Potty Training Tips

I thought I would compile a little list of some potty training tips and tricks that we found helpful. 

Below are some that we found most useful and some from our own experience of potty training. 

First of all it's always important to ensure your child is ready for potty training. Starting too soon or when your child is not ready could result in a huge step backwards. I think this is the mistake we made the first time we tried as although Calleigh was showing signs that she was ready she just wasn't quite there yet. Once you've established that your child is ready then it's time to start. 

• If the potty isn't working for your child (if they wont sit still on it for long or seem to have no interest in it) try going straight to the toilet using a potty seat. This was the best thing we did! Going on the toilet made her feel more grown up and she was excited to go each time. Also purchase a little stool so they can get up themselves instead of you having to lift them on to it. 
• Make sure the toilet (if you are using one) is easily accessible. Leave the light on if it's a dark room so it's always on show and the door open so they can go in as they please. They may not always want to tell you about it first and if they can't get in- hello puddle on the floor.
• Invest in a few potty training books, maybe a couple of weeks before you plan on starting. Get them used to the idea of using the potty and how to do it. I found the best one I got was a Dora one as she is one of her favourite TV programs so she was really interested in the book. 
• Put together a potty training reward chart. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. I did mine the night before we started and it worked perfectly. I stuck it on the wall (at her height) just outside of the toilet so once she had done she could stick on her reward sticker. Use things like "telling mommy or daddy I needed to go", "Did a wee wee", "Did a poo poo" and "wiped my bum" and let her stick a sticker on each time she does one of those things. 
• Big celebrations are the best! I found that Calleigh responded really well to a lot of praise. When she went on the toilet I would sing and dance "You did it, you did it" and she would join in shouting "Yay, I did it". If Daddy wasn't there I was sure to let her face time him and tell him that she did it so she could get praise from him too, she is a daddy's girl after all. So yeah, celebrate your heart out!
• Don't stress the accidents. If you stress about them your child will pick up on it and that will upset them and put them off. Quite a while back now Calleigh had an accident in the bath, I freaked out a little bit and scurried around trying to get her out of the bath whilst shouting for Daddy to come and help out. Calleigh obviously picked up on it and hated going in the bath for about 3 weeks! This time if we had a little accident on the floor I just told her "don't worry, you'll get it next time and mummy will clean this up no problem" Speak softly and calmly. They may still be a little distressed but if you are calm, they will be too. 
• Respect their privacy. Calleigh usually wanted me in the toilet with her when she went but I did find that when it was a number two she was more comfortable on her own and would shout me in when she had done. 
• One last thing- don't leave wipes (the non flush able kind) in the bathroom! Calleigh had so much fun flushing a packet down the toilet and we had a lot less fun unblocking it!  

Riding a Bike

As it was such a lovely sunny day on Easter Sunday we decided to let Calleigh play outside. 

We have just finished painting the decking (getting it all ready for summer) so we had to play out on the front. It gave her a lot more space to play and the roads are always quiet, so we decided to let her have a go on her new toddler bike. She has only played with it inside at the moment and hasn't quite got used to pedalling it herself yet so this was the perfect opportunity to try and show her how. 

We had so much fun and she did so well! It wont be long now until she's able to fully ride on her own. 

You can also see on the photo's that she has a band aid on her knee. She feel over the other day outside and got her first little knee graze. So I ran to the store to get her some Dora plasters. 

She loves it! 

Here's a video of her riding her bike :-) 

2 Year Update

Wow in just under 1 week Calleigh is going to be 2 years old! I can't believe it, it seems to have gone so fast. It feels like just last month we were celebrating her first birthday. 

This has been such a massive year for us, a lot of changes have happened and adjustments have had to be made. Calleigh has taken it all in her stride and has been a little star throughout it all. When I think back to how Calleigh was last year I am amazed by how much she has grown and all of the things that she can do now that we were not even thinking about last year.

