I guess one gets used to not having to clean up anyone else's waste and one wants it to stay that way.
Anyway, I am happy to say that we've started. One week ago. And I don't want to say anything too soon, but I am pleased with our start. He's excited about wearing his big boy underwear (superheroes, of course), and he can even get his pants down and sit down on the potty without any help. Now, if I left it all to him, he would, of course, wet his pants. But, he's doing really well.
And I haven't had any kind of melt down.
I'm so thankful for that. I don't know if God has actually managed to make me a little more patient after all these years, or if it's something else. But, I will say there are a few things I did that I didn't the first 3 times around, and I think they helped.
1. Prepare the area - this may seem like common sense, but I did a better job this time. I use potty DVDs when I'm potty training. I try to trick the kids into peeing in the chair that first few times. Also, it keeps them from ranging all over the house while accident prone and ideally makes them think about the task at hand. Make a HUGE deal, m&ms, the works. But, my living room is the only room on the first floor with carpet in it. So, I put down one of those cheap plastic table cloths, then a towel, and then the potty chair. It helped a lot. I think some of my most stressful moments previously involved scrubbing the carpet.
2. Expect accidents. This sounds ridiculous. But, as my mother will tell you, I was potty trained at 16 months and never had an accident. That's setting the bar pretty high. None of my children ever accomplished this feat. I don't know why, but accidents were required for my children to learn. If they don't pee in their pants they don't understand what you're trying to accomplish. I'm just glad that I was able to have the 'oh no! potty goes in the potty chair!' response instead of the, *pulling my hair out* what am I doing wrong?! reaction.
3. Let myself off the hook. I'm usually guilty of trying to do too many things at one time (ask My Man). This time, I cleared my schedule and did not attempt to do 100 other chores while potty training. The way I usually approach this is train hard and attempt to do everything else I normally do. Not this time! The house took a backseat and while I had chores to make up, the actual training went so much more smoothly with 100% focus.
4. Methods I've always used include: staying home for at least 3 days and focusing solely on potty training. No pullups. I try to train hard for a shorter amount of time to avoid training for a much longer period of time. As I said before, m&ms. DVDs. Calls to Daddy at work and Grandma. Oh, and I pump them full of juice and milk to encourage more opportunities while we're home and training hard. After the first couple of days I'm able to back off the fluids and ask him to 'go before he gets to go outside' or 'go before _____', miraculously he's been staying dry for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Then, he's able to go when I ask. Very exciting!!
So, we are on our way to (wait for it).....no one in diapers. That's just crazy talk.
So proud of my little man. I so need to post a photo of him in his superhero undies (while his legs are still chubby : (
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