A use for my Very Hungry Caterpillar Sticker book

I have so many copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar - I have 2 of the board books, one large paperback and this sticker book.  I never took the stickers out and put them into the book because... well, because I thought it was more fun to use it as a backup book for when I can't seem to find the others (lost under the bed, left at Grandma's house etc).

But!  I have found a use for my Count with The Very Hungry Caterpillar book.  Erika has been reluctant to go to the toilet on her own (she always wants me to go with her and wipe her botty, or carry her to put her on the toilet) but she loves to stick the stickers in the book.  So I told her each time she does everything herself on the toilet,  she gets to stick a sticker in the book.

In fact it's going so well, that I may have to buy another sticker book of some sort for her to do.  Though I'm hoping by the time stickers run out, she will be independent and not need me in the bathroom anymore.

Early start potty training

Before children I never really thought about potty training - I mean geez, why would you?  But at a Baby Expo in 2008 when Erika was just under 4 months old, I walked by the toilet training stall and was looking at the things there, and the lady was so helpful, enthusiastic and full of information.  She sold me a potty and the book "Early Start Potty Training" by Dr Linda Sonna and I took it home to read.

In the first chapter they talked about a toilet trained 4 month old, and I was astonished.  I didn't realise it was possible!  I wished that I could do that and I was determined to try.

Now that I have toilet trained 2 children, I feel like I can talk a bit more about it.  The analogy I often use when I try to explain to people about early toilet training is that you can start toilet training puppies at 6 weeks of age, why can't you train a child?  Isn't a child smarter than a dog?

And children are smart.  What we are doing is teaching them to wee in their nappies, and the reason why it's so difficult later is because we are trying to teach them to do something different, something that they have been doing all along.  Like suddenly telling them to use their left hand instead of their right hand.  Now what rebellious 2 year old would want to go along with that when they have been totally comfortable all along doing it the way they'd been doing?

So essentially what we should be doing is getting them used to weeing without their nappy from as early as possible, so they know that you can wee into the toilet as well as into a nappy.  Preferably, not to wee into the nappy at all (ie hold it!) would be ideal!

My daughter didn't really start her potty training until 6 months when she could sit up.  And she had quite intensive potty training in the fun way, with books, balls and toys and lots of encouragement and praise when she did do her business in the potty.  She was wandering around without a nappy from the age of one and taken to the toilet at regular intervals so that she didn't have accidents.

My son didn't get the same intensive training but seeing how great my daughter went, I thought I would try it earlier.  From 3 months I had him over the potty or sink to catch his wees and poos.  However I didn't think he would do well and he seemed to be behind my daughter in her training, however in recent months he has improved in leaps and bounds.

But when I explain this concept to people they think I am cruel.  But how is it cruel?  I am merely teaching them to be clean!  And I'm not making them cry or withholding food or torturing them if they don't use the toilet.  I patiently do my best and if it doesn't work I just keep trying, but being encouraging.

So how is the best way to start?  I think the younger the better.  It's about knowing the habits of your child.  So if you know that after a breastfeed your baby is going to poop, well that's the perfect time!  As soon as you're done breastfeeding, hold them over a potty and make those straining sounds, and if something happens in the potty then that's great!  If it doesn't don't be disheartened, just keep trying.  You will get it!  It is really exciting that first time you catch a wee or a poo, kind of like winning the lottery... ha!

Ok, so once you get your child used to going to the toilet what next?  This is a difficult part.  I have found with my kids that if you leave the nappy on them and try to take them at regular intervals, you will more often than not have a wet nappy.  Why?  Because the kids know they can just wee in their nappies.  I think that timing it is better.  Watch your child, and see at what intervals after a drink they need to go to the toilet and take them regularly.  Babies can't really hold it for very long after they tell you they need to go, so you really have to grab them early.  So I really think that it's best if you have them wandering around without nappies so you have more incentive to take them to the toilet (otherwise you'll have a messy floor!).  You will have lots of accidents though, so just be prepared for that.

Doing it this way you will find that they are toilet trained for poos before they are toilet trained for wees.  If you toilet train the standard way, it's the other way around.  I'm not sure why!

So, just remember that it doesn't come overnight, and it takes a lot of hard work, but you will feel so proud of your little one if they are successful, and if you aren't successful - it's not a failure! 

Julian using potty on his own!

