Last night we decided to carry on with Maryam's potty training by not putting on the diaper for her at night time. This was our first time of doing so as Maryam has passed her daytime potty training, alhamdulillah. 

I was a bit hesitant and indecisive at the outset knowing we are going back to my hometown in a few days time so probably we better off proceed with the potty training at night time over there. In addition there will be change of environment for her, I don't think I will be bringing her toilet seat along; plus she will be using a new 'unfamiliar' toilet so there is a possibility of a resumption of the training itself. Naudzubillah.

Anyhow I remembered from my reading that in order to excel in potty training a child the trick is once we get the ball rolling we have to be exceptionally stringent in which we have to continue until s/he becomes completely diaper-free. 

So there we go, last night it began well where Maryam willingly requested to go to the toilet before she went to bed that I thought 'this is a good start' as she had got her bladder emptied before sleeping. At around 6.30am I woke up (after multiple wake-ups throughout the night) to breastfeed Fatimah when Maryam also got up telling she wanted to go to the toilet.

I wanted to make her wait till I finished nursing Fatimah if possible therefore to avoid accidents I confirmed with her again did she really want to go to the toilet that she answered 'No' and quickly went back to sleep. 

When I was done with nursing Fatimah I went to Maryam who was sleeping, woke her up and asked again if she wanted to go to the toilet. She said 'Yes' and I said 'Let's take off your pants'. Then I landed my hand on her bum and noticed that it was soggy. 'Oh my, we fell flat this time' when I thought we could claim victory after a single night. Hehe.

Nevermind we'll do this again tonight!

P/s: Maryam went to Tesco without wearing her diaper yesterday and she managed to use the public toilet to peepee- for the first time! Bravo Maryam!

*Maryam Sophia is 2 years 1 month 4 weeks and 2 days old today :). Alhamdulillah.

I guess I can conclude that Maryam's daytime potty training is accomplished. 

Today alone there were no more accidents and she let us know when she wanted to go to the loo. On top of that she did peepee or poopoo each time we brought her to the toilet as per her request, so not so much of a drama anymore, or 'tak jadi' (canceled) issues.

To keep things going as of tomorrow I might get her to not wear diapers at night *palpitations*.

We'll see how things go.

Just if you were wondering what does Maryam's toilet seat look like, tadaa! 

This is her toilet seat that I bought online. Love the fact that it has a rung for the kid to climb up and the handles are very handy. However I do wish for it to be more sturdy when placed on the toilet bowl and if they make the toilet seat more gritty, I would give 5 stars. The toilet seat has a smooth surface and can easily become slippery when it gets wet. 

For her achievements we bestowed on her star-shaped stickers, which she proudly pasted onto the fridge. She really enjoys being acknowledged and appreciated for her efforts while on our side we hope that they will serve as a motivation to quickly be successfully diaper-free during both day and night, with no accidents of course. InsyaAllah.

Alhamdulillah thumma alhamdulillah.

I'm so overjoyed right now as Maryam has just moved her bowel, in the toilet bowl! (at 5.15pm today to be exact hehe). Finally. It started pretty rough with her wetting her pants first. She was standing next to me when I was buried in my laptop, then she suddenly said "Nak berak" (I want to poopoo) in that shaky voice which means she was serious.

I quickly got on my feet and rushed her to the toilet. I noticed that she had peed in her pants when I wanted to take the pants off. Then I went to get her seated on her toilet seat when she accidentally passed wind from down below. I used that to get her to strain for poopoo which she initially was reluctant to.

I said to her that I wanted to 'hear her fart again' and waited. After minutes of no success despite non-stop persuasions I nearly gave up when an idea sparked in my head to get her to bring up the knees and squat on the toilet bowl. 

The combination of squatting and 'wanting to hear her fart' worked, she finally poopoo-ed in the toilet bowl I was so touched I felt like breaking into tears (which I didn't, just if you wonder).

