Hip-Hip Hooray! Toilet Learning is Fun! (Part 2)

Three weeks have passed since Tommy started toilet learning. This a long process and so far we are having so much fun, which is what it is making this process a pleasant experience without frustration. I have heard that this process can take about 8 months to master for some typical developmental kids. How long will the process take for us? We don't know, but the most important is that along the process our son learns to read his biological needs.

Successful stories during our potty learning process

We had a family reunion on Friday, October 8th and we came back home late. When I was helping Tommy get ready to go to bed, I noticed his pull-up was dry and it was around 9:00 p.m. He usually has a pee around 7:00 p.m., so I immediately took him to the bathroom and sat him on his potty chair, not even 2 minutes passed when he had a pee. It was an exciting moment because it was obvious he was holding in the urine. So from now own, I will keep our travel potty seat in the bag because I don't want that 'holding in urine or bowel movements' become an issue.

Last night, Tommy did let me know he wanted to go potty. It has been one of the most exciting moments of my life, ha, ha, ha, ha. It was 6:50 p.m. when I was chatting with my mom in Panama. Suddenly, I saw Tommy signing "potty." I was skeptical, but I took him to the bathroom and he had a pee right after he sat on the potty. He had a big smile when he saw my excitement.

Today, he signed potty when we were leaving a local pharmacy. I didn't know where to find a bathroom, so I rough to the house. He didn't go. Well, we went to the dinning room to eat our lunch and he went after lunch. I learned a lesson, we need a travel potty chair to keep in my car because there are not bathrooms everywhere. We have a small portable potty seat that fit in my bag. I use it when I go to the mall and I just put it on the toilet, but if I have a situation again where I don't find a bathroom, a travel potty chair is the best solution.

Turning potty learning in a positive experience

Tommy has learned a new sign 'potty', which allow the communication between us during the potty learning process. He verbally says 'poo' and 'pee,' which he learned when we started potty learning three weeks ago. He thinks go potty is fun because when I ask him to say pee he says it and immediately he claps with a happy face. My son is also learning to pull up and down his underpants. He is transferring this to actually put his pants on. He has been able to put on leg of his pants on all by himself. We play pretend play during potty time. Tommy seat his boy-doll to 'go potty' when he is on potty time. We wipes the boy-dolls bottom when he is done, so this helps Tommy to get ready for a future step in our potty learning process. When he has a great potty time, he puts stickers on his reward sticker book all by himself. Our process of potty learning is more than helping my son to understand his body because it involves expressive communication, language development, self-care skills, fine motor skills, cognition and auditory discrimination between English and Spanish.

Keeping potty learning fun

• Pretend play. I am planning to get new cloth for our boy-doll, so Tommy can practice dressing and undressing the doll.
• Sign a potty song. I am searching for cute potty training songs that I can sing to Tommy during potty time.
• Decorate Tommy's potty chair. Tommy will decorate his potty chair with his assistant (mommy). The theme for the decoration is 'Potty Kingdom' where Tommy is the king.
• Increase our potty learning library. I have seen new books that seems interesting. I will get books with real picture because Tommy is more interested in this type of potty training books.

Enjoy the video of Tommy signing 'Potty'

TIP: A great resource for parents is the

Pull-Ups® Big Kid Central® DVD.

It has good information on how make potty training

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Toilet Learning is Fun!

Tommy has shown physical readiness for toilet learning since the beginning of the year. By that time, I was excited with the idea of toilet learning and I assisted to a toilet learning class sponsored by Parents as teachers last March. The class was very instructive and it made me realize we should hold off on toilet learning because Tommy wasn't walking yet, even although he had some physical readiness to start. About two months ago, our OT suggested to start potty training and I decided to give it a try because I knew Tommy has the physical readiness necessary to initiate the toilet learning process.

We took Tommy with us to purchase the potty chair. In our search for a potty chair, We found Elmo Potty Chair —3-in-1 chair, seat and stool. This potty chair offers ten encouraging phrases in English, Spanish and Frensh and it comes with A Sesame Street Mini-Book and 20 colorful stickers. I use those features to encourage language development and fine motor skills. I mimic Elmo's voice and repeat the phrases, which it is funny for Tommy, so he can see the motion of my lips and tongue and he put the stickers all by himself on the book practicing pincer grasp and wrist rotation. We also got some potty learning books because Tommy is a book lover. These activities make potty learning fun! Learning to use the potty should be a positive experience for kids and parents.

