VENT! Irritated! "2-day 2's" nursery school is forcing me to potty train!

[akc]

Hi -

I'm just going to vent before I start in with my questions in another post. Can someone commiserate about this situation? Maeve is going to a "2-day 2's" program at a nursery school in the fall (on the 2 days a week, she goes for 2 1/2 hours in the a.m.) I was a little nervous that she's going to "school" at just 26 mos, but she's absolutely ready - she's independent, incredibly verbal, and can already do the entire alphabet, colors, numbers to 20, etc. I think she'll loving going to a classroom to have her own world.

BUT, I'M SO IRRITATED. They will not accept a child in regular diapers, must be pull ups. She doesn't have to be fully trained..yet..., BUT:

1) It's somewhat difficult to switch her into pullups without explaining why - she is SO savvy and verbal at 25 mos that she is on top of any changes we make to her routine. She is, in fact, resisting them a little, because she's been forced into a change that doesn't make sense to her.

2) They are not nearly as absorbent as regular diapers which can be a problems for my beverage-hound (pees a ton) and vegetable-loving (poos 3 times/day) girl.

3) She's only now getting used to pulling her own shorts/pants up and really isn't even able to do it well. Pulling up a pull up is totally unrealistic, especially because to get them up, I have to stand her up, tell her to hold onto my shoulders, and yank them up (which is another reason I suspect she's resisting them).

4) From all I've read, using a pull-up only gives them an extension of the diaper concept, which she could be using for a couple months. That means that I'll have a heck of a time when I go to tell her that you are supposed to hold it in pullups, so I'll have to go straight to training pants.

5) She's so active that the whole thing is just not conducive to spending hours at the park. The pull ups just don't hang in there, but I have to start using them.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.......

I wanted to wait until she was really interested in potty training. That's what everyone tells me is a real key to success. She has asked and been on the real potty before (I'll put this in my "ask questions" post), but now I feel forced to move ahead and don't want it to drag, drag, drag on. I have a 6-mo old who I'm going to have to take with me on my hip everytime I have to run to the potty with Maeve!!! Plus, I'm irritated that I'll begin the process in the fall which is not as easy as summer clothes in terms of on and off.

Anyone else deal with and did you just sigh and plunge ahead? Did you find that you were able to make the leap in a reasonable amount of time?

OK, thanks for the opportunity to share. I'll be posting with my real questions next b/c I guess there is nothing to do but move ahead!

Alexa

[JElaineB]

That seems really odd. Frankly I don't see a big difference between disposable diapers and disposable pull-ups. Except you're right, the pull-ups don't hold as much! I put DS is some Pampers Easy Ups today to see how well they worked and they were FULL 1.5 hours later. They seem to bloat up a lot more than diapers, I don't know why. I don't know how big she is, but what about trying Huggies Convertibles? They only come in size 5 right now but I think they are supposed to have size 4 soon. I bought a pack in size 5 and they were too big for DS, but they are a neat concept. You can pull them on like a pull-up or tear-away the sides and use the tabs like a diaper. That way you could use the same thing all the time and try to just use it in pull-up mode at school. DS is oblivious to what kind of diaper/pull-up he is wearing so I can't help a whole lot on that front!

ETA: The Huggies Convertibles are much more diaper-like than pull-up like. The fit the same as Huggies Ultratrims/Baby-Shaped pretty much. So they would fit your need for an absorbent diaper but fit the school's desire for a pull-up.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[akc]

Hmmm...

I saw the info on the Huggies Convertibles. How much does Jacob weigh (just to compare sizes?) Did you think that they worked well? I'm trying to figure out how the tabs are secure once you tear them away like a diaper? If so, they sound good. We had a problem with Huggies' fit for a while, but hopefully we can work through it.

I'm going to call them and see what the deal is. I don't know if they want pull-ups b/c that means she's in the process of potty training, but that won't be the case.

Eek. Maeve's favorite food is green beans and she loves corn, peas, even chickpeas. This is fabulous for her diet and health, but I'm telling you - she has at least 3 if not 5 poos in a 24-hr period. That's why I'm not anxious to potty train yet!

I would think they would want her in the disposables then (instead of pull ups!)

Thx for the tip -

Alexa

[kfcboston]

Alexa -

I have nooooo experience with this (yet). In fact, this is my very first post on the toddler boards. Eeek! However, I saw this article today that addresses this exact type of situation.

Good luck!

http://tinyurl.com/4mfwv

[Melanie]

Though I would not want to send my non-potty-using child to a preschool (I am not confident they will change their diapers often enough), I was told that it is illegal (in California) to have a rule about potty-using. The preschool director who told me this said that it was against a disability act or something. Though I do hear that some do have this rule. Anyway, like I said, the one I talked to seemed to not even change them every 2 hours since they aren't really set up for it as a focus, it is worked into the day. That just seemed really gross to me! I was quite sweating this, but luckily Ds jsut started learning (of course now we didn't get into preschool, but that's another rant!).

