As promised, an update on our potty training efforts…
You’ll remember from my earlier post (if you don’t, here’s the link to catch yourself up: www.snugglebugz.ca/blog/misadventures-in-potty-training-part-1) that our chosen potty training method promised success in three days, and despite a healthy dose of skepticism from some family and friends we were cautiously optimistic about the whole process.
What followed were three days of ups and downs, disgusting messes and outrageous celebrations.
The day starts off normally with coffee, breakfast, a bit of chit chat. Then I turn to my husband and say “Well, I guess we should get started.” So, it’s back upstairs to take the diaper off, ceremoniously put the “big boy” underwear on and — get this — have A throw all of his diapers in the garbage so that he understands we are finished with the silly things. There’s no turning back now!
We start offering lots and lots of fluids and wait. And wait. And wait. Things are a lot less eventful than hubby and I expected. Finally, after about four hours and a litre of watered down juice, it becomes clear from A’s squirmy dancing that he has to pee. We remind him, as instructed by our trusty three-day manual, for the billionth time that day “Tell mom and dad when you have to pee, OK?” As expected, he doesn’t. Accident number one. No worries, we’ll get ‘em next time.
The rest of the day creeps by at an agonizing pace. It’s a mind-numbing routine of pushing liquids, reminding A to “Tell mom and dad if you have to use the potty” and cleaning up accidents. We have some mild success – a few “finishes” on the potty, followed by full-on bathroom parties complete with high fives and celebratory raisins.
On the whole, there actually aren’t as many accidents as we thought there might. But, there aren’t as many successes either, possibly because our son is a camel who seems to pee only four times a day. It’s clear I bought WAAAAY too many raisins. It may take us a year to get through our “success stash.”
At the end of day one, we are tired but not yet discouraged.
The day begins and we aren’t feeling much more energetic than when we went to bed last night. We were up at 2am to change a wet bed (as per the guide, we are tackling night time training right off the bat) followed by a 6am wake up as the result of — yup, you guessed it — another accident. We aren’t shocked. Nobody expects the first diaper-free night to go perfectly.
We start back with the same tedious routine: fluids, watch, remind, repeat. Day number two goes almost exactly like the first and we are feeling pretty discouraged. There’s been almost no noticeable progress. And, despite a remarkable display of flatulence for a not-quite-two-year-old, there’s been no sign of No. 2.
A will agree to sit on the potty and pee if we insist, but there seems to be no recognition or initiation on his part. Sigh. I resign myself to life with a diaper-clad grade school student.
Then, just as hubby is getting the little guy ready for bed, it happens: A turns to him and says “Potty.” They run to the bathroom and sure enough, he pees in the toilet!!!!!! Que the party! This is the full-fledged success we have been waiting for! Never have two grown adults been so excited about a tiny trickle of pee. We call grandma with the good news! But wait, we aren’t done. A few minutes later, A heads back to the toilet to release his first poo in the potty. Another party. Pass the raisins around!
We all go to sleep feeling pretty darn good about ourselves and our potty training efforts.
Once again, our day starts bright and early, this time with a 5am wake up call from A, who is unusually chipper for someone who had two accidents throughout the night. His dad and I are less cheery, but knowing that I will actually get out of the house later today for a half day of work gives me the energy I need to hop out of bed.
We jump back into the routine: fluids, watch, remind… and, I’m out the door and headed to work! Part of me feels really bad leaving hubby and A alone today, but the other part is so grateful to escape, if only to the office.
At the office, I shoot hubby a hesitant text gently asking how the day is going. To my surprise and total pleasure, one accident and three successes by lunchtime. I get back home by the time A gets up from his nap and for the rest of the day, there’s only one accident. We dole out the raisins and the praise for our “big boy” toddler who really seems to have gotten the hang of things.
Just to top things off, all three of us get a wonderful sleep that night! A’s bed is bone dry when he wakes up the next morning at the reasonable hour of 7am. Hallelujah! We’ve done it! Our son is potty trained!
We wrapped up the official “three-days” of training one week ago. Does that mean that we’ve been totally, completely accident-free ever since. No, but pretty close. I can count the number of accidents we’ve had in the last week on one hand. At the moment, we are three days, accident-free. I know this doesn’t mean we are home free forever, but for now we are celebrating our success.
A is thrilled at his new big-boy status and I am thrilled about not having to change diapers for the next two months. Of course, then we have a newborn and start the process all over again, but that’s another challenge for another day!
What are some of your potty training tips? Let us know in the comments below!