First Wedgie

Well I had to document this, the day Amaryllis experienced her FiRst wEdGie. A First Wedgie only happens once in your life, so it is important enough to write down.

Up until today, she has been wearing training panties which are more boy-cut and have some extra cushion in the bum.

But this morning, she noticed a pair of regular undies that I had been trying to hide (they are thin and not as absorbent, so I was hiding them until wet accidents weren't as often).

Being the upcoming 2 yr old that she is, lately she has gotten very picky about what she wears and SHE wants to pick things out. It's very annoying and I don't know how much longer I'll fight her on it.

Anyways, so she got to wear her her first big-girl undies. And by the way, these are not the white tighty granny pantys that we all grew up with (you know, the ones that go up to your belly button and down halfway to your thigh for maximum coverage). Apparently they don't make those things anymore. All toddler undies nowadays are slightly bikini-cut in style. Scandalous, I know.
I suppose because of the cut/style, that's why it hasn't happened until now. I noticed her walking towards me in that bow-legged, straddling weird walk with a grimace on her face, and I thought she had an accident. She kept saying "hurt" and pointing to her bum.

I checked her and, sure enough. Full on major wedgie. It made me laugh so hard.

Broke Our 9-Day Streak

Well we were doing so well and didn't have a single wet accident for quite awhile.

Then mom got lazy.

I'll take full blame. We were at a church Christmas party and I kept thinking I should take her, but then I thought "no she'll come tell me". She was quite wrapped up in her own little world and did not come get me. I only realized it when she walked over to me, all wide-legged with her legs straddled-like, and a very concerned expression on her face.

Let me tell you she was SOAKED. I realize now that her previous wet accidents weren't really even accidents (just little leaks). This completely soaked everything, dribbled down her legs, soaked her socks, etc.

And apparently pee burns because when I was wiping her legs it was stinging her. Her legs had a red rash the next day.

Bad mom. She had to walk around pantless like a white-trash redneck baby the rest of the party.

Anyways. We are back on track and I'm going to be more diligent when we are at events where it is easy to forget.

Also I did want to record that I love the Potette Plus portable potty. We have 2 other toilet seats for our bathrooms and I wish I would've just gotten Potettes for those ones as well. It is just so much smaller and can fold up nicely. Doesn't seem as cushy for the kid, but whatev.

I also want to say that the flushable wipes are quite useful, so have those on hand too.

And last but not least, surprisingly the Target pullups are even better then the name brand. They have a nice little velcro strip along the side so that, should the toddler poop in there, it is easier to undo instead of having to tear it. Keep in mind I don't use pullups as longterm diapers so I'm not sure how they fare on absorbency, but for the stage we are at I like them. Go Targy.

PS: Home Depot still wins at having the nicest, roomiest, cleanest bathroom. So sad that I have resorted to rating pottys all over Cary, but trust me we have visited them all.

3rd Week is a Charm

We are now in the 4th week of potty training (I think...it all seems to blur together).

By the 3rd week of undies something just clicked with Amaryllis, and we have not had a wet accident in over a week. The first day Amaryllis stayed dry was quite a nice pat-on-the-back for me, but I thought it was a fluke. Then she did it again the next few days and I realized that she just gets it now.

However, may I say during the 3rd week it is with me being the one to initiate going to the potty. I take her about once every hour.

More recently, the past few days, she comes running to me saying POTTY and so it is nice that she has taken the initiative to come tell me.

Thus, everything seems to come in stages. We rarely have anymore cry-fits when I sit her on the potty because she is learning to just pee and get it over with. It takes less than 1 minute. In hindsight, I realize I was forcing her to go too often, and sit on there too long during weeks 1 & 2. But who's to say that hurt or helped?

POOP: We have had a few success on the potty. We've had many accidents in the undies. We've mostly had poopy pull-ups during nap. Or she just doesn't poop for 2-3 days which is fine with me!

Poop in the undies is gross. That's all I can say about that. There's not really an easy way to clean it either.

She does get concerned and tell me she needs to poop, but when I put her on the potty she is impatient and won't wait around. So off she goes and within 5 minutes she's either back on the potty again (but still too impatient or uncomfortable to go), or back off and has gone in her pullup/undies.

All in all, we really don't worry about her wetting her undies anymore and it is a GOOD feeling! She can hold it up to 3-4 hrs (car trips or church). She still loves to go in public restrooms.

Now our main focus is getting her to consistently poop in the toilet. We are on the right track (she is verbal and tells us she has to go), we just need her to have patience and sit there!

I feel like potty training was really easy. Then I remind myself those first few days were exhausting. But it's funny how quickly you forget once you are reaping the benefit.

