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Today’s post is a little bit out of the normal. Traditionally, I’m coming to you with a hack or a newfound product I adore. I normally feel well-versed in the topic and I’m ready to tackle it! Today I have zero answers, only a few set products, and many questions. Today we are just talking about two! You all know we celebrated Maxi turning two February 11th, and other than “terrible twos” people always chit chat about little milestones surrounding this age: potty training, big-girl beds, and booster seats at the kitchen table to name a few. Grab some coffee and let’s have a date to talk about things I’m about to tackle this year- or next! 😉
Potty Training:
I don’t necessarily intend on speaking to potty training on the blog, as I find that far more personal. It feels like I’m speaking for Maxi as opposed to about Maxi. But, I do want to touch on the topic in relation to my feelings as a mom as many of you all have children the same age!
To be honest? This stage {although terrifying} feels refreshing in modern motherhood. I was actually at a Christmas party at my parents’ friends house and one of my mom’s friends grabbed my arm and said, “Aren’t you so glad you are raising a child in this age? I feel like moms are starting to get that kids all do things on their own timing!” She went on to explain that when she was raising her children if they weren’t potty trained on the DOT by their second birthday they were questioned as parents.
If you research potty training, you get two main opinions. You get either:
“Do it now! Stay home for 3 days, read this book, it will work. We’ve never looked back.“
or you get
“Just wait until they want to do it! You can try now, but all you’re doing is training yourself, not your child.“
But the refreshing part between both parties is that it really does *feel* like both parties respect the other. Maybe I’m the new naive mom, but when I talk to moms they generally agree that either a method or book worked at a certain age because their child grasped it or they waited so their child could ask to try it! I like that you are essentially letting your child take the lead based on their maturity geared towards potty training and milestones they are hitting- I’m all about that.
And this next stage {whenever Maxi is ready} feels so grown up. It’s as if the world is saying, “Look! It’s one less task she needs you for!” And while she’s not going to be galavanting off to the ladies’ room by herself ANYTIME soon {try 15 years + lol} her training potty by her tub and her Pull-Ups in her closet are a pivotal reminder that babies don’t keep. Whether you implement a book or follow your child’s lead on any milestone in their life, they do grow to the next step- with or without your coaxing.
This age they do so many new things from dressing themselves to trying to brush their teeth to learning a song. So I’m just going to follow her cues, introduce things and research now, and know that when she does hit certain milestones we are ready because Pull-Ups Learning Designs Training Pants absorb like a diaper but slide up and down like underwear. The nice thing is that they still refasten for quick and easy changes and you know they are a product that can be trusted since they’ve helped train 50 million big kids plus. Did you do any reward activities with potty training? These have cute Disney characters on them, so wondering if the chart and then a Disney toy/movie would work, when that time comes of course! For now, Maxi is just obsessed with putting them on her babies and then you can color inside the box- so naturally, she is into that. 😉 I love that a box entertains a two-year-old more than any toy you could buy. ha!
Most of the cues I’m waiting on are in regards to her following directions, being too busy for changes, and having a more “me do it” attitude. The Pull-Ups training pants are designed to fit and feel like real underwear, so they represent that milestone to the toddler- so they are helping teach them that change as well, even while you aren’t reinforcing or speaking about it at each moment.
So I know that is headed for our future, and in the meantime, this is Maxi’s favorite book. I KID YOU NOT and she brings it everywhere/shows it to everyone at the store. ha!
Bed:
Oh the big-girl bed! I’ve touched on this before, but I so go back and forth. For now, she’s happy in her crib, but on Thanksgiving, she climbed out. Her crib allows the front rail to come off and then it turns into a toddler bed. I saw an Instagram account where the dad made the cutest little side rail so their toddler didn’t fall out of the bed. Maybe I can convince Paul into a project?! Or this one looks pretty darling. Essentially, I’m all ears on this one. If you switched to a toddler bed at two did they seem to listen or just get out 24/7? If you waited are you glad or do you regret it? I know each scenario works for your child regardless of the timeline, but I just have no clue how Maxi would react to switching.
Table:
Now, this is a transition I do think we are more ready for. The highchair has lost its excitement and quite frankly, I’m ready to retire cleaning it for now! haha. The OXO Tot Nest looks great for our kitchen seats and thanks to Folex, I do not worry about stains. That stuff is my ride-or-die Amazon buy! I am convinced it gets out any stain on the planet. The reason I am thinking about this so much is that I’ve noticed when Maxi sits in a booster at a restaurant or has to sit in my lap for a meal {if we are at someone’s house without a highchair} she eats way more. I’m not sure why that is, but I’m willing to try anything. When did you retire the highchair?
So, I just want to take this post and tell that new mama rocking her infant in the glider, that the next stage will come. The baby will wean. The paci fairy will come. The sleep regressions will subdue. But your worry and your concern and your research and your books and your methods- they DO matter. They show you care. Because even though babies don’t keep, humans always need care. And whatever method, milestone, or change you just implemented as a mom is the exact one your little babe needs.
But today I’m sipping coffee and all ears for what your child did! Leave a comment below so we can all chat about it. 🙂 Thank you so much for reading!
I love that potty book, it looks so cute! My favourite book when I was young was a picture book about pooping too, haha! 😛
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I love this type of post because I have a 14 month girl so these things are on my radar, even if we wont be doing potty training or a big girl bed for another year. I love reading about what you’re doing with Maxi and saving those ideas for us to use later!
