Potty Training Progress

Gavin is doing really well with potty training and with his independent personality, he will pretty much do it all by himself anyway.  But unfortunately, naps and bed time has been affected by this "good" thing.  The usual bed time routine of: milk, books, songs and prayer which is already strung out now is taken even longer.  For some reason, he thinks he need to use the bathroom 10 more times before laying down.  After that comes the nightly crying of protest which can go on for another hour or two.  I.SO.dread.it.  And the fact that he can now get in and out of his own bed sure doesn't help.  He won't actually come out of his room (since he knows he's not supposed to), but he'll lay by the door and kick it over and over again.  I figured out that it's best not to go in and just let him be because eventually he'll fall asleep - even if it's right by the door.  Hey whatever works.

• I love that Gavin will come out of his room in the morning and just use the bathroom vs Ethan's way.  By the time I make it out of my room, Gavin has already flushed and done doing his thing.
• I also love that Gavin will at least attempt to wipe his own butt vs Ethan's screaming of "Mommy I'm done!" aka drop whatever you're doing and come wipe my butt for me RIGHT NOW.

Just for Laughs

Gavin's in the process of potty training and while at the store one day, he said he had to go.  So while walking quickly to the bathroom I told him to "hold it."  A few seconds later, I looked down and saw that Gavin took his hand to grab himself (in the crotch) and was literally "holding it."  Haha.

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Lately, Brian had been coming into the house so quietly that I don't hear him until he comes downstairs already changed out of his work clothes - and startling me a few times.  This is conversation while the kids and I were playing out on the deck yesterday:

Ethan: Daddy's home.
Gavin: Yay, Daddy's home.
Me: Ethan, Daddy's not home.  Stop making stuff up and getting Gavin all excited.
Ethan: Mommy, Daddy is home.
Me: No he is not.
Ethan: Yeah, he's upstairs (must have seen and heard him knocking on the window).
Me (Coming into the house only to see Brian walking downstairs): I guess you're right.
Ethan: I know!  I told you so that you won't be frightened.

Discovery of the Week

Within a week from the last post, Gavin is now pretty much potty trained (#1, #2 and almost at night too).  What I've learned the second time around was why fret?  When he's ready, he's ready.  I must say though that we did have one drama that came with it which led to a crib-to-toddler-bed switcheroo that wasn't part of the plan.

What had happened was that a few nights after putting him in his crib, he would scream and cry.  Thinking that was his nightly bedtime separation thing, I let him cry it out.  After it continued on and on, I finally checked on him only to realize that he had to use the bathroom...really bad.  Well last week Thursday, he did the same thing.  After all the screaming and crying, he got a second wind and couldn't go back to sleep.  So I sat in the chair in his room for about an hour or so and eventually left.  Well, the screaming and crying began again.  But this time there was a "thump" that came with it.  Apparently, he decided to climb fall out of the crib in protest.  So I went back in his room for another hour and the whole scenario repeated again.  Yes, he fell out the second time!  Busted his upper lip and bruised his right eye.  This child is self destructive seriously.  Did I mention the time he decide to free fall down the stairs in our rental house just because he didn't want Brian and me to leave for a date???  Anyway at four in the morning, I was tired, I was desperate for sleep so I decided to bring him into our bed.  Not that he went to sleep in fact he was antsy (just like Ethan was) and kept kicking both of us.  Oh, Brian wasn't exactly happy since he had to get up early.

Anyway, the next day I was on a mission.  I assembled his toddler bed and he seemed to like the freedom.  We told him not to come out of his room unless he has to use the bathroom.  And surprisingly, he followed it well - in fact too well (again just like his brother) because he ended up going in his pull-up.  We kept the crib in there for a few days just to make sure the transition would go well.  But apparently that created another drama where the crib shadow on the ceiling freaked him out to the point where he was screaming and crying AGAIN.  So we disassembled the crib and got it out of there.  With the new changes, naps have been short and he's waking up earlier than usual which makes one cranky kid.  But he's slowly adjusting.  During the day, he's in an underwear and during naps, bed times and outings, he's in pull-ups...just in case.  He has an accident here and there, but for the most part he's doing great!  Yay, no more diapers.  No more crib.

