potty training!

I don't mind toddlers with pacifiers, I think a 2 year old with a pacifier to help them go to sleep (not wander around with it in their mouth all day long) is perfectly fine; I always swore I would never take my children's lovie blankets away from them ever (well maybe before they set off for college), as long as they stayed in the house past pre-school, and I am in no rush to have my daughter grow up too quickly in general. For the most part, I don't think I am a very judgemental parent. I am easily able to empathize with a distraught, overwhelmed mother, and my first thought always goes to finding out what the child is upset about, not assuming the mother has poor mothering skills. In general I am very easy going and understanding of the ways that other mothers differ on different topics and am genuinely interested in how different things work for different families (yep I am definitely in the right line of work...I love what I do!)

But potty training I have very strong opinions about. Mostly because I work with pre-schoolers and firmly believe they are underestimated, and maybe partly because my mother had all four of her children potty trained by age 1, and uhhh maybe a little hesitant to admit it, but let's face it, all mothers are braggers. If you have a child, you are a bragger and there is no getting away from it. Your child is your greatest accomplishment, you have the most beautiful child in the world and he or she has the most incredible personality you have ever seen. Chances are, if you have a child, not only are the above statements correct (and maybe even understated and underestimated) but you also have the smartest child that has ever graced the Earth and you are patiently waiting to have them tested for giftedness. Mama's I feel ya! I too have this miracle child, and one more reason to brag about her is always welcome. Being able to tell people my daughter is potty trained at 14 months weighing in under 20lbs would be a great topic to brag about.

So since I am the self-proclaimed potty expert (I'm gonna go ahead and beat you to that one) when do I think potty training should start, and why? In my house, our goal was walking. I figured if she could sign, and walk, then she could tell me she needed to go potty and could get there on her own. Well the signing fell apart months ago when she started talking. Addison is very verbal and is clearly ahead of the curve there, (if you've met her parents you will know she gets that honestly) and since she started talking has refused to sign. So after some thought, I realized that waiting for her to be able to say potty didn't make any sense. I know my daughter. I know when she is tired, and I know when she is hungry, I know when she needs a snuggle and when she needs to be entertained or just needs to get out of the house. She doesn't tell me verbally that she needs any of these things (except for "bubba" when she wants her bottle). I know because I am her mama and I take care of her needs because I love her. Why should potty training be any different?

So Addison started walking about a month ago, and shortly after that we began talking about potty training and how we wanted to approach it. I knew I didn't want to try "Pull-Up's" because I didn't want her to feel like she was in a diaper, and I wanted her to learn quickly the difference between wet and dry. So I set off to find some waffle pants and plastic covers. I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to find old skool training pants! Especially in her tiny little bum size (she is not even close to outgrowing her size 3 diapers). Apparently everyone uses "Pull-Up's" now and regular training pants are almost obsolete (in Canada... I had no trouble finding them on the Wal-Mart or Target websites in the States who inconveniently do not yet ship to Canada). But... I did manage to find itty bitty princess panties (we will get back to my hatred of princess garb later) and so I bought her the princess undies. I figured she would learn very quickly if she didn't like being drenched in pee, cus those panties do not hold anything! Later on I found some all in one training pants made by a Canadian company called Kushies and bought her a couple pairs of those ($10 each, ouch!) for when we go out of the house.

A huge myth about potty training is that it is cheap! Addie is a busy girl, and if something is not brightly coloured, makes music or does something cool, she is not interested and moves on. Know what that means? The $10 plain potty chairs were not going to work for us. Yep, we needed the $40 chair that sings and claps when you go. And we needed at least 2 of them (one for home and one for daycare) and I still want a third so we have one on each floor at home. Thank you Grammie K for stepping up and getting us a potty for home.

The FisherPrice Cheer for me potty is what I wanted for Addie. I wanted something that looked like a toilet, I did not want her to think it was a toy. And it is a good height for her, plays little cheers and songs when she goes, looks appealing to her, holds toilet paper and the seat can be used on the big toilet when she is ready. Thank you Grammie K!

Because Addie is in private daycare, I do provide more for her than I would have to in a public daycare. I don't mind because I love my daycare provider (and more importantly Addie does) and it's a good trade off for me. Grammie K bought the FisherPrice Duckie potty for her house, and we are borrowing that for daycare until I get another one. Apparently my fears of a potty looking like a toy were unfounded, Addison LOVES peeing in the duck! Which quacks and plays songs for her, and also converts to a step stool with a seat that goes on the big toilet. Addison still loves ducks. We will buy our own Duckie potty for daycare this week.

Where's the girl at?

Addie just turned 14 months old on Wednesday. We started training on Friday July 22nd, Grammie K had her all day while we were at work and she (and her floors) were brave enough to start the potty training journey. Addie pee'd on the potty once. The rest of the day she peed on the floor. Not a huge victory, but not a major disappointment either. She sat on the potty happily every time she was put there, she just didn't connect sitting on the potty to peeing, and peeing in her undies to being wet. And she didn't seem to care when she was wet, or when she poop'd in her undies.

Yesterday I had to work and Ryan brought her to the cottage. I was so afraid that he was going to get her off track up there, but he and Grandma and Grandpa P took turns all day and kept at it. Addie pee'd 12 times during the day and 8, yep 8! of those times was in the potty. She also poop'd in the potty! Day 2 and already poop'd in the potty! By afternoon she was starting to get it and was already making her way to the potty on her own to pee. Ladies and gentlemen, she is starting to get it. Since Addie pees A LOT, we've decided to keep a diaper on her for nap and bedtime but as soon as she gets up she is out of it and into her new undies. I think she enjoys the freedom of being out of a diaper, and since it has been the hottest summer in years here, she must be much cooler as well.

I'll update as we continue the week and our potty training journey, but so far so good, hopefully she keeps it up and stays interested!