Toileting Jackie

This past week, Jackie is increasing her toileting frequency while remaining dry. Twice this week, Jackie (with a diaper on) has stayed dry, came to me and said she had to "Pee Pee" and then went into the potty and voided immediately on the potty. This is the most she has initiated and actually voided. She often lets me know she just went, especially in waterproof underwear, but this is the first time she seems to be understanding to stay dry and then request. She'll even say "I'm dry" and look for a high five from me. So, she's getting it!

The first time this week that she initiated was after a long trip to my brother's wedding in NY, where we didn't take her to the bathroom the entire busy trip. When we got home, I was afraid she may have to start over or have unlearned something, because she went three whole days just voiding in diapers and not requesting. However, the minute we got home she pointed to her diaper and said potty and she pooped on the potty! A few days later she was dry and said Pee Pee and urinated on the potty.

These aren't the only times she has voided in the toilet. But I mention these because she specifically initiated prior to voiding, which is very exciting! We also changed her reward to fruit snacks, which she has never had before this, so this may be helpful in rewarding her for voiding!


For such a little person, she is learning so quickly!


On a side note, I also have to mention that she is now speaking in 2-3 word sentences, which amazes me. e.g.: Hi daddy, Lets go, I did it etc! This is remarkable to me! She is learning so quickly in every aspect of her teenie tiny beautiful baby life!


Until Next Time,
Colleen

Toileting-60% accuracy and self reporting!

Jackie only had two accidents today when I forgot to trip her. Both times, she came to me and pointed to her diaper saying Pee Pee!!! At least she lets me know she needs to be changed! And at least she's aware of what she's doing!!! Very proud of my little one!! She peed twice in the potty during the today too! She also went to bed dry at 6:30pm. I woke her at 10:30pm and she was still dry. She peed in the potty!!! 60% (3/5) accuracy today for voiding in the potty appropriately! She turns 18 months on Tuesday!

Colleen Williams, BCBA

Toileting Update September 2011

Current Status of our toileting.

Successful Voids: As Jackie gets older, ironically, successful voids are decreasing for now. She is so excited to run and play that she has little interest in sitting still in the bathroom. She does still successfully void in the toilet, but it isn't an everyday occurrence like it used to be. It happens more on the weekend because she's in her waterproof underwear and I am more aware of toilet training (to protect the rug of any accidents) and she is more aware because she can feel it. But, she does void successfully (average last weekend was 66%) and she is almost always lets me know when she's peeing/pooping so I can take her/change her diaper. So that's something!


Waterproof Underwear: She is more successful in days that I have her in waterproof underwear (usually all day any weekend we don't have to go anywhere). She holds her urination longer probably because she feels uncomfortable peeing in the underwear. She usually goes 3 hours dry consistently (so I don't have to trip her every half hour any more!) She also lets me know immediately each time she is about to pee or is peeing in her underwear so I can bring her to the bathroom. Often times, she stops herself peeing when she feels it in her waterproof underwear and I can sit her on the potty and get some success in the toilet!!


Initiation: She has gotten to the point where she announces loudly and clearly that she is either peeing or pooping and she points to her diaper. however, she will continue to run and play. She hasn't quite figured out that if she says she has to go she should run to the bathroom. There are some times when Jackie does initiate and runs straight to the bathroom, but that is not frequent enough. However, it is very frequent that she gains a persons attention and points to her diaper saying "pee Pee' or " poo poo." I just have to get that to mean something for her.

Jackie is more likely to run straight to the bathroom when peeing if she's in waterproof underwear but she will point to herself and announce that she's going even when in diapers like today!!! This is a good sign to me that even in diapers she's becoming more aware!


So she's getting there and she's becoming more aware of toileting, and is successful voiding occasionally still. I don't feel as confident about her success as I did 6 months to a year ago when we first started this toileting experience but I know she's showing more signs of readiness now than she was. Before it was all me taking her, now she's initiating and walking there inconsistently but still! I am proud to have a 17 month old who over half of the time voids successfully in the toilet and who tells me she's peeing or pooping and points to her diaper while doing so!!! Overall toileting our infant has been successful so far!