Calleigh at her first birthday party

Her speech is coming on excellent and pretty soon I can see us having full on conversations with her. She went so quickly from just being able to say a few words of choice to being able to identify and say lots of different things such as coat, hat, bed, bowl, frog and house just to name a few. I would be here all day if I went through every word she can now say. She has also started stringing words together to tell us what she wants. There is still a long way to go but I'm certain that she will soon be talking up a storm. 

Calleigh is far more advanced in other things. I was amazed when she was able to put the wooden animal shapes in the right places a couple of months ago, but now she can do a jigsaw! It's amazing to watch her, she is so clever. She also has a few apps on Paul's Ipad which she is an expert at. These apps are made for children between the ages of 3-7 and she can pretty much do everything herself with no help needed. Through trial and error she just knows what to do, it's pretty amazing.

Her personality is really shining through now. She has such a good sense of humour and always has us in hysterics with all of her crazy ideas and antics.
She can also be very loving. She has a fondness for her teddy bears now and always gives them cuddles and kisses. On the other hand she is also becoming a bit of a drama queen. Her temper has definitely well developed and if she doesn't get her own way everyone will know about it and someone will pay! It's a bit hard to handle at times but we are learning new ways to deal with the tantrums.

At the moment we are busy planning a big update to her room to change it from a nursery into a little girl's room. She will be getting a pretty new toddler bed to replace the crib and some new furniture to store her toys/books/clothes and teddy bears. I can't wait to get started!

But for now we are just looking forward to her birthday and watching her open all her presents!

Potty Training Progress

We brought a potty a couple of months ago to have around the house ready for when training began. Calleigh knows what it is for but up until recently has shown no signs of wanting to use it yet. We haven't pushed for her to start using it as she is still young and has plenty of time to learn when she is ready to. 

The other week, whilst having a bath I noticed she stood up and was showing her usual signs of doing a number two. With no other option we took her out of the bath and placed her on the potty just to see if she would do it on there. She stayed sat on it for some time and eventually did her business on the potty. I was so proud, we clapped and praised her and she enjoyed the attention (although she was more interested in trying to pick it up- eww).

We thought it may just of been a fluke, an achievement through convenience rather than a sign she was ready to begin potty training. But to our amazement the next day she did it again. Although it took a lot longer this time- poor thing. Again we clapped and cheered, praising her achievement and she clapped for herself too. 

I was beginning to think maybe she was ready to begin training and we should start to take the next steps. Unfortunately since those two times she has refused to go on her potty, taking us back to square one. 

I'm very much okay with this though, as much as it would of been nice to get and early start on potty training I believe it is up to Calleigh when she starts as it will make the process much easier if she is willing.

I don't want to force the matter so for now we will just keep asking if she wants to go on potty and until that day she says yes or gives us the nod we will carry on as we are. I am happy with knowing that she knows what it is there for and has a good idea on when to use it and what to do. 

Playskool Wooden Blocks Review

Calleigh has recently reignited her love with building blocks. She liked to play with them when she was little, however was not very good at stacking them. As we only had a small amount of blocks we decided we should buy her some more so she can really enjoy playing with them. 

We decided on Playskool's wooden blocks as they looked really good and were not expensive. 

The great thing we liked about these blocks is that they are not just your normal ABC blocks. Each side has different letter in lower case and uppercase as well as numbers, maths symbols, animals and you can also build a little house with doors, bricks and windows. 

It also came with a mesh bag so you have somewhere to store them when your child is done playing. 

Calleigh really enjoys playing with them, they are a lot easier to stack than her other blocks as they are a bit bigger and more sturdy. This saves us having to deal with a tantrum when her tower collapses. Every time her tower fell over she would walk over and kick mine too so mine fell (shess so mean). It still happens, but a lot less often. 

They are going to be really great when we start learning more. I will be using them as props to help teach her about letters and numbers as well as Math and English. 

*I am aware that I used an I instead of an L at the end of the word but we only had one L and had to improvise*

Playing in the Pool

We had a spare afternoon with nothing planned to do and the sun was out so we decided to take Calleigh down for a swim in the pool. As I mentioned before she has recently been showing a new found love of water so we thought she would really enjoy it. 

Well we were not wrong. 