Second Week of Undies

Amaryllis has done really well this week. She continues to be an excellent public restroom user! It is so much easier to get her to go while we are doing errands. I make her go every hour (or every store that we go into). We have found our groove and it doesn't take me near as long, and I don't feel so rushed. We are in/out within 3-5 minutes. Although it is gross how she touches everything (like the little trashcans for feminine waste, eww) but hand sanitizer solves that.

At home, there are times when she is happy to sit on the potty. Then there are times where she does not want to be interrupted and throws a fit. I try not to force her. Sometimes she pees a lot, sometimes it is just a little but I can usually coax her to get quite a bit out. If she ever has an accident inn her undies, it is just a little and then she runs to the bathroom.

Lately (towards the end of her 2nd week in undies) she has even run to the potty on her own while calling my name. She can hold it until she gets there...exciting! She is still too little to get off her pants or lift herself onto the potty, so I always have to help her. But I don't mind. I know some potty books say if they can't do this themselves then they aren't ready, but it isn't a problem for us. As for pooping, we still haven't figured that out.

Probably the worst day of potty training so far was the day she pooped in her undies at the park. Thanks goodness I have a big flat trunk that I could lay her down in. It was hard getting the undies off without smearing it down her leg. That was probably the only time I've had one of those "why did I do this" thoughts. But, you deal with it and move on. I liken it to having a blow-out when they are newborns: you are flustered, it's messy, you somehow get through it, and are more prepared next time.

Other than that poopy mess, she just holds it up for 2-3 days & goes during naptime in her pullups. Kind of nice, but not sure where we go from here. I guess we'll just see how it pans out. On our trip to the beach this weekend (2 hr drive) I put a pullup on her b/c I knew we didn't want to stop and I figured she wouldn't tell me if she had to go. I rarely use pull-ups because I tend to not be as diligent if I know she has one one. But to my surprise, she stayed dry the whole time in the car! I've also found her to be dryer after naps and night time.

Her diaper used to weigh like 2 lbs every morning but lately it is not so full. By the end of this 2nd week, she maybe has 1-2 small accidents per day (I say small and mean just a little pee in her undies before she catches it. Not enough to even soak the undies and definitely not enough to soak her pants or drip down her leg). She sits on the potty for about 1 minute and is much more efficient at taking care of business. This is much nicer than the 5-6 minute sessions she was doing last week.

All in all, this week was way easier than last week. I don't have to constantly remind her and we are settling into a routine. Yes, it is still an effort for me to stay on my toes, but not near like those first couple days.

And it is soo nice not to go through diapers or have to change so many! Especially now that she doesn't poo as much...awesome!

(The only sad thing is that I feel like she is waaaay more mature and grownup within the last 2 wks. Where's muh little baby gurl???)

And We Never Made it to Size 5 Diapers

Well this week has been busy busy. Let me try to recap. I wish I had written every day because I really do want to remember what I did with Amaryllis so I don't make the same mistakes with baby #2, but alas working, pregnancy, and toddlerhood has put my schedule in a pinch. Here it goes.

Age: Amaryllis is 21 months. She's pretty bright and understands simple commands. I can't really have a conversation with her yet, but if I say things enough times I think she understands what I mean. So far, she hasn't been destructive, defiant, or disobedient on purpose. I really want to have her potty trained before the authoritative struggle comes into age.

Reference: My friend posted about her "Potty Party" for her 2 1/2 year old. She mentioned the book Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day. I was interested, checked out the book from the library, and skimmed through it. It was informational I guess. I can't say I really learned anything new and I thought the book was pretty funny in that it seemed like a scam-of-a-book (about 20 pages of info, and the rest was detailed party "themes" and food/decor to go along with it. Honestly, what kid wants a Hollywood/Celebrity themed party?).

Anyways, I read through the basic concept which is: set aside a special day, have the child teach their babydoll how to pee, give the child some undies for baby (and for themselves), and then proceed throughout the day with praising and whatnot. Usually children really love to teach someone else, so the teaching babydoll concept works.

These past few months Amaryllis has continued to sit on the toliet when I put her there, but we have been so busy I was not consistent. It was becoming less and less.

Motivation: I KNEW WITH A BURNINGNESS in my heart that my sanity cannot handle double-diaper duty, and so I desperately wanted to have her fully trained before baby #2 in March. I also KNEW WITH EVERY ACHE in my body that I'm getting fatter/lazier by the week and I doubted if I would have the inner strength to go through with potty training the longer I waited. I looked at my schedule and had no work meetings and no traveling for 2 wks. Now or never.

But I was scared. Every mom makes such a big deal about it. Is it all just talk?

