So . . . we've decided it's about time. Probably in the next weeks, we're going to start potty training. Well, not us specifically, because believe it or not, we're actually quite good at using the toilet. But G and I are thinking that it's time to get the little D on board, as well. It's early. Looks like most people don't really start until their kids are over 2, maybe two and a half. Ok, so there are people that start at birth, which sounds kind of kooky (google "elimination communication" to read all about it). But otherwise, two and a half seems to be about the earliest I've heard people say they've tried it. So maybe we're setting ourselves up for failure. And I think we might be at a little more of a disadvantage since D can't walk yet. At this point, the most we'd be able to do is have her tell us when she wants to go, and we'd go set her on the toilet seat. Most of the sites that I've been reading seem to assume that the child can get himself to the bathroom and help undress, as well. And the techniques that I've been reading about seem to assume a certain level of comprehension: a child who can understand that she messed up if she has an accident, can help clean up, etc.
But there's nothing I like more than a challenge. Actually, it's something that we've been thinking about for a while. With D's kidney reflux, the earlier we can potty train, the better. I guess the theory is that the more a child can learn to urine purposefully/all at once, rather than in trickles throughout the day, the less urine refluxing overall. So it's been in the back of our minds for a while that maybe we should try to start. And, for months now, daycare has been putting D on the toilet whenever the older kids go. Most of the time now, when they leave her long enough, she'll go! So her teacher has been saying for months that potty training is going to be so easy with this one. Plus, she'll tell us when she poops (our kid, I mean, not the daycare teacher). Sometimes, I think she confuses her pee as poops, and usually, she doesn't say anything until after she's gone, but still that's a step in the right direction. And, she can spot the dogs pooping and peeing from a mile away. "Mia, poo poo?" she'll ask, well aware now of what happens on our walks. I've also been working on helping her differentiate pooping vs. tooting, and coming along rather well at it.
So in January, G bought a little portable potty, and I started asking daycare for more specifics. But I didn't love what I was hearing. Apparently, they let her sit there for 20-30 minutes, because sometimes that's what the other kids do. And then they'll check at some point and find that there was poop or pee in the toilet. I don't have that kind of patience. And anyway, I tried setting her on our toilet at home and she cried in seconds. Plus have you seen those little portable potties? SO gross. Cleaning them seems so disgusting. At daycare, they have these adorable little baby toilets that flush and everything. I started to wonder if this might be a job best left for professionals. And anyway, all this was before our last round of hospitalizations. With the prospect of surgery now to fix the reflux altogether, it may be a moot point anyway.
Somehow, though, the idea has persisted and we're finally ready to give it a shot. We returned the portable potty and bought one that just attaches to the regular toilet. I've tried setting the kid on it a few times, and she's usually cried. So yesterday, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea. She's kind of (bizarrely) in love with Elmo these days (I say, bizarre because we couldn't figure out how she even knew him), so I found a youtube video of baby Elmo using the potty. Yes, there really is nothing that can't be found on the internet. If you're looking for something to drive you absolutely bonkers, find this video and listen to it over and over again. I guarantee you that it'll get the job done. So I set her on the toilet and played the video on the phone. She loved it. She didn't pee or poop but stayed on the toilet for like 10 minutes watching the video over and over again (see? this is how I know about bonkers).
We did this a few times yesterday, and she seemed to completely lose her aversion to the toilet. I was proud until I read online that it's actually a terrible idea to play videos while your kid's sitting in the toilet. Basically, you don't want them so distracted that they forget to actually do their business. Which probably explained why she didn't go once in the toilet yesterday, even though we sat her on it several times. The point of the article seemed to be especially driven home this morning. When D woke up, she asked to go sit on the potty! I mean not right away, but later, while we were laying around in bed, she asked for the potty and lifted her arms to be taken there! I was SO SO proud, thinking, man, maybe our kid is totally ready after all. So we went through the entire production of getting out of bed, taking off her footy pajamas (which are definitely NOT conducive to potty training), and setting her on the toilet. She sat there for all of 4 seconds, smiling joyfully, before asking, "Emo?" The little turd just wanted her video!! Needless to say, she did not pee in the toilet, and I'm guessing she didn't have to go at all. Honestly, it was just long enough after waking up that she probably did all her peeing into her diaper, so that should have been a tip off right there that she was just yanking our chains.
