Special Chuck E. Cheese Date

We got to take Brooklynn to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate her potty-training success. I've been saying for months that if she poops every day on the potty for an entire week (with no accidents) we'd go to Chuck E Cheese. Well, she finally did! I had to make good on my promise so off we went. Well, she LOVED it.

Brooklynn, we are SO proud of you and all your success. You've really come a long way.

Now the next step is knowing when I can safely send her to bed with underwear on. I'm too nervous to try. She might still be wearing diapers to bed for a few years.

Adventures in Potty Training pt. 4

continued pt. 1

continued pt. 2

continued pt. 3

Nov. 16, 2010: Today Brooklynn took off her pants and then her diaper. I asked her if she had to go potty and she responded with "peepee!" So I took her and sure enough she went. So I rewarded her with putting on some big-girl underwear (training pants) hoping she would continue to take them off when she had to go. I asked her 25 minutes later if she had to go again and she said no, then I waited another 25 minutes and she had already peed her underwear. She also freaked out and refused to sit on the potty after that. So I made her put her diaper and pants back on.

I'm thankful she sort of told me, though!

December 9, 2010: I have decided that since we're basically trapped inside because it's so cold, we might as well focus more on the potty training. Yesterday she did really well, was in training pants all morning with only 1 accident, and today NO accidents. She went about 5 times on the potty and I even thought she was going to poop one of the times. She is trying really hard, but I think she is backed up a little and it's a hard one.

January 31, 2011: Yeah, my previous update didn't hold, I'm too pregnant. I've decided to wait a little bit to fully work on training her, until I'm feeling better after I have Gabby. We do regularly sit on the potty, especially before bed. (usually she insists.)
The other day, though, I was feeling a little better and we worked on it a little morning. I put underwear on her and she stayed in it all morning with no accidents. We're trying to learn how to poop on the potty, that always seems to take way longer to learn. She went pee several times. We also watched her potty video "Once Upon a Potty" which every kid I know LOVES. They want to watch it over and over. The song is pretty catchy.

February 23, 2011: We had a breakthrough today and Brooklynn pooped on the potty! So it could have been a little leftover, she made three other teeny tiny turds like this one in her diaper and I could tell she was pooping so I asked her if she wanted to try and go on the potty. To my surprise she said "yes" so I sat her down and all of a sudden she pointed in her potty and said, "poo poo!" so I cheered for her. I'm not sure if it just fell off of her, since I hadn't wiped her yet, but I'll take any victory here. I think the point of it is that she sees that pooping in the potty is really no big deal and it's actually easier than going in a diaper.

March 4, 2011: Brooklynn ACTUALLY pooped in the potty today! It was a big one! (I did take another picture but I'll spare you and not post it.)

March-October: Brooklynn hasn't had too much success. She has been trying...and I'll read her a book and make her push some gas out before turning the page...and she'll get to a point where if it's going to be poop she REFUSES to push any more. And holds it...sometimes for hours on end until I can't sit in there with her any more. I've tried suppositories, enemas, just waiting. I've never seen anything so stubborn.

October 1, 2011
I have resorted to full-out BRIBERY to get Brooklynn to poop on the potty. She gets to open an actual present every time she has a success...and so far? It's WORKING. She's pooped almost every day in a row on the potty just so she can open a present. I'm hoping when we run out of presents she'll be fully trained so I won't have to re-stock. (Or could at least go back to chocolate or something.) Don't worry...all her presents are my free books or the like from the consignment sale. Basically the stuff I'm not saving for Christmas I wrapped up and put out of her reach for this purpose. We have an on-going deal that when she can poop ONLY in the potty (not at all in a diaper or her underwear) for an entire week straight, we'll take her to Chuck E. Cheese. (which we are calling Pizza Planet....from Toy Story.) She's never been to Chuck E Cheese but gets so excited when they go to Pizza Planet like it looks like the coolest place ever. I don't think she knows that there are actual places like that. She's on her way....I'm hoping that happens soon. Lately she's been CHOSING to try and poop, I think she wishes she could go every time so she can open another present.
It's so funny because I swore I'd never even use candy as bribery for potty training and here I am using actual presents. Oh how your views change once you become a parent.

Adventures in Potty Training pt. 3

continued pt. 1

continued pt. 2

We got a new potty book, Princess Potty. It is really cute. My favorite part: "The Princess says, "Hear ye, hear ye, I have to pee-pee." Or "Yoo-hoo, yoo-hoo, I need to poo-poo." I'm sure these will become well-recited phrases in our house in the years to come. :)

We have a great potty movie, "Once Upon a Potty" which I love, especially the Potty Song at the end. And then I have two other potty books Everyone Poops and then The Potty Book: for boys. (Yeah, I know. I had it before I had Brooklynn in case I ever had a boy, it was a freebie. It doesn't really matter, though. The ONLY differences are the main character's name is Henry instead of Harriet and his favorite color is blue, not hot pink. I know because I read ALL the potty books today at the bookstore while Brooklynn played with the train table, including The Potty Book: for girls.) My favorites were Once Upon A Potty which I chose not to get because we have the movie and Princess Potty. It was time to actually get a new potty book. We read them several times a day when we sit on the potty and they are getting old. Plus, since I had both books already, I wanted to get a "special potty treat" for Brooklynn.

