Potty training - Weekend

This weekend, potty training went awesome. In fact, it wasn't even like training. Makayla just told me when she had to go or thought she had to go. There were absolutely no accidents and I even took her out for lunch at a restaurant. I knew last week that if we were determined, she would get it this time, and it worked. I am so pleased.

Diapers were the last "baby" thing that Makayla used and now we've said goodbye to them (except at bedtime). It is a good thing because who wants to change diapers on a toddler, but it is also a sad time to think that she's growing up and isn't my baby anymore. Sniff, sniff.

Potty training - Day 4

Makayla has still got the hang of it today. She broke my heart this morning though. She got on the toilet first thing, but she had already peed in her diaper, so she didn't pee anymore in the toilet. She got off and said "Mommy isn't proud of me anymore." I told her that I was proud that she tried to go pee on the toilet. I told the sitter about her statement, so she has also been trying to tell her how proud she is when Makayla just tries. Clay is going snowmobiling for the weekend which is good, so now I can concentrate on helping Makayla with potty training instead of Clay wanting us to go all over the city. It would be hard to practice potty training when we are dragging the kid all over the place.

In this process, I have to say that most of all, I appreciate Makayla's sitter. It has been a joint effort between us, but she has mostly dealt with it all week since I've been at work through the day. I have appreciated her advice and support in the process. She is a wonderful person and I can't tell her enough how much she means to both Makayla and me.

Potty training - Day 3

We're part way through Day 3, and I have to say that today is going extremely well. She peed in her diaper before I went into get her this morning, and she told me that outright. I dressed her and off we went to her sitter's. She had a glass of milk around 9:10, and within an hour or so, the sitter knew that Makayla was holding her pee based on her stance (knees twisted inward). She would keep asking if Makayla had to go pee, but she would say no. At around 11, the sitter explained that sometimes your tummy hurts and so when you pee, it won't hurt anymore. Shortly after that explanation, Makayla said she had to pee. Away they went to the bathroom and then she asked "Can you hear it?" They had a big hooray with all the kids and called me to let me know of her success. By 3pm, I had received 2 more phone calls. One about a poop in the toilet and one more about peeing. Each time Makayla had told the sitter she had to go. She is still wearing the same pants that I dropped her off in this morning! I had been so focused on finding what incentive would work for Makayla, that I think I overlooked the obvious...she didn't know what I meant went I asked her if she had the "feeling" that she had to pee. She didn't know what the "feeling" felt like. After the sitter's explanation of her tummy hurting, I think she is putting it together.

Potty training - Day 2

This day started out about as well as Day 1. Makayla had a few messes, but she did poop on the potty in the afternoon. She had another pee mess before I picked her up at the sitter's. I made her sit on the toilet before she went to bed. I waited her out since she was holding it and wanted to wait for me to put on her bedtime diaper so she could pee there. She sat for 45 minutes on the potty, but she finally peed. She was excited that I was proud of her and she would say "Mommy is so happy!"

Potty training - Day 1

Day 1 went about as well as can be expected. At the beginning of the day, Makayla wouldn't tell her sitter when she peed. She would just pee and carry on. Makayla peed on her sitter's couch and floor and ran out of panties, so the sitter resorted to using another kid's underwear. She ran out of pants too, so I took her home with her snowpants on. We resumed the same routine at home of going to the toilet every 20-30 minutes. She peed on the kitchen floor, but like she had by the end of the day at the sitter's, she had told me that she had to pee while she was peeing. She was really freaking out when she peed at the end of the day, so hopefully this is a good sign and she will start recognizing the feeling before she has to pee and not want to have wet pants. Thinking good thoughts for Day 2.

Potty training...ugh

We are back at potty training again. Makayla and I have been working on it off and on since last September. We start trying and then she doesn't seem ready, so I back off for a month or so. Now, she is only a couple of months away from her 3rd birthday, so Clay and I have decided that potty training must work this time. In the past, I have tried various incentives to get her to use the toilet (stickers, money for her piggy bank, candy, etc.) and they haven't worked. I've also used pull-ups with cool alert as a transition from diapers, but she doesn't see them as any different, so this hasn't worked. This time I am trying to appeal to her sensitive side, thinking that she might be more motivated to go to the toilet if it makes Mommy happy, but Mommy is disappointed when she doesn't go. We're also going cold turkey on the diapers. A cold, wet bum has got to be an incentive to want to use the toilet, right? Her babysitter is on board with this method too. We hope that when she realizes that we're both determined, she will cave. I welcome any and all advice.

The Backyardigans

Makayla and I went to see the Backyardigans show at our local theatre. At first we met up with a friend of mine and her daughter for supper at "Old McDonald's" and to play in the playplace for a bit. Then we ventured down to the show. The show was very impressive and Makayla thoroughly enjoyed herself. Here she is waiting for me to get downstairs so we can go.

She picked out a Pablo toy to have as a souvenir of the show.
Here they are - the Backyardigans!!! It's a bad picture since we were in the back row.
Here is Makayla dancing in the aisle at the end of the show. She was bouncing up and down with all the other kids.