Doing Her Nights

I wish I could say Eloise was 'doing her nights' in the sense that she sleeps 12-hours straight, but unfortunately that's untrue. She is still mildly challenging to put to bed and every night, without fail, she wakes between 12-3am and ends up coming to sleep with us. It's become such a routine some nights I don't even notice she's there, I just wake up in the morning Eloise is between Chris and I, demanding breakfast.

What Eloise is doing during her nights is wearing panties to sleep without a problem. This is a new thing that started while I was in Toronto and we are now at a point where Eloise downright refuses a diaper for bed. She continuously wakes up dry, and thank goodness for that because Eloise's nightly visit to our bed would be much less welcome if we all woke up to wet sheets.

Number twos are still challenging, but with persistence and a little more bribery we'll getting there as well.

Possibly Potty Trained

I had just finished telling a girlfriend that Eloise was all but potty trained when she waddled up to me and announced she had pooped in her panties. This has become a regular occurrence. Eloise is no longer wearing diapers during the day and has shown a great amount of bladder control but poo is still a struggle. She is diaper free when we're out and about and is no longer afraid of public toilets, even if the cleanliness of some washrooms make me cringe. Eloise is even wearing panties to naps and it's only a night that we leave her in a diaper as a precaution though nine times out of 10 she wakes up dry. We're almost there, the only hold back are those tricky number twos.

Suddenly a few weeks ago Eloise started asking to use the potty with more frequency and it wasn't long until she agreed to go pee in public bathrooms too. This may have corresponded with our admittance to preschool for September (!) and that fact that I told her there are no diapers allowed in preschool or dance class, neither of which is true. It also helps that two of her BFs and soon-to-be classmates are fully potty trained. A little guilt trip - "you don't want to be the only one in a diaper, do you?" - never hurts.

But poo remains a challenge. I suppose the sensation of letting go must scare Eloise because she continues to go in her panties even if we try our best to catch her. Chris has had more success than me but I am confident that this, like potty training as a whole, will come. And hopefully before September.

Potty Bribery

Forget stamps and stickers and potty songs, the answer all along was M&Ms.

I tried rewarding Eloise with an M&M after she used the potty just once and since then she has filled nearly three potty charts with stickers, worn less diapers and had only a few accidents. It makes sense, if I knew that someone would give me a chocolate every time I use the bathroom I'd be agreeable to the idea too.

We made leaps and bound with potty training while on vacation last week (potty came too, of course) and Eloise has become more aware of needing to go and letting us know right away so we can rush to the bathroom. She even woke up a few mornings with a dry diaper and went right to the potty for a pee. Her timing is not always great - the urge to pee often happens when we're eating dinner or just about asleep at bedtime - but she has learned that I will rush off from whatever we're doing to get her on the potty.

Number twos are more difficult and Eloise often just sits there and says, "it's so hard, Mama," before giving up for the time and going back to playing. But when she does go she is so proud of herself and even a little surprised that she managed to do 'that' in the potty. We make an especially big deal about poos, cheering, high fiving and Eloise earns two M&Ms.

Do I feel good about bribing my child with candy to get her to use the potty? Not really. But it just works so well! Chris initially bristled at the idea of feeding our toddler chocolate before her breakfast or after she brushed her teeth, but my feeling is meh, if it's going to get her potty trained, can a little chocolate be that bad?

Once Upon a Potty

Remember the book Once Upon a Potty from when you were little? I do. So when I spotted this 80s-era gem at Superstore a few weeks ago I scooped it up in hopes that Eloise would take to it.

Classic, right?

And she has! Eloise likes the book so much that we read it every day and on Sunday we had what may be a breakthrough with the potty in nearly a month. We've had lots of naked time recently as Eloise is what I'd call a 'free spirit' and in her nakedness I think she has realized that there is nothing to hold onto any wetness. Running around naked the other day Eloise elected to use the potty. She managed to pee not once, but twice on the potty that night so we did a string of happy dances and covered her in stamps. We also found a cute potty chart (thanks Pinterest!) and some of her 'ol fave, Nemo, stickers to mark off her progress.

{pinterest}

Today I was on my way back from meeting a client and called my Dad at home to check in on Eloise. While we were on the phone Eloise started to pee but stopped and successfully made it to the potty, all on her own. She was naked, of course, but maybe being all free and easy is the key to no more diapers?

