My Potty or Yours?
Last Saturday morning we were up at the crack of 8:00 (two hours later than usual, for a change) and I breathed a little prayer to myself before we began the ritual that would start our first day of the Three Day Potty Training boot camp.
First we headed to the diaper stacker hanging on the closet door. I was quite solemn about it.
"Jude - we're going to throw these diapers and pull ups away. You will never have to wear them again. From now on you're going to wear big boy underwear."
He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
Together we reached into the diaper bag and threw out handfuls of pull-ups and diapers. My stomach lurched a little, but I knew it was for the best (or so I hoped.)
And then came the "final diaper removal and pulling on of the big boy underwear" segment. So as I removed his diaper, very seriously I said, "Do you realize that this is the last diaper you will ever wear? This is it." He blinked up at me. He scratched his face. The enormity of the moment was lost on him.
So I perked it up by opening up the underwear drawer and announcing some options.
"Well what do we have here? We've got Cars and Elmo and Nemo and Blues Clues . . ."
"I wanna wear CLOOZE CLOOZE!" (You should hear the way he drags the words out - almost has a French accent when he does it.)
So "Clooze Clooze" it was.
"Wow doesn't that feel great!?!" I exclaimed after we put them on. "BIG BOY underwear."
We stood there in his room admiring the Clooze Clooze. After having the big boy underwear on for, oh, I don't know, maybe EIGHTY seconds, a giant puddle of pee was soon at his feet.
His eyes got a little big and he seemed surprised, but not upset, really.
"Uh oh. You teeteed on Blue. Now we have to change you. Now we have to put Blue in the laundry. Remember, tell Mommy when you need to go potty!"
We removed the undies and he was thrilled to make his next selection.
"Nemo! Nemo! I teetee on Nemo!"
Great - this was literally going to be a pissing contest from the get go. Let's see how many cartoon characters we can whiz on.
So - as the third pair of soaked underwear was removed and only 30 minutes had passed, I felt just a tad weary. But, if there is one thing God has blessed me with - it's patience. I know that's crazy to say - but I think I'm pretty good with the patience thing. I'm very grateful to have the patience that I do.
I continued with the program. As advised, I loaded (LOADED!) him up with liquids - as much as he wanted to drink. And he loves that V-Fusion V8 juice. We get the light which has much less sugar than the original. He drank like I'd never seen him drink before. This was part of the way it worked. You fill them with liquid so that it has to come out. And the more it comes out, the more chances they have to learn what the urge feels like and how to control it and how it feels to pee on the potty.
Anyway, so I did some positive reinforcement. I told him to tell me when he needed to go potty over and over again. He'd stand there and look at me and pee right on the floor. So sorry, Spiderman underoos.
At one point we were sitting on the love seat pretty close together. As I was whispering "Remember, tell mommy when you need to go potty" in his ear, I felt a wet and warm sensation on my hand. (Thank GOD for a leather sofa! A little antibacterial wipes and we were all good!)
"AGH!" I screamed and jumped up.
He gasped and started to cry.
"You're teeteeing! You're teeteeing! Hurry - let's get to the potty."
We ran down the hall together leaving behind a trail of urine. He got to the potty but had already finished.
Sigh.
But the next time . . . I caught him as he started and once again we ran to the potty, only this time there was no trail of pee. He actually stopped, held it and finished on the potty. (Trumpets sounds are emanating from his potty - literally, it's this cute Fisher Price one - and I'm clapping and he's clapping.) So I give him an M&M (his choice of color - which is yellow, of course) and then I give him the first "prize."
He reaches in the grab bag and pulls out the miniature 3-D Shrek poster. He is ecstactic. "Shrek poster! Shrek poster!"
This was around 11:00 a.m., I think. We were on pair 7 of underwear.
I continue on with my Tellmommywhenyouneedtogopotty blabber about every three minutes or so. And then - out of the blue he says,
"I need to go potty."
Jaw drops open.
And so I take him and lo and behold, he potties! And trumpets sound again and there is clapping and cheers and an M&M (yellow, please.)
