Potty Training
We started 'potty training' Quinn about 3 weeks ago. Mainly this was prompted by the fact that most of the preschools we are looking at for next fall require the child be completely independent in this area. So, I decided to take the plunge, so to speak, and get started. We started by having Quinn wear regular cotton underwear during the day, only wearing diapers at nap time and bed time, or when we'd be in the car for long periods. We decided to bypass pull-ups altogether, knowing we'd be in for a lot of wet clothes and laundry. I think pull-ups delay training anyway, I'm not sure what the value is of them.
The first several days were not easy. Quinn was initially excited about his new tractor underwear, but quickly caught on to the fact that we were pressuring him to do something new and hard. He was a little stressed by our new demands on him. He wanted his diapers back on, and would say to us "PUT MY DIAPER ON NOW!" We had to bribe him to wear his underwear, offering chocolate candy and other small toys to cajole him. I had a basket of new 'potty' toys from which he could choose whenever he even would wear his underwear, much less use the potty. He did understand what a potty chair was used for, probably because he observed it being used at his daycare home. At first, he would go one to two drops in the potty and consider it a success. He'd say, after one drop went in to the potty chair, "Ok I did pee and now I get a treat!" I then would put his underwear back on, and he would within minutes have wet his entire outfit. This would happen repeatedly for the first several days. One day, I think he went through more than a half dozen pairs of underwear. The first week involved quite a bit of laundry and carpet cleaning and mopping the floor. My mantra was "Your only job is to do laundry." Toward the end of the first week, though, Quinn started to recognize what "completely" emptying his bladder meant, and the one to two drop thing finally ended, much to our relief. Somehow he was better at standing to pee rather than sitting. He also realized how much more comfortable cotton underwear was compared to diapers, and liked how he could run "faster" with undies on.
We tried some other tricks to relieve his stress and distract him from what was really going on -- one thing that helped is that Quinn remains obsessed with firefighters in all forms, plays with firefighter figures during the day, arranges fires and rescues with his Legos, loves to read firefighting books and watch any video involving firefighters (On a recent 5-hour plane flight, we read "Our School Visits the Firehouse" approximately 20 times). So I tossed a Kleenex into the toilet and told Quinn he had a firehose that could put the fire out. He liked that idea. I also threw some Fruity Cheerios into the toilet and gave him a target to shoot at. These ideas didn't work miracles, but they were all some of the steps along the way to where we are now. Though we initially were forced in to giving him lots of praise, treats, and presents to get over his initial resistance, once he "got it" we actually backed off from lots of praise and presents. We'd say a simple, "ok that's fine" or "now what do you want to do?" or "you're all done?" and not make the potty such a big focus. For the next week, we'd take him to the potty on regular intervals, like once an hour or so, as he was not telling us when he needed to go. We'd again have to bribe him, and say something like, "you can watch your video only after you pee." This was a big incentive for him. Somehow, he eventually recognized the urge to go, and would tell us when he needed to go.
Fast forward to this past week, when I now consider him completely trained, both pee and poop. Though he still wears diapers for naps and overnight, it's not necessary, as he awakens both times with a dry diaper. I think we'll finish off the last package of diapers, and maybe not buy another pack. How odd that my days of diaper buying are over. (?) I feel like a potty set-back might be looming, because it has almost felt too easy, once we got past those first messy 4-5 days.
And forgive me for the long post, but this blog acts as a baby book of sorts for Quinn. :)
Enjoy the Potty Video. Is nothing sacred?
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The first several days were not easy. Quinn was initially excited about his new tractor underwear, but quickly caught on to the fact that we were pressuring him to do something new and hard. He was a little stressed by our new demands on him. He wanted his diapers back on, and would say to us "PUT MY DIAPER ON NOW!" We had to bribe him to wear his underwear, offering chocolate candy and other small toys to cajole him. I had a basket of new 'potty' toys from which he could choose whenever he even would wear his underwear, much less use the potty. He did understand what a potty chair was used for, probably because he observed it being used at his daycare home. At first, he would go one to two drops in the potty and consider it a success. He'd say, after one drop went in to the potty chair, "Ok I did pee and now I get a treat!" I then would put his underwear back on, and he would within minutes have wet his entire outfit. This would happen repeatedly for the first several days. One day, I think he went through more than a half dozen pairs of underwear. The first week involved quite a bit of laundry and carpet cleaning and mopping the floor. My mantra was "Your only job is to do laundry." Toward the end of the first week, though, Quinn started to recognize what "completely" emptying his bladder meant, and the one to two drop thing finally ended, much to our relief. Somehow he was better at standing to pee rather than sitting. He also realized how much more comfortable cotton underwear was compared to diapers, and liked how he could run "faster" with undies on.
We tried some other tricks to relieve his stress and distract him from what was really going on -- one thing that helped is that Quinn remains obsessed with firefighters in all forms, plays with firefighter figures during the day, arranges fires and rescues with his Legos, loves to read firefighting books and watch any video involving firefighters (On a recent 5-hour plane flight, we read "Our School Visits the Firehouse" approximately 20 times). So I tossed a Kleenex into the toilet and told Quinn he had a firehose that could put the fire out. He liked that idea. I also threw some Fruity Cheerios into the toilet and gave him a target to shoot at. These ideas didn't work miracles, but they were all some of the steps along the way to where we are now. Though we initially were forced in to giving him lots of praise, treats, and presents to get over his initial resistance, once he "got it" we actually backed off from lots of praise and presents. We'd say a simple, "ok that's fine" or "now what do you want to do?" or "you're all done?" and not make the potty such a big focus. For the next week, we'd take him to the potty on regular intervals, like once an hour or so, as he was not telling us when he needed to go. We'd again have to bribe him, and say something like, "you can watch your video only after you pee." This was a big incentive for him. Somehow, he eventually recognized the urge to go, and would tell us when he needed to go.
Fast forward to this past week, when I now consider him completely trained, both pee and poop. Though he still wears diapers for naps and overnight, it's not necessary, as he awakens both times with a dry diaper. I think we'll finish off the last package of diapers, and maybe not buy another pack. How odd that my days of diaper buying are over. (?) I feel like a potty set-back might be looming, because it has almost felt too easy, once we got past those first messy 4-5 days.
And forgive me for the long post, but this blog acts as a baby book of sorts for Quinn. :)
Enjoy the Potty Video. Is nothing sacred?
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
posted by Pam & Mike at 7:15 AM
1 Comments:
Fast work, Quinn! And Pam, you will be hearing about this video in years to come. I remember my mother telling me how embarrassed she was as a teenager when she brought home her boyfriends and there was a nude baby photo of her on the wall!
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