The last couple of months I knew I wanted to start potty training soon. I looked up different ways to go about it (because of course nowadays there are a million and one "right" ways to do everything with parenting) and so I tried to figure out what approach would make sense and work for me AND Jacob.
I was surprisingly not really nervous (which I thought that I would be). I really had no expectations. Once I kind of had a game plan in my mind I just hoped that at the end it would be a positive experience (for ALL of us!) and, of course, that Jacob would be potty trained!
***As a side note, I am adding to this post everyday to write down what has been going on and what we have done, not because I think anyone really wants to read this much information about my potty training experience but so that I will remember for future reference. So unless you want TMI about potty training you can probably just stop now :)***
***Really, please stop reading. I am a little embarrassed that I wrote this explicitly about potty training but I know I will want it down the road to reference with other kiddos what I did and know I won't remember everything. So really, this probably won't be interesting to anyone else but me. But here you go!***
Day 1:
It has gone well, I think anyway! Like I said, I really didn't have too many expectations going in (I've DEFINITELY never done this before!) but I think it has gone well. Bless my Mom for taking Sarah for the day because it definitely would have been much much more difficult to do it juggling between the two.
Once Sarah left and after we had breakfast we went upstairs to get dressed (which is our usual routine anyway). A couple weeks ago I got a small toilet seat that goes on top of the toilet but had put it away. I told Jacob (and we had been talking about it for a couple days) that today was a really special day and that we were going to use the potty and have no more diapers! I just acted really excited about it (totally exaggerated everything really positively) and he just went with it.
He helped me take the "special potty" out of the packaging and put in on the toilet. Then I told him I had another surprise for him and brought out his new underwear. I made a really big deal about each one and put them all out and let him pick one. We took off his diaper and I told him that now we were going to put on underwear - emphasizing no more diapers. I just left him in his new underwear and didn't put on any other clothes so that they wouldn't get "wet" and also to make it easier for me to tell when he was having an accident.
We then went and sat on the potty. I had no idea how this was going to go.
He was not a fan. He wanted to get down and I just talked to him really softly and tried to reassure him, lots of hugs, but I never took him off the potty until he calmed down. It really didn't last very long and once he was calm I told him that we would try again later and that we could go play.
One thing I was really looking forward to about potty training was just having some solid one-on-one time. It's been a rough couple of months and obviously a lot of adjustment for Jacob having Sarah here now and not being my entire world. So I was really excited actually about that part of this.
We just sat on the kitchen floor (which is right by the bathroom) and played! We might have played Hungry Hungry Hippo a hundred times. Really. But it was good. Every 20 minutes I would have him go "try" on the potty. He was really relaxed about it and I just sat on the stool across from him and we just talked. And we only sat there for a couple minutes and then would go back and play.
After an hour though we had our first accident. He started crying when he realized he was "leaking" as he put it and we rushed to the bathroom. He was definitely sad at first but easily calmed down. I had him sit on the potty for a couple minutes (but he didn't go anymore). Then we cleaned up and he helped me clean up his accident and I just emphasized that "pee pee went in the potty."
We didn't even finish cleaning up before he had another accident. We then pretty much spent the next hour just in the bathroom. At first, whenever he was on the potty he would ask for "wipes" or for his pants and shirt. I think he knew he needed to go and that was just his comfort and he thought that would help. He would even ask for his underwear and the second I put on a new pair he would go again.
But after two or three tries of this I could tell he was calming down and getting less upset after each one. Finally I got one fast enough so that he was on the potty when it happened. I made a REALLY big deal about it. He was crying but when he saw how excited I was about it he immediately stopped and started getting excited. I could tell that he was proud of himself (though I am not sure if he actually understood about what) and that made me so happy to see him so happy.
We finally got everything cleaned up and went back to the kitchen floor. We were probably only out there for two minutes before he said that he needed to go to the potty. We rushed in and HE WENT!!! No accident at all! I was so proud of him!
I could tell that he was really excited too. Every 2-3 minutes after we left the bathroom he would say that he needs to go "potty." At first I responded quickly but now I am doing better at recognizing his behavior more to know if it is actually a "need" or just a "want." He loves sitting there now and talking with me while sitting on the potty.
Once we went upstairs for nap I put him in a pull-up. I knew if he didn't have one he would inevitably have an accident and I didn't want to set him up for failure. But he got really excited when I took out the "diaper" and I just kept telling him that it is NOT a diaper, it is special underwear that we wear when we sleep.
After his nap he did have another accident. It took a little coaxing to get him to want to sit on the potty again. I think he liked having the pull-up on and didn't want to go back to having to sit on the potty. But after the accident he did PERFECT! He had two more successful potty times and I couldn't be happier.
So by the end of day one, he had five potty successes! WOOT WOOT!
Day 2:
Day 2 has gone so well. Again, the first time we "tried" on the potty he wasn't a huge fan but easily calmed down after a minute. The morning went wonderfully. He is telling me when he needs to go and is willing to "try" at periodic times as well. I have lengthened it out to about 30 minutes in between tries and he is doing great. He even pooped! WOOT WOOT! He was so excited to get a big sticker! I couldn't ask for it to be going any better!
However, after his afternoon nap, we did dip down a little. It was going fine but then I was on the phone and I think he just got excited and wasn't thinking and had an accident. He had gone all day without one until that point (around 5:00). But the rest of the day was good though and I feel great about how things are going!
We had 7 potty successes (including 2 poops!) WOOT WOOT!
Day 3:
Day 3 went so well! I am so happy to be at the end of our all-we-do-and-think-about potty training! I am pleasantly surprised at how quickly Jacob has picked up on it. He is doing great and I couldn't be happier about it. We had no accidents except for one. He was doing so well that I thought we could put on clothes (because he has just been wearing his underwear) and right after we put them on he had an accident. So we went back to just the underwear and he had a perfect rest of his day.
AND after he got up from his nap his pull-up was completely dry! I was so pleasantly surprised!
My favorite moment (and I am so glad because Mark was here to witness it too!) was when Jacob was on the potty trying to have a BM and said, "It's TIGHT!" Oh my goodness, Mark and I were laughing so hard. It was hilarious. We are so proud of our big boy!
I had made Jacob a potty chart and I did think it was beneficial but we didn't use it quite in the way I had envisioned. I had some star stickers and every time he peed he would get a "baby" sticker (as Jacob put it!) and a big sticker was for a poop. He loved putting the stickers on and so to celebrate we went out for ice cream. So Jacob had his first experience eating an ice cream cone. He was really happy!!!
We love our big boy!
