Potty training and weaning, oh my!

It's been a big week for us Falky bunch over here in Japan. We finally said enough with the diapers for Austin and started seriously potty training him. This kid had it almost down a year ago, but when we came over to Japan last year he was so over it. He wanted absolutely nothing more to do with it. It became sort of a mental thing, he just didn't want to go, at all, on the potty any more. I didn't want to scare him or anything by making him go, so I sort of left it alone...but now, with preschool around the corner, and just being tired of changing so many darn diapers, and him being 3 now, I said enough, we are going to do this already!!

So we waited until Brian and his team were on a long road trip so we could just dedicate some time to sticking around the house and conquering this whole potty training thing! It actually worked out to be perfect timing, Brian is away which means no games to go to and it has been raining all week so we have been stuck inside...plenty of time to just put him in his undies, and ask him every 5 minute if he has to go! Seriously, I know Austin and all of Japan is completely annoyed with me asking if he has to go Pee-Pee yet!!

Right before Brian left, we took Austin to Toys R Us and got all the essentials. The potty seat for him sit on on the toilet (which he hates and refused to use after the first day), a stool for him to climb up on, and we also bought a boat load of random things to put in a box we made called "Austin's poo-poo & potty box!" It had stickers, bubbles, trains, cars, coloring books, balls, baseball bats, you name it, every incredibly enticing toy/thing we could think of that Austin loves and wants. So we told him, you go on the big boy potty, and you get to pick one thing out of the box (If he ever wonders where all the money for his college tuition went, he can refer back to the potty box!). He was a little resistant at first, but we didn't budge. We stuck those big boy undies on him and said good-bye diapers. He kind of threw a fit the first few times we put him on the potty, but once he realized how easy it was, and that he got a super cool toy for going, he knew this was a pretty cool thing he had going on!!!

It's been over a week now, and he's only had 2 minor accidents...just pee pee ones, and that was in the first 2 days. He's gone pee and poo out in public when we've been out and about no problem, and loves his new big boy undies!!! We still put him in diapers for naps and overnight, we will master that later, but now he doesn't even like going in them anymore and will hollar at me that he has to go potty or poo-poo even with the diaper on, resisting just going in the diaper...I am so proud. For a kid who just a week ago would scream and cry when I asked him if he wanted to go on the potty, to now use it all the time no problem, I couldn't be more excited for the little guy!

We have had to change our rules about the potty box, since he started going so much (I swear, now he wants to go on the potty...all...the...time!) and we were running out of toys, so now he only gets something when he does a "big poo-poo." He isn't going to like it when he runs out of toys, but hey, it worked, and we now have a pretty much potty trained little guy!! We are so proud at how quickly he adjusted, and are so happy not to be changing so many diapers now!! Way to go Austin!!!!

Oh, and I also FINALLY weened our little Brookie Brooke. Seriously, I never thought it would take me so long to quit nursing her!!! It was all me, I was so afraid of the whole weaning process after the pain and engorgement I had when weaning Austin at 13 months...I dragged it out as long as I could. I had her down to one feeding a day, for maybe 5 or so minutes for the past month. I know right, you think it would have been so easy, I should have stopped already, that's nothing! But it wasn't. I got so engorged with Austin ( I cut him off cold turkey), I was dreading it with Brooke, so I took my time and got her down to minimal nursing. I thought I had it made, there's hardly any milk supply left, but I was wrong. Sure enough, the same engorgement, the same bowling ball on steroids, lumpy, looked like I had a breast implant gone wrong, swelled in my armpit/collarbone breast. All that for nothing. I am just a milk producing machine. Oh well, it only lasted a few days, and now, at 14 1/2 months, (and not a single bottle this whole time mind you) she is officially done breast feeding. It's always a little sad when you are done, your little baby is all grown up, but it was beyond time, I mean the girl has molars already.

So we officially conquered potty training and weaning all in one week...I feel like I can go climb Mt. Everest now!!!!!

YAY for the big boy potty!

(Don't worry, I spared the guy the agony of having his bits and pieces showcased on the internet and blurred them out!!! It's bad enough posting pictures of him going the bathroom, I am sure he will let me have it one day for sharing these at all!)

Check out those adorable big boy undies!

Brooke loves helping Austin go on the potty and insists on sitting on his step while he goes!!!

All excited after grabbing some stickers from the potty box after a successful trip to the bathroom!

It's so weird seeing undies poking out of his shorts instead of diapers!!

Such a big boy now, he doesn't need the "potty seat" anymore and goes all by himself when he has to!

No more diapers!!!! YAY!