I was insecure of my parenting skills about how to initiate toilet learning with Tommy. So, I talked to our DT and she suggested do it as a routine in the morning and evening. So far, so good! He is enjoying potty time in the morning and the evening because he likes his chair. He keeps giving Elmo a high five every time he is on the chair, and after he is done, I allow him to down the flush handle. Because He is becoming verbal, I am also encouraging him to say pee and poop when he goes, he repeats them after me and smile. He also takes the toilet paper, I guess because daddy is his role model. I let him to try to roll the paper, but I will take this step without any hurry.

Toilet learning is different from toilet training because toilet training is a process that the adult direct to a child; toilet learning is when the child is involve in their own learning while having fun. Toilet learning starts with readiness signs that tell if the child is ready to use the toilet. Learning will happen when parents teach in a way that does not punish. The child should learn to listen to their bodies, to take their own clothes off with a little help, and to feel good about learning "go potty." The toilet learning goal is that the child feels proud of what he or she has done, which plays an important role in the child’s self esteem, so genuine and enthusiastic verbal praises are important. During toilet learning, there are only lessons and not accidents, the child learns from it.

Getting ready

• Begin to introduce the concepts wet, dry, clean, duty before starting potty training.
• Encourage your child get familiar with the potty chair before. We let Tommy to seat on chair a few times before he actually used it. I am also planing to pretend play "go potty" with his stuffed animals and his boy-doll that has a little potty chair.
• Teach the child to wash his hands before the toilet learning process.

• Read potty training books 6 weeks or so before starting the toilet learning process.

Signs of readiness

According to the book "The Wonder Years":

Between 18 month to two years, children often start to show signs of readiness, but some children may not be ready until two and half years or older.

Is my child ready?

There are a number of signs that will alert you to when your child may be ready to start using the potty. Some your will notice, others will be brought to your attention!

What you will notice:

• Your child's bowel movements occur on a fairly regular and predictable schedule.

• His diaper is not always wet. Young toddlers urinate often. If diapers remain dry for a couple of hours at a time it suggests that the frequency of urination is slowing.

• Your child is able to follow simple instructions, walk to the bathroom (or potty), and can help undress himself.

What your child may do:

• Get upset when he has dirty diaper.

• Show signs that he knows that he is about to go in his diaper, such as hiding behind the couch or squatting in a corner.

• Come to tell you or give a sign when he has passed urine or a bowel movement.

• Go and get the potty.

• Sit on the potty —possible with his diaper on.

• Follow your into the toilet to see what happens.

When you have a child with Trisomy 21 is really hard to know when the child is ready. In our son's case it has been the physical readiness the main indicator that he is ready. But I also think he is emotionally ready because he is having fun and patient while he seats on the potty. We are not sure if it has been good luck or if Tommy is actually understanding this concept, but he has used the potty chair since we started on Saturday night (October 2nd.) He has done both, #1 and #2, actually on Sunday was his #1 in the potty chair for the first time. He may be ready for learning "go potty" on his own, but we don't know how long it will take; however, we are so excited he has initiated toilet learning as a big boy.

Prunes -a source of energy

Prunes has a sweet taste and sticky texture, which make them fun to eat for my little boy. Prunes are highly nutritious because they contain higher amounts of antioxidants than blueberries. Prunes are high in fiber and they also are a good source of potassium. They are available during the entire year as a dried fruit, which it make them an ideal snack. Prunes also provide energy to the body, which make them ideal for my active toddler who has low muscle tone.

Transition from a crib to a toddler bed

Some experts say that there is no reason to rush your child to move to a toddler bed and the use of the crib can be extended by lowering the mattress as low as it can go. Parents should think in the transitioning if the child climbs out of the bed or if the child is 35" tall. Most children make the switch between ages 1 1/2 and 3 1/2. But it's best to wait until the child is closer to his or her 3rd. birthday. But when you have a child with gross motor delays, as a parent, you really don't know when it is the right moment for the transitioning.

In my son's case, he got out of the crib when he was 18 month. My father in law lower the mattress to the lower level. Here was the first sign that my son may be read for a bed, but he wasn't physically ready because he was just starting to get mobile. Maybe his curious mind was ready to get out of the crib, but not his body to climb in and out of the bed. So it was not reason to rush it. Howsoever, I knew one day he would be ready. So I set it as a goal for when he was walking. Our PT,a few weeks ago, suggested to transit Tommy to a bed because he was physically ready for this new transition. The more he climbs the stronger his shoulders get, so this transition also is part of his physical therapy.

