peed the bed. Great! Well at least it is laundry day. It has been forever since this has happened so I guess I shouldn't complain.

On Monday night I was tucking Ladybug in bed. I crawled in bed with her to read her stories -- like almost every other night. As I sat down I swear the bed was wet. But how could it be? But it nagged at me -- for about 30 seconds. Then I asked if she had peed the bed again the night before. And her response -- No, Mama! My next question -- Then why is your bed wet? Her response (almost convincingly) -- I sweat a lot last night. So the bed is stripped. And washed. And put back together.

I tell her -- she has got to tell me these things when they happen. She can not wait to bedtime. And she can not sleep in a pee soaked bed. She can not.

Tuesday we come home from school and I decide I must clean the stuffed animals. Because she sleeps with, not one, not two, but 5 stuffed animals. Three large teddy bears, a huggable kitty, and a unicorn larger than her. Some must have gotten into the pee. So we wash some and soak some in febreeze.

On Wednesday morning, she wakes me up. Mama, I peed the bed. No. No. NO. NO!!!!!!!!!! And it is about an hour before my alarm will even go off. But she told me??? As she was instructed. So I tell her to strip the bed. Which of course she is not interested in doing because she "hates cleaning." But she does it. And then she comes back into my room. "Mama, the mattress is wet, too."

Now how is that possible. I spent the extra cash to get a waterproof mattress pad. Waterproof!! So I ask if she took the mattress pad off and she says yes. So I haul my ass out of bed and go check it out. She is right. But I have an extra defense. I had bought the bed off of craigslist. It is an Ikea bed. It has a built in mattress pad!!! Yes!! I am smart.

I moan. I groan. I unzip the Ikea mattress pad and take it off. And the mattress is ... soaked. Soaked! Seriously. Blanket. Sheets. Waterproof mattress pad. Second mattress pad. And mattress is still soaked. Did she drink from the Niagara Falls before bed?

We wash the sheets and blankets. I soak the mattress in febreeze. I mutter. I complain. And I thank her for telling me. She did the right thing. But if she does it again I will put her back in pull-ups for bed. I will. And I won't feel guilty about it.

Mean Mama