Chase is officially two-and-a-half years old and while I feel like a broken record around here, I just LOVE this stage. He is a chatterbox to the extreme and always wants to tell us anything and everything. His imagination exploded over the past few months and watching him play make-believe and create little scenarios and conversations for his trains, farm animals and cars makes me smile so big. He wants to be included in everything, asks a bunch of questions, loves reading books together and is an absolute bundle of energy. When his preschool teacher said to me, “I don’t think we’ve ever seen Chase tired,” I could only nod my head. Thankfully most of his energy is joyful energy and he is a very smiley, happy and engaging kid that is truly FUN to be around.
Chase is very social, loves his friends and teachers and talks about our family members and his friends all the time. In the same breath, he’s rather independent and doesn’t shy away from new experiences but still looks to me to scoop him up in my arms if the tears start flowing. When I can tell he’s about to break down, I’ll often ask him if he needs a hug and his lower lip will stick out as he runs into my arms. He still says “Mama, kiss it” when he hurts himself and his boo-boos need a little extra love.
All of these little moments of tenderness remind me that while Chase is growing like crazy and asserting his independence more and more (“No, I do it!”), he’s still very much a toddler in need of affection, love and nurturing.
Eating
Play is still a big-time priority over eating for Chase and while I’m not sure this will ever change, his eating is slowly improving – and I mean slowly – but progress is progress and I’ll take it! Involving him in cooking is my favorite way to get him to try new foods and veggies. Since he’s SO darn curious he will often ask, “Mom, I try this?” as I’m chopping up everything from cauliflower to zucchini.
He prefers raw vegetables to cooked and cucumbers are his favorite by a longshot. He’ll also snack on raw carrots and zucchini and the only cooked veggie that has captured his heart is green beans. (He LOVES Whole Foods’ garlicky green beans from their hot bar but will eat the green beans I prepare as well… just not with as much vigor.)
His appetite seems to be increasing which makes me want to run all over our neighborhood and high five everyone I see. For the kid who used to take a single bite of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he’ll now eat an entire half of a sandwich at lunchtime which feels like a MAJOR victory. His food favorites include apples, oranges, strawberries, blackberries, Earth’s Best Organic Sunny Days Bars (just take all of my money), cashews, Goldfish, white cheddar mac and cheese, Cheerios, thin crust pizza, quesadillas, yogurt, muffins… and of course pretty much anything with sugar we allow him to have. (Ice cream and the icing on top of cupcakes is his all-time favorite. I wonder where he got that from?)
Sleeping
Sleep is kind of a tricky one around here lately for no other reason than the fact that a lot of the predictability we’ve been loving for the past few months seems to be a little up in the air over the course of the past month and a half.
Nap time usually goes well, but there have been two separate weeks of NO naps and others weeks where Chase will skip a nap a couple of times but then nap like a champ the other days. No part of me thinks he’s ready to completely drop his nap because he is still sleeping so well when he does nap and his demeanor tells me midday sleep is still quite important for him. Right now I’m back to feeling like I can semi count on five days of decent naps and two days of nap unpredictability. On days when he’s not settling in his crib, I’m trying to enforce “quiet time” and load him up with books or a few toys and tell him he can read in his crib but that we need to rest for a bit which seems to work out fairly well most of the time.
We also experienced two weeks of super-early morning wakeups when Chase would wake up crying or screaming for me. I could usually calm him down with some cuddles and a book in his room but it was a rough couple of weeks there for a while! I’m not sure what was up, but that seems to have passed and hopefully won’t return anytime soon (though part of me did love the sleepy cuddles)!
Current Challenges
I briefly mentioned some of our biggest toddler battles and some solutions that work for us in diffusing meltdowns in this post. When it comes to meltdown territory, distraction is the name of the game and I’m still trying to enter into these battles armed with some kind of a distraction to stimulate Chase and get him excited about anything other than what must happen, whether it be getting him dressed (currently our #1 battle), leaving the house, loading him into his car seat, heading upstairs for bed, etc.
We have two additional “challenges” on my radar in the coming months: Potty training and transitioning Chase into a big boy bed. When it comes to the whole big boy bed thing, I’m SO hesitant to make this transition because Chase loves his crib and has never tried to climb out of it. Plus, I know our child and there is zero chance he will stay in his bed at nap time or even in the early morning hours when he’ll sometimes wake up, make some noises and then settle himself back to sleep for a bit. Do we just buy a second crib for our new baby and leave him in his crib or bite the bullet and try to do the whole big boy bed transition before our baby arrives? I’m so torn!
As for potty training, I think Chase can definitely handle it and will grasp the concept just fine but I’m not sure how to really approach the whole thing and so mostly out of my own laziness, I’ve put it off. I’ve read a bit about the whole “stay home for three days and put them on the potty a million times a day” idea and that’s my current plan but if you guys have any other tried-and-true methods or words of advice that worked well for you, I am ALL ears! Also, do stickers or some kind of a mini prize for each successful pee or poop in the potty work well? I’m pretty sure Chase would do anything for a jellybean or peanut M&M…
Adjusting to the Thought of Being a Big Brother
I could cry as I write this because Chase’s heart is just so tender and he is so darn sweet when he talks about the baby in Mom’s belly. Chase has been 100 percent obsessed with his toddler friends’ baby brothers since three of them were born last summer which both warmed my heart and also made it ache because Ryan and I so badly longed to have a second child. Now that a baby is growing in my belly and we felt comfortable enough to tell Chase after a good 18-week prenatal appointment, he is ALL IN and his little voice drops down to an almost-whisper as his high-pitched little voice asks to touch my belly or prays for our baby.
The other day Chase told me “Baby needs a Wubby” (wubby = Wubbanub = his beloved pacifier) and I told him he could help me pick out a Wubby for his little brother or sister which made him light up. When he prays for our baby, he says things like, “Dear God, baby be growing. Baby be healthy. Thank you for Wubbys.” My heart melts every time and I truly cannot wait to see him in his new big brother role. Chase has a very sensitive side and will always stop and talk to me with great concern when he sees another child crying and loves crouching in front of his friends’ little brothers to check on them during play dates. I am not naive enough to think that he’ll be completely sold on the baby from day one and know enough to expect jealousy and some serious challenges through the changes but I am so beyond ready for it and cannot wait.
Pacifier Update
Now, speaking of Wubbys… As of early December we are pacifier-free. Woo! In my last update I was absolutely DREADING this transition because Chase and his Wubbanubs – all FIVE of them – were absolute BFFs.
(Flashback to the Wubbanub Glory Days)
I loved reading all of your suggestions for how to get rid of a pacifier and highly recommend checking out the comments on my previous Chase update post to anyone thinking about getting rid of their little one’s pacifier soon.
