Makes Me Laugh

Olivia loves loves her undies---6 times over.

I woke up to this sight one morning when Olivia got into her underwear drawer. I preferred this morning over the one where she found the lotion dispenser in the bathroom.

Potty Training Boot Camp: Wrap Up

I think this potty training saga could go on and on for the next year, so I think I'll just wrap it up here.

Olivia understands the concept--and even went a couple days without an accident, but we are still trying to master the dreaded number two. Dun. Dun. Dun.

She's just too impatient when it comes to number two. We read books. Sing songs in the bathroom and she still gets gun shy.

The potty training manual says--"stay positive don't scold" but when Olivia told us she had to go "caca" and Charm City Daddy sat her down on the potty and she commenced to prancing and pooping all over the bathroom (diarrhea cha cha cha)--we lost it.

I was amidst the post-bath routine with Lucas in another room when I heard a big SPLAT! "That can't be good," I thought. I slowly peeked in--afraid of what I might see. It looked like a crime scene, people. There she was sitting on the potty at moment in time, of course with a very fitting "oh, shit" look on her face. I gagged--then we lost it.

And that was on Charm City Daddy's Birthday! Happy Birthday daddy!

Anyway..I'll wrap up this experience with a few lessons learned as well as gear that helped us out.

1. Stock up on undies. I started with just 5 pair, but later went to town in Walmart and bought at least 30 more. I bought ten Dora, Disney Princess ones(added incentives--"don't pee on Dora!")--and the rest were Hanes, FOTL generic. I haven't used them all yet--we do laundry quite often--especially when bodily fluids are involved. I have extras everywhere--diaper bag, car, grandma's house.
2. Portable Potty. At the suggestion of a friend, I got the Pottete Portable on the go potty. It has great reviews and I love it's versatility and it's small enough to fit in the diaper bag or keep in the car. (and get additional liners!)
3. Seat Liners. For the public potties--these liners are adhesive and worth and peace of mind. I keep these in the diaper bag.
4. Carseat Saver- Piddle Pad. Yes! Many swear by carseat covers for this reason alone.. We haven't had any accidents yet but better safe than sorry.

Other thoughts:

• Constant reminding and nagging--not asking worked well for us.
• Positive reinforcement DOES work. Olivia loves saying "I so pwoud of you" all the time now.
• O's reward was a single gummi bear or sing fruit snack for every successful droplet in the pot. It's quick, tasty--and unlike the popsicles her daddy wanted to give her, don't get messy--take forever to eat or contain water.
•  Have old rags--in our case gym towels--mop, and cleaning supplies on standby. 
• Consider rolling up your rugs if you can--or staying in rooms that have no floor coverings during the training period.
• I sat Olivia down with my laptop on Day 2 and we went through all the YouTube videos I could find about potty training for kids--singing her songs--watching cartoons talk about it--seeing other kids do it. And I think it helped.

Finally---COMMIT and DON'T GIVE UP! Your partner must be on board too! Good Luck!

What worked for you Mamas?

*I was not and have never been compensated (in any way) for my baby gear suggestions on this blog.*

Potty Training Boot Camp: Day Five

I am still logging Potty Training days--and will continue to do so until Olivia goes at least one entire day without a  single accident.

And guess what? She had ONE accident today with the nanny. Again, I don't think the nanny is reminding/nagging Olivia enough to tell when she has to go potty. So--what do you get? A nice little puddle of piss to cleanup. Your bad.

It only took Charm City Daddy one accident clean up to catch on to the nagging method. Before you know it he was looking for all of the signs. haha.

We went on a picnic today in nearby Sherwood Gardens for dinner and then grabbed ice cream at Taharka Bros. and Olivia was perfectly fine and told us when she had to go. We had about 5 fibs (aka false alarms) but hey---that's okay.  She a little voyeur that's all. LOL. But I am happy to go through all the motions even if she can only squeeze a droplet.

On to day six!

Ready to Learn

It feels like Olivia and Lucas both made significant developmental strides this week.

Lucas transitioned to the bouncer and the bumbo seat this week. I've been attempting solids with him for 2 weeks, but it seems like today was the day he decided to take the reigns and embrace the concept. I was away when Charm City Daddy sent me this picture with the caption "Code Red: He just grabbed the spoon from me."

 

Hilarious!

As added incentive and reward for her great strides in potty training, we gave Olivia a few items on her school supply list: her first backpack, her new rain boots, and a water bottle. SHE LOVED THEM and we were nearly brought to tears at how fast our little girl is growing up.

I am still getting used to the arrival of O's attitude. She has an opinion and preferences already?! Yesterday I sang along with her Disney Princess piano that plays various songs including "Be Our Guest" and she got really frustrated with me and ordered me (with her little finger over my mouth) "No, don't sing mommy! Don't sing!" She wanted to dance to the music without me cluttering up her experience with lyrics, I guess. Geez.

The little mama orders poor Lucas around too. Yesterday she told him she was going to "spank yah butt!" He just smiles at her and she melts into a puddle--just like us.

That little boy has this amazing power that no one can resist. It's his kind eyes.

Potty Training Boot Camp: Day Four

To sum it all up.......It hit the fan today. Ha!

First, the nanny reported that Olivia had two accidents. Olivia had self-reported and nearly made it to the potty. I suspect the nanny wasn't able to move quickly enough with her hands full of a 5 month old Lucas and another 19 month old. Tomorrow/time will tell. The power of suggestion is really the key here. Asking does not work--Olivia gets defensive.

Then, Charm City Daddy was on duty while I had to work late and really felt the brunt of it when as he was preparing dinner and feeding Lucas, Olivia had two more accidents---one of which was the dreaded appearance of #2.