But still, the weekend hasn't been a total waste. I sat her on the toilet one more time this morning. She still didn't do anything, but she reached over for the toilet paper, grabbed a bit, and started wiping her crotch! It was super cute. I think issues with walking and Elmo aside, she's ready in the ways that matter. She knows what she's supposed to do and seems to have an interest in doing it. So it can't hurt to give it a go. We'll probably keep trying haphazardly for now, but then start in earnest one of the next few weekends when we have absolutely no plans. I want to make sure I know what I'm doing so that I don't get her hooked on more Elmo videos as incentive. She has her urology appointment in about a week, so I want to see if surgery's going to interfere in some way. And I want to make sure that we're on the same page as daycare. So we'll see how it all goes!
But there's nothing I like more than a challenge. Actually, it's something that we've been thinking about for a while. With D's kidney reflux, the earlier we can potty train, the better. I guess the theory is that the more a child can learn to urine purposefully/all at once, rather than in trickles throughout the day, the less urine refluxing overall. So it's been in the back of our minds for a while that maybe we should try to start. And, for months now, daycare has been putting D on the toilet whenever the older kids go. Most of the time now, when they leave her long enough, she'll go! So her teacher has been saying for months that potty training is going to be so easy with this one. Plus, she'll tell us when she poops (our kid, I mean, not the daycare teacher). Sometimes, I think she confuses her pee as poops, and usually, she doesn't say anything until after she's gone, but still that's a step in the right direction. And, she can spot the dogs pooping and peeing from a mile away. "Mia, poo poo?" she'll ask, well aware now of what happens on our walks. I've also been working on helping her differentiate pooping vs. tooting, and coming along rather well at it.
So in January, G bought a little portable potty, and I started asking daycare for more specifics. But I didn't love what I was hearing. Apparently, they let her sit there for 20-30 minutes, because sometimes that's what the other kids do. And then they'll check at some point and find that there was poop or pee in the toilet. I don't have that kind of patience. And anyway, I tried setting her on our toilet at home and she cried in seconds. Plus have you seen those little portable potties? SO gross. Cleaning them seems so disgusting. At daycare, they have these adorable little baby toilets that flush and everything. I started to wonder if this might be a job best left for professionals. And anyway, all this was before our last round of hospitalizations. With the prospect of surgery now to fix the reflux altogether, it may be a moot point anyway.
Somehow, though, the idea has persisted and we're finally ready to give it a shot. We returned the portable potty and bought one that just attaches to the regular toilet. I've tried setting the kid on it a few times, and she's usually cried. So yesterday, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea. She's kind of (bizarrely) in love with Elmo these days (I say, bizarre because we couldn't figure out how she even knew him), so I found a youtube video of baby Elmo using the potty. Yes, there really is nothing that can't be found on the internet. If you're looking for something to drive you absolutely bonkers, find this video and listen to it over and over again. I guarantee you that it'll get the job done. So I set her on the toilet and played the video on the phone. She loved it. She didn't pee or poop but stayed on the toilet for like 10 minutes watching the video over and over again (see? this is how I know about bonkers).
We did this a few times yesterday, and she seemed to completely lose her aversion to the toilet. I was proud until I read online that it's actually a terrible idea to play videos while your kid's sitting in the toilet. Basically, you don't want them so distracted that they forget to actually do their business. Which probably explained why she didn't go once in the toilet yesterday, even though we sat her on it several times. The point of the article seemed to be especially driven home this morning. When D woke up, she asked to go sit on the potty! I mean not right away, but later, while we were laying around in bed, she asked for the potty and lifted her arms to be taken there! I was SO SO proud, thinking, man, maybe our kid is totally ready after all. So we went through the entire production of getting out of bed, taking off her footy pajamas (which are definitely NOT conducive to potty training), and setting her on the toilet. She sat there for all of 4 seconds, smiling joyfully, before asking, "Emo?" The little turd just wanted her video!! Needless to say, she did not pee in the toilet, and I'm guessing she didn't have to go at all. Honestly, it was just long enough after waking up that she probably did all her peeing into her diaper, so that should have been a tip off right there that she was just yanking our chains.
But still, the weekend hasn't been a total waste. I sat her on the toilet one more time this morning. She still didn't do anything, but she reached over for the toilet paper, grabbed a bit, and started wiping her crotch! It was super cute. I think issues with walking and Elmo aside, she's ready in the ways that matter. She knows what she's supposed to do and seems to have an interest in doing it. So it can't hurt to give it a go. We'll probably keep trying haphazardly for now, but then start in earnest one of the next few weekends when we have absolutely no plans. I want to make sure I know what I'm doing so that I don't get her hooked on more Elmo videos as incentive. She has her urology appointment in about a week, so I want to see if surgery's going to interfere in some way. And I want to make sure that we're on the same page as daycare. So we'll see how it all goes!
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