Potty Training Day 7

Today was a great day! Carter got five stickers — nothing different from yesterday, he was just more spaced out. He did so well, holding it longer today and going pretty quickly once he was in the bathroom. He also went twice by himself! The timer was set for 75 minutes, but sometimes we’d forget to turn it back on after he went so he held it for about two hours once or twice. No accidents, but he pooped in his diaper twice — before we changed this morning and then again before bed. It seems morningtime is a regular time for him to poop, which makes me excited as he’s never had a “routine”, he just kind of pooped whenever. So perhaps this weekend we’ll try the trick I got yesterday — you put him in the bathroom with no clothes after breakfast and tell him he has to stay in there until he poops. Sounds a little cruel, but the couple in the article did well. Their son went after five minutes the first day, and after a week he had pooping on the potty down pat! Maybe next week we’ll keep underwear on him at night to see how he does. He stays dry most nights, and maybe he’ll hesitate to go if he has underwear on. We’ll see how he continues the next few days! Looks like I don’t have to buy size six diapers until Lauren needs them… YAY!

Potty Training Day 6

Today was a 7-sticker day, accident free!! :D (Okay, so technically it was accident-free, but he did poop in his diaper before he changed into his underwear.) Carter didn't fight me at all today -- the timer would go off and he'd go follow me into the bathroom to go. We didn't have to count, he went almost immediately! I think now he's finally realizing that he goes, he's done, he can get back to playing! This afternoon I had put Sam down for his nap and was in the process of getting Lauren down for her nap (so I was nursing her in her room with the doors shut) when I heard the timer go off. Normally if I'm not near Carter to say something, he'd just shut the timer off and start it going again -- he tells me he has to wait for it to beep again. I was prepared to fight with him a little when I got done with Lauren, but surprisingly I heard him walk to the bathroom, then the toilet flush, then the sink on washing his hands -- HE DID IT ALL BY HIMSELF!!! :D I came out and asked him if he went potty and he excitedly said yes. The next time the timer went off I started to get up, but Carter looked at me and said, "No, I'm going to do it myself." I couldn't have been happier or more proud!

Tomorrow I'm going to change the timer to go off every hour and fifteen minutes (adding the fifteen minutes) since it seems he's holding it better now. There were only a couple times today that he peed quite a bit too. My goal is to eventually have the timer going off pretty far apart, so he can learn to go in with his own cues. I'm so excited, and hope this continues!!

Oh, and I got a little advice on helping him poop on the potty (thanks, Aunt Roi and Cindy!) so we might try that out this weekend. I think I need Matt home for reinforcements! :) I'll fill everyone in on that when it happens...

Potty Training Day 5

Today was only a 3-sticker day. He was reluctant most the day to even go and try! Maybe my expectations were high from yesterday? I thought after such a good day he'd continue on this track. Guess not. :( He had two dirty accidents and two wet accidents -- we even had to throw out a pair of underwear it was so messy!! I know not all of you wanted to hear about that, but I'm just telling you how it is. He always seems so happy and proud when he sees how happy I am that he's dry and going in the toilet, but the other times he just doesn't seem to care much. I know we'll have good days and bad days... I just don't like the bad days all that much! We'll try again tomorrow and hope for the best -- I'm not giving in or giving up! This is going to be the time Carter gets out of diapers for good...

Potty Training Day 4

Today was a great day!! He did poop this morning before we got him in underwear, but I was actually thankful for that. Still wish he would go in the potty, but at least it was easy clean-up. (He also had one dirty accident in the early afternoon that was not fun!) He was excited to put his underwear on and set the timer -- off we went!! He went every time his timer went off, with hardly any fighting to even go in the bathroom (like usual). I came up with a new game to try to get him out of the bathroom a little quicker, since I was the only one home today and had Lauren and Sam to watch as well. We'd pick a number for me to count to -- if I got to that number before Carter peed, I won; if he peed before I finished counting, he won. He loves games and counting and this worked perfectly!! He got so many stickers today that he already completed a potty chart. He picked a train video as his reward, and started his next chart (already has two on it!). I'm just glad today went as well as it did. I was insanely calm about everything today though. Things that normally tick me off or make me have to calm myself down so I don't erupt just didn't do it to me today. I also think that Carter getting more attention throughout the day helps too. He already tried to rebel, knows we won't back down, and is liking the little games, getting stickers, etc. I hope that this continues day-to-day, and gets to where I don't need to set the timer. I also hope he soon realizes when he has to poop and will go in the potty!! Once he gets the hang of this we'll keep underwear on him at night -- he was staying dry overnight, we'll just have to get him into the habit of going to the bathroom first thing in the morning. I'll keep you posted on progress!

