Potty Training is the Worst.

 A couple months ago I decided that I was going to potty train Luke over Spring Break. 

He would be 2 years, 7 months old.

I potty trained Kate at 2 years 6 months & Claire at 2 years 5 months. 

I use the 3 day potty training method which means you basically go cold turkey straight to underwear and don't leave your house for 3 days. I didn't want to wait until Summer because we have Swim Team everyday of the summer and we had no plans for Spring Break, so I decided that I would just bite the bullet over Spring Break and get it over with.

So, last week, on Monday...the first day of my Spring Break, was Day 1 of Potty Training Luke. 

Everyone told me that potty training boys is harder than potty training girls, so I was already dreading the week. 

 Let me give you a few pointers if you decide to do the 3 day Potty Training Method. 

First, you need to have the right mindset.

I am a very positive person, a glass half full type of girl.

But, potty training is THE WORST. 

It is AWFUL. It SUCKS. 

There is nothing positive about it (except that at the end of it when you don't have to change diapers anymore and the fact that you don't have to buy diapers anymore!)

Because I have potty trained 2 times before this, I went in knowing that it is horrible.

My mindset was this "It is going to be a horrible 3-4 days, but I know it will work, we just have to stick with it"

Also, when you decide to do this method, make sure you have NOTHING on your calendar for 3 days. You will literally be at home for 3 days straight.

When I used this method with Kate, Claire was 11 months old so we didn't have many activities.

When I used this method with Claire, Kate was 4 and we didn't have many activities either.

But, potty training Luke, the girls are 8 and 6.5 and it was their Spring Break! They didn't want to stay at home for 3-4 days straight and do nothing, so there was a LOT of complaining and a lot of screen time for them.

Make sure you are prepared for 3 days without leaving the house.

Groceries, snacks, dinners planned/prepped, etc.

It's also a good idea to be caught up with your laundry, because you will be doing a lot of laundry during these 3 days. 

You also need to make sure you have lots of underwear.

Bribes (we used mini-marshmallows)

Here is how it went...

Day 1:

This was Monday, the day after Easter. Luke got a horrible night of sleep the night before. 

After we got home from Kevin's sisters house on Easter, it was late and he woke up 3-4 times that night. Ugh! (I think my mistake was telling him before bed that tomorrow he got to wear his big boy underwear that the Easter Bunny brought him. I think it might have stressed him out which caused him to wake up a lot at night, because that is rare for him to wake up)

When he finally woke up on Monday morning, it was 9:30 am. Yikes!

I told him no more diapers (I only had 3 diapers left, but the night before I put them in my car to give to one of my friends for her son)

That is another tip....GET RID OF ALL THE DIAPERS.

One reason is so that they don't see them and want to wear them and...

Secondly, so that you aren't tempted to use them again :)

So, we put on his big boy underwear but it was a 10 minute process because he didn't want to wear his underwear. I finally got him to put on a pair.

With the 3 day Potty Training Method, she tells you to give them lots of water & juice so that they have to go potty.

She also says that you tell them every 20-30 minutes "Tell Mommy when you need to go potty"

you DO NOT ask them if they have to go potty. The theory behind this is that you give them the "power" to tell you when they have to go potty. 

So, every 30 minutes I would say to Luke "Let Mommy know when you have to go potty"

The first day, every single time I said that to him, he replied with "NOOOOO. No potty"

Good times.

He had 4 accidents on Day 1 and *sort of* went pee in the potty once (he was peeing and then stopped and finished when I put him on the potty) 

He pooped in his underwear and didn't seem to mind. It didn't bother him when he had wet underwear either.

Every time I saw him going pee, I would pick him up and run him to the bathroom.

Luke was a little scared of the toliet, so everytime he sat on the potty, I gave him a marshmallow. 

It's not what you are supposed to do, but I did it anyway.

