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Tuesday 15 January 2013

Mission Toilet Train...

Last week was busy and mostly really lovely...What is to follow is the not so lovely part...

My mum came to stay and for those of you that don't have your parents living down the street, you will know what I mean when I say "it was so nice to have an extra pair of hands to take the load off!". Those extra pair of hands were a especially a blessing as we attempted (take note, that I said attempted, wont you?) toilet training my son who turned 3 last week also (more on that fun in a later blog!).

I was starting to recognize when the Boy needed to go to the toilet because he would start doing what my husband and I call 'the poo dance'- if you can imagine a young Michael Flatly (king of the Irish dance) you would have a pretty good idea of what I am talking about. He was also waking up dry from his day sleep which also supposedly indicates readiness for the big switcheroo from nappy to pants.

So on Day 1 of 'Mission Toilet Train' we put the big boy pants on the little Boy. He was pretty excited with the train on the front and I was hopeful that this whole toilet training thing would be a breeze.
There my mum and I were, asking my son every five or so minutes wether he needed to go to the toilet and when we first took him to the toilet for the day he did a little 'dribble' when we asked him too and we were so chuffed with him and ourselves... until about 5 minutes later when the rest of what needed to come out did so, on the kitchen floor and the hallway floor and the...well I think you get the picture. This continued throughout the day whereby we were giving high fives for little sprinkles on the back lawn and then commiserations and reassurances for big downpours on the pavement 2 minutes later!

Day 2 and we thought a new tactic was in order and so every time we needed to go to the toilet we would tell the whole house of our plans and left the door open so that the Boy could wander in and check out the scene if desired (yes, I know what your thinking, and yes all your dignity goes out the door when you were pushing your baby out into the world however long ago it was!). We encouraged the boy to tell Mama or Mum when he needed to go to the toilet, so with that in mind we all went happily about the day. Mama and the boy were playing shops and he starts yelling at her 'Mama, Mama, Mama' and she is wondering what he is on about. The boy comes out to see me with a puddle trailing behind him.... hmm... new tactic required. Perhaps we had better tell the boy just to yell out 'wee, wee, wee' or 'poo, poo, poo' as the case may be! Surely then there will be no possibility of misunderstanding...

Day 3 and misunderstanding is paramount, wether that is from the Boy or from us, I just really don't know anymore. It is decided that hubby needs to step up and take this toilet trainer under his wing and show him how it's done. Sometimes a woman just doesn't have what it takes (literally) to teach their children about the world and all the gadgets in it.

Day 4 of 'Mission Toilet Train' is underway and my poor husband is being plied with every beverage under the sun, so he can show his son what's supposed to happen. (needless to say hubby is getting grumpier and grumpier for the lack of privacy he is getting especially when the mother-in-law is in the house!) My poor son is getting more and more terrified of going to the toilet to the point of kicking and screaming at the site of that white porcelain bowl. Meanwhile I am getting more and more frustrated at the amount of washing and cleaning up I have to do.

It is decided to abandon the leaking ship for the safety of the entire crew on board. Morale is down and I think we all need a bit of time on dry land before we attempt to go out again into those unchartered waters of growing up!


16 comments:

  1. All in good time. The whole toilet learning process can be a tricky one, I am sure though that now the seed has been sown it won't take too long. Fairy wishes and butterfly kisses lovely

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    1. Thank you! Slowly but surely it will start to sink in!!

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  2. We're toilet training our daughter right now and we're making progress, but it's been harder than I expected. I'm dreading going through this with our son...I foresee pee decorating everything, just like you described! Good luck when you decide to give it a try again.

    Visiting from IBOT.

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    1. Glad to hear you mission is going well! I have heard from a lot of people that they think it seems to be harder than expected so I think we are not alone!

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  3. The poo dance! Hilarious!
    Unfortunately my middle child (who's just been trained) didn't show any signs or warnings, one minute he was clean, the next he had a poo! Good luck with it, tis not an easy journey!

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    1. Thanks! We will keep plodding along! And congrats on your successful mission!

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  4. This post had me laughing- especially the dance. I have started to think about training my 2.5 year old, although like you, am waiting till my husband's March holidays for this mission. He has a very obvious quiet squat when toileting, yet always denies this is taking place.... I wish you all the best with this journey :)

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    1. We are off on holidays to the beach for a couple of days so I am hoping that hubby being around more will really help with his progress! Good luck with your mission too!

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  5. Thanks for the giggle and for sharing - I will now look at Irish dancing in a totally different light - the poo dance.

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  6. Hi Jess, our boys, even though twins, toilet trained a full year apart. Can't make 'em do it before the brain signals engage! I let them both go "bare bum" because jocks still have the feeling of having a nappy on, so I found nothing on worked better. Darcy went through a stage of missing the bowl completely, didn't pay attention, but at least he took himself to the bowl and it got better with time. Poo's took longer, but all good now. Each child is different. Don't stress yourself, maybe just wait another couple of weeks, that may be all it takes... you'll know the signs. What you don't want to do is make it an unpleasant experience for him. Darcy was 3.5 before he showed signs of starting to train. I'd take his nappy off, remind him every half hr or so, but he'd still wee on the floor (or where-ever!) so back on with the nappy and try again a week or 2 later. Good luck, xxx Trudi

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    1. Hi trudy, thanks for the tips and we are going to give it a rest for a little while and have another go in a couple of weeks! x

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  7. Oh man toilet training is such a shit fight! Thankfully I'm 2 down and 1 to go!! My 2nd was very easy and I hope my 3rd is the same.
    I appreciate the laugh! Good luck! Emily

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    1. It sure is - literally! Am glad you enjoyed it!

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  8. Oh no- wasn't all that long ago for us with the last one but the best is letting them run around nuddy outdoors in Summer. I know of at least one kid who hated the sensation of weeing on themselves so much, they picked up the skills very quickly indeed! Good luck. Visiting from #teamIBOT

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  9. I found that if you let them know what needs to happen, they will actually kind of do it themselves. THat's how it worked for us anyway.
    Definitely important to take the pressure off though. That never helps

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