She's a smart girl, and she'll get there when she gets there.



Happy toileting,
Colleen Williams, BCBA

Waterproof and magical

Jackie and toileting has been an ongoing discussion in this blog since she was very very small. Yesterday and today we decided to try some waterproof underwear to replace her diapers, since she is already familiar using the bathroom and has been doing fairly well with staying dry in her diapers. She had one urination accident at 10am. She was in her waterproof underwear when she had the accident and felt herself go. She looked down and said "Uh Oh". I took her to the bathroom and emptied the urine that pooled inside the underwear like I do whenever she has dirty diapers. She waves bye bye and we flush it away so she knows where its supposed to go. Since that first accident, she stayed dry and clean all day (until 4pm when we left the house and I put a diaper back on her).

Since that first accident, she would run into the bathroom or say Momma and point to the bathroom door. I would take her into the bathroom, pull down her underwear, and she would pee in the potty! However, at 3:30pm, she ran into the bathroom and sat down on the potty and peed independently. Unfortunately, she did not remove her underwear. I still consider this progress because she urinated sitting down on the toilet as she is supposed to and that is really what I want her to get used to. She had one BM. She began to go in her waterproof underwear but must have felt it because she darted to the toilet and did most of it in the potty. She also made me empty her underwear into the toilet so she could say goodbye to it as we flushed. She definitely knows where its supposed to go!

Today we only did it for a couple hours because we went to church and I didn't want to experiment outside the house, obviously. So, from 9-11:30 she stayed completely dry with no accidents in her underwear!

We saved so many diapers just by letting her wear the underwear this weekend! I truly feel she is more aware of holding it and controls when she goes now that she can feel it in her underwear as opposed to her diaper.

Bye bye for now!

Separation Anxiety

I should really report on Jackie’s past few weeks she has developed an extreme and adorable attachment to me. She only wants me (which is a nice change from her only wanting her daddy when she was younger). However, it is getting to be somewhat of a hindrance on my life. Today she was on my leg more often than ever, not letting me go anywhere without her as my shadow. She is teething recently so she has wanted to cuddle with me more, but it is getting to the point I can’t do anything without a whine or a cry. I am staying strong. I can hear the whine and not run to hold her, but it’s difficult because part of me wants to run next to her just to keep her from being upset. But, most of me knows she’ll be okay and be more independent. She’s learning I am coming right back (I went into the next room not off a cliff). Although her little tears and little cry is hard to hear, daddy and aunts and uncles will keep her just as safe, and accepting separation is a good thing. I know with all my heart that this will pass. It is difficult that when I want to independently get things done, I have a year old anchor wanting me to constantly hold her. I have gotten good doing things one handed, but sometimes it’s important to let her know I am not going anywhere for long.

An important thing to note is that although it’s slightly frustrating having a little one holding onto me, most of me is just trying not to smile. I am secretly loving every minute of it! I know that when she’s older I am going to miss her desire for my attention, and I’ll be the one begging for hers.

Toileting Initiation Update

Jackie pooped in the potty on Monday! More than that, she initiated that she was about to go! She stopped playing and running, pointed to her diaper repeatedly, and looked at me as if I was talking to her. I took her to the bathroom and she pooped in the potty within about a minute of sitting down on the potty. It was absolutely amazing! She hasn’t pooped in the potty during trips in so long, so the fact that she actually went was amazing! Not to mention she kind of initiated beforehand, which makes me feel like this toileting stuff I have been doing with her has served a purpose.

She did this whole pointing to her diaper repeatedly and looking at me on Saturday, but by the time I realized she was trying to tell me something and I got her to the bathroom, she had already gone in her diaper! So when she did it again on Monday, I took her immediately there and she pooped in the toilet! She just turned 16 months old!