As a way to celebrate he is turning 2 1/2, we converted our son's crib to a toddler bed on Sunday 12th. He got too excited with the new change that he started to stand up and play on the bed, so I explained to him beds are for sleeping and one can sit or lay down on the bed, but beds are not for playing. I decided to slowly make the transitioning as follow:

FIRST WEEK:

• The first night, I was worried about him standing up on the bed while I was sleeping and he could hurt himself, so I make him to sleep in my arms and the next day my husband checked on him to get him out of the bed right away.
• The second night, I stay with him until he was very sleepy and I put him on the bed so he was tired enough to fall sleep in a short period of time. The next day I went to check on him before him got out his bed.
• The third night, I stay with him until I read his book, turn the light off, said our prayers, and bound for a little while as usual and I put him to bed. The next day I went to check on him before him got out his bed and encouraged him to get out of his bed.
• The fourth night, we did our regular routine before going to be, but this time I gave the opportunity to get on the crib by himself. He was laughing and stood up as soon he got on the crib. I gave him verbal cue"Remember the bed is for sleeping. You have to lay down" and I help him to lay down. So I praise him by telling him "Good Job laying down on the bed. You are a big boy now." He giggled and staid in the bed. The next day Daddy checked on him.
• The fifth night was the same routine than the night before. But this time he wasn't tired, but he staid on the bed and felt asleep. We checked on in the morning and encouraged him to get out of the bed by himself.
• The sixth and seventh nights, we did the same as the fifth night. The next day he got out of the bed by himself with supervision.

NAP TIME

Nap time has became a challenge because he silently gets out of the bed. While we are thinking, he is on the bed; he is looking at his books. He stays in the bed after we close the door. So I decided to establish a routine before putting him in the bed. I am very confident that the routine will help him to stay and take a nap because he is used to routines since he was a newborn. We are going to make sure he is physically active in the mornings to make him tired before nap time, so he will fall asleep right away. We also installed a shade to make his room darker. Hopefully, he will be taking his afternoon naps by next week. Any advise or suggestion to make him to stay in the bed during nap time is more than welcome!

SAFETY TIPS

Before the transitioning, make sure all the power outlets have covers, all furniture are attached to the wall and put locks on the closet doors and furniture drawers. Otherwise, a little tornado will twist the room. We already experienced it with "Tommy tornado."

To celebrate Tommy's transitioning, I will re-decorate his room. I will do something simple, but more appealing for a big bog.

Dulce sueños, mi lindo ángelito!

Related articles: An Unusual Baby Proofing Item

Shynees –part of a typical development

Shyness in toddlers is part of a typical social and emotional development. This shows the child becomes increasingly aware of people they do not know, which it tells you the child is aware of his surroundings. If a child doesn't show shyness by 24 month it is recommended to talk the child's pediatrician.

Tommy was extremely social and outgoing when he was a baby, but he gradually became shy and quit among a big group of people, which makes me confident because he is having a typical social and emotional development. According to the book 'The Wonder Years,' "This shyness is likely to continue for some time –an 18-month-old may still be clingy and look to her or his parent for reassurance. By the age of three, many children are still self-conscious and quiet around those who are unfamiliar to them or when they are in big groups. As they get older, many children become more outgoing again; however, for some, signs of shyness persist and up to half of five –and six-years old still show some degree of shyness."

So building up our son's confidence and self-steem to help him to overcome his shyness is important to us. To support him in overcoming his shyness we are:

• Taking him to public places more often
• Giving him more opportunities to spend time with kids of age
• Giving him plenty of attention
• Praising him as much as we can
• Disciplining him with a positive nurturing environment
• Never focussing on shyness as a problem. Actually, we are trying not even mention he acts shy in front of him because this will only make him self-conscious. He is not shy, it is just part of his social and emotional development as any other child.

We are very proud of our boy because he is beginning to overcome his shyness. We attended to two family events (a wedding and a baptism) and Tommy wasn't shy. We could see him more confident among the big group of people and even smiling and making silly games with other people. When we came back home, daddy talked to Tommy about how proud we were of him for being very social with people and how well behave he was been in both family reunions.

People say how lucky Tommy is for having us,

we think how lucky we are for having him.

He is typically doing many things according to

his age regardless the syndrome.

