Potty Training Update

It has been 16 days of potty training. Boy, time sure does fly when you are having fun! Maddie returned to school on Monday. I sent her to school each day with 2 pull-ups, 2 pairs of underwear, and three pairs of shorts. One pull-up was for naps, and the other pull-up... Well, if she went through a total of three pairs of underwear and three pairs of shorts, I decided we would put her in a pull-up and the last remaining pair of shorts and call it day. I'm sure at this point everyone (teachers, Maddie and mommy) would probably be done for the day.

The week back at school went very well. Maddie's fabulous teachers took her to the bathroom every 45 minutes and she was very compliant with them. She only had a couple of accidents the whole school week. She never came close to ending a day in a pull-up. Woo-hoo!

I also think we are starting to turn the corner when it comes to asking to go or letting us know she needs to go. On Thursday she told her teacher she had to go to the bathroom. At home, it has been more subtle. If she mentions pee or poop or potty, I've learned these words are not conversation starters, no need to ask a question because a move needs to be busted!

All-in-all, it has been going well. Oh yeah, today was an accident free day which was totally sweet!

Potty Training Boot Camp

I return to work tomorrow which means the Mancini Potty Training Boot Camp is coming to a close. It was a rough start and I thought about bagging it on Monday. After re-reading some materials and chats with some wise people, I decided to continue (after making some adjustments) and Maddie has finished strong. I'm pretty proud of the little gal. We had multiple outings today and she used public bathrooms like a champ. Woo-hoo!

Maddie hasn't learned to ask to go to the bathroom, yet. So, I have to be aware and take her to the bathroom at regular intervals. Luke did the same thing when he was potty training. So, I'm not sweating it because I know it will come over time. The hard work this week has laid a foundation that we can build upon and I'm super excited about that!!

Flowers

The Mancini girls love fresh flowers!!

Crime Scene...

He looks like he should be outlined in chalk. Crazy kid!

BTW, we are still at home and potty training. Maddie is making progress and so is mommy.

Mother's Day 2010

I hope all of you gals enjoyed celebrating all the love and hard work you pour into your families! As for me, I had a fabulous day. We did potty training light (we only worked on it in the morning) and then enjoyed the day at Grandma/Grandpa's house.

The family (I mean Dan) gave me a new iPhone for Mother's Day. This means I now have a video camera in reach at all times. Woo-hoo! What more can a blogging mom ask for? Ha! Below is some video of Maddie getting her groove on in the gazebo.

Potty Training - End of Day 2

Okay, we are at the end of day 2 and I'm fighting the "I'm a big failure" feeling. I hate that feeling because it isn't true but unfortunately so easy to wallow in. If I look back over the day, there has been progress.

Maddie is learning to control her bladder for longer periods of times. She had wet 6 pairs of underwear by 11 am yesterday. The thought of holding it had never occurred to her before. By 10 am today, she had only peed once and it was in the potty. Woo-hoo!! Yeah for bladder control.

The frustrating part is she only peed in the potty once today. Period. As the day wore on, she became more and more resistant to trying to go on the potty. Twice she peed on the floor not minutes after being on the potty. I could sense both of us getting frustrated which isn't good. So, she spent time in a diaper before nap time and after dinner.

I need to remember for the past two years it has been totally acceptable for her to pee in her pants. I'm changing the rules and that will take time for her to learn. Unfortunately, having patience is an area of struggle for me.

So tonight I'm asking questions. Do I push on and do full on training tomorrow? Do we take a break tomorrow, enjoy Mother's Day, and start back on Monday? Do we just bag it for awhile, everyone go back to school and work on Monday, and try again another day? Decisions, decisions. I'll let you know what I decide :)

Potty Training - End of Day 1

Well, the day has come to an end and I'm pretty excited about that. To gain some perspective, I looked back at my post at the end of Luke's 1st potty training day. Maddie has exceeded Luke's first day and not in a good way. Maddie has 7 pairs of underwear and by 11 am she had wet 6 of them. At that point, I put a diaper on her and decided we would pick up after nap time.

She basically had no desire to sit on the potty. I couldn't even reward her with an M&M because she wouldn't sit on the potty long enough to accidentally pee in the potty. Ugh! So, after lunch I decided to give her one M&M and put the full bag on the kitchen counter in her line of sight. She asked for another one. I informed her that she needed to go pee or pooh on the potty to get another one. She cried and threw a fit but I stood my ground. She still refused to even sit on the little potty. What's up with that?

Then something amazing happened. As we were getting ready for her nap, she took off her diaper on her own, climbed up on the big toilet, and went to the bathroom. Woo-hoo! She got her M&M and was so pleased with herself. It took a long time to get her into bed for her nap because she just kept climbing up on the toilet. Stinker!

By the time Dan got home from work, I was pretty done for the day. Potty training Maddie has been complicated by the presence of one Mr. Luke. He is a force when you are just hanging and when you are working on something as trying as potty training... Well, it doesn't make the task any easier. I'm glad Dan is home the next two days and can help keep the Luke-man entertained. This girl needs reinforcements!

Today is the day!

Well, according to the countdown call box there are zero days remaining until we start potty training Maddie. Woo-hoo!

We have big girl underwear, many pairs of shorts, M&Ms, and party horns. We are ready to bring on the day!

Potty Patty's (aka Baby's) Adventures

Potty Patty (aka Baby) had a big day today. She rode to and from school in the Mancini Fam Jam Van.

She also lounged on the potty when she got home.

She maxed and relaxed at the ball field.
Then her day took an unfortunate turn....

Maddie and I tried to give Baby another bottle and that didn't go so well. The water actually leaked out of Baby's head. Apparently, I got the tubes inside of Baby all tangled up last night when I was removing the remaining water. (That is a long story that I won't go into at this time.) I had to basically disassemble her to figure out what happened.

The good news is Maddie really wasn't interested in having Baby go potty and wasn't traumatized at all by the events of this evening.

As for Baby, she has had a rough day and really doesn't want to talk about it. If you see her, it would be best not to mention it all.

Potty Training Prep

Well, according to the countdown call box to the left of this post, there are two days remaining until we officially start potty training Maddie. Woo-hoo! Can you feel the excitement?

In preparation for the big event, I revealed Potty Patty to Maddie this evening. Potty Patty is a doll that drinks water from a bottle, has big girl underwear, and "voids" in the potty when you squeeze her leg. How fun?!?

Of course, Maddie promptly changed Potty Patty's name to Baby and Maddie absolutely loves her. I showed Maddie how we give Baby her bottle, take her to the potty, remove her big girl underwear, and how she pees in the potty. I clapped, blew a party horn, and said, "Yeah, Baby! You peed in the potty like a big girl!"

Maddie then helped me give Baby another bottle. After we were done, I announced that Baby had to go to the potty. Maddie then took her to the bathroom, remembered she needed to remove her underwear (I had to help), and then she placed her on the potty. After Baby went pee in the potty, Maddie clapped her hands and said, "Yeah, Baby!" We also blew our party horns. She is getting it. Yeah!

Maddie did sit on the potty herself and tried to squeeze her own leg to make herself pee. Too funny. I'm not worried about it because we'll be putting all of it together on Friday. I think we're off to a pretty good start.