We eat lunch. I'm so paranoid that he's going to pee on the booster seat. It's part cloth. I'm still so nervous and anxious about it. He has one more little accident after lunch before his nap - he starts to pee again in his undies and finishes on the potty.
I put him down for a nap with much trepidation. I say, "Please try to keep dry. If you need to go potty, you get up and tell Mommy."
Two hours later, he awoke with dry sheets.
I was stunned.
After that it was a whirlwind of juice drinking and pottying and trumpets and cheers and M&Ms and Shrek prizes.
He was going about every 20 minutes. And he was letting me know.
But I was worried about bedtime. The book has suggested that you make a little bed for yourself on the floor next to theirs so you could listen in the night for them stirring or whining or acting like they needed to go to the potty. When I read this I was like "Yeah, right" but on Saturday I decided that I needed to do it. And so we blew up the air mattress and I bunked with him.
All night I was tormented with nightmares of urine, urine everywhere. It was cascading down the sides of his bed and puddling onto the floor next to the air mattress. It was all over me. I would wake up every hour or so and feel his sheets. Nothing.
Before I knew it, 6:30 rolled around and we were up.
The sheets were bone dry.
Flabbergasted.
And then he said "I need to go potty." And so I took him and so he did. He got a prize for keeping his sheets dry. A Shrek magnet.
The drinking and the pottying continued without a single snag. And yet I worried about the inevitable BM. I'd made sure to fill him with fiber rich foods so I knew it was coming.
I won't go into details about it - for dignity's sake - I will just say that it sorta happened. It's hard to explain. But - he still needs a bit more practice in that department. Still - it happened in it's own way. And so he got another prize (SHREK STICKERS! OMG! He totally flipped out.)
He went down for his Sunday nap, and once again, 2 hours later, he did not wet the bed. He woke up and promptly used the potty. Yesterday afternoon it was potty central around here. He was going constantly - even if it was just a little dribble - he was running to the potty to do it. It was almost like you could visibly see him learning that urge - maybe something that should take months and months - only everything was so intensified that it only took a few hours really. It was unreal!
And we'd gotten to the point where he would pull down his own undies, sit on the potty, stand up, and pull up his undies. Then I would pour out the pee into the big toilet and he would flush. And then get his M&M of course.
I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It didn't drop this morning when he woke up with dry sheets AGAIN!
Today, I brought him to Sara since she read the book and knew the whole drill. I knew this would be a big test because he wouldn't have his singing potty and he'd be going on the big potty and he wouldn't be at home, etc. etc.
I was obsessed with his progress while at work. I wanted to call every 30 minutes but restrained myself. At 10 am he still hadn't pottied (the last pee was 6:30 this morning). I was sick about it. I was on the phone with Sara when he finally went. Man, I was so relieved. She was still giving him tons to drink too. But she said that he pottied about once every hour and that the pee times were longer. This was much different than yesterday when he pottied probably 20 times in the time that he was awake. So we came to the conclusion that he must be learning and teaching himself how to hold it longer, to save trips.
THIS IS AMAZING, PEOPLE!
They took him to Granny's today and he pottied there. And when I picked him up - still no accidents. So I decided I'd give an even bigger test and take him out in public. Jimbo and I took him to Raising Cane's for dinner (yummy chicken fingers). He asked to go to the potty after we were there for about 10 minutes. He looked around the restroom and said "I don't need to go potty." I think he was a little scared. Five minutes later he was back in the john - only he was shaking his head no again. And then five minutes passed and he was holding himself and telling me he needed to go potty. So we went back to the women's bathroom and got into a stall and I sat him on the potty and he peed. He smiled. "I did it, Mommy! I'm a big boy!"
I was/am bursting with pride.
So tonight, here we are. Still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hate to jump the gun, but I really think my son is potty trained.
After three days.
Unbelievable!
First we headed to the diaper stacker hanging on the closet door. I was quite solemn about it.
"Jude - we're going to throw these diapers and pull ups away. You will never have to wear them again. From now on you're going to wear big boy underwear."
He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
Together we reached into the diaper bag and threw out handfuls of pull-ups and diapers. My stomach lurched a little, but I knew it was for the best (or so I hoped.)
