Our Big Girl!

Well, I think it's safe to say that Mae is pretty well potty trained!!! She had been waking up dry from naps and in the mornings (around 12 hours dry!) and would tell me when she was wet or dirty and ask for a diaper change, so we (well, I) decided to give potty training a try a couple of weeks ago. We started on Wed. March 30th and planned to stay home a few days! She was super excited about her 'undies'. 

My method is to get rid of diapers during awake time (I was still putting a diaper on her at nap/night time to start), push fluids, stay close to the potty, focus on staying clean and dry (Mae would say "keen and dry!!!", and rush to the potty when the accidents started.

First day....so excited!!!

We did spend a lot of time outside and she got to drink a lot of those flavored water 'juice' drinks and eat a lot of popsicles.

It was a loooonnnnggggg few days with lots of accidents while she learned.....

She also did some funny faces while she was in the bathroom. Ha!

By Sunday, she would tell us she had to potty about 2 seconds before she would go. We were getting some in the toilet, but not 100%. Something clicked about 5 days in and the pee accidents pretty much stopped! Now she will tell us in plenty of time to get to the toilet for pee and she has stayed dry through naps the whole time and has wet maybe once or twice at night. She is always SO proud of herself when she uses the toilet!

Our struggles are public restrooms ("big potty potty!!"), where she won't let me hold her on and going #2. She *knows* she needs to go before hand, but she gets nervous about sitting and doing it, so we go back and forth to the bathroom tons of times and she holds it awhile before she finally goes (either in her undies or on the potty). It's frustrating, for sure, but I've got some new ideas to work on this week and hopefully she will catch on. 

Potty training this late in pregnancy is ROUGH (I did the same thing for Arabelle before Bo was born and for Bo before Mae was born), but is worth it to be DONE with diapers! 

Accidents and Spring Cleaning

We've been having a few accidents around here the last few days. Not potty accidents from our newly trained boy....he's doing great!

All last week, the little insert had been in the bathroom the kids use. Arabelle had been used to not using it, but since Bo was potty training, it had been there for a week. Well, she was used to it being there when she went to use the toilet. I moved it Sunday evening while Bo was in the bathtub (in our bathroom) and had not put it back when she went to use it before bed. Yep, she fell in the toilet and not just a little. I'm talking her bottom on the bottom of the toilet. Poor girl was SO upset!

Then Monday, I finally had someone clean the house, which was MUCH needed! We were getting ready to go outside to play in the afternoon and I nearly fell in the toilet! I didn't look to see that it was up from being cleaned. Luckily for Arabelle, she got to witness the near accident and thought it was hilarious.

And now today was Bo's turn. We had some friends over to play and the bigger kids had moved the insert to use the toilet before they left. I had gone out to tell them goodbye and Bo stayed in at the train table playing. Apparently he had to use the bathroom....Arabelle came running out as I was coming in to say Bo fell in the toilet. Tiny little Bo was IN the toilet! All that was out was 2 arms, 2 feet, and his head. He was hysterical, of course, but luckily it didn't scare him from using the bathroom a bit later.

So, 3 days and 3 people falling or nearly falling in the toilet. Think Jared can survive tomorrow?? ;)

We did do some outside Spring Cleaning yesterday, since the inside of the house was actually clean from top to bottom.

They had just as much fun washing the porch this year as they did last year!

Our big boy!

See this sweet boy? He's 100% BIG boy now!

He's been saying for months now "I'm not a baby! I'm a big boy!", yet when I asked him about wearing baby diapers, he'd get really quiet. I'd offer underwear and the potty, but his reply was always "I tee-tee in diapers!". He loved the things!

Arabelle was totally different in potty training. She'd go when I put her on the toilet at a really young age...around 18 mo! She was fully in underwear around 20 mo., including dry at night! She really responded well to a lot of praise. Bo could have cared less about clapping and verbal praise.

He was showing signs of readiness (not that he WANTED to, but physically, he was ready), so I'd been planning to get rid of the diapers, suck it up, and potty train this week, since it was Spring Break from school. Of course, Arabelle started vomiting Saturday night and was pitiful all day Sunday, but I knew it HAD to be done. I offered lots of fluids, including popsicles and juice, which he never gets, to keep him going. Everything I had read was called something like "The 3 Day Potty Training Method" and I was hoping and praying that 3 days would be enough!

Monday was Day 1. He was really unhappy about there being no diapers! I asked if he wanted underwear and he said "NO!!!!", so he went bare bottomed most of Monday. Monday was a LONG day....1 pee in the potty and 5 accidents, despite saying "I need to tee-tee" 1,000 times and running to the potty. I expected a lot of accidents, but man, it was a hard day! I think we spent more time in the bathroom than out of it.

Tuesday was Day 2. He woke up wet (goes to bed in a pull up), but the 1st pee of the day made it in the toilet! We were off to a great start! He still didn't want underwear that day, which probably helped the learning process anyway. He still did a lot of  "I need to tee-tee" and running to the toilet, but not nearly as much. In the afternoon the light bulb went off when he used the toilet and he had no more accidents all day! So on day 2, there were 3 in the toilet and just 1 accident (he can hold it for several hours)!!

Wednesday was Day 3. I woke up dreading another day of it, even after the improvements the day before. I was just TIRED and Arabelle had started vomiting again. My legs were sore from all the running to the toilet, following him around the house, sitting on the floor for games/activities (trying to stay off the furniture!), and squatting to sit on the extra step stool while he was on the toilet. But, the day started off great....he wanted to wear undies!! We had a good morning and even ventured outside just after lunch. That's where he had his only accident of the day. I'm assuming he got too busy and forgot. :-p I went to church Wed. night to teach and Jared stayed home with both kids, since Arabelle had been sick that morning. He took the trash out while they were finishing supper and he came in to find Bo on the toilet and using the bathroom, all by himself! Day 3 was just 1 accident and 5 in the toilet!

Today, Thursday, was Day 4. Bo actually shocked us and woke up at 4:30 am calling out that he had to use the bathroom!! He got up, went, and hopped right back in bed. I am SO thankful that our kids sleep in their own beds so easily and enjoy their space. I am not the kind of Mama that can share bed space with a kid! He woke up with a dry pull up this morning, went through the whole day using the toilet, and stayed clean and dry when we went for my Dr. appt. this afternoon. So proud of him! He did discover the perk of being a boy....he can use the bathroom outside! ;) He made it through the entire day with NO ACCIDENTS!!! He even refused the pull up at bedtime tonight and asked for underwear. We'll see how that goes. :)

I will be watching him pretty close in the coming days and I fully expect him to have accidents here and there, especially when he heads back to 'school' Monday morning, but I think it's safe to say he's potty trained!

I'm SO proud of my big boy!! And so thankful that it really was just a "3 Day Potty Training Method".

*Arabelle finally seems to feel better. She was sick off and on from Saturday night until this morning. Poor thing!