One month later: an update on Emily's potty training success!
It's been a month since my last update and we actually have some good things to discuss this time around!
* Emily has been waking up completely dry for weeks now and making it to the bathroom in plenty of time to pee in the potty. She is still sleeping in her crib and cannot get out on her own so, she calls out to us "rise and shine, mommy, I need to pee pee!" every morning. She's sleeping 11-13 hours at night so, we think this is a huge accomplishment! We keep two waterproof mattress pads under her fitted sheet to protect the mattress and to ensure quicker clean-up should she have an accident.
* She's also no longer having accidents at Preschool and often times uses the bathroom when prompted by her Teachers. I still pack two changes of clothes, just in case!
* We are still struggling a bit from time to time with poop resistance, though: she holds it in and doesn't go for 3-4 days some weeks, which results in her ruining several pairs of panties each week. *sigh* We're not sure exactly what to do about this other than to just really praise her when she does poop on the potty.
While we have resorted back to prompting her to use the bathroom throughout the day ("Emily, do you need to pee/poop? No? Okay, make sure you keep your panties clean and dry!") and always insist she try to go before leaving home, she has been going to the bathroom all on her own and we are averaging only 1 accident per week, with zero accidents the past week.
We are also still using a reward system that we remind her of throughout the day ("Emily, don't forget you get to wear a pair of your NEW panties tomorrow if you pee/poop in the potty today and don't have an accident." and "Don't forget you get a jelly bean/M&M when you pee/poop on the potty!").
Most recently we've begun to include a consequence system when she has an accident which includes: no reward, no bath to clean up just wipes, and she doesn't get to watch a movie in the afternoon and will instead have to take a nap in her crib. She really enjoys bath time and getting to lay on the couch for 1.5-2 hours every afternoon, watching a movie she picked, instead of having to get in her crib and take a nap which is why we picked these two things as our consequences for her being lazy about using the bathroom.
I'd love to hear from you if you are having similar struggles and/or have some helpful advice to offer!
* Emily has been waking up completely dry for weeks now and making it to the bathroom in plenty of time to pee in the potty. She is still sleeping in her crib and cannot get out on her own so, she calls out to us "rise and shine, mommy, I need to pee pee!" every morning. She's sleeping 11-13 hours at night so, we think this is a huge accomplishment! We keep two waterproof mattress pads under her fitted sheet to protect the mattress and to ensure quicker clean-up should she have an accident.
* She's also no longer having accidents at Preschool and often times uses the bathroom when prompted by her Teachers. I still pack two changes of clothes, just in case!
* We are still struggling a bit from time to time with poop resistance, though: she holds it in and doesn't go for 3-4 days some weeks, which results in her ruining several pairs of panties each week. *sigh* We're not sure exactly what to do about this other than to just really praise her when she does poop on the potty.
While we have resorted back to prompting her to use the bathroom throughout the day ("Emily, do you need to pee/poop? No? Okay, make sure you keep your panties clean and dry!") and always insist she try to go before leaving home, she has been going to the bathroom all on her own and we are averaging only 1 accident per week, with zero accidents the past week.
We are also still using a reward system that we remind her of throughout the day ("Emily, don't forget you get to wear a pair of your NEW panties tomorrow if you pee/poop in the potty today and don't have an accident." and "Don't forget you get a jelly bean/M&M when you pee/poop on the potty!").
Most recently we've begun to include a consequence system when she has an accident which includes: no reward, no bath to clean up just wipes, and she doesn't get to watch a movie in the afternoon and will instead have to take a nap in her crib. She really enjoys bath time and getting to lay on the couch for 1.5-2 hours every afternoon, watching a movie she picked, instead of having to get in her crib and take a nap which is why we picked these two things as our consequences for her being lazy about using the bathroom.
I'd love to hear from you if you are having similar struggles and/or have some helpful advice to offer!
We have been struggling with this around here as well. With a new baby due anytime now, I am ready to be completely done!
ReplyDeleteEmma still wears a diaper for naps/bedtime simply because we haven't been doing this for too long now...probably around 3 months or so. She is finally, as in the last couple of weeks, stayed accident free throughout the day and always wakes up demanding a diaper change.
She is a very sensitive child, so when she figured out that keeping her panties clean and dry made Mama and Papa extremely happy and excited, it was enough incentive to work really hard at it. Sweet. :) We still use M&Ms for pooping, occasionally. But lately she hasn't even been asking for those.
I don't really have any suggestions, but it has been nice to read your tips and similar experiences. Thanks!