In the end, we decided to roll with the “Wubby is broken” idea and cut the little stuffed animal off the pacifier so he could keep the animal but the pacifier was no longer an option. I toyed around with the pacifier fairy idea where he’d leave all of his pacifiers out for a Paci-Fairy and receive a new toy in their place but I had a strong feeling Chase would chuck the new toy out the window and want all of his pacifiers back within 5 minutes. The “broken” option seemed to be the most viable for Chase’s personality since he understands the finality of that word. Once the Wubbanubs were officially “broken” (we “broke” one Wubbanub a day to slowly transition him), we explained that his Wubbys were all broken and told him he could still hold onto the little animals or cuddle with Snowball (his favorite stuffed cat) if he felt sad and that Snowball would help him feel better. He seemed to grasp this concept from the beginning and though there were some serious tears, his first nap Wubby-free went shockingly well! It was not nearly as big of a deal as I thought it would be – thank goodness!
I’ve also noticed Chase’s crazy teeth have improved a bit since we got rid of his pacifiers which is a relief since, as his dentist warned us, his palate was definitely impacted by the pacifier. (Our dentist’s urging was the catalyst for our mission to drop the paci otherwise I’m pretty sure Chase would’ve had a pacifier until he was 18.) I’m shocked at the change in his teeth and the shape of the roof of his mouth after only two months of no pacifiers but I’ll take it!
Likes
- Playing with cars and trains
- Helping Mom cook or bake
- Reading a billion books
- Dancing and jumping
- Riding his Plasma Car and racing around the house with Dad
- His friends
- Singing (He has every song on this Raffi CD memorized)
- Preschool
- Sadie (especially calling her back in from outside)
- Baths
- Videos from Aunt Leslie of her dog, Kona
- Pointing out every fire truck, school bus, construction vehicle, etc.
- Being outside
- Any marine animal
- Looking for fish in the lake off the dock near our house
Dislikes
- Getting dressed
- Having his hair washed
- Brushing his teeth
2.5 Year Old Favorites
PLAY
- Plasma Car (Chase’s OBSESSION. Perfect outlet for non-stop toddler energy!)
- Little People Animal Friends Farm
- Mega Blocks
- Foam Airplanes
- Kitchen Helper Stand (We use this daily for everything from cooking “help” to washing hand and doing crafts at the kitchen counter.)
- Train Table (A gift from my mother-in-law along with train tracks that is, without a doubt, the best source of “solo play” for Chase right now.)
- Any kind of sports ball
- Indoor Collapsible Play Tent
- Golf Putter
- Thomas the Train (and all of his train friends)
- LeapFrog Learning Laptop
- Magnetic Building Tiles
BOOKS
- Anything Pete the Cat
- Bedtime Bible Stories
- Go, Dog! Go. (Chase practically has this one memorized.)
- Are You My Mother?
- The Cat in the Hat
- Green Eggs and Ham (Confession: I love this book, too!)
- Happy Little School
- Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
Past Updates
- 26 Months
- 20-22 Months
- 17-19 Months
- 13-16 Months
- Twelve Months
- Eleven Months
- Ten Months
- Nine Months
- What I Wish I Knew Before My Baby Was Born
- Eight Months
- Seven Months
- Six Months
- Our First Sleep Training Experience
- Traveling With A Baby For The First Time
- Five Months
- Four Months
- Three Months
- Two Months
- And Then He Smiled
- Three Weeks
- The First 12 Days
- Q&A: All About Birth & Life With A New Baby
- Chase’s Birth Story: Part I, Part II
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Happy Thursday! I think the best thing about having a blog would be the catalog of memories you could always return to, and these Chase updates include all kinds of great details to remember! Also I was curious as to how getting rid of the pacifiers would go, since it seems like it can go really really crazy for some kids. And it’s so cute that Chase prays for and is already excited for the new baby! Of course they will have normal sibling rivalry but it’s so great that at least on THIS side of the birth, he’s all in. Loved this fun update, and as always, thanks for letting us be a part of your world. Looking forward to the upcoming great potty-training and crib/bed advice you’re sure to receive in these comments.
Unrelated: let me be (maybe) the first to say that you look like Jessie Diggins, the olympian!! Same thousand-watt smile.
If you haven’t been watching the Olympics, and haven’t been watching women’s cross country, the super viral gold medal cross country win of Jessie Diggins is the MOST fun and uplifting thing to watch! It’s the most insanely passionate race with the most epic announcer enthusiasm in Olympic history (people are comparing it to the 1980’s “miracle on ice” hockey announcer). Will make you laugh, cry, be inspired, and you can see your doppelganger. Would post a link but I don’t think I can do that in the comments. But if you google it, I swear you won’t be disappointed! Have a great day. 🙂
https://sports.yahoo.com/can-see-light-epic-gold-medal-finish-equally-epic-broadcast-002435133.html
love!
Love reading your blog Julie! Been reading since 2011z I have 3.5 year old so I was in your boat a year ago with the potty training and big boy bed. Our son loves cars (like chase) I found a car bed at a garage sale and we made this whole weekend about becoming a big boy! He is a big brother as well so we compared his bed to brothers and how cool it was and the transition went great! I spent countless hours worrying over something that literally didn’t even make him bat an eye. Our son doesn’t get out of bed still, but they make color coordinating clocks that turn a color when the time hits 7am so he would know the rules.
And with potty training we waited until last the 2.5 mark and did the 3 day naked thing. We played Daniel tiger potty episode all morning and he completely got the concept in 24 hours. He had never once peed on the potty before. We told him he would never be wearing a diaper again. And here was no turning back. We did prizes and a chart where he got a new hot wheel after so many pees. He lovedit all! Both things we made super positive and exciting good things rather than letting him know they were a little scary and he took right to both.
I was shocked!! Both of those things to me went 300 times better than the amount of times I sat up worrying about them!! I hope that makes you feel a little better and I hope they go smoothly for chase as well!
Thank you for sharing your experiences! He’s seen Daniel Tiger a few times and thinks that show is awesome, so I’ll absolutely look for that episode when we do the potty thing!!! Thank you!
Hooray for the end of early morning wake-up! Glad to hear that’s passed for you (it is no bueno).
Re big boy bed transition: my oldest was 18 mos when my younger son was born, so we ended up buying a second crib. I wish we hadn’t had to, but we weren’t comfortable putting our oldest in a bed at that age
(Because he’d never tried to get out either and slept SO WELL). That said, both of my boys transitioned to beds a little after they were two and a half and it was easier than anticipated. My oldest wasn’t great at naptime with a bed, but for whatever reason he never got out at night (pure luck, I’m sure). My youngest has been fine for nap and bedtime, which was a bit of a happy shock. The point being, Chase may surprise you!