A Smart Nutrition

As a good mommy, I worry for my son's nutrition; specially, in those days when he refuses to eat. Because my son has low muscle tone his body needs all nutrients to boost his muscles. According to the article How Nutrition Impacts Muscle Tone by Kelly Dorfman, MS, L.D.N:

In hypotonia, a big gap exists between what a child consumes and healthy cellular nutrition. While neurologists often attribute hypotonia to imbalances in the parts of the brain that control tone, low tone always has a nutritional component.

Muscles suffering from nutrient deprivation remain underdeveloped, or if adequately developed, fatigue easily. Whether a youngster is born with low tone, or acquires it through cellular malnutrition, good nutrition can improve the condition, while the tendency toward hypotonia often remains. Eating the perfect diet is only the beginning in low tone. The nutrients must get to the cells, which must then convert them into usable energy.

Three basic strategies can improve inefficient energy delivery and boost output: increasing available nutrients, enhancing nutrient delivery, and improving energy production. All of these can be achieved with specific nutritional supplements. Nutritional therapy for low tone is a long term management plan, not a quick fix.
Increasing Available Nutrients through Diet The first step is to control the intake of concentrated sugars, such as candies, sweetened drinks, and desserts, while increasing the amount of protein in the diet. People with hypotonia tire easily
so they often reach for sweets and starches as quick sources of energy. Protein foods tend to contain more concentrated nutrients than sugary items, which have many calories and few vitamins and minerals. Improving nutrient density is critical because inefficient energy production result is loss of nutrients.

Searching for a new way to provide a good nutrition for my son, I found out about PediaSmart a organic nutritional beverage. Before giving PediaSmart® to my son, I talked to our Pediatrician about it. She agreed it was a good nutritional beverage for him.

Why do I like PeadiaSmart?
What I like about PediaSmart is that it is a complete organic nutritional beverage. According to www.naturesone.com, "A new study in the journal Pediatrics associates a link between pesticides and ADHD. The potential contributor is called organophosphate pesticides and is known to cause damage to the nerve connections in the brain, which is how they kill agricultural pests. Children are most likely to ingest this chemical through their diet. Rest assured thatP contains no pesticides and is free of artificial colors and flavors."

Searching for the nutrients in this beverage, I found it has choline among its nutrients, which is the group of B-complex vitamins. B-complex vitamins have a reputation for improving energy, which is what my son's muscles need. According to a research conducted by Barbara Strupp, Professor of Nutritional Sciences and Phycology, "More choline during pregnancy and nursing could provide lasting cognitive and emotional benefits to individuals with Down syndrome and protect against neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, suggests a new Cornell study of mice."

PediaSmart is sugar free, but it has natural sweetness that are essential nutrients for the brain.

So this beverage meets the nutritional facts explained above by the nutritionist Kelly Dorfman, which make me feel confident about PediaSmart®. Because I work full time, it is hard to cook everything from scratch as I like, but I always look for a smart nutritional way to provide a balance diet for my son's development.

PedieSmart is sold on line at www.naturesone.com

and organic retail stores.

PediaSmart Facts

The facts below can be found on http://naturesonedirect.com/peva.html

Recommended Age: PediaSmart® is recommended for children ages 1 through 13 years. This product is not intended for infants less than 12-months of age.

Serving Options: PediaSmart® is best when served chilled. Parents may also blend with crushed ice for a shake like beverage. Blend various fresh fruits with PediaSmart® Vanilla to offer a fruit flavored beverage.

Breakfast: PediaSmart® is a good option for children who tend to skip breakfast. This beverage has been scientifically formulated to function as a meal replacement providing the appropriate blend of protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins & minerals that will help a child start their morning strong.

Snack: Most snacks and beverages for children are loaded with artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners and contain corn syrup or even high levels of caffeine. Consider PediaSmart® as a nutritious after-school snack instead of traditional snacks like soft drinks and chips. A child will consume 255 calories drinking an 8oz serving of Coke® with a 1oz single serve bag of potato chips. Compare this to 237 calories of an 8oz serving of PediaSmart®, which includes protein, good fats, calcium, amino acids and vitamins & minerals.

Sports: PediaSmart® provides great nutrition for child athletes before practice or games. PediaSmart® is well tolerated as it is easily digested and provides long lasting energy.

Medical Food: PediaSmart® is a good source of nutrition for children who suffer from chronic illness, growth failure, injuries or during recovery from surgery. PediaSmart® is nutritionally comparable to conventional nutrition beverages such as PediaSure®. It has been formulated to meet or exceed 100% of the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) and can be used as a sole source of nutrition and in a feeding tube under the supervision of a healthcare professional. The specific amount to be used daily will need to be determined based upon a child's nutritional and medical status. This product is lactose-free and gluten-free.

