Sean @ 32 months

Toilet trained!

The most exciting thing that happened today is that Sean has refused to wear his diaper!
He's on his way to being toilet trained!

As I blogged last month about trying to toilet train him. I got him to be diaper-less to get him used to the feeling of not wearing a diaper. I wasn't very disciplined at it, and only managed to do it for 1-2 hours a day, and not even everyday. Over many months I tried on and off but never seriously. Actually I really wasn't sure how to get about doing it properly and therefore I've been procrastinating.

I talked to several mothers who have toilet trained their children or who are also trying to potty train and got some tips from them, but what really got me started this week was reading a toilet training book while waiting for Sean in his kindergarten on Tuesday. So I borrowed and it took me several days to finish reading it since I could only read it when I was free. Meanwhile, I started on the techniques they suggested.

Since Sean refused to even sit down on the potties we have at home, we decided to get another one that looks like a chair the next day. I also bought him some big boy's underwear which he found quite exciting.I got his Spiderman doll to pretend to pee in the potty, and gave him an M&M as a treat. Then I invited Sean to sit on the potty and gave him an M&M too. All the while, saying big boys pee and poo in the potty.

Since we put a diaper on him when we go out or sleep, he didn't really get much diaperless time. But I keep repeating to him,
Me: "Where do you go to pee?"
Sean: "Toilet"
Me: "Where do you go to poo?"
Sean : "Toilet"
Me: " Yes, you are a clever boy. You poo poo in the potty ok?"

He poo-ed in the potty even on the first day we bought the new potty. Once, I wasn't quick enough once and he pooped standing up while he had no diaper on so the poop dropped onto the floor and the carpet, and then he made a big puddle just 10 minutes after that. It was a messy evening, I gave up and put him back in his diaper after 1 hour.

Anyway, I thought today (Sunday) is a good day to do more potty training since we aren't going out. This morning he had tummy ache and I quickly grabbed him and raced him to the toilet, and sat him down onto the old potty since we were downstairs. He did his number 2. I praised him a great deal for pooping in the potty. And then later he got another tummy ache (he had been a slight diarrhea the last few days), so I quickly rushed him off to the potty again.Whew.... you really need to be quick!

After that he had a peeing accident. I didn't scold him but reminded him that he has to pee in the toilet. And then later managed to catch him befor he peed and run with him to the toilet. It was all done in a fun way. So when nap time comes. I told hubby to put on a diaper on Sean while I make his milk (Yes! He's been accepting chocolate milk recently). When I got back to the room, I was told that he refused to put on the diaper. This is the conversation that went on.

Daddy: Sean, diaper on.
Sean: No
Daddy: What if you pee-pee?
Sean: Toilet!
Daddy: What about poo-poo?
Sean: Potty!

I got him to pee in the potty and put him to nap diaper-less! That is a great Mother's Day present for me: Sean wanting to pee and poo in the potty and not wearing diaper all on his own. It's a big leap for a boy who cried when I didn't put his diaper on. And all done in less than a week! =D

I've got to say that I didn't follow all the instructions from the book and I didn't follow the instructions correctly either. But Sean did poop in the potty within the first few hours of simple training. I think it was also helpful that he saw other children going to the toilet without diapers at school.

So if you're thinking of toilet training, get this book first "Toilet Training in Less than a day" by Nathan H. Azrin and Richard M. Foxx and read it. It'll save you the worry and hassle of training the old way.

In fact, If you follow the book correctly, your child would be able to pee or poo in the toilet and then carry the bowl and throw into the toilet and flush all by him or herself. It was just me who wasn't disciplined enough to follow all the instructions. I just took what was easy to do and probably did the training in a half-ass way. =P


"Drink Milk Good for Teeth!"

I tried all sorts of milk to get Sean interested in drinking milk. He gets interested for a while and then refused anymore. We even thought that he might be allergic to milk. So I didn't always push it.

The kindergarten has been getting the kids geared up for the "Visit to the Dentist" outing. So they've been singing about brushing teeth, which unfortunately Sean didn't listen to. But what got him interested was an activity they did.

The teachers got them to mix flour with water and put into an empty cartoon of milk, and pasted a piece of paper. "Drink Milk Good for Teeth!". So I took up the chant at home "Drink Milk Good for Teeth!" and that really help him to see milk in a different way. He's finally got a liking for chocolate milk. =D


Visit to the Dentist

As I said the kindergarten brought the kids out for a visit to the dentist. They psyched them up for several weeks with singing and crafts about brushing teeth, and the dentist had a cool tool to attract the children. He had a small mouth camera so the kids can see inside their mouth. It was just to introduce them to the dentist so they won't be scared of dentist.

I knew Sean has bad teeth because 2 of his front teeth are eroded and I suspected he has some cavities. I've been trying to clean his teeth but it's been difficult. Firstly, he wants to brush his own teeth, which means that it's not cleaned well. Next, when I get the chance to brush it for him, the yellow and black areas just won't go away.

I think I dreaded the dentist visit more than Sean since he didn't know any better. I've been reducing his sweets and sugary drinks, but I think it's too late. True enough! The dentist said that Sean has TOTAL DECAY. He keeps telling me that it's ok and that Sean's situation is not that bad but we have to maintain it. But well.... you hear "Total Decay", you're definitely worried!

But then, there's nothing much we can do except maintaining the teeth until the permanent teeth comes out. And then we can start anew. Oh yeah, I've got to remind any mummies who are breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed to clean the mouth and teeth thoroughly if you breastfeed to sleep. Clean after every feed!

In Sean's case, it's most likely because he breastfeeds to sleep and then continues to breastfeed throughout the night. So eventhough we brushed his teeth before we go to sleep, it wasn't much help because he had milk throughout the night and I was too sleepy to clean his teeth in the middle of the night. So it's probably better not to let them breastfeed in the midle of the night.

Anyway, all I can do right now is be more vigilant in cleaning Sean's teeth and get him to clean his teeth properly. So by the time he gets his permanent teeth, he already knows how to care for them well. I'm dreading the time we have to visit the dentist to get his current teeth filled. Oh no... it'll probably be traumatic for him and me!