The Jensen Family: March 2009

Day 4: Change in Strategy

So it turns out that Chad and I are the proud parents of a strong willed child. (Don't know where she got that from! Ha!) Potty training has been going well, but Emily was becoming resistant to the many bathroom trips necessary to become fully trained. We know that Emily has the ability to recognize the need to potty and communicate that need (illustrated in the past few months). Chad and I realized that not once in 3 days had she said, "I need to go potty." This was a bit frustrating to us. We would rather not have this be a negative experience for her.

Chad called his mom (the mother of 7 potty trained kids) for some advice. After talking with her, we decided to change our approach. We decided to relax a little and "let her train herself". We put away all the rewards and decided to let her take the initiative to go to the bathroom. We sat Emily down when she woke up this morning and told her that she needed to be the one to tell us when she needed to go to the potty. It was up to her to stay "clean and dry". We of course continued to use a lot of praise and coach her on how to keep clean and dry, but didn't take her to the potty.

The morning was a bit of a set back. She had 2 accidents within the first 30 minutes and one a little later in the day. Luckily, both were in the kitchen and the other on her "princess towel" where clean up is easy. We didn't make a big deal about it, but reinforced the idea that it was up to her to stay dry by using the potty. Still, she never independently went to the potty.

She was in a pull-up in the afternoon due to a lunch play date and nap time. In the afternoon we went to the park. I continued to coach her saying that she should let me know if she needed to go potty to stay dry and we would use the bathrooms at the park. Then a miracle happened... While at the park she told me she needed to go potty! And wouldn't you know it, the bathrooms were locked!

When we got home I put her on the potty and back into her "big girl panties". She had stayed dry until we got home. When Chad got home from work, she told him she needed to go potty. And told him each time the rest of the night. I don't know if it is a breakthrough or not, but she's on a roll. It looks promising. Thanks for the advice Nana!

Day 3: DRY ALL NIGHT!!!

Day 3 is going great so far. Emily woke up this morning nice and DRY! Chad and I couldn't believe that she stayed dry all night long! I'm sure that it will take a while before her night time dryness is consistent, but we were excited that it has already happened once. Way to go Emily! She was so proud of herself and we are proud of her too! Keep up the good work! :-)

Potty Training Day 2: Dry All Day!!!!

Day 2 of potty training was a HUGE success. It took a lot of effort from everyone, but the result was great. Emily stayed dry all day long! Daddy was able to stay home and help out in the morning, which Emily and I both loved. I tried to make the afternoon a little more exciting to get us through the day. After her nap we added some new treats hidden in Easter eggs. Every egg had a different reward. Emily enjoyed the element of surprise with her new rewards and was very proud that she stayed dry all day!

A special thanks all of our cheerleaders of the day: Nana, Gramie, Aunt Amy and Patrick! We couldn't have done it without you!

Ready, Set, Potty!

Today we commenced official potty training! Emily has been "using the potty" for some time now. She was inspired after spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with her potty training cousins. They were using the potty and Emily was sure that she should be too. Unfortunately, we didn't jump on the band wagon very consistently when it was her idea.

With just 6 weeks until "baby Jensen's" arrival, Chad and I thought it was time to go for it. To be honest I have been dreading it. We got the book, Potty Wise, from the library and studied up. We took Emily shopping for all of her "potty treats" this weekend and started our first day of training this morning.

I won't lie...it was a LONG day!!!! The day started out great with much success. She was very excited to wear her Strawberry Shortcake panties. She showed her baby how to use the potty and gave her rewards and then we repeated the process with Emily. We got lots of snack rewards and lots of praise. We encountered a few accidents early in the day, due to timing (just a few minutes off), but she did pretty well.

She lost her focus a little mid-morning. That was our fault. Chad brought home her "big girl bed" and a new stool for the bathroom to use when she went potty. She became very excited about her new things and a little less excited about using the potty to "stay dry and clean". We had a couple of meltdowns when she didn't earn her treat, but other than that it was a pretty good first day. I'm hoping tomorrow goes even better.

We called Daddy, Gramie and Papa to report Emily's success when she used the potty to stay "dry and clean". Thanks to all of you for your support and enthusiasm. Emily was beaming from ear to ear!

On to day two...Wish us luck!

"Daddy, Let's go play in the snow!"

It hasn't snowed very much here this winter. Emily got some snow pants, gloves and boots for Christmas, but hadn't had the opportunity to use them. Well, on Saturday she finally got her chance! She was begging Chad to take her outside to play in the snow the minute she woke up. Luckily, Chad is a great father, and accustomed to cold weather. They spent a lot of time outside playing in the snow. The cold didn't bother Emily at all. She could have cared less that her cheeks were all rosy and that it was freezing outside. She was elated to be in the snow!

Chad was a good sport and took her out several times to play. He taught her how to make a snow angel, catch snowflakes with her tongue and let her "climb the mountain" in the backyard. The snow was pretty powdery but Emily even got to make her first snowman! Thanks Chad for all of your patience. Emily had a great time!