Monday, October 01, 2012

Potty Training, Day 2 and following

Well, based on blog posts, James's potty training only lasted one day.

Tada! He's trained!

Okay, fine...he's not.

Well, Day 2 and 3 and onward were so very unlike potty training with Caleb. When we potty trained Caleb, I basically took a week off from life. I cancelled lunch dates, stayed home from church, and basically avoided anything that took us away from the house.

This time, well, welcome to the world of being a Second Child. We kept up our hectic pace, added a few lunches and dinners out, didn't forget any therapy appointments or anything else we could add to our days. In short, James was in diapers most of the time.

However,

When he wasn't in diapers, he showed great promise! I believe I can safely say he has not learned when he needs to go potty. And, given the sub-par training we've given him, that's to be expected. But he has learned what he's supposed to do on the potty, and he's pretty consistent at doing it!

So, we've kind of settled into a compromise. For the most part, James stays in diapers. However, I offer him the opportunity to potty several times in the day: before/after nap, before/after bed, and if he starts showing signs of needing to poop. I put him in undies only if he's done a good job going potty, and I can be fairly certain he won't have an accident for at least 20 minutes.

Surprisingly, this compromise seems to be working very well! His diapers are staying drier, and he's using the potty when I give him the opportunity. I even put the froggy potty in the van today for use after our therapy appointment, and he did great with it! And his diaper rash (which had been non-existent until a few months ago, and now is bordering on chronic) is getting a good chance to air out and heal, which is a bonus.

One funny thing we've learned is that this boy cannot contain himself when it comes to giggling. If he giggles, he's going to pee. There's just no way around it. It's because of the low muscle tone, but it comes in handy when I know he needs to go potty, but he just won't do it! But even Caleb has learned: Don't tickle James when he's in undies!! Definitely learned that one the hard way! Haha!

5 comments:

  1. Aw, the giggling thing is hilarious! I mean, not that he has low muscle tone, but that you figured that out. Lots of laughter at your house, I bet. :)

    Well, Seth is definitely showing interest in pottying these days. After our upcoming trip to San Diego, I plan to train him. Bought some Spiderman undies today, in fact.

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    1. Hooray for potty training, right?
      ...right??
      Well, good luck with Seth! Can't wait to hear your saga! :)

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  2. That is funny about the laughing. Post-having-a-baby, I can relate, James! haha! One thing about the diaper rash, E's was really bad for a while and I started sprinkling some baking soda in the bath water, and I feel like that has made a huge difference! I don't even begin to know when I am going to start training E. A while back she always told me when she needed a new diaper, and now she doesn't, so I hope I didn't miss the boat. But that was right when we were moving, so I didn't think that was a good idea! Love ya!

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    1. Oh, I hear ya about that post-baby thing. After the second, I got really worried! :)

      Thanks for the tip about the baking soda. I will definitely do that.

      As far as missing the boat, you probably didn't. It seems like they go through an interest stage before they're really ready. I just hop on that crazy train, but I bet you that Emily will come back around when she's REALLY ready, and not just sort of interested. And yeah, definitely not a good idea to start training during a move! It truly is one of the most frustrating things I've done as a parent. I'm handling #2 better than #1; I let myself get WAY too upset at accidents and setbacks, and I'm trying my best not to do that this time!

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  3. So Caleb learned the hard way, huh? Teeheee...

    Karbo..I'll be shipping Owen out on your return!

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