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Other that that, Gavin's vocabulary is exploding.  He's stringing words into phrases and it's just so much fun to hear him talk.  Ethan had been teaching me lots and lots and I just can't believe how much he's picking up.  We still have the tantrums but they decreased quite a bit since he can now communicate better.  Some of the words he has been saying:

-he can finally say his own name and Ethan's whole name too
-counting from 1-12
-"DO IT!" (myself)
-"school bus"
-"city bus"
-"Hello.  Daddy."
-"Hey, YOU!" - this one cracks me up every time
-a very dramatic "Oh my GOSH!" (courtesy of Ethan)
-the most agreeable and cutest "Okay"
-(I'll have to update more later)

Discovery of the Week

For the past four months or so, we've been taking Gavin to the little potty many, many times but nothing happens.  So last night when Gavin was adamant about taking off his diaper and kept saying "pee," I didn't think anything of it.  But Brian took him and apparently this time he was ready.  The boy peed in the potty and had the biggest smile ever!  I thought maybe it was a fluke so this morning, I took him again first thing...and he went.  Not too bad at 22 months. 

Discovery of the Week

Ethan could almost name all the numbers from 1-10 (out of order). He gets 6 and 9 mixed up and other ones here and there. I'm quite impressed. I think this number puzzles that I bought from the Dollar Store must really be helping.

Also, he is now going to the bathroom and does the whole deal "all by himself." What a big boy! It's nice not to spend half my day in the bathroom with him.

Potty Progress

Day 3: Stressful! I gave Ethan WAY too much to drink and he kept having one accidents right after the other. I was impatient. I was frustrated. And it didn't help that he was being ornery. Brian came home and I left to be alone.

Day 4: A much better day. He went "on demand" before leaving the house, which was a huge step for us. A few accidents but no biggie. He even asked to use the potty once more before bed.

Day 5: Even with guests in town, Ethan was on task and didn't get too distracted. We started bringing the potty with us and just have him go in the parking lot. Feel a little silly, but hey whatever works.

Day 6: Went to church and wasn't sure how it was gonna all go down. He did great! Wouldn't go in the big potty at church and held it until we got home. First day with no accidents at all!

Day 7: Again, no accidents. He even went all by himself. Went to Toys R Us and bought folding potty seat for public bathrooms and traveling. It seemed to ease his fears of falling in.

I'm seriously surprised of how well this is all going. Never thought that it would be this easy but I guess once he's ready, he's ready. Of course, we're still doing diapers only at nap time and bed time, but it doesn't seemed to interfere with day time stuff.

"Twittering" on Blog

Wow. Can I just say that potty training takes grocery shopping (or going anywhere) to a whole new level?

Discovery of the Week

Ethan has now moved on to a big kid swing. At first, I didn't think he could hang on without falling off, but he actually does a pretty good job. I do have to remind him every so often though to let me know when he wants to get down. We had a couple of incidents where he tried to get off mid swing and about killed himself.

In other news, we attempted potty training #3 today. And it wasn't even intentional. Ethan has been spending a lot of time playing outside in the pool so I thought I would bring out the potty...just because. This afternoon when we came inside to change out of his swim trunk, I asked if he wanted to wear his diaper or his big boy underwear. He chose the latter so I thought why not. Anyway, he peed in the potty 3 times tonight (twice with the urge where he ran to the potty) which is pretty good. I know it can take a while so I'm just reminding myself to a) be patient and not get too carried away and b) make it fun with no pressure. So here we are and yes, I am that mamma that blogs about their kid's potty training progress. Hey, it's an accomplishment! I'd like to think that the Elmo Potty Time DVD we've been watching is helping.

Discovery of the Week

This week, I finally switched Ethan from the space-saver high chair & booster to just a portable booster so he could actually sit and eat AT the table with us. I really should have done this a long time ago because I think he felt more like a part of the family at meal time (instead of sitting side way). He even has his own plate and silverware to use now that I finally got over the making-more-mess factor, but the ironic thing is that the mess is less. Apparently he liked having more control of his food and haven't been throwing it on the floor anymore. And come to find out after the chair switcheroo that the arms on the space-saver actually goes down (so I could've scoot it under the table). Duh!

Onto a very exciting thing that happened tonight: Ethan ACTUALLY peed in the potty!!! It was a pretty hilarious scene. He got up, poked his finger in it and with a semi-confused look said "Uh-oh." I screamed in excitement but had to tone it down and change to a cheer since I realized that I had scared him. Then he said yay and clapped his hands. Sad to say, but Brian has been the one who encouraged him and helped him to try the potty out lately. I guess I've tried a few time before, but I think he might have been too young and maybe not ready then. So anyway, I'm excited but nervous at the same time since I'm not quite sure what the process is and what I need to do. I guess we'll see...