Good, better....getting better...

Pooping has come to a complete halt. That is, unless it ends up in the diaper. AND, he then wants to flush the poops down the toilet. AND, before the flushing happens, he wants to PEE in the potty and then have ME pour it in the toilet so he can flush AGAIN.

He is absolutely terrified of pooping in the potty. Doesn't matter that he's done it before.

Rationalizing that the poops end up in the toilet whether he makes it in the toilet, the potty or the diaper is completely irrelevant to him.

So we let him poop in the diaper.

At least he allows us to watch again.

***

There was a guy in my basement yesterday. He was supposed to come today when hubby specifically booked the morning off. Took a bit of panic about what was said to whom and why he's coming now instead of when it was scheduled, but at least the guy came and moved the gas pipe.

Hubby also manages to show up prior to the basement guy leaving. They talked, and MORE progress happened. We now have a hole in our livingroom floor where the new vent/duct will go.
See it? between the randomly placed pieces of furniture that WILL EVENTUALLY end up in the basement?

Trust me, this is progress.

AND, today, another guy is coming to move the AC unit outside away from underneath the porch to the side of the house. That is, his boss said he was coming. He's not here yet, but he will come, dammit.

AND, Bob is coming all next week to put walls up. AND, a couple of other guys are coming to finish the duct work downstairs that yesterday's guy started.

Could this be happening? Am I dreaming? Will the bulk of the dirty, dusty work be done prior to the baby's arrival?

Sure would be nice.

***

Took my crockpot out. I LOVE MY CROCKPOT! It's so easy, what with all the interruptions and toddler not napping and the dog freaking out at every noise coming out of the basement and what not. I stick the food in, I turn it on, and I forgetaboutit.

Made enough spaghetti sauce to freeze two jars for afterbabytime AND have enough for supper for all three of us.

YUM.

Traumatized

He whined and absolutely insisted on a diaper this morning. Especially after I took the soaking wet one off.

Then he hid behind the doorframe, while I lay in bed with my first cup of coffee, and peeked around the corner every few seconds to see if I'm watching.

He was pooping.
Into the diaper.
He insisted.On.Wearing.

Trust me, I tried. I offered him a Smartie if he peed in the potty. Peeing doesn't seem to be the issue. Although it was one today. He ate the Smartie and didn't pee in the potty.

So I showed him the other Smartie and said that he could have it after he made poops in the potty.

No poops.

So I put the Smartie on the shelf, and he wandered around whining.

Insisted on having the green Smartie.

I stayed firm and said no.

He then wanted me to put it in a little bowl, which I did.

The single Smartie in the bowl went on the shelf. Where it will remain for now.

Perhaps he's traumatized from the trail of poops that happened yesterday?

Who.
Knows.

Pooping and peeing update

This morning we took off his wet diaper and let him run around until he at least peed in the potty.

This is fairly standard, normal procedure these days.

We ask him if he has to make poops and he always says no. But of course most of the time he does have to poop in the morning. It's just a matter of being proactive and having an eye on him during that inevitable time.

He continues to pee into the potty fairly regularly. If he is wearing no pants or diapers.

The pooping is a hit-and-miss situation.

Although he pooped in the potty before...

So anyway, I go about my morning, as does daddy, and Benjamin is running around with his bare bottom.

At one point, he approaches me and says "I made poops on soor". (He can't seem to say floor)

I walk into the kitchen and notice several things:

• a big pile of poop near his chair
• a somewhat ripped piece of paper towel next to it
• a smaller pile of poop a little further away toward the hallway
• a yet smaller pile of poop close to the potty which is in the hallway opposite the bathroom door
• and several smears of poop along the potty

He seemed a little perplexed when he told me about "poops on the soor".

I however, despite the mess, encouraged him and praised him for at least trying to make it to the potty, and on top of it all, try to clean up the mess himself (papertowel!!) before even telling me about it.

What a smart boy!

