Days 29-35
Tuesday - Friday 7/26-7/29
This was my first week of work and I was not able to do it all myself. My sister took over the daytime and it has gone well. She has taken notes throughout the day like I was so keeping my charts has not been difficult. All week only three accidents total, one at my sister's place and two at mine, so I guess it was a good week.
He is much more consistent in responding 'yes' when I ask him if he needs to go but still only about 30% of the time. But this is improvement nonetheless and am sure he will get it eventually.
Saturday 7/30
Had a major accident this morning, poop everywhere! Well, not entirely everywhere but in a whole lotta places including an upholstered piece of furniture. On the bright side I found him sitting on the potty, diaper and pants around his ankles, so there was an effort. This will teach me to actually get up and go check on him when I hear him calling for me. I found it odd but thought he was just being pesty like he usually is in the morning.
Then he peed. While laying down on the carpet. And did not attempt to even get up. I discovered this accident when I got him up to change him. Completely wet and who knows how long he had been laying on his pee. Had no choice but to wash him down or deal with a pee smelling child in this heat. Wash down it was.
He has peed on the potty successfully twice and I'm just too tired to keep track so today there is no tracking at all. I'm pretty upset about that. I've been very diligent with it for five weeks now. Need to find energy.
Sunday 7/31
Today we did laundry in a disposable trainer. Though he has been holding his pee for many hours at a time I did not want to risk an accident at the laundromat. He had not peed in two hours and we needed to get going. Sat him down one last time and he didn't pee and thus my decision was made. He didn't end up having an accident, when I took it off it was still dry.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Potty Training - Week 4
Days 22-28
Tuesday 7/19
Two accidents. Also, he finished his potty chart. Need to make another.
Wednesday 7/20
One accident, so better. Still no new potty chart. I am noticing that he just likes putting the stickers on the chart so I will try to keep that in mind as I make the next one... whenever that is. I need inspiration, trains are getting old. I guess that reflects the fact that I am not a 3 year old.
Tuesday 7/19
Two accidents. Also, he finished his potty chart. Need to make another.
Wednesday 7/20
One accident, so better. Still no new potty chart. I am noticing that he just likes putting the stickers on the chart so I will try to keep that in mind as I make the next one... whenever that is. I need inspiration, trains are getting old. I guess that reflects the fact that I am not a 3 year old.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Potty Training - Week 3
Days 15-21
Tuesday 7/12
Today was interesting. It started off with Nicholas telling me he needed to go to the potty! This is great in the potty training progress!! I took him and he peed. It wasn't completely smooth as I was uncertain of what he was trying to tell me but it is definitely a step in the right direction.
He had three accidents. One was a real messy poop. I don't have anything to blame for these accidents other than bad luck. He usually goes at least two hours between peeing, the first two were an hour and a half apart so I wasn't anticipating them. And he didn't give any signs.
The third accident was the poop. I should have anticipated this since he had not pooped in two days and it was a little over three hours after his previous accident. He wasn't constipated which, for cleaning purposes, was bad. He has gotten into the habit of sitting on the potty as soon as his dirty underpants have come off so poop got all over the potty seat as well. The interesting thing was that when he was done he told me he had to go to the potty so he is obviously a little confused.
Wednesday 7/13
Nothing of note today, he didn't ask to use to the potty again though we did talk about it.
He had one accident right before bedtime which I only found out about because he came up to me asking for paper. I gave him some printer paper thinking he wanted to colour some more and he said no and pointed to the roll of paper towels. I gave him a towel and he went over and started cleaning the floor. So I asked what happened and sure enough he had peed. I took over the cleaning and he went to the splat mat, removed his underwear, and sat on the potty.
It's not the first time he does this cleaning after his accident and I am not sure how to take it. On the plus side he knows it's not ok and that it needs to be cleaned up. I was worried that with his stubborn, non caring attitude that he would not care about the mess or being wet in urine. On the down side I am not sure if he sees it as ok since it just gets cleaned up and he gets clean underwear. I know not to punish accidents but I do not let him choose a clean pair of underpants since he always chooses a Thomas pair. Instead I choose one of the non Thomas ones and he has to wear it. But it's just underwear and he quickly gets over it.
Today I also made a new potty chart. Yup, he finished the other one. This one is similar to the old one but instead of one long train it is three trains with four carts. No numbers this time and he has to get a star on the four carts as well as the engine for a treat. I really think he just likes the putting stickers on it aspect anyway and with so many more successes than accidents, overall, I think it's fair.
Thursday 7/14
Today we had no accidents, he finished the first row of his train chart, and got a cookie for it.
