Potty Training Chronicles Conclusion

Hi y’all,

I promised some conclusions from my potty training experience. After a week without my computer I know y'all must be dying to learn my conclusion--or not, whatever. Want to know what I learned? If not, stop reading here. ;)

First off, make sure you and your child(ren) are healthy before you start this endeavor because it will up the stress factor if not and not set you up for success if anyone is sick.

Second, some stress on the child’s part if going to most likely happen. I did not really consider this as I was reading the method and was a bit surprised by it when it happened, but it made sense. The little guy did not want to get his big boys wet, but he was unsure of what exactly to do and was still figuring out his body’s signals. Normal and completely okay.

I do like this method not advocating pull ups because I did see my little guy learning and making the connections much quicker than my daughter did when we used pull ups with her.

You really do need to entirely set aside these three days to focus, focus, focus on the child and the training. This is not for the faint of heart. It is difficult to do. I swear to you every time I stepped more than 10 feet away from the little guy on day one was the time he would choose to pee. I went to get my daughter a glass of water around the corner and he whizzed as soon as I stepped out of sight for a second. This is ‘training’ and I think of it now like I would think of football training during the season before a really big game. Intensely focused without distraction.

Lastly, it is okay to fail. The author says that any child over 22 months of age can be trained using this method. I do not think all children are the same and fit into a box, nor does every parent’s schedule/personality/preference line up with what the 3 Day Potty Training Method outlines.

Side note: We did the pull ups thing with My Little Princess and she is four and fully potty trained now and I may do this same method I came up with for her with Mr. Chaos, but I have not honestly decided yet. 

I would really like to get most of the potty training out of the way in three days and deal with the occasional accident, but I do not know how realistic that is. I am wanting to give this ‘3 Day Potty Training’ Method one more shot, because I did see progress being made. I also did make mistakes and I think I have learned from them and will do it better this next time around. My Little Princess is going to need to spend the day with a friend, I think. Any takers? :)

I was not paid to “review” this method. It was offered to me free through Parenting AZ and First Things First. I was open to trying it and wanted to let other parents out there know what worked or did not work for us. It is not easy being a parent and navigating the ins and outs of this stuff. Everyone has an opinion or something they swear by because it worked for them. I hope this is a resource in helping you make a decision on how to potty train. I hope you feel encouraged. I hope you found this helpful.

Blessings,

R


P.S. I am also slated to be a guest blogger over at Arizona Mom's Network so check back for my blog on a great splash pad in the valley! :)

Day 3 of Potty Training

Friends,

This is a monumentous day. Mr. Little Man woke up completely dry with no accident overnight!!!! Do you hear that?! It sounds like the heaven’s are opening up and angels are singing. Exaggerate much? I know. Moving on. Most people say when your kid starts waking up overnight dry that you can take it as a sign to start potty training or whatever. Mr. Little Man has not ever woken up dry to my recollection. Again, rejoicing at our house! I think we will bake cookies today. :)

He did have a minor success with Daddy this morning and then let a big ole accident fly. The key today I think will be fully emptying the bladder. He is still learning and we have got the day to do it! (And tomorrow if need be).

The above paragraphs were written in the morning and by the afternoon we had decided that this was placing too much stress on our little guy and have decided to cease and desist with the potty training. Guess what? The follow day I went to the ped to have him checked out and it turns out the kid has a double ear infection. Can we say bad time to potty train?!!? How did I miss this, you ask? I asked myself the same thing. The poor little guy did not tug at his ears at all, he had no fever, and his nose (while runny) was a clear runny (therefore, no need to concern especially in the absence of any other symptoms). Sometimes there are no good signs and we miss it. The doctor thinks he may have allergies and his ears are not draining properly and, boom, ear infection. I know there were air quality alerts, so this is not out of the realm of possibility. I feel terrible having stressed out Mr. Little Man when he was sick, but I did not know and I have to forgive myself and move on. We do this a lot as parents.

My conclusions shall be in the next post.

