3rd Year Goals

Sharing a seat with her sister

Feeding her sister

Unbeknownst to her, we had set out some goals for our toddler's third year. In fact, they were things that we were hoping would be accomplished by her third birthday.

Firstly, we were hoping she would stop drinking from her bottle. This was one goal that she readily accomplished on her own. One morning, when she was around 2 1/2 years old, she refused to drink milk from her bottle. I thought that perhaps she was coming down with something...In fact, she had suddenly decided that she had outgrown her baby bottle!

Secondly, and probably most importantly, we were hoping she would sleep through the night. For several months now, unless she is sick, she wakes up only once. Usually anytime between 3 and 6 in the morning. Thankfully, she goes right back to sleep, and wakes up for good anytime between 7 and 8.

Thirdly, we were hoping she would be potty trained. She had shown some interest at around 18 months, then lost interest for another year. For about six months now, she has consistently been using either the potty or the toilet over 95% of the time. Occasionally she will have accidents during the night, but this is usually after we have forgotten to have her empty her bladder before bed. And occasionally she would refuse to use the potty. One day not too long ago, our stubborn daughter retained her urine for 8 hours until finally relenting!

The other day, I realized to what extent she understood the concept of potty training. She was playing with her dolls. She placed one on a play potty, and told her: "I have a very special surprise for you. But first you have to do a pee in the potty."

Lastly, we were hoping that our toddler would give up her pacifier. This, I think, will prove to be the hardest goal to accomplish. Just prior to turing three, we told our daughter that when she turned three, she would not be able to use her soother, as she would be a big girl. She seemed to understand, exclaiming "I am not three" even after she had turned three. We attempted to remove her pacifier shortly after her birthday. She managed to fall asleep that night, but then woke up countless times, and would simply not go back to sleep. She was so loud that she woke her sister up. Finally, exhausted, we relented, and gave her the dreaded soother. The next morning, I would discover that she had her first ear infection...so perhaps not the best time for the experiment. We are planning on experimenting again very soon, or perhaps even going cold turkey...Then just today, something very interesting occurred. She had been playing with her Mickey Mouse Application on her iPad. She then brought me her soother, saying," I don't need a soother, Mickey Mouse does not have one." So perhaps there is hope after all...

Potty Training 101

Our talented baby attempting the splits while holding onto her toy stroller

I bought a potty last week, mostly on a whim. I had read a little on the topic of potty training, and while most experts say that there is no perfect age to start the training (if at all), they agree that the majority of toddlers are not ready to consistently use a potty or a toilet until the age of 3.

Our baby likes everything new, and the potty was no exception. She played with it for a good half hour when she first set eyes on it, and would have no doubt continued longer had we not dragged her away to begin her bedtime routine.

We started our training almost immediately. We took off her diaper, and asked her to sit on the potty. We urged her to urinate an defecate. She willingly sat on the potty, but did not pick up on the latter suggestion. However, she did seem amused. Since the purchase, we have encouraged her to sit often, which she thoroughly enjoys. She has even started reading a few of her books whilst on her potty. I assumed that the timing was just not right for the expected results.

Then yesterday, something very unexpected happened. We had just returned from the park, and my pregnant bladder could not wait very long. However, I did have a chance to quickly remove her sandy pants and diaper. I was surprised that her diaper, changed a few hours earlier, was very dry. As I sat down to relieve my bladder, my lovely baby simultaneously sat on her potty. She made a brief pushing sound, and lo and behold, her potty now held urine. I was so excited, and she seemed equally proud of herself.

Was it really that easy? Or was it just a matter of her being in the right place at the right time? Now if only her language skills would improve, and she could indicate her need for a potty with a few simple sounds...