Potty Training: Day 6

Today went pretty well. Noah started off with pooping in his night diaper and peeing while on my lap but after that it went well. He went about every 30 minutes except for one 1 1/2 stretch. That stretch stressed me out a little. I didn't want Noah making a mistake while eating lunch, nursingLuke, etc. It seems like at least one time during the day everything seems to happen at once where it is hard to manage potty training with everything else. After that I put a pull up diaper on him. He did really well with that. I think he liked the freedom of being on the couch and whenever he wanted without me stressing out about it. He never made a mistake in the diaper and went on the potty every time. I am thankful he is now going on the tiny porter potty as well as the big potty in the bathroom. I was worried for a time that he wouldn't ever want to go on the big potty.

I think it will be a while until I am comfortable taking him in public. I am not excited about sticking his cute little bottom on a public toliet. I might have to wipe it off before I let him sit there and put his hands all over it...Ahhhh! I am grossed out just thinking about it. And I am saying that after cleaning up poop, was peed on, spit up on, and everything else today.

Nana gave Noah a big Thomas the Train pillow for doing so well potty training. I had such a hard time trying to decide between the Thomas pillow and either Woody or Buzz. He loves them all but Thomas matches to well with his room theme. He loves it! He is such a big boy!

Potty Training: Day Five

Today went well. Noah didn't have a mistake until around 5pm. He was going every 30 minutes or so and did well. I tried to get him to go around 5pm because I know he needed to. I could tell that he just sat on there and didn't try. I kept telling him to try and he didn't. One minute later he made a mistake on the couch :( I was upset with him more because he didn't try than making a mistake that could have been avoided. I should have made him try by force but was trying to make it a more pleasent experience today; especially since he was doing so well. After that he was sentenced back to the tile after getting the privalege of being on the carpet all day. I feel bad for him...he isn't even 2 1/2 yet but I now he can do this if he tries as most of the day proved. We even had company today and he did well with that. My friend Laine and her two boys came to visit. It was really nice to visit with her but it was also a bit crazy at times given that we had four kids to watch all under the age of 2 1/2.

I will continue to limit Noah's drinking tomorrow and make him go every 30 minutes. I guess that will be the plan until he can learn to tell me consistantly when he needs to go himself. He is able to at times but it just depends on how exciting the activity is at the time. Most of the children who have recetly been trained are still not able to do that so I imagine that will not be any time soon...Noah is not even 2 1/2! I am so proud of him!

Potty Training: Really Day 4

I called this 'Really Day 4' since it is the fourth day I really tried to train him and didn't put diapers on him all day. Today was a rough day. My parents take care of Makenna all day on Monday and Noah LOVES Makenna. I love when she can come over because he just adores her. It was really hard to manage them playing while trying to potty train Noah. Makenna has a personal space that no one can enter and is very sweet and gentle. Noah has no personal space, loves touch, and is very active and rough. So that can get interesting at times.

We have only allowed Noah to stay on the tile or outside while he is potty training so that he doesn't make any mistakes on the carpet. That was exceptionally hard today because Makenna wanted to be on the carpet and of course Noah wanted to be wherever Makenna was...trouble. It was so sad to try to make him stay on the tile when we were on the carpet...it was like we were telling him he didn't belong. It was sad. I tried to stay on the tile as much as I could so he would not be alone.