**I bought this toilet topper because I wanted Luke to be able to sit on the toilet by himself. With Kate we used a small portable toilet, but then we realized after a week that she wouldn't go in regular toilets, so that was a pain. Didn't want to deal with that again.***

He didn't nap today because he woke up so late.

We put him to bed at 7 (the 3 day method says no pull ups, but I use Pull ups for naps & bedtime, I call them "Special Nighttime Underwear".)

I went to bed that night exhausted, it's tiring following a 2.5 year old around all day! Phew!

Day 2:

Day 2 started off with Luke waking up with a very FULL pull up.

I followed Luke around all day & told him to tell me when he needed to use the potty.

Day 2 was worse than Day 1. 

He had a very soft, runny poop in his underwear and he peed his pants 2 times before lunch.

As I was putting him down for his nap, he kept saying "NO NO NO" to the pull up.

He wanted his Mikey Mouse underware. So, I put those over his pull up. 

Then, he wakes up from his nap & he is crying hysterically.

He had taken off his pull up, thrown it out of his crib and he peed ALL over his crib.

So, then I had to wash his sheets and his bumper.  UGH.

I basically was telling him to tell me when he had to go potty every 30 minutes, but I was also setting him on the toliet as well, every hour. I wanted him to become more comfortable with sitting on the potty. 

Let me just tell you, I grew up with 2 sisters and my first 2 kids were girls. 

I was not used to having a boy in the house...he is obsessed with his junk! 

Always touching it & grabbing it now that diapers aren't on! YIKES!

He had a couple more pee accidents on Day 2 and I was so happy when he went to bed.

I hadn't left my house in 2 days or showered in 2 days, so I was excited to shower and then go out for drinks for one of my best friends birthdays! 

We had our baby sitter come right at bedtime so she wouldn't have to deal with Luke & potty training. We put Luke in a pull up and zipped his footie pj's on backwards so that he couldn't

It was SO nice to get out of the house for a couple hours that night!

Amen.

Day 3:

With the girls, Day 3 was a turning point for them, so I was hoping it would be the same for Luke.

He woke up on Day 3 with a pull up so full that it leaked through his pj's. Awesome.

I know that it can click on day 3, so even though I was losing hope, I kept reminding him to tell me if he had to go potty.

Every hour I placed him on the potty to see if he would go.

He was mostly interested in playing with the toilet paper.

Right before lunch, he did start to pee in the hallway (I was right behind him) so I scooped him up and put him on the toilet and he finished going in the potty.

This was the first real break thru I had seen in 3 days.

Small victories! This gave me the small glimmer of hope I needed.

For naptime, I put him in the pull up & zipped up his pj's backward, I wasn't about to deal with changing his crib sheets again.

He woke up with a VERY full pull up. 

That afternoon he had a "half accident" Started to poop, but I caught him before he was done and he finished in the toilet.

Finally, before bedtime when I put him on the toilet to try and go potty, he went!!!!

I was SO happy. I felt like we made big strides on Day 3.

Day 4:

No pee accidents today.

Woke up from his nap with a dry pull and then went on the potty right after he got up.

But, he had 2 poo accidents on Day 4.

At the end of Day 4, I was exhausted & had cabin fever.

It is so tiring following a 2.5 year old around all day.

Potty training was more exhausting than having a newborn.

And, it was tiring hearing my girls say it was the worst Spring Break they have ever had.

I agreed with them. 

Claire told me she had a headache from hearing me tell Luke over and over and over again to tell me if he had to go potty. She asked if I would stop saying that. Hahaha!

 

Also on Day 4, Luke now refuses to have the toilet topper on the toilet, he want just the regular toilet. Fine by me!

Day 5:

Friday morning I woke up and was determined to leave the house.

I had MAJOR cabin fever & so did the girls.

I decided to surprise the kids and take them to donuts in their pj's and also get donuts for my sister who was also potty training her 2.5 year old Jack.

