3 years old!

Cookie M turned 3 last month... and although she acts like 13 most times, she can also be a very sweet little girl.  She basically potty trained herself back in April, it was maybe 1 week of me wondering how much I should "help" to get the right balance of taking advantage of her wanting too and not pushing too hard, but really she did it all on her own!  She also threw away her last pacifier within a week of the snipping of the tip every morning.  We warned her that it was the only one she had left and if she threw it away she wouldn't have a paci anymore, she said "I know" and tossed it in the garbage and never asked for it again!  Both kiddos also had their car seats adjusted that day back in April last year and it was great, they were so excited to both be forward facing and it just got better as now they both even climb in and strap themselves in on their own!  Where did my babies go!  I know that last week of August is going to be so hard when Little C starts kindergarten and Cookie M starts preschool... this Mommy is going to be a basket case!  But at the same time, I am so excited for M to experience preschool just like she saw her big brother do.  I know she will LOVE it as much as he did.  We really belong to an awesome and incredible preschool and I am so lucky that we found it.  So many changes to come this year... although I could have said that (and probably did) about every other year in the past... and will probably say it about every year moving forward... how amazing life is!

Potty Training, Getting Rid of Paci, Flipping Car Seat... It's a BIG Week!

Okay, so we're not really doing all of these 100% cold turkey this week, but they are all on the radar.  When we went back to Ohio for Easter we brought back with us our toddler potty from Little C.  Well, Cookie M wishes she could sit on the potty all day.  I turn my back for one minute and she has her pants off and is trying to get her diaper off.  I figure... why not work on it if she wants to.  So, when she wants to try, we try. The other day she went 3 times on it.

Big Deal #2 - we are getting rid of the paci.  Little C willingly gave up his paci around 7 months.  He just stopped taking it and I thought... why are we trying to give it to him if he doesn't want it?  So, that was the end of the paci with him.  Well, Cookie M was not so easy (go figure).  She has always been more attached to it then he ever was, although she has always only been allowed to have it at naps and bedtime.  She only has 4 pacis, so its not like she has them all over the place... 1 in mom's car, 1 in dad's car, 2 in crib.  Well, the one in my car started cracking, so garbage.  Then we lost one this weekend at my parents somehow.  Down to 2.  I cut the tip slightly of both remaining 2 pacis... she didn't like that and threw one away on her own.  1 left.  We don't take it in the car anymore, which she doesn't like but deals with fairly well.  Every day I cut a little more off the tip.  There's no turning back now... hope it works out okay!

Last thing - turning the car seat forward-facing!  Both her car seats hold an infant rear-facing until they are 35 pounds.  We kept Little C rear-facing until 3 months before he turned 2.  She'll be 2 in early June... and she really wants to be forward facing.  It is getting harder and harder to put her in rear-facing, she doesn't seem as comfortable and she is almost 2.  It's a decent day today, so after Daddy gets home I'll go out and switch the car seats.  I also have to switch Little C's car seat to be connected with the seat belt instead of the LATCH anchors as him and the car seat weight combined are getting really close to the car's LATCH weight limit.

My babies are growing up!  I'm sad about it, but also so excited for the fun and adventures ahead!

Potty Training Wrap Up

So C is basically potty trained except for #2.  I still set the timer for every 90 minutes just in case.  And I still periodically remind him "no accidents, do you have to use the potty".  I don't even hesitate to leave the house with him... we just bring our trusty Elmo potty along for the ride :)  So, unless something major happens, I think this may be the last of the potty training updates.

Potty Training - Day 6, 7 and 8

Saturday, Sunday and Monday all went super well with potty training.  C hasn't had any accidents and we are up to the 1 hour and 15 minute timer.  On Monday he told me twice that he had to go potty and Monday evening he even did a little #2 on the potty!  Yeah C, we are so proud of you!  He is doing great and I am so thrilled.  He was even dry when he woke up this morning!

Potty Training - Day 5

Since C had no accidents on Thrusday, we went up to the 45 minute timer on Friday.  And we were out of the house most of the day... and no accidents!  There were even some 1 hour time frames and he did great.  He did have 3 poop accidents later Friday afternoon.  See, he understands that he shouldn't have accidents and I know he doesn't want accidents, he's so smart.  Anyway, he holds his poop as long as possible because he doesn't want accidents.  He usually goes every single day if not 2x a day... and since he had his first accident he has been holding it and only going every other day.  The thing is, he tries to poop on the potty but he is so used to going standing up, it's like he can't go while sitting.  I'm sure he'll figure it out :)

Potty Training - Day 4

Thursday was a great day... no accidents at all!  He was even dry through his 2 hour nap!  I think he really understands that he is not supposed to have accidents in his underpants.  I am so proud of our C... what a great boy!

Potty Training - Day 3

Getting better, we're still on the 30 minute timer because we haven't had a day of accident-free yet.  But only 2 accidents today.  C goes every single time we put him on the potty.  Well, he goes #1, he still seems scared to do #2, but we'll get there.