He actually had his first mistake on the stairs. I told him to stay off the carpet after the mistake and of course he started climbing the stairs on the outside of the rail. Yea, not safe. But all is well and we did somehow survive the day. I think the hardest part of the day was taking Noah to gymnastics class with Makenna. I knew he would like it and wanted to get him out of the house for some fun...it didn't go well. I knew I would regret the trip before I took Noah and hauled Luke along with me. On my way home, I told myself a million times...why did I do that. Noah didn't want to do what the class was doing. He didn't want to jump on his own tramp but wanted to jump with Makenna. He didn't want to do the dancing part of the class either. He wanted to climb and jump into the pit only. He loved pit time and did OK on the obsticle part. Finally after taking him to the stands and back to class about 8 times, I said it was time to go. He kicked and screamed because he wanted to stay. He cried harder than he ever has in his ENTIRE life when we left and tried to get him into his car seat. I didn't think I was going to accompolish the task of getting him into his seat. He wanted to go back to gymnastics. All of this going on while Luke is screaming his head off. It was a pleasent ride home. I immediately gave Noah his milk, bath, and put him to bed. After he didn't fall asleep I let him get up again and eat a nutragrain bar before going to bed again (since he didn't eat dinner well and I didn't want him waking up early again). Noah was so sweet and cute at that point so it made me forget how hard the day was. He is so loving and precious and did great on the potty at that point (he knew he needed to poop, told me, and went). He helped me bathe Luke and had some sweet time with Grandpa and Nana. I guess God gives us those times to forget the ones where you want to pull your hair out. Mothering is not easy but God gives us the strength, grace, and patience to endure. I thank God everyday for my special boys. I love them so much. I am blessed to have them. I just hope they learn the godly things I do and not how impatient and frustrated I can get with their disobedience. Praise God for forgiveness and loving us even when we are sinners! God is good!

I am going to try to give Noah a lot less drink tomorrow and see how well he does. I think he is getting extremely tired of going to the potty every 15 minutes. I think he will do a lot better when he can actually play for a while before having to go again. I think he knows when he needs to poop and doing pretty well holding his pee and going on the potty when I take him. The difficult part is when I can't take him because I am nursing Luke or trying to put him down. I think that will be a continually struggle until Noah can really hold it well for a while. Better get to sleep so I am ready for Day 5. :)

Potty Training: Day 5

We did not potty train again today. It would have been too hard to do with Church and so much going on. It was fun to go to Church with my sister and her daughter. Noah loved being in class with Makenna!

We enjoyed our dinner also. Hamburgers, corn on the cob, french fries, fruit, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. It was great! Before and after dinner Makenna and Noah enjoyed swimming and playing with my other sister, Amy's, dog. Lily (the dog) has so much energy and loves giving kisses! The kids loved her!

I also got a couple sweet pictures of Luke and Nana (my Mom). He is such a happy boy. He loves talking and smiling at whoever will listen...or even when you are not looking! He is getting so big!

It will be Day 6 tomorrow but I guess it is really just day 4 if you only want to count the days we've worked on it...

Pony Ride

Noah was doing so well potty training that I wanted to do something fun with him. Also, I am always holding and nursing Luke so he doesn't get very many outings with Mommy. Noah loves animals so we went to see the lamas, donkeys, and get a pony ride. He loved it all! You could tell he thought it was pretty cool. A year ago he would do it but now enjoyed it quite a bit. What a big boy!

He is so much fun!

Potty Training: Day 4

We kind of let potty training slide today and probably will tomorrow too. I guess you could call it a week end break. It is like those who diet during the week and let it all slide during the week end...not sure how you don't gain everything back that way but 5 days of dieting is better than nothing! I hope we don't back track too much. I slept in with Luke so Noah didn't get started until late morning. I've been nursing Luke around 4 or 5am and then staying up while everyone else is alseep but got some extra zzz's this morning. Then, we went to a soccer game with Noah's cousin. They just watched the older kids play while I nursed Luke and my sister ran around with them to make sure they stayed out of the game. We did bring the potty and had Noah in a pull up (didn't want him to get embarrassed around his friends making a mistake in his pants) but never made him go. It was enough to nurse Luke and make sure no balls hit him while he slept in my arms. A few came real close to hitting him but we survived. It was pretty sunny and windy so that was a little hard on Luke. He was happy once he feel asleep under his blanket in my arms. So sweet! I love that boy!

