Potty trained

I wrote back in January that Button was 95% potty trained and I'm honestly not sure when it happened but one day I realized she was 100% trained. I hadn't changed dirty underwear for quite sometime and just like that I had two regular undiapered kids. It's pretty amazing. I can't say that I did anything amazing to facilitate this other than constantly remind her to use the potty and when she had an accident say over and over again that "it's okay but big girls use the potty and where does poop go? In the potty." It's been my constant refrain for a long time. Her daycare teacher had a lot to do with it and she was amazing. Mostly I think it was Button's constant need to be like big brother that did it.

I feel like we had a lot less struggle with Button than we did with Bub but that's hardly apples to apples. Bub = first born boy, Button = second born girl. I'm not saying that she hasn't had a few setbacks now and again. When she's sick she tends to wet the bed and she had a hard time at my in-laws' new house since their toilets are really high and she couldn't go by herself. But things like that are too be expected.  I'm just happy for no more diapers ever again!

Potty training {The End}

Since I've written extensively (probably too extensively) about Button's potty training journey, I thought an update was in order. I'm happy to report that she's about 95% trained. In fact, she's slept in underwear the last 2 nights and woken up dry so most of the battle has been fought. There's still a #2 issue but that is being slowly resolved. She wears big girl underwear and doesn't want to put pull-ups on anymore. So I have a whole stack of pull-ups since we had some at the house and then the daycare sent their supply home too. I told BT last night how excited I am to never have to buy diapers again. I'd like to take credit for this miracle of a child potty-trained before the age of 3 but her daycare teachers had a lot to do with it. I honestly think they did most of the work and their consistency in taking her to the potty and getting her to where she is now is mostly to their credit. So I am very grateful to them for that. We still haven't done any big outings with her in underwear but as long as she is kept aware, I think she will do just fine. Potty trained before the age of 3! So exciting.  

Potty training {Part TMI}

So I've been trying on and off since January to potty train Button. Well, I say that but I've only made one serious effort during Memorial Day weekend to actually potty train, discovering then that she wasn't quite ready. Mostly I've been pestering her with questions about using the potty and telling her that big girls use the potty, reading her books (these are her favorites), things of that nature. Also I've been changing her diapers in the bathroom and, if it's #2, putting the poop into the potty and telling her that it is where poop goes so she sees where it is suppose to be. Then she says eww, yuck and tries to wipe herself and flushed the toilet. I feel like we skipped step 1 somewhere along the way and jumped to step 2-4.

But last night randomly she came back to step 1. For a while now she will tell me when she needs to be changed and will sometimes try to change herself. Hence why I thought she was ready in May. But it is always after the fact. Last night she came to tell me "Potty" and pointed at her bottom. So I took her into the bathroom and helped her onto the toilet. She doesn't like using the baby potty that Bub trained on, a symptom of being a second child maybe, but at any rate she does like the attached potty seat on the regular toilet. I sat her down and, boom, she went. It was so awesome. I got super excited and made a big deal and then told Bub who also got excited and made a big deal and she enjoyed it all immensely.  Unfortunately I had no rewards handy, no stickers or the like, so she had to settle for her mother clapping and dancing with her. But she definitely got the idea that this was a good idea.

Now I am unsure of what to do. I've potty trained before so you'd think I'd know what I am doing but it's been a while and every kid is different. I guess the next step is to get what the daycare needs (training pants and covers mostly) and have them start over there while I take care of it at home. I'm trying not to build it up to THIS IS IT status. But maybe this is it? I sincerely hope so.

Potty Training {Part it doesn't matter}

I took the Friday before Memorial Day as planned in order to start laying a foundation and to get this kid out of diapers once and for all. I forgot that she is so very much like me and that nothing will persuade her to do what she doesn't want to do. Normally I'm not about making my kids grow up faster than they want but I know she's ready or so I thought. She's almost ready, like on the edge but she's not willing to tip over the edge and so we reached an impasse the second day in. Optimally potty training happens after age 2. I know this. And I know from experience that training (a boy at least) after 3 is even hardener. I also know she's barely 2. But still I try. I tried. The first day she thought it was fun but never gave an indication of needing to go and never actually went in the potty.  She enjoyed the rewards though and tried all day for me to just give them to her rather than earning them. But by the 2nd day she was over it. She was tired of me making her sit on the toilet and she just did not want to. While I hate to use the word "quit" frankly I quit at the end of the second day. We weren't getting anywhere and she was tired of me and vice versa. I'm honestly not trying to push this on her but it's just she seems so ready and I'm so afraid to lose my window. Lately she wants to sit on the potty before her bath and sometimes she will try to change herself but she will not tell me before she goes.  It's so weird. I'm getting mixed signals. So now I'm wondering if I should take the last weekend of June and try again. I guess I'll try to suss out the situation over the next couple of weeks and see where we stand.

