Tuesday, July 07, 2009

07-07-09

We're potty training around these parts. Or at least we're trying to. We've been down this road many times before with all unsuccessful outcomes and just general disinterest on the trainee's part. I've made charts. I've bought positive stickers. Big boy underpants. Special rewards. He's gone naked. He's used Pull-Ups (the ones that are supposed to turn cold but apparently, he likes his junk cold). We've talked and talked about it. I've been positive and have encouraged him (every time he sits down I do that whole "you're doing a great job, Calix! Mommy's so proud of you!" thing). He'll be so excited about it the night before we start again..but come morning? Forget about it, he's asking for diapers and totally has to be persuaded into either a Pull-Up or underpants. I'm not trying to be like that friend I had a while ago who would shove her kids' faces in their mess if they had an accident. Sure, they were potty trained by 18 months..but they hated her (not to mention how abusive that is..and disgusting). I'd like to gently guide instead of demanding results.

But as positive as I'm trying to stay, I'm starting to get frustrated. I'm determined to never put a diaper on that kid again. I'm determined to help him keep his Pull-Up or underpants dry. As soon as his Pull-Ups are gone, I'm not buying anymore (I never really wanted to in the first place but I thought I'd give the cool sensation thing a try plus I had a coupon for like $8 off a pack). I know it means lots of messy underpants are coming up and I'm not all that thrilled about that (but who is?) but honestly, it's just getting embarrassing to bring him to daycare and them giving me that 'you're a horrible mother because your almost 4 year old isn't potty trained yet' look and then him having to stay with the little babies BECAUSE he's not potty trained and I hate that all of these women are changing a big kid's diaper when they shouldn't have to..and bigger kids make bigger nastier messes and it's like..I'm sorry. Believe me, I feel like a failure in this whole venture. For a while, it was about Calix not being able to properly communicate..but now that he talks up a storm (even though sometimes it sounds a little baby-ish..like on the phone), I feel like it should be easier. I'm trying..I'm trying.


We'll get there, my darling.


Look out, Maddox..because you're next.




Speaking of Maddox.. he got a very special package from his Nana (my mom) yesterday:



it's his baby blanket! Awwww. When Calix heard it was from Nana, he ran upstairs to get the blanket Nana made him when he was born. Thanks, mama!

And on a final note..

This is Maddox watching Orion go to work. He does this same thing every morning. He'll stay by the laundry room door and kiss and hug and wave and ask if daddy has his coffee and as soon as Orion opens the back door, Maddox runs to the sliding door and tucks his small self behind the blinds and waves and kisses the window and shouts "bye, daddy! ride safe! have fun at work!" until Orion has mounted his motorcycle, ridden off, and is no longer in sight. He honestly does this every day Orion goes to work. Every single one of them. Come on, that's the cutest!

Back to the potty..

Hey also! Happy birthday, Noah! I love you!

7 comments:

Jenna said...

I laughed out loud with the 'he likes his junk cold' line. Very funny.

I'm trying to gear up for potty training too. I hate it. But here's the good news. Unless he's severely retarded, he will someday use the potty! All on his own! The 6th grade teasing will be merciless unless he does. One day he'll just surprise you and it will happen fast! I feel your pain though. When I was divorced and teaching that 1st/2nd grade class at the charter school, I got to bring my kids with me. Aiden was 3 and potty training at the time. Every blasted day for a good while he pooped his pants in class and it was such a doozy to clean up and act vague about.

Also, the blankets are so cute, and that picture of Maddox at the door behind the blinds? Precious. Don'tcha just love 'em?

xo!

YogaNana said...

Wow, that afghan made good time! I'm always relieved when something that would break my heart if it were lost and insurance would not help to replace arrives at its destination. I was a little worried that Calix would be jealous of Maddox getting something when he didn't, glad he connects that his Winnie the Pooh blanket is sort of the same thing.

Congrats on the potty training. I wonder how long he's going to want to keep his camouflage tent around the potty? Will you have to re-decorate the kids' bathroom?

And I agree with Jenna about the last picture. I had to click it and make it big before I could see the child beneath the red t-shirt, but now it's perfectly clear. :o) Arty. Nice job!

Unknown said...

Get rid of that training potty. He's far too big for that. Pull-ups are no good either. They're still diapers. Get him big boy underwear with something on them that he likes and won't want to piss or sh** on, like Transformers or something. Madden learned from watching Kenzee and he is already fully potty trained, except for overnight when he's sleeping. Get tough with him and put him on the big potty. He'll learn faster.

Abby said...

Mama, The tent is just there as a privacy curtain type. I thought maybe he might be a little bladder shy at first. I'm tellin ya, I tried everything haha.
Did you listen to your voicemail when we hung up? Calix is so proud, huh? "Nana! I peed and pooped in the potty! Horray! I love you, bye!" hahahaha love that kid!

Micah, he's still terrified of sitting on the big potty. I need to get him one of those seat cover things..he's afraid of falling in. But when that happens, he's moving over to the big one and I'll start Maddox on the small one. A progressional type thing, I guess. He's got Cars underpants..but only the 3 pairs that came in the pack..I need to buy more..especially now that he's totally serious about the potty training. Dude, he picked it up so quick! I mean, he still had a wet pull up from overnight, but this morning when he got up, I had him go sit on the potty and what do ya know, he filled the thing up! Another sticker for his chart! Getting closer to filling it up and going to the store to pick a toy out!

And with the Madden learning from wtching Kenzee, I think that's happening here, too. When Calix is done, he calls Maddox over and says "Maddox, let me show you somthing. See the potty? That's where big boys go pees and poops!" and Maddox says "I want to see" and they walk over and look into the potty together. It's funny..Calix always passing on his big brother knowledge..hahahah..loves it!

Hannah said...

Did you see the kind of toilet seat we put in our kids' bathroom? It has a built in kid sized seat that hides neatly in the lid when the kids aren't using it. That was a lifesaver for us so we didn't have to keep putting the training seat on top of the toilet. I do agree with Micah about not using the training potty. It just makes for more adjustments the kids have to go through when they need to use the big potty.

Pull-ups are a waste of money. They are just a glorified (much more expensive) diaper. Use training pants and get ready to clean them up a lot. He will mess them up a lot before he realizes that hey, this just doesn't feel good, and he uses the potty.

You can do this Abby! Just be really consistent and don't give up!

Friglet said...

It's been a long time since I had to deal with potty training, but I do remember hating it.

I had a couple of kids that just didn't want to no matter what. Someone recommended a book to me that was a life saver. It was called "Toilet Training in Less Than A Day". I used it on three kids and it worked every time!

Anonymous said...

I'm in such awe every time I see a picture of Calix... he's one special little miracle!