Nightime dryness

Jackie has been staying dry at night for about a week now. She pees ALOT in the potty after staying dry 5 hours, and then goes back to bed and does it again. What are the odds of getting nighttime dryness before daytime dryness??? She is just a quirky little girl.

Revision of previous post!!

Revision/Update of last post: Lowell informed me that when he changed the diaper at 1:30am it was completely dry and he reused that same diaper (the one that was dry when she woke up in the am. So my daughter went the whole entire night dry because she peed on the potty in between!!!) WOWZERS and Hooray!!!

TOILETING OUR INFANT: Bad News, First: Promising News, Last.

Jackie has NOT been doing so well with toileting lately. I know you all must be very disappointed. This decline is partly because we have not been taking her. When we do take her, we don’t keep her on for the three minutes that we used to. During the day, she doesn’t want to sit for long periods of time on the potty now that she’s walking and has better things to do. We have to change the toys constantly to keep her engaged. I feel she gets sick of sitting there before she even has the chance to void. However, I stated in my previous posts that I would be okay with her not voiding in the toilet. I just wanted her to know what the toilet was and be accustomed to trying. The truth is If I say “go to the potty” or “where’s the potty”, she will walk into the bathroom. So, it is part of her life and her vocabulary. That was my original goal. However, daytime data is unfortunately at zero percent for her BM and urination because she just doesn’t want to sit long enough. That is the very sad news of this experiment. She is no longer voiding in the toilet during the day. *Sighs*

Another thing I feel like discussing today is her sleep habits—she is a VERY good sleeper. She goes to bed at 5:30pm and most times I have to wake her at 8:30am because she hasn’t woken up yet. Because she sleeps so much, we have to wake her up now to change her diaper in the middle of the night. She soaks through it if we don’t, because she sleeps so long. So, we have been lifting her up in the middle of the night while she is still asleep, changing her diaper while she sleeps on the diaper table, and then putting her back to bed without her waking. However, I started to think that if she was actually getting toilet trained, she would be woken by her parents to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. The idea being that if she holds it and is given the opportunity to go appropriately, then her bladder would be empty to hold it again and she would be more successful at staying dry. So, I started taking her to the bathroom during her diaper change, rather than trying not to wake her. The good news: At night, she is consistently (90%) urinating on the toilet. She’s too tired to resist it, I think. She is half asleep and compliant! Although she is not going during the day, at least she is making the connection at night.

The most recent occurrence:

Last night, Lowell woke her up at 1:30am to change her wet (revised-it was dry) diaper. She peed in the toilet, put the diaper on, and went to bed. The best news: I woke her up this morning at 8:30am and she had a dry diaper! I mean completely dry! This is very promising. I took her to the toilet and….!!! she didn’t go.

She had a dry diaper so she must have had to go! I didn't put the diaper on her because I didn't want her to go in the diaper before I tried the toilet one more time. I then ran around the house with the un-diapered child to do a preference assessment. I had her find a toy she felt like playing with. Once she picked up the toy, I took it from her and if she complained and/or grabbed it back, I knew she really wanted it and it was a perfect choice! I took her and her preferred item to the toilet and she played for about two minutes. I was starting to get discouraged (because she used to go immediately upon sitting) but then she started urinating in the toilet. She urinated for about 1.5 minutes straight! My baby woke up from a 7 hour sleep with a completely dry diaper and peed in the potty!!! THAT, my friends, is amazing! She is 15 months next Wednesday.

We learned: Mix up the toys, do preference assessments, and if she doesn’t go, wait a minute or two and try again before the diaper goes back on! Otherwise, she will pee in the diaper and a learning opportunity is wasted.

Other promising toileting facts:

When she's not wearing a diaper, she looks down when she’s peeing when standing (meaning she feels it on her leg) AND she cries if she pees on herself. This is another good thing because if she is uncomfortable and does not like the feeling, she will be more likely to avoid that discomfort and use the toilet appropriately! It also means she’s becoming aware of her body which is an important sign for toilet readiness.

