Kathy said around lunch time on November 15, 2007
Here’s the post where I wax all mom-like. We are entering two phases of Reilly’s life that I once thought of as “so far away” and are now here and ready to be reckoned with. The first order of business is moving him to a toddler or big kid bed. This transformation is on the verge of immediately necessary as I have found him twice now with one leg up on the rail of his crib. I have already started gating his room and baby proofed the crap out of it but I’m worried he’ll fall and hurt himself so… Big kid bed is inevitable. I loathe to do this because as of now, this is the only solace I have. *mourns* He’s always loved his crib ... I just need to accept the fact that he is too big for it. I need to figure out how to transition him to it.
The other phase I need to start dealing with is Potty Training. Unfortunately “we” (meaning Reilly) haven’t been so eager on this either (unlike Sammy who is like practically writing his name in perfect cursive in the snow already) and while I’ve made effort to introduce it to him and show him… he just isn’t that interested. In fact he could care less. I am scared to force him and set it back further. He is afraid to sit on the toilet, he’s afraid to sit on the little Diego potty we got and he just generally isn’t into it. He is perfectly happy playing with a little car and doing his business wherever he sees fit. I don’t mind it, in fact it’s easier if that makes sense. But, he can’t do it forever and I am just at a little bit of a loss as to how to approach it. Needless to say I don’t see us executing this successfully anytime soon. Seems like a bit of a stretch…
Thus endeth my mommy blog for the day.
from Canada
Ass Burger Boy was almost four when I was certain he was potty trained.
I actually saw the connections forming in his brain.
I swear that is true.
He had always had a fascination about beards.
Every time he used the potty, I told him that he was getting to be a bigger boy now. Good job and all that.
The connection came when he mentioned beards yet again, and I said when he was bigger, he could grow his own beard.
Ka-ching!
After that, I always tried to remember what’s in it for him, because he was all about what’s in it for me. Still is.
from a stork
It was hard for ME to move my oldest to a toddler bed… he really loved his crib. But then baby #2 came along, so he didn’t have much choice in the matter. We bought a Little Tykes car toddler bed, and there were absolutely no arguments… he wanted to sleep in his new car bed ASAP. He never looked back. Well, not until little brother was sleeping there and then it was just a territorial/attention issue.
And potty training? I think I’ve tried EVERY technique (other than forcing the issue/spanking which is NOT an option as far as I’m concerned...sorry, Grandma) on my oldest. At this rate, it looks like his little brother will be trained before he is. Ugh.
p.s. Thanks for setting up the Safe Mama site. It seems like it would be a lot of work for someone to keep up-to-date, but it’s awesome for the rest of us!
from Virginia Beach, VA
Cocktail: Calypso Cooler
Okay - here are my suggestions based on some of the things that my son Ashton liked:
01. Cheerios in the potty - Ashton like aiming at them.
02. Food Coloring - I would put blue food coloring in the potty and he had to add the “yellow” to make the potty green. He really liked this one.
03. The Peter Potty was also a big hit. A couple other boys in his class did well with this too.
04. I also went out and bought a ton of matchbox cars and put them in a basket in the bathroom. Every time he went on the potty, he got to pick a new car or truck.
05. You could also teach him to make ”Poop Pickles” - which is the wonderful name that my son came up with all by himself. Lovely, huh?
from Orlando, FL
Cocktail: Cabernet Sauvignon; gallons of it.
I have nothing constructive to offer other than that I wish my mom had let *me* aim at Cheerios and turn the water green in the toilet. How awesome. In fact, I’m going to go home and try them both tonight.
We never called them “poop pickles”, though. It was always the Play-Doh Fun Factory; you know, you squeeze it out into shapes and cut it with the plastic knife if it’s too long.
from chocolate city, baby!
oh, the 2’s… i’m right there wit’cha, sista!! right after my son’s 2nd birthday i said it’s time to convert this crib into a toddler bed. i bought him his own little diego bed-in-a-bag and i was just sure that once he realized he could get out of the bed anytime he wanted he’d be totally sold on the idea. he wasn’t. maybe it was because he’s not at the point where he actually stays on the bed. i put big pillows on the floor to brace his fall (which he softly landed on 3 or 4 times) and i tried the bed railing thingy and it easily took like 3 inches off of his mattress, but he just wasn’t comfortable with the whole idea. so what’d i do? i put the crib railing back up, but it’s lowered. he feels safe and secure and he can climb out when he wants. i was ready for the big boy bed. he wasn’t. and let’s not even start on the potty!! hahaha…