Potty training {Part Ready}

I get the feeling that potty training is different with every child. Or maybe that's just me because I'm going from a child who was basically forced to potty train to one who is incredibly interested in the whole thing. Still it's weird for me. It feels like it's been a long time since I've done this but it's only been 4 years. Yet I'm not entirely sure where to start especially with a barely 2 year old.

Pinterest and the internet tells me I can potty train her in 3 days. But those methods rarely say at what age to start. Button has been showing interest in a big way lately though. The other day when I was changing her she spotted a pair of Hello Kitty undies in her drawer and wanted to put them on. I told her panties were for big girls who use the potty and so she decided she wanted to sit on the potty so she could wear her underwear. This was a big step because up until that point she was telling us when she was wet but when I would ask her if she wanted to use the potty she'd tell me no. Now she was wanting to at least sit on it. This is certainly the right direction. So now this week twice in a row she's sat on the potty, never actually using it, but at least sitting there. She has no interest in the baby potty that Bub use instead she wants to use the big toilet. Luckily we still have the seat with the built in potty seat and that thing is the best.

At her 2 year check-up, I mentioned all this to her doctor and he basically said I needed to jump on this as soon as possible. I talked to her daycare and they told me just to let them know and they will work on it at school too. She's still in the 1 year room, waiting for space to open with the 2 year olds but there is a little bathroom off of that room so she's good to go there. Now it's a matter of finding the time. I'm thinking I'll give it a try Memorial Day weekend. I can take the Friday off so it's just the 2 of us the first day and then we will have 3 more days after that with her brother around but then that might not be a bad thing. He will encourage her and she loves it when he pays attention to her. So I'm excited and cautiously optimistic about this. I think she is, for real, ready and not just because I want her to be. I'm mean, she tells us when she needs to be changed and will lead us to the changing table. This child is more than ready to get going on this and so am I.

This came up on Timehop the other day. The more things change...

Adventures in Potty Training

So here's what I learned on the preliminary potty training day with Button. She's not ready. She not only refused to sit on the potty but managed to hold it from 8:30 to 11:30 til I put a diaper on her for her nap. At that point I don't want to say I gave up but I figure out that she wasn't ready yet. I think she is on her way and I really wanted to give her an idea of what it feels like to go. I know that it is hard for them when they are use to diapers. She did enjoy wearing the underwear and had absolutely no trouble peeing in them and then getting me to change her. She enjoyed running away from me and being half naked even more. Toddlers, the original nudists. So I will revisit the potty training another day. Maybe closer to her 2nd birthday.

Preliminary Potty Training

So today begins Day 1 of potty training for Button. I'm honestly not expecting to come out of this with a fully potty trained 21 month old. But I'm home and it's seems like a good time to introduce her to the concept. I'm fully armed with 9 pairs of training pants and a willingness to spend a lot of time cleaning up messes. We took down the potty from the attic about 2 weeks ago and she was very interested, spending some time sitting on it and even accidentally peeing once. But since then she's grown use to it so I don't know how this is going to go. The internet tells me that I can potty train a child in 3 days. I think the internet is working with a child who is on the other side of 2. But my mom tells me that I was around this age when I potty trained and I am slightly hopeful because she is always interested in doing what her brother is doing. At the very least she will start to learn when she is "going" and maybe making her aware will be helpful down the line. I think that there is a window of opportunity with kids to get this done. We waited too long for Bub looking for all the signs they tell you to look for, starting closer to 3, and he was 3 1/2 when he was finally fully potty trained. Maybe if we had tried sooner, it would have happened sooner. Who knows? But I am willing to keep trying with Button starting now in order to find that window a whole lot sooner than 3 1/2.

But how awesome would it be to not have to deal with diapers ever again? If she was fully potty trained by her 2nd birthday... a mother can dream.