Blessings on your journey,

R

Day 2 of Potty Training

Hi y’all,

Day 2 of potty training went better and worse than day 1. I was not as emotional and I had Mr. Fantastic Husband Man’s help.

Overall the Mr. Chaos Little Man had two successful trips to the bathroom and only one accident. He had a little accident overnight about 3am, but was dry in the morning. :) I think the poor little guy is stressing out some about going to the bathroom and is just holding it in until his bladder reaches capacity. I was not down there for the accident, but Mr. Fantastic said it was a flood. The kid has major bladder capacity and superman like bladder control. 

Little Man being stressed out by this is the bad part, but the fact that he is aware and holding it is progress and the good part. I’d like to think that this is what Charlie Sheen meant when he talked about “winning” (though if you have seen the video you know it’s not, but let us pretend, shall we?). I feel like this is “winning!”

You only have one more day (well, there will be maintenance and I will probably post about that too--no promises) of solely potty training related posting. Enjoy!!

Blessings,

R

Potty training Day 1 of 3

Hi Y'all,

I am trying out the 3 day potty training method. So far day one has had about three successful trips to the bathroom and about 10 not successful accidents on the floor/bed.

I have to say it has been a bit tough for me having the two kiddos and trying this method. I feel extremely guilty not being able to pay nearly as much attention to my oldest. I have to tell you that I am so proud of her and that she has been a trooper. My Little Princess told me she was going to help me potty train her little brother and teach him 'how to go pee on the potty like a big boy.' I know she has gotten a bit bored, but she has been excellent, y'all. Such a proud mommy right here, right now.

On the other hand, Mr. Chaos has been living up to his name. One of the things is that we pretty much have to stick to indoor activities and he has been getting antsy. We usually go outside every day. He is having a hard time getting energy out and it is coming out a little sideways. I am trying to distract and re-direct, but this kid is stubborn (I have known that since early on). Hey, book author lady! My kid is stubborn and really wants those M&M rewards even when they are up out of sight and he just gets upset and no amount of distraction and re-direction works. This morning he seemed to be 'getting it.' Then things went to hades in a hand basket. We had naughty behavior which needed time out. Of course, the screaming-crying induced peeing in the corner. Now, I am supposed to rush him to the bathroom and sit him on the toilet and say, "Oh, no! You're Big Boys (that is what we call his underoos) are wet. Let's try to keep them dry and tell mommy when you have to go potty, ok?" To which he says, "Ok, Daddy (because everyone in our house is Daddy right now)." And then it was back to time out in another spot because that one had pee all over the place. But then that spot is not as effective because we usually do not do it there and then mommy is next to him cleaning up and then he did not get it all out so he is peeing again and again we rush to the potty and repeat.

Then, THEN, he is starting to be a wild man and I am re-directing and distracting and trying to get him to dance or play chase around the table and he picks up my ipod, very deliberately, and proceeds to throw it down on the tile. Now I am extremely upset by his behavior, and not just because this is not exactly a cheap piece technology, and I tell him in a raised voice that his behavior is unacceptable and to go to time out. Repeat the crying-screaming-peeing scenario above. I have to insert here: I rarely raise my voice and, even rarer still, full on yell at my kids--again I am pretty proud of that and I am not trying to brag just telling you what's up and that he knew mommy was NOT happy.

And the author recommends that I not let my frustration show when he has his 'accidents' and that he is indeed learning. Well, right now I am upset and things are broken and it has been a long emotional day and I am not sure if this is worth it. I have had zero help until about an hour ago. I knew this going in. I knew it would be tough and emotional for me. I did not realize how confusing this new thing would be for Mr. Little Man. He has had his share of emotion and not fully realizing what is going on (while being tired because nap time approached) has been a little stressful for him too.

I know we will be changing a lot of bedding tonight and that I probably will not have a ton of sleep. I feel a sense of foreboding about tomorrow. I am hoping and praying I am wrong. If this works and we make it through then it will be worth it. Right now I am having a hard time seeing the light at the end of this tunnel even though I know it is there.

Blessings on you in your journey,
R