That is why I wanted to cry when Claire locked my keys in my car as we were about to leave for donuts.

Thank goodness for AAA...an hour later we were out of the house. 

This would be a good test...Luke's first time out of the house without diapers.

Luke did amazing all day...no accidents.

And, he even started telling me when he had to go potty.

It finally clicked on Day 5.

I was so happy!

Day 6 :

No accidents during the day and the kids were at my in laws that night while Kevin & I went to a Surprise Party. Luke even told my mother in law he had to go poopy on the potty & he did!

So, so, so proud of Luke. 

It has now been 1 week & 1 day and he hasn't had an accident since day 4.

He is napping and waking up dry and the past 3 nights he has woken up dry in the morning as well.

He seems so grown up now. His vocabulary also really increased this week of potty training. I don't know if that is a coincidence or not, but he has been talking so much more and so clear on telling us what he wants/needs.

To read about when I potty trained Kate, read {HERE}

Claire's potty training, read {HERE}

If any of you have potty trained before, you know that it is the worst.

I've potty trained 3 kids...I feel like I can conquer the world. LOL!

Hopefully sharing how it went for us will help you out.

I am not expert, but I am happy to answer questions that you have :)

It really was an awful Spring Break, but all the hard work was WORTH IT!!!!!

No more Diapers....EVER!!!!!

+++++++++++++

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Staycation 2009

This past week, Kevin took a week off work to stay home with us for a "Stay-cation"

We had big plans to do fun stuff around the Bay Area & get a lot done around the house.

We didn't get to do as much as we wanted & we still have t0-do things left to do, because the week was basically trumped by potty training Kate. The good news is, she hasn't had an accident since Thursday. The bad news is that Potty Training has royally messed up her sleeping schedule, and she is SO overly concerned with going potty, she is waking us up to go throughout the night so she can go. I feel like I have a newborn again!

Onto our staycation..Here are a few things we did this week!

Kevin was able to go to music class with us!
Kate LOVES the drums. LOVES them!





We had a playdate with our buddy Owen!





Kate and Claire took a bath together for the first time. WAY easier bathing 2 at once! No more baby tub on the counter! yay!
We went to the zoo with our friends, The Joyce's!
Buddies!!!

The lilypads were a big hit...
And, yes. Kate did end up falling in the water & got soaked up to her knees.


Claire & Samuel watching the girls & daddies on the Merry-Go-Round:Merry-Go-Round!


On the Zoo Train:



And, we had fun at the pool!










It was great having Kevin at home for a week. We were able to sneak in a date night to Piatti on Friday night. YUM!
Kate is SMITTEN by her Daddy and wants to be around him ALL.THE.TIME. I think it is going to be a rough day for all of us when he is at work tomorrow.

Adventures in Potty Training

Warning: This is a very long post about what it has been like to potty train Kate.
But there are some cute pictures of Kate at the bottom that have nothing to do with potty training. Feel free to skip the reading & scroll down to the pictures!

I decided to document some of the process so we can look back on it and remember what to do and not to do when we decide to potty train Claire.

We finally decided to potty train Kate, I mean she is 2.5 years old, it is about time.
To be honest, I haven't been in a rush to potty train her. I really didn't mind having 2 in diapers, it was actually convenient because I didn't have to be "bothered" by finding a bathroom for Kate if we were out running errands, at the park or on a trip.

My goal was to potty train Kate this summer, since I have it off and it would be a great time to do it.
I had planned on potty training her the first week of summer, but then she got strep, so I postponed the process until now. We had a lot of trips, vacations & events planned this summer and potty training was just going to get in the way of the.
So, with 1 week left before I go back to work, here we are!
We used the 3 day potty training method. It was pretty hard core, we followed it all, except we are using pull ups for naps & nighttime. First, I need to say that Kevin is a HERO because he took a week off work to support me in this venture & so we could also do a stay-cation this week. My husband rocks. For reals.

