Tag Archives: motherhood

Child #2: Quentin, Homeschool, Parenting, Toddlers

Easy for Mom Preschool

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preschool

I couldn’t decide what words to use for this title. I wanted to say “Lazy Mom Preschool” or “Preschool for Dummies”… but I don’t want to call Moms lazy or dummies! I just mean this is an easy way to do preschool with very little cost and prep work. Easy and simple is my way of doing things now-a-days. With cleaning the home, teaching the kids, making dinner, church responsibilities and my hobbies… I need to maximize my time by doing things very simple and efficient.

Here are the general learning principles I follow:

  • Do every subject everyday
  • Be consistent & efficient
  • Get rid of distractions
  • Use a paper and pencil
  • Test knowledge

These are the subjects I try to do everyday:

  • Gospel Study
  • Handwriting
  • Scissors
  • Reading
  • Math

The only exception is that my husband is in charge of a science lesson once a week during family night. I try to add music or piano to the daily list… but I seem to never be able to get to that everyday… yet! My kids also to do crafts and art on their own so I don’t mandate that either.

I’ve seen people make weekly calendars… Monday is Math. Tuesday is Reading. Wednesday is Science… ect. The reason why I think this isn’t the most efficient way to do preschool is because preschool aged kids learn by repetition.

God tells us to read our scriptures and pray everyday. Why? It’s so we can learn his words, remember them and master them! Doing something everyday will help anyone master any skills they want to learn! I know from experience that reading my scriptures everyday has made me a better reader as well as a better person. Doing photography everyday has helped me get better at photography. So if I want my kids to get good at something… I’m going to have to help them practice it everyday.

So doing every subject everyday has helped my kids learn these various subjects really well. The repetition really works and they are mastering skills like using scissors and handwriting. We do however take a break on Sunday to go to church and do Sunday activities.

Now… you may think… “Well you must spend an awful amount of time doing this everyday!” My oldest child is 5 years old. We spend 30-45 minutes max on all the subjects. My second child is 3 years old and we spend 15 to 25 minutes. My youngest is 1 years old and we spend about 5 to 10 minutes on it! So for me I spend about 1 to 1.5 hours total in focused learning sessions with my kids.

The key is to be consistent and making the time worth it! I try to get rid of distractions and put my phone away and turn off the computer. These precious minutes are spent in one-on-one focused learning sessions. I make the time efficient by gauging their interest on the subjects. If they are bored then I changed it up. If they are wanting more I usually give them more but I eventually make them stop and say… “Sorry you have to wait to have more fun tomorrow!” “But mom! I LOVE Math… please let me do more math!” In order to be consistent, I have to make teaching a priority in my life. I try to teach even if the house is messy or my projects are not done.

Lastly, I test their knowledge. I am always asking them questions to make sure they have master the concepts I’m teaching them. I test them in all the subjects including gospel learning, reading comprehension and math.

So here is an example of what I do every time. I try to consistently do the same routine every time. I also teach every subject every time. I make things simple by just using a notebook and pencil. Everyday I just make a new page or two in the notebook. It’s really nice to use one notebook so I can see how they progress over days, weeks and months.

A preschool daily learning routine:

  • Pray
  • Book of Mormon Study
  • Writing (or tracing) their name
  • Tracing lines and shapes
  • Cutting out a shape
  • Counting & Recognizing Numbers
  • Letter & Letter Sounds

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Once my child is ready to write on their own then I add these into the curriculum.

Adjusting the way I teach for each child has been a fun challenge. My first son likes to do book work while my second son likes to play games especially computer games. No matter what the content is… the principles I follow are the same:

  • Do every subject everyday
  • Be consistent & efficient
  • Get rid of distractions
  • Use a paper and pencil
  • Test their knowledge

This all didn’t come naturally. I had to learn from my other mom friends! I also had to learn from trial and error. I get criticism sometimes… “Your kids are young… they should just play!” Yes it’s true… there’s lots of learning when they are playing. After I do the focused learning session with my kids… they get so sick of me sometimes that they run away and play the rest of the day. All I have to do after is referee and resolve conflicts with sharing toys… lol! Oh… and I guess I feed them too! So my kids do play hard and work hard.

Of course… I’m not perfect at this routine… we have good days and bad days! But I try really hard to be consistent. Over time I see that the routine is working. The repetition has really given my kids a foundation of skills and knowledge they need for future learning.

I have found great joy in teaching my children the basics and while I understand that this method may not work for all moms/kids. I would love to hear what works for you!

