{12 in 13} January: First update

Well.... the holiday weekend has come and gone, and no potty training occurred... an auspicious beginning to this new goal-setting endeavor. :) Sean and I hadn't had a chance to "compare notes" until after Saturday morning, at which point we mostly-mutually decided to postpone it. And when I say "compare notes," it means "try to explain to Sean what I've been reading and then we decide how we want to do it." But we had a little bit of marital miscommunication, or lack of grace-giving, or I'm not sure what to call it.... just enough to make me want to not push the issue.

I wanted to start the training when we'd have a good chunk of time to work on it (e.g. first thing Saturday morning). I did not think it would be very profitable to start it, say, Sunday after church, where we get home and have maybe an hour of awake time before Caleb's nap. I'm wondering if there might never be a time that seems perfectly convenient to start something like this.

I'm also thinking it might be better for us to try the gradual approach, because of the season we are in: getting to know a newborn. :) Caleb is familiar with his potty chair, and has asked before to sit on the potty with no diaper, but I really don't think he's aware of when he is peeing. One of those times, when I had let him sit on the potty, I helped him stand up, then he peed on the floor, and was like, "Oh! What's that?" He had no idea he had caused that puddle that magically appeared (or so it seemed to me).

So for now, we are still in diapers full time.

The "gradual approach" means (for us) I will start taking him to the toilet a couple times a day (probably after meals so it's easy to remember), sitting him on it for a few minutes so he gets used to it; whether he goes or not is not important. If/when any poop or pee makes it into the toilet, praise the heck out of him. That's as far as I've gotten so far. :)

Any tips, you moms-of-boys-who-are-potty-trained?


I've also been thinking about the rest of my goals... and even spent some time writing out all the action steps I could think of for each month. For example, for my May goal (run the Bull Canyon Run 10k), I put:

• look up Couch to 5k program
• write out training plan
• start running 
• ask Mom to babysit kid(s)?
• join YMCA?
• look up healthy diet for running
• buy sports bra?
• pump up tires on jogging stroller
• register for race online
• update May budget to include registration fee

For my February goal, I have decided on the baked goodies I will make, as well as quantities of ingredients needed and a shopping list.

For my April goal, I have looked up several Bible reading plans, and dusted off my Daily Light. (I've actually started reading the Daily Light already; is that cheating? ;) My grandmother gave it to me when I graduated from high school, and she's been reading it daily without fail, probably for several decades.)

For my May goal, I have looked up the "couch to 5k" program and will plan on beginning it this coming week (it's a nine-week progression of interval training to get you up to running for 3 miles straight, starting with alternating jogging/walking in one- or two-minute increments). There's also a "5k to 10k" app, but I don't have a smartphone! I'll have to keep hunting and see if the information is on the web site in a different format. The Bull Canyon Run is 16 weeks away from last Saturday (1/26), woohoo! This is one of the few goals that exceeds one month in planning/execution. Most of the rest of them are contained within the month.

Anyway...

I'll plan on placing links to all the monthly posts in one place as they accumulate!