Grass Update

Today, Jackie went to her first play date and we played in a giant backyard and playscape. She held my hand when we first entered the grass and then walked downhill in the grass all on her own. We were making an art project so she was on my lap for a little while, but when I put her down, she was gone like the wind. She played follow the leader, and followed the boy all across his yard, completely out of my sight and without turning back at me! She was cruising along and an obvious grass-walking professional. It was very cool to see her so comfortable in something that daycare said only a few days ago that she would not do.

I told the other mothers and it's very true: daycare better not be sitting her on their lap on Monday while the other kids play in the grass!

Run free in the grass, little girl

Now anytime I see grass, I put her in the middle of it and have her walk back to me. We went for a walk at the park and Jackie was a little nervous at first, but she let go of my hand and was off to explore carefully. However, after about 30 minutes of walking in the park, she no longer wanted to follow us. She saw a dog, and started running in the grass in the opposite direction that we were luring to go. Independent as can be, she went a quarter of a football field running in the grass away from us. That is not the action of someone who is afraid of walking in the grass!!!!

A week ago, she never would have let go of my hand or gotten more than a few steps away from me without wandering back!

Freedom is wonderful, isn't Jackie! It's good to not have irrational fears of innocuous grass.

(Now, teaching her not to run to strange men with strange and very large dogs is a whole other issue entirely;))

Grass walking

Thursday: Jackie loooves my cell phone and will go just about anywhere to get hands on it. I used this as my motivator since she rarely gets it, and it reliably motivates her to do anything just so she can have that glowing little screen. My operation' love the grass' started simply enough-I let her play with my cell phone so she was engaged and then took it from her and put her in the middle of a grassy field. I was about twenty baby steps away from her and holding up my cell phone. oops-I dropped it in clear view onto the grass. She hesitantly walked with her eyes fixated on her feet through the uneven grass. She glanced up form time to time just to make sure her prize was still waiting in the grass. Once she got to my cell phone, I picked her up and praised her! I let her play with it for a bit, and then did it all over again. After only three times of putting her in the center of the grass and making her walk towards me/safety, she was no longer looking at her feet when she walked. She only walked briskly to the phone like a grass walking pro.

Then, I dropped the phone from her hand, held her upside down over thephone and told her to pick it up. She LOVES this game. If she drops anything, she will say "UhOh" and then she'll tilt her head as if she's upside down. That means she wants me to help her get it by dipping her upside towards the ground while she giggles and gets whatever she dropped. She loves being dipped and picking up objects. So, I repeat, I dropped the phone and dipped her to get it. She was excited until her hands got closer to the ground and then they went limp. They absolutely retracted into her elbows and went limp. She is such a weirdo. I picked up a whole bunch of grass and had her hold it but her hands and arms went limp again.

What I discovered: It is not the uneven-ness of the grass because she is a new walker-it is the spiky texture of it if she drops something.

As long as I hold her hand when we first get onto the grass, she will take a few steps and then venture on her own. So, if i hear daycare say she doesn't like walking in it, I know it's not true. However, she has yet to fall or drop something without whining and begging someone for help. I must tell you, when she is sitting on the ground, it is very humerous watching her try to stand up from a sitting position without using her hands.

And the green grass grows

Jackie is now afraid of the grass. Daycare reports that she will not walk in it and only wants to be held. If she drops something in the grass, she refuses to pick it up and cries. Every time I visit her daycare, I see all her friends playing while she either sits on a blanket or on the staff's lap. She is missing out on outside play time and I don't like it (yes, she's wearing shoes and STILL missing out)! Despite the fact that I feel daycare should be giving her opportunities to overcome this fear, I do understand that they would rather have a happy, calm baby on their lap then teach a crazy, crying, one to play in the harmless grass.

Operation: Love the grass

ready-set-go.