Then Monday, Amaryllis randomly put Duke (her dog) on the toilet. This was it! I couldn't deny it was a sign. I had a new doll that I was saving for the right (desperate?) time this fall--all stored away in the closet. So I threw together a last-minute potty party from that moment on. It was a fun day. It was a long day. But not horrible like everyone says. I had to do an attitude adjustment, but here is how it went this week:

Day 1: In the morning, Amaryllis taught BabyDoll (we have since named her Blossom) how to sit on the toliet and pee. I had a little teaspoon of water I hid in my hand so that Blossom would actually look/sound like she's peeing. It really helped because the noise of water hitting the toliet just rocked AV's world. We did this a lot all morning. AV loved it. We went through all the steps of taking off the diaper, putting her on the toliet, wiping, washing, flushing. I spent 1-on-1 time with her all morning which I've never done. It was exhausting--she is such a mover. But it was really fun to do activities with her. I had to get creative, but we found lots to do.

Introducing Undies & Dora Pullups: After doing the toliet with Blossom for awhile, I brought out a package of new undies and made a big deal about them. Wow, Blossom got undies! And Amaryllis got undies too! No more diapers. We threw the diapers in the trash in a very dramatic ceremony. Please note that all morning there was much praising and repeating and discussion about potty, wet vs dry, how we want to stay dry, etc. This was the most annoying part to me b/c I felt like I said the same thing over and over but AV really got it and kept saying "dry" and patting herself.

From that moment on, I swore I would never put diapers on her (except at night. We call them special night undies and she buys it). I know the book says you will send mixed signals if you put diapers on them again, but she doesn't notice the night diapers and so we don't talk about it.

She still takes a 3-4 hr nap and I'm not worrying about nightwetting yet. She wokeup and said "oh no, Dora wet" so I felt like our morning was a success---she knew wet vs dry.

That afternoon it was her turn to sit on the potty. This was a bit of a problem. I will have to think of how to fix this for baby #2. All AV wanted to do was put Blossom on the toilet and she refused to sit on it! For the past 7 months AV has been fine on the toilet and never thrown a fit until today. If we used a different toilet, she was fine. But the downstairs toilet was Blossoms and AV would not sit on it. Ugh.

Yes, AV had 2 small accidents that day (Blossom had accidents too). They weren't bad at all like I envisioned. The training undies are quite absorbent yet still give the toddler a wet feeling that she did not like. She did NOT go pee or poo on the toilet for the next 2 days. She wasn't refusing, she just sat there and tried. I did notice these first 2 days she held it all morning and peed during nap. Then held it most afternoon and peed during bath. Oh well. I tried to not get discouraged by reminding myself that half the battle is for them to learn how to hold it which she definitely was learning. She liked walking around saying she was dry.

Note About Staying Home: We stayed home all that first day. I hate staying home and this was the part I had always dreaded about potty training. I heard all these horrible tales about how you have to lock yourself in your home for like a week and just sit with your toddler on the toilet. It was NOT like that ladies! We had activities to do, Owen came over and played, we went on walks outside. It was fine. Don't let this bad rumor scare you off.

Day 3 & 4: We continued on with the undies during playtime and pullups during nap. At first I was setting the timer for every 15 min and she'd run to the toilet when it went beep. But then I realized AV really only needs to go once every 1-2 hrs, so I quit with the timer on day 4. We had a few small successes (just a few drops in the toilet...how to get her to let it all out?) and a few accidents.

Poo: She finally went poo after holding it for 2 days. She went in her undies while saying 'uh oh' and I rushed her to the toilet. It was tricky, but we got her out of the undies, plopped it in the toilet, and had a discussion about it. Then we had to learn how to wipe her bum. This was hard--I should have taught her what "bend over" means first!

Going Out: I think I mentioned that one of our toilets is this portable toilet seat (Potette Plus 2-in-1). I'm super glad I went with this one. It has been SO convenient! It folds up nicely and I gave AV a cute new bag to carry it in. She was thrilled to run errands with her very own bag. I was nervous taking her out at first and decided she should wear undies and not pullups. I didn't want pullups to become a crutch, and new I wouldn't be as pro-active if I knew she was wearing pullups. Let's face it...pullups are pretty much diapers in my mind. I wanted to force myself to force her to get used to public bathrooms.

Let me just say she does WAY BETTER in public than at home! I don't get it. All during errands we talk about being dry and then every hour I make sure to be near a restroom. She loves getting her potty out, unfolding it, and looking to see where the toilet paper is in that certain restroom. Public peeing is the first time I have seen her let it all out. Like she goes a little, I say "more", she goes more, and I keep encouraging her, and you can watch her think and make the mental connection, then wooooosh. Niagara Falls. It has been quite exciting. Yes we've had maybe 2 accidents in public (at the park when she gets excited) but it is usually just a little bit and then we rush to the potty.

