Bribery ahem - I mean Reward
I’ll admit it.
I bribe my kids. Especially for the tough stuff like potty training.
For Delaney, I used M&Ms, gummy bears, promised a Disney Princess Fairytale book (which she still has and KNOWS was her potty training reward) but at the time very little worked.
Same thing with the small dude. While you are wheedling them with the bribes - they aren’t interested, but DAMN - once they succeed, you better be ready to pay up.
We offered Coop M&Ms, Skittles, a trip to the go-carts, ice cream…and the list goes on.
Tonight we paid up - at least for the ice cream - the go-carts? Well that is another day.
(And for the record - Coop does typically appear as if I have brushed his hair sometime this decade….just not tonight)
Potty Training SUCCESS!
It feels like a miracle.
A small one, at least. And one that only a mother who has actually gone through it can appreciate.
Cooper is officially Potty Trained.
{cue marching band music, picture me jumping from the couch to the table with unabashed enthusiasm}
You may remember Delaney tried to teach him. That almost worked. But not quite.
Then we had some success. He would pee on the potty. But that other stuff? Notsomuch.
I made the mistake of putting a pull-up on him to avoid pants full of poop while we were out and about (and no where near a potty). Sooooo…..he figured that was the way to go. For the past few weeks, he’s even been getting the pull-up and putting it on himself when he needed to go.
A twitter friend, Jill, sent me one of her Potty Tots kits to kick start the process. Both the small people LOVED the DVD (it also comes with a darling potty chart and stickers!) and can’t stop singing the song. I finally had to tell them we couldn’t watch it again until Coop was fully trained.
I was afraid it might never happen.
But on Friday, something tipped. He was walking on his tip-toes. He was scared. He was sweating. He even screamed like he was losing a little piece of himself. But eventually he couldn’t hold it any longer.
He pooped on the potty. All by himself.
So we celebrated. He told everyone he saw. And then he did it again. And again. And again.
So, tonight - we said a formal adios to that little potty.
We packed up the pack n’ play. (which we used as a changing table)
And my little guy turned into a big kid - just. like. that.
How Quick Can a 3 year old go?
(A little story from Daddy about this past weekend’s trip to the NYC and The Early Show)
Dear Potty Training Manual-
“Daddy, I have to go potty.” Oh, boy, we’ve all heard these words a thousand times, and they usually are said at the most inopportune moments.
I heard these words this past Friday morning at exactly 7:32am eastern time while getting ‘mic’d’ prior to going on Live National Television on the set of the CBS’ “Early Show”.
Let’s jump in our Delorean and go back in time a few days.
7:32am
Producer Sarah: “Smiths are due on the set in 9 minutes.”
7:32am and 1 second
Cooper (3yr old who is potty training): “Daddy, I have to go potty.”
7:32am and 2 seconds
Daddy (Me): “Oh crap.”
7:32am and 3 seconds
Cooper: “No daddy, pee-pee.”
Ryan (man in charge of making sure we’re on set for our Live Shot at 7:41am): “Oh crap.”
Daddy: “No Ryan, pee-pee.”
Ryan (yelling to no one in particular): “Anyone know a short cut to the restroom?
Editor’s Note: The News Set was located on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid Aircraft Carrier. All restrooms were located in the barracks, 2 flights of stairs down, thus approximately a 4 minute walk from where we were located when Cooper mentioned that “nature was calling…the wrong number.”
Nameless Worker aka “The Savior”: “Yes, I know a shortcut, follow me.”
Producer Sarah: “Ryan, please, please, please have them back here in 6 minutes.”
Ryan: “Oh crap.”
Cooper: “No, Mr. Ryan, I said pee-pee.”
The Savior: “Let’s run.”
Editor’s Note: It was pouring down rain as the Daddy, 3yr old son, Ryan, and the Savior all go running, er sliding across the flight deck towards a back set of stairs. They arrive at the restroom in 10.1 seconds. Carl Lewis would be proud. Cooper sits down on potty.
7:34am
Cooper: “Daddy, I’m having fun.”
Daddy: “Me too, Coop, you kind of have to hurry.”
Cooper: “I like Mr. Ryan, he’s nice.”
Daddy: “Me too, but you really need to hurry, so Mr. Ryan has a job after today.”
Cooper: “I also like Baseball, and candy, and cake, and … “
Daddy: “Coop!!!!”
Cooper: “All done, let’s go”
Editor’s Note: Cooper emptied his entire bladder in less than 24 seconds. The NBA shot clock never buzzed.
