I hate potty training...

There are very few things in life that I can use such a strong word for.  Hate just isn't a word that's in my vocabulary normally.  When it comes to potty training though, I use it. 

For some back story into my potty training adventures, click here.  It wasn't all that long ago we were potty training Ren and while he was stubborn about it, it didn't take that long for him to be totally trained!  We're talking even at night!  A was super simple to train.  She just woke up one day, proclaimed she was a big girl and would potty and did!  While we still have issues with night time wetness with her, she's never had a daytime accident since the day she proclaimed she would potty! This is a quick glance at potty training history in our family.

Enter CS.  From the word go she's been her own little person.  She typically laid back, happy, and rarely grumpy.  She would rather hang out with Mom or Daddy then her siblings.  She will almost bend over backward to please people.  Then we introduced potty training.

Oh my, has this been an adventure and not one I wanted to take!  She refuses to use the potty.  I mean flat out throws herself on the floor and screams when we mention it to her.  We've had the potty in the bathroom for a couple of months.  She was really interested in it for a while and even went potty for a while.  By "went potty for a while" I mean she would go #2 all day long, but #1 was a different story.  We tried everything to get her to go #1.  Sticker charts, pennies for pees, allowing her to pick a dollar store toy for each potty and NOTHING worked.  I saw more gray hairs appearing daily over this. 

So what's a Mom to do? Absolutely nothing.  Nope, I just calmly put her back into Pull-Ups.  She wasn't happy to go back into diapers, but I told her that as long as she refused to potty she would wear them.  I think I was pretty spoiled with the first two kids.  Neither one was overly terrible with using the potty.  CS is, as typical to her, her own little person and I'm hoping will use the potty soon.  Please?!?

I have some ideas as to why she won't use the potty, but I'm not in her mind so I don't know for sure.  I'll list them out and please let me know if they sound silly to you.

• She uses a small potty.  While the other kids obviously use the big potty.  CS is shorter than the other two were at that age and has trouble climbing onto the big potty.  The couple of times I have gotten her to sit on her potty, she stares at the big one the whole time.


• She's just too busy.  I never thought about this one too much until I realized how much we aren't actually at home.  I'm sure those huge potties at the store scare her.


• She just isn't ready.  The other 2 kids were what most people consider "late potty trainers", so maybe she just isn't quite ready yet

Whatever the issue is, I'm not giving up entirely.  I know that she will eventually use the potty.  I take comfort in what Grammy said to me yesterday when I was whining on the phone to her about it.  She reminded me that "she's never seen a child in Kindergarten who couldn't potty, so don't push her".  That's very true and maybe I should just stop pushing her to potty.  Just like the other two, she'll tell me when she's ready (Dear Lord please let it be soon though, diapers are getting ex-pen-sive!)

 Do you have any suggestions or ideas?  Share please!!

Protect-A-Bed Mattress Cover Review

About 6 months ago we started a journey in my family.  The journey of potty training Ren.  Yes, he's over age 3.  No, it hasn't been a piece of cake (think super stubborn do it himself meets ginormous meltdown when can't figure it out).  Up until now, we've been using small, hospital type mattress pads.  You know the ones, they put them under you when you have the kids.  Yeah, they are super absorbent, but small and not very practical for the potty training step. 

Well, I was tweeting about our new venture with several other Moms.  We were sharing our dilemmas, worries and catastrophes when I was approached by Protect-A-Bed about the opportunity to try one of their mattress protectors.  To say I jumped at the chance would be putting it very mildly.  I responded immediately and before long the Protect-A-Bed mattress protector arrived at my doorstep. 

When I took it out of the box I thought "How on earth is this going to work, it's so THIN!".  However, being the good reviewer I am, I looked over the packaging materials (because I'm like that) and thought "okay, let's give it a try".  I didn't wash it or anything.  I just went straight into Ren's bedroom, stripped his bed and put it on.  The first thing I noticed is the top of the actual protector.  It's sooo soft!  I mean, like you want to lay on it soft.  The pockets (you know, the part that actually goes around the mattress) are deep!  Ren has a thick mattress and it FIT!!  With room even!  That is a perk in itself!!

