29 months - update/ Working on Potty Independence in a Toddler

As we proceed with post-EC potty independence I've been talking to Jonah more
about pottying, about wearing underwear, about how his cousins potty, singing
songs about going poop, offering more, etc. I haven't put a lot of pressure on
him, just tried to keep the dialogue going.

He just started to use the BabyBjorn Little Potty, the one that he has refused
to use since 7 months old. It had been sitting in his room where he could see it
the whole time, and I had talked to him about how he could use it for potty if
he wanted to and showed him how to sit on it but he didn't want to. Given his
lack of interest in using it I put it away in his closet as it was just
collecting dust. He found it in the closet a few days later and brought it out
again so we have been trying on that potty some before bed. Before that, and
ongoing, he will use the toilet with a seat reducer.

----

We've had a sudden big breakthrough this week. J randomly on Sunday started
saying "no dipe" and didn't want to wear one to bed. Sunday morning he had been
dry overnight and he was so emphatic about not wearing a diaper when he was
going to bed that night that I just put some cloth diapers under the sheet on
his bed (just in case) and let him sleep with just cotton knit pants on (his
choice). I had heard that they let you know when they are ready to have more
control.

Indeed he was dry when he woke up Monday morning. But then he refused to go
potty in the morning. He didn't want a diaper and no potty. Oh brother!
Eventually, while playing with his cars he started to wet and I was able to
finish him off on the BBLP.

The rest of yesterday, until evening, he resisted wearing a diaper. Yes, he wet
himself some, but not too badly. I think also, with the heat wave we are having
now in Seattle, that perhaps he just doesn't have to go as much as his body is
sweating so much to stay cool. At any rate, I'm thinking we are starting to
cross a line into potty independence. With no diaper on he is also happy to put
his pants on by himself, or try on his underpants -- but he won't wear both
together. If this keeps up we are just going to have to spend the week outside a
lot, to keep from having accidents in the house, until he gets the whole thing
figured out.


And then today, he was home with my partner this morning and three times told
him that he had to do pee-pee I(including once, while at the grocery store).
Today we got him into underpants and shorts. Though each time he had actually
already wet himself, each time he did want to get undressed and sit on the
toilet. The amount he wet himself was gradually decreasing each time and he was
able to pee more on the toilet.

It is really exciting to have it finally coming together.

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Tips and Tricks

I talk to Jonah a lot about listening to his body, and that we don't want to
wait to poop until it is an emergency. Last weekend he started doing his little
poop jig, saying "no!" to his body of all things, as he tried to hold it in. I
told him again that he needs to listen to his body and his body was telling him
he needed to go poop. He still was resistant but then we talked about how we
couldn't go to the pool if he had to poop and he probably wouldn't want to poop
at his cousins' house (something we were discussing). Quickly he agreed and we
got the entire affair into the toilet. With my partner and our afternoon sitter
he will only go in his diaper.

I praise him when he goes for doing a good job of listening to his body.

He only poops every 3-4 days but it can really overwhelm him and he fights it.

We also sing a song on the potty that I made up. It goes like this:

Everybody goes poop poop
Mama goes poop poop
Dada goes poop poop
Jonah goes poop poop
Everybody goes poop poop! poop poop!

and then we run through all our family, his friends and animals.

Another song is this, to a mambo type rhythm:

poo-poo in the potty!
poo-poo in the potty!

When he's sitting on the toilet we do that song/game from camp called
Concentration... (you slap your knees and chant)

Concentration, are you ready?
if so, let's go
starting with, names of...
CARS (his preference)

Then we run through names of all the car brands and types. This has actually
turned into a big daytime activity -- wandering around the neighborhood,
studying cars (logos, hubcaps, tail lights, and types).

It helps to have something interesting to do while on the toilet (so I've
learned here) and that was the best I could come up with.

I hope this is helpful for others. I'll report more as we make more progress.

potty learning updates

We did part-time EC with J starting at 9 weeks, but then he fell off the wagon last summer as his ego emerged and he needed to have more ownership of his elimination -- but his body wasn't ready yet. Its been touch and go for the past year. I praise him when he goes for doing a good job of listening to his body.

He only poops every 3-4 days but it can really overwelm him and he fights it.

What I've been talking about with J, as we are now working on training again, is how he needs to listen to his body, and that we don't want to wait to poop until it is an emergency. Today I was with him and he started doing that little poop jig, saying "no!" to his body of all things[L]. I told him again that he needs to listen to his body and his body was telling him he needed to go poop. He still was resistant but then we talked about how we couldn't go to the pool if he had to poop and he wouldn't want to poop at his cousins' house. Finally he agreed and we got the entire affair into the toilet. With my partner and our afternoon sitter he will only go in his diaper.

We also sing a song on the potty that I made up. It goes like this:

Everybody goes poop poop
Mama goes poop poop
Dada goes poop poop
Jonah goes poop poop
Everybody goes poop poop, poop poop

and then we run through all our family and his friends and animals.

When he's sitting on the toilet we do that song/game from camp called Concentration...

Concentration, are you ready?
if so, let it go
starting with, names of...
CARS (his preference)

and we run through names of all the car brands and types. This has actually turned into a big daytime activity -- wandering around the neighborhood, studying cars (logos, hubcaps, tail lights, and types).

It helps to have something interesting to do while on the toilet and that was the best I could come up with.

19.5 months -- a little breakthrough

I wanted to give an update on our progress, or lack thereof, as we have been in an extended potty pause.

I've been continuing to offer with no pressure just things like:

"Let me know if you need to go potty"
"Here is where the potty is. If you need to go just let me know"
"We don't pee [whereever the miss was]. We pee in the potty"
etc.

I really can't thank my local diaper-free baby group enough for the knowledge that this is just how things can progress and we're not doing anything wrong. It has been so helpful to understand that he is reorganizing himself. In some ways I wonder if I would have been as tuned in to this big developmental reorganization stages (and others prior) without practicing E.C. -- it gives such a clear view into the complex changes our little ones are going through.

So anyway, last night when he was in his bath I reminded him not to pee in the bath, and he pointed to the potty to let me know that was where to go. After I got him dried off and dressed he was passing gas and I asked him if he had to go potty, if he had to have a poo and he answered "Dat." Which meant yes, I got it spot on. I said let's go and then he headed down the hall and went to the toilet.

I helped him get the seat reducer in place and he indicated that he wanted me to help him undress (and with some urgency). I helped him on the toilet and after a few minutes he went and announced "I-doot" which for Jonah means "I did it". I double-checked and he told me he was all done. He barely let me wipe him off, almost like he thought that if he hadn't soiled himself he didn't need to be cleaned off. It was all good though. I'm so pleased but I tried not to make too much of it. He seemed pleased with himself as well.

I was reminded of our early successes which started with #2 so I'm
feeling like maybe soon we will have a bit of a renaissance.