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.
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