Potty Training Part 1

Hunter is now 2 years and almost 3 months old and while we have been working on potty training since before his 2nd birthday he is still not fully potty trained. This really doesn't bother or stress me out very much because I know that boys can often times take longer than girls to potty train and I know that eventually he will be potty trained. I've yet to meet someone who went off to college still wearing diapers. Since this is basically my journal and keepsake of the main events in our lives I wanted to write a little about the potty training journey so far.

A couple of months before Hunter turned 2 they started putting him on the potty at daycare. They would sit him on the little toilet in the room throughout the day but he very rarely went. We had bought both a small potty to sit on the floor and a seat adapter to go on the big toilet for our house so that he could try both options and we would occasionally sit him on both. I didn't want to really even push it at home until he started going more consistently at daycare. I will say that one of the benefits of daycare is having them help with potty training and makes it even more worth all the money we are paying them. I figured if he got used to going there during the day than it shouldn't be that hard to get him to go at home. I was wrong.

After he turned 2 and moved into the Preschool 1A class he had to start wearing pull ups instead of diapers and they were more consistent with making all the kids sit on the potty every hour unless they showed signs of needing to go even sooner. Not long after he turned 2 and moved to the new class he started going more often while at daycare. Typically he will go pee in the potty between 1-4 times a day while at daycare. He has only pooped a few times and that was just because they were able to catch him and get him to the potty in time. He no longer cries or gets upset when he goes at school. He has even gone while standing up "like daddy". They give the boys the option to either stand up or sit down since some do better with one way vs. the other.

Now when he's at home he will NOT pee or poop on the potty. We've tried using the small one on the floor and sitting him on the big toilet. He will sit for a few minutes then say "All done" and ask for his diaper. We've tried giving him books to read and the iPad while he sits there but he will only sit for a few minutes before insisting he gets off. I don't want to force him to stay on it and make it a traumatic experience so I don't fight him too much if he asks to get off. He will even tell us he needs to use the potty but he will hold it until he has his diaper back on. So at least we know he has the ability to hold it. And he will tell us before and after if he needs to or has already gone. But for some reason he just won't do it at home.

We've tried bribing with candy and toys but that hasn't worked either. I know part of the problem is that we aren't as consistent with sitting him on it every hour the way they do at daycare so that's definitely our fault. I really think if he can just go even once or twice in the potty at home that will get him over whatever fear or hang up that he's having with it and he will start going more consistently. I think this based on other "fears" he's had with things. Once he does something once and sees that it's not scary or a big deal he's totally fine.

So I finally went out and bought him some underwear and I'm hoping if we start putting him in that after he has a few accidents it may help inspire him to go in the potty because he won't like being wet and he will get upset if he ends up peeing on the floor or couch. I'm also going to try a reward chart to see if having something physical to look at to track his progress will also help him. It's much harder to do this when we aren't home with him all day everyday but I'm hoping maybe after even doing it a couple days over the weekend we will get some improvement at home. I would like to have him fully (daytime) trained by the summer but if that doesn't happen I'm not going to stress it too much. To be honest I'm a little nervous to give up the convenience of diapers and not having to worry about rushing to find a bathroom if we're out in public or driving in the car.

Friday Five

1. I can't seem to stop buying Hunter Spring/Summer clothes. I justify it because I don't have much of a choice, he's outgrown all his clothes and shoes from last year so he actually does need a whole new summer wardrobe including shoes, swimsuits etc. The problem I'm having is sizing, right now he wears a 2T but I'm afraid if I buy everything in a 2T he will outgrow it before the end of the summer. But 3T is HUGE on him so I'm trying to buy a mix. 

2. I hate medical bills. Really. We have a $5,000 deductible with our insurance policy because we're on the family plan and thanks to Kristian's surgery/MRI/Pain meds etc. we have definitely hit our deductible for the year but we're having to pay a lot of money out of pocket and the bills just keep coming. I'm really hoping for a good tax return to help offset some of these costs.  On a good note, he had a follow up appointment with his doctor who assured him that the pain and knots he still has in his back are totally normal and will slowly go away over time it's just going to be a very slow healing process. At least now he's allowed to pick up Hunter again. 

3. This past Monday, St. Patrick's Day, we got MORE snow, close to 10 inches. This wouldn't be a big deal if we lived in North Dakota but we live in Northern VA. It practically never snows in March let alone 10 inches. I have to admit I kind of love it. Yes I'm sick of the cold but I love staying home and playing in the snow with my little dude. He is OBSESSED with snow. We stayed out for an hour on Monday and he ran around and played while we shoveled and cleaned off cars. He even tried to help clean off our neighbors car. We are supposed to get even more snow next week! Nuts!