Good luck with potty training! We did the three day weekend thing and it worked, but definitely had setbacks, so I’ve got no good advice, lol.
What a little cutie pie! I took my little guy to the store to pick out his own big boy undies the day we started seriously potty training (he would occasionally use the potty prior). It seemed to get him really excited to use the potty.
Oh crap potty training by Jamie glowacki is the best book about potty training. It was game changing for is. They sell it on Amazon.
Yes, Oh Crap!!! We just did it with our daughter a few months ago and it worked like. a. charm. Seriously. She got the physical part right away and was so proud of herself! I was shocked and amazed and she loved showing her new skill off. (Although for us, days 5-7 were a little rough because she mentally didn’t want to do it anymore.)
I cannot recommend this book highly enough — it’s a fast read and so smart, and has tricks for every scenario!! I was dreading potty training and am now so happy we did it.
Ordering that book now!
Thank you!
Totally agree on the Oh Crap! book recommendation. We just started last weekend, and it seems to be going well. As for the transition to the bed, we got one of those wait to wake clocks (turns green when he’s allowed to get out of bed). It took about a month for him to respect the clock, but now it seems to be working (we transitioned him about 2 months ago). Good luck!!
Yet another Oh Crap recommendation! Our 2.75 year old is 100% diaper free, and goes to the potty at night by himself (she says as the Universe goes…oh really? Enjoy tonight then!) Also second the wake up clock, except that we just have a nightlight on a timer! Way cheaper than the OK to wake lock and has multiple functions when you no longer need it.
Chase sounds just like my own 2-year old (along with the toddler tantrums! I let him wear his bike helmet to the grocery store yesterday to avoid the inevitable meltdown). Re: the transition to the bed, you probably have a few months longer than you think. When our youngest was born, he slept in his rock ‘n play and pack ‘n play until he was 6 months so that our daughter (two-years old) could have the crib for a bit longer. She transitioned without any hiccups (we used a pool noodle as a barrier). You could always try one of those OK to wake clocks – I hear great things about those clocks. As for potty training, we joke around that our son will be in diapers when he goes to kindergarten! It took much longer than a 3-day bootcamp to train my daughter (more like 2 months from start to finish). Bribing does work as well as the Daniel Tiger episode about the potty and the accompanying book (it has a button that makes a flushing sound). Good luck!
We debated buying the 2nd crib too. Our son was just over 2 when the new baby arrived. He never tried climbing out and I didn’t want to ‘rock the sleep boat.’ We bought the 2nd crib and no regrets. He’s just past 2 1/2 now and still in his crib.
Curious on the potty training suggestions. We need to start that soon because preschool at 3 years old requires it! Eeek! I did hear from a lot of friends to be careful with that one if trying to do it around the timing of a new baby. They could have major regressions!!
SAME! Chase’s preschool requires it for next fall — as do some of the local summer camps so it’s definitely top of mind since I’d love for him to do a few small three-day-a-week camps this summer after our baby arrives!
Our children are 16 months apart so we kept our son in his crib (best decision ever). He’s now almost 23 months and love his crib. It’s really reassuring for them. Also Chase will most likely have a tiny regression or some sort of jealousy, and the last thing you need is him not sleeping well. Our son is starting to wake up at night for no reason. I heard it’s very common once the second one is asking for more attention (our daughter is now almost 7 months and is taking more place in the house!) ?
For potty training, like everyone else, oh crap potty training. I heard awesome reviews.
Chase is very similar to my son Émeric; super active, poor eater etc. I was speaking with a dietician yesterday and she told me she thinks we give him bigger portions and he’s not hungry. A mini muffin is more than enough for a snack.! And 1/3 of cooked oatmeal in the morning. I’m currently reducing the snacks portions and I do see some improvement!
Best of luck! We didn’t know the sex of our babies and it’s a incredible feeling!
Don’t take him out of the crib! Seriously! If he loves it and doesn’t jump out, keep him there! My son just turned 3.5, and we have NO plans to take him out until he is 4. My doctor said he if he loves it, it’s the safest place for him to be.
As for potty training, I also wouldn’t sweat it. Many people say not to even start with boys until they are 3. (Unless they are expressing a huge interest). Again, we really waited on that and let my son take the lead. We started about two months ago, and my son has pretty much mastered pee. The other one…..takes much longer. I have heard the boot camp thing works, but why bother if you don’t immediately need him trained? You will be following him around cleaning A LOT of pee off the floor.
One of our biggest sources of motivation is the fact that Chase must be potty trained by preschool next fall and most of the local summer camps (specifically the one run by his preschool) requires potty training. I’d LOVE to have camps as an option for Chase this summer after baby #2 arrives because I think he’ll be bored at home with me an a newborn every day, so that’s my main source of motivation at the moment! Your thoughts about the crib are so similar to mine… he’s so content in there and I am just worried about rocking a boat that doesn’t need to be rocked!
My son is also 3.5, and we have no plans in the near future to take him out of a crib. I had a baby nurse who told me keep them what they’re in for as long as they like it and are comfortable (rear facing car seat, bathtub insert, etc), and though it may seem like you’re keeping them a ‘baby’ longer, they don’t know any other way! As for potty training, I used the book Oh Crap! Potty training by Jamie Glowacki. I followed the book to a T, and it worked great! It is a fast read, and most of the book is designed for specific problems/situations, so you don’t even have to read the entire book to start out (just like 4 chapters), which is great because I always felt like I would forget or miss key instructions if I had to memorize an entire book on potty training!
My 2 year old is also a picky eater but the sunny day -“Big Bird Bars” are her jam! Target this week just clearanced them out and I was able to score 6 boxes for $2.50! Worth checking if your target has them on sale!
I am a few weeks ahead of you with baby number 2 due end of May and I have ZERO DESIRE to take her out of the crib. She doesn’t try to climb out and like you said she wakes during naps / middle of the night and will settle back down and go to sleep. If she were in a big bed she would jump out and think any time of the day is play time. She goes to daycare two days a week where she does sleep on a cot but her naps are less than an hour compared to 2+ in the crib. We broke down and just bought another crib on wayfair for a really great price!
Potty training – please keep us posted how that goes! We had bought her a potty. We let her pick it out – the whole bit. She was loving it! Every night before bath she would go and pee on it and we thought – this is great she will be so easy to train… and then she pooped on the potty. She got up – saw it and screamed and cried. So now we have a potty fear. She does not even want to sit on the potty. My suggestion would be to get a seat for the regular potty as I am told maybe a poop won’t be so scary if it is in the regular potty with water? I don’t know – I can’t say I blame her – poop can be terrifying sometimes!
