Saturday, March 19, 2011

Judah is potty training too!

Just in case you have been worried that we are leaving Judah out of all this potty training because he is too you...fret not! He has been enjoying how to use the potty seat as well.
Only, for him, it looks a little different than it does for Micah. It looks a little more like this...
I don't mind him getting use to it. I don't mind him playing in it and looking up at me with that contagious smile. I do get a little bothered, though, when he is putting things in it or "splashing" in it when we have accidentally left Micah's pee in there...oops!
Urine is sterile, right? HAHA

Friday, March 18, 2011

Trials of Potty Training, continued

So, our potty party started off great. Lots of energy. Lots of excitement (at least from us). And lots of coaxing to use the toilet. We had some successes and for each one he got to open a present. We definitely started off with more accidents. More cleaning rags and cleaning solution than cleaning up wrapping paper from all the gifts. But we tried hard to keep up our enthusiasm and to be encouraging to Micah. It was hard. It was draining. By the middle of the day when he took his first nap, I wanted to give up. To hide everything and let him wake up and pretend like it had been just any other day. Instead, we tried to figure out our next plan of attack. We had been given a good book before Micah was born and we went back to it for this. It's all about choice. The kids want to have a choice, but you still make the choices within your realms. But then the child will feel more in control. Will feel as though he gets to decide.
And so we tried.
After he woke from his nap, and the first time he said he had to pee, we immediately encouraged him to let us take his underwear off and to sit on the potty seat. He refused. NO. If you have to go, please sit on the potty. And right then, it dawned on me. I need to let him decide. So I asked if he wanted to use his potty seat or the "big potty" upstairs. And he immediately chose upstairs. And we ran up with him. And it worked!!
It made it a little harder for us. A little more running up and down the stairs. But he got to choose, and it was what he wanted. And it worked! We still had accidents that day, but we had many successes, got to open the rest of the presents, and my hope was renewed!
It was the trigger. The tipping point. The turning point. The change. Whatever you want to call it, something changed inside of Micah, and things have been looking up ever since.
We have still had challenges. It took a couple of days for him to want to poop in the potty. And it was day 9 before he pooped in the "big potty" so we are still having new experiences everyday right now. And every time, i mean EVERY time, it is so exciting!! Exciting that, for the most part, he knows when he needs to go and either tells us or just goes on his own. Granted, he prefers (and has made the choice most days when we are just around the house) to be bare-bottom, with just a shirt on, so we do not have to help him every time. Most often, he just wants to use his potty seat, and we keep it nearby, so it is going great. Again, these are the choices that he gets to make, and this made all the difference for us.
Within the past 3 days, all naps have been dry, we have made a dry trip to the grocery store and back, and there have not been any "pooping" accidents! Also, the weather has been great, and we have been able to take him outside to play and he still tells us when he needs to go and holds it until he gets to the toilet. We have also had a couple of sitters and he has done well with them too. These may seem like small things (especially if you haven't done this with a kid) but I get excited just thinking about it.
Our biggest challenges that we still have? Being away from the house for longer. Being willing to go in "bigger" toilets away from home, and just wearing clothes. I think the feeling of underwear and pants on gives him a feeling of "security" until he starts to have an accident and then he tries to hold it back. Thoughts on being away from home? And wearing clothes? And overnight? Still trying to work these things out, although overnight is the least of my worries right now.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Trials of Potty Training, Try 2

One of Micah's prizes, a special car shirt to go along with the car theme we had at our "party."

