The last few days I haven't been able to blog. So hopefully I remember how day 3 went. His pull up was dry when he woke up on day 3. We went through the whole day following the same method as days 1 and 2. He only had one accident the whole day and told me every time he needed to go. That night we had church and since I was working in the preschool, I requested to be in his class so I could keep an eye on him and reinforce our training method. He did great and asked to go twice while in the class.
Thursday,day 4, was Brody's Birthday. I wanted to be able to get out and do fun stuff with the boys that day. However, that morning I spent 2 hours putting together a Mario kart race track and the boys were glued to it all day. So we got to have an extra day at home to make sure we had this potty training thing down. We went to dinner that night with no problems.
Friday and Saturday we ran errands, ate out, etc and big Carson was a champ. No accidents, always told us when he needed to go, and never argued if we suggested he go before we headed out.
So, I would say that Carson is officially potty trained. We still remind him periodically, but he seems to really know what to do and is glad to be a big boy in underwear. It may have been nice to have it done before 2 1/2, but since it was so easy and he was so ready, the timing was perfect.
2 down, 1 to go....
Showing posts with label potty training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potty training. Show all posts
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Potty training: day 2
Day 2 went almost the way I expected, but not quite as bad as I imagined. We woke up, went potty and got into underwear (his pull up was wet when he woke up). I immediately gave him a glass of milk and we all had breakfast. He didn't go potty for a while since he had gone during the night, as well as when he woke up. I was constantly pushing liquids and annoying him with the reminders to tell me if he had to go. He was standing in the middle of the drop cloth when he finally peed for the first time in his underwear. He screamed and said oh no! I need to potty. I feel like this was when the real training began.
We ran to the bathroom, he finished on the potty, and we talked about how he would try to keep his underwear dry next time. Probably not even 10 minutes later, he had another accident. We did the same thing over again. He probably had 5 or 6 accidents before naptime. About the fourth or fifth time I noticed that he was only starting a small bit in his underwear and catching it quicker.
After naptime, we had a mixture of both. Sometimes he'd tell me in time and we'd make it with no leaking. Other times he'd start in his underwear and finish in the toilet.
Pooping: before nap he acted like he needed to poop. I said tell me if you need to poo-poo. He said he did so we went in the bathroom. He grabbed the potty seat that Brody learned to poop on and put it on the potty. He sat for a minute then said he didn't need to go. We went back to play and 5 minutes later he said he needed to go again. We went back in and he got on the seat. He said he didn't need to go and I suggested that he sit a little longer and make sure. He then said he didn't like the seat. So I took it off and set him on the toilet backwards. He almost immediately started pooping. Of course there was lots of cheering and fruit snacks as a big prize. Unfortunately, about 10 minutes or so later, I smelled something. He apparently wasn't finished and had gone in his underwear and never mentioned it to me. Later in the day, after dinner, he ran to Matt and I to tell us he had to poo poo. When we got to the bathroom, he had started a tiny bit in his underwear but had stopped himself. He said "I stopped it!" He, and the rest of us, were so proud.
Overall, I feel like day 2 was successful. There were accidents but he seemed to learn from each of them and seemed to gain more bladder control as the day went on. So will he be fully potty trained after 3 days??? We'll see.
We ran to the bathroom, he finished on the potty, and we talked about how he would try to keep his underwear dry next time. Probably not even 10 minutes later, he had another accident. We did the same thing over again. He probably had 5 or 6 accidents before naptime. About the fourth or fifth time I noticed that he was only starting a small bit in his underwear and catching it quicker.
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| Showing off Thomas. |
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| Legos are a new fave around here. We literally played for hours this morning. |
After naptime, we had a mixture of both. Sometimes he'd tell me in time and we'd make it with no leaking. Other times he'd start in his underwear and finish in the toilet.
Pooping: before nap he acted like he needed to poop. I said tell me if you need to poo-poo. He said he did so we went in the bathroom. He grabbed the potty seat that Brody learned to poop on and put it on the potty. He sat for a minute then said he didn't need to go. We went back to play and 5 minutes later he said he needed to go again. We went back in and he got on the seat. He said he didn't need to go and I suggested that he sit a little longer and make sure. He then said he didn't like the seat. So I took it off and set him on the toilet backwards. He almost immediately started pooping. Of course there was lots of cheering and fruit snacks as a big prize. Unfortunately, about 10 minutes or so later, I smelled something. He apparently wasn't finished and had gone in his underwear and never mentioned it to me. Later in the day, after dinner, he ran to Matt and I to tell us he had to poo poo. When we got to the bathroom, he had started a tiny bit in his underwear but had stopped himself. He said "I stopped it!" He, and the rest of us, were so proud.