Good luck with it all! Love all of the baby updates!
First time making a comment. If you are going to transition him out of the crib to make room for the baby I would do it sooner than later because you dont want him to feel like he was kicked out for the baby. We transitioned my oldest about 4 months before the baby was born. We made it fun for him by re-decorating his room which he helped, and picking out fun bed linen and really talking about this is his big boy bed. He did really well switching over and did not mind at all when the baby came and was sleeping in the crib.
I am about to start potty training my almost 3 year old. He totally knows what to do but LOVES his diapers, so we are going to have to go cold turkey with him and do the 3 day boot camp and see how it goes. He needs to be potty trained by September when he starts all day preschool! Good luck with all the changes.
What a sweet post! I can’t blame him about the Whole Foods green beans. Everything is better at Whole Foods 🙂
When we were potty training our son we did the put him in underware and give him all the salty foods and lots to drink method. Then every 15 min we sat on the potty. We did it for a day and a half and he was good to go. I still put him in a pull up at night, but that was more for my sanity. We did that for a couple of months until I was sure he was dry at night. Our daughter was a little harder to train and we kept her in night time pull ups for about a year or so after we started training.
Keep him in the crib as long as possible! LOL my daughter is a few months older then Chase and we only transitioned her because she asked for a big girl bed. But honestly – having 2 under 3 (we also have a 10 month old) I’d keep him contained as long as you can!
As for potty training- M&Ms def worked for us!!
Not to sound like I’m giving advice because I know all kids are different by my older son loved his crib. I was due with my second when he was 2 years 9 months. I was going to try to switch him to a big boy bed then, but it would have been too many transitions for him at a time. I gave it a few months after the baby was born once he was used to that big life event and talked up a big boy bed before moving him. It was just after his third birthday. And it went really well. Just know once you switch to that big boy bed, they can get out of the bed. Be sure you’re ready for them to have that freedom 😉 we got a second crib borrowed from my SIL for the baby because we transitioned my older sons bed into a toddler bed. Six months later we went to a twin. I think the toddler bed in the middle was kind of pointless.
My son LOVED his crib and also never tried to climb out. But at 2.5 years old we had another baby on the way and we didn’t want to buy another crib. So we did transition the crib to a toddler bed – there were some long nights but he soon adjusted! Then a few weeks before the baby arrived we put him in a twin bed with rails and he LOVED it! He was so excited to have a big boy bed! So there was definitely some adjusting (and I think he would have slept in a crib for alot longer but we needed it 🙂 We also bought him a clock that turns green when its time to wake up – he doesn’t always abide by it but thought I’d throw that out there.
Also during this transition we did potty training! I wanted him out of diapers before baby arrived. I read the book “Oh Crap potty training”. It was a good read, I liked alot of her advice and she has a community on facebook so I was able to get advice and tips from other parents potty training which was great! We started this back in May 2017. And while he pee trained fairly well and fast (about two months) the poop training has been a challenge – we are now 9 months in and I can say that he’s about 98% poop trained with the occasional accident because he wanted to play instead of potty. The best advice I received will potty training was “keep the same mentality you had when teaching him how to walk. Remember he’s been in diapers his entire life – he needs to learn this new milestone with your guidance”
Good luck!
What a great update! Thank you for sharing. Our oldest is now 2 years and 3 months old and I know we need to break her of the “binkys.” She used to be obsessed with her “wubbys” and our plan was to just cut off the pacifier part like you did, but in the past couple of months she has been obsessed with her plain old pacifiers again. She even asks for a clean one every night. We just had a second baby 2 months ago so I didn’t want to take away her pacifier anytime around that big event, as I didn’t want her to blame the baby, but I’m starting to realize that the time is definitely coming.
As far as the crib thing, our oldest was 2 years and 1 month when her new baby sister arrived. I debated the big girl bed v. crib issue for months, but ultimately, she loves her crib and is an excellent sleeper and we didn’t want to mess with that. So, we bought another crib. I haven’t regretted it for a minute. I don’t know who is less ready for the big girl bed transition, our daughter because she loves the crib and has never tried to climb out, or me, who selfishly isn’t ready to let her have that kind of freedom. I have a feeling that we will know when it’s time. And honestly, with all of the insanity of having a new sibling (we did “steal” the glider from her room and a few other things), keeping her crib the same was a big help and let her have some security during such a chaotic time.
Good luck!
Hey Julie! We’re big Daniel Tiger fans over here and there’s a book and a show on trying new foods. My daughter is obsessed with songs, and tries a lot more things after hearing that song. When it’s something new we ask what Daniel Tiger would do and then she tries it. Might be worth a shot! As for potty training, I shared my experience here (http://wp.me/p7DmnD-6QE) but honestly my biggest tip is to wait until they are ready. It’s so easy once they are ready to do it. I will say that it’s been a few months and she still needs a diaper or pull up at nap and night. He’s still so young that if it doesn’t work, that’s ok! I used to work in a daycare, and boys are much harder than girls to potty train. Some would be over 3 and it still wasn’t clicking. Listen to your mom gut. If he starts throwing fits or hating it, don’t pressure and try again in a few months. I would also 100% buy a different crib, lol. I have an 8 month old and an almost 2.5 year old (she’s about 2 months younger than Chase), and I don’t plan to move her anytime soon. I do think she’d stay in a bed until we got her, but I’m not chancing it. With you having a baby on the way, I would be nervous that it’d just be too much and you will want that sleep! We actually found a used crib on Craigslist (or FB marketplace, I can’t remember) for $60! Highly suggest going that route.
This is in my head now: “When we do something new…….let’s talk about what we’ll do!” HA! I get all my best parenting tips from Daniel Tiger 😉
I have an ALMOST 2 year old and I have read/heard to milk the crib for as long as you can, so I think that is our plan!! We have a crib that transitions into a toddler bed, so when she does start climbing out and/or whenever the transition is right (I guess when they need to get up and go to the bathroom by themselves at night?!) then we will bite the bullet. But for now, I like her “contained” lol!