More thoughts on potty training

As Button moves closer to 2, I've been considering more and more giving potty training a try at Christmas. We will be home. I'll be off. Maybe it could work. She is certainly showing more signs of readiness than her brother ever did. She doesn't like to be dirty. If you ask if she needs a diaper change she will walk into her room and wait by the changing table. She seems grossed out by it. She's starting hiding a little now too. She is definitely interested when someone in the household uses the toilet and likes to throw toilet paper in it. So these are small signs but some signs nonetheless. I'm contemplating getting the potty seat down from the attic and putting it out to see. But then should I get pull-ups or just let her get use to it being in the house? I don't even know. It's new territory for me having a child who is interested in this at all. Bub was 3 1/2 by the time it was all done with him and he was only vaguely interested. He didn't see the value in having to stop what he was doing and so we had to make him see the value. She is much different than him. Button loves to be clean. I think that is partly why she enjoys her bath time so much. So I'm beginning to feel like my 2 weeks off could be an opportunity I shouldn't pass up. I mean, how awesome would it be to have a child potty training before the age of 2? And no more diapers. *sigh* I can only hope.

{future} potty training

I know, I know. It's probably too soon to really think about potty training but the thought occurred to me after Button's first birthday that she will be 21 months at Christmas. Is that too young for potty training? I know some people who've started at 18 months. For Bub, we wanted to wait it out until he gave indications of readiness. He wasn't interested. Finally at 3, we sort of made him do it. Because it was holding him back from moving onto preschool. And by 3 he knew what he was suppose to be doing. He just didn't want to do it. So by the time it was all over he was 3 1/2 years old. I'm hoping with Button it doesn't take that long. She's a girl. She's a second child. Those factors usually mean potty training earlier especially combined with the fact that she always wants to do what he is doing.

At Christmas I have 2 weeks off. And with the exception of a few days I'll be home with her to give it a try. Of course, I'll have to see what signs she is exhibiting but she already doesn't like having a dirty diaper. My husband laughed at me. I don't think he believes. I mean it is a long shot but after she turns 2 then it really will be closer to time to start. I just really don't want her to be 3 before she is done with diapers. I am so tired of diapers and I know I have another year of them. Of course she should probably learn to walk first. One thing at a time. *sigh*

Going to see the Mouse

esterday we found out that we are going to Disney World in June with my family (my parents, sister, cousin and wife and their daughter, and some of her family and my aunt)!  We are so excited but there is so much to do before then.  Since we didn't know we were going, we now have to save up money and I need to hoarde my vacation time until then.  7 weeks away and now we have to start getting ready while everyone else had been for a year  It's just that my mom really wanted us to go and so she made it possible for us to get there.  I have the best parents!

 So we asked Bub if he wanted to go see the castle and Mickey Mouse which might have been a mistake.  Because last night he put on his footie pjs and told me to put on my shoes so we could go drive in Mommy's car.  When I asked where, he finally told me we were going to see Mickey Mouse.  I had to explain that first Mommy had to have a birthday and then we could go.  Then I felt all crafty and told him that he had to be able to use the potty and not wear diapers before he could go see Mickey.  He was ready to put on his underwear right then, but it is sleepytime so that wasn't going to work.

Then this morning after he was dressed he announced that we were going to see Micky Mouse.  I explained again about my birthday and waiting and being potty trained.  Same conversation after the dentist.  I think I'm going to have this conversation a lot over the next 7 weeks.  But I'm hoping he will be willing to potty train if he thinks he can't see Mickey while wearing diapers.  I hope.  *fingers crossed*

Potty Training randomly enough

Well, I'm almost done with the boy's new room. The squares are painted except the red needs another coat I decided this morning. But it is too cute.
The chalkboard wall should be ready today. I need to stop and get some chalk and see if it works but I think Bubs will love it.

They have started putting him on the potty at daycare and we've been talking about it a lot at our house. He will sit on it, but he still isn't aware of when he needs to. I don't think he is ready but I'm going to start with pull-ups anyway. They are easier to change standing up. Luckily my favorite brand of diapers, Seventh Generation, makes training pants so I ordered some of those along with some regular diapers but next time I think I might only get pull-ups. The only problem is that they are not good for naps or night-time so I'm still going to have to invest in some night-time diapers or something. But they are the chlorine free, hypoallergenic, environment-friendlier brand that I've been using on him so I'm going to continue that. This other brand, Nature Babycare, also makes training pants but I didn't like the diapers so I don't know about those. I should have ordered some flushable wipes. Seventh Generation doesn't make any so I'll have to get another brand.

So this turned into a post on diapers. Scintillating I'm sure.