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| The first attempt to poop on the potty. |
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Potty Training: Day 1
I was hoping to get to write this post last night, so that today's events wouldn't affect my opinion of yesterday, but..it didn't happen.
Day 1 didn't start out the way the book says to do it. Brooks had his 4 month well check up, and since his doctor is popular and you have to schedule well-checks well in advance to get in with him, I didn't want to reschedule. So we did that first thing in the morning, and began potty training when we got home around 10am. We (Brody, Carson and I) laid out the vinyl drop cloth that Matt picked up the night before. The "plastic blanket" was a hit with them. Next, we all went in the bathroom and talked about how exciting it was for Carson to get to wear underwear. He picked a pair from the bucket we keep under the sink and worked hard to get them on his chubby legs. (Apparently 2T-3T are a little small for my 2 1/2 year old. We'll be picking up a bigger size once we can leave the house.)
So we went to bed that night with no accidents. Matt asked if Day 2 of potty training was going to be like week 2 on the Biggest Loser. I laughed and said yes, I was positive it was. You see, if you're a biggest loser fan you know that week 1, the contestants lose tons of weight and do awesome. Week 2 they usually don't lose much weight at all and are really disappointed with the results. I knew that day 2 would not be like day 1. While day 1 was actually really easy, I knew day 2 would bring on the REAL training. I expected him to start having the accidents one after another and we'd go through lots of underwear. And actually, I was hoping for that. Because I learned with Brody that until they reach the point of learning what it feels like to need to go and having accidents to learn how to hold it, they don't really learn what to do. And the process is prolonged. Coming up....day 2 :)
Day 1 didn't start out the way the book says to do it. Brooks had his 4 month well check up, and since his doctor is popular and you have to schedule well-checks well in advance to get in with him, I didn't want to reschedule. So we did that first thing in the morning, and began potty training when we got home around 10am. We (Brody, Carson and I) laid out the vinyl drop cloth that Matt picked up the night before. The "plastic blanket" was a hit with them. Next, we all went in the bathroom and talked about how exciting it was for Carson to get to wear underwear. He picked a pair from the bucket we keep under the sink and worked hard to get them on his chubby legs. (Apparently 2T-3T are a little small for my 2 1/2 year old. We'll be picking up a bigger size once we can leave the house.)
The underwear bucket we keep under the bathroom sink.
We played all morning on the plastic blanket. I tried to push fluids so the need to tee-tee would come up more often. But for some reason, he was not interested. He kept telling me "I'm not thirsty, Mommy." I even offered glasses of sweet tea, his fave. Still no interest. The book tells you to constantly remind them all day to tell you if they have to go, not to ask them if they have to go. So all day I felt like a lunatic saying "Remember to tell mommy if you need to go potty. Make sure you tell mommy if you need to tee-tee. Let's check and see if you're underwear are dry. Oh good they are! So remember to tell me..." He actually got very tired of it and even sighed one time before he said "Yes, they are dry."
The only shot he would let me get of him in his underwear.
We took a break from playing and watched a short movie.
Don't you just love the drop cloth? So glad we thought of this. We can't get new carpet yet :)
The first time he had to go, he told me and we ran to the potty. He went a tiny bit, but who cares! Brody and I were so excited and gave him lots of praise and high fives. He then received a Mini M&M as a reward. This opened up a whole new world for him. So you're telling me if I even drip in the toilet I get an M&M? For the next 2 hours he would tell me every 15 minutes he had to go. We'd run in there and he'd barely go and then ask for his prize. If they go even a tiny bit, you are supposed to reward them. So I tried to explain to him to only tell me he had to go if he really had to go. But at the same time, I couldn't figure out how to prevent him from doing this. And worse, Brody felt he needed a reward every time he went to the bathroom and he started doing the same thing. He's been potty trained for a year, but didn't see why Carson got a prize and he didn't. So, in order to avoid making an ordeal out of it, I just went along with it. But I did convince Brody to stop going when he didn't really need to.
