Monday, March 23, 2009

The children's museum...and poop!

So, when Kim was getting ready to come out here, she said that she wanted to take Erin to a children's museum and story time at a library. Sounded like fun to me! So we went to the Children's Museum of Denver this morning. We actually had a lot of fun even though it was VERY crowded.

They had a special area for kids from ages newborn-4 years. Erin really enjoyed it. She didn't want to leave it, actually, but we found out that they had a storytime there at the museum, so I thought it would be good to kill both Kim's birds with one stone.Erin liked storytime, but she was more excited that they got to do art afterward. The theme was "under the sea" and we heard The Rainbow Fish and The Pout Pout Fish. I really would like to buy both of them. Afterwards, the kids all got to draw an "under the sea scape." I think Kim had as much fun as Erin did!
When we got home it was time for Erin's nap, so I changed her diaper and put her to bed without her pants (as I've done many times before because it can get hot in her room). Well, about an hour later she started crying. When I opened the door to check on her, I discovered she had pulled her diaper off and there was poop all over the floor.



I had a feeling I should put her pants back on before I put her to bed.


And when Adrienne posted about Marcus doing this, I was so proud that Erin hadn't ever done anything like that.

Karma maybe?


So thanks to Kim for giving Erin a bath while I cleaned up everything else.

edited to add: I'm seriously considering starting to potty train Erin...only I have no idea how to tell if she's ready and no idea how to start the process. So anyone have any tips?

3 comments:

Bridget said...

I saw your post title on another blog and had to come visit your story. Your story isn't as bad as I imagined though. I thought the museum and poop went together. I had an incident like that with one of my boys in a restaurant. I had to run across the street to a store and buy pants and underwear so that my son and husband could leave the restaurant's bathroom.

I've also had run ins with diapering gone wrong and poop all over. For the most part, velcro tabs are wonderful. But sometimes, the kids can get them off. I learned early not to laugh at others or think that my kids will never pull those types of stunts. Mine do...and often it's far worse than anything I imagined.

We're working on potty training our 2.5 year old. He's been knowledgeable about a toilet and the elimination process for months. I've actually tried 3 times and each time stopped so that I could preserve our relationship. He doesn't have a problem with me. It's me having a problem with him. Know that when you start and however you start, if you end up angry and frustrated and start to belittle your little learner, then it's time to take a break.

I've actually got a friend who's got 3 weeks off of school starting tomorrow that is going to potty train my little one...once again...I want him trained AND I want to preserve the relationship.

A friend of mine who was recently divorced had her ex-mother-in-law potty train her son. My friend was busy going to school and working and just didn't have the time to devote to the process. You've got to hunker down and not go too many places for about a week. Then you'll still have accidents, but the majority of the work will be done.

If you want to learn from me...after 3 weeks of sticker rewards and running around with a bare butt outside in the summer, my son still didn't "get it". I was very angry with his messes. I belittled him. I didn't want to quit as a matter of pride. I think I scarred him and gave him a complex about the toilet. This isn't what I wanted to teach, but it was the lesson learned.

Good luck with whatever method you chose. There are so many out there. What works for one child probably won't work for the next one. The library has many good books that explain various approaches. See what fits with your personality and the temperment of your child.

Bridget said...

Sorry, that comment was way too long.

Telima said...

Erin's a little younger than Katy when we decided to start trying to potty train her, but here's what I've noticed with her. She's very aware of when she's wet and messy. She can handle being wet for a while in her diaper without needing it taken care of, but the second she's messy, she wants me to change her. She brings me the diaper and wipes and everything. Also, she's ALWAYS dry in the morning. About a half hour after she wakes up, she's sopping wet, but first thing, always dry. That's when I decided I needed to get serious about potty training her.

So we bought a little potty for her to sit on. At first, she didn't want to sit on it without a diaper on and would fuss and cry when we made her. But after she had peed in it a few times and gotten small candy rewards (we were using leftover Christmas stocking candy), she absolutely loved it. I gave up on it not because she wasn't showing real progress but because it's tiring work and my pregnancy got in the way. So, we're going to have to start all over again soon (preferably before the new baby gets here, so I don't have three in diapers!). Just know that it's okay to start and stop as you need to. If you're completely consistent, then she'll probably get it faster, but if you need to stop for your sanity, do so. She's still young. She has plenty of time to learn. (That's what my mom keeps telling me...) Anyway, hope that helps! Love ya!