Noah was pretty tired once we got through the game, had some time playing in the park, ate lunch, and came home. After his nap on Sunday we took Noah to the store to get a few things for our Mother's Day dinner. He enjoyed going with Nana and I while Grandpa watched Luke. Grandpa will be making us hamburgers for Mother's Day. I am going to make chocolate cookies (The Cake Boss's recipe, Buddy's) that my Mom picked out. At this point in my life, I never feel the need to go out on Mother's Day...it would be horrible to wait for so long much less having to do it with young kids...Not my idea of fun! I would rather the men in my life cook for me! John does quite often right now cause Luke likes to eat around cooking time or dinner time. He is such a good husband and so well rounded. I love that man! I am so blessed!

That night we just played in the back yard. Noah swam for a while and I gave my Mom a pedicure while Luke was in the swing. Noah had a blast. He loves swiming. Later, Noah came up to me and told me he needed to go...and then a few seconds later he started peeing. I didn't have the toliet out there. I don't doubt for a second he would have been on it peeing if we had it accessable. I just hope he learn to tell me a little sooner cause that will not be enough time for me to get him to the toliet much less pull his pants down. I am so proud of him though! I was shocked! Smart boy! Maybe this break will take the stress off a little and he will be ready to start again on Monday morning.

I will probably not train him on Sunday either. We will be at Church in the morning and then he will nap soon after lunch. We will start hard core again on Monday. I am looking forward to him getting it and it not being such a challenge to get to the toliet. :)

Potty Training: Day 3

Day 3 went well. I think the timer was a hit! Noah enjoyed having the timer tell him to go instead of me...at first (it was hard to stop playing while Makenna was here because he loves playing with her so much). It made Noah think 'Mommy' wasn't the one making him stop playing to sit on the potty but the timer was 'the mean guy.' It also put the idea in his head that he needed to go. We had a couple pooping mistakes in the morning but otherwise it went well. I started putting his big boy underwear on him after a few successes so that he had to learn how to pull his pants down before he goes. He wasn't too fond of it the first time but then he was OK with it. He is so cute in his underpants! He is such a big boy. My goal is to get this down better today with underwear and clothes so that we can go to play soccer tomorrow. I will take the toliet with me so that I can continue to make him go. My mom had a great idea to take the tent to hid the potty and he can have his own little outhouse!

This picture shows all the necessary things a 2 year old needs while using the restroom...

Playing with Grandpa while waiting out the timer. James from Thomas and Friends on his bottom...so cute!

I am not ready to cut down on his drink yet. I really want him to get as much practice as we can. I think it will be a while until he learns the feeling of needing to go and let me know that he needs to. I will probably just have to make him go every 30 minutes or so until he learns. I foresee cleaning a lot of underwear... :( The potty training is much easier when Luke is sleeping. It is hard to hold Luke or nurse him while trying to get Noah to get to the potty. I would be nice to have Noah potty trained before Luke came along but I don't know if he would have been ready. I wasn't too excited about fighting that battle while I was so big and pregnant though.

Just had to put a picture of Luke in here. He has been such a trooper during this whole thing.
I hope Day 4 goes well!

Potty Training: Day 2

Well, we didn't make as much progress as we did on day 1 but I can say that I am not that disappointed. We made a ton of progress on day 1 and would be completely done with no accidents if we did as well as day 2. We started out really well with a pee and poo in the toliet. Sometimes he would go to the toliet and pee and other times he would mess up and I would tell him to go to the toliet. He would stop peeing, sit down, and then finish. I can tell that he messes up when he is so focused on playing that he doesn't think about the feeling of needing to go. Before nap, he held it about 45 minutes which is quite a bit when you consider how much he has been drinking. He normally goes every 10 to 15 minutes with the amount of drink I am giving him. He knew he was supposed to nap after he went and was holding it as long as he could. He is a smart kid!

I started using a timer at the end of the day so that the timer would go off and he would realize that he needed to go. I also got a little discouraged that he wasn't a pro at this point...yes, I am a perfectionist! I called a couple of my seasoned friends and got some advice. They were mentioning it took 2 weeks to a month to get it done. 21 days to make a habit is what one of my friends said. I am hoping it happens before that point...what about all the people that do it in 3 days. I am sure the children are older that do it that quickly!

