We have O-fficially started potty training. We've been doing some pre-training for about 2 weeks now, but we're in it full-fledged now. I bought Caleb's potty seat 2 weeks ago at Target. He thought the best part was the lid and would only sit ON the lid, so I took the lid off and hid it. (I am nothing if not a creative problem-solver.) We also bought 2 books - both of which make flushing sounds. We also have an Elmo potty video and a poster in the bathroom for stickers. I realize that none of this will actually potty train Caleb, but I feel better having some tools in place to make me feel like I'm doing something right. I'll get back to the potty training in a bit, but let me get up-to-date first.
Last Thursday morning, Caleb and I went to Gymboree (the Gym, not the store) for the first time. He loved it! He played until he was exhausted! After Gymboree, we came home for lunch and then naptime. I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday afternoon, so Rudy stayed home with Caleb while I went. When I got home, we went out to dinner. On the way to dinner, Caleb was happily playing with cars in the back and Rudy and I were talking. Caleb suddenly said, "Pepapa." We laughed about how sometimes words just pop into his head and he says them. In a roundabout way we ended up talking about whether or not we are random thinkers/talkers like Caleb. Rudy said that I'm only random when I'm on drugs (referring to some medicine I had taken the night before that made me a little loopy). Caleb piped up from the backseat and said, "Mama on drugs." I about died. My jaw hit the floor and then all I could do was laugh. It was hilarious! Later that night, we were trying to get Caleb to say his name because he's still unexplainably calling himself Sha-Sha. Rudy would say, "C-C-Caleb." Caleb would say, "C-C-Sha-Sha." Finally Caleb got fed up with it and answered, "No! Sha-Sha!" Apparently, he knows that his name is Caleb - he just wants to call himself Sha-Sha.
On Friday, Caleb had his 2 year well visit at the pediatrician's office. After answering about a thousand questions about his developmental skills, we finally saw the doctor. He said that Caleb's weight is really too high for his height, but that he doesn't think it's really a problem, because he's not fat - he's just a solid kid. Caleb's height (33.5") is in the 20th percentile, his weight (32.08 lbs) is in the 87th percentile and his head circumference (50.5 cm) is in the 89th percentile. The doctor just said to make sure we're not giving him too many sweets and to keep him active. He also said that Caleb is just the right age and has all of the skills necessary to start potty training. He told Caleb several times while we were there that he needs to put his pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty.
Caleb's 2-year-old self is wearing me completely out. He has now stopped listening when I tell him to stop running. He has actually run away from me a couple of times (once at the park and once in the front yard as I was trying to get him into the car) and when I tell him to stop, he starts laughing and runs harder. I know it's purely his independence and that he knows exactly what he's doing and I shouldn't let it get to me, but I can't have him running off from me and I certainly can't have him keep running when I tell him to stop. If anyone has a miraculous suggestion for teaching a 2-year-old to listen, I'd love to hear it. Even though I really strive to use more positive reinforcement than negative, we're certainly doing a lot of time out these days! The crazy part about it is that Caleb LOVES to be praised. He eats it up and beams from ear to ear when I praise him and tell him he's a good listener or that he made a good choice. And - sometimes it actually works and he repeats the good choice instead of continuing to make the bad choice. I just have to keep telling myself - He's just two. From head to toe and back again - he's two.
Rudy left for Fordyce to help Mr. L. and the guys at deer camp with some work that they were doing this weekend. Mom came up to visit Caleb and I. She got here Friday afternoon. We did absolutely nothing Friday night. Caleb played and we had leftovers for dinner. On Saturday, Mom graciously got up with Caleb and took care of him while I slept in. When I got up at 9:00, it was too late for us to have time to do much and get back by lunch time, so we decided to stay home until Caleb got up from his nap. He took a good nap and then we hit the road. We spent WAY TOO MUCH time in Gordman's, but got a lot of really great buys. After we shopped, we went to dinner at Outback. Caleb was so tired of being cooped up! He threw a terrible fit when I put him in his highchair. I snatched him up and headed outside so that we didn't ruin everyone in the restaurant's meal. Once he was calm, we went back in and had a nice dinner. After dinner, we had a couple more things to pick up from a couple of stores, so we did those quickly and headed for home. Mom bought some bar stools for us and I spent the better part of the night putting those together. Mom got up and headed for home this morning and Caleb and I went grocery shopping. When we got home, we played for a while and then he took his nap. Rudy got home while Caleb was sleeping.
When Caleb woke up from his nap, the potty training officially began. It was not pretty. We took him into the bathroom and he sat on his potty seat like always. Nothing happened, but he sat for 2 minutes and got his sticker. Then we presented him with his first pair of big boy underpants. You would have thought we were asking him to wear pants made of hot steel. He screamed and threw the Elmo underwear across the bathroom. He was so mad! Finally, Rudy pulled his shorts down and said, "Look, Daddy is wearing big boy underpants. Now you can wear them too." We gave him the option of Elmo or Lightning McQueen. Caleb considered all of this and finally allowed me to put the Lightning McQueen ones on him. He was a little freaked out, but was easily distracted by going outside. I had read in numerous places that letting him run around naked or in just his underwear would allow him to be more aware of the sensation of going to the bathroom. Because we were going outside and I didn't want his boy parts or his bottom getting sunburned - we opted for the underwear. He went outside and played in a t-shirt, a pair of Lightning McQueen underwear and his bright green Crocs. It was hilarious to watch him push his bubble mower around the backyard like that! We set a timer for 30 minutes and when it went off, we went in for a potty break. He has to sit for 2 minutes and then he can get up, wash his hands, get his sticker and go back to playing. After the first potty break, we came back outside to eat popsicles. While he was sitting down eating his popsicle, he wet his pants. Rudy took him inside and changed him, then brought him back out. After a couple more potty breaks, Caleb was playing and suddenly started crying. Turns out he had wet himself again and it scared him b/c he was standing up and his legs got wet. I took him inside, changed him, sanitized his Crocs and we played inside for a little while. I tried to keep him on the tile floor as much as possible, but we have plenty of solution for our carpet cleaner - just in case. One more accident happened outside (no crying this time) while we were getting ready to water our plants. After changing him, Rudy put some shorts on him and they went for a walk. When they got back, it was bathtime. I suggested that even though it hadn't been long since he wet himself, maybe we should try a potty break before getting in the tub. Caleb sat down and was doing fine, so I turned on the bathtub to get his bath ready. Rudy was standing in the doorway of the bathroom and said, "He just did it." I looked to see for myself, but nothing was happening. Then Rudy said, "He's doing it again!" Sure enough - Caleb tee-teed in the potty! Hooray!!!! We cheered like he had won the lottery. He was so excited that we were cheering for him. He gave us high fives and fist bumps and laughed like he was a superstar. When I emptied the potty seat bowl into the big potty, Caleb flushed the toilet and said, "Bye bye tee-tee." I think (hope!) we're on the right track! Our plan is to have him just wear underwear when we're at home and when he's at daycare (they've already agreed to it!), to wear pull-ups when we're in the car or in public places and to wear diapers at night and naptime. I know this seems like a huge ordeal for something that would happen naturallyif we let, but we're really excited to see even a little success this quickly. Since we're all home this summer, we are hoping fervently that we'll be able to have him mostly potty trained by mid-August, when I go back to work. Caleb has the verbal skills to tell us when he has to go potty - we just have to help him learn what that feels like and what to do when the feeling hits!
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