Okay, so what do I do? What books have you used and loved/discarded/wept over? Should I buy one of those little kid potties or should I just get one of those little seats to go on our toilet? I'm all for spending as little money as possible. I'd like fast results, obviously. I like helpful books and my casual efforts with Isaac have produced nothing--no urine has ever entered our toilet by way of Isaac Bowen. Suggestions, please. I never want to buy diapers for Isaac again.
That's what I really want responses about, but I'll post a quick update as well. Doug and I didn't really like coming back to the real world--it wasn't fun not seeing my husband all day again. Doug took it better than I did. And I felt rusty cooking. And I talked to my ultra-feminist friend, which always makes me reassess what I'm doing with my life. But it has been nice being with our cute kids. All routines are back to normal, except Lucy's sleeping for longer stretches at night: 12 hours and 20 minutes a few days ago and 11 hours last night. Way to go, Lucy!
Other highlights from the week: a girl's night with Trish and Darcee (sisters-in-law); playing racquetball with my mom; finishing Les Miserables (pretty good book!); getting Lucy's pictures back from Target, and some of my family pictures from Kelly; watching Rocky Balboa with Doug; getting flowers from my kids' babysitter; playing at the park; cuddling with my family; watching Isaac throw rocks into the pond for half an hour.
And some lowlights: getting stood up by our babysitter on Saturday night so we couldn't go to our friends' reception; having Isaac bite me for the first time--he wasn't mad, my hand was just there--but I don't want this kid to become a biter; listening to Lucy cry when over-tired; worrying about future finances and about whether or not I should get a job in Pocatello; wiping Isaac's nose a lot.
Happy Mother's Day to everyone in the world!
7 comments:
Well, I'm not an expert, but we're working on this with my daughter as well. I found she does better on the miniature potty, which thankfully has the transition piece that will allow you to put them on the big person toilet as well when they are ready. I found the small seat gave her more of the control, and she felt safer on it and more comfortable for the time being. I like that it can transition to the big seat as well. We've found a reward works well to help her be motivated. Stickers work for us, but there are lots of options. I also looked at books and videos, but found the most helpful has been a $3 coloring book of Elmo and other Sesame Street characters doing the activites, as she already knows the characters, and seems most interested when it is a familiar character, rather than some random picture of a little girl in a book. I know they sell things that look like colored packing peanuts for 'target practice', and while I haven't tried those, I would imagine they could liven things up and be a motivator if one is needed. The other thing about the small portable seat is that it is portable. This has been helpful in the beginning, because we can have it with us, and she is more likely to use it when she can see it and be reminded. The timer works for us as well. I let her set a timer, and when it beeps she goes on her seat. Then we reset the timer. She loves pushing the buttons and hearing the beeps. We're still working on it definitely, but we seem to be more successful when it comes across as a fun choice she is making rather than when it appears like I am pushing. Good luck! What a fun and adventure filled stage this is! And you are a great mom, you'll get it figured out together!
I loved playing catch-up on your blog. So glad you had a get-away with Doug, Lucy's pictures are ADORABLE as is your new family picture, and congrats again on Doug's graduation!! Hooray!!
Well, good luck with potty training. With Eliza, we started with the potty chair that transitioned to the big toilet. She caught on pretty fast with #1 but #2 (poop) was a different story. We had a prize bag that she could pick from when she went poop. It worked very well. The books I read were "Potty Training 1-2-3" by Gary Ezzo (very helpful) and "Potty Training in One Day" (pretty good, but frustrated it didn't take a day. Ha!). It also helped to talk about it a lot and read books about it. We also had a potty movie we watched called "Potty Power" (very cheesy, but Eliza still talks about it).
Good Luck Tara! It was fun seeing you in Costco! Maybe we'll meet up again!
Well, I don't know much about potty training yet, but I do know that the picture of Isaac on this post is adorable!
I have only a funny story about potty training which my sister-in-law used on my nephew when he was 4, on his way to 5. They were worrying that he would never start school because he refused to go to the bathroom in the toilet. So in an act of frustration my sister-in-law told my fabulous nephew that if he didn't go to the bathroom in the potty she was going to cut it off.
I think she may have picked up a butter knife for dramatic effect as well.
I hope that puts a smile on your face- and I wish I was there so you had someone to call (aka me) when your babysitter stood you up. That is so not cool.
I have no advise to give you, sorry, but he sure is a cutie! And I love those pics of Lucy below too! She is adorable!
I used the "Potty Training in less than a day" book. I followed it pretty closely but not exactly. It was really intense but worked pretty well. It means you don't leave the house for a couple days but I think it's worth it. It didn't work in one day for us but it was still fast results. We're still perfecting this art form months later. Potty training is not for the faint of heart!! Whatever you do just be consistent. Best wishes!
Andrew was potty trained in less than a week using the following technique:
1) lots of juice boxes all day long
+
2)naked from waist down
+
3)stay inside all day
+
4)huge, crazy praise when he made it to the potty and an M&M.
We just used a little seat that goes on a regular toilet. I didn't like the idea of having to wash out a training potty.
This can be tailored to your son by thinking of the technique broadly and applying what would work for him: bribery + nakedness + drinking tons of liquids (so taht he will have lots of opportunities to practice) + sense of personal shame or pride (bigger, revered cousins showing their underwear, etc)
Post a Comment