 

 

 

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Babies, Baby Blog, Child #3: Emily, Family Life, Labor, Parenting, Pregnancy

Better Late than Never Birth Story #3

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Sorry guys… it took me over a year to write my birth story #3. Better late than never! If you haven’t written down your birth stories… I really encourage you to do so. You won’t regret remembering your baby’s birthday even if it’s years later.

Here’s birth story #1 and birth story #2.

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The Pregnancy… skip if you just want the good stuff

The pregnancy with Emily was much harder than the boys because I was sick and nauseous and tired. It was awful at the beginning. Second trimester was great because I had no morning sickness but by third trimester I was nauseous again.

Every afternoon leading up to the delivery, I was nauseous for about three weeks.

I lost my mucus plug at 36 weeks! I really didn’t want to go into labor so I took it “easy” until I was 37 weeks.

Pre-Labor… it gets a little funny but skip if you want!

Thursday – Best Friend’s Bridal Shower

I went in for a check-up. At 38 weeks and 1 day I was at 2 cm 75% effaced and -2 station. The baby wasn’t engaged yet. That night my best friend from high school was having a bridal shower! I felt strongly that I needed to go to her shower down in Provo. I made it there and back without going into labor! I listened to positive affirmations the whole time. Well, it was a good thing I went because the baby was born the morning of her wedding!!!

Friday – Nothing exciting…

Saturday – Neighborhood Pot Sticker Party

I was having regular contractions and nausea. I was making gluten-free pot stickers. I was working so hard that I was sweaty and tired. My brother came over too. Dallin, my husband was in charge of our neighborhood pot sticker party. I stayed home for a while but eventually went to the party. We had a lot of people come and it was fun.

Sunday – The baby disengaged and all labor signs stopped!

Monday to Wednesday – Test Days

Dallin had tests for medical school on Monday and Wednesday. It was really funny because I’m pretty sure the baby engaged on Saturday and I was having regular contractions… Then the baby disengaged on Sunday so Dallin can get through his tests!

And so Labor Begins!!!!

Dallin came home on Wednesday and said “Ok this is the best time to have a baby because my tests are over.” I guess Baby and I took it super seriously because by 7 pm. I was cramping and having contractions lasting about 45 seconds for every 6 minutes.

I stopped timing my contractions and decided to go to bed. Dallin spent until 10:30 pm playing on the computer.

When I woke up at 10:30 pm, my contractions seem to have stopped… but I told Dallin he needed to go to bed. Good thing he listened because I woke up at 1 am with really strong contractions lasting every 4.5 minutes for over a minute (~1 minute 10 seconds)… I thought “Wow… may be this is the real thing.” I got serious. I read scriptures for a while and the contractions wouldn’t stop.

By 2 am the contractions got stronger. I woke up Dallin and called the Midwife at 2:27 am. I was debating whether or not to go in. I told her that I’m already having my husband do counter pressure! I didn’t want to go in and have them tell me I’m not in labor. I asked her if I can take a shower. She pretty much gave me the ultimatum that if I took a shower and the contractions don’t stop that I had to come in because she didn’t want me delivering in the car or elevator.

Dallin and I did a few more contractions together. By now, I was not to be able to talk through contractions. Then Dallin took the initiative that we needed to go in ASAP… so no hot shower for me.

I told Dallin to go over to the Home Teacher’s apartment across the way. Dallin went over there but knocked on the wrong door. Dallin was sleepy apparently! A random guy opened the door and Dallin said… “woops wrong apartment!” and left! The guy closed the door and chained it. You have to remember that this was about 3 am. LOL! It was a funny story… even when I was in labor!

To the hospital!!!

So then Dallin went over to another neighbors apartment. During that time, I probably did a few contractions on my own. I felt in control the whole time. Dallin came back and told me our neighbor was coming. I got ready and went in the car while Dallin waited for our neighbor to come. By now I was listening to my Hypnobabies soundtrack and breathing very hard during my contractions. On the drive there I knew the contractions were actually doing something and I felt like I was dilating.

We got to the LDS Hospital at about 3:30 am and it was the best experience I’ve ever had. It was amazing!!! The staff was amazing!!! We did one contraction in the parking garage leaning on the car. Then we ran and did a contraction in the elevator. Then we got to the maternal newborn floor and rang the bell. They said “Yes?” Dallin said “I have a mom in labor!” We went into the check-in desk and I did another contraction learning on the desk. Dallin pushed on my back. The contraction was over and I could talk to the staff like nothing was going on. They checked me in quick and sent me straight into my room! No triage… No checking if I was in labor… No asking too many questions… They believe me to be in labor?!?!? Awesome… thank goodness!!! (This was very unusual for me!!)

