bye bye diapers

i'm still a little bit too afraid to say that 'hendrix is potty trained'

but

he has not worn a diapers for the past ten days.  

and that is most definitely progress, and dare i even say, success?!?!  ;)

the potty journey started a long time ago, but i was very half-hearted about it at best.  he had shown some interest, along with a few signs of readiness like staying dry for long periods of time, and being capable of pulling his pants up and down.  

at that point in time i would just focus on it for  a couple hours at a time, and he would wear big boy underwear around the house, and when we would have to leave for work, errands, or whatever other distraction; i would put a diaper on him and we would pretty much lose any progress we may have made.  in fact, it got to the point where he would just hold it the whole time he had underwear on and wait until i put his diaper back on.  hmmmmm.

fast forward several months to the birth of our daughter and we had serious regression with desire to become potty trained.  he was even more capable, and even more communicative about it; but he was a tad bit jealous of the attention that blaire was getting, and wearing diapers was one way that he was just like her.  he liked to hide to poop, come tell us about it, and then climb up on the changing table himself to get changed.  he would even tell me which color diaper he wanted to wear next (as we cloth diaper so they are bold, bright colors).

i think i finally realized that it was less a capable thing, and more a stubbornness thing when we had a conversation that went like this:

"hendrix, do you want to wear underwear so you can be a big boy like gabe?" 

and he replied 

"mommy, i AM a big boy like gabe, but i want to wear diapers like blaire".  

hmmmmm. 

still, at this point i have a breastfeeding 3 month old that needs quite a bit of attention, and we spend most mornings attending fun activities (like library storytimes, gym playtime and playdates) before coming home for naptime, and then heading off in the car to pick up the kids and run them around to their activities for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  our schedule really didn't seem potty training friendly and i didn't want to battle about it.  i really just didn't.

but daddy had other plans.

similarly to how he decided hendrix was ready to move into his big boy carseat instead of the baby carrier or that he needed to transition to a big boy bed from the crib, daddy just decided we were going to do it one day (without my consultation) and there was no turning back.

i think he recognizes that there is a part of me that will always have a hard time letting go of things that make hendrix my sweet baby boy to let him grow into a strong and independant young boy. 

i will admit though, there was definitely a degree of frustration, maybe even a tiny bit of resentment, on my part that he likes to make changes that require most of the implementation from me (you know, since i am the one that is home with the kids all day monday through friday.....).  

okay, but he was right.

hendrix was ready.

it was time.

so last sunday, we had an ice storm that ruined all of our plans for the day, so it was a perfect opportunity to have all of mommy and daddy's attention and stay close to the potty all day.

per some reading, bud thought we would have the most success if we just put on big boy underwear, made the diaper no longer an option, and reinforced the concept in every fashion we possibly could.  we read books about using the potty, we played apps on the iPad that showed the steps of using the potty, we watched the pull-ups potty training dvd with various songs, games and stories about using the potty, we danced to the potty songs, we lived and breathed talking about feeling the urge and then sitting to wait.

despite spending hours sitting on the potty chair, we went through six pairs of underwear before we even had one successful piddle on the pot.  and that didn't happen until 6:30 p.m.  i was discouraged to say the least.  then we had a couple more little successes that evening followed up by him waking up in the middle of the night crying because he was wet.

i was ready to give up, but hubby said we had to try it for a full week before we knew if it wasn't going to work.  if we couldn't have a completely dry day by then, then he wasn't really ready.  oh brother. 

that second day he only had one accident and that was a poop accident, and then he started telling me when he needed to sit on the potty (in contrast to just setting the timer for 45 minutes and trying all day long).  and that night he stayed dry overnight.  breakthrough!!

the next two days we didn't have any accidents!

since then we have had a few accidents, but that is since we have added pant wearing back into the mix, and have actually left the house; we had to go back to work on day four, we have gone on playdates, and even went to a show at stephens auditorium; all while staying clean and dry!

we have progressed from rewarding for just sitting on the potty, to rewarding when he actually went on the potty, to now rewarding for going periods of time without accidents.  he is so proud of himself and loves telling everyone that he has mickey mouse underwear.  ;)

i still don't think that we have reached a point in which it is easier than him wearing diapers.  he doesn't have much advance warning, and sometimes i have to set blaire down mid-feed to help him.  we have to try before anytime we leave the house which increases my 'getting ready time'.  and i now have to see the inside of every public bathroom whenever we leave the house.  

