[potty] Train a Child in the Way She Should Go...

I did not plan to potty train Langley this week.  Here's the story...

I've noticed that she has not had any accidents at school in at least 2 weeks.  I know this because she wears a pull up to school, but they have a stash of diapers there for her, and she was coming home with a dry pull up.  They take all the kids to the bathroom several times a day and apparently through peer pressure she got the hang of it.

For a month or so I would know for a fact that she needed to pee then I would put her on the potty and wait her out.  She loved the celebration stickers and candy that came from the reward, but sometimes she would sit for 10 minutes.

Anyway, Thursday morning she had taken off her pull up and peed in her bed.  I was over it, so I promptly sat her on the potty and she peed!  This is what started it all.

I knew I had no plans and we would be home for several days, so I put her in panties.  I sat her on the potty every hour.  There were zero accidents.  None.  I was amazed and SO EXCITED!  I put a pull up on her at naptime and explained that she needed to keep her pull up dry like her panties, but sometimes it's hard to hold our pee in our sleep. She was dry after nap time and we had success the rest of the day.  We even left the house to get Sonic for lunch.

So that was Thursday and now it is Saturday night.  She's had ONE accident. Praise God! 

Yes, I force her on the potty each hour, but just today she has told me twice that she needed to go and, in fact, did.  It's all finally clicking.  Praise God!

We've gone through 2 sheets of stickers.  And, at least four packs of fruit snacks.  Yes, my child thinks fruit snacks are candy and I give her one piece at at time.   Not feeding her a lot of crap is really paying off during this time of bribery.

Every child is so different.  I'm sure this "method" would not work for many other kids, but maybe it's encouragement if you've tried and (miserably) failed the whole 3 day bootcamp thing like we did when she was 22 or 23 months old.  Langley will be 2 1/2 next week, I feel like her verbal skills and the fact that I'm not pregnant have been our main factors of success.  Oh, and preschool.  Praise God for our part time preschool!

Also, TODAY we changed her crib to a toddler bed.  These are two huge changes this week and I'm so proud of her, but it also hurts my heart a little. Naptime today was the first time she slept in it.  I laughed til I cried watching her on the monitor.  I had to go in her room 3 times, but she fell asleep after 25 minutes.  We put her to bed about 20 minutes ago and she appears to be asleep and did not get out of bed. 

These are two big milestones that I've worried about for months.  I am in no hurry to make her grow up faster than I have to. I just knew they would be horrific changes and adjustments.  I felt like she was "behind" or too babyish.  Not so.  Not so at all.  When it's time, it's time and your child gives you cues. Will there be regression and some long nights ahead?  I'm sure.  But, she has reached these milestones like a champ!

I'm going to spend the rest of the night looking at pictures from when she rolled over, sat up, and took her first steps - because wasn't that just yesterday?

Before 7 am

A Perfect Saturday at the Park

Last weekend we took the girls to the Old Davidsonville State Park for a picnic lunch and some play time.  The weather was perfect, the girls were perfect - it was our best family outing yet!

We ate our lunch, then Langley played on the play ground, and we took a little stroll.  Langley was terrified of the ducks.  It was really nice and I'm so glad we got to take advantage of the great weather!

Baby Doll and Comparison

Aubrey is my little baby doll! 

Some people think the girls look like twins. Here they are in the same outfit at about the same age....


Aubrey

Langley

I need to start doing more picture comparisons.  To me they look very similar sometimes, but have definite differences like amount of hair and eye color.  Josh has a digital frame on his desk and people can't tell the girls apart when a baby picture pops up.  All I know is they don't look like their momma :-)

Cheap Entertainment

Some dry beans and plastic dishes and some gardening tools kept her entertained for an hour!

More than Pictures

It's been awhile since I did a real update.  I have some totally random things floating around in my head, so we'll just go with it.

• Aubrey rolled from her tummy to back this morning.
• Aubrey's tear ducts cleared up just before she turned 3 months old.  Honestly, I don't know when it happened, I just noticed that her eyes weren't gross one day.
• Langley's 2 worst times of the day are when I brush her teeth and when I pick her up from school.  She completely freaks out when I show up at school and it is really embarrassing, and it hurts my feelings.  At least I know she still loves school...they must think I'm an awful mother the way she resists coming home.  Geez.
• Langley has been doing better and better with the potty thing.  She's gotten lots of stickers and candy recently.  She rarely has accidents at school but at home she's totally different..actually Josh and I just don't make the effort to make her potty very often.  We are giving her (US) another month and then we are really going to DO IT.
• After months and months of hearing Langley's "mystery song" I figured out she is singing"gloria in excelsis deo."  Thank you veggie tales little drummer boy dvd.
• I turned 30.  I had a nice birthday complete with a lunch date with my man, many sweet calls, texts, and messages, and dinner with our friends.  I have started many blog posts in my head titled "what I wish I knew when I was 20" or "dear 20 year old me..."  Man, so much has changed, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!  I would like my 20 year old body back, though.  Just keeping it real.
• Aubrey has a few baby acne bumps on her face.  All that cleared up weeks ago, but the past few days I've noticed bumps again.  Not sure if this is normal.
• Langley loves giving everyone a "check up."  She's been watching the show doc mcstuffins and is very into doctoring and assorted boo-boos.

Now for pictures...

My Silly Girls

Ooh, I love them!

I actually may frame one (or all) of these...

3 Months old

My Aubrey is 3 months old today!  She is happier than last month, I really feel like we've come a long way as far as her reflux and managing her pain.

She eats 5 times a day.  Just yesterday I started making all of her bottles 5 oz instead of 4.  Each bottle has 1/2 a tablespoon of rice cereal and she is on Nutramigen formula.

She spits up a lot every time she eats, but is screaming very little.  She can go days without screaming at all.  And, she no longer does the "stupid scream" that could not be soothed.  She is on prevacid and gripe water.

She is still a little moody, prefers mommy and daddy always, and is an inconsistent napper - but is a champ at night.  We wake her up at 10 to feed her and then she sleeps until 6 or 630. 

New things this month:  she talks and smiles a lot, likes to watch tv, scoots, rolls from her back to tummy but can't get her arm out from under her, bats at her toys on the play mat (we think she's going to be pretty coordinated,) likes being read to, and sits in the bumbo.

She can get angry in the blink of an eye, but we are starting to learn her little quirks to help ward off a fit :-)

I am so thankful for this baby girl!  She is such a blessing!