I'm not sure how he felt about the poops on the floor though. We talked a bit about where the poops go (in the potty mommy!) and despite my efforts to praise him for trying, he did harp a bit on the fact that most of the poops were not in the potty.

We had a little shower to wash off the smears on his legs and bum, put on a diaper, empty the pee out of the potty (that part worked fine!), and then we cleaned up the mess together (well, sort of, I did most of the work).

So how am I supposed to analyze this? Is this progress?

* * *

A few days ago I decided to get back into the whole Curious George underwear thing. It was summery and we were outside, and I figured if he pees through the clothes, at least there won't be much to clean up.

He did pee. He just can't seem to figure out that when he wears something on his bottom, and feels the urge to go, he has to either say something or go to the potty and pull the pants down.

I only noticed the wet spot when I wanted to move the car a couple of meters back on the driveway. Ben, being car-crazy, wanted to sit in the seat next to me while I backed up, which I only allow while moving the car within the limits of the driveway.

Scott, our mason, and I noticed that he was all wet. I said "What happened? You're all wet?"

He said "I peed on Curious George".

So he KNOWS that he did it. I wonder if he KNEW he was about to do it though...

Gosh...

Poops

There seems to be a prevalant theme going on in some of the mommy blogs where poop is a popular topic. I saw it here, and here. We too have our own potty training anecdotes here.

My approach to toddler pooping has been kind of wishy-washy lax lately. Being 8 months pregnant, my whole outlook on life these days has been about prevention of various things that require acrobatic movements on my part, like picking up stuff that falls down, wiping spills, or cleaning up pee puddles and poop piles.

Yet with it still being summer, and there being little carpeting in our home, those pants/diapers/pull-ups/underwear do stay off his cute little butt more often than not. Especially during his regular pooping time, which is usually mornings and evenings.

So yesterday, he wore nothing except a t-shirt until after lunch. But for some reason, he didn't poop. He peed four times though, twice in the potty on his own accord, and twice "on the grass like Rusty".

Then my mother came. And he wanted to put a diaper on. Into which he immediately pooped. Which was ok since he insisted that "Grosmami" change him. Fine by me!

Today, after his milk and before his breakfast, and with daddy home as well, we left that diaper off again. Every once in a while he would bring us a diaper or a pull-up (what IS the difference in those anyway other than price?), and we both said "sure, after you make poops in the potty or toilet you can have your pull-up on".

While slupring coffee, checking email, chatting, hubby and I aren't paying particular attention to what his happening with the toddler.

Suddenly we hear this little voice squeaking from the back hallway.

"I made pipi and poops in potty!".

We go see....and there it is!!

The expression on Benjamin's face was just priceless. He looked a mixture of disgusted, surprised and eventually, after mommy and daddy clapped and praised him, proud.

I'm not sure what went through his little mind when he saw that big brown pile of poops sitting in a pool of yellow pee.

Daddy showed him how to wipe his bum, and wash the hands (bonus as that would require more acrobatics on my part), and then Ben wanted a diaper on.

I debated whether we should keep the momentum going and offered him a Curious George underwear to put on, which seemed to make him happy. As long as it was the one with the firetruck on it. Of course.

He also mention that "Mrs. A" at school is going to be "so happy"...she had helped him pee on the toilet at school a few times prior to summer vacation, and since he's going back to her next week, I agreed that she would be very happy too!

So then he dragged the lego out, placed the big fluffy pillow on the floor, and invited me to come play with him.

How could I resist THAT temptation? What with all the peeing and pooping and even the pillow! What a sweet boy to remember the pillow for mommy!

Anyway, we play a while, and at one point I got up to prepare some breakfast. Suddenly he comes into the kitchen to announce that "there is a big wet mess on mat" and "we need towel to clean it up".

He peed all over Curious George, and left a wet spot on the mat.

See? If he wears anything on this bottom, and he doesn't understand that he can simply pull it down and sit on the potty and pee.

I didn't say much. I just explained that we don't pee on Curious George, that we pee in the potty like earlier today, and would he like to help clean it up.