I thought it was a fluke yesterday when Julian sat down on the potty and pee'd by himself in it, but he did it about 4 times today!  So I'm feeling pretty proud of my little boy, and he seemed pretty proud of himself too!

But does this mean I have to let my son run around with no pants all the time so he can sit on the potty?

Should I take the plunge and start night training?

I am wondering if I should start the night time training again for wees for Erika.  She wakes up with a wet nappy so I'm wondering if I should just take her to the toilet at midnight before I go to bed.  I did try that for a little while but I then she started waking up at night - I'm wondering now thinking about it whether that was her wanting to go to the toilet because I'd started alerting her to needing to go.

Well it's so hot now that I think I'll start it again.  With any luck we'll not need night nappies anymore.  I wish we could go back to the days where Erika had a dry nappy at night.  It's been ages since she could do that.

I think that being dark in her room really does affect her going to the toilet.  I bet that she is scared to go out of her room because it's dark.

Could it be lactose intolerance?

Mum was up here while hubby went to visit relatives in Taiwan, and she suggested that Julian might be lactose intolerant.  So we decided to do a little experiment and we put him on Soy formula for 2 days.  At first he drank 100mL and then cried so I had to put a little bit of sugar in it and then he polished it off quick smart.  And we found that his poos decreased!  The next day he woke up at 530 and only did a little firm poo in the morning and then didn't poo all day.  And today he woke up at 5 and had a tiny poo on his bottom (very solid) and so I gave him his normal milk and about 30 minutes later he did a nice big poo with some solid and soft bits in it (whoever is reading this blog will think GOD all she does is talk about poo!).  So today we'll see how he goes with being back on normal milk after having 2 days of soy and see if he's better.  But I really do think that he's been better and happier after having the soy for 2 days, he seems cheerful and happy and he's sleeping well!  I was a bit worried about his poos but I guess we'll worry about that later... see how these two days go.  He'll be at Michelle's for 2 days on normal formula so we'll see how his poos are - maybe his bout of diarrhoea ages ago threw his bowel flora out of whack and he just needed a rest.  Wonder if his bowel flora came back though....

I think I might do another experiment and start giving alternating lactose free milk and lactose milk during the day.  All I want to do is have him sleep well overnight!  And not have poo in his nappy waking him up.

A blue moon! This has never happened before!

Yesterday Julian woke up at 530am and he had NO POO in his nappy!  And he didn't poo until after he had some breakfast!  I have no idea what made that happen but I wish it would happen again!  The only thing I can think of is that the night before that I gave him only bread to eat (but it was only a small amount).  Maybe bread doesn't make so much poo...

... because last night I gave him rice and bread and we're back to 445am poos again.

Mum also thinks that Julian may be have an intolerance to the milk.  I changed to Nurture to see if it made any difference but really I should change to a lactose free formula.  And see if that makes a difference.  Geez, lactose free formulas are expensive!  I'll have to go get some today.

Ugh using sposies

I hate to admit it but using disposables at night has made Julian sleep through.  Sigh it makes me feel sad but if that's what it takes to get a good night's sleep....

The bad thing is he keeps pooping in his nappy in the morning too!  I can't seem to get to him in time to get it into the loo!

Starting Solids and relearning timetables!

I think I've just forgotten how to start solids in a baby.  Just getting Julian started on solids and I can't remember how much to start, which meal to give it, how often to increase etc.

Though now I've worked him up to a bit of brekky and dinner and last night he refused to drink his milk.  He was actually very sleepy, and I ended up putting him in bed and letting him catnap, then waking him up 15 minutes later and feeding him again - he drank 200mL!  Unfortunately he woke up at 9.30 screaming and did some farts then went back to sleep and then he woke up at 3.30am.  I changed his nappy and took him to bed and we slept, and I didn't feed him and he woke up at 6am and I fed him then.  So slowly I'm getting rid of the night feed!  Just need to get rid of the waking up at 3.30-4.30am business and then we'd have a perfect sleep!

The other bad thing with starting solids... now I've lost my poo timer!  He hasn't pooped as much as he used to and basically has held it since yesterday afternoon.  I'm scared of opening a nappy and finding it overflowing with poo!  I hope I can get my poo rhythm back!