I feel bad for Noah because we are just staying at the house and focusing on that. I really want to do things with my sister and her daughter as well as other things around town but know I need to focus on this and be consistant or it is just not going to happen very fast. I can understand why kids take forever to learn when you switch them in and out of diapers and pull ups. They would be confused! So, I am not doing that and making Noah stay here and train. Call me hard core but I want to accompolish this quickly...hard to think that it is not just up to me though! It is hard for me to do things around town while focusing on this as well as taking care of a now 9 week old who is nursing. I am trying to get things done during naps when I can.

I guess I am ready to take on day 3! Here we go...

Potty Training: The First Day

We have successfully finished the first day of potty training...Praise God! I was not excited about starting it but knew it was the best time. Noah had shown many signs that he was ready to start potty training so I was ready to do it. Not buying diapers for two sounds great to me! I am not so excited about cleaning up accidents but know they are bound to happen.

I brought tons of toys and books outside since I knew we would be spending all day out there. I also lathered Noah and I up with sunscreen. I put a shirt on Noah and his new big boy underwear. I also had a toddler portable potty that sings when you go outside. My sister let me use it. She used it with her daughter. At that point, there was no more stalling...it needed to happen. It started with a kicking, screaming child not wanting to go sit on the potty. I had to carry him over there and force him to stay on it. After a few times, he realized I wasn't going to give in and that I am in charge. Often he tries to be in charge but don't we all try to be in charge instead of God? I know I do...can't get to upset at him for trying in this point in his life. It is natural.

I stopped putting his big boy underwear on him and just let him 'be free' because taking them off at this point was just too much. After Noah realized that he had to go when I asked him, I went rather well. I would make him sit on the pot every so often and he went about 6 times and even pooped on there too! At that point, we realized that he now knows where he is supposed to go but needs to learn the feeling that he needs to go and walk over to the potty. Of course, there were a few accidents at that point but he stopped peeing a couple times and didn't finish until after he went to the potty. I was pretty impressed that he could stop peeing and walk over there to finish...he is definately ready to be trained! One time he stopped and held it a couple minutes until I told him he needed to do that on the potty. I knew he was a smart boy and physially able...it is just a matter of will at this point. A couple times he also told me he didn't need to go but then a few seconds later said he did and walked over and went.

I am so pleased with the first day; we made soooo much progress. I know I wore Noah out training and playing outside because he slept 3 1/2 hours during his nap. I was also pretty tired focusing on that while keeping Luke (9 weeks on Friday) happy and fed. Thankfully, Luke slept 8 hours in a row last night so now I have high hopes for the second day of training!

Noah's first 'real' hair cut

Here are some pictures of Noah's first real hair cut. I've actually cut Noah's hair for a while now but he has never had it professionally done. I didn't see the need to spend so much money on something I could do myself. But, it was about time to get it cleaned up. I will probably cut it myself now for quite a while until he asks to get it cut like Daddys. I will have to pass on that chance to style his hair...not sure I could pull that one off. I have cut John's many times but didn't originally style it that way. Cutting Noah's hair so far has consisted of cutting off his mullet and lately a few more places. It is finally growing fast in all areas. I think Luke's will be that way also. Luke already seems to have a little bit of a mullet while the rest of his hair looks like a buzz cut besides a few longer places on top. Here it is...

He got to pick out a movie and he picked Thomas the Train of course! He was so interested in the car he was sitting in and the movie that the hair cut went really well and quickly. She did a great job. She has four boys of her own so she knew exactly how to treat Noah. She was precious.

Here is the finished product! What a cutie!

I also got my hair cut later that day. I cut off 7 inches! Yes, 7! It seemed like there was more hair on the ground than on my head. I have literally been getting my hair cut once a year for the past 3 years or more. I guess you could say that is a good reason to chop it off. It will grow back fast since I have still have to take prenatal vitamins since I am nursing. Yea for looks! Sorry, I don't have any pictures of mine. I started potty training Noah yesterday so all my energy has gone to that as well as taking care of Luke. More info on that process in my next blog...