I eventually had to put these in the kitchen cabinet. Having them in the bathroom was too tempting for them. (and the lighting in this bathroom is really yellow..hence the hideous pictures.)
At nap time, I went ahead and put a pull up on him. I just decided that I wasn't ready to attempt that right now. Maybe I'll regret it later, but he's typically pretty wet when he wakes up so I knew it would be a mess to deal with right now. After nap time, we had a lot of the same...refusing to drink more than he wanted, and never really going to the bathroom with a full bladder. He'd go more often and just have small releases. He never let himself get to the point of REALLY needing to go, so we never had a single accident the entire day. But I knew not to be excited about that. The real training comes when they really have to go, they start to pee on themselves, and are rushed to the bathroom. This teaches them the sensation of needing to go and how to control it. Going every 15 minutes when they don't really need to go doesn't teach them much, at least not in a quick fashion.
So we went to bed that night with no accidents. Matt asked if Day 2 of potty training was going to be like week 2 on the Biggest Loser. I laughed and said yes, I was positive it was. You see, if you're a biggest loser fan you know that week 1, the contestants lose tons of weight and do awesome. Week 2 they usually don't lose much weight at all and are really disappointed with the results. I knew that day 2 would not be like day 1. While day 1 was actually really easy, I knew day 2 would bring on the REAL training. I expected him to start having the accidents one after another and we'd go through lots of underwear. And actually, I was hoping for that. Because I learned with Brody that until they reach the point of learning what it feels like to need to go and having accidents to learn how to hold it, they don't really learn what to do. And the process is prolonged. Coming up....day 2 :)
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Here We Go...
Tomorrow is the BIG day..Day 1 of potty training Carson. He has been waiting for this day for a while now. He's been asking us when he can wear underwear, he's teetee'd on the potty numerous times, and knows exactly what its all about.
But its never been the right timing. When he was "ready" to start training, Brooks was born. I was not about to start potty training with a newborn. So we kept telling him "after Christmas, you get to start going on the potty!" Matt at one point told him that after we take down the Christmas tree, he could start going on the potty. Well Christmas came, and went. We traveled New Years weekend, as well as the weekend after to wrap up all of the Christmas celebrations. And the tree stayed up. Because we knew he would remember. Once, a couple of weeks ago he even said "We're gonna knock that Christmas tree down to the floor and then I can tee tee on the potty!" So you see, this boy is BEYOND ready!
Then last Monday was my birthday..and potty training didn't sound like a very fun birthday gift to myself. So I was going to start Thursday...and then remembered that Brody had physical therapy that morning and I had errands that HAD to be completed on Thursday. Soo...it got pushed back again. Finally, yesterday, we took down the Christmas tree. I had taken the ornaments and lights off New Years week. But left the tree up until we were ready. And seriously, like clockwork almost, Carson was ready. We didn't start today, but Carson kinda did on his own. Matt changed his diaper when he got him up this morning. When I undressed him to give him a bath before church, the diaper was dry and he ran to the potty to go before he got in the bath. Then after the bath, while he was still diaper-less, he said "I need to tee-tee!!" And ran to the bathroom. His diaper remained completely dry all through church. During a meeting we had after church, he told Andrea he needed to go, as if he'd been doing it for years. She took him, he went, and was still dry when we put him down for his nap. He woke up dry as well.
Sooo...I'm not sure of my expectations for tomorrow. I feel like this could be a piece of cake. Or he could change his mind and it could be harder than I'm thinking. But he's showing ALL signs of readiness and eagerness. We do the 3 day method which is intense but very worth it in the end. The only thing I did different with Brody, and will probably do different with Carson, is her "no pull-up rule." The first attempt to potty train Brody failed utterly (his CMT probably played a part in that) but still..it was a disaster and we all were miserable. And what stressed me out the most was the wetting during nap and bedtime. He wasn't getting good naps, it was a huge mess, and at that point in life, I couldn't take it haha. I feel like I probably could do better with it this time. So I'll probably start him out like she says and not put a pull up on at nap and bedtimes. But if it goes too long with accidents during those times, I'm not opposed to changing things up a bit. Sleep is very valuable around here :)
If I can remember, and have time, I'll try to post at the end of each day how things are going. And hopefully I'll remember to take pics. Matt is gone to lowes right now to get a couple of things and is going to pick up some drop cloths for the living room. This should be interesting....