1 May:

God I've definitely lost it.  This morning he pooped in his nappy and then he did a big poop this afternoon in his nappy and then continued to poop while we were changing!  And that was after I washed his bottom!  So disheartened.  But I can only continue trying.  There is light at the end of the tunnel... and that is to stop cleaning poopie nappies!

Spreading the word on infant potty training

After I had that negative experience at a friend's house with early start potty training, I have decided that I would make people more aware of toilet training early.  So I openly tell people that I am potty training my child despite the fact he is only 6 months old.

I liken it to toilet training a puppy.  Because if you can teach a dog surely you can teach a baby!  Babies are smart little things, they like routines and they recognise familiar objects.  If the baby can recognise a milk bottle means food time, a car seat means car ride time, or seeing a bath and knowing it's bath time then surely they can recognise that a potty/toilet means poopoo weewee time!

And it seems like extra work when you have to break the habit of the child who is used to pooing and weeing in their nappy.  And if you try to introduce them to the potty at that terrible two age when they are busy asserting themselves and everything is "no" then it just seems like a daunting task.  I think I did the right thing by introducing him to the potty at the early stage so he's not afraid of it and even enjoys it because it means mummy is going to play with him!

I've read that the best time to introduce it is betweeen 4-6 months of age.  And that there is a window of opportunity before they start refusing to try new things.  And there used to be people saying that there is psychological trauma from trying to potty train too early so that's why you have to wait till they're ready... but I don't like that approach.  If we waited for our kids to be ready to eat their vegetables, go to bed early, learn manners then we'd end up with children with no boundaries and a bit wild!  Hence we teach them to like eating vegies early, we train them to go to bed early... I wonder why the resistance to potty training?

And that crazy thing you read in books about how kids have no bladder and bowel control before they're 2?  I think that's crazy too!  Julian clearly shows some slight control, he does try and hold his poops until we get to the toilet because as soon as we get there it goes BLRRP!  And he can hold his wees until he wakes up after a nap sometimes too.  I truly believe that we can teach them to hold their waste if you start early.

I guess though that it's easier to just let them poop in their nappies, and I don't blame people with their busy lives now that they don't have time to do toilet training.  It really is time consuming!  But I look at my friends now who have children who won't poo on the toilet and only poo in their nappies and think of all the stress they're having and am glad that I have one child who doesn't have that problem, and hopefully a second who won't have the problem either.  But if I can do it, and I am a mother of 2, and I work 4 days a week doing 10 hour days, then most people can too.  But you have to admit I have a pretty schedule driven life, and I don't go out much (but I never did before I had kids anyway).

I think I might make a new post on that subject!

A food and baby behaviour diary

I thought I might start a diary about what I eat and how Julian behaves - to see whether things I eat correlate with Julian's bad night behaviour!

7 April
Hot cross bun
Water
Red Curry Chicken
Chocolate
Rice and Pork chop
Ribena

Fed 0430. Fed 1830. Slept 1900. Woke at 2230 changed nappy and bounced to sleep (disposable).  Not fed! Slept till 0400.

8 April
Weetbix and milk
Hot Chocolate
Fried rice and Satay
Water
Chocolate
Chicken Laksa
Ribena

Fed 0400 + pood, and some weetbix at 0645 + BM. Fed 1600 when arrived home R BM, pood after.  Pood in nappy at 1800.  Julian fussy to sleep, drank very litle formula and L BM (1830).  No poo after drink. Crying a lot.  Slept at 1900. Woke at 1950 (settled with picking up after 1 min).

9 April

Oats and yoghurt
Soyamilk
Chocolate
Hot chocolate
Apple
Nutrigrain
Vermicelli noodles and cabbage

Woke at 0200 fed R BM + pood in toilet
Fed at 615pm amd went to bed at 1930

10 April

Cocopops
Soy Milk
Yum Cha
Chocolate
Rabbit stew and Beef with burdock and octopus

Woke at 1am and fed, woke at 4am and 5am and then fed
Pood at 6 and 8
Fed at 9am
Fed at 1pm, 4pm and 6.30pm (little poo)
Bed at 730pm

11 April

Cocopops and Soy milk and Chai tea
Chocolate
McChicken, fries, strawberry shake
Rice, Pork belly, fish, beef and burdock
Cold and flu tablet (night)


Woke at midnight, fed and changed nappy back to sleep
Woke at 530 fed + poo
Fed some weetbix/farex/breastmilk + BM at 9.  No poo.  Bed at 10, up at 1045, pood at 11 (in nappy)
Snack at midday. Slight poo at 2 in nappy. Napped in car. Fed 3pm
Fed at 6pm

12 April

Soy milk and cocopops
Chocolate, Ribena
KFC Burger + Chips + sprite
Fried rice (pork, celery, onion, egg, carrot)

Woke at midnight, fed, and changed nappy back to sleep
Woke at 330 fed changed nappy sleep at 5
Fed at 9am (formula 150mL + BM) and weetbix and pood.  Fed at midday.  Fed at 3pm and then 6.30pm. Small poo.