My son just turned two a week after Maxi, he started climbing out of his crib back in January. I was terrified about him getting injured as another child we know did by climbing out of his bed. We bought a “Big Boy bed” and side rails to make it more secure that weekend instead of buying his conversion kit for his crib. The first night was HARD and I felt like a new mom again with no sleep, but by the second night it was so much better and by the third he didn’t wake up once. He loves his bed now and will go in his room to just go read on his bed by himself. It was terrifying I believe more for my husband and I than him. He was ready. He also start refusing to eat in his high chair right after Christmas and now he has a seat the table and we also just ask for a booster when we go out. Part of this I believe his daycare has helped with seeing he naps on a cot now there and sits at a table for all of his meals/snacks. Good luck.
I love your mom posts! I have been reading for a few years now and have just became a mom myself in November! The saying that babies don’t keep pulls at my heart strings but I love reading your blogs about the next phases I can look forward to for my little girl. 🙂
One of the biggest regrets I have had is moving from the crib to a big girl bed! My daughter loved her crib but we felt it was time to get her a big girl bed when she was 2.5. We got a Queen and decorated it, etc and she made the switch just fine….but she can get out of it all of the time and comes to our room every single night…and there is no negotiating with a 3 year old!!!! I have lost so much sleep and wish I would have kept her in her crib until she asked to move! Her little sisters will be in their until college!!!!!
Also, she potty trained late – she had no interest so I didn’t push the issue until she started preschool at 3 and had to be trained- it took one day! Good luck and you are doing an awesome job, Maxi is too sweet and it’s fun to watch her grow up!
Hi Katey,
I’d been silently following you for a couple of years and enjoying all your content both on the blog and insta.
Gave birth in Nov 2017, followed your pregnancy guides and enjoyed the whole process. Got busy with the baby and just recently realized that you stopped popping in my insta feed.
Have you closed your account?
Kanu
Hi Kanu! Oh no I haven’t! 🙁 It is probably the Instagram algorithm. It doesn’t show everyone you follow which is such a bummer. If you go to my page and comment on a few pics of like a few that will tell Instagram you want to see my page! I hope that helps. 🙂 Thank you so much for following! Xo, Katey
My daughter is about 6 weeks younger than Maxi and we live in DFW so I follow your motherhood journey! We are thinking of potty training in the summer, she does show interest. We got a booster seat for the table- and sidenote, my husband is a clean freak and loves Folex!! Haha! She climbed out of the crib once but she seems OK in it for now. Those are the three big milestones we have this year and I’m terrified lol! I think you’re approaching it the right way. Bed will probably be the last transition I just can’t wrap my head around it! <33
Katey,
I adore your blog and insta sweet mama, all your hacks and beauty tutorial/product wisdom and insight. ? I’ve never commented, but saw this post and wanted to reassure you that all these milestones will come when Maxi and mommy are ready and best to ease my into them without feeling the pressure of the world to reach at a certain age. I have three babies: 5,3, and 8 months. I’ve found the things I worried about with my first always went a lot smoother than I anticipated and the worries didn’t come to pass. ?
I wouldn’t rush the crib…we moved our older two around 2.5 years, but only bc another baby was coming and I wasn’t buying another crib. ? .we got them excited and really encouraged what it means to be in a big kid bed and let them pick out their new sheets. We use this instead of railings. https://www.amazon.com/1-Pack-hiccapop-Toddler-Bumper-Safety/dp/B01DTBKPWO/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=pillow+for+kids+sleeping+railing&qid=1552303316&s=gateway&sr=8-2
Now my third will probably be forever in a crib since she’s the baby and I’m in no rush. ? Daytime Potty training: My two boys potty trained at 3 with lots of books, got to pick out their potty of choice (that sits on adult potty), and got to pick out their undies) Sooo my advice is to try it out when you feel Maxi is ready, but if she’s not that’s perfectly wonderful too. It will go a lot smoother when she is developmentally ready. These moments pull at our mommy heart strings in ways we never knew, but the joy of seeing them succeed and the smiles of the pride they feel are priceless. I always tell myself these milestone moments are so necessary (but without a cookie cutter timeline with each child’s uniqueness) as we allow The Lord to work in their lives and achieve the amazing purpose he has for them….and it really just gets sweeter and sweeter. ?
Hi Nicole! Sending you a HUGE hug through my computer for that incredible comment! What reassurance that everything works out as it should with children! Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to just be an encouragement and wonderful reminder! I absolutely love those bumpers thank you for sending my way! I think after all this feedback, I’m just going to forget the crib thing and if she stays in it until she asks to leave, that’s great! haha. Thank you for all your help and for reading my blog! xo, Katey
So adorable and I can’t believe Maxi is 2 already! As for potty training, like you said every kid is on their own time. We tried and tried for days and months when our daughter Mina was 2 and it was so frustrating (she loved the Doc McStuffins Pull Ups too). She told me multiple times, ‘when I’m 3, then I will use the toilet.’ And I would stay home some days and try to watch for when she was ready, and it never worked. The day after her third birthday, she started using the toilet and never went back to diapers during the day. You’re doing a great job Katey!
xoDale
My daughter came along 22 months after my son. My son was 2 1/2 before he was completely potty-trained, but my daughter wanted to train earlier. She saw that her “big brother” wore Duck Tails and Ninja Turtles underwear. So, she expressed an interest in wearing them – and I let her! Then we switched to girly panties. She was potty-trained in no time!! Yes, she was around two when it all finally came together. But, I didn’t mind that she wanted to follow in her brother’s footsteps – what seemed to work for him worked for her. Then she graduated to pink & purple undies. I know this is telling my age but just enjoy every stage your little ones go through – time flies by so quickly. I truly enjoyed the “ages and stages” of my kids lives – now they are adults with kids of their own. Good luck & God Bless!
Thank you so much for such a sweet comment, Debbie! I have heard that second ones train faster since they want to be like their big brother or sister! That gives me hope that when they are ready it happens quickly. 🙂 Thank you so much for your support! xx, Katey