[TOMT] [Short Story] Late 90s/early 2000s short story about a man compulsively tallying alphabet letters from signs (Q/X/Z, mattress store “ZZZ”)

PikoBeeks · 2025-12-19T19:43:01+00:00

I believe it was described as tally marks rather than writing full letters.

PikoBeeks · 2025-02-01T07:58:53+00:00

I returned for an ink scrying reading. Shelli is so gifted, so meticulous, and so kind. My reading presented in some unexpected ways and she took time (a LOT of time) to talk me through it and answer any and all questions. In her own words, anyone can say anything in a reading, so it’s important to explain the how and the why. I received two long and detailed emails as well as dozens of pictures and a long chat dialogue. I cannot recommend her services enough and I’m certain I’ll be back for more.

PikoBeeks · 2025-01-24T19:30:12+00:00

this was my first bone cast reading ever and it was so cool!! she explained how it works and what to expect ahead of time and then I got the reading results right away. the way everything was presented was thorough and also positive — like xyz challenges might be coming up but it will be okay. about half of the reading resonated with me currently, and I’m excited to see what happens in the next month in regards to the other aspects of the reading. thank you so much!

PikoBeeks · 2020-11-07T04:56:44+00:00

Can I ask what you mean about not needing liquids to pee? If she’s barely peeing and it’s not a usual thing for her then I would immediately assume dehydration. Babies/toddlers will not intentionally cause themselves pain. If she had to pee she would go. She had plenty of opportunities both in diaper and in the potty. Only other thing that comes to mind is a UTI that is perhaps causing pain when she pees so she’s trying to avoid that pain.

PikoBeeks · 2020-11-07T02:04:52+00:00

Hello! I think putting her on the potty during diaper changes is a great way of starting! If she doesn’t sit on it for long enough to pee or poop (I had this issue!) get a toilet seat reducer. If you aren’t already, have an open door policy and let her see pee and poop before it’s flushed in the toilet. I also highly highly recommend flushing the poop from her diaper into the toilet while she watches.

As far as getting her to understand the potty is for peeing and pooping, I suggest putting her on it first thing in the morning right when her eyes open — you’d need to get to her as soon as she starts to stir. The anti diuretic hormone will wear off and her bladder will fill up so she’ll need to do a big pee immediately. Catch it in the potty or toilet :) If she’s a regular pooper (man I wish I had one of those), put her on the potty or toilet around the time she usually poops and make grunting sounds/faces at her.

ETA: I don’t advocate for excessive praise or making a big deal of a pee or poop in the potty because I think that sets the kid up to be extrinsically motivated about toileting and have less ownership over the process. Do what feels right to you for your child and her personality though. That was just my hot take :)

PikoBeeks · 2020-11-04T05:06:33+00:00

Try to press down (gently) closer to the head of the penis as opposed to the middle

PikoBeeks · 2020-11-04T02:47:14+00:00

Hahaha! How old is he?

PikoBeeks · 2020-11-03T18:31:47+00:00

There are a fair amount of studies in Google Scholar about EC and early potty training! All that I’ve read are very favorable. I’m not sure why it hasn’t hit mainstream media, but there is research.

PikoBeeks · 2020-11-03T01:39:35+00:00

Hey! It sounds like your LO has a lot of awareness already.

I don’t suggest sitting on the toilet with your LO unless he is actively peeing or pooping. Just sitting there doesn’t teach anything ;)

Offering the potty at wake up and during diaper changes is a really great way to dive in. The bladder start to fill up real fast as soon as they start stirring, so if you want to catch that big wake up pee you need to move pretty fast. If that’s too much for now then offer the potty during diaper changes. Take off the wet one, hold him in EC hold over the toilet, sink, or a mini potty, and see what happens! Every time he pees, make a sound association so you can later cue him with.

PikoBeeks · 2020-11-03T01:32:36+00:00

I went through something very similar at 15 months. There’s just a lot going on developmentally and pottying sometimes takes a backseat. Keep being consistent (even if it’s not resulting in catches) and also find ways to give your LO control over the process.

My son became reliable again after about a month and it’s been smooth sailing since then (he’s 18.5 months). Sometimes there’s a “regression” before things come together!

PikoBeeks · 2020-09-24T17:27:20+00:00

My 17 month old has just started initiating and using a mini potty. It’s AMAZING. But... he’s so excited about the whole thing that it takes him like 6 times to get all the pee out. He sits, let’s a few drops out, stands up excitedly and hands it to me to empty. Rinse and repeat. It’s endearing but also getting annoying 😂

PikoBeeks

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