Stamps!

Our potty process has been ... slow. All around us Eloise's friends have said bye-bye to diapers but our girl prefers to let us know when she is wet or dry and if she is ready to be changed.

"Mama I wet, change a bum. I ie down." And then she brings me a clean diaper. Or, "nope, diapee still dy, no change a bum."

I feel like we've tried most of the tricks: songs (personalized at that!), stickers, a sticker chart, candy, books, books about potties, but nadda, no luck with the potty. I felt that I had exhausted my resources until I realized my craft supplies harboured a small goldmine full of a favourite toddler reward: the stamp! (What on earth is it about stamps? Eloise goes totally nutty for them, it's pretty much the most exciting part about gymnastics.)

We invited Eloise to use the potty yesterday and I suggested she check out the Winnie the Pooh stamps I brought into the bathroom. She sat happily on the potty for a good half hour, admiring the stamps, suggesting where we could put the stamps on her body (everywhere) and waiting until it was time. Then, she peed! She actually used the potty for the first time in oh, about six months, and you'd better believe we did a happy dance to celebrate.

And then made sure to stamp every surface as requested.

Big Girls Go Potty

Eloise's potty sits unused in the space beside our tub and toilet. Actually, that's not entirely true. Eloise brings her peeps in to use the potty, making the "ssss" sound of pee and offering them a few squares of toilet paper. Yup, she clearly gets it.

Eloise confidently tells me when she needs to go or has a soiled diaper and goes so far as to bring me a diaper, lie down and say, "Mama, clean diap?" Yet as soon as I bring up the idea of the potty or bring her near it she flat out refuses. Unfortunately, the only time the potty IS Eloise's idea is when she doesn't want to nap. I'm being manipulated by a toddler.

I have been pretty laissez-faire about potty training since our initial success turned out to be beginners luck. Bribery with stickers and treats was unsuccessful too. My dad claims he trained potty trained my brother Thomas in a day, so we'll be trying out "Papa Potty" over Christmas. Beyond that, I guess we just wait. Eloise is beginning to understand that big girls go potty but maybe that's the problem. Maybe she's realized this baby thing is actually pretty much the best?

P is (only sometimes) for Potty

It looks like someone got a little over confident with their potty training skills. (That would be me)

Since the first potty win a few weeks ago Eloise's training has been slow. Sometimes she wants to use the potty, sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes the potty makes her scream, sometimes we find her in the bathroom sitting on it in the dark. There really seems to be no pattern to our potty training so far.

To our benefit, cloth diapers have made Eloise aware of when she is wet and she confidently tells us when she has a wet or dirty diaper. But figuring out how to catch her before she goes or getting her to tell us that she needs to is still a mystery to me. I made a very simple 'potty' chart (pee, poo, both) and took Eloise to the store to choose some stickers so we can mark every time she uses the potty with something fun and shiny. We let her hold onto the stickers while sitting on the potty and if she does go, we make a big deal about putting a sticker on the chart. She gets super excited when this happens but the next time I suggest the potty is either uninterested, scared or just plain refuses to go and asks for her diaper.

Am I missing something here?

P is for Potty

Today an amazing thing happened: Eloise used the potty for the first time. Not as a seat or a hat or a torture device for her baby (see evidence below) but as an actual toilet. It was a very exciting moment.

You go first, baby.

Like most mornings, Chris brought Eloise into our bed to wake me up and after saying her usual, super sweet, "Hi Mama," she said "Mama, pee pee." For a week now Eloise has been informing me when she needs to go or has just gone. I've taken this as a sign that it's time to start potty training so I have been bringing her into the bathroom as soon as she tells me and trying to get her to sit on the toilet. Nothing happens, unless she pees on the floor.

I finally purchased a potty on Saturday and every time we're in the bathroom I take off her diaper, sit her on the new potty and prompt her to go. I've been getting a lot of "no's" but this morning I proceeded anyway and lo and behold, there it was! Never again will Chris and I be so proud of a bodily function.

I know that all parents think their child is brilliant, but does it not seem advanced for a 17-month old to be so aware of their body's needs? I am certainly impressed.