It wasn't until this very moment that I felt confident saying that my daughter is now a potty trained preschooler! We have been working with potty training actively for about 8 months or so? Maybe a little longer? We introduced the "big girl potty" when Ava was just over a year. Our goal was to introduce the potty early on to ease her into it, give her comfort, and make sure she saw it on a routinely basis. I never wanted to "make" her ready before she was ready though. 

I think Justin and I both have always been the kind of parents that want their children to show them that they are ready to tackle something new. Ava is very much so that way and she thrives when she can go her own pace in any milestone. There were a couple of times prior to now that we thought she was potty trained but after Olivia was born, Ava regressed MAJORLY. 

She only wanted diapers, she didn't want to be a "big girl" anymore... we know that was in large part to a new baby joining our family and that was one of the ways Ava was coping with change. We had to be okay with that and made plans to actively start trying to potty train again once we got to our new home in Texas because we had so much crazy change going on the last couple of months in Washington. The goal was to be consistent + settled, but road trips don't really allow for that. Luckily we didn't have to actively try anything because in this new house, Ava has only wanted to potty on the big girl potty. She hates diapers and if we pull one out she tells us no.

And here we are. We let her show us she was ready and she is! 

If I had to give advice and share what we used/did... these are the things I would share. 

*** LET YOUR CHILD BE THE ONE TO TELL YOU THEY ARE READY *** 

--->Definitely grab some sort of potty, whether that be a seat for your own toilet, or a smaller potty that is toddler sized. We actually have both but Ava has been preferring her Princess Potty Step Stool. 

--->That brings me to my second item, a step stool. We started giving the bathroom much more attention and in order to do that Ava needed to reach things. Teeth brushing, toilet flushing, and washing her hands are all things she was able to do because of the stool. The cool thing about the princess potty step stool is that Ava uses it as a step stool to get on the toilet we use. It's nice because she doesn't need assistance getting on or off. 

--->Praise! We never did a sticker system or rewards for using the bathroom, but we definitely jumped for joy each time she used the potty successful. Ava absolutely LOVES alll the words of affirmation and she loves receiving praise from mom and dad. That was enough for her to continue her success on the toilet. 

--->Patience. It doesn't happen over night. It's not something you can force your kiddo to do. If they say they aren't ready or they show signs of not being ready, let it be. I can't stress this enough. 

--->Undies. Ava picked out her favorite character undies and although she prefers to be nakey at home (she does wear a princess dress or nightgown), doc mcstuffins + minnie mouse are her preferred undies. We found that (in the beginning of our potty training days) Ava saw underwear as a means of being able to pee.. it didn't register with her that she needed to use the potty until we took away diapers and undies.

AT NIGHT: Because accidents do happen, we utilize the Cinderella pull ups (night time version). Surprisingly, Ava does not like to pee on Cinderella.. her words, not mine. This is a precautionary, that i feel like we'll stop using here in the next few weeks.

ON THE GO: Undies are utilized and because germs are everywhere, especially public toilets, we use Sofia the first on the go potty toppers. Almost each public restroom we've come across in Texas does not have the protective toilet toppers, so these are a must for sure. When we are at a shopping mall, there is always a family bathroom with a toddler sized toilet. That's great for Ava for sure.

I really hope our journey helps another family with theirs! This was a huge milestone.

♥- Leilani

Five weeks (continued success)

It has been almost six full weeks since I last nursed Ava bug, and since we last actively co-slept with our sweet girl in our bed. The first blog I wrote discussed our "cold turkey" method and some of the other things we did in order to get Ava adjusted the best way we knew how. I'm proud to report after an entire almost six weeks, our new routine is down pat and my sweet girl has successfully been weaned. It's weird to say that sometimes and it's also really weird not to have a toddler reaching for my shirt, or patting me to let me know she needs that type of comfort. It took me a couple weeks to really be okay with the decision because I found myself getting really emotional about it after we'd already started the process. My daughter has continued to be resilient and she absolutely loves her toddler bed. We have the same routine every single night and her new bedtime is 8 p.m. which I think works really well for our family. She sleeps through the night and I have finally moved back into my own bed, rather than sleeping by the side of hers. That took me three weeks, back kinks, and my husband telling me to come to bed every night. It really was a comfort issue for me though. It's very weird to suddenly have over a year and a half of co-sleeping become nonexistent.

I have noticed some great benefits from our change and that alone has really made this switch worth it. Ava has become so independent with her sleep and it's awesome to watch. Justin and I also have a lot more time to ourselves at night. We watch our shows together, we snuggle more, and we are able to move in our bed without toddler feet or hands on our faces. Some of those added benefits have been nice, and Ava has only slept with us probably less than a handful of times since we made the switch. We are not against co-sleeping, but she definitely sleeps a lot better in her own bed these days. I got an email asking if I would stop nursing earlier if I knew that weaning would be this easy. My response to that would be no. Breastfeeding was such a huge part of the bond I created with my daughter over the last twenty months of her life. I don't know what kind of mother I'd be if i had chosen a different route. I always preach that breastfeeding is about so much more than nutrition, and it is! I learned to trust my body, I learned what my body was truly capable of, and I was able to be so much more than just comfort for my child. I will say, towards the 18th month mark, I knew that our weaning days would come shortly after. Even before we decided to try for another baby, nursing just wasn't the same for me anymore.

Taking into consideration that you have a child who drinks organic whole milk throughout the day, a toddler that is solely using you for a human pacifier, and the fact that you are having extreme discomforts from the lack of nursing and having your breasts engorged... I think that's when I knew I was ready to stop. Our infertility is sort of a blessing in disguise because If not for having to take medication that could impact my breastmilk, I'm not sure if we'd be weaned right now. The truth is, I wanted Ava to wean herself. She didn't, but I probably would have waited as long as it took for her to wean herself. It's a really tough decision and moving forward (God willing), with our next child, I may make some changes to help me out a little more with this process.

So there it is! My toddler was successfully weaned without any real drama or heartache! I still can't believe how easy it was. How many other mama's are trying to wean their toddlers right now? Have you tried any special techniques? What about mama's that have already weaned? What did you do to end your breastfeeding relationship? Shoot an email or write me in the comments below. I can't wait to hear all of the different methods you guys have!

Happy Wednesday all

♥- Leilani