My daughter will be 2 1/2 next week and is fully potty trained with very little stress from me or her. I started in phases when she turned 2. Phase 1 was pullups and sitting on the potty any time we changed her or she woke up from sleep. We talked a lot about “this is where the pee pee goes” even though we had very few wins for awhile. After a week or two of that, we started making trips to the bathroom every 30-40 minutes and had a special basket of entertainment (books, toys, crayons) that were brand new and only played with while we sat on the potty. We also did a big paper on the wall for stickers every time she actually peed. I kept the time longer because she is very independent and did not like being told that she had to sit on the potty so much. Over a week’s time, we decreased the time between potty breaks to 15-20 mins and by this time she was occasionally telling us that she had to potty as well. We also switched to big girl panties at this time. We kept up the 15-20 minute thing until she was consistently telling us that she had to go and then just naturally fazed them out all together. She did continue to wear pullups at daycare (5 days – all day) for a couple weeks mostly because they weren’t ready to potty train but as soon as she got home, she went into big girl panties. For pooping, she seemed to struggle more with telling us in enough time to actually get her to the potty. We switched over to m&m’s as a reward for pooping in the potty and that seemed to do the trick after about a week. The whole process probably took 4-5 weeks but we had very few accidents and neither one of us ever felt stressed or angry throughout the process. Almost 6 months later and I can’t even recall the last time she has had an accident. (We do still use pullups for nap and overnight.)
Also, she is still in a crib and I have no intention of switching her anytime soon. There are some evenings when I put her to bed that she will lay in her crib for 30-40 minutes rolling round, playing with her sleep animal and talking away. Since she is contained, I don’t have to worry about her roaming. She has also never attempted to climb out. If it were me, I’d probably buy a second crib. No sense in adding more stress to your life when you are about to have a newborn!
If it helps, I was so worried my two year old would be crazy jealous with her new little sister, but she was my biggest helper from the get-go! We brought a present to the hospital for big sister from little sister and gave her the present after she met the baby. When we got home, she was very sweet and very concerned. The only thing that bothered her was the first time I nursed, which I think scared her. But now she can recognize when the baby is upset and will get her toys or come to get me to “put the baby to bed. She’s tired.” I have a feeling Chase will be the same way since he is so sensitive to the needs of other kids. The best advice I got was to include the older sibling in as much as possible to forge that family bond. It also helped A TON to have family around to take big sister on special activities for the first few weeks. All that to say, Chase will do great! As for the crib, do whatever feels best. We put the toddler bed in her room with the crib and let her choose where to sleep for a while. She also practiced putting her stuffed animals to sleep in the big bed. Eventually (prior to baby) we moved the crib out altogether. If you’re worried about wandering, you can always use a baby gate on the door, baby proof the room, and leave out toys that he can play with independently. You will figure out what’s best and it will all work out. Promise!
I love reading your Chase updates! I have an almost 2.5 yo little girl and am due with number 2 in May. We were also worried about transitioning to a big kid bed as she loved her crib and also has never tried to get out of it on her own. But I really love her crib and wanted to use it with number two and not have to buy a second one. She has been in her new bed for almost a week now and so far things are working out well. I bought two books about big kid beds and began reading them to her a couple weeks before the change since reading books seems to help her understand things better. Plus she LOVES reading. Then I had her pick out some new sheets for the new bed, and a week later while she was at daycare on a Friday we put the bed in her room. When she got home she was beyond excited for her new bed and more specifically her new sheets!!
We decided to skip the toddler bed and used the Hemness day bed with a bed rail http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30349329/ (bed rail we used https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H1IYXW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and I think it mimics a crib like feeling with the three sides and bed rail that covers most of the front that she felt safe in it. She will climb in and out of it but wont get out of it until we come in to get her.
Good luck with everything!! I always remind myself that kids are more resilient than us and usually she adjusts better than I do with change. Now for the potty training… not sure I am ready to tackle that one yet!
Looks like he’s doing well!
I would sell the crib transition by him being a big brother and that the crib is for his younger sibling. The learned independence is a transition for parents too, but it’s going to be harder the closer you wait until baby is here (and even harder after, as he will want to know why he’s in a baby bed like his sibling). I would recommend reading some of the tips here:
https://sleepingshouldbeeasy.com/2016/02/10/transition-from-crib-to-toddler-bed/
https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/sleep/101/the-transition-from-crib-to-bed/
For potty training, I would suggest a potty training chart (google these, there are millions of templates to follow). We used one that looked like train tracks and let our girl get one sticker for #1 and two stickers for #2. Along the way she earned prizes (candy, small toys, etc). This worked very well for us, as she adores stickers and prizes. Consistency is the name of the game, you will need to take him potty every 1-2 hours for him to try. It will take some time before he tells you needs to go.
Hope these things help!
Crib transitioning….I regret transitioning my older son when we did. Unlike Chase, he did start climbing out of the crib. He was around 2 years old and one night I heard a huge crash from his room. I ran into his room and found him on the floor about 3 feet away from the crib. He launched himself out! I laugh now, but that could have been very bad. The next night, we took the side off his crib. He refused to sleep in it. He spent the next 4 months falling asleep on the floor and then we would pick him up and put him into his crib after he was sleeping. Then we got a big boy bed and put side rails on it. That went a bit better. For boy #2, I let him stay in his crib much longer. He slept better than his big brother at that age and I credit it to the crib and feeling more secure. When we did transition him to the big boy bed, he was climbing out of the crib every morning and I knew it was time. He was probably 3.5 years old. Luckily, he just slid over the side without the launch his brother mastered. Instead of getting a bed frame, I put the mattress and box spring right on the floor. He never once fell out of it. After a few months, I added the bed frame and didn’t need to use the side rails. It was a very easy transition because we waited until he was actually ready for it.
As for potty training…we muddled through that. They were both 3-3.5 years old when they finished training. To start preparing, we used stickers and/or M&M’s as rewards for going in the potty. This was prior to really getting serious about it. Once we were serious, we did “no pants” training. We stayed home for a weekend and they just ran around naked. When they felt like they were going to go, they would go to the toilet. If they hadn’t gone for a while, I would suggest a break from playtime and to go try. They went every time. We did use diapers at night for awhile after the boys were daytime trained but once those were regularly dry, we got rid of those as well. When we went from sitting to standing, I used Cheerios in the toilet that they had to use for “target practice”. I definitely recommend a stool so they have better aiming abilities. I also recommend checking the toilet seat before you sit down just in case they “forget” to lift the seat before going. Ugh….
