Potty Training Cadence!

Where do I even begin with this?  Well I guess I'll start off by saying we're retrying this potty training business with Cadence.  We first started training her at age 18 months as she clearly showed signs of readiness.  As soon as Nixon came though, she regressed slowly back into wearing diapers full-time.  That was a real bummer for us as she was doing really well with going potty by herself.  She would always tell us that she had to go and then one day she decided to say "no" when I asked her if she had to and then proceed to pee on the floor.  But dealing with a newborn and trying to potty train was not realistic and she was already stressed out with the new baby anyway.  So now we're back to square one.

Our approach to potty training is pretty simple really and it worked very well the first time.  When you first start potty training make sure you're schedule isn't busy and that you have time to just stay home for a week.  You'll learn how long they can hold their bladders for and their "cues" so to speak when they're about to go potty and you can catch it before they have any accidents.

Here's what we are doing:
1.  Take all her day-time diapers away and only have her wear cotton panties.  We don't believe in pull-ups as that is just a more expensive diaper and it causes confusion in the child.
2.  Have her little potty in the room she's in at the moment.  Ex:  If she's watching a movie, I'll put it in the living room where she's at and we don't have any accidents.
3.  Have her have accidents in her panties, they don't like the wet, cold feeling and immediately learn not to pee in their pants.  There will be accidents and a lot of cleanup but they learn fairly quickly.  Cadence also does very well without panties and we do a lot of naked time as well.
4.  When we first started potty training we didn't believe in giving her treats for going potty, praise was all she needed.  But this time around we've been giving her one M&M for pee and two for poop and of course a lot of praise.  Feelings of frustration are bound to set in when your child has accidents but we've learned to not be openly frustrated with them as that hinders the progress.  They'll continue to have accidents if they're yelled, spanked, etc.  Just have them help you clean up their mess, change their pants and act as if nothing happened.  I will also explain to Cadence that pee does not go in her panties, only in the potty.  I will also tell her that if she needs to pee or poop to come tell mommy or daddy.

When she is old enough to understand the concept of stickers I will stop using treats and make a potty poster for her.  So far potty training her has gone really well, I just learned that I have to be consistent and not put her in diapers just because I fear she'll pee in them.  Especially at church and going into town.  She has to learn that even if we're at the store that we go to the potty and pee and not to pee in her pants.  Too much switching between panties and diapers and that'll only confuse her.  She is also learning the feeling of a full bladder and will tell me she has to pee, try and go but can't and then 10 minutes later pee on the floor.  It's a learning process and I have to be patient.  She is in cotton panties all day long and even for nap time (as she was waking up from naps with dry diapers), and wears a diaper at night.  I'm hoping to have her day-time potty trained by her 2nd birthday next month, and I know she can do it if I give her the chance to.

Nixon 3 Month Update!!

  

3 Month Stats

Height: 23 in

Weight: 16 lbs

I'll probably say this a million times but where has the time gone?  3 Months has just flown by and my little squishy is getting so big and handsome if I do say so myself. LOL 

What is he doing now?  

1.  He's found his hands and feet and stares at them every chance he gets.

2.  He loves bearing weight on his legs and jumping in his Jolly Jumper. 

3.  He's now tall enough to fit in his exersaucer and just started playing in it.  He likes to try and grab at all the toys.

4.  He coos and talks when smiled and talked at.  He won't just sit there and talk unless he's trying to communicate with someone.

5.  He loves being up and walking, not much sitting down for this momma!!

What is he eating?

He is still breastfed exclusively and boy has this been a trial for us both.  First with his dairy protein allergy and now battling a bad case of thrush!  His allergy is pretty much under control now, I just eat 1-2 servings of dairy per day and sorry if TMI but no more diarrhea and no more blood!!  Praise the LORD!!  He is back down to having 1 maybe 2 stools per day.  The thrush on the other hand is horrible!  Cadence and I never had it this bad.  It hasn't responded at all to Nystatin so now we're going to go at it with Gentian Violet.  We're going to say Buh-Bye to Thrush and hello to Purple People Eater (pictures to follow once we start full treatment).

The plan to attack Thrush:

1) Apply Gentian Violet to nipples before I go to bed  for 5 nights

2) Apply to Nixon's tongue once daily (diluted) for 5 days

3) After each breastfeeding session wash nipples with mixture of vinegar and water solution

4) Try to walk around and air the girls out as much as possible :) (at home of course LOL)

WISH ME LUCK!!

Right now Nixon is wearing size 6-12 month clothing and I've had to adjust his cloth diapers to one size bigger.  Holy smokes kid, slow down!!  It's actually quite exciting, I don't have any anxiety when it comes to his growth.  I had anxiety with Cadence because she was so small!  She still is though and I've come to terms that she is just petite.  He is also a complete momma's boy right now, he won't let anybody hold him.  Cadence was the same way and I didn't mind it as much with her but with Nixon, sometimes it's nice to have your hands free and have someone take him from you.  SHEESH!!  

Sleep Schedule

Naps are sorta all over the place right now, but what I know is he takes 3 large naps/ day.  He sleeps anywhere from 6-9 hours straight at night, wakes up anywhere from 4-6am to feed and goes back to sleep until 7am.  He's been so easy to sleep train and it's been wicked nice!

We love our little squishy so much and it's hard to watch him grow up so fast.  I just want him to stay little forever.  Well that's it for 3 months, ciao!!