But its never been the right timing. When he was "ready" to start training, Brooks was born. I was not about to start potty training with a newborn. So we kept telling him "after Christmas, you get to start going on the potty!" Matt at one point told him that after we take down the Christmas tree, he could start going on the potty. Well Christmas came, and went. We traveled New Years weekend, as well as the weekend after to wrap up all of the Christmas celebrations. And the tree stayed up. Because we knew he would remember. Once, a couple of weeks ago he even said "We're gonna knock that Christmas tree down to the floor and then I can tee tee on the potty!" So you see, this boy is BEYOND ready!
Then last Monday was my birthday..and potty training didn't sound like a very fun birthday gift to myself. So I was going to start Thursday...and then remembered that Brody had physical therapy that morning and I had errands that HAD to be completed on Thursday. Soo...it got pushed back again. Finally, yesterday, we took down the Christmas tree. I had taken the ornaments and lights off New Years week. But left the tree up until we were ready. And seriously, like clockwork almost, Carson was ready. We didn't start today, but Carson kinda did on his own. Matt changed his diaper when he got him up this morning. When I undressed him to give him a bath before church, the diaper was dry and he ran to the potty to go before he got in the bath. Then after the bath, while he was still diaper-less, he said "I need to tee-tee!!" And ran to the bathroom. His diaper remained completely dry all through church. During a meeting we had after church, he told Andrea he needed to go, as if he'd been doing it for years. She took him, he went, and was still dry when we put him down for his nap. He woke up dry as well.
Sooo...I'm not sure of my expectations for tomorrow. I feel like this could be a piece of cake. Or he could change his mind and it could be harder than I'm thinking. But he's showing ALL signs of readiness and eagerness. We do the 3 day method which is intense but very worth it in the end. The only thing I did different with Brody, and will probably do different with Carson, is her "no pull-up rule." The first attempt to potty train Brody failed utterly (his CMT probably played a part in that) but still..it was a disaster and we all were miserable. And what stressed me out the most was the wetting during nap and bedtime. He wasn't getting good naps, it was a huge mess, and at that point in life, I couldn't take it haha. I feel like I probably could do better with it this time. So I'll probably start him out like she says and not put a pull up on at nap and bedtimes. But if it goes too long with accidents during those times, I'm not opposed to changing things up a bit. Sleep is very valuable around here :)
If I can remember, and have time, I'll try to post at the end of each day how things are going. And hopefully I'll remember to take pics. Matt is gone to lowes right now to get a couple of things and is going to pick up some drop cloths for the living room. This should be interesting....
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Potty Training: Days 2 & 3
I never got around to posting day 2 so I'll just do both days in one, because really, they were about the same. Before this potty training experience began, we prayed about it and asked God to bless it, to give Brody the ability to learn this and be a willing participant. We asked God to make it go smoothly, partly just for all of us, and partly because I've been feeling so sick.
And I have to say, the Lord answered mightily. Its almost as if we just skipped training. Like Brody just put underwear on and BAM! Just knew what to do. He only had 1 accident on Tuesday (day 2) and 1 Wednesday (day 3). Today we have been in the same pair of clean underwear ALL DAY! His pull ups have been dry every naptime and morning as well!
Again, I'm not getting over confident as if we'll never have accidents. We know we'll still need to keep a close eye on him for a while and keep reminding him to keep his underwear dry and to tell us if he needs to go. But this is a HUGE victory to even been this far. I was dreading this week. And the Lord came through big time, as always. Praise the Lord for only having 1 child in diapers!! Our budget will definitely appreciate that :)
And I have to say, the Lord answered mightily. Its almost as if we just skipped training. Like Brody just put underwear on and BAM! Just knew what to do. He only had 1 accident on Tuesday (day 2) and 1 Wednesday (day 3). Today we have been in the same pair of clean underwear ALL DAY! His pull ups have been dry every naptime and morning as well!
Again, I'm not getting over confident as if we'll never have accidents. We know we'll still need to keep a close eye on him for a while and keep reminding him to keep his underwear dry and to tell us if he needs to go. But this is a HUGE victory to even been this far. I was dreading this week. And the Lord came through big time, as always. Praise the Lord for only having 1 child in diapers!! Our budget will definitely appreciate that :)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Potty Training: Day 1
We are taking a second stab at potty training Brody. We attempted last May and it was..well..lets just say it didn't work out. We decided he just wasn't ready, and we thought there was a chance his leg condition may have been affecting it as well. So we waited until yesterday to start again.
