Potty Training Yuri: The Success!

I was supposed to publish this yesterday but I had to deal with the bane of my existence: no internet connection.

It has been more than 4 weeks since Yuri has been relatively successful in using the potty during daytime.

I say "4 weeks" because Yuri had finally consistently used the potty chair a week before his 2nd birthday, which was 3 weeks ago.

Sorry for the foul language; I couldn't find one more accurate hahahaha!

Yes, I couldn't still believe it. My boy was daytime potty-trained before his second birthday, and, well, I did it single-handedly. Yeah!

*accepts medal of valor*

*accepts gentle but firm slap by the Holy Spirit and returns to seat*

Anyway, I say "relatively" because ther are still, as expected, accidents. Especially the time when he ate too many slices of watermelon during dinner. The next morning, there was poop everywhere! To give Yuri credit, though, he did say "potty" before he helplessly pooped down my shorts. And he looked more mortified than me! Poor boy!

So how did we achieve this relative success? Here are some tips I can give you:

1. Do not force the child.

My kid is used to schedules and routines because both I and his yaya are sticklers for routines. However, in the case of potty-training, I let him be mainly because I know Yuri can be easily discouraged. I just bought a potty chair and let him be familiar with it.

One thing I did which you shouldn't do is be visibly stressed around the child. Stress is contagious and he can easily see the act of pooping and peeing as incorrectly stressful.

Also, don't ever force the kid to sit on the potty chair. Gently guide him to it and encourage him to sit down but don't ever do what I once did which is physically restrain him to the seat. Choose your battles, momma!

2. Do not stress yourself about the 2-day or 3-day methods.

Like what I mentioned, Yuri is familiar with routines and is visibly becoming a schedule-person. However, these routines, like naptime and outdoors-time, were established over months. While I heard of 2 and 3 days methods, I know it wouldn't work for Yuri.

Why? Because it's pretty shocking. I mean, the boy was pooping and peeing in his diapers all his life! Suddenly making him do these stuff seated on a chair can be downright scary. It wouldn't be fair to make them shift into this new stage in life in just a couple of days.

Then again, some babies really do learn to potty in just a matter of days. If yours does, congratulations! If yours does not, high five!

--- Okay, what I gave you were more on mental and emotional tips. What about physical and material preparedness? Here are more of my tips:

3. Potty-training is most stress-free if the child can communicate.

I'm pretty blessed to have a talkative child, and to be honest, it made the process of potty-training a lot easier. This is because he can easily tell me if he needs to go potty.

I'm not talking about just verbal communication either. Some smart mommas teach their babies sign language which makes communication easy and efficient. Even if your child can't talk yet but can easily relay to you the poop and/or pee message, then I say go for it!

Not all will agree with me, but if you're not yet very comfortable about your child's communication skills - but he'll get there! - I really suggest you be patient. Save yourself and your child from the unnecesary stress. Again, choose your battles!

4. Choose the right potty chair.

Potty Training Yuri: The Regression

The first day was a fluke.

(By the way, I'm back to regular programming! Thank you so much for your comments on yesterday's post, and even if I don't personally know you, even if it feels isolating to be a WAHM, I feel I've made a lot of friends in the online world. God be with you!)

So last week, I talked about Yuri pooping and peeing in the potty for the first time. For some reason, I had the gut feeling that Yuri wasn't really actually potty-knowledgeable yet and that it was just a fluke.

Call it mom's intuition, but I was correct.

That afternoon, he wouldn't go near the potty. He was holding his pee in (intuition) and would only go when I hold him over the bathroom sink.

Me: Yuri, potty ka?
Yuri: No. Ayaw.
Me: Saan ka ihi and pupu?
Yuri: Table. Chair. Sahig. Rocks. Dahon. Toys.

Lagot tayo dito.

Potty Training Yuri: The Potty

Me: Ihi ka na, Yuri?
Yuri: Ihi, yes.
Me: Sa potty?
Yuri: Ayaw

Potty talk has never been more often heard in this house than in the recent days. Yuri just turned 23 months. For some families, potty-training begins roughly around this time. For some Chinese families, potty-training begins before the child turns 1. Hehe I kid. Seriously, though, I remember a Chinese girl who posted on a Facebook group fretting because her son wasn't potty-trained yet at 13 months. 13 frigging months. Owver, tita! (I actually knew that girl...)

So anyway, back to reality. I had been contemplating on beginning to potty-train Yuri since he was 18 months. Yep, almost 6 months ago. I asked our pedia about this during a clinic visit and I told her how Yuri has been consistently doing his number 2 during mealtimes. Breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Yes, and/or. As in during mealtimes, when we're still seated at the table and Yuri is in his highchair. Almost no fail for more than 5 months now.

Doc commented that Yuri might already have the idea of potty-training. Wala lang sa tamang lugar because he sees the high-chair as his potty chair haha! But it's a start, right?

However, I kept on dawdling. First, Christmas and New Year passed and I already had my hands full. Next, we made the switch to cloth diapers when he was 20 months and we maximized using them. I didn't want the cloth diapers to be unused so soon!