Potty Training - Day 2

In addition to the trainer pants, we also have Thomas the Train underpants (non-trainers). So, since C loves Thomas, I decided to put those on him on Tuesday, with a small prefold laying in them.  I told him that if he gets Thomas all wet then we'll have to throw him away :(  And guess what, no accidents all morning!  For naps I still put him in a diaper because a cloth diaper wet with pee really irritates his bottom.  For the afternoon/evening he did have 3 little accidents.  The first one was in the Thomas with prefold, so he didn't really know he had an accident.  The next 2 were in the trainers and he really didn't like them.  Pee dripping down his leg was not fun.  But hey, accidents are a good thing right now, that's how he'll learn :)

Potty Training... we're really going for it this time

Do I sound like a broken record?  Potty training Take 1, Take 2, Take 3, ha ha ha.  But I decided to get C actual cloth training pants because he hated having a diaper put back on after going potty and this mommy was just too nervous to let him run around naked.  So, once he wakes up from his nap we are full steam ahead with our new training underpants and 3 different potty training dvd's, not to mention a million books - potty and otherwise to keep us occupied everytime we get one the potty.  He has been asking since the underpants came in the mail yesterday if he could wear them... how cute.  He's going to love it and he's going to do great, I have the utmost confidence in our little guy :)

Ups and Downs... Potty Training Update

Yesterday went so well with the potty.  C went 6 times and 5 of those times were on his own, sort-of.  Right after breakfast I put him on the potty and he went #1 right away.  He loves this DVD I got out at the library called "Go Potty Go".  So of course that has to be on all day long!  Anyway, in the movie there is a big kid parade and every time it starts C gets up and marches around the room, he really loves it!  Anyway, he was on the potty still when the parade was about to start, so his cute little naked butt gets up and starts marching around the room.  Me, being super worried that he's going to pee all over the carpet, keeps reminding him the whole time that if he has to pee or poo he needs to come back to the potty... and you know what... he does!  He looks at me and says potty, then comes running to it, sits down and pees.  This similar thing happened 2 other times yesterday too.  And then 2 times he told me, while fully dressed, "potty, potty" and sure enough I sit him on it and he goes!  Yeah C... Mommy is so proud of you!  And even more so considering you have a cold and it must be even harder to remember to go on the potty when you feel miserable.

Mommy is still proud of you today... even though you have only gone on the potty once... and also had one accident standing next to the potty.  Oh well, that's okay :)

Potty Training Update

Overall, Monday went pretty well with the potty.  Although C didn't do #2 on the potty without his diaper on, he did tell me he had to go and then went and sat on the potty (fully dressed) and went in his diaper.  Hey, at least he's getting the idea somewhat, right?  Anyway, he also went #1 4 times total on Monday.

Tuesday was an off day because he had his 18 month check-up in the morning (and is doing wonderful).  K took off work to come with us, so afterwords we took C to go ride a train and out for an early dinner, so we weren't home for much of the day to practice potty training.

Yesterday went pretty good too.  He told me a few times "potty", but didn't seem to want his diaper off when it was time for #2.  Oh well, we'll get there.  He did go #1 another 4 times.  Yeah!

So far I think things are going well.  I don't want to force him and I think things are going really well for his age.  I am debating about getting him pull-ups or cloth training pants.  Do you think it might be confusing for him to be told to go on the potty, but then to put a diaper back on?  I know he know what diapers are for because he tells me "diaper wet" or "new diaper"... he is so funny!

Potty Training... Day 1... Do Over

Okay, so I did start potty training on Thursday, but that wasn't a smart idea because we had a super busy Friday planned and then the weekend.  So, we're starting today again.  We did end up getting C a little potty, which works out great because we can keep it in the living room and then he can play and doesn't have to leave the room and all his toys to go potty.  So far today we have sat on the potty 4 times and did #1 2 of those times!  Yeah C!  He also sat on it to go #2, but he didn't want me to take off his pants, so that's okay... he's getting the idea!

Here is the potty we got and we all love it!

Sesame Street - 1-2-3 Learn With Me Potty Chair

Potty Training... Day 1

So, I decided that since C is now 18 months old, is pretty advanced in his speaking and understanding skills, has used the potty numerous random times for both #1 and #2, and I'm home with him full-time... we are going to start potty training!  Then it occured to me... how exactly do I do this?  I have never really potty trained a child before.

My initial thought was that I would set a timer for every 30 or 45 minutes and everytime the timer goes off, we go sit on the potty.  But then I decided to look it up on the internet first.  So, I look and there are lots of ways.  I didn't see anything that specifically said to do it the way I'm doing it, but that's okay.  I talked to my mom and that is the way she trained all 4 of her kids, so I'm sticking with it.