Potty Training Day 3

Today was a much better day. I think I calmed down a lot about it all, so that really helped. He seemed much more eager today also. I'm thinking yesterday was a testing day and since Matt and I didn't back down, he decided to cooperate a little more. He had one start of an accident, but caught himself and told Matt he needed to pee. Later in the afternoon, he did have a dirty accident, but as I said before -- he was still trying to get the hang of going #2 in the potty. He even asked me a couple days ago how you poop! Luckily they're not too messy, and we explain that he needs to do that in the toilet instead of his underwear. Sometimes it's hard not getting mad, but it's necessary so he continues to try. Yesterday we went though eight pairs of underwear -- today we went through two! Sounds like great progress to me... :) Now here's the real test: tomorrow it will be just me with Carter and two babies... how well will we do? Check back tomorrow night!

Potty Training Day 2

So... today didn't go well at all. I think he actually went in the potty maybe two-three times when we took him. He just kept going in his pants!! One time I think he was looking for me and peed when he couldn't find me (but Matt was in the office, where he went to look for me). Most the others seemed a little more accidental, but after one of them he asked for a pull-up (which I don't want to use because it's just like a thin diaper -- we've tried those with no success). One seemed very deliberate -- he went in our room and peed behind the door (he always tells us where he pees so we can clean it up). It was soon after he had asked for the pull-up, and to go behind a door? I don't know for sure, but I do know that Carter just doesn't want to do it. I think we got a little more frustrated with him and pushed him a little harder today, and he didn't like it. Again with this power struggle! Twice, though, we asked him if he had to go and he said no -- ten seconds later he went in his pants both times!! The timer was pretty much ineffective today, but we'll continue to use it as a reminder to at least the parents.

I did have some success this evening when we went in after the timer beeped. Since he hadn't gone very often when we took him in during the day, I wanted to give him a little more incentive or make it a little more fun. So I took Cheerios in with me and put a few of them in the toilet. I told Carter to aim his pee and hit them (he was standing up like Daddy this time). He started giggling when I dropped the first one in, and immediately started trying harder to pee in the toilet! He did go, and hit two of the Cheerios! So I'm keeping a cup of them on the bathroom counter (so guests, it's not a snack in there for you!) so we can play this game more often.

Hopefully we'll meet with more success tomorrow, and I can continue this throughout the week without Matt and while watching Sam. I don't want to buy any more "baby diapers" for my 3.5 year old!!

Potty Training

So we've been working on potty training with Carter for quite some time now. We got him a training potty when he was around 15-18 months, and started trying to use it at two years old. We didn't meet with much success, but didn't want to push too hard as we had always heard "they'll do it when they're ready". We've been ready, and started to push a little harder when he was 2 1/2 -- we wanted him out of diapers either before or soon after Lauren was born! He was doing great -- he'd get out of bed and change his diaper (which he slept in) to a pull-up, and usually go to the bathroom too. He had even moved to the big potty and we put the little one away!

He had a major setback after Lauren was born (which I anticipated), but it got so much worse six months later! At this time he refused to even get himself dressed! Those that know him well know that he likes to do everything himself. AND he was getting himself dressed before even coming out of his room in the mornings! So after talking with other parents of young ones (especially boys!) and searching message board after message board, I finally found some sage advice. This advice was posted by a couple moms, both of which got it from their respective pediatricians. Leave them be for a month or so -- put them back in diapers and don't mention the potty. It was turning into a power struggle, so drop it so you can regain the power. We did this -- at first Carter hated being back in a "baby diaper" and I honestly thought that might do the trick. Nope. So a little over a month goes by and we'd occasionally ask him if he needed to go or wanted to go, but the answer was always no. We didn't push, we just dropped it.

It's now time for the next step -- one mother posted that it was to put them on the potty every hour or so and make them sit there for at least five minutes, but still don't say anything about using the potty. I didn't really like this step, so I came up with my own method (which has probably been used by others). It's something like we've done before, but with an added element. It's a three-day weekend, so I decided that I want Carter mostly potty-trained by the end of it. Might be wishful thinking, but I at least hope to get the general idea drilled into his head to make it easier to continue when the days are a little busier. This morning I put him in big-boy underwear and explained what was going to happen. We set his timer for every 45 minutes (which we used in the past to "give" him the power to go to the bathroom on his own when it beeped) and he needed to go sit on the toilet whenever it beeped for five minutes or until he went. There were times when he fussed and tried to refuse to go into the bathroom, but he did great. We even went to Kohls and to grab some dinner tonight and he told Matt that he needed to go while we were in the store -- and stayed dry the entire time out! We had one accident earlier in the day -- a dirty one too -- but he still had problems going #2 in the potty when he was doing well before. And he recognized that he did it and told me right after it happened, so that shows progress. Ever since he was a baby, he has never minded being in a dirty or wet diaper!

We'll continue this tomorrow, even though he told me that he didn't want to do it again. Hopefully soon he'll start recognizing when he has to go and the timer will go away. My thoughts are that he gets so wrapped up in doing whatever he's doing that he just never wanted to take a time-out to go potty. Let's hope that changes, and I can quit buying diapers for Carter!! I'll keep you updated.

It's Been a While...

