Potty Traing/Bottle Weaning
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive March 2005:
Potty Traing/Bottle Weaning
You may know from my profile that I have two kids, there 8 years apart in age. So some
things I remember from my DD and some
things I don't remember,
like how to start Potty training.
My DD somewhat trained herself, we leave in a area where she was able to attend public school at the age of 2.5. She was in a Headstart class with a lot of relatives and neighborhood kids she knew, who where a year to two years older then her. So naturaly she saw them going potty so she just started going (I guess she wanted to copy what they where doing). So therefore I don't have and or recall much with her.
But know I have my DS, he turns 15 months this month. In the mother department I feel that I am dragging my feet and not being the mother that I should and help him get out of those diapers and move on to the next phase of his life, being toliet trained. But the problem is I dont' nwo hwo to get started. I 've heard people say that it can be hard with a boy so maybe I'm letting that hold me back. But I not only need to,
I want to potty train him. If any one has any suggestions on how to start him off with the idea of going pottey, I would appreciate and love to hear them.
Oh btw, he's still on the bottle and last night, I felt so ashamed when he came into the kitchen as I was cooking and shook his empty bottle to me and said baba. So I took it from him and as I was filling it up, I noticed he was just standing there wainting for it like someone waiting for a cup of water. He will drinks from and big person's cup or a straw, but I can not get him to drink out of a sippy cup, which is needed for bedtime because he wakes in the middle of the night for a drink and I can't very well go to get him a regular cup , I have to get up at 4:30 as it is for work. So I just usually take a bottle of water to bed with us at night and when he wakes and askeds for his bottle I have it on the night stand, I give it to him and I don't loose that much sleep. So there I go again the bottle is a convience for me I guess. I need to get that away from him but how can I get him to take a sippy cup ( so he won't have any accidents). I feel embrassed because there are kids in his daycare that are 6 nd 8 months old that drink fromm cups and here he is about to turn 15 months and he is still in diapers and not only drinking from a bottle but also telling you when he wants one.
I'm sorry for lengthyness of this but I guess I needed to express how badly I feel too.
First off, don't let the fact that he is in diapers bother you. 15 months is still really young! If you are that into it, go ahead and introduce the potty to him, but do not force the issue. Let him sit on it etc to get used to it. My honest opinion, I wouldn't even start thinking about the potty for a few months! But if it makes you feel better, go ahead and introduce it to him.
The bottle, I would do away with. Honestly, as long as your giving him the bottle, why should he worry about drinking from a sippy cup as long as he gets the bottle! I bet if the bottles were gone, he would start on the sippy cup much faster.
Take a deep breath and relax! Nothing you talked about is the end of the world!! You have not ruined his life! LOL Sorry, I don't mean to make light of it. I know how things we feel we have done wrong can really upset us. But honestly, is he happy and healthy?? If yes, you are doing a perfect job!!
I wouldn't worry about the potty training yet either. I would work on the bottle right now. My girls never used a bottle, so I don't have any advice on weaning from it, but they did love picking out their own sippy cups. They have so many characters and colors now, maybe then he would be motivated to try a sippy cup instead. Don't be so hard on yourself-like Vicki said, if he is happy and healthy you are doing a great job.
Are you trying to use those no spill sippy cups? They are hard. Get some old fashion tupperware type. If he spills some it is okay it is only water. And it takes a few spills before they learn.
On potty training. Just make it available, sit him on the potty when you are getting his bath ready. Start reading books, start using lots of potty language. He is probably too young to go full force, but he is certainly at the perfect age to really introduce him to the idea. Just talk out loud a lot, oh look your sis has to go potty, oh mommy needs to potty. Mommy is a big girl she doesn't wear diapers, she uses the potty instead, etc. This type of talk really teaches him the concept and will make the big training day go a LOT easier! And then just follow his lead. Another great idea when he gets closer is to get one of those babies who wets, so he can play baby going potty.
Lots of good advice already so I only have one thing to say. My dd never took a bottle either and when we tried to give her a sippy cup she just couldn't get the hang of it. We finally got some of the spill proof cups with straws at Walmart and it worked great! You said he can drink out of a straw, so maybe that will work. Good luck! BTW, my dd is 22 months and we are just starting the potty training so he is still young. It took her until now to begin to understand when she goes and know she is doing something good when she goes on the potty. Before now (she would go on the potty at 18 months), she had no clue what she was doing so it was just hit and miss.
I put the potty chair in the bathroom starting at 18 months, but didn't force the issue. I did it just to get them used to seeing it around and I would tell them what it was for and let them sit on it when they wanted to. The day after their second birthday I started the actual potty training. My dd was completely trained within a week! My ds too a year and a half to completely trained. I did the exact same thing with both my dks, but they were very different people. Try not to stress if your ds does not take to potty training the way your dd did.
As for the bottle. IMO, it needs to go. If your ds doesn't like regular sippy cups and he will readily drink from a straw then get the sports bottle type with the straw. They aren't as spill proof as regular sippys, but at least they are an alternative to the bottle.
Good luck to you and your ds!
Vicki,
Thanks, no I'm not really in a rush to take him out of the diapers , I think that a child should be able to communicate to the point that you can understand them letting you know they have to go to the bathroom. I think I was just worried how it looked to others, because he is not a small child so therefore people may think that he is older then he is and say that boy is still in diapers. But I know now that that is my problem I have to get over that what others think. Like you said he is happy and healthy so that is what is important. Thank you your words made me feel so much better.
Karen,
Yes I have been trying to use the spill proof kind. I will try the tupper ware ones. Do you know of any store that sells them or is it somethgn that i need to order form tupper ware them self?
Tunnia,
What a wonderful idea, and you know until you mentioned it. I hadn't thought about it I have a sports bottle that I drink from in the house sometimes myself and he likes to sip from it. I guess I never entertained that idea, because when you think of taking the bottle , you automatically think of those baby cups. But thank you, I will try him with both the upper ware cup that Karen recommended and a sports bottle. So that way he will still get that use of a cup experience as well. I think I'm going to let the potty training idea go and just focus on him getting away from the bottle, I know now that I'm not doing him wrong by still letting him be in diapers,thanks to you all's reassuring.
|
Members
