Tax Day 2011-Extended to April 18th

If you finished your taxes already, congratulations! If you are stressing out like me, here's some good news-you have 3 extra days this year.  The deadline to file your taxes is not Friday April 15, it's Monday April 18th.  3 days may not be that big of a difference, but it may make you feel a little better if you have been procrastinating.   Either way, you better get started!


The extension is not because of processing delays.  Check out this article to find out more.
CNN.com Article

3 Day Potty Training-Was It Worth It?

So now that it's been 4 months, what's my verdict on 3 Day Potty Training? Can you really do it in 3 days?

Yes, it worked for me!  I'd say 3 days to get it, a month to really feel safe when you're out, but here's the bad news I haven't slept through the night since. 

Potty training was such a success he now wakes me several times in the middle of the night. It's like having a newborn again.  He calls out when he has to go pee.  Which is exactly what you want when you are potty training, right?  Well yes, if you want to say goodbye to diapers and no, if you want to sleep. 

I know some people use pull-ups, but I decided to follow the cold turkey method.  No diapers, no pull-ups and daytime/ nightime training together.  He was doing so well I didn't want to go backward. 

Was it worth it?  I'm not sure.  It was definitely good for my son.  He got it right away.  He wasn't confused by going back into pull-ups, he was developmentally ready and feels a sense of accomplishment.  He's had very few accidents.  He can now go by himself, pull up his own pants, even pour out the mini potty and flush in the day.

As for me, I'm a little sleep deprived and frustrated.  It's been several months now.  I even moved him to a toddler bed so he could go to the potty in his room at night, but he still calls out.

Don't let me discourage you.  It's been great for my son and for me for him to be out of diapers, but when you decide to potty train just make sure you are ready.  Not just for 3 days, but for the long haul.  There are dozens of methods and ways to get to the same place.  Maybe I should have waited for the nighttime training, but no looking back now.  I committed.  Someday I will sleep again.  Isn't that what all moms say?  Good Luck!


UPDATE:  So you'll be happy to know about a month after I wrote this, my son stopped  waking up in the middle of the night (well most of the time).  He can usually sleep thru until about 5:30/6am.  Sometimes he goes potty on his own, sometimes he calls out, I watch him go potty and he goes back to sleep until wake up time-7ish.    So I guess in the end it paid off.  Day and night training took about 5 months.

Here are links to the earlier posts.
Getting Ready For Potty Training
3 Day Potty Training Diary
After 3 Day Potty Training

Products I found helpful

Potty-I liked the BABYBJÖRN Potty Chair.  I have one for each bathroom

Portable Potty-Kalencom 2-in-1 Potette Plus Red.  I love this.  It works when you're on the go and there's no bathroom nearby.  I use it in the back of the car or you can fold it up and take it with you.  It works as a potty with liners or as a seat for big toilets.  Make sure you get extra liners.

   

Piddle Pad for the carseat.-I even got an extra one for the stroller.   Keeps everything dry if you have an accident in the car.
Flushable Wipes-I have them in each bathroom.  My son thinks its fun to use and won't clog toilet.

After 3 Day Potty Training-Now Can We Leave The House?

So 3 Day Potty Training is over.  Did it work?

Potty Training Day 4

It’s the day after 3 day potty training.  I’m so happy.  This morning I was a little nervous. Was he dry through the night?  Was choosing to do day and night training at the same time a good idea, especially since he's still in a crib? My son woke up around 6am and I wasn’t sure if I should take him out to go pee, but I had committed to not going in unless he said he called for me.  I waited, then at 6:20 am,  I hear, "Mommy pee pee".  I rushed in and took him to the potty.  Underwear all dry, crib all dry.  He had made it through the night.  Yea!!!    Is he potty trained now? We'll see.  


A few hours later, I knew it was time again, but now it’s up to him.  I had to use the bathroom and asked if he wanted to go.  He said no.  I reminded him to tell me if he had to pee.  15 minutes later he said mommy pee pee... and off we went and he did it again.  Pee and Poo with no accident.  He still is not into pulling up his own underwear and pants. We’ll work on that.  So far so good.  Now for the real test in a few hours we are leaving the house.  I’ll give you an update later.

So we left the house and it was fine.  I asked him and he didn’t want to go in the bathroom, but later we ended up using the portable potty in the back of the SUV.  The rest of the day went great-no accidents!

Potty Training Day 5

So this morning I heard him stiring around 6am, but I didn’t go in.  I wanted to see if he would call if he needed to pee.  He didn’t and when I went in a little later he was wet. That’s okay.  He finished peeing in the potty when he got up.  So is it going to be like this from now on?  Should I have used pull ups instead?  Since he’s still in the crib.  I guess I’ll just have to get him earlier to go pee.  No more sleeping in.  So the trade off for potty training right now is he’s getting less sleep.    It takes him longer to go down.  He’s  usually out by 7pm.  Now it takes until 8pm, because we want to make sure he has an empty bladder.  We have a few false alarms and I have to go back into his room several times before he  finally goes to sleep.     Now the real test.  Today he goes to preschool.  Will it work with all that activity and other kids around?