7:35am
Daddy: “All done, Mr. Ryan”
Ryan: “Let’s go, please, hurry.”
Cooper: “Mr. Ryan, I like you.”
The Savior: “Mr. Ryan likes you too Coop, now let’s run everyone. Follow me!!!”
Editor’s Note: The quartet scurries up the stairs, skates across the flight deck, and arrives safely with one 3yr old’s bladder on “E” at precisely 7:39am. Two minutes to spare. In TV time, that’s an eternity.
7:39am
Producer Sarah (talking to the still employed Ryan): “Thank goodness. You’re all back. You’re on in less than 2 minutes. You scared the crap out of me.”
Cooper: “No Miss Producer Sarah, I said pee-pee” J
-Cooper’s Daddy
Where are my pants?
Meet the Small Dude.
He just turned three. Loves baseball (hence the helmet), is afraid of, well, just about everything, is ALMOST potty trained (please, please, for the love of ALL THINGS, poop on the potty!), and has recently developed what I consider to be a gargantuan problem.
He keeps taking off his pants.
Naturally, he has to do this when he goes potty.
However, he DOES NOT have to do this in the backyard playhouse.
Nor does he need to STRIP DOWN TO NOTHING when we have friends over.
Do you understand where I am coming from?
I mean, isn’t he cute in clothes? I especially like him in blue…but, I digress.
Don’t get me wrong - he has the cutest little bottom in the world, but seriously??!!?? Do we need to show it to everyone?
Unless any of you tell me otherwise, I am going to ASSume I will be seeing less of his, well, you know….
All that and A Potty Training Coach too!
Big day for my small girl!
She sang, recited Bible verses and took the big walk across the stage.
She is now officially a preschool graduate. How much do you love the hats on a stick?
I didn’t get great video of her on stage because she was waaaaaay in the back, and, well, she is a peanut. But I still loved every single moment!
And, the day only got better.
Coop is on DAY THREE of no accident potty training - except for the whole poop thing. he wants a pull up instead of sitting on the potty.
So, I sent in the coach to twist his arm a little.
She almost had him! Guess we’ll try again tomorrow. Now that she is off for the summer, must put the small girl to work!
Potty Training, Poop and Purple Nailpolish
Just what, do you think, these three things have to do with each other?
Clearly the potty training and poop go together, but what is with the purple nail polish?
The common denominator? The small dude.
He is potty training. Some days he is OUTSTANDING - no accidents at all. Other days (read Today) he just doesn’t give a damn. He isn’t bothered by the pee down his leg (in his shoe or on my carpet). He doesn’t care that he is wet. He would prefer to poop in a pull up. He has the ‘pee’ thing down - when he wants to, but poop - well that is a whole different story.
When I twittered today about hating potty training - someone responded by telling me that ‘potty training is the 10th circle of hell’ - I have to agree. I have not had good potty training experiences. I was foolish enough to think the small guy might be easier. He has other ideas.
I was also foolish enough to think I would be allowed 30 minutes of peace to work out.
Instead - this is what walked into my room.
Looks a bit like war paint, now doesn’t it?
I am happy to report, despite my lack of nail polish remover (seriously?), I was able to clean his face.
Can’t wait for tomorrow’s escapades. Try not to be jealous.
Breaking the Silence.
So, typically, in church you are quiet, no? And you attempt to pass this little unwritten rule on to your children.
Attempt being the key word.
For the most part, I feel ok about a phrase or two being mumbled in a voice slightly above a whisper. However, today, both of my small people decided to speak their minds.
At.Full.Volume.
Coop was first. Both kiddos decided they HAD to go to the bathroom at the same time. Coop is potty-training, so going to the potty is a big deal. A big deal Coop just had to share with the entire congregation, during one of the most silent portions of the Mass.
As we walked back to our seats (everyone else was seated), he spotted Daddy, took off running and yelled, “I WENT POTTY!” Fortunately everyone chuckled. I turned three shades of pink, smiled and shrugged my shoulders. What can a potty training mom say?
Delaney, not to be outdown in the non-whispering department, waited until later in the service. As people are processing to the front for Communion (we are Catholic - and ‘Communion’ is symbolically recieving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ), Delaney - who doesn’t miss a thing, turns to me and indignantly bellows, “Did you see that older girl? How come she gets to have Christ and I don’t? I want Christ, too!” Delaney can’t ‘have Christ’ until her First Communion in second grade. Of course, I was laughing too hard to tell her that at the time.
Maybe next week, we can get back to the whole whispering thing.
