I'm a stay at home mom and have a two year old a one year old and am pregnant with our last child. My daughters are 15 months apart and this child will be 17 months apart from my middle child. My 2 year old only knows her sister so she enjoys every minute with her. But my 1 year old I worry about, she is use to being the baby and is very clingy. She won't go to anyone and is starting to reject her father at bed time. I'm trying to potty train my 2 year old but things are not going so well. I'd like to have her potty trined before the baby arrives. Any suggestions on either of these two problems are greatly appreciated. We don't know anyone with children and and most of our family lives 2,400 miles away. Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome to the boards.....a little tip from me to you is to post either on the Parenting or Pregnancy boards because you will get a lot more responses. The Birth board is not that popular or busy.
Just scroll down to the bottom of your screen to "Select Forum" click on the arrow and select either the Parenting or Pregnancy board depending on your question.

In regards to your little one being so clingy with you, my son who is now 2 also went through a "mommy only" stage when he was just over a year old. My husband just kept on doing things with him BUT without me so they could bond more and have alone time, just the two of them.
Don't let your husband give up....he should continue to do things with her without you being there. He could read her a story before bed, take her out for a walk, take her out for ice cream, etc, etc. I'm sure it's just a phase and she will outgrow it just as my son did.

Potty training is always a hot topic with parents of toddlers. We introduced my son to a little potty chair when he was 17 months old....he was obviously not ready at that time. But we started reading books about using the potty, we showed him a video on using the potty, and we started talking about it a lot without trying to put too much pressure on him. His 2nd birthday was Sept.8, 2004. Once he hit two I really tried to focus on it a lot more. Whenever I was going to use the toilet I would get excited and say "Mommy has to use the big potty, do want to come and sit on yours?" and he started using it because he saw that I was using mine and I was excited about it.
Also, I started sitting his Cookie Monster on his potty and Alex seemed to like this and we would pretend Cookie Monster was using the potty and then Alex would wipe his bum with toilet paper and flush it down our toilet But it was something that got him really interested in using the potty and just being comfortable being the the bathroom. Then he went through a phase where he just lost interest in the potty.....that lasted a few months. I tried not to pressure him too much because he would just get upset. Then all of a sudden he wanted to use it again but we bought him the padded potty seat that fits onto our toilet seat and a little stool.....he really like this new potty seat and it got him really interested again. Now on a daily basis he uses his potty....sometimes he'll ask to use it on his own and sometimes I will ask him if he wants to use it. He can do both bowel movements and pee on his potty, he also wipes his bum and then flushes. He is still wearing the pull-ups but he is doing really well now and can't stand to be in a dirty diaper.

Sorry to ramble on but I hope that I've helped a little.

Good luck

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My son went thru a stage where I couldnt leave the room and he eventually grew out of it. When our daughter came along I was worried that my son went get jealous but he handle a new baby very well he did however want to be wrapped in his baby blanket like his sister. has grown out of that now. As for potty training we didnt want to pressure him in to it so we just left the potty in the bathroom looked for signs that he was ready to train such as him not liking to be in a dirty nappy. Telling us he was peeing or pooping and then we introduced the potty and encouraged him. I think all kids train at a different age and there is no set age to potty train. Just when there ready. My nephew didnt poop in a potty till he was 4 his sister was potty trained at 2 1/2 just like my son. Gently encourage your 2 year old and she will use the potty when she wants to.

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MUMMY OF TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, BABY #3 DUE IN JANUARY AND MUMMY OF TWO BEAUTIFUL ANGELS.