When she saw the pool she ran straight over and kept pointing, indicating that she wanted in and now. At first we sat on the steps paddling our feet in the water. Calleigh began splashing around which drew the attention of another little girl a bit older than Calleigh who enjoyed being part of Calleigh's splash-a-thon.

Eventually when I felt brave enough I held Calleigh in my arms and swam out into the pool. She loved it, playing in the pool and giggling the whole time and trying her hardest to swim off on her own. 

Daddy kept watch of us from one of the sun loungers, amazed to see how much fun Calleigh was having. And I thought it was a blast too, I was so happy to see her splashing around with no fear.

I can't believe that, having a community pool just 5 minutes away from our house, that this was the first time we had tried Calleigh in the water. But now we know we will sure be going down regular and maybe even en roll in toddler swim sessions at our nearest aquatic centre.

A Little Update

I thought it was about time I do a little update to let you all know how Calleigh is getting along and share a few of her current likes and dislikes in CV format of course. 

Basic Stats

Height: 2 foot 7 inches

Weight: 21 lbs 

Progress

Learning to Speak: Calleigh can now say a whole host of new words, the main one being Mummy. 

She can also say:

• cook cook (cookie)
• Bubbles 
• La La (Auntie Lana)
• Mee Mee (Mee-Maw)
• Milk 
• Car 
• Ball
• Pat
• Hi
• And Bye

Learning about herself: Calleigh is now able to point to certain parts of her body when I say them. 

So far she knows; 

• Head
• Toes
• Hands 
• Knees 
• And Boobies (yes boobies). 

Learning about the world: She can recognize certain animals and the sound they make: 

• Cow
• Duck
• Cat
• Sheep 

She also knows when I say night night to give kisses and cuddles and then walks to the stairs. 

Her interactions have come on wonderfully too. She greets people with "Hi" and "Bye", say's "Ta" when you pass her something, joins in with the Little Einsteins when they blast off on a new adventure, sings whilst playing the piano and dances like a maniac to music. 

Things she knows that she shouldn't: 

• How to open the safety latches on the cupboards.
• How to make you do anything she wants

Favourite Food: Peas

Favourite Toy: Tea set

Favourite Book: That's Not My Kitten

Favourite Programme: Little Einsteins

Favourite thing to do: Pull a funny face, pass wind and then laugh about it or walk around in Mummy and Daddy's shoes. 

Dislikes: Thunder, dirt on the floor and hairy legs. 

Just for the fun of it because I have no idea how this happened since on my phone this is just a still photo but Google appears to have made it move, here is a photo of princess Calleigh herself. 

I find this hilarious! 

Breaking News!

Finally, finally, finally!

I am no longer Daddy anymore.

Calleigh has finally started calling me Mummy.

It's a breakthrough at the very least.

Here is a little picture I drew for her which she loves (I admit I would never have made it as an artist).
Somehow she knows that it is Mummy and Daddy.
Although she did point to the one with the bow and say Daddy.
I can assure you, Daddy does not wear bows in his hair. 

Introducing the Potty

Calleigh is 18 months old today so Daddy and I have decided it's time to introduce the first step of potty training. 

Our first step is introducing the potty to Calleigh and having it in the bathroom next to our toilet. This way she can become accustomed to it and it won't be something new and exciting she wants to play with when the time comes to start step 2. 

She has also been coming to the toilet with me when I need to go and I tell her what I am doing (no more detail needs to go here as I am sure everyone who reads this will be fully aware what goes down in the bathroom). And when I am changing her nappy I use the same words to create the connection between diaper changes and the potty. 

The potty we chose was a Disney Princess Magical Sounds Potty System by Tomy. It's a 3 in 1 system which means it can be used as a potty, a trainer seat for an adult toilet and a step stool. It also has a handle which plays fun sounds when pushed. 

It's a slow process, last week whilst accompanying me to the bathroom she just ran off with the toilet roll and she still likes to use the rubber seat as a Frisbee at the moment but I'm sure with a bit of perseverance we will be moving on to step 2 shortly (the step I am most definitely not looking forward to).