Potty-Training Resistance!

 This is how my little Princess Diva Bear feels about potty-training.  We have been fairly consistent with training her for the past 3-4 weeks, and she still cries nearly every time I tell her it's time to go potty.  She doesn't tell us when she needs to go either, which is a bit frustrating to me, because I KNOW she knows when at least #2 is coming!  She stops everything and bends slightly at the waist, and goes...in her Pull-ups!

I'm not sure what to do with her at this point.  We have tried stickers, treats, and pretty much any other bribe for when she DOES go.  But she fights me a LOT on this.  I have the timer set for every 45 minutes so that I don't forget to have her go.  Maybe this is too often, but I find that about a third of the time, she has already gone in her Pull-up in that 45 minutes between potty time.

We let her have books in the bathroom, which she enjoys.  We let her turn the timer on for the next potty time, which she also enjoys.  I have asked her to help me remember what to do when the timer bell rings, which she does, and seems to be excited about.

But she just does not care if she gets potty-trained or not.  She will be 2-1/2 in a couple of weeks, and I figured for sure that she would be ready to potty-train.  I am tired of changing diapers, so I know I'm ready, but I guess maybe she's not.  I will not stop though.  We will continue to take her to the potty, and we will continue to give high praise when she goes, and even the occasional piece of candy when she goes #2.  Somethings GOTTA give!  Right?

I'd love to hear about your potty-training experiences!  Got any advice for me?

Mama Bear

 

Why I Can't Let Go

You know there's a point in each of your children's lives where you must let go. For some kids, it comes pretty early, because they are those super independent kids that know what they want out of life at age two and don't stand in their way, because no one's going to stop them! For others, they are still hanging on to mama's apron strings at age 25, when you're giving them that mama bird push out of the nest....you know the one, where they either fall or find their wings!

Well, there are also different stages in your kids' lives where you need to learn to let go and let them do it "by myself", even if there is the dread of big messes to clean up. I'm that mama. I have a hard time with letting them do it themselves, because I dread cleaning up the mess. Have you ever seen a toddler trying to learn to feed themselves? How about a toddler with tactile defensiveness, who doesn't eat much "big people" food, because he doesn't quite know how to chew yet? (Yeah, we're working on that. It's not a mommy-coddled issue...it's just something he's having to deal with.)

I decided yesterday to let Baby Bear eat his morning porridge (really! It was! He loves oatmeal!) by himself. I'm only brave enough to do this with foods that are fairly thick! He has this fun little spoon that holds the food in because of the little holes in the bowl of the spoon. It also has this wonky handle that is a little textured, and a little curvy. So here he is, eating like a big boy (This was early; you should've seen the bib by the time he was through!):

And here he is at lunch time with yogurt all over his hands and arms, after soaking his chow mein noodles and animal crackers thoroughly in the yogurt. I think he realized that by putting the crunchy foods in the wet food, they will soften enough for him to eat without having to chew them! He's a clever little bear, that's for sure! Ahhhh, see how happy he is? He's messy! This is actually pretty good for a little guy who screamed and cried when he got anything on his hands, at the time that we first got him.

Next step: Potty training!

What have you been hesitant to let go of? I'd love to hear from ya!

Mama Bear