He took a nap today and did pee during his nap. I am not calling this an accident, though, because he was asleep and there was nothing either one of us could have done to prevent it. I was in the bedroom and he came distraught and looking for paper again. I gave him a paper towel and he tried cleaning himself. He was upset he had gotten his Thomas underwear wet. I was glad he had been laying on a mattress pad that I have on the couch so the newly upholstered couch didn't get wet at all. Three books have minor damage.
Friday 7/15
No accidents today and he did poop in the potty. He asked once, at the end of the day, to go to the potty but I get the feeling that it was more to stop me from scolding him since he was not listening at the time. He did pee that time.
Saturday 7/16
Today was a bad day for potty training. We had to be out more than half the day and unfortunately no way to make it potty training friendly. Since I have no more diapers I put a disposable training pant on him and packed some extras. I changed him once while we were out and, of course, could not keep track of drinks or pees.
When we got home the disposable he had on was dry so I took it off and asked him if he needed to go. I had changed him about 40 minutes before and he had not had a drink so I did not push it. I put a pair of underwear on him and went to the bathroom myself. When I returned he had peed. A lot.
UGH!!!!!!!!! AAARRRGGG!!!!!!!!!
He peed one more time this evening and I managed to get him to the potty just in time (I'm learning well, aren't I?) so my tracking for today is very short. We'll see what kind of damage this day had on potty training tomorrow.
Sunday 7/17
Worst. Day. Ever. At least on the first day of potty training I was expecting and ready for this kind of day. On the 20th day? Nope, not at all. He didn't make it to the potty not once. He didn't give any of the cues I have learned and been relying on to take him to the potty on time. And it seemed like he was doing it on purpose: spreading his legs and watching himself pee. Whether it's regression because wearing the disposable training pants yesterday confused him or him acting up like he always does after those long saturdays or a combination of both is beyond me. I didn't even keep good notes today. I guess I sort of gave up too since I felt so defeated. I just hope tomorrow is a better day. It has to be.
Monday 7/18
Good day over all. Peed in the potty all day and had a poop accident. A couple of cues but not too many, just sitting him two hours after ever drink.
Tuesday 7/12
Today was interesting. It started off with Nicholas telling me he needed to go to the potty! This is great in the potty training progress!! I took him and he peed. It wasn't completely smooth as I was uncertain of what he was trying to tell me but it is definitely a step in the right direction.
He had three accidents. One was a real messy poop. I don't have anything to blame for these accidents other than bad luck. He usually goes at least two hours between peeing, the first two were an hour and a half apart so I wasn't anticipating them. And he didn't give any signs.
The third accident was the poop. I should have anticipated this since he had not pooped in two days and it was a little over three hours after his previous accident. He wasn't constipated which, for cleaning purposes, was bad. He has gotten into the habit of sitting on the potty as soon as his dirty underpants have come off so poop got all over the potty seat as well. The interesting thing was that when he was done he told me he had to go to the potty so he is obviously a little confused.
Wednesday 7/13
Nothing of note today, he didn't ask to use to the potty again though we did talk about it.
He had one accident right before bedtime which I only found out about because he came up to me asking for paper. I gave him some printer paper thinking he wanted to colour some more and he said no and pointed to the roll of paper towels. I gave him a towel and he went over and started cleaning the floor. So I asked what happened and sure enough he had peed. I took over the cleaning and he went to the splat mat, removed his underwear, and sat on the potty.
It's not the first time he does this cleaning after his accident and I am not sure how to take it. On the plus side he knows it's not ok and that it needs to be cleaned up. I was worried that with his stubborn, non caring attitude that he would not care about the mess or being wet in urine. On the down side I am not sure if he sees it as ok since it just gets cleaned up and he gets clean underwear. I know not to punish accidents but I do not let him choose a clean pair of underpants since he always chooses a Thomas pair. Instead I choose one of the non Thomas ones and he has to wear it. But it's just underwear and he quickly gets over it.
Today I also made a new potty chart. Yup, he finished the other one. This one is similar to the old one but instead of one long train it is three trains with four carts. No numbers this time and he has to get a star on the four carts as well as the engine for a treat. I really think he just likes the putting stickers on it aspect anyway and with so many more successes than accidents, overall, I think it's fair.
Thursday 7/14
Today we had no accidents, he finished the first row of his train chart, and got a cookie for it.
He took a nap today and did pee during his nap. I am not calling this an accident, though, because he was asleep and there was nothing either one of us could have done to prevent it. I was in the bedroom and he came distraught and looking for paper again. I gave him a paper towel and he tried cleaning himself. He was upset he had gotten his Thomas underwear wet. I was glad he had been laying on a mattress pad that I have on the couch so the newly upholstered couch didn't get wet at all. Three books have minor damage.