13 April

Pullapart bread, soymilk
Hot chocolate and banana bread
Sandwich + Almond croissant
Orange juice
Nutri grain
Vietnamese broken rice with pork and jellyfish

Woke at 2am, fed and pood and changed nappy.  Woke at 5am put back to bed.
Fed at 6.30am and pood.  Grumpy all day because he had a cold.
Fed at 6pm and at midnight.  Up all night.

14 April

Banana bread
Water
Chicken kebab and lemonade
Boost juice
Chicken cajun, fish broth, sugar cane drink, rice
chocolate

Up at 5am, fed.  Ate well and slept well at Michelle's. Fed at 6pm when at home, slept at 7pm (no poo)

15 April

Weetbix and soy milk
Hot chocolate

Woke at 1am, fed (no poo), 5am fed and poo.

Elimination Communication with Julian

Elimination communication (EC) is about early start potty training - basically training your baby to eliminate their waste, but it's also about training the parent to recognise the signals that the baby wants to poo/wee!

My mum started Erika early on the potty at 6 months (basically when she could sit) but I was reading a book by Linda Sonna which talks about EC.  If you think about it, we toilet train puppies, why can't you toilet train a baby?  And we do reinforce the idea of pooping and peeing in a nappy if you think about it - imagine when you're changing the baby's nappy and they wee, and we squeal and scream, they learn that doing that is not good and that weeing in a nappy is good.  Gosh I have to say that it is hard NOT to squeal and scream when you're getting a golden shower...

So I noticed that Julian poos and wees after eating, so after each feed I take him to the bathroom and hold him over the sink/potty and wait for him to do his business.  Started out kinda slow but lately he's been able to poop and wee while I'm holding him.  Which is good coz that saves on me having to wash poo out of nappies!  One thing I've noticed is that he pulls off the boob if he wants to do some business.  I've been ignoring that because I wanted to get the feeding done instead of dragging it out, but I may have to start taking him to the bathroom.

I didn't want anyone else to see me doing the EC stuff because I thought that they would all think I was crazy, but now that it is working a little bit I don't mind people seeing.  I did it at my mother-in-law's house with my sister-in-law watching, and she is very open and nonjudgemental and she was fascinated that I was doing that.  What was even better was that he wee'd when I was doing it so it made it look good too.

There is something really satisfying about "catching" a wee or a poo.  I feel like I should reward myself with a chocolate or something (well I should reward the baby but he doesn't eat chocolate, oh well!).  The other day I think I caught almost all his poos.  Yesterday I missed 3 poos which was a bummer.  2 were while I was in the middle of feeding though.  Julian's most reliable poo time is in the morning, he always wakes up at 4-5am to do a poo.  He makes lots of poo straining sounds too so that gives you an idea that he needs to go.  I wonder if he holds it till then or if he just feels like going?  Well I don't think he can hold poo or wee long, but he can certainly let you know if he needs to go.  He actually likes going to poo because I hold him over the sink and there is a mirror in front of him and he makes funny faces, smiles, laughs and coos which makes the EC that little bit more fun.

I wonder when I should start using the potty instead of the sink.  I'm just scared that he'll poop all over my clothes if I use the potty because I'll have to sit on the floor.

5 February 2010

OMG I managed to have no pooey nappies yesterday!  All poo was in the sink!

6 February 2010
I was reading someone's EC journey and I liked this page:
http://www.freewebs.com/freetoec/mythologyreality.htm
It would make all the people who think what I do is dirty and strange know that it's all quite normal!
Julian actually poops quite quickly after having a feed.  If he wants to poop that is.  Sometimes I don't even have to make the sound he just does it as soon as his bottom touches the edge of the sink.  It's nice that he doesn't do the golden shower on me anymore, he waits till he gets to the bathroom!