I’m sure you’ll get a million potty training ‘tips’ but this is what we’re currently working on – my daughter will be 2.5 in April, she’s kind of in that sweet spot where they say potty training is a GO! The past few months she showed signs of being ready and interested, and we just slowly introduced her to it, letting her sit on the potty if she wanted, but not forcing anything. Then a couple weeks ago we bought her her own little minnie mouse potty and I’m not kidding when I say this – I swear she is potty training herself now! She peed on her new potty immediately, and it just CLICKED. I think she was more hesitant to pee on the BIG potty (with a soft kid potty on top) and when she had one of her own that felt more like ‘hers’ she was all for it. So we just put the potty in our bathroom, and without ever pressuring her, just a few ‘do you want to sit on the potty?” or “do you need to peepee?” we’d gently encourage her to sit on the potty then make a HUGE ENORMOUS happy deal out of it if she peed. And then a few days later, she pooped on it too! She legit loves her potty. Then I let her pick out her own big girl panties, so she’s extra proud of them. At school – she’ll go peepee on the potty as well, but still has wet diapers in between of course. And I haven’t even THOUGHT about trying to potty train for naps or nighttime because that seems like a ways away, but for now, she’s doing big girl panties around the house and going peepee on her special potty as much as we can remind her! I think the key is waiting until they think it’s special and fun, and get them excited about it. I also made a “super potty chart” where if she earns 10 stars in the pee row she gets a prize and if she earns 10 stars in the poop row she gets another prize. She is so excited to put her star sticker on her chart each time!
We had to transition my son to a bed at about 28 months because I was having another baby. I felt the exact same way as you about transitioning him, and heavily debated buying a cheap, used crib or something. I just couldn’t justify buying a new one, especially since we had a perfectly good bed for him to use in our spare bedroom. So, for about 2-3 weeks before the first night that he slept in his big boy bed, we started reading books before bedtime about not needing a crib anymore (I bought an elmo one, and then a random one on amazon). We talked about it a lot, and we played in his big boy room for a few weeks prior as well. We got bed rails, and since buying them, we removed one since he tends to sleep on one side of the bed rather than the middle. When we finally put him in his new bed for the first time, he insisted on sleeping with his head at the foot of the bed with no blankets, and we just rolled with it. He did FABULOUS, and I was shocked. He acted like it was no big deal at all. He’s been in the big boy bed for 7 months, and has never gotten out of it without us coming into his room (and finally sleeps with his head on a pillow at the head of the bed…no blanket yet). He wakes up and calls for us the same way he did when he was in a crib. Chase may surprise you like my son did, who knows!
I have always enjoyed these updates because my son is just a few weeks younger than Chase! We just potty trained over Christmas (which was early for boys, but I’m a CPA if I didn’t do it then, it was going to be May before I could take the time off to do it and it stressed me out thinking I would only have a couple of months to get him ready for 3k if it didn’t go well). Surprisingly it went really well (to his credit, not mine). Anyways, I didn’t really do much research other than asking a few friends what they did. Some people completely threw out the diapers, but he still tinkles a lot of night and was leaking through the pull ups, so we didn’t do the whole throwing the diapers out ceremony – we just starting calling them his sleeping diapers. Anyways, I did it over a week instead of 3 days and it took a little experimentation to figure out what worked for him (see below for a rambling on what we did).
P.S. If it were me, I would stick with the crib. If he doesn’t climb out and will sit in it and rest/read, you might enjoy knowing you have that as an option during trickier moments with the new baby.
Here is what we did for potty training –
1) In the weeks leading up to it, we put him on the potty every night before bathtime to get him used to it. Then on the weekends, I started taking him with me every time I went just to let him sit on the potty and try, but without the pressure of having to go. One Saturday I took him about every hour and he didn’t wet the diaper at all that day, so I knew he was ready.
2) I let him pick out his underwear and he was very into in the concept of not letting spider man get wet.
3) So the first day we started, first thing that morning, I put him on the potty and put his underwear on him and explained to him what we were doing (also, no pants, trust me). I would set a timer and every 30 minutes we would go. I was filling him full of water too so I could start to get an idea of his bladder control and also so he would actually have to go. Some people say make them sit on the potty until they go, but that felt like punishment for both of us, so if he didn’t go, it worked better for us to set the timer in 10 minute increments until he did. I would give him 1 Annie’s fruit chew for trying to go, 2 for tinkling and an one of the yum earth pops for pooping. The second day, I moved the timer to 45 minutes. He made it the first two days with no accidents. So, feeling super confident of my mothering, the third day I had the brilliant idea to try to let him tell me when he needed to go and he peed on himself three times before 11am. So I switched back to just taking him in increments, but moved it up to an hour. The fourth day he stopped getting treats unless he pooped (which I kept doing that for about 2 weeks because that just takes a little longer. Some of my friends kids still won’t go and just choose to go during naptime or nighttime in their diaper, which is totally normal. I think what helped Davis is that I faithfully started giving him a probiotic so that when he had to go, he didn’t want to hold it). The fifth day, I did take him to the our children’s museum, but chickened out and put him in a pullup. However, even there, we stuck to the schedule and he didn’t wet the pull up.
5) I was super worried that next Monday about taking him to school in his underwear since he still wasn’t saying he needed to go, but the teachers are pros and just took him every 60-90 minutes even if he said he didn’t have to go. He made it that entire week with just two accidents. However, I do think the accidents are important for letting them figure out exactly when they need to tell you to go. But, he is just now in the past couple of weeks starting to tell us (I do think he has the benefit of being around other kids all day telling teachers they need to go).
6) Some trouble shooting – the spare underwear I took to school for Davis is just the plain white toddler training underwear and its a big deal to him not to wet his spider man underwear because he does not want to wear the plain white underwear. Also, boys in particular, don’t seem to mind being wet as much as girls do. Davis did not care one bit if he was running around in wet socks and underwear. Thankfully he caught on pretty quickly, but my sister ended up having to get some of those plastic diaper covers for her son to put over his underwear and if he tinkled on himself, she would let him wear that around for a few minutes so he could really understand and feel what it meant to be wet. It also helped her with the messes!
I have a 10 day old and an almost 3 year old and went through the exact same questions as you!
We chose to move him to a big boy bed – we gave him ownership by letting him choose a couple of sheet sets and some decorations for the walls. We really talked it up for weeks! I was so nervous to move him because, like Chase, was totally fine in the crib. But he had no problems and stays in his room until I come get him. (A tip – we have a small basket with toys for him to play with so he actually does stay inside!!)
Potty training went well here but I still kept him in pull ups on the weekend. I found my anxiety of accidents and my slow moves (we started when I was 7+ months pregnant) was regressing him. I always knew I had a back up if he did have an accident and it made me more relaxed – especially now with a newborn!!
I have three little people – 5, 3, 18 months. I would HIGHLY recommend getting another crib if Chase still likes his. Sleeping in a bed is NOT a milestone.. plus, with a baby on the way, you don’t want to worry about Chase constantly getting out of bed in the middle of the night or not going to sleep because he keeps getting up – that is just something you won’t want to deal with. You can get an organic crib from Ikea for less than $100. A worthy investment for your sanity. Plus, Chase will have enough transitions coming up in his life as a big brother – you don’t need to rush him.