We got into the room and they let me change into my hospital gown. Dallin and I worked through a couple of contractions during that time. The nurses did everything I told them to! They never checked me in between contractions. They were super nice!! I had my super simple birth plan pinned on the board… I made this in between contractions while I was waiting for my neighbor to come over. 🙂

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I got the big birth room I wanted!! It was one with a jacuzzi especially for natural births… not that I had time for that! I asked for a birth ball and birth stool. The nurse even got me and Dallin apple juice!!! Yum!!! This was a way different experience than my birth at the University of Utah or Ireland. It was truly perfect and I felt in control the whole time! They finally checked me and I think I was at dilated to a 6. They got me the birth ball and I did the harder contractions on there.

Finally, my midwife arrive and she knew exactly what I needed! She rubbed my back and squeezed my hips. Then she told the nurse to squeeze my hips while she was looking at my chart. I told my midwife… “I’m ready for you to break my water.” I got on the bed. She attempted to break my water but couldn’t get a good grip. I said “Now we need to wait until the next contraction is over!” So I got off the bed.

I think we did 2 more contractions and I got on the bed again. She successfully broke my water and I felt everything leak out. I got back on the ball and I immediately went through transition! I had 2 really intense transition contractions. The nurse and Dallin were doing great counter pressure the whole time! I breathed through every contraction without falling apart or getting distracted. I just kept saying “Can you guys push a little harder on my back and hips?!?!”… lol. I remember thinking “Ok this is it! It’s transition and it’s the hardest part!!!” My midwife rubbed my back told me it’s almost over.

Pushing!!

Yep… very soon I was like “I want to push!!! Where’s the birth stool?” By now I took off my headphones because I knew the hardest part was over and I didn’t need my relaxation tracks anymore. I was so stubbornly wanting to give birth on a birth stool because that’s how I had it for my second baby… but after about 2 contractions and lots of pushing the baby wasn’t moving. The midwife said that I needed to stand up. The baby was stuck on my pubic bone. So with the last strength I had… Dallin helped me stand up. Then during the next contraction… I squatted down (Dallin behind me holding me up) and the baby came out on the floor on the side of the bed. Don’t worry the midwife got there just in time to help the baby not fall!! I didn’t even pushed… all I did was squat down. LOL! I was lying on the floor by now and I was kinda worried because I didn’t hear the baby cry but she was just fine.

She’s here!!!

Our sweet little baby girl arrived at 4:57 am weighing 7 lbs 0.5 oz. We were only at the hospital for <1.5 hours and the labor was about 4 hours total.

I got on the bed. I don’t remember this part. It’s all a fuzz ball. I don’t even remember them giving me the baby but they probably did. I probably fed her. Good thing I have pictures!! Oh and I didn’t tear… what a miracle! 🙂

Well it was worth it. I was so proud of myself. I never lost control or wanted to give up! Angels were definitely helping me! It was by far my favorite midwife, hospital and birth experience out of my three experiences. It’s all a miracle!!

This was my midwife, Jennifer Jensen, CNM. She now practices at Riverton, Utah. She was honestly the best!!! ❤

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Babies, Creative Ideas, Parenting

We Converted a Single Stroller to Double Stroller

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UPDATE 1/11/2015: By the time my younger son grew out of the carrier car seat (~12 months)… My neighbor gave us their old double stroller. It was bulky!!! I only used it for like a month until my older son preferred to walk everywhere (~3 years old). I put the basket back on the Baby Trend Expedition Jogging stroller and is currently using it as a single stroller again for my youngest and my older son prefers to walk or ride his scooter! This stroller is lasting us a long time!

UPDATE 2/4/2014: A friend suggested that you could strap on ankle weights on the front of the stroller to help with the tipping issue and to give the stroller a better center of balance. You can strap the ankle weights onto the bars next to the front wheels or onto the bars next to the base of the seat or under the base of the seat. My baby is now 7 months and I’ve used the stroller for almost 5 months now. He’s a big baby and has almost grown out of the car seat but this stroller has been a life saver for the last few months!! We also tried to put another baby carrier in the front seat. It worked great. Just remember to always put the baby in the front seat before attaching the baby on the bottom to avoid tipping issues. Also, remember to put the heavier kid in the front seat. 