We are doing the 3 day method with a couple of modifications. Leigh Ann loaned us some potty books to read to him and we got him syked up for it last week by reading one every day. His favorites are "Too Big for Diapers" with Ernie and "Diapers are Not Forever." We talked about it on Sunday night and yesterday morning he was excited when he got up and remembered it was the day for underwear and no more diapers.
All in all, yesterday was a great day. I think he really understands what we are trying to accomplish and seems willing to see it through this time. He only had 2 accidents all day. A few times his underwear were slightly damp and when we noticed, he would run to the potty and finish. It seems like when that happens he is realizing its happening and is catching it before it becomes an accident. So I'm really proud of him for that.
There were a couple of times early on yesterday that he said he was all done with the underwear and wanted to go back into diapers like Carson. But after explaining that Carson is still a baby and Brody is a big boy, he decided he wanted to stay in big boy underwear. We also moved all the diapers and wipes into Carson's room and are only changing him in there, out of Brody's sight.
One major modification we are doing (that the 3 day method does not support) is that we are using pull ups at nap time and bedtime. The first go round we did underwear at sleep times, and although I understand the reason why, it was just too much for me to handle. He was never taking good naps because he'd wake up covered in pee or worse. And the same at night. It was miserable for all of us and it about made me lose my mind. So this time, that just wasn't an option for me. Between morning sickness (oh, I guess we need to blog about that announcement!) and raising 2 toddlers, I just couldn't add that stress. We explain to him that these are his nightime/naptime underwear and to try to keep them dry and to still tell us if he needs to go potty. When he woke up this morning, it seemed he only wet once in the pull up.
So far, day 1 yesterday was fairly easy. I'm not getting my hopes up that we've got this thing in the bag. Day 1 last time went pretty good as well. But I feel like this time is different. He is more mature and definitely more willing this time. We still don't know if his condition has any affect on the training. His legs seem stronger than they were last May, so maybe the other muscles have developed more as well which may be helping him get it this time. I'll wait until tomorrow to do a post on how today is going. I should wait to see how things play out after nap time before I get too excited :)
We are doing the 3 day method with a couple of modifications. Leigh Ann loaned us some potty books to read to him and we got him syked up for it last week by reading one every day. His favorites are "Too Big for Diapers" with Ernie and "Diapers are Not Forever." We talked about it on Sunday night and yesterday morning he was excited when he got up and remembered it was the day for underwear and no more diapers.
All in all, yesterday was a great day. I think he really understands what we are trying to accomplish and seems willing to see it through this time. He only had 2 accidents all day. A few times his underwear were slightly damp and when we noticed, he would run to the potty and finish. It seems like when that happens he is realizing its happening and is catching it before it becomes an accident. So I'm really proud of him for that.
There were a couple of times early on yesterday that he said he was all done with the underwear and wanted to go back into diapers like Carson. But after explaining that Carson is still a baby and Brody is a big boy, he decided he wanted to stay in big boy underwear. We also moved all the diapers and wipes into Carson's room and are only changing him in there, out of Brody's sight.
One major modification we are doing (that the 3 day method does not support) is that we are using pull ups at nap time and bedtime. The first go round we did underwear at sleep times, and although I understand the reason why, it was just too much for me to handle. He was never taking good naps because he'd wake up covered in pee or worse. And the same at night. It was miserable for all of us and it about made me lose my mind. So this time, that just wasn't an option for me. Between morning sickness (oh, I guess we need to blog about that announcement!) and raising 2 toddlers, I just couldn't add that stress. We explain to him that these are his nightime/naptime underwear and to try to keep them dry and to still tell us if he needs to go potty. When he woke up this morning, it seemed he only wet once in the pull up.
So far, day 1 yesterday was fairly easy. I'm not getting my hopes up that we've got this thing in the bag. Day 1 last time went pretty good as well. But I feel like this time is different. He is more mature and definitely more willing this time. We still don't know if his condition has any affect on the training. His legs seem stronger than they were last May, so maybe the other muscles have developed more as well which may be helping him get it this time. I'll wait until tomorrow to do a post on how today is going. I should wait to see how things play out after nap time before I get too excited :)
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