Preface - Monday, August 10
8:00 pm As we are putting Kate to bed, we show her all her big girl underpants (that she picked out with me at Target) She picks out the pair she is going to wear tomorrow & after we put on her diaper, we give the rest of her diapers to Claire.
*Technically, this is now August 11th*
1:00am -4:00 am Kate is WIDE awake, Kevin and I switch off going into her room, she is happy & wants cheerios. I have a feeling that Day 1 of cold turkey potty training is going to be rough...

Here is what we did for potty treats.
We have a step stool in their bathroom for her to use to wash her hands. The top step opens up & stores things. So, I put her potty treats in that:
Close up of her potty treats (gummy vitamins which she calls "candy", m&m's and stickers) If she goes pee, she gets 1 treat. If she goes #2, well, she gets 2 treats!
We even got her new Hello Kitty soap that she picked out:
Day 1 - Tuesday, August 11
8:30am - Kate wakes up crying. Great.
I go into her room & she tells me to turn off the lights "outside" (aka: the sun) and that she wants to go back to bed (what?!?)
I get her out of her crib & excitedly tell her that she gets to wear her big girl underwear today.
Kate's response? NO!!! Don't change my diaper, I want my diaper on.
SCREAMING.
"I don't want big girl underwear, I want my diaper"
Lots of crying from Kate. Lots.
I want to give up at this point, but I know that is pathetic.
Kevin comes in & is able to calm down Kate & we remind her that she is a big girl & that Claire needs her diapers.
She picks out her underwear & we go downstairs and make pancakes.
Every 15 minutes we say to her, "Make sure you tell mommy or daddy if you need to go potty"
She had 3 accidents before noon. Every time, we would take her to the bathroom & have her sit on the potty. She refused to sit on the potty & would arch her back to avoid it. Awesome....not.
In the afternoon, Kevin had a meeting for work that he couldn't miss, so he went to that for a couple hours.
Kate has another accident & then I clean her up & put her down for a nap. She is freaking out about not having a diaper on for her nap & is HYSTERICAL.
At this time, Claire has a huge poo, so I go change her. Kate is still SCREAMING & then Ihear her gagging and then puking. I run to Kate's room and she has thrown up in her crib, all over the bumper, bedskirt, the carpet below the crib & herself. I grab her & take her to the bathroom. she pukes 4 more times in the sink.
She was so upset about the trauma of potty training and not wearing a diaper that it caused her to get physically sick.
Can you say Mommy Guilt?
Kate is crying and I now I am crying. Ugh.
This SUCKS.
Kate end up hanging out on the couch with me & ends up falling asleep for about an hour (in her underwear) she wakes up dry & I tell her I am so proud & she gets an m&m. I feel like I needed to celebrate SOMETHING. ANYTHING.
She has 2 more accidents that afternoon. Kevin gets home and she tells Kevin she has to, the go upstairs & she actually sits on the potty for 10 seconds. She doesnt go, but I am thrilled she was actually willing to sit on it.
A few more times before bed, she asks to sit on the potty, but never goes pee on the potty.

As we go to bed that night, Kevin and I agree that we are in Potty Training Hell.
I am convinced that Claire will be potty trained before Kate.

Day 2 - Wednesday, August 12
9:30 Kate wakes up (pull up is wet) We take her to sit on the potty, she sits for about 2 minutes, doesn't go, but she isn't scared to sit on the potty!

For the next 2 hours, Kate tells us she needs to go potty probably 1o times. Each time we take her to the potty, she sits for a few minutes but doesn't go. That is okay, at least she is sitting on the potty & telling us. She tells us that she is a big girl, she wears underwear and Claire is a baby who wears diapers. I am feeling hopeful...she is starting to get it, right?!?!