BUT

it will get easier and better.  

he will get more independent about it.  

and he really IS a big boy now!

in the meantime, goodbye cute little jeans, and hello sweatpants!  lol

my big little guy

  

 Hendrix will be 20 months old next week. 

It just hit me that he is closer to two years old than one year old.  I know he was growing like a weed anyways, but ever since we told him he was going to be a big brother it seems like he has been growing exponentially into a big boy preparing to tackle that role.  

Before i let too much time get away from me, i want to take a moment to reflect on what he is up to right now....

This kid is joyful! He loves to smile, laugh, giggle and just be silly :) he is going through a 'cheesy grin' phase when i bring the camera out, and it often involves squinty eyes and a scrunched up nose. ;)

he plays with enthusiasm and imagination. He loves to hide and is good at staying in his spot quietly for minutes on end.......he adores gabe and wants to imitate everything he does, which most recently includes playing baseball and working on his alphabet.

Hendrix has always been quite a talker, though recently i am seeing his language evolve.  His vocabulary has been strong and full of both nouns and verbs that he loves to share whenever he sees something he knows (like pointing out animals and cars or trains as we drive across town).  

recently he is experimenting with stringing words together like this morning while we were snuggling in bed and he heard an airplane, he said "mama  airplane  fly  look" pointing at the window.  Or later on when he wanted to draw a picture he said "mama  color marker  please".  Obviously we need to work on all those little filler words to form sentences.....but it is fun to see him starting to try!  

He is also getting very good at using his manners without having to be prompted (most of the time) :).  Oddly enough he is also really good with names.  He can name everyone in my family (which is a lot - 11 people!) both in photos and in person, he knows most of his friend's names (though he does do this weird thing where he sometimes calls two siblings by the same name.....), but most importantly he knows the names of all our friends' and neighbors' pets, namely their dogs. 

Arts and crafts is a serious obsession right now.  He can sit with a pad of paper and some crayons, markers or even just a pencil for up to 45 minutes.  He likes to draw and does a pretty decent job at making a circle (and will tell you that is what it is) but also make scribbles and imagines them as other things (like horses or balls).  

He seems to be left-handed dominant right now, though he does color with both hands, and really prefers to have a marker in each hand at the same time.  I am impressed with his recent coordination of the 'pencil grip'. He also adores playdough (making snakes), sidewalk chalk, stickers and bubbles.

He is starting to understand the alphabet and that it is made up of letters, and when he is trying to spell something he says random letters. He knows that his name starts with an 'H' though i am not sure that he recognizes what it looks like yet.  He loves saying 'X'.  

He is learning his colors. The one that he consistently gets correct is yellow, and all the rest he guesses/ mixes up, but we are working on them since he spends so much time coloring.

He loves music.  He likes to play daddy's guitar and our piano, but mostly he just likes listening to and boogeying to tunes on the radio or computer.  He has got some groovy moves and isn't too shy about doing them in front of other people.  

Recently gabe and riley taught him how to wiggle around saying 'shake your booty' and he loves to do that because it usually is rewarded with a chuckle.

He has mastered jumping with both feet off the ground at the same time.....and this has invited a whole world of animal moves pretending.  His imagination is growing as he pretends he is an animal, or a football player, and he loves to turn even the least likely objects (like an open book) into a hat.  What a goofball.

every minute of each day is filled with a new adventure, and i am trying desperately to take it all in, savor each moment, and enjoy what precious time is left as a family of three ;)

oh, and as you might have noticed from some of the pictures.....we have spent some time working on potty training this week......nothing makes your sweet little boy look more grown up than seeing him in big boy underpants!  more to come on that journey later......

i love you, big boy!

the potty diaries

so i am thinking about starting to potty train my 16 month old.

am i crazy?

this is not my idea. 

it is hendrix's

he is the one that has been telling me he is 'poopy'.  he doesn't like poopy pants and wants to be changed right away.  he has been doing that for weeks.  his newest tendency is to tell me that he is poopy when he isn't...........yet.  yes, he seems to recognize that he is going to go.  not every time.  but often enough that it makes me think we should do something about it.

hence the potty chair.

i brought it home this week and it is just sitting in our bathroom.  

we talk about it, we even sit on it (with our clothes still on).  

i think i am going to let him make the first move.

i'll keep you posted.

this might be a wild ride.