So, onto the actual protection part.  It's great.  Can't say enough about it.  Ren has had many accidents in our potty journey and nothing has gotten through this mattress protector.  It's machine washable, which makes it super easy to just toss in with the soiled sheets.  It dries quickly too!  I even hung it out on my clothes line this week and in no time it was dry and back on the bed!  I honestly can't say enough about it!  Really.  I never in a million years thought I'd gush over a mattress protector, but thanks to the Protect-A-Bed mattress protector, we won't need to replace Ren's mattress!!  Trust me, this is a good thing!

So, in case you're wondering, here is some information from the website:

Protect-A-Bed® Premium Mattress Protectors Are:

• Guaranteed to moderate temperature and enhance sleeping comfort


• Waterproof yet air vapor porous - acting the same way as human skin


• Effective in preventing bacteria and dust mites from breeding in your pillow and mattress (a major cause of asthma, eczema and rhinitis)


• Protects mattresses from stains (accidental spills, perspiration, bodily fluids)


• Machine washable on hot, tumble dry medium


• Especially helpful in cases of incontinence


• Ultra thin with four-way stretch does not detract from the comfort of the mattress


• Can be used on all visco elastic, inner spring and latex mattresses


• High Quality Fitted-sheet style


• Expandable skirt ensures mattress protector fits any depth of mattress (8" to 20")


• Wash durability rating: > 200 washes


• Soft and super absorbent


• Can be sterilized at 50° C/120° F


• Tested for harmful substances according to Oeko-Tex Standard 100

So, here's the bottom line.  I feel a little silly gushing about a mattress cover, but if it saves us from buying a new mattress then I will gush about it all day long!  It's a wonderful product!  Lightweight, easy to use, launders wonderfully and doesn't add a lot of "bulk" to an already thick mattress!  It's fabulous! 

Dear FTC:  I was provided with/ given a Protect-A-Bed mattress protector to review in my home.  HOWEVER, the opinions and words contained within this blog are mine.  I really DO love this mattress protector!!!! 

 

What Happened Wednesday

posted by Kandi




This week's edition of What Happened Wednesday s actually a What's Happening! My little man is using the potty!! I know, nothing too exciting about the potty...usually.

See, Ren is quite opinionated when it comes to well, everything. He's either a yes guy or a no guy and there isn't an in between. Since he turned 3 (yikes) in the summer we have been talking up going to the potty. Several times he got really interested in it, only to melt down when it came to the actual act of doing it. So, we gave up. Yes, you did read that correctly. We just gave up.

Finally around Christmas (of all the times, my son picks the busiest!) we were given some advice on how to get him started. The advice was to allow him to go to the rest room with Chuck and use the urinal. Maybe it wasn't he didn't want to potty. Maybe it was he didn't want to sit down and do it. Hmm, brilliant! So, we went to our local Wally World and let him do it. Lo and Behold it WORKED!!! I would have never in a million years guessed that would work.

Fast forward to the past 7 days. Ren is in big boy undies and getting the hang of the potty thing pretty well. We went from having the timer set for every 45 minutes to today not having to set it at all! I'm elated to say the least!

Now that we have conquered the potty (well with #1's at least) maybe just maybe we can conquer the "I never share my trains with my sisters" issue. Then again, maybe not....

Do you have any What Happened Wednesday stories to share? Feel free to link them up below or just post a message and share.




**The potty picture at the top is the the LATTSAM potty from Ikea. We have it and LOVE it's portablility, ease of use and that it can easily be stored without taking up too much room! They are sold for around $4 and this Mom recommends it! Also, I was not ask to recommend. I just purchased it last spring and it works well for mine so I thought I'd share!**