Shoes can make a baby cry? part 2

Trial 3: Daycare put her shoes on her and carried her outside to sit and watch the other children. She refused to walk, but was tolerating the shoes being on her feet. I pulled up and they asked "Does she like wearing shoes?" I looked at her feet and saw my baby quiet AND wearing shoes and I couldn't believe it. They reported she screamed when her shoes were put on, but was fine once she was distracted by watching the other children playing. She refused to walk around and play herself, though. I stood about 4 steps away from her and said "Let's go home!" and she slightly whined and ran to me. I could tell she was uncomfortable, but she was no longer hysterical. I kept her shoes on during the car ride home. This triggered something in me: She was missing out on playing because I hadn't gotten her used to walking in shoes yet. So, I had to continue to give her practice.

On a side note: It's funny how behavior change works, isn't it? I am a behavior analyst and saw these issues with her, like this shoe issue, or the vacuum issue in previous posts. However, in both cases I wasn't called to action until daycare had a problem with it too. Because it wasn't effecting other people, I kept putting it off. Sometimes it's really good to have others' feedback to give us that extra reminder we need to do what needs to be done.

Trial 4: When we got home, I took her out of the carseat and held her hand to walk next to me. She was crying because I was making her walk in shoes. Once I started redirecting her to look at the trees, and the balls, and the puppies, she was happily walking/running and laughing with me by her side. I spent 45 minutes or so walking in the grass next to her while she pointed at the flowers and squirrels, and tried to chase a cat. The following day (yesterday) I spent the whole morning with her outside, and the evening after daycare, walking around with her in her shoes, exploring her outdoor world.

Thank Goodness daycare gave me the push I needed to make me realize I needed to get her to tolerate her shoes. She now will walk around while wearing them. She still cries when I initially put them on, but the intensity, which started at 10, is now down to a one. It is very bearable, and if you didn't know shoes were an issue with her, you probably wouldn't notice at all!

The lesson for us all: Hindsight: Make her wear shoes early so she's used to them! But, if it's too late for that now, have her get lots of practice despite her resistance. I'm a little bummed I waited as long as I did. She's a much happier baby to be able to play outside, so keep that in mind through those tears! Be strong!


Colleen

Shoes can make a baby cry?

Jackie's refusal to wear shoes has been very hard for us these past few months. Whenever we put shoes on her, she would scream bloody murder for extended periods of time. I would drop it and try again a few days later, thinking it was just a phase, but it has lasted over two months.

Whenever she screamed, we would instinctively take the shoes off, thinking they were hurting her. However, more testing and investigation showed that she would even cry when I put mine or daddy's shoes on her (too big to even surround her foot). We couldn't take her outside to walk or play, because she wasn't wearing shoes. So, we were indoors more than I would like. Plus, the weather is now getting beautiful and I knew we had to do something.

Problem Identified: she won't wear shoes and for her safety and her quality of life, she needs to.

Trial 1: Trip to Walmart: We went to Walmart and I put her shoes on. I didn't want to go in public with her because it would be a terrible and stressful trip with a baby screaming through Walmart. But that's where my schedule brought me that day, and I didn't want to put it off. So I put her shoes on her. She screamed and screamed, and I sadly (very sadly) ignored it. I tried to have her walk beside me to the car, but she just wasn't used to the shoes at all. She just cried standing there on the sidewalk, refusing to move her legs with the awkward contraptions on her feet. I picked her up and took her crying to the car. By the time we got to the store, thank goodness, she was no longer crying! I said "Yay, you're so quiet, good girl" and I took her shoes off. I have never seen her smile so big! She was all smiles in the cart throughout the whole store, her white socks kicking and dancing.

Trial 2-one week later: I decided the best way to put her shoes on, was when she was in her high chair. Her vision was blocked because of the tray, so she couldn't see her feet. I would say "put your shoes on" followed by my hands wrapping around her feet. She would laugh and giggle. I did this several times so she felt pressure against her feet, and then unsuspectingly put her shoes on instead of wrapping my hands around. You would think she wouldn't know the difference...