And then came the "final diaper removal and pulling on of the big boy underwear" segment. So as I removed his diaper, very seriously I said, "Do you realize that this is the last diaper you will ever wear? This is it." He blinked up at me. He scratched his face. The enormity of the moment was lost on him.
So I perked it up by opening up the underwear drawer and announcing some options.
"Well what do we have here? We've got Cars and Elmo and Nemo and Blues Clues . . ."
"I wanna wear CLOOZE CLOOZE!" (You should hear the way he drags the words out - almost has a French accent when he does it.)
So "Clooze Clooze" it was.
"Wow doesn't that feel great!?!" I exclaimed after we put them on. "BIG BOY underwear."
We stood there in his room admiring the Clooze Clooze. After having the big boy underwear on for, oh, I don't know, maybe EIGHTY seconds, a giant puddle of pee was soon at his feet.
His eyes got a little big and he seemed surprised, but not upset, really.
"Uh oh. You teeteed on Blue. Now we have to change you. Now we have to put Blue in the laundry. Remember, tell Mommy when you need to go potty!"
We removed the undies and he was thrilled to make his next selection.
"Nemo! Nemo! I teetee on Nemo!"
Great - this was literally going to be a pissing contest from the get go. Let's see how many cartoon characters we can whiz on.
So - as the third pair of soaked underwear was removed and only 30 minutes had passed, I felt just a tad weary. But, if there is one thing God has blessed me with - it's patience. I know that's crazy to say - but I think I'm pretty good with the patience thing. I'm very grateful to have the patience that I do.
I continued with the program. As advised, I loaded (LOADED!) him up with liquids - as much as he wanted to drink. And he loves that V-Fusion V8 juice. We get the light which has much less sugar than the original. He drank like I'd never seen him drink before. This was part of the way it worked. You fill them with liquid so that it has to come out. And the more it comes out, the more chances they have to learn what the urge feels like and how to control it and how it feels to pee on the potty.
Anyway, so I did some positive reinforcement. I told him to tell me when he needed to go potty over and over again. He'd stand there and look at me and pee right on the floor. So sorry, Spiderman underoos.
At one point we were sitting on the love seat pretty close together. As I was whispering "Remember, tell mommy when you need to go potty" in his ear, I felt a wet and warm sensation on my hand. (Thank GOD for a leather sofa! A little antibacterial wipes and we were all good!)
"AGH!" I screamed and jumped up.
He gasped and started to cry.
"You're teeteeing! You're teeteeing! Hurry - let's get to the potty."
We ran down the hall together leaving behind a trail of urine. He got to the potty but had already finished.
Sigh.
But the next time . . . I caught him as he started and once again we ran to the potty, only this time there was no trail of pee. He actually stopped, held it and finished on the potty. (Trumpets sounds are emanating from his potty - literally, it's this cute Fisher Price one - and I'm clapping and he's clapping.) So I give him an M&M (his choice of color - which is yellow, of course) and then I give him the first "prize."
He reaches in the grab bag and pulls out the miniature 3-D Shrek poster. He is ecstactic. "Shrek poster! Shrek poster!"
This was around 11:00 a.m., I think. We were on pair 7 of underwear.
I continue on with my Tellmommywhenyouneedtogopotty blabber about every three minutes or so. And then - out of the blue he says,
"I need to go potty."
Jaw drops open.
And so I take him and lo and behold, he potties! And trumpets sound again and there is clapping and cheers and an M&M (yellow, please.)
We eat lunch. I'm so paranoid that he's going to pee on the booster seat. It's part cloth. I'm still so nervous and anxious about it. He has one more little accident after lunch before his nap - he starts to pee again in his undies and finishes on the potty.
I put him down for a nap with much trepidation. I say, "Please try to keep dry. If you need to go potty, you get up and tell Mommy."
Two hours later, he awoke with dry sheets.
I was stunned.
After that it was a whirlwind of juice drinking and pottying and trumpets and cheers and M&Ms and Shrek prizes.
He was going about every 20 minutes. And he was letting me know.
