So lately the doodle has been asking to make peepees in the potty. And I am all about using the potty, so we've been ushering him off, whether it's clear that he's already gone in his diaper or not and making a big to-do about how excellent it is, and so forth. Given that he can do a ton more on the cruise (i.e. actually use the kiddie pool) if he's potty trained, it seemed that sucking it up and potty training was the way to go. He's ready. He's interested. Really it's been mommy dragging her feet for the past...month? Two months? So, today is D-day. (I was going to put it off til Monday but honestly, at some point I really have to stop procrastinating.)
We woke up and I reminded him that today was big-boy undie day. Then we made a big production of taking all the diapers in his room and putting them in a trash bag and putting his changing pad into the storage closet because he doesn't need them anymore cause he's a big boy. Then he got to choose what undies to wear. He chose Elmo to start off with (we had a big shopping trip last week to pick out said undies. Side note: Why do they sell the 2T and 3T undies in the BABY aisle of Target? I work so hard to explain that he's a big boy and these are big boy undies and then have to go to the baby aisle, across from bibs and sleepers, to have him pick them out. Um. Yeah. That didn't go over so well. He knows where the big kid clothes are.)
Elmo made it 2 trips to the potty before becoming an accident victim. Next up was Donald Duck. He only made it about 30 minutes. (And I was mad at myself about that one, because part of the method I'm using is that you keep reminding them to "tell mommy when you need to go potty" and so I did that and he said "Yeah." So I asked, "Do you need to make peepees?" And he said, "Yeah. NO." So I said, "Let's go potty!" and he started having a big "No" fit so I figured I misunderstood. Five minutes later, "I make peepees, mommy!" and there's a small flood on the floor. My fault. Totally mine. Should've taken the first answer.) After that was Lightning McQueen. (Now, he hasn't actually seen Cars yet, but he really likes red cars, or Uncle Mike cars as he calls them...VROOM!) I think he made it another 40 minutes or so. Then we got another pair of Cars undies and those...those have made it 3 trips to the potty and are heading into nap time. Whee! (Or should that be wee?)
Anyway, for those who are interested, we're following the 3 Day Potty Training method. I went ahead and spent money on the ebook (though if you decide to do that, google coupons, cause I got 25% off with an online coupon code). You can find stuff that's pretty similar online for free as well, but as I haven't done this before and our experience with the timer method in December was...not good (he still freaks out a little when the timer goes off more than 2 times in an hour) I figured I'd go ahead and see what she had to say. It makes sense, so...we're following it as written.
So far, I'm relatively pleased. 4 pair of undies for the first morning of actual potty training doesn't seem overly excessive. And have no fear, you'll be updated here as things progress.
21 hours ago
It's often a three steps forward, three steps back kind of thing. My biggest advice is to just go with the flow (pun intended) and try not to worry too much. You might try the Gerber cloth underwear that's sold near the cloth diapers. It's thicker and more absorbent than regular undies, and you can still put the character underwear over it for another layer.
ReplyDeleteI still take J. to the bathroom about every hour or hour and a half, because he's inconsistent about telling me when he has to go. He's just starting to tell me sometimes, but mostly I have to take him. Good luck!
I've always referred to the process as "running with shields down." (Another of my Star Trek/diaper tags is the "core-breach poopie." Hey, it's a disgusting biznay and one has to get through it somehow.)
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, I foisted almost all of the work of potty-training the gels on Mrs. R on the grounds that male involvement would probably result in years of expensive therapy for them later on. (Thin? Perhaps. But as I say, it's a disgusting biz. That was my story and I was sticking to it.)
- Robbo
Michelle, I'm fully expecting steps back...but it really was time to pee or get off the potty, so to speak. :)
ReplyDeleteRobbo I tried that very line of reasoning for why Tim ought to be in charge and, as you might imagine, it didn't fly. However, I have drawn a line in the sand and he will learn sitting down. If later on daddy wants to teach him to stand and aim and all that business, then hooray for him and, oh yeah, that will mark the time when bathroom cleaning becomes the domain of the males in the family. :)