Shrieks ensued.

Stay tuned for Part 2
Colleen

How to Save Money on Diapers Without Coupons

We started taking our daughter to the bathroom to get her used to the routine in Sept when she was 5 months old. We take her at least twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed. On weekends or days off of work, we take her during natural transition times (after eating, before and after naps, etc). We originally started this routine to save diapers and to make it apart of her day now so she wouldn't protest later when introducing actually toilet training in the future as some kids typically do.


I have calculated the data that we have recorded on her toileting progress. She is only 10 months old and here are the numbers:


Each month, we save an average of 50 diapers per month by taking her to the potty at least twice a day. (We did not calculate savings on wipes, but we use 1 to every 3 (at least) when she has a BM in the potty rather than in her diaper because it's messier when she goes in her diaper and takes more wipes for cleanup. We only take her throughout the day on weekends and twice a day on weekdays. I wish we were stay at home parents so we could see how many we would save then!


64% of the time when we take her to the bathroom, she successfully voids something in the potty! It is obvious she understands the concept and knows that to do when we put her there.


On Average, she stays dry for 3 consecutive hours before urinating at all in her diaper (because she pees in the potty in between). Sometimes, she wakes up from naps dry because she urinated in the potty right before the nap and right after the nap.


18% of the time, she not only successfully uses the bathroom, but she holds her urination until she goes onto the potty. She stays dry and waits until we bring her before she urinates! We re-use the diaper because it was never wet. When we started, like all babies, she was at 0% of holding it. She would successfully pee in the potty, but never held it and stayed dry in between visits to the bathroom. But now she is successfully urinating AND holding it 18% of the time that she's home with us!!!! And she is only 10 months old! I can not wait to see how well she does as her bladder grows and she gets older!


Please note, we monitor how much fluid and food intake she gets, and make sure she is voiding often in order to monitor dehydration!


Do with these facts what you will, but we have found it very interesting how quickly she is picking up on this routine and how much progress she has made for such a little person.

My Baby Girl

I am Very proud of my baby girl! on Super Bowl Sunday, we drove for the day to upstate NY to visit family. It was a 3.5 hour drive and she drank two 8 oz bottles in the car. I rushed her in the house trying to find a place to lie her down to change her, because her diapers usually fill up so quick!


She had a DRY diaper. I am talking completely dry! I just stood there in shock, and then took her to the bathroom to see if she would go in the toilet! She pooped and peed in the potty within seconds of sitting her down!


My 10 month old baby girl! I made all my siblings come and look because unless they see for themselves, no one believes me :)


So proud of my little girl!

Toilet Training our Infant

Our daughter is now 10 months old. Per advice from our pediatrician, we have been toileting our daughter since she was five months old. Well, sort of. She does not initiate, or hold it in between bathroom visits, or go at a set schedule. Our goal is not to toilet train her young. We just want two things: To get her familiar with this routine so when she’s ready to go independently, it won’t be so foreign to her—it’ll already be part of her day. We also started when my husband was looking for work and thought it would be a great way to save money on diapers (and it has been!).

Toilet training is one aspect of life that I know gives children difficulty, and I’ll do absolutely anything for her to avoid any potential difficulties in her life. As I have said in previous posts, as a behavior analyst I am always aware of habits that might shape into the kinds of problems that I am hired to resolve when a baby is older. Toilet training is a major issue that I have been called upon to help with. Kids are getting toilet trained older and older, and many of them are protesting when parents start trying to toilet train them. For years parents are happy for kids to go to the bathroom in diapers, and then all of a sudden at age two parents change the rules. I know if I was allowed to do something for two years and all of a sudden, it was inappropriate, I would be protesting the change too. Also, toileting is often not modeled for kids. They aren’t taken into the bathroom throughout those first two years and parents don’t typically use the bathroom with the door open so kids can see that it’s a typical part if their parent’s day. It is the only daily routine that I can think of that isn’t taught to them from the beginning. They take baths regularly, they finger feed themselves at the dinner table long before they can eat with a knife and fork, they watch mommy clean and grocery shop, etc. But they are oblivious from birth of using the bathroom and thrusted at age two into doing this foreign activity. I work with children with autism and know the power and importance of a routine. We wanted to get our daughter accustomed to the bathroom so when the time came, she would have no reason to protest or put up a fight about doing it. Why would she? She will already have practice doing it long before it’s an expectation on her. Just like any other part of her life, we start it now so she gets familiar with it.