But I was worried about bedtime. The book has suggested that you make a little bed for yourself on the floor next to theirs so you could listen in the night for them stirring or whining or acting like they needed to go to the potty. When I read this I was like "Yeah, right" but on Saturday I decided that I needed to do it. And so we blew up the air mattress and I bunked with him.
All night I was tormented with nightmares of urine, urine everywhere. It was cascading down the sides of his bed and puddling onto the floor next to the air mattress. It was all over me. I would wake up every hour or so and feel his sheets. Nothing.
Before I knew it, 6:30 rolled around and we were up.
The sheets were bone dry.
Flabbergasted.
And then he said "I need to go potty." And so I took him and so he did. He got a prize for keeping his sheets dry. A Shrek magnet.
The drinking and the pottying continued without a single snag. And yet I worried about the inevitable BM. I'd made sure to fill him with fiber rich foods so I knew it was coming.
I won't go into details about it - for dignity's sake - I will just say that it sorta happened. It's hard to explain. But - he still needs a bit more practice in that department. Still - it happened in it's own way. And so he got another prize (SHREK STICKERS! OMG! He totally flipped out.)
He went down for his Sunday nap, and once again, 2 hours later, he did not wet the bed. He woke up and promptly used the potty. Yesterday afternoon it was potty central around here. He was going constantly - even if it was just a little dribble - he was running to the potty to do it. It was almost like you could visibly see him learning that urge - maybe something that should take months and months - only everything was so intensified that it only took a few hours really. It was unreal!
And we'd gotten to the point where he would pull down his own undies, sit on the potty, stand up, and pull up his undies. Then I would pour out the pee into the big toilet and he would flush. And then get his M&M of course.
I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It didn't drop this morning when he woke up with dry sheets AGAIN!
Today, I brought him to Sara since she read the book and knew the whole drill. I knew this would be a big test because he wouldn't have his singing potty and he'd be going on the big potty and he wouldn't be at home, etc. etc.
I was obsessed with his progress while at work. I wanted to call every 30 minutes but restrained myself. At 10 am he still hadn't pottied (the last pee was 6:30 this morning). I was sick about it. I was on the phone with Sara when he finally went. Man, I was so relieved. She was still giving him tons to drink too. But she said that he pottied about once every hour and that the pee times were longer. This was much different than yesterday when he pottied probably 20 times in the time that he was awake. So we came to the conclusion that he must be learning and teaching himself how to hold it longer, to save trips.
THIS IS AMAZING, PEOPLE!
They took him to Granny's today and he pottied there. And when I picked him up - still no accidents. So I decided I'd give an even bigger test and take him out in public. Jimbo and I took him to Raising Cane's for dinner (yummy chicken fingers). He asked to go to the potty after we were there for about 10 minutes. He looked around the restroom and said "I don't need to go potty." I think he was a little scared. Five minutes later he was back in the john - only he was shaking his head no again. And then five minutes passed and he was holding himself and telling me he needed to go potty. So we went back to the women's bathroom and got into a stall and I sat him on the potty and he peed. He smiled. "I did it, Mommy! I'm a big boy!"
I was/am bursting with pride.
So tonight, here we are. Still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I hate to jump the gun, but I really think my son is potty trained.
After three days.
Unbelievable!
posted by lovemydox at 9:00 PM
5 Comments:
I've been anxiously waiting to hear about how this went. So happy that he's going so regularly! I am very tempted to try this with my son. He's almost 26 months and he peed on the potty for the first time yesterday so I think he might be ready. Now I just need to find a weekend to dedicate. Congrats!
woo hoo! i was cracking up reading your blog :) it sounds like it went really well for y'all! i'm so proud of both of you!! isn't it amazing that once it "clicks" they've got it?! now jude can use the little potty at church! myles loves that little potty--i guess b/c it is their size...he thinks it's hilarious. :)
congrats!!!!
that is awesome! good job mommy and jude
G2
Yay, Jude! Congratulations! You know, I'm still putting Autumn to bed with a Pull-Up on, but you've inspired me to take the risk and put her down in just undies tonight. I was the same as you though, waiting for the other shoe to drop. We're good so far.
Great job, kids!
Well done! Good to hear it went so well.
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