I could grace you with pictures of our "success" but instead, I will refrain and only add pictures that you would be okay looking at during a meal...
This past week has renewed my hope! Seriously, after our first try, I was ready to throw in the towel and give up. And that's probably exactly what Micah wanted, to be in control of the situation. Instead, we kept reading. Not so much books and research and science, but reading stories from real people about what worked. We had gone the "boot camp" route, but we started reading more about the "potty party" route and decided it sounded like fun! We splurged. We bought more presents and prizes and decorations than we have for any birthday or holiday so far (since we have not personally given any gifts or decorated for birthdays or holidays, but that's another story...).
We stayed up late decorating the house, wrapping presents, and getting our plan in place. We started on a Wednesday this time since Tuesdays we have a sitter and didn't want to go all out one day and then go back to diapers for the sake of the sitter the very next day.
It took lots of energy, especially for two people who are not naturally overly energetic to begin with. But we were excited and we tried to get and keep Micah excited, from the moment he woke and for the remainder of the day. We had special snacks and drinks, prizes or presents each time there was success in the toilet, and lots of encouragement (especially in the midst of error).
So, this was the basis for where we started, and for the results...you must wait while biting your nails in anticipation...

Friday, March 4, 2011

Trials of Potty Training

 We recently decided it was time to start getting Micah out of diapers. One push is that I would love for him to be out of diapers by summer so I don't have to worry about the diapers at the pool. The other reason is that we definitely don't want to have 3 kids in diapers come September when baby #3 is due.
I have read and heard stories of boys under 2 being very successful at being trained and quickly getting out of diapers. I have also read and heard many more stories about boys being trained and that they have to want it before it really happens.
There was slight interest. We had been talking about it for a long time, talking about how exciting it would be, how good it would feel, etc. I have no doubt it might have been was "reading into" the interest we saw from Micah. We let him pick out some big boy underpants and so it started...

Day 1: We tried a timer method. The timer kept changing as I tried to figure out his optimal time, but he was excited whenever the beeper went off and he knew exactly what to do. I also tried to get him to drink as much milk and "juice" as possible, gave him a good amount of snacks, and also made a "special drink" in the hopes of getting an easy poop out in the toilet. We use a portable toilet (that he likes and seems a good fit for his body) since we don't have a bathroom on the main level. He seemed excited about wearing the underwear (and maybe a little excited about getting to pick out a new pair each time he had an accident).
Results: 4 pees, 1 poop, and 13 pair of underwear worn (i.e. 13 accidents!!), and one very tired mommy; all pees happened as a result of the timer and not a result of him knowing when he needed to go (and the same with the poop)

Day 2: We had a sitter all day and left him in diapers. We talked about it when we got home from work and he had NO interest in trying big boy pants the rest of the evening.

Day 3: We started the day immediately in underwear. Judah had his 1 year checkup and while we were there, Micah had 2 pees and 2 accidents at home with daddy. Then Micah had his first "I need to go" moment, and he ran to the toilet (faster than we could get there to help pull down his underwear) and he peed right through his underpants. We were so excited that he "knew" what was happening before it was happening. That was the only time that day. But the day (or the next few hours) consisted of 3 more pees and no more accidents. At that point he had a meltdown, put on a diaper and took a nap. After he woke up, he began throwing tantrums, kicking the toilet, refusing the underwear, etc, etc, and I decided it wasn't worth the fight and worth him being so upset. We took the rest of the day "off."
Results: 6 pees, no poop, 2 accidents, 1 meltdown. Success equaled him once going to the toilet to pee "on his own."

Day 4: The day was again started immediately in underwear again. It didn't last long, and I don't know all the results as it was daddy's day at home with the boys. I do know he is totally against the "timer" now, but is not ready enough to know when he is going and tell us. This means we are constantly asking and he is getting more and more frustrated with being asked. I think at this point he was quite physically and emotionally tired and he took a 3 hour nap in the afternoon!
Results: frustration at the timer, the underwear, and the toilet; 1 long nap

Day 5: The day was again started in underwear (around 7 am) and there was no pee or poop, but also no accidents until there was another meltdown around 9 am. He wanted a diaper on and he wanted a nap. Sometimes a nap means he is really tired, sometimes it means he just needs to be in his room alone and he knows this. It was just some alone time that he needed.

Today is day 5. I am not worried about pushing it anymore today. I am more wanting to find the best methods, the best success stories, and the best way to get my son to "want" to relieve himself in the toilet.