Friday 7/15
No accidents today and he did poop in the potty. He asked once, at the end of the day, to go to the potty but I get the feeling that it was more to stop me from scolding him since he was not listening at the time. He did pee that time.
Saturday 7/16
Today was a bad day for potty training. We had to be out more than half the day and unfortunately no way to make it potty training friendly. Since I have no more diapers I put a disposable training pant on him and packed some extras. I changed him once while we were out and, of course, could not keep track of drinks or pees.
When we got home the disposable he had on was dry so I took it off and asked him if he needed to go. I had changed him about 40 minutes before and he had not had a drink so I did not push it. I put a pair of underwear on him and went to the bathroom myself. When I returned he had peed. A lot.
UGH!!!!!!!!! AAARRRGGG!!!!!!!!!
He peed one more time this evening and I managed to get him to the potty just in time (I'm learning well, aren't I?) so my tracking for today is very short. We'll see what kind of damage this day had on potty training tomorrow.
Sunday 7/17
Worst. Day. Ever. At least on the first day of potty training I was expecting and ready for this kind of day. On the 20th day? Nope, not at all. He didn't make it to the potty not once. He didn't give any of the cues I have learned and been relying on to take him to the potty on time. And it seemed like he was doing it on purpose: spreading his legs and watching himself pee. Whether it's regression because wearing the disposable training pants yesterday confused him or him acting up like he always does after those long saturdays or a combination of both is beyond me. I didn't even keep good notes today. I guess I sort of gave up too since I felt so defeated. I just hope tomorrow is a better day. It has to be.
Monday 7/18
Good day over all. Peed in the potty all day and had a poop accident. A couple of cues but not too many, just sitting him two hours after ever drink.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Potty Training - First Two Weeks In Review
Tomorrow (today, I guess, judging by the time) will be the first day of the third week of potty training. While I have been making regular posts on how we are doing (click 'Potty Training' under labels to the right for the play-by-play), they have been focused on the details of actual potty training and not on how this is affecting us overall.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Potty Training - Days 11-14
(7/8)
The new chart was a hit. I heard him get out of bed and come into the play room then exclaim "WOW! A train!" It made my morning.
Which was needed because it was another stressful day for me. He only peed twice today, at 1pm and 5:30pm. Both times on the potty but it was worrisome. I looked over the charts and he has been drinking the same amounts so maybe he is just holding it again because he doesn't want to stop playing. Which makes sense since he did wet his underwear several times. But then doesn't because I make him stop and sit on the potty more often when he does this. Hopefully it's just something he is trying out and will stop once he sees it's better to just pee.
The new chart was a hit. I heard him get out of bed and come into the play room then exclaim "WOW! A train!" It made my morning.
Which was needed because it was another stressful day for me. He only peed twice today, at 1pm and 5:30pm. Both times on the potty but it was worrisome. I looked over the charts and he has been drinking the same amounts so maybe he is just holding it again because he doesn't want to stop playing. Which makes sense since he did wet his underwear several times. But then doesn't because I make him stop and sit on the potty more often when he does this. Hopefully it's just something he is trying out and will stop once he sees it's better to just pee.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Potty Training - Days 7 to 10
Monday (7/4) was hard. He had two full accidents and only made it to the potty once. Again, the heat didn't help. Thankfully I was armed with lots of extra underwear that my mother brought on sunday. He showed an interest in the Thomas one, which is good. Last time potty training was attempted he didn't want them on at all.
I decided to use a potty chart so I went online for inspiration. I came up with a very simple design, three rows of four boxes, and drew it out on Tuesday (7/5) morning. I outlined the boxes with colourful markers, drew in numbers 1-3 in the first three boxes and an ice cream bowl in the fourth. I figured that since we've been averaging 1-2 accidents per day with a total of 4-5 times he pees that it would take him at least 24 hours to complete one row and get his ice cream. Well, this boy surprised me!
No real accidents on Tuesday!!
And poop in the potty!
He had one 'mini' accident when I caught him about to poop under the table. But after he took off the dirty underwear and sat on the potty he peed and poop some more on there. I took this as good rather than bad since the previous two poops had been in his diaper or completely in his underwear. Maybe now he realises that it's not so bad and will continue to poop in the potty, as long as I get him there in time, of course.
