Quitting diapers cold turkey
Toilet training: Day 3
Warning: This post is all about pee and poo.
Somebody asked me what method we're using to toilet train Emily. "Ummm," I replied, "the cold turkey method?" Basically we just stopped putting diapers on her. Instead we put cute--and I mean CUTE!--little undies on her that have princesses or kittens on them, and we hope for the best. We also ask her constantly, "Do you need to use the potty?" In addition to cute undies and endless questioning, this is a method that involves a lot of patience, a pair of rubber gloves, and a sponge.
Monday--the first day we put the "no more diapers" rule into practice--Emily was completely surprised when she peed on the floor. I'm fairly certain she never had to think about what peeing meant before that day. Her ignorance of bodily functions led to a number of accidents. One was at home and one was at the playground. During a conversation with my friend, another friend said to me, "Your daughter is peeing on the slide." And she was, looking down at the fluid gushing out of her body in a state of shock and disbelief. I handled both accidents with aplomb and support, cleaning up Emily, the floor, and the slide quickly and efficiently. I comforted Emily with soothing words, "No problem, honey, next time you'll make it to the potty." I sincerely hoped that I was right.
Surprise, surprise, I was right! The next time I saw her clawing at her privates, I asked if she wanted to go to the potty and she replied, "Yes." On Monday, she peed in the potty once and elsewhere twice. Yesterday she peed in the potty twice and elsewhere once. And today she peed in the potty twice and nowhere else. Progress is being made in the pee pee department!
Progress is also being made in the poo poo department, although at a much slower pace. On Monday she pooped while in the living room, said nothing, then tracked it all over the white carpeting. Yesterday she pooped, said nothing, but since my eyes hadn't left her all day I noticed immediately and the accident wasn't able to spread throughout the house. Today she pooped and said, "Emily poo! Emily poo!" I rushed her into the bathroom and was dismayed to realize that the poo was past tense. At least she's now able to recognize when she's pooped, which I am taking as a positive sign. I hope we're not too far off from her indicating that the act of pooping is imminent rather than history.
Toilet training takes time, patience, and love; that's for sure. It also takes lots of watching your kid like a hawk, keeping an eye out for any signs that indicate she's about to let nature take its course. We've made it through three days without daytime diapers and I believe we're making progress. I am optimistic that diapers are quickly becoming a thing of Emily's past.
Local landfills as well as the peoples of the blogosphere are probably relieved to know this.
Warning: This post is all about pee and poo.
Somebody asked me what method we're using to toilet train Emily. "Ummm," I replied, "the cold turkey method?" Basically we just stopped putting diapers on her. Instead we put cute--and I mean CUTE!--little undies on her that have princesses or kittens on them, and we hope for the best. We also ask her constantly, "Do you need to use the potty?" In addition to cute undies and endless questioning, this is a method that involves a lot of patience, a pair of rubber gloves, and a sponge.
Monday--the first day we put the "no more diapers" rule into practice--Emily was completely surprised when she peed on the floor. I'm fairly certain she never had to think about what peeing meant before that day. Her ignorance of bodily functions led to a number of accidents. One was at home and one was at the playground. During a conversation with my friend, another friend said to me, "Your daughter is peeing on the slide." And she was, looking down at the fluid gushing out of her body in a state of shock and disbelief. I handled both accidents with aplomb and support, cleaning up Emily, the floor, and the slide quickly and efficiently. I comforted Emily with soothing words, "No problem, honey, next time you'll make it to the potty." I sincerely hoped that I was right.
Surprise, surprise, I was right! The next time I saw her clawing at her privates, I asked if she wanted to go to the potty and she replied, "Yes." On Monday, she peed in the potty once and elsewhere twice. Yesterday she peed in the potty twice and elsewhere once. And today she peed in the potty twice and nowhere else. Progress is being made in the pee pee department!
Progress is also being made in the poo poo department, although at a much slower pace. On Monday she pooped while in the living room, said nothing, then tracked it all over the white carpeting. Yesterday she pooped, said nothing, but since my eyes hadn't left her all day I noticed immediately and the accident wasn't able to spread throughout the house. Today she pooped and said, "Emily poo! Emily poo!" I rushed her into the bathroom and was dismayed to realize that the poo was past tense. At least she's now able to recognize when she's pooped, which I am taking as a positive sign. I hope we're not too far off from her indicating that the act of pooping is imminent rather than history.
Toilet training takes time, patience, and love; that's for sure. It also takes lots of watching your kid like a hawk, keeping an eye out for any signs that indicate she's about to let nature take its course. We've made it through three days without daytime diapers and I believe we're making progress. I am optimistic that diapers are quickly becoming a thing of Emily's past.
Local landfills as well as the peoples of the blogosphere are probably relieved to know this.
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