A Post by Seth.
Kiersten contributes to a blog at www.InPraiseOfHusbands.blogspot.com. Well, this post is "In Praise of Wives" ... specifically, my wife.
Today was a significant day in the Rodriquez family thanks to the hard work of Kiersten: Today Benjamin was potty trained. It involved over a week of prep work ... gathering enough clothing to deal with accidents, talking up the event with Benj to get him excited and on board, and getting laundry done and the house clean so she could focus on the task. Finally, the big day arrived. After breakfast, Benj took off his last diaper ever and entered the realm of big people.
Benj is to be commended for his great achievement. He did a great job today and I am very proud of him. He received a sticker on a chart posted in the bathroom for every successful trip to the potty, and there are more stickers on there than you can count. The column marked "Tuesday" is overcrowded with stickers, and when they couldn't find a place for more stickers on the chart they started putting them on Benj's shirt. I've never seen as many stickers on that boy as I did when I got home from work.
At the same time, although this was a landmark day for Benjamin, Kiersten is to be commended for the incredible job she did to make it happen. Every 10 minutes she marched Benj to the potty with enthusiasm and excitement. She then sat patiently, read him books, helped him learn this new skill, and rejoiced at his successes. She made it a very enjoyable process for him, even though the stress of having a "ticking time bomb" in the house was taking a toll on her.
On top of all that, Kiersten had to take care of a sick toddler today. Late in the morning, Kiersten noticed that Talia had a temprature of 104! So not only did she teach our son how to use the potty, she also cared for our daughter through the highest temprature we've seen yet in our experience as parents.
Needless to say, Kiersten met the challenges of a very stressful day with grace and excellence. Well done, Kiersten!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
8 comments:
Awww.... Thanks, Babe. You make me smile :)
congratulations! Did you use the "How to potty train your child in a day" book? I loved that book and used it with Zak but Eliot and Eliannah sort of took care of themselves at around 18 months. Just as a warning, once the novelty wears off you might have a few days extra accidents and extra need for reminders but if you can push through he'll be done! Good job Kiersten, consistency and hard work always pay off :)!!
I didn't actually read any books. I found "Dr. Phil's method" (which I had heard of already) on a website and basically used that, along with some tips (like the set-the-timer-for-every-10-minutes trick) from my sister-in-law who has done this 3 times.
I probably should have read a book cause I have tons of questions about what's "normal." For example, I wouldn't say it's quite a "novelty" yet. He has only gotten the [I have to go-->tell Mama-->actually go] connection 3 times. Mostly it's been me telling him it's time to try.
But anyway, it's nice to say with certainty that diapers (for him) are in the past. I know we'll deal with some more accidents, but I'm thankful that overall it was a very positive experience. :)
Oh, in the book it recommends a few days of eating all the salty snacks he likes ... which will make him thirsty, which will make him drink ... which will make him need to pee. The book also says that for every accident you need to practice running to the toilet from 10 different places in the house. It's a pain but it really leads them away from being reminded to go and going when they feel the urge. It also shows them the shortest path to the restroom from anywhere in the house. Hope that helps! Give yourself at least a month to work out the details. I thought I was a failure because it took me more than a week to overcome the accidents in public.
We did the Dr. Phil method too. Worked like a charm!
AND CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :)
wow, congrats! keep up the good work! YEAH!
Jacquelyn, thanks for the tips. We had already been practicing 10 times after each accident, but I really liked the idea to do it from 10 different places in the house. He was really resisting the practice sessions until we did this--I think it seems more like a game now. And I never would have thought of the salty snacks, but I just gave him lots of juice that first day. He almost never gets juice so he guzzled it right down :)
Wow! Good job! Seth failed to mention another thing that makes you superwoman- you're pregnant, too!! :) You rock, Kiersten!
My niece decided she wanted to start potty training the week before I came to Lexington, much to the chagrin of my sis-in-law. :) We still are "on hiatus" with Jordan due to her tummy issues, though I hope to start back after we get home. You are a braver woman than me getting rid of diapers! I don't know that I could do it! :)
I'm in Lexington/L'ville area until Jan 14th and we'd love to have lunch, or bring in lunch for you guys, or something. Give me a call sometime- I know the holidays can be hectic, so give me a call after the 1st sometime. I would love to see you and have Jordan meet your little ones! (Cell- 714-747-9181)
Post a Comment