We are getting on well Maryam. Good job sayang! Bye bye diapers! :)

Maryam Sophia is 2 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 2 days old today. Alhamdulillah.

I have been planning to potty train Maryam for so long. I bought a toddler's toilet seat even before Maryam reached 2 years old as she seemed to have developed good conscience at that time. She lets us know when she poops or pees with her diapers on without us asking. When I talked to her about getting her to learn to use the toilet when the seat comes in the post, she was happy to cooperate.

However when the seat arrived things changed. She could not agree on not wearing her diaper and although she was initially excited to be seated in her toilet seat, she took that just for fun. We tried our best to coax her but no success. I therefore put the plan on hold until she becomes more ready for a proper potty training. She was still young then anyway.

A day before I had my 2nd baby I laid out my plan to potty train her again the day after, second attempt after a nearly 3-month break. Little did I know that I was going to give birth on that day although I had hoped for it to happen given I was already post date. So again the potty training plan was kept in view.

Today after about a week 'brainwashing' my little girl about potty training she is happy to give it a go again. Therefore this day marks her first diaper-free day yeay! Funny her she felt strange not being put on a diaper when she was done bathing; she was all excited about just wearing her underpants and having a 'less bulky' derriere. Even when I told hubsy dear that Maryam hasn't got her diaper on he too got thrilled and Maryam cheerfully reiterated my words "Maryam tak pakai ampers hehe" (I'm not wearing diaper hehe).

It wasn't until 2 o'clock in the afternoon that she finally told us she wanted to empty her bladder. That was a tough one. After taking off her underpants in the toilet she decided she didn't want to sit on her toilet seat. What? She even said she didn't want to pee. Again, what? She said "Tak jadi" (Canceled).

We persuaded her to pee as we believed she did want to pee but she was holding it back. We gave her the options whether she wanted to squat on the floor or just do it while standing as she had rejected her toilet seat. She however settled with peeing while squatting on the toilet floor and happily walked out of the toilet with an empty bladder and a wide smile.

The ball is still rolling. Half a day more left, no accidents please!

Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli hal.

"Bukan macam tu, macam ni- ah"

(Not like that, it's like this- ah)

"Mayam nak buat sendiri"

(I'm gonna do this on my own)

"Ummi buat apa?"

(Watcha doing, Ummi?)

"Abi cari apa?"

(Watcha looking for, Abi?)

"Eh ada- ah yogurt Mayam"

(Look my yogurt is actually here!)

"Mana sudu? Mana2?"

(Where's the spoon, where?)

Given her age and size, it often tickles our hearts hearing her sentences. She talks in a moderate tone innocently so we find it amusing than irritating. She can go on talking non stop and really loves when people respond, chat with her and ask her questions.

It is not until yesterday that I learnt that she has come to use the word 'malas' (lazy). Yeah we  have discovered her use of a negative statement before which is "Maryam tak pandai" (I'm not smart) but we tackled that by giving her some reassurance that she can do it and the fact that the thing will need to be practiced in order for her to be good at it bla bla bla. 

But yesterday I asked her for a favour, to pick up a book that she dropped, off the carpet then she replied "Tak nak, malas" (Don't wanna, lazy). 

Heartbreaking. 

We as her parents have never taught such a word to her. Therefore the impact it gave to me was massive. I wasn't sure what to do to get her do what I requested when she answered like that. It kind of punctuated things and my thinking came to a complete cul-de-sac. Then that reminds me, so this is the feeling mothers get when their children use harsh words when conversing with them. Awful.

I was so upset I messaged dear hubsy. Apparently he was looking at his phone so he responded  quite instantly, about what I could do as a 'punishment' for her for saying such a word. I didn't do any of them though.

Thankfully it didn't last for long when Maryam finally of her own accord picked up the book herself without me using any kind of coercion. 

Now still thinking about the best 'punishment' to effectively teach kids to be a better person.