Her being able to pee in public gave me such confidence and while going out is still scary, I know she can do it. If I had to do it over again, I would do the same thing and force her to be comfortable peeing in public from day 1. I try really hard to not use pull-ups because even though we call them undies, I think she recognizes the feel of them and is more prone to accidents.

Note About Public Peeing: She has to take off her pants. Which means shoes must come off. It's annoying, but it's the only way she can be comfy. We need to work on this. I try to be in places with nice restrooms.

Signals: Sometimes she runs to the toilet. Sometimes she tells me. Sometimes she doesn't and just looks at me and I know. In public, sometimes she'll say "pe pe or potty" but it is hard for me to know what she is saying b/c I don't hear her version of these words often.

Things to Remember: The bribery/treat thing has become out of control. She is obsessed with treats and it is getting worse. She's starting to throw fits for them! I wish I hadn't started with treats and instead done a sticker chart. But there's nothing I can do at this point.

What I'm Feeling: Moms make such a big deal about potty training. It isn't that big of deal except that it is tiring. But it would be tiring whether you do it while they are young or old, so why not get it over with while they are young? I think the exhausting part is having to be so happy/chipper all the time and always talking about the same thing over and over again. I thought cleaning up pee would be the annoying part, but for us that wasn't too bad. The annoying part was ME...I had to be proactive and give myself pep-talks and get off my lazy butt.

My Tips: Look at your calendar before starting potty training. Buy lots of undies (laundry is a drag). Go with sticker charts over treats. Continually talk and be verbal about all things toilet related. And in public, just start from day 1 and work it into your routine.

Future: I realize she isn't totally potty trained because we haven't gone a full day without an accident, but going diaper-less is a huge step. I have to remind myself to make the conscious time to talk about wet/dry, and to tear myself away from my things and take her to the toilet. I will need to look into night wetting, but at this point where she still sleeps 14 hrs at night and 4 hrs during the day, I can't expect her to hold it.

Car Trips: I don't know what we'll do next weekend driving to the beach. I wonder if she will hold it. Or should I do a pull-up? Maybe we'll stop at McDs and use the potty? I'll think about it.

Regression: They say every child goes through at least 1 or 2 regressions. I'm mentally preparing myself now, so that I don't get discouraged. I'll just have to tough it out.

Here's to day #6 with no diapers!

18 Months: Enter Treats

This girl is hooked on smarties. Before she even sits on the potty she reaches up and puts out her hand "treat?". I've introduced treats and sweets into her life, and there is no going back.

I give her a couple smarties every time, even if she doesn't go potty. Most times she does go.

Again, I need to be more consistent and interrupt play time.

Lately she looks at me and says "poop" and then "nooo, diaper" as we discuss that poop should go in the toilet and not in her diaper. She nods her head in agreement. So she sort of gets it, but can't yet recognize the urge and prepare to make her way to the toilet in time. I think this is reasonable.

When I change her diaper and she is laying there helping me with wipes, trying to untape the diaper, telling me "no diaper. Toliet" and whatnot, I keep thinking---ok she is definitely too old to be pooing in a diaper...she's sitting here talking about it and quite capable for pete's sake! But we will keep with it.

At this point, I think I just need to be patient and wait for her to learn bodily urges and recognize them. I don't think that's something I can teach. So we'll keep doing the same thing until that happens.

Note: We were out of town this month, but it doesn't seem to matter. I was worried that since we didn't try the potty for 2 whole weeks, she might forget. But it's been so much a part of her life already, that the hiatus didn't seem to matter. Maybe starting so early was a good thing to establish the habit.

PS: A friend from Poland told me their kids are potty trained between 6-12 months! Give me some polish kids please. Changing diapers is so played.

17 Months - Another Month Has Come & Gone

Ok, so broken record here. I have not been as disciplined as I would like. I really need to buckle down. But in June I had a 3-day conference so I was busy before/after with meeting preparations and AV was with the sitter every other day. And I don't know if the sitter is as consistent with the potty.

AV seems to be degressing, and only goes pee once every 4 or 5 times I try. But, like I said in the earlier post, she simply doesn't use the bathroom as much anymore. I change her diaper maybe twice a day.

Should I be grateful she still goes on the potty once every couple tries? I'm not so sure, because a few minutes after getting off the potty her diaper will be soiled. I try not to scold.

I still don't know if she has made the connection in her head of what pee is and why it goes in the toliet, and whether or not she can hold her bladder. I have to keep reminding myself that at 17 months, she seems/looks older and more mature than she developmentally is. I feel like I expect her to have the cognative development of a 3 or 4 yr old already--mostly because when I see her playing with older kids she seems to fit right in.

