Every now and then I like to do a post showcasing some of my low points as a parent. You know, to make you all feel better about your parenting techniques. So, here we go…
1. Last night we went to Cici’s Pizza where Bean ate breadsticks and brownies for dinner. I considered the cheese on the breadsticks to be his dairy and the bread to be his grain and I called it a successful mealtime.
2. The other day I was sitting in the front yard with Bean and I stopped playing for just a minute to flip through some mail. When I looked up again, Bean was three houses down, standing in the neighbor’s front yard all by himself. I ended up chasing him through the neighborhood, holding my giant pregnant belly. Bean thought it was the most fun ever.
3. Sometimes when I’m too tired to fight him, I let Bean wipe his own nose. Which usually means he spreads snot all over his face. But I still sit there and do nothing about it.
4. If I ever have to slam on my brakes in the car for some reason, Bean always yells out, “WHOA, MOMMA!”
5. This morning on our way to daycare, Bean stuck a piece of waffle up his nose. Since I was in rush hour traffic, I couldn’t pull over to fish it out, so he sat in the backseat for 10 minutes trying to snort it out.
6. One time Bean pitched a temper tantrum in the waiting room at my doctors office where he threw himself down on the floor in the middle of about 12 soon-to-be mommies. I was too big and pregnant to reach him on the floor, so I nudged him with the foot until he got up again. I looked around to find 12 sets of horrified pregnant eyes watching me and all I said to them was, “You just wait…”
7. Chris taught Bean to growl before biting the heads off of animal crackers. It’s pretty disturbing.
8. Sometimes we make Bean get us things when they are stuck in places we can’t reach. Like when we drop things between the fridge and the cabinets or when tennis balls get under the bushes in the backyard.
9. Bean has three toy cell phones and a Fisher Price laptop. I fear where this is going.
10. Bean has trouble saying words that start with F. Like fork, frog, and flag. He gets the F sound right, but the rest of the word rhymes with duck…if you get my drift. This provides Chris and I with hours of entertainment.
Last week when our daycare teachers confirmed our own suspicions that Bean might be interested in potty training, Chris and I decided it was time to begin. But it’s overwhelming to think of all the different ways of teaching kids how to use the potty! Finally, after thinking through a few tried and true methods we’ve heard about, Chris and I decided to do it our own way. Or rather, Bean’s own way. We’re customizing our potty training method by taking a few bits from all the things we’ve heard about and coming up with a way that fits with Bean’s personality and preferences.
The first step in our process is to get him to understand what the potty is for. Even though Bean has shown signs that he’s ready by understanding what’s going on in his body, he has to now understand how the potty connects to those bodily functions. To do this, we made the potty the most fun place in our house! It’s the place to be!
Since Bean has no issues with real potties, we decided to use a potty seat on the real toilet instead of a little potty.
I went with the one from Target that was around $10.00. It was padded and had handles, which I liked. I was a little bummed that they didn’t have any of the seats with cartoons or something on it, but it turns out that Bean didn’t really care one way or another.
Once the seat was in place, we moved Bean’s stool over to the potty so that he could get up and down on his own. He still can’t get up on the seat by himself because he has to sit so far back and he can’t scoot himself too good on it, but he can get down on his own. Plus, I think the stool makes him feel more comfortable by giving him some place to put his feet so he’s not just hanging out in space.
Once our necessities were in place, we added some novelties. First was the jar of M&M’s. Bean gets one M&M for going pee pee in the potty and two for…the other thing.
Originally, that’s really all I had in the bathroom for him. But when I’d put him on the potty, he’d get bored after just a few seconds and ask to get down. So, I had to come up with something to keep him on the toilet for longer. I decided to put the books we’ve bought him on potty training on the back of the toilet with the M&M’s. These things sit in a little basket along with washcloths and other bath accessories. It looks cute, but more importantly it holds everything we need for potty training in one place.
With our potty area all set, it was time to start the introductions.
Bean meet Potty.
Potty meet Bean.