Which he did.

Then he brought me a diaper and I figured he has had enough for a while, and put it on him. I don't want to push too far, or discourage him, or make it a chore or unpleasant. He's not even two-and-a-half yet...

For the rest of the day, everytime there was a diaper change, I would encourage him to go pee in the potty first and he always did.

Maybe a few more wet Curious Georges will finally flip that switch in his brain. Problem is, he's having trouble pulling his pull-ups or underwear, or any pants for that matter, up. That is, he knows how to pull them up in the front but gets whiny and lazy when he can't get it up from behind. He has shown little, if any interest, in dressing or undressing himself. Which is another thing that I'm encouraging him to do everytime we have a clothes change. I would think that goes hand in hand with the toilet training, at least the pants part.

So we'll see. If leaving the pants off for part of the day will keep things moving along, then all the better for me.

Would be nice to get rid of the daytime diapers prior to baby's arrival...

More progress

Basement tear-out on other side has begun. I helped, along with tot and hubby, to move some stuff around to facilitate the destruction.

Hopefully B will come by next week and continue while hubby is back at work (or away fishing...his annual trip that was planned a year ago). B's cushy city job doesn't make him tired or stressed, and he's done at 3, and his commute is something like 3 minutes, so that will keep things moving for us.

After a 2+ week "break" I am looking foward to the continuation down there. Getting fed up with living among boxes and crap piling up everywhere I look.

* * *

Toilet training is continuing but I've slacked a bit. If he's without pants, it's practically done. He feels it coming, runs upstairs or to the potty, and does his business. Although, the new habit now is to "go pipi in the grass like Rusty". Yesterday, he ran to the neighbour's yard and peed on her grass....

Pooping on the potty/toilet has ceased mainly because I'm not coherent enough in the morning to keep up with him. Couple of cuppas a little earlier may bring that back on track.

Of course, since he's completely changed his pooping schedule, that has become a little bit more difficult. Once in the morning and once at night was a great schedule for me to keep up to date on...now, three times prior to lunch?? It makes things a tad more challenging.

Of course, he's eating like he's starving. His appetite is HUGE! And he's eating things like cous cous salad, lentil salad, potatoes, chicken, knackwurst with mustard, kashi cereal, berries, yoghurt...definitely good eating habits!

* * *

Second interview for hubby is scheduled for Wed. He's unofficially been hired by the dean of the program, conditional on getting his class 1 instructor rating back (aviation stuff). He's held it before, let it lapse when he joined the airlines, and now needs to get it back since he's returning to the world of aviation academics.

He anticipates a month and a half of getting it, and the flight test, completed prior to being able to give notice at the airline.

His company superiors are ecstatic for him, they all gave him glowing references. Career move is about to begin...right at the same time as the impending birth of our second child.

* * *

My 90-year old grandmother in Europe is in the hospital. She's suffered two semi-mild strokes. My mom is supposed to visit her soon, she may go earlier than planned.

* * *

There is something wrong with our toddler's sleep schedule. Not only did he give up naps, which does not please me in the least, but quiet time that is supposed to replace the nap is rather noisy.

Despite the lack of napping, he doesn't go to bed until 10 pm.

Or insists on falling asleep in my bed, preferably with me in it.

Without naps, I am done closer to 7:30 pm than 9ish...so do I go to my bed with him in it and encourage him to fall asleep earlier? Or do I sit up and listen to the noise until he learns to go to bed at a decent time in his own bed?

He's done it before, but now, two weeks before school starts, may be a good time to re-introduce a more normal, child-friendly bedtime.

Must remain up later at night, and force quiet time to happen, to preserve my sanity.

Or else, I'll just check myself into the looney bin now and be done with it.

Pipi on the toilet - progress

Pipi on the toilet with the potty seat on = success...sort of. Took the potty apart and placed the top part on the toilet for easier access.