So he had an accident at school, but was fine the rest of the day and told me when he needed to go.  We're also getting the hang of the portable potty.  He got a little distracted, but were getting there.  So I’d say 3 day potty training is a success. 


But stay tuned.  Potty training is not over yet.  Tomorrow I will give you the wrap up now that 4 months have passed.

3 Day Potty Training Diary

Potty Training -Day 1
Friday

Good morning! As soon as he woke up, it was time to say goodbye to the diaper.  I had him pick out his underwear.  I took off the diaper and he threw it away.  No more diapers, you're a big boy now.  He said good bye.  Here we go! So we hung out in the house all day with no diaper and no distractions.  My sole focus was to pay attention to him and get him to the potty if he needed to go.    I reminded him to keep his underwear dry and to tell me if he had to use the potty. I did this every few minutes. We had a few accidents in the morning.  We didn’t quite make it to the potty on time.  That’s ok, but at least he was trying.  I had a few successful attempts.  He told me he had to go pee and we ran to the potty.  Over and over all day.

The major challenge came at nap time.  He started freaking out.  He didn’t say he wanted his diaper back, but he did say he didn’t want underwear on.  It took a few bribes before we could get him in his crib with underwear. Good news he did use the potty before sleeping so he made it thru nap time dry.

Then we had a few success and a few misses.  Not too bad for something I had been dreading for so long.  The hard part was getting him to sleep. It took about an hour longer than normal. He still wasn’t used to wearing underwear and since we were potty training, I had to give in and go back into his room everytime he called.  This happened about 5-6 times, but finally he went to sleep.  Will he make it through the night? Seems like an awful long time.  So for the first night we helped him along by going in at about 5 am   (1 1/2  hour earlier than usual) as soon as I heard him stirring.     We put him on the potty and he peed and then went back to sleep.  I was amazed.

Potty Training Day 2
Saturday

The day went  well.  Since it's the weekend I enlisted my husbands help. Not as many accidents, but he had one poop accident -not so fun!  We just continued to remind him all day to tell us when he had to use the potty and as soon as he did-showered him with praise.  I called my mom, we cheered, we danced, we hugged, gave stickers.  Over and over all day long.   Its was all pee and poop all day long.  It seemed to be working, but it was hard to keep him focused.  

Potty Training Day 3

He’s doing so well.  He seems to be getting it.  But we need to get out of the house, we're going stir crazy. Tomorrow is the real test!

Potty Training-Tales from the Potty

My son is now 2 1/2  and is potty trained.  Yea!  Moms keep asking me how I got there.  So now that it’s been about 4 months since I did 3 day potty training, I think I have a better perspective to share the good, the bad and the poopy.  

There is no one right way.  I think it really depends on your child, how much time and commitment you have, and if you have other children.

Here are few links to help you find what is best for you and your child.
Baby Center Advice
Dr. Sears Advice
3-day Potty Training

I did 3 day potty training-which is basically going cold turkey!  No more diapers-not even at night.   Here is the basic rules-you throw away all the diapers in the house, dress you child in big kid underwear, give him liquids, and rush him to the potty when you catch him in the act. Within those first three days of staying home and being positive and focused on your child, something is supposed to "click" and your child will just get it.

This week  I am going to share my potty training diary.  Follow me on my journey.

3 Day Potty Training Diary-The Day Before:

So after putting it off for months, I have decided to do 3 day potty training this weekend.  My son has been ready,  but I wasn’t ready.  With a 9 month old I didn’t have the time or the commitment, but this is the time.  He is 2 1/2 and has all the readiness signs.   I have been gradually getting him ready since he was 18 months old.  We got books, had pottys in the bathroom, showed him how to use it, had stickers and rewards but I never pushed anything and didn’t use any particular method.  I hoped eventually he would just get better, use the potty more often and stay dry.  Didn’t happen.  In fact he got worse.  Not only did he not use the potty, he wouldn’t even tell me when he had a poopy diaper.  We were going backward.  It was time to take away the diapers and let him have a chance to be a big boy.

I was anxious.  I told him soon there would be no more diapers and we would be wearing underwear.   He was excited. He said," Like Calliou and his friend in preschool!"  I said, "Yes, you are a big boy now".  So we made it fun.  We went to the store and bought dozens of pairs of underwear.  Trucks, Elmo, Dinosaurs, Thomas. you name it.  Then I bought stickers, poster board for a reward chart, and a few inexpensive prizes and lots of books and games to keep us busy for 3 days without leaving the house.

I lined the couch where he sits and his crib with a waterproof mattress pad, stocked up on rags, carpet cleaner and clean pants and pjs. Tomorrow it is go time!  See you then.