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When we were in Ireland I really wanted to buy a double stroller because I knew we were going to have another baby but double strollers are so expensive! When our first child was born we spent the money to buy a new Baby Trend Expedition ELX Travel System Stroller set. It came with a stroller, matching car seat and car seat base. We like the stroller because of the big basket on the bottom and because of the big wheels. One thing that I didn’t like about the stroller is that it’s too heavy to be a jogging stroller. I’ve tried multiple times to go jogging with this stroller and the front wheel is wobbly and not aligned properly. However, this stroller is good for casual walks and is great for shopping! After baby#2 was born, I felt constrained inside because we didn’t have a double stroller yet. One day, this idea came to me out of the blue like inspiration from heaven. I felt like God knew I wanted a double stroller and he provided a way for me to make my single stroller into a double stroller.

First, we went to Lowes. The people there were super excited to help us with our project. We eventually found a 6 inch carabiner for $2.98. They hardware guy at Lowes also told me they sell them at Babies R Us as “Mommy Hooks” but they cost $6.99 each for the same thing.

DISCLAIMER: This post has nothing to do with the Baby Trend company. This is just an idea that is not covered by manufacture warranties. This stroller is NOT designed to be a double stroller and has its flaws. This may damage your stroller and or car seat. I am not responsible to any injuries, deaths or damages if you choose to try this idea. Another hazard is that this may cause damage to your car seat locking mechanism which would result in safety issues while using it with your car seat base as most manufactures don’t recommend you locking your car seat into shopping carts and ect. Using your stroller like this may also void your manufacture warranty. Use this idea at your own risk.

For this project all you need is:

Here a video on how we made the stroller:

Here are the written instructions with pictures.

  1. Take off the basket that comes with the stroller. It should snap right off the front then there are two pins holding the basket in the back on the sides. Press the pins in and the basket comes off without ruining the stroller or the basket.
  2. Put on the brakes so the stroller doesn’t move while you’re attaching the car seat.
  3. Change the car seat handle to the up 90 degree position and attach the carabiners to each side of the handles. 
  4. Hook the car seat indents to the axle of the back wheel of the stroller. 
  5. Hook the carabiners to the stroller as shown in the pictures  
  6. Put the toddler in FIRST because with the car seat attached makes the stroller back heavy so it could tip. However, it is pretty stable unless someone pushes it over. After you have your toddler in you can put your baby in the car seat. ALWAYS use the seat belts just in case the stroller tips. 
  7. To take off the car seat all you have to do is un-clip the carabiners. Pull the release in the front of the car seat and take the car seat off the axle.  Remember to take the car seat/baby off first before you take the toddler off to prevent tipping.

I’ve used this stroller for 2 months and I love it. I’ve gotten really good at attaching the car seat and detaching it. It only cost us 6 bucks to transform our stroller into a double stroller and I expect the stroller to last until my baby grows out of the car seat. The stroller is also very compacted compared to a normal double stroller. This double stroller can also get through doors.

So there you have it, a single stroller that converts to a double stroller. There are some obvious flaws to this double stroller idea because this stroller is NOT designed to be a double stroller. Here are some things to consider:

  • The tipping issue as discussed above. However, the stroller is pretty stable as long as you have the toddler in front before you put the baby in the car seat. Whenever I have just the baby in the car seat, I’m just extremely cautious that the toddler doesn’t tip the stroller over with the baby inside.
  • The brakes are harder to access with the car seat attached but all you have to do is bend down and use your hands.
  • You can keep the carabiners clipped on the car seat or stroller to safe keeping.
  • Using this idea cause casual damage/scratches to the stroller but it’s just like how any other well used stroller would be.
  • Tuck the car seat strap on the bottom of the car seat under the car seat cover so you don’t step on it.
  • The car seat does stick out a bit so it takes some adjusting before you stop hitting it with your feet but I’ve gotten use to is and I don’t kick it anymore.
  • You don’t have a big basket anymore and because you don’t have a basket don’t be tempted to set heavy things in the cup holders. Really heavy things place on top of the cup holders could tip your stroller over.
  • So far this design only works for the Baby Trend Expedition ELX version of the stroller. We tried it on a Baby Trend Expedition Jogging stroller and it didn’t work.
  • Try attaching and detaching the car seat a few times before trying to do it with a baby as it takes some practice to get the gripping right.
  • Again this could cause damage to the car seat locking mechanism which would be a big hazard while using the car seat in your car. You can also try strapping your car seat instead of using the car seat base or use a different car seat in the car to prevent issues with using a damaged car seat.
  • I also wouldn’t recommend jogging with this stroller especially with the car seat attached to the bottom.

