Another Potty Update

Oh, the potty training advice. I have heard everything from "Give them M&Ms!" to "OMG YOU CAN'T GIVE A KID SUGAR!" to "sweatpants with no underwear, seriously" to "completely bottomless." A quick list of FB comments really drives home the fact that there are as many potty training methods as there are kids, and people really just need to find the method that works for their family and their lifestyle.

I, for one, am so very glad that we waited until the Big One was three; I think his age made all the difference in the world in terms of his success. He got what we needed him to do, and although he had a couple rough afternoons, he generally rejoiced in his potty success. He was super excited to switch to his dinosaur big boy pants, and that alone motivated him to try to keep everything clean and dry.

We now have accident-free naps**, and we're starting to get the hang of #2; previously, all of his accidents were solid in nature, but over the last week he figured out on his own that something had to be done about this. He hasn't made it to the potty for a completely accident-free movement, but after going just the smallest bit in his pants he realizes what's going on, and rushes to his Cars potty insert, grabbing a book on the way. Sure, I'd love for him to get it completely, but he's well on his way, and the rabbit-sized bits are certainly better than a full diaper!

An interesting observation: the Big One can't tell when his pullup is wet. We are using pullups at night because he has never had a dry night, and I plan on tackling nighttime training when he's physically ready for it. Every single morning he wakes up and exclaims with glee, "Mommy! I'm dry!" ... and he's nowhere near dry. Now, he very obviously knows the difference between wet and dry, because when the odd accident happens he waddles and sniffs with embarrassment, "I'm wet/dirty. I need a shower? Please?" The difference in his response is, well, night and day, and confirms my personal choice to jump straight to underwear for training.

*Sigh* I really don't miss changing all of those diapers.


** Oh man, do I ever count my lucky stars that my three-year-old still takes 1-3 hour naps!

Five Days Later: Potty Progress

Well, here we are five days later, and I haven't once been tempted to go back to diapers. The progress the Big One made in just a couple days blew me away.

Monday held all sorts of new concerns for me, because it's a preschool day for the kiddo. I dropped him off at the crack of dawn (literally - not long after 7:15) with a backpack holding extra jeans and big boy pants and left with the promise that he'd keep his dinosaur pants dry for the three hours I'd be gone.

And much to my surprise ... he did. His teachers told me that he wouldn't pee for them, but he didn't have an accident, either. Actually, his only accident on Monday was a nap time wetting. That's right: no waking accidents.

The next day wasn't so bad, either. My fabulous SIL and nanny popped in at nine for me to start what would be an unusually long Tuesday, and I told the kiddo that he could watch a movie if he stayed dry for his Teetzie* and used the potty. When I got home about six hours later he was dry, and I got the report that he managed to go twice. He had refused a nap (a totally different issue), but he was dry. Of course, an hour after I got home he had a massive poop in his pants, but everyone has suggested that poop is the final potty-training frontier, so I feel good calling the day a success.

This afternoon we managed two more steps: peeing standing up and a dry nap! To encourage the big one to use the potty at preschool I wanted to try their technique, which is having the little guy stand and hold on to the back of the seat with his business angled over the toilet. The Big One thought it was hilarious, and had no problem with it pre-nap.

Then we all laid down for a bit (a mistake I made before, remember?), and nearly two hours later I hear a little voice in the hallways saying, "Mommy?" I made sure to leave both of our doors open for that very reason, and I'm so glad I did! Kiddo was actually dry after sleeping for an hour and a half, and once again enjoyed the bathroom novelty that belongs almost exclusively to boys (peeing standing up, of course).

Amazing.

I'm in for one more trial today: I'm going to take my Monsters out to dinner with my mom, and Big One's going in his big boy pants. As long as we can avoid a poop-trastrophe I think the evening is going to be good!

*The name he came up with for his aunt. I have no idea. My best guess is that it's his own way of saying "Auntie," since we always called her Auntie M.