Around last month or a little before that, I noticed that Yuri became more conscious about his "habits." We have been letting him wear briefs since he was not even a year old so he's used to them. However, now, he clearly prefers briefs over diapers (cloth or disposable). In fact, he hates wearing diapers na, but he needs to wear them, so I made a story about ants biting his patintin if he won't wear diapers. Bad mama, I know.

He also says "pupu" before doing the actual pooping and before peeing, so he's aware of the bodily functions. He can also already pee on command, which demonstrates his bladder control. He also wakes up with dry pee-less diapers on most mornings.

The bottomline is that his potty-readiness is now crystal clear. So I accepted the fact that my baby is now a little big boy, gave in, and last Sunday, finally got this:

Tah-dah! Na-disappoint kayo no? Hahaha! I want to say that I'm not a fan of cute and fancy potties. But the truth is... mahal sila! I couldn't stomach the thought of paying thousands just for something that's virtually a temporary toilet bowl.

Plus I didn't want Yuri to mistake the potty for a toy. I want it to serve its purpose. It reminds me of the potty my younger sister used, which was yellow. On the other hand, my older brother used a narra one handcrafted by our Lolo. Sayang you just don't find those anymore. And yes, I know my siblings' potty chairs but not mine.

Moving on, I just wanted the simplest and basic-est potty chair for a reason. And it's only P150. What's not to love?

As much as I would like to say our potty training journey has already successfully begun, well, as per today, the potty chair still has received nary a drop of pee. Yuri tried sitting on it without underwear (as per the photos), but he's still unsure of what to do.

On the other hand, when we're in the banyo (bathing or washing poop), he can comfortably pee on command.

Me: Yuri, ihi na.
Yuri: Ihi, yes.
(Bends knees, looks at his patintin, and we both wait. 1, 2, 3... Whooosh.)

Success!

Not in the potty, though.

But it's okay.

For crying out loud, the potty chair hasn't been here for a full three days. I don't expect Yuri to know what to do with it or be comfortable using it right away. I just want him to get used to the idea of a potty. I'm not in a hurry at all!

So it's a gradual process. To be honest, I still relish going out with Yuri without having to know where the nearest toilet is! Haha!

Always a blur, this boy is!

How about you? When did you potty-train your child/ren? How? I seriously need all the help I can get!

UPDATE!!!

Merely an hour after I published this post, Yuri took his first pee and poop in his potty! I was actually browsing for some potty-training apps when he sat on his potty and did the deeds. Wow!!! I'm praying that this is not a fluke haha!

Take note that this was not just a little poop (or a fart-poop hahaha) or a dribble of pee. It's major toilet work! He really sat on his potty and waited until everything came out from his system. There wasn't any struggle at all! #feelingoverwhelmed

I couldn't even offer any piece of advice because it just happened. Let's see in the next days!

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Cloth Diapering Updates

We only got into the cloth-diapering bandwagon recently when Yuri was already 20 months old. Now, I realize that I should have cloth-diapered him a lot earlier! It's one of my mothering regrets actually.

It has been almost 2 months since I first used a cloth diaper, and I still love it. Here are the reasons:

1. Cuteness

Must I begin with something as superficial as cuteness? Yes, I must. You see, one thing I despise about disposables is their limited designs. Also, they tend to look really bad when Yuri has worn them long enough. Sometimes, he wears one, and in less than one hour, laylay na. Why?! On the other hand, this is never the problem with CDs. They still fit well no matter how long you wear them (not too long naman), and there are so many cute designs to choose from!

These inserts take forever to dry! But they do well in keeping Yuri's bum dry.

2. Dryness

At first, I thought I would be changing Yuri from hour to hour. Well, that was not the case. I didn't even have to change him every two hours. In fact, I only have to change him twice a day!

Here's our setup: Bath in the morning, wear CDs at around 8am, change it at 12nn, and change it again at 5pm. I use two inserts (microfiber and bamboo), and I've never experienced leaks.

*This setup might not be applicable to your baby. Yuri is already a 22 month old potty training-ready toddler who does not anymore urinate like an old man. He already has more control of his bladder, so he pees twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon.

3. Ease of Use

One thing that prevented me from buying cloth diapers when Yuri was (a lot) younger was intimidation. I was afraid they would be hard to use. When I got to try one for the first time, I realized it wasn't so hard at all! In fact, what you only need to do is insert the inserts and wear it on the baby like you would with a disposable. Easy peasy!

Another thing that held me back from buying CDs before was the pain of laundering. Now, here's what I need to tell you: I work at home full-time and I wash Yuri's cloth diapers. Why? Because they're actually easy to wash!

After almost 2 months of using CDs, I have delegated the task of washing the unsoiled nappies to the yaya. Meanwhile, since I'm the one washing Yuri's pwet when he goes poopoo (which is, well, 2-3 times a day), I also wash the soiled nappies,too. I do grumble sometimes, though, when it's time for me to work but I still have to wash a diaper, but in reality, it only takes less than 15 minutes to do so. And it's not hard, promise!

A day's worth of diaper laundry

4. Economically-wise