We are in the midst of potty training. Well, we've been working on it for over a month now. It's still a little bumpy, but we're mostly there. Potty training has been....interesting. Is it weird to say that I've had to grow as a mom? Before I could easily go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. I grabbed the diaper bag and took off. Unless a kid pooped I'd rarely change them when we were out and about. Now I have to plan around more than just naps, I have to plan around bathroom trips. It's not more difficult, just more thought required for everyday things. Then there is the issue of separating the successes and disappointments on the potty from everything else. When Michael would pee his pants after I'd asked him every 5 minutes for the last hour if he needed to go, I'd take it personally. Instead of just changing him and reminding him not to pee in his pants I'd be upset all day that he wasn't getting it. Of course the postpartum hormones and being locked in a bathroom all day didn't help. I got over it after the first week, but I haven't had to deal with that too much as a parent until now.
Josh and I decided we had hit that point at the end of Summer where we were done camping (I refused to potty train in the Spring and Summer because of camping) and realized it was time. Michael showed the signs, and he was getting there in age. Plus he'll be the young kid in Sunbeams and I don't want him to be the only one not potty trained. So we dove right in.
The first day I made Michael sit on the potty for 3 hours until he peed. He watched Frozen, did puzzles, ate a sleeve of crackers, and had 3 sippy cups full of water. Eventually he peed. About a week later and making him sit on the potty for an hour after breakfast, he pooped. We bribed him with a mashmellow every time he pooped for the first 3 weeks. Now he gets a fruit snack every 10ish times he pees. He has a sticker chart now and has to get 20 stickers, but we'll give him stickers for cleaning up toys and letting us brush his teeth without biting the toothbrush. If he poops he gets a hotwheels car. If he goes a full day without an accident he gets a small tractor (thank you Walmart!). Lately we won't give him a tractor unless he pooped in the potty and didn't have any accidents.
Fast forward to today. He rarely tells us when he needs to pee, but if we tell him to go every 2-3 hours he doesn't have an accident. Most mornings and after naps he wakes up dry. I've been leaving him in underwear for naps (when he takes them, I think he's been playing with toys and not napping). He's never had an accident involving pee on the carpet. Pooping is another story. He's pooped in the potty a total of 5 times. He holds it in and goes every other day now. He thinks there are snakes in the potty when he poops. Kinda funny, but very frustrating. So every other day I have to clean poop out of underwear. Luckily we have one of those flexible shower heads that reaches over to a toilet, so I just power wash it out and don't have to hand scrub.
Getting out has changed a little bit. It took about two weeks but now Michael feels comfortable peeing in big toilets. We took him out in pull-ups a lot at first (oh how I hate pull-ups), but luckily we don't have to anymore. We've gone to the zoo and he doesn't have accidents the whole time we're there.
On a good note, Elli has peed in her little potty a handful of times. I don't think she's quite ready for potty training, but hopefully soon. I'd rather get it done in the winter when we really can't do much anyways.
On another good note, without the diaper Michael will continue to fit into his 2T clothes all winter.
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| He's spent many lazy days lounging in his underwear |
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