I am going to introduce the concept of bribery. Will a marshmellow reward do the trick? Thus far in her life, we have not rewarded any behavior with treats (just praise) so we'll see. I could regret this!

16 Months - Hmmm...

Yes, Amaryllis is still going to the potty.  No, I haven't been disciplined this month like I wanted to.  But hey, we're still cruising a long and if it means I change less diapers then great.

Sometimes she will look at me and say potty (either during or afterwards, never before she's gone) and I just say "ok" because I'm too lazy to sit her on the potty since she's already gone in her diapers.  I need to be more consistent so she doesn't start thinking it is optional to tell me.

It's so true what they say: potty training is mostly consistency on the parents part.  I'm sure she'd pick it up if we stayed home for like 3 days and sat on the toliet.

I am wondering, though, how in the world will she hold it for 13 hrs at night?  I can't even do that!  I guess we'll figure that out later...

14 Months

So Amaryllis is still going maybe once or twice a day.  I didn't follow through with my goal of trying to interrupt playtime and see if she will go.  I will try better.

She continues to tell us if she is pooping or peeing (in her diaper) by pointing to her bum while doing it.  

We switched from the bottle to the sippy, and that has majorly decreased her liquid intake.  So she seems to have more dry diapers.

Something that has changed:  when she goes pee on the potty, she can stop and start and has a certain concentrated look on her face.  So I think she is just begging to learn "control".  Which means previously she probably didn't know how to control her bladder.

Unrelated to potty training--Huggies makes overnight diapers (although they don't sell them in our Target here).  I got them off diaper.com.  What a laundry saver!

Month 2 & 3: One year older and wiser

Amaryllis turned 1 and I must say, there is some stubborness and determination creeping into our daily routines. She wants to turn the light off. She wants to hold Cricket's leash. Thankfully though, she is still going potty. Twice a day (I only try after naps). I guess this means she goes every time I do try :) But I also know that after naps is when she is full and needs to go. So I'm not sure if it is good timing, or she does it on purpose. She has not gone poo on the potty in a long time.

New Goal: So, my goal for this month is to try and 3 times a day. The third time will be during play time. I want to see if I interrupt her play, if she will go on cue. This will take discipline on my part. I am still not gung ho enough to do it out in public or at playdates.

Note: she definitely for sure with out a doubt knows when she is going potty, looks at me, and says her word for "potty" while pointing to her bum. How can I get her to do this before she starts pooing? We'll have to work on this.

My thoughts: it is very casual and relaxed, and at this point it is just routine. Each session takes about 2 minutes. I don't feel stressed or even think twice about it anymore. There are no tantrums, forcing, cajoling, mind games, rewards or locking myself in the bathroom for hours on end. Thus far, I'm glad I started her early. Maybe it will take months until she is technically potty trained, but at least we are doing it in a laid back stress free environment. All in all, I'm glad she is comfortable on the potty and happy of her progress.

Week 6: Yep

Yes, we are still using the potty. I feel like Amaryllis is less and less comfortable sitting in a dirty diaper and holds it longer. Whether or not I am home (or have the time!) to take her to the potty is hit or miss. But we are still going at least once or twice a day.

Week 4&5: Still making a casual attempt

Wow, it has been so busy. I'm still mildly attempting to set her on the potty at least once every two days. I've been so crazy-busy that it is hard to make that sacrifice and take the time out of my day. She has also been with the babysitter a couple times each week, and I haven't told the sitter to try it out yet.

Amaryllis seems to not be so interested in it. We have fewer successes (due to fewer attempts?) but when she is going in her diaper, she will point at her bum-- so I know she knows.

I think I will keep going at this pace until things slow down. She is close to walking and so much more curious. And cutting 2 new teeth, so I think she has a lot of developmental & physical milestones right now. I don't want to overload the poor kid!

Week 3: Decided to not force it

We are still casually using the potty. About once or twice per day, usually with at least 1 success. I'm going to keep this up just so she knows it's there. But I decided not to try too hard and let her go at her own pace.

Note: I did try undies 1 day, only b/c I bought some and they were so cute I couldn't resist putting them on. They are the thick gerber training undies. It took her all of like 20 minutes to pee in them so obviously not ready for those.

Week 2: Last part of the week

We were really busy. I mostly tried after naps because that is when I get the best results. Even if she played in her crib awhile, she still will hold it. So she regularly goes at least 1 or 2 times per day.

We are out running errands when she isn't napping, so I really don't have many opportunities to try the potty. And I'm certainly not gungho enough to bring it to a public restroom.

And she did pee on the carpet once when I was letting her crawl around before bath. I had just given her the opportunity to use the potty too. So maybe this means she doesn't mentally make the connection? Or have the control? Or doesn't care?