Again read the DISCLAIMER message above before trying this idea. This stroller has not been safety test. This is just a “make it do” idea. May be someone can convince Baby Trend to make a stroller like this for me. Let me know what discoveries you find!

Child #1: Micah, Child #2: Quentin, Children, Parenting, Photography, Temples, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Toddlers

General Conference Recap

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Every six months (in April and October) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a worldwide church meeting called general conference. The meeting last for 10 hours over the course of two days. During general conference, we receive counsel from our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, his apostles, and other church leaders. General conference is broadcast on TV, the radio, and online. The talks are then available afterwards on lds.org to read and study. We believe that if we follow the counsel given in the sermons at general conference that our lives will be blessed. As we listen to general conference, we believe that God can speak to our hearts through the Holy Ghost. Everyone can receive their own personalized counsel during general conference.

After pondering and reading over my notes from conference, two things stuck out to me:

1) Be a Mom

2) Be a Missionary

…. Be a Mother Missionary.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave a talk about the influence of a good women. He talked about his grandma and how she “never learned how to drive a car, but she knew how to help boys become priesthood men.” He also posed the question from Neal A. Maxwell “Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congress?”

Also during the conference, our prophet announced that our church has reached 15 million members and have currently have over 80,000 full-time missionaries.

President Monson said that “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together to work together to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto him.” He also quoted a past prophet, President McKay saying, “Every member a missionary.”

A couple days before general conference, I got a few of my friends in our ward together for a temple trip. We dressed up our 2 year-old sons as little missionaries and took pictures of them. Aren’t they cute?

I learned during conference being a mother is being a missionary. Mothers in the church are teaching their kids to be future missionaries. Our homes should be like the MTC. Even at this young age, we teach our kids about God and His Son Jesus Christ. We also teach them that they are children of God and that God loves them very much. We teach our kids how to pray to God and how to receive answers to their prayers. We teach them good morals such as sharing their cookies and serving others.

We teach them the reason why they are on earth is to be happy and in order to be truly happy we have to follow of the commandments of God the best we can. We, as mothers, prepare our kids to choose to be baptized when they are eight year old. We teach them that we make mistakes but because of Jesus Christ’s atonement we can change and be a better person.

We prepare our sons to receive the priesthood when they turn twelve and go on missions when they turn eighteen.

We teach our children that the temple is the house of God and we go there to make promises to God to be the best person we can be. We teach them that the temple is where families can be sealed together forever. We are teaching our children to be future missionaries but most importantly we are teaching them to become good husbands/fathers and wives/mothers.

I felt like Heavenly Father was telling me “Don’t worry if your kids take up all your time… it’s what you’re suppose to be doing. Taking care of your kids is the most important form of missionary work!”

So then I asked myself the question “Why do I do missionary work?” For me it is because I know that God lives and Jesus Christ lives. I know that by obeying God’s commandments and following His prophets we are truly happy. Throughout the years my faith has been tested but I still know this day that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s true church. I know that the fullness of the gospel has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I love my kids and I want to share with them everything I know to be true.

Why do you do missionary work? What did you learn during conference? Please share with me what you learned! Feel free to share, pin, Facebook these images.

Missionaries loves cookies! It was the only way we got them to sit still and special thanks for all the moms for letting me use their kids. 🙂

Can’t forget my newest little future missionary:

Here are some fun graphics I made:

Here’s a behind the scenes picture of the moms. It’s so hard to get five 2 year-old to sit still! 🙂

Child #1: Micah, Parenting, Toddlers

Early Potty Training for Boys – Where to start?!

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This is Micah. He is 19 months old and he can go pee in a bucket. He only wears a diaper to nap, when we go out, and bed time. I wouldn’t say that he’s “potty trained” but it’s definitely a start! If you’re reading this, I’m telling you right now that I’m not an expert. I only have very little experience and what worked for us might not work for you. I’m writing this post mostly for my sake so I don’t forget when I do this the next time around. 🙂

Also, if you’re potty training a girl… this post probably won’t help you very much.

Why did we start so early?

I’ve read lots of criticism about early potty training. There’s a lot of negative opinion out there warning people not to start potty training too early. However, both my husband and I felt very strongly that we should start teaching Micah. Micah was getting really horrible diaper rashes and wearing diapers was not helping.

