Oh The Exhaustion! Aka, Potty Training Day 2

Oh man, today was tough. After our inspiring start I thought for sure potty training was going to be a breeze, and today proved me wrong.

I will say this: Big One is definitely ready now, and he definitely was not ready at 2.5. Last time around he had no idea what I was trying to get him to do, and this time he seems to find that the basic concept makes sense.

All told, he woke up soaked, and had eight accidents throughout the day. Five of those accidents happened between 9:20am - 11:45 am, and I think our Saturday morning cartoon ritual had a helping hand in those accidents. Most of those accidents were very small, and he was able to use the potty when asked as I stripped off wet pants. If I didn't notice right away he'd even ask to use the potty after he started going, so the basic concept is there.

At noon he was dry and actually pooped in the potty for the first time, to our mutual delight. He appreciated mommy's cheering and dancing around, I think. Our one terrible mess also included poop - ten minutes after using the potty I caught him squatting while playing, and found really wet pants and poop. Awesome. We didn't get mad/raise voices/react strongly, but I made sure he knew that it was really gross, and that he should always use the potty.

The constant asking and running around and generally trying to get other work done as well (not optional, and not part of the original plan) has left me feeling completely exhausted.

THE BIG HIGHLIGHT of the evening: He is able to go through his potty ritual without any aid, and with complete confidence! The last two or three times he went he'd come to tell me he had to go, and I cheered and said, "Go for it! You know what to do." And he did. I stood in the doorway while he pushed his stool into place, pulled down his pants, sat down correctly, used the potty, pulled his pants up, flushed, and washed his hands. We were both very proud of him.

Now, if only we could get this timing thing down...