This post is sponsored by Pull-Ups® Training Pants. The only diaper training pants I’ve used for all three of my kids!

 

*My dress is from here, for those of you whom asked!

 

Every Sunday after church, I try to snap a family photo when everyone’s dressed nice and looking presentable. These days, sometimes Sundays are the only times I dress up I feel like! But this Sunday when we got home, the girls did not feel like taking a photo so in protest, stripped down to only their underwear. My 2 year old saw what was happening and thought it was the funniest thing so while laughing hysterically, he asked Jay to help him take off his shirt and pants, down to only his Pull-Ups Training Pants. Then Jay followed pursuit and within just a matter of minutes, everybody except me were only in their underwear! I sighed and laughed and sighed and said fine, I am going to take a picture just by myself and  Jay felt bad and he put his church clothes back on to take a photo with me. Then of course when I actually don’t want my baby boy to be in the photo, he refuses to get out of the photo! Reverse Psychology is so real! I need to remember and implement this in my parenting!

I have other photos that my daughter took of Jay and I but I decided to post these instead because this is my life! Most times my life is not picture perfect, it’s full of messy, impatient, exhausting, and mundane moments. But within these imperfect picture moments are full of beautiful, sacred and perfect moments, even if it doesn’t look like it. Having a toddler to potty train might get messy with accidents, miss-direction and cleaning poop on the carpet, but it means I have a healthy toddler that I get to teach one of the most crucial milestone of his so-far life to! I have a baby to hold and love and teach. With lots of tragedy happening right now with parents losing their kids to a shooting, drowning, and other tragedies, I realize I have no right to complain. These mothers would do anything to be able to clean, cook, take care of and love their babies once more. I will complain no more.

 

 

 

 

Since this is my 3rd child and my 3rd time potty training, I feel I have some experience and credibility to be able to give you 6 tips I implemented in potty training my children.

 

6 Things I implemented in Potty Training My Child

 

 

1. Wait. Don’t rush and stress about potty training them right when they turn 2 or have a mindset they need to be potty trained before 2. Don’t set a specific age on it. Every kid is different so tailor the timing to each kid. Don’t compare your child to another kid, just think about your child’s. Waiting for a bit makes it so much easier to potty train, when they are older and can comprehend more what is going on. I knew it was time for my son when he came up to me one day with a full diaper and asked, “Mommy, can you change my diaper?” Haha, that is a very good sign that he’s ready! I waited and waited and pushed it back even after that because I was intimidated, mainly because we have carpet in our bathrooms(I know, right?) and there was NO way I was going to try to get poop out of our 60’s shaggy carpet. If you wait a little bit, they will almost potty train themselves, it’s so easy! So why try to rush it and cause all this unnecessary stress? I am all about making life easy. So I decided to wait.

 

 

2. Go overboard on praising them. This tip I learned from my mom. Do a dramatic positive enforcement by screaming in excitement, jumping up and down, clapping loudly, smiling super big, carrying them around the house dancing and praising them. Let them know that this is a huge deal, a very exciting celebration! Tell him/her how proud you are of them! They’ll be a little taken back at how excited and overly happy you are but they will love it and soak it all in. They’ll see your excitement and get excited too and realize how big of a deal this is. Make them feel good about themselves. Then they’re going to naturally want to do it again!

 

 

 

 

3. Take this personality quiz of your child to determine what the best way is to help them. It’ll ask you their habits and the way they are, in order for you to know which route to take. The Pull-Ups® brand is introducing a whole new way to potty train– a system that brings your child into the process as a true partner, tailored to his or her unique personality and how they learn. Based on research and observation of personality types in young children, Pull-Ups®, along with a child development expert, has developed five potty training personalities: the Puppy, the Owl, the Bear Cub, the Turtle and the Squirrel.

 

 

My son is an Owl and it shows me step-by-step instructions on what to say and what to do that is tailored to the personality of my son. It’s pretty awesome! I also loved that Pull-Ups partnered with child development expert Dr. Heather Wittenberg to develop this whole new way to potty train. Check out Dr. Heather explain why consistency throughout potty training is key, and that once you take your child out of diapers it’s best to keep them out!

