So today we have officially started potty training. I chose today because we have the next few days with very few outside commitments, Ian's showing lots of the readiness signs, and I just felt it was time to pull the band-aide off and go for it. Just for my records, I want to list the readiness signs we've seen.
-Knows what his little potty is, can carry it around, can get on and off it easily.
-Knows that the potty is where pee pee and poo poo go
-Can say the words pee pee, poo poo, potty, uh oh, more, all done and others related to using the potty.
-Is interested in watching Mommy and Daddy use the potty, likes to mimic and pretend, throws a piece of toilet paper in the toilet and says "bye bye pee pee", "bye bye poo poo"
-Can go hours without having accidents, often has dry diapers when checked or changed
-Loves his big boy underpants and asks to wear them
-Understands rewards and can be enticed by them :)
Also- because he has yet to hit his independent streak (also known as the terrible twos) and his little brother will be coming soon, it seemed the right time to train. Of course, if he completely bucks the idea, pees everywhere, and goes insane, we may wait and re-visit this topic at a later time. But I am fully confident that if I just stick to the training ideas we've researched and don't look back, that potty training my son at 21 months is completely possible.
So today is day one. After breakfast, I took his diaper off and told him NO MORE DIAPERS. I explained everything slowly and made sure he was paying attention. We taped up his homemade potty chart after he colored on it for a bit, and I showed him all of the stickers he could choose from when he pee peed in the potty. I also showed him a basket full of "goodies" he could choose from if he went pee pee in the potty. The goodies included juice boxes, capri suns, starbursts, bubbles, toy cars, animal crackers, and some craft and educational projects I put together. Then we went about our day playing.
For 2.5 hours, he wore his Elmo undies, and stayed dry. Then he winced and looked down at himself, and he had just started to dribble. So I swooped him up, got those undies off, and got him on the potty, where he then started to pee pee again! And boy did we celebrate! An hour later he did the same wince/whine, looked down at himself and then ran towards the potty. I again helped get the Thomas undies off, then he began to go again. Woohoo. That time he chose a capri sun as a reward, so while still sitting on the potty and drinking, he began to go a third time for the day!
Dry for the next few hours, he ventured up to begin nap time. Before a nap, he sat on the big toilet upstairs and read a book about going potty. Nothing happened. Then he put underwear and pants on, brushed his teeth and started reading a book. When I was about to ask him to lay down and take his nap, I began with a pep talk about telling me when he felt he needed to go. I reminded him he was wearing underwear and pulled his pants down a bit to show him his Batman undies when I notices they were wet. A quick talk about accidents and a change into some plain blue underwear, and I laid him down.
I will post this now and let you wait in suspense until my next blog post to tell you how the rest of day 1 and the week go! Exciting!
-Knows what his little potty is, can carry it around, can get on and off it easily.
-Knows that the potty is where pee pee and poo poo go
-Can say the words pee pee, poo poo, potty, uh oh, more, all done and others related to using the potty.
-Is interested in watching Mommy and Daddy use the potty, likes to mimic and pretend, throws a piece of toilet paper in the toilet and says "bye bye pee pee", "bye bye poo poo"
-Can go hours without having accidents, often has dry diapers when checked or changed
-Loves his big boy underpants and asks to wear them
-Understands rewards and can be enticed by them :)
Also- because he has yet to hit his independent streak (also known as the terrible twos) and his little brother will be coming soon, it seemed the right time to train. Of course, if he completely bucks the idea, pees everywhere, and goes insane, we may wait and re-visit this topic at a later time. But I am fully confident that if I just stick to the training ideas we've researched and don't look back, that potty training my son at 21 months is completely possible.
So today is day one. After breakfast, I took his diaper off and told him NO MORE DIAPERS. I explained everything slowly and made sure he was paying attention. We taped up his homemade potty chart after he colored on it for a bit, and I showed him all of the stickers he could choose from when he pee peed in the potty. I also showed him a basket full of "goodies" he could choose from if he went pee pee in the potty. The goodies included juice boxes, capri suns, starbursts, bubbles, toy cars, animal crackers, and some craft and educational projects I put together. Then we went about our day playing.
For 2.5 hours, he wore his Elmo undies, and stayed dry. Then he winced and looked down at himself, and he had just started to dribble. So I swooped him up, got those undies off, and got him on the potty, where he then started to pee pee again! And boy did we celebrate! An hour later he did the same wince/whine, looked down at himself and then ran towards the potty. I again helped get the Thomas undies off, then he began to go again. Woohoo. That time he chose a capri sun as a reward, so while still sitting on the potty and drinking, he began to go a third time for the day!
I will post this now and let you wait in suspense until my next blog post to tell you how the rest of day 1 and the week go! Exciting!
Out of all the stickers he could choose from, he chose this Watermelon first.
Playing at the park the one day it was 50 degrees. The next we had a snow storm.
And my pregnancy update....
How far along? 28 weeks
Maternity clothes? It's embarrassing when I try anything but!
Weight Gain? + 16lbs ... lots this past month
Stretch Marks? nope
Sleep? Wake up a few times each night
Movement? His movements feel a lot more... violent? than Ian's... But I love feeling him lots of times every day.
What I Miss? Being able to clean and scrub my bathtubs/showers. Anyone willing to come over and clean my bathrooms for me?
Symptoms? As a singer, it's so weird when the notes and breathing patterns you've always done for particular songs starts not to be as easy. There's a baby just sitting on my breather, so it's very difficult to breathe deeply and then hold high notes for long periods of time.
Food cravings? Today I had a major craving for Ramen Noodles. And I always have tons of these around. And then I searched and searched and nothing.... Seriously- a food that costs 20cents and I've run out. I can't even go get them because of this snow storm that's rolled in.
Food aversions? None.
Best thing this week? Had a pregnancy massage that was amazing. I will be getting at least one or two more of those before this gig is up.
How Ian's doing with everything? A few days ago, Ian walked up to me and said, "Knock, knock, Neil. Knock knock" while knocking on my belly. I told him it wasn't time for Neil to come out yet. But now when we ask him "What's your brother's name" He will answer Neil.
What I’m Looking Forward to? Completing my Hypnobabies training and feeling great about my birth plan, should I get to deliver vaginally. Ultrasound confirmed NO movement from my placenta, so still with a placenta previa that leaves me with a c-section if it doesn't move.
Weekly Wisdom? No one is mothering AT ME. Some days I see the cute mommas, all put together at the grocery store. Or the ones wearing earrings and heeled boots at church. Or the ones breastfeeding their children who are over 2. Or have packed the best snacks for our playdates. And it's like I feel like they are saying something to me, even though they are not. That they are mothering "at me" even though they are not. We are all on the same team, and if I wanted to wear earrings, I should have thought of that before I left the house- no reason to feel "less than" now. If I want my kiddo to eat healthy, I should have packed a good snack too. Jesus is giving me clarity into where these voices are coming from, and it's definitely not from Him, so that's all I need to know.
Milestones? Took my 1hr glucose test and failed..... Boo. Took the 3 hr yesterday so hopefully I pass. I did hit the 28 week mark, which to anyone in a high risk pregnancy is like- the best milestone. It means that basically, as long as baby lets me know if he's having issues, there's a great chance he would survive.
Next Appointment? Feb 17th. Praying for movement from the Placenta! Please join me in praying! If God can part the red sea, he can certainly move my placenta up just a few cm!
