You may remember a little while back that I told you about your slow start on the potty training adventure at what is, these days, considered early in Laras life. I've also recently blogged about how the reusable nappies are really struggling at present so today I thought I would give you an update on the potty training progress.
Back in August we got this Beco Potty from Jojo Maman Bebe. I have since discovered that one potty is not enough. You need one in every room ideally! Actually, that's an overstatement. I do keep one in the bathroom and one in the nursery by the changing unit at present as we never have time to leg it from one room to another. I think in the long term I will probably move one to the downstairs toilet when things become a little more serious.
Over the past month I've found that Lara's toilet habits have changed. She can quite easily go several hours and still have dry nappy but then when it does get wet, it gets seriously wet. When Lara wears a disposable you can tell easily when that has happened by the bulk of the nappy changing shape. But, when she is wearing a re-usable then the only way to tell is by touch; that usually involves me picking Lara up for a cuddle and then discovering that her trousers or tights are totally wet through, at which point I have to perform a complete change of outfit. Funnily enough, I see this as a good sign. It means that Lara is growing up.
For quite some time Lara has been indicating to me that she has wet her nappy through some means or another. Only in the last few days has she really been able to communicate to me accurately when she has wet or dirtied her nappy. She will sometimes now tell me in a quiet little whimper 'poo poo' seconds before the event. She rarely tells me 'wee wee' but I'm slowly learning that she does make a distinct noise... normally a little too late to act on it though. I guess that this ability to read Lara's signs is at the heart of 'Elimination Communication' which, the purists will tell you, I should have started from day one. I've been watching Lara for months now hoping to see the signs and only now am I learning... there is no way I could have done this 16 months ago.
The other significant change in Lara's behaviour over the last fortnight is the ability and willingness to dress and undress herself. She will always help me to pull her trousers or tights up and down if I ask her too and this is going to be a big help on our potty training journey.
So, Lara still wears a nappy for all but a few short minutes before and after her bath when I let her run amok. She will sit contendly on the potty both before and after that bath, sometimes with a book, sometimes with a toy. And, perhaps once a week, she successfully manages to use that potty. At present, I don't think she has really grasped the connection between her wet and dirty nappies and the potty. She doesn't seem that interested if she does use the potty and seems to shrug off the congratulations.
Given that I have not found a reusable that can reliably cope with the heavy wetting (and I've tried several different brands over the past few weeks, some better than others), I have been using disposable nappies far more frequently than I had ever intended. I now realise what a huge expense disposable nappies are. It is no wonder the big nappy companies want your children to stay in nappies until they are nearly 3 years old if they can get around £6 a week off you. I'm determined that Lara has to be out of nappies sooner rather than later and, from the way that her brain is developing to understand her own behaviours, I see no reason why this can't be done over the coming months.
Image courtesy of Jojo Maman Bebe
Back in August we got this Beco Potty from Jojo Maman Bebe. I have since discovered that one potty is not enough. You need one in every room ideally! Actually, that's an overstatement. I do keep one in the bathroom and one in the nursery by the changing unit at present as we never have time to leg it from one room to another. I think in the long term I will probably move one to the downstairs toilet when things become a little more serious.
Over the past month I've found that Lara's toilet habits have changed. She can quite easily go several hours and still have dry nappy but then when it does get wet, it gets seriously wet. When Lara wears a disposable you can tell easily when that has happened by the bulk of the nappy changing shape. But, when she is wearing a re-usable then the only way to tell is by touch; that usually involves me picking Lara up for a cuddle and then discovering that her trousers or tights are totally wet through, at which point I have to perform a complete change of outfit. Funnily enough, I see this as a good sign. It means that Lara is growing up.
For quite some time Lara has been indicating to me that she has wet her nappy through some means or another. Only in the last few days has she really been able to communicate to me accurately when she has wet or dirtied her nappy. She will sometimes now tell me in a quiet little whimper 'poo poo' seconds before the event. She rarely tells me 'wee wee' but I'm slowly learning that she does make a distinct noise... normally a little too late to act on it though. I guess that this ability to read Lara's signs is at the heart of 'Elimination Communication' which, the purists will tell you, I should have started from day one. I've been watching Lara for months now hoping to see the signs and only now am I learning... there is no way I could have done this 16 months ago.
The other significant change in Lara's behaviour over the last fortnight is the ability and willingness to dress and undress herself. She will always help me to pull her trousers or tights up and down if I ask her too and this is going to be a big help on our potty training journey.
So, Lara still wears a nappy for all but a few short minutes before and after her bath when I let her run amok. She will sit contendly on the potty both before and after that bath, sometimes with a book, sometimes with a toy. And, perhaps once a week, she successfully manages to use that potty. At present, I don't think she has really grasped the connection between her wet and dirty nappies and the potty. She doesn't seem that interested if she does use the potty and seems to shrug off the congratulations.
Given that I have not found a reusable that can reliably cope with the heavy wetting (and I've tried several different brands over the past few weeks, some better than others), I have been using disposable nappies far more frequently than I had ever intended. I now realise what a huge expense disposable nappies are. It is no wonder the big nappy companies want your children to stay in nappies until they are nearly 3 years old if they can get around £6 a week off you. I'm determined that Lara has to be out of nappies sooner rather than later and, from the way that her brain is developing to understand her own behaviours, I see no reason why this can't be done over the coming months.
Image courtesy of Jojo Maman Bebe