We first started putting Bean on the potty at every diaper change. We thought that might help him associate diaper functions with the potty. Then we added other times throughout the day – when he woke up, before he went down for a nap, when he got up from a nap, and before bedtime. When he gets on the potty, he actually likes it. He sits there and we read potty books and we talk about the potty and about…bodily functions…and we sing songs and we talk. At first, he only would sit there for about 2 or 3 minutes before he asked to get down. And we always take him down when he asks. We don’t want to force the process on him. But gradually, he started staying on for longer periods of time. In about two days, he was staying on for 5 or 6 minutes at a time. And then today when I would ask him if he was ready to get down, he would shake his head and say, “No,” and then ask to read his book again. I was thrilled!
The goal of these little sitting spells isn’t to get him to go potty. There are two reasons we’re doing this:Â First, we want him to get comfortable on the potty (which he clearly is) and, secondly, we want to do the best we can to catch him peeing on the potty. If we can work it so he happens to be sitting on the potty when he goes, then we can celebrate and hoot and holler and, hopefully, Bean will start to understand what the purpose of the potty is. If we can’t get him to pee pee when he’s on there, then he won’t understand what he’s supposed to do there.
So, this all has gone on since Friday afternoon. And then today I was home with Bean because of President’s Day and when I put him on the potty before his nap, HE PEED!! He actually did it! So, I started cheering and dancing and high five-ing like some lunatic and Bean just kind of stared at me like, “What’s all the fuss about, Mom?” He really didn’t understand what was going on – until I gave him the M&M. And then he still may not have understood, but he liked whatever all the fuss was about. After he got off the potty and I called and/or texted everyone I knew, we went on about our day.
Then tonight at dinner, Bean yelled out of nowhere, “Poopies!” So, Chris and I took him to the potty to see if by chance we could catch it again. AND WE DID! There were no poopies, but he peed again. This time it was nice to have someone else in the bathroom with me while I cheered and danced because Bean still didn’t seem to care. Except this time, he instantly said, “MMmmm…” (M&M). At least he’s understanding the rewards part of this whole deal.
As excited as we are that Bean was using the potty, we’re keeping a little perspective. When he uses it right now, you can tell he doesn’t really mean to do it. It’s just been two cases of good timing so far. But that’s how he learns, so we’re one step closer. Bean is still, of course, in a diaper. We probably won’t move him over to big boy underwear for another couple weeks at least. He has to know what he’s doing and he needs to be able to do it (mostly) on purpose, not on accident. When he’s understanding the concept a little more, then we’ll feel comfortable putting him in real underwear. If we were to do it right now, it’d be a mess and it would also be really frustrating and discouraging for Bean. He’s just not ready yet. But he’s getting there!
Potty training, I’m already learning, is about little victories. Which is a lot like parenting in general, really. And today we had two little victories of great timing! We’ll keep trying to get the timing right until Bean seems to understand a little more about what’s happening. At that point, we’ll move to Phase Two: Big Boy Underwear!!! Look out, World!
This weekend I was doing something in the living room and Bean wandered off to play somewhere. He was gone for about 10 minutes when I heard him cry out, “Momma!” And that was shortly followed after, “Help!” So, I wandered back to Gracie’s room where Bean had been playing. It took me a minute to find him.
Can you see him?
Instantly, I ran out of the room to go grab my camera. Like any good mother would.
Luckily, Bean was “tuck! tuck!” (stuck) and so he was a captive photo subject for once.
Finally, he got fed up with me laughing and taking pictures instead of helping him and so he tried to climb out by himself…
…which resulted in him rolling out onto the floor. When I went over to check on him, he popped right up, holding a golf ball in his hand. “Ball!” he announced proudly. Then he walked off to find the next thing he could get into.
I love this age!
Get updates via Facebook |
Become a fan of Marriage Confessions
Categories
Boys
Beancast
Bellycast
Family
Milestones
parenting
The Bean
About Beanie
Angry Bean
Baby Products
Bean and Molly
Bean's Hair
Conversations w/ Beanie
Daycare
Food and Eating
Fun with Dad
Fun with Mom
Growing Bean
Out and About
Play Dates
Playing
Sleeping Bean
Sweet Bean
Travel with Bean
Video
What I've Learneddiscipline
GiveawaysPregnancy
Sweet Pea
Toddlerhood
Sick Bean
Potty Training
Gracie Girl
Fun Baby Things
Siblings
Parenting Ideas
About Gracie
Conversations with Bean and Gracie
Sweet Gracie
Angry Gracie
Conversations with Gracie
Holidays
Birthdays