It has been a while since I posted a blog or update, so I thought I'd write a bit to catch up. We've been super busy the past few weeks with Carter's birthday and travelling. We had a total of three birthday parties – one in Ft Wayne for family, one here for friends and family that could make it, and one at my parents' in Ohio to celebrate all the recent birthdays (five in all). We also took Carter to a minor league baseball game in Indianapolis on his birthday and he loved it. Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful gifts (that Carter likes to scatter around the house while playing with all of them!) – I promise thank-you cards are on the way! Thanks also to everyone who helped coordinate the festivities with me!! Matt had a birthday two days after Carter, so some of the celebrations were for him.

Carter went to the doctor today for his three-year physical and checkup. He's super healthy, and hadn't been to the doctor since his two-year appointment. He is 3'5" tall (>95%) and weighs 38.5 lbs (95%). Everything checked out great and the doctor was very pleased. Carter had his blood pressure taken for the first time, but saw me get it done every pregnancy visit and has a toy sphygmometer so he knew what was going on. He made the nurse do it three times because he liked it so much, and he listened through the stethoscope the last time. He did get a Hepatitis A vaccine, as they are just now adding it to the schedule, but did very well. I wasn't sure how he'd react, as he's always cried a bit in the past, but all he did was say "Ow" and liked getting a bandaid on his thigh! We did a developmental questionnaire too, and actually ran out of questions before we were done (I forgot to ask when the nurse came back if there was more I should answer). So we got as far as 3 yrs, 10 months developmentally, so Carter's at least there.

We're still working on potty training, as Carter is always so preoccupied with playing that he doesn't want to stop to use the potty. We've started using a timer, to give him the power when it's time to go (rather than us telling him to go), and that's working pretty well. He does stay dry fairly long now, except overnight. He also doesn't want to go #2 in the potty… No idea why! So if anyone has any suggestions to help us along, please give them to me!!

We thought about sending Carter to preschool two or three days a week starting in the fall, but we decided to wait. One reason is the expense, another is we feel he's already ahead of the game. He's known his alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors, and now knows his presidents and states. Since Lauren's been born, however, it's been harder to teach him new things, but we hope to get back to it soon. Perhaps he'll do one year of preschool before kindergarten to get him accustomed to school. He likes routines so it shouldn't be too hard, and he is very social with kids at the playground or bookstore so we're not worried about that.

Lauren is also doing well. It's hard to believe that she'll be three months old tomorrow!! She had been regularly sleeping six hours at night, and the past couple of weeks she has been sleeping nine-ten hours! She's also started taking more regular naps, usually one-hour in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. I'm hoping to get things more routine still, but was just waiting for her cue. She's now sleeping in her crib all the time, but I'm still keeping the bassinet up in my bedroom just in case we need it in the next couple weeks. I'm doing much better since I usually don't get woken up in the middle of the night anymore, and get my evenings back most days to read, watch a movie, or get stuff done around the house. She'll go back to the doctor on Sept. 6th for her four-month checkup and vaccines.

Lauren is doing more and more each day. She's such a happy baby, unless she's hungry or has a tummy-ache, and loves to socialize. She'll just sit (or stand) on my lap or sit in her Boppy and talk away! She's recognizing more and more things, reaching for them, and following them with her eyes really well. If she hears Carter, she strains herself to try and find him! We've also introduced her to the Jumperoo, which was Carter's absolute favorite thing, and she loves it just as much. She loves to stand and be up, and will hop from leg to leg in it watching the lights and talking to the kangaroo. She's also started to play with rattles – it's funny to watch her get her "serious face" when she's checking something out! It's just amazing to watch her grow and develop, and to watch the two kids interact.

August is another busy month… Matt and I are going to a Dave Matthews Band concert with Mandy and Jack next weekend. It will be fun to have a little break and time to ourselves! Carter is going to spend a weekend in Ft. Wayne with his grandparents the last weekend in August, so that will be a new experience. I'm sure he'll love it, and I'll enjoy a little quiet around the house and some non-guilty time with Lauren! I know Carter understands that Lauren needs more attention, but I always feel guilty that I can't spend a lot of one-on-one time with him like that. When Carter was a baby, it was different – he'd take a nap and I'd have time to myself or could get things done around the house. When Lauren takes a nap, I don't get a chance to get much done because I want to do things with him (and her naps aren't too long yet!). So if I do something around the house, I feel bad for not doing something with him. But if I do something with Carter, I hate that my house is a mess! That's the one bad thing about trying to sell the house before Lauren was born – I got so used to it being spotless that it drives me nuts having any bit of mess now! But… sometimes it has to be like that because I can't do it all right now. And that's hard enough for me to admit!

Although things are very busy, I'm getting very accustomed to being a mother of two. It is quite an adjustment, especially when you're used to doing things when you want or running a quick errand whenever. I totally had to change my day-to-day, but things are slowly returning to a new normal. And with Lauren getting on somewhat of a schedule, it helps things out a bit too.

I've posted lots of pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/hoosier.nik so check them out! I'll be continually adding more as well. Until the next update…