So far today, we (and of course by WE, I mean C) have only dirtied 1 diaper.  And he knew he had to go, he told me "poop", he just didn't want to sit on the potty to do it.  So, in addition to this   I am debating about this whole potty thing.  If you remember my post from a few weeks back, we have a step-up padded potty seat for him in his bathroom and then in our first-level half-bath we have a family seat.  So, when he has to go, he is always on the big toilet.  His legs aren't long enough to touch the step up/step stool, so somtimes I feel like that is bothering him.  Anyway... for now we'll keep up with they way we're doing it and we'll see how it goes.

I am more than confident that we can do this, and it is not too early.  I don't know if this is true or not, but in my searches for potty training methods I came across a site that said in the 1950's 95% of boys were potty trained by 18 months.  Today that number is less than 10%!  Wow... what a difference.  I know a lot has changed since the 1950's.  Then probably almost all mothers stayed home, and today so many children are in day care.  Also, there weren't disposable diapers back then either.  I don't know why, but I do know that C can do it!

My Dreamy Mondays – Down the Toilet

Let me start off by saying that I thought potty training would be relatively tough, mainly because I am a full-time working mom (well, for 3 more weeks at least – but I didn’t know that I would be able to be a SAHM until recently). And because I always heard boys were harder to train than girls and because I had a little experience with it and knew it wasn’t always as easy as you think it should be... I wasn't expecting it would be a cake walk.

Our 4 year old niece is a super smart little girl, she knew the entire alphabet at 1 year old and at 4 years old she can identify every letter. She has always been an early talker and all and by 2 (probably earlier but she's not my daughter so I really can't remember) she knew when she had to go… but she would never go on the potty. She would hold it all day if she didn’t have on a diaper, it was crazy. She was just so scared of going potty on the potty. Right around her 3rd birthday my husband and I watched her for a few days and I spent 3 hours one evening in the bathroom with her… listening to her scream and yell and cry, because she had to go and I wouldn’t put a diaper on her. It was an awful 3 hours... I felt awful, but I knew that she could do it if she just got past that first time. She finally went and has been completely potty trained ever since.

So, when our son was about 9 months or so (how awful… I can’t even remember this stuff for my one and only son! - good thing I documented everything... just can't get to it right now) I would put him on the potty while we waited the whole 20 seconds it took Daddy to make his bath… just to get him used to sitting on it. Well, around 13 months or so we were in his bedroom and he walked up to the bathroom door and pointed. I asked if he wanted to use the potty and he got all excited and shook his head ‘yes’. So I took off his pants and diaper and put him on the potty and sure enough he peed. After this milestone, I starting asking him at most diaper changes if he wanted to use the potty. Sometimes he says yes and other times he just acts oblivious to what I’ve said (silly boy… most kids his age love the word ‘No’ and yet that is the only one out of his 60+ word vocabulary that he barely ever uses). Anyway, no pressure, if he says yes we(he) sit on the potty and if he doesn’t say yes, then we just continue with the diaper change and sing or talk about something different. Even when he says yes, he often does nothing, but there have been a couple of times here and there when he has done pee or poo. I just chalk that up to coincidence.

Well, this weekend was huge (in my opinion). Saturday morning after he woke up I asked him about potty before changing his diaper and he said “potty”… so I put him on and he pees. Yeah C! Later, before his nap, I was walking him and he points to the bathroom and starts grunting (a fake grunt) so I ask him and he says “potty”… so I put him on and he poops. Again, Yeah C! Sunday morning and afternoon… the same thing as the day before. Then before bath we put him on and his daddy asks him to show him how he goes pee-pee. C says pee-pee, looks down, then pees! Then Daddy asks about poo and same thing (only with some grunting). YEAH C! After his bath I pick up a clean diaper and he shakes his head no and waves his hands to push the diaper away. I ask if he wants potty again and he says yes. I think “yeah right… now we’re just playing”, but whatever, I'm game :) Back to the potty we go and he pees again! Wow C… I am so amazed by you everyday! I would have never thought Little C would pick up potty training this easily… with me barely doing anything to lead him! He really is the greatest son in the world, not just because of this, just because he is always so easy going and happy and so easy with everything. I should have known that he would get this potty thing without much assistance from me and his daddy… he just does everything at his own pace on his own. He got rid of his pacifier on his own at 8 months, off his bottle on his own at 12 months and going to sleep on his own (to the point where he didn’t even want to be rocked… and without ever using the cry-it-out method) by I can’t even remember how many months - it has been that long… of course there are exceptions every now and again.

Could he really be this easy to potty train??? What a dream come true that would be. My mom said "that's great... but what about all those cloth diapers you bought that you are so excited about using"... well Mom, we'll just have to have another baby :) Anyway, I don't want to pressure him. He is only 15 1/2 months old and I am still working full-time... so if he continues at this rate, maybe after me being home with him (in 3 weeks!) and he has this consistency every day we might have him trained in a few months, but if not, then we don't. Either way, he is still the best!