Potty training and Sleep Training

So today was my official start date for potty training and sleep training. it's going to be a rough week i can tell. i went to walmart this morning and on the way home, i had a heart to heart with moma about potty training. i told her that when we got home, we were going to say goodbye to her diapers because she is a big girl now and only little babies like thumper use diapers. she wasn't going for it so then i tried another way. i told her that her friends at church would be so super happy for her if she didn't have to wear diapers any more. she was a little more responsive to this. so when we got home, i had her take off her diaper and put on panties. she was pretty good about it and she has been going on the potty all day with no accidents. she does really well on the potty but getting her to be consistent is the key. she will do well for a week and then give up. this time, I'm not letting her give up. i can't afford to buy her diapers any more and she's getting older so i know she can do it. also, i am sleep training thumper this week too. i used the baby wise book for moma and she was such a good sleeper. with thumper i haven't even started to get him on a schedule because we have had family staying with us and we went on vacation and it's just been too nuts to get him going on a good schedule. i just remember where moma was at his age and so I've been having a hard time knowing that he isn't as good of a sleeper as her, but i started her on baby wise at 2 weeks so I'm behind with this little guy. he's not going to be a happy camper for a few days until he gets used to his new schedule. basically for those of you that don't know... baby wise is a book that is about sleeping and eating schedules. it's a flexible schedule not a super Nazi type schedule. you have them eat, then keep them awake, then put them to sleep. most people put their babies to sleep by feeding them, so this is a little different. the theory is that the baby learns to go to sleep on their own and not because you're feeding them. since they're awake after their feedings, you just lay them down to sleep for naps and at night and they eventually learn to go to sleep on their own without you there to rock them or feed them or whatever. it worked really well for moma and it only took a few days for her to get it. the average time is 3-5 days but it could take up to two weeks according to the book. hopefully he gets it in a couple days. that would be lovely. it's hard because you have to let them cry for a little while. and by a little while, i mean anywhere from 10-45 minutes. obviously you go in and check on them, but you don't interact too much. just enough to calm them down and then leave the room again. a lot of moms aren't able to do this and i admit it is hard for those first few days when your kid is crying a lot, but as soon as they get it, it's soooo nice. you just lay your kid down and that's it. they fall asleep. it's all about building patterns. they don't get stressed out as much (once they get the schedule down). anyways. today has beena little rough because he's been crying a lot when i put him down for a nap but i just go in and give him little pats and tell him it's okay and then leave. i had to do this a lot earlier today but when i put him down for his nap this last time, i only had to go in there once before he fell asleep. hopefully he is a quick learner and i only have a few days of him being sad!! i swear it is the best when they figure it out though. every one is happy including baby. he's already doing pretty well at night. he sleeps for anywhere from 5-8 hours. so now i just need to get him on this schedule to get him to take better naps and that will help him to sleep longer at night. he's 9 weeks now and he should be sleeping about 8 hours according to the book. moma was sleeping 10 hours straight at 9 weeks so you can see why i'm a little frustrated that i had to start later with him. i could be having wonderful sleep tonight if it weren't for getting him started late. oh well. i can function on 5-8 hours of sleep per night. but more would be fantastic!!