Brooklynn finished her first Potty Chart! We are so proud of her! She gets a little stamp on the paper and on her hand every time she pees and then the big flower stamp is for poops. We started with the chart because the ones on her hand washed off instantly when we washed her hands, so I wanted something to keep her motivated. Hey, anything that is free that also helps I'm all about! This actually ended up to be a half-sheet of paper because she likes to (badly) help by stamping the paper on the bottom while she sits there and it is very smudgy. Plus, it fell off the wall instantly because it was on card stock, and I'm thinking too "heavy" to stay up. So it was time for a new one.

Adventures in Potty Training pt. 2

(continued pt. 1)

July 24, 2010-Today Brooklynn was playing in the bathroom while I was using it. All of a sudden she realized what I was doing and then she went over to her potty and tried to pull it out so she could sit on it. So I pulled her pants down and took off her diaper and sure enough she went! This was the first sign of her "telling me" that she had to use the potty. What a big girl.

July 26, 2010-Today I put some rubber stamps and an ink pad in the bathroom. Whenever Brooklynn uses the potty she gets a stamp on her hand. She rubs it right away until it comes off, but this is a fun game for her.

We have also been letting her try and use the potty several times a day. Most of the time she goes right away. When she doesn't have to she just looks down kind of annoyed like, "HEY, I wanted to pee in the potty!" We have been putting her on right before bedtime every single night, I just like to get in the habit of doing this every night.

July 27, 2010-Tonight we bought Brooklynn the kind of potty seat that goes right on the potty. These are SO much easier to use and I love them. I'm excited she can go right into the potty instead of having to dump the pee in the potty from her other potty. It just seems like an unnecessary step.

July 29, 2010-Today Brooklynn went over to the bathroom door and stood there tugging at her diaper. So I put her on the potty and she peed! She is doing SO good, way better than I ever expected from her this soon. Every time she pees a tiny bit at the beginning she starts clapping and gets so excited. It's ADORABLE. She is so proud of herself, and we are proud of her, too.

July 30, 2010-Today the rest of Brooklynn's diapers I just doubled for naptime and bedtime. I figured I would use her other kind that you use the liner and then a reusable outside part during the day because she has been keeping her daytime diapers almost all the way dry. I'm really excited that maybe I won't have to wash her diapers as often. I think I only washed them once last week because they lasted so long! (It used to be every 3 days) I'm pretty far off from trusting her to not wear one when she sleeps. Mostly because that is usually when she poops, and also if she has an accident I HATE changing crib sheets, especially when I'm pregnant. I don't think I will try this until at least after the baby comes or if she randomly keeps her diapers dry the entire naptime and bedtime for like a week or two straight in a row. (She also takes pretty long naps so they get pretty soaked then.)

July 31, 2010-Today Brooklynn pooped in her potty!!! It kinda slipped out and it wasn't a lot but we were all very excited.

August 3, 2010-Today we watched Brooklynn's potty video together. She loved it and was dancing along with them. So fun. At the end there is a parent's guide and one of the questions is "what age should you start" and he said definitely not before the age of 2 and the avg. age is 2 1/2...That is what I was originally thinking I would do but Brooklynn seems to be doing so great should I stop? I'm not expecting her to be able to do all of her bathroom stuff on her potty until about then but she is seriously doing so great I am going to keep doing what I'm doing. I've heard of people really regressing when they start too early, the kids get "burnt out" from trying. I just figured it was trying too much and then not getting any results, but she continues to pee almost every time we put her on the potty. I guess it really is true that every kid is different. Brooklynn has always been trying to act older than she is, just so fast to grow up. :( It's hard for me, but that is just who she is so we're trying to embrace it and let her set her own pace.

Adventures in Potty Training

May 24, 2010-I bought Brooklynn a potty today. I wasn't planning to get one this soon but we were at Ikea and I saw one for really cheap so I bought it.

June 1, 2010-We tried Brooklynn's potty out. I figured since we had it anyway I might as well. Nothing happened, but she sat on it for a couple of seconds. I don't think she thinks it's very comfortable.

June 17, 2010-We have tried Brooklynn's new potty a few times. She sits on it for like 5 seconds, then gets off her potty, squats RIGHT NEXT TO IT and pees. She's kinda getting there.

June 23, 2010-Today Brooke finally peed IN her potty. I think she was excited because she immediately stood up, stuck her hand in the pee and kind of splashed it and then came over to me and wiped her hand on my pants. (All in a matter of seconds before I could stop her from doing any of these things.)

July 3, 2010-Brooke has been doing so well using her potty. She has gone in it at least three times in the last day or two. I am so excited she knows what it's for now.

July 7, 2010-Tonight Brooklynn peed in her potty as part of her bedtime routine...I'm hoping this helps with her nighttime diapers that weigh about 15 pounds in the morning.

July 8, 2010-Today Brooke peed in her potty, then stood up and tried to "help" by picking up her potty (I think to dump in the toilet.) Except with her lack of balance/skill in this area she just dumped it all over the floor, bathtub, magazine rack, etc.

July 15, 2010-Brooklynn has been peeing in her potty almost every time I put her on her potty now. I know she's way too young to only use the potty, but it's encouraging that she knows what it's for and seems really interested in the whole process. I'm also really glad every time when she does b/c it saves one extra diaper/diaper change. I'm so proud of her. I'll probably continue to put her on the potty a few times a day until she continues to stay dry all the time and then we'll kick the potty training in full gear. I'll keep you all updated.