The protocol is easy and very casual. We simply take her during normal transition times throughout the day as if she was a toddler. When she wakes up, before she gets in the car, when she gets home, after she eats, before a naps, etc. Like any good behavior analyst, I have a chart by her changing table to document and record when we take her, when we take her,when she is successful, when we change her diaper, etc. We let her sit on the potty with a toy and let her sit for a few minutes. We praise her when she goes but we don’t give her anything extra or special for going, it’s just part of her routine. When she’s done (whether she’s done going or sick of sitting there), she lifts her arms and we pick her up to put her on her changing table. It is a very casual and easy part of our routine. This will also make her getting older easier, because it’s already an established routine for us to follow.

This does not take any extra effort on our part so it is not very difficult for us to do. When we are away, we do not make it a point to take data, or take her to the bathroom, we let life happen as it does and are not consumed by this regimine. At the very least and when we can, we try to bring her once in the morning and once before bed when we’re home. Some days, that’s all we have time for. Other days and weekends, when we’re not travelling, we have time to take her after more activities in our house.

Today: There are days like today where she has stayed dry and been successful most of the day. To be exact, she successfully peed in the potty 7 times and had 3 BMs successfully in the potty today! Absolutely amazing that she’s getting the hang of it simply from us making it familiar to her! She only went through two diapers! (as opposed to at least 7 diapers at daycare because they obviously don’t take her to the bathroom at this age). Today she stayed dry for 2, 3, and 4 hours at a time because she was using the potty successfully in between. Her staying dry and her successful voids in the potty are all fantastic, but even if she did neither of those things, we are happy to keep taking her and have it a part of her day so it’s a natural routine in her life when the time comes for independence. We really just want the data to show that we’re taking her throughout her day. All the other data is just for fun, to see what she starts picking up on incidentally.

WARNINGS: 1) We give her constant supervision when she’s sitting on the toilet because she obviously is not strapped in, and safety is the utmost importance. We give her our undivided attention so she does not fall. 2) We also take data to make sure she is going to the bathroom enough, so we know she is hydrated. A dry diaper for extended periods of time is a sign of dehydration if the child is not going to the bathroom on the toilet. We make sure she is given enough fluids. Right now, she eats 30-40 oz of formula and 3-5 jars of stage 2 baby food a day. However, today she ate 24 oz of formula, 5 stage 2 foods, and a container of yogurt. She used the bathroom throughout the day even though she had dry diapers.

Please leave comments and questions so I can make these ideas as coherent as possible, so I can get them published in a parenting magazine or journal. I have been doing research on toileting. I have found toileting programs for children over 2, and intensive infant toileting programs where diapers are foregone and parents are constantly taking children to the bathroom, etc. I have not yet found any research on taking infants just to establish a routine without intensive strategies or the goal to make them independent. For me, this is just a proactive strategy to possibly avoid a protest when the real time comes. I do not want to push my child before she’s ready, I just want to make it like any other part of her routine. Just like the vacuum, I want to introduce it to her early so she knows what to expect and gets used to it so she’s not afraid. This is one aspect of life that I know gives children difficulty, and I’ll do anything now to avoid any potential difficulties for her later. (Not to mention we don't go through as many diapers as we might have, which is always a treat on the wallet! )

Thanks for reading. I will be posting the actual data and statistics soon so you know exactly how much money/diapers I have saved in the 5 months we have been doing this!