Same goes for potty training. Go ahead and try a few days with the sticker chart or candy rewards, but if he isn’t reacting to that kind of motivation, he just may not be ready. 2.5 is still pretty young (especially for a boy) to potty train. Forcing it is never good. He won’t go to kindergarten in a diaper, promise you! So, give it a whirl, but if he resists, back off for a month or so before trying again.
Good luck and congrats on your growing family!
Hey Julie,
I would definitely recommend the color changing light. It is a pain to train them but it really does work. Also so does the 3 day potty training….a pain but it works. Go for the m and m’s and also the daniel tiger song. We still sing it today. I also think the closer to the 3 the better but every child is different and you know best. Good luck. I worried so much about these things and now looking back it all worked out.
Hi, Julie. Love your blog and honest talk about motherhood, life, etc.
I’m going to chime in with potty training tips that worked for our family. With both my kiddos I brought out our potty seat and let it hang out in the living room (eye roll). While neither kiddo used the tiny potty they got used to it and would sit on it and we’d talk about, etc. I tried hard to let them warm up to the idea before jumping in whole hog. I also played the Elmo potty dvd on repeat. Once we decided to go all in, I went the 3-day ‘bootcamp’ route. It worked really well! If nothing else, have patience and LOTS of back up clothes :O)
We did the 3 day method with both of our kids. I tried with our son when he was about 2 1/2 and he just fought me. So after day 2, we decided to wait. We then tried again right after his 3rd birthday and he took to it immediately. Both of my kids like to do competitions, so we would have a potty race every 15 minutes. Basically, I would run to one bathroom and they would run to the other (our bathroom back up to each other) and we would see who could potty fastest. Of course, they always won because I made sure to listen for the little tinkle. They thought it was the best thing ever though!
This post is adorable! Chase has the sweetest little smile. I love Wubbanubs, I’ve bought a bunch for my new niece and she loves them. I have no experience with potty training a child, so all I will say is Good Luck!
Chase will adapt to his big boy bed way better than you’d expect. My little guy is only a few months older than Chase and we were in the same situation as you, where another baby was on the way. We transitioned him out at around 2 yrs old and we just put the mattress on the floor at first with a side rail so he can get in/out on his own, easily. HE THOUGHT HE WAS KIND OF THE WORlLD. He didn’t look at the crib ever again and we saved a lot of money not having to buy another!
Now, if you can help me get him off his Pacifier-please! I’m all ears!!! This is our biggest struggle. Well, that and potty training–eek! i’m with you girl!
We’ve been potty training for a year now and it’s still not happening. I think we’ve tried everything, he just doesn’t care. He uses it twice a day and that’s good enough for him. He has no desire to be a big boy, wear underwear, get chocolate or stickers. I’m losing it, lol.
That’s so cute how excited he is about the baby. I want another one so badly and that hasn’t been happening either 🙁
I’m dreading taking the pacifier away as well! Good tips though when I reach the stage of being brave enough lol
For the crib: I only have my own experience to share but we transitioned my oldest from her crib at around 3 1/2. She to loved her crib and never tried to get out. She went from sleeping great to HORRIBLE. And she still hates her bed. I definitely regret taking it away so soon.
With my youngest, I’m pretty sure she will be in her crib until she starts kindergarten as long as she stays in it.
So all of that to say, if you feel he is not ready, don’t do it! Buy another crib for the baby. Chase is still young and they can get out of their bed and roam in the middle of the night, etc.
Hi Julie,
I love reading about Chase and his updates =0)
With regards to the “Big Boy Bed” my son was the same with Loving his crib, so i transitioned him by taking his naps in our guest room bed. I had installed bed rails that I ordered from Amazon before hand and placed his favorite stuffed toys and blanket in the guest room only for naps and would stay in the room with him until he fell asleep. I would always ask as well if he would like to sleep in the “big boy bed” for night time and 90% of the time he would opt out of it but he did have some night time sleeps and did well. We also bought his a “Grow Clock” and basically allows you to program the clock to a time for wake up with the SUN coming up and a Night time setting for when the Star comes out for bed. It helps him out and now that he has been in his Big boy bed for a year now he will ask us if he can come out of his room.
I hope this helps you out with Chase. I know it must be daunting reading all these suggestions. At the end of the day you’re the expert on your child ;0)
Take Care and Thanks again for Chase’s Update
Love the updates about your little guy! I’m sure he will be a great big brother 🙂
I didn’t through all the other comments yet, but just wanted to say on the crib front… don’t force the big boy bed! It’s not a development stage thing and you will be happier and sleep more with him happy in the crib! Speaking from experience… my kids are 22 months apart and had a toddler bed all ready for her for months and one day after our 2nd was born she decided to sleep in it (hadn’t been crawling out or trying to get out of crib at all…) It was a nightmare for us and we spent months working to get her to stay in her bed. When you do go that route, we have an OK to wake alarm clock that saved us once we finally enforced the rules 🙂
Now that our 2nd is close to two when my husband says oh should we move him to the big boy bed… I laugh and remind him of what we went through with our daughter! He then remembers and says oh yes he can stay in the crib until he’s 5 😉
Best wishes!!!
We were having major clothes-changing battles each morning with my 2-year-old too and then we moved all her clothes to the bottom drawer of her dresser. Now every morning she picks out her outfit for the day – undies, socks, shirt and pants and SHE puts on her clothes all by herself. It’s completely changed our mornings. She picks some pretty crazy outfits that don’t match at all and she needs a bit of help putting on her shirts still, but she’ll happily get changed now because she’s completely in control. Might be worth trying! Also, for potty training – pull ups and undies are key! No more lying down for changes, change him standing up in the bathroom all the time and constantly talk about how mommy and daddy pee in the toilet. That’s what helped us. Especially the Peppa Pig undies we found!
I love these updates! I say keep sharing them… They will be amazing for you to look back on, and I love the glimpse into your life!
Okay, regarding crib transition. My three-year-old was in the same boat as Chase, meaning he never tried to climb out of the crib, so what we decided to do was leave his crib in his room and also bring in a toddler bed. We said the bed was there if he was ready, but that if he was unable to stay in his bed, that meant he wasn’t yet ready, and we’d stick with the crib. I tried not to make one sound any different than the other, but he was pumped to see the bed (it had car sheets) and eagerly offered to try it out. We have had not one night of him getting up. Even in the morning he will cry out for us, and doesn’t think to just get out himself. Good luck!