Hopefully these are minor setbacks and we can celebrate a comeback tomorrow!

Potty Training Boot Camp: Day Three

Day three was a huge success! Olivia didn't have one accident AND didn't wet the bed at naptime either.

We rewarded our progress with a trip to the park after three days of potty lockdown.

We brought the small potty with us along with a change of pants, panties and a towel.

I kept a close eye on O and reminded her to tell me if she had to go potty repeatedly upon arrival to make sure she understood that the same potty rules apply---even in a different setting. It took only 5 minutes for her to tell me she had to go potty and the next thing I knew I was running her across the playground waving my arms like a crazy person and motioning for Charm City Daddy to get the potty ready.  He knew just what to do--and had been watching for the signal from me.  In hindsight we probably looked like a melodramatic parents--but we don't care because guess what---she made it! Success again! I have never thanked and praised God over bodily function so much in my left. I am SO proud of her. 

There we were off to the side of a park bench with O sitting on her little white pot and Charm City Daddy is shielding and protecting his little girl when another dad walks right up and says "Aww, congratulations!" to us. CCD rolls his eyes at the guy like move along pervert--nothing to see here.  It was so funny. Get a clue dude.

The only thing that was missing about Day 3? Poo poo opportunities. That is the last hurdle we haven't experienced with her--as so far she has done #2 just after waking up on Day 1 and during a nap on Day 2. So I technically can't claim potty training until we have conquered #2.

Tomorrow reality sets in when O returns to her usual childcare routine with less one-on-one attention in the nanny share. Here's hoping that the nanny isn't too busy and preoccupied with taking care of the whole crew (Lucas, O, and her nanny share buddy) that she neglects to remind O enough!

Potty Training Boot Camp: Day Two

SIGNIFICANT progress to report today!

Only two accidents (wee wee in the floor--and the rest in the pot)--ALL DAY LONG.

This morning we had to watch Olivia like a hawk to catch "the look" a combination of blank stare and panic. We told her to tell us if she had to go pee over and over again (as the book says), but she just wouldn't tell us. If we, on occasion, would ask her if she had to go potty? (which the book tells you NOT to do) She would answer dramatically, "No mommy/daddy I'm not going to go potty, EVER!" I would reply "don't say that you're a big girl" and then look at Charm City Daddy as we both fought back laughs.  CCD said "maybe she means she won't potty on herself again EVER?" Nice try daddy. She is sassy and there are no excuses. She also refused to let me follow her into the bathroom a few times this morning--pushing me away b/c she wanted to do it herself.

The two times she had accidents she just gave us the look, we'd ask her as we dove to scoop and run her to the potty. But something must have clicked after her nap today. Zero accidents and she told US she had to go. I was in the middle of reading an interactive book to her on the iPad and she stopped me and said "mommy, I have to go potty." I jumped up and she made it there without a losing a drop.

I want to claim that we are done but we will go hard one more day tomorrow to seal the deal. The real test will be if Olivia adapts and reports her bodily functions to the nanny this week AND the nanny stays on top of it and doesn't take shortcuts. 

Please God let this be it. We're just three weeks away from her first day of school.

Potty Training Boot Camp: Day One

We're in the  countdown until Olivia starts nursery school and one of the big requirements that's been hanging over our heads all summer??!!----potty training! Dun. Dun. Dun.

For some reason I feel like I'm in high school again and I waited until the last month of summer vacation to start my summer assignment for A.P. Modern European History. Why I do I torture myself like this?

It's not that we haven't been having the potty conversation for the past year. She's had a potty since before she could walk after all. She's even warned us and made poo and pee in the pot this summer, but now it's time to get serious and commit. Do or die.

School starts September 9th, but new student orientation day is August 31 and we want to make a good first impression!

So, I'm taking a three-day weekend to do a three-day potty training boot camp a friend of mine shared with me via e-book. I didn't exactly stock up on all the supplies suggested like have 30 plus pairs of undies ( I have 5 pair ---that were each washed 3 times today) and  I don't have all of the on-the-go liners, and portable pots it recommendeds once your kid is trained but we're making do with what we've got.  I've got plenty of gummy bears and fruit snacks which seems to be doing the trick just fine.

The method seems to be exuberant positive reinforcement (no scolding whatsoever), complete stalking and focus on the toddler to look for the "signs", constant, nagging reminding (not asking) to "tell mommy when you have to pee, ok?", lots of water to give her plenty of chances to do her thing, and for us, a single gummi bear for even an droplet of success.

The results after Day One?

• No less than 15 accidents---pee puddles everywhere (even one in the grass in the backyard). I rolled up the living room rug too--SO glad I did.
• She made it to the pot at least 5 times--one of which I had left the room (bad mommy) and she peed on the floor a little and ran and made it the pot all by herself for the rest! Another time she told me she had to go, and wanted to go by herself and pushed me away and wouldn't let me follow her to the bathroom. She made it to the pot and exclaimed, "I'm a big girl now!" It was pretty awesome. THEN she peed on the floor at least 2 more times after that. LOL
• Naptime was successful--she stayed dry. 
• No poop at all today--not normal for her.
• I have cabin fever. I am on complete lockdown--can't even watch TV--must watch her at all times. But I have caught her signals, she stiffens and spreads her legs with knees locked and goes up on her toes, all with a worried/blank look on her face--usually looking me dead in the face. LOL.

I felt like giving up about 20 times today--which was everytime I had to clean up the pee and balance Lucas' needs, cries, bottle, naps, tummy time, entertainment while still keeping O from making a mess of her own--mess.  Yuck. No way Charm City Daddy could stomach this job. No way.

It will all be over soon. She looks so adorable in her Princess and the Frog undies too.

Wish us luck for Day 2!