I think at this point I have these options:
A) keep with what I'm doing and settle for 1 or 2 times per day. At least this keeps her familiar with the potty without inconveniencing me. However when she is older & I try for reals, will this make her think that it is "optional" and she can go sometimes in the potty and sometimes in her diaper? Not sure.
B) stay at home for a day or 2 and try every hour. Straight to undies cold turkey. I've heard that works. But looking at my calendar I don't see it happening in the near future.

I will have to think about this.

Week 2: Lemonade Snow

Yesterday AV didn't go potty at all--which was mainly my fault. Since it was a SNOW DAY (um, yeah everything closes down here when it snows. My meeting was cancelled, Jake's office was closed, friends came over and we attempted to ride a surfboard down the backyard) I only tried twice and she didn't go.

So today, I wondered if yesterday's failure would throw her off. But she went potty after her nap, yay! After naps seem to be the most consistent time of day when she has tons of pee and I can catch her before she wets the diaper.

Day 6: In which mom fails to follow through

Man, I don't know how people potty train with more than 1 child. So far this has been pretty easy but it just takes so much forethought and thinking ahead. I should set a timer for myself or something.

I can't imagine how some mom's do it with younger babies also needing attention, or if the child you are trying to potty train is stubborn. I've heard some moms have sat there for up to 20-30 minutes waiting for the little person to pee. My hats off to them, I couldn't be that patient.

Today I blatantly ignored AV's best cue ever. She sat there and pointed to her bum and whined. This was a first, but neglectful mom was busy getting ready for a meeting so I had to ignore her. I felt bad and hope she will continue to show me cues like that--however after my shameful display we'll see.

That being said, she did pee once today (out of the 3 attempts we made). She does best right after a nap and I know she has to go. On and off in about 2 minutes or less. As for the other times throughout the day, it's a guessing game on my part.

As for poo, she tried tried tried to do it on the potty! I give her an A for effort. But, we have started introducing whole milk (since she is almost 1) and that seems to have done some funky stuff with her bowel movements. So, she is a bit "stopped up" and couldn't quite do the job. I'll have to give her some apple juice or prunes tomorrow to help her out.

Day 5: Sundays are always long days

We were busy and off schedule today because of church. I think the whole congregation watched AV taking care of bizness since she was standing on the pew facing everyone (we sat up front...not smart) when all the sudden she starts grunting and huffing&puffing and turning red with the big glassy staring eyes. I'd like to think I could've raced her to the potty and she would've pood in there. Oh well, at least we were sitting by friends who thought it was funny.

Anyways, we weren't home much today but we did try 4 times. She went pee (think Niagra Falls) after her nap and even knew to clap when she did! So cute. There was one more of those half-fakers where she was wet but I didn't really hear/see anything drop into the potty. And the other 2 times she just played (but I knew she didn't need to go anyways b/c her diaper was full instead of dry).

So yeah. We'll see how it goes this week now that we'll be back into the swing of things. I'm getting better and guessing when she'll go and when she just sits. And she is much more comfortable and less tense on the potty.

And here are picts of happy faces (as opposed to the tortured face from the last photo when I took the toliet paper away from her).
If she goes in the potty, this^^ is her reward (throwing a few squares of toilet paper inside. but then she reaches her hand down there and tries to retrieve them, so you gotta be quick on the reflexes!).

Day 4: Busy Weekend Ahead...Time?

We were really busy with Saturday activities today. When I started this whole thing, I promised myself I wouldn't let it get stressful or take over my life. So I just went with the flow today, which meant we weren't around a potty very much.

Out of 4 attempts, she peed twice--yay!

The other 2 attempts were mostly formalities. I didn't think she needed to go but I wanted to try before naps just in case.

Thoughts: Potty time is becoming play time, so it took her longer (about 5-7 min) to go pee today. I felt like she just wanted to enjoy the one-on-one mommy time. I hope it doesn't turn into a game where she takes long on purpose just so she can get tons of attention. We'll see.

Day 3: I'll keep trying even though she's out of sorts

Early this morning AV woke up screaming (at 6am). Weird. She has always been a fabulous sleeper. I left her there for a few minutes hoping she would fall asleep, but then the crying turned pitiful. I actually had to go in there and hold/comfort her, then she fell asleep. That's the first time I've done that since she was a newborn. I hope she isn't coming down with something...

I won't lie, the first thing I thought when I heard her crying was: Omg, I totally screwed up her mind with this potty training stuff and now she won't sleep! I've heard kids are restless when they hit developmental milestones. Guess we'll see.

Attempt 1: I didn't think she needed to go b/c she didn't drink much this morning, but I tried anyways. I let her sit for about 3 min (that's my limit so far) and I was sad she didn't pee. But when I took her off the potty I noticed she was wet...so I guess she went a few sprinkles & I just didn't notice?

