Some potty talk...

I know my Dad doesn't care for all the potty training talk, so Dad, if you want, you can skip this post...LOL.

2 weeks ago Clint and I were talking about how we are seriously not looking forward to training Kaiden. Kayley is basically done now though. She has accidents very rarely and initiates going on her own now. So we knew it was time for Kaiden. I was chatting with a friend of mine on Facebook. She told me she trained all 4 of her children in a day. I thought, uh, sure. Tell me how, and we'll try it.
She came over a few minutes later with a book. I was willing to try anything. I did not want to spend 7 months training Kaiden like we did with Kayley! The title of the book Toilet Leraning in less than a day. The cover looked very old, and I looked at the copyright, haha, 1974!!! I was like, uh sure. So I read the book. Now, I have tried several times in the past to get Kd started with training, and it only ended up in both of us in tears and frustrated to no end. In the book it said that if one parent has already tried other methods and failed, that the other parent should try this method. It also said that there should be NO distractions. That siblings and the other parent should not be home, all toys removed, no tv, phones, etc. I told Clint all of that, and I thought I saw a hint of "yeah right dear" but he said he would try.
He read the book and wasn't very convinced. We said it was worth a shot, what did we have to lose???
So we planned a weekend (just in case the 1 day thing didn't work) and decided to give it a go.
On my end, I took all of the toys and anything that could be a distraction out of the room where the training would be. Then 7:30 Sat. morning Ky and I headed out for the day.
We went to out to breakfast at IHOP, then to Target where I got her some skates, then we went to a movie. She was amazing during the movie, she was thoroughly enjoying this one on one time. After that we went to get some ice cream for her. At that point I got a call from my very discouraged husband.
Part of the training said no more diapers, from now on underwear during the day and pullups at night.
So I get the call after 4 hours of training. Now, before, Kd would never even acknowledge if he was wet or poopy. He would sit in it all day if we let him. So I asked Clint to tell me about it. He said Kd was having a bunch of accidents, but that he was saying "oh no, wet!!!!" I told Clint, that in itself is quite the accomplishment. At least if nothing else, he would know if he was wet or dry. Clint said he was frustrated and put Kd down for a nap.
I explained that from the reviews online, that the kids would kind of need their brain to take a break, and things would click. In the mean time for him not to be discouraged and to watch a movie on tv while Kd was napping. Later I get a call saying how Kd woke up after just a few minutes in the nap and said he needed to go potty. He was already a little wet, but Clint gave it a shot, and he went! I told Clint that when he got up from his nap to continue what he was going.
Clint knew all of the steps, don't get me wrong. I was just doing what I could to encourage him to not give up. He didn't either!
So Kayley and I went to the National Aquarium for an hour or so and then came back on post and she got to practice with her new skates at the park. I got a call from Clint saying that Kd was initiating going to the potty on his own and wasn't having any accidents. I said we'd give them another hour while Ky and I picked up some dinner. Then we headed home to Kd very proudly showing off his potty training success!
Clint did an amazing job with Kaiden! In 3 days time Kd has surpassed what took 7 months for Kayley! He has been diaper free and going mostly on his own. We have to help with pulling up the pants and stuff. But he mostly takes care of buisness on his own. Since Sat. we have only had one pee accident. All the credit goes to Clint...he's the man! We were talking last night, and he told me he knew he couldn't cut corners or cheat because it would be obvious. LOL.
So now the kids are no longer babies. They sleep in big beds, drink out of regular cups (no more sippy cups), no diapers, are potty trained (mostly), they can feed and dress themselves, they communicate with full sentences. Now they are children, not babies.
Do I feel sad about it...NO WAY!
You know how nice it is not to have to worry about finding a place that will heat bottles, making sure there is a changing table, making sure we bring a diaper bag full of sippy cups, diapers, and wipes.
Now we just throw in a change of clothes in the van and head out.

On a little sad note, today I would have been 23 weeks pregnant. The age of viability. I remember in my 1st pregnancy how I was so relieved to make it to 23 weeks, because there was at least a chance that the babies would survive. So it's a little saddening today. I am just so blessed to have my beautiful healthy children. The more I look at it though, the more relieved I feel. I am done with all the baby stuff. Now we can just have fun! We were at ChuckECheese the other night, and I saw a mom with a toddler as well as a baby that couldn't have been more than 2 weeks old. Just watching her having to stop every few minutes to change, or feed, or soothe the newborn. I can definately say we are done having any more children.
That doesn't mean adoption is out though. As the kids get older, we may consider adopting a (definately potty trained) child. For now though, I am happy with my family and love the stage where we can focus on the fun stuff.
In no way is it all fun though. They still have those lovely temper tantrums, but from my understanding, these will be hanging around for quite some time :P