Should we walk with a pooper scooper?

Today K took me to work before dropping Sid to school. Keep in mind the boy was wearing briefs. An hour and a half (we made a couple stops on the way) is a long time for a kid with next to zero bladder control. Sure enough, after they dropped me off Sid tells his father that he has to pee. K encourages him to "hold it, hold it, don't pee" as he turns off into the nearest parking lot where he lets him relieve himself. A while later Sid asks him, "Can I doo-doo in the parking lot too?"

It makes sense. Why not? Too funny. (Of course, his father told him no, he couldn't.)

A "Brief" Update

Continuing from my previous post, I did go ahead and put the briefs on the boy today and I must say he did wonderfully! I told him that he wasn't going to wear diapers today and that if he wanted to pee he needed to tell me. I took him to the doctor's this morning for a checkup and after an hour he told me he needed to use the bathroom. Good so far. We got home a couple of hours later and I forgot to ask him if he wanted to go. He went outside to play with his sister and he came back bawling. I asked him what was wrong but he was too upset to tell me. His sister informed me that he peed himself. Poor thing. He was so upset that he wet himself. We all told him it was ok and that accidents happen. We changed him and took him to the toilet to finish. The rest of the day went fine except for when he took a nap and peed his sister's bed. Other than that, throughout the day, one of us would ask him if he needed to go or he would tell us. He even told us when he needed to do #2!! That's a big deal. He knows he's a big boy.

I just asked him if he knows that he's a big boy. He said, "Yes." I asked him why, meaning what makes him a big boy. He said because he wears underwear.

We'll see how it goes at school tomorrow.

Sid finally did a #2 in his potty yesterday. He must have sat there for 20 mins, all the while complaining that he didn't want to go. In the end I agreed to let him get him up but not even 15 seconds later he put himself back down and out it came. Of couse, I hugged him and told him how proud I was of him. Later, he told anyone who would listen how he doo-dooed in the potty and that he was a big boy now.

My girlfriend has a 2 year old who doesn't wear diapers anymore. Now, I'm not comparing because I know kids develop differently. I do believe however that Sid is smart enough to be potty trained. And them diapers cost a fortune! I bought him some briefs a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I'll try him with only the briefs today....

Sid's Birthday

Friday Sidney turned 3 years old. He knew it was coming. I had been telling him for weeks, reminding him that his birthday would be on February 17, a Friday. He was good at repeating it when anyone asked.

So, Friday rolled around and I still (of course) didn't have any birthday plans for him. My neighbor asked a couple of times but I never had an answer for her. Friday morning on the way to school Sid and I stopped at Publix to pick up something he could celebrate with with his friends. We decided on colorful cupcakes with icing. I was really eyeing some cheesecake. Anyway, I send the cupcakes and I assume they had a blast. I didn't even think about taking the 25 min trek to the school to take pictures (I forgot my camera at home anyway).

In the evening, I got a bright idea and stopped at Publix again, this time on my way home from work. K had already picked up Sid and it was a beautiful day so I just knew they would be outside. I went to the bakery section and looked for the cheesecake I had been eyeing earlier. I chose the French style since the baker-lady said it was lighter than the NY style. Then I bought some cherry topping, candles, bowls and spoons, and a balloon for my baby. I should have known he wouldn't care about the balloon.

I got home and sure enough everyone was outside. There were tons of kids, K, Sid, and my neighbors. To make a long story short, we had a party in my driveway. I brought out the cake after fixing it up with the topping and candles. All the kids crowded around the trunk of my car, sang happy birthday day to Sid, watched him blow out his candles, and ate cake. It was great. No mess in my house. No money spent on food and treats. No entertaining. The whole thing probably lasted half an hour. We took pictures (which I haven't even looked at yet). Sid had a good time. And, boy, did that cheesecake taste good!

Friday evening Sid and his brother were playing around like brothers do when out of the blue Sid said, "I hate you." I didn't hear this myself, but of course his brother did and so did his father. K asked him, "What did you say?" and he kept asking him til he repeated it. That's when I heard. K and I both told him that was a horrible thing to say and that he shouldn't have said it. Not twenty seconds later Sid busted out crying. I was surprised. I don't believe he was crying because he got in trouble but because he felt bad about what he did. He came over to me and I hugged him. I reiterated the fact that what he did was not nice and that he needed to tell his brother that he was sorry. He just cried and cried. He went over and hugged his brother but never said sorry.

Later that night when I put him to bed I talked to him about it some more. I asked him if he liked when people said mean things to him to make him sad. Of course, he said no. I told him if he ever says anything mean like that he should tell the person he's sorry and that he won't say it again.

Fastforward to Saturday morning when Sid wakes up and is making his way downstairs. From the top of the stairs he calls to his brother. He tells him he's sorry. He tells him he won't say it again. I was there in shock. In shock that he remembered from the night before. In shock that he took it upon himself to do what was right. I had to hug him again and tell him how proud I was of him for being such a nice boy. His brother came upstairs and hugged him too.

In the right environment, kids will thrive. They learn so easily and quickly. I'm striving for my home to be the right environment.