See how much Tommy enjoy his drink.

Tommy drinks PediaSmart® vanilla flavor since last July.

We mainly use it for snack. The taste is amazing!

I have to remind myself the drink is for Tommy and

not for me. He drinks 8 oz non-stopping!

"Le Chat Botté", "El Gato con Botas" or "Puss in Boots"

Tommy has been lately attempting to put his shoes on. The other day, he took one of his shoes and hid from us. He wanted to try his shoe on without us bothering him. I snicked in and I could see him attempting to put the shoe on until he was able to put it on one time. After several tries, he gave up and kept busy with other stuffs. This evening, my husband left his boots in the dinning room, Tommy was around and suddenly he became "Puss in Boots." He was able to puts daddy's boots on. We will follow his lead to help him to put his shoes on by himself. Our boy keeps exceeding our expectations!

"Puss in Boots"

Our art of language -Learning the alphabet

By the middle of May, we started to work with a new Speech Therapist (SP). The method she uses to increase speech production with the kids she works with is called ZooPhonics.

"Zoo-phonics is a complete language arts program that teaches using a cast of 26 Animal/Letter characters, using a whole-brain, kinesthetic approach. Whole-brain learning uses techniques that integrate the imaginative brain skills with the analytical and language skills. Kinesthetic learning deals with body and movement, learning and knowing through physical activity and motion. Simple strategies can make better use of the whole brain and can dramatically improve learning and performance skills...With Zoo-phonics, children learn to read and spell through their eyes, mouth, ears and body. If one perceptual channel is weak, there are three other channels to take over and support the weak one. For example, if a child has an auditory deficit, his/her eyes, mouth and body will take over and help him or her to access, understand, memorize, use and transfer the new information. Children learn though Zoo-phonics when no other program works. The colorful Animal Letters and Body Movements (Signals) engage the child and hold his or her attention. Because the curriculum is so playful, children not only want to learn, their behavior improves because the children are on task and happy while learning through Zoo-phonics. Instead of telling children to “sit down and be quiet” we encourage them to wiggle their hands and body and make sounds (letter sounds)!"

~www.zoophonics.com

Essential kit to star ZooPhonics

Since the first day our Speech therapist showed the ZooPhonic to our son, he said several short sounds of the animal/letters alphabet. He was saying many short sounds of the animal/letters alphabet by the 3rd session with our SP. He is saying most of the alphabet in short sounds when I just showed the letter or when he sees the ZooPhonic video. He is also anticipating what sounds comes next while we do the letters with the flash cards. He is beginning to recognize the alphabet letters at the same time. The progress we has seen in his speech production has been enormous and in a short period of time since we started the ZooPhonics program. We have still to work on some sounds, but some of them are later sounds.

Video of Tommy doing the short sounds of the alphabet.

This video doen't display all the alphabet sounds Tommy does.

Animal/Letter short sounds Tommy says:

a, b, c, d, e, g, h, i, j, k, m, n, o, p, s, t, u, w and y.

We replaced the short "n" sound for "naah" to make it easier for him.

Approximated Animal/Letter short sounds Tommy says:

f, l, r and z. Tommy does the spanish r sound, but he doesn't

the "r" English sound yet.

Animal/Letter short sounds Tommy doesn't say yet:

q, v, and x

ZooPhonics is indisputably a language art program because of the excellent design of the animal/letters character that engage kids into recognizing the alphabet, reading, spelling and writing.

We have also incorporated to our art of language the Write and Erase set cards by Brain Quest for ages 2+ to trace letters. When I found these cards I wasn't sure Tommy was ready for them; even although, it says in the box 2+. I told our ST about the Brain Quest cards she said why not to use it as a complement of the ZooPhonic because the Brain Quest cards also used the shorts sounds that Tommy is learning with the Zoo-phonic. I bought the set phonics and Alphabet cards, and for my surprise, tracing the letters with guidance is an activity that Tommy has the patient to do, but I keep it short, so we just trace the vowels. I think this cards are complete educational becaue incorporates several senses while the child learns as the Zoo-phonic. According to the Brain Quest website, these cards will help teaching the child to read and write using phonics. Writing-in letters helps your child sound out and recognize simple words. Enhance fine motor skills, build confidence through practice and help preschoolers get read for school; while it allows me incorporate the kinesthetic approach from the Zoo-phonic cards.

Video of Tommy traces letters with guidance.