Good Luck! And what if you try those feel-wet things by Pampers. I'm not suggesting you force her. Do you read potty books and have a potty? If you do, then I think you just have to wait. Maybe find anotehr school and be sure to tell them why you are doing so.

ETAM after I read the article: Have you seen the Dr. Sear's book (for children) on using the potty? I think it is called, "You can go to the potty!" Ds also has the "Once Upon a Potty," book. He has enjoyed them both. In the Dr. sear's one there is a section for parents with tips and one mentions that toddlers go through phases of being receptive to new ideas and change. I definitely saw this with Ds. As he was physically ready for months, he was not emotionally ready. He knew if he wore underpants and peed in them he would feel wet and get pee down his leg. He was adamantly against this route. I tried cloth diapers with no cover, same thing. Training pants, same thing. He refused to wear them. I guess he is in a receptive phase now b/c he did wet his underpants the first time, but he wasn't hugely upset (it happens in the Dr. Sear's book) like I thought he would be and had been in the past. Anyway, I am rambling. Time for bed!


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[jubilee]

Pampers has a new product out (at least, I think it's new). They recently send me a few samples of "Toddler Transitions First Steps". It is a step-in diaper, without the side tabs. The info that came with them said they would be available in mid-August. They seemed to hold about the same amount of pee as a regular diaper. My son is 25# and fit in them fine, and I believe they come in different sizes. Here's a link to them- http://us.pampers.com/en_US/products.do?selectedProduct=easyupsfs_diapers&stage=105&selectedCategory=
Hope that helps!!

[Dscvrlifewith3]

O wow. I don't know what to say. My son Dylan went to the "2s" class two years in a row because of his age. (he is a early sept baby) The first year he was not potty trained, but over the summer between school terms we did it the Dr. Phil way. It was so easy and Dylan was potty trained in less than a week, actually he was having no accidents on day 3. Now Jack is going to the 2s class ( I am still hesitant, he is my BABY!) and I asked about potty training and they said they would work with him. I don't even have to send pull ups but regular potty training underwear. He isn't ready yet though.

Have you looked at the Dr. Phil way of potty training, I know a lot of people who are successful with it?

[Melanie]

"we did it the Dr. Phil way"

Dare I ask what the Dr. Phil Way is? LOL. (Imagining: "Now people, you've got to use the potty!")

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[jubilee]

I can imagine him telling a kid "so, your diaper is poopy.... how's that working for ya?" :) (I actually like Dr. Phil!)

[akc]

Hi -

Funny, that does sound like him! No, about a year ago (although it's been in reruns a lot), he had a whole show on potty training. It was basically a modified form of Potty Training in a Day. first, you tell them what your going to do that day and that if he/she goes potty today (up tou you if once or all day), x person is going to call (whoever your child's favorite character is right now - Maeve's would be Elmo) & you'd have a party! You actually have your hubby, neighborhood kids, anyone who can get there on standby for the party (although hubby can help all day if you want - so make it a Sat or Sun. & have no other agenda!

You get the baby doll that you can feed water (while you give your toddler water, juice, whatever but lots. You have the child teach the baby how to go potty. When the baby goes potty, you throw a big 'ol party!!! I mean party hats, horns, confetti.

Then ask if your child wants to try. If no, it's fine. You just keep giving the child and the doll beverages & have the child keep helping the doll to go potty (& celebrate!) When your child says he/she wants to go, you first make sure they go b/c kids will try to trick you for the party. Then, if they do, blow it out with the party! Maybe even a cake or ice cream! Have someone you know call & impersonate the character (& all the kids on the show told the character on the phone, his/her accomplishment)! All day you act excited & happy when they go potty but tone down the party. You can do the same thing (the party) for pooing in the potty if you want/need to.

Every mom/child that tried it (and some of the kids had been struggling w/it for months) successfully made the transition - and they cheched back in 2, 4, and 6 weeks after and all still went potty.

I don't know if it will weork, but I'll give it a try to help jump start the process.

Alexa

[JElaineB]

Hi Alexa,

I've been on vacation and just saw your post. Have you decided what to do about the diaper/pull-up situation at school?

To answer your questions about the Huggies Convertibles - Jacob is about 25/26 lbs. or so. The size 5 Convertibles are rated 27+ lbs., though I think they might still be a bit big on DS once he gets to 27 lbs. I did like them when I used them, but they were too big so I tried them only once. If you tear away the sides, the Convertibles act just like a regular diaper. They have velcro tabs that secure the diaper on the front like any other diaper. The tabs are not what get torn, they are a separate component and are secured to the diaper even in pull-up mode. If you don't tear away the sides they can be used like a Pull-up. You could also convert them "on the fly" if they are being used in pull-up mode but you don't want to pull them down for whatever reason you could tear away the sides and change her like it was a diaper.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02