12:00 She has an accident in the bathroom, she didn't make it to the potty in time. She almost made it!
We try and put her down for a nap at 2 (we put on her pull up, which we call her special sleeping underwear) She tells us she has to poop (which is probably true, she hasn't gone in 2 days and I have mixed in prune juice with her regular juice for the past 2 days (she gets stopped up sometimes)
We sit in the bathroom while she tries to poop for an hour, on and off, on and off.
5:00 she FINALLY goes pee on the potty!!!!
She held it for 5 hours. I am impressed, she has a strong bladder.

The rest of the night, she keeps telling us she has to poo, and we pretty much hang out in the bathroom for 2 hours on and off while she tries to go. No poop.
Kate goes to bed & at 10:30 she calls to us & tells us she has to the potty. And, she does! Yay! Then at 4 am she wakes up saying the same thing, and sure enough she goes again! She is finally starting to get it!

What a difference a day makes!

Day 3 - Thursday, August 13

Kate wakes up at 9:00 and her pull up is DRY!
She went on the potty 3 times after she got up, but didn't actually pee.
We go downstairs to make breakfast and she has an accident.
2 steps forward, 1 step back.
The rest of the day, she does great and tells us she has to go on the potty every 15 minutes. She doesn't have an accident the rest of the day.
The only issue is that she still hasn't gone poop, so I am adding prune juice to her apple juice AND I put Benefiber in her milk.
All day, she was telling us she had to go poop and would sit and sit and sit on the potty trying to go. I could tell she was in pain & just needed to get it out.
Finally, that night, she went poop and then went again, and then went again.
Poor thing, this was at 10 at night and we kept having to get her out in and out of her crib. The good news is that she made it to the potty everytime, so there were no poop accidents!
But, this potty training thing has REALLY screwed up her naps & nighttime sleep. Normally she sleeps from 7:30/8pm to 7:30/8am every night and takes a 2 hour afternoon nap. She has been so concerned and focused on going on the potty that she tells us every 5 minutes at night that she has to go on the potty. This goes on from about 8 pm to 10 pm at night. It has been exhausting.
Day 4 - Friday August 14
Kate wakes up dry again & goes pee on the potty as soon as she gets up.
We went to the zoo with friends today (pictures of that coming soon)
I was curious to see how Kate would do in a public setting, especially because she doesnt like the big toliet and refuses to sit on ours at home.
Well, I was right, she would not sit on the potty at the zoo despite telling us she needed to go. Finally as we were leaving, I took her to the potty 1 more time and she actually sat on it! She didn't go pee, but it's the baby steps people!

Kevin and I went out to dinner tonight & his parents watched the girls for a few hours.
We dropped the girls off & told Kate that Grandma only had a big toilet at her house, so she would have to go on that. And, it worked! She sat on it several times & wasn't scared of it anymore.
When we picked them up and got back to our house, Kate went on the big potty at our house also & even went pee in it.
Our goal is to get rid of the little potty in the next week or so!

But, again tonight, she wouldn't go to sleep because she kept telling us she had to go pee every 2 minutes. She is using this as a ploy to not go to bed. So, we need to figure out the balance of that. We are sick of taking her to the potty 30 times after she is in bed, but at the same time, don't want her to wet the bed. She needs to go to sleep and not stay up until 10 pm going to the bathroom every 2 minutes. Some of those times, she actually squeezes out a little pee, so we don't know what to do with that. She is manipulating the nighttime situation & we are getting worked by a 2.5 year old!

All in all, I feel pretty good about Kate's progress the past few days.
Is she 100% potty trained? No, but she is getting close.
It has been amazing to see what she has done in the past 4 days. We went cold turkey from diapers to underwear & I am so proud of her. She is totally catching on & aware of her body. Kevin and I need patience and encouragement the next few days and weeks or until she totally "gets" it. I feel good about what she has proven to us in 4 short days.

Here are some random pics of Kate that I took the other day. Don't worry, they have nothing to do with potty training. Since this post is only on potty talk, I thought I would change the subject and end it with some cuteness of Kate helping me water flowers.