I decided to use a potty chart so I went online for inspiration. I came up with a very simple design, three rows of four boxes, and drew it out on Tuesday (7/5) morning. I outlined the boxes with colourful markers, drew in numbers 1-3 in the first three boxes and an ice cream bowl in the fourth. I figured that since we've been averaging 1-2 accidents per day with a total of 4-5 times he pees that it would take him at least 24 hours to complete one row and get his ice cream. Well, this boy surprised me!
No real accidents on Tuesday!!
And poop in the potty!
He had one 'mini' accident when I caught him about to poop under the table. But after he took off the dirty underwear and sat on the potty he peed and poop some more on there. I took this as good rather than bad since the previous two poops had been in his diaper or completely in his underwear. Maybe now he realises that it's not so bad and will continue to poop in the potty, as long as I get him there in time, of course.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Pondering the Future: Patriotism and Americanism From Afar
*Started this post on the 5th, however, potty training has kept me from finishing it until now*
I've been thinking a lot the past few days. It started on the 1st of July with Canada Day and my thoughts have kept taunting me since. And as I looked around yesterday I found that instead of having answers I had even more questions.
I've been thinking a lot the past few days. It started on the 1st of July with Canada Day and my thoughts have kept taunting me since. And as I looked around yesterday I found that instead of having answers I had even more questions.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Potty Training - Day 6
Bad day for cleaning, good day for learning.
My mother came over again. No visitors or kids but she stayed much longer. She made breakfast and finished doing my dishes and cleaned my stove. Plus she left food.
I can't pee with an audience and I believe it is a private thing. I knew it was time for him to be put on the potty but I didn't want to force it. I don't want him thinking he can pee in front of anyone and I don't think he'd be comfortable. I was also distracted by my mother wanting to see pictures and whatnot. So he had an accident. I was able to rush him over to the splat mat so only half got on the carpet. This has happened before and like before I told him to simply stand and wait for me. My mom, wanting to help I'm sure, started asking him why. I told her to shut up. Yup, not nicely at all. She also tried to get him, probably to clean him and change him, but I told her to leave him alone, and again not so nicely.
My mother came over again. No visitors or kids but she stayed much longer. She made breakfast and finished doing my dishes and cleaned my stove. Plus she left food.
I can't pee with an audience and I believe it is a private thing. I knew it was time for him to be put on the potty but I didn't want to force it. I don't want him thinking he can pee in front of anyone and I don't think he'd be comfortable. I was also distracted by my mother wanting to see pictures and whatnot. So he had an accident. I was able to rush him over to the splat mat so only half got on the carpet. This has happened before and like before I told him to simply stand and wait for me. My mom, wanting to help I'm sure, started asking him why. I told her to shut up. Yup, not nicely at all. She also tried to get him, probably to clean him and change him, but I told her to leave him alone, and again not so nicely.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Potty Training - Day 4 and 5
7/1/11
Today was a much better day. Only one accident and it was because I was distracted. Also, the bubbles seem to be working real well in cutting the time on the potty. Either that or I'm waiting too long and he just can't hold it much longer when I sit him.
He pooped in his diaper before I took it off this morning. That was good because I was beginning to worry, the last time he had pooped was on monday and he usually doesn't go more than a day without pooping. I'm expecting this to be the trend for a while until he gets comfortable going on the potty.
Today was a much better day. Only one accident and it was because I was distracted. Also, the bubbles seem to be working real well in cutting the time on the potty. Either that or I'm waiting too long and he just can't hold it much longer when I sit him.
He pooped in his diaper before I took it off this morning. That was good because I was beginning to worry, the last time he had pooped was on monday and he usually doesn't go more than a day without pooping. I'm expecting this to be the trend for a while until he gets comfortable going on the potty.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Potty Training - Day 3
The third full day of potty training and I am not feeling much confidence in where this is going. He peed five times and only one was an accident. This sounds like progress but it really isn't. He isn't making progress, I am.
After the first time he went in the potty I dressed him and we went to the market. There were some things I needed and since he can go a couple of hours without going I braved it. It went well, no accidents.
After the first time he went in the potty I dressed him and we went to the market. There were some things I needed and since he can go a couple of hours without going I braved it. It went well, no accidents.
Potty Training - Day 2
Today I got up and gave him his cup of milk as usual after I took off his diaper and put him in his underwear. There was some protest but it wasn't a full blown battle like yesterday so that's an improvement. I sat down at my desk and looked at the post-it with the potty trips. I grabbed another post-it and wrote down the time, today I was also going to keep track of when he had a drink. This could give me something else to help me anticipate. I also wrote down the how long it had been between each pee. Though the times were clearly written down in front of me it made it easer to have the length instead of having to do the math in my head every time. I am horrible with math and even worse with time math.
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