I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Pea just refuses to stop and have her diaper changed. It’s infuriating. She will run around, stinking up the joint, and when one of us asks her if she has a poop, she will defiantly answer “no.” And we know she does, so we take the opportunity to explain to her that 1) lying is not nice and 2) spending the afternoon in a stinky, soggy and poopy diaper is just not good for her delicate skin.
Tonight was the last straw. My husband went to change her and she had such a bad diaper rash that there was some blood on a few spots from the irritation. We lubed her up with lots of Desitin and put her in a fresh diaper. We skipped the bath because we know from past history that a bath + diaper rash = agony.
We have also resolved to begin potty training. Now. We ordered a book called “Toilet Training in Less Than A Day” on the recommendation of my friend Nona, and it should arrive tomorrow. She’s had great success with it, and I trust her judgement.
Of course, when I say we have resolved to start potty training, what I mean to say is that we agree to start potty training, but that it’s really just me who’s going to have the joyous task of doing it because my husband is jetting off to London tomorrow for the remainder of the week.
Lucky me.
I just hope I have the resolve to do this alone. I have so little patience these days to begin with and so while I know this is really important for my daughter, that she just has to learn how to use the potty, I also know that I am not Wonder Woman and that this is most likely going to end up with one of us in tears.
I’ll just bet it’ll be me.
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Hi! I just found your blog from the sidebar on my gmail. Way to go!
Two things: I used Toilet Training in Less Than a Day with three children and it works!!! Love it. I need to use it on #4 now, who is a bit over two and really needs to get trained. Rash problems as well.
Also, I love the Eats, Shoots and Leaves! Of course, I am a grammar nerd. I just love grammar…and school supplies. And there is a children’s version of the same which is great…my children actually get it!
Fun blog!
doh! just ignore. i haven’t been around too long and didn’t realize the ages of your babes.
godd luck!
btw… the elmo potty movie is what pushed dd1 over the top. i am NOT an elmo fan, but it is a really neat little movie and she loved it. i credit it with getting us over the hump from “pretending” to use the potty to actually doing it.
How weird… I just posted about this today and asked for any suggestions on good how-to’s. I’ll have to order this one!
If any of you end up in tears, I bet it will be both of you and not just you. That said, maybe Pea is ready and maybe not. Maybe she just needs some guidance about what to do when that poop fills her diaper? Don’t know, but good luck!
Hey Melissa!!
Pea is going to totally rock it out with potty training. It sounds like she’s ready!! I was shocked and surprised at how quickly potty training went for Kendall. I’m the kind of person that kind of just “wings” things so I just put her in panties when I felt she was ready (and she’d expressed a little interest) and just planned to be home for a few days. If I did have to go out I put her in a pull-up. And we made a huge deal of going to buy panties and pull-ups as I explained they were for big girls….blah, blah, blah. I’m sure you’ve got the shpeil down.
With all that lovliness said, I will fully admit that I am not above bribery. (for all of you out there who don’t agree…please…reserve your judgement) When she went potty for the first time I rewarded her with a new book. After a few days she was running to the potty herself and going.
When she pooped on the potty for the first time I gave her this: Penelope Peapod that I’d purchased in Vermont while on vacation last summer. I’d put it away in our ’stash’ closet holding it for a grand occasion and in my opinion, that was it.
The other thing that worked really well for us was having a potty in her bedroom and in our main room/living room – which is where we spend a lot of our time. I didn’t have these at first and I found that she was getting stressed about making it to the bathroom on time. So I bought 2 stand alone potties from Target (just the house brand – nothing fancy) along with 2 boxes of the flushable wipes and set them out for her. I was SHOCKED when very quickly into the process I’d leave the room for a few minutes and come back to her sitting on the potty reading a book or watching a show or whatever. I still have one in her room for the middle of the night and intend to put one back in the living room when it’s Ty’s turn this summer.
You’re going to do great. Have faith in Pea but also yourself. You’re an OUTSTANDING Mumma.
XOXOXOXO
Meredith
GOOD LUCK!!! Please keep us posted and let us know what you think of the book. My husband is antsy to get Bear potty-trained by the time he’s 2, but I’LL be the one doing it, so we’ll see…!
It is so fast, you won’t need to have much patience! Chocolate and Amy’s cheddar bunnies were our reward for “clean” pants. It will be over before you know it.
I Used potty training rewards. The audio and chocolate treats were powerful inecentives to fully potty train our son. He loved pushing the button hearing he is a Big Boy. He was peeing and pooping in his potty withih a week. Have a look and see if this would work for you. http://www.pottytrainingrewards.com
My girls have had very bad diaper rashes. My advice…
Use non-bleach diapers like Seventh Generation.
Have your doctor prescribe you Nystatin or use something over the counter like lotriderm.
Aveeno oatmeal baths every night until it goes away. Stay in the tub as long as possible.
Keep diaper off as much as possible for air.
Lots of Triple Paste or Desidan
I remember Dylan went through a phase where she threw a tantrum every diaper change. it is so frustrating. Just a phase. So don’t stress if the potty training doesn’t work right now. Maybe some kind of incentive for NOT throwing a tantrum when it’s time to change the diaper. Good luck.
I’m not sure how I came across your blog, but have been enjoying it for the past month.
I can completely relate to the potty-training-all-by-yourself situation; much the same in my household. Good luck!
Please let me know how it goes – We got the book you mentioned from a friend and after reading it, decided it wasn’t a good fit for us. That being said, using my oh-so-insightful methods, Josh is no closer to being potty trained than when we started this whole PT caper nearly 9 months ago…
So. We are getting desperate and will try anything. Please keep us posted.