(I meant to write “I tried not to make one sound any BETTER than the other”)
When my daughter moved into the 2yo classroom the teachers offered to help potty train when we were ready to start. They made it a habit for the the kids to sit on the potty after a diaper change just to get used to it so we did the same thing at home. We loved the baby Bjorn potty. It sat in her bathroom and she would sit whenever she wanted. After some traveling we did diaper free weekend. We had stickers, mini M&Ms, and princess underwear ready to go. A couple accidents here and there but she was good to go. When we transitioned to the big potty we let her pick out a princess toilet seat but it didn’t fit well and would move every time she sat on it. It freaked her out and she refused to sit on it. I then got a baby Bjorn one that adjusts and we still use it to this day (she’s 4.5.) Boys can be tougher. Just be patient and consistent.
Hi there, what a lovely update. I tell you what: I have not been reading any Blogs for nearly 2 years and just logged into Bloglovin to find this update here. HOW MUCH DID HE GROW???? wow! I can not believe it. And still cute as ever 🙂
I don’t have kids myself yet but my two little nieces are potty trained and they got a little snack for a while every time they went successfully on their potty, like a gummy bear or something.
And my friend, that I am living with is potty training her little girl right now. Over the past weekend she let her wear no pants at all and that worked amazingly well. She also had the potty places in sight so she was reminded all of the time visually as well. And on top of that we of course asked her like a trillion times if she needed to go.
The moment she put on her pants though she forgot that she did not wear diapers and a little accident happened. So that might be something for you to look into too?
I am sure going to screen through your blog a bit more now and just want to say how happy I am to hear your are expecting again. All the blessings for you and your family.
Susann
Just my 2 cents based on my experience helping my son transition to a potty ( i hate saying potty training makes them sound like dogs! ha). I waited until my guy was older 3 years, 3 months. Then one day I told him we were doing potty today and he never looked back. Most of my friends who tried earlier had a lot more struggle and needed all those reinforcements, but honestly that sounded like a lot of unnecessary work! Either way, I know it’s cliche, but he won’t go to Kindergarten in diapers- try not to sweat it too much!
My daughter is two months older than Chase. We attempted potty training last summer, and it just didn’t go too well. Back in January of this year, she woke up a couple of mornings in a row and got herself dressed. I said “That’s it. You can absolutely do this potty thing. I’m sick of diapers.” We put her in training pants or underpants, and she’s done pretty well. We also decided to incorporate bribery this time by giving her an m&m for every successful pee/poop. She’s still not to the point of telling us she has to go, but I think that’s normal.
In terms of the bed. she wasn’t a climber either, but with potty training, I thought it’d be a good idea to have her able to get out of bed herself. So we put the toddler bed rail on her crib, and she LOVES it! She loves being able to get in and out herself. We’ve had a couple of times where she gets out and plays in lieu of napping, but she generally stays in there.
My son is 2.5, his crib converts to a toddler bed, and we ended up making the transition because I found him trying to crawl out one day during nap ? we have never had an issue with him getting out of his new toddler bed. His room is toy-free and we give him a few books and it’s never been a problem! I was SHOCKED! Chase may love the bed! I feel like if you say the crib is “for the baby” he may feel really important getting a brand new bed. I also tell my son “if you get out of bed, no books”. I bet chase will do great!! Good luck!!
Like most toddlers our daughter (3) doesn’t like change but does much better if we can prepare her for it. We talked a lot about moving her to a new room for baby #2 and she decided that would be great, but she wanted to take her bed with her. Since that seemed important I didn’t hesitate one bit to let her stay in the crib. Like Chase she has never once tried to climb out so I figured why take the chance of her roaming around in the middle of the night when I’ll be dealing with a newborn?! I watched ads, CraigsList, etc for a used bed and our nephew ended up transitioning out of his for a double so we got theirs for free. You just never know what will happen and you do still have time. Just remember not too much change on the little guy at once – paci, new bed, maybe new room, potty training, new baby. It’s a lot for a little mind.
With potty training we used Skittles as I didn’t want chocolate hands all the time! 1 for pee/trying to pee, 2 for poop. I had her go sit on the potty every 20 minutes for the first 3-days. The first day is the worst, but it does help in my opinion if they are ready for it. We had the potty for months before she finally talked about using it and at that point we ran with it. Of course they forget about the treats over time which is good too 🙂
The way you talk about your sweet Chase and baby on the way have me SERIOUSLY wanting to be a mom like, right now. It’s been so amazing watching Chase grow and I can’t wait to continue to follow your journey with your new little one! What exciting times. Also I feel Chase’s pain when it comes to washing your hair. What a DRAG and so time consuming! – Kaitlyn | http://www.poweredbysass.com
My daughter was obsessed with going to the pet store just to watch the fish, so as motivation on potty training we bought a smaller fish tank for her room and got it filled with water & got it prepared for fish. We told her that we could get the fish after she was out of diapers. The next day she wore undies around the house. She had two accidents and then it just clicked. She got her fish pretty quickly.
Also, they make a great potty for the car that folds up and they go in a plastic bag. This was great and used quite often b/c they often cannot wait to find a potty once they’re out of diapers.
Seriously on those sunny days bars! My guy LOVES them though so I still buy them often. Also, I just had my second son and my first is 2.3 and though I was torn to buy a whole new crib I have no regrets. My oldest took a LONG time to finally nap regularly and sleep through the night and being super tired from pregnancy I was not about to rock the boat and lose that sleep. I found our second crib set on Facebook marketplace vs buying brand new and it’s been great!
We had to potty train our son before preschool started in the Fall, too (last year) — I think he was 2.75 years and we were a little concerned because he has a slight delay in speech so we waited until he could verbalize to us that he would need to use the potty. We bought the potty early and made a really big deal about it, read the book “Potty” with flair (he loooved it, especially the part about the dog using the potty outside), and watched Daniel Tiger potty episodes and got the book with the flushing sound.
I just used this book for reference: https://www.amazon.com/Potty-Training-Days-Step-Step/dp/1623157900/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1519328198&sr=8-2&keywords=potty+training+in+three+days
It was great and really straightforward. I got lost in jargon with a lot of other books, but this was basically a step-by-step guide! Our son is oddly not into rewards — whether they be food or toys (guess that’s…good??) — so we just used a ton of praise and excitement. I also bought a few new toys to play with him, since I spent those main days focusing 100% on him. He got it down in 4 days. We definitely regressed a bit once preschool started, but that’s totally normal!!
Oh – We taught him sitting down initially, but I’m not sure if I’d go that route if I had a re-do. On the plus side, he got it down super quickly and we have literally never had a poop accident (knock on wood!). Con – he JUST now learned to stand up (he’s 3.5) — it’s so. much. easier. to have him stand up!! I’m just not sure he would have “gotten it” at 2.75 years. Each child is so different! 🙂
Potty book: https://www.amazon.com/Potty-Leslie-Patricelli-board-books/dp/0763644765/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519328608&sr=1-3&keywords=potty