 

 

4. Make it fun! Play games! I tried using M&M’s because I heard from other moms how M&M’s were good to throw into the toilet for them to aim at, but I didn’t like how the food coloring would leak all over the toilet, it gave me anxiety! A mom recommended that I use Cheerios and play the “sinking game” and I prefer to use cheerios. There are also a ton of games you can see from here, there are so many fun games you could play!

 

5. Reward them with candy! This is a classic potty training tip. What kid doesn’t love candy!!!??? After my son went #2 in the potty about 20 times, I stopped giving him candy and let praising be the only reward, and reward with candy when he only goes #1 in the potty.

 

6. Do not scold them when they have an accident. They are not old enough to understand fully what they are doing and they just can’t help their natural bodily functions! Don’t shame them for what their body does naturally. It might make them nervous and anxious next time they need to go. You do NOT want your kids to have anxiety and want to hold it in. Not only is it very bad for their health, you don’t want them to get down on themselves and get discouraged. Shaming them and making them feel guilty is the worst way to get your kids to listen to you and obey. I believe in only positive enforcement and not negative discipline when it comes to potty training. Make it a happy memory for them, not a sad one.

You never want to be the cause of your child’s stage fright, this will only harm the process. A little understanding of their stage fright will go a long way. Check out Dr. Heather Wittenberg’s video to bring added insight to what your child is experiencing.

 

 

If you are having a hard time potty training your child and you feel they’re not making progress, I would wait a couple weeks, a month, a few months even. And don’t stress! It’s okay, you are a great parent and you’re doing a great job! Don’t let it frustrate you(I know, so much easier said than done) because your kid will sense your frustration and it’ll stop being fun for them. Try to focus on making it a positive experience for both of you and if it’s not fun and you are losing your patience more oftentimes than not, then take a break. It’s not going to hurt them that you wait a little while, it’s not going to stunt their development, it doesn’t mean your kid or you are not smart enough. Every kid is so smart. Trust them.

 

Find out more ideas, tips and free printable such as a sticker chart at Pull-Ups ®. If you have any other tips on potty training, I would love to hear it!

 

 

 

 

It is midnight and I am bawling my eyes out. The above photo is of Emily from The Freckled Fox resting her hands on the casket of her husband from a week ago. I have never met her and I didn’t know of her until recently when many of my blogger friends were supporting her on their social media. I just took some time to read her blog and her IG and my heart is breaking. She has 5 kids under 6. 5 precious, innocent little angels who won’t remember their daddy except to see him in photos and videos. So devastating. So sad. There are no words.

Jay and I got in a little argument today, not really a fight or even an argument really, just little bit of bickering here and there and he went to bed without giving me a kiss or saying good night like we do every night. I am feeling so guilty and regretful that here I am taking my time for granted with my husband when Emily would do anything to have one more moment with her husband. I believe as hard as it is, sad things happen to people, to all of us really, but just in different stages in our lives than others, so that we’d appreciate the good and also the time we get to have with our loved ones. To not take it for granted. If we never knew or experienced death, sadness, despair, failure, fear, disappointment, an illness, we wouldn’t appreciate life, happiness, hope, achievements, courage, perseverance, and health. The bad needs to happen in order for there to be good.

I know that if there was no death, we would all take time for granted! We’d put off apologizing to others or making mends with people. We wouldn’t savor each moment we spend with others. Emily’s courage to share her story with others is reminding me to get over silly bickering and to love more, forgive more, to let go more. As soon as I wake up tomorrow morning, I will apologize to Jay and soak up each moment I have with him. Life is fickle, we don’t know when our time with our loved ones will end.

 

 

 

 

My friend from College got married this past weekend! A lot of our friends flew from out of state to attend the wedding so it became a little reunion. It was so great seeing them.

 

 

How stunning is her wedding dress? I am in love!

 

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