Do not disturb

Gabby's latest thing is to require "privacy". This stems from the many pooping issues we had a while back. Because of these issues, David and I got in the habit of hovering just a tad too much when Gabby was doing her business. We'd be leaning over her little butt on the toilet, watching to see what was going to come out...the size, the shape, the consistency (too loose...ease up on the Miralax, too hard...more Miralax). Once your child has to have suppositories and an enema, ensuring that their poop is normal becomes highly important.

Apparently, all that attention made Gabby a little uncomfortable and she started putting her hands behind her booty to cover up the toilet, telling us to "stop watching! I don't want you to see!" Which eventually evolved into, "Mom, can I please have pie-vacy?" So now when she uses the potty, she asks for privacy, and we wait in the other room until she calls that she is ready. Sometimes this takes up to 10 minutes...I'll keep calling out, "You ok? Ready yet?" And she'll respond, "Nope! I will call you! I will call you when I am finished!" And sure enough, a million years later she'll call out, "Ok mom, I'm ready for you to wipe me!"

Her privacy requests have now extended to other situations. When we get home in the evening Gabby RUNS to her bedroom and slams the door. If I try to go in, she blocks the door..."MOM! I need PIE-VACY!" Typically she is changing her clothes, and she will come bursting out a few minutes later in her favorite at-home attire. Other times, she asks for privacy to keep me from seeing her do something she KNOWS she isn't supposed to do...like empty out an ENTIRE dresser drawer to find one particular item, or taking underwear out of the dirty laundry because it is pink and has Hello Kitty on it and she wants to wear it again. She shrieks, "Don't come in! I need pie-vacy!" as I see her frantically trying to mask whatever mischief she is in. Her devious streak is definitely beginning to show!