He liked the potty the way it was, but seems to like the idea of stepping on a step to get on top of the toilet...not surprising given the monkey that he is.

He even went on there himself last night before bathtime; I walked by and there he was sitting and saying "I'm making pipi on toilet"...well. Progress I guess.

Pooping....uh, no.

He is asking for a diaper more now than ever....

Is this regressing? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

But the pride when he pees in the toilet....makes it worth it.

I'm an idiot

The whole time I'm posting my toilet training sagas into blogger, I completely miss his pooping.

Naturally we had a mess to clean up.

Lesson Number 1 for mommy:

NO BLOGGING DURING POOPING TIME.

Toilet training saga Part II

Later. (see previous post)

He wakes up from his nap.

Insists on putting 'cur gors' on (Curious George underwear).

I tell him that it's underwear, not pull-ups or diapers, and that he has to go make pipi in the potty.

He tries but nothing comes out. Fine. Sometimes you just don't have to go.
(I actually don't know what that feels like. Even when I'm not pregnant, I always manage to make at least a little tinkle. But he's a boy. What do I know about boys...)

He stays dry forEVER. For hours. During the walk with the dog. While at home as I'm preparing dinner. Hm.

Every once in a while I say "do you want to make pipi in the potty" or something to that effect. I'm getting tired of hearing myself talk potty talk.

He doesn't pee.

He does ask to sit on the potty in front of the tv.

So now that's what we do now. Watch Treehouse and sit with Curious George underwear at his ankles on the potty. Along with Nuggi-Bello (soother and dog he sleeps with).

Fine.

He sits there while I make dinner, then ask him to come have dinner.

I remind him again that he is not wearing a diaper and that we don't want to pee on Curious George.

He sits at the table and eats his dinner. DRY.

Afterwards, while he's still sitting there, I remind him that he's not wearing a diaper (etc, see above).

He gets up and as he's putting his bib on the back of the chair, he looks down and says

I'm all wet.
So this is accident number 1.

PS we go through the whole song and dance again and I leave him bare-bottomed. He's not impressed though and wants to wear his underwear again.

PPS he hasn't pooped yet. Usually he poops twice a day....

PPSS this should be an interesting evening.

Toilet training updates Part I

This morning, he's walking around with no pants on.

I ask him to make poops in the potty or toilet.

He doesn't.

Poop.

At all.

Whether in the diaper or anywhere else.

BUT.

He announces "pipi is coming" and runs to the potty and pees in it.

He's been doing this for a while. Months.

But usually only if he doesn't wear any pants.

He doesn't go to the potty when he's wearing diapers or pull-ups unless I tell him to go, and then he does.

Point is he should go before the pipi comes out. Regardless of what type of contraption he's wearing around his bottom.

Reason why today is memorable is because I moved the potty in front of Curious George this morning at 8 am.

Yes.

I let him watch tv at 8 am.

So sue me.

I'm trying to catch the poops in the potty.

He even picked out some Curious George underwear yesterday at Zellers.

We'll try those as soon as they're laundered.

We're on our way. Continued with Part II here.

Ramblings

Lost pants

Stress of the morning:

He's getting ready to go fly his airplane.
He's putting on his uniform.
He's all stressed out.
He can't find the second pair of pants.
Apparently, he saw me wash them.
Weeks ago.
But he can't find them.
They are ripped at some spot and need to be fixed.

What I wonder is why he can't find the pants.
It's not like this is a big house.
Or there is a lot of closet space.
Where do I normally put the washed pants?

So my list of things to do today includes the entry:
-find his pants


* * * * *

No pipi no poops

This is what the little guy says whenever I suggest we
change the diaper
or
go sit on the potty.

No matter if there are yellow streaks of liquid dripping down his leg.
No matter how offensive the odour surrounding him.

It's always:

no pippi no poops

Saturday morning ramblings

This morning we woke to the "beep, beep, beep" of a truck going backwards.

We heard it because the window was open to allow the cool night air to flood the house.

