The Handley Family: Weekly Update - Potty Training....Take Two.

Week of August 31, 2012

Addie's Weekly Photo

Cooper's Weekly Photo

All about Addie

Potty Training....Take Two! We tried potty training a few weeks ago but were completely unsuccessful because of my lack of preparedness. We were definitely more prepared, this time around. I had at least 15 pairs of undies, a portable toilet (to keep in front of the TV), we already have training seats on all of the toilets in the house, a bin full of treats for #1's and #2's. I started off just letting her sit on the toilet first thing in the morning, in front of her cartoons. I put a little stool next to her and placed her breakfast on it to keep her occupied while she sat. I know it sounds crazy to let her sit on the pot while eating breakfast but it seems like she always fills her diaper while watching cartoons in the morning. I checked her frequently and had her look with me to see if anything was in the toilet. After about the 3rd time checking, there was pee!!! I immediately gave Addie a sucker, emptied the toilet bowl and placed her right back on the toilet (in case there was a little more). Again upon checking, there was more pee so we celebrated and put her back on again. This went on for an entire day only letting her off the pot for 20 minutes at a time to run around and play. The few times she was off, she would tinkle in her underwear but would sometimes tell me.
Day one: Peed several times in the portable toilet and had an equal amount of accidents.
Day two: Peed several times in the portable toilet and seemed a bit stage fright on the "big" toilet. Still had several accidents but seemed to notice the accidents as long as she wasn't wearing undies.
Day three: Peed and told me each time she peed (so I didn't have to get her up to keep checking). POOPED once in the toilet after I put a blanket over her so she could "hide". Only 3 accidents!! (at bedtime and naptime we put a diaper on her).
Day Four: Very similar as day before but no poop at all (even in diaper). As of today, we have not used the portable toilet at all!! :)
Day five: Told me several times that she needed to pee, without being reminded. Pooped AND peed on the "big girl potty"!!!! 2 Accidents, and still wore diaper at nap and bedtime.
Day 6: No diaper at nap time and NO accidents!!! I still reminded her several times to use the potty but she went on her own more than once. On this day, I left the light on in the bathroom all day and left the toilet seat up and ready in the bathroom (on the big girl potty).
Day 7: My goal today was to get Addie to recognize needing to pee when she's outside. Before going out, we went potty inside and then proceeded to take the portable toilet out to the patio. I figured if we made it easier to access a toilet, we may not have an accident. After several reminders to visit the toilet, Addie ran over and used it! I nearly threw a party for her!! LOL Naptime was a different story though... I made her go before laying down, but midway through the nap, she had an accident. I wasn't too upset about it though because I was still pretty excited about our success outdoors!! :)

HELPFUL TIPS FOR POTTY TRAINING
Timing: Of course everyone says they will train when they are ready. That's rule number one but something else I realized is that the time of year might be a big factor. In the summertime, we let our kids run around the pool with wet shorts and swim bottoms on all day long and they get used to being "wet". I think that was the case with Addie and she didn't seem to mind when she peed in her diaper, or undies. Once I left everything off completely and she realized what she was doing, she seemed more likely to run to the toilet.
Toilet: I highly recommend the Safety1st 3-in-1 toilet/stool. The seat is cushion (and not like the plastic coated cushions on most toddler toilets) and made it much easier for her to sit for long periods of time without hurting her bottom.
In addition to the Safety1st 3-in-1, we have 2-in-1 toilet seats throughout the house. They are normal adult toilet seats with a magnetic toddler seat that pulls out of the lid (see pics below).
Training Pants/diapers/undies: I bought toilet training pants and diapers and she seemed to still pee in them. As long as there was something on her, she would pee in it. Once I took everything off and let her run around in the nude (usually with a t-shirt), she seemed to recognize when she would pee. Of course all kids are different and it's something you have to just trial-and-error. A lot of moms suggested that we potty train outside so you don't have accidents on the carpet. We just pretty much sectioned ourselves off in the kitchen and dining area so we had easy cleanup.
Rewards: Again, all training can be done differently but I knew that if Addie had an incentive, she would be more likely to want this potty training in the bag as much as mommy! I went to the store and stocked up on a bag of $1 toys and several varieties of candy ("fun size" and mini candy bars, twizzlers, starburst, etc.). The toys were ONLY for going #2 in the toilet and candy was for any time she went #1. Another way to reward is if they get up from a nap and they haven't peed the bed. We've been training now all week and slowly phasing out the treats. I find ways to distract her from asking for the treat right when she gets done going #1 (brushing teeth, playing a game, "run and tell daddy you went potty").
Privacy may be needed: You've heard of kids that "hide" when they need to pee or poop. Well Addie only did it when she would have to poop so I was pretty sure we would have a problem there. Fortunately we found a way to conquer her fears a bit. We started off by covering her up with a blanket (a very thin receiving blanket). At first it was fun for her and she would giggle, then she would request it every time she wanted to "go". Once the "big girl toilet" became a staple, I knew it was time to phase out the blanket. The first time I told her it was being washed and she would have to go without it. The next few times I would just walk out and say "I'll go find it" and by the time I came back (without the blanket), she would have already went potty. She still asks for it from time to time, but I now tell her she doesn't need it and she stops asking.
Try closing the bathroom door, turning away, looking in the bathroom mirror and looking "uninterested" in what he/she is doing on the toilet. Sometimes turning on the water helps but then it's hard to hear them "tinkling".

All about Cooper

Tries to find paci: Coop is getting better about pacifying himself lately. He will find his paci usually if it's within reach and put himself back to sleep. It's a huge relief for a very exhausted mommy that he can somewhat pacify himself from time to time! :)

Reaching for things: We've found Cooper reaching for just about everything now. If he is in his Bumbo seat, his jumper or just laying around during tummy time, he is likely to reach for anything around him. Time to re-baby-proof the house!!

I'm Full: Before now, Cooper seemed like he would eat his weight in food and never really knew when he was full. Of course then he would spit up/throw up all of the excess food. Or pediatrician said the over eating was more likely because of the acid reflux and colic. Some babies over eat mistaking other pains for hunger pains. In the last week or so, Coop has been more likely to push the bottle away or stop opening his mouth to solids when he's "done" eating. I LOVE that he does this now because we can actually rely on him more and not be overfeeding him or be afraid we're underfeeding him. Coop is still on the Prevacid pill but I'm now thinking we might be able to slowly wean him off of it!! We shall see!

More Photos from the week:

3-in-1 seat
Stool