Potty Trained in 3 Days.. SupaaaStaaa

By Golly. I think she's finally got it!

Potty training Amelia was such a terrifying thought. I always frowned at parents who told me their child was potty trained before 2 years old.. I also thought they were lying. Like that unspoken competition of "my child is better at pooping than yours" and they were cheating. 
Then one day, Amelia asked to go on the potty. And she went. Then she asked the teachers at the YMCA to take her potty. And then I knew. She was ready. 

I felt silly that I was so scared to potty train her. Seriously... I was SCARED. And looking back, I have no idea why I was scared. Here were my worries:
1. I couldn't drive more than 1 hour at at time.
2. It would be hard to go in public worrying that she would have an accident.
3. I didn't want her out of a crib. She is too much of a free spirit for that. 
4. I don't even know.. Failure? Being too early.

Just so you know, all of these don't matter. You can drive and bring the potty, or just plan ahead and think about water consumption and all that. Being in public is actually EASIER. I don't have to haul around a diaper bag, and everywhere has bathrooms. She wears a diaper when she sleeps, so there's that. And failure? Please... she is a champion.

I followed the Naked Potty Training guide. My friends, Elyse and Courtney, both suggested this website. Potty Train in Just 3 Days. Not only did it work like a charm, but it worked in just 2 days. Yep. On day 3, I took her to the gym for 2 hours and she didn't have an accident. She told the teachers she needed to go and that's that. 

Not quite sure what to do with these undies

New Undies for Valentines Gift

BatGirl!

Anyone need a plumber?

And then this happened.

Not Naked. just the best seat in the house.

Some tips:
1. Get a potty that they will be excited about. Amelia was OBSESSED with it. 
2. Make sure they are ready. Honestly, Amelia potty trained herself. 
3. Get a treat/treasure jar. Every time she went Peep, I gave her a sticker for her chart, and a Hershey's Kiss. When she went poop, she got a sticker again plus a toy. Poop is just scarier, so the reward needs to be worth it.
4. The first day, or two, might seem like they are just playing or they just don't get it. Don't give up. Go outside, give them a break and see how they do.

Amelia was potty trained at 21 months using this method, and it was the first try. This isn't mean to be a "My kid poops better than yours." This post is to say that it works, not too scary, and definitely worth it. 

**IF THEY ARE READY**

Cry It Out Method

 A lot of people have been asking what I did to make Amelia such a good sleeper, so I thought I would share what I did. I have no clue what I am doing, so take what I say as a personal miracle, and know that EVERY BABY is different!
It is so funny, because I know that she is a good sleeper, as in time wise, but she doesn't sleep through the night without eating... So it's not perfect, and I don't expect to ever be. I am grateful that we have found something that finally worked for us.

We tried the Cry It Out Method (CIOM) several times, but it just broke our hearts, and then Anthony would cave. It wasn't until she got her first cold and was wide awake until 8:00 AM that we decided we couldn't rock her to sleep anymore. She needed to learn she could do it herself! (Plus I started getting really bad back pains...)

I think the biggest part of the success was putting her on a schedule so she knew that when she was laid down in her crib, it was time to sleep, not play. I got some good advice from my friend, Emily, to start at nap time. It worked great. It only took 2  naps until she got the hang of it. We also play lullabies in her room during sleep time to "set the mood" and it also blocks out noise from what we are doing (cleaning, talking, watching a movie...)

She cried the first night for about 40 minutes. I would go in and check on her at 5 min, then 10 min, then every 15 min after that.  By the 3rd night, she was asleep after 5 minutes of crying. She would wake up after about 30 minutes, but I would go put her binky in and leave and let her cry. Now she goes down without cry AT ALL... For naps or bedtime. Can I tell you how AMAZING it is? I feel like the luckiest girl in the world now! I don't dread bedtime and it is finally a time I can relax! Phew! We both agree that we would have done CIOM earlier (maybe at 5 months) if we would have known she wouldn't hate us in the morning.

This is her schedule: I based it off Baby Wise's "Sleep, Eat, Play..."

9:45/10:30 (it changes): Wake up and drink bottle
11:00: Eat some fruit
11:15-12:15: Play time!
12:15-2:15: Nap time. She is pretty solid on 2 hours.
2:15: Bottle
2:30-3:15: Play time! (Or running errandds)
3:15: Veggies
3:30-4:30: Play some more!
4:30-5:30 (or 6): Nap time. This one varies from 1 to 2 hours.
6:00: Bottle
6:15-7:00 Play time
7:00- Veggies if she hungry.. generally not though.
8:00- Bath time with Dad!
8:45- Bottle
9:00 Bedtime!

12:30-- nursing

7:30-- Nursing..

This last week, she has only been eating one time a night around 2:00 AM and then sleeping until 10:30! Now we are just working on getting her sleep without eating during the night.

We just switched her to formula yesterday. She will only nurse in the middle of night, so I was pumping 4-5 times a day, and keeping my milk supply up without a nursing baby was difficult since my body wasn't getting the baby's supply and demand effect. I was having to eat constantly to get enough calories to get more milk and I was gaining weight. Then I would work out, and my milk would get cut by half almost instantly. So it was becoming extremely stressful for me. I LOVE nursing her at night, but the pumping all day is just not working out for me. It will also be nice that I won't have to haul a pump around Utah and put breast milk in everyone's fridge... It IS kind of awkward. So far she is liking formula, so I hope it works for us.

And what is a blog post without some pics... (I wouldn't leave you hanging!)

I'm getting "mommy muscles" from my 20 lb baby!

a little Throwback Thursday Saturday for you.