Luckily they didn't start till 7 am (on a Saturday!), but daddy was a little peeved and once tot and I got up, he slammed the door. I hate when he does that.

Seems the neighbours are asphalting their driveway on a Saturday...well, it IS free entertainment for the little guy! Show him any truck and he's captivated.

So while he's standing on a little chair gazing out to watch the various equipment doing their thing, I got to drink a cup and a half of coffee in peace.

*****

The toilet training is still going strong. He pees in the potty regularly, and even occasionally on the toilet (at home or at school, albeit only with me present).

The pooping...well. It'll take a while. But he announces when it comes, or when he wants the bum changed.

My new thing now with the poops is this: if it's not sticky and messy but well contained, I carry the diaper to the toilet and we dump it into the toilet in front of Benjamin who then is allowed to flush it away.

Appropriate dialogue accompanies this little event.

Will it help? Will it progress? Only the potty gods know.

But it is summer and he does run around without pants or diapers on in the backyard occasionally. I take the potty out with us, and encourage him to use it when he feels the urge, but he prefers to pee how Rusty does it.

Made pipi in grass like Wusty!

Well, at least he announces it. We'll keep at it.

*****

The plan is to go see a firetruck today.

The Kingsway up on Bloor is having a big Father's Day Sidewalk Sale and they're doing it like a little festival. Apparently a firetruck will be on display, and since the tot got gipped the last time I promised him a viewing of a firetruck, we figured today is as good as any day to come clean on that promise.

He LOVES firetrucks.

It starts at 11, so I hope to be back in time for naptime at 2-ish.

My belly is growing daily it seems, at 5 and a half months pregnant, so a few hours of uninterrupted rest has become a favorite acitivty of late.

Besides, daddy has a midterm to study for.

Should be a nice day. Weather promises to cooperate with sun and heat...summer is FINALLY here!!

More on poop, and pee

He knows all about poops in the toilet.

But he doesn't poop in the toilet. He doesn't poop in the potty either.

So if the poops are dry enough, I dump them from the diaper into the toilet in front of him and he gets to say goodbye and flush them away. So he KNOWS where the poops are supposed to go.

Now, when we change a poopy diaper, he says "no more poops in diapers".

Waiting anxiously for warmer weather so I can stick the potty outside and have him be at least dry during the day by the end of summer.

He does however pee in the potty at home semi-regularly, and on his own. Meaning, I don't have to ask him to go. All I have to do is get him naked, or at least bare bottomed, and if he has to go, he goes to the potty. He also cleans out the potty himself, by taking the cup thing and pouring it down the toilet, and flushing the pee away.

Sometimes, when I change his diaper prior to dropping him off at his classroom at school, I sit him on the toilet there and he pees.

It is happening....

Pipi in the potty

So Benjamin prefers the potty to the toilet these days. Didn't used to be that way, used to be the exact opposite, but I didn't care. As long as the pipi went in one or the other, I was happy.

He's exactly 25 months old today. Every night, after I undress him, he runs all by himself to the potty, sits on it, and pees.

Then he gets up, puts the seat down, and yells I did it!

I praise him, and he removes the cup and pours the stuff down the toilet, very carefully, and then flushes.

I have all kinds of ambition to start doing this with him at other times of the day, not just at bathtime. If it would just warm up a bit and he could wear less clothing, it would make my life so much easier!

But it's progress. And he's still wearning pull-ups at school.

Courtesy Flush

Ok look.

Perhaps I will never understand this need that men have to sit, with piles of literature, in a small room filled with vile odours.

But for crying out loud, if you've got other people living with you, and some of said people have a heightened sense of smell even when they are not pregnant, why would you not flush it down immediately, before resuming other activities involving toilet paper and aforementioned stack of literature??

HUH?

Sheesh.

PS I added the label "Toilet training" to this post even though we're not taking about the toddler.

A different kind of toilet training

I have two separate toilet training occasions to blog about today. The first one is about this:










The second one is about Pull-Ups.