Attempt 2, 30 minutes later: Dry diaper. Nothing.

Attempt 3: After running errands for 1 hour, she still had a dry diaper from this morning so I rushed her to the potty. After a minute, she went a teeny teeny sprinkle. I almost called it quits after that, but let her sit for a few more minutes then....PEE! Shaa-wing! I'm glad I let her sit those extra minutes. Total time was approximately 4-5 minutes.

Attempt 4, after nap: I couldn't get to her in time, she went in her diaper

Attempt 5,6: nothing, dry diaper

Attempt 7: Pee! It took about 3 minutes

Attempt 8,9: Dry diaper still. Let her sit for a few minutes. Nothing.

Attempt 10: Caught her pooing, ran to the pottie, finished. She kept pushing me away like she didn't want me in there. Not sure if that counts as a success since she only half pood, but whatev.

Summary: I had a few success today, only used 2 diapers (re-used the diapers if she was dry), and she is more relaxed on the pottie. If I hadn't been successful, I would probably be feeling down and not try as hard tomorrow. But since I know she can do it, I'll stick with it for another day. However, the whole undressing thing is getting old!

Day 2: will the novelty wear off?

I wanted to try in the morning, but Jake handles the morning routine since I'm at the gym.

I tried before her morning nap. Nothing. Darn.

When I heard she was awake from her nap, I immediately went and got her (usually I let her play for a few minutes) and set her on the toilet.

She was clingy and wanted to get off but I was prepared with a book for distraction. It worked and...

PEE! Lots of praise and kisses.

What I'm thinking: Seriously? Wow, that was easy. But it is still annoying to undress her and undo the diaper. I put her in an easier outfit since I knew we'd be home all morning. A shirt and leggings--no pants to fiddle with.

Attempt 2: False alarm. Annoying to go through the motions and not have a success.

Attempt 3: She came over to me after lunch. It took me a couple seconds to realize she was pooping so I SPRINTED to the bathroom. Is it worth it to stick her on the toliet mid-poop? We'll see. YES, so worth it since she finished pooing in the toliet! Booo-yaaa.

Note to self: need a better wiping method--things are a bit cramped and she's still a bit scared and rigid on the potty so I can't really wipe very well. Suggestions anyone? Also, I need to buy some flushable wipes.

She went down for her afternoon nap with a dry diaper.

Attempt 4: After her nap I rushed to the potty. I could tell the diaper wasn't wet so I thought for sure I'd have another success. BUT I had to discipline Cricket b/c the toilet paper roll went down the stairs unrolling all the way down and she chased it so there was tp everywhere and this took about 2 minutes. By the time I got back to AV, she had already gone in her diaper, still laying on the bathroom floor waiting for me. I still put her on the potty but she'd already gone at that point so = failure.

Attempt 5: After running errands (I thought for sure she would go in her diaper while we were out, but she held it for 2 hrs) I ran into the house. Sat on the potty for about 2 min, not interested. Ran the bath water and she was standing against the bathtub without a diaper on and peed on the floor. Nice.

Attempt 6: Last attempt before bed. Dry diaper since previous attempt so again I thought she might need to go. But she didn't. So put her to bed in the same dry diaper.

My thoughts: now that I think about it, these last 2 failed attempts are still minor successes because she held it in at least until we made it to the bathroom area. I still don't know if this is on purpose or just coincidental timing. I wonder. It sort of fascinates me to think that she could really be forming conclusions in her head that "pee equals bathroom". But I also do think at this age she might not have total control of her bladder. Might be interesting to read about if they have done studies and know when children have bladder control. But that's too much work so I probably won't :)

Summary: 2 successes in the toilet, and 2 semi-success where we at least made it to the bathroom, and I count dry diapers as a step in the right direction. I don't feel like I expended too much extra work or that it was extremely inconvenient. The most annoying part is messing with the diapers and laying her down to re-assemble the wardrobe afterward. All in all, it was pretty laid back.

Day 1: Buy a potty and try it out

I bought this potty. I sat there and stared at all the selections and remembered why I hate babies-r-us. So many options! How will I know what to choose? This one says doctor recommended, but this one says parent recommended...oh me oh my, what to do?!?

I chose this one. Mostly because it was a 2-in-1. When I got home, I looked up the reviews and was pleased it got 5 stars. Phew, I did something right. Double phew, I won't have to go back to that store and return it.
I let AV sit on it (with her clothes on) just to make sure I knew how the thing worked. She was obsessed with the toilet paper roll & kept digging her fingernails into it.

