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Sunday Pictures

Sunday Pictures

The girls ready for church.

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Photos courtesy of Grandma Scott. Dresses courtesy of Grandma Bettinelli.

Photos of sleeping babies need no explanation or excuses.

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Dancing with Auntie Tree:

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“He never steps on my toes.”

Don’t miss Dom’s Photos of Benedict�s first week.

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6 comments
  • Having now toilet-trained 6 children, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not something to make into a battle of wills, because once they get to the point where they know what they are doing, that is what it becomes. My thought would be to let her use the pull-up (much easier to clean up than dirty/wet underwear). I wouldn’t necessarily let her know that there were incentives for toilet use, but if she does use it, praise her and give her a treat. Otherwise, just change the pull-up when it gets dirty and don’t make a big deal of it. Perhaps let her know that if she goes in the pull-up the rule is it has to be changed right away whether or not Daddy is home and that you can’t pick her up to change her.

    I think the hardest thing for me personally about toilet training was not to get angry and raise my voice about accidents because it seemed like such a trial. I found when I accepted that it happened and dealt with it in a neutral fashion, the children responded better. And I also found that a hug and a piece of chocolate are wonderful rewards—for mother and child.

    Congratulations on the birth of Benedict. He is such a beautiful baby. I love the pictures of the girls with him.

    Jessica

  • I think it’s entirely natural, particularly with the introduction of another little sibling, to want to be the baby again.

    One thing that worked for us was a construction paper chain. Every potty success earned a “link,” and after a predetermined number of links, our son could select a “prize,” i.e., an ice cream cone, a walk to the park, extended reading time, a holy card, etc. We let him choose what the prizes would be and used lots and lots of praise. 

    Good advice I received—they won’t go to kindergarten in diapers…and I can assure you, our oldest is going to be a junior in high school come September. He didn’t. wink

    Congratulations on the birth of your son, and welcome to the world of boys!

    Laura

  • The little ones all deal with the addition of a new sibling in different ways. It’s stressful even though there is much joy for them. In my experience all of my children learned to use the toilet at different ages. No two were the same. I agree that not reacting negatively helps the situation resolve quicker and more peacefully. It’s hard to clean up messes, but it’s spiritually beneficial to bear own another’s weaknesses with mercy and patience. And our children are blessed by it.

    And as my mom would tell me, “Don’t worry. It’s not like they’re going to go off to college in a diaper.” Some things just take time.

  • Just to repeat what everyone else is saying: don’t worry and don’t make it a battle.  (That’s what happened with me; my daughter turned into a camel.) I swear I thought she’d be the one who went to Kindergarten in a diaper—but she didn’t (she was almost 4, mind you). 

  • Amen to everything here. Miriam, when she turned 3, did the same thing (Bella was newborn). Not to put a timetable on anyone else’s kids, but she was in and out of pull-ups for about six months.

    Then, at 3 and a half, she suddenly decided she liked “big girls underpants” and refused pull-ups. She was completely “healed” in one day!

    My biggest mistake was trying too hard to re-teach her the potty. She knew exactly what she was (or was not) doing. It was simply a battle of the wills. We ended up just letting her wear pull-ups, but took timely opportunities to remind her of the “big girl pants” in her drawer. I would praise her and reward her when she did go on the potty, but didn’t dangle the carrot ahead of time at all.

    What a trial for my melancholy that was! I’ve already decided that Bella will have to grovel on her hands and knees before I even start trying to potty-train her! (Just kidding. Sort of.)

  • A couple of suggestions: 

    – get the prettiest (from Bella’s perspective) underwear you can find for her.  The day after a dry day, it’s hers to wear.  If she has an accident, alas, it is back to the pull-ups.

    – I second the immediate clean-up, no matter who has to do it

    – if you keep calm, it’s good

    – get hold of “The Knee Baby” if you can find it

    – if it’s still in the library, perhaps “Anna’s Potty” will help

    Good luck!  This, too, will pass.

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