It hasn’t really been easy. It has tested my patience and self control in may ways. I definitely don’t think early potty training is for everyone. It’s taken some time sacrifice and lots of work but, recently, it has paid off for us!

What worked for us?

  • I started by taking of his diaper and letting him run around with a naked bum.  (Scary! I know!)
  • I got a bucket… yes a bucket not a potty. Also, I got lots of paper towels and disinfectant.
  • Then I gave him lots (I mean lots) of water, juice, and milk. This allowed Micah to go every 15 to 20 minutes sometimes.
  • I watched out for his “gotta go” signs. Micah would cross his legs, squat, or hold himself.
  • I watched the clock and kept track on paper when he needed to go. I saw a pattern really fast of when he needed to pee and when he needed to poop.
  • I tried to keep him contained in one area when I knew he needed to go soon. I read him books, watched youtube videos, or let him play with the Ipad in the kitchen next to the bucket.
  • I was on alert and had the bucket ready to catch his discharge at all times.
  • Every time Micah was going, I tried my best to catch his pee or poop in the bucket. Trust me… this wasn’t always easy and I missed a lot! When you miss that’s where the paper towels and disinfectant come in. 🙂
  • Afterwards, I would show him what he did, congratulate him, and give him a piece of chocolate.
  • This helped Micah pay attend to what is going on with his body and soon he figured out how to use those muscles. He also figured out fast that he got chocolate every time he went pee or poop in the bucket. I was trying to be really nice and encouraging at first so I would give him chocolate even if he missed the bucket but then as he got better I would only give him chocolate when he made it into the bucket.
  • Then after a while of doing this catching thing… Micah learned that he can control his bladder muscles!
  • I slowly cut Micah back to normal amount of liquids but I still kept time on his bowel movements. I notice what time during a normal day he needs to go without filling him up with juice. For Micah, it is poop/pee right when he wakes up, then pee ~every 1.5 hours until nap time… ect.
  • By now I could give him underwear which is really nice to prevent him from touching his private parts but not so nice because it’s an extra thing to worry about.
  • Now, when I know it’s time and I see the “gotta go” signs, all I have to do is help Micah take off the underwear and prompted him “Do you need to go pee?” Then I show him the bucket. He goes to the bucket, aims, and pees. Afterwards, he points to the cabinet where the chocolate is and ask me for one. 🙂
  • I also started to say “sssshhhhh” to encourage him to start going when he’s next to the bucket. I don’t really know if it works but it’s just what I’ve read in the books. I also make sure to use the same potty terminology so he understands what I’m taking about.
  • We’re still working on Micah to sit on a real potty to poop but it’s pretty easy to catch that too since it’s only two times a day.

What didn’t work for us?

  • I read online that I could try putting Micah on the toilet/potty every 15 minutes. This got him really frustrated and angry with me.
  • Making Micah sit on the potty/toilet in general didn’t work for us. I tried to read him books on the potty but sometimes it took hours and nothing would happen. Other times he would just go right after he got off the potty.
  • Rushing him to the potty/toilet didn’t work because it scared him and made him frustrated. He would tense up and not do anything.
  • Freaking out every time he peed on the floor didn’t work. At a point Micah was afraid of me and didn’t want to be near me when he needed to go. He would literally go hide in the corner because he was scared of me.
  • Not giving Micah enough fluids was bad because I would be waiting and waiting and waiting and nothing would happen.
  • Giving underwear too early didn’t work because he would just think it’s a diaper pee all over the place.
  • A intense potty training day didn’t work for us because in the long run I needed to show Micah consistency.
  • Too many reminders to go pee didn’t work because I would sound like a broken record and Micah would become resistant.
  • Being overly excited when he had success was actually discouraging. A simple “Good job” made Micah feel better than being overly exaggerating.
  • Potty training on days I felt stressed or overwhelmed was a disaster… on those days I find it better for Micah to be in a diaper so I don’t stress him out! 🙂
  • If I ever got too forceful in anyway, Micah would rebel quickly. We’ve tried our best to allow Micah to choose whether or not he wanted to be potty trained.

Now what?

I have no idea… just keep trying I guess. I don’t know what the future brings. One big thing I’ve learned is God is here to help even with potty training! From the beginning we felt inspired to start potty training. My husband and I prayed about it a lot. We prayed for help. We prayed that Micah would be ready. We prayed that I would be patient. My husband and I both received inspiration on how to start potty training. We counseled together when ideas fail and then celebrate together when things start working out!

What has worked for you? 🙂