First Try

After her nap, I immediately took her into the potty and set her on it. She was sort of scared I think because I was trying to undo her pants/diaper all fast and my hands were cold on her bum and let's be honest...I was a little nervous too! Plus I had to lay her on the wood floor (note to self: buy a rug for the bathroom floor) so that probably wasn't comfortable for her.

I set her on the potty. She wanted off. I showed her the toilet paper roll to distract her and....

PEE. Waaahoo! Much praising and kisses followed.

She was still obsessed with the toliet paper roll, which I confiscated and it led to her getting upset. Hence this is the only picture I got from our first experience:
I tried to reward her with a treat (marshmellow) but I don't think she grasps the concept of rewards yet. Praises and kisses are probably enough for her at this age.

I put her on the potty about 2 other times that afternoon--nothing. I missed her 1 poo of the day b/c I couldn't get off the phone. Darn.

Summary of day 1: Wow, it can't be this easy. I'm sure this was a coincidence. The whole undressing process is a little time consuming since I'm still using diapers so have to lay her down. Also, I'm not sure what to do about the wiping aspect either. It is a little awkward since as you can see by the photo, there isn't much room down there.

Miscellaneous thoughts: The seat is definately made for an older child (the package says 2 yrs) but we'll have to make do. You can see her feet don't even hang over the toliet.

Note to self: Keep a book or something in the bathroom to distract her from the toliet paper roll. Get a rug for the bathroom floor.

Pre-potty training: recognizing signals

Stats: 11 months

Here was my thought process: If I can recognize when AV goes to the bathroom, then I'll try and see if I can get her to recognize it too.

For the past 3 weeks, I've been trying to see if I can recognize when AV goes to the bathroom. I finally saw a pattern. She shudders when she pees (mostly right when she wakes up or is eating). She goes off to a corner and grunts when she poos, after which she comes over to me probably so I'll change her. She usually poos once a day, in the afternoon.

This is good. I can recognize it and she has a pattern.

So I started saying "potty?" and pointing to her bum. At first she would clap her hands and think I said "patty" as in patty-cake. Oh well.

This went on for a few weeks. I tried to be consistent. But let's be honest, she is with Jake and the babysitter so it's not like I was doing this 100% of the time. At this point, I wasn't stressing. I tried to change her diaper promptly, and said "potty" a zillion times if I thought she was using the bathroom. I kept wondering if I was saying it too much? Was she making the connection?

I decided to let her sit on the toilet, seat closed. She thought it was funny.

So that day, I went out and bought a toilet ring potty. There is NO WAY I'm getting one of those narsty miniature potties where you have to clean it out. Ewww. Not my thing.

Introduction: I'm not weird or crazy, I swear

I heard about a method/book called "potty training from birth". I haven't read the book nor plan to. I'm not much into reading books about pregnancy or parenting. I think they fill your head with false expectations and then you beat yourself up or worry when things don't pan out just like the book tells you.** (see disclaimer below).

So I was interested in what I heard: other cultures potty train much early than the United States. Here is a NY Times article if anybody wants to learn more. Yes, this article focuses on infants. And no, I would never ever in a million years potty train an infant. No desire. Looks way too time intensive and let's be honest it's a little creepy sounding.

But what about an 11month old in the crawling-early-walking-stage?

Could it simply be social pressures that tell you to wait until your child is 2-3 before attempting to potty train? My mom said all of us kids were potty trained by the time we were 18 months--and most of my peers as well. What ever happened to that? I know, I know...diapers are more absorbent, more comfortable, and cheaper nowadays, pediatricians say you shouldn't push your child, emotional battles, etc.

I wanted to see for myself. Can I potty train Amaryllis while in the crawling stage? If so, how hard will it be? She is at the ripe age of 11 months--a sponge--learning things so quickly, watching everything I do, mimicking, curious, and...

...here is the key: her toddler defiance & independence hasn't quite set in.

So I'm going to try.

Don't judge me--I'm not one of those weird hippie moms. I don't follow every parenting trend nor do I try and be cool by dismissing them all. I'm not a granola tree hugger or a penny pincher. I don't have gobs of free time. No hidden agenda. I swear I'm a normal, every-day suburban gal and I invite you to come with me on a potty-training experiment.

I'm going to keep these blog posts short because h-e-l-l-o. I'm a mom of a toddler, work part time, have a social life and other things to do then sit around and blog about potty training! However I know there are some of you who are interested so I'll give the blog a shot.

But seriously. Don't judge and if this blog abruptly ends and I feel like the whole potty training thing can wait awhile, then don't make me feel like a failure by asking me every time we meet how the potty training is going :)


***Disclaimer: I make an exception for a sleep training book called Healthy Habits, Happy Child which was recommended by a friend. It worked wonders for us and Amaryllis sleeps from 6pm-7:30am! That's 13.5 hours. Don't be jealous.