First:

We found some nice fresh dog poop on our front yard today. This is not the first time nor will it likely be the last.

We have a dog. We pick up after our dog.

What do I have to do to get ignorant people to pick up after their pets on private properties, on walkways in public parks, on sidewalks for god's sake? Supply the bags???

Ok. Next.


Second: (warning, there is some serious mother-pride ahead)

My 22-month old toddler made pipi in the toilet today. At his school! (daycare)

We've been doing semi-regular toilet training for some time now. He has a seat for the big toilet and he has a potty.

He pees in the toilet often enough that it felt appropriate to mention to his teacher at his school. His class is comprised of one-and-a-half to three-year old toddlers (Montessori) and during washroom routine, there is opportunity to expose the younger children to the older children's "methods".

Today he must have felt included enough to try it out himself, and he succeeded!

So we stopped at Shoppers Drug Mart on the way home and got some astronomically priced pull-up diaper-undies to try out. The teacher suggested we try this and see what happens.

I'm not convinced this will be a regular routine for him, or that he will continue to pee in the toilet at school. I have blogged enough about his toilet training adventures in this blog to know that we may take a step forward but inevitably take two or more back.

He may regress. He may refuse to try. Or, he may proceed and improve for all I know.

But I am proud today. And encouraged.

PS note to self: I am happy that it was me who showed him the ins and outs of pipi in the toilet. For him to feel secure enough with his bodily functions to try it out at school reinforces my self-esteem about this mothering thing.

Pipi in the toilet!

It occurred to me that I harp on about the lack of pipi in the toilet.

Well tonight he made pipi in the toilet.

We clapped and then had a nice, quick shower.

Success with the pipi however does not mean that there won't be any night-time antics at bedtime. But I'm not in the mood to anecdote those right now.

Since I'm typing these words however one must assume that the child is slumbering...which he is.

Yay.

More with the pipi

He says:

I made pipi toilet

This is a fib. He made pipi in the bathwater exactly 22 seconds prior to proclamining the above statement.

I was there. I was the one who helped him climb onto the toilet, and I was the one who helped him get off the toilet when he said no moy pipi.

I was also the one who saw him pee into the bathwater. He smirked and I was too slow picking him up and placing him back on the seat.

Oh well.

So we had a little conversation about the pipi here and the pipi there. Me sitting on the toilet lid beside the tub, and him sitting in the pipi-bathwater.

He thinks it's funny.

The saga continues.

New focus

Reading through this blog gives me the impression that I am obsessed with toilet training.

I'm actually not. Not really.

It is a nice change though from being obsessed with sleep issues.

Although those haven't disappeared completely, they have improved signficantly. And, I'm more experienced now.

My motto: do what you have to do to get the child to sleep.

As far as toilet training is concerned, if it takes 3 years, so be it.

Blah.

Toilet training part 3

So I'm actually trying to be proactive here. During my first (ha!) cup of coffee I strip the child and leave his almost fully wet diaper on. I'm patiently waiting for the poop to come so I don't waste another diaper. I diligently follow him around, I watch for signs of straining and contorted facial expressions, and encourage him to poop in the diaper/potty/toilet for half an hour.

I'm not exactly enjoying my cup of coffee.

But does he poop?

I'm still waiting.

He ALWAYS poops right after his milk in the morning.

He's now eating toast with cream cheese and orange slices. His diaper is soaking wet.

But no poop.

Toilet training part 2

If it's not poop on the carpet then it's pipi on the floor. And if it doesn't belong to the tiny human in this house, it's bile from the dog.

This toilet training thing has been going on for some time now, since Benjamin was crawling. He's capable, self-aware, can stop in mid-stream if he wants to, and does occasionally even announce it before it happens.

But for some reason, lately he has been having all kinds of accidents. Or maybe they're not accidents.

I will have to be more proactive and focus on the more or less usual times he has to go. Get him to actually want to use the potty or toilet, and not just sit on it for a second and then proclaim no moy pipi.