 

4. One thing Hunter is NOT obsessed with right now is bath time. He HATES it. It started a couple weeks ago when he accidentally peed in the bathtub. He got very upset and cried, even though we didn't scold him and told him it was okay, accidents happen. Since then every time we give him a bath he screams and cries and won't sit down and just tries to get out the whole time.  I always make sure the water isn't too hot or too cold.The only thing I can think is that he's scared he's going to pee in the tub again. I always let him sit on his potty while the tub fills with water and have even told him if he pees in the tub it's okay. Last night I even gave him a bath in our tub thinking maybe he wouldn't be so scared and have the same association with it but no luck. Not sure what to do at this point. 

5. I've been trying to work out more, nothing too crazy but I try to get in about 30 minutes of something 4 days a week, whether it's walking on the treadmill or just doing some squats and crunches. I'm really trying to tone up a bit before summer and I find that it seems to be helping me sleep better at night.

SWW

This week I'm saying So What if:

-I tried doing a sock bun for the first time today. I've seen this all over the Internet for MONTHS but never tried it until this morning. And yes I cut up one of my husbands socks to do it. It actually worked really well and looks good except I'm not used to having such a big bun on top of my head. 

-I can't seem to stop ordering summer clothes online for Hunter. Granted I don't have much of a choice because the kid DOES need new clothes for the spring/summer since he's outgrown everything. Fortunately I've been able to get some good deals and use a few old gift cards so I haven't spent TOO much money. 

-Having to order everything in a 3T to insure it lasts him through the summer makes me want to cry a little. 

-I stayed up past my bedtime on Monday to watch that trainwreck of a Bachelor finale. I actually think it's more realistic to not propose or even say I Love You to someone after only dating a few weeks (while simultaneously dating other women) BUT Jauny P really was a dick about how he handled the whole situation. Clare dodged a bullet and Nikki needs to run far away, even his own family was trying to warn them away from him. 

-If this past weekend was the first time I've washed a car (by myself with an actual hose and stuff) since I was a little kid helping my parents wash their car. Usually I just go through the car wash or have Kristian do it but he can't really do it while he's recovering and I didn't want to wait in a 2 hour line with every other person wanting to wash all the snow/salt off their cars during the nice weather. I also wanted to clean out the inside of the car which I did and it's SO much nicer now. 

-I'm a bit obsessed with wearing my husbands shirts around the house and to bed, there are two in particular that I love to wear and we will literally fight over them. I try to tell him that wearing them just makes me feel close to him. haha. They are actually just super comfy. 

-I'm incredibly frustrated that Hunter refuses to go on the potty at home. He apparently has no problem going at school and will go multiple times a day but won't do it at home. He sits on it fine and will even ask to sit on it but after a minute or so he says "All done" (without having done anything) and ask for his diaper (and then go in the diaper). I don't want to force him and make it a traumatic thing but it's getting annoying.

-I FINALLY finished Hunters 2 year photobook. Now I'm just waiting for a sale before ordering. I refuse to pay $100 for it. 

Friday Five

1. We got hit with another snowstorm on Monday so I worked from home Monday and Tuesday. As much as I say I would love to work from home on a permanent basis I really don't think I would enjoy it everyday. I do actually like coming into the office and talking with my coworkers and getting a change of scenery. With that said in my ideal scenario I would love to work from home 2-3 days a week. Unfortunately it's not really an option at this point.

2. Kristian is doing well since his surgery. He's still dealing with pain and likely will continue to have pain for a while but it's gotten much better and he's been able to cut back significantly on his pain meds. He plans to go back to work on Monday and just ease back into things. It will be nice having him able to help out around the house again.

3. One of my husbands best friends is getting married 4th of July weekend down in the Outer Banks, NC. While we are both looking forward to a weekend beach trip for the wedding we are dreading the ridiculous holiday traffic we are bound to get caught in on the way there and back.

4. I finally finished reading the Divergent trilogy. Overall I enjoyed it. I definitely liked the first book the best and the third the least. I know there is a lot of strong opinions over how the series ended and without giving away too many spoilers I will say I was okay with WHAT happened but I didn't really like HOW it happened. Also, I think a lot could have been edited out of each of the books and still kept the storyline moving. All that said I do really want to see the movie later this month.

5. The other night we were eating dinner and Kristian looked at Hunter and said "I love Hunter" and Hunter replied "I love daddy!". So then I looked at Hunter and said "I love Hunter" and he replied "I love daddy!" I did it multiple times and got the same response everytime. I told him I would remember that the next time he asked me for candy. Punk!