Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Just 'Chilax' Moms!

Chilax is my new word. It means, chill out and relax! A little over 5 years ago, I became a mom. Giving the word "chilax" a whole new meaning! I had good intentions. Oh, I read "BabyWise" a gazillion times and I wanted to be one of those "parent directed feeders" not giving in to the demands of my children. They were going to be on MY schedule by golly! They were going to do things MY way! And they were going to potty train when I decided it was time!!! Yeah, right! What was I smoking? Over the last 5 years, I have learned that babies are hungry when they are hungry and you BETTER feed them or else! And I've learned that children get tired when they get tired and you'd BETTER let them sleep right then, or else! And I've recently learned that children will potty train ONLY when they are ready, and not a moment sooner, and you'd better pay attention or else! Now I'm not saying we have Kid CEO's in this household. They very much know the rules and the consequences and they know who's boss, but when it comes to the small stuff, like potty training, just CHILAX moms! Why do we as moms stress and worry so much about these little things? I've decided to just let them be. I've learned this lesson first hand recently. Ashton is 3 and has all the sudden decided that she wants to wear panties, and insisted upon it. She would have no part of a diaper whatsoever! Where this came from, we have no clue. Just happened! 6 months ago, we couldn't have bribed her with anything under the sun that would have made her want to wear panties. It has happened on HER terms, not ours. She has been in panties non-stop for about a week now and has not had one single accident. I don't even have to help her unless she has on buttoning or zipper pants. I haven't even had to remind her to go potty. She just does it all on her own. It's insanely wonderful I'm telling you! She's even been wearing her panties around town. We went to a dinner show Sunday that lasted for 3+hours and she wore her panties there and did FABULOUSLY! She's worn her panties to church and out to eat and out running errands and today we were out and about for 6 hours...not one single accident! Piece of cake! It took me months to let Lexi wear her panties out in public, but Ashton is about a year older than Lexi was when I potty trained her. Now if I had tried to potty train her 6 months ago, it would have been disastrous and I would have been cleaning up teetee and washing underwear non stop! But because it was on her terms, there has been no "potty training" really. She didn't need training. She just did it! Thank you Ashton for again reminding me to CHILAX and not sweat the small stuff! Here's my big girl!

5 comments:

A Perfect Pandemonium said...

Now that's what I'm talkin' about...just Chilax!!

Jess Marie said...

Amen Sister! It's much easier with potty training if we do it when their ready - not when We're ready! :) Good words!

Anonymous said...

Yes, this is the approach I am taking as well. I'll update you on it's success. :)

Ashton looks so cute in the pic. Are you able to put bows in her hair now? SO CUTE!

Anonymous said...

That is great and her pic is so cute in this post.

I agree with you...you have to learn to trust your child and allow them to let you know when they are ready for making the next step...what ever it is! Sometimes this is hard to do.

I think too many mom's get focused on what other children are doing and how old they are and they compare those kids to their own. As a pediatric Nurse, when I am at the hospital and I sense a mother is comparing her child to another and starts to seem a little unconfident in her child, I encourage her and her child...I encourage those moms to not compare their child with another. You wouldn't believe how often I see/hear this. So that is my advice...whether the child is on time or delayed - enjoy your child and they will let you know when they are ready for each milestone.

Did you get her princess underwear? We are in princess pull-ups ;o)

circus of love said...

So there is hope for cheney? I basically did the same thing you did with my older two but i have been a bit impatient wanting Cheney to go ahead and get out of her pull-ups. not impatient enough to actually start trying to potty-train her. MAN...I have missed the computer. I checked